Jisung just blinked at Changbin and tried to process how much sense it made that the shorter male was a prince. No, wait. He was the vampire prince, the goddamn heir of the vampire throne, the one who would rule over all vampires in the future.
They two had sat down in the big living room of the castle and Changbin had explained Jisung that he was the vampire prince after the warlock had shot some questions at him, like why he was living in such a big castle and why very vampire seemed to know him. Apparently Changbin was well aware of the fact that Jisung wasn't an idiot and therefore just told him the truth instead of trying to get out of this situation by lying.
Changbin explained that him being the heir of the vampire throne caused Chantelle, Ryan and the other vampires at school to stick with him, even though he had told them countless times they should just leave him alone and not make him to the leader of their little group, which was later referred to as the vampire gang of Miroh High. He also mentioned he used his position to get Valentin King, the vampire who bit Jisung by force, behind bars and that Seungmin already knew all of this.
Everything was making so much sense to Jisung it let him question his intelligence, observation skill and all of the things he had thought about Changbin before they became friends. By all the gods he had misjudged Changbin so much before they became friends and was now really thankful to have gotten close to the vampire.
At some point Changkyun, who was still with the two, mentioned that not really every vampire knew Changbin was the vampire prince. Some knew him personally like himself, some knew how he looked as well as his name and most only knew his formal title and name but wouldn't recognize his face if they were shown a picture. It was a way of protecting Changbin until he was ready to take on the full responsibility of a crown prince.
The vampire prince also explained, that he didn't want to let everybody know he was the vampire's crown prince because he didn't want to be treated differently just because he was from royal blood. He liked having a rather normal life with people, who didn't think of his status.
"Jisung. Are you alright?", Changbin asked his friend hesitantly because Jisung had gone very quiet in the third half of Changbin's explanation, which was a clear signal for something not so pleasant. Worry and Anxiety were written on the young prince's face and he questioned himself if he had somehow upset his friend.
Suddenly Jisung stood up, making Changbin flinch a little bit at the sudden move. The warlock's face was unreadable when he quickly walked over to Changbin. "You are such an idiot", the blue-haired warlock stated, lightly punched the older's shoulder and let himself fall onto the black leather couch directly beside Changbin.
The vampire prince looked dumbfounded, which made Changkyun snicker from his position. He was leaning on the wall and honestly looked like a bodyguard with his crossed arms, black turtle neck and black coat.
"Shut up, hyung. Before I make you", Changbin scowled and glared into the direction of the older, who seemed more amused than anything.
"I have two wonderful boyfriends Binnie, so don't try", the older vampire teased, making the prince blush lightly and throw a pillow at him. Changbin missed Changkyun by a meter, maybe more and caused the older vampire to now fully laughing.
Jisung was more amused than anything while watching the two vampires interact with each other. They really seemed to know each other well and Changkyun also had a nickname for Changbin, which the vampire prince seemingly didn't hate, so it was a pulse point.
The young warlock with the blue hair silently agreed with Minhyuk's statement about Changkyun only looking scary. Just by watching him lightly tease Changbin and by his honest laughter you could tell he was a softie.
"So, I have the most important question now", the warlock then declared earning the attention of the two vampires. Jisung turned to Changbin, put on a serious face to mess with him and laid his hands on the older's shoulders. He was acting like his question was something that decided between life and death, which seemed to worry Changbin, making the little prank a success.
"Hyung, why do you wear all black in school when you look cute in pink?", Jisung asked in the most serious tone he could muster and looked at Changbin's pink sweater before meeting the shorter's eyes once more. Changkyun started to laugh in the background while Changbin just blinked in confusion.
"I have a reputation to keep?", the vampire prince answered but he sounded pretty unsure. He had slightly tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy. Jisung had a hard time keeping a straight face because of that.
"That reputation went out of the window when you smiled as bright as a sun when Hyunjin hugged you for the first time as a greeting", Jisung stated dryly and he really had to keep himself together to not laugh when he heard Changkyun basically dying of laughter in the background.
Changbin looked ready to argue and opened his mouth to do so but closed it again, when he realized he had no real argument. So he turned away from Jisung, freeing himself from the younger's light grip on his shoulder and crossed his arms while pouting like a child. That was the point were Jisung completely lost it.
He started to laugh uncontrollably, resulting in a hurting stomach and a glaring Changbin, who looked ready to kill him for his sudden outburst but to the warlock it was entirely worth it.
"You are mean, you know that?", Changbin retorted, still glaring at Jisung with crossed arms. The warlock shrugged. "I am best friends with Seungmin, so you should have known what you are getting yourself into", he responded with a grin on his face. Changbin wanted to say something but a sudden "bing" sound let the two teenagers turn their attention to the third person in the room. It was almost scary how you forgot Changkyun was there, when he was quiet.
The older vampire looked at his phone, quickly scanning over the display like he was reading something. "Shownu-hyung is calling me in as a sort of backup, so I will leave you two alone", he stated when he put his phone into his coat pocket. "Merry Christmas to you two, by the way", he added before he went out of the room and disappeared without a sound. He really was excellent at disappearing into thin air, even without magic.
Jisung and Changbin looked after him for a short moment before the vampire prince broke the silence. "Now, I got a question for you, Jisung", he stated in normal tone while leaning back and then looking at the warlock again. Jisung turned his attention towards the older with a little bit of curiosity and anxiety glimmering in his eyes because of the sudden mood change. Couldn't they keep the light and fun atmosphere?
"Why did Changkyun-hyung bring you up here?", Changbin then proceeded to ask. "That's a little hard to explain", Jisung mumbled and brought his feet up, so he could sit cross-legged on the couch. He had taken his coat, scarf and shoes off when he had entered the castle around an hour ago.
"I have plenty of time on my hands since I will be completely alone here for the next two days anyway", Changbin responded without any specific emotion in his voice but Jisung picked up on the bitter undertone that was shining through a little.
Jisung could relate to Changbin in that point. He too had felt lonely and left behind countless of times, so he lightly smiled at the older and began explaining what happened this afternoon without leaving out one detail because Changbin carefully listened to his words and gave the warlock the feeling he needed to hide nothing, that he was accepted for everything. This maybe even lead to the warlock ranting about his fuck-up family for a reason that was unknown to himself.
In the point of feeling left behind and lonely Changbin showed that he could relate to it completely, even if his parents didn't abandoned him they left him mostly alone in this castle, which they specifically build for him. It made him feel like he was left behind by them and not good enough to stay by their side.
They talked so much about everything that went wrong in their lives that they started to cry at some point. Neither had a clue why exactly. Jisung just started having teary eyes and not a moment later Changbin did too.
"Hyung, why did you never say something", Jisung sniffled, having given up on trying to stop the tears coming from his eyes. "I should ask you that. Your uncle is terrible to you", Changbin hiccuped, trying to wipe away his tears with the sleeves of his pink sweater. Jisung snickered sarcastically and drily. He had stopped noticing how terrible his uncle was because he didn't know it any other way. A part of him was just glad he never copied his uncle's behavior when he was younger.
"I got used to it", Jisung sighed and sniffled again. "I will rip that guy's head off some day", Changbin replied without one wobble in his voice, which given the current situation was a surprise. Jisung looked into the eyes of the short male, which were red from crying but also held a determine glow in them, you could mostly see as a red glimmer.
"Please don't, hyung. Even though he is an ass he is still the last bit of family I have that didn't leave me", Jisung said and wiped his eyes. Suddenly the warlock was pulled into a much needed side-hug by the vampire prince.
"I consider you as my brother from this moment on and I think Seungmin also considers you as his family, so screw your uncle", Changbin mumbled into Jisung's shoulder, making the warlock chuckle lightly. He made it sound like he had been adopted by him and Seungmin.
"This sounds like you are adopting me", the blue-haired warlock joked. There was a short silence before Changbin shifted his position a little, so his head laid on the warlock's shoulder. "I could talk to my parents if you wanted that", the vampire deadpanned, now making the warlock laugh fully. The vampire prince slightly pulled away, so he could look at his friend in confusion because he wasn't taken seriously.
"You can't just let your parents adopt me, when my uncle is my more or less legal guardian", Jisung said, even though the thought of living with Changbin sounded nice in his mind. He would live in a big castle with a friend after all but it was a fantasy.
"Try me. I will play the prince card, if needed", the vampire prince retorted, seeming serious about this topic. Jisung's amusement slowly subdued, noticing that Changbin really wasn't joking at all.
"But why would your parents even take someone like me into their family? I am not a vampire, not a royal and they don't even know me personally", Jisung responded. Something bubbled in his chest that was a mixture of anxiety and hope but the last thing JIsung wanted was getting his hopes up only to see them get smashed onto the ground.
The vampire prince crossed his arms over his chest. "I would have someone, who could educate me further in magic and also someone, who keeps me company", he simply stated. "It would be a win-win situation for everybody, unless you don't want to be around me all the time", Changbin then added in a mumble. Jisung huffed and then pulled Changbin back into a hug. He let himself fall backwards, so Changbin laid on top of him.
"I could never hate your company, hyung. Besides you now know me probably better than any of our friends except for Seungmin", Jisung responded, looking at the high ceiling of the living room, where a gold-red chandelier was hanging.
"What does Seungmin know about you that I don't?", Changbin asked, getting a little bit sleepy from everything that happened before. "I have been close friends with him for a long time. He knows me better than I do if I'm honest", Jisung answered with a little sigh.
"Seems reasonable. Just remember that I will get you to live with me here, no matter what", Changbin slightly slurred his words because he was already half asleep.
"That would actually be nice", Jisung mumbled lowly with a little smile adoring his lips. He thought Changbin didn't hear him because he was now asleep and lightly snoring but the older did hear it and that meant he got some planing to do, when he woke up the next day.
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The dinner at the Lee's house was as nice as it could possibly be. There were some laughters, light conversation and the food cooked by Mr. and Mrs. Lee just tasted amazing. Minho and Felix really missed their parents' cooking, when they had been away for so long.
And still, Felix and Minho had something they needed to say to their parents, which left them with a little bit of anxiety in the pits of their stomachs but they still waited for the right moment to address the topic.
After Mr. Lee finished telling a little story a comfortable silence fell over the table. Felix saw this as an opportunity and lightly kicked Minho, who sat on the opposite side of him, in the shin to get his attention. The older got the memo, even if he wished he could play stupid. In some way he promised to not back out of this.
"Mum, dad can I-", Minho began. "Can we", Felix corrected, he wasn't going to let Minho do this alone or make it seem like it was just him. Nope, he would stay beside his brother no matter what, just like he promised.
"Can we", Minho repeated and gave his brother a little smile before he turned his attention back to his parents. "Talk to you about something important to us?", the cat hybrid with the light brown hair then finished his question.
Mr. and Mrs. Lee were surprised at their sons' serious tone. "Of course, hon. There is no reason why you can't", Mrs. Lee answered with motherly concern in her voice and looked at both of her boys. Mr. Lee had a heartwarming expression on his face but said nothing, he just listened.
Minho looked to Felix again, who gave him a little encouraging nod. "Do you remember how you told us about mates, when we were twelve and thirteen?", Minho asked rather carefully. "Of course we do", Mr. Lee answered and showed a smile. "You two were so excited to find your destined mates as soon as possible no matter where they were. It was absolutely endearing", Mrs. Lee added, her smile as warm as her husband's.
"Well, there we thought our mates would be beautiful girls but turns out...", Felix started and looked to Minho, who gave him a light nod. "Neither of us are really into girls", Felix then finished the sentence. Both Lee brothers were ready to bolt out of the room when something was going wrong. They both tensed a little when they noticed the rather sad and guilty look on their parents' faces. Did they disappoint them?
"My poor babies", Mrs. Lee began and got up from her chair, beside Minho to pull her older son into a hug from behind. Minho couldn't even properly react but he didn't need to anyway. "Why were you scared to tell us that? Did we ever make you feel like you need to hide things from us?", she continued and gave Minho a kiss between his cat ears before letting him go again to walk over to Felix to do the same thing.
"Listen, you two. We are a family. You can tell us things like that without fearing a bad reaction. We love you no matter what", Mr. Lee said and both Minho and Felix could heard the sincerity in their father's voice.
Felix and Minho were a little bit stunned at their parents' reaction. It was an unusual one but pleasant to hear nonetheless, letting them feel like they could breath again.
"Thanks, mum, dad", Minho mumbled. "Don't dare to thank us for that, Lee Minho", Mrs. Lee slightly scolded but it was a little bit too affectionate to really call it scolding. "Now let's clean up and then go into the living room to watch "Home alone" like Felix wanted", she then added and grabbed some plates to bring them into the kitchen. Seemingly the topic was done for her but not for Minho.
"Wait, mum", Minho called out to get her attention back. "I got one more thing to say", he said and looked back and forth between his parents to check their current expression. He inhaled slowly and collected his courage once more. "I found my mate almost two months ago and he is a warlock, who is in the same class as Felix", he blurted out.
His mother let out a happy screech, almost dropping the plates she was carrying and his father smiled wide. "Scratch the movie for now. Minho, you need to tell us everything about him", his mother said, sounding more excited than Minho was when he found out Jisung was his mate.
"Felix, would you take these plates into the kitchen from me. I need to hug your brother again", she then added. "Yes, ma'am", Felix said jokingly and saluted before standing up and taking the plates from his mother, carrying them into the kitchen. "Not again, mum", Minho complained and stood up as well to maybe escape another hug from his mother.
"There is no way I won't hug you. You can't escape me, Minho", Mrs. Lee laughed and went up to Minho to pull him into a hug again, while he made an poor attempt to escape. "When will you introduce your mate?", Mr. Lee asked still smiling while assisting Felix in cleaning up the table and carrying things into the kitchen.
"When he is ready to meet you and when you are home, I guess", Minho answered, honestly. He had no clue how Jisung would feel about meeting his parents and when his parents would actually be in Yellow Wood for the next time.
"I am already excited to meet him. Did you already ask him out? Does he already know that he is your destined mate? Was he okay with it?", Mrs. Lee then bombarded Minho with questions when she slightly pulled away from the hug, so she could look into her son's eyes.
Minho couldn't help but smile a little. "He knows he is my mate and declared he his my boyfriend after I told him", he told his mother while his smile widened a little. His mother's eyes began to sparkle. "I already love him. When he is ready to meet us and we are not in Yellow Wood at that moment just call us and we will come home as soon as possible", she slightly ranted, making Minho snicker.
"Mum, give me attention too. I cleaned up the table for you after all", Felix whined and went to the two with a pout on his lips. Mrs. Lee cooed at her younger son and pulled him into her side to give him a loving kiss on his temple.
"Do I get attention too? You can't just leave me out", Mr. Lee said and walking over to his family from the kitchen to wrap his arms around his wife from behind, making her giggle.
Felix and Minho really questioned themselves why they were scared to tell their parents that they may not like girls. They just loved them so much and nothing could change that in the slightest.