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It had been a couple of months since Seonghwa decided to stay with Hongjoong in the forest, and winter was in full swing. They had hung up furs along the walls of their little log cabin to try to make things feel warmer, but there was little they could do when it was so bitterly cold outside. Seonghwa laid in bed under two blankets and behind Hongjoong, holding him close in a feeble attempt to stay warm. The fairy had long since fallen asleep. Even though he had always known that science didn’t apply to him, it was still incomprehensible to Seonghwa how someone could just… not feel the cold. He didn’t seem to be affected by any temperature or weather at all. At least Wooyoung and Yeosang obeyed biology. Two weeks ago, they ate their last big meal for the season and dove into the now frozen pond, where they would hibernate until the ice melted. He wouldn’t admit it, but he missed them terribly.
Seonghwa laid there, face buried in Hongjoong’s hair for any insulation until he heard birds chirping outside.
Is it morning already? What the fuck?
Well, at least morning meant that things would get a little warmer. He sat up as much as he could in their mezzanine bed, and immediately regretted it as the blankets fell off his body. As he reached over Hongjoong to grab his coat, hanging from the bedpost, he felt a warm little hand tug on his shirt.
“Morning,” Hongjoong croaked. The room was dark, but Seonghwa could see the light reflecting in his half open eyes.
“Hi, sweetie. God, I really should figure out how to build a fireplace or something in here,” Seonghwa hissed, pulling on his coat and flailing around for the oil lamp.
“It’s here, silly,” Hongjoong giggled. Before Seonghwa could figure out where he was gesturing towards, Hongjoong lit it himself, and he was blessed with the sight of the pretty fairy’s face.
“Hmm, we’re gonna have to get more matches,” he said, flicking his burned match into their waste basket.
“We can go to the village today and get some. I ought to see if anyone has bread or potatoes to spare as well.”
“If I were a dragon, we wouldn’t have to buy matches,” Hongjoong sighed, slipping off their bed and landing soundlessly. In contrast, Seonghwa hit the floor hard, as he always did. The ladder was just too time consuming if you were on your way down.
“If you were a dragon, you’d probably have eaten me by now.”
“That’s not true. Humans don’t taste good. And the dragons here are very civilised. More civilised than you are.”
“Wait, there’s more than one dragon? I thought it was just the one Wooyoung talked about, the one in the mountains.”
Seonghwa put his layers on, a scarf, gloves, two pairs of socks. Meanwhile, Hongjoong sat on the table watching him, hardly dressed.
“Oh, Wooyoung didn’t tell you? He’s got a boyfriend now. He actually stumbled upon me by accident a hundred years or so ago, ‘cause he came to this continent looking for somewhere to settle. He’s cute. Told me his name immediately, which was kinda stupid, but I let him go.”
“You just have that effect on people, huh.”
Seonghwa could have cried when he pushed open the door to their little log cabin, but his tears would have frozen and made him even colder.
“Oh, suck it up,” Hongjoong laughed, prancing out into the snow in bare feet, making Seonghwa cringe.
“Fine, you go get the water then.”
Seonghwa tossed him a wooden bucket and a trowel, and went off to light their brick stove.
Half an hour later, tea was being drunk and honey on bread was being eaten beside the stove, the two of them huddled together.
“What’re you gonna bring to the village?” Hongjoong asked, his head on Seonghwa’s shoulder. Their arms were linked together, even though it made eating more difficult.
“My usual medicine bag, I guess. I’ll bring extra valerian and astragalus roots, though. I expect there’ll be a bit of a flu going around in this weather. Walking there is gonna be miserable... maybe we should get horses?”
“Horses freak me out a little. I could probably call an elk over, or something.”
He placed a kiss on Seonghwa’s cheek, just because.
“Nah, I’ll just walk. The snow’s not too thick.”
Seonghwa kissed him back.
Seonghwa’s village gladly welcomed him back, but they were still getting used to the fairy following him around. Everyone had grown up on stories of how the fae will steal your name and your free will, how they’ll take your jewelry at best, or your life at worst. So when Seonghwa came back with him for the first time, the villagers were excited and intrigued, thinking he had brought back a pretty (though unusually short) lover from his travels. Well, he had, really- just not of the species everyone was expecting. People shrieked and ran away when Hongjoong introduced himself with his unnaturally sharp, toothy smile, and Seonghwa was nearly exiled out of fear that he was under the fairy’s control. It took Hongjoong explaining their whole story, knowing that the fae can’t tell direct lies, before they let them in. Still, children were ushered inside when Hongjoong was around, clinging to Seonghwa’s arm. It didn’t matter. Hongjoong was happy to play with the chickens or run other errands while Seonghwa was in people’s houses, tending to the ill. What used to be Seonghwa’s house and apothecary shop became the home for a new family: a couple and their baby. As compensation, they gave them some eggs, grains, and granola bars for Hongjoong every time they visited, and they promised to give them a couple of hens if they built a chicken coop. But that would have to wait until the summer. The snow and the hard ground made it difficult to build anything in the winter months.
While Hongjoong was kneeling down, talking to a village goat, Seonghwa finished treating his last patient. He put his hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder, and his arm around his waist when he stood up. He was just obligated to touch Hongjoong whenever he could, even if he couldn’t feel his skin through all of his winter clothes.
“We’ve got enough to make quite the soup,” Seonghwa remarked, holding up his sack of potatoes, vegetables and grains. In small settlements like his, coins were used sparingly, unlike the bigger towns along the coast and the Crater Lake. Instead, trading was the economy of choice. A couple of his patients had given him some coins along with food, though.
“I also got eight rose, fifty shild. Let’s get some matches and bread.”
With sacks full of food, the pair headed back home, snacking on pine nuts as they walked. Having spent every waking moment with each other for a few months, they had long since run out of small talk, but they didn’t need it. Just being next to each other gave them the energy and warmth they needed for the winter.
“Still, though, I should figure out how to heat our cabin,” Seonghwa hummed.
“I heard that in the big towns they’re using these metal things to heat their houses, but they need to put part of it in the sun for it to work. Solar energy, they call it.”
“Oh yeah? Who told you that?”
“A goose. Geese are really smart, you know. They’re just a bit territorial.”
They bumped into each other as they walked, not being able to bear being anything but pressed together.
Back home, Seonghwa washed and chopped up carrots, potatoes, and onions for stew, while Hongjoong plucked two pigeons he caught. The lentils and barley could be turned into soup another day. As they worked, they sang to each other, sometimes walking over to give the other a kiss. Yeosang would retch and avert his eyes, but they knew he did the exact same thing with Wooyoung when no one was looking. Even when people were looking, Wooyoung did it to him.
With their stew cooked and their stove extinguished, they went back into their little cabin, sitting next to each other at their dining table. Their two chairs used to face each other on opposite sides of the table, but over time, Hongjoong’s chair drifted over next to Seonghwa’s. He definitely didn’t mind, even if it meant some bumping elbows when they ate. Seonghwa’s cooking was good, as it always was. Hongjoong didn’t really need to eat such carefully prepared human food. Before Seonghwa came along, he’d eat mushrooms ripped straight from the ground, and sometimes, raw birds or fish. Skinned, of course. Even so, he didn’t need to eat often. But he’d eat anything Seonghwa cooked, from his little wooden bowl with a heart carved into it. A bowl for people with small appetites who were very, very loved.
“You can leave the lamp on. If you put a flower pot over it, we should get some pretty good heat,” Hongjoong said, nuzzling into Seonghwa’s arm.
“It’s alright, we’ve already got two blankets, and I’ve got about eight layers.”
“Yeah, but it’s no fun when you’re so wrapped up. It’s like cuddling with a pillow, not a human.”
When Hongjoong looked up at him with his big, shiny, currently brown (although that was subject to change) eyes, Seonghwa had no choice but to put the flower pot over the lamp. To be fair, it did make a difference. Half an hour later, Seonghwa took off his heaviest cape, even before he got under the blankets with Hongjoong’s added heat.
By the time he got settled in bed, Seonghwa had removed and hung up most of his bulky clothes, much to Hongjoong’s joy. The fairy had his face buried in Seonghwa’s chest, pleased to actually feel his shape again, while Seonghwa read a book on advanced horticulture.
“When are you gonna be done reading?” Hongjoong asked, voice muffled.
“Hmm, let me finish this chapter. Three more pages.”
Seonghwa rubbed his back gently as he read, knowing that Hongjoong just wanted his attention. When he was done, he leaned over the bed frame to drop his book onto the table, and burrowed back under the blankets to hold Hongjoong properly. With their faces next to each other, Hongjoong smiled gently, and Seonghwa had no option but to smile back and give him a soft kiss on his lips. That was just the effect Hongjoong had. Needing more, Hongjoong kissed him back, again and again until Seonghwa was giggling and pulling him in closer, not to kiss him again, but just to feel his heart beating. He didn’t complain when he got another kiss on his cheek, though.
“Hey, Seonghwa?”
“Hm?”
“Thank you for loving me.”
Hongjoong felt his lips press into his hair.
“Thank you for letting yourself be loved. Now go to sleep.”