Spirit Animals Oneshots

Tarik x Rollan - Heart to Heart

A/N -
Platonic ship.
Ship requested by Lailakol11
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Rollan's PoV -

It felt great to finally have a family. I had found my mother after all the years I spent thinking I was an orphan. I had Conor and Abeke who were my best friends. Meilin was my loving girlfriend. Then I had Tarik, he was like a father to me, much more than just a mentor. He was like the father I never knew. I cared for them all and I knew they cared for me. It made my heart feel better knowing I was loved.

All my life I had undiagnosed heart troubles. I was too poor as a child to get it looked into so I just suffered through the violent pain that came on randomly, or so I thought. When I became a Greencloak I finally had the ability to get it looked into but I noticed the attacks didn't happen near as often or as bad. Then I met my mom. Essix and I became closer. Since then I haven't had another attack. Maybe it was just a childhood illness, I hope so.

     Then the first attack came.

     I take advantage of the ones I love, I know I do. I think my friendship consisting of bad jokes and a few scattered complaints are enough to keep us close. I overestimate myself, my worth.

     Meilin was all a boy could ever ask for. She's sweet, adorable, beautiful, strong, etc. Meilin was an amazing girlfriend, I had it good and I took her for granted. Meilin and I had a habit of setting up dates for each other every Friday. We took turns. It started out simple enough, a walk in the park or going to the local candy store. Then Meilin's Friday's became more and more eccentric. Instead of just a simple picnic, the food was stunning, twinkling lights were strung from trees, candles lighted the blanket. Meilin went all out for our dates, for me. It was like this, every other Friday. I would greet Meilin for our date and she would take me to see something spectacular. It became too much for me. I didn't have money to spend on fancy dates, I scarcely had time to spare for our dates, I wasn't as creative as Meilin. I could see Meilin getting aggravated. One Friday we would watch fireworks on the docks at a local park, surrounded by candles and candy. The next Friday I would take Meilin to a Marvel's movie and McDonalds. At first I did try to complete but my attempts always fell flat. You never know till it's too late but you can always make time for what's important, you can always scrap some pennies together, and there is no such thing as a lack of creativity. Then on one of my pitiful dates, Meilin finally said the words I was most afraid of, "We're over, you don't even want to try to make this work!"

     I watched as she stormed away. I felt horrible, Meilin was crying. I thought that was pain but then my heart started to race, with each beat it felt like needles being driving into my very soul. Then I blacked out, only for a moment. That episode was one of the tamer ones.

     Abeke and Conor tried to talk to me. They tried to give me ideas on how to help Meilin, how to win her back. I was stuck in my ways though. I wasn't the only one who needed to apologize, she shouldn't have stormed out like that in her rage, she should have cut me a little slack. Abeke was the first to get aggravated at my excuses. Meilin was her best friend, she wanted me to try harder for her. Then Abeke left and with her I felt another needle in my heart. Conor stuck around a little longer, maybe it was just the girl's fantasy ideas of romance. Conor tried to make me apologize to Abeke and Meilin. Maybe spend a little more time with Meilin, plan out a magical date for her. Win her back. My reply: "You sound just like Abeke."

     His look hurt me most. No anger just disappointment. He didn't say a word when he walked out and left me. He didn't need to.

     Another attack of pain found its way to my heart.

Weeks passed and my friends didn't speak to me. At least I had my mother, till I didn't. Our fight was over something stupid, probably me mentioning her past. Isn't it funny, looking back you can never remember exactly what a fight was over? Mom yelled and I yelled. Then I left so I wouldn't have to hear her anger anymore.

     More pain. This pain followed me, it wasn't just a one time attack. The needle like feeling persisted, I doubted I could live with it much longer but always as I was nearing my limits I would black out. The pain would be gone momentarily in my sleep like state but the moment I woke it was back with a vengeance.

     The last straw was Essix. My life was falling apart right in front of my eyes. My girlfriend left me, then my friends, then my mother. The pain in my heart throbbed nearly constantly. I was afraid to tell anyone about the pain, I would have to tell them about everything I'd done. Essix knew what was best for me, the falcon lead me to the hospital during one of our morning walks. "Essix, I can't, I don't want to tell them..."

Essix squawked in reply and shot me a look that said, "Own up to it."

"I'm fine." I couldn't go to the hospital, things would get better own their own, right...

The bird stared at me for a few seconds before letting out an angry call and flying away. I was alone, completely. Then the pain in my chest escalated. I couldn't put this off any longer, Essix was right. I took a step towards the hospital and collapsed onto the ground clutching at my chest. It hurts. Every move I make only makes it worse, so I just lie there.

I must have blacked out, I woke up in a hospital room. IV tubes ran through my arms, the heart monitor beeped steadily, the pristine white walls confined me to this room. Then the memory of all the people I cared about ran through my head. Suddenly, the heart monitor wasn't beeping steadily anymore. My heart raced and the pain flared up again. Nurses and doctors came rushing into the room. They jabbed needles into my arms, a few raced out of the room shouting down the hall. I was starting to black out again but one nurse keep shaking me, keeping me awake and away from the comfortable blackness.

Then I'm placed on a cot and wheeled out of the room. A team of nurses and doctors surround me even as I'm being rolled down the hallway. We turn and I'm in another room except this one is bigger, fancier looking. Tools lay around the room on their trays. I'm placed on the cot in this room. Some nurses leave but everyone's still shouting and arguing. Then a nurse rushes into the room, someone's next to her, also in a hurry. They're not a hospital staff. My eyes are blurry, I can't see well but then I hear their concerned voice. Tarik.

The next thing I know an IV is driven into my arm and I'm out, back in the black.

When I come to my heart rate is normal. Only a few medical staff stand around me, they look sad. Memories of Meilin, Conor, Abeke, Essix, my mother flash through my mind. I was so rude, so entitled, but the pain is still gone. My heart feels normal. I look around for Tarik, he's not here. Then I look down at my chest, a painful looking scar runs across it, now stitched. I start to freak out, I knew what happened. I just got a heart transplant. "Where's Tarik?" I manage to ask.

The doctors and nurses around me give me a look that explains everything. He sacrificed himself for me. Tarik gave me his heart, even after everything I'd done...