To Die By Your Side Is Such A Heavenly Way To Die
Title: To Die By Your Side Is Such A Heavenly Way To Die
Author: ilsea_leatita
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: character death and sexual activites
Part: 1/1
Parings: Gabe/William, Victoria/Ryland, Alex/Nate
Summary: It’s the end of the world, no one knows what anyone’s fighting for but the bombs are coming for everyone and they’re running out of time.
Disclaimer: This never happened. I own nothing.
Author's Note: This took me forever to write but I really enjoyed writing it, which just made me all the more determined to finish the damn thing. Title stolen from The Smiths. Kind of wanted to post something for Gabe's big 3-0. Sorry for any spelling mistakes!
The air is ablaze. Gabe is squinting up at the sky through the glassless window, its glowing red from the fires. The middle of the night yet everything’s as bright as day and he can feel his skin burning, his eyes watering furiously from the smoke and maybe there’s a few tears in there not that it matters. The air is thick with falling debris and the flames smell foul, like charred flesh but he tries not to think about it, the only thing that really matters is that he got to Chicago too late, it was always a race against time and he just didn’t make it.
He grips the window ledge of the abandoned half standing house he’s taken refuge in and watches the last few bombs fall. They were coming thick and fast when his destination was just a speck on the horizon but he only got to see the aftermath. As the world shakes he wonders where William is.
There’s a radio in the corner, lying next to a pile of plaster and glass, it crackles, occasionally spitting out words, the last voice of human kind.
“...still coming...America...there is...”
Gabe listens intently though he knows there will never be any definite news. No one knows anything anymore except that he knows the chances of seeing William again are non-existent but he stares up into the bright clouds of dust wondering how far away from William, or William’s body he really is. The house around him creaks unsteadily, dust falling from the ceiling. He puts his head in his hands, fingers digging into his skull, elbows resting on the window ledge he sees William’s face flash before his eyes, his life with him passes by too. It’s not a hard task trying to keep the happy memories in the front of his mind but they’re harder to deal with than the thoughts of arguments and difficult days because it just brings up the truth of how much he loves him.
Something cracks and collapses in another part of the dilapidated house.
When it hit Gabe that no one was going to get out of this alive, it didn’t feel too late. He figured it would be okay to have only just had the revelation that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with William, that he loved him so much more than anything, everything, else he still had time to tell him this, even if the rest of his life wasn’t going to be very long at all, William would still be able to know that if he were to live to a hundred, he’d want to spend those years with him. He still had time to just tell him he loved him. Or maybe he didn’t, he was too late.
Gabe turns and sits, his back against the wall, his knees pulled up to his chest and his head in his hands so if anyone else was in the room they wouldn’t be able to see the tears clearing lines in the dirt covering his cheeks. He plays William’s voice in his head, covering the sound of the flames that are eating the house he’s sitting in.
Gabe’s knuckles are white as he whispers to the William in his mind that he loves him and the house shudders violently, flames roaring at it from all sides when it gives up and collapses as a pile of rubble, the dust cloud that rises from it gets eaten up by the smoke almost instantly, the crackling of the radio dying along with Gabe’s sobs.
***
Victoria can’t stop shaking from the sound of explosions that are just everywhere. Dust rains down from somewhere, everywhere, as she presses herself against the alley wall behind her, not that that’s going to save her or anyone for that matter. It’s the only thing she can think to do because she can’t see anything, most importantly she can’t see him but moving will mean there’s no chance that he’ll ever be able to find his way back to her. She knows what he went to look for isn’t there anymore, there’s no way out of the city and there’s nowhere safe to hide, really all that’s left for anyone, everyone, to do is sit and wait to die, there’s no avoiding it but she can understand his need to try and do something, to try and save her. If she could think of any possible way to save him she’d do it instantly but she can’t think of anything because her mind is as clouded as the air around her. She hopes that there isn’t actually anything she can do, so she doesn’t feel guilty for not trying hard enough. Victoria just needs him too find his way back to her before it’s actually their turn to die, it has to be their turn, and she doesn’t want him to die without her. She can’t be alive when he’s not.
The next explosion that hits sends a cat streaking out of the darkness and she screams because her nerves are shot and then it reminds her of Alex, she tries desperately to hold onto a good memory of her friend rather than contemplating the likely hood that he’s already dead along with the majority of life. It’s hard. The pictures she forces her mind to conjure up are hazy and blurred like a television with bad reception and they just fall away as her imagination summons the twisted, broken bodies of everyone she knows and loves. Victoria can’t stay still a moment longer, if she doesn’t move too far she won’t really be breaking the promise she made and if she moves out into the open then maybe he’ll see her and just come back before it’s too late for both of them. Climbing over debris Victoria makes her way towards the light, the end of the alley like the mouth of a cave, fire burning not too far away lighting up the entrance and sending ash in her direction, turning her black hair gray and coating the inside of her throat so she can barely breathe.
But there’s a shadow. A silhouette in the flames and it’s just tall enough to be him.
“Ryland!”
Though her voice is croaky, it’s worth a shot; the worse that’ll happen is she’ll get no reply.
Her voice echoes, it’s hauntingly silent if you don’t listen to the bombs, so it sounds as if the city is shouting his name back at her. The figure turns, she can see his movement highlighted by the flickering flames and that’s it, it’s over, she can practically hear a clock ticking away their final seconds.
Victoria stops breathing as she runs towards him so she doesn’t have to choke. Ryland pulls her towards him, clutching her tightly, her arms wrapping around his waist as their bomb falls.
***
Nate curls himself further into Alex every time a bomb goes off. Lying on their bed, his head tucked against Alex’s neck, one hand threaded into his hair while the other bruises the older man’s hip, nails cutting groves into Alex’s skin. Alex doesn’t mind, it’s just a sign that Nate really is there with him in this moment, heavy, hot breaths that make his skin tingle ghosting over his shoulder, legs tangled together like they’ll never be able to let go. His mouth is pressed to Nate’s ear whispering anything devoted that comes to mind and when he’s stuck for words it’s just “I love you,” but that’s the only part Nate needs to hear as he tries to take in everything that is his Alex. His voice, which never fails to send shivers down Nate’s spine in a way that somehow feels completely unnatural and just so perfect all at once. He sings Nate songs that are never meant for anyone else to hear that range from wholeheartedly romantic too unreservedly downright dirty, it doesn’t matter which, they’re still Nate’s favourite songs in the world. His hands, one of which is currently writing the words Alex is saying on his side, his fingertips leaving trails of fire, lighting up Nate’s skin so the tingling remains of the “I love you”‘s are burnt onto his ribs. They always leave loving, caring touches unless Nate requests otherwise and even then there’s always something tender about them. His mouth, which is currently telling Nate things he already knows but it never hurts to hear them again. Alex’s mouth knows Nate’s mouth so well, their lips fit perfectly and Alex tastes heavenly and Nate knows it’s selfish but he really doesn’t care what else is going on in the world when he’s kissing Alex. Alex’s mouth just knows Nate so well, his tongue knows exactly how to make him squirm and sigh and question what he did to deserve such an incredible man. His cock, which fills Nate so completely and hits his sweet spot just perfectly, before Alex Nate thought he just wasn’t a very vocal person when it came to sex but it turned out that it was just the fact that no one could do the things Alex could do, things that made Nate scream louder than he ever had done in his life. And Alex just tasted so good, Nate loves to lick up the underside of Alex’s cock before sucking the head, swiping up the few drops of pre-cum and taking in as much of his lover as he can manage, making Alex moan in a way that Nate just can’t describe. His eyes, which Nate can’t see right now are his favourite part of his lover because they’re warm and friendly and caring and Alex never needs to say anything, it’s all there in his eyes, Nate loves how well he can read them and he especially loves how often Alex’s eyes show that he really is as happy and in love as Nate is.
The house shakes again, waking Nate up from his trance and he somehow pulls Alex closer, their heart beats opposite one another, perfectly out of time. Alex’s whispers falter with the next explosion, he takes in a deep breath, inhaling Nate’s scent which both calms and worries him at the same time. He feels so lucky to have somebody he loves as much as he loves Nate to cling on too in his final seconds but of course he doesn’t want the world to end and he doesn’t want Nate to die. He runs a hand over the skin he’s spent the last few years worshipping one last time, resting his hand on Nate’s lower back as he concentrates on listening to their heart beats.
There’s a moment of silence and Alex can see the seconds slowly ticking by in Nate’s eyes, the whole city is still, there’s no crumbling of buildings or crackling fires to be heard. He takes in the breath from Nate’s lungs, exchanging slowly, as a faint whistling breaks the silence. Nate pulls Alex’s head down; the hand on Alex’s hip gripping even tighter in fear and love as their lips crash together for the last time.