Only Human 11/33
Title: Only Human
Pairings: MinSu, YunChun, more later
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Changmin suspects the only place in the world where demons and humans live in peace is in danger, but apart from Heechul he is the only one. He is also the only demon to openly declare his love for a human slave.
Warnings: Supernatural, Angst
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even the power to make people orgasm just by running my fingertips over their skin for a few seconds. I do in my mind though.
For cerinityks ♥
Poster by markieyumeutau ♥
A/N: This is about twice as long as the previous chapters. I got excited.
Changmin almost ran into and knocked over two people on his way home. He had been angry and he’d wanted to do something right away, but now the worry was stronger and he wished he’d stayed with Junsu.
For the first time he was glad to come home to Yunho sitting on his couch.
“Don’t think I waited here to keep an eye on your human, go find yourself another babysitter,” Yunho said. “... but I did check a few minutes ago and he’s fine.”
Changmin smiled. “Thank you.”
Yunho looked at him for a while. “I’m here to tell you you’re an idiot if you ended up doing something stupid after all. Did you?”
Changmin laughed. “I didn’t, but I might. I want to bond with Junsu.”
“... you want to bond with a human?”
Changmin nodded.
Yunho smiled and shook his head, looking down at his fingers trailing through Yoochun’s hair. Changmin finally noticed that Yoochun was lying with his head on Yunho’s lap.
“Well, good luck with that. And I hope you realise people are going to talk, a lot.”
“I know.”
“Just know that if society officially declares you insane, I’m going to pretend not to know you.” Yunho tried to sound serious, but he said it with a smile.
Changmin didn’t even know he cared about Yunho’s opinion, but he definitely felt glad to have his support in this. Had Yunho always been such a good friend? Probably. Junsu was right about his people skills.
Changmin watched Yunho and Yoochun on the couch for a bit longer. Something like this could happen to Yoochun at any time too. “If it works.. wouldn’t you want to bond with Yoochun too?”
Yunho scoffed, but Changmin thought he saw him glance down to check if Yoochun was still sleeping before he spoke. “No, what? Bonding with a human? I know you’re crazy, do what you want, but Yoochun is just another slave to me.”
Yunho scooped Yoochun up in his arms and stood up from the couch. Changmin watched him leave and didn’t ask any more questions because he wanted to get back to Junsu.
Junsu was still sleeping and Changmin was glad about that because he wanted to be next to him when he woke up.
He carefully lifted the blanket and slid under it. Junsu’s body was warmer than his so Changmin didn’t pull him into his arms immediately, he pressed their bodies together as soon as he was confident it wouldn’t wake him up.
When Junsu stirred and let out a soft groan, about three hours later, Changmin feigned sleep.
Junsu turned around in his arms and Changmin could feel his eyes on him.
He hoped for a kiss or for Junsu to press closer to him, and he was very disappointed when he felt Junsu try to carefully wiggle out from under his arm.
“Mmm, no, sleep more,” he mumbled, pulling Junsu back down.
He opened his eyes when Junsu sat up again. “Sorry, Min, I want to cuddle with you too, but I’m really hungry.”
Changmin immediately let him go and followed him out the bedroom.
“I should cook for you so you can rest longer.”
Junsu started to prepare food. “You can’t cook.”
Changmin bit his lip. “You should teach me, I want to be able to.” He moved in behind Junsu and wrapped his arms around him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“That’s sweet,” Junsu pushed him out of the way, “but I don’t have time for that right now because if I don’t eat something soon I might get so irritated I’ll hit you and I really don’t want to do that.”
Changmin quickly moved away to give Junsu more space, despite feeling hurt, and waited for him to finish cooking and then to finish eating. He felt like he’d done something wrong, annoyed Junsu.
Eventually Junsu noticed that he was still just standing there, in the same spot, and he walked up to him.
“Min, I’m sorry.” Junsu’s arms slid around his waist and Changmin instantly felt a lot better. “I didn’t mean to sound.. You’re not annoying me, at all. I get a bit cranky when I’m hungry, but that’s not everything.”
Changmin pulled Junsu close, waiting for him to continue.
“I just.. I feel so bad about.. I thought not talking about it would help, but it doesn’t. I feel like I cheated on you or something even though I tried to stop him, I.. I did.”
Changmin brought up a hand to lift Junsu’s chin so he could look at him.
“Did he hurt you?”
Junsu shook his head. “No, he just took energy.”
“Yoochun said he threw you into a wall.”
Junsu looked at him. “I’m not as weak as you think I am.”
“I don’t think you’re weak.” That was true, but Changmin still felt relieved to hear Junsu say that he was okay. He leant down for a soft, warm kiss.
“I don’t want something like this to happen ever again.”
Junsu lowered his eyes. “I know you’d just say it because you’re worried, but if you tell me to stay inside I-”
“I want to bond with you.”
Junsu’s eyes shot back to him. “You mean...”
“Don’t humans have a way of bonding? Showing that you want to be with someone for the rest of your life?”
“We.. do.. but I guess it’s different, and..” Junsu shook his head as if to clear it. “Why?”
“Part of the reason is that demons would sense our bond and feel my claim on you, but mostly I just want to show everybody that I love you, you the most.”
Changmin held his breath after saying that. They had never.. He hadn’t said it directly but still... What if Junsu rejected him now? He didn’t think his heart would be able to take that.
Junsu stared at him, eyes wide, for what seemed like hours. Finally he asked: “Has any demon ever bonded with a human before?”
It wasn’t a no, yet. Changmin shook his head. “But I think we can make this work and-”
“You’re a prince, right?”
Changmin nodded, nervous. He’d told Junsu a lot about his life already, but what did this have to do with-
“Isn’t there going to be a lot of talk?”
Changmin frowned. There would be. He didn’t want Junsu to be hurt, emotionally, because of this, why hadn’t he thought of that before?
Junsu’s smile took his frown away. “I wouldn’t mind, at all, I just don’t want to damage your reputation or-”
“You won’t! I mean, I don’t think I even have a further damageable reputation, but really, if I did, you would be worth it a thousand times.”
Junsu’s smile lit up the room. “Tell me how it works.”
“Are you sure it won’t hurt him?” It had to be the twentieth time Changmin asked that. He made sure to lower his voice so Junsu wouldn’t hear.
He had given Junsu a week to decide if he really wanted this or not, because looking at how long they’d known each other, it might seem a bit soon to be bonded for life.
Changmin was sure. He was sure he loved Junsu and never wanted anyone else, every instinct in his body told him that.
And then there was Junsu’s life span. Changmin didn’t want to think about it, but in the back of his mind he kept feeling like Junsu’s life was running out with every day that passed.
He knew he was exaggerating, some humans reached the age of a hundred years and Junsu didn’t seem close to that at all yet, but it was still.. so short.
Junsu told him that he felt like they’d known each other for years and said that he very much wanted to do the bonding.
Changmin was worried though.
Heechul rolled his eyes. “You say he seems stronger than other humans?”
“Yes.”
“Then it won’t hurt him. Trust me, I’m sure.”
And Changmin was still worried because he could never tell when Heechul was bluffing.
Junsu stopped gaping at the walls of the room and came closer, looking nervous as well. Changmin immediately pulled him into his arms.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said softly.
Junsu smiled. “I want to.”
They were moving in for a kiss when Heechul cleared his throat. “You can have sex after the ritual, or we can postpone it and you can have sex now, but this is supposed to be about more than a physical bond.”
Changmin reluctantly moved his head away from Junsu’s and led him to the centre of the room.
Changmin liked this room. He’d never been allowed inside, but when he still lived in the palace he’d managed to catch a glimpse of it a few times. The doors didn’t open that often. Not all demons found a mate.
The round walls of this room looked like the night sky, black and littered with stars that actually shone in the dark. Not that there was much dark in the room. There were no windows, but a bright moon in the centre of the ceiling lit it up like the sun would, just with a softer glow.
“What are those made of?” Junsu whispered. If possible, he looked even more attractive in this light.
Changmin ignored Heechul’s glare and pressed their lips together before he answered. “You’ll see.”
Before Heechul could complain again he knelt down underneath the moon and motioned for Junsu to do the same.
If he imagined the sound of the wind he could almost see them kneeling like this, facing each other, in a wide field under a starry sky. He wanted to take Junsu for a trip out of the city some time, maybe when he was sure it would be safe... if that time would ever come.
There was no time for depressing thoughts though, as Junsu looked back at him, seemingly forgetting about Heechul as well, and Changmin fully realised for the first time that Junsu agreeing to this had to mean that he loved him. He had explained how the demon bonding ritual worked and how deep it went.
Heechul cleared his throat again and they both raised their right hand, placing it against the other’s chest.
They kept looking at each other as they intertwined the fingers of their other hand between their bodies.
Heechul’s hands closed over their linked ones.
“Ready?” he asked softly. They both nodded. Usually there would be a ceremony with public in which they declared their love and vowed to protect the other forever, but Changmin didn’t want to make Junsu feel uncomfortable.
They were also going to try to keep their bonding a secret. Demons passing Junsu in the street would notice soon enough, but until then it would be nice to keep the rumors to a minimum.
Changmin felt Heechul pulling on his energy, and not just his energy. There were very few demons capable of leading a bonding ritual, and even if Junsu hadn’t been a human, Changmin would only have trusted Heechul.
Heechul was taking some of Changmin’s energy to give it to Junsu and the other way around, but linking two souls was more than a simple energy transfer. He took a part of them as well.
Changmin felt drained, not just tired but.. incomplete, when Heechul was done. His entire being was screaming at him to fill the gap in his soul.
“Lean forward if you’re afraid,” Heechul said softly, voice full of concentration.
Changmin opened his eyes, wondering when he’d closed them, and leaned forward until his forehead touched Junsu’s. It calmed him down a bit, and Junsu as well as his breath calmed from the moment it mingled with Changmin’s.
Changmin closed his eyes again when Heechul started to give instead of take. He faintly noticed Junsu’s gasp, but the feeling in his own body was overwhelming.
It was like he’d stepped under a comfortably warm waterfall and the water suddenly surrounded him and streamed down his body, but that water was Junsu. He felt Junsu all around and inside of him, his scent, the feel of his skin, the sound of his voice, his smile, the taste of his energy, all those sensations flowed over him and filled the gap in his soul.
Heechul stopped when the gap was gone, but Changmin finally snapped out of the amazing sated feeling when he felt the grip of Junsu’s fingers tighten between his and against his chest and then disappear. Junsu’s body sagged against him.
Changmin looked down at Junsu’s still face and immediately shot a death glare at Heechul.
“You said...”
He took Junsu in his arms and cupped his cheek. “Su? Su, wake up.”
Heechul seemed to stay calm. “Linking two souls strains on the body, of course it affected him. You too, don’t you feel tired?”
Changmin did, but his worry for Junsu pushed it away. And he wasn’t unconscious.
Junsu’s body was filled with energy, but it felt turbulent, like it wouldn’t settle. Changmin wondered if he was in pain.
Heechul probably noticed that he was close to tears and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“He’s okay. I did keep an eye on his body’s reaction and I would have stopped if it had started to hurt him. He just needs to rest, and so do you.”
Changmin stayed at Junsu’s side, watching over him, the entire night. A few times it got hard to stay awake himself, but then he stood up to add some wood to the fire, pulled the blanket up to Junsu’s chin again, stroked his hair, and watched how the light of the flames moved over his face.
It took Junsu’s energy a long time to calm down. A few times he moved in his sleep, frowning like he was having a nightmare, and Changmin hugged him and whispered calming words into his ear until his body relaxed again.
Junsu’s body temperature changed too. When Changmin carried him home from the palace Junsu had felt hotter than usual, but he'd been shivering despite that so Changmin had pushed the bed closer to the fireplace. During the night Junsu had cooled down again.
When the light of the flames started to drown in the first sunlight streaming through the window, Junsu opened his eyes.
Changmin’s had almost closed. He was sitting against the headboard but slowly sliding down. Now he shot up, wide awake.
“Su! How do you feel?”
Junsu looked up at him and smiled, his eyes happy. “Like you’re a part of me and I’m a part of you.”
Changmin pulled Junsu on top of him, looking at his face and trying not to cry, although it would be of happiness. Junsu chuckled when he noticed, as he would.
They kissed, which for some reason felt even better than it had before, but when he pulled back Junsu was frowning.
“You’re tired.”
“I was worried about you.”
Junsu pulled him down to lay his head on the pillow and covered him with the blanket. “Sleep, silly.”
Changmin fell asleep to the feeling of Junsu’s lips brushing against his own.
He woke up to the feeling of Junsu’s fingers playing with his hair.
Junsu was lying at his side, looking up at him and caressing his face. “You’re really handsome,” he said, when he saw that Changmin was awake.
Changmin smiled. “What if you’d woken up this morning and realised that I was actually really ugly?”
Junsu pretended to think about that. “Do you mean an ugly body or an ugly personality?”
“Both.”
“I would have asked you who the hell you were because my Changmin will be beautiful in both aspects forever.”
Changmin liked that, ‘my Changmin’.
He kissed Junsu’s forehead. “No, you’ll be beautiful forever.”
Junsu laughed. “Even when I’m old and wrinkled?”
“Even then.” Changmin meant that, but he couldn’t stop his body from stiffening a little bit. How would it make Junsu feel, looking much older?
Junsu’s face turned serious and his voice soft. “You don’t age, do you?”
Changmin looked away, of course Junsu would know, he was smart. “N-not physically, not much more than I have already.”
A demon’s body practically stopped changing when he reached adulthood. For Changmin that point had been as long ago as he suspected Junsu’s birth was.
“How old are you?” he asked Junsu, almost whispering because he feared his voice might break with sadness.
“I’m 23.” Junsu said, smiling as if to reassure him that whatever made him sad about this, it would be alright.
“Years?” Changmin asked, even though he knew it was a stupid question.
Junsu laughed. “What did you think? How old are you?”
Changmin looked away. “I’m 22.” And before Junsu could make a comment about being older, he added: “Decades.”
Junsu slid up over his chest and kissed him.
“I’m glad,” he said against Changmin’s lips, “with the no ageing thing I was suddenly worried that you might be well over 900 and your energy could run out any time.”
Changmin pulled back and looked at Junsu, not just surprised by the fact that he didn’t seem bothered by this.
“You know a lot about demons.”
Junsu looked guilty. “I may have.. flipped through a few of your books.”
Changmin chuckled and kissed his worried expression away, glad that the topic had shifted. “My books are your books.”
Junsu laughed. “That was probably meant to sound really romantic.” Then he smiled. “Coming from you, it does actually.”
Changmin pushed Junsu off him and sat up. He smiled at Junsu’s confused face. “I have something a lot more romantic.”
He picked up the little box Heechul had given him the day before from next to the bed.
Junsu watched as he revealed two necklaces.
Attached to silver chains were two pendants. Changmin had only seen those a few times in his life. He’d always thought the metal casing the white stone looked like a teardrop with a bit cut out. It was almost black now, like the night sky, but he knew that it would shine silver in full sunlight.
He took one and dropped it in Junsu’s outstretched hand. With it lying in the centre of Junsu’s palm, Changmin could already see that it went beautifully with his skin. He couldn’t wait to see Junsu wear it.
“Those are moon hearts. They will be proof of our bond.”
Junsu studied the pendant in his hand. “Why are they called that?”
Changmin pointed at the white stone. “You were asking what the moons and stars were made of yesterday. This is very rare, but used for many ancient demon ceremonies. There was lot of it in the rocks under the palace. Which is why my father decided to build the city here.”
Junsu closed his hands around the necklace and peeked through his fingers. “It doesn’t glow.”
Changmin smiled. “It will.” He took the necklace back.
“There’s another explanation of the name. You know how the moon reflects the sun and sends us energy in the form of light, though not as much as the sun itself?”
Junsu nodded.
“If my heart, beating for you, is the sun, then this is the moon, reflecting my energy and love.” Changmin placed his finger on the visible part of the white stone and closed his eyes to concentrate.
Junsu gasped when the white lit up as Changmin’s energy flowed through it. Changmin smiled. The glow almost disappeared when he pulled back his finger, but there was another flash when he moved the chain around Junsu’s neck and the pendant touched his skin.
“It will only respond to you because your soul carries a part of mine with it. Demons will sense two kinds of energy around you and immediately understand that you’re taken. Even the ones not skilled enough to actually recognise the energy will feel the difference.”
Junsu’s fingers moved over the metal and then touched the stone. It glowed at his touch. “It’s warm.”
Changmin nodded. “And the energy won’t run out until you use it.”
“Use it?”
“If you’re alone and in danger, under attack or badly wounded, it can throw off your attacker or help you heal, like I would if I were with you.”
Junsu looked up at him and the next moment he was in Changmin’s arms, kissing him deeply. “That’s much more romantic than rings,” he said when he pulled back, eyes full of love. “You make me want to be a demon.”
Changmin smiled and wanted to kiss him again, but right after he'd stopped talking, Junsu’s body stiffened.
Changmin immediately worried that the bonding had done some damage after all. “What’s wrong?”
Junsu looked down at the moon heart that was still in the box and slowly picked it up.
Changmin knew what he was thinking and smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll just always stay close to you. The real thing is a lot better anyway.”
Junsu still looked sad. “Can’t you take some of my energy and put it in for me?”
Changmin shook his head. “It has to come from you directly, it can’t go through my body first. But really, Junsu, I’m so happy already.”
Changmin took the necklace from Junsu’s hands, ignored how empty and cold it felt, and wanted to fasten it around his neck.
Junsu quickly reached out and took it back. Changmin watched as he brought it to his chest and pressed it against his skin, over his heart. He kept his beautiful deep eyes on Changmin as he slowly raised his hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to the metal and stone. Then he moved it to Changmin, warm hands fastened the chain behind his neck.
Junsu’s hands slid down to his chest and then around his waist. “I’m sorry I can’t do more,” Junsu whispered against his lips.
Changmin felt how Junsu’s skin and lips had warmed the metal and decided that this was more than enough.
“You’re over 200 years old,” Junsu suddenly said, softly. “I must seem so small and unimportant.”
Changmin cupped his face and forced him to look into his eyes. “Junsu, I don’t even remember what I did all that time, it seems so insignificant now. I feel like I only started living when I met you.”
Changmin let Junsu’s smile light up his world and warm his heart even as he finished in his head: ‘and I’ll feel like my life is over when I lose you.’
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The second war had always been approaching, slowly.
It had always been there, right there in the back of our minds.
Well, for some of us it had.
But in the end it didn’t matter if you were expecting it or not.
It still came as a surprise.
Too soon, too quick, too close.
- KC
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Changmin was so happy, felt so complete, and most of the time he forgot that he still had so many questions about Junsu’s past.
But at times they came back to him, and it felt wrong. They were so close, why was there a secret between them?
Junsu noticed, as Junsu always noticed, and asked him what was wrong.
The sadness and guilt, but more sadness, in Junsu’s eyes, like he was forced to hide something that he didn’t want to hide at all, it haunted Changmin’s dreams sometimes.
I trust you, Changmin, I trust you with my life, but I can't tell you until the day I trust the world around us half as much. Right now, I don’t trust it at all.
And then Changmin woke up with Junsu sleeping peacefully in his arms and he decided that he would know one day, and even if he wouldn’t, it couldn’t be that important. Because Junsu was still here, with him, and something that didn’t come between them wasn’t important enough to worry about.
Heechul told him about the developments along the borders, but there really wasn’t that much news to report. All they knew was that their defences were weak and that they had no idea what was going on outside.
All their theories had been based on the past and the occasional attacks they heard of.
If the outside world had stabilised like theirs had, there wouldn’t have been attacks, and if it wasn’t stabilised, then there would be jealous and probably hungry demons out there.
And even jealous and hungry demons could see that if the small damages they did didn’t get them inside, they would need a bigger plan.
So they had been expecting this, for years even, but it was impossible to be prepared.
One moment he was hugging Junsu from behind, watching him cook and listening to him sing, and the next Yunho stormed in to tell them that a fully organised army had breached the northern borders and was headed straight for the city.
Junsu went rigid in his arms and Changmin whispered at him that he didn’t have to be afraid with his own heart hammering in his chest.
He wasn’t afraid of a fight, he was afraid to lose Junsu.
An army was sent, and then another to back up the first, led by Changmin’s brothers.
And then the news came of the first death of a prince, and the second, third, fourth. It was soon clear that the hostile demons wanted to take over this country by force, and also that they wanted to eliminate the chance of a member of the formal royal family standing up against them after, as they would surely have the people on their side.
Heechul apologised to Changmin saying he felt partly responsible for every death. But he did it with a ‘this is a necessary wake up call’ look on his face, and Changmin thought that he might be right. His brothers’ favourite hobby had been abusing humans, humans who could have been Junsu.
The change was huge. There were no more parties at the palace. The king was ruling again, trying to figure out a strategy. Heechul said he even admitted that he could have seen this coming.
The army was getting closer, fast.
Junsu only sang sad songs anymore and Changmin wanted him to be happy, but he could never interrupt and ended up listening to his beautiful voice no matter what it sung.
And then Yunho interrupted the singing for the second time that week by slamming the door open.
“They’re here.”
Changmin shot up from the couch as Yunho leaned back against the door frame, panting.
“We’re going to set up an energy shield around the city and your house is at the edge of it. Come on! And forget your stupid books!” Changmin hadn’t even thought of those yet.
He was prepared to leave al his books behind, as long as he did it holding Junsu’s hand.
“Junsu.” Changmin ran to the windowsill and stretched out his hand. Junsu’s back was turned to him, he was still facing the window.
“They’re here,” Junsu said.
“Yes, I heard Yunho.” Changmin was getting impatient. “Come on, it’ll be okay, but we have to get to the city.”
Junsu turned around, eyes wide. “No, they’re here!”
Nothing could have illustrated that better than the loud sound of energy hitting wood and Yunho falling into Changmin as the door frame splintered.
They cursed at the same time and Changmin pulled Junsu behind him. He looked at Yunho.
They had to get to the city and they knew they were both prepared to fight their way there, like a team for the first time.
Changmin threw up a shield and they both grabbed one of Junsu’s arms before running outside.
There were only six of them. Which wasn’t necessarily a good thing, but at least better than the entire army. They were holding swords.
The attack didn’t come immediately, which surprised them, but they were surrounded. They waited, wary.
“And?” A demon asked, but he wasn’t facing them. Changmin noticed that five of them weren't just watching them but also the sixth, who hadn’t drawn his sword but raised his hands. He was reading their energy. He wasn’t very good at it yet as Heechul could do this without even having to concentrate, but he was done before Changmin could think to take advantage of that.
“The bonded demon has the energy of the royal family!” he suddenly shouted.
Someone else started saying: “But two of them are wearing-”
“The one in the middle is a human, you idiot. But why the hell are you even asking? Just kill them all!”
And almost immediately after that Changmin winced, struggling to keep up his shield. The blows of their swords were strong and sharp.
“Can we move?” Yunho asked.
Changmin felt Junsu squeeze his arm and he tried to take a step to the left, but immediately his shield wavered and someone almost managed to hit Yunho.
“I can’t keep it up if we move,” he said, teeth clenched.
“Then we’ll just have to get them out of the way,” Yunho said. “Protect Junsu.” And before Changmin could ask what he meant he’d stepped away from them and ran to the closest demon.
That first one was surprised by Yunho’s speed and the others only noticed what was going on by the time he slumped down and Yunho was holding his sword.
The second knew what to expect and Yunho couldn’t get close enough right away as he had to avoid a burst of energy.
None of the others went to back up their friend in fighting Yunho, four pairs of eyes focused on Changmin, occasionally they fired at his shield, but they seemed impressed by its strength and were trying to figure out what to do next.
If they got closer they would break through and he and Junsu would be cornered. Changmin took a deep breath, let down his shield and fired a burst of energy at the closest one.
He wasn’t holding a weapon but he put his all into the blow and mostly by luck it hit the demon full in the chest.
Four more, no, three. Yunho called his name and threw him a sword, he was holding another himself.
In the moment he paused to catch, someone ran up to him. In his haste to catch the sword, jump in front of Junsu, and block his attacker at the same time, he almost lost his balance.
An evil grin spread on the demon’s face and he managed to kick Changmin’s feet from under his body. He raised his sword as the one meant for Changmin fell to the ground between them.
Changmin heard Yunho call his name, but it almost drowned in the sound of metal clashing with metal.
Changmin reached for his sword, denying the voice in his head that he’d never be fast enough. And then it was suddenly gone.
Junsu had reached over his body and picked it up, moving so fast that Changmin wondered for a second how Yunho had come over here so quickly. By the time he realised who was saving him, Junsu was pulling his sword out of one demon’s chest and jumped aside to avoid getting hit by an attack of another.
Changmin was completely dazed for all the time it took the body next to him to fall to the ground and then a little longer. When he saw Junsu run over to the demon who wasn’t fighting Yunho, he snapped out of it, grabbed the sword that had been about to pierce him moments ago, and ran after his mate.
Before Changmin could reach them, Junsu had somehow taken out his own opponent and moved in behind the demon only focused on throwing energy at Yunho to prevent him from getting closer. Junsu’s sword pierced his back.
Changmin was too surprised to talk. Not that he got the chance anyway. Someone grabbed his arm. Heechul.
“We have to get back to the city now!”
Heechul had come with about twenty palace guards and they were all focused on the forest behind Changmin’s house. Changmin didn’t even have to look, he could feel the energy, hear the drumming of footsteps.
Heechul threw up a shield around the two of them and Changmin felt it deflect the first attack from afar.
“Junsu!”
Junsu split a burst of energy with his sword, having to take a step back at the force. A guard covered for him and he turned around to face Changmin.
“Go! They want you!”
“I’m not leaving you!”
“He’s right,” Heechul said, “they want you. And I can’t shield three people while moving, so he’d better stay with the guards than run with us, unprotected. They have orders to hold back any attackers while we set up the shield and they’ll get backup soon. When the shield is in place they’ll retreat.”
“I’m not leaving him!” Changmin’s voice was bordering on desperate.
Yunho appeared in front of them. “Take him to the city, I have your back!”
Heechul nodded and pulled on Changmin’s arm, Changmin resisted and looked at Junsu. Junsu smiled at him.
Amidst the sounds of an impending battle and the sight of a mass of bodies emerging from between the trees, Junsu’s smile still drowned out everything else. Something shone in Junsu’s eyes and something deep in Changmin’s soul supplied: ‘I’m glad I can finally tell you’.
“I’m a warrior, Changmin,” Junsu said over a burst of energy that shook the ground with a dull sound and a cloud of dust. “The best in my village. I can handle this.”
Heechul’s grip on Changmin’s arm tightened and he pulled him along, in de direction of the city, followed by Yunho.
Junsu turned around and faced the battle.
Chapter 12
Chapter 10 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 1 - Prologue
Pairings: MinSu, YunChun, more later
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Changmin suspects the only place in the world where demons and humans live in peace is in danger, but apart from Heechul he is the only one. He is also the only demon to openly declare his love for a human slave.
Warnings: Supernatural, Angst
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even the power to make people orgasm just by running my fingertips over their skin for a few seconds. I do in my mind though.
For cerinityks ♥
Poster by markieyumeutau ♥
A/N: This is about twice as long as the previous chapters. I got excited.
Changmin almost ran into and knocked over two people on his way home. He had been angry and he’d wanted to do something right away, but now the worry was stronger and he wished he’d stayed with Junsu.
For the first time he was glad to come home to Yunho sitting on his couch.
“Don’t think I waited here to keep an eye on your human, go find yourself another babysitter,” Yunho said. “... but I did check a few minutes ago and he’s fine.”
Changmin smiled. “Thank you.”
Yunho looked at him for a while. “I’m here to tell you you’re an idiot if you ended up doing something stupid after all. Did you?”
Changmin laughed. “I didn’t, but I might. I want to bond with Junsu.”
“... you want to bond with a human?”
Changmin nodded.
Yunho smiled and shook his head, looking down at his fingers trailing through Yoochun’s hair. Changmin finally noticed that Yoochun was lying with his head on Yunho’s lap.
“Well, good luck with that. And I hope you realise people are going to talk, a lot.”
“I know.”
“Just know that if society officially declares you insane, I’m going to pretend not to know you.” Yunho tried to sound serious, but he said it with a smile.
Changmin didn’t even know he cared about Yunho’s opinion, but he definitely felt glad to have his support in this. Had Yunho always been such a good friend? Probably. Junsu was right about his people skills.
Changmin watched Yunho and Yoochun on the couch for a bit longer. Something like this could happen to Yoochun at any time too. “If it works.. wouldn’t you want to bond with Yoochun too?”
Yunho scoffed, but Changmin thought he saw him glance down to check if Yoochun was still sleeping before he spoke. “No, what? Bonding with a human? I know you’re crazy, do what you want, but Yoochun is just another slave to me.”
Yunho scooped Yoochun up in his arms and stood up from the couch. Changmin watched him leave and didn’t ask any more questions because he wanted to get back to Junsu.
Junsu was still sleeping and Changmin was glad about that because he wanted to be next to him when he woke up.
He carefully lifted the blanket and slid under it. Junsu’s body was warmer than his so Changmin didn’t pull him into his arms immediately, he pressed their bodies together as soon as he was confident it wouldn’t wake him up.
When Junsu stirred and let out a soft groan, about three hours later, Changmin feigned sleep.
Junsu turned around in his arms and Changmin could feel his eyes on him.
He hoped for a kiss or for Junsu to press closer to him, and he was very disappointed when he felt Junsu try to carefully wiggle out from under his arm.
“Mmm, no, sleep more,” he mumbled, pulling Junsu back down.
He opened his eyes when Junsu sat up again. “Sorry, Min, I want to cuddle with you too, but I’m really hungry.”
Changmin immediately let him go and followed him out the bedroom.
“I should cook for you so you can rest longer.”
Junsu started to prepare food. “You can’t cook.”
Changmin bit his lip. “You should teach me, I want to be able to.” He moved in behind Junsu and wrapped his arms around him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“That’s sweet,” Junsu pushed him out of the way, “but I don’t have time for that right now because if I don’t eat something soon I might get so irritated I’ll hit you and I really don’t want to do that.”
Changmin quickly moved away to give Junsu more space, despite feeling hurt, and waited for him to finish cooking and then to finish eating. He felt like he’d done something wrong, annoyed Junsu.
Eventually Junsu noticed that he was still just standing there, in the same spot, and he walked up to him.
“Min, I’m sorry.” Junsu’s arms slid around his waist and Changmin instantly felt a lot better. “I didn’t mean to sound.. You’re not annoying me, at all. I get a bit cranky when I’m hungry, but that’s not everything.”
Changmin pulled Junsu close, waiting for him to continue.
“I just.. I feel so bad about.. I thought not talking about it would help, but it doesn’t. I feel like I cheated on you or something even though I tried to stop him, I.. I did.”
Changmin brought up a hand to lift Junsu’s chin so he could look at him.
“Did he hurt you?”
Junsu shook his head. “No, he just took energy.”
“Yoochun said he threw you into a wall.”
Junsu looked at him. “I’m not as weak as you think I am.”
“I don’t think you’re weak.” That was true, but Changmin still felt relieved to hear Junsu say that he was okay. He leant down for a soft, warm kiss.
“I don’t want something like this to happen ever again.”
Junsu lowered his eyes. “I know you’d just say it because you’re worried, but if you tell me to stay inside I-”
“I want to bond with you.”
Junsu’s eyes shot back to him. “You mean...”
“Don’t humans have a way of bonding? Showing that you want to be with someone for the rest of your life?”
“We.. do.. but I guess it’s different, and..” Junsu shook his head as if to clear it. “Why?”
“Part of the reason is that demons would sense our bond and feel my claim on you, but mostly I just want to show everybody that I love you, you the most.”
Changmin held his breath after saying that. They had never.. He hadn’t said it directly but still... What if Junsu rejected him now? He didn’t think his heart would be able to take that.
Junsu stared at him, eyes wide, for what seemed like hours. Finally he asked: “Has any demon ever bonded with a human before?”
It wasn’t a no, yet. Changmin shook his head. “But I think we can make this work and-”
“You’re a prince, right?”
Changmin nodded, nervous. He’d told Junsu a lot about his life already, but what did this have to do with-
“Isn’t there going to be a lot of talk?”
Changmin frowned. There would be. He didn’t want Junsu to be hurt, emotionally, because of this, why hadn’t he thought of that before?
Junsu’s smile took his frown away. “I wouldn’t mind, at all, I just don’t want to damage your reputation or-”
“You won’t! I mean, I don’t think I even have a further damageable reputation, but really, if I did, you would be worth it a thousand times.”
Junsu’s smile lit up the room. “Tell me how it works.”
“Are you sure it won’t hurt him?” It had to be the twentieth time Changmin asked that. He made sure to lower his voice so Junsu wouldn’t hear.
He had given Junsu a week to decide if he really wanted this or not, because looking at how long they’d known each other, it might seem a bit soon to be bonded for life.
Changmin was sure. He was sure he loved Junsu and never wanted anyone else, every instinct in his body told him that.
And then there was Junsu’s life span. Changmin didn’t want to think about it, but in the back of his mind he kept feeling like Junsu’s life was running out with every day that passed.
He knew he was exaggerating, some humans reached the age of a hundred years and Junsu didn’t seem close to that at all yet, but it was still.. so short.
Junsu told him that he felt like they’d known each other for years and said that he very much wanted to do the bonding.
Changmin was worried though.
Heechul rolled his eyes. “You say he seems stronger than other humans?”
“Yes.”
“Then it won’t hurt him. Trust me, I’m sure.”
And Changmin was still worried because he could never tell when Heechul was bluffing.
Junsu stopped gaping at the walls of the room and came closer, looking nervous as well. Changmin immediately pulled him into his arms.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said softly.
Junsu smiled. “I want to.”
They were moving in for a kiss when Heechul cleared his throat. “You can have sex after the ritual, or we can postpone it and you can have sex now, but this is supposed to be about more than a physical bond.”
Changmin reluctantly moved his head away from Junsu’s and led him to the centre of the room.
Changmin liked this room. He’d never been allowed inside, but when he still lived in the palace he’d managed to catch a glimpse of it a few times. The doors didn’t open that often. Not all demons found a mate.
The round walls of this room looked like the night sky, black and littered with stars that actually shone in the dark. Not that there was much dark in the room. There were no windows, but a bright moon in the centre of the ceiling lit it up like the sun would, just with a softer glow.
“What are those made of?” Junsu whispered. If possible, he looked even more attractive in this light.
Changmin ignored Heechul’s glare and pressed their lips together before he answered. “You’ll see.”
Before Heechul could complain again he knelt down underneath the moon and motioned for Junsu to do the same.
If he imagined the sound of the wind he could almost see them kneeling like this, facing each other, in a wide field under a starry sky. He wanted to take Junsu for a trip out of the city some time, maybe when he was sure it would be safe... if that time would ever come.
There was no time for depressing thoughts though, as Junsu looked back at him, seemingly forgetting about Heechul as well, and Changmin fully realised for the first time that Junsu agreeing to this had to mean that he loved him. He had explained how the demon bonding ritual worked and how deep it went.
Heechul cleared his throat again and they both raised their right hand, placing it against the other’s chest.
They kept looking at each other as they intertwined the fingers of their other hand between their bodies.
Heechul’s hands closed over their linked ones.
“Ready?” he asked softly. They both nodded. Usually there would be a ceremony with public in which they declared their love and vowed to protect the other forever, but Changmin didn’t want to make Junsu feel uncomfortable.
They were also going to try to keep their bonding a secret. Demons passing Junsu in the street would notice soon enough, but until then it would be nice to keep the rumors to a minimum.
Changmin felt Heechul pulling on his energy, and not just his energy. There were very few demons capable of leading a bonding ritual, and even if Junsu hadn’t been a human, Changmin would only have trusted Heechul.
Heechul was taking some of Changmin’s energy to give it to Junsu and the other way around, but linking two souls was more than a simple energy transfer. He took a part of them as well.
Changmin felt drained, not just tired but.. incomplete, when Heechul was done. His entire being was screaming at him to fill the gap in his soul.
“Lean forward if you’re afraid,” Heechul said softly, voice full of concentration.
Changmin opened his eyes, wondering when he’d closed them, and leaned forward until his forehead touched Junsu’s. It calmed him down a bit, and Junsu as well as his breath calmed from the moment it mingled with Changmin’s.
Changmin closed his eyes again when Heechul started to give instead of take. He faintly noticed Junsu’s gasp, but the feeling in his own body was overwhelming.
It was like he’d stepped under a comfortably warm waterfall and the water suddenly surrounded him and streamed down his body, but that water was Junsu. He felt Junsu all around and inside of him, his scent, the feel of his skin, the sound of his voice, his smile, the taste of his energy, all those sensations flowed over him and filled the gap in his soul.
Heechul stopped when the gap was gone, but Changmin finally snapped out of the amazing sated feeling when he felt the grip of Junsu’s fingers tighten between his and against his chest and then disappear. Junsu’s body sagged against him.
Changmin looked down at Junsu’s still face and immediately shot a death glare at Heechul.
“You said...”
He took Junsu in his arms and cupped his cheek. “Su? Su, wake up.”
Heechul seemed to stay calm. “Linking two souls strains on the body, of course it affected him. You too, don’t you feel tired?”
Changmin did, but his worry for Junsu pushed it away. And he wasn’t unconscious.
Junsu’s body was filled with energy, but it felt turbulent, like it wouldn’t settle. Changmin wondered if he was in pain.
Heechul probably noticed that he was close to tears and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“He’s okay. I did keep an eye on his body’s reaction and I would have stopped if it had started to hurt him. He just needs to rest, and so do you.”
Changmin stayed at Junsu’s side, watching over him, the entire night. A few times it got hard to stay awake himself, but then he stood up to add some wood to the fire, pulled the blanket up to Junsu’s chin again, stroked his hair, and watched how the light of the flames moved over his face.
It took Junsu’s energy a long time to calm down. A few times he moved in his sleep, frowning like he was having a nightmare, and Changmin hugged him and whispered calming words into his ear until his body relaxed again.
Junsu’s body temperature changed too. When Changmin carried him home from the palace Junsu had felt hotter than usual, but he'd been shivering despite that so Changmin had pushed the bed closer to the fireplace. During the night Junsu had cooled down again.
When the light of the flames started to drown in the first sunlight streaming through the window, Junsu opened his eyes.
Changmin’s had almost closed. He was sitting against the headboard but slowly sliding down. Now he shot up, wide awake.
“Su! How do you feel?”
Junsu looked up at him and smiled, his eyes happy. “Like you’re a part of me and I’m a part of you.”
Changmin pulled Junsu on top of him, looking at his face and trying not to cry, although it would be of happiness. Junsu chuckled when he noticed, as he would.
They kissed, which for some reason felt even better than it had before, but when he pulled back Junsu was frowning.
“You’re tired.”
“I was worried about you.”
Junsu pulled him down to lay his head on the pillow and covered him with the blanket. “Sleep, silly.”
Changmin fell asleep to the feeling of Junsu’s lips brushing against his own.
He woke up to the feeling of Junsu’s fingers playing with his hair.
Junsu was lying at his side, looking up at him and caressing his face. “You’re really handsome,” he said, when he saw that Changmin was awake.
Changmin smiled. “What if you’d woken up this morning and realised that I was actually really ugly?”
Junsu pretended to think about that. “Do you mean an ugly body or an ugly personality?”
“Both.”
“I would have asked you who the hell you were because my Changmin will be beautiful in both aspects forever.”
Changmin liked that, ‘my Changmin’.
He kissed Junsu’s forehead. “No, you’ll be beautiful forever.”
Junsu laughed. “Even when I’m old and wrinkled?”
“Even then.” Changmin meant that, but he couldn’t stop his body from stiffening a little bit. How would it make Junsu feel, looking much older?
Junsu’s face turned serious and his voice soft. “You don’t age, do you?”
Changmin looked away, of course Junsu would know, he was smart. “N-not physically, not much more than I have already.”
A demon’s body practically stopped changing when he reached adulthood. For Changmin that point had been as long ago as he suspected Junsu’s birth was.
“How old are you?” he asked Junsu, almost whispering because he feared his voice might break with sadness.
“I’m 23.” Junsu said, smiling as if to reassure him that whatever made him sad about this, it would be alright.
“Years?” Changmin asked, even though he knew it was a stupid question.
Junsu laughed. “What did you think? How old are you?”
Changmin looked away. “I’m 22.” And before Junsu could make a comment about being older, he added: “Decades.”
Junsu slid up over his chest and kissed him.
“I’m glad,” he said against Changmin’s lips, “with the no ageing thing I was suddenly worried that you might be well over 900 and your energy could run out any time.”
Changmin pulled back and looked at Junsu, not just surprised by the fact that he didn’t seem bothered by this.
“You know a lot about demons.”
Junsu looked guilty. “I may have.. flipped through a few of your books.”
Changmin chuckled and kissed his worried expression away, glad that the topic had shifted. “My books are your books.”
Junsu laughed. “That was probably meant to sound really romantic.” Then he smiled. “Coming from you, it does actually.”
Changmin pushed Junsu off him and sat up. He smiled at Junsu’s confused face. “I have something a lot more romantic.”
He picked up the little box Heechul had given him the day before from next to the bed.
Junsu watched as he revealed two necklaces.
Attached to silver chains were two pendants. Changmin had only seen those a few times in his life. He’d always thought the metal casing the white stone looked like a teardrop with a bit cut out. It was almost black now, like the night sky, but he knew that it would shine silver in full sunlight.
He took one and dropped it in Junsu’s outstretched hand. With it lying in the centre of Junsu’s palm, Changmin could already see that it went beautifully with his skin. He couldn’t wait to see Junsu wear it.
“Those are moon hearts. They will be proof of our bond.”
Junsu studied the pendant in his hand. “Why are they called that?”
Changmin pointed at the white stone. “You were asking what the moons and stars were made of yesterday. This is very rare, but used for many ancient demon ceremonies. There was lot of it in the rocks under the palace. Which is why my father decided to build the city here.”
Junsu closed his hands around the necklace and peeked through his fingers. “It doesn’t glow.”
Changmin smiled. “It will.” He took the necklace back.
“There’s another explanation of the name. You know how the moon reflects the sun and sends us energy in the form of light, though not as much as the sun itself?”
Junsu nodded.
“If my heart, beating for you, is the sun, then this is the moon, reflecting my energy and love.” Changmin placed his finger on the visible part of the white stone and closed his eyes to concentrate.
Junsu gasped when the white lit up as Changmin’s energy flowed through it. Changmin smiled. The glow almost disappeared when he pulled back his finger, but there was another flash when he moved the chain around Junsu’s neck and the pendant touched his skin.
“It will only respond to you because your soul carries a part of mine with it. Demons will sense two kinds of energy around you and immediately understand that you’re taken. Even the ones not skilled enough to actually recognise the energy will feel the difference.”
Junsu’s fingers moved over the metal and then touched the stone. It glowed at his touch. “It’s warm.”
Changmin nodded. “And the energy won’t run out until you use it.”
“Use it?”
“If you’re alone and in danger, under attack or badly wounded, it can throw off your attacker or help you heal, like I would if I were with you.”
Junsu looked up at him and the next moment he was in Changmin’s arms, kissing him deeply. “That’s much more romantic than rings,” he said when he pulled back, eyes full of love. “You make me want to be a demon.”
Changmin smiled and wanted to kiss him again, but right after he'd stopped talking, Junsu’s body stiffened.
Changmin immediately worried that the bonding had done some damage after all. “What’s wrong?”
Junsu looked down at the moon heart that was still in the box and slowly picked it up.
Changmin knew what he was thinking and smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll just always stay close to you. The real thing is a lot better anyway.”
Junsu still looked sad. “Can’t you take some of my energy and put it in for me?”
Changmin shook his head. “It has to come from you directly, it can’t go through my body first. But really, Junsu, I’m so happy already.”
Changmin took the necklace from Junsu’s hands, ignored how empty and cold it felt, and wanted to fasten it around his neck.
Junsu quickly reached out and took it back. Changmin watched as he brought it to his chest and pressed it against his skin, over his heart. He kept his beautiful deep eyes on Changmin as he slowly raised his hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to the metal and stone. Then he moved it to Changmin, warm hands fastened the chain behind his neck.
Junsu’s hands slid down to his chest and then around his waist. “I’m sorry I can’t do more,” Junsu whispered against his lips.
Changmin felt how Junsu’s skin and lips had warmed the metal and decided that this was more than enough.
“You’re over 200 years old,” Junsu suddenly said, softly. “I must seem so small and unimportant.”
Changmin cupped his face and forced him to look into his eyes. “Junsu, I don’t even remember what I did all that time, it seems so insignificant now. I feel like I only started living when I met you.”
Changmin let Junsu’s smile light up his world and warm his heart even as he finished in his head: ‘and I’ll feel like my life is over when I lose you.’
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The second war had always been approaching, slowly.
It had always been there, right there in the back of our minds.
Well, for some of us it had.
But in the end it didn’t matter if you were expecting it or not.
It still came as a surprise.
Too soon, too quick, too close.
- KC
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Changmin was so happy, felt so complete, and most of the time he forgot that he still had so many questions about Junsu’s past.
But at times they came back to him, and it felt wrong. They were so close, why was there a secret between them?
Junsu noticed, as Junsu always noticed, and asked him what was wrong.
The sadness and guilt, but more sadness, in Junsu’s eyes, like he was forced to hide something that he didn’t want to hide at all, it haunted Changmin’s dreams sometimes.
I trust you, Changmin, I trust you with my life, but I can't tell you until the day I trust the world around us half as much. Right now, I don’t trust it at all.
And then Changmin woke up with Junsu sleeping peacefully in his arms and he decided that he would know one day, and even if he wouldn’t, it couldn’t be that important. Because Junsu was still here, with him, and something that didn’t come between them wasn’t important enough to worry about.
Heechul told him about the developments along the borders, but there really wasn’t that much news to report. All they knew was that their defences were weak and that they had no idea what was going on outside.
All their theories had been based on the past and the occasional attacks they heard of.
If the outside world had stabilised like theirs had, there wouldn’t have been attacks, and if it wasn’t stabilised, then there would be jealous and probably hungry demons out there.
And even jealous and hungry demons could see that if the small damages they did didn’t get them inside, they would need a bigger plan.
So they had been expecting this, for years even, but it was impossible to be prepared.
One moment he was hugging Junsu from behind, watching him cook and listening to him sing, and the next Yunho stormed in to tell them that a fully organised army had breached the northern borders and was headed straight for the city.
Junsu went rigid in his arms and Changmin whispered at him that he didn’t have to be afraid with his own heart hammering in his chest.
He wasn’t afraid of a fight, he was afraid to lose Junsu.
An army was sent, and then another to back up the first, led by Changmin’s brothers.
And then the news came of the first death of a prince, and the second, third, fourth. It was soon clear that the hostile demons wanted to take over this country by force, and also that they wanted to eliminate the chance of a member of the formal royal family standing up against them after, as they would surely have the people on their side.
Heechul apologised to Changmin saying he felt partly responsible for every death. But he did it with a ‘this is a necessary wake up call’ look on his face, and Changmin thought that he might be right. His brothers’ favourite hobby had been abusing humans, humans who could have been Junsu.
The change was huge. There were no more parties at the palace. The king was ruling again, trying to figure out a strategy. Heechul said he even admitted that he could have seen this coming.
The army was getting closer, fast.
Junsu only sang sad songs anymore and Changmin wanted him to be happy, but he could never interrupt and ended up listening to his beautiful voice no matter what it sung.
And then Yunho interrupted the singing for the second time that week by slamming the door open.
“They’re here.”
Changmin shot up from the couch as Yunho leaned back against the door frame, panting.
“We’re going to set up an energy shield around the city and your house is at the edge of it. Come on! And forget your stupid books!” Changmin hadn’t even thought of those yet.
He was prepared to leave al his books behind, as long as he did it holding Junsu’s hand.
“Junsu.” Changmin ran to the windowsill and stretched out his hand. Junsu’s back was turned to him, he was still facing the window.
“They’re here,” Junsu said.
“Yes, I heard Yunho.” Changmin was getting impatient. “Come on, it’ll be okay, but we have to get to the city.”
Junsu turned around, eyes wide. “No, they’re here!”
Nothing could have illustrated that better than the loud sound of energy hitting wood and Yunho falling into Changmin as the door frame splintered.
They cursed at the same time and Changmin pulled Junsu behind him. He looked at Yunho.
They had to get to the city and they knew they were both prepared to fight their way there, like a team for the first time.
Changmin threw up a shield and they both grabbed one of Junsu’s arms before running outside.
There were only six of them. Which wasn’t necessarily a good thing, but at least better than the entire army. They were holding swords.
The attack didn’t come immediately, which surprised them, but they were surrounded. They waited, wary.
“And?” A demon asked, but he wasn’t facing them. Changmin noticed that five of them weren't just watching them but also the sixth, who hadn’t drawn his sword but raised his hands. He was reading their energy. He wasn’t very good at it yet as Heechul could do this without even having to concentrate, but he was done before Changmin could think to take advantage of that.
“The bonded demon has the energy of the royal family!” he suddenly shouted.
Someone else started saying: “But two of them are wearing-”
“The one in the middle is a human, you idiot. But why the hell are you even asking? Just kill them all!”
And almost immediately after that Changmin winced, struggling to keep up his shield. The blows of their swords were strong and sharp.
“Can we move?” Yunho asked.
Changmin felt Junsu squeeze his arm and he tried to take a step to the left, but immediately his shield wavered and someone almost managed to hit Yunho.
“I can’t keep it up if we move,” he said, teeth clenched.
“Then we’ll just have to get them out of the way,” Yunho said. “Protect Junsu.” And before Changmin could ask what he meant he’d stepped away from them and ran to the closest demon.
That first one was surprised by Yunho’s speed and the others only noticed what was going on by the time he slumped down and Yunho was holding his sword.
The second knew what to expect and Yunho couldn’t get close enough right away as he had to avoid a burst of energy.
None of the others went to back up their friend in fighting Yunho, four pairs of eyes focused on Changmin, occasionally they fired at his shield, but they seemed impressed by its strength and were trying to figure out what to do next.
If they got closer they would break through and he and Junsu would be cornered. Changmin took a deep breath, let down his shield and fired a burst of energy at the closest one.
He wasn’t holding a weapon but he put his all into the blow and mostly by luck it hit the demon full in the chest.
Four more, no, three. Yunho called his name and threw him a sword, he was holding another himself.
In the moment he paused to catch, someone ran up to him. In his haste to catch the sword, jump in front of Junsu, and block his attacker at the same time, he almost lost his balance.
An evil grin spread on the demon’s face and he managed to kick Changmin’s feet from under his body. He raised his sword as the one meant for Changmin fell to the ground between them.
Changmin heard Yunho call his name, but it almost drowned in the sound of metal clashing with metal.
Changmin reached for his sword, denying the voice in his head that he’d never be fast enough. And then it was suddenly gone.
Junsu had reached over his body and picked it up, moving so fast that Changmin wondered for a second how Yunho had come over here so quickly. By the time he realised who was saving him, Junsu was pulling his sword out of one demon’s chest and jumped aside to avoid getting hit by an attack of another.
Changmin was completely dazed for all the time it took the body next to him to fall to the ground and then a little longer. When he saw Junsu run over to the demon who wasn’t fighting Yunho, he snapped out of it, grabbed the sword that had been about to pierce him moments ago, and ran after his mate.
Before Changmin could reach them, Junsu had somehow taken out his own opponent and moved in behind the demon only focused on throwing energy at Yunho to prevent him from getting closer. Junsu’s sword pierced his back.
Changmin was too surprised to talk. Not that he got the chance anyway. Someone grabbed his arm. Heechul.
“We have to get back to the city now!”
Heechul had come with about twenty palace guards and they were all focused on the forest behind Changmin’s house. Changmin didn’t even have to look, he could feel the energy, hear the drumming of footsteps.
Heechul threw up a shield around the two of them and Changmin felt it deflect the first attack from afar.
“Junsu!”
Junsu split a burst of energy with his sword, having to take a step back at the force. A guard covered for him and he turned around to face Changmin.
“Go! They want you!”
“I’m not leaving you!”
“He’s right,” Heechul said, “they want you. And I can’t shield three people while moving, so he’d better stay with the guards than run with us, unprotected. They have orders to hold back any attackers while we set up the shield and they’ll get backup soon. When the shield is in place they’ll retreat.”
“I’m not leaving him!” Changmin’s voice was bordering on desperate.
Yunho appeared in front of them. “Take him to the city, I have your back!”
Heechul nodded and pulled on Changmin’s arm, Changmin resisted and looked at Junsu. Junsu smiled at him.
Amidst the sounds of an impending battle and the sight of a mass of bodies emerging from between the trees, Junsu’s smile still drowned out everything else. Something shone in Junsu’s eyes and something deep in Changmin’s soul supplied: ‘I’m glad I can finally tell you’.
“I’m a warrior, Changmin,” Junsu said over a burst of energy that shook the ground with a dull sound and a cloud of dust. “The best in my village. I can handle this.”
Heechul’s grip on Changmin’s arm tightened and he pulled him along, in de direction of the city, followed by Yunho.
Junsu turned around and faced the battle.
Chapter 12
Chapter 10 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 1 - Prologue