Afton Random Books

Hanahaki Disease AU: Sunset

Notification ringtones often came from his phone, but he didn't bother at all to even check. He knew all the messages were from who, from two people he thought he could trust. Maybe he was stupid all along, what he from other dimensions told him was all true.

His gaze was fixed on the reddish light of dusk, his mind drifted to the middle of nowhere, the shadows of what had happened.

There was only one name, one word in his mind:

Vincent.

Remorse.

The power surged within him, conveying his current overwhelming emotions. He couldn't even cry.

Regret.

Just that.

The truth was finally revealed.

Painful realization.

Everything was broken, it was too late to fix it.

Remorse.

"Everyone says that regret comes at the end."

His empty purple eyes glanced at someone suddenly speaking, he found his eldest son walking towards him with a faint, meaningful smile. His face looked serene, as if the burden he had been carrying had been lifted away. He noticed, however, a glimpse of deep hatred behind the magenta of his son's eyes. That pair of eyes was deceptive; he was peaceful, but he was vengeful.

"Michael ...."

Michael sat beside him, his legs hanging in the air considering they were both on the rooftop. Michael's smile, once again, looked serene. He swung his legs, acting happy even though his hands were clenched so tightly that they scratched the surface of his skin. "Regret always comes last, Father."

"I'm sorry ...."

Could be heard a heavy sigh from Michael, he also stared at the sunset. "I already have a thought you would be here," he said. "Because this is Vincent's favorite place."

That's correct.

Vincent often hung out here in the past, either to sleep or just relax.

Want to laze around for a while, he said that time.

A glimpse of the past when the man was still with them made him smile a little, the times were actually quite pleasant.

"Reminiscing about it, hm?"

That's correct again.

He was reminiscing about the withered flower in here.

"Your regrets are in vain. He won't come back."

Correct again.

"This is different from Chris, or Elizabeth, or the children you've killed." He glanced at his son, Michael still staring into the sunset. "I regret that I got Chris killed, but Chris came back to us. I regret just watching Elizabeth get killed without doing anything, but Elizabeth came back to us. I regret telling Ennard to leave in past when we were enemies, but we got back together. Then, what about you?"

He could only remain silent.

"You regret your actions when we were alive, indeed. You regret killing those children, indeed. But, what can you do to overcome this case of remorse? He's not here anymore, he won't come back like before, he's disappeared. Vanished." Michael's forehead began to frown, his eyebrows knit together. "You, repeat the same mistakes. You didn't listen to me, you didn't listen to him, you again take sides without bothering to find out each other's perspective, you again exclude all his side of the story because you are afraid to lose the trust of the new person, of that woman, then you trampled the person who had accompanied you for a long time and considered it a joke, considered his feelings like a joke that is worth laughing at. Look who's crying now?"

There were no words from him, he accepted it all without the slightest protest. Michael was right, after all. He started to clench his fists.

"You destroyed my world."

He glanced again guiltily, before long was stunned to find those hateful eyes teary, now looking fragile.

"You think I don't know you guys still have a vague grudge against me?" His voice started to crack, his emotions starting to show. "Sometimes Chris is still afraid of me, Elizabeth always sides with Chris, Mother doesn't want me, and you only care about yourself. If it weren't for him, I definitely wouldn't have survived this long in this place, in the building you call 'home'." Tears began to fall from his lids. "He was my home, and you tore him down. Like trash. Like he has no dignity."

"Michael ..."

"Seven days." Michael laughed, his voice hoarse and muffled by strangled sniffle. "He had seven days that time, he tried to make things right with you, he promised to stay with me. However, what? He only lasted six days. Six days. Six. Days. And I didn't know anything. He left us again. Hurts. You believed new person, you believed the guilty, you believed the blatant lies. Hurts. It hurts. It hurts like hell. My world is gone."

He wanted to caress him, wipe his tears away, but he stayed where he was. Even if he did, he doubted Michael would let him. All those words stabbed like daggers, stabbing him over and over, making him reflect on the sins he had committed again.

"But I still have my husband," Michael said quietly with a smile, this time a genuine smile. "Even so, who do you have now, Father?"

The question was stinging in his chest.

"Clara? She took part in Victor's plan. Elizabeth and Chris? They asked me to take them to live with me. So, who do you have now?"

There was not a single word between them anymore.

A suffocating silence for him, a peaceful silence for his son.

Dusk began to fade.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Today's sunset is beautiful. They always associated it to close their story and for farewell, but let this sunset write a new page with your regret as the title."