Title: hold me one last time
Category: Cartoons » Winx Club
Author: Cahaya Sidur
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T
Genre: Tragedy
Published: 28-07-18
Words: 3,885


Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club.


AN: This one-shot might feel a little bit rushed - I had focused on some parts, while other parts I merely used to bridge the story, and perhaps not very well. Furthermore, since I had so many Ads dancing around in my head and created many headcanons for Helia, some of them leaked into here and therefore might not make much sense to any viewers.

I felt compelled to write a Flora/Helia story on this fanfiction after so many of my other pairings, so here this is. As this is not my best work, I'm taking it as a sign that maybe it'd be best if I stick to other pairings. Note, I have not watched season 7 of Winx Club, so that will rarely be considered canon in this collection of AUs.


When Helia's vision starts getting foggy and his hearing slightly muffled, he thinks little of it. When the migraines starts coming in hard and fast with little to no relief found in painkillers, he ignores it in favour of late-night studying. It is near exam season, after all, and he chalks up the symptoms to stress.

When he nearly collapses in the shower and spends over two hours sitting and rocking there, he makes a note to go to the doctor.

He only does so when he blanks out for the better part of a day, blacking out during breakfast and blinking into consciousness when he is sat in tactical training, his last class of the day. It is alarming, to say the least, but he doesn't tell anyone about it. Everyone is stressed out with the upcoming exams, teachers and students alike, and he's not going to bother them if it turns out to be some minor ailment.

To his alarm, the doctor's diagnosis is more serious than expected.

"So, migraines, blurred vision and hearing and near collapse." The doctor sums up. "Is there anything else?"

"I've blanked out before." Helia admits.

The doctor raises an eyebrow as she types this in. "When did this happen and for how long?"

"Several hours." Helia says. "About a day ago. I blanked out completely at breakfast, and then when I came to, I was in the last class of the day."

The doctor leans back in her chair, looking at her desktop with a troubled expression. "I'll be honest, that does not sound good." She remains silent for several minutes, quietly contemplating the symptoms. "Does your family have any past illnesses that I should be aware of? Cancer, Alzheimer's, anything at all?"

Helia frowns thoughtfully. "I think my aunt suffered from some sort of disease, but it wasn't anything like what I'm experiencing, from what I remember."

After another few minutes of contemplation, the doctor straightens up and Helia leans forward in anticipation. "I want to recommend you to a friend of mine. She'll help you run some tests. Make sure everything is alright. I don't want to cause an unnecessary panic."

Helia nods. "I understand."

"I'll schedule the tests as soon as possible. You're a student at Linphea College?"

Helia nods again.

"Then I assume your exams are coming up?"

"In a couple of weeks, yes."

"I'll see if I can get the tests done during weekends. If you're amendable?"

"Yes." Helia says.

The doctor nods, makes a note on her screen, and that is the end of the conversation.


"Hello?"

"Hi, Flora."

"Hi Helia! What's wrong?"

"Listen...our date next week...I might have to cancel on you."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"It's just...something personal's just come up. It's probably nothing, but I need to make sure it's nothing. I...don't want to tell you anything for now. If it's nothing, then I'll have made you panic over. Well. Nothing. So after next week I'll be able to see."

"If it's nothing?"

"Yes. Don't laugh at me."

"I'm sorry! You're just adorable like that."

"I'll have you know I'm a supposedly feared warrior studying at Linphea College."

"Why do I feel like the supposedly is the emphasised term here?"

"Well. I need to get going now. I'm sorry, Flora. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Don't worry. I'll just go out with the girls over with the weekend. Promise me you'll tell me if anything comes up?"

"You'll be one of the first people I tell."

"Okay then. Bye, Helia! Love you."

"Love you too, Flora."


Helia wakes up on the hospital bed, rubbing a hand to his head. He's feeling slightly disoriented and a little drowsy, but otherwise, he's doing relatively well. The tests had been crammed into an intensive consecutive five-hour test in order to ensure he got the minimum amount of rest he needed before he continued the tests tomorrow. But it was still rather straining on him.

"How are you feeling?" Doctor Peira asks him.

"I'm fine." Helia tries for a smile, but it's clearly still shaky.

Doctor Peira's smile turns a little more sympathetic. "The feeling will generally go away after a few hours." She hands him a juice box. "To keep your blood sugar high. A nurse will be here soon to make sure everything's going fine. Then it's a quick shower and off to bed with you."

Helia smiles and nods thankfully, sipping at the juice. "Thank you."

Peira pats his shoulder. "Try to relax for now. The worst is over. Tomorrow's test are more evenly spread out, so we won't have to sedate you for quite as long."


"Hello, grandfather."

Saladin's expression smooths into a genuine smile as he catches sight of his grandson, and he beckons the young man in. He waves his staff, causing most of the clutter on his desk to neatly sweep to the side table that was there for that explicit purpose. "Ooh. Roasted duck. I haven't had this since…"

"Earth." Helia nods knowingly. "I talked to Bloom, and she recommended me to a shop back in Gardenia. Apparently, the shop's owners are originally from China."

"How fortunate." Saladin smiles and sits down, gesturing for his grandson to do the same. He opens the first packet offered to him and hums as the steam wafts up to his face. "Now that smells truly divine."

Helia laughs. "One would generally expect the Headmaster of Red Fountain to be able to go down to Earth himself to get duck whenever he can."

"One wouldn't expect the Headmaster of Red Fountain to have little to no time on his hands because of all the thick-headed boys who insist on making my life difficult." Saladin retorts. "Now, knowing you, there's some bad news."

Helia nods solemnly, putting down the fork and knife. "Well. Remember when I told you of the migraines I was getting?"

"Yes. You went to the doctor's, but you never got back to me."

Helia nods slowly. "The doctor recommended me to a doctor at the hospital, because she thinks it might be a little more than that."

"What do you mean?" Saladin asks, also putting his eating utensils down.

Helia breathes in deeply, as if preparing himself. "Do you remember Auntie Lorraine and her disease?"

"Helia. Don't tell me you have it."

His grandson, to his horror, doesn't deny it. "It's more like a…mutated version? It's not exactly the same, so the symptoms were different and I didn't realise it earlier."

"What happens now?" Saladin demands, clearly overwhelmed with worry.

"I go back to the hospital. Now that they know what to look for, they're going to see at what stage the illness is."

Saladin exhales slowly. "Alright. If you need anything at all…"

"I know, grandfather." Helia smiles at his grandfather, a little pale himself but otherwise accepting of the situation. "So, how's the roast duck?"


Flora is holding his hand as they sit in the waiting room, with the soft background noise of the news gently drifting through the hallways.

"I'm sorry." Helia smiles at his girlfriend. "I know that this isn't exactly what we had in mind for a make-up date."

Flora's expression turns chiding. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm happy to be here with you, you know that." Her expression changes into a more worried one. "I hope nothing's horribly wrong."

"Me too." Helia squeezes her hand, shooting her a smile that is more confident than he feels.

Dr Peira appears, walking down the hallway with a stack of folders under her arm. She is dressed in hospital scrubs, and looks quite serious. Helia and Flora unconsciously tense at her expression.

"Dr Peira." Helia greets. He nods at his girlfriend. "This is Flora."

Dr Peira manages a terse smile. "It's a pleasure."

"Likewise." Flora smiles back, though her eyes remain clouded with worry.

"What are the results?"

Dr Peira hands him a file. "Not good. I wish there was a way I could sugar coat it, but the main of it is that you've already reached the later stages."

Helia looks at the words on the page, none of it really processing in his mind. Flora leans on his shoulder, brow furrowed as she also tries to interpret the medical terminology.

"So what happens now?"

Dr Peira hesitates. "Well. There is an experimental surgery." She begins hesitantly, clearly reluctant to say it. "And, as your doctor, I have an obligation to tell you about it."

"You don't recommend it." Helia notes.

"No, I don't." Dr Peira says. "To be frank, it's extremely experimental, with about a 47% success rate in previous patients. To be honest, we also have to take into consideration that other cases would be variations of the same illness, so the results would definitely vary."

"And?" Helia asks. "If I decide to go through this surgery?"

Dr Peira sighs, almost as if she's been expecting this. "The surgery would compose of five operations. The first and fourth ones are the most important ones - if anything goes wrong with them, it could be the end of it all."

"But if they succeed?" Flora asks, ever the optimist.

"Then there is a good chance you'll recover." Dr Peira tells Helia. "Most of our patients generally don't make it past the third surgery."

Helia frowns. "I thought you said the first and fourth are the most important ones."

"Yes. But the third is one of the more dangerous ones. It's extremely delicate, and requires quite a bit of finesse. The first and fourth are instrumental in removing the illness itself - the tumour, in this case - but the third is almost reconstructing the vessels so that everything is ready for the fourth operation.

"I have to warn you though, the operation is incredibly taxing on our patients, and incredibly expensive." Dr Peira warns.

"If I don't go through this surgery, how long will I have?"

"At best? 12 to 18 months."

Helia looks at his girlfriend, who exchanges a concerned look with him. He then glances back at Dr Peira. "Do you mind if I go back and talk with my grandfather about this?"

"Of course." Dr Peria says, smiling softly. "I understand. Just…while I do not want you to go through with this operation, it's important that you make a decision soon. I was told your exam season is coming soon, and if you want to take your exams, we will need to coordinate to ensure you have the proper recuperation time."

"I understand." Helia nods, trying for a smile. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can."


"I don't think you should go through with this operation." Saladin says solemnly, shaking his head. "The risks seem far too high for something like this."

"If the operation works, I'll be cured of this, grandfather." Helia says earnestly. "I won't have to worry about living my life out."

"And if it fails? You will die."

"If I don't go through with this operation, I'll die within 12 to 18 months anyway." Helia says, trying to persuade his grandfather.

"And if I object to this? It's expensive. Would you even be able to afford this?"

Helia nods. "I've calculated. My medical insurance, combined with my parents' life insurance, will allow me to pay for the surgery with enough leftover if it works." His eyes turn sad. "Grandfather, I want to go through with this operation. It's my life. But I don't want the last conversation between us to end with an argument."

"This is not an argument." Saladin objects, but he sighs, and Helia knows that he's won the argument.

"I can arrange a meeting with Dr Peira." Helia offers. "And then you can discuss it."


"I just want you to make sure you're absolutely clear." Dr Peira tells them, expression serious. "If you agree, you will have to sign a document that says you will not hold the hospital accountable if the surgery fails."

"I'm fine with that." Helia says.

"I would like to run the documents through our family lawyers first, though." Saladin reminds Helia. Helia nods.

Dr Peira also nods. "Just be warned, they need to be returned two weeks before the scheduled first operation." She fixes Helia with a serious look. "Helia, you can still live this 12 to 18 months. The effects can be manageable with painkillers and other drugs-"

"I don't like the use of them." Helia says firmly. "I don't want to use drugs."

"If goes wrong during the surgery, you die. If anything goes wrong in the operation, you die. Painfully. If anything goes wrong on the operating table, you die. You could still save this year or so."

"I'm sure." Helia says.

Dr Peira sighs and hands over a sheaf of documents. "Sadly, I thought you'd say that. There are documents you need to hand in two weeks before the first date. Now, I will need a copy of your exams so that we can coordinate. Some of Linphea College's exams prohibit the use of drugs that we might need to use, so we will have to make sure the drugs are fully out."

Helia shakes his head. "We won't get our exam schedules until a week or so later."

"I will see if I can get a copy." Saladin says. "Icarus is an old friend, and I'm sure he will be happy to when he knows it's to do with a medical issue. Linphea College always cares about its students."

"Forward it to this address." Dr Peira scribbles down an email address on the documents. "I will arrange a meeting with either Helia or the both of you to further discuss any details."

"Thank you."


"Have you told them yet?" Flora asks from where she is leaning against Helia.

Helia sighs and shakes his head. "Exam season is coming soon, Flora." He reminds her. "I don't want to stress them unnecessarily."

Flora straightens up, almost indignant in her concern. "Helia, your health is not an unnecessary stress! I'm sure they'd be horrified to know you're going through this alone just because of the exams."

"The exams are important."

"The exams can always be taken again." Flora objects. "I'll take a leave of absence for personal reasons. Stay with you."

"No." Helia says firmly but kindly, holding both of her hands. "Flora, this is still your second year at Alfea as a teacher. You missed your first year's exam season because of the Fairy Animals. Your reputation is on the line."

"My reputation is nothing compared to you." Flora says firmly. "I'll give it up - and I'm sure the others will to - for you."

Helia smiles softly. "I'll be fine, flower. Don't worry about me."

Flora sighs. "I don't want you to be alone."

"I'll contact Riven." Helia suggests. "Last I heard, he was thinking about coming back for a short while. I'll see if he's free to accompany me, not that I need an escort."

But Flora is already nodding at the idea. "I'll talk to Musa, see if she can also get in contact with Riven."

Helia laughs at his girlfriend's overprotectiveness and wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. Flora closes her eyes and returns the hug, hoping that it wasn't the last time they did this.


"I can't believe you only told me now. I had to cancel so many things." Riven scowls as he marches alongside Helia to the hospital.

Helia rolls his eyes, knowing the fondness that Riven has for his friends. If Riven truly didn't care, then he wouldn't have bothered to come or cancel his other reservations on the other dimensions. "Thanks for coming, Riven."

"You're welcome."

"I'm grateful."

"You better remember that." Riven shoots him an uncertain look. "You better not die on me, poet-man. Or I'll find you and kill you myself."

Helia grins, and some of his nervousness fades away.


After his second operation, Helia wakes up feeling slightly disoriented. Despite the fact that the second one wasn't as complicated as the other surgeries, it was one of the longest operations.

"How are you feeling?" Flora asks, instantly at his bedside. Riven is skulking in the background, but his gaze is also fixed on Helia.

"Just a little dizzy." Helia smiles, straightening up. "The others finished their exams, right? How'd it go?"

Flora smiles, laughing a little. "Well, Brandon was monologuing to Stella about how tough it was. But it sounds like it went fine."


Due to some of the surgeons' surprisingly hectic schedules - including Dr Peira - Helia's exams had to be moved up. Thankfully, the legitimate medical issue was more than enough to convince the Linphea College Board to push some of his exams early.

Of course, it meant that Helia basically had to remain in quarantine until the exams were also over for his friends, but considering he spent most of his time in hospital alone recuperating, it wasn't exactly a problem.

"We'll need to compare answers later." Helia says quietly.

Riven snorts. "More like, they'll pester you and Timmy until they freak themselves out."

"You don't have to take exams." Helia notes. "Until you do, you can't judge."

Riven shrugs. "You guys should've done the same thing."

"Unfortunately," Helia rolls his eyes, "my grandfather is a headmaster. So that's not necessarily an option."

"Just saying." Riven says. "I mean, you don't exactly have a lot of time-"

"Riven!" Flora scolds.

"He's right, flower." Helia says quietly, placing a hand on hers.

"So," Riven continues, "it's best to make the most of your life now."


"Hi Helia." Saladin smiles fondly as he runs a hand through his grandson's hair. "How are you doing now?"

"I'm doing fine." Helia blinks slowly, lethargically. "Sorry, the drugs are doing their job really well."

Saladin chuckles. "Well, Codatorta and the other teachers send their regards and wish you a fast recovery."

"Tell them thanks." Helia smiles drowsily.

Saladin gently pushes Helia's hair out of his face. "Go to sleep, Helia." He tells his grandson. "I'll be here when you wake."


"So, Flora." Helia says, looking surprisingly serious. Flora blinks and sits straight, suddenly paying attention. "I've been thinking."

"Okay." Flora says slowly.

"Riven had a point." Helia admits. "When he said that I didn't have much time left, and that I should use it to the fullest."

Flora nods slowly.

"The first four operations went well," the reminder makes Flora smile in relief at how lucky they had been when Helia emerged well from the operating room, "and I just have one last one next week."

"Yes."

"And I know that marriage isn't exactly on our minds yet," Helia says, causing Flora to blush but nod slowly, clearly in agreement, "so I was thinking: why don't we go backpacking together?"

"Backpacking?" Flora blinks. This wasn't what she had expected.

"Yeah." Helia nods. "Just you and me. We can go around wherever we want, and just…experience the world at it's best." His smile turns shy. "And then if you still want to be with me, then…maybe marriage would be on the table?"

Flora's smile is blindingly bright as she launches herself forward and hugs her boyfriend. "Absolutely." She leans back, smile still on her face. "Anywhere in mind?"

"Maybe Earth?" Helia asks. "If you're up for it, I mean." He looks down, fiddling with the sheets. "My grandmother was buried there, and I never got to visit her grave. So…"

Flora takes his hand and laces her fingers with his. "I'd love to."

Helia looks up with that brilliant smile as he pulls Flora forward into a hug.

Flora smiles into the hug, letting herself relax. It had been a couple of tense weeks, and now with the worst of the operations over, it was nice to finally be able to think about a future without the illness looming in sight. They still had yet to tell the others, but Helia had agreed to tell them when the exam season was over. As it was the boys' final year, it was important they did well.

The fairy of flowers's smile grows wider as she thinks about future days, of her and Helia, alone, backpacking through anywhere they wanted to go. Anywhere with just them and no one else, and…

And it sounded fantastic. Like a dream come true.

But, of course, this was real life. And dreams often came shattering down on us.


Saladin's aged form was a surprise at where the girls were with the boys, celebrating after the boys' last exams. He appeared even wearier than usual, grief clinging to him like a dark cloak as he staggered forward; his staff seemed to be the only thing keeping him upwards. Riven was trailing behind him, looking equally glum.

"Saladin?" Flora asks, smile sliding off her face. "What's wrong?" Helia's fifth and final operation had been earlier that day, and she had been planning to go and visit him.

"The operation didn't go well." Saladin says, voice thick with sadness. "Something went wrong on the operating table, and he…" he doesn't have to finish his sentence, eyes closed tight as it was.

Flora let out a quiet wail as she nearly collapses, only held up by her alarmed friends.

"What operation?" Sky demands, bewildered beyond belief. It was clear that Flora knew what Saladin was talking about, and Riven's presence also said that he knew what was going on. "Why did Helia need an operation?"

"Was that why his exams were at different times?" Timmy asks, but it goes unheeded at the tears streaming down Flora's face.

"He promised." Flora murmurs, almost as if speaking to someone yet at the same time to no one at all. She looks up at Riven, the only one who knew, and her voice drops to a whisper. "He said…he promised we'd go to Earth. We'd…backpack. And his grandmother's grave…and." She doesn't get further than that before she presses her lips shut, one hand reaching out to cover her mouth as the tears continue to stream down her cheek.

"Dr. Peira said we could go and see him anytime we wanted." Saladin says quietly.

Riven, finally, speaks up. "You two go. I'll explain everything."

Flora only nods as she straightens up and stumbles off, where Saladin grasps her arms and opens a portal. They both step through and disappear.


"I wish nothing more than to hate you." Saladin murmurs to the doctor next to him. "But I can't."

"Trust me," Dr Peira says quietly, grief audible in her voice too, "I wish you did."

Saladin looks down. "But I can't. But I won't." He repeats. He looks at Dr Peira and places a hand on her shoulder, seeing her red-rimmed eyes and white knuckles from clutching the folders too hard. "Because you gave him hope, Dr Peira." His smile is fragile but genuine. "You gave him hope, for however short that was, for the future. And that is something I will never be able to thank you enough."

Dr Peira says nothing, but looks through the glass window to where Flora is hunched over the table holding her beloved's body. A slow gentle smile spreads across Peira's face. It is nowhere near a real smile, but it is getting there.

And maybe, for now, that was enough.