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WISE floated away from SIMP’s throne.
Well, that was rather lackluster.
All he had managed to do was piss SIMP right off.
He mumbled incoherently to himself, complaining about everything and also nothing. He left the kingdom, and drifted into the silence of space.
“WISE?”
So much for silence; one could only dream.
WISE turned around to see Planet X floating behind him, oh so innocently. He hadn't even noticed X’s gravity and he internally cursed at himself for letting his guard down.
“Yes? What is it, Planet X?” He enquired in his usual, monotonous tone.
“Well, I just couldn't help but notice your core seemed elsewhere.” Planet X explained, moving closer to WISE with a teasing smirk upon his face. “Thought I'd approach and see what’s up.”
“It is nothing but trivial.” WISE replied. To X, he seemed vacant and avoidant, but this did not surprise him.
“Of course, of course.” X further teased, moving past WISE to look forward at the expanse of space.
“What do you want, X? I had wished to be alone.” WISE rebuked.
“Had?”
“Oh, you know what I mean.” WISE groaned.
“I'm not quite sure I do, WISE.” X remarked, turning around and raising a brow, his usual overconfident smile still plastered across his face. WISE was relieved to see that X was no longer as timid as when he was first recruited, but now it meant WISE had to deal with his bullshit.
WISE wished he could just overpower him once more with his gravity and shut him up for good. Instead, an unamused expression plastered across his face.
“Oh, what's that look for, WISE?”
“Stars, you really like saying my name.” WISE subconsciously murmured.
“Of course. It gets your attention, no?” X’s face was just full of smugness.
“Why do you want my attention?” WISE enquired, seemingly genuinely curious.
“Can a planet not want to know what's bothering a good friend?” Every word that came out was glazed with a bantering edge: every syllable dragged out—a façade of innocence.
“You can ‘want’ as much as you want, it doesn't mean I will tell you.” WISE replied, turning away to look at the scattered specks of light before him.
X paused. His cocky confidence began fading as he further examined WISE. Surprisingly, he looked more troubled than X had previously assumed. He hoped he hadn't worsened his emotional state.
X silently moved to float next to him, occasionally glancing at him. WISE obviously noticed this, but tried to act like his usual, nonchalant self. He perked up at the fact X's demeanour had begun to switch.
“You can be honest with me.” X quietly admitted, his voice hushed.
WISE exhaled heavily.
“It's nothing dire. I just had a slight… squabble with SIMP.”
X was about to impulsively remark how that seems out of character for WISE, but decided that was not the wisest of plans. Due to that, X stammered momentarily, mouth gaping open before slamming shut.
WISE tilted his head, raising a brow at X. But before he could make his own remark, X finally cut in.
“W-what happened?” he enquired gently, suddenly self conscious of his display of uncertainty, “between you and her.”
“Oh, just some disagreement with certain opinions, that's all.” WISE replied, clearly trying to hedge the situation.
“So you're really not going to tell me?” X retaliated.
“If I wanted to, I would've already done so.” His reply was blunt and direct, almost painful. X knew WISE didn't mean it so, but rather because he didn't feel comfortable sharing such a ‘childish’ conflict.
“Okay. I won’t press any further,” X stated with a shallow pang deep in his core, “sorry.”
WISE picked up on the genuinity in his apology and simply smiled to himself. He couldn't help but be amused at X’s change in personality. It made complete sense, but how fast it switched was what shocked him. After spending all that time watching him, he had always assumed X would be a right pain. However, these many experiences have proven that theory wrong.
“It's fine. I know you just want to help, even if it's…” WISE paused to chuckle before inhaling, “questionable.”
X glanced over, eyes somehow sparkling despite being pitch black. Damn, not often did he hear WISE genuinely laugh. Well, if you could count it as one.
“What?” WISE asked, pitch raised higher. He had noticed X’s expression.
Planet X chuckled before reattaining his smug, confident attitude.
“Nothing, nothing. Please, pay me no heed.”
WISE sarcastically rolled his eyes. However, his fondness for X seemed to grow. In the past, he would've denied it at all cost, but now, he could admit this was refreshing.
“Thank you, X.”
There was a calculating pause of silence.
“Wait, what?” X seemed honestly flabbergasted at the sudden thanks, “what did I do?”
WISE calmly looked down at the electric blue planet.
“Despite me not even venting about my issues, your presence has… actually helped.” He admitted, slightly bashfully.
“Awww, really? You flatter me!” X playfully jokes.
WISE groaned, “and now you've ruined it.”
Now it was X’s turn to roll his eyes. “Oh, bummer.”
Silence then descended upon the two as they turned to look back at the vast universe. It was fascinating how the small dots they looked at were actually celestial bodies much bigger than them.
“Are you… sure you don't want to talk about it?” X softly probed.
“It would be wise not to. My emotions would still be impulsive, and it may mix up my judgement even more.” WISE explained.
“Okay, yeah, that sounds wise.” X attempted to crack a light joke.
The pun did not reach WISE, who just looked forward unamused.
“Ah, it was worth the try.” X monologued, “so, how can I help you?”
“I don't know, X. Truthfully, I've never discussed my emotional turmoil.” WISE admits, his eyes seeming to drift elsewhere.
“Why not?” X asked with no hesitation—a reflection of his newfound confidence.
“I just… never needed to, I suppose. The time to do so never came.” WISE answers.
“You should always make time for yourself.”
WISE turns his head to look down at X once more. He made brief eye contact, before his eyes shifted left, lost in thought: X definitely was not wrong, but WISE felt silly to admit he'd never put his mental health first. It was like he said: the chance never came. So instead, he should've forced the chance to come.
“Stop overthinking it. It's simple.” X’s voice was filled with many different tones, the most common being: bragging but also concern and compassion. Whatever the intent, it had succeeded in dragging WISE back to the present.
“Huh… I didn't—” WISE began before he was cut off.
“You just have to express how you feel sometimes and drop the nonchalant act.”
WISE paused, “but it's not an act.”
“Oh, you know what I mean.” X rebuked.
“I think I do.” WISE absentmindedly nodded along.
“Great. Now, come on, what happened?” X, rather impatiently, enquired.
WISE shrunk a bit, eyes reflecting uncertainty as they darted around.
“Oh, right now?” his voice shrunk off a tad at the end, as he unconsciously fidgeted. “I'm not ready just yet to talk about it. Sorry, X.”
“Oh, right, no pressure.” X awkwardly shrugged it off, scratching the back of his head.
WISE felt a pit grow in his core.
“Applogies, I know you're trying to help, which I do appreciate, but I work at my own speed.” WISE attempts to explain as the two stand face to face again.
X nods, “yeah, no, totally—I understand. Sorry, I'm just honestly dying to know.”
WISE awkwardly smirked at his honesty, “sorry, but no can do. Just not yet.”
“Well, in that case, whenever you're ready, I'm here to listen in whatever way you desire: silently or I could give some advice too?” X rambled on, making the occasion sporadic eye contact with WISE, whose smile was widening.
However, X was soon shushed into silence via WISE’s hand on his right shoulder. X tensed up slightly, which WISE had sensed but decided not to pull away, as X couldn't recall the last non threatening touch he had experienced.
“Thank you for your companionship, X.” WISE spoke softly and sincerely, his tender eyes boring into X’s.
X was stunned. WISE was right in front of his face. He felt hotter. Was he hot? He's an ice giant, he can't be. Space isn't hot. It's cold. Then why did he feel like his ice was melting? That makes no sense. Why would his ice melt if his core temperature—
“X, are you… alright?” WISE’s concern-laced enquiry snapped him out of it. However, doing so made the dark blue planet burn even brighter.
X cleared his throat, attempting to rebuild his confidence. “Of course, sorry, just haven't been, uh—I haven't had someone place their hand on my shoulder in a long time.”
WISE immediately recoiled, “oh right, of course, sorry. I did not mean to overstep your boundaries.” WISE was a little ashamed to have done something X may be uncomfortable with. Stars, he should've asked first.
“Oh, no you didn't! It's fine. Just…” X trailed off. It was hopeless. He bashfully looked down, shadowing his eyes for a moment.
WISE felt panic bubble up from his core. Stars, did he mess up? For some odd reason, WISE realised how much emotion he was suddenly feeling. Did he feel these strong emotions when with others? Oh, stars, maybe X was completely right—WISE really needed to expand more on himself instead of just powering through it all daily.
WISE began apologising, mindlessly formulating the supposedly correct words in his head beforehand, “Sorry, sorry. I didn't put into consideration how different it may be for you to—”
X’s hands were on his cheeks, cupping WISE’s rather sharp jaw. Someone gasped. He barely registered it. His eyes had widened as X’s lips ghosted WISE’s momentarily, before X pressed their lips together. Time seemed to both speed up and slow down, but WISE was able to gain consciousness when X pulled away.
A lopsided grin slowly made its way onto WISE’s face, whose chest was rising and falling quickly with the sudden adrenaline surge. He even released a breathless chuckle, thunderstruck at the fact X had… kissed him.
Speaking of, X was a melting mess. He hadn't realised he was actually going to succumb to his impulses and just kiss WISE! He had just seen him up close and thought: oh, wouldn't it be funny if we kissed?
Fuck! X hadn't even put his feelings about WISE into thought before. All this time it was possibly romantic?
“Oh, I'm so sorry.” X’s apology sounded lackluster, but his mind was now all over the place. He was pacing, his blue complexion darkening into purple.
“I have no idea what I was thinking.” X stopped to stare at WISE. To try and grasp any hint to how he felt. That's when he noticed WISE’s surprisingly smug face.
WISE on the inside, however, was much more complicated. He was smug that Planet X kissing him had turned X into a frantic mess. It was pride including knowing he had such a detrimental effect. But at the same time, WISE was also trying to not have the same outcome.
His heart was racing, as well as his mind. Part of him was guilty that X was now frantically apologising, but his words were caught in the back of his throat. He couldn't apologise. His tongue and throat were as dry as if he were right up against the sun. He wasn't able to distinguish what he was feeling, but it definitely wasn't a negative feeling. He almost felt giddy, like he was on 'cloud nine'.
They both paused, just looking at one another. However, it didn't last as long as X felt as WISE grabbed his waist, pulled him in close, and kissed him.
X released a high noise in the back of his throat as WISE’s hand travelled up his spine and to the back of his head, pushing him deeper into the kiss. X, unsure of what to do now, just submitted. WISE, however, continued to press X further into his body, as their lips lapped at one another's.
It wasn't until X had started to push backward that WISE allowed him to break free.
Both were left breathless, panting for non-existent air they didn't actually need. And they were absolutely starstruck, giddy from the sudden ignited lust.
X was slightly bent over. He felt dizzy. Did that really just happen? He and WISE? WISE of all planets? Kissed? On the lips? Them two? How did it even get to this? Why, what, how?!
X’s mind raced parallel to his heart. Holy stars. That was…
WISE just smugly looked down at X, his eyes half-lidded. His breath was still heavy and his cheeks were a shade of purple. However, noticing X’s rather frantic state, his character began to—ever so slightly—break.
“Oh, sorry. The great Planet X can't handle a kiss?” WISE’s tone was full of teasing, much to everyone's surprise.
X stammered, blabbering helplessly, “Can you blame me!? I just told you nobody's ever touched my shoulder, let alone kiss me!”
“You initiated it.” WISE calmly interjected.
If X hadn't melted already, he definitely had now. He whined powerlessly, avoiding all eye contact as his arms swung all over the place.
“I don't know why I did that!” X exclaims, rather loudly, into the dark void.
“I'm glad you did.”
X paused before slowly turning on his heel.
“You are?”
“Well—a little warning would've been nice. But… I don't know. It… helped?” WISE had lost the words to describe how he was feeling, like usual.
“Do you… mean that?” X’s voice was now much quieter—a gentle hush even—as he bashfully approached WISE.
“I mean, sure. I don't know how to explain it, but it didn't feel wrong.”
“Oh. Oh! Okay…” X almost sighed in relief, his breathing returning close to normal. WISE just stared at him, hiding his racing heart with a straight face.
And then, awkward silence. Neither knew what to do next. X had so many urges: run away, kiss him again or make a stupid comment. WISE wished he could figure himself out. Why in the universe had he done that? And regretfully, why in the stars did he like it?
“Soo… is this, like, official?”
Of course X would be the one to ask such a question.