Purplephone One Shots

"Mixtape" AU #1

Vincent sat in the waiting room of the hospital, his head in his hands. He was looking at the tile floor, but it was blurry and cockeyed from a mix of tears and his brain playing tricks on him. He couldn't bring himself to stand up and leave. He felt like he could throw up. The words he heard on the phone ran through his head.

Your partner, Scott... he's in the hospital. There's been an accident. Your partner, Scott... he's in the hospital. There's been an accident. There's been an accident. There's been an accident.

He took deep breaths. There'd been some work-related incidents before, and it's always turned out fine. Scott would be fine. He knew the restaurant, the animatronics, and the suits like the back of his hand. He'd get out of this. He had to.

Whenever he saw someone in a lab coat or scrubs or any sort of uniform, he looked up. Only briefly enough to see if they were coming his way. Two hours. Two hours is how long he waited, before someone finally walked over.

"Vincent?"

"Y-yes?!" He forced himself to sit up all the way.

"... um... Scott, he... he didn't make it. He died on the operating table."

"... no... n-no... no, I..." He started crying more. He didn't care that he was in public, in a waiting room full of strangers. "Bring him back!" He wailed, falling to his knees on the floor. "I-I want him back! I-I want him back..."

That was a year ago. A year ago today. And Vincent had finally gotten around to clearing out Scott's things, keeping what was important and donating the rest. As he dug through a box of Scott's in their shared room, he found a tape with faded writing on the label. It read "To My True Love".

Vincent teared up, which surprised him as he'd managed to avoid doing this the whole time. He'd given Scott this when they first started dating... had he really kept it this long? He pulled it out of the box and put it in the cassette player.

You've got a look in your eyes
I knew you in a past life
One glance and the avalanche drops
One look and my heartbeat stops

Vincent sat on the bed, abandoning his efforts of cleaning, and finally flopping back and pressing a pillow to his face. He let the tears flow for the first time in months as the songs switched.

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Making love to his tonic and gin

Reliving old memories. Bringing back the memories of Scott he tried to push away. Finally no longer concealing his emotions.

Who is in your heart now?
When Leonard Cohen is singing hallelujah
Who is in your heart now?
All your friends and foes they thought they knew ya

Crying slowly turned to laughter and a bittersweet smile. All the best memories came back. And for a quick, fleeting moment, it felt like Scott was right there with him.