Work Text:
11:50 PM
"August... the month's almost over, isn't it?" Chikage said, his demeanor rather calm as he looked up at the now transparent figure before him; the latter smiling with a brightness that rivaled the sun itself.
"Indeed it is," was the other's reply, said with a faint lilt as he took a seat in between Chikage and Hisoka, the three of them silent as they watched the clock continue to keep on ticking.
The hour hand of the clock approached midnight with each second that flew by, and it only served as a reminder of what would soon come to pass.
"Do you have any regrets?" asked August, hands folded neatly on his lap.
The smile on his face grew tense, although it was covered up easily by the relaxed, parental tone of his voice; the tone he was so used to speaking in when it came to April and December.
"Is there any point in saying anything now?" Chikage murmured. his voice shook in the very slightest, and didn't go unmissed by either Hisoka or August. "By the time we establish some sort of rhythm... you'll be gone."
"Ah... you're right."
Hisoka looked over at August from his tucked-in form, his gaze shaking with each moment of silence which lingered between the three of them. Not before long, he opened his mouth to speak.
"I regret not trying to save you. to have pulled you along with me as I fell. If I did so, then maybe you wouldn't be dead. You'd still be alive—alive, and breathing, with April and I. We could've tried to start a new life together, but-"
"But things might've gone much differently, no?" August interrupted. “The family you have now—Winter Troupe. You wouldn’t have gotten to know them… and what would’ve become of Homare? Would he have been able to experience the love that he’d longed for? Of course, the same question would apply to you, as well.”
August looked over at Chikage, who chose to remain silent through it all. Although physical contact was not an option, he still tried to place a hand on Chikage’s, holding back a sigh as his hand did nothing but phase through the other’s.
“And you, April. Or rather, Chikage Utsuki . I know you’ve chosen to take the blame alongside December. But consider this: would you have ever been able to dig up an identity for yourself? Unlike before, you’ve… you’ve become more human. ” he said with a gentle laugh at the end, happiness in his eyes as he stood up and took a few steps back, only to reach a hand out, gesturing to Chikage’s face. “Just look at yourself. There’s so much life and emotion in your eyes now, and it’s all because of this place you both now call home: MANKAI Company.”
11:54 PM
He paused for a brief moment, ignoring the pang in his chest as he saw the saddened faces of the two men who he saw as his own two children.
“Ah. I’m getting sidetracked, aren’t I? What I’m trying to say is, if December hadn’t strayed off to this place, neither of you would’ve come this far. You’d still be trapped within those bubbles you created for yourselves, and… who knows, maybe neither of you would even be alive right now.”
“Yes, Chikage and I are living the way you wished, but what about you?” Hisoka yelled, standing up with clenched fists. Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes, but he did nothing to wipe them away as he looked at August with a forlorn look in his eyes. The urge to wrap his arms around the other was strong, but it would only prove inevitable… After all, August’s just a ghost now. “Are you really satisfied with this? Knowing that you’ll never be able to talk to us normally ever again?”
“I do wish I hadn’t done certain things during my lifetime, but I don’t think I’ll ever regret dying for your sake. Seeing that both of you are together and well… I’m glad enough to see that one of my wishes finally came true.”
August had to hold back a frown when he heard another sob wrack Hisoka's body, making the smile on his face look all the more distressed.
“N-Nothing about this is fair…! This can’t really be what you wished for, it just doesn’t make sense…” Hisoka cried out, and just as he felt like he was going to fall apart, the feeling of a gentle embrace brought him back to his senses, followed by that of a hand rubbing small circles into his back. Chikage, who tried to maintain his composure the whole time, finally allowed himself some relief and allowed himself to cry for the first time since he joined MANKAI. With a bitter smile, he let out a shaky sigh.
11:59 PM
“You’ll never change, will you? You’ve always been so selfless, painfully so,” the bespectacled man said, holding back a choked sob of his own. “But maybe that’s why we’ll never be able to forget you. You’ll always be with us, in our memories, in our thoughts...”
“And in our hearts,” Hisoka mumbled, wiping the tears away with the sleeve of his jacket. He wriggled out of Chikage's embrace and stood up to his full height, his gaze rested on August with a calm smile he'd rarely seen. “We’ll still be a family, because the three of us won’t ever drift apart. Right… April?”
“...Yeah. We’ll make sure of it, because love, no matter what shape or form, is something that will never be lost,” said Chikage, with a renewed happiness in his heart. “It’s the least we could do for August, after everything he’d done for us.”
Finally, after all those years, they'd finally found solace, thanks to the one person they felt indebted to for so long, and despite the bittersweet feeling of it all, it somehow felt like things were meant to be like this in the end.
To August, he wouldn't have it any other way.
"You two… It’s only been a few years, and you’ve both changed so much,” August chuckled, taking one last glance at the clock. “It was nice, getting to speak with you two again. And even if our time spent together lasted for only a month..."
12:00 AM
"...I'll treat every single moment as if they’d lasted for a lifetime."
The kind man who stood before them flashed the gentlest smile he’d ever shown, the faintest of tears sliding down his face right as the clock struck twelve, signaling that it was midnight…
And, more importantly, that the month of August was no more.
“Hisoka. Chikage. Thank you for making this one wish of mine come true. Take care of yourselves, okay?”
Chikage and Hisoka began to shed tears once more, knowing that there was nothing to do but watch as August’s body began to fade away in particles of light, scattering in all directions. The room fell silent, letting August’s last words linger in their thoughts as he disappeared, leaving nothing behind but the warmth of a long forgotten smile.
“...Until next year, when we meet again."