The sun shone through the high windows of barrack offices and the light of late afternoon fell on the numerous forms and documents spread out on a mahogany writing desk. There were so many of them that a bunch of them jutted over the end of the table, threatening to fall any second.

 Behind the desk sat a very tired looking man. Although he was very young, he appeared much older with his face and hairline slightly receding. His brow seemed to be permanently furrowed in either worry or distaste and there was a certain uneasiness in his eyes at all times, no doubt a consequence of years spent on the frontlines. There was a shiny badge of a commander-in-chief clipped on his vest, a reward for his valiant efforts during war and a tribute to his supreme ability to lead men, as he had repeatedly demonstrated. The badge was new and the man sometimes brushed his fingers over it as if to make sure it was really there.

 Right now, he was flipping through an accounting book. He was making neat notes in a little notebook with quill and the sound of constant scribbling filled silence of the room, only occasionally interrupted by noises from the courtyard such as high military officers shouting at new recruits, piercing laughter of soldiers in training or yells of pain. The man didn’t let that disturb him, nor paid it any mind. That is, until he heard that familiar, slightly nasal voice.

“Open the gate!”

The commander let out an exasperated sigh and pushed the accounting book away. He straightened his back a quickly ran over his tunic with his hands to make rid of creases and expectantly looked towards the door. As a new commander, he had to deal with numerous guests; this one so far, however, was the least desirable one at the moment.

“Take me to him now!” the owner of the unpleasant voice ordered so loudly everyone in the area must have heard. The door to the office opened and Luna, his secretary, peeked in.

“Byun Baekhyun, requesting permission to enter , sir,” she said quickly while bowing.

“Permission grant-“the commander didn’t get to finish his sentence, because Byun Baekhyun had already barged into the room, shoving the secretary aside. Luna stayed at the entrance, watching both men warily, unsure of what to do.

Baekhyun was trembling with anger.

“Suho-” he started but stopped once he noticed Luna’s presence.

“You are dismissed,” he ordered sharply.

She flicked her eyes towards Suho, looking for confirmation and Suho slightly nodded. She hesitated, but left at last. Baekhyun waited until the door had closed behind her before swiftly turning to the commander, eyes fiery with fury.

“Have you found him yet?” he blurted out, propping his palms against the desk. The commander sighed before shaking his head.

“I am afraid not,” he answered almost apologetically.

Baekhyun let out a grunt and pushed himself away from the desk. He started pacing around the room, his step getting quicker and face redder. His hands started trembling even more and he started rubbing his wrists to calm himself down.

“It is as if the earth had swallowed him whole. We have sent our best trackers but he is nowhere to be found,” the commander tried to calm him down with a gentle tone but it only seemed to fuel Bakehyun’s anger further. The young rider grabbed a nearby vase from the office’s windowsill and flung it to the ground with all his force.

“That’s ridiculous! He couldn’t have just vanished!” he shouted.

 Commander tried not to wince as his favourite Chinese porcelain shattered, leaving sharp shards all over the carpet. Baekhyun’s quick temper was another reason he detested his visits, all the more so Luna, whose job it was to clean up after the young rider.

“Maybe he’s dead,” he suggested meekly after a while, instead of showing the youngster out of his office as he would have loved to.

Baekhyun stopped pacing and turned to him, eyes strangely glassy. He sighed before he pulled up a chair, sat down and lay his head in his palms, sighing deeply. Although a second ago, the commander wished to wring his neck, he felt strangely sorry for the lad now. He didn’t mean to hurt him.

“Look,” Baekhyun spoke shakily, “Jongin was my best friend. I knew… I know him well. And I am sure if he was to die, it wouldn’t be like this. He would make a grand performance out of it, you know, with explosions and whatnot. He would make it count. He would never just… Stop existing.”

The man behind the mahogany desk smiled faintly, before sliding a glass jar towards Baekhyun.

“Take one,” he said and added after seeing Baekhyun hesitate, “they are lemon-flavoured.”

“Thanks,” murmured the rider and took a sweet wrapped in bright yellow foil. He enjoyed the taste for a while before speaking again, notably less upset.

“Suho, you are the commander of all of our armed forces. Don’t tell me that it’s too difficult to find one man. He has a dragon for hell’s sake, how is it difficult to locate him when there is a giant lizard following him around?”

“Very, apparently,” the man called Suho deadpanned, taking one sweet for himself and munching on it loudly. Baekhyun gave him a dirty look but Suho ignored him completely.

“It is a strange situation indeed, I’ll give you that,” the commander finally spoke, “We cannot locate the corpse of neither the man nor the dragon. And Jongin was strong. The enemies must have taken him by surprise.”

“They took us all by surprise,” Baekhyun grunted, reaching for another sweet. He lifted an eyebrow once he noticed Suho watching him intently, first confused and then angered again.

“What? Oh don’t tell me you believe it too,” he snapped.

“Believe what?” Suho queried, not sure what the rider was asking about.

“You know what I mean,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, taking yet another sweet, “That ridiculous rumour. That it was me and Chanyeol who killed Jongin.”

“Ah, this one,” Suho nodded a bit sadly. There indeed was such rumour floating about and Suho really wanted to find the person who had started it and give them a good slap or two. Not only such gossip was blatantly made up and untrue but it was also very dangerous. Under no circumstances could people start believing that riders, of all people, were at feud. They were supposed to serve as an example for military men, not only because of their strength, but also because of the absolute concord, in which they cooperated. And if people believed that the riders killed one of their own?

 Something like that was unthinkable. They would lose the one certitude they had in life. Suho didn’t want to think about the disastrous consequences that would surely follow. The country would fall apart.

“Baekhyun,” he said and looked the rider firmly in the eyes, “No one, who knew you and Jongin could ever believe that rumour. I have seen only scarcely in my life people who were that close to each other.”

Baekhyun gave him a small smile and took the wrapping off of a sweet.

“Understand, Suho, I am not mad at you. I just don’t understand why is everyone so calm about this. The prince, his advisors, other riders, military officers, everyone! They all worry about the war we are in with the Southern countries, the possibility of invasion from the North and the poor harvest we had last year, which are all important affairs but it is as if they have forgotten that the most dangerous threat comes from within! Civil war, mark my words. That is the threat we will surely face in the future and that future could come a lot sooner than I have hoped, more so once people realise we lost Kai.”

“We cannot lose Kai. He doesn’t exist, therefore we cannot lose him,” Suho objected but he could not deny that Baekhyun’s words sent chills down his spine. He had almost forgotten how insightful the riders could be. Baekhyun in particular masked it very well behind a farce of carefree youth but now that he let his façade slip, Suho could see a tired man mad with worry. He briefly wondered whether there was something more to the relationship between the two riders.

“We-“Baekhyun spoke but stopped himself immediately, sending a worried glance towards the door. Only after Suho had assured him there was no one in there as Luna was the most reliable secretary, ensuring absolutely discreet environment, had he continued, shifting closer to the commander.

“We don’t have a replacement for Jongin,” he whispered and Suho felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. All of the sudden, he felt like throwing up and for a millisecond, he could hear the crowds protesting, the bloody uproar of a war but within their walls this time. It would no longer be against their enemies; instead he would have to fight his own people, his own kin.

Now he finally understood Baekhyun’s outbursts.

“Why don’t you have a replacement?” he asked, ready to faint. He didn’t mean it to sound accusing, but it did anyway.

“It’s not easy to find the next Kai, you know,” spat Baekhyun, “Not a next rider for that matter. You have to find a person who is naturally skilled both in combat and magic. And they have to have a natural connection to the dragons, that’s really important too. Actually, there are so many requirements you have to meet, it’s a wonder anyone becomes a rider at all.”

Suho nodded as it all started to make sense to him. As a young soldier, he always wished to be chosen to partake in the dragon rider training and maybe one day get a dragon of his own… But he was never able to master even the most basic spells, so it was no wonder his wish remained unfulfilled.

“But for years now, we haven’t had any suitable trainees. The dragons simply reject them. And our situation is critical. There are supposed to be six riders, not counting the Head Rider. But as of now, we only have four.”

“Four?” gasped Suho, really unnerved now. The country could not face attack with four riders only.

“Yes. After Eunhyuk was killed by that giant at Cobblefield, there was no one else to take his place, so there have been only six of us for ages. Jongin is… Gone. And now Chanyeol can’t fly,” Baekhyun sighed heavily.

“Because of his dragon?” asked Suho calmly and Baekhyun nodded numbly.

“She is due in a few months. He didn’t want her to get pregnant and I didn’t understand why but now I wish he fought it a bit harder.”

Suho thought it was extremely irresponsible to let Chanyeol’s dragon mate if her owner was one of the remaining five riders, but kept it for himself. He guessed there was something else.

“Ever since he can’t fly, he is a changed man,” continued Baekhyun, “I never thought I would say this about Chanyeol, but… He became bitter.”

“Bitter?” Suho lifted eyebrows, because that description certainly didn’t fit the always happy rider.

“He lost all that fire. I don’t even think he wants back in the air anymore,” Baekhyun said, the sadness in his voice now very audible.

“Well, he did lose a friend,” Suho dared to point out, thereby eliciting an explosive reaction.

“Jongin is not dead!” Baekhyun shrieked, slamming his hands onto the table, “He lives and you all know it! I don’t know why you keep on pretending but you know it as well as I do, he lives!”

The man slid back in his seat, palms pressed against his temples.

 “You are not trying hard enough, you are not really looking,” he repeated feverishly, pressing harder and harder, so that Suho had to grab his hands and forcefully remove them.

“Baekhyun, I assure you we are doing everything we can,” he said, still holding his hands down.

 But Baekhyun yanked them out of his hold and swiftly got up, a look of absolute disdain twisting his face in a frown.

“Liar,” he hissed, “You’re not doing anything, are you? You are too scared of Southern armies and savages of the North. You are too scared to send your best trackers to look for Jongin because you would rather have them at the frontiers.” Baekhyun took a deep breath and continued calmly, but each word was spat at the commander as if it was the worst insult imaginable.

“If you’re not going to search for him properly, I will. I know you don’t believe me, no one does. You are fed with false information and if you choose to trust the advisors and not me, so be it. Keep your men.”

“Baekhyun, you cannot simply leave. Not now, when there are only four riders left,” Suho tried to rationalise.

“Seems like soon there will be none,” spat Baekhyun and left without a word, leaving only a small pile of yellow candy wrappers behind.

Suho sighed and returned to his paperwork.

***

“So they want to marry you off?” Luhan asked, tilting his head back a bit, letting his face bask in the sun. They were sitting by the village pond, Luhan lay on his back and Sehun sat on the low stone wall, which surrounded the pond. They had brought themselves bread, cheese, salted sticks and honey to eat and a bottle of apple cider to drink but now everything was gone except for a few leftover pieces of bread. They were resting now and Sehun thought it a great moment to discuss his upcoming marriage, something that had been troubling him for past few days. He was playing duck and drakes with flat pebbles, of which there was abundance but as their conversation progressed, Sehun’s game turned from trying to let the pebbles bounce off the water level to trying to toss them in the pond with the greatest strength possible.

“To that life-less, dull creature, yes,” he grumbled, hurling the pebble exceptionally hard. Luhan rolled over from his back to his stomach, supporting himself on his elbows.

“Surely, it can’t be that bad?” he queried, “Maybe it will be even good for you.”

“You don’t understand,” Sehun hissed, accidentally throwing two pebbles instead of one. They bounced off each other and both proceeded to sink. He sighed.

“I’ll have to live in that mansion of theirs. Locked away.”

“Like a princess,” Luhan grinned. Sehun threw a pebble at him.

“That’s not funny,” he grumbled and shielded himself from a fistful of dirt that came flying his way, because Luhan could not be bothered to reach for the pebbles. He then quietly added, “And I’m not a princess.”

“Sure you’re not.” More dirt, this time with a worm mixed in. Sehun didn’t react to it, but when Luhan wasn’t looking, he made sure that the worm didn’t get stuck in his clothing.

“You still didn’t tell me what you think about it,” he then said,

“About what? The marriage?” Luhan asked lazily. Sehun nodded.

“What would you do in my place?” he asked eagerly.

“Well, first of all,” started Luhan deliberately slowly, enjoying the younger’s full attention, “I would never be so unfortunate to find myself in your place.” Sehun rolled his eyes and let himself fall onto his back.

“You are so unhelpful.”

Luhan shrugged.

“Say you were, though. Say you had to marry someone you didn’t want to and live a life you didn’t wish for.”

Luhan seemed to actually consider it for a minute. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, crinkling his brow and Sehun had to admit he found the sight endearing. He would never say that out loud, though. He quickly averted his eyes and hid his smile in case Luhan could guess what he was thinking of and silently scolded himself for thinking of such things. The problem was, he was thinking of such things more often than not lately.

“I guess,” Luhan’s voice interrupted his train of thoughts: “I would run away.”

Sehun opened his eyes wide shocked by such idea.

“Run away? Like, forever?”

“Until they call off the wedding, yeah. I mean, you’re not actually going to let them go through with it, are you?” Luhan gave him a quizzical look.

Sehun blinked a few times.

“But I don’t even know how… What would I… Where would I even live?” he stuttered out.

“Calm down. Running away from home isn’t nearly as complicated as it sounds. I have done it a couple of times before, the only things you need are a stubborn mind and a bit of luck.”

“You’ve run away from home?” Sehun asked, disbelieving. Luhan waved him off.

“That was a long time ago and because of a much more mundane thing than an arranged marriage. I would never let my parents just dictate my life like that.”

They sat in silence for a bit, Luhan watching the pond. A family of ducks landed nearby and he started throwing pieces of bread in the water to attract them. Sehun mindlessly took another piece of bread, handed to him by Luhan, and followed his example.

 He burned with curiosity. What was it that made Luhan leave his home? He knew better than to ask him, though, and so he posed a different question entirely.

“Would you run away with me?” The question was out before he could really think about it and he knew it was a horrible, horrible mistake once it was out of his mouth.

Luhan turned to him, mouth slightly opened. He seemed to be at absolute loss of what to say.

Sehun cleared his throat and let out a half-hearted laugh and Luhan followed his example after a second with a load guffaw.

“Oh god, I thought you were actually serious!” he exclaimed, wiping off tears at the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, “Okay, you actually got me!” he slapped his back so hard Sehun actually moved a few inches forward and the younger tried to laugh as convincingly as he could through all the pain and embarrassment.

***

The sun slowly moved west and the shadows of the two men lying by the pond grew longer. Sehun sighed; he didn’t want to leave just yet but he was to meet Kyungsoo and leave for their guard duty together and he promised his friend he would be on time for once.

 As Sehun sat up, limbs all heavy and clumsy, he realised Luhan had long drifted off. Calling the elder’s name didn’t work and Sehun leaned over to shake his shoulder. He however didn’t finish the motion and froze with his hand mid-air.

  He never thought of describing Luhan as beautiful. It had always been intriguing, fascinating, formidable even, at least at first. Definitely not beautiful, or in any way attractive. It was a bit strange to see his face so clearly, the man’s face was familiar and yet strange as if Sehun had always seen it through frosted glass and the younger had realised it might have been simply because he never actually looked. Most of the time, he avoided looking at Luhan directly as if he was a sun and Sehun could get burned from the sight. There was something daunting about him, which forced people to avoid eye contact when speaking to him, opting for staring at the ground instead and Sehun was so exception. So now that he was free to look as he pleased, he didn’t let the opportunity pass, although there was a voice in his head telling him staring at a sleeping person was rather creepy.

 There was absolutely no way that man was older than him, Sehun was convinced. His skin was free of any creases or wrinkles unlike the skin of most people of his age. His light hair made him look even younger and so did the long lashes and surprisingly feminine shaped lips. Asleep like this, he looked harmless and had Sehun not seen him injure a man and presumably even enjoy it, he never would have believed a pure looking creature like this was capable of anything even remotely violent.

 Enraptured by the sight, he reached for Luhan again, this time with no intention to wake him. He longed to touch that smooth skin and to that soft hair.

 Sliding his hand down the sleeping man’s cheek and neck, Sehun took one last look, grasped Luhan’s shoulder firmly and shook it hard. It was just an illusion, he thought as he watched Luhan blink a few times, his gaze unfocused. Never in a million years would Luhan be interested in someone as ordinary as Sehun. The thought itself made the elder laugh a while ago.

 As they were cleaning up, Sehun imagined what kind of person Luhan would fall for. Definitely someone skilled in combat, he thought, equal in both intellect and strength. They could rely on each other and, Sehun thought bitterly, there would be no need for one to save the other because of weakness and inability to defend themselves. Before he could start pitying himself, he quickly bit the insides of his cheeks, something he found worked quite well when he needed to distract himself from unhappy thoughts.

“Ready?” asked Luhan and Sehun nodded, grabbing the empty food basket.

They walked back towards the village in silence but it was the comfortable kind. Sehun simply enjoyed Luhan’s presence and the elder’s mind seemed to be occupied elsewhere.

“That general isn’t bothering you anymore is he?” he asked out of nowhere.

“No, thanks to you, he doesn’t even come to check on us. Honestly, we could just skip and he wouldn’t even know,” Sehun grinned. It was true, Yong had kept his distance since his encounter with Luhan and even the other guards left him alone.

“So why don’t you? It must be terribly cold out there.”

“Yeah but since Kyungsoo insists…”

“Really?” Luhan lifted an eyebrow, “Why does he actually? Surely he’s got better things to do.”

“I don’t know...” Sehun stuttered, “He’s really diligent?”

Even though he wasn’t afraid of Luhan anymore, he still hadn’t told him about the stranger in the mountains. He didn’t really know why, maybe he just like knowing something Luhan didn’t but he had a hunch telling his new acquired friend wouldn’t end well and so he kept silent on the matter.

Luhan didn’t answer but it was obvious he was annoyed.

Silence spread between the two until they got to the market square and it wasn’t nearly as comfortable as before.

Sehun thanked every saint once he spotted Kyungsoo waiting by one of the stands and therefore had an excuse to leave Luhan’s presence.

“I guess this is where we part ways, Kyungsoo’s over there,” he smiled awkwardly.

“So that’s your Kyungsoo?” Luhan asked, watching the black haired male intently. Sehun nodded, a bit unnerved at the keen gaze Luhan had suddenly acquired. He cleared his throat.

“Something wrong?”

“No, not at all,” Luhan had finally torn his gaze away from Kyungsoo, “He seems short.”

“That he is.”

“Well,” Luhan smiled brightly at the taller and patted his shoulder, “I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, see you,” Sehun said but Luhan had already dashed off and he released a sigh of relief. The whole situation made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

Deciding to forget the incident, he walked over to Kyungsoo who was immersed in observing wooden sculptures which one of the merchants was selling.

“Interested in wood carving, are we?” Sehun asked, leaning against the stand counter.

“No, just thinking of buying one,” Kyungsoo answered, still concentrated on the sculptures.

“For you?” Sehun asked, baffled. The shorter casted him an annoyed glance as if he could not believe his stupidity.

“No, of course it’s not for me,” he lowered his voice, “I’m thinking of buying one for Jongin.”

“Oh, want him to have something to remember you?” Sehun teased and Kyungsoo rolled his eyes.

“Buy that one,” the younger pointed at a small sculpture of an owl, carved in dark wood.

“Why that one?”

“It looks like you,” Sehun laughed and Kyungsoo ignored him.

Nevertheless, he ended up buying the owl anyway.

***

 Luckily, Jongin didn’t laugh at him. He accepted the gift with a gentle smile and a soft “thank you” and Kyungsoo felt all happy inside because of it.

“It was nothing,” he smiled back, sipping wine that he borrowed from his family’s wine cellar.

They sat in the improvised dining area which consisted of a plank and two logs that doubled as a table with two chairs. Next to the dining area was a kitchen where all the ingredients were stored next to a cauldron which Kyungsoo had also borrowed from the Healer’s house. The cabin was really starting to look inhabitable, a stark contrast to what the hollow, abandoned space it used to be before Jongin’s arrival. There was a chest for clothes that Jongin had made himself, two bookshelves and an improvised bed. It was all a bit too over the top, too cliché but oddly enough it didn’t matter. Somehow, over those last couple of weeks it became home for both of the men and although nowhere near perfect or ideal, it served its purpose well.

“How’s the thigh?” asked Kyungsoo. Jongin still had a slight limp, the wound refused to heal quickly.

“Isn’t the best but I’m sure it’ll be okay in a few weeks.”

“You can’t walk though.”

“Not very far, no,” Jongin sighed, tilting his cup to one side and watching the wine almost brim over before he tilted it back again.

“You must get awfully bored in here,” sympathised Kyungsoo. Jongin gave him an incredulous look.

“Bored? Are you kidding? I could stay here forever!”

“Yeah sure,” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. He doubted that was true.

“No, but I mean it,” Jongin suddenly grew serious, “This… It’s all amazing, really. I could wish for nothing more. I would be happy to live like this forever with-“Jongin suddenly paused before finishing awkwardly, “You know, like this.”

Kyungsoo suddenly felt slightly nauseous. Jongin’s gaze spoke in a million ways and even though his heart was doing flips, he felt unprepared. Thoroughly unpreapred to hear anything even remotely close to what he suspected Jongin was about to say.

 Blinking rapidly, Kyungsoo cleared his throat. His palms were sweating and heart racing as if he had just ran miles. He clenched his fists inconspicuously and hoped Jongin would not notice.

“Don’t you miss your old life? Your family? Friends?” he then asked with voice slightly raspy and immediately regretted ever posing the question because there were those glassy eyes again.

“Sorry, I didn’t meet to upset you,” he immediately apologised but Jongin waved him off.

“It’s okay. I don’t miss it simply because there is nothing to miss anymore. I have never been to close to my family. In the last few years I have seen them only scarcely. And as of my friends… I don’t have any. Not anymore.”

As much as Kyungsoo wanted to ask, he didn’t. Somehow, he felt like it wasn’t any of his business. He changed the topic to a more mundane one and they passed the evening idly chatting and drinking.

When they were saying goodbye Kyungsoo could swear Jongin wanted to tell him something but changed his mind and so as he descended to the vale he was almost disappointed at leaving things unresolved.

He didn’t have much time to spend pondering though because as he got closer to their post, he noticed there were two people sitting by the fire.

One of them was definitely Sehun but Kyungsoo didn’t recognise the second one, a tall blonde. He unsheathed his dagger and slowly proceeded forward. There were no signs of traps or Sehun being unhappy with the blonde’s presence, quite the contrary. Only when he had gotten closer enough to take a good look at the stranger’s face illuminated by the flames did he realise he had seen him before. He was accommodated at the inn owned by Sehun’s aunt and Kyungsoo had already heard quite a lot about him, especially about his exceptional luck when it came to gambling and how he had already deprived many people of their savings during his short stay.

“I didn’t know we had guests,” he said loudly. While Sehun jerked at the sound of his voice, his counterpart didn’t as much as turn to look at him as if he had long known of his presence.

Meanwhile, Sehun swiftly jumped to his feet and gestured at the man to do the same.

“Kyungsoo, this is my friend Luhan. Luhan, this is Kyungsoo,” he introduced them and Luhan’s face melted into a warm smile. He shook Kyungsoo’s hand, his grip firm but not aggressively so. He found that strange because he heard stories of the man being arrogant and violent, someone who wanted to establish power above others at all costs.

“Hey, I just wanted to check up on Sehun to make sure no one was giving him trouble,” the blonde smiled, showing sharp teeth in the process and Kyungsoo could swear he saw Sehun actually swoon in the corner of his eyes.

“Hope I didn’t interrupt something,” Luhan added and it was all horribly friendly. It seemed as if Luhan wanted him to like him for reasons unknown.

Kyungsoo had to be staring at the man for a while because Sehun had to nudge him so that he would answer.

“No, you’re not interrupting anything,” Kyungsoo shook his head and sat down on one of the logs, both Sehun and Luhan following his example. Truth was, Luhan was intruding but the youngest was obviously ecstatic that he had come and Kyungsoo didn’t have the heart to deny him that.

He didn’t like Luhan. His eyes were cold and didn’t smile and something in his demeanour prevented Kyungsoo from trusting him. Then again, all his knowledge of the man was based on rumours and false information. So far, Luhan had managed to prove every one of them false. Maybe he should be given a chance, without prejudice.

As their conversation progressed, Kyungsoo started warming up to the man more. He was witty, smart and had plenty of stories to tell. He was just in the middle of one about a dwarves and elves when Kyungsoo interrupted him by yawning loudly. He quickly started apologising but instead of getting angry Luhan had managed to surprise him yet again.

“It’s alright; I would be exhausted as well if I had to keep this watch every day. Honestly, I admire you for such diligence. But since you need rest, and you really do look tired, Kyungsoo, how about I take the rest of the watch? I wanted to write some letters anyway and you and Sehun can go rest!”

 While Kyungsoo was unbelievably grateful and accepted immediately, Sehun protested vigorously.

“I’ll stay with you,” he offered hopefully, “You’ll get bored all by yourself. And-“

“Thank you, I’ll manage,” Luhan smiled at him but there was something uncompromising in his tone that immediately made Sehun back off. He did, however, complain the whole way back home.

Kyungsoo was just happy he could go to sleep. Maybe Luhan was a great guy after all.

***

 Jongin watched Kyungsoo run down the stairs after another of their nightly meetings. He smiled as he remembered the gift Kyungsoo brought with him this time. It was becoming a routine, every day his new friend would bring him something to make his life a bit easier. At first, Jongin didn’t want Kyungsoo to bring him anything, as he was set on leaving as soon as his other wounds healed. Later, however, he caught himself thinking how nice it was, to not have to worry about anything and lead such peaceful life. He spent too many years with the army. His life consisted of pitching camp, training, fighting, breaking camp and flying. That was all. For ten years, he hadn’t done much else.

 And now, he finally had time to rest. Finally, after all those years, there was no one to tell him that it was time to go, to leave and travel somewhere else. He was free to do whatever he wished, he was free to rest. After all those years of constant movement, it seemed almost surreal. At first, he felt uneasy, he felt like he didn’t have the right to stay and idle. Later, he convinced himself he needed it. After all, he was gravely injured and so was Grey. Although in the past, they always ignored their injuries and pushed past pain and weakness, Jongin felt it was time to let them heal. And Grey agreed. As the days passed, Jongin found he didn’t want to leave. He liked the simple life he led, he liked waking up whenever he wanted, and he liked how he could read, swim or simply lie in the sun. He especially liked how he had a company in the evening. More often than not he caught himself considering the possibility of just staying there. He liked it better than he liked killing people and people trying to kill him. He had no reason no come back, he thought with a pang in his heart, not with his friends dead.

 The only obstacle in his plan was Grey. The dragon completely rejected the idea of staying when Jongin suggested it to him and refused to change his stance. It was not difficult to understand why, the dragon could not fly freely, only at night and even then he had to be extremely careful. Jongin didn’t want him to suffer, but he didn’t want to separate from his dragon even more.

 With a sigh, Jongin turned away from the stairs, it was so dark that he could not see Kyungsoo’s outline anymore anyway. He stopped at the cabin to get the meatloaf he had asked Kyungsoo to bring him, supporting himself with an improvised walking stick. His thigh still hurt and could not yet support his full weight. The meatloaf was for Grey, but of course, Kyungsoo didn’t know that. Jongin had not yet decided whether he should tell his new friend who he really was. It would be fair but somehow, Jongin preferred that Kyungsoo didn’t know. Because if he knew, not only their would their friendship never be the same, but it would also bring him back to reality, remind him of his duty. He didn’t want that just yet.

 Because of the walking stick and also the giant piece of meat he was carrying, the journey to the other side of the mountain took him quite long. It was quite a painful experience but once Jongin caught a glimpse of his dragon’s long, matte scales, his heart was filled with such joy he forgot all about it.

“Hey,” he greeted with a smirk and Grey snorted, puffing a cloud of warm smoke towards Jongin. The rider coughed and waved his hand in front of his face, trying to get rid of the rest of it.

“Are you a horse?” he spat out, still coughing a bit and Grey let out something that Jongin was sure was a dragon equivalent for chuckling.

“I brought you this,” Jongin showed him the meatloaf. Grey studied it carefully for a while, before he roared angrily and turned his head away.

“You don’t want it?” Jongin asked, puzzled, “Why?”

“It’s not you who brought it,” Grey growled, “It was that friend of yours.”

The word friend sounded as if it had hate dripping off it and Jongin shuddered. It was long since he heard Grey so angry.

“Kyungsoo? But he is our friend,” Jongin rose an objection.

“Yours, maybe. He is no friend of mine.”

“He healed me, saved me from certain death.”

“And now he’s keeping you here a prisoner!” Grey roared and Jongin shielded his face from another wave of hot air.

“He is not keeping me here! I stay here because I chose to,” he snarled, barely contained his exasperation from showing.

Grey didn’t answer and Jongin let out a frustrated huff, “Fine, get your food yourself. Don’t come complaining to me, though.”

With that, he turned around and set off. Grey didn’t call out after him and Jongin didn’t want him to.

***

“Grey?” Jongin frantically whispered but the dragon didn’t move.

“Grey!” Jongin tried louder and the dragon opened one giant eye.

“What is it? Did you realise I was right all along and came to apologise?”

“Shut up, you stupid lizard,” Jongin hissed. There was fear in his voice and Grey straightened up, fully alert. It wasn’t often that Jongin was afraid and when he was there was always a reason for it.

“Someone’s been here. They went through my stuff and I think they were looking for me.”

“Did they leave tracks?” Grey asked, unease audible in his voice.

“Magical only. Must have been trained well. They knew what they were looking for. I’d say Spear but I’m not sure,” Jongin whispered, watching his surroundings carefully, looking for any sign of hostile presence.

“Jongin, we have to get out of here! You can’t fight in this state.”

“I think I can manage one mercenary,” Jongin huffed, but in reality he wasn’t so sure.

“One, sure. But if one found you, others will follow.”

Jongin sighed heavily and sat on the ground next to Grey. He leaned his back against him and let the contact soothe him, without breaking his concentration. His hand was on the handle of his sword and his good leg ready to hurl him onto Grey’s back and he was listening, waiting for a branch to snap, a bird to get startled, anything.

“I don’t want to leave. For the first time in my life I am genuinely happy,” he replied defiantly after a few minutes, once he thought no one followed him.

Grey only shook his giant head. Jongin looked up to him, bewildered: “What?”

“It’s just… Does he want the same thing?” Grey asked after a while and sounded as if he found it painful to even utter that question. Jongin contemplated intentionally misunderstanding but then shook his head, annoyed at Grey for asking the wrong kind of question and himself for being too transparent. Maybe the long rest really did soften him.

“I don’t know,” was the evasive answer he finally settled for.

“You’re young. So is he. You don’t know much, either of you,” Grey said carefully.

“Yes, yes, your point being?” Jongin replied crossly.

“Maybe you are in for a bitter disappointment. Not something quite worth risking your… Our life for,” Grey appealed and Jongin let out an annoyed huff.

“Look, maybe. Or maybe not. I have to at least try, or… I would regret it.” He found his thoughts difficult to articulate and a bit unpleasant to admit but when Grey replied, his voice was softer.

“I understand.”

“You do?” Jongin asked, surprised and Grey sighed.

“Yes, I do. Irresponsible youth and all that,” Jongin rolled his eyes at that, “but may I suggest you hasten things?” Jongin gaped at him, contemplating it, before finally deciding. He’s been meaning to do it soon anyway.

“It would not be fair to you not to,” he nodded firmly.

“And if he doesn’t… Share your affections. Will you come back with me? Promise?” Grey inquired, not aware of the emotional turmoil Jongin just found himself in, one of great expectations, nervousness which subdued hunger and sleep and eagerness which made the wait for the next day unbearable.

Jongin smiled and Grey’s neck, where the scales weren’t so hard.

“I promise.” He said with finality without considering the option and his heart swelled in his chest and brought his mind under its control.

***

“Kyungsoo, have you heard that wonderful news?” Kyungsoo’s mother asked when Kyungsoo woke up the next morning and came down to the dining room, still half asleep.

“What news?” he asked, while reaching for a glass of water.

“The Healer is coming back! He’ll be here soon, tomorrow or maybe the day after that!” his mother exclaimed excitedly and Kyungsoo dropped his glass of water, suddenly terrified. This was not going to end well.

A long wait, huh? ... Really sorry about that.

I have a confession to make. I'm not really in this fandom anymore, because... I don't even know why. Just suddenly lost interest. How queer.

But anyway, this does not mean I will not at least TRY to finish this! I really, really enjoy writing it and there are too many exciting things planned for it to end. And who says I won't suddenly rejoin the fandom?

But anyway, I really hope you like the chapter I had lots of fun writing it, especially the Baekhyun bit!

Thank you so much for reading!

Love,

Onion