Paul Atreides

Sacrifice

A/n: I am aware that bikes most likely don't exist in the world of Dune, however I still will write it into the story because it is vital to the plot line so don't come at me please :)

~~~

The motorbike Paul had gotten for his 18th birthday was probably his favourite gift of all time. He'd taken you out on so many joy rides, his girl and his bike. Paul was absolutely infatuated with you, and with the bike, that sometimes you joked that he loved it more than he loved you.

It wasn't abnormal for him to come to you some days and hold out a helmet and say, 'come on, we're going for a ride' and take you around Caladan for a good hour before dropping you back home. 

Last time you rode with him, he left the helmet at your place by accident. So when he drove past the beach to pick you up after your shift as a lifeguard had ended, you didn't have the helmet.

'It's not safe, Paul.' You bit your lip, unsure of riding. 'It's fine, I'll walk home.'

'It's close, though, Y/n. I promise I'll be safe. It'll only be five minutes.' Paul pleaded. He hated leaving you to walk alone and it wasn't like Paul could take his bike up on the sidewalk and walk home with you there. 

You paused and thought about the situation. It was only five minutes, the sun was out and it wasn't wet, it was also a long weekend and many people were away on holidays so that's two dangers out of the way.

'Alright. But drop me off at my house, not scenic detours, do you hear me?' You pointed a finger at Paul. He nodded in eager reply. You jumped onto the back of his bike and Paul sped off. 

The scent that filled your nose was a mix of Paul's deodorant, gasoline and salty sea ocean air. The concoction made you feel light headed and happy, you called it your 'serotonin smell'. 

Paul sped along the highway, climbing up to the speed limit as you let go of his shoulders and waved your arms above your head. You squealed of joy, loving the freedom that not wearing a helmet was giving you. You didn't notice when Paul failed to slow down and sped right past a turn to your house.

'Y/n!' Paul shouted. You didn't hear him, so he tried again. 'Y/n!'

'Yeah?' You called back to him.

'Take my helmet!' He said.

'What!?' You shouted, hard of hearing.

'Take my helmet!!'  Paul shouted louder.

'Why?' You asked.

'Just do it!' 

'Alright alright!' You huffed and manoeuvred around him to unbuckle it from under his chin. You then placed it over your own head and fastened it. The smell of sweat and Paul's deodorant overwhelmed your scenes.

'Gee this really smells like you.' You laughed.

'Yeah.' Paul said. 'Promise me something, will you?'

'Depends on what it is!' Your voice was still raised.

'Close your eyes!' Paul shouted. 

You did as you were told. 'Closed!' You listened to Paul as you stared at the back of your eyelids.

'Promise me... promise me you'll love me, that you'll be happy. That you won't be mad at me or angry with yourself.'

'What?' You laughed at how absurd Paul sounded.

'Just do it!' Paul pleaded.

'Ok, I promise! I promise I'll love you, that I'll be happy, that I won't be mad at you and that I won't be angry with myself.' You repeated.

'I love you so much, Y/n.' Paul said.

'I love you too, Paul.' You smiled. 

Then you felt it. You felt the slip of the bike as it rotated around to the left, you felt your body slam against the ground, the impact of the ground sent a searing pain up your leg as it grated along the ground. The blackout came as you heard the immense CRACK of Paul's helmet hitting the ground.

~~~

When you came to, you were laying in the hospital. The blinding white lights made it hard to open your eyes, but once you did you saw your left leg and arm was bandaged in heavy-duty casts and hung from the roof.

'Y/n?' You heard the desperate voice of your mother. 'Oh thank Heavens you're awake.' She rushed by your side and took your hand. 

'What happened?' You mumbled.

'You were in a bad accident, sweetie.' Your mother replied. 'Get some rest now.' 

She then hushed you before you could ask any more questions. It went like that for a week during recovery. You were lucky that you had no more than burns to your leg and a broken wrist seeing as the shorts you were wearing weren't covering. The nurses kept saying that, 'if you hadn't been wearing your helmet, you'd be dead'. 

When you attempted to bring up Paul, you failed. It wasn't until you were reading the news that you understood what happened.

Six days ago, two young teens got into a horrible motorcycle accident. 18 year old Paul Atreides, Duke of Caladan, was picking up his 18 year old girlfriend, Y/n Y/l/n from her job as a life guard on the beach. Paul was wearing a helmet while Y/n was not. Somehow he got her to wear the helmet and tried to crash as safely as possible. Paul sacrificed himself and his own safety for Y/n. She lives on in the Caladan Regal Hospital recovering from a concussion and a severe leg injury. The doctors say that if she wasn't wearing that helmet, she would have died and she's lucky to be alive.

You stopped reading, the severity of the situation had weighed in on you now. You burst into tears, wailing from the heartbreak. Your boyfriend had died.

'I'm sorry Paul.' You wailed.

'I love you, Y/n. Don't be mad.' Paul's voice echoed through your brain.

'I love you, Paul.' You repeated. 'I love you.'

~~~

I hope you guys enjoyed! Feel free to tell me what you think, suggest a one-shot idea and follow for more like this! <3