╰┈➤ ❝ Relentlessness is one of the most defining traits of humanity. To persevere even in the face of adversity. To thrive in even the harshest environments and succeed despite the failures of the past and against the expectations of others. To suff...
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note: this is just a short imagine.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Imagine Dainsleif, who was cursed with immortality and spent an eternity in misery.
And then he fell in love with you and finally started looking towards the future; planning a life with you. That was until the day the curse finally broke and you were left wiping Dainsleifs last tear off his cheek and him leaning into your touch; trying to force himself to give you a comforting smile. He was looking forward to the future for the first time in centuries. He wanted to buy a nice little house with you and grow plants together and go grocery shopping on saturdays. He wanted to cook breakfast for you; have you wrap your arms around his waist and sleepily snuggle up against his back. But all he feels now is the cold, endless grip of death. It's funny isn't it? A man who wanted to die for so long has finally found the will to live. And yet everything was only ever meant to be taken from him.
He'd cry, reminiscing about all the memories he never made. Dainsleif feels like ever since the fall of Khaenri'ah he spent his whole life just existing. Grieving. Wandering aimlessly trying to find a meaning where there was none to find. And then he found you; who brought light into the deepest depths of the abyss and who guided him from an ocean of madness safely to the comforting shores. He would have loved to have more time now. More time idly watching the sunset with you and holding you in his arms. More time plucking flowers for you and grieving not those who died but appreciating the life all around him; most of all the life in your eyes when he'd hand the small bouquet to you that he picked himself. He would have loved to kiss you like time could never take you away. But the clock kept ticking, the seconds passed by and Dainsleif would have to settle for one last kiss.
He presses a kiss to the palm of your hand. "There's so much I still wanted to tell you.....I spent so much time grieving and not enough loving you like I should have. Like I do now. I'm so sorry...."
He fades into the abyss, the universe and everything in between. Nothing is left of him for you to mourn. Nothing but your memories and the excruciating sadness you feel inside your heart. You can't even bury him and hold a funeral for him. But you still try, hoping that somewhere out there he's still waiting for you, waiting to be reunited. Or that, wherever he was now, he at least finally was able to rest. You knew you never would be able to but maybe that was the irony about loving a man like Dainsleif. Maybe through him loving you and leaving you behind, you had taken the burden he carried and in a way he had passed his curse onto you....
When he wakes up, he's startled and scared. A cold shiver runs down his spine. The last day he had spent fighting the abyss order must have taken a toll on him. Reminding him of things long gone but showing him that there were still things he had left to lose. A tear rolls down his cheek. Then another. Time had numbed him; the rains of the years had rusted his heart and sometimes made him feel like it wasn't ever going to beat again. But now....now the tears just kept falling.
He feels you shifting beside him, alarmed at the muffled sobs that leave him. You sit up; eyes widening at seeing Dainsleif cry for the very first time. "Hey...", you whisper softly, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. He just pulls you closer, clinging onto you as if he'd feared his dream to become reality and to lose you just as he had lost everything else. Dainsleif was tired of losing. He wanted to gain. To live. To love you with all the love he had left in his heart. To prove to himself that all the evil and sadness he faced couldn't extinguish what he had felt so vividly long ago.
You hold him wordlessly, running your fingers up and down his back. You'd be here for him however long it'd take. You kiss his forehead softly; whispering "it's all going to be okay."
And in that moment, Dainsleif believes you. The pain is present in his mind just as it had always been but right now....right now there is also relief. Relief that both of you were alive; relief that it was all a bad dream and that he was holding you in his arms. That you didn't brush him off as a hopeless case. In a way, he is also relieved that he could cry again; let everything out that had been locked away in his heart for so long.
He's still sobbing, yet trying to kiss you. His lips are quivering on yours but you don't let that deter you. You kiss him back, patiently, until he stops shaking. Until he is laying in your arms again silently, just snuggled up to you.
And for the first time in a long time, there is a genuinely happy smile on his face. You're relieved that he had calmed down, pressing soft kisses all over his face, each of them making his smile a little bit brighter. It felt so good to smile...
"Dain?", you ask, running your fingertips through his hair, "let's go and pick flowers again tomorrow, okay? I love you. We can start building that garden you talked about before." You had brought life back to his world even when he had resisted with all the pain in his heart. And now, life would only continue to grow and you'd nurture it with every bit of love you feel for him.
There would be many days to come. Days of sorrow but also days of laughter and happiness. Nights spent kissing his tears away. Mornings spent telling each other "just five more minutes" and then falling asleep again with Dainsleif nuzzling your neck and you feeling him smile against your skin. Afternoons that had you listening to live music in Mondstadt's town square and that one day where Dainsleif didn't seem lost in his thoughts anymore; seemingly reminiscing about a better yesterday; but instead invited you for a dance, just letting the music take care of things. Letting himself forget the rest of the world for a moment while looking into your eyes like for while that was all that mattered. He loved you so much and he hoped that in time he'd heal enough to return your love in full. To be here in the present with you; taking one step after the other towards the future with hope in his heart.
