For the lovely Isadora_Quagmire, without whom this story may never have gotten finished.

Based on the song Pyramids by Frank Ocean.

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//

 

Kibum's eyes swept the desolate nightscape silently, his eyes narrowing when there wasn't even a stir of wind disturbing the unusually quiet night. It was almost like the land was holding its breath, anticipating anything the quietly furious king might throw at it.

 

"I'm sorry, my lord, but so far there's been no sign of the lady," the guard's face was pinched with fear, clearly expecting to be lashed out at.

 

But Kibum was too focused on worrying about Minjung to care about much else. How dare someone attempt to kidnap his queen from right under his nose? Did they think he was an idiot? That he wouldn't notice her absence right away? He continued to fume, his thoughts making him angrier and angrier.

 

"Find her," he commanded harshly, not bothering to take his eyes from the view in front of him. "I don't care what it takes. Just find my queen."

 

//

 

Kibum's eyes flew open and he sat up, breathing heavily.

 

For months, Kibum had been having the same dreams. Showed him the same things. It was tiring, but there was nothing Kibum could do. He'd already tried.

 

At any rate, they weren't like any dreams he could remember having before. The whole situation was pushing the boundary on what Kibum considered coincidence.

 

Beside Kibum in bed, Minho opened his eyes and stretched languidly. He eyed the clock on the night stand and cursed. Immediately, he got up and started getting dressed.

 

", Jinki's gonna kill me," at this point, Kibum didn't even flinch when Jinki was mentioned. He lit his cigarette calmly, watching Minho get dressed.

 

"Then dump him," he replied flatly. He didn't mention that he'd be there for Minho if he ever did dump Jinki. They'd had that conversation so many times before. Probably too many, in fact.

 

Minho sighed irritably. "We've been over this, Kibum." Kibum took a drag off his cigarette, blowing smoke in Minho's direction. "I know."

 

"Then why do you keep asking?" Minho raised an eyebrow. Kibum shrugged.

 

"I dunno. Habit, I guess," he smiled when he saw how Minho bristled at his answer. Minho clearly didn't like the idea that Kibum only kept asking out of a sense of obligation. He didn't like feeling like he wasn't constantly desired. 'Just like Minjung,' Kibum thought absently.

 

Minho snatched up his wallet off the nightstand, checking to see how much cash Kibum had put in it. "You're a little short this time," he remarked snarkily.

 

Kibum gestured lazily towards the coffee table in the front room, where his own wallet was located. "Whatever you need, Minho." The conviction in his tone didn't match the blank look on his face.

 

When the front door slammed, Kibum sat up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom. He needed to shower before he headed to work.

 

//

 

After days of painstaking investigation, the royal guard managed to uncover evidence that Minjung had been kidnapped by a member of the Lee family.

 

Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to tell Kibum just which family member it was. Kibum, though... He had his suspicions, once he was able to reason somewhat clearly.

 

As it was the Lee family behind the whole thing, there was no longer a cause to believe she had been 'kidnapped'. Minjung had always been very public in her favor of the Lee family, after all. Also, there were too many things, things that Minjung considered precious, missing from their bedchamber for Kibum to think she had been 'kidnapped'.

 

Besides, what kind of 'kidnapper' would allow a woman to pack belongings and clothes? Certainly none that intended to harm said woman.

 

After hearing of the progress from his royal guard in discovering the queen's whereabouts, Kibum headed to his office for the next meeting of the day.

 

He ignored the advisors arguing around him and stared at the end of the table. He hadn't let it be known that Minjung was missing, and when he was questioned as to her not being seen around the castle, he explained it away with an imaginary illness. It had been easy enough to bribe a doctor into spreading rumors that the queen was indeed very ill.

 

Out of the few that hadn't seemed honestly concerned for the queen, only one had the surname of Lee. And Kibum was staring at him sitting at the end of the table, ordering the advisors as if he were the king. Kibum had trusted him with such matters. But no more.

 

"Lee Jinki," the man turned his head at the sound of his name. Kibum smiled slightly. "What question do you have for my advisors that I could not answer it myself?" Jinki blushed, shifting in his seat uncomfortably.

 

"My lord, I wanted to inquire after the queen's health. I haven't seen her in several days, and there are rumors that she's ill floating about," Jinki's voice wavered, obviously thrown off balance by Kibum's direct attention. Surely, he wouldn't have a cause to be so nervous, unless... Unless he knew where the queen was. Kibum smiled indulgently, an idea beginning to take shape in his mind.

 

"Don't worry yourself, my friend," Kibum schooled his expression into one of hope. "My lovely queen will recover. She's very much on the mend, or so I'm told." Jinki's face paled, then struggled for a smile.

 

"I am glad to hear it," he managed with a squeak, and Kibum watched with satisfied eyes as he excused himself and scuttled off, probably to tell Minjung about the exchange. 'Let him,' Kibum thought vengefully. 'I'll catch them soon enough.'

 

//

 

"I'll give you 15 minutes for $25," Kibum briefly glanced at the scantily clad male beside his chair, then did a double take. The man's face seemed very familiar, but Kibum couldn't remember ever seeing him before. Certainly, he'd never been to Club Pyramid.

 

The echo of a memory was rising rapidly to the surface of his brain, yanking insistently at his attention. He forced the issue away with a smirk, handing $25 to the attractive dancer.

 

"What's your name, beautiful?" Kibum's voice assumed a lower pitch, and he was pleased when he saw how the man shivered. "Your real name." The other man hesitated, biting his lip.

 

"It's Minho," he finally answered, grinding his on Kibum's lap. Combined with his face, the name Minho seemed painfully familiar, and Kibum tried to shake off the sudden sharp stab of betrayal in his chest. Minho stopped and Kibum realized he'd closed his eyes tightly. He opened them to see Minho gazing down at him with concern. "You don't look so good. Is there something wrong?" Kibum shook his head.

 

"Nothing. It's nothing," Minho looked reluctant, but continued the dance. A few minutes of silence went by before Minho spoke.

 

"You know.. I have the oddest feeling that I know you from somewhere," Kibum perked up. He frowned when he felt unwarranted hope fluttering in his chest. The whole situation brought strong feelings of deja vu to Kibum's mind.

 

"Oh?" Minho turned around to face Kibum, full-on sitting in his lap. He brought his face closer to Kibum's.

 

"It makes me want to do something I've never done before," he whispered, rubbing his hands up and down Kibum's thighs. Kibum's breathing hitched.

 

"What's that?" he asked, voice strained. Minho smirked.

 

"Sleep with a complete stranger," the hope that had been building up in his chest abruptly crashed, causing Kibum's mood to plummet. He stood up, pushing Minho off him.

 

"I'll be leaving now, thank you," Minho spluttered indignantly, and gripped Kibum's shoulder. He spun the other man back around, and Kibum's through his suit pants, earning him to gasp.

 

"I'm very good at riding a ," Minho practically purred in Kibum's ear. "Don't you want to experience it for yourself?"

 

Gut instinct told Kibum that it was a very bad idea to accept such an offer, but he felt an inexplicable compulsion to give in anyway. He took a business card out of his wallet and scribbled his home address on the back. He shoved it in Minho's hand unceremoniously.

 

"Come by after you get off work," he mumbled, unable to move past the feeling that he'd just done something wrong. He swallowed, wishing the sudden bitter taste of shame in his mouth would go away.

 

That was the night the dreams began.

 

//

 

Kibum met the next day with members of his personal guard, the only people he genuinely trusted with his life. He explained that he had an idea of who 'kidnapped' the queen, and he wanted them to support the royal guard in catching wind of where the queen was hidden. Discreetly, of course, as he was quite sure Jinki was already suspicious of what he knew.

 

After conferring with his guards, Kibum gathered some of the advisors he trusted the most, and laid the problem before them.

 

"My question is this, gentlemen: What should his punishment be? Strip him of his noble status, and make a public mockery of him? Banish him from the kingdom? Or execute him?" The advisors looked apprehensive at the mention of execution. Kibum felt the first inklings of doubt at their expressions. Normally, his advisors called for someone's death like a bloodthirsty pack of hyenas.

 

"You are known for being a just ruler, my liege. Surely you could find it within your sense of graciousness to spare his life," one of them spoke up. The others nodded and voiced their agreement in near whispers.

 

Kibum looked at them all, one by one, and it dawned on him that they were more loyal to Jinki than him. Their own king. The knowledge bothered Kibum immensely, and he wondered if maybe Jinki had been secretly buying his council members off or blackmailing them somehow.

 

He sighed, keenly feeling the target on his back.

 

"I see," he murmured quietly and he splayed his fingers on the table before him. "Thank you. That will be all gentlemen." He stood tall, throwing a smirk towards the group huddled together. "If Lord Jinki manages to learn what his near future holds, I will find out which of you warned him and I'll have your head." He strode out of the room, amongst hushed sounds of disapproval and panic.

 

//

 

Kibum hadn't actually expected Minho to show up to his apartment. When he raised an eyebrow in silent question, Minho shrugged, looking a bit awkward. He opened the door wide, and well... when he woke up the next morning, the marks all over his and Minho's body said it all.

 

The was better than Kibum could remember having with anyone else. Ever. He'd never experienced such a strong connection with another person. That's probably a factor as to why he asked for Minho to meet him again and again. And again.

 

Kibum quickly grew to enjoy the other man's company beyond their ual relationship. Minho, when he wasn't the y, speedo-adorned dancer going by the name 'Adonis' down at the Pyramid… he was quiet and shy. He admitted to Kibum after a particularly rough night that he secretly hated working as a dancer. He was insecure about his body, no matter how many men and women a night tried to convince him he had a nice one.

 

Kibum thought things were going well for them. He felt he could say with sincerity that Minho meant more to him than .

 

And then Minho dropped the bombshell. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, wrinkling his nose at the smell of Kibum's routine after- cigarette.

 

"Look, I don't know if I can keep doing this," Minho sighed. "At least... Not for free." Kibum froze. When he turned to Minho, he saw the man had his head down, not looking at Kibum. "I.. I have bills to pay, you know?"

 

Something in Kibum's heart collapsed at the words, and he realized that his feelings for Minho had become deeper than merely 'enjoying his company'. He cared about Minho. A lot.  Especially since the dreams had started and he'd witnessed what Minjung could be like. It was hard not to love her, nevermind the fact that she wasn't even real. And Minho was so similar to her... The way Kibum felt about her applied to Minho as well. Being reminded that it wasn't the same for Minho was painful.

 

"How much?" he didn't react when Minho flinched at the coldness of his tone. Minho looked at him, his lips and eyes both apologetic. Kibum opened the drawer of his nightstand and picked his wallet up. He took out several hundred dollar bills and flung them at Minho’s face. He took a long drag off his cigarette, inhaling slowly and focusing on the feel of the smoke in his lungs to calm himself down.

 

Minho jerked his head away at the slap of bills on his face, but there was no shame in his expression. He carefully picked up the notes, one after the other, and stacked them neatly on his lap before folding them up and stuffing them into the pocket of his pants.

 

“Thank you,” he whispered his gratitude and got out of bed to pull his clothes on. "This is the first time I've ever tried anything like this, Kibum, believe it or not" he said quietly. "It's as new to me as it is to you, I swear. And I really do need the money." Kibum let out a resigned sigh.

 

He ground his teeth, helplessness sagging his body back onto the mattress.His arm flopped off the edge and he could feel the cigarette burning closer and closer towards his knuckles. The sheets still held the smells of last night and Kibum buried his nose in them; his senses were flooded with residual ardour that made him want to pull the other back into his bed and have him some more, taste him some more, breathe him some more. More, more, more. That’s all he ever wanted of Minho, it seemed like.

 

"Was that enough?" he asked after a long silence and jerked his thumb towards Minho’s pants pocket. Minho cleanly ran his hands through his hair and turned around to plant a quick kiss on Kibum’s cheek, smiling slightly.  The action sent an unbearable wave of heat through his ribcage.

 

“Yes. Thanks again, Kibum.”

 

The sight of Minho’s back walking away, alluring and frustrating at the same time, had Kibum wanting to bite his own heart out of his chest and spit it out.

 

//

 

It was nearly a week after his disastrous meeting with his advisors (all of whom he'd fired and replaced) when Kibum received the news that his guards had discovered where Minjung was hidden.

 

He wanted to rush to the scene as soon as his guards told him, but forced himself to wait. He felt the rage and injury to his pride building, adding pressure to his temples and chest.

 

He never would've believed that Jinki would have the gall to keep Minjung in the capital city. In his home, nevertheless.

 

But, as he witnessed with his own eyes later that evening, there she was. Slipping into Jinki's arms with an honest, sweet smile. Kibum clutched at his hair tightly, struggling not to scream. Minjung looked at Jinki in a way she had never looked at Kibum.

 

"Are you almost finished preparing for the day we leave?" Minjung asked and Jinki nodded once.

 

"There's a band of merchants that's willing to transport us out of the city in a week's time," he affirmed. "It cost me, but you're worth it my lovely flower," Kibum turned his head at the sight of their kiss, feeling nauseated. He withdrew from the foliage he'd hidden in and walked back to where his private envoy awaited him. He had a week's time to plan how he wanted to confront them. All the way back to the palace, he contemplated.

 

//

 

Another bombshell.

 

“I have a boyfriend” echoed in the suddenly quiet room and flashes of Jinki's face stirred up the ever-present feelings of anger and pain. Kibum continued to kiss over the centre of the other’s chest like he hadn’t heard anything. He wanted to yell his lungs sore, he wanted to punch and kick the entire room to pieces, he wanted to burn the whole world down for Minho. But most of all he wanted to be sunk deep inside the other’s heat forever, unmoving, unseeing.

 

Instead, he in a circle of sensitive flesh and watched it darken.

 

He waited for nearly a minute before he could open his mouth without feeling like he would say something regrettable, "What's his name?" Minho shook his head, begging Kibum not to ask that question as he tried to shift himself away with subtlety. The action only fueled Kibum’s anger. Fingers pinched harshly over a soft waist, sliding lower and grasping parts of the other that produced stringy whiny screams. "God damn you, Minho. What's. His. Name?" Kibum repeated firmly, barely containing his rage. Minho looked down at him, squirming on his back, blushing with shame.

 

"Jinki," the moan of that name made Kibum gasp, and he scrambled away from Minho like he was a wild animal. He felt the pain of Minjung's betrayal all over again and he ran to the bathroom, shutting the door in Minho's face.

 

He slid down the bathroom door and breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. This couldn't be real. This was definitely not real. All that stuff about being some kind of king was just… just dreams. Only dreams.

 

Right?

 

//

 

A week later, Kibum still only felt marginally more ready to confront his queen and her lover. He crept back into the same foliage that had hidden him a week ago, fighting to keep himself together.

 

"Minjung... Kibum knows," Jinki's brows furrowed when Minjung laughed.

 

"Well I'm not convinced," she scoffed. "Kibum is unbelievably self-absorbed, Jinki. I highly doubt he cares enough about my disappearance to put forth any real effort into trying to find me. He's probably only concerned with his image. You've told me about his lying, excusing my absence at court with an illness... Does that not prove my words even a little?"

 

Jinki still looked uncertain, but it was clear he was softening to her reasoning. Minjung took his hands in his, smiling softly. "Knowing what I do about Kibum, we have nothing to worry about. We're so close to freedom, love. Don't trouble yourself over something so silly," Kibum clenched his fists at his sides, no longer able to keep his silence.

 

It stung to hear the things she said. He loved Minjung and he'd always felt blessed by the gods to be able to marry someone so beautiful. Someone he cared about so much. Maybe he should've opened up to her more. Maybe he should've showed her affection more often. Maybe then... she wouldn't have underestimated him.

 

He stepped out of the bushes he'd been concealed in, lacking the composure he normally wore like an armor.

 

Jinki leapt away from Minjung like she was on fire, and Minjung's eyes widened.

 

"What are you doing here?" Kibum flinched at the obvious anger in Minjung's question. He shook himself mentally and stood up straighter.

 

"I'm here personally to inform Lord Lee Jinki that for the attempted capture and imprisonment of the queen, he is to be sentenced to death," it broke Kibum to see how furious Minjung got on Jinki's behalf, once again reminding him she cared more for Jinki that she ever had for him.

 

"No! No, you won't take him from me," Minjung snatched the knife from Jinki's belt and brandished it at Kibum. "I'll kill you first," she screamed. Kibum threw up a hand and instantly the trio were surrounded by guards.

 

"Would you care to repeat that, my love?" he asked, and Minjung dropped the knife to her side, glaring at Kibum hatefully. "That’s what I thought." He turned to Jinki.

 

"I have a question for you before my guards step in to arrest you," Jinki stepped closer to Minjung. Kibum’s apprehension heightened when he saw Jinki and Minjung exchange a glance he didn’t understand.

 

"What would that be, Kibum?" Kibum opened his mouth to ask, but in the blink of an eye, Jinki yanked the knife from Minjung’s slackened grasp and and held it to . Kibum stumbled towards the pair, but he stopped short when he heard Minjung yelp.

 

"If I die, so does she," Jinki hissed. Minjung started shaking, her eyes growing impossibly wider.

 

"J-Jinki? I thought you l-loved me," Minjung gazed tearfully at Kibum.

 

"Okay, okay," Kibum held his hands up, and he motioned for his guards to put their weapons away. "They won't harm you unless I give the command. Please... just let her go, Jinki."

 

Jinki began making his way towards the carriage he'd arrived in. Once he stepped inside it, his expression morphed from fear and panic to fury.

 

"This is for threatening to have me killed," he snarled and slit Minjung's throat.

 

"NO!" Kibum bellowed and rushed forward.

 

//

 

Kibum woke up screaming. He started sobbing, the sound of his heart shattering drowning out all the other sounds around him.

 

He understood, now. Why he had felt so betrayed when he first met Minho. It seemed like he hadn't managed to escape Minjung after all, no matter how hard he'd tried.

 

With shaking hands, he called Minho. He was still crying, he realized dimly, and possibly that would make Minho wonder what was wrong. But then... It didn’t matter to him, did it? Because Minho had never really belonged to him in the first place. Minho had never really cared anyway.

 

"Kibum, I thought we agreed never to call each other--,"

 

"L-look, Minho. I just wanted to let you know that I'm done. I... I can't do this anymore," without bothering to say goodbye, Kibum hung up.

 

Making the right decision was supposed to feel like a weight falling off his shoulders, but instead Kibum felt worse. He knew that maybe one day he'd feel like he did the right thing, but after he hung up all it felt like was his life crashing down around him.

 

//

 

As he was being led up to the gallows, Kibum heard Jinki chuckle.

 

"Do you want to know something, Kibum? Even if I am being sentenced to death for killing Minjung... It was Minjung herself who asked me to kill her. She told me that if you were to ever find out about us, she refused to be forced back into your clutches. Her fearfulness that day was only an act on her part. Perfect little actress, wasn’t she?" Kibum's face turned stony, even though he felt like he was dying inside.

 

"Is that so?" Kibum was proud of himself for keeping the tone of his voice even. "Then... I'm glad my queen was granted her true wish at last." 'To be away from me,' he added silently, and felt death creep inside his heart a little more.

 

Jinki turned his head to look at Kibum and his expression turned maliciously gleeful.

 

"Oh my god.. You actually loved her, didn't you?" Jinki's cackling was cut short when his body dropped. It haunted Kibum in his nightmares for the rest of his life.

 

//

 

The two of them sat and sorted the bills into stacks. “Here’s another hundred,” the new boy named Taemin said, and offered a small bundle to Minho. He took the it and stuffed it in a box with all the other bundled bills. The roughness of each note stuck with him on his fingertips, and he felt the undeniable urge to wash his hands vigorously.

 

“Well, then,” Jinki looked at the rows of neat boxes they’d gathered in the last four months. “This is it, I guess.” He didn’t sound very impressed. And why should he be? Between him and Minho, they’d filched hundreds of thousands more in Busan and Daejeon. “Let’s pack this up and ready the cars.”

Minho nodded obediently, glance wavering to his phone and memory momentarily slipping to the day candle-shaped fingers had held him tight and pulled him close without a sound. Then he shook his head clear and started moving.

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Hope y'all enjoyed reading. c:

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Til next time, loves. ^o~