CC: The Real Ending.
Ch. 1 "Desperation"
Their cabin was dark, a single beam of moonlight shining wanly through the window. Chrono stripped down to his trousers, and climbed into bed. Something had been weighing heavily on his mind these past few months. On both their minds. He could tell Rosette was thinking about it too.
She would die soon. And when she died, he would die as well. And Chrono, who had lived for hundreds upon hundreds of years, did not think that he was quite ready to rejoin the Astral Line. The warm form beside him shifted restlessly, and he curled up around Rosette, stroking a hand over her loose hair.
She mumbled softly and pressed further into his warmth. Chrono felt his heart squeeze in agony. He loved her. But for all his love, he could not show her how much he loved her. He was trapped. Trapped in the body of a 15 year old boy; and to a woman of 19 his form was woefully inadequate.
Chrono cursed softly, and buried his nose in her strawberry blonde hair. She sighed softly, and raised one hand behind her head to stroke his pointed ears. Apparently she was having trouble sleeping too.
"Chrono…" He smiled and kissed the nape of her neck. "Sorry, did I wake you?" She turned in his arms, and rested her head just beneath his chin. "No…I couldn't sleep." Chrono waited for tonight's revelation.
It had been like this, ever since they started sharing a bed. They both wanted, both needed the contact, the reassurance that the other was still there. There was nothing more physical than a few loving kisses, or soft caresses, but what they lacked in activity Rosette made up for in soul-searching. And as Chrono was bound to her, he too participated in this nightly ritual.
Sometimes he would say nothing, merely holding her as she cried or vented or spoke of better days, and sometimes he would tell her of the mistakes he wished he had never made, or the lives he regretted taking.
Tonight, it seemed Rosette was in a rather melancholy mood. It disturbed Chrono, not because she was sad and scared, but because it was becoming the norm rather than the exception. For weeks her laughter had been forced, and her eyes did not sparkle the way they used to.
He was killing her. His very existence was killing her and he hated it.
"Chrono…I don't want to die." Chrono felt his heart squeeze in his chest. It was his fault. He stroked her hair, trying not to succumb to the tears he knew were lurking beneath the surface.
"It was so easy to laugh it off…to pretend that my time would never come. I thought it would be worth it if I could just have my little brother back….but…but…" She sobbed quietly into his chest. "It was all for nothing. He doesn't remember me…" Chrono hugged her tightly as she wept for the futility of it all.
"If you hadn't been there…my time would have been wasted." She blinked away tears and looked up into his eyes. "At least…I spent it with you." Chrono smiled softly and kissed her tears away. "Don't talk like that Rosette, we've got a little more time. Let's just focus on making it the best time of our lives." She smiled wanly, that little forced smile that made him hate himself.
"You're right Chrono. You usually are huh?" He nodded and chastely kissed her forehead.
Time. All they needed was a little more time. Chrono furrowed his brow. He couldn't think of anything that could give Rosette back her time.
Time.
Chrono's eyes snapped wide open. He knew what he could do. He could save them both.
Chrono waited until Rosette was well and truly asleep before slipping out of bed, and re-dressing. He scribbled a note to Rosette, and left it on the table. He slipped out through the window, not wanting to chance waking her with the squeaky door.
His only hope….his prayer was that his idea was not so far-fetched that God would laugh in their faces. Much as the demon hated to admit it, he needed God's cooperation for this one.
Rosette awoke to a cold bed, and birdsong. Dawn was filtering in through the window lit up the scrap of fluttering paper on the kitchen table. Tugging the blankets around her shoulders she shakily made her way over, picking up the scrap of paper.
It was Chrono's handwriting.
Rosette,
Sorry I had to leave so early this morning,
but there is something important I have to do.
No, it couldn't wait.
I should be back this evening. I love you.
-Chrno