#he's crying CAN YOU SEE HIM CRYING IM CRYING TOO FAAAAA

[sugurouge]

── 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

"your light has a way of finding me, even in darkness."

warnings: blood, injuries, possible death, self ship lore

Blade's sword swings through the air in desperation, cutting down enemies with elegance and ruthlessness alike. Though, the viciousness in his fight he for himself. His every strike, every parry, is to keep them away from her.

What should have been a routine mission turns into chaos, the kind that threatens to devour. Winter stands at his back, her own attacks lacking their usual finesse. He hears it—the faltering in her steps, the cracks in her voice as she calls out his name.

"Blade, watch out!"

He is already moving, body twisting with lethal grace as he cuts down the cursed beast lunging at them. But there is more, there is always more.

His vision tunnels as the Mara pulses inside him, clawing at his sanity, whispers of blood and carnage and endless, twisted pleasure.

"Stay back!" His voice comes out as a strained, aggressive snap. She is too close. Always trying to help, to shield him from harm.

Foolish. Brave. He is harm personified.

The battle turns into a blur of blood and violence as the Mara strikes, a poisonous tide that swallows Blade's senses and twists his will. He doesn't even realize when his sword turns on her.

By the time clarity seeps back in, his hands are coated in blood. Her blood. His weapon lies discarded somewhere on the floor, and Winter crumples before him, her eyes wide and pained, her hand trembling as it clutches her side.

He should have sent her away. Should have never let her near his cursed existence again.

"No… No, no, no…" His voice cracks, terror tightening his throat as he collapses to his knees beside her. His bandaged hand, slick with her blood, reaches for her.

"Yingxing…" His name is a whisper, a plea on her lips.

The Mara still rages within him, especially now with the call of that name, its memories and burden. But his terror of losing her overpowers its pull. His arms wrap around her, cradling her as if his touch alone can undo the damage he has done. Blood pools beneath them, mingling with the delicate petals of spider lilies that blossom and float in the air.

The feeling of her limp body makes Blade's stomach twist. "Winter," his voice sounds near frantic. "Winter, look at me." Her eyes are losing focus, blinking slowly, as if sleep is the only thing calling her now. He can't afford to let her slip away. Not again.

"You need to heal yourself," Blade orders, his tone harsh and trembling all at once. "Now."

Healing. Right. That's what she needs to do. Her fingers twitch against the wound, attempting to do as he says. A faint glow of pale light follows, weak and unsteady. The wound knits itself too slowly. Yet through it all, she tries to smile.

Blade's grip on her tightens, as if holding her together with sheer will alone. "Talk to me," he urges. "Stay awake."

She is trying. He sees the effort in the faint tremor of her body, but it isn’t enough.

“Can't… Can't focus…” She admits, her eyes searching his with a desperation that mirrors his own. Her strength is dwindling far too quickly.

"Please," he says, the word foreign and fractured on his tongue. "Don't leave me." There's something tragic in the way he pleads. Blade, who never begs for anything. Who never admits to weakness. And now his voice cracks, his eyes frantic and glossy.

A tear slips from his lash line before he can stop it, tracing a shimmering line down his cheek before dropping onto hers.

Her expression flickers with something painfully warm, almost too much to bear. Love. Love for him, even now. Even when he has nothing but madness and death to offer her.

How can she still look at him like that?

Despite it all, she wishes she could do more. Could offer him the comfort he needs. "It's not your fault," she murmurs. A lie meant to soothe. To ease the horror etched into his features. "Never... was."

Blade's chest stings, something between anger and despair coiling in his ribs. Because even as her life slips through his fingers, she’s trying to look after him.

“I'm so sorry,” he whispers, his words falling apart as he clings to her, as though the strength of his embrace could keep her anchored to this world, to him. “I… I didn't mean to— I swear, I never—”

His voice cracks and shatters, the sobs he fights to contain cause his shoulders to tremble. The spider lilies continue to bloom around them, their vibrant red petals swaying gently in the air, suspended between life and death.

“I love you, Yingxing.” She whispers, the words filled with a sincerity so pure it feels like a knife twisting his heart.

“Don't say that. Not when you're…” Blade tries to argue, but he can't bring himself to say the word.

“Dying?” Her lips twitch into a weak, humorless smile. “Then… if that's the case, I'll say it again. I love you, Blade. No matter what.”

He should say it back. He should tell her that he loves her. But words fail him. His fingers tangle in her hair, desperate, clinging to her like she is the only thing keeping him tethered to sanity. His madness, his curse, all of it feels so distant when her eyes are on him.

“I'm not letting you die. I'll tear this world apart before I let that happen again,” he vows, with a low, loving voice despite his words. Blade's forehead rests against hers, the coolness of her skin a painful reminder of her waning strength.

“Then… you better keep holding me.”

He does. Even as the others arrive. Even as they try to take her from his arms. Blade's hands refuse to release her, she is his destiny he can't bear to sever.

He doesn’t know if he is promising her salvation or damning her to further suffering. But he means every word.

THE CHIBIS ARE MAKING ME VIOLENTLY SOB EACH TIME HE IS SO GRUMPY!! MAKES ME WANNA PINCH IS CHEEK MHMHM