She'd come to him late one night, when a thunderstorm was raging outside. She looked tired - tired and weary - as if, for the life, of her she just couldn't stay awake. But, somehow, she managed to. And she'd knocked on the door of his laboratory.

"Verde...?"

He'd had no desire to have any visitors, to entertain them, to leave his experiments for them, when he noticed the screen showing him his visitor. But that was on his first glance. On his second glance, he saw it was Luce.

There had been a time, long ago, when he had loved her. They had been engaged, soon to be married, and that raven-haired woman had been pregnant with what he'd assumed to be his child. And then Reborn had to ruin everything. Verde had seen the two together so often, and feelings of suspicion arose from within him. Luce was in love with that assassin, he was certain, instead of him, her fiancée. She'd told him it wasn't true so many times, but the pressure became too much and he no longer believed what she said.

If she wanted to be with Reborn, so be it. She clearly no longer wanted him. Heck, that child of hers probably even belonged to Reborn! And so he'd let her go. He'd called off the engagement, the soon-to-be-wedding, the relationship, and he hadn't looked back. Not once.

Rather, he'd devoted himself to science. Not that he wasn't a scientist before. But now, science was the reason he lived, not Luce. Science could not betray him, it could not hurt him. And so, safe from emotional pain, he'd tried to avoid the others.

But Luce kept coming around these days, and he just didn't have the heart to tell that girl no. Sighing, he reluctantly left his computer and went to open the door.

"You needed a place to stay." He said before she could explain why she was here; she always came here when she needed a place to stay. Why didn't she just go to Reborn? They'd be better off together, not bothering him...

And she nodded wordlessly. He was right. Big surprise.

"I'll lead you to the guest bedroom then." And so he did.

He saw her lay in bed, and he sat on a chair next to the guest bedroom's bed. He only noticed now how pale Luce was and how fragile she looked; it was like the slightest touch could break her, shattering her into a thousand little pieces. Before he could ask about it, she spoke. "Verde, I... I need you to promise me something."

And he merely nodded; for once, he was confused.

"When I die, I want you to look after Aria... Please... Please, promise me that."

He'd never heard her sound so desperate. To be honest, it worried him; much to his chagrin, he'd found that he'd never quite gotten over her. He still cared about her...

Finally, he spoke, "Sure. Even though that should be her father's job..."

"I suppose it should be..." Luce said simply, sounding weak and sickly. "Would you...stay here until I fall asleep?"

She smiled wearily at him; he couldn't refuse.

"Fine..."

He watched those azure eyes clothes behind pale eyelids. 'Let her rest,' he thought, 'When morning comes, she'll be fine.'

He stayed with her a while longer, until her breathing slowed and then, reluctantly, left her side, murmuring a quiet "Goodnight..." as he slipped out the door.

He'd regret not staying with her...

And then the next morning came, the morning that would break the world apart. At least, Verde's world apart...

He'd spent the night awake, pulling all-nighter as he did often these days. He stared at his screens, seeming to rest his eyes every now and then. He hadn't bothered to check on Luce since he'd left her room. Why would he need to? She'd be fine.

Right...?

Luce's eyes opened and she felt her chest constrict. Something was wrong, very wrong. She hadn't hurt like this ever before. "Verde?" She called, but received no response. And so she tried again, "Verde...?"

Her voice was filled with fear, and rightfully so. She was in pain and didn't know why; she was scared and couldn't receive comfort.

"Ver-" This call stopped short, fading into painful coughs.

And Luce began to realize what was going on with her. Her time had come...

But she was scared to die alone. Her ocean blue eyes, filled with fear and tears, were starting to fail in giving her sight, but that didn't stop her from trying to get out of the bed.

She was just about to hop off the side, when her world went black, and she fell out of the bed, lying in a white-clothed heap on the floor.

It was then that Verde awoke from merely "resting his eyes". He saw Luce's room, and saw that she was not in bed. Worse, she was on the floor, and she was not moving. Fear crept into his heart, and he abandoned whatever experiment he'd been working on, hopping out of his chair and running to her room, his baby-sized, white lab coat flowing behind him.

"Luce!" He shouted as he entered her room.

And he saw her. She was not moving, not an inch. She was still as could be, still as a stone, still as...death.

He kneeled by her side, shaking her slightly in hopes of awakening her. This could not happen. This...this had to be a dream! But she would not open her eyes, she would not breathe, and Verde would not wake up.

He wanted to refuse the harsh reality for once, though he tended to embrace the truth of things. But, for once, truth was not what he needed, because truth was telling him that Luce was...was dead.

"Luce..." His voice was desperate and it cracked as he said her perfect name. He held her close to him, and tears actually began to form in his eyes.

If he'd just paid attention, this wouldn't have happened. He'd have caught her and saved her and...and...

He knew that was not the case. Luce had not died from falling out of the bed. She'd died from her curse, the curse of the Sky Arcobaleno.

Only she would die; the rest would live on through countless generations.

Was that what he wanted, though? A future without the woman he loved...

And again, reality hit him; if reality had a human form, it would've socked him in the gut right now, because he felt nothing but heart-wrenching pain. Luce was dead. Dead! She was not coming back. No amount of science could save her. She was gone. His Luce...gone!

And he held against him, resting his chin in the crook of her neck, still soft and pale and gentle. Warmth was leaving her skin, but he felt where there was once life.

He cried. Oh, how he cried.

"LUCE!"

Now, Verde wasn't one to show emotions. He had not shown emotion when he thought Reborn had stolen his fiancée from him. He had not shown emotion when he had left Luce because of her supposed cheating. He had not shown emotion when he tried to kill the other Arcobaleno for the sake of his experiments.

But now? He showed emotion because the only person he had loved, would ever love, was dead.

He didn't know how long he stayed there, just holding her dead body in his arms, wishing for another chance. He thought he might have fallen asleep, even, for when he finally stopped crying, he noticed he only clung to her clothes, that golden particles of light left her clothes and flew into the air.

This was his Luce. She was leaving him, and he released the clothes, trying to get that light before it left him too.

"Luce!" He reached for that light, desperate not to lose her.

For a second there, he thought he might have even seen her before him, smiling at him. And he had no doubt that he heard her voice, speaking to him. "Goodnight..." She practically whispered, her voice faint and distant, "Goodnight and goodbye..."

"I love you..."

And then he heard her last word. It was his name.

"Verde..."

And she was gone.

He sunk to his knees. His world was gone and - for now, at least - he was a broken man. "Luce..." He whispered to the nothingness surrounding him, "I love you..."

And he cried once more...