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Apollo sighed, staring down at the water below.
It was all his fault. All his fault.
It was his fault Juno lost his wings.
That fateful, horrible night at the hotel the three of them had been staying.
He should’ve been faster. Faster to notice Heart was gone. Faster to get to the roof in time.
He shouldn’t have left him alone, considering his mental health at the time.
He should’ve known.
By the time he’d gotten there, it was too late.
There was screaming from below. One of pain from Heart-clearly he’d survived, thankfully. And another of horror, from everyone else down below.
The screams haunted him, as did Juno’s sobs of pain as he was taken away to the hospital.
During the fall, his wings suddenly unfurled, parachuting him down…too hard. Too fast. He landed on his back, completely destroying them on impact. They had to get amputated entirely.
The Moon had lost the things that made him…himself.
And it was all his fault.
He sighed again.
He had written a suicide note that day. Tears had fallen, stained the paper, just like with Heart’s.
What was he even doing? He didn’t have time to mope about all of this.
He didn’t want to.
His legs dangled over the edge of the bridge.
Part of him didn’t want to jump. Just to see his brothers again. Just to apologize to Heart. To Soul. Maybe even himself.
Part of him was holding him back.
What was it? Fear? Spite? Anxiety? He didn’t know. He didn’t have the time to know.
He slowly stood up, staring down at the water.
If the impact didn’t kill him, the water would cause him to short-circuit, and he’d drown.
The taste of death, of eternal rest, of painful freedom, was right there, just below, waiting for him. Beckoning to him.
He made up his mind.
This was it.
He wanted to jump, to feel his body slam into the water, the hot-cold electricity coursing through his veins as he sank, water entering his lungs, and he was just about to…
But then…
“{NO!}”
Something grabbed him, holding him back against the railing.
A familiar voice with a familiar hand.
“{Apollo.}” Soul said. “{Get your ass on the other side of this railing.}” There was no venom in his words, but it was said in such a concerned yet commanding tone, something of which he was used to hearing.
Instinctively, he obeyed, climbing over to the other side of the railing where Atlas was.
His brother immediately wrapped his arms around him, tears of relief trickling down from his eyes.
“{I’m not losing you.}” he said firmly, even though his voice shook. “{Not after last time.}”
Mind felt his own eyes well up with tears as well. His thoughts were jumbled and messed up and…it was hard to process everything and…and…
He broke.
An unrestrained sob ripped through his chest, threatening to tear out his lungs. He buried his face into Soul’s shoulder, and he felt his grip tighten.
And with that, he was crying in Atlas’ arms. It was hard to hear what his brother was saying, but the softness of his voice…it only made him sob more, louder and harder, not caring about how utterly pathetic and undignified he looked.
It was then when Soul’s voice reached him.
“{Shhh, let it out. You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.}”
That was the exact mantra he’d repeated to Artemis when he’d comforted him after he came home from the hospital. The memory of what he did…of everything…he let out a louder sob, the guilt boiling over.
Slowly, ever so slowly, The Sun’s bawling died down, and he was finally able to process what was happening around him. Everything still felt overwhelming, but the soft hand rubbing his back had helped him calm down quite a bit.
“[I-I’m sorry…]” he whispered with a sniffle. “[I’m so sorry…]”
Atlas tilted his head at him. “{For what?}”
“[I could’ve saved him…I could’ve-]”
“{Shhhhh…}” Soul put a finger to his blue lips. “{Who the hell put that in your head? Of course it’s not your fault. We shouldn’t have left him alone for so long…}”
“[I bet he hates me now…for not saving him…for…]”
“{He doesn’t. He said it wasn’t your fault.}”
The Sun stayed quiet at that. How could it have not been his fault?
The Stars patted him on the back. “{Tell you what, I’ll schedule an appointment with Betty. She’s the therapist I set him up with. I think you’ll like her, she’s really nice, plus she’s helped him a ton.}”
He nodded a little. “[I suppose.]”
Apollo and Atlas stayed there on the bridge for quite a while before Atlas picked him up, gently holding him bridal-style.
“{C’mon, I don’t want to leave Heart alone for too long. You must be tired, Apollo. Let’s go home.}”
And together, they did.