Chapter Text
[MERCURY]
Today was certainly the best afternoon of my life. I mean, Venus and I had a good first date, which I knew I wouldn't forget. Plus for a rocker, this guy also had some crazy music tastes. Don't tell anyone I said this, but did you know that he listens to K-pop girl groups whenever he's in a good mood? I'm talking BLACKPINK, TWICE, there's also some K-pop-inspired group called...what was that? Right, KATSEYE!
Anyways, we arrived back at our star system not later than four o' clock in the afternoon. You can't blame us planets for always being away from our orbits for too long. When it comes to traveling, due to how light and light speed work, as well as astronomical units, it could take us hours to get from one place to another. I first dropped my spacecar off at my orbit, then Venus and I floated over to his orbit.
And let me tell you this...boy, were Earth and Mars two of the nosiest people ever. I could see why, especially Mars, they knew pretty much a lot about everyone, that I was worried they'd somehow guess that Venus and I started dating. But thankfully, Venus and I were able to tell yet another lie. That if we had noses (which we didn't because we were very obviously talking celestial bodies), they'd grow to the length of a whole branch like that one Earthling story. The one with the wooden puppet, Pinocchio?
"Thanks for today...um, Mercu—" Venus started.
"—y-you're welcome!" I nervously stuttered, cutting him off. We looked at each other, then burst into a soft fit of laughter at the same time.
We were just rambling about a variety of things, like video games and music, as I brought Venus back to his orbit.
Earth and Mars were waiting for us right there.
"Heeeeeeeeey guys," Earth said, a smug grin on his face.
"Yo, yo, yo! Whattup, dudes!" Mars said, also grinning.
"What do you two want?" Venus asked, rolling his eyes. "Can't you see you're both in my orbit?"
"We know," Earth and Mars said at the same time. "Where've you two been?" Mars asked.
Now this was the part where Venus and I would fall to our doom. It was likely that Charon and Pluto did not believe the lie we told them, so all the more would these two not believe ours.
"Um, the, uh—" C'mon, Venny! Think of something!!
"We grabbed lunch together," I spilled out. If I had hands, I'd have covered my mouth. But I also knew we couldn't keep lying, but maybe we would only go so far until Venus and I decided what we really meant in each other's lives?
"Oh." Earth and Mars said at the same time. "Wait, you guys were on a date—" Mars was cut off.
"NO!" Venus and I exclaimed at the same time.
The rocky best friends (how could we be so sure that these two were just friends?) looked at each other, then grinned at us again.
"Yeah, sure." Earth snickered.
"Did you have a good time together, at least?" Mars asked. I guess, because he sounded genuine, he really wanted to know how we were doing.
"Yep." I replied.
"Totally." Venus chimed in.
"That's what they said," Earth whispered to Mars. It was still loud enough for us to hear it. "Hey, do you want to play Super Crash Bros. Ultimate?" he asked him.
"Oh, dude!! I'd love to! C'mon!" Mars happily whistled, tugging on Earth as they left Venus's orbit.
"What." I started.
"Just." Venus replied.
"Happened?" Venus and I asked at the same time.
And that's how our date ended. Obviously, since we were a star system of eight planets, it was likely that word was going to spread that Venus and I started hanging out more. I mean, I knew it wouldn't be something new, but it definitely wasn't old news, either. After billions upon billions of years of us just fighting each other nonstop, it definitely was a strange new sight for the Solar System to see us...actually hanging out.
Maybe it's a good thing Venus and I only kept the pictures we took during our date to ourselves, because I'm pretty sure Earth and Mars would have forwarded our photos to the entire Solar System's Syscord server. After I had dropped Venus off, I went back to business at my own orbit. On my Sunsung phone, I fondly looked at our photos during our date together. We took photos with our food, as well as in the car.
I didn't know when Venus and I planned to be out to the public. But we both agreed that until we both figured our feelings for each other out, we weren't going to say anything. It wasn't a secret relationship per se, but we didn't know if it was also worth putting a label on, yet. Before dropping Venus off and returning home, we shared a brief kiss...on the cheek. Because even if we kissed each other twice, we were still scared of a collision happening.
After staring at our photos together, I went on to organize my SolarCards collection, given the new deck and booster packs that the Sun sent me.
"Hey, Mercury!"
...Speaking of the Star himself.
"Hi, Sun," I greeted.
The yellowish-white star turned around to face me. "You look busy! Care for a chat, Mercury?"
I put down the card box, looking up at him. "Oh! Um, yeah, sure, Sun." I closed the box, so that I could properly talk to him. "What is it?"
"I just wanted to check up on you!" He replied, smiling so warmly. It was a lot hotter now because it was late afternoon. "Mercury, you and Venus were gone for quite a while! I was almost worried that you didn't want to be a part of the Solar System anymore!"
"Oh, I'm sorry we worried you," I apologized. I was expecting a solar flare from him, but to my surprise, he was calm. Even gentle, when it came to talking to me. "Venus and I just grabbed lunch near the Tau Ceti system."
"I see," he replied. "Did you both have a great time?" He asked me.
I had to hide the blush forming on my face. "O-Oh! Um, yes, we did. Thank you, Sun."
He smiled again. "That's so good to know! It makes me happy to see my planets getting along! Especially you and Venus! I've seen how you two fought for years, Mercury. I was so scared that you two would try to destroy each other! But you just didn't, and I'm really grateful for that. Do what you both can to keep getting along, okay?"
Now I couldn't hold back the blush anymore. "Oh, yeah. Totally, I'll do that, Sun."
"Aww! Your face is all red! I've never had a pink planet before. Are you sick?" the Sun teased, although I knew there was a hint of gentle concern in his voice.
"What! Um, no, I'm totally fine. Venus was the sick one, remember?" I shook my head, fighting the blush away.
"I get it! You know, Mercury, you can tell me anything you want to, okay?"
...Did he really mean that?
I looked at him timidly, then replied. "I will when I'm ready, Sun."
"I get it," he said again, this time nodding his head. "Well, I'm just glad you two made it back home safe! Let's talk again later, Mercury!" the Sun turned around, back to his usually Sunny business.
Oh, snap. What was a guy like me to do if the Sun ever found out that Venus and I were now dating?
I knew it was probably going to be a bad idea, given that Proto-Earth and Theia had to crash just to prove their relationship was strong and genuine...then again, that's how Earth and Luna formed. But also, Venus and I kissed, and we didn't die. So what were we afraid of? Being found out, just because we were two guys who just really liked each other? What about Jupiter and Saturn? Those two have been married way before Venus and I were even born, I swear to Stars Above.
Venus and I just needed more time to figure things out.
I wanted to see what the Giant Planets were up to, so the next morning I hovered over to their orbits. The Gas Giants were busy cooking breakfast together, while the Ice Cousins were each on the phone with somebody. Huh, did they both look so busy. I wonder what exactly was going on.
I first approached Jupiter and Saturn.
"Um, hi," I began, then retracted when they both turned around. Gosh, they were so big, it was really scary!
"Good morning!" Saturn greeted cheerily.
"Good morning, Mercury," Jupiter greeted, facing down so he could look at me. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, I just, um, wanted to say hi!" I admitted. "Are you both busy? I could always come back later—"
"No, no! Stay here, my tiny, planetoid friend. Do you want to have breakfast with us? I just perfected my breakfast burrito recipe!" Saturn encouraged. Jupiter nodded, agreeing with him. They were so kind and welcoming...
I mean, if there was free food, then why not?
I nodded, then hovered over to their orbits. Their moons were scattered near them, each also having breakfast. "Hello!!" Titan, Saturn's largest moon, said. I felt his gravity from afar, as if waving at me. He was a bit larger than me, for a moon, but I didn't mind. I waved back, using my gravity as well. He got back to eating with the other moons.
"Come on, try this one," Saturn placed a platter of large burritos, that each had scrambled eggs inside, on the table. The table was, of course, made of asteroids.
"Wow, that does look delicious," I said, taking the plate.
"Oh! Do you prefer ketchup or mustard with eggs?" Saturn asked, passing me two condiment bottles. "Or what about mayonnaise?" He passed another bottle.
"Ketchup will do, thank you!" I replied, grabbing the ketchup bottle and pouring some onto my breakfast burritos. I took a small slice of them and tried it. My eyes instantly lit up. "This tastes really good!"
The ringed gas giant smiled. His smile was so bright that even his rings shone brightly, too. "I knew my efforts paid off! Bone apple teeth, Mercury!!"
"It's bon appetit, Dad!" A moon, probably one of the Saturnian moons, corrected. We all laughed together. I dug into my breakfast burritos. Jupiter and Saturn sat across me from the asteroid table...but considering they were both so big, they both barely fit. Jupiter had to get up and grab more asteroids from the Asteroid Belt just to make a bigger table.
"How have you been doing, Mercury?" Jupiter asked. I looked up at him.
"I've been well, at least," I replied. "And both of you?"
"Never been better," Saturn replied with a chuckle. "Mercury, if you don't mind me mentioning this, I saw you and Venus leave the Solar System yesterday in a spacecar! It's yours, right?"
My eyes widened. And it wasn't because the food was still heavenly with each new bite. Of course the whole Solar System would know. Of course... "Oh! Yeah! We, uh, we grabbed lunch together." It would be pointless to lie to the gas giants. They knew just about everything as much as nosy Earth and gossipy Mars did.
"I see!" Jupiter said, taking a bite out of his own breakfast burritos. "I hope you two had a great time."
"Yeah!" Saturn agreed. "It's so nice to see you two finally getting along after all these years. You make a great team together!"
I almost spat out my food. A great team?! Is he implying what I think he's implying? "Oh, yeah. Totally," I answered, hiding my blush.
"It's really surprising, yet at the same time, we're all happy it's finally happened," Jupiter nodded.
"What...finally happened?" I asked.
"You being on good terms, of course!" Saturn giggled. "Dear, do you want some? I can't finish this platter anymore," he quickly asked his partner, passing his plate to him. Jupiter smiled, and happily took the rest of the leftovers.
"I guess so," I agreed. It was really difficult not to blush!
"You used to be good friends before the Collision," Jupiter pointed out, stuffing his mouth with burritos.
"Yeah..." I smiled timidly, finishing my platter. "Venus and I...really enjoyed yesterday's lunch out."
"That's really good to know!" Saturn grinned. "Hm...there isn't something we should know, is there?" He teased.
Now I was really blushing. "...I...well," I tried to speak, but it just didn't work out.
"Hey, buddy. It's okay. You can talk to us, but also, take your time." Jupiter encouraged. His tone was gentle and friendly, like somebody I knew I could trust. It wasn't like I didn't trust my friends, but Earth and Mars would absolutely have an airless field day if they found out about me and Venus. Jupiter and Saturn, perhaps also given their ages and emotional maturities, seemed much more trustworthy and patient.
"Well..." I cleared my throat. "Venus and I are dating." I finally admitted. Their eyes lit up as they looked at each other. I knew they were about to speak and get up from their seats, so I held them back. "Oh no. Oh no-no-no-no. No, you two are absolutely not jumping up and down in joy." They both stared at me, dumbfounded, as they sat back down. "Good."
"Why are you being secretive about it, if I may ask?" Saturn did ask. "You two just look like a good match!"
"Pfft," I bit back a blush again. "We're just not ready to put on a label on us, yet," I explained. "We'll need more time, until we figure out our feelings for each other. I mean, after Venus recovered from his flu, was only when we had the time to properly sit down and confess our feelings. Which was literally just yesterday. Relax, we're not getting married yet like you both already are," I cracked out a horrible joke, but these two surprisingly took it well.
"Hah, you definitely know how to make a big guy laugh!" Jupiter laughed. Loudly, that I had to move away from the table. He laughed so hard as well that his whole gassy body shook, and his Great Red Spot jiggled.
"You have a good sense of humor, Mercury!" Saturn praised. "But in all seriousness...do you...and Venus like each other?"
"I mean...I know I kissed him first—" Their eyes widened again as they were about to scream and get up from their seats a second time. "Oh no. Down. Down!" I ordered. They sat back down. "Geez Cerise..." I sighed.
"Oh, what was the kiss like? I'm so happy you didn't collide." Saturn said excitedly.
"Well, dear, the Solar System is a lot more stable now," Jupiter added. "So these kinds of things are unlikely to occur ever again."
"Well, that all the more means that Venus and Mercury could share more kisses!" Saturn indirectly clapped, his rings wobbling excitedly.
Oh man, was it worth telling them the truth? I mean, I was happy that the gas giants didn't mock us or anything. But their excitement over us dating was the equivalent of Earthling schoolchildren gossiping about first crushes. I suppose it was endearing for such an old couple as Jupiter and Saturn.
"Yeah...look, you two," I smiled bashfully at the two of them. "Please don't tell the others about me and Venus, okay? Not until we figure things out together or for ourselves. Can I trust you?" I pleaded.
The old couple looked at each other, then smiled back at me. "Why of course you can, my tiny planetoid friend! You know we're here for all the little planets." Saturn grinned.
"Absolutely. We've got you covered, little buddy," Jupiter nodded.
"Thank you so much," I bowed my head. "I hope I can count on you. Also, Saturn, thanks for the breakfast. You are an excellent chef!"
Saturn's eyes shimmered again. "Oh, honey! Did you hear that?! Mercury said I'm an excellent chef!" He gushed. Jupiter chuckled.
"I heard you loud and clear, dear. You should make more breakfast burritos." Jupiter replied, giving his partner a small peck near Saturn's hexagon storm.
"Well, I'll be off now," I got up from my seat. "Thank you again, both of you. I trust you'll help keep this...little secret first." I waved goodbye to both of them with my gravity, of course, as we mutually bowed our heads at each other politely.
I left their orbit. I wanted to check in with the Ice Giants, but I decided that this would come another time. For now, it was more of a priority to figure things out with Venus, so i went back to my orbit.
I did really want to be with him. But again, I had this deep fear within that if anybody else found out about our relationship, things would either get worse or get so much better afterwards.
The problem with me was that I was always a rule-follower, never a troublemaker.
And I was definitely not a gambler.
So why was I so eager to risk it all with the planet that used to make me feel much lower and smaller than I already was?