Prompt #54: Silver Cherry Blossoms (2/2)

[100xoverfest]

[Chapter 1]



iii. Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence

Junmyeon couldn’t fathom how Yifan must be feeling right now, though he has a general idea yet to be honest, he is too afraid to initiate conversation with the elf, who is gently carrying the now purring dragon in his arms. The purple dragon has clear amethyst eyes and is now gently butting her head against Yifan’s chest, who is equally gentle as he pats her head with a soft smile on his head. The smile kind of makes Junmyeon dizzy; he didn’t know Yifan was capable of looking this affectionate. But then again, a bond between a dragon and its rider is greater, the most precious and most unique thing, incomparable with anything else in this world. For instance, Junmyeon had zero sense of responsibility before Suho hatched for him, and now he is leader of a small team of his own. So maybe, this small being could herald changes in Yifan.

They are slowly walking back towards the others, and Junmyeon has fallen in step with Yifan. He asks, “Have you named her yet?”

Yifan shakes his head and scratches the dragon’s neck. “She is so pretty.”

Junmyeon smiles, “That she is.” Yifan looks up and Junmyeon’s smile widens. The elf flushes a little and ducks his head to admire his dragon again.

Jay had kept three eggs in the antechamber, and Yifan had thought they were some sort of gemstones. So, he had tried to pick up one—the purple one—and was taken aback when it cracked and the dragon crawled out of it. Kyungsoo and Angela are carrying the other two eggs, and they are currently both intensely discussing something between them.

They reach the other elves, who has stood watch near the gate, waiting for them to arrive. Sehun yelps in surprise and rushes to greet his brother, but halts when he notices the dragon purring in Yifan’s arms. His eyes are widened in query, and when Jinseok joins his son, the king is equally surprised. Yifan hesitantly clears his throat and says, “Um, she hatched for me.”

When Jinseok looks blankly at Junmyeon for clarification, the rider slowly nods his head. The king’s face breaks into a huge grin as he says, “This is such an honour son…you have made all of us proud!” He pulls Yifan close and wraps his hands around him. Sehun looks surprised at the embrace, but he cannot help the grin blooming on his face either. Yifan looks completely taken aback, and his father separates only when the dragon starts garbling between them. Yifan is still trying to blink away the surprise.

Soon, Minseok and Youngho join in to coo at the dragon and congratulate Yifan. The dragon seems very pleased with all the attention, and Junmyeon muses if she hatched for Yifan to appease her ego, just like her rider and his inflated ego.

Luhan starts fussing about Minseok’s wounds and Junmyeon tunes them out as he watches Yifan caressing the dragon. He doesn’t understand why he cannot tear his eyes away from the new Rider. This also means one major thing—Yifan is definitely heading back to Drákon with them. And that, gives birth to some unlikely thoughts in Junmyeon’s head, which he doesn’t want to focus on right now.

There is great uproar among the other guards as well since Yifan is the literally the first Rider from Jäämetsä. They are all very excited, and the other Riders cannot help but smile at the jubilation. Luhan and Kyungsoo start discussing the time their family rejoiced when dragons hatched for them. Junmyeon, however, has no stories to share, so he looks on with a sad little smile on his face.

As they ride out of the passage with the prisoners in two, and the gate closes with a loud clank behind them, Yifan is beside Junmyeon again; and the latter just glances at him. The others are discussing loudly about the celebration they would organise in Yifan’s dragon’s honour. Yifan has bundled the dragon in an extra cloak. The elf asks, in a very casual tone, “What’s with you?”

Junmyeon shakes his head. “Nothing.”

“Why, are you already miserable that I am a Rider now?” Yifan is jesting, but Junmyeon hears the edge in his voice.

Junmyeon smirks, “No. I am actually looking forward to all the training you will have to undergo. The next few years will be fun watching you suffer day in and day out.” He even sing-songs the last part of the sentence.

Yifan scoffs. “I will be better than you, just watch.”

Junmyeon raises his eyebrow, silently accepting the challenge. Oh, he’d love to see Yifan try. So, he raises his hand in mock salute and grins, “You are on prince!”

A week later, they finally make their way back to Drákon. Wheein and Sehun whined the most at letting their big brother go, and honestly, it was endearing to Junmyeon. Yifan allowed Sehun to accompany him till the river; then to Luhan’s delight, Minseok agreed to escort them to the river as well. Joohyun seemed upset, but Junmyeon cannot really tell, though she wished her brother the best. Angel and Kyungsoo decided to leave the two eggs at Jäämetsä, in the hopes that it might hatch for other elves as well; Jinseok assures to put them under the heaviest security. Jay is send for Drakón ahead of them with the most elite rank of palace guards. Jinseok shed a few tears, and then son and father moved to the side to talk and they embraced each other. Junmyeon felt a pang of envy at that—his family wasn’t there when he left Toham.

The return journey was filled with much cheer and laughter. The addition of Minseok helped, since the short elf was quite adept at cooking, which made Kyungsoo glad. Sehun cried some more at letting Yifan go, and made the older promise to visit, after tearfully asking if riders were allowed to go home. Junmyeon didn’t have the heart to say they do, but most don’t, so he lied and said yes.

Right now, a day has passed between Sehun and Minseok’s farewell, and they are on the river, heading back home. Night has fallen, yet Junmyeon finds himself wide awake. He sits up and reached out to Suho with his mind, but he finds his dragon deeply asleep dreaming about silver rivers and golden clouds. Junmyeon smiles, Suho truly loves flying like nothing else in this world. He swings his feet down on to the ground and pulls himself up. He decides to head to the deck for some fresh air.

He steps outside and grins, no more white skies and white trees. The closer they get to the valley, the warmer and better the weather becomes. The river breeze is nice and he enjoys for a minute. He hears soft laughter, and when he opens his eyes, he finds Yifan standing by the railing, talking to his dragon. Junmyeon walks over to join them. Yifan notices his presence, and his gummy grin throws Junmyeon slightly out of the loop. The elf says, “So, we have a name she likes.”

“Oh?” Junmyeon asks as he pats the dragon on her bony head. In a week, she has grown a few inches and out of all the riders, she seemed to prefer Junmyeon more. So far, she hasn’t bitten him like she did to Luhan and Kyungsoo, therefore he thinks she likes him. “What is the name?”

“Królewna,” Yifan says, and the dragon purrs loudly, as if greatly pleased.

Junmyeon tilts his head to the side. “What does that mean?”

“Princess,” Yifan replies. Junmyeon pauses for a second, blinking blankly between dragon and her rider before he nearly doubles over in laughter. Yifan frowns, “Why? What is wrong with that?”

Junmyeon collects himself and still wheezes, “So many things…the prince’s dragon is princess and of course she is, because hello have you met her Rider?” He breaks out into more laughter. Yifan narrows his eyes and huffs. Królewna looks on confused, blinking her great amethyst eyes at her rider and then at Junmyeon. However, Junmyeon finally controls himself and runs his hand down the slender curve of Królewna’s neck. “But purple is the colour of royalty, and you are special, aren’t you?” Królewna croaks louder and flaps her weak little wings, obviously pleased.

Yifan hums and just watches Junmyeon as he the latter coos at his dragon with a small smile on his face.

The Shadeslayer and others are only too welcoming to Yifan, who is a little taken aback at all the attention. Junmyeon and Luhan give him the grand tour of the establishment, and Junmyeon doesn’t understand how it happens but soon the two elves are making jokes at his expense. A few more days pass, and Yifan gets comfortable enough to mix with others—especially after Sehun made his older brother promise to him that he will try to make friends and lose his sour attitude.

Several months pass by, and Junmyeon doesn’t understand the ways Yifan weaves himself into their lives. And soon, Junmyeon is fighting to understand the attraction that kept drawing him to Yifan. He still had arguments with the elf, but somewhere deep down, he rather enjoyed those. Yifan kept him on his toes, and he knows the elf enjoyed it just as much he did.

In fact, they had become quite close, so close that Kyungsoo kept teasing him about it (so did Suho).

Seven months pass and Yifan is learning how to use spells when Shadeslayer decides to take Yifan and one another rider with him on a quest for practical training. He sends Junmyeon to inform Yifan, who hurries off to do so immediately.

Junmyeon finds the door to Yifan’s room ajar, so he pushes it open. And he is greeted by a bare-chested Yifan rubbing his head with a towel, dressed only in loose linen drawstring pants. The sight of the long, firm body glistening with water has Junmyeon entirely forgetting why he came here. He gathers his scattered brain and is just in time to pick his jaw off the floor when Yifan drapes the towel around his neck and turns to raise an eyebrow at him.

If only…if only the elf wasn’t this stupidly beautiful in his perfect body and long, wet silver hair, blinking at him with his bewitching amber eyes. Junmyeon swallows, slaps himself mentally, and says, “Eragon called for you tomorrow. He wants you to accompany him to Aurinko Valley.”

Yifan rubs the towel on one side of his head and his lower lip juts out. Junmyeon is about to leave, now feeling hot under the collar at all the wide expanse of skin for him to admire—he should leave before he does something stupid—when Yifan stops him, “Hey can you help me with something?”

Junmyeon hesitantly says, “Sure.”

Yifan beckons him closer. Junmyeon carefully walks in, closer to Yifan, who turns around and grabs something from the vanity behind him. He thrusts something cold and metallic in Junmyeon’s hands, who looks down to find a pair of copper scissors. He raises his eyebrow, and Yifan explains, “I need you to cut my hair.”

Junmyeon blinks in surprise. He eyes the long, waist-length glorious silver hair and looks back at Yifan, to check if the elf was joking, but he doesn’t find any signs of it. He sounds unsure when he asks, “Are you sure?”

Yifan nods his head and plops down on the floor, looking up at Junmyeon expectantly. Junmyeon kneels and points at the towel curled around Yifan’s neck. The elf hands it to Junmyeon, who spreads it all over his shoulders. He gulps before he gingerly grabs the thick lock of silver grey. It is ridiculously heavy and he gasps, “Whoa, how did you live with all this hair?” He is sure he would have a permanent crick in his neck if he had hair as heavy and long as Yifan’s.

Yifan chuckles, “You get used to it?”

Junmyeon measures an inch and a half from the end and positions the scissor there. “Is this length okay?”

Yifan shakes. He wraps one large hand around his hair, close to his neck and says, “Cut till here.”

Junmyeon widens his eyes as he remembers something Yifan told him long ago. He raises the scissors and he asks, “But didn’t you say hair length in Jäämetsä depended on status? And I noticed how everyone had longer hair in your family. And how all the palace guards had shorter hair.”

Yifan chuckles, but there is no humour in it. “Does my status matter here?”

Junmyeon pouts as he tries to understand. “I guess it doesn’t…”

“Exactly. And I am so far from home, I am finally far enough…” Yifan says wistfully.

Junmyeon hears the sadness tinging Yifan’s voice. He gently asks, “Were you trying to leave anyways? If Królewna never hatched for you?”

Honestly, Junmyeon didn’t expect an answer, however, Yifan surprises him, “When I realised father was going to make Joohyun take the throne, I suddenly lost all purpose in my life. Ever since I was five, father trained me to take his place, but it all changed after I turned twenty. So, there I was, the illegitimate son with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Sure, I miss Sehun and Wheein, and my friends. But this, being a Rider has given me new purpose and for the first time in a long time, I am happy Junmyeon.”

Something gets stuck in Junmyeon’s throat and his heart swells at Yifan’s honest, sad truth. He inhales deeply as starts snipping at the length Yifan indicated. He is halfway through when Yifan asks, “Can I ask you something in return?”

Junmyeon smiles, “Sure.”

“When everyone was reminiscing about their families sending them off to come here, you looked sad, why?”

Junmyeon is evening the choppy ends of Yifan’s now short silver hair as he sighs, “I am an orphan. I used to live with my aunt and her family. She sent me off to work at the mayor’s house when I got old enough because she couldn’t afford to feed me anymore—she already had three kids. I understood, so I left. I didn’t even tell her where I am, and she never asked after me either.”

Yifan pulls his knees closer to his chest and says, “That’s sad.”

Junmyeon is collecting the shed silver hair when he shakes his head and smiles through the emptiness he feels whenever family is mentioned, “I don’t mind. You cannot miss what you never had.”

Junmyeon is wondering how to clean the floor, when he hears Yifan moving and soon his small hands are clasped by larger ones. His eyes widen when he raises his head and finds Yifan sitting too close to him. The short, wet hair gleams like liquid diamonds under the yellow light and a few strands now fall over his temple and brush against his plump lips. Junmyeon forgets how to breathe momentarily.

The elf smiles at him, and there is something very affectionate underneath it. All traces of arrogance gone, Junmyeon realises his sharp amber eyes soften to embers, that make him all warm inside, warmer than ogien berry wine and Kyungsoo’s magical scarf. Yifan says, “But you have your own family here, don’t you?”

Junmyeon nods his head, and he tries to fight the blush creeping on his face when Yifan takes to rubbing circles on his wrists. This is not something entirely new, since Junmyeon learnt that Yifan is a very physical person—like how he would an arm around Junmyeon whenever they took walks or held his hand to help him up after sparring (even though Junmyeon didn’t need the help). Once, Yifan also fell asleep on his shoulder but he had to push the elf off him. “I suppose so. Luhan is insane and Kyungsoo is one of a kind, but they are my family now.”

Yifan nods his head as well. “Family doesn’t have to end in blood.”

Junmyeon looks up and smiles, “I know.”

Then Yifan smiles back, and Junmyeon is at a loss to say anything else as he gets sucked in by Yifan’s warm gaze. He scrutinises his handiwork, and he feels smug when he realises Yifan looks more handsome than ever with his new haircut

The room is silent, and maybe Yifan’s gaze flickers to Junmyeon’s lips, but the latter isn’t sure because he cannot hear over the thundering of his heart and focus on anything besides the yellow light enhancing the elf’s ethereal beauty. Yifan still has Junmyeon’s hand clasped in his own, and honestly Junmyeon doesn’t even find it in himself to grab his hands back as the elf locks his gaze with his. He knows he is about to do something stupid, when a tiny voice in his head tells him to lean forward and do something incredibly stupid.

Junmyeon is very close to listening to the voice in his head when footsteps outside break the silence, and Yifan clears his throat as he releases Junmyeon’s hands. The younger rider quickly gets back on his feet, just in time to find Luhan entering, who gasps and starts asking a million questions about Yifan’s new haircut.

Junmyeon makes himself scarce, and he knows Yifan tries to attract his attention, but he ignores him as he marches out of Yifan’s room. He clutches his wildly beating heart in his chest when he reaches the path outside the house.

Where did he even get the urge to kiss Yifan from? They are just friends, sure they are always teasing each other, throwing jibes at each other, fighting, and just being terrible to each other, but they are still friends. So, why has been Junmyeon feeling like this for a while now? Did it start when Yifan trusted him enough to fall asleep in his presence? Did it happen when the elf hugged him briefly on his birthday? Did it begin when they held hands when crossing a river? Junmyeon’s mind provides him with so many instances, that his head just starts hurting thinking about them all.

He doesn’t know when it started, but he is sure it started when the elf and he slowly, but surely started to become friends. Or did it start way before that, when Junmyeon would spent a few seconds extra admiring Yifan from afar. The elf is beautiful, and he is complex, yet he can be cheerful and tender too, and honestly, Junmyeon misses the time he was just an asshole and nothing else.

Eragon and Yifan are to leave in a couple of days, when Arya decides to check how the Riders are doing in terms of combat. A skilled magic-user and warrior herself, the Shadeslayer’s better half, is ruthless when it comes to such sudden examinations.

Since she also knows their strengths and weaknesses best, she pairs Luhan with this female dwarf (Luhan makes a weird face at her and hurriedly whispers it is the same dwarf they saw with Kyungsoo a few months ago). Kyungsoo is paired with a human as tall as Yifan, while Junmyeon gets paired with Yifan. Junmyeon simply curses his fortune.

He has avoided Yifan as much as he could from the strange little moment in Yifan’s room. Yifan now keeps his short hair tied by a scrap of leather, and honestly, Junmyeon wants to curse at how good he looks. Calm down Junmyeon, he reminds himself as he grabs his staff.

Arya decided to let them use heavy staffs to fight, which is something Junmyeon is average at and Yifan is terrible at. Not to anyone’s surprise, Yifan’s chosen weapon turned out to be a longbow. He did get a sword, but he much preferred his bow carved out of silver oaks. He said it reminded him of home.

Yifan picks up his stick and frowns. Junmyeon cheerfully says, “Hey, since we are both awful at this, it will be over soon!”

The frown doesn’t completely vanish, but Yifan raises his head and says, “True. I cannot believe an esteemed Rider like you is terrible at this.”

Junmyeon sneers, “Oh shut up! We both know what an expert you are in your swordplay.”

“At least I didn’t spend five years here. I am still new, remember?” Yifan smirks.

Junmyeon narrows his eyes. “Oh, you’re on.”

They stand opposite each other, their long staffs in their dominant hands as they size each other up. Yifan is staring deeply at Junmyeon, like he is trying to glance into his soul, or his mind to anticipate his moves. Yifan moves his body, left leg forward as he swings the staff down on Junmyeon, who blocks it by using the heel of his left foot to lift the staff, to give him momentum to shift his staff in both hands. The impact is strong, and Junmyeon feels the vibrations.

Yifan tries to hit from below, but Junmyeon sees this coming as well and he blocks it by bending forwards and down. He rocks back in the next instant, and Yifan does the same before their staffs clash, making a cross. Yifan skips back and does a jousting motion with his staff that would have bruised Junmyeon’s abdomen if he didn’t turn to his side and block it at the last second.

Then they start spinning their staffs as Junmyeon moves back, Yifan follows. Their faces are screwed up in concentration, and their breathing is even, almost syncopated. Suddenly, in a flash, Junmyeon stops spinning, but so does Yifan, and their staffs clash again, forming a cross, and the effecting reverberations are loud. However, Yifan surprises Junmyeon by using full force to push his staff to the ground. Junmyeon grunts and Yifan smirks, “Got you.”

He proceeds to pick his staff off and swing it over to hit Junmyeon, who ducks in time. The staff cuts through the air and the swooshing sound feels like a huge hit to Junmyeon’s ego. He goes on the defensive again, jumping up when Yifan swerves the staff under his feet. Yifan turns around, but he moves his staff towards Junmyeon’s face, the end of it almost brushing his face, but he blocks it too by moving his staff vertically.

Before Yifan can try attacking Junmyeon again, a body barrels into the elf. Yifan receives an elbow on his sternum, and the end of a staff on his nose. He falls and the body lands on him too. Junmyeon watches the events unfold, gobsmacked, before he realises it is Taecyeon’s head on Yifan’s stomach. They are both panting and Junmyeon rushes forward to help them. Taecyeon, Kyungsoo’s partner, gets up on his own and starts apologising profusely to Yifan, who has his hand cupped over his nose, which is bleeding heavily. Junmyeon gasps, throws his staff away and cups Yifan’s face. He says, his eyes wide in concern, “Are you okay?”

Yifan’s voice is muffled under his hand as he says, “Obviously not.” He glares at Taecyeon, who bows and is still begging for forgiveness. Yifan nods but accepts the apology. Junmyeon grabs Yifan by his elbow and drags him to the infirmary.

Once they are inside the warm confinements of the infirmary, Junmyeon finds it empty. He doesn’t find Angela or Yuri in there. However, since he is quite a regular visitor to the infirmary, he knows his way around. He settles Yifan on an empty bed and gently pushes Yifan’s hand away. The blood is still flowing freely, and he grabs a gauze pad from the cabinets. “Now,” he instructs. “Hold this to your face. Let me see if I can find the healing potion for nosebleeds.” He gingerly touches Yifan’s nose, who hisses. “It doesn’t feel broken.”

“No,” Yifan seconds. “It doesn’t feel broken. But goodness does this hurt!”

Junmyeon smiles before he remembers Taecyeon elbowed him on the chest as well. He presses his fingertips on Yifan’s chest and asks, “Does this hurt?”

Yifan looks up, and for the first time Junmyeon realises their faces are too close. There are flecks of gold in Yifan’s amber eyes, Junmyeon realises, and for a moment he is mesmerised again. Yifan blinks, as if he too realised the proximity. His voice is breathy when he says, “Yes, it hurts.”

“Um, let me?” Junmyeon points at the buttons running down Yifan’s shirt. Yifan nods his head, and Junmyeon slowly unbuttons his shirt, while screaming mentally. This is such a strange situation. All those unspoken thoughts in his head start buzzing again, even if Junmyeon wants them to disappear and never bother him again. Living in a warmer climate with plenty sunshine has tanned Yifan’s skin golden, and as inches of his skin gets exposed, Junmyeon finds it difficult to breathe properly.

The ugly, round bruise on Yifan’s sternum sobers him enough, and he stops at the button under his ribs. He scurries away to find the ointment for bruises, which is a small red vial filled with a very strong-smelling oil. He curses himself mentally when he realises he would have to rub it in. He returns to Yifan, and is surprised when he finds the elf staring right at him. Has he been looking at him all this while?

The room is too silent again, and Junmyeon’s mind runs back to the last time something like this happened—him, Yifan, room and proximity. He uncaps the vial and mutters, “I will have to rub this in…do you want to do it?”

Yifan slowly shakes his head, his piercing amber eyes still trained on him. His gaze is unusually intense and Junmyeon feels shivers down his spine. Yifan says, “You do it.”

Junmyeon nods. He puts the vial, capped again, on the bed as he walks to the basin to wash his hands. He comes back and uncaps the oil again and measures a few drops into his palm. He rubs the oil with his fingertips and he tries to stop the shaking as he touches Yifan. He hears a gasp, and he thinks he is hurting Yifan, so he hurriedly says, “I am so sorry! Did I hurt you?”

Yifan bites down on his lower lip and shakes his head. Junmyeon continues, but a little cautiously. He gently rubs the oil into Yifan’s skin, caring to not add excess pressure. He can feel Yifan’s heart beating under his fingers, and he can feel his own beating in sync.

A terse minute passes, and Junmyeon deems the oil to be absorbed enough. He is about to take his hand away when Yifan’s long fingers curl around his wrist. Junmyeon’s head snaps up in surprise, and he notes, with his heart racing, how close Yifan’s face is to his now. He is about to ask what is the matter when Yifan whispers, “Junmyeon…”

But before Yifan could finish what he wanted to say, the door to the infirmary bangs open and Junmyeon pulls his hand away and jumps back. Luhan and Kyungsoo walk in, covered in dust, as they swoop down on Yifan, asking him about his injuries. The elf removes the bloodied gauze and smiles, “Don’t worry, Junmyeon took care of me.”

Luhan smiles, “He always does, doesn’t he?”

Junmyeon blushes, but he doesn’t know why. Was it from Luhan’s compliment, or Yifan’s softened gaze, he doesn’t know. But he can still the warmth of Yifan’s fingers on his wrist, and he unconsciously wraps his own fingers around it as the colour on his cheeks become more prominent.

Yifan though, cannot stop staring at the pink cheeks and beautiful, shy smile as his heart picks up pace, and suddenly he wants to run, because Junmyeon is confusing him so damn much.

A few months pass, winter moves into spring, before Eragon and Yifan return to Drákon. Both Arya and Junmyeon rush down to the dock to greet them. While Arya openly embraces Eragon, Junmyeon pokes at Yifan’s cheek and asks how his “delicate” skin survived in the deserts of Aurinko Valley. The elf looked tanner, and even if Junmyeon was making fun of the slight sunburn on his neck, he couldn’t disagree with himself that it suited Yifan very well. Thankfully, Królewna butted her head against his to gain his attention, and he gave her all his attention as she very eagerly started describing what she saw, what she ate in the desserts and what she and her Rider did. He still keeps stealing glances, and his heart rabbits when he realised how much he missed Yifan. He then proceeds to make himself very busy throughout the day so he doesn’t find his gaze landing on Yifan again and again.

Later that night, Junmyeon steps out for fresh air. The air is heavy with the scents of spring, the valley lilies and the tall purple trees are all in bloom, making the air heavy with a sweetness that is refreshing and makes his soul happy. He finds Suho’s conscious stirring, so he heads around the back of the house to look for his dragon. He finds Suho yawning and stretching his hindlegs forward. He says, “Can’t sleep little one?”

Junmyeon pouts as he gently pats his neck. “Did I wake you up?”

“No…but I don’t know what woke me up either.”

“Hmm…hey are you up for a ride?”

“Sure!”

“Junmyeon?” a deep, ever-familiar voice calls from behind him. When Junmyeon turns around, he finds Yifan dressed in a loose cream tunic and black pants. His hair is loose and gleams under the starlight. “What are you doing?”

Junmyeon turns around with a small smile on his face. “I was going for a ride.”

Yifan raises his eyebrows. “Now?”

Junmyeon laughs. “There is this place I like going to when I cannot sleep.” He softly traces his hand over the bumps on Suho’s head. “Would you like to come with us?” He bites the inside of his cheek as soon as the words slip out. His heart races as he waits for Yifan to answer.

Yifan comes closer and pats Suho as well. “Well if Suho doesn’t mind carrying me!”

“Oh, I am more than strong enough to carry you both!” he unfurls his wings and purrs. “Now get on!”

Yifan and Junmyeon both chuckle at Suho. Yifan gets up first, but he moves back to allow Junmyeon to take his place in front of him. Junmyeon flushes, but quietly gets up on Suho as well. He realises Suho is feeling too smug right now, and he wonders why. And then he takes off with a jolt, forcing them backwards, Junmyeon into Yifan, who grabs his waist instinctively. As soon as Yifan’s large hands grab Junmyeon’s slim waist, the latter feels like his heart is going to fly out of his chest anytime now. Suho croons as Junmyeon lets out a string of curses through their mental link.

However, much to Junmyeon’s dread and surprise, Yifan doesn’t remove his hands throughout the journey to the outcrop where Junmyeon likes to go. Junmyeon closes his eyes and lets the cold air high up here in the sky blow through his hair. He also feels Yifan’s warm breath on the side of his neck, and tries to not think too much about it.

This place that Junmyeon likes the most in all of Drákon, is beside a brook that feeds the Mirall river. The brook carves into a small gorge that is hardly twenty feet in height, dotted by large barberry trees. The spring moon is bright and full, illuminating the area, giving it a more mystical and calm appearance. They sit down under a barberry tree and Yifan sighs, “Such a beautiful place, and so much of Drákon I still do not know yet.”

Junmyeon chuckles, “Well, if it is any consolation, I discovered this place three years after I arrived here.”

Yifan brings his knees to his chest and asks, “How did you?”

Junmyeon leans back, his hands flat on the grass as he lets the cool breeze from the river ruffle his hair. He smiles, “I had a fight with my friends, and I wanted to cool off. We accidentally found this place, me and Suho.”

“When do you think I can fly around on Królewna?”

“When I know she is strong enough to carry weight,” Suho interjects as he sits beside them, preening himself. “The youngling is far too impatient, and her wings need time to grow! Tch!”

Junmyeon chuckles, “Well, you got the expert opinion.”

Yifan laughs as well. “Well, you would know best.” Suho, Feng and Snieh has decided to guide, teach and parent Królewna. So far, all three senior dragons were exasperated, but affectionately so, at the younger dragon’s antics. “She kept missing all of you when we were gone.”

Junmyeon grins, “Oh! What did you guys do there? I want to hear your version.”

And Yifan started to talk, telling about his experiences at the desert. For an elf, those vast expanses of sand were disconcerting, yet exhilarating. He went on to give details and Junmyeon listened, enthralled, at the deep voice and the occasional gummy smile. He has his hands on his knees and his head tucked as he watches at the liveliness on Yifan’s face. He couldn’t help but contrast the Yifan of today with the Yifan of a year ago. He also couldn’t help but think how his feelings had changed, and now there were tiny little prisoners drumming inside his heart and he didn’t know if it was wise to set them free.

Somewhere, as the night deepened and sleep no longer eluded him, Junmyeon’s eyes started too droop at Yifan’s soothing baritone. As his head lolled to the side, Yifan catches him and smiles as he strokes the soft wine hair. Junmyeon grumbles and tries to nuzzle into Yifan’s chest, who doesn’t thwart him. In fact, he is quite enjoying the cuteness that is Junmyeon when he is sleeping. He sees Suho coming closer to them and draping one huge wing over them. When Yifan looks up at him in askance, the dragon smiles, “My Rider trusts you and I trust him. You can sleep here, I will protect you both.”

Yifan smiles as he pulls Junmyeon closer to him and leans back on Suho’s hindleg. “I am lucky to have his trust then.”

“That you are. My Rider is very precious.”

Yifan didn’t say it to Suho, but he couldn’t agree less with the dragon as he gazes down at the man in his arms, at his soft cheeks and softer lips. Sometimes, Yifan thinks he is such a fool to not understand things sooner.

Junmyeon doesn’t realise when and how a year passes, but it does. Somewhere between Yifan coming here and the summer festival, Junmyeon has realised a huge thing: he likes Yifan, he likes him way too much. So, today, in the auspicious full moon night of this summer festival, Junmyeon is going to tell Yifan how he feels.

So, he spends some extra minutes in the bath today, scrubbing away all the dirt he had accumulated for a while. He rubs the soothing and pleasant-smelling lotion he got from Seohyun—the female dwarf Kyungsoo had been courting for more than year now and whom he finally introduced to his friends on Junmyeon’s birthday party—this birthday. He dresses in his most appealing clothes—the pearly white tunic everyone tells enhances his peachy complexion. He tries his best with his hair, and deems himself ready. When he descends the stairs to head outside, Luhan whistles, “Whoa who is Junmyeon going to seduce tonight?”

Kyungsoo chuckles as he stares at Junmyeon. “You do look nice.”

Junmyeon blushes. “Thanks, I got to go!”

Luhan asks for explanations, but Junmyeon doesn’t pay him any heed as he rushes out of the door, not really looking forward to explaining things to his best friends. Tonight, either he is going to get what he wants or he is going to get his heart broken.

But he is Junmyeon, one of the best Riders Eragon Shadeslayer has trained, and there is nothing he cannot do…right?

He locates Yifan soon enough, sitting with other elves, enjoying the festivities. The female dwarves are singing a cheerful melody, which the male dwarves are listening to with goofy smiles. A few dragons are play-fighting at a distance, and the general cacophony still doesn’t triumph the heavy thudding in his chest. He swallows, collects his courage and marches straight up to Yifan. The elf looks up, worried, with a frown marring his smile as he asks, “Junmyeon, is everything okay?”

Junmyeon inhales deeply and tries to smile normally, “Yes, it’s just, can I talk to you, in private?”

The frown deepens, but Yifan gets to his feet and excuses himself. Junmyeon had no location in mind, but somehow, as he tried to look for a quiet place, he winds up at the cherry tree outside the stables. He doesn’t want to ponder too much on this coincidence.

The tree is naked now, spring is gone after all, and Junmyeon feels a tinge of nostalgia. Yifan softly chuckles, “Are we viewing cherry blossoms in summer? Did you drink too much wine or something already?”

Junmyeon turns around and clasps his hands over his stomach as he ducks his head. He shakes his head. “I am not drunk.”

“Then?” With his head bowed down, Junmyeon sees Yifan’s feet moving closer to him. He feels the courage inside him seeping out, slowly, and he knows his body is preparing for him to choose flight over fight. Suddenly, he feels long, cool fingers curling under his chin, there is a jerk and he is directly gazing into Yifan’s face as he elf whispers, “What is it?”

Junmyeon forgets to breathe. He had the words, but now they are leaving him, one by one. Yifan gently smiles down at him and says, “You know, you look very nice today.” Then he flushes deeply, before chuckling to himself, “Well nicer than most humans here, I suppose.”

As the words waft out of his brain, the part that always has a sharp retort for Yifan’s jabs, wants to respond to that comment, and judging from the mischievous gleam in Yifan’s eyes, the elf is waiting for it as well. But then his mind stutters, and the vanishing words become more visible and Junmyeon says, “I like you Yifan.”

At first Yifan doesn’t understand, but when Junmyeon’s cheek turn that pretty shade of pink, he does. The soft, dark expectant eyes look at him, and his heart gets all tangled up. Junmyeon likes him? This is stranger than a dragon hatching for him.

Junmyeon thinks he made a mistake when Yifan just stares and stares at him with his mouth open. He knew it! He is about to push Yifan back and run to the safety of his house, when Yifan says, “Junmyeon, I—”

The elf gets interrupted, however, when a rush of hooves and voices appear, and a familiar voice shouts, “Yifan!”

Yifan jumps back, and so does Junmyeon. Yifan turns his head around and Junmyeon moves to the side, only to find Minseok and another palace guard from Jäämetsä getting down from their horses. Minseok runs up to Yifan and grabs him by his arms. His eyes are wild when he cries, “The king Yifan, you father is dying!”

iv. If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant

A year passes and another summer festival approaches and its preparations are in full swing again. Junmyeon tries to not mull over the events of last year. It is of no use. Even if Yifan returns, he wouldn’t meet him. He doesn’t want to remember the face of abject shock on the elf’s face when he confessed.

Suddenly, he hears a great uproar below his window. He gets up from his bed and leans over the window, only to find a bunch of young riders calling out his name. He asks, “What do you want?”

“Yifan is back! We saw him head to Shadeslayer’s place!” one of the girls say, all smiles.

Junmyeon quickly ducks back and he can feel his heart thudding painfully against his chest. He finds it hard to breath, and his knees feel weak. Soon, there is a knock on his door, and it opens to Kyungsoo looking at him with a worried expression. Among his friends, he only told Kyungsoo why he entered their house crying that day.

Kyungsoo asks, “Hey, you know?” By his wide concerned eyes and the firm press of his lips, Junmyeon doesn’t need help to know what Kyungsoo is asking about.

Junmyeon sits back down on the bed and nods his head. Kyungsoo sits down beside him and puts his hand on his shoulder. He calmly says, “Don’t avoid him Junmyeon. You never got to know—”

“I know how he feels! He feels nothing!” Junmyeon groans as he pulls at the roots of his hair.

“Don’t Junmyeon,” Kyungsoo shakes his head. “He had to leave, he lost his father, how could he focus on anything else? Don’t you think you are being a little too selfish and self-centred?”

Junmyeon can see Kyungsoo’s reasoning, and he did consider that he would need to talk with the elf, yet he couldn’t get over the sting of the initial rejection. What if Yifan really had no such feelings? Then what? How could he face Yifan then? He knows Kyungsoo is right, but he also knows he isn’t ready to face the man who broke his heart yet.

Solembum finds Junmyeon hiding in the pantry eating an apple two days later. So far, Junmyeon had managed to hide from Yifan, and he knew the elf was busy as well, so no one noticed his absence. As soon as the werecat finds him, he smiles, all feline and feral, “Is the Rider hiding again?”

Junmyeon nearly chokes on his apple. He wipes his chin and says, “What do you mean?”

Solembum chuckles, “Oh you and the silver-haired rider.”

Junmyeon’s eyes widen as he splutters, “H-how do you know?”

“I am a werecat and I know things even if I don’t always know why I know them.” He leans against a table and is a picture of laziness, yet his eyes gleam with mischief.

Junmyeon asks, “What about me and him then?”

“Cherry blossoms, they are so white and beautiful, aren’t they? I remember Yifan came here when it was spring…” Solembum straightens up, and his smile is enigmatic as he walks out of the door.

Junmyeon forgets all about the half-eaten apple in his hands as Solembum’s words from seven years ago echo in the empty room and through the din in his head. So, he hurries out of the pantry, searching for Yifan, because now he needs to know.

He doesn’t find Yifan during the day, apparently, the elf is down in town for the summer festival. He waits, and when night rolls in and the moon is shining its brightest, Yifan enters the grounds, looking all regal and it still makes Junmyeon’s heart skip too many beats.

Yifan is a bit surprised to find Junmyeon waiting for him near the stables. He quickly closes the gap between them and throws his arms around the shorter. Junmyeon’s prepared words get stuck in his throat, yet again. Then Yifan whispers in his husky voice, “I missed you.”

Junmyeon swallows and pushes Yifan a little. He has to put his words out there, he says, “I need to talk to you.”

“I know—”

Junmyeon raises his hand and backs away, putting space between them. “I need to know…”

“Know what?”

“I need,” Junmyeon swallows as he tells his heart to behave. “I need to know if you—”

Yifan pinches the bridge of his nose. Junmyeon is being so…annoyingly endearing. Especially with his beautiful eyes and his small lips, and gosh he has missed him so much. So, he does the next best thing—he grabs Junmyeon by the other’s shoulders, and presses his lips against his. It works, Junmyeon at least shuts up, his words rudely interrupted. A choked gasp later, Junmyeon roughly pushes away Yifan and claps his hand over his mouth, his eyes wide with surprise.

If Junmyeon didn’t know any better, he would be thinking if this was a dream, or an enchantment. Yifan could not have kissed him, right? His heart is pounding in his chest, and he can still feel the warmth of Yifan’s hands on his shoulders and the softness of his lips. So, he whispers, his voice tinged with disbelief. “Why, why did you that?”

Yifan winds his long arms around Junmyeon’s waist and pulls him closer again. Junmyeon tries to escape again, but Yifan grabs his chin, and with his amber eyes boring into him, the elf says, “I thought you liked me?”

Junmyeon gapes, utterly confused now as he fights the blush from reddening his cheeks any further. “You…why are you asking me that?”

Yifan leans close, too close to Junmyeon flushed face. “Because if you did, then why are you stopping me from kissing you?”

Junmyeon frowns, suddenly feeling not very eager to play whatever game Yifan is playing right now. “Why would you want to kiss me anyway?”

“Why?” Yifan chuckles as he quickly kisses the corner of Junmyeon’s mouth. “For such an esteemed Rider, you are quite an idiot.” Yifan hoods his eyes and brushes his lips against Junmyeon’s and murmurs, “Because I like you too, so, so much Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon gasps and Yifan takes that moment to attach his lips to his again, and this time, Junmyeon doesn’t stop him, or push him back. He can process what Yifan said later, right now, he wants to kiss the man he has wanted for so long.

Yifan pulls back and as he is rubbing his thumb over Junmyeon’s reddened lips, he says, “Do you know how much I missed you? If my family didn’t need me, I would have returned long ago.”

“Oh?” Junmyeon is so taken aback still. Somehow, he still finds it unbelievable.

Yifan chuckles as he kisses Junmyeon’s temple. “Yeah. Joohyun needed my help, and so did my other two troublemakers. As much it surprised me to find Joohyun in tears and calling me brother, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I wanted you to be with me so much, especially when I left without a word. I know I broke your heart and I hated myself for it, so, so much Junmyeon.” He moves closer and his lips are on Junmyeon’s again.

Junmyeon closes his eyes as Yifan’s lips slide against his, all wet and warm and eager. Junmyeon feels himself melting when Yifan’s large hands splay on his neck, pulling him closer and closer. Junmyeon mewls when Yifan starts sucking on his lower lip, and his hands clutch the front of Yifan’s shirt. He licks over Yifan’s lip and the elf groans when their tongues meet in a hot rush. Electricity shoots up Junmyeon’s spine and he wishes he never had to stop kissing Yifan, not when the elf is kissing him like he means it, like he wants to have the whole of Junmyeon. And goodness, how much Junmyeon wants to give.

So, his head falls back when Yifan moves to plant kisses down his neck and up under his jaw, his warm breath causing goosebumps all over his body. Somehow, Junmyeon hears himself moaning when Yifan marks him with his lips and teeth. Yifan pulls back for a moment, and his amber eyes are dark with want. They pant in rhythm, their faces flushed and their heart racing. Junmyeon’s breath hitches when, under the summer moon, the silver light transforms Yifan into something ethereal yet seductive, and Junmyeon feels his knees wobbling by how much he wants too.

Junmyeon rises on his tiptoes and kisses Yifan, his head falling to the side as the elf lets Junmyeon’s tongue tangle with his own. Yifan rakes his hands all over Junmyeon’s body, from his neck to his back to his hips and up again, and Junmyeon shivers when the elf’s hand catches on the hem of his tunic. Skin brushes against skin, and Junmyeon has to break the kiss to tell Yifan breathlessly, “Come with me.”

Junmyeon takes Yifan’s hands and heads over to the stables. Everyone is at the festival, even the horses, so it is blessedly empty, because Junmyeon didn’t know if he could have made his way to his quarters with his heart thundering like that, or his blood boiling like that, or his body feeling like it is on fire. He unclips Yifan’s long travelling cloak from his shoulders and drapes it all over the clean hay at a corner of the stable lighted by the moonlight coming from the window overhead. Junmyeon pushes Yifan down, who sits down without question as the former crawls up onto his lap and attacks his lips with renewed vigour.

As Junmyeon sucks on Yifan’s tongue, the elf grabs onto his waist and pulls him closer, so their chests are flushed against each other, so one can feel the other’s heart beat against his chest. Junmyeon gasps and breaks the kiss when Yifan pushes his hands under Junmyeon’s tunic, pushing the fabric up and soon it is over Junmyeon’s head. Junmyeon doesn’t get to catch his breath when Yifan starts marking his skin over his neck, his shoulders and down his chest. His mouth is hot and wet and when his mouth clamps over Junmyeon’s nipple, the latter couldn’t stop the strangled moan from falling from his lips. Yifan stops what he is doing and looks up at Junmyeon’s flushed face and whispers, “You make such beautiful sounds Jun…” As Junmyeon tries to look away from Yifan’s piercing amber gaze, the elf’s hands move down his back and roughly grabs his butt. Junmyeon keens and digs his blunt nails on Yifan’s neck. Yifan’s voice is rough, as if he is trying to hold back something, when he says, “Junmyeon…”

Junmyeon understands, because he had been trying to hold this back for too long as well. He pushes Yifan on his back and leans over to kiss him, all soft and sweet and slow. Meanwhile, he pries the long shirt off Yifan’s shoulders and uses his hands to explore the firm, warm body underneath him. He feels Yifan’s muscles shivering under his touch and he moves to make some markings of his own on the smooth, silky skin. He is licking along a bite he made on Yifan’s throat when Yifan dips his hand underneath Junmyeon’s trousers and drags a long digit between his butt cheeks.

Junmyeon making a choking noise as Yifan pulls him closer and he can feel something hard digging into his thigh, and before he can do anything, Yifan flips them over and hovers over Junmyeon for a moment before crashing lips against his. Yifan’s teeth catch on Junmyeon’s lower lip, and Junmyeon doesn’t know if he cries out in pain or pleasure. Yifan pushes Junmyeon’s trousers down his hips and the human helps him pull it off the rest of the way. As Junmyeon lies underneath Yifan, completely naked, his pale, firm body bathed in the moonlight, Yifan takes a pause to admire the wondrous being that Junmyeon is.

Junmyeon flushes some more under Yifan’s watchful gaze. There is something about the heated gaze that makes all the blood in his body rush south, getting his cock hard. He squirms as he murmurs, “Staring is rude.” His breath hitches when he looks at Yifan in his messy silver hair and beautiful amber eyes. He feels proud when he sees the vivid red markings all over Yifan’s neck. He brushes over one such mark as Yifan takes a deep breath and grabs Junmyeon’s wrist. He kisses Junmyeon’s palm and says, “I was such a fool to never realise how truly wonderful and beautiful you are Junmyeon.” His hand palms the soft, sensitised flesh on Junmyeon’s inner thigh as he continues in a raspy voice, “Let me make it up to you for wasting so much time, for making you wait for so long.”

Junmyeon hands bunch the cloak in his grip as Yifan starts stroking him to full hardness. Yifan moves from root to tip agonisingly slow, the pleasure slowly unfurling, burning white in his veins. His nail digs into the head and traces the pulsating vein underside, and Junmyeon closes his eyes, the pressure building in his lower abdomen getting too much for him. And soon, he wants to beg for release, but he doesn’t. He halts Yifan by grabbing the latter’s wrist. He opens his eyes and exhales, “Not like this.” He raises his arms and wounds his fingers into Yifan hair, pulling him down, so he could kiss him. Yifan bends and slots his lips against Junmyeon’s trembling ones. Suddenly, Junmyeon pulls away, and his breathless voice is making things harder for Yifan as he says, “I want you to mean what you said about making up for lost time. Make love to me Yifan, please.”

Yifan gulps at the soft, lustful eyes pleading him, at the swollen lips slick with saliva and the warm body under him. He slowly nods his head and Junmyeon kisses his chin. He murmurs, “There is a ladder leading up to the stable-boy’s bed. I know he keeps oil in the drawers beside his bed.”

Yifan needn’t be told twice as he moves, not very eager to leave Junmyeon, who grins, “I won’t be going anywhere.” Yifan nods and cups Junmyeon’s face before dropping a chaste kiss on the top of his head. He does as Junmyeon instructed him, and soon he is climbing the ladder to reach the platform overhead. He finds the bedside table and as Junmyeon said there is a bottle of oil in the second drawer. A flash of jealousy fills him as he questions how Junmyeon would even have such information. He hurries towards Junmyeon, who has his hand loosely fitted around his cock. Yifan watches as Junmyeon collects the precum beading at the head and smears it all over his cock. Yifan swallows at the scene, and he would have stood there if Junmyeon hadn’t called for him feebly, his voice choked with desire.

Yifan is quick in shedding the rest of his clothes as he joins Junmyeon on the makeshift bed. He puts the small bottle of oil beside his shed trousers and kisses Junmyeon hard as he steals all his breath. When Junmyeon breaks the kiss for air, Yifan asks, “How do you know where the stable-boy keeps his oil?”

Junmyeon laughs at the knitted brow and the possessive way Yifan is holding his hips. “I almost walked in on them—the stable-boy and his lover—having sex. Also, that was a guess.”

Yifan’s scowl diminishes, though his grip on Junmyeon’s flesh doesn’t. He dips his head and nuzzles Junmyeon’s jaw as he chuckles. Junmyeon combs his fingers through Yifan’s soft, silver hair, relishing the amazing silkiness of it. He softly confesses, “I have only ever wanted you since I understood what my feelings were for you. I don’t want anybody but you.”

Yifan inhales shakily, and he wonders why Junmyeon faintly smells like cherry blossoms. He plants a kiss over Junmyeon’s pounding heart and clasps him close. Junmyeon moves his leg to make room for Yifan, and unintentionally they both moan when their crotches brush against each other. Junmyeon blinks away the sudden flare of pleasure, and whispers, his voice dripping with lust and need, “Yifan…”

“Yes, yes,” Yifan assures as he grabs the bottle and unstoppers it. He generously coats three of his fingers with the fragrant oil and mimics the earlier drag over Junmyeon’s quivering muscles. Junmyeon gasps when Yifan teases, “Yifan, please.” He wants Yifan, inside him; and he wants his release.

Yifan smirks as he finally pushes one long, oil-slick finger into Junmyeon, whose back almost arches at the sudden intrusion. Then the finger pushes in and out, and due to the oil, it isn’t that painful, but still, it has been a while since Junmyeon indulged in sex, so the shock of the intrusion is new, but not unwelcome. He bites down on his lower lip and his nails dig deep into Yifan’s biceps. The elf understands wrong as stops his finger and asks in an alarmed tone, “Are you okay? Should I stop?”

Junmyeon shakes his head, gasping, “No, no, please don’t stop.” Yifan isn’t convinced, and Junmyeon can tell, so he wraps his hand around Yifan’s shoulders and says with more conviction, “Please, I want this. I want you.”

Yifan swallows at the bare need edged in Junmyeon’s voice. He goes slow, and each drag has Junmyeon taking deep breaths and trying to relax his muscles. Yifan inserts two more fingers and scissors them, and Junmyeon moans when one finger brushes against the bundle of nerves. Yifan smiles, feeling smug at finding Junmyeon’s prostate and makes Junmyeon moan again when he presses his finger against it.

Junmyeon’s head turns to the side, sweat blooming on his skin as Yifan keeps up the slow yet steady pleasurable torture. He simultaneously wants Yifan to stop and continue. He whimpers when Yifan dips low and licks along the taut muscle on his neck. Yifan starts sucking and biting his skin again as he picks up a faster pace with his fingers. Junmyeon shuts his eyes at the over-stimulation and sees stars behind his eyelids as he moans, “Yifan, please, please, please…”

Yifan hums as he kisses along Junmyeon’s chest and sucks one nipple into his mouth. He knows what Junmyeon is asking for, but old habits die hard, and he is so not done teasing Junmyeon yet. He wraps his free hand around Junmyeon’s cock and loves the way Junmyeon says his name when he does so. He soon finds Junmyeon clawing his back, and then there is a sharp bite on his shoulder. Junmyeon shouts, “I swear Yifan if you don’t—oh!”

Yifan smirks and doesn’t let Junmyeon finish his sentence when he nudges in the head of his cock in. Junmyeon’s mouth falls open in a silent moan at the thick pressure slowly entering him, stretching him, and the pain and pleasure of it all singes his veins and he claws at Yifan’s back again, his teeth clamping down on his lower lip. He cries out, “Yifan!”

“Yes, oh!” Yifan moans as he squeezes his eyes, the pleasure of slowly filling Junmyeon becomes unbearable. “Junmyeon, you feel so good…” And then he stops pushing, allowing Junmyeon to adjust to his length and girth. He doesn’t wish to hurt Junmyeon at all. He wants Junmyeon to enjoy it as much he wants to enjoy this.

Junmyeon keens when Yifan bottoms out, his body trying to accommodate the stretch and feel of Yifan’s cock inside him. It is better than he imagined, and Junmyeon wants to cry at the overwhelming feeling of contentment at having the man he wanted fill him like this. He hears Yifan panting over him as the latter drops gentle kisses all over his face, while murmuring words of endearment and affection. Junmyeon gulps and when he opens his eyes, he finds Yifan’s tender golden gaze on him. Junmyeon whispers, “You can move.”

Yifan swallows and nods his head. Junmyeon braces himself by lacing his hands on Yifan’s nape, and then gets lost in a bright blaze of pleasure mixed with pain as Yifan moves out and in, thrusting slowly, achingly slow, so that Junmyeon feels the drag more acutely, the friction of it too much for him. He moans helplessly as Yifan decides on a pace and starts thrusting in earnest. Each push, and pull, sends delicious shivers up his body, and coupled with the rough voice groaning and moaning in his ear, Junmyeon is breathless by good it feels.

At each thrust, Junmyeon loses a little more of his mind as he wraps his legs around Yifan’s waist. This allows to Yifan to push in deeper and find his prostate again, which has Junmyeon keening and moaning Yifan’s name like a prayer. It is all he can feel and think and see. Yifan pushing in and out of him, his scent, his voice, his hand on Junmyeon’s hips. Then, Yifan’s wraps one hand around Junmyeon’s painfully hard and leaking cock, and the latter has tears pooling at the corner of his eyes at the excess stimulation.

He knows his end is near, with how Yifan’s cock keep hitting his prostate and his hands strokes his cock. His hands are rough and wonderful and soon, a few more thrusts in, Junmyeon comes all over his abdomen with a shrill cry.

However, Yifan isn’t done, not even close and his thrusts get choppier as he chases his orgasm. Junmyeon runs his nails down Yifan’s back, already raw with other scratches, and tries to not think too much about the oversensitivity and the overstimulation. At each slap of skin against skin, Junmyeon clenches tighter and tighter around Yifan, who climaxes couple more thrusts in when Junmyeon nearly loses sensation in his legs as he tries to pull Yifan in deeper and deeper. He wants to give as much as he took from the elf. Yifan comes with a ragged moan, and the sudden warmth filling Junmyeon surprises him and he gasps.

Yifan slumps over Junmyeon, as he tries to calm himself. Junmyeon runs a soothing hand through Yifan’s hair and down his back. He winces when he touches the places he almost scratched Yifan bloody. He kisses Yifan’s shoulder and murmurs, “I am sorry about your back.”

Yifan chuckles and pushes himself up on his elbows. He brushes his Junmyeon’s sweaty bangs and places a sweet kiss on the latter’s forehead. He says, “I am not sorry. I will probably wear them like a badge.”

Junmyeon widens his eyes, now distinctly aware of the stickiness on his abdomen and the roughness of the hay under his back. “You will do no such thing! Luhan will never let me live!” Yifan laughs once again, and it is so beautiful, Junmyeon carelessly confesses, as warmth fills his entire being, “I love you.”

Yifan inhales sharply as he stares at Junmyeon’s now flushed face. The younger is trying to avoid his gaze and squirming to crawl out of his hold, but Yifan just increases his hold. He tucks his head in the juncture of Junmyeon’s neck and shoulder. He breathes in the scent of Junmyeon’s skin and exhales, “Do you mean that Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon hates how he let his deepest secret slip, but Yifan’s question is strange, though he somehow understands the context. He runs his fingers through Yifan’s hair and says, “I mean it.”

Yifan moves sideways, pulling Junmyeon to the side as well, managing to curl under Junmyeon’s chin as he traces patterns on Junmyeon’s thigh. “I have never loved anyone Junmyeon, but if it has to be anyone, I want it to be you, because you make me feel like no one ever has.”

Yifan gazes up at Junmyeon’s exalted face, and the latter sucks in a deep breath, overwhelmed by the vulnerability the elf is showing right now. Junmyeon knows, that after everything that has happened between them, Yifan means what he says. So, over the staccato beat of his heart, Junmyeon tenderly says, “It’s okay. You know I am not going nowhere.”

The answering smile is brighter than moonlight and Junmyeon knows deep down in his heart that this is worth it; that Yifan is worth it. And that, someday, every moment will be as beautiful as this and more. He understands what the werecat meant after all this time.

And he can wait because love is worth it above all.