Golden bells were ringing from the church tower.

Doves were spilling out from wicker baskets, thrown into the air as they soared high above the heads of the people below. 

The streets were busy, full of the smells of fresh baked breads and roasted meat, of the sounds of children laughing, of the sights of brightly blooming flowers and the colorful streamers that hung crisscrossed atop each roof.

It was a beautiful day for a wedding.

Royal Assistant Yixing was having a bad day, to say the very least.

Not that any of it was his fault, really.

When King Joonmyun had told him that there would be a lot of guests - okay, sure, no problem - he'd made plans for several thousands.  He'd done his homework in advance, came prepared with a fleet of five-star pastry chefs, hundreds of newly hired butlers and maids, an army of gardeners to help trim the bushes into shapes of hearts, dozens of interior designers to cover the streets with bells and bows and lace.

He'd been quite proud of himself - but then, the prince had told him, quite offhand:

Oh, before I forget to tell you - I'll be inviting some of our friends we've met along the way. 

Okay...fine, just a small hitch in the plans - he'd make sure there was extra food made, in anticipation of few dozen the prince chose to personally invite.

But how the hell was he supposed to know that the prince had meant all of this?!

He attempted to compile a list of all of the offenses:

There were two men dressed up as clowns wreaking havoc in the middle of the courtyard - somehow they had gotten it into their head that a game of knife juggling while riding on unicycles through a crowd of people was a good idea. 

It didn't help that they were very drunk - Kris' guests apparently included the staff of an entire tavern - and they had brought their raucous party and barrels of ale with them.

He had also bumped into a young fisherman holding a bouquet of wilted flowers, professing his bizarre love for what seemed to be a half-woman half-tentacle monster who had apparently taken up residence in their fountain, which begged the question of how the hell had she even gotten in there?!

He supposed there were other, more pressing problems though.  Like, for example, the rumors of there being a werewolf meandering around on two legs, delicately sipping cups of tea. 

OR the fact that he had had to send Captain Minseok and the rest of the palace guard out looking for a "frog with a tiny crown", reported on by attendees and servants alike of several counts of ual harassment and public indecency.  A frog. 

...He wasn't getting paid NEARLY enough for this.

Kris was pacing nervously at the altar, only half-listening to both his sobbing father - my baby boy, finally getting married - and his fairy godmother - stop making those faces, you look like you have to poop - as he absently flattened down invisible creases in his uniform, all the while muttering his oaths to himself.

He looks good in his uniform, Kyungsoo thought to himself, leaning against a pillar in the back of the room.  Amidst the loud chaos of the preparation, the witch was a static presence, taking in the scene around him with wide, unblinking eyes.  So used to blending into the shadows, he jumped when a voice murmured somewhere beside him.

"My cousin's a lucky man."

He looked to his right to see a man dressed in a navy uniform - the golden epaulettes and the stiff cap tucked under his arm further cementing the fact that he was addressing royalty.

"Ah - Your Majesty..."

The man wasn't looking at him though, instead staring straight forward. 

"I wonder why it is, that some are able to find their partner on the first try, while I've been trying for years with no success."

Kyungsoo knew how that felt.  His eyes sliding back down to the pristine white floor, he sighed softly.

"Sometimes, things don't always work out perfectly."

The man hummed, only half-listening, lost in his own thoughts.

But he didn't move away either, still standing so close to Kyungsoo in a way that the man was unused to, after so many years of having been branded a witch.

"...you aren't... worried about being seen with me, Your Majesty?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, pardon me for saying this, but... I'm a witch, Your Majesty.  It isn't exactly proper for the two of us to be standing so close to each other."

The man turned to him for the first time and Kyungsoo felt obliged to return his gaze. 

The eyes in front of him widened just a fraction, intent and curiosity suddenly burning in them.  It surprised Kyungsoo in their intensity, and he found himself looking away, suddenly shy.

"...you're a witch?"

Kyungsoo felt ashamed for a second, wanted to move away from the man who still continued to stare, but then - a single, whispered question.

"...what's your name?"

"...Kyungsoo."  He responded hesitantly.

"...Hello, Kyungsoo.  My name is Kai."

A hand reached out to grasp his, and as they touched, he could feel his heart begin to open again, just a fraction -

maybe -

maybe - - -

And when all of it was said and done -

Men and women sat down, row by row, faces that still held their smiles even as the laughter quieted.

The doors slowly opened, and although the sounds of the music that had begun to play rang loud in the otherwise still air, Kris' world was completely hushed. 

Tao, dressed simply in white, loose clothes, was as breathtaking as he had ever been. 

And yet - he still looked so painfully shy, a flush spreading on his face as he looked down toward his hands.

With an encouraging nudge from his father at his side, Tao began to make slow, nervous steps toward the altar, so mismatched with Tao's usual grace that Kris could only bite back a soft laugh, stepping down from the altar to meet Tao halfway with open arms.

He had searched the land far and wide, only to discover that the greatest treasure of them all was the one that had always been his.

And although the green sprawling grass and the brilliant azure skies of his homeland lay unrivaled, it was only in another's sparkling eyes and mischievous soul had he finally found his way home.

He had journeyed a hundred days and a hundreds nights - but for the other, he would have traveled ten thousand nights more, if only to feel those lips on his own, for there was no one else in the world he would ever love more.

To the question you've been asking all these years, Kris -

Do you finally have the answer?

"...I do."

In his fondest memories, he would always remember that radiant smile.

And although they marched toward an uncertain future, they did so hand-in-hand, happily ever after.

In a world which passed me by,

you stopped for a while

and you loved me

for all I was.