Chapter Text
Jupiter stared at the smaller figure, his eyes wide. They stared right back, their face a poorly disguised amalgamation of contrasting emotions, seemingly attempting to hide behind a mask of hatred.
“Astra? Is that really you?” Jupiter’s voice was quiet and shaky, clearly terrified.
“Well, I go by X now- but yes, it’s me. Your ‘brother,’ though I think we both know we haven’t been brothers for a long time. On that note, I must ask, you didn’t think you could just get away with- are you crying?”
Well, maybe terror wasn’t the most accurate assessment.
“I thought you were dead, As- X. I thought I killed you. Just like how I-” His voice cracked repeatedly as he spoke, desperation coating every syllable.
“Well, surprise! I’m alive! Please stop crying! I’m trying to be mad at you right now!” He pleaded, almost frantically.
“Sorry…”
“You are not making this any easier.”
Jupiter averted his eyes; guilt, fear, and even a touch of relief swirling across his expression. As X studied his face, they realized where they had seen that face before and was immediately hurled into a long-forgotten memory.
Astraeus searched desperately for his little brother, quite literally not leaving a single stone unturned as he scanned his surroundings.
“Jupiter! Please, come out! I’m sorry for snapping at you!” He called into the darkness, guilt twisting in his gut. He didn’t think he would ever be able to forget the face the poor sweet kid had made. He certainly didn’t think he would ever forget what he said to invoke such a reaction. ‘What is wrong with you? Momma left less than a year ago, how can you stand to be this happy ?’
Yeah, not his best moment.
He finally heard the nearby sound of sniffles and darted towards them, spotting his brother at last.
“Junebug! Thank Achlys, there you are! I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t at all fair.”
Jupiter wiped his eyes, curling further in on himself in an attempt to make himself as small as possible. “It wasn’t really un fair, either…” He mumbled.
Astraeus blinked, startled. “What?”
“Well, it was my fault mama left, and I was just going around all cheerful and bouncy… I just wanted to help you feel better.”
He nearly choked. “Wh- What? Momma leaving wasn’t your fault, why would you ever think that?”
“Well, mom said so, and… y’know. It’s not wrong.”
“But it is wrong. Nothing that happened was your fault. Don’t believe everything mom says. She’s been a bit…” His fists clenched at his sides. “...unstable, since momma left. She isn’t always right, in fact, she’s probably the furthest thing out there.” He ruffled Jupiter’s hair gently.
The kid looked up at him with wide eyes, filled with hope. “So it’s… not my fault?”
“No, of course not.”
When they were alone in the void, all they could think of when they thought of their brother was the selfish young adult he had grown into. The one who had ruined their life. The one who had almost driven them to the point of insanity.
But now, as they stared at the man himself, they couldn’t stop seeing that kid and all the versions of him that came after. And yet, at the same time, they found themself looking at a weathered man, far too old looking for his age. And they weren’t just talking about his height, because holy Casimir was the guy tall, but instead the stress lines all over his face, the concerning weight of his eyebags, and in general the unbelievable maturity tucked into his eyes. They wanted to hate him so bad. He ruined their life. It was only fair that they got to be at least mad about it. But alas, they couldn’t bring themself to even hurl a single harmless asteroid at him.
“...What happened to you?” Their voice was quiet: fragile.
Jupiter looked back up at them, his face a mixture of shock, despair, and hope.
“What?”
“You look… old.”
The two stared at each other for another moment, before Jupiter snorted and sent both of them down a spiral of laughter.
Maybe things weren’t as unsalvageable as they thought. Maybe there was hope for them yet.
And yet, their mind didn’t seem convinced as it focused on one thought, one horrible, tragic thought.
When they were stranded in the void, all they could see when they pictured Jupiter was that egotistical, loud, angry young adult.
A stranger.
But now…
All they could see was their brother
Did he see his?