Chapter Text
...
"Annd another point for Mercury!" Mars says as he adds another mark in the tally score on the chalkboard.
"YESS!!!! I'm winning!" The smaller planet squeals, jumping around with his wings flapping happily.
"Oh, not for long, PIPSQUEAK!!!" Venus' smooth and confident voice cuts through.
Theia laughs as she shuffles the cards,
"We'll see", She says.
"Yeah, you're going DOWN!!!" Mars said confidently as he sat down next to Theia.
The group laughed and started a new game,
"STOP LOOKING AT MY CARDS, PIPSQUEAK!!!!" Venus yells as he turns to the smaller planet beside him and notices him getting slightly closer.
"Me? I wasn't looking at your cards, that was Mars," Mercury says, blaming someone else.
Mars looked at Mercury with an annoyed look,
"Mercury, I can't even see Venus' cards from here", He says.
Mercury rolled his eyes and, time to time, continued to peer at Venus' cards until...
"That's it, I can't take it anymore! COME HERE YOU-!" Venus says as he throws his cards onto the astral ground and starts chasing after Mercury.
Mercury, who instantly heard, started to run off screaming playfully, knowing that Venus was just messing around with him.
The chasing went around for a couple of minutes before Venus grabbed Mercury and then gave him a tight hug, possibly knocking all the air out of his lungs.
"STOP, STOP VENUS!!!! I CAN'T BREATHE!!!!!!" Mercury wheezes, making Theia and Mars laugh.
"AH, well that was for looking at my cards, you silly angel!!!!!" Venus says as he loosens his arms.
"Is that meant to be a compliment?" Mercury asked as he raised an eyebrow.
Venus hummed,
"Ehhh, could be?" He says.
He and Mercury laughed before Mars spoke up.
"Ewww, you two get a room!!!" Mars says in disgust.
"Oh shut up", Venus says as he sits back down with Mercury as they continue the game.
Theia laughed at the fact that Mercury was still looking at Venus' cards.
But her expression didn't last long, as she felt a sickening feeling in her stomach.
Of course, she tried to keep it in, but a small groan managed to slip through her mouth.
"Theia? You good there?" Mars asked with slight concern in his tone.
Theia looked at Mars for a bit, tried to smile, but was unable to before nodding.
"Yeah, I'm just feeling a little ill today, but I'll be alright", She says, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Are you sure? You look a bit pale," Venus speaks up.
Theia looked at Venus, noticing how he also looked worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine", She says.
Venus shrugs,
"Whatever you say", He says before looking back at his cards.
Theia sighed.
As much as she hoped for the squeamish feeling to go away, it came back again a couple of minutes later.
She was unable to focus on the game,
She shut her eyes, trying to make the horrid feeling go away, but it didn't.
What was this?!?
A stomach bug???
Sun told her that stomach bugs were normal and would go away within a day, but...
DO THEY LAST FOR WEEKS?!?!
Because this was not the only time she has had this!!!!!!
If she could yell at her stomach bug for being an annoyance, she would gladly take that opportunity right now!
A hand rested on her shoulder, snapping her into the present.
"Theia, are you sure you're alright?" Mars asked.
Theia stammered,
"I... um..."
Before she could speak, she felt this weird feeling in her throat,
And it suddenly clicked.
Oh no!
Within a few seconds, she stood up, accidentally dropped the cards she held onto the ground and started to run away.
"I need to go somewhere!" She says before sprinting off.
Mars, Venus and Mercury all watch her run away with concern and confusion expressed on their faces.
"What was that about?" Venus asked.
Mars shrugged,
"I don't know," He says.
"Do you think she may be sick? Like you said?" Mercury asked.
Venus sighed,
"I don't know, but she did look quite worn out", He says.
"She was just alright minutes ago when you guys were chasing each other, and now she's..." Mars drifts off.
"Maybe she's having stomach pains again, like she does every month or cycle?" Venus asked.
Mars shrugged.
"Maybe?"
"Gotcha!" Venus says as an asteroid hits Mercury's surface.
Mercury groaned,
"Why do you keep winning? I was about to do my signature trick!" He says.
Venus chuckled.
"Sure you were!" He says.
"I'm going to get you next time", Mercury says as he moves out from the small dodgeball court and stands next to Mars.
"Okay, that point goes to Venus!!!!!" Sun cheers as he adds another point to the blackboard.
"Okay, next is Mars!" Sun squeals.
Mars chuckled as he stepped into the dodgeball court,
"Good Luck, Mars!" Theia says as she pats his back.
"Thanks, Theia! Okay, Venus, get ready to go DOWN!!!!" Mars says confidently as he grabs the nearest asteroid.
"Yeah, take Venus down!!!" Mercury says.
"Hey, I thought you were cheering for me!" Venus complained.
"Ehh, well, I changed sides", Mercury says with a bit of sass in his tone.
"Is this because you lost just before?" Venus asked.
"No!" Mercury lied.
Venus laughed as the game began,
Theia smiled and watched Mars and Venus play a round of asteroid dodgeball.
It was great how the game was a bit safer, mostly because nearly half of the rockies had life on their surface.
She sighed.
If only she could have some sort of life, she would fit in well with Mars and Venus.
But alas, nothing but some strange form of water remained on her surface.
And why was she suddenly so tired?
Theia just stood there for a while, could she not stand for a little longer?
Maybe she should sit down a bit?
"And that's a draw!!!" Sun's voice cuts through, snapping Theia out of her thoughts.
"Next up is Theia!" Sun squeals as he claps his hands.
It seemed like she was playing against Mars instead of Venus, but she would rather play against Mars.
She did not want to begin with how it was to dodge asteroids coming from Venus!
He can sometimes be a rough player.
As Theia stood in the court, she heard Venus and Mercury cheer her on.
She smiled and soon grabbed the nearest asteroid before firing it at Mars, which was able to dodge the asteroid.
She and Mars were basically the same size, height and mass, so it was quite hard to lose against each other.
They were basically twins at that point.
As minutes passed, Theia strangely started to get more exhausted than usual.
After 5 minutes, she was basically trying to catch her breath,
"Theia? You alright?" Mars asked as he seemed to have stopped the game.
Theia nods,
"Yeah, just tired than usual", She says as she tries to catch her breath.
"Why don't we put this game to a stop?" He suggests.
Theia nods, and the 2 step out from the court,
Mars soon helped Theia sit down and shortly sat next to her.
He noticed her slightly hyperventilating, it was like she was finding it so hard to breathe, or was practically having a panic attack, but there were no signs that she was having one.
"Venus, go get some water!" Mars says.
Venus nods and then rushes off,
"Are you alright? You haven't been yourself for the last few weeks." Mars asked as he placed a hand on Theia's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just... I'm just tired than usual, maybe I haven't slept well," She says.
She noticed how Mercury and Mars both had worried looks on their faces.
"Are you sure it's not something serious?" Mercury asked.
Theia shook her head.
"I doubt it", She says.
Theia soon saw Venus rush back with a glass of water.
"Here, drink some", He says as he hands the glass to her.
"Thanks, Venus", Theia says with a smile before taking a sip.
The water seemed to calm her down a bit, but there was still that weird feeling.
Damn stomach bug!!!!!
Theia sat in her orbit alone, looking at the stars.
She pulled her knees close to her chest as her eyes counted each star that sat in the sky.
The Solar System was quiet because most planets, including Sun, were asleep.
She looked over and saw Mercury sleeping on Sun's hand,
Venus was sleeping in his usual upside-down position.
A teasing smile grew on her face,
It was just funny to see Venus in that position.
Mars and her often teased him about it.
She would've been so happy to tease him right now, but her energy has been going low for the last few weeks.
Maybe there might be something up with her, she normally wouldn't get this exhausted.
Theia also saw Mars fast asleep in his orbit.
She sighed,
She should probably go to sleep,
But part of her was just waiting for Proto to return from one of his adventures.
She wasn't sure if it was just her, but sometimes when Proto was away, the atmosphere around her would get slightly cold.
That was why she loved Proto's presence.
It was just so warm and cosy.
A soft nudge of gravity soon snapped Theia out of her thoughts.
She instantly stood up and spun around, so that she was facing the belt to see Proto approaching her.
A smile grew on her face as she started to sprint towards him,
"Proto!" She calls as she starts to open her arms, hoping to receive a big, warm hug from him.
But just as Theia made it halfway towards Proto, she instantly had to stop to catch her breath.
Is she really that tired?!?!
"Hey, you alright there, Theia?" Proto's rough voice calls.
Theia huffed, attempting to catch her breath and then gave Proto a thumbs up before speaking.
"Y-yeah, I'm good! Just tired," She says in a cheery yet weary voice.
She heard Proto chuckle before feeling his gravity pull on her slightly,
As soon as Theia stood up straight, she noticed how Proto was waiting for her, just a metre away.
She giggled before walking up to him and throwing her arms around him.
Theia smiled as she felt Proto wrap his arms around her before giving a small and comforting squeeze.
She buried her head into his chest, hearing the chaotic sounds and volcanic activity on his surface.
"Theia?" She heard Proto ask.
"Yeah?" She answers, but doesn't let go of their hug.
"Are you alright?" She heard him ask, and there was a hint of worry in his tone.
"Yes, of course I'm alright, why did you ask?" She questioned as she pulled away to see his face.
She noticed Proto placing both of his hands on her shoulders before speaking,
"You look so tense, and more tired than usual", He says.
Theia stammered,
"I'm fine, Proto, I just haven't slept as much", She lies, but the truth was that she mostly didn't know what was up with herself.
Proto frowned,
"Are you sure? I have been seeing you throwing up as well, and I know it's not a one-time occurrence," He says.
Theia sighed and leaned into his arms again, just wanting to feel his warmth.
"I don't know, it could be just a stomach bug", She says.
"Maybe you should go to Sun or Jupiter to get that checked, it could be something serious", He suggests.
Theia sighed. That was most of what the rockies told her, but she refused.
"I don't know, it could be nothing", She says.
"But it's worth a try," Proto says as he takes her hand, then leads her back to their shared orbit.
Theia shrugged and shortly sat down as soon as they reached their shared orbit before lying down and resting her head on her pillow.
She felt Proto placing a blanket over her and tucking her in before lying next to her.
"Stop tensing up, relax", Proto says as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her in close.
"Sorry", Theia apologises as she presses herself against her lover, feeling his warmth.
"It's alright, just... promise me that you will check in with Sun or Jupiter about this before it gets worse", He says, rubbing small circles on her back.
Theia nods,
"I promise"