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“Sing… sing me a song, W-will.” Jem pleads, coughing harshly as blood pools in his throat, red dripping down the side of his mouth and staining pale skin.
The other Shadowhunter blinks fast, struggling to remain strong as he holds his parabatai close. “What song?”
“Any one.” He breathes weakly, eyes tired as they struggle to stay connected to pained blues.
“Alright,” Will swallows hard, voice trembling. At this point he thinks he’ll agree to anything to ease Jem’s suffering. “I used to dream about the heroes of stories, as life became an endless night,” He tries desperately to keep his voice normal, to hide the fact that he’s breaking and it hurts-- but the sad look Jem gives him seems to say that he’s failing. “When hope was gone, you resurrected my spirit, brought me from darkness-” His parabatai’s body is shaking under the strain of keeping air in his lungs and Will stumbles over his words, a sob breaking through. “darkness into l-light-”
Tears are pooling in his eyes at an alarming pace and Will struggles to refrain from clutching Jem to his chest, his fragile, dying Jem who will soon leave him-- He forces himself to continue. “I can sense a storm is coming, anchoring you to me,” If only it were. If only the Shadowhunter could keep the other male with him, tie him to himself to the point where he could never leave him like this, not without Will following. “Far beneath my skin and bones I, harbor my divided soul,”
A tear streaks down Jem’s pale cheek and when his parabatai sees it his own soon follow, causing his shoulders to shake with shuddering sobs. “M-my greatest strength might be- be my downfall-”
“Will…” Jem breathes, voice weak as his hand curls around the other male’s, fingers cold to the touch,
“But love was not a ch-choice for me I, held my breath and took a leap-” It’s harder to speak, to even sing, but Will pushes on for his parabatai, determined to at least give him this.
“Will,” He tries once more, coughing half heartedly, causing blood to splatter over his clothes. He raises a trembling hand, touching the Shadowhunter’s cheek.
Will closes his eyes.
“Please, my para...parabatai,” He whispers. “Pl-please look… look at me-”
He doesn’t want to, doesn’t want to see this for he knows that it will haunt his nightmares- Blue eyes open obediently.
Jem smiles slowly, a sad pained smile as he takes a shuddering breath. “Thank… thank you…” His eyelids slowly flutter shut, hand falling from Will’s cheek to lie limp against his chest.
For a moment the crying Shadowhunter’s heart stops. “Jem?” He whispers, voice lost as he clutches his parabatai close, watching for the rise and fall of his chest. “J-Jem?”
His hand searches for a heartbeat, pressing against Jem’s chest and checking his pulse points. There’s nothing.
A pained, broken sound leaves Will’s lips and he caves into himself, sobbing brokenly into his parabatai’s chest, body shaking with the force as a broken mantra of the other Shadowhunter’s name leaves his lips. “P-please- come- come back-”