Forever More 2/?
Title: Forever More 2/?
Pairing: Changmin/Yunho (minor Minho/Jonghyun, Kyuhyun/Donghae, Yoochun/Junsu)
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: They are gods to me ... maybe they are actually gods ... either way, all I can do is worship them.
Summary: Changmin is everything Yunho has ever wanted in a partner. Except that he isn't from Earth, or not Yunho's version of Earth. And there are expectations of Yunho that he is not sure he can fulfill. How do you decide between love and freedom?
A/N: This fic is a sequel to Nevermore
Warning: mentioned mpreg not my fault. Changmin wanted babies with Yunho
Poster made by me.
Part 2: The Crippling Expectations
Kissing Changmin felt the exact same whether in this realm or in the other. But thinking of which one Yunho actually belonged to made Yunho’s head hurt. So he didn’t.
Yunho sank into the kisses and touches and sensations. He followed Changmin’s lead and moved up on the bed, more in the middle, pillows all around them. His legs stayed hooked around Changmin’s back and their bodies rocked together.
Changmin slid a hand up the back of Yunho’s thigh. He paused long enough to squeeze the muscle and continued up, cupping Yunho’s balls through the thin, tight pants and pushing his palm against his trapped erection.
Yunho groaned and tried to spread his legs more.
“Do you want more than kisses?” Changmin asked.
“Please, please.” He shoved his hands between them, unfastening the pants with shaking hands.
“Let me do it, my wings,” Changmin whispered. He pulled Yunho’s hands up, curling his fingers around Yunho’s. He brought them up to his mouth and kissed his knuckles.
Yunho’s chest heaved with deep breaths, too tight from all the conflicting emotions in his heart and mind. He pulled his hands back, above his head, and gripped the pillow. “Please, please!”
Changmin ran his hands up Yunho’s chest. He slowly unbuttoned the shirt and pulled it from the pants. He spread it open but did not let Yunho up to take it off. He continued the caresses on his skin, fingertips teasing his nipples, for a few more moments before going to the pants. He finished unfastening them. LIke the shirt, he spread them open, readjusting until Yunho’s cock and balls hung from them, pinched just enough for the sensation to be almost painful..
Yunho moaned, hips rising into Changmin’s touches. Changmin moved, shifting down the bed. Yunho’s legs stay around him, feet at his lower back. Changmin licked his lips and then licked the ridge of Yunho’s cock.
“Fuck,” Yunho gasped.
Changmin chuckled and licked down the shaft. He sucked lightly on Yunho’s sac. He gripped Yunho’s thighs and pressed a line of soft kisses up to the head of his erection. “I love the way you fit in my mouth,” Changmin murmured and then used his lips to lift Yunho’s cock and slip it into his mouth.
Yunho moaned and shifted his hips.
Changmin hummed and when he did not hold Yunho down, Yunho thrust up into his mouth. He released the grip on the pillow and tangled his hands in Changmin’s hair instead. Changmin let him, so Yunho took the offering. He planted his feet on the bed and thrust into Changmin’s mouth, pleasure spiraling out of control and spreading fast. A combination of nerves and lust had Yunho on the brink of orgasm a little too quickly.
In a moment of pure euphoria, Yunho noted that his moans and whimpers sounded much better echoing off the rock walls of Changmin’s room than his painted drywall of his bedroom at home.
“Fuck, fuck, Min. Changmin-ah!”
Changmin tugged on his balls a little longer and sank down farther on his cock. He sucked, bobbing his head up and down. The pleasure reached its peak, and Yunho’s back arched off the bed as he came, exploding into Changmin’s mouth, and slamming down on the bed. His body went slack. Changmin sucked the last few weak pulses of his releases and swallowed.
Yunho gasped in the silence. His stomach twitched with every kiss Changmin landed on his way up to his lips. He kissed Yunho deeply and Yunho sighed, twisting one hand into his hair and tugging at his hips with the other. Changmin fell on top of him.
“I want you to fuck me,” Yunho growled. “Please.”
Changmin smiled. “Anything you--”
“Yo, Changmin!”
Changmin shut his eyes with an annoyed sigh.
Yunho groaned.
Jaejoong shouted for him again.
“What?” Changmin snapped.
Jaejoong walked around the rock formation that provided the bedroom with a little privacy. He looked very different than the stylish, jewelry clad man on Earth. Here his accessories were weapons. He had a sword on his belt, a knife on the outside of his boot and in a holster on his forearm, a bow flung over his shoulder, and a quiver full of arrows. Yunho had a feeling there were more knives hidden on his body.
Jaejoong leaned against the rock pillar and smirked at them. “Your mother is quite annoyed that you have yet to greet her since you have returned. I have been sent to fetch you.”
“Are you going to drag me by my ear?” Changmin demanded.
Jaejoong smirked. “If need be. I am more terrified of your mother than I am of you. Add your sisters who are whispering their revenge, and I will do almost anything to placate them. Lunch is being served in about ten minutes. I strongly suggest you be there.”
Changmin sighed. “On the veranda?”
“Of course.”
Changmin looked down at Yunho. He smiled and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I will stay if you tell me to stay.”
With a smile, Yunho shook his head. “I am hungry, and it is only postponing the inevitable.”
Changmin nodded. “You’ll need to change your pants.”
Jaejoong laughed.
“Go away, please, Apex,” Changmin said.
“I will be right outside.”
“Some days I hate him,” Changmin muttered.
Yunho smiled and did not protest when Changmin spent the next couple of minutes kissing him.
“You do not have to talk to my parents if you do not want to.”
Yunho shook his head. “It seems rude not to go when invited.”
Changmin nodded. “It is. But they will also understand.”
“I don’t want to make a bad impression.”
“Impossible.”
Yunho flushed.
“Oh my mother loving fuck, Changmin. Come on!”
Changmin huffed. “Should fuck you just to spite him.”
“Should fuck me because I want you to.”
Changmin moaned, hips rocking against Yunho’s again. “Later. I promise.”
Yunho laughed. “Okay, get off me.”
Changmin grumbled, but he rolled to the side. Yunho followed him up and off the bed and into the closet that was more of a room. Shirts and jackets hung on a series of hooks and knobs all around the room. Pants were folded on shelves. Boots lined both sides of the closet on smaller shelves.
“Everyday clothes are on the left,” Changmin said. “Formal things are on the right.”
“Dinner with your parents, which one do we wear?”
“Just everyday clothes. If a visiting dignitary from the Swans was going to be at lunch, then we would dress up. These pants--” He pulled off a dark blue pair from the shelf near his head. “--are a little too big for me. You can wear them. They are not as tight so may be more comfortable for you.” Changmin turned around. “I cannot watch you change without bending you over a shelf. Be quick.”
“I’d rather be bent over a shelf,” Yunho muttered, stripping out of the pants. There was some come on his stomach and on the shirt, so he took it off and wiped at his skin. The new pants were a little looser, and Yunho did not feel as exposed in them. He wondered what shirt to wear, thought of asking Changmin, but pulled the first black one off a hook. The long sleeves were a little short, hitting above his wrists, so he rolled them up to mid-forearm. He remembered to tuck the shirt into the looser pants and buttoned all but three of the buttons. He did not have a mirror to look at himself and did not see one in the closet.
The dark blues of the necklace that Changmin had bought him matched the outfit perfectly.
After a deep breath, he walked through the bedroom and into the main area.
Changmin stared, mouth open for a moment before shutting. Yunho flushed and looked away, tugging at the shirt sleeves.
“Holy fuck,” Jaejoong gasped.
Changmin smacked his arm without taking his eyes off Yunho. “You are never going to go to another realm if all you do is pick up their curse words.”
“Are you going to let him go to lunch like that?”
“Yes,” Changmin said and smiled.
“Is ... is it wrong?” Yunho stammered. “I’m sorry but ... there was come on the other shirt, and I just ...”
“It’s perfect,” Changmin said, moving to stand next to him. He ignored Jaejoong’s snort of disbelief and ran his hands over Yunho’s broad shoulders. “Black is the color of the Ravens. By wearing this shirt, you are aligning yourself with us, proclaiming yourself as a Raven, and showing everyone who looks at you that you are my equal and not my servant from another clan.”
Yunho swallowed and suddenly wished he had picked another shirt.
“You look marvelous.” Changmin kissed his cheek. “Come on.” He held out his hand.
Yunho took it with another deep breath. Jaejoong led the way out of Changmin’s rooms. He went into the rock, down a tunnel lit with torches. A few hundred feet, he turned a corner and headed up a spiral rock staircase. Changmin let Yunho go first and followed them up.
At the top of the stairs was another door. Jaejoong opened it and Yunho immediately felt a breeze and saw the sunshine. They were in an open cavern, the ceiling high above their heads. The bottom a flat stone floor, and it ended at a ledge that was painted with sunshine. Trees framed the opening, both on the sides of the cavern and the treetops beyond the wooden railing. There were three round tables set up around the area. Five people sat at a table near the line of sunlight. The other two tables were in the sunlight, closer to the edge. Both were empty.
“Changminnie!” a girl shouted and jumped up from her chair. Another followed suit and both ran to him. Changmin let Yunho go and accepted enthusiastic hugs and kisses from both girls.
“His sisters,” Jaejoong said. “Sooyeon, who is twenty-three, and Jiyeon, who is eighteen. The other girl is Seohyun, and Changmin’s parents.”
Before Yunho could do anything more than swallow, he was under the scrutiny of all of them.
“Well, bring him here.” The older woman said. Her hair was going gray and pulled up at the top of her head in an intricate design. A circlet of silver hewn leaves sat upon her head. Black sparkling jewels were embedded in it. A quick glance showed the other girls with similar hair styles. All the women were in tight dresses, body hugging and showing off way more in the bust area than anything Yunho had seen in Korea. Only Seohyun’s dress was green, the others shades of blues.
Changmin’s father wore a white shirt, much like Changmin’s.
Changmin smiled at Yunho and put his arm around Yunho’s waist. “Relax.”
Yunho snorted.
Jaejoong chuckled. He went first and bowed forty-five degrees. “Good afternoon, Raven King and Queen, princesses.”
Changmin’s mother waved at him in dismissal. “Your attitude is almost worse than before,” she said, though it lacked venom.
Jaejoong smiled. “The other realm was quite interesting.” He sat casually in a chair and reached for one of the plates of food.
“I enjoyed it,” Changmin said, moving to two empty chairs.
Yunho was not sure what to do, but he did emulate Jaejoong and bowed to the king and queen. The girls actually squealed before being shut up by a sharp noise from their mother.
Changmin ran his hand along Yunho’s back. “This is Jung Yunho.”
Yunho stood up quickly when Changmin’s hand threatened to touch his ass.
Changmin smiled. “My mother and father, who you are to call the Raven King and Raven Queen. My friend Seohyun, and my sisters Sooyeon and Jiyeon.”
“It ... it is nice to meet all of you,” Yunho managed to say, throat a little tight.
Changmin motioned to a chair, one between himself and Jaejoong. He sat down and found himself directly across the round table from Seohyun in her low cut gown. There was no circlet in her brown hair, but she did wear a green necklace with matching earrings and bracelets.
Changmin pulled stone and wooden dishes toward them, piling the bowl in front of Yunho with fruits, vegetables and cold meat strips. There were chopsticks, thankfully, but a thicker set than Yunho was used to. Changmin showed him how to use a square utensil, its thick end carved like a spoon, by holding it still as a place to secure a bite to eat with the chopsticks.
His hand shook, and fortunately, Jaejoong started conversation about the food of Yunho’s realm and how the flavors were different. It interested the girls enough to ask questions, and Yunho was able to eat, though still very aware of the Raven Queen’s scrutiny. Yunho liked the food, or at least this food. The meat was tender and spicy. He had always loved vegetables, and these were no different even if they looked strange with purple, green, and orange flesh.
“Do you cook, Yunho?” the Raven Queen asked him.
“Mother,” Changmin admonished.
Yunho swallowed the food in his mouth. He did not know why that question upset Changmin, but he told the truth. “Not very well. I never ... never had to learn with my own mother, sister and friends to cook for me.”
The Raven Queen glanced at Seohyun with a self-satisfied smirk.
“And the restaurants,” Jaejoong said. “You don’t need to cook in Yunho’s realm. You can just go out and have someone do it for you. They are very popular and all sorts. Even bakeries like here.”
Changmin waved Jaejoong silence. He leaned over to Yunho and said, “I do not expect you to live up to the expectations of my parents. Here, it is expected that the future queen knows how to cook and prepare food. She is in charge of the kitchens and harvest. But I can hardly expect you to know that since you were not raised here.” He shot a look at his mother. “I had hoped that my mother would not pit you against Seohyun so soon. Please excuse her behavior.”
“That is entirely inappropriate,” the King Raven said. “Apologize to your mother.”
“I will not.”
Yunho touched Changmin’s arm. “It’s okay.”
Changmin shook his head. “It is not.”
“He must know his duties as a candidate for your wife,” the Raven Queen said.
Changmin glared at his mother. “He will not be my wife. He will be my husband, my partner, and as far as I am concerned, and as far as Seohyun is concerned, he is the only candidate.”
“You cannot marry him if we do not approve, and he is nothing more than your body servant.”
Body servant? Yunho glanced at Changmin, but Changmin did not look at him, glaring at his mother.
“If you will not approve of him,” Changmin said, “then I will live with him in his realm.”
The silence that followed was alarming. Yunho caught Jaejoong fingering the hilt of a knife on his belt.
Changmin continued eating.
“So, Yunho,” Seohyun said and ignored the look the Raven Queen shot her, “tell us about your family in your realm. I cannot say that we got along with those of your kin in this realm, but maybe the ones you grew up with are better behaved?”
Yunho smiled at her and shook his head. “Unfortunately, I doubt that they’d approve. In my realm, men being attracted to men and men marrying men is not accepted. My father threw me out of the house when I was just twenty. I have spoken to my sister recently, but my parents do not think I exist.”
Seohyun looked pained, like she wanted to apologize.
Yunho hurried on. “But I do have two friends that I consider family. They have been very supportive of me coming here and seeing what this realm is like.”
“Yoochun and Junsu,” Jaejoong said. “I miss them already.”
Changmin snorted, and Yunho finally smiled. He told them about living in the same building as Junsu’s family when he was young, and then meeting Yoochun in college. He kept his comments geared toward Seohyun, but he was very aware of the glares that passed between Changmin and his mother.
“Minho wants to see you,” Seohyun said. “He was invited to lunch, but with Jonghyun so close to delivering their baby, he does not want to leave his side.”
“Minho is my cousin,” Changmin said. “He’s the next in line to be Raven King if I decide that I do not want it.” He glared at his mother.
“Stop being a brat,” Seohyun said.
“I would like you to meet him,” Changmin continued and took Yunho’s hand. “You two will get along very well, I think.”
Yunho cleared his throat. “Okay.”
A group of servants materialized out of thin air (or at least that is what it looked like to Yunho). Some removed the plates and others brought out more. These plates held a combination of berries, fruit that looked like pears, and cream. It was all dusted with a spice that looked like cinnamon but tasted a little earthier. Yunho loved it, and he ate all of the dessert on his plate, and only blushed a little when Changmin held out a few bites of his own for him.
When dessert finished, Changmin stood up, bowed to his parents, and Yunho was quick to copy him.
“We will have your engagement announcement at the end of the week.”
Changmin turned around and shook his head. “You will have it after I have asked Yunho to accept my hand in marriage.”
“He has not?” the King said in surprise.
Changmin smiled at Yunho. “As he has told me many times, we barely know each other.”
“Then I guess we will announce your engagement to--”
“You will not,” Changmin said firmly. “As much as I love Seohyun, she knows that I am not going to marry her.”
Seohyun smiled. “I had my doubts until this lunch. You have never looked at me the way that you look at Yunho.”
His sisters cooed at him, and Changmin’s neck flushed.
“It is rather sickening,” Jaejoong added from Yunho’s elbow. Yunho had not realized that he had stood up.
“The announcement of my engagement will happen only when I want it to happen. That is not this week, nor next week, nor the one after that.”
Changmin bowed to them again, turned around, and pulled Yunho back into the cavern and through the passageways.
“Is that anyway to escort a lady?”
Changmin stopped and all three turned to see Seohyun following after them. The dress was surprising. After so much skin at the top, low cut and only thin straps at the shoulders, it billowed out at the waist in multiple layers that looked like leaves in the trees.
“Invite me to come with you,” Seohyun demanded, hands on her hips. She glared up at Changmin. Her head barely reached his chin.
Changmin smiled and bowed. “Would you like to accompany us to Minho’s alcoves?”
Seohyun drew even with Yunho and forced her hand at his elbow. Yunho swallowed, but curled his arm appropriately. “I would be glad to. Thank you.”
Changmin rolled his eyes.
“I feel so sorry for the man who finally marries you,” Jaejoong said.
Seohyun smacked his arm. “I hear Jinki was hoping to ask me.”
Changmin nodded. “I will formally remove any claim upon you so that he may.”
“You may want to wait to do that until after your mother--”
“My mother may do as she wants. I told her quite frequently that I would not announce my engagement until I found Yunho, and now, as Jaejoong has pointed out to me more than once, I will wait until Yunho agrees.”
“If he does not?” Seohyun asked.
Changmin looked over at him. “I will do everything I can to change his mind.”
Yunho stared straight ahead of them, counting the decorative rock formations as they passed. Silence settled, and Seohyun squeezed his arm. Yunho attempted to smile, but did not look down because even he could tell that the smile was more of a grimace.
A/N: Just a little side note. The title of the main HoMin pic I use for this fic (points up) is "HoMin Just Married" :)
Part 3: The Birds and the Bees
Part 1: The Trees and Cliffs
.
Pairing: Changmin/Yunho (minor Minho/Jonghyun, Kyuhyun/Donghae, Yoochun/Junsu)
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: They are gods to me ... maybe they are actually gods ... either way, all I can do is worship them.
Summary: Changmin is everything Yunho has ever wanted in a partner. Except that he isn't from Earth, or not Yunho's version of Earth. And there are expectations of Yunho that he is not sure he can fulfill. How do you decide between love and freedom?
A/N: This fic is a sequel to Nevermore
Warning: mentioned mpreg not my fault. Changmin wanted babies with Yunho
Poster made by me.
Part 2: The Crippling Expectations
Kissing Changmin felt the exact same whether in this realm or in the other. But thinking of which one Yunho actually belonged to made Yunho’s head hurt. So he didn’t.
Yunho sank into the kisses and touches and sensations. He followed Changmin’s lead and moved up on the bed, more in the middle, pillows all around them. His legs stayed hooked around Changmin’s back and their bodies rocked together.
Changmin slid a hand up the back of Yunho’s thigh. He paused long enough to squeeze the muscle and continued up, cupping Yunho’s balls through the thin, tight pants and pushing his palm against his trapped erection.
Yunho groaned and tried to spread his legs more.
“Do you want more than kisses?” Changmin asked.
“Please, please.” He shoved his hands between them, unfastening the pants with shaking hands.
“Let me do it, my wings,” Changmin whispered. He pulled Yunho’s hands up, curling his fingers around Yunho’s. He brought them up to his mouth and kissed his knuckles.
Yunho’s chest heaved with deep breaths, too tight from all the conflicting emotions in his heart and mind. He pulled his hands back, above his head, and gripped the pillow. “Please, please!”
Changmin ran his hands up Yunho’s chest. He slowly unbuttoned the shirt and pulled it from the pants. He spread it open but did not let Yunho up to take it off. He continued the caresses on his skin, fingertips teasing his nipples, for a few more moments before going to the pants. He finished unfastening them. LIke the shirt, he spread them open, readjusting until Yunho’s cock and balls hung from them, pinched just enough for the sensation to be almost painful..
Yunho moaned, hips rising into Changmin’s touches. Changmin moved, shifting down the bed. Yunho’s legs stay around him, feet at his lower back. Changmin licked his lips and then licked the ridge of Yunho’s cock.
“Fuck,” Yunho gasped.
Changmin chuckled and licked down the shaft. He sucked lightly on Yunho’s sac. He gripped Yunho’s thighs and pressed a line of soft kisses up to the head of his erection. “I love the way you fit in my mouth,” Changmin murmured and then used his lips to lift Yunho’s cock and slip it into his mouth.
Yunho moaned and shifted his hips.
Changmin hummed and when he did not hold Yunho down, Yunho thrust up into his mouth. He released the grip on the pillow and tangled his hands in Changmin’s hair instead. Changmin let him, so Yunho took the offering. He planted his feet on the bed and thrust into Changmin’s mouth, pleasure spiraling out of control and spreading fast. A combination of nerves and lust had Yunho on the brink of orgasm a little too quickly.
In a moment of pure euphoria, Yunho noted that his moans and whimpers sounded much better echoing off the rock walls of Changmin’s room than his painted drywall of his bedroom at home.
“Fuck, fuck, Min. Changmin-ah!”
Changmin tugged on his balls a little longer and sank down farther on his cock. He sucked, bobbing his head up and down. The pleasure reached its peak, and Yunho’s back arched off the bed as he came, exploding into Changmin’s mouth, and slamming down on the bed. His body went slack. Changmin sucked the last few weak pulses of his releases and swallowed.
Yunho gasped in the silence. His stomach twitched with every kiss Changmin landed on his way up to his lips. He kissed Yunho deeply and Yunho sighed, twisting one hand into his hair and tugging at his hips with the other. Changmin fell on top of him.
“I want you to fuck me,” Yunho growled. “Please.”
Changmin smiled. “Anything you--”
“Yo, Changmin!”
Changmin shut his eyes with an annoyed sigh.
Yunho groaned.
Jaejoong shouted for him again.
“What?” Changmin snapped.
Jaejoong walked around the rock formation that provided the bedroom with a little privacy. He looked very different than the stylish, jewelry clad man on Earth. Here his accessories were weapons. He had a sword on his belt, a knife on the outside of his boot and in a holster on his forearm, a bow flung over his shoulder, and a quiver full of arrows. Yunho had a feeling there were more knives hidden on his body.
Jaejoong leaned against the rock pillar and smirked at them. “Your mother is quite annoyed that you have yet to greet her since you have returned. I have been sent to fetch you.”
“Are you going to drag me by my ear?” Changmin demanded.
Jaejoong smirked. “If need be. I am more terrified of your mother than I am of you. Add your sisters who are whispering their revenge, and I will do almost anything to placate them. Lunch is being served in about ten minutes. I strongly suggest you be there.”
Changmin sighed. “On the veranda?”
“Of course.”
Changmin looked down at Yunho. He smiled and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I will stay if you tell me to stay.”
With a smile, Yunho shook his head. “I am hungry, and it is only postponing the inevitable.”
Changmin nodded. “You’ll need to change your pants.”
Jaejoong laughed.
“Go away, please, Apex,” Changmin said.
“I will be right outside.”
“Some days I hate him,” Changmin muttered.
Yunho smiled and did not protest when Changmin spent the next couple of minutes kissing him.
“You do not have to talk to my parents if you do not want to.”
Yunho shook his head. “It seems rude not to go when invited.”
Changmin nodded. “It is. But they will also understand.”
“I don’t want to make a bad impression.”
“Impossible.”
Yunho flushed.
“Oh my mother loving fuck, Changmin. Come on!”
Changmin huffed. “Should fuck you just to spite him.”
“Should fuck me because I want you to.”
Changmin moaned, hips rocking against Yunho’s again. “Later. I promise.”
Yunho laughed. “Okay, get off me.”
Changmin grumbled, but he rolled to the side. Yunho followed him up and off the bed and into the closet that was more of a room. Shirts and jackets hung on a series of hooks and knobs all around the room. Pants were folded on shelves. Boots lined both sides of the closet on smaller shelves.
“Everyday clothes are on the left,” Changmin said. “Formal things are on the right.”
“Dinner with your parents, which one do we wear?”
“Just everyday clothes. If a visiting dignitary from the Swans was going to be at lunch, then we would dress up. These pants--” He pulled off a dark blue pair from the shelf near his head. “--are a little too big for me. You can wear them. They are not as tight so may be more comfortable for you.” Changmin turned around. “I cannot watch you change without bending you over a shelf. Be quick.”
“I’d rather be bent over a shelf,” Yunho muttered, stripping out of the pants. There was some come on his stomach and on the shirt, so he took it off and wiped at his skin. The new pants were a little looser, and Yunho did not feel as exposed in them. He wondered what shirt to wear, thought of asking Changmin, but pulled the first black one off a hook. The long sleeves were a little short, hitting above his wrists, so he rolled them up to mid-forearm. He remembered to tuck the shirt into the looser pants and buttoned all but three of the buttons. He did not have a mirror to look at himself and did not see one in the closet.
The dark blues of the necklace that Changmin had bought him matched the outfit perfectly.
After a deep breath, he walked through the bedroom and into the main area.
Changmin stared, mouth open for a moment before shutting. Yunho flushed and looked away, tugging at the shirt sleeves.
“Holy fuck,” Jaejoong gasped.
Changmin smacked his arm without taking his eyes off Yunho. “You are never going to go to another realm if all you do is pick up their curse words.”
“Are you going to let him go to lunch like that?”
“Yes,” Changmin said and smiled.
“Is ... is it wrong?” Yunho stammered. “I’m sorry but ... there was come on the other shirt, and I just ...”
“It’s perfect,” Changmin said, moving to stand next to him. He ignored Jaejoong’s snort of disbelief and ran his hands over Yunho’s broad shoulders. “Black is the color of the Ravens. By wearing this shirt, you are aligning yourself with us, proclaiming yourself as a Raven, and showing everyone who looks at you that you are my equal and not my servant from another clan.”
Yunho swallowed and suddenly wished he had picked another shirt.
“You look marvelous.” Changmin kissed his cheek. “Come on.” He held out his hand.
Yunho took it with another deep breath. Jaejoong led the way out of Changmin’s rooms. He went into the rock, down a tunnel lit with torches. A few hundred feet, he turned a corner and headed up a spiral rock staircase. Changmin let Yunho go first and followed them up.
At the top of the stairs was another door. Jaejoong opened it and Yunho immediately felt a breeze and saw the sunshine. They were in an open cavern, the ceiling high above their heads. The bottom a flat stone floor, and it ended at a ledge that was painted with sunshine. Trees framed the opening, both on the sides of the cavern and the treetops beyond the wooden railing. There were three round tables set up around the area. Five people sat at a table near the line of sunlight. The other two tables were in the sunlight, closer to the edge. Both were empty.
“Changminnie!” a girl shouted and jumped up from her chair. Another followed suit and both ran to him. Changmin let Yunho go and accepted enthusiastic hugs and kisses from both girls.
“His sisters,” Jaejoong said. “Sooyeon, who is twenty-three, and Jiyeon, who is eighteen. The other girl is Seohyun, and Changmin’s parents.”
Before Yunho could do anything more than swallow, he was under the scrutiny of all of them.
“Well, bring him here.” The older woman said. Her hair was going gray and pulled up at the top of her head in an intricate design. A circlet of silver hewn leaves sat upon her head. Black sparkling jewels were embedded in it. A quick glance showed the other girls with similar hair styles. All the women were in tight dresses, body hugging and showing off way more in the bust area than anything Yunho had seen in Korea. Only Seohyun’s dress was green, the others shades of blues.
Changmin’s father wore a white shirt, much like Changmin’s.
Changmin smiled at Yunho and put his arm around Yunho’s waist. “Relax.”
Yunho snorted.
Jaejoong chuckled. He went first and bowed forty-five degrees. “Good afternoon, Raven King and Queen, princesses.”
Changmin’s mother waved at him in dismissal. “Your attitude is almost worse than before,” she said, though it lacked venom.
Jaejoong smiled. “The other realm was quite interesting.” He sat casually in a chair and reached for one of the plates of food.
“I enjoyed it,” Changmin said, moving to two empty chairs.
Yunho was not sure what to do, but he did emulate Jaejoong and bowed to the king and queen. The girls actually squealed before being shut up by a sharp noise from their mother.
Changmin ran his hand along Yunho’s back. “This is Jung Yunho.”
Yunho stood up quickly when Changmin’s hand threatened to touch his ass.
Changmin smiled. “My mother and father, who you are to call the Raven King and Raven Queen. My friend Seohyun, and my sisters Sooyeon and Jiyeon.”
“It ... it is nice to meet all of you,” Yunho managed to say, throat a little tight.
Changmin motioned to a chair, one between himself and Jaejoong. He sat down and found himself directly across the round table from Seohyun in her low cut gown. There was no circlet in her brown hair, but she did wear a green necklace with matching earrings and bracelets.
Changmin pulled stone and wooden dishes toward them, piling the bowl in front of Yunho with fruits, vegetables and cold meat strips. There were chopsticks, thankfully, but a thicker set than Yunho was used to. Changmin showed him how to use a square utensil, its thick end carved like a spoon, by holding it still as a place to secure a bite to eat with the chopsticks.
His hand shook, and fortunately, Jaejoong started conversation about the food of Yunho’s realm and how the flavors were different. It interested the girls enough to ask questions, and Yunho was able to eat, though still very aware of the Raven Queen’s scrutiny. Yunho liked the food, or at least this food. The meat was tender and spicy. He had always loved vegetables, and these were no different even if they looked strange with purple, green, and orange flesh.
“Do you cook, Yunho?” the Raven Queen asked him.
“Mother,” Changmin admonished.
Yunho swallowed the food in his mouth. He did not know why that question upset Changmin, but he told the truth. “Not very well. I never ... never had to learn with my own mother, sister and friends to cook for me.”
The Raven Queen glanced at Seohyun with a self-satisfied smirk.
“And the restaurants,” Jaejoong said. “You don’t need to cook in Yunho’s realm. You can just go out and have someone do it for you. They are very popular and all sorts. Even bakeries like here.”
Changmin waved Jaejoong silence. He leaned over to Yunho and said, “I do not expect you to live up to the expectations of my parents. Here, it is expected that the future queen knows how to cook and prepare food. She is in charge of the kitchens and harvest. But I can hardly expect you to know that since you were not raised here.” He shot a look at his mother. “I had hoped that my mother would not pit you against Seohyun so soon. Please excuse her behavior.”
“That is entirely inappropriate,” the King Raven said. “Apologize to your mother.”
“I will not.”
Yunho touched Changmin’s arm. “It’s okay.”
Changmin shook his head. “It is not.”
“He must know his duties as a candidate for your wife,” the Raven Queen said.
Changmin glared at his mother. “He will not be my wife. He will be my husband, my partner, and as far as I am concerned, and as far as Seohyun is concerned, he is the only candidate.”
“You cannot marry him if we do not approve, and he is nothing more than your body servant.”
Body servant? Yunho glanced at Changmin, but Changmin did not look at him, glaring at his mother.
“If you will not approve of him,” Changmin said, “then I will live with him in his realm.”
The silence that followed was alarming. Yunho caught Jaejoong fingering the hilt of a knife on his belt.
Changmin continued eating.
“So, Yunho,” Seohyun said and ignored the look the Raven Queen shot her, “tell us about your family in your realm. I cannot say that we got along with those of your kin in this realm, but maybe the ones you grew up with are better behaved?”
Yunho smiled at her and shook his head. “Unfortunately, I doubt that they’d approve. In my realm, men being attracted to men and men marrying men is not accepted. My father threw me out of the house when I was just twenty. I have spoken to my sister recently, but my parents do not think I exist.”
Seohyun looked pained, like she wanted to apologize.
Yunho hurried on. “But I do have two friends that I consider family. They have been very supportive of me coming here and seeing what this realm is like.”
“Yoochun and Junsu,” Jaejoong said. “I miss them already.”
Changmin snorted, and Yunho finally smiled. He told them about living in the same building as Junsu’s family when he was young, and then meeting Yoochun in college. He kept his comments geared toward Seohyun, but he was very aware of the glares that passed between Changmin and his mother.
“Minho wants to see you,” Seohyun said. “He was invited to lunch, but with Jonghyun so close to delivering their baby, he does not want to leave his side.”
“Minho is my cousin,” Changmin said. “He’s the next in line to be Raven King if I decide that I do not want it.” He glared at his mother.
“Stop being a brat,” Seohyun said.
“I would like you to meet him,” Changmin continued and took Yunho’s hand. “You two will get along very well, I think.”
Yunho cleared his throat. “Okay.”
A group of servants materialized out of thin air (or at least that is what it looked like to Yunho). Some removed the plates and others brought out more. These plates held a combination of berries, fruit that looked like pears, and cream. It was all dusted with a spice that looked like cinnamon but tasted a little earthier. Yunho loved it, and he ate all of the dessert on his plate, and only blushed a little when Changmin held out a few bites of his own for him.
When dessert finished, Changmin stood up, bowed to his parents, and Yunho was quick to copy him.
“We will have your engagement announcement at the end of the week.”
Changmin turned around and shook his head. “You will have it after I have asked Yunho to accept my hand in marriage.”
“He has not?” the King said in surprise.
Changmin smiled at Yunho. “As he has told me many times, we barely know each other.”
“Then I guess we will announce your engagement to--”
“You will not,” Changmin said firmly. “As much as I love Seohyun, she knows that I am not going to marry her.”
Seohyun smiled. “I had my doubts until this lunch. You have never looked at me the way that you look at Yunho.”
His sisters cooed at him, and Changmin’s neck flushed.
“It is rather sickening,” Jaejoong added from Yunho’s elbow. Yunho had not realized that he had stood up.
“The announcement of my engagement will happen only when I want it to happen. That is not this week, nor next week, nor the one after that.”
Changmin bowed to them again, turned around, and pulled Yunho back into the cavern and through the passageways.
“Is that anyway to escort a lady?”
Changmin stopped and all three turned to see Seohyun following after them. The dress was surprising. After so much skin at the top, low cut and only thin straps at the shoulders, it billowed out at the waist in multiple layers that looked like leaves in the trees.
“Invite me to come with you,” Seohyun demanded, hands on her hips. She glared up at Changmin. Her head barely reached his chin.
Changmin smiled and bowed. “Would you like to accompany us to Minho’s alcoves?”
Seohyun drew even with Yunho and forced her hand at his elbow. Yunho swallowed, but curled his arm appropriately. “I would be glad to. Thank you.”
Changmin rolled his eyes.
“I feel so sorry for the man who finally marries you,” Jaejoong said.
Seohyun smacked his arm. “I hear Jinki was hoping to ask me.”
Changmin nodded. “I will formally remove any claim upon you so that he may.”
“You may want to wait to do that until after your mother--”
“My mother may do as she wants. I told her quite frequently that I would not announce my engagement until I found Yunho, and now, as Jaejoong has pointed out to me more than once, I will wait until Yunho agrees.”
“If he does not?” Seohyun asked.
Changmin looked over at him. “I will do everything I can to change his mind.”
Yunho stared straight ahead of them, counting the decorative rock formations as they passed. Silence settled, and Seohyun squeezed his arm. Yunho attempted to smile, but did not look down because even he could tell that the smile was more of a grimace.
A/N: Just a little side note. The title of the main HoMin pic I use for this fic (points up) is "HoMin Just Married" :)
Part 3: The Birds and the Bees
Part 1: The Trees and Cliffs
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