It was a beautiful day. The sun shone warmly and there was just enough of a breeze to fill the air with the scent of blooming flowers. It was so quiet, so peaceful. The two men sitting in the grass had rarely known peace and quiet, but they found themselves savoring it.
They were an unusual pair. One was old, his face webbed with wrinkles, his body shrunken with his great age, which was over a hundred. The other was much younger-perhaps mid-thirties, with golden-brown hair and deep blue eyes. He had his arm around the old man and was supporting him.
"Herc?" The voice was thin and cracked.
"Yes, Iolaus?"
"Are you sure you're going to be all right?"
"Yes, Iolaus."
"I'm so tired, Hercules. I can't hang on anymore. I just can't."
Hercules carefully squeezed the fragile body and said huskily, "It's okay, buddy. I'll let you go this time. I promise." Iolaus sighed and looked into the blue eyes so like his own. "We've had some great times, haven't we?" His voice was a mere thread of sound.
"The best," said Hercules, struggling to hold back his tears.
Iolaus smiled for the last time at his beloved friend. "Wish...it could have been...forever..." Hercules wrapped his arms around Iolaus and laid his head on the white hair, as wild as ever though it was no longer the color of the sun. It was a long moment before he realized that Iolaus was no longer breathing.
"I'll let you go, Iolaus," thought the big man, tears streaming freely down his face. "But I can't go on without you. This time I'm coming too." He rocked his dead friend, weeping very softly. "This time it will be forever, brother. You and me, together forever."
