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“So you’re staying?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not leaving?”
“No.”
…
It hurts. Avery hates to see Derek like this. Even though he just barely met him—seeing him in this desperate state, this confused state, it’s all too much for him to handle.
Derek looks up, about to say something, but before he can, Avery takes a step forward and jumps into his arms. He embraces him tightly, refusing to let go.
“I won’t leave you, Derek. Not again. I refuse to.”
Derek lied to him earlier. He’s trying to protect him. He doesn’t get it. He’ll never understand it. By this point his head is pounding, whispers flooding his mind, but he fights it.
“Avery…” Derek sets an armored hand on the slime’s back. Then leans into the embrace. “You’ll die… all this—everything will be for nothing. Don’t do this.”
“If you’re dying, so am I.” Avery looks back up at Derek, who sighs.
“Stubborn as always.” Derek shakes his head and places his other hand on the back of Avery’s head. “Once you set your mind to something there’s no going back, is there?”
The millions of eyes around them begin deteriorating once more. Avery’s head aches and he feels the whispers get louder. But he has to focus—
“Focus on me, Avery. Focus on my voice.” The pair sink to the floor as standing becomes too much. “It’s trying to take over your mind. Don’t let it. It’s a tug of war, but I know you can do it.”
Avery nods into Derek’s shoulder.
“Good. It wants to take over your mind at least a little bit before it ‘dies.’ But since we’re doing this now, I have to work a little harder to ensure your safety.”
A pause.
“Well, not that we’ll both really be safe.”
Avery finds the strength to speak, despite the loudness of his mind. “As long as I get to die by your side.”
Derek huffs. “You’re an idiot, Avery.”
“I know.”
“This could have been avoided, y’know.”
“I know…” Avery sighs. “But you could have written a better note.”
“Listen, Avery, I told you I wasn’t in the best state of mind.”
“I know, I know… I’m just teasing you, d3rlord.”
He shakes his head, then continues speaking. And this time, it’s a little selfish. “I wish we could have known each other longer.”
A pause again. “Me too.”
“Then again I know everything about you.”
“I don’t…” Avery pouts.
“Alright… what would you like to know about me?”
“Okay… what’s your favorite color?”
“Red.”
“Obviously. Hot or cold?”
“Cold, definitely.”
“Interesting!” Avery laughs. “Why?”
“This may be a little extreme, but if you’re freezing to death, eventually you’ll go numb and won’t feel anything. In fact it’ll actually feel warm.”
Avery laughs. “How morbid!” He shakes his head and giggles. “How about hotdogs… are they a sandwich?”
“Ugh, I hate this debate. Absolutely not.”
“You get me!”
“Pff… they’re their own thing. They seem more like a sub sandwich if you’re going to place it, but it doesn’t have anything else a sandwich does. That’s my opinion at least.”
Laughter echoes in the void, the eyes nearly gone. Avery speaks up again. “Okay… let’s see… let’s say there’s a spider in the house. What’s the move?”
“Paper and cup. Take it outside.”
Avery giggles. “Preservative of life?”
“Something like that.”
“Oh! Any hobbies?”
“I enjoy writing. Poems, literature and whatnot. I’m not too deep in it… but I do like it. Active hobbies, I’d like to say snowboarding.”
“Oh~ snowboarding! I’ve never been. I’ll-” Avery cuts himself off and hugs hugs Derek tighter.
“Avery.”
“Mm?”
“Worse?”
“Mm.”
Not only that, but the thought of what he was about to say… ‘I’ll have to go sometime. Maybe you can teach me.’ As if they’d both make it out. It was both of them or none of them. Avery can’t bear that thought. Not anymore. He needs comfort. And Derek is the closest thing he has.
“Alright… just… listen to my voice. You can stop talking.”
“Story… tell me a story.”
“Anything you wish.” Derek cooes gently. “Lets see… all good stories start with a Once upon a time…” Avery giggles silently. Derek smiles. “Once upon a time, there was a fisherman. The fisherman lived on a deserted lake on a deserted island. Every half moon, the fisherman would set the goods he had fished up on the dock in front of his house. They would be gone by morning. A sailor came in the middle of the night to pick up the goods and bring them back to the rest of the city.
“One night, on the half moon, the clouds covered the sky and the rain came pouring down. It began to flood like none before. The thunder shook the fisherman awake, and he heard a bell tolling in the distance. The fisherman peeked out the window to see a familiar light sailing toward him from the town. The flood had well covered his dock by now, and was rapidly rising. It had not flooded like this in years. As the sailor’s boat hit land, the sailor rushed to the fisherman’s door and knocked. The fisherman hesitated. He never saw the sailor before this point. He was always asleep when he came around. The knocking came again, insistent. ‘Fisherman, I know you’re in there! We have to go now!’ But once more, the fisherman hesitated.
The fisherman had never seen town. He was terrified of the people, of everything outside of his little island. But at this moment, the fisherman was more scared of the water which swept away all his goods. The fisherman opened the door slowly. ‘Why did you come to my aid?’ He asks the sailor, ‘it’s dangerous beyond measure.’ And the fisherman…sorry, the sailor grabs the fisherman and pulls him out into the storm, onto his boat. The fisherman has no time to protest.
By the time they arrive back at the town, most of the town is engulfed by the water. They abandon the boat and run for the church. People are crying, clinging to their wet selves, drying each other off. A man comes up to the sailor and slaps him, asking him what he was thinking. The fisherman steps in, insisting that he leave him alone, that the sailor risked his life to save him. That he will never forget.
The two go to the top of the church and watch as the flood reaches it’s peak, near the center of town, then slows, stops, and begins to drain as the sun shines again. However, the fisherman’s island never comes into view again. The fisherman does not care. Because he is alive. And the sailor saved him. Eternal gratitude to him.”
Avery’s body is limp. Derek shifts. His own mind began slipping mid story, voice becoming husky and broken. He doesn’t bother to continue speaking, because he knows Avery is gone.
And he knows in moments, he’ll slip away too.
d3rlord3 was never really good with endings.
He, at least, hopes Avery understood what the point of that story was.
And that Avery is just as much of his savior
As Derek is his.