Way up north in the permafrost, 1300 kilometers beyond the Arctic Circle, is the world's largest secure seed storage called Svalbard Global Seed Vault, opened by the Norwegian Government in 2008. This solid rock vault is Noah's ark for safe and secure long-term storage of the seeds, protected by any man-made or natural disasters. Today, the vault now holds more than 1 million seed samples from gene banks worldwide.
Imagine the world wiped off of any living human being. It could have been from a drought, a flood, an earthquake, volcanic activities, meteors, aliens, or nuclear wars - either way, it would not matter. The world is silent, cold, and dark. It seems like this is the end.
And then you see small greens spreading across the destruction. Millions of seeds are popping out from the ground, tender and light. Among those greens, there will be cosmoses, gentle but strong, just like how the god first made them.
Yes, at the end of the world, there will still be some part of you and me left.
***
Brett has never imagined spending a Friday evening in this manner: sitting on a couch with Eddy, watching porn. Moaning and the thumping of a couple were filling the silence between them. How did it come to this?
Brett has just walked back to the living room from a brief practice session. The inhaler was doing a much better job than he has expected. After a few days, his coughing has subsided tremendously. If Brett could just keep his condition like this, he could probably wait until his feelings for Eddy naturally subsides. At least, that sounded like a good plan for now.
Eddy hurriedly closed his laptop when he heard Brett coming. His face was burning up like a well-roasted sweet potato.
"Hey," Eddy spoke up, a bit too loud for an indoor conversation.
"...hello?" Brett replied, puzzled. "How's the twosetviolin tour schedule coming up?"
"Good, good," Eddy showed his thumbs up to Brett. Brett knew Eddy's smile was fake as soon as he saw it.
"What are you hiding?" Brett's voice was stern, like a mom scolding her child.
"Nothing?"
"You're lying."
"Probably."
"Show me," Brett tried to open Eddy's laptop in a playful manner. Eddy covered his whole body onto the computer, blocking Brett. They wrestled for a while and Brett finally managed to sneak his hands upon Eddy's side to tickle him mercilessly.
"That's cheating!" Eddy shouted as soon as he rolled to the floor.
Brett whistled in triumph as he opened the laptop, seeing a... video of a naked man french kissing another naked woman on a bed. Eddy covered his face with his hands, absolutely mortified.
"I thought you were scheduling a world tour for twosetviolin?" Brett raised his eyebrows.
"I got distracted," Eddy admitted.
"That is a huge leap of distraction from a music tour to a porn website," Brett tapped his finger on a monitor, skeptically. "So this is what you like? Pretty normal." Brett stared at the man now preparing himself between the woman's legs.
"This was not for my entertainment - it was for a research purpose," Eddy defended himself.
"You know that sounds ten times more suspicious, right?"
"Not that I ... I watch anything weirder when I'm... oh fuck, Brett. Just give that back," Eddy snatched the laptop out of Brett's hands, plopping on a couch.
"What was the purpose of your research?" Brett asked, sitting next to Eddy.
Eddy sighed, rubbing his eyes in distress.
"Hannah," Eddy finally confessed, looking down at the keyboard.
"Hmm," Brett hummed back in response. Brett has been hearing all about this girl lately from Eddy.
Brett never knew the existence of this girl because Eddy met her when he briefly stayed in Sydney for two years when he was little. After that, they have been keeping in touch once in a while and they met again at the club a few weeks ago. Destiny, that was what Eddy called it. Bullshit, that was what Brett wanted to believe.
"Apparently, she has a lot of experience and... I'm kind of nervous that she would think I'm...not skillful enough...? I don't know, man. It has been a long time since I properly dated and I honestly don't even remember how to kiss anymore," Eddy tapped on the play button on the screen. The porn played again, the man now groaning as he pushed himself into the woman's body.
So that was that. The video kept ongoing and they were staring at the screen what felt like for all eternity. Brett licked his lips, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. Eddy was just sitting there focusing on the video, actually studying this as he did in a university lecture hall. Brett rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the situation, pressing the pause button.
"Ok, did she tell you anything that hurt your self-esteem?" Brett's gaze pierced right through Eddy's eyes.
"Um...she said...I use...too much teeth when I'm kissing? Maybe I bit her too strongly? I don't know," Eddy fidgeted with his fingers, blushing. "I practiced though, you know. With my hands," Eddy shyly pressed the back of his left hand onto his lips, demonstrating how he did it.
"It didn't feel bad when I practiced," Eddy tilted his head uncertainly.
"Of course, the back of your hand does not provide any constructive feedback," Brett murmured.
"Your worst nightmare has come true. I will have to practice this on you," Eddy laughed jokingly, pushing Brett down to the couch.
This was just a regular part of how they fooled around. I mean, you aren't best friends until people believe you two are gay. Ever since they were little, Eddy will pretend to kiss Brett on the cheeks on his birthday and Brett will shriek, dodging his smoochy lips around the kitchen in a circle. Brett will sneak up to Eddy naked after a shower and jump on him, scaring Eddy to death. Eddy will wrestle and press Brett to the floor, smirking down at him during a video game. Natural and harmless, playful and light. Just another friendly humor for them, but still... this was different now for Brett.
Brett's heart pounded as Eddy looked down at him teasingly. Brett gulped, feeling a cough building up in him as he tried to control his breathing. Eddy leaned down lower and lower until their breath was mingling with each other. Eddy was expecting Brett to curse and scream like he always did, resisting him with all his muscles at this point. However, Brett was silent this time, just staring at him dead in the face. Eddy stopped hesitantly, not knowing how to proceed.
"i don't mind," Brett whispered, clenching his fist to keep himself from coughing.
"...what?" Eddy whispered back, his eyes wide.
"i said, i don't mind. If you need practice," Brett mumbled, his eyelids fluttering.
"But-" Eddy gulped. This was not at all what he has been expecting. I mean, it was nice that Brett was offering ground for practice, but... is Brett serious about this?
"Just be aware that I have a very high standard and I WILL be honest about your performance."
Their eyes met in all seriousness. Brett's eyes were tense as Eddy moved in closer. His body was frozen while his heart was almost flying out of his chest.
"Could you... could you...close your eyes then? I'm kind of nervous..." Eddy said in a small voice.
Brett nodded, closing his eyes as requested. Then it was warm. Oh, it was painfully warm.
Eddy's lips were soft as a petal as it traced Brett's upper lip line. Eddy's breathing was deep and calm as he carefully opened his mouth just enough to match Brett's lips in perfectly. A moist tongue trailed a wet path along Brett's lower lips, gently pressing it with his lips. Steady and tender pressure turned into a sharp surprise when Eddy lightly bit the corner of Brett's mouth. Brett flinched, trying in all his willpower not to heave too heavily.
Brett's lips were all puffy and red by the time Eddy's tongue now caressed the creases of Brett's lips, begging for him to open. Brett gasped, letting a small opening. Eddy smiled at this as he pushed himself closer to Brett, compressing his weight more heavily upon the lower man's thigh. Eddy's tongue smoothly crept in, meeting with Brett's. Their tongues intertwined, tasting each other. A drop of saliva dribbled from the side of Brett's mouth. It was impossible to think coherently at this point when Eddy's tongue faintly shadowed Brett's teeth teasingly before reaching to the walls of his mouth. Brett tensed up in pleasure, feeling Eddy searching for the deepest part of his mouth. Eddy's fingers were now moving onto Brett's earlobes, delicately tracing it with his fingertips.
Brett wished the world would come to the end right now, at this moment. Light the world on fire. Let the ground tremble and crack. Let the rain flow. Just please, let this moment last.
His wish didn't come true though. Finally, Eddy's tongue slipped out of Brett's mouth. Their lips were just pressing onto each other perfectly until Eddy slowly pulled out from the kiss, a bit dazed himself. A thin line of saliva connected their lips for a second and then disappeared.
Brett half-opened his eyes, trying to remember how to breathe again.
"...how was it?" Eddy asked nervously, sitting on the couch in a proper position again.
"not bad," Brett replied hastily, sitting up. He couldn't think of any feedback, to be honest. Words were meaningless of how impossibly perfect the moment was for him. Still, for the sake of Eddy, he rambled on. "Just ... I think you need to give her more time to breathe during the kiss? Or maybe give her a chance to swallow your lips for a change after a few moments? Other than that, it was ... a good pass."
"Thanks for the feedback. You weren't so bad yourself," Eddy wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "By the way, your breath ... I noticed something sweet and floral. Is that your new toothpaste or something?"
"It's..." Brett stopped speaking as he felt a sharp pain shooting up from the side of his lungs. Brett fumbled for his inhaler from his pocket but it was too late. Brett started coughing, jerking his body as the pain dominated him once more.
"You alright?" Eddy touched Brett's shoulder, alarmed.
"...just...give me...a sec," Brett whispered between the coughs as he ran to the restroom. Just as he kneeled down in front of the toilet, a few petals fluttered out of his mouth along with thick blood and mucus. A metallic taste of blood mixed with petals coated his tongue. Brett rubbed his chest, wishing the pain will release him soon. The world span around his feet as he coughed furiously into the water. The only thing that was keeping him in position was the white porcelain in front of him, taking in the petals that were choking him. After a minute of a relentless coughing fit, the outburst finally ceased down, leaving him with a sickening sight of bloody water with colorful petals in front of him.
Brett stood up shakily. He washed his face and rinsed his mouth repeatedly, getting rid of the cold sweat and an ugly taste left in his mouth. He took a deep breath, took a dose from the inhaler, and walked out of the living room as if nothing happened.
"Are you alright?" Eddy asked, concerned.
"Sorry, asthma attack again. I told you that the kiss could use some breathing in between," Brett joked as he sat down again at the couch.
"I'll keep that in mind," Eddy laughed. "Oh, and your new toothpaste or mint? What is that? I recognize the scent but I just can't remember the name of it," Eddy scratched his head, trying to recall the familiar aroma.
"It's cosmoses," Brett answered softly.
"Cosmoses? There is actual cosmoses-scented toothpaste these days?"
"Yes," Brett nodded, smiling weakly.
*yellow acacia*