Chapter Text
Chapter One
Marvin's POV.
I saw him slipping away. It's not a nice experience, seeing your lover die. What made things worse was the knowledge that I was next, except I wouldn't have a lover to hold my hand. My daily routine for the past few months has been this: wake up, forget to do my hair, and stay with my boyfriend for hours at the hospital. And today was no different. I arrived early at the hospital, steadying my breathing before I walked in. I gave Whizzer a gentle smile, to which he graciously whispered,
"Good morning." I took that as a sign to get closer, and I ended up sitting on his bed beside his exhausted body. I rested my hand on his shoulder, and, keeping the smile on my face to cover my fear, I replied,
"Good morning, kid. You're looking better today. How do you feel?" Whizzer laughed at being called a kid, but he still rubbed his eyes, struggling to sit up. I carefully pushed him back down against the bed, and instead pressed a button on a tiny remote to raise the back of the hospital bed. After some clear thought and hesitation, Whizzer simply answered,
"Comfortable."
"Comfortable?" I repeated, then continued, "I'm glad. You really seem to be on the way to recovery!"
"Really?" Whizzer chuckled, coughing weakly a moment after. He looked me in the eyes, and I almost cried right then and there. His perfect brown eyes were laced with false hope. I couldn't tell myself that he was going to die. He wasn't going to die. He couldn't die. He couldn't.
I placed my hand on his cheek, leaning closer and pressing my lips against his other one. I almost choked on my forming tears, but I quickly covered it with a forced laugh. I pulled away, blinking a few times, before reaching over to a desk beside the bed and handing Whizzer his cup of water alongside painkillers that Dr Charlotte was so generous to bring. Whizzer sipped at the water, and swallowed the meds, then placed the cup down and gave me a thankful look. I grinned feebly. He was such a happy person, so why him? Was it my fault? I didn't get much more time to blame myself, since Jason, my adorable soon-to-be 13 year old, scurried in exuberantly. He immediately hugged Whizzer, before turning to me, his hands flapping excitedly with every word that escaped his mouth.
"Dad! I have the best Idea!" He began. "My Bar Mitzvah. I don't want Whizzer to miss out on it... So can we do it here? In his room?" I scoffed, about to refuse. I mean, seriously, Jason? Poor Whizzer would suffer.
"I'd love that." I heard. I snapped my head in surprise, turning to face my lover as I processed his words.
"You would?" I checked, to which he nodded. I cleared my throat, then eventually sighed, "Fine. Tell your mother." Jason thanked the pair of us, and dashed out of the room. I lowered my head in thought for some time, but Whizzer placed a hand on my thigh, making me lose track of whatever was on my mind. I placed my hand on top of his, though I couldn't manage to lift my head up, my mind spinning tooheavily, or something. I eventually laid down beside him, wrapping a leg over his, and bringing my arms around his neck gently. I had almost fallen asleep in that position, when Whizzer murmured to me,
"I'm scared, Marvin." I frowned, my eyes welling up as I bit back my sob. I rested my head against his, and softly spoke back,
"Me too. Let's be scared together. Let's pretend that nothing is awful." I could feel Whizzer's chest shaking, him sniffling, but also his trembling voice that muttered,
"There's nothing to fear. Just stay right here. I love you." I almost laughed at how sweet he was being. It wouldn't have been a funny laugh, but more of one I'd do to comfort myself. When we first got together, we spent most of our days fighting, and making up late at night. Nowadays, he'll teach me to play racquetball... And while I'm not all that great, it makes him smile, which consequently makes me smile. Thinking of our relationship almost 3 years ago leaves me perplexed. We loved each other, sure, but I was too harsh on him, looking back, and, as much as I try to supress my thoughts, I often worry that I failed. As a lover. As a friend.
"I love you too." I managed to respond, my voice cracking as tears escaped my eyes, falling against the pillow my head was leaned on. We two hugged for the whole night, forgetting all about the pointless world that seemed to be trying to punish us for some wicked reason.