Work Text:
Livio had been doing wonderfully.
Gion, the man he swore to protect all his life, was now his husband.
Royal life was sort of more simplier for them, living in a villa nestled within the Alpine Countryside, quiet and happy.
They bore a daughter, a mere two years after the marriage— Feliciana, the light of their lives and Livio doted on her as much as Gion did.
Life, for them, for Livio… was perfect.
— + —
It was late in the night. Cicadas sang and the moon rose high.
“I’ll be putting Feliciana to bed.” Gion announced, carrying their infant daughter in his arms. He smiled from the foot of the staircase, waving. “Buona notte, caro.”
“Buona notte.” Livio waved back and footsteps echoed. Upstairs, a door clicked shut.
Livio settled on the couch, smiling to himself.
Truly, life is a beautiful thing.
Then…
His eyes caught something.
A lamp.
Circular base.
Red with gold trim.
Cylindrical shade with umber tassles.
It looks… weird, flat, even.
Like it shouldn’t be there.
“That lamp…” Livio muttered, approaching the lamp. “Did we… have this before?”
His fingers brushed the tassles.
And everything went black, like a blown-out candle in the dark.
— + —
Beep…
Beep…
Beep…
Livio’s eyes opened, blinking so to adjust to the sharp white lights on the ceiling.
To his left, heart monitors and an IV drip, slowly dripping into his bloodstream.
To his right, a much younger Gion standing with a doctor, his face pale with distress.
“Please, mio Dio, tell me he’s alright.” He said as his eyebrows pressed together in worry.
The doctor nodded, “He’s lucky,” He responded, “The bullet went just far enough to not pierce through his brain. Though, there might be some scarring.”
And Livio, in his drowsiness, came to a horrifying conclusion…
Had he been dreaming?