Work Text:
if you look closely enough, you can sometimes see the stardust in everything. you can see the stardust in the flowers on the dye farm, or in your own veins, or in the reflection you see in his eyes.
and you, specifically you, are the only one who can manage that. it's not because of your magical eye, as you were able to find stardust even before the incident. but... ever since the incident, you were able to see it more clearly. it wasn't just under specific light or when something akin to a miracle was happening.
no. now, you can see it if you squint a bit and keep away the deprecating thoughts. you can see it when he smiles.
smiles.
smiles.
he's smiling, despite the graying skin, and his body withering away, he smiles at you, eyes crinkled, his whole face lighting up at the sight of you. the poppy he gave you is still tucked behind your ear, still holding on for some reason. it should be gone by now, gone like his two previous lives, but its holding on. its holding on and its there and its comforting.
you can't really distinct his facial features at the moment, but... but he's still familiar.
he's familiar in the way he grabs your hand, in the way he pulls you close for a hug, as if he thought you died. or he thought you were close to death. after all, you cant just respawn after each death in this life. you- you don't just come back.
come back.
come back.
you're back in the small town hes building and guarding, your hand holding onto your hat so it wont fall off, and you're here to help him. he accidentally started a raid, silly little canary, always bringing death, and he'd asked you to help him. of course you agreed, you're fascinated by him. he seems weirdly, safe, for you, and you hold on to him, without ever explaining to him you're even holding on.
you lend him some arrows, and you help him survive the raid. even though you don't have a limited amount of respawns here, and where is that thought coming from?, you're still wary of death, wary of an arrow splitting your throat (the same way he died) or a sword piercing through your chest with a finality.
finality.
finality.
its final, when you grab the rune sword and plunge it into your chest, your eyes boring into your sibling's, tears welling up. they're welling up deep within your chest, and they're so close to bursting out from your eyes, but you hold them in, and your chest burns. it burns from pain, and it burns from sadness. you didn't want it to come to this.
you never wanted to be at the stalemate of having to kill either your sibling, or yourself, but you knew youll have to. ever since you found that damned book of prophecies, you knew you'd either stab yourself, or stab them. you knew it was inevitable, and yet you were still dreading it. you were dreading it, and you weren't ready.
you weren't ready, and you couldn't say goodbye. not to you allies, not to your friends, and not even to your lover- him.
you didn't say goodbye to him, and you never got to find out he left for self exile as your soul moved on to a new world.
a new world.
a new world.
a new world with new opportunities but the same people. sure, pearl isnt around anymore, and false and oli are here instead, but jimmy, joel, lizzie, pix, katherine, shelby, sausage, fwhip, gem and joey are still here. they're here, and they're not leaving you. at least not for a long while.
they're staying, and you can see and remember and feel the stardust coursing through everyone.