So, I ended up making a sequel to Precious. I honestly wasn't planning to, then this idea decided to sprout in my head...anyway, this is the end result, I hope you enjoy it. Please leave feedback!

She had never been so happy to wake up to hear the sound of his heartbeat. Over the years, the sound had become a comforting one, blending into the sounds of each day they had together. She had started taking it for granted.

Not anymore.

"Ahh…I'm still alive?"

Mei turned a little, so that she could look at Kouichi. He was still depicted in the colours of death, but the warm hue of his eyes still managed to show through.

"Hmmm." Was all that she could say before looking away again. Seeing those colours still hurt. After dumping the eye patch, she had seen the colour here and there in her daily life, but it had only ever stained strangers, and the occasional elderly relative. It had never been anything so close to home that it scared her. It saddened her, sure, because death was sad, but now it was in focus, all of a sudden.

They lay in bed for a while, saying nothing. Eventually, Mei got up to get ready for work, even though she didn't particularly want to.

"Where you going?"

"Work. Aren't you?"

"Entrance exam day. Then it's the weekend. " He said, simply, sitting up to look at her. "Hey, do you remember those times when we used to stay in bed most of the day, then wreck the kitchen later when we woke up hungry?"

Despite herself, she smiled. Those days had been such a long time ago. When they were young. Being responsible adults with jobs, they didn't really do that anymore.

"Maybe I should just call in sick…" she wondered aloud, turning back to pick up the phone on their bedside table.

"That's naughty of you." Kouichi grinned. "Oh, hey, good morning."

One of their cats, Mika, had come into the room and jumped on the bed. Kouichi picked her up.

"You hungry, kitty-cat? You hungry? Don't worry, I'll feed you soon. Where's your sister, hmm?" Kouichi got out of bed, still carrying the cat, babbling at it. Mei had to put the phone down just to laugh at him, although she also wanted to tell him to wait until she was there too.

And then the phone rang. Sighing, she picked it up and listened for a moment.

"Hmm, yeah, sure." When she put the phone down, she had a big grin on her face, and she walked into the kitchen.

"Looks like I won't need to call in sick." She told him. His face lit up, and the cats rubbed their faces against his leg.

"I see." He paused for a moment, and then he grinned widely. Knowing what he was thinking, Mei grinned back. For a moment, they'd be able to forget that he was dying.

…

They woke up at around 6 in the evening, and true to form, destroyed their kitchen and made a giant pizza. Then, after eating it, they cleaned up. The cats tried to help (or at least, that's what Kouichi tried to suggest), but they ended up making more mess. It just made them laugh-as much as they could, considering the situation.

Afterwards, for lack of anything better to do, they went to their little art studio at the back of their house. Kouichi sat for Mei as she painted him. While he sat, they had the most recent Nagi Yanagi album playing in the background. They played both disks four times over when Mei decided that she had painted enough for the night, and put a cloth over it.

"Can't I take a look?"

"It's not finished. Plus, I don't need it yet. You're in front of me."

"Oh." Kouichi tried to think of something more articulate to say. Mei just watched him. The cloudy colours were darkening, slowly but surely.

"Let's go for a walk!" she said, too brightly as she stood up and went to the studio door.

"Mei."

She turned, and looked at him. Her eyes glittered. The glass one, more so.

"When…when it happens…when it happens, I want you to be looking at me. With both your eyes."

Mei tilted her head with a questioning look.

"Please?" He asked, softly. Mei stared at him, then down at the floor, then over to her covered painting, and then back at him.

"Okay."

He smiled at her sorrowfully before crossing the studio and taking her hand.

"Let's go for that walk then."

…

Things ended very, very quickly. One moment, he was at her side. In the next, he was down on the ground. A member of the public called an ambulance, and soon she was in a hospital.

A hospital. It had been a while since she'd been anywhere near a hospital. The last time she had, she had been there to visit her sister's corpse. Not a good memory, that. She had been a living ghost then. And then Kouichi had come and slowly she had found herself again.

Now, she was very much alive. But she was going to lose him. And maybe herself in the process, once again.

When it happens, I want you to be looking at me. With both your eyes.

The words stuck in her mind, and so she did. She looked at him, and didn't turn away. As the nurses and the doctors tried pointlessly to fix him, she looked at him. Memorised every inch of his being, although she had done that countless times already since the colours of death had painted him.

I'm looking at you. I'm looking at you.

Minutes passed. Or maybe it was hours. People asked her questions, and she answered robotically. They tried to get her to sit outside, but she refused. She looked, and looked. She wouldn't leave, she couldn't. Colours swirled, almost smothering her, but she didn't waver.

I'm looking at you. I'm looking at you with both my eyes. I'm looking at you.

So please, open your eyes.

But of course, he never did. And no matter how much she wanted it, she knew he'd never do so again.