I legit went and added an extra 700 words to this and also changed a lot of the writing, but it basically has the same idea as chapter 10. You can also read it on AO3 :))))

2012

Jongin steps into the library, letting the door creak shut behind him before heading towards the staircases. He takes the stairs two at a time until he reaches the second floor; the children's floor. He's greeted with cardboard cutouts of Harry Potter and cartoon cats, and he pushes past the distractions, ducking behind a small bookcase near a group of children. He has his back towards the bookcase, towards the librarian who is reading to the small group of children. He can hear the quiet soothing voice telling a story of two star crossed lovers who could never be. 

Jongin forces himself to turn around, to peek through the shelves for a glimpse of dark curls, a pale face and eyes, owlish in their sincerity. The urge to reach closer, to touch, to see that heart shaped smile clenches within Jongin and he's rolling out from behind the bookshelf. He can tell the exact moment Kyungsoo sees him, his dark eyes widen further in surprise before his face softens into a small smile. 

Jongin is walking forwards without even realizing it, stepping closer and closer until they're breathing the same air and he can't help but return Kyungsoo's smile with one of his own. His hand reaches up automatically to cup Kyungsoo's face, his thumb reaching out to a simple pattern across his cheek. He opens his mouth to say something. Say anything, but all the words he had been saving for the past lifetime gets stuck in his throat and they're just standing there, smiling dopily at each other while all the children watch on confused.

Kyungsoo's cheeks are pink and his eyes are scrunched up in delight as he steps even closer, closing the distance between them. Jongin revels in feeling of Kyungsoo's warmth besides him, wanting to soak in the happiness while he can. Kyungsoo presses a soft kiss on Jongin's left cheek, a whispered "I love you." and then Jongin knows its over.

A crash sounds behind him, children screaming and the patter of feet before an explosion sounds in Jongin's ears. He falls forwards, his limbs suddenly heavy, and his chest aches and burns. He doesn't look down, but he can imagine the splatter of red across his white button down shirt. Kyungsoo has turned him around on the floor and he can hear Kyungsoo's cries, his screams; he can see Kyungsoo's eyes welling up with tears and suddenly there's another explosion. Kyungsoo's face slacks before he topples forward onto Jongin and they can vaguely feel the stickiness that ends up between them. Jongin's head is swimming and he's familiar with the sensation. He's losing too much blood and Kyungsoo's cold lips turn towards his ear. 

Their breaths are shallow and in sync; Jongin struggles to lift his arm and pull Kyungsoo closer, until his own lips are pressed into Kyungsoo's cheek. Kyungsoo's eyes are blank, his breaths coming in slower and slower as screams continue to fill the library. There are a few more gun shots, loud explosions filling the quiet library atmosphere. Jongin presses a soft kiss against Kyungsoo's cold cheek.

He breathes in Kyungsoo and breathes out I love you.

1974

Jongin finds Kyungsoo sitting by himself on a crudely made swing set, his tiny legs kicking back in forth. Seven year old Jongin slowly walks over to the pale, dark haired boy and gently pushes him. Kyungsoo doesn't turn around, but he visibly relaxes, trusting the stranger with an instinct to push him. 

Its with a laugh that Kyungsoo finally jumps off the swing, flying a short distance before landing in the dirt, a few feet away. He ends up scraping his knees a little but he has a huge smile on his face when he finally turns around to face Jongin.

"Hey you," he greets cheerfully as Jongin walks over with a curious expression on his face. "Do I know you?" Jongin asks politely as Kyungsoo laughs a little. Jongin decides that his laugh is the most beautiful sound in the world and tells the strange boy so.

"My name is Kyungsoo," The rest of his words are drowned as the world suddenly explodes into color. 

Kyungsoo's last thought is the glimmer of recognition in Jongin's pretty eyes before the detonation of the mountainous region fills the small town with explosions of fire and color and sound. And then they're both gone again; just ashes, drifting in the wind for their next lifetime. 

2094

Jongin wakes up gasping for breath in a hospital room with someone on the cot across from him. His old limbs ache and he can feel the pressure on his chest building again, forcing up to twist onto his side, gasping for air and dry heaving. He looks up from his coughing spell to find dark eyes and a wizened face. Kyungsoo's eyes are scrunched up in laughter and Jongin can't help the smile that finds its way onto his face. 

The wrinkles that line Kyungsoo's eyes stay put even as the smile slips off of his face. He slips off his bed and walks across the small room before sliding into the small cot with Jongin, careful not to mess with the wires in Jongin's arms. Jongin slips his arms around Kyungsoo and they lie there in the dark, the silence punctuated only by the sounds of their breathing and the beep-beep-beep of Jongin's life support machine. 

"Do you want to do this?" Kyungsoo's voice is hoarse and papery and quiet, breaking the familiar silence. He pauses, his fingers tapping out a quiet rhythm on Jongin's arm. "Maybe we shouldn't. Maybe its better to give up."

"Shouldn't what?"

Kyungsoo is so still in his arms, his breathing so frail and quiet that for a second Jongin thinks their time is over already. But then Kyungsoo lets out a small shuddery breath. "Next lifetime?"

Jongin doesn't reply but he capture's Kyungsoo's hand in his own and squeezes gently. He presses his chapped lips against Kyungsoo's temple, brushing back a few stray white hairs, and he knows that Kyungsoo understands.

I'll never let you go.

1996

The pub is loud and rowdy when Jongin walks in, the music thrumming and alive. People around him are twisting and writhing to the beat, shameless, hidden behind drunken stupors. He notices him even before he sits down, a slight man, hunched over the bar nursing a drink. Jongin collapses onto the chair besides him, staring at the man's side profile before recognition hits him.

"Kyung...soo?" The man blinks a little before turning to face Jongin. His face is guarded but so familiar. 

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" His voice is soft and polite and aloof.

Its at that moment that a large man struggles over, every pore of his body oozing alcohol and possessiveness. He's swaying from side to side, but he's backed up by two large men. He swings a large arm around Kyungsoo's small frame and leers at the man. "Who's this, Soo?" 

Kyungsoo seems to shrink into himself, looking even smaller than before and its only then that Jongin sees the bruises along Kyungsoo's wrists, the slump of his back. He doesn't have time to react before one of the buffer men ends up shoving him back, a meaty hand the front of his shirt as he's thrown head first into the table. He feels himself being picked up again and he struggles to resist. In the peripheral of his vision, he sees Kyungsoo looking overly frightened and being tugged out of the bar by the large man. 

Jongin finds himself a little later lying in the back of a dark alley, blood dripping out of his nose and between his lips. His whole body aches and screams but he can't lift himself up. His head spins even as he slips further downwards until darkness overtakes him. 

The next morning, a man is arrested for multiple accounts of domestic abuse and two corpses line the street. 

1967

"Kai." 

Jongin looks up to see the two gang leaders staring at him critically. The tension in the small hut thickens as the two leaders in turn eye each other warily. 

Jongin and Kyungsoo sit across from each other at the table placed in the center of the room. A gun sits in the center of the table, the shiny black revolver dull in the dim light. 

"Kai," the Boss calls out again and this time there is a warning in his words

"D.O." the other gang's leader calls out as well and Kyungsoo jumps a little. Behind them, the members are stiff and angry; hungry for blood.

It is Kyungsoo who picks the gun up, slim white fingers seeming to caress the gun. Jongin can see the smug smirks on the other gang's faces. Kyungsoo is their best, their most skilled. He has tricks up his sleeves that no one can understand. 

"Remember," the Boss murmurs, but his voice carries through the thick tension in the room. "One bullet and one death. You each take turns. The territory belongs to the winner." The last part is said for the other gangleader, a challenge in his eyes. The other gangleader looks relaxed, a confident leer on his own face.

Kyungsoo takes a breath before spinning the cylinder. There's a smirk on his lips as the cylinder clicks to a stop, and he places the muzzle against his head.

Kyungsoo sends him one last smile before he pulls the trigger. 

The bullet flies from the loaded chamber and embeds itself into Kyungsoo's skull. A spurt of crimson before Jongin is out of his chair and clutching at Kyungsoo. There is a small tattoo on Kyungsoo's wrist indicating his gang's loyalty. It is with a different tattoo on Jongin's wrist that he clutches the enemy, fingers scrabbling at death.

It is a look of betrayal and then nonchalance as the Boss picks up his own gun and points it at the back of Jongin's head.

It is with a spurt of crimson that Jongin starts his search again.

1788

Jongin searches around desperately, walking in circles around the crowded ballroom. He makes polite conversation, fingers wrapped tightly around a glass of champagne, stepping between dancing couples and declining invitations. Jongin is about to give up and head back upstairs when their eyes met across the hall. 

They meet in the balcony, each clutching their own glasses of wine and Jongin gets his first taste of privacy for the night, the gentle thrum of the music serving to fill the silent air. "May I have this dance," he asks, placing a hand on Kyungsoo's waist, delighting in the soft flush that fills the pale cheeks. 

"You can have all my dances," Kyungsoo whispers breathlessly and Jongin spins them around and around and around. The chatter of the guests inside have quieted down and all Kyungsoo can hear is the soft beating of Jongin's heart and the soft breathes he lets out. They're both high on happiness, and the wine muddles their senses and warms their hearts.

"This lifetime?" Jongin teases, pulling Kyungsoo closer and closer before pressing a gentle kiss on Kyungsoo's nose; Kyungsoo's cheeks; Kyungsoo's brow.

"Forever," Kyungsoo replies, gripping Jongin's waistcoat closer as their lips meld together chastely. 

Poison seeps in quickly, and soon they both collapse on the edge of the balcony, too dizzy to dance, too dizzy to care. Jongin's throat is numb and tingling and soon the tingling spreads through his limbs to his hands and feet. There's a slow burning that severs through his abdomen, knocking the breath out of him and he can only clutch onto Kyungsoo's hand as they both writhe in pain. 

He can feel Kyungsoo convulsing beside him as his vision becomes dull. The thrum of music from the ball is faint but he can hear Kyungsoo's words clearly as the man lies beside him.

"Next lifetime then?"

Jongin can almost imagine the heart shaped smile on Kyungsoo's lips, lifetime and lifetime again and he lets himself smile through the pain.

"Always."