The Dance Of Life And Death

The Dance Of Life And Death- Oneshot

This is my first post, so yeah... have fun, I guess. This is a one-shot, so don't expect any more updates. This was a collab w/ TheFangirlInBlack. Enjoy-

Since the dawn of time, Life and Death have been in love. Life cannot be without Death; Death cannot be without Life. And since the beginning, they have danced. Circling each other slowly in a never-ending loop. Life sent countless gifts to Death, and Death kept them forever.

They had danced since the dawn of time, and would dance to the end.

Death watched silently as the stars ceased to live. Some of them went out with an explosion, and some with barely a whisper. Death remembered those days, so long ago, when the skies were bright and the world was new and shining and there was almost an eternity ahead of them. Death remembered those times. Death remembered everything. But everything must end; Death knew this better than anyone. And so it watched, still and emotionless, as the stars went out one by one.

By this time, there was nothing left but for the Five; Space, Time, Matter, Life, and Death. And it was Death's job to claim them before finally locking the doors. Death had already taken Time, the first to go. The oldest of them all, and the one to first come to Death. Matter had been second, and Space the third. There were only a few stars left- slowly collapsing before nothing of Space would be left. But Death still had one last visitor, one last soul to claim, before it could finally shut the gates.

There was a flash of light behind Death - there could be no mistaking who it was. Death turned slowly to see Life standing before it, in all its beauty and power. Death's last soul to claim- it's lifelong companion and lover. And it was ready to go.

"Greetings, my love." Life smiled, with the brightness and warmth of a thousand suns. Yet there was something sad about the smile. Mournful. For they both knew what was to come. A crease in Death's dark hood indicated a nod to return the greeting. Life sighed, looking around at the infinite empty plain that stretched away in all directions. "This is it, isn't it?" It spread its arms. "The End." It would have been a dramatic gesture under normal circumstances, but these weren't normal, and there wasn't much left to gesture towards. Another nod came from Death. Life drew out a long breath and dropped its hands to its sides. "I'm ready to go."

Death's head shot up. Life cast it a look of confusion. "You know you must claim me. We both do. So why do you act as if it came as a surprise?" There was no response. Only a silence which resonated between them louder than any words could. "I know this must be hard for you, my love. But this is what we knew would happen: ever since the Beginning." The last word seemed to melt like breath into the wind. After all, Time was gone. Life tried again. "This was the Agreement. Now take me."

Life stretched out its arms, exposing its heart. A scythe appeared by Death's side, glowing with a deathly light, and Death took hold of its only possession. Slowly, it rose the scythe towards Life's chest. A simple touch of the dark blade and it would be over. The surface glinted dangerously in the light of the dying stars. Life closed its eyes, completely at peace. It was ready to embrace the End. It waited and waited, but nothing happened. Life opened its eyes to see the scythe shaking, just above its chest. "My love?"

Death shook its head, withdrawing the scythe, and taking a step back from Life. "What's wrong?" Slowly and gently, it reached out to Death and pulled down its hood, revealing its face. Life tilted its chin up and looked into its black eyes. They were bright with... tears? None of the Five had ever cried, much less Death itself.

With its thumb, Life wiped away a silver tear from Death's cheek. "The sooner you end this, the easier it'll be." Death didn't seem to move. "Perhaps I can do something for you. Give you one final gift. Have you any requests?" Life waited, not expecting an answer.

"Dance with me. One last time."

Life's golden eyes widened. Death had never spoken before - nor to it, or anybody for that case. But then a smile slowly spread over Life's face and it took Death's hands in its own. They began circling regally, each taking graceful steps around the other as they shared the final moments - theirs and those of the universe.

And so they danced as everything that ever was creation itself fell apart. They weaved and twirled until the light of the last star had long faded away. They danced after time itself was no more. They spun and leapt, faster and faster, until they were the last things in the universe. It lasted almost an eternity. Because this was it- the push and pull, good and evil, yin and yang; the final dance of Life and Death.