Right in Front of Me

The Shades of Night

image via splendiferoushoney.tumblr.com

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Daesung blinked at the brightness of the daylight; he had not been outside since autumn had given way to the start of winter. But, here there were flowers swaying in a gentle breeze, and the sky was the perfect blue of a robin’s egg. Summer. The brunette took the chance to breathe deeply – taking in the warmth and tantalizing scent of the fresh flowers. It was the sort of day that eased into the body and teased at taking naps in the warmth of the sun; Daesung’s favorite kind of day.

The sound of laughter drew the young man’s attention immediately. He frowned. “I know that laugh,” he murmured. “It’s been forever since I’ve heard that laugh.”

Starting off through the grass, Daesung climbed to the top of the hill and gazed down into the field below. There, underneath the wide branches of an oak tree, he saw a familiar blond lounging on a blanket. His breath caught. Jiyong was gesturing wildly to someone out of sight and yelling, “Come on! Ants will swarm the blanket if you don’t hurry and get your cute over here fast!” And there it was again: Jiyong’s laugh. Beneath his scars, Daesung’s heart ached to hear such a beautiful sound. Jiyong’s laugh was like the ringing of bells and the cackle of ravens wrapped all in one strangely addicting sound.

Whoever Jiyong was yelling at came into view, and Daesung gaped openly. “W-what?” he stuttered.

At his side, Death tilted his head. “In this reality, you got an artificial heart because Jiyong lead a campaign to raise money to get it for you. A celebrity anonymously donated most of the funds, and you’ve been healthy ever since.”

The idea of being healthy was alien enough – Daesung had never been healthy – but that was not the most shocking piece of news. His gaze was caught on the way he collapsed onto the blanket beside Jiyong and threw an arm around the blond’s waist. “Ji,” his other self whined. “You tease me too much. I was hurrying as much as I could.”

“Aw, poor Daesungie,” Ji said, smothering a laugh with a thin hand. “Will you forgive me?” The slim blond wiggled closer so he was practically plastered to the future Daesung’s side.

A wide smile split the other Daesung’s lips as he leaned in closer; Daesung strained to hear what he said. Giving up on hearing from so far away, Daesung tromped down the hill – Death trailing along thoughtfully behind him. “If you make it up to me,” the healthy brunette declared impishly.

Jiyong slid his hand into Daesung’s soft brown hair and gave it a light tug. “I can do that.” Leaning in close, Jiyong brought their lips together for a gentle contact before pulling back with a laugh. “If you ask nicely.”

Flushing, Daesung watched as his future self framed a hand along the sharp line of Jiyong’s jaw and gave him the sort of hazy look that he’d only seen in movies. “Ji, can you make it up to me?” He nipped the blond’s ear. “Please?”

Grinning his gummiest grin, Jiyong pushed Daesung onto his back and stretched out over his chest. “Only because I love you.” Tipping his head down, he nipped the full line of Daesung’s bottom lip before teasing his tongue into the warm cavern of the brunette’s mouth. softly, the healthy Daesung traced his fingertips lightly along the shape of Jiyong’s spine, teasing at slipping his hand beneath the blond’s shirt with every pass. As their tongues began to tangle in earnest, the dying brunette turned to give Death a wide-eyed stare.

“After you got the new heart,” Death offered, “Jiyong helped you recover. You fell in love.” Something in his gaze softened as it came to rest on the enthusiastic lovers. “It’s your first year anniversary as a couple.”

Daesung turned his wide-eyed gaze towards them once more. “Ji… could love me like that?”

Death tipped his head a little. “He already does. In this future, you returned his feelings.”

It felt as though all of the air had been out of Daesung’s lungs. Jiyong loved him? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense how such a thing could come to pass. His best friend did like to touch him a lot, and he used any excuse possible to sit in Daesung’s lap or lay with him in bed. And they had shared so many secrets with each other it was like Jiyong knew him better than he knew himself. Was that how love began..?

“Do..we live happily ever after?” Daesung wondered.

“No,” Death replied easily. “There is no such thing. But you live and love with so much passion that you might as well have. You die within two hours of each other, holding hands while you sleep.” The dark shadow at Daesung’s side hesitated. “I like it when people die that way. It’s how it should be.”

Frowning, Daesung looked up at Death. “Does it ever bother you watching us die?”

The immortal ran the blade of his thumb along his eyebrow. “Yes.” He cleared his throat. “Did you want to see the next one? I don’t think you’ll want to stay around much longer.” Death nodded over to where Jiyong was working on getting his lover out of his clothing.

Daesung’s flush was answer enough, and immediately reality shifted again.

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And here you thought ToDae was all I could write. Mwahaha. Anyway, here is future number one! So. Fluffeh. Keep an eye out for future two, which I’ll post after I finish watching another episode (or two) of Weekly Idol. Also, if you want to follow my writing tumblr, it lives at todaewhite.tumblr.com. Woo.

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Comments

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Rl-Tatsu #1
Chapter 4: OMG I really loved this story, wow the end was what I liked most. Simply beautiful❤❤❤?
pikachu79 #2
Chapter 4: Wow I really love this piece!! Been a fan of ur todae works and came to ur repertoire to read every single piece. Erm on todae. Kkk. Wonderful journey so far and definitely bookmarking this one!!! ❤️
SunDaeDreamz
#3
Chapter 4: Omg, so awesome. SunDae, Gdae, &ToDae! So happy that Dae gets a happy ending.
Mahblues
#4
Chapter 4: Oh my gosh i'm so happy with the ending :)) I love your fic :)))

I discussed with my friend while I was reading chapter 3 and I guessed the next person would be Riri, who would be in love with Daesung and I also thought that Seunghyun was Daeth, so finally Dae would die and spent his life after death with Seunghyun :))))))) how silly am I :)))))
gsdragonvip #5
Chapter 4: Would it be too much to ask for a sequel? What is their life together after death I love this I can't get enough todae like this it's A+ really it is
kumakuma166
#6
Chapter 4: okay. i am going to country named Feeliphine and straight to Todae-ville. so much feels for the pairing but of course I ship ToDae so hard :")
Daenosaurus
#7
Chapter 4: I love you. This is ART, I cried so hard cuz ToDae is MY LIFE. I will go down with the ship... Thank you so much for writing such a beautiful piece, ToDae needs so much more love and recognition~

~Until Next Time!
todaeforlove #8
Chapter 4: omg !! this is so good ... i feel so overwhelming reading this three chapters... so great .. really love it... totally into my todae feels... thank you so much.. love your fictions so much...
meypyong
#9
Chapter 4: Ungaaaaa....!!! That was awesome and beautiful and sweet and fluffy. Daebak, author-nim