Hello again! I know, it's been a while and again, I'm sorry. I started rewriting this chapter ages ago and ran into a huge writer's block wall with it. Then I started school in January and got really busy... but enough excuses! I'm back with chapter 8, finally! Thank you all for all your reviews/favorites/follows, I still can't express how much that means to me. I hope you guys enjoy this one, it's a little shorter and a lot softer because I felt like this fic could use a little break from the emotional abuse haha. So here goes! Enjoy!

This chapter's soundtrack: Young Lovers by Alkaline Trio.

Chapter 8: Don't think of your tomorrows, let's kiss like we could die tonight.

Colby is floating. Lounging lazily, peacefully, staring up at the starlit sky. The pool is closed. He's breaking the rules, but he can't gather the will to care. He needs this, this quiet relaxation. Everything inside feels like a hurricane, he doesn't know where Jon disappeared to and he still doesn't care.

It's quiet. The water is warm.
He floats, languidly, peacefully.
Ignoring everything.

He hears footfalls, hopes they belong to Jon and not the hotel manager or someone important. He's closed his eyes, not staring at the stars anymore. Colby hears a soft splash of water, feels it ripple under his back. He feels a hand on his forehead that slides down and cups the back of his head in the water. Colby's eyes open, he sees Jon's face, his blue eyes shadowed by the hair hanging in his face. His eyes seem half closed, hooded and sort of sleepy almost as he stares down at Colby. Colby blinks a few times, his eyes finally meeting Jon's and looks at him sort of wonderingly.

"Do you ever think... what it'd be like when the whole world ends?" Colby says.

Something of a smile raises the corners of Jon's lips. It's not a real smile though, just a half-hearted shift of his mouth but inside he's a little amused. He likes the sound of the soft lisp in Colby's voice, the innocence with which he asks such a loaded question.

"Yeah," Jon says, curling his fingers and gently scratching his nails into Colby's wet scalp. The action seems to soothe his younger lover, he watches his warm eyes fall shut again. "It'll be you and me at the end of it all."

"And what'll we do? Dance in the fire?" Colby says, eyes closed, face peaceful, asking heavy questions.

Jon shrugs and the water around him ripples softly. "Might as well. It'll be our fault."

Colby smiles quickly, soft and mysterious. "You think?"

"I know."

Colby chuckles and arches his back, dipping his head fully under the water, out of Jon's grasp. He stretches his arms back and curls his body. It curves in this mesmerizing, elegant sort of way, completely submerged under water before silently breaking the surface again, upright and treading lightly. Colby smirks and kicks back with his feet, gliding quietly away with a look in his eyes that tells Jon; 'chase me, I dare you'. Jon does, because he always will, lunging weightlessly forward towards Colby in the deepest end of the pool. Where the darkest blue meets black and holds the reflection of the stars above their heads, their own warm, weightless universe.

Jon grabs Colby's hips, presses him against the wall. The jets from the pool bubble against his back and Colby lets out something that could almost have been a giggle, but it's deeper than that, manlier. But he smiles because of it, and Jon's sort of overcome because Colby doesn't smile much anymore and Jon hadn't realized how much he missed that. Even with all the things Jon knows Colby loves, he doesn't smile. He seems tired, jaded, disinterested. He's stuck inside himself most days, harassed by that monster and thinking of the end of all things.

"It's coming soon, isn't it?" Colby says, looking at Jon. His eyes look more haunted than he's ever seen them. Is he scared? "It's all gonna fall down."

"We'll be there together." Jon says. He doesn't know the answer to Colby's question, but inside, he feels might be right.

Colby shakes his head, disenchanted and hurt. "Because it's our fault."

"Yeah. It is. It always has been," Jon says. He digs his fingers into Colby's hips, they're both neck deep in the water. A fitting picture. "But fucking forget that right now. Right now, Colby. Come back to me."

"I'm right here." Colby whispers, confused.

"No. You haven't been for weeks," Jon says firmly. "You're so far away. Stop worrying. Be here now."

Colby's eyes drop, staring at the way the water licks gently at Jon's neck every time they move in the slightest way. It's soft and sweet, loving. He wants to do it himself. He smiles because he feels, for the first time in weeks, not overwhelmed by the eventual crushing end, but feels joyful in his chest about something so simple. Colby feels the weight of Jon's strong hands squeezing his hips and a spark he didn't realize he'd missed ignites inside of him. It chases away the future, the heaviness of his thoughts, brings him focus on what's in front of him.

It's Jon. Warm, steady, foul-mouthed, cigarette smoking, and beautiful. The only person on this earth that brings about calm in him, that has the beast that tames his own. That sets him free.

It's Jon. Neck deep in black water, pinning him to the wall with his strong hands. His sharp blue eyes staring right through him, bringing him here to this moment. Where there's nothing but the two of them, their warm-water universe, and the sound of their breathing, slowly becoming one.

Colby smiles, affected. He raises a hand, clasps it around the back of Jon's neck and pulls his lover close.

"Just fucking kiss me." He says.

Jon doesn't hesitate to oblige. He crushes his lips against Colby's and breathes in deep. Jon wants to suck all the manic fear right out of Colby's chest. Jon kisses him deep, and hungry, and hard. Jon doesn't measure the amount of time it takes for Colby to open his mouth to him, but he knows it's not long. Jon plunges in immediately, devouring what's his. Colby's mouth is as warm and intoxicating as always. Jon swipes his tongue along Colby's lips, demands to taste Colby's tongue. Everything about Colby tastes so fucking sweet to Jon in that moment. Colby pushes forward, his fingers gripping desperately at the hair at the back of Jon's head. Jon glides backward, one arm wrapping around Colby's waist, pulling him closer, their legs winding together. Colby pulls away just slightly, enough to lick Jon's lips and tug his hair a little harder to look into his eyes.

"Take a deep breath." Colby says.

Jon obeys, breathing deep and Colby does the same. Colby presses their lips together again and lets his legs go out underneath him, leans into Jon. Jon bends his knees, pulling them downward. They sink slowly, dipping beneath the water. Water rushes through their ears, forces their eyes closed. They breathe into each other, the oxygen they both needed. Jon grips Colby tight, allows them to sink even further until their knees hit the floor of the pool. Colby's heart is hammering, his head is spinning, the air they're sharing isn't quite enough but he doesn't quite care. Jon sees lights popping behind his eyes, a little depraved but Colby's all he needs.

He knows it won't happen, they both know it won't happen, but silently, unequivocally, this is the way they'd want their world to end. Calmly, peacefully, lovingly.