the virus had devoured him from the inside out. he’d lost considerable weight and the dark circles beneath his eyes only accentuated his unnatural pallor, but it had started with his mind. in the hours leading up to the fever and coughing fits, gael had noticed his own sluggishness. he’d struggled to make his usual jokes, to think clearly, to act quickly. it was as though his every word, his every movement, was delayed. now, however, as the illness had progressed, he couldn’t come up with a single snide remark about his mentor. cassian was typically an easy target, one gael had plenty of practice with, but he could only grin faintly in response to orion’s words. at least if he did die, if the cure came too late, orion would have friends to lean on. “maybe i ought to start keeping my mouth shut more often,” he replied, his breaths labored as he spoke.
gael closed his eyes, as if the words had sapped him of his strength.
exhaustion wagged a finger, beckoning for him to come closer, and it was all that gael could do to resist its call. kriff, he wasn’t sure that he’d ever been this tired in his whole life. he’d gone on missions that seemed endless, flown through some of the worst conditions that the galaxy had to offer, and he’d never felt quite like this. it was as though his body wasn’t his, as though sleep’s hold on him had become a stranglehold, and he could do little to fight it. soon, very soon, it would overcome him again and he’d fall into the same, miserable, restless sleep that he’d suffered before.
for a brief moment, however, the sadness in orion’s voice made him forget his desperate need for sleep. the end? but they’d only just begun. this second life was new, their relationship was even newer, and gael wasn’t ready to give any of it up yet. he wanted to stay here with her, he wanted desperately to live. in truth, he didn’t need all that much time. a few months, perhaps, a year, but he knew better than to wish for much more. in a galaxy alight with war, their lives would never last as long as a human’s should. but it had been weeks, only weeks, and here he was dying again. gael shook his head, mustering what little strength he had left to insist that it couldn’t be. “no…” he whispered, “not yet.” he agreed, of course. those happy hours they’d spent together after the masquerade ball stood out as some of the happiest moments of his life, but he needed more. just a few more.
gael closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, as if to hide his face in the fabric of her clothing. no matter how desperately gael wished to stay by orion’s side, he knew that death would come for him soon the the guise of a nap. it would promise to relieve him of his pain, of his weariness, and it would steal his life away. there was an ugly rattling sound as he breathed, as though liquid had invaded his lungs, but he did his damnedest to ignore it. if he only had a few more moments to live, he wanted to spend them in her presence. it was easier this way, with his face pressed against her, because he wouldn’t have to see the pain in her expression as she looked down at him. kriff, he didn’t want to hurt her. that was, perhaps, the worst part about dying.
but orion tried to remain strong for him.
rather than begging him to stay by her side, she gave him permission to die. gael shook his head faintly. his strength faded faster and faster with each passing moment. “i want to hold on.” he told her, but this time he didn’t make a promise to do so. gael could feel his eyelids growing heavier and heavier, and it took too much effort to open them. finally, he found it damn near impossible to keep them open and pulled his face from her shirt and looked up at her through his eyelashes. one last look. he nodded faintly, a faint smile pulled at the corners of his lips, and at last he let his eyes fall closed.
she could feel a few stray tears drip from her eyes as she watched his lids close for what she believed to be the last time. orion watched his chest gently rise and fall, bracing herself for the moment his body would lay still but much to her surprise and happiness, that moment never came. it seemed as if gael had gone back to the sleeping state that he had been entranced by for the past few hours. perhaps this was the force giving them a little more time to save her best friend, and she couldn’t have been more thankful.
it had taken them far too long to reach the planet of iego but once they landed, orion had been on the ground at only a moments notice. with the amount of people (smart people, mind you) looking for the cure, it didn’t take a horrid amount of time to find it though it seemed like a thousand years to her. racing back to where gael was resting had taken all the air out of her lungs. dear maker, orion hoped she had come back in time. she gripped the odd device in her hand as if her life depended on it and well... it really did.
please, please, please, she chanted in her mind as she kneeled beside gael, brushing a stray piece of hair away from his pale face. she watched him, his breaths were slow and raggedy, it hurt to hear his shaky breaths due to whatever poison was filling his lungs. orion prayed to whatever god that she wasn’t too late as she placed the device between dried lips, pressing a button to release the cure into his lungs, hoping that his system would accept the medicine and quickly heal itself.
“c’mon gael,” orion pressed, looking down at his resting form with concerned eyes and furrowed eyebrows. they had made it this far, if he really was going to die now then she didn’t know what she would do with herself, knowing that if maybe she had given him the cure just a few minutes earlier then, gael would have lived. “i know... i know i said you could let go...” orion sighed, pressing the button yet again to release more of the vapor. “b-but you didn’t and... i don’t know, gael. just.. wake up,” she said, more tears brimming her eyes.
knowing that they were so close in saving him was what was going to kill her the most.
shaking fingers pressed a button one last time before they removed the device from his lips. she look his limp hand into her own as hot tears fell down her cheeks. “i love you so much,” orion whispered against his cold hand. this really was the end to just another sad story. “sleep well.”
