Of Rose Petals and Rosy Lips

[kaisooficrec]

Title: Of Rose Petals and Rosy Lips
Author: TBA
Genre: Fantasy, Fluff
Rating: PG-13
Length: ~6,000 words
Summary: Jongin has a green thumb.



Bzzt bzzt.

Kyungsoo blinks awake, and rubs his eyes. It’s barely light outside, not yet six in the morning, who the fuck could be calling him right now? And interrupting a wonderful dream, too.

Groaning, Kyungsoo heaves himself across his bed to reach for his phone. He misses and accidentally knocks it onto the floor. Growling in frustration, Kyungsoo slithers halfway out of bed to grab it, rather than actually getting up.

Its Jongin. Of course it is; who else wakes up this early on a normal day? Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, but answers anyway.

“What.” He snaps, rubbing his face with his hand.

“Kyungsoo! I have an urgent problem, I need your advice like, right now!”

“What?” Kyungsoo frowns into the darkness, wondering what on earth could be the problem now, “Right now?”

“Yeah,” Jongin pants on the other end of the line. “I’m- I’m already on my way, I’ll be there in a few minutes. Please don’t just go back to sleep, this is important a-and I don’t know what to do.”

“Can’t it wait?” Kyungsoo whines, allowing himself to flop back onto his bed. Yes, Jongin is his best friend, but still. There should be limits to how early your best friend can wake you up and still be your best friend.

“No. Now. See you in a minute.” He hangs up. Kyungsoo shuts his eyes and drops his phone onto the floor, sighing extra loudly even though Jongin can’t hear him anymore.

Kyungsoo almost dozes off again waiting for his best friend to arrive, but when the doorbell rings he wakes up instantly. He flails around amongst his blankets for a moment before getting up; bringing some of the blankets with him and letting them fan out behind him like a cape. Upon opening the door, Kyungsoo squints at the bright light and struggles to bring his best friend into focus. He hasn’t put his contacts in yet and he forgot to put his glasses on before getting up- Jongin looks like a smudge at the moment but he can tell it’s him and not some weirdo selling stuff at godawful hours in the morning.

“Let me in, let me in,” Jongin urges, bouncing on his toes.

“Ok, ok, calm down.” Kyungsoo grumbles. Moving aside, Jongin darts in and heads straight for his bedroom; barely pausing to kick his shoes off. Befuddled, Kyungsoo follows the taller boy who seems to be in such a rush and finds himself covering his eyes when Jongin switches on the light.

“Jongin, why are you even awake this early?” He complains, sitting heavily on his bed and bundling himself up in as many blankets as he can reach. Jongin doesn’t reply, because Kyungsoo already knows the answer. Apparently his body runs with nature: he rises when the sun does.

Jongin starts to remove his shirt and Kyungsoo’s eyes bulge, wondering if this is actually all just a continuation of the dream he was having earlier.

“Whoa, whoa, w-what are you doing?” He squeaks. Instead of answering, Jongin just turns his back to him. His lean, tan and lightly muscled back. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Put your glasses on,” Jongin orders, voice tight. Kyungsoo does so, poking himself in the eye with the arm first try. It’s too early for this, he thinks irritably. When his glasses are on, he still has to focus hard to see what Jongin is trying to show him.

It’s a plant. Well, two little sprouts. Growing right out of his back.

“I knew you liked plants, Jongin, but don’t you think this is taking it a little bit too far?”

“I didn’t put these here!” He scream-whispers, conscious of the neighbours.

“Well, how did they get there, then?” Kyungsoo gets up to get a better look. They’re tiny, barely half the size of his little finger, growing straight out of his skin; but they look tough. He’s never seen anything like them. He reaches out as if to touch, but changes his mind at the last second, not wanting to hurt them.

“I don’t know! I was hoping you might have some explanation.” Jongin whines, looking backwards over his shoulder, bottom lip caught in his teeth.

“Nope. Other than you’re super weird.”

“I’ll never be able to go outside again! Kyungsoo, what do I dooo?” Jongin collapses dramatically onto Kyungsoo's bed. Sighing, Kyungsoo joins him, patting his head awkwardly. This is all surreal, and reality hasn’t really sunk in yet.

“You just went outside to get here, don’t be an idiot.”

“But what happens if they grow bigger?” He whines, words muffled as he doesn’t bother turning his head to the side.

“Cut them off?” Kyungsoo shrugs.

“What? How could you even say that?!” This time he jerks up so abruptly that it makes Kyungsoo jump.

“I thought you didn’t want them there?” Kyungsoo’s eyebrows draw together into a straight line, confused.

“I- I don’t know. I want them... I think? I can’t just- cut them off.” His face screws up like the very idea is abhorrent to him.

“Ok; no pruning. Got it.” He nods, “Then we just need to think of a way to hide them? It shouldn’t be too hard yet, I mean- I don’t know how fast they’re going to grow, but not that fast, right?”

“I don’t know what they are, they could be really quick to grow.”

“Like herbs? Imagine having a herb garden growing on your back.” Kyungsoo chuckles. “Or mushrooms, like in anime. You could be a Korean Tamaki Suoh.”

“Ha ha.” Jongin fake laughs, rolling from his front to his side, “this is serious.”

“C’mon, that would be pretty funny.”

“For you, maybe,” Jongin grumbles, but he’s smiling. Kyungsoo can tell just by his eyes. He wriggles his way over to Kyungsoo, propping his head up on Kyungsoo’s lap.

Holding his face, Kyungsoo tries to cover up the inevitable blush that surges to his cheeks- he is only wearing his boxers: what makes him think putting his cheek on his bare thigh is ok? Jongin squirms, and Kyungsoo has to bite his lip to stop himself from making any noise. It’s not like he hasn’t thought about being in situations like this, but actually having it happen is something else entirely. Trying to think of a way to calm his racing heart, he sets his mind to something, anything else. He ends up humming the theme from a show he’s started watching recently, keeping his arms stiffly away from his friend’s half naked body. Even still, he can feel the warmth radiating from his skin.

“You know that’s a kids’ show, right?” Jongin teases. Kyungsoo can almost hear the infuriating twinkle in his eye. He slaps his head lightly.

“Shut up, plant boy,” Kyungsoo goes back to sitting as still as he can while Jongin lays on him. They rest in quiet like this for a while, until the sun is fully up, and when Kyungsoo’s usual alarm goes off he asks, “What time do you have class today?”

“Don’t have any today.”

“I have one in just over an hour. Hey, why don’t you go home and sit with your plants. You can become one with the little forest you have in there.” Kyungsoo jokes. Jongin’s room is full, almost to bursting, with plants of all kinds. It’s a wonder they haven’t all died yet, but Jongin always was gifted with his greenery.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re any more of a freak than I did before. We’ll figure this out.” Kyungsoo reassures him, carefully dislodging his head and going to get dressed. The door of his closet is the perfect angle for him to hide behind as he undresses.

“I’ve got to go now, but I’ll come by yours after class, ok?” He promises.

“Alright. If I buy the stuff, will you cook for me?” “Only if you buy different vegetables. You always buy the same things, it’s so boring.” Kyungsoo shoots Jongin a look from around the door as he pulls a sweater on. He’s such a picky eater, it’s like he lives solely on granola. And cucumber.

“How about you buy stuff, and then I’ll give you the money later?”

“Sure. Text me what you want me to buy then,” Kyungsoo tells him, grabbing a cereal bar before going to put his shoes on, not wanting to be late for the bus. Jongin agrees with a wordless noise, and then Kyungsoo is out the door. Hopefully Baekhyun doesn’t notice that he’s coming from the wrong direction when they meet up before class.

After a week, the sprout has grown leaves and is larger. Jongin still isn’t sure what plant it is yet, but it looks like it’s not a herb like Kyungsoo had theorised. The pair of them had spent a day in the library trying to find anything that could be the cause of such a thing, but no books and no results on google told them anything new. The amount of horrifying images of people with gangrene or mouldy skin that he found made his stomach turn. Jongin’s problem is at least pretty on the eyes. After a while they gave up on looking for an explanation, and tried to find a solution other than cutting it off. Again, they found nothing particularly useful.

Kyungsoo grips the shopping bag in his hand and tries to ignore how clammy he hands are. As an attempt for a solution, he has gone shopping today. The experience will probably be listed among the top five most embarrassing moments of his life so far.

He was in a lingerie shop, buying a bra. Being a gay man, he has had pretty much zero experience with this kind of thing before now, but he thinks he did an ok job. The one he bought isn’t lacy, and it isn’t delicate. It should protect Jongin’s sprouts so he can go outside without worrying about them being crushed by his clothes. Maybe. He hopes.

He scales the stairs of Jongin’s dorm building until he reaches the right floor, and edges down the corridor warily, not wanting to encounter anyone he might know while holding this bag. At his best friend’s door, he knocks urgently. The door creaks open a little bit, and Jongin peers around, only showing his eyes.

“Did- did you get it?” He whispers, looking left and right as if they doing something illegal.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo hisses, “Now let me in, I forgot to bring a normal bag so I’ve been carrying around the one with the logo all the way here!”

“Oh, yeah, sorry!” Jongin flings the door open and lets him inside, and Kyungsoo almost tumbles through to the entryway. The bag falls from his hands and Jongin nudges it with his socked foot.

“It’s not going to explode, idiot.” Kyungsoo laughs at his childishness, “Just take it through to your room, I’ll be there in a sec.” Jongin blanches but does as he asks, gingerly holding it between his thumb and forefinger. His sprouts bounce slightly with every step he takes.

Because of this plant thing, Kyungsoo has been given the golden opportunity to see more of his best friend shirtless than ever before, and while he can’t help but feel guilty for thinking this way sometimes, he has decided to burn each instance into his mind forever.

Shaking his head rid himself of his reverie, Kyungsoo hurries to remove his shoes and slide into Jongin’s room. He can’t keep entertaining fantasies that one day Jongin will suddenly realise he’s in love with him too. It’s silly. Unrealistic.

Every single time he comes into Jongin’s room, he is always overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of green in here- plants growing everywhere he looks, crawling all over the walls and across the windows, sprouting in pots along the windowsill and draping over his wardrobe.

Jongin is scowling at the bag in agitation, as it’s refusing to open for him. Kyungsoo sighs loudly and takes it from him, opening it with ease and handing back a white sports bra, which apparently has ‘excellent shock absorption’. It has a large band and a fairly small cup size and Jongin looks at it miserably.

“I don’t want to do this.”

“But you do want to go outside, right?” Kyungsoo raises one eyebrow. Jongin pouts, but nods. Kyungsoo moves one finger in a circle for him to turn around.

This can’t be the peak of my life, Kyungsoo thinks, as he holds the cups of Jongin’s brand new bra in place for Jongin to fasten it. When Jongin turns back to face him again, after pulling his arms through the straps, he is red faced and sulky.

“Aw, don’t be a baby,” Kyungsoo pats his cheek, Jongin’s huge brown eyes stare up at him, like wells of chocolate, and he almost relents. “Go put a shirt on, we need to see if this actually works,”

“Ok,” Jongin drags his feet over to his drawers, and picks out a t-shirt at random, pulling over his head.

“What’s the verdict?” He poses dramatically, hands on his hips, looking over his shoulder. Kyungsoo covers his face with his hand, and tries not to laugh. He fails to contain it, however,

“You look like you’ve got boobs on your back,” he manages to get out around the giggles.

Jongin visibly deflates.

“Damn it. I was really hoping this would work.”

“It’s not so bad- you wouldn’t be able to tell if you wore a jacket.”

“But it’s summer!” Jongin protests, pinging the collar of his top, “It’s hot enough as it is,”

“I guess. But you can’t just stay here forever.” “I know.” Jongin sulks, scooting onto his bed. “Why me,” he moans into his pillow. Which is green.

“Hey. Even if you are a freak now, I still like you.”

“Thank you Kyungsoo, that means a lot,” Jongin replies, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Wearing his new underwear, and a decent sized jacket, the both of them manage to venture into the outside world. After a little persuasion on Kyungsoo’s part, that is. When they meet up with their friends in the pub, Jongin does a good job of hiding it and Kyungsoo is impressed. He’s just looking for signs of discomfort, he tells himself, as he stares at the golden skinned man. It’s not the whole truth, and he knows it. Baekhyun nudging him tells him that he isn’t the only one who knows that.

“You’re being obvious again,” Baekhyun warns, whispering the words into his ear so no one else catches on.

“I can’t help it,” Kyungsoo mutters back, frustrated with himself for being caught.

“You really should just ask him out. Or kiss him, I know he’s dense but even he should get the message then,”

“Shh, no! I am not going to do that!” Kyungsoo hisses, “that would be sexual assault and I am not an assaulter.”

“Ok, well-”

“What are you two whispering about over there?” It’s Jongin who interrupts them, looking at them strangely. Are Kyungsoo’s ears red? Probably. He grips his beer a little tighter and smiles anyway, hoping no one can tell in this dim light.

“Yeah, join the rest of us.” Chanyeol butts in, “Iron Man is better than Captain America, right? Right?”

“Uh, no. Captain America is the better superhero,” Baekhyun argues, “He’s not an asshole,” It’s the same argument that they always have, but Kyungsoo is glad for it as it draws the attention away from him. He takes a sip of his drink and watches Baekhyun and Chanyeol do their thing, pretending not to see the inquisitive glances from Jongin.

The bra is too small to use after a only month of Jongin’s little plant problem. It coils down his back, and is starting to bud. Jongin has no choice but to sleep on his front now, and it’s all Kyungsoo can do to keep himself from cooing at the prints on his cheeks from the pillows. Neither of them have any idea what’s going on still, but they’re managing. Between lectures and seminars, Kyungsoo brings him food and lecture notes from his friends, claiming illness as the reason he doesn’t leave his room anymore. Baekhyun had winked at him suggestively when he told them, and teased him mercilessly in front of everyone in the lecture theatre- “and you’re the only one who’s allowed to take care of him. Live the dream, Kyungsoo.” Kyungsoo had given him the finger and stalked out. Of course, being bright red didn’t really help, and his blatant embarrassment had Baekhyun in hysterics.

About a week before, Jongin had figured out that the plants were roses, because of the thorns, though what kind of roses he isn’t sure yet. They may be huge red ones, or tiny white ones. Kyungsoo is excited to see which it will be.

It looks like a small bush is growing atop Jongin’s back, and Kyungsoo would love to take photos, but Jongin doesn’t want anyone seeing him like this.

“Can you feel this?” Kyungsoo asks, running his finger gently along one of the larger leaves. Jongin shivers. Smirking, Kyungsoo strokes more of it, trying to provoke more of a reaction.

“I can, but it’s kind of like hair? I can’t feel from the thing itself, but I can tell when it’s being touched.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo retracts his hand. As much as he would love to spend all day running his hands through his best friend’s hair, or in this case, rosebush, it would be too...it wouldn’t be right. They’re just friends.

“Also, be careful not to prick yourself, those thorns are no joke,” He says, “At least now I know it’s not a tree, huh? That would be terrible.”

“You would get stuck everywhere.” Kyungsoo agrees, picturing Jongin with an oak tree attached to his back like a turtle. “Would you even be able to move in the first place?”

“I have no desire to find out,” Jongin says dryly. He puts another cashew nut in his mouth, “this is bad enough,” He shakes a little so the rosebush jiggles. Kyungsoo snorts, and is about to tease him when Jongin speaks again. “What if it never stops? I’ll never be able to go out in public again. It’ll just keep growing and I’ll be stuck here forever like fucking sleeping beauty or something.” He pulls a pillow over his head. Kyungsoo considers this.

“...Does that make me the prince?” Kyungsoo asks coyly. He would do it, too; find a sword and slash down endless brambles just to reach him.

“Fuck off.” Comes the muffled reply. It hurts more than expected, remembering that everything is just one sided, and he has to take a moment to remind himself that they’re only ever going to be just friends before continuing.

“Have it your way. I was offering to save you, but no.” Kyungsoo sniffs. Jongin hits him with his green pillow.

It’s another early morning when Jongin calls Kyungsoo to come and see his rosebush. He sounds so bright that it could only mean one thing.

“This better not be another false alarm,” he grumbles. Like liquid, he slithers out of bed and forces himself to get dressed. Why does Jongin wake with the sun? He’s so stupid, why can’t he just sleep in like everyone else on the freaking planet? He doesn’t bother trying to fix his hair before leaving, Jongin can deal with his unkempt self.

On the walk to Jongin’s place, he walks into a lamppost and trips over a broken cement tile. It’s not his day today, and that’s only further proved when he spills the coffee he bought all down himself. By the time he reaches his destination, he is fuming.

Jongin greets him all smiles and sparkles and Kyungsoo barges past him, grumbling to himself. He only registers that Jongin is wearing a sheet over his rosebush when he almost steps on the trail. It makes him look like the hunchback of notre dame, and Kyungsoo wants to laugh but he’s too wound up still.

“What’s up with you?” Jongin asks, no longer smiling. Wringing his hands, he trails after his best friend into the sitting room. He shares the dorm with one other person, but they are so rarely around that Kyungsoo has never even seen them, so it’s safe for Jongin to come out here.

“Bad morning.” He sighs, rubbing his face, “you need to learn how to sleep in. Urgently.”

“You shouldn’t stay up so late,” Jongin counters, relaxing when he realises that he’s mostly just grumpy. “Stay still.” He orders. Kyungsoo blinks a few times and jolts as Jongin rearranges his hair for him. Staying impossibly still, he bites down on his lip. Jongin’s face is very close, and very beautiful. He would be jealous that he is able to look so good so early, but he’s too busy trying not to lean forward and kiss him. That would be inappropriate, and wrong, and no matter how much his brain is telling him how wonderful it would be, he can’t.

“There, that’s better. Wanna borrow some pants too?” He asks, pointing to the very obvious coffee stain there. Kyungsoo can only nod.

While Jongin goes to retrieve those for him, Kyungsoo stares into nothing. It would have been so easy to kiss him. And he so badly wants to. Would it be so wrong? He slaps his cheeks. Yes; it would. It would ruin their friendship, and they would never be the same again. Maybe someone would even place roses over the grave of their friendship, as a special kick of irony.

“Here,” Jongin says, the only warning Kyungsoo gets before the world goes dark. Kyungsoo pulls the tracksuit bottoms from his head and half-heartedly glares at Jongin.

As he changes out of his sullied clothes, he promises that he won’t do anything to endanger their friendship, no matter what.

As soon as he’s dressed and ready, Jongin prepares himself for the big reveal. He draws it out longer than a gameshow host, and Kyungsoo is ready to go over there and rip the sheet off himself but finally, he lets it fall to the ground.

There’s one red rose in the middle of his back, fully bloomed and beautiful. Kyungsoo feels his foul mood draining away as he stares at it.

“Looks good right?” Jongin grins over his shoulder as Kyungsoo draws nearer, running one fingertip along a petal. It really is lovely, he agrees. The older of the two nods, and counts how many more are yet to bloom. In total, there will be seven flowers, and Kyungsoo knows that it will be magnificent when they’re all out of their buds. Jongin shivers slightly at his touch.

“Hey, Kyungsoo? Y-you know what a rose means, right?” Jongin breaks his reverie with a soft whisper. Kyungsoo looks up in shock, nodding slowly. The golden skinned man stares at him meaningfully, cheeks as red as his roses, until Kyungsoo frowns. Is he insinuating what he thinks he’s insinuating? No way, he can’t be...

“Jongin?”

“It’s because... I-I love-”

Knock knock.

Jongin closes his mouth with a snap, eyes wide and nervous. “Can you get that?” He pleads, rapidly gathering his blankets off the floor and shuffling quickly back to his room.

Kyungsoo stands stock still.

Was he about to say...? As the realisation sinks in, his mind whirls. Jongin loves him? It’s mutual? He can’t believe it, He must have been hearing things- there’s no way that that was what he was going to say. He paces back and forth for a moment, trying to calm his heart, before another knock on the door reminds him what he was supposed to be doing. In a daze, he makes his way over to the front door, and smacks his cheeks a few times before opening it.

On the other side of the door is a young man, maybe a little older than them. His smile is blinding, and Kyungsoo narrows his eyes.

“Hello!” He greets him, bowing slightly, “Is Kim Jongin home?”

“Uhh, yes. He’s not...um, not available right now.” Kyungsoo says, wondering if his friend knows this guy.

“Oh, not to worry, I know exactly what he’s going through right now. We had a bit of trouble locating him, but now that we’ve found him everything should be fine!”

“Uhhh...what?” Kyungsoo is thoroughly creeped out by this guy. Not only is he far too peppy, he also seems to know too much.

“Please, let me explain,” he continues earnestly, “I know what’s going on and I can help.”

“Jongiiinn..?” Kyungsoo calls out, not taking his eyes off the suspicious stranger.

“What?” Jongin calls out from somewhere behind him. The man outside is looking nervous all of a sudden, like it hadn’t occurred to him that he might be rejected.

“Oh, please, let me in. I’ll explain, I promise!”

“Who the heck even are you?” Kyungsoo asks rudely.

“Ah! My name is Yixing!” He bows again. “For the same reason I assume Jongin isn’t coming outside, we can’t discuss anything out here. Please allow me to help you!”

“I’m sorry, what?” Kyungsoo leans away from him a little. The stranger, Yixing, looks around, making sure no one is nearby, the whispers conspiratorially.

“I know what your friend is going through. We’re the same.”

“What?” Just as Kyungsoo is about to ask what the hell he means by that, a hand slides onto his waist and Jongin’s head appears, chin resting on his shoulder. His grip is gentle but Definitely There and Kyungsoo is lost for words. What Jongin just said a moment ago replays in his mind over and over again.

“You know what’s going on?” Jongin asks, using his hold on Kyungsoo to pull him inside enough to let the strange man in. Kyungsoo splutters a bit at being manhandled like that, but after his half-confession he is still a bit muddled and nothing comes out right. Yixing sags in relief, toeing off his shoes and respectfully bowing to the both of them again as he walks in.

“Thank you. I know it’s hard to blindly trust a stranger, but I promise, I really am here to help.” He says quietly, standing in the centre of the room. Jongin gestures for him to sit down, still hiding behind Kyungsoo, and the man obliges.

“Well. I guess I’d better start from the beginning.” Yixing huffs.

“Yes, that would be nice.” Jongin assents. He pulls the smaller man closer into his body and Kyungsoo wonders if this is real.

“Well, first things first, you are a changeling.” He begins, “do either of you two know what that means?”

“Isn’t that to do with fairies?” Kyungsoo raises his upper lip- is this guy crazy?

“Fey, yes. You were given to a human family as a young sprite, due to overpopulation reasons.” Jongin’s hands tighten around Kyungsoo’s waist.

“That’s a terrible reason to give a child away.” Jongin accuses.

“It is, but there was the only thing your parents thought they could do to ensure your safety.” Yixing replies, clearly apologetic. “You may remove the sheet, I know it is stifling and it is no secret to me what you are hiding.”

There is a pause during which Jongin considers this, but then he shifts and Kyungsoo hears the fabric fall to the floor. He doesn’t move from his spot behind Kyungsoo however, and the thought warms him from the inside. Yixing nods in approval.

“Roses. I should have known. It suits you. My flowers are clematis; in case you were wondering.”

“Can you tell me more about me being a... changeling or whatever?” Jongin asks, still sounding dubious. Kyungsoo hardly blames him.

“Sit down, I implore you. This may take a while to set straight.” He gestures to the side of the sofa. Hesitantly, Jongin lets go of Kyungsoo and drags him along. He sets Kyungsoo in the middle. Kyungsoo starts to complain against this, but then Jongin sits so close to him that the words die on his tongue and he is left to fume. He had forgotten until now that he was shirtless. “When you were tiny, you were left in place of a human child, with a human family. Against the wishes of our queen, your parents killed the infant and adopted the practice of our ancestors long past, in an attempt to keep our race hidden. It has been forbidden to do so for over a hundred years, but a few decades ago the threat of us being discovered suddenly became very real, and many of our kind panicked.” A dark look crosses over his eyes, which causes chills to run down Kyungsoo's spine. “Many of us rushed to assure our future in any way we could, even if it meant doing the unthinkable.”

“I don’t understand; how would that even work?” Jongin’s nose wrinkles in disgust. Yixing looks at them both sadly.

“Before, we lived in rural villages, where all of the inhabitants were fey and we were safe. But technology began to advance, and we couldn’t keep our lives secret anymore. We had to integrate with the humans- that or die out entirely. Then rumours began circulating about us. Many of us hid our children among the humans and fled, terrified. In days long gone, we would have waited for the time when the child matured, and return to take them back, but it was such a frenzy that lots of children were lost. You were one of them.”

Kyungsoo scoffs, “You don’t honestly believe this, do you? This is the biggest heap of bullshit I’ve ever-” He cuts off the moment he sees the tears in Jongin’s eyes. Jongin hurries to wipe them away, but it’s too late, Kyungsoo has already seen them.

“I realise it’s difficult to believe, but it’s the truth.”

“So....my parents aren’t really my parents?”

“Oh, they are: they raised you- but your mother didn’t birth you.” The way this man speaks is odd, Kyungsoo thinks, and what he’s saying sounds like a pack of lies to him. But then, Jongin is sat next to him with a bush sprouting from his back. Maybe he shouldn’t be so quick to judge.

“I see.” Jongin sounds a bit choked up. Taking a risk, Kyungsoo lays his hand on his thigh to comfort him.

“Is that all you came here to say?”

“Oh, no. Far from it.” Yixing pulls a tatty slip of paper from his pocket, and unfolds it. “The main things I have to tell you are on here, but if you have questions, feel free to interrupt me.”

“Got it.”

Yixing goes over what feels like the entirety of Jongin’s heritage before even touching on the real issues. It’s nice to learn about Jongin’s family history, and obvious affinity for plantlife, yes, but what they both want to know is more about the rosebush growing on his back, not the inception of their kind thousands of years ago. And Kyungsoo wants to get this over and done with so they can go back to what they were talking about before, that is very important.

“What is it, exactly?” Kyungsoo is the first to ask when Yixing finally moves onto that part. Yixing draws up short.

“It’s a rosebush...?” He replies, unsure. Kyungsoo sighs,

“I know that but what is it doing on his back.”

“What is the hair doing on his head?” Yixing counters, “I don’t know- it’s just something fairies do. You’ll be pleased to know that it’s annual.”

“Annual?”

“It will fall off after all the flowers have died, and regrow again next year. Like deer with antlers: a cycle of nature.”

“So I won’t be stuck inside for the rest of my life?” Jongin’s warm breath fans over his cheek as he leans over Kyungsoo in excitement.

“Of course not!” Yixing chuckles, “though yours is quite large for such a young fey. Maybe you will be unable to go outside during the times when it is growing, but you will be alright soon enough.”

“That might be a month or two each year!”

“Yes. And that is why many lost fey are choosing to return to our villages, where they can live in relative safety. An invitation is extended to you; ifsoever you choose to accept it.”

“I’ll.... think about it.” Is all Jongin says.

“I can’t ask any more than that. If you want to get in touch with any of us, even just to meet your birth parents, all you need to do is give this number a call. I hope to see you again” He hands them what looks like a business card. It has all manner of flowers printed onto it, but no name.

“Ok.” Jongin squeaks, clutching the tiny card. Yixing sees himself out, and the door shuts with a kachnk that has a certain finality to it.

It’s silent for a while, neither of them knowing quite what to say.

“Well today has really been filled with revelations, huh?” Kyungsoo says quietly. Jongin doesn’t reply, and he’s wearing a vacant expression. His heart goes out to him- to learn such foundation-shaking facts about yourself: it can’t be easy.

“I’ll go...make dinner I guess.” Kyungsoo mumbles, getting up.

Jongin stops him, grabbing his wrist. “Wait, wait.”

Kyungsoo waits, wondering if Jongin can see the redness on his cheeks. “It feels like...you’re the one stable thing in my life at the moment.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way. I imagine it’s been really crazy for you lately. I’ll try to be here for you as much as I can.” He reassures him, gaze not faltering for a second. The corner of Jongin’s mouth twitches up gratefully. His hand slides down his arm until their fingers are intertwined and Kyungsoo gasps. Jongin’s eyes are wide and tremulous.

“Thank you. I was scared to say it until today, but I thought today was a good time... until Yixing burst in. You probably already figured it out, but what I was going to say was...I-I love you.”

Kyungsoo breaks his promise.

Before either of them even realise what’s going on, Kyungsoo’s lips are on Jongin’s, and his hands cradling his head. Jongin lets out a quiet surprised sound, but melts against him in the best way. Kyungsoo drags his fingers down his neck, and lets his palm rest on Jongin’s chest. Somehow he’s laughing- or is he crying? He isn’t quite sure.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Jongin pulls back, concern colouring his features.

“Nothing. I’m just happy.” Kyungsoo insists, when Jongin looks like he doesn’t believe him.

“I’ve loved you since forever, and you being fey or whatever changes nothing. I love you.”

“Well. You don’t need to cry about it,” Jongin reprimands lightly, wiping his face and smiling softly.

“It’s not like I’m trying to!” Kyungsoo sniffles, and wipes his hair out of his face. Jongin grins, and slowly, cautiously, pulls him into his arms, as if he’s asking for permission. Kyungsoo tries to reign it in but ends up with his face pressed into Jongin’s shoulder. He can’t help it- he smells so good, floral and rosy, and his arms feel so good around him. What must Jongin think of him right now?

“Who would have thought: I’m a fucking fairy.” Jongin sighs, leaning back a little and gazing at Kyungsoo with dewy eyes.

“Well, it does kind of mean a lot of things make sense now. Right?” Kyungsoo muses, “Like how damn picky you are, how you’re practically human- I mean fairy- fertilizer...”

“Why must you always pick on me?” Jongin complains, dragging his hands down Kyungsoo’s arms until their hands link almost automatically. Kyungsoo loves how natural it feels.

“You make it so easy,” Kyungsoo laughs. Jongin wrinkles his nose at him.

“So...are you going to meet your parents?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I will if you go with me, I don’t want to go alone.” Jongin pouts adorably.

“Of course. If you want me too, I’ll hold your hand the whole time, too.” Kyungsoo teases, though it would undoubtedly be nice to meet his parents together. Maybe they could introduce each other as boyfriends from the get-go. Kyungsoo half smiles just thinking about it.

“I definitely want that.”