Chapter Text
"Phos, you'll catch pneumonia if you don't wear a proper coat!"
Antarc, despite their callous attitude sometimes, was extremely maternal when it came to Phos. They disguised it in disappointed looks, in begrudged sighs and even in rolling eyes. But they cared for Phos a lot. It was a lot of work looking out for someone who was so careless, but it was worth every second. It was an exciting time: this was Phos's first time spending winter in a place that got snow, and they were incredibly excited to experience all that a cold winter had to offer! They had moved to a place with a colder climate due to a rare condition Antarc had developed that made it difficult for them to stay in a place with a hot climate. The two had lived together for years as roommates; as partners. There was no way Phos was going to leave them now.
The place they moved to is where Antarc grew up—a little town just outside of St. John's in Newfoundland. They had both lived together in the big city of Portland, Oregon where they had gone to school. Antarc had a dual citizenship—with due thanks to their late parents—so it wasn't difficult to move to Canada, but it did take some time to make sure Phos would have the proper paperwork to join them.
The two were excited to head downtown to try out the local skating rink. Phos was especially looking forward to Antarc teaching them how to skate.
But before they could arrive downtown, something terrible awaited them.
Driving on the country roads was no easy task, but especially so in the winter time. With Phos in the driver's seat with little experience in driving in winter weather, there was bound to be some difficulty, but...
They never imagined it would have turned out like this.
When trying to turn down the winding roads, Phos hit black ice. The car spun out of control, and eventually submerged in the nearby river, after breaking the ice.
Phos was luckily able to force their door open underwater, but when they looked to Antarc, it was a ghastly sight. The resulting crash into the ice had pinned them to their seat. A large chunk of ice prevented them from being able to move, much less reach for the door. Phos attempted to move the ice, but it was much too large to move on their own. Still, they kept trying. They couldn't leave Antarc. They attempted to move the ice in so many different ways, trying to come at it from different directions and angles. But it was no use - the ice would not budge, and Phos was running out of time.
Sensing the danger and urgency of the situation, Antarc only smiled as they pushed Phos away with what little force they had. But it was enough. Phos understood why, but they would not allow it. They swam back to Antarc, who only pushed them away again.
Before Phos could swim back a second time, they felt a pair of arms wrap around them as they were brought to the surface. The last sight of Antarc smiling as they and the car slowly sank further down.
When the stranger that brought Phos to the surface emerged from the water, they placed Phos on the edge of the river and climbed up beside them. They had short, platinum hair with a side part that covered their left eye, and two locks of hair on each side of their head that reached down to their chest. Their eyes were a similar colour, and Phos noticed that they sparkled when the sunlight hit them.
When Phos attempted to dive back into the water, the stranger held them back. Phos screamed to be let go, yelling Antarc's name over and over again. The stranger only held a tighter grip, refusing to let go. When Phos realized escaping was not an option, they forfeited. By now Antarc would be...
"I'm sorry, but your friend is..." The stranger had a voice that was very quiet and meek, and even though Phos was so angry, so upset, and so incredibly distraught, their voice felt so calming and reassuring. Phos couldn't bring themselves to be angry at them, despite everything inside of them screaming to be enraged. "There's no way I can—"
"I know... I know! But Antarc..." Phos mumbled through the tears that had begun to form in their eyes. "They were my... m-my partner! For so many years." They wanted to speak more but couldn't stop themselves from sobbing, and found themself crying into the shoulder of this stranger.
The stranger didn't mind—in fact, they continued to hold Phos as tight as they could to reassure them they were not going anywhere. "I'm so sorry."
Phos sat up after some time, removing themself from the stranger's embrace, and just stared blankly into the water. Antarc was there. Antarc had been alive only minutes ago, they had been by their side only moments ago. But now...
The stranger got up momentarily. Reaching behind them, they grabbed a fleece blanket and draped it over Phos's shoulders. Water dripped from their hair as icicles began to form on the ends. Snow had begun to fall from the sky, adding to the rapid drop in temperature as the sky began to turn dark. The wind howled, blowing Phos's hair in and out of their face. They attempted to bury their face in the heavy white scarf they donned, but it only helped so much, considering it was soaked.
Phos felt completely shattered. One minute they were driving with Antarc by their side, listening to the radio. Some old music they didn't recognize was playing, but Phos swore they would never forget the song that played when they started to slide on black ice.
"Shine on you crazy diamond."
They would never forget.
The stranger sat back down beside Phos, explaining to them that emergency had been called to the scene. Paramedics and police would be on their way soon to go over the situation and make sure Phos would be okay.
"Why?" Phos asked, completely disillusioned. They weren't sure if they were asking themselves or the stranger at this point. They weren't even fully sure what 'why' they were searching for.
The stranger frowned. "I can't tell you why, but... I'm glad I spotted the accident and was able to save you."
Phos looked at this strange person, who did their best to smile something reassuring. "Who... are you?"
They smiled. "My name is Ghost."
"Ghost... I want to say thank you, but I—"
"It's understandable." Ghost interrupted. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your partner."
A long silence grew between the two of them as the sound of sirens blared in the distance. As they began to sound louder and louder, Phos shifted to move closer to Ghost. They didn't want to think about being examined and asked questions that they knew were coming. "Ph-Phos. My name is Phos."
"I'll stay with you as long as you need, Phos."
Phos forced a grim smile. "You don't even know me, and yet you've helped me more than I could ever ask for. Why?"
Ghost smiled in a way that felt sad somehow. "This may sound selfish, but... I lost one of my best friends to a car accident like this years ago. I can't just leave you. I couldn't forgive myself if I did."
As the sirens grew ever closer, Phos prepared themself for the worst.
“You say you just moved here recently with your partner?”
A police officer had been questioning Phos for some time now, and it was starting to worry Ghost. They could see Phos’s expression begin to harden with each question. How many times would the officer ask these painful questions? Surely this was enough!
“Yeah, we moved here because of their condition… They have to live in a cold climate.”
“Uh huh. And the accident was your fault?”
Phos gulped away a tight knot in their throat, knowing full well the officer didn't mean to offend—but it sure hurt to hear it. “Yeah..." They started. "I’m not used to driving in winter weather so I... slipped on black ice.”
“Well, it'll be up to the insurance company to determine what happens to your car…”
The questions continued as Ghost was only able to watch, trying to support Phos simply by being present. They wished there was more they could do.
When the officer finally finished his questioning, Phos let out a sigh of relief. They had been examined by the paramedics before hand, so they finally had a chance to breathe. Nothing seemed to be amiss, but they adamantly suggested Phos return home as soon as they were able—to where it was warm. They offered a police car to drive them there, but Phos was ultimately more comfortable to accept Ghost’s offer to drive them.
On the drive there, it was quiet, save for the occasional peep from Phos about what direction to take. Ghost navigated as well as they could, making sure to drive a bit more slowly than usual to put Phos at ease. When they finally reached the small apartment building that Phos lived in, Ghost tried to be as supportive as possible.
“Take care, okay?” They smiled, trying to be positive.
Phos forced a smile. “Yeah. Thank you for everything.”
They opened the car door and left, fumbling to find the right key to open the door to the building. It was a miracle that Phos’s keys stayed in their pocket throughout the accident, but it was a miracle Phos had wished would have been saved for Antarc. Ghost watched Phos until they were sure they were safely inside, and then drove away.
When Phos opened the door to their apartment, everything caught up to them. This apartment that they picked out with Antarc was only theirs now. They didn't think about the more logical side of things, like how they were going to afford rent—no. They instead couldn't stop thinking about how Antarc wouldn't be around to wake them up every morning with coffee and toast. Antarc would no longer be there to warm Phos up in bed when they were cold, even under all the covers. They wouldn't be able to surprise Antarc with a warm dinner when they came home from work. No—instead Phos felt a wave of loneliness crash over them. They had moved to this brand new city for Antarc, and now they were gone.
Phos dragged their feet to the shower and lost themself in the steaming heat. They tried to block out all the pain their heart would not stop feeling, but only found themself crying through most of it. They stayed a long time in the shower, but eventually got out when the water started fluctuating between hot and cold quite rapidly. They dried themself off and stumbled to their bedroom, where Phos fell on the queen sized bed naked, cuddling Antarc’s side of the bed where they eventually fell asleep.