Work Text:
It was the middle of the night.
The sky was a dark, deep shade of blue.
The stars were barely visible, thanks to the city lights that were never off.
And, on a bridge, directly connected to the city, a silhouette was faintly visible.
The silhouette of a teenage boy resting himself on the bridge's railing, admiring the view. It was strange for such a young person to be out at a time like this, but that didn't really matter. He was alone after all. It's not like anyone would come soon either.
He took out his phone and turned it on to check. It was 1:47 am, and he only had 14% of battery left. He sighed and put it back in his hoodie's pocket. It's not like he was gonna use the rest of it anyways.
His gaze shifted to look under the bridge. For what he could make out in the darkness, the way down was long. Probably around 10 meters until he reached the water. He looked up at the sky. It was quite beautiful at this time, or so he thought. A gentle smile formed slowly on his face as he let out a, somehow sad, but still sincere chuckle.
It was really it this time.
He was finally doing it.
It was somehow pathetic, that the only way he could find to do it was like this. Jumping off a bridge in the middle of the night... It sounded dramatic, like something from a movie or book that's supposed to be gut-wrenching, but miserably fails to be. Still, which way of doing it wasn't pathetic? Stabbing himself to death in the bathroom would leave an extremely dramatic scenery behind, and he didn't want that. He only wanted to disappear, not make a statement. Overdosing on pills was just not available, and hanging himself was just overused. It would make a statement he didn’t want it to make. He also just couldn't. Ropes steady enough to hang a person cost more than he thought, and they're not easy to hide in a closet.
Well, it's not like the method mattered anyways.
The simple act of living a life so miserable, that the only way to fix it is by dying, is pathetic enough in and of itself, and that's why he was here. Because he was a pathetic person, living a miserable life with no meaning. A pointless life, which honestly didn't even matter. A fake life where he couldn't even be himself.
He sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the light wind of the night hit his face for one last moment. He didn't go out at night a lot during his life, so he didn't have many chances to feel it... It was nice, even if it did make his hair hit his face and covered his eyes, which was uncomfortable. That didn't matter much though, it's not like he wasn't used to it. To the discomfort, it is. His lips turned upwards to form a smile, and as he opened his eyes, he started climbing the railing to stand on it, planning on then jumping off.
He then felt a hand pulling him by the arm, making him accidentally fall on his own back, and hit his head on the floor.
The pain on his head came quick, the hit also making his vision somehow blurry. Maybe the sudden impact cleared his mind up a bit, but now he was hyper aware of his surroundings -even if he couldn't see them- and realized that someone must have pulled him. That someone was watching him almost jump off a bridge, and that he didn't even realize it.
"Ow! Careful!" He groaned, putting a hand on his head and sitting down. He was somehow embarrassed, he wasn't used to people seeing him vulnerable like this. And thanks to that, his answer was immediately hostile.
"Sorry, I-" It was a girl's voice. As his vision started to become clear again, the boy looked up, to find a pair of big, shiny blue eyes staring back at his own. They were hers. A girl's.
She seemed to be right around the same age as the boy. Her hair was blonde and fairly short, and she was wearing a long, flowy white dress. It had long sleeves that touched her wrists, and a skirt that got down to her ankles. Her beautiful face presented a worried look on it, and seemed somehow nervous, even if not much. She certainly didn't seem as nervous as a person who just saw someone try and commit suicide would normally be, tough. Since, for just having been presented with that, she was awfully calm. It was somehow scary, or at least it would be, if it wasn't for the soothing presence she somehow radiated, even at a time like this.
She kneeled down a bit, offering him a hand to stand up. He gladly took it.
"I just couldn't bear seeing you like that," She said, while helping him back on his feet, a slight smile forming on her face. The boy couldn't help but notice how her eyes seemed to close a bit when she was smiling. She looked stunning, radiant, beautiful... Somehow like a porcelain doll, but not quite. She was way prettier than one of those. Cuter too. She was like... Like an angel, maybe?
"It's... It's okay..." He responded, as he used her hand to stabilize himself again. He couldn't help but notice how soft her hands were, did she use some sort of cream? "What are you... Doing here? It's quite late, ya’ know?...."
That question seemed to take her by surprise. She was quite clearly not expecting it, as she just looked at the boy’s eyes for a moment, with a somehow confused expression, before lightly smiling again. Except this time, her smile had a hint of sadness, or maybe irony to it.
“Same as you, I guess?...” She responded, with a quiet giggle. “What a coincidence, no?”
Same…
Same as him?
“What… What do you mean?” He paused for a moment, looking at her in the eyes. She just stared back, holding her expression. “Surely you weren’t planning to….”
“To kill myself?” She interrupted, making the boy jump. She stared at him for a few moments, before he realized she actually wanted an answer for him. He just nodded. “I was, yes. Is it that unbelievable?” She let out a chuckle. “Nobody has ever believed me, so I would assume it is,” She added, while turning her back on him, and going to rest her arms on the railing.
“S-Sorry-”
“It’s okay. It’s not like I blame you.”
He followed her, resting himself right beside her. “Still, I’m sorry.” He was looking at her in the eyes. This time, she was not staring back. She was too busy, feeling the breeze with her eyes closed. He didn’t quite understand why her eyes were closed. Her hair was pinned back, so she wouldn’t get any hair on her eyes anyway.
But still, he enjoyed the view.
She looked amazing like that. Stunning. Like a sculpture. Like a painting.
She looked like a statement, if that makes sense.
“Hey…” The boy called out, after a few seconds of just staring. “Why did you decide to do this?”
“Does it really matter?” She responded with another question. Her eyes finally opened back, and she quietly tilted her head to finally look back at the person beside her.
“I guess it doesn’t.” He paused for a second. “But I’m still curious.”
She let out a giggle. It was soft, quiet and even a little melodic.“That’s fair,” She said, as she averted her gaze back at her front, letting her head fall into her arms, which still rested at the railing.
“I think it’s because… I was tired, I guess,” She responded. “It’s like- Well… Lately, my parents have been fighting a lot. Like, to the point of considering divorce. And I was tired of hearing about it, and of hearing everyone else being ‘worried’ about it too...” She paused for a moment, probably trying to find her words. “That had already happened a few times, so I think everyone just thought I was used to it and just told me that they were worried and hoped it got better and stuff so they could pretend to be good people. And I don’t want to be a tool so others can be ‘good people’, and I don’t wanna be a tool for fake sympathy, so I decided to do this. So they all felt some actual sympathy and remorse for me. Like being all ‘Oh, I could have done something, but I left her all to herself! I should’ve acted out!’, you know? I want them to feel bad about it.”
He adverted his haze from her, to the spot in front him, to the same spot in the sky where she was looking at. It was the place where the sun was usually seen when it was going down at dusk. He closed his eyes, feeling the light breeze. He smiled, softly.
“That's fair. So you're doing it to make a statement.”
“Yeah, you could say that.” She paused for a moment. “And you? Why are you doing this?” She was now facing him, smile painted on her face as she asked. He just kept quiet, stiff. He certainly didn't want to talk about that. “It's only fair you tell me, I told you after all,” She added, after realizing he wasn’t responding.
The boy looked back at her, maintaining eye contact with her for a few seconds before turning his head back at where it was facing before.
“I…” He mumbled, to then take a moment to quietly decide what he was going to respond, and how he was going to phrase it. “I-I wanted some control. You'll see, I… I was born female. But I'm a man.” He paused, clearly nervous. He realized he was now slightly biting his bottom lip. “My father doesn't understand that, though. He wants to force me to live as a woman. And I feel like if I'm forced to that, I'll probably suffocate and die so… I guess I just decided to do the job myself? I didn't want to feel forced by my father, and if this is the only control over my life I have left, I want to use it. I don't wanna make it a big deal, tho. I just… I just want to be gone.”
“Well, that’s fair too. You’re doing it to escape.”
“I guess I am,” He responded.
Silence filled the air for a few moments after that. The girl had already shifted her gaze back at the horizon by the time the boy stopped talking, and now they were just sitting in quietness, not making a single sound. It was very comfortable, or at least so he thought. It was calm.
And the light discomfort of the breeze making his hair hit his face was gone.
It was now a soothing sensation.
It felt good.
“Hey…” The boy heard himself say, not really realizing it was him who pronounced those words. At least not until the girl beside him started staring at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. That’s when he remembered what he was about to ask. “So… What’s your name?”
“Huh?” Confusion. Clear as day on her face. And then, realization. “Oh! I didn’t tell you! Sorry for telling you my life story before my name!” She let out a giggle. “I’m Rin, Kagamine Rin. I’m fourteen, nice to meet you! What’s your name?” Rin responded, while extending a hand to the boy, like offering a handshake.
“Oh-I-Uh…” He paused for a moment, not expecting her to extend her arm like that. “I-I’m Len. Kagamine Len. And I’m also fourteen…” Len took her hand, clear nervousness on his face. He suddenly found himself not being able to look at her in the eye, so he shifted his gaze towards their now intertwined hands. His face felt hot. Burning.
She let out a laugh. And didn’t let go of his hand.
“We have the same last name! And we’re also the same age! And we also look really similar! Like we’re twins! Isn’t that amazing?” She exclaimed, while laughing. Len just couldn’t help but think she looked just so so pretty like that. So, he started laughing too. A shy laugh, mostly just to match the vibe. Rin was still holding his hand. “And we’re also here to do the same thing!” She stopped laughing, there were now some laugh-tears in her eyes, if you can call them that. She opened her eyes very wide, and now she was staring directly at Len’s own, a small but playful smile still painted on her face.
“Hey, why don’t we jump off together?”
That sudden suggestion made Len’s heart jump. Skip a beat. He was now wide eyed, making a very intense and awfully uncomfortable eye contact with her. He then felt his face start burning. His cheeks start to redden. His body starting to go weak.
She suggested that like how a normal teen her age would suggest skipping school to go to the mall and buy slushies.
She suggested that like how a normal teen her age would suggest playing a harmless prank on their mean teacher.
She suggested that like how a normal teen her age would suggest a normal teenage thing that teenagers do and then get in trouble for.
But that wasn’t a normal teenage thing. And they would do way more than just get in trouble if they did it. And that’s what made it interesting. That’s what made it fascinating.
That’s what made it so attractive.
“That… That would be wonderful” He responded. His face, while not smiling, was still shining. With anticipation, with fascination, with enchantment, with allure.
With interest.
And with love.
Rin started laughing again, making Len laugh along with her too. They both laughed playfully while she pulled him by the hand as she started climbing the railing to jump off. They both laughed playfully when she was sitting on it, and invited him to sit too. They were both laughing together as they jumped off, still holding each other’s hand.
They both laughed as they fell. They laughed and laughed, until the laughing suddenly stopped.
Until the sound of the splash of the water as they hit it was the last thing heard.