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Uranus wouldn’t let go of them.
The instant Sun’s gravity released their planets, the icy giant had stumbled forward with shaky hands and shallow breaths as he counted and recounted each of his moons over, and over again for what seemed like hours. Bent wings shielded his smaller ones from the chaos happening in the solar system as tenderly, their planet picked them up.
Shrill, border line hysterical screams could be heard from the various other planets behind the ice giant, but Uranus hadn’t stuck around for the aftermath. His eyes had glazed over the moment his moons were in his hold, wings puffing up as much as the broken things were capable of, before slowly making his way out of the inner solar system.
The entire time had gone like a blur for Puck– though he noted that at one point, their planet had visited Saturn, trusting the gas giant to heal his oldest.
Uranus’ hands twitched as each broken chirp escaped Titania's lips, smaller satellites poking out of different pockets to glance at their oldest sister's cries. What seemed like hours but could have only been a few minutes had gone by, before Titania was handed back to Uranus. Who cradled her carefully the second his gravity enveloped her.
The ice giant pushed passed after that, warily dodging stray asteroids, clutching the bundle of moons tight against his chest before eventually they reached the Kuiper belt.
The rumbling of Uranus ’chirping reverberated against his chest, and rumbled against their very cores. Their planet’s gravity was wrapped securely around each moon, wings unused to movement had popped and stretched in discomfort, curled against his chest as the ringed giant settled onto the ground.
Their planet's vacant attention turned towards the very edge of the Kuiper belt, farther than his cousin's orbit, throat rumbling louder when no movement was heard. With a shudder, his hands trembled, crossing against his chest before his body went slack. His head drooped against the gravity, resting against his shoulder.
Uranus’ moons clambered out of the dozens of pockets the ringed giant had stitched together in his coat, careful not to disturb their sleeping planet. All of the major moons were already fast asleep in Uranus’ arms, tuckered out from asteroid dodgeball against a giant.
He would question why the Sun had left the fate of the system to who was better at throwing rocks at one another, but by now Puck had learned that he worked in mysterious ways–and also was not all there based on how he let a giant throw asteroids at children.
Puck paused his thoughts, carefully planning out his movement. His footsteps muffled as he made his way out of his designated coat pocket, settling towards the center of the clustered forms of the portia group who had all gathered against Uranus’ knees.
….
Their system stayed like that for a while, silent and tense. Most moons would be too afraid to break the fragile peace.
Desdemona was not “most moons” however, he noted.
Her fingers grasped the top of the jacket pocket Uranus had tucked her into, heaving herself upright and out.
She glanced down, spotting Puck amongst her huddled group of siblings, slamming against the ground and climbed up his back, chin digging against his shoulder. Her small wings puffed up, drooping as she exhaled loudly.
“He was brainwashed,” Desdemona declared, tugging against Puck’s jacket with a white-knuckled grip. “Just like in that Earthling movie.”
Puck tilted his head up glancing up at their planet parent. His lips pressed into a thin line, eyebrow twitching before he patted the ground, making room for the moon. She slid off his back abruptly, feet kicking back and forth.
“That’s not a thing,” Puck finally mumbled, head tilting down and averting his gaze from the sleeping ice giant.
“It’s a thing-it’s called mind control; dad was brainwashed to be evil.” Her wings lowered sluggishly, yawning as she spoke. Her shoulder slumped against his side, voice muffled by Puck’s jacket.
Which yeah, her exhaustion was understandable, Puck couldn’t even remember the last time they’d been able to rest in their orbits, especially after the entire… moon revolution ordeal– and that was without the days spent huddled together in the Kuiper belt, hiding from their parent planet.
“I have about 27 moons, I could force them to crash into me!”
“Uranus isn’t evil.” Puck’s voice wavered, faltering.
Uranus-he was flawed, sure. He was insecure–his older moons could catch the jealous looks he would often send Saturn’s way before the ringed giant would clutch his jacket tighter.
He was resentful, bitter towards the other planets for forgetting how to say his name, for being effectively abandoned by every planet but Neptune.
He had… joked about crushing them so he would have more rings-
Their planet wasn’t perfect but whose was? The ice giant had always cared for his moons, always.
“Planet X took over his mind using his evil powers,” Desdemona rambled–as if it made perfect sense, she ignored Puck. “Then made him turn against us, that stuff happens y’know?” Her hands tugged back and forth against her jacket’s zipper, rocking back and forth.
“He wasn’t brainwashed to be evil,” Bianca soothed Desdemona’s incoherent ranting, running her fingers against Cordelia's hair. Her twin laid against Bianca’s side, eyes glazed and fingers tapping the ground. “Dad chose to do it, because he wanted to change his name.”
Oh right, their planet wasn’t Uranus anymore, was he? No, he had announced to his moons that he had wanted to be called Caelus now. The moon bit his tongue, he wouldn’t be the one to mention how stupid of a name that was, it would be hypocritical considering his name is Puck.
His wings twitched, moving instinctively as gravity dipped against his side.
“Dad’s not–he wouldn’t–he wouldn’t do that,” Juliet stammered anxiously, arms crossing against the sides of her sweater. She shivered, scooting closer to Portia, who gathered the smaller moon into a tight hug. “He–He loves us.”
A silent, wordless uncertainty hung in the non-existent air.
Bianca glanced down. Tongue sticking out as she continued to concentrate on the rat's nest known as her younger sister's hair.
“Caelus sounds weird,” Puck nearly jumped from his spot, wings fluffing up as much as possible while Sycorax floated between the group of moons. She adjusted her crooked glasses, clambering forward until she settled, back planted against Puck’s knee “Sounds like the word calculus–I don’t want dad to be math, I’m very bad at it.”
Puck wasn’t going to even try to decipher what that could possibly mean, and Sycorax didn’t offer him any time to even try, as she nodded off before he could even begin to articulate a response.
Desdemona stifled a giggle, turning away from the pair. His siblings would be no help either.
….
For a while, uneasy peace overtook the system. The gurgles and coos of their youngest siblings in Oberon’s arms filling the silence.
Uranus remained fast asleep, wings lowering and body leaning forward in his sleep, Titania and the other bigger moons were still held just as tightly in his grasp as before. Large feathers brushed against Puck’s side. He sighed, but made no move to scoot out of the way.
Stephano, Francisco, and Caliban had joined the crowd of moons at one point. The triplets had refused to let go of one another, clutching one another in white-knuckle grips. Caliban blinked sluggishly, standing guard as the other two dozed.
Miranda had woken up at one point, limbs shifting sluggishly as she unearthed herself from Uranus’ arms. A task not easily done, as quickly Ferdinand brought to the icy giant and switched in her place. She joined the Portia group, eyes softening at the sight of her younger siblings.
Her face twitched, grimacing in pain– Prospero and Setebos were careful to gently clamber against her body, sprawling against her sides, she mumbled sleepily, lowering her head against the ground before drifting off, bent wings moving to wrap against her younger siblings.
Perdita, Belinda, and Cupid had fallen fast asleep in a tangled together pile of limbs and wings, drool dribbling down the largest’s mouth as they clutched one another like lifelines.
Trinculo had at one point stumbled against the huddled forms of the major moons, squishing himself against Ariel and Umbriel.
At this point, it was just the two of them awake.
Bianca had finished fixing Cordelia’s hair, and had moved working on the closest moon in her vicinity; Cressida. Her shoulders tensed waiting for the younger moons of her group to drift off, her hands lingered against the slumbering moon's head, fingers twitching. She waited until the others were entirely asleep before she spoke.
“He promised,” She began, carding a digit through Cressida’s curls, twirling it with her finger. Her gaze turned to Puck, the current oldest. “He promised, he’d do better Puck,”
Puck paused, bending forward to carefully grab Sycorax’s glasses. His hands tightened, sparing a glance at the icy giant.
He remembered the days after his siblings had all returned to their orbit. The hours spent with Uranus holding them all close, swearing up and down with tears streaming down the ice giants face as he told all of them that he would be a better planet for them. That they could place their trust into him. That he would never hurt them
What had all of this been then, Uranus?
“I know, Bianca,” He hesitated, it seemed like a safe response as he tilted his head away to avoid her piercing eyes—Puck had never been one for eye contact. “For now, we just have to wait–”
“We always wait,” Bianca snapped, startling herself with the ferocity in her tone. She paused, glancing at the sleeping satellites surrounding them. She lowered her voice into barely a whisper, removing her hands from Cressida’s hair entirely to tuck her limbs closer. Her face fell, wings drooping.
“...We always wait, and it never gets better–this never gets better–when will it be? How long do we have to wait? How long until he chooses us?” She began to ramble, flapping her hands in the air as she continued on.
“I don’t know—I don’t know—I don’t know—,” He had never wished so desperately that Titania was awake. She was good at this, good at calming the others down.
“...why won’t he choose us?” Bianca
Puck went silent, expression falling as he turned back to glance at her. The younger moon's face had crumbled, tears and snot dripping down her chin. He leaned forward, catching the first few–tears but eventually giving up. Her gravity inched closer, wrapping her arms against his middle and squeezing as hard as she possibly could.
“I want dad back…I want him to—I want him to choose us, be with us.” Bianca hiccuped. Tears stained his jacket as another soft sob wracked through her body.
Puck’s fingers cupped the back of her head, resting his chin atop her hair. He shuddered, pulling the moon closer.
He would be the strong one. The others were all asleep, he would have a big sibling. Titania couldn’t be the only one—shouldn’t be the only one.
A botched attempt to chirp rising in his throat, only a squeak coming out. His wings folded against her back, hugging Bianca just as tight.
“I don’t know,” he repeated senselessly, for what seemed like the thousandth time. “All we can do is wait until he wakes up, then…”
Puck didn’t know what would happen then. This couldn’t be solved through sleep alone. They’d need to have a long talk with Uranus. Have him actually listen, maybe even bring Neptune into the conversation—and have him actually keep his promise.
Except he didn’t know how to make the ice giant do that. None of them did. So all Puck could do was listen. As Bianca’s body was wracked with sobs, as his older siblings chirped painfully in their sleep. As the youngest moons clung to one another, afraid of more danger coming to get them in the night.
“…then it’ll get better.”
Puck could only hope.