Chapter 25 : Bright eyes and cheeky grins

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Jongin sighed. He was sitting on the ground, and he could tell the stones were cold against his behind. It was silent, all around him. The four fairies nearby had sensed his disarray, and even Jinki kept quiet. The wait was nerve-wracking to the wood nymph. His mind played the few sentences he had prepared over and over again, along with the events of that morning, which led him to sit there, with his heart beating a bit too fast in his ribcage.

Lord Baekhyun had come to their clearing, bright and early, hopping around, singing like a bird, and had interrupted Kibum and him as they were telling each other all that had happened the previous evening. Jongin had told Kibum everything about how he kissed Taemin and how Taemin kissed him and how, when you kissed someone, it was better to be kissing at the same time. The memories invading his mind all over again made Jongin blush just a tiny bit. And he shook his head quickly to refocus. He shouldn't be thinking about Taemin's lips right now.

Kibum had told him everything about his first proper meeting with Jonghyun, then he had narrated it all over again with extreme joy as Jinki, Kyungsoo, and then Jongdae had come along. And when the Lord of nymphs had first made an appearance, Kibum had tried to tell him too. But Baekhyun wasn't there to hear about their elves princes, he had said. He had more important things to talk about. Those had been his words. And unfortunately, Jongin was required to deal with said things.

It was tradition, and no matter how much Jongin had tried to sweet talk his way out of this, Baekhyun didn't want to hear any of it. Not even when Kibum offered to take his place, or when Kyungsoo pleaded for him. The Lord of nymphs had stubbornly repeated again and again that it was Jongin's task and it had to be him and he wasn't here to hear any whine.

It was a beautiful day, truly. The weather was warmer lately, and soon, flowers would be blooming again, everywhere. Jongin's hair was darkening slowly, ready to shift to a hazelnut color for spring. And on that day, as a few animals were going out of their winter sleep here and there in the forest, Sehun was finally going to wake up.

The youngest nymph would be opening his eyes, and Jongin was supposed to be there for him.

"The last nymph who came to life is supposed to welcome the new one," Baekhyun had insisted, sighing a bit at everyone's attempts to help Jongin out of his duty. "Please, can you understand how precious this moment is?"

And Jongin had started to feel bad about not wanting to do it. There was a sadness, hidden deep into Baekhyun's eyes, that made guilt crawl into Jongin's tummy.

"You have to be there for him the way Kibum was there to help you, do you remember?"

Of course, Jongin remembered. How could he ever forget Kibum, with his long hair flowing around, giving him water for the first time.

"Why don't you want to go?" Kyungsoo had finally asked Jongin.

It had been precious, the way all of his friends had immediately tried to help his case and make Baekhyun change his mind, without even caring about Jongin's reason. They didn't need to know. If Jongin didn't want to do something, Kyungsoo would never question it. Nor Kibum. They would stand by his side without a second thought and help him out. But seeing that there was nothing that could be done to make the Lord of nymphs go back on his words, Kyungsoo searched for another way to help, as he always did.

Jongin had curled up on the ground, hiding his face in his arms.

"What if he doesn't like me? What if I do it wrong?"

Before anyone else could react, Baekhyun had come closer to Jongin, kneeling in front of him and cupping his face.

"You won't," he had said, as gently and softly as he could.

He had taken Jongin in his arms, holding him as he had done once, when Jongin was much, much younger, and smaller. When Jongin had been just a child, scared of how Kibum's pond had frozen. And Baekhyun had whispered words only for him to hear, to calm him down. He did it all over again, that morning.

Then, Kibum had been pouting a bit, as everybody left, sulking as he was told that no, he couldn't even accompany Jongin. And no, Jongin couldn't bring Sehun back so they could meet.

"Kibum, my dear, have you forgotten your early years?" Baekhyun had sighed with a roll of his eyes. "You couldn't leave this clearing. The forest is too big and dangerous for such small beings. You were barely walking straight. Sehun will stay right where he is for the next few years, until he's strong enough to go on adventures with you all."

"How many times will I have to sleep until I can see Sehun, then?" Kibum had grumbled.

"You can go visit him tomorrow. For now, the point is to welcome him, not overwhelm him."

And thus, Jongin had tried to find words to say to welcome Sehun. And not overwhelm him. He really wanted to make him feel safe and happy.

He bit his bottom lip, and his eyes lowered to the ground, and to Junmyeon. The tiny fairy was sitting next to Jongin's foot, his wide eyes staring at Sehun's cocoon. He was vibrating on his spot, as if he couldn't contain all of his emotions, and the sight of him finally brought a small smile on Jongin's face.

As the wood nymph had arrived in the beautiful ruins that were Sehun's home, surrounded by Kyungsoo, Jinki and Jongdae, Junmyeon had been extremely confused. Then nervous. Then he had started crying when Jinki broke the news to him. Since then, he had barely blinked.

"I hope he'll wake up before lunch," Jinki blurted out in the heavy silence.

It took a giggle out of Jongdae, a snort out of Kyungsoo, and an offended pout out of Junmyeon.

"I'm just sayin'...," Jinki defended himself, holding his hands high in the air, "I'm gonna get hungry waiting like this. Baekhyun didn't give us any indication as to when exactly the little snail is coming out..."

"Don't call him a snail," Junmyeon protested.

Jongin felt his body relax, and he tilted his head.

"How is he going to come out, though?" he wondered out loud. "Will he need our help?"

Sehun, who had once been as big as a walnut, was now far larger. He still looked like a rock, and it was a bit strange to Jongin. He didn't remember looking like a rock. Would Sehun break the stone around him, was he inside this thing like a chick inside an egg? Or were they looking at the skin of his back, maybe? Was he curled up on the ground? It was all smooth though. Jongin couldn't see the shapes of arms and legs anywhere.

"You were hiding under a bunch of roots," Kyungsoo said, with a tender smile. "When you finally woke up, they came undone and disappeared, and you showed up."

"Oh," Jongin whispered.

He nodded a few times, looking back at Sehun. It was comforting to know that the small nymph wasn't waiting for him to break this stone to help him out.

"Maybe I should go get something to eat...," Jinki proposed, getting up and dusting his pants. "What do you want?"

"Can you bring some tea?" Jongdae asked. "It's cold in here. I'm not used to be outside anymore..."

"Alright tea and-..."

Junmyeon interrupted him with a loud shush and jumped on his feet.

"Hey!" Jinki grumbled. "Don't shush me!"

"Quiet," Junmyeon hissed. "Quiet! It's-... He's coming!"

The five of them bent forward, shining eyes wide in wonder as a very soft, faint little crackling was to be heard.

"He's coming!" Junmyeon repeated in a strangled voice, as to convince himself that he wasn't dreaming.

Jongin's mouth opened in surprise as Sehun's stone started to emit a low light, before it slowly vanished. A couple of gasps resonated around, but Jongin wasn't sure who breathed them out. There, before his eyes, just as he had imagined, was a little body, curled up in a ball. This time, he could see tiny hands balled into fists, and folded thin arms. And a tuft of thick, auburn hair.

"Remember, he won't see us at first," Kyungsoo whispered to Jongin.

The wood nymph nodded, blinking fast, and brought his attention back to Sehun, who was moving right, and left. The wind nymph stirred, shook his head, stretched, and slowly sat down. And Jongin couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't believe that the small walnut-size thing who had wreaked havoc in the forest when he came to life, was presently rubbing his eyes in front of him, with strands of hair going in every direction on his head.

Then, finally, he blinked, and stared right at Jongin with dark eyes and a small frown. Jongin breathed in, and coughed slightly.

"Hi," he stammered.

Sehun kept quiet, and didn't move. He stood there, staring at him for a couple of seconds, before he started to look around them, moving enough to see where he was sited and what was behind him.

"I-I'm Jongin...," Jongin tried again.

Sehun stopped moving to look back at him, and tilted his head to the side. He was kneeling, a few meters away, and slowly made his way to Jongin, approaching his face very close to the other's, as if he was inspecting him. Jongin heard Junmyeon's little gasps as the fairy was flying next to his neck and looking at Sehun as if the young nymph held the answers to all of the universe's mysteries.

Sehun opened his mouth and breathed loudly. Then he brought his hands to Jongin's cheeks, and tapped them lightly. He huffed and puffed a couple more times, before finally, his voice broke through.

"Jongin," he repeated.

The four fairies couldn't understand the spirit language, but Junmyeon was still able to recognize Kibum and Jongin's names, and he hiccuped dramatically as he heard that sound leave Sehun's lips. His very first word.

"That's right," Jongin encouraged him, with a large smile. "And you are Sehun."

Sehun widened his eyes in disbelief, and sat back on his .

"I'm Sehun," he repeated.

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

Jongin thought it was too early to start talking about Lord Baekhyun and going into deep explanations about the forest and the way nymphs were born. So he scrunched his nose.

"I know a lot of things," he simply answered, in a mysterious tone.

He saw Sehun nod solemnly, as if bewitched, and couldn't help a chuckle.

Sehun then took Jongin's hand, and put it next to his.

"You are tall," he breathed out.

"Well, I'm taller than you, that's true. But I was as small as you are, once."

Sehun kept nodding, trying to understand all this new information.

"Will I be tall too, one day?"

"I'm pretty sure you will."

Sehun let go of Jongin's hand, to look at his own fingers, then his arms, his feet, his legs, his tummy, his , and he tried to bend and twist himself to look at his , his back, his neck. He tried to catch his hair to look at it and touched his face.

"Do I look like you?" he finally asked Jongin again.

And Jongin wasn't sure how to answer him. Sehun looked like him more than he looked like Kyungsoo or Chanyeol, for sure. But as nymphs, they didn't quite look alike.

"Well, I guess a bit."

"That's not very helpful," Sehun retorted.

Jongin straightened up on his and scratched his head.

"Sorry..."

Sehun got up, with his legs parted, and bent forward to look at Jongin upside down from between his knees. His fluffy hair fell to swipe the ground.

"Jongin, are you my friend? Will we play together?"

The wood nymph laughed excitedly with the sudden feeling that he had succeeded.

"Yes! Yes, I am! We'll play a lot together, and I'll introduce you to my other friends!"

Sehun gave him a bright, large smile as he rolled on the ground, back to a sitting position. Then he moved around to face Jongin again. And he jerked his head suddenly, with a gasp.

Jongin had seen Junmyeon flying close to him, and he couldn't help a smile.

"I felt something!" Sehun cried out. "There was wind!"

"Was there?" Jongin laughed behind his hand.

"Yes!" Sehun exclaimed. "Right here!"

He pointed a spot next to him with one finger, and then turned around to point another spot.

"Here again!"

"Of course, you can sense the smallest air flow," Jongin chirped.

"Why do you say 'of course'?"

Jongin came closer to press his index against Sehun's nose, and the youngest nymph squinted on it.

"Because you're made of wind."

"Am I?"

"Yes."

Sehun kept quiet for a while, analyzing that brand new information, and then jumped on his feet again, breathed in longly to fill up his lungs, and breathed out next to Jongin. A sudden, violent gush of wind carried away every single little stone and piece of wood on the ground, and Jongin chuckled as Kyungsoo hadn't been quick enough to escape and got lifted away all the same in a cacophony of grumbles and whines.

"Crikey!" Kyungsoo yelled out, trying to find something to catch in the whirlwind. "Make him stop!"

Jinki and Jongdae were rolling on the floor laughing as Junmyeon hurried up to help the poor fairy who landed on his a few meters away.

"Are you alright?" Junmyeon asked.

"I thought I was going to fly back all the way to Hazelbarrow," Kyungsoo mumbled, holding his head straight on his shoulders.

"That's awesome!" Sehun yelled, bringing Jongin's attention away from the fairies again. "I'm awesome!"

"Oh yes," Jongin laughed. "You're a storm."

Sehun was wiggling his next to him, and then tapped his fingers excitedly on Jongin's head.

"What about you? What are you made of, Jongin?"

"I'm made of earth, and light."

Sehun calmed down at those words, and tilted his head again to look at Jongin in confusion.

"So what can you do?"

Jongin gave him a tiny smile, and brought one of his hand to Sehun's face. Under prying, curious eyes, he let a couple of wild flowers bloom in his palm. And Sehun gasped audibly. He brought his fingers closer and tentatively touched the daisies in Jongin's hand, his eyebrows rose on his forehead as he realized they were real.

"Awesome," he whispered once more.

"Thank you."

Sehun suddenly tilted his head again, frowning as his eyes were searching for the source of that sudden little change in the wind around him. But he couldn't see anything.

Junmyeon waved his hand towards Jongin slowly, his eyes still not leaving Sehun's face.

"Jongin, please... can you tell him I'm here now? Can you?"

Jongin nodded with a gentle smile, and saw the three other fairies took off to fly around Sehun too. The wind nymph suddenly shook his head, apparently upset.

"Jongin, there's something weird..."

"Can you feel them?" Jongin asked in a chuckle.

The youngest nymph looked back at him with a pout.

"What are you talking about?"

"They're flying around you," Jongin teased with a goofy smile.

Sehun huffed and puffed, and waved his hands around his head to try to clear the space around him. It made Jongdae and Jinki laugh as they tried to escape him, and Kyungsoo only flew higher.

"Who is it?"

"Fairies."

Jongin saw Sehun's eyes lighten up and widen, as if clouds had been cleared from his vision. The wind nymph squinted a bit, trying to see those little beings flapping their wings over his head. They were so tiny and funny, and suddenly he could hear little clinkings and ringings as they moved their lips.

"They're saying hi," Jongin told him.

But Sehun didn't pay him that much attention anymore. He brought his hand up, touching one of them with his index, and saw him tremble and gasp.

"Oh, sorry," Sehun murmured.

But the fairy came closer, landing on his palm, and Sehun stared at him with a contented smile.

"Look, I caught one," Sehun proudly squealed, perking up to Jongin for a second, before he looked back at the little creature who kept smiling at him.

"His name is Junmyeon," Jongin said fondly.

Sehun cupped Junmyeon very carefully in both of his hands and brought him closer to his face. His nose was barely a centimeter away from the fairy as he chuckled.

"Hi, Junmyeon. That's a funny name!"

"He can't understand you," Jongin said, and Sehun looked at him in confusion and sadness. "But you can learn his language, later, if you want."

Sehun tilted his head to one side, stealing a glance at the three other fairies now sitting on Jongin's thighs.

"Yes, that'd be nice. Do you think they will want to be my friends?"

"I know they do."

Sehun bounced on his with a loud laugh.

"Can we play a game now? Ask them if they want to play!"

Jongin crossed his arms on his torso and lowered his head to the three fairies sitting on him.

"Are you all up for a game? Sehun wants to play!"

"Of course," Junmyeon immediately squeaked. "Of course, we'll play! What does he want to do? We'll play anything, let's do it!"

He looked at the three other with such big, googly, threatening eyes, that Kyungsoo swallowed down his complaint, and agreed to go for a game of hide-and-seek. Junmyeon decided he'd be the first one to count down, and he sighed happily when he closed his eyes and heard the light, singing laugh of Sehun resonate all through the area.

Junmyeon cheated. Rather obviously, at that. He pretended not to hear the loud giggles of the youngest nymph as he went for the others, and they tried not to comment on it. It took all Jongin had within himself not to whine, but it made him realize that his time as the youngest nymph was over. For good. No more special treatment for him. What appeased his sulky state, though, was to see the excessive fondness on Junmyeon's face, when he finally made his way to the auburn hair popping out above a rock. Sehun was delighted to have won his very first game and couldn't stop rolling on the floor laughing.

What Junmyeon had been feeling ever since Baehyun had come for him, on that terrible day after the storm, had been impossible to describe. The wait, the expectations, the slight fear of doing something wrong, and the sense of purpose that he felt whenever he looked over that little pebble lost in the ruins. It all exploded, vanished, became ten thousands times more important. Just as Jinki and Kyungsoo had tried to explain. Just as he had read in dozens and dozens of diaries from older fairies who had been chosen just like him. Junmyeon knew, deep inside his bones and core, that he would do all he could, through his whole life, to keep a smile on Sehun's face. He knew he was now able to go to unspeakable lengths to take care of him. He knew he would cherish this nymph and protect him against anything that could ever threaten him. That's what he had seen, reflecting back in Sehun's young, innocent eyes, when the nymph had held him in his small hands. An unconditional love.

It was impossible for him to focus. Jonghyun had been trying to read that report Minho had brought him earlier that day, for hours, before he had finally given up. How could he possibly be reading that boring treaty between the two main packs of centaurs of the forest and their agreement with the Council of High Fairies of Hazelbarrow and all those terribly annoying things, when his mind was only filled with translucent blue eyes?

He had been thinking of Kibum uninterruptedly since the nymph had abandoned him the previous evening. Even in his sleep, he remembered dreaming about that cheeky grin and flying droplets of water.

Taemin had been wrong. Taemin had told him that if he were to spend more time with the nymph by some miracle, the longing would lessen, but it had been a lie. A terrible lie. Or maybe, Jonghyun still hadn't spend enough time around Kibum to be used to it. He had no idea.

But here he was, unable to go on with his personal duties, smiling like a fairy high on mint, thinking endlessly about the water nymph. Minho had , of course. At the first opportunity he had seen.

"If anyone in Melalhil had any doubt about you and Taemin being a couple, you successfully convinced them that you're in love," Minho had said. "You even got me fooled for a second."

And Jonghyun had tried to understand what on earth his best friend was talking about.

"I'm talking about you two coming back from an afternoon in the forest together, you looking like you just saw a nymph and him all disheveled and puffy lips. I mean... everyone was just whispering about your romantic escapade."

Jonghyun had started laughing loudly. Too loudly to form a coherent sentence, and Minho had rolled his eyes.

"Spill it! I know you weren't smooching Taemin, he got smooched by a certain spirit. So what on earth happened to you?"

But someone had entered Jonghyun's office before the prince had any chance to explain himself, and tell Minho that he, indeed, had seen a nymph. Instead, Minho had been dragged away, and Jonghyun was left alone, battling with that insufferable report, and giggling every time he thought back on Minho's choice of words.

After he read the first page of the treaty fifteen times in a row, he put it aside and started to pace in his office. He wondered when Kibum would come back to him. He wondered what the nymph was doing. He wondered if he was thinking about him too. Then he did a few breathings exercises to calm down, and told himself over and over again that he shouldn't expect anything. That he had no right to expect anything.

And finally, as he looked over the forest tenderly from the large window in his office, opening it a bit to get some fresh air, he realized that he had met a nymph. A few hours ago, he had been in the presence of a holy spirit, who had chosen to show himself to him, who had been eager to hear him sing. Jonghyun forgot about everything else. Every concern, worry, duty, every thought that wasn't about Kibum shushed down and he found himself at peace, smiling with the memory of the nymph's clear laugh.

Jonghyun went back to his desk, and rummaged inside the left drawer. He took his notebook, his quill pen, shifted to the door to lock it, and sprawled on his favorite armchair. It was big enough to swallow him whole as he cowered comfortably in it. Safely held between cushions, away from curious stares, Jonghyun let himself think about Kibum all his content, without any guilt clenching at his insides anymore.

He could hear faint, muffled sounds coming from the open window, quieter than the scribblings he was making. A soft gush of wind made his curtains float around and the page of his notebook turn, but it didn't faze him. Jonghyun simply put his paper back in place, and continued writing. He was too faraway in his daydreams, too lost in thoughts to notice anything else. He didn't even realize he had started humming softly. But it wasn't really unusual anyway.

"What are you do'?"

The voice came in a furtive, mysterious whisper, and Jonghyun jumped out of his reveries, his head perking up to look around himself in fright. He was certain to have locked his door. He hurriedly tried to hide his notebook, and as he frowned, his head turning around to find the source of the question, he heard a soft little giggle.

Jonghyun blinked once, twice, and before his mind could form any coherent thought, his heart started to race. He shifted on his seat, and looked at the window.

There he was. Leaning on the window sill, his head cupped in his hands, looking at Jonghyun with shining, mischievous eyes, a playful smile on his lips.

"Kibum...," Jonghyun breathed out.

The nymph straightened up, nodding vehemently.

"Hi, Jeon-gyun," Kibum chirped.

Jonghyun got on his feet. He didn't pay attention to his notebook, nor his quill pen, which both fell on the ground under Kibum's curious stare, and he came closer, sitting on the little bench by the window.

"What are you doing here?" Jonghyun asked, trying his best to not sound too excited.

He could barely blink; his eyes kept peering at Kibum's face, his hands, his hair, all of him that was here, right before him.

"I say I come see you...," Kibum explained, with a pout. "You ask soon. So I come soon."

Jonghyun's lips broke into a large smile.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"I want see you. You are welcome."

"Have you been here for long, looking at me?"

Kibum froze, his eyes widening a bit and his cheeks and nose turned a faint pink.

"Jeon-gyun do this," he said, pointing at the notebook on the ground. "So I wait a bit. But you do not see me."

"I'm sorry."

Kibum shrugged, his lips pinched into a thin line. Jonghyun held out his hand, and stopped himself before he could bring that strand of hair playing on Kibum's forehead back behind his ear. He shouldn't touch him. He had no right for that. He kept repeating himself that he was in front of a holy spirit and he had to keep himself in check. Instead, he pushed the window to open it wider.

"Will you come in?" he asked, his throat tight and dry.

Kibum gave him a very pleased little smirk as he jumped graciously inside and strolled inside, inspecting everything with an unconcealed joy. He was finally inside the castle, he was there, in this room with Jonghyun, with all those pretty and rather curious objects everywhere around them. There was so much for him to see and to touch that Kibum didn't know where to even start. He approached the desk and looked over all those papers pilled up, grabbing pens and pencils, and climbed the very large chair behind. He was pawing at the scarlet fabric covering the back of the chair when he heard Jonghyun chuckle.

"You're very curious, aren't you?"

Kibum widened his eyes and looked back at him. Suddenly he remembered that he was here, with Jonghyun. Why was he paying even the slightest attention to his surroundings when his prince was there?

"Yes," he breathed out.

The way Jonghyun was looking at him made Kibum feel like his legs were made of strawberry jam. His elf came closer, leaning against his desk, without ever stopping to look at Kibum, and smiled.

"You can look around, if you want, I don't mind."

Kibum wanted to tell him that even if he was indeed very interested in absolutely everything in this room, all he really wanted to do was talk to him and have Jonghyun talk back. But he felt a bit shy saying something like this with Jonghyun so close to him now, having his undivided attention on him. So he softly nodded, and bit his lips.

Then Jonghyun straightened up abruptly, and grinned.

"Would you like tea?" he asked, all of a sudden.

Kibum tilted his head, frowning.

"Tea?"

"Yes, tea. And mhm... cakes, maybe? I could go get something for us. Do you like elvish food? I'll bring them back."

Kibum nodded quickly, trying to understand everything that Jonghyun was saying, but his elf was speaking a bit fast with excitement, and the nymph couldn't find it in himself to stop him when he looked so delighted.

"Oh, okay...," he smiled, even though unsure of what was happening.

"I'll be right back. You can look around in the meantime."

Kibum nibbled his bottom lip in confusion, but kept nodding. He saw Jonghyun scurry to the door, and the prince turned back to him before unlocking the door.

"You'll still be there when I come back, right?"

Kibum stood still, and smiled brightly.

"Yes. I wait you."

Jonghyun scrunched his nose, and disappeared. Kibum sighed loudly as he found himself alone, and scratched his cheek. Jonghyun did say that he was allowed to satisfy his curiosity, but the whole situation made him quite timid.

It took Kibum a couple of minutes of stillness and silence, before he managed to overcome his awkwardness and resumed his examination of Jonghyun's office. He looked over those stacks of papers, all covered in pretty elvish letters, and opened the few drawers on the side, filled with more papers, and more pencils, and books, and strange little objects. Kibum stopped trying to touch everything when one of them stung him and the other pinched his finger. He pouted, closing the drawer rather furiously, and got up.

The room was clean, and luminous and he loved it. It smelled like Jonghyun, which was by far his most favorite scent of all, even better than the smell of rain. He wondered if it was Jonghyun, who chose all those colors on the walls and the chairs. He loved the tones of cream, red mahogany and burgundy.

Kibum kept trotting, feeling the curtains in his hands and the soft floor under his toes, when his eyes caught sight of a clothing, abandoned on a sideboard. He came closer, snatching the white shirt in his hands and gasped at its softness. It was large, and it smelled a lot like Jonghyun, and Kibum felt himself blush just by holding it. He unfolded it before his eyes and tried to imagine his prince wearing it.

Then, before he could find an excuse not to do it, he dried the skin of his chest and put Jonghyun's shirt on. It was even softer than it felt against his fingers. It made him feel all fancy and pretty, even if it was too large for him and fell off his small frame. He was wearing an elvish clothing, and couldn't help but let out a sneaky laugh at his mischief. There was a little cord on top, under his chin, and he wasn't sure how to tie it. He tried a couple of times, but didn't manage to make it pretty, and soon gave up. This wasn't important anyway. It didn't prevent him from feeling incredibly elegant.

Kibum waltzed all the way back to the window, and tried to catch his reflection in it. The sight of him wearing Jonghyun's clothes made his heart soar inside his chest.

"Prince Kibum," he said reverently to himself, with a little bow. "You look exceptionally lovely today."

Spinning around with a smile, Kibum spotted Jonghyun's notebook, still laying on the ground, and stopped his shenanigans to pick it up. He crawled on the armchair Jonghyun had previously occupied, and opened it curiously.

Unfortunately, he couldn't read elvish. But the notebook was filled with Jonghyun's handwriting, which, in Kibum's unbiased opinion, was the loveliest elvish handwriting he had ever seen, and it made him stupidly happy to look at it. Kibum turned the pages, looking closely at every word, as if one would suddenly make sense to him if he stared at it enough. But they didn't.

The door of the office opened, and Kibum froze, his eyes widening, as he the armchair and slowly peeped behind. Jonghyun came in, hands full of a large tray filled with pastries. He closed the door with his foot and stretched his head to look around the room.

"Kibum...?" he called softly, with a hard swallow.

His worried eyes finally caught the teal tuft of hair and two frightened blue eyes hiding behind the sofa, and his face immediately relaxed.

"Oh, you're here...," he sighed in relief. "I'm sorry it took me so long. Are you okay?"

"Yes," Kibum croaked.

He saw Jonghyun approach him and circle his armchair to put his tray on the little coffee table nearby, and held out his breath. He was still wearing his prince's shirt, and hoped Jonghyun wouldn't get mad at him. Maybe he shouldn't have done that. Maybe he shouldn't have gone through his notebook like this, even if he couldn't understand a single word. He suddenly realized how rude he had just been and feared that Jonghyun might ask him to leave right this instant. How awful it would be.

But as Jonghyun noticed Kibum's surprising outfit, he simply gaped. For a moment, neither of them dared to move, until finally, Kibum jolted out of his embarrassment and tried to take out the shirt.

"I am sorry," he squeaked.

The little cord got caught in his hair and he found himself unable to take the damn shirt off. He felt himself heat up in shame and a light mist started to form around him. Then Jonghyun's hands were on him. The prince put the shirt back over his head, untangled the cord from Kibum's strand of hair, and smiled at him so tenderly that the mist between them thickened.

Without a word, Jonghyun tied the cord nicely, so the shirt wouldn't fall off Kibum's shoulder, and patted his chest. Maybe he lingered. Maybe it wasn't necessary for him to put back Kibum's hair away from his forehead. But the nymph didn't say anything to stop him, and Jonghyun couldn't help himself.

"It suits you quite well," Jonghyun said gently with a smile.

The mist was disappearing slowly, and he saw Kibum's eyes lighten up and get brighter.

"You are not angry?" came Kibum's quiet murmur.

"No, I'm not," Jonghyun answered in a chuckle, as he bumped the nymph's nose. "Why would I be? I told you that you could look around, didn't I?"

Kibum smiled and sat up straighter, joining his hands on his lap as Jonghyun stepped back to sit on the chair before him.

"So, do you want tea?"

The nymph nodded quickly, and Jonghyun poured him a cup.

"You can take anything you want."

There were two plates with pyramids of little pastries of all forms, and Kibum honestly didn't know where to even begin, because he had never seen most of them. He thought briefly about Jinki, who would be crying of happiness, had he been there. And Kibum took one round pastry, smelling it suspiciously before he tasted it.

"It is very good," he chirped, his mouth full, giving Jonghyun a surprised look.

Jonghyun laughed behind his hand, and coughed lightly.

"I'm glad you like it."

Kibum finished eating on his pastry like a squirrel and wiped his hands on his thighs before he grabbed Jonghyun's notebook laying next to him, to give it back.

"I look this," he said with a sheepish smile.

"You can't read it, can you?" Jonghyun asked, a bit taken aback.

Kibum scrunched his nose and shook his head.

"No."

Jonghyun took his notebook back, staring at it for a while before he opened it to the last page.

"You do this when I come. I ask what you do. What is it you are do' with that?"

Kibum winced, scratching his forehead in annoyance as he heard himself talk and realized what he was saying didn't make a lot of sense. He lacked too many words and it was really bothering him.

"I was writing a song."

Kibum stopped his self-pity to perk up and look at his prince in wonder.

"A song?"

"Yes."

Kibum's face crumbled in misery as he threw his hands in the air.

"No, no! I stop you with song! I am sorry!"

Jonghyun jumped at his sudden cry, and quickly grabbed the nymph's hands in his to calm him down.

"It's alright, hey... Kibum... it's alright. I'm so happy you're here. I will write more later."

The nymph sighed and pouted at him, his head tilted to the side. His heart seemed to realize how close to him Jonghyun was, once more, because it raced all over again.

"I'll write more tonight," Jonghyun repeated.

He sat back, bringing his armchair a bit closer to the nymph.

Kibum leaned over his armrest to glance at Jonghyun's notebook, and puckered his lips.

"What is the song?" he asked softly.

Jonghyun glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, and his heart fluttered at the way the nymph was looking at him from under his eyelashes. The realization hit him hard, and made his heart clench.

"Jeon-gyun?" Kibum called him.

Jonghyun coughed, trying to find his senses back. But a cold sweat was running along his spine. Maybe, eventually, he was falling for those eyes. And maybe, eventually, he was getting himself in a difficult situation.

"Yes?" he croaked.

"What is the song?" Kibum asked again.

Jonghyun laughed, a bit nervously.

"Can't you guess?"

Kibum straightened up, and frowned.

"I don't understand."

Jonghyun looked at his notebook, and sighed before he glanced at Kibum.

"This song is about you," he confessed.

Kibum froze and his mouth fell open. His prince, his beloved, perfect prince, was writing one of his wonderful, precious song, about him.

Kibum brought his legs against his chest and held himself. His emotions were all over the place and he wasn't sure what to do with all of them.

"You sing to me?"

"It's not finished yet," Jonghyun winced, rubbing his neck. "I can't sing it now."

Kibum tried to look at the notebook again. But the letters still didn't make sense.

"I will sing it to you when it's done, okay? I promise."

Kibum lost himself in his prince's eyes and nodded weakly. He saw Jonghyun smile mischievously at him.

"You have to come back to me, so I can sing it."

"I promise."

Kibum unfolded himself to grab his cup of tea, so that his fingers would stop shaking. It wasn't very effective, but the warm drink helped calm down his heart just a tiny bit. Just enough so that he could continue looking at Jonghyun without feeling like he would faint.

When he put his hand back on the armrest, Jonghyun grabbed it. He tapped his fingers against Kibum's, them softly, absentmindedly and the nymph didn't dare to move. He let his prince caress his hand all he wanted until it was time for him to leave. He knew, from all the time he had spent watching him, that Jonghyun liked to touch the people around him. It was so special, though, to feel those fingers on him, those eyes looking into his. And when someone came to knock on Jonghyun's door, Kibum could have summoned a downpour right inside the castle, in displeasure to be interrupted in such a moment. Elves, besides Jonghyun -and Minho-, truly had no manners.

It felt terrible to put off Jonghyun's shirt, and even sadder to say goodbye again.

"Will you come back soon?" Jonghyun asked in a whisper.

"Yes, soon."

Jonghyun gave him a cheeky grin.

"Really soon?"

His hand came to tousle Kibum's hair, and the nymph leaned against it.

"Soon, soon, soon," he purred.

Kibum climbed over the window, turned around to look at Jonghyun, and smiled brightly.

"Goodbye, Jeon-gyun."

"Goodbye, Kibum."

The nymph bit his lips and wiggled on his knees, on the window sill, then he brought one finger to Jonghyun's nose to tap it lightly. And before the elf prince could react, he disappeared.

Jonghyun breathed out, and pressed his hands against his face. Maybe, his song was a love song. Maybe, he was getting himself into something really complicated. But he couldn't care less.

He hummed lightly, strolling inside his office and closed his eyes. This way, he could still see Kibum's cheeky grin.

.

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Hi!

It took me quite a long time, didn't it? I'm sorry. I got so much work to do lately (&somuchstress). Also, to be honest, this chapter was a bit difficult to write. I like how it ended up, though. Did you too? I hope you did.

Thank you for reading, thank you for staying with me through this long story.

Take good care of yourself & enjoy everyone's comeback & debut this month!! ♥