THIS EMOTIONAL CHAPTER IS A COLLAB BETWEEN ME AND KendallRed87 . WE CALLED AND TEXTED OVER THIS ROLLERCOASTER OF A CHAPTER, SO EVERY HEARTBREAKING DETAIL IS A SWIRLING VORTEX OF SADNESS FROM US BOTH.
(LISTEN TO THE SONG IN THE MEDIA BOX TO GET THE FULL SADNESS)
"Smile for the picture!".
Vincent looked up, momentarily blinded by the flash of a camera. Small dots of black spotted his vision as small hands tugged at his arm, babbling following in a cacophony of unintelligible speech.
It wasn't until spittle seeped through the fabric of his jeans did he finally regain his sense of sight. Pale (e/c) eyes looked up, small button nose slightly pink from being outside in his first snow. His and Y/N's first child, a beautiful baby boy with enough energy to spare.
Light seeped through the blinds nearby, casting rectangular shapes of orange along the hardwood floor. It was a sign that the sun was beginning to set, ending another day together as a family.
"I'll go get the blankets and we can go sit on the balcony" Y/N spoke, allowing the camera around her neck to fall limply against her still pregnancy induced belly. S/N was born only a few months ago, leaving behind more than just filled baby diapers and multiple bottles.
Vincent gave a smile, nodding his head as he gently cradled his son to his chest, watching purple hair bounce with the motion. Skin flecked with patches of (S/C) and purple dotted along his belly and arms, something the doctors said was a pigmentation disorder, but only made him all the more unique.
Feet clad in fuzzy socks braced against the floor, heaving himself and the baby up to walk towards their bedroom. The soft patter of water echoed from the kitchen, the sound of Y/N filling up another bottle with formula so S/N didn't get fussy and wake the neighbors. It was domestic, all a part of being a close family, something Vincent never really had.
A big smile spread along the father's face, swaying up the steps with a gentle bounce in order to calm the child. A face of both parents looked up, making various noises of squeals and incoherent muttering. A small sneeze further implemented the dust settling within the air.
"You look so much like your mother, you'll be a little heartbreaker when you grow up" He cooed, bumping his nose against the baby's cheek as he gave a loud squeal and hiccuping giggle.
In that moment, as he watched his wife fumble up the steps with a fluffy blanket in one arm and a bottle in the other, smiling widely as she looked at both him and their little bundle of joy. In that moment as he felt warmth unfurl within his chest and his heart squeeze. In that moment, Vincent fell even deeper in love.
//////////
S/N was now 6, having walked onto the bus that would take him to his first day of school. It was an emotional moment, one that left Y/N in tears and Vincent coughing desperately in order to hide his own. They clutched one another as the overpowering wave of realization crested above their heads, that their son was growing up.
Vincent didn't know what to do, most of his day beforehand had been filled with playing with his son. Just yesterday they had built a pillow fort and ate an unhealthy amount of grilled cheese, now, now he had no son and only a mountain of sheets and pillows for himself.
"Hey Vincent".
The man had only turned around for a millisecond when something smacked him in the face, something soft and plush. Pale eyes widened in surprise before looking down, staring at the pillow responsible.
A smile curled his lips, picking it up with gentle fingers. "Oh, it's on".
Times like this reminded him that no matter how old they became, that no matter how difficult things become, they are still very much in love.
He didn't know when throwing pillows formed into gentle shoves and playful wrestling. He didn't know when lighthearted jabs turned into laughter.
He didn't know when that laughter formed into a harsh cough.
Now that he thought of it, watching as his wife heaved into her elbow brutally, this had been happening for a while now. However, it didn't start off this violent, it was getting worse.
"Are you okay?" He asked, gently running a hand between Y/N's shoulder blades, feeling how they protruded slightly more than usual. The baby fat from before had melted away long ago, but now, she was thinner than before she had the baby. That wasn't supposed to happen.
(E/C) eyes looked up gently, slightly more distant than usual. "I'm fine, just a cold".
Vincent didn't believe it in the slightest, but he backed down, giving in to that gentle smile he fell for long ago. Everything would be fine.
Everything would be fine.
//////////
"How was your first day of school?" Vincent asked, closing the sliding glass door leading to the inside with care. Various blankets and pillows were strewn along the balcony floor, glowing beneath the clear night sky.
S/N seemed to shrink into himself, snuggling into the covers even more as he stared at the stars. "It was good, I guess".
Y/N chose that moment to walk out, hair disheveled and skin slightly paler than usual. Vincent blamed it on the moonlight, at least, that's what he hoped it was from.
"Come on, you can tell us" She muttered, flopping down beside her son with slightly baggy clothes. They used to fit her a couple weeks ago.
The boy slumped his shoulders, leaning into the woman's side as Vincent stalked forward, sitting on his other side silently. Something about the air was tense, unsaid things tainting the atmosphere dangerously.
"They made fun on me, because of my skin and my eyes" S/N whispered, a small sob wracking from his throat. It was broken and shaky, bordering on a mental breakdown as he retold all of his encounters that day.
A kid pushed him to the ground. A teacher ridiculed him on paying attention, saying that his eye condition wasn't an excuse to gaze into space. A janitor tried talking to the attendants because he looked to be bruised, when in reality it was the purple hue of his patches. The while class made fun of him because of the way he looked.
When it was all said and done, the boy noticeably relaxed in his parents' arms, crying coming to a halt. It made Vincent upset, knowing exactly how it was to look different in today's society, he went through the same thing in foster care as a child.
Y/N looked up at the sky, the contours of her face seeming deeper and more prominent. Deep bruises lined beneath her eyes, almost resembling eyeshadow. "Do me a favor, baby. Look up at the sky".
Pale eyes gently peeked from where they were previously buried in the woman's arm, gazing up hesitantly.
"Look at that empty space right there, the one without stars" She continued, finger pointing up at the sky shakily. Her wedding ring gently slid down, having fallen off a few times that day. It had fit her a month ago.
Purple hair bobbed as their son finally unlatched himself, eyes casting towards the twinkling stars above. A small shake of the head proved that he was listening.
A broken smile painted Y/N'a face as the next words spilled from her lips. "Someday, when I die, that's where I'm going to be. No matter who you are or what you look like, we all become a star in the end, and when I go you can always look up at me and remember where you came from. Remember who you are".
Vincent stiffened, the words sounding muck too genuine and final, like the last drop of rain before a drought appears. His blood ran cold, something was wrong.
Before he could elaborate on the subject, Y/N was coughing once more, chest rattling dangerously. This time, he managed to capture the sight of something glistening in her bent elbow, becoming wiped onto the blanket sneakily.
"Someday---"
//////////
It was hard to believe, one minute they were eating dinner, celebrating the beginning of Summer break for their son. Now, now they were sitting in a cold hospital room, nothing but the beeping of a heart rate monitor to fill the silence.
Vincent should have noticed, he should have noticed. The copious amount of hair littering the sink and shower, missing in the form of bald spots. The little tissues of blood stuffed deep into the trash can. The abnormally cold body sleeping next to him at night, that chilled him instead of warming him. The random coughing fits that awoke him from a deep slumber.
He should have noticed the signs of cancer.
"You have to understand, it's too late to treat her now, she's already in the last stage of it" The doctor mumbled, flipping through his clipboard with a deep frown. There was nothing they could do, she was dying right before their eyes.
"If she would have came in sooner, we could have tried to save her".
It was all his fault.
His eyes ached from so much crying, from where he rubbed them raw over the past few hours. Their son was outside, sitting with Mike and the others as they distracted the boy from what was going on. Where they distracted them from the truth.
A cold hand brittle to the touch gently laid upon his own, causing for an abrupt jerk of the head. Beautiful eyes that were once bright with laughter and happiness were dull and lifeless, wet with their own tears of sorrow. "Don't hate me for this, we were in too much financial debt as it was, we couldn't afford the copious rounds of treatment".
Calloused fingers wrapped around the smaller hand, bringing it to his lips as a sob tore from his chest. "I could never hate you, not now or in a million years, it's my fault. I should have paid more attention, please don't go, you're all I have".
A heartbreaking smile and slowing beep punched through the haze of tears. Counting down their remaining moments together.
"Don't blame yourself, you still have our son. Take care of him, show him the beauty of the world so he isn't left with the darkness you faced. I love you so much, Vince".
A gentle kiss was placed on his cheek, leaving behind a little warmth in the coldness of the air, the coldness of his heart.
The monitor went dead, a long beep causing an uproar as doctors and nurses rushed in. All of it was a blur, his body being pulled away by groping fingers as he threw things and screamed, kicking walls and anything in the way.
Visions of fluttering eyes closing forever. Of a smile dropping into a neutral line. Chest stilling from where it used to fluted with laughter.
All of it was gone.
It wasn't until he was shoved into the waiting room that he completely broke, witnessing all of their friends stand up hopefully. Jeremy's eyes full of tears as he grasped onto his seat, having seen so much loss as it was. Mike twitching with unrestrained worry and emotion. Scott on the brink of hyperventilating. Fritz holding a small bear and a box of Y/N's favorite snack.
S/N, standing up with his favorite purple care in tow, looking forward with big eyes and an oblivious expression. "Where is mommy?".
Ringing filled his ears, knees hitting the ground as his fingers clawed at his scalp. He registered the fact he was screaming, but he couldn't hear it over the thump of his own heart. Hands of his friends pulled him up, into hugs and shaky chests.
A tiny hand, brushing against his cheek, pale eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Is she a star now, daddy?".
"She's a star now, baby".
///////
Stormy skies, torrential rain pouring down to blend in with the tears. A father and a son trudge through mud and various flowers washed away by the incoming clouds.
A single headstone lay in a nestle of dead flowers and new grass, having grown above where there was a pile of dirt beforehand. A sign of how many days had come and gone, how many months.
A small hand lay down a single purple carnation, covered in mud and snot.
"Are we going to be okay, daddy?".
Vincent allowed his head to drop, rain thundering down on his back. "I don't now, buddy".
Tiny arms wrapped around his chest, head of purple hair like his own tickling his chin. "We'll be okay, I promise".
A small light in the dark.
///////
S/N was grown now, standing upon the stage of his high school with a beaming smile. His body was decked in a silk robe and tasseled hat, the year of his graduation pinned on the hanging piece.
In the crowd were many proud parents, all awaiting for their own child to grab their diploma and seal the last of their childhood. To mark a special moment in their lives that was important.
In that crowd, for S/N, sat nobody.
"S/N Bishop!" The principal called, no applause awaiting for him as he climbed the stairs, the weight of the world dragging at his heels. Memories flashed before his vision as he climbed and climbed, visions of his father crying and drinking, of smiling broken smiles.
Visions of the car flipped in a ditch, flickering across the screen a year ago.
Fingers calloused from work to support himself grabbed the piece of paper, eyes casting up in the stadium. The night sky awaited, flickering in its own way. Just in the west, two little stars sat close together, one having formed years ago, the other just a couple months.
S/N smiled, shaking the principals hand in his own despite his internal turmoil. This was his moment, where his parents had built him up.
For a fleeting moment, the sound of a single applaud echoed in the air, coming from just behind him. Pale eyes glanced back, seeing beautiful, fiery red hair that was wild and free. He saw bright green eyes full of life and energy, pale skin beaming beneath the lights.
He smiled, sending the pretty girl something genuine and true. It was something he hadn't shown in a long time, it was something the girl brought out in him.
"I'll be okay".
/////////
At some point, those fleeting glances on the street and mumbled hellos formed into something more. They formed into laughter and smiles, into shared stories and unbridled trust.
They formed into love.
S/N knew he was infatuated with the girl, it only became completely solid when he decided to marry her. She made him happy despite his past, she shared those nights with him where he stared at the stars for hours, remembering his parents.
In a way, he had become them both.
In a way, S/N was finally happy again.
/////
Two stars nestled within the sky, twinkling bright in sparkling green eyes and a toothy grin. "What are those two, daddy?"
Pale eyes creased at the corners with age, lips spread in a huge smile. He tugged his wife closer, watching their little girl point at those two little stars he had watched for nights on end.
"Those? They are your grandparents".
Yeah, everything turned out alright.
HAHAHAHAAH I WROTE THIS IN THE SPAN OF 2 HOURS SO IF IT SUCKS S O R R Y