Drabble 20
Fortitude
Julian's tears were staining the white hospital sheets. Nurses surrounded him, telling him that they had to move the body, they had to get it out of there so someone else could come in. Julian wouldn't move, and since he was an old movie star, they let him stay there while they unhooked all the machines.
"Julian…?" Derek's voice came from behind him. He put his hand on Julian's shoulder. Julian jumped but did not look up or respond.
"Jules, you have to leave. We have to leave. He isn't…"
Julian drew in a shaking breath that rattled his ribcage.
"…coming back." Derek didn't want to say it, but he had to.
Julian stood up slowly, his limbs feeling like they'd been sitting at Logan's bedside for hours, when in fact they'd only been there for five minutes before Logan left the world for good.
He shook his head, moved his mouth, and maybe words came out but he wasn't sure.
"Come on." Derek took his hand to lead him away, but Julian shook Derek's hand loose. He said something else but, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it was.
He thought it might be 'I love you.'
"He knows," Derek said, so it must have been 'I love you.' "He knows," Derek repeated soothingly, and Julian realized there were tears in his eyes.
Julian nodded. They were in the waiting room. He sighed.
"I'll never see him again," he whispered, thinking of all the mornings he'd seen Logan. 48 years. They had woken up in the same bed for 48 years. And now for the remainder of his days, Julian wasn't going to wake up next to his husband, his best friend, his life.
Logan was gone.