Sarah Paulson Imagines *open for requests*

Thus With A Kiss I die.

Cordelia x Reader
tw: just a ton of sadness

It's been 4 years since I joined Ms. Robicheaux Academy for exceptional young women, 4 years since I found to myself, 4 years since I met the supreme, my wife.
The first time I entered the big halls of the academy I immediately got a sense of home. A kindness I never felt at any place before. It didn't just felt like home, it felt like me. Stable if you look at it from the outside but fragile and carrying a mystery that just waits to be uncovered.

I remember walking down the big halls to the stairs that lead into the witches bedrooms. Slowly a smile creeps up on my face seeing the woman with honey blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes greeting me on the last step of the stairs before my inner eye. The first time her hand touched mine I knew that not just this place was home, it was her. It took us a long time admitting to the feelings we buried in our hearts for each other. She was my teacher and the supreme after all. I always was an introvert which didn't went unnoticed by Cordelia.

On occasions she took me out for a lunch which I thought of as an act of kindness, not knowing that her feelings grew more and more for me with every outing we had. One day we happened to talk about theatre and found our shared passion in it. Even though I'm young there was an old soul sleeping in my body and now and then it uncovered itself to the right people. One of them was Cordelia. Our favorite theatre piece is Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".

On my 20th birthday and my last year as a witch apprentice she finally asked me out officially. We went to a theatre to watch the said piece just for her to whisper in my ear in the middle of the piece "do you officially wanna be with me?" and for me just sitting in the middle of the quiet room, screaming internally and nodding my head all flustered. The rest is history.

Being in a relationship with Cordelia wasn't the easiest thing for one specific reason. Of course, she was kind, she was understanding, she was beautiful but she also was the supreme which came with a lot of duties, power and dead.

The life of a supreme had a clear destiny which always ended with death. Every day they dedicated themselves to the coven, to their family. You have to be able to protect the coven by any means even if it took your own life.

At the end of the day it will always be your family that kills you. As soon as a new supreme arose it meant the old one is slowly dying. Isn't it ironic? Cordelia's and mine faith was like a modern version of Romeo and Juliet.

In the end I'm gonna lose my lover because our family will kill her. If the person you love is the supreme you get suspicious with every new witch entering the coven because they could be the cause of death of the person you love most.

Just two months ago the coven got some new, young witches. Looking at them, all you saw was this incredible sense of power. All of them strong, excited and full of life. It wasn't until a month ago when the new lives that entered the coven started to drain the life off Cordelia.

No one knew who the new supreme was that slowly arose and at the same time no one spoke out loud the obvious fact that Cordelia indeed was dying. Her spells got weaker, her eyes lost the sparkle and in the end she wasn't even able to walk the stairs anymore. It was Myrtle who knocked on the door of my office just a week ago, face pale and hands shaky. "We need to talk." She said sitting down on the opposite chair from me.

A week ago Myrtle and I talked about the already known fact. A week ago Cordelia couldn't even walk down the stairs anymore without stumbling and falling down. A week ago since she was just laying in bed and me sitting beside her, bringing her breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Cordelia on the other hand didn't talk about her faith. We talked about the weather, the girls, us but all the time I slightly tried to talk about IT she went silent and wanted to sleep. Us fighting wasn't an unusual thing anymore.
The thoughts followed me everywhere, all the time. Every day I remember the first time we met and every day I wonder when the last time will arrive.

Getting out of my car I opened the door of the backseat and got the bag of groceries I just bought out. I entered the academy when Zoe met me halfway taking the paper bag from my hands to put the insides away. I gave her a thankful smile before taking out a little box on the top of the bag with a red ribbon around it. With the little present in my hand I made my way up into Cordelia's and mine shared bedroom.

New thoughts coming in of how long I'll still be able to call it like that. How long will I be able to share my life with my wife? The uncertainty was like a sickness you couldn't get rid off till you just got over it. Arriving at the door I slowly opened it saying a small "hey" to not startle the suffering beauty that was laying on the bed. Her head turns slightly. I wasn't sure but it looks like even that small and subtle movement takes the greatest power of her aching body.

Her eyes met mine and even though you can tell how much she's in pain she never fails to greet me with the exact same and warm smile she was greeting me with when I first arrived in the building. Slowly I made my way to the bed, sitting on the edge of her side before taking her pale hand into mine. Her raspy voice spoke up "hello there sweetheart." It was more a whisper, almost inaudible. "I got you something." I told her with an excited smile, holding the box in front of her face.

"Would you mind opening it for me?" She said with a weak smile. I just nodded, untying the ribbon before taking out what was inside and laying it in her hands. She eyed it for a second before a smile appeared on her soft face and the little sparkle that was long missing in her eyes appeared again for just a second.

"Romeo and Juliet." she read out the title of the small book and turned her head to eye me. "Could you read it to me?" her eyes almost pleading hoping nothing more than my answer to be yes. I gave her a small smile and took the book from her hands starting to read. We were sitting there one hour, two hours, three hours.

Just reading and eating. Occasionally I asked her if she wanted me to stop but the second I did the plead in her eyes came back "Please don't stop y/n. I wanna hear the story of them." Slowly the sun left the sky and it got dark. In the meantime I laid down next to her, her head resting on my shoulder just listening to the sound of my voice. We arrived at the last act

"ACT V SCENE III"

I spoke exaggerating deepening my voice which made her laugh softly. I continued to read the climax of the story.

"Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you" I felt Cordelia's arms wrapping about my body. A sudden strength coming from them holding me so tight it almost hurt.

"The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss" I felt her breathing increasing, becoming stronger than these past weeks.
"Are you okay?" I asked with a worried tone. "Yes sweetheart, please continue."
I followed her plead.
"A dateless bargain to engrossing death!
Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide!
Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on
The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark!"
I felt my shirt getting soaked my a watery consistent.

I looked down at my wife seeing her eyes full with tears.
Just now I realized her glimmer was gone, the warmth that always radiated off her turned into pure coldness. She looked up at me washing away a tear that I didn't realize escaped my eyes and held my face. Her eyes met mine and one last time her face turned full of love and warmth. She spoke with a clear voice.

"Here's to my love!
O true apothecary!
Thy drugs are quick. "

She pulled my head closer to her until our lips met into a loving kiss. Her lips danced around mine while her thumbs stroke up and down my face. After a while her lips left mine. She looked at me intensely, her thumbs going from my cheeks over my lips to my jawline, as if she was scanning all my features. She looked into my eyes until she spoke "Thus with a kiss I die."

and her last breath left her body.