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"You know what I miss the most about him?" Francis chuckles humorlessly, Harmony signals for him to go on as he fidgets with the buttons of his blue shirt.
"The contact, I miss his touch and I miss touching him." the amateur magician laments, looking far ahead, charming features blank.
Harmony stares at him awkwardly, speechless, raising an eyebrow, Francis' round cheeks blush furiously at that.
"I don't even mean it that way….I mean, of course that way too but on a general, daily basis, he always had his strong hands possessively on me any chance he got and I didn't know how much I would miss it until now…." the curly-haired young man glanced at the ground, drawing indescribable shapes with his worn-out sneakers on the hard surface at the hospital cafeteria.
"Stop that, Francis, you already sound like he's gone, I'm positive he'll pull through!" said Harmony, putting a small hand on her friend's broad shoulder, offering a kind smile.
She didn't really get what Francis found to be so special about Arnoldo, still, hoping for the mustached, Italian man to die wasn't an option either, he's her best friend and she needed to be supportive.
"You're positive?" Francis' head instantly whipped back up, flashing the purple-clad girl his prettiest gap-toothed smile and bright, olive eyes.
"Yes!" she beamed, her own grin a bit forced but she doubted the boy would notice on his current fragile state.
"Because I'm not ready to lose him yet, Harmony, I don't want to think about a life completely without him yet." Francis finally allowed salty tears to fall down his pale cheeks, Harmony bit her tongue, gently embracing him.
She thinks what everyone else thinks, this relationship was never healthy and her dear friend could use some independence at last, she only wishes Francis would decide that on his own instead of Arnoldo having to die of a terrible virus that's wiping half the planet for it to happen.
"And you won't have to, Francis." was all she managed to say.
Francis took a deep breath as he stepped into the elevator that would take him back to the ICU where his Grand Chef, Mentor, Lover and Life Partner has been currently residing for the past week.
He put his gloves and mask back on, If the young apprentice slept more than 3 hours this week it was a lot.
It was no surprise that Arnoldo did not take the news of the pandemic well, he was stubborn as ever, not wanting to shut down the Restaurant under any circumstances, he was eventually forced to by the law however.
He has always been a very strong-willed man, he wanted to keep working under any cost yet he absolutely loathed having to turn his precious, very traditional family business into a delivery service, Francis was there through all of that ordeal.
Something else Arnoldo hated: Social distancing, Francis had to do deliveries to pay their bills, it wasn't safe for him and the older man to have any physical contact anymore and that drove both insane.
Francis knew it was pretty much inevitable, the day Arnoldo would have enough and escape the prison their home had become to run to the dock and vent to the sea his laments and sorrows, stopping to talk to any passerby he could find, all of that unmasked, of course.
They had a big argument that night, their worst so far after years of companionship, Francis just couldn't understand how it wouldn't get through his beloved mentor's head that he just wanted to keep the Italian Chef safe until all of this passed.
It really didn't take long for Arnoldo to start showing severe symptoms, constantly tired, constantly losing his breath, frequently under high fever plus his worst nightmare:
Not being able to taste or smell any food.
And one morning, Arnoldo passed out in the middle of the restaurant.
Francis knew he shouldn't be this close, it's extremely risky, he ran a gloved hand through his lover's silky, smooth, caramel brown hair, the middle-aged man can't breathe on his own (yet), the only thing keeping his Arnoldo alive are these machines providing him oxygen.
When Francis had come back from his first few deliveries of the day to find his Boss out cold on the floor, he himself forgot how to breathe.
It was all so sudden, things seemed to be going really well, they had a cozy home, a business together, living on a gorgeous island surrounded by the beach and a beautiful crystal blue ocean, it was everything Francis could ever dream of until it wasn't.
The only reason Francis is even allowed inside this room it's because they legally married at the end of 2019 because Arnoldo wanted his curly-haired mentee to co-own the Restaurant with him on paper and…..
…….Have the right to everything he owns once he dies.
When the Italian Chef first said those words and patted the younger man's arm, Francis had just brushed it off as Arnoldo being overdramatic again as usual, the mustached man is not even 60 yet, he's too stubborn to die this soon.
Francis laid on the brown, uncomfortable couch he became too used to by now, staring up at the ceiling with blurry green orbs, biting his bottom lip to keep his tears at bay.
Maybe said stubbornness it's what's going to kill him after all.
Arnoldo thankfully woke up eventually and was allowed visitors, few at a time, of course.
Captain Topa came with Natalio and Lila, Natalio has been recovering his memory really well these days while recluded and had a lot to reprimand Arnoldo for.
The Rulos were next, they behaved well for once without needing to be bribed, Francis had to literally beg and cry for that to happen though.
Melody and Harmony sang to him, Arnoldo pretended to like it, later he told Francis he hated it but felt flattered nonetheless.
Doris and Josefina had a lot to say and catch up, Arnoldo surprisingly listened intently to all of it, surprisingly, he genuinely likes them and enjoys whatever trivial thing they had to say.
Fiore and Alina were there from day one, helping any way they could, they tried to cook for him, they failed miserably, they brought him flores blancas, his favorite, as a last resort, he loved it.
Even Inés Pinaca came over, which did not result on a Happy Francis but the boy has infinite skills and pretending everything is fine is up there at the top.
By the end of the day, he was just glad he did not need to worry about building a life of his own without his beloved Grand Chef just yet.
He knows it will happen sooner or later but that can wait.
It was Arnoldo's last day at the hospital, Malu and Keno, the Malvatti Siblings silently stepped into the room, Francis' whole body tensed but they came in peace.
Keno had showed Malu how much support from friends and family Arnoldo had gotten during the past months and how depressed Francis had been about the idea of losing his Boss, the redheaded woman begrudgingly agreed to move their food truck to the other side of the island, she just could not resist when her Keno gave her those puppy eyes.
Enzo and Nunciatina, Arnoldo's Parents, were stranded in Italy, not allowed to leave the country at any cost so Francis had to endure them zoom calling literally everyday.
Francis eventually found it to be nice, to have someone to constantly talk to and distract his mind during those dark times, Arnoldo's Family had been nothing but amazing to him, he was one of theirs.
2022 came around and the pandemic is officially over, about 3 years of absolute agony and dread, now the whole family (from both sides) were able to travel to Bahía Bonita for Arnoldo and Francis' Wedding Ceremony at the beach.
Arnoldo squeezed Francis' hand painfully tight, suddenly nervous, not too long ago he thought he would literally die before this moment could ever come, his Francis had a watery grin gracing his handsome features, Arnoldo smirked knowingly, dark eyes narrowing as he leaned forward into a much anticipated, loving kiss, cheers echoing in the background, Francis giggling adorably due to Arnoldo's mustache scratching his face while the sunset was shining down upon the both of them.
Many things tried to separate them through the years, even life itself.
Yet they wouldn't want to be anywhere else.