Archive of Our Own

Tap, tap, tap, the water dripped from the faucet, even though he had turned it off. The sensation was fascinating, as lame as it was, and the moon couldn't help but focus on it. There was not a single bit of water in sight, nor was there ice- and yet, Earth's little moon but not moon things had mastered the ways of waterbending, allowing them to draw from the source they called "pipes" as they pleased. 

And Luna had the audacity to tell him it wasn't magic. 

Triton turned his gaze away when he felt himself getting stuck. Now wasn't the moment, he told himself, rubbing under his eye and lifting up the shades he had insisted on wearing to hopefully lessen the ache. The wet rag in his other hand dripped, drip, drip, drip, just as the metal box had, onto the floor, leaving dark droplets behind. 

The little moon stepped forward, but far too fast- as he forgot he didn't have his tail, nor his own gravity, to balance him out again, and almost ended up face-planting into the ground instead. He didn't. Triton learned to catch himself every time. But it was still annoying though.

Triton actually found everything on Earth's surface annoying, in the short time he'd been here- but oh well. 

After all had been said and done in the solar system, after the rogue planets left and the Sun calmed down, Earth had insisted on it. His surface was a better resting place, he had said, worriedly looking the planets up and down as he rubbed off the remaining ice on his arms himself. And... yeah, that was fair.

From what he'd heard from the rest of the moons, Jupiter hadn't rested at all ever since his banishment. So the giant had pretty much collapsed into what Earth had called a 'couch' the moment they arrived, scaring everyone around him. Saturn was busy fretting over his own moons, all having received damage from just some ice melting to Titan's whole mass extinction- seriously, what happened while he was gone? 

The rocky planets were fine, that much he knew. Scared, maybe, with some residual orbital sickness left- but nothing that wouldn't go away. 

It was the ice giants he was mostly worried about. Yes, he could admit that, sue him. Triton already waved his cool dude personality goodbye the moment he left the solar system to find rogue planets for his planet. 

His ill, sickly planet. Who had been sleeping from the moment Saturn and Earth had led the dazed ice giant to his room. 

The Uranian moons had already dragged Uranus into another room and hadn't left since- Triton could only hope they were okay. Talking with Titania sounded nice, but... but he had no social battery left for the day. 

"Are you dead?" Aaaand of course then Pluto finds him. Because why doesn't he. 

They all looked weird on Earth's surface, too. Yes, they'd had humanoid bodies before- but now, down here, they'd completely changed to fit into what a human looked like. Gone was Pluto's surface, his atmosphere, and even his heartspot- instead, he had a patch of skin on his cheek that was lighter than the rest of his soft face. Pluto and Triton got to look somewhat the same, just more dulled down. And more squishy, he thought with a shudder. 

But seeing Neptune's blue surface turning pale pink, as white as a ghost, had honestly scared him half to death. The poor kids had started crying at the sight, screaming about how coming down here had killed their planet. 

It had taken a lot of cuddles, rocking and warm milk to get them to fall asleep. Neptune had held them all gently, whispered over and over again as he held the suddenly much larger babies as best as he could, and had explained that he was okay, and that Earthlings just didn't look as pretty as they did. Despite how sick he must have felt, based on how sunken his eyes looked and how shaky his arms were, Neptune had let all of them listen to his 'heart' beat- whatever that was. Triton hadn't gotten near him, because he had no feelings, and absolutely did not listen as Earth explained to the frightened moons that hearts kept his Earthlings alive... somehow. 

"How are you still this energetic?" Triton complained, but still lifted his arms to let Pluto take one- and Charon, who appeared from behind him like a shadow, like the other. "You two never leave your orbits... like at all."

Charon giggled sweetly, a sound that never failed to bring him comfort. "Maybe now, yes- but we used to leave to get to the Sun all the time!"

...Ah. Right. "And the others...?"

"Oh, no, they're dead." 

"What."

"Not actually! Pluto stop saying things like that!" The smallest among them let go to hit Pluto's shoulder, making the taller release him as well. Triton couldn't help the grin that slowly formed at the face Pluto made when she kept hitting him. Serves him right.

"Alright, alright, bad words, sorry!" Pluto flinched back, holding up his hands in mock surrender. Charon crossed her arms with narrowed eyes, wanting to make sure. "They'll be fine! Just orbital sickness is all!" Which, yeah, fair enough- did any of them ever even leave the kuiper belt? Triton didn't think so. 

And now suddenly, they were on Earth's surface. Looking weird and feeling squishy. "I don't like it down here." At least Triton actually left his orbit most of the time. Almost everyone had gotten ill, one way or another, an aftermath of the recent orbital changes they'd been put in. Triton would never. 

"You get used to it." Pluto moved behind the two, to the cooling box Triton had long forgotten the name of, and opened it to grab one of the bottles filled with water. Ah. He had not been stalking Triton, then. "It's actually kinda cool once you go outside!"

Uhuh. Either under the Sun's manic gaze or under Luna's while a bunch of strangers surrounded him at every corner. So fun. Wonderful. "Sounds like moon club to me."

"Speaking of which- how come our moons weren't invited to that?"

"Aw, Pluto." Charon quickly stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. "It's okay. I don't need a moon club, I have you guys!"

"I know, and we love you here." The taller kissed her forehead in reply. "But it's still rude they left you out! You're a moon too!"

"You gotta ask that one to Titan, Pluto." Triton said, already walking away. He love- no, no he did not, he liked the two, but his social battery had already been at zero to begin with. He could finally stop if he just got to Neptune's room. "He, Ganymede and Europa dragged us out against my will." 

"So why don't you leave, Triton?"

He almost threw the towel at his face. The thought was tempting, and Triton almost turned around to do just that. But he needed the towel for Neptune, so he settled on glaring at him instead. Ugh. The two had their matching smug grins again- did they have to match at everything?

"Tell Neptune we're hoping he gets better soon!" Charon called sweetly, ignorant to Triton's annoyance. But thankfully, the two left him alone, for a moment leaving him blissfully alone in his short trip to Neptune's room. 

Because all the planets had rooms... for some reason. Apparently, Earth owned property. In this economy. And had a big house thi- ugh leave him alone, Triton didn't understand how any of this Earthling stuff worked! He didn't even get the logic of how they were in a house, on Earth's surface, in weird bodies that resembled their own but were not. 

He just understood that down here, Earth said his humans had invented something called medicine. That down here, no one had to worry about orbital sickness, or collisions, or anything like that, as their celestial bodies safely locked into their orbits while their minds somehow wandered down here. That here, resting was so much easier in a bed. 

Didn't stop the weird feelings that rose when he realized that the kids and he weren't impossibly tiny next to their planet anymore. But oh well. 

By now, the water in his hands stopped dripling down his sleeves, which Triton was thankful for. The cold had been nice, having felt far too hot down here, but the texture of wet sleeves was absolutely not. The towel itself was still cold, thankfully, enough to get his task done. 

Triton didn't bother knocking, already having a suspicion that nobody would answer, and so instead opened the door to Neptune's door quietly. Indeed, the sound of snoring was all signs of life he got the moment the frame creaked painfully, acompanied by the soft and strangely comforting sound of the 'airconditioning' whirring. He slipped inside when the space was large enough, holding his breath to be as slim as he possibly could be, not wanting to make more noise and risk waking up anyone inside. 

The room was dark, despite it being evening. All the curtains had been closed, and the airconditioning whired at full blast, spreading the smell of mentol but leaving the room heavenly cold. Earth had originally advised against it, worried it would make them sick- but when the moons started crying because it was too warm and Neptune almost passed out from the heat, he'd shown Triton how to work the remote that controlled the airconditioning above Neptune's bed. Triton had wasted no time in turning it up as far as it could go, and had then sat under it with the rest of his system to cool down before he did anything else. 

The kids lay on the opposite side of the room, on the mattress and pillows that had been dragged out, directly where the cold air hit. All fifteen of them were still peacefully asleep, thankfully, their breathing slowed and bodies completely relaxed. The cold, combined with the warm milk Neptune and Triton had fed them, must have done the job then. 

Closing the door made a loud thud, causing the largest Neptunian moon to freeze. He held his breath, which quickly caused that strange beating in his chest to speed up- forcing him to inhale anyway. And still, he waited. 

Thankfully, the peaceful atmosphere remained. The most he got was a small whimpering sound from S/2023 N1 that was quickly soothed away when Larissa, in her sleep, threw her leg over the toddler to hug them properly. Next to her, Proteus murmured and shifted, stretching his limbs sleepily but not waking. Despina, who had her face buried in Galatea's fluffy hair, didn't even rouse as the larger moon's hand weakly ended up resting on her shoulder. 

The moon let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the fifteen, even breaths remained. Giving him enough peace of mind to focus on the final person in the room- and the one he had been coming for in the first place.

Just like the atmosphere that had settled in the room, Neptune slept deeply, breaths far too heavy due to the exhaustion that had hit the moment his moons had fallen asleep. Triton had to coax him into laying down at all- for his stupid idiot of a planet had kept insisting he was fine, he didn't do much, and oh he needed to check on his cousin now that his moons were okay- only to lose all the stubborness that had fueled his energy the moment his head hit the pillow. Out like a light within minutes. Stupid. Really, Triton was surprised he hadn't disowned him by now. 

But oh, what would he do without him?

The moon shook his head while sitting down, right at the edge, making sure he didn't touch Neptune in any way at all. Neptune was usually a light sleeper, and Triton... really wasn't in the mood for the forced energy at the moment. He felt drained enough as it was. 

Being this close allowed Triton to see the flushed color on his cheeks again, even in the dark, with his shades on. Perhaps he should take them off, like a sane person, but no thank you they were his. 

At least Neptune didn't seem in any discomfort, based on the way his body was spawled from exhaustion, not even twitching or murmuring in his sleep, as he usually did. It was almost scary, to see someone so energetic become so still. He wasn't even shivering, even though the goosebumps on his scarred arms suggested he must have been freezing. 

Triton very much ignored those. Just as he ignored the three moles on Neptune's wrist, or beauty spots as Saturn had called them without knowing where they had come from, he ignored the scars Earth had called tiger stripes that were all over his arms. Not... not now. Poor Neptune had been terrified enough upon seeing them- which- really? He never had worn short sleeves before? Not even down here?

Or did he just forget? Did that mean he also forgot the reason why those were there? The moon knew Neptune's memory had gotten bad after he took the kids and ran away, but had Triton really hurt him so much that he-

The moon shook his head. A ghust of the cold air tickled his skin, ripping a shiver from his frame. He liked the cold. The cold was good, grounding. As was the nice noise of the airconditioning. Triton focused on it, letting his eyes close to just focus on that, and breathe. 

Everything is fine, he thought, thougth his annoying heartbeat wouldn't stop it's fast beating. You fixed it. 

His hands were shaky when he opened his eyes again. But still, that didn't stop him from gently brushing Neptune's hair away from his forehead (And wincing when he felt how tangled and sticky it had gotten from sweat) whichafter he carefully put the cool cloth down upon his fevered skin. 

Thankfully, Neptune didn't wake. Didn't even twitch or react. 

Triton scooted closer, as close as he could without touching the other, until he was next to his head. He let his fingers wander to the base of Neptune's neck, then gently brushed up, collecting as much of the curly strands into his other hand while doing so. His scalp felt hot, just as the rest of him, added by the stickiness that would, without a doubt, drive his planet insane when he woke up. His hair already felt awful in his hands, Triton didn't want to imagine how that would feel on someone's head. 

He paused his careful brushing when his fingers caught in a knot. Carefully, the little moon tugged until it was untangled, resuming the stroking after. He felt Neptune shiver when his nails accidentally scratched his scalp, causing him to freeze. But the planet remained asleep. 

Huh... hesitantly, Triton repeated the action, this time not stilling when another pleased shiver ripped through the other's frame. A soft hum slipped past his lips, but he didn't wake. Seeing the positive reaction, Triton continued the light scratching as he combed through his hair, his way of a silent apology to apologize for the marks on his wrist. No one was here to see him anyway. So... all good. 

Once he had combed through all Neptune's hair, he reached for a scrunchie with his free hand so he could tie the mess into a knot. It was far from pretty with how clumsy his grip was, but it would have to do. The main goal had been to get his hair to stop touching Neptune's skin, which he'd succeeded. So Triton would say he did a great job.

Once that was done, Triton finally got up. He grabbed the corners of the blanket to tug it back gently, adjusted the wet cloth that had already slipped halfway onto the pillow, and then stepped back to check his work. Alright. Cool. His job was done now. He was no longer needed, so Triton should just... go. 

Into the... bright, bright outside. Where he would have to... socialize. 

...

Yeah no. 

Triton was all for pretending to be something he wasn't- lone wolf, not a big brother, emotionless- but socializing was where he drew the line. He had enough of the rest of the solar system after the days he had, his headache wouldn't survive much more. 

And there was something nostalgic about being separated from everyone else. In the dark, and in the blissful cold. Just him and the Neptunian system he had known most of his life. Safe, and familiar. Somewhere where he could finally let his walls down for a bit. 

But where to sit... he looked around, realizing all too quickly there wasn't a chair or anything like that for him to take place. Neptune's room had been strangely empty already when they came down, and the space had been filled by the mattress the kids were napping on soon enough. He could try to squeeze himself between them, but... maybe not. Didn't want to risk waking any of them. 

Thoughtfully, Triton looked at the only other available space in the room. Neptune's bed was big, and the planet slept on the right side of the bed anyway... there was plenty of room next to him. Enough that would even leave Triton with space to move, and still not touch the other. 

As embarassing as it was... Triton was too tired to care. So with a heavy sigh, he moved to the other side of the bed while letting his jacket fall, leaving him in the comfy, oversized shirt with the picture of a wolf on it. He sat down as quietly as he could, quietly wincing when the mattress made some strange noise- but no one woke up. Giving Triton the green light to take off his socks, throw them on the floor because who cares, and just... sit there. Which was enough. 

Triton focused on how his heavy body created the dip in the bed he sat on. He sank down, down and down, sighing again and tilting his head back as the suddenly heavy air added to the weight. Not just of his body, but his mind too, which started to feel wonderfully fuzzy thanks to the smell of menthol and the whirring as the airconditioning cooled him down. He had missed the cold back when they'd orbited next to the Sun... and then had too much of it when they'd left. But this? The temperature was perfect. 

...Okay. Perhaps everything down here wasn't so bad. 

He curled his hand into the soft fabric beneath. He liked the way it felt between his fingers, not fluffy and not heavy- he didn't remember what it was called. But it was light, and smooth, and he liked the feeling. He wanted more of that. 

His body drooped downward before Triton even was aware of what he was doing, but by now his mind was too cloudy to care about that. The pillow his heavy head fell into was cold, but just right, and soft- much, much nicer than the asteroids they usually slept on in space. Maybe even better than sleeping in the fluff of Neptune's jacket. 

Maybe. 

He could have fallen asleep, right then and there, if it hadn't been for his glasses, which painfully pressed behind his ears and onto his nose. But he was far too stubborn to take them off, wanting to hold onto something that still made him cool. A small sacrifice. 

For a moment, the moon let himself float in the cloudiness that had taken over his mind. It lifted him up, all the way to the source of the buzz, blending together with the even breaths all around him, lulling him further. Triton smushed his cheek into the pillow with a sigh.

He hadn't even realized just how much he ached until now. But that made sense, considering Triton had ran from his orbit, all the way to the Sun, and then, on top of that, left the solar system twice and then finally, returned to the star again. He felt distantly surprised that the fatigue took so long to catch up to him, but oh well.

Or maybe it had, which was why he kept tripping over his own weight earlier. Who knew? Gravity was weird. At least he hadn't dropped in front of someone. 

But eventually, despite the peace in the room... the uncomfortableness returned, creeping in through the cracks, and forcibly bringing him back to the present. Suddenly, Triton was hyperaware of just how still the planet next to him was, and how none of the kids had woken up or move even once.

It wasn't natural. Not... not for their system. 

Hesitantly, Triton lifted his head, just enough to have a peek at the planet behind him. Neptune remained as the moon had left him, laying on his back, face lax, flushed cheeks and messy hair. Even the cool cloth hadn't slipped down, showing how he hadn't shifted at all. He... really must have needed sleep. 

Of course he did. He'd been as pale as Uranus when Triton left him. 

Right after Neptune had been forced to share his past, loud and clear for the entire solar system to hear. Just because Triton needed a way to escape to go get help. 

The moon turned his gaze away once more, fixating on the door in a weak attempt to stop thinking. It wasn't his fault, abd logically, he knew that. He's wanted to help. To help, Triton had to be a dwarf planet once more, even if it was for a little while. And to be able to do that, Neptune, finally, had to tell the truth. It was just how the situation had been. It wasn't his fault. He couldn't have done anything else. 

The stupid feeling still gnawed at his insides. The moon grumbled, shoving his face into the pillow and making the glasses press painfully around his eyes. It wasn't his fault. There had been nothing else he could have done. 

It hadn't stopped the faint shock and terror of hearing it out loud anyway. 

They... they didn't really talk about what happened. There had been their talk where Neptune had explained it wasn't Triton's fault, or why he hid it, but not much more other than that. Triton didn't ask, and Neptune didn't mention it, so that was that. 

Hearing it out loud, for everyone to hear... made it real. Far too real. Three moons had died because Triton crashed against them. Neptune hid it because he didn't want Triton to feel guilty. 

And now, everyone knew about it.

How was he supposed to face the solar system now that they all knew his business? Sure, they hadn't gone into details- but neither had needed to. They'd shared just enough information to be able to fill the blanks. Triton left his orbit, got caught in Neptune's gravity like an idiot, and killed three little baby moons in the process. Neptune didn't mention even a word to anyone because he'd been worried that Triton would take the blame or wallow in the guilt for his entire life. Neptune didn't blame Triton. He was... happy they got to meet. 

Did... had the planet even cared for his old moons at all? Because he sure sounded happy in the two times they'd talked about it. 

Triton scolded himself after that thought. No. Bad thoughts. Neptune cared about his moons. All his moons. And he knew that quite well. 

He didn't understand why, for any sane person would have hated anyone who killed their babies instead of adopting them- but- ugh. Their system wasn't sane now, was it?

Triton was forced to lift his head from his pillow when his lungs started screaming for air, mildly surprised at the shaky gasp that followed the moment his mouth was no longer smushed into his pillow. "Ow..." He softly grunted, slipping a single finger under his shades to lift them. Despite the discomfort, his brain kept insisting on keeping them on, the same way he'd needed his guard earlier. But that was stupid. Here, out of all places, he should be able to relax.

The moon sighed, gently stroking his thumb where his eyebags were. Only to turn confused when wetness brushed against his skin. 

And then he felt the rest, gently dripping down his cheek, the same way the towel had through his fingers. 

Numbly, the moon flexed his fingers without looking away, unsure how he was supposed to react to... that. He didn't even have it in him to freak out, the fuzz in his brain having delayed and significantly dulled his reactions like throwing water over fire. Triton opened and closed his eyes, trying to wake up somewhat... but instead, he dropped his head back down into the pillow, and curled up slightly. He had at least sat as much into the left corner of the bed as he could, but...

Wow he was cold. 

Triton shivered. He could already feel the goosebumps on his skin, oddly enough- did they just spawn? Was that how human bodies were supposed to work? It was weird.

At least he had cool hair. 

......That was ruined because the Sun had caused it to puff up, somehow bringing back the waves in his locks Triton had forgotten were there- but-

Suddenly becoming aware of how much he was freezing made it impossible to ignore. The poor moon hugged himself, trying to surpress the shivers, and curled up further- but it did nothing. That... made no sense. His orbit was much colder than this little room. He liked the cold. 

But it didn't stop him from freezing from the inside out.

His senses, suddenly dialed to the maximum, picked the whirring which had been soothing earlier back up again, suddenly grating his ears. Triton had to bite back a wince, further smushing his face into the fabric below to try and drown it out. Sadly, it didn't work. If anything, the glasses pressing back against his face again, now with the sensation of the tears staining his cheeks and the pillow below, made him feel worse somehow. Triton shifted his head back to the side- but now the ends pressed behind his ears, and-

There was that strange beating in his chest. Nothing like his core, but instead harder, louder, taking away his ability to breathe. The little moon bit his lip, trying to surpress it, even when he felt himself growing faint. And hot. And cold. And everything. Was his Earthling body broken? It had to be. Or did Earthlings feel like that all the time? No, right, because why would the planet be proud of this?

Maybe it was just the exhaustion and earlier adrenaline catching up to him. All the running around and constant noise, and light, and the walls. Stars, the walls. He liked being around the moons, and he could lower his guard around the dwarf planets, but-

It wasn't the same. Not as when he could finally close off once in his orbit. 

The bed dipped behind him, which at first didn't register as anything abnormal in his mind. Triton was more occupied with trying not to rip the airconditioning from the vents. Why was everything so suddenly such a sensory nightmare? Because he had some stupid thoughts? That made no sense! He was- he was fine, if anything he was the best off, he wasn't nearly as sick as the dwarf planets, or Jupiter from what he'd heard, or even Neptune or-

And yet here he was. Crying like a child in his planet's bed. For no apparent reason at all. 

Triton froze when shaky fingers that weren't his own gently reached between his eyes from behind, giving him a perfect view of the three spots that had burned themselves into the planet's skin when the old moons had died... and Triton took their place. His mind short-circuited as Neptune carefully took hold of the shades, and pulled them from his head, bringing back the more colorful, but blurry vision. At least it took the painful pressing onto his head, lessening the headache, even a little. That was something. 

He watched as the planet leaned over him effortlessly despite how unstable his body looked, just so he could put down the glasses onto the nightstand on Triton's side. The way Neptune's body pressed against him felt... nice. Something familiar against the oversensitivity of this body. 

He tried not to be disappointed when Neptune pulled back, but wasn't left waiting for long. As Neptune lowered himself, he reached one arm over Triton's chest, wrapping around his front... and then, slowly, lovingly, pulled his oldest moon against himself. Fabric brushed against Triton’s oversensitive skin as his back met Neptune’s chest.

Neptune sighed into Triton's hair, curling his arm further as if trying to smush the little moon as close to himself as he could. This close, Triton could feel Neptune's heart beating against his back, stronger and slower than his own. Steadier, too. Already, the frantic rhythm in his chest began to slow, as if trying to copy the nicer one behind him.

Neptune hummed into his hair, probably intending to purr but being unable to due to the human vocal cords. He lifted the hand that had been tucked beneath his head and curled it upward until his fingers slipped into Triton’s hair behind his ear, lightly scratching.

The moon felt a pleasant shiver rip through his frame, causing his curled body to relax. One of the final tears dripped down into the taller's arm. But Neptune didn't say anything about it. If anything, he curled up, shielding his moon properly, as his hand resumed it's gentle touch by drifting to his face, and wiping the tears away. Triton leaned into the touch with a shudder. "Neptune..."

"Shh." A sleepy kiss was pressed into his hair. "Nap time." The planet murmured, ignorant to Triton's sudden embarassment. 

He groaned. "I'm not a child," Triton insisted, even as his sentence finished with a yawn. But Neptune didn't seem to have heard it, nuzzling further into his soft locks. 

"Nap time."

"I'm not a-"

"Night-night now."

"Neptuuneee." The moon whined, feeling his face grow hot. But he guessed that was part of the delirium talking, for the planet didn't usually baby him. Neptune did, literally... melt. So Triton could be nicer. Just this once. 

It didn't stop him from pouting, even as the other's fingers lovingly wiped away the last of his tears. He would deny later that he'd started leaning into the touch by now, feeling his eyes grow heavier... and heavier... as that strong heartbeat against his back slowed, lulling him with it. He yawned again, feeling more of his weight sink into the mattress. His blinks slowed, each one harder to open than the last.

It was weird, to be able to lie down like this, and not have his tail in the way. He certainly wasn't complaining though, this new hug position making him feel... dare he say it, safe. As if someone bigger, stronger, took post where he was most vulnerable, ensuring nothing could get him from behind. "Go to sleep, Triton." Neptune whispered, pushing himself up. Triton made drowsy, confused noise to ask why while he turned to his front. But relaxed when Neptune simply reached down, curled his arm beneath Triton's knees, and then lifted up his legs so he could pull the cover from under him. because yeah, that was what blankets were for... oh well. 

Just as Triton had done for him, Neptune pulled the blankets, tucking the corners in... but only around his chest, instead of all the way to his chin. The moon protested, turning to his right to protest. "I'm cold..."

"You're hot." insisted the other, pressing the back of his hand to Triton's forehead and brushing away the bangs. There was more clarity in his movements as Neptune slowly crawled to the other side of the bed to retrieve one of the many water bottles that had been left by his side. He struggled to open it, but remained calm. Triton drowsily watched until the planet finally managed to open the cap, and then coaxed the moon back up to have some sips. The water dripped down his chin, almost soaking into the fabric around his collar- but Neptune already was wiping it away before the fabric could get wet. "You need to take better care of yourself, Triton."

"I am..." murmured the smaller, allowing himself to be pushed back down into the bed. He didn't even fight it when Neptune pulled him back into his arms. If anything, he snuggled closer himself, sighing when his ear pressed against the source of that powerful beat. Neptuns's body was still unnaturally warm, radiating against his own skin... but in contrast to the cold room, at the moment, it felt oh so wonderful. 

"No you're not." Neptune's deep voice overpowered the background humming of the machine, yet somehow, remained tender. The cool cloth he had originally brought for Neptune was pressed onto his own heated skin instead. And then the planet's hand remained there, thumb petting up and down, just as the planet smushed his face back into Triton's hair and  breathed. "You're too precious, though." His breath was hot, another shiver ripping through his small frame. 

He didn't even fight that comment either. The moon was in bliss, floating back in the earlier fluffiness that came back, as his heavy eyes drooped shut. His body melted against the other slowly, peacefully, already drifting off now that the warm arms held them in their embrace. 

The gentle whirr, even breaths from his siblings, and a kiss from his parent planet being the final sensations he was able to feel. Finally sinking down into a much needed sleep, comfortable in his planet's arms. Where not even the bad thoughts could reach him.