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He slowly smiles and opens his mouth slowly, huskily whispering,
“Ah, my dearest friend.”
Argenti sits up shakily and doesn't even flinch at the thorns stabbing his barely healed wounds and causing them to bleed. He feels Boothill’s hands on his back, helping keep him steady. He turns to look at him, a smile still plastered on his face. He whispers again, this time having a little less strength to it than when lying down,
“I thought you'd all forgotten about me. How long has it been?” Argenti watches as Boothill’s eyes fill up with synthetic tears, slowly falling down his cheeks. He reaches up and uses his thumb to wipe away his tears, the roses brushing against his skin.
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Boothill recoils at the touch of the flowers but then decides to deal with it for the sake of having Argenti touch his face with his slim, scarred fingers. He finally speaks in a hushed, scared voice,
“What happened? How long has it been since this started?” Boothill watching as Argenti thinks for a minute before speaking,
“A day or two before I left to try and find Idrila, the lumps started forming. A week after that, all the lumps I had gained burst open and bulbs came out. Maybe a week after that, the bulbs bloomed. Then 3 or 4 days later, new lumps formed and burst after 2 days, creating the vines. After that, the vines just kept climbing across my body and growing thorns.”
Boothill could feel the color drain from his face and he stared at him. It had been that long since it started? He slowly shifted to climb into the bed with Argenti, looking at all the vines and flowers while whispering,
“Have you tried cutting or pulling them out?” He looked up and saw Argenti giggle, smiling woefully. He feels Argenti caress his face and he leans into the touch he had missed so very much, even though the petals touching his skin makes him even more distraught. He listens as Argenti whispers,
“They have roots, I can't pull them out. I've never tried to cut them, I never thought of that idea.” Boothill nods and starts crying again, muttering,
“I can take you somewhere. I can bring you to a doctor. Anything. I need you to live. Please.”
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Argenti wipes away his cowboy’s tears again, leaning forward to kiss his forehead and whispers again his skin,
“They can't help me. This had never been seen before. If I go to a doctor, all they will do is try and give me transfusions in hope of keeping me alive. All they will do is keep me in agony forever. I need to be let go, darling. There is no hope for me.” Argenti hears Boothill whine in agony, not being able to see his expression that well due to the roses. He moves forward and pulls the sobbing cowboy weakly to his chest, wrapping his arms around him and making sure none of his thorns poke Boothill’s existing skin. He runs his fingers through his hair and presses kisses to the top of his head, making sure he can feel his touch. He whispers brokenly,
“It's okay. I'll see you in the afterlife. I was bound to die eventually. My only wish is that I get to pass in your arm, my one true love.” Argenti feels tears fall down his cheeks, making Boothill’s hair damp where they hit. He feels Boothill nod and he smiles, cupping his cheeks and tilts his head up to look at him. He presses a soft kiss to Boothill’s lips before whispering against his skin,
“I love you so much my darling. More than any words can comprehend. You were the only beauty worth looking for. I wish I had more time to show you my love.” Argenti leans back and smiles, not seeing anything anymore as his vision starts to blur.
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Boothill watches as Argenti smiles so sweetly at him, feeling his grip start to grow looser. Boothill’s eyes widen and he grabs onto his shoulders, not caring about all the flowers he's crushed. He start yelling through his tears,
“NO! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE! I NEED YOU! ARGENTI!”
Boothill watches helplessly as Argenti closes his eyes, smiling as he takes his final, slow breath.
And with that, he's gone.
Boothill sits there sobbing into the chest of his passed lover till the body had gone cold. He keeps sobbing even when he hears noises outside. He only clings onto Argenti’s body tighter.
He hears talking and people tugging on his limbs, but he keeps clinging to his lover. They won't take him. He can't lose anyone else. He finally registers that the voices and tugging comes from Astral Express riders.
Someone moves everyone else away and quiets them all. They move close to him and whispers oh so softly to him,
“Boothill.” He recognizes the voice as Robin, one of his closest friends. He finally lifts his head enough to look at her, tears trailing down both of their faces.
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Robin slowly kneels next to him. She doesn't care that he is still clinging onto Argenti’s body. She whispers quietly,
“How long has it been?” She hears his breath hitch as he whispers brokenly,
“A few hours. He passed in my arms. He's been waiting for me for 4 months. 4 months Robin. He's been in pain for that long.” Robin hears gasps from the people around and even hears a few break into tears. Robin looks at Argenti's face, barely seeing his closed eyes from under the roses but she can see very clearly the soft smile gracing his lips.
Robin turns back to Boothill and whispers,
“You need to let go now.”
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Boothill’s eyes widen and he shakes his head fast, burying his face into the neck of his lover and feeling the vines piercing his skin. He hears Robin protest and try to pull him back but he stays clinging tightly, locking his metal limbs in place.
After a few minutes and some mumbling, Robin quietly whispers,
“would you feel better if you got to carry him to his grave?” These words seem to make Boothill relax a bit and he nods, whispering,
“Yes please.” He unlocks his limbs and slowly stands up, hooking one arm under Argenti’s knees and the other wraps around his back. He lifts him up and holds him as close as he can. Boothill then turns away and doesn't stop to look at anyone else, his hat getting left behind. He doesn't notice Robin grabbing his hat from off of the bed and following him. He walks back to his ship and lays Argenti down on his couch before walking to his control panel. He types in coordinates that he hasn't been to in a while and his ship takes off, Robin coming closer to put his hat back onto his head. He doesn't acknowledge her and turns around, going back to Argenti and kneeling beside the couch where he lays, holding his hand tightly on his own.
The ship eventually touches down on a scorched planet, nature slowly starting to reclaim it. Boothill stands and picks Argenti up again, walking out of the ship. He walks till he reaches a spot with other makeshift graves, each one having a flower planted in place of bodies. He kneels down and sets down Argenti to the side. Almost as if on autopilot, he starts to dig out a deep hole beside the other graves.
Once the hole is big enough, Boothill slowly picks up and lowers Argenti in. He stares down at his lover for a few more minutes before starting to pile dirt back onto his love’s corpse. Once he's covered, Boothill turns to find a rock to put at the head of the grave, grabbing another rock to carve the words,
“Argenti. A Knight of Beauty and beloved by all.”
Boothill stands up and looks down at all the graves, tears falling once again. Boothill jumps when he suddenly hears Robin speak behind him,
“Who are the others?” Boothill turns around and smiles bitterly through tears, whispering,
“Family who were also taken too early.”
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It was a week later when Boothill returned to the graves, flowers in hand. He kneels down and places a flower on every single grave. He then shifts to sit down in front of them, smiling blissfully. He whispers to the graves,
“I'll be there soon. We'll get to be a family again.”
Boothill then starts humming, closing his eyes as he does so.
He keeps humming through the warning signals telling him of his low battery.
He hums till his mechanical body gives up, dulling his eyes and sending him falling backwards.
He smiles with relief as his battery runs out for the last time, the waiting hands of his family reaching out to him as he finally gets what he always wanted in life.
A loving family and peaceful ending.