Sollux tossed and turned in his bed.
"A-Aradia!" he clenched his eyes as he bared his teeth in anguish.
"Aradia! I'm sorry!" mustard colored tears trailed down his pale grey cheeks.
He was having the dreams again. He's been having them constantly for the past 2 weeks. The blast, the noise, all the rubble, and he dark crimson blood, HER blood staining the surrounding area. He remembered it all so vividly. It was his doing after all. Well, not really, but he still blamed himself for not stopping Vriska.
"Aradia, please come back!" he cried.
A ghostly figure recreated on his bed, beside his pillow. A woman with long black hair and large, spiraling horns. "Sollux. Sollux wake up." her red robe flowed around her, and settled on the bed and floor.
He slowly opened his eyes, tears stinging them.
Aradia smiled down at him, smiling and stroking his hair. "How are you, love?"
He sprung up and hugged her tightly. "Aradia! It's you! It's really you!" he smiled as he cried happily.
In return, Aradia smiled sadly. "Not quite. I'm only ere for a limited time." she hugged him soothingly. "But it's okay."
Sollux wept. "You're leaving again? Thaw not okay at all!"
Aradia sighed. "Sollux, things happen. Everyone is destined to die at some point, and mine just happened to come early."
"But you weren't supposed to die! I wasn't supposed to kill you!"
"Sollux, you didn't kill me. I don't want you to think that way. Vriska didn't kill me either, so I don't want you blaming her for anything, alright?" she said motherly.
"But-"
"No buts, Sollux. I want you to be happy. Stop thinking about the past and live in the present, and live for the future." she smiled at him. "Can you do that for me, Sollux? Can you live life with a smile?"
Tears continued to fall down his cheeks as he cracked a smile.
Red tears soon followed as Aradia laughed. "I love it when you smile. One of a kind, just like you." she kisses the bridge of his nose.
Sollux quietens. "I don't know if I can live without you, Aradia."
She smiles and kisses his tears away. "You'll do fine, Sollux. You're strong. You don't need someone like me holding you back."
"You never held me back!"
"Probably not, but I felt I did. Now, I'll always be here to help, without being in the way."
Sollux started to sob again. "But I want you in the way! I want you to 'hold me back'! Please! Just-just stay with me. Please." He started to shake, and Aradia hugged him and held him close.
"You know I can't do that. Not right now at least. But soon, we'll be able to be together. Until then, please live life to its fullest. I'll be here looking over you. You won't see me, but I'll be here."
Sollux cries on her shoulder and locks lips with her, kissing her sweetly. "I love you."
Aradia returns the kiss and adds a kiss on the cheek. "I love you too. Soon, love." She kisses him one more time, and she disappears in a red fog.
"Thanks...AA." Sollux smiles, and with one last sob, he falls into a deep sleep. The first one in weeks.
