One Shots (Feat. Shakespeare's Characters)

Love Until You're Dead

A/N: This one's pretty sad, just a warning.

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Horatio had known pain. He knew the heart-shredding, gut-wrenching, screaming on the inside of your head pain that consumed his waking (and sometimes sleeping) hours.

But this was different. He'd never known how painful it would be to die, but he was sure this had to be it. His entire body was laced with a horrible burning sensation that he tried his hardest to ignore for the sake of the man at his side.

Hamlet looked at Horatio anxiously, his eyes shining with an unconcealed fear.

"My lord, please, do not worry."

"Horatio, hush. You're going to be fine, y-you must be fine," Hamlet said, threading a gentle hand through Horatio's hair and smoothing it down.

Horatio wasn't sure if Hamlet was lying to make himself feel better, or if he truly believed what he was saying.

He certainly couldn't think that Horatio didn't know that this was the end of the line.

"We both know that is not going to be the case," Horatio replied, his voice shaking. He felt as if he was on the verge of tears. He wasn't quite ready to go yet, and he certainly had hoped to have more time with his love.

"Horatio, please. You can't do this, you-you're not allowed to go! Please, just, you just have to stay with me!"

"Hamlet, I have tried my hardest to keep you happy and to fulfill your every desire, I'm afraid that I can't do this for you."

Hamlet gazed down at Horatio with eyes filled with tears. It looked as though the prince had abandoned all hope of withholding any form of formality in this moment, for his shirt strings had loosened and his hair had fallen from its ties and fell around his face in a beautiful halo.

Fitting, I'm the one dying, but he's the one that looks like a spiritual being. Horatio thought dryly.

"Horatio, my love, I would not be able to take it if I lost you, please, just stay with me, and I promise that everything will be alright!"

Horatio felt the pain creeping up his throat like a thorn, and it seemed that it's sharp edge flowed into his words as well.

"Hamlet, you mustn't die on my watch. You have duties as a Prince, and as a man. I will not have you throwing your life away for me!"

Hamlet looked stunned for a moment, before his face morphed into one of frustration.

"You cannot tell me what to do when you're gone, because you're not dying! You're going to be fine! The guards are sending someone up right now to take care of you, and to fix you, Horatio! You're not allowed to leave me here, I cannot stand being in this world without you by my side," The passion had leeched from the prince's voice by the end of his outburst, leaving him drained and sad. He pulled Horatio to his chest and cried into his shoulder, wishing that he had only a few extra moments before he had to say goodbye.

Horatio knew that their time was drawing to a close. It was all he could do to burrow further into Hamlet's chest, and whisper a simple phrase of affirmation and a quick apology.

Horatio wasn't quite sure if the prince had heard him, but there was no longer any time to deliberate.

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Hope you all still have intact hearts after reading that.

It'd be quite the task to repair them all.

Anyways
Thanks for reading!

See you next time!
Peace.