Work Text:
Two girls sat alone on a park bench beneath the pale moonlight. Takina let out the softest of sighs, her breath turning to mist in front of her. This was the time when it was supposed to snow: a perfect ending to the day she had spent with Chisato. However, there wasn't a single flake falling. Her disappointment was evident, enough to where Chisato tried to cheer her up. "Fate doesn't always go our way." she said, and Takina turned to see a familiar smile on her face. "It's okay, though. I got to spend time with you, and that's all I needed."
"I knew you'd say that." Takina sighed again, feeling surprisingly defeated despite most everything else going right. It hadn't all been perfect, but the two girls had gotten to spend time together, and that should've been enough. It wasn't, though. Not for Takina. "How can you be so calm, though? You're going to..." She couldn't finish the sentence, but they both knew what that final word was. The doctor had been clear when examining Chisato's fake heart: she had a couple months left, maybe more if she took it easy. It wasn't like Chisato to take it easy, though, so two months. That was all the time they had together before she... before she wouldn't be there anymore.
"It's like I said, Takina: fate doesn't always go our way." She was still smiling, but how could she be smiling? She was... Takina curled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms as she willed herself to think of the truth. Chisato was going to die. Her heart was going to give out, and she was going to die. Yet she was still smiling despite all that. This was Chisato she was talking about, but this was also the finality of life. She didn't understand. She didn't understand at all.
It shouldn't have affected her the way it did. She worked in an industry that traded in death. The threat of her life ending was a constant, and the same went for her comrades at the DA. Never had she thought about her previous partners dying with such sadness and regret. Things were different with Chisato, though. She had come into her life like a whirlwind, upending everything that she had ever known. Things had never been the same, and mostly for the better. She had learned so much from Chisato, and the thought of her just vanishing, like a snap of the fingers... She didn't even want to think about it, but it was all she could think about. The specter of Chisato's life slipping away hounded Takina's every step.
"You're frowning so deeply, Takina." Chisato giggled as she poked Takina's cheek, which snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned to Chisato, the frown refusing to leave her face. How could she do anything but frown? Chisato was smiling, but she shouldn't have been. This wasn't the time for smiling. It felt like they had spent an eternity together, yet at the same time it wasn't enough. They had a mere few months, and now it was going to be taken away from them. Chisato was going to be taken away from her. How was she supposed to be happy about that?
"Of course I am! You're going to die, Chisato!" The dam finally burst on the emotions that Takina had been keeping at bay ever since she heard the news that Chisato only had two months to live. "How am I supposed to smile about that?!" Chisato's smile finally fell, her eyes widening at Takina's sudden outburst. It wasn't like her to lose her cool like that, but these were special circumstances. Tears were leaking from her eyes as she put her hands on Chisato's shoulders. There was anger in her eyes, as well as sadness and guilt for having this kind of outburst when it was Chisato's life on the line, not her own. "It's unfair of you to expect me to smile."
"Takina, I..." Chisato bit down on her lip, reaching out to wipe Takina's tears away. Then something fell on her arm, and both of them stopped to stare at it. It disappeared quickly, but there was no doubt about it: it was a snowflake. They looked up to see more of it falling, twinkling down to the earth below. Chisato's eyes widened as a few more snowflakes landed on her arm. "I guess it did snow after all." She laughed, then pulled Takina into a tight hug. "I know we're not going to get to spend as much time together as we wanted, but that just means we have to make the time we do have together worthwhile, right?"
"It's not fair," Takina whispered, hiding her face against Chisato's shoulder. Chisato could feel Takina crying on her jacket. "What am I supposed to do when you're gone?"
"You're supposed to carry on." Chisato gently rubbed Takina's back, though she wasn't used to being the one who was giving moral support in their relationship. Takina had feelings, of course, even if she tried to hide them. She hid her sadness well, though, until tonight. "Takina, truthfully I'm scared. I don't want to die. I'll miss all of you. I'll miss everyone I've ever met. Most of all, I'm going to miss you." She pulled back, then rested her forehead against Takina's. "You've become someone who's extremely important to me, Takina. You're the one I want to be strong for. So no matter how scared I am, I'll keep smiling for you, no matter what."
"Chisato..." Takina let out a sob, her body shaking. She felt Chisato's hands take hers, warmth seeping through her skin. "I... I love you..." It was the final truth that she hadn't dared to speak. A truth that had grown stronger and truer the longer the two of them spent together. Chisato was like no one she had ever met before, and there would be no one else like her again. She knew that for certain. No one could replace what Chisato had become in her heart.
"I love you too, Takina. I'll always love you." Her words were ethereal, drifting through the air. Takina sighed softly, opening her eyes. It was daytime, and she was alone on the park bench. Her hair was drenched in snow, as was the ground around her. She stood up, brushing out the snow with her hands. Taking one last look at the bench, she then looked up to the sky, her eyes growing misty. Snow was falling again, just like it had on that night. She wiped the tears from her eyes and began the trek back to DA headquarters. In that moment, she swore that there was someone next to her, squeezing her hand. She didn't need to look that way, though, because she knew the truth.
There was no one there.