They traveled back to the Union by air, so they could get there faster. During Jinyoung’s recovery, Jackson had put together an emergency governing body to step in and handle the unrest that had proceeded Blue Rose’s death until Yi En was able to return, and they had allowed him use of the royal jet and ordered his presence at Yi En’s bedside as an Imperial representative. So it was that Jaebum, Jackson, Jinyoung, and Yugyeom found themselves flying in considerable luxury, accompanied by the most veteran pilot of the Imperial Air Force.

“Don’t reckon I like this flying business,” Jackson said. “Soon as I can, I’m going back to where I stabled my new horse Wild Rose in Beauland and start honing my riding skills again. Nearly getting my backside whooped by Blue Rose showed me I wasn’t the same Hard-Riding Huntsman I used to be back in the day.”

“What’s the deal with that, anyways?” Jaebum asked. “Why do you call yourself a huntsman? I’ve never seen you shoot an animal.”

“It’s just a stage name. Rather than a rancher like I told you I was, I was an exhbition quick draw and trick shooter, as well as a trick rider. I had a traveling performance, once upon a time. My mentor gave me the Huntsman name because I'm such a clean shot.”

“Huh. So how would a traveling performer get tangled up in all this?”

“I’m a good shot, and Blue Rose wanted to shoot Yi En.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Jinyoung said.

“It would be a pretty unsatisfying way to go, wouldn’t it? An heir to the throne of one of the most important nations in the world who survived against all the odds, killed by an exhibition performer.” Jackson laughed mirthlessly, looking at Jaebum. “Matter of fact, you’re lucky I didn’t shoot you when I first met you, sweetheart. I was on high alert.”

“By the way, what do you want me to call you now?” Jaebum asked. “Jackson? Jiaer?”

“Can’t you just call me the same thing I call you?”

“I’m not calling you anything all touchy-feely in front of my prince.”

“I don’t mind,” Jinyoung said.

“Well, I do. The Law might be gone, but I still have a sense of occasion.”

“Call me what you like, then,” Jackson said. “I’ll like whichever name it is, if it’s you.”

Jaebum decided he would have to think about it a little more. He was more used to calling him Jackson at this point, and still thought of him as that in his head. Still, there was something to be said for calling the person you loved by their true name. Maybe he’d save that for intimate moments, when no one else was around. Something like that perfectly suited his sense of occasion.

All in all, the flight was a reasonably short one, and they made good time reaching Bastien City. Customs and immigration once again took ages, especially now that Jinyoung and Jaebum’s asylum situation had changed. They were technically safe to go back to Solitude, but Jinyoung insisted they should still be admitted into the country given that they were still enrolled in university.

Eventually, the customs officer conceded that their paperwork still allowed them to keep attending university and living in the District Capital, and he and Jaebum were cleared. Jackson, who had an entertainment and performance permit, had a much easier time of it. Yugyeom, who could disappear at will, had the easiest time of it of all.

When they finally made it outside, it seemed to hit Jinyoung that the moment of truth was finally upon him. He looked torn between wanting to run all the way to Imperialtown without stopping to breathe and dawdling a little longer rather than face up to the uncertainty of how Yi En would react to him once awake. The hesitation was only momentary, though. A second later, he took in a determined breath, eyes practically blazing with purpose.

“I want to see him,” he said. “Jackson, lead the way.”

Jackson led them through Bastien City’s downtown district until it emptied out into a clean and quiet area reminiscent of the Imperial city where Jinyoung had been hospitalized. There seemed to be a solemn hush over the area, and when the citizens saw their procession led by Jackson, they whispered excitedly amongst themselves. “Long live the Emperor!” one man called out. After all the news broadcasts, they must have known exactly who they were and why they were here.

Jackson took them to a building covered in protective boarding, rapped once on the door, and opened it. They stepped inside the former museum, and though Jaebum was curious about the display of old items inside, Jinyoung didn’t seem to notice them. He went straight to the back where the orange-haired Fairy Guardian was sitting in front of a gold coffin.

“Thank you for watching over him,” he said to BamBam. “Thank you for being with him all those years when I couldn’t.”

BamBam looked surprised at first, perhaps by Jinyoung’s use of the word ‘years’ when for all the world knew, Jinyoung and Yi En had only met that very year. But suddenly, a look of comprehension dawned on BamBam’s face. “You know,” he said. “I heard a Guardian can only remember the person they’re protecting now and never the people they protected before. Some say it’s because fairies have crap memories or so we don’t get hung up on the past. But others say it’s because we always end up protecting the same person, in the end.” BamBam smiled at Jinyoung. “Ya know what, I hope that last one is true. I like Yi En. I never tell him that enough. So why don’t you wake him up so he knows how much he’s loved in reality instead of just dreams, huh?”

Jinyoung nodded. He turned to Yi En’s sleeping form in the gold coffin, reaching out gently to touch his cheek. “Hi,” he said softly. His voice was so gentle that Jaebum felt like he was intruding on something intimate by being in the room. “I came back for you. I don’t know if that’s what you would want or if you’d rather have anyone else in the world be your true love’s kiss right now, but… I’m here.” Tears were slipping down his eyes now. “I’m finally here. And I hope and pray with all my heart that this time the universe will finally let me be with you.”

He leaned down and closed his eyes.

Yi En didn’t want to open his eyes. He felt the familiar touch of lips against him, and he didn’t want it to be a dream. It felt real, but so did everything about his memories of Jinyoung but for his ability to touch them. But wasn’t what he was feeling right now a touch? And wasn’t the way it felt and how good it was an unmistakable stamp of Jinyoung’s presence?

The lips against his pulled away, and Yi En released a low note of frustration. He cracked open his eyes. Jinyoung was leaning down above him, his dark eyes glittering with tears. His dye job had faded since the last time Yi En had seen him, and his hair was back to its beautiful natural color. There were dark circles under his swollen eyes, but he was smiling.

Yi En looped his arms around his neck and pulled Jinyoung back down to him, into his…it definitely wasn’t a bed, was it? Now that he thought of it, he had absolutely no idea where he could have ended up after Blue Rose had poisoned him. But the closer Jinyoung got, the less he cared about where he was. He kissed him again and again, squeezing him tight against him, reveling in the feel of his body. He was awake, he was sure of it now. Jinyoung had never felt this solid in his dreams. Only the reality of him could be this perfect and consume Yi En this much.

Yi En could feel something wet fall against his cheeks. Jinyoung really was crying, and he couldn’t have that, even if he had to stop kissing him for a moment. Yi En drew back, wiping away his tears with his thumb. “What is it?” he asked.

“Everything,” Jinyoung said with a loud sniff. “I’m so happy…I’m just so happy right now. But…we’re kissing in a coffin and everyone’s watching, just so you know.”

Yi En turned his head. BamBam, Jiaer, and JB were all standing there, accompanied by a guy with violet hair who Yi En didn’t know. Jiaer gave a sheepish smile, JB politely looked away, BamBam was sticking out his tongue, and the guy with violet hair’s lips were pursed into an impressed ‘O’.

“Would you all mind going away for a second?” Yi En said to their audience. “I mean, I’d love to have everything explained to me, but right now, I need to talk to Jinyoung.”

“Right, then, everyone out,” Jiaer said immediately.

“And Jiaer?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

“I don’t reckon you know if I even did anything or not since you fell asleep, Emperor Yi En.”

Emperor?, Yi En thought. He could guess what that meant, but didn’t want to ask right at that moment, not when he still had so many other things he needed to say. “Well, I reckon you’ve done plenty for me to thank you for all the same, partner,” he said instead, mimicking Jiaer’s tone.

“Maybe so.” Jiaer smiled cheekily before he left, shutting the door behind him.

When they were all gone, Yi En turned back to look up at Jinyoung. Jinyoung had lifted himself off him, and extended his hand to pull Yi En up, too. His hand was trembling, and as Yi En took it, he tried to steady it within his. He then swung his legs down from where he’d been resting, which to his amazement, really was a coffin.

“Where am I?” he asked.

“Imperialtown in Bastien City. Do you know it?”

“Of course I know it. I supposedly had an aunt who was murdered here for attempting to memorialize my mother.” He glanced down at the placard in front of the coffin and read it. A lump immediately formed in his throat. This aunt of his hadn’t even known him and had assumed he was dead just as much as everyone else did, but had done a kinder gesture for him than the father who had resigned his mother and the baby he’d thought was his son to a small grave outside of the Imperial family plot.  “Looks like she built this for us to be buried in.”

“Which will be a long, long time from now.” Jinyoung’s voice cracked a little as he said this. Yi En swallowed. Something had happened to Jinyoung while he’d been asleep. He was hurting, and he needed Yi En. But Yi En didn’t know yet where or how he could make it better yet.

“Talk to me,” he said to Jinyoung gently.

“I have so much to say,” Jinyoung said, still struggling to blink away his tears. “But to start with, I want to tell you I’m sorry. I should have told you the truth from the beginning.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. Neither of us should have. We both were in danger and didn’t know who to trust.”

“But I loved you. As soon as I knew that, I should have told you. You should have never found out the way you did. You must have hated me so much when you saw it. How I smiled at her. After everything she did to your family.”

Yi En sighed. “I’m not going to lie and make myself out to be a good guy, Jinyoung,” he said. “I was angry. I misunderstood and thought you were just settling for having me as a temporary thing before going through with your marriage because you weren’t brave enough to break the Law. I should have known you better than that.”

“But you thought that because I let you think that. I was the one who said things like ‘just this once’ and ‘let’s erase the future.’ How could I have been so stupid? The future is the most important thing we have. I know that now. I’ll never be that careless with the time we have again.” He clutched tightly to Yi En’s hands. “The Law is gone now. My brother won the battle I should have been brave enough to fight with him. I’m not bound by anything anymore.”

“And Blue Rose?”

“Dead. You’re Emperor. So many people are waiting for you there.” Jinyoung’s voice lowered. “She did so many horrible things, Yi En.”

“That old woman she appeared as when she poisoned me…that’s who she really was, right? Her beauty was all a lie?”

“It was something she stole from others. She was killing people to make herself young, beautiful, and powerful. But no matter how hard she tried, she could never be more beautiful than you. Not with that hideous soul she had.”

“Why did she want you? Was she using you to hurt me?”

“She wanted me because I look just like the ancestor of mine who…who was the first to witness her descent into insanity. She never forgave him for it, and the grudge carried down through the generations.” Jinyoung took his hand. “But it’s over now. You can go home.”

Home. The word rested heavily on Yi En’s heart. He’d never actually been to the Imperial Palace before. Home had always been the cottage with his foster mother, and he could hardly be an Emperor and live there. And more recently, home had been his cozy dorm room with Jinyoung and all the things they had chosen together and shared between them. But could they even go back there? Yi En had the responsibility of the Empire now, and Jinyoung could return to a Solitude where he could be happy and free.

“What about you?” Yi En asked. “Are you leaving?”

Jinyoung shook his head. “I thought about it a lot while I was…on my way here. My brother is going to be king, and he’ll have a family one day, so I don’t really have any thoughts of inheriting the throne. If that’s the case, why can’t I stay in school? I was always honest about wanting to study history. Now more than ever, since I know how much of it can get lost and twisted and lied about in the wrong hands.”

Yi En smiled. “I’m glad. I’m sure you’ll be amazing at whatever you put your mind to. Whoever thought you should settle for being just a consort, and to my evil stepmother no less, was a fool.”

“Well, my parents were never really known for having their hearts and minds in the right place.” Jinyoung sighed. “I wish…I wish you could keep going to school, too. It’ll always feel like that part of our story was never really finished. The part where we lived a normal life and the outside world couldn’t touch us for awhile.”

“I’m not sure we were ever really normal, even then. It was all as illusory as Blue Rose’s beauty.” Yi En walked around the room a little as he thought. Everywhere he turned was one of his mother’s things. He’d never met her, and the disconnect when he saw the pictures of her that his equally unknown aunt had preserved made him feel deeply sad. At least she’d gotten to die with her own mind, unlike his father. Yi En had always hated his father, even though he knew in his heart that the man his father had once been had died the moment Blue Rose had taken control of him.

He’d been denied so much of his life thanks to the power struggles of the Empire. He didn’t want to risk losing the part of his life Jinyoung had touched to the exact same thing.

“If I have to go back, I have to go back,” Yi En said finally. “I’m not going to let the Empire stay as what Blue Rose reduced it to. I can’t. But even if I have to go, I have no intention of leaving you behind. The palace will always be welcome to you on your holidays and breaks. It’s really not that far, if you think about it. It’s a reasonably short boat trip, and I’m assuming I’ll have access to the royal yacht.”

Jinyoung smiled a little. “Getting back through Union customs will be hell.”

“I’m sure between us, we can work it out. If not, maybe my Fairy Guardian can use his masking powers to sneak you through customs.”

“I have a Fairy Guardian, too, you know. In fact, I should warn you that he might start calling you ‘Dad’ when he meets you.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure I actually want to explain.” Jinyoung paused. “The Empire is supposed to have good universities, right?”

Yi En’s spirits lifted. “Excellent. World class. Even better than the Union’s, some would argue.”

“Maybe a transfer could be arranged, then. Although the Union does have Matty’s Milkshakes. Can’t forget that.”

“What if I pay her to open up a franchise in the Empire?”

“I have a feeling you’ll be doing more important things with your power than that.” Jinyoung lifted an eyebrow. “Perhaps arranging a strategic marriage? Princess Ivancicca from the Collective is single.”

“Becoming Emperor hasn’t magically made me straight, Jinyoung. Besides, I don’t think the Empire will be able to handle a new Empress in the picture for a long, long time. Maybe the generation after me. If you want to have kids.”

Jinyoung blinked. “You’re skipping ahead to discussing our future children? I can’t get pregnant, by the way. That’s beyond my scope.”

“We’ll adopt. If you are interested in forming a Union-Solitude marriage alliance one day, that is.”

“Now he asks. And I might consider it, somewhere along the line. For now, I think I’d just like to focus on being your boyfriend. If we’re still a thing.”

“I don’t recall ever breaking up.”

“Me either.”  

“Although I’d like to clear the air on one thing. That whole thing about me having a crush on you thanks to Real Royals… I don’t want you to be bothered by that. That was all very genuine, but I don’t weigh it against us now. You were my first puppy love and my ual awakening, but that’s really nothing to the fact that you were also my first kiss and my first ual everything and my first real, fully adult love. I do love you, too. Have I said that before?”

Jinyoung nodded. “Please don’t worry about the Real Royals thing. Maybe that bothered me awhile ago, but everything’s changed, now. And besides, you were my first love, too, in a deeper sense that you’ll ever know.” He paused. “I love you, too. And I love that you can still say you’re in love with me. You accept that it’s not just Junior you’re saying that to, right? I know Junior is me, but Prince Jinyoung is also me, and there are things that are the same about us and things that are different and-”

“It’s two sides of the same love,” Yi En said. “If you told me tomorrow you wanted to chop all your hair off and go by a completely different name, you’d still be the one for me. Though being honest with you, I’m glad you got your hair back. You look comfortable, being yourself again. I’m humbled by your beauty every time I look at you.”

“Says the certifiable fairest of them all.”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing.” Jinyoung pressed a kiss against his cheek. “I think I’d like to stay this version of me for a good long time, though. The version who gets a happily ever after with you.” He kissed him one more time, this time on the lips, and Yi En felt a second reawakening coming over him. It was time to stop wallowing in the past. A future was waiting for him, and he needed to step up to meet it. His days of living as a hidden secret were over, and something new was beginning.

“I’m definitely ready for some happiness,” Yi En said, wrapping an arm around Jinyoung’s waist. “But before that, we should bring everyone else back in here so you can tell me what the hell happened while I was sleeping. It must be an incredible story.”

“You have no idea,” Jinyoung said. “Better sit down. It’s going to be a wild ride.”

Jinyoung, Jiaer, and Jaebum all seemed a little tired of going back and forth between the Union and the Empire, but the moment he stepped into the royal jet, Yi En felt a rush of blended anticipation and excitement. Everything was going to change, and while that terrified him, it thrilled him as well. He wasn’t going to be Blue Rose’s plot device anymore. He was going to have a say in his own story, and he was going to do things that would shape the world.

He turned his head, looking at Jinyoung who was staring out the window and studying the ocean beneath him with rapt fascination. It made him feel all the more secure that it wasn’t a journey he would be going on alone. He wasn’t sure how easy it would be running a country full-time while dating and getting to know his true love better in between, but he was going to make it work. Jinyoung was right: he didn’t want to give that part of the story an abrupt ending.

He wondered how his advisors—whoever they would be—would feel about him going to university part-time as well. He had really liked his time in school, after all, and he knew he still had a lot to learn. He probably wouldn’t get to live in a dorm or be allowed to go to a disco club, but maybe he’d at least have a few hours in the day when he’d get to feel like everyone else for a little bit.

There was a mob of reporters and cameramen already swarming around the runway where they landed. Yi En’s nerves returned, but almost immediately Jinyoung was at his side, resting his head against his shoulder. “You’re lucky,” he said. “No matter what you do, you can’t possibly be worse than your predecessor. No pressure, right?”

Yi En laughed. “Oh, none at all.”

“I’m sure they’ll love you.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“Exactly.”

The first person waiting for him when he descended from the jet was his foster mother. She’d aged a bit in the months he’d been away, most likely from worry, but Yi En found her more beautiful than he ever had. Through everything he’d lost in his life, she’d made sure he’d never been without a mother’s love, and even as sheltered and isolated as he had been, he’d hadn’t grown up absent of the knowledge of love and how to give and receive it thanks to her.

“Yi En,” she whispered when she saw him. Yi En ran to her, throwing his arms around her back.

“Thank you,” he said hoarsely. He’d been doing more than his fair share of crying recently, but he couldn’t help but let the fresh tears fall. He never would have gotten to experience anything, if not for her. He wouldn’t have had a childhood, an adolescence where he’d stumble across Prince Jinyoung on TV, a young adulthood where he’d meet him in person and make his own story before it got swallowed up in his stepmother’s.

“Thank me by doing the best with the life I saved,” his mother said, kissing his cheek. “Be an Emperor that will make your lady mother proud as she looks down at you from the heavens.”

“I will. I promise.”

The photographers ravenously took photos of this embrace, and though Yi En felt annoyed at their intrusion, he realized well enough that this was his life now. If they were going to capture and obsess over his life from now on, he was glad at least that this was the kind of moment they’d remember him by. Don’t remember me for weakness like my father, or beauty and madness like Blue Rose. Remember me for love.

He squeezed his mother in his arms one more time, then let her go to meet the crowd.

“My people,” he said, testing the words on his tongue for the first time. “You don’t know me yet, but I am Tuan Yi En, the trueborn heir to the Imperial Throne. Before now, I have lived my life in hiding. I have lived on the run, masking myself behind a false name and identity. Even when you were all in the greatest peril, I could do no more than sleep trapped in a world of dreams while heroes from Solitude set you free. I have failed you. I have not been there for you when you needed me. I would understand if none of you saw my belated return as a blessing, when I am just a stranger whose only claim to power comes from carrying the blood of the late Emperor who failed you just as much.” He swallowed. “But I’m tired of hiding. I’m tired of not being there for the people I care about the most. I want to be stronger, not just for myself but for all of you. Blue Rose is gone, but the greed, vanity, hatred, and selfishness she represented still exists. There will always be people like her, people who only live in their own hearts and refuse to understand the hearts of others, using them as tools to satisfy their own wants and desires. I’m not sure how much I can and should promise, as new to this whole thing as I am. But if there’s one thing I can promise, it’s that I won’t hold myself above all of you. Everything I have, every blessing I’ve been given in life, I will share with you. I’ve seen what happens when someone hoards every drop of beauty, power, adoration, wealth, and glory they can find, and it doesn’t look like it leads to happiness to me. So I want to share every blessing and gift in this world with you, so I am never the  ‘whatever-est’ of them all no matter what that ‘whatever’ is, but that all of us—the whole Empire collectively, each and every one of us—is the fairest, happiest, liveliest, and most blessed of them all.”

It was a fluffy speech, and he knew it. Eventually, he’d have to drilldown to the details and explain just exactly how he was going to make this vision a reality from his economic policies to his social reform. It would take some time to even begin to prove to them that he meant what he said and could see it through in reality. But he hoped at the very least that they could see his genuine intent to do good. In a world where a single evil heart could destroy people for generations and stain the fabric of history forever, he hoped it counted for something.

“Long live the Empire!” someone in the audience called out. “Long live Emperor Tuan Yi En!”

“Long live the Empire!”

The cry began echoing among the people until they were all united under a single voice. It was easy now, with a moment to sweep them up in, but it would be harder soon enough when the excitement had died down and life moved on. He would have to work his hardest to keep them this united as they moved into the future, but he wanted to make it happen with all his heart. He turned around to look at the ones behind him, at Jaebum and Jiaer with their arms around each other, at BamBam and Yugyeom dancing gleefully, at Jinyoung smiling his sweetest, warmest smile. He saw the belief clear as day on their faces and held it close to his heart, knowing that he wasn’t alone in the world, and there were people who believed in him as much as he dared to believe in himself.

Several months later…

“1..2..3…and go!”

Jaebum took a breath and slid one of his feet out of the stirrups, kicked it upwards, and dangled off the back of his horse Patience.  He oriented himself quickly to his vision being turned around and spotted the targets, pulling down on the trigger of his pistol. 1…2…3. Patience galloped in front of the targets, and Jaebum observed the results. Two bullseyes and one miss.

“Better,” Jackson said from the back of Wild Rose. “Almost got that last one.”

“But I didn’t.”

“But you will. You should take a lesson from your horse’s name.”

Jaebum groaned and heaved himself upright onto Patience’s back. “But it’s my fault you’re not back on the road yet. Think of all the money you could be making as a solo act if you didn’t have to wait for me to learn the routines.”

“Thanks to Yi En going ahead and paying me proper for my bodyguarding services, I’m swimming in cash now. And I’m more than happy to wait until I can become a duo act and hit the road by your side, sweetheart. It takes time, learning this stuff. You can’t master trick riding in a day.”

That was for sure. They’d been at it for months now, and Jaebum still had a lot to learn. After Yi En had been coronated, Jackson had stayed around for awhile as Captain of the Guard, and Jaebum had stayed in the Empire as well as Jinyoung’s bodyguard after the prince had successfully transferred into Central Imperial University to continue his History degree. But both Yi En and Jinyoung had gotten tired of Jackson and Jaebum’s constant shadowing of their every move and begged them to “get a life” so they could enjoy a little privacy as a couple, and that was when Jackson announced he was interested in resuming his career in performance. He’d wanted to go to Beauland in the Union for some refresher training on his old tricks and skills, and had invited Jaebum to go along with him. “You’re a good shot and know your way around a horse, so why not become my performance partner? Or my performance sweetheart, if you’d prefer.”

Jaebum much preferred the idea to becoming anyone else’s bodyguard—there was absolutely no replacing Jinyoung in his life, now or ever—and had agreed to it right away. There was no question at this point that he wanted to stick around Jackson for the long run, and this way they could travel and visit both Junho and Youngjae in Solitude regularly, and Yi En and Jinyoung in the Empire. Besides, being a trick shooter would give him a perfectly valid reason to continue building his gun collection to his heart’s content.

Still, it was a daily battle learning the tricks that came to Jackson naturally. Jaebum had done well at trick shooting on his own two feet, but it was another story doing the same thing from the back of a moving horse while doing acrobatic stunts on it. Jaebum had always thought he was flexible, but Jackson gave him a run for his money.

“Let’s work on your positioning a little,” Jackson said. “C’mere.”

Jaebum brought Patience over to where Jackson had been observing Jaebum’s routine. Jackson hopped down from Wild Rose so he could adjust Jaebum more easily. “Try that back dangle again.”

Jaebum did, removing his foot from the stirrup and dangling himself off Patience’s side. Jackson immediately got to work adjusting his leg extension and positioning his arms for the steadiest shot. “Good. This right here is the ideal posture to get the bullseye. I know it’s hard to keep perfectly steady while the horse is galloping, but if you follow the timing we discussed, it should help you get at least part of your bullet hole in the center.”

“Thanks for the advice, but would you mind stepping to the side now?”

“Why? Want to practice shooting?”

“More like my loaded gun is currently aimed for your crotch at the moment.”

“I’m touched that you want to protect it from harm.”

“Shuddup.” Since Jackson wasn’t moving, but instead heading closer, Jaebum slipped the gun back in its holster.

“I’ll shut you up, greenhorn,” Jackson said softly. He kissed Jaebum gently, upside down like those cheesy movie kisses. It was incredible how he could make the cringiest things feel like magic. Jaebum still couldn’t believe at times that he’d gone from being a rigid, single-minded royal bodyguard to being in love with the outlaw who’d stolen his heart, but was happy that his life had taken this wild, unexpected turn all the same.

“I reckon I’ve had enough practice for today,” Jaebum said when they pulled apart. “Think I might like a little time to rest in bed with my sweetheart.”

Jackson grinned. “Now you’re speaking my language. Though I hope that ‘rest’ part was a joke.”

“We’ll see now, won’t we?”

Jaebum lifted himself again, the world reorienting itself in his eyes. It was such a beautiful world, too, so green and blue and endless. And right in the center of his vision was a sign in the same colors, hung on the fence to remind them of the equally sprawling future to come: The Sharp Shooter Sweethearts Traveling Act: Coming Soon!

Jinyoung always brought a massive stack of books to his Solitudanese History class. He was only a second-year student, and an undergraduate at that, but already he was thinking ahead to his graduate’s degree and thesis paper. It was an ambitious project, one that would take years of research and uncovering old documents and letters that may or may not have survived the passage of time, but he was determined to do it, no matter how much time and effort it took. His legacy as the Second Prince of Solitude would be to prove what he already knew to be true: that Prince Jumong of Solitude was not the villain history had made him out to be.

It would have been easy if he could have cited Blue Rose’s direct confession to his face and his own lingering remembrance of his past life, but that would require a lot of explaining and people thinking he was crazy, and probably wouldn’t even be considered historically valid anyways. He’d have to prove it in a way no one would be able to refute, and that was going to take a lot of legwork. He may even have to travel to Void at some point, or at the very least figure out if anything remained of the estate and belongings of Jumong’s lover, Yizong.

It was a good thing to focus his energy on, though. He hoped that one day he could rule at Yi En’s side in the Empire as his husband, but for now he was still a prince of Solitude. Junho was reforming the country through his social and legal directives in the present, and Jinyoung would reform it by giving it back its proper history.

While he waited for the professor and the rest of the class to arrive, Jinyoung cracked open his copy of The Solitudanese Compendium of the Marriage Arrangements of the Royal Family. It was probably one of the dullest books on the planet, but it contained the only written record of the letter of suit written on Prince Jumong’s behalf to Princess Aneksi, as well as the subsequent engagement proceedings between Solitude and Void. Had Jinyoung’s parents remained in power, his own engagement and marriage negotiations with Blue Rose would have been included in the book, a thought which always made him sober when he opened it.

“Marriage Arrangements?” a familiar voice came from beside him. “Are you reserving a place in that book for your own marriage arrangements into the Imperial Family?”

Jinyoung whipped his head around. It wasn’t completely uncommon for Yi En to show up on campus. They were in a public relationship that was very carefully documented by the gossip mags (Real Royals of the Minor Realms even contacted them on a daily basis to discuss the possibility of having an entire reality show dedicated to their romance), and Yi En regularly came around to pick Jinyoung up from school and drive him to the palace with his brand new driver’s license, visit him at the dorms, or attend soccer games with him. If Jinyoung was lucky, sometimes he’d even show up for lunch so they could eat on the campus green under their favorite gingko tree together.

That was all to be expected. Yi En, however, had never shown up in any of Jinyoung’s actual classes. Until today, apparently.

“What are you doing here?” Jinyoung asked, almost falling out of his seat in shock.

Yi En grinned at him. He had been looking quite different these days from the emo boy with the bright red hair Jinyoung had first met. His hair was back to black and had grown out enough for him to tie it back in the trendy Imperial style, and when Jinyoung saw him in the palace, he was usually in some manner of ceremonial clothing. Today, however, he was wearing a pair of his tight black pants from the Union paired with a Central Imperial University sweatshirt he’d bought when Jinyoung had received his acceptance letter.

“I’m here to learn Solitudanese History,” he said. “I thought it would be nice to learn a little more about my boyfriend’s home country, now that I know for sure that whole New Hampden thing was BS.”

“You knew that from the beginning,” Jinyoung snarked. “What, are you shadowing the class for the day?”

“Nope.” Yi En pulled out a student ID. “I’m actually a part-time student here now. As it turns out, I’m governing just well enough to squeeze in some time to complete my education, although I may have failed to tell my advisors that I’ll probably be focusing more on campus life with Jinyoungie than homework and test taking. I’m just dying to do the laundry with you again, babe.”

Jinyoung’s eyes widened, and an irrepressible grin started spreading on his face. “I have a load of whites that I’ve been putting off.”

“Let’s do it after class, then. I’ll handle the bleach if you bring the detergent.”

Jinyoung felt like bubbling over with laughter. So much had changed, but it was comfortable to go back to the place where they had started. The professors were probably going to have to deal with a frenzy having the Emperor himself in class, and students were undoubtedly going to be snapping pictures of them left and right to sell to the gossip mags, but Jinyoung found he really didn’t care. It was just such a happy feeling to get this little piece of who they had once been back and add it to the picture of who they were now and who they were becoming.

“Welcome back,” Jinyoung said, reaching over to pinch a bit of his cheeks. “I hope you’re ready for some more experiences with me.”

“I’m ready for everything in the world with you, Prince Jinyoung,” Yi En said, playfully grabbing Jinyoung’s fingers and playing with them. “Now and ever after.”

A/N: Hey all, thanks for going on this wild and weird ride with me! Hope you enjoyed!

Next Friday is ~Valentine's Day~, and since I'd rather celebrate it for Markjin than for myself, V-day will be the kick off for my next multi-chap! This one will be a legal face off between Prosecutor Jinyoung and criminal suspect Mark, plus Defense Attorney Jaebum and Prosecutor Youngjae. Annnnnd, it's very ty~