It keeps raining. Endless rain, on and on. Yao doesn't mind. It gives him an excuse to stay in. He watches the rainfall, not really taking it in.
"You'll get wet if you stay out there."
"If some rain could bring me down, I wouldn't still be here."
Yao sips his tea. "You got lucky..."
He can keep up. Kind of. He goes to the world meetings, plays the game of politics, and manages to stand his ground. He performs his tasks.
Young people… What to say about them? They go on, and on, and on, like the rain outside. Always something new, something important. Something better. He can't blame them. He remembers when he was like that. Oh, how he remembers...
"I really have to go now," Yao chuckled. "They'll leave without me."
"Not a chance. Come on, give me another kiss."
"The last one."
"Of course."
"I mean it, Romulus. This is the last one. We have to save something for next time."
"Oh, trust me. There will always be plenty."
"Last one."
"Alright. Last one."
Yao reached up and softly kissed Romulus, who cupped his face, stroked his hair, smiled against his lips. Yao pulled back, and that was that.
Yao looked at the procession waiting for him. "And now all the way down the Silk Road..."
"If all goes well, I should be able to come over to you in about a month or ten."
"See you on the other side, then."
"Safe travels, little tiger."
Yao tried to walk away, but he was pulled back in for another last kiss. "Romulus..."
"Go now."
Yao smiled as he walked away and winked over his shoulder when the procession started moving.
The world moves so fast. Yao's body can still go on, for centuries if needed. If demanded. A steady force, like the rivers and the oceans, with no one even realizing how old. Steady going, on, and on, and on. No, his body is aching and creaking, but it won't give out any time soon.
His mind, however…
"You're getting slow."
"Mm?" Romulus looked up from the chess board. "Oh..."
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes… No..."
"What's the matter?"
"You will not tell anyone?"
"Of course not."
Romulus got up and started undressing.
"Love, you know I want you too, but right now I just want to know what's bothering you."
"And I'm showing you." He exposed his back, revealing long, deep scars.
"Romulus! What happened?" Yao got up to inspect the skin.
"Just some uprisings. Some financial trouble here and there. Nothing serious."
"Is this because of internal trouble?"
"That is the conclusion, yes."
"Then why don't I have them?"
"Maybe you're meant to grow old for the both of us," he only half-joked.
"Stop it, this is not funny. Sit down, I'll make something to ease the pain."
Romulus sat down on Yao's bed. Even then, he must have known.
Yao makes himself another cup of tea, blankly going through the motions. It's there, a dull ache, always waiting to come out and swallow him whole. He should be over Romulus by now. He should be.
He isn't.
He sits down, staring out the window, remembering what it was like when he had someone to stare with. "Romulus… I feel so old..."
He's been alive for far too long. Longer than any being should live. And it's been enough. It's been enough for a long time now, but time keeps going on, and on, and…
Yao wipes away a tear. He mustn't think such things. It's the rain, it always throws him into dark spirals. More and more often, it seems. He used to be… stronger. He'd push his dark thoughts away and focus on happy things. Enjoy the moment, live life day, by day, by day, by day, by…
"Darling… When will it end?"
Yao leaned back on the sofa, surrendering himself to Romulus' hands. They played with his hair while tiny kisses landed everywhere on his head. They traveled down, massaging Yao's skin.
They both ignored the scars all over Romulus' arms. They had spread to his chest as well, like bad omens. But they wouldn't talk about it, or even think about it. It had no place in their eternal bubble.
Yao kissed Romulus before he left, ignoring a fresh scar on his neck. "See you on the other side."
Yao leans back, and he can almost feel Romulus' hands caressing him. He lets his tears fall, hoping that a hand will appear to wipe them away. But it doesn't.
"Why are you sad, little tiger?"
Yao takes a shaky breath. "It's so hard… Romulus, I can't..."
"When I see you, I see eternity."
"It's too long… It's been too long… No more, please…"
"You, my love, are going to outlive us all."
"No more… Please, no more…" Yao cries into his pulled up knees, feeling older and more tired than ever before.
The news came unexpectedly. It wasn't even meant for him.
"And now that Rome's fallen..."
That was all it took. The unanswered letters, the lack of news, it all fell into place like a building collapsing.
No, it wasn't supposed to be like that. "See you on the other side," Romulus had said before leaving.
"Yes, soon."
The letters had stopped, trade came to a halt, and then Yao was faced with the realization that he was outliving his lover.
"Take me… Take me with you…" With his eyes closed, Yao can imagine Romulus appearing and carrying him away in his arms. Together they'd go to someplace better.
But Romulus is gone. And Yao is still here. Alive. Existing.
"What if one of us disappears?"
Romulus smiled, carefree as ever. "Then the other keeps on living. They'd have to live for the both of us."
"I don't want to keep on living!" In a moment of frustration, Yao smashes his teacup against the wall. He curses his smooth skin, curses his body that won't age no matter what, hiding from everyone that it's over, that Yao has simply run out.
"Look, it has stopped raining."
He takes a deep breath. It isn't his time yet. As old as he is, he isn't dead yet. He will keep going. On, and on, and on, and on.
Until...
"See you on the other side, my love."