The world ended on October 31, 2012, the day the virus spread and the dead walked the earth.

Ivan personally felt that statement was debatable. For him, the world began on that day. His life had never been an especially happy one. He was a skilled ballet dancer and that talent had allowed him to travel the world far beyond his home in Russia, but he had few friends (and none that were close), a family he was uncomfortable with at best and not a hint of romance in his life after he left school.

Life had been lonely. Death would turn out to be a different experience entirely.

Oh, the virus had been terrifying at first. Ivan's coach had only stayed by his side until he realized his star dancer was slowly turning into something monstrous. Ivan was left alone in his hotel room to suffer through the last agonizing stages of the transformation and sob out his fear at what was happening to his body. And then suddenly, as if awakening from a long dream, he was reborn. His coach might have been wise to run, for the newly born Ivan was terribly hungry.

He had always been a quick study, and it took him no time at all to learn how to hunt and feed. Chasing after humans was a bit troublesome at times, and it was difficult to break the skulls open to get to the delicious brains within, but Ivan had never been one to balk at a challenge.

Aside from the dramatic change in his diet, Ivan's unlife wasn't so different from his life at first. He was still terribly alone...until the day he finally met Alfred F. Jones.

Ivan had always been a romantic man, and those tendencies carried over into his undead self as well. He liked to imagine soul mates finding each other in a library as they reached for the same book. It seemed fitting that he and Alfred met in a library as they were hunting the same human. He hadn't even noticed Alfred until they nearly ran into each other while weaving through the maze of bookshelves.

Alfred had stopped his very dramatic moaning of 'braaaaains!' to say, "Whoops! Sorry, big fella!" And then he darted behind the last bookshelf to where the human had finally encountered a dead end. There was a shrill shriek, and then silence. Ivan sighed. Another perfectly good meal, stolen from under his nose. Of course all was fair when it came to hunting, but he hadn't caught a human in days and his stomach was growling terribly. His disappointment must have been rather obvious, because Alfred had glanced up from his catch and gave Ivan a strange look.

Ivan had just sighed again and turned to leave, resigned to spend the rest of his day still hungry.

From behind the bookshelf there was suddenly a great deal of crunching and wet squelching sounds, and then Alfred had called, "Hey, wait a minute! You can have the brain if you want. I'm not that hungry." Alfred emerged from around the bookshelf, holding the still dripping brain out with a oddly bashful smile.

It was funny, how so much could begin from one humble brain. In the end they agreed to split it down the middle and devoured the meal on a park bench outside the library. It would be the first of many meals they shared together. Alfred talked about how he was a physics student before the virus came and the world ended. He talked about his projects, his classmates, all over now. And Ivan talked about his dancing, about the long hours he used to spend practicing and how he once danced at the Bolshoi Theater, the proudest day of his life. But the physics student and the dancer were both dead. There were only two zombies now, just Alfred and Ivan. Strangely, that didn't sound sad to Ivan at all. 'Alfred and Ivan' sounded much better than just Ivan.

And then Alfred finally put it all into words. "Maybe we should team up. I've been on my own for a while. It'd be nice to have a guy like you watching my back!"

And so it began. Zombies were naturally solitary creatures, but Ivan hadn't been a very normal human (and as far as he could tell, neither had Alfred,) and so it only made sense that they wouldn't be terribly normal zombies. For the first time in both his life and unlife, Ivan had a partner.

"Heeeey, big guy! What're you doing? Wakey wakey!"

Ivan blinked himself awake. The inside of the mausoleum where he took his daily naps was almost completely dark, save a small window that let in the dim evening light, and he blinked sluggishly until his eyes had adjusted. Slowly he sat up, stretching his arms. His decaying body always needed a little more time to get moving after a rest, but soon he was able to lurch up to his feet and stumble up the steps and out into the cemetery. Alfred was waiting by their campfire, seated on one of the headstones they had knocked over to make chairs. The cemetery had become almost homey since the pair had taken it over for themselves.

"'Morning, sleeping beauty!" Alfred laughed, waving a hand. The bones were starting to peek through in a few places around his palm and fingers. "Well, it's evening now, but you know what I mean."

Ivan hummed sleepily in agreement and took a seat on a headstone labeled 'R.I.P Matthew Williams.' Hopefully Matthew, whoever that was, would not mind being sat on.

"Still groggy? Why do you bother sleeping anyway? It's not like we need it."

"I just enjoy it," Ivan smiled, wiggling his toes towards the warmth of the fire. Heat was another thing they no longer needed, but the sensation could still be appreciated. "How are your hands? They are looking a little...worn."

Alfred made a face and picked at a piece of grayish flesh that was peeling away on his ring finger. "Yeah, I need a little fixing up. Remind me to look for duct tape next time we go near a store. Great stuff, duct tape. A zombie's best friend. It sure worked to patch up that hole in your chest, didn't it? You haven't had any more problems with your heart falling out, right?"

Ivan gave his chest a pat, feeling the thick layer of duct tape beneath his shirt, wound around his chest like a bandage. "Nyet, it covered the hole up very nicely."

"Glad to hear it! Hey, you want a snack? I got you something special while I was hunting!"

Ivan perked up. "Something special?"

"Yep! Hang on a sec..." Alfred grabbed a bag from the ground and began rummaging around inside before finally producing a brain. "Tah-dah! And this isn't any old brain either. It came from a ballerina."

Ivan's eyebrows hitched up. "Really?"

Alfred glanced away, suddenly looking a bit sheepish. "Yeah, I just figured...since you used to dance, maybe it would taste extra good to you. Like how scientists' brains are my favorite, y'know? And I did a little poking around, looking for any ballerinas...I-I mean, I got lucky on this one, but still..."

Ivan took the brain with both hands and a grateful smile. "Thank you, Alfred. This is very kind." The brain did smell unusually appetizing, and he sunk his teeth deep into the soft treat. Alfred had guessed right; it tasted incredible. He took another generous bite, relishing in the warm flavor that filled his mouth, and quickly devoured the prize on the spot.

"Thank you," Ivan repeated when he had finished, delicately muffling a burp into the back of his hand. "That was delicious."

"Whew, that's a relief! I'd hate to get you a crappy present. Hey, you have a little gray matter stuck between your teeth."

Ivan blushed gray-green and ran his tongue around his mouth. "Ah, there. Is it gone?"

"Yeah, I think you got it."

Ivan grinned, now that his smile was safely free of brain pieces. "I must find you something nice now in return. Lots of duct tape and tasty scientists to eat."

"Oh shucks, you don't have to! I just figured...I mean...being undead is kinda rough and I want...wanted to be sure you're happy." Now it was Alfred who was turning dark gray in embarrassment.

"I amhappy," Ivan promised. "Happier than I ever was when I was alive."

Alfred's smile was warmer than life. "Me too, big fella. I dunno how long this unlife is gonna last, but I'm pretty glad to be spending it with you."

Ivan's heart had stopped working some time ago, but all the same he was sure he felt it skip a beat just then. He had a good unlife, didn't he? A comfortable home at a cemetery and good food to eat (when they could find it) and...and someone to care for, who cared for him in return. It was almost too much for Ivan's dead heart to hold. Dancing at the Bolshoi did not compare to this.

"I-I am glad too. So very glad," Ivan stammered. He had the oddest feeling that if his tear ducts still functioned, his eyes would have been wet at that moment. There were many things his body could no longer express, but as one of Alfred's partially skeletal hands reached over to clasp his own, he knew it didn't matter at all.