Dark-coloured clouds littered the sky, the sun being barely visible through the clouds. In the middle of the manor's gardens, Blake and Henry stood only a few feet away from each other. Silence enveloped both of them as Blake stared at the silver-haired boy with an expressionless face.
"What happened?" Henry asked softly. His voice was shaky as he lifted his head, showing his watery eyes.
"Many things happened since you left, my dear Henry. I am... glad to see you again," Blake smiled thinly before turning to face his back towards Henry.
As Blake started walking away, rain poured down from the sky, drenching both men who stood in the gardens. The rain almost washed away their sorrows and the blood that was stained on Henry's armour. Blake stopped in his tracks and turned his head slightly and said to Henry, "Leave, go back. You'll catch a cold if you stay in the rain for any longer,"
"Wait, Blake!" Henry called out, only for Blake to ignore him and walk back into the Acker mansion.
With a pained look on his face, he stared at the front doors of the Acker manor and cursed under his breath. How foolish he was to think that Blake would reciprocate his love after all this time. He had spent so many years courting and pursuing the man, but it was all for nought. Despite his love for the dark-haired mage, the other hadn't shown any signs of reciprocating any of it.
The blood on Henry's armour was slowly being washed by the rain, he was still stained by the blood on his hands from the people he killed in the war. He rushed straight to the Acker duchy just to meet the dark-haired mage.
He looked down at his hand, seeing the necklace charm he bought for Blake before the war started. Happy memories of the two of them flashed in his mind as he looked up to the sky. His body ached from the long journey, his hands were numb from the cold, sweat, rain and blood stuck to his body and drenched his clothes. He felt the rainfall on his blood-stained porcelain face.
'The world is cruel,' he thought as he dropped the necklace charm on the wet dirt before turning and walking away.
******
"Blake?" Henry's voice echoed through the hall as he continued looking for the dark-haired male. He walked down the long palace hallways.
Soon, he was met with Flora. Her dress was drenched with blood and a twisted look on her face as she ran away. Henry watched as her figure turned a corner and left his sight. He slowly stepped towards the room Flora left.
A bad feeling bubbled from Henry's stomach as he continued walking down the hall. Soon enough, he reached a door that was opened slightly. Curiosity took over him as he pushed the door open.
"BLAKE!" He shouted, running over to the body laying on the floor in a pool of crimson red.
The same man Henry had loved all his life, Blake Acker, the genius mage was dying in his arms. Blood pooled underneath the both of them, staining Henry's white suit with deep crimson.
"It's you... Henry," Blake smiled. To him, he could only see a blurry image in front of him as tears had already bubbled in his unfocused eyes. Despite that, he knew the person in front of him was Henry. The man who was always by his side through thick or thin. He couldn't reciprocate the other's feelings due to the same reason Flora had turned twisted. It was and always had been the duchess and her backer.
"Hey... hey, I'm here," Henry smiled, tears forming in his eyes as his voice shook from anxiety. "Let me stop the bleeding first, okay? Let's get out of here, I'll get you the best healer I can, yeah?"
"...no need," Blake said, holding Henry's hand with whatever strength he had left in him.
"Why?! Why must you stop me?!" Henry asked, enraged by Blake's nonchalance towards his own dying body. He didn't understand. No, he couldn't understand.
"I... have no intention of staying alive. Flora had gone through so much abuse because of me... Lady Cruella was manipulated due to my existence. Sebastian... if only I was there to prevent him from going to war, he wouldn't have died. The twins wouldn't have lost their only source of strength. I caused them all so much pain. I only wish for their happiness, Henry. Is that too much to ask?" Blake smiled. His normal expressionless face held a rare genuine smile, showing how content he was with his death. "Without me, they will be happier."
"What about me?" Henry asked, his tears flowing down his face like miniature waterfalls. Blake raised one of his eyebrows, confused as a response. "You keep saying that they'll be happier without you. But what about me? You've been my will to live ever since I met you during your sister's birthday party when we were children. What should I do without you?"
"I want to apologize to you, Henry."
"It's okay, you don't have to. You did nothing wrong," Henry smiled painfully.
"Listen to me. Please. I'm sorry for never saying anything despite knowing your feelings towards me," he coughed before sighing lightly and softly placing his hand on Henry's cheek. "I've always loved you. I knew that I was to die at a young age: but I love you and I always had."
"You are... so cruel, however, I think... that's what made me adore you," Henry mumbled, burying his face into Blake's bloodied hand. A small chuckle escaped Blake before he stared at Henry's crying face.
"Thank you for staying with me," Blake smiled as his eyes started to get heavy. With a final sigh under his breath, he whispered audible enough for henry to hear. "I love you."
A string of 'I love you's were falling out of Henry's mouth like a mantra. He pulled Blake's lifeless body towards him and hugged it tightly, burying his face in the blood-stained clothes of his beloved. "Please... if there is a next life, let me treat you right and love you again."
"In the corner of his eyes, he saw the phoenix charm he had bought for Blake but dropped at the Acker duchy. The charm was kept in the dark-haired male's pocket, wrapped in Blake's favourite handkerchief he got from his mother before she died, now stained in dark crimson.
Henry pulled the cloth and charm out of Blake's pocket and kissed it softly, silently vowing in his heart to one day, meet Blake again and love him properly the next time. The phoenix charm's yellow eyes shone softly as it enveloped both Blake's body and Henry in soft white light.
**********
ehehe I cried while writing this'
edit: I forgot a paragraph :DD
anyways
here's the blake illustration I made. Feel free to make fanart of our dear Blake!!I realised I didn't put my watermark but whatever-
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