Vita et Mors || A TXT Fanfiction

Life. Year 2242.

"Where are we going?" Death asked me, and I laughed softly while I handed him the black cloth I'd brought with me to see him. He gave it a look that was equal parts confusion and distrust, which made me shake my head lightly at him.

"Oh, come on.." I droned softly, tilting my head as I fixed him with a wide eyed, pouty gaze. "You don't trust me? What would be the point of a blindfold if I told you where we were going, hm?" I teased softly, and I watched while his expression softened slowly. I recognized the look; it was exactly the moment he was deciding to let his guard down. And it wasn't the first time I'd seen it- he looked at me with the same eyes on the day that he decided I wasn't what my reputation said. The day that changed everything.

The day that we danced, all those years ago.

I know that we had grown older, supposedly wiser and less prone to making stupid mistakes as we were then. I know that a lot of time had passed since that day. But I remembered it as if it were yesterday. I remembered that dance. I remembered the look in his eyes.

I remembered what he first said to me, how he reacted to finding out that I was.. Me. That I was a good guy, someone he clearly had an affinity for.

I remembered it all.

And I'd thanked the stars for that day ever since.

"Life..." Death mumbled softly, groaning once he realized that I wasn't backing down. I shot him a grin while he took the cloth from my hand, using it to obscure his sight. "You're going to have to lead me." He told me, and the edge in his voice was dripping with nervousness. I nodded, even though I knew that he couldn't see it. "I know." I said softly, and I grabbed at the tie fastened around his neck, laughing softly while he jumped at my touch.

"Relax, Death. What are you so afraid of?" I teased light-heartedly, using my grip on his tie to walk with him.

"You know what I'm afraid of." He countered me, to which I only shook my head. "And you know how I feel about that." I refuted. He stayed quiet. I think he knew that I wouldn't listen to whatever argument he had to make on the subject.

For a while, we walked in silence. I walked in front, watching as the ground beneath my feet erupted in color wherever I stepped, flowers instantly sprouting from the earth and small ferns popping into existence alongside them. There was a wide variety of what grew beneath my feet: everything from wildflowers that even I didn't know the name of, to small patches of grass, to tiny sprigs of trees and simple sunflowers. It made the road I walked one of brilliant vibrancy, of health, of flourishing life.

Which made sense. I am Life, after all.

But the ground looked hopeful, and was enough to make me believe that everything would be alright, no matter what.

I was glad that I couldn't see far enough behind me to watch what happened to my flowers, my plants and livelihood, after Death stumbled over them.

The two of us had been walking for some time before I finally stopped, craning my neck to look at the tall, beautifully built building that lay in front of us. The mere sight of it made me smile, and without turning to look at him, I dropped Death's tie, instructing him to remove his blindfold. He did as told, and the small gasp he let out from his mouth was enough to tell me that I had succeeded in surprising him, as well as bringing him somewhere I was confident he would want to be.

"You like it?" I asked, still not daring to look at him.

I'll admit it- I was nervous.

But the moment he said "yes," his voice shaky and small, I felt my nervousness fade like the morning dew, slipping between the cracks of the gravel beneath us and disappearing into oblivion. His one simple word was enough, and so I turned to face him.