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The bite mark is irregular. The skin around is red and raised, the edges jagged, and the teeth set isn't even complete. Chuck knows it hurts because each time he swipes across it with a piece of cloth, Raleigh's breath hitches.
"I'm sorry," he keeps mumbling, too panicked to say anything else. "I'm so sorry, Raleigh, I'm sorry-"
"Stop this," Raleigh says through gritted teeth at last. His left palm goes to rest on Chuck's right hand, the one holding the cloth soaked in disinfectant, the one shaking. "Leave it."
"But- the wound- Raleigh-"
"We both know it's not going to change anything, no matter how many times you clean it."
Chuck feels his whole body shut down at this. He goes rigid, suddenly so cold from inside out, and distantly notices the wet feeling on his hand. The disinfectant seeps from the cloth he's gripping, knuckles white, and it streams down past his wrist before disappearing under his sleeve. It stinks like a hospital.
"Chuck..."
He drops the cloth somewhere, anywhere, and wipes his hand on his jeans. Raleigh is watching him with those sharp eyes of his, crystal blue and gentle, and Chuck can't do this. He can't.
"Don't be like this-"
"Like what?" he snaps, ire red and mean in his chest before it goes out like a blown out flame. He tries to look apologetic and Raleigh only smiles at him sadly. "Sorry."
"It's okay. It's not your fault."
Chuck tries not to choke on the bill in his throat as he tries and tries and tries to swallow. "It is."
"It's not. These things happen. It would happen one day anyway."
"But it didn't have to be now."
Raleigh sighs heavily, rolling his shirt back down. Chuck is grateful, in a way, that he doesn't have to look at the bite mark anymore - a wound that will get more and more swollen as time goes on. He's seen it too many times already; they both have.
When he's covered again, Raleigh reaches out and puts his hand on Chuck's jaw. He uses it to lift the Australian's head a bit higher, to make their eyes meet. His smile is so painfully tender.
"Can you do one thing for me?" he asks quietly. Chuck would give him the world, if he could, and Raleigh knows it. The question is purely rhetoric. He nods.
"Can you lie with me and just... forget the world? Forget tomorrow?"
Chuck squeezes his eyes until they hurt. When he opens them again, Raleigh's smile is still there. His eyes are big and tired, and there's so much love in them that Chuck gets nauseous.
"Of course," he says, even quieter, his palm finding Raleigh's other hand. It's warm, like he always is.
They make themselves comfortable, or as close to it as possible, on the thin mattress laying by the window. Raleigh is looking out of it, staring at the night sky - while Chuck is looking at him. Watching him, cataloguing every line and every shape from those eyes that he loves so much down to his lips. They're getting slightly paler with each minute; Chuck tries not to think about it.
"I'm going to miss you," he whispers, surprised at himself as the words leave him. It's true though; he will.
Raleigh looks away from the stars. His eyes are sorrowful when they meet Chuck's. "I already miss you."
A beat of silence. Chuck flexes his fingers where they rest on Raleigh's chest, still moving up and down, still warm.
"Don't go where I can't follow."
He knows it's a wrong thing to say as soon as he sees Raleigh's face drop.
"We'll meet again one day, Chuck. This goodbye isn't forever."
"You don't know that."
Raleigh huffs a quiet laugh. "But I know for sure that this isn't the end for us. I can feel it, love. This isn't forever."
Chuck resists the urge to roll his eyes with fondness. Who'll be his optimism when Raleigh won't be there? How will he think of good things when there won't be anyone to help him?
"Can you do one more thing for me? This is the last one, I promise."
The last one. It echoes in Chuck's head like a bell. "Always."
Raleigh shifts until they're laying facing each other, and brings his hand to spread it on Chuck's chest. The Australian delights in the feeling, snatching it and locking away deep, deep inside.
"Can you live for me? Just this one thing. Live. I know we'll meet again, but I don't want to see you soon, you hear me?"
Chuck snorts at that and watches as Raleigh's lips stretch in a grin.
"I'm serious, Chuck."
Chuck's heart falters, his breath hitching.
"Live. If not for yourself, then for me. Find your dad. Tell Mako I love her. Get a dog. See the northern lights. They're beautiful."
"You were meant to show me them yourself."
"I'll be there, I promise. Just get there and I'll be there, too. You'll know where to look for me."
Chuck squeezes his eyes and leans forward until his forehead hits Raleigh's shoulder. His scent is a comforting familiarity.
"Will you do it?"
"Yes."
Raleigh's lips graze his temple. They're cold. "Thank you."
Chuck finishes pouring back the dirt before noon the next day. He makes sure to place the stones evenly, plucks a handful of wildflowers and leaves them in the centre. They're blue, like Raleigh's eyes. Chuck thinks he would've liked them.
When the sun sets again, it's a new world for Chuck. Lonely and empty, and the road stretches far into the distance. He tightens the straps of his backpack.
"See you under the northern lights, you drongo."