Molten sunlight streamed through the windows when at last the púca and the qilin awoke; it was late into the afternoon. They had spent many of the hours after the (embarrassing) explanation of how Daesung came to rescue TOP simply learning of one another. Stories of home and family had caused the hours to melt away, the stars fading into dawn as they talked themselves to sleep. Seunghyun sighed softly at the feeling of warm that seemed to radiate along his right side; it felt as though the sun itself had slipped beneath the coverlets of his bed. Rolling onto his side, he opened his eyes and found Daesung’s fine features unexpectedly close. When they had fallen asleep to one another’s whispered tales, Daesung had been on the far edge of the bed, as though he were afraid of touching the other man. But now they were pressed close: hip to hip and shoulder to shoulder.

Seunghyun let out a slow breath.

In the gentle glow of the witch lights and moonlight, Daesung had been ethereally beautiful. His skin had seemed to radiate warmth from within, and the silver shimmer of his hair had been like woven moonlight. But in his natural element – in the light of the mother sun – Daesung was incandescent. His bronze skin was like perfectly polished metal, yet it had a silken undertone that made the púca want to his fingers along the strong shape of the man’s jaw. And his hair, cast in the golden glow of the late daylight, seemed to change color as the faint wisp of TOP’s breath disturbed it, making it sparkle and glimmer. But perhaps most beautiful of all was the way the qirin’s eyes flickered open: slowly, reluctantly parting with dreams in favor of facing the remnant of the day. The prince felt his lips curve into a smile at the way Daesung’s eyes went wide when he realized how very close they were; close enough to kiss. “Good morning,” Seunghyun murmured.

Wrinkling his nose, the qilin remained pressed against the púca, even as his skin was stained with an undertone of rose along his cheeks. “I think you mean afternoon,” Daesung breathed. He then fought back a yawn, pressing his hand against his mouth to hide the motion. Then, blearily, he blinked up at Seunghyun, which only served to make the man smile gently. “Seunghyun?”

“Hm?” Reaching over, the prince pushed a bit of the qilin’s shaggy hair behind his ear. The texture of Daesung’s hair was surprisingly slick, as though it truly were silver rather than hair; Seunghyun wanted to continue running his fingers through the strands to fully take in the singular sensation. When Daesung nuzzled lightly into his touch, TOP could not help but preen a little.

“…I’m hungry.”

TOP laughed. “Then let’s go get you something to eat.”

Once they were respectably dressed, the púca guided his guest to the dining hall. Dinner had only just begun to appear on the tables, which of course meant the four youngest princes were all present – and acting as though they had not eaten in weeks. Daesung stopped a bit short at the sight of the four youngest princes: He had expected them to be púca like Seunghyun, but their auras were too different to indicate shared magics. The youngest prince was the first to notice them. He had softer features – more reminiscent of his mother – but a distinctly haughty expression that made him seem more like an heir than lastborn. His dark sapphire hair hung in his face, but it shone in the light like the surface of a river in the noonday sun. One of his finely shaped eyebrows arched, and he lightly tapped the shoulder of the boisterous blond at his side. “Jackson, our brother has brought someone with him.”

Immediately, the blond gancanagh turned – his dark eyes wide. He let his gaze sweep lightly over Daesung’s form before a wide, cheeky grin turned his lips. “A hot someone,” the young man agreed.

Across the table from him, a large brunette guffawed and reached over to push Jackson back into his seat. “Put your eyes back into your head,” he teased. “Just because he’s new doesn’t mean you get to flirt with him!”

“Why not?” Jackson stuck his bottom lip out in an overdramatic pout. He even attempted to flutter his eyelashes, which just made his brothers roll their eyes at him.

“Because you’re a moron,” the brunette and the youngest answered simultaneously. They both then shared a grin over the table, causing the fourth – and heretofore silent – brother to smirk a little. Daesung turned his attention to the silent brother, and he was somewhat surprised. He had the same full cheeks as the brunette and the youngest, but there was a predatory air to him that the other two lacked. Perhaps it was the feline curve of his lips or the intensity of his gaze that reminded him so much of Seunghyun, but it was clear which of the four was most like TOP in appearance. The only very obvious difference between Seunghyun and his next youngest brother was the vivid purple shade of the cat sith’s hair.

“Behave yourselves,” TOP all but growled, his aura crackling with possessive energy as he towered over the table. Jackson dropped back into his seat. “This is King Daesung, Leader of the Qilin and one of the Four Rules of the East. Respect him or else I will cut out your tongues.”

Unable to help himself, Jackson stuck his tongue out at Seunghyun. “You’re no fun, TOP. How can you bring someone so pretty over and then tell me to behave? That’s like making a cake to just look at it!”

Reaching across the table, the purple-haired brother smacked Jackson’s head. “Shut up.” He then turned his intense, dark eyes on Daesung. “I’m Leo. That’s Jackson, Seamus, and Midir.”

The brawny brunette – Midir – grinned widely at the qilin. “What’s a qilin?” His eyes shone with earnest curiosity as he gazed up at the king, who was fighting back a smile at the nearly childlike joy the man radiated.

“I am,” he teased lightly, echoing the explanation he had given Seunghyun seemingly lifetimes ago. “The inhabitants of this island call us unicorns.”

Seamus flipped his blue hair out of his eyes and regarded Daesung. “Are you able to shapeshift, like Midir, Leo, and TOP?”

Daesung chuckled and nodded. “I can shift, yes. In fact, when I met your brother, I was in my other form.” He moved to sit between Midir and Leo, gently elbowing them apart so he could fit between them.

Midir happily wiggled in his seat as he turned to regard the púca as he sat across from Daesung. “How did you meet him, TOP? What does he look like?”

A flush rose across Seunghyun’s cheeks at the memory of Daesung’s explanation; his younger brothers were the last people he would tell about his al status drawing the qilin to his aid. But, he could not leave them utterly bereft of details. “I fell into a trap and was pierced by an iron barb. While I was running away, Daesung came to my rescue.” He paused in filling his plate in order to look over at the qilin. “It was as though moonlight and starlight had taken on the body of the most delicate horse I had ever seen, and from his forehead rose a single spire – a horn the perfect white of moonstone.”

Daesung ducked his head at the description; it was a far more poetic depiction than he himself would ever have given. “When I found your brother, I offered him my aid. I healed him and sent the hunting hounds off on another track. In return, he brought me here to heal and to help me get back home.” Before Midir could even begin to ask the question Daesung knew was coming, the qilin continued, “I am from the far Eastern lands, and I need to return home. My own brothers are likely worried to death, since I was kidnapped.”

Jackson’s eyes lit up. “You have brothers too?”

The qilin smiled to himself; it was clear which parent Midir and Jackson took after, and it certainly was not their mercurial father. “Yes. Jongup and Hoseok, and I have an adopted brother from China named Yixing.” He shrugged a little. “There are at least two hundred qilin in the herd, though, and I consider each of them my family as well.”

Even Seamus seemed impressed by those numbers – his eyebrow arching elegantly once more. “However do you keep track of so many?”

Daesung laughed easily and filled his plate with nearly as much food as Midir was packing down. “Oh, there’s a structure to the madness. I have a second in command and a committee of advisors that are in charge of individual units in the herd. My primary job is to protect the herd, deal with the other Xian, and officiate ceremonies. Nothing too exciting.”

“Sounds like more work than Jaejoong does,” Jackson mused before taking a large bite of turbot. “His only job will be making sure the family line continues while he sits on the throne. And doing lots of bootlicking to the higher kingdoms.”

Leo saw fit to smack Jackson’s head yet again, though it was a considerably longer stretch with the seating arrangements having shifted. “Shut up, Jackson.”

As the brothers fell into eating, the subject of succession and kingly duties fell by the wayside. But, TOP could not help wondering what royal expectations the qilin had of Daesung. Was he, like Jaejoong, nothing more than another rung in the dynastic ladder? And, more importantly, why did the púca care so much about the answer? It was not as though he had any claim on Daesung’s affections or any right to be jealous of a hypothetical qilin queen. He was a prince with obligations and duties that would likely keep him rooted in Erin until he faded into the west, as his people did at the end of their lives. Yet, the question continued to burn at him.

“Daesung, would you like to go for a run?” TOP asked even as the qilin finished packing away his third plate for the evening.

The Easterner looked up with a smile even as he daintily wiped off the corner of his mouth. “I’d love to, Seunghyun.”

Like a pack of dogs who had caught sight of a bone, Midir, Jackson, and Seamus all whipped their heads towards Daesung. Even Leo looked over – albeit more slowly – and raised an eyebrow. “Seunghyun?” Midir asked. “Who’s that?”

“Me,” the púca grumbled. “It’s a nickname Daesung gave me.”

“I want a nickname!” Midir cried, wiggling in his seat once more. He turned to Daesung with a wide grin. “Can I have a nickname too?”

“I will think of one for you all later,” Daesung promised, reaching over to poke Midir’s cheek. “I promise to not leave until you all have one.”

Seunghyun – while his brothers cheered – rose and stepped away from the table. He quickly shifted into his equine form and gave his large head a toss. Laughing, his qilin companion stood and moved over to run a hand down the strong arch of TOP’s neck. “You just want to show off, don’t you?” he teased. But then, with a playful roll of his eyes, the qilin shifted as well. Standing side by side, they were an even more striking pair: dichotomy in action. The younger princes were all enthralled by the unique beauty of Daesung’s equine form, and the king whickered his amusement at their stunned expressions. He supposed they had not expected Seunghyun’s description to be even close to accurate and had been instead imagining some pathetic little pony. And while Daesung was not as confident as some of his kin, he did know he was a rather fetching specimen.

With a flick of his tail, the púca whirled and lead the Xian out of the dining hall. The pair charged out into the gathering gloom of the dusk: neither rushing nor racing as they moved lightly along the flower-dotted trail. They were too caught in the beauty of moving together – the push and pull of their breathing, the occasional touch of their sides, the glance of the other from the corner of the eye – to worry about where they were going or how fast they got there. Seunghyun wanted to run to the ends of the earth with Daesung at his side; he thought that together they could perhaps catch the stars as they fell from the summer sky. For Daesung, it was only too easy to imagine showing TOP his home and how easily the handsome púca would fit in among his herd. He could see them racing through the meadows, chasing each other with abandon as the cherry blossoms fell, before collapsing together in the long grasses to watch the stars as they flickered to life in the sky. His brothers would adore the brunette (and probably overwhelm him with their cheerful enthusiasm), and the herd would welcome him with open arms. After all, it would keep the mares from complaining that their king needed a strong spouse at his side to rule the qilin and keep the other three great rulers in line. And it was not as though his dynasty would be threatened by him taking a male consort. Daesung thought it was a pretty dream, even if it was so very unlikely. After all, why would the púca chose to leave his family and home to join a stranger in a land lifetimes away from everything he knew?

Evening was fully fallen by the time the prince and the object of his growing affections returned to the palace. A messenger was awaiting them, summoning them yet again to attend on the king and queen. The qilin and púca shared a look before simply trotting down the halls, figuring it was much faster than walking about in their human forms. When at last they arrived at the small private court, Daesung and TOP shifted – it seemed the polite thing to do. But even as they walked into the room together, the energy that had fissioned between them as they ran still sizzled between their bodies. Every breath Daesung took seemed to fill the Fae’s lungs, and each of Seunghyun’s gestures seemed to make the muscles in the qilin’s body heat with the warmth of movement. Somehow, between the stars and summer grasses, it was as though they had become a single being.

The queen glanced between them with a toothy smile even as the younger princes all fought to make room for Daesung – each wanting the handsome king to sit beside them. After a bit of silent wrestling, it was finally determined that Daesung would sit between Seamus and Leo, while TOP was banished to a lonely chair near the fire. Jackson and Midir playfully whined over their fate as they rolled across the floor. “Please forgive my three eldest,” the queen said gently as she resumed her seat. “They are out on business, otherwise they too would be here to greet you.”

Daesung smiled easily. “I understand. In a kingdom, it seems business waits for no one.” He brushed a bit of his silvery hair out of his eyes. “Has there been some development in my situation?”

“Yes,” the king said, smiling a bit. “The selkie have agreed to take you to your homeland. A group of them have a ship – apparently they got bored with just swimming – and want to undertake the adventure to your kingdom.”

“Excellent!” Daesung’s heart gave an unexpected lurch. “How soon will we be leaving?”

“According to their captain, they will be ready to leave at dawn. Is that acceptable?”

Daesung’s smile remained fixed in place, even as he snuck a subconscious glance at TOP. “Yes, that will be perfect. Thank you for all of the effort you have put into returning me to my people. I will be eternally grateful for your aid.”

“It is our pleasure, Daesung,” the queen said gently. “Though if you wish to repay us, I hope an alliance between our peoples can be forged. Your gifts with healing iron sickness would greatly aid us, and I am certain there are many things our court could offer you as well.”

“-our nicknames,” Jackson was in the midst of saying when Seunghyun came barreling out into the hallway.

“You promised to tell us before you left,” Midir agreed. “And if you leave too early, we might not be able to say goodbye to you.”

Daesung chuckled gently even as TOP came to a stop just behind his shoulder. The púca desperately wanted to sweep the qilin into his arms and rush away with him, if only so he could ask about traveling with him that much sooner. But, somehow he imagined his brothers would only chase them down. “Well,” Daesung mused, “I was thinking that Seamus sounded a lot like a name among our people: Sehun.”

The ondine flicked his hair out of his eyes. “Sehun. I like that.” He looked just a touch smug to be selected first, which just made TOP roll his eyes a little.

“And Leo, I would call you Taekwoon.” The cat sith smiled a little, his lips curling in decided pleasure. He liked the strength of the name and the way it seemed to roll off Daesung’s tongue. “Midir would be Minho.”

“Epic!” He bumped his fist against Seamus’ – the youngest humoring the enthused elder. “That’s such a cool name. You’re going to have to write these down in your language before you go, so we can see how they look. I bet they look amazing.”

“Yeah!” Jackson agreed. And then he turned his wide eyes on Daesung. “What about me? What’s my name?”

The qilin shook his head a little. “I thought for someone as unique as you, I’d give you something a little different. My brother Yixing is actually from China – my father adopted him from a herd there that was unable to care from him. They have a different language from us, and I thought a name from his people would suit you well: Jia Er.”

“Jia Er,” Jackson repeated thoughtfully. “So basically you’re saying I am the special one and your favorite?”

Reaching over, Leo smacked the back of the gancanagh’s head. “Shut up, Jackson.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re being rude.”

“Am not!”

“Yes you are,” TOP cut in. “Now, if you are done badgering my guest, I need to help him pack for his journey home.” Without waiting to hear his brother’s replies, Seunghyun caught the qilin by the elbow and started for their shared room.  

Shut in the silence of his room once more, TOP became acutely aware of a myriad of details: from the soft scent of Daesung to the way the flickering witch lights made the qilin’s hair seem to glow. He cleared his throat. “Traveling with the selkies, you should at least make it home quickly,” he said, palms suddenly becoming slick as his nervousness shot towards the stars. Moving towards his closet, he began to pull out some of his larger shirts. “We can see that you have enough to make it in relative comfort.”

Daesung watched the man work with an unprecedented furor as he selected shirts, pants, socks, undergarments, and even a couple of coats. These were all dumped on the bed before TOP selected an oiled knapsack to stuff the items into – pausing only once when he realized that he needed to roll the pieces instead of fold them in order to make them fit. When he had finished, Daesung moved over to place a hand lightly on his shoulder. “Thank you, Seunghyun.”

The man stiffened at the gentle touch. “For what?”

Hesitating, Daesung his bottom lip. “Taking care of me and seeing to my happiness. You are very generous and kind.” His head came to rest on the back of the púca’s shoulder. “I will miss you.”

“You don’t have to miss me,” the brunette murmured. “I… could go with you, if you would have me.” 

The Xian felt his breath catch at the words that spilled out of Seunghyun’s mouth. “What about your family and your duties here?” 

Turning, the púca tentatively slipped his arms around Daesung’s waist. He felt brazen in the motion – there had only been the simmer of attraction between them – but their time together was so limited. If he was not bold enough to act, how could he ever hope to keep the beautiful qilin in his life? “Daesung, I have seven brothers. My few obligations could easily be handled by them – happily so. It would give Midir something to do with his time, since he has very few responsibilities and a great penchant for mischief.” He smiled just a little. “And I would gladly follow you wherever you might lead me. Home and family do not have to just be here among the hills of Erin. I hope – I hope that I could have a home with you as well.”

It took the brunette a moment to realize that the qilin was kissing him – it happened so fast. Their lips met in a gentle contact that felt more like the caress of a wandering summer breeze than the first step towards a lifetime together. And yet, there in the pressure of warm skin against warm skin, there was the burn of potential and a thousand unwhispered wishes for a life spent learning to love each other. Seunghyun tightened his arms about Daesung’s waist, drawing him even closer as the kiss was prolonged. When the king drew back, he smiled up at the púca, his eyes disappearing into beautiful little crescents, before he breathed, “I would gladly show you my home. Leaving you here would be a mistake, I think, because I feel you are the partner I’ve sought all my life. Your heart is my home.”

A thrill of perfect happiness shot through the Fae’s body. His feelings – tremulous and tender though they were – were returned. There were no words for the elation that seemed to wind itself through his very veins, embedding itself into his very being. This, he thought, was the true meaning of joy: to find a love reflected. With a whoop of delight, he tightened his grip around Daesung further and began to swing the man around in a circle – laughing with abandon. Daesung snorted at the ridiculousness of the situation, but even so he continued to grin at the love struck brunette. “Then I am going to need another bag,” Seunghyun declared, “or three… Do you suppose the captain would object to a few pieces of furniture coming along as well?” Daesung just laughed and laughed; he had never been so happy in all his life. 

---

It's finished! Hallelujah! Someday when I have time there will be a sequel where Seunghyun gets to meet Daesung's family. Basically that is going to be amazing and full of so many kpop unicorns. Also, in case you are wondering (I know you are), Do Kyungsoo is the selkie captain. And he's amazing. Also, Jackson is a type of Fae that basically just...seduces everything. I thought it was fitting considering his flirty personality. Mino can shift into a giant bear, and that's most of what his powers do. 

I had fun writing this, and I hope that you enjoyed reading this fic! Thank you again to rosefangedlion and silven-chan for being the inspiration behind this fic. You both are wonderful, and I <3 you.