SXD: The Day Weiss Learned About Issei’s Lifespan (Patreon)

The Future

Weiss had known for some time that Issei Hyoudou wasn’t normal. Not since the first time she’d met him all those days ago in vale. She had seen him  breathe fire, sprout wings and soar through the sky.  She had seen him take hits that would have shattered any other Hunter. Had watched him heal from wounds that would kill anyone else, she had seen him fight, and smile through it all.

He had wings. He could breathe fire. He could face gods and win.

And she had accepted all of it. Grudgingly, yes, she was Weiss Schnee, after all, but she had still accepted it. Because it was him. Because every impossible thing about him came with that same earnest heart, the one that always reached out to others, even when he shouldn’t have.

But what she hadn’t considered, what she couldn’t have, was the quiet terror that came with that realization. That one day, she would grow old. And he wouldn’t.

Her breath hitched as the thought settled in her chest like ice.

Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, graduate of Beacon, Huntress, fighter, survivor, had faced many things without flinching. Monsters, family expectations, the weight of her own perfectionism. 

But this? This was different.

The future stretched before her like an endless, uncertain horizon.

Would he stay the same, forever young, with that same grin, those same dragon wings? 

Would he still call her “princess” when her hair turned silver-gray instead of snow-white?

Would he still look at her with that warmth when her hands trembled with age?

Or would he outlive her, watching, powerless, as the years took her away?

The questions made her chest ache.  But she couldn’t deny the truth hiding beneath that resolve.

She wasn’t afraid of dying. She was afraid of leaving him behind.

—--------------------------------

Three years since Beacon. Three years since the battles for the fate of the world, since the loss and rebuilding.

The sound of the waves rolled gently across the shore, soft and rhythmic, a heartbeat of the ocean. The sky was painted in hues of gold and red, the last traces of sunlight shimmering over the water giving a breathtaking view.

Weiss and Issei sat together on a weathered wooden bench. The faint scent of salt and evening air surrounded them, Weiss felt… peaceful.

Her head rested against Issei’s shoulder, his arm draped lazily around her waist. The faint warmth of his body pressed against her side, grounding her in that quiet, perfect moment.

The young couple was recently married.

Even thinking the word brought a small smile to Weiss’s lips. ‘Married. To him, of all people.’

It was funny, really. The reckless boy she had once dismissed as an insufferable flirt had somehow become the man she trusted most, her partner, her heart.

The rhythmic whisper of waves lulled her into a kind of dreamlike calm. She could feel the sand between her sandals, the warmth of his hand idly tracing small circles on her palm, the faint hum of the sea birds above.

“Hey, Weiss,” Issei murmured, his voice low, thoughtful. “You know, this place reminds me of that one place we trained near Mistral that one time. You remember? The cliff by the waterfalls?”

Weiss chuckled softly. “I remember you nearly fell off the cliff because you tried to impress me.”

He grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, and you screamed my name like you actually cared.”

Her eyes narrowed, though her lips twitched. “You’re lucky I did care. Otherwise, you would’ve been fish food.”

He laughed quietly, the sound warm and familiar. “Yeah, I guess I got lucky in a lot of ways.”

For a while, they sat there in comfortable silence, just watching the sun sink lower into the horizon. The light turned orange, then amber, then slowly melted into violet across the waves.

Weiss sighed softly, content, until a stray thought slipped into her mind. It came out before she could stop it.

“So…” She began, her voice quiet, almost casual. “How long do dragons live?”

Issei blinked, glancing down at her. “Hm? Oh, uh… real dragons? They’re basically ageless.”

She tilted her head to look at him, her pale eyes reflecting the sunset. “And you?”

He paused, scratching his cheek like he was trying to remember an old detail. “Huh. Never really thought about it.”

Weiss lifted her head from his shoulder, brow furrowing. “...What do you mean you’ve never thought about it?”

“Well,” he said, shifting a bit. “I mean, I was human before, right? But now I’m part dragon, part Devil, and I’ve got Ddraig inside me, so…”

He trailed off, his gaze drifting toward the ocean, as if he were trying to find an answer somewhere beyond the horizon. “Honestly? I might live for thousands of years too.”

The words hit her like a physical blow.

‘Thousands.’ Weiss’s breath caught. Her stomach twisted, and for a heartbeat the sound of the sea faded away. She sat up straight, eyes wide. “You’re… serious?”

Issei blinked, confused by her tone. “Uh… yeah?”

She could barely speak. The weight of realization pressed against her chest. “So that means… I’ll…” She stopped herself, but the end of the sentence hung between them like a shadow.

But he understood. Of course he did. His expression softened, and he reached for her hand. “Weiss…”

Her mind was spinning. The thought of years, centuries of watching him stay the same while she changed, withered, faded… it tore at her heart in a way she hadn’t prepared for.

She’d already known he was different, powerful, otherworldly, impossible but she had never felt the gap between them until now.

“It’s not fair,” She whispered, her voice trembling. “It’s not fair, Issei. We just… found this. We just started. But to you this will only be a small moment that you will eventually forget.”

He squeezed her hand gently, thumb brushing against her knuckles. His voice came out soft, steady. “I don’t know what’ll happen in the future,” He said. “I don’t know how much time we’ll get, or if I’ll ever stop aging.”

He looked at her, really looked into her eyes, where all the fear and love tangled together. “But I do know one thing for sure.”

Weiss swallowed hard, her throat tight. “What?”

“I’ll always love you,” He said simply. “No matter how much time we have.”

Something in her chest cracked open. His tone wasn’t grand or dramatic; it was gentle, painfully sincere.

Weiss looked down, blinking fast as her fingers tightened around his. “You idiot…” she whispered, her voice shaking. “You can’t just say something like that so easily.”

He chuckled softly, leaning closer until their foreheads nearly touched. “Why not? It’s true.”

She let out a trembling laugh, half a sob. “Then don’t you dare waste any of it, idiot.”

He smiled, that same warm, earnest smile that had once annoyed her beyond reason and now meant everything. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

The last light of the sun faded beyond the horizon, painting the waves in twilight.

Weiss leaned against him again, closing her eyes as the sound of the ocean filled the silence between them. She could feel his heartbeat beneath her cheek, steady, alive, infinite.

If time was cruel, then so be it. They would fight it together, second by second, until the very end.

And as the stars began to appear above the quiet sea, Weiss Schnee, the once-proud heiress who had once believed love was fleeting, held onto her dragon, her husband, her eternity, and thought: ‘If forever won’t wait for us, then I’ll just make every moment count.’