The smell of the sulfur and moisture was suffocating. Almost as much as the thought of losing him again. Hyunjin could barely see the strange signs painted on the floor or the fluids that spilled from the clay bowls on the ground during the fight, if you could even call it that. To say he was mad at himself was an understatement...
"Ah, Hwang Hyunjin," the King spoke to him, "I must say I'm disappointed. I had great plans for you and the rest of your bunch. Now, I have no choice but to kill you. Starting with the fools who tried to breach the south gate, of course."
Hyunjin growled at him. The way the old man moved back at instinct brought him some satisfaction, but it did nothing to lessen the ache in his chest.
Hongjoong, who still was pointing his sword at the King, followed the man with his weapon. The King finally looked at him again. He furrowed his eyebrows and squinted his eyes.
"Now... Aren't you Kim Yonghwan's kid?"
"You don't deserve to say his name."
"I can't believe this... Honestly, kid, your father would be shocked to see what you're doing. He was very devoted to this country, even if he got some things mixed up in the end..."
"You killed him."
"As I said, he got some wrong ideas. It was very unfortunate."
"Shut up!"
Hongjoong was so angry he was shaking. There were tears of fury in his eyes. Hyunjin couldn't judge him, when he was straining his ears to see if he could hear his Angel somewhere out there.
In a move full of desperation, Hongjoong has thrown himself at the King. The two figures, who stood by the old man's side until now, barely raised their hands to use their magic, when blinding green light filled the room. As it faded, Hyunjin saw Seonghwa with his hands raised and Hongjoong with his sword at King's throat. The two other witches were nowhere to be seen. Two scorching marks were left on the walls.
"Alright, boy," the King said, "I think that's enough. You showed how upset you were, not it's time to be rational."
"Upset?" Hongjoong questioned quietly.
"There's no reason to bring chaos to this Kingdom. Let's say you do the right choice and let me go. I'll let you and your friends live too. Or they will die for nothing."
"Hongjoong, don't listen to him!" Seonghwa shouted out.
A hooded person appeared again right next to him and the witch struggled to fight back, not being able to summon the flames with the enemy so close to him.
"Come on, Hongjoong," the King continued, "there's no need to make it difficult. Just admit defeat or they will end up like your father."
The Captain of the pirates acted like he wasn't there. He entered some odd state and was stuck, unable to make a move. Hyunjin wanted to scream but then he saw another witch materialize in the room. It all was happening so fast but Hyunjin saw it like in slow motion - Hongjoong's hand faltered.
For fucks sake.
He was back on the battlefield. There was no time to calculate. Every second mattered. There was just one difference between him now and a year ago. Back then, he would've chosen to survive. He would bend and live no matter what it costed him. He would agree to the deal and run.
Now, he didn't know if it was the war that changed him or Yongbok, or maybe Minho hyung. Maybe even the talks of revolution with Kim and the Princess. He didn't know why or when, but he changed and survival wasn't enough.
He moved past Seonghwa. He dodged the other witch. The sword was heavy in his hand. Its weight was thrusted into his palm year ago by the King. He spared him one last look. He had the guts to look surprised.
The widened eyes stayed this way forever, even after King's head rolled down the floor.
Hyunjin's chest heaved. For just a second, he stared at the body. Then, he dropped the sword painted with royal blood and grabbed Hongjoong by his shirt.
"You hesitated. You fucking hesitated!"
Suddenly Seonghwa was by their side. They were alone in the dungeon.
"Stop it."
The witch pushed Hyunjin away from his Captain. The soldier wanted to snarl at him, but he just shook his head and turned to the door. His job was done. He needed his Angel now.
...
Seonghwa sat on the dirty floor. His body felt so heavy with what it's been through. He wasn't used to using his magic in a fight. Even without it, he guessed he would've felt drained by what happened. Still, he just rested his back against a cold wall and gently moved his Captain's head, so it wouldn't be on the ground but on his thighs.
Kim Hongjoong looked like was the one who he died this night. His face was pale, stained by tears. His body shivered. He was like a ragdoll, allowing himself to be pushed around until the witch was satisfied with how he rested. Then, Seonghwa began to slowly stroke his hair. Hongjoong shut his eyes tighter and more tears escaped them.
"You should leave me here to rot," the Captain croaked.
Seonghwa simply shook his head and continued the motion.
"Seonghwa..."
The witch has never heard his name said this way before. It made his heart ache.
"I failed you all."
No.
"I couldn't do the one thing that I promised you all."
"Captain..."
"I don't even want you to forgive me, just leave here..."
"Hongjoong," he interrupted him. He couldn't bear to listen to this.
"Hongjoong, why do you act as if you had to it yourself? Do it alone?"
The Captain finally turned to look at the Witch.
"We were here for a reason. We all joined you for a reason. This burden wasn't yours to carry alone. Not since the day I joined you."
They sat in silence for a moment. Hongjoong raised a weak hand to touch Seonghwa's cheek.
"Don't waste your precious feelings on me."
It felt like stepping into freezing water. The Witch wasn't sure why he was surprised by it. He was always his Captain, never his Kim Hongjoong. Seonghwa felt his eyes burn. For a moment he couldn't tell if it was his magic or tears. The wetness on his face answered this question for him.
"You can't make this order, Captain."
Hongjoong looked at him like wanted to argue, but Seonghwa had enough.
"You might feel like you failed us, disappointed us, but you didn't. Not me. Not any of our crew. And my feelings are not being wasted, even if you don't feel the same way..."
"Seonghwa, you deserve better..."
"But I want you."
Hongjoong froze for a moment. His eyes were on Seonghwa, searching his face for an answer to a question he didn't know. Finally, he exhaled. Seonghwa watched him as he sat up slowly and then grabbed his hand. His breath hitched. The Captain brought his hand up to his face and then left one single kiss at his knuckles.
"You have me," Hongjoong uttered.
...
The sound of a fight greeted him in the hall. Chan hyung and Minho hyung were there. Fucking hell, Innie was there, along with the two tall pirates. Hyunjin wanted to hug his brother, but he settled for throwing one of the soldiers he was fighting to the ground, meeting his eyes for a second and saying:
"We did it."
His little brother flashed his green eyes at the news and shouted the news to their leader. Hyunjin didn't stay to see their reaction.
The cold air hit his face. He ran through the training grounds that he knew so well. He run and for the first time in years his thoughts formed a prayer in his head. Please, let him be alive.
He saw Jisung, Changbin, Seungmin and this pirate called Jongho rounding up some soldiers, who were still putting up a fight. He didn't stop. Seeing them bloody but breathing just gave him enough energy to shout:
"The King is dead!"
He ran. He saw servants and the women who worked in the kitchens flee the castle. He pushed through between them. He needed to know. He needed to get to this fucking gate.
He could see the arch, the huge, wooded door hanging open. The bodies on the ground. Two men dragging third one to the castle. He run even faster. He could finally make out who they were. San and Wooyoung held Yeosang between themselves. The man in the middle had a gash on his leg. But where was...
"Jinnie!"
A body crashed into him from the side. He breathed in the familiar smell hidden under the stench of blood and sweat.
"Bokkie," he breathed out.
Hyunjin wrapped his arms around the smaller man. Fuck, he never wanted to let him go. He pressed a kiss to his temple.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, yes, I'm good, Jinnie. Only Yeosang got hurt, when it got really bad for a moment... Wait, if you're here then?"
Yongbok moved away to look at Hyunjin's face.
"It's done. We did it."
Bok let out a big breath and then hugged Jin again. The shorter man hid his face in Jinnie's neck. Hyunjin gently threaded his fingers through his Angel's hair.
They did it. They not only survived, but also changed the world. Hopefully for the better.
...
The dust settled. Jihyo arrived at the castle the same day along with the people who stayed with her at the island. The wolves and the pirates assisted her in claiming her throne. The next months were filled with catching the people who allowed the greedy king to thrive, traveling to the edges of the Kingdom to share the news of the new ruler and establishing new laws.
The wolves hunted the three witches themselves. Seonghwa helped Minho in tracking them, but he didn't join them to capture them. It turned out that the witches were from the other kingdom that lost the war. Suddenly the bloodshed didn't seem so accidental and thoughtless. Minho cursed, when he understood what happened. The rumors of the witches using this kind of dark magic were heard for years, even after the King went after the magic users in their Kingdom. He started the war for a reason. A cruel, selfish reason. The three woman agreed to help him to ensure their survival. Hyunjin couldn't bring himself to hate them after learning about that.
There was so much to be done after the coup that Hyunjin found himself thrown into the work without a moment to process what just happened. He let himself fall into the comfort of being so busy that he didn't even have time to think about what would come next. That was until, about month later, Jihyo, now the Queen, called them all into the audience room.
"My friends," she said to the group of sixteen men, "you did so much for me and for our Kingdom. I would like you to rest now. I still have plans that I would love to invite you to join, but for now, go home. As for your request, General Bang..."
Go home.
Hyunjin looked at the shorter man by his side. He was there already.
...
The soft sunlight entering the room through the window wasn't what woke him up. It was the touch of lips. The mouth traveling from his collarbone, through his chest, to his stomach.
"Bok," he grunted.
"Good morning," his lover responded in a low voice, looking up from where he has snuck between Hyunjin's legs.
"I thought we were supposed to sleep until noon..."
It was a bit difficult to form coherent sentences when the smaller man was moving his fingers right over Jin's pelvic bone.
"Yeah, but I woke up early and then I noticed that you looked so pretty, so..."
Another kiss, this time under Hyunjin's bellybutton.
"I hope you don't mind."
Hyunjin let out a laugh. Funny. He could say something about how Bokkie was supposed to be an Angel but he knew what he was signing up for. A man who should never be underestimated is who he fell for. Now he was just reaping what he sown.
"Come here."
Hyunjin dragged Yongbok up for a kiss. It was open-mouthed, all tongue and spit. Bok pushed his hand into Hyunjin's hair and tangled his fingers in them. He tugged at them just the way the taller man liked. Jin let out a delicious sound and put his hands on Yongbok's hips in retaliation. He kneaded the flesh here for a moment, before moving one of his hands towards his ass. He smirked.
"Ah, I see you really had too much free time on your hands."
Yongbok at least had the decency to blush.
"I didn't want to waste any time," he answered, while resting his head on Hyunjin's shoulder for a second.
"It's never a waste of time, I love it," Jin confessed truthfully.
Yongbok almost purred at those words. He changed his position so that Hyunjin could feel how hard he was.
"Then, let's say I did it because I wanted you to hurry up."
Jin let out a sound that was close to a growl. He grabbed Bok's hips again and flipped their position. Yongbok's head barely hit the pillow when his mouth got attacked by Hyunjin again. He tugged at Bokkie's lower lip with his teeth and then moved away to take a look at him.
The plump, red lips. The shining eyes. The fading scars on his heaving chest.
"I love you."
"Love you too," Bokkie responded breathlessly.
Hyunjin caressed Yongbok's cheek. Then, he moved his legs further apart. Bok looked up at him in anticipation. Jin just took his time. He sat back and slowly moved his hand across his own chest. His fingers grazed his nipples and played with them for a moment before moving down. He started to stroke his dick. His breathing got heavier, but the movement seemed almost lazy. He bit down on his lip, while twisting his wrist. His eyes kept Bok in his vulnerable position.
It's not like Yongbok needed to be told to stay still. He kept his gaze on Hyunjin. His hungry eyes followed every twitch of his muscles. His hands gripped the sheets as he watched Jin harden.
"You look beautiful," said Bok and Jinnie send him a hazy smile.
Finally, Hyunjin changed his position again. He sent Bokkie last questioning look, to which he answered with a nod before he buried himself in him.
Bok clawed at his back. He shut his eyes close taking in the feeling of fullness. He felt Hyunjin planting little kisses on his shoulder. He let out a shaky breath and said:
"You can move."
Hyunjin obeyed. He started slow, but swiftly moved to a faster pace. He changed the angle a bit and the gasp Yongbok let out told him all he needed to know. He thrusted deeply in him. Bok's head fell back revealing his neck. Jin licked a stripe along its side tasting the salt. As his movements grew rougher, he could feel his eyes lightening up. He could feel himself getting closer to release. The moans Bokkie let out showed that he was nearing the climax too.
"Look at me, Angel."
Yongbok opened his eyes and green light escaped them.
"So good," Bok moaned.
Hyunjin slammed his hips against him harder.
"Yeah?"
"Yes, Jinnie, you fuck me so good..."
Hyunjin let out a lewd sound at those words. It didn't go unnoticed by his lover.
"You're so good to me, Love."
The smaller man moved to meet Jin's body in the middle and kept on talking.
"You're doing so great, making me feel so good."
Jin let out a shaky breath and his hips stuttered. He was so close.
"Come on, Love."
Yongbok's deep voice was the thing that pushed him over the edge. The pleasure got overwhelming and his mind got dizzy. All he knew was Yongbok, his face, his voice, his smell and taste. His lover's name spilled from his lips as he came inside him. Jin's arms almost buckled under him, but he got a hold of himself. Breathing heavily, he rested his forehead on Yongbok's chest. Bok started to caress his back, while whispering sweet nothings.
"Good boy, you did so well..."
Hyunjin let out a content sigh, rubbing his cheek on Bok's skin. He stayed like this for a moment, then began to press light kisses around Bokkie's scars.
"I love you so much."
Bok smiled at him with adoration in his eyes.
"I love you the most in the world, Love."
This time he was the one to change their position and kiss Hyunjin deeply.
"Now, would you mind?" Yongbok pointed out vaguely in the direction of his still hard dick, after letting Jin go. Hyunjin laughed shortly, while nodding his head.
He returned to his spot between Bok's legs. He left a couple of kisses and gentle bites on his thighs, before getting to the point and licking his length. He then moved to the tip of Yongbok's dick and began to suck it. He basked in Bokkie's moans for a second before taking him fully in his mouth.
Bok gasped feeling the warmth and wetness surround him. His hand ended up reaching Hyunjin's hair again and encouraging him to keep going. Jin obediently moved his head up and down, going further every time. Yongbok watched him and he buried his nose in his pubes. He looked so good, felt even better. Bok gripped his long hair and began to guide him himself. The ease with which the taller man followed his every order made this even hotter. Yongbok could feel himself getting closer and closer...
"I'm gonna..." he warned his lover, giving him a chance to pull away.
Jin just sucked at the head of his dick, looking him right in the eyes. Yongbok spilled in his mouth, the pleasure so overwhelming that he couldn't even make a sound. Just opened his mouth, while his eyes rolled to the back of his head. His back arched and he felt himself tremble.
He allowed himself to just stay in the fuzzy feeling for a while, closing his eyes and barely registering Hyunjin moving around. Opening his eyes again, he saw Hyunjin with his red lips covered in spit and cum sitting by his side.
"Fuck," he groaned, bringing him up for a kiss. He tasted himself and could feel Hyunjin smiling at how dirty it was.
"You're perfect," he said leaving one more kiss on his lips.
"You, too," Jin answered, stars in his eyes.
They laid together, just cuddling unbothered by the sticky substance covering their bodies.
"What did you think about yesterday?" Hyunjin asked at some point.
"About the wedding?"
Jin nodded.
"It was lovely, beautiful. I almost can't believe it really happened."
Yongbok got emotional just remembering the look on Chan hyung and Minho hyung's faces as they promised each other forever.
"Me too... Do you think that maybe one day we could...?"
Jin looked away as he asked the question, his voice quiet. Bokkie touched his face, turning it so he could look him in the eyes.
"I would love to marry you one day," he said softly.
Hyunjin let out a deep breath, his body relaxing again. He smiled and hugged Bok again. He had something to look forward to now.
...
"There you are!"
Chan's voice greeted the group of pirates in hall of his gorgeous house.
"We were worried you wouldn't make it."
"We wouldn't dare to miss Jeongin's birthday. Gods know the other Hwang would have my head..."
Hongjoong rolled his eyes, while letting go of Seonghwa's hand. The Witch left his side instantly to greet Minho with a hug.
"Beheading's illegal now, haven't you heard?" Hyunjin asked from where he was leaning on the doorway to the dining room. There was no bite to his words, just a lazy smirk on his lips that turned into a wide smile after Hongjoong flipped him off.
"Of course, he knows," Wooyoung scoffed. "Seonghwa hyung reminds us of what we can and cannot do every day."
His lovers started to eagerly confirm his words, poking fun at the Witch's position at the Council. Seonghwa only let out an exaggerated sigh at their antics. He knew that those were just jokes and their family was actually quite proud of his work.
He found himself working with their Queen along with Yongbok only two months after they took over the castle. He knew that Chan and Seungmin were still involved in the military. Other men were also invited to work for the Crown, but for various reasons, they refused to.
Starting from Mingi and Yunho who found working for the Kingdom that attacked their home disrespectful. Wooyoung, San and Yeosang mostly stuck around the northern regions, taking care of their Captain's precious ship and dealing with some regular, completely legal business as far as the Witch knew. Jongho stuck around but as he liked to point out, he worked with Seonghwa not the Queen. The time they spend outside the law, which for some of them was just over a year and for some – most of their life, certainly affected their choices.
They weren't like the wolves who for some time were put into the golden cage of the castle. He looked at the satin blouse and silk ribbon that Hyunjin was wearing. The spacious yet warm house that Chan and Minho shared. Tasting the comfortable life surely affected their choices. The eight soldiers mostly stayed close to the castle. Changbin opened a brewery near the city, choosing to follow his parents' footsteps but on his own terms. Minho and Jisung started to build their own archive of magical knowledge – finding spells and potions, testing them and describing it all. What started as the idea to rewrite Minho's grandmother's notes so they wouldn't get lost, turned into an amazing treasure. Jeongin helped them, but he was quite busy. He was encouraged by his brother to pursue studies and now attended the Academy – something he never imagined before.
And then, there were Hyunjin and Hongjoong. Seonghwa was fairly sure that the Queen never expected them to say "no". Not when they were the ones most involved in the coup. The ones to kill the King.
That was another surprising thing. Outside their group, their family, no one else knew who were the one to kill him. Seonghwa had to admit, he thought that Hyunjin would be gloating and rubbing it in Hongjoong's face, but it never happened. The blood on his hands never brought him more glory. He didn't want it. No, instead slowly disappeared from the castle and its parties and intrigues. He visited his mother and cousin. Actually, he was the one of them who traveled the most, paying unexpected visits to the sailors in north or Changbin's house. Just checking up on them.
He was also the one who one day, when they still stayed at the castle, dragged Hongjoong out in the night to the training grounds. It was after they were offered to stay there for good. Hongjoong was hiding how he felt before, but after the position in the Council was offered to him, he seemed to sink into himself. He shut Seonghwa off again and no one could get to him. No one but Hyunjin who pushed a sword into his hand and told him:
"If you won't let it out someway, it'll get really ugly. Trust me."
If you were around the grounds that night, you probably heard curses and screams, the clank of swords and then a heavy silence followed by:
"Why the fuck didn't you tell them?"
Hyunjin looked at the pirate plainly.
"Tell them what?"
"That I fucked up! That he said a couple of words and I couldn't fucking kill him all of sudden."
Hongjoong thrown his weapon to the ground like it failed him personally. Hyunjin looked away for a moment and scratched his neck. When he looked back, Hongjoong was sitting on the ground with angry tears in his eyes. The pirate apparently spent this whole time waiting for the other shoe to drop. Well, fuck it.
"It's not because I'm holy or something. I was fucking furious at you. I thought Bok could've been dead and that it all was for nothing... But I did it before. The whole "angry and alone" thing. And I've fucked up too. It almost costed me the love of my life."
He flopped on the ground next to the pirate.
"If you feel like the biggest mistake that ever walked the earth or something, tell your friends that, don't just disappear on them."
Hongjoong scoffed.
"Tell them?"
"Yeah." Hyunjin smirked at him. "They will probably disagree."
They sat in silence for a while. Hongjoong broke it again:
"I hate you, Hwang..."
Hyunjin let out a laugh. The confession lacked the usual energy and spite.
"Hey, if you hate this advice, say that to Minho hyung. He came up with it."
"Of course, you wouldn't think of something like that..."
"Fuck you!"
The two men looked at each other with similar wry smiles. After a second, Hyunjin's expression faded to something gentler.
"At least talk to your Witch."
Hongjoong's face turned serious as he nodded his head once.
The group of sixteen men struggled to fit around the long table. Finally, when everybody was satisfied with their seat, Jeongin shyly stood up from his special place at the head of the table with a drink in his hand.
"I wanted to thank you all for coming here today. Thank you, Chan hyung and Minho hyung, for allowing us to meet here, at your house, as it is the biggest."
The group chuckled at the comment.
"But seriously, I'm incredibly happy that were all here today. Two years ago, I celebrated my birthday with some shitty wine that hyung bought gods know where. Since then, the whole Kingdom has changed. I've grown a lot. Thanks to my hyungs I'm the man I'm today. Thanks to my friends I didn't go crazy during my lowest moments. Our family has grown a lot too."
He took a look at the pirates, who were already watching him with smiles on their faces.
"What I'm trying to say is... The fact that we all survived and that we're all here is something that I'm very grateful for. I couldn't wish for a better family. Thank you for being here."
He sat down quickly, blush spreading on his face and neck. The cheers and 'thank you's filled the room. Chan reached out to pat him on the back, while Hyunjin leaned in and whispered, his voice thick with emotions:
"Don't think you're getting out of us singing you 'Happy birthday' just because you almost made us cry."
One embarrassing music number later, the men were eating and talking together. Minho and Chan were the fist to be addressed. San asked them how the married life was treating them. His arm was resting behind Yeosang's back, while Wooyoung put his chin on Choi's shoulder. The three of them were definitely not planning a ceremony themselves, but that didn't mean that they didn't want some fresh relationship gossip. As Chan answered with a smirk that everything was going well, Minho let himself be pulled in another conversation with Seonghwa and Jisung about their archive.
Meantime, Seungmin and Jongho started the subject of working for the Crown. They both complained about some rich people from West who didn't want to change their ways. Jeongin jumped in to share something he learned in his classes about that region. Hyunjin felt a smile creeping on his face as he watched his little brother talk with excitement about some history stuff. He felt Yongbok reaching to take his hand and play with his fingers, as he listened to Changbin inviting Yunho and Mingi to his place for beer.
Looking around the table, Hyunjin found himself locking eyes with Hongjoong.
"Any new visions?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of the gray-haired man.
"Just one."
"Any details?"
"He just said it was a good one."
"Then I'm willing to wait to find out."
The two men shared a smile.
Hyunjin was raised to fight. For himself, his mother and brother. For his place in the world. He fought for survival and then for peace. Sitting in the warm room with his brothers and the love of his life, knowing that his mother and cousin will never go hungry again, after ensuring that no one would have to do what he's done...
He decided that it was worth it. The blood. The sweat. The tears. The games he played.
At the same time, he never wanted to do it again.
No more war. No more just surviving. The gentleness that he buried in himself for years will not be hidden again. The anger that once helped him survive had no place here anymore. He won't be led by it again. No when being driven by love felt so much better.