i felt like i need to write a sequel for this. well, a sort of sequel...


Gentle steps were made upon the dead ground that night, towards the sleeping figure of a man who was dead too, in another war. It was a dream to him, but yet it felt like it was truly reality. He opened his eyes slowly when he felt warm hands touch his face, and he slowly glanced up.

It was a figure that seemed very familiar to him, but he couldn't remember. It was such a nice feeling though, to be touched by the hands of something so warm. The world was so cold now. Well, he was sitting outside under a tree, in the dead of night. Of course it was cold. Ivan looked around in confusion, trying to figure out who it was that was touching him so tenderly.

"Its okay to rest now," the person spoke, kneeling down and wrapping its arms around him, pulling him into a loving embrace.

"What do you mean? Who are you…?" he murmured, sleepily pressing his face into the person's shoulder.

"What? How could you forget me Ivan? It's only been a short amount of time that we've been apart from each other. It's Yao, okay?" the spirit laughed and Ivan felt tears prick at his eyes.

"You… you died though. I saw you die!" he cried, pulling away and hitting his head against the tree. "Yao is dead!"

"Yes, I'm dead." He sighed. "But… I'm here. As a spirit,"

"This is an awful dream, why… is my mind tormenting me? I just want to sleep," Ivan whined, wiping his eyes free of tears. Yao sighed and stroked Ivan's cheek.

"I'm really here, Ivan. I would never lie to you," Yao murmured, stroking his head gently and lovingly.

Ivan looked past Yao's spirit, examining the land around him. Was this really happening? It looked like the plains that they had been spending their final days on. However, there was a moon in this sky. If this was the real world, there would be no moon, and there would be no stars. The air pollution made the sky pretty much invisible.

"You must be wondering why I am here…" Yao whispered, sighing softly and pulling away. He sat between Ivan's legs and took his hands, holding them safely and stroking them as he held them. "It's a dream, I will not deny that. But it is so much more than that. Everything feels real, doesn't it?" he smiled, tilting his head. Ivan nodded wearily.

"Your heart was calling out for me, and I could not ignore you." he sighed softly. "So I came here, to speak to you. To help you, truly accept the end."

"But I have already accepted death!" he cried. "I accepted it the moment I realised you were going to die in my arms! I don't want to live if I'm without you," Ivan whimpered, pathetically clinging to Yao.

"If you had really wanted to join me the second I died, you would have shot yourself. But you did not. Why is that, darling?" he asked quietly, taking hold of Ivan's cheeks and staring deeply into his dulled eyes. "You still fear death; I can feel it in your heart."

Ivan whimpered and pressed his face into Yao's shoulder.

"Maybe." He mumbled. "I always hated the thought of death. Seeing you die didn't feel real. Knowing I'd have to be alone now…"

"It's going to be okay, death isn't… all that bad," Yao murmured. "You fought long and hard to try and keep me alive, even though it was inevitable that I was going to die. You knew it; you just loved me so much. You fought so hard to keep yourself going Ivan… and sometimes its okay to rest. It's okay to give up."

"But that means there is no chance I'll be able to think of you anymore! Remembering and see you… I'll forget you when I die." Ivan muttered weakly, looking at Yao with the saddest face Yao had ever seen in his short life. Yao wiped away his stray tears and kissed his cheeks tenderly.

"There is life after death, Ivan." He smiled, leaning his forehead against Ivan's. "This world is going to be reborn, I just know it!" Yao insisted, beaming at him. Ivan frowned, unsure.

"I don't know Yao…"

"I'm serious!" he exclaimed, staring into Ivan's eyes. "Earth will heal and life will start again. And I promise that we will be together again. No matter where you are in the next world, I will find you. Our hearts are connected," he breathed, placing his hand over Ivan's chest, where his heart was. Ivan whimpered and slowly nodded. He wanted to believe. He really did. Ivan really wanted to see Yao again. He wanted to hold and kiss him and tell him that he loves him with all of his heart.

"Our hearts are… connected…" he murmured, nodding slowly at Yao. Yao nodded, smiling lovingly at him.

"Yes… that's it." Yao cooed softly, rubbing Ivan's back. "It's almost over. Ivan, its okay to rest now… we're going to be together again."

"Yes," Ivan breathed, wiping his eyes as he just began to cry again. "Yao… I love you so much…" he whimpered, pulling Yao into his arms and holding him to his chest. He was so warm. Just like when he was alive. His hands always used to feel like a fireplace to Ivan, because they'd somehow always manga to warm him up. Not just his hands, everything about Yao was warm.

"I love you too, darling," Yao murmured, laughing softly.

They sat there like that for a while, just hugging each other and saying nothing. Ivan soon realised he felt uncomfortably cold, even though Yao was hugging him.

"Its stopping," Yao whispered, putting his hand to Ivan's chest again.

"What's stopping?" Ivan asked somewhat worriedly.

"Your heart…" he murmured, looking at him and sighing. Yao took in a deep breath and pulled away from Ivan. He stood in front of him and held his hand out for him to take. "Come, it is time to go."

Ivan looked at him in confusion, but took his hand. He was pulled to his feet and it was the most bizarre feeling he had ever experienced. He turned around to glance at where he had once been sitting against that old tree, and he saw himself there. He then looked around in confusion, seeing that once more the moon and stars were unseeable due to the pollution in the air. But he looked down at his hand, and it was being tightly held by Yao.

"Do you want to say goodbye to this life?" Yao asked, looking towards a small light that had appeared a few metres away. "Only a little longer and it will all be gone, ready to start anew." He smiled, squeezing Ivan's hand comfortingly. Ivan took in a breath and stared at himself, his dead self, slumped against that tree.

"Goodbye," Ivan smiled, nodding to his body. He couldn't help but cry again. He took in a breath and walked around to the other side of the tree and kneeled in front of Yao's body. Even though it didn't really look like his young, beautiful Yao anymore it was still him. The boy he had fallen in love with so long ago. "And goodbye to you," he smiled, brushing some of Yao's hair from face. He dumbly tucked Yao in so he would be warm in that blanket. Yao couldn't help but frown sadly and look away, seeing himself like that upset him greatly. Ivan then turned to Yao, the one he was holding hands with.

"Will you be the same when we meet again?" he asked softly, closing his eyes.

"I don't know." Yao smiled. "But that's okay, because I know that no matter who I am or what I am, we will be together. Now come on, its time to go, silly." He laughed, pulling Ivan towards the light. Ivan nodded and took one last glance at the tree and his old self, and allowed himself to be absorbed in light with Yao.

It was warm, just like Yao.