When the rain finally stopped, Ivan and Yao started on their way back. The original plan had been to leave and die out here, as far as Yao had thought. But he changed his mind too late, and wanted Ivan to go home. That's all he wanted now. He'd seen the outside, felt the wind, saw the sunlight. All that was left before he died was to see Ivan go home safe. With every step they took, Yao felt his body start to shut down a little more. All of the smog he'd breathed in, as well as the acid he'd swallowed, were making the process accelerate within his respiratory system. His breath became raspy sometimes, and he'd need to keep stopping and hold Ivan to try and regain his senses. The poison grew stronger with every deadly exhalation.

They were half a day's travel from the city when Yao mumbled that he needed to stop. "Ivan, stop walking," he mumbled, leaning over and breathing laboredly, supporting himself by bending his knees and resting his hands on them. "Wait." Ivan turned, looking at his companion with concern hidden behind elephant eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No," Yao mumbled. "I'm not. Ivan, please," he coughed, trying to stand up straight. "Let's rest for now." It was early afternoon, not that you could easily tell. The sky was almost always grey. There were no vibrant pinks or oranges to tell you that the day was almost done, that your hard work was appreciated, that life will carry on. Just grey.

Ivan, under instructions from Yao, dug out a fire pit and filled it with money and dead shrubs, like last time. He had a small blaze going in a short while, and he sat down beside it with Yao. Neither of them had anything to say, either. Ivan wasn't one to start a conversation out of a long silence, and Yao was too afraid to speak any part of his sick mind. But after a while, when night had come, Yao broke their silence. "Ivan," he addressed, capturing Ivan's full attention immediately. "Take my mask off. I.. I want you to see my face." Ivan was confused and worried. He had never seen Yao's face before, and if Yao were to take off his mask, that would surely make his condition worse. "I want you to see it, come on."

"Why?" he asked, slowly lifting his hand and placing it on the side of Yao's head. "What good would that do?"

"I want you to see it with colour in it," Yao murmured, putting his hand upon Ivan's and breathing unsteadily. "Before I die."

"Are you dying now?" Ivan asked, quietly.

"I might be."

Ivan tried his best to stay calm. "Okay," he breathed. "Hold your breath," he instructed, before lightly pulling Yao's mask from his face. He hadn't seen the face of another human since he was a tiny child, so this was incredible to Ivan. Yao was slight, with baby fat on his cheeks and a small nose that had a gentle upward slant. Yao tried to keep his lips smiling, but he had to stop as he coughed. He hadn't been holding his breath. He was dying anyway, and he felt he wouldn't make it much further. "Hold your breath!" Ivan yelped softly, fumbling and hurriedly placing Yao's mask back on. "Listen to me!"

"I want to see your face too," Yao said hoarsely, throat sore from the bad air. "Show me your face, Ivan Braginsky." He was smiling dopily behind his elephant, maybe in some kind of euphoric fantasy state. Ivan said nothing, too shocked to react wisely. "Ivan! Show it to me!" Yao barked, momentarily raising his voice.

"Yao," he mumbled. "Why are you acting this way?"

"Show me your face," Yao whined, pulling roughly at Ivan's coat. "Come on." Ivan, frightened, slowly moved his mask. Yao smiled stupidly behind his mask, tearing up. He had longed to see another face, and Ivan was a beautiful young man. Dumbly, and in the heat of the moment, Yao tore his own mask off and grabbed Ivan's face in his hands.

Their lips met clumsily and heatedly, and Ivan's eyes shot wide open as he fell back under Yao's weight, the older man now pressing down on him. He pulled away in an instant, gasping for the air he realized too late was toxic. He quickly returned his mask, staring at Yao, terrified. "Put your mask on!" he cried, staring at Yao's dirty face. Yao just smiled stupidly and slowly returned his mask. "Are you trying to die, Yao!? What is your problem!" he blubbered, distressed.

"That's a kiss, remember," Yao laughed, just laying on Ivan and looking at the fire. "I love you. I love you so much."

"Why do you keep telling me this?" Ivan sniffled, sitting up again and holding his companion tightly in his arms. "I know. I do too."

"You know," said Yao, smiling up at him behind his elephant. "I think there is still beauty in this life," he chuckled. "And I've had him with me for a long time. Maybe you're the light in the dark, Ivan."

"I'm not," he mumbled, confused by the delirious nonsense Yao was spouting. "What are you talking about? You aren't making sense, Yao. Please talk to me."

"I'm dying, Ivan," Yao said. "Right now, I'm dying. I can feel it."

"Are you?" Ivan mumbled, saddened greatly. "What can I do?"

"Grant me one final wish, okay?" Yao smiled, dumbly. "Can you show me a smile, as I go? I want to see your face smiling. That's it." Ivan faintly nodded his head. He didn't fully comprehend how serious Yao was. There was another ten minutes of silence, Yao's breathing beginning to slow down and grow harder to hear. Ivan glanced to Yao's tree, watching as the last leaf clung to one of the tiny branches. The rest were dead and crumpled around the tree's base. Ivan had lost track of how long they had been out of the city. Perhaps time here was just an illusion.

"Show me now," whispered Yao, finding it growing increasingly harder to draw a full breath. "Come on." He tried reaching up his arms, but Ivan caught his hands and wrapped an arm around Yao's side, repositioning him a little in his lap.

"Okay," Ivan mumbled, slowly removing his mask and putting it down beside him. He would hold his clean breath for as long as he could. And he smiled. He smiled as much as he could, looking down at Yao's eyes, not that he could see them.

"Take my mask off," Yao said quietly, gently tugging on Ivan's coat. "I want to smile too." Not saying anything, Ivan followed his orders, and gently removed Yao's mask. He put it with his own. "Thanks."

Yao smiled too, weakly, wearily. Even Ivan could see how exhausted he looked. Perhaps just breathing was a lot of hard work right now. "We are smiling, Ivan," he said quietly, wheezing as he breathed in the smog. "Thanks for taking me out here."

"I love you," Ivan mumbled, his smile trembling as his lips refused to stop quivering. He felt like he was going to cry again. "Please don't go. I don't want you to go. The world's going to get clean like Smiling Tom says, Yao, please don't go."

"I have to," Yao said quietly. "I don't want to go, but I have to. It's okay, Ivan. I love you." Yao whispered, voice husky and sore as he breathed.

Yao kept his smile until the last moment. He let out a quiet noise, perhaps a half-hearted laugh, or at least, part of one. Once that had left the air, he passed away, smile disappearing from his lips, eyes flicking shut. Ivan weakly put his own mask back on. Yao couldn't see his smile any more. He cried, and he wailed for a long time, holding Yao closely against his chest. Ivan lost his sight after only a few moments, his tears fogging up the inner lenses of his elephant's eyes. He had the dignity not to say any more. After crying himself hoarse, Ivan lay Yao to rest, laying him down peacefully beside the fire that had been crackling quietly for most of the afternoon, and all of the evening so far. Ivan wistfully stood.

"Goodbye," he said quietly, looking down at his dead companion a moment more, before starting to walk in the direction of home.

the end ! i have the epilogue written but im going to post that tomorrow uvu