hello! Welcome to Day #2 of The Twelve Days Of Auslly! Hope you enjoy this story and please read Day #1 if you haven't and I hope you'll read the other days too! Enjoy!
*AU*
Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or anything else you may recognize.
Christmas time.
A special time of the year, a time to drink hot chocolate and watch Hallmark movies with the family, a time to wrap gifts and decorate trees.
Not a time to find out you're dying of cancer.
Yep, Austin Moon, only 19, was dying of cancer.
He had been diagnosed a few weeks ago, pancreatic cancer. A cancer that develops rapidly and is one of the most dangerous. He had been told he was expected to pass sometime between Christmas and January 15th, which was not a lot of time to complete the bucket list.
Since he was pretty much about to die and had no family (Austin had lived in foster care since he was 2 and left at 18) all he did was stay at the hospital.
He had one friend, Dez, a questionable redhead who would visit once every few days.
Otherwise he was alone, all day all the time.
He didn't mind though, after a lifetime of abuse from foster homes and struggles with mental health since seventh grade he didn't really care.
He knew Dez wouldn't mind his death that much, his friend had plans to move out from Miami to California where he would enroll in film school. That would keep him busy enough to forget about his friend's passing.
Austin stared out his hospital window as usual, the nurses and doctors always came at 7:15 am, 9:30 am, 10:45 am, 12:30 pm, 2:00 pm, 4:00 pm, 6:15 pm, 7:30 pm, 10:00 pm 12:00 am, 2:30 am and 4:00 am to check on him. It was only 1 pm so he knew he had little alone time till anyone checked on him.
He flipped through the sketchbook the hospital had gave him.
Throughout his life people only focused on his musical talents, nobody knew about his art skills or that he was extraordinary at gymnastics. Not that he would tell them anyways, those secrets were reserved for Austin and Austin only.
He was sharpening a colored pencil when all of a sudden his door cracked open and a girl fell through.
"Hello?" Austin asked as the girl didn't do anything after face planting the ground.
"Hi." She said flustered as she picked herself off the ground. She stuck her hand out for him to shake, and as confused as he was he still shook it.
"I'm Ally Dawson", she introduced herself as she sat down, pulling a little notepad and pencil out of her backpack. When he saw her notepad he remembered his sketchbook was still out in the open so he quickly shoved it under the thick hospital blanket.
It was only till she gave him an expectant look he realized he hadn't introduced himself so he snapped out of whatever.
"Austin Moon", he replied.
"Nice to meet you Austin, so why are you here?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that? If I remember correctly you're the one who fell into my room and made herself comfortable."
She turned bright red at his remark and he realized that probably wasn't the kindest thing to say, but hey that's what years of defending yourself does to ya.
"Oh-um, they didn't tell you?" She asked nervously, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Who ask me what." He said rather dryly, although in his defense he was dying and would like to spend the rest of his days just staring out the window and drawing.
"Oh-um I guess they really didn't tell you anything. Again my name's Ally Dawson, I'm a freshman at Miami University and I'm a journalist. Since your case is so rare I was told I was allowed to come interview you, but I'm assuming no body told you." She stammered, face flushed from embarrassment.
"Oh", was all he muttered, now he was embarrassed for being so rude to her.
"I'm sorry I was rude, things have just been rough lately and I wasn't prepared for visitors. Let's get this interview started." He apologized to her.
"Really?" Her face revealing such a hopeful smile he felt so guilty for ever being rude to her.
"Yeah," he said, his own bright smile appearing.
She interviewed him till visiting hours were over, which was a lot of talking ( and a lot of interruptions from nurses and doctors but hey that's what happens when you have one of the rarest cancers) and questioning.
She asked him all sorts of questions, about his childhood, his social life, how he learned he had cancer, what he liked to do in his free time, and etc.
She asked him so many questions so fast he was surprised he could answer them all, he was even more surprised she was able to write them all down before asking the next one.
After she asked all the necessary questions she started grouping together her notes as a nurse brought some food for Austin.
Once the nurse left Austin offered Ally some of his food but she politely rejected saying she wanted to finish her notes.
Later she had to leave but promised Austin she would visit him again soon.
Austin and Ally had been hanging out a lot lately, she would visit him on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, or whenever her music store Sonic Boom wasn't busy.
Austin had been intrigued to hear she owned a music store at 18, she explained she had inherited it from her dad after he passed last year.
The two would often sit in Austin's room or go in the community center with other teens, their favorite thing to do was hang out with Trish and Dez, a young couple who had been involved in a serious car crash and in physical therapy.
While they may have only met a few weeks ago Austin knew he didn't have much time left, he was weaker and not as energetic as before. Everyone could feel the change in him.
So he did one thing he knew he would regret if he didn't, he asked Ally to be his girlfriend, to which she surprised him by pulling out a ring and proposing to him.
She gave a whole speech on how while they had only known each other for a few weeks she knew she loved him and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him.
Speechless that someone would date someone dying, nonetheless marry them Austin didn't believe her. He thought she was making joke as they often pranked each other.
After assuring him she meant it he agreed and went down to the community center where everyone celebrated.
On Christmas Day they got married, an officiant came and everyone got dressed up.
The ceremony was being held in the community center and it brought tears to Austin's eyes to see the place fully decorated.
It was a Christmas themed wedding since it was on Christmas and there were lots of gold, red, and green themes everywhere, but it was beautiful.
Austin nearly burst into tears when Ally walked down the makeshift aisle, she had always been beautiful but right now there was no word to describe her beauty.
And so they said their vows, promising to love each other in sickness and in health, and till death do they part.
If only they hadn't parted fifteen hours later.
Fifteen hours after their wedding Austin Dawson (he changed his last name to hers after the emotional trauma linked to his name and the breath of fresh air from hers) left this world, leaving his wife and friends devastated.
While it was inevitable nobody had expected him to pass so soon, everyone felt terrible for the bride who was widowed only fifteen hours after her wedding.
She remembered the nurses and doctors flooding in the room as he started to go limp. She remembered his eyes, which had been so bright and hopeful just hours earlier, were now dull and lifeless.
They separated the freshly married couple, who were still in their wedding clothes for Pete's sake. She remembered being told to sit down as they preformed the necessary procedures.
After a few minutes she was allowed to say goodbye, she remembered as she joined their hands for the final time. She remembered his head turning one last time to look at her.
She remembered telling him she loved him so much and that she was so grateful for the time they had spent together, saying it was the best few weeks of her life.
She recalled telling him she would never forget the first love of her life and would always love and remember him. She remembers him telling her how he was so thankful she came into his life and this was the best Christmas he had ever had.
And so she kissed him one last time and as she separated their lips the monitor went flat and she was rushed out of the room.
It may have ended tragically but she knew this imperfectly perfect Christmas would still be the best one she would ever have.
Years later Ally remarried a guy named Gavin, she told him all about how she met Austin, and how he was the first love of her life and husband.
Gavin supported Ally as she stilled grieved her deceased husband, he understood he had been her first love and supported her when she needed it.
Many times he held her as she cried about him, rubbing her back in soothing circles as he reminded he was in a better place.
And he was right, Austin would watch them from above in the sky, he was grateful Ally had someone else to love and cherish her like he had.
As bittersweet as it was it made him happy seeing her being in love with another, healthy, loving man who would hold and comfort her till she was old and gray and joined him in the sky.
A few years after she married her second husband Ally fell pregnant, and then nine months later she gave birth to Austin Ray Dawson.
Gavin had been the one to suggest they name Austin after Austin, he had said it would be a sweet tribute to him and Ally happily agreed.
And so the Dawson's lived a happy life, with Austin watching them from above, and decades later they had a beautiful reunion. But that's a story for another day, for now let's just enjoy this imperfectly perfect Christmas.
bro I'm sobbing rn, I have tears in my tracks all down my face lol. Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review and have a wonderful Christmas!