Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Legend readied his gun as he entered the caved-in convenience store, Marin following behind him delirious and struggling to walk. She had been bitten and wanted him to kill her, but he refused to, instead grabbing duct tape from his bag and stuck it onto her mouth, covering it and preventing her from biting him if worse came to worse. He also put a leash on her so that he could hold her and keep track of her but also so that he could keep her tied up somewhere once he needed to. He knows that nothing will ever stop the infection and her turning was inevitable. In fact, her time was almost up. Hopefully the tape stays on before it gets soaked with blood and falls off. 

The store didn’t have many zombies, just an old man at the counter still wearing the uniform and one feasting on a body near the ice cream freezers. Carefully, He snuck into the store, doing his best not to alert the monsters. But it wouldn’t help as Marin suddenly collapsed behind him, convulsing and choking on blood that she was unable to release through the tape. 

Now aware of him, Legend raised his gun and aimed as the two started to bolt towards him, screeching with gore gushing out of their mouths. Then, he shot both, the two bodies collapsing onto the ground. To be sure they were dead and gone, he stomped on their heads, their brains and blood spraying all over his boots and socks. 

“Ghk..Agh….”

Legend jumped and held his gun once again, only to lower it once he noticed Marin convulsing and choking more on the ground, trying to tear the tape off of her mouth. Tears fell from her eyes as she shook and gagged. He needed to tie her now.

Grabbing the leash and dragging her across the floor, he found a pillar and tied her leash around it, her still collapsed on the ground, though now stiff and still. The duct tape hung loose around her mouth, blood dripping from it and onto the ground. Carefully, Legend took a step forward and reached out a little, not wanting to accidentally get too close.

“M-Marin?”

She screeched, reaching out for him and wanting to take a bite out of him. He jumped and backed away as she cried out, hiding behind the counter that the one zombie was behind earlier, ignoring the body that remains behind it. It doesn’t take long before he hears Marin calm down, only groaning quietly, shuffling around and trying to escape. Quietly, Legend cut off the rotting corpse’s hand and climbed out of his hiding spot. Once he was out, Marin started to growl and claw at him again, wanting to rip apart his flesh, evident by the saliva drooling out of her mouth as she reached for him. Without aim, he threw the hand to her, hitting her face as he muttered a small apology that went unnoticed.

She seemed to take the bait as she turned away from him and instead picked up the hand, messily chewing on the little rotten flesh that hung off of the bone. Legend, knowing it wouldn’t take long for her to finish the measly piece of meat, jumped back behind the counter and hauled the rest of the body over it, giving it to her as an offering. She hadn’t noticed the food yet but she would soon enough. 

“I hope that’s enough food for you, Song.” Legend said to her, though he was certain she hadn’t heard. “I’m going to go look around for a bit, okay?” 

She didn’t look up and although he already knew that she couldn’t help it, it still stung. 

Wandering around the banged up store, Legend carefully stepped over fallen pieces of wood and pushed shelves back upright to make more room for him to walk. Any food he could find, whether it be melted packs of ice-cream to stale chips, he picked up and placed in his bag. He’s not quite used to eating so little just yet but he’s managing. 

‘Though it seems like most of the food here’s already been raided…’

He picked up anything useful that he could before he returned back to his spot near Marin, who was already diving head first into the man’s chest, tearing apart the flesh savagely, a description he never thought he’d use for her.

He sat down and opened a small bag of chips that he found and munched on them, not filling him up enough to satisfaction but enough that he would survive another day. Lucky for him, too, they were stale so they didn’t have as much salt as they’d normally have (though he still wished they were more flavorful.) 

Even the last few crumbs fell from the bag and into his hand, Marin was still chewing on the legs of the man’s body that he had given her. It surprised him, really. Did it really take that long for zombies to eat their meals? Or was she just a slow eater? Maybe she was savoring it? 

Legend yawned as quietly as he could. It was nearly dark now, zombies would be prowling the streets soon. Mustering as much energy as he could, Legend stood up and shut the partly broken glass doors and dragged as many shelves and other large, heavy items as he could, blocking the main entrance.

‘Wait, is there a back door?’

Quickly, he made his way around to find that yes, there was a backdoor and that backdoor just so happened to be housing about three undead, who turned their eyes to him and seemed to realize that it’s dinner time.

He raised his gun and cocked it, backing away and aiming as well as he could while moving as the monsters started to run to him. He shot one bullet, missing the head of the one in front of him and instead shooting the shoulder of the long-haired zombie behind it. He reached for a knife from his pocket, stumbling a bit though just barely keeping his balance, and he threw it towards the zombie directly in front of him, this time hitting exactly where he wanted it to go, and the beast fell to the ground. 

Two to go…

Legend readied his gun once again, this time just barely missing Marin, who was still feasting on the body and not paying him any mind, and stood still one second to aim before firing two bullets into the chest of the long-haired monster which soon fell just as the other did.

One more-!

His back collides into a door and he just barely manages to duck as the last one, a patchy-haired zombie with a school girl’s uniform, slammed its head into the glass, clearly trying to take a bite out of him. He regained his footing and punched the zombie in the back of its neck, stunning it for a moment, before picking up a steel bar he found beside his foot and shoving it through its back. The creature struggled for a minute or two before finally going still.

Legend waited for a beat to catch his breath before going back to the back of the store. Lucky for him, the door was in a storage closet, meaning that there were many things he could shove in front of the door. And most of them had wheels.

It took a bit of work but he was able to pile up several carts and boxes in front of the door, blocking it and securing his safety. Plus, it also gave him a chance to see if there was any loot inside that he could use later. It was mostly junk food from several months ago and a few boxes even had some rotting rice balls and other microwavable foods that were never shelved before everything went to hell.  Though, some of the stuff seemed to be safe enough to eat, so he could survive here for a while.

Once the entire store was barricaded, he returned to his spot where he saw that Marin was finally finished eating. Now, she simply sat on her knees and butt staring into nothingness. She hadn’t noticed him yet so he’s not sure if she’s actually full or just bored. Either way, he doesn’t worry too much.

Legend removed his puffy coat and backpack and set them up like a bed, the cold floor freezing his skin while his coat tried to reflect as much body heat as it could back to him. The set-up wasn’t the most comfortable but it was a lot better than what he and Marin were doing before; sleeping on the open streets.

Little by little, exhaustion began to take over as his eyes became heavy and he fell into his dreams.

---------------

The sun felt warm on his shoulders, the water freezing on his feet. He was staying over at Marin’s place while her father, Tarin, was on a business trip of sorts. He had wanted Legend to watch over his daughter while he was away, keep her safe and such, and of course he agreed.  

He laid in her lap as they watched a movie together. It was some zombie movie from Korea and as they both watched, they made random commentary about the movie. 

“Damn, Koreans don’t eff around with their zombies, huh?” Marin had said loudly, her eyes still glued to the screen as she stroked Legend’s hair.

“No, they don’t.”

“I mean like, western zombies are all slow and they don’t react very quickly and the most dangerous thing is them swarming, not so much them existing.”

“Mhm.”

“But in these movies, they are stupid fast and their reaction time is even faster! They’re effing monsters!”

“That’s because they are monsters?” He joked.

She scoffed. “No, doi! You know what I mean though, right?”

He chuckled lightly. “Of course.”

They continued watching in silence, occasionally jumping at loud noises and hiding their faces on graphic scenes. At some point, one of the main female characters had turned into a zombie as well and one of the male characters just held her as she was growling before ending up getting bitten as well.

“He’s an idiot.”

“You’d do that for me too, wouldn’t you, Bunny?”

“Nah, I’m sorry, Flower, but I’d kill you as soon as you got bit so that you wouldn’t have to hurt.”

“Oh yeah? That actually sounds a lot nicer to be honest, haha.”

“Yeah, it kinda does.”

“So why didn’t you?”

Legend tried to look at her in confusion but was instead held down by bony hands. They pulled him up to his face and he froze when he saw a rotting, bloody person with Marin’s face. Before he could fight, it lunged at his neck and bit down hard.

---------------

Legend shot up out of his make-shift bed, gasping heavily as sweat fell from his face. He looked around at his surroundings and all he found was Marin, still zombified, slumped over against the pillar she was tied to. He noticed her chest rising and falling gently, although her eyes remained open. Was she asleep? Do zombies sleep?

Carefully, he pushed himself up and off the floor and wandered the store for a bit. He didn’t know what time it was, thanks to all of the windows being covered and boarded up, but he assumed it was daylight since most of the monsters are sleeping when the sun rises and because he’s certain his internal clock hasn’t been destroyed yet. Plus, he could see a bit of light poke through the translucent screens on the glass anyways.

He took a piece of old bread from his bag and picked off as much of the mold as he could before stuffing it in his face, not even bothering to take his time. Though, he wished that he did since now he has nothing to do. There’s no internet and he’s out of data on his phone and Marin is both a zombie and asleep, so he couldn’t even bother himself with talking to her.

“Why didn’t the movies say anything about being this bored…”

Legend didn’t want to sleep anymore. Didn’t need to. He just really wanted something to do…

He looked along the magazine racks and searched for anything of interest until a magazine with the picture of a woman lying on a bed caught his eye. 

“N-no, I shouldn’t!”

“...But you never got to read any of these before…”

“Guh, but I don’t want to be seen as a scumbag!”

“But there’s no one here. It’s the apocalypse, remember? No one will care.”

“Hmm… But what would Marin think?”

“She can’t...”

He stared at the cover for a few seconds longer before picking up the paperback and flipping through the pages. 

---------------

“Ghh….”

Legend put the magazine down on top of the rest of the pile, pulling out a dagger as soon as he heard the moaning from the other side of the room. He was ready to attack until he saw Marin stirring from her sleep and looking side to side in the room, almost human like. He was ready to go up to her and sit beside her until she noticed him and started growling and reaching for him, just as she had last night. 

“Oh… Well, good morning, My flower…”

She froze at the nickname for a second before reverting back to her angry and animalistic state.

...wait…

“Wait, Marin, did… Did you understand me?” Legend asked in disbelief. He didn’t get a response as expected but he didn’t care.

“You’re alive! You’re still in there, aren’t you?” 

She growled more, her mouth dripping with drool. 

“Oh, shoot, you haven’t eaten yet, huh? Um…”

Legend searched around the store for any more dead bodies yet the only ones he could find were those of the zombies he had found and killed last night. He could feed those to her but he isn’t sure she’d eat them…

“It’s worth a shot, I think? Oh Hylia, please work..”

He tore off the arm of the nearest body and tossed it to Marin’s direction. She paused a moment and sniffed the arm, inspecting it, and he feared for a moment that he’d have to go out and hunt an actual person down. But after a few moments, she dug in and ate it with eagerness, just as she did with the body from last night. Legend smiled, as dark as it may be.

“Nice! I won’t have to kill anyone!”

As she ate, He plopped down beside her, though not close enough that she’d be able to touch him. He wished he had a notebook to keep note of stuff like this. It’d be helpful. Hopefully though, he remembers anyways.

---------------

“Flower? Can you look at me please?”

Marin paid him no mind, her attention entirely taken by the head of the body he had given her that day.

“Mar, I need you to look at me.”

Once again, she ignored him.

“Marin, please…”

He took a step closer and reached a hand out for only a second. But that was a mistake.

Suddenly, Marin dropped her food and lunged at him, clawing at his arms and trying to take a bite out of it. And she did, though the bindings on his arms and hands kept him safe enough. Though, he knew that if she started to try and chew him elsewhere, he’d be done for. 

Tugging away from her as she pulled harder and harder, Legend pulled out his dagger and shoved it into her, uncaring about who it was he was stabbing, and he was freed, pained growling crying from behind him. He stepped away and held his arms to his chest, checking them over to make sure there weren’t any bites. When he saw there weren’t any, Legend let out a breath of relief before his heart rate picked up again.

“Marin!”

He didn’t get close again, knowing that it’d just make her angrier. But he still tried to check on her and make sure she was okay.

Marin was curled in on herself, gripping her eye where the dagger still rested. She clawed at it, trying to get it out, dark blood oozing out from where her hands were until she pulled the eye from its socket and threw it across the floor, dagger still embedded in the soft flesh. He grimaced but made no motion to get closer.

“...Marin? I don’t know if you can hear me, but I am so, so sorry.”

She barked at him and turned away from him, sitting against her pillar in a fetal position, like a child crying after getting in an argument with their friend at school. 

“I didn’t want to hurt you, I just didn’t want you to turn me. I hope you understand…”

He got no response. Instead, he noticed her back rising and falling slowly again. 

‘She’s already asleep…’  

He slumped down onto his knees, weak and full of shame for what he had done.

“Sweet dreams, my flower…”

---------------

It had been about a week since Legend first arrived in the store and now, Marin was out of bodies to eat. He had tried to offer her some snacks like bread and chips but all she did was give him a confused look before angrily throwing them aside.

So now, he’s going to have to go outside of the store and drag some bodies with him.

Legend geared up, packing anything that he could use as a weapon within his bag as well as some extra protection such as tape and extra cloth. Before he headed out, he checked the windows to make sure that it was safe enough to go outside. There didn’t seem to be many monsters at all, so he deemed it safe enough to head out. 

He cleared the doorway enough for him to get through and opened the door, meeting piles of snow resting on the ground. 

“Hey, Mar, I'm going to go on a grocery run for you, okay?”

No response, as usual. He was starting to get used to it. 

Closing the door behind him and hiding it as much as he could, he walked out into the bitter snow and prepared to hunt. 

---------------

It was hard to drag two dead bodies in the snow after running from a group of zombies. He doesn’t know how he managed to survive but Legend didn’t care if it meant being able to feed Marin and keep her alive for another day. 

As he neared the store, he heard snarling and voices yelling at each other. Momentarily, he dropped his loot and pulled out his gun (now newly reloaded) in preparation for a fight. 

“I told you we shouldn’t have gone looting here, Meg!” 

“Nat, you’re such a scaredy cat! We need food and so we’re going to kill this thing and then take whatever food is here!”

“Grragh!”

“Yeah, but what if someone’s living here?”

“They aren’t here right now, you wuss.”

“GET AWAY FROM HER!”

He lunged at the two girls, holding a knife and attempting to stab the taller one with black hair. He wasn’t going to let Marin die. Not now.

“Wh- Hey, we’re human! Let me go!”

A gunshot rang out and Legend backed away, gripping his shoulder tightly as warm blood gushed out.

“Quickly, Nat! Shoot the monster!”

“No!” 

He wrestled with the other girl holding the gun, Nat, and fought over the gun, a few shots firing in random directions, until she eventually dropped it onto the dirty floor. Legend let go and dived to the ground before her sister could react and shot her twice in the head. 

The black haired girl was the only one left. She stepped away from him, fear carved into her face as she stared at him.

“Y-You’re insane!” She cried. “We’re trying to kill a zombie and instead you kill my sister? What the hell is wrong with-”

He didn’t let her finish her sentence, shooting her straight through her heart. Her body fell face-first into the ground, the wound on her chest flooding the floor.

Marin was still struggling to escape her leash to attack him, but he didn’t care or even bother to pause to check on the two. Instead, he walked out into the cold, red staining the snow as the injury on his shoulder bled, and dragged the two zombie bodies into the store before barricading the door once more with the shelves. It was only when he threw a part of one of the bodies and dragged the remaining, including the two girls he had just killed, that he realized what he had done.

He retched, onto the ground and all though not much came out. Still, it left a sour smell on the ground and an even worse taste in his mouth as the sounds of Marin devouring her meal resonated through the rubble.

 He remembered what the two were talking about, even though he only heard a little bit of it. ‘They were just trying to survive like you. They just needed food and you had plenty. They were human like you. They were human and you killed them.’

“I-I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want Marin to die.”

‘But she’s already dead. Why do you care so much about a corpse?’

“She’s not though! She responded to what I said once. There’s a chance!”

‘Then what about these two girls who were still human? What about all of those zombies you’ve been killing mercilessly for the last two days. Didn’t they have a chance or do you just not care about people anymore?’

“...I…”

‘...You monster.’

 He wailed.

Chapter Text

He didn’t bury the bodies that day, though he did send prayers to God to save their souls. They were still of use to him and Marin. They had clothing and weapons and other junk, which he stripped from their bodies, leaving them naked, and they were food for Marin. Plus, it’s likely they’ll leave her full longer.

“Flower, I think…” Legend started as Marin sat in front of him, not hungry at the moment thanks to her just eating a meal. “I think that it’s time I try and talk to you again. Like, teach you stuff. Try and jog your memory, you know?”

“Hmnnnnh…”

“I’ll take that as an okay! So, let’s start. My name is Legend. Do you remember?”

“Grnnnn….ghhh….”

“Le-gend!

“Hahggnnn”

“...You’re making this incredibly hard.”

He tapped his chin for a few seconds in thought before exclaiming as an idea came to mind.

“Marin, try your hardest to say cat! A super simple word!”

“K...Kh….”

“Yes! You’ve got this, Flower! C-A-T, cat!”

“Khaaa….”

“Yes...Yes…!”

“Khaaaannnnnnggg...Kahhh…”

“You actually listened and tried! Yes! F*ck, yes!” 

Legend jumped around in joy, ecstatic at the newfound knowledge. Marin is still in there, she’s still human. 

‘I can do this. I can bring her back!’

“Okay, now, try saying…”

---------------

Legend couldn’t sleep tonight. There was so much running through his head, none of them good.

It’s been a few days since he first got Marin to try and repeat after him but so far his attempts have been fruitless. He’s tried getting her to say his name, cat, dog, her own name, heart, you, love. So, so many words and all he could get out of her was a moan. It was starting to wear down on him. 

“I’m trying so hard, God. Why… Why can’t she just come back…”

He couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down his face and, frankly, he didn’t give a damn. All he wanted was for his flower to show she was still there. He didn’t care how. A word, a call, hell, even her showing an expression other than anger or emptiness would be enough for him. 

She was no longer so aggressive, though she’d occasionally bark at him if he got too close, so that would’ve been enough but in reality it didn’t mean anything. Not if she’s still empty. Not if she was still a zombie.

He heard from the other side of the counter soft breathing coming from his roommate and lover. They only seemed to make him sob harder as they were like a reminder that nothing will ever be the same again. That Marin might be cursed to be a walking, breathing husk for the rest of her life. 

“Please, God. I know I’ve never been religious and it isn’t often I pray but please…”

Huff… huff…

“ Please … bring her back…” 

---------------

She didn’t respond again just as she had days ago. Legend was starting to lose hope.

Marin’s food source was also running low. All she had remaining was the legs of one of the girls that he had killed, meaning he’d have to go out on a hunt again soon. 

“Sleepers wake...Dreams will fade… hmmmm…” 

He hummed her song while he cleaned their shelter. It was one that she had written a while back when she was still a small kid. When they first met at the playground after a few older kids had bullied him and she saved him, they immediately became friends. Not long after, she wrote the song and that’s when they had fallen in love.

It used to make him so happy but now it just made him bitter and sad. 

He made sure to collect any clean snow that he could so that he could clean wounds and have something to drink. Now, he used a bucket to clean the old blood from the floor and walls. He also picked up and threw any rubble he found in the corner of the storage room so that the place felt more comfortable.

“Okay, tomorrow, I need to get you some food and then…,” Legend pondered for a moment. “I don’t know what else.”

He continued to hum and clean while Marin sat at her spot, not even bothering to look at him. Legend didn’t mind. He already knew it was unlikely she’d respond to anything, really.

“What if the worst comes… hmm… sweet reverie ends…”

“Hahh… huhmmmmm…”

Legend froze.

“Hmm….. Hhuhmmm… humnn"

‘She’s… she’s singing her song.’

She continued to hum the song while Legend just stood and listened. It wasn’t as beautiful as she usually sings it, many of the notes being missed or held for too long or not long enough. Still, he couldn’t help the emotions from swelling in his chest.

‘Maybe there is some hope.’

A single tear fell down his cheek as she hummed. He smiled as he wiped it away.

---------------

When he returned with another two bodies behind him, Marin was still humming her song just as she had been two days ago. 

“You really like that song, don’t you, Mar?”

Marin didn’t respond. She simply kept humming. That was fine. She seemed to be in a good mood today, though.

He piled the bodies into a corner and cut off a piece from one of them and brought it over to her. Once it fell in front of her, she stopped humming and began to feast.

“Mari, I think I’m going to continue to try and get you to speak. Are you okay with that?”

She kept eating.

“...Or maybe I should start with small gestures, huh?”

He plopped down in front of her and clicked his tongue in an attempt to get her attention. However, she didn’t care. 

“I...Guess I’ll wait for you to finish eating, huh?”

He crossed his legs and groaned in frustration. He’s really getting bored in here and no matter how many adult magazines he reads, no matter how much he talks to himself, no matter how much he tries to talk to and teach Marin, he’s just bored. He didn’t want to go outside anyways because it’s dangerous and he doesn’t know if he’ll end up locked out of the store. The snow can get absolutely insane during winter and he didn’t want to risk dying no matter how bored he gets.

“Should I just sleep?” He thought aloud to himself. “I mean, no one has come by here in forever and you can’t leave your spot. You’re too busy anyways…”

He laid down on his back on the linoleum floor, the cold biting his skin.

He didn’t care.

“I wish… I wish I had been stronger during that fight. Maybe then you wouldn’t have gotten bitten and then you wouldn’t have turned into… this.”

Legend closed his eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like now if Marin was still here.

“We would’ve played games together and talked about random things we liked from before this place turned into hell… And maybe you would’ve read some of those magazines with me, haha. Or not but who knows… I’d lay my head down in your lap and you’d stroke my hair while we sang your song together and we could’ve pretended that everything was okay. At least for a little while…”

The chewing noises had stopped. Is she finished eating? He didn’t bother to check.

“I wish that you were still here, Flower. I wish that you were still around to talk to me and to sing with me and to just be with me… I wish that I wasn’t so we-weak.”

Oh Hylia, he’s crying again . Why does the apocalypse make him so emotional?

“What did I do wrong to deserve this? Was I not a good person? Was I not faithful enough or go to church enough? I don’t know what’s wrong with me…”

‘Full on sobbing now. Good job, Legend! You’re now the official crybaby of the century!’

He couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down the sides of his face. He knew it was silly, getting so worked up over Marin being dead when she’s right there but it hurt knowing that she’s just a husk of her former self. A disgusting recreation of who she was. 

Humming echoed from behind him. So she was done eating…

As the notes came from Marin’s throat, Legend felt a small weight lighten. She was still there, wasn’t she? Even though she couldn’t speak and hardly responded to him, she was still there, trapped in her mind. There’s a chance for her to come back to him, right?

He decided that he’s going to try his very hardest to bring her back. And if her song was the first step to do so, he’ll gladly try from there.

“Sleepers wake… Dreams will fade… Although we cling fast…”

---------------

“A nod means yes and a shake means no. Like this: Yes…,” Legend nods his head up and down to demonstrate. “And no…” He then shakes his head side to side. “Now you try!”

Nothing.

---------------

“Mari, can you say my name? It’s Legend. Leh- jend” 

“Lnn….”

“My name is Legend. Can you say that for me, please?”

Still nothing.

---------------

“Sleepers wake…”

“H...hmm…”

“No, you gotta say the words! Sleepers wake…”

“Hmm...hmm..”

“No! The words, Mari, the words!”

---------------

“Marin, do you like meat, yes or no?”

“…”

“Marin, do you like… flowers, yes or no?”

“Y…s...”

His eyes sparkled in excitement.

---------------

Legend lied with his back pressed against the counter. The last few days have been frustrating with him trying to teach Marin how to respond to his questions and to sing the lyrics to her song. There’s been some progress on the words to the point where her humming is more accurate and she seems to mutter a few of the lyrics but nothing more than half a few words. Still, progress was progress.

The hardest part was getting her to say his name. Is it that difficult to say or does she… does she not remember him?

‘Dear lord, please don’t start crying now.’

No, she still remembers him. He just needs to get her to remember how to say his name, that’s all. She’s not gone yet. She’s not gone yet. She’s not gone yet. She’s not…

---------------

“Marin, do you know my name?”

“Mnn…?”

“My name. What’s my name, Mari?”

“Nmmm…”

Moaning. That’s all she ever does when he asks that question. It hurts but he doesn’t want to give up yet. He refuses to give up. 

“What’s my name, Marin? Can you say it for me please?”

“...L...en…gnnnn”

‘She’s getting closer’ He thinks to himself. 

---------------

He’s found himself lying on the floor a lot these two weeks, thinking to himself about Marin and how to help her remember to talk and just… be human. She can hum her song just about perfectly and she’s able to pick up a few more of the words, though she didn’t sing very much of it.

“L...Leg…”

Legend shot up out of bed. Was he hearing things? Or did she really…

“Le...Leg...enn…d”

Tears welled up in his eyes again, though this time, rather than out of sadness, he found himself tearing up in joy. 

Over and over again, he heard his name echo through the store. Marin’s voice echoing his name through the store. The sounds became his lullaby as he laid back down in bed and closed his eyes.

---------------

“Marin, can you say my name, please?”

“…”

Nothing again. And when he was getting so close to letting Marin out! Even if she wouldn’t say his name though, he was certain that Marin wasn’t dead yet. She’s still inside. She’s still alive.

“You’re still in there, right, Flower?”

“...nnn.”

She...She nodded.

She nodded!

Legend jumped up and down in excitement. Confirmation! There was hope and he was right for never giving up!

“Marin, can you sing your song for me?”

She paused for a moment, likely doing her best to remember what he taught her, before quietly humming and mumbling some of the words to her song.

“Sleem...ake… Dre...am….”

Legend sang along with her, closing his eyes and reimagining better days. Days when the sun kissed his skin and warmed him and days when Marin would hold him close and whisper sweet things into his ears. 

But he knew it was just a dream. A distant memory.

“No.” He said aloud in response to the thought in his head. Marin actually stopped to listen to him for the first time ever. “Things will get better. I’ll make sure of it.”