“My most revered Emperor Suho, sovereign of all, I present to you Prince Yixing, lord of the East,” the guard announced.

Following his cue, Yixing entered the throne room and lowered onto one knee. “Father,” he said to the floor. “You have summoned me?”

“Ah, yes. Please rise, my son.” Yixing obeyed immediately, but kept his eyes trained on the ground. The various guards and servants scurried out the door at a wave of the Emperor's hand. “How have you been?”

“I have been well, my Father,” Yixing replied, because it was the only acceptable answer.

“That is good, that is good.” The whole exchange of pleasantries was scripted and well-rehearsed, and the actors performed well even without an audience. “I have a special task for you. I believe you will be able to fulfill my wishes.”

“Yes, of course, my Father. Thank you for entrusting such a task on me.” The words tasted like dirt, but the politeness rolled off Yixing's tongue and flowed from his lips smoothly and naturally.

“My newest little pet, he truly is a gem. At first glance, there's nothing special of him, but really, he is just a rough jewel waiting to be carved. It is so much fun to do so, and the taste of fire in his veins is so tantalizing. But there is one problem: he has yet to shed a single tear. I've tried so many different ways and have failed time and time again. I am intrigued, and I will admit shamelessly that I am even a little lost. So here, my dear son, is where you will be needed.” Yixing clenched his jaw and kept his eyes downward, boring a hole into the ground.

“I will still need to see my little Xiumin every now and then, but for all other times, I will give him to you. Do whatever you want, take however much time you need, let your imagination and thoughts run wild! But I want to find his tears in the urn. Will you fail me, or will you solve this great challenge?”

“I will never fail you, my Father.”

“Good, good. Of course you won't.” Because that would never be allowed. “Although, I do have an idea that I feel is plausible. Perhaps you will try it first?”

“Yes, my father,” Yixing answered.

“Love is powerful, is it not?” He didn't wait for a reply; Yixing doubted he would know what to say. “Perhaps you can have my pet love you and then break his heart -- shatter it -- in the end. I think it will be interesting.”

“Yes, my father.”

“You may leave now.”

Prince Yixing took a detour on the way back to his palace. He never understood his father and never really agreed with the politics of the empire, but this? Was he really supposed to toy with the human, like a cat and its prey, before destroying him to be offered to the Emperor? And if he failed to do so, there was no doubt what awaited Yixing: death. Or maybe exile, if his father felt merciful.

He groaned and ignored the looks that passing Sirens sent him.

Why him? Why love? Did his father know about-

“Brother, are you okay?”

Yixing lifted his head and spun around. “Luhan?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was a sunny afternoon, a little too warm to be comfortable in the casual formal jacket Junmyeon was wearing. Nervousness was etched into his handsome face as he paced in the small park. He took out his phone to check the time and then pushed up his sleeves to double check the time with his expensive watch. It was 2:29 and if Kyungsoo was punctual, he would arrive in approximately . . .

“You look nervous.”

Junmyeon jumped, literally shaking as he whipped around. “Oh my g- Ah, yeah, hi Kyungsoo!” he greeted brightly. “And please don't scare me like that,” he added with a wry smile.

Kyungsoo exhaled loudly to pass for a laugh and folded his arms. “Well . . .?” he asked, eyebrow raised expectantly.

“Umm, yeah,” Junmyeon stammered. “You said you're a singer, right?” The other nodded. “So, do you wanna go to a noraebang?”

Kyungsoo shrugged. “Sure, why not?” It wasn't that exciting of a first date, especially if it was only the two of them, but he didn't expect much. “Is it just the two of us?” he still asked.

“Do you want me to call some friends?” came the eager reply.

He shrugged again.

Luckily for him, Junmyeon seemed to really like the sound of his own voice and wouldn't shut up even to take a quick breath. On the short walk from the park to the nearest noraebang, Kyungsoo learned that Junmyeon had just turned twenty and was excited about being able to drink legally. And that he liked ballet but was more obsessed with puppies. And that he loved chicken too, but only the fried type. And that he was the class president from elementary school to high school. And that he's actually really shy.

When they entered their room and he finally stopped, Kyungsoo asked, “Aren't you going to invite more people?” He knew he was being a bit rude and the boy already seemed nervous enough, but Kyungsoo was a sadist of some sort and really enjoyed his new-found power.

Junmyeon hid his annoyance at the request and excused himself to the side before pulling out his phone. Scrolling through his contacts, he thought about who to call. Thinking YOLO, he pressed number one on speed dial. “Hyung,” he whined into the speaker while carefully studying Kyungsoo's reaction.

“What is it?”

“Do you want to come sing with my new friend and I?” he asked. Kyungsoo had sat down and was choosing songs with a disinterested gaze.

“Good job for using the right grammar.”

Junmyeon rolled his eyes. “Thanks, but please? This is harder than I expected.”

“I'd love to.” He could imagine the serious and patronizing look Jongdae probably had as he said that. “But I actually have work.”

“But-”

“Call Sehunnie and good luck!”

“I don't have any friends,” Junmyeon whined across the room to Kyungsoo.

“I thought you said your friends all think you're an amazing person!”

Junmyeon sighed and turned back to his phone, calling the only other person he would be willing to sing with. “Hey, S-”

“I'm really busy right now, okay?”

He turned around to see if Kyungsoo was still searching through the song list and found that he was also on his phone. “I really need you, Sehunnie.” Junmyeon pouted, even though only the wall could see. “The guy doesn't find me interesting enough.”

Sehun's annoying laugh traveled from the speaker to Junmyeon's ear. “Well, guess who's problem that is?"

"Sehun!" Junmyeon cried, voice dripping with desperation.

The other sighed. "I wasn't going to tell you until after, but I'm getting ready to go on a date right now.”

“We can have a double date!” Junmyeon exclaimed excitedly.

“Hell no!”

“Hell yes!”

I hope the part with Yixing and Suho made sense...it's kind of weird >_<

And get ready for some taohun and layhan next chapter~