Out of the shadows drifted a voice, rich and smooth like the darkest chocolate. “Good evening, Kyungsoo.”

It was surprisingly gentle a voice, one that brought to mind the thoughts of sated contentment and whisperings of sweet nothings. But however beautiful the voice was, Kyungsoo knew the owner would not necessarily as pleasant. After all, monsters had successfully masked themselves in the skin of benevolence time and time before; there was no guarantee Kyungsoo himself wouldn’t fall prey to the same age-old trick if he let his guard down.

“Come forward. I won’t bite.”

What fitting words for a fiend behind a façade. It was with great care and hesitancy Kyungsoo stepped forward, his footsteps small and quiet. The blackness around him was still absolute. No matter how hard he squinted, he couldn’t discern anything from the wall of night before him. His heart seemed to crescendo, beating louder and louder, as if to make certain the beast could hear him from a million miles away. The traitorous organ refused to prolong its moments of life, choosing instead to call the unseen monster to its defenseless master.

Suddenly Kyungsoo felt warm hands grasping at him, and before he could scream, he was tumbling face-first into what felt like a chest, his unborn shout muffled by silken fabric.

~oOo0oOo0oOo~

Jongin opened his eyes as the door creaked open, the sudden shaft of light piercing easily through the veil of sleep that surrounded him. Stepping gingerly through entranceway, eyes wide and face unusually pale, was the subject of his every dream and fantasy for the past three days.

Kyungsoo was dressed in a simple black chiton, one that was typically used for funerals, the sable fabric causing the boy to seem almost unhealthily ashen. His full, heart-shaped lips were still that enticing red, skin unblemished and expressive eyes swimming with emotion. He looked so tiny, so frail, and all Jongin wanted to do was scoop him into his arms and hold him close.

“Good evening, Kyungsoo,” he murmured, almost chuckling as the boy’s eyes widened almost comically, darting wildly around the room. Jongin knew he would search in vain; though a god’s eyes could see perfectly fine in the gloom, Kyungsoo’s inadequate mortal eyes wouldn’t be able to distinguish anything.  “Come forward. I won’t bite.”

Cautiously, almost as if he were stepping through a mine-field, Kyungsoo made his way forward at a pace to slow for the love god’s liking. Suddenly impatient, Jongin reached forward and gave in to his urges, swiftly tugging the small mortal boy into his arms.

Oh.

Kyungsoo was trembling, his entire body quivering. Jongin tensed, worry creasing his brow.

“What’s the matter?” he asked in concern, caressing Kyungsoo’s cheek soothingly in an attempt to calm the mortal down. To his surprise, the boy seemed to go taut before suddenly shoving himself out of Jongin’s arms with a burst of strength unproportionate to his tiny frame. He fell off the bed and went sprawling on the marble floor.

Jongin blinked. Where those tears in his eyes?

“Please make it quick,” Kyungsoo said in a voice too shaky to be normal. He quickly scrambled to his knees, fingers clenching the cloth of his chiton. He screwed his eyes shut and looked away, and Jongin could see clearly the tears that were pearling under his silken eyelashes. “Please, master, please be merciful. Make it quick.”

“What are you talking about, Kyungsoo?” Jongin demanded, confusion evident in his voice. His bewilderment could only increase as teardrops began to drip in earnest down the mortal boy’s face. The boy seemed to get more and more frustrated as seconds passed without anything happening. Jongin was frozen, unable to comprehend why Kyungsoo was on the verge of breaking down. This was meant to be a happy night, the first of many to come. It was supposed to be a dream come true, the final page of a fairytale and the first page of their happily ever after.

It wasn’t supposed to be this.

“Please stop your pretending!” Kyungsoo cried after a lifetime seemed to pass, tears now pouring down his cheeks. “Don’t be so cruel as to toy with me now. I know why I was brought here, and I know the fate that awaits me all too well. I’ve watched the same story repeated too many times to be fooled now. So stop mocking me with all your empty pretenses! Is it not enough that you already took me away from everything I’ve ever known and loved? Must you torture me so?”

“Kyungsoo, I don’t- Please, Kyungsoo, I honestly don’t understand what you’re-“

With a frustrated shriek Kyungsoo shot up, his hands tearing wildly at his chiton, the ripped cloth settling like a layer of dead autumn leaves onto the floor.

“Isn’t this why I was brought here?” The words were hurled like poison daggers, and Jongin flinched as if they were physical blows. “To sate your appetite, to be ed until you tire of me, and then to serve as a hearty meal?”

“I-No, I would never-“

“Do it!” Kyungsoo was screaming now, his eyes crazed and bloodshot, his body shuddering under the sobs and tremors that rocked through him. For all his anger and fire, fear still shone clear in his eyes, and his body still quaked. “What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and me, end my life now! Anything is better than these sick mind games you’re playing. You divine beings and monsters are all the same, twisting the lives of mortals for your own amusement and prolonging their pain for your own entertainment. But I refuse to be tormented by you. You’ve good as killed me by taking away what I hold dearest in life, now finish the ing job you monster!”

Though he towered over the mortal boy physically, Jongin suddenly felt tiny as Kyungsoo collapsed in a shuddering heap on the marble floor. The boy’s funeral attire, his heartbroken, bitter words, and the fear that had caused his body to shake and tremble suddenly all made sense. Gods, Jongin thought, I am such a fool. An utter, absolute fool.

Why hadn’t he thought of this before? He had been too wrapped in his own thoughts, too selfish in his focus on the happiness their union would bring him to see how Kyungsoo had his family would have seen it. The Oracle’s words played in his head, and this time, instead of feeling ecstasy all he could feel was dread.

But, my good king, he will not be human.

Though the Oracle was technically correct in her description, it was no surprise that Kyungsoo and his family would immediately fear the worse and assume that some devilish fiend would come and claim the young prince as his own. No wonder Kyungsoo believed he was about to be defiled and then consumed, no wonder the boy was frightened out of his mind. Jongin’s heart felt heavy in his chest as he watched Kyungsoo’s shaking subside, his sobs quieting until all the god could hear were soft shuddering breaths. Timidly Jongin slipped off the bed, kneeling beside Kyungsoo’s form to scoop the boy tenderly into his arms. The boy didn’t protest, seeming tired and drained, his plush lips set in a thin and determined line. The god of love climbed into the bed and set Kyungsoo down before swaddling the boy in an extra silk sheet as a makeshift robe. Then Jongin pulled him back into his hold, settling carefully amongst the plethora of luxurious pillows.

“Kyungsoo,” he said firmly, but gently, as he leaned down to press a soft kiss to his ear. “Listen to me. Please understand that I would never, ever intentionally harm you, and I will never force you to do anything against your will.” He rubbed gentle circles into Kyungsoo’s shoulder blades, feeling the boy unconsciously loosen in his embrace. Jongin’s voice faltered slightly as he continued, “I-I understand what I did was unforgiveable. I should never have taken you away from your family and the life you loved. But I was selfish and thoughtless. After that day in the courtyard, you were all I could think about. You plagued my waking hours and my dreams, and the thought of being without you killed me. I had to have you. I had to try.

“Kyungsoo… I understand if you hate me with all your heart and soul, but please, please hear me out. All I wanted was to love you, and I couldn’t think of any other way to do so. Please…give me a chance. Give me seven days. That’s all I ask for. If in seven days, it’s your wish to return home, then I will make it come true. If you want me to disappear as if I had never existed, then I will never darken your doorstep again.

“Please, Kyungsoo… will you give me this chance to make you fall in love with me?”

He felt Kyungsoo shift slightly in his arms. The clock ticked, ticked, ticked, the sands of time flowing swiftly before the boy finally whispered, voice raspy and tired, “I-okay. Yes.”

Jongin felt a bud of happiness bloom in his chest, and suddenly he felt almost giddy with relief. He leaned down once again, this time to press a chaste kiss to Kyungsoo’s cheeks, laughing softly as Kyungsoo turned and buried his face into his chest.

“Do you… Do you really love me?” Kyungsoo’s voice floated up, muffled by the fabric of Jongin’s robes. His voice was hesitant, soft, a far cry from the hate-filled one he used to hurl his dagger-words, though it still contained underlying current of warning. “You’re not… you’re not playing a twisted joke, are you?”

Jongin chuckled as he drew silk sheets over their bodies. “I love you,” he promised as he pressed his face into Kyungsoo’s hair, inhaling deeply. “More than you will ever know.”

And against his better judgment, Kyungsoo found himself believing him.

~oOo0oOo0oOo~

A/N: I pretty much rewrote the whole scene...and I have no idea what just happened. O___O *hides in a corner*