Timeless Love

By: _THELeiacorn_

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 892

Pairings: Leeteuk/Kyuhyun, a bit of Leeteuk/Heechul

Warnings: a cuss word, character death, old people

Note: The fantasy concept used here is also used in one of my other fics.

The most important thing Jeongsu knows is not to stay on earth for too long, or he’ll begin to age at a faster rate than if he were still in heaven.

This still doesn’t deter him from enchanting himself so his pearlescent wings, shimmering skin, and golden halo are disguised from the human eye for extended periods of time, though. The effects of his earthly visits haven’t shown up at least, and no harm has come to him...yet. (Well, he could be exiled for having an affair with a human—“protect, not prefer”—but Jeongsu’s too smart for getting caught…)

This is all so that he can visit Kyuhyun, the human boy who’s captured his heart.  

Kyuhyun’s blissfully ignorant of the fact that his lover is an angel from the sky. Jeongsu prefers to keep it that way.

Jeongsu juggles his guardian duties and nightly visits to Kyuhyun daily; it’s always hard for him to sneak away from Heechul who demands for him to put his best effort in his guardian duties.

Every night (or day) there’s a different excuse—stretching his wings, shearing the clouds— if his squadron lieutenant, Heechul, manages to catch Jeongsu sneaking out of their dwelling facility.

Tonight Jeongsu slips past Heechul with success; Heechul’s too caught up in chatting with his charges. Jeongsu throws his guise over himself, diving towards earth at the speed and appearance of a shooting star. He lands near Kyuhyun’s hometown, being careful not to explode the surface of the ground.

He then checks his reflection in a store window, making sure that his wings are hidden and his halo is gone.

“Jeongsu~!”

Jeongsu whirls around, heart pounding crazily as he sees Kyuhyun step out of the store. “Hello,” he replies quietly, and Kyuhyun wraps him in a warm, heartfelt embrace. When they pull apart, Kyuhyun suddenly seizes Jeongsu’s slender wrist.

“You’re not taking care of yourself. Work is getting to you again,” Kyuhyun glares, pulling out a bottle of lotion and slathering it all over Jeongsu’s hands.

Jeongsu stares at his hands, hammering heart having nothing to do with Kyuhyun’s presence. No amount of lotion will cover these wrinkles. Jeongsu’s actually in shock—he never though those rules of time would catch up to him: the young, sprightly angel. It takes all of his self-control not to collapse on the spot.

And he hopes that the wrinkles that’ve been beginning to form on his hands better not be showing up on his face.

“Happy anniversary!” Kyuhyun shoves a box into Jeongsu’s arms. A grin splits Jeongsu’s face, dispelling his worry and stress for a moment. He opens the box, guilt burning him inside when he sees the expensive silver watch.

“It’s okay, you didn’t have to get me anything,” Kyuhyun rolls his eye at Jeongsu’s protests. “At least you showed up today. That’s all I need.”

That night, when Kyuhyun falls asleep in Jeongsu’s arms, Jeongsu stays up half the night, pools of salty tears seeping out of his eyelids as he struggles to decide whether to break up with Kyuhyun or return now—when he still can.

Jeongsu decides on neither; he’ll just wait it out. He procrastinates this decision like he does with guardian assignments, but this is no simple work task. Every night waterfalls of tears lull him to sleep. He just can’t stop his relationship with Kyuhyun. At the rate he’s aging, he’ll probably be forty the next week, fifty the next. Jeongsu’s at a loss of what to do, in addition to his rapid aging, he’s losing weight—and he’s not as adept as he used to be. It’s almost painfully obvious by the time his appearance is that of a thirty-year-old human’s.

Jeongsu can tell Heechul’s been putting off confronting him, but it’s obvious neither of them can take it anymore. Heechul kicks Jeongsu out, along with a vicious “if all of us were like you, there would be no guardian angels left for the humans!”

Jeongsu’s left to fend for himself—a fallen angel residing on earth now, stripped of his wings and halo of magic. He seeks out Kyuhyun first. Nervously, he waits on his doorstep—and decides, on a desperate whim, to tell him the truth.

“You’re sick,” is the first thing that comes out of Kyuhyun’s mouth. Then—“I don’t believe you. Get the away from me, old man!”

Jeongsu numbly steps away, the silver watch cutting into his now liver-spotted arm. His vision’s terrible; he gets lost on the streets of the town, doing anything he can to keep alive. The only feeling he knows is pain of a bent old back—and pain of losing Kyuhyun along with his home in the sky.

Was there any point of even falling in love? He thinks dully, sitting down heavily onto Kyuhyun’s doorstep three weeks later, nearing the end of his age. He would’ve died earlier had he not been resourceful enough to forage for himself on the streets.

He pulls together enough strength to knock, wishing to see Kyuhyun one last time.

Kyuhyun leaps to the door, a cry issuing from his mouth as he sees Jeongsu lying lifeless out there. He blinks furiously, regret searing at him as he takes the old, withered Jeongsu into his arms. But no matter how old Jeongsu is, Kyuhyun will always love him. 

Foreword

_THELeiacorn_