“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.
“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.
