Letters From The Sky (JoongNine AU)

Chapter 13

Joong

"You smell liked dirt!", a voice said while laughing at me.

"Of course! You play dirty and let me do all the hard work, alone!", I said in retaliation.

"Ahhh, have mercy on me, Joong. Look at my bone, and look at yours. I can't lift that heavy load alone".

"If you can't lift it, at least help me with it".

"I did, giving you a shoulder rub everytime you complain that your shoulders are sore". I still couldn't see his face clearly. He moved to my back, moving his hands, massaging my shoulders as we sat on the stones facing the river.

"Let's dive into the river, before we go home. Even I can smell my sweat, urghh!!", I said while tapping his hands, giving him signal to stop.

"Alright...", he answered back. I could hear clothes being thrown to the flat stone, and I did the same too, up to only my undergarments. Before I could turn, he already jumped into the clear water. I could see the fair skin contrasting with the darkened water, reflecting a deep green of the forest trees that surrounded us. So fair liked a snow, with a slim body that glided across the water, swimming freely liked a fish.

I jumped into the water too, trying to catch up to him, but he kept playing around and splashed the water onto my face. He dove deep, and hook my neck from behind when I was unaware, and bit the crook of my neck. I turned but not fast enough, that he already dove back and swam away from me. After sometimes, we were tired of playing chase. I could see that he had swam to the shore, and moved to lay on the flat stone near our clothes. I came out from the water too, and laid down beside him that already covered his face from the sun with his arm. Our body so close together, basking under the sun.

Suddenly I felt his fingers lacing with mine, I turned my head and look at him, but he didn't uncover his face yet.

"Joong, could you close your eyes, first...", I heard him asked hesitantly.

"Why?".

"I wanted to try something, but I can't if you are looking". My heart was thumping hard. I could guess, but I couldn't be too sure. It was simmering too much lately, since I reach the age of sixteen, I could feel our feeling had escalated to something more than just friends. But, there's no love liked this, no one to guide us, except our hearts.

I closed my eyes, and said, "Alright, I'm not looking". It was quiet for a while, that I was wondering what was going to happen. I almost opened my eyes back, when suddenly, I felt a movement and he was straddling me, and then a shadow was blocking the sunlight from hitting my face.

I could feel warm breaths on my skin, and then a touch of moist lips on my forehead, moving to my cheek, down to my jaw and sucking my neck. At the same time, his hand moved to caress my chests and my abs, tentatively, not too light and not too rough. My breaths hitched and a heavy sound escaped from my lips.

"I can't stand it! Let me look at you...", he was laughing playfully and covered my eyes with his palm. "Don't, not yet. I won't be able to continue if you do...". I relented and let him went down on me again, kissing, biting lightly and licking almost everywhere on my skin. My breaths became haggard. I was a mess, sensations were running all over my skin that I almost throw him off me out of shock.

"Stop! No more...", I grabbed his hands that was rubbing my side and pulled him to lay atop me. I embraced him while my breathing slowed down. I could feel his smiling lips resting on the crook of my neck.

"We are doomed...", I said heavily. This won't be accepted by anyone in the village. We would be deemed, sinners.

"Yes, Joong".

"What shall we do?"

"Let it go. We will go back to being friends, again", he moved away from my embrace and turned immediately to move towards the clothes. Wearing them one by one. I did too.

That was the first and the last time, we ever ventured that far, because I lost him a week after, and lost myself for the rest of my life, for being the only person who remembered, he existed.

Nine

I arrived at his home and entered a darkened room. It was already 10 at night. I wonder if he'd eaten or not? Knowing Joong, he would wait for me no matter how hungry he was, even when I insisted on him that it's okay to eat first. I switched on the bed light and almost touched his arms to wake him up when I saw teardrops at the corner of his eyes. Why did he cry? What was his dream about to cause him to feel sad? I wiped the tears carefully and called his name to wake him up slowly without him feeling disoriented.

He opened his wet eyes and looked at me. He tried to gulp a few times, but still not able to say anything to me. I combed his hair with my fingertips, caressing his face and rubbing his chests to calm him down. I didn't say anything and waited for him to start.

"I dreamed about him again, Nine. But, this is the first time he was older, not when we were kids". His words had caused alarm inside my heart to trigger. But, he did say he couldn't see his friend's face or knew his name. So, I kept my composure cool and tried to listen to his dream.

"In what time space, Joong? Where was it? Did you know?". Joong shook his head.

"I only knew I was sixteen. We were on the way home from collecting firewoods, and rest near the river. Firewoods? What era was it that use woods to make fire? Must be such a long lost time ago, right?". Joong didn't need to tell me what happened at the river. I still remember the feeling up until now. Although at the time, I didn't know that I was an Angel, when I came back to The Sky, all the memories while living as a human was retained, up to the shivers that I felt running on my skin while kissing him everywhere, except his lips. My first kiss really was 6 months ago, and after that, there's too many kisses to count; and more, that was already done.

"You're crying before you wake up? What happened, Joong? What did you see?".

"I see myself, after losing him. I felt the feeling as me at that time, living without him. No one remember him, Nine. I couldn't understand why, because to me, he existed, with me, always together...and...".

"And?"

"I felt towards him, how I feel towards you, liked us, right now".

"What is it that you feel, Joong?". Joong didn't answer immediately, and moved closer to give me a kiss. Not rushed. Not heated. Just a single solid kiss.

"Love. Yes, Nine. I think...no...I'm sure, that...I love you".

The Sky

Zala who just came to look at the Water of Destiny, saw Areo that was sitting, leaning at one of the huge columns nearby. She looked down and saw, one of Areo's finger had turned black, liked a burnt meat that was left too long on fire. Zala raised her nonexistence brows at Areo, but he just shook his head and signaled that it was nothing.

Zala reached the edge of the Water and looked at it right at the moment of Joong's confession. A dusty pink light could be seen surrounding her, which happened only when an Angel of Love could sense pure love coming from a couple.

"I didn't know what did you say to Nine, Areo. But it must be something big, that caused you to lose your voice. Though I'm glad that now they are together, and also truly pure love, my senses also tell me, you're delaying doing your task, and thus caused that burnt. You could burn every finger, and still, nothing will change, Areo. Just be ready for that". Zala left after saying that words.

Areo looked at his burnt finger. His face looked blank, but his heart, if theoretically it exist, feel hopeful that the other nine, could still buy time.