Prompt: #54: Tower
Characters/Pairings: Teito, Frau, mentioned Mikage
Summary: Teito is locking himself away where no one can reach him.
Notes: Wrote this in a bad place at a bad time. A good friend of mine died early in April and coping is difficult. The journey is filled with ups and downs and it's going to be a long time before I'm okay again. Right now…I can relate to Teito a little too well. So my emotions are very obvious in this piece and I hope it doesn't take away from the overall story (which is quite short and sparse).
The pain he felt was like a black hole sucking out his insides in slow, excruciating agony. And then there was nothing left, just his empty body that sank to the ground when he could no longer support his own weight. He felt the shock of hitting the ground but nothing else registered. The light was gone. His light was gone. Mikage was gone. Teito stared at the ground blankly, making small choked noises in the back of his throat before collapsing, all of his strength gone with Mikage.
He remembered, vaguely, someone picking him up and carrying him. Cold hands gently held him up and he thought 'Frau' but it meant nothing to him.
"Teito. Look at the wall."
He looked at the wall. There were marks from the spells; he knew those would be there. What was the point of this? He felt like throwing up.
"Mikage wrote his last words."
Teito was placed on the ground and he blindly ran his hands over the marks. They were words. Mikage's words. Teito jerked his head up, reading the carvings like a starved man devouring his final meal. I'm sorry, Teito. You have to survive. We'll always be best friends. I love you.
Teito felt his heart ache and his vision went black. He woke up alone in the room he had shared with Mikage, clutching the tattered remains of his best friend's coat.
Time passed slowly. He was locked in his room, by his own choice, and he would let no one in. Frau banged on the door. Teito did not answer him. The sisters called out to him with tearful voices. He ignored them. He could feel Labrador and Castor's silent presences outside the room. He did not ask for them to come in. He didn't want to see anyone. He didn't want anything to do with them.
It would only hurt more to hear their condolences.
"Brat, I'm coming in!" The door crashed open, Frau's leg hanging midair. Teito did not respond. "Oi, misery loves company, haven't you heard that before?"
There was still no response. Frau walked over to the bed and was a little disturbed to find Teito sitting with dry eyes, holding Mikage's coat to his chest. The boy had a haunted expression but it quickly twisted into one of stoic nonchalance. Frau sat down next to him. Teito didn't react at all. His thoughts were running wildly, just as they were before Frau entered the room.
God, God, God…God, who are you to take this person from me? Who are you to decide that it was his time to leave? Why have you taken this precious person from me? What do you mean by doing this? Is this a trial that I need to overcome…on my own?
For all of his questions, Teito received no answers.
"It's okay to cry." Frau placed a hand on the boy's head (it was so small compared to his palm it was terrifying to think of this child trying to be so strong).
The guilt that would normally have accompanied his tears was washed away by the feeling of sorrow. Teito's grip on the jacket tightened and he felt air catch in his throat, a choked sob spilling from his lips as the tears came down. There is no shame in crying.
Sometimes, it's the only thing you can do.