"…this has to be a dream..you can't really be here, can you?" Ares asked breathlessly.
"Yeah, I know! I seriously can't believe I died like that, and two minutes later, I was sent back here for some stupid reason."
"What? Two minutes? Alex, you were gone for 2 years."
Alexander couldn't believe what he had heard. But honestly, it explained everything that he had seen since he had gotten back.
"That's crazy! No wonder things looked so different, I walked out of the orchard and couldn't find a single…"
He didn't finish his sentence before Ares rushed towards him, grabbed him, and embraced his warm, muscular body like a loved one who had come home from war.
"Okay okay, that's very nice of you, but can you let up on the grip a little bit! I'm glad you missed me so much, but I don't think we've ever hugged like this the whole time we've been best friends. It's a little awkward."
Ares finally released him and took a few steps back in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I'm just glad you're back. And I didn't miss you THAT much, I was just surprised and happy to see my best friend back from the dead."
Ares tried to cover up his feelings with a joke, but honestly, ever since he found out that Alex had died so suddenly his mind had shifted. He grew up with Alex; They played as kids, wreaking havoc as teenagers, settled down and started behaving more like brothers as young adults. During these young adult years Ares emotions started to shift in a different direction. Of course, he would never mention anything to Alex. It was just too embarrassing, and he knew Alex would probably endlessly tease him about it, so he kept it under wraps. After Alex's death, he regretted whole heartedly never telling him how he felt, so maybe this was his second chance? Or maybe he should just keep it hidden…yeah, he should just keep it hidden.
"Well, obviously a lot has changed in 2 years. Can you give me a short synopsis of what happened?"
"It's a very long story, but in short; you died, and everything just fell apart."