Between Life and Death

Dancing With Death Part 3

●DEATH●

Standing in front of the room that Life had been staying in during her stay, Death closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "When could I get my next chance to get close to her? This may be the last time I see her. Should I take it?" he asked aloud, watching manchineel trees sway in the gentle breeze outside. He had decided to grow them in front of his home because he found it amusing that humans called manchineel trees "trees of death". This amusement quickly faded, however, because the door to Life's room opened to reveal the resident of the room.

"Hey, Death. Fancy seeing you here," Life said as though he were standing on her porch and she were not in his house.

"I hope you haven't forgotten that this my house you're in," Death said with a bright smile that did nothing to reflect the sadness stabbing through his chest like a dagger.

"Of course not, but I like to think of the room I'm standing in as my own mini home while I'm away" Life replied, crossing her arms after a dramatic sweep encompassing her room.

"Sure. All small-talk aside, I come bearing good news," Death said, eager to get his mission done and over with.

"Ooh, what is it?" Life asked, eyes alight with curiosity, bracing a hand on her door.

"Well, I was talking with my court, and we've decided that you are free to go back to your kingdom. The purpose of your stay was to recover, and since you're fully healed, you can go home now," Death explained, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

Life released her hold on the door and leaped to hug Death. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," Death whispered back, well aware that he was lying to himself and to her.

"I'll gather what little things I have, then I'll be out of your hair for the rest of eternity. Expect me to visit, though, and I expect you to do the same! I would miss seeing your sour face," Life said as she gently broke away from the hug.

Death tried and failed to laugh genuinely, so he said with a refrained smile, "Of course I'll visit."

Life quickly hugged Death again and retreated into her room. "I'll be right outside the door to teleport you to your home whenever you're ready," he called through her door.

"Okay, I'll be ready in a few," she said, her voice light and happy, as she should be, as she closed the door.

Death sighed and leaned against the wall, then sighed again as the memories danced in his head. He knew it was futile to hold on with such desperation, but found himself continuing the exercise nevertheless. She's never coming back. She'll never want to see me again now that she doesn't have to. As he heard footsteps sounding from Life's room, he quickly stood up, and tried to look happier for Life. He was just in time to see the door open, Life stepping out from behind it as she said, "Death, I'm ready to leave."

He quickly locked away his sadness and asked, "Any goodbyes you would like to say?"

Life shook her head. "I want to get back to my kingdom as soon as possible. Though could you tell Mercy and Truth that I thank them for their company?"

Death nodded, then making sure his grip on Life's wrist was firm, teleported to the Kingdom of Life.

"Here we are," Death announced as they materialized in the main entrance of Life's home.

Life immediately let go of Death's hand, then skipped around the entry hall, singing happily and laughing, greeting servants. Death's heart warmed as he realized that Life was, for the first time in a long time, truly happy. The Guardians must've heard some of the singing from their chamber, because they had come down to investigate. When they saw Life, they gasped and ran to her. Life reciprocated the actions, and embraced them all. It was after the embracing that they turned to Death. One of the braver Guardians walked up to Death and shook his hand. "Thank you for protecting us, and thank you for taking care of her in her time of need. We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused you," she said cordially.

Death looked wistfully at Life and smiled to himself. "No need to thank me. I will always be here if she needs any help." The Guardian took note of Death's wistful glance and soft voice, piecing everything together.

"You love her," the Guardian stated.

"No, I don't -" Death began, but he cut himself off. "Yeah, I do," he confessed, whispering softly as to not have Life overhear. He could already feel the heat crawling up his neck.

Instead of laughing like Death had thought, the Guardian smiled instead and said, "Well, good luck with her. Either she is completely oblivious or she doesn't return the feelings, but it doesn't mean she won't ever develop them. Always keep hope, Death. One day, things could change," the Guardian reassured. Death had known this, but it still felt like a sword was being driven through his gut.

"Thank you," Death said, hiding his disappointment.

The Guardian nodded, then walked towards Life to hug her again. She laughed, her laugh so light and beautiful, throwing back her head as strands of her silken hair fell down her shoulders.

Death had been planning to leave quietly, but seeing her so elated, hearing her laugh, made him change his mind. It wasn't often that he saw her like this, and he wanted to cherish the moment. He had decided that he had seen enough of her jubilation and turned to leave when he felt a soft, warm hand grab his wrist.

"Can I talk to you for a bit? In private, preferably," Life said, keeping her grip on his wrist strong, but gently. Electricity buzzed where their skin touched.

Despite her strength, Death shook off her hand with ease, trying to brush off the feeling of her hand on his. "Sure. Keep it quick, though, I have business to take care of," he lied, wanting to leave as soon as possible for fear of not being able to leave again at all.

"Alright. Follow me," Life said, taking hold of Death's wrist again and nearly dragging him towards her destination.

They had stopped in a common room of sorts, and it was inside the room that Life finally dropped his wrist. She turned around to face him, and she smiled. "I wanted to thank you for taking care of me during these past few weeks. You were... kinder than I had thought. It'd be nice if we kept in touch, Death - to see you every once in awhile. You know, to... catch up on things."

"Of course, Life," Death said with a bow. "I won't have anyone to boss me around otherwise," he added with a smirk.

Life, much to Death's surprise, began to walk closer to him instead of walking back to the main hall. She gently placed her hands on his shoulders, then pecked him on the cheek. She quickly looked away after kissing him, and Death could see evidence of a slight blush, similar to the one crawling up his neck once more. "To say thank you," she muttered, and practically shoved a lily into his hands. Immediately after handing him the flower, Life awkwardly half-walked, half-sprinted from the room, her face now a bright red. Death didn't teleport away right after - rather, he continued to stare at the lily in his hand, prisoner to the thought that maybe, he had a chance.

A little bit of a short one, but it seemed best to end it here :)

Have a wonderful rest of your day and I'll see you guys next time!