It was a cool dark rainy night on April 4^th 2012. When Reita realized something deep inside of him wasn’t right. He was a handsome man only at the age of twenty-seven he knew his time on this god forsaken world was almost up.

Ruki the younger of the two at twenty-four still had all the adorable baby fat that should have been lost years ago. To other people they appeared to be like brothers but their relationship was much deeper than that. They even resembled one another all the way down to the honey blonde streaks in their hair. Ruki was also the shorter one, adding another thing to his list of insecurities. He knew if Reita left this world a piece of him would go with him.

They called it the dark plague and it was sweeping the Earth and spreading at a horrifying rate without prejudice of men, women, or children. The dark plague got its name because once you’ve caught the virus the insides of the mouth and skin around the eyes slowly turn from its natural color to the color of ashes and black coal.

Reita wasn’t sure how he caught the virus or exactly when. The only thing for certain was there was no cure. Ruki gave no thought to contracting the virus himself as he held onto Reita as the other man vomited blood from inside his infected body.

The two had been friends for nine years and had been lovers for the past ten, after Ruki so bluntly declared his love for Reita at a Christmas party. It was the first time the small man had more than the small sip of alcohol that your parents would give you on special occasions. So being the light weight that he is the poor man passed out on Reita right after his confession. To say Ruki had been a little embarrassed the day after would be an understatement. Reita had to practically chase him down to be able to tell him that he loved him too. While everyone deserted Reita even his own family, Ruki was determined to stay with his lover until the end.

No one knew where the dark plague started or what caused it. Some believe it’s a punishment from god on a sinful world, others believe that it was invented and released on the people to solve the problem of over population. Ruki swallowed, feeling nauseated as he held Reita close to him as the other man slept. He knew they had no options. Reita had the disease, and he would die from it.

Reita had been wrapping a towel around his waist after taking yet another hot shower to relieve his tense muscles when he collapsed on the cold tile floor in pure agony. The throbbing pain he felt was excruciating. He clawed at the floor leaving trails of blood while his body twitched and jerked. He lay panting trying to fill his aching lungs with much needed oxygen when Ruki found him. He clung to Ruki as the other man gently kissed his forehead while helping him off the floor and stumbled along with him as he was pulled out of the room.

Day after day the pain would become worse. Neither Ruki nor Reita had the money to see a doctor. Not that it would help, there was no pain killer in the world that could relieve the pain Reita was feeling. Ruki would lie in bed next to Reita watching as the infected man would try to will the ache away. But they both knew it was hopeless, the pain would only continue to become worse.

One afternoon Reita was trying to get his weak body out of bed himself for once even though Ruki insisted he stay in bed. He loved Ruki, but he just couldn’t have him doing every little thing for him. He was a man with a lot of pride. But every day he was losing more and more of his dignity. He had tried to convince the other to leave him. It was killing him knowing Ruki could soon become infected with the virus because of him. He reached out a hand to steady himself, grabbing hold of the dresser next to the bed managing to knock over a framed picture sitting on top of it in the process. It was a photograph of Ruki and him visiting a few of their friends in kanagawa
a few summers ago before this horrid disease became known. It had been a cherished picture but now lay shattered in pieces after colliding with the floor.

“Hey what are you doing? I told you not to be getting out of bed on your own!” Ruki said as he waltzed into the room. Just in time to see the picture hit the floor. Reita jumped startled by Ruki’s voice.

“I was just trying to do something on my own. I don’t need you for everything Ruki.” Reita whispered.

“I just don’t want you to hurt yourself! I’m here for you and I want to help you as much as I can.” Ruki grasped Reita’s arms and pulled him back to the bed.

“Ruki you shouldn’t stay here anymore. You will catch the virus to if you haven’t already.” He mumbled nuzzling into Ruki’s neck, enjoying the warmth coming from the others body.

Ruki sighed wrapping his arms around Reita, savoring the feeling of having Reita’s lean body pressed against his own. “I already made my decision Reita. He groaned. “Being with you is the only thing I care about right now; stop trying to push me away. He whispered before pulling Reita into a chaste kiss.

Ruki felt a lot of regret for getting angry with Reita the day before. Being the only one who stayed by Reita’s side when he started showing signs of having the disease, he wanted to do everything he could for him. He wanted to be there for his lover who had been there for him all of these years. Even if it meant he could die also. It terrified him knowing one day he could wakeup and Reita wouldn’t be there anymore. He would try to deny it, but the truth was that day was drawing closer and closer.

Just the simple act of sitting up was becoming too much for Reita. He had started having breathing problems. At first it felt like someone had plunged a knife into his back. But as the weeks passed the pain gradually moved throughout his body. The pain he had in his stomach was the most agonizing. It felt like there was a hole in his stomach and acids were pouring out and destroying his bones and organs. The pain wouldn’t last for long. Ruki would say it had been only a few minutes. But to him it felt like the searing pain lasted for hours. It had gotten to where he had good days and bad days. On goods days they would be able to lay and cuddle together without Reita going unconscious from the convulsions his body went through. Ruki could make out how the color in his own eyes slowly became darker, and how he would become nauseated by the sight and smell of food. But he tried his best to keep it from Reita, knowing he would just try harder to push him away.

When the bad days would come it was horrible not only for Reita but Ruki to. The small man would sit and watch Reita shake violently as his body was ripped apart on the inside. He would cry silently when he held Reita while the older man’s body convulsed with spastic movements from not being able to hold anything in his stomach. It hurt Ruki to want to help him so badly but knowing there was nothing he could do.

Reita had thought the pain couldn’t get any worse until one night it became too much for him to handle. If he didn’t know better he would think he was being tortured while being chained to the bed he was laying in. Eyes closed tightly as long sharp knives slashed and ripped at his pale skin, while he twisted and turned trying to get away from his tormentor. But there was no getting away for what was happening in his own infected body. When he could feel the dizziness and see the darkness signaling yet another blackout he welcomed it. Wanting to finally end his suffering, even though he knew when he awoke it would start all over again.

It was another cloudy day as Ruki walked along one of the many long deserted roads, taking a longer route to hold off returning to his apartment. He slowly came to a stop in front of an old park. Not the first place Ruki thought he would visit after Reita died. The park had been the place Ruki and Reita met many years ago. Ruki had always been and still is abnormally small for his age. And of course all the kids felt like they had to remind him of it. Reita had been watching as little five year old Ruki threw a tantrum like it was nobody’s business before he decided to put an end to all the kids teasing. After that day the two boys became inseparable, if you wanted to find one of them you were bound to find the other. Ruki turned his back on the park as it started pouring rain. He always knew if he lost Reita he would lose a part of himself. The thought of dying no longer frightened him because he knew Reita would be waiting for him and he would be whole again. The signs were becoming worse. The darkness was taking over. He had also became a victim to the virus.