The third evening of the celebration revolved around entertainment. People from all over would put on performances in the desperate hope of catching the attention of one or more of the princes and becoming famous from it, endorsed by the kingdom itself. It rarely turned out that way, but there have been a few instances of it happening.

Jinyoung should have been in the palace with the rest of them, but it was way too claustrophobic in there with all those people and he just needed to get out. And with the events for the third and fourth days of the festival being optional, he figured he'd take the opportunity to finally check out that flea market.

Stepping out into the cool air was almost liberating for Jinyoung. He had the option to go anywhere and do anything at any time, but there always had to be at least two guards with him at all times, choking him even when he was out and about. This time was no different and two palace guards followed closely behind him as he made his way out of the upper class palace territory and toward the little town to the west that he had been so infatuated with.

Ignoring his bodyguards' protests about how dangerous this place was as he got closer to the rundown, overcrowded area, he didn't dare to look at anyone because he knew they would either be shocked he was there or gushing over him like a bunch of hormonal teenage girls.

He'd learned to ignore it, but a part of him still hoped that the less fortunate people down in the slums wouldn't fall at his feet like everybody else did.

Finally reaching his destination, with his two companions still following close behind, he looked over the items at the first stall he saw in the market. To most people, it wasn't anything special, just little trinkets, handmade bracelets and necklaces, but these were the kind of things Jinyoung loved. Everything was almost crudely made and that made it even more appealing to the prince.

Nothing was perfect and that was amazing.

He'd been to no more than three stalls when he was already starting to get irritated. The people here were no different than anyone else; they all treated him like he was from another planet and stumbled over their words nervously whenever they spoke to him.

The palace suddenly seemed more appealing. Yes, it was annoying and over crowded, but at least the other four princes saw him as an actual person.

"Goooood evening, Jinyoung."

The prince's head shot up at the mention of his name while his two guards sprung into action immediately, threatening the one who spoke with their unnecessary daggers.

The guards growled something along the lines of "You will address him formally" and "If you talk to him like that again, you'll be dead in a second", but Jinyoung hardly heard a word.

He couldn't understand what was happening.

It couldn't have been purely the fact that somebody other than his parents and his fellow princes called him so casually like that, it was something else. He felt... uneasy. He felt anxious, like there was something crawling just beneath the surface of his skin. A type of dull ache that went through his entire body.

And weirdly, an almost magnetic pull towards this... person.

The man put his hands up to avoid being brutally murdered and Jinyoung finally came back to his senses, ignoring the strange way his body was reacting in favor of saving the man who made him feel that way.

"Stop it." The prince commanded his guards.

"But... Your Highness..."

"Put your weapons down or I'll kill you."

Reluctantly, they complied and put away the daggers, still glaring dangerously at the now smirking man.

"Wow." The man raised his eyebrows suggestively, "You really live up to your name, Mr. Prince of Darkness."

"Who are you?" Jinyoung asked, ignoring that statement.

The man put his hand out, wearing a big smile as his eyes sparkled, "Mark. It's nice to finally meet you in person."

The prince stared at the other's hand, reluctant to touch him. A part of him was screaming at him to run and get as far away from this guy as he possibly could because something was obviously very wrong. But another part was far too intrigued. Throughout most of his life, he felt next to nothing. Apathy was his everyday mood and the fact that one random person had the most magnetic pull and instilled the most fear in him at the same time was thrilling.

The prince stepped closer, dropping his voice so that the guards couldn't hear him, "What is this? Who are you?"

"I just told you." Mark replied with a smirk that told Jinyoung that he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Do... do I know you?" Jinyoung asked, mind going on overdrive as he tried to pin these unusual feelings on something. Maybe they had met when they were younger and Jinyoung's subconscious was pulling memories and emotions from the past without him knowing. It was a long shot, but there was no other explanation.

The other man shook his head, "Nope. This is the first time we've met, Your Majesty. But I have to admit, I've been dreaming about this moment for years."

"Why?" Jinyoung questioned, voice barely audible.

Mark leaned in close, causing the two guards to lift their daggers threateningly. He glanced at them and then looked back at Jinyoung, cocking his head in the direction of the nosy guards as a signal to get them to leave them alone.

Jinyoung turned to his guards and pointed behind them, further down the road, "Go wait over there."

"Your Highness..."

"Just go." The prince commanded, "I'm still in your line of sight. I think I'm entitled to some privacy."

The guards bowed, "Yes sir." They turned around and started making their way to the designated spot.

"Hey, come on." Mark suddenly whispered, grabbing Jinyoung's attention once again.

"What?"

"Let's go while they're distracted." The other man stated, taking a few steps back before turning and running.

Jinyoung took an automatic step forward before he caught himself and thought about what he was considering doing. Not only was he about to rebel against everything he's known for his entire life and run off on his own, but he was about to do it because of a random guy that he'd met five minutes ago that somehow made him feel alive for the first time.

It might have been stupid... but he was going to do it.

With a deep breath, he sprinted after Mark, barely hearing the shouts from his two guards as he ducked and weaved through the crowd, desperately trying to keep a glimpse of the dark clothes and blonde hair of the fleeting figure that he was so weirdly drawn towards.

A few more turns and a few hundred people later, he lost sight of the mysterious man and froze in his spot, looking around frantically while his mind raced with where he was, what he was doing and what he was going to do now.

"Jinyoung." Mark's voice called from somewhere. The prince spun around to look at the direction of the sound, spotting the other man in the doorway of a rundown, abandoned building. "Over here."

With another deep breath, Jinyoung followed him inside.

It was empty inside the building. Dark. Nothing but ground and a stone staircase going up to what was probably a second floor.

But the location was not important right now...

"Why are we here?" Jinyoung asked, looking around curiously.

Mark raised an eyebrow and smiled, leaning against the opposite wall, "Why are you here? Why did you follow me?"

"I... I don't know." The prince admitted, eyes lingering on the dirty floor, "What's going on, Mark? What are you doing to me?"

The other man tilted his head, "What are you talking about? What am I doing to you?"

Jinyoung gulped and stared at his hands, "I-I... You scare me..." he admitted, "But... there's something about you..."

The other's smile widened and he opened his mouth to say something only to pause when the sound of one of the guards calling for Jinyoung made its way to his ears. Springing into action immediately, he made for the stairs, motioning for the other man to do the same. They made their way up to the third and highest floor, passing by what looked like a makeshift bedroom on the second. Much like the second floor, the third was mostly empty, save for a pile of blankets on the floor in the form of a bed and some clothes piled up in the corner. It had no roof and a single glassless window that Jinyoung noticed had a very clear view of the palace.

"In that corner." Mark commanded, backing Jinyoung up against the wall next to the window, "They can't see us in this corner."

Still hearing the annoying voices of the guards outside, Jinyoung's breathing picked up when he realized how close to each other he and Mark were and the way his body was reacting even more strongly than before.

Mark was obviously the cause of all this. But why..?

The voices got closer and Mark put a finger to his lips for the prince to stay quiet as they heard the guards nearing the building.

"Your Highness!" A guard called obnoxiously loudly from below the third floor window and Jinyoung rolled his eyes in annoyance, causing Mark to laugh silently.

"You smell nice..." Mark whispered, placing his hands on the walls on either side of the other man as the voices moved a little further away, but still close enough that they would have been spotted if they moved. "Like royalty."

Jinyoung scoffed, "Royalty..."

"What? You don't like being a prince?"

"I don't mind being a prince at all. I just hate the way people treat us like we're children." Jinyoung explained, "Like if they let us out of their sight or treat us like actual people, we'll either get killed or go crazy and cause the end of the world with our powers."

"They love you. But they're afraid of you." Mark stated.

Jinyoung sighed, "I know they are. But that's not a good enough reason to keep us locked up and observed like zoo animals."

Mark smiled, "We think alike, Your Majesty."

"What do you mean?"

Something sparked in Marks eyes that made the uneasy feeling inside the prince heighten. "I mean... I'd like to see this whole 'Elemental Prince' bull fall as well."

Jinyoung gulped, "That's kinda worrying, to be honest. It sounds like you have some... animosity toward us. You could probably kill me right here if you wanted..."

"I could." The other man agreed, smile widening and turning almost sinister, "But you trust me. You're drawn to me." He leaned in to whisper in the other's ear, "I'm sure you don't understand it and it's freaking you out. The way you're feeling right now... The way I'm making you feel right now..."

"W-What?" Jinyoung squeaked out.

"The racing heart, butterflies in your stomach, the feeling of something prickling on your skin... that urge to do something you just can't put your finger on."

"How could you possibly know that..? What did you do to me..?" Jinyoung whispered back quietly. Everything he said was right and the fear surrounding their entire encounter was getting worse by the second.

"How do I know that?" Mark repeated, chuckling a bit before pulling back to look the prince straight in the eye, "Because I feel exactly the same..."

Jinyoung's eyes widened, "H-how... what... what's going on..? What is this..?"

Suddenly, Mark's hands dropped and latched onto Jinyoung's, causing them both to gasp at he way simple skin on skin contact changed their entire mood.

For Jinyoung, it was as if all the negative feelings he had been experiencing since they met had dissipated and was replaced by a strange feeling of warmth and comfort and belonging that he had never felt before. Almost as if he was... complete.

For Mark, it was ten times stronger.

Ever since Mark first laid eyes on the Prince of Darkness, he felt that pull. That incessant need to be close to him. He had dreamed about what it would be like when they finally met and, more importantly, the first time he got to touch him.

Even his dreams couldn't live up to this moment…

Jinyoung almost felt like crying due to the whiplash of emotions that he was experiencing. He was calm and somewhat relaxed, but still confused, if not more so now that a simple touch by a stranger seemed to have flipped some sort of switch inside him.

Mark's eyes fluttered closed and a satisfied smile crossed his lips, "Wow..." He slid his hands slowly up Jinyoung's arms, over his shoulders and up his neck to cup his jaw, "Jinyoung, I... I want... to..."

"What..?" Jinyoung asked, letting his eyes close as well and feeling like he knew what it was that Mark wanted.

Jinyoung wanted the same thing.

He was never a careless person and it was probably incredibly stupid to let his guard down and just give in to his desires, but...

Leaning in close to Mark out of his own accord, lips less than an inch apart, he realized that he wanted this man more than anything in his entire life.

"They have guesthouses for this sort of thing." A third, bored sounding voice pieced the near silent room and Jinyoung pulled away from the other man as quick as he could, accidentally hitting the back of his head against the wall.

Mark immediately placed a hand on the spot that connected with the wall, cooing at him silently while he instinctively tried to do what he could to ease the pain.

"Oh." The voice suddenly sounded significantly less bored, "Prince of Darkness, huh? Makes sense why you'd be here, then. Probably wouldn't be able to get a room without someone putting you back on your leash, I suppose."

Mark turned to glare at him, " off, Jaebeom. You're gonna get us caught."

Jaebeom put a hand up, "Well, gee sorry. I didn't realize you were here. You didn't put your 'do not disturb, getting it on with a mothering prince' sign on the nonexistent door."

"No... We weren't... I..." Jinyoung tried futily to explain, wondering himself how far things would have gone if Jaebeom hadn't interrupted them. And how far he wanted things to go...

Jaebeom chuckled but made no move to leave and Mark raised an annoyed eyebrow, "So? Why are you here?"

The other man narrowed his eyes, "I live here, Mark. And I haven't slept in 30 hours, I'm exhausted."

"You live here?" Jinyoung piped up in surprise, "But... there's nothing here."

Jaebeom somewhat glared at him, "We don't all have fancy palace rooms and nice beds, Prince."

Jinyoung glanced at the floor, "Sorry..."

Jaebeom raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You're sorry?" he asked with a tilt of his head, "Wow. I didn't expect that from a prince."

The prince sighed, "I am a person. I have feelings like everyone else and I feel for people who are forced to live like this because of the kingdom using it's finances for unnecessary ."

"Then why don't you do something about it, Prince?" Jaebeom questioned.

Jinyoung scoffed, "You think I have any authority over there? We're just a bunch of circus acts that they can parade around for their own enjoyment. Jackson has the most say in things out of the five of us, but even he's heavily outweighed by the court."

"You guys could probably destroy the entire planet if you wanted to. Combined, you have the power to do that." The other man stated, "Why are you taking orders from them?"

"Because they're people, firstly. We might be powerful enough to kill a lot of people, but that doesn't mean we want to." The prince explained, "And secondly... what do we even know about ruling a kingdom? They know that we'll be lost without them, so they don’t really worry about an uprising or something like that."

Jaebeom tsk'ed, "Maybe they should."

Jinyoung blinked, "Why?"

"No reason." The other replied, a dangerous smile playing across his lips.

The prince opened his mouth to say something in reply, only to gasp slightly when Mark suddenly removed all contact with him. Instinct taking over at full force, he reached forward and grabbed the other man's hand, linking their fingers together in a subconscious attempt to keep him there.

"You should get back to the palace." Mark suggested, even as he squeezed his hand harder, "Before they send the rest of the battalion to come looking for you. We don't need all that attention in this town."

"But... I..." Jinyoung protested, unsure of how he could tell someone he didn't know that he wanted to be with him as much as was humanly possible.

"I know..." Mark replied, sounding equally as torn, "Can you... find a way to come here again? Tomorrow maybe? We can talk more then."

The prince nodded immediately. He didn't know how he would go about doing that, but he would have promised Mark anything at that point, "I'll find a way. Will you be here?"

The other man shook his head, "I'd rather you not come to this building by yourself. Meet me in town, I'll bring you back here."

"How will I find you?"

"Trust me." Mark smiled, "You will."

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Jinyoung couldn't sleep.

He didn't have any hope that he would when he got into bed that night.

Not after the roller coaster of emotion and confusion that he had been through...

Something was off about his whole encounter with Mark. Something incredibly strange. It wasn't just a really strong case of love at first sight, there was more to it. There had to be more to it. Something he wasn't understanding. Something almost... supernatural.

He had considered the idea that Mark was a wizard of some sort or had some kind of love potion made to make Jinyoung feel the way he did. That was the only remotely plausible explanation as to why the prince suddenly felt like he had found the other half of himself by chance in the middle of a rundown market.

It didn't explain the way his body reacted to seeing him and subsequently touching him though. That was not mental or emotional. That was a physical need for contact with him.

As confused as he was and how much this whole thing freaked him out, he knew one thing for certain...

He needed to see Mark again. And he would do anything to make that happen.

"Jinyoung..." A soft whisper, that the prince barely heard, flitted through the air of the otherwise silent bedroom.

He turned over in his bed to look at where his door was cracked a little open and saw familiar puppy eyes blinking cutely at him. Turning back again, he sighed, "What’s up, Jackson?"

The older prince seemed to have taken that as a cue to come inside the room and slip into bed behind his friend and cuddle up to him, "Hey... what happened earlier? Why'd you disappear? Where did you go?"

"I just needed some time alone." the Prince of Darkness muttered.

"We were all worried about you." Jackson scolded, "Nobody knew what happened to you."

"Nothing happened to me. I survived. I think I can handle being by myself for half an hour." Jinyoung spat bitterly.

The Ice Prince sighed, cool breath dancing on the back of the other man's neck and elicting a shudder from him, "It's dangerous. Not just for you, but if you get in with the wrong people, you could put the whole Kingdom in danger."

"Jackson..."

"Just... be careful... Ok?"

Jinyoung paused, "I will."

"Tell me..." Jackson whispered, touching the tip of his nose to the nape of the younger's neck, "Are you seeing someone? Is that why you wanted to be alone?"

"What are you talking about..?" Jinyoung asked back, feeling his heart jump.

"The princess that caused the elemental genocide… she started acting out and rebelling after she met that guy. She also used to run away from the guards to be with him whenever she could. And we all know how that ended.”

"I... I would never hurt any of you..." Jinyoung assured.

Jackson went silent, breathing slowly, and Jinyoung was suddenly nervous because the Ice Prince was hardly ever quiet. "So there is someone..." he finally spoke, breaking the suffocating silence, "You're seeing someone..."

"I'm not..."

"Who is it?"

"Jackson..."

"Tell me."

"I'm not seeing anybody, but... t-there was… an interesting guy in town.." The Prince of Darkness admitted unsurely.

Jackson said nothing and just rolled over, slipping out of Jinyoung's bed and wordlessly heading for the door.

Jinyoung felt his heart sink.

Despite the ring and all the talk about engagement, the two princes hadn't really gone through the dating phase or anything like that. They were just best friends who were going to spend the rest of their lives together. Jinyoung would question his feelings for Jackson often, but whenever they were together, any doubt would usually fly out the window.

Still, romantic or not, he loved Jackson and he would never purposely hurt him.

But...

If Jackson interfered with his plans tomorrow…

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A/N:  Heyyy, chapter 2 is done and we're starting to get somewhere!
        So, Mark is special and Jinyoung is just SO confused. Oh and Jaebeom is sassy. And Jackson is upset. That's basically this chapter in a nutshell lol
         I never know what to say in these A/Ns cause i have a habit of spoiling the story in advance, so I'm just gonna stop here then......

Thank you so much JinyoungsMark for the comment and upvote! I really really appreciate it, so thank you thank you~ <3

Thank you to everyone who subscribed as well. It's my first fic that's not Subscribers Only, so the fact that people still subscribe makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Thank you.