Yunho looked up again. His neck was even starting to complain. There was a mated pair of dragons that kept pulling his eyes. A blue dragon and a purple one. The colours of the suns. Just like Jaejoong had said. He knew for certain that his friend would be praying for the purple dragon to accept him. And Yunho couldn’t help but wish that the blue one would consider him as well. 

“Please choose me.”

The tall man started to chant inside his head, hoping the magnificent animal would hear. Nothing happened however and he ended up pouting sadly, puffing his cheeks in a childish way. He stood like that, his hands on his hips, frowning up at the sky until he noticed his little sister laughing at him.

“Jihye… I can hear you!”

“Sorry. I’m sorry but you just looked so funny with your cheeks all poufy and pouting.”

Yunho looked in the direction of his sister who was standing next to his parents. Her smile was so contagious that he ended up smiling too. 

“Brat.”

“Me? Never. Come on, Yunho. You guys call Changmin a brat. Don’t insult me like that. I will put spiders in your bed when you are sleeping if you do.”

“Brat. But I love you anyway. So… which dragon do you recommend?”

“That huge gorgeous blue one. It’s like the colour of old Earth’s sea and sky. It’s calming and strong, it suits you. Now stop pouting and get the dragon to notice you.”

Yunho laughed at his sister’s words, shaking his head. He really had no idea how she had turned out like that. He supposed it was partly his fault. Jaejoong always did say he spoiled her too much. Not that his friend could talk when he spoiled his own nephews shamelessly. With a sigh, Yunho walked across the prairie, moving away from his family. He still felt like pouting and he could dispense with Jihye laughing at him. He tried calling the dragon again.

“Choose me.”

The pout returned in full force, his cheeks even more puffy. Yunho sighed again, kicking a lost stone with every step. Near him he saw a neighbour holding hands with some girl he had never seen. He kicked the stone harder. The dragon he wanted was high up in the sky ignoring him and he hadn’t even found his Linked One yet. He wondered how all these people were doing it. Jaejoong had done it almost immediately because he noticed Lydia’s perfume. 

Yunho tried that, closing his eyes and concentrating hard. All he could smell was the grass and flowers. He thought about smells he liked. His mom’s cooking, his father’s cigar, his sister’s flowery hair shampoo, all the smells when he went riding with his friends. Yunho smiled, the smells he liked reminded him of family and friends. That’s what he hoped for: a Linked One that made him feel at home. A familiar scent hit his nostrils and Yunho turned in that direction.

…

Jaejoong was nearly shaking with anticipation every time he saw the purple dragon fly nearby. However, nothing happened. The animal never landed or even looked down at where he was. 

Lydia had disappeared riding a small grey dragon. He had noticed what looked like a huge green dragon land near Changmin. Even Junsu appeared to have a dragon already. The young man pouted thinking that all that was missing was Yoochun finding a dragon before he did.

When he saw Yunho approaching, Jaejoong was able to find a small smile for his best friend.

-No luck either?

-Nope. 

…

Sailor and Blur watched from high up when Yunho approached Jaejoong. Finding that very promising the two dragons decided to finally answer the two young men’s calls and landed near them, chuckling at the similar surprised faces. 

Neither man even bothered with questions, formalities or anything more than screaming in joy. That and running to them. The two ancient dragons looked at each other and with a nod decided to indulge their new riders. 

Yunho could not believe his eyes when, even before he reached the dragon, the huge animal was already positioned in a way that made it easy to climb on. 

Nearby, Jaejoong wasted not a second. He climbed immediately, eager to fly. Yunho laughed at his friend delighted face and turned to climb as well.

“Hello.”

“Hello. My name is Yunho. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice.”

A gush of wind hit Yunho. He looked up to see Jaejoong laughing and screaming loudly as his dragon took off into the sky. Suddenly, a tingling feeling hit him as well. He wanted to be up too.

“Fly?”

“Yes.”

“Can you catch them?”

A chuckle answered him inside his head. The dragon’s voice felt strange in his head but it also felt calming, as if it had always been there. He held on as best as he could and found himself screaming as well when the dragon took off. 

Yunho finally agreed with Jaejoong and Changmin. Flying a dragon was the best thing ever. The wind was causing his eyes to tear but he felt as if he was the one flying, the mental connection making him aware of how the huge animal beneath him moved. The dragon flew aimlessly for a while, allowing Yunho to get used to the new sensations. 

…

Junsu was happily flying, high in the sky. He was enjoying talking with the dragon best of all, even more than flying. That caught him by surprise. However, he was having a day full of surprises. In nearly the same moment he found out he’d be linked to Changmin and Yoochun, he was able to choose Sarah instead. He was still trying to figure out what to do about that. 

He couldn’t really arrive next to Sarah and just tell her that she was going to be his Linked One, she’d never believe him. And why did he want her? Why her? She wasn’t from Lhara, she didn’t experience The Connection. How would things work? 

“Cute.”

Junsu chuckled. His dragon sure liked Sarah. He had to admit he liked teasing her a lot. It was more fun than getting stuck playing diplomat between Changmin and Yoochun. He sighed. His two silly friends always found a way to be ok, no matter how far they took their mutual banter. He was sure they’d be better off just the two. Junsu heard his dragon laughing.

“Ok, I admit it. I just don’t want to be stuck putting up with Changmin’s temper and Yoochun’s sulking. I grew up with them. I much prefer them as friends than as Linked Ones.”

“Smart.”

“I don’t know how smart it is to choose someone that won’t ever feel The Connection. But… Hey, how about we find out? Let’s go .”

…

Actor kept the flight manoeuvres simple in respect for Yoochun’s uneasiness, noticing with pleasure that Changmin hadn’t thought to ask for daring acrobatic moves. 

When night approached, Changmin realised that Yoochun had fallen asleep because the grip around his waist got looser and the head on his shoulder got heavier. Not wanting to wake him up, the tall man pulled him carefully into his lap and then took him down to the dip in the dragon’s shoulder blades that the dragons used to carry their young ones. It was obvious that this dragon had taken previous riders. There were leather belts securing warm blankets. He used those on Yoochun, tying him up in a safe warm cocoon. 
Returning to his place on the dragon’s neck, Changmin was much less tense and he smiled openly.

“Now can you really show me what you can do?

“My pleasure. You better hold on.”

…

Yunho finally decided it was time to chase Jaejoong. He wanted to race against his friend the same way they did when riding their horses. 

Jaejoong saw the blue dragon approaching and smiled. 

“Let’s race them. Can you win against your mate? I want to win my friend.”

“No problem.”

Yunho tried and could never really catch up. He was growing frustrated. Jaejoong was teasing him, even going as far as making his dragon fly around Yunho’s. But in the midst of all that, he couldn’t help the smile that kept tugging at his lips. Jaejoong looked so happy that he felt happy as well. 

He felt his eyes constantly pulled in Jaejoong’s direction, his loud laugh joining his friend’s. In the back of his mind he was aware that both dragons were talking among themselves, however, he couldn’t make out any words, just this feeling of belonging. 

Jaejoong interrupted his dragon’s chat with his mate to ask him to fly along the other dragon. He received back a surge of joy from both animals. That surprised him. He didn’t think he could be aware of anything coming from Yunho’s dragon, even if it was the mate to his own dragon. 

Yunho stared in wonder at how the two dragons started to fly next to each other, their movements synchronized in such a way that the wings closest to each other were actually occupying the same space. When one had his wings up the other had them down. It was amazing and made Yunho wish for such a connection. 

“Mate.”

“Yes, you are one lucky dragon to have found your mate. Maybe I’ll soon find my Linked One too.”

Jaejoong smiled at him from his own dragon. They were so close that they could talk if they wanted to. 

-Hi, Yunho. Fancy meeting you here.

-Hi, Joongie. Did you had to get the faster dragon?

-Hey, they are mates. I guess your dragon didn’t want to upset mine. 

Yunho laughed at that. It was a good explanation as any since now both animals were flying at the same speed. He turned to face Jaejoong again. His brain seemed to freeze however. No thoughts occurred him at all. He was suddenly just mesmerized at how beautiful his friend looked. 

Moments went by. Yunho’s mind finally noticed what he was unconsciously doing. He wondered why. Why would he stare at Jaejoong as if he had never seen him? That word his dragon had said played in his head. “Mate.”

But Jaejoong wasn’t his Linked One. He was his friend. Besides Jaejoong had already found Lydia. Yunho tried shaking his head to clear his mind but he found himself looking again and again. The beautiful smiling face next to him had eclipsed everything else. Only Jaejoong existed. And he found he wanted him. He wanted Jaejoong.

…

Jaejoong felt a sudden prick in his mind causing some cold shiver down his spine. It was as if he sensed danger. There was something different. But what?

He looked to Yunho for confirmation. Maybe his friend had sensed the same thing. Then he noticed how Yunho was looking at him. His stomach turned to ice and his heart skipped a beat. 

…

Both dragons kept the synchronized flying, very much aware that The Connection between their riders was finally making itself known. 

…

Jaejoong could not believe it. He suspected what was happening but he could not believe it. He had no idea what to make of it. Why would his childhood friend think such a possibility? It wasn’t possible. He was already happy with Lydia, his dream job, not hearing his sisters and now his perfect dragon. It was perfect. Perfect. 

But this… 

He tried to close his mind against Yunho. He didn’t want this. He didn’t. 

…

Yunho could not control himself. His feelings were creating havoc inside his own head and heart and a small part of him was aware that he was sending all that mess in Jaejoong’s direction, completely unfiltered. The only coherent thought was how much he wanted Jaejoong. Wanted him as a friend, as a Linked One, as a lover. Desire, sudden and strong, pulsed in his veins and his hand automatically lifted in Jaejoong’s direction. 

Jaejoong was shocked. He felt Yunho’s sudden stab of desire as if he was being stabbed himself. He tried to shrink away from it. He wanted to run away. Whatever was happening right now was too much for him. He needed to escape somehow.

…

The dragons were trying to keep out of both men’s heads. They never saw it coming and could not react in time.

Yunho was paralysed, still not thinking straight. He was helpless to do anything but watch and scream.

Jaejoong, in his haste to escape the wave of emotions he was receiving from Yunho, jumped back; forgetting where he was. He lost his faint grip on the dragon’s neck and fell. 

Fell down into the abyss of the dark night.