It's quiet. The only sound was the shuffle of cards as they danced between Mars' hands. He's quiet too. Probably still angry. Venus could see it in the tension in his finger as they flexed around the deck.
Usually, Earth would've filled in the silence with his yapping. Always so obnoxious — but Venus had to give to the guy, he was good with lightening up the mood.
But now it's just him and Mars.
Him and Mars.
...
Venus tried not to think about Earth but it's hard not to. Not when there's a gaping space between him and Mars where a certain planet should be. So empty, so unfilled. Venus' stomach twisted whenever he would stare at it for too long.
He's still mad at Earth — betrayed and hurt by what he'd done. But they've always been a trio. Venus wondered how he's doing now, with him and Mars gone.
Knowing him, he probably ran off to Mercury looking for a clean slate. Someone new to play 'best friends' with.
Tch. Venus scowled bitterly at thought, there's a painful tug at his core.
"Venus! Mars!" someone called. Earth's Moon rushed into view. Huh. Venus didn't think that he'd heard him speak before.
As the satellite got closer, Venus noticed his current state. He never paid much attention to Earth's Moon before, but he didn't remember him looking this rugged.
He looked like he just ran a marathon. His hair was all over the place, strands sticking out in every direction everywhere. His clothes were wrinkled and dirty.
"Earth's Moon?" Venus said, just as Mars turned to look behind him.
"Great! You're here." He heaved. He's been looking for them? "You gotta go talk to Earth."
Immediately, Venus' face turned stony and Mars' shoulders tensed.
"Yeah fuck that. Never gonna happen." Venus snarked. "Mars, deal the cards."
"...Did Earth put you up to this?" The smaller planet asked.
"Well—"
"Guess he didn't regret it at all." Mars didn't let him finish. He already lost interest, expression dark and stormy as he went back to the cards.
"He does!" Earth's Moon said.
"Yeah? Where is he then? I don't see an Earth around here looking to apologize to us." Venus said.
"He wants to! He's been looking for you two." And Venus paused ...He was? "And it's not like you guys are in your orbit so of course he asked me to help look for you."
...He guessed that made sense. There's an abomination of mixed feelings and biases brewing in his stomach, he's not quite sure what to make of this yet. Has Earth really changed? Ready to admit his faults — how he's wronged them? Venus turned to Mars nervously, he's always been the cool-headed one between the thre— two of them, he'd know what to do.
"And how do we know you aren't just lying to us because Earth told you to?" He asked, he wasn't half as convinced as Venus was.
"Mars, you saw that I was upset with him too! —Back then with Titan."
"I've seen the two of you argue more times than I can count." He droned coldly. "And oftentimes, Earth was in the wrong. Yet you'd so readily forgive him— Stars! I don't think I even remember him apologizing! You're soft on him, always have been. Your opinion is biased, and therefore invalid."
"That wasn't his fault!"
"Then whose was it?" Mars shouted, his voice thundered — dark and loud. He threw his hands up as he spun around to face the satellite, the cards flew in every direction. Mars' loomed over the smaller — his face inches away from Earth's Moon's.
Earth's Moon flinched, Venus did too. His core raced wildly, he felt anxiety and dread beginning to slip through the cracks of his surface, they thrummed within him.
The last time Mars got like this was when they had confronted Earth about the tournament, and he'd been just as surprised. It wasn't like Mars to get this angry. He must be pissed. "I can't think of anyone who could've pushed him into doing the things he did. Earth's actions are his. Don't try to push that bull on me. I know him, he was my best friend." Mars scowled.
The satellite was rendered speechless, wide eyed and slack-jawed, momentarily caught off-guard. But just as quickly as he was shocked, he immediately steeled himself. "And I'm his moon." He said, not at all shying away from the uncomfortably small distance between them. He even moved forward a few centimeters as well, but Mars wasn't about to back off. "You don't know half as much as you think you do."
"Enlighten me."
Mars and Earth's Moon looked like they were off in their own world, so caught up with glaring at each other with such intensity that it felt like they'd forgotten Venus was there. He sorta forgot that he was there too. This situation was a different thing entirely. It's still (apparently) related to their current dispute, but he had no place in this situation.
Venus was friends with Earth, but he admits that he was in no way as close to him as Mars and Earth's Moon were. While he and Earth were as thick as thieves, they were like a dense asteroid. He felt like a spectator — a pedestrian that'd just end up dying if he came between 2 buildings about to crash into each other.
Venus swallowed, watching the tension between them crackle and raise. He kept his mouth shut, deciding to let their argument play its course. Earth's going to apologize later, wasn't he?
"—killing him!"
Venus had been too zoned out to catch half of the conversation, but he'd heard well enough to know that Earth was apparently getting killed. "...What?" Mars had said for the both of them, even if he hadn't realized. His voice was hoarse, small.
All air had left Venus' lungs as he stared at the breathless satellite in front of him. Earth's Moon gasped and fell silent. That and his wide eyes told Venus that this was information that was mever meant to get out. Slowly, it was getting hot, he could feel the pressure on his core as his insides slowly fell apart.
...Something about Earth... a danger to him...
...What were they hiding?
"—Moon." Mars firmly held the satellite's shoulders in place, his fingers sunk into the fabric and continued to do so. "What's happening with Earth?"
Earth's Moon winced, his eyes frantically flitted back and forth between the hands on his shoulders and Mars' face. There's no getting out of this one — Venus knew he knew. He watched him squirm for a bit before going lax.
"I didn't mean that..." He said before his face suddenly screwed up in pain. Stars, Mars was not holding back — Venus looked with concern at the growing death grip he had Earth's Moon in — he could cause serious damage to his surface if this went on. He reaches for Mars to pull him away.
"Mars...I—"
Earth's Moon was barely able to keep his eyes from squeezing shut as he hissed from his bared teeth "Ah— Shit! Humanity— They're destroying him!"
His fingers' twitched — just an inch short from grabbing Mars and stopping this.
Suddenly, he can't move. Venus looked at Earth's Moon. Everything was hot. Horror in the form of magma spread all over him, temporarily overtaking all his senses but hearing. Because he—
He couldn't—
He had to hear this.—
Mars shook him, Earth's Moon cried out. There's a faint sound cracking. It's weak, but it's there. —Audible only to those who tried to hear. Venus shuddered, feeling bad for the satellite.
"You know how humans are—" He didn't. He really didn't (and thank Stars for that). —Astrodude didn't count. "They've always been opportunists, eating up every resource they could find. They've been taking from Earth, his oceans, his forests— and he can feel it all. They've been hurting him, Mars. Earth's been hurting.
"You can't imagine how bad it is for him. Being in pain all the time— that does things to a guy. That doesn't excuse whatever he did to you and Venus, but he just wasn't in the right state of mind."
Then when was he ever? Because fuck— He's had these humans for how long— a couple thousand years? How long has this been going on?
He thought he heard the satellite mention something about drilling.
Venus felt lightheaded. He knew how much pain activity on a planet's surface could cause. He remembered how bad it would get for him on certain days. To think about how much must've been going on under Earth's—
"—I know it's a lot for me to ask you of this, but please— Just this once.— Sympathize with him for a bit. Earth's a good guy. He means well. I— I promise he really has changed. You should've seen how remorseful he was earlier, I could—"
Mars abruptly threw him back, and Earth's Moon stumbled, struggling to stabilize himself.
"Shit. Go easy on the guy." Venus said, looking uncertain. He was still behind him, so he didn't know what kind of face he was wearing or what emotion he was going through. He could barely get a read on the guy, with how seemingly calm and put together was at the moment. It's almost concerning, considering the horrifying information they'd just been dumped with.
Earth's Moon was still there — just barely holding himself together. His expression relaxed a bit, but he still maintained a level of wariness as his gaze flickered between Mars and the Asteroid Belt.
"I have to go. Look. Just— think about it, please. Stay where you are and I'm sure Earth'll find you guys." And he was gone, having bolted for the Asteroid Belt. He clumsily weaved through the giant rocks until Venus could barely make out a silhouette.
...Shouldn't Earth's Moon be with Earth? You'd think that maybe he'd be watching over him instead of running off...
"..."
There's a shaky breath, Venus almost didn't register it.
"...Mars?" He asked faintly, nervously eyeing his friend.
The smaller had buckled, hands flying to his face as he let himself fall. Venus caught him. He awkwardly adjusted Mars so that he leaned on his side and he wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
"...fuck fuck fuck..." Venus heard him whisper hoarsely like a broken record — only because his head was resting on his shoulder. This was so unlike Mars that it scared him. He's been so off character since a while ago. Getting mad, blowing up,— now this?
"What's wrong with you?—" Wow. That did not come out the way he wanted it to. Venus grimaced
He shouldn't be here. He's never been good with dealing with emotions like these — he can barely even manage his own.
"I failed him."
"Huh?"
"Earth. I— I should've known." He said wetly, sounding so remorseful."
"...That's bull. The little guy made it clear that it was supposed to stay secret." Venus had hesitated, stuttering every other word as he spoke. But he meant it. "We couldn't have known."
"You couldn't have!" Mars shouted, pushing himself off of Venus. Venus lets himself stumble back a few steps, the shock of the moment had gotten to him.
He saw Mars' face. All twisted and stretched — a snarl on his lips, nose wrinkled, and eyes wide as they glared past his fingers and into Venus' eye. Almost as if they were trying to see into his core through them. He's hysteric. Not quite crying but the gleam in his eyes told Venus he was close to. And his expression held so much rage of such intensity it surpassed Venus' temper.
He almost shrunk with how hateful Mars looked.
"Of course you couldn't have known! How could you? It's not like you guys hung out on a daily basis! You barely count as friends!" Okay, ouch.
Venus frowned, hurt and shocked by Mars' cruel words. "Well, fuck you too. I do one nice thing and everyone screws me over. Stars, why do I even bother with you guys—"
"You don't get it!" He only kept shouting, "I was his best friend, Venus. You can't understand how it feels when you don't even come close to knowing Earth as much as I did! I failed him! How could I not have known what he's been going through? Earth's Moon knew!"
"He probably told him or something." But Mars wasn't listening.
"He did to me too! I— I remember— He told me what's been happening, what they've been doing to him, how he felt— And Stars. I just brushed him off— like. Like he was space debris or something. Stars! There were so many signs..."
Venus watched as Mars slowly fell apart. Gasps turning into sobs. There's an empty, sinking void inside him, letting him know just how sick he'd felt.