Caught up in the normal day to day affairs, it took Jongin longer than usual to find time to meet with Yixing.  Between fending off his parents’ suggestions of village girls, the girls themselves hounding him on occasion, and the typical calls from his friends to help them with one project or another, he was a bit more than busy, none of which included his own plans on the matter.

                “Xing!” Jongin called, promptly throwing himself onto Yixing’s back with his arms wrapping around his chest from behind.

                Laughing, the demon stumbled forward a step before he caught himself and looked over his shoulder, one hand pressing on top of Jongin’s arms in a warm gesture.  “It is good to see you too, my prince,” he grinned, savoring the rare moment.  Of course he heard him approaching but he rather liked it when Jongin ‘surprised’ him.  “What brings you to me today?” he inquired affectionately, holding still until the other decided to move.

                Jongin snorted at the question and then blew a raspberry on Yixing’s neck, a tactic he’d learned from the demon himself.  Dismayed, Yixing shrieked and slipped out from under Jongin’s arms while he glared back, sneering at the smirk on his companion’s face.  “Like I need a reason to see you,” Jongin stated, letting his expression turn into an earnest smile.

                Yixing couldn’t even pretend to stay annoyed for long, especially not when he was inexplicably warmed by the comment.  “Thank you,” his eyes crinkled while he walked closer, approaching the playful human again with the caution of a spooked deer.  It would be just like him to try something else simply because he could get away with it.  “Is there anything in particular you’d like to do while you’re here?” he offered with a shrug.

                “Well…” Jongin started to say, becoming nervous as he shifted in place and stared at his feet.  “I came to talk to you actually,” he admitted, glancing up with the beginnings of a shy smile, making Yixing’s heart flutter.  “I wanted to let you know that I’ve decided.”

                “Decided what, my prince?” Yixing asked, somewhat confused though he couldn’t ignore the ball of nerves that formed in his gut for an entirely different reason.

                “To be an adventurer!” Jongin grinned with an enthusiastic nod.

                “You what?” Yixing coughed, hitting his fist on his chest and shaking his head to make sure he’d heard right.  He’d been expecting it but this was…

                “It’s time!  I’m going to be an adventurer!” Jongin beamed again, bouncing in place as he stared at Yixing, waiting for the appropriate response.  “I’ve got everything ready and I’ve been saving up for months and this is it, Xing!”

                Swallowing the immediate lump in his throat, Yixing forced a smile and could have melted when Jongin relaxed perceptibly with that glowing smile, eased by his response.  “That’s wonderful news,” he encouraged, stepping close to place his hands on Jongin’s shoulders, staring into bright, brown eyes.

                “I know!  And I want you to come with me,” he added, grabbing Yixing’s wrists as he bit his bottom lip, again waiting for the right answer.  “It’ll be just the two of us, you know?  Adventuring and slaying monsters and all that stuff!  Just like we talked about!”

                For a moment, the demon blinked at him in stunned confusion and then he stammered, “O-oh.  When?” he asked, expression struggling to stay positive.  Maybe if there was enough time to prepare certain precautions himself…

                “Tomorrow,” Jongin assured him, searching the face in front of him with some concern.  “The sooner the better!  Like you always said.  You will come.  Won’t you?” he asked, allowing worry to thread into his tone when he noticed his enthusiasm wasn’t catching on quite like he thought it would.

                “Jongin…” Yixing winced, noticing the encroaching disappointment.  “I can’t right now,” he admitted without being able to meet his companion’s gaze, silver eyes dropping to the ground.  Not on such short notice like this and certainly not if what he’d been feeling was what he thought it could be…

                “But you said you would.  If I asked,” Jongin reminded, giving him a slight shake by his hold on the slender, unresisting wrists.

                “I know.  But…” Yixing trailed off, glancing at him with a guilty look out of the corner of his eyes, making no effort to free himself from Jongin’s grip.  “I may have spoken too soon.”

                “No.  I was counting on you coming,” he muttered, staring at Yixing’s profile when the demon declined to look at him again.

                “I’m sorry,” Yixing murmured in a barely audible whisper, guilt pressing down on him like a fallen tree.

                “Why?” Jongin demanded, finally releasing the demon’s wrists in anger, balling his hands into fists at his side as he glared.

                “What?” Yixing asked, looking up in brief confusion, meeting the flashing eyes before him.

                “What changed?  Why won’t you come now?” he continued, gesturing with his hands, almost smacking Yixing in his fervor, though the demon didn’t flinch when a gust of wind brushed his face.

                “Something’s come up,” he answered, dropping his gaze again.  “Don’t ask me what.  I won’t tell you,” he stated in a small voice, keeping his head ducked low.

                “Horse ,” Jongin spat, closing the gap between them to grab Yixing’s face in his hands so he’d at least look him in the eyes.  He noticed the resultant flush but chalked it up to the growing tension between them.  “What are you not telling me?” he asked again.  The fact that one of his best friends, someone whom he cared a great deal about, was doing this to him now had him more than concerned.

                “I can’t tell you,” Yixing responded in a shaky voice, feeling his eyes grow warm as his heart raced from Jongin’s face being so close to his.  Of course he longed for such moments… just not like this.  And he refused to mention anything that would put the young man in more danger, mortality rate of monster slayer adventurers notwithstanding.  Jongin needed no help in that department.

                “Can’t or won’t?” Jongin challenged, still gripping Yixing’s face as he stared into his silver eyes, expression softening slightly when he saw the conflict in his gaze.

                Filled with an abundance of emotions, Yixing pushed Jongin back to give him some space, his face contorted in pain and fear as he watched the young man flail to steady himself.  “I don’t have to tell you everything!” he reminded him in a strained voice.  “What would you know anyway?  A mere human child!” he cried as shimmering tears emerged and trailed down his cheeks.  He wanted to make Jongin angry… to drive him away short of physically pushing him again.

                “I am not a child, Xing!  Don’t you dare treat me like one now,” Jongin spat back, his hands balling into fists again while he took a reactive step towards him.

                “Just go!” Yixing yelled, flinging his arm away from him, struggling desperately with his own spiraling emotions.  “Go be an adventurer!  Go find and save your princess!  Your damsel in distress!”

                Jongin growled in frustration at the words, teeth bared in a grimace.  “Fine!  If you’re so keen on it then maybe I will!  Stupid demon.  Keep your damn secrets!  I didn’t want to know them anyway!  It’s not like we’re friends or anything!” he hissed venomously, watching the way Yixing flinched under the barrage of words.

                Trembling with emotion, Yixing picked his head up and spoke before he could stop himself, hoping it might be enough, and yet his mind screamed at him to be silent.  “I wish that was all you’d ever been to me, Jongin.”  He watched Jongin’s face register confused surprise at the statement and Yixing went on before he could lose his nerve.  “From the moment I saw you, awoken from my slumber by your very presence, I’ve loved you more than a friend ever should.”

                “Eh?” Jongin blinked, face paling in direct contrast to the angry flush as he blinked rapidly.

                “A demon in love with a human!  Pathetic, I know,” he scoffed at himself with a useless gesture.  Yixing wiped his tears away with his hand while he watched Jongin struggle to formulate some sort of response.  “So go, little prince!  Go find your happy ending because I cannot be a part of it!”  Nor should he be.  “Go!” he yelled again, claws and fangs appearing when Jongin just stood there, looking at him as if he’d been hit over the head with a stick.

                “Xing…” he trailed off, searching the silver eyes in front of him.  Despite the blatant anger, there was still something he wasn’t telling him; it was the only way to explain the fear he saw in the demon’s quivering gaze.

                When Jongin refused to walk away, the only thing Yixing could do was flee.  He turned and ran, seeking refuge in the water, sliding through the surface to hide in the depths.  Go away you fool.  Jongin tried to follow, thwarted by a barrier Yixing erected to bar his entrance.  Closing his eyes tight, he attempted to block out the sound of his voice, dim but not far enough away to be obscured completely.  I need time.  Time away from you so that you’ll be safe…  Through cracked lids, he stared at the bottom of the pond and frowned.  Damn.  He’d meant to give that to him face to face.

                “Coward!  Don’t just run away from me!  Stupid demon!  Talk to me, dammit!” Jongin growled, beating his fist against the surface of the water, his skin becoming damp but little else.  “Hey!  You can’t say something like that and expect me to walk away!  God dammit, Xing!” he roared, retrieving his sword to swing the blade at the surface with all his strength, gasping in pain and flinching away when the metal shattered upon impact.

                Clinging to the ruined hilt with a hand that trembled, Jongin breathed hard and glared at the unbroken surface of the pond.  Angry and frustrated, he hurled the rest of the sword at the barrier and flailed in agitation when the stupid thing pinged off to skid across the surface, resting out in the middle of the water.  Silence was his only answer.

                “Be that way then!  What good would a lovesick demon be on an adventure?!”  He sniffed, letting the hot tears fall as he stood up and stalked away, filled with furious energy.

                Wincing at the anger he felt roiling off Jongin’s frame, Yixing peeked his head above water while he watched the young man leave with a mixture of heartache, worry, guilt, and just a smidgeon of relief.  Biting his bottom lip, he glanced down at the object in his hands and nodded his head before clearing the pond and sprinting through the woods, swinging around to get ahead of Jongin.

                His thoughts were a jumbled mess of emotions as Jongin made his way back towards the village.  It didn’t change his original plans, but he’d just be going alone then, even if it felt wrong.  Everything was ready and he couldn’t go back on his statement to everyone else.  His parents would never let him go if he didn’t try now and the guys would never let him hear the end of it…

                Fine then.  That was fine by him.  Really.  He was as good as Yixing in a fight anyway so if he could best a demon, he could beat just about anybody.  Brushing his clammy, weaponless hands against his pants in an agitated, nervous gesture, he nodded to himself.  “I don’t need you.  I’ll become a demon killer without your help.  You’ll see.”  It was easier to be mad at the demon and storm off than to try and think things through.  And no, it had nothing to do with the fact that his stomach had performed a very unexpected backflip at the demon’s confession.  Nope.  Nothing at all.

                It was just nerves and he’d caught him off guard and somehow, he’d just get another sword somewhere along the way and figure things out from there.  That was all there was to it.  Really.

                Bitter over Yixing’s apparent betrayal and the most recent, unexpected confession that set his world on its head, Jongin cleared the tree line with unfocused anger b over.  He came to a complete, bewildered stop though when he noticed a very peculiar item lying in the path before him.  Looking around warily, he approached what appeared to be a remarkably fine sword protected by a spotless scabbard and adorned with elegant, etched sigils along the entirety of the sturdy hilt.

                There was a note wrapped around it with a hurriedly scrawled sentence scratched across the surface.  It was familiar and written in Yixing’s careful, meticulous hand, even if it was a bit skewed in his haste.

                Be safe my Prince.

                Tears of a different sort pooled on Jongin’s lashes when he looked back at the forest, trembling with emotion.  “Stupid Yixing,” he muttered through his blurred vision, holding the sword close.  It was of much higher quality than the one he’d just broken, warm and powerful in his hands.  He didn’t know where Yixing had gotten it or why he was giving it to him, but he nodded in the direction of the forest.

                He would accept it since he needed one and it wasn’t like he could force a demon to do something he didn’t want to, never mind he thought his decision was stupid.  The sword was an exceptional but unwelcome parting gift – something Yixing wanted him to have even if he was being an idiot.  His hand tightened on the scabbard and he murmured brokenly, “You were supposed to come with me…”  Sniffing once before he scrubbed at his face again, Jongin turned away to leave.

                Yixing took a partial relieved breath when Jongin accepted the sword.  He wasn’t sure the other would after the falling out they’d just had.  He’d said more than he meant to, but it was better this way.  It wasn’t right that he try to stay in Jongin’s life.  A demon had no place with a human; especially not in the real world beyond the almost magical fantasy they’d established, hidden from prying eyes in the woods.  And certainly not when being near him would only put his life in danger. 

                Once more, he waited until Jongin was out of sight before he closed his eyes and took another deep breath, fighting the chill that traveled up his spine, wondering if it was the last time he’d ever see him.  If he’d have only remained asleep in the pond, drifting without awareness through eternity, forgotten and hidden.  If he had never gotten close to Jongin, who made him want to feel again without even trying; if he had moved on as soon as he’d woken up… he would have been fine.  But there was no point in worrying over what had already happened.  All he could do was deal with the present and hope the sword would be enough to at least keep Jongin safe even if it left him vulnerable.

                “I feel you…” he murmured softly, looking back over his shoulder with hooded eyes, towards the west once more.  It was an unmistakable and terrifying feeling and though he hadn’t bothered to find out how long he’d been sleeping for, ten years was a fair bit of time to have had before he was noticed again.  He should have expected it and running away again wasn’t going to help him much either.  Nor did he wish to leave the only place Jongin would know where to find him on the rare chance that he might return.  As much as he knew better, he could not give that up.  Yixing stared at his slender fingers and curled them into a fist.

                “I may not be able to beat you, but you will not catch me,” he promised, reverting to his natural demonic form, blue hide shimmering in the shadows of the forest as he shifted uneasily on all four legs, his clumpy, mossy-like mane and tail swaying with him.  A short, curved, onyx horn arched from his forehead and he reared up, pawing at the air with sharp hooves before he bounded forward and disappeared into the woods.