stay
Agatha screamed in pain when the bullet hit her chest, grazing her heart.
“Agatha!”
The searing pain of the bullet ripping through Agatha’s chest was unlike anything she could’ve ever imagined. It was almost like a burning hot knife being driven into her body, every nerve screaming in agony. In that moment, time stood still, and all she could focus on was the overwhelming sensation of her life hanging in the balance. Her vision blurred as she hit the ground. Blood filled her mouth, and every breath she tried to take made the pain that much worse. The world around her blurred as she fought to stay conscious.
Rio placed her on the ground and took the bullet out before starting to heal the wound, horror covering every inch of her face. “Stay with me, Agatha!”
Agatha whimpered in pain as she reached for her chest, her fingers getting covered in blood.
“Please, Agatha, stay with me!”
“Always,” Agatha tried to promise, but no sound came out.
“No! No!” Rio screamed as Agatha’s eyes flickered shut. “Fuck!” She focused all her magick to her fingertips, trying as hard as she could to heal the wound. “Come back to me, Agatha! Please!”
She must’ve stood there, crying, for an eternity.
At least, that’s what it felt like.
The wound in Agatha’s heart finally closed, letting Rio close the wound itself.
“Agatha?”
Agatha groaned quietly before turning to Rio, slowly opening her eyes. “Hey, sweetheart,” she managed, her voice hoarse.
Rio chuckled in relief. “Thank goodness, you’re okay!”
Agatha put her hand around Rio’s face, pulling her close so their foreheads met. “Can we go home?”
“Yeah, okay, we’re going.” Rio sighed in relief. “You’re okay.”
She carried Agatha down the tunnel all the way to their cottage, then placed her on the bed.
Agatha kissed Rio. “I knew you’d find me.”
“Thanks to the rose.” Rio put a red tulip behind Agatha’s ear as she sat down next to her.
“I know, you’re smart, no need to remind me.”
Rio chuckled, moving her hand to Agatha’s face to continue healing her nose. “This is broken, you know.”
“Eh, I’ll be fine.” Agatha picked a bullet out of Rio’s shoulder. “You got a little something there.”
“Here too.” Rio picked some out of her chest. “You never told me getting shot by a bunch of guns wasn’t as fun as books you read to me make it sound.”
“Guess I thought it was obvious. I do love reading to you, though.”
Rio sighed, tracing over Agatha’s face. “You’re okay, right? I know about the punches and the… you know, but…”
“No, not a scratch, don’t worry. Well, I mean, yeah, I have a scratch from when they tackled me, but–”
“Let me see.”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine–” Agatha paused when she saw Rio staring daggers at her. “Or I could let you see.” She rolled up her sleeve, revealing her scratch-covered arm. “Oh, wow. It’s so much worse than I remember.”
Rio placed her hand on the wounds, making Agatha flinch.
“You know,” She inhaled sharply as Rio worked on healing it. “Now that the adrenaline’s worn off, it really does hurt.”
“Yeah, looks like it.” Rio summoned a bandage and wrapped the near-healed wounds. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“They were coming after me, and you were just there, and I’m the one who took you out, and–”
“No, don’t do that to yourself. It wasn’t your fault, it was theirs.”
“I’m the reason you were there, and the reason you were outside on the anniversary of your trial–”
“Absolutely not!” Agatha put Rio’s fingers down before interlacing them with her own. “First of all, if they had you, it wouldn’t’ve taken long for them to figure out who you are and use it against others. That, or they would’ve kept you too long and a) you would be in pain, and b) the order of the universe would be all…” Agatha imitated an explosion. “Second, You’ve done so much more than enough. The last few years were far, far worse than what happened on the anniversary of my trial this year. You’re the reason it wasn’t nearly that bad, so don’t beat yourself up.”
Rio looked away, taking a deep breath.
“Why didn’t you just tell me you were thinking all this?”
“Because you’re already dealing with all that stuff and I couldn’t add my stupid shit onto that.”
Agatha clicked her tongue, pulling her into a hug. “It’s no fun if you’re suffering.”
Rio looked into her ocean-blue eyes for a moment before pulling her in for a long, passionate kiss.