A/N: I'm going to explode waiting for Saturday. It's bad enough that I'm not going to Conneticon on Friday, and I'll have to wait another day...but my cosplay finally came in! *breath of relief* I was afraid I had ordered it too late! (I can't make clothes..so...I can't sew, period). Um, who's trying to find me again? I have short term memory loss or something 'cause I can't remember DX

This is short and sappy because I couldn't think of anything to do for this. Sorry. Even I thought it was stupid. But I tried! There's still a lot more chapters to make for it!


Candles are strange objects. They are so simple, so cheap, yet their affects are anything but. They are easy to make; hard to break. It takes almost no time before they are ready to be used; they last hour after hour.

Candles are thick and stubborn, made from the simplest of objects: wax. They can take any form, any shape. They can even be made in different colors. They don't dissipate in water, or break when dropped – they burn and melt, their drips like tears, falling until there is nothing left.

If they're not used, they stay, standing against the test of time, never changing.

Sometimes they have certain scents added to them. Sometimes it's just the simple wax burning, melting. But despite the warmth, the light, the hope they give off, there is always that waxy feel, the bumps covered with a plastic-y smoothness.

And as Alfred and Ivan continued with their relationship together, they realized that couples are a lot like candles.

Relationships are strange bonds. They are so simple, yet their affects are anything but. They can form in an instant and are hard to break. One minute they are friends, the next, lovers. And they can last year after year.

Relationships make people thickheaded and stubborn with each other, thought they start with the most wanted emotion: love. They can take any form, and be as colorful as the rainbow. Gender no longer matters. They can be any shape, from one built on trust to one built on lust. They dissolve as fast as salt in water, and shatter as easily as dropped glass – but if nurtured right, they glow. Sometimes the burn is so great there are tears, so many that nothing is left.

If the relationship is not established, that one will wait for their other half, standing against the test of time, always waiting.

Sometimes others are mixed into the bond. Sometimes it's just the two of them. But despite the warmth, the light, the hope they bring, the relationship has bumps, no matter how many layers of artificial happiness covers it.