Joonmyun does his best to ignore the whispers he hears from the other servants as he walks by them. He takes a deep breath, trying to keep his emotions in check. It makes no difference to him what names they call him behind his back, what rumours they spread about him. He focuses on doing what he’s told, keeps his head down and doesn’t draw attention to himself.

Joonmyun earns more glares from his fellow servants, but he doesn’t bother with them as he makes his way down the hall. He balances the tray he’s carrying to rest on one of his hands and he opens the door to the library with the other.

“Over here,” a deep voice calls and Joonmyun follows the flickering of candlelight to the corner of the library where he finds the prince sitting at a table, piles of various books surrounding him. “Oh, Joonmyun,” he says, smiling up at Joonmyun from the old-looking book he’s in the middle of flipping through. His face lights up in a bright smile as Joonmyun avoids his gaze, dipping his head in as much of a bow as he can manage with the tray in his hands.

“Your tea, Your Highness,” Joonmyun says, placing the tray onto the table. He busies himself with moving some of the piles of books out of the way so he can push the tray closer to the prince.

“How many times do I need to tell you to call me Chanyeol when we’re alone,” the prince asks.

A hand covering his own halts Joonmyun’s movement and he panics, pulling his own away immediately and holding it defensively to his chest. He risks a glance at the prince, about to apologize profusely for his rudeness but the prince merely looks amused, rather than offended that Joonmyun always pulls his hand away so quickly from his touch.

“You know, you remind me so much of my grandmother,” Chanyeol says, his playful tone telling Joonmyun that he’s not mad.

But Joonmyun’s heart almost stops in his chest at his words. “Q-queen Elsa?” he stutters out in a panicked whisper. His eyes are wide, staring at Prince Chanyeol in surprise. Does he know Joonmyun’s secret? “I’m no-nothing like her,” Joonmyun lies, feeling his body temperature drop slowly as the magic in him rushes into his hands, filling the tips of his fingers with ice.

Chanyeol reaches out to grab Joonmyun’s hand again, holding it snugly in between his own. The heat of his hands seeps into Joonmyun’s skin, pushing away the magic and settling Joonmyun’s nerves. “Yes you are,” Chanyeol tells him in a soft voice, his eyes trained on the hand he’s still cradling tenderly. “Your hands are always so cold.”

“Your tea is the only thing that’s getting cold,” Joonmyun replies, gently prying his hand out of the prince’s grip. He finishes pouring the tea for Chanyeol and when he’s done, he looks up to see the prince watching him carefully. This time he flushes instead of freezing, red colouring his cheeks in embarrassment from the intensity of the other’s gaze. He breaks eye contact when he bows again, more than ready to take his leave and put as much distance between himself and the prince as possible.

“Will you stay and keep me company?” Chanyeol asks, a hopeful tone to his voice.

Joonmyun shakes his head. “I have other work that needs to be done, Sir,” he replies smoothly.

“You always say that,” Chanyeol pouts.

“It’s always true.” Joonmyun doesn’t wait for a response before bows again and makes his way to the exit of the library.

As soon as the door closes behind him, Joonmyun slumps against the wall in relief and he lets out the breath he didn’t know that he was holding. He almost lost control again, and in front of the crown prince, of all people. After a few shaky breaths, Joonmyun feels all the coolness from earlier leave him and he’s ready to get back to work.



“You have to come with me,” Joonmyun hears Chanyeol’s deep voice just a second before there’s a hand on his arm, tugging him in the opposite direction that he was headed. It startles Joonmyun enough that sparks of the magic in him begin to spread defensively and a shiver runs down his spine. “You can’t argue with me this time,” Chanyeol continues when Joonmyun opens his mouth to protest.

“But I have chores to do,” Joonmyun says. He can already feel the cold seeping out of the tips of his fingers, creating bits of frost against his skin and he hopes that Chanyeol doesn’t notice the way his body temperature is steadily dropping.

“No, you don’t. I already took care of that,” Chanyeol says and he turns around for a second to smile down at Joonmyun before he picks up the pace.

Cursing Chanyeol’s long legs, Joonmyun stumbles along behind him for a moment, not used to walking so fast. “What do you mean?” he asks, still struggling to keep up.

“You always use having to do your duties as an excuse,” Chanyeol explains, a smug tone to his voice.

“I’m a servant, that’s my job.”

“Well, I got rid of it.”

“You fired me?” Joonmyun nearly shrieks. He plants his feet firmly into the ground, pulling them to a stop and wrenches his arm out of Chanyeol’s grasp. It’s only by sheer force of will that Joonmyun remains in control of the magic in him.

“What? Of course I didn’t!” Chanyeol replies and oh no, and the prince is pouting at him again. Joonmyun wishes he didn’t find it endearing, but surprisingly the sight of it does a little to help calm him down. It’s almost like he’s being warmed up again.

Joonmyun sighs. “Then what did you do?”

“I just,” Chanyeol says, and for such a tall man he looks so small as he mumbles the rest of his words. “I got them to switch around your duties so now you have today off but you have to go see the head of servants later for your fixed schedule.”

Well, that certainly isn’t as bad as Joonmyun had been expecting, even if it might really tick off some of the other servants for having their shifts switched around on such short notice.

“It’s okay,” Joonmyun says and it’s scary how fast Chanyeol’s face brightens up in a huge smile when he knows that Joonmyun isn’t angry with him. Chanyeol holds out his hand this time, waiting for Joonmyun to take it. The warmth of Chanyeol’s hand chases away the last bit of stray magic from Joonmyun as Chanyeol leads him toward whatever shenanigans he has planned for the day.



A trip into the market. A horseback ride up into the mountains. A picnic down by the water to watch the sun setting over the ocean. There always seems to be a new place that Chanyeol’s eager to visit and he insists on dragging Joonmyun along with him each time. Under any other circumstances, he’d agree in a heartbeat, but with every little bit of his spare time being taken up by Chanyeol it’s getting harder and harder for Joonmyun to keep his powers in check. He doesn’t have any more time to himself and the stress of keeping his sorcery hidden is starting to get to him.

His feelings for the prince cloud his judgement. Everyday Joonmyun sees Chanyeol, even if it’s only for a minute, and everyday he falls a little bit harder. It gets more and more difficult to say no, to tell the prince that he has work to do. He knows that the right thing to do is to keep himself distanced from everyone but there’s something about Chanyeol that makes him keep taking that risk. Eventually he gives up trying to refuse Chanyeol entirely, because just seeing him smile means the world to Joonmyun.

He hates to think of what might happen when he finally slips up in front of the prince or if anyone else ever found out what he can do. If they don’t kill him, he’d be put into a cage, chained up and locked away forever. He’d never be able to see Chanyeol again.

It’s thoughts like these that keep him up at night, tossing and turning in bed. At least when he’s alone in his room, it doesn’t matter if he accidentally makes snowflakes appear out of nowhere and fall from the ceiling. His sheets turn to ice more often than not now and he usually ends up falling into a restless sleep on what feels like a slab of solid ice a few hours before morning.

Today he finds himself in the library, Chanyeol pulling him along with a hand on his wrist, gripping onto Joonmyun so tightly it’s almost as if he’s afraid that Joonmyun will disappear if he lets go. “It’s somewhere around here,” Chanyeol says, continuing to tug Joonmyun along behind him as his eyes scan over the books on the shelves. “I was just reading it last week.”

“Maybe you didn’t put it back in the right spot,” Joonmyun suggests when it’s clear that Chanyeol has no idea where the book is. It’s a book he’s been meaning to show Joonmyun for a while now, one he keeps mentioning whenever he steals him away from his servant duties. Every time Joonmyun had asked about it, the prince would just smile and say, it’s a surprise.

The surprise turns out of be a book on Chanyeol’s grandmother. It’s a history of her life and her sister’s, according to Chanyeol. There’s a whole chapter on how Arendelle had been frozen so many years ago. It even goes into detail of the powers that Queen Elsa was born with and how she tried to hide it.

The exact same powers that Joonmyun was born with. Powers that he’s kept hidden from everyone for many years. A chill goes down Joonmyun’s spine when Chanyeol tells him that it’s his favourite book. Chanyeol’s read it countless times. Joonmyun can’t feel the tips of his fingers anymore. Chanyeol practically has the whole thing memorized. Joonmyun tries not to panic as the temperature in the room starts to drop.

Conceal it. Don’t feel it.

“S-stop,” Joonmyun says and being able to see his own breath doesn’t help him calm down. Frost is creeping along the spines of the books closest to Joonmyun, the floor beneath his feet is slowly turning to ice.

Keep it in. Don’t let it show.

Chanyeol looks up from the book in shock, his head tilting further up in awe as huge clusters of snowflakes fall from the very top of the bookshelves. Joonmyun can no longer keep the storm inside and it seeps out into the library. “Oh, it’s snowing.” Chanyeol says, holding out his hand. The snowflakes melt instantly against his skin, leaving no trace of water behind.

“I have to go,” Joonmyun says but before he can turn around, Chanyeol steps closer and latches onto his wrist. Joonmyun can only focus on getting as far away from Chanyeol, from Arendelle as he can. Maybe not up into the mountains like the late Queen did, but somewhere he can go to start over. “Let me go!”

“You’re so cold, Joonmyun,” Chanyeol whispers softly, using his grip on Joonmyun’s arm to pull him closer.  Frigid wind blows between them and throughout the rest of the library, knocking books off the shelves. “Let me warm you up.”

“It’s dangerous,” Joonmyun shrieks, struggling against Chanyeol’s hand. The tighter Chanyeol holds on, the more Joonmyun tries to get away. He’s afraid that if Chanyeol keeps touching him, he’ll accidentally turn the prince into an ice cube and that’s the last thing that he wants. “Chanyeol, please stop. I don’t want to hurt you, just let me go.”

“Calm down, Joonmyun,” Chanyeol says, still insistently tugging at Joonmyun’s wrist. “It’ll be okay, just–”

“No!” Joonmyun’s blood feels ice cold and his body temperature is dropping, he’s so scared. He doesn’t want to hurt Chanyeol but he needs to get away and ends up doing the only thing he can think of. He shoves at Chanyeol’s chest with his other hand in attempt to break free. There’s a flash of blue light when the palm of his hand connects right over where Chanyeol’s heart is and Joonmyun realizes his mistake a split second too late. “Oh no, Chanyeol!”

The prince yelps, releasing his grip on Joonmyun’s wrist as he crumples to the ice-covered floor. Joonmyun isn’t quick enough to catch him and for a terrifying moment, he thinks that he has killed Chanyeol. It’s not until Chanyeol shivers, groaning in pain that Joonmyun releases the breath he was holding. It’s only a matter of time though until the magic spreads and turns the rest of Chanyeol into ice as well.

“Oh my god, Chanyeol,” Joonmyun cries as he kneels down, gently pulling Chanyeol so that his head is cradled in Joonmyun’s lap. He vaguely realizes that it has stopped snowing and there’s not even a cool breeze flowing through the library but that’s the furthest thing from Joonmyun’s mind.  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, I–”

“It’s okay,” Chanyeol says, blinking and trying to smile up at Joonmyun. His eyes take too long to focus and his smile isn’t as bright at it normally is, not even close to reaching his eyes. “I’m okay.”

Chanyeol is clearly not okay. Pieces of his brown hair are starting to turn white. Slowly, the colour fades starting from his roots to the tips of each strand. Joonmyun runs his fingers through the soft strands and Chanyeol sighs at the touch. Another chunk of his hair turns white and Joonmyun’s eyes burn with the beginnings of tears. “Oh Chanyeol,” Joonmyun cries, his tears turning into tiny ice pellets as they fall from his eyes. “I’m–”

“Stop apologizing,” Chanyeol interrupts with a wave of his hand. He rolls his eyes at the indignant look that Joonmyun sends his way.

“How can you be so calm about this?” Joonmyun asks in a quiet voice. “The magic in your heart is going to spread.” He pauses, barely able to get the rest of the words out of his mouth. “And you’ll die.”

“No, I won’t.” Chanyeol replies like usual, as if it were any other time and he’s just joking around with Joonmyun again. He’s still trying to smile up at Joonmyun. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“How about you try being serious for a second,” Joonmyun hisses, the anger and sadness in him making him lose control of the magic bubbling in his veins. It starts snowing again, the temperature in the room dropping. He needs to get a grip or he’s going to turn them both into ice. “You’re going to die and… it’s all my fault.”

“Yes, it’s your fault my heart is frozen,” Chanyeol agrees with a slight nod of his head and Joonmyun’s own heart feels heavy with guilt. “But I’m not going to die. The book about my grandmother tells of how to thaw a frozen heart.”

Joonmyun looks around for the book, but like just about everything else in the library, it has been covered in a thick layer of ice. “Chanyeol, the book.” Joonmyun says holding out the book for Chanyeol to see. “It’s frozen shut.”

“Don’t worry.” Chanyeol uses a great amount of whatever energy he has left to sit up, scooting back to rest against the bookshelves. He takes the book from Joonmyun and sets it aside, his warm hands covering Joonmyun’s icy ones. Slowly, as Chanyeol’s heat sinks into Joonmyun’s skin, it stops snowing once again and the room doesn’t feel as cold as it did a minute ago. “I told you I have that book memorized, I have the answer right here.” Chanyeol briefly releases Joonmyun’s hand to tap his finger against his temple.

“Tell me,” Joonmyun begs, fresh tears falling from his eyes. Chanyeol is shivering like mad but somehow he still feels warm to Joonmyun. His hair is almost completely white now and a pale snowflake pattern has spread across Chanyeol’s skin. They’re quickly running out of time. “What do I have to do to thaw your heart?”

“It’s actually really simple,” Chanyeol replies, an almost sad smile on his blue lips as he looks into Joonmyun’s eyes. “An act of True Love will thaw a frozen heart.”

Joonmyun gasps. “You mean–”

“Yes, True Love’s Kiss.” Chanyeol squeezes Joonmyun’s hand, the warmth is slowly draining out of him turning his fingers blue. “Do you love me Joonmyun?”

Joonmyun takes a deep breath. “I–”

“Because I love you.” Chanyeol’s voice is getting softer as he continues to grow weaker, colder. “I have for a very long time.”

“Chanyeol.”

“If you l-love me,” Chanyeol whispers, struggling to get the words out. “Then k-kiss me Joonmyun. Please.”

Joonmyun’s hands are shaking when he reaches out for Chanyeol and he’s terrified of accidentally hurting Chanyeol more than he already has. Chanyeol leans into the touch when Joonmyun cups his hand around Chanyeol’s cheek, the fingers of his other hand sliding through the short, white hairs at the back of Chanyeol’s neck. “Please let this work,” Joonmyun prays as his eyes slip shut and he presses their lips together.

After a moment Joonmyun pulls away and opens his eyes again, but nothing has changed. Chanyeol’s hair is still white, he’s still shivering from the cold and his skin is still a sickly shade of blue. “No, come on,” Joonmyun murmurs more to himself than Chanyeol as he presses kiss after kiss to his cold lips. “I do. I love you. Of course I do. Only you.”

This time when Joonmyun opens his eyes, he sees Chanyeol grinning brightly at him. Everything about him, his skin, his hair, his smile, has returned to normal. Joonmyun laughs, a sort of hysterical sound as he presses experimental fingers to Chanyeol’s skin just to be sure. He sighs in relief at the warmth he feels and practically throws himself at Chanyeol’s chest, arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders, his face pressing into the side of Chanyeol’s neck.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” Joonmyun mumbles. He hadn’t realized just how much Chanyeol means to him until now. The past several minutes feel like a horrible nightmare that thankfully, Joonmyun was able to wake up from.

“I’m right here,” Chanyeol reassures him, bringing his own arms up to embrace Joonmyun. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Joonmyun can’t help the smile spreading across his face and he presses his lips to Chanyeol’s skin. That’s when he feels the prince shiver against him. “You’re still cold,” Joonmyun mutters, pulling away slightly from Chanyeol. “My magic. How’s your heart?” Joonmyun tentatively places his palm over where Chanyeol’s heart is. It beats steadily beneath Chanyeol’s ribs. “How do you feel?”

“A little cold,” Chanyeol admits, reaching to put his hand over Joonmyun’s. He gives Joonmyun’s hand a little comforting squeeze before he lifts it to his lips and kisses the back of it. “But I’m okay.”

Chanyeol’s heart may have been thawed, but the rest of the library is still frozen. There’s no more snow falling from the ceiling or cold winds blowing past them but the floor, the shelves and most of the books closest to them are still covered in a thick layer of ice. “I don’t know how to get rid of the winter,” Joonmyun laments. “We need to get you someplace warmer.” He tries tugging at Chanyeol to get him moving, but Chanyeol doesn’t budge.

“I can take care of that,” Chanyeol smirks and all of a sudden heat spreads throughout Joonmyun. The warmth emanating from the places him and Chanyeol are touching, slowly flowing through Joonmyun’s body in waves almost as if he’s stepped into a sauna. It’s like every other time Chanyeol’s presence had calmed the storm inside Joonmyun, only more powerful. Not at all harmful like Joonmyun’s magic had been, but protective, a soothing security blanket of warmth.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Joonmyun asks, his jaw dropping as he watches the ice and snow around them melt into nothing, not even a puddle gets left behind. Everything just disappears. “How are you doing this?”

“You didn’t think you were the only one born with powers, did you?” Chanyeol asks. “It kind of runs in the family.”

Joonmyun’s brain takes a minute to catch up with what Chanyeol had said. “You were born with–” he starts, the shock showing through with every fibre of his being. “So all this time?”

“I didn’t mean to hide it from you,” Chanyeol insists, tugging Joonmyun into his arms again. Joonmyun goes willingly, resting his head against Chanyeol’s shoulder, his nose nearly brushing Chanyeol’s neck. “But you were always super skittish about everything to do with magic and my grandmother.”

Chanyeol is probably right. Before Joonmyun had always gone through so much trouble to avoid such topics of conversation. Joonmyun was even terrified of the fact that Chanyeol thought that there were similarities between him and Queen Elsa. But he doesn’t have to be afraid anymore.

“So instead of telling you, I just made sure to warm you up whenever you got too cold,” Chanyeol explains.

“You what?” Joonmyun whispers in disbelief. His head spins with all the times he’s been around Chanyeol, on the edge of losing control only to have been inexplicably warmed by Chanyeol’s touch. The heat had always chased away whatever magic in him that was ready to spill out. There have been so many instances where Chanyeol had stopped him from accidentally revealing his powers. Chanyeol had been protecting him all this time. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say that you’ll be mine,” Chanyeol says, holding Joonmyun close as he dips his head down to leave a kiss on Joonmyun’s forehead.

Joonmyun clings to Chanyeol as tears spring to his eyes again, not from sorrow, but happiness. “Yes,” he agrees as Chanyeol wipes away the wetness streaming down his face before pressing their lips together again. “Yes, I’m all yours.”