The three sat in the hospital room for hours before Kevin even woke up. When he finally did, Connor was close to falling asleep. He had his face on Kevin's hand, which he was somehow still holding.
"Connor?" said a quiet whisper. Connor was sure that it was in his dream.
"Mmm, Kevin," he sighed happily. A vision was forming in his mind. He was finally proposing to his amazing, beautiful boyfriend who eagerly said yes and they kissed. It was perfect.
"Connor, are you even awake?" Someone lifted his chin. Connor sleepily opened his eyes. Once he saw Kevin grinning widely at him, he bolted out of his chair and onto the bed next to him.
"Kevin! You're awake! Oh, you had me so worried! Never, ever do that to me again!" He burrowed his face into the younger man's shoulder as Kevin laughed at him.
"Of course I'm awake! I told you I would make it," he mused as he kissed his boyfriend's forehead. The two cuddled close together, enjoying each other's company once again.
"Well, I'm very glad you did. I've been a complete wreck!" Kevin laughed again.
"I can imagine, hun!" Seeing Connor's mock hurt expression, the brunette kissed his boyfriend lightly on the lips. "I'd be the same way, babe. Probably worse."
"Mmm, I doubt that," Connor sighed happily.
Arnold and Nabalungi both walked in and squealed in delight.
"KEVIN!" Arnold cried, probably alerting the patients on every other floor of the hospital. Kevin winced at the loud noise, but smiled brightly at him.
"Hey pal!" Arnold ran to him and gave him a bone-crushing hug. After a moment, they drew back from each other and laughed. Nabalungi crossed over to them and kissed Kevin on the cheek.
"It is very nice to see you awake, Elder- I mean, Kevin," she said, blushing. She was still adjusting to calling the three boys by their first names. They all began chattering, asking about each other's lives since they had last seen each other, when a nurse came in.
"Oh, Mr. Price! You're awake now! Excellent. I'll send the doctor with your test results right away." She took some notes then scurried out of the room. Soon, an older woman came into the room with a folder full of Kevin's test results. Connor suddenly felt nervous. He worried about what they would reveal. What if he's sick? What if he's- He looked at Kevin sitting next to him. The young man turned his head and saw the redhead staring. Kevin smiled and squeezed his hand lovingly. They leaned into each other until their heads were pressed together.
"Hello everyone, I'm Dr. Walker. I... I'm afraid I have some bad news. Would you like me to just tell you or should I wait until the rest of your family is here?" Connor looked to Kevin for guidance. Kevin just looked back at the doctor.
"My parents haven't spoken to me since I started seeing my beautiful boyfriend, Connor. So you can tell us now," he said with a sad frown playing on his lips. Connor kissed his cheek and whispered, "I love you."
"Well," the doctor murmured. He cleared his throat. "Anyways, the results. I'm afraid they aren't as good as we had hoped. As we were taking a look at your brain scan, we noticed an irregular lump, so we looked further. We have discovered that it is a tumor. It already too large to remove. We're all very sorry." Connor sat in shock for a moment, then began sobbing hysterically into Kevin's hospital gown. Kevin just sat there, staring at the doctor.
"How long?" he whispered hoarsely. The doctor winced visibly.
"About a month or so. Maybe less. It's hard to tell. I really am sorry," he murmured before leaving the room. Connor tried to compose himself but found it impossible. Kevin's going to die. He's leaving me. Which of course made him weep even harder.
So much for hope.