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Atlas downed another monster, swallowing the pain killers.
His thirds were being particularly difficult today, with Apollo especially being way too cocky for the Star's liking. It felt like their normal bickering had turned to bullying, which, although half deserved on Artemis’ part, was really starting to tick the Soul off.
The part that particularly gave him a headache is when the Sun intentionally pushed the Moon off balance, causing it to crash into the coffee table in the living room and land on the shards of broken glass that shattered when they were knocked off the coffee table.
“{Alright, that's enough!}” Atlas summoned his Trident, pointing it directly at the Mind's damaged throat. “{I'm about five seconds from snapping. Don't fucking try me. Don't even speak.}”
The Mind was smart enough to pick his battles.
Atlas then helped Artemis up, making sure they weren't bleeding or cut, and then sent them to their room for the time being. The Moon got off lucky, barely injured. The Sun, however, may not be that lucky.
Soul looked him straight in his dead white eyes. “{To the room. You have some explaining to do.}” Mind nodded, following Soul up to his room. Apollo closed the door behind himself, knowing Soul might yell. He hoped he would, the quiet anger was more unpredictable.
Mind prefered to be able to read Souls emotions. The one and only thing that the soul had over his thirds, which also happened to be his greatest weakness, was that he had the logic of the Mind and the emotions of the Heart. The only thing keeping him from being Whole was his thirds.
“[... I didn't intend to hurt Heart-]”
“{Don't give me that bullshit right now. You shut the fuck up and listen. What happened today was unacceptable. Do you understand me? You could have seriously hurt Juno. Hell, you've been acting like a prick all day! What even is your problem?}” The host's voice was controlled but sharp, piercing through any arguments his logic had.
“[Problem? I don't think I have a problem. If anything, my problem is that little freak, always annoying me.]”
Mind, usually so meticulous with his words, had managed to say the exact thing to piss off Soul even worse. He could tell it was the wrong decision as soon as the words left his mouth, although he would rather double down than admit he was wrong.
Atlas let out a sharp sigh. “{Okay, so you want to play this game, huh? Fine! I swear, the two of you are like unruly children.}” That earned a scoff from the mechanical one. “{So here's how this is going to work. Either you let me punish you and you apologize to Heart, or you keep acting like this and I remind you of why you have those damn prosthetics.}”
So obviously the Mind made the right choice. Although he could probably fight Soul, all of them were about equal strength after all, what happens on the off chance he loses won't be pretty.
“[I suppose you are going to lecture me some more?]”
“{Actually? No, I have something else in mind. If it's good enough for Artemis it's good enough for you. And the last time they hurt you.. Hm, you're probably not going to like the sound of this…but I don't care.}” Soul shrugged. “{Bend over the bed. Let's not make this difficult.}”
Mind blinked in realization, stepping back. “[.. If you really think I'll let you.. You're insane, Atlas.]”
“{Maybe. We could always do this the hard way, though. I'm sure you can guess what that entails. Or you can do what I said and this can be over with.}”
Apollo hesitated, then sighed. “[Isn't there another way we can settle this? It seems like an overreaction.]”
“{You should have thought about that before breaking my dishes.}” Soul gestured to the bed and Mind huffed, complying but grumbling under his breath. He let his hair fall in front of his face.
“{I knew you were going to give in..}” was all Mind heard before he heard the faint sound of Soul'd belt slide out of its belt loops. Mind tensed, but was determined not to let Soul ‘win’.
Mind flinched at the first hit, gritting his teeth to be silent despite the stinging pain. Soul wasn't hitting lightly either, Mind could tell exactly how pissed he was. With every hit of the belt he nearly screamed from the pain, his resolve slowly slipping.
“{Oh, you think this is a game? That you can just sit there and pretend that this doesn't hurt until I get tired?}” Soul brought the belt down on his rear harder, watching Mind flinch. “{Well? Do you think you're above consequence?}” He brought it down again.
Mind finally broke, letting out a yelp, trying to get up. “[Soul, stop it!]” He was then roughly pushed down by Soul. “{No, you fucking take it, I'm tired of your arrogant attitude! You don't get to back out!}” Soul hooked his fingers into his waistband, yanking his pants down, which caused Mind to struggle even more. “[N-no, Soul!]”
“{Shut up!}” When the belt was brought down again, Mind nearly screamed, feeling tears run down his face. Every hit caused him to sob, until it finally stopped. Mind sobbed into the bed due to the shame, mostly. He didn't allow himself to cry, crying is weak, he wasn't allowed-
Soul pulled him up, pulling up his pants and sitting him on the bed. Mind tried to hide his tears in his hands. “[I'm sorry, soul, I'm sorry.. ]”
Soul let out a sigh, sitting beside him. “{It's okay, it's over now. It's not me you have to apologize to anyway, it's Heart. But, you can sit here for as long as you need to so you can calm down. I'll leave you that dignity, at least.}”
The Sun nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes and took deep, shaking breaths. He hated how he broke down in front of Soul, how he became so weak, but he was pulled from his thoughts when he felt the Stars start to rub his back in a form of comfort.
“[I'm.. I'm fine now.. ]” Mind mumbled, his voice not as steady as he would have preferred it to be. “{Really? You sure you don't need a few minutes?}” Mind stayed quiet, and Soul did the same.
When Mind finally calmed down, he wiped his face again, the makeup smearing. He realized he must have completely messed up his makeup, but felt he could fix it later. Mind and Soul went over to Heart's room, Mind mentally praying that the creature didn't hear anything.
“{Heart? Mind has something to say. }” The purple man sat up in his bed, his hair messy and likely knotted. “(Yeah?)” The Sun sighed. “[I'm sorry I pushed you and nearly hurt you. That was immature.]” The Moon nodded. “(It's fine. I'm going back to sleep.)”
Once Soul closed the door, he faced Mind. “{Well, do you want me to help re-do your makeup?}” He asked casually. Mind shook his head. “[I'd rather just go to bed as well..]”