;;;)

So one beautiful night in early summer you both lay in bed, where you spent most of your time, sweetly talking to each other. You reminisced on the life you shared, the memories you made. Your time on this earth, however hard it was, IV was the one who made it worth your while. And now you had a significant request, a last wish of sorts.

"I want this to end on my terms. I don't want to deal with all the pain and crap that comes with dying the long way," you muttered softly as you caressed his cheek, running your thumb across his soft skin. His bright blue eyes looked back at you with understanding.

"Of course, Love, whatever you want. I'll do whatever I gotta to make you happy," he replied softly, his hand on your hip squeezing you gently.

"Would you even kill me? If I asked you to fuck me while I die by your hands…would you?" you asked hesitantly. You knew how dedicated he was to you, but this was bigger than anything else he'd ever done for you.

"I would, you know I would, Darlin'. You have spent your whole life dealing with this shit, its only right for you to go how you want to go." IV didn't hesitate, he was absolutely sure of what he was agreeing to do, what you were asking of him. You could tell by the way he pulled you closer, sliding his thigh between your legs to press against your core, he was even excited by the idea.

"Then, that's what I'm asking you." You smiled at him and he smiled back, pressing himself against you as he kissed your forehead.

"Then that's what I'll do."

~

IV held open the book "A Taste For Poison" by Neil Bradbury to the page he had bookmarked. He looked over the entry he needed, his calloused fingers tracing over the words:

ATROPINE

Route of entry: Usually ingestion

Lethal Dose: In excess of 50 mg

Target: Neurotoxin, blocks normal synaptic transmission by blocking acetylcholine receptor

Symptoms: Extreme dryness of the mouth, slurred speech, hallucinations, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, delirium, urinary retention, rapid heart rate, respiratory paralysis

Antidote: None specific, though physostigmine may be used to counteract some effects.

Beautiful thing about Atropine: It was used frequently in end of life care, along with Morphine. His eyes went from the book to the small box on the dresser. Ever since you had asked him to help you he'd been preparing. Carefully he opened the lid of the box to reveal several glass vials. With the development in your diagnosis he had good reason to get the medications without raising suspicions. He took one of the bottles in his hand, watching the liquid move as he rolled the vial between his fingers. He had gotten quite good at this, dealing with the medical stuff, acquiring things for you that the doctors wouldn't. He didn't really care for the ways they limited your relief. Was it wrong? Maybe. IV didn't care much. He had promised when you had originally gotten diagnosed that he would do whatever you needed, he would never leave you. He couldn't. You were all he knew. Since the day you met he'd loved you.

He remembered that day clearly. It had been raining for weeks, but that day it stopped. He had gone out to play, football in hand, to meet some of the other boys to kick around. And there you were, your family moving into the house across the way. You were standing in the front on the grass, enjoying the little bit of sunshine, when you saw him. You had waved. He had waved back, walking over to introduce himself. From that day on it had just been the two of you. Playing after school, sharing music and tips on how to sneak out for parties, studying for tests together. His whole life had revolved around you since the beginning.

And it would continue to do so until the very end.

He would make sure of it.

~

The warm summer winds blew through the open windows, the sun had just set and the house was quiet. You lay in your bed watching while IV put everything together. The medicine and liquid syringes were placed carefully on your bedside table, your favorite scented candle was lit. Everything was in its right place. IV was pulling off his shirt, leaving him in just his boxers. You watched with appreciation. If you felt like you could move you would be standing right behind him, exploring his chest with the tips of your fingers. However as things where you would just have to wait. He didn't make you wait long, climbing into bed as soon as he flicked off the overhead light, leaving just the two bedside lamps to bring light to the darkness. He lay beside you, face to face as he rested his head on the pillow.

"How you feeling, Love?" he asked reaching out to caress your cheek gently, a familiar touch. Something warm bloomed in your chest as you looked into his bright blue eyes.

"Ready, happy, safe…stupidly in love," you replied, your voice soft as you held your hand over his and smiled. This was exactly what you wanted. There wasn't any part of you that felt nervous or worried. Given what was supposed to happen next you had thought that some part of you would hesitate at the thought of death. And yet, in that moment, there was nothing. You were ready to die. "What about you?"

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm sad. I'm gonna miss ya like crazy. But I know you need this from me… and I'm also stupidly in love with you," he said with a soft look in his eyes. His thumb traced over your cheekbone, like he had done a million times before. "So it just makes sense y'know. I've never been able to deny you anything else, how could I deny you this."

He made it sound so easy.

Maybe it was.

"I'm ready, Ivy." Your voice was so soft, just barely loud enough for him to hear. He nodded, sitting up to grab the first set of vials and syringes. He drew up a healthy dose of Morphine, a lethal dose of Atropine, and a second dose of Morphine. He set the syringes down on the metal tray, carefully taking the first dose of Morphine in one hand, gently taking your chin in his other, tilting your head back. You lifted your tongue to the roof of your mouth, keeping your jaw relaxed as the liquid filled your mouth. Your eyes met his and he looked back at you like you were the most precious thing to ever exist. He moved his hand, gently guiding your mouth closed and pushed you down onto the mattress. He instantly went for your neck, his lips and teeth feeling heavenly on your skin, making his way down your throat.

"So perfect… so mine," IV muttered, his hands running over your torso, caressing every inch of you. He traced every scar, found every familiar flaw and worshiped it. His mouth pressed to the spot on your neck that made your heart flutter, his tongue lapping at the dip in your skin there. You felt a shiver shoot down your spine. IV carefully began to undress you, the fabric falling from your body as he lifted you from the bed, holding you in his arms, his mouth still navigating the slope of your throat. Your chests pressed so close together you could feel his heart beat.

"How you feeling? Ready for more or…?" he whispered softly against your neck. You huffed softly. It had not been long enough for the Morphine to do a damn thing. IV chuckled at your remark. "Okay yeah stupid question. Lemme get you a little more."

"Not yet, I still want to know you're real. I wanna feel you." You reached up to hold his face, running your thumb over the apex of his cheek. You knew it's counter intuitive; you didn't want to feel your approaching death but you want to feel him, all of him, one last time.

"Okay, Love, let me in. I'll give you what you need," he replied, gently prying your thighs apart, lowering his face between your thighs. You layed back as he pulled your bottoms down, his head resting on your thigh as his lips move along your skin. Your hips rolled up to meet his touch. You let out a low groan as his tongue hit your pussy.

"Oh fuck…," you sighed, threading your fingers through his hair, pulling him closer to you. His mouth pushed through your folds, licking you open, eager to please. His hand moved to spread over your inner thigh, his fingers crawling up to find your clit. He started to gently circle the sensitive bundle of nerves while continuing to curl his tongue against you. You knew that it wasn't going to take much more to push you over the edge and you were sure IV could tell as well from how you were rutting your hips against his face, chasing your high.

"That's it, let go f'me. So sweet…. fuckin' hell, Love." IV's voice rumbles against your fluttering cunt. Your hips bucked up against his face as you ride out your orgasm. After you had a moment to come down, you felt a liquid syringe placed against your lips. You opened your mouth enough for him to push the tip past your tongue, the taste of bitter medicine covering your taste buds. Your eyes fluttered closed. Things were starting to get fuzzy, the world was slightly off center but the best part was that you didn't feel the pain. You just felt him, his hand flat on your mid back supporting you, his fingers tracing shapes on your skin. His lips were on yours, kissing you softly.

"Was that…the second dose of Morphine?" you asked softly when he pulled away from the kiss. IV shook his head, a couple stray tears made their way down his face. Oh…then…this was the beginning of the end. You closed the small distance between the two of you, pressing your lips against his again. You focused on his lips, how soft they were, how they moved in sync with yours. You licked into his mouth and he tasted like the wine you had at dinner, ginger candy, and something uniquely him.

Maybe that was the poison.

"I love you. Y'know that right?" you mumbled against his lips, looking up into his eyes with such adoration and sweetness that IV thought he's got a cavity now. He layed you back down on the bed grabbing the last syringe he had ready. Situating himself between your legs you could feel the bulge in his boxers pressed against your thigh.

"I know, I love you too. I always will," he whispered softly against your ear. His hand found its way to your jaw, gently holding your face steady. Your lips parted before he could even ask, your tongue lifted to allow him access. You hardly noticed how the liquid felt going down your throat as IV reached between your legs again, sliding his thick fingers through your wet folds, his thumb grazing over your clit. You couldn't control yourself anymore, there was no holding back now as you let out a high pitched whine and rolled your hips up to grind against his hand.

"That's….nngh…right there," you whimpered, IV adjusting his position so the heel of his hand was pressed against you, giving you better access to grind against him. Meanwhile his other hand was occupied with pulling off his boxers, letting his thick hard cock hit your thigh.

"You're soaking, Darling. Look at this…" IV pulled his hand away from your cunt, causing you to let out a displeased sound. You tried to focus on what he was showing you, the shine of the slick on his hand, but you just can't quite understand what he's showing you. Your vision has started to vignette, the corners of it getting shadowy and out of focus. You watched mildly befuddled as he raised his hand to his mouth and licked your arousal off of his skin.

"Fuck…you're so fucking hot, Ives," you groaned softly. IV chuckled, grabbing at your hips, lining you up with his cock. He paused for a second, looking you over one last time. It's the last time he'd see you like this. The last time he'd sink into you with a grunt, his cock buried to the hilt inside you. He lingered there, panting between soft loving kisses, his lips moving against yours with familiar grace. He started to move, his hips thrusting forward, slowly. His cock dragged along your tight wet walls, you could feel the head of his cock drag along your cunt. It was exactly what you wanted, what you needed.

"Holy fuck, you're so good, so fucking good for me," IV groaned from above you as he pulled himself almost all the way out just to push back into your weeping cunt. You couldn't hold anything back, your moans echoing through the bedroom, your hand moving over his body, squeezing his thighs and pulling him closer to you.

"Fuck! I'm close. I'm so…ngh! Don't stop please please please don't stop!" you squealed as you felt the heat in your core start to bubble over. You closed your eyes thightly as the pleasure washed over you. IV continued to fuck into you, his head resting on your shoulder, kissing and sucking at your skin.

Your eyes fluttered open, your breath hitching as a shadowy figure loomed above the two of you. It wasn't threatening, you felt no fear looking at it. You gasped at the feeling of IV's cock hitting deep inside of you again. He let out a low growl, like he's almost in pain from how good he felt. You couldn't look away from the formless creature hovering over IV's shoulder. Was this Death? Was this the Grim Reaper come to take your soul?

"Be not afraid, my dear. I'm not here for you," It's voice echoed through your mind. That made you more worried; you were the one who was dying! Shouldn't weird shadow entities be coming for you and not your caring partner?

"Ivy…Ivy…I'm seeing things…hearing stuff too," you whimpered, digging your nails into his back. IV groaned, shifting his body up to press his face against the side of your head.

"Shhhh … I know baby, I know," he whispered, pressing kisses to your cheek and neck. You shuttered beneath his touch. Everything was overwhelming, every tiny touch, every slight movement of the fabric beneath you was like an electric shock to your system. You nearly lost it when IV moved to hover above you, his hand gently caressing the side of your face. His fingers started at the end of your eyebrow and moved down along your cheek, tracing the line of your jaw before resting his thumb against your bottom lip. "It's alright. I've got you."

"The…the shadow…it's here for you…for when I go," you managed to say as you gasped for air. You felt cold, yet comfortable. You reached up to touch IV's face, your finger tips barely able feel him. You felt tears spill over your cheeks. This was it. You watched his eyes roll back in his head as his erratic thrusts came to a stop, letting out a groan of pleasure. You felt his cock throb as he came, his body falling on top of yours. You gasped, his weight knocking the wind out of you.

You never caught your breath.

~

IV held your body in his arms, you were still warm, still soft. He had moved when he felt you go limp beneath him. He layed on his back, holding you to his chest, one arm wrapped around your torso the other wrapped under your knees. He wanted to hold all of you, keep you as close as possible for as long as possible. His face nuzzled into your hair as he sobbed and sniffled, tears streaming down his face.

It was over.

You weren't in pain anymore.

He was so unbelievably relieved, and yet so very devastated. You were everything to him, you are still everything to him. Even as you lay dying in his arms, he loved you with his entire being. He thought of the last thing you said to him, that there was a shadow waiting for him. He didn't know what that meant. He lifted his head to look at you for a minute. You had taken your last breath here, with your head on his chest. He didn't want to move, he just wanted to lay there forever until you had rotted beyond recognition, until someone found the both of you there. He closed his eyes tight.

"They would not want you to die here," an unknown voice spoke, startling him upright, still holding you protectively against his chest. There at the end of the bed loomed a figure made from the absence of light. The void of shadow was shaped sorta like a person, in a way.

"I know, but what else am I supposed to do? They were my whole life! I don't know what to do now," he sobbed. He just lost the most important thing in his life. How would anything compare with what they had? How could he just live without his best friend, his lover? He had dedicated his whole mind, body and soul to taking care of you. He didn't know what else he was supposed to do with his life now that you were gone?

"I will give you purpose, my Fourth. That is why I have come." The figure spoke almost kindly, like it was giving him a gift. IV looked at the shadowy figure suspiciously.

"Your Fourth? What does that mean?" he asked confused, his focus temporarily drawn away from the body in his arms growing colder.

"You have completed the ritual to join me, my Fourth, I am the God known as Sleep. My First and Second will explain everything when you arrive at the manor." The God didn't explain any further than that.

"Okay but what about your Third? You say I'm the Fourth but that skips a number." IV was not sure why this was the most pressing question in this situation. Shouldn't he've been asking what 'joining' meant or where the fuck this manor was? Instead he wanted to know about the Third. This maked Sleep chuckle, like it knew something he didn't.

"My Third also completed the ritual tonight; you will likely arrive together," Sleep answered without hesitation. The God waved a shadowy appendage in a sweeping motion and suddenly all the vials and syringes vanished from sight. "Come now, IV. You must begin your travel. Say goodbye. You will know the way."

And with that the figure was gone. It was just IV and you. Your body was starting to grow cold at this point. He somehow knew he had to listen to the strange being that claimed to be a god. Yet he wasn't really ready to go. He nuzzled his face into your hair one last time. He hugged you tightly before lifting your limp body, getting up and placing you on your side of the bed. He tucked you in under the covers, like you were just sleeping. He got dressed, grabbed a few mementos of his life with you and cleaned the room up a little bit. Finally he turned to look at where you were laying, kneeling beside the bed and taking your cold hand in his.

"I will always love you, Darlin'. We should'a had forever but this life wasn't too kind to you. I just hope where ever you are, you know how much I loved you," he muttered quietly. He pressed one final kiss to your knuckles before he stood up, leaving the only place and the only person he ever called home.

~

Masterlist