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If he could've stopped time now, right where it was, Valentino Price would've a long time ago
He would've when Orion Pagan, the boy he met the night before when his own world seemed to end, gave him a show on the train. He would've when he kissed Orion for the first time, and maybe he would've when they scratched their names onto some bench so they shared the O. ValentinOrion. He couldn't stop thinking about it honestly.
But right now, they were being rushed to the hospital.
Valentino couldn't make out much, his eyes were closed and he was barely there. He could hear Orion pleading with him, with fate, and with death.
“Valentino, wake up, I- I need you to wake up,” Orion begged, voice cracking as he was kept away by his family who were worried for his own safety.
The hospital ride was a blur for both of the boys. There were the sounds of the city, the overlapping voices of family, then there was the chaos of the hospital, but all Valentino could try to focus on was the sound of Orion breaking down, his voice cracking as he tried to stay close but wasn’t allowed to.
He was taken into another room, away from Orion, when he finally became unconscious. The nothingness was oddly peaceful, like he could finally take a break.
A lot had happened today. Valentino had gone to Times Square for the premiere of Death Cast, he met Orion, and was saved by him too after finding out he would die. And Orion kept saving him, in a more metaphorical way at least.
Orion made sure Valentino lived on his End Day.
Valentino still wanted to live.
________
He woke up with a start, his heart racing as he took in his surroundings. A hospital room with sterile walls and beeping machines.. and a heart still in his chest? Valentino was alive?!
He patted down his chest and torso, like he was making sure he was still there. In a way he was. He looked around quickly, trying to understand what was happening but everything felt so distant and blurry.
“Orion,” Valentino breathed out as he got out of bed only to immediately almost fall flat on his ass. He gripped one of the medical devices, he didn't know what the hell it was but that didn't matter at this moment. He needed to find Orion. Now.
Orion, a few rooms over, wasn't awake yet. He had just gotten a new heart after all, but it wasn't Valentino's. For Valentino, there was no heart problem but instead was the fear of potential brain death, at first, but luckily Valentino’s body pushed through and started improving drastically quickly. Like it knew it needed to survive for the boy that stole his heart.
Does this mean he should be up? Absolutely not. His face was still cut from being pushed down a flight of stairs and he had a throbbing headache, but none of that seemed to matter to a gay boy on a mission to see his boyfriend. Yeah. His boyfriend. His Orion. Valentino smiled to himself at the thought as he pushed through the door.
He looked up and down the hall from the doorway. It felt oddly still. Was he actually dead? Was he just a ghost now? No. No that couldn't be it. Ghosts don't get headaches.
Valentino walked down the hall, trying to ignore how cold the building was. He missed his clothes right now, he didn't like this hospital gown he got put into. Honestly it was pretty ugly.
Orion. Right. Orion was the priority.
He glanced through different room doors, just to spot any sign of that mess of curls he loved so much. There was someone reading a book while recovering in one room, a heartbroken set of parents with their crying daughter in another. Valentino felt his heart clench. He wished his parents cared enough so he could have that.. And in a way, he also didn't. He loved Orion's family, and they welcomed him with open arms. Then he thought.. Would they still welcome him? Not like Orion had his heart right now, not literally anyway. Orion definitely had it but in a more cheesy romcom metaphorical way.
Then he saw it.
He almost tripped again when he had to backtrack to see that mess of curls more clearly. Orion. Breathing. Alive. He was alive, alive, alive. Valentino knew that he'd get in trouble for what he was about to do, but he really couldn't find it in himself to care. He felt like a dead man walking, and no one was going to stop him from seeing his great.. no, his amazing boyfriend.
Valentino quietly opened the door and stepped into the room. Orion was hooked up to multiple machines, a tube down his throat, and he wasn't awake. But his chest rose and fell with breath, making Valentino sigh in relief.
He took a seat next to the other's bedside, ignoring how uncomfortable it was in favor of holding Orion’s hand. Valentino stared at him for a long time, just taking in his features like he'd never see them again.
He heard voices outside the door and tensed up, whipping his head around as it opened.
Dr. Emeterio, Dalma, Dayana, and Floyd were standing there. They saw a mildly battered up Valentino next to Orion, both of whom were lucky to be alive considering the circumstances.
“You're supposed to be in bed,” Dr. Emeterio said, her tone almost like a scolding mother's. Not almost. It was. That's exactly what that tone was.
Valentino gave a sheepish grin. “I just wanted-.. I needed to see if Orion was okay,” he said. He was so unaware of his own close encounter with death, or maybe he just didn't care, that it made Dr. Emeterio sigh heavily.
“Orion is okay, the surgery went well-”
“Who gave him a heart??” Valentino interrupted then immediately shut himself up when he got a firm look.
Dr. Emeterio sighed again. She was exhausted from the day, truthfully, but she understood where Valentino was coming from.
“A man.. a decker, had come in and said he wanted to do something kind as his final act. We took that chance when we learned that you could be saved, Mr. Prince.” she explained, remaining calm despite the lingering tension that seemed thick in the room, “both you and Mr. Pagan will be okay.”
Everyone took a sigh of relief at that. Valentino looked back at Orion with a soft smile, maybe he could grow old with him. There were so many more firsts that he could actually get to now that they had lived.
Valentino then quickly noticed it was light outside the hospital window. He had definitely survived those twenty-four hours he was supposed to die. He looked back at the door where the family was speaking with Dr. Emeterio. However, Dalma came inside the room to stand by Orion's bedside and stare at her best friend, the one person who meant more to her than anything else.
“..I don't know how you survived, and honestly I don't care,” she spoke after a minute, her voice was rough from crying and Valentino understood then she wasn't trying to be mean, “but I'm glad you're alive.. Orion can't handle any more heartbreak in his life.” And then she finally looked at Valentino. She studied his face for a long moment before exhaling softly, almost relieved in a way.
“...I'm just glad Orion is okay,” Valentino said as his thumbs rubbed against the knuckles of the hand he held.
“Me too.”
Then there was silence. It wasn't suffocating, instead there was a quiet relief in it. Relief that Orion had a new heart, that Valentino was alive, and that everything, for once, seemed to be going right.
Valentino didn't know what would happen now. He was the first ever decker, and now he was the first to survive at the end. He didn't know what this meant for him, for Death Cast, but he did know that he wanted to spend whatever he had left of his life with Orion, with Scarlett, and with the family who welcomed him with bright smiles and kind words.
“..Are you mad? I didn't keep my promise,” Valentino asked suddenly, breaking the silence with a quiet uncertainty.
Dalma looked over at him like he had two heads. “Are you seriously asking if I'm mad at you for surviving??”
“Answer the question!”
Dalma sighed. “No, of course I'm not mad. Orion got a heart, that's all that matters.. and now he can keep you along with it.”
Valentino nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. He had meant that promise. He would've given Orion his heart. Still would. He'd do anything for the boy that made him feel alive on what was supposed to be his last day living.
But now he had time. So much of it, it seemed. He'd spend all of it telling Orion everything he needed to.
“You know, if you would've told me a day ago that I would meet the cutest boy ever, find out I was supposed to die, make that boy my boyfriend, then actually survive everything, I would've called you crazy,” Valentino remarked dryly with a huff of laughter, “I think I'm done with so much excitement for a while.”
“Cheers to that,” Dalma agreed with a nod.
________
When Orion woke, it wasn't something grand. It was a groggy, half-dead feeling sort of wake up. He tried to grumble something but was stopped by the tube in his mouth. All he could think right now was “ow”. Then everything came flooding back - the End Day, the gunshots, the stairs, the surgery. Oh god, was Valentino actually dead? Would he never see him again?? Who was holding his hand?!
“Orion! Hey, Orion, I'm right here,” a voice called out as Orion's eyes instinctively welled up with tears. When he looked over at the source of the sound, it felt like his heart stopped. He really hoped it wouldn't because the Valentino fucking Prince was alive. He was alive and looking at Orion with those beautiful blue eyes he somehow started to love even more.
To say that Orion was crying his heart out – okay, enough with the heart puns – would be an understatement. He couldn't talk, but the way he looked so confused yet relieved said everything.
Valentino merely smiled at him, brushing away one of Orion's dark curls with his free hand. “It's okay, you're okay,” he assured, “..We're okay. I actually survived!”
Orion stared for a long moment, tears still running down his face. He hated that he couldn't do much right now. He wanted to kiss his boyfriend, hug him, something! But Valentino just held his hand, the hold tight enough to remind both of them that this was real. That they had survived the impossible.
“Dalma’s going to be stoked you're awake,” Valentino said while grabbing his phone, Orion’s phone, “she's taking a nap in the waiting room, basically had to be forced to leave-”
Orion, with the little bit of strength he had, grabbed the phone while shaking his head. He needed more alone time with Valentino. He had his whole life with Dalma, but he thought Valentino would be dead when he woke up. So he needed this, just for a couple more minutes.
The other understood and nodded. “Okay.. A couple more minutes then.”
The silence between them was different than with Valentino and Dalma. It wasn't uncomfortable or heavy, just.. There. Valentino brought Orion’s hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles.
“I missed you,” he murmured, voice low and only for Orion to hear – not like anyone else was there to hear it.
Orion squeezed his hand again. They were both here, alive, and now they had time. Time that used to be a mere thought but now it's real.
Orion kept reminding himself of that. Time. Time, time, time, time. They had it, and he'd never take advantage of it again. Neither would Valentino, who honestly just wanted to cry at all this but didn't. Not yet.
________
Then came the time for family. While all of them immediately overwhelmed Orion quite a bit, he held onto Valentino’s hand like a lifeline. Dalma cried.. A lot. Her mascara ran down her face as she finally grappled with the fact her best friend, her brother, would be okay. Of course, she knew that when the surgery started, she knew that when she spoke with Valentino after it, but seeing Orion awake and with a healthy heart was different.
He had a healthy heart, and now had time to heal with his family and boyfriend by his side.
The next three days were filled with emotions, tears, and catching Orion up on different events but still making sure he was resting enough. Valentino never left his side, nor did Dalma. It almost looked like Orion had two bodyguards, and he did. Those two would probably tackle someone if needed, both probably could.
And when Scarlett finally arrived in New York? Valentino was a mess all over again. He had been in the hallway getting some water when he saw his twin at the end of it. He looked at her for a long moment before they both immediately ran towards one other. The hug felt like it'd crush Valentino’s ribs but he didn't give a single fuck about that as his arms wrapped around his sister. He was immediately crying, and so was Scarlett. She was so relieved to hear her brother had survived. Actually, relief doesn't even begin to cover it. There were so many emotions there. All too big to name.
“I missed you,” Valentino said, his voice quivering as he forced the words out.
“I missed you same,” Scarlett replied as she buried her face against her twin’s shoulder with shuddering sobs.
They stayed there for a long moment, the lingering fear and tension melting away completely before Valentino pulled back, just barely.
“You said you wanted to meet my boyfriend, right?” he asked with a weak grin, wiping away tears that still fell.
Scarlett exhaled a sharp, wary laugh. “Of course I do.
________
When the tube from Orion’s throat was removed, he kissed Valentino so hard he thought he might break his or the other's nose – Brokeback Mountain style. Then they laughed. A lot. They laughed at the insanity of this whole shit show of a situation.
No one knew the first ever decker had lived, they only knew of the deckers who weren't notified on time and died before they ever got a call. They wanted it that way. They didn't want some media coverage about the boy who survived End Day, they wanted a life where they could simply exist- No. Live together.
The ride home wasn't tense, instead the car was loud and full of people talking over each other. Scarlett had fit right in with this little group of people, especially after she basically disowned her parents. The family that supported her brother welcomed her all the same, Valentino swore he had never seen her smile so much. Not even when she had gotten accepted into college the year before.
Orion sat in the window seat of the car, holding hands with Valentino who was sitting right next to him. Valentino looked at the others, seeing the way Dalma and Scarlett talked like they had known each other for years, then tore his gaze away to admire the man beside him.
He rested his head on the other's shoulder. “I love you, Orion Pagan,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to Orion’s jaw.
Orion smiled, a blush painting his cheeks, faint but noticeable to Valentino. “I love you more, Valentino Prince.” he said while looking over at him.
“Not possible.”
“Is too!”
They laughed together, feeling on top of the world after what they had endured. They had survived the impossible. They survived death itself.
Orion knew he wasn't a short story anymore, he was a novel. An unwritten story he was excited to see play out.
Orion and Valentino would not be called by Death Cast because they weren't meant to die.
Not yet.
Not today.
And not anytime soon.