Yifan sighs. “Luhan….”

“I know, I know!” Luhan rolls his eyes and kicks a pebble on the road. “You won’t hear my singing today.”

“Actually, I was going to say that maybe you want to save your songs for when we’re at the faire?” Yifan smiles crookedly. “I’m sure your new elfin friends will want to sing along.”

Luhan laughs. “They’re a wild bunch.”

“Meaning I am no fun?”

“Not at all. You are wild in your own way,” Luhan says running a hand through his hair. He snaps his fingers then. “Like for example, you have the hots for A CENTURIES OLD FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON WHO WON TWO WIZARD WARS. I mean, you can’t get any wilder than that.”

Yifan coughs and puffs his chest out. “The Great Wizard Wu aims high.”

His apprentice shakes his head. “The Great Wizard Wu is a fool in love.”

Yifan waves his hand sharply. Only this time, the burst of wind buffets his apprentice who simply closes his eyes and allows the gust to give his hair the perfect wind-swept look.

“Hah! No kilt this time,” Luhan says.

Yifan raises a single finger and lights it on fire. “Can I try again?”

“NOPE!” Luhan runs ahead. “NOT ON THE NEW CLOTHES!”

The wizard and his apprentice continue walking, greeting the families and citizens of the kingdom along the way. Good energy and happy spirits fill the air, making the people smiley and giddy. But when they come upon the bridge, many pause and glance nervously at the troll.

Yeol has cleaned up good. He’s wearing a flower crown, and has a cart full of roses beside him. He waves at the citizens and hands roses to those that pass closest to him, setting them at ease once more.

“Good job, Yeol!” Yifan calls out.

The troll waves happily from his post. A pair of kids screech and run towards him. He stoops to give them a flower each. The kids return to their parents and cross the bridge. Water spouts arch beautifully over the bridge as the family walks happily on their way to the faire.

“Nice! Suho is helping out too.” Luhan applauds the water elemental’s display as he and Yifan cross the bridge.

The Valentine Faire is in full swing when they arrive at noon. The main tent has been pulled back up. It’s a new one, colored entirely red, since a certain dragon destroyed the last one. Humans and magical creatures interact good-naturedly if a bit hesitant. It all feels right, and it’s too bad the king couldn’t see it that way.

Yifan had brought up the plea when he returned to the castle that morning. The king had been livid and called him a failure for not bringing the evil beast’s head on a platter. Good thing the king’s wife had intervened. Her kind soul and strong will had settled the matter rather quickly, and so all creatures magical and non-magical were invited to the faire.

Yifan keeps his eyes moving over the booths and gathered crowds, a tiny smile forming at the corners of his mouth. He’s looking for a particular head of raven hair, pale skin, and the rosiest lips that when pulled up are accompanied by the cutest dimple ever. Nothing would make him happier than to share this success with Yixing. But the young man—or not-so-young dragon—is not by the fishing barrels, nor by the magic mirrors gallery. He’s not in line at the kissing booth, nor by the sugared webs vendor. Maybe he’s in the main tent watching whatever show they have going on at the moment.

“Are you looking for Lay?” Luhan asks.

Yifan spits his wine to the side. His apprentice was way too perceptive for his own good.

“I mean, Yixing,” Luhan says. “Because if you are, Kai just told me he’s not here.”

Yifan sets the cup down. “I wasn’t looking for him. I was simply admiring the faire grounds. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, both humans and magical creatures alike. The faire is a success and I’m overjoyed—”

Luhan settles a hand over Yifan’s arm. “You don’t seem happy.”

That is the sad, sad truth. A day ago he’d wanted the Valentine Faire to happen so he could find his one true love. But now he had no need of the faire, because Yifan is almost certain he found the one in Zhang Yixing.

“I’m sure he’ll appear sooner or later,” Luhan says. “Or maybe you should go look for him.”

“Hey Lu!” Tao calls out. “Come over here! We brought different flavors of mead and you have to taste them all!”

Luhan takes a few steps in the direction of the elves, but then pauses. He looks back at Yifan, a question in his eyes.

“Go,” Yifan says, making shooing motions with a ringed hand. “Have fun.”

Luhan moves fast and throws his arms around Yifan’s waist, catching him by surprise. “You’re the best master ever!”

“Uh, yeah. Well… I’m not dragging you back home drunk,” Yifan says keeping his voice from wobbling. “You can stay with them and come back sober tomorrow.”

Luhan laughs and runs away.

“Remember to take sugared webs to Yeol!”

Yifan meanders through the faire, a little less excited now. It’s Valentine’s and he is once more dateless. No doubt, he could find a date at the faire if he set his mind to it, but the truth is he doesn’t want any other but Yixing.

There’s a pyramid of barrels, each one full of roses in many colors—white, rose, red, purple, black. Yifan waves at the gnomes attending the place and walks to them. “Your flowers are exquisite.”

“We’ve been asked to grow the flowers for the Easter parade as well,” Minseok says excited. He hands off more flowers to a couple of little boys who giggle and run off to hand them to some elfin girls. “It’s all because of you, great wizard!”

Soo pulls his suspenders and lets them slap back against his chest. “Many ing thanks, wizard.”

“It was my pleasure,” Yifan says, and he means it. Helping everyone gave him a new sense of purpose. All these years he used his powers in service of the king and of his tutors at the wizard academy. But yesterday he’d used them to help others, to make things better. It was a good feeling that bubbled up in his chest this morning as he explained to the queen how he helped everyone.

Soo grabs a red rose from one of the barrels. He twirls it in his hand and offers it to Yifan. When Yifan takes it, the gnome gives a sharp nod and then moves away to continue handing out flowers.

Minseok laughs. “Give it to your valentine.”

A twinge of pain registers in his chest. “I don’t have—”

“Wizard! Wizard Wu!” Twin chime-like voices break in. Baek and Chen fly rapidly towards him, their translucent wings blurring in their speed. They buzz and squee rapid-fire words that he can barely make sense of.

Chen flails his arms. “They’re coming for him!”

“Who is coming?” Yifan asks, settling the rose on his belt.

“The knights!” Baek yips. “The king’s knights!”

Yifan growls. Had the king gone back on his word? Was he going to forcefully remove the magical creatures from the faire? “Coming for who?”

“They’re going to kill him!” The two chorus.

“Kill who?” Yifan exclaims exasperated.

The fairies stop moving and fly right into Yifan’s face where they scream. “The guardian of the Lost Forest!”

It’s like the whole world stops spinning. All sounds cease to register and his mind goes blank until the only thing he can hear is the ba-dump ba-dump of his heart. The king has sent the knights to complete the task he couldn’t. They’re going to slay the evil beast that guards the forest.

They’re going to kill Yixing.

“No.” The word comes out in a half-sob.

Minseok stomps on his foot. “What are you doing? Stop wasting time and go save him!”

Yifan snaps out of it. He points at his boots and murmurs a spell for speed and flight. He flicks his cape back and runs, the magic lending wings to his mad dash. This time he doesn’t trip on any root or knock into any tree. He is swift and sure, his blood rushing through his body, firing him up and helping him focus.

It’s not long before he sees the tree arch.

“Yixing!” Yifan barges in through the opening and into the nest. “Yixing! Where—”

He clutches his chest and exhales loudly.

There’s a hammock made of vines and leaves off to the side. Yixing is asleep in it, head cradled on one arm, lips slightly parted and letting out the softest of snores. His other hand is thrown over the side, hanging down so his fingers brush the floor.

Yifan’s heart is about to carve itself out of his chest, so he breathes and breathes, until it settles down. Only then, does he approach and kneel by Yixing’s side. He grips the edge of the hammock and lets his eyes take in the beautiful creature before him. Soft black hair. Small ears, the left one with a pretty mole. Barely-there lashes beneath brown eyebrows. A cute, straight nose. Plush and totally kissable lips.

The young man blinks his eyes open. His eyes focus on Yifan, and he smiles a bit. “Yifan? Why aren’t you at the faire?”

“I thought…the fairies said….” Yifan swallows when Yixing his lips. “They said the knights were coming to kill you.”

Yixing sits up, making the hammock swing a bit, and yawns. “And you…came to save me?”

“Of course!” Yifan grabs Yixing’s knees. “I couldn’t let them hurt you! If they even laid a hand on you I would’ve….”

Yixing is smiling, wide and beautiful.

Yifan could just swoon.

“You do know I’m a dragon,” Yixing says. “What did you think a bunch of knights could do to me?”

“I-I-I…I don’t know.” Oh gods. He was a fool. He really was a fool in love. Yixing was a dragon! He would’ve swatted the knights away with his tail and continue on with his nap as if nothing had happened. Yixing didn’t need his protection. He should’ve realized it before running here like a mad man. But the faeries had been so scared, screaming at him to come save Yixing and Minseok stomping on his foot so he’d get a move on and—Oh. Ohhhh. He’d been set up.

A blush with the heat intensity of dragon fire spreads over his cheeks and neck. He really, really was a fool.

“Thank you for coming though,” Yixing says.

“Oh. I, uh, yeah.” Yifan picks at the edge of his cape. If he throws it over his head, he’ll hide his embarrassment. “It was nothing. Can I ask…why you weren’t at the faire?”

Yixing rubs one eye. “It didn’t feel right to attend when I was the one who kept destroying it. I also didn’t have a date,” Yixing says, blushing a bit.

It’s like the first time he saw Yixing. His heart leaps, and restarts out of sync. This time he’s much closer, so he grabs one of Yixing’s hands and holds it in his. This is the moment all his romantic fantasies come true, the moment he’ll get to sweep the one off his feet.

Yifan takes the rose from under his cape and presents it with a flourish. “My fair dragon, would you be my date at the Valentine Faire?”

Instead of taking the rose or giving him an answer, Yixing leans down and kisses him full on the mouth.


The Valentine Faire continues its celebrations well into the night, and when the clocks strike the midnight hour, the fairies release their sparkle rains across the sky. In the midst of it all, a white dragon with a cape-clad rider light up the night with fire-shaped hearts.

A very drunk assistant yells from below. “Get a room!”