Work Text:
What If ItsMonarchFr accepted Harvey | gelat1n_b34r’s offer?
“Look down.
You're standing in a circle-cross.”
His eyes dropped to his feet in widening shock, then disbelief, finally settling on fear.
His gaze snapped to Monarch's.
The light of the torches stutters across Harvey's skin leaving red and golden hues, as the sun slowly rises over the mountain top.
“Bu-wha? Y-you don't have to do this! You’ll spend eternity alone! Surrounded by sheep-And eternity is a long time, trust me! I know!”
Harvey's fist pounds against the invisible barrier, desperation dripping off his every word.
Monarch cannot hold sympathy for the demon that killed their friends. They can't just….
The Dinner. Why, gods why, can’t They stop thinking about that stupid dinner.
Harvey's cocky attitude and attempts to seem suave, completely ruined by the food stuck between his front teeth.
For days all Monarch could think of was how terribly They had conducted themself, with their sweaty palms and stuttering questions turning to rambles, how useless the interrogation had been. But…
Was Harvey not your friend too?
SHUT UP!
HE KILLED THEM, HE KILLED THEM ALL!
Didn't you hear what Harvey said?
You did that yourself.
(….Thats right.
It was my fault…)
“We can be happy together, I want to be happy! With you…”
For some reason Monarch can't seem to choke down their breaths, they desperately try again and again to straighten out their breathing, but…oh. They're crying.
Great heaving sobs rack Their chest.
Why is it so hard? The decision should be easy, it is easy.
But oh how They desperately want to stay, need to.
Finally the tears overcome them, and as the torch in their hand sputters and rolls when it lands on the ground, their knees buckle and they drop. Monarch curls up into their legs and aches. They ache to have their friends back. They ache for everything to go back to normal. They ache…for Harvey.
Finally Their eyes flick upward, and meet Harveys.
He’s Kneeling now, hand pressed against the barrier. They want to take it.
“Please monarch..” it barely comes out more than a whisper, a stark contrast to the shouting happening mere moments ago.
“I-I-I cant.” Monarch chokes the words out, tears dribbling off Their chin. “their lives, we h-have to let them live theirs.”
Gods they can't even speak properly now, more hiccups and saltwater than words.
“And what about your life?”
“Wha-?”
“Shouldn’t you live yours?”
Something in Monarch's heart cracks. Their breathing stops entirely and their wide watery eyes stay fixed on Harvey.
“Please Monarch, let me love you.”
Their chest tears with the force, as before they realise what they've done their dashing forward ripping away the torches and flinging themself both at Harvey and towards the ground at his feet. Harvey catches them in that same second and drags them into his arms, cradling them against his chest so tightly it's almost painful.
Scratch that it's pretty painfull, Monarchs pretty sure their gonna have Harvey's hand shaped bruises come tomorrow.
Monarch startles as a water droplet lands on their cheek, looking up…
oh..
..Harveys crying.
“Please Monarch,” He Breathes "Don't you ever scare me like that again.”
He's scared, Harvey's scared.
Of course he would be, he almost died - Monarch almost killed him!
But as Harvey's arms tighten further around him, Monarch thinks back to his expression.
(He wasn't scared of dying. He was scared of loosing me....)
And they realise, they were scared of loosing him too.
“...I won't."
As they lay there curled up in Harvey's arms, they think of a different choice, a different world.
And as Harvey's warmth curls underneath their skin, they think to themself how glad they are to have picked this one.
In another world:
ItsMonarchFr fell from a high place.