A/N: This is what you get when a girl in high school suddenly finds that her favorite new math teacher is being switched ut of her schedule and she might have the "she-devil" of the school for a replacement. Short, stupid, and with no good ending. Bright side is, I might try my hand at smut again soon. Let ye who care be on alert.
Collins let out a long breath and rocked forward slowly, finally resting his forehead against the blanket that covered Angel's hip. It was a cheap hospital blanket, light blue and with the texture of tissue paper. But tonight, it felt as soft and thick as a feather pillow. His head ached with fatigue, the pain concentrated in two round knots behind his eyes. His skin felt dry and when he held out his hands, they shook. Collins had been up for three nights straight. But that wasn't why he was so ragged.
Angel stirred slightly. Her eyes roved restlessly back and forth beneath her lids, and her fingers twitched. Collins closed his eyes and pressed his forehead a little harder into her hip. It felt sharper than normal beneath the blanket, bony and thin. Angel had lost weight the last few months, a symptom of PCP that might have been the hardest to watch. Her slender body had become wasted, bones and tendons showing in places they shouldn't. One night, when she'd lain sleeping beside him, he'd gently lifted her shirt and counted the ribs that so clearly showed through the skin. When he'd finished counting them, he'd kissed each one and buried his face in her stomach, where there were no bones to stick out and remind him that she was wasting away.
Collins heard a quiet moan and looked up quickly. Angel was stirring again, only this time her eyes were blinking open. Collins hurriedly got out of his chair and stood beside her as she slowly emerged from sleep. It took her longer to wake up these days: a combination of weakness and meds. For a moment, her eyes were glazed as she squinted at him. Then they cleared and her mouth stretched into a small smile. He returned it and ran his fingers over the side of her face, trailing them down her jaw and tracing her lips. Angel let him do so, then turned her head and kissed his fingertips.
"Did you get any sleep?" she asked hoarsely, her eyes becoming half-lidded as she focused her energy on talking. Her breathing was shallow and forced, the pneumonia in her lungs making it harder for her to draw breath. Collins shrugged and gently pushed her backwards, making room for himself on the bed.
"You did, which is what's important," he told her, carefully lying down beside her. Angel sighed and let him wrap his arms around her waist, cradling her body in the dip between his body and the mattress. She rested her head against his chest and blinked, her eyelashes butterfly-kissing the skin at his collarbone. Collins kissed the top of her head and tightened his hold. Sometimes it was hard to love someone so much. Sometimes it hurt a lot worse than having no love at all.
"You can't not sleep," Angel whispered. Collins let her fall away from him so that they could be face to face. He saw a glitter of something in her eyes, though it wasn't clear what. With one hand, he pushed her pajama shirt aside and caressed her waist. Angel's breathing quickened, her chest tightening as her lungs fought against the pleasure from his touch.
"I'm fine. Baby, you're the one who needs to sleep, you know that," he said softly, kissing her forehead. With some effort, Angel reached up and laid her hand against the back of his neck, keeping his face close to hers. Up close, he could see the bruised shadows under her eyes and the grayish tint to her skin; yet her eyes still shone.
Collins didn't pull away. After a moment, he lowered his head and nuzzled her neck, pressing his lips to the underside of her jaw. Angel closed her eyes and tangled her fingers in the hair at the base of his neck. Collins felt her fingertips pull at his hair and suddenly wanted to cry. He squashed the urge with everything he had, but every moment that her soft skin was all around his face, he found it harder and harder. Finally, with no option left to him, he pulled away slowly. Angel kept her hand in his hair, smiling faintly up at him with the air of someone who is happy despite any circumstances. It was heart-braking, and yet Collins felt his heart beating so strongly at the same time.
Without waiting for her to say anything, he leaned down and kissed her. Angel's lips felt thinner than he remembered, and they were cool. But before those thoughts could form in his brain, she kissed him back, pulling him towards her. It was sweet, it was terribly sad, it was love.
And it was near the end.