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Sharp, slitted eyes observed the asteroid belt.
The belt has been quite active these days, and Proto had to prevent any asteroids from flying out and hitting the other inner rocky planets.
Despite Jupiter, who was technically doing his job by holding the belt together, Proto had second thoughts that he still had to step in and protect the others.
His body tensed up as he started to feel quite paranoid.
He quietly observed the other rocky planets,
He saw Venus, Theia and Mars all having a chat.
It could be something related to life,
Mars and Venus somewhat managed to get some microbial life on their surfaces, while Theia didn't seem to have any.
Proto watched as he saw Theia observing Venus' hand, probably looking at his oceans.
Her face seemed to be in awe and fascination.
He smiled,
He was glad that they were all getting along well.
Another asteroid soon flew out, which suddenly caught Proto off guard.
He quickly ran towards the flying asteroid and then caught it in his gravity before letting it strike his surface.
The hot and magma planet soon shuddered as he heard the asteroid that hit his surface make a hissing sound before melting.
As a couple of hours passed by, Proto sat in front of the belt, watching to see if more asteroids flew out.
His arms were crossed over his chest as his body felt tight and slightly jittery,
Then, a small tug of gravity made him snap out of his focus as he turned around.
As he blinked, he saw that Theia was approaching.
It seemed like she had finished talking to Mars and Venus.
Proto straightened his back as a smile formed on his face as he watched her approach him.
As Theia got closer, he started to see a smile on her face,
That sweet smile.
But she looked quite tired,
"Hey, Proto!" She says as she reaches him.
"Hey, Theia", He says as his sharp, magma and lava-filled teeth peeked a tad.
As she got closer, she wrapped her arms around Proto before snuggling close to him.
Proto felt all his stress fade as he hugged her back and gave her a gentle squeeze through their hug.
"Finished talking to Venus and Mars?" He asked as he pulled away from the hug.
He felt Theia nod before speaking,
"Yeah, another life-related discussion", She says.
"What was this one about?" Proto asked.
He watched Theia tilt her head, looking up in deep thought, trying to remember what she and the others were talking about.
"Temperature and the Goldilocks Zone, I think, most of the time Venus was boasting about the life on his surface", Theia says as she rolls her eyes.
Proto chuckles as smoke escapes his lips,
"How about you? Did you go on another trip to the asteroid belt?" Theia asked.
Proto smiled and shrugged,
"Well, not this time, I was more just watching the belt", He says.
"This whole time?" She asked.
Proto shyly nodded,
He heard Theia sigh before taking his hands in hers, before she spoke.
"You need to stop doing that. I don't want you to get frequent migraines. Sun warned you about this reckless behaviour, you know that you need to cool down someday," She says in a soft, comforting tone.
Proto sighed,
He really disliked talking about this topic,
Mostly, Sun would talk to him about it.
"I know, but I have to protect you and the others, no matter what, some of you preserve life, and I need to help you to keep them safe", He says as he gives Theia's hand a small squeeze.
Theia looked down with a hint of sadness, displaying over her face,
Proto soon clears his throat,
"Hey, look, I'll think about it, just don't overthink it", He says as he notices how down the smaller planet looks.
Theia nods and soon sits down next to Proto and leans slightly onto his shoulder, careful not to get too close because of his strong gravity.
The lava planet seemed to notice Theia leaning closer to him, and carefully wrapped an arm around her before giving her a small side hug.
The silence was comforting and warm; nothing too disturbing interrupted the stillness
Proto ran his fingers through Theia's hair, feeling its slight softness.
The reason he couldn't feel much in his hands was due to the fact that he was wearing gloves.
The gloves he wore were used to protect others from being burned, since Proto had such a hot, boiling surface.
As they both sat in silence, Proto noticed a couple of shiny asteroids floating around.
He hummed and grabbed the asteroids before smashing them together and then shaping them into what seemed to be oddly shaped flowers.
Once he made a few, he placed them on his lap before breaking the silence.
"Hey, Theia?" He calls softly so he doesn't scare her suddenly.
"Yes, Proto?" She answers.
"Can I braid your hair?" He asks.
Theia didn't answer but turned around and smiled at Proto before nodding.
As he saw her smile, Proto felt like he might melt into a puddle of lava.
His hands soon travelled to the hair tie that sat in Theia's hair, which held her ponytail together and undid it.
As he undid her hair, Theia moved closer so that the bigger planet was able to do her hair without having to reach over as much.
Proto smiled as he started to braid Theia's hair,
He noticed the relaxed smile on the smaller planet's face and began fixing some of the asteroid-shaped flowers into her hair.
The next few minutes were relaxing and calming as Proto continued to braid Theia's hair.
He gave Theia a couple of glances, it seemed as if she had fallen asleep or was just looking relaxed.
Proto thought of maybe waking her up since he was just about done,
"Theia?" He called quietly and softly so that he wouldn't frighten her.
"Hmm?" She says as she turns around and opens her eyes,
"I've finished it", Proto says.
Theia smiled and soon looked at the braid Proto had done.
"I love it, Proto, it's much better than what happened the last time", She says with a giggle.
"Please don't remind me of that", Proto says as his cheeks go pink from embarrassment.
"It's still so funny", Theia says with a laugh.
"Theia", Proto says.
"Okay, I'll stop", She says as she runs her fingers through the braid Proto had done for her.
There was a small pause before Proto broke the silence,
"I love you, Theia", He says as he places his hand on her cheek.
"I love you too, Proto", Theia says as she leans into his touch and smiles lovingly at him.
He smiled and held onto Theia's hand as they shared smiles.