105th year of Joseon, Mokpo
Seonghwa walks ahead of him.
Two paces ahead of him, and he watches his back, his shoulders, the way he holds his head up, his jaw clenched, his fists clenched.
He does not know what is to come.
Perhaps he will chastise him for forcing his hand like this, for being so puerile, stubborn, for wanting and asking.
For pulling him down from where he stands, older, wiser, honor bound.
Perhaps he will pray for forgiveness.
The attendants rise to meet them at the entrance, but Seonghwa dismisses them, saying they need to discuss some pressing matter, that they should return to their quarters for the night.
He follows behind Seonghwa, but he stops outside his chamber.
He does not know if he should enter.
He waits, till Seonghwa turns to face him.
Unreadable.
He loathes it.
"Come," he says, quiet.
Hongjoong does as he is told.
He waits for Seonghwa to speak, but he remains still for the longest time.
When he moves, it's like magic.
Slow, deliberate, Seonghwa leans in, the heady scent of his skin, faint hints of linseed oil beneath lavender, it makes his head reel.
His eyes shut tight, Seonghwa's mouth soft against his own, parted at the seam just enough to leave him tasting of him.
Their kiss lasts only a moment, just a brush of Seonghwa's lips against his own, but it makes him breathe again.
It leaves his lips between a sigh and a sob, relief and longing.
His heart soars, his skin thrums.
"I have missed you," he breathes. "Longed for you."
"I know," Seonghwa replies.
He says nothing more, but his hands are already undressing Hongjoong.
Still slow, deliberate.
As if he is giving him every chance to stop him.
He doesn't.
He won't.
Hongjoong thinks it was meant to happen.
In this house in the deep south, the sound of the ocean, the scent of salt in the wood, truth and fate reign unrivalled.
Perhaps they've been given another chance.
He finds Seonghwa's mouth again, gentler than he thought he would be, reigning in his desire.
It feels too raw, too brutal to taint Seonghwa with.
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↱SEMPITERNAL↲ ⇾seongjoong⇽
FanfictionA story where Hongjoong and Seonghwa find each other in three lifetimes. "What if I said I'd find you in lifetimes to come? What if I loved you in all my lifetimes past? Wouldn't that be lovely?" "I think I'd say you're a god awful poet."
