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MissCris: This is gonna be super short....

Pic: A setting sun on the horizon (the end of a day, the beginning of the rest of your life)

~Setting Sun~

The rays of the sun are getting more intense as it gets lower, they're really blinding. I shift in my chair at Mason's beside. He's sound asleep, something he hasn't been able to do for a couple days, so I'm letting him get his rest.

I watch his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm and it's the only thing keeping me centered. Knowing that his heart is still beating and that he's still breathing. Who would have thought that this energetic, eccentric boy, the complete opposite of me, would steal my heart?

It's hard to look at your life and wonder how you got here and have no real answer. I guess I could say it was all a stupid rubber ducks fault, but maybe it was more than that. Maybe, in some crazy way, it was fate. Whichever, I thank them profusely for putting Mason Colbertson in my life. He's become the most important thing to me.

"You should move, it's not healthy to squint like that. You'll get wrinkles ahead of time." Mason says in a raspy voice. I look up and see him watching me, so much for sleep.

"You should go back to sleep." I reprimand, Lord knows it's one of the only reasons he's still as healthy as he is, which isn't very.

He shakes his head, "I'm too tired to sleep."

"That makes no sense." I say chuckling.

Instead of answering me he just shrugs his shoulders and closes his eyes, "I'm thirsty, can you get me water?"

"Yeah, hold on." I get up from my chair and go around his bed to the pitcher on the side table. Picking it up I realise it's empty. I frown, now what? I guess I could go ask the nurse for more water but I don't want to leave Mason.

"There's a bottle of water on the bottom shelf of the table." Mason says, his breathing is becoming laborious again.

"Shh, don't talk." he smiles but doesn't say anything. I reach for the bottle of water and pour some of the clear liquid into the cup next to the pitcher. Taking the cup I press the button on the bed to put it in a sitting position.

Mason opens his eyes and looks at me. Those eyes, they're as green as the leaves in the summer. I can't help the emotions that well up in me when I look into his beautiful eye. The same questions I've been asking myself for the last six months running through my head again.

Why? Why Mason? Why now, when we had found each other?

"Don't look at me like that. You're breaking my heart." Mason says, coughing a little.

I tear my eyes from his and gently sit on the edge of the bed, bringing the cup to his lips. He drinks the water like a dying man would, which I guess is exactly what the situation warrants. He drains the cup and, closing his eyes, rests his head on the mountain of pillows on his bed. I stoke his hair and hear him sigh in content.

Biting my lip I look at his peacful face and will myself not to cry, "What time is it?" he asks without opening his eyes.

"Six forty three." I say checking my phone.

He nods slowly and opens his eyes, "Do you see the sun?" he asks looking out teh wide window at the side of his room.

"Yeah, what about it."

"It's getting lower, a setting sun"

"Yeah, its beautiful."

Taking a breath of air, Mason turn to look at me, "It reminds me of me, of us."

I freeze, no, please, I don't want to talk about this yet. I can't do anything but look at him, he looks so tired. The medicine has really taken it's toll on him, and I know he's tired of fighting. It's not something we've ever talked about but I can see it in his expression, he just can't give anymore. Can't hold on.

Before he can say anything else on the matter there's a knock on the door to his room and we both look over at it, "Come in." I say.

The door opens slowly and Eva, Mason's nurse, comes in wheeling a table with his dinner. She looks up at us and smiles. I can only imagine what she see's when she looks at us. A young man of nineteen, in a sick bed, weary and ready for it to end and his boyfriend, a nineteen year old keeping watch over his bedside, angry and hurting.

Smiling back I slide off the bed to give Mason room to eat. I give him a kiss on the forehead before going back to my chair. I sit and watch Eva place the rolling table and platter in front of Mason and see him scrunch up his nose.

I smile at how cute he looks. He hates hospital food with a passion, I gotta say I'm not it's biggest fan either. Having to spend the last month in the hospital tends to make you hate anything and everything that has to do with it but the food is on its own. It sucks, plain and simple.

"Do I have to eat this?" Mason asks as he moves around his green beans.

Eva laughs, "Yes, we need to keep as much strength up as possible. But I do know how much you dislike the food here so I brought you something."

Mason raises an eyebrow and waits for Eva to give him the surprise. I furrow my brow and lean over to see what she's going to give him. Reaching into the pocket of her scrubs she pulls out little packets resembling ketchup packets. She hands them to Mason and his face lights up.

"Honey!" he breaths.

My grin spreads across my face at his excited expression. Mason will eat anything sweet, and I mean anything. Hell, he'll even put honey on corn, eww. Bringing him honey was a smart idea, he's sure to eat his food now.

"It's for your biscuit." Eva says smiling at him.

He smiles back and begins to eat. I let out a breath and lean my head on the back of the chair. The sun hits my face making me grimace and shift away. I would get up and close them, but I'm too tired.

"Here, honey, let me close these for you." Eva says walking over to the curtains.

"No, leave them open." Eva and I both turn to look at Mason who's staring at us like we're about to commit a crime.

"It's ok Eva, it doesn't really bother me." I say not taking my eyes from Mason, please tell me he's done talking about him leaving.

Eva nods and walks over to Mason, she checks his readings and then walks over to the door, "Let me know if you need anything, ok?"

We nod and she walks out, leaving us alone again. I spend a few minutes just watching Mason eat. It's hard to think that I won't be able to see him do this one day, that one day none of this will exist.

"Please stop making those faces, they really do break my heart." Mason says.

I look up at his face and can't stop myself anymore, tears well up in my eyes and I take a shuttering breath. He smiles sadly and pushes the table away from himself before motioning for me to come to him with his index finger.

Standing up from the chair I walk over to his bed, "The sun." he says and I turn and look out the window, the sun is lower in the sky but not gone yet, "A setting sun, its mark the end. This the end."

"No." I whisper, my tears spilling over. I look back at him and see him smiling at me.

"Yes, it is. And I want yo to know something. I never thought I could love, never thought it existed, until I met you." he stops and takes couple breaths before continuing, "My parents, they divorced and I grew up being taken care of by my nana. I never experienced a love so strong it could move mountains."

"Mason, please." I plead.

He shakes his head, "Riley, I love you. My love for can move mountains, but its time to say goodbye."

"No, no, I can't. I won't" I say shaking my head as my vision becomes blurred, "Mason, I love you too, I can't just accept you're leaving."

"Everything must end, at one point it's all gone. I wish, you don't know how badly I wish, we didn't have to end yet."

I reach out and stroke his hair before leaning in and giving him a kiss on the lips, "If someone would have told me nine months ago that I would be here, loving you and watching you leave, I'd say they were crazy. But I love you so much and nine months is not enough." my voice cracks as I look into his emerald eyes.

He smiles, "It's more than a lot of people have and we have you're sister to thank."

I chuckle a little, "Yeah, Amy and her rubber duck."

"Her screams to have that rubber duck is what brought me to you." he says grinning.

Smiling I take a breath, remembering that day. Amy was going to the pool and wanted some pool toys, she's six, so I took her to the store and we picked out some balls and little boats with barbies in bathing suits for her. Right before we left the store she saw a giant rubber duck on a shelf and said she wanted it, I told her she had enough toys and mom wouldn't want a giant rubber duck in the house. She began crying, she wasn't told no often, her cries were so loud it attracted peoples attention, one of them being Mason.

When I first saw him I thought he was the most gorgeous guy I'd ever seen. He smiles warmly at me and looks down at Amy before kneeling down and talking to her. He told her the duck would be sad to leave it's other duck friends and that it was best if he stayed. My sister was convinced and we left without the duck. Before we got to the car Mason ran up to us and asked if I wanted to hang out. I accepted and the rest is history.

"I was so nervous to ask you out." Mason says bringing me back to the present.

"I was just glad you had gotten Amy to stop crying, I would have kissed you if you asked."

"Really?" I laugh a little before sobering and looking at him, "I'm gonna miss your laugh." he says.

I sigh, "Why, why did this happen?"

"I don't know. But I want you to promise me something." I sniffle and look at him curiously, "The setting sun, it marks the end of the day, but it also means a new one is coming."

I nod feeling the tears coming back. Damn it Mason, this hurts too much. I can't think of losing him, he means the world to me. Nine months might seem like a little of time to fall for someone but I know that its more than enough.

"I want you to promise me that you'll keep living. I know that it hurts you, but remember that the sun is a beacon of light, we need to see. Once it's gone and we're left in the dark and it's painful but then we turn on a light. I need you to find that beacon, find your lamp, the light that you need to get through this. And I know you will. Because even though it's dark after sunset, in a few hours it's light again." Mason eyes brim with tears and I can feel my own rolling down my face, "Please, find your morning, find someone who will love you as much as I do. Please."

"Mason." I choke out, "Mason. No one can ever love me as much as you do. No one. But I promise you I'll keep living."

"Good. And don't think I'm gone, remember, I'll be right here." he touches my chest right over my heart, "and here." he touches my head, "I'll always be in your heart and your thoughts. But I want you, when your morning comes, when your setting sun is gone and your darkness is fading, I want you to push me away. Make room for the person who will love and keep you and cherish you for the rest of your life."

"How can I love anyone else?" I ask, "You're everything to me and just because God decided to take you away doesn't mean I can stop."

Mason smiles though his tears, "I will love you forever, in this life and the next. Just because I have cancer it doesn't change that, and I know you'll love me. But I need you to love again, and be happy, that's all I want."

I lean down and place my forehead on his, "I promise, that I will love you for the rest of my life, but I'll try and live life to the fullest too." I breath.

"Thank you." he whispers reaching up and pressing his lips against mine in a hard kiss, "I love you, the last few month are everything to me. And even though the sun has set, I'll always watch over you, keep you safe until you find your morning light."

I take in a deep ragged breath and kiss him softly before leaning away. He scoots over, making room for me on the bed and I get in carefully. I wrap my arms around him as he sets his head over my chest. Kissing the top of his head I stroke his hair. The tears falling are unstoppable, full of grief and love.

I look over at the window and see that it's dark.

The sun has indeed set.

A/N: Well that came out longer than I thought, and sadder :(

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