"Greetings, Mumbo! Would you care for a peppermint this afternoon?"

"No thank you, Jevin. Today is my husband's birthday and I must at least deliver the flowers. Maybe another time."

"Alrighty, then! I hope your visit is swell!" Jevin waves from behind the receptionist counter, smiling pitifully at Mumbo, who's a really frequent visitor. Every doctor and receptionist recognizes Mumbo at this point because of his many visits. Mumbo respectively nods at Jevin as a silent 'thanks' before heading down the twin looking white corridors.

A beautiful bundle of small daisies, stargazing lilies, and plumerias are held in his grip, swinging around gingerly for every step he takes on the square tiles. The miniature stickers of cartoon animals swim on the lower half of the walls because of the little kids that roam around. If he gets lucky, he would pass by marker scribbles of little kids holding their parent's hands with huge smiley faces before the janitors wipe them clean. 

Mumbo turns down the right path, less crowded area, before taking a halt in front of a specific door. The number is always imprinted inside of his head so he will never forget it.

Room 208.

He knocks on the door and presses his ear against it. A faint "come in" calls softly from the other side. His hand reaches down to twist the metal handle and he enters into the hospital room with the squealing door opening. 

Grian instantly gasps at the sight of the flourishing plants in Mumbo's hand. Mumbo closes the door behind him and walks towards Grian. 

"Mumbo, you know you didn't have to," Grian sets his book page first down onto his lap. The alluring ring on his fourth finger glistens softly under the gentle hue of the afternoon sun gliding through the thin curtains. Mumbo strolls next to Grian and grabs the empty vase from the cabinet next to the heart monitor, which wasn't on thankfully. 

"Come on, love, you know I give you flowers every year, whether it is Valentine's Day or our anniversary," Mumbo inserts the stems into the vase before heading over to the sink and other cabinets.

"I know, but I feel bad. I just don't want to waste any of your money or time," Grian's voice falls flat before stopping. Mumbo turns the red faucet nozzle to pour warm water into the glass vase.

"Now, why would you think like that? All the money and time I spend on you is never wasted. I love every minute we have together, and every penny I spend for you is worth it," Mumbo turns the faucet off and sets the vase next to Grian's bed. He gives Grian a gentle kiss on his forehead and the ill man couldn't help but giggle endearingly with so much innocence. 

Mumbo pulls out a pack of Crayola markers from his pocket. Grian gasps with sudden sparkles in his blue eyes.

"Mumbo, they are going to kick you out again!"

"Let them. I don't care," Mumbo grabs one of Grian's hands, presumably the one with his engagement ring on it. Grian sets his book next to him and shuffles off of his mattress. Mumbo lifts his hand high so he doesn't stumble by mistake. Then, he kisses the back of Grian's hand after he finished to endeavor his stance as he smiles brightly. 

"Mumbooo," Grian whines out with a playful grin. Mumbo softly laughs to himself and brings Grian to one of the walls near the door. They sit down on the ground, Mumbo opening the packet of colorful markers. Grian grabs the red one first and pulls the cap off.

"I seriously hope I don't get banned from doing this... again," Mumbo tenderly chuckles and grabs ahold of the black marker in the pack. Grian waves it off while blowing a small raspberry from his mouth.

"Nah, it should be fine. Cub wouldn't mind." 

"You said that last time," Mumbo adds in, pulling the lid off and applying it to stick to the bottom of the marker.

"Mmm, and so I have," Grian grins and presses the red tip down on the wallpaper. "Best birthday. Seeing my husband getting kicked out of the hospital for "destroying hospital property"." Grian drops in his own air quotes before officially starting his doodle.

"Oh, joy," Mumbo sarcastically puffs out and leans forward to start his own little project. He slides the black marker smoothly around on the wallpaper, covering some of the pastel colors with black marker ink. He takes a quick glance at Grian and laughs at how Grian is sticking his tongue out. Grian notices him laughing before realizing why he was doing so in the first place. He playfully punches Mumbo's black sleeved covered arm.

"Mumbo, you know I have a childlike heart!" Grian rolls his eyes to gaze back at his unfinished 'masterpiece'. Mumbo hums to himself in a small response without stopping his doodling. 

Grian was absolutely right. No matter how serious he tried to be, he ends up becoming a child by heart with little giggles and doing crafty things. Even if he was... sick...

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. That's what Grian has. Bandages wrap around his hair because of his rapid hair loss. His bones and body is so delicate, it scares Mumbo sometimes. He feels like every time he touches Grian, he thinks his bones would automatically shatter like glass.

Mumbo married Grian when they were only 19 years old and graduated from High School. Grian was in better health but he still was fragile, so he couldn't play any sports or do a lot of things physically. The man loves Grian with every fiber in his body and Grian feels the same way. But everyone, including Mumbo, knows that Grian wasn't going to last for a long time. He is only 24 and already in the hospital, growing sicker by the day.

Mumbo connects his little character to hold Grian's, making the two drawn characters holding hands. He sets the black marker down to grab the blue one and color the suit in. In the corner of his eye, he notices Grian grabbing the purple Crayola marker and draws a heart between both of their characters.

Grian drops his purple marker and gasps, suddenly curling a little bit. Mumbo looks at Grian with a perturbing expression. He sets his marker down and holds Grian warily as Grian grabs onto his suit. His figure is suddenly shaking at the roaring pain in his abdomen. 

"I-I forgot to tell you. They put me on Sprycel a few d-days ago. But it hurts so bad," Grian begins to whimper and curls against Mumbo. The taller male cautiously holds Grian against his chest and repeatedly kissed his forehead.

"The pain will leave, hun. Just give it a few days and your body will get used to it."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Positive," Mumbo delicately puts his fingers under Grian's chin and lifts his head up so Grian can look at him. He dips down to covey Grian a small kiss on the lips. Grian unleashes his grip from Mumbo's suit and embraces his arms around Mumbo's neck.

The door beside them opens and a voice breaks them from their kiss.

"Mumbo, you brought markers again?" Mumbo looks up at the unamused Cub, arms crossed with a clipboard in one of his hands. Mumbo nervously laughs and Grian hugs Mumbo tighter while sticking his tongue out at Cub. Grian then points at the little doodle on the wall and smiles.

"Do you like our masterpiece?" Grian asks Cub then looks at Mumbo. Cub couldn't help but roll his eyes and unravel his arms to gaze down at his clipboard.

"It's cute and all but I need to see how your body is handling the Sprycel," Cub grabs a black pen from his white long coat pocket and pops the dark lid off.

"It hurrrttts!" Grian groans out and rests his head under Mumbo's chin. Mumbo rubs his hand on Grian's bare arm to help ease the pain. 

"Alright then," Cub jots something on his clipboard and looks back up. "Mumbo, you wouldn't mind if you wait out in the hallway for a minute?" he asks while clicking the end of his pen. Grian hisses and keeps his hold on Mumbo, being very clingy.

"Nu," Grian mutters and buries his nose in the crook of Mumbo's neck. Mumbo tries to pull away, but Grian keeps his clunch on him tightly. 

"Grian," Mumbo says softly. "Just for a few minutes."

"Grrr, fine," Grian gets off of Mumbo and stands up while losing his balance a little bit, so he places his hand on the pastel wall. Mumbo stands up faster than Grian, getting his bearing better first and helps Grian get his posture straight. 

"I'll be back shortly, don't worry," Mumbo releases his gentle hold on Grian. The smaller one reaches out, instantly losing Mumbo's body heat. Mumbo walks out, casting a small smile on his lips before exiting, closing the door behind himself. 

---

"Hello, Mumbo..." Jevin rubs his eyes and drowsily pushes the bowl of peppermints towards Mumbo. The glass bowl almost fell off of the edge of the receptionist's desk. Mumbo luckily stopped it from reaching the edge and set his pen down after clocking in as a visitor on the worksheet.

"Is everything alright?" Mumbo asks, grabbing a mint before beginning to peel the wrapping off of it. Jevin blinks slowly before shaking his head to reclaim his focus.

"Huh- Yeah! Yeah everything is fine... I just... I can't say anything," Jevin begins to mutter and turns his head towards the glowing computer screen. His hand slides around on the computer mouse and his fingers click down. "You can enter through..." Jevin yawns and nods his head towards the corridor.

"Thank you. I hope you get better soon," Mumbo begins to head down the usual route while popping the mint inside his mouth. He stuffs the wrapper into one of the pockets of his black pants. As he was walking down the hallway, he noticed a scribble of a yellow lion with a ferocious, orange spiky mane. Besides the lion is a poorly drawn giraffe with an extremely short neck. Mumbo couldn't help but laugh at the adorable recent drawings. 

He did his usual three knocks to signal Grian that it was him. Mumbo can hear the heart monitor making the melodic beeping on the other side. 

That's not a good sign.

Grian calls out his usual saying from the other side. When Mumbo entered the room, he paused with his heart plummeting. He noticed straight away that his husband has his red sweater off with two new tubes sticking to his chest. Another tube is in his nose and hooked up to a small airbag on the side. 

Mumbo rushes to Grian and instantly, but gently, cups his hands around Grian's.

"Wh-What's all of this for?" Mumbo says and goes to his knees to become more level with his husband. Grian directs a weak smile at Mumbo to try to assure him that he is alright, despite them both knowing that he is ailing. Mumbo pulls one of Grian's hands towards him and peppers his fingers with kisses. "Mumbo, I'm fine. This is just temporary because of the Dasatinib. No need to worry. I will be doodling on the walls with you in no time."

"If you are so sure..." Mumbo keeps Grian's hand close to himself and sighs. "I guess everything will be alright."

"Yeah! Now cuddle time," Grian's smile turns into a feeble beam. Mumbo smiles back in reply and looks at the wires.

"I don't want to mess up the wires or anything," he admits and looks at the machines. The heart monitor was quiet but still very annoying, to say the least. He turns the dial on it so the noise would die down a little bit more. The noise gives him too much anxiety.

"Nah. Just be a little careful is all," Grian scoots his small frame to the other side and pats at the free space. Mumbo deliberately climbs into the white bed with a vigilant watch on the wires. He wraps his arms carefully across Grian and he snuggles closely against him. The only thing in their way was the red and blue wires, but either wise that, they were comfortable.

Mumbo noticed how light Grian has gotten. He can pick up Grian with one arm if he really wanted to. Grian keeps a red sweater on since it covers his body, mostly because he is a little ashamed at the way his bones are popping from his skin in certain areas. Mumbo always indicates Grian by peppering his face that he is perfect just the way he is.

"Grian... I wish you weren't in the hospital. I wish you can go home and see Pearl and Maui again. They miss you," Mumbo begins to say with a tone of hesitation. Grian emits a gloomy sigh and closes his eyes.

"I miss them too. I will come home and see them again. I can feel it in my body that this hospital life will end and I can go home," Grian opens his eyes leisurely and tiredly looks up at Mumbo. "I love you, Mumbo."

"I love you too, Grian," Mumbo plants a tender kiss on his forehead, being careful about his movements.

"Can I have a kiss?" Grian asks, giggling with little energy. Mumbo ducks down with a smile and gives Grian a small kiss on his lips. He giggles right afterward, loving the tickling sensation Mumbo always pulls off.

"Hey- Wait, this doesn't have to do with my mustache, does it?" Mumbo asks with a silly grin. Grian hastily shakes his head with another smile, clearly lying. "Okay, you asked for it then-" he lands more kisses on Grian, littering his face with them. Grian suppresses his giggles the best he can and finally returns one back.

"This is why you are my favorite," Grian tugs Mumbo towards him to shove his face into Mumbo's clothes, which is very common at this point. He lacks the body heat and prefers to have Mumbo hold him so he can enjoy his instead.

"Why are you so perfect?" Mumbo asks back and closes his eyes. Grian does the same before getting in a more comfortable lying position.

"Why are you so perfect?" Grian replies and tilts his head up and opens his eyes. Mumbo opens his eyes to roll them then looks down. Their noses brush against one another and their faint breaths mingle together. Grian lets out a tiny, quick giggle. "You smell like mints."

"Oh my goodness, Grian," Mumbo gently laughs and keeps his nose touching with Grian's small button nose. "You're so cute."

New Years passed by after that visit, 2020 finally arriving. He visited five times and stayed the night for three weekends during the month of January. But every time he came in, Grian seemed to be more pale, less responsive, and more machines circled his bed.

The bitter night was cold as Mumbo sleeps, curled up in one of the blankets that Grian received as a gift during Christmas by one of their many friends years ago. Pearl is curled up close to his chest and Maui is purring, stretched out by the foot of the bed.

Mumbo's phone buzzes and lights up on his wooden bed stand. The bright light made Mumbo stir and the rattling of his phone vibrating got his eyes to open. He reaches out to grab his phone and answers the emergency call. His phone is silent during the night and it would only ring when there's an emergency contact on the line.

"Hello, is this Mumbo Jumbo?" a male asks from the other end. Mumbo rubs his eyes since they ached from the lighting of his phone.

"Yes, this is Mumbo," his voice is groggy and deep, a little husked at being woken up before the sun can even rise.

"Hello, Mumbo. Sorry for calling at night, but an occurrence has happened at the hospital. Grian seeks your attention immediately and wants..." the phone gets pulled away from the voice. The person sniffs and another faint voice is on the line. 

"Mumbo, we can't keep him any longer," Jevins voice rings into his ear. He can tell his voice is wavering and trying to maintain composure. "We had a talk with Grian and he hasn't been doing any better since December. And he agreed that it's time t-to-" he bursts into a fit of sobbing and the phone gets held out to another person. Mumbo can feel his heart hammering into his chest in fear and he sits up. 

A new voice, presumably a recalling female, gets on the line, one that he recognizes from one of his many visits. Stress tries to deny the phone being handed off to her since the other two contacts didn't want it. She raises it close to her mouth and quietly says,

"Mumbo... I-It's time to cut the cord."

---

Mumbo pushes one of the heavy front doors open, slamming it into the hospital wall by mistake. The people behind the desk crane their necks from their seats to see the human that just burst through.

Jevin jumps from his chair and hurries to Mumbo. The other receptionists watch them, one of them still weeping and dotting a tissue to their eyes.

"I-I'll come with you," Jevin says and grabs Mumbo's shoulder roughly. Mumbo nods without saying anything since he was startled. He can make out the rings under Jevin's eyes and the streaks that were left from his tears. 

They rush down the corridor and enter through the room. Mumbo immediately noticed False, Xisuma, Cub and Ren as soon as he entered through. Ren looks like he is crying the hardest out of the group and it was easy to tell since he didn't have his sunglasses on. Surprisingly, Iskall wasn't there despite being one of the closest friends to Grian.

"Mumbo!" False turns around with a smile, little droplets rolling down her face. She opens her arms and runs towards him before giving him a giant hug around his torso, considering Mumbo is lanky. He can see right over False's blonde head and can make out Grian on the bed. Xisuma is holding his hand, talking to him very quietly as he nods. His usual grey helmet is off, revealing his messy forest brown locks and scars etched across his face.

After a quick, tight hug from False, Mumbo rushes to Grian. He stops his sentence and watches as Mumbo goes down to his knees next to Xisuma. 

"Grian, what's going on?" Mumbo asks. Xisuma moves Grian's hand towards Mumbo, and he cups them. Xisuma stands up and lightly pushes the small crowd out of the room one by one. He shuts the door after he leaves, making Grian and Mumbo the only ones inside.

"Mumbo..." Grian starts off barely above a whisper, trying to grab Mumbo's hand. His fingers only end up twitching a little bit with no energy left in his body. "I-I can't live like this... I am in so much pain and everything h-hurts, please, I-I can hardly move now..." 

"What will it take!? I will donate my blood! I will donate any organ, including my heart!" His body begins to palpitate. Anvils upon anvils feel like they are tying down on his heart followed by his chest growing heavy. Tears are pooling under his eyes, making his field of vision turn into a mixture of colored blurs. He tries to wipe them away. Keyword: tries.

"It doesn't... work like that," Grian casts a frail smile. "I love you."

"D-Don't say it like that!"

"Mumbo?"

The wavering voice of his lover calling his name just made Mumbo burst out crying. After a few minutes, he wipes his cheeks countless times and clears his throat to the best of his ability.

Mumbo's voice cracks despite his effort to sound clear, "Y-Yes?"

"Say it back..."

"I..." He chokes and looks away. His shoulders bounded unruly with every small hiccup or sniff. "I l-love you too, Grian..."

Mumbo looks up and Grian weakly smiles at him. The taller man looks away immediately and doesn't bother to wipe his eyes anymore. All of his tears splat to the tile ground below him. He keeps his hold on Grian's hand tight without any sign of unclasping soon.

Beep...

Beeep...

Beeeep...

. . .

The heart monitor releases a high-pitch endless flat line.