It was January.

After the transplant, it had taken Daesung another two months to become healthy enough to be able to leave the hospital. A sharp bite lingered in the air; a cold so intense that Daesung had to be bundled up in three layers in order to be allowed outside. He had even been stuffed into one of Youngbae’s beanies, a hoodie, and a face mask – just in case. But underneath the many layers, Daesung felt invincible. He knew, after all, that he would see his heart’s first birthday; a little cold air would not hurt him that badly. But, Daesung submitted to the ridiculous bundling just to make everyone feel better.

Jiyong had been put in charge of wheeling the brunette downstairs while his father brought the car around; the pair got scolded for racing down the hallways at breakneck speeds. Ji couldn’t understand why the nurses could not appreciate the need to make sure Daesung’s new heart was fully operational. As they waited in the elevator, Daesung looked up at Jiyong. “Thank you, Ji.”

“What for?” The blond blinked down at his best friend and one-time-love. “Being y?”

Daesung chuckled into the warm weight of his scarf. “For being my best friend. I know it must have been so hard on you, watching me be so sick. And I can’t imagine what it was like to watch me die so many ties.” His brow furrowed at the thought; he had always been so wrapped up in seeing Death that he sometimes forgot about his parents and Ji… How they must have felt.

“It was hard,” Jiyong said softly. “But you’re worth it. It just made every day more precious, because I knew it really could be our last. And every time you came back to me, it was like you were letting me know that you loved me. Like it was worth the fight to get another day together.”

Reaching up, Daesung gave Jiyong’s hand a squeeze. “You had a heart strong enough to keep the both of us going,” he murmured.

Leaning down, Jiyong wrapped his arms tightly around Daesung. “I won’t know what to do having you healthy and strong. My heart will be too strong for just me to handle.”

An impish smile turned Daesung’s lips. “I have a feeling Youngbae is going to keep your heart busy enough as it is, Ji. He seems pretty determined to make you fall in love with him.”

Jiyong blushed at that; it was the first time Daesung had ever seen such a thing on his pretty face. “Maybe,” he hazarded. “I’m not sure I should, though. I mean, have you seen the clothes he wears? And that mowhawk.” He stood up and began to wheel Daesung out of the elevator.

Daesung laughed easily, his eyes nearly disappearing into his smile. “His fashion sense is better than mine,” he sing-songed. “Plus fashion sense has never stopped you from liking someone before. You always tell me that clothes change but a soul can’t. Or –“ he tipped his head back to look at Ji, “were you lying when you said that?”

Ji lightly cuffed Daesung on the shoulder. “Guess it’s a good thing I agreed to go out with him on a date, then, isn’t it?”

The brunette cheered. “Ji’s got a date! Ji’s got a date!” He got another cuff on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Ji. I think you two will be really good together. Seriously.”

“Me too,” Ji said with a bit of a smile. “Of course, I heard somebody’s been getting a visitor of his own lately…”

Daesung folded his hands beneath the blanket and hummed noncommittally. “Is that what you’ve heard?”

Before Ji could pry anymore, they were at the car. Daesung stood up and drug his hoard of blankets into the back seat with him. Jiyong dashed off to return the wheelchair before crawling into the back with Daesung. “We’ll talk later,” he warned in a wry drawl. Daesung just laughed.

When Seunghyun got off work -  he had found employment at a local bookstore his second day as a human – he headed straight to Daesung’s house. The young man’s mother immediately let him in, grinning at him. “Oh, Seunghyunnie! Daesung will be so glad to see you. His room is on the second floor, first door on the right.” He even got a quick hug before he was allowed to steal up the stairs.

Entering the room, he smiled at the sight of Jiyong attempting to braid Daesung’s hair. “Am I interrupting?” he drawled.

Slipping out of Jiyong’s grip, Daesung pounced on Seunghyun and wrapped him in a tight hug. “You’re never interrupting, Seunghyun.” Ji just smirked at the way the taller man held Daesung against his chest, clearly treasuring every moment of contact.

“How are you, Jiyong?” Seunghyun asked, leaving his arms around Daesung as they walked over to the bed.

“Happy,” Ji said immediately. “Very happy.” He winked at Daesung before rising to his feet and stretching. “But now that you’re here, I can go get ready for my hot date.”

“You better call me after,” Daesung demanded, “and tell me everything. Or I will shun you for at least a week.”

“I’d like to see you try to ignore me that long,” Ji said, pretending to flip his hair. “I’m too fabulous for you to resist.” He blew Daesung a kiss. “But I’ll call, so long as it isn’t too late. You’ve got to rest, Mister I-Got-A-New-Heart.”

“Yes, mother,” Daesung drawled. “Have fun. Make good choices.” Ji laughed as he went out the door.

Once they were alone, Seunghyun stretched out on the bed – his head resting against the headboard. He then gathered Daesung into his arms and cradled him against his chest. “Did you have a good day?” he murmured, his low voice rumbling through Daesung’s body.

The brunette nodded easily. “Mhmm. It’s so good to be out of the hospital. It feels like it has been forever since I could be in my room with my things.” He gave a happily little wiggle and nuzzled Seunghyun’s chest. “How about you? Was work alright?”

Seunghyun nodded easily. “Yes. I actually enjoy working at the bookstore. It is infinitely better than reaping souls.” His lips twitched. “Books are less depressing.”

Daesung gave his beloved a gentle squeeze. “Then I’m glad you are able to work there. Once I get a little stronger, I’ll have to come visit you at work. You can show me all around your favorite corners of the store.”

A soft smile turned Seunghyun’s lips. “I would enjoy that very much. I love spending time with you.”

The brunette tipped his head back in order to look up at Seunghyun. “And I love spending time with you. That was what I liked best about dying… I got to see you.”

“You, Kang Daesung, are a very strange person.”

Giggling, Daesung nodded. “I know. And you like it about me.”

His lover gave him that little ghost of a smile. “You know I do.” Leaning down, he brought their lips together for a brief kiss.

The brunette sighed happily. “I love when you do that. It feels so good.” His fingers snuck up the smooth surface of Seunghyun’s chest and came to rest against the warmth of his throat. “If I could have, I would have kissed you sooner.”

“Mm, that would have been a bad idea,” Seunghyun murmured.

Daesung blinked. “Why is that?”

Arching his eyebrow, the former immortal asked, “Haven’t you heard of the kiss of death?” Daesung nodded. “It’s real. If you had kissed me before, it would have been the end of your life.”

Mouth falling open into a shocked little ‘o,’ Daesung stared up at his beloved. “Seriously? Does that mean you kissed everyone who died?”

Seunghyun nodded. “It was how I reaped their souls.”

Daesung pulled a face that was a strange hybrid between shocked and disgusted. “I bet that made work difficult some days.”

“Yes,” the man murmured. “There were some souls I would rather have not gone near, let alone put my lips to. But once I had reaped their souls, I never saw them again. That was its own comfort.”

“Wait, what?” Daesung felt a bit like his mind was melting; he had never heard Seunghyun talk much about his previous employment before. “What do you mean?”

The former reaper cleared his throat. “I only appear to the dying. Once someone is dead, they pass on to the next life – either heaven or hell. They had no reason to see me at that point.”

Daesung’s blood ran cold. “If I had died…we would never have seen each other again?”

His lover gave a slight nod, a though reluctant to deliver such an awful answer. “It was why I tried to show you how much you had to live for. Because I could not stand the thought of seeing you again.” Slipping his hand into Daesung’s hair, he tipped his head up. “It was the only future that broke my heart, and I did everything in my power to stop it from coming to pass.”

“You had saved Ji even before you showed me my future,” Daesung said slowly. “And you showed me everything so this future, the one with us together, could come to pass.” He hesitated. “That’s kind of creepy. Cute, but creepy. How did you know this future was the best one?”

Seunghyun shrugged – careful to not disturb Daesung too much from his resting place. “I knew how you died in each option. And what you thought when you died. Because, when I was immortal, I could be in all of the realities and all of the times at once. I suppose, in some ways, I still am. I think…this life will surprise you. But in good ways.”

A bit of a smile finally started to appear on Daesung’s lips. “What will happen when you die, though? Will you go on to the next life or will you be stuck here?”

The former immortal stole a soft, slow kiss. “I’ll do what I’ve always done: Follow you towards the light.”

“Sappy,” Daesung teased, “but cute.” He tucked his head in the crook of Seunghyun’s neck. “Can I ask you one last thing?”

“Mhmm.”

“Will you always love me, Seunghyun?” Daesung’s fingers curled tightly in the silken fabric of Seunghyun’s button down shirt.

A small, happy smile settled on Seunghyun’s lips. “Oh Daesung. You can doubt that the moon will rise or that the stars will shine, but never doubt my love for you. You will always be my everything bright and beautiful – the angel I love.”

---

I know, they just had to reappear. This had some details I had wanted to include in the original - like the bad future - but simply didn't get to in the first story. (Because I wanted to go to sleep and didn't want to write a fourth entry.. ). Hopefully this little blurb answers some questions, gives more happy feels, and brightens your day. If you like it well enough, there may be future one shots with these two; they're my current favorite headcannon. 

For the curious, I drew a lot of inspiration from the musical Elisabeth, where Death is the iest, awesomest character. Xiah Junsu has played Death twice (and slayed it every single time). Se7en is going to be playing the role this summer, which should be awesome. If you get the chance, go look it up on Youtube. The titles for both of my Death fics come from the song "Die Schatten Verden Langer" or "The Shades of Night Are Growing," which you can watch Junsu perform here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52zWrnm2Ook.

As always, Happy Dae-Day celebrations! Tomorrow will mark the debut of my bigger undertaking: A long chaptered fic. I'll probably release some sort of teaser for it on my Tumblr, so you should follow me there. ;) I'll also be finishing up "A Hot Mess" within the next few days as well. Woo. See you tomorrow! Hope you all survive the unveiling of the new Big Bang music!!