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“I hate you.” Moon threw the dirty rag to the bucket. His hand reached over to grab a clean one. “I hate you so much.”
Sun let out a dry laugh while cleaning the remaining oil off him. Moon scowled and intentionally rubbed a little too hard on Sun’s back. He had every right to be mad at his brother. Especially after the scare he gave him when returning to their dimension.
His brother returned covered in oil from top to bottom; soaked in the liquid that is equivalent to blood in a human body. Then, he had to stumble because his foot was asleep after sitting down for so long. Moon really thought that his brother was fatally injured.
“I really hate you.” He threw the last of the dirty rags. Sun was finally clean of any oil after a few hours of scrubbing. “Don’t you dare scare me like that ever again.”
“Uhm, sorry?” His brother played with his fingers, looking down in shame. Good. He knew he was in the wrong.
Moon turned away from his brother. Trembling fingers against overheating faceplates and he began counting down. His mind slowly reorganized itself and his rationality seeped back. Nothing in this world could terrify him like the image of his brother hurting because of him.
(His mind was racing. His emotions were unstable. His fingers were trembling. He can hear Sun whimpers on the other side of the call. The computer refused to help him get his brother back.)
(He needs to get him back. He can’t lose him.)
( “Moon hurry up!” )
Before this trip, Sun had traveled to another dimension alone twice. Four times according to the videos. Out of those, Sun was in grave danger three times; two of which happened because he, not his past self, had sent Sun there.
(And isn't it just ironic? He promised Sun that he will be better than his past self. Yet, he held the record of putting Sun in a dangerous situation the most number of times.)
He was reluctant to send his brother this time around. He knew that the dimension was safe from his personal experience. He knew Eclipse can be relied on to keep his brother safe if something were to happen. He knew he himself would be on standby to pull Sun whenever needed.
Rational logic stated he should trust his brother to keep himself safe.
Irrational fear told him to never send Sun to another dimension alone. Ever. Again.
It took a while for his tremors to stop. Then, he turned to face his brother again. He cringed at the oil stains on his brother's pants. They need to purchase a new pair. No amount of chemicals could wash off those stains.
“It’s fine.” Moon sat on the couch, “What even happened?”
“Well, I was talking to Eclipse. You know, thanking him as I originally planned.” Sun moved his hands animatedly. The little bells jingled with every motion. “But then, the other Moon came out.”
Moon felt a little uneasy. As he recollected from their channel, the few interactions they had with an alternate Moon were not pleasant. Especially not for Sun. The fact that he had no knowledge of his counterparts aside from Eclipse's testament, which gave away nothing, did not ease his mind at all.
“Out of nowhere, he decided to hug me. Then, he started to cry. And that’s it.” That explains Sun getting soaked in oil. Moon let his shoulders relax.
He found it odd that his alternate self decided to hug Sun out of nowhere. From what he gathered of Eclipse, he was not the type to allow himself to have a mental breakdown in front of a stranger, even if the stranger was his ‘Sun’ look-alike.
“I think something happened to their ‘Sun.’” Sun read his mind, “Eclipse said that you might know?”
Know what?
“Know what?”
Sun tilted his head, "What happened to their Sun?"
"Something happened to their Sun?"
"You don't know?"
"No?"
"Eclipse didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"So you don't know."
"That's what I said??"
"Huh." Sun tapped his ray twice, "Did he ever mention their Sun while you were there?"
Moon tilted his head. He learned that Eclipse was not much of a talker during his stay there. Speaking only out of necessity and rarely about his personal life. The only occasion he did talk about his family revolved around his counterpart, and that was because Moon had asked him directly.
"All I know is that his Moon and Sun never leave their room much."
(He ignored the envious glint in Eclipse's eyes when he first mentioned Sun, the nostalgic look when he shared his experiences, and the unnecessary protectiveness when he last mentioned his brother.)
(" Oh, cause Sun's gonna blast him with star power." )
( "You let him do what?!" )
Sun grumbled. His foot tapped rhythmically against the floor. It was a habit that Sun had whenever he was frustrated when reaching a dead end. The more frustrated his brother was, the faster the tapping. A small healthy alternative outlet to lashing out.
"Lunar might know something." Moon hummed. Lunar had gone to the other dimension more frequently than any of them combined. Their youngest was also significantly closer to Eclipse. Eclipse might have entrusted Lunar with more information.
"That's not a bad idea. Monty will come around with him in a few weeks." Moon stood up. "Meanwhile, you should relax until your parts come. Me and Earth will be handling the daycare." He hated that he had to deal with the kids again. Yet, sending Sun out there was not an option. He was covered in oil, a highly flammable substance. Flammable substances and children together were never a good idea.
Sun looked himself over and nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. But the parts should be here in less than a week?"
"Yes." Moon saw Sun playing with his fingers again. His brother is hiding something. Something that Sun assumes will not be acceptable to Moon. (Or to his past self.) "Sun, spill it. What is it?"
"It's just. I kinda need to come back to the other dimension to meet Moon, I mean, the other you."
Yeah, no.
"Yeah, no."
"B-but, I promised him I would visit! We pinkie promise!"
"Still a no," Moon grumbled. "The other me is highly emotionally unstable. And! He is an unknown variable to us. We don't know what he will do. Or his next course of action!"
Sun pointed at himself, "He didn't hurt me! Look, I'm all fine here."
"This time!" Moon pointed accusingly. "This time, he did not hurt you. What will happen next time?" An email entered his inbox. "And Eclipse told you not to come too."
"What?! He did?! I thought he liked me." Sun mumbled the last part. "He acted friendly enough."
"I don't think you're the problem. Probably whatever their Sun's situation is." Moon dragged his hand over his faceplate. "Look, I appreciate that you’re trying to befriend my ally, but his brother is a wildcard that you should stay away from. Plus, Eclipse clearly doesn’t want you to be involved."
"But, Moon. He's-. Like if you were there-. You wouldn't understand why I had to see him again."
Moon glared at his brother and crossed his arms. "Try me." Moon sat down back on the couch and crossed his limbs. "Try and explain why you need to meet with a potentially psychotic version of me in another dimension when his brother told you not to come."
Moon watched as Sun shuffled on his feet, then tapped it while playing with his rays, before finally looking him straight in the eyes. "When he was hugging me, he kept muttering all these weird, sad, self-deprecating words. Saying sorry over and over again."
Sun looked away from him. "He sounded so broken when I said it wasn't his fault. And while I was comforting him, I started thinking," The shivers running through Sun's body were noticeable by Moon, "What if he was you? What if something happened to me and you started blaming yourself."
Right there and then, Moon wanted to cut Sun off. Because he would not let anything happen to Sun. Never. He would do anything to ensure his brother's safety, even if he had to risk his own.
Moon gripped his arms a little tighter. He had to hold in his opinion and let Sun speak.
(His past self would have interrupted his brother. His past self would have ended the conversation and locked his brother up in the invisible wall cell. But he is better. He has better self-control. And he is willing to listen.)
"I imagined myself hurting and you blaming yourself like that. I won't be able to reassure you for whatever reason, and you are just pushing everyone away because of your guilt. So I thought, would I want someone to come and stop you from blaming yourself? Someone who can reassure my brother was not at fault for whatever happened to me? Even if that someone is me from another dimension, will I appreciate that?" Sun gave Moon a firm look. Hands clenched and posture straightened. "Yes. I will appreciate that. I will appreciate someone, even if it is another me, telling my brother to stop blaming himself. Because whatever happened to me will not be your fault."
Silence echoes across their room as the words settle in each brother's mind; while Moon stares at his brother in pure admiration. How could he deny his brother's request after that whole speech? Letting his brother talk without interruption was the right choice.
He did regret his choice a little since he no longer had any reason to stop his brother from meeting the other Moon.
(He's not jealous. No. Nope. Not at all. He's just worried. That's all.)
"Fine. You can go." Moon dropped his posture. But as Sun was about to cheer, Moon raised a finger. "If and only if you promise me that you will be safe."
Sun let out a warm laugh, "Of course, brother."
Moon raised his pinkie between them. "Pinkie promise?"
Sun raised his own and curled their pinkie together.
"Pinkie promise."