"so what do you want to see first?"
"well, what is there to see?"
"good point haha, ummm let's see..."
seokmin followed the boy through the winding halls of the castle, keeping his eyes glued to the boy's bright orange hair as he stayed behind him.
"i have the perfect place!"
"awesome, take me there good sir!"
joshua giggled, "just follow me, okay?"
"o-okay...?"
joshua broke out into a full sprint, his footsteps sounding further and further away from seokmin as the brunette tried his best to keep close to him at every twist and turn of the castle. for the first time, seokmin was grateful for his morning workouts with soonyoung or else he wouldn't have had a chance of keeping up with the fae.
at one point, seokmin couldn't hear the echo of joshua's footsteps. he looked around frantically, right in the middle of four different hallways.
"uhhhh, joshua? w-where'd you go?"
"i'm here!" his voice echoed, scaring the poor boy as he let out a sharp yell.
"ah! shit what the hell?!" the brunette clasped his shirt, looking around for the fae. "where are you joshua?"
seokmin felt a poke on the top of his head, "here, silly!"
the brown-eyed-boy shot his head up and locked eyes with a pair of vibrant orange ones; the swirling sunset hues making seokmin's brain fuzzy. above his head, seokmin realized that there wasn't a ceiling above him, but a tunnel leading upward. joshua was upside-down, his glowing orange wings helping him defy gravity. the fae reached his hand out, his sweet smile flashing pearly white teeth.
"follow me, seokmin!"
"i-i don't know how to do that..."
"i know you can't fly, silly. all you have to do it take my hand!"
a light blush dusted seokmin's cheeks as he took joshua's hand softly. the fae giggled softly, "you're going to have to hold on tighter than that, silly!" joshua gripped seokmin's hand firmly and shot into the air, pulling seokmin up with him.
seokmin was surprised by the speed that joshua flew up, feeling some pressure on the shoulder that held his body.
"joshua?!" he yelped, barely able to look up since the wind made his eyes hurt.
"yeah?" the fae replied, focused on flying.
"not to- uh- complain, or anything- but you might dislocate my shoulder! you're going so fast my arm can't support me!" he screamed, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to drown out his fear of heights and the shooting pain in his shoulder until-
warmth.
seokmin squinted his eyes open to see orange hair, and before he could say anything he was beat by the fae. "i'm sorry, seokmin. i should've thought it through. i'll hold you until we get there... this isn't hurting you, right?"
seokmin thanked his lucky stars that joshua couldn't see how beet red his face was, "n-no, it's good. thank you, joshua."
the brunette fought his desire to nuzzle his head into the crook of joshua's neck, instead finding peace in the feeling of joshua's arms: one secured around his waist and the other holding the back of seokmin's head.
the imanity closed his eyes and relaxed in joshua's embrace, almost verging on sleep. they were flying so fast that to seokmin it felt like they weren't moving at all- that the world might just have stopped and it was just them in that perfect moment. the boy smiled to himself at that notion, something he could look back at and smile.
the brunette felt them slow down, and soon he was placed on solid ground.
"we're here, seokmin."
seokmin almost winced at the loss of joshua's touch, feeling much colder than he did just a moment ago.
he opened his eyes and was met with the most amazing view.
the endless blue skies, the two suns shining brightly, the tops of the other trees and the streaks of colour from other fae zipping through the air below them.
"where are we joshua?" seokmin asked absent-mindedly, his eyes too focused on the plush white clouds that looked close enough to touch.
the fae cracked a smirk watching the imanity look out in wonder, occasionally reaching his hand out toward the clouds. "this is my little hideout, if you will. it's on the highest branch of the fiducia tree, and it has the best view. i wish i could've taken you at sunset, but let's maybe save that for another time."
'another time...?' seokmin thought, the blood starting to rush back to his cheeks. 'no way. no way, no way, no way. you don't get to be like this, seokmin. this is a platonic hangout sesh... between bros... yeah, bros.'
"yeah, next time!" he exclaimed, not turning to face the fae in fear that his blushing might ruin their 'platonic hangout sesh between bros'... whatever that meant.
joshua's setup on the branch was more like a lookout platform. a wide wooden platform with blankets and pillows spread about, perfect for picnics, stargazing or cloud watching.
"sorry it's not much, but i think it has a charm to it." joshua smiled, sitting down and laying on one of the blankets. seokmin followed suit, the two now just staring at the beautiful sky that surrounded them.
seokmin couldn't help but take in the soft breeze, closing his eyes to feel the gentle warmth of the suns and the sweet, earthy smell of the fiducia tree. "so, what do you do up here joshua?"
"well, that depends. sometimes, i come up here to think, others to relax, or to work."
"work?"
"yeah, you want to see?"
"uh, sure?" seokmin opened his eyes and rolled over to his side to see joshua sitting up.
the fae closed his eyes for a moment, and when they opened they were a glowing orange. seokmin fell so deep into the depth of his eyes that he missed the moment his powers started to activate, only looking down to see sparks around joshua.
he screamed, "joshua! fire! uh- stop, drop and roll! ohmygo-"
"seokmin, calm down silly!" he looked at seokmin, his eyes still that enticing orange colour as he laughed loudly, throwing his head back. "these are my powers!"
"oh... oh! fire is your power!"
"well, almost. my power is light."
"light?"
"yup! since we don't really have as much technology as your world, the easiest form of it is through fire or sparks..." he said softly, little sparks emitting from his fingertips and rolling around his palm like drops of water. "i'm in charge of any of those great things!"
"well, then can i ask you a question?" seokmin asked quietly, his eyes glued to the little beads of light the fae toyed with.
joshua watched the imanity keenly as he followed the spark with a child-like wonder that the orange-haired boy couldn't help but appreciate. the fae noticed that the brunette gazed at the world with such admiration, a quality he felt that he and his brothers had lost a long time ago. he wondered what kind of world earth was, and how in a world rumoured to be so flawed and evil that a person with such kind eyes could appear.
lost in his thoughts, joshua felt a small poke on his forehead. breaking out of his thoughts, he looked up to see seokmin staring at him. "you okay?" the brunette asked softly, "your little sparks went out, are you alright?"
"i- uh, no!"
"no? so... you're not alright?"
"no- i'm alright! just started daydreaming i guess."
the brunette spared the fae a wide grin, "and you call me silly! you're the silly one!" he bellowed, a hearty laugh following that matched his toothy smile and the sunshine that seemed to glow around him.
"you might be right about that." joshua mumbled, a shy smile playing on his lips. "you said you had a question, right?"
seokmin nodded profusely, "i had a question about that-" he whipped his head around and pointed at the bright suns in the sky, "are those also your doing?"
running his slender fingers through his ginger hair, the fae smiled, "you're very perceptive, seokmin."
the prince laid down once again, pulling seokmin by the shoulder to do the same. "so, what about the suns sparked your interest?"
"well," the brunette sighed, his eyes tracing the shapes of clouds mindlessly, "how are there two of them?! we only have one, but in the summer the heat can be unbearable. how are you guys okay under two suns- and why is one so much larger than the other?"
joshua could only smile at the rapid-fire questions seokmin had, trying his best to follow the boy's gaze into the clouds, appreciating them a little more than he had before.
"okay, you see that one?" the fae said softly, raising a finger to point at the large sun above them.
seokmin nodded slowly, still trying to decide whether one specific cloud looked like a bunny or a dragon-
though how he could see both of those at the same time didn't seem odd to him-
"what about it joshua?"
"it's my sun."
seokmin choked on his spit, "maybe i didn't hear that right... it's your sun?! is it like... a pet?" he looked at joshua with a glint in his eye that one could only label as 'adorable'.
this question caught joshua off guard, breaking out into a full laughing fit, his hand coming up to slap seokmin's shoulder playfully, "no! it's not my pet silly!- it's pretty much a big ball of my powers and energy."
"damn, that's so cool."
"not really, it's a little more harm than good..." the fae mumbled, his tone so hushed that seokmin almost missed it.
the brunette locked eyes with the prince, "why would it be harmful?"
joshua shook his head lightly, "it's nothing. our world can photosynthesize and progress in terms of agriculture and such because of the sun i created, the price of that treasure can't even compare to how our world flourishe-"
"please don't pull that with me, joshua."
the ginger's eyes widened, no one had ever spoken to him like that. everyone always spoke to him softly, carefully and sweetly. not like this. "w-what do you mean?"
"look, you don't have to pull all that political talk on me. i know we don't know each other well, and you don't have to share things you're not comfortable with. however, i've learned to know when someone is lying to me, and it's even easier to see someone lie to themselves. you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but let me ask you again: 'why is your work harmful?'"
the glint in seokmin's eyes were different than the usual: more serious, more intense.
this was the look of someone who was focused, something joshua didn't expect over the few words he spilled. clearing his throat, the ginger haired boy brushed his bangs away.
"well, i give my life in exchange for that sun."
seokmin leaned back slightly, letting his eyes wander around and watch the clouds float around the way those words did in his head.
"what... what exactly does that mean?"
"light is energy, right?"
"right?..."
"so wouldn't it make sense that i give energy to not only create it, but to keep it up in the sky?"
seokmin's eyes snapped back to joshua's, and he had almost wished he hadn't.
the eyes that always looked to calm and soothing, nothing had changed, but they also looked completely different. the pain buried deep in his beautiful gaze became so clear to him, in a way that he wondered how anyone could've missed it.
joshua picked up on the change of atmosphere and tried to lighten up, cracking a small smile. "look seokmin, i don't want you to worry too much. each of my brothers pay some sort of price for their powers, whether we know it or talk about about it openly is something else completely. it's not just me, and i think my life is a small price to pay for the wellbeing of my people, oka-"
"don't try and tell me that's okay!" seokmin growled, his jaw clenched so tight you could feel the tension with every word he spat. he crawled over and grabbed the fae by the collar of his cream coloured shirt, "a life is a life! it's not something so simple to just be taken like it's nothing! death is important, death is permanent, death is cruel and just- i don't want you to think that just because it's a noble cause that it's something that's easy to accept. you're too selfless- i think that's a double edged sword."
the prince leaned back, as if seokmin's words were a strong wind that knocked him over. seokmin loosened the grip on his shirt, pulling away slowly when he felt himself being pulled in in one swift motion.
the fae didn't know what came over him, but in that moment it felt so...
right.
the lost look in joshua's eyes spoke for themselves as he clung to seokmin.
joshua was very comfortable with the idea of dying for his people, that the impact it would have on the people around him had never crossed his mind.
for the first time, the prince felt weak. he was used to being the peacemaker, the true neutral, the perfect medium. however, seokmin gave him an odd feeling of security, like he could finally be honest and vulnerable.
the prince felt seokmin wrap his arms around him softly, his fingers drawing dainty lines across his back.
the two stayed like this for a long while, joshua becoming more acquainted with the soapy smell that lingered on seokmin's neck. slowly parting, they made their way back down to the floor, laying down quietly in the heap of blankets and pillows that surrounded them.
their set their eyes on the sky, the silence that floated around them contrasted the thoughts that seemed to be screaming out in their heads:
'imanity... they're quite the interesting species.'
'... just what kind of sacrifices do the princes pay for their powers?'
and in that comfortable silence they stayed, perfectly content with their "platonic hangout sesh between bros" until they had to go back to meet the others.
❀
hello everyone!
belated merry christmas/happy holidays, and an early happy new year :)
i'm truly beyond words, opening my story today brought me to tears.
#1 in the seventeen tag, which is closing in on 40k stories under it. we're zooming through the 13k read mark, as well as surpassing 1k votes :o
this is so much more than i could've ever imagined my story becoming, and it was the greatest present i could've received. school and family and all around LIFE has been getting in the way of me writing, but in the past few months of hiatus i've seen nothing but support for not only pleia, but my mental health.
comments, votes, follows and the additions to your reading lists completely shock me every single day! i'm beyond grateful for every single one of you.
thank you sososososososo much for all the love and support for pleia, and here's hoping that you can continue to follow the story this becomes...
(who knows, one day i might rewrite this to be an actual novel LOL)
**updates might be slower though, due to school and all that fUn sTuFF
i love you so much, and i hope you continue this adventure with me.
until the next one, lovelies ❤︎