Immortal Soldier

I gazed down at my best friend, blood staining his shirt and my hands, his wound seeping into my lap as I held him there desperately one last time. "Please, let me do this," I begged him. He shook his head wordlessly, and I knew from times before that he would rather die than live forever, he would rather be at peace than watch the world move past him. I watched as he brought his dirty, blood-stained hand shakily up to my face, and closed my eyes as he wiped away the one stray tear that had escaped through the corner of my eye and began sliding down my cheek. "Promise me..." he trailed off and swallowed thickly before continuing quietly, "Promise you won't forget me." He shivered slightly in my arms, and I ignored as another tear fell and he didn't have enough energy to reach up again. "I will never, ever forget you, Mikey," I responded, and grinned slightly at the sweet half-smile that overcame his face at the nickname before continuing, "I will live to see the day the sun explodes, and as the planet slowly goes into a panic, the only thing I'll be thinking about is you." A look of disbelief came over his face, and I brushed his sandy hair out of it as the look disappeared. Two more tears fell, one landing heavily on his hand as it grasped mine helplessly. "Goodbye, Sabien. I love you, brother," he breathed out, and I could see it on his face that he couldn't hold on for much longer. "I love you too, Mikey," I told him, and for the last time, I stroked his cheek and pulled him up, closer to my chest, closer to me. He looked at me sadly, and I gave him an encouraging nod and offered up a sad smile as the tears started to flow faster, and I could feel the sobs threatening to escape at the top of my throat. I touched my nose to the top of his forehead and I felt him squeeze my hand for the last time before sighing heavily, and his body went limp in my arms.