It has been such a long time.

The tall Spaniard was just realizing this when he lowered himself slowly to his knees. The stone in front of him was roughly cut, yet the words carved into it looked painstakingly neat. He remembered when he had etched those words into the stone it had taken him forever just to get a single letter.

He lifted his shaky hand and ran a finger over the name.

He never put a last name or a birth date. He hadn't wanted anyone else to know so much about his partner. If anyone really cared they wouldn't need to learn it from his grave. There were just three simple words engraved in the stone.

My partner Miguel.

The years had taken its toll on Tulio, but time hadn't been the only thing that had caused him to age so much faster. Tulio's hair had grayed and his face had wrinkled. His gnarled hands could no longer hold a lock pick, and his brittle bones weren't strong enough to run from guards.

He couldn't believe it had already been forty-one years since Miguel's passing. He still remembered as if it had happened moments ago.

Honestly the entire day up to that point was gone. But he recalled the bitter scent of gunpowder and smoke. He could still feel his skin sticky with sweat as his long hair clung to his neck. He remembered hearing gunshot upon gunshot, and then hearing the ripping sound of flesh as a bullet found its mark and the sudden sharp tang of its crimson prize.

Miguel's cry of pain found its way into his nightmares each night. As did the image of Tulio holding his dying friend in a corner watching the light leave his bright jade eyes. Miguel's body was still warm when Tulio had to once again flee for his life.

When he had finally escaped and the adrenaline rush had started to dissipate, Tulio had just crumbled like a pastry. He stared at the alley wall, but only saw Miguel's lifeless form. He didn't know how long it was he stood there before the tears started to fall; the first of many cries that would follow him into eternity.

And now, after everything they had been through Miguel was gone. He remembered how Miguel had always dreamed of an adventure Tulio had never given him. Tears pricked in his blue eyes as he remembered his bright-eyed partner, so full of hopes and fantasies.

They were the schemer and the dreamer. The perfect duo. Without Tulio, Miguel would have gotten himself killed long beforehand. But without Miguel, Tulio was just a man with no one to pull off his plans. They belonged together, but they would never be with each other again.

Miguel had always believed in an afterlife, even if to Tulio it was only nothingness. But every night he got on his knees and prayed that Miguel was not lost in the abyss because Tulio knew he was scared of the dark, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it.

There had been so much Tulio had wanted to say, so much he wanted to do. Like run his fingers through Miguel's golden hair or stare into his emerald pools and get lost. So many things that Tulio had been robbed of because he refused to do it with anyone else. In seventy years Tulio had only known one love and his biggest regret was that he had never acted upon it.

And then the tears were falling as they did every night. They reduced Tulio to a whimpering mess but he didn't care because he had nothing to lose anymore. For forty-one long years Tulio had stopped caring. He knew Miguel would have hated it, but he couldn't just turn it on like a switch. Tulio had a wound that even time couldn't heal, because the only way he was getting better was if he could hear Miguel's laugh again. Could hold the damn man in his arms for the first time or kiss those perfect lips.

Tulio rested his forehead on the cool stone and took in a wavering breath. Somewhere along the way he had lost his youth, he had lost his rugged good looks, and he had lost his way. Miguel had been the light leading him forward, but the light had gone out leaving him alone in the night without a star to guide him.

It had been forty years and yet some days he still woke up wondering. Thinking that maybe, just maybe, today would be the day that he would meet Miguel again. That he would finally be rid of this hell and once again be free to live.

It wasn't that he was ungrateful for every moment he'd been given. But every second of his life was spent wishing that it had been him instead of Miguel because he had no doubt that Miguel would have been able to move on with his life.

Miguel had made his life an adventure and for that Tulio would always be thankful.

"Goodbye Miguel. I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered before pushing himself to his feet and quietly limping down the silent Spain road.

When friends say goodbye, it is never meant for forever.