𝑾𝑨𝑺 𝑰𝑻 𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑫𝑬𝑹 𝑻𝑶 𝑫𝑰𝑬 ? 𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑶𝑬𝑺𝑵'𝑻 𝑲𝑵𝑶𝑾 . 𝑪𝑨𝑵'𝑻 𝑲𝑵𝑶𝑾 . 𝑯𝑬'𝑺 𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑽𝑬 , 𝑨𝑭𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑨𝑳𝑳 . all he knows is the burden of SURVIVAL . the burden of knowing that every breath he draws is one more they can’t take ; and the stubborn beat of his HEART is too loud when he tries to sleep . dimitri looks to felix then , swallows something in his throat that feels like words he’ll never say . ( i miss you . i’m sorry . if i could trade places with him , i would . ) their gazes meet and the WORLD comes apart all at once . he sees it , the anger and the grief ; 𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑬𝑬𝑺 𝑰𝑻 𝑰𝑵 𝑭𝑬𝑳𝑰𝑿'𝑺 𝑬𝒀𝑬𝑺 𝑩𝑼𝑻 𝑫𝑰𝑴𝑰𝑻𝑹𝑰 𝑪𝑨𝑵'𝑻 𝑭𝑰𝑵𝑫 𝑰𝑻 𝑰𝑵 𝑯𝑰𝑴 𝑻𝑶 𝑹𝑬𝑻𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑨𝑻𝑬 . it’s a fire that he does not flinch from , it’s a fire he’ll gladly make into his funeral PYRE if it meant giving felix peace of mind . ( for you . i’ll do it for you . stand in the fire until there’s nothing left to burn . ) silence hangs over them like a GUILLOTINE , heavy and sharp and awaiting a sword to strike the rope . dimitri lets his quiet be the answer , allows felix to cut the fraying rope out of frustration and waits for the guillotine to come down . of COURSE , it never does . it hangs there , mocking and derisive , a reminder of the repose he’ll never know . 𝑶𝑯 , 𝑳𝑰𝑻𝑻𝑳𝑬 𝑳𝑰𝑶𝑵 . 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑰𝑺 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑮𝑰𝑭𝑻 , 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑪𝑼𝑹𝑺𝑬 : 𝑻𝑶𝑼𝑪𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑳𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑺 , 𝑩𝒀 𝑬𝑵𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑴 .