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Mizi's disappearance had caused a torment in Till's heart, and the fact that he had realized in the middle of a stupid gathering of his master and his friends where he was the main entertainment did not make it any better. His mind had become clouded and reduced to his most primitive instincts, refusing to utter any note. He needed to vent, he needed to get rid of the root problem. Guided by his twisted need and thirst for revenge, his fists lashed out at every being that stood in front of him.
He couldn't do much, they kept him on a leash like a dog because of his background. However, they were able to do a lot with his body, taking advantage of his main entertainment position. At some point during the meeting, they grew tired of him and brought in guards to get rid of the wild animal that had indulged them that night.
His body, covered in dark colors, as if it had been taken as a canvas, and with the reddish vital liquid, rested on any armchair while he remained unconscious and tied. Ivan encountered the Sun that had stolen his soul from the first moment in that state, filling him with helplessness. His warm hands ran over the binding of her mouth until he freed it. If only the Sun would stop looking at the stars and look just for a moment at the Moon.
His heart hurt beyond all the physical pain he had received up to that point in his life, his Sun was withering because of any star. Gentle hands comforted the wounds exposed on his skin, wanting to provide comfort to appease both hearts, oblivious to each other.
Ivan knew it from the beginning and yet he couldn't stop. The spiral of his devotion and desire revolved around Till, the rebellious participant who offered his heart to Mizi. In the past he tried to attract his attention like a melody in search of harmony, from matching interests to aggression, nothing was enough for Till, who ran after the pink strands without looking back at that raven hair. Unfortunately, over time their worlds drifted apart: one being picked up and gaining great value while the other was cast aside by his hostility.
The tides of Ivan's concern and love for Till could not be calmed, causing him to seek out any possibility within his reach to ensure the continued existence of his Sun. Till decomposed as the hours passed. Had Mizi died? Was this some trick by Luka to ensure his victory? The questions only increased and flooded the albino's mind. Ivan was there next to him, like a faithful pillar holding the greatest weight of the circumstances without being noticed as such, for Till, it was just something else to deal with during the day.
How could he, someone he had never known beyond an interest in usefulness, take a place next to someone like Till, free and true to his heart? No matter how hard he tried, he was always overshadowed by the pinkish pale. At such a young age, Ivan had chained his destiny to only one: to live for Till and die for him. In his soul, nothing had a higher priority than that, even if he never managed to capture her light solely for himself.
He took care of everything he was allowed to not lose his Sun so soon, to be able to give him a further opportunity at the cost of everything. There was no way he could face the rest of the rounds without him.
The next round had been announced, announcing that the next to fight for their right to life while wearing out their voices were the two of them. What good was it for Till to defend his right now that the warmth of his existence couldn't greet him with a happy smile at the end of the round? However, for Ivan, it meant the end. The first warning for him had been the hurricane that caused it to appear in his life, beginning the path towards his inevitable downfall. The second warning was nothing more and nothing less than the obsession he had developed for his Sun.
That had been years since. Till, at the lowest point he could have ever touched, began to feel the true presence that Ivan conveyed to him. He comforted him in a way he couldn't describe, calming the storm in his heart. Without either of them realizing it, Ivan made his way into Till's heart and the latter did not stop him.
The third and final warning was about to sound through his eardrums. His white suit blended with the walls of the same color, highlighting the perfectly combed obsidian strands while his Sun's suit contrasted absolutely with the place. Ivan could finally witness the eclipse of his love in this scenario, playing the Moon to his Sun. Unfortunately, the emotions were not in tune between them.
Ivan, knowing that he had given everything for his only love, looked at him one last time in the privacy behind the scenes. The tiny smile that was beginning to emerge on his lips faltered when he caught a glimpse of Till's expression. With a lost look and dark circles under his eyes, the brightness that remained faded like sand between his fingers.
"Don't even think about giving up so soon." Ivan clenched his fist as the words escaped from his lips. The taller's continued efforts had resulted in the little extension of that glow up to this point. This would be the last act of final love.
Till, regaining some emotion, could do nothing more than separate his lips when they had already been forced out. The music started and he could do nothing but sing as he held the microphone and brought it close to his pale face.
“Allow me, to the tips of your fingers…”
Despite loathing Mizi's existence, at this moment Ivan could do nothing but thank her for allowing him to listen to his Sun like this. The melancholy, pain and sadness that were mixed in the song of the lowest one, causing chills in Ivan's body. His soul rejoiced at being able to witness the sublime decline of his Sun, it was just for him and it will remain so for the rest of time.
From the bottom of his soul, Ivan intoned his last breath for Till. His end had been inevitable and he had prepared himself years ago to be able to let go of everything, absolutely everything, for the albino next to him. This would be his farewell, he had to give everything so that his feelings on the verge of collapse could fully and correctly reach his Sun.
“Even if your cold words…” His voice, despite being charming, carried notes of desperation among her words. He didn't know if, once the end was present, Till would have grasped everything he had to say. The abyss that belonged to Ivan's eyes did not turn away from him once he had decided to absorb the last rays of his Sun that he would see in his life.
The feelings mixed together like the musical notes, there was no turning back in the storm they had created together. The public remained expectant on the edge of their seats before the work of art offered, they had come for entertainment and never anticipated being dragged by the mascots to their dystopia.
The weather, almost as if affected by the desperate cries of both, was stormy. It was raining as she wet them clothes, the rays lighting up the dark sky above them heads, yet they didn't stop them, it wasn't enough. They needed to express everything they had saved so as not to regret it when the time came. For Till, the future was uncertain, but for Ivan, he had sealed a pact in his soul many moons ago.
“With our history, lost in forever's embrace” Now, it was time to stop for Ivan. Without looking beyond his Sun, his microphone fell to the ground and his long legs sheathed in the whitish pants fixed his destination: Till.
One of his hands rested on Till's cheek, unnerving him for a moment until that same hand ended up on the back of his neck and their lips met. It was a devastating kiss that conveyed more than he could understand at that moment. The rain did not stop and the drops mixed between the pair of lips that danced with each other, forming part of the event.
The lips parted and joined again. Till was struggling to get Ivan off of him, he didn't understand what was happening. Opening his eyes, he admired the shorter man's face carefully from that distance and then turned back to the marker. It was enough.
With one last perfunctory kiss, his large hands rested around the albino's thin, delicate neck and exerted a little force. Till did not resist, closing his eyes and allowing himself to fall at the hands of the death that he assumed awaited him. And he was fine, maybe so he could reunite with Mizi.
Seeing that it was not enough, the jet gradually increased the force it exerted until a hum resonated in its eardrums through the rain. A stinging sensation rose from his left side as he felt the blood flow from gravity. Yes, that's how it should be, but it still wasn't enough. Without flinching he waited for the next one, the second bullet hit his shoulder. His arms trembled but his face remained imperturbable. The third caused him to retch where the only thing that leaked was that vital liquid between his lips.
That had to be enough, now his Sun could rise gloriously. A smile crossed his face, his feelings had been conveyed somehow and he could now retire in peace. His hands slid downward, losing strength. At that moment, Till opened his eyes and his entire expression turned into pure horror. Despite seeing such a sincere response from Ivan, this was not what he expected. It couldn't be possible.
Ivan's body collapsed, his clothes colored by the fluid that ran from his wounds and the floor spreading its vitality as it was dissolved in the water, reaching Till's shoes. The lights went out and left the place in complete darkness, no one could be sure what was happening right under his nose at that moment.
Till knelt down feeling defeated, he believed that he could not have fallen further than what he had done with Mizi's disappearance, but this moment he had proven that he could not have been more wrong than ever.
Before he could return to reality, guards swarmed the stage to take Ivan's body away. Till, in the midst of his desperation, tried to snatch his body. Ivan couldn't be dead, no. He does not. He couldn't abandon him now that his heart seemed reluctant to let him go. Why, why had he created a home where he didn't belong if he would destroy whatever sanity he had left once he left?
Till's fists attacked those who stood in his way towards Ivan, they had not even allowed him to say goodbye due to the rush they were in. Just as he attacked, he was attacked back into submission. Until now, not a tear was shed. He was heartbroken and felt his throat on fire from how much he had screamed; in the end, he was taken to a holding room until he calmed down.
Between the four walls, in the midst of the loneliness that embraced Till, the dam opened, giving way to endless tears held back by the shock. It had been so many years since he had cried like this, not even over the Mizi matter. His body trembled, his throat did nothing but emit agonizing screams and his eyes no longer even opened due to the uselessness of not being able to focus. Where was Ivan to comfort him like in the past? Where was he when he needed him by his side?
The last smile he gave him had been etched into his retinas, tormenting him forever. Till wasn't stupid but he was slow and by the time he discovered that his heart had an owner, it had been too late. Now, in his mind there were only two options: either he left here or he died. The hours passed and they released Till, believing that he would no longer be a danger to them. How wrong they couldn't be.
From that day on, there was no rest for the guards. As soon as they released the albino, he ran until he tried to escape. The blows flew between them and they no longer knew who they were directed at. At the point when the blood flowed, Till would often become paralyzed, giving the guards the opportunity to take him to prison. There had never been any rumor about Ivan's death or his ownership, and thanks to this new topic, Mizi's disappearance had been buried.
He was chronically exhausted and the final round was just a breath away. He had to confront Luka, the one who had somehow contributed to the Mizi disaster. Resentment gnawed at him just thinking about it, he had to win this round. By Mizi. By Ivan. Till somehow believed that Ivan would be very angry with him if he gave up the battle. I had to do it above all for him.
The long-awaited day arrived, with both contestants backstage waiting for the moment and extra guards in case a certain albino decided to escape again. “Don't even think about giving up so soon..” those had been Ivan's last words to him. Till felt his vision begin to blur with just the memory. Oh, how he longed for Ivan to comfort him.
The sound of wheels turning sounded down a hallway, Till couldn't care less if they came to inspect them. The only time his vision lifted from his shoes was when said wheels had stopped in front of him. He was ready to fight, couldn't they leave him alone when in a few minutes they could kill him if he didn't make it through the round? But his thoughts were abruptly stopped when that familiar face appeared before him.
Ivan was there, in a wheelchair and with his arm immobilized, smiling at him as only he knew how to do. The tears that once only blurred the panorama came out without preamble. His arms wrapped tightly around Ivan's neck and her crying was muffled by his clothes. Between consoling whispers and broken questions, Ivan explained that his value had been too much for his owner to afford to lose him at that point.
He wiped away the opposing tears as best he could with his only free hand. His gaze found themselves communicating everything that his words could not. Soon, the lips danced over each other as the tears continued to flow at a slower pace. The opponent's lips tasted like glory, like a miracle. Despite their reunion, the round had to continue.
“I will be waiting for you back” Were the words of encouragement that Ivan dedicated to him from his place, and then saw how Till's back became smaller and smaller as he entered the battle once again.