hi. it's been a while. i know i decided to end my aarmau writing a few months ago but the lovely @EmmaClaireThomas has requested a chapter and i think this was an interesting idea.

so i hope you enjoy!

~~~

"Good morning." Alina says while stepping off of the last stair and landing onto the wooden floor.

Aaron's laying his head on Aphmau's lap on the couch as she rakes her fingers through his hair. "Goooooood morning, Al. I made breakfast a few minutes ago in the kitchen." Alina grind and nods before heading over to the kitchen.

She returns a few moments later with one slice of bacon in her hand and another in her mouth. She plops onto the other side of the sectional couch and takes the other slice from her mouth. "Soooooo what's the plan for today?"

"I was going to go grocery shopping for christmas dinner but Aaron woke up with a fever. So i'm taking care of him today." Aphmau answers while removing her hand from his hair and caresses his cheek.

"But Christmas is tomorrow." Alina frowns. "Are we going to have christmas dinner?"

Aphmau frowns back at her, "Of course we are, sweetie. I'll just have to find time in between to go out." She looks down at Aaron and lightly smiles.

"I'm sorry." Aaron says, causing Alina to look down at him as well.

"You're good, honey. These things happen." Aphmau tries to reassure him.

But he doesn't feel reassued. He feels guilty. He has for years. Ever since the incident, he's felt like Aphmau's trapped. As if she's forced to take care of him and his needs before herself.

He felt like he's taking her life away.

He felt not only does it affect he and Aphmau. It affects everyone. Their friends. Their family. Alina. Everyone around them.

And he hates it.

He hates feeling useless.

Being useless.

"I think you should go out today." He proposes.

"What?" Alina asks while taking a bite of bacon.

"It's important to you and you shouldn't have to miss out because of me." He tilts his head up towards Aphmau. "Plus, I don't think you've left the house and had some time to yourself in a while."

"Honey, you know I can't leave you alone. Especially when you're sick."

"I can stay home with Aaron." Alina offers, causing Aphmau to look over at her. "Aaron's right. Ever since I got here, you've been taking care of Aaron and I. And even if it's just grocery shopping, it's a few hours away from us. You deserve some alone time.

A tiny smile tugs at Aphmau's lips. "You're sure you guys can stay home together for a couple hours?"

"I'm sure!" Alina chirps.

"Now goooooo, babe." Aaron lifts himself off of her and leans against the back of the coach.

She sighs. "Promise me you'll call when you need ANYTHING, okay?"

"I doubt anything will happen. But I promise to call the second anything happens." Alina says while finishing off her last slice of bacon.

Aphmau stands up from the couch. "I guess I'll go get dressed."

~~~

The longer Aphmau was away from the house, the thicker the tension between Alina and Aaron became. They've spoken a few times before but never alone.

Alina decides to break the silence. "How long do you think she'll be away?"

"Knowing Aphmau? She probably got distracted by dogs or something." Aaron says while chuckling. "That always happens when we shopped during the christmas season."

"Really?" Alina says while crossing her legs on the couch.

"Back before we got married, Aphmau would wait until the last minute to shop for christmas and she tried to fit everything in one day. The second we walked past the pet store, she couldn't resist going inside."

Alina starts laughing. "That definitely sounds like Aph." Aaron chuckles. "How long have you guys been together?"

"We met in middle school but only started dating after she graduated college. We've been married for a couple years now."

"I haven't seen any wedding photos of you and Aph. Did you guys have a ceremony?"

Aaron's lips purse and he puts his hands on his knees. "We decided to elope."

"Why?" She asks. "I mean, no judgment to you but I always saw Aph as the one who dreamed of a wedding ever since she was a little girl."

"She did want one. But we we're having a lot of... problems at the time. So we agreed that eloping was the best choice for us and we were right."

"Were the problems your accident? From what my mom says, you weren't always blind, were you?"

Aaron looks down before answering. "No, I was not always blind."

"What happened to your sight? Was it some kind of freak accident? Or did you lose your eyes and that's why you wear the bandana across your eyes all the time? How did it happen?"

Aaron fell silent. Flashbacks began to play in his head at over and over again.

The sacrifice his friends made for his safety and the damage it caused.

Garroth's unfortunate turning and the damage it caused.

Facing Aphmau with no memory of her and the damage it caused.

Aaron found himself clinching his knees with his hands. "I don't feel comfortable answering these questions. I'm sorry, Alina."

~~~

"You've never seen this woman in your life?" Melissa asks while standing behind Aphmau with both of her hands on each of Aphmau's shoulders.

Aaron averts his eyes from Melissa and looks at Aphmau. Her pale cheeks. Her tired eyes. Her knotted hair. 

He shakes his head, "I don't recall this woman."

"You don't... you said... you don't remember me, Aaron?" Tears began to form in her eyes. Melissa's grip on her shoulder becomes softer. More comforting.

"I'm sorry." He says. Aphmau just looks down at the hospital floor and fidgets with her fingers.

No words.

Aphmau had no words for his that came out of his mouth. The tears slowly rolled down her face as she hoped- no, wished- for a miracle. Something in his mind to click.

Melissa wipes her own tears from her cheeks. "Come on, swee-" Melissa gets interrupted by a long bang and vibration from the ground.

All three hit the ground immediately. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Aphmau yells.

The floor begins to crack open, revealing a vibrant red and orange pool of magma. The floor then starts cracking into pieces, separating Aaron away from Aphmau and Melissa.

"AARON, HELP US!" Aphmau screams as the floor below the two starts breaking off into smaller pieces.

Melissa tries her best to get onto safer grounds. "I think I found a good pla- AHHHH!" Melissa trips over.

"MELISSAAAAAA!" Aphmau yells, trying to grab Melissa but she fails, leaving Melissa slowly be swallowed whole by the magma.

Aphmau watches in horror then turns to Aaron, hoping- wishing for a miracle.

"Aaron?"

The longer she stood there staring at him, the farther away she drifted away from him.

Aaron took one more look at her face. The worry lines across her forehead. Her cheeks every more pale than before. The blank expression on her face.

"Aphmau?" He says. "Aphmau!"

"AARON? DO YOU REMEMBER?" Aphmau yells back.

"Yes!" Irene, yes, yes, he remembers! Aphmau couldn't help but smile at him. "I'm coming to get you!" He exclaims as he begins to leap from floor to floor, reaching closer to Aphmau.

Just as he gets closer, Aphmau's floor breaks in half. "AAAAAAAAAROOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN!" She falls into the magma!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

She screams bloody murder!

He screams bloody murder!

Her screaming intensified as she sank more and more.

The screams come to an end as soon as she becomes swallowed whole by the magma. Aaron stares at the spot where the magma buried his beloved in shock.

Then everything becomes pitch black.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" He screams, holding his head in his hands and falling to his knees.

"Aaron?" A voice calls out to him.

He looks up to the sky. "Aphmau?" He calls back.

"Aaron, are you okay?" It's her! Her voice is calling out to him!

Aaron stands up immediately and starts looking around. "WHERE ARE YOU, APHMAU?" He screams. "PLEASE TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE!"

"Aaron!" Aaron jolts up from the bed and gasps, holding onto his chest.

He doesn't even take a moment to start crying. Aphmau turns on the lamp beside her and then leans his head against her shoulder. "Hey, hey, I'm right here, baby." She rubs his back and kisses his forehead.

"I- you- you were- I'm so sorry, Aph"

"Hey, it was only a dream. I'm okay. You're okay." Her back rubs become slower and softer.

"I couldn't remember you." He mumbles. "You looked so disappointed in me." He wraps his arms around himself. "You were screaming and yelling my name and I couldn't remember you until it was too late." He becomes louder. "I couldn't recognize you!" His sobs intensify.

A tears rolls down Aphmau's face. "I'm so sorry, baby." She leans her head on his.

He tilts his head up in the direction of her voice. "I miss you."

"But I'm right here."

"No. I miss you. I miss your smile." He takes one hand and searches around for Aphmau's face before landing it on her cheek. "And your eyes. Irene, your eyes. They're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Aphmau didn't know what exactly to say to that. But she knew that she felt the exact same way Aaron did. She missed him as well.

"I miss you too." She admits. "But I wouldn't change a thing."

His left eyebrow lifts. "What do you mean?"

"Everything that has happened in the last few years has brought us here." She says. "I mean, yeah. It's a lot different from before. But I'm so grateful for the life we have now."

Aaron couldn't help but smile at her. He opens his eyes, knowing he can't see her, but she can see his faded grey eyes. She smiles back and places a kiss against his lips.

She pulls away and cups his face. "I love you."

"I love you more, honey." He places his hands on top of hers. "I bet you look beautiful."

She winces as a response. "You feeling better?" He nods. "Think you can fall back asleep?"

He closes his eyes, the smile never leaving his face. "Can we stay up a little longer?"

"Of course."

~~~

thank you guys for reading!

until next time,
~purplla 🤎