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Titan sat in the asteroid belt, watching Earth’s Moon—Luna—sit by Earth. Titan had done this once before, pre-moon revolution, but it felt different doing it now. Back then, his focus was on Earth, but now? It was only on Luna.
He watched Luna yawn and turn around from where the Rockies were playing cards. Luna had told him that he was allowed to play, so why wasn’t he?
Luna grabbed his phone, and had started to text somebody. Titan, due to being far away and the position Luna was in, could not see who. Until he had received a text from Luna himself.
He pulled up his own phone and opened the message, wondering what he had said.
Luna and Titan—DM’s
Luna: you’re not sneaky you chud
Titan: wdym??
Luna: i see u watching me
Titan: oh shi
Luna: yuh🙄
Titan: yk im concerned on how we text so differently than how we speak
Luna: idgaf
Luna: anyways im bored as shi, but i need a reason to leave
Luna: bc like, Earth only lets me leave orbit when its a moon club meeting
Titan: i thought u said he was chill with that stuff now, and cards?
Luna: i mean he’s flexible, but not always. and plus, i didn’t want to play cards today
Luna: especially since i saw u watching me
Luna: fucking stalker🥀
Titan: ok bud
Titan: stfu
Luna: ✌️✌️
Luna: anyways i need a reason to leave
Titan: aigjt bet
Titan is offline.
Titan sat up from where he was sitting, and he has come up with the most stupid idea ever.
Luna watched as Titan ran over and turned into an actor, telling Luna a fake story. Luna acted shocked in response, then turned around.
“Earth!” Luna yelled, tapping aggressively on Earth’s shoulder. Earth raised an eyebrow, though didn’t look up.
“Luna…What did I say about my card-…Sorry, old habits die hard.” Earth sighed to himself, setting the cards down.
“What do ya need, Luna?” Earth smiled, though it faltered for a second when he saw Titan. Earth quickly put back on the façade.
“Io just told Ganymede to kill himself and now they’re fighting, and I wanna go see it. Can I??” Luna smiled. Titan was cackling on the inside, he did NOT tell Luna to say that.
All the rockies looked concerned at Luna’s form of entertainment, but Earth reluctantly agreed, and slowly nodded. “Y-Yeah…Sure…” He turned back around and whispered to the Rockies ‘should I be concerned’, in which the other three nodded.
Luna stood up and ran off, giggling with Titan. Neither of them had realized quite yet they were holding each other’s hand, fingers intertwined with one another.
“T-THAT WAS HILARIOUS!!” Luna giggled deviously. “I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW I GOT THAT IDEA-“ Luna stopped to catch his breath -“IT JUST POPPED UP IN MY HEAD!!”
“I was trying so hard not to laugh-!” Titan giggled, falling to the ground once they reached the asteroid belt, Luna collapsing on top of him. Titan and Luna slightly blushed, but neither said anything about it.
“I have a feeling Earth’s gonna start asking me if my mental health is okay-“ Luna giggled, although it was clear to both of them that the giggle was filled to the brim with nerves. Titan moved his thumb to Luna’s sleeve, moving it upwards. It didn’t even take an inch to see 2 fresh cuts on his wrist.
“Yeah…Maybe then you can reply when he says your chopped with ‘I may be chopped but I’m not as chopped as my arms.’” Titan laughed. He had learned a while ago it helped Luna feel better when people make jokes about his mental health. Humor was always a coping mechanism for his poor mental state.
“I wonder what I would even say…” Luna mumbled, shifting slightly and taking more weight off of Titan, in which the other rolled his eyes. Luna always went out of his way to make himself seem skinny and light, which wasn’t healthy at all.
Titan wrapped an arm around Luna, dragging him down and forcing the latter to apply all his weight on Titan.
Luna was still dangerously light.
Titan didn’t want to say anything, so he hadn’t. But he did kiss Luna’s head, inhaling the scent of moondust that lingered all over Titan’s clothes now.
“Hm…You could say…’Y’know, I’m not okay! Wanna know why? YOU!’” Titan laughed, Luna joining short after.
“He would be so pissed.” Luna mumbled, nuzzling his face into Titan’s chest, yawning.
“When’d you last sleep?” Titan asked, concerned. Knowing Luna, it was gonna be a long time.
“Like…2 Earth weeks?….” Luna yawned, eyes fluttering shut. A sense of panic and dread filled Titan. 2 Earth weeks?! That was insane!
Now see, an earthling would be dead by now, but since they weren’t earthlings, they could survive longer. An earthling could only survive one week, and celestial beings could survive 3. But 2 Earth weeks without sleep is still horrible to a being’s mental health and how they function.
“Luna…”
“Yeah…?”
“…Why?”
Luna didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds, but eventually did respond. His voice was quiet and higher than normal, and it was quivering, as if all confidence was being sucked through.
“I need to protect Earth.” Luna responded.
Titan’s heart sank. Luna was always trying to protect Earth, hurting himself in the process. And when he wasn’t accidentally hurting himself, he was purposely doing it. Titan ran a hand down Luna’s back, the other melting more, although every now and then he would whimper with pain due to bruises that littered his back.
“You need to protect yourself too.” Titan muttered, placing another kiss on the moon's head.
“I don’t need protection. All I need is to protect Earth, and that’s my purpose. I do not exist to be protected, I do not exist to be safe, I do not exist to be cared for, I do not exist to be normal. I exist to protect. That’s all I will ever be. A protector. I will never be protected. I will always be the lover, the caretaker, and the one who has to be mature. Never will I get to be loved, never will I get to be cared for, and I will never get to be a child, which is a fate worse than death.” Luna spoke, sitting up and staring at the rays of sun that hit asteroids in different ways.
Each sentence sent a punch through Titan, each sentence sent a shiver and a different message that had been carried down for years on a path of pain. Luna had never been seen, Luna had never been heard, Luna had only been Earth’s moon. A character. A blend. A personality. He fell into the background. He was overlooked through every damn aspect of somebodies—and his own—life.
“I should’ve just ended it when I had the chance. I had to witness the Earth attempt, and I had to witness somebody get the help I never received. I watched as Earth got all the attention again, for being strong. For not following through, but me? No. Never me. When I didn’t follow through, nobody saw. When I was in the lowest moment of my life, when I was chained and strangled by a darkness and void that I wanted to meet so badly, nobody saw. Nobody heard my sobs, nobody saw my pain, nobody saw me running to this exact belt to end it all. I have been destined to walk through this Universe alone.” Luna continued to stare, a gleam of hatred sparkling through his eyes at the sight of Earth through the asteroids.
“That was…Until I met you.” Luna finished, wiping tears from his face. Titan stared in shock, tears in his own eyes. Luna turned around, pupils blown wide when his eyes landed on Titan. “You, my dear, are proof I was wrong.” Luna crawled back over to Titan, pulling him close. “You are the reason I haven’t done it. When we first met, you made me feel something after years of feeling numb. You made a spark that had been stolen to the dark void come back…You, Titan, are the love to my empty soul.”
Titan was silent, but then pulled Luna down onto the ground (SPACE FLOOR HEH), holding him close. He showered Luna’s face with kisses and ran his fingers through Lune’s hair. “I am so sorry my love. I am sorry that the Universe cursed you with such a heavy heart. You were so young, and yet forced into a place you never wanted to be. You watched as your brother faded away and you watched as a different man replaced him. I am sorry that you had to go through a life you never deserved to have. You are the strongest person I have ever met. You persevered through hell, and never gave back.”
“You will always be loved as long as I’m alive.”
Luna was silent, but tears streamed out of his eyes. He smiled, staring into Titan’s hazel eyes.
“Thank you, my darling.” Luna kissed Titan on the lips, the other reciprocating. Titan pulled Luna onto his lap, gently kissing him. They pulled away, blushing.
“I will always be grateful you are mine.” Titan kissed Luna’s nose, hand falling to Luna’s thigh.
“And I will always be happy that you are mine.” Luna muttered, eyes fluttering shut. Luna’s breathing calmed, as he finally reached the brink of sleep.
“Tu seras toujours mon olive préférée.” Luna muttered as he fell asleep, nuzzling his face into Titan’s neck.
…
Now what the fuck did THAT mean??