Work Text:
The jammies mama had sewn for him were so nice and soft.
Neptune fell back into his tilt with a delighted giggle, kicking his arms and feet and wagging his tail, left, right, left, right- and taking in the pleasant way the soft fabric pressed against his skin. It was so soft!! And so so nice. And it didn't get stuck on the fins at his back and arms, which was also super nice!
The toddler giggled again, grabbing as much of his shirt as he could and lifting it up so he cohld smush his face into the fabric again, uncaring that it left his belly exposed to the cold. Mama was so nice! His old jammies had felt so bad on his skin, but Neptune hadn't wanted to say anything. He felt bad.
These were so nice.
He had to show Uranus!
A single wag of his tail to boost him, and Neptune was off, zooming through space as fast as he was able to. Nowhere near as fast as his beloved twin, but that was okay! Their orbits weren't far. Still close enough to see each other, despite Uranus' orbit being an itty bitty bit closer to the Kuiper Belt. They were close enough for their orbits to come closer, and even swap sometimes! It was so fun!
Neptune liked being able to feel Uranus' gravity from his orbit. It felt like they were holding hands.
Speaking of his twin...
"URRAAAAAAANNUUUUUSSS!!!" He happily shouted the second the bigger icy was in his line of sight, gave himself a little boost and threw himself towards the bigger. Uranus, who'd probably been in the middle of trying to stretch his wings based on their position, startled instantly, then smiled just as Neptune fell on top of him.
"Toony!!!"
"Uraaa!!!"
The two stumbled and span, gravities finding it difficult to get them back upright, causing the two giants to end up upside down. Loud giggles filled the air, clumsy hands wrapping around each other in a bigggg hug- and instantly, Uranus gasped.
"Toony!" He claimed, absolutely awed. "Your pjs are so soft!"
"I know!" Neptune happily giggled, his hands happily waving from behind Uranus' back, mindful of his wings. Up, down, up, down. "Saturn made them for me!!"
"Cool!!" Uranus smiled, oh so brightly, an excited gleam in his eyes. "I want soft jammies!"
Oh my stars. They could match!!
The excitement, which had become so large and too much to contain, bubbled and burst. Neptune had to pull away from his twin so he could wave and kick his limbs as he wanted to be able to let the excitment out, his smile so wide it hurt. "Let's ask Saturn!!" He offered, eyes sparkling. "He can make you some!!"
And instantly, Uranus' smile fell, making place for a worry there was no need for. "Uh... no, that's okay." He murmured, voice tiny. Neptune frowned, stims coming to a halt. "I don't wanna bother..."
Uranus was so silly sometimes. Good thing he had Neptune! "Nuh-uh!" The younger insisted, grabbing his arm and tugging at it. Uranus, despite being larger, stumbled. Because Neptune had stronger gravity! "That's silly, Uranus!"
"Toony no-" Uranus weakly pulled back, not putting in all the effort Neptune knew the other was capable off. So obviously he did want this, and what Neptune was doing was okay! "Neptune!!'
"That's me!"
"Not what I meant!"
For someone who didn't wanna bother Saturn, Uranus sure didn't put up a lot of resistance.
In fact, he even aided them in being faster by flapping his wings! So he must wanna ask Saturn, but was too shy to do so as usual!
Good thing Neptune was here. What would his twin do without him?
"Saturn!!" Neptune happily called, as loudly as he could until he ran out of breath, and had to stop. Oopsies... but it worked, didn't it? Saturn was within eyesight now, back turned to the two, clearly focused on whatever he was doing... until Neptune scared him out of his trance. Another oops.
"H-hello?" Saturn called, blindly looking around, somehow looking right over the two masses of blue that were right in front of him. Saturn could be so silly sometimes. "W-who is-?"
"Saturn!!" Neptune, with a delighted shriek, lauched himself into Saturn's arms, ignorant of the distress that turned to relief the second the two touched. The gas giant dropped whatever project he'd been working on so he could run his hands down Neptune's back, earning a happy purr. Mama was always so nice!
"...A-aw," Saturn shakily exhaled, kneeling down to Neptune's level so he could hug him properly. "Hello, little guppy." he crooned, back to his usual happy, stiffling a laugh when Neptune nuzzled into a ticklish spot at his neck. And caught sight of Uranus, who was still frozen behind the two. "And little birdie."
"...H-hi," Uranus' voice was small. Aw. Probably the nerves. No matter!
"Saturn!" Neptune pulled away, because he was on a mission! He had to do it, cause Uranus wasn't gonna! "Saturn, I was new jammies. Can you make new ones?!"
"Oh?" Saturn raised an eyebrow, quickly running his hand down the fabric Neptune was wearing. "Is something wrong with these ones?" The teen asked, confused.
Neptune, as he shook his head, quickly reached to Uranus with his tail, wrapping it around his ankle, and pulled him in. Uranus yelped, finding it hard to stay tilted horizontal, but thankfully managed to stay in his usual tilt. Of course he did. It was owie to get off their orbits or tilts by force, and Neptune would never do that! "For Uranus!" He clarified, ignoring the noise of protest his other half made behind him. "He also wants soft jammies!"
"You don't... have to..." Was weakly murmured behind him, clearly shy. Saturn, suddenly understanding, broke into a smile. eyes softening with affection.
"What makes you think I wasn't thinking of you, my icy friend?" The largest among them gently asked, getting both of them by surprise. And in response, Saturn lifted the pieces of fabric that he'd been working on until they'd interupted him so they could have a better view.
The fabric was a beautiful cyan with little cloud patterns and sparkles, made of the same softness Neptune had been gifted. The smallest icy couldn't help the bright smile that overtook his face, tail wagging happily. Saturn was the absolute best! "See, Ura?!" He churred, gently tilting aside when Uranus reached out to feel the fabric. His joy increasing when Uranus' eyes sparkled. "As if Saturn would ever forget you!"
"You thought I would leave you out?" Saturn let go of the clothes so he could cup Uranus' cheek, the toddler leaning into it with a soft sigh. Finally chirping softly when that hand moved to scratch behind his ear. "Isn't that silly, Uranus?"
"Purr..." Neptune stiffled a laugh.
Saturn, after smiling warmly at the two, quickly pressed kisses to each of their heads. "Now shoo." He told them, picking up his project once more. "I'm almost done. Go play!"
Oohh!
"Yay!" Both twins quickly threw themselves up so they could kiss each sides of Saturn's face, melting under the loving attention, before they raced away with matching giggles. Yay! play! Neptune loved playing! He...
"What do we play, mate?"
...huh.
Hmmm...
"Admit it!!"
An asteroid that reflected Sun's light was forced into the other's eyes, blinding them. Freezing the smile on their face. "All our evidence places you at the place of the crime! Confess!"
Guillermo remained unmoving, stubbornly quiet.
Neptune huffed, crossing his arm with a pout. "We can not wait for your lawyer forever, Guillermo." He grumbled, leaning in closer with narrowed eyes. "There was no one in orbit when your twin brother was murdered! Except you!"
Uranus flipped through the pages of his diary furiously, reading all the notes he'd made during their earlier investigation. Their line of suspects- a bunch of asteroid friends they'd painted together earlier, remained huddled in a corner, before the mystery killer got to them as well. "But it doesn't make sense, mate!" Uranus confusedly said, flipping his book so Neptune could see the very acurate notes he'd made. (Which may or may not have just been a bunch of doodles of their suspects...) "Princess Andromeda's alibi is Guillermo! He was guarding her during the tea party!"
...Oh yeah! "Good work, detective!" Neptune held up his thumbs, to which Uranus responded with a happy flap of his wings- but this was still very seri... sero.... seroos! They still had a murderer on the loose! "You are off the hook!" Neptune said, gently pushing Guillermo into the crowd. "For now!"
"But now we have no suspect." Uranus complained with a pout, crossing off Guillermo's doodle on his page. Neptune, with a frown, looked over his shoulder. Huh. "We can't have a cold case!"
"Uhh..." Neptune looked around Saturn's orbit, trying to see who else they hadn't questioned yet...
...Stopping when his gaze fell upon the orbit next to the on they were currently in, a certain someone very focused on his book.
"..." The twins looked at each other at the same time.
And grinned.
"...Where was mister Jupiter during the place of the murder?" Neptune asked with a mischievous smile, slowly sneaking towards the other's orbit.
Uranus dematerialized his book so his hands were free, wings spreading, and ready to pounce. "He has no alibi." Whispered the largest of the two, having trouble holding back giggles the closer they got.
They were so super good at this sneaking thing! Jupiter didn't even notice them!
(Jupiter, who'd stopped reading and was holding back a smile, very much noticed them.)
"Approaching the suspect..." Uranus whispered, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "He looks super guilty..."
"I agree, detective." Neptune whispered back, his smile all teeth. Slowly raising his arms, ready to grab. "One."
"Two." Uranus stretched out his wings, ready to fly.
"And THREE!"
And the two launched themselves up without any further plan, tiny arms held open wide, wings and tail giving them the necesarry boost to be able to reach Jupiter's head.
Uranus managed to get to his head from behind, wrapping his arms around the top, while Neptune managed to get to his back, clinging with all his might. "We got you!!"
Jupiter didn't even stumble from their attack! He must be super duper strong!!
He even laughed, Neptune thought with dismay, the warm chuckle causing his body to shake. "You got me." The giant confirmed, gently tilting his head up to look Uranus, who was grinning down at him from his position, in the eyes.
The bigger icy toom that as his cue to curl his wings around Jupiter's face. Uranus was so smart! "And now you're blind!" His twin proudly claimed, yelping when those large hands carefully grabbed him from under his armpits.
"Tiny wings." Jupiter murmured, easily holding the toddler in front of his face at arms length. Legs dangling in the air. Neptune pouted from where he still clung to him. That's no fair. Jupiter was huge! "My only weakness."
"This isn't over, mate!" Although usually quite shy, Uranus always seemed to find his confidence during their games... so it was there somewhere! Neptune just had to look really hard to find it! "You are currently our prime suspect for out inve.... investa...."
"Investigation." Jupiter helped him out, pulling the toddler close to his chest, and slipping one of his arms around his back and legs to Uranus could sit comfortably. Instantly, his twin nuzzled into his chest with a happy purr, feathers fluffing up. Aw. No fair. Neptune wanted hugs. "What for?" He warmly asked, his free hand moving to his hair for scratches.
Uranus did not answer him, too busy soaking up the attention. Neptune ignored the little sting at his core from feeling left out, because that was silly. Jupiter... loved them the same. Even though Uranus was far more talented than Neptune could ever could be and the giants were always treating his cousin gentler, they loved them the same.
They had to.
The little planet was scared out of his thoughts when strong gravity was used to lift him up to the front- and instantly forgot any jealous or yucky feelings that had started to fester in favor of the happiness that took over. Jupiter, by now, and moved Uranus to one arm, and tucked Neptune into the other, pressing him snugly against that strong body. Neptune instantly quieted as well, purring happily at the feeling- giggling when a kiss was pressed into his locks. "I believe I was a suspect?" Jupiter asked warmly.
Any reponse Neptune could have come up was forgotten when that strong hand moved to the small of his back, right above his fins, and rubbed firm, soothing circles there. His purrs kicked up a notch as the toddler nuzzled his face into Jupiter's chest. "Hmpf."
"Innocent." Uranus declared, the two oblivious that they'd fallen trap to Jupiter's mind powers. When Jupiter scratched at the base of his wings, the feathers fluffed up fully, and the limbs drooped behind him. If it made holding the baby up any harder, Jupiter was kind enough to not mention it.
"Thank you." Uranus got a kiss as well, softly and gently pressed onto hi scalp. His twin smiled shyly at the biggest planet, a soft chirp accidentally slipping past his lips. "Aw." Jupiter crooned, at the same time lowering himself to sit down properly. Ending up sitting crossed-legged, each twin on one of his legs. Neptune melted easily, happily letting Jupiter hold up his weight. The excited wagging of his tail eased to something softer, sleepier, by being soothed by such warmth. "You two are far from your orbits." Jupiter noted, the hand rubbing his back trailing to Neptune's tail, probably to check if the scales needed any caring. When he found none, he patted the top near his spine. "Were you bored?"
"Mama's making Ura nice jammies." Neptune meant to say that in a more excited tone, but the peace that always followed their largest planet seemed to be doing a great job soothing him, calming his usually racing core eneough for him to slump. "Like mine."
"Oh?" The fabric of his shirt was pinched between large fingers to get a feel, approved for how soft it was. "They feel nice." he hummed softly. His voice did that nice rumble thing Neptune always adored, coaxing more purring from the duo. "What did you want on them, Uranus?"
"...Clouds."
"Good choice." Jupiter approved once more. "Like the god Ouranos."
"The god of the sky!!" Neptune's favorite god! Or would have been, if he didn't eat proto planets. But Uranus wasn't like that, so it's okay.
"Very good." Neptune visibly brightened up at the praise. See! He knew things! He was smart too! He knew the Greek god Ouranos, and Zeus, and Cronus and Helios and-...
...Okay. He didn't know a lot. Besides that he only knew numbers, and no one liked numbers. But Jupiter told them different stories all the time, so Neptune would learn more eventually.
"Jupes?" Uranus yawned, gently nudging his cheek onto Jupiter's shoulder. "Nap?" He asked, opening his droopy eyes to look at Jupiter again. Jupiter smiled warmly, kissing between his eyes again.
"How about we see if Saturn is done?" He offered, already getting back up. Easily lifting both of the ice giants with one arm each. Jupiter was so strong! "Then you can sleep more comfortably."
Sleep? "But I'm not tired." Neptune complained with a pout. "I want... I want... uh..." What did he want? Neptune knew he wanted something, but he couldn't figure it out.
"You don't have to sleep if you don't want to, Neptune." The asteroid belt rippled behind them when Jupiter exited his orbit, scattering and breaking without the influence of Jupiter's gravity to hold it in place. The giant froze, instantly, looking back as if expecting to see something.
Neptune didn't see much. Only the asteroid belt and... oh! "Are those new planets?" He asked, brightening up, trying to get out of Jupiter's arms to have a better look at the rocky planets on the other side. But Jupiter's grip turned iron, and refused to let go. "Did the old ones disappear again?"
"I-I- watch out!" Jupiter suddenly let go of both of them, the two toddlers falling before being caught by his gravity, so the largest could extend his arms- and catch an asteroid before it hit the rocky closest to the belt in the face.
Silence.
. . .
Jupiter exhaled a big sigh of relief, slumping forward. Neptune cheered to be supportive. "Yay!!"
"Not yay." Jupiter groaned, sounding far more tired than Neptune thought he should be. Maybe Jupiter needed a nap too? Saturn could make him nice clothes to sleep in...
.....Idea.
"Uranus." Neptune whispered with a growing grin, gently nudging the bigger icies' arm to gain his attention. Uranus hummed sleepily, slowly waking up again due to their rude drop. "Sleepover?"
"..." Uranus, while rubbing at his eye, slowly regained that awed sparkle in his eyes. "Sleepover." He mouthed back, feathers puffing out again.
Yay! He had Uranus on his side!!
Jupiter and Saturn didn't matter. One puppy eyed stare from the duo, and the two gas giants did whatever they wanted.
No, the one who mattered was-
"Sunny!!" Neptune happily called, as loudly as he could, ignorant to the absolute panic that he caused Jupiter to feel.
From this close, Neptune could see their parent star perfectly! He'd obviously been distracted by something, but at least he wasn't in one of his moods- there would be a lot of solarflares if he were! So the two ice giants didn't need to hide! Yay! "N-Neptune?" The star called, very startled- the smallest giggled, tail starting to wag again. He was so good at surprising people!
"Sunny!"
"...Poseidon."
Oh he didn't sound so happy anymore.
His smile fell, confused by the reaction he'd received- Sun was mad? But why? Neptune just said hi... oh, was it because he was out of his orbit? Did this mean he would get solarflared? Please no, it hurt-
"M-my Star!" Jupiter got in front of him, his large body casting a shadow over the smaller behind him. While a relief for his eyes, Neptune also felt a little worried, peaking through the gap of Jupiter's legs to see the sad expression of their star. He didn't like his title. Neptune noticed. He looked so sad every time. Why did Jupiter keep calling him that. "F-forgive him, he didn't-"
"You make me sound like a monster, Jupiter." And now he sounded tired.
No... Sunny wasn't a monster. He was just sad sometimes. Because his rocky planets kept dying. That made Neptune sad too, even if he wasn't as much around the little ones like Jupiter and Saturn were. They were tiny. Even smaller than Neptune, somehow!
"N-no, my st- I mean Sun." That didn't seem to help either. Jupiter panicked even more when Sun's face fell, trying to backtrack- but the star cut him off gently.
"Nevermind, Zeus." Ah. Okay. So something wrong happened, but not bad enough for Sunny to get angry. "What is it, my light?"
The smallest waited for Jupiter to respond. But then remembered that he was the one who'd asked. Oops. "Hi Sunny!!"
"...Hi, Neptune." And there was that warm smile, acompanied by the soft way Sun said his name. Neptune already felt his core fluttering, content with the love. See? Sunny was nice! "Did you want something, my light?"
Neptune loved it when Sun gave them nicknames. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. "We want a sleepover!" He asked, clapping his hands and bouncing on his heels. "Can we?!"
"Wait, what-?"
"PLeasssseeeeeeee?" He purposfully drowned Jupiter out. Hmpf. He would agree as soon as Saturn did.
"Oh?" The star's light brightened up, just a little, just enough to show Neptune their star was interested. That tired face morphed into something warmer, softer- and far too old to belong on that young face. "But you and Uranus already have sleepovers all the time?"
...Sun knew of that? Oops. "But with Mister Jupiter and Saturn too!! Please please please plea-"
"Okay!" Sun laughed in reply, much to his joy. "Go! Have... have fun!"
"Yay!!" The smallest heard Uranus softly cheered behind him. Neptune would have joined too, had he not noticed how lonely Sun looked right now. Maybe he wanted to join too? Ohhh and then they could have warm hugs! "Sunny, did you-"
"Thank you my star." Jupiter rudely cut him off, for some reason getting in front of Neptune again. And the light around them dimmed to that sickly pale it had been before. "We'll go get Saturn now."
"...Oh. Of course." Wait, no... Neptune tugged at Jupiter's leg, trying to get his attention, but the large planet was already dragging them away. Didn't even say bye when the star called out to them.
"Jupiter!" Neptune complained, loudly, hitting his hip with his tail. "I wanted to ask Sun if he wanted to join!"
"He doesn't."
"He doesn't?"
"He doesn't." Jupiter insisted, pulling the duo back into his arms again, slowing his walk the closer they got to Saturn's orbit. Oh...
"Why not?" Uranus asked, a bit more talkative now that there wasn't such a grand audience. "Sunny looked lonely."
"Sunny is... tired." Jupiter decided on saying, not understanding why the toddlers started giggling. That was silly. Sun was big and strong. He didn't get tired.
And even if he did, that's what sleepovers are for!
"Hello??" And there was Saturn's confused calling again, right on cue!
"Saturn!" the two icies cheered, getting rid of the stress on Saturn's face, the giant breaking into a smile.
"My beloveds!" He cheered back, opening his arms. The twins wasted no time pushed Jupiter away in favor of hugs, practically throwing themselves on top of the second biggest planet. "Awww!!" Saturn cooed, pressing kissed wherever he could reach- Neptune purring happily when he got kissed on his nose- before he stuck out his tongue to Jupiter. "Ha!" He laughed, narrowing his eyes. "They like me more, Jove."
Jupiter turned slightly red, slightly tensing his body- instantly making Neptune feel bad. "Noooo!!" He protested, suddenly struggling out of Saturn's arms, raising his little hands at their largest. "Don't be sad! We love you the same!! Right, Uranus?"
"Do you have my jammies?" Uranus asked. Brightning up when Saturn nodded. "Yay!!"
No!! Neptune sniffed, already feeling the tears building up. "Nuh-uh!" He hiccuped, much to their shock- now Jupiter thought they loved Saturn more! And that was mean! "N-no, we love- love the same-"
Large hands lifted him back up, holding him against a strong chest easily- Neptune nuzzled against the largest with a soft sob, purring in an attempt to soothe himself. "D-da- Jup-"
"I know." Jupiter crooned lovingly, bouncing the toddler in his arms gently with one arm, patting his back with the other. "I know, Neptune, Saturn was joking."
"I'm sorry sweetie." Saturn managed to press a kiss into his curls by leaning down quickly, then quickly kissing Uranus too when he chirped. "I didn't mean to upset you. Jupiter knew I was joking- but I forgot you might not understand my jokes yet."
But... but Jupiter froze. And looked red. And Sad!
He looked up with pleading eyes, lip quivering. "We love you the same." He insisted, relaxing when Jupiter chuckled warmly.
"I know.: He repeated, tenderly wiping a tear away. "I love you too, Neptune."
....Okay. The icy planet let out a trembling sigh, letting his body drop back against his chest. "And you love Uranus the same?"
"And I love Uranus the same." Uranus chirped happily from Saturn's arms.
"And Saturn?"
"And Saturn."
"And Sunny?"
Jupiter did not answer that one immediately. Instead, he first looked back, where they'd left their star in his orbit... and sighed. "And Sunny." He confirmed, patting Neptune's back again. Okay... okay good. No one was left out.
"Okay." He murmured, lifting a clumsy hand to wipe at his face. Jupiter quickly pulled in a water asteroid to help him clean his face, chuckling when the ice giant yawned.
"Tired?"
"Mnooo..." His head lolled against Jupiter's strong shoulder. Nuhuh... Uranus still had to put on his new clothes... and then they would play sleepover games...
Saturn, who was currently helping Uranus put on the shirt of the new set he'd made for him- gently pulling his wings through the gap he'd sewn in without hurting them. "Comfortable?" He asked. Uranus nodded slowly, his own eyes drooping. The bigger cooed at him. "Do you like them?"
"They're nice..." Uranus did a little spin, then stretched his wings as far as they could go to ensure they fit proper. He giggled softly, grabbing a bunch of the fabric between his fingers. "Soft..."
"Bed." Saturn picked him back up, scratching at his scalp again. The feathered one purred loudly, wings drooping at once in surrender.
Aww. But their sleepover...
"How about I read to you?" Jupiter offered. Ooohhh... Neptune liked Jupiter's voice. "And then you can play when you wake up?"
"You'll join us?" Neptune murmured, blinking his heavy eyes back open again. The vibration of his voice caused them to droop back closed, sighing contendly.
"Whatever you want."
"Even restaurant?"
"uh-"
"Jupiter." Saturn hissed in warning, earning a weak giggle again.
"Y-yes, even restaurant." Jupiter answered with a gulp. Good. Jupiter needed healthy food. He was sure he and Uranus could make...
"Nap time."
"Story..."
"Hmm..." Jupiter sat back down, opening his arms slightly so Saturn could press a half asleep Uranus back into his lap, before he sat down himself, leaning his head against Jupiter's shoulder. Their largest materialized a book they'd been reading last time, Greek mythology for kids- and opened to the page of a random god. "Hmm... let's see. Apollo? No, that one is confusing... Hermes is fun, right?"
He was probably looking at Saturn for help. But his companion knew just as much as the toddlers did.
Oh well. Neptune didn't really care about what god he was gonna read about.
He cared about the gently swaying that lulled him to sleep, the heavy weights that pressed him snug on both sides.
The little hand that was similar to his squeezing gently, clinging the way his older twin always did, and the jammies that had been made for him with love keeping him warm.
Neptune liked being loved.