Everlasting

by debbiechan

This story fits with the canon events of WBDS. It does not correspond with the timeline of my "Sanctuary" fanfics. It is a very short, romantic Dong-soo x Woon piece that takes place after the series ends. No warnings. Again, romance, homosexual romance, Dong-soo x Woon. For graphic sexy timez, please see other WBDS stories by me.

"Is it possible for you to come back? Whether you want me to or not, I'll be waiting."—Dong-soo.

"Thank you."—Woon

When Woon rides away to return to Heuksa Chorong, episode 14, Warrior Baek Dong-Soo

When Dong-soo died, one regret weighed on his heart. Maybe Woon would've lived a long life, maybe Woon would not have impaled himself on Dong-soo's sword had Dong-soo not turned his eyes away in shock and horror at that one moment.

All his life, every time Dong-soo saw a black crow high against a blue sky, he was reminded of Woon's sudden leap. Then the body had swept forwards like a wild bird about to grasp its prey. Why hadn't Dong-soo sensed, with all that Seonsaengnim had taught him, what was happening? Dong-soo could've stepped back, fallen away. If only he had seen Woon let go his weapons. If only—if only Dong-soo had done something-if only Woon had landed on the ground….

Dong-soo stepped into that grass field. The familiar breeze, the sense of the inevitable, the color of the morning. Dong-soo was afraid.

Then he saw Woon, same black clothes with the dark red flower pattern. Flowers Dong-soo later read about. Red spider lilies that sprung up out of nowhere meant an unexpected death—superstitious people feared them. The way people feared Yeo Woon.

Woon reached behind in his back, and one blade sang as he pulled it out.

Woon tossed the one blade and the other to the ground. A wide smile—he looked years younger—like the boy from the mountain camp days—and he spoke. "Baek Dong-soo." A playful expression. "We don't need these anymore."

Dong-soo realized he was clutching his own chest. "Aigoo, you scared me. I thought we were going to have to go through that again."

"It never happened."

"What do you mean? You're dead. That means it happened."

"Time isn't linear here. It didn't happen here. We're remembering something else. Another world."

Dong-soo still wanted to argue. "Then why do you have your weapons?" He felt for his own sword. He didn't have it. He noticed that his own hand was smooth and that his fingernails shone. When he died—moments ago?-that hand had been sinewy, spotted with old age, the nails a dull yellow.

Woon was smiling. What a beautiful rosy smile.

"Why are you smiling like an idiot? I haven't seen you smile like that for—"

"I've been waiting for you," Woon said. "I've been waiting."

Maybe the tears had been in Woon's eyes from the beginning, but Dong-soo only now noticed them.

"Didn't you say it too?" Woon added. "Did you say once that you would wait for me? All your life, you wanted to see me again, right?"

At that, Dong-soo ran towards him. It wasn't far to run, but the dreaminess of the place made Dong-soo misjudge the distance—he was at full speed when he reached Woon, and trying to stop, tripped, butting his head into Woon's chest and knocking Woon over. Woon collapsed over Dong-soo's shoulder.

The embrace was very much like the one in which Woon had died. This time, Dong-soo knelt, holding Woon around the waist. Woon was slumped over Dong-soo's back, the side of his head pressed against Dong-soo's ear, arms around Dong-soo's shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Dong-soo said. "I said I wouldn't doubt you no matter what."

"I lied to you," Woon whispered. "Forgive me. I thought I was protecting you. I didn't know… I didn't know until I was here… that you didn't keep my dying wish and that you… were hurt all your life over me."

Dong-soo felt Woon's fingers dig into his shoulders. Woon was crying.

"Is there crying in heaven?" Dong-soo's voice was low and amazed. "Please don't be sad. You were so sad for so long. I found out later—about so much. About how young you were when you—. Most things were the old Sky Lord's fault, not yours. I know now. The gisaeng from Heuksa Chorong told everyone how you saved people. Please don't be sad, please."

"I'm not sad." Woon's body was shaking almost imperceptibly with restrained sobs. This was Woon. He never let himself go. "I'm not sad."

Dong-soo lifted Woon up to look at his face. Woon dropped to his knees, and the two knelt, staring at one another for a while. Dong-soo watched tear after tear run down Woon's face. No, he wasn't sad. Woon was crying tears of joy.

"Was it lonely here?" Dong-soo asked at last.

That Woon look. The one where his eyes would tell a story his lips wouldn't speak. Only this time he opened his mouth and said something. "I was always lonely," Woon said in a gentle voice. "Except when I was with you. In Life, in Death. Being with you makes all the difference. I was waiting for you."

Dong-soo's throat choked on tears, and it was at that point he realized he himself had been crying for some time now, quietly, like Woon.

"I know your life was not lonely," Woon went on. "I'm glad for that. But I don't understand why you're crying now."

The fresh tears that came this time blurred Dong-soo's vision. He couldn't see Woon's expression anymore. "You don't? You really don't?" Dong-soo took advantage of not being mesmerized by Woon's dark stare to lunge himself at Woon again. This time the hug succeeded. Dong-soo had not hugged Woon like this since the time they both stood together in the rain after lighting the beacons, clinging to one another for their lives; at that moment it had been like they were two parts of one person and that the world was new. The air had smelled so clean that day; nothing was impossible.

Here too, was anything possible?

Neither let go.

Then Dong-soo was stricken with another spell of clumsiness and fell to one side, taking Woon in his arms with him.

"I thought you were a martial artist," Woon mumbled. "Why do you keep falling over?"

"There's something thick about the atmosphere here." Dong-soo was trying to figure it out. "Heaven is strange. Or the shock of seeing you is making me stupid."

"You were always a little stupid." Woon smiled. "And this isn't heaven. But it's not what you were used to. Being alive, living day to day, that is. It's difficult to be alive. Here—there's relief, but one still has to learn. It's hard to explain."

They lay, facing one another, arms still embracing, nestled in the fragrant grass.

"I'm the one," Dong-soo said, "who said it first. When you went back to that bad place, I said I would wait for you. I kept saying it. I kept saying I would never give up on you."

Woon laughed. Dong-soo could not remember the last time he'd heard Woon laugh. It was the most pleasant sound, not a hard noise like the ones he remembered the boys in the mountain camp laughing, not like the carefree rolling sounds of men drinking in taverns. Woon's laugh was soft, like water splashing over rocks in a stream. Woon spoke again, a teasing voice, like in the old, good days. "So, are you competing with me still?" Woon's eyes were smiling; the tears had dried.

"No," Dong-soo said. He understood some things now. He had come to understand them years before he died. "You gave up your whole life for me. You knew a long time before I did that…."

Woon blinked. He had that way of batting his long lashes over those dark eyes that hinted at a dozen stories. He never revealed much when he was alive. Was he going to say something now?

"Woon-ah? Why did I see you first here? Was it because I was feeling guilty? Why not Seonsaengnim? Sa-mo? Why you?"

"Because you wanted to."

"I get what I want here? Is that how it works?"

"What do you want?"

The pair were still embracing. Dong-soo drew Woon closer, placed his hand on the back of Woon's neck, the thick hair there cool to the touch, pulled Woon's face against his own cheek. There was a sweet scent in the air like the day of beacon lighting. No reason to fight, every reason to be together. Words from the past came back, and Dong-soo felt obliged to say them aloud: "Aren't you Woon? Aren't you my friend, Woon?" This was why he treasured Woon so much, of course—Woon was his best friend.

Dong-soo could feel Woon smiling even though he couldn't see his face. Friend, friend. Dearest friend. Was it difficult to get away with lying here? Were emotions that transparent?

"I've been waiting for something else too, Dong-soo-yah."

Dong-soo pulled away to look at Woon. Ok. The truth. Dong-soo had known it for a long time. Who else could he tell it to except the one person who also knew it? And where else could he say it but here? So he said the words. He said, "You've been waiting for me to tell you that you're not my friend."

The wind quit blowing. The tall gold-green grasses of the field where Woon had once died stood still. The light grew brighter. And even brighter-an unnatural white. The grass began to erase itself in the brightness. Dong-soo felt that he was lying on solid ground, but there was nothing like Earth around him to support that idea. Dong-soo and Woon were two figures lying in a dazzling white sky.

"Sometimes this happens," Woon explained. "Places change. I would different places and end up at Father's house, when Mother is alive. Or the mountain camp, walking through the paths alone. I've seen the Commander. He's forgiven me. He's still so stern though—" Woon smiled. "He fussed at me about my killing myself. He never let me hear the end of it."

"That was a damn stupid thing, Woon-ah. Everyone said so."

"This is strange place. One gets used to it though. When it goes white like this—I think about what could be in the next life. Sometimes… sometimes...there's only the future."

Dong-soo wasn't afraid of lying midair in the Afterlife with Woon. He cupped Woon's cheek with the palm of his hand. "We were friends once, right? We still are, in a way, but-"

Woon closed his eyes and opened them again. Dong-soo knew that was Woon's wordless way of reassuring Dong-soo that explanations weren't necessary, that a speech wasn't required, forget the prelude Dong-soo, forget trying to make sense of it.

"Aish." Dong-soo leaned forward and kissed Woon lightly on the upper lip. Ever so lightly. As if brushing a fresh wound with a cloth. His mouth hovered over Woon's mouth.

"It's not wrong," Woon whispered.

"It's not that," Dong-soo breathed.

Dong-soo pressed his lips over Woon's, more pressure this time, his fingers sweeping into Woon's hair. He pulled away, swallowing hard, his breath deepening.

"What if I had been born smart? If I had been born smart, some stupid stuff in my life wouldn't have happened. I learned that being stupid is a good place to start from Seonsaengnim, but what if I had never met you? If there's no such thing as Destiny, then why do I feel like this is where we are meant—"

"Are you done?" Woon was lying on white light, his black hair spread across heaven. Dong-soo had always been aware of Woon being a beautiful man—hell, Yeo Woon was famous for being a beautiful man, but right now? What on Earth had Dong-soo done to deserve that smiling look in Yeo Woon's deep black eyes?

"What do mean am I done? Done talking? Done kissing?" Dong-soo threw himself over Woon. "Am I not a good kisser? Is that what you're saying?"

"Always competing. Even with yourself."

This time Dong-soo opened his mouth. He had been an accomplished lover in Life, as he had been in most things he practiced. From what Dong-soo knew about Woon's short life, no measure of pleasure could ever make up for the years of abuse and pain Woon had experienced in childhood and within that house of blood, Heuksa Chorong. What could Dong-soo do? How could one kiss express the tenderness Dong-soo wanted Woon to feel? How could another kiss lessen any of the damage, make up for how wronged and betrayed Woon had been? Had Woon's guilt and self-loathing been erased here? Is that why he had been smiling? Is that why he was kissing Dong-soo back with unrestrained kisses? It was like they had always been touching this way. Dong-soo admitted to himself that he had imagined it in Life more than once. How often had Woon imagined it?

Why hadn't they acknowledged this in Life? That this connectedness was its own light. Dong-soo's arms flipped Woon's body over so that Woon was on top of his chest now. Dong-soo kissed Woon's neck, the lump there and the soft hollow part beneath it, and then, returning to Woon's mouth, Dong-soo kissed harder, deeper. It would all feel like a dream except Woon's breath on his face was warm. Both their chests were heaving as if they had been sparring for too long.

But there was no such thing as too long here. Dong-soo and Woon kept kissing and kissing. What had been too long was the wait—Dong-soo's wet lips and teeth smiled against Woon's cheek at the thought. I've been waiting for you. Still, for what was more everlasting than Life itself, more brilliant than the sun, the wait felt like it had been nothing now. Woon was everything. Woon was here.

End

I know it seems like I'm always writing songfic. ? Ha, this one was inspired by the singular critically acclaimed Spice Girls' song "Viva Forever." Nothing says romance like flamenco guitar, and I happened to find a Dong-soo/Woon MV that matched the lyrics perfectly. It remains a favorite, not only because it has that great shot of Dong grabbing Woonie's ass on the horse, but because of the "I'll be waiting" theme. Here: watch?v=E3AUiI7TJR0&t=12

I received a few requests to write more WBDS fic, and I'm weak so I wrote two when I found time. Writing about this drama is good therapy for me. The next WBDS fanfic I upload will be kinky and traumatic and ridden with warnings. So enjoy this one while you can.