TW: crying, death, flatlining, kissing

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"We're sorry, but he didn't make it," the doctor told Roman in a soft voice.

"No," Roman whispered, shaking his head as tears started flowing down his face. "N-no, t-that c-can't b-be..."

"I'm very sorry," the doctor said again, and Roman felt his heart shatter. "You can say goodbye to the body if you would like."

Roman nodded, a hand covering his mouth as he cried. The doctor smiled sadly and led Roman out of the waiting room, stopping outside of a room. Opening the door, the doctor motioned inside.

Looking inside, Roman saw Virgil lying on the bed, his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. Roman would have thought he was if it weren't for the greyish tint to his skin.

"No-" Roman sobbed, walking to the bedside and sitting in an empty chair next to it. He grasped one of Virgil's hands in his, sobbing again at how cold it felt. "Darling, no-"

Roman jolted awake from his sleep, tears pooling in his eyes and breathing uneven as he realized it had all been a dream. After taking a few deep breaths, Roman realized that there was a constant beeping in the room. Looking around, Roman saw that the beeping was coming from a heart monitor attached to...

Virgil!

Roman let out a muffled cry, stumbling off the couch and into a chair that was placed next to Virgil's bed. He tentatively held a hand out, scared that he would hurt Virgil if he so much as touched his hand. Getting past his fear, Roman gently took one of Virgil's hands in his, marveling in the feeling of his warm skin pressed against mine.

Roman closed his eyes, letting out a sigh, and bringing Virgil's hand to his lips. He relaxed, letting the feel of Virgil's skin and the beep of the heart monitor to lull him into a trance.

That trance was broken, however, when the steady beeping of the heart monitor turned to a single tone. Roman's eyes shot open, and he felt his chest seize as he stared at the solid green line on the black screen before turning back to Virgil.

"No!" Roman shouted, dropping Virgil's hand and shaking his shoulder as tears started to stream down his face. "No, Virgil, this can't be happening!"

As he was speaking, nurses and doctors ran into the room, surrounding Virgil. Patton was one of the many nurses, and he gently wrapped his arms around Roman's shoulders, trying to lead him to the door.

"No, I can't-" Roman whimpered, straining against Patton towards Virgil. "Virgil, he- no-"

"Shh, kiddo," Patton said calmly, gently rubbing his thumb against Roman's shoulder. "The doctors will be able to help him easier if you give them space, okay?"

Roman blankly nodded, allowing Patton to lead him to the hallway. Leaning his back against a wall, Roman sank to the floor, hugging his knees to his chest as he cried into them.

Patton sat down next to Roman, gently rubbing his shoulder the whole time.

"Let it out, kiddo," he hummed quietly.

Roman let out a sob, leaning into Patton, who gently embraced him.

"I-I can't l-lose him," Roman sobbed quietly into Patton's shoulder. "I-I d-don't know w-what I-I'd do w-without h-him..."

"I know, kiddo," Patton whispered, gently rubbing Roman's back.

The two sat there in the hallway in semi-silence for what felt like forever to Roman, who couldn't help imagining all of the horrible things that could happen.

Roman shook his head, trying to rid himself of those thoughts. He just wanted to be able to go home with Virgil, to be able to hear Virgil say his name, to be able to know Virgil was safe.

Is that too much to ask for? Roman thought to himself, trying not to shed the tears that were welling in his eyes.

Roman was broken from his thoughts by Patton placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You can go back in the room," Patton said with a small smile. "Virgil's okay, and they say he's awake."

Before Patton could finish speaking, Roman raced to his feet, stopping in the doorway and letting out a sob when he saw Virgil sitting up in the hospital bed, awake.

"Virge," Roman whispered, catching Virgil's attention.

Virgil glanced up at him before immediately looking away, balling his hands into fists in his lap as he started trembling. Roman grew concerned and walked over to where Virgil's bed was, sitting on the edge of it.

"Virgil, darling, look at me, please," Roman murmured, placing a hand over Virgil's hands.

Virgil shook his head, and Roman saw tears drop from his cheeks to the blanket over his legs. Roman let out a sigh, wrapping his arms around Virgil and pulling him into his chest. He gently rubbed Virgil's back as he felt his arms wrap around his torso as sobs shook Virgil's body.

"I-I'm s-sorry," Virgil said between sobs, his face pressed against Roman's shoulder. "I-I'm s-so s-sorry."

"Sshhh, you're okay, love," Roman murmured, pressing his lips to the top of Virgil's head as he tried to hold back the tears in his eyes. "It's okay, we're okay."

"I-I w-was s-so s-stupid," Virgil sobbed, and Roman pulled back slightly, cupping one of Virgil's cheeks with his hand.

"Love, don't talk like that," Roman said gently, kissing Virgil's forehead. "You were stressed and overwhelmed, not stupid."

"But-" Virgil started, but Roman cut him off, pressing his lips to Virgil's in a tender kiss.

"It's in the past now, Virge," Roman murmured softly, his lips brushing against Virgil's. "The only thing we can do now is to learn from our mistakes."

Virgil nodded his head slightly, pressing his cheek into Roman's hand. "Okay," he whispered before leaning in and connecting their lips again.

Roman smiled into the kiss holding Virgil close as their lips moved together before having to pull away to breathe. Pulling Virgil into a tight hug, Roman allowed some of the tears in his eyes to escape as he rested his head on Virgil's shoulder.

"I was so scared I was going to lose you," Roman murmured, his voice breaking at the end as he tried not to cry.

Roman felt Virgil's arms wrap around his shoulders and he couldn't stop the sob that escaped from the comfort of knowing that Virgil was there.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm here," Virgil whispered as he rubbed Roman's back. Roman just clung to Virgil more, not wanting to risk anything happening to him again.

"Roman, look at me," Virgil whispered after a few moments, and Roman obliged, lifting his tear-stained face to meet Virgil's steady gaze. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying right here."

Roman nodded at Virgil, who smiled back softly. Roman couldn't stop the small smile that spread across his face at the sight of Virgil's smile.

"I love you, Roman," Virgil said quietly, rubbing Roman's back with his thumb.

"I love you more, Virgil," Roman whispered, immediately leaning in and kissing Virgil again.

Virgil laughed before kissing back, his hands on Roman's back pulling him closer. After a few seconds, Roman pulled back and rested his head on Virgil's shoulder, closing his eyes and humming happily.

Roman knew that he and Virgil would have to talk about some important things in the days to come. He knew that things would take a long time to go back to how they were before if they ever did. But he knew that the two of them could get through this if they had each other.