A Worthy Replacement

Finale - I Miss You

song recommendations for this chapter:
memories - maroon5
story of my life - one direction
will it ever feel the same - bazzi
somewhere only we know - keane
snowfall - oneheart
another love - tom odell
lovely - billie eilish
*i would highly recommend listening to 'another love', 'memories', 'lovely', and 'snowfall' because that's what i listened to while writing

1 year later

"brother! brother!"

tartaglia stopped for a moment as he was leaving his parents' house, hearing teucer's voice. "hm? what is it?"

"be careful on your trip! i hope everything goes well and you sell a ton of mr. cyclopses!"

tartaglia gave the boy a small smile and ruffled his hair. "don't worry about me, teucer. everything will be just fine."

"okay! stay safe!"

teucer waved to him as tartaglia walked away. the tall harbinger's steps were heavy and labored, almost like it sapped his energy to trudge through the snow despite being used to it.

and in a way, it was.

it had been a little over a year since your death, and nothing seemed to feel the same. his eyes seemed to be even more dull than before, and simple tasks proved to be extremely hard for him. and more than anything, he felt extremely lonely. sure, he was surrounded by family and had a few friends he chatted with here and there, but it wasn't the same without you.

even if it was for a moment, all he wanted to tell you was that he loved you.

"excuse me, ma'am," tartaglia said, walking inside a flower shop.

"oh, hello there young man," the florist greeted him. "are you here to get flowers again?"

"yep," tartaglia said, preparing his mora pouch. "one bouquet of {flowers} please. with blue and gold ribbon."

"already had it ready," the lady said. "is this for your girlfriend?"

"yes," tartaglia confirmed with a nod, forcing a smile.

"oh what a lucky lady," the florist commented as she exchanged the flowers for mora. "she must be a wonderful girl to have her boyfriend coming every week to buy her flowers."

"... i'm the lucky one," tartaglia said. "extremely lucky. i'm fortunate to have known her."

"oh, what a sweet boy," the florist said, handing him the change. "have a great day!"

"you too," he said, grabbing the flowers and walking out of the store. "i'll be back later."

"stay safe!"

tartaglia had a new routine. after spending the weekend with his parents, he'd always buy fresh flowers at the flower shop on his way to see you. he took the same pathway that he always did. alexei and your former fatui underlings/trainees had created a path of stone that they shoveled when it was snowy.

"hey Y/N." tartaglia shook the vase that held frosted and wilted flowers, shaking the excess snow off of it and dusting off your headstone from all the remnants of the blizzard. he replaced the flowers in the vase with the new ones, neatly placing it back. he grabbed some fire water, filling up a cup with one and placing it in front of your headstone. "i thought you'd want a treat. it's been a while since we've drank together, right?"

he took a shot of it, letting out a sigh as the liquor seemed to heat up his body as it burned on the way down his throat. "damn, i guess it's been a while for me too." tartaglia coughed a little, clearing his throat before speaking.