Chapter Text
“Who are you?” Michael asked, small particles of pink sand digging in between his toes due to his unsteady stance. The man turned around, his curly hair bouncing with the slight movement of his head. The younger one gave him a soft smile, holding out his hand like he was expecting Michael to come closer.
“W-why do I keep dreaming of you?” He questioned, ignoring his instincts screaming in the back of his mind.
‘GO CLOSER’
‘PLEASE’
‘DON’T LEAVE ME AGAIN’
‘I LOVE YOU’
‘DON'T GO’
Michael took a step closer, the man's grin widening. The sight shot a pang of mixed emotions through his chest. Robby took another step closer, and the other’s eyes softened. Michael continued to walk towards the stranger, watching each change in his microexpressions with a mix of apprehension. When he finally stood a foot away from the other man, he spoke what was on his mind as he dropped to his knees in front of the stranger.
“Did I know you? Every time I see you I feel like I'm missing something important. Were you important to me?” he murmured, his hands digging into the sand below him.
The other smiled, a fond look in his eyes as he looked at Michael. Bringing his hands to cradle the older man's face, cradling the cheeks of the kneeling man, thumbing gently against his crow's feet like he was tracing the words in a book he was fond of.
“I feel like I've lost something every time I dream of you. Do you know what it is?” Michael asked as a hand wandered towards his scalp, gently gripping the back of his head like he was afraid of Michael leaving too. He didn't say anything about it, instead looking up at the man and meeting his blue eyes.
The boy didn't answer, instead humming a soft, soothing melody and running his fingers through Michael’s hair. “It's familiar,” he mumbled, looking down at his hands. “Will you tell me the name?” He asked, wrapping his arms around the man's waist, pulling him into an almost hesitant embrace.
The younger remained silent for a few minutes, holding his head with a gentle hand as Michael kept his head in the other man’s stomach, hearing the gentle breaths of the younger man barely audible over the roaring of the ocean waves crashing against the shore.
“Why did you want to die, Dr Robby?” The man asked, his voice as soft as silk and as sweet as honey. “Was I not enough for you?” the boy whispered, guiding Michael to look into his teary eyes. “Why did you do it?” He sobbed, tears falling down his cheeks and onto Michael.
“Do wha-”
“Sir.” A female voice echoed, causing Robby to flinch like he had been shot.
The man let go of Robby, looking away from him toward the ocean, taking a step away with a smile that looked more like a grimace, as if he had been in some kind of pain.
“Sir!”
“Stay safe for me, okay?” The man spoke, like it was goodbye. Michael's eyes widened slightly as he watched the wave creep up from behind the man. “Wai-” he tried to warn, but it was too late. The wave swallowed the man whole, leaving only a silver cross necklace behind in his place.
“SIR!”
Michael shot up in his hospital bed; the nice nurse from earlier had a hand on his shoulder, seeming shocked that he had woken up so fast.
“You were having a nightmare sir.” The nurse said, placing a plate of Jello she had taken from the cafeteria, knowing it was the only thing he would eat because it didn’t upset his stomach. (the thought of sandwiches made him want to hurl.)
“Oh,” He responded dumbly, looking at his hands clenching and unclenching rhythmically.
“Would you like to talk about it?” She asked, seeming curious on what a man with no memories would have a nightmare about in the first place.
“No.” “It doesn’t matter anyway.” he mumbled, whatever lover he had had didn't matter in the first place. The kind man didn’t need to be stuck with spare parts anyway.
He looked at the green Jello on his plate, trying to ignore the hole in his heart as he thought of the tearful face of the man from his dream. Maybe the man would be looking for him, and he could check if he was okay.
Yeah, that seemed nice.