For four days, Chanyeol could do nothing but wait.

With no immediate Quest, and for the first time in his life, no lessons to attend or courtly duties to perform, Chanyeol quickly became bored. He ended up just going around town and asking folk if they needed a hand with their daily tasks, and in this way learned a great deal about what it meant to live outside of a castle, outside of a large city. There was always something to do and the people were always grateful for the help, even if it came from a slightly eccentric stranger.

This is why he was covered in sweat and grime, sleeves tied up to his elbows with a sledgehammer in his hand, when Kyungsoo next found him. Word had gotten around, and the town’s blacksmith had drafted him as a striker, doing the heavy hammering while the actual artisan did the complicated work.

Seeing that he was occupied, Kyungsoo leaned his elbows on the fence and just watched for a while. His presence upset Chanyeol’s concentration, but he did his best, and honestly this work was about strength and accuracy more than craftsmanship.

When the project was in the trough to cool, Chanyeol took his leave of the smith and came over to the fence. “I apologize for my state,” he said, gesturing at his sweaty hair, his soot-streaked forearms. “What can I do for you?”

Kyungsoo smiled at him, beautiful and breathtaking as always. “I was hoping you would come for a walk with me this afternoon,” he said, and Chanyeol’s heart leapt into his throat.

“Of course,” he said, a bit too quickly. “Do you mind waiting a moment for me to clean up?” Kyungsoo said he didn’t, and so Chanyeol hurried back to the inn, changed his shirt for his other shirt (he only had the two at the moment) and wiped off the sweat and dirt. His hair was a lost cause without a full bath, so Chanyeol tied it in a knot at the nape of his neck and left it.

The day was sunny but cool, and the trail Kyungsoo led him on wound around the base of the mountain, shaded by trees. It was extraordinarily pleasant, as was the company, and Chanyeol was just...so very enchanted, by all of it.

He tried, a time or two, to get Kyungsoo to tell him something personal, but the smaller man seemed adept at dodging his questions about his home, his family, his upbringing, his past. Chanyeol wondered if he was an orphan, or perhaps a runaway from a bad home. It made him curious to know if Kyungsoo had maybe chosen to live with a dragon. It would explain why he seemed to be so comfortable with it, anyway.

In any case, he couldn’t press too much, because there was only so much of his own past he could bring up without raising too many questions. He did tell Kyungsoo about his sister, and even confided that he was jealous of her husband-to-be, jealous of way his family treated the other man like their favored son, like their savior.

He realized he was ranting and closed his mouth, blushing. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I don’t mean to sound bitter.”

“You sound human,” Kyungsoo told him, amused. “It’s nice to know you’re capable of feeling negative emotions. The way your friends talked about you the other night, you seemed like some kind of untouchable paragon.”

That made Chanyeol laugh. “Hardly,” he grinned. “I just...I’ve been lucky, in my life. Especially now that I’m travelling, I see that I’ve been blessed, to have what I have. There’s no excuse for me to be a jerk.”

“Not many people think that way,” Kyungsoo pointed out. “Many people see their privilege as the best excuse to be a jerk.”

“Well, they’re dumb,” Chanyeol declared, and Kyungsoo laughed.

Hours passed by quickly, and by the time the sun began to set, they were on a ridge on the far side of the mountain, the perfect spot to watch. “I wish I’d thought to bring a picnic basket,” Chanyeol murmured as Kyungsoo tugged him down to sit beside him, their legs dangling over the edge.

Kyungsoo was sitting close enough that his deep grey shirt brushed Chanyeol’s when he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not hungry,” he murmured.

He laid his head down on Chanyeol’s shoulder, and Chanyeol stilled.

He was so warm.

You’re making it weird, his logical side said. Show him you want him to touch you!

So Chanyeol swallowed hard, and lifted his arm, disrupting Kyungsoo’s rest just long enough to slide his hand around Kyungsoo’s shoulders and tug him gently closer. Kyungsoo resisted him at first, but then gave in, tucking his head against Chanyeol’s chest and resting his hand on Chanyeol’s thigh. Chanyeol was glad Kyungsoo was sitting on his right side, because if he was on the left he probably would have been disturbed by how rapidly Chanyeol’s heart was beating.

They stayed like that in silence for the entirety of the sunset.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo murmured, as the last sliver of the sun faded out of sight.

Chanyeol looked down at him. “For what?” he asked.

“For chasing after me,” Kyungsoo said. He twisted slightly, turning his face up to Chanyeol’s. Chanyeol swallowed - his lips were awfully close. “For pushing, even when I didn’t want to give you a chance.”

A furrow formed on Chanyeol’s brow. “I hope I didn’t push too hard,” he said, concerned.

Oh, Kyungsoo was smiling. Chanyeol’s brow smoothed out just from the sheer proximity of that smile. “Not too hard,” Kyungsoo agreed. “Just enough to show me you were serious. I didn’t...You have to admit, it was a bit startling.” His eyes dropped, and he burrowed closer into Chanyeol’s side. “No one’s ever...pursued me before.”

Chanyeol gave his shoulders a squeeze. “That’s because people are blind,” he declared. “You’re well-worth pursuing.”

Kyungsoo didn’t answer, but he did slide his fingers between Chanyeol’s.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Two days later, and Chanyeol was helping a mother take care of her cattle while her husband was away when gasps and exclamations brought them both out into the street.

Chanyeol’s heart leapt into his throat, because there it was. The dragon, massive and black against the morning sky, wheeled in circles around the peak of the mountain to the west. Kyungsoo’s mountain.

The townspeople were pointing and chattering, but Chanyeol was silent, just staring. It was hard to tell how big it was from this distance. Big. Black as night, with an iridescent sheen of green when the sunlight hit it just right. Spikes over the crest of its head, down its back, all along its tail, and a wingspan at least as wide as its body was long.

It was terrifying, and beautiful, and as Chanyeol watched it fly, all he could think was, Why are you showing yourself now? Unless the dragon had only just moved to the mountain, it seemed it had been living there without being seen by the townspeople for years, because everyone seemed surprised as well as afraid.

Chanyeol couldn’t help but see it as a threat, a warning. And there was only one person the warning could be aimed at.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Sitting at dinner that night, Chanyeol felt a hand on his shoulder, and for once did not jump, though his heart did. He turned with a happy greeting on his lips - and stopped dead.

It wasn’t Kyungsoo. It wasn’t even Sehun. It was a man Chanyeol had never seen before, staring at him with unsure eyes.

“Chanyeol?” the man said, and, what. That voice was familiar. Why was that voice…

The man’s nose twitched, and Chanyeol noticed the second man standing behind him, slightly taller and thinner with tawny-gold hair and big doe eyes, and in a flash the pieces fell into place.

“Minseok?” he gasped, all but jumping to his feet. The man grinned widely, displaying slightly buck teeth, and Chanyeol threw his arms around him. “You’re human!”

“And I will never take having thumbs for granted again,” Minseok snarked, but his arms wound around Chanyeol’s waist and he squeezed tightly. “Oh, and guess who?”

Chanyeol opened one arm and yanked Lu Han into the hug, laughing when the stag-turned-man stumbled clumsily forward on his thin legs. “You let him talk you into becoming human too, huh?”

“I wanted to,” Lu Han said, awkwardly trying to find a place for his hands to go. He turned his face up to Chanyeol’s, and his eyes were just a shade closer to animal than they should have been. “I like having thumbs. And arms. But I have no idea how you people manage on only two legs.”

“He won’t stop complaining about missing his antlers, either,” Minseok said, rolling his eyes. He pulled away, but his arm stayed around Lu Han’s waist, half supporting and half possessing. He looked totally comfortable there and Chanyeol was suddenly very, very glad he’d made the choice he did.

Chanyeol ushered them into the booth, and offered to buy them dinner, and exclaimed again over their humanness and how glad he was to see them, and then finally got around to asking how they’d found him and what they were doing there.

“We’re here to thank you, nimrod,” Minseok griped, as Lu Han nodded emphatically. “You just like, waltzed into our messed-up little lives and made them better, for no discernible reason other than you just being a stand-up guy. Who does that.”

Chanyeol propped his head up on his fist. “I don’t know, but more people should.”

“There you go again, being too disgustingly good to be real. You’re gonna give Lu unrealistic expectations of humanity.” Chanyeol laughed. “Seriously, though,” Minseok said, his tone quieting, “thank you. We owe you everything.”

Oh, for heaven’s sake. “You owe me nothing,” Chanyeol insisted.

“Bull. Look, I went through a lot of trouble to get Stick-Legs over here all the way around those mountains to give you this, so just shut up and take it, okay?” He held out his hand and dropped something into Chanyeol’s. “I badgered your sorcerer friend into making it.”

Chanyeol opened his hand and found a crystal on a silver chain, similar to the one Tao had been wearing.

“It’s a speaking spell,” Minseok explained when Chanyeol gave him a confused look. He reached into his shirt and fished out a similar necklace. “Hold it in your hand and call my name, and assuming I’m wearing mine, I’ll hear you. Joonmyun’s got one too - same deal.” He dropped the necklace, tucking it back into his shirt. “The magic will last for five years. I expect you to use it.”

Chanyeol blinked. “Did you just literally put yourself - and a powerful sorcerer whom you didn’t even know before I sent him your way - at my beck and call for the next five years?”

“Please,” Minseok scoffed. “As if you would ever use it unless you absolutely needed to.”

That shut Chanyeol up, because Minseok was right - and the fact that he knew him that well after their extremely limited interactions was eye-opening.

“Am I boring?” he asked abruptly, suddenly unable to think anything else.

Minseok gave him a confused look, but somehow Lu Han seemed to follow his thought. “I think you must be interesting,” he said, “because even though you consistently do good things, people are always surprised by it. Or at least, Minseok is.” He looked to Minseok for confirmation. “I suppose it must not be very common, for humans,” he guessed.

The smile that quirked Minseok’s face was not at all humorous. “You’re learning,” he said softly, running his hand through Lu Han’s tawny hair.

“Well,” Chanyeol said, unsettled by that, “thank you. And I promise I won’t use it unless it’s necessary.”

“Atta boy,” Minseok praised. “Now, did you say something about food? I’m starving.”



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Minseok and Lu Han stayed in the inn for two days, and Chanyeol thoroughly enjoyed their company, but eventually, of course, they had to leave. “My family probably thinks I’m dead,” Minseok pointed out. “I mean, they never cared all that much for the third son, but I should at least drop by. My little sister will care, at least.”

It got Chanyeol thinking about his own family. He’d been gone for close to two months now, longer than Yura had been gone, and while he thought himself a better man for his journey, he did miss his home dearly. He missed the food, and the music, and the familiar faces and dress; he missed his friends amongst the nobles, the soldiers, the servants; and more selfishly, he missed his extensive rooms, his rich, varied wardrobe, his massive bed.

(He had a flash of laying Kyungsoo out gently on his own bed at home, cheeks flushed and eyes dark, and spluttered, pushing that thought out of his mind before it wandered into shameful territory.)

(His dreams had gotten shameful enough.)

He wasn’t on a timetable, strictly speaking, but he did have duties at home that he was neglecting, and family who were surely worrying. And, knowing Kyungsoo, the decision of whether or not to come with him would be one he would want time to think on, so Chanyeol vowed that the next time he saw the smaller man, he would bring it up. Maybe not ask him straight out, but broach the subject, at least in a hypothetical way. Get a feel for how open Kyungsoo was to the idea, and whether or not his dragon would stop him from leaving.

That was the other knot in this tangle - the dragon. By now, Chanyeol had come to one of two conclusions - either Kyungsoo lived with the dragon of his own choice, and was allowed to come and go as he pleased, or his dragon was not always around, and Kyungsoo’s tendency to show up at random times without warning was the result of him sneaking away whenever he thought he could manage it. Chanyeol was hopeful for the former, but rather suspected it was the latter.

When another two days passed with no word from Kyungsoo, though, it occurred to Chanyeol that he hadn’t seen the smaller man since the last time the dragon had been sighted. Maybe Kyungsoo got caught. Maybe he’d been confined, punished, maybe he was chained in a cave or injured or dead while Chanyeol had been down here puttering away!

Drawing in a deep breath, Chanyeol forced himself to calm down. Kyungsoo had waiting four days in the past before contacting Chanyeol, and this was only the afternoon of the fifth. He didn’t want to ruin the tentative trust he’d built by breaking his promise not to come looking for Kyungsoo on the mountain.

He’d give it one more day. One more. If he hadn’t heard from Kyungsoo by tomorrow night, he was going after him.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Sunset of the sixth day came and went, and Chanyeol’s mood was grim. He knew better than to head up the mountain and confront a black dragon at night, but took an early dinner in his room that night, preparing himself to set out at daybreak.

He was all set to head to bed early so he would be as rested as possible when there was a knock on the door. It was one of the barmaids, telling him that his presence had been requested in the kitchen. He nearly snapped at her, but it wasn’t her message and it wasn’t her fault, so instead he sighed and thanked her and pulled his pants back on to go see what the innkeep wanted.

Except, when he stuck his head in the kitchen, it wasn’t the innkeep at all. Kyungsoo stood by the stove, holding a frying pan and wrapped in a stained white apron with his sleeves rolled up and cooking-heat pinking his cheeks, and the sheer relief made Chanyeol knock-kneed.

“Hello, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo said, with a bright, sweet smile. “I thought maybe we’d teach you to wash dishes tonight.”

Chanyeol crossed the room in three long strides and wrapped Kyungsoo up in his arms. The wooden spoon in Kyungsoo’s hand clattered to the floor.

“...Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo asked softly, his hands coming up tentatively to cup Chanyeol’s shoulders.

“Sorry,” Chanyeol said, his voice rough. “I...hadn’t heard from you in a while. I was getting worried.”

Kyungsoo didn’t reply, but his grip tightened, and he held onto Chanyeol until the tension bled out of his body.

Eventually, Chanyeol let him go, taking a step back and trying on a shaky smile. Kyungsoo stared up at him consideringly.

“Why are you always so worried about me?” he asked. “What are you afraid of?”

Well. “Did you see the dragon circling the mountain a few days ago?” Chanyeol asked carefully.

Instantly, Kyungsoo’s face changed. His whole expression shuttered off, like a door slamming shut in Chanyeol’s face. “I have nothing to fear from the dragon,” he said curtly. “And as long as you stay off the mountain, neither do you.”

Chanyeol wasn’t sure if that was a threat or a warning, but he didn’t like it. “Kyungsoo,” he said, rather desperately. “Please. Tell me truthfully. Where you live...who you live with. Are you...safe?” He took Kyungsoo’s hands. Kyungsoo’s fingers flexed within his, but he didn’t pull away, and eventually, his cold expression softened.

“Oh, Chanyeol,” he murmured. “Yes. I promise you, I am safe. There is nothing on that mountain that would hurt me.”

Chanyeol wasn’t sure he believed that, but he had no choice but to take Kyungsoo’s word for it. Anything less would be terribly disrespectful and he knew it. And the fact that Kyungsoo seemed to genuinely believe it was encouraging.

“Alright,” Chanyeol breathed. “Alright. You said something about dishes?”



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Chanyeol was pretty sure his mother would have actual fits to see him like this, more than half-drenched and up to his elbows in dirty soapy water, but frankly, Chanyeol could not care less, because he was having fun.

Kyungsoo, apparently, was not kidding about enjoying to cook, and seeing him lit up like this, humming to himself and grinning at Chanyeol and bustling around the kitchen, made it easy to understand why he would come all the way into town just to cook. He really, genuinely loved it.

And Chanyeol really, genuinely, loved him.

It was hard not to, honestly. He shone like a star in the dirty little inn, so bright it stole Chanyeol’s breath away. Every time he broke out into song, every time he sidled up to Chanyeol to guide his hands through proper dishwashing methods or let him taste something he was making or just smiled, Chanyeol fell deeper. By the time the dinner rush had died down and the dishwater was drained, Chanyeol knew he had to ask Kyungsoo tonight.

Exactly what he was going to ask him, and how, was still up for debate. But Chanyeol knew his heart couldn’t take another four or five or six day separation, not without a clear idea of where they stood.

So when Kyungsoo presented him with a plate and a tankard and declared it break time, Chanyeol sat close, and ate, and gathered his thoughts. Kyungsoo noticed his silence - it was quite uncharacteristic - and prodded him. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“You,” Chanyeol said with a smile. “You’re always what’s on my mind, these days.”

Kyungsoo blinked at him, and blushed, but he ducked his head, not meeting Chanyeol’s eyes. “You shouldn’t get too attached,” he scolded playfully. “It wouldn’t be healthy for you.”

Chanyeol brushed the back of his hand over Kyungsoo’s hair. “Too late,” he murmured.

His eyes lifting, Kyungsoo met Chanyeol’s gaze, the humor on his lips fading away. “...What does that mean?”

Deep breaths, Chanyeol. “It means I love you,” he declared. “It means I want to stay by your side. Or you to stay by mine.”

Chanyeol should be used to Kyungsoo’s instinctive defense, the walls in his expression he threw up when he wasn’t certain how to respond, or didn’t want his reaction known. But it hurt, to see his declaration met with shuttered, unreadable eyes.

“It can’t,” Kyungsoo whispered. “You can’t...Chanyeol, no.”

“Too late,” Chanyeol told him, his tone softening. “I fell for you the moment I saw you.” Which was true, even though that moment was much earlier than Kyungsoo knew. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me if I declared myself then, and I needed to be certain of it myself, first, but...I know it now.” He shrugged helplessly. “I love you.”

“Don’t.” Kyungsoo pulled away, getting to his feet. He busied himself with putting away the dishes that were in the drying rack, but Chanyeol could see his hands were shaking. “Don’t love me. That’s a terrible idea. Stop that right now.” He reached up to put a bowl in the topmost shelf of the cabinetry.

Crossing the room, Chanyeol took the dish from his hand before he dropped it, and reached over his head to put it away. “Why?” he asked softly, looking down. Kyungsoo refused to look at him, his shoulders hunched in on himself. “How could love be terrible?”

A short, ugly laugh pulled from Kyungsoo’s throat. “I’d rather you not find out,” he said, and the plaintiveness of his tone made Chanyeol swallow down his fear and slide his fingers under Kyungsoo’s chin, gently tilting his head up. Kyungsoo’s beautiful eyes were bright with unshed tears, and Chanyeol’s heart cracked open at the sight.

“Do you love me?” Chanyeol asked, pretty sure the answer was going to break him either way.

“I barely know you,” Kyungsoo pointed out, but that wasn’t an answer.

“But do you love me?”

Kyungsoo’s mouth opened, then closed. He his lip nervously. “I...I don’t know, Chanyeol,” he whispered. “I could, in another life.”

Chanyeol ran his thumb over the apple of Kyungsoo’s cheek. “What’s stopping you in this one?”

The smile that twisted Kyungsoo’s features was thoroughly unhappy. “A dragon,” he admitted.

A thousand thoughts raced through Chanyeol’s mind - how is the dragon stopping you? Does he want you for himself? Is he protective of you? Is he possessive of you? Could we run away, or would I have to fight him for you?

Or do you love him?

He opened his mouth to voice them, but never got the chance, because at that moment, a new, and deep, and wholly unfamiliar voice growled “Get the hell away from him.”

Chanyeol looked up. The man in the doorway was one he had not seen, but he was large, broad-shouldered and taller even than Chanyeol. The look on his face was pure anger, and he strode forward and had his hand on Kyungsoo’s arm before Chanyeol could even react. His hand was massive, totally engulfing Kyungsoo’s thin limb.

Chanyeol’s hand planted itself in the stranger’s chest and shoved. “Don’t touch him,” he snarled unthinkingly.

“Both of you, stop,” Kyungsoo snapped, alarmed. He pulled away from the stranger’s grip and pushed Chanyeol’s hand back down. “Yifan, what in hellfire are you doing?”

“You have to get away from him, Soo,” the new man spat. “He’s not who he says he is.”

Chanyeol blinked, confusion overcoming his anger for a bare moment. “I haven’t actually said I was anyone, really,” he pointed out.

“Yifan. What are you talking about?” Kyungsoo said, his voice curiously flat.

“I’m talking about Prince Chanyeol here,” Yifan said, “and his Quest to kill a dragon.”

Shocked, horrified, betrayed eyes turned to his, and Chanyeol’s heart dropped into his boots. “It isn’t like that -” he argued, but Kyungsoo wasn’t listening.

“Is that why you won’t stop asking me about where I live?” Kyungsoo demanded. “Who I live with?”

“Kyungsoo -”

“Is it true?”

“Sort of!” Chanyeol exclaimed. “I am on a Quest, and I know a dragon is involved somehow, and yeah, those tend to end with the dragon dead. That happens. I wasn’t going to hunt it down but I was prepared for the possibility.” Something terrible occurred to him, and Chanyeol took a step towards the stranger, Yifan. “And only a handful of people know who I am or why I am here, so how did you find out?”

The man’s mouth twisted into a sneer. He pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it on the ground. It landed with a clatter - and a chime.

His heart in his throat, Chanyeol looked down. At his feet was a strand of silver bells, smeared with red.

Sehun.

Time slowed to nothing. Rage roaring in Chanyeol’s ears overtook every last ounce of sense, and he reached for the closest thing at hand - the cast-iron frying pan, still filled with hot oil. He grabbed it and swung.

Yifan’s arms came up to block, but the pan was stopped before it reached its destination. Burning-hot cooking oil splattered all over both Yifan and Kyungsoo, raising welts on both men’s skin. Chanyeol realized too late that Kyungsoo had blocked his attack, guarding Yifan with his body. The pan connected with his slim shoulder, tearing open fabric and skin with a sick sound.

The pan clattered to the ground from numb fingers.

What have I done?

He found out in the next moment, when Kyungsoo pushed between them, putting Yifan protectively behind him despite the fact Yifan was twice his size. Chanyeol opened his mouth to beg forgiveness, but he didn’t get the chance.

“Do not come near me again,” Kyungsoo hissed, utterly furious. “And you’d do well to stay away from the mountain entirely. Take your dragon-killing fantasies and get out of my life.”

Chanyeol watched him slide his fingers into Yifan’s as he said the word dragon, and suddenly, it fell into place. The man the shopkeep had described, that was Yifan.

Yifan was the dragon.

“Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol cried, half in warning and half in despair.

It was too late. They were gone.

Chanyeol leaned heavily against the counter, his mind a blur of confusion and horror. His gaze landed on the red-stained bells, and his hand slipped under his shirt to grasp the pendant Minseok had given him.

“Joonmyun,” he said aloud, vaguely aware that his voice was shaking terribly. “Joonmyun, please check on Sehun and Tao, I think something might have happened to them.”

He heard Joonmyun’s response, but didn’t comprehend it, because there was suddenly screaming from outside.

Chanyeol raced outside just in time to see a massive black dragon disappear into the sky with a pale shape riding on its back.









how much do you all hate me right now?