It starts with a moment.
A single, terrifying moment in which time stops.
For a split second you wonder why they decided to do what they did. Because at that moment, that single, unstoppable moment in time, you don't know if you want this to happen. For a horrifying, eye widening moment you aren't sure whether or not you want to cry, and even then you aren't sure if you're even brave enough to cry.
He had tried so hard. He was trying to stop time. He promised he'd keep her safe.
His world was looking up at him with large, scared blue eyes.
But no matter how hard he tried, time kept moving on.
With a fowl crack the clock broke, ringing sounds echoing about the cavernous tower. He reached out, wishing for just one more miracle, because that's all it would take. A miracle.
But his world broke in his arms.
He didn't know what to do.
But then, suddenly you find yourself breathing again as time continues in it's ever forward moving motion that won't slow down what just happened at all.
As you wonder, with wide eyes and a fast beating heart why, why, why it had to be this way, it suddenly makes so much sense that you know that it will never, ever be the same.
It starts with a moment.
He looked him in the eyes. Straight in the eyes, just the way he would at the bar, or even in the hallway. He had been the only person to look him in the eye and treat him like a normal person. A human, a real human. He could see the dread, the regret, the dedication rippling throughout the other man's golden irises.
He tried to stop him, he really, really did.
But he didn't make it in time. He was always to fast for him, anyway.
With a sharp crack he could hear air envelop in on itself, and the other man was gone. When he turned around, he froze.
He was still looking him in the eyes. But now, he saw pain. And sorrow. He says something, but he can't hear it. All he can think about is the hunk of metal protruding from his chest, and the look of shock on everyone else's face.
He falls.
He lunges forward just in time, and he says on last thing.
"It's alright, elf. You were the bravest man I knew."
In that moment so many things happen that you don't have time to contemplate the decision they just made, one final, fatal decision. In that moment, you find yourself nearly ripping out your hair and shouting and fighting time all at once, but for some reason; you can't beat it.
It goes on to their decision.
He knew that she had known how dangerous it was.
He'd warned her.
He remembered the feeling, the empty fluttering in his chest as she waved through the view port. He'd waved back, that smug smile on his face, even though he knew his eyes were sad. He could see hers too, even with her black hair waving in her face, the pinkish ends casting a red light on the window.
He could see her now, floating in the empty void of space. She looked so beautiful. He came closer, looking into her golden eyes as they stared listlessly at the stars all around them.
"Come on girl." He said quietly. "I haven't even taught you how to dance."
In a split, unexplainable second, their eyes meet yours, and they make it so perfectly clear that what they are going to do, they are doing for a reason. Their eyes say so many other things, and all at once you're confused, and doubtful and you absoloutely hate them and miss them already, all at the same time. A sinking feeling you can't explain dawns upon you as you can't seem to comprehend why.
It takes time for the action.
He pushed them through at the last second. He could see the terrified look in her eyes, the look of regret in his. He could feel sadness in his own. He held up a hand to wave goodbye, letting his eyes tear up. But, they soon evaporated as the world around him heated up and he started to rise a few feet of the ground.
He'd told him it was okay to be afraid. It meant that he was, in fact, brave. He had been like a father to him.
He turned around, glancing back shortly and letting out a small, nervous smile.
He was going to do it for them, he told himself as he flew into the swarm.
With a sudden feeling, he flickered.
He was afraid, he realized.
That was okay.
It's a short, subtle period of time in which you realize that you can't explain again, and as they fall, you feel a bit shocked. You feel like something has been ripped forcefully away from you, and you've been left behind in the aftermath.
For the first time in what feels like forever, you feel alone.
It goes on to shock.
The girl held onto his hand, shaking her head.
"But, we were... we were going to get married. You can't- leave now!"
He smiles, the same smile he would have when they were together on the roof. He grips her hand too, tears forming in his yellow eyes.
"I know, I am so, so, sorry..."
His chest heaves and his eyes fly wide. He looks at her, rain dampening his curly hair and making the fur on his face grow heavy.
"Forgive me."
You can't believe it.
Milliseconds turn into minutes as you scream for them, plead for them, will them to come back, just come back so you can say one last thing. You feel so alone, so entirely left behind; as if something has been torn from your life and your heart and you could do nothing, absoloutly nothing to stop it.
It goes on to the emptiness.
She can feel a lump in her throat as she looks at him. He wasn't wearing his mask.
"Call an ambulance! Please, someone call an ambulance!" She screams at the crowd, but no one moves.
"Please!" She feels the other girl's hand on her shoulder, her blonde hair turning gold in the light of the fire.
She shakes her head.
"I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's alright." He says.
But then suddenly he stifles a gasp and falls limp on her arms.
A feeling of dread settles in your stomach as a lump forms in your throat. Are you really brave enough to cry? No, not really. Not after all of this. You can feel your eyes grow moist and a quiet gasp escape as all you can do is look on. You're exactly the same, even three days later.
It moves on to the legend.
There are stories. Wonderful, great ballads. You know they don't even scrape the surface of who they really were. There are tales of how they saved lives, started and ended wars, even the darkest age of the century. And all of that, because they left. One story made everything black. One story started a war. One story ended it. And the last ones, well, they were never forgotten. None of them were.
The man sits in his wheelchair, the children gathered around.
"He was a brave man. He saved so many lives."
He looks at her, in the corner.
"It's time." He says, and she stands to come to the group.
She'd chosen to forget.
It starts with a moment.
A single, terrifying moment that you can't comprehend. Because for the first time in forever, you feel alone. You can feel an empty presence. You feel overwhelmed, anguished, sad. Sad in a way, ever though they were a hero. Even if only in a small way.
This is your farewell.
"Hey, hey, hey, Gwen... Gwen. Please!"
"I know, Logan. I know."
"Please, Gamora."
"Sorry Sue, I'll miss you."
"Kurt! Please! Not now... I didn't get to tell you about the baby yet..."
"I love you, Peter."
"Professor?"
"Yes?"
"I'm not sure."
And it ends, with one moment, one vibration in the air.
Goodbye.