Prompted by loboselinaistrash: "I'm dying."

I call this…Snowing meets The Notebook. Trigger warning: major character death ahead.

"What's 28 years when you have eternal love?"

That was something Snow always kept in the back of her mind. For her and David, those 28 years seemed to go by in a blink of an eye. The world moved around them, their baby girl grew without them being able to watch, as did their grandson (though Snow got to see him).

When the curse broke, they made the most of every day. They had their fights here and there, but overall, they stayed madly in love with one another and nothing could change that. They watched as their family went onto their own happy endings, some starting families of their own.

Being empty nesters was an interesting experience, something they joked might not happen with all the curses, yet it happened. Neal grew up, left home and while he visited, things were definitely different. They traveled, they took a note from Rumple and Belle's book, visiting the realms that they never got to and seeing old friends.

Things slowed down when they reached their 70s. It started out small, the little things. Snow would forget where she put her keys or that she had put something in the oven, nothing to abnormal.

Then one day when Emma stopped by…she couldn't remember her name.

It wasn't a curse that had done it, at least not one brought on by magic. It was something any normal person could go through, something that probably wouldn't have been noticed in their original realm.

David found the best specialist and they did what they could to prevent it from getting worse. Snow took medication, she saw doctors, the whole thing. As things declined, Emma, Neal, Regina, their whole family offered to step up and help, but David refused. She was his wife, he could care for her.

The morning she woke up and didn't recognize him was the hardest of his life.

So, he did his best to keep her calm, he told her their story. The one of the princess turned bandit, who stole a ring from the shepherd turned prince. Slowly, she would remember and things would be good again, for a few days.

There were mornings when she thought they were roommates and he'd tell her the story once again.

"I've heard this before," she'd whisper when she reached the part of the prince kissing the princess awake.

David would smile and stroke her wrinkled knuckles. "You've done more than heard it, you've lived it."

One evening after telling their story once again, they cuddled up together in bed. Snow was smiling up at him, though there was something different about it.

"I'm dying," she said, softly.

David shook his head. "Don't say that."

"You don't have to protect me anymore, Charming," she stroked his chin, it still had that faint scar from all those years ago. "I know what's going on, I know my body."

Tears gathered in his eyes. "No, this isn't happening. Not yet, I'm not going to lose you, not again."

"You're going to be fine, you're strong." She gave him a small kiss. "Just hold me, one last time."

David didn't know what else to say, but he had never been one to deny his wife anything. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tighter than before. His chin laid upon her silver hair. He willed himself to stay awake for as long as he could, not wanting to miss a moment of their last night together.

Sure enough, when Snow White fell asleep that night, she would never wake again.

However, the same would be said for her prince charming. For they shared a heart, their lives were linked to one another.

They went as they did most things, together and in love.

An ending fit for the most beautiful love story of all time.