Chapter Text
Till stands over the body of Ivan, He looks down horrified and scarred by the sight. The blood of the one who had just kissed him and tried to choke him pools at Till's feet, His dying smile stains his mind with confusion and regret.
"(Why did this happen... how did this-)"
Before Till can continue his thoughts a realization cuts it off, There's bullet holes on Ivan which are the source of the blood that scared him so much.
Confusion strikes his mind, Ivan didn't look scared or in pain, not like he looked at him while he was being choked but it's well known how good he is at masking his pain and putting on a façade.
Till wanted Ivan to kill him, there was no reason for him to keep fighting anymore if Mizi was gone but how can he possibly die with a regret like this? When the one who was supposed to be his assailant smiled at him in his last moments.
The stadium goes dark, signaling that the show is over.
"(Not like this... please..)"
Standing alone in the dark with the dead body of Ivan while being wet from the rain made it so much more melancholic, If only he could ask him, talk to him, understand him, look at him again but it was too late, there was no going back anymore.
Unless....
A sudden headache attacks Till's mind, he stumbles yet careful not to step on the corpse of the one who sacrificed his life for him, which is unknown to him at the moment.
Till collapses on the floor while clutching his head that is pounding with pain paired with intense dizziness, not like he hadn't experienced it before but this time was different.
Till loses all control of his senses and goes limp, He faints and loses consciousness, His body lying down beside Ivan's.
By some mysterious miracle, A second chance was granted to Till, He can change his fate, but more importantly, Ivan's sorrowful demise.
Time turns back, It's not over.
Infact, it's only the beginning.
The stage is setting, The audience is waiting with anticipation for the sixth round, Till's heart is thumping fast after realizing his return he gasps, exasperated from the experience.
"(..What happened?! What was that?!)"
The confused rebel takes in his surroundings, He realizes he isn't damp from any rain nor has the round even started.
"(Did I just... Time travel?? From what?!)"
Even as Till questioned how this even happened over and over in his head, he wouldn't get any answers but even if he doesn't get it, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to change both his and Ivan's tragic fates.
"(This.. I can use this. I won't make the same mistake again, alright... let's do this.)"
But he had no time to sit and think about that, The show is starting and he has to come out and sing, with a determined resolve and a pained, puzzled heart, He moves forward.
"Allow me, to the tips of your fingers,
Allow me, to the ends of your feet"
Even as he sings, he can think, his body moves on its own and sings by reflex, after retaliating against the aliens and being hurt over and over he was forced to memorize the lyrics for his life.
"(This is so weird, I'm doing this again, but it'll be different...)"
"Dissolve me in your gaze
I don't want to let you go"
Till sings instinctively while pondering the death of his friend, Ivan, he never really paid attention to him since he was always focused on Mizi but he remembers that Ivan always picked on him and angered him, he also remembers that he stayed by his side and freed him when he was captive. Till begins noticing Ivan and his final smile before he sacrificed himself for his sake.
"(But why... why did he do that..? it's so damn frustrating...!)"
"Please, leave me scars,
Please, hurt me so that
Not a single drop of me remains"
"(Mizi... that's what killed her... because she choked Luka.)"
"Let me drown in you.."
Till begins connecting the dots, Why did Ivan do what he did? Had he known from the start? Such questions plagued his mind, His smile when he fell while bleeding.
"(..Did he smile because he knew..?! that bastard..! he...)"
"Until these falling stars"
The chorus arrives, Till sings with the sorrow in his heart and the pain of his bruises but what hurt even more was realizing that Ivan sacrificed himself for him and had planned to from the start
"(He must've known.. he planned it from the beginning! But why?!)"
"Are buried in the blur of time..
On your icy lips.."
He had a hard time remembering with him fainting earlier but there were moments he remembered vividly, Such as Ivan approaching him and kissing him passionately before acting out his sacrificial plan.
"(That's right...he did that didn't he...?)"
"Read my soul."
"(Could.. the reason for that be...)"
"Yes, my soul."
Till knew the answer but even voicing it inside his head was hard to do, not to mention embarrassing to think of, Yet he manages to come to the conclusion.
"(..That he loves me?)"
"Oh, oh~"
Till's lines ended that second and so did any responses to the outcome of what he could salvage from the situation itself, Ivan kissed him, Ivan choked him in order to sacrifice himself for him, Ivan died the same way Mizi did. Till didn't want that. He didn't want someone who he loved to die but he didn't want the person who loves him to die either, He's always been stubborn like that.
Ivan comes on stage to begin singing his part of the song, He had just been deceased Infront of Till but by some miraculous second chance earned by Till, Time reverted and he's back but nothing has changed, He still wishes to sacrifice himself for Till and fulfill his selfish desires before doing so.
"Even if your cold words"
"(He's alive... right now.. he is but.. he plans to die again doesn't he? Damn him!)"
Even if Till wants confirm Ivan is intact and infact alive he settles for his voice alone to be an indicator of his survival because he can't bring himself to look at him again after he kissed him and died.
"Carve scars beneath my eyes."
Since Till has no lyrics to sing, he can put all focus on thinking.
"(Ivan.. died like Mizi did... but I won't let that happen but his love for me.. to sacrifice himself for me and just- kiss me like that! that's just...)"
Till looks for the correct words to say but he finds them all conflicting, he liked it but he doesn't want to say it nor did he even want to voice it in his head but he couldn't ignore that as an unconscious fact.
"May they linger on your tongue,
You can break me apart."
"(But.. even so... if I could choose... )"
"Notice my pain
And mend me right now."
"(I don't want to be responsible for his death,)"
"To quiet my fears..
I'll drown in you."
"(I don't want him to die while smiling at me like that again,)"
"Sick of these nights to come,
To be engulfed in silence.."
"(I don't want to lose anyone important anymore...)"
"In your gaze where I'm seen,
Consume me."
"(I don't want to be alone anymore.)"
The time was approaching, for when Till stopped singing and Ivan dashed forward to initiate his selfless yet selfish plan and kissed Till, Till has to change it, he has to change what will happen and now that he knows, He won't back down.
"Yes, me."
"Oh oh~"
It didn't matter if it was Mizi or Ivan that he had liked, that he had relied on and trusted, that he had made the light of his life as his only hope, he needed someone and that was clear, he could never keep going without that and now noticing Ivan and his love, his selfless and selfish actions, his sacrifice, Till couldn't let go, not after seeing him like that.
"(That time, he came here because I stopped singing, right? If I continue singing then would that stop him from...)"
It's his turn to sing again and he needs to focus on what's Infront of him instead of what went past him, The rain pours down on the two while shining like stars from the stage lights.
"To this everlasting melody.."
The feeling of Ivan's gaze on him prickles him, Was he about to come forward again? He sings the final lyric that he had sung before acting out, there were more but he never continued.
"Face to face we dance~"
Till realizes it's his turn, he's going to keep singing and keep his composure as an attempt to change something.
"With our story..
Lost in forever's embrace..."
Till takes a quick glance at Ivan, He looks like he's thinking about something deeply but his expression returns to his usual fake demeanor.
"(Is he conflicted..?)"
"Until these falling stars.."
Till continues the lyrics he hadn't before but because of that he doesn't notice that Ivan is focused on him like an eagle and has started his approach, As he is too focused and relieved on making some sort of change.
"Are buried in the blur of time.."
Till feels his presence and quickly turns to Ivan who is right beside him already, like before, Ivan caresses Till's cheek before pulling him into a kiss, Till is too conflicted and shocked by this to respond but he regains conscience again and makes his move.
"(That didn't change a thing! But.. I won't let him choke me and die, I won't let him leave me, He's the only one I can trust now... )"
Till pulls back from the kiss to catch his breath for a little.
"(I'm sorry Ivan, for not noticing you this long.)"
As Ivan grips Till's hair and pulls him towards himself to finish his much desired kiss after years of longing, Till leans forward and kisses him back, He slings his arm over Ivan's shoulder and holds his free hand to stop him from using it to choke him.
Ivan falls into shock of Till's response to his kiss, finally something was given back to him, he was no longer yelling his love through his actions into a void, Till, who had always turned his eyes from Ivan and onto Mizi, had finally changed and he's looking at him, returning his kiss, He can't mask his emotions anymore, especially not his love for Till.
"(Why..? Was it because of his loneliness that Mizi was gone? Was it something else? An act? No, he was never one to act, if anything he'd act out.. Then, what made him change? Why after so many years...)"
Impulsively, Ivan goes deeper into the kiss and holds Till's hand tightly, he can't help it, how could he? After so long, his feelings were returned although he had doubts and questions he didn't want them to ruin the moment.
Both of them wanted to say so, so much but neither of their voices would comply, instead they speak through actions and glances alone.
While their lips are sealed with one another, looking deeply into the other's eyes, Till remembers Ivan glancing at their scores, so out curiosity he does aswell to find that his score above Ivan's, If this continues without singing then he would pass and Ivan would die again, he had to do something.
Ivan noticed Till looking at it and saw it aswell, He didn't want to die, not after his feelings for Till since childhood had been finally returned to him.
Ivan, as he once did, tries to copy what Sua and Mizi tried, Trying to tie the scores so they draw instead, he's unsure if it'll work but he needs to try atleast.
Ivan grabs Till's microphone and pulls it between them, Till notices and catches onto the plan, They both sing the last line they have for the duet chorus.
"In your gaze where I'm seen,
Consume me."
They kiss for the last time with their faces coated in the red of their blush, hoping that it would work.
"(If this doesn't work then i swear.. I returned this idiot's feelings for nothing!... please, don't die on me now, Ivan.)"
"(After so long.. what made him finally turn to look at me? Regardless of what it is, I won't end it here, not after that, if it does.. I'd be fulfilled but.. I want more from you, Till.)"
The scores had changed from before, they rise and rise until... the result settles at last.