The rain poured silently outside as Yuuto sat curled beside Aiden on their couch. The TV was on, but neither of them was watching. Aiden's fingers played lazily with Yuuto's hair, while Yuuto clung to him like time was slipping through his fingers.
Neither spoke about the hospital visit.
Neither dared.
But both could feel it—something was coming.
Something that fate had written long ago.
---
That night, Aiden woke up with a burning sensation across his chest.
He sat up, panting—sweat dripping from his temple. His shirt clung to him, and beneath it, something strange was glowing faintly beneath his skin.
A symbol.
A circular mark like a moon eclipsing the sun — glowing red-hot over his heart.
Yuuto jolted awake. "Aiden—what's happening?!"
"I… I don't know…" Aiden gasped, clutching his chest.
The glow faded slowly. But the fear stayed.
Yuuto pressed his ear to Aiden's chest, listening to the pounding heart.
"You're burning up... we're going to the hospital again."
"No." Aiden stopped him. "This isn't… medical."
Yuuto stared at him.
Then Aiden whispered: "It's the curse."
---
Flashback — Aiden was 14.
His dying grandfather had pulled him close in a cold, dark room.
> "Listen to me, boy. All Elrics are born under a blood moon. It chooses one in each generation to die young—especially if they fall in love."
> "The more love we feel... the faster the curse consumes us."
Aiden never believed it. He thought it was just the madness of an old man.
Until now.
Until Yuuto.
---
Present.
Aiden stood alone on the rooftop, staring up at the moon that now hung red and swollen in the sky — the Blood Moon.
His heart thudded painfully.
He didn't have months.
He didn't even have weeks.
Every second with Yuuto now came at a cost — and the deeper he loved him, the faster his body crumbled.
---
That night, Yuuto cried in secret.
Because he had read the old letters.
Because he had seen the mark on Aiden's chest.
Because he could feel fate laughing at them from the shadows.
But he wasn't giving up.
"I don't care about curses," Yuuto whispered into the night.
"I don't care if fate wants to kill you."
"I'm going to find a way to save you."
Even if it meant making a deal with the devil.