WARNING: Character death

There was the sensation of being thrown, and then very far away, the sound of someone screaming. Disoriented beyond belief, Taemin succumbed to the sleepiness tugging at his consciousness.

—

Taemin opened his eyes slowly, sitting up in a flash when the memories of the accident came rushing back.

"About time you woke up," he whirled to see a man lounging against a nearby wall, tapping his foot against it impatiently. Taemin frowned.

"What do you mean?" the man spread his arms and Taemin studied his surroundings.

Derelict buildings. Cracked streets and sidewalks. Gnarled, stunted trees. Sparse grass the color of bones. Darkened, overcast sky. It was a scene straight out of some dystopian novel, set in a post-apocalyptic world.

"Welcome to Purgatory. My name is Kibum, and I’ll be your host for the duration of your stay," Taemin’s frown deepened, completely ignoring the heavy sarcasm..

"Purgatory? But I’m not—," "No," Kibum cut in smoothly. "You aren’t dead. Not yet, anyway." He beckoned Taemin closer. "I don’t have time to sit here all day while you try to figure things out, so I’ll explain on the way. You need to come with me."

Taemin stood up, feeling terribly bewildered. He stopped a few feet from Kibum, regarding him suspiciously.

"H-how do I know you’re not going to hurt me?" He demanded. Kibum rolled his eyes, sighing irritably.

"You don’t. But," Kibum turned and started walking away. " I’ll tell you this. There are far worse things than me lurking in the shadows of this forsaken place.”

In the absence of their conversation, Taemin heard strange animalistic wails in the distance. He quickly decided that whatever was out there was, in fact, worse than Kibum.

"So, as you were saying," Taemin hurried, falling in step with Kibum "Something about explaining all this?" Kibum rummaged around in in his jacket pocket, producing a mirror-like object.

"That’s a Looking Glass. Should you desire, gazing into it will show you what your current situation is. That, I think, should answer some of your questions," Taemin looked away from Kibum, eagerly bringing the Looking Glass to his face. The image of his face melted away and was replaced with the view of a hospital room.

Taemin made a choked noise, a hand flying to his mouth when he registered that yes, that was actually his body on the bed.

And it looked awful. Bruises were visible everywhere that the bandages didn’t cover. He was hooked up to a ventilator, and he recognized a feeding tube. He tore his eyes away, unable to stomach any more.

"S-so what, I’m like.. In a coma, or something?" he asked angrily, wiping the stray tears from his face. Kibum nodded, a solemn look on his face.

"Precisely. Now, as for your other questions," Kibum paused. "What would they be?" Taemin snorted.

"Well, for starters… Are you an angel? Or a demon? Where are we going?  How long have I been here? Am I gonna be okay?" Kibum glanced sideways at him, eyebrow raised in silent amusement.

"Is that all, your highness?" he inquired, sarcasm thick in his tone of voice.

"Yes," Taemin answered impishly, feeling annoyed at Kibum’s impatience. Kibum shook his head a little.

"Fine. I am neither angel nor demon, We’re going to my ‘home base’ I guess you could call it, I do not know how long you’ve been here, and I do not know whether you’ll live or not," Taemin huffed.

"Those only made more questions," he grumbled unhappily, feeling overly aggravated when he saw Kibum smirk.

"Well you never asked me to answer to the best of my ability, did you?" Taemin kept silent, vowing to not give Kibum the satisfaction of seeing his antagonism come to fruition.

In the silence that followed, Taemin once again heard the strange, unpleasant wailing in the background. His eyes widened when he noticed it sounded much closer than before.

"Damn," Kibum muttered next to him. "The goddamned thing spotted us." Taemin’s throat closed up with fear.

"What thing?" he squeaked. His heart sped up when Kibum started running. His feet got the idea before his brain and moved to keep up with Kibum.

"A leviathan," Kibum’s voice sounded strained. "A revolting beast that swallows worlds." The wailing behind them turned into a bellow. Kibum shuddered. "It also breathes fire."

Taemin didn’t have to be told twice. He sped up.

"Don’t you have like.. some kind of teleportation skill or something? Cause that could come in real handy right about now,” he yelled over the sound of an angry leviathan coming ever closer. He felt a rush of heat behind him and shrieked.

Kibum grinned.

"As a matter of fact," he grabbed Taemin’s hand tightly. "I do." Taemin squeezed his eyes shut, expecting to feel something. Anything. But when he opened his eyes, he was standing in a small, sparsely furnished room. No motion sickness. Not even a hair out of place. "Thanks for reminding me."

Taemin was fuming.

”Urgh!” he found a corner as far from Kibum as possible and curled into himself. He struggled not to cry, but when he felt the warm tears rolling down his cheeks he couldn’t stop himself. He shook with sobs, occasionally sniffling. Otherwise, he was as quiet as he could possibly be.

After a few minutes, he heard Kibum coming closer to him.

"You know something, I never asked you your na— Wait a minute, are you crying?” Taemin kept silent, refusing to answer. He tightened his grip on his knees, fresh tears appearing at the corner of his eyes. He heard Kibum sigh, followed by the sound of him sitting down on the floor. “I’m sorry, okay?”

" you," Taemin croaked out, and sniffed noisily. He could literally sense how hard Kibum was trying to hold back a smartass comment.

"I.. guess I deserved that," Kibum allowed reluctantly. "Please believe me. I am sorry. It was a cruel joke.” Taemin scoffed, uncurling from his position and leaning back against the wall.

"You got that right," he muttered lowly. "So.. what now?" Kibum shrugged.

"I’m a reaper," Kibum explained suddenly. Taemin was thrown off-balance for a moment before he remembered the half-answered questions from earlier.

"We’re in reaper headquarters right now, which is exactly what it sounds like. We live here when we’re not busy with assignments. But even with so many of my kind around.. It’s not a particularly safe environment. You’ve encountered a leviathan already, but deities from old religions also roam this place, and you never know what’ll set ‘em off," Kibum rolled his eyes, shaking his head with disdain. "Thousands of years have passed and some of them, at least, are still touchy about not being worshipped anymore.”

The crash of thunder resounded closeby, and Taemin busted out laughing at the comical expression of startled surprise on Kibum’s face.

"I heard that, Kibum,” a deep masculine voice boomed. Kibum groaned.

"Great, now Zeus is going to make walking outside a ing cakewalk for me,” he complained, and Taemin snickered at Kibum’s misery.

A few minutes after it had quieted down, Taemin turned to look at Kibum.

"Why am I here?" he queried. "Like.. Why am I not on Earth, with my body?" Kibum faced him, looking thoughtful.

"I dunno. My best guess? Your body is more dead than alive," Taemin winced, his mood plummeting. ", I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—" "No," Taemin interrupted. "I would rather have it honest. At least I know how bad my situation really is now."

Kibum sighed, and they lapsed into silence once more. Taemin took this time to really look at his.. what exactly was Kibum supposed to be for him, anyway? A guide? A protector? Taemin snorted aloud at that thought, earning him a sideways glance from Kibum.

If he hadn’t already been told, Taemin never would’ve guessed that Kibum was a reaper. He looked just barely older than Taemin himself and he sure wasn’t wearing the “traditional” reaper garb. Instead, he wore a black, studded leather jacket, black biker gloves and boots… Plus tight leather skinny pants. Combined with Kibum’s obvious good looks, it was a killer ensemble.

Taemin looked down at his ratty jeans and holey shirt and almost cringed.

"I wonder why they haven’t already called me in for another assignment," Kibum pondered aloud. "I mean.. It’s not like I couldn’t take you with me." Taemin paled at the mention of ‘other assignments’.

"W-what exactly do you mean, 'other assignments'?” he asked weakly. Kibum got up and started pacing around the room.

"As in, swooping in to take people’s souls when they die? Yeah, that’s kind of my job description," Taemin rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.

"You don’t have to be so sarcastic," he deadpanned. Kibum smirked.

"On the contrary. It’s non-negotiable when you deal with me," Taemin grumbled at Kibum’s response, finally remembering that Kibum had asked for his name earlier.

"By the way, my name is Taemin," he clarified. "Since we’re obviously going to see each other a lot for the foreseeable future, I figured you should know it." Kibum bit his lips in an attempt to keep from smiling.

"Well, Taemin, it’s a pleasure to meet you," Taemin couldn’t help but burst out laughing, ignoring Kibum’s scowl.

"I can’t say the same, Kibum, and I’m not sorry,” he wheezed.

—

Several days passed. Taemin groaned, tired of sitting on his doing nothing.

"At the very least," he grouched "your bosses could give you other assignments or something. This whole ‘being in between life and death’ thing? Not as interesting as I thought it’d be." Kibum scoffed.

"Oh I’m sorry, am I supposed to provide entertainment for you?" he sneered. "Well I hate to disappoint, princess, but I ain’t nobody’s dancing monkey."

Taemin stood up, the air around him practically steaming.

"I never said you were, ," he growled. "And for future reference.. Never call me princess again.” Kibum let out a mocking chuckle, and Taemin clenched his fists tightly.

"Why? What are you gonna do about it, princess?” the sound of Kibum’s laughter rang hollowly in Taemin’s ears, and he hung his head, no longer capable of looking at Kibum. His vision flashed red, fury swelling in his chest.

"Kibum," Taemin’s voice was unnaturally, dangerously quiet. "I’m warning you." Kibum ignored Taemin, wiping tears from his face. He missed the way Taemin’s eyes turned solid crimson.

"Yeah? And why should I be afraid of yo—?" when he turned to look at Taemin, he stumbled back in surprise. Taemin was levitating about a foot off the floor, tendrils of pure energy sparking and crackling in the air around him.

”Provoke me again, Kibum,” the voice that uttered those words chilled Kibum to his very bones, freezing him in place. “And you will find yourself in an even more unpleasant situation.” It was only when he tried to retreat that Kibum realized he’d been robbed of his ability to move. He felt the pressure extend up to his neck, squeezing his airway.

"I-I’m s-sorry, Taemin" Kibum squeaked fearfully. "Could you p-please let me go?"

Taemin didn’t answer, but Kibum felt the hold on his body ease. He rubbed his neck in relief and opened his mouth to thank Taemin when the boy in question abruptly crashed to the floor, unconscious.

—

When he woke up, Taemin felt like he’d been run over by a truck. He coughed, the pressure in his chest easing only slightly. He tried to sit up but a hand shoved him back down.

"That’s probly not a good idea," Kibum smoothed Taemin’s hair away from his forehead, mindless of the confused stare he received. "You’ll get sick if you try to sit up." He shrugged off Kibum’s hand and sat up anyway. The intense urge to throw up hit him immediately, and he laid back down.

He looked up at Kibum incredulously, just then noticing the faint, sad look Kibum was giving him.

"It’s gonna to be a little harder for you, now," Kibum answered softly. "To get back to the living, I mean. That energy you used.. Only ghosts are supposed to be able to use it. That definitely ain’t a good sign, Taemin." Taemin swallowed, panic clawing at his heart.

"I’m sorry," he apologized. "I was so angry, I just…," he scoffed self-deprecatingly. "I guess I literally saw red." Kibum chuckled a little.

"I’m the one who should apologize, Taemin," he plucked at the strings hanging from his shirt. "I haven’t had this much interaction with a human being in a long time. My people skills are a little rusty," he sighed. "And I know it doesn’t make it right that I snapped, but I’ve been pretty edgy since I haven’t heard anything about resuming my assignments." He looked down at Taemin curiously. "Anyway. If I can ask.. Why are you so sensitive about being called a princess anyway?"

Taemin visibly tensed at the question. He remained silent for a little while before slowly letting out a breath.

"My brother has always insulted me with that," he explained. "I mean.. I’m not exactly the poster boy for masculinity, you know? I never have been. And even though I’m taller now, and more muscular than he is.. He still calls me that. No matter how many ‘manly’ hobbies I pick up.. I can never win. Even my dad-,” Taemin had to clear his throat. “Even my dad. He’s called me that once or twice.”

Kibum patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"That really ," he offered lamely. "Believe it or not, when I was alive.. I never acted or dressed like this. I was a total wimp, and most of my family thought I was crazy." Kibum grimaced. "I don’t actually like remembering my life. As morbid as it may sound.. Death was the best thing to ever happen to me."

Taemin raised his eyebrows, looking intrigued.

"Wait a minute, you were alive at one point? Then how old were you when you died? You don’t look that much older than me,” Kibum sighed and stretched his legs out next to Taemin.

"Yeah, I was alive. It was a long, long time ago. A century and a half, maybe. I was 23,"  Taemin’s eyes widened.

"Wow, that’s a long time," he agreed. "You’re only a couple years older than me. Still.. That’s pretty young to die. I… Wow. I never knew that reapers were human once. I thought they were supposed to be some kind of angel or something." Kibum shook his head.

"Only some of us used to be human. And nah, we’re different from angels or demons. We’re agents of Death. Totally neutral. After all, no matter if someone has been good or bad in their lifetime,” Kibum stood up with a grunt. “They die all the same.” He offered a hand to Taemin.

"Your sickness should’ve passed by now," Taemin grasped the hand offered to him, absentmindedly brushing his hands over his clothes. He stood still, expecting to feel the rush of a headache and the accompanying nausea.

He sighed with relief when he felt nothing, and turned to Kibum with a small smile. Kibum was by the door, gesturing for Taemin to come closer.

"Come on," he opened the door "We’re going to talk to my bosses about this mess."

Taemin hurried to join Kibum, dreading the answers he would receive.

—

Taemin frowned, walking behind Kibum. Newly returned from their meeting, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Kibum’s superiors had been nothing but dismissive. In fact, they had all but ignored him, despite his rising voice.

Instead of receiving the answers he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear in the first place, Taemin had had no choice but to go with Kibum while he resumed his assignments, regardless of whether he was actually okay with that.

It was all well and good when it had been just talk about being bored. But now that he had to go along.. Taemin felt a little queasy at the thought of even being in the same room as someone who was dying. It hit a little too close to home for him.

"Besides," Kibum repeated countless times since their initial argument "It’s not like you’ve got anywhere else to be." Taemin wanted to retort that he wanted to be as close to his body and his family as possible, thank you very much. But that wasn’t possible, so Taemin bit his tongue and kept silent for the sake of peace (if nothing else).

At first, Taemin couldn’t even watch someone having their soul reaped. He made Kibum promise that he would give a warning signal before anything was done.

The one time Taemin was caught unawares, however, he didn’t regret it.

Without his usual warning, Kibum had bent down, cupping the old woman’s cheeks gently, and kissed her with infinite care and tenderness. The old woman’s eyes slipped closed, and she smiled sweetly.

Taemin almost couldn’t believe how compassionate Kibum could be when it came to his job.

When Kibum had turned, his face changed from tender to startled in a heartbeat. He blushed under Taemin’s awestruck gaze, and scratched his neck self-consciously.

"Some souls don’t want to leave, you see," he justified. "You have to.. entice them."

Taemin smiled to show he understood and grasped onto Kibum’s hand to prepare himself for the next ‘assignment’.

After that first time, Taemin couldn’t seem to stop himself from watching Kibum work. It was a strangely seductive sight. Taemin found himself wishing that Kibum would do it to him. Just put him out of his misery. And end the suffering of his friends and family. He hated people worrying about him, after all… Most of the time, however, he managed to put the thought out of his mind.

Especially during the times Kibum had that were free of assignments. Kibum took to showing Taemin around, to get him familiar with the area in case they were ever separated.

He was endlessly fascinated by all the deities. He made sure to treat them with respect and humility whenever he crossed paths with them, and in turn they did the same. Well, most of them anyway.

Kibum was showing Taemin around some of the more remote parts of Purgatory (after the first couple of weeks Taemin had been there, Zeus finally stopped sending lightning bolts after Kibum every time he stepped foot outside) when Taemin finally managed to bring up the issue.

"Hey, Kibum. I was wondering..," Kibum turned and looked at him expectantly, and Taemin gulped. "D-do you get to choose whether or not you want to be a reaper?" Taemin cursed himself for chickening out. Kibum studied Taemin’s downward face.

"Some of us choose this life," he agreed ambivalently. "Why the question, Taemin? Thinking of joining the ranks?"

Taemin smiled ruefully, and started walking forward. “I was just wondering.” Kibum snorted, but followed.

"Suuure," his voice was full of sarcasm. "And I’m a model." Taemin let out a small laugh, remembering his initial impression of Kibum. "Seriously, Taemin.. Why the question?" Taemin studied his shirt, ignoring the heated eyes he knew were on him at the moment.

"I.. I thought it might be easier for everyone around me on earth," he voiced quietly, his head still down. "It’s been.. What? Six months? If I don’t wake up soon they’re gonna pull the plug on me anyway," he looked up and met Kibum’s eyes, surprised at the empathy he saw radiating from the reaper.

"I don’t think so," Kibum put his hands on Taemin’s shoulders, squeezing gently. "I’ve.. sorta been peeking in on your body when I can spare a moment. Whenever I see your mom there.. She’s talking about how much she wishes you would wake up." Taemin shrugged out of Kibum’s grip, struggling to not shed tears.

"It’s not just that, Kibum," he snapped. "I’m suffering too. I.. I can feel my body dying. And it’s hard to deal with, okay? Because there’s literally nothing I can do about it.”

Kibum grabbed Taemin’s shoulders again tightly, staring into his eyes with a panicked seriousness.

"What do you mean, you can feel yourself dying?” he demanded. Taemin sniffled.

"Just what I said. The more time I spend here, The more I feel.. complete? I guess that’s the right word. More and more of me transfers to this form," he gestured to his clothes and skin. "Haven’t you noticed how my appearance has been changing?"

Gone were the holey clothes Taemin had initially been wearing. Now he wore the outfit he’d had the accident in, a constant reminder of his brush with death. His skin, which had been pale, now looked somewhat healthy. Kibum couldn’t believe he’d been so blind. Too caught up in showing Taemin his world and life…

The look of utter devastation on Kibum’s face pierced Taemin with fear and anxiety. “What’s going on, Kibum?”

"Taemin," Kibum’s voice was quiet, and full of distress. "I’m so sorry. But you’re going to have to do something hard very, very soon. Something you’re not ready for. You’ve gotta be strong, though. Alright?" Taemin struggled against Kibum, his eyes widening at the realization.

"N-No!.. I don’t want to die yet, Kibum,” Taemin expressed in a small voice. “Not now, I’m not ready,” he sobbed. Kibum rubbed Taemin’s back, wincing at how much more tangible the other felt in his arms.

"I’m sorry, Taemin," Kibum murmured. "I’m sorry that this came so suddenly. I can’t bring you back to life, but.. if there are things you’d like to say to your family and friends.. I can make that possible."

Taemin nodded, stepping away from the comfort of the reaper in front of him.

"I’d really like that, Kibum," he took a deep breath "but how does that work?" Kibum smiled sadly.

"You know how some people wake up from their coma only to slip away some time soon after?" Taemin hm’d his affirmation. "That’s what I can offer you. I can offer you a short while to remember the feel of your body. To say goodbye to your loved ones. Do you want that?"

Taemin weighed the situation. Did he want to give his family and friends hope just to see the light in their eyes die? Did he really want to remember how his body felt in his last few moments on earth?

He frowned. He wasn’t even trying to see the positives. At least he’d be able to see his family again. Family had always been important to Taemin.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat a little "Yes," he answered more confidently. "I want that."

Kibum offered Taemin his hand and just like the hundreds of times before, he was instantly transported. This time, though, he was in his hospital room.

It had been at least a couple of months since Taemin had had the courage to look in on his body. He flushed guiltily, thinking of how much he’d come to enjoy accompanying Kibum on his assignments, not bothering to pay attention to anything else around him.

He walked over to his body, swallowing back angry tears and screams. He was paler than he remembered being. And much, much skinnier. His hair, which had once been a major point of pride for him, was lackluster and haphazardly sheared where they’d operated on his brain.

He had prepared himself for the awful sight, but… he certainly hadn’t been prepared for this.

He turned his back, focusing on Kibum. He took a couple of deep breaths, striving to calm down.

"So," he gestured to his body behind him. "How do we do this?" he asked tightly. Kibum indicated for Taemin to come closer.

"This," Kibum grabbed his face "is how we ‘do this’," before Taemin could get a word in edgewise, Kibum’s lips were on his. His eyes widened comically and he blushed as red as a tomato.

He tried to push Kibum away and watched as his hand went right through Kibum. He looked up at Kibum’s face, panicking, and noticed Kibum giving him a sorrowful look. “I’m sorry it can’t be longer, Taemin. I never know how long it’ll be until… Well, anyway, you have 6 hours,” he glanced at the clock meaningfully. “I’ll be back,” he promised, and vanished right before Taemin’s eyes.

With a gulp, Taemin turned and headed towards his body.

—

The first thing Taemin felt, even before he opened his eyes, was pain. He gagged, frantically pressing the call button for the nurse. All he could think about was removing the tube from his throat. The nurse rushed in, and there was a sudden flurry of activity in his room.

Once the ventilator tube was out, he begged someone to inform his parents, acutely aware of the time limit. One of the nurses agreed, and scurried out into the hallway to call them.

The doctors and nurses kept coming and going, which irritated Taemin beyond belief. He wanted to visit his loved ones in peace. He glanced at the clock. He didn’t have much time left, and already he could feel the life draining from his body. His energy was getting low, just sitting and talking to his family.

It just wasn’t fair that he had to die so young.

He didn’t want to mention the time limit. He absolutely didn’t want to. But he knew it would be worse for his family if he didn’t. So amongst all the excited, joyous chatter, he weakly held up his hands, and asked for everyone to quiet down. He sighed, the nervousness he felt making him sweat a little.

"Look, I.. I don’t have much time left," he looked down at his lap, unable to face the disbelief and despair he knew he’d see. "As a matter of fact.. I only have a few hours," he choked. "I’m so sorry I don’t have more time."

He heard the shuffling of feet, and his mother tilted his head up, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

"Taemin.. How do you know that?" her accusatory tone cut Taemin deeply, making him flush guiltily. He looked around to see his father getting up out of his chair, coming to stand on the other side of his bed. His father took his hand.

He swallowed nervously, debating on whether he should tell them.
He wished Kibum was there to offer his advice, little good that it might do.

"I-I..," he started uncertainly. He sighed and slumped against his pillows, his strength leaving him. He was already struggling to stay awake, so he decided on the simplest, quickest way to explain. "My soul has been away from my body for too long," he all but whispered. His parents had to lean in closer to hear him. Taemin missed the confused glance his parents sent him before they each kissed him on the forehead.

"Sleep well baby boy," his mother murmured warmly. He opened his eyes and tugged on her hand.

"Wait," he made an effort to be louder. "I-In case I don’t get to tell you later… I love you. And goodbye," his mother grasped her face in her hands and sobbed.

Taemin’s heart wrenched when he saw his father crying as well. “I’ll miss you,” he mumbled sleepily. He couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, and fell asleep almost as soon as his eyes closed.

He was roughly shaken awake just minutes later, it seemed.

"Taemin!" Kibum’s sharp voice cut into his conscious and he bolted up in bed. He gasped, the monitor beside him registering a slight raise in heart rate.

"Jeez, Kibum," he coughed, feeling like death warmed over. "Don’t scare me like that." He smiled a little before noticing Kibum’s somber countenance.

"A-already?" he asked, the sound tinged with dismay. He scanned the room, noticing it was empty. His shoulders drooped with disappointment, and his eyes stung with unshed tears. He had known that his parents wouldn’t believe him, but.. Still. It hadn’t stopped him from hoping that they would stay. His breathing stuttered a little before he sighed with resignation. "O-okay."

When Kibum did nothing, Taemin looked up from where he was laying, silently questioning.

"First, Taemin," Kibum bent down next to him and clasped his hand. "I want to ask you to make a choice. You—," he cleared his throat, obviously hoping to suppress the desperation that Taemin had heard. "Before, you asked me if you could choose to become a reaper. I asked my superiors about it, and.. That option is available to you, should you want it."

Taemin made a noise of surprise in the back of his throat. He opened his mouth a little, totally unprepared.

He thought about the question. Did he want to be a reaper? Kibum seemed to like the job well enough, as bitter as he could be about it sometimes. Besides.. Well, he’d never be bored. And he had been having fun tagging along while Kibum went about taking care of his assignments. So many reasons he should accept jumped at him.

All in all, it didn’t take much to come to a decision.

"Er.. Sure," he felt a weight lift off his shoulders at the calm, assured voice coming out of his mouth. "Yeah. I want to become a reaper."

Kibum nodded once, and relaxed a little. He smiled in relief.

"Alright, then," Kibum bent down and cupped Taemin’s face in his hands. He ran his thumbs along Taemin’s cheekbones, earning him a blush. Taemin shifted a little in the hospital bed.

"You don’t have to convince me to come with you," Kibum smirked, his eyes capturing Taemin’s.

"No," he affirmed. "But I want to.” Taemin’s breathing hitched and he watched Kibum come closer.

With just a hint of nervousness, Kibum pressed his lips to Taemin’s. Taemin melted in Kibum’s hands, reaching up to grasp onto Kibum’s shoulders.

When they broke apart, Taemin was breathing hard.

"So," Kibum was grinning smugly "did I convince you?" Taemin’s blushed deepened and he scowled, shoving Kibum’s shoulder with all the strength he could muster.

"You’re such an ,” he mumbled, and Kibum gleefully pointed out that his reply was technically not an answer to the question.

When he got out of bed and charged at Kibum, he noticed immediately that he was wearing the same outfit that Kibum was wearing.

His head whipped around and he saw his body surrounded by doctors and nurses, all trying to revive him. His parents came barreling in, and were forced back outside by the nurses. He looked on sadly, and Kibum came to stand next to him.

"Watching yourself die is always one of the hardest parts of becoming a reaper," Taemin smiled bitterly and said nothing.

When the doctors finally threw the sheet over his head, Taemin turned and walked away, Kibum’s hand grasped tightly in his.

Hope y'all enjoyed reading this. (^ 3~)