A/N: Not proofread yet, some fluff, some torture...proceed with caution

A silhouette crept closer to the gate of the Kingdom of Aqua, dragging a large, heavy sack behind him...

“Who goes there?” screamed a Sage, an Aqua soldier, as he raised his hand and create a large water orb, ready to attack. The silhouette chuckled as he raised his own hand, and with a snap of his fingers, the water orb on the Sage hand disappeared. The soldier stared at him, flabbergasted; he looked around at his fellow soldiers, who all tried to attack the intruder, but everyone failed to conjure even the simplest water magic.

“Don’t waste your magic on me, because it’s useless. I’m doing your King a favor, and he’s expecting me”

The silhouette let his hood down, revealing a fair skin and a smile that curved upwards at the end...

“Tell the King that Jongdae is back, and that I’m bringing with me Luhan, alive and well”

The sack twitched before a faint sob escaped from the inside of the sack...

***

“YOU.MADE.ME.WORRY! WHAT IF I’M ALONE AND I CAN’T SAVE YOU?”

Kyungsoo smiled softly at the red-faced Terra Prince, whose face is wet with tears that he doesn’t bother to wipe away. He has been listening about how he apparently falls from the Heaven and almost hit the ground head on if it wasn’t for Jaehwan’s magic, Jongin who’s willing to be Jaehwan’s magic victim, and Taekwoon who apparently pulls them away from the fog to the safety. Kyungsoo smiled as he slowly walked close to Jaehwan, hugging the smallest Terra Prince.

Jaehwan is in no way small, he’s at least a head taller than Kyungsoo, but he’s the smallest amongst the Terra Princes, so that’s that, Kyungsoo thought with a smile...

“Thank you, Jaehwan, for everything. I’m glad that you’re here. I’m glad that you think ahead and brought all these people here. I – I’m glad I can always count on you”

Jaehwan sighed softly before his arms slithered around Kyungsoo’s small frame, hugging him back. “You know I always do, Kyungsoo, always do and always will. But you have to tell me what happened. You, of all people, should always can enter and exit this place with no problem. Don’t you dare telling me nothing is wrong”

Kyungsoo thought long and hard, thick brows knitted together...

“I was not in a great condition, physically and mentally, before I slept, yes, but...”

“But?”

Kyungsoo inhaled deeply, closing his eyes, trying to remember something very important...

There’s no way out…

You’re never going out of here…

You’re mine forever…

Kyungsoo you’re mine forever…

Kyungsoo’s eyes flew open; he almost tripped on his own feet and falls backwards if not for Jaehwan’s hands holding him steady. The noise attracts the attention of the other two in the area; Jongin and Taekwoon had decided that it will be better if they left the two to talk first, because they might have stuff that outsiders like Jongin and Taekwoon shouldn’t listen in. The two were deep in conversation when they heard the noise, and at the sight of swaying Kyungsoo, Jongin got up on his feet, worried. Taekwoon stopped him, whispering a ‘we should wait’, and Jongin plopped back to the spot beside Taekwoon, eyes burning.

“Someone tries to stop me from coming here. I...it was dark...I was in some kind of a corridor...and I heard a voice telling me that I’ll never go out of there, that I’m his forever...”

“Probably it’s the same reason that makes fog appeared here. I have never seen it before, but it’s getting thicker as time passed. It was barely there when I arrived with Taekwoon, but now...”

Kyungsoo frowned as he bit his lower lips nervously, eyes scanning the perimeter; the fog is really getting thicker and denser as they talked...

Someone is trying to tresspass the Land of Dream, but who?

“Look, Kyungsoo. We need to talk a bit, all of us, and then I’ll leave you with Stella King. Don’t worry, Taekwoon and I will still be around, just in case”

Kyungsoo nodded softly, plopping down on the grass as Jaehwan went to call the other two. He lied down, still biting his lower lips, something he had done since small when he has something heavy weighing his mind, which always alerted his personal Sage if anything is wrong. Kyungsoo sighed loudly; what had happened to Chanyeol? Did he arrived safely at Stella? What about Luhan?

“Something on my Prince’s mind?”

At the low, husky voice, Kyungsoo found a smile slowly creeping up his face, beckoning the other to sit beside him...

“Prince Jaehwan said something about discussing something first, all four of us”

Kyungsoo sat up when Jongin plopped next to him, a blush gracing his cheeks as he turned to face the tanned King, nodding as he mumbled something that sounded like ‘we should’, but his hands slowly and silently snaking up to touch the cheeks in front him. Jongin smiled; he took the smaller’s hand into his, placing it on his cheek. “You still think I’m one of Prince Jaehwan’s magic, aren’t you my Prince?”

“I...I can’t believe you’re here, my King. I...”

His words turned incoherent as Kyungsoo slowly turned red, tears slowly forming on his eyes...

“I’m glad you’re here, my King. It’s never in my imagination to see my King again after...”

Jongin brushed the tears away, pulling the prince closer in his embrace, hugging him tightly. Kyungsoo still smelt like soft lemon, warm and sweet even in his dream, and Jongin felt a tinge of happiness in his heart; because this Kyungsoo is smiling, because this Kyungsoo doesn’t look like his world is ending, because this Kyungsoo doesn’t disappear in the blink of an eye and Jongin has some time to relish in the scent, the warmth of this Kyungsoo.

“I will always be wherever you want me, my Prince”

“Is that a promise, my King? Or is it just an empty word to relief this heart from the anguish of reality?”

“I swear it on my Kingdom, my Prince. Call me here if you need me. Send me a letter if you want. Come to my castle when you’re free. The door’s always open for you”

Kyungsoo felt a blush burning his face; he’s torn between wanting to jump with joy, or just sit there grinning like an idiot so deeply in love. He has been dreaming of hearing those words spoken by someone to him; maybe it was all the performance he watched with his Father, and surprisingly, Junmyeon, that belted out the words of love that made his heart longed to hear those words whispered to him.

Because no one ever spoke to him in such loving words...

Kyungsoo can’t remember where he was born, but he knew it was a small house that is facing the sea. Kyungsoo can’t remember his parent’s face, but he knew his Mother looked exactly like the Queen of Terra, his aunt. Kyungsoo has always been alone in his childhood, because Junmyeon hated him and did nothing to mask his displease towards him. The King, his ‘Father’, was simply too busy to spare him any time, whether he was busy with tactical stuff or busy chasing ladies to spend the night with, and Kyungsoo was beyond lonely. He was told to not tell any single soul that his Mother was the older sister of the King, that he was in fact his nephew and not his son, and no one ever tell him why exactly he has to hide that fact. His days are dull and grey, because he wasn’t allowed to leave the castle, and that dampened his mood more.

Kyungsoo was 9 when the King woke him up one morning, telling him to get ready as it is a very important day. Kyungsoo quickly dressed himself and wash his face before going to the Royal Chamber, asking the King what’s the important event. “We are going to the Kingdom of Stella. I have a very important audience with the Queen of Stella. In the meanwhile, you and Junmyeon can visit around their castle, but don’t go out of the castle”

One look at the dour Junmyeon made Kyungsoo realized that the other doesn’t want anything to do with him, but it’s okay, because finally, for the first time in his life, he’ll be going out of the castle wall. Kyungsoo can’t sit still in the carriage, wide eyes scanning around the view outside the window, and even with Junmyeon smacking him and told him to sit still, he still watched outside with awe, because who knew if this is the last time he’ll ever went out of the castle.

He remembered vividly about how blue Aqua is, and how golden Stella is that day; the memory etched in his brain, never to be forgotten...

He remembered walking around Stella castle mindlessly, alone, when he spotted a small boy wearing a green robe standing at the castle garden, plucking a flower bud from a dying bush. The boy caressed the flower lovingly before going to another bush, which is thrieving and lush, putting the flower bud on one of the stem. Little Kyungsoo’s eyes widen when the flower bud suddenly open, revealing a very pretty flower. His curiosity got the better of him, and he strutted to the castle garden, where the small boy is.

The small boy was still there when he arrived; he was grinning brightly at Kyungsoo, revealing a perfect set of white teeth that made Kyungsoo slightly jealous, because he just lost 2 of his front teeth. "Hello! You're the son of the king of the water place, right?"

"...it's Aqua. And yes, I am. Who are you?"

"I'm Jaehwan, third prince of Terra. You know, that place with a lot of flowers and trees!"

"Third?"

"Yeah, I have two big brothers, and three small brothers!"

Kyungsoo gasped, eyes widen. He fussed quietly; eyes on his tiny arms as he counted his fingers. He never thought of anyone with a family that big. Aqua Castle is huge, but there’s only the King, Junmyeon and him in the castle. He wondered if his life would be happier and less dull if he has smaller siblings, or…well…siblings that loved him unlike Junmyeon.

"My Mother told me that the water kingdom has a prince same age as me. I think that must be you, because the grumpy boy I met earlier must be older than me. He knew a lot of difficult words!"

"So you're 9?"

"Yep! I just turned 9 this summer!"

"I'm 9 too! I'm slightly older, because my birthday is in spring!"

"....I can call you big bro if you want~"

For the first time in a long time, Kyungsoo laughed loudly. Kyungsoo can't even remember if his brother had ever made a joke to him that is not sarcasm or reprimanding him. The Aqua prince stared at the boy in front of him; fluffy hair, slightly big nose, a dazzling smile that reminded Kyungsoo of a warm summer day. A smile that made Kyungsoo smiled back, which is rare to the Aqua prince as of late. Kyungsoo smiled warmly, and the other raised a brow before grinning brightly.

"I know you can smile! I saw you from just now, and you looked like you want to cry!"

"You have been staring at me?"

"Well yeah, between that scary statue and that ugly painting, you're the best to stare at!"

Kyungsoo laughed again; his hands crept up on his tummy as it is getting uncomfortable from too much laughing. Jaehwan joined in his laugh, and not long after, both of them were rolling on the floor laughing from seemingly nothing.

The two prince spent their day lounging around Stella Castle garden; the King of their kingdom, their respective fathers, are in audience with the Queen of Stella. Jaehwan talked about 4 of his brothers, both older and younger, were at the practice field with Stella prince,meanwhile Kyungsoo didn't even know where Junmyeon went to. They sat and talked about almost everything; the season, the games, the studies, war with kingdom of Nix, stars at night, monsters under bed...

They were deep in stories when a group of sweaty boys walked in front of them; Kyungsoo raised his head and saw 6 boys, some older and some younger than him, all holding wooden swords. Jaehwan told him that 4 of them are his brothers, and the other two are the Prince of Stella and his personal soldier.

It was the first time he clasped eyes on someone so breathtaking; the Prince’s skin is golden, body lean with broad shoulders, arms muscly, eyes shining with passion and life…

Kyungsoo didn’t know what he felt that day; upon seeing the Prince of Stella, he wanted to do something, maybe introduce himself, but instead he stood gaping like a fish out of water. He remembered said Prince smiled at him, asking him a question or two, but he can’t remember the questions, because he remembered running away from the place, hiding in Stella library, praying that no one caught him there.

Kyungsoo remembered it was the day he started harboring a deep crush on the neighbouring kingdom’s Prince, even though he is 100% sure the Prince didn’t even know him because he didn’t even introduced himself…

The crush that made Kyungsoo silently stole yesterday’s papers from the King’s table, flipping through in hope to see the Prince’s face again…

Years passed, and Kyungsoo was in the mourning period of the late King when he saw that face in the newspaper; about the neighbouring Kingdom holding a masquerade party for the Prince’s 20th birthday. He hasn’t seen that face for the longest time, only his name appeared most of the time, but that day his picture was included, and it left Kyungsoo breathless again.

He needed to talk to the Prince, even if cost him his life…he needed to at least tell him his name…

‘My name is Kyungsoo. I’m one of the Aqua Princes. Please remember me…’

“Earth to Prince Kyungsoo…”

Kyungsoo snapped out of his memories, blinking rapidly before he registered the view in front of his eyes. A soft chuckle from his side made his head turned; Jongin has a sweet smile on his face, and it warmed Kyungsoo’s heart, making him smiled back. “I can’t read your mind, my Prince, but I can sense you have a lot in your mind right now”

Kyungsoo found himself doing something he never imagined himself doing; he slowly rose from his seat, climbing on Jongin’s lap and buried his face on his shoulder...

The King’s stiffened for a bit before he relaxed, pulling him closer as he placed a soft kiss on Kyungsoo’s temples...

“Chanyeol told me that you always bit your lips hard, to the extent of bleeding, when you have something weighing your mind, and that you will sit on his lap and bury your face on his shoulder when you needed comfort...there’s something heavy in your heart, Kyungsoo? I’m all ears...”

Kyungsoo will decide whether to thank Chanyeol or to punish him later...

“...my name is Kyungsoo. I am one of the Aqua Princes...”

“I know that, my Prince”

“...is something I should have told my King a long, long time ago. On that day I met you for the first time...at Stella’s castle”

“You mean 10 years ago? At the castle garden?”

Kyungsoo eye