Sir Joonmyun has never killed anyone who didn't deserve it.

He's been in combat since he was a fourteen year old page, and he's at the forefront of every battle now that he's a fully fledged knight. Although he doesn't always know exactly why he's slaying enemies by the dozen, he trusts that the king and council have assigned him a noble cause to kill.

But as much as Joonmyun trusts and reveres his king, he can't help but let a measure of doubt creep into his heart when King Wufan summons him into his court one particular summer's afternoon.

"I hereby command you, Sir Joonmyun, to slay Chen the Dragon by the end of three days' time."

Joonmyun is kneeling in front of the king's throne, but he can't help but straighten in alarm.

"What?! I mean, um, what, your highness?"

Wufan frowns in disapproval of Joonmyun's slip, but begrudgingly explains.

"I suppose you deserve to know the reason for this momentous request. If you haven't heard, King Chanyeol recently absorbed the Lu Kingdom to the west, resulting in the wealthiest and potentially most powerful kingdom on this side of the sea.

"As you most certainly know already, Chen is the single most wealthy and fearsome creature on any side of the sea. His mountain contains more gold than Chanyeol's and Lu's kingdoms do combined, but nobody who has ever approached the mountain has ever returned alive. For this reason, upon completing this quest, I will bestow upon you the highest honor a knight can receive: the privilege of choosing whomever you wish to marry."

There is a hushed murmur that ripples through the court. Nobody has seen Chen up close and lived to tell the tale. Occasionally, he will leave his mountain, and the villagers will catch a brief glint of his shimmering green scales against the sunlight. But every story involving Chen is shrouded in fear and terror of his mighty wrath.

The king’s bargain is also a point for gossip. The last time this honor had been granted, the knight had stolen off with the sole heir to the throne, along with his share of the family jewels. None of the succeeding kings had ever trusted any knight enough to ever share that privilege again.

But the level of danger and ambition of Joonmyun's mission, as well as the political and economic reward of slaying Chen, make it a risk Wufan is willing to undertake. That is, if Joonmyun is manages to make it out alive. But Joonmyun is the smartest, most fearless man the kingdom has seen in years. Wufan has faith that if anyone can defeat Chen, it will be Joonmyun.

When Joonmyun blanches, it's not at the prospect of facing a horrible, inevitable death. It's because his task requires killing an innocent creature, the single action Joonmyun despises nearly as much as treason. Although Chen has killed a fair number of humans, it was because they posed a threat. Joonmyun has done the exact same thing to protect his kingdom. But disobeying his king would be treason, the very worst violation of a knight's code of honor.

Wufan seems to take some pity on Joonmyun, because he says sympathetically, "Good luck, Joonmyun." He adds, "I expect you to leave by nightfall."

Which gives Joonmyun one day to reach the mountain, one day to slay the mighty dragon, and one day to get back. Joonmyun gulps as he inclines his head, and Wufan dismisses him with a wave of his hand.

Chen has his own ways of finding out about Joonmyun's task. He also has his ways of knowing that the knight has the ingenuity, agility, and determination to pose a real threat.

But there's a spell- one that has been whispered among his ancestors and passed down through low hisses for generations. Chen mutters an incantation to evoke the spirits of his ancestors. Their shadows dance along the stone walls of Chen's cave, casting darkness across his iridescent green scales.

In an ancient tongue only the bloodline of the clan can understand, the shadows whisper the terms and conditions of the spell.

"You, the dragon, will trade bodies with a human for one day. This is a spell that may be used only once in your life. At nightfall, you will return to being a dragon, and the human will return to being a human.

"Do you understand?" the shadows boom, descending upon Chen.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Chen says, swishing his tail with impatience. "I even have a human picked out already- Kim Jongdae, a cute little farm boy from the outskirts of the kingdom."

"By morning, you will awake as Kim Jongdae."

"Alright, thanks guys."

"Do not speak to your ancestors with such-"

With a flap of his mighty wings, Chen's ancestors dissipate into the night like wisps of smoke.

Joonmyun wakes up on the second day of his journey with the tip of a nose just inches away from his own. He scrambles backwards to his feet and sees the sleeping body of a young man with long, dark eyelashes and sweetly curved lips.

He reaches down and hesitantly pokes the boy’s cheek. His eyelashes flutter open, revealing brilliant green eyes. Joonmyun takes a step back in surprise.

“Can I help you?” the boy asks, his voice rich and clear.

“Oh, um, I think that’s my job,” Joonmyun says, pulling himself to his full height. “I am Sir Joonmyun from the realm of Wufan, the Dragon King.”

"Are you serious?" the boy asks, sitting up. "Is that what he calls himself nowadays?"

"Yes," Joonmyun sniffs. "He will be the true dragon king once I- I mean, he conquers Chen."

"Bull," the boy says.

"Who do you think you are?" the knight snaps, irritated by the boy's insolence.

"Kim Jongdae, at your service," he grins with a caricature of a bow. "Just a simple farm boy, don't mind me."

"When I finish slaying the dragon on behalf of my king, I will be sure to you back to your parents," Joonmyun says with thinly veiled annoyance.

"Ahh, that won't be necessary," Jongdae admits. "I'm on the run... I've been waiting for someone handsome to find me... Looks like my prayers have been answered."

He looks up at Joonmyun through his dark eyelashes, and the knight can't help but feel a foreign sensation tingling in his gut.

"Well," Joonmyun says haughtily. "I hope someone does find you because I'm not sure I can spare the time for you right now. I have a dragon to slay."

He tries to step away, but in a scramble too quick for Joonmyun's eye, Jongdae sits on Joonmyun's feet and wraps his arms around his legs, causing Joonmyun to topple backwards into the ground. He lands hard with a grunt, but he groans even louder at the sight of Jongdae beaming up at him from between his knees.

"But hyung," Jongdae whines. "Can't you spare a little time for me?"

There is still the mountain yet to climb, and Joonmyun is behind schedule, so he begrudgingly allows Jongdae to follow him until he figures out what to do with the boy.

Joonmyun marches along the dirt pathway, and Jongdae follows along, skipping in circles around him. Occasionally, Jongdae will kneel down to pluck a flower from the surrounding grasses until he has accumulated a bouquet of wild daisies and some pretty looking weeds.

He tries to present the bouquet to Joonmyun, but the knight protests, "I am a man!"

"So am I," Jongdae winks. "But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the beautiful things in life."

To Joonmyun's ire, Jongdae continues to press the flowers into the knight’s chest. Finally, he snaps and shoves the bouquet away, knocking the flowers out of the boy’s grip. Jongdae freezes and watches, open mouthed, as the petals and stems scatter into the dust. When he looks back up at Joonmyun, there’s a look of hurt in his eyes that causes a wave of guilt to surge through the knight’s chest.

“I-I’m sorry,” Joonmyun apologizes. Jongdae is making him feel things, and Joonmyun doesn’t like it. But then Jongdae’s curved lips tug downwards as he averts his gaze, and his big, brown eyes are- , welling up with tears. Joonmyun takes a step closer and hesitantly places his hand on Jongdae’s shoulder, ready to apologize and possibly beg for Jongdae’s forgiveness. Joonmyun’s eyes widen when he realizes that Jongdae’s shoulders are shaking and his chest is trembling.

“Oh no, don’t cry, please don’t cry,” Joonmyun begs, and then Jongdae turns around and his mouth is wide open with laughter.

“Wow, er,” Jongdae snickers, skipping happily away.

Joonmyun is too dumbfounded to even care when Jongdae stops collecting flowers to pick up loose pebbles instead, tossing them at the knight. In all of his twenty-one years, he’s never met anyone quite like Jongdae.

“Where have you been my whole life,” Joonmyun mutters to himself under his breath. He’s not sure what he means by it.

“What was that?” Jongdae calls out as he chases a baby rabbit across the pathway and into the grass.

“Nothing.”

“No, really, what did you say?” Jongdae jogs back over to Joonmyun, casually draping an arm across his shoulders. Joonmyun swallows as he watches Jongdae's hand drag down the side of his arm until Jongdae tucks his hand back into his own pocket.

"I was just thinking," Joonmyun says, purposely avoiding eye contact. "I've spent seven years of my life training among boys. The past year of my life fighting among men. I've never met anyone as..."

"Yeah?" Jongdae asks, intrigued. "Handsome? Clever?"

Jongdae steps closer to murmur the last word straight into Joonmyun's ear. The knight steps on his own foot by accident and stumbles straight into the dusty ground.

"Awful," he spits.

Jongdae chuckles and kneels down to help Joonmyun up to his feet. When Joonmyun is standing on his own again, Jongdae reaches for Joonmyun's hand, and Joonmyun slots their fingers together, brushing his thumb over Jongdae's knuckle.

But Jongdae just gives him a strange look and pries open Joonmyun's grip so he can brush away the minuscule pebbles embedded in Joonmyun's palm. He does the same with Joonmyun's other hand and lets go, all while looking curiously at the knight. And then the boy and the knight are continuing their journey with a formal distance between them. Joonmyun doesn't know why he feels vaguely disappointed.

Before long, Jongdae comes to a halt and doubles over clutching his stomach, his face screwed up in agony.

"J-Jongdae? Are you okay? What's wrong? Are you...with child?" Joonmyun asks with worry, spouting out the first thing that comes to mind.

Even though Jongdae is in excruciating pain, he spares Joonmyun a glance of complete bewilderment. Are all human boys this dense?

"I thought I was talking to a knight, not the village idiot," he groans, as another sharp pain racks his body.

Joonmyun kneels down next to Jongdae, scanning his body with concern. “Was it something you consumed?”

“Consume? I consume nothing but human misery because I’m a-” Jongdae stops himself. He’s no longer Chen the dragon. He’s now a miserable human.

“Ahh,” Joonmyun says knowingly, feeling an unexplainable surge of relief. “You’re just hungry. Unfortunately I only packed enough food for one, but… It’s okay. You need it more than I do.”

He pulls out a biscuit and dried meat, which Jongdae consumes eagerly and voraciously. Joonmyun nibbles away at an apple, watching Jongdae with fascination.

“You must have been starving, when was the last time you ate something?” he jokes.

“Never,” Jongdae replies with complete sincerity.

It warms Joonmyun’s heart to see how purely content Jongdae looks after he’s had something to eat. He finds himself subconsciously grinning when he sees Jongdae close his eyes and heave a happy sigh.

“So really, Jongdae,” he asks, hoping to strike up a normal conversation. “Why did you run away from home? What was the reason?”

“You,” Jongdae answers simply and honestly.

“O-oh.” Joonmyun isn’t sure how to respond.

He’s definitely had a fair share of admirers, but he’s always too focused on his job to let them become a distraction. But like Joonmyun had realized earlier in the day, Jongdae isn’t like anyone he’s ever met. He’s extremely forward, but caring at the same time. And a little naive, it seems. It was almost endearing how Jongdae had not recognized his own pain as hunger, and how easily contented he was once he had something in his stomach.

“What about you, Joonmyun? Why are you doing this?”

Joonmyun glances over at Jongdae, and he’s surprised by the sudden intensity of the boy’s gaze. Jongdae’s lips are pressed tightly together, and there’s a hardness in his green eyes. They’re cold, judgmental.

“I…” Joonmyun had been reluctant about his quest to begin with, and he finds himself faltering even more under Jongdae’s chilly stare.

Joonmyun wants to say “I don’t know”, because that’s how he truly feels at this point. But he says with false determination, “For my king.”

"And what did your king promise you for slaying the dragon? Gold? Glory? A suit of armor made with the Chen's green scales?" he asks almost accusingly.

"He promised me the opportunity to marry the person I love," Joonmyun confesses.

To Joonmyun's relief, Jongdae's eyes soften. "And who would that be?" The question is quiet, almost as if Joonmyun wasn’t meant to hear it.

“I...don’t know yet,” Joonmyun whispers.

Jongdae is baffled. He had wanted find out Joonmyun’s motivation, the pressure point that would help him understand Joonmyun’s weaknesses. Fighting for wealth or glory makes for a cowardly warrior. Love, however… Love makes people abandon all their fears. Love makes a person deadly.

“Then why are you doing this, Joonmyun?” he repeats, genuinely confused. “Why?”

It takes a moment for Joonmyun to figure out how to articulate his thoughts and motivations. “Loyalty,” he says finally.

Loyalty isn’t quite as dangerous, unpredictable, or irrational as love, but it’s a potent force on its own. But Jongdae can sense the hesitancy in Joonmyun’s answer, as though he’s trying to convince himself of something.

“Joonmyun.”

Jongdae stops walking as they reach the base of the mountain, and Joonmyun halts to turn around and look at Jongdae.

“Joonmyun,” Jongdae says again, taking a step closer to the knight. “I can tell that your heart isn’t in this. That you don’t want to do this.”

He watches him expectantly until Joonmyun lowers his gaze.

“You’re right,” he says, gritting his teeth. “But as much as I despise senseless slaughter, I have to obey my king.”

Joonmyun’s answer takes Jongdae by surprise. “Wait- it’s not because you’re scared of Chen?”

The knight laughs bitterly. “If I was afraid of dying, what kind of knight would I be? No, it’s foolish. This whole mission is foolish. It’s just...I don’t know if I can bring myself to kill a creature solely for the convenience of my beloved king. Especially a dragon, a creature older and wiser than any human in the world. I was trained to kill, but I can’t help but feel like this would be murder.”

Joonmyun sits down on a rock and puts his head in his hands. “If my only duty is to obey my king, why am I having such doubts?” He should be following his orders without any hesitation.

“Joonmyun…” Jongdae murmurs, sitting down next to the knight and wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulders. “This might be a new idea to you, but you don’t have to do it. You are allowed to disobey your king.”

Part of Joonmyun’s conscience is screaming in contradiction, but for some reason, Jongdae’s simple assurance drowns out the rest of his thoughts. “I can’t return to the kingdom empty handed. Either I kill the dragon and return victorious, or I die trying and don’t return at all,” he mumbles.

“Who says you have to return to the kingdom?” Jongdae asks with a glint in his eye. “There’s nothing for you back there. You would receive fame and recognition, but it would be for doing something that you don’t think is honorable.”

“What do you suggest then?” Joonmyun is desperate for an answer, a solution to his problem.

“If you don’t return to the kingdom, everybody will just assume that you died an honorable death. You can escape, find some far away kingdom where you can live without having to answer to anybody.”

Escape. It’s an idea that leaves Joonmyun breathless. Before he can think twice he blurts, "Will you come with me?"

Jongdae blinks, astonished. "I..." He sees a sudden prick of fear in Joonmyun's eyes. The knight recoils, as though he's afraid of being rejected. In a man so fearless, that crack in his bravery is troubling for Jongdae to see.

"I'll...try."

He knows that after nightfall, he will no longer be Jongdae. But he doesn't want Joonmyun to think that he's refusing because he doesn't want to be with Joonmyun. With a hot jolt of dread, Jongdae suddenly realizes that he...wants to be with Joonmyun.

The knight smiles and his eyes twinkle with the promise of blissful nights under the stars and infinite tomorrows. He gives Jongdae's knee a tentative squeeze, and Jongdae's chest tightens at the gentle touch.

"Let's climb the mountain together, Jongdae... A new life is just beyond the mountain."

He tangles their fingers together and pulls them both up so they can begin ascending the winding stone staircase carved into the mountain.

By the time night begins to fall, both Joonmyun and Jongdae are breathless and exhausted from the hike. They find a cave near the tip of the mountain. Chen is nowhere in sight, so they deem it safe enough to rest in overnight.

"You're going to still be here when I wake up, right? Not going to run away on me?" Joonmyun asks, half-jokingly. But he half-fears that Jongdae's hesitance in agreeing to accompany him meant that the boy wasn't exactly willing.

"Y-yeah. I'll do my best to be here." Jongdae tries to smile, but he feels like he can't breathe.

Even in the darkness, Joonmyun's smile is radiant. They fall asleep with their foreheads touching, snuggled closely together for warmth.

When Joonmyun wakes up, Jongdae is gone.

He looks around, frantically searching for a sign of the boy. And then his eyes fall upon a glittering green creature with bright emerald eyes, watching him from a corner of the cave.

"No... Jongdae..." he whispers in horror. "No!"

Joonmyun slowly climbs to his feet, drawing his sword. He takes a few steps towards the dragon with his sword held out in front of him. The dragon unfurls its wings, but Joonmyun ignores the threatening gesture.

"This is for Jongdae," Joonmyun growls.

But then it's almost as if the dragon hears him and understands him. It has its wings spread and its teeth bared, but at the mention of the word "Jongdae", the dragon seems to wilt. It folds its wings back into its body and sinks into the ground, the head dropping onto the floor of the cave.

Chen looks up at Joonmyun, whose eyes are livid and terrifying. He knows that Joonmyun wouldn't stand a chance against him. But the fact that Joonmyun would risk his life, as well as undermine everything that he believes in...for Jongdae. He knows that Joonmyun would fight for Jongdae and that he wouldn't give up until he has exacted revenge on Jongdae's behalf. Joonmyun would gladly fight to his own death.

So Chen just slumps into the ground. He looks one last time into Joonmyun's eyes before closing his own.

Joonmyun hesitates for a moment. Did the dragon just...give up? But Jongdae's warm smile and bright laugh flicker through his mind, so he charges forward and plunges his sword deep into the dragon's neck.

Jongdae wakes up in a cold sweat and immediately looks down at his hands. They're human hands and not green and scaly. It must have been a dream. An incredibly vivid dream in which he had spent the entire day as a dragon.

There's a loud commotion outside, so Jongdae sticks his head out his window. People are cheering and flying flags with dragons on them, which can only mean one thing.

"Sir Joonmyun is back!" Jongdae squeals excitedly to himself.

As soon as Jongdae found out about the knight's impossibly treacherous mission, Jongdae had prayed to every god he knew of so that the knight would return home safely. But now that Joonmyun's successful journey has become a reality, Jongdae starts to feel a different kind of dread. Sir Joonmyun, the kingdom's dreamiest bachelor (to Jongdae at least), would be picking a spouse.

There's long train of people headed towards the castle courtyard, where a ceremony is undoubtedly taking place to honor Joonmyun's accomplishments. Jongdae hurriedly gets dressed in his least ratty outfit and runs as fast as he can, weaving between people in the bustling crowd.

Jongdae can see the platform where the king's throne is elevated above everyone in the courtyard, but he can't quite hear what's going on. Sir Joonmyun is currently kneeling in front of the throne, but Jongdae wants to hear for himself when Joonmyun picks his bride.

So the boy pushes through the commoners' section and slips under the rope separating the commoners from the aristocrats. But soon, rough hands are grabbing him by the waist and pulling him away.

"You may rise, Sir Joonmyun," King Wufan announces. "And now, please declare for the kingdom, who you shall choose as your bride..."

Joonmyun opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. This was the one thing he hadn't figured out yet. But it would be an insult to the king and a waste of an opportunity not to take the chance while he has it. His mind is racing as he scans the crowd.

Suddenly, a guard steps onto the stage, carrying a raggedy looking boy by the scruff of the neck.

"Your Highness, we had a trespasser in the audience," he announces gravely.

Wufan rolls his eyes in annoyance. "Was now really the right time for this, Zitao?"

But Joonmyun is striding across the stage, stopping in front of the guard and the trembling boy. He reaches out and tilts the boy's chin up. His heart nearly stops when he sees the familiar curved corners of the boy's lips, his high, sloping cheekbones, and his long, curly eyelashes. This boy's eyes are a deep chestnut brown, but it just has to be...

"Jongdae..."

The boy's eyes snap up. "H-how did you know my name?" he asks, his cheeks coloring.

"Is that you, Jongdae? Is it really you?" Joonmyun's cheeks are starting to ache from how widely he's grinning.

"Yeah, that's my name," Jongdae says shyly.

Joonmyun shoves Zitao away and grabs Jongdae close for a kiss. Jongdae makes a muffled noise of surprise, but his eyes flutter shut when Joonmyun deepens the kiss.

When Joonmyun finally pulls away, they're both panting. He turns to King Wufan and announces, "I choose Jongdae."

A/N: I wasn’t sure if I wanted to post this but... It's a lot weirder than I intended and a lot less sad than the original idea that Laura came up with lmao