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The universe goes white-hot, ice-cold and back again in one single moment, swirls of color painting the void's nothingness as everything comes to be.
The Sun is all smiles and warmth, shining brightly against the nothingness that surrounds him, a golden halo of sunlight atop the crown of his head.
The Moon, meanwhile, is seemingly cold and distant, mouth set into a calm line, a silver halo like moonlight upon his head.
They come into existence together, at the same time as everything else, but bound together by their domains.
Everything was nothing, and then it was everything, all at once.
Soobin looks around in wonder, the rapidly forming world around him filling him with joy. The swirling colors of a world in its infancy brings a smile to his face.
A few moments pass.
He looks to his side, and he spots a silver-haloed figure. The Sun greets the Moon eagerly, hand coming up to a wave.
"Hello."
The Moon answers.
"Hi."
The two speak in unison, and realizing this, embarrassment colors their cheeks.
"Nice to meet you."
The first bout of daylight breaks.
The Moon disappears before the Sun's eyes as chaos boils over and gives way to order, and everything rights itself to how it is.
—
Soobin doesn't know when he fell in love with the Moon.
It feels like he realized it out of nowhere, after a long time of already loving the silver-haloed deity and not even knowing it. Perhaps it happened as their eyes met, all from across the vast sky. Perhaps it happened as they talked during eclipses, quite literally bound together for a fleeting moment in a way that they usually aren't. Perhaps it happened in that sweet, sweet moment during creation.
And perhaps love is nothing more than vague conversations somehow held through mere eye contact, standing in the expanse of the heavens. Perhaps love is nothing more than that gentle serenity found within the warmth that pervades his existence. Perhaps love is simply love, and it is something that both assuages and aggravates his longing.
Soobin doesn't know. He doesn't know a lot of things.
"Hey." The Sun feels a presence landing on the cloud he's sitting on and settling upon his shoulder, and he looks sideways to find bright red hair. Light leans against his shoulder, eyes downcast.
"You look like death. You good?" Soobin asks in lieu of a greeting, lightly patting Yeonjun's back as he turns forward once again to gaze at the distant night sky.
"That's not me, that's Void," he retorts. A beat. "And yeah, it's just a bit worse than usual right now," Light answers. His voice is rough and weary, and a worried frown mars the Sun's face.
"Go see them. Now."
"No. I can't deal with their riddles right now." There is a bitter frown hung on Light's mouth, as he closes his eyes, massaging his temples.
"But-" Soobin starts.
"It'll pass. The supernovas are getting less frequent, so they're ending soon. I'll be able to bear it," Yeonjun says forcefully, and Soobin relents with a sigh.
"Fine. But don't blame me if you burn your eyebrows off or something."
"Mhm," Light agrees perfunctorily. "Just because it happened to you doesn't mean it'll happen to me."
"No I didn't," the Sun says, voice a pitch higher than usual. "You must be remembering it wrong."
"Whatever you say, Bin," Light says. "Anyways, why are you sitting here?"
The Sun hesitates, not wanting to possibly worsen Light's already gloomy mood.
Yeonjun may not think that Soobin notices, but there's always a bitter glint in the other's eyes whenever he talks about the Moon. Soobin doesn't know what happened between the two, but he understands enough to try his best and avoid mentioning the Moon in Yeonjun's vicinity.
(Light has a lot of secrets, but he's trustworthy. Light has a lot of walls, but he's not cold-hearted. Light can seem withdrawn, but he is a friend. He knows that for sure, even if there's a lot more he isn't sure about with the other deity.)
Light catches onto his hesitation, posture straightening and eyes narrowing. "Bin, why are you hesitating? It's not like you were doing something improper, right?"
Soobin panics. "Oh, nothing like that, I swear." He waves his hands in front of him in denial, shaking his head.
Yeonjun raises an eyebrow, not buying it. "Then what were you doing?"
"Uh… I was just looking at the night?" The Sun answers, his statement sounding more like a question. He can feel Light's burning gaze being directed at him.
"So you were pining?" Yeonjun asks.
"Ye- No." Soobin stops himself before "yes" can slip past his lips.
"I could've sworn I heard a yes, though," Yeonjun teases.
"Oh come on!" Soobin whines. "Night's just pretty, leave me alone."
"Sure, whatever," Light answers, massaging his temples. "Now, which night deity do you like? As your best friend, I get to interrogate them and see whether they'll hurt you."
"You're not my best friend. That's Kai."
"You're incorrigible." Yeonjun pulls a handful of cloud from beside him, throwing it directly at Soobin's face.
The Sun laughs, wrapping an arm around Light's shoulder. "Really though, I'm not pining over anyone."
"You say that, and yet your eyes tell me the opposite."
"Shut up," Soobin says, letting Yeonjun go, cheeks now painted crimson.
"Aww, Binnie's cheeks are red~" Light teases, patronizingly patting the Sun on the head. "Ha! You are pining!"
The Sun rolls his eyes. "Fine, fine, so I like someone. What's the big deal?"
"The big deal is I need to see whether they'll treat you right, sunshine." Light pokes his friend's cheek.
Impulsively, Soobin opens his mouth. "And if I told you that it's the Moon?"
As soon as he says this, Soobin hurriedly closes his mouth, angling his head so that he can still see Yeonjun's reaction without being obvious.
Yeonjun stills, and for a moment, he looks like he's grieving, but he regains his cheerfulness only a moment later, as if nothing had happened. Soobin hates whenever he does that. "Pfft, I knew that already," he says, chuckling.
At the Sun's incredulous look he continues, "Please, you didn't shut up about Tyu- the Moon for centuries. I thought you'd moved on when you stopped, but apparently not." Light shrugs noncommittally.
When the Sun doesn't say a word, still incredulous, Light asks him, "Hun, did you think you were being slick?"
At this, Soobin asks back, "I wasn't that obvious, was I?"
"You were. Practically everyone who interacted with you could see it."
"Light, I hate you," The Sun says, his blush creeping up to his ears.
"Resorting to calling me Light now, are we?"
"Shut up."
—
Soobin flies around aimlessly, leisurely looking around the sunny acres of land below him. He's passing over a verdant forest when he notices a green-clad figure.
"Kai!" he calls, landing on the treetops to approach Nature.
"Soobin!" Nature says, as he's brought into a bear hug by the Sun. "What're you doing here?"
"I was just flying around, and I saw you here," Soobin answers, letting go of Kai, sitting down atop a tree. The sunlight beams down upon the treetops, verdant leaves glinting merrily.
"Ah," Kai responds, picking a leaf from beside him. "Bin, d'you want to see something?"
"Sure." And the two of them are flying off, Nature leading the way.
The journey is silent, the expanse of the azure sky and the rushing wind surrounding the two at all sides, and in what feels like the blink of an eye, Soobin and Kai are once again standing on solid ground, blades of grass scratching at their feet.
Before them is a forest, lush trees creating a shadowed path. The sunlight can barely get through the thick foliage, blanketing the forest floor in darkness.
Something silver can be seen faintly shining from the tree roots—glowing silver flowers, small patches seemingly weaved around the wood. They glow like moonlight, and the blooms fascinate the Sun, who lets go of Nature's hand and bends down to take a closer look at them.
"The moonflowers are pretty, aren't they?" Kai asks, smiling.
Soobin looks back at him, answering, "Mhm." He continues poking at the flowers. "Are they new?"
"Yeah, Air sent me the seeds a few nights ago. Said that the Moon created them. We're going to go around spreading it soon."
"Huh. And they don't wilt during daytime?" The Sun asks, fascinated.
"Yup. They grow mostly in darker areas and seem to only bloom during the night, but apart from that, they aren't affected by time."
A soft smile starts to grow on Soobin's face. He gazes at the flowers sitting before him with something akin to adoration.
Kai giggles at the expression on Soobin's face. It's one that is love-struck, all soft edges and adoration. Leaning against a tree, he tells the Sun, still chuckling, "You look like you've just met the love of your life, Bin."
The Sun throws him a dirty look.
"Can't I tease you about your crush on the Moon?" Nature pouts. "I'm the one you always rant to about your love problems, I think I should get at least this much."
"You are," the Sun concedes, "and that's why I made you swear not to tell anyone."
"You're way too paranoid," Kai whines.
"I'm being smart. You would tell the Moon if you weren't oath-bound, and I don't need to be embarrassed like that." Soobin turns back to the moonflowers, picking one and putting it behind his ear.
The flower's silver glow contrasts with the golden halo above his head, but an odd harmony is struck between the silver and gold.
"It doesn't match your color palette," Nature comments. When the Sun throws him a wilting glance, he hurriedly amends, giving the other deity a thumbs up, "Looks great, though."
With nothing more to show Soobin, Kai waves him goodbye, flying up to the treetops. "I'm going to take a nap. See you later, Bin."
"Yeah, yeah. See you later."
And the Sun flies off to find another thing to do, silver moonflower still tucked behind his ear.
—
The Sun sits on a cloud in the edge of dawn, fiddling with a wilting flower. The moonflower held in his hand has lost its glow, dulling to a metallic grey.
Nevertheless, he gazes intently at it, fixated. Soobin wonders how long it'll take for the next eclipse to be upon them. He misses his counterpart.
(When doesn't he, though?)
The sharp rush of wind pulls him out of his reverie. When the Sun looks up, he spots a yellow blur flying at him, and he barely has any time to react before he's being pulled into a hug, almost falling off the cloud in the process.
"Ugh. Get off, Jjun."
"Aww, is that any way to greet your best friend?" Light asks, poking the Sun's cheek and settling beside him. "Didn't you miss me?"
"Depends. Where have you been for the past week?" Soobin asks, straightening his posture.
"Keeping myself from blowing the planet up and recovering from the effort," Yeonjun answers, completely deadpan.
Soobin grimaces. He knows full well how rough supernovas can be, even if he hasn't experienced one for centuries. "Is everything good now?"
"Yup. Shouldn't happen again for three months at least."
"That's good to hear." Soobin fidgets in place, fiddling with the flower still clutched in his hand. "Have you seen the new flowers?"
"The silver ones? I have."
"Mhm. Kai said the Moon made them," Soobin says faux-nonchalantly. The bloom slips through his fingers, getting caught by the wind.
He looks down at his hands and finds that the flower has flown away, uttering a soft sigh at the realization.
"Ah." is all Yeonjun says, gazing intently at the golden-haloed deity sitting beside him. At Soobin's sigh, he shakes his head fondly—he's completely helpless.
Light pulls the Sun towards him. "C'mere."
The Sun leans against Light, eyes fluttering shut as Light wraps an arm around his shoulders.
"Tell me about the Moon," Light tells the Sun, gazing ahead at the slowly brightening sky.
"What do you want to know?" The Sun asks, languidly straightening his posture.
"Everything." And there's something so close to loss in Light's voice that he finds himself telling his fellow deity every little thing he can think of.
"His eyes twinkle like they have the universe within their grasp," Soobin starts, and Yeonjun hums in vague agreement.
"It's beautiful. He's beautiful," Soobin continues. "When we meet up for the eclipses and we get to talk, I always want to just stay forever. His voice is so lovely—I could listen to him speak for millenia."
"Sometimes, when we're in the same area, our eyes meet," he says. "Sometimes I think that just those brief moments of eye contact are enough—should be enough—for me, but I want to have more than that."
"Sometimes I just want to forget about the proverbs we've all learned. Sometimes I want to go against the universe if it meant I could be with him."
He laughs. It cuts through the atmosphere like a dull knife on cold butter—nowhere near enough to break, but enough to damage. "I suppose I'm selfish."
Voice carefully blank, Yeonjun answers. "If that's selfishness, then I must be the most selfish person to ever exist, Bin." He isn't looking at Soobin, instead staring straight ahead.
"Is this related to your top secret past you won't tell me about?" The Sun asks, looking pointedly at Light.
"Yes." Light pokes his cheek. He's sprung right back to his cheeky demeanor, as if nothing had happened. "So I'm not saying anymore."
The Sun sighs. "You know, sometimes, you seem older than me, even though we all came into existence at the same moment. It's funny."
Light only raises a skeptical eyebrow before the Sun continues. "You hide so much. Everytime I learn something new about you, it feels like there are five more things I don't."
The Sun suddenly lies down upon the cloud, his breath evening as his eyes flutter shut.
"Don't fall asleep on me now, Bin," Yeonjun tells him.
Soobin hums. "I won't."
"I'm being serious. You fall asleep on me and you're screwed," Yeonjun warns.
"You won't die."
An odd silence settles over the two deities.
—
Millennia pass, and everything changes and stays the same.
The Sun thinks about silver flowers and eyes that hold the stars, thinks about the love he's found in silent moments of eye contact, thinks about a love unspoken, perhaps left to forever grow in the shadows.
(He thinks about hesitation and proverbs, and his smile turns bitter.)
Sometimes, Soobin thinks that he may as well be cursed, led to unendingly experience a scorching warmth that will only ever feel like duty, to shine in a way that only ever rings like artifice.
How he wishes that he were anyone else, to feel the cool wind of nighttime kissing his cheek. How he wishes he were human, to be able to look up at the starry night sky and know that they will be there to comfort him at the end of the day. How he wishes he were able to look up at the sky and see calm darkness instead of blinding light.
(How he wishes he could forever stay by the Moon's side.)
"Hello, Taehyun."
The Sun stands in front of the Moon, grinning brightly as the two cross paths, their domains eclipsing once again.
The two deities talk and dawdle in the time that they have bound together—rather than apart—by their domains, simply enjoying being in each other's presence, to feel to other right by their side so tangibly that they can be sure that they are real, that they aren't going anywhere.
The expanse of the sky that surrounds them feels like it doesn't matter—because Taehyun is here; Taehyun is here and Soobin can talk to him, he is here and Soobin can be at his side. A joyful grin is plastered on Soobin's face, as though the simple act of talking to the Moon and hearing his voice is enough to bring euphoria to him, looking at the Moon with eyes full of love and adoration.
(And so what, if light and darkness don't mix? If the Sun wasn't meant to fall in love with the Moon, then why did the universe make the Moon so brilliant? Why did it bind the two of them together in this way?)
Soobin doesn't know a lot of things, but as he gazes into twinkling eyes that seem to hold the entire universe, six words that he knows to be utter truth settle in between the deep crevices of his mind: You shine far brighter than me.