Work Text:
If surely you know warmth
Please wrap it all together
"W!"
W can hear someone shout her name, but strength has long left her body as she lay on the rough ground, the cold seeping through her clothes as pools of blood painted her in a beautiful shade of crimson.
She feels so cold.
"N-Nononono…"
W had imagined her own death a lot of times already, long before she had met Hoederer and Ines. Before she had met Theresa and Babel. Long before she had met Amiya. She imagined dying in the battlefield, as a nameless mercenary who will only be buried in a markless grave which she shares with other fallen mercenaries who failed to carve their own name in their field of expertise.
She imagined death coming for her, giving her the first and last warmth she'll ever receive before falling into an eternal slumber, full of resentment and regret for failing to survive to see another day.
But that was in the past, and this was the present. She was now W, the mercenary who had worked for Babel, for the Reunion Movement and for Rhodes Island. She was now W, Amiya's lover.
(How she wished she could be at least called Amiya's husband or something but alas, fate has always mocked the two of them even in the end.)
When she was by Amiya's side, she had forgotten everything about the cruel past that had repeatedly stabbed her in the back, turned a blind eye to the possibility of history repeating itself again because she's really just so scared. All she wanted to do was stay beside Amiya and continue living to see the next sunrise. All she wanted to do was stay beside Amiya and continue protecting her, something she had failed to do so many times to other people.
She remembers the ruins of Kazdel, a place only the strong could survive in. So she became strong, brandishing a blade at a young age to turn towards anyone who threatened her life. Back then, she didn't have any reason for living other than the desire to outlive the fools who underestimated her and sneer at their graves that she had personally sent them to.
She remembers her time with Ines and Hoederer, both of whom had polished her blade to better protect herself and to become a usable blade, a true mercenary. Those too were pleasant times, for she remembers the nights in which the three of them would share stories, all stiff and wary but they worked it out in the end.
She remembers the hallways of a nameless landship to which Babel worked in, the voice of the Sarkaz King asking for a name that was neither a title she had gained nor a codename given to hide away the past. She remembers falling in love with eyes of cherry blossoms and touch like snowflakes gently floating down to frozen grounds before losing everything and once more leaving.
And—
She remembers Amiya.
Amiya, who is strong, kind and unyielding.
Amiya, who is bright, brave and does not shy away from the cruel fate she has been given.
Amiya, who W loved with all her heart.
She remembers the days spent outside on the edge of the landship as the two of them watched the sun rise and set in the horizons. She remembers the sound of a violin, the melody being played brought peace to W. She remembers the gentle kisses they had shared with each other, bright smiles only reserved for one another.
W may not remember the name which was bestowed upon her in birth, but all of the new memories, she swears she'll remember them.
Even now as she feels the cold graze of death in her body, stealing away the remaining warmth, she will remember everything.
"Ha…" She forced a grin, weak but still carried with it a vibrancy unique only to her. "Tears… really don't… suit you."
W loved Amiya with all her heart that if the cautus were to ask for her death, she'll do it without hesitation.
She raised a shaking hand to try and wipe away the tears that trailed down the cautus' cheeks, a failed attempt really but she felt a pair of hands ( so warm and so real against her skin, she doesn't want it to disappear) catch hers, placing it on stained cheeks.
"Stop cryin'." W continued, gasping for breath only to cough out blood once more. She feels like she'll drown any moment but she holds on. "If… that lynx sees you like this… she'll get mad." A chuckle left her lips, airy and fleeting as she watched eyes of the brightest blue (her sky, her own solace) turn more blurry as tears continued to pour out, hitting even W's face who tried to keep the grin on her face.
She faltered, lips shaking like every breath she takes for she feels so weak and so tired now that she just wants to close her eyes.
"C-Come on W." Amiya pleaded, desperation and anguish clearly painted on her face. "Y-You'll be okay. So stay. It's an order. Please—"
Orders.
Amiya does not demand. She does not plead. She does not do such things because she can have everything she wants simply because she has everyone by her side.
W would always listen to her, be there in every beck and call but of all things, she doesn't want to disobey such an order that came out from her lover's lips because she'll make her cry even harder.
But she can't.
Ah.
Truly, the world hated her.
"I'm sorry."
A quiet voice spoke out, W felt her own tears trickle down her cheeks and join the pool of blood that has now grown far too big.
She can't.
She's too weak.
She's sorry.
W had never been so sorry in her whole life but right now, she is. All she wants to do is to hug Amiya and tell her everything will be alright. That it's just another bad dream.
But she can't.
W wants to shout, and to cry out. She wants to curse every god out there for this cruel script she had to follow (she can't escape).
But she can't.
"I love you."
W says because it's really that simple.
She doesn't hear a voice that tells the same, for she had long lost her life.
W perished in the ruins of Kazdel, joining the countless warriors who fought to have their land back. She perished but not as the mercenary W who is one of the many under the orders of some other faction that played a game of chess with each other, eager to see an outcome.
She perished as W. Just W, who could have spent a lifetime together forever with Amiya.
If there was a lifetime in which W and Amiya lived peacefully, then W would love to repeat it.