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✿
Once upon a time there was a kingdom whose twin omega princes were both born with cosmos flowers on their wrists. It was said that everyone was born with a tattoo of their soulmates' birth flower somewhere on their body that would get colorful when they met their loved one. Felix and Jisung both had the same tattoo, so they knew their soulmates were born in October since they were little. At first, it wasn't so urgent to find their soulmates, so the King and Queen didn't put too much effort. They threw balls and reunions with princes and princesses from all the other surrounding kingdoms, but the boys' flowers remained black. The two boys were happy nonetheless, always enjoying the parties and outings with their friends and family.
Thus, the princes turned sixteen, and it became an urgent matter to look for their loved ones. They needed to get married so they could rule over their kingdom and become kings themselves. So, the King invited all the princes and princesses from nearby kingdoms that were born in October, alphas, omegas and betas. But Jisung and Felix's tattoos remained black as the night sky, not a single droplet of color on them, just the outline of cosmos flowers. The King and Queen were restless, inviting princes and princesses from far away kingdoms, even commoners born in October were invited to the palace. But the tattoos remained black and lifeless.
The twins thought they wouldn't find their soulmates. Even though their parents were anxious and restless, they accepted their fate and supported each other during dire moments. If no one fit the criteria for being their soulmates, they could rule together, split the throne and become twin omega kings of their nation. It would surely go down in history as a beautiful tale. Jisung thought so, he even grew fond of the idea, smiling to himself as he thought of a kingdom ruled by them, the changes they would make in laws, how they would help their people and each other.
Then, one day, right after they turned nineteen, a handsome alpha prince arrived at the kingdom. He was twenty-two and had just arrived from a trip around the world to explore the new kingdoms and countries. He had heard about the King's invitation to meet their omega sons who were after their soulmates, and, as he had just arrived, he quickly made his way to their small kingdom. His name was Chan, prince Chan of the Bahng family, in the kingdom of Miro, which had already a married prince in the throne, Changbin.
The twins were requested to dress quickly and greet prince Chan. So they put on their best outfits and descended the stairs. Jisung thought it was all pointless, already with his mind set in their goal to become twin kings. Felix, however, was excited, his eyes sparkling and pure. Felix believe in happiness and love, in finding the one for him, even if he had agreed with Jisung's idea, he didn't want to give up so quickly.
When Felix stopped right at the foot of the stairs, Jisung right behind him, he raised his eyes, and they met with Chan's. It was like electricity was running through his veins, sparking inside him when his shiny brown eyes met Chan's hard gaze, that soon softened as if he recognized the boy as someone he knew—and maybe he did indeed know Felix, even if it was their first time meeting.
Because they were soulmates.
Felix's cosmos tattoo turned into a red shade, the petals blooming in such beautiful colors. His eyes sparkled as he glanced at it and back to prince Chan who was standing a few meters away, his own tattoo of an aster blooming in pink, right on his chest, hidden from curious eyes only to be glanced by the one meant for him. Both colors represented love, and Felix couldn't stop smiling to himself. Their parents stood next to him, a proud and relieved expression in their faces.
Jisung could only feel his heart thumping hard in his chest during this beautiful moment.
He was happy for his brother, of course he was. Felix deserved to be happy, to find the one meant for him, to experience love. But Jisung's ears were ringing as Felix and Chan hugged each other, happy tears trailing down everyone's faces, the maids giggling at the scene, their parents' gaze so fond. An ugly emotion was creeping up Jisung's chest, but he didn't let it get to the surface. He shut down his heart, his feelings, and smiled for his brother. The most genuine smile he could muster. Felix smiled back at him.
Thus, Felix would become the king of their beloved kingdom.
✿
"So," Felix says as he twirls around his room, "is this outfit okay?"
He is wearing the official attire for a wedding, a white gown with a translucent cape adorning it. Small jewels make the material glow like all the stars from above are hung to it, and it matches Felix's eyes and freckles perfectly. It's like the dress was made for him—and maybe it really was, considering he was the one who has found his soulmate. It's been a few months since then, and the palace jas never been the same since.
"Okay?" Hyunjin, Chan's younger brother's husband, snorts from his place on the bed. They've quickly become friends when they met, Hyunjin being just a perfect match for the omega brothers. "It's perfect for you, really, it matches you perfectly, I'm actually speechless. Prince Chan is going to lose his mind over you".
"Oh, you're saying this just for the sake of saying," Felix chides him. His scent gives away just how much he liked the compliment though, strawberry wafting through the air. The boy blushes a deep red too, just as the tattoo on his wrist. Jisung thinks it's a beautiful color, but he couldn't hate it more. He is sitting right next to Hyunjin, admiring Felix's beauty as he showcases his outfit for the wedding. It's tomorrow, and the palace is in chaos because of it. After the wedding, there will be a coronation ceremony, and Felix will become King with Chan by his side.
Jisung smiles as he looks at his brother's expectant eyes. The same smile he practiced during all these years as he shut down his feelings, never letting Felix see how ugly he was on the inside, his scent hidden by a cream. At first, they all questioned why Jisung started hiding his sweet vanilla scent, but he just brushed it away, telling them he didn't want to bother Prince Chan with the scent of another omega, just before his wedding. Only Jisung knew it was because he didn't want anyone smelling his emotions in the air, the ugly emotions eating him alive from inside, he would like to keep them a secret.
He had always thought that he didn't too well in the palace. When he and Felix had come up with the idea of reigning together, he started to think that maybe it was meant to be this way, and that he could enjoy the life in a palace after all. But then, Felix found his soulmate, and the doubts about his life started to creep back to his heart. Jisung loves his family, especially his brother. But with everything that's happened, he yearns for something he wouldn't find while he was trapped in a castle without a soulmate. He just doesn't know what he is looking for, the feeling too abstract for him to grasp it.
"You're beautiful, Lix," he says, his voice soft and warm, reassuring his twin. "You're always beautiful no matter what you wear, but with this, it looks like you're glowing. It's indeed perfect".
Felix smiles at him, his beautiful sunshiny smile, not aware of the ugliness of Jisung's heart, filled with a hint of jealousy, that his brother found what was meant for him, while Jisung was left in the darkness, still unaware of what he was looking for. He loves his twin, his baby brother, his angel disguised as human, but Jisung himself is only a man, and he imagined a life where he was a king along with Felix, both without a soulmate, finally fitting in. Now, Felix is the only one with a soulmate, the most loved one, the one who would become king, and Jisung was left behind. He didn't find the one meant for him, he didn't belong anywhere, not in that palace where he grew up nor in a palace with another. Their parents still tried their best, but no one made Jisung's tattoo color, so they just gave up at some point, and the prince thought maybe they didn't care about it at all, Jisung's life meant to be just that of someone trapped behind the thick doors of a palace, roaming around with no use after all.
Now, Jisung is wandering around everyone, not belonging somewhere nor having someone with him. He's just him, existing around his brother and his friends, the failed one. No one ever called him this, he just knows he is a disappointment, the only one in his family who didn't find a soulmate. Before he had Felix to share this title with, now he has nobody, and he just feels like this was not his home anymore.
Hyunjin and Felix keep on giggling, choosing hairstyles and make up to wear, both of their tattoos colored and beautiful, Felix's cosmos on his wrist, Hyunjin's gladiolus on his neck, both red in color, full of love and passion. Jisung pulls at his sleeve, trying to hide his own black cosmos. He doesn't want to see it anymore. Since the day Felix found his soulmate, Jisung only wears long-sleeved tops, hiding his shameful tattoo, hiding his feelings of yearning for more.
"Sungie," Felix says, looking at his hand that pulling on his shirt, "they'll appear soon enough, don't worry," he knows his brother means well, he's trying to help him as always, being kind-hearted and gentle just everyone else is with him. But Jisung can't shake off the feeling that everyone is pitying him for not being enough, for not being able to find his soulmate. Felix pulls him into a hug, placing his nose on his scent gland, even if there's no smell on it. He rubs his cheek against Jisung's, mixing his strawberry scent with the smell of sweat on his twin's skin. Jisung feels his heart at ease at the gesture, he loves his brother too much, even if his heart is so ugly, so lost.
"I know, Lixie," he says, hugging his twin back. "It's fine, don't worry about this. It's all about your wedding now, right?"
Jisung's smile is able to fool everyone. They genuinely think it's real, happy, resigned with his own fate. It's not, but that's okay. Because soon enough, no one will remember Jisung. They already have Prince Felix marrying an alpha to rule over the entire kingdom, they don't need another omega prince to rot away in the palace. They probably won't even notice that he's gone.
The next day, the wedding ceremony is beautiful. The King and the Queen cry when they see Felix walking down the aisle along with his brother. His dress sparkles under the sun light that comes through the wide windows in the palace. Jisung presents his twin's hand to his fiancé, who takes it with a big smile on his face. Felix smiles back at him, and Jisung smiles to them both—at that moment, Jisung's smile is genuine, he's really happy for his brother, and he was now resigned with his decision.
Prince Chan and Prince Felix say their vows, promising loving each other eternally and supporting one another in dire moments. They kiss, and everyone coos at them. A beautiful couple for a beautiful kingdom, none of the nonsense Jisung thought about, ruling with his brother, the only ones without a mate, without soulmate. It is only him by himself now. The coronation goes as expected. Felix's crown shines beautifully as if it's made of pure sunlight, it sparkles and matches his freckles and honey skin.
Now, Chan and Felix are the Kings of the Levanter Kingdom.
Thus, during the night, Jisung takes the things he packed the day before and sneaks out of the palace, ready to be forgotten or just remembered as a failure from the kingdom, as he looked for the something he has always yearned for. He really thought somewhere out there would be a place where he would fit in perfectly as he was meant to be.
✿
Jisung really didn't think this through.
It's been five days since he departed from his kingdom. He walked to the forest surrounding the palace and stopped only a few times to massage his feet and eat a piece of the bread he packed up. He crossed the border just two days later, no guard had been seen, probably they didn't even notice or care that he was gone, and he was safe to say he was far away from home—even if it didn't feel like his home anymore.
He is now next to a lake with clear water, and the Sun is high in the sky. Jisung slumps on the grass, his legs hurting with how long he's walked through all these days. He looks at himself in the reflection on the water—his hair is disheveled, his cheeks are red from the sunlight, his eyes are tired and sunk, his wrist is wrapped in an old bandage, smeared with mud and wet, but he refuses to change it and see the shame it hides. He looks like a mess. He sighs as he dips his hands into the water to splash on his face. Before he can do it, though, a voice stops him in his tracks, making him turn around quickly, his eyes wide.
"Don't drink from this water!" the voice is sharp and thunderous, too loud for the peaceful place where he is.
When Jisung turns, he takes in the figure of a man, almost his height, his blond hair falling over his feline eyes, almost hiding them completely. For a moment, Jisung is taken aback, jaw slack as he stares, because this man is the most beautiful person he has ever seen. Throughout his life, he has seen numerous princesses and princes, from all over the world, all of them beautiful and pampered. But none of them could compare to the beauty in front of him, sharp jaw and intense eyes staring back at him from behind his blond hair.
"The fairies drop their potions in here, so the water isn't that clean," the man explains, getting closer to Jisung. He kneels right next to the prince, gathering some water with his hand. The liquid sparkles under the Sun, small specks of dust all over it. Jisung hadn't noticed that it was dirty before, but now he could clearly see it. "I know a trick though," the man smiles at him, bunny teeth in full vision.
The man recites a few words carefully, the sound of his voice hushed and high pitched. The water moves on his palm, circling around, until it stops like nothing had happened—except now there is no dust. Jisung's eyes twinkle in awe while he stares at the water on the stranger's hand. He gulps the mouthful of it before smiling back at the prince.
"I guess you're new around here," the man looks at him curiously, his eyes studying his face. "What are you? A shifter? A fairy… No. If you were a fairy, you would notice the specks of pixie dust right away… Maybe you're an elf, though your ears are not pointy, like those assholes. Oh, you could be a witch then! I have a friend who's a witch!"
Jisung blinks a few times, trying to make sense of the man's words. He was sure none of those things existed, it was all fairytale for small children. The man had said something about fairies and potions when he arrived, but Jisung assumed he was talking nonsense and that the water was only tainted. Now he was actually taken aback.
"Uh… I don't… These things don't…" he tries to form a comprehensible sentence, but he's just so surprised he can't say anything.
"Are you okay?" the stranger inquires, getting even closer to Jisung. He lifts his hand to touch the prince's forehead to check for a fever, and the boy feels himself heating up at their proximity, his scent getting more nervous.
"Yeah," he squeaks, moving back a bit. "But, uh… I didn't know these things actually existed…" Jisung finally says, his voice a bit higher than usual.
"What things?" the stranger asks, his brow arching in confusion.
"Uh… fairies and shifters… magical creatures," he mumbles.
The man furrows his eyebrows in confusion. Then, he sniffs the air. His eyes light up and widen, like he finally understands it all. Quickly, he backs away a few steps from the prince.
"Are you a human?" he asks in a hushed voice, looking around them to check if anyone can hear them. For a moment, Jisung is utterly confused. What is happening right now? He is sure he went east when he ran away from the palace, so he should be around the Chronos Kingdom. That's what it was written on the map he studied back at the library, and none of the books mentioned any magical creatures in this kingdom, or anywhere ever.
"Yes?" he answers, raising his eyebrow.
"What are you doing here then?" the man speaks in an urgent voice, his eyes searching Jisung's face. It makes the prince's scent spike in nervousness and agitation. The man sniffs the air again and gasps, moving to get something out of a bag tied to his pants. He shuffles around until he finds a small vial with some purple liquid. It sparkles under the sunlight. Quickly, he opens the vial and offers it to Jisung. "Here, put this on your scent glands, it'll mask your scent!"
Oh, so it's a kind of scent blocker.
"Why should I—"
"Quick! Before the others find you!" the man interrupts Jisung urgently.
Afraid, the prince takes the vial and drops a bit on his fingers, smearing the blocker around his scent glands on his neck. The man sniffs the air again and calms down a bit, sighing in relief. He puts the vial away and moves back closer to Jisung, taking both of his hands in his. The wind blows the man's hair away from his eyes, and thus he notices it—the eyes are not just intense, they are golden, sparkling under the harsh sunlight.
"Okay, so I need to take you out of here before—"
"Minho!" someone's voice interrupts the man before he can finish his sentence. "We were looking for you everywhere, you said— Oh! Who is this?"
The person is a man, taller than both him and the other stranger—Minho, apparently. His fox-like eyes look at Jisung with curiosity, while his orange hair falls in waves around his face, and two beautiful fox ears sit on top of his head. Wait. Fox ears?
Minho looks at Jisung's shocked expression and quickly leans closer as he whispers. "Follow my lead, don't say anything". Then, he stands up, pulling Jisung along even if his knees are trembling. "Sorry, Innie, I was on my way to meet you, but I saw this little witch trying to drink water from the fairy lake," he pulls Jisung to his side, hugging his shoulders. The prince can't stop looking at the ears on top of the other person's head. As Minho keeps talking, he starts walking backwards, pulling Jisung along. "So I came here to help him, he's not from here, so I'm gonna go ahead and take him home so I can help him settle down, okay? He said he was traveling for many, many days and he was tired, so I offered him to stay at my place. We can meet up some other day, if that's good with you, I'll reach you, thank you, see you!"
Minho doesn't let the other man answer. When he's done talking, he's already pulling Jisung far away from there, walking quickly in the opposite direction. The prince wants to question, but he's so confused by everything that's happened in such a small window of time that he just lets himself be taken away by this stranger.
They walk in silence through a vast field, covered in lush green grass. Small colorful flowers bloom all around, bringing a delicate touch of color to the world. The scenery is beautiful, and Jisung didn't know such a beautiful place existed just outside the border of his kingdom. He would stop and admire all of this if Minho wasn't pulling him so hastily. Jisung never tries to pull away, though, even if the situation he's in is dangerous. Somehow, he feels that Minho is not going to hurt him. He can't explain why he feels this way though.
Thus, they arrive at a small wooden cottage. It's adorable and very cozy. Plants fall from the rooftop, snaking their way to the ground as small buds bloom around them, purple and pink. There are small vases by the windows too, and Jisung spots a cosmos flower growing beautifully. A hint of sadness tries to snake its way in his heart, but he quickly shakes it away, glancing at his covered wrist.
Minho opens the door and pulls Jisung inside, pulling a chair from the table so the prince can sit. The inside is just as cozy as the outside, yellow candle lights turning the atmosphere comfortable and relaxed—as much as it can get with an angry stranger looking at Jisung. He hadn't noticed how angry Minho was before, but now that they stopped he can truly see his features.
"What's your name?" the man asks, his voice a bit louder than when they were outside.
"Jisung…" he answers, voice low.
"What are you doing here?"
"Um…" Jisung starts intelligently. "You brought me here?"
"No," Minho rolls his eyes. "How did you come to this place? Why are you away from your kingdom? What is a human doing here?"
"I ran away from my kingdom and I just followed east. In the map, I saw I was supposed to be in the kingdom of Chronos, isn't this Chronos? Where is this place?" Jisung is starting to panic, his heart beating fast in his chest as he tries to make sense of what is happening.
Minho sighs, moving a chair to sit in front of Jisung. The prince's knee is bouncing as he thinks, and the man places a hand on top of it to stop it. Jisung finds the touch strangely grounding, soft and gentle. He instantly relaxes, his mind coming down from a hurricane.
"This is not the Chronos Kingdom. It's a magic place where we, magical creatures, live. Humans weren't supposed to reach this place, that's why I'm surprised to see you here," Minho explains in a calm voice. "This place is called Haven. It's a a safe space hidden by a magical barrier. All the magical creatures hid in here when humans started…" he trails off, his expression serious and dark. Jisung has never heard of this before, he hadn't even heard about magical creatures per se. Minho turns back to him again. "You shouldn't be here, humans are not allowed in Haven, you have to go away".
"No!" Jisung says urgently. "Please, I don't wanna go back… I'm…" his eyes move to his wrist, wrapped up in bandages, hiding his shame, his mind spiralling to his life in the palace, trapped, not knowing where he belonged to, not knowing his purpose. "I can't go back…" he doesn't complete the thought, his eyes not coming up to Minho's face again.
The man doesn't question nor does he press up Jisung for answers or to leave. Silence falls over them for a moment, the prince catching up to everything that's happened in such a small window of time. Instead of talking about himself though, when Jisung looks up at Minho again, he decides to question something else.
"I didn't know magical creatures even existed in the first place… Why are you hiding? Why is this a safe space?" he asks seriously. In every book he read, in every map he studied, there was not one that mentioned magical beasts and their whereabouts. There were only stories and tales about them; history books only mentioned humans and their sub genders. He sees Minho frowning, like he can't understand why Jisung doesn't know about magic.
"Long ago, there was a war," he starts, his voice also serious. "Humans have soulmates, and every human's soulmate is also a human. But there was a human boy whose soulmate was a shifter. It had never happened before, magical creatures and humans coexisted, but they had never mixed. However, this boy and the shifter met each other, found their soulmates in each other and they were truly happy. We, shifters, saw how happy they were when they met in the forest near here, the same one you must have crossed to come in here," Jisung nods. The Yellow Woods is the place right next to his kingdom, no one dares to enter it as they say it's a cursed place. He just didn't know why.
"However, humans were afraid. They were weaker than shifters, who can turn into designated animals. Some of us are big and strong animals, like tigers and bears, others are tiny creatures, like squirrels and birds. The shifter was a tiger, and the human was what they call an omega. They were afraid the shifter would hurt the human, they didn't believe the human boy nor they tried to talk to our species, they just… Tore them apart," Minho's voice is heavy with emotion, wet at the edges, like he's trying not to cry, and Jisung's heart clenches with the story, hurt and sad.
Jisung blinks a few times, trying to not tear up, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. The prince looks down, suddenly feeling like the story is going to take a downturn. He wishes it wouldn't, but they wouldn't be here if it had a happy ending. He knew the feeling of not having a soulmate, of feeling that he didn't belong anywhere, just like these two people must have felt.
"Are you crying?" Minho's voice surprises him out of his sadness. He looks up again, the other's eyes already on him, watching him with fondness. They have just met, but Minho looks at Jisung like he knows him, and Jisung feels the same. He isn't scared nor apprehensive. Minho's presence just comforts him, and it's strange.
"It's just… so sad," he confesses. "Why would they do that to someone and their soulmate? We spend most of our lives searching for them and we feel so out of place when we can't find them… Why would they tear them apart?" his voice is also wet and heavy.
They stare into each other's eyes, a mutual feeling of understanding taking over them. Jisung feels the way Minho is feeling, sad and longing, like they are both searching for something. He knows he is still missing his soulmate, and the feeling is unbearable. He's also in a journey to find what his heart yearns for. What is Minho searching for? Does he know unlike Jisung? Do magical creatures also have soulmates?
Jisung blinks out of the daze and clears his throat, Minho following along. The air around them feels heavy with something unsaid.
"What happened then?" he finally continues. "Why did the magical creatures go away?"
Minho sighs as he closes his eyes.
"Shifters tried to talk to humans, they didn't want to listen. The human was taken away to a far away kingdom. They never let him see the shifter again. Then, he grew sick. No human medicine could cure the boy, and the humans were desperate. The boy was a prince, the only one of his kingdom. They tried everything. In the end, he died. But it was no human disease, the boy was taken away from his soulmate, he died of loneliness. However, the humans didn't believe that, they said the shifter had poisoned the boy. The shifter was desperate, mourning, angry. He… he tried to attack one of the humans in a fit of anger," Minho's expression is one of suffering, like it pains him to tell this story.
Jisung is so absorbed he wants to know everything. Carefully, he touches the man's knee, a comforting act. When he squeezes and smiles a bit, Minho also smiles, it's tiny, but the way his teeth peek out from behind his lips is so cute. Jisung blushes in spite of himself. Minho looks down again, his eyebrows furrowing.
"That's what they wanted, you know? An excuse to attack us. When they did it, no one could do anything to stop them. Suddenly, we were cornered in our home, our forest. Magical creatures are pacifists, even if humans think of us in the wrong way," Minho scoffs. Suddenly, Jisung doesn't understand him. The prince is a human himself, why is Minho talking about humans like they are such nasty beings, but at the same time he is caring so much for Jisung?
"So you ran away to this place?" he asks carefully, his low and soft. Minho nods.
"The fairies and the elves got together to create a barrier to protect us from humans, we hid and they never found us again," he says finally. "I think they stopped believing we even existed at some point".
"I… I had never heard of magical creatures before, only tales and made up stories…" the silence fall over them again, it's heavy with the remnants of the story told. "That's why you were so frantic in taking me away from there, but… why did you protect me? If what you told me is true, every magical creature must hate humans… So why?"
Jisung looks at Minho in the eyes, searching for an answer, searching for whatever is happening. He just met him, why is feeling so comfortable? Why is he feeling like he fits here even though he logically doesn't? His heart pounds in his chest, he never felt like this before. Minho's expression is hard, like Jisung's question doesn't even make sense to him.
"I don't hate humans," Minho answers. "It's a story from many years ago, I'm sure humans are better beings now. You showed so much care for this story, I'm inclined to believe that I'm right. Maybe humans can all become the one human boy that loved one of us," Minho smiles at Jisung, and it's so beautiful the prince feels his cheeks heating up. "I saw you in danger, so I wanted to help you, but I didn't sense any danger coming from you, so…" he clears his throat, suddenly looking away. "Jisung, isn't it?" he says as he gets up from his chair. "If you don't wanna go back home, you're free to stay with me. Don't go around here, magical creatures can smell your human scent. Are you what they call an omega or an alpha?"
Jisung blinks a few times.
"Omega".
"Good, then you can have the scent blocker. I'm gonna prepare something for us to eat".
Minho disappears into the kitchen, the sounds of pans and pots filling in the silence. Jisung is still intrigued. He stands up from the chair, following the man to the other room. Minho is trying to light a fire with wood and stones. The prince stops right behind him.
"You're not gonna ask why I don't wanna go back home?" he asks, and it almost sounds like a whisper in its fragile form.
"If you don't wanna talk about, I won't press it, I noticed the way you said it," he finally lights the fire and stands up, moving to pick a pan and some ingredients. "You're free to tell me if you want to, but you're also free to just stay here for how much time you want it and not telling me anything".
As Minho cracks an egg onto the pan, Jisung feels his heart beating fast in his chest. He knows his scent would be nervous if it wasn't subdued by the blocker.
"I could kill you, how can you trust me so easily?" the sizzling of the eggs in the pan is the only sound around the house, the air charged and heavy.
However, Minho turns to him with a smile, cute. It cracks Jisung's wariness and the heavy atmosphere.
"I could say the same about you, I could have killed you when I brought you here, why did you allow it so easily?"
Thus, Jisung finally understands it. It's the same way for Minho as it is for him. The man feels the way they both fit in this strange atmosphere, he feels comfortable around the prince just like Jisung does around him. The charged air shifts, and Jisung relaxes, a smile curling his lips.
"Minho, isn't it?" he also asks. "Nice to meet you then".
✿
That night, Jisung dreams of a dark place. It's beautifully furnished, and he's lying on a big, comfortable bed. However, there is no light coming from the windows. He can only see darkness. He feels something around his ankle, a chain, and then he notices he is trapped in this place. A feeling of sadness engulfs his heart, and he's crying silently, tears leaving marks on his cheeks as they fall down endlessly. Jisung has never felt so sad, so lost. He wishes he could just die there. In the dream, he closes his eyes, and the empty darkness engulfs him whole.
When Jisung wakes up the next day, he smells the aroma of coffee in the air. He rubs his eyes sleepily. Minho had let him sleep in his bed the night before, saying it was fine and that he could sleep in his living room. The bed was too comfortable, and it smelled a little bit like chocolate. It lulled Jisung to sleep very quickly, even if he didn't dream about anything good.
He decides to get out of bed when he hears the pots in the kitchen again and suddenly remembers that Minho is probably cooking for both of them again and he didn't want to cause trouble for the man. He stands up quickly and runs out of the bedroom. When he enters the kitchen, Minho is by the stove, a frying pan in hand and eggs on the other. Jisung gulps, not really knowing what to say or how to talk to the other.
Minho cracks two eggs in the pan and pinches a bit of salt to add. He lets the sizzling of the eggs take over the kitchen and hums under his breath. For a moment, Jisung just stands there awkwardly, admiring at Minho cook. The man is very pretty, his wide shoulders strong and beautiful. When the man turns around to place the eggs on two plates, he screams when he sees Jisung.
"Oh, my—what are you doing just standing there? Gave me a fright, Gods…" the man says as he tries not to drop the eggs on the floor.
"Sorry, I—" Jisung doesn't even know what to tell him, Gods, he doesn't even know what he was doing actually. "Sorry…" he says sheepishly. Then, he tries to fix his mistake. "Thank you for letting me stay the night, it helped me a lot… I should be going somewhere else to not bother you any longer, I just have to figure out a way to get back to the human world…"
"You don't have to go," Minho says simply as he finishes off the plates with a piece of bread on each and gets the coffee into two mugs. "I told you that you can stay for how long you want".
"I don't want to be an inconvenience…"
"You are not," Minho sits down on one of the chairs and points to the other so Jisung can sit. "You said you didn't want to go back home, so you can stay here, if you don't have anywhere else to go".
Jisung sits on the chair, and Minho starts eating. So it's true, maybe the man is feeling the same sentiment that the prince is, something warm and comfortable. He doesn't mind Jisung staying, so he thanks him and tells him he wants to help him around. Minho smiles and thanks him. Jisung's happy scent of vanilla float around him, sweet and delicious. The man sniffs the air.
"It's dangerous to have your scent in the air," he says. "Magical creatures are not very fond of humans, and they are very noticeable due to their scents. Most magical creatures don't have scents, much less sweet aromas like this, so I would recommend you to wear the scent blocker".
"Oh, right… Yes, I'll put it on," Jisung sighs and looks down to his plate. He knows he has learned to tone down his scent so Felix wouldn't notice when he was sad, but when he left the palace, he thought he could go around with his sweet vanilla aroma around him again, so he was sad to have to hide it again.
"It's a pity though," Minho says as he puts some eggs in his mouth. "I really like it".
Jisung looks up, his eyes wide and cheeks flushed. Minho is still eating his eggs, like he had said nothing, but the prince's heart is thumping in his chest quickly, his omega melting at the compliment to his scent. Minho finally looks up at him to see Jisung blushing and in a loss of words. He smiles cutely, and his golden eyes sparkle under the morning sunlight.
"Your eyes are beautiful," he lets the words out before he can stop them. When shock crosses Minho's face, Jisung feels regret eating him up. However, he still can't stop himself from blurting out more. "It's… They're golden, it's… beautiful, I've never seen golden eyes before".
That's when Minho's eyes really go wide and his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. For a moment, Jisung doesn't understand what's going on, if he said anything wrong at all. But Minho stands there for a moment, shocked, fork in midair halfway to his mouth.
"So—sorry," Jisung curls up into himself a bit. "Did I say something wrong?"
Minho blinks the shock away from his face and schools his expression, clearing his throat.
"No… Sorry, I was caught off guard," he says as he goes back to eating. "I usually hide my eyes, so I didn't know you would notice them".
"Of course I would! I don't even know why you hide them, they are so pretty!"
Jisung notices the way Minho's ears are bright red, and the thumping of his heart gets even quicker and louder. The man murmurs a thanks before he goes back to stuffing food into his mouth. Jisung gulps and also goes back to eating, the atmosphere around them turning awkward with them both blushing. After they finish eating, Jisung takes the dishes to the sink so he can wash them, and Minho goes to his room quietly.
When he comes back, Jisung is already finished. He hands the prince the scent blocker and tells him he has to go outside to meet some of his friends. He tells Jisung to feel at home and leaves the house.
And that's how their routine goes for most of the days. Jisung dreams of a stranger place where he's trapped—he thinks Minho's telling of the story really stuck to him, he thinks of the boy trapped without his soulmate when he dreams—, he wakes up, they eat breakfast, the prince does the dishes and Minho goes outside to meet his friends or to work. He learns Minho is a baker. He sells bread and cakes in a village nearby and works with his friends. The one he met before was Jeongin, and they are both shifters.
When Minho comes back at night, he has some of the goods that didn't sell, and Jisung eats them happily for dinner. They taste wonderful, and he always tells Minho that. The man is always smiling when he sees the prince eating the bread and cakes he brings home, and Jisung always feels himself blushing when he just stands there and looks at him. It's so intense sometimes.
After Jisung told Minho he thought his eyes were beautiful, the man had cut his hair, his beautiful golden orbs now fully on display. The prince prides himself in thinking that he was the one who made him do it, even if he's not sure he would have that much power to make Minho make a decision like that.
One day, as they are sitting on the chairs in the kitchen, cups of tea in their hands, Jisung blurts out.
"You are very kind, you know?"
Minho looks at him curiously, like he doesn't know where that came from. Jisung giggles.
"I'm a stranger, and yet you helped me a lot and let me stay here, so you're very kind".
A smile adorns Minho's face, his golden eyes staring into Jisung's brown ones softly.
"If it's you, of course I'll help," he says, voice quiet.
Jisung freezes, his heart loud in his ears. What does he mean by that? He wants to ask, but he's too afraid to do it, as if the answer might burst the atmosphere slowly changing around them into something charged with unsaid words. Minho is smiling, and Jisung is blushing, his heart threatening to run away from his chest.
Then, the man turns back to his cup and moves his tea around. Jisung is left staring, stunned, his heart beating fast and loud. He wants to know why, but no words come out of his mouth. He looks back to his own cup, his wrist covered in bandages still the same way it was when he left the palace. His hand closes into a fist. Jisung will not go down this road again, he will not get his hopes high, even if it feels so right. He drinks his tea and leaves the conversation at that.
✿
"So, you're a shifter, right?" Jisung asks casually when he's washing the dishes along with Minho. They've been living together for a few weeks now, and it's been surprisingly easy. Minho is always kind and supportive, he cooks and teaches Jisung about the magical world he lives in, telling him stories and facts about all magical creatures. Jisung is fascinated, his eyes sparkling with every small detail Minho says.
He learned, for example, that fairies can be very naughty, and he should be careful with them. "They are worse than witches," Minho has said. Jisung had told him about the fairytales he read in which fairies are all very kind and sweet and the witches are evil and angry. Minho told him about the time a fairy had mixed up some of his friend's, Seungmin, potions and caused a turmoil in the witch's house. Jisung had laughed so much imagining all the accidents that happened because of some wrong potion. He stopped thinking of fairies as pure beings, now they were just the chaos impersonated.
Minho's answer gets him back from his drifting mind. "Yes, I am," a side smile bathes his face. "Why do you ask?"
Jisung had also learned that shifters can only turn into one animal during all their lives. It's their designated animal, and they learn what animal it is when they turn twelve. He hadn't seen Minho's animal yet, and he was curious. He thought about a cat, because Minho was very cat-like, a little naughty, a little elegant and he slept a lot too. But Jisung also thought about a rabbit, as Minho's cute bunny teeth always made the prince think about how cute he was.
"Just curious, I wanted to know what animal you are," he says nonchalant.
"Are you sure?" Minho asks as he puts away the plates they've washed. "Humans are actually afraid of my animal".
"Don't worry, I won't be scared," Jisung says, trying to sound confident. Then, he completes before he can stop himself. "It's still just you, and I'm not afraid of you".
Minho looks at him with some curiosity in his eyes, like he wants to understand the true meaning of those words, of Jisung's feelings. It's true that the prince wasn't scared of Minho, he never was since they met. Jisung felt comfortable around him, even relaxed. They had met just a few days ago, but the prince felt like he knew Minho for a lifetime already. It was comforting. These few days lived in domesticity made him feel even more safe around the other man.
Jisung had started feeling like he didn't need to find his soulmate or look for whatever he was looking for, if he could live with Minho like this forever. Or maybe, this was the place his heart yearned for. He hoped it was, as his mind had settled in this scenario with a calm he had never felt before.
The shifter smiles, it's tiny and barely noticeable, but Jisung likes this smile of his the most.
"Okay".
Minho takes them to the living room and pushes the chairs and the small table away, making space. Jisung observes him from the side, his heart thumping in his chest. The shifter turns to him, his golden eyes staring deeply into Jisung. They are beautiful. He never commented on them, but he's fascinated by their sparkle every time Minho looks at him. His blond locks cascade around his face, almost hiding his beautiful eyes. Jisung wanted to ask why Minho used to keep his hair over them if they are so breathtaking, but he forgets it all when he loses himself in them.
Minho breathes deeply, his eyes closing hiding their beauty. Jisung mourns the loss for just a moment, before he realizes the way Minho's body is shifting, changing. His arms and legs move in spasms, reshaping themselves as the man's torso curves to the front. He opens his mouth and elongated teeth peek from them. Jisung gulps as he realizes Minho's animal is a predator, dangerous and terrifying. He should be scared. He should hide from danger. And yet, he feels safe.
Minho turns into a beautiful tiger. His body is big and muscular, black stripes decorating his white fur. When his eyes open again, they are golden, beautiful, breathtaking. Before he can stop himself, Jisung takes one step closer, and then another, and another, until he's walking quickly to the animal sitting in the living room. He kneels in front of him and raises his hand, but he stops right before he touches Minho's snout.
"You're…" his voice is just a whisper, careful not to disturb this moment. It feels sacred, too important for words, Jisung can feel it within his heart. "Can I touch you?"
"You can," Minho's voice sounds in his head, so that's how he communicates in his animal form. "If it's you, you always can".
When Jisung finally lets his hand touch the tiger's wet nose, a zap of electricity runs through his veins, and the prince has to stop himself from pulling his arm away. It seems like Minho feels it too. His golden eyes stare at Jisung with so much intensity, it feels wrong to look away at the same time as it feels wrong to look at them. But Jisung can't stop himself, he gets even closer, his face just a few inches from the tiger's soft fur.
"If it's you…" Minho says again, and he doesn't need to finish the sentence.
Jisung buries his nose in the tiger's fur and breathes in, the smell of chocolate invading his system, bitter and so tasty. The prince feels tears pricking behind his eyelids, but he doesn't let them fall. The aroma is so comforting he feels his body going pliant, weak. He tumbles against the tiger, letting him support his body weight.
"You smell good," he whispers.
The electricity is still running through his veins, making a sweet buzz tingle his skin. It's so comforting, Jisung has never felt like this before. Minho's scent reminds him of home, of the mingling aromas from his brother and his best friend, his parents. He thinks about them, about they are feeling without him. Do they miss him or are they just relieved he is gone? Suddenly, a wave of homesickness hits him, and Jisung cries against the soft fur of the tiger. He misses them so much. He ran away from home because of his feeling of not belonging there, of yearning for more, because how he was looking for something he didn't even know what it was, but he still misses his family. Minho's scent, comforting and grounding, floats around him, embracing him in a tight hug.
"Why do you have a scent?" he asks, his voice wet with his tears. He knows his scent would be sad if he wasn't wearing a scent blocker. "I thought only humans had a scent gland".
The tiger moves and encircles Jisung's figure, cocooning him in warmth. The tiger's big head nudges on the prince's side, making him move a bit. Then, a rough tongue licks his neck, right where the scent blocker is located. It coats him in the scent of chocolate, overwhelming and delicious. After a few licks, the scent blocker is toned down, letting his vanilla scent float around just a bit. He sees the way Minho's nostrils flare at the aroma, and his omega prides himself on it.
"Shifters also have scent glands when they shift," Minho's voice sounds in his head. "But we don't usually shift because other magical creatures say we stink. Humans were the only ones who thought some of us smelled good, before everything happened".
"I thought you, as a shifter, would use your animal form more often".
"I don't shift in front of anyone," this is told as a secret, Jisung feels his heartbeat quickening. "You are different, I don't want to hide my tiger from you".
The confession makes the electricity in his veins feel even stronger, his heart thumping when it reaches it. His wrist aches under the bandages, but Jisung is still afraid to look at it. He doesn't know this feeling, he has never known it before, but it's still familiar, like he felt it in another life, a long time ago. He wants to ask why, he wants to know what Minho is thinking about all of this, because he knows the shifter is feeling the same way as him. However, the question dies in his throat. He doesn't want to question this moment, he just wants to feel it, even if his brain is trying to make sense of everything.
"You don't have to hide anything from me," he whispers instead.
The tiger nuzzles into his side, breathing deeply into his skin just as Jisung does with his fur. They stay like this for a long time, their scents mingling in a delicious, sweet taste. Jisung feels comfortable, feels at home, like he belongs here with Minho. His tears are licked away by the tiger's rough tongue. Thus, the prince falls asleep, the warm embrace of chocolate and soft fur around him, lulling his rest.
✿
A few days pass after their intimate moment of scenting. They go back to the domesticity of before. Jisung wakes up to Minho cooking them both breakfast. He tides up the bed and goes to the kitchen where he helps Minho with the dishes. They don't talk about the small confessions from that day, they just let the air around them soft every time they are close to each other. Jisung feels happy, as if he belongs here like he never belonged anywhere else. He smiles and Minho smiles back at him.
Besides, every time they touch, Jisung feels a new wave of electricity. He hadn't felt it before, but when he learned the shifter's real scent, the sensation of something different flowed through his system. His wrist was still aching, he knew something was different, he knew something was happening to him. But he was so afraid to discover what that was. He hasn't looked at his tattoo yet, but he feels the way it's changed.
However, Minho is a shifter, he's different from humans. He doesn't know how shifters' bodies react to their soulmates—actually he just knows shifters have soulmates because of the story Minho told him.
One day, though, as Minho is cooking in the kitchen and Jisung is sitting at the table, cutting strawberries for their dessert, the prince decides he also wants to open up with the shifter. It's been weeks since they started living together, Minho has already showed him his animal form, telling him he did not want to hide from him, and Jisung also felt like he wanted to be open with Minho. His vanilla scent—now always floating inside the house since Jisung has stopped using scent blockers after they scented each other and felt like they both liked it—gets a bit nervous, and Minho is fast to turn to him, eyes worried. He's already learned how to sniff his emotions, and Jisung is flattered that he learned so quickly.
"What's wrong?" he asks, ever so attentive.
"I was just thinking," the prince starts, still cutting the strawberries. "You have always trusted me, ever since the beginning. You brought me to your house, protected me from danger, and you're always kind. You showed me your true form, you let me scent you. But you never asked anything about myself in return," Jisung finally turns to Minho, who is already looking at him. His eyes are so kind it actually makes the prince's heartbeat quicken in his chest. "Why?" he asks.
Minho smiles, small and discreet.
"I already know everything I need to know," he answers, his eyes soft. "I don't need to know anything else, I don't need to question your past. If it's you, I'm happy with you just being here".
"You always say that… 'if it's you'…" Jisung leaves the strawberries. He stands up from the chair and walks towards Minho, stopping right in front of him. "Why?"
The emotions are finally overflowing, Jisung is not stopping himself from asking why, he wants to know. The ache on his wrist is getting stronger everyday, but Jisung is still afraid to look, scared of falling down from an even higher place. He wants to be sure.
"Because you are you, Jisungie," it's the first time Minho has used a nickname to talk to him, but the prince feels like he has heard this before, like he knows this soft voice from many, many years ago.
"Minho… in the story you told me, the shifter was the soulmate of a human boy, so shifters also have soulmates, right?" They are so close to each other, Minho's golden eyes look pretty from this close, even more sparkly than before. The shifter bites his bottom lip.
"Not all of us," he answers. "Shifters usually don't have soulmates, but some of us have… But it's never another shifter. Our soulmates are always humans".
Jisung gasps. To think that these magical creatures are born with a human soulmate only to be so distant from the human world.
"Do you have one?" he asks, his heart thumping even louder in his chest. Minho nods. "How do you know?"
"Shifters with a soulmate are born with ink black eyes that reflect no light".
Jisung furrows his eyebrows.
"But you have…"
"They turn golden when we find our soulmate".
Jisung gasps, his eyes widening. His heart is so loud in his ears he feels them buzzing. Minho's golden eyes stare at him, searching in his face for some answer, and, when Jisung goes back to his senses, he looks at his wrist. Quickly, he grabs the worn out bandage and unwraps his tattoo. Then, there it is—a beautiful white cosmos flower. The prince feels tears prickling behind his eyes, he looks up at Minho.
"It's white… My tattoo is… We are born with a black tattoo of our soulmate's birth flower. When we find them, they get colorful," Jisung says, his voice wet as tears start falling down his cheeks. He sees the way Minho's smile gets even softer. "Mine was black before, now it's white".
Emotions overwhelm Jisung's body, and he throws himself on top of Minho, hugging him tightly, his head resting against his neck. The shifter hugs him back, just as tightly.
"I found you," he whispers against Minho's skin. "I've finally found you, I thought I would never…"
Sobs interrupt him before he can complete his sentence. He's crying very hard, and Minho is holding him through it, lightly patting his back. It's comforting, it feels like home. They stay like this for a while, Jisung crying as Minho holds him, comforts him, helps him as always.
When the prince finally calms down, he backs away from Minho just a bit, just to look him in the eyes. They are golden and soft on the edges, and Jisung has never been so happy to see that color in the other's eyes.
"I ran away from home because I felt like I didn't belong there. My brother found his soulmate, he found his purpose in life, and I felt like I was left behind. I was overwhelmed with an ugly emotion, I was jealous of my brother for finding his purpose while I was yearning for something more, and I didn't even know what it was. My brother is one of the kindest people I know, and his soulmate is just the same. I miss them everyday, but I couldn't stay any longer… I felt like I didn't belong there, I felt like I was out of place… I thought I didn't have a soulmate, or that they were gone forever, I looked for them everywhere…" Jisung's voice trembles when he speaks, tears still falling from his eyes. "Maybe it was my heart telling me to go away so I could find you hidden in here… Maybe it was me desperately looking for you that took me here… I think you are what my heart was yearning for, telling me to run away, to look for you…"
"My prince…" Minho says, his voice so soft. Then, something hits Jisung.
"How do you know I'm a prince?"
"You will always be my prince, ever since the first time, even if you are not born in royalty now, you were before, and you'll always be my prince," he says with a smile, and Jisung's heart bursts in his chest. He finally gets it. Minho is the same boy from the story somehow, Minho was the one who had his soulmate taken away. His eyes widen, and the shifter sighs.
"A shifter's lifespan is eternal if we are not killed. And if we are killed, our souls will return to another body with all the memories from the life before," he tells Jisung, pulling him to sit on the chair again. "I remember everything I went through. I am the only shifter with a soulmate. I found you many years ago, and they took you from me. As I was mourning, they tried to blame me for your death, so I made a mistake that costed our peace living in the forest. I spent all these years with ink black eyes again, you were lost and I would never find you again as humans made clear we were not welcome in their world. But then you came here, and you've finally come back to me. You are the same soul that's been with me before even if you don't remember. And it's okay that you don't remember, it would be too painful. I'm sure there were other times your soul has come back to this planet, and I didn't find you in any of these times, I'm so sorry. During all these years, I was missing every time your soul came back to our planet".
"You don't have to be sorry," Jisung's tears won't stop. "You found me, I found you, it's alright now".
"That's why I wanted to protect you… When you told me I had beautiful golden eyes, I was so shocked I almost cried, but… I didn't know where your tattoo was, I couldn't check if it was really true. It was right on your shoulder when our souls first met".
Minho's thumb draws circle on Jisung's wrist, right where his tattoo is. The prince can't stop looking down at it, so pretty. He can't believe he has finally found his soulmate.
"I love you," Minho whispers. "I know it's sudden and a lot to take in, but I've always loved you, I've always waited for you to come back so I could tell you this".
Jisung looks at him, a smile on his face. Then, his scent sours a bit, and Minho's expression gets worried suddenly. Jisung shakes his head.
"You… you should be the very one to hate humans, we took away your happiness, we caused you so much pain, but you told me you don't hate humans…"
Minho sighs, still holding Jisung's wrist in his hand.
"My prince is a human," he says. "I would never hate humans, because my soulmate is one of them. I would never attack a human, but I was mourning your death, my heart was dead, I was sad and angry, but I couldn't hate humans because you are one of them".
Jisung cries even harder, his heart hurting in his chest for the pain Minho must have felt. He knows he must have felt the same pain before, but he doesn't remember. The shifter had to live with these memories for all these years, fated to remember the pain and sadness, even in a new body. Jisung throws himself in Minho's arms once again, hugging him tightly, burying his nose in his neck.
"I'll never leave you again," he says. "I finally found you, I'm not going anywhere".
Minho hugs him back, breathing deeply the sweet scent of vanilla.
"I should have noticed when I breathed you for the first time… Alas, I was too sure I would never find you again, and I didn't realize it was you… You smell the same as before, creamy and sweet vanilla… I love it so much".
Jisung's omega preens himself on the compliments, and he has never felt happier before. They stare at each other for a moment before they meet in the middle. When they kiss for the first time, it's none other than perfect, their lips slot flawlessly and their hearts beat in sync. They break the kiss only to smile before closing the gap again, and again, and again, walking backwards, trying to reach somewhere.
They make it to Minho's bedroom, where Jisung's been sleeping for the last months. Minho looks at him as if he's silently questioning him about what is happening between them. Jisung smiles and nods, holding the man's hand as he walks towards the bed. He pushes Minho to sit down and straddles his lap, sitting on his knees, before he leans over and kisses the shifter again.
The air is charged, and Jisung can already feel the heat coiling around his abdomen. This feels so right, like anything has ever felt before. Minho kisses him with hunger, his hands traveling around his torso, gripping his waist firmly. Jisung moans as he feels the strength of the man's fingers on his skin. Then, he rolls his hips tentatively, and it feels so good.
"Minho…" he whispers between their kisses, his voice a bit broken.
The shifter tenses his thighs, his hands falling to Jisung's hips as he helps the boy move them. The hard muscle beneath the prince feels incredible, he rolls his hips a few times, never breaking the kiss, and he could feel the warmth spreading through his body, engulfing him whole. It feels so good he can't stop it. However, when it feels like too much, like he's not going to last long, he stops. He breaks the kiss and places his hands on top of Minho's.
"Please, I don't wanna…" he says, a little breathless. When he opens his eyes, the shifter is staring at him with hunger, making a chill run down his spine. "You must have waited for this for a long time, my love," he whispers. "I'm so sorry, I hope you forgive me for taking so long to find you".
"I'm the one who should be sorry, I had given up, but you still came back".
Minho uses his strength to turn them around, flipping Jisung onto the bed. He kisses him again, hungrily, like it'll be the last time they will kiss. Maybe it's the trauma from what happened before, but Jisung is going to make sure Minho knows he is not going anywhere.
The shifter's hands roam around his body, holding his waist as Minho's hips grind down on Jisung's hard cock. The prince moans into the kiss, the sounds muffled by the man's mouth. When they break apart again, it's for Minho to pull Jisung's night gown away, exposing his naked body to the morning sunlight coming through the window. For a moment, Minho just stares, and Jisung's heart pounds in his chest, nervous and excited. The shifter's nostrils flare when the sweet smell of vanilla reach them along with the undertone of caramel—Jisung's lustful scent.
"You're beautiful," the shifter says, his eyes roaming all over the prince's body. "You've always been beautiful, but you're even prettier like this, naked under me".
Jisung feels his cock twitching at the words. The shifter stares hungrily at him, not moving an inch, making the prince feel impatient. Then, he pulls Minho back to kiss him again. The shifter's hands finally move as they go down his body, pinching his nipples as they make their way down to his hips. Jisung moans into his mouth, arching his back to get some stimulation. Minho grins against his mouth. He breaks the kiss once more and pulls his own night gown out. Now Jisung can admire the man's naked body too, and he feels drool gathering in his mouth.
"You're so beautiful," he whispers, and Minho smiles at him.
Then, Minho bends down to kiss Jisung's chest, leaving marks all over his golden skin. The prince can't stop the sounds coming out of his mouth. One of his hands grabs the sheet under them, before the other finds Minho's blond hair and grabs it, pulling it slightly. The shifter's moans against Jisung's skin, and the omega is happy to pull these sounds out of Minho's lips.
As the shifter kisses Jisung's chest and stomach as if it's sacred, marking his way down the boy's body. It feels good, so good, Jisung can't stop the sounds that escape from his lips. His fingers find the omega's hole, already wet and soft. He circles one of them around his rim before he pushes the digit inside. Jisung moans loudly. He has never been touched there before, and even when he got himself off, he wouldn't usually put his fingers inside, wanting to be a virgin for his soulmate. Now as Minho touches him and moves his finger inside, he feels tears coming to his eyes at the pleasure.
"Please, Minho…" he moans. The shifter adds another finger, scissoring them. "Ah—! Pl-Please, I need…"
"What do you need, Jisungie?" Minho looks up at him from his chest, golden eyes taken over by lust. Jisung breathes heavily as he looks at him, overwhelmed with the look in those beautiful eyes.
"You," he answers as best as he can. "I need you inside, please… now".
Minho smiles at him and finds his lips for another kiss. Then, he moves down again, letting his fingers out of Jisung's body, making the boy whine at their loss. Before he can understand what is happening though, Minho pulls his waist up, bending Jisung's body and getting his mouth next to the prince's hole. This catches Jisung off guard.
"What—Minho, what are you—Ah!" he's cut off by the man's soft tongue, licking his perineum.
Minho hums as he licks Jisung's slick, tasting it with his tongue. He backs away a bit, looking down at the prince's face and licking his lips.
"You taste so good, princess," he says, Jisung's cock twitching pathetically. "Such a good boy for me, sweet and delicious".
The prince can't stop his moans as Minho's tongue enters his body, licking him thoroughly. He moans loudly and wantonly, his hands looking for purchase somewhere on the bed and on Minho's hair. Jisung is really close, his cock twitching nonstop against his stomach, precum staining his golden skin.
"Minho, I can't—anymore… I'm gonna—"
Thus, it all stops all of a sudden. The shifter lets go of his waist and his body slumps on the bed. When he looks down, Minho is slicking his cock with Jisung's slick, his whole hand dirty with how wet the prince is. It makes his cock twitch against his stomach when he notices how huge Minho's own dick is, so much bigger than his.
Minho lines his cock with Jisung's hole, and the omega opens his legs more, giving more space for the shifter to move. Minho smiles and pushes inside. Jisung moans as the cock breaches him. It's so big, tears prick his eyelids and his mouth opens in a silent scream. Minho kisses his forehead and nose, trying to soothe the pain, but Jisung isn't in pain. He only feels the pleasure of having his soulmate finally becoming one with him.
Minho pushes all the way in and stops for a moment, letting Jisung get used to it. The prince's eyes are still closed, trying to contain the flood of emotions inside him. Tears roll down his cheeks, and Minho kisses them away.
"Does it hurt, princess?"
The nickname makes Jisung moan while he shakes his head.
"It's so good, it's just—ah! So good," he babbles, opening his eyes just a bit, just to look at Minho's face. "You can move".
Thus, Minho thrusts his hips slowly at first, just grinding against Jisung, before he intensifies his movements, slamming his cock into the prince, who moans wantonly. Jisung fists at the sheets, trying to hold onto something as Minho thrusts inside him. He can only hear the creaking of the bed and how wet his hole is before the shifter moans loudly. Jisung looks down to check what happened. Then, he notices it.
His stomach is bulging right where Minho's cock is buried inside him.
Jisung can only moan louder.
"Minho, please… faster… it's so—ah! Good, I'm gonna—"
Before Jisung can finish his sentence, the shifter is moving faster, slamming into Jisung even harder than before. They both groan and moan, the wet sound of slick getting even louder. The prince is the first one to come, untouched, painting his stomach with white streaks. Minho follows right after, coming inside Jisung. He collapses on top of the prince, breathing heavily, and for a moment, they just stay that way, basking in the afterglow of pleasure, coming back from their high.
After some time, Minho slips out of Jisung and kisses his lips sweetly. He walks to the sink and damps a small towel with water before coming back to the prince and cleaning him from the sticky cum. Jisung couldn't be happier like this. He finally knew how it felt to be one with his soulmate, and it was perfect. He smiles at Minho as the shifter throws the towel on the floor and climbs back onto the bed.
"I love you," the omega whispers, and it feels easy to say it, even if it's too soon. "You were always kind, gentle and attentive with me. Even before you realized I was who I am, your soulmate. So I can say that I love you, I know I love you, I've always loved you, and I'll always love you, in every universe, every time my soul is reborn".
"I love you too, my prince," Minho answers and kisses Jisung soflty on the lips. "I will always love you".
That night, it's the first time Minho sleeps in his bed since Jisung started living with him. They sleep hugging each other, the prince's scent floating around them, happy and sweet.
✿
Jisung wakes up the next day, and Minho is still by his side. The shifter is sleeping soundly, and the prince couldn't be happier. He nuzzles his cheek on the man's chest, letting his scent fill the air around them. Jisung can't stop thinking about last night, how happy he felt. He turns his wrist to look at his tattoo again, admiring the white color on the petals of the cosmos flower that once was black, now representing faithfulness and devotion. He giggles. When he looks up at Minho, the man is awake, his golden eyes looking down at him, admiring him just like Jisung was just a minute ago.
"Good morning, my prince," Minho says, his voice rough from sleep.
"Good morning," Jisung mumbles, his face buried on the man's naked chest.
Minho places a kiss on the top of his head, smiling against Jisung's brown locks. When the omega turns to look at him, the pure admiration in the other's eyes makes his heart beat faster. He can't help it but smile. They spend some time just basking in each other's presence, hugging and lazily kissing.
When Minho moves to get up, Jisung tries to pull him back, but the shifter is stronger and just pulls the human out of bed, carrying him bridal style. Jisung yelps in surprise, his arms swiftly finding the shifter's neck. He laughs as Minho just smiles at him and takes him to the kitchen, where he places the prince on the small counter, before turning around to make them breakfast.
"I could help you, you know?" he says, swaying his feet. Minho laughs.
"No need, just sit there and look pretty for me".
Jisung can't stop the way his heart is content with these words, being the target of Minho's gentle words and compliments. Finally, his heart and mind are settled, he truly found what he was looking for. It was not just his soulmate, he was looking for his home, right next to Minho. It's soon, he knows it, but he can't shake this feeling off. Jisung feels so at ease.
They spend their next days in this bubble of happiness, saying "I love you" from the moment they wake up till they go to sleep. They kiss, hug and scent each other. Sometimes, Minho turns into a tiger, and Jisung sleeps against his fur, comfortable, the scent of chocolate swirling around them.
It feels perfect like nothing has ever felt before.
However, one day, Jisung wakes up to different voices around the house. Minho is not by his side in bed, he can hear his voice coming from outside as well. He sits up slowly, rubbing his eyes, trying to hear what the voice are saying or even identifying whom they belong to. He yawns as he throws his legs over the side of the bed, looking for some clothes he could wear as he is still naked.
"I can't believe you're doing this!" One of the voices sounds, yelling. "He is not one of us! You know what they did to us, why are you keeping him here?"
That's when Jisung realizes they are talking about him. His heartbeat quickens in his chest, his nervous scent floating around him. Oh, Gods, his scent! He needs to find the scent blocker, there are other magical creatures in the house, he has to hide himself. He goes around the room looking for the small vial as the voices keep talking.
"Jeongin, calm down, Minho has a reason, you have to—"
"I can't believe you're siding with him, Seungmin! You both know how dangerous humans are, it's extremely prohibited to shelter a human or even for them to enter Haven, what the hell is he doing—"
"He's the prince!" Minho's voice sounds loud and clear. It stops Jisung's movements, the prince moving to stare at the closed door. There's a sudden silence outside. "Look".
There are gasps and shocked sounds from the other side. Jisung wants to understand what is happening. With careful steps, he goes over to the door and presses his ear to the wood.
"Your eyes… Minho…" it's the voice that was yelling before. Now, it sounds wet with unshed tears. "You can't be serious… Is he…?"
Silence. Jisung presses his ear even harder against the wood.
"I won't let you do this again, you are not suffering again because of a stupid human boy".
The sound of heavy footsteps coming closer to the bedroom alert Jisung, making him take a few back to back away from the door. He hears the other voices—Minho's and Seungmin's—shout at the other person, telling him to stop. The door slams open, and Jisung is met with a very angry man, the same one from the first day they met. His distressed scent floats in the air stronger than before, Jisung looking scared at him. When the prince met Minho for the first time, even if he didn't know his intentions, he wasn't afraid of him, but now, looking at this stranger, he feels the fear overflowing his system. Minho notices right away. As the man takes a few steps closer to Jisung, the shifter turns into his tiger form quickly and launches himself in front of his lover. Minho's growl is loud.
"I won't let you get closer to him!" The shifter's voice sounds in all of their heads. "You won't hurt him, and if you touch him, I won't hesitate to kill you".
"I can't believe you're falling for this all over again, Minho," the man says, stopping right in front of the tiger. "I thought you had given up, moved on… I can't believe you're willing to get hurt so badly all over again because of some human boy!"
Seungmin is quick to get closer to Jeongin, who is now yelling in frustration. He hugs the man's shoulders, caressing them in comforting movements. Minho's growl can still be heard, and Jisung can't stop feeling guilty for making the shifter fight with his friends. Carefully, he places a hand on Minho's soft fur and pats him softly. The angry sounds coming from the tiger soften a bit, and Jisung breathes deeply to calm his heart and his scent—he knows Minho's own chocolate scent is distressed because of it.
"I know you are worried about him," Jisung says, keeping his tone as calm as he can. Jeongin looks at him with angry eyes, meanwhile Seungmin does the same with curiosity. "I am really happy that he found someone that cares about him through all these years when I wasn't here. I know I don't remember anything from our past lives and you do, I can only imagine how hurt Minho must've been… But I swear I'm not going anywhere, I swear I won't leave him now that I found him again…" his eyes look decisive when he meets the other men's gaze. "I hope you can trust me, and I hope you can trust him in the decisions he makes. I love him, I've always loved him, I know my soul has".
For a moment, silence fall over them like a blanket. None of them dare to break it, the tension in the atmosphere palpable. Seungmin smiles a bit, one of these tiny smiles Minho also shows sometimes. Jeongin, on the other hand, is still staring angrily at Jisung. He clicks his tongue, turning his gaze away.
"I'm sorry," he mumbles, still looking away. "I know you are saying the truth…"
Suddenly, Minho's voice sounds in Jisung's head and it must be only in his.
"Jeongin has a very good sense of smell, he can smell in your scent that you are telling the truth".
Jisung smiles a little, looking back at the other man with soft eyes.
"It's just… I'm worried about him," Jeongin confesses, turning his gaze back to the human and the tiger. "He spent a long time mourning you, suffering, and I don't want to see him like that again. He… he said he wanted to go to the human world, and I don't think it's safe, I don't know what they could do to you both once again…"
Jisung widens his eyes as he turns to look at Minho. The tiger has now gone back to his human form, and the shifter looks back to the prince with a soft smile.
"I wanted to take you to see your family, but I needed Seungmin's help… Jeongin overheard our conversation and tried to talk me out of it, but…" Minho takes both of Jisung's hands in his and kisses him softly on the lips. "I know how much you miss them".
"Minho…"
Jisung launches himself in the shifter's arms, hugging him tightly as he laughs wetly, fat tears falling on his cheeks as he thanks Minho over and over again.
"It was supposed to be a surprise," Minho says as he hugs Jisung back just as tightly.
Jisung backs away, his cheeks stained with tears. Minho is smiling softly at him. He caresses his cheek with his thumb, cleaning away the stains. He leans down to kiss Jisung softly, their lips slotting together perfectly as always.
The sound of a throat cleaning brings them back to reality. Minho turns angry eyes back to the others as Jisung smiles awkwardly at them. Jeongin looks like he's staring daggers at them, while Seungmin has a soft smile on his face.
"So, when are you going? I'm ready whenever," Seungmin says, still holding Jeongin close to himself. The man huffs, and the witch has to tighten his grip. "Get over it, darling, they are in love, can't you see it? I'm sure Jisung will take care of Minho".
"I don't need—" the shifter starts, but is soon cut off by the human.
"I will, don't worry," he says with a smile.
"You better!" Jeongin growls, and this time Jisung has to hold Minho back before he jumps on the other shifter's neck.
Jisung and Seungmin have a hard time trying to contain their lovers, both of them having to talk to them over and over again until they reach a peaceful point. Before they part, Minho pulls Jeongin into a hug and thanks him. The younger shifter cries when Seungmin recites a spell and the magical world is connected to the human's.
Thus, they part, holding each other's hand.
✿
The palace is quiet when Jisung arrives. There are not many guards on patrol, but they never needed it, their kingdom being as peaceful as it is. Jisung navigates the familiar route to the back entrance, the same one he used to escape that night. Minho follows right behind him, his curious golden eyes looking around the place. The prince finds it cute.
Jisung doesn't think of announcing his arrival. He has never done it before, and he's sure the guards won't even bother with him. They didn't even try to look for him when he ran away anyway. They enter the palace and walk into the hallways. It's there where they see the first couple of guards. One of them turns when they pass, and the man nearly jumps out of his boots as he gasps.
"Your highness?" he almost yells. "Is—Is that you?"
Jisung place one of his fingers on his own lips, asking them to be quiet.
"Please, don't scream," he whispers. "I'm sorry for giving you a fright, I'm looking for Felix, I want to surprise him".
The guards look at each other suspiciously. Then, they lift their weapons in Jisung's direction, who lifts his hands in surprise.
"You can't be Prince Jisung, he disappeared many months ago, we searched everywhere for him, but he was not in any other kingdom. Who are you?"
"What—? You searched for… Wait, no, I'm Prince Jisung, put down your weapons".
"How can we believe you? And you even have someone else with you today, who are you?"
The guards get even closer to Jisung, their weapons dangerously close to the prince's neck. That makes Minho lose his control. The shifter growls at them, pulling Jisung away as he turns into a tiger, roaring at the two guards. The men scream and swing their weapons while the prince yells at them to stop. Minho lifts his paws, trying to get rid of the weapons in his face. One of his claws hit one of the guards' arm, blood spilling out of it as the man yells. The other one manages to hit the tip of his spear on Minho's side, a deep cut bleeding right away.
Jisung's eyes widen when he notices what's happened, launching himself towards Minho. He hugs the tiger's body, who's now breathing heavily.
"No! Stop! Minho, stop!" Jisung yells, and the tiger stops fighting Jisung, the man still pointing their spear at him, the other one clutching his wounded arm. "I am your prince, Prince Jisung, and I am telling you to stop attacking my mate!"
Minho's ears perk at the sound of the prince's voice. Jisung's angry and distressed vanilla scent floats in the air as the tiger tries to turn and look at the omega's furrowed eyebrows. The guards sniff the air and quickly drop their weapons.
"Your—Your highness, it's really you—! We're so very sorry, we didn't mean to—"
"Go get my brother and a doctor! Now!"
The men scramble to run to the king's quarters as Jisung detaches himself from Minho's body. The tiger is breathing heavily, the cut bleeding profusely. The prince is already crying when he sees it. Quickly, he takes off his shirt and asks Minho if he can turn back into a human. The shifter tries his best to turn, and when he finally manages to do it, he has his eyebrows furrowed in pain.
"I'm so sorry, Minho," he says as he presses his shirt to Minho's wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "We shouldn't have come, I should have talked to my brother before entering the palace, I didn't think they wouldn't—Oh, Gods, please".
Quick footsteps can be heard approaching them, and Jisung looks up to see his brother's wide eyes staring at him, Chan right by his side and a doctor on the other. He can't stop crying. He sees that Felix is on the verge of tears, but he doesn't have time now. He turns to the doctor.
"Can you please help my mate? I beg you," he asks, still holding his shirt against the shifter's wound.
Guards appear from behind them—different ones—and they take Minho to the infirmary, the doctor following right behind them. Jisung gets up as he tries to follow them, but Chan holds his wrist, preventing him to walk any further. He turns to his brother and his husband, but he can't speak. He just cries, tears falling on his cheeks.
"Jisungie," Felix calls him, his deep voice wet with tears and full of emotion. "You're back".
The prince stops trying to walk away and takes a step in Felix's direction, then another, and another, until he's running and crashing his body against his brother's. He hugs Felix tightly, crying heavily onto his shoulder, and his brother does the same, pulling him so tightly against himself.
"I'm sorry, Lixie," he says, his voice muffled by the king's clothes. "I'm so sorry, I didn't—I missed you so bad".
"Me too," Felix cries. "I missed you too, Sungie… I don't—I don't understand, why did you leave?"
Jisung backs away, looking right into Felix's eyes. He wants to talk to his brother, he wants to explain everything. But right now, he can't stop thinking about Minho, worrying about him. He squeezes his brother's hands, crying even more.
"I'll explain everything to you, Lixie, but right now I need to—"
Felix shakes his head, a smile soften his face while tears still fall over his cheeks.
"You need to be with him, it's okay, you can tell me everything later, go".
Jisung thanks his brother and runs to the infirmary, his heart slamming against his ribcage.
✿
When Minho wakes up, Jisung is sleeping right next to him on a chair. Minho is lying on a bed, a curtain hiding the room they are in. He tries to move, but his side hurts and he just groans in pain. Jisung wakes up instantly, straightening up quickly, his eyes wide.
"Minho? You're awake?" he whispers. The room is dark, and he almost can't see. Minho doesn't say anything, he just groans and nods his head. "My love… Thank gods, you're awake".
Carefully, Jisung leans closer to him, kissing his lips softly. Minho hums into the kiss, happy and delighted. Then, he backs away again, sighing.
"I'm sorry your first impression of humans was… this… I swear I didn't know the guards would react this way, I should've warned my brother I was coming before sneaking into the palace, but I just wanted to surprise him," Jisung's voice is sad and his scent a bit distressed, it makes Minho uncomfortable. The shifter turns on the bed a bit, trying to not put weight on his wounded side.
"It's okay, my prince," he says with some difficulty. "It's not your fault".
Jisung huffs.
"You're always too kind to me," he says. Minho smiles. He notices the tears running down Jisung's cheeks though. He reaches to touch them and cleans the stains from his face.
"My love, I was so glad you told them I was your mate. Even if you don't mean it and spoke in the heat of the moment, it made me so happy," Minho says, a smile on his face, and Jisung's wide eyes look back at him.
"I mean it," he says urgently. "I know we haven't officially mated yet, I don't even know if shifters mate, but I want to… with you, I really want to".
Minho can't stop his smile. He takes Jisung's hand and squeezes it.
"We do mate, Jisungie," he answers, kissing the prince's knuckles. "And I can't wait to be officially your mate for all eternity".
Jisung smiles brightly at him, the tears having stopped by now.
"Wait here, I'm gonna call the doctor," he says as he gets up from the chair.
The doctors come by and check the shifter's wound. It's healing alright, so they administer some pain medicine and tell Minho he is free to go. Jisung thanks them, but the doctors are quickly to tell him they are happy to take care of the prince's mate. The word makes Minho's heart slam against his ribcage. Jisung takes the shifter's hand and helps him walk towards the throne room of the palace. There, Jisung's brother is sitting on the throne, a beautiful smile on his face, the scent of strawberries float around him and, mixed with Jisung's vanilla scent, it relaxes a bit of the tension on Minho's shoulders. Next to the king, there's another man, a gentle smile on his face. He looks stronger than the king, so Minho concludes it's his husband, the one Jisung had talked about, Chan.
"I'm sorry for what happened," Felix starts, and Minho is surprised by the man's deep voice. "I made sure the guards are in dentention for the time being to be heard in the next few days".
"It's fine," he answers, his voice still a little rough. "I attacked them first".
"You were just protecting my brother. Jisung told me everything, I'm glad he has you," Felix's smile reminds Minho of Jisung, bright and beautiful. It warms his heart. "While you were resting, I talked to my brother about everything that's happened, during these months and the stories from all those years ago. As the king of Levanter, I vow to you, Minho, that all magical creatures are free to roam in our territory, and I'll personally talk to the royal families from other kingdoms to allow you to stay there too. I don't know if magical creatures would trust humans again, but I would like to tell you that there will be no harm to any species if they want to come back to the human world".
"I'm really thankful for this, your Majesty," Minho bows down a bit, trying not to groan when the pain flares up. Jisung is quickly to pull him back up and chide him for bowing and hurting himself. "I'm sure all of the magical creatures would be glad to hear this, but alas they probably won't be coming back anytime soon. Most of them don't know humans or their ways, so it's better if we stay this way. But maybe I could bring some friends over anytime so you can meet them".
"It would be lovely, Minho," Felix answers.
He stands up from his throne and walks over to the couple, Chan right behind him. Felix takes Jisung's wrist, the one tattooed, and turns it around, looking at the white cosmos flower on it. He leans down and kisses the tattoo, turning to Minho when he's done.
"With this, I recognize your mating to my brother, you are now free to claim him as your mate as you both wish," he says with a smile on his face. "I would like you to stay for some time so I could catch up with my brother that I missed so dearly?" he ends the sentence with a question, hoping they would say yes.
Minho knows just how much the brothers miss each other. He nods.
"Of course, your Majesty," he answers.
"Oh, great!" The king claps his hands excitedly. "And you can call me Felix or Lixie, Minho, however you like!" Then he turns to Jisung and throws himself on the prince's arms, hugging him. "Jisungie, I know we talked about what happened, how you felt and I said I forgive you, but I'm still so upset you left on the first place, how could you believe you didn't belong here? I'm so sorry I made you feel this way!"
"Lixie, I already told you, you didn't do anything, I guess it was just my heart longing for my soulmate that I could only find if I left this place".
Minho smiles as the brothers talk to each other, sometimes tears fall down both of their faces, but soon they are smiling again. On the next day, Chan's younger brother arrived to the kingdom along with his husband, Hyunjin, who hugged Jisung just as tightly as his brother had. Minho is happy that he could bring Jisung back to his home to meet with his family again.
At night, as they lie in bed, Jisung rests his head on Minho's shoulder, still careful with his stitches. He sighs dreamily, looking at the ceiling.
"I can't believe I'm back here with my soulmate," he whispers into the night. "I'm so happy, I really missed my brother," he turns to Minho then, a small smile on his face, his scent of vanilla calm and relaxed. "But I can't wait to go back to our home".
"Me too, my love," he says, leaning down to capture Jisung's lips in a soft kiss. "But I'm also happy that you could make it up to your brother, I'm sure he was worried sick about you when you left".
"He was…" Jisung's scent takes a bit of a sad undertone, and Minho tightens his grip on his shoulder. "He said he was so lost he didn't know what to do for days. They sent guards looking for me, but no one could find me. They even sent letters to other kingdoms, but none of them replied with any news about me… I didn't know everyone would care so much about me".
"Of course they would, my love. You are so, so loved, just like you deserve to be. In this life, I promise you you'll receive all the love you deserve to compensate for all the lives you don't remember, when you were alone without me, I'll make it up to you".
Jisung nuzzles against the man's chest, giggling on his skin.
"I already feel loved, my dear," he whispers. "Ever since the beginning when we first found each other, I already feel your love and care for me".
Thus, they both sleep soundly, holding each other.
✿
Once upon a time there was a kingdom whose twin omega princes were both born with cosmos flowers on their wrists. It was said that everyone was born with a tattoo of their soulmates' birth flower somewhere on their body that would get colorful when they met their loved one. Felix and Jisung both had the same tattoo, and now they were both colored—Felix had a red one, and Jisung had a white one, both of them reminding them of their soulmate and the meaning of finding them: love and faithfulness.
Felix married Chan and ruled over the Levanter Kingdom, being known as the kind prince who told everyone about magical creatures and declared they would be free to come to Levanter whenever they wanted. Felix was a good king and his ruling was the best the kingdom had ever had. The kings had two beautiful daughters, an alpha and an omega, and Felix taught them from a very early age to be kind to all beings. Their daughters would be the first twins to rule over the Kingdom, independent and strong, following their father's footsteps.
Jisung mated with Minho, a shifter. They didn't live in Levanter, but in Haven, hidden away from humans. They stayed in their little cottage, always together. Seungmin was the one to marry them, along with Jeongin, in a small ceremony, which Felix attended along with his husband and his best friend, Hyunjin, with his husband, Changbin. They cried a lot, and Jisung also cried. But these were all happy tears, because both brothers had found their soulmates at last.
And they lived happily ever after.