Work Text:
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For the first night in some time, Marina couldn't see the stars.
A thick layer of smog had rolled in that morning, denser than the usual clouds that failed to linger longer than a few hours, and it tainted the air with an unbearably scummy scent. In the ruins of a crumbled church by the cliffside, old stone walls offered little refuge for two lovers who longed to see the sky again, but their wishes were proved hopeless by the toxic fog. Sleepless evenings were spent curled up against the rubble, listening to the sounds of the sea past the bluffs, clutching their empty stomachs as they struggled to breathe.
Pearl, who had always been rather weak physically, had been having more trouble than usual recently.
Marina recalled a time when Pearl was so loud, so energetic, so powerful and lively, but those beautiful aspects of her had been dulled down to nothing. The girl had hardly moved a muscle all day, and that once booming voice was left no louder than a whisper. It absolutely broke Marina’s heart to see her in such a state, to see her suffering, but at this point nothing could be done to help.
“Remember when we’d sing together…” Pearl’s voice came from a few feet away, raspy and tired, and Marina was broken out of her thoughtful daze. “So happily, so free…”
Marina nodded and looked over at the other, meeting the dreary gaze of those once bright amber eyes.
Pearl took a shaky breath and continued, her voice full of despair. “I don’t think I have that strength…”
Marina winced slightly and sighed as the smaller girl started coughing, a horrible noise that echoed through the remains of the old building. Watching her pull herself into a tight ball as she struggled to breathe, Marina shuffled over to her and carefully pulled her into her lap. After a moment her coughing fit subsided and she choked on a dry sob, throat burning from the will to cry. Her breaths came so unevenly as she struggled to get any tears out, and the pathetic sound pained the other’s heart.
As Marina watched the smoke roll by, she took a heavy breath and let a gentle tune escape her lips. It was so familiar, ao warm, so soft and yet filled with a passionate power.
“All the fear and the fire of the end of the world…”
Pearl froze up slightly as the soft voice filled her ears, and she stifled another dry wail to listen.
Marina continued on, careful not to miss a single beat, and after a few moments, Pearl began to calm down. The sound of her singing, though strained on coarse breaths, retained the deep mellifluous tune that Pearl was so in love with, and it put her heart at ease. Though she was so weary and full of sorrow, she couldn’t focus on any of the pain as the song filled her ears. Slowly she shifted and turned to press her ear against Marina’s chest, and she could just barely pick up on the gentle beats of her hearts.
Marina rested her hand on Pearl’s back and held her closer, her singing momentarily interrupted by a dry cough. But Pearl didn’t seem to care; she had completely lost herself in that moment, her body shaking slightly as she got weaker.
“Be still my indelible friend, you are unbreaking,” Marina continued to sing, rubbing Pearl’s back gently. “Though quaking, though crazy, that’s just wasteland, baby.”
Pearl began slowly drifting off, and Marina could feel it. She grasped onto the smaller girl so much tighter, silently pleading for Pearl not to leave her, and she struggled to fight back tears. The intimacy was so comforting in Pearl’s final breaths, and she let all of the tension in her body loosen as she leaned against Marina.
“Wasteland, baby. I’m in love, I’m in love with you…”
The once wild flame inside Pearl flickered and finally died, and as Marina stroked her back, she could feel her breathing stop. She halted all movements and gazed down at Pearl, clutching onto her and waiting for some sort of sign that she was still alive. She sat so intently still, focused entirely on the girl in her arms, not ready to give up on her just yet. But after some time, Marina knew for sure she was gone.
Marina couldn’t hold back her cries any longer, and she began loudly sobbing as she hugged Pearl. Alone in the haze, desperately begging for her lover to return to her, she eventually gave up on it all. Her voice was as good as gone after a while, and there was no more life in the world around her.
No more stars, no more songs, no more Pearl.
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~~ UPDATE - MARCH 19, 2020 ~~
Lovely fanart by imsicktodeath on Tumblr!
