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They messed up.
They messed up they messed up they messed up they messed up-
And by "they" Luna meant Dark.
Dark completely disagreed with him- but neither of them could try and voice their opinions over the screaming of their collective mind.
"You messed up."
"How am I the one who messed up I was unconscious!"
"And I am never out there what did you want me to do?!"
"He SAW!!"
"I KNOW."
"This is bad-"
"YOU THINK?!"
The screaming hurt Luna's- Dark's-? ears, but no attention was spared on the ringing and the pounding in their head.
Instead, one thought rose above the rest- the one thing they both agreed on.
"RUN."
Run- away and away and away, out of your orbit and into the asteroid belt where his- their- Luna's-? planet wouldn't follow, wouldn't find-
Wouldn't ask about what he had just witnessed.
Luna had thought that finally, the chaos was over.
Earth finally had the answers he wanted- as disturbing as they apparently where. He had forgiven Luna without a second thought, and told him what Mars and Venus would not. (Which... Luna had tried not to think about. Every time he even heard the name 'Theia' now was more than enough for him to spiral- he was Theia? He had been a planet? He was never Luna? Or was he Luna but never Dark? Or was he neither and was he just the remains of someone els- "Stop thinking about it!")
Earth had started smiling. The rocky planets had tried to return to normal again, after many apologies and many tears. From what Lu- Da- they had heard from Titan, the Gas Giants had tried to fix things too. So at the very least there wouldn't be any asteroids or other unknown objects that would try to kill their planet the second Luna looked away. (Seriously, would Luna never be able to look away?)
The rocky planets had even started inviting Luna to join them in their activities.
Or. More like Earth dragged Luna with him wherever he went and threatened anyone who dared to even look at his one moon wrong.
Was he a one? Was he multiple? Was he a moon at all?
Two became one!
Is Luna and Dark being two people because of the collision that-
"Stop thinking so much Luna I can hear you."
"You stop screaming at me and RUN!!"
Because Dark was the one out right now. Not Luna.
So overwhelmed by the current situation, Luna could barely remember what had happened to lead up to this... predicament.
One moment, he had been playing cards with the rocky planets. Earth and Luna sharing a deck while the other three had their own, with Phobos and Deimos playing their own version of asteroid dodgeball in the background, scaring Mars with the amount of times they almost got hurt.
The next, there had been yelling. Venus raising his voice towards the smallest two, and the planet of said moons jumping in between of them.
Something heading for the planet and moon, who had been curled up into each other.
Frantically pushing Earth away.
And then darkness.
Luna... still didn't know what exactly had hit him hard enough to knock him out. But whatever it was, it was enough to wake his other half up.
Who... apparently hadn't realized he was the one in control of the body until Deimos had cheerfully called for him. Dark wasn't willing to share what exactly went down.
He wasn't able to anyway. The both of them were too busy trying to get away.
Dark wasn't very good at fleeing- he kept tripping, falling, and crashing into objects and damaging their- his- Luna's-? body, but at the very least ignored any pain he might have been feeling to move forward. Luna knew he was partially to blame for Dark not being so great at moving- Luna was always the one controlling the body. But Dark never wanted to either!
"Because otherwise we have situations like THIS." Dark hissed, finally using their voice instead of just thinking his thoughts, yelping when the gravity of the many asteroids around him- them- pulled him down, causing him to lose control once more and tumble.
In just a flicker, black eyes turned white.
The moment Luna was back in control, he started hyperventilating.
It didn't even occur to him that he was the one out now- arms desperately gripped his shoulders when the cold slammed into him, even as his quick and shallow breaths burned. His mind- or both their minds? Screamed and cried, each panicked thought worse than the rest, pulling him further and further down into the spiral he found himself in.
And yet, despite the hurricane in her mind, the one thing he knew for certain hurt the most.
"He knows."
"I know, Luna."
Earth saw.
Whatever it was that Dark had done during Luna's quick nap- it had been more then enough to let everyone- everyone know what kind of freaks the two of them were. "All of them? All of them, Dark, really?! ALL the rocky planets?!" He hysterically asked, hands moving from his arms to his hair.
"The stupid moons of Mars shouted it before I realized what did you want me to do?!" Dark screamed from the back of his head, for once stressed instead of indifferent.
The situation was bad enough to stress out his other half.
"...Don't." He finally tried to speak, having forgotten that he'd been choking on non-existing air. Luna coughed, and simply remidied the situation by choosing to hold his breath. "Don't be mean to Phobos and Deimos." He thought instead, the calm voice in his head sounding alien to him. "They're kids. They didn't know."
"Stop scolding me and breathe before we become the first celestial body in this solar system to choke to death."
Dark's voice lacked its usual bite.
Luna, as much as he wished to, was unable to listen.
"I am away for one moment- ONE- and you spill the beans to everyone, Dark? Really?!"
"Its not like I chose to!" Dark's voice rose above the rest, fueling the panic and fear that kept him going. Oh Luna felt faint. He- he just might- "Woah, woah, Luna- s-sit down-"
The moon collapsed when his shaky legs gave out instead. "...That works too."
Luna tried to answer.
He ended up almost throwing up instead.
His head hurt- (Was it his? Or was it Dark's? Or did it belong to neither of them, the body they used just being bits and pieces lended to them by Earth's past self and Thei- "Stop.")
White eyes blinked, and switched back to black.
Dark wheezed, not having expected control back so soon- let alone while his other half had been this close to passing out due to the lack of proper breaths. He stopped breathing at once, hoping their body would remember they didn't actually need air and correct itself accordingly.
Wow he felt... dizzy. And so, so unstable. And... nauseous? How did that even work all they ate were asteroids- "What are you doing with this body, Luna?" He asked in his mind- but his other half was too busy freaking out to hear him.
Dark shivered- both due to the cold as well as the fact he wasn't... used to controlling the body. Both he and Luna had agreed it was best that he didn't, as Dark did have the tendency to pass out for weeks after being awake for only hours, seemed to hate everything-
And... well. No one needed to know about him.
Let alone the Earth.
The one in control evetually managed to force his breaths to even out, leaning his back against a couple asteroids so he could focus on the roughness of it. Sharp edges poked his back, but the sensation was much preferred over the pins and needles that seemed to be stabbing him all over. His hands unchlenched, his core stopped trying to escape his body.....
And finally, he took a breath in.
Celestial bodies did not need to breathe.
There was no air in space, they would not die due to suffocation- but it was still a nice sensation to feel. Even if it burned. It made his chest feel less tight and his head clearer.
"-but he can't get rid of us, he needs his moons- me- whatever he needs a moon our size for his life! But- but there are plenty of moons, and Titania did want to leave her planet earlier, what if there are more? But there was also the moon revolution and what if they pretend to wanna be with Earth but then actually attack him and I am HERE oh my stars Dark WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE-"
"Luna." Dark spoke- actually spoke out loud, cringing at how rough his voice sounded. Hey, he wasn't used to speaking, give him a break. "Earth may be an idiot, but he won't replace you."
"Maybe not, but at the very least he'll hate us."
"Angry that we ran into the asteroid belt where he can't get to us, perhaps." The younger spoke. He attempted to push himself up to see if he could get a glimpse- but the gravity proved far too heavy for him, unused to the weight, causing him to collapse back into place. Dark was quick to give up, letting his eyes squeeze shut. "M-maybe a bit mad he didn't know about me."
"You were losing it a minute ago! Do you think I believe that you don't ca-"
"I AM TRYING TO REMAIN CALM." Dark's mind screamed back, causing the dormant one to shut up. "In case you haven't noticed you were about to PASS OUT-"
Blink.
Black became white.
Luna gasped, then doubled over, clutching his churning stomach and breathing through it. The labored gasps started again, but this time, he attempted to hold his breath as Dark had done.
Earth knows.
Earth knows they are two.
Two became one!
"If you keep this up you're gonna crash into something." The insult was weak... soft. The tiredness sounded wrong with Dark's voice. "End our misery before anyone finds us."
"Dark."
"I don't mind. Would be funny to picture everyone's faces when they see us shattered to pieces. Sad I won't get to see it though."
Luna whined, squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears.
It was Dark who opened them again, exhaustion starting to show.
"Seriously?"
"I- why can't I- it wasn't on purpose-"
"I know, Luna." Dark whispered, softer this time. He sighed in defeat. "I know."
"..."
"..."
Dark laid back down.
"...I didn't notice I was out." He finally admitted after a long moment of heavy silence, much to Luna's shock. Dark watched a specific set of asteroids drift while he spoke. "I... wasn't happy to be awake. I didn't realize I was speaking."
"...Thats not your fault, Dark. You're never out."
"We both decided it was best I'm in our mind, Luna." The nameless moon grumbled, very much annoyed with his other half's tendency to blame himself. He knew that was no fault of Luna- as if the universe was trying to punish him, the second he looked away everything always went wrong. The Moon Revolution, the Earth's... attempt, Jupiter leaving the Solar System, Earth almost freezing to death-
And now this.
"...Would Earth really dislike me that much?" Dark asked, then coughed to clear his throat. He shivered again- and despite there being no one to see, pulled the hood from hi- Luna's cape up to hide his face. The feeling of fabric around his head felt... nice.
No other reason.
Definitely not because his eyes felt wet.
No way.
Dark didn't care about Earth. He didn't speak with him, didn't look at him- hell, the guy didn't even know Dark existed. Earth was annoying, just like a big baby, constantly in need of attention because he would fall over and die otherwise. The most he was good for was being a surface Dark could crash himself into, should he finally have enough and want to stop existing.
It wasn't like he was his planet anyway! He was Luna's! Why should Dark care about anything that idiot did or thought of him?!
He didn't care about the Earth.
He didn't.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...You're a horrible liar, Dark."
"I am not-" He started- but the crack in his voice made him shut up again.
Unexpectedly, Dark heard a snort. Luna's snickers were weak- but being in his head, the nameless moon had no way of missing it. He raised an eyebrow despite knowing the other wouldn't see. "That gets you to calm down? Really?"
"I didn't know our voice- pft." Luna's voice cut off for a giggle, then continued. "-that our voice could sound like Ganymede so much."
"Don't insult me." Dark huffed, crossing his arms. "I am way better then that yellow ball of mold."
"Thats mean."
"You didn't say I was wrong."
When another giggle sounded, the one in control allowed the tiniest smile to appear on his face. Luna's laughter seemed to be enough to making them both feel lighter- for a moment, forgetting all about the horrible, horrible situation they found themselves in.
But the break was small-lived.
The heaviness returned all too quickly, causing Luna to go quiet and Dark's smile to fall.
"...I don't want Earth to hate me."
Came a weak confession. Dark snorted.
"Too late for that, Luna."
"And its your fault."
"Don't blame me for you passing out-"
"You could have pretended to be me!" Luna grumbled- but he didn't sound mad. Dark just made a face.
"And how did you expect me to hide my voice? My eyes??" He asked, trying to sit up straighter when laying down started to become uncomfortable. It was weird, how his energy could one moment could go from wanting to run, to lay down and die, to back to moving again. And Luna dealt with this all the time? Ugh. How happy Dark was to always be in the back of the mind.
Where no one would ever know him.
All alone with his thoughts.
Their thoughts?
Theia's thoug-
No.
Two became one!
"....Earth won't hate you just because of me, Luna."
"You don't believe that."
"I don't." He didn't deny. "But you do."
"...Everyone else already hid so much from him." Luna's voice shook. "And... and now I- we too. Who even is we? Are we two people? Are we one person? Do neither of us exist, and are we just-"
"If you say her name one more time I'm crashing us into the nearest surface I can find."
"...You get my point."
Alright. Okay. Fine. A lot of things were hidden from the Earth. The only one to not have hidden anything, in Earth's eyes, had been Luna.
But they had a good reason! There was no one else like them out there! They- Luna had been so afraid to Earth's reaction! And then when they finally gained the courage Earth had grown so self-centered and arrogant for a while! And then too fragile! There was no good time! The- his- whatever the planet didn't need to know about Dark! Dark didn't want him to! He had no need for such a stupid planet, or for his idiot friends, or for his affection that Luna seemed to adore for some reason and Dark had been awake for but never received because his planet didn't know he existed! Dark didn't need anyone or anything! Why should he want to receive hugs or kisses and love from his planet, why should he want to listen to his stupid voice?! Earth didn't care! He never would! Why would he care about such a pathetic-
"Dark..."
"What?" The moon hissed under his breath, his voice once again shaky and fragile. Wait- fragile? When did that-
"You're crying."
...
What.
He was absolutely not-
Something wet slipped down his cheek.
Startled, the little moon's eyes widened. With a trembling hand, he shakily let a single finger wipe underneath his eye.
His breath hitched when he felt more tears, trickling down his face and down into his cloak, creating little wet spots where they landed. But... but why was he... why would he-
A single sob slipped past his lips.
And control switched once again.
Luna, now considerably calmer than before, couldn't say he was surprised. His expression broke, speaking softly as he wiped the remaining wetness away. "Dark..."
"...Why did my eyes feel so itchy and dry."
Luna ignored the crack in his voice this time.
Instead, he sat up and stretched his arms to get the stiffness out- Dark hadn't really moved much, after all. He groaned softly when his body protested the movement. "...You know you are allowed to care, right?"
So caught-up in his own misery, Luna hadn't even thought about the fact that Dark was upset too.
His other half was just as panicked as him about the discovery- he had ran despite not knowing how to, he had shouted and lived through Luna's panic attacks-
He had seen everything that happened to Earth.
And never had been able to do anything about it.
"I don't." Dark grumbled, knowing Luna wasn't buying it. "You can keep him."
"I doubt he would want either of us around right now..." The moon whispered sadly, letting his gaze drift around the Asteroid Belt.
Because Earth probably hated him right now.
Why shouldn't he, after all he went through? Everyone hid things, he couldn't be left alone for more than a minute- and Luna just left him! Again! After hiding things!
"If you're going to faint again then sit down at the very least."
"I didn't faint." Luna grumbled, offended by the suggestion alone- but his attention was taken away when he caught something moving, just from the corner of his eyes.
Dark clearly did not understand why he froze, and continued to complain. "You almost made us suffocate to death. And we don't even need to-"
"Gravity."
Luna's whisper in their shared mind made him shut up.
The little moon's breath hitched when he felt the pull get stronger- not too strong nor too weak, accompanied by warmth-
Familiar.
"Luna." Dark hissed urgently in his ears, but the one in control wasn't hearing him. "Luna, move."
He's here?
That idiot followed him into the ASTEROID BELT-?!
"Luna MOVE."
"These are... n-no living conditions..." Luna whispered, detached, as he blinked slowly in the direction he felt the source of gravity.
His core stuttered when he felt said gravity click back into place the moment the distance between him and said object was what it should be, the feeling of his orbit bringing tears to his eyes.
"Luna?!" He heard his planet- his stupid, idiot planet shout, sounding... strangely worried. "Luna, please! I just want to talk!"
"MOVE."
"D-Dark." Luna whispered while shaking his head, slowly taking a step back.
He couldn't do this.
He couldn't do this he couldn't he couldn't-
Blink.
The second he had control again, Dark bolted.
Because unlike his other half, he had survival instincts.
Breaking free from his orbit hurt, surprisingly. Emotionally. The second he was out he wanted nothing more than to go back- but that was stupid and didn't make sense. They were never in their orbits anyway! And he didn't even like the Earth!
So he ran instead.
Once again, Dark tripped, crashed, and bumped into everything that stood in the way- but that didn't matter, none of it mattered, all that mattered was for him to get away.
"...Why are we so afraid?" Luna whispered, sounding as if he were about to cry. Dark scoffed- but that soon turned into a yelp when he tripped again.
He landed hard on an asteroid, jagged edges stabbing his stomach and knocking the breath from his body. Dark grumbled, switching to talking in his mind again when he couldn't catch his breath.
"Because Earth saw us, idiot."
"But... isn't running away making it worse?"
"Are you in any condition to talk to him right now?"
"..."
"Thought so." The moon grunted as he tried to get up again.
"L-Luna! Where are you?!" Earth's voice sounding closer than before was a great motivator to get him to move again, even if Dark, unfortunately, was aware of how much heavier the gravity had started to feel. He could barely move.
His head snapped left and right to look for a hiding place instead- quickly diving behind an asteroid large enough the second he saw it.
"You know he can feel our gravity too, right?" Luna asked, causing Dark to scoff.
"When has that idiot ever been good at that? He couldn't even feel you approaching!"
"Luna?" Earth's voice was close... and soft.
That wasn't right.
The two of them frowned. And after another internal fight, Dark risked a peek from the top of the rock he had hidden behind.
The idiot's surface had already started to freeze over- water turning darker and darker while grass was frozen over with a thin layer of ice. The planet was hugging himself and looking around... looking so painfully sad.
The planet was glancing left and right, clearly searching for something. But it couldn't be the- Luna because Earth should be mad at his moon.
"He's alone?" Luna questioned in surprise, quickly shushed by his darker counterpart. His surprise was reasonable- Earth never did well on his own... certain events being proof of that. Did the rocky planets just let him go? Did they get into a fight, perhaps?
Looking closer... his eyes seemed dim. His fingers twitched- but Dark couldn't be sure if that was due to the cold or something else.
"...Luna?" Earth's whisper broke through his thoughts, heartbreakingly fragile. He waited a moment, but spoke out loud again when he received no response. "Please?"
"..."
The planet's expression broke.
He closed his eyes, stretched out a hand... from the way his gravity was weakly tugging at them, Dark could tell Earth knew he was close by. He hissed, narrowed his eyes, and slightly backed away.
"...Dark, I don't..." Luna sounded like he was hesitating. Before he finished his sentence. "I... don't think he's mad."
"Why wouldn't he be? He only found out his only moon lied to him his whole life! After everyone else lied to him!"
Earth's actually never been at hi- them-... Luna before.
But the situation had never actually been this bad, it was awful.
He was awful.
"Dark, you're not awful."
The tug became more insistent- the moon almost lost his balance. He managed to hold on by grabbing an asteroid before he could fall. "He will hate me for ruining his perfect image of you. You know that, Luna."
Seems like he gave up on trying to be reassuring. That was never Dark's thing anyway.
Two became one!
Are they one? Are they two? This is why Earth shouldn't have known yet!
But then the gravity that had tried to cling to th..... the celestial body loosened up.
Why did he want to cry when it did?
It wasn't like Earth to let go- Luna's planet, as much as Dark hated to admit, was stubborn like him in that sense. Earth didn't just... quit. Not unless someone made him.
So, he risked to glance in his direction again.
Earth's hand was lowered, now instead wrapped around himself while his head hung low. It took the moon awfully long to notice his shoulders hitching, and-... oh.
He was crying.
...Oh, no.
"Dark."
No no no... not that.
Anything but tears.
That was the last thing the moon had expected to see.
Because Earth didn't cry.
Wether he didn't believe in it or just felt selfish doing so, both minds could count the amount of times they'd seen their planet shed tears with one hand. And still have fingers left.
Dark blinked, stunned. "...I don't think he's angry."
"Oh really?"
"Okay." Earth's whispered once again, turning around- probably to head back. To head back and be alone, both realized with sudden panic. "I... I'll leave you be."
Flashbacks of burning light and icy darkness hit him at the same time-
Water either freezing- evaporating.
Body speeding up or slowing down-
Stopping.
The moon's pupils shrunk with fear.
Why was Dark so worried he didn't care-
"Dark." Luna's panic made sense. He sounded seconds away from hypervantilating again, having dealt much more with his planet's... episodes.
A sad and lonely Earth was never a good one.
"Please please don't let him go alone."
"You were afraid of him seeing us a second ago!"
"He can yell all he wants I can't go through all that again."
"This isn't healthy-"
"And us running away and hiding is?!"
"..." Dark did not know what to say to that.
In the end... he sighed in defeat. "If he yells at me I'm crashing into his surface. And I will enjoy doing it."
'No you won't." Luna snapped back. The nameless one hated to admit that he was right.
Careful to not trip or fall again, Dark shakily stepped out of his hiding place. He held onto the asteroid for balance when he noticed his legs were too wobbly to stay upright.
Wow gravity sucked.
But was forced to let go when he felt Luna's planets go further and furhter again.
...Was he actually doing this?
...
Ugh.
With great reluctance, Dark reached out with his gravity... and tugged.
The reaction was instant.
Earth turned around so fast, it caught the moon off guard.
At first, all they did was stare. Earth with surprise and Dark with nothing, internally regretting every single little thing he had done until now. Why did those stupid moons have to wake him up? WHy didn't he notice he was out?
Why did it feel both so awful but also so wonderful to have his plan- Earth look at him, and not Luna?
Earth was obviously looking him up and down, surprise turning into confusion as he hesitantly dared to near. It made the moon feel exposed- more than he already did. Earth's gaze alone overwhelming.
"...Your hands are shaking."
Dark clenched them into fists.
His core stuttered uncomfortably.
Eventually, the living planet had neared close- so close, they were in a distance to touch. It gave the two a better view of his surface, Earth's Earthlings for once quiet. He was shivering- but Earth's focus remained on the moon.
When the two accidentally made eye contact, Dark looked away quickly. Earth didn't seem to know what to say, until...
"...You're not Luna."
It wasn't a question.
Dark flinched- and he could feel Luna was equally as terrified. It took him a moment to respond, the heavy feeling in his chest making it difficult to talk.
"...No, I'm not."
Earth was obviously startled by the deep voice that answered him. He blinked, eyes widening. Dark squeezed his own shut.
It took a planet a minute to speak again. Which was fair, Dark wasn't sure what he would have said in such a situation. But the silence felt even heavier than the pull pressing him down, almost suffocating him the same way Luna had struggled for breaths earlier. Instinct screamed at him to flee, to go to sleep, and to hopefully wake up from this awful nightmare.
But he couldn't.
The planet was clearly thinking- for once. His mouth opened, closed... and surprised the both of them when he finally seemed to decide on what to say next.
"Is Luna hurt?"
...Why would he be?
"No." He still answered. Bracing himself for the screaming and accusations, the same way the planet had crashed out when he realized all the planets and even the ex-planet had been hiding his past from him.
But instead...
"Who are you?"
Not accusitory. Not at all.
The moon flinched anyway.
Did Phobos and Deimos not say anything?
"They must have gotten scared, Dark." Luna whispered, clearly close to crying.
Ugh. He gets one to stop but then the other starts? Really?
"I-" The words caught in his throat. What was he supposed to say? Luna's Dark side? Nobody? Theia bits and pieces? He wasn't anything.
Nobody ever asked.
He blinked away the heat rising in his eyes. "I don't have a name." He finally decided to say, daring a glance to watch Earth’s reaction.
There was none.
So he kept going. "But, uhm... Luna has been calling me Dark."
"Thats not a name."
Did he have to spell out everything?
He should be feeling annoyed. Angry maybe even.
But instead the little moon felt... oddly happy and terrified.
He sighed. Clearing it up it is. "I am the Dark Side of the Moon. The side no one gets to see, I... we... I usually stay quiet. In our- Luna's mind."
Because it wasn't his mind, as much as he wished it was. It never would be. "...We don't know where I am came from."
Not knowing what else to say- he shut up. He never spoke much anyway.
"...You're. In his head." Earth said after a moment of silence. Dark nodded silently.
"Is... Is Luna in your head now?"
Another nod.
Any minute now...
The anticipation was awful.
Luna had started hiccuping again, much to his dismay- their head was cluttered enough as it was, he didn't more.
"..." When cold hands grabbed his cheeks, he froze. Luna went quiet.
Gently, Earth tilted their head up so they could make eye contact, expression intense and firm. Sleep, instinct screamed, but the moon was powerless in this situation. Go to sleep.
Wake up from this nightmare.
Why couldn't Earth just start the shouting already?
"How long have you been in Luna's head?"
"I woke up around the time you got your dinosaurs."
The fingers against his face twitched, but didn't move. The oldest's expression darkened- offended? Certainly offended. Angry?
Why was he in pain?
"There was no good time to tell you. Luna wanted to." Dark was quick to defend his other half- he wasn't a monster. Earth could hate Dark all he wanted, but he knew Luna cared.
Luna was the one who had fought and defended for Earth, the moons, everything. He was the one who did all the work. Dark may be mean, but he could admit thaf much. "He tried. But everything just... kept going wrong."
"Dark..." Luna emotionally called for him.
"If there is any blame its on me. Don't hate him because I exist."
Two became one!
"...Hm." Earth hummed. He tilted his head again, scanning his features... the differences, again ending at his eyes. "So... to see if I understand..."
Here it comes.
The moon squeezed his eyes shut.
"...I've had two little moons all along... and you let Mars make fun of me about traumatizing one this whole time?!"
...
What.
Dark looked up so fast he was sure he heard something crack- but it didn't matter.
That dead expression was gone. Replaced with one of awe and hurt.
"I- what?"
"Mars was so rude, talking about how I have the least amount of moons in the solar system! You're telling me I have more?!" That.... sounded awfully rude. If Dark didn't know the planet he would have yelled about how he wasn't property.
But then Earth froze. His eyes widened...
"...You let me talk about how its better to have ONE moon KNOWING I have two!" He gasped, sounding outright offended on their behalf. He genuinely seemed to feel bad, both moons knew that look. "What else did I say?! Are there any other secret moons I should know about?!"
Dark. Was too shocked to respond.
He blinked, dumbfounded. Briefly retreating to his mind.
"...Luna."
"I-I am just as confused as you are."
Earth was still rambling.
He let go of Dark's face- it hurt- flapping his hands up and down while he kept muttering. Upset, sad, excited and giddy all at once- but clearly not angry.
Not even a little bit.
Was this it? Did Earth officially lose all his marbles? Clearly he did because this wasn't how he should be reacting.
"Why aren't you angry?" The moon blurted out before he could stop.
Earth stopped mid-sentence, looking at him confused.
"...Why would I be?"
"Why would you- we LIED to you!" Dark raised his voice. He couldn't make himself feel guilty when Earth flinched and backed away, even as Luna shouted at him to stop. "We're freaks! We're two minds in one body! Luna would have been perfect if it weren't for me!"
"Dark, stop!" Luna protested- he couldn't.
Because Dark had been silent for centuries.
And now that he started speaking... he couldn't stop.
"We ruin you- you have life, you were perfect! We are different!" He heaved, angrily glaring at this weak excuse of a planet who was, again, letting himself be pushed over for someone else.
Looking heartbroken.
But clearly, not for himself.
"I shouldn't exist! We hid this from you and then left you behind! Like everyone else!"
Dark panted.
He blinked furiously, arms shaking- what is this? Why did he- why did it feel as if there was a buzzing energy trapped inside his core? He felt so restless. Not knowing what to do with this sudden energy, he shook his arms wildely- probably painting himself to look even more deranged than he already was.
"You found out your moon is trapped with a parasite. And hid it! Why aren't you ANGRY!?"
"DARK!" Luna's shout finally cut through the fog- the strange echo of his voice getting him to stop talking at the very least.
He was still shaking his arms around like a crazy person, hating himself every second of it but not knowing how to stop.
Any logical person would hate a parasite in their moon's mind. Squish it until it was dead and wouldn't bother again. Maybe even hate the moon itself for hiding.
Earth... didn't seem to be angry at all.
He didn't get it.
Larger hands grabbed his own, forcing his panicked movement to stop. And gently squeezed.
Forcing Dark to look at those gentle, loving eyes-
He couldn't do this.
He couldn't do this he couldn't do this he couldn't do this-
He gasped, backed away, trying to break free because he wanted out, out out out he wanted to sleep he wanted to go go go go-
Blink.
Luna only managed to look at Earth for a second before he burst into tears.
Earth gasped in shock. But to Luna's dismay, he didn't let go. If anything, his grip on his hands became tighter, keeping him from fleeing again.
The moon curled up as much as he could, hiding his face in his arms while his body wracked with sobs."I'm sorry, I'm sorry, he doesn't know what he's saying Earth I'm sorry-"
"Luna?" The planet questioned, his sweet tone only making the crying worse. In the back of their mind, Dark continued his screaming- it made Luna want to cover his ears. But he couldn't.
"I didn't mean to hide him, I swear." He begged his planet to believe him. "I didn't, I didn't wanna upset you, I-I-"
A broken whine cut him off- words formed but caught in his throat, and instead all he could make was sound.
"Luna- Luna..." Earth murmured, pulling him close. A gasp slipped past his lips when the moon suddenly found himself in his big brother's arms, one hand guiding his face into his neck while the other wrapped around his back, squeezing as gently as he knew how to. "Luna." Earth repeated into his hair. "Breathe."
Instead, the smaller choked. He would have doubled over had it not been for the larger's grip on his body. He sobbed when he felt a kiss pressed onto his head, the familiarity confusing him.
"Why don't you hate me?" He cried into his shoulder, lifting his shaky arms to wrap around his planet. Earth's body felt freezing cold, much to his guilt, but the larger didn't say anything about it. "You're supposed to hate me."
"Now why would I do that?" Earth gently asked, leaning down to kiss between his eyes this time. Luna shuddered, leaning into his touch.
"Because any sane person would?" Dark's voice sounded odd. His other half did not have the energy to think about it.
"Because we're so weird." He sobbed. "I don't know if I'm me, or Dark or someone else. And hid it. F-for centuries."
"..." One hand moved, gently sliding from his hair to his cheek, lovingly cupping his face and wipping a tear away that slipped past. Luna opened his teary eyes.
Earth looked sad. But not angry.
"I-... we left you." Luna whispered. Another shudder wracked his frame.
Earth did not answer immediately.
The same way he'd studied Dark, he was now checking Luna. His eyes, his face, his body- everything. He pulled away just enough to cradle Luna's face with both hands, gently stroking his cheek as he thought.
Luna didn't know what to think.
Based on the lack of response from his other half, Dark didn't either.
"...Does he hurt you?"
The moon shook his head.
"Has he tried to hurt anyone else before?"
Luna... hesitated answering that. "I..." He hiccuped. "...He tried. Once. With Titan. But I asked him to."
"He's not mean to you?" Earth asked. Luna tearfully shook his head again.
"...Okay." His brother sighed... and smiled. "So... I have two moons instead of one?"
Luna was kind enough not to call Dark out when his breath hitched.
He was too shocked to anyway.
Two became one!
"..." When his eyes filled up with tears again, Earth pulled him back into a hug. "Shh."
"You're really not mad?" Luna cried into his shirt. "Y-you don't hate me?"
"I love you." His planet murmured instead, kissing his face again. "Both of you."
Luna did not know how to respond to that.
So instead, he just cried himself out.
For years. For so long. He'd wanted to tell Earth so many times. But then he got obsessed with himself, then depressed, then suddenly the entire solar system was hiding things and Luna didn't even know if he was Luna, Dark, or someone else and there was just no good time.
Luna had been terrified for this moment for so long.
He knew his other half had been too.
"...Both?"
Dark sounded so small.
"Oh, Luna..." Earth breathed again, rocking him gently. He squeezed again, making sure his little brother knew he wasn't mad. Not even in the slightest. "Hm... I'm not that scary to talk to, am I?"
Through his tears, Luna giggled weakly at the comment, and shook his head. His planet huffed playfully. "No, no, I must be. So big and scary that my own moon doesn't wanna meet me. Terrifying. Fear me."
"N-no." His snickers clearly pleased his big brother, prompting him to continue.
"The shame." Earth dramatically threw his whole body back- but considering he wasn't willing to let go of his little brother, Luna was pulled down with him. The moon couldn't help but shriek, caught off guard- but it was effective in stopping his tears. "I see how it is. I didn't think I was that much of a tyrant."
"D-do you-" Luna struggled to speak between giggles. "Do you even know what that means?"
"Hm." His planet hummed, reaching up to wipe the tears away again. Luna leaned into his touch, grumbling unhappily when it left his face. "Because I'm smart."
"Agree to disagree."
The gentle nudge in his chest had him smiling again.
Luna tried to get up- but Earth pulled him down again, his gravity growing heavy out of nowhere to the point he could do nothing but lay down, and cuddle back into his brother's arms. Earth snickered above him, going back to playing with his hair and leaving kisses on his face. The moon couldn't say he minded. He let his eyes close, and his body relax, happily soaking up any affection his planet was willing to give.
For a blissfull while, Luna's reality was just his planet. Humming that same toon again oh so softly while scratching his head, nuzzling back when Luna snuggled up to him in turn. He hadn't even realized how much his body had been hurting- Dark must have crashed into a lot more than Luna had been aware of. And yet, he could feel his core singing happily, much lighter than it had been for a long while.
He didn't hate them.
"...Luna?"
"Yes, Dark?"
"Did he mean that?"
Luna didn't need to ask what the other meant.
So much for Dark not caring. It made him feel bad.
"Earth?"
Earth hummed and looked down.
The moon hesitated. As gentle as that expression was... what if it didn't extend to Dark? What would he do then? Would Earth be like the giants, who favored one moon over the other? Or would he love Dark more?
...Wow this felt weird.
It felt... strangely odd. He realized he needed to share Earth now.
Why did that feel... wrong?
"Will you be nice to Dark?" He asked instead, feeling guilty about even thinking his previous thoughts. It was only two moons, and he'd had Earth forever while all Dark did was watch. Wasn't he selfish?
"Does he want to meet me?" Earth sat up, and let Luna fall into his lap. It stung slightly, almost enough to get the waterworks working again. "I... don't think he liked me very much."
"He wants to. He just..." Luna looked away. "Doesn't want to admit he does."
Dark did not fight him on it like he usually would have.
"..." Surprisingly, he was getting hugged again.
Luna made a confused noise that was quickly shushed, much to his confusion. Earth kissed his cheek again. "You know I will always love you, Luna. Right?" His planet asked, making him freeze.
...Oh.
"...I.... love you too, Earth." He melted into the embrace with a smile.
"Wait stop hold on- what?"
"Your turn." Was all Luna told him as he pulled away. But not before Earth pulled him back for a final nuzzle, to his delight.
"No no no- Luna- absolutely not-"
"But you want to." Luna closed his eyes.
"..." Dark did not say he was wrong.
Luna could feel his hesitation. It was understandable- Dark had never properly talking with his- their planet before. He... barely talked at all. "You deserve it, Dark. Please."
Silence.
But after some more pleas, Dark finally opened his eyes.
He looked down the moment he was on control, avoiding Earth's gaze as if his life depended on it. His planet did not push.
Which was probably intended as reassuring, so the moon could take his time. But the silence felt suffocating. Dark had fantasized about this moment so many times. He had imagined all the ways he would have been disowned for being this parasite, all the ways he would have gotten shouted at and disowned, all the ways he would have been rejected-
He had never thought about his planet wanting to talk to him.
"There was a time Luna almost crashed into my surface." Earth's voice pulled him back to reality. And he froze. Hesitantly glancing up.
Earth tilted his head slightly, clearly not understanding all of it but trying. His smile was confused and knowing at the same time. Dark couldn't help but notice the way the frost on his surface had spread. "Phobos and Deimos told me Luna told them to get me... but he was asleep."
He flinched.
Clearly, Earth already knew. But asked anyway. "...Was that you who told them to?"
"We were going to crash." He grumbled defensively, hunching his shoulders up while crossing his arms. "You would have gotten... hurt. Or whatever."
The planet's smile brightened when he heard he was right... or perhaps for another reason. Dark felt his cheeks going red. He himself wouldn't have minded. But Luna would have been devastated if they accidentally destroyed their planet. And he was not about to deal with his other half constantly crying and whining in his ears.
No other reason.
No way.
He shuddered when Earth gently grabbed his hands- but this time, didn't freak out or try to flee. Instead, he watched Earth's thumbs stroke over his fingers so... lovingly, as if Dark was the fragile one instead. Which was stupid. He wasn't. "Shouldn't you be leaving the asteroid belt? You're cold."
"Yes please." Earth shivered- but then, much to the moon's shock, pulled him into his arms.
Dark's mind short-circuited when he was lifted, familiar-yet-unfamiliar hands cradling him without any trouble. All his attention went to those fingers tangling back into his hair, starting to pet him so lovingly. As if this was normal.
A quiet gasp escaped him when a kiss was pressed to his brow- and he went completely still. Afraid that even the slightest movement would shatter the moment.
Earth paid no attention to it, already having started the travel back to their nice, cozy orbit. Which made sense, the planet was colder than he should be. It... kind of made Dark feel bad.
And yet, he could feel the planet's hand slide down onto his back. Thumb absentmindedly stroking while he was thinking.
"You said you don't have a name."
Dark kept quiet at first. "...I am the Dark Side of the Moon." He muttered softly, confused at the pleasant, fuzzy feeling that was taking over his mind, allowing him to relax enough to lean into Earth's body. Just a little bit.
The livings were quiet.
"Thats a title, not a name." The bigger hummed, not mad but sounding sad about it. "You didn't name yourself?"
No.
Every time he'd tried to think of one he liked, it stung. He didn't mind not having a name- but having one he picked himself instead of Lun-...his planet, like Luna had, had hurt.
It had been Luna to start calling him Dark, if only so he could have something to call the second voice in his mind. Dark had never said anything about it.
But he wasn't about to admit any of that. So he just shook his head.
Earth hummed again, pulling him up closer.
"Would you like me to?"
"Huh?" The moon abruptly sat up as much as he could, eyes wide with disbelief.
Earth took his chance to slowly press his head against Dark's, one hand cupping the back of his head. "A name." He repeated, his voice a quiet murmur. "Would you like me to name you instead?"
"Dark!!" Luna squealed excitedly. The one in control blinked again.
"...I." He coughed, quickly looking away to wipe at his eyes. His core was pounding, causing shortness in breath he tried to ignore. "Uhm. Sure." He coughed again. "I don't care. Whatever."
He grumbled when Earth forced him to cuddle back again, but didn't actually try to get up. Because the planet would pull him up again. No other reason. "...I do know of your Earthlings. So don't try Winnie the Pooh on me like you did with Saturn's new moons."
Earth let out a surprised laugh, momentarily squeezing the air out of his lungs. Dark wheezed when the grip loosened. "I would-" he started, only to get cut off by more giggles. "I would never d-do that. Doesn't sound like me at all."
Dark glared.
"Only the best for my moons!"
Moons.
Not 'moon'. Moons.
The smaller was stunned into silence again.
It took a while before Earth spoke again. He moved forward in silence, occasionally muttering something under his breath or quickly glancing down. The moon didn't pay much attention. He himself had gotten lost in Earth's soft touches, at some point having started to doze off. He wasn't used to being awake for so long. Let alone while still being in control for so long too.
It felt weird. But not bad.
"Luna?"
He asked in their mind, just to check. But Luna did not respond. But he could tell from how peaceful Luna's mind felt that he'd fallen asleep, so he wasn't all too worried.
"Ah-hah!" Earth's sudden shout startled him back awake. His planet clearly did not notice, eyes sparkling and coming to a halt. "I got it! You!"
Yep. He was insane. Cookoo. Gone. This guy had lost his marbles.
Earth completely let him go, much to Dark's dismay. Hands were placed back on his shoulders and squeezed as Earth proudly announced.
"You." He repeated seriously. "Will be called Selene. After the Greek Goddess of the moon."
"..." he blinked.
Earth was clearly happy with himself, excitedly awaiting his reaction. "Well?"
"Selene..." The smaller repeated, feeling how the letters felt on his tongue. Selene?
Selene.
"Uhm." He had wanted to brush it off casually, and agree. But Da- Selene felt himself getting choked up. So instead, he covered his mouth and nodded.
Earth positively beamed, scooping him back up into his arms. "Selene it is!~" He sang, doing a little twirl as he started moving again. "Oh, wait until the others hear! They're gonna be jealous I didn't name them."
Selene softly snickered, and let himself curl up against his planet again. Earth certainly would not have put the same amount of effort into names for his fellow rocky planets. In fact, if he had it his way, Selene was sure that instead of Mercury, Venus and Mars they would have had Hg, Cinderella and Table Cloth.
If he'd had the energy to keep his eyes open, he would have told him exactly that.
But instead, he let his heavy eyes slip shut, having done more than enough socializing for the day. Earth seemed to understand, starting to hum the same quiet tune he always did while rocking him, effectively lulling him to sleep.
A song he'd always claimed was specifically for his moon.
The little moon hadn't known it was possible to feel so loved.