Petals and Seawater [HANAHAKI DISEASE]

Loving Someone Who Doesn't Exist

Shit, shit, shit, shit.

How did he let this happen? He was supposed to have the kid kill Ryan, not fucking fall in love with him. Fontaine stared down at the blue, blood spattered petals lying on his desk. Wait, no, where the fuck did that idea come from? He wasn't in love with Jack. It was perfectly normal to cough up flower petals sometimes! .....Right? 

"-las? Atlas, are you ok?" Fontaine was snapped out of his thoughts by Jack's concerned voice over the radio.  'Atlas' cleared his throat, his carefully perfected Irish accent faltering for a second. "Don't worry boyo, m' fine." He checked over the monitors in front of him to see Jack standing in front of a security camera, looking worried. "It didn't sound like anything I'd call ok. Were you coughing or something?" Atlas paused to wipe the remaining blood off his lip. "Honestly, I'm fine. Choked on me water is all." He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than Jack. 

He ended up having to look away from the monitors. The look of genuine worry on Jack's face was making his throat hurt, probably a sign he'd be coughing up more petals soon. Thankfully however, it seemed to be over for now, and the rest of the day passed with relatively few incidents. Eventually Fontaine had to ask though. He had to make sure.

He waited until Jack was done killing a few Splicers, then spoke. "Hey boyo, mind if I ask ye a question?" Jack smiled up at the nearest camera that he knew Atlas had hacked. "Sure!" Fontaine winced, looking away again. "Just out of interest, what's yer favourite flower?" As soon as he'd said it he knew it was too late. Jack wasn't exactly the smartest, sure, but he wasn't stupid either. Fontaine cringed at the monitor Jack was on as he almost dropped his wrench, staring directly into the camera. "Atlas... are you trying to tell me-"

Fontaine cut him off before he could finish the sentence, still using his Irish accent, "Just... answer the question Jack. Please." 

"...Blue Hydrangea." 

Fuck.

"But wait, how is this possible? I'm assuming you have symptoms of Hanahaki Disease?" Jack was still staring directly into the camera, for now he looked more confused than worried. "Atlas I-" He blushed despite how serious the situation actually was. "I like you too... You shouldn't be coughing up petals if it's not unrequited love, right?" Almost as soon as Jack said that, he heard a horrible choking sound coming from Atlas's end of the radio. 

Atlas was currently leaning against his desk, shaking as he violently coughed more of the same petals. This maybe lasted two minutes before he finally stopped coughing, although he was still shaking as blood dripped from his lips. He could hear Jack crying softly from his end, which would've been heartbreaking enough had it not been for the gut-wrenching realisation Fontaine had just had.

The true Fontaine, the one who supposedly died long ago, was in love with Jack, but Jack was in love with a man who didn't exist, a fabricated personality Fontaine had created after he faked his death.

 Atlas. 

Jack was the very definition of not loving someone for who they really were, whether he knew it or not. And now Fontaine was going to be suffocated by his own lies.