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Lives Before Us.

vds one shot. you can find more on my ao3.

( @ apolloswords )

feel free to comment/message me any suggestions for one shot ideas!

Lives are sometimes finished abruptly, and the souls are forced to carry out into the next life. If soulmates are true, will Lucian and Johannes ever find their way back to each other?

When Johannes heard the rustling in between the trees, he immediately tensed up. If he was doing this sneaking around during the day, he probably wouldn’t have to feel his heart jump out of his chest. Instinctively, he placed his hand around the handle of the dagger he had tucked under his shirt and into his belt. He paused a bit, waiting for another warning through the rustle of the bushes and trees.

Nothing came.

He let go of the breath he was holding and relaxed a bit. He must’ve just heard a squirrel or something rustling about. Since no following sound came after, Johannes was probably paranoid for nothing.

Just before he was about to take another step further, he heard the rustle again. He reached for his dagger again, but the sounds of the rustling only seemed to get closer. And whatever was behind the noise seemed to be quicker then him.

Before Johannes could take hold of his dagger, something lunged at the back of him and he instantly fell to the ground. Trying to fight back, though it was hard when pressed down against the grass, Johannes wrestled with whatever it was that had attacked him. It was hard to make out with the shadows of the tall trees cascading onto him and only relying on the light of the moon to make a little sense out of the figure. But it wasn’t until he heard the familiar sound of giggles that he stopped fighting back.

There was no way a giggle like that could come from any kind of animal.

Feeling a smile begin to form on his face, he flipped himself around and face the boy on top of him. He beamed at him with a bright smile, satisfied that his plan of attack had worked and his victim laid helplessly under him.

“Well that’s one way to meet me.” Johannes smirked as he let himself lay on the soft grass. “You think I want to come out here in the first place? I thought something was lurking in the shadows but I didn’t think it was going to be you.”

Lucian grinned and reached out to ruffle his soft dark hair. “You should have seen your face. I know you were scared.”

“I don’t get scared.” He pouted.

The smaller boy giggled again. “Yes you do and you did.” He poked at Johannes’ stomach. “Just admit I got you.”

“Nope.” Using his strength, he gripped onto Lucian’s waist and quickly flipped him over. Lucian yelped just as Johannes pinned him down in the ground. Now it was Lucian laying in the soft grass as he continued to smirk at him. “Now I got you.”

“Listen, I tried.” He snorted. “It’s not easy trying to scare a knight.”

“Maybe one day.” He winked at him before rolling off of him and laying beside him in the grass.

They both looked up at the stars around them, the trees seemed to have made a clearing and there were no clouds tonight. They twinkled and danced above them and Johannes thought this was probably the brightest he had seen them. He didn’t want to admit it, but it did cause a rather sadness in him.

Because it was probably the last night they would ever see the stars together.

“Isn’t it so wonderful to think that people before and after us will see the same stars?” Lucian asked in wonderment, a completely different perspective then the one Jens was currently in.

He frowned. “Don’t stars die?”

He shrugged and kept looking at them. “Probably not in our lifetime.”

“I see.”

They were silent for a minute. Quiet. And when Johannes had felt too much time pass between them, he heard Lucian whisper in a small voice.

“Are you scared?”

Johannes turned his head away and looked at Lucian, who was already looking at him. Even in the darkness of the night, the other boy’s blue eyes were brightly lit. But they held a sadness to them. One that Johannes never though he would see.

“I am.” He admitted, nodding slowly. “But not because of the war. I just want to come back home to you.”

“I want you to come back home too.” Lucian whispered back, his bottom lip quivering.

“But you won’t be here.”

Lucian sighed and shook his head sadly. “No I won’t. The whole village is moving east and I don’t know how far. And we both don’t know how long the war can end.”

Johannes could feel his eyes begin to water and he knew his voice was going to shake. Looking deeply at the other boy, he tried to hold back from crying. “Promise me you’ll let me find you no matter where you go.”

A singular tear began to fall down from eye and he prepared himself to feel it roll down his cheek. However, just before it fell down even further, a pair of lips stopped it. He felt Lucian’s lips on his cheek, kissing him right below his eye. Johannes felt his lips turn up into a small smile. It wasn’t unusual for Lucian to kiss him on the higher part of his cheek.

In fact, it seemed to be his favourite place to kiss.

“As long as you promise to always come find me.” Lucian whispered back.

“I will.” He nodded, trying to smile through the other tears that fell from his face. “I will find you in every life I live.”

Placing, his hand on his face, Lucian brought Johannes’ face closer to his. He used his thumb to wipe away some tears and tried to give him his own reassuring smile. Kissing him in the same spot, Johannes held his breath to keep the tears from falling. He felt his body vibrate a small hun of laughter as Lucian began repeatedly kissing the same spot, over and over again until there were no more tears running down his face.

Pulling away, Lucian faced him with a grin. “You know they say that the marks on your face and body were left by your lover in a past life.”

He snorted, amused at his romanticism. “Where did you hear that one from?”

“My mother.” He traced his finger on the spots his lips were just on. “It means in your next life, I’ll know it’s your when theres marks dotted on your face like the stars above us.”

“God Luc,” He marvelled at the boy. “You are unlike anyone I’ve ever met.”

“Maybe that’s why you’re so in love with me.”

“Maybe so.”

They laid there for awhile, Lucian tracing his finger on his face. If Lucian didn’t have to spend all day working at the shop where his mother sold all kinds of trinkets and crystals, Johannes could easily see him as an artist. And probably the best one in the village. It was too bad Lucian had to take over the shop after his mother got sick. He hoped that one day, he could be the artist he always dreamed of becoming.

“What are you thinking about?” Lucian asked.

Johannes shrugged. “Just about who we could be in our next life.”

“God, don’t make it sound like it’s going to happen so soon.” He snorted. “I would like to know we at least survive the war.”

“I’m just ready to come back home to you.” He lifted his body off the ground and held a thumb to Lucian’s bottom lip. “And my soul is already missing you.”

He leaned in, closing the space between their lips and kissing him like it was his last time. He didn’t want to think of it like that. He didn’t want this to be the last time. But tomorrow he would have to face what the morning brought, and he had to accept that it could be his last sunrise.

When they parted lips, Johannes made sure to study every small detail about Lucian. The dark curls of his hair sweeping into his face. The freckles that dotted his porcelain skin and bright cheeks, like the colour of spring flowers. The lips flushed from his own, slightly parted as he tried to catch his breath and turn the corners of them up into the sweetest smile his eyes had laid on. The lightness of his eyelashes, like the golden summer sun striking against the most beautiful blue that rushed out of waterfalls, painted the sky and shimmered through refracted light.

He would remember this face. And he would remember it even if it was the last thing in his memory.

“Promise me you’ll come back to me.” Lucian whispered.

Leaning forward once more, he placed a kiss on his face. Right at the top corner of his lip. He kissed it a few times as he felt the other boy crack a small smile, giggling again.

“Why did you kiss me there?” He asked, the lightness in his eyes returning. And the lightness made them twinkle, much more brighter than the stars.

“So when I come back to you, I’ll give you a real kiss.” Kissing the spot one more time, he lowered his voice. “If your story is true, then I know by my mark that it is you that I’ve come back to.”

-

Jens was definitely awake when he began feeling the train jostle along the tracks. The trip from Antwerp to Utrecht had been a rather smooth, but getting to Amersfoort was almost the complete opposite. Luckily it was less than a fifteen minute ride.

“You finally look awake.” Moyo laughed from beside him, nudging him gently. “I’m pretty sure you slept the entire ride to Utrecht.” stop

He shrugged. “Had to get up early to put on the costume.”

Moyo frowned at him. “It’s only a fluffy blouse and some pants. The sash and your dagger are like your only accessories.”

He shrugged again. “What can I say? I’m a noble knight on his day off. It’s a great costume.”

“A lazy one too.” Robbe smirked from across from him.

“Well I didn’t really know what to wear for a Renaissance fair. Speaking of which, why are we going?”

“Figured it would be a good vlog.” Robbe shrugged. “Plus it’s apparently a big thing here. Amersfoort resembles a small medieval town and it’s really popular for them to host a Renaissance fair every year.”

“So we’ll clearly blend in.” Jens smirked, gesturing towards all their costumes. While his was probably the least extravagant, he was impressed by the Broerrs and Sander’s effort.

“I went with Amber last year.” Aaron shrugged, poking his head up from behind Jens’ and Moyo’s seats. Poor guy was had gotten the short end of the stick and had to sit alone. “It’s actually pretty fun. They transform the whole place and it’s almost magical.”

“Oh!” Sander snapped his fingers. “So you know the legend of Amersfoort then, don’t you?”

Aaron frowned. “No. I think Amber told me but I forgot.”

“Classic.” Moyo teased as Jens snorted.

Sander rolled his eyes but there was an intriguing look on his face. He leaned in, calling the others to come forward. Aaron came from behind and shoved himself beside Moyo, practically squashing Jens towards the train’s windows.

“Amersfoort once used to be a beautiful kingdom, one of the grandest in the land. But after the war, only a little bit of it remained.” Sander began to say. “But it was home to the great lovers, the son of a local shopkeeper in the town square and one of the greatest knights in the entire land.”

“What were their names?” Moyo asked.

“Lucian and Johannes. Lucian was the heart of the villagers and Johannes was one of the bravest protectors of the villagers. They fell in love when Johannes wandered around the town square one day. He spotted Lucian sitting by the fountain, his head buried into some book. Eventually, he found himself falling in love with the rather ordinary boy.” Sander continued.

A shiver ran down Jens’ back. It wasn’t remotely cold inside the train and with Moyo’s body heat practically on him, there was hardly any way for him to be cold. But the shiver didn’t run down with cold spikes. It ran down with rather fuzzy shocks and tingled following behind.

Shaking it off, he prompted Sander to continue the story. “What was the legend?”

“Well it’s not really a legend. I was wrong on that part. But it is a story told by the people through many generations.” He continued. “One day, the kingdom had to go to a great war. Not only did all the knights have to go and fight, but the village was targeted as well. The villagers were told to leave and find a new place to settle while the knights fought off the enemies as much as hard as they could to give them some time to evacuate. So Johannes was forced to stay behind and fight while Lucian had to leave with the rest of the people.”

“Did they see each other again?” Robbe asked.

Sander sadly shook his head. “No, they didn’t. They promised they would come back to each other on their last night. But the next day, the village was attacked much earlier than expected. Lucian and a few other members tried to create a barricade at the village’s entrance to hold off the enemies from tearing up the place, but they were killed in the midst of it. Johannes didn’t know until nightfall, in which the grief took over. The next day, on the battle field, he fought with all he could but they say his energy gave out because of his heartbreak. He died shortly enough so they never did get to come back home to each other.”

“Shit.” Aaron said. “No wonder I didn’t remember that. It’s so sad.”

“It is.” Sander nodded. “They say that one day they may be reunited again but, nobody knows for sure.”

“How did they know about the legend?” Robbe asked.

“Lucian was an aspiring artist. Or he wanted to be. He carried a sketchbook around, filled with sketches of his everyday life and slowly, the pages began to be filled with Johannes. Sometimes just himself or sometimes, with Lucian in it. On the last page was a poem of their last night, with the recollection of their promises.” Sander replied. “Sadly, the sketchbook got lost in the archives so nobody knows the original poem. Only translations and interpretations.”

“I feel like that makes it sadder.” Moyo noted

Jens shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He wasn’t sure why, but there was something eerily familiar about the story. Maybe he had heard it as a bed time story as a kid. His mother’s side of the family was Dutch, so maybe they had known and told him the legend. The familiarity ran deep into his bones, but the announcement on the train’s system interrupted himself from further thinking about it.

“Next stop, Amersfoort.” The voice on the overhead system spoke.

The boys scrambled out of their seats to prepare to get off. They made sure the camera and their accessories were still attached onto their costumes. Jens gripped the handle of his dagger as he followed close behind.

-

It was like they had been transported back in time.

Jens hadn’t been sure exactly what he was expecting, but this exceeded any idea he had. The Renaissance fair took over almost all of Amersfoort. The shops had little stands showcasing their products with rustic packaging and stands of trinkets were being sold at almost every corner. The restaurants presented food in clay dishes, and they resembled any food you would see in a fantasy tavern. Even the townspeople seemed like they were from a different era. Jens had been right, they all blended right in.

He managed to lose his friends after being distracted by certain stands. Crystals, brass necklaces and leather bounded notebooks intrigued him. He didn’t worry so much, they couldn’t be that far away. He figured he would eventually run back to them as he wandered around

Eventually, he found himself in the middle of the town. People danced around to the music being played near a beautiful fountain. The fountain refracted in the grace of the sun, leading it’s light to fall on a boy standing beside an easel.

The boy couldn’t be any older or younger than Jens. His tousled brown curls fell over his face as he continued to paint on the easel. From what Jens could make out, it seemed to be the beautiful scenery of the town. Stepping closer, past the dancers and the musicians, he made his way towards him, feeling a tug at his heart strings.

He seemed to be unlike anyone Jens had ever met.

His work is beautiful, he thought to himself. And it really was. Jens felt a warm feeling towards it, and it was almost like the strokes in the painting seemed to sway a little bit to life. It looked like a dream to him, as though he had once closed his eyes and had been in the same exact setting.

“May I help you?” The young boy asked, a twinkle in his vibrant blue eyes.

Jens had realized he had been staring and found himself at a loss for words. By the way the boy was looking up at him, he felt himself take a closer look at him. Tousled curls. Porcelain skin. Dotted freckles. Flushed lips. Sweet smile. Light eyelashes. And of course, beautiful blue eyes that twinkled brighter than the stars.

“Sorry,” He stammered. “I didn’t mean to stare. You just, looked like someone I know.”

“Really?” The boy asked, the corners of his lips tugging upwards. “Who?”

He opened his mouth, expecting a name to tumble out but then frowned. Jens didn’t know who he reminded him of. He didn’t have a name. But yet, he knew this boy’s face. There was something so familiar about it, he swore he knew one just like it.

“I’m not quite sure.” He finally said.

The boy giggled and Jens felt his heart skin. He knew that sound. He knew he knew that sound. But he just didn’t know how.

“I’m Lucas.” The boy said, extending his hand to shake.

“I’m Jens.” He replied, breathless. Reaching out, he shook Lucas’ hand and felt the tingles run down his back again. Only this time, they were following shocks of pure warmth.

“So Jens, are you enjoying the fair so far?”

“From what I’ve seen, yes. It’s somewhat magical.”

“Well that’s one way to put it.” He winked. “I probably shouldn’t hold you from the rest of it. I’m just here to paint a few scenes and do some portraits.”

“Actually uhm, could I stay?” He asked, shifting on his feet. Jens knew it was probably a weird thing to ask upon meeting this stranger, that was the last thing Lucas felt like to him.

“Stay?” Lucas asked, obviously surprised at the question.

He nodded, holding his breath as he waited for him to laugh or tell him off. But Lucas didn’t do that. Instead, he smiled again and nodded.

“Sure Jens, you can stay. You can sit on that stool there if you want.”

“Thanks.” He grabbed the stool and pushed it closer to him, which Lucas pretended not to see even though a pink blush covered his face. And that’s when Jens noticed the most intricate detail about the boy in front of him.

There laid a mark, just above the right corner of his top.

And that’s when Jens finally knew.

-

“Isn’t it crazy that we’ve seen the same stars as those before us?” Lucas whispered, playing with a blade of grass as his head tilted up towards the night sky.

Hours had passed since their meeting, and Jens only left Lucas for a little while when he had to film a few videos for the vlog or when Lucas had a customer to paint. But he knew he couldn’t leave him just yet and met up with him, even when the fair was done for the day. So they walked towards a nearby meadow, surrounded by trees and away from the late bustle of the town. From here, the stars began to dance brightly before their very eyes, in the brightest light any of them had ever seen.

Feeling the soft blades of grass against his own back, Jens turned his head to also look up. “I’m pretty sure it’s because they don’t die in our lifetime.”

“And probably not in any other.” He said, still looking up. “Lives before our own have witness the same stars.”

Lucas turned his head to face Jens with a small smile. “Aren’t you supposed to be with your friends?”

“They know I’m here. I think they’re getting drunk at some pub. Besides, I think I should be here right now. With you.”

Grinning, he let out a soft chuckle. “Can I say something crazy?”

“Go ahead.”

“I don’t think this is the first time I’ve met you.”

Jens turned his head to face him, Lucas’ eyes wide and blue. “I don’t think this is the first time I’ve met you either.” He breathed out.

Reaching out, he felt Lucas brush his fingertips across his cheek. They grazed over the small marks on his face, pressing onto them gently.

“I know these marks.” He whispered. “I used to see them in some of my dreams. I think I’ve seen you in some of my dreams too. But it’s a little different. I don’t know how, but it is.”

“Do you believe in past lives?” Jens whispered.

He nodded.

“Well,” Jens said softly, letting his eyes lower onto the mark above Lucas’ lips. “I’ve been told that marks are often left by lovers of our past lives.”

He giggled, and it rang through his body like sounds of tinkling bells. “Who told you that?”

Jens smirked and shrugged. “It’s just something I know.”

Holding his breath, he reached out and let his thumb brush over Lucas’ mark. Lucas didn’t flinch from under him and only melted against his touch.

“It’s you.” Jens whispered out. He didn’t know what the words meant or why he said them, but he knew they had to be said. “I’ve come back to you.”

Lucas held his breath and searched Jens’ face. And as he did, he noticed the same way his blue eyes marvelled at him. He looked at him in the same way he had looked at the night sky.

The same way he looked at him many lives ago.

“You found me.” Lucas breathed out. “You kept your promise.”

Leaning forward, he let his lips brush against his. But before he could let them fall and kiss the boy his soul had never forgotten, he whispered softly.

“Well this is surely one way to meet me.” He said, smirking against his lips.

A giggle escaped past the lips of the other boy and sent soft vibrations through his body.

“Welcome home.” Lucas whispered, pulling on the fabric of Jens’ shirt to close the space between them. “Now, I got you.”