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[SATURN POV:]
*He took of his glasses gently, taking one of the 'lens wipes' the Earth had generously gifted him (that much he was grateful for,) and wiping the lens' clean. Saturn felt he owed a lot to the Earth for her help. His glasses, lots of advice, comforting him despite being his younger sister. Stars, he did owe her a lot. But he was thankful, it had helped. His moons had, for the most part, forgiven him. That was most out of . . . how many now? . . . 293? Close enough. But, the larger moons? Titan? They were still unsure. And he was . . . afraid. Afraid that-*
"I HATE YOU SATURN!" *Ensalada Enceladus screamed, running away from their conversation and hissing curse words under his breath.*
*A familiar voice. All of a sudden, his major moons appeared before him. Shouldn't they be like . . . asleep?*
"Diana?" *He heard his voice say. But, his mouth had never moved. He wasn't aware that was possible . . . *
"Nope. Wrong. Again." *Dione scoffed, turning away from him resentfully.*
*His The voice kept speaking, perfectly replicating his, getting all of their names wrong.*
"MIMAS! IT'S MIMAS!" *Mimas exclaimed, fury rising in his voice.*
"No. It's Iapetus." *Iapetus stated in a monotone, automated voice. He glared. Saturn tried to apologize, tried to say something. Anything! . . . But nothing came out of his mouth but a broken whimper.*
"I'm Rhea . . . " *Rhea hummed softly, looking up at Saturn with something in her eyes. What is it, sadness? Pity? Hatred?*
"H-Y-P-E-R-I-O-N! HYPERION!!!!" *Hyperion remarked, spelled his name out as if his planet was unintelligent. Maybe he was trying to say something with that.*
"TETHYS!!!" *A moon he didn't quite recognize yelled, clenching his fists.*
"I don't think the other moons want to anymore." *His largest moon muttered coldly, turning away from him. Saturn felt his voice come back to him. He smiled in relief, turning to apologize to Titan.*
"I-I'm sorry Titan! I never meant to-" *Saturn stammered, reaching out towards Titan. But Titan wasn't there anymore.*
"You're still the same planet, huh." *The voice. The voice that hurt the most. Hurt the most to hear her talk to him like this.*
"From when I was still around . . . You say you've changed, but, here we are." *Chrysalis She mocked, smirking at the vulgar display before her.* "Only apologizing to Titan? HAH! I bet you never even knew my name before-" *Her mocking shortly became cruel laughter, that faded away as it morphed into her horrified screams. No. Not this. He begged, but no words came out of his mouth.*
*As a last resort, his mind pulled him out of his trance. He awoke with a gasp, clutching his chest tightly as if it hurt to breathe.*
*Saturn felt tears streak down his face. My moons are definitely asleep. He silently thanked the universe, breathing deeply, in and out. Just like you practiced, Saturn.*
*He wiped the tears from his eyes, but it was still blurry. . . . Oh, right. Glasses. Saturn felt around the hypothetical floor of his orbit, reaching for his glasses and carefully adjusting them on his face. Stars . . . He hoped he hadn't cried too hard. When he did, it always managed to claw it's way into other people's problems. When he cried, others followed. He didn't like making others feel his pain. That isn't their problem. That's my burden to carry.*
*He conjured a handheld mirror, looking carefully at his reflection. His face was adorned with pink-ish patches below his eyes. He sighed, covering his face in shame, tucking his knees closer to his chest and shutting his eyes tightly.*
.
.
.
"Hey, Saturn." *A voice he knew all too well spoke softly, yet with a heavy southern accent.*
*He could've sworn his core stopped beating for a moment. His eyes widened, body tensing immediately.*
*Titan tugged at Saturn's long skirt. It was their way of saying, I'm here. It's me! Not Rhea. Not Mimas. Not Phoebe. Not Pandora. Not Chrysalis. Titan. But he had a better question. How didn't he hear Titan's footsteps?*
*Saturn looked up from his curled up position. Titan was tightly clutching the brown bear with white patches and heterochromatic blue and yellow eyes. Saturn had gifted him it long, long ago, on his 2 billionth birthday, making him officially an adult! Titan wore his 'Squishmallow' pajamas Saturn had brought every moon to match, which was a tedious task indeed! Saturn blinked wearily, his face still the same shade of pathetic pink from earlier. The moon's eyes widened in recognition.*
"Are you . . . okay?" *His features softened towards his obviously upset planet one he brought himself to say something. Saturn wiped his eyes with his whole arm, looking down at his moon with a smile.*
"Titann! Of course I'm fine!" *Saturn cooed, a smile suddenly plastered on his face. Titan's face faltered, but he didn't give up.*
"Well, me and the other larger moons were wondering . . . " *Titan fiddled with his fingers, as if searching for the right words.*
*Oh, stars. Here it is. They hate me, don't they? They want to leave me? For another planet? Is it Jupiter? Was I no-*
"Why do you have glasses all of a sudden?" *Titan inquired, tilting his head towards Saturn with narrowed eyes.*
*Thank the stars. Saturn thought, sighing in relief and composing himself.*
"It's nothing. Just . . . helps me see a little better." *He hummed sweetly to the little moon, ruffling Titan's hair with a single finger.*
*In response, Titan pushed his finger away, running his fingers through his hair sourly.*
"Well, we're worried, Saturn!" *He exclaimed, the little patience he had vanishing.*
"Why?" *Saturn inquired, genuinely confused on why the moon cared so much.*
"These things don't just happen out of nowhere!" *Titan remarked, raising his voice and pointing at him with an accusing finger. Saturn's face fell. He dug his nails into the skin on his forearms. He often did this when he felt overwhelmed. It's supposed to bring him back to reality.*
"Well, it didn't just happen out of nowhere." *He stated bashfully, scratching the back of his neck.*
"W-what?" *Titan stammered, anger immediately fading at this new found information.*
"I've needed glasses, well, since I was born." *He muttered, thinking back to his younger self, squinting at everything, leaning on Jupiter, asking who people he already knew were. All. The. Time. He didn't even get to see the ring Jupiter proposed to him with. Or the one he used to promise they'd stay together. At the thought he looked at his hand, spinning his wedding ring on his finger and moving between each ring on his left hand. Saturn had many rings, it seemed like it was Jupiter's favourite gift to give. On his left hand, he had two he was gifted from his birthdays, one from when Jupiter asked to be his boyfriend and his promise ring. On the other hand, he wore his engagement ring, his wedding band and their matching rose quartz rings. In total, he had around 8 rings that he wore daily, and probably more that he couldn't fit. . . . Focus, Saturn. You're in a conversation here. He cleared his throat, getting to the point.*
"I never got glasses, knew what they were, or they weren't invented!" *Saturn listed, counting on his fingers as he did so. And, in the process admiring the craftmanship of his rings.*
"But, I've gotten used to it." *He added, in a nonchalant, yet reassuring tone.*
*The moon stared at Saturn, his face contorting in horror.*
"But- We- We always . . . " *He stuttered, looked down in shame.* "We always yelled at you when you couldn't remember our names . . . But you couldn't even see us, never mind who was yelling at you?" *Titan's muttered in terror, backing away from Saturn fearfully. Saturn's expression was unreadable.*
*A hoarse gasp was heard from somewhere just outside of Saturn's peripheral vision, shortly followed by a chorus of panicked 'shh' noises and desperate mumbling.*
"SHHH!"
"you're gonna give us away-!"
"shh . . . "
"he's gonna see!"
*Saturn spun around way too fast, dizziness affecting him almost immediately. He stumbled, catching himself as he refocused his terror.*
"Wha- HAVE THEY BEEN LISTENING TO THIS?!" *He shrieked in alarm. Iapetus swallowed a lump in his throat, before nodding timidly. Dione shrugged lazily towards the ringed planet.*
*Tears were already adorning his face, eyes wide with dread. Saturn's hands found their way to his scalp, tightly grasping his scalp and stray hairs as if they were a lifeline. Saturn sank back down to the floor in humiliation, returning back to his previously cradled position.*
"N-no! Saturn we're . . . Agh . . . " *Titan sighed helplessly, turning to glare at the other major moons.*
"What's the big idea?" *Titan hissed under his breath to the spectators as he stormed over.*
"We were just curious!" *Enceladus quipped back, shoving Titan away.*
"We started crying in the middle of the night . . . But I wasn't sad . . . " *Rhea muttered, tucking her hair behind her ears and rubbing the weariness from her eyes.*
*Oh stars. He had done it again. He cried too hard, and now his moons had to feel it too. Why? Why did this always happen? Why did he hurt the people he cared about? All he did was screw up.*
*This revelation only worsened his condition. His eyes widened as he covered his face in shame, tears falling down his face onto the hypothetical floor beneath them all.*
*The moons immediately felt Saturn's misery. The area around them felt heavy with a deep blue aura that reflected the intensity of his shame and fear. Titan, the moon closest in it's vicinity, felt overwhelmed with intense feelings of unknown sadness and began cry uncontrollably. He covered his face with his arms protectively, his own teardrops falling relentlessly.
"Great. Here comes the waterworks." *Hyperion groaned, crossing his arms defiantly as it spread out towards them. He began to shed tears uncontrollably, collapsing on the floor, yet staying conscious. Though he probably wished he wasn't.*
*Mimas fell to the floor due to the sheer strength of Saturn's power, grunting as he dropped down. Shortly followed by Dione and Tethys, who were sobbing hysterically.*
*Titan grunted from his position on the floor, scrambling to stand up. He looked back his younger siblings, who were unable to move. Titan swallowed his fears, beginning to push through the harsh atmosphere, struggling towards Saturn.*
*A wave of energy forced him back, causing him to fall to the floor once more. Titan grunted, standing up and brushing himself off. He tried again, sprinting as fast as he could.*
"SATURN!" *He shrieked as he ran and hugged his leg tightly.*
*Saturn's hands slowly moved away from his face, his eyes heavy with sorrow.*
"Saturn, Saturn!" *Titan called up to his planet, struggling to hold onto him.*
*He inhaled sharply, looking down at his oldest child in shame. Titan smiled softly.*
"It's okay, it's okay! I'm h-here."
"UGH! Will-somebody-make-Saturn- . . . STOP!" *Enceladus hiccupped through his own bawling. He wiped his face desperately, but each time he did his face felt wet again.*
"Sorry . . . " *Saturn chimed in shyly, wiping his eyes gently. He snapped back to reality almost immediately, embarrassment hitting him. The space around them faded back to it's usual colour, as if a heavy burden was lifted off of everyone's shoulders. Titan sighed softly as everyone's faces dried.*
"I-I'm so sorry Saturn! We didn't know . . . " *Tethys pouted, fidgeting with his hands as if unsure of where to place them.*
*Saturn smiled, scooping up the major moons in his arms.
"It's alright, how could you have known?" *Saturn cooed, gently rocking the moons in his arms.*
"I knew!" *Rhea added, grinning at the irritated looks she received from her younger siblings and older brother.*
"Shut up, Rhea!" *Dione grumbled back in response, turning to lay facing her planet instead. Saturn laughed softly, patting the eager Rhea and annoyed Dione on the head with an outstretched finger.*
"I knew you knew." *He hummed as she snuggling up in his arms, clutching his finger as if it were a stuffed animal.*