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“Venus?” Mercury shoved a lock of hair behind his ear, sweat dampening his hair and making it stick to his skin. “Are you okay?” Venus ignored him, sitting down in his orbit with one knee up, the other leg dangling beneath him; his hair was down, scattered over his shoulders and glowing in the brighter sunlight. Mercury tossed one look back at the Sun, the roiling orangey-red blaze still something he was getting used to - then he heaved a sigh and spoke again. “Venus?”
“What do you want, pipsqueak?” Venus didn’t even sound angry, almost more defeated than anything else; and that absence made Mercury take a second, his brow knitting. His hands fidgeted together and he frowned, heartache flooding his veins.
“Are you okay?”
“Do you think I’m okay?”
Mercury paused, pressing his lips together before speaking, hesitant. “…No?”
Venus turned at that, his eyes dead and dull; a spark of color whisked back into them when his eyes met Mercury’s, but it died just as quickly as it’d sparked up. “And what does that matter to you, pipsqueak?”
“Because I care about you? Venus, you can’t hide away from us.” Mercury furrowed his brow more, crossing his arms over his chest after a moment. The space between him and Venus yawned wider than ever despite the fact that he’d crossed into his orbit, and Mercury took another step closer, eyes on Venus as his gaze darted from Mercury to the blazing Sun beside them, ever-present and impossible to ignore. “At least talk to me.”
There was an unreadable emotion brewing in Venus’s eyes the closer Mercury stepped towards him, until he stood up, arms tense at his sides. “I’m fine, pipsqueak. I don’t need you worrying about me.”
“You’re fine? Venus, we’re going to die!” Mercury couldn’t stop the words, realizing before he’d even fully said them that it wasn’t the right thing to say. Venus’s eyes darkened, a scowl forming on his face before he rolled his eyes and turned around, back towards Mercury as if to make a final statement.
“You think I don’t know that?” He sounded almost incredulous, his shoulders tense. “You think I don’t know that I’m going to die? That it’s only a matter of time, pipsqueak? That you’re going to- that we’re going to-” He paused again, a sharp inhale following, and Mercury closed his eyes and let his head fall forward, combing his hands through his hair roughly. Behind him, his wings closed tight against his back, blackened and burnt at the edges.
“I didn’t-” Mercury worried at his lip, genuinely unsure of what to say. He scrambled for any words, but his mind left him, so instead he looked at Venus again, taking in the stiffness of his stance, the way the Sun in front of them made a glow illuminate around his body, the ghost of his atmosphere. “Venus? Please.”
Mercury wasn’t sure what it was - the worry evident in his tone or the word itself - but Venus turned around again, illuminated from behind now, the orange strands in his hair catching the light and glowing. There was a shadow over his face, perfectly cast over his eyes so that Mercury couldn’t meet them, the only clue to his mood how he crossed his arms over his chest, muscles tense. “What did you want, pipsqueak? Why did you come over here? You could stay over there. Hang out with Earth and Mars while you still can.” His voice was emotionless, almost dead - and Mercury found himself wishing Venus was angry at him again if only to never hear that emotionless edge in his voice ever again. Venus sat down again in the same position as before, one leg dangling beneath him; and then his eyes were revealed, the dark orange-red an almost perfect match to the spectre looming over them both.
“You’ve only got so much time left, Venus. Are you going to spend it on your own?” Mercury pressed his lips together, a strange sort of sadness settling over his core as he met Venus’s eyes again and saw the uncertainty roiling deep within. “You know we all care about you. Just…” He drew forward, sitting down beside Venus before the worry could overwhelm him. “Don’t close yourself off from the rest of us. Come hang out again!” His thoughts shot back to Earth, the memories from what felt like forever ago now tumbling through his mind like asteroids. “You don’t even have to take the first step alone! I’ll be with you, Venus, okay? Even when I’m not here.” That almost felt too emotional, but Mercury still let the words ring out into open air. “Okay?”
“Mercury…” Mercury’s wings flared behind him as Venus said his name - and he immediately met his eyes again. But Venus didn’t say anything else, his eyes distant and dull as he stared forward into the Sun; Mercury sighed once before settling more into place, determined not to leave until he got some sort of answer from Venus. Even if it took forever... or as long he had.
“You asleep, pipsqueak?” Venus’s rough voice rang out in the air, dragging Mercury out of his sleepy state - but he stayed silent and still, suddenly curious. “Pipsqueak?” He was quieter now, almost vulnerable in a way Mercury had never heard before, and the urge to speak up became almost unbearable. What if he was ready to speak, and here Mercury was acting like he was dead asleep? He went to shift in place, alert Venus that he was awake - and then he was speaking again, and Mercury devoted focus to his low, quiet voice. “What am I even-” He cut himself off, sounding frustrated, and then Mercury felt an overarching awareness that someone was looking at him, impossible to ignore. “How would I even say it?” He paused again. “Just pull you aside and blurt it out?”
Blurt what out? Mercury focused more on the darkness of his eyelids, the absent sensation of sight replaced by a heightened awareness of Venus next to him.
“Just say - hey, pipsqueak, I know I’ve been…” Another pause, a harsh sound, and then Venus’s hair brushed against the delicate feathers of Mercury’s wing, almost as if he’d thrown his head back. Mercury strained against the urge to curl his wing in closer, instead relegating all of his energy to focusing on Venus’s every motion; his deep breathing; the tensing of his muscles against Mercury’s side; and his low grumbles, not quite words but still emphasizing his frustration. “Why is this so hard to tell you, pipsqueak? You’re not even awake.”
Yes, I am.
“I’m-” Another pause, another frustrated sigh. Mercury couldn’t stop himself as he shifted in place, leaning more towards Venus in a barely-there motion - but still, Venus’s breath rushed out of him in one fell swoop as if Mercury hadn’t simply leaned into him but had leaned over and punched him straight in the core. “I’m in love with you, pipsqueak,” and his vision bled with white, the urge to snap his eyes open and look up at Venus almost impossible to ignore. Disbelief flooded into his core, followed closely by something that felt like the emotions he associated with every good memory he held near and dear; beside him, Venus just continued breathing, quiet now as if the confession had taken everything out of him.
Mercury almost regretted acting like he was asleep; Venus definitely wouldn’t have said anything like this if he knew Mercury was listening to him at the moment. It felt… wrong to listen to Venus’s vulnerable words. He never would’ve said this if he knew Mercury was awake. He shifted once, unintentionally pushing in more against Venus’s side, head falling against his upper arm, and then Mercury made a quiet noise, as if he was waking up. Beside him, Venus froze, his entire body filling with tension as if the idea of Mercury hearing what’d he said was his greatest fear - Mercury was almost amused, a smile on the edge of existence, but he wrestled the emotion back down, keeping his face settled. And then curiosity wriggled in, large and impossible to ignore, and he stayed there, too ratcheted to relax and actually fall asleep.
One wing shuffled behind him, the end just curling over Venus’s shoulder; Venus relaxed again, releasing a heavy sigh. “Never going to happen, Venus,” he said, a resigned edge to his voice. “Get over yourself.” A coil of heartache popped in Mercury’s chest, and he let himself lean more into Venus, trying to send more comfort his way even as he tried to keep the veil of sleep over his face (Venus would not react well if Mercury suddenly told him he wasn’t asleep, Mercury knew him enough to know that). Inwardly, Mercury felt a resolve strengthen in his core - he’d talk to Venus later. And they’d get this all worked out.
Why not let themselves have a little happiness before the bubble popped?