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Titan hadn’t meant to lean toward Neptune.
It wasn’t a choice. It didn’t even register as one. His body just did it, like it was reaching for something before his brain could stop him. Something steady or actually sane in the middle of all this chaos and noise.
Breakfast was loud in the way it always was. Saturn was halfway through an overly dramatic story, hands flying like the details might escape if he didn’t grab them fast enough. Jupiter laughed at his own joke, booming and unapologetic, like he was just being himself and didn’t care anymore.
Someone, which was definitely Triton spilled juice again while trying to help Proteus with something. Uranus scoffed at a comment no one else caught, already bored of the conversation before it finished. Titania was literally halfway sleep while leaning on Uranus’s shoulder. (surprisingly he didn’t move to push her off.)
Titan didn’t notice any of it, too focused on staring at the juice he was supposed to be drinking. But it was like thoughts were overfilling his mind right now, like it was too much ice for the cup to hold..Thinking about Ganymede. (it was sorts of longing type of thoughts.)
Neptune sat beside him, shoulders rounded, posture loose like gravity didn’t cling to him the same way it did everyone else. He stirred his cereal slowly, way past the point where it was edible, spoon tracing lazy circles like he was keeping time with something only he could hear. His eyes drifted to the table, window, the light on the floor which never quite settled, but never empty either.
Anyone else might’ve thought he wasn’t paying attention. Titan knew better than just to talk to anyone that might go run to Ganymede, but he could trust Neptune, like he’d keep all his secrets and confessions. Maybe even give good advice.
“I don’t know how to talk to him anymore, how to make things right.” Titan said quietly, barely moving his mouth. Neptune’s spoon stopped, like he was trying to process what Titan said to him. He always thought straight lines were boring anyway, like he always said.
For a second, Titan wondered if the words had just gotten lost in the noise. Neptune tilted his head slightly, like he was tuning in to something beneath the sound of the room. Then he hummed it was almost close to soft, thoughtful as set his spoon down in the bowl.
“You’re trying to talk from the future, look something is reeling you in.” Neptune said.
Titan frowned. “What?”
Neptune turned to him then, eyes suddenly sharp despite the usual haze. When Neptune focused, he really focused instead of just looking away and acting silly. “You’re thinking about what happens if you say the wrong thing. Or even the right thing. Or just nothing at all. You’re just skipping over it now, just how straight lines are boring.”
Titan looked down at his hands. “Now it feels doubtful or not important anymore..like he forgot already, i feel straight but also like i’m going slanted..”
Neptune smiled faintly. Not amused. Not dismissive. Just like he understood. “Yeah,” he said. “It usually happens like that sometimes. But maybe your slowly healing.”
Someone down the table burst out laughing at something Jupiter said. Neptune leaned closer without looking, voice dropping low enough that it stayed just between them.
“Ganymede doesn’t need you to approach him like a problem to solve,” Neptune said. “He needs you to approach him like someone who’s willing to stay, even if it’s awkward or doubtful.”
Titan swallowed. “He’s touch-starved,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to overwhelm or stress him out.”
Neptune nodded, slow and sure. “Touch-starved people aren’t fragile,” he said. “They’re hungry. The fear comes from not knowing if the food’s going to disappear again.”
Something tightened in Titan’s chest. “So what do I do?” (the hope was there.)
Neptune actually thought about it. Like, really thought, staring into his bowl like the answer might float to the surface if he waited long enough.
“You show up,” he said finally. “You don’t demand closeness. You don’t withhold it either. You let him decide what to do with you being there, don’t rush.”
Titan’s fingers curled against the table. “And if he pulls away?” (he had that doubt.)
“Then you don’t chase,” Neptune said gently. “But you don’t vanish.”
That landed harder than Titan expected, like he didn’t expect it. It didn’t feel dramatic. It felt heavy. The kind of truth that settles in quietly and refuses to leave, like something mental, something that’ll be there until you heal.
“You and Ganymede both spent a long time thinking you didn’t need this kind of connection,” Neptune went on, voice drifting but steady. “That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve it now. It just means you’re learning a bit more late.”
Titan let out a shaky breath. “I don’t want him to think I abandoned him.”
Neptune’s gaze softened. “Then don’t.”
It sounded too simple to be real.
“Knock on his door,” Neptune added, picking his spoon back up and stirring absently, like it’ll give him more answers. “Don’t practice. Don’t explain yourself into a loophole. Just… be there. Let silence actually help and see how it’ll go.” (he had a point.)
Titan looked up. “You really think that’s enough?” (he had hope but some doubt.)
Neptune smiled—small, knowing. “For someone who’s been waiting? Yeah. I do.”
Across the table, Saturn said Neptune’s name twice before realizing he hadn’t been listening.
Neptune blinked. “Oh—sorry. What?”
Titan leaned back in his chair, heart pounding, Neptune’s words louder in his head than the room around all of them.
Show up, do not vanish, even if you did before, make it up. (do not vanish.)
The thought stuck with him long after breakfast ended.
______________________________________
By the time Titan stood in front of Ganymede’s door that night, the house had gone quiet after everyone settled, the way you really didn’t hear anything, (except the hushed voices.) He then lifted his hand, hesitated, doubt creeping in like it always did.
Then Neptune’s voice surfaced in his head. Calm. Certain. Advice. Like he was telling him to Knock.
So he did.
Once. Soft. Then again, a little firmer.
The door opened sooner than he expected.
Ganymede stood there mid-yawn, curls a mess, gum working slowly in his mouth like it was grounding him. His eyes lifted—and softened immediately.
“Oh,” Ganymede said. No surprise. Just hope or fear..?
The silence that followed wasn’t empty. It was full—of weeks of distance, of things neither of them had known how to say, of hope they hadn’t wanted to admit to.
Ganymede stepped aside. Titan went in.
They sat on the edge of the bed without planning it, knees brushing when one of them shifted. Titan kept his hands loose in his lap. Ganymede mirrored him without realizing it. The closeness felt careful. Somehow intentional.
They didn’t talk. They just looked at each other. Titan saw the tiredness under Ganymede’s calm expression. Ganymede saw the quiet holding Titan together.
Titan moved first, it was slow enough to stop if Ganymede asked him to. He rested his hand gently against Ganymede’s wrist. No pressure. No asking. Like it was filling the starved gap in Ganymede’s heart.
Ganymede didn’t pull away.
Their foreheads touched, the proximity closing as their lips finally touched, making both of their eyes slid closed.
The kiss was soft. Careful. Like they were both aware of how easily something could break. It didn’t rush. It didn’t take. It just stayed. (like they didn’t want it to fade.)
When they pulled back, they stayed close.
“I love you,” Ganymede said, like the words had been waiting for a long time.
“I love you too,” Titan said immediately.
Then he finally stood up, pressing a quick lingering kiss to Ganymede’s cheek before heading towards the door.
“Goodnight, Ganymede.” Titan said over his shoulder as he slipped out the room.
“Goodnight, Titan…” Ganymede finally said as he felt a lingering heat in his chest, like he was whole again.
______________________________________
Now, Titan didn’t go directly back to his room. He found Neptune at the beach later, moonlight stretched across the water. Neptune didn’t turn when he spoke.
“Took you long enough.”
“You knew I’d come?” Titan asked.
“You walk heavier when you think too much.” (he had a point.)
They sat together, waves rolling in and out, steady and patient.
“I knocked,” Titan said.
Neptune nodded. “Yeah.”
“He opened the door like he was already there, like he was waiting for me, like it was longing.” Titan said as he looked at the waves of the ocean.
The waves never passed a barrier to reach their feet, the movement of as calm, rolling in and out, it was like it was humming a melody through its waves and watching over them..Neptune finally spoke again.
“That tracks.”
“We didn’t do much,” Titan said. “We just sat in silence, like all the words we wanted to say were already heard, you know?”
“Sometimes that’s the hard part, but sometimes it’s the best way.” Neptune murmured, toes still curved in the sand.
Titan hesitated. “We kissed.”
Neptune hummed. “The good kind?”
“The kind that doesn’t ask for anything.” Titan murmured, his expression more, calm and relaxed.
Neptune turned then, his expression still neutral but you could see that silly smile coming on his face. “And how do you feel?”
“Relieved,” Titan said. “Terrified. Lighter.”
Neptune smiled faintly. “That’s gravity doing its job.” (yes, gravity.)
Titan leaned against Neptune’s shoulder. Neptune didn’t move. Didn’t wrap an arm around him. Didn’t pull away. He just stayed. (mhm, just calmness and friendship. hush.)
______________________________________
Morning came gently.
At breakfast, Titan sat beside Neptune again. When he looked up, Ganymede was already looking at him.
This time, neither of them looked away.
Ganymede smiled first.
Neptune noticed. Of course he did.
“Someone’s gravity changed,” he murmured. (he always notices small things that don’t be that important.)
Neptune stirred his drink again. And again. And then, for no reason anyone could track, switched hands. (let him be.)
Titan watched him for a moment with a resigned expression like he knew Neptune was going to do it. (cause he did.) “You’re not even drinking that.”
Neptune glanced down, mildly surprised. “Oh. Right.” He took a sip, made a face. “It’s cold.” (colder than your usual temperature?)
“It’s supposed to be cold, and isn’t your body temperature like really cold?” Titan said. (he had a point m’kay?)
Neptune frowned at the cup like it had betrayed him personally. “I liked it better when it was theoretical or whatever you call it, and yes my body temperature is really cold, i think…” (he didn’t know, ask Uranus or something when you get the chance.)
Titan snorted despite himself. (hush country boy.)
Across the table, Mercury squinted, being nosy as usual like always, “Why are you smiling at him like that.” (stop being so nosy mr therapist, better yet, your name is mercunty shut up.)
Titan froze. “Like what…?” (you know how you was smiling sir.)
“Like he just said something profound or something..” (he’s so nosy guys, such a shame.)
Neptune leaned back in his chair, stretching, arms over his head. “I do that sometimes.”
Mercury stared. “You just complained about juice temperature and didn’t even know your own body temperature, even Uranus would probably know it.”
Uranus wasn’t even doing anything but when he was mentioned he looked downright confused and raised an eyebrow like he was in court or something. But he sipped his cold drink which didn’t bother him one bit, Neptune didn’t even pay attention as he spoke again. (leave the poor ice giants alone Mercury.)
“Exactly.”
This caught Saturn’s attention and he immediately declared himself the Judge of Breakfast for now on, everyone agreed because Saturn is entertaining, slamming his cup with his smoothie on the table, it kinda got everywhere but anyways. (mhm, it’s raspberry.) He is especially at game night when they’re all playing card games or just board games. (that’s not the point.)
Then, Saturn slammed his cup down again. “THIS IS A SERIOUS PROCEEDING.” (yes Judge Saturn, listen to him.)
Neptune raised a finger lazily. “Do we get snacks?” (yes you get snacks.) Saturn pointed at him. “THIS IS NOT A—”
Jupiter shoved a muffin toward Neptune. “Here. For the witness.” (w Juptier rn, he needs a new book.)
Neptune accepted it solemnly. “Thank you. I feel safer already.” (of course you feel safer.) Mercury threw his hands up. “WHY is everyone indulging him or whatever?” (let him eat his snacks, you want some don’t you?)
Neptune blinked at Mercury. “You seem tense.” (tenser than someone when their having…let me not say that.)
“I AM tense.” Mercury said, his expression turning a bit more uh, tense like usual when someone is literally trying to break down his ego. (didn’t you go to school for being a therapist?)
Neptune nodded. “Have you tried… not that or being tense?” Titan bit his lip, very hard like he was going to just tear into it with no mercy like eating a goddamn steak. (okay, does he have a point? yesno.)
When Saturn finally demanded Neptune to “explain himself properly,” Neptune took an exaggerated breath, like he was preparing for a lecture he didn’t care about, cause he surely didn’t even care about.
“Okay,” he said. “So. Titan was sad.”
Titan muttered, “I wasn’t sad—” (yes you were.) Neptune waved a hand without looking at him. “You were doing the quiet kind. That counts double.”
Saturn leaned forward while sipping his half-empty smoothie. “CONTINUE.”
Neptune shrugged. “He talked. I listened. I didn’t interrupt. I didn’t fix it. I said a few things that sounded like nonsense until they didn’t.” (he had a good point about all of this, he’s even better than Mercury.)
Mercury snapped, “That is NOT a methodology or whatever you call it.” (he was actually right.)
Neptune tilted his head. “It is if you’re not in a hurry.” The table went quiet for half a second. Then Uranus finally muttered something, “Oh I hate how that made sense.” (he really didn’t hate it.)
Later, somehow when Mercury accused him again of “interfering” we don’t know what he’s talking about anymore, might even be INSANE, he should really just be a lawyer instead.
Neptune squinted thoughtfully. “I didn’t interfere.”
“You ADVISED,” Mercury shot back. “I vibed,” Neptune corrected. (he did vibe, don’t get him wrong with it either.)
Saturn gasped. “WRITE THAT DOWN.”
“No,” Mercury said immediately.
Jupiter laughed so hard he wheezed, Saturn took somewhat mild offense to being told no, he looked at Mercury like he was stupid before throwing his smoothie cup at him. Everyone was in shock, even Mercury who was covered in raspberry smoothie.
Saturn had no regrets as he crossed his arms and looked away from everybody. His attention going back to Neptune and Titan as they continued to speak about their reasons. Even Uranus was interested now. (that’s surprising.)
When Titan finally stood and objected, Neptune leaned toward him and whispered, completely unhelpful, “You’re doing great. Very authoritative. Ten out of ten posture.”
Titan hissed, “Stop narrating.”
“I can’t,” Neptune whispered back. “I’m nervous.”
“You are never nervous, like never ever.”
Neptune paused. “…Okay yeah that’s fair.”
When Ganymede spoke, the room softened somehow, i don’t even know how.
Neptune nodded like he’d already known the ending. He leaned back, muffin forgotten, chair tilted dangerously.
“See,” he murmured, mostly to himself. “No monsters. Just people.”
Mercury slumped into his chair. “I hate this.”
Neptune smiled kindly. “You’ll survive.”
“I went to school for years.”
“And yet,” Neptune said gently, “here we are.”
As breakfast dissolved back into noise—
Neptune went back to stirring his drink.
Titan watched him. “You’re doing it again.”
Neptune glanced down. “Yeah.”
“…Why?”
He shrugged. “Habit. Keeps my hands busy so my brain can wander.”
“To where..?”Titan asked with a slight concerned expression but it masked into curiosity which Neptune definitely noticed.
Neptune smiled faintly. “Places that notice things.” Titan leaned back, content. “You noticed everything.”
Neptune hummed. “Most things.”
“Even when you’re not paying attention?”
“Especially then.” Nothing else needed to be said. Noise returned. Warm, familiar, messy. Titan caught Ganymede’s eye across the table. He didn’t look away, they both didn’t, young love, you know?
And Neptune who was probably half listening, half somewhere else, definitely noticed everything.
It was just a usual breakfast. Everyone filling the room with laughter and things falling.
This was home. (no it wasn’t, i’m jsp.)