There is a figure outside his window.

He doesn't know who. No one ever comes to this isolated house on top of the hill. A lonely, abandoned house with the exception of him inside.

The boy scratches the top of his head, sliding his legs out from under the warm covers. He shudders as the cool morning air hits his skin, sending goosebumps along his arms and legs.

He changes quickly, the urge to meet the silhouette increasing by the second. As he opens the door, a sweet aroma of flowers and morning dew wafts across his face and a ghost of a smile flits across his lips.

He brushes his untidy brown bangs away from his face as he wanders down the hill and into the fields. Flowers of every kind lay across the meadow, swaying to the melody of the breeze. A soft humming noise makes its way into his ears. The shadow sings to an unknown tune, their hands fumbling with something on their lap.

He recognizes the song; one that he had memorized when he was younger.

Sneaking up quietly behind the unsuspecting person, he places his palms on their shoulders, placing his mouth next to their ear.

"Boo," he whispers, feeling the other stiffen underneath the unexpected touch.

The figure snaps their head backward, their jade eyes meeting the boy's olive ones.

"Care to tell me what you were doing here at six in the morning?" he questions, tapping his foot in a scolding manner.

After a prolonging silence, the figure answers, tearing his eyes away from the brunet.

"I couldn't sleep. That's all." The white-haired boy averts his eyes, unable to meet his gaze.

The tanned boy sighs, sitting down next to the albino.

"What you got there, anyway?" He points at the unfinished piece of work in his palms, trying to change the topic.

"A flower crown." The pale boy states, his fingers fumbling with the stems on the crown.

Purple, white, pink, yellow, and orange colored flowers clash together. Their stems interlace with each other to form a circle. It's different from the other ones, the brown-haired boy notes.

A bright smile makes its way to the albino's face and his arms reach outward toward the brunet's head.

He chuckles slightly as the wavy-haired boy tenderly places the crown on top of his spiky locks of hair.

A heavy weight suddenly settles in his chest; a monster that is slowly eating at the corners of his soul. It was a throbbing, lumpy knot at the center of his chest. A gaping hole that could swallow him whole.

"Teach me to create a flower crown, would you?" He leans against his boyfriend, his head placed comfortably in the crook of the other's neck.

"Again?"

Amusement drips from the words, and a faint laugh escapes the albino's lips. The tanned boy merely hums, beckoning the male to show him the steps.

"You cut through the middle of the stems, like this." He demonstrates by using his fingernail to slice open the heart of the plant. "Then you can weave them collectively."

His pale fingers touch the brunet's hand, instructing him how to do it. It was a gentle warmth, one that he craved more of.

The heavy feeling resides in his chest, and he swallows dryly, his heart aching.

"I miss these moments," he says, his fingers automatically weaving the plants together without the help of the other male. "Maybe I should ditch my job to be with you." He jokes, laughing at his own statement.

His lover tilts his head at him; the breeze blowing strands of hair away from his pale face.

"It isn't your fault." His arms wrap around the brunet's waist. It is a reassuring gesture, one that was sure to settle his jittery nerves.

But it is. He regrets everything. He regrets ignoring him when he tried to talk to him. He regrets not giving him any attention.

He regrets.

And regrets.

And regrets.

He regrets everything he's done, from when he had taken that stupid job offer to now.

And that remorse turned itself - weaving and curling over his heart like vines in an overgrown garden - into guilt.

That heavy feeling in his chest. The gaping hole.

Guilt.

The heap of regret, the monster within him, laughing and laughing, taunting him as it dives down to devour what was left of him.

Guilt.

"Stop blaming yourself. The past is the past. Your guilt is keeping you from moving on." The pale boy pauses before continuing. "You need to let go."

His eyes flicker to the brunet's, a sad smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

No, he pleads. Don't look at me that way.

He internally begs, and begs, and begs. He begs for the albino to stop. To stop looking at him like that, with those hopeless eyes. Those hopeless eyes which had once been filled with faith and anticipation alike.

The dam breaks in his chest. His lips tremble and he can't stop the layer of moisture that starts to cover his eyes, blurring his vision, distorting the image of the white-haired boy.

His boyfriend's smile never falters as he reaches over to brush off the stray tears leaking down the brown-haired boy's eyes, ones that were starting to stain his tanned skin.

And his mouth opens, forming the words that the brunet never wanted to hear. The ones that would never be able to serve as an excuse for what he had done.

"I forgive you."

No, he tries croaking, but the words stick to the walls of his throat, unable to come out. No. He can't. He shouldn't. He didn't deserve to hear those words-

"Come." The albino takes the boy's hand in his, pulling the brunet along with him.

They travel to an oak sapling, its leaves rustling with the sway of the gale. He tries to stop him from taking him there. He wasn't ready yet. Not yet. There were too many memories for him to bear with. He couldn't let go like this.

Miraculously, his tears have dried, but his eyes are wide in fear, in desperation. The flower crown feels foreign on his head, and his hands twitch to take it off, to give it back to the albino as a reminder of the happy moments in their past. To stop him from doing this.

"I'm ready to let go. Are you?" Those jade eyes meet his, and his breath catches.

He tries reeling backward, snatching his arm from the albino's grasp. His lips part, but nothing is able to come out except a few pathetic noises. A burning feeling resides at the back of his eyes, and he wants to cry. He wants to bawl like a child. He wants to feel the warmth of arms wrapping around his shoulders like they once had, comforting him, soothing him until his hiccups become uneven breaths.

Instead, his feet lead him to a polished stone protruding from the ground beneath the branches of the oak tree.

Waves of nostalgia hit him, taking him under the sea of memories that begin to resurface as his hands clench at his sides and his teeth grit to suppress the emotions bubbling underneath his skin.

The world swirls around him, and he feels like he's going to fall, down, down, down.

Down into the infinite abyss of darkness, and he suddenly has a feeling of never coming back to reality. He wants to stay in the cocoon of darkness and cower away from his mistakes. His regrets. His guilts.

He's hyperventilating, his breaths quick and short, his chest tightening by the second. He needed more time. He wanted more time. He wanted to spend more time with the albino, to be able to feel those soft lips against his, to be able to-

A gasp escapes his lips as a cool pair of hands place themselves on his shoulders. He immediately relaxes, his eyes staring into the warm smile of his lover.

"Are you?" He asks again, this time in a softer tone. He presses his forehead against the tanned boy's, and he can feel the warmth radiating from his body. His heart rate slows, and he swallows the inexpressible words in his throat.

And he knows now.

He knows that he can no longer do this. It was too hard for him to hold on to those fragments of the past that restricted him like chains.

The doors to his future are right in front of him, and he must learn to pass through them, to leave everything behind.

His eyes fall to the stone on the ground, and he murmurs his final decision as the white-haired boy separates from him, standing by his side.

"I am."

He's ready. He wants to let go. He wants to move on. It's his choice and his choice alone.

He kneels on the thin blades of grass, placing the flower crown he had created on the headstone.

"Thank you." He says simply.

There were no other words to be said.

His gaze lingers on the headstone for a few seconds before he turns back around, half expecting his boyfriend to smile at him.

But all he sees are small fluttering petals being carried elsewhere by the breeze in a swirl of hues. They fade into the brilliant blue sky, and he realizes at that moment, the boy he loved was truly gone from this world. There would be no more of his sweet smiles, his gentle laughs, or his loving touches of support.

And he knows that he isn't alone, despite the white-haired boy's departure. He would forever be in his heart, in the memories that they had crafted together during the past several years.

He turns, swiveling on his heel and starts to turn away from the grave when a voice in the air speaks into his ear, a light brush against his earlobe.

"I love you."

He smiles.

There are no tears.

There are no regrets.

There is no more of the guilt that had once pinned him down.

All there was was a strange sense of calmness that alleviated him.

He pauses and stares up into the sky.

"I love you too, Nagito Komaeda."