Chapter Text
“To be reborn, you have to die first”.
This is true, for those who believe in a second chance. For those who cannot, will not, or have yet accepted that the inevitable brings nothing but the fact you will be rotting in a wooden box, six feet under, or burnt to a crisp for your relatives to pay an annual tax, to keep your shiny, golden plaque clean.
This exact reason is why so many people fight. Fight for their chance at; life, love, fortune, success, memories and fame. It is why their little sparks of hope are still burning, they haven’t yet accomplished their goals. It may become dim, that spark, but it is still lit until the inevitable extinguishes it. Many describe it as a gentle force wrapping its arms around you. Guiding you to an eternal slumber, and what happens is yet to be known. But in truth, it's a crushing force. It suffocates what little life you have left out of you, leaving your limb body to be discovered by a loved one or an unfortunate person who was either too considerate or liked to meddle in others business. Death is not peaceful, you don’t just simply die. Something fails on you, or someone. Our lives are a gambling chip in the hands of whatever force that made us. One exchanged for another. We die, to be reborn.
Even now, as the chemicals flood and engulf Tommy’s lungs, he can’t help but cry. Cry for the memories he won’t get to experience. The life he won’t get to live. The goals he won’t achieve. He cries for; his friends, his family, his classmates and what would’ve been his future co-workers how they may grieve. He, Theseus (Tommy) Simon, was dying. No, he was being killed at the prime age of 16. And his silent killer was unmasked to be Carbon Monoxide. It infiltrated his lungs. He didn’t realise it until too late. He couldn’t move, nor keep his eyes open. It hurt. It burned. And it really sucked. Tommy wouldn’t have an epic or peaceful death, he would die suffocating on gas in the school bathroom. All of this happened because he just wanted to improve his chemistry grade, and maybe because he wanted to study with his crush too. Where was he anyway? Right, the bathroom, he had excused himself to go to the bathroom. A fucking school bathroom. When he had entered it smelt weird, but the toilets always smell weird, it was high school for god’s sake.
His eyes became heavy, and maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much if he didn’t breathe…
He shut his eyes and breathed deeper breaths. It didn’t sting as much, but his head was becoming foggy. Everything was so quiet. So.. calm? He was sleepy. Man, he didn’t realise how tired he actually was. But, he wasn’t tired, to begin with. Was he? Why can’t he feel the tiles of the bathroom floor? Why has the pain suddenly... Stopped? Where- where was Ranboo?
His arms hurt and so did his legs. His eyes stung, and he felt the breaths trapped in his lungs escape too quickly.
This is really it?
He hasn’t even had his first kiss.
He hasn’t told Ranboo that he likes him.
And he was crying again. Did he ever stop the first time?
He was dying, alone and no one was there to comfort him. Fucking cheap ass school that couldn’t be bothered to fix the pipes. Fucking dumbass Tommy who just “had” to improve his grades for a class he was already doing great in. He wanted to scream. He wanted to hug his mum, to hug someone. Maybe he should just stop holding onto that spark of life. It was diminishing before his very eyes.
“-ommy!”
What was that?
“T-Tommy, please! I need you to stand with me! Please, please stay with me!” A shaky voice begged him. Long, slender arms had wrapped themselves around his torso. Was he being dragged? By who? “Tommy, please! I don’t want you to die here!” The voice was clearly crying, no that was an understatement, it was hysterical. Tommy opened his eyes, the voice belonged to the very person who he separated from. Why did he come here? “You asshole! Why didn’t you realise that the fucking bathrooms can’t be trusted!” The figure yelled, “You always complain about them! Why couldn’t you just hold it in!”
They were both getting tired. Maybe Tommy should tell Ranboo to leave him. At least he hasn’t been affected yet. “Ranboo... Please just go. Y-you-” Tommy was interrupted by his lungs rejecting the air he was breathing, leaving him suffocating. Dying. His lungs were on fire. “You’ll die if you stay here with me Ranboo” he choked out, yet Ranboo refused. He kept pulling and dragging Tommy with him as he was slowly dying with him. The bathroom felt like it was caving in, dragging Tommy to his death and he refused to bring anyone else with him. Tommy struggled, and with the little strength he had left and the already weakened Ranboo, he pushed him out. Ranboo was choking for his fresh air, but he was breathing. Tommy laid on the floor of the bathroom, watching Ranboo get what little clean air there was before it became contaminated into his lungs. Ranboo would live. And that was all that mattered.
Tommy allowed himself to fall back into that trance, it was easier this time. Maybe he would be reborn, given a better chance of living. Too bad this time he died on the bathroom floor, which was covered in piss and grime. But that didn’t matter. Ranboo was alive, he would live. And everything would be fine.
The struggling yells from Ranboo were drained out by the humming and buzzing of his head. His brain’s grand attack to maintain the quickly depleting life. It would be useless, the carbon monoxide would have crept its way into his bloodstream by now, which would kill all of his organs, causing them to shut down and kill him.
Why was everything trying to kill him?
Would he be reborn, or would he rot away in a wooden box? Maybe he would get cremated…
He just hoped his family and friends wouldn’t suffer too much. School bathrooms were overrated.