By The Way, Danplan Oneshots

I'll Love You Forever (Part 3)

Just to clarify, this is the final part to the I Love You series :) I hope you like.

Stephen was the one carrying Hosuh on his back, and that was probably the worst idea he had ever come up with.

As Dan was searching a few metres ahead of them for some shelter, the purple-haired was listening intently to Hosuh's every breath, stomach twisting even if it so much as sounded slightly worse. Paranoia had dug deep into his skull and wouldn't let go, whispering dark fears that he wasn't ready to face. The euphoria of saving Hosuh from death was the only thing keeping him sane – without it, he would be a guilty mess, hugging Hosuh close.

But no, he wouldn't do that. Instead he was trudging wearily begins Daniel, holding Hosuh tightly to try and protect him from any threat the world still wanted to throw at them for a last effort.

Thunder rumbled above them and Stephen cursed. Daniel looked up sharply, glaring at the darkening clouds.

"Come on." Dan shouted over another wave of thunder, picking up his pace, and Stephen noticed he hugged the jars of slime closer to his chest, searching through the thick forest. Stephen intended to speed up with him, but the shift in speed resulted in a low moan from behind him that made his stomach flip. Stephen glanced at Hosuh as well as he could, wincing as his cheek brushed against Hosuh's warmer one. The slight touch was enough to indicate that his friend was developing a fever, and possibly a dangerous one at that. He wished that Hosuh could just heal them with a wave of his hand, giving a small smile, but Stephen was alone.

Of course he was alone.

"Dan!" Stephen yelled, lowering his voice when Hosuh moaned again, his fingers flexing slightly. The green-haired turned to him in response.

Something began to soak into Stephen's back; his eyes widened with panic, fear clouding his senses as the strong metallic smell, that had been lingering before, hit him full force.

"He's bleeding again!" Stephen's voice trembled as Hosuh gave a low groan, a small sigh passing from his lips. Daniel pursed his lips, quickly looking ahead of them for any place to stay.

And then it started to rain.

Heavy, cold droplets descended from the clouds, covering them in freezing water almost instantly. Stephen couldn't hear his own cry over the booming thunder, but Dan must've, as he dashed to Stephen's side, taking some of his baggage to lighten the weight. He was shouting something in his ear, gesturing to some rocks hidden behind some trees; Stephen wordlessly followed him, stomach twisting as Hosuh began to make small sounds of discomfort as the sudden movement.

"It's gonna be fine." Stephen couldn't hear himself, but hoped Hosuh could, his feet stumbling as stray tree roots blocked his path. It was almost like nature was trying to slow him down: first the lack of shelter, then the rain – Stephen knew that he had played the world, stealing time away. It was trying to take it back, but if there was one thing Stephen was proud about himself was the fact he never, never backed down from a challenge, and he had been warring with the world for as long as he could remember.

Daniel was shouting something else at him, something like small relief spread across his features. Stephen followed his pointing finger, expression mirroring Dan's as he spotted a small cave.

Daniel crawled in first, pushing the jars away from the entrance safely before stretching his arms out. Without hesitation, Stephen gently lowered Hosuh, letting his frail body rest in Daniel's waiting hands. Blood was staining the fresh bandages and his clothes.

Stephen watched Hosuh's feet disappear before sliding inside himself, sighing at the relief of the rain. He shivered, glancing around the cave. It was smaller than he thought; Daniel was hunched at the far end, head grazing the ceiling. He was looking at Stephen with fearful eyes, hands trembling as he pulled more bandages out of Hosuh's bag.