Musical One-Shots and Headcanons! (REQUESTS OPEN!)

Philidosia - Take Your Time

CW: guns and dueling, major character death

"What were you thinking, Philip?" I scream. "You could get killed!"

"I'm defending my father's honor!" he shouts back.

"He doesn't deserve that. Look at him. He's already ruined it."

Anger flares in Philip's eyes and his hands tighten into fists at his sides.

"I'm sorry," I say in a defeated tone, my eyes welling up. "Just don't go, please! Besides, if you stay out of it and live to see another day, you'll blow everyone away, right?" My voice wavers, and I bite my lip to keep it from trembling. "Can't you wait to make him proud?"

"I've already agreed to this, Theo. I can't back out now."

"No!"

"Yes," he says, patting me on the head softly in a futile attempt to calm me down. I turn away from him.

"Just...stay alive for me, will you?" I practically beg.

Silence.

I scale the tallest tree before Philip and Eaker get there. Since I'm so light, it's easy to climb higher up for a clearer view.

"Mr. Eaker, how was the rest of your show?"

"I'd rather skip the pleasantries, let's go." Oh, no. Something will go wrong. They're skipping his last chance to negotiate.

"Grab your pistol, confer with your men. The duel will commence after we count to ten." He's emphasizing "after," almost as though he's afraid that Eaker will shoot early.

Slowly, Philip lifts his gun and aims it at the sky.

One.

There's still time to run.

Two.

Just a little less time, but he can make it with his strong pair of legs.

Three.

Come on and get out of here fast!

Four.

I--Run! Run!

Five. 

Time is running out.

Six.

Just get out now!

What happens next sucks all the air from the room, and I can't breathe, and my heart twists, pounding as though someone is standing on my chest.

Seven--

A gunshot reverberates in my ears, and Philip falls to the ground. He never got to ten. He never got to ten!

"No!" I yell, tears pouring from my eyes like overfilled buckets. "Philip!" My sobs wrack my thin, wiry frame and I'm shaking like a leaf that's about to fall from the tree. I clasp the branch above me tightly. Once everyone else leaves, I descend slowly.

Although he's clutching his side in pain, he smiles weakly when he sees me, his brown eyes lighting up faintly. "You--you were right, Theo. I should've--" 

As he speaks, I bury my head in my hands. When words finally reach me, I whisper to him. "That doesn't matter. Just--you're in pain, right? That's what we need to address first."

"It's fine. You're here--that's all I need to know."

"If I could close your wounds with words of love! You would live a hundred years if I could show you how..." I tell him with increasing desperation.

"Just hold me now and let it be. And, one last thing..." he trails off.

"Yes, Philip?" I ask, willing to do whatever he asks.

"Theo, my dearest--" Philip begins, his feeble voice cracking. I have to strain to make out the rest of it. "--Take your time. I'll--I'll see you on the other side."

"I will. I promise."

I climb back up the tree before anyone sees us together and I watch him being carried away. Once he's gone, I fall down the tree from uncontrollable shaking, hear something crack, and curl up, knees pressed tightly to my chest. When my father finds me later, I'm still there, a helpless little girl with a fragmented soul, closed in at the base of the tree, with only the raw wood providing minimal comfort. 

The wind started to get colder, sending shivers down my spine. It dawned on me that if love is forever, if I could hold on to him before he's gone, then maybe he's not truly gone. You can never be gone forever. I bite my lip, stopping the second wave of tears threatening to fall out. My love, take your time I'll see you on--I break--the other side. I remember my father is still there. 

"Does it get better?" I say in a tiny voice, referring to the past tragedy of my mother.

"If you can hold on." He escorts me home. If you can hold on, then you're never truly gone.