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Mia managed to fall into an uneasy sleep. She didn't have the stamina to stay up with Simon, but there was no way she was leaving his side until he asked her to. She kept curled up, holding weakly onto Simon's shirt. She woke up when Simon started trying to get up, rubbing her eyes and standing to try to do something to help.
Simon managed to stagger to his feet, wiping tears off his face, forcing himself to calm down and stop crying. He looked down at Mia, smiling weakly. “I-it’s okay y-you can stay here. I’ll just b-be gone f-for a bit.” He said slowly, mentally steeling himself for having to deal with Astral.
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Mia was tunned by Simon' words.
"A-Are you sure..?" What would make Simon go out there, with Astral?
“Mhm, j-just stay here o-okay?” He said, trying to ignore how much he was shaking. He had to go out there. He had to go back down to earth today, even if for only five minutes. He took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly, and unlocked the door, opening it halfway. It was still relatively early in the morning, maybe 6:30. But it had been around that same time last night when he locked himself in Astral’s room. He had no idea where Astral was, or what the man had been up to.
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"O-Okay…" Mia watched Simon go, her own hands shaking some.
Astral was on the couch, eyes open and just… staring. He wasn't looking at anything, too caught up in his mind to even wipe the tear tracks away.
Simon stepped out into the living room, walking over to Astral. He didn’t comment on the man’s current state, and merely tugged on his sleeve, clearing his throat some to announce his presence.
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Astral blinked a few times, his eyes focusing some before he looked up at Simon. The god sat up, hands folding in his lap.
"To earth?" he asked, voice dry and cracking.
He nodded, not meeting Astral’s eyes. He was relieved that the god had remembered, that way he wouldn’t have to try and stammer out an explanation for what he wanted.
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"I…" Astral stood slowly, looking away from Simon now.
"I-Is it alright if I hold your h-hand?" They needed to, to go to earth, but the god didn't want to do anything without Simon telling him he could.
He sighed before nodding, figuring there was no other way. He outstretched his hand. “U-um t-this is where w-we need to go b-by the way.” He said, shakily handing Astral a piece of paper that he’d scribbled the location onto.
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Astral took the paper, looking down at it a moment.
"O-Okay…" The god took Simon's hand lightly, so if the man couldn't handle it he could easily let his hand out of Astral's. The god had to take on a human form as well, much closer to Simon's size now.
Simon could handle it, but of course he didn’t like it, the sentiment very visible on his face. But he didn’t say anything about it. He was still trying to figure out what type of person Astral really was. He needed to be careful not to anger the god, especially today.
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"I-I… are you ready?" Astral glanced at Simon, waiting for his eyes to close. He… couldn't let Simon get hurt, not now. Not any more than he already was.
He nodded, his eyes closing hesitantly. Now he just had to hope that Astral would cooperate with his wish for the god to let him go out alone. Even before he’d found out what Astral had done, Simon wasn’t planning on letting him come along to the cemetery.
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Astral waited a moment to make sure Simon's eyes were closed, and in the normal flash he and Simon were on Earth. The god let go of Simon's hand, withdrawing from him.
"I…"
Simon let out a small breath of relief once Astral had let go of his hand. “C-can you just wait here? P-please?” He forced himself to look up at Astral. “I-I’ll just be thirty minutes or so..” The place they’d arrived in was a relatively small rural town. Ya know like one of those places you never want to live in as a queer kid. They were right off one of the main streets, but at this hour it was mostly empty. Simon had most likely planned so it would be that way.
((Smol bump?))
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(Sorry, Thansgiving was a nightmare ;-;)
Astral nodded mutely, stepping over to the side and out of the way. He didn't meet Simon's gaze, looking down at his feet. This wasn't really the kind of place Astral would ever want to be in, and he doubted Simon would have come here if it wasn't important to him.
((oh jeez :’) ))
Simon mumbled a small ‘thank you’, lingering a second more before turning and walking down the street, carefully looking both ways. It felt weird to be able to go somewhere without Astral. But he knew he wasn’t free in the slightest.
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(It was less 'what are we thankful for' and more 'why is our family falling apart and how do we fix it' (hint the parents want more rules and us kids want some respect and equality because we're both almost adults))
Astral, though he himself stayed right were he was- looking at the ground, he kept an eye on Simon. Seeing through his eyes, making sure Simon couldn't tell what he was doing. He… he knew it was a horrible thing to do, but he had to make sure Simon was safe. Who knew what minor gods were around?
((That sounds annoying :/))
Simon walked rather quickly, always pausing to look both ways when he crossed the street. It seemed like he didn’t want to be spotted. After a few minutes of walking, he made it to the entrance of a cemetery. He navigated the headstones with ease, as if he’d been here many times before. Eventually, he stopped at a specific grave, sitting down with a heavy sigh. The date of death written on the headstone was exactly six years ago today. Simon had come here every year since, still feeling an immense amount of guilt over what had happened. After all, it had been his fault that this person had died in the first place.
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(Yeah…)
(Also, augdfiw what)
Astral watched silently, his hands folded in front of him.
"Who…" Astral was a bit confused, drawing in on himself some. Why was Simon at this grave? Who was this person to him?
((Get ready for pain buckaroo :) ))
Simon scooted closer to the headstone before resting his head against the cool surface. “I’m sorry..” he whimpered softly. “I told you things would be better this year but they’ve only gotten worse. I tried really hard too…but I’m just not meant to make it anywhere in life.”
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(oh no)
Astral bit his lip as he listened, head lowering some. He… all he could do was listen. He wanted more than anything for Simon to have that good life, to be happy, but it wasn't to be. Not yet, perhaps not ever.
((Angsty backstory tiiiiiiiiime))
“I’m really scared a-and I don’t know what to do.” He said, starting to cry. “A-and I’m stuck with this guy and h-he got me pregnant and I’m just so scared. And I don’t think there’s anything I can d-do.” He said, his voice cracking. “I’m sorry, I know you wanted me to do better for myself. It’s just so hard without you.” He had to stop speaking, drawing in a fast breath of air in a last ditch attempt to stop himself from breaking down. “W-why didn’t you just let me get hit by that car. Why did you have to push me out of the way.” He managed to get out before breaking down into sobs.
((Swim I’m dying plez))
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(I'm sorry I had obligatory family game night ;-;)(and we do have options to make it more angsty)
Astral listened silently to what Simon has to say, unable to keep his own tears from feeling silently. He looked away, closing his own eyes to the scene but unable to keep from listening still. He had to keep Simon safe, but even just hearing this was breaking his heart.
((Oof my family has those too))((oh really? Do tell))
Simon didn’t say anything else for awhile, sobbing loudly. He managed to calm himself down, sniffling. He laughed weakly. “I’m sorry, I know I said I’d try to be less sad whenever we visit, because we don’t get a lot of time together. It’s just hard recently….but I’ll be fine, I always figure it out. I promised you I’d stay alive for you, and I’m trying to do the best I can. At least I’m not on the street this year, right?” He sighed, sitting up and wiping his tears. “I love you dearest….and I miss you.”
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(Well, Astral does deal with souls on a regular basis.)(but if this person is in Astral's work room it's really really bad news)
Dearest? Just, just who was this person? Astral bit his lip, arms around himself. He opened his eyes again, looking through Simon's teary eyes as best he could.
((true))((oh yeah especially in this case that’d be really bad))
Through Simon’s eyes, Astral would be able to see the dates on the tombstone again. This person had been 16 when they died….six years ago, which meant Simon also would’ve been 16 at the time.
