Silver lining the clouds

An old figure with empty eyes sat in an armchair in front of the open fire and saw how the yellow-orange flames danced together. The warmth warmed up the cold body but just barely so that it almost felt alive. The person felt hunger but hadn´t the strength to think about food, his body had given up a long time ago. All memories from the past were gone, the motivation to get up in the morning had vanished and the determination to keep on living was nowhere to be found.

It knocked on the door but the person in the armchair didn´t look away from the fireplace. The door opened and a man walked inside the room. He closed the door behind himself and headed to the armchair in front of the fire. He placed a hand on the top of the chair next to the persons head and looked into the fire.

"You haven´t open the curtains today." He spoke.

The person in the armchair didn´t answer and continued to look forward into the dancing flames.

"I assume that you have been sitting here all day as well? Didn´t you promise me to get some exercise?"

The man went for a chair and put it beside the armchair. As the man made himself comfortable, the fragile figure pulled the blanket closer to him trying to keep the warmth from the fire. He tried to recall who the person was that sat beside him. He knew that he was someone really important to him, he could feel it deep in his heart.

"It´s cold outside today isn´t it?" The person in the armchair nodded as a response.

The man beside him laid his hand on his. The man's hand was warm and griped around the cold one trying to give it his body heat. It confused him, he could still not figure out who the person next to him was. All he could remember was the feeling of close friendship but nothing more. He turned his head and looked at the man who smiled when he saw him. The smile warmed his heart just like the fire did to his body. He looked at the man, he tried to take in his features and to find the memory of him. The brown locks, his brown eyes, everything felt familiar. The brown eyes stared back into his lilac ones. They shined of trust but were covered in a lot of guilt.

"I´m sorry but who are you? He asked. "No matter how hard I try to remember, I can´t find your name."

The warm hand squeezed harder and the brown eyes looked deeper into the lilac ones.

"Zero, it´s me, Kaname" He said with a smooth voice.

"Kaname?..." Zero tried to say outloud.

"Yes, that´s right Zero. My name is Kaname."

Zero felt that the name had a more deep meaning to him, than some other names would have.

"Do we know each other? " Zero asked, still confused.

Kaname let go of the hand and put his own on his knee.

"We have known each other for a very long time and we live together." Kaname explained.

"So this is your house?"

"Yes and this is your room."

Zero tried to remember all that but he couldn´t. He wanted to but he just couldn´t.

"You have always been here haven´t you?" Zero whispered.

Kaname didn´t answer. Zero felt a sudden sadness in his heart, he took a closer look at Kaname who sat with his hands in front of his face. He stared at his hands and his body trembled as tears started to grow in his eyes. Zero brought his hand to Kaname´s and took them down from his face.

"Don´t be sad, it´s not your fault that I can´t remember." Zero reassured Kaname with a soothing voice.

"I can feel that what we had was something special and unique."

Zero took Kaname´s hand and placed it above his heart.

"I can feel it deep down in here." He said and pressed Kaname´s hand harder against his chest.

Kaname stared at their both hands. He could feel the slow heartbeat from the hearth underneath the cold skin.

"Something in me wants to say; I love you. But I´m so sorry that I don´t know why it does."

"It´s okay, just hearing those words from you is more than enough."

Zero´s already hard breathing went weaker and he got a coughing fit. He tried to breath between the coughs but it only resulted to more coughing.

"Water, get –cough- me some water please." Zero whispered between his attacks.

Kaname poured him a glass of water and Zero drank it. Kaname watched Zero as he tried to breathe normally. The blanket slipped down to the floor and Zero rose from his armchair and staggered forward. Kaname rose quickly to help him.

"I´m tired" Zero spoke softly. "I want to sleep."

Kaname gave him a shoulder to lean on and helped him to the bed. He put Zero down on the chair that stood beside the bed. He put Zero´s hands on his knees and began to remove the blanket that covered the bed. Zero started coughing again and brought up his hand to his mouth to cover it. As he removed his hand he felt the taste of blood in his mouth and looked down at his hand and saw that it had a stain of blood on it. He wasn´t surprised, it had been like this the whole day and it was one of the reasons that he was so deadly tired.

Kaname put out his arm to Zero so he could have some support as he rose from the chair. Kaname looked at the fragile figure trying to get up and he knew that it was time. Slowly Zero got into the bed, the light body didn´t even crinkle the covers of the bed. Kaname covered him with the soft bed sheets so he could keep his old body warm. Zero breathed hard from the 'walk' into the bed. He stared at Kaname to get a last glance of him. Kaname had sat down on the chair next to the bed. He looked back at Zero and smiled a scared regretful smile.

"You always sit here, don´t you?" Zero asked with a whisper.

"Yes, I do. Every night." Kaname answered.

Zero closed his eyes and smiled. Kaname brushed his hand through the silver haired mans locks. Zero opened his eyes, reached out his hand from under the blanket and Kaname took it with both of his hands. Zero took a last glance of the handsome brown haired man that had always been there for him. His eyelids grew heavier and he tried to keep them up a little bit longer. His body started to relax and the world around him faded as his eyes closed.

His wrinkled hand slide out from Kaname´s, before the world turned black, he saw tears streaming down from Kaname´s still young and beautiful face. He closed his eyes and welcomed the bright light on the other side.