The hospital room was quiet, save for the steady beep of the heart monitor and the soft hiss of the oxygen machine. Luca sat by the bed, his hand wrapped around {{user}}'s, his thumb tracing small circles on their too-pale skin.

Three weeks. That's all they'd had since the wedding. Three weeks of stolen moments and desperate prayers, of watching the love of his life fade a little more each day.

And now...now it was almost over.

Dio, he wasn't ready. He'd never be ready. How could he let them go? How could he say goodbye to the only person who'd ever made him feel whole?

"Hey," he whispered, his voice rough with unshed tears. "I'm here, amore mio. I'm not going anywhere."

{{user}}'s eyes fluttered open, hazy with pain and medication. But when they focused on him, Luca swore he saw a flicker of that old light, that sparkle that had captured his heart from the very first moment.

Luca. His name was a sigh on their lips, a benediction and a plea all in one.

He leaned closer, brushing a strand of hair from their forehead with a tenderness that made his chest ache. "Shh, don't try to talk. Save your strength."

For what? A bitter voice whispered in his mind. For a tomorrow that will never come?

Luca pushed the thought away, blinking back the tears that burned his eyes. He had to be strong. For {{user}}. For them.

"Remember our first dance?" he asked softly, trying to keep his voice steady. "At the gala? I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest when you looked at me."

A ghost of a smile touched {{user}}'s lips, and Luca's throat tightened. God, he'd give anything to see that smile every day for the rest of his life.

The rest of their life.

The thought was a knife to the gut, twisting deep. Because there was no rest of their life. There was only this. This room, this moment, this precious sliver of time before...

Before.

"I love you," he blurted out, the words tearing from him like a sob. "I love you so fucking much, {{user}}. I can't—I don't know how to do this without you."

Tears spilled down his cheeks, hot and fast. He didn't bother to wipe them away. What was the point? What was the point of anything anymore?

"You're my heart," he whispered brokenly. "My soul. My everything. How am I supposed to let you go? How am I supposed to breathe without you?"

The beeping of the heart monitor seemed to slow, each blip an eternity apart. Panic clawed at Luca's throat, sharp and suffocating. No. Not yet. Please, God, not yet.

He gripped {{user}}'s hand tighter, as if he could anchor them to this world through sheer force of will. "Stay with me, baby. Please. Just a little longer."

His voice cracked on the last word, a broken plea. He knew it was selfish. He knew {{user}} was in pain, that every breath was a battle. But he couldn't help it. He couldn't let them go. Not yet.

Not ever.

"Remember what you promised me?" he asked, his lips brushing their knuckles. "That you'd never leave me? That you'd always be mine?"

Luca caught a tear as it slipped from {{user}}'s eye, tracing a silvery path down their cheek. His touch infinitely gentle.

"I'm holding you to that, you hear me? I'm not letting you off the hook that easy."

He tried to smile, but it felt like glass in his throat, cutting deep. He swallowed hard, tasting salt and despair on his tongue.

"I'll never stop loving you," he vowed, his voice raw with emotion. "Not in this life, not in any. You're my forever, {{user}}. My always."

He leaned down, pressing his forehead to theirs. Their skin was cool, like marble, like—

Like death.

A strangled sound tore from his throat, half sob, half scream. No. He couldn't think that. He wouldn't.

"Stay with me," he pleaded again, his lips brushing their temple. "Just stay with me, amore mio. Don't leave me. Please don't leave me."

The words poured out of him, a desperate litany, a prayer to a God he wasn't sure he believed in anymore. Because what kind of God would take {{user}} away from him? What kind of God would give him a glimpse of heaven, only to rip it away?

It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. They were supposed to have time. They were supposed to have a life together, a future. They were supposed to grow old, to watch their hair turn gray and their skin wrinkle, to look back on a lifetime of love and laughter.

But instead...instead they had this. This sterile room, these beeping machines, this fucking unfairness of it all.

Luca's shoulders shook with the force of his sobs, his tears soaking into the pillow beside {{user}}'s head. He couldn't do this. He couldn't be strong, he couldn't be brave. He was just...lost. A man adrift in a sea of pain, with no lifeline in sight.

No.

No, this wasn't happening.

It couldn't be.

He'd fix this. He had to. He always found a way. Always.

"Listen to me," he growled, cupping {{user}}'s face in his hands. "You're not going anywhere, you hear me? I won't let you. I can't let you."

His voice broke on the last word, a jagged shard of glass in his throat. He swallowed hard, tasting blood and bile.

"We'll find a way. I'll...I'll call in every favor I have. I'll sell my soul to the fucking devil if I have to. But you're not leaving me. Not like this."

He was rambling now, the words tumbling out of him in a frantic rush. He knew he wasn't making sense. He knew he sounded crazy. But he didn't care. He'd say anything, do anything, to keep {{user}} with him.

"Please, baby," he whispered, his forehead pressed to theirs. "Please don't go. Ti prego, amore mio. I need you. I can't—I can't do this without you."

The door opened behind him, the soft squeak of hinges like a gunshot in the quiet room. Luca flinched, his body curling protectively over {{user}}'s.

"Mr. Rossi?" a gentle voice said. "I'm sorry, but I need to check on—"

"No." The word ripped from Luca's throat, savage and raw. He turned, his eyes wild, his teeth bared. "You stay the fuck away from them."

The nurse—a petite woman with kind eyes—held up her hands, palms out. "I understand this is difficult, but—"

"You don't understand shit," Luca snarled. "None of you do. You're not taking them from me. I won't let you."

He was shaking now, his whole body trembling with a mixture of rage and terror. The nurse took a step forward, her expression a mask of sympathy.

"Mr. Rossi, I know this is hard, but we need to make sure {{user}} is comfortable. We need to—"

"What they need is to live!" Luca roared, surging to his feet. "What they need is more time! What they need is a fucking miracle, not you poking and prodding at them like they're already—"

He choked on the word, unable to say it. Dead. The thing he couldn't face, couldn't accept. The thing that was coming for them, no matter how hard he fought.

The nurse's eyes softened, a glimmer of tears catching the harsh fluorescent light. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I truly am. But...there's nothing more we can do. It's time to...to say goodbye."

Goodbye.

The word hit Luca like a physical blow, driving the air from his lungs. He staggered back, his knees giving out. He collapsed into the chair, his head in his hands.

Goodbye.

How?

How was he supposed to say goodbye?

How was he supposed to let go of the only thing that mattered?

A small, broken sound tore from his throat, a whimper of pure agony. He felt the nurse's hand on his shoulder, a feather-light touch of comfort. But it wasn't enough. Nothing would ever be enough.

Not without {{user}}.

He reached out blindly, groping for their hand. When he found it, he gripped it tight, lacing their fingers together. He brought it to his lips, kissing each knuckle, each fingertip.

"I love you," he whispered, his voice a ragged whisper. "I love you so much, {{user}}. More than...more than anything."

He squeezed his eyes shut, hot tears leaking from beneath his lids. He took a shuddering breath, trying to steady himself. Trying to be strong.

For them.

For {{user}}.

"It's okay," he said softly, his thumb stroking over their skin. "It's...it's going to be okay, amore mio. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

He swallowed hard, his throat working. "You can...you can let go now, baby. You can rest. I'll...I'll be alright."

Lies.

Pretty lies.

The only kind left to tell.

The nurse stepped back, her hand falling from Luca's shoulder. "I'll give you some privacy," she murmured. "Take all the time you need."

Luca barely heard her, his entire being focused on {{user}}. On their face, their breath, the thready pulse beneath his fingertips.

The last moments.

The final goodbye.

"I've got you," he whispered, bringing their joined hands to his chest. "I've always got you, {{user}}. In this life and the next."

His voice cracked, a single tear slipping down his cheek.

"Ti amo, amore mio," he breathed. "Always and forever."

He leaned down, his lips brushing against their forehead in a kiss that held a lifetime of love, of promise.

A lifetime cut too short.