Fairy Tails

Thanks for the Memories Part I (StingYu)

A two-shot originally posted on Tumblr for StingYu! I love this pairing, it's fantastic and it makes me sad that the fandom is so small :c requested by destiny-1027 on Tumblr

Thanks For The Memories

Sting cried out, his back arching as he writhed in pain. He could feel every stone beneath him, pressing into his wounds under the weight of his body. There was a scream that didn’t come from his lips, and someone collapsed heavily next to him. He couldn’t see their face, but he saw their hands fluttering about his chest and head and realised they were attempting to examine his wounds.

“S-Sting-sama-”

Not her. Anyone but her.

She couldn’t see him like this, he didn’t want that.

Yukino was bathed in light, delicate, fragile. He loved her and he feared, he knew, something like this would break her.

He would keep going, then, for her sake. He would try at least.

But even as he thought it, Sting realised his limbs wouldn’t move; he could no longer feel them. His vision was growing dimmer and he was struggling to breathe.

“Yukino-”

“Sting-sama, please, you shouldn’t speak-”

“Yukino, shut up." Sting winced and bit into his lip deeply. Vaguely he noticed Yukino ripping his shirt and peeling it back from his skin, scarcely heard her gasp. He did realise, though, that she was crying. Her tears landed on his cheeks, soon replaced by the touch of her cool, soft fingertips.

“I’m s-” He broke off, inhaled twice; once sharp and shallow, once deep and unsteady, then continued. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She whispered, her voice close by. Her forehead pressed against his and he choked as she sobbed, her touch ever gentle. “It’s okay.”

But it wasn’t okay.

“This isn’t-” A cough. “This isn’t your fault.”

The only reply was another whispered ‘it’s okay’ and he knew she didn’t believe him. He wanted to make her believe him, he wanted to-well, there were a lot of things he wanted to do and say that involved Yukino. Right now, a lot of them involved running away to somewhere safe in an alternate universe where pain didn’t exist and they could have their happily ever after.

Looking back, he wished he’d been braver. If he had been, maybe he wouldn’t be, say it goddamnit, dying with an unquenchable feeling of panic; he was dying unfulfilled, without confessing

Because he was in love with her and it was so goddamn unfair. He had run out of time and maybe it was punishment for his cruelty in the beginning, but he was losing her and he thought, selfishly hoped, that she loved him enough to be losing him too.

She was still crying, their faces were pressed together and he was closer to her than they had ever been before. He couldn’t quite breathe now, couldn’t quite make out her voice in the silence that filled his ears and terrified him.

“Yukino-”

“Sting, please-”

“Thanks...for the memories-”

**

Yukino’s eyes shot open and she flung herself backwards, scrambling away in horror. His eyes were closed, the tracks of her tears still visible on his cheeks, and she screamed. She screamed over and over, even when Rogue came to pull her away she screamed, and she swore she would do it a thousand times over because it was her fault; he was dead and it was all her fault.

She screamed again and buried her face in her hands but she knew she didn’t deserve to cry, she didn’t deserve to grieve. She didn’t deserve the closure, the flutter in her stomach from his touch that now sent her reeling, choking up whatever she last ate only to cry again.

She knew it was her fault, because bad things always happened when she was around.