And here I present another story. This is a drabblish AU sort of piece without an explanation so at first I didn't really plan to publish this, but in the end I guess I would. This was mainly something to feed my muse which was spawned from watching RomaHeta and thinking of the piece, Winter Burial by Slumberless Night.

I have a faint idea of a continuation, but everything is a big maybe.

But for now, here you go, and enjoy :)

For what is not Forever

"Mmh, half a dozen please."

The local florist turned her back on the large Russian man, plucking the thick green stems of broad yellow flowers from their place in the many vases that lined the walls of the flower shop. "You're lucky today, Ivan. Podsolnecnik are always a shortage but I have just six left."

The man named Ivan responded with a wide smile and she wrapped the bulky flowers in ornamental paper, tying the stems tightly together with a red ribbon. She brought the bouquet to the register and the man took out his wallet.

His eyes studied the sunflowers while heavily calloused fingers flipped through a bunch of colorful bills. "How much?"

The florist wiped her wet hands on the dirt-smeared apron she was wearing before holding one out to accept the money. "Five hundred rubles."

He blinked in surprise. "Five hundred? For half a dozen?" Even so, his fingers still found the proper amount and he slipped the notes out.

The woman nodded towards the falling snow outside, a slight look of sympathy in her eyes. "Business is terrible in winter and the flowers are stubborn to grow when it is not their season. I can knock the price down fifty."

He shook his head and handed the money over. "The price is okay for these fine flowers. I have money." The woman accepted it graciously and folded the bills before stuffing them into her apron. "Thank you, Ivan. Are these for someone special?"

The Russian took the precious flowers into his arms and smiled at her. Their heads were beginning to lose the petals of their golden manes.. some leaves were even wilting—Ivan thought they were absolutely wonderful. "Someone very special."

The florist thanked him for his business and Ivan left the small flower shop, setting down the snow-laden path towards his home. Few cars were out today because the icy roads made it dangerous to drive. Even fewer people were out walking and the couple that he happened to pass had nothing to do but huddle in their scarves and heavy coats, complaining about why this winter in Russia was lasting so long.

Ivan only smiled to himself.

He was reaching the edge of town before seeing the small figure of a little girl whose nose was pressed to the glass window of an old toy store. She was dressed in barely-adequate and plain clothing when Ivan noticed how her gray eyes were filled with a longing he knew all too well.

For a moment, he stood there without the girl noticing him. Coming to a resolution, he picked the largest flower out of the six he bought and offered it to the child.

The bright splash of color caught her eyes and Ivan could see the yellow reflecting off them like tiny suns. She took the large flower with her equally tiny hands but before the girl could thank the man, he was already on his way home. She thought she could hear him humming merrily.

-x-X-x-

His house was far from town and he had no neighbors—but that was all right, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Eventually he reached his own front doorstep and he keyed the lock, stepping into his warm home and closing the cherry door behind him.

"Toris, I'm home~!"

There was no response but that was to be expected.

Ivan set the flowers on a table and knelt down in front of his fireplace, starting it up and feeding the flickering embers. When he was satisfied, he took the bouquet in his arms again, careful not to knock off any more of the precious petals.

He left his house again, using the back way this time.

During this part of the year, his yard was nothing but a stretch of white on the edge of a lake—it was really a giant pond, but Ivan liked to call it a lake—and then during the summer, Ivan tended to his own sunflowers. Working alongside with him would always be a young man with locks the color of the earth these flowers flourished from.

Ice-covered boots crunched through the snow and Ivan walked closer to the center of the lake. The surface was without cracks, easily supporting his weight since the water had frozen thick through the year-long winter.

Ivan knelt down by his desired spot, dusting away the fresh layer of snow before laying down the sunflowers.

"Toris… I'm home."

The ice had frozen clean and clear—like glass. With large hands, Ivan framed the face of the body that rested beneath the surface of the lake. Hungry, but loving eyes fed into the white skin and blue lips that had been preserved by the ongoing winter.

"And today, I brought flowers for you." His mouth formed every word carefully—every word filled with love and reverence.

He twiddled his thumbs together, looking a little ashamed at first. "But there are only five. I bought six from the flower shop we always used to visit when it was warm.. I gave one to a little child I saw along the way, I hope you don't mind. But you don't mind do you? I mean.. you've always told me to be kind to people, Toris."

"Toris…"

His large body laid itself on the cold glass. He pressed a rosy cheek to the ice like how the one girl had pressed her nose to the shop window. A palm lay flat and Ivan felt so close to his beloved. His chest quivered.

"Is it cold? Is it cold sleeping down there?" His cheek stung before growing numb. Ivan's gaze wandered back to his home and he could see the dancing shadows—the sign of the fire he had started. "It must be cold. I wish I could bring the fire to you, Toris."

Ivan pulled the sunflowers closer. A few more petals fell but he paid no mind. "Maybe these can keep you warm. They make me feel warm inside, a little bit, but these are only for you."

He propped himself up on his elbow and went to stroking the ice, his finger following the flowing hair that crowned and adorned his lover's face. "Forgive me… I wish you didn't have to wait. One day, this accursed winter will end and you won't have to be cold anymore. We'll have a blue sky to look at together.. instead of this empty gray. "

With the sound of skin sliding against ice, Ivan rested his palm over the two hands that lay folded above a frozen breast. He laid back down again, listening for the dreadfully slow heartbeat that could always be heard if he were to be silent enough.

It was faint… but it was there, and every beat sent a pulse of life through his own body. "It's not time yet.." he whispered, "soon, though, soon…"

He placed a soft kiss where he could see the other's lips, leaving a transparent impression on the ice—another gift.

Ivan stood up and stuck his stiff hands into his pockets. He gave Toris one last smile for the day and turned to leave before the cold got to him.

For now, it was only the glowing embrace of a fire that greeted him in his own home, but Ivan knew… Ivan knew that every heartbeat of his dearest would bring them all closer to the end of winter.