Jinki gently caressed the bruises around Jonghyun's wrist, light as a butterfly. They were lying side by side on the bed, both silently watching the movements of his fingers, their breathing falling in sync. Their only light source was the small bed lamp above them, casting a dim glow in the otherwise dark room in which they had been lying for hours – or it could have been days even. Jonghyun didn’t know nor did he care.

“I hurt you,” Jinki murmured into the still and quiet air around them.

The corner of Jonghyun's lips quirked a little and he to his side to look at him properly, forcing Jinki to let go of his hand.

“It’s okay.” He smiled when Jinki looked at him. “I kind of asked for it. Besides, it doesn’t hurt that much.”

Jinki to his side as well and their gazes locked, their fingers intertwining between them. After a while one of Jinki's other hand came up to caress his cheek, letting his thumb run over Jonghyun's cheekbone, before coming down to rest on his neck. Jonghyun blushed under his intense stare met it steadily.

“Heavens, but do I love you,” Jinki whispered, his expression completely open and vulnerable and pure.

Jonghyun swallowed around the lump gathering in his throat at the raw emotions he could hear in that sentence. He pulled Jinki to him and buried his face in his chest. Jinki his hair, holding him close. Jonghyun silently let the tears pressing behind his eyes escape and run dwon his face sideways and into the pillow.

He didn’t know why everything overwhelmed him all of a sudden. Maybe a part of him had been too shocked to actually realise what was going on, but when Jinki uttered those words he couldn’t help himself. It left him s sniffling, sobbing mess of emotions.

“I’m sorry,” Jonghyun whispered when he had calmed down.

“Whatever for?” Jinki murmured.

“For hurting you as much as I have,” he sniffled. “It’s so unfair.”

Jinki tightened his arms around him and kissed the top of Jonghyun's head.

“I know,” he mumbled into his hair. “Many days and nights have I searched for a solution for us to be together, however I simply cannot find one without it destroying either one of us in the end.”

Jonghyun swallowed thickly.

“Maybe because a god and a human shouldn’t be soulmates?”

“Yes,” Jinki whispered, voice broken. “That may very well be the reason.”

They fell silent again, Jinki tightening his arms around him every now and then, as if to make sure Jonghyun was still there. He reciprocated the action every time, his heart aching at the catch it caused in Jinki's breathing.

“This is the first time you know about your reincarnations and our connection. You have never had those visions before and I never had the courage to tell you,” Jinki murmured.

Jonghyun hummed.

“Maybe you should have.”

“I wonder…” He let out a small laugh and Jonghyun pulled back to look up at him questioningly. Jinki smiled down at him, an amused glint in his eyes. “That you thought I was odd most of the times we met certainly did not help.”

Jonghyun shot him a small smile.

“You are, though.”

Jinki snorted.

“Yes, I might be.”

Jonghyun caught his lip between his teeth briefly. He wondered if his next question would be okay.

“Jinki?”

“Mm?”

“Can you tell me about my past lives with you?”

Jinki grew still, his smile falling and a haunted look passing his eyes.

“I…” Jinki cleared his throat. “There are so many different pasts, I am not sure we have time for them all.”

“Please?” Jonghyun asked. “Just the ones you liked best?”

Jinki gave a small chuckle.

“There is not one any better than the other. Simply being with you made them equally wonderful.” He looked down at Jonghyun and smiled. “There was one time when I began our relationship on a truly stiff note.” He laughed. “You were an apprentince of a well known blacksmith and I happened upon the shop you worked in. To say I was ecstatic to see you would not make it justice, as you had not reincarnated as quickly as you usually would. It resulted in you thinking I was insane when I barged into the shop and continued talking as if we had known each other forever and nearly professed my love for you. Needless to say, you summoned authorities to throw me out of the shop at once.”

“I did?” Jonghyun asked with a small smile.

“Yes.” Jinki smiled back. “You would not let me come near you after that first encounter and always ran away as soon as you caught sight of me. Somehow, since I refused to use my innate authority to make you come to me, our bond must have worked together with fate–”

“But you used your authority on me when we first met this time,” Jonghyun interrupted.

Jinki wrinkled his nose.

“I apologise for that. I was in a hurry to find my brother and could not spare the time to be held back. Though I barely could leave you at all that first day. Walking away when I had found you again after so long is the hardest thing I have had to do in my entire existence. My brother was to be my priority. As you know it did not stay true for long and, against my better judgement, I came back the morning after. I could hardly think of anything else besides you. I needed– craved for you to be by my side.”

Jonghyun blushed and lowered his gaze to the first button on Jinki's shirt, unable to meet his intense gaze. Jinki wouldn’t let him get away though and put a finger under his chin to lift it up, forcing Jonghyun to face him. His smile was bittersweet, eyes shining with longing, and Jonghyun could hardly breathe with the emotions tumbling through him at the sight.

So he didn’t.

Instead, he tilted his head up further while at the same time putting a hand on Jinki's neck to pull his face down, kissing him softly. Jinki smiled against his lips and pulled him closer, hugging him tightly. He let out a content sigh when they broke apart and pressed his forehead against Jonghyun's.

“Shall I continue the story?” he whispered.

Jonghyun nodded, his cheeks still red but his heart warm and content. Jinki chuckled and stole a quick kiss before getting back to the story.

“After you threw me out of the shop, I spent my days speaking with the owner. I wanted to learn more about human weapons but at the same time I could keep an eye on you and your surroundings with the many but quick glimpses we caught of each other. Then one day your master was out, leaving you in charge. I was about to excuse myself from the shop when I noticed he was not present, as I did not want to frighten you more than I already had, however you asked me to stay. I know not what thoughts went through your head at that time, as you attempted to talk to me normally and allowed me to ask questions. I am extremely glad you tried, for you came to like me as a friend after that, albeit you were still terrified of the stronger connection between us.” Jinki's expression saddened. “I wish I had told you then that I was a god and could make those around us ignore the way we were closer than normal. We had so little time together that once...”

Jonghyun nuzzled their noses together gently; showing him it was okay, he didn’t need to tell him about his death. Jinki gave him a small smile and a light kiss on his nose.

“Another time you were a princess of a very small kingdom up in the mountains, quite isolated from the rest of the human world. All your subjects adored you and you even had a betrothed whom you felt strongly for. I am sad to say I damaged your relationship with him. However, I was – and still am – selfish. It hurt somewhat unbearably to see you with another and I shamefully admit I went into a rage. Worry not,” he said when he saw Jonghyun open his mouth, “I did not kill him and I also did not force him to leave you, since he loved you unconditionally, thus gaining my trust and respect. However, I might have caused a flood in the village by the sea close to your kingdom’s mountain in my distress. I realise I need not have worried, for you left him of your own free will when we met and befriended once again.”

Jinki sounded quite proud of that little bit of information and Jonghyun snorted amusedly, making the other look at him quizzically.

“You’re proud of that, aren’t you?” he chuckled and Jinki looked embarrassed. Jonghyun just shook his head with a smile.

“Well, would you not feel happiness if the one you need to live chose you without hesitation?” Jinki asked.

Jonghyun gave him a fond smile.

“I guess so.”

Jinki grinned.

“You were also a fisherman one time, earning a livelihood for your family by yourself. Your father died when you were very young. We crossed paths when you were out on a fishing round and I was visiting some of my subjects in the ocean. I thought I glimpsed you from the water and came to the surface to ascertain it. You chose the same moment to look over the railing of your boat. Fortunately, you were interested in merfolk and bellieved I was such a creature, which had you following me around as much as you could, inviting me onto your boat and talking to me for hours. That was one of the more peaceful times we had together, unless you account for the times I found you when you were a child and we played together throughout the days.”

Jonghyun smiled, feeling a tender warmth fill him.

“You stayed with me even when I was just a child?”

“Yes,” Jinki nodded, his face soft and eyes warm. “The love we share is not just as lovers, it runs deeper. I am not certain ‘love’ would be the proper word to chose, however, it is the best we can accomplish with the human language.”

“Lovers…” Jonghyun blushed. “How often were we lovers?”

“If I met you when you were around seventeen to twenty years of age, we always somehow managed to become romantically involved, even if I would have been satisfied with trying to be your friend to spare you the heartache and problems arising because of our relationship. You have always been quite stubborn.”

“D-did we ever…” Jonghyun had to clear his throat. “Y-you know… uh…”

Jinki looked at him quizzically as he tried to come up with a good way to ask his question. Then a light bulb seemed to light up inside his head and his expression turned perfectly amused.

“Are you asking me if we ever laid together?” he chuckled.

“Um…”

“Well, you humans call it ‘’ now if I am not mistaken,” he continued, completely unbothered, and Jonghyun thought his face was going to burn up.

“I-I know what it means,” he spluttered and felt even more embarrassed as the words left his mouth. “It’s just that… Kibum mentioned something about potency and… ferority? Wait… ferocity?”

Jinki watched him amusedly for a few seconds as he struggled to remember before leaning in and pressing his lips gently to Jonghyun's forehead. Then they moved down his warm, red cheek in a gentle caress, making their way to Jonghyun's mouth and giving him a slow, soft kiss. Jonghyun's eyes fluttered closed with a small sigh and his head went blissfully empty as Jinki's hand moved up his side to cup his face. He grabbed the fabric of Jinki's shirt to pull himself closer, pressing up against his warm body as Jinki gently pecked his lips before diving into a deeper kiss.

“No,” Jinki murmured against his lips after a few moments of kissing.

Jonghyun blinked at him, a little disoriented. He had already forgotten what they were talking about.

“We never had .” Jinki pulled back a bit to reveal the mirth shining in his eyes as he obviously fought to keep from laughing. “Despite my potency and ferocity.”

Jonghyun huffed indignantly.

“I’m just telling you what Kibum said,” he mumbled, not able to meet Jinki's eyes and Jinki let out a soft laugh, hugging him closer and burying his nose in his hair.

“I have missed you endlessly,” he murmured into Jonghyun's blond strands, making him smile fondly.

“I’m sure some part of me missed you too,” he whispered. Then he felt his heart fall and sighed. “What are we going to do, Jinki?”

Jinki stilled, though his grip around Jonghyun tightened. He breathed in and out deeply.

“I may still find a solution,” he offered, not sounding very convinced.

Jonghyun let out a humourless laugh.

“I doubt you’ll find something now if you haven’t been able to for millennia.”

Jinki pulled back, his eyes shining with pain, no doubt mirroring Jonghyun's own – if the ache in his heart was anything to go by.

“I vow to you,” he said fiercely. “I will find a way.”

Jonghyun tried to smile reassuringly but he was afraid it looked more like an anguished grimace.

“Didn’t you say there was no other solution than leaving me here and going back to where you came from?”

“Yes,” Jinki said miserably. “However, seeing how much pain it caused you, I will do my best to find another solution.”

“It didn’t hurt you?”

A humorless chuckle left Jinki.

“I am used to the pain. I am also a god, therefore I do not have much to worry about. I do not want you to live in pain, however.”

Jinki rolled on top of him, supporting his weight with a hand on either side of Jonghyun's head. He let his eyes travel over his face, as if he were commiting it to memory. Jonghyun bit his lip but didn’t look away.

“Believe in me, Jonghyun,” Jinki whispered. “For as long as I exist I will do everything in my power to bring you back to me.”

Jonghyun gave him a small, wistful smile.

“Okay,” he whispered back. “I will too.”

Jinki leaned in and sealed their promise with a kiss.

It would have been a peaceful moment, filled with the reassurance of their promise and love – if only Jonghyun didn’t have this nagging feeling that something was going to prevent him from keeping his promise.

A/N: Is this considered a cliffhanger? I dunno @_@

Anyhoo, I hope you liked this chapter! And there will be a happy ending! I promise! So don't panic, haha

Also, nothing's proofread and everything's crap but I don't have the time ;__;

Love you all! <3

Bye~!