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“Mariana!” Charlie's vocal cords were scratchy and hoarse. He wasn't even sure if Mariana had heard him. Regardless, he runs up to him, “Mariana! Kill me!” He shoves his sword into Mariana’s hands.
Mariana takes a step back, a bewildered look falls on his face, “¿Qué?” It doesn't take long for it to click as he glances at the bar on his communicator, “¡No!”
Mariana pushes Charlie's hands away, “Mariana please.” There's desperation clear in his voice. It's not the lust filled kind Mariana is used to. It's properly desperate and crushing and it irks Mariana to his core. “Just kill me and everything will be okay.”
They both stood by the fountain at Global. Charlie's gas mask was stuffed somewhere in his inventory. He briefly hears Roier frantically trying to help Cellbit get a kill on Badboyhalo or Pierre.
The red bar moves up. The timer ticks down. A death message fills the chat.
Charlie only panics more.
“Mariana! Please! You have to do this. I'm not going to let my bitch fucking wife die on me!” He grabs Mariana's hands in an attempt to maneuver the sword into his hands.
Mariana doesn't struggle. In fact, he takes the sword; something Charlie will be forever grateful for. But then he drops it. He tosses it to the ground behind him.
The timer ticks down. Charlie tries to drown out the cheers of celebration from Cellbit and Roier. He thinks he can hear Foolish and Baghera through Cellbit's communicator.
Mariana gently takes his lover’s hands in his own and places one over Charlie's chest. “No es tu culpa, cariño.” (It's not your fault, darling.)
“No, no, no, no! Don't say that! Mariana, don't say that!” He pleads and his knees just about give out from under him. “Just kill me, goddamnit! Just do it! Why is it so hard? You're barely present so why is it so hard to kill me if you barely know me!?”
Charlie can see Mariana's eyes gloss over with tears, “Yo sí te conozco. Y lo siento por no estar allí. Pero yo aún te amo.” (I do know you. And I'm sorry for not being there. But I still love you.)
Mariana really does just want to make this harder on him. Why wouldn't he? “No, no. I love you too, I love you too. I always have and I'm sorry for everything. But please, you can't leave me like this!”
“No tienes nada que lamentar.” (You have nothing to be sorry for.) Mariana places a hand on Charlie’s cheek. As he does so, he gets a glimpse of Mariana's communicator. They are so royally fucked. “En todo caso, debería disculparme.” (If anything, I should be sorry.)
“No, Mariana- You killed our daughter, sure, but it's okay. She's back! She's back and she- she needs you!” Charlie places a hand on Mariana’s.
“No, ella te necesita. Ella necesita a su papá.” (No, she needs you. She needs her dad.) He gives Charlie a sad smile.
The timer ticks down. Communicators buzz as farewells are sent.
“She needs her mom too, Mariana. I need my wife. Mi guapa esposa-” Mariana shakes his head.
“Está bien. Estarás bien.” (It's okay. You'll be okay.)
“We'll be okay. We'll be okay, Mariana. We're both getting out of this.”
“No esta vez.” (Not this time.)
“Mariana…” Charlie's voice is quiet and a tear slips from Mariana’s eyes.
“Me alegro de haberme enamorado de ti.” (I'm glad I fell in love with you.)
“So am I, so am I. I'm- I'm so happy I met you! I- You're- You're a great person even if you messed up a couple times but hey! So did I!”
“Charlie…” Mariana moves Charlie's head to look at him properly, “acéptalo, estábamos condenados desde el principio.” (face it, we were doomed from the start.) Mariana chokes out through silent sobs with light laughter.
“No, don't say that.”
“Dile a Juana que la amo.” (Tell Juana I love her.)
“You can tell her that! Because we're gonna- we're gonna get off this island next week and we're gonna go home and you're- you're gonna see her! And we can all sit around the campfire and eat vegan marshmallows!”
Mariana’s hand on his cheeks begins to go limp and Charlie scrambles to hold him up as he stumbles, “No, no, no- Mariana come on! You can't do this to me!”
Through a tangle of limbs, they wind up on the cold quartz floor. Charlie on his knees with Mariana across his lap. There's a small smile on Mariana’s lips, his face pink and stained with loose tears. Charlie holds on to Mariana’s hand, pressed to his chest with another holding up his head, and his face is red and drenched in blood and tears.
“I love you, Slime.” Mariana whispers as the timer on all of their communicators beeps.
Charlie feels the splitting headache from crying dissipate and his body goes limp above Mariana's. How badly he wanted to say it back, to whisper words of love and lust to Mariana one last time. Even to just see him alive from a distance one last time.
He was devastated. He was broken. And there was nothing he could do as the sleeping medicine was pumped through his veins by prongs from the communicator fastened to his wrist.
Te amo, Mariana.