Read "The Lock --" first! AND READ >> 31 << FIRST!

  “I permit you to see him today.”

Jonghyun jumped from his bed, slightly shifting as the blood rushed to his head. He just ran a million miles and it was hot. Of course he wanted to lay down and forget it all, but dear god, he had permission to finally see Kibum.

It had been almost a half year in this prison, a half year without seeing Kibum, having to long for him while still being in the same location. Every day he kept up persistence to see him, just hear news about him, but he was always denied.

And now, out of the blue, SangKi was allowing him to see him.

Jonghyun furrowed his brows, “What do you want?”

SangKi simply shrugged, holding out a rope, meaning for Jonghyun to come to him, “No catch. Just allowing you. Make final decisions and whatnot.”

  “Of letting us go?” Jonghyun demanded, slowly walking up to him as he let SangKi tie him around the wrists and the neck, connecting both ties to a thicker rope.

  “Do not let yourself get ahead,” SangKi warned with a dark chuckle, leading Jonghyun out with a tug, “It won’t end well if you do.”

Jonghyun was suddenly blindfolded, jumping and almost about to shout at SangKi, but he figured to stay quiet. If he said anything to SangKi, the man would analyze it and use it against him, and Jonghyun wouldn’t be happy about that later.

They walked a lot and Jonghyun wasn’t keeping track. All he knew was that it was getting stuffier and hotter the more they walked, as if they kept going down. But Jonghyun never encountered stairs, so he thought maybe some areas were overheated from the sun.

Jonghyun tried listening around, but like being in his room, he was only able to hear little—as much as a human’s range. If was almost strangling to him, feeling cut off from his natural side, but he’d have to figure that out all later.

Kibum. He was going to see Kibum.

Finally after so long he was going to see him. He was going to see Kibum.

Was he going to be angry or upset? Kibum had all the right to despise him and refuse to see him.

But Jonghyun couldn’t help but to feel excitement. He could see him again, touch him again if he could, just hold him close because he just wanted to show Kibum how much Hell he’d been through without him holding Jonghyun’s hand.

SangKi stopped Jonghyun, the strange sounds of something rubbing together—was he opening a door?—and put his mouth to Jonghyun’s ear.

  “We won’t be able to watch with our eyes, but our ears, Taerant,” SangKi gravely informed, “So if you say the wrong thing, I can enter at any time.”

He undid Jonghyuns’ restraints and pushed him in as his blindfold came off, the door slamming shut behind him.

There were candles around the perimeter of the area as well as a few in the middle. Jonghyun furrowed his brows looking around.

He could smell a human, but he couldn’t see the human.

  “Behind you.”

Jonghyun jumped at the hoarse voice, turning around to find the outline of a man very close to him. The voice may have been strained, but it still sounded the same and Jonghyun carefully reached out in front of him to the face, “K-Kibum?”

A rough hand placed on top on Jonghyun’s and he could hear a sniffle.

  “Kibum!” Jonghyun sighed loudly of relief, bringing the man into his arms (he’d grown taller than him!) and bringing his head to his shoulder, “Oh god, Kibum.”

The younger sniffled again, his body shaking as he cried, the whole emotion wafting at Jonghyun and causing him tears in his eyes, clutching to Kibum tighter and nuzzling his face in his neck.

The first thing he was, was glad. Even if Kibum was angry, he wasn’t angry enough to push Jonghyun away and spat in his face. There was still something there, something that Kibum held on to, longed for, and Jonghyun could finally share that same burden.

  “I want to see your face,” Jonghyun whispered, voice filled with water, “Slowly, to the middle.”

It was a slow progression, but they managed to the middle by the candles, sitting down and slowly pulling back, but holding each others’ arms.

Jonghyun’s eyes filled with disbelief and anger, his hand on Kibum’s poor cheek, “They hit you. They ing hit you.”

There were small, yellowing bruises on his cheeks, showing the marks of abuse, of the Hell Kibum went through in this place.

Kibum’s mouth screwed downwards, shaking his head, “It was me.”

Jonghyun’s mouth opened to protest a little, just slightly being distracted by pulling his fingers through Kibum’s long hair.

  “No, it was really me,” Kibum whispered, a few tears running down wet trails, “I was going insane, Jjong. I was going insane.”

  “Kibum,” Jonghyun choked, cursing everything in his mind. Kibum looked a mess and he just looked exactly the same, only as if he fell out of bed, “Kibum, you are not insane.”

  “I know,” Kibum breathed, biting his lip, “What they were trying to do—what they kept telling me—I may be a strong man, Jonghyun, but these things were just driving me to just hurt myself.”

Jonghyun tried to scoot closer, silently asking for Kibum’s approval, and the younger finally smiled to Jonghyun’s relief, scooting himself around and leaning back on him.

Even though he was suffocating, Jonghyun felt he could breathe at least easier. Kibum still loved him, that’s what really mattered.

  “They say you bewitched me,” Kibum whispered, holding on to Jonghyun’s hands, “They say you did something to me. I cannot believe it.”

  “Because it is not true,” Jonghyun assured him, “I do not have such a power.”

Kibum sighed out, relaxing as if he finally got passed it. Jonghyun tensed, cautious that Kibum did believe it. But he had the right, now. He had the right to have a lot of doubts by this point.

  “Taerants slaughtered before my time,” Kibum murmured, “They wanted to rid of our race?”

  “That was not in my history scrolls, Kibum,” Jonghyun reassured, “Everything you have heard from me is what I was taught.”

Kibum nodded, pressing closer to Jonghyun, “Sorry. Just . . . insane.”

  “You are not insane, Kibum,” Jonghyun murmured in his ear, kissing the shell, “I trapped you with people who want to brainwash you. It is them and I am sorry.”

  “You tried,” Kibum breathed, pulling Jonghyun’s arms around his middle, “We tried.”

Jonghyun started crying again, shaking a bit as he lightly pressed his lips to Kibum’s neck carefully, feeling grateful to feel him on his lips again, his skin against him, just to have him in his hold.

He didn’t know how much longer he could take Kibum like this. When he would see him again, he didn’t know, but he knew that Kibum wasn’t going to survive well without the outdoors again; without being told stories that made the world a nightmare.

  “Cry not,” Kibum soothed, pressing his lips to Jonghyun’s cheek, “It’ll be alright.”

  “I’ll get you out,” he whispered, trying not to let SangKi hear from outside, “I’ll get you out and we will go back home, if that is your wish. We won’t deal with this again.”

  “Home,” Kibum repeated, kissing Jonghyun on the lips, “We could go home.”

Jonghyun closed his eyes, kissing Kibum back, twisting his long hair in his fingers, feeling his cracked lips against his own.

Kibum didn’t deserve to be this way; so rugged and worn. He deserved the good, the light, whatever made him feel good and happy. Jonghyun had to find that way out to move Kibum away.

Kibum reached his hand back for Jonghyun’s hair, pulling him closer as if it were possible, smashing their lips together urgently and insanely needy. Kibum was waiting too long for Jonghyun and he was clearly showing it.

Jonghyun let his other hand wrap to Kibum’s waist and turn him into a more comfortable angle towards him, lessening the straight on Kibum’s neck to reach back. Kibum kissed him harder, pressing himself so close that his tears mingled with the ones on Jonghyun’s cheek.

Jonghyun couldn’t feel the sensual side of it, but only the relief. A lot came off his shoulders, he felt more relaxed even, but just for this moment. Just for this moment that Kibum showed he still wanted Jonghyun just as close as he had before.

  “Resist them, Kibum,” Jonghyun quickly spoke, trailing his kisses along his jaw, “Resist their words. Their tricks.”

Kibum hummed in agreement, clutching on to the clothing over Jonghyun’s shoulder.

  “I love you,” Jonghyun whispered, “You know I do.”

  “I love you, too,” Kibum nodded, kissing him again.

The door swung open, causing them both to jump and break apart, SangKi and another man standing there, watching the two of them.

  “Let us be on our way, Taerant. You can meet again.”

Jonghyun looked at Kibum one more time, pecking him on the lips, figuring if he obeyed, meeting with Kibum would be a lot easier.

He let himself be restrained again in front of Kibum as the other man stood by him. SangKi stared at Kibum.

  “What do you think, boy?”

Kibum didn’t take his eyes off of Jonghyun, brows furrowing in slight intimidation, “I do not want to forget him. That is final.”

Jonghyun looked at him in confusion, but Kibum smiled sincerely at him, a hand on his cheek.

  “Do not worry for long, Taerant,” SangKi huffed, “He has nothing against you, unfortunately.”

He was brought to his feet abruptly, forced out of the room, but staring back at Kibum. He had nothing to worry about from Kibum. But felt uneasy for Kibum.

  “I do not know what you have done to him,” SangKi growled, “But you will surely regret it.”

Jonghyun growled at SangKi, eyes sharp on him, but found he couldn’t intimidate the man.

Because the man kept up his dark smile.

( "To Zanarkand" on Repeat )

Jonghyun was almost insane by the other half of the year without Kibum. SangKi’s words meant to him now; he knew the man lied, but he sure knew how to manipulate Jonghyun into thinking he’d see Kibum again.

It was April again, weeks past his birthday, but only Kibum would know that. He didn’t care about his age; it was only another year—what mattered was that it was another day without Kibum.

Jonghyun was down in the depths of Hell, currently, claws digging at dirt and he didn’t know why. He was told to dig, like many other creatures he formed rivalries with, and continued digging until they were brought back to their room.

It was hot and Jonghyun was sweating. Digging did release a little tension, but not a whole lot. He was growing weaker without Kibum. It was a foolish thing to say, but his mind was only on Kibum and it distracted him—but he liked it. Even when it worried him.

SangKi would always have vague words about Kibum. Something like Kibum was doing good or bad, he was sick or being defiant, there were problems or nothing was happening.

It wasn’t enough for Jonghyun. He craved for everything more.

  “J006!” a soldier called, “J006, release!”

Jonghyun huffed, stopping his dig and waiting for some soldier to limit his limbs, taking him out of this pit and back up into the surface of the world, seeing daylight again.

  “We have plans, creature,” the soldier spoke gruffly, leading Jonghyun a different way rather than his room, “Important plans, creature.”

They passed through the lobby and Jonghyun met the cold stare of a human, his mouth screwing up. But Jonghyun paid no mind to him; he was only a selfish man.

The soldier forced Jonghyun outside, and Jonghyun widened his eyes, thoroughly confused with himself.

This was the gate . . . out.

Were they letting him and Kibum out? Finally?!

The gate didn’t open when they approached it, but he figured it was because of course he had to wait for Kibum. They were both finally getting out, oh dear god, there was hope again!

The soldier undid everything and kept a large distance from him, staring him down emotionlessly until Jonghyun heard the doors open.

Jonghyun sharply turned himself around, finding the sight a huge relief as Kibum hadn’t looked harmed, even better than last time, with his long hair to his shoulders, slightly shifting in the breeze.

  “Kibum,” Jonghyun breathed slowly walking towards him.

Kibum smiled, sparkles of water in his eyes as he ran for Jonghyun and hugged him with all the strength he had, holding on tight as they reunited once more.

  “He refused,” SangKi was heard from behind, “He refused to forget it all.”

Jonghyun broke apart from Kibum, not caring for SangKi, taking Kibum’s face in his hands and kissing him with high need, kissing away the water on his cheeks just because Kibum didn’t need to cry. There were no more reasons to cry even if it were happiness, they were getting out.

  “Another ing six months,” Jonghyun huffed a laugh of relief, feeling all over Kibum’s head, “Six months and we can leave this place.”

  “I know,” Kibum laughed with him, kissing him on the lips again, “No more of this wasteland. No more. Not again.”

  “Are you okay?” Jonghyun asked, inspecting him thoroughly, “Are you hurt?”

  “They were only words,” Kibum nodded, smiling wide, feeling all over Jonghyun’s face, “Only words that cannot cut me.”

  “We are safe,” Jonghyun closed his eyes and embraced Kibum again, “Going home. We shall go home.”

  “I missed you,” Kibum sniffed, clutching on to him, “No need to miss you anymore, huh?”

Jonghyun kissed his shoulder with a smile, “Never again. Only if I am steps out of the house.”

Jonghyun didn’t know how he could feel anything but happiness. It was too subtle of the word for his feeling, but he was always bad with words.

His chest was going to explode, he could scream out to Heaven, and he could just kill everyone here if he wanted (but won’t). These people finally realized these two didn’t belong in this place and are finally freeing them of their bounds. Just finally.

  “When someone refuses to forget,” SangKi lowly said, only enough for Jonghyun’s Taerant ears to pick them up, “That means there is something broken we cannot fix.

  “And when I cannot fix that,” SangKi growled.

Jonghyun looked up from Kibum’s shoulder.

  “We have to rid of the broken of our hands,” the weapon SangKi used to scare Jonghyun half a year ago was pointed straight at them.

Jonghyun realized as fast as he could, shouting as he moved Kibum away from what could do harm to him, because if Jonghyun let Kibum get hurt again, he wasn’t going to sit around this time.

He moved him away from the first explosion of ear-splitting noise, missing the both of them and producing a clang on the inner gate. Kibum tensed up and stopped breathing, looking at Jonghyun in panic.

  “You broke him, Taerant,” SangKi informed angrily, “And now it is your fault he has to go by my own hand.”

But Jonghyun moved him again, this time taking Kibum swift onto his back, thinking logically, and changing forms so he was on four legs again, Kibum once again clutching on to his fur as they ran.

They had no where specifically to run. The gates weren’t open and Jonghyun couldn’t fly. The place was so big that it’d take weeks to find out an opening for the two of them.

But Jonghyun just kept running. That’s what he had to do to lessen the threat.

  “J-Jjong, he was shooting . . . at me?” Kibum choked out, clutching on, burying his face in his fur, “He wanted to . . .”

  “I will not let it be this,” Jonghyun vowed, clenching his jaws, “I will not let you die.”

Kibum choked out again at the last word, but kept his shields up high. He knew crying wasn’t going to get him far. He had to tough it out and get with the situation to help Jonghyun out.

  “Can you climb?” Kibum asked.

  “Depends on the surface. These walls, I cannot. The building, I cannot,” Jonghyun growled at his incompetence.

  “Jonghyun!” a feminine Taerant up from far above called out his window, “Keep heading south! The wall on that side is under construction! It is weak and you could break it just by touching it!”

Jonghyun slightly looked up, but the window was too far above to even place. But he knew the voice and the gracious helper.

  “Thanks, Amber!” he barked.

  “Good luck! I promise I will get myself busted out soon to meet you!” she chuckled.

  “Now, Kibum,” he switched tongues, “We shall head south for a weak wall. I can break us through it.”

Kibum nodded against his fur, keeping his eyes shut, “Anything I can do?”

Jonghyun concentrated on the area before him, “Just do not look back.”

There was a lot of stomping of feet behind him, followed with clangs of weapons and door slamming open. The whole building could have been right behind them, but how many didn’t matter. The biggest thought was getting to that wall; the prison was its own city, so it taking time to get there would be a while.

At least, by human foot.

It took only little time until Jonghyun could see the contrast in color of the walls. It was beginning to brown, showing itself in its weaker generation, able to be broken through so easily.

There was a lot of shouting behind him, that explosion sound whizzing past them and giving more of a reason for Jonghyun to go faster, to find that special part of the wall that would crumble any second.

  “,” Kibum shouted, “, Jonghyun, they will get you! Get us both!”

Jonghyun growled, “Kibum, I told you not to look back!”

  “I’m looking up!”

Jonghyun’s head sharply turned upward, finding men with those very same weapons in SangKi’s hands on the rooftop of the building, all aiming down at them with steady hands.

  “,” Jonghyun barked, “Kibum, look down. It is right here!”

Jonghyun could see the wall Amber spoke of; it was partially crumbled off at the top, lazily made as the old wood stuck out in adjacent directions. He could taste freedom—it was right there for them. A few yards and they could be on their way out of this country.

  “Do not linger around!” SangKi shouted, “Fire, you fools!”

Jonghyun tensed at the words, coming to conclusion by the time they’d shoot, him and Kibum couldn’t be close to breaking that wall over.

He wanted to risk it all.

But Kibum was defenseless on his back, and Jonghyun couldn’t be inconsiderate of that.

When the popping explosions began, Jonghyun turned his head back, nipping at Kibum’s clothing to pull him down his side, his mouth taking in his lower torso and carrying him that way.

  “Dear god, Jonghyun, I do not fit in your jaw!” Kibum screamed, grabbing on to his head however the best he could.

Jonghyun didn’t bother to speak, as his mouth was full. The men’s aims were awful as they couldn’t manage a hit on them, but he still went on with precautions. He’d rather be shot first.

  “I have to do every little thing myself,” SangKi shouted out to the roof, Jonghyun smelled a Taerant beneath the man, “I will do that, then.”

Before Jonghyun could swerve himself away, his left leg was shot at, feeling even worse than an arrow penetration, following his right.

Jonghyun curled up so Kibum wouldn’t be harmed as he fell, his paws trying to cover as much of Kibum’s fall as possible before Kibum had fallen out of his mouth and rolled a few feet away.

It was always the back legs, why was it always the back legs?!

Jonghyun looked up at Kibum as the younger started trying to get up, planning to try and start up their run again.

  “Run, Kibum,” Jonghyun shouted at him, “I will be behind you, run!”

Kibum grabbed his paw, trying to tug at him, but his weight was too superior, “Not without you!”

  “You are not going to die by my fault, Kibum,” Jonghyun pushed at Kibum, “Go!”

  “He will die by your fault and my hand.”

Another popped explosion followed SangKi’s voice and Kibum shouted out.

Then and there, it went silent, but Jonghyun’s heart was in his ears, his blood running cold, his voice crawling up his throat in agony.

He shifted back into a human quickly, falling down to his knees in pain as he caught Kibum’s fall.

  “No, no, no!” Jonghyun shouted, holding Kibum as close to him as he could, “Why hadn’t you listened, why did you not go?!”

Kibum’s hand placed on his shoulder, squeezing him hard as the pain followed through, “Jonghyun . . .”

  “No, you are well!” Jonghyun hysterically cried, his hand holding over the wound by Kibum’s heart, “You are well!”

Kibum said nothing, but the small hiccupped sobs replaced his words, blubbering he was sorry.

  “If I had not wandered out in the open—” Kibum cried about years ago.

  “That was me, Kibum. You had not known I existed,” Jonghyun cried out, trying to redirect the blame of everything, “If I never sat there that day, this would not have happened. I am to blame! Me!”

Kibum held his cheek, holding his face in one hand, a little bit of blood coming past his lips, “I would have died one day, Jonghyun. I have no immortality.”

  “We would have figured that out later!” Jonghyun cried softly, placing his lips hysterically all over his face, “Not this moment!”

Kibum’s face screwed up, coughing the slightest bit, “It hurts, Jjong.”

Jonghyun didn’t know what to do with himself. He tried so hard—so hard to keep Kibum away but to end in failure just screwed up every plan he had: living the rest of his life.

  “I-I know, Kibum,” Jonghyun whispered, kissing him, “I will fix it.”

The pain that took a shot at Jonghyun’s heart left its mark right then and there. He didn’t know how to fix it, or even what to fix. No matter how much Jonghyun wanted to avoid the next part, he wasn’t the creature to determine who lives or died at a specific moment.

And how he wished he could.

  “I love you so much,” Kibum whispered, hand falling to Jonghyun’s—the one over the wound, “I hold you dear to me. Always, Jonghyun.”

  “I love you, Kibum,” Jonghyun choked out, staring at him in the eyes, which was ever-most painful, “I love you more than my own life.”

Kibum smiled, despite the bad situation, squeezing their bloodied hands with the last blink he ever made.

  “You are the reason I received the life I wanted, Jonghyun. You unlocked it for me. Thank you.”

The breath stopped, the rapid heartbeat stopped, the blinking stopped, the moving stopped, the hand squeezing stopped, just everything stopped.

Jonghyun wasn’t believing what he was seeing, what he had in his arms. No, this wasn’t true, there was not a wound on Kibum, no!

  “Kibum!” Jonghyun desperately called, shaking him a little bit, “Kibum, no, no, come back!”

He sobbed, screamed and shouted, cursing the human race, cursing the world, cursing whoever created death. Kibum’s life was so precious and it was easily destroyed and it destroyed Jonghyun’s life as well. Kibum wasn’t going to be there anymore, his body would be torn from Jonghyun’s arms and he couldn’t ever get him back.

  “Kibum, you changed me,” Jonghyun cried in a whisper, rocking them back and forth, “You made me perfect for you. Do not go back on me now, please.”

Jonghyun kept himself in the moment of having Kibum within his reach as humans surrounded them, weapons at their sides.

Some destroyed emotions when they were young, so they didn’t feel bad for Jonghyun.

Some were newly recruited, clenching their jaws at the sight of tragedy.

Some were just a day-old-new against their will, tears streaming down their faces as they saw what lost love really was.

SangKi just stared at Jonghyun with disgust, spitting by his feet, “Get him up. Put the lost soul in the morgue for a proper burial.”

Jonghyun cried insanely hard, unable to open his eyes anymore or keep quiet. He didn’t have the strength to fight the soldier who covered up his bare body forcefully, having to carry him away because his calves were once again too injured for walking.

  “Kill me, too!” Jonghyun shouted at SangKi, grabbing him before he could be carried too far from him, “Why are you not ending me, too?!”

SangKi looked into the lost Taerant’s eyes and removed himself of his grip, turning around to watch Kibum being lifted and taken away, causing Jonghyun to scream louder at the man.

  “If you died, you would be just as close to him as you were moments ago.”

Jonghyun shouted about that being utter bull as he struggled with the soldiers forcing him away. He’d find away to kill himself, he was sure of it. There was no reason for him to suffer alive when it could all be over and done with. Jonghyun wouldn’t be a bother to SangKi anymore and that meant less to handle, so why couldn’t the man see the better side of the situation?

  “Keep him under surveillance,” SangKi ordered, “He will drive himself insane. Do not let him kill himself.

  “And by the way,” SangKi shouted, “If you had bitten him on his thigh, he would have gained immortality from your bond. Your loss.”

The news put Jonghyun in a thrashing fit, wanting to change, wanting to kill SangKi, but he was an utter failure.

He sobbed out as he was taken away from the scene, carried back into his long-awaited room and put on his bed, a new soldier’s voice wet as he told him a healer would tend to him as soon as possible before the door was sealed shut once more.

Jonghyun screamed out, hitting the bed, reaching out for the air, clutching absolutely nothing and it drove him mad. Everything was gone and everything was pointless. If Kibum didn’t exist, neither did Jonghyun.

  “You are the reason I received the life I wanted, Jonghyun. You unlocked it for me. Thank you.”

Jonghyun’s hands were on his face, scratching down his skin in agony of loss.

You are the reason I found out what true life was, Kibum. You opened that door for me. Thank you.

And I am sorry.

But I shall see you again.

No matter how long it takes.

----Note~----

Oh the agony of this end.

Yes, this is the end of Jongkey. I apologize to Kibum. I do so much crap to you...

But yeah, this is how they both end up.

Yeah, I used a FFX theme, but really, I thought it just fit, so I went for it. Cried a little, myself. xD

Anyway, not too sure what to say. But I hope you enjoyed/didn't enjoy this death.

~FlaMinhoe