“Where’s Taemin?” Eunhyuk asked a random person for the fourteenth time that day.

Random person #14 happened to be Kevin. “I dunno, Prince! Hey, why don’t you take Donghae on a walk or something today, actually?”

“You mean like…a stroll on the beach?”

“Yuck, no, not the beach, he’d get sand all up in his luscious hair. I spent the entire morning washing it out for him, you know! Geez, please have some common sense, Prince.”

“Have some respect, peon!” Eunhyuk wailed and ran off to locate Donghae.

Kevin shrugged and turned back to brushing down the horses with Henry.

“You know, I wish I had a horse sometimes, Henry.”

The stable boy grinned and let Kevin pet his own horse, Steve. “But being able to fly is pretty sweet!”

“You think so?”

“Yeah! There are a lot of places you can’t use horses for, but if you can fly then you can pretty much go wherever you want. It’s super cool!”

“Aw, thanks Henry!” Kevin cooed, eyes shining. “This is why you’re my best friend!”

Both sighed, savoring the moment. Of friendship.

“Kiseop is such a cute name!” Kevin broke the silence not five seconds later. “It’s like…Kis…eop. Eop. Up, up, puppies…!”

Henry’s face brightened with an epiphany. “It’s like popping SHINee bubbles!”

“SHINee bubbles? Like…Keyp? Jonghyunp?”

“Onewb, Minhop, Taeminp.”

“…”

“…”

***

Taemin was hiding from Eunhyuk behind a tree. This was all going very well and dandy until the tree apparently lost its patience and started talking to him.

“Yo,” the tree said.

Taemin nearly shrieked and gave away his position. “DID YOU JUST TALK TO ME WHY WHAT HOW DID YOU DO THAT YOU ARE A TREE!”

(“You shouldn’t do that,” Joon’s voice echoed from the sky.)

The tree rustled a bit (it was shaking its head exasperatedly, but Taemin couldn’t tell that). “You’ve been crouched at my trunk for the better part of the last two hours. It’s getting ticklish and aren’t you tired yet?”

Taemin suspended his disbelief for the time being. “I am on a very covert mission!” he insisted. “It is crucial that I avoid being seen by Prince Eunhyuk so that I can make it to Minho’s window without being stopped and dragged off in another direction. Like a video game, where you’re trying to get somewhere but you gotta avoid the random Pokémon jumping out of the grass because then you’ll never reach where you want to go in time.”

“Video games?!” Kyuhyun, who happened to be taking a stroll with his significant other, exclaimed. “Oh, hi Taemin. Wait, why are you behind a tree?”

“I think he’s hiding from someone,” said Sungmin.

“He’s hiding from Prince Eunhyuk,” the tree helpfully supplied.

“Why hello Kibum.” Kyuhyun waved at the tree. “Your needles are looking fine for it being summer and not the winter that you love. Why are you here? Don’t you usually migrate during the summer?”

They all ignored him, except for Kibum the pine tree who gave him an “are you serious right now” look.

“Why would you be hiding from Eunhyuk, Taemin?” Sungmin asked. “I thought you guys were OTL’s?”

Taemin looked at him with wide eyes. “Um…what’s an OTL?”

“One True Love’s; Kyuhyun and I are OTL’s.” Here, the two shared a gooey moment so sugary Kibum started leaking sap to force the glucose out of his system.

“What, no, Eunhyuk isn’t my one true love—”

“You mean One True Love!”

“… Well he isn’t my One True Love, okay?”

Kyuhyun looked confused. “But Eunhyuk insists…?”

“I’m really thankful that you guys offered to let me stay here,” Taemin sighed, “but seriously, I have no idea why Eunhyuk is chasing me everywhere. And as I was saying, I’m already in love with someone else.”

The three others took to this like a bunch of schoolgirls clawing at a piece of gossip. “OMIGAWD, WHO???!!1”

Taemin blushed and fidgeted. “No, omigawd, I can’t!”

They shook him, giggling. “Omigawd, but you HAVE to tell us!”

“Promise you won’t tell?”

“Cross our hearts and hope to die!”

“Omigawd I can’t believe I’m saying it…I…I have a crush on Minho…!”

“What, NO WAI!!!1!!” Sungmin giggled. By this point Kyuhyun and Kibum seemed to have snapped out of it and were shuddering, trying to physically rub the valley-girl off of them.

“You gotta promise you won’t tell a soul, okay???”

“I promise you, Taeminnie! Omigawd!”

Meanwhile and unbeknownst to them, Minho watched all of these proceedings from his window.

***

While Taemin was singing his woes, Eunhyuk found Donghae looking sort of lost hanging around Yunho who didn’t really know what he was doing either. He found the confused look to be an endearing one on Donghae, and almost didn’t help him in favor of sitting and watching him be confused.

But unlike Taemin, Eunhyuk’s patience was slim to none, and his charitable ninja heart just could not take seeing his guests not knowing what to do on his lands. He made his presence known by running over and waving wildly.

“Hey Donghae, Yunho!” Donghae’s face lit up when he saw the prince.

“Oh thank Siwon you’re here,” Yunho said. “Do you know where Jaejoong’s at?”

Eunhyuk shrugged and pointed in the direction he came from. “Last I saw, he was trying to make Changmin take a bath since he’s been refusing to go near a tub for so long. I told him we had showers.”

Yunho looked mightily relieved. “Thanks, man. We were just about to swim around that lighthouse over there because Donghae thought the docks were that way and that’s the only landmark I remember.”

“How do you know what Donghae thinks?”

“I speak the language of the fish,” Yunho said vaguely and made interpretive gestures as he shuffled away. Like a crab.

“Yeah, you shuffle away like a crab,” Eunhyuk muttered when Yunho was out of earshot.

Donghae smiled at him with laughing eyes. Then his eyes gained sentience and made hearts at Eunhyuk, but obviously the prince couldn’t tell that so he just admired the man’s smile.

“C’mon Donghae, let me take you on an adventure!”

This apparently made Donghae so happy that he flung himself at the prince and gave him a crushing hug.

So Donghae followed Eunhyuk as they made an epic journey back to the main gate, because they wouldn’t actually be able to go anywhere if they just started walking from where they were. Watching Donghae frolic and skip around gave Eunhyuk fuzzy feelings in his heart. They were similar to the fuzzy feelings he got the first time he watched a particularly touching music video of his OTP, and all he wanted to do was throw his arms around him and cuddle and squeal for an indeterminate amount of time.

But he restrained himself because, well, what would his OTL think if he saw him in the arms of another man? It would be scandalous! He’d lose all his chances!

Kyuhyun and Sungmin breezed past them on the way, exuding giggly loviness and hearts. A random bystander started shrieking “SO MANY FEEEEEELS!!!! ASDFJKL;” and spontaneously combusted.

“Killed by the very ecstasy of love!” Eli exclaimed, clutching his heart all dramatic-like.

Eunhyuk let Donghae wander wherever he was interested as he talked at him. Everything from breakfast foods to robots to pandas to his prior adventures; Donghae was enthusiastic but only half listening because he kept getting distracted by butterflies and nice scenery. Kevin probably rubbed off on him for all the time that they spent together. The prince allowed this because it wasn’t like it was Donghae’s fault, even if he couldn’t understand what was so interesting about pebbles.

Somehow, they ended up at the foot of a volcano. But it was a dormant volcano, so it was okay.

Or at least, it was okay until Eunhyuk realized that Donghae was nowhere to be found.

“Oh noes!” he wailed. “What ever will I do?”

Then, a column of flame shot up from an opening in a cluster of tree a ways away. Eunhyuk immediately started toward the source, because he figured that maybe Donghae had been attracted to the brightness or something.

He broke into a run and burst into the clearing to find Donghae in the clutches of…a walrus!!!

Wait.

A walrus?

“I am Bob, the fire-breathing walrus!” the walrus boasted. “I inhabit the woods because I am unlike other walruses!”

“DID YOU READ MY MIND?!” Eunhyuk screamed and pointed accusingly.

“Uhh—” Bob looked confused.

“I mean—unhand my friend!”

“No!”

Eunhyuk looked into Donghae’s frightened eyes and a righteous sort of fury consumed his soul. “Do it or I’ll cut you with my sharp thing!” he cried and brandished his sword.

The walrus reeled back, dropping Donghae immediately. “DON’T KILL ME PLEASE!”

The prince caught Donghae when he ran back to him, still eying the fire-breathing walrus warily.

“I have—a family! Of four! My wife just had a miscarriage and my oldest son is gravely ill and can only be cured by a plant only found at the very top of this volcano! If I die before my quest is over, my precious son will be no more!” Bob swooned and heaved spectacularly. “You gotta believe me! Besides, this blubber is no good for eating! Think of the calories! Think of how fattening I would be! Please! I won’t do it again, promise!”

While the walrus was sobbing, the duo made their sneaky getaway.

“Are you okay?” Eunhyuk breathed once they were a safe distance away, checking Donghae for bruises or burns.

Donghae nodded and gave the prince a breathtaking smile, hugging him tightly. Eunhyuk wondered why his heart was beating so hard because of it.

He chalked it up to adrenaline rush after facing that terrifying walrus.

----------------------------

A/N: ...I have no excuses. ANYWAY, the lovely colordrowned drew some fanart for this fic!

Onew breaking Minho's table

The first appearance of Eli

Check out her fics too, if you like SHINee (especially 2min)!

So this story will be wrapping up in around 2 to 3 chapters. Just a heads up!