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You stood at the balcony, leaning on the railing with a cup of tea in your hands, and the Fount of Knowledge next to you.
"Fount," you called out. He simply hummed in response.
You asked him, "What would you do if I were to leave you?"
For a few seconds, he was silent, and you feared that you had said something wrong, that he'd hate you for even suggesting such a thing, before he replied, with a touch of desperation in his voice, "Don't leave me, please."
You blurted out, "What if I want to leave?" and immediately regret it. How selfish of you, to say this to the only person who is wlling to be with you-
"I forbid you from leaving me," Fount replied, and you shifted your gaze from the moon (who seemed to be frowning at you) to him. You think you see his hands shake, and he looked away from you.
"I am sorry, I don't- I swear I don't want to leave you in particular- but simply this world that doesn't want me here-" the more you talked, the more you felt like you were saying something wrong, that you were exposing parts of yourself that ought to stay hidden, but you've spat it all out and it is too late to take it back.
You resisted the urge to step back and run back to your house and maybe rot in bed or something worse. You take a sip of the now cold tea instead.
"My star," the Fount said, "I want you here. I may not- I may not be enough but it is my selfish desire that you stay with me for as long as you can, and I would rather you die by nature's hand than your own."
What were you meant to say to that?
He walked over to you and pulled you closer to him, tucking your head under his chin. He hugged you from the back.
"I love you, and you are my guiding star, the person I love and adore, so please, I beg, do not leave," he said, pulling you away from the balcony and taking your hand (the one that didn't hold the cup).
"Fine then," you said, "I will try. I will try to stay with you to tue bestof my ability." And you were careful to not say that you promise, because it would break you and him if you were to break this hypothetical promise.
Fount brought you and him back into his room, closing the curtains and the window. You conjured the cup away, storing it in your other realm.
He lead you to the bed and told you to sleep, saying that you might feel the smallest amount better if you did. (and you both knew that it was both true and false, because sleeping was an escapism of sorts, but would not necessarily make you feel better once you woke up.)
You insisted that he sleep as well, pulling on his sleeve and saying how you would not sleep if he didn't. The Fount relented.
He held you close as you fell asleep and soon after, he did too, slipping into a dreamless sleep.