A/N notes at the end~ ^^

“Eunha please wake up!”

Eunha’s eyes shot open, a gasp escaping her lips as soon as she did. For a moment she wasn’t able to register what was going on. She was sure that she was just lying on the floor in Sojung’s study a second ago, but now she could feel the comfortable mattress of Sojung’s bed underneath her prone figure. The familiar starry ceiling of Sojung’s room being the one that met her eyes, but the most prominent of all was Sojung’s figure looming over hers, her brows furrowed in worry that soon turned to relief as soon as their eyes met.

“Sojung…”

She watched as the mage let out a relieved sigh before leaning forward and resting her head on the woman’s stomach tiredly, worry enveloping her entire being. It was then that Eunha noticed the shaky hand that was holding tightly onto hers.

“I thought you wouldn’t wake up…” Sojung’s muffled voice made its way to her ears.

“Is that… really you, Sojung?”

The woman sat up and looked over in her direction with a small smile and nod, “It’s me.” she leaned close and placed a small kiss on her forehead, “I’m here.”

Eunha clutched tighter onto her hand, while the other reached up, touching her cheek with her gaze not leaving hers for one second, “It’s really you?”

“Yes.” Sojung placed her hand over the one on her cheek, nuzzling against it gently, “It’s really me. The nightmare’s over, Eunha.”

Eunha sat up with Sojung’s help and looked around her. It was then that she registered the current state she was in.

To sum it all up, she looked like a mess. Her bed hair was sticking up in all random directions, her forehead littered with cold sweat and her fringe sticking onto it like glue. She placed a hand on her chest, feeling her heart and noticed how it was hammering loudly in her chest and how she was breathing with slight difficulty as if she just ran nonstop for the past hour. She looked over at Sojung again and saw her still wearing a concerned expression, at the same time a look of understanding, knowing what just happened for her to end up like this.

“Did it happen again?” Eunha asked.

Sojung nodded grimly, “It looked a lot worse this time too. It’s already noon and I’ve been trying to wake you up for hours.”

Eunha let out a tired sigh, scooting back and resting her back against the bed’s headboard. Sojung had gone ahead and taken up the empty space beside the fairy and wrapped her arms around her in a protective hug that Eunha was more than happy to succumb herself into.
 

“Want to tell me what happened in your dream this time?” Sojung asked.

Eunha shook her head, burying her face in the crook of her neck, “I’m just glad you’re here now.”

Sojung decided not to push the issue further and hugged the fairy tighter against herself, tilting her head slightly so she could place a loving kiss on her temple. Eunha wasn’t able to help the smile that blossomed on her face at the gesture, making her completely forget all the suffering she felt not too long ago.

She’s glad that reality isn’t as harsh.

Eunha has been having recurring nightmares as of late, and every time she had them, it was harder to get her to wake up. At first, she never thought much about it, the first nightmare had been a month ago, and it wasn’t as bad as the one she had just a few moments ago. She had brushed it off since having nightmares was normal, she even made fun of it with Sinb back then, but then the nightmares started becoming a common occurrence. In a week, she would have four nightmare-filled sleeps at most and every time, it was getting harder and harder for her to wake up and return to reality.

Apparently the nightmares felt so real that the memories and her memories of the real world have become mixed up and for Sojung, it was concerning.

“Sojung, if you forgot about me, would you hate me?” Eunha suddenly spoke up, causing the mage to look down at her worriedly.

“Was that what your dream was about this time?”

She nodded.

Sojung leaned back slightly so she could cup the fairy’s face in her hands. Staring straight into her eyes, she said with the most sincerity and conviction she could muster, “Never.”

Eunha just smiled, watching as Sojung rested her forehead against hers, “I would never hate you. If that happens, I’d rather die.”

“Don’t say that.” the fairy reprimanded her, a small pout forming on her face at the soft chuckle Sojung let out but deep inside her, she felt her chest burst just at the amount of love and sincerity she sensed just from those words alone.

“I love you too much to hate you.” Sojung continued.

Eunha could only smile, trying her best to contain all the fireworks and the butterfly storm currently going in her stomach, “I love you too.”

---

“Nothing really happened at the desert.” Sojung informed Eunha while making some breakfast, well lunch, since it was already noon, “Your friend welcomed us and led us to the location of the flowers and allowed us to take us much as we wanted since they didn’t have any need for them anyway. I felt bad just taking all of them so I taught them that the flowers could be used as a cure if used properly. After that, we waited until we can use the orb again and transported ourselves back here.”

While Sojung was cooking, Eunha had gone ahead and narrated everything that had happened in the dream, as per the mage’s request, and after finishing, Sojung had tried to fact check the scenarios that happened in reality and the ones that happened in the nightmare so that Eunha wouldn’t mix them up again. The fairy was really thankful to her for going through the trouble though she knew that Sojung would do that without hesitation anyway.

“So there’s nothing real in my dream?” Eunha asked.

“…We are going to have to interrogate Sinb and Yerin a bit later, but as far as I know, I don’t see any connections at all.” Sojung placed Eunha’s breakfast on the table in front of her, “Speaking of the others, they'll be gathering at the council room a bit later. They were worried of your absence too.”

Eunha scoffed, “They probably said something like ‘The little one hasn’t bothered us today yet.’”

Sojung kept quiet at that.

“See? I’m right!” Eunha whined, “I’m not little!”

“They didn’t exactly say little, but they did say annoying.”

“They want annoying huh? I’ll give them annoying!” Eunha huffed, folding her arms across her chest and puffing out her cheeks while grumbling under her breath about the things her friends were saying behind her back. She knew they were just teasing her, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to get back at them at some point.

Sojung, on the other hand, could only smile at the fairy’s direction. Her heart feeling certain emotions that she never got tired of, and she was sure that Eunha could sense them too, and from an outsider’s point of view, they would most likely say that Sojung was looking at Eunha with so much love in her eyes that any other meaning behind Sojung’s stare would be an outright lie.

She was just glad that Eunha seemed back to her lively self again. It was a stark contrast to the agonized look she sported as she tossed and turned in her sleep, the fear-stricken expression that met her as soon as Eunha awakened, and the anxiety she was emanating as she held her close. Sojung hated it when she saw her lover in such a delicate state, as if the smallest prodding will break her to pieces and she didn’t want to see it again. She wants those nightmares gone forever so Eunha can just smile and not worry about anything. She didn’t want to see her trying her hardest to look okay but become plagued with the thoughts of every nightmare that she’s experienced and the fear that she would experience it again before she went to bed. Sojung hated seeing her suffer silently while making it look like it wasn’t a big deal.

She had to do something.

Taking the seat beside Eunha, she was unable to help herself and lean forward, placing a kiss on the woman’s puffed out cheek which deflated when she leaned back.

“You’re kissing me a lot recently.” Eunha observed.

“Do you hate it?”

Eunha stared at her in disbelief, “Do I hate it? No! Give me another on the other side this time!” the fairy excitedly showed the mage her other cheek which Sojung didn’t hesitate to place a kiss on. Soon enough, Eunha was giggling mess as the mage didn’t stop there and continued showering her face with pecks, her laugh music to her ears that she couldn’t get enough of.

Sojung then finally stopped after a while, grinning at the wide smile plastered on the younger woman’s face. Eunha then looked up at her, eyes narrowed playfully and nose scrunched in mock annoyance.

“Why did you stop?”

“I didn’t want to.” Sojung remarked, “But the food is getting cold and you need to eat.”

“Oh right.” Eunha agreed, eyeing the plate of food before her and did not hesitate to take a bite out of it. Sojung continued to watch over her fondly as she devoured the contents of the plate and was finished in a matter of seconds.

“The others were worried too, we should head over to the council room when you’re ready.” she told the fairy, “Yewon’s here too.”

Eunha turned to her in surprise, “Yewon too?”

“She was worried and asked if she could come. I gave her permission of course.” Sojung informed her, “And…”

She turned to her in wonder.

“We’ll have to perform our duties first but right after, I’d like to take you somewhere.” she said, “Alright?”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll know later.” Sojung answered.

---

“Eunha-unnie are you sure you’re okay now? Do you need anything else? I’ve got some medicine on me if your head hurts. Yuna told me that you wouldn’t wake up and—“

“Yewon-ah, I’m fine.” Eunha chuckled while Yewon checked her all over worriedly, “I’m fine. I’m awake now, see?”

Yewon took a step back, but the look of worry did not dwindle even a bit which reminded Eunha of her dream. It was the same feeling that she sensed from the human, perhaps it was because she’s known Yewon long enough to know how she would act in real life, or maybe her dreams have a connection to reality after all. Either way, the concern that the younger woman shows her at that moment warms her heart.

“Are you sure you’re really okay?” Yewon asked one more time to which the fairy nodded.

“I’m sure.”

“If you say so…”

The group was currently gathered at the council room, Sojung and Eunha had immediately headed over as soon as they were ready to leave and saw the others were already gathered there. Needless to say, the fairy was met with a lot of questions upon her arrival and she did her best to answer all of them. It was a bit of task trying to appease their worries, but after a few more explanations, they finally decided to let it go.

“Your sudden nightmare marathon isn’t normal anymore Eunha. Do you have any idea what might cause it?” Yuna asked, voicing out the question the others had in mind.

“I’m not really sure myself. I’ve been thinking a lot about it, but I can’t remember any form of trigger that might have caused it.” Eunha replied, a frown forming on her face as she tried to come up with the source of the nightmares. It wasn’t the location, the weather or anything that involves how she sleeps. Yerin had consulted Sooyoung and was assured that it wasn’t a curse, even Sojung had checked and was unable to find any form of spell that could have caused it.

At one point, Sojung had gotten desperate and she wanted to consult the oracle for answers. If not for Yerin’s intervention and Eunha’s hour-long scolding, she would have gone ahead and did so.

Even Titania, who was the realm’s best fairy healer, was unable to provide any concrete answer, but they were told that it may have something to do with Eunha’s psyche. It was a vague answer, but it was an answer nevertheless and so they worked as much as they could with the information given to them despite it not beinf much to go on from.

“I’m just relieved that you’ve awoken.” Yerin remarked as Eunha looked over at her, “If you didn’t, I doubt I would have been able to keep Sojung from consulting the oracle.”

The mage nodded, “I still think we should.”

“No, we shouldn’t.” Eunha frowned, “I’m sure we can find a way that doesn’t involve asking the oracle.”

“We know that once you ask the oracle, you would either have to give up half of your life, or your crest Sojung.” Yerin agreed, “I’d rather not have an incompetent person replace your leadership.”

“I’m sure we can find a solution to it soon. I mean, if it’s all of us working on it, it’ll show itself.” Sinb told the group, “Anyway, I’m just glad to see you’re okay now Eunha.” The rest of the representatives nodded their heads in agreement, all showing how concerned they were when Eunha was in a deep sleep.

After a few more exchanges of words, the group decided they had to go on and postpone the talk for another time.

“Me and Sinb still have our duties so we best be on our way if we want them to be done soon.” Yerin said, reaching out and grasping the elf’s hand in hers.

“Oh? It’s unlike you to initiate skinship Yerin.” Yuna observed, brows raised in surprise.

Yerin smiled, “Oh, this is not skinship, as you call it. This is me making sure Sinb doesn’t run away from her duties again.” she turned to the elf who just let out a sad sigh, “Let’s go you.”

Sinb was grumbling under her breath as she was dragged over by the nymph to exit the room before letting out an exclamation, “Ah, whatever, at least I get to hold your hand.”

“Don’t celebrate too early.”

“You love me.”

“Of course I do.”

“Wha—“

The four just shook their heads at the bickering that they were witnessing as the two walked away, sharing a laugh when Sinb became a stuttering mess after hearing Yerin’s reply. She must have thought that the nymph would deny, but she must have failed to notice how open Yerin has become ever since the fight with Grimina. It was a nice change, to say the least.

“I’ll go ahead and give Yewon a tour around.” Yuna told them, “And you two?”

“We’ll do our usual inspection.” Sojung answered, “Don’t forget to do your duties Yuna. And Yewon, please make sure she doesn’t get distracted with various things on the way.”

“Yuna tends to get sidetracked a lot.”

“Make sure she keeps a straight path.”

“And that she doesn’t lead you somewhere dark and scary.”

“Here’s a map just in case you get lost.”

“Hey! I came to give Yewon a tour but you’re making it sound like Yewon’s going to be my guide.” Yuna grumbled.

Sojung and Eunha shared a look, “I mean… it’s most likely going to turn that way later.”

“It’s better to be safe.” Sojung handed Yewon a transparent sphere akin to a glass bead, “If you ever get completely lost, use this. It’s a teleportation orb and will bring you straight back here.”

“Thank you Sojung-unnie.” Yewon smiled, “I’ll make sure we never get to use this.”

The mage just nodded as the two watched her drag a pouting Yuna away. Letting out a small chuckle, she looked over at the fairy beside her and asked, “Shall we go on our own way too?”

Eunha shifted to her fairy form and perched herself on the mage’s shoulder. Pointing forwards, she spoke in a commanding voice, “Let’s go!”

Sojung just chuckled at the woman’s antics in amusement before following her command, exiting the room and heading towards their first destination for that day.

The rest of the day just went as usual. As the two roamed about, they were barely hindered by any problems coming from the residents of each region which just showed that everything was going well and was glad that there weren’t any problems that arose during their inspections. Because of this, inspections ended quickly and now they have decided to head over to their private trip with Sojung leading the way. Eunha recognized the path they were going to which was the path leading to the academy. She had yet to ask what they were going to do since it looked like Sojung had something planned but decided not to probe the mage for answers. There was a reason why she was keeping it a secret from her and she had faith that whatever it was, it wasn’t anything that would put the both of them in danger.

She had originally thought that the mage would bring them to her study upon reaching the academy, so she was surprised when they walked past those doors and decided to continue going up the stairs. Eunha followed her wordlessly at the same time filled with wonder on where they would go, that was until they reached the top of the stairs that she realized that Sojung had brought them to the academy’s rooftop where they usually conducted observations of the celestial beings that littered the vast expanse of the night sky. It wasn’t her first time being there so she was surprised to see the absence of the various apparatuses that the mages used for their observations. Instead, she just saw the large empty space that existed right in the middle of the rooftop.

“I’m sure you have questions.” Sojung told her, finally breaking the comfortable silence that existed between the two of them since they arrived.

“I have tons of them.” Eunha confirmed.

“You’ll understand soon. Unfortunately, as much as I’d prefer to arrange a romantic dinner for you here, I felt that I needed to do something more important.” she said, reaching out and holding the fairy’s hand gently in hers before slowly leading her towards the center of the rooftop, “Do you remember the times that I’ve been holing myself in my study and brewing potions?”

“Yeah…?”

They finally stopped and Sojung faced her fully, “Well… I’ve been looking for a cure for your nightmares.”

Eunha’s brows shot up in surprise. A sudden hope filling her chest as soon as she heard the mage say those words. Does that mean she’s found a cure for her?

“Unfortunately…”

The fairy’s shoulders slumped in slight disappointment and her actions’ meaning seemed to be obvious to Sojung since she looked back at her apologetically.

“I wasn’t able to find a cure.” Sojung mumbled. Eunha could tell how frustrated the mage felt.

She could sense the amount of hardships that the mage went through just to find the cure, but ending up empty in the end. Although Eunha was disappointed, she was more concerned for the mage. She was glad enough that Sojung would go through various lengths just to help her with her problem, and she understood that frustration that she felt when she couldn’t find the solution. Eunha felt that way, in her dream, how she felt so helpless and unable to do anything.

It was something she would never wish upon anyone, especially not Sojung. The mage has been doing her best, and she needed to know that at least she tried and that was more than enough for Eunha who hasn’t even done much for her own condition. The fairy was more than thankful for the effort that she was going through just for her and even if she wasn’t able to come up with a cure, it was okay, as long as the thought was there.

It wasn’t as if it was the end anyway. They can always keep on trying. Eunha will just have to hold on tightly until then and make sure she doesn’t succumb to her dreams next time, though she prays that next time will never come.

“Sojung, it’s okay…” Eunha placed a hand on the mage’s arm and it gently as a sign of assurance, “You did what you had to do. I’m grateful enough that you’re doing this for me.”

She shook her head, “I really want you to get better Eunha. I might not have found the cure… but I may have found another way.”

Eunha’s brows furrowed in slight confusion, “Another way?”

“It’s still a theory at the moment.” Sojung explained, “But it’s the only plausible solution I could think of.”

“Will it work?”

“I-I’m not sure. I haven’t tested it yet since it can’t be tested on anything…”

“But do you think it will work?” Eunha asked again, looking for any sign of doubt in the mage’s face.

“It’s… It’s the only way. If you agree to it, then I’ll make sure it’ll work.” Sojung replied with a certain conviction that was more than enough to convince the fairy that she was serious about it.

Eunha nodded, “Okay.”

Sojung looked in slight shock at how readily she agreed to it, “A-Are you sure?”

“Sojung, I trust you.” Eunha told her, “If you say that it’ll work, then I won’t doubt you. If anything goes wrong, I trust that you’ll get me out of it, so whatever you have in mind we’ll do it.

“…I don’t want to worry you anymore.” she said in a small voice, “So if you think you have the solution then let's give it a try. What do you need me to do?”

Sojung swallowed a bit before nodding, looking just as determined as Eunha currently is. She reached inside her cloak, taking out a vial containing bluish liquid inside it. The fairy unconsciously followed the object with her gaze, wondering why Sojung got it out and what it was in the first place.

“Isn’t this a potion?” Eunha asked, “I thought you didn’t find a cure?”

“It’s not the actual cure.” she corrected, “But it will help us. I understood what was going on when Titania said that the problem may lie in your psyche so I did some studying. I thought that it was something that fairies go through so I asked around, but yours is the only case. Even in the other regions, they’ve never heard of recurring nightmares that lasted as long as yours. So I thought that if it was in the person’s psyche, then it should be something that you have that the others don’t. It should be something that is stressing your psyche compared to theirs and when I thought about that, it made sense.

“Eunha, you’re an empath which allows you to sense everyone’s emotions.” Sojung continued on, “But that’s not all there is to it, because everytime you sense what people feel, you’re also determining what they might be going through and in a way it’s like you’re absorbing all these feelings into yours and the more you absorb them, the more it takes a toll on your mind and body and especially your spirit.”

“But I’ve always been sensing everyone’s emotions, why did it happen just now?” Eunha questioned, finally getting a clearer picture of Sojung’s theory.

“Do you remember during our fight with Grimina?” the mage asked, “There was one situation when you had to use your abilities.”

Eunha thought for a moment before her eyes widened while letting out a gasp, “You mean that one time when I helped you out in sensing the ones who were traitors and who weren’t?”

Sojung nodded her head grimly, “You sensed a lot of emotions then and the timing is just right. A week after that you got your first nightmare. What I think: because these trapped emotions couldn’t get out, it has attached itself to your subconscious and made its way to your dreams. The nightmares just added to that, and so for every nightmare you have, the emotions in that nightmare is brought over and you start feeling worse due to it and it will manifest in the next nightmare and so on.

“And so I tried to find a way to release those emotions.”

“How?” Eunha asked, staring at the vial in Sojung’s grasp , “Does it have to do with that potion you’re holding?”

“In a way. This is why I needed the cactus flower.” Sojung replied. She then reached for her hand and placed the vial in her palm, “Eunha, you do trust me right?”

“Of course I do.” Eunha replied without hesitation.

“This… this is a truth serum. A stronger truth serum than the ones I had used from before.” Sojung explained to her while not letting her hand go, “There’s no way for us to get your emotions to be released physically, but we can release them if you speak them out. All this time they have been mere thoughts in your head that you’ve caged within you both consciously and unconsciously. We need all of the negativity that is festering in your psyche out, so I thought that drinking a truth serum would do the job. Until now, I’m not sure if it will effectively do the work, but I wanted to give it a try. That’s why I brought you here so that whatever you say, I’ll be the only one who’ll hear them.

Knowing all of this. Will you still drink the potion, Eunha?”

Said fairy eyed the vial carefully, feeling a bit hesitant when she found out that she will have to express all of her inner thoughts and feelings as well as secrets once she drunk the potion but thought that as long as it was Sojung with her, then there was nothing she needed to be afraid of. There were always risks no matter what solution they try to find, so she may as well tackle this one head on.

Wrapping her small fingers around the vial, she looked up at Sojung and nodded. It was all the confirmation that Sojung needed.

“Let’s get started then.” Sojung declared, chanting softly before a magic circle began to form underneath them, “I, Sojung, leader of the magus, hereby swear on this hour of this day that whichever words spoken thereafter by the fairy Eunha will be kept to myself and only to myself, with utmost confidentiality. I swear to take any punishment should I speak any of this to anyone of the outside. On the name of my ancestors and their ancestors, I swear to uphold this oath until the day of my demise.”

“There wasn’t a need for that.” Eunha remarked as the circle died down.

“It’s just for insurance.” Sojung grinned.

The fairy just softly chuckled before opening the vial and drinking all the contents in one go. It was tasteless, thankfully, Eunha was worried that it might taste horrible despite its appearance and after a full minute, she could feel the effect of the potion setting in. Though she was sure that the effect was unnoticeable to most, she had tried to say that she was fine but ended up saying that she was feeling quite nervous instead. Sojung had casted another circle beneath them, one that would indicate if the potion’s effect has worn off.

“Eunha, tell me.” Sojung took the fairy’s hands into her own and gazed straight into her eyes, looking as if she was probing into the deepest parts of Eunha’s soul, “What are you greatest worries? What’s plaguing your mind?”

Eunha’s mouth had automatically opened to answer, it almost felt like she was going on autopilot, having no control of her words or actions.

“I…” she began, “I only have one worry and that’s when I feel like I’m not good enough for you.”

To say that Sojung was surprised could be considered an understatement. She had assumed that she would hear a different answer, perhaps a lack of skills over a certain required task, or maybe something that would relate to her leadership.

Sojung would have never expected it would be about their relationship.

“Sojung you are someone that many of the people of our realm look up to.” Eunha said, eyes downcast, “You have anything anyone could ever ask for, so I keep on wondering why is it, from all the people of realm, you had chosen me.

“There’s not a single day that I don’t think about it.” she sighed, “I mean, perhaps I’m the leader of the fairies, but even my people doubted my capabilities and I had to prove myself repeatedly until they became satisfied. When it comes to my skills, Titania has always been the better fairy. The only thing different about me is my being an empath and either way, that’s only helped me so far. I’m not that talented much at anything. If we were going to be honest, I wouldn’t know what to do for the council if I wasn’t your assistant. Sinb has the realm’s combat defenses to worry about, Yerin checks on the state of our resources, Yuna’s in charge of the realm’s patrolling and communication unit and you, as the leader, head all of this. I’ve been thinking about it, but I can’t find myself fitting in that picture. My skills, my abilities, I can almost say that they’re too mediocre. There’s not a single day even that I don’t wonder why I was chosen as the representative in the first place.

But more than that, I will never understand what you saw in me, Sojung. There are a lot more people who deserve someone of your caliber more than I ever will, but don’t get me wrong, I treasure our relationship more than anything but I couldn’t help but feel insecure. I feel as if I am not giving enough as much as you have given me. I can’t count the number of things you’ve done for me, but I can’t even remember the last time that I did something for you. I’m scared that one day, you might realize this and say that I’m not perfect enough for you.”

Sojung wanted to stop her right there, her heart clenching tightly in her chest the more that she listened to Eunha’s unfounded worries, but found herself unable to. She wanted to assure Eunha that she had nothing to worry about, but Sojung was at loss for words. She didn’t know it was this deep.

And the more that she listened, the more that she understood.

Eunha’s nightmares had mostly centered around Sojung either leaving her, making her feel unwanted, and the most recent, hating her. She would never have expected that it had all stemmed from this.

“Ah, really, what in the world did you see in me that made you like me in the first place.” Eunha’s head was bowed down completely, her entire body shaking as she tried to hold her tears in.

Sojung let out a shaky breath, feeling her eyes sting and how watery they were starting to become. It hurt her that Eunha thought so lowly of herself like this. It was unbecoming of someone like her who knew how to make people happy, who would bring people comfort and assurance when they needed it, who would drop everything just to help anyone without a second thought. Eunha fails to see everything that she is and Sojung felt stupid that she hasn’t assured her enough.

“I’m scared that one day you would realize all this and leave me.” Eunha swallowed thickly, bringing a hand up as she wiped a stray tear cascading down her cheek.

The circle beneath them faded, indicating that the potion has worn off.

“I’m sorry…” Eunha mumbled, feeling her body begin to lose strength and collapse against Sojung’s figure. She had managed to catch the fairy into her arms before she hit the floor. Letting out a deep sigh, she looked up to the skies and closed her eyes, hugging the fairy closer to herself which Eunha was more than willing to bury herself in further.

“You’re an idiot.” Sojung mumbled.
 

“I’m sorry…”

“Stop apologizing.” she said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It didn’t seem like a big deal to me.” Eunha answered, “And you already have enough problems to deal with.”

Sojung just shook her head in slight exasperation before leaning down and placing a tender kiss on the younger woman’s forehead, “Well from now on I want you to tell me whenever you feel like this again.”

“…I won’t bother you?”

“Eunha you were never a bother to me. You…” Sojung loosened her arms around her and crouched down slightly so that they could see eye to eye. Reaching up, she cupped the woman’s face into her hands so that her gaze wouldn’t leave hers, “You really have no idea how special you are and that’s something I really should be reminding you everyday. You’re selfless, you think more of others than yourself and that’s something I really like about you. You’re cute and sure, you may not be the best healer in you realm, but do you know how many people whose pains you alleviated using your skills? Titania only deals with serious ailments, but it’s you they turn to when it’s a minor pain. And because of you they don’t have to suffer through all that hurting anymore.”

“But there are other healers—“

“They aren’t as good as you are.” Sojung cut her off, “So in the end, even if Titania is the best, you’ve helped the most and that’s something you should be proud of. And thenthere's us, do you even understand how much the council will be affected if you weren’t there? Eunha, do you even realize how you’re keeping all of us together? Sure, we might have our own duties, but do you even remember who assigned those duties to us in the first place? You were the one who understood each of our strengths and gave us tasks that would work the best with our skills, it was you who made this council work as much as it does today Eunha and all of us know that. How can you forget that?”

“I just… pointed out which I thought you would enjoy doing…”

“And end up still doing our responsibilities.” Sojung added, “Eunha you have the talent. You’re not just my assistant, but you’re everyone’s support and that’s a role that’s more important than any of our roles in this council. Do you even think that I would be able to get along with them if not for you? Remember our first meeting?”

Eunha couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at that, causing Sojung to smile as well.

“You were a mess.” she remarked.

“At least I looked like a confident mess.” Sojung hummed, “Just know that you’re really important to us Eunha and we would raise hell if anyone told you that you don’t deserve to be in the council. Most importantly, there’s no need for you to be perfect, for me or for anyone else. You’re fine just like this.”

“But you’re perfect.”

“I’m only perfect when I’m with my missing piece.” Sojung pat her cheeks to prove her point, “You. My missing piece. It was you who saw me for who I am rather than who I looked to be. To other people I’m their peerless leader, but to you I’m just Sojung.”

“And that’s a good thing?”

“Of course it is, because that means you don’t walk on eggshells with me.” Sojung said, “A lot of people act as if they have to be mindful of their manners around me all the time, but you don’t do that. Other people praise me, but that won’t help me improve. So I’m thankful that you point out whenever I do something wrong and I don’t realize it, when you reprimand how I behave and change me for the better. As they say, you can’t really improve without knowing your flaws. You’re the one who tells me I’m doing well even if I mess up. And also—“

Eunha stared, “There’s more?”

Sojung chuckled, “Eunha, if I had to stay here all night telling you how amazing you actually are, then we’d be here until nighttime tomorrow.” she replied, “But if you want me to continue this at home, I won’t say no to that.”

The fairy laughed a bit before reaching over and holding onto Sojung’s cloak, wrapping the material around both of them. Eunha then inched herself forward until she was flush against the older woman’s figure, “I think we can stay here for a bit longer, the stars look pretty tonight.”

Sojung looked up, allowing a small smile to adorn her face as she understood what she meant, “You’re right… Maybe for a little longer.”

“And then we can head home.”

Sojung hummed, wrapping her arms around the younger’s figure and snuggled against her comfortably, “I’m already home though.”

“Hm? But we’re not—“

“My place is just a house.” Sojung explained, “But home is where I belong and I belong to you so you’re my home. I may be doing the practical things there, like cooking and cleaning, but it’s a lot more fulfilling when you’re with me. It feels like cooking everyday for you is worth it, keeping the place clean so that you’re comfortable is worth it. Having the time to spend with you, every second is worth it. Though I wouldn’t mind if you could help with the chores.” she added jokingly earning a whine from the fairy, “I really, really am in love with you Eunha. I wouldn’t want to spend my days with anyone else except you so don't ever say that you're not deserving of me, because if I think about it, what you've done for me as a person is way more than all the physical things that I've done for you.”

Eunha just breathed out a laugh, finding it funny how the both of them thought they haven't done enough for each other when in reality, they had nothing to worry about.

“Ah, really, what do I do with you? Look down here you dork and let me kiss you already.” Eunha demanded, unable to find any words that could explain everything that she was feeling in that moment, so she chose not to and decided to express her feelings through her actions.

An action which Sojung was more than willing to comply to.

Sharing kisses at home was nice, but kissing under the starry night sky didn’t seem so bad either.

---

“That means you're okay now?” Yewon asked the following day as they gathered for their annual morning meeting before heading off to do their duties.

“I’m not sure just yet, but I feel a bit better than before. We’ll have to wait for a few weeks though just to make sure the nightmares don’t come back anymore.” Eunha replied.

Yewon let out a relieved sigh, before bring the fairy in for a tight hug, “I’m just glad that you’ve found a way at least. If it works then that’s great! You don’t have to suffer anymore Eunha-unnie.”

“I have trust in Sojung. If it’s her then those nightmares are pounded to dust.” Eunha raised a fist to prove her point while the others just remarked how cute she looked with her pumping her small fist in the air and failing to look threatening.

“It’s great that you found a solution to it, Sojung.” Yerin remarked, looking over at the mage who was watching the interaction of the two with a fond look on her face, “How did you come up with it?”

“The nightmares must have come from something.” Sojung said, “I just dug around everything that happened the days before that and drew my assumptions from there.”

Sinb chuckled, “That’s just like you. You treat even things like this like some sort of research you’re focused on. Oh, by the way, how’s that thing coming along?”

Yerin stared, “What thing?”

“You know. The thing.” Sinb quoted.

Sojung tried to brush off the blush forming on her cheeks as she discreetly looked over at the fairy still deep in conversation with Yuna and Yewon, “I haven’t asked yet.”

Sinb nudged her, “You were supposed to ask yesterday when you brought her to the rooftop. It was hard work moving all your observation apparatus you know?”

“I know!” she whispered yelled, a pout forming soon after, “It’s just, I just didn’t expect that Eunha would have so many thoughts about our relationship so I thought it wasn’t the right time just yet.”

Sinb heaved out a deep sigh, “Well you know where to find me if you need any help again.”

Sojung smiled gratefully, “Thank you Sinb.”

“What are you two talking about?” Yerin asked again, getting more curious.

“I thought you already told Yerin about it?”

“I did! Yerin, remember that one time? You know, that thing!”

“Wh—oh.” Yerin’s eyes widened in realization, “Well I’m sure that you’ll find the perfect time to ask again Sojung. If you need any help you can ask us anytime.”

“Thanks.” Sojung grinned, slipping her hand inside her cloak and felt around inside her cloak’s pocket for the small velvet box that she has been carrying with her since she had returned from her trip. Suffice it is to say, that the cactus flower wasn’t the only reason she had to go and make a journey for.

“Oh, Yerin! Sinb! I forgot I had to ask you something!” Eunha suddenly exclaimed, Sojung hurriedly taking her hand out of her cloak and turned to face the fairy who had approached them along with Yewon and Yuna.

“What is it?”

“Are you married?” Eunha asked straight up.

“Wh—“

The two were taken aback at the sudden question before Yerin had looked over to Sinb with an accusing glare.

“Did you tell Eunha?”

“I didn’t tell anyone anything!” Sinb quickly denied the accusation, “You— Eunha! How do you know we’re engaged? We were just about to announce it.”

“Oh, so it’s true?” Sojung stared, also surprised, “Eunha dreamt about it.”

“Wait, so you never heard it from anyone?” Yerin asked, just to confirm and earned a nod from the fairy while Yuna and Yewon were clapping happily in unison.

“Congratulations!” the two chorused.

“Thanks. Though we’re not going to be the only ones you’ll be congratulating about this soon.” Sinb grinned, looking over teasingly at Sojung who returned her look with a glare, telling her silently to shut up.

“Oh, is there someone else getting engaged too?” Eunha questioned.

Sojung swallowed thickly, trying her hardest to quash down the nervousness that was welling up in her chest at the same time cursing her two friends in her head. Did they forget that Eunha was an empath?

“We’ll just know!” Sojung quickly scooped the fairy in her arms, “For now, I want to hear when, how and where it happened.”

“That’s right! I want details too, maybe Sojung can learn a few tips from you Sinb.” Eunha laughed heartily at the offended look Sojung gave her.

“Sinb asked for advice from me!” Sojung exclaimed.

“No I didn’t!”

“Stop denying it!”

Yuna laughed, “Actually, Sinb also asked me for advice so I don’t find it hard to believe.”

“Yuna, you’re betraying me now?”

Yerin sighed, “In the end, everyone knows about it…” she grumbled.

Eunha just laughed the whole time as the group continued to bicker amongst themselves. Sojung noticed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“What’s on your mind?” Sojung asked, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“I’m just wondering if we’ll be happy like this in the future.”

“Well… we can’t ever be sure.” Sojung hummed in thought, “But if we live every day like this one, I’m sure even 50 or 60 year or even more from now we’ll still be like this. One thing I’m sure though, is that I will still be with you no matter how much time passes.”

Eunha smiled, “You’re being very honest with yourself lately.”

“I just thought I should do that more." Sojung reply, "I know I'm most likely going to have to work harder on it, but I want you to see what your presence does to me, and how important you are to me so that you won't be worrying too much about it. In return, I'd like it if you were more open of your thoughts. You don't have to tell me everything, but if you have any worries, I want us to work on it together. Unless you're not comfortable--"

"Let's do that." Eunha cut her off, "Whatever you want to do, I'll always be with you. I don't want you to be doing all the work so whatever you have in mind, tell me, and we'll do it together."

Sojung grinned nodding her head eagerly at her words.

"Right, we'll do them together from now on."

---