Jonghyun was scared.

Not that he hadn’t been at least a little nervous ever since Jinki had shown up at his house what seemed like eons ago, but it was getting worse.

They had left civilisation hours ago, the small village at the shore where the boat alighted a distant memory; pushed to the back of his mind by the miles and miles of fields they passed. Really, how big was this island? It hadn’t seemed large enough for them to be able to walk in a straight line for hours on end.

But that wasn’t why Jonghyun was scared, though.

It was the forest they had arrived at. Merely the sight of it sent chills down his spine. It was dense and dark and foreboding, looming over him like a predator. He stopped walking to just stare at the first line of tree trunks, which were as wide as two large men standing side by side. Jinki, who had been walking behind him answering an angry but still curious Kibum's questions, stopped at his side. He brushed their fingers together and Jonghyun glanced at him, grabbing his hand. Smiling, Jinki brought their linked fingers up to brush against his lips.

“Fear not,” he murmured against his skin. “I swear to protect you.”

Jonghyun blushed but smiled back.

“I know.”

“Are you guys coming or are you gonna go find a hotel?” Kibum drawled.

Jonghyun's ears and neck warmed and he shot him a dirty look, only to blink. Both Kibum and Minho had disappeared behind the treeline. Jinki tugged at his hand and he reluctantly let himself be pulled towards what looked like impending doom.

As soon as they stepped past the treeline everything changed. While it had looked desolate and abandoned from the outside, small furry creatures, no bigger than Jonghyun's hand, with long tails, and some even with wings sprouting from their backs, swarmed the inside of the forest. It made it seem as if even the trees had a life of their own, as they scurried up the trunks, jumped or flew from one branch to the other, and ran every which way between the maze of trees. The air was so clean and crisp it burned in Jonghyun's lungs and he suddenly felt very rested.

“Do not release your grip on my hand lest you wish to lose yourself in here,” Jinki murmured. “This forest was not created with humans in mind.”

“What is this place?” Jonghyun breathed, turning wide eyes to him.

Jinki smiled softly.

“This is where we gods come to rehabilitate.” He glanced around. “The creatures you see now are helpers, searching for a remedy, finding the correct amount of leaves for food or drinks, and running from one hot spring to the other to service their patrons.”

“Gods use hot springs?” Jonghyun said, astonished.

“It is one of our favourite things,” Jinki chuckled and tugged at Jonghyun's hand again. “Come. Let us find my brother and Kibum.”

They made their way through the masses of trees at a slow pace and Jonghyun looked around with his mouth open. The creatures they passed stopped and bowed to Jinki, but stared up at Jonghyun curiously, an interested glint in their eyes. Jonghyun wasn’t so sure he liked their looks, especially since he now knew most creatures wanted his sould, but Jinki seemed relaxed enough so he tried to ignore it.

“They will not attempt to kill you,” Jinki said as if he had read his thoughts. “They are too small to wield an excessive amount of power, such as your soul. They are simply curious.”

Jonghyun hummed and smiled as an even smaller furry creature waved at him, eyes huge and round. He waved back timidly and it got so excited it looked like it was vibrating. Soon, dozens of tinier furry creatures were running around his feet, chattering away a mile a minute. It was too squeaky for Jonghyun's ears, so he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Jinki laughed.

“The children have taken quite a liking to you,” he chortled.

“Ah, well…” Jonghyun answered distractedly as two of the ‘children’ unfolded their wings and flew up to play in his hair.

Jinki grinned and said something in another language, probably ancient Greek or something – Latin? Jonghyun had no idea. It sounded European though, so he’d settle for that. The children gave disappointed squeaks but let Jonghyun be. He let out a small, relieved sigh.

“Thank you.” He smiled at the small creatures, not sure they understood him. “Sorry guys.”

They bounced in place, waving enthusiastically before scattering in different directions, skipping, flying, jumping. Jonghyun stared after them in amazement, completely forgetting to be scared.

“They’re like… trolls?” he asked as he and Jinki began walking again.

Jinki shook his head, his arm slipping around Jonghyun's middle to lift him over a waist-high root. Jonghyun huffed indignantly but said nothing, which caused a large grin to grow on Jinki's lips.

“They are a certain species of sprites,” he said once they were safely on the other side of the root. His hand continued resting on Jonghyun’s hip protectively.

“Oh,” Jonghyun said but didn’t get farther as they finally caught up to Kibum and Minho.

“We should rest here for the night,” Minho said and gestured behind him.

Only then did Jonghyun notice the small cottage they had stopped in front of, nestled in-between two trees. Moss covered its tiled roof and the flower beds in front of it were so overgrown they looked like a miniature forest. White paint was beginning to peel off the wooden fence and gate. One of the windows held a small lantern, which was lit, signalling that someone was home. Though old, it looked very cosy.

“Um, isn’t that too small?” Jonghyun wondered. “It looks like there’s barely room for a bed in there, much less four.”

“That's just the front desk,” Kibum said and pointed upwards. “And by my calculations we only need three.”

Jonghyun followed the direction in which he pointed, after sending him a glare for the snide comment, and gaped. The trees were glowing. Or rather, what looked like windows in the trees were glowing. He could see shadows moving in front of the spots of lighta; some human shaped, others he couldn’t even begin to imagine.

“It’s kinda like a hotel, according to Minho,” Kibum explained when Jonghyun looked back at him. “Except, they all already have their own rooms.”

Jonghyun raised his eyebrow and looked to Jinki and Minho.

“So, apartments?”

Jinki tilted his head thoughtfully before nodding while Minho simply heaved a heavy sigh and turned to enter the cottage. Jinki followed him and gestured for him and Kibum to come inside.

“Minho thinks you’re slow,” Kibum mumbled to Jonghyun as they entered the door.

“Y’know I hadn’t noticed,” Jonghyun grumbled back and he scowled at Minho's back. “Thank you for clarifying that.”

The inside of the cottage was as cosy as it had looked from the outside. There were two armchairs by the fireplace to the left and right in front of them was what seemed like a front desk. A large, round woman sat sleeping behind it, her reading glasses slipping off her nose as her chin rested on her chest. Her braided, red hair spilled over her shoulder, long enough to reach the floor, and her ears were pierced with so many gold rings Jonghyun lost count. She wouldn’t look any different than normal if it weren’t for the long tail with a small tuft of red hair at the end. It laid splayed over the desk in front of her, on top of all the papers spread on it, as if she had been combing through the hair before she fell asleep. Her ears were big pointy too and her nose was larger than normal.

“It’s a troll,” Kibum breathed and Jonghyun shrank back a little.

Minho cleared his throat loudly and the woman startled out of her sleep with a gasp. Then her eyes widened and she shot to her feet, bowing hastily.

“My Lords, I was not aware you would be coming!” she exclaimed in a rough voice, her hands scurrying across the desk to gather the spread papers.

“It is not of import, Nariel,” Minho said and held up a hand. “We will only need our suites for the night. We shall be on our way again in the morning.”

“Of course, my Lord,” Nariel replied immediately, turning around to grab something from the shelf behind her Jonghyun noticed only now. It held what looked like hundreds of small boxes.

When Nariel faced them again she held two black stones, one glimmering silver and the other gold. She handed the gold to Minho and made her way around her desk to give Jinki the silver one. Her steps faltered as her eyes fell upon Kibum and Jonghyun, who had been hidden behind them up until that point. Nariel’s jaw dropped the slightest and she was staring so hard at Jonghyun he wanted to sink through the floor.

Jinki cleared his throat and her attention snapped back to him, her gaze piercing.

“Did anyone follow you here?” she asked, a lot less friendly. She pointed at Jonghyun. “I want no part in the competition for his soul and if you brought those hideous creatures here I will ban you from returning.”

Jinki frowned, looking hurt, but shook his head.

“We were not followed,” he promised. “We simply want to rest for a few hours, you need not worry.”

Nariel glanced back at Jonghyun, who fiddled self-consciously, before huffing and ing the stone into Jinki's hands.

“If there is any damage I will hold you responsible and expect compensation,” she quipped and marched back to her chair.

“Of course. Thank you,” Jinki mumbled.

“Come,” Minho ordered and gestured for them to follow him. “Our suites are this way.”

Jonghyun grabbed Jinki's hand as they made their way out the door. Jinki squeezed his fingers and gave a faint smile.

They went around to the back of the cottage to take a path that led through the lit up trees. There were signs written in strange, curly letters at each side path leading up to a tree, which seemed as if they had grown even larger in size, nearly as high and wide as skyscrapers, only they had a crown of branches clad in green leaves at the top. After a short walk they stopped at the end of the path, just outside the biggest tree. Jonghyun had to crane his neck all the way back to be able to look up at the crown of it.

“I guess I’ll stay with Minho,” Kibum grumbled. “I don’t want to accidentally walk in on compromising situations every few minutes.”

Jonghyun's head snapped down to shoot him a scandalized look and Jinki actually had the decency to look embarrassed. Minho seemed very close to arguing when Jinki gave him a pointed look and he gave another, suffering sigh.

“I supposed that is the ideal situation,” he grumbled and curtly his heel, marching over to the tree trunk.

Kibum narrowed his eyes at Jonghyun and Jinki.

“Behave,” he warned, pointing two fingers to his eyes before he jabbed them in their direction. Then he turned to follow Minho.

“Seriously,” Jonghyun groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Jinki laughed weakly and grabbed Jonghyun's hand from his face. They looked at each other for a silent moment, both smiling the slightest. Then Jonghyun leaned up and pecked his lips, leaving him in shock as he hurried after Kibum. His cheeks burned and there was a small, giddy smile on his lips.

Kibum rolled his eyes at him once he caught up, but there was a barely there smirk on his face. Jonghyun bumped their shoulders together and he stuck out his tongue at him. They both jumped when there was a loud rumble and turned to see Minho standing in front of an opening in the tree trunk. He motioned for Kibum to follow him inside, looking impatient.

Kibum hugged Jonghyun quickly.

“Be safe,” he murmured in his ear before releasing him and hurrying over to Minho's side.

“Good night,” Jonghyun called and Kibum shot him a salute.

Then the hole in the tree closed, leaving no trace of ever having been altered.

“He is a good friend,” Jinki said, appearing beside Jonghyun.

Suddenly, Jonghyun became extremely nervous. He only just realised he would spend a night with Jinki. Alone. Kibum wouldn’t be able to interrupt and Minho most certainly wouldn’t visit Jinki's place. He didn’t know why he was nervous. It wasn’t like he didn’t want whatever could happen between them. It was all just so… new.

Jinki's lips quirked as if he could read Jonghyun's mind and he caressed his cheek with the back of his hand. Then he stepped up to where the tree had opened before. Jonghyun followed dazedly, watching as he put his hand to the trunk and the hole reappeared. Jinki grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.

It wasn’t pitch black, like Jonghyun had thought it would be. There was a dim light coming from an unidentifiable source coating the small round room in a warm shine and making it look as if Jinki's hair was glowing.

Jinki turned to Jonghyun, holding out the stone.

“This might feel strange,” Jinki said, smiling mischievously.

Jonghyun shot him a scowl, which turned to a smirk as he wound his arms around Jinki’s waist, eliciting a surprised noise from him.

“Hold on to you, right?” he murmured into his shoulder, where he had buried his face.

It took a moment for Jinki to collect himself. He let out a breathless laugh.

“It is not necessary,” he said softly into Jonghyun's hair but his free arm settled around him. “However, it is preferable.”

Jonghyun barely managed to take a breath for a reply when he suddenly felt very light, as if his entire body had filled with helium. He tightened his grip around Jinki, scared that if he let go he would fall to his death. Jinki pressed a reassuring kiss to his temple and before he knew it, there was solid ground under his feet again. Jonghyun kept his tight grip on Jinki though, in case he had misinterpreted it.

“We have arrived,” Jinki announced when he seemed to realise Jonghyun wouldn’t let go of him unless he was a hundred percent sure they had made it.

Jonghyun slowly released his death grip on him, blinking his eyes in the bright light.

The room they had arrived in was huge. The first thing he saw was a couch made of what looked like wood and moss facing an open wall looking out at the stars. Jonghyun hadn’t realised night had fallen until then, and his breath left him in awe at the brightness of the moon. It bathed the entire room in a faint glow. They had to be close to the top of the tree, because the crowns of the other trees were visible underneath the small ledge outside the opening. There was an alcove to the right with a bed so large a family of four could sleep in it and still have enough space to roll around. Then there was a small opening with a curtain of leaves to the left, which Jonghyun assumed was the bathroom.

“Wow,” he breathed and Jinki smiled wistfully.

“I often came here after…” His voice died out and he looked at Jonghyun almost as if he were afraid he would disappear. “I never thought the day would come when I could share my part of the world with you.”

Jonghyun could only look at him. He had nothing to say. He really wished he could wipe the haunted, unsure look off of Jinki's face. But Jinki had spent millennia living through his deaths. He wasn’t sure he could. He just needed to survive this life, he vowed to himself.

“Jonghyun, you know not–,” Jinki swallowed and took a step forward. “I try to be strong, for you and me, but how I whish I could lock us up in here or in my ocean.”

Jonghyun took a step as well.

“Why don’t you?” he whispered.

“I could not do that to you,” Jinki murmured. “You deserve to be free and do whatever your heart wishes to. I know you, and I know you would not stand being imprisoned.”

He took another step, so close to Jonghyun he could feel his body heat. Jinki raised a hand to cup his cheek.

“Jinki,” Jonghyun whispered and he hummed. “I don’t want you to leave me when we’ve found your brother.”

Jinki smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. Jonghyun closed his own eyes.

“Please,” he said, barely audible.

Jinki pressed their lips together so gently it was like a butterfly’s touch. Jonghyun sighed, reaching up to tangle his hands in Jinki's hair and bring him closer, kiss him deeper. Jinki's other hand found the small of his back and pressed their bodies together. Then he suddenly lifted him up, his arm tight around his waist as Jonghyun pressed closer to him, and soon Jonghyun was laid onto the softest, fluffiest mattress he had ever felt. If clouds were compact, this is how he would have imagined them to feel. He didn’t have much time to ponder over it as Jinki settled between his thighs, pressing into him while his kisses grew hungrier, more desperate but none the less burning with love.

“Jonghyun,” Jinki murmured as he brushed his lips along his jaw, the vibrations in his husky voice sending tingles through all of Jonghyun's nerves. “Jonghyun, Jonghyun.”

Jonghyun pressed a kiss to his cheek, his hands running up his back to clutch him tighter. His mouth moved to the juncture of Jinki's jaw and throat, biting gently then kissing the spot while Jinki kept repeating his name like a mantra. Just as Jonghyun moved to undo the buttons on Jinki's shirt Jinki stilled and pulled back with a frown. His eyes were dark with want but confusion shone through them.

“What is it?” Jonghyun panted, his eyes dropping to Jinki's lips, which were red and glistening from the kiss. He resisted the urge to lean in and kiss him again and met his eyes.

“My brother,” Jinki growled, clearly completely oblivious of the effect it had on Jonghyun in their current situation.

Jonghyun tired not to think about how that growl would feel right up against his ear under much more intimate circumstances and raised his eyebrows in question.

“He requests an audience with me. Immediately.”

Jonghyun closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath. In the history of bad timing, Minho would certainly win the grandest prize for his efforts.

“Okay,” he said although he wished Minho could just take his request and shove it up his . “Maybe you should go. It might be important.”

Jinki looked down at him again, reluctance evident on his face.

“This is important,” he breathed.

Jonghyun huffed a laugh and kissed him.

“As important as finding your brother and stopping him from destroying the world?”

Jinki looked very close to pouting, which had Jonghyun laughing again. Jinki looked at him unhappily and shut him up with a kiss. It turned heated quickly and Jonghyun almost forgot about Minho until he heard a distant voice and a rumble making the entire tree tremble. He laughed as Jinki growled again

“I’ll wait,” Jonghyun promised as they untangled.

Jinki sighed in irritation and leaned down to kiss him once more before smoothing his clothes and hair. Then he walked over to the ledge, muttering under his breath. Jonghyun's heart leaped out of his chest as Jinki simply took a step off the ledge and dropped down to wherever Minho was. He resisted the urge to run over and make sure Jinki was okay, because let’s face it, he was a god. A small fall would probably not hurt him. He hoped.

Jonghyun sighed and settled further into the fluffy bed, forcing his racing heart to calm down and the warmth in his stomach to cool.

Even though he had been high on endorphins just a few seconds ago, it didn’t take long for his eyes to droop and he dozed off, not noticing the ominous presence dropping onto the ledge.

A/N: Hi guys... uh, it's been a while and I'm sorry to whoever is still sticking around OTL I'm bad, and I know...

So, this chapter is completely raw since I had no time to proofread at all and I felt kinda bad for not posting in so long :/ I hope it isn't too horrible and that you like it! Even just a little!

That's really all I gotta say...

Oh! And thank you all who are still subscribed and waiting for updates! I'm sorry I'm such a bum *sigh*

Love!<3

Bye~!