The baby of the Asteroid Belt (does not wish to be alone no longer)

by ItzZaira

Summary:

Ceres was lonely.

From the moment he'd first opened his eyes, he always had been. The lonely dwarf planet of the Asteroid Belt who lost his mind over time, driven mostly by instinct, one with the surrounding darkness to survive. 

That's who he was. That's who he always had been. That's who he would always be.

Entropy left no room for anything else. The toddler had accepted this long ago.

...So why did this time hurt?

The baby shivered, rubbing his injured hands up and down his arms to try and bring back some heat- but to no avail. He didn't get it. Asteroid Belt, Kuiper Belt, what did it matter? They were both dark belts! It should be the exact same! This place was basically his orbit, but further! He'd been here so many times! With Pluplu, and Cherry, and Ears and MakMak and Ham and Three. 

So why was it so scary? Was it because he was alone? He was always alone! 

That's who Ceres was. 

That's who he always would be. 

Or

The aftermath of Ceres running away from everyone else.
Sicktember Day 4: Pneumonia + Alt prompt: I want my (comfort item)

Notes:

I am aware we are in October, I don't care I wanna finish this first qwq

Ceres was lonely.

From the moment he'd first opened his eyes, he always had been. The lonely dwarf planet of the Asteroid Belt who lost his mind over time, driven mostly by instinct, one with the surrounding darkness to survive. 

That's who he was. That's who he always had been. That's who he would always be.

Entropy left no room for anything else. The toddler had accepted this long ago.

...So why did this time hurt?

The baby shivered, rubbing his injured hands up and down his arms to try and bring back some heat- but to no avail. He didn't get it. Asteroid Belt, Kuiper Belt, what did it matter? They were both dark lonely belts! It should be the exact same! This place was basically his orbit, but further! He'd been here so many times! With Pluplu, and Cherry, and Ears and MakMak and Ham and Three. 

So why was it so scary? Was it because he was alone? He was always alone! 

That's who Ceres was. 

That's who he always would be. 

For whatever reason, that thought hurt, causing the baby to let out a horrible whine followed by him shaking his hands up and down to get rid of the yucky feeling. He didn't like it. It felt bad. A kind of bad he wasn't used to. The kind of bad that didn't appear in the form of wounds on his back or scratches on his arms, numb feet or bloody fingers. The kind of bad that stuck in his thoughts, clouding his already foggy mind, making him feel- feel...

Sad.

Bad shakes. 

They left him. Why did they leave him? Ceres didn't want them to leave! He- he didn't-

Why had Cherry looked at him like that? 

Why had PluPlu been so angry at him? 

Angry. At Ceres. At entropy.

But. That's who he was. That's who he would always be. That's all he'd ever known. 

Why was it bad? Was Ceres bad? Did they not like him anymore? Is that why the other dwarf planets left him here? 

Well. He could certainly get out. This place was just like his belt!

Only... bigger.

Much... much bigger. 

And colder. 

And darker.

And-

Ceres coughed. 

Once he started, he couldn't stop. The poor thing gasped, then doubled over from the force of the hacking, each breath he took in feeling as if he'd swallowed sharp asteroids. Ew. That felt. Gross. He hated it. He hated it. It felt so bad! He didn't like it. Make it go away. Make it go away.

The baby wheezed, painfully so, then gagged when he felt something gross in his mouth. Ew. Bad feeling. He- he didn't like it. Yucky. Ow.

His throat felt raw, injured and other feelings he didn't know the names of. It made his eyes burn in a way they hadn't for a long time, momentarily confusing him. Ceres shivered again. He didn't- why was he feeling this way? He'd been here before! It was the same as his orbit! Dark and lonely!

...

...Ceres did not want to be lonely. 

That thought brought back the confusion and heat behind his eyes. 

Why was he so sad about it?

The dwarf planet coughed again, wincing when he felt how dry his mouth was. Cherry always said something about always drinking water- which was weird, because Ceres never did that before he met the rest of the dwarf planets! He started feeling better though after she started making him, for some reason. Is that why he felt icky? Because he hadn't drank anything for a while? He usually forgot, and Cherry made him, and- and- where is Cherry?

She left him.

He sobbed at the thought, and wrapped his arms around himself. Ow. ow... why whould she do that? That wasn't nice. He wanted Cherry. 

Something hot and wet slipped down his cheek. Ceres frowned, and unwillingly lifted a hand so he could wipe it away to check. It was replaced by more of the confusing droplets. 

Why was wetness slipping down his cheeks...?

...

He didn't like it. 

It made him feel-

Well. He didn't know. Thinking was hard, Ceres hated it, he wanted to stop feeling yucky and he wanted to stop hurting and sleep.

He wouldn't get to, much to his dismay. The pain in his chest flared, causing the toddler to shriek, wail, and angrily pound his fists against his head when he didn't know what to do with the energy. His next breath wheezed, causing his throat to burn.

Ceres might have been burning himself, because when did he get so hot? It was never hot. Not in his belt, and definitely not here. And yet his skin was on fire, just like the strange water leaking down his eyes or his chest that made its pain known- he let out another wheezing breath.

He couldn't breathe. Which should have been fine, because he was a celestial and didn't need to breathe. 

But it hurt. 

The dwarf planet pulled his legs as close to himself as he could so he could bury his face into them, gripping his hair harshly and tugging, once, twice, just enough to hurt while rocking back and forth. Maybe he shouldn't be pulling his hair so much, because it only worsened the pain in his head, which worsened his cries, the stims, and so on. 

He didn't know how to make it better. How should he? He was Ceres, the largest object in the Asteroid Belt. The only sentient being. Entropy.

Entropy isn't meant to heal. 

But he wanted it to.

So caught up in his crying, he didn't even notice how the gravity around him increased. He only acknowledged that he didn't like the pressure on his tired body. He already felt so weak...

Instinct told him to hide, hide hide hide, because whatever this was was big. Bigger than PluPlu, bigger than Three. But did that matter? He shouldn't be stopping his destruction. He was probably already being destroyed from the inside out, he felt so weird he didn't understand, it upset him. 

Like how he had upset the rest of the dwarf planets. 

More of the strange water slipped out of his eyes. 

"Ceres?" He whimpered and hid at the sound of his name, pushing his face further into his legs despite the fabric of his pants rubbing him the wrong way against his cheek. Ew. Gross. Stop. "Ceres, what are you-"

A hand touched his shoulder. 

Stop.

His immediate reaction was to lash out. 

Ceres shouted.

Threw away his body before he could be caught, succesfully slipping out of the stranger's grip. 

But unfortunately, he didn't look where he was aiming his body at- and ended up throwing himself on top of an asteroid.

It shattered upon impact.

Ceres wailed.

"Ceres-!"

The sound that escaped him completely ruined his throat, burning and injuring it in ways Ceres didn't know were possible. The tickle that followed started another coughing fit, which in turn caused his non-existing lungs to make their pain known as well, and ow ow ow, stop stop stop-

Thankfully, because of the one, big hurt that consumed his body from the sharp edges that cut his surface or the chunk of asteroid that hit his head, he didn't have the mind to focus on the individual pains. 

Red mixed with the water that wouldn't stop flowing anymore. 

"Hey- hey kid, you're okay, you- Neptune!!"

...Ceres knew that voice.

But he did not know that name. 

"Hgh-" The next wheeze was more painful, accompanied with that yucky feeling in his throat that caused him to spit up bile. His head throbbed from the force of it. 

Ow...

"Hey, kid, you're okay." He didn't try to throw himself away from the touch on his back this time now that he knew who it was- not that he could have anyway... 

Three may not have been Cherry. But the way he rubbed those circles on his back did soothe his fit and felt nice. So Ceres took it. 

"Did you find something, Triton?" He, however, almost bolted the second he heard that unfamiliar voice.

Almost. If it hadn't been for Three clutching the back of his cloack the second he felt the smaller flinch. 

Ceres weakly tugged with a whine- he even opened his eyes to glare at the moon in that scary way that always made other celestials run away from him for some reason. Three, however, seemed to get concerned. Huh. Weird. 

"It's okay, kid." The moon reassured him. "Neptune is nice- over here!"

Whoever Three was calling out for was big. 

And big didn't exactly translate to nice in the dwarf planet's mind. 

Yet Three seemed to have lost his mind, because he didn't run away. He patiently waited as the source of gravity got closer, until their shadow towered over them and their gravity gently wrapped around them from all angles. Ceres let out a displeased noice that ended on a wheeze, then carefully shuffled until he was able to press his face against Three's back to hide. What was he doing?

"Triton?"

...They didn't sound mean though.

Three, thankfully, seemed to have picked up on Ceres' apprehension. Because he didn't force the smaller forward- instead, gently rested a hand on his back. Carefully, the child risked a glance. 

Three didn't seem to be worried either. Maybe it was because he and Ceres were the same? The little dwarf planet could feel the destructive energy from the other. 

He cheered up the tiniest bit at the thought of entropy- but couldn't get excited about it like he wanted to when that tickle caused his throat to hurt and burn, and started another coughing fit. He heard the moon wince when he coughed into his jacket. Whoops. "Neptune, this is Ceres. He's a dwarf planet from the Asteroid Belt."

"Oh!" The planet leaned down, much to Ceres' dismay. He squeezed his eyes shut when he felt the gravity and pressure on him increase... but opened them again, confused, when the presence didn't invade his space. "He's a little bit off his orbit though!"

"It isn't like the dwarf planets to just leave him..." Three murmured, bringing the strange water back to his eyes. He wanted Cherry..."...Ceres?"

"...Is he okay, Triton?"

"I don't think so... hey, Ceres?" The bigger moon gently pulled away- just enough so he could turn around and kneel to Ceres' level. He couldn't see the other's eyes, the shades blocking any emotion he might have felt- but even with them, Ceres could tell Three wasn't happy. "...Neptune, his lips are blue."

Ceres was already blue. 

Now that his vision wasn't blocked by the moon's jacket anymore, the dwarf planet was forced to meet the planet who was... patiently waiting behind the-... his moon. The planet was big, and blue just like Ceres, looking kind in a way the smallest hadn't expected from a planet... Wait, was this Three's planet?

...Was this orbit that looked just like his own theirs?

"I don't like how his breathing sounds either." The planet's- Neptune's smile fell, turning into that same frown Cherry always had whenever she was worried- where was Cherry?!

The two seemed to be caught of guard when the child sobbed this time. Energy built up in his core once again, bad ew gross I hate it go away away stop stop-

He pulled away. 

Ceres shook his hands up and down again with a whine, but it didn't do anything this time. He kicked his legs, bent his body, growled under his breath- nothing. 

His stomach churned uncomfortably in response to everything he felt, because it was just so much. Why did they leave him? They never did before. Sure, he threw some asteroids but- but...

He raised his hands without thinking, too caught up in his own emotions. Why... why did he do that again? He... he had a reason, Ceres knew he did. A good one, one that made sense, one that meant he wouldn't be lonely if only he could just remember-

If he had any strength left, he long would have pounded his head with his fists right now. Instead, his shaky hands weakly pressed into his hair in a weak attempt for pain, entropy, something that was more familiar. 

He grumbled when Three grabbed his hands by the wrists, then pulled them away. No... why would he do that? That was so... "No, don't do that, kid."

"Neptune...?" He heard a sleepy voice he didn't recognize. "What's happenin..."

"Go back to sleep, Proteus." The planet's voice softened in a way that caught him off guard- making him pause. "You've had a long day."

Like Cherry's.

This time, when those kind eyes focused on him again, Ceres didn't run away. He only clutched Three's jacket a bit more while his eyes widened with awe. 

And then he shivered.

He still flinched when those gigantic hands reached for him. The planet paused. 

...And then smiled at him again, the same way she always did. "My name is Neptune!" The planet chirped, albeit a bit worriedly. "You're in my orbit!"

He knew it!

But... if this planet's-... Toon's orbit was just like Ceres' orbit, and he had destructive energy like Ceres, and he was lonely and- 

"L-l--like me."

The child cringed at how awful he sounded, and how much those two words alone had hurt to speak out loud. But he didn't care for that, too enchanted by the prospect, and stepped away from the moon.

Toon seemed to be caught off guard- but quickly regained his composure, and nodded encouragingly. "Yes! Like you! But you don't look too good right now."

He still flinched when those hands returned. But they stopped just in front of him, patiently waiting for him to climb in. "Do you think I could look at you?"

"..." Three patted his back, and nudged his head towards his planet. "Neptune is nice, kid." He murmured. The hand on his back went up, leaving a gentle scratch behind on his back that made Ceres shiver pleasantly. "He won't hurt you."

"..." The big planet smiled when Ceres, despite instinct screaming at him to run, stepped forward. His steps were shaky, both from cold as well as fear, but he didn't stop. The dwarf planet tripped when he reached his fingers- but he didn't fall, as Toon caught him just before he could get hurt. 

The other was warm.

His eyes slipped close with a shudder. 

"Oh you're cold." The planet murmured. Huge fingers poked and prodded his body, something Ceres protested at first- but when his mind registered how gentle the touch was, he melted. 

He almost let out a purr slip. But unfortunately, he coughed instead, choking up more of the yucky stuff- this time onto the bigger's gloves. Ew. Gross. 

Toon didn't seem to mind though. Instead, he rubbed circles into his back to try and ease him through it. "Oh, I know." The bigger cooed. In that same tone the rest of the dwarf planets always used whenever speaking to him. It felt... nice. 

"What are you doing out here on your own?" Toon continued to question, wincing at the heat that radiated off of his skin and murmuring when the child responded with pain. "You're much too small for my orbit!"

"He looks sick..." Three murmured, for once sounding like he didn't hate his life. "Charon wouldn't leave him if he were... Ceres, did something happen to the dwarf planets?"

"..." Ceres couldn't help it as those droplets filled his eyes again, his earlier misery returning ten-fold. But he didn't have a chance to be upset about it- as the planet quickly pulled him close to his chest, cupping his cold and tiny body in those gigantic and warm hands. 

the pressure, the heat, the loud beat that rung against his ears- felt so nice.

The dwarf planet melted before he could even think about crying again.

---

Pneumonia.

Neptune had known it the second Triton pointed out the blue lips, had felt it when he checked Ceres over and felt just how freezing he was or how much he seemed to be struggling to breathe- had it confirmed when the poor baby started coughing, and choked out that mucus that stained his glove. The planet promptly chose to ignore it, throwing away his glove without a second thought. It didn't matter.

Not when such a tiny, fragile being needed him.

"Shh." he cooed, gently rubbing his hands against the smaller body to bring back heat, rocking slowly while he looked around for any sign of the dwarf planets at all. He didn't know them other than Pluto and Charon, sure, but- they wouldn't just leave someone who was very obviously a child? Right? 

Triton seemed to agree with that sentiment, on the look out himself while growing visibly more and more worried. He ended up giving Neptune a helpless look when he couldn't find what he was looking for. "They... what if something happened to them?"

"They're okay." Neptune quickly shot down that worry. After all. He'd seen all the dwarf planets return to their orbits as the rest of the planets headed for the Sun. Unless the Kuiper Belt suddenly gained a mind of its own and didn't listen to Neptune's gravity telling it how to stay- which he very much doubted, they were fine. 

So why...

Ceres nuzzled into his chest with another teary hiccup- which, as much as it broke his core, at least the child wasn't looking at him with terror anymore. Neptune soothed him by pressing him closer to himself and purring quietly. "Did they not see him, perhaps?"

"But... that doesn't..." His poor moon seemed lost- and tired. He must have been exhausted, holding up his fifteen younger siblings and acting as a planet during Neptune's absence. The ice giant thanked the stars the Sun at least had the mind to not stick his poor babies into his orbit. 

"How about you take a nap, hm?" Neptune offered, shifting his hands carefully so he could hold Ceres with one and hold the other out for Triton to climb in. The way his moon didn't even protest, and hopped on without a word, spoke volumes. The same way all his treasures had climbed into his pockets and promptly fell asleep the second they found him. "I'll try and see if I can find them."

"..But... you were out of your orbit..." Triton slurred, though his comment lacked any of the usual fire behind it. Neptune couldn't help his amused smile, and quickly lifted his moon up to kiss his head before he could become aware enough to push him away. He was so kind. 

"And you were out of yours." He did make sure to keep Triton and Ceres apart out of fear of infecting his moon. For now, he slipped the little dwarf planet into his scarf, where he could hopefully warm up enough for Neptune to get off his clothes and replace them with new ones- because stars the ones he had now looked awful. Triton's old ones should fit him just fine, right? "I got you. Go to sleep, Triton."

"..."

"Triton?"

He froze when all that answered him was a snore. Neptune blinked, absolutely shocked at how quickly his moon had conked out- but then couldn't help but smile warmly at him again, press another kiss into his hair, and finally slip him into one of the many pockets he had on his jacket. Okay. Thats his moons taken care of. Which left...

He winced when he felt the coughing against his neck, quickly fishing Ceres out before he could accidentally infect Neptune with the illness he seemed to have found as well. Thankfully, he finally seemed to have succumbed to the obvious exhaustion he had felt. 

Which gave Neptune the freedom to do what he needed. 

He admired the child in his hands first, carefully stroking his cheek and hair with his thumb.. but in the end, despite his body protesting, finally moved. He knew he had medicine somwhere around here....

Notes:

Did I give up near the end? Yes. Yes I did.
Do I care? No I want this fic to be done and burn eughh

English is not my first language (or grammarly ruins my life) so if you see any mistakes, please don't hesitate to tell me!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Sicktember 2025