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In a lot of ways, the apocalypse wasn't what Andrew had expected. It seemed like eons ago when he and Renee discussed world wars and water shortages wreaking havoc on civilization, but in all their contingency plans and talk of zombies and nuclear winters, neither of them had guessed it would be anything other than humankind's own dong that would do them in.

Weeks ago, when the weatherman came on the television and wept, Andrew hadn't yet realized that the world was really ending. It wasn't until Aaron showed up unannounced on his doorstep with a bag on his shoulder and his family in tow, that he realized that this was it. Only calamity could make his brother visit him unprompted.

Andrew spent a lot of time with his family during those last days, more than what he would have expected. Nicky and his husband managed to get a flight to South Carolina before they shut the airports down and closed borders, and he stayed in Andrew's guest bedroom while Aaron and his wife and daughters took Neil's old room.

Neil moved into Andrew's room, but neither of them talked about it.

Despite the universe shaking itself apart around them, life carried on. People went to work at their boring office jobs and then drank themselves silly afterwards, tuning into to the news station rather than the sports channels. Wars were fought and love was made. Andrew's feelings for Neil continued to turn like a wheel in his chest.

What else was there to do, except wait for the end?

It was on the roof with Neil and a bottle of whiskey between them when Andrew wondered if maybe he should come clean. He'd just about let the words tumble out of his mouth when Neil pointed to an asteroid streaking across the rust-stained sky, the first of many to come. Do you think this is how the dinosaurs felt? he had said.

Andrew's chest tightened as he gazed at the side of Neil's face, illuminated by the blood-red sun in the sky. No, he said. I don't think this is what they felt at all.

Nicky made them breakfast the next morning. He wore a pink chef's apron and cracked eggs in a sizzling pan. Eggs and toast, that's what they were having. That's all that was left. Andrew's family gathered around his tiny kitchen table and ate this last sacrament together. Nicky told jokes that surprisingly didn't fall flat, and Neil pushed his knee up against Andrew's under the table. He said nothing, but he caught Andrew's eye and smiled.

Andrew wondered if he should feel this happy when he and everyone he had ever loved would be dead in just a few hours.

After breakfast, Andrew and Neil climbed onto their roof to watch the lightshow. Fuck it, Andrew thought. He and everyone he loved would be dead in just a few hours. So he took Neil's hand and said, I love you.

Neil didn't let go of his hand, and when he pulled him closer, Neil was the first to lean in and press his lips against Andrew's.

Andrew's lungs burned, but he didn't think it was the smoke-filled air that was choking him, or the burning ozone and brimstone stinging his nose. The world was a dull roar around them, but all of Andrew's senses were overloaded with Neil. He combed his fingers through Neil's hair, soft and ablaze in the dying light, and leaned back. Neil's eyes were the only bit of blue in the entire world, and Andrew was content to die with this being the last thing he saw.

He didn't say that he wished he had more time, and he didn't say he regretted not telling Neil sooner. Wishes and regrets didn't matter anymore. All the mattered was that the sky above them was streaked with fire and blood and the sun reminded Andrew more of the middle of a ripe peach than death itself, and that Neil's hand was folded in Andrew's own.

Neil turned his face to the heavens, chin titled up as it crumpled around them. The sky was awash in red and orange and black as the stars burnt the atmosphere and cascaded around them. In his last moments, Andrew would have thought they looked like falling angels, though he never had believed in such things. The end of the world shouldn't be so beautiful, and yet.