Under the Same Skies 2/3
The city is restless on the day of Jongin and Joonmyun’s wedding. Merchants sell trinkets commemorating the big day while bakers offer one-of-a-kind sweets that would make anyone’s mouth water. Skilled healers offer their services for free in the name of the Prince. Peasants who would normally be ignored are encouraged to join in on the festivities, too. Children run around wearing their Sunday best, pretending to be the newlyweds chasing each other. The streets are packed with people, some of them heading over to the grandiose church in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the ceremony. Most people with a sensible brain await on the side of the road for the wedding parade to pass through so that they can see their beloved prince one last time as a bachelor.
Chanyeol sits at the window bay, staring out into courtyard as the castle makes last minute preparations. He had hoped to see Jongin one last time before he was whisked off to get ready for the ceremony, but the young prince wasn’t allowed to have any guests aside from immediate family. The announcement had him reeling back to his chambers. Soon his men will be here to help dress him for the wedding, but Chanyeol could care less about looking sharp since Jongin will always be the center of attention wherever he goes. The latter is full of life and so kind, like a moth to a flame, everyone is attracted to his vibrant personality.
“Your Grace, we need to begin dressing you now so you won’t be late,” one of Chanyeol’s pages informs him.
“Alright. I’m ready.” He isn’t.
Lengths of ivory organza drape from the high beams of the church, transforming the large building into an intimate venue. White rose petals decorate the center aisle, laid out haphazardly over the wooden floors, but everyone knows each petal was placed down meticulously. (The King would never leave things to chance). Bouquets of baby’s breath and hydrangeas sit in tall vases on either side of the altar while a man garbed in all beige plays the grand organ, filling the room with peaceful melodies.
Jongin looks stunning in his emerald green brocade jacket layered over a linen chemise with black trousers to top the outfit off. He scuffs his leather shoes against the floor as the priest reads the rites off from the leather-bound text in his wrinkled hands. Chanyeol should be paying attention to the service so he can report the happenings to his father, but his eyes are glued to the young prince. He wishes he were the one standing up on the raised platform next to Jongin instead of Joonmyun, to hold his hand and calm the nerves.
The sunlight shining in through the window casts a halo over Jongin’s mop of blonde hair as he turns to kiss his newly wedded husband, and Chanyeol’s heart shatters into pieces. He knew this was going to happen, but is completely unprepared for the gnawing feeling in his chest. When everyone rises to see the happy couple out of the church, his knees feel weak underneath the weight of his heavily embroidered jacket, or is it the weight of reality setting in?
He gives Jongin a weak smile as his lover passes by with his new husband clinging on his arm and stares at them as they disappear down the aisle and out of sight. The crowd outside can be heard cheering for the married couple, and the noise doesn’t die down as the guests head on out themselves. If the city was alive in the morning, it is now bursting at the seams with enthusiasm and laughter.
The reception is held in the grand dining hall of the castle, everyone from the kitchens to the royal family are seated at long wooden tables brought out just for the occasion. Goblets are filled to the brim with wine, and plates are covered in the finest foods available in the kingdom. For entertainment, the earth king has brought in fools who specialize in manipulating ice and water (in honor of his new son-in-law), making for quite a show in the front of the room. The guests laugh as a gigantic dragon ice sculpture bursts into droplets of water, dampening their clothes, but not their mood.
Chanyeol is more than tempted to step up from where he’s seated to melt down everything the performers construct and evaporate every last drop of water with the heat of his jealousy. He doesn’t want to be here, watching everyone have a good time while he’s miserable. Even though Jongin had told him he wasn’t enthusiastic about marrying Joonmyun, the young prince looks like he’s having a good time, too. He can’t blame his lover for smiling over the festivities because if this were under different circumstances, Chanyeol would be enjoying himself as well.
Toasts are made and cake is sliced. As much as Chanyeol loves watching drunk men make a fool of themselves and eating sweets like the next person, it’s hard to savor anything. Just like at the ceremony, all he has eyes for is Jongin. The young prince only looks his way every now, and then, but it’s enough to reaffirm his belief that he’s still on Jongin’s mind.
As the evening draws to a close, the King goes over to Chanyeol with the brightest smile on his face. It isn’t a wonder where Jongin inherited his gorgeous and breathtaking smile from.
Chanyeol doesn’t want to be rude and gets up to speak with the man, abandoning his mostly untouched dinner.
“Come, Prince Chanyeol, you will accompany us to observe the merry couple consummate their marriage!” the King declares, draping a meaty arm over Chanyeol’s shoulders.
“I am afraid I’ll have to pass, Your Royal Majesty. My mind is foggy from all the wine, and I’d like to retreat to my rooms for the rest of the evening.”
Chanyeol had more than his fill of alcohol during the grand feast because he was sickened by how jolly fellow guests were, congratulating Jongin and Joonmyun up on the dais. During lulls, Chanyeol would catch Jongin’s eye and they’d exchange solemn looks. From the succulent veal to the enticing plum tarts presented to him, nothing could curb the disgust rumbling in the pit of his stomach. He hated himself and the fates for setting up this holy matrimony.
The earth king frowns at Chanyeol’s easy refusal and must have taken offense. “Do you bid us such disrespect? I expected better from you Parks.”
Chanyeol contemplates whether it would hurt more to watch Jongin knocking boots with his new husband or receiving an earful from his father upon his return home.
“You must pardon me, Your Royal Highness I wasn’t thinking straight at first, but now I will be more than honored to join you, if you will so graciously excuse my idiocy,” the Prince makes a move to kneel down, but the King stops him by tugging on his arm.
“There will be no need for any of that, after all, we’re both god’s children. Now, let the festivities commence once more!” the King shouts out, raising his goblet in the air. The crowd around them follow suit and soon the entire hall is buzzing with even more excitement. Chanyeol thinks he’s about to hurl.
Select individuals follow behind the earth king as he leads them to the chambers where the newlyweds will consummate their marriage. As they get closer and closer, Chanyeol has to force himself not to run the other direction. He isn’t prepared for the show ahead of him. The wedding had him in a chokehold, and the consummation will have his life.
Jongin and Joonmyun are already in the room when the group arrives, garbed in thin white nightgowns. They look so small standing next to the behemoth of a bed, and Jongin searches for Chanyeol among the swarm of men, his heart unsure of how to feel. It’s a relief to see the other prince, but Jongin fears he’ll try to reach out for his hand when the stares get too overwhelming. On the other hand, he wishes Chanyeol weren’t here because they both know how the next few minutes will deepen the fissure between them. Jongin can’t have his cake and eat it, too, unfortunately.
Chanyeol averts his eyes when the couple start to disrobe and tries to shut out the obscene noises the party begins to make. He wishes he could escape now, but the doorway is blocked by other onlookers. The sounds only grow louder as the couple climb into bed together.
Chanyeol can’t bring himself to sleep that night, the moans from earlier on lingering in the forefronts of his mind. He knows it’s only human nature and that Jongin may not have really enjoyed having sex with Joonmyun, but the question of ‘what if’ keeps resurfacing. Not having the truth at his disposal drives him crazy.
The castle is more quiet than usual since most of the guests have passed out from too much wine, so there’s nothing to keep Chanyeol distracted. All he really has are the flames that he conjures up in the palm of his hands, bending them this way and that at his will. It’s only a brief form of entertainment as he throws miniature balls of fire at the stone wall, watching them leave singe marks behind as they die out.
He remembers the first time he demonstrated his powers for Jongin (without trying to kill him), wanting to impress the boy and ending up burning down the horse stables. His father was absolutely furious, but the fascination and amazement behind Jongin’s eyes were worth the punishments his father put into place after the younger boy had gone home.
At first, Jongin didn’t want Chanyeol to do anything because they would get in trouble for using their powers carelessly if caught. Chanyeol told him there was nothing to be worried about. Of course, he was wrong. His grasp on his powers were weak at the time, so willing a tiny wisp of fire to appear at his fingertips turned into a medium-sized ball of flames.
“It’s okay, Jongin. I’ll tell them it was my idea. You won’t get in trouble,” Chanyeol had consoled the boy as they watched the horses panic and stable boys scramble for buckets of water.
After awhile, he gets tired of playing games and rolls onto his side to stare at the night sky. It brings him a sense of comfort watching the stars twinkle lazily, but the only comfort he needs right now can only be found within Jongin’s embrace.
“It’s okay Jongin, but I’m not,” he murmurs to himself right before sleep takes over.
“We are so sad to see you go, Prince Chanyeol. It was an honor for us to be in your presence. I hope to see you again soon, maybe after the boys gets one of the whores pregnant.”
Chanyeol smiles up at the King and exchanges pleasantries of his own.
It’s finally time for him to go back after two weeks of hell. Relief and worry wash over him. He never has to see Jongin and Joonmyun interact ever again, but who knows what will happen when he’s gone. Jongin might learn to love his husband and forget all about Chanyeol in the process.
His bags and trunks are all packed up, ready for the long journey back to Ignis. The horses and his men await outside in the courtyard. All they need now is their prince and off they go, far, far away from the Kingdom of Earth.
“Father! Can I speak with our dearest guest once more before he departs? I’d like to thank him privately for coming all the way out here,” a warm voice fills the room. Chanyeol could pick it out of a crowd easily.
“Why, of course,” the King says, and turns to Chanyeol. “You’re not in a hurry, correct?”
Chanyeol shakes his head. He has all the time in the world when it comes to Jongin.
“That’s wonderful. Inform one of the servants when you’re about to go, and I’ll be out to send you off!”
Chanyeol barely catches the King’s words because all his senses are flooded with Jongin. The latter stands so close to him as they walk off to his private chambers, and if they weren’t being closely monitored, Chanyeol wouldn’t hesitate to close the distance between them.
Once behind closed doors and out of the public’s eye, Jongin breaks down sobbing, and Chanyeol gathers the broken man in his arms. He wasn’t really expecting a heart-to-heart talk when Jongin asked to speak with him in private, but this isn’t exactly what he was expecting either. It doesn’t matter what he had hoped to occur once they were alone anymore because now he needs to focus on calming his lover down.
“Jongin, please stop crying. We’ll definitely see each other again. This isn’t the end of the world,” he mumbles into Jongin’s ear as he rubs soothing circles into the small of his back. He isn’t sure who he’s trying to convince: Jongin or himself.
“I-I know, b-but… you and me. J-joon and I…,” is all Jongin can get out before burying his face into Chanyeol’s shoulder.
Chanyeol isn’t going to push him to say any more and leads them over to a bench so Jongin can be more comfortable. Jongin clings onto the older man tighter as sobs wrack his body. He hates the predicament they have fallen into and feels useless for not having any power to sway things in their favor. What’s the point of being in the one of the most influential families in the land when he can’t use it to his advantage?
They sit there for what feels like hours, but a knock on the door reminds them time isn’t on their side. Jongin lifts his head and sniffles, looking up at Chanyeol with red, puffy eyes. He isn’t ready to let his lover go back home just yet and leans in to share one last searing kiss. He tangles his fingers in the man’s hair as if to keep him there forever by his side and runs his tongue along every surface of his mouth in order to never forget the sweetest taste in the world.
“God, I’m going to miss you so much, Jongin,” Chanyeol breathes out when they pull apart, resting their foreheads together.
They’ve already gone through this conversation after their last night together when they both finished crying, draining up what little energy they had left.
“Not for long, I’ll visit you when my father gets word of your safe return home,” Jongin promises and gives Chanyeol’s hand a gentle squeeze.
“What about Joonmyun? I’m sure he’ll wonder where you’re always disappearing to,” Chanyeol voices his concern. As much as he’d love to have Jongin coming to his room almost every night, the fact that the man is married now makes the arrangement almost impossible.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll figure out a way if it means seeing you again. Even if it may not be like before, you’ll wait for me, right?”
Chanyeol answers him with a kiss.
Chanyeol waits and waits, yet Jongin hasn’t come to him in over a month since the wedding. He doesn’t want to believe the worst, but there can’t possibly be any other explanation. Jongin usually tells him in advance if he won’t be able to visit for a period of time, and if he doesn’t, the most they’re away from each other is two weeks. It drives him crazy not knowing what Jongin’s reasons are for leaving him utterly alone with his poisoned thoughts.
He tries to distract him by picking up a book in the castle library, but the one he happens to choose is about a knight and his mistress. When that doesn’t work out, he goes over to the stables in the hopes of taking his trusty steed for a ride around the nearby fields. He isn’t surprised to find out it’s running a fever. There’s nothing left for him to do but lie out on a marble bench in the gardens, watching the birds find food for their nestlings.
“I should find you something productive to do in the kitchens since you look bored out of your mind.”
Chanyeol glances up to find his father looming over him with a stern expression on his face and scrambles to sit up straight because he doesn’t want to get flour in his hair.
“I was only joking. Tell me what’s on your mind. I can tell something has been troubling you,” his father says and joins him on the bench.
“It’s nothing,” he lies through his teeth. It wouldn’t make sense to tell his father he’s been secretly meeting Jongin all these years.
“Jongin is nothing to you?”
Alarms go off in his head. There is no way his father knows about his biggest secret or else he would have been busted long ago when Jongin started to visit him when they were children. He tries to figure out an explanation for his father’s strange words and nearly pisses his breeches seeing the way his father continues to look at him in all seriousness.
“You think I wouldn’t know a trespasser has been entering my home almost every single week for the past seventeen years?”
“But… h-how? Why?” he stammers outs.
“The walls have eyes and ears, Chanyeol, mine to be exact. I have men and women working around the clock to make sure nothing is amiss. This castle is far too massive for me alone to keep watch of. When I first found out about Jongin’s visits, I wanted to tell his father immediately, but you two were merely having fun for an hour before he went home. It seemed harmless,” his father explains.
Chanyeol knows his father is purposely leaving out the part where he and Jongin began to have sex, and the thought of his father knowing everything about his personal business is humiliating.
“I’ve since stopped checking on you two when you turned sixteen, so don’t worry. I did hope that your attendance at his wedding would end your feelings for him, though. I was wrong, sadly.”
Chanyeol’s jaw drops. He replays his father’s words in his head and is now absolutely disgusted by his intentions. His father purposely had him go all the way to Terra in his stead to watch the man he loves marry someone else. It was a cruel plan, and he can feel bile rising up in the back of his throat. How heartless could a father be?
“This is absurd. I would expect such sickening behavior from an untrained dog, but you, father? I can’t believe my ears.”
He pushes aside all formalities by leaving in a rush and running off to his room. He knows his father can easily take down the doors if he feels like it, but the fire prince could care less.
Maybe his father is right, though, he figures an hour into his solitary confinement. There’s no point in pining for someone who is already married.
Chanyeol sees Jongin again three weeks later, and his father’s words are easily forgotten. The pain of betrayal is replaced by the pain of worry. He never stopped wondering what happened to his lover and couldn’t function properly without any answers.
The first thing Jongin does is apologize for his absence, reciting the past month’s events. He had been moving to the newest wing in the castle and making arrangements to ensure the process ran smoothly. It took a long time to get accustomed to Joonmyun’s constant presence in his life, but eventually he became comfortable enough as to undress around his new husband.
The last point has Chanyeol dumbfounded. He doesn’t want to think about Jongin and Joonmyun seeing each other in their natural states. The consummation still haunts him to this day, so there is no need to know intimacy (or at least glimpses of nudity) is a part of their daily lives. His jealousy is misplaced, but he can’t help blaming Joonmyun for everything.
“I see. Well, I’m glad you haven’t dropped me like a deadweight, yet.”
“Yet? What makes you think I’ll ever leave you?”
Chanyeol doesn’t want to voice the terrible thoughts which been circling his mind ever since the day he left Terra. They promised each other nothing would change between them, but people and priorities do. The day either of the princes gets one of the castle whores pregnant, he knows it’ll be the end for them. Children are a hassle and demand their parents’ absolute attention. There won’t be any room for Chanyeol and the love they once had for each other. He wants to believe they’ll live an unconventional happily ever after despite all of this, he truly does.
These are the same worries he’s had before, but they’ve manifested into monsters that lurk in the shadows, waiting to attack. They drive him insane, and there’s nothing he can do about them because he’s powerless against his own insecurities.
“I hate how after everything we’ve been through, you’re still hesitant to tell me what’s on your mind. Isn’t my being here enough to prove to you that I haven’t given up on us?” Jongin pleads, taking both of Chanyeol’s hands between his own.
Chanyeol can’t believe how small Jongin looks right now before him. The young prince has always had a big presence wherever he went with that easygoing personality and welcoming smile, yet now it’s as if he’s reverted back to his childhood self.
“Our lives are like the tides, ever changing,” Chanyeol says solemnly.
Jongin frowns. “And just like the tides, I’ll always be here.”
Chanyeol tries his keep up the serious expression on his face, but Jongin knows exactly how to crack him open.
“I fucking hate you,” he mumbles, kissing his lover on the forehead.
“I know. Why don’t you show me how much you hate me in the bed?” Jongin challenges.
After they’re sated and relishing in the post-coitus bliss, Chanyeol comes to the conclusion that his father is absolutely wrong. He has every right to go after Jongin even if the man is unobtainable at the moment. Nothing can get in the way of their love.
Chanyeol’s 25th birthday is coming up soon, and in order to celebrate it properly, his father brings in the best chefs, bakers, seamstresses, entertainers, and anyone else he can think of to make this the best day of his son’s life. Chanyeol thinks it’s a bit excessive to have a monument built in his name on top of everything else going on, but his father insists.
“It’s to commemorate the big day!”
All Chanyeol really needs is to see Jongin, who is not surprisingly one of the many people on the guest list. It dismays him to see Joonmyun’s name right underneath, but there’s no other way to go about it because offending an entire kingdom isn’t on Chanyeol’s to-do list. He hopes when he sees Joonmyun again, he’ll be able to stay civil whenever the water prince gets a little too close to Jongin’s personal space.
He isn’t allowed to oversee any of the preparations since his father wants everything to be a surprise, so he spends most of the days leading up to the celebration wondering what the monkeys by the stables are for and why the kitchens smell like burning smoke every time he passes by. He tries to ask maids, servants, and pages for a clue, but everyone stays mum.
“I apologize, Your Royal Highness, but the King has sworn the entire castle to secrecy.”
When Jongin visits the week the invitations are sent out, Chanyeol makes sure to give him a very special and personal one. He wants to make sure the man doesn’t miss one of the biggest days of his life because it wouldn’t be the same without his lover there.
The most important guests arrive several days in advance, a majority of them being dukes and duchesses from the other clans in the Kingdom of Fire. They’re all stiff and proper which has Chanyeol believing even the men wear restricting corsets under their doublets and jackets. He greets them with finesse and grace. When Jongin and his father come through the main gates, Chanyeol greets them with idiocy.
“Jongin!” he cries out, throwing his arms around his lover.
The entire castle and Jongin’s entourage look on uncomfortably because showing any signs of affection in the public eye is reserved for parents and their children. Chanyeol doesn’t realize his faux pas until his father clears his throat from behind. His cheeks turn beet red as he takes a step back and tries to apologize to the earth king for his rude behavior. Jongin is fighting back a stupid grin.
“It’s not me whom you should apologize to, it’s Prince Joonmyun,” the King says, gesturing to his son-in-law.
Chanyeol chews on his inner cheek. He purposely blocked out Joonmyun and focused all his attention on Jongin when they had arrived. Looking over at the shorter male has him fighting the urge to throw up.
“I’m sorry for offending you, Prince Joonmyun. I didn’t mean to assault your - the Prince Jongin.”
Joonmyun shakes his head and waves off Chanyeol’s apology. “It’s okay. I know you two are merely good friends. A true friend is hard to come by nowadays, so I’m glad you do Jongin the honor of being his companion.”
Everyone is head over heels for the way Joonmyun has handled the situation and Chanyeol is seething inside. Even in foreign territory, Joonmyun knows how to win the people over. If the man wasn’t a thorn to his side, he’d want them to be allies.
“Let’s get you all settled in your quarters now,” Chanyeol’s father says, gesturing for the earth king and his family to follow the servants in waiting.
“You’re almost another year older, yet you still act like a child,” Jongin comments.
“In my defense, I really like you,” Chanyeol whispers into Jongin’s ear, pulling away when a steward walks on by.
They’re sitting in the atrium together where most of the things Chanyeol’s father has brought in for the birthday celebration are stored. Most of it being tapestries, tables, candles, and chairs, but there are a couple things he hasn’t been able to make out thanks to the burlap cover.
No one minds the pair because they only look like two friends catching up, but if anyone were to pay close attention, they’d notice the way Jongin’s eyes light up as he listens to Chanyeol talk and how Chanyeol leans in just a little too close to take in Jongin’s scent.
Jongin punches Chanyeol on the arm, and the latter lets out a yelp.
“Is everything all right here?”
“Yeah, there was a fly on the Prince, and I killed it for him.”
“As if she actually believed that stupid lie,” Chanyeol hisses, clutching onto his arm.
“Would you have rather had me tell her I just wanted a reason to touch you?” Jongin asks, quirking a brow.
Chanyeol’s cheeks flush for the second time that day, and he buries his face in his hands out of embarrassment. He hates how easily Jongin can fluster him in under two seconds.
“M-moving on, what took you so long to come here? Couldn’t you all have just teleported here?”
Chanyeol was like a puppy dog every time he found out someone new had arrived to the castle, running down to the gates to see who their guest was. His mood deflated whenever he saw a face that didn’t belong to Jongin. He hid his disappointment to the best of his abilities, but it became harder with each new person who wasn’t Jongin. The day before, he almost scowled at his own great uncle.
“Because not everyone is me, and do you realize how much of an effort it is to bring trunks upon trunks of clothing and gifts? Travelling by horse was the reasonable decision. Unlike you, we don’t abuse our powers.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Jongin rolls his eyes.
Time is forgotten as Jongin shares stories about his misadventures in the kitchen, trying to bake bread for the poor while Chanyeol has ridiculous theories about the secret his father is keeping under wraps. Jongin doesn’t believe Chanyeol is going to get a horde of monkeys for pets, but he amuses his lover anyway by asking him what he’ll name all of them.
Chanyeol knows he can’t ignore Joonmyun forever since the man is a guest in his home, and Chanyeol wants to be a gracious host. He goes out of his way to be courteous with the shorter male, smiling whenever they pass by one another and insisting he gets served first during meals together. It’s hard pretending to like someone, but he supposes going down in history as the most hated man is worse.
He tries to get out of spending any extra time with the older prince, but wanting to be with Jongin means his husband needs to tag along automatically. Conversations are awkward and interactions even more so. He unconsciously reaches for Jongin’s hand on several occasions as the three of them walk through the gardens and city, and finds himself squeezing in between the couple to keep Joonmyun away from Jongin.
Joonmyun is either blind or way too polite to say anything. He just allows for these things to happen without a care in the world. His happy-go-lucky attitude makes Chanyeol uneasy because he’s afraid Joonmyun is trying to gather enough evidence to prove Jongin’s affair.
“Do you think he knows?” Chanyeol asks one day when it’s only him and Jongin along with a guard of men following them from a safe distance. He had insisted they go out for a ride on the countryside.
Jongin clutches the reins tighter at the question because he’s been wondering the same thing himself. Joonmyun is a quiet man, but isn’t afraid to speak his mind when something wrong is happening. There were plenty of opportunities for his husband to point out how close he was with Chanyeol, yet nothing came out of his mouth.
“I don’t know, but we should be more careful around each other just to be safe. I don’t want to arouse any suspicions,” Jongin sighs out. He thought his visit here to Ignis would be fun-filled and instead he’ll have to be overly cautious around the birthday boy.
Chanyeol wants to protest, but he knows that Jongin only has their best interests at heart. He has always been the level-headed one in the relationship.
“Fine,” he grumbles and glances over his shoulders to see how much distance there is between them and the guards. They’ve lagged behind significantly ever since their departure from the castle. If his father ever heard about this, he’d have a heart attack because god knows what kind of thieves lurk on these roads. Holding a prince or two hostage can bring in a pretty penny.
“Hey,” he calls over to Jongin. “On the count of three, we’re going to spur the horses into a gallop and take a turn into those woods up ahead.”
“That’s a really stupid idea. You’re going to get the both of us -” Jongin’s eyes widen when Chanyeol shouts out ‘three’, and he panics, kicking his horse to move faster and catching up with Chanyeol who’s ten paces ahead already.
He can hear the guards crying for them to stop, hot on their tails. Dust clouds form behind him as he urges his horse onward and prays that’ll be enough to deter the men.
Once inside of the woods, the terrain is harder to traverse with the slopes and broken branches littering the ground. Jongin loses sight of Chanyeol among the trees, but fears calling out for him because that will make his location known to the guards. To prevent any injury, he dismounts from his steed and carefully leads it towards the unknown.
Jongin wishes Chanyeol had waited for him or at least given him more directions so he wouldn’t be stuck wandering around in what feels like circles. He gives up finding his lover only ten minutes upon spotting a stream, stopping to give his horse a drink.
“Park Chanyeol, I’m going to kill you the next time I see you,” he mutters to himself, kneeling down and splashing water on his face.
He isn’t scared if he can’t find Chanyeol because the beauty of wielding the power of teleportation can come in handy in situations like this, but he doesn’t want to leave Chanyeol possibly dying thanks to a bear or some other ferocious creature.
He lays down his riding cape on the ground and rests on top of it, staring up at the sky through the trees’ foliage. There’s not a cloud in sight, a stark contrast to the grey skies above Terra thanks to the strong winds blowing down from the Kingdom of Air. It’s interesting to think when he and Chanyeol look up from their respective homes, they see completely different things. The sky is seamless, yet all of its beauty arises here in Ignis. He’s never taken notice of how the night sky differs on his visits, having always been preoccupied with a certain giant. Maybe tonight he can ask Chanyeol to -
“Is this seat taken?” Chanyeol asks, his face hovering over Jongin’s and finger pointing at Jongin’s lap.
Jongin holds back a scream and tries to reach up to claw at Chanyeol’s face for giving him such a scare. “Fuck you!”
He clutches his chest, trying to calm his racing heart and glaring up at his laughing lover. He doesn’t think any of this is funny and wants to seek revenge.
Once the two of them are breathing steadily, Jongin beckons for Chanyeol to lean down. He captures Chanyeol’s lips and coaxes his tongue out, sucking on it gently and earning himself a soft groan.
And then he bites down.
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Chanyeol falls back on his haunches and hisses.
“That’s what you get for scaring me like that,” Jongin defends himself and pats down on the empty space by his side, inviting his lover to join him.
Chanyeol is wary because Jongin might knee him in the groin next, but it’s a risk he’s willing to take as he settles down next to him and pulls the man against him. Jongin rests his head on Chanyeol’s chest and reaches for his hand, intertwining their fingers.
“You know that we’re going to get our asses kicked the moment we step foot in the castle, right?”
Chanyeol is aware of this fact, and he could care less. He just wants to waste the rest of his days with Jongin by his side, dealing with the repercussions later.
They talk for a bit about how busy Chanyeol will be tomorrow, on his birthday, and what the two of them can do together before Jongin’s departure. The only thing on their agenda for Jongin’s visit is to be with each other as much as possible, even if they’re just sitting in the same room listening to a priest read sermons. After that, they decide to take turns sleeping since the high from the chase has finally died down. During Chanyeol’s second shift, he accidentally falls asleep to the sound of Jongin’s steady breathing.
“Happy Birthday, my son.”
Chanyeol rolls onto his stomach in the hopes whoever is in his room will just leave him alone. It’s his birthday for god’s sake. He deserves a little extra shut-eye. The presence doesn’t let up, though, and shakes him lightly on the shoulder.
“You’re twenty-five now. You can’t act like a child anymore.”
“But I like being a child,” he mumbles and dismisses the figure with a wave of his hand.
“Park Chanyeol, don’t you dare act this way with your father. I tried giving you some leeway since you’ve never been a morning person, but this is too much for me.”
Chanyeol bangs his head against the headboard as he rises from slumber and smiles apologetically to his father who stands by the bedside, shaking his head. He makes sure there isn’t any dried drool on the corner of his mouth before standing up and giving him a peck on the cheek.
“That’s more like it. Now, I want to give you your gift since I can’t wait until the evening,” his father announces and gestures for them to sit on the bench at the end of the bed.
Chanyeol doesn’t see any cages or monkeys around his room, so he’s in for a real treat. He gets confused when his father pulls out a small box from the inside of his fur-lined coat and hands it over to him. It’s only half the size of his palm.
“Please don’t tell me this is the key to another unused room in the castle.” Chanyeol was nine when his father allowed him to practice his pyrokinesis in an empty cellar where he was free to let loose. He’s not nine anymore, though, so this wouldn’t be the most exciting gift in the world.
“Of course not! What do you take me for? Just open it.”
Chanyeol turns away from his father as he opens up the box, just in case he’s let down and needs to hide his initial disappointment. He isn’t sure how to feel when his eyes land upon a simple gold band with a faded inscription on the inside. The words are hard to make out, but he can tell it was once a vibrant red.
“Do you like it?” his father asks, interrupting his thoughts.
“Uh, yeah. What is it exactly?”
“Have you gone blind? It’s a ring, but not just any ring. Your mother gave it to me the day before we got married. I wore it everyday until she passed away when you were only a year old.”
Chanyeol hasn’t ever heard his father speak about his mother in all his years. He wonders how his father has managed to keep everything in without breaking down. From the talkative maids, he gathers that his parents were quite in love, and the sudden loss hit his father hard, but he had to stay strong for his baby boy.
“I-I don’t know what to say…, but I do know you shouldn’t be giving me something that means a whole lot more to you than it does to me. I don’t even have any memories of her.” He tries to hand the box back to his father, but the man refuses and forces Chanyeol to keep it.
“She would want you to have it since it symbolizes our happiness together, and she’s probably looking down right now, hoping you’ll find yours soon.”
His father wishes him a happy birthday once more before dismissing himself. Chanyeol slumps down in his seat as he examines the band more closely, trying to get a sense of what it must have been like when his mother knew she had found the one.
He hopes Jongin is his one and only as he slides the band onto his right forefinger.
Chanyeol is a grown man, yet his birthday party this year consists of events and attractions that would make any child’s heart race.
His father set up a miniature zoo by the gardens which helps explain the monkeys and other animals he saw the other week. He finds pleasure in watching the monkeys do silly tricks for an apple slice. The hawks are terrifying with their sharp talons and beaks, but nonetheless, he dares Jongin to put on the leather armguard and allow one of the feathered beasts to rest on his arm for a whole minute. In an act of revenge, Jongin dares Chanyeol to feed the lions a slab of meat without letting go until the animal is close to sinking its teeth into his hand. He’s sweating as the feral cat approaches from the other side of the cage and nearly faints when he feels its rancid breath brushing the back of his hand.
A little ways over, performers from all over the continent put on a spectacle. Chanyeol feels the earth shake beneath him as a geokinetic stomps the ground and tries not to squeal when a chasm opens up, lava gushing through from the depths of hell. The crowd is ready to disperse, but then a cryokinetic and hydrokinetic step forward to freeze the mess. When the man from before comes back to shatter the ice with a powerful roundhouse kick, everyone tries to catch one of the ice shards. Chanyeol grabs one for himself and holds it up against the sun to see what’s all the hubbub about. There’s lava trapped inside of the shards. Nothing special in his eyes, but everyone else seems to be enjoying their new souvenirs.
“Here you go, Jongin,” Chanyeol says and hands over his.
“You’re only giving it to me because you think it’s stupid,” Jongin grumbles.
“But I know you think it’s really pretty. Keep it and always remember me.”
“How could I ever forget the idiot who changed my life?”
Inside of the castle, a play based on Chanyeol’s life is performed in the theater. Chanyeol doesn’t want to watch how any of this will go, but Jongin insists. They sit through a whole hour of watching a little boy grow up into an eccentric young man who barely has a grasp on his powers. It’s embarrassing to say the least when the boy’s ears get exponentially bigger after each act.
“Aren’t these things supposed to flatter their subjects?” Chanyeol whines.
“Yes, but I think they were trying to please the audience more than anything… but you being you is pretty entertaining, and I adore your elf ears!” Jongin teases, slapping Chanyeol on the arm.
Chanyeol is happier than ever getting to spend all this time with Jongin, Joonmyun-free. The water prince had excused himself from the morning and afternoon festivities, saying he had a head cold and didn’t want to put a damper on the fun. Chanyeol had hoped Joonmyun would stay in his rooms for the entire day, but not every wish comes true. The latter appears when dinner commences. Fortunately, the delight and excitement in the air makes up for his presence.
The grand feast is held in the dining hall where wine and dancing is plentiful. Drunkards stagger onto their feet, trying to woo a lady or two with their lethargic movements, and everyone around them guffaw as they watch the fools fall flat on their faces.
Chanyeol laughs his ass off with Jongin by his side on the dias, ignoring Joonmyun without making it too obvious for his other guests. He tries to have fun anyway despite having the water prince within reach to kill, showering Jongin with attention and only minding Joonmyun when he speaks with him directly.
His mind is still clear by the end of the night, so he doesn’t accidentally drag Jongin over to his chambers unlike a couple other guests who bring any willing soul with a beating heart to their rooms. He thanks everyone for coming since most of them will be departing within the next day and doesn’t get to rest until the most important guests have gone to bed.
Before calling it a night, he thanks his father once more for throwing a wonderful bash for him and promises to be the most filial son in all the lands.
“You know what you have to do then.”
Those words haunt him all the way to bed. He had pushed all thoughts of leaving Jongin to the recesses of his mind and hoped they wouldn’t come back anytime soon. Thankfully, Jongin awaits for him in his bed, and before he can begin to ask what Joonmyun must be thinking, his lover gets down onto his knees.
“The only thing you’ll be saying for the rest of the night is my name.”
Chanyeol isn’t even going to try to protest when Jongin has him in his mouth faster than he can count to ten.
Chanyeol is sad to see Jongin’s back recede over the horizon. He hasn’t left the gates ever since he came out here to bid farewell to the earth king and his entourage. The guards standing at the post probably think he’s a little nuts, but none of them speak ill of their prince.
His birthday went by faster than he would have liked, but at least he had Jongin with him to enjoy the entire day. They made a lot of memories together which he can hold onto and replay in his head over and over until they meet again.
“Your Grace, the King requests your presence in the throne room immediately.”
Chanyeol knows he shouldn’t test his father’s patience, so he salutes to the tiny figures in the distance before dashing off. He doesn’t have time to wonder what his father wants when he arrives and sees two men standing off to the side, both dressed in silver robes. He recognizes the elder as the air king and assumes the young man next to him to be his son. They share similar stern expressions on their faces.
“My son, I’m sure you know by now why I have asked you to come here today,” his father starts, and he spaces out after the announcement of an engagement. This isn’t how his life was supposed to go at all. Everything is going downhill faster than he’s prepared for.
No man should be forced to face so much adversary in such a short period of time.
“Prince Sehun will be living with us from now on. We want you two to get along.”
He takes everything in stride and nods to appease the two kings in the room, barely listening to whatever either of them have to say before he’s dismissed with Sehun in toll.
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t like you either,” Sehun whispers as he strolls on by.
Part III