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It was all Moon’s fault.
If Moon hadn’t introduced Titan to Earth, none of this would have happened. Earth wouldn’t be alone right now.
If Moon hadn’t left to go run off with Titan to the Asteroid Belt, he would be in Earth’s orbit, still. Earth wouldn’t be alone right now.
If he didn’t need that stupid fucking moon for his stupid fucking axis, he would never put Mars and Venus against each other to be Moon’s replacement. Earth wouldn’t be alone right now.
The slightest bit of tension released itself from Earth’s skull knowing he could blame it all on Moon. He wanted to crush him, turn him into a ring.
That wasn’t true. He wanted Moon to be in his orbit like he always was.
If he thought about Moon any longer he would stab himself with an asteroid.
No, maybe it was all Titan’s fault. He came to Earth, acting like moons were equal to planets, that they were just like each other. And everybody expected Earth to play along and act like Titan’s fantasy of having life like him was true. And when he told the truth, the truth that everybody needed to hear, suddenly he was a bad person. The whole Solar System was turned upside down.
And why the fuck did Titan want humans anyway? They fought in wars ever since they created religion - Earth didn’t even want to start with that mess- and all for the purpose of taking, taking, taking. They were only taking from themselves. It was like watching your beloved pet mice fight to the death, filled with nothing but disappointment and regret. And Titan- that uneducated satellite wanted all the glory without any of the pain. Earth bet that he didn’t know shit about the sacrifices, and if he did, he’d stop trying to replace the only planet with life.
“And now they’re all acting like I’m crazy.” Earth muttered, falling onto his back on the space floor. His expression was twisted in anger, so deep he felt it would stay that way. He had it in him to be angry forever. After how everyone just up and left him.
“Exactly, Earth.” An all too familiar voice came from above him. A voice that just earlier swore to never speak to Earrh again. “You were just being sensible, dude. Warning Titan that having life isn’t all fun and games. I know how much of a challenge it is to keep some of these moons in line.” Mars bent down to hover over Earth. “You know how unruly Phobos and Deimos get.”Everything looked normal about him, except his slightly translucent eyes- and, more so, the fact that he was actually agreeing with Earth. For fucking once, Earth thought with a small huff. “Hey, I’m sorry, man. I overreacted.” He gave that same warm smile Earth had been so used to. “No hard feelings?” He whispered, kneeling down next to Earth.
Earth sat up straight, completely caught off guard. “I-“
Venus’s gruff voice cut in from the other side of him. Of course he went wherever Mars went. Him and Mars had been getting uncomfortably close recently. “And.. I just started blaming you for all these things out of nowhere..” He looked off to the side, looking genuinely remorseful for once. “I can’t help my - aggression.” Earth nodded. He was all too familiar with Venus’s anger. “I didn’t mean to direct it at you.. I just.. I had never seen your life so up close.” He tucked a burnt strand of hair behind his ear. “I got so jealous..Sorry.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Earth stood up to give Venus a reassuring smile, and a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, man. I mean, I’m okay if you’re okay.” He splayed a hand out on his chest. He searched Venus’s gaze, and found… huh. The same slightly translucent eyes. “But… you kinda had a point. I.. sort of.. put you against Mars.” He inhaled, biting his lip slightly, before further justifying himself. “But- I didn’t do it out of hate.” He shook his head vigorously, bringing his hand that was on Venus’s shoulder down to clutch his own arm. “You know that. I wouldn’t just do it to-“ Replace Moon. He did it to replace Moon.
But somehow nothing replaced that stupid fucking rock. He was just a cratered sphere who wouldn’t look away from Earth. Why was he even so important? No atmosphere, no water, no nothing. Earth could mush the right amount of asteroids together and create an exact replica, maybe one that was less clingy-
“We get it, Earth.” Mars’s clear, calm voice cut through his hazy anger. “We forgive you. Heck- we’d forgive you for anything.”
Earth chuckled, a little flush of embarrassment creeping onto his cheeks. “I wouldn’t say you’ve gotta forgive anything..”
“No matter how painfully obvious it is that you’re doing it out of insecurity.” That sounded less like Mars’s voice. That sounded a little more like someone else’s voice. The last voice he wanted to hear right now.
…Insecurity? He was the Earth. He had no reason to be-
Venus gave him a short nod. “Yeah.. we tried to tell you the truth. Let you know what you were doing wrong.” He shrugged and smiled like it was no big deal. “And then you set up that competition. And it just kept going and going-“ Venus’s smile became more cheerful- Venus was never cheerful- and even more erratic. Mars stood by Venus, an arm on his shoulder - since when were Venus and Mars the same height - and chuckled alongside him. “Until we just couldn’t take it anymore, and had to leave you!”
Earth’s mouth went dry as he tried to form a response. What kind of response would counteract what Venus was trying to say? What the heck was he trying to say?
“You-“
“But that’s just what best friends are for, right?” Venus’s voice - now resembling more of a Venus-esque impression done by someone else - cooed.
Earths brows furrowed, and he staggered away from the two planets who were smiling at him just a bit too wide.
“…but..”
Venus and Mars cocked their heads in opposite directions, too in sync, too perfect, too willing to agree with every stupid thing Earth did.
“You’re my friends.” Earth mumbled, wincing through his own words. “Y-you’re supposed to tell me when I mess up.” His voice was breaking. This wasn’t Venus and Mars he was staring at. That was his own imagination, it was painfully clear. “You’re supposed to be honest… before.. being-“
“Loyal?”
That voice.
That voice.
“That’s the only thing you want, right?” He was almost scared to turn around. His whole body felt painfully cold, clammy, almost, while the whole universe seemed to turn around instead. Leaving Earth face to face with Moon, unable to turn away. “For everyone to come back.” He had the same plastered smile as Venus and Mars, but his tone- it was ever so subtly sharp, biting. Like he was viscerally angry.
Earth tried to shake his head. He gasped for breath, but his lungs stayed constricted. He fought against his own body, but he was frozen in place, with his eyes wide and his mouth agape, quivering slightly.
“Cause that’s how it always is.” Moon walked around to where ‘Venus’ and ‘Mars’ were, and again, the universe seemed to spin with him. Like Earth was orbiting Moon. “You have life.” He hissed. “That’s the end all- be all. We all orbit around you.” His smile dropped, replaced with an all too real scowl. He lunged forward at Venus- and knocked Venus over onto Mars, and the two statues of Earth’s friends toppled onto each other, shattering like glass. “You deserve to treat us all like shit.” He turned back to face Earth again. Once more, the last word had venom in it, so sharp Earth would have flinched if he wasn’t frozen.
He stepped closer to Earth, who had been fighting to get the smallest amount of air into his lungs all the while. “We should be sorry. I should be groveling at your feet right now.”
He stepped even closer.
Please don’t get on your knees, Earth silently begged. Please, god, please, just act normal-
As if on cue, Moon dropped to his knees in front of Earth. “Earth- I’m so sorry!” He exclaimed.
Earth let out a choked sob. This felt so gratingly wrong. He wanted to scream at Luna to get up.
As soon as one tear fell, a rush of more came. Earth broke out of his paralyzed state, and wrapped his arms tightly around himself, sobbing like a mess. All the while, Moon stared up at him through his eyelashes.
“Get- get up-“ he stammered, forcing words out through the endless stream of tears that he couldn’t label with a reason. “Get up- please-“
Moon stood up.
Earth sniffled, collecting himself when he had enough air in his system. The anger from earlier- it was all Moon’s fault - rushed back at full force. “I didn’t treat anyone like shit.” Earth wiped his cheeks, even though more hot tears kept streaming down, leaving trails of fire on his face. “I-“
“What about me?” Moon tilted his head. He began walking around and around, and Earth was turned with him by some force, unable to move or turn away.
Earth inhaled, somehow just having a gut feeling he would lose his ability to breathe or move again. He was right.
“What about all the asteroid hits I took to the face for you?” Moon lifted up his huge mass of hair to show the most recent one - a deep black blotch on his temple that wouldn’t fully heal for months. From the time Earth shoved Moon in front of him when he saw an asteroid coming. Earth felt a little sick. “What about how I keep your axis in check- for the same Earthlings that make you so much better than everybody else!” Tears were forming in Moon’s eyes too, now. And those very same eyes- they weren’t translucent. They were pools of pitch black, just as wide and all-encompassing as the real thing.
Earths imagination knew exactly what to make real enough to torture him.
Earth mustered up all his strength to open his mouth, and push out what was supposed to be words, but just ended up a croaked, ‘Luna’. Which seemed to set Moon off even more.
“I deal with your fits!” Moon screamed. “I deal with your Earthlings on my surface!” He tore off the American flag in his head and threw in to the ground, stomping it with one of his boots. Earth could only watch it- the greatest mark of Earthling progress- snap in half with a weak crack. “I-“ Moon jabbed a hand into his chest, clutching at the fabric of the hoodie Earth got for him as if he wanted to tear it apart, “I help you when you get in trouble!” He sobbed. His voice only got louder, more pained, more angry. “I never fucking gave up on you! Even when I should have-“
“Stop!” Earth exclaimed, breaking out of the freeze once again and falling forward to put a hand on Moon’s trembling shoulder. He moved his hand up and stilled, not sure if he should wipe his own tears or Moon’s first. “You know I care about you.” He said. He did. He cared for Moon- that was all just adding to the problem. “You’re my moon.”
Moon glared at Earth, completely still, for a single second- and jerked away. The angry tears and yelling came back in full force. “I’m still just a moon to you!” He yelled. “I’m just a moon, nothing else- I’m never really yours, Earth.” He enunciated every word.
Never. Really. Yours.
Earth froze up again.
Moon kept up the same sickening, dizzying motion of walking around and around, as the whole universe bent to Moon’s whims, alongside Earth, powerless to move, powerless to face away. Earth didn’t know whether to fight or give into the paralyzation, freeze completely and just let himself die.
“So, you know what?!” Moon had walked all the way around now, back to the shattered glass that was Mars and Venus. Moon stepped back, and in doing so, kicked the glass fragments, letting them splay over the space floor. “I’ve had enough of you-“ Earth tried to open his mouth to plead, but it was too late, he was going to die. He was sure. He hoped.
“I give up!” Moon screamed.
•••••••••••••••••
Earth took a deep breath in, feeling the air flow smoothly into his lungs. He sat up. He was all alone, save for the burning backdrop, the quick and easy incinerator that was the Sun, only a short walk away.