September 7th, 1940: London, England. 

Tao was with Kris when the streets erupted into fire.  

His fingers interlaced with Kris' and they are both walking along the pavement without much care. It was when Kris raised his head to stare across the street (they had only gone this way to see what the big bang was about) and Tao couldn't see anything, because Kris was covering his eyes.  

"Don't look," Kris whispers  almost brokenly, pulling Tao into his embrace to tug the 13 year old away from whatever horrors that had happened. "I'll protect you, I'll protect you," Kris whispers over and over, pushing Tao's shoulders to keep him from looking back.  

When Kris had placed his forehead against the back of his head, Tao looks back. 

There was fire, he believes, lots and lots of fire. 

Mixed in with the fire (his eyes were so very wide) Tao saw people crying out in despair, cursing the war.  

"MY BABY" Tao hears a lady cry out loudly, and Kris covers his ears.  

 ∞

November 6th, 1940: London, England. 

Though Tao isn't scared by most things, he is scared by death, like every other human being, and with each month ticking by, Kris is approaching death more closely.  

When Tao looks at Kris, his (what is Kris too him?) laughing with his friends, Tao blinks his eyes and wonders why there's a skeleton caressing Kris' face.  

"Hey come here kid!" Chanyeol, a boy much too tall for his age, calls him over and Tao refrains from cringing at Chanyeol's odd English accent. Tao does listen though, quickly tucking himself against Kris' side as he listens to them all talk about things like war, and their parents.  

"So sad," Tao hears Krystal mutter in a soft voice, "next year you'll be headin' off to war."  

Kris gives a small twisted smile, and Tao clutches Kris' arm.  

 ∞

"Are you actually going to go?" Tao asks that night, feet kicked over the hill as he kicks his legs back and forth, eyes grave and shallow as images of the skeleton touching Kris' face haunts him in his daydreams.  

"I will have to if the war is still going on..." Kris says softly, laid back in the grass as the stars twinkle above them. "It will probably be over." 

That's a lie, Tao thinks miserably, the war isn't anywhere near over.  

He knows it isn't anywhere close to over because Kai's eyes are more shallow lately, and there's been more immigrants, and bombs, lots and lots of bombs and nowadays people have shelters built into their backyards to protect them from Germany.  

Tao breathes. "My father still hasn't come home," he whispers carefully, turning his neck to stare down at Kris, "my mother wakes me up at night with her cries, too."  

Kris wrinkles his face, dark eyes gleaming in curiosity on why Tao is only bringing this up now. "Everyone is a bit broken over the war Tao, you ---" 

"I think he's dead." Tao says, almost monotonously like the news is average and normal, "I had a dream, that an angel had enwrapped their wings around Father and brought him up to Heaven," when Kris reaches out to touch his cheek, Tao whispers, "I see an angel around you, too."  

When a star sweeps by the sky, lighting up the dark world only briefly, Kris says loudly into the night air;  

"If I may die to protect Tao, please let me die to see this war end, so I can know Tao may live safely." 

(But the legend says that wishes only come true if you say them in your head), 

Tao wishes he will die the moment Kris dies, but in his head.  

∞

May 2nd, 1941: London, England. 

"Happy birthday," Kris whispers happily into his black locks, a dreamy smile on his lips as he drags Tao's body closer to his. Tao gives him a wistful smile, his smile itched upwards as he tilts his head to the side.  

"Almost as old as you,"  

Kris grunts, "let's hope you don't reach my age anytime soon."  

Tao ignores it. Just for today, he doesn't want to worry about the boney angel that has lately decided to take residence behind Kris, looming behind the teenager with a gloomy aura, taunting and reminding Tao every moment that things will never be the same in a few months from now.  

"Don't do that," Kris huffs softly, kissing Tao's forehead, "be happy on your birthday." 

"I'm only 14" Tao whines softly, "but would it be alright if we kissed?"  

Kris blinks a few times, disgruntled by the request, only when Tao's chest is welled and he feels like drowning because Kris didn't take his request well and --- 

When Kris' head dips down, lips briefly meeting Tao's, the angel behind Kris cackles in despair.  

(Tao see's fire, lots and lots of fire, Kris gives him a soft smile, the small words: "It doesn't matter, I still love you." Being spoken without being said.  

"Nyet!" Tao screams, and screams, chains rattling like a haunting echo, "Kris!") 

Tao blinks, "did you just see..." 

Kris wrinkles his eyebrows forward, "see what?"  

Tao swallows a cotton wad and wonders why Kris' eyes hold the sight of someone who's seen the worst in life, when really, Kris hasn't, not yet anyways.  

"No, nothing" Tao says thickly, "do you...?" 

"Like you?" Kris supplies haughtily, a soft smile on his lips as he wraps his arms around Tao's shoulders. "Always." 

Nyet. 

No? 

Tao vaguely wonders why he knows Russian suddenly. He's never learned Russian.  

∞

November 3rd, 1941: London, England. 

There's a thick silence, and Tao hasn't seen Kris in a week (and why has Kris lost weight?) and Kris' eyes look heavy, and there's still a war and Kris is about to turn 18 and --- 

Kris inhales sharply. "I'm being drafted, next week."  

"Oh," Tao manages, fingers shaking against the side of his thighs as he vaguely wonders how it's come to this. How they've come to this, from meeting on the street, to holding hands to kissing each other every night before Tao heads home to a broken mother and abandoned child. "Oh."  

Kris touches his cheek softly, a small broken smile on his lips as he wipes away any tears that Tao hadn't been aware he'd had shed. "Don't make that sort of face, it's hideous." Kris chuckles without much humour.  

"You're leaving" Tao finally says, voice thick with despair as he wonders if the world is really trying to tear him apart. "You're..." 

"Shush" Kris coo's softly, arms wrapped around him as he holds him tightly. "I'll be back soon, don't worry."  

("Nyet!" Tao screams, the fire is his ankles and Kris isn't opening his eyes anymore, "KRIS!") 

"Okay" Tao breathes out. "Okay." And he kisses Kris, ignoring how his lips taste of death.  

 ∞

November 10th, 1941: London, England. 

Kris leaves.  

Tao knew it would happen one day, still, his mother consoles him heavily, telling him how all the soldiers would come home and everyone in England would celebrate and drink pints of beer, rewarding the men and woman who sacrificed their lives with money and love.  

'Thank you for your service,' they'd say and everyone would cry and hug.  

Touching his tear stained lips, flipping onto his side, wrapped up in his blankets as everyone cooks dinner. 

"I love you, he said" Tao murmurs, voice cracking as everything fades into a blur around him. "He said..." 

And I didn't say it back.  

Tao cries harder, until he can no longer cry.  

'Thank you for your service,' they'd all say when all the men and woman returned home with bruised fist and cracked lips.  

'And if they don't return home?' Tao had whispered, his mother's warming hands stopping her motions.  

'Thank you for sacrificing your life,' his mother whispered, 'that's what we'll have to say. Then cry.'

a/n; 

. I can't. ;a;