Educational CYOR

Earth removes his mask, his pout in full power.

With a quivering lip and the widest eyes possible, he timidly asks “please?”

 …well?

 I really need to get to bed. (Huh, this option doesn’t seem to be working)

“Great!” Earth exclaimed.

The lot of you sat on the floor, Mars snagged your blanket and wrapped it around himself.

His eyes glanced at you for a moment before a smirk made its way to his face. He lifted the blanket with one arm, offering the open space to you with a waggle of his eyebrows, “Y’know _____, there’s plenty of room for one more.”

“Leave them alone, Mars,” Mercury deadpanned, rolling their eyes. “You’re intolerable.”

“In the best of ways.”

“Anyway,” Venus cut in, leaning forward, “how are we starting?”

“Oldest first?” Earth offered, nudging Mercury with his elbow.

“No.”

“Then I guess it’s me first.” Earth seemed deep in thought, something you didn’t know was possible. Then he perked up, “okay, first one.” Everyone held up five fingers, you followed suit. “Never have I ever been over 60 degrees.”

“…Celsius or…?”

“Of course, Celsius.” He clicked his tongue, smirking as Venus and Mercury put a finger down.

“You’re the worst,” Venus groaned.

“Naturally,” Earth winked, chuckling at her frown. “Your turn, sis.”

“Fine, fine.” She thought for a moment before smirking, “Never have I ever had a moon.”

“Boo!” Mars jeered, putting a finger down. “That’s targeting!”

“So is being over 60 degrees, but you don’t hear me complaining.”

“You were just complaining.”

“Yes, but I’m better at it.” Earth put a finger down as well, not arguing, but seemed to be pouting. “Your turn.” Venus nodded to you.

Was your next move a bit dirty, yes, but it’s really the only thing you can think of to get a bit of an edge.

“Never have I ever been a planet.” They all gaped at you before putting a finger down.

“Wow.” Mercury sneered.

“I cannot believe you went so low,” Earth chuckled, Mars jokingly punched you in the arm and Venus was left steaming in place.

“Sorry, it was too easy.”

“You play for keeps, _______, I like that,” Mars cooed. “My turn then?”

The game continued, and by the time It reached you again, the targeted phrases had yet to eliminate you considering you were the only full time human in attendance. Unfortunately, you still had one person to best out.

“Take your time,” Mars hummed, a playful smirk on his face. “Make it count.”

“Don’t listen to him, ____!” Earth cheered, offering a kind smile, “He’s just trying to get into your head.”

“Among other things,” Mars interjected, earning a punch in the shoulder from Mercury.

“PG.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Still, his eyes seemed to burn holes into your face as he watched you.

C’mon, ____, you’ve had to have learned something that could knock him out.

Then, it hits you, one of the few things you already knew about Mars before tonight.

“Never have I ever been studied by scientists.” Mars blinks at you before laughing. He puts a finger down and Earth cheers.

“Congrats, ____!” He wraps his arms around your middle, giving you a tight hug. Mars comes over and joins in, leaning against you. “Come share the love guys!”

Venus’s face twists with disgust before releasing with a sigh. Mercury quirks and eyebrow at her, as if to ask if she was already giving in.

“They’re going to make us do it anyway.” She comes over and wraps one arm around the back of Earth’s shoulders. “Might as well, Mercury.”

“No.”

“Please,” Earth frowned, “They’ve earned it.”

“No,” they hissed, pouting. “I’m fine here.”

“Mercury, Mercury, Mercury,” Mars chanted, earning a groan from the smaller planet.

“Fine!”

They came closer, slipping between the small space left between you and Mars. It was an amalgamation of temperatures. Mars may had been cold, but Mercury was freezing. Venus was burning to the touch, but Earth felt just right. It was so weird if you thought too hard about it. Soon, you all untangled, a yawn escaping you as your mind seemed to catch up to how tired your body was.

“Sleepy?” Earth asked, smiling sadly. You gave a little nod. “Hey, we don’t have to be back for a little while. Why don’t we have a half sleepover?”

“A half sleepover?” You asked, scratching your arm.

“Yeah, you go to sleep, we get to take a little nap-nap, and by morning we’ll probably be back at work.”

“I could go for a nap,” Mars sighed, “if that’s cool with you, ____.”

“I mean,” you started, looking around the small dorm, “you’re welcome to whatever space you can find.”

They all turn to let you change into pajamas, strewing themselves around the room. Earth took the floor, borrowing a pillow. Mars was propped up in your roommate’s chair, leaning on their desk. Mercury had managed to snag your desk again, straddling the chair and arms latched around another spare pillow. Venus, despite your quiet warnings, had climbed up onto your roommate’s bed.

You climbed into bed, eyes falling heavy as soon as you lied down.

…

…

When you woke up you weren’t quite sure where you were. Once the sleepy haze cleared, you realized that you were in your dorm. You vaguely remember bits of your dream. There were attractive people with weird planet names, coffee…you were probably studying too late again.

You managed to force yourself out of bed, rationalizing with the part of your brain that suggested you eat something, stopping at your desk. Huh, you must have accidentally pushed a pillow off of your bed or something. You reach for it only to notice some strange signatures in your textbook, that and a sticky note.

Had a lot of fun with you last night _____, next time we’re in town, we’ll definitely see you again ^^

-Earth (PS. Everyone else says hi)

Earth…? You reach for your textbook and flip through the pages. Sure enough, the first four sections were signed, the header on Mars even had a little doodle. You shut the book with a fond sigh. Alright, now it’s time for food.

The End

“I’m going to go look for them,” you whispered as to not disturb anyone else watching. Earth nodded, patting your arm before his attention went back to the film. You ducked between groups, heading in the direction you saw Mercury storm off in. You bump into people on your way out of the area, apologizing as you search for the small ball of annoyance.

Where were they?

“Hey!” You stop a couple on their way over, panting as it became apparent how long you’ve been rushing around. “Have you seen a person about yea tall,” you started, bringing your hand to about Mercury’s height, “reddish brown hair, red eyes, kinda cute but in an angry puppy way?”

“Yeah,” one of them said, dropping their partner’s hand, “I saw them run over to the snack table.” They pointed vaguely in the direction you were running to.

“Thanks so much.” They waved dismissively as you scampered off.

Lo and behold, Mercury was there, sitting in the grass under a tree, looking as grumpy as ever.

“Hey, stranger.” They didn’t look at you, instead turning their line of sight away.  

“What do you want?” You sat next to them, your shoulder’s bumping before they scooted away from you.

“To check up on you,” you answered, offering a kind smile. “You just kind of ran away. Are you okay?”

They turned to look at you, seemingly ready to argue. Their anger seemed to disappear, swapped with nerves as they quickly looked away, their lips pressed in a pout.

“I’m fine.”

“Oh?” You teased, scooting closer. “Because, someone who’s fine probably wouldn’t have ran off like that.” You can’t hear what they grumbled under their breath, but you’re willing to bet a pretty penny on it being not very nice. They shuffle a bit further from you and you, in retaliation, shuffle closer.

“You’re very annoying, do you know that?” They huffed, crossing their arms.

“And you’re very strange, while we’re stating the obvious.” They let out a small “humph” that was as moody as they are. “Why did you leave?”

“…” They risked a glance over at you, their frown still evident on their face, even as their eyes flashed with caution. “It’s nothing.”

“It didn’t seem like nothing.” You leaned closer, a reassuring smile tugging on your lips. “C’mon, you’re the only one that hasn’t told me, like, anything about you.” Their eyes widened briefly with shock, lips parting slightly before they shook their head.

“Maybe there’s a reason for that.” They leaned back against the tree, sighing as their arms dropped to their lap. “There’s not much to know.”

“That can’t be true.” Their line of sight snaps to you, confusion evident clear on their face. “Tell me something, anything!”

“Why do you want to know so bad?!” It wasn’t very noticeable, but visible heat seemed to waver around their face. They were kind of cute when they were getting defensive.

“Because,” you answered, poking them in their shoulder, “I’m interested in learning about you. Why is that so surprising?” They seemed to short circuit for a moment, mouth opening and closing as they searched for how to respond.

You half expected some kind of deflection until they quietly asked, “what do you want to know?”

“Well,” you started, leaning back against the tree, the distance between you minimal, “anything you’re willing to tell me.”

They looked at you skeptically, scrutinizing your face for any trace of lying. When they found none, they seemed to relax just a bit. “I guess I could tell you some things.”

“Aw, you do like me,” you teased earning an unconvincing face of disgust.

“It’s not like I like you or anything,” they argued, the heat easily felt coming from their face intensified, “I’m just being…polite.”

“Mhm,” you cooed, poking their shoulder. “Then, by all means, be “polite” Mercury.”

“Humph.” They glanced around, trying to think of facts that didn’t sound absolutely lame. “Well…I don’t really have an atmosphere, it’s really just a thin exosphere.”

“Is that why you’re not as hot as Venus?” Suddenly, you realized that came out wrong, “temperature wise? Y’know…because you’re closer to the Sun?”

Mercury sighed and nodded their head, “It’s whatever, but yeah.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, come on, Mercury.”

“It’s whatever.”

“…how about another fact?” They looked at you again, uncertainty still in their eyes.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“…okay, uh,” the mumbled, scratching at their face. “My day is longer than my year.”

“…what does that even mean?”

“Well, scientifically speaking. 88 of your earth days is one of my years,” they didn’t seem to notice that had gotten closer, and you weren’t going to mention it, “and one of my days is 176 of your days.”

“That’s...” you tried to wrap your brain around it, “that’s weird.”

“Yeah, I turn slow.”

“Anything else?” They seemed off guard each passing time you asked them to elaborate. Between facts they’d glance at you uneasily, lips perpetually in a confused pout. They’re adorable. “While we’re on topic…got any moons?” They fake gagged, shaking their head.

“No, that’s probably why I have these craters,” They grumbles, absentmindedly running a hand along their face.

“I think your craters are endearing.”

“Don’t speak so loud, Venus will flaunt hers if she heard you.” Hey! That was a joke!

You chuckle quietly before nodding, leaning closer. “Don’t stop, I like hearing about you.”

“Why?” They scoffed. “I’m not as hospitable as Earth, hot as Venus- I haven’t been as popular as Mars since AD,” they continued on, face contorting into bitterness.

“I think you’re cool.”

“My nights do get to -180 degrees Celsius.”

“That’s not what I meant! I mean, I think you’re neat.”

“…Neat?”

“Yeah, like, I like you.” Their lips tightened as a small, surprised, squeak came from their throat. “Why is that so surprising to you?”

“Because that doesn’t happen.” They seemed to close up again, scooting away from you again, arms crossing. “Not to me.”

“Well, look out, buddy,” You inched closer, bumping their shoulder with yours, “it sure is happening to you now.” They let out a huff before shaking their head.

“You’re so…”

“Polite?” you quipped, adding a wink. They stared at you with a straight face, annoyance and fondness swirling in their red eyes. “I really do like learning about you, Mercury.”

“S-stop being weird.” Their face scrunched up as they looked away, you could feel the embarrassed heat coming off their face from here. “Geez…”

“Hey, c’mon, Mercury, no need to get so guarded, is it really that strange for someone to like you?” They turned to look at you, a surprised squeak sounding as they realized how close your faces were now. The heat was…a lot for you, but you weren’t going to back down. They gulped, but held your stair, albeit nervously.

“I-It…” They swallowed again, but their eyes flickered between your eyes and your lips, their nerves easily visible. They quickly pulled away, shaking their head. “Yes, it is.”

Back to pouting then, fine. You can handle a little pouting.

“Well then, I guess I’m strange.”

“You’re so weird.” They looked at you again, a teasing smile on their face. Cute!

“I’m getting kinda tired, besides, I think the documentary is over.” Sure enough, people were walking from the screen that was playing credits. Mercury couldn’t help but roll their eyes at the sight of Earth laughing and chatting with a large group of guys from the Basketball team.

“Let’s get you home then.” They stand up and offer their hand, much to your surprise. Judging by how they refused to meet your gaze and how badly their hand was shaking, you didn’t argue or poke fun, taking it and standing to your feet.

The trip was mostly uneventful, other than earth eagerly telling you how fun the documentary was, and it was sad that you missed it. That, and that Mercury didn’t let go of your hand, not until you made it to your dorm.

As expected, your roommate was gone and the dorm was, thankfully, decent. Earth gave you a parting hug before telling Mercury he’d be downstairs. Mercury didn’t seem to even blink until the door was closed.

“So, I guess this is…” before you could finish you felt lips on yours. Slightly cool and unsure. The hand holding yours seemed to tighten slightly, the nervous shaking returning. Mercury went to pull away to apologize, never getting the chance to as you tugged them closer by the collar, their hands nervously rested on your hips. When you finally pulled away, you notice what may be the first time you’ve seen them smile that hard.

“Was that okay?”

“Of course, it was.” You peck them on the forehead, earning a subsequent kiss on the cheek.

“I should let you get some sleep, huh?” They chuckled nervously, swallowing the lump in their throat.

“Okay,” you said quietly, taking their hand and squeezing it reassuringly. “Bye.”

“Bye,” they whisper back, quietly leaving your room. You got ready for bed and found yourself in a pleasant dream.

…

…

What happened last night?

You vaguely remember studying- and judging by the open textbook on your desk, you must have called it a night. You get out of bed, yawning as you stretch and pull yourself out of bed. You walk over to your desk, ready to get some pre-breakfast studying going until you notice something sitting right there between the open pages. It was open to the section on Mercury. Strange, you remember vaguely something about that last night. On closer inspection you think you’ve figured out what was sitting in your textbook.

Was that…a CD case?

You pick it up and realize it’s not a CD at all, but a DVD! There’s a sticky note stuck to the cover.

You seemed pretty interested in me…I still think you’re weird, but you can watch this to learn more I guess (or…if you miss me)

-Mercury

It was hard not to feel a bit warm at the gesture, that obviously was pretty embarrassing for them considering the amount of words scratched out on the note and the hearts in the corner poorly scribbled out. You set the DVD aside and shut your textbook.

The End

“They’ll probably be fine, right?” you ask as you settle down. Earth nods eagerly, and you can tell by his eyes he’s happy you stayed.

“Yeah! They’re a big planet- well not really, but they’ll be fine. They’re the oldest after all.” The documentary continues on, the dramatic voice over booming from the speakers.

“The only planet to not have a name based on myth, Earth truly is unique.” Earth’s hand found yours, but his eyes didn’t dare glance at you.

Weird, usually he’s more excitable, but his face was completely blank.

“With its name being Germanic for ground, Earth is also a similar size as Venus. Unlike its twin, most of Earth’s surface is water.” The video zoomed in, drone footage of cities and rural neighborhoods scrolling past, as if the viewer was on the back of a bird. “With water and a breathable atmosphere, is it any question why complex life takes refuge on this beautiful orb?” The video panned out again, zooming out to a replica of the Earth rotating and then to it orbiting the sun with the other planets.

It became hard to focus, considering you could see Earth watching you from your peripherals. You glanced over at him, his face immediately going from a fond bliss to instant worry. He quickly tore his gaze from you, turning to look the other way.

The person he happened to look at waved politely and Earth, being Earth, waved back. She crawled over, careful not to disturb anyone as she made her way over.

“Hey,” they whispered, offer to shake Earth’s hand. They made polite conversation, snickering among themselves. At first it seemed fun, like a little group, but it grew a bit more annoying the more they leaned against each other, giggling, making small jokes about things happening in the documentary. Soon, the group grew as more people joined in the banter. It was lighthearted, but for some reason you felt a bit off.

As much as you were into the documentary and the atmosphere, it felt a bit suffocating. You gently tapped Earth’s arm, the planet not wasting a moment to give you attention.

“Hey, I just need some…” you tried to think of a convenient reason to step away, “air.”

“But there’s air everywhere?” He frowned, clearly worried.

“Well, yes, but…” you swallowed, “I mean, I need, like, uncontested air?” That didn’t make much more sense, but Earth didn’t argue. You freed the hand he was still holding before standing. Everyone that had been behind you at the start of the film had migrated over closer to Earth, so you weren’t blocking anyone’s field of vision. You quietly walked from the group, heading in the opposite direction Mercury went. You didn’t feel like talking to anyone much at all right now, and you didn’t know why.

The moment you left, Earth seemed a bit down, his banter dying out a bit. Before you left, after every joke or quip he’d risk a glance, checking to see if you were smiling, hoping to the stars you were. Now? Well, it didn’t feel right. Part of him knew you wanted your space, but with each passing moment, he started to get more worried. What if you didn’t come back? What if you just went home?

He wasn’t worried about Mercury because they’re from the same solar system, but losing you? That’s a 1 in a 7 billion chance of finding you again.  

He excused himself, the group prospering on without him. He went in the general direction you went in, growing more and more worried the longer it took to find you. He eventually did find you, sitting on top of a hill. “Hey stranger,” He said, nervousness easily detectable in his voice, “mind if I join you?”

“Don’t you have your party to attend to?” That came out harsher than you meant, but neither of you commented on it. Earth made his way over, stripping slightly on the incline. He sat close next to you, just shy of your arms touching.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” They frowned, eyes flitting around your face, searching for any sense of a lie. “Really.”

“You left.” It came with a pout, and their voice wasn’t as cheery and upbeat as normal. It was small…scared.

“Sorry, I just needed some space.” He seemed to realize how close he was to you and scooted over, face tinging red. “I’m fine now, I just needed a minute.” You went to stand, but Earth grabbed your hand, bringing you back down.

“Would it be okay…if we stay here for a bit longer?” You noticed he was looking up at the sky. From here, the lights form campus weren’t as strong, you could see more of the sky. You didn’t think about it, but Earth must be a bit homesick.

“Of course.” You settled against him, earning a content sigh. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you flush against him so you could lie your head on his shoulder.

“You know,” he started, glancing down at you, “I really like hanging out with you. I’m glad you live here.”

“Ignoring that you’re the only known hospitable planet in the solar system, I don’t think I’d live anywhere else.” There was a moment of comfortable silence before Earth moved to press a kiss to your forehead. Coincidentally, you turned to look at him, your lips just barely brushing against each other. Neither of you moved, you didn’t even breathe. Earth removed his mask properly, unhooking it from his ears and stuffing it in his pocket. He leaned so his forehead pressed against yours.

Anxiously, he asked, “…would it be okay…if we did that again?” You didn’t trust your voice, your heart was racing, so you nodded. Soon, your lips were touching, properly this time. He kissed you again, and again, and again, almost like a dependency. A squeak of surprise tore from your throat as he tugged you onto his lap, giggling at your reactions. He leaned up to kiss you again, sighing against your lips in content.

Both of you were startled at the sound of loud clapping. The sudden surprise causing you to lean sideways, your momentum tumbling both of you down the hill. You landed under him and after a second to process, you both burst into snickers.

“Sounds like the documentary is done.” He kisses your cheek for good measure before getting up, offering his hand to help you up.

Just as you make it back, the girl from earlier is jogging up to you two, a small group in tow.

“Hey, some of us were going to get dinner and hang out. You down?” You could tell she was just talking to Earth, eyes wide and seeming to glimmer in the lights from campus.

Earth shook his head, “Nah, I really should be going, but nice to meet you.” She nodded, offering you a small wave and heading off with her friends. “She seems nice.”

“Yeah.” Part of you starts to feel a bit bad about earlier, but you quickly forget it as soon as Earth squeezes your hand gently.

“C’mon, let’s go find Mercury.”

Mercury was sitting by themselves when you found them, taking a nap. You didn’t know they could do that. “Psst, sib,” Earth whispered, poking them in the arm. “Movie’s over.”

Mercury stirred slightly, mumbling as they roused from their sleep. Earth hooked an arm under theirs, aiding them to their feet. “Can we go yet?”

“We gotta get _____ to their dorm, then we can go home.”

The trip over wasn’t anything special, expect for the kiss to the back of your hand randomly during the shuttle ride. Mercury decided to stay outside, not caring for doing much more than going home. Earth walked you to your door, planning on staying there until you invited him in. He lingered by your desk, his back to you while you got changed for bed. “Thanks for tonight, I had fun.”

“Me too,” he chuckled, turning once you gave the ‘okay’. He stepped closer, wrapping his arms around you. It felt comfortingly familiar, like you’ve done this before. Then again, this was home. “Goodnight, sleep tight, okay?”

You nodded, waving as he went to your door. His hand lingered over the knob for a second before he quickly took a step back, making his way to you and pulling you into another kiss. His hands cupped your face, thumb brushing against your skin. Once you needed air, you broke apart, a slightly giddy, tranced, look on his face.

“Okay, now really goodnight.” He pecked your cheek and turned to leave.

“Goodnight.” He closed the door behind him, waving.

You climbed into bed, a warmness in your chest, and went to sleep.

…

…

You woke up in a haze. All you could really remember was some vague dream and studying. A comforting warmth of familiarity was still in your chest, must have been a good dream then. You managed to pull yourself out of bed, stretching until your bones crack. Your mouth is dry, all you can really think about is maybe something to eat and water.

On your way to your closet, you notice something sitting on your desk. Weird, you could have sworn you weren’t studying in your dorm.

Your textbook sat open, flipped to the section on Earth.

Resting on the page beside it was a snow globe. It had a tiny globe on a stick in the center with white glitter nestled at the bottom, ready to be shaken and toyed with. You took it in your hands, rolling it around until the glitter flew around inside. While you were shaking it, a sticky note freed itself from the bottom, flittering onto your desk. You sit the snow globe down and reach for it.

I saw they were selling these at the documentary screening. I thought it would be cool if you had it :)

-Earth (your favorite planet…hopefully) :)))

This explains a lot actually, and that comforting warmth found you again, the memory of firm but pleasant pressure against your lips returns to you. You look out at your window, a soft smile tugging on your lips. Without thinking, you blow a kiss to the outside world and go about your day.

The End

You glance over at Venus. She’ll be preoccupied for a while.

You offer your arm to Mars, “Let’s go, partner.” He links his with yours and guides you to a dark corridor. Most of the hubbub is in the main room where the special exhibit was set up, so the hall was mostly empty. “Where are we?”

“I dunno, somewhere,” Mars hummed, pulling you through the dark. “Somewhere not there.”

“Couldn’t take all the Venus publicity?”

“Nah, I get plenty of that, it’s only fair that she does too, I just rather not listen to her talk about herself for an hour.” Even in the dark, you could see the slightly annoyed look on his face. “I figured, ‘hey, maybe ______ also would like to not hear that, let’s find something interesting with them’ and decided to try that if you were interested, and, hey, look,” He pulled his arm from you, instead taking your hand to spin you around, “you did!” He pulled you in closer, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

Whether it was because of him or because of him, you shivered. His hands were cold, in fact now that you were closer, you could feel that all of him was cold. His body radiated chill, a coolness that didn’t seem to go away despite his sweater and jacket.

The further you got from the Venus exhibit, the darker it got. The planetarium must have really wanted the focus on Venus tonight. “Do you know where we’re going?”

“Nope,” he admitted, popping the ‘p’, “not my planet, remember?” Even without being able to really see him, you could tell he was winking at you. You continued walking around quietly in the dark until he suddenly let go of you completely. At first you panicked, considering you were in a closed off, blacked out, portion of an unfamiliar building, but you were slightly comforted by Mars’ hand patting your head. “I’m going to go look for some lights, you be good and wait here.” He poked you on the cheek before leaving, his footsteps quieting the further he got from you.

No longer how long you stood in the dark, your eyes didn’t really get to adjust. Even still, you flinched slightly as the bright lights shut on. You expected Mars to come right back, but after a full minute of waiting after the lights came on…you were starting to get worried.

“Mars?” You called out, met with silence. You tried his name again, “Mars? You’re starting to worry me,” and nothing came of it. Your nerves started to tick, the unsettling feeling of someone watching you tingled up your spine. Where was he?

Suddenly, arms wrapped around your middle, your brain signaling a fear response as you tried to jump away.

“Gotcha,” Mars snickered, pulling you back into a hug. He slipped one arm from around you and came around your side. “Now, let’s see what this place is about.”

As you walked around, it was easy to see this was a more generic section about various moons in the solar system. This must have been closed off to keep more people stuck in the Venus exhibit.

“Hey,” you started, Mars slowing his pace to listen, “don’t you have two moons?”

“Yeah,” he sighs fondly, “Phobos and Deimos are absolute beauties right?”

You’re both stopped in front of the plaques and screens talking about them, a sped-up diagram of them revolving around Mars pausing every few moments with fun facts. You get a feeling the diagram isn’t exactly like what they look like, but Mars seems happy enough to see them.

“They’re amazing.”

He sighs fondly once more before leading you further through the hall.

“Hey, look at this handsome devil.” He spins you around, pointing at a screen depicting him in his planet form.

“Wow.” You tried to hide your sarcasm, poorly done as he snickered and slid both his arms around your middle again. Your eye catches a fact just before it fades to a different one. “You’re not completely red.” As you say it, you realize that he probably already knows this. Your face begins to heat in embarrassment.

“No,” He hums, feigning disinterest, “at least, not where you can’t see.” He adds a wink, earning a light punch in the shoulder. He leans further into you as he continues, it’s almost completely distracting… Almost. “I’m only red because of the whole iron in the soil thing, y’know, rust and all that.”

By now, you can tell he’s definitely trying to be distracting. His face is nuzzled against your shoulder and his arms have tightened around your middle. “Y-yeah?”

“Mhm…” You tore your eyes away from the coy smile spreading across his face to catch another fact.

“Y-your atmosphere is pretty thin, huh?” You swallowed nervously before continuing, “must be hard to breathe.”

“I can steal your breath away in other ways.” Before you could ask what he meant, your back met a wall. His arms were on other side of your head, face close to yours. Even with the various screens and posters, your eyes were drawn to his; the deep red and pale orange entrancing as his cool breath grazed your skin. “Is this alright?”

“I-.” You swallowed, a lump in your throat as you tried to breathe.

Well, he wasn’t lying when he said he could steal your breath away. You nod weakly, tensing slightly as his lips pressed against yours. You relaxed against him, sighing as his hands went from trapping you against the wall to cup your face.

This kiss was relatively short lived, only because he wasn’t absolutely sure how much air a person needed. As soon as you took a breath, though, he was back against you, cradling your head to kiss you deeper. Despite the chill of his touch, you still felt like you were burning, the hilarity of the situation causing a small laugh.

Here you were, in a blocked off wing of a planetarium, kissing the planet Mars.

He joined you in laughter, chuckling against your lips and between kisses.

You both could have done this more much longer until you heard footsteps from further down the hall. You both froze.

Jeez, the things this would do to your reputation on campus if you got in trouble for making out in a planetarium.

“That’s strange,” a gruff voice said, the unmistakable sound of keys jingled. Oh no. “I don’t remover leaving the lights on.”

“Time to go!” Mars whisper-yelled, taking your hand and booking it back to the main exhibit hall. You didn’t stop until you hit the emptying exhibit hall, Venus glaring and tapping her foot waiting for you. “Oh no, we angered the princess.”

“Ugh, where were you? I’ve been waiting forever.”

“We were having our own little adventure, don’t sweat it, sis.” Mars didn’t let go of your hand the entire way back to your dorm.

“Hurry up, we have to meet Earth and Mercury before we leave,” Venus huffed, closing the door behind her.

Mars stuck his tongue out at her as she left before squeezing your hand, bringing it up to touch his face. “You get some sleep, okay?” He pressed another short kiss against your lips, sighing as you pulled away. He waved goodbye to you as he left, winking just before closing the door behind him.

You felt heavy, your eyes were dry, and though your heart was light and fluttering, your head wanted nothing more but to flatten your pillow. You went to bed pretty easily that night.

…

…

The next morning, you woke up pretty late, a muggy recollection of last night’s events in your mind. Well, there goes your study time. Your mind immediately went to breakfast…lunch…food. You dragged yourself out of bed, stretching your limbs when something seemed to glint in the afternoon sunlight pouring from your window.

You went over to your desk, astonished to find a necklace- a green gem wrapped tightly with iron on a chain. It sat in the middle of your open textbook- the page was open to the beginning section on Mars. A red sticky note was stuck to the paper in neat scribble.

 Bet you didn’t expect this one, huh? I thought you might like it, it’s Peridot, captivating, just like you. ;)

-Mars (the best planet)

You couldn’t help the smile creeping onto your face. You pocket the necklace and go on with your day.

The End

“Have fun snooping, Mars.” He gives you a wink before sneaking off through a dark hallway.

As soon as he’s gone, your arm is linked with Venus. You don’t think you’ve seen her this friendly with you since you’ve met, but you’re not going to argue when she’s tugging you toward an exhibit.

“What did Mars want?” She says this passively, keeping your arms locked, even as you’ve arrived at the exhibit she wanted to show you.

“He wanted to go look around some other exhibits.” You can’t help but think back to the mischievous look in his eye…he wanted to do more than that. You think in passing you hope he doesn’t get all of you kicked out. Venus’s eyes glint with excitement as she drags you around, happily explaining things about her.

“So, you don’t have any moons?”

“No way! That’s too much to deal with, besides, what are they going to do but bug me all day.” Despite the disdain in her voice, it’s hard to miss the warm look she gives you the more you talk. Her insults even start to sound more playful than harsh. At some point, your arms were no longer connected, instead she was holding your hand, absentmindedly swinging it as you walked through the exhibits.

You land on another screen, glowing with different fun facts about Venus and showing her planet form.

“Pretty…” You don’t even mean to say it, but she didn’t miss it. Her eyes widen for a split second, shock registering quickly, and in a blink of an eye, she’s positively smug.

“Yeah?” She cooed, slinging an arm around your shoulder. It’s then that you realize that she and Earth are extremely close in size, but she was exceptionally warm. “I mean, of course I am, got to have better compliments than that to throw me off.” Her voice was challenging, a similar look deep in her eyes as they darkened slightly.

The area around you seemed to quiet down a bit, the room filtering into adjoining hallways. Venus leads you over to some seats, sitting close enough that you can feel the heat radiating from her body.

“Got any more?”

You could think of a couple. Venus may be a bit touchy, but she’s not all bad. “Well,” you start, leaning a bit away as the heat became almost unbearable, numbing the skin closest to her. Even still she leaned closer, so close the only thing you could really see were her eyes. “You’re incredibly interesting, I mean, your days are longer than your whole year, which is insane, right? How is that possible?”

Wow! Maybe you actually learned something?

“Yeah?” You’ve glanced away now, not noticing how intensely she’s staring at you, or watching your lips as you continue.

“And even though you’re second to the sun, you’re the hottest planet in our solar system-.” Your face begins to heat up. Did you actually just say that? Out loud? She must know you don’t mean it like that…right?

You nervously risk a glance at her and immediately notice the fond look on her face. You also notice that she’s not looking at you specifically, her focus trained on your lips. Once she realizes you’ve stopped talking her eyes jet back to meet yours. They seem to sparkle as the lights dim for another tour group, and the heat she radiates is almost unbearable.

“Hey.”

Breathlessly, you respond, “h-hey.” She leans impossibly closer, leaning her head on your shoulder, looking up at you with her wide, blue and brown eyes. You swallow your nerves, tensing before quickly relaxing when she takes your hand again.

“____, can I do something?” It’s in her usual teasing voice, and with your throat closing up, you can’t bring yourself to say words. You nod, taking a sharp breath when she shifts so your noses are touching. “Cool.” With that she leans in, pressing her lips against yours. Both of your eyes flutter shut.

You don’t know if it’s you, or if it’s her 465° C, but it’s extremely warm. One of her hand’s snakes to the nape of your neck, holding you steady in place, the other is firm in yours, fingers slipping together. She’s smooth, like there wasn’t a single crater on her surface, her warm spreads through you like you were on fire in a calm oven and then the oven was doused in gasoline. You feel numb, but in a good way.

Soon though, it’s over, and she can’t control the smile on her face. Her eyes flicker to a space themed clock on the wall before sliding back to you. “As fun as that was, hon, it’s late.”

She’s not wrong. It’s very late. Before you can mention finding Mars, the mischievous planet finds his way to you two, his yearn for mischief seemingly quenched.

“Are we going now?”

“Why? Bored?” Venus teased, she pulled you up from your seat, but didn’t let go of your hand.

“Kind of.”

“Good, ______ needs to get home anyway.”

When you make it to your dorm, you feel like dead weight, your body absolutely drained from all your energy. “Don’t be so dramatic,” Venus huffed. She had turned around so you could change into your pajamas, being courteous enough to want to see you off to sleep before leaving.

Back to her normal self then.

“I had fun tonight,” you said once you were done, a small smile finding its way to your face. You climbed onto the annoyingly tall bed before lying on your side.

She turned around at the sound, a small smiling adorning her face as well before she became stoic again. Venus checked to make sure Mars was still waiting in the hallway before leaning in closer to whisper “me too.”

She kissed your forehead, then both your cheeks, and one short one on the lips for good measure.

“Goodnight, _______.” You had started to doze off soon after she whispered those words to you.

…

…

You woke up the next morning better than usual. You actually felt like you slept!

Part of you wants to go back to sleep, yearning for whatever dream it was last night that had eased you, but before long, your alarm proper went off. Right, you’d need to study if you wanted to do well on that Terrestrial planets quiz. Speaking of which…what were you doing last night?

You could swear you were studying but…?

Your eyes land on your desk, your Astronomy textbook opened with a blue highlighter sat, capped, in the fold. You climbed out of bed, stretching and yawning as you made your way over. As part of your mind drifted to breakfast, the rest was focused on the highlighted section.

Venus, second planet from the son, closest planet to Earth.

As your eyes scanned the text, you couldn’t help but notice…you already knew this information. Strange, you thought. After all, you were having such a problem with it, right?

In your confusion, you noticed a small bottle, rounded on the sides with a little paper tag attached. It looked like water. You pick up the bottle and being to read.

Sulfuric Acid, don’t drink or spill this, hon. I’d hate to see you get hurt from doing something stupid <3

-Venus

With a soft smile on your face, you tuck the bottle away in a drawer and close your textbook.

The End

“As fun as either of those options sounds, if I want to get some studying in tomorrow before noon I should probably head back.”

“Aw, dang,” Earth said, tapping his fingers on the table in thought.

“The night is still young,” Mars started, immediately getting cutoff by Venus.

“It’s 9 o’clock.”

“So… young,” Mars continued, “why don’t we come over and help you study?”

“It could be like a sleepover!” Earth gasped, taking your hand.

“A sleepover?” Mercury repeated, warily. Venus seemed to ponder the idea, weighing the pros and cons of being with her siblings in a small room, really only meant to hold two people. “W-we can’t, because the dorms have a limit in how many people are allowed to stay overnight…right?”

“We’d be breaking it with just letting Earth in, we may as well break it a teeny tiny bit more,” Venus hummed, just barely touching her thumb with her pointed finger to signal how small of the rule breaking that would be.

“I cannot believe this,” Mercury grumbled, making themselves smaller in their seat.

“You can go home you know,” Venus offered snarkily, her lips drawn back in a sneer, “we don’t need the negative energy from you tonight.”

“Yeah, we get enough from Venus as is,” Mars teased, earning a harsh shove from his sister. Mercury grumbled something incoherently but shook their head no.

“Sun would kill me if I left you guys alone. I’m not doing that again.”

“Again?” You asked, looking over at Earth. He shrugged, taking a sip from his drink.

“Mars and I have a similar length of day, so we just kind call it around 24 hours whenever Sun asks us how long we’ll be out.”

“Last time we went to Mars so when Sun came looking for us it was…a mess. He started on Earth- which by the way, we should have gone, Mars you’re so boring- and Mercury left early,” Venus explained, leaning back. “Told us we were too much to be around and dipped.”

“I didn’t hear the end of it for ages,” Mercury groaned, “so, where you guys go, I’ll go, unfortunately.”

“Great, then it’s settled, unless you don’t want us there, ____?” Earth’s eyes went wide and without removing his mask, you could tell he was pouting. Mars, similarly, copied his brother.

Smiling nervously, you shook your head no, “you’re all welcome to come back with me, I guess. My roommates going home for the weekend anyway so it should be fine?” You silently hope your roommate didn’t leave their side of the room a mess.

You all take the bus back to the dormitory building, making it to your dorm without much issue, other than Mercury arguing with Earth over using them as an armrest on the elevator ride up to your floor.

“Geez, it’s freezing.” You didn’t argue, your roommate did keep the room pretty cold, but Venus seemed to actually be freezing to death.

“She’ll be fine, she’s used to warmer temperatures, that’s all.” Earth made himself comfy by hopping up on your bed, Mars made himself at home by sitting on the floor while Venus sat next to Earth and Mercury swiped your desk chair. That left the space next to Mars. You sat down and Mars immediately saddled up next to you. “Nice place you got here.”

“It’s passable,” Venus hummed, leaning back on your bed. “But now what?”

“Well,” Earth started, that same mischievous glint in his eyes from the library, “we could play a game.”

“Oh no, last time we played truth or dare, and I woke up with some weird robot thing.”

“Put some respect on Oppy’s name,” Earth huffed before shaking his head, “but no, I’m thinking more along the lines of Never Have I Ever.” He wiggled his eyebrows, earning a disinterested groan from Mercury.

“This is just you trying to get more research, admit it.”

“Of course, it is, but that doesn’t change the fact that we should do it,” Earth argued.

“This feels awfully one sided, I mean, who’s to say that ________ even wants to play?” Mars brought up, taking your hand as he did so.

“Who’s to say that I want to play?” Mercury grumbled, earning a pat on the head from Venus.

“You don’t get a choice in this.” When she sat up you were able to appreciate just how similar in height Earth and Venus were. They all, except maybe for Mercury, turned their attention on you.

Well, do you wanna play?

 Sure, what do I have to lose?

Mars ruffled Mercury’s hair before seeing them, you, and Earth off to the bus stop.

Mercury hung back as Earth went ahead, a mix of excitement and long legs leaving you both in the dust.

The bus ride was mostly uneventful, if not Mercury trying to get out of watching some “dumb Earth documentary” and Earth, unperturbed and used to it, threw his arm around his sibling, jostling and promising them some kind of payment or reward if they just sat through one more documentary.

You kind of get the idea that they’ve done this before.

The amphitheater wasn’t terribly packed, and many groups were lying on blankets, snacking on candy and chatting before the documentary started. You all sat near the back, a bit away from the rest of the students waiting for the documentary to start.

Before the film starts, the menu screen shows the moon revolving around Earth in sped up time. A thought briefly flickers through your mind and you find yourself asking a question before thinking, not like it mattered. Earth seemed happy to talk about himself.

“Hey, Earth?”

“Yeah?”

“If you’re…you, then what about the moon?” His eyes lit up and his hands clapped together.

“Here we go,” Mercury grumbled, rolling their eyes again. Certainly, they should have fallen out by now.

“Moon is practically my son, he’s adorable, I love him so much, he’s so tiny- not as tiny as an asteroid mind you, but he’s adorable, always hanging around me, revolving, controlling my tides with his gravity and stuff,” Earth looked like he could go on for days, much to Mercury’s dismay.

Before he could go into showing you pictures, the documentary started, opening with a booming classical score under British narration.

“Earth,” the narrator started dramatically, “the only planet in our solar system not named after a god of ancient times, third planet from the sun, our home.”

As the narration continued with the set up, you could easily notice Mercury seeming less annoyed but more…sad? Before you had the chance to see what’s wrong, they stood up, grumbling something about using the restroom, before leaving. You turned to Earth who only shrugged, whispering “sometimes they need to cool off, -180 degrees Celsius and all.” When he noticed you were still worried, he slipped his mask off just enough so you could see his sad smile. “if you want, you can go look for them, I don’t know if they’ll be much company though.”

 Stay with Earth 💚

You guys split up, Mercury grumbling as they follow an excited Earth to the bus. You, Mars, and Venus all head over to the planetarium, getting in easily on discount night.

Venus, as soon as you step into the building, is ecstatic, squealing as she looks around at all the posters and tapestries of her.

“Look, look!” She giggled, tugging on your hand and leading you to a wall of short facts.

“Oh stars, Venus, we get it you’re excited-” He was cut off by Venus eagerly reading one of the facts out loud.

“Did you know that I spin opposite to most of the planets? You know what that means?”

“That you’re dizzy?” She glared at you before shaking her head no.

“It means I’m special.” Mars looked like he was contemplating something before shaking his head.

“Too easy.” He and you follow Venus further inside where a guide was talking more about her.

“Venus’s acidic clouds are one of the many reasons living there would be virtually impossible for the likes of us,” the guide explained to the small group of people. They clicked a remote and a screen fizzled to life before showing a detailed estimate about what Venus as a planet looks like up-close. “That blue might look chilly, but Venus is actually the hottest planet in our solar system at 465° Celsius, that’s 865° Fahrenheit!”

Venus looked completely entranced, touching her face as she stared at the screen as it showed her picture.

Mars rolled his eyes before glancing at you fondly.

“Hey, I’m going to go snoop around, I’d love a partner in crime,” they winked before nodding to a door that went who knows where. “So…?”

Stick with Venus 💙

“What about you Mars?” You asked, nudging his ankle with your foot, “What’s your stance on humans?” Mars looks between the lot of you before chuckling.

“I actually don’t really have one, you guys seem cool…usually, but I don’t really have any complex lifeforms.” He squints his eyes at his siblings before clicking his tongue, “neither do they, so I don’t think they should have a say in it.”

“Hey!” Venus pouts heavily, arms crossing, “I’ll have you know that around 40 spacecrafts have visited me.”

“Yeah,” Mercury scoffed, “before melting.”

“I can’t help it,” she smirked, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, “I’m hot.”

“Oh please,” Mercury groaned, their head hitting the table just as Earth was carrying everyone’s drinks over, struggling a bit but just barely managing to make it without spilling anything.

“Order up!”

Earth slides in next to you, absentmindedly throwing an arm around your shoulder and passing you your drink.

“What did I miss?”

“Venus hates humans.” Earth pouts before tugging you in closer to him.

“How could you say that?! Venus, apologize to ______ right now.”

“…no?” She scoffed, quirking an eyebrow.

You couldn’t help but notice that Earth’s face was close to yours, namely because of his mask. “Hey, are you sick?”

“Just a little.”

“He’s just being a baby,” Venus chimed in, smirking, “this hack poser sees me out here living it up with my greenhouse gases and then tries to do the same thing,” She continues, clearly taking enjoyment in Earth’s squirming. She pitches her voice to sound whiny, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead as she goes on, “I’m Earth and my atmosphere traps the heat so it’s slowly killing me, oh grow up.”

Earth shrunk in his seat, taking you along for the ride has he was still holding onto you.

“Anyway, got any plans?” Mars asked, trying to clear the tension at the table. “I heard the planetarium is having a discount night.”

“That sounds fun,” Venus said, taking a sip of her drink. “I’m down.”

“You want to go to a giant telescope and look at stars? Don’t you get enough of that anyway?” Earth asked, eyes full of confusion.

“They’re talking about her tonight,” Mars explained, pointing his thumb over to their sister.

“As they should be.”

You didn’t miss Mercury rolling their eyes.

“Well…I heard they’re showing a documentary at the amphitheater about me,” Earth piped up, seeming awfully smug.

“Oh gee, what fun suggestions,” Mercury said, voice monotone and face barren of emotion, “as fun as learning even more about you guys sound, I think I’ll pass.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Earth frowned, perking up, “as your bigger brother, it’s my job to look after you, so you’ll be coming with me.”

“First of all, I’m older.” When Mercury realized Earth wasn’t going to drop it, they groaned and nodded, “Fine, I guess I’m with you tonight.”

“What do you say, _____? Pick your poison.”

Go to the planetarium with Mars and Venus

Go to the amphitheater with Earth and Mercury

You quietly excuse yourself as Venus and Mercury get into a heated argument over what the proper term for “sucks” would be when criticizing a species of complex lifeforms when one of them is sitting with you. Mars offers an apologetic smile as you walk over to where Earth was waiting for the drinks.

“Oh, hey, ___!” You stumble on your steps, but still smile and wave politely.

“You know my name?” Earth seems to flush before nodding.

“It was on your notebook.” He rocks on his heels, but otherwise still seems pretty chipper. “I want to say sorry again for getting you kicked out of the library.”

“It’s alright, I’ll just have to study this weekend instead, it was getting pretty late.”

“Late or not, you didn’t do anything wrong, you were just trying to study.” The cheer in his eyes seemed to dim as he glanced away from you. “I just got really excited, I’m the only one in our group that’s hospitable right now.” He looked back at Mars who looked like he was ready to throw both his siblings out a window.

“Why’s that?”

“Well,” he started, counting on his fingers as he listed reasons, “Venus and Mercury, they’re great and all, but way too hot, Mercury’s 430° C is bad enough, but Venus?” He let out a low whistle before shaking his head, “you’d just melt,” his eyebrows scrunched with worry. He leaned closer so he could whisper, “besides, they don’t have any water, none of them.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, Mars has ice and he can have water, but it doesn’t stick for long,” Earth explained shrugging before a competitive glint shone in his eyes, “but I’ve got plenty of water.”

“Order for Globie?” A barista called out, setting down five drinks. You didn’t move until Earth went to try and pick up all five of them.

“Wait, Globie?”

“What?” He snickered, offering a quiet thank you as you took two of the drinks to carry, “gotta have a pseudonym.” He winked at you before setting down Mars’ drink in front of him. “Small baby who can’t handle bitter?”

“Big baby who can’t handle greenhouse gasses?” Venus chimed in, nodding to Earth’s mask.

He, quite dumbly, stuck his tongue out at her, which you could barely make out from behind the mask. “What are we doing?”

the planetarium is having a discount night,” Mars offered.

“That sounds fun,” Venus said, reaching for her drink. “I’m down.”

“Sounds…boring,” Earth frowned, pulling his mask off just enough to sneak the straw under it. “You’re going to look at stars…like you do…literally any other night?”

“They’re talking about her tonight,” Mars explained, pointing his thumb over to their sister.

“As they should be.”

You didn’t miss Mercury rolling their eyes.

“Well…I heard they’re showing a documentary at the amphitheater about me,” Earth bragged, flinching as he hit himself with his straw.

“I’m not going to go listen to people talk even more about you guys.”

Earth frowned, perking up, “as your bigger brother, it’s my job to look after you, so you’ll be coming with me.”

“I’m older than you,” Mercury argued. They stared each other down for a minute until Mercury realized Earth wasn’t going to back down, they groaned and nodded with reluctant agreement, “Fine.”

“What about you ____? What’s it gonna be?”

 Go to the planetarium with Mars and Venus

Go to the amphitheater with Earth and Mercury

“Five points goes to me for forgetting about the quiz on Monday.” You’re sitting in the library, textbook strewn open, brigade of highlighters at the ready to make some colorful notes, pens all aligned and a fresh page in your notebook open to prepare for some truly fantastic notes…but you have no idea what is important enough to write down, or what you’re reading. “Curse you and your poorly written academia.”

Your phone vibrated quietly against the wood table, signaling a text from your roommate back at the dorm. They were going home for the weekend, something you’d like to do if it weren’t for the fact that the only way you could have a moment of peace was on the top floor of the school library. Normally, you’d both be on one of the lower floors, studying together, but they had this in the bag and decided they deserved a nice break from the workload that is a full semester of college.

“Why do I even need to learn about Earth, I live here.” You tried to keep your bitter thoughts quiet, forcing your focus back on the pages, still hopelessly lost. You managed to write down the four names of the terrestrial planets, highlighting them in different colors. After ages of trying to read the same page over and over, having lost focus each time, you slowly begin to feel heavy. Your eyelids seem to meet little resistance as you slip into mental exhaustion.

…

“Shh, you oversized asteroids, you’ll wake them.”

“Shouldn’t we though? They’re in the middle of a library.”

“Top of one actually.”

“I actually hate you.”

You could hear soft whispers from just above your head, as if three people were hovering over you and a fourth wanted absolutely nothing to do with this and refused to get any closer than they needed to be. You slowly opened your eyes, cringing at the dull pain in your jaw from napping on wood.

“Hey buddy,” One of them said quietly, their eyes were different colors, one green and one blue. You can’t see their mouth really, they’re wearing a mask, and they kind of look like they haven’t slept in four days, but you couldn’t judge, if they’re a student too, neither have you.

“Hi?” You whisper quietly, your voice slightly croaky from sleep.

“You alright? What time is it?”

You picked up your phone, unlocking it before answering “9’oclock?”

“Okay, what day is it?”

“Friday?”

“Alright, doing great.” You were about to ask what was with all the questions before you noticed a glimmer in their eyes. “Last one…what planet are you on?”

“…Earth?”

“Aye! That’s what I’m talking about!” They were too loud for a floor meant to be deafly silent. There weren’t a lot of people on the fourth floor that late, but enough to make it extremely awkward for them all to be looking at you.

After a soft, but stern, “you need to leave” from a librarian, they were all kicked out, much to one of the other’s amusement.

Once they were in the first floor, they didn’t hold back their laughter. “Nice going, bro.” They flipped their hair over their shoulder, snickering as they all made it outside of the building.

“Excuse him, he lacks awareness…and braincells,” the shortest of them huffed, crossing their arms.

“It’s…” it definitely was not fine, but you weren’t going to tell four strangers that, “…fine.”

“Yeah, we’ll make it up to you,” The feminine one in blue promised, slapping the one that got them kicked out upside the head. They turned to them with a harsh glare, “you’re buying drinks tonight.”

“Fine, fine,” he agreed, rubbing the back of his head. The coffeehouse was right by the library, so it wasn’t a long walk, but it was definitely a strange one.

“I’m just saying, you’re looking a little rough, your skin is just…so inhospitable, man.”

“I told you, I’m not letting you use a nuclear bomb on my face.”

“Man, it’s not even like you’re trying!”

“I’m not.”

You were quickly forced to sit down, Earth taking everyone’s orders and going to go pay for them.

“So, what are your names?” Two of the remaining people blinked at you, the last one keeping their gaze firmly out the window with their arms crossed.

“Wait you, really don’t know-?”

“Why would they?” The bitter one huffed, rolling their eyes, “just tell them.”

“Don’t get so huffy, Mx. ‘I’m too smol to handle’!”

“…You’re not even that much bigger than me.” They sat up straight, making eye contact with you before quickly looking away again, a harsh frown on their face. “Venus, you do it.”

“Hmm?” They looked up from where they were inspecting their nails, “oh, alright.” They coughed and smoothed out their shirt before smirking at you. “Well, as the asteroid said, I’m Venus, the best older sister-.”

“-our only sister after the paternity test-.”

“Anyway,” she snapped, “I’m Venus, tiny and angry is Mercury,” she gestured to the grumpy one, “less tiny and not angry is Mars,” she gestured to him and he waved, sending a wink your way, “and stupid but normal size is our brother, Earth.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” you swallowed, “as in the planets?”

“Yeah,” She shrugged, leaning back into the booth, “that’s why we thought you knew.”

“…that’s impossible.”

“Not impossible, just rare,” Mars explained, winking again.

“But if that’s Earth,” you started, glancing over to the tall guy waiting in line to order, “then how are we…?”

“it’s best you don’t think too hard about it,” Venus hummed before looking you over, “not that I think you’ll have a problem with that.”

“Rude.” You kept your mouth shut. At best you’re somehow actually talking to four planets in the solar system, at worst…they’re joking around and making you look stupid. There could be worse outcomes. “I’m sorry, I just, I find it hard to understand.”

“Unsurprising,” Venus cooed, “humans are just so…yikes.”

“Yikes?” Mercury sneered, voice full of malice, “that’s the best you can do?”

You glanced over at Earth again, he seemed to be almost done ordering. You could go hang out with him and see what he’s up to, unless you’d rather watch ¾ of the terrestrial planets bicker... maybe stir the pot?

Go check out what Earth’s doing

Last semester (Fall 2020) I made a Choose Your Own Adventure/Romance story based around the first four planets of the solar system. I figured, “hey, that’s the kind of content that would do okay on Tumblr. So here It is. Everything is virtually unedited from the initial projects. I hope you enjoy it and have fun. 

I’m not sure how the artist feels about me using the icon creator for character designs, so the designs will be replaced with a short description by yours truly :3, but the original creator of the picrew I used is scuff scotch.

All (read: minus one news article) information comes directly from NASA’s websistes at the time. If there have been any major changes since then, my apologies.

Space Space: Solar System!! Is a, comparably, short educational choose your own adventure story revolving around the Terrestrial Planets… but as possible love interests. The reader is a college student, looking to learn more about the planets but stumbles upon them after a night of heavy studying. While talking and interacting with them, they learn more about them, ending the day closer to one of them only to figure it was a dream but with a better understanding about their chosen planet and waking with a keepsake from said planet.

Mercury:

This fiery redhead is small and bitter. They’re darkskin with dull brown/red eyes and orange glasses. Their hair is curly and coiled, brushed into a simple puff with bangs. 

 Mercury is closest to the sun and inhospitable, making them not very “likeable”. A tsundere, oldest of the terrestrial planets, Mercury lives in the shadow of their more popular siblings and nephews (Mars and his moons, Venus, and Earth and his moon). Crunchy on the outside, melty nerd on the inside, if MC (reader) can crack that cratered, edgy, low in oxygen exterior, they’d find a melty, iron center. They get surprised when asked about themselves rather than their siblings. Can get hot and cold easily. 

Venus:

This moderately light skinned is plump and round with dark spots of Melasma. Her eyes are blue on her left and brown in the right. She favors the color blue.

Just like their name sake, Venus is a flirty, socialite, having hosted over 40 space crafts. They can be passive aggressive, open to insulting the MC due to their hot temper. Easily annoyed with her other siblings, Venus isn’t as popular as her brothers Earth and Mars, but she’s still happening and more popular than her older sibling, Mercury. Takes compliments like water despite not having any water, insults get her extremely angry. Her variations in surface are a bit of a sore spot, she always calls Earth a “hack poser” for trying to copy her heavy greenhouse gas filled atmosphere as well as a “baby” for not being able to handle it as well. Considers herself a trendsetter.

Earth:

Light skinned with light brown hair done in a topknot with shaved sides, Earth is a similar size to Venus. His left eye is blue while the other is green. He’s currently wearing a mask due to feeling unwell.

Earth is a popular, “frat boy” planet. He’s well-liked and popular considering the fact he’s the only one of his siblings known to host complex living organisms. He’s laidback but can get boisterous without noticing. He’s feeling a bit unwell due to some greenhouse gasses getting trapped but he’s taking it like a champ. Though he’s not the oldest, he’s curious about his other siblings as they tend to ignore his questions. He’s friendly and tries to get along with everyone, even with Mercury’s annoyance and Venus’s anger. He’s got pretty good skin due to the fact asteroids have a harder time hitting him due to a bulk of them breaking up in the atmosphere. When he’s not hanging around, he’s with his son, Moon.

Mars: 

Closer to dark skinned, He’s way into the red aesthetic. His light reddish brown hair is medium length dense and coily. His left eye is a pale reddish/orange while his other is bright red. 

Mars is the loveable goofball of the Terrestrial siblings. Usually cold, you won’t see him out of a jacket. Mars is closest to Earth relationship wise as they tend to talk to each other more than the others. Mars is smaller than Venus and Earth but not quite as small as Mercury and will lovingly tease them for it. He’s pretty chill most of the time, and makes friends pretty easily, but not as easily as his brother Earth. He’s well known but doesn’t mind it. He has slightly bumpy skin, but Earth is trying to push a skincare routine on him so he’s more hospitable . He’s got two sons- Phobos and Deimos. He and Earth get into petty arguments about how he could be hospitable if he just tried even though he’s not a hundred onboard with the idea.