❣ Forelsket ❣ Keigo Takami/Hawks

[Book 2] ↬ Please Don't Leave Me

[A/N]: Couldn't think of a plot for the request, so I did this instead. I recommend listening to the album 'The Silent Force', by Within Temptation, whilst reading this, specifically 'Somewhere', 'Memories' and 'Swan Song'.

Recent Manga Spoilers.

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Lissom and limp enough to imbue disgust, Keigo twitched under your hands. "I failed...(Y/n), I-"

"Rest now, my songbird. This burden is no longer yours to bear." The melody of love, so thinly-veiled, still basked in erstwhile euphoria - times, memories, stories forthwith confined to mental domains.

If Keigo is to die, I pray he squires my heart - plucks it from within my chest, else I dwell alone on this forsaken Earth.

Ere the formation of this battleground, ere the battle itself, a single, overarching concern would linger, awaiting each moment a smile claimed your lips. It was the convention of rivalry, between society's protectors and their oppressors. Keigo had little qualms regarding the breaching of boundaries, but...this union, this elixir most cardinal (and his lips, ambrosial in touch and taste)...for this, the stars charted no future.

I have never wished so fiercely for a god...for divine intervention. There exist no words to sate his pain, though I still speak. I must! If he...without comprehending the true extent of my love...Is there no salvation, for a man so pure of heart? Cruel...what cruel reality...

"Pretty bird?" Void of any sorrow or scintilla of vengeance, your voice was a mere whisper, so eerily serene. "I will always chase you, no matter the time, the realm...the circumstance. I belong with you, ad infinitum."

You are my warmth, my light, my home. My fortune is immeasurable; my heart will never replace you. Before you, I had written Soulmates off as fantasy. Before you, I saw no value in this life. Before you, I had died a thousand deaths. You revived me, stitched up my heart. You ensnared it - ensnared me...Your eyes glow so beautifully, your character is so selfless, so...broken. I slipped past your defences in seconds. Yet, you never asked me to leave. And soon, that option disappeared. We must have broken every worldly speed limit. Was it...even that long ago...?

A strangled sob lured you from the nostalgia. "Y-You know I love...love you, r-right?"

"Of course. And I you, Keigo." Your own wretched sounds knocked, but you denied them.

His eyes fluttered shut. "I-I don't...want to die..." I don't want to leave you behind.

You then allowed a single tear. "I wish things were different." Please, don't leave me behind.

I have no secrets with this man. No...I have one. But, our love was more than a simple folly, or miscarriage of youth. We never pretended. We never lied. If we had...would this still warrant such grief, such agony?...Why is life so ephemeral? Why is life so cruel? Why is he being led to Heaven's gates already? Why...? Please, please stay. Stay here. Stay with me. Don't leave...don't let them take you.

As an attempt at amelioration, he choked out a laugh. "I'll put...put in a good word...for you."

"My name is a bane to the angels." You were ever-so grateful for his words, his light breaths..."But I will break from the chains of Hell, to be together with you again."

"Don't be...sad." He mumbled, ignoring his own pleas.

Woe poured from his eyes, infinite and crystalline. They betrayed all the fear, self-deprecation and guilt, nestled deeply within his soul. Karma had him by the throat. Was this a just punishment? For the actions of his father? For allowing the Commission to direct his moral compass? Now...the embers of life were fading, and soon...you would be alone. All alone. Keigo understood you - how you coped...who you truly were, underneath the masque of villainy. For you, this victory would prove pyrrhic. His was too great a sacrifice.

Well, I guess one last hug is in order. I just wish it didn't have to be the last...

He mustered the vestiges of strength, simply to open his arms in invitation. "...Cuddle?"

You accepted it, without a question or reappraisal. You cradled him...cherished him, one final time. In a hushed tone, you recalled happier memories. And as he followed them to dreamland, the rhythmic rise-and-fall of his chest slowed. It was gradual. It was torture. You prayed to awaken, to find him smiling by your side.

This nightmare...pass the crescendo - just reach your conclusion! I need this to end...I need to...enact retribution. The League...Dabi, he did this. The fault lies with him. He...he is the target, the source of this wrath. I can feel it claiming me. I'm sorry, Keigo...I will put an end to this. I am the one who failed. I will amend this. It may cost my humanity and...and our son, but...you are worth the world. I failed you in life; I refuse to fail you in death.

"I will meet you again, my starlight."

[Word Count: 778]