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For as long as he remembered, he was in a body that wasn’t his.
He could move his face, sure, but unless Luna gave him control, the rest of him belonged to Luna. He didn’t have much to do, so he slept most of the time.
Now though, the Moon was somewhere in the asteroid belt, after a ridiculous back and forth that somehow ended with Phobos and Deimos tagging along.
He was in a room that had barely any space to move in, leaning against a door that was locked. He’d long since given up on trying to escape. He’d pounded and kicked on the door, hoping that the door would somehow open, but the door wouldn’t budge no matter what he did.
He hugged his knees and sighed, wishing the voices outside would provide him some entertainment.
He didn’t know how Luna expected them to help in releasing Astrodude, considering they squabbled like children all the time, but it was something to watch, which was better than nothing.
…
After watching for a bit, he could confidently say that those two did not help at all. Luna was visibly upset, shouting at them to stop calling him “Earth’s moon”, which, yeesh, is loud, but he could understand the anger behind it.
Then at that moment, “Take it away, Dark Side of the Moon!”, and every part of him slackened as if binds that had been around him were cut.
The moment Luna called his title name, he felt it — a shift, a loosening, a sudden weightlessness as control flooded back to him. For a moment, he stumbled, unsure of how to move. Then, adrenaline hit. He smirked, not because he was confident but out of sheer excitement.
“Thought you’d never ask.” He wasn’t lying.
He fell onto the floor, the locked door suddenly opened from behind. Shaking it off, he hurriedly picked himself up. He gasped. He was free! Free from that tiny room, free to explore the infinite possibilities that came with freedom!
Eyes widening, a smile broke out on his face. He ran towards the light, towards the grass and the sky and the sun’s rays warming his skin. He couldn’t wait.
He leaned towards Titan, adrenaline shooting through him with every movement he made. He could feel Titan’s atmosphere brushing against his surface as he moved closer — an action he made, an action he controlled. He was able to move! On his own!
It was exhilarating.
In that split second, he realised something. This was the first time he had a clear view of anyone. Now that he had this chance, he could-
No. He had a job to do. For Luna, for his only friend that he had the chance to make. And why not have some fun while he’s at it? Looking at Titan in a way he knew was uncomfortable, he used the classic threat of “crash into the other guy’s surface”(he’d even call it his signature).
And yet. While he was talking. He couldn’t help bit think. According to that Earthling, Titan had life, right?
Did he look like…?
He could almost imagine Earth in him. Blue with splotches of green instead of Titan’s blue and orange, an arrogant smirk playing across his lips. Did Earth’s atmosphere glow the same orangish haze that Titan’s did?
He lay on the grass, feeling the wind ruffle his hair as he smelled the sweet scent of flowers waft into his nose. Novel sensations flooded his body in so many ways and it was amazing. The leaves tickled his skin, but he didn’t care, because everything was so bright and colourful and fun!
He ran his hands along the bark of a tree, and wondered if this was what the wood of walls felt like.
He traced shapes in the clouds among the sky, and wondered if this was what the cotton of beds looked like.
He sniffed the air of rain and grass and dirt, and wondered if this was what home smelled like.
And if it would last.
He vaguely registered Titan’s terrified voice saying he’d let the earthling go, but he was painfully aware of the limited time he had left. His core pounded faster and faster as time seemed to slow.
On the outside, he was chuckling, proud that he did his job well, but on the inside,
his eyes darted furiously across Titan’s surface, desperately trying to memorise its every detail, desperately trying to memorise the image of the one person he was truly able to see, before-
The Moon spun around, Luna ripping away his control as quickly as it was given. All the euphoria he’d felt immediately came crashing down on him, and he was left feeling…empty. Trapped. Like his binds were around him yet again and tighter than ever.
As suddenly at it happened, he was shoved back into the room, the door shut and locked once more. He raised his fists to bang onto the door, but quickly lowered them. There was no point.
The happiness he felt, it’d never have lasted, would it? He hugged his knees yet again, the memories the only proof he had of ever experiencing freedom.
He sighed, releasing a short puff of air that could interpreted as a singular, humourless laugh. Freedom, huh? When would he get it?
He’d always be stuck in a body that wasn’t his.