For: From: Title: Get Me Out of Here (I'm Trying, Love)

Rating:< PG-13

Pairing(s)/Focus: Suho-centric, Suho/Xiumin, Suho/Kris, very mild Suho/OT12

Length: 15.5k words 

Warning/s: possible trigger warnings for being chased, bad action scenes, mild violence

Notes: Thank you so much to the mods for hosting this exchange and for being so understanding of my injuries. To my darling recipient, thank you so much for your prompt! This probably isn't what you expected and I apologize for how rushed parts of the fic are, and for the bad action. This fic was a great adventure, and I should really reign myself in. You gave me a sentence long prompt and I spat out 15k. Someone buy me a leash. And as always, thank you to my fabulous tlist for listening to me whine and inspiring me to write!

Get Me Out of Here (I'm Trying, Love)

Light filtered in through the cherry trees of the Palace Garden. The breeze sighed softly through the branches and lifted white petals up into the air, only to set them gently down on the ground and over the shoulders of the man sitting quietly at the base of the largest tree at the entrance to the Garden.

“Kim Junmyeon.”

The man sitting at the tree opened his eyes, but didn’t make any other movement in response. Junmyeon had pale skin and a soft, rounded face. He had strong hands with long fingernails and strong veins. Although he was sitting down, it was easy to see that he was relatively small for a man, with his small torso and short legs. And yet, his legs were bent quite easily into a cross-legged position as he surveyed the scene before him, his keen brown eyes taking in every detail of the man standing before him.

“Prince Minseok?” Junmyeon asked, making no move to rise and bow, his eyes soft with fond recognition.

Minseok smiled down at him. Prince Minseok was fifth in line to the throne of the Kingdom of Arctica, a vast land comprising of five states: the state of Ice, the state of Fire, the state of Crops, the state of Storms, and the state of Sight. The state of Ice was the farthest north while the state of Storms lay the farthest south, ending in the treacherous Storm Sea. The State of Sight lay underneath all of Artctica, comprised of a vast maze of tunnels stretching far and wide beneath the surface of the earth. Ironically, most members of the State of Sight were sensitive to light, because they lived underground.

And through all the land flowed the River Harmony. The River was used by every state for some purpose, and also ran underground through pools and streams in the State of Sight. The River united the land together, and also helped carry trade and culture out to other nations.

Prince Minseok’s mother, the third wife of the king, hailed from Ice. Arctica was a land where magic and mundane mingled freely, and Minseok was one of the few heirs to the throne who had a magical power: the power to control ice and snow. Minseok was also the fiancée to Kim Junmyeon, and they were set to be married in three weeks time.

Kim Junmyeon was an interesting man. Physically, he didn’t seem like much. Some would call him “cute”, others might say “beautiful”. But in reality, Junmyeon was one of the leading captains of the Palace Guard and was far stronger than his looks seemed to show.

“You won’t bow to your prince, Junmyeon?” Minseok smiled teasingly.                         

At last, Junmyeon moved, but only to lean back on his hands. “I didn’t know that I needed to bow to my fiancé,” he teased right back.

“You’re right,” Minseok said, with mock thoughtfulness. “It might get tiresome.” Minseok walked forward and sat down next to Junmyeon underneath the cherry tree. “Are you guarding the entrance to the gardens?”

“No, what makes you think that?” Junmyeon blinked in genuine surprise.

“You were sitting so solemnly, I thought you might be busy.”

“I was actually asleep,” Junmyeon admitted after an embarrassed pause. “But I wasn’t supposed to be guarding anything. I think.”

Minseok snorted. “You think?”

“I’m still a little bit groggy.” A pale blush spread over Junmyeon’s cheeks and he looked away from Minseok in embarrassment.

Minseok stared at him for a few moments, and then broke into a smile. “You’re strange.”

“Thank you?” Junmyeon cautiously glanced up at Minseok’s eyes.

“It was a compliment,” Minseok assured him gently, reaching back and linking his fingers through Junmyeon’s.

They hadn’t known each other long. Their match was a purely political match; it made sense for Minseok, a possible heir to the throne, to have ties with the military. Junmyeon had been a prime choice, being close to Minseok in age and having a sparkling military record. Their engagement had been announced three months ago, and they had been getting to know each other since then. Unfortunately, duty often kept them apart, but luckily, they were naturally drawn to each other and got along very well.

Junmyeon mindlessly squeezed their hands tighter as he tilted his head backwards to look up at the boughs of the cherry tree. They sat in silence for a few moments, simply admiring the beauty of the white petals against the blue sky.

Minseok broke the silence. “Has your family talked to you about the wedding at all?”

Junmyeon snorted. “It’s all they can talk about.”

“The wedding will be so soon…” Minseok trailed off. “It seems surreal.”

“Are you worried about something?” Junmyeon turned so that he was leaning into Minseok’s shoulder.

“Not really,” Minseok said truthfully. “I think the wedding will go fine, and that we’ll get along quite well.”

“I’m glad,” Junmyeon said quietly. “I think so too.” He drew back from Minseok’s shoulder to look at his face, only to startle in surprise when he realized that Minseok was looking at him as well.

“Junmyeon,” Minseok said very quietly, his voice gentle and steady.

Junmyeon felt a blush darkening his cheeks. “…We’re out in the open,” he said softly, making to draw away.

Minseok let go of his hand in favor of wrapping an arm around his waist to keep him close. “There’s no one here,” Minseok murmured quietly.

Junmyeon bit his lip, shyness crashing over him in waves. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you that the palace walls have eyes?”

“No one will mind one kiss,” Minseok said softly, his eyes warm with gentle affection. “If this is how you are when we’re alone here, will you be even shyer on our wedding bed?”

Junmyeon spluttered in indignation, only to be silenced by the gentle pressure of Minseok’s lips over his own. It was over within seconds, and Minseok looked down at him with a pleased expression. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Junmyeon pouted up at him. “That was unfair!”

Minseok laughed and shook his head. “You’re so adorable for a captain of the guard,” he murmured, affectionately squeezing Junmyeon’s waist.

“I’m not cute,” Junmyeon muttered, reaching up to hold Minseok’s hand in place on his waist.

Minseok raised an eyebrow at him in response.

Unfortunately, the moment was broken by the appearance of a hooded figure a few feet away. The moment Junmyeon saw him, his shoulders stiffened and he started to get to his feet. “I’m sorry Minseok, but I have to go now. Duty calls.”

Minseok looked at Junmyeon and then at the hooded figure. “Will you be at dinner tonight?”

“I don’t know,” Junmyeon said truthfully as he straightened up. He began dusting flower petals out of his hair and off of his shoulders. “I’ll do my best to come though.”

“Alright.” Minseok gave him a rueful smile. “I think I’ll sit out here a little longer.”

“Goodbye.”

Minseok smiled and gave him a small wave, and Junmyeon turned away and hurried off into the shadows with the mysterious figure. The moment they were out of sight of Minseok, the figure removed his hood to reveal the familiar features of Kim Jongdae, one of Junmyeon’s best friends, and fellow member of the Guard.

“You and Minseok are so cute.”

“Jongdae,” Junmyeon whined. “How much did you hear?”

“I did see you two kiss,” Jongdae chuckled evilly. “I can’t wait to talk about it at Exo’s meeting today.”

“What? Jongdae, you wouldn’t dare!” Junmyeon put on his fiercest scowl (even though he knew that Jongdae thought it was more cute than fierce).

Jongdae just cackled with glee.

Junmyeon let out a world-weary sigh. Exo was a special branch of the Palace Guard. They were a top secret special-forces squad; every member had a magical power, and they worked as the elite of the Guard to keep the members of the royal family safe. Junmyeon was the leader of Exo and had powers of water; Jongdae had power over lightening. There were nine other members—Baekhyun with powers of light, Kyungsoo with powers of the earth, Chanyeol with powers of fire, Sehun with powers of wind, Jongin with powers of teleportation, Yifan with powers of flight, Yixing with powers of healing, Zitao with power over time, and Luhan with the power of telepathy. They were all very close friends, and ever since Junmyeon’s engagement to Minseok had been announced, his friends had flooded him with marital advice and non-stop teasing. He really wasn’t looking forward to their reaction to Jongdae’s version of how the kiss had gone.

“Aw, don’t be so embarrassed about it. He only kissed you for like, two seconds. It would be a lot worse if you guys were making out,” Jongdae snickered. They came to a stop at the head of the staircase leading up, out of the gardens and into the main courtyard of the palace; however, instead of heading up the stairs, Jongdae pressed a panel of stone near the front of the staircase. The stone shifted to the side to reveal a passageway, and he and Junmyeon quickly ducked through.

For some reason, Junmyeon felt a faint tug of apprehension as he watched the stone panel slide back into place. He wasn’t worried that someone else might be lying in wait for them in the secret passage, but rather, he was worried about what might happen at the meeting. He didn’t know why; nothing out of the ordinary had happened in a while that required Exo’s services. But maybe that was what why he was getting antsy; they hadn’t been on a mission in a while.

“Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon flinched, and realized that Jongdae was waiting for him further along in the passageway. “Sorry.” He jogged to catch up to Jongdae and they hurried down into the darkness together. Junmyeon appreciated that Exo’s headquarters was underground; it always made him feel like he was a cool kid.

They reached the end of the passage and pushed the door to the meeting room open. The door swung open to reveal a large room with a cozy fireplace flickering in the corner. There were candles lit in alcoves and torches stationed all around the room to throw late over a large table covered in maps, several bookshelves, a sofa, chairs, and…

“Chanyeol, what have we told you about bringing your pet salamander in here?” Junmyeon sighed as he entered the room.

Chanyeol, a tall man with soft, dark hair and pearly-white smile flinched in his seat on the sofa. He instinctively reached over to cover the dark red salamander with one of his hands. “Uh…hi Junmyeon.”

“Chanyeol, it breathes fire. We can’t have it down here with all of our intelligence,” Junmyeon sighed at him.

“I know,” Chanyeol said forlornly. “But…I just felt cold down here, and he warms me up.”

“Then next time, bring an extra sweater, not your salamander,” Junmyeon said firmly.

“My, my. You’re so strict, shouldn’t you be dancing on rainbows?” Jongdae as he plopped down on the sofa beside Chanyeol.

“Huh?” Both Junmyeon and Chanyeol stared blankly at Jongdae.

Jongdae cackled with glee. “I saw Minseok and Junmyeon kissing!”

Unfortunately, at that choice moment, the doors to the headquarters opened to reveal the remaining eight members of Exo.

Junmyeon cringed at the moment of complete silence that followed, and then all of a sudden a flurry of activity happened. Zitao bounded across the room and launched himself at Junmyeon, causing them both to fall over on to the ground. Baekhyun let out a massive shriek and hurried over to the couch. Luhan, Yixing, Jongin, Kyungsoo, and Sehun all came over to sit at the bottom of the couch and stare at Junmyeon and Zitao groaning in pain, and Yifan took up a brooding position over the back.

“Ow,” Junmyeon groaned. “Zitao, why.”

“You’re so tiny and cute,” Zitao cooed at him. “Sorry.”

Junmyeon rolled his eyes and kicked Zitao away. He sat up and blew his hair out of his eyes with a huff and glared at the rest of the men staring at him. “What?!”

“So he and Minseok were kissing? Was it long?” Baekhyun asked with interest.

“No. But it was so adorable, Junmyeon got all embarrassed,” Jongdae said, a fond smile on his face.

Color rose in Junmyeon’s cheeks. “Maybe it was because I knew that you would be watching,” Junmyeon said pointedly.

Luhan laughed. “That’s true, you’re always sticking your nose into his love life.” Luhan got up from the ground and patted Jongdae’s head. “Maybe you need to give our leader some space, Jongdae.”

Jongdae pouted at him. “But that’s no fun.”

“Besides, Junmyeon’s first kiss is something to celebrate,” Baekhyun said gleefully.

“What? Oh, Baekhyunnie. That wasn’t my first kiss,” Junmyeon blurted out, surprise written over his features.

There was a moment of dead silence again, and then the ten men burst into conversation.

“When did that happen?” Yifan asked, startled out of his brooding position.

“MY JUNMYEONNIE IS SO GROWN UP NOW!” Luhan wailed and buried his face in Yixing’s shoulders. Junmyeon strongly suspected that Luhan was actually crying.

“Why were you so shy then?” Jongdae stared at him curiously.

Junmyeon turned bright red again. “Because I knew that you would be watching!” he snapped at him. “Anyways, everyone get off the couch. Commander Leeteuk said that he would visit us today to relay the news.”

There was some sighing and grumbling, but the group eventually all got to their feet and migrated over to the chairs sitting around the vast table.

“Do we have any idea of what he’s coming to talk to us about? We haven’t had a mission in ages,” Jongin mumbled.

“Maybe he’s telling us that we aren’t needed anymore.” Sehun’s eyes flashed with worry even as Luhan gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder. They had gone through a lot as Exo, and even though Sehun had been there the shortest time for only a year (the rest had been serving from between three to five years), he had become part of their family.

“If we were being disbanded, it would be more than an informal meeting with Leeteuk,” Luhan assured Sehun gently. “Perhaps he’s just bringing us a news update. Don’t stress yourself out about it.”

Sehun nodded, quietly subsiding to slouch back in his chair, content to listen to the other conversations happening quietly around him.

A few minutes later, the doors opened again to reveal Captain Leeteuk, the second highest captain in the Palace Guard.

“Hello Captain.” Junmyeon smiled from his seat. He and Leeteuk didn’t speak often, despite his rising position in the ranks.

“Hello.” Leeteuk gazed at the rest of the Exo and raised an eyebrow. Junmyeon sighed through his nose and quietly hoped that Baekhyun hadn’t just sent a flirtatious wink at the captain, but the sound of someone stomping and Baekhyun’s muffled “ouch” extinguished any such hopes.

“I see that the eleven of you are all in fine spirits as ever.” Leeteuk’s stern face broke into a friendly smile as he took the vacant seat beside Junmyeon at the head of the table. “I came here to speak about an important matter. Exo has not been deployed on a mission for several months, correct?”

“That is correct.” Junmyeon folded his hands in his lap, trepidation rising in his stomach. Missions were a mixed blessing—he loved working, but it was also incredibly dangerous. Having a mission now would also complicate things with his impending marriage with Minseok—as well as the soft, fluttering feeling he got nowadays any time he saw his prince.

“I’m afraid that I don’t have another mission for you all just yet. However, this is a possible security concern that we are looking into.”

Junmyeon’s shoulders sagged with relief as the rest of Exo leaned forward in their chairs.

“Are you all aware of the group named Raga?”

“They’re a cult centered on demon worship, aren’t they?” Sehun spoke up from Junmyeon’s right. “Their main headquarters lie in the state of Sight, under the state of Fire.”

“Correct.” Leeteuk shifted in his seat and drew out a file from the inside of his military jacket. “There is more information in this file. The cult is based in violent, ritualistic sacrifices to their demon gods. Fortunately, these sacrifices do not happen often. However, there is word going around that the cult is trying to get a hold of one of the members of the royal family for their next sacrifice.”

Junmyeon’s spine straightened at the thought. Minseok.

“However, we feel it is unlikely that they will target the palace. The palace is heavily guarded, and we have teams like you to stand in their way. Rather, we feel that members of the royal family who are travelling, or reside outside of the Royal Palace will be their targets. We are sending extra protection to these people. Nevertheless, we wanted you all to be aware of the threat.” Leeteuk stood up from his seat and straightened out his jacket. “We’ll be sure to inform you on any new developments in the situation as time passes. Their next large sacrifice is set to be in approximately three months time. Hopefully, however, things will pass without incident in the palace.” Leeteuk gave them a solemn nod, and then swept out of the room.

“Junmyeon? Are you alright?” Chanyeol reached out and put a warm hand on Junmyeon’s shoulder.

Junmyeon nodded quickly. “I’m alright. It’s just a little stressful.”

“Ah, your wedding is set to be in about three months as well, isn’t it?” Baekhyun said quietly in a rare moment of seriousness. “Well, like Leeteuk said, hopefully nothing happens.”

“Thanks.” Junmyeon gave Baekhyun a soft smile, which quickly turned into a look of exasperation. “I can’t believe you winked at Leeteuk.”

“How did you know? You weren’t even facing me!” Baekhyun pouted.

“I could hear Kyungsoo stomp on your foot. Most likely, Leeteuk heard it as well,” Junmyeon said drily. “You are aware that outside of this room, we are about as significant as a rat to Leeteuk? You’re still a third ranked general, you’re not even a captain yet. And you did it in front of Chanyeol to boot.”

“What?” Baekhyun and Chanyeol chorused at the same time.

“Never mind,” Junmyeon sighed. He reached out and opened the folder that Leeteuk had left them. There were clippings of announcements, sketches, and descriptions inside. “Luhan, I want you to read this and give us a report one what we need to know in two days.” He slid it across the table to Luhan, who gave him a nod in return. “Does anyone else have anything they wanted to discuss?”

“I think we should talk more about that kiss,” Jongdae said slyly, his eyes glittering with mischief.

“Official business, Jongdae,” Junmyeon said firmly.

There was silence for a few moments. “Very well then. Meeting adjourned.” Junmyeon sighed and leaned back in his seat.

“So that wasn’t your first kiss? Then who was?” Luhan pounced, his eyes wide with curiosity.

Without thinking, Junmyeon glanced over at Yifan from the corner of his eye. To his surprise, Yifan looked distinctly uncomfortable and had his head turned away to stare at a torch in the corner of the room. He glanced back at Luhan, who was still looking at him expectantly, along with the rest of Exo.

“My first kiss was with Minseok. But it happened earlier on,” Junmyeon said shortly. “Anyways, I told Minseok that I would join him for dinner, so I have to rush off—I’ll see you later!” And with that, he dashed out of the room before any of his friends could try and snag him.

Two months later, Junmyeon found himself sitting underneath the great cherry tree, his eyelids settling shut as the warm evening breeze brushed gently over his face. Overall, it had been a good day. He’d completed his captain duties in the morning without anyone trying to sabotage his standings with his superiors. It had also been has last day of military service for the next three weeks, as he was being given a week to prepare for the wedding, and then two weeks to spend his honeymoon with Minseok.   Exo’s weekly meeting was set for later in the evening. The only really bad—and it wasn’t that bad, not really—part of his day was that he hadn’t seen Minseok all day. Junmyeon was used to it though; even though Minseok was fifth in line to the throne, Minseok had his duties that he had to attend to, and sometimes they wouldn’t be able to meet.

Junmyeon’s thoughts drifted to the wedding. The wedding was set to be held in exactly eight days. The plan for the wedding was a little strange, but Junmyeon couldn’t bring himself to mind it too much. The plan was for the wedding ceremony to be very small and personal—their families would be there to attend, and that would be all. Then they would be whisked off to their honeymoon (to a small, private islet on the River Harmony) and a royal proclamation declaring their wedding would be sent out to the people. Junmyeon supposed that it was to reduce the risk of unwanted guests crashing the wedding and endangering Minseok’s life. Even though Minseok was fifth in line to the throne, his security was taken very seriously.

Suddenly, Junmyeon felt his arms raise with goosebumps, and a chill shook his spine despite the warm air. His eyes shot open and he looked around the courtyard, sharply checking for any signs of movement. After several seconds, he was satisfied that he was alone. He slowly got up from his place at the roots of the great cherry tree and turned around in a slow circle, his eyes intently surveying his surroundings. What had caused him to react like that? What was wrong in the palace?

A hooded figure suddenly appeared in the shadows to his right and Junmyeon wheeled around sharply, his hand outstretched to encase them in a bubble of water.

The figure threw their hood back and Junmyeon paused, a globe of water hovering a few centimeters above the figure’s head. “Jongdae?”

“Junmyeon!” Jongdae’s face was pale and he was breathing hard, as if he’d run to come find Junmyeon.

Junmyeon released his hold on the water and let it flow back to wear he’d drawn it up from the pools of the Royal Garden. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s been a security breach.” Jongdae swallowed hard and extended his hand towards Junmyeon. “Come on, let’s get to the meeting room quick. It’s already happened, and Leeteuk is deploying us on a mission.”

Junmyeon strode forward and grabbed Jongdae’s hand, clinging on tightly as they ran towards the entrance to Exo’s headquarters together. “When did all of this happen? Why wasn’t I aware of it?”

“How long have you been in the garden? It happened on the other side of the palace, and Leeteuk couldn’t find you and sent me to look for you.” Jongdae and Junmyeon skidded to a halt in front of the secret panel in the staircase and they quickly ducked into the secret passage.

“What’s the security breach? Were you there when it happened?” Junmyeon looked over at Jongdae as they hurried down the steps. His alarm grew when he saw an uncomfortable expression flit across Jongdae’s face for a moment. “You do know! Hurry up and spit it out!”

“I’ll wait for Leeteuk to tell you what’s happening.” Jongdae squeezed Junmyeon’s hand tightly as he dragged him on to the landing and towards the main door. “I’m sorry, Junmyeon.”

“Sorry for what?” Junmyeon’s eyebrows furrowed with frustration. He was physically fit, so their sprint hadn’t worn him out overly much—but now his breathing rate started to increase with anxiety and adrenaline.

Jongdae threw the doors open to reveal the rest of Exo standing in front of Leeteuk.

“Junmyeon!” Leeteuk looked over at Jongdae. “Thank you for finding him so quickly.”

Jongdae nodded curtly and walked over to stand with the rest of Exo. Junmyeon remained where he was by the door and folded his arms. “What’s going on? Jongdae wouldn’t tell me what happened.” He looked expectantly at Leeteuk. “He said that we’re being deployed?”

“That’s correct.” Leeteuk turned away from Exo to face Junmyeon. “There’s been a security breach. I’m afraid…” Leeteuk paused for a moment and shook his head. “I’m afraid that Prince Minseok has been kidnapped.”

Junmyeon felt the floor wobble beneath his feet, and suddenly Jongin was standing at his side with a supportive hand on his elbow. “Minseok’s been…Minseok?”

“I’m afraid so.” Leeteuk looked at Junmyeon with pity and sympathy. “I’m so sorry Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon clutched on to Jongin’s elbow silently, still reeling from the information.

“Minseok was kidnapped by several members of Raga about an hour ago. Military staff is still scrambling to gather intelligence, but Luhan has informed me that all twelve of you will be able to proceed within a few hours, especially given that several of you witnessed the event.”

Junmyeon nodded slightly. Exo had their own ways and networks of receiving information. And besides, apparently some of them had been there. But Junmyeon didn’t blame any of them—he knew how stressful those situations were, and they might not have had an opportunity to get Minseok to safety.

“I’m deploying Exo to bring Prince Minseok to safety. There was some debate about whether or not you would go with them, Junmyeon, but the King has given his permission for you to attend. However, be aware that the rest of your team will take the necessary actions if you behave in any way that will endanger the mission,” Leeteuk said firmly.

Junmyeon nodded faintly. He was going? He would have thought that the king wouldn’t allow him to go, given the circumstances. But he wasn’t complaining—he was going to have a hand in finding Minseok, rather than being forced to wait until Minseok was returned to him.

Leeteuk beckoned Junmyeon and Jongin forward and turned back to the table. Junmyeon eyed the map that was spread across the surface with a feeling of trepidation.

“We believe that we know where they are headed with Minseok. We were able to capture one of the cult members, and are currently working on confirming our thoughts. Right now, we think that they are they are headed to the temple of their sun god, located in the state of Crops. We have a vague idea of what the temple is like; the temple was made to be like a maze, with the idol of the sun god located at its center.”

“How long until we go out?” Junmyeon asked, his voice clear and steady as he slowly started to regain his composure. He began compartmentalizing his feelings, one by one, packing them away in his brain until all that was left was a calm focus. It was a skill that had taken years of personal development, but Junmyeon couldn’t be gladder of it now. He noticed Jongdae relax a little by his side, relieved that Junmyeon seemed to have regained his composure.

“You leave once our elementals have determined Prince Minseok’s location, and have put restrictions to ensure that our captive will guide you to the location without turning on you.” Leeteuk’s eyes hardened in the torchlight. “This one’s a slippery one. He nearly escaped by pretending to be a member of the guard. You’ll have to watch your backs.”

“We understand.” Junmyeon looked away from Leeteuk’s face and back at the map of Arctica. The Land of Crops was a two-week journey from the palace by foot, but luckily they had Kai’s power of teleportation. They would easily be able to teleport to a nearby city and journey to the temple on foot. They could try and catch the travelling party on their way to the temple, or they could sit at the mouth of the temple and ambush them once they arrived.

Junmyeon flinched when the doors to their meeting room banged open to reveal another elemental user, Changmin, who had powers over water similarly to Junmyeon. Changmin snapped to attention making no movement to wipe away that sweat that beaded at his forehead or to calm his breathing as his chest heaved.

“At ease,” Leeteuk said sharply, turning around to face Changmin fully. “What have you found out from the captive?”

Changmin relaxed his stance, but kept his back straight and rigid. “The captive’s name is Lee Donghae. Our suspicions were correct; Raga is taking Prince Minseok to their sun temple in the Land of Crops.” Changmin swallowed harshly. “However, they took a short cut by going beneath the River Harmony and entering the state of Sight. Their journey to the sun temple will take them only three days, rather than the two weeks we anticipated.”

“We will still get to the sun temple before them,” Junmyeon interrupted, his forehead furrowing slightly. “There is no question of it.”

“Let him finish,” Leeteuk said, giving him a quelling look.

Changmin glanced from Junmyeon to Leeteuk before continuing. “The captive also stated that the path that Raga took through the state of Sight will take them directly to the center of the sun temple, which is laid out like a maze. However, the captive himself does not know, or is not revealing what the path is. It appears that he will have to lead you to the center of the maze.”

“Did the captive say how long it will take for us to get through the maze?” Luhan asked suddenly.

“The captive said that the maze would take several hours to navigate,” Changmin affirmed.

“Has the interrogation committee devised a way for the captive to lead Exo through the maze?” Leeteuk asked.

“We have. We are nearly finished implementing the necessary magic. Exo should be prepared to leave for the sun maze within an hour and a half.”

Junmyeon nodded and turned back to his face his team as Leeteuk walked over to Changmin and began to talk to him quietly. “Okay guys. That’s more than enough time for all of us to get ready, yes? Go pack your gear. We meet back here within forty-five minutes. I’m sure more information will be coming in within the hour. We’ll make a plan within the hour.”

Exo nodded their assent and everyone except for Junmyeon filed out of the room, leaving him alone with Leeteuk and Changmin. The two continued to converse quietly for a few moments, and then Leeteuk turned back to Junmyeon. “I’ll be leaving with Captain Changmin.” Leeteuk reached under his collar and drew out a fine chain with a black stone on it. “Do you still have your Communicator?”

Junmyeon reached under his collar and drew out a similar stone on a heavier chain. “Yes, I have mine.”

“I will continue to communicate with you through this, now, and once you leave on your mission. We’ve used these before, I assume you recall how they work.”

Junmyeon nodded quietly.

“Very well. I take my leave of you…good luck, Junmyeon.” And with that, Changmin and Leeteuk left the room.

Once the doors had clicked shut behind Changmin and Leeteuk, Junmyeon let his posture sag as he let out a let out a long sigh. He’d been a member of Exo for a very long time, but he had never imagined himself in a scenario like this. He had known that it was a possibility that he would be engaged to a member of the royal line for a very long time, but he had always assumed that he would be held back from any missions regarding his fiancé. He was going to have work hard to maintain his composure and work in the best interest of the team, rather than focusing solely on Minseok.

After a few moments, Junmyeon straightened up and tucked his Communicator under his shirt once more. When he wasn’t on missions, he was very careful to keep a layer of clothing between his skin and the stone. He could use the Communicator by projecting his thoughts to Leeteuk when the Communicator was in contact with his skin. If Leeteuk was going to communicate any further information about the mission with him, then he wanted to keep contact with the stone.

Over the years, Junmyeon had gotten into the habit of storing his gear in the headquarters, as he usually stayed behind to wait for information and updates in the meeting room. Junmyeon walked over to a closet in the corner of the room and pulled out a small black sack. He opened it and carefully removed its contents, carefully checking each item to make sure that it was still functional. Within it was a water bottle, some dried food, knives, a sharpening stone, flint, and a change of clothes. He always packed light, and he fought with his power over water more often than with weapons.

Junmyeon didn’t receive any further communication from Leeteuk through his communicator, and when the rest of Exo returned, they formulated a plan on how they would get through to Minseok. Their main objective was to bring Minseok back to safety; Jongin would have to grab Minseok at the first opportunity and get him to safety. The remaining members would deal with any other threats from Raga, and would make sure that no further attacks on the royal family could be made. They also set up a rotation to watch the captive—the magics in place on the captive to make sure that he didn’t turn on them were strong, but it was always wise to be cautious.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been on a mission. Don’t forget—keep your masks on at all times so the captive doesn’t see our faces, and refer to each other by our code names,” Junmyeon said quietly.

There was a collective shuffling as each member of Exo pulled out a dark mask made of heavy ceramic in varying shades of black or purple and pulled it over their faces. The mask covered their entire face, only leaving eyeholes and slits for the noses. The masks were very similar to one another; Exo knew each member by their stance and build. The masks were protective gear, and were also helpful to anyone new to working with them, but they knew each other without having to check the glinting designs on each mask.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. “Enter,” Junmyeon called out, turning in his seat to face the door. The door swung open to reveal Captain Changmin and a stranger. The stranger was tall and had swarthy, angular features. A silver bracelet was clasped around his wrist, and it glowed softly in the flickering torchlight.

“This is the captive, Lee Donghae. He’ll guide you to and through the maze once you reach your destination.”

“Thank you, Changmin.” Junmyeon stood up from his seat and beckoned Exo to come away from the table. “Does everyone have what they need?”

There was a chorus of agreement, and Junmyeon walked over to Donghae. He turned his head and made eye contact with Changmin. “We’ll be leaving now. We expect to be back in a few days with the Prince.”

Changmin nodded sharply. “Good luck.”

Junmyeon gave him a small smile and watched Changmin turn on his heel and walk away, leaving Exo alone with Donghae. The smile fell off of Junmyeon’s face, and was replaced with steely determination and focus. “Alright, team. Let’s go.”

Exo assembled into a circle and took hold of each other’s hands. Donghae flinched when Junmyeon put a hand around his arm. “What are you doing?” Donghae glared at him suspiciously.

Junmyeon gave him a cool look. “Close your eyes.”

“Wha--?”

Junmyeon closed his eyes and grimaced at the uncomfortable sensation of Jongin’s teleportation. It felt as if he were being tightly squeezed through a tube. Jongin had always warned him not to look, and Junmyeon heeded the warning every time. Jongin said that watching gave him an enormous headache, and Baekhyun had actually opened his eyes once, and had refused to talk about what he’d seen. That was more than enough to convince Junmyeon to just keep his eyes shut.

At last, the squeezing sensation ended, and Junmyeon opened his eyes to find himself standing in a sunny field. Tall grasses swished softly as a soft breeze ran through the balmy evening air. At his side, Donghae fell down to the ground with his hands pressed over his eyes. The silver metal on his wrist caught Junmyeon’s eye as it flashed in the evening light, and he looked down at Donghae with pity. “I did warn you.”

Donghae cursed at him, and Junmyeon couldn’t help but chuckle as he turned away. “Alright. Kai, where are we?”

Junmyeon noticed Donghae flinch out of the corner of his eye, and he felt a brief pang of sympathy for the captive. Who knew what torture and pain Donghae had undergone after his capture? And then the Palace had gone ahead and thrown him into a group of 11 nearly identical, mysterious and probably menacing individuals.

Junmyeon was drawn back to the present by Kai’s response. “We’re about an eight hour journey away from the maze. This field is on the outskirts of a village named Kriah. This was the closest location that I was able to take us too—the State of Crops is riddled with rivers and marsh, and I didn’t want to land us anywhere potentially dangerous.”

“Very good, Kai.” Junmyeon sent Jongin a warm look with his eyes. “Let’s travel towards the temple for an hour or so and then settle in for the night. We’ll resume our journey tomorrow.”

“Yes Suho.” Kai bowed his head respectfully, and the members of Exo broke their ring as they turned towards the captive.

Junmyeon turned to the side and hauled Donghae up to his feet. “You will have to guide us towards the temple,” he said calmly, his eyes searching Donghae’s body language for any signs of betrayal or trickery.

Donghae nodded shakily, and Junmyeon noted with interest that the bracelet on his wrist was glowing brighter. “I will lead the way. I know where Kriah is in relation to the temple.” He turned away from Junmyeon and began walking across the field. Chanyeol and Baekhyun quickly fell in step on either side of him, and the rest of Exo slowly began to follow the three men.

Junmyeon brought up the rear of their small group, and he smiled slightly when Yifan fell into step beside him. “Kris.”

“Suho.”

They walked in silence for a while, allowing a small gap to occur between them and the main body of Exo. At last, Yifan spoke again.

“I don’t trust Donghae.”

Junmyeon snorted. “Of course you don’t. He’s an enemy captive, and he has every reason to lie to us.”

Yifan shook his head. “Did Leeteuk give you any information on how he is being forced to tell us the truth? How will we know if he’s lying to us?”

“Leeteuk didn’t state it specifically, but I believe that the silver bracelet Donghae has on his wrist is a key part of that.” Junmyeon looked up at Yifan. “Are you trying to say that you don’t trust Leeteuk?”

“No!” Yifan sounded shocked. “No, not at all.”

“I’ll ask him,” Junmyeon said softly. He reached under his collar and adjusted the chain with the communicator on it. He closed his eyes and stopped walking for a moment to project his question to Leeteuk.

“What are you doing?” Yifan’s bemused voice sounded from ahead of him, and Junmyeon opened his eyes and sent Yifan a glare.

“I’m asking him your question, doofus. You know what I have to do to use this thing.” Junmyeon hurried to catch up with Yifan.

“Sorry.” Yifan chuckled, but Junmyeon just rolled his eyes and forgave him. He and Yifan had been friends for a very, very long time, and Junmyeon was used to Yifan teasing him.

“Are you…” Yifan hesitated for a moment.

“Am I what?” Junmyeon looked over at him curiously.

“Are you worried about Minseok?” Yifan asked at last.

Junmyeon snorted loudly. “Of course I’m worried about Minseok. He’s my fiancé.”

“But are you worried about him because he’s your fiancé, or because…well.”

Junmyeon frowned. Yifan usually never asked him about Minseok, which was something that Junmyeon had appreciated throughout the constant teasing of their friends. The fact that Yifan chose now to ask him about it, when they were on a mission that Junmyeon was supposed to be keeping very professional, was a little strange. “Yifan…if it hasn’t been fairly obvious, I do care for Minseok.”

“I see.” Yifan’s shoulders tensed slightly, but he gave no other signals as to what he was thinking.

Junmyeon rolled his eyes and did his best not to sigh. He and Yifan were close friends, but Yifan had a habit of blocking people out and not letting anyone know what he was feeling or thinking. It was frustrating, and a little scary when Yifan seemed to be getting a little unstable. But right now, it was just annoying. Why did Yifan care anyways? Junmyeon had thought that Yifan was happy for him, but maybe that wasn’t the case?

Junmyeon opened his mouth to ask Yifan a question, but Yifan reacted first.

“It’s getting dark. We should stop here for the night,” Yifan said abruptly.

Junmyeon sighed quietly. “…alright.” He broke out into a light jog to catch up with the rest of Exo, leaving Yifan walking softly behind him. “Chanyeol!”

Chanyeol turned around at his call.

“We’ll stop here for the night. It’s starting to get dark.”

The members instantly moved to stand in a circle formation. Baekhyun and Chanyeol pulled Donghae between the two of them as Yifan caught up to the group and joined the circle. Junmyeon nodded at Kyungsoo, and suddenly, the ground rumbled as a dome of Earth formed around them. It was pitch black for a few seconds until Baekhyun formed balls of light to light up the dome.

“Kris and I will take the first watch outside. Tao and Chen, we’ll call you two when it’s your turn.” Exo began to settle down in the dome, sitting or lying down on the ground and talking quietly to each other. Baekhyun and Chanyeol took Donghae to a far corner of the dome and sat down by him. Junmyeon turned to Yifan, and together, they left the dome through an opening that Kyungsoo had left.

Junmyeon paused when he felt his communicator vibrate slightly against his skin. A moment later, he heard Leeteuk’s voice in his mind.

Donghae is being forced to tell you the truth via the silver bracelet. It will glow brightly if he tries to lie to you, and it will burn his skin if he tries to turn on you.

“Kris?”

“Yes?” Yifan turned back to look at him.

“I was right. Leeteuk said that that silver bracelet will burn Donghae if he tries to betray us. It’s what’s keeping him in check.”

Yifan nodded and resumed climbing up the dome. Junmyeon followed him and let his thoughts stray away from the mission for a moment. Junmyeon was determined to continue their conversation as he and Yifan climbed on to the top of the dome and sat back-to-back, surveying the quiet fields around them. “Yifan.”

“…Junmyeon.” Yifan shifted so that he and Junmyeon were pressed closer together. “What if they can hear us, in the dome?”

“They can’t, you know that,” Junmyeon murmured softly.

Yifan chuckled, and Junmyeon felt Yifan’s shoulders move against his own. Junmyeon glanced over his shoulder and realized with a start that Yifan had reached up to remove his mask.

“Yifan!”

“What?” Yifan set the mask down beside him, and the black porcelain glinted in the starlight.

“What if members of Raga are watching us? Keep your mask on!” Junmyeon hissed.

“Don’t worry so much Junmyeon,” Yifan said carelessly. “No one is watching us.”

“We’re on a mission, and you’re asking me not to worry,” Junmyeon said drily. “And unless you know something that I don’t, they could be.”

“You called me Yifan,” Yifan said steadily. “I assumed that it was because you wanted me to drop my role as Kris.”

“But that doesn’t mean that I want you to throw your safety out the window,” Junmyeon said in exasperation.

“What did you want to ask me?” Yifan ignored Junmyeon’s worrying and reached behind him to hold Junmyeon’s hand, tenderly lacing their fingers together.

Junmyeon felt a blush rising on his cheeks, and he resisted the urge to wrench his fingers away. He and Yifan had always cuddled and held hands when they were together, but for some reason, it felt different now.

“What were you thinking, when you asked me about Minseok?” Junmyeon squeezed their entwined fingers and leaned back against Yifan’s broad shoulders.

“You can’t guess?” Yifan sounded amused, and Junmyeon felt even more confused.

“Guess?” Junmyeon repeated. “…No?”

Yifan chuckled behind him, and Junmyeon shifted his eyes up from the fields to the stars above them. “You’re so silly, Junmyeon.”

“Yifan!” Junmyeon whined, and resisted the urge to kick his heels childishly against the roof of the dome. “Tell me what you were thinking.”

There was a soft pause, and then Yifan let out a low sigh. “It doesn’t matter.” He squeezed Junmyeon’s hand tightly and then relaxed. “It doesn’t matter,” he repeated softly, almost as if he was assuring himself of something.

“Yifan…” Junmyeon sighed quietly. If Yifan didn’t want to open up, then there was little that Junmyeon could do to get him to talk. But he didn’t want to just give up on Yifan like that—what if Yifan was actually having some emotional problems?

“I can feel you worrying behind me. I’m alright, Junmyeon. I was just curious about Minseok,” Yifan said calmly.

“If you say so,” Junmyeon said hesitantly. “But Yifan—you know…”

“If I have any problems, I can always come to you. I know,” Yifan said gently. “Thank you.”

Junmyeon hummed in acknowledgement and turned his gaze back to the fields around them. The night was peaceful, and for a few moments, Junmyeon let himself imagine that he and Yifan weren’t on a mission, and they were just spending time together peacefully at the palace.

The illusion snapped when Yifan let go of his hand and picked up his mask again. Junmyeon felt a twinge of gratitude that Yifan was taking care of himself, and yet, he couldn’t help but also wish that their moment could have lasted just a little longer.

The next morning, they resumed their journey. Junmyeon felt a bit tired—he and Yifan had gone down to sleep while Chen and Tao had resumed the watch after a few hours, but it had taken him a while to fall asleep as he struggled to understand the conversation that he’d had with Yifan. What did Yifan mean, that he was supposed to guess what he was thinking? It just didn’t make sense.

“How far are we from the temple?” Junmyeon asked Donghae after several hours of trekking through the marsh.

“We are almost there. The temple should be located through the trees ahead.” Donghae pointed ahead of them. They had left the marshes several hours ago and had been trekking through a forest for a bit. The forest had opened up briefly to a downward sloping meadow, which they were now crossing. “We will go down through the field and enter the grove ahead. The temple is located partway through the trees.”

“Very well.” Junmyeon glanced at Donghae’s bracelet without thinking and looked back at the captive’s eyes. He glanced over Jongin, who was walking on Donghae’s other side. “Lead on.”

They walked in silence. The field was beautiful—the grass was green and lush, and small purple and white wildflowers dotted the greenery. Junmyeon thought that he saw Baekhyun and Luhan bending down to pick some flowers, but when he turned his head to look at them, they were walking upright with an innocent air.

Junmyeon shook his head at them and turned back towards the trees they were rapidly approaching. He fiddled with the chain around his neck and prepared to project his thoughts to Leeteuk.

They walked through the small grove of trees. Junmyeon could see stone walls rising up in the distance, and when they broke free of the woods. He raised his eyebrows underneath his mask. Before them stood an impressive stone structure: the walls were made of light gray stone, and a lavish gate consisting of an elaborate sculpture of a dragon with fearsome claws and teeth stood at its entrance.

“This is the temple,” Donghae said somewhat redundantly. “Within it, and underground lies a maze. The idol of the sun demon lies at the center of the maze. That is where my fellow members will take your prince.”

“How difficult will it be for us to travel through the maze?” Junmyeon asked quietly, his pulse quickening. They were one step closer to getting Minseok back.

“It is difficult to say. I would expect it to be a few hours, but the maze can change.”

“The maze can change?” Junmyeon repeaeted, his brow furrowing slightly beneath his mask. Leeteuk hadn’t mentioned this during their briefing. “What do you mean? The maze is made of stone.”

Donghae smiled mirthlessly. “The powers of the demons are far greater than you can imagine.”

Junmyeon could practically feel Exo collectively rolling their eyes at Donghae’s dramatic statement. “Alright. Exo, let’s take a few moments to rest and regroup. Then we’ll enter the maze.” Junmyeon turned to Donghae. “You’ve only seen a little of what we can do. I suggest that you refrain from running.”

Donghae snorted and didn’t respond. Junmyeon shrugged and stayed by his side, watching quietly as the rest of Exo proceeded to sit down and hydrate themselves. They all sat apart from each other, unlike the last night—each member was quietly going through mental preparation. From here on out, the mission would become far more dangerous. They didn’t know what awaited them in the maze—it already seemed as if Donghae hadn’t told the interrogation committee everything he knew. Who knew what else he was hiding?

After a short interval, the members of Exo slowly started getting to their feet, and they regrouped. Junmyeon stood at the head of the group with Donghae at his side. Everyone paired off to stand behind them, and Chanyeol brought up the rear.

“Whichever one of you can produce light, you will be very useful in the maze. It is dark, and we do not have torches with us.” Donghae glanced over at Junmyeon.

Junmyeon didn’t say anything, and Donghae swallowed harshly. “We enter through the gates.” They walked forward in their two lines and passed underneath the sculpture of the dragon. Junmyeon wasn’t scared by the fearsome sculpture—but once they passed through the gate, they were plunged into sudden darkness. After a brief moment, Baekhyun produced two large balls of light to hang over their heads. Junmyeon squinted into the darkness and blinked rapidly to accustom himself. They appeared to be standing at the entrance of a long hallway—ahead of them stretched a long, unbroken wall of stone. Donghae began to walk forwards with a confident stride, and Junmyeon followed a half-step behind him.

The maze was silent save for the soft tapping over their feet against stone. Occasionally, they would pass by stretches of stone covered in soft green moss. They also heard rumbling noises from around them, which, according to Donghae, were the sound of the walls moving and changing the shape of the maze.

Once, Junmyeon saw the silver bracelet flash brilliantly and Donghae’s subsequent wince when he tried to turn left into an off-branching passage. Donghae let out a small noise of pain, and reluctantly turned back to the corridor they had been following. Junmyeon felt slightly reassured that the bracelet was working as they continued their journey.

They journeyed for several hours in silence, until at last, Donghae came to a stop before a blank stretch of wall. “The entrance to the center should be here.” Donghae’s voice was clear, despite not having spoken for so long. “It will take me a moment to find it.” He stepped forward and pressed his palms against the wall. Junmyeon took a step back and stiffened his stance. Thus far, nothing eventful had passed in the maze—they hadn’t run into any obstacles, traps, or guardians—but as this was the center of the maze, it didn’t hurt to be cautious.

Donghae felt up and down the wall, and a few moments later, there was a grinding noise and the wall suddenly began to slide open. Junmyeon’s shoulders slowly relaxed when nothing jumped out at them, and he followed Donghae into the chamber within.

The chamber was a large, circular stone room. The walls ground shut behind them, and Junmyeon surveyed the room appreciatively. A small, clear creek ran through the room and disappeared into a hole at the center. There was a small golden statue over the point where the creek disappeared beneath the floor, and Junmyeon could see a large circle of stone, darker than the rest of the floor, at the far edge of the room.

“That circle over there is the entrance from the River Harmony,” Donghae pointed at the circle.

“Will we be able to exit the maze the way we came?” Junmyeon asked softly.

“We will.”

“How long do you think it will be until the rest of your group arrives?”

“It took us nearly a day and a half to get here. Depending on the flow of the River Harmony, they could arrive here from anywhere within two hours to a day.”

Junmyeon nodded sharply and turned back to face Exo. “Stay alert, and don’t touch anything,” he warned them. We’ll wait in the formation we discussed. Kai, Tao, be ready for anything.”

They spread out across the room. Junmyeon and Jongdae stood closest to the entrance. Yifan and Jongin stood the farthest away with Donghae, as they had the best mobility. Baekhyun stood directly in the pathway of the entrance so that he could blind the members of Raga and confuse them for long enough so that Jongin could hopefully teleport, grab Minseok, and get back to the castle. Zitao, Chanyeol, Luhan, Kyungsoo, Sehun, and Yixing stood in a semicircle in front of him to cover Baekhyun if they needed to.

“Suho.”

Junmyeon turned his head to look at Tao.

“Should I use my powers to speed up time so that they come here sooner?”

Junmyeon shook his head. “Save your energy. You know what you have to do when they arrive.”

Tao nodded quietly, and they all turned their attention back to the entrance. Now, it was merely a matter of waiting for their adversaries to arrive.

Junmyeon had slept briefly at Jongdae’s signal that he would keep watching. He woke with a start to the sound of rumbling close by, and the realization that the ground was vibrating beneath his feet.

Junmyeon looked over at Jongdae in panic, and Jongdae pointed towards the stone circle on the floor. Junmyeon realized that the floor was slowly opening to reveal a dark hole, and his heart began to beat faster. This was it—this was what they’d been waiting for. He glanced behind him for a moment to see the rest of Exo had woken up and were all ready and poised for action.

The vibrations of the chamber came to a complete halt, and for a moment, everything was absolutely silent.

Suddenly, Junmyeon heard Zitao cry out from behind him, and Junmyeon whirled around to see Tao and Chanyeol collapse to the floor. In an instant, Yifan had flown over to him and picked Zitao up off of the ground. Junmyeon saw him pull out a small feathered dart from Tao’s shoulder, and Junmyeon whirled around to face the entrance again as Yifan went back to get Chanyeol.

This was bad. Zitao had been a major part of the plan to get Minseok to safety—Zitao would have frozen time so that Jongin could grab Minseok, get him to the palace, Zitao could incapacitate the members of Raga, and then Jongin could return and take them all to safety. But they could run this mission without Zitao; they had in the past, and they would find a way to get Minseok to safety.

A group of ten, grey-cowled men came running out of the entrance and Junmyeon instantly engulfed them in a globe of water, watching coldly as the men within suffocated. A second wave of men emerged, and Jongdae attacked them with lightning while Kyungsoo shifted the ground beneath their feet. In the maze, they were a little wary of Kyungsoo using his powers, because they weren’t sure what it would do to the maze and if it would block their way out, but as more members of Raga poured out of the entrance, Junmyeon knew that they had no choice.

A strong wind began blow through the room, and everything burst into chaos. There was the sounds of struggling and shouting as the members of Raga struggled to fight against the attacks being thrown at them. Junmyeon concentrated on the entrance, and he felt his heart drop when members of the cult stopped coming through the hole. Had Donghae lied to them? Where the hell was Minseok, they had to get him out of here—

Suddenly, all was quiet, and the heavy wind quieted down to nothingness. Junmyeon looked around the room at the felled bodies of around thirty raga members. He looked around at Exo, and was relieved to see that for the most part, they were unharmed. Yixing was tending to Zitao and Chanyeol on one side of the room while the rest of the group was spread out across the room, their bodies taut as they awaited further attacks. Junmyeon noted that Yifan still had a firm grip on Donghae. Donghae’s face was in the shadows, but Junmyeon didn’t even want to know how the captive was dealing with watching the deaths of many of his comrades.

Minutes passed in silence as Exo waited, tensely watching the exit. No one moved a muscle, afraid and anxious for what was coming ahead.

At last, Junmyeon’s ears caught the sounds of footsteps. There were maybe three—no, four people coming up to the entrance. Junmyeon shifted slightly and prepared a globe of water in front of his hands. He glanced back at Jongin and gave him a nod. Within a moment, Jongin was standing next to Junmyeon, soft black shadows sloughing off his clothing.

A few seconds later, three red-cowled men with Minseok standing at the center of their formation climbed out through the hole. The men were soaked through and covered in dirt (the result of Junmyeon’s and Kyungsoo’s powers, no doubt) but they walked purposefully and gracefully. Minseok, on the other hand, looked confused and groggy, as if he’d been drugged or recently come to consciousness.

It was over within seconds.

Jongin vanished from Junmyeon’s side and appeared next to Minseok within a flash. He took Minseok by the upper arm, made eye contact with Junmyeon, and then vanished. Junmyeon watched the three figures start with surprise, and he instantly sent a wave of water rushing towards the three men.

“Stop!” One of the men regained his composure enough to lift one hand while the other pointed to the center of the room.

Junmyeon didn’t stop. The water rushed over the three men, and Junmyeon turned away as the three figures began to thrash within their watery confines.

“You fools.” Donghae spoke up from the far side of the room. “He told you to stop.”

Junmyeon began crossing the room to join Yixing and Yifan. The rest of Exo trailed after him as he jogged over to Yixing’s side. “How are they?”

“Those darts had a sedative. There’s not very much we can do to wake them up,” Yixing said softly as he got to his feet.

“So they’re dead weight.” Junmyeon sighed softly. “Alright, we’ll proceed as planned. We’ll wait for Jongin to return—”

Junmyeon flinched when Leeteuk’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind. Kai has returned with Prince Minseok. He is returning to retrieve the rest of you.

“What is it?” Yixing put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Kai made it back to the palace. He’ll be back soon.” Junmyeon turned to face the rest of the group. “Is anyone hurt? Has anyone…” Junmyeon trailed off, his eyes widening beneath his porcelain mask as he stared behind them. “Oh no.”

Donghae let out a nasty chuckle. “I told you you should’ve listened to them.”

The rest of Exo turned around, and Junmyeon felt his stomach rise to his throat in horror. Behind them, at the center of the room, a black cloud was building up over the point where the clear creek (now stained with blood and grime) ran into the floor. Junmyeon noticed that the small golden idol was now lying on its side, and he felt a jolt of fear when he saw something starting to move within the darkness.

“He told you to wait. But now you’ve gone and suffocated the three people who would have known how to appease the demon,” Donghae sneered.

“Shut up,” Yifan said roughly, and he turned to Junmyeon. “Suho, what should we do? We can’t wait here much longer for Kai.”

Junmyeon hesitated. He knew that it shouldn’t be much longer for Jongin to arrive, teleportation only took a few seconds at most. So why wasn’t Jongin here yet?

An eerie howl rose up from the dark mass, and Junmyeon felt his hair stand on end. He made up his mind in an instant—they were going to have to do this without Jongin. “Let’s move out team. Kris, take Chanyeol, Yixing take Tao—Donghae, take us out of the maze.”

Yifan let go of Donghae and passed him over to Kyungsoo while everyone else fell into formation with their attention turned to the roiling mass of shadows at the center of the room. Donghae quickly lead them across the room, back to the wall that they had entered from. The stone slowly creaked open, but Donghae made no motion to step forward.

“What are you waiting for? Go on.” Kyungsoo gave Donghae a gentle push, but he stood his ground.

Junmyeon lost his patience as another howl sounded through the room. He tried to spread a small wave of water beneath Donghae’s feet so that Donghae would slip forward, but he felt his blood run cold when nothing happened.

“Suho.” Yifan let out a strangled whimper, and Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in alarm as he whipped his head around to face Junmyeon.

“You can’t use your powers, can you?” Donghae asked, his voice cool and smooth. “The powers of the demons are great.”

“Just because we can’t use our powers doesn’t mean that we’re helpless,” Junmyeon snapped back. “Take us out of this maze, Donghae.”

Donghae turned around, and then there was a sizzling noise. The smell of burnt flesh suddenly filled the air, and Donghae suddenly broke out of Exo, sprinting away from the group and towards the shadows. Sehun keeled over and gagged at the sudden stench, and the soft sound of Donghae’s burnt hand and the silver bracelet hitting the ground rung in Junmyeon’s with the certainty of a death knell.

No one made a move to pursue Donghae back into the altar. They watched the shadows warily as the shadows roiled and the eerie howls became more frequent. Donghae stopped and turned to face them, his face twisted in agony and triumph.

“You will see what happens to those who defile the shrines of Raga!” he screamed at them over eerie howling. “You’ll see—”

A monstrous form suddenly leapt out of the shadows and engulfed Donghae’s body with one bite. An animal with the head of a lion, the body of an ape, and the tale of a dragon glared at them balefully through pale, silver eyes. It opened its mouth and let out a howl, and suddenly, two more of the creatures emerged from the shadows.

Junmyeon felt a cold trickle of sweat run down his back, and he fought to keep his head. They couldn’t use their powers, and they were going to have to escape this maze without Donghae’s help—and apparently, being chased by these monsters.

“The entrance to the river,” Baekhyun said suddenly. “We could make a run for it.”

“The entrance is behind those things, and we don’t stand a chance against them without our powers,” Junmyeon said softly. “Everyone, just back away slowly—we’ll have to try and find our way out of the maze, there isn’t another choice.”

They all began to edge backwards under the baleful eye of the three monsters. They made it past the walls, and the stone slowly began to grind shut, shielding them from the monsters’ eyes.

The instant the walls were shut, Junmyeon turned around and faced Exo. “Everyone stay calm. Stay together—Yifan, Yixing, pass Chanyeol and Tao off if you have to. Whatever you do, keep up.”

There was a rumbling sound within the chamber, and Junmyeon whirled around and sprinted down the corridor with Exo in hot pursuit. He hoped to that he was taking the right way and that the maze hadn’t shifted while they were fighting Raga…he could mostly remember the path they had taken to get to the center. He hoped that it would help them escape.

The rumbling built up into a roar behind them, and Junmyeon heard the wall to the center of the maze crash down behind them, and the eerie howls of the monsters fill the passage. He lunged into a path that opened up on their right, and the sounds of the monsters chasing after them, and their own heavy panting filled the air.

Junmyeon didn’t know how long they had been trapped in the maze. The maze them, sliding stone walls to change the direction of the path, confusing them and forcing them to turn back and take different paths. The sound of the ape-monsters chasing them, and the eerie howls that filled the stone passages would haunt his dreams forever.

But somehow, they had made it out. There had been close calls—without Donghae there, they had set off traps of vine nets, poisonous gas, and collapsing sections of the maze as they ran through in their attempt to escape. Luckily, no one had been hurt too badly, but Junmyeon knew that they had all sustained various injuries. Additionally, Zitao and Chanyeol had both woken up at some point during their escape, and luckily, had been able to carry their own weight, leaving Yixing and Yifan better able to fend for themselves.

Junmyeon kept running for the trees; what if the ape-monsters followed them out of the maze? That would be an issue. But…

Junmyeon flicked his fingers, and he felt a wave of relief wash over him when five small globes of water came to circle around his head. He could function fine without his powers, but it had felt strange, and horrifyingly isolated to not have them with him when he had needed them most.

“Suho!”

Junmyeon skidded to a halt under the treeline and whirled around to face the source of the call. Relief flooded through his body when he saw Jongin running towards them. “Kai!”

“I couldn’t teleport into the maze, and then I heard—things,” Jongin panted when he caught up to Suho and the rest of the team. “I’m sorry.”

“You did the right thing Kai.” Junmyeon put a hand on Jongin’s shoulder, and his body nearly collapsed with relief. They were regrouped and they could escape now…

Junmyeon paused and slowly turned back to face the rest of Exo. His heart sank as the member’s faces confirmed what he’d just realized.

“Where are Yifan and Luhan?”

Deafening silence met his query.

“Junmyeon…” Zitao swallowed harshly and stepped forward. “We have to go back for them.”

“There’s no question of that,” Junmyeon agreed immediately. “We completed the mission, but we’re a family. We’re not going to leave them behind if we can help it.”

Their fears assured, the rest of Exo huddled closer as they tried to formulate a plan.

“Hyung.” Zitao spoke up again. “I have an idea. We don’t know where those monster demon things are in the maze—but I can stop time so that we can get past them and bring Yifan and Luhan hyung back.”

“That’s a good idea, except that only you can move—oh.” Junmyeon stared at Zitao. Normally, Zitao would be the only one of them who could move around when he froze time, but two months ago, he’d given Junmyeon a charm that would also allow him to move. It had been the result of an experiment that some elementals had pulled off, and they were in the process of making more amulets for the rest of Exo.

“You two don’t have to go back into the maze.” Baekhyun’s face was dark with fear, and he was clutched at a large bruise on his arm. “Junmyeon, please—please don’t go back there.”

“We have to take the risk. There’s still a chance that we can get Luhan and Yifan out of there, and that chance is going down the longer we spend outside.” Junmyeon straightened up and opened his arms to pull everyone into a group hug. “We’ll come back,” Junmyeon murmured as confidently and comfortingly as he could. “We will.”

They pulled apart. No one said anything about the tears threatening to fall down all of their faces. Yixing pulled Junmyeon and Zitao over to heal their wounds before they went back into the maze. The scratches and bruises on Junmyeon’s and Zitao’s bodies faded away under Yixing’s gentle attention, and he gave them a quick hug before letting them go.

Junmyeon turned around to face Exo. “If we don’t return within a few hours, you have to leave here.” Junmyeon gave each member of Exo a level look. “Jongin, I’m trusting you with their safety.”

Jongin let out a choked sob. “Yes, Junmyeon,” he whispered, dropping all pretenses.

“I love you all so much. I’m so proud of all of you,” Junmyeon said gently.

“Save it for when you come back,” Chanyeol said suddenly, his voice harsh with unshed tears. “We’ll see you soon.”

“Of course.” Junmyeon smiled beneath his mask. “We’ll see you soon.”

“Wait.” Baekhyun rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hands and concentrated for a moment. A few seconds later, two stones at his feet began to glow brightly. “I can’t go in there with you, but take these. And come back soon.”

“Thank you,” Junmyeon said sincerely as he reached down and picked the two stones up. He handed one to Zitao, and with that, he and Zitao turned around and ran back towards the entrance of the maze. They paused right before the entrance.

“How long can you freeze time for me?”

“I can freeze time for up to an hour in the maze if I’m searching with you, up to two and a half hours if I wait for you at the entrance.” Zitao winced apologetically. “Normally it would be longer, but…we were running from those monsters for ages, and I…”

“It’s alright. Two hours should be enough,” Junmyeon said firmly. “I want you to wait at the entrance of the maze. The only way you’ll be able to stop time is if you’re outside of the maze, because the block on our powers is probably still active within. Luhan and Yifan can’t have been too far behind. If you have to let time resume, do it. I’ll find a way out with both of them.”

“Junmyeon…” Zitao looked at him, and Junmyeon could see his eyes shining with tears beneath his mask.

“I told you, I’ll be back Zitao.” Junmyeon reached out and patted Zitao’s shoulders. “I will. Believe in me.”

“I believe in you,” Zitao choked out. He reached out and pressed his glowing stone into Junmyeon’s hand. “I won’t need it since I won’t be inside. Come back safely, Junmyeon.”

“I will.” Junmyeon turned away from Zitao and faced the entrance to the maze.

“Go. It’s safe. Try and come back with them within two hours.”

Junmyeon nodded, took a deep breath, and ran through the entrance. He was plunged into darkness, but he quickly held up one of the glowing stones in his hand. The stone lit up a small radius of the corridor. The entire maze was eerily silent, but Junmyeon felt slightly heartened that the maze wouldn’t shift or turn on him. He assumed that they had also set off most of the traps, and Junmyeon wouldn’t need to worry about setting them off in frozen time.

Junmyeon set off down the corridor holding his light up. There was no way for him to be positive of the way he had come, but assuming that Yifan and Luhan hadn’t strayed away from the group until near the end, it shouldn’t take too long to find them. Junmyeon jogged down the corridor in eerie silence, his eyes straining to catch a glimpse of any slumped over figures in the darkness. He hoped that Yifan and Luhan hadn’t been captured by any of the monster—

Junmyeon screamed when he rounded the corner to come face-to-face with a monster, its jaws gaping and its claws outstretched. He knelt down and clutched at his chest, tears streaming down his cheeks as he cried, even though he knew that the monster was frozen in time and couldn’t hurt him. He pulled himself together as quickly as he could and looked around towards where the monster was lunging to. There—there, there was a crack in the wall, and there was something in it. Junmyeon rushed over to the wall and cautiously peered into the crack. His eyes widened with shock, and then relief when he saw Luhan curled up in the tiny space, his hands pressed against the wall and his eyes wide with terror as he stared back at the monster.

Junmyeon supposed that Luhan had hidden himself in the niche in the wall when the monster had caught up with him. Junmyeon looked Luhan up and down, but couldn’t tell if he was hurt. Junmyeon shimmied through the niche and put his arm around Luhan’s waist and gently extricated him from the wall. Junmyeon hesitated for a moment, and then hauled Luhan over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold, and he began to jog back the way he came. Junmyeon was very fit, but by the time he got back to the entrance of the maze, he was panting and he felt fatigue starting to burn in his legs. He still had to go back and get Yifan—how was he going to manage it?

Nevertheless, Junmyeon emerged from the entrance of the maze. A ragged cheer greeted him, as apparently the rest of Exo had come to join Tao at the entrance. Junmyeon gave them a weary smile and passed Luhan, who was now coughing and sobbing, over to Yixing.

“Did you find Yifan?” Jongin asked timidly.

“No,” Junmyeon said shortly. “Yifan must be further into the maze. How long do I have for time, Zitao?”

A faint sheen of sweat shone on Zitao’s forehead. “Another hour. Hurry, Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon nodded. He turned to Jongin. “Start taking the others back to the palace if I don’t come out within an hour. I trust you. Remember that.”

Jongin gave him a shaky nod, and Junmyeon turned away and ran back into the maze, nearly unnoticed as the rest of Exo moved to comfort Luhan.

Junmyeon retraced his steps to where he’d found Luhan (the monster still gave him a start, but he managed not to break down again), and he hurried along what he hoped was the path that Exo had been running. He scanned the floor and the walls intently as he jogged along the path for any sign of Yifan, but he began to lose hope as he got deeper and deeper into the maze. There was no sign of Yifan anywhere, and the maze could have changed their path while Exo had been regrouping outside. What if Yifan hadn’t even made it…?

No, no, no. Junmyeon refused to believe that Yifan was dead. Yifan was too hardy, too resourceful to be taken down now. “Where are you?” Junmyeon murmured softly. “Where…?”

Junmyeon froze when he heard a faint rumbling in the distance. “What…?”

Junmyeon’s blood turned to ice when a faint, eerie howl sounded through the maze. He must’ve run out of time—Tao had had to restart time again. He needed to find Yifan as fast as he could, he needed to—

“Hello?”

Junmyeon flinched and whirled around. He lifted Baekhyun’s stone higher over his head, and his eyes widened in shock when the light hit a tall figure at the end of the corridor. He hurried towards the figure, and to his relief, Yifan’s features came into view.

However, Yifan didn’t seem to be in his right mind. He was slouched forward, and his mask was nowhere to be seen. There were rings around his eyes and his breathing was shallow and tense as Junmyeon approached him.

Junmyeon pulled his mask to the side so that Yifan could see his face. “Yifan!” Junmyeon hurried to his side and slipped an arm around Yifan’s waist to support him. “We have to get out of the maze as fast as we can. Can you run?”

“’Myeon,” Yifan mumbled wearily. He turned to the side and pulled Junmyeon into a tight hug. “Junmyeon…”

“Yifan, we don’t have time,” Junmyeon murmured softly, even as he leaned into the embrace. “I’m glad to see you too, but we have to get out of here before the monsters get us.”

Yifan acted as if Junmyeon had never spoken. “Junmyeon, why do you have to marry Minseok? I love you more than he ever could. I loved you first.”

Junmyeon froze. “…what?”

“I love you so much,” Yifan continued quietly. “I thought that someday, I would be brave enough to tell you my feelings. But then Minseok got to you first, and he got you a pretty ring, and you were engaged before I could tell you how much I cared about you.”

“Yifan?” Junmyeon frowned and pushed lightly at Yifan’s chest. “Yifan, is this a joke?”

Junmyeon gasped in surprise when Yifan bent down and something warm was pressed against his lips. Yifan’s lips were over his own, Yifan was kissing him, this was so wrong! Junmyeon pushed Yifan away as hard as he could and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “What the hell Yifan!”

Yifan landed hard on the ground and stared up at Junmyeon. Junmyeon felt a chill run down his spine when the expression on Yifan’s face didn’t change as he simply stared up at Junmyeon.

There was no way Yifan was in his right mind. He must have triggered some kind of trap that had muddled with his senses…and yet, all Junmyeon could think of was their conversation on the top of Kyungsoo’s earthen dome at the start of the mission.

An eerie howl sounded through the maze, and Junmyeon panicked. He did the first thing he could think of.

“You want me?” Junmyeon asked, taking a deep breath.

Yifan stared at him, his expression unchanging, and he nodded slowly.

“Alright.” Junmyeon swallowed hard, panic rising in his throat as another howl went up, even closer to where they were. “Then come and get me.” And with that, Junmyeon took off down the corridor the way he had come. He could only hope that he would be able to find his way out again, given that the maze had started moving once more. Junmyeon’s ears caught the sound of a set of heavy footsteps behind him, and his heart picked up speed in a mixture of relief and fear. Junmyeon had never, ever imagined this situation in any of his worst nightmares—that he would be running from Yifan, or that Yifan would be chasing him.

Junmyeon didn’t know how long he’d run for. He always made sure that Yifan was close behind him, determined not to lose his comrade for a second time. But Junmyeon could feel fatigue burning in his arms and legs and in the heaviness on his chest as he continued to move forward through the maze.

The sounds of Yifan’s footsteps grew closer and closer as Junmyeon struggled to stay ahead. The gray stone passages held no familiarity for him, but suddenly, Junmyeon took a hard left and he felt a surge of hope when he realized that at the end of the corridor before him, sunshine was glittering at the end. Junmyeon surged forward in a dead sprint. Thus far, Junmyeon and Yifan had avoided the monsters, but—

Junmyeon screamed when Yifan grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back roughly, throwing him to the ground. Junmyeon scrambled to his feet and cried out again when Yifan grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him close.

“Why are you running away?” Yifan murmured, his voice hoarse and harsh against the delicate shell of Junmyeon’s ear. “Don’t you love me?”

Junmyeon stared past Yifan’s body at the exit to the maze. They were within feet of the exit, but Yifan’s madness was going to keep them from safety.

“Yifan…” Junmyeon murmured. “I want to see your face. Let’s go to the sunlight, there.” Junmyeon nodded his head in the direction of the exit.

“Do you love me?” Yifan repeated.

An eerie howl rose through the maze, and Junmyeon felt his hair stand on end. “I’ll tell you when we can get to the sunlight, and I can see your face,” Junmyeon said steadily. “Come on, Yifan.”

Yifan paused, and then giggled suddenly. “Alright. Anything to make my Junmyeon happy.” He grabbed Junmyeon’s wrist in a harsh grip and began dragging Junmyeon down the corridor. Junmyeon hastened his steps to catch up, and together, they ran towards the entrance. The eerie howl rose up again behind them, and the sound of huge beast panting for breath filled the air.

Junmyeon broke out into a sprint and pulled Yifan along with him with the last of his strength. They were so close, they were within an arm’s length away from the entrance—

The sound of heavy paws hitting the ground filled Junmyeon’s ears as he dragged Yifan forward. One foot in front of the other, and then all of a sudden he was bursting into the sunlight with Yifan in tow. An angry screech sounded from within the maze, but as Junmyeon kept running, the monster didn’t pursue them out of the entrance. Junmyeon hoped that the monster would be trapped in that temple forever, and his shoulders shook with a mixture of exhaustion, tears, and fatigue as he stumbled away from the temple.

The harsh grip on his wrist suddenly fell away, and Junmyeon staggered forward when Yifan’s weight suddenly vanished at his back. Junmyeon whirled around and dove to keep Yifan from falling to the ground, but he wasn’t fast enough and he tumbled down into the dirt in a heap with Yifan’s tangled limbs. Junmyeon felt both relieved and terrified when he realized that Yifan had passed out—whatever had been wrong with Yifan might have lost its effects when it left the maze, leaving Yifan drained and exhausted. There was also the possibility that Yifan had truly gone mad in the maze, but Junmyeon refused to entertain the possibility. He needed all of the optimisim and hope he had left if he wanted to make it out of here.

“Junmyeon!” Suddenly, Jongin was standing over him, soft black shadows falling away from his clothing. “Thank goodness, I just took Tao and Baekhyun back to the castle. Is Yifan…?”

“I don’t know. He needs medical attention right away.” Junmyeon struggled to sit up under Yifan’s heavy weight. “Can you manage one last trip?”

Jongin reached down wordlessly and took Junmyeon and Yifan’s hands into his own. Junmyeon shut his eyes and grimaced at the sensation of Jongin’s teleportation. Moments later, Junmyeon found himself sitting on the ground of the palace infirmary with Yifan sprawled out across him, and Jongin crouching next to him.

Junmyeon felt uncontrollable tears streaking down his face as medical personnel instantly swooped down on to him and carried Yifan away. Another nurse gently helped him to his feet and led him away with Jongin at his elbow. Junmyeon could see the rest of Exo huddled around a bed at the side of the ward, and a fresh wave of sobs racked his body as the nurse led him to a bed. He vaguely registered the stab of a needle into his arm, and the last thing that he saw was Baekhyun whirling around to look at him with wide eyes before he passed out into sweet, dark dreams.

Five days later, Junmyeon found himself standing beside Minseok dressed in his finest Captain’s garb while Minseok wore ceremonial robes of plum. A priest stood before them, chanting a sacred chant, and then reaching out to dab at their foreheads with rice flour. Junmyeon struggled not to flinch away from the gentle touch of the priest’s hands—he was still recovering from the trauma of the maze, and what Yifan had done to him.

He’d woken up to find Exo gathered around his bed, their eyes all wide and dark with worry. There had been a tacit agreement that Junmyeon would never speak of what had occurred in the maze when he went back for Luhan and Yifan. Luhan had been fine, and he had squeezed Junmyeon’s hand gratefully before leaving the ward. Yifan had also been awake and well. A nurse had informed him that Yifan had been poisoned, but they had detoxified him, and Yifan should be back in his right mind. Yifan had no memory of what had happened in the maze, and Junmyeon was only glad. He didn’t know if what Yifan had been saying was his true feelings, or a result of the poison that he’d taken in, and he didn’t want to know.

Junmyeon was still shaky from everything that had happened in the last few days. He could see that MInseok was also still afraid, his eyes darting around the room nervously as the priest performed their wedding ceremony. Junmyeon wished with all his heart that Minseok would recover soon—Minseok had sustained no physical injuries and had ben unconscious for a majority of the event, but he knew that the kidnapping would leave indelible scars on his soon-to-be husband.

Junmyeon reached over and gently laced his fingers through Minseok’s. Minseok turned his head and gave him a grateful look before turning his attention back to the priest.

At last, after half an hour more of chanting, dabbing at their foreheads with flour, being covered in flower garlands and having holy water splashed gently on their heads, the ceremony was over. Junmyeon looked over Minseok and felt his heart swell slightly with affection as his husband caught his gaze and blushed.

Minseok didn’t know that Junmyeon had been part of his rescue team. He also didn’t know any of what Junmyeon had been through in the last few days. Junmyeon didn’t know if he would ever tell Minseok his role in Exo, or any of the adventures he’d shared with his team. He was on leave from the Guard for the time being, and he had been given time by Captain Leeteuk to decide whether or not he wanted to resign from Exo.

Junmyeon didn’t think that he wanted to resign from Exo. Exo was like his family, and even though the events of this last mission had been the most harrowing by far, Junmyeon knew that he wanted to stay with them. There had been many unexpected twists and turns throughout the mission—Donghae hiding information, and being willing to burn his hand off being one of the foremost, but Junmyeon knew that he loved being a member of the elite forces, and he didn’t want to give up his work.

Junmyeon and Minseok followed a figure in a black porcelain mask and a black cloak out of the palace and down to the private dock where a ship awaited them. By the build and the faint diamond mark at the edge of the mask, Junmyeon knew that it was Jongdae who was leading him to the ship that would take Minseok and him to their honeymoon. Junmyeon felt comforted that it was Exo who was guarding him. Even though he would probably be teased about what would happen during his time with Minseok, and even if both Junmyeon and Minseok were both still recovering from everything, Junmyeon couldn’t help but feel safe and secure. He was under the watch of Exo, his brothers, his family, and as he walked proudly by his husband’s side, he knew that he wouldn’t feel safer with anyone else.

Three more masked and cloaked figures stood at the entrance of the ship, their backs ramrod straight and attentive as Junmyeon and Minseok passed between them and onto the deck. The captain of the ship came out to greet them and guided them to their quarters. “We’ll set sail for the islet within the hour,” the captain promised. “The journey takes about a day.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Junmyeon smiled warmly at the captain and dismissed him, leaving Minseok and him alone in the room. Junmyeon instantly turned to Minseok and cupped his face in his hands. “How are you feeling?”

Minseok blinked warmly at him. “Tired. I want to change out of these robes.”

Junmyeon let go of Minseok’s face and turned away.

“You can look, if you want.” Minseok spoke abruptly, standing still as he stared at Junmyeon’s back. “I…I wouldn’t mind. Especially since we’re married.”

Junmyeon didn’t move. “I’ll wait until we arrive at our marriage bed,” Junmyeon murmured, a smirk evident in his voice. “If you can wait that long.”

MInseok slapped his back indignantly, and Junmyeon burst out laughing. Minseok let out a huff and there was a rustle of clothing as he shed his ceremonial clothes and went digging into their trunks to pull out some casual clothing.

“I’m done,” Minseok said at last, and Junmyeon turned around. “My turn,” Junmyeon said brightly. “Don’t look.”

Minseok gave him an affectionate smile and turned away as Junmyeon changed. When he was finished, they sat down beside each other on the bed and nervously held hands. Junmyeon could feel his face burning—he had told himself that he wouldn’t be nervous once he was alone with Minseok, but he could already feel his resolve crumbling.

“Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon turned his head to look over at Minseok, only to squeak in surprise when Minseok leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss. Junmyeon melted into the warm touch and he shut his eyes with a quiet sigh. This didn’t feel wrong like when Yifan had kissed him; it only felt right, and Junmyeon could only feel love and security in the way their lips met.

Junmyeon shifted so that he was sitting in Minseok’s lap as he leaned up for another kiss. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so hasty when he was making fun of Minseok—he was pretty sure that he was going to be the one begging Minseok to take him before they ever reached the islet.

Later, when Minseok had settled down into the sheets and Junmyeon was sitting at the desk in their quarters (Minseok had managed to calm them both down before either of them did something that they weren’t quite ready for), Junmyeon’s thoughts drifted to Yifan. Was Yifan on the ship? Had Yifan really meant it when he said that he was in love with him?

Junmyeon glanced over at Minseok’s sleeping form.

It didn’t matter if Yifan loved him or not.

A sad smile played at the corner of Junmyeon’s lips as he pushed away from the desk and went to go join Minseok on the bed. Hopefully, Yifan would never remember, and would never ask about what exactly had happened in the maze. Junmyeon knew that he would never have the courage, or the heart to tell him the truth.

The End

Happy birthday Suho! <3