Chapter 22 : Little white lies

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Kibum had been true to his words. After spending the whole afternoon laughing and talking with all of their friends, inquiring about every matter that he had missed while he slept frozen in his pond, he had spent two days avoiding Jongin altogether. At first, the wood nymph had been quite surprised, and hurt, before he understood what was going on. Unfortunately, he couldn't say that he had never seen Kibum sulk before, and he knew that the best way to deal with his friend's pouting face, was to let him be offended to his heart's content.

Then, after a while, Kibum would come back to him, as he always did. Or so, Jongin hoped. He truly hoped that he hadn't messed up so badly this time, that Kibum would simply turn his head whenever they met until the end of times.

On the morning of the third day, the water nymph trotted all the way to Jongin's willow tree, and knocked lightly on the trunk, as if he hadn't pulled out his tongue at his friend a few hours before when Jongin had wished him a good night. As Jongin got out of his home to look at him with hopeful eyes, Kibum lifted his nose in the air.

"I would like to go meet Sehun, will you show me the way?"

Jongin immediately agreed and after he grabbed some leftovers of a carrot cake that Kyungsoo had made and offered him a few days ago, they left. Jongin timidly used his food as a peace offering, but if Kibum accepted bits of it, that he immediately ate, he still refused to look at him or talk to him. And Jongin sighed, his eyes falling miserably to the ground.

The path to Sehun's home was quite long, because the forest refused to give any shortcuts too close to the ruins, as they were now the most protected and precious area of the whole kingdom. The idea to walk next to Kibum in utter silence for almost an hour made Jongin's stomach twist in displeasure.

He had often thought about what he would tell Kibum when they would meet again. Jongin had actually prepared something like ten different speeches in his head, but he couldn't find his words back now that the time had come to actually speak with his friend. He kept his head lowered, his lips quivering as he tried to find something to say, anything that would help the situation, and he didn't realize that Kibum was eyeing him up with a sad frown. The water nymph then shook his head, straightening up and looking right before him and through the swamps, as he spoke again.

"So... Did you have with Chanyeol already?"

His voice rang incredibly loudly in the silence of the marsh, and Jongin got so startled, both by the noise and the absurdity of Kibum's question, that his feet slipped on a moist root and he fell face first in a greenish puddle.

"What?!" he croaked, bewildered, as he cradled his neck to look at his friend.

Kibum sighed loudly and rolled his eyes at him. He still leaned forward to help Jongin get back on his feet with a pout.

"I know that you weren't with me when I froze because you were on a romantic escapade with your little lover, whom you nastily didn't tell me about."

Jongin blinked a couple of times, his mouth hanging open, and he didn't even care about the smelly, damp mud clinging to his knees and chest.

"Yes, I know your little secret," Kibum pursued, crossing his arms on his chest. "So you might as well tell me... I suppose you two kissed already. Did you make love too? Or will you deny everything? Will you keep having secrets? You don't wanna share anything with me anymore, uh?"

Jongin shook his head, having some difficulties to follow Kibum's every thought and reproach.

"I-...," he started, but Kibum interrupted him.

"I suppose it is Chanyeol... Who else could it be, really? I kept wondering, but as all our fairies friends are still tiny and didn't grow up for you... then it has to be the faun! I mean, he's quite cute, it would make sense. I just had to figure it out myself because you wouldn't tell me anything!"

Jongin scrunched his nose, closed his eyes, as his arms were flailing helplessly.

"No, no, no! It's not Chanyeol," he squeaked.

Then he breathed out, and looked at Kibum sheepishly again. The water nymph was coldly staring at him, haughty but finally silent.

"I mean...," Jongin stuttered in a low voice, "I do have a lover. But it isn't Chanyeol."

He saw Kibum's eyes widen as a thought formed in his mind.

"It can't be!" Kibum screeched.

"What?" Jongin whined, wondering what nonsense Kibum would have made up next.

He couldn't imagine Kibum actually guessing the subject of his affection. It was too unexpected, to say the least. There was no way his friend could think about Taemin.

"Don't tell me it's Lord Baekhyun! Oh bother, it's him! That's why he was there for my awakening, wasn't he? Oh, I can't believe that I thought he would just come see me. You and Lord Baekhyun...! I should have seen this coming, somehow. You definitely had before me, then. You definitely had, with Lord Baekhyun. Oh I can't believe this."

Jongin felt his face heat up impossibly at Kibum's babbling and he put his hands on his own ears in shame, unable to ear one more word about such an absolute ridiculous assumption.

"I didn't make love with anyone," Jongin cried out. "Oh fudge berries! It isn't Lord Baekhyun at all. It's someone else and I didn't even kiss him yet!"

Kibum closed his mouth once more and pleated his eyes at Jongin. He came a little bit forward, stretching his neck to bring their faces closer as he studied his friend's eyes thoroughly.

"You didn't?" he asked in a whisper. "Not even a kiss?"

"I want to," Jongin mumbled. "But I haven't. Yet."

Kibum snorted, and stepped back. He looked a bit bitter.

"Well, I kinda hoped that all of this would at least serve for you to tell me how it feels."

Jongin scratched the back of his head absentmindedly.

"I'm sorry," he breathed out.

Kibum shrugged, with a dramatic sigh.

"It is how it is."

The water nymph turned away, and started to walk again. Jongin watched him go away and bit his bottom lip, trying to find a bit more courage within himself. He trotted behind, twisting his hands together.

"Kibum, I'm sorry."

"What for?"

His tone was calm, and steady, and Jongin understood that apologizing without explanations wouldn't be enough. He had wanted to come completely clean to Kibum anyway.

"I never meant to hurt you."

Kibum snorted at that, once again.

"Oh, did you think that I would be delighted the day I would found out that you had been lying to me for months?"

"Kibum, please," Jongin pleaded in a broken voice.

Kibum stopped walking, quite abruptly, and turned to him with a pained face.

"I don't care about your stupid apologies. I know you never wanted to make me sad, I know you, Jongin. I just can't understand why all of this happened at all. I want you to tell me the reasons that made you close yourself on me."

Jongin met his friend's tired gaze, and he felt his heart clench inside his chest.

"At first, I was embarrassed," he explained softly. "The first time I really met him, I couldn't understand my own feelings, I couldn't find words to describe them, and-... I wanted to be selfish. I wanted him to be all mine. And I didn't want to share the precious memories I had with him."

Kibum's stare wavered, and fell down on the ground.

"It wasn't for the sake of keeping a secret from you," Jongin continued. "And I certainly didn't do it on purpose."

"And then?" Kibum mumbled. "You said 'at first', so, what happened next?"

Until now, Kibum could understand. He could tolerate. He could imagine the way Jongin felt. It was hurting him a bit, to know that Jongin didn't want to share absolutely everything with him, the way he liked to share everything with his friend. But that was part of who Jongin was; a shy, quiet, intimate nymph. He had to respect Jongin's wish for privacy and closeness.

"And then, I was scared to hurt you," Jongin confessed.

Kibum perked up at that. That was what Jinki had hinted, all those weeks ago, when he spilled Jongin's secret. But Kibum couldn't understand.

"But why?" he asked in a broken voice. "What did I do to make you think that I wouldn't be happy for you? Is it about Jonghyun? Did you think I would just be jealous and get mad at you or something like that?"

Jongin cowered in front of him, hunching his shoulders and lowering his head.

"Yes, somehow," he admitted. "When I realized that I fell in love, I was afraid of rubbing it on your face. Because I was meeting him regularly and I knew how difficult the whole situation with your prince was. I found all of this so unfair to you, and I got anxious."

Kibum took a long inhale and stepped forward. He raised his hands to cup Jongin's face and forced him to look back at him.

"So if I hadn't been in love with Jonghyun, you would have told me?"

Jongin frowned, and then nodded.

"Did you truly wanted to tell me about it?" Kibum pressed. "I mean, you genuinely wanted to share this with me?"

"Of course," Jongin breathed out. "But I couldn't. I'm still scared."

"You don't have to be," Kibum whined. "I want to know those important things happening in your life. I want to know about the person you want to kiss. I won't be all bitter and envious. I mean, probably a bit envious, yes, but in a funny way."

Kibum's tone softened in the end and Jongin tried to smile, but it faded into an anxious pout.

"It's alright if you don't wanna tell me everything," Kibum continued. "But it's you, and it's me, and I thought-... I mean, you never talked about liking anyone, and I started to think that you weren't interested in... all of that, you know. And then Jinki was the one to tell me you had someone. And I felt so left out. So irrelevant. Truth be told, I probably felt more jealous of everyone knowing something about you that I was unaware of, than I am of you getting to kiss someone before me."

"We didn't kiss yet," Jongin spluttered again with a scrunch of his nose.

"Well, I don't want to kiss anyone else than Jonghyun and I can't see this happening anytime soon, can I? So I guess I have to live with the fact that you will be kissed first."

Jongin blushed a bit, and let out a long sigh.

"I really am sorry, you know."

"Yes, I know."

Kibum hold out one of his hand to take Jongin's, and intertwined their fingers together as he squeezed their palms softly.

"So, you wanna tell me about this wonderful person who stole your heart? I'm kinda curious."

Kibum's gentle smile made it hard for Jongin to swallow. Despite everything that his friend had just told him, the wood nymph still felt his hands get sweaty at the idea of explaining to Kibum just who exactly they were talking about.

Kibum seemed to notice his anxiety bubbling, because he reached out to his hair with his free hand.

"Why are you still so nervous?" he asked in a whisper.

Jongin's heart was hammering inside his chest.

"Because he's an elf."

His voice was barely a murmur and for a second, he wondered if Kibum heard him. But he felt the two moist hands of his friend slip from his cheek and hair as Kibum's eyes widened impossibly and his face turned white.

"An-... what?" he called out, his voice cold and lips quivering. "An elf?"

"Yes," Jongin said.

Kibum stepped back, and his back hit a tree. He closed his eyes and let himself lean on its trunk. He blinked repeatedly, as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. Or didn't want to.

"Does he love you back?"

Kibum's voice was faint and distant.

"Yes, he does."

Kibum hid his face behind his hands and tried to breathe slowly.

"At least," Kibum sighed with half a smile, "it answers one of my question. It appears that it is possible for a nymph and an elf to be together after all."

"Kibum..."

"I have to ask. And it's probably completely irrational but-... I want it to be irrational. Please tell me I'm irrational."

Jongin frowned; it was hurting him to see Kibum in such a vulnerable state.

"What is it?"

"It's not-... It's not Jonghyun, right? You 're not in love with Jonghyun... You wouldn't, right?"

Jongin froze, staring at Kibum with wide eyes as he yelped.

"No, of course not! It's not your Jonghyun!"

Kibum let out a nervous little laugh as he brought his hands to his heart, and he nodded a few times to himself.

"I-... I'm sorry. I just don't know... what to do. I don't want to be upset. But it's just so much."

"Is there anything I can do?" Jongin offered, not knowing what to do with himself either.

Kibum rubbed his eyes awkwardly, pressing his fingers against his eyelids to contain his tears.

"Well... It turns out you were right. I'm jealous and it hurts. But not-... not like-... I'm not mad."

They both stayed silent for a moment; long enough for Jongin to feel his insides turn and twist.

"Would you be okay to tell me more?" Kibum finally asked. "Like... what's his name, maybe? How it happened?"

Jongin winced a bit, but nodded. He came closer, to sit on the roots of the tree Kibum was still laying against.*

"There's another thing... that might be a little unsettling."

"Oh dear," Kibum breathed out with a roll of his eyes as he sat next to him. "Bring it on."

Jongin couldn't help the little chuckle of anxiety that left his lips.

"It's all so much, I don't know where to start..."

Kibum stayed silent, his hands clasped on his lap as he waited patiently for Jongin to find his words. He kept his eyes lowered on the ground, as Jongin brought him back to the elven ball in the beginning of fall. And Jongin told him everything he hadn't already, about the elf he saw, whom he couldn't stop thinking about. He told him about the day he thought he saved him from a wolf, and Kibum laughed lightly at him. He told him how he learned his name and how he started to learn elvish with Kyungsoo, and the look of sadness on Kibum's face hurt Jongin more than he thought it would.

Still, Kibum listened in silence, nodding by intermittence, letting out little gasps of surprise here and there. But he didn't interrupt him.

Jongin told him of the day when Kibum himself made him realize how much he cared for Taemin. He tried to tell him those indescribable feelings he had whenever his elf was nearby, how everything inside of him felt calmer, he told him that Taemin felt like his flowers, and Kibum understood. The water nymph smiled tenderly at him, and nodded, and Jongin felt a tear of both relief and happiness roll down his cheek.

"It feels like a part of you always belonged to him," Kibum said, "even long before you even saw him."

"Yes," Jongin breathed out.

Then Jongin told him about the day when he decided to avow everything to him, when Junmyeon came to bring Taemin back to Melalhil, and how the whole world collapsed in front of him.

"You mean-...," Kibum chocked, eyebrows furrowed.

"I had no idea back then," Jongin confessed in a low voice. "But Taemin is the mountain prince. He's Jonghyun's fiancé."

Kibum was stunned to silence, but his face mirrored his inner turmoil. His heart was starting to be so loud inside his chest that it was difficult to hear Jongin's timid voice, and he had to ask him to repeat himself.

Jongin told him how miserable and lonely he had been, how it felt like he would never be able to breathe correctly again. Then, he told Kibum everything he knew about the royal marriage.

"So... This Taemin doesn't love Jonghyun?" Kibum huffed, between gritted teeth.

"No, he doesn't."

"Well, who does he think he is?!" Kibum exclaimed.

Jongin blinked nervously a couple of times before he frowned.

"What?"

"Jonghyun isn't good enough for him, is that it?"

Jongin shook his head in confusion before he whined.

"What are you saying? You're missing the entire point! Besides, Taemin loves me, mind you. I may not be a prince, but I'm pretty okay, I guess."

Kibum opened his mouth, then closed it, and pouted. He closed his eyes and took a long breath.

"Yes, yes of course. Of course."

"Jonghyun doesn't love him either, which is pretty stupid on him if you ask me, but you don't see me complaining."

"I wasn't complaining, I'm overwhelmed!" Kibum protested. "There is too much information, I can't process all of it."

Jongin grumbled a bit, but didn't insist.

"I can't believe all of this," Kibum sighed loudly. "I mean, I believe you. But it's so incredible it sounds absurd."

"It took me a bit of time to understand everything," Jongin admitted.

"You fell in love with an elf out of all creatures, and he turns out to be the fiancé of the elf I'm desperate about. Then it turns out they don't actually love each other. Oh my, my, my... Maybe I should have stayed frozen."

"When you say it like that, it does sound absurd."

"Yes, I find it quite silly. Even ridiculous. It's comical, really," Kibum snorted.

Jongin stole a glance at his friend and a small smile bloomed on his lips. He felt his shoulder slowly relax at the sight of an amused Kibum.

"As long as we're discreet, I'll get to stay with Taemin. It isn't exactly ideal, and every time we have to part and I have to let go of him, I feel like my heart is breaking... but I am allowed to stay with him. I'd rather have him this way, than not have him at all," Jongin confessed. "I can't even imagine not having him at all. Not seeing him, not talking to him. So I take every single moment he can give me. And, I mean, maybe-... if you want-... you could let your prince see you too."

Kibum folded his legs against his chest and rested his forehead on his knees with a bitter smile.

"I would have never guessed I would see the day where you try to convince me to show myself to an elf."

"Am I stepping out of line?"

"No," Kibum sighed, a small blush appearing on his cheeks. "It's just-... It's not because he isn't in love with Taemin, that he will fall in love with me, you know. Maybe he will fall in love with someone else, maybe he already did. I just wish I could find enough courage to show myself to him. Not in the hope to have him in any way I could, but because I would love for him to just look at me once more. And talk to me."

Jongin reached out to bring Kibum against his chest, as he his hair slowly.

"Thanks for telling me everything," Kibum murmured.

"You're welcome. I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner."

"It's alright."

"Are we good?" Jongin asked shyly.

Kibum chuckled, weakly punching Jongin's ribs with one fist.

"Yes, we're good. Now... maybe we should-... let's go see that baby nymph, okay?"

Jongin had completely forgotten that they were on their way to see the little stone that was Sehun.

"Yes, yes let's go."

Kibum turned around to briefly hug him, and Jongin hold him back tightly. Then Kibum stepped back and got up, smiling down at the wood nymph before he resumed walking through the swamps.

Jongin sighed. He felt so much lighter. All the pressure and anxiety and fear his body had accumulated for weeks while Kibum laid sleeping, suddenly dropped to the ground and he breathed deeply.

"Jonginnie, what are you doing? I don't know the way at all, I'm gonna get lost," Kibum whined, a few steps ahead.

Jongin giggled, and finally jumped to his feet, trotting away to his best friend.

Jonghyun was pacing through the long corridors of the castle, heading for Minho's office. He was short of breath, and was trying his best to go as fast as possible without running. He was late, and he knew that Minho wouldn't hold it against him, because he was, in fact, a very busy prince, but still. Jonghyun didn't like to be late. Even more for a meeting that he knew was so important to his friend.

The Council of High Fairies of Hazelbarrow had finally chosen and sent a fairy to replace Junmyeon as a counselor, and Jonghyun was supposed to be there to greet them.

When he finally arrived in front of the large door he was aiming at, Jonghyun took a few seconds to find his breath back and check his appearance. Once he made sure that he didn't look too disheveled, he knocked twice.

"Come in."

Jonghyun creaked the door open, and smiled politely as he entered.

Minho was beaming. He looked so immensely pleased and happy, that he seemed to be radiating joy, and it made Jonghyun's face soften a bit.

After Junmyeon's departure from Melalhil, Minho had been jittery, to say the least. He was stressed, suddenly forgetful, and had this aura of misery that Jonghyun definitely didn't knew on him. It had been troubling. Jonghyun wasn't a fool enough to believe that his friend had so easily overcome the departure for an indefinite period of the fairy who was like his shadow, but he found himself hoping that the worst was behind them. It was still startling to see Minho without Junmyeon perched on his shoulder or flying close by. The two of them had been tied up together before Jonghyun and Minho even met.

"Sorry for the delay," Jonghyun said, as he came closer.

"It's alright," Minho cheerfully answered. "We were discussing a few things on our own here."

Jonghyun finally noticed the fairy sitting on a tiny armchair, at the edge of Minho's desk, and his eyes widened.

"Oh, Jongdae?"

Said fairy smiled brightly in turn, despite his face growing red.

"Good morning," he chirped, before slapping his hand on his forehead, "ah, Majesty. Good morning, Majesty."

Jonghyun finally took a seat, and looked over both of them with a grin.

"Is it you? You're the new counselor?"

Jongdae shrugged, flailing his arms in the air.

"Look like it..."

"I had already proposed a position in the castle to Jongdae, a few weeks ago, which he refused. But apparently, he changed his mind," Minho taunted, wiggling his eyebrows at the fairy who rolled his eyes.

"Well, someone must come," Jongdae whined. "All the others fairies don't wanted. So the High Fairies said it's okay that I come. Jongdae don't speak perfect elvish, but I will learn more."

Jonghyun frowned at that, stealing a glance at Minho, with a worried look.

"Nobody wanted to come?" he asked, feeling uneasy. "Should we get concerned?"

Jongdae immediately shook his head with a chuckle.

"No, no. Majesty. All fairies love the elves very much, and they are all polite. But not Jinki, probably. He said you all are fopdoodles. But the others love you, but they don't want to come in Melalhil. They don't like speak elvish and they want to stay in Hazelbarrow. But I don't mind stay in castle now. Before I don't wanted, but now is okay."

"Thank you a lot for accepting the job, Jongdae," Minho said. "We all really appreciate it."

"There is one thing," Jongdae said, scratching his head. "I cannot work much like Junmyeon. It is too much. I will be tired then."

Jonghyun hid his smile behind one hand as he nodded.

"We'll take good care of you," he assured. "I promise we won't make you work too hard, and if you feel tired or miss your home too much, you'll always be allowed to go back to Hazelbarrow."

Jongdae nodded a couple of times, visibly pleased with how things were going.

"I'm really glad it's you," Jonghyun pursued. "I have a favor to ask..."

"Already?" Jongdae winced.

Minho tried to contain his sneer as he looked at Jonghyun with eyes shining with mischief. The idea to work a bit with Jongdae, a very young fairy, was delighting him. It wouldn't make him stop missing Junmyeon, but he knew that the tiny firework of a fairy next to him would most likely brighten his routine. He also hoped that Jongdae could bring them some new ideas and a fresh point of view.

"Should I wait a bit?" Jonghyun asked, unsure.

"Ah, it's okay. It's okay, Majesty. Tell Jongdae."

"You might already know that Junmyeon had been giving Taemin some faerish lessons, before he went away. We had been planning to ask the new fairy counselor to go on with them... but I had no idea if they would agree or not, and I've learned that you actually proposed to give Minseok some lessons. You were actually my backup solution in case the new counselor didn't want to help. So... it's perfect, if I may say. Would you be willing to teach faerish to the prince, along with Minseok?"

Jongdae deflated in a few seconds, his smile withering on his face as he scrunched his nose with displeasure.

"Jongdae? Is there a problem?" Minho inquired, suddenly concerned.

"Ah why?" Jongdae whined. "I don't know how teach faerish. I don't speak elvish so good yet. It's too difficult! What can I do?"

Jonghyun blinked rapidly in apparent confusion and tilted his head towards Minho, who shrugged back.

"But-... wait, Minseok told me you really wanted to teach him faerish."

"That was excuse," Jongdae grumbled. "Jongdae want to stay with Minseok. So I said it is for faerish but then we do something else. And then I say 'ah we don't learned faerish today, we have to meet again'. And so, I see Minseok a lot."

Minho and Jonghyun looked at each other in utter disbelief, until Minho started laughing, and didn't even try to cover it.

"What is funny?" Jongdae creaked, offended.

"Do you have a soft spot for Minseok, Jongdae?"

"Minseok is nice. He give me nettle," Jongdae answered, matter-of-factly.

The fairy crossed his arms over his chest with a sour look on his face aimed at Minho, while Jonghyun leaned back on his chair, a soft smile playing on his lips.

"Then, if it's too difficult for you, we understand. We'll try to find another solution," he said.

Jongdae inhaled deeply and then rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Taemin learn for Jongin, and Jongin is my friend. So I will try. But I cannot make the promise."

"You know Jongin?" Jonghyun gasped.

"Yes," the fairy exclaimed, swaggering proudly. "I am a very good friend of Jongin. And Kibum too."

"Who's Kibum?"

Minho froze, and Jongdae blinked, suddenly realizing his mistake.

"Ah, no one! It's no one! Majesty."

Jonghyun frowned, but nodded quietly. He felt stupid for even asking; he knew better than to ask about spirits. Having Jongdae around would require patience and a restrain on his curiosity, as the young fairy didn't seem to be totally used to the rules of secrecy.

"Anyway," Jonghyun smiled, "thank you a lot, Jongdae. The fact that you're willing to try is extremely generous."

Jongdae shrugged timidly, his cheeks red from his previous clumsiness.

"I will do my best," he chirped.

Kibum was sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes fixed on the steady flow of the river going all around him. It went in a perfect circle between small trees and bushes, and the water nymph loved the specific form of the stream, how it formed a little island.

He kept twisting his fingers, putting one strand of hair back behind his ears, only for it to fall over his eyes when he lowered his head again. He sighed, perking up for the umpteenth time at a small sound nearby, which turned out to be the wind playing with sticks of wood laying around.

Then, finally, he heard distinctive little noises, regular and soft. A large grin bloomed on his lips, as he got up immediately, taking a few tentative steps, as to not make himself hope for nothing. But when the wind brought him a scent that he could recognize in an instant, he laughed. He rushed off his isle, jumping on stones until he landed on the shore, and raced. As he appeared between two trees, he stopped abruptly and gasped.

"Mino!" he cried out, ecstatic to speak elvish again, "Mino! Mino! I am here!"

Minho turned around, his eyes growing big as he recognized the excited nymph a few feet away, and his face brightened up.

Before any of them could think twice about it, they both crossed the few distance separating them, and Minho brought him closer to hug him tightly.

"It's so nice to see you again," he said, his voice tight with happiness.

"Yes, yes, you too. It is nice."

Kibum squirmed away from his embrace, but still took Minho's hand in his, dragging him forward.

"How have you been?" he asked, switching to faerish to speak more comfortably. "I've missed you a lot! Did you miss me too? Was it long without me?"

"Yes, I did. I've grown used to see you often... I was quite lonely without my favorite nymph."

Kibum had a satisfied smile at that, before he frowned.

"Do you know another nymph?"

"No," Minho chuckled. "But if I did, you'd still be my favorite."

Kibum pleated his eyes, looking suspiciously at him before he sighed.

"I see you haven't changed. You still say some very weird stuff. I know of a fairy that you would quite like, he's completely nuts too."

"You know, I have yet to meet a fairy who isn't a little eccentric. So it makes sense for me to be peculiar too."

Kibum stopped walking to look at him curiously, before he nodded.

"That's true. I was about to say that I know of a fairy who isn't that eccentric, but he still is a bit potty sometimes."

Minho smiled even more brightly at him, and Kibum let go of his hand, to hop over the stones and back to his island.

"Come here," he said to Minho, "it's nice."

Minho joined him, and watched the nymph sat back comfortably on the mossy ground. It squished under Minho's shoes as he walked around, taking a glance at the area. It smelled of moist earth and fresh water.

"Is there a reason why we're here in particular?" Minho asked.

"I love the feeling of moss under my toes," Kibum explained very seriously.

It made Minho smile as he came to sit next to him. The hybrid slowly put away his shoes, then his socks, and he spread his toes wide, wiggling them a bit as he set his feet on the ground. Kibum was watching him intently, waiting for his reaction.

"It is indeed quite amusing," Minho admitted.

"Yes, it's squishy!"

Minho continued to move his feet around, as Kibum suddenly took interest over the socks that had been discarded.

"Minho, can I look at those?" he asked timidly, pointing the clothes and shoes with one inquisitive finger.

Minho blinked a couple of times, before he pursed his lips.

"Well, my socks might be a little unclean. And probably smelly."

Kibum pouted at that and his shoulders dropped.

"You can look," Minho added, "but don't complain that they're dirty."

Kibum perked up at that and eagerly grabbed the objects of his curiosity, taking a better look at the form of the socks.

"My fairy friends have things like that too, but theirs are smaller, of course. That's so interesting!"

"Is it, really?" Minho chuckled.

"Why do elves wear clothes?" Kibum inquired, tilting his head as he looked over Minho, detailing all of his different layers of fabrics.

"Well, to keep warm."

Kibum frowned at his explanation and shook his head.

"That's not true. You're also wearing clothes in summer, when it's really hot and you don't need to be warmer. I mean, I asked my friend Jinki already, he's a fairy, and he said that fairies wear clothes both to keep warm and because being in public is frowned upon. He said that fairies usually get together when they have . Is it the same for elves?"

Minho choked on thin air at the question. Kibum looked at him with worried eyes, but his face was still innocent and curious, as he always was.

"Well, yes," Minho admitted in a cough, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit. "It's actually the same for elves. Being in front of someone is quite intimate. But now that I think about it, we also wear clothes in an attempt to be pretty, I suppose."

Kibum nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, yes, that's what I thought too. Because fairies have very simple clothes, but you elves, oh! You wear so many different things and different colors, and it's so beautiful. I wish I had clothes too. I wish I could have pretty things like that," he whispered hastily, pawing at Minho's cape.

"You want clothes?"

Kibum froze as he rose his head to look closely at Minho. There was a glint dancing in his friend's eyes that got Kibum to shudder.

"Would you give me some?" he asked, his voice going acute with excitement.

"I could, yes. Of course," Minho laughed.

Kibum bit his bottom lip as he tried to contain his squeal of happiness.

"But will you be able to wear them, though?" Minho wondered out loud, as he took Kibum's hand in his.

"Why wouldn't I?"

Kibum's face crumbled before his eyes, and Minho flinched.

"Well it's-... Your skin is always wet, you see. The clothes would cling to you rather uncomfortably."

Kibum suddenly sighed with relief, and between Minho's fingers, his skin quickly dried.

"Oh you got me scared, silly! If it's just that, I can get dry."

"I can see that... indeed."

"I think a little bit of water makes me prettier," Kibum bragged. "It makes my skin shine, you know. But if I can wear clothes, then it's alright. I'll be pretty anyway."

Minho snorted, one of his hand came to rub at his eyes as he sighed.

"I see, I see. Well then, I'll make sure to find you fitting clothes."

"Wonderful! It will be nice to change a bit. You see, I wear the same thing everyday. I tried already to put more seaweed on myself, like elven clothes, but it makes me look awful."

"And we don't want that..."

"Of course not!" Kibum screeched.

Minho straightened up a bit, looking fondly at the slightly offended nymph.

"But nymphs are usually , is that right?"

"Yes. We're not troubled by the cold and the warmth... We don't have clothes because we don't need them. I think my body is very elegant already, but I mean, it can't hurt to put more beauty on myself."

"So, you thought of making yourself a little something with seaweeds."

Kibum pouted at that and squirmed on his .

"Well, actually, it wasn't my idea, per se," he admitted bitterly, as if he was very displeased to have to concede it.

Minho looked at him curiously, expecting some explanations, and Kibum rolled his eyes.

"It was Jongin's idea," Kibum grumbled.

At the mention of that name, Minho gasped, but stayed silent.

"He's my best friend, and he's a wood nymph," Kibum explained with a wave of his hand. "He likes to climb trees, obviously, and when he was little, he found his quite troublesome because it kept going right and left on its own when he was climbing. So he put roots together around his waist to stop being bothered by it, and I found it quite clever, and actually lovely, so I did the same."

"That's quite a story..."

And Minho tried not to think about that very personal little thing he just learned about Prince Taemin's lover. Kibum suddenly squinted at him once more.

"If being is considered too intimate to do it in public... then is it weird for you to see me like this?"

A small smile tugged at Minho's lips as he nodded quietly.

"It was a bit unsettling at first. But I understand that this is normal to you."

Kibum nodded, his eyes getting lost in the sky for a moment, before he looked back at his friend.

"Is it like fairies-... are you embarrassed talking about ? Jinki told me everything about , to teach me. But other fairies, like Junmyeon, get all flustered when I mention it."

Minho lowered his head, scratching his nose awkwardly as he started to imagine Junmyeon getting red cheeks when confronted to a rather unchaste Kibum.

"It's intimate too. I don't know if 'embarrassed' is the right word, but I suppose we don't talk about it as openly as you."

"Am I making you uncomfortable, with all the questions?"

"No, it's alright."

Kibum seemed content with that answer, as he sighed happily.

"Thank you. I'm glad to know a bit more."

Kibum moved around, kneeling in front of Minho with a soft smile.

"Minho, can you teach me all the clothes in elvish?" he wondered with a flutter of his eyelashes.

Minho picked up his socks and shoes, and put them back on his cold feet.

"This is a sock. Sock."

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(´꒳`)

Hello dears,

I hope you liked this new chapter... ♥ ... I hope it brought you a little bit of peace and a smile.

Take care.

Until we meet again.