Keralis sat down. This place was familiar to him. It hurt him to come back every time, but it felt right. Keralis stared at the gravestone that lay in front of him. His soulmate's gravestone. The love of his life’s gravestone. Xisuma’s gravestone. He should have cried. He /wanted/ to, but nothing came out. Keralis was too stuck on the thought that this was it. This is where Xisuma would lay for the rest of time. Where he would lay as well when his time came. His time was soon. He remembered the day like it was yesterday. Xisuma was still around, sitting down next to him as Cub told them both the news. Keralis only had 3 months left to live. Xisuma held him close as they both wept, promising that everything would be okay. That he would stay with Keralis every step of the way. Xisuma didn’t keep his promise. No one knew how he died. Keralis didn’t even know. But the fact that someone he held so close to his heart disappeared from his life without any word destroyed him. He didn’t even get to say goodbye. Keralis sighed, holding his hand up to his face and k!$5!|\|g the ring that remained on his finger. He spent a good few years with Xisuma before his passing. Every time he looked at it, he wanted to cry. Now was not every time. Time. Something he didn’t have. Keralis went to Cub for check-ups the past few days before coming back to this place. “I’m sorry to bring this news to you, Keralis. I really am. I didn’t want to have to be the one to tell you this, but you have three days left.” He cried. Cried even more than before. It wasn’t because of the fact that his time was more limited than before, but it was because he was alone. No one was there to hold him, make him feel okay even in the darkest moments. The other Hermits came to say a few words, but that didn’t make a difference. Keralis didn’t want the other Hermits. Keralis didn’t want to hear their words. He wanted Xisuma. /Three days, Keralis./ /Two days, Keralis./ /One day, Keralis./ One day was hours ago. Coming to Xisuma’s grave should have been sad. He should have wanted to scream, cry, sit there, feeling hopeless. Huntington’s disease symptoms often resulted in that. He should have wanted to get help, but it’s not like anyone would have understood him anyway. He can’t even understand himself. Except, he strangely felt at peace going to that quiet, painful place. It meant that he and Xisuma would be together again. Keralis stood up, placing the dandelion he brought in front of his lover’s grave. Xisuma would have appreciated it, dandelions were his favorite flowers. A tear escaped his eye as he looked down and saw something. It was Xisuma’s ring. He didn’t have time to cry. /He didn’t have time./ It was due soon. Even without any to spare, more tears rolled down his cheeks. This was it. “I love you, Xisuma…” He whispered to no one in particular. There was nothing living around him. Just the soft grass underneath his feet and the small breeze in the wind. Keralis stared at the gravestone for a moment before sighing. He took off his ring and placed it next to Xisuma’s. In the saddest of moments, he did something that he hadn’t done since Xisuma died. He smiled. It was only a little one, but regardless, he /smiled./ Keralis used his sleeve to wipe his tears, giving one more glance at the grave that lay in front of him before walking away. It was only a matter of minutes before his time was up. Saying his final goodbyes to the Hermits seemed like the best idea. Keralis still smiled while walking away. Smiling because he met Xisuma. Smiling because he had amazing friends. Smiling because he had a great life. Smiling because he and Xisuma, after the most painful months of his life, would be together again. Together, at last.
[[This has been a W.I.P. for...a while- By I decided to refine a few things and finish it to sue for the Cow Game 2 prompt of anything :3 I was mostly sick when this was in the works don't judge T-T]]
