They Made It Home
He was so quiet, she almost didn’t hear him approach. Almost.
“Visiting those prints again?” She asked, wiping her eyes before she turned to face him.
Apollo smiled at his sister, and she could feel his warmth radiating towards her. He shrugged, but had the decency to look at least a little sheepish. “What can I say? I get sentimental.”
She let out a small laugh as her eyes looked over his shoulder towards the swirling blue planet. She was quiet for a moment, lost in thought. “They made it home.” Her voice cracked as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
He moved closer to her, reaching out to brush away the tear tracks. “You miss them already, don’t you?”
Artemis leaned into his touch, smiling softly. “It’s dumb, right?”
“Nah. I felt the same when my guys left.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they both gazed at the planet.
She rolled her eyes and bumped her shoulder into his side as she accepted the embrace. “I still don’t know why they named those after you.”
“Well,” Apollo said, grinning. “They obviously wanted the cooler, smarter, better-looking twin to go first.”
“Oh, shut up!” Artemis laughed as she shoved him away from her.
“Or maybe,” he started again, pulling her into a real hug this time. “They knew I would always take any excuse to visit my sister.”
She buried her face in his shoulder and clung to him as she let her emotions take over, something that she only allowed in his presence.
She let herself feel the bittersweet longing for those four incredible people, the grief of having had them for such a short time, the anticipation for what she knew was to come. But mostly, she let herself feel their joy, and all of the joy shining on them from that marble floating in space.
“The others have something special planned for you,” Apollo finally said after a long silence. “Shall we head back?”
She pulled away and looked back at where the humans - her humans - had just returned. “Not yet. Will you sit with me a bit longer?”
Apollo nodded, reaching for her hand as they sat on the rocky surface and stared at the blue sphere in the sky. He ran his hand through the dust on the ground. “This is a nice crater. I don’t think I’ve seen it before.”
Artemis smiled even brighter. “Her name is Carroll.”