~oOo0oOo0oOo~

The days that followed their marriage’s consummation were the happiest Jongin’s life had ever seen, seeming to flow by like clouds carried by a gentle wind through a breezy, cerulean blue sky. The sunrises and sunsets seemed to come and go, time blurring into a shifting spectrum of light and darkness. Sunlight skies slowly became starlit before returning under the sun’s control, a rhythmic movement like languid and heavenly clockwork.

Under Helios’ light Jongin tended to his godly duties. Making humans fall in love had once been one of his sole sources of entertainment, and he had taken great pleasure in wrecking havoc among mankind, using his arrows to cause all sorts of mischief and chaos. But now that he had felt the prick of his own power Jongin found himself much more sympathetic to the simple men and women he once teased so happily. He understood what it was like to love someone more than other,  and he dealt love, lust, and hate with a caring hand, taking great pains to ensure that his actions would result with content couples instead of the unstable ones he had so gleefully built and broken down. Earth’s affairs quieted, drama caused by adultery and romantic competition simmering down to serenity.

Under Selene’s light he returned to his little prince within the darkened alcove of their bedchamber, where Kyungsoo would come to him every night. Each eve was spent differently; sometimes they talked of anything and everything, letting their minds and heart wander like explorers through new and undiscovered worlds, and other times they chose to make love in lieu of using spoken words. It didn’t matter what they did because their nights would always end in a way that Jongin didn’t ever want to change, the two of them sated and intertwined in the soft silken bedsheets. Now that Jongin had Kyungsoo in his arms he couldn’t imagine an eternity without the young prince, without the boy’s sweet smile and playful verbal sparring, without his incredible eyes and infinitely beautiful soul.

Kyungsoo, too, spent the time that followed that fateful night in a state of bliss. In his husband’s palace in the sky he was safe and secure, the sundrenched hours filled with many enjoyments, and the hours of darkness that followed spent in the company of his cherished lord and husband. Even after Kyungsoo surrendered his purity his husband’s treatment did not change for the negative; if anything, the invisible man seemed to grow even sweeter, even more playful, the two becoming closer than ever. The young prince had everything anyone could possibly want; a home so incredible he could have believed it belonged to one of the Olympian gods themselves, endless delights to occupy and entice him, and a loving husband who treated him like the most precious thing in the universe.

But as days became months, Kyungsoo found the intoxicating joy that had bathed his life in a luster of golden happiness slowly fading away. Like the effects of the strange herbs the healers back home used for numbing wounds, the post-nuptial ecstasy eventually faded to reveal the quiet ache that had always festered beneath.  In moments of silence Kyungsoo often found himself lost in the workings of his own mind, gazing wistfully into the heavens, his thoughts returning time and time again to the beloved family he had left behind. How were they doing? He knew in his heart they were in pain, unable to move on from his parting. If only they could see how happy he was, then perhaps they could be content as well. His husband’s presence became an aesthetic of sorts, chasing away the dull throbbing of his heart. But in the morning he would be gone, leaving Kyungsoo susceptible to his melancholy thoughts.

His family was not the only thing that riddled inconsistencies in his otherwise pleasant life. The beautiful man from his dreams began reappearing in the twilight hours of his sleep, always bathed in the watery light of dawn. Kyungsoo didn’t know why he appeared or what he wanted because the man never spoke, only ever gazing quietly at the young prince. Occasionally he would brush a strand of wayward hair back, and once he kissed the young boy gently on the forehead. In the realm dreams Kyungsoo was powerless to speak or move and was thus unable to pose any questions, and the mysterious man never offered any answers. No doubt this man was a deity, perhaps a minor god, and the fact that Kyungsoo didn’t know his motives frightened him. A god’s interest was rarely a good thing, as Kyungsoo knew from all the stories he had heard as a child that the Olympians and their fellow deities were a breed of selfish, narcissistic, and unpredictable beings. They rarely took into account what their actions could do to the mortals caught up in their affairs, choosing to do things as they wished without any thoughts to those around him. Though he knew his husband was no mere mortal—he had saved the west wind from Yixing, for Olympus’ sake—Kyungsoo still couldn’t help but fear for his invisible lover and for their life together.

Together his worry and longing for his family and his discomfort over the presence of the stranger in his dreams weighed heavily on the young prince. Zephyrus was not blind to the way his young master’s smiles became more and more wan. A quiet sadness seemed to steal upon the young boy, Kyungsoo’s actions becoming listless and absent-minded. The wind god could only note how his eyes always returned so longingly to the sky, as if he were searching for someone or something he couldn’t see.

Jongin, too, sensed the way his lover was slowly descending into melancholy. Kyungsoo was becoming quieter, distracted, and he seemed to fear his husband’s departure when daylight came. Though Jongin always assured him that he would never leave, the boy still clung to him with desolate desperation that pained the young god to see. It didn’t take a genius to know that the prince was homesick, but what perplexed Jongin was how the boy seemed almost terrified of something. Not of him, but of something else. But no matter how Jongin wheedled and begged, Kyungsoo only ever shook his head, repeatedly claiming it was nothing. Kyungsoo’s sleep became fitful, the boy crying out in his slumber unless Jongin held him in his arms.  So Jongin began prolonging his moment of departure to almost dangerous times of morning, when the boy could wake up any moment and see his true form in the dawn’s light. He would watch the slumbering boy until he absolutely needed to leave lest his presence be discovered, concern needling at every fiber of his being.

His anxiety for Kyungsoo finally becoming too much, Jongin began his journey to the Oracle of Delphi. If anyone had an answer for his prince’s strange and alarming behavior, it would be the Pythia. When he was halfway there, however, he was greeted by a fellow deity, one he had not seen in person since his life had been consumed by Kyungsoo; Hermes stepped out to greet him, winged sandals fluttering.

“Good morrow, Jongin,” the god of thieves said, smiling impishly as he twirled his trademark caduceus. “Fancy meeting you here. I’ve got an urgent message for you, from Luhan.” He unrolled a piece of parchment, clearing his throat. “He says he wants you to ‘meet him as soon as you here this message, he doesn’t care how many domestic errands you need to run’.  I don’t know why, but he seemed to be in an awfully touchy mood lately. You’d best go see him now.” With that, Hermes re-rolled his message before disappearing. With a sigh, Jongin turned back the way he came; there was no keeping an angry Luhan waiting. The Oracle of Delphi would just have to wait.

~oOo0oOo0oOo~

Luhan was lounging gracefully on his throne when Jongin entered his palace, the picture of seductive beauty. His limbs were splayed across the images of dolphins and doves that were carved into his seat,  an almost transparent cloth of pale pink and ivory draped across his body. His golden girdle and perfect hair gleamed in the sunlight. He was admiring his reflection in his silver, seashell-shaped mirror when Jongin coughed to announce his presence, turning his face to meet his friend’s with a coy smile on his face.

“At last you come to visit me,” the god of beauty said, his voice teasing like a bird’s song. He set aside his mirror and stood, striding down the steps to meet Jongin on level ground. He prowled around his friend in a manner akin to a lioness, pretending to gaze out of the many windows. “Whatever could have kept you so busy, Jongin-ah? Surely not that lovely little prince, Kyungsoo? Hmmm?”

Luhan swiveled around to stare at him, and though his smile was sweet his eyes glinted like knives. Jongin sighed in resignment. He was caught.

Luhan stepped forward, shaking his head. “Oh, Jonginnie, did you honestly think I wouldn’t notice? First that little brat disappears off the face of the mortal earth, and then you disappear from Olympus. Oh, I had hoped that you were punishing him something dreadful,” relish dripped off of his words like poison, “but alas, that wasn’t what you were doing, was it?” He whipped around again, pausing in his pacing. “No, you just had to go and fall in love with that insolent imp. Ugh,” he snorted in disgust.

Jongin stood silent, head bowed as Luhan’s face twisted. But just as quickly the grimaces melted from the elder love god’s face.

“I didn’t call you here to lecture you on your lack of taste,” the blonde said, though his lip still curled minutely. “I know why you were going to visit Yixing’s Oracle. Your precious little prince isn’t very happy, is he?”

Still Jongin didn’t say a word, simply waiting as Luhan resumed his pacing. Luhan stalked around Jongin like a predator would its prey, but the god of desire stood his ground.

“He told you he loves you, didn’t he,” Luhan said softly as he came to a stop in front of Jongin, peering up at the taller with knowing eyes. “Oh, Jongin, if you believed him you are such a fool.”

His anger flared, and Jongin’s head jerked up to stand tall. “Yes, Kyungsoo told me he loved me,” Jongin retorted, leveling his gaze so that he stared his friend in the eyes head-on. “And I believe him.”

The blonde merely rolled his eyes, tutting his tongue. “If he really did love you, would he be moping around and making you worry? Please, Jongin, how could he love you, you who took him from his family and still refuses to show him who you are? What fool could ever love someone he has never seen before?”

The words stung, and Jongin flinched slightly, though he refused to back down. “Love and lust are not the same,” he countered heatedly, “He loves me for who I am, not for what I look like. And though it’s true that I wronged him greatly when I stole him from his family, he has found it in his heart to forgive me.”

Luhan dismissed his words with a flippant wave, spitting out each word with callous delight. “You still hide in the darkness, Jongin. You may see your relationship of one of unconditional love, but he sees that he is a mortal kidnapped by a lustful god—don’t give me that look, Jongin, what else could you be? His ‘love’ for you, as you so naively call it, is nothing more than a pretense born out of fear.

“Your little prince has been dragged from his home into the embrace of a being that has him in his complete control. You say your lovely palace in the sky is a home, but you know what it really is?” Jongin swallowed dryly as Luhan’s lips brushed his ear softly.

“A prison, Jongin. A heavenly prison, but a prison nonetheless.”

The words seemed to smack him harshly across the face the other perspective was cruelly presented to him. The words continued to flow, though Jongin wanted to cover his ears like a child and drown out the poisonous sounds. 

“What choice has he, Jongin? If he doesn’t make you happy he could be harmed worse than if he played the willing pet—“

“I would never hurt him,” Jongin protested weakly, his head swimming in realization. “Never.”

“Ah ah, but he doesn’t know that though, does he? After all, what happens to those who angered the gods? Cassandra and Midas were both cursed when they insulted Yixing, and Actaeon was devoured by his own hounds when he accidentally stumbled across Artemis while she bathed. Arachne was turned into a spider for challenging Lady Athena, and Andromeda was punished because her foolish mother offended Poseidon. What do you think he thought would happen to him if he refused you?”

“I promised him I’d set him free if he didn’t want me,” Jongin whispered insistently as if saying the words would somehow make Kyungsoo believe him. “I swore I wouldn’t harm him no matter what he chose—“

Luhan stopped dead as he took in the sight of his friend, who was now on his knees, staring blankly at the ground. All vindictive pleasure seemed to drain out of his body, as if he was suddenly hit by the undeniable truth of what he was saying. 

“But what is a god’s promise worth to a mortal?” Luhan answered quietly, as he watched his friend crumple before his eyes. “Nothing, Jongin. Nothing at all.”  

As Jongin collapsed to the ground on his knees he could see the look on the blonde’s face wasn’t vindictive or sadistic, but concerned. Luhan dropped down beside him, wrapping consoling arms around his shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” Luhan whispered. “I-I didn’t mean to let my grudge get the better of me and lose my temper with you. But I meant it, Jongin, I meant every word… You may love Kyungsoo, but that doesn’t mean he truly feels the same about you.

“I just wanted to warn you, Jongin… Mortals hate feeling like they are trapped without a choice. And Kyungsoo, no matter what you think of him, is no exception. True love can’t be born out of fear, and… I’m afraid something terrible is going to happen. Please be careful, Jongin. A resentful mortal can be dangerous, even to gods like ourselves. They can grow desperate, like wild animals trapped in a cage, and there's no telling what they will do for their freedom....”

As Jongin stared at the cold marble ground, his thoughts in a jumble, he couldn’t help but think that what Luhan said made sense. He didn’t want to believe that Kyungsoo felt anything less for him than the love the young prince claimed he did, but now that the seed of doubt was planted in his mind, there was no way he could get rid of it now. 

~oOo0oOo0oOo~

A/N: So Luhan finally found out.... :c