The Corpse's Bride || N.Riki x F!Reader x Y.Jungwon

Chapter five: Let go

"Do you want to go back?" The log Y/n and Riki are sitting at is cold, the air in the land of the dead is no colder than the hands that are holding Y/n tight, as if afraid her hands will slip away.

"Go back to where? To your room?" She asks because inside of her, she's already half accepted that she'll be staying in the land where people who are no longer in the world are, but of course, she still misses the warmth of the day up there.

"No," Riki said as silence followed him as he stared deeply into her eyes searching for the answer to the things he was feeling. Is he making the right decision? Because in the depths of his throat, he can't seem to find his voice.

"Y/n..." As silent as a whisper, he calls out.

"Yes?" And you answered, trying to sound as warm as your breath, and hoped that he could feel that you were also trying, trying to fix the things that were messed up.

"Do you want to go back; go back to your parents-- go back to him?" It breaks your heart. You don't know, but if you were honest, the idea relieves and excites you. But the tone of his voice, the crack that his throat made, and the look on his face. His face is hard, his forehead is frowned and his lips are down.

You were silent. You could only pay him back the same look that he has. How could you ever tell him that you wanted to go back-- and how could you, if you're already up there and missed him?

"....I--"

"I know a way Y/n, I know a way to go up there, you could meet your parents again, see their faces again, and --"

"And leave you here? Alone?" It was melancholy, and your tone mirrored the melancholic swirls in your stomach and the ache in your chest. Because how could you? How could you ever crush his dreams? He only wanted to love and be loved again, but the thing is, do you love Riki?

"It's all fine. For these past years, I stayed here." He squeezes your hand.

"But all those years, were you happy?" Then his lips trembled.

"Y/n...do you think if we--" He stopped and swallowed the lump in his throat. "--if you stayed here with me--for all of those eternities, never leaving this place. Do you think you'll be happy?" It's your turn to swallow the lumps.

"Do you think we-- both of us will be happy?" A single tear threatened to fall on your cheeks, but you stared at him never blinking, never looking anywhere else but those expressive eyes of his.

"Let's try." You whispered out. "Let's go up there, I'll tell my goodbyes to my Mother, and I'll give my last hug to my Father, then let's try to live happily in eternity."

He led the way up to the tower of the "old as time"--as he called him. You've decided, you'll do the farewells and go back in here in the land of the dead once you've said your goodbyes to your parents.

You both found yourselves standing in front of a long old set of stairs and up there stands an old house.

There, he said that the longest dead is in there, and they all called him Elder Gutknecht.

He guided you up the wooded stairs, it lets out a squeak whenever you take a step. His cold hands never left yours, and once you're finally up the last step, an old door greets your face. In the door, there's a sign hanging up, and it dances whenever the wind hits it.

"Old as time," says the sign. Then Y/n's eyes went down and noticed another one that said:

"FOR HEAVENS RIKI! KNOCK FIRST!" quite amusing, she thought.

Distracted by the sign, a loud bang startled her concentration when Riki harshly opened the door with the absence of mercy and knocking.

"I'm here again!" Greeted Riki at the old skeleton walking down the stairs.

"How many times, Young Man!" Elder Gutknecht started. "How many times will I have to tell you to knock, or just casually open the door without banging it!" Riki let out an apologetic laugh.

"Um, well, I guess that's my bad, forgetting about that--so, I'm here to ask for help." Says Riki.

"I am guessing that involves your living bride?" Says the old man.

"Well, yes."

Elder Gutknecht sighed and proceeded to get a book, dust covered the book like plastic wrap. Then turned to look at Riki, then shifted his gaze to Y/n. His nonexistent eyes stayed on her for a second.

"What is it, young man?" Finally, he looked at his book with disappointment--or perhaps sadness in his voice.

"We want to go up there. My wife wanted to see her parents." Warmth spread through Y/n's chest after hearing him say those. But Elder Gutknecht felt the opposite.

"You do know that it'll be dangerous for you, for all of us when you go up there and disturb the balance between the living and the dead. Don't you?" He looked at Riki with threatening eyes.

"Quite--I guess..." And Riki answered with nervous laughter.

"Alright...just say "Hopscotch" if you've decided to go back here." Says Elder Gutknecht. But in the pit of his non-existent belly, down to his non-existent stomach, he felt very wrong. Something will turn out the wrong way once he sends them up there.

_______

Y/n didn't have to say the joy she felt when they stepped foot in the dark forest as the cool wind blew her hair out of her face.

Riki could see her eyes shine with the moon. Then it hits him suddenly, realizing that she looks happier up in here than when she was down there. It must've been hard on her the most...what is he supposed to do? Can he let her go? Why would he want to let her go? He finally has someone to spend all of his eternity--

Usually, cold air doesn't bother Riki so much, because his own body is cold--literally--but whenever her touch leaves him, the cold of the wind makes him shiver; so when Y/n pulled him out of trans, he could only hope she'd not let go.