#oucchhh

"I ain't here to talk 'bout my feelin's, alrigh'?" Daryl growled at you, starting to turn away.

Heat flared high in your cheeks and the burn matched the flicker of anger that was growing hot between your lungs. "No, of course not!" you snapped back. "You never want to talk about anything deeper than a puddle! What are you so afraid of, Daryl?! Everytime I think we're starting to get close you push me away!"

He turned around and you could see the muscle tensing in his jaw as he ground his teeth together, but he stayed silent.

You sighed and crossed your arms over your chest like armor. You shook your head. "I'm not going to wait around forever for you to figure out... whatever it is you're trying to figure out."

"I didn't fuckin' ask you to," he growled back. He saw you flinch at his words and he immediately regretted it. The remorse welled up between his lungs like a bubble and pushed outward in his chest. "Y/N—I—"

"Forget it," you said, withdrawing.

Me : *taps head with finger*

Headache : *doesn't immediately magically disappear*

Me : Welp, that was everything. Time to pull out the big guns !

Me :

How could this come to be? A mer that had once inspired fear and devestation had found his way so deeply into her heart that upon his death bed, she found it aching.

She had not expected to be present, nor for it to be so peaceful. He was lucky to have had prior warning- old age, after all, only led to one thing.

His chambers were lively, and she had feeling that even in the face of the inevitable, he was fighting. That was good. He hadn’t lost his sense of self.

Ella sat dutifully beside him, assuring that his last moments were only of peace. She held his hands and regaled him with tales of Aldmeri heroism, promising him that he would end up feasting with Auri'el. Every so often she sang or hummed.

It covered her tear inducing gasps well.

The time came and she held his hand through the passing, read the emotions upon his face as he departed the world. One by one they flitted and faded, until only a crooked smile graced his lips and he closed his eyes.

She waited a moment, and squeezed his hand. It was already cooling.