[Fic] The Cage - 2/2
Title: The Cage
Author: Coley Merrin
Pairing: Kyuhyun/Zhou Mi
Rating: R
Genre: AU, hurt/comfort, romance, fantasy
Warnings: Violence, injury, reference to past sexual coercion.
Summary: The son of a king, Kyuhyun is gifted a slave of extraordinary origin.
Part One
***
The temptation was too great. It felt like a sickness, needing to be close to Zhou Mi. When the fear overtook him, they sat at the edge of the cage, the door open just enough so that they could face each other. Hands touching, lips.
The longing in the songs that Zhou Mi played for him spoke deeply to him.
When he passed through Zhou Mi's food, they did not avoid touch as they once did. Zhou Mi's hands closing over Kyuhyun's. Until Kyuhyun had to pull away.
Even the dog missed Zhou Mi's presence. When Kyuhyun despaired of making the puppy listen to anything, Zhou Mi had stepped in with a laugh. Their few stolen moments at the end of the day, the cover of night in the garden. Bidding the dog to sit, and in front of Kyuhyun's incredulous eyes, the dog had sat. The pup all but vibrating, staring eagerly at Zhou Mi as though he had hung the stars and was made of bacon.
Getting the same response from the dog himself had taken a bit more effort. But Zhou Mi had been encouraging. It could be done. And it was kind of silly to be jealous, but the dog would sit beside Zhou Mi's cage and whine, scratching at the glass with a paw as though he could make it to Zhou Mi that way. It did not screech, merely making little tinkling noises as Zhou Mi soothed the dog from inside. He was like that dog, begging for attention.
But so was Zhou Mi. Sitting and watching him pass with huge eyes. When Kyuhyun deemed it safe to let Zhou Mi out, he did not have to reach for Zhou Mi. Zhou Mi reached for him. Standing to envelop Kyuhyun in some mysterious scent, silk soft and warm against Zhou Mi's skin. He wondered if what he smelled was what enchantments were in the cage. Or if it was Zhou Mi himself. Heady, sharp and rich.
Like the taste of Zhou Mi's mouth, as he held Zhou Mi against the cage wall, feeling Zhou Mi's lips part for his.
And he wanted the bed, where he could speak to Zhou Mi freely. Watching eagerly as Zhou Mi slid back onto it, and relaxed utterly. His smile knowing, welcoming as Kyuhyun climbed after him.
There was no magic or enchantment that drove his mouth as he tasted Zhou Mi's skin. The luxury of the endless torso beneath his hands, Zhou Mi's moans against his throat. The silk of Zhou Mi's robe was slick and cool beneath his knees, and it was contrasted to the warmth as Zhou Mi held his face and kissed him.
The dog's bark had both of them jerking, and Zhou Mi stilled like a stone.
"Kyuhyun!"
But that was all Zhou Mi had time to say before the door of Kyuhyun's room opened, shuddering the wall as it banged against it. Not a servant.
His father.
He had a man in his bed. Not a man. Kyuhyun pushed Zhou Mi's head to the side. It was possibly his father did not know Zhou Mi's face. The lecture would be terrible, but he would risk it.
"Father, it's-"
"I knew you lied to me, boy. Too biddable, too fast to answer with lies. Who is he?"
"A village man-" Kyuhyun began.
"Another lie," his father spat. "It's the fairy. I see his chains."
The arm Zhou Mi rested between their chests twitched. Kyuhyun barely noticed them, only to wish them off. But his father was not so dim.
"It's not what it seems," Kyuhyun argued. And his robe was closed up, pulling Zhou Mi's up around him as well. They had not been naked fully. Something to be thankful for.
"You disobeyed, and risked your own safety. My safety! The slaver said he would try to poison your mind."
"The slaver lies," Kyuhyun ground out, standing to face his father. "He lies to take money from you. Fairies are not dangerous. He has done nothing to me."
"He has taken your senses and your pride. Lock him, or I will have my guards to it for you."
Zhou Mi was fully in his robe, and stood when Kyuhyun turned to him helplessly. Zhou Mi's head shook slightly. He knew there was nothing to be done. And Kyuhyun locked the cage without even daring a brush of Zhou Mi's skin.
"There. It is done. Are you satisfied?" Kyuhyun asked.
"No. I do not trust you with his taint. A guard will stand there now, day and night to keep you at your senses. The slaver sent word he would return within days. Perhaps he can break the magic over you."
"There is no magic! Father, listen-"
But his father's guard swept in, keeping Kyuhyun from following. And the other, standing sentry at the entrance to to the glass cage. The pup whined, and Kyuhyun sat silent.
The siege lasted three days. Kyuhyun was not under house arrest, expected to perform his duties under the watchful eye of a guard or his father. It kept his mind off of things, at least. Off the guard that stood silent near Zhou Mi. The only thing that calmed his mind was that he and he alone had control over Zhou Mi's actions. The guard could try and command all he wished, but Zhou Mi was immune. He dared not even speak to Zhou Mi, knowing it would get back to his father. The only thing he dared command was for music and song. The song only once. The music was easier, and less likely to make the dejected little fawn-colored puppy howl.
But the third day, it crackled. Even the weather seemed to know it, gray clouds rolling without the benefit of sun or rain. It had been a long time since Kyuhyun had seen Cai the slaver, but the sight of the hard face hadn't faded. He remembered the harsh lecture when after Zhou Mi had said his name, the stories Zhou Mi had told him. And oh, Zhou Mi had been careful, not telling him enough to hurt. But enough for Kyuhyun to fill in himself.
The guards brought the slaver in, and Kyuhyun rose, wanting to put himself between Zhou Mi and the man who had sold him.
But the guard held Kyuhyun back, with an apologetic look. Orders from Kyuhyun's father, no doubt. Zhou Mi stepped close, as there really was no other option.
"On your knees," the slaver said, and Zhou Mi went without hesitation or protest. The work of the chains, no doubt. "Tell him. Tell him you seduced him with your witchery."
Zhou Mi's head lifted. "I will not tell him an untruth."
Kyuhyun's breath caught, and the slaver's face reddened.
"Tell me," the slaver said, voice sickly sweet. "Which of the instruments do you favor most?"
"The flute," Zhou Mi responded immediately.
"Break it. Into as many pieces as you can."
"No!" Kyuhyun protested. "What reason is there for that?"
"He must be taught, boy."
But while Kyuhyun protested, Zhou Mi did as he was told. The bamboo shattering under his hands and feet. And there was sorrow on Zhou Mi's face.
"And now, another lesson. Bring the boy," the slaver told the guards.
And Kyuhyun watched as the slaver ordered Zhou Mi out of the cage, into the yard. The yard where he had Zhou Mi kneel.
"Kyuhyun, go," Zhou Mi whispered, so that the slaver could not hear.
But Kyuhyun's body had turned to ice, at the sight of the whip that the slaver's servant returned with.
"He has done nothing to deserve this!"
"Silence," the slaver told them both. "He will be taught. And it would do you well to see it. Guards, hold him there."
Zhou Mi looked as though he was struggling, at least in the way his eyes were flashing, breathing irregular as Kyuhyun was pushed down in front of him. That the slaver forced Zhou Mi to bare his own back was cruelty itself. He suspected the man would have had Zhou Mi whip himself if he could have guaranteed it done to his standards.
"Do not do this!" Kyuhyun demanded, hoping at least to delay. "You serve me."
"Your father will thank me for this education. Give me the lash."
Kyuhyun growled and reached for Zhou Mi's wrist. The warmth was not there in the chain, but he could feel the tingle against his fingertips. Perhaps there was still some way to save Zhou Mi from it.
"Can I order you not to feel the pain of this?" Kyuhyun asked. "You may speak."
"Yes," Zhou Mi breathed. "It may work."
"Then feel no pain from this man's whip. Feel only joy."
"The wounds will be gone by morning," Zhou Mi whispered. "He does this not for me. But for you."
And the lash fell, and fell. Stripe by bloody stripe. Zhou Mi breathed against his face and Kyuhyun stared up at the slaver and his determined face. Every ounce of hate in his body was in that look, and it was was wasted on the slaver. Determined enough to kill a man, if he chose, by whipping him to death. Zhou Mi was stronger than that. Kyuhyun was not.
He half wondered if Zhou Mi was hiding the pain, rather than shielded from it. But there was some peace in those eyes when he dared to look-
But he did not look again, when the lashes redoubled.
He watched it all. Because it was his fault.
***
Kyuhyun did not vomit, which was a small blessing. It would not have been from the wounds on Zhou Mi's back, or the blood, but the anger that slashed at him instead. He was shaking with it by the time he made it to his father's room. Zhou Mi had been put back into his cage "for safekeeping." The lashes visible as he crawled back inside. And the anger that Zhou Mi was alone, no one to tend his wounds, drove Kyuhyun even faster. He did not wait for his father to greet him or give him leave to speak.
"You taught me that the measure of a man is how he treats those below him. What kind of a man does that make me, if I allow the beating of an innocent man?"
"He is no man. It was a mistake to buy him."
"Then why did you?"
"Because I hoped if you could see him, it would make you attend to your duties. They said that having a slave such as him made men settle. And you had not dallied with any men since I bought him."
Kyuhyun's whole body stiffened. That his father knew-
"It does not matter that he is not human," Kyuhyun argued. "He still belongs to us, and should be treated that way. He is not to blame!"
"He has poisoned your mind. The slaver told me clearly of it. It will fade, my son."
"No, Father, it will not. Not as long as this injustice continues."
"Then we will sell him and end his hold on you."
Kyuhyun stood. "If you sell him, I will not be your son."
"Do you see! Why would you say that if you were not poisoned against me."
"Why can you not see the slaver is telling you lies to increase his profit, and satisfy his need to see others in pain? Of course he will buy back a fairy at a reduced price. And sell him again for twice that! This is not a plot against me. It is a plot against you."
But his father would not see. And Kyuhyun left less angry but more determined than ever.
***
It was sad that Kyuhyun had to bribe his own guard. Five minutes alone with the fairy. He wouldn't try to loose him. He wanted only to speak. And he granted money, money that would feed the guard's family for many months when it came to that.
Kyuhyun knelt by the small opening, so that he could look on Zhou Mi without obstruction. Zhou Mi was already there, though Kyuhyun would have had him stay still for his injuries.
"How do you feel?" Kyuhyun asked, covering Zhou Mi's hand inside the cage.
"Discomfort. Though I pretend to feel very bad when anyone looks," Zhou Mi said softy. "What did your father say?"
"Nothing I didn't expect. He will not listen to reason. He thinks you've poisoned me. Can you take us from here?"
"Running is not the option. You are your father's only son."
"He's young enough to marry and have another. I can't stay here and watch him sell you, to someone who will only treat you worse."
"Kyuhyun, that is something I could not tell you before. My time in these chains grows short. It meant he wished to cheat your father out of my service as well, so he worries. He knows the hold he has on me does not last forever."
"What do you mean?" Kyuhyun asked, not understanding.
"I am bound only one hundred years to servitude," Zhou Mi explained. "As the time ends, so does his hold on me. Once, he would have been able to induce me to lie to you, as he tried earlier. But no longer."
A hundred years of being passed from human to human. It was a grim thought indeed.
"Were all of them…bad like this? How long do you have left?"
"I cannot tell you exactly. But not long. And, no," Zhou Mi said smiled. "Not all bad."
And though he didn't know if he wanted the answer, the question came anyway. "Are there any masters you would want to return to?"
"Just one," Zhou Mi said, his voice soft. And lips softer, as they pressed against Kyuhyun's. The barest touch they could accomplish, separated as they were.
But the guard was nervous for his own safety, and the time ended. Far too soon. But worth it.
***
Preparations were being made to remove Zhou Mi's cage, the same way it had been delivered. A wagon, through the wide and normally locked gates of Kyuhyun's garden. They could take Zhou Mi, Kyuhyun reasoned. But there was no reason for him to stay after. He could follow discreetly. Even if he lost their trail and Zhou Mi was sold again, there would be news of it. And if Zhou Mi was right, if his time was short, then perhaps there was something to be done. But how short? A week, a year. Five years? If Kyuhyun could get Zhou Mi away, it was possible to keep Zhou Mi out of any slaver's hands until the chains came off. That seemed of more importance. Having Zhou Mi riding beside him had its own appeal. But he dared not make his move around people loyal to this father.
Again, things changed. Kyuhyun considered it a trap. The guard was removed from Zhou Mi's cage, where it had been moved onto a cart, though Kyuhyun knew guards were outside of the garden walls. Zhou Mi, back healed, was in the garden, but not in a way that he could touch anything. No matter how many branches or flowers Kyuhyun tried to pass through, it wasn’t the same. The first night, Kyuhyun assumed it was because they were planning to leave soon. The second night, he wavered.
The third, he boldly stood beside the cage and wondered what was going on.
"I don't dare take you out," he told Zhou Mi, their fingers meeting in the opening.
"I know," Zhou Mi said, sighing.
Kyuhyun licked his lips, a thought occurring to him. One he had had, but never indulged. "But that doesn't mean I can't go in with you."
"Kyuhyun, it's too dangerous," Zhou Mi protested, his voice barely above a whisper. "If someone should find out-"
"They'll order me out. Let them punish me this time."
"No. Don't you know what would hurt me, too?"
He could see it from Zhou Mi's point of view. But he had gone too long with too little, and they had been undisturbed long enough that he felt the risk was warranted. His strategy was sound. There was no reason for them to return. No reason to leave under the cover of night.
The glass door slid easily, and Kyuhyun boosted himself through the opening it left. The floor was covered in fine velvet, the bed Zhou Mi lounged on covered in silk, and pillows and softest furs. There were books, and instruments, and a gilded bowl full of water. But the ornaments interested him little. He was for Zhou Mi, stripping down the robe and running his hands over Zhou Mi's back. Soft skin, unblemished from the whip and healed, as Kyuhyun rested his mouth against it and breathed his relief.
He was in Zhou Mi's element there, and Zhou Mi drew him down onto the pillows. Kissing him sweetly, and holding him tight. He spilled his need into Zhou Mi's mouth, and thought himself a lucky man.
***
Kyuhyun woke to a steady rocking motion. At first he thought he was on a ship, until he realized it was the sensation of wheels over ruts. He was moving. He sat up, gasping, his hand in soft silk, and he saw Zhou Mi sitting several feet away, eyes huge and frightened.
"You're awake," Zhou Mi breathed. "He ordered my silence. Kyuhyun… They took us away not long after you came to me. They must have been watching. He means to use you as ransom, knowing your father will pay anything to get you back."
The movement of the wagon had them both teetering. And Kyuhyun's mind raced. Kidnapped, in a fairy's cage. Zhou Mi seemed even more frightened that he could even conceive of being.
"Did he order you to seduce me, so he could take me?"
Zhou Mi gasped. "No!"
"It seems like a good plan. Work together. Use the stupid idiot and make him soft against the poor, needy fairy. Then take his family for all they're worth. But what's in it for you?"
"No." And Zhou Mi's face began to tighten. "No, you must not think it of me. He bound me to stillness and silence when he discovered us, but that is all."
"Did you hate staying with me?"
"No. Your garden was the closest to the home I left, that I have known. To lie in the grass, and hear the birds sing. To be beside you, and teach your little pup. I miss my home, but I was happy with you. If I were not bound-" Zhou Mi paused at the quickness of Kyuhyun's lifted head.
"You would still have stayed, is that right? My glamorous life, controlled by my father. Weak enough that I can't even protect you."
"You protected me from the pain," Zhou Mi said simply. "It was your cleverness and care that did that. I am not soon to forget it. Unless all you did was so that I would go willingly to your bed. I cannot believe that."
"No," Kyuhyun said. And his eyes closed as Zhou Mi stroked his face. It seemed they both had fears that were unfounded. The things he had done, were for kindness. The things in bed, were for want.
"Aww, look. The little princeling believes himself to be in love." A rider of the slaver's guard came up beside the cage, laughing. "What happened boy? He let you put it in for the first time?"
When he would have gotten up to yell, Zhou Mi pulled him closer. Wrapping him in his arms, and whispering to him.
The riders moved up, their amusement gone. But Kyuhyun hadn't forgotten.
***
Five days on the road. His father had sent out scouts to look for them, and he'd watch half of them killed, and half sent back with ransom terms. It made him ill. Confined in the cage with Zhou Mi, with little to do but brace themselves against the rocking. He was let out twice a day, under heavy guard and threat of endangerment to Zhou Mi. But it was better, at least, than being on a horse, alone. He had wanted to feel Zhou Mi sleeping against him, and he got his wish. But he wanted the circumstance to be different.
Of course, he expected that his father would pay. But if he did pay, if the ransom was paid, and Kyuhyun was sent back, then he needed another plan. To get away, to double back after Zhou Mi. Something. He thought about that sometimes instead of sleeping, facing Zhou Mi and seeing the flickers of the fire from outside. He held Zhou Mi's hand, that was all. Watched him sleep and wondered what would happen to them.
The answer came as one of his father's men approached. He had half the ransom the slaver required. The other half would be given on Kyuhyun's safe return.
But it wasn't enough.
Kyuhyun listened carefully as the man was sent away, and the slaver smiled. But it was not one of promise.
“The fairy cannot be sold again. But the old man can be taught a lesson. Let's find a cliff."
None of Kyuhyun's questions were answered. None of his threats responded to.
But the sick dread grew clearer as they climbed. Kyuhyun had expected that his father would pay, but his own death hadn’t been something he had expected.
"Can we break the glass?" Kyuhyun asked, looking for anything that might help.
"No. I have tried," Zhou Mi answered him. The proof of desperation of years past.
There were no platitudes, like at least they were together. But Zhou Mi calmed him, as they leaned together as the horses were removed from the wagon, and the wagon backed up to the edge of the road. Below, only rocks and trees, and a river cutting far below.
“Stop,” Kyuhyun ordered the guards.
"Enjoy him for eternity," the slaver mocked.
"Please, it is his life," Zhou Mi pleaded.
"Silence."
Kyuhyun opened his mouth to speak instead, but Zhou Mi moved. Hands planted on the glass, and the vibration of it rang through Kyuhyun's bones.
"You must not do this," Zhou Mi shouted.
Zhou Mi could resist a lie, but he had defied a direct order, and the vibration of the glass grew higher pitched.
"Push them over now!" the slaver nearly screamed.
The vibration was nearly deafening, and Zhou Mi stumbled, half dove for Kyuhyun, and they rolled as the wagon tipped.
"Hold onto me," Zhou Mi said.
"I'm sorry," Kyuhyun said, and knew of nothing else he could say. Perhaps it had not been his doing, but he had not stopped it.
His arms slid tight around Zhou Mi's body, as the wagon's wheels slipped over the edge. The cage tipped up, tipped with it, and they rolled, slamming into the glass.
It was pain, and then freefall, endless and terrifying. Spun about by the air, by limbs, hearing the fear in Zhou Mi's sounds. He thought of his father. Of the pup. Of Zhou Mi.
He didn't want to die.
All that left his mouth was, "no, no, no."
"The chains are gone!" Zhou Mi said, and the sound of it was like the roar of a mountain in the silence and fear and waiting.
Around them, the glass cage shattered into a thousand pieces, and they screamed as one.
***
Pretty, Kyuhyun thought, as Zhou Mi scrambled toward him. The silk was ripped, and torn, showing Zhou Mi's legs and chest. Over rock, and tree, Zhou Mi came to him.
"Kyuhyun, no! Hold on!"
Onto what? He wondered. He remembered the trees. The cage, and falling. Spinning into air alone.
The glass. He'd fallen on the glass. It was in his back, his hands. Every time he breathed, he felt it dig deeper. He felt broken inside, and the world did not seem real. Zhou Mi was coming to him. He looked down and saw a shard like a hound's tooth emerging from his side. And he smiled without knowing why, as Zhou Mi's face swam into view.
"Hold onto me, Kyuhyun," Zhou Mi whispered.
He tried. His fingers twitching. For a moment, as the pain took him deep, he met Zhou Mi's eyes and felt peace. And for those few moments before his eyes closed, he swore he saw wings.
***
One hundred years in a cage not much larger than he was tall in either direction. Abused, and ordered, without will of his own. It should have made him hate.
Fear.
Revile.
Kyuhyun's face was pale beneath his bloody fingers, on the floor of Kyuhyun's room where Zhou Mi had brought them. Trembling as glass shards were removed to leave Kyuhyun's skin free to mend. The only reason Kyuhyun was alive, was because the chains had fallen. It slowed them, allowed him to. But Kyuhyun still was badly wounded. Kyuhyun, who had looked into his face, and heard his song.
And with all his strength, with magic he had not used in a hundred years, he called for healing. Begged. He could not lose Kyuhyun. He could not.
***
Zhou Mi bathed Kyuhyun himself, walking in his ripped and bloody clothes to find water, and taking it from the astonished staff of Kyuhyun's father's residence. Washing Kyuhyun's body to free him of the blood, and stripping himself, when it was done.
Kyuhyun's father appeared in the doorway like a ghost. Seeing Zhou Mi stand beside Kyuhyun's covered body like a warden. A sentinel.
But he knew the man could see the scars that marked Kyuhyun's back.
"He will wear these scars for the rest of your life. It is your ignorance that put them there. You believed the slaver when you should have believed your son. You are not worthy to call yourself his father."
The bloody glass and cloth lay on the floor between them. Glass he had pulled from Kyuhyun himself.
"He will wake?" Kyuhyun's father asked.
Zhou Mi nodded. "He wakes now."
And it was true, Kyuhyun's dark lashes being moved. As though he woke unwillingly. But he leaned into Zhou Mi's stroking hand.
"Zhou Mi."
"I am here," Zhou Mi told him. "Wake. Your father wishes to see you well."
And Kyuhyun did wake, to see his father at the edge of the room, and Zhou Mi beside him. Zhou Mi, dressed in trousers and a belted tunic as he had been before.
"I had your blood on me," Zhou Mi murmured. "I borrowed your clothes."
"Then leave, fairy," his father barked. "Your work is done."
The anger tinged the room. Zhou Mi's eyes at the older man, the set of his jaw as Kyuhyun stared at him. The fire that burned in Zhou Mi's stomach.
"I could take him from here if that is what he wishes," Zhou Mi said. Though it very much sounded a threat.
"No," the old man said, horrified. "You must not take him. He is my only son, my heir. He is needed here. Take me instead."
Kyuhyun struggled to sit upright. "Father, no."
But Zhou Mi's hand was on his arm, soothing him, and Zhou Mi looked back to the man, whose concern was only for his son.
"At the end of your life, I can send you. You will be young again, and live out your debt of years among my people. I can grant you this. But you must also grant me something in return."
"Of course. Anything,” Kyuhyun’s father agreed.
Zhou Mi took Kyuhyun's hand, letting their fingers curl together as Kyuhyun stared at him, unsure. What Zhou Mi would ask for, what Zhou Mi wanted.
"I ask only that I may remain as long as Kyuhyun wants me here. And at the end of his life, it will be his choice if he wishes to remain with me, and spend a thousand more years at my side."
The king made strangled noises, unable to comprehend the request. "But he has obligations. He has no heir!"
Kyuhyun had a solution for that. One he'd spent some years imagining.
"Father, you should marry again, and produce another son. I will name him as my heir. Tell everyone I am unable to have children of my own. I would teach him in your stead, as long as I live."
"Kyuhyun…"
But though the king wanted to object, he realized there was no way to. The fairy was there with his witchy eyes, hands still on the king's son, as though threatening that Kyuhyun could be taken at any moment. That Kyuhyun was gripping Zhou Mi's hand as well was lost on the weary man. His son was alive, and returned to him. If the fairy hadn't corrupted Kyuhyun's mind entirely, they could go on as they had before the entire mess had happened.
That he'd just bargained away a thousand years was incomprehensible to him, and he disregarded it. That Kyuhyun stayed and was safe, even if the fairy was there. The magic. And the fairy could not be caged again. And he left his son, feeling satisfied in his dealings. And determined to find a wife. One of his concubines, perhaps…
And Zhou Mi's thought only this: Kyuhyun was safe.
***
He was alive. Kyuhyun was almost startled to know it, eagerly taking in Zhou Mi’s face. It was almost too much to reason, and his head was still fuzzy. They’d fallen, and Zhou Mi had brought them back. His father… Zhou Mi was staying. But even as he tried to understand, Kyuhyun started as Zhou Mi wavered, eyes fluttering and shifting as though he were about to fall.
"What's wrong?"
"I- In healing you. I overestimated…my strength," Zhou Mi said, taking a deep, labored breath. "I… must rest."
They traded places, Kyuhyun steadying Zhou Mi until he could guide him back onto the bed. Zhou Mi was mostly unconscious as Kyuhyun arranged him on the bed. Zhou Mi's heart still beat strongly beneath his ribs, but he would not wake. Zhou Mi wasn’t hurt, not that he could see. He checked Zhou Mi’s arms and legs. When Kyuhyun turned to find a maid, he saw the bloody glass, and Zhou Mi’s silk. The emptiness of the room where the fairy cage had been, and Zhou Mi boneless on the bed behind him.
The room was cleaned, and all manner of fruit brought to him.
He waited, as Zhou Mi had given him the opportunity to wait. Seeing the silvery scars that traced his skin, in the mirror he’d had brought to him. Like Zhou Mi had touched his skin, and decorated him with magic. It was easier to think that, than remember the pain. Or the worry. He fed Zhou Mi every time Zhou Mi roused from his stupor, just enough for Kyuhyun to spoon softened fruit into his mouth. Waking just a little longer each time. And it took two weeks for Kyuhyun to see that smile at full strength, Zhou Mi standing at long last and reaching to hold both of Kyuhyun's hands.
"Nice to see you up again," Kyuhyun said, trying not to let his relief show.
"It is nice to be up," Zhou Mi said, smiling even harder. "Thanks to you giving me strength."
"No. It is thanks to you that I even could.” And Kyuhyun did little to dissuade the respect - fear - that his father had for Zhou Mi’s power. He searched Zhou Mi’s face, curious. “Did you mean it? A thousand years together after this?"
"If you desire it. To be young again together. I would gladly stay with you, to be able to show you my world. And to stay with you always."
"What happens when the thousand years are up?" Kyuhyun asked.
Zhou Mi smiled, thumb tracing over the back of Kyuhyun's. "Only you and I will know."
***
Author: Coley Merrin
Pairing: Kyuhyun/Zhou Mi
Rating: R
Genre: AU, hurt/comfort, romance, fantasy
Warnings: Violence, injury, reference to past sexual coercion.
Summary: The son of a king, Kyuhyun is gifted a slave of extraordinary origin.
Part One
***
The temptation was too great. It felt like a sickness, needing to be close to Zhou Mi. When the fear overtook him, they sat at the edge of the cage, the door open just enough so that they could face each other. Hands touching, lips.
The longing in the songs that Zhou Mi played for him spoke deeply to him.
When he passed through Zhou Mi's food, they did not avoid touch as they once did. Zhou Mi's hands closing over Kyuhyun's. Until Kyuhyun had to pull away.
Even the dog missed Zhou Mi's presence. When Kyuhyun despaired of making the puppy listen to anything, Zhou Mi had stepped in with a laugh. Their few stolen moments at the end of the day, the cover of night in the garden. Bidding the dog to sit, and in front of Kyuhyun's incredulous eyes, the dog had sat. The pup all but vibrating, staring eagerly at Zhou Mi as though he had hung the stars and was made of bacon.
Getting the same response from the dog himself had taken a bit more effort. But Zhou Mi had been encouraging. It could be done. And it was kind of silly to be jealous, but the dog would sit beside Zhou Mi's cage and whine, scratching at the glass with a paw as though he could make it to Zhou Mi that way. It did not screech, merely making little tinkling noises as Zhou Mi soothed the dog from inside. He was like that dog, begging for attention.
But so was Zhou Mi. Sitting and watching him pass with huge eyes. When Kyuhyun deemed it safe to let Zhou Mi out, he did not have to reach for Zhou Mi. Zhou Mi reached for him. Standing to envelop Kyuhyun in some mysterious scent, silk soft and warm against Zhou Mi's skin. He wondered if what he smelled was what enchantments were in the cage. Or if it was Zhou Mi himself. Heady, sharp and rich.
Like the taste of Zhou Mi's mouth, as he held Zhou Mi against the cage wall, feeling Zhou Mi's lips part for his.
And he wanted the bed, where he could speak to Zhou Mi freely. Watching eagerly as Zhou Mi slid back onto it, and relaxed utterly. His smile knowing, welcoming as Kyuhyun climbed after him.
There was no magic or enchantment that drove his mouth as he tasted Zhou Mi's skin. The luxury of the endless torso beneath his hands, Zhou Mi's moans against his throat. The silk of Zhou Mi's robe was slick and cool beneath his knees, and it was contrasted to the warmth as Zhou Mi held his face and kissed him.
The dog's bark had both of them jerking, and Zhou Mi stilled like a stone.
"Kyuhyun!"
But that was all Zhou Mi had time to say before the door of Kyuhyun's room opened, shuddering the wall as it banged against it. Not a servant.
His father.
He had a man in his bed. Not a man. Kyuhyun pushed Zhou Mi's head to the side. It was possibly his father did not know Zhou Mi's face. The lecture would be terrible, but he would risk it.
"Father, it's-"
"I knew you lied to me, boy. Too biddable, too fast to answer with lies. Who is he?"
"A village man-" Kyuhyun began.
"Another lie," his father spat. "It's the fairy. I see his chains."
The arm Zhou Mi rested between their chests twitched. Kyuhyun barely noticed them, only to wish them off. But his father was not so dim.
"It's not what it seems," Kyuhyun argued. And his robe was closed up, pulling Zhou Mi's up around him as well. They had not been naked fully. Something to be thankful for.
"You disobeyed, and risked your own safety. My safety! The slaver said he would try to poison your mind."
"The slaver lies," Kyuhyun ground out, standing to face his father. "He lies to take money from you. Fairies are not dangerous. He has done nothing to me."
"He has taken your senses and your pride. Lock him, or I will have my guards to it for you."
Zhou Mi was fully in his robe, and stood when Kyuhyun turned to him helplessly. Zhou Mi's head shook slightly. He knew there was nothing to be done. And Kyuhyun locked the cage without even daring a brush of Zhou Mi's skin.
"There. It is done. Are you satisfied?" Kyuhyun asked.
"No. I do not trust you with his taint. A guard will stand there now, day and night to keep you at your senses. The slaver sent word he would return within days. Perhaps he can break the magic over you."
"There is no magic! Father, listen-"
But his father's guard swept in, keeping Kyuhyun from following. And the other, standing sentry at the entrance to to the glass cage. The pup whined, and Kyuhyun sat silent.
The siege lasted three days. Kyuhyun was not under house arrest, expected to perform his duties under the watchful eye of a guard or his father. It kept his mind off of things, at least. Off the guard that stood silent near Zhou Mi. The only thing that calmed his mind was that he and he alone had control over Zhou Mi's actions. The guard could try and command all he wished, but Zhou Mi was immune. He dared not even speak to Zhou Mi, knowing it would get back to his father. The only thing he dared command was for music and song. The song only once. The music was easier, and less likely to make the dejected little fawn-colored puppy howl.
But the third day, it crackled. Even the weather seemed to know it, gray clouds rolling without the benefit of sun or rain. It had been a long time since Kyuhyun had seen Cai the slaver, but the sight of the hard face hadn't faded. He remembered the harsh lecture when after Zhou Mi had said his name, the stories Zhou Mi had told him. And oh, Zhou Mi had been careful, not telling him enough to hurt. But enough for Kyuhyun to fill in himself.
The guards brought the slaver in, and Kyuhyun rose, wanting to put himself between Zhou Mi and the man who had sold him.
But the guard held Kyuhyun back, with an apologetic look. Orders from Kyuhyun's father, no doubt. Zhou Mi stepped close, as there really was no other option.
"On your knees," the slaver said, and Zhou Mi went without hesitation or protest. The work of the chains, no doubt. "Tell him. Tell him you seduced him with your witchery."
Zhou Mi's head lifted. "I will not tell him an untruth."
Kyuhyun's breath caught, and the slaver's face reddened.
"Tell me," the slaver said, voice sickly sweet. "Which of the instruments do you favor most?"
"The flute," Zhou Mi responded immediately.
"Break it. Into as many pieces as you can."
"No!" Kyuhyun protested. "What reason is there for that?"
"He must be taught, boy."
But while Kyuhyun protested, Zhou Mi did as he was told. The bamboo shattering under his hands and feet. And there was sorrow on Zhou Mi's face.
"And now, another lesson. Bring the boy," the slaver told the guards.
And Kyuhyun watched as the slaver ordered Zhou Mi out of the cage, into the yard. The yard where he had Zhou Mi kneel.
"Kyuhyun, go," Zhou Mi whispered, so that the slaver could not hear.
But Kyuhyun's body had turned to ice, at the sight of the whip that the slaver's servant returned with.
"He has done nothing to deserve this!"
"Silence," the slaver told them both. "He will be taught. And it would do you well to see it. Guards, hold him there."
Zhou Mi looked as though he was struggling, at least in the way his eyes were flashing, breathing irregular as Kyuhyun was pushed down in front of him. That the slaver forced Zhou Mi to bare his own back was cruelty itself. He suspected the man would have had Zhou Mi whip himself if he could have guaranteed it done to his standards.
"Do not do this!" Kyuhyun demanded, hoping at least to delay. "You serve me."
"Your father will thank me for this education. Give me the lash."
Kyuhyun growled and reached for Zhou Mi's wrist. The warmth was not there in the chain, but he could feel the tingle against his fingertips. Perhaps there was still some way to save Zhou Mi from it.
"Can I order you not to feel the pain of this?" Kyuhyun asked. "You may speak."
"Yes," Zhou Mi breathed. "It may work."
"Then feel no pain from this man's whip. Feel only joy."
"The wounds will be gone by morning," Zhou Mi whispered. "He does this not for me. But for you."
And the lash fell, and fell. Stripe by bloody stripe. Zhou Mi breathed against his face and Kyuhyun stared up at the slaver and his determined face. Every ounce of hate in his body was in that look, and it was was wasted on the slaver. Determined enough to kill a man, if he chose, by whipping him to death. Zhou Mi was stronger than that. Kyuhyun was not.
He half wondered if Zhou Mi was hiding the pain, rather than shielded from it. But there was some peace in those eyes when he dared to look-
But he did not look again, when the lashes redoubled.
He watched it all. Because it was his fault.
***
Kyuhyun did not vomit, which was a small blessing. It would not have been from the wounds on Zhou Mi's back, or the blood, but the anger that slashed at him instead. He was shaking with it by the time he made it to his father's room. Zhou Mi had been put back into his cage "for safekeeping." The lashes visible as he crawled back inside. And the anger that Zhou Mi was alone, no one to tend his wounds, drove Kyuhyun even faster. He did not wait for his father to greet him or give him leave to speak.
"You taught me that the measure of a man is how he treats those below him. What kind of a man does that make me, if I allow the beating of an innocent man?"
"He is no man. It was a mistake to buy him."
"Then why did you?"
"Because I hoped if you could see him, it would make you attend to your duties. They said that having a slave such as him made men settle. And you had not dallied with any men since I bought him."
Kyuhyun's whole body stiffened. That his father knew-
"It does not matter that he is not human," Kyuhyun argued. "He still belongs to us, and should be treated that way. He is not to blame!"
"He has poisoned your mind. The slaver told me clearly of it. It will fade, my son."
"No, Father, it will not. Not as long as this injustice continues."
"Then we will sell him and end his hold on you."
Kyuhyun stood. "If you sell him, I will not be your son."
"Do you see! Why would you say that if you were not poisoned against me."
"Why can you not see the slaver is telling you lies to increase his profit, and satisfy his need to see others in pain? Of course he will buy back a fairy at a reduced price. And sell him again for twice that! This is not a plot against me. It is a plot against you."
But his father would not see. And Kyuhyun left less angry but more determined than ever.
***
It was sad that Kyuhyun had to bribe his own guard. Five minutes alone with the fairy. He wouldn't try to loose him. He wanted only to speak. And he granted money, money that would feed the guard's family for many months when it came to that.
Kyuhyun knelt by the small opening, so that he could look on Zhou Mi without obstruction. Zhou Mi was already there, though Kyuhyun would have had him stay still for his injuries.
"How do you feel?" Kyuhyun asked, covering Zhou Mi's hand inside the cage.
"Discomfort. Though I pretend to feel very bad when anyone looks," Zhou Mi said softy. "What did your father say?"
"Nothing I didn't expect. He will not listen to reason. He thinks you've poisoned me. Can you take us from here?"
"Running is not the option. You are your father's only son."
"He's young enough to marry and have another. I can't stay here and watch him sell you, to someone who will only treat you worse."
"Kyuhyun, that is something I could not tell you before. My time in these chains grows short. It meant he wished to cheat your father out of my service as well, so he worries. He knows the hold he has on me does not last forever."
"What do you mean?" Kyuhyun asked, not understanding.
"I am bound only one hundred years to servitude," Zhou Mi explained. "As the time ends, so does his hold on me. Once, he would have been able to induce me to lie to you, as he tried earlier. But no longer."
A hundred years of being passed from human to human. It was a grim thought indeed.
"Were all of them…bad like this? How long do you have left?"
"I cannot tell you exactly. But not long. And, no," Zhou Mi said smiled. "Not all bad."
And though he didn't know if he wanted the answer, the question came anyway. "Are there any masters you would want to return to?"
"Just one," Zhou Mi said, his voice soft. And lips softer, as they pressed against Kyuhyun's. The barest touch they could accomplish, separated as they were.
But the guard was nervous for his own safety, and the time ended. Far too soon. But worth it.
***
Preparations were being made to remove Zhou Mi's cage, the same way it had been delivered. A wagon, through the wide and normally locked gates of Kyuhyun's garden. They could take Zhou Mi, Kyuhyun reasoned. But there was no reason for him to stay after. He could follow discreetly. Even if he lost their trail and Zhou Mi was sold again, there would be news of it. And if Zhou Mi was right, if his time was short, then perhaps there was something to be done. But how short? A week, a year. Five years? If Kyuhyun could get Zhou Mi away, it was possible to keep Zhou Mi out of any slaver's hands until the chains came off. That seemed of more importance. Having Zhou Mi riding beside him had its own appeal. But he dared not make his move around people loyal to this father.
Again, things changed. Kyuhyun considered it a trap. The guard was removed from Zhou Mi's cage, where it had been moved onto a cart, though Kyuhyun knew guards were outside of the garden walls. Zhou Mi, back healed, was in the garden, but not in a way that he could touch anything. No matter how many branches or flowers Kyuhyun tried to pass through, it wasn’t the same. The first night, Kyuhyun assumed it was because they were planning to leave soon. The second night, he wavered.
The third, he boldly stood beside the cage and wondered what was going on.
"I don't dare take you out," he told Zhou Mi, their fingers meeting in the opening.
"I know," Zhou Mi said, sighing.
Kyuhyun licked his lips, a thought occurring to him. One he had had, but never indulged. "But that doesn't mean I can't go in with you."
"Kyuhyun, it's too dangerous," Zhou Mi protested, his voice barely above a whisper. "If someone should find out-"
"They'll order me out. Let them punish me this time."
"No. Don't you know what would hurt me, too?"
He could see it from Zhou Mi's point of view. But he had gone too long with too little, and they had been undisturbed long enough that he felt the risk was warranted. His strategy was sound. There was no reason for them to return. No reason to leave under the cover of night.
The glass door slid easily, and Kyuhyun boosted himself through the opening it left. The floor was covered in fine velvet, the bed Zhou Mi lounged on covered in silk, and pillows and softest furs. There were books, and instruments, and a gilded bowl full of water. But the ornaments interested him little. He was for Zhou Mi, stripping down the robe and running his hands over Zhou Mi's back. Soft skin, unblemished from the whip and healed, as Kyuhyun rested his mouth against it and breathed his relief.
He was in Zhou Mi's element there, and Zhou Mi drew him down onto the pillows. Kissing him sweetly, and holding him tight. He spilled his need into Zhou Mi's mouth, and thought himself a lucky man.
***
Kyuhyun woke to a steady rocking motion. At first he thought he was on a ship, until he realized it was the sensation of wheels over ruts. He was moving. He sat up, gasping, his hand in soft silk, and he saw Zhou Mi sitting several feet away, eyes huge and frightened.
"You're awake," Zhou Mi breathed. "He ordered my silence. Kyuhyun… They took us away not long after you came to me. They must have been watching. He means to use you as ransom, knowing your father will pay anything to get you back."
The movement of the wagon had them both teetering. And Kyuhyun's mind raced. Kidnapped, in a fairy's cage. Zhou Mi seemed even more frightened that he could even conceive of being.
"Did he order you to seduce me, so he could take me?"
Zhou Mi gasped. "No!"
"It seems like a good plan. Work together. Use the stupid idiot and make him soft against the poor, needy fairy. Then take his family for all they're worth. But what's in it for you?"
"No." And Zhou Mi's face began to tighten. "No, you must not think it of me. He bound me to stillness and silence when he discovered us, but that is all."
"Did you hate staying with me?"
"No. Your garden was the closest to the home I left, that I have known. To lie in the grass, and hear the birds sing. To be beside you, and teach your little pup. I miss my home, but I was happy with you. If I were not bound-" Zhou Mi paused at the quickness of Kyuhyun's lifted head.
"You would still have stayed, is that right? My glamorous life, controlled by my father. Weak enough that I can't even protect you."
"You protected me from the pain," Zhou Mi said simply. "It was your cleverness and care that did that. I am not soon to forget it. Unless all you did was so that I would go willingly to your bed. I cannot believe that."
"No," Kyuhyun said. And his eyes closed as Zhou Mi stroked his face. It seemed they both had fears that were unfounded. The things he had done, were for kindness. The things in bed, were for want.
"Aww, look. The little princeling believes himself to be in love." A rider of the slaver's guard came up beside the cage, laughing. "What happened boy? He let you put it in for the first time?"
When he would have gotten up to yell, Zhou Mi pulled him closer. Wrapping him in his arms, and whispering to him.
The riders moved up, their amusement gone. But Kyuhyun hadn't forgotten.
***
Five days on the road. His father had sent out scouts to look for them, and he'd watch half of them killed, and half sent back with ransom terms. It made him ill. Confined in the cage with Zhou Mi, with little to do but brace themselves against the rocking. He was let out twice a day, under heavy guard and threat of endangerment to Zhou Mi. But it was better, at least, than being on a horse, alone. He had wanted to feel Zhou Mi sleeping against him, and he got his wish. But he wanted the circumstance to be different.
Of course, he expected that his father would pay. But if he did pay, if the ransom was paid, and Kyuhyun was sent back, then he needed another plan. To get away, to double back after Zhou Mi. Something. He thought about that sometimes instead of sleeping, facing Zhou Mi and seeing the flickers of the fire from outside. He held Zhou Mi's hand, that was all. Watched him sleep and wondered what would happen to them.
The answer came as one of his father's men approached. He had half the ransom the slaver required. The other half would be given on Kyuhyun's safe return.
But it wasn't enough.
Kyuhyun listened carefully as the man was sent away, and the slaver smiled. But it was not one of promise.
“The fairy cannot be sold again. But the old man can be taught a lesson. Let's find a cliff."
None of Kyuhyun's questions were answered. None of his threats responded to.
But the sick dread grew clearer as they climbed. Kyuhyun had expected that his father would pay, but his own death hadn’t been something he had expected.
"Can we break the glass?" Kyuhyun asked, looking for anything that might help.
"No. I have tried," Zhou Mi answered him. The proof of desperation of years past.
There were no platitudes, like at least they were together. But Zhou Mi calmed him, as they leaned together as the horses were removed from the wagon, and the wagon backed up to the edge of the road. Below, only rocks and trees, and a river cutting far below.
“Stop,” Kyuhyun ordered the guards.
"Enjoy him for eternity," the slaver mocked.
"Please, it is his life," Zhou Mi pleaded.
"Silence."
Kyuhyun opened his mouth to speak instead, but Zhou Mi moved. Hands planted on the glass, and the vibration of it rang through Kyuhyun's bones.
"You must not do this," Zhou Mi shouted.
Zhou Mi could resist a lie, but he had defied a direct order, and the vibration of the glass grew higher pitched.
"Push them over now!" the slaver nearly screamed.
The vibration was nearly deafening, and Zhou Mi stumbled, half dove for Kyuhyun, and they rolled as the wagon tipped.
"Hold onto me," Zhou Mi said.
"I'm sorry," Kyuhyun said, and knew of nothing else he could say. Perhaps it had not been his doing, but he had not stopped it.
His arms slid tight around Zhou Mi's body, as the wagon's wheels slipped over the edge. The cage tipped up, tipped with it, and they rolled, slamming into the glass.
It was pain, and then freefall, endless and terrifying. Spun about by the air, by limbs, hearing the fear in Zhou Mi's sounds. He thought of his father. Of the pup. Of Zhou Mi.
He didn't want to die.
All that left his mouth was, "no, no, no."
"The chains are gone!" Zhou Mi said, and the sound of it was like the roar of a mountain in the silence and fear and waiting.
Around them, the glass cage shattered into a thousand pieces, and they screamed as one.
***
Pretty, Kyuhyun thought, as Zhou Mi scrambled toward him. The silk was ripped, and torn, showing Zhou Mi's legs and chest. Over rock, and tree, Zhou Mi came to him.
"Kyuhyun, no! Hold on!"
Onto what? He wondered. He remembered the trees. The cage, and falling. Spinning into air alone.
The glass. He'd fallen on the glass. It was in his back, his hands. Every time he breathed, he felt it dig deeper. He felt broken inside, and the world did not seem real. Zhou Mi was coming to him. He looked down and saw a shard like a hound's tooth emerging from his side. And he smiled without knowing why, as Zhou Mi's face swam into view.
"Hold onto me, Kyuhyun," Zhou Mi whispered.
He tried. His fingers twitching. For a moment, as the pain took him deep, he met Zhou Mi's eyes and felt peace. And for those few moments before his eyes closed, he swore he saw wings.
***
One hundred years in a cage not much larger than he was tall in either direction. Abused, and ordered, without will of his own. It should have made him hate.
Fear.
Revile.
Kyuhyun's face was pale beneath his bloody fingers, on the floor of Kyuhyun's room where Zhou Mi had brought them. Trembling as glass shards were removed to leave Kyuhyun's skin free to mend. The only reason Kyuhyun was alive, was because the chains had fallen. It slowed them, allowed him to. But Kyuhyun still was badly wounded. Kyuhyun, who had looked into his face, and heard his song.
And with all his strength, with magic he had not used in a hundred years, he called for healing. Begged. He could not lose Kyuhyun. He could not.
***
Zhou Mi bathed Kyuhyun himself, walking in his ripped and bloody clothes to find water, and taking it from the astonished staff of Kyuhyun's father's residence. Washing Kyuhyun's body to free him of the blood, and stripping himself, when it was done.
Kyuhyun's father appeared in the doorway like a ghost. Seeing Zhou Mi stand beside Kyuhyun's covered body like a warden. A sentinel.
But he knew the man could see the scars that marked Kyuhyun's back.
"He will wear these scars for the rest of your life. It is your ignorance that put them there. You believed the slaver when you should have believed your son. You are not worthy to call yourself his father."
The bloody glass and cloth lay on the floor between them. Glass he had pulled from Kyuhyun himself.
"He will wake?" Kyuhyun's father asked.
Zhou Mi nodded. "He wakes now."
And it was true, Kyuhyun's dark lashes being moved. As though he woke unwillingly. But he leaned into Zhou Mi's stroking hand.
"Zhou Mi."
"I am here," Zhou Mi told him. "Wake. Your father wishes to see you well."
And Kyuhyun did wake, to see his father at the edge of the room, and Zhou Mi beside him. Zhou Mi, dressed in trousers and a belted tunic as he had been before.
"I had your blood on me," Zhou Mi murmured. "I borrowed your clothes."
"Then leave, fairy," his father barked. "Your work is done."
The anger tinged the room. Zhou Mi's eyes at the older man, the set of his jaw as Kyuhyun stared at him. The fire that burned in Zhou Mi's stomach.
"I could take him from here if that is what he wishes," Zhou Mi said. Though it very much sounded a threat.
"No," the old man said, horrified. "You must not take him. He is my only son, my heir. He is needed here. Take me instead."
Kyuhyun struggled to sit upright. "Father, no."
But Zhou Mi's hand was on his arm, soothing him, and Zhou Mi looked back to the man, whose concern was only for his son.
"At the end of your life, I can send you. You will be young again, and live out your debt of years among my people. I can grant you this. But you must also grant me something in return."
"Of course. Anything,” Kyuhyun’s father agreed.
Zhou Mi took Kyuhyun's hand, letting their fingers curl together as Kyuhyun stared at him, unsure. What Zhou Mi would ask for, what Zhou Mi wanted.
"I ask only that I may remain as long as Kyuhyun wants me here. And at the end of his life, it will be his choice if he wishes to remain with me, and spend a thousand more years at my side."
The king made strangled noises, unable to comprehend the request. "But he has obligations. He has no heir!"
Kyuhyun had a solution for that. One he'd spent some years imagining.
"Father, you should marry again, and produce another son. I will name him as my heir. Tell everyone I am unable to have children of my own. I would teach him in your stead, as long as I live."
"Kyuhyun…"
But though the king wanted to object, he realized there was no way to. The fairy was there with his witchy eyes, hands still on the king's son, as though threatening that Kyuhyun could be taken at any moment. That Kyuhyun was gripping Zhou Mi's hand as well was lost on the weary man. His son was alive, and returned to him. If the fairy hadn't corrupted Kyuhyun's mind entirely, they could go on as they had before the entire mess had happened.
That he'd just bargained away a thousand years was incomprehensible to him, and he disregarded it. That Kyuhyun stayed and was safe, even if the fairy was there. The magic. And the fairy could not be caged again. And he left his son, feeling satisfied in his dealings. And determined to find a wife. One of his concubines, perhaps…
And Zhou Mi's thought only this: Kyuhyun was safe.
***
He was alive. Kyuhyun was almost startled to know it, eagerly taking in Zhou Mi’s face. It was almost too much to reason, and his head was still fuzzy. They’d fallen, and Zhou Mi had brought them back. His father… Zhou Mi was staying. But even as he tried to understand, Kyuhyun started as Zhou Mi wavered, eyes fluttering and shifting as though he were about to fall.
"What's wrong?"
"I- In healing you. I overestimated…my strength," Zhou Mi said, taking a deep, labored breath. "I… must rest."
They traded places, Kyuhyun steadying Zhou Mi until he could guide him back onto the bed. Zhou Mi was mostly unconscious as Kyuhyun arranged him on the bed. Zhou Mi's heart still beat strongly beneath his ribs, but he would not wake. Zhou Mi wasn’t hurt, not that he could see. He checked Zhou Mi’s arms and legs. When Kyuhyun turned to find a maid, he saw the bloody glass, and Zhou Mi’s silk. The emptiness of the room where the fairy cage had been, and Zhou Mi boneless on the bed behind him.
The room was cleaned, and all manner of fruit brought to him.
He waited, as Zhou Mi had given him the opportunity to wait. Seeing the silvery scars that traced his skin, in the mirror he’d had brought to him. Like Zhou Mi had touched his skin, and decorated him with magic. It was easier to think that, than remember the pain. Or the worry. He fed Zhou Mi every time Zhou Mi roused from his stupor, just enough for Kyuhyun to spoon softened fruit into his mouth. Waking just a little longer each time. And it took two weeks for Kyuhyun to see that smile at full strength, Zhou Mi standing at long last and reaching to hold both of Kyuhyun's hands.
"Nice to see you up again," Kyuhyun said, trying not to let his relief show.
"It is nice to be up," Zhou Mi said, smiling even harder. "Thanks to you giving me strength."
"No. It is thanks to you that I even could.” And Kyuhyun did little to dissuade the respect - fear - that his father had for Zhou Mi’s power. He searched Zhou Mi’s face, curious. “Did you mean it? A thousand years together after this?"
"If you desire it. To be young again together. I would gladly stay with you, to be able to show you my world. And to stay with you always."
"What happens when the thousand years are up?" Kyuhyun asked.
Zhou Mi smiled, thumb tracing over the back of Kyuhyun's. "Only you and I will know."
***