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Xavier POV
A smile rests softly on my lips as I watch him from across the park.
He’s in the middle of a swarm of children, running across the grass, laughing as one of them tries to steal the ball from him. He pretends to lose, dramatically falling into the sandpit while the kids erupt into giggles.
He looks so happy.
And here I am—sitting on a wooden bench beneath a fading afternoon sun, watching him like he’s the only thing in the world worth looking at.
“Love!!” he calls, plopping down into the sandpit. His grin is blinding, bright enough to rival the sky.
My precious big baby.
My only love.
He is the sun after my darkest nights. The quiet light that fills the corners of my room. The steady reservoir that keeps my heart alive.
I look at him with a fullness that almost hurts—like yearning for something I already have.
“It was so fun!” he beams as he walks back to me, cheeks flushed and hair messy. “There were so many kids. Should we adopt one? Hm?” His eyes sparkle mischievously.
I laugh softly and nod. “Of course. Let’s do that after we get married.”
His expression softens immediately. “I can’t wait to get married to you, love.”
Before I can respond, he cups my cheeks and peppers my face with exaggerated kisses. “I love you so muchhh~ My love is so cute I might die from your cuteness.”
“Silly big baby,” I murmur, pulling him closer and pressing a kiss to his pouty lips. I wrap my arms around him tightly. “Let’s stay long and happy together, okay?”
He hugs me back, kissing my temple the way he always does when he wants to reassure me.
“We’ll get through everything together, babe.”
***
Javi’s POV
Flashback
“Love! I met this old couple at the mall!” Xav bursts out excitedly one afternoon. “They told me how they met. It was so cute. I hope we grow old like that too. Hm? Love?”
“Of course, babe,” I reply, kissing him gently. “Also, aren’t we supposed to visit the orphanage today?”
“Oh! I already talked to Sister Torres,” he says proudly. “We can go next week. The kids are on a field trip until Saturday.”
I raise an eyebrow playfully. “So you’re all mine today?”
He narrows his eyes suspiciously before giggling and hugging me. “What’s up with that sly smile of yours?”
“Hello~” Xav waves at a shy little girl during our visit to the orphanage. “I’m Xavier. What’s your name?”
“L-Lara… hello,” she whispers.
Xav turns to me with teary eyes.
I just smile and ruffle his hair. He’s so easily touched by small things. A simple greeting from a child makes him emotional.
We spend hours there—reading stories, playing tag, teaching them silly songs. Xav talks nonstop about how one day we’ll bring one of them home.
I don’t tell him this, but every time he laughs like that, I fall in love all over again.
***
Wedding Day
“Xavi, my love,” I whisper into the phone. “It’s our wedding day and your mom said I can’t see you. I miss you.”
“I miss you too, my big baby,” he teases softly. “Just two more hours, okay?”
Two more hours.
***
Thirty minutes pass.
Then forty.
“Why is Xav taking so long?” I ask, my chest tightening. “They said they were on the way an hour ago.”
“Maybe traffic?” Han, my best man, offers. “Should we call them? The ceremony was supposed to start thirty minutes ago.”
Before I can answer—
“Javi?!” A frantic voice echoes through the venue. “Javi?! Where are you?!”
It’s Aj.
I run toward him.
His clothes are dirty. Shoes missing. Breathing ragged.
“St. James Hospital,” he manages to say.
And the world stops.
I don’t remember leaving the venue. I don’t remember the drive. I only remember one thing—
I need to get there.
End of Flashback
***
“Javi… please come out. Please eat.”
Han’s voice cracks outside my bedroom door.
“It’s been days. Please? I’ll leave the food here. Just… take a few bites.”
His footsteps fade.
I remain still on the bed, eyes swollen from crying, throat dry from not eating.
I clutch Xavier’s pillow to my chest.
“I miss you so much…” I whisper into the emptiness. “I want to see you, love. I love you, Xavier Lee-Choi.”
The room feels colder without him.
***
Third Person POV
One Year Later
“Aj?”
Han freezes when he sees someone standing in front of the twin tombstones.
“Han…” Aj turns slowly. “It’s been a year.”
“You disappeared after Xav’s funeral.”
Aj lowers his gaze. “It all happened too fast. I couldn’t process it.”
Han steps forward and places fresh flowers on the stone.
Xavier Lee-Choi.
Javier Choi.
Side by side.
“They loved each other so much,” Aj murmurs, wiping his tears.
Han swallows. “They really did.”
***
The Night Everything Ended
“Time of death, 11:34 PM.”
The doctor’s voice slices through the sterile silence of the emergency room.
Han grips the back of a chair to steady himself. His hands tremble as he dials Javi’s parents.
“Han?” Mrs. Choi answers sleepily. “Is everything okay?”
He breaks.
“I’m sorry… He’s gone. Javi’s gone.”
Aj exhales shakily as he recounts that night.
“Xav was still conscious for a few minutes after the crash,” he says. “He told me to call Javi. He kept asking me to reassure him. Even when he was bleeding… he was thinking about Javi.”
Han clenches his jaw.
“It was a drunk driver,” Aj continues bitterly. “A truck. The car rolled—I don’t even remember how many times.”
Silence stretches between them.
“I heard Javi died of cardiac arrest?” Aj finally asks. “I didn’t know he had heart problems.”
Han nods slowly.
“It was rare. The doctors said it was triggered by extreme emotional stress.”
His voice softens.
“He died ten days after Xavier.”
Aj stares at the tombstones, breath unsteady.
Han lets out a small, broken smile.
“They said it was medical.”
He looks at their names carved in stone.
“But everyone knows…”
He exhales.
“He died of a broken heart.”