Chapter Text
The duo entered the stateroom, Deryn trying her best to cover up her illness.
They sat in a silence. For Alek, a comfortable one. For Deryn, it was solemn.
“Alek?” She wanted to say, but was interrupted by a violent fit of coughing. She fell off the edge of her bed, her knees hitting the floor with a thud. Her eyes watered, and she could feel gardenias fighting their way up. There was no way she could keep them back.
She covered her mouth with her hands and coughed into them. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe.
As she coughed and wheezed, she was suddenly aware of Alek putting his arm around her shoulders, as a form of comfort.
This only made it worse. She felt multiple big flowers force their way out and into her hands. She gasped for air, removing her hands from her mouth. In her cupped hands were a few fully grown gardenia flower heads, petals surrounding them. Some were fully red, some were simply tainted. As before, there were dots of blood.
She dropped the flowers and formed her hand into a fist, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, smeared blood on it.
“God’s wounds…” Alek whispered-yelled. Oh right. He was here too.
It was now, or more likely, never. “Alek, I have hanahaki. It’s where—“
“Yes I’ve heard of it,” he said, “but I thought it was just a myth.”
“Aye. I wish it was. I thought you should know, Alek, since you’re my best friend…” she trailed off, hesitating.
“Who is it, Dylan?” He asked.
“Alek,” to blazes with it, she decided, “I’m a girl. My name is Deryn.”
“Deryn,” he said. Contrary to the circumstances, her heart skipped a beat, hearing her name from his mouth. “So, it must be one of the midshipmen, then, right? That’s very tricky.”
“No, it’s not, Alek. I’m not close to any of them.”
The thought for a moment. “Somebody back home in Scotland? That’s also quite worrisome.”
Deryn groaned. He was just dense. “Think again, dafty.”
After a beat of silence, he seemed to realize. “Oh. Oh,” he said, his face flushing.
Deryn turned her head away from him. What had she done? She probably just made him feel dead guilty. Her eyes brimmed with tears, from pain, guilt, and just anguish. Alek wasn’t saying anything, which made her anxious. She was expecting something along the lines of, “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel the same way,” but nothing, just loud silence.
She felt him pull his arm away from around her. He probably hated her now, she reckoned.
Except, he grabbed her hand and stood up, making her stand up with him. Deryn looked at him, puzzled.
He then proceeded to walk closer, putting his forehead against hers. They were both blushing like mad. Deryn felt her chest tighten, whether from Alek’s closeness or her hanahaki, she couldn’t tell.
Alek gingerly took two fingers and placed them under her chin, tilting her head up, their breathing becoming one. Then, he kissed her, their lips clicking together like a completed puzzle. His hand left hers, readjusting itself around her waist, his other hand holding the side of her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing them closer. She felt like she was in a dream, like she was floating.
Immediately, she felt the flora clear from her lungs and throat.
Alek pulled away. “Sorry, I should’ve—“ He was cut off by Deryn kissing him again. She felt her hand glide through his hair subconsciously.
After a couple of moments, she pulled away. “It’s gone now,” she pecked his lips, “the hanahaki.”
Alek pulled her into an embrace. “Nothing will take you away from me, Deryn. Not providence, not destiny, not even fate itself.”