* ╰ THIS FEELING IS WHAT THEY MUST HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT WHEN THEY SPOKE OF RAPTURE, eden thinks, because here in this moment it feels as though he’s transcended the sorrows of earth —— it feels as though he’s been transported into the graces of heaven. bliss floods every one of eden’s senses, and here in sihyun’s warmth, so willingly, eden drowns. “ i do believe his mouth is heaven, his kisses falling over me like stars, ” eden recites with gentle smile, pressing the ridge of his jawline into the soft and waiting warmth of sihyun’s lips —— and he focuses on this tender point of contact, letting it ground him where he lays as his mind begins to wander. “ you know —— when i was a young boy, i feared i’d never make it into heaven. ” he tells sihyun ; voice soft, soft, soft, as the divulgence leaves his lips. “ i was taught that someone like me —— people like us —— we wouldn’t be welcome there. every night i dreamt of fire, and how it burned. i’d wake up drenched in sweat and tears. ” and it’s a poignant sadness that eden is disclosing, laying the truth bare in soft glow of the peaceful morning ; but eden doesn’t feel sad as he speaks, he doesn’t feel anything but the warmth of sihyun’s lips on his skin. “ but then you came along and told me you wanted me —— you came along and when i told you that i was broken, you said you’d love every piece. ” and from the way eden speaks, it becomes clear that he’s been turning these words over in his mind since the day sihyun spoke them —— “ and now, i think we’re in heaven. heaven is every day with you. ”
and it’s a beautiful view, up here in heaven —— amongst the clouds, the sun warm against eden’s skin ; his eyes drinking in and pouring over the sight of all the dips and curves of the man laid down beneath him. then he hums, as if in contemplation ; a smile upon his lips which trail a line of slow kisses from sihyun’s cheek to his lips. “ the verdict is —— ” eden begins, hues pooled with warmth and affection as his lips hover over the plush tiers of sihyun’s, “ that as sweet and delicious as you undoubtedly are —— you are not a dessert, you’re my boyfriend. my human boyfriend, whom i love very much. ” eden laughs —— “ but don’t think you’re safe just yet —— i still want to devour you all the same. ” he teases as he catches sihyun’s lower lip between his teeth, tugging gently before he soothes the bite over with the press of a kiss.
To listen to Eden recite poetry on a beautiful morning, the sun shining upon them from the window of his bedroom, making everything glow golden feels like a dream he’d give anything not to wake up from. He supposes he won’t ever really believe this is his life now, will always think it some elaborate alternate reality his mind has conjured up. “You’re the brightest star yourself. The sun. You shine brighter than anything in the universe,” he mumbles against soft skin, lips trailing over the jawline, one hand coming up to run through Eden’s silky hair as if they are unable to go without touching him for even a second. When Eden speaks again, Sihyun’s lips pause on their path, rather just resting against’ his love’s skin while he listens to him speak. The words that come out make his heart clench and there is an anger inside of him, something humming dangerously that only comes to life when he thinks about how unfair the world has been to Eden. It’s something he won’t ever be able to forgive but now his anger is not what’s important. He listens to Eden’s words, plays them over and over again in his mind as his fingers dive in between soft strands, hoping the touch soothes the sadness the words are sure to bring about even if just a bit.
“The world has been so unkind to you, my love. Telling you lies and engraving them deep within you when it should’ve been kissing your cheeks with the beautiful truth of it all,” he whispers, once again tracing his lips over Eden’s skin. “I’m sorry they lied to you. I’m sorry they didn’t tell you that a soul as beautiful and bright as yours, that glows with an unimaginable warmth was made in heaven and so how could it belong anywhere but there?” And then a breath escapes him all at once as he realizes that Eden knows what Sihyun does as well. That this is the heaven they’ve been looking for, the one they deserve. “When I die I don’t want to be anywhere else except for floating around in the memories we made together. That is heaven for me. Anywhere with you, any second with you. That’s what paradise is to me.”
Paradise, to Sihyun, is this: Eden, sun-kissed and gorgeous perched atop him, eyes trailing over every part of Sihyun’s body and Sihyun has never felt as beautiful as he does now. Once again, his body buzzes with the warmth that comes from the love they share. “I think you’ve done incredible scientific research, Mr. Lovegrove. Groundbreaking work, I’d say,” he teases, chin tipping up just an inch to brush his lips against Eden’s for a second. “Oh,” is all he can say before his boyfriend tugs his lips between his teeth and Sihyun is lost to the desire to kiss this man once again. One hand resting against Eden’s hip, the other cradled against the side of his face as he brings him closer, his own head tilting up to follow his boyfriend’s lips, wanting nothing more than to drown in his kisses.