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"Name?" The officer asked, voice dripping with monotone annoyance. Jongho rolled his eyes, flexing his fingers and rolling his cuffed wrists.
"Choi Jongho," The redhead huffed, slumping back against the uncomfortable plastic chair that pinched his wings. His hair hung in his eyes as he glared at the fae officer. The fairy faintly recalled Mingi mentioning how long his hair had gotten a week prior, asking if the younger could grow it out long enough so Mingi could braid it back.
"Well Jongho, it looks like you've been in quite the number of brawls over the last three years, care to explain why you're adding another to this list?" The officer's voice had a slight spark of interest, you can always count on fire fairies to be aggressive, or so the media says.
Rolling his shoulders back, Jongho gave the man a lazy smirk riddled with smugness. "You have access to all the reports officer, and every statement I give says the same thing: They touched my bondmate without his consent, so I touched them without consent. Seem's fair does it not?"
"Oh, you have a bondmate? Would that be the moon fairy who has been staring longingly at you from the entryway?" The male nodded towards the police entrance where Mingi was scrunched in the doorway, face pouting in worry. Jongho smiled at him before nodding to the officer. "Okay then, now you admit to beating up three werewolves in the city's communal garden?"
"Yes, I do. Because they touched my bondmate without consent." Jongho repeated, growing bored waiting for the officer to wrap up the questioning. The officer nodded, typing away at his desktop and entering Jongho's statement. "How much do I owe for beating their disgusting faces in?" the redhead asked, licking the cut on his bottom lip he got from the fight earlier.
"They're not pressing charges under the statement of 'refusing to admit they lost to a fairy.' so you're actually off the hook this time, but we still need to report it because you fought on city property." The officer sounded amused as he told Jongho this before waving over another officer slightly more built than Jongho to unlock his handcuffs.
Jongho hummed, standing up and rubbing his wrists before mockingly thanking the officers with a dramatic bow. The fairy then waltzed up to the taller and grabbed his hands, rubbing his thumbs comfortingly against them. "Come on Mingi, I'm free to go."
As Jongho led them out of the building, he could feel the state Mingi was giving him. Once they exited the building, Jongho stopped and turned around to face the older. “I’m okay, I promise. No serious injuries!” The pout on Mingi’s face deepened, and Jongho had half the mind to just kiss it away right then and there.
“But you still got hurt because of me, again. You can’t keep doing this because of me. Maybe I should have just used my powers on them or something.” Mingi spoke, voice deep and gravely from lack of speaking since the fight earlier that morning.
Jongho all but growled, nostrils flaring and anger. “You were just picking flowers for your remedies! They wanted you to cry so they could get a tear from you to make a love potion so they could force a werewolf mating ceremony! You refusing was a good thing Mingi, you saved someone from a life of hell!”
Mingi visibly shrunk at every word, biting his lips as his eyes watered. Jongho sighed and cupped his bondmates face, running his thumbs on Mingi’s cheeks to calm him down.
The older fairy was born in one of the most magic-filled areas at midnight exactly. Causing him to have bright white eyes, tears that have abilities to hypnotize people when used in mixtures like potions or teas, healing powers, and purifying people of deep-rooted evil. Although the purifying only works if someone is 1: not a vampire because they’re undead so to the magic they are pure evil, and 2: the person hasn’t accepted the evilness, because either option will result in said being dying.
So basically, anybody who recognized what his eyes meant, wanted to use him for their benefit. And when Jongho met him, grew to love him, he couldn’t just stand by and let his bondmate suffer. Which meant getting into way too many fights and having a very long track record of petty assault. Thankfully, Mingi working in potions, and teas himself through gardening, means they have a good chunk of income coming in weekly.
Which is why they were in the communal gardens in the first place, Mingi had run out of hyacinths and lavender needed for his calming tea bags . But no , three dickwads with cum for brains just had to ruin their outing.
“Baby, sweetness, my love, you have done so many amazing things. You have so much corruption around you and you choose to still help people. You smile and laugh and care and that is an accomplishment in itself. So what I have to rough up a few assholes? It’s justified and there were plenty of other witnesses. So don’t worry your pretty little head, okay?” Jongho spoke, his words only causing Mingi to actually start crying.
The smaller panicked until Mingi swooped down to press a kiss onto his lips, practically trilling in happiness. “I love you so much Jongie, you know that right? I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” The younger hummed happily at his lover's words, pulling the taller into his arms who happily accepted it.
They stayed hugging for a few minutes until a cough interrupted them. Jongho immediately pulled Mingi behind him and glared at the interrupter. He had forgotten they were in front of the police station, where plenty of people could watch their interactions.
“What?” The younger snapped, Mingi holding his wrists. The man who had interrupted them was a few centimeters taller than Jongho, had black hair, and was smiling softly at them.
“Sorry to interrupt, but you are Choi Jongho and Song Mingi correct? Fire and Moon fairies?” The stranger asked, hands clasped behind him. Jongho narrowed his eyes, moving into a proper fighting position.
“How do you know our names? What do you want from us? If you step closer I will not hesitate to singe your toes off, do not test me,” Jongho practically snarled, wings flaring as if to block Mingi from view (which isn’t possible as wings are transparent, even if Jonghos are tinged orange).
The male threw his hands up in a defensive manner. “I’m not here to harm either of you, or use Mingi. My name is Park Seonghwa and I run a sanctuary for troubled supernaturals. I’m a witch, I can make my own potions.”
Jongho could practically feel Mingi’s curiosity at Seonghwa’s words. Witches weren’t common because humans with latent abilities liked to keep them latent. Not to mention the fact that if he was telling the truth, there really wouldn’t be a need for Mingi unless he also needed a tear. But why say he owns a sanctuary? Jongho felt a headache begin to settle in his temple and internally groaned.
“I know your names because of your history. As a sanctuary guardian I have legal access to the supernatural cases that pass through the law systems. I know this seems out of place, but I have just bought more land and can now house a small village, you guys were at the top of my list.” Seonghwa was making a valid point, he really was. That’s what made this ten times harder for Jongho.
He would love to trust this witch, but how could he? There have been cases of people disguising themselves as guardians and then murdering supernaturals for the black market. A witch could do so much with fairy blood, especially Mingi’s. That’s where their magic laid, where any magic user's magic laid.
“What’s the sanctuary’s name? Where is it located? Am I allowed to tour it before joining the sanctuary?” Mingi let out a huff at Jongho’s questions but didn’t say anything, knowing it was better to let the younger rattle off his protective questions than get into a fight with him once he scares the witch off.
Thankfully, Seonghwa took the questions in stride. “It’s named Aurora, it’s two cities over and yes you can get a tour. If you’d let me exchange numbers with you, I could send you the location and website with a virtual tour attached.”
At the witches' words, Jongho lowered his wings and stood up normally. He slid his phone out from his back pocket before walking towards the witch, hand outstretched for the male to take it. Seonghwa grasped the device before entering his number through the emergency contact and called himself. The black-haired male handed the fairy his phone before taking out his own and sending the link to the website that held the location and virtual tour.
When Jongho’s phone dinged with a new message, Seonghwa grinned. “Well, I’ll be off. Call me if you have any questions, I keep my ringer on at all times. Have a good day boys,” and with that, the witch turned on his heels and left. Jongho waited for the male to enter his car and drive off the lot before properly relaxing, shoulders dropping.
Mingi immediately moved to stand beside him, grabbing the smallers hand and intertwining their fingers together before bringing the back of Jongho’s hand up to press a kiss to it. “You did with love, now let's go home I’m tired and want to check out Aurora.”
It wasn’t even three days later when Jongho watched as Seonghwa’s black car pulled into the driveway of their townhouse, rolling down the window and waving enthusiastically. Mingi returned the gesture, he and Seonghwa had hit it off well after the taller stole the witch's number off of Jongho’s phone to text him numerous questions about Aurora.
The protector huffed, crossing his arms as he reluctantly followed Mingi and entered the car. They both sat in the back seat, Jongho ignoring Seonghwa’s questioning eyes in the mirror.
“I’m happy you agreed to a physical tour Jongho, thank you for giving me your trust enough to do so,” Seonghwa’s tone sounded almost mocking. The fire fairy hated it.
The ride was silent for all of two minutes after that before Mingi started asking Seonghwa even more questions, with the witch answered in kind. The car ride was a couple of hours long but with the noise of the others speaking, and Mingi right next to him, it was easy for the younger to fall into a half-sleep. Acutely aware of his surroundings enough to spring into action at any sign of danger.
“Does he sleep in cars often?” Jongho heard Seonghwas ask a few minutes into his sleep haze.
“He’s not sleeping, he’s like a cat. He dozes but never actually rest unless we're in bed at the apartment with all the locks locked and him wrapped around me. He can hear us but isn’t awake enough to respond unless I make a noise of distress.” Mingi explained, Jongho felt his arm move to push his head onto the tallers shoulder.
“Ah, that makes more sense now,” was all Seonghwa said before entering back on their earlier conversation of which herd was the best for sleeping teas.
When the trio finally arrived, Mingi simply squeezed their linked hands, Jongho faintly remembers mingi lacing his fingers into Jongho’s but it’s hard to actually remember. The younger sits up, blinking the blurriness away and taking in his surroundings.
They were in the driveway of a small cottage with overgrown foliage and vines covering almost the entire roof and half of the walls, the driveway was long and covered in trees, Jongho couldn’t see the main road, only the dirt driveway. There was a thick path to the left of the cottage, moving into the densely packed forest, lit up with small ground lights that glowed a faint yellow.
Seonghwa exited the vehicle and motioned for the others to follow as he walked towards where the driveway and forest path met. Once the duo was standing in front of him, Mingi behind Jongho of course, he smiled. “This cottage is where I live, and this path is where the sanctuary starts. We have three main places. The river, where nymphs and sprites live, the farmland on the other side of my cottage, and the land where I plan to have a mini-village built. I plan on expanding more in the future but I am slightly short on those funds right now.”
“Yeah, how do you make money anyway?” Jongho asked, voice hoarse from sleep. Seonghwa gave him another smile before moving down the path, the duo following close behind.
“As a witch and farmer, I use my abilities to make potions and elixirs or cast small spells, as well as selling rare herbs, flowers and food to other magic users. I’m also quite old, and investing in the stock market can make you lots of money if you invest in apple the week it comes out due to a seer who owes you a favor.” The witches' words brought both comfort and worry. How old was he? Stock investments? Wasn’t that normally a human thing?
They walked in silence for a few minutes until the sound of rushing water reached their ears. “Coming up in a few yards in the river I spoke about, I’m not sure if Yunho and the other nymphs are this far upstream today or if they’re at the pond. The pond actually is at the clearing where the village is to be built, so that’s fun.” Seonghwa informed them, Mingi visibly brightened at the mention of water nymphs. They were also rare creatures to bless the earth, so Mingi could sympathize well with them.
“If they're here, can I meet them?” Mingi asked, biting his lip anxiously. Seonghwa turned towards them as he continued walking, giving Mingi another gentle smile.
“Of course, they love making new friends, especially if they have things in common.”
The nymphs were in fact at the river, playing right next to a bridge made out of tree roots that arched over the river, tall enough to go through on a canoe. They were hard to see, their skin transparent like the water, only weird flashes of movement and splashes were signs that they were there.
“Yunho! I brought guests!” Seonghwa called towards the moving blobs, all of them halting making Jongho squint to watch as they all molded back into the river. The fire fairy was not prepared to see a man just appear under the water of the riverbank Seonghwa had stopped at, sticking his head and chest out and grinning up at the witch.
The nymph had bright blue hair and a radiant smile, wide shoulders packed with lean muscle that Jongho had to force himself to stop looking at. “Guys this is Yunho, the water nymphs leader, Yunho, this is Mingi and Jongho the fairies I was telling you about.”
The nymph's attention was diverted to them and Mingi had an audible intake of breath. “Hello,” Yunho greeted, and Jongho tried not to gasp as well. What’s with big men and deep voices? He looked tall too if his long torso was anything to go by. Goddammit, was there anyone here as tall as him? (technically as short as him but that's beside the point).
“Hi! I’m Mingi, a moon fairy.” The brunet voiced, moving to crouch in front of Yunho and smile. Jongho instantly tensed, moving to stand slightly off to the side, but with Mingi an arms reach away. Seonghwa gave him an amused look, which he returned with a glare.
“Oh you’re the moon fairy Hwa has mentioned! So that means the angry looking one is Jongho.” Seonghwa snorted at the nymphs words, Jongho’s glare turning into a scowl.
“Yup. He had good reasons to be angry though, our past isn’t a pretty one.” Mingi spoke earnestly. He did that whenever he felt comfortable, which wasn’t too rare as the taller just loved practically everything life had to offer.
Yunho pursed his lips and nodded. “So I’ve heard.” The nymph them climbed out of the water fully, causing Mingi to stumble back into Jongho’s awaiting arms so the other had space to stand.
And he was tall, taller than Mingi by a few centimeters.
Holy shit.
Stupid fucking hot people who were also tall and really nice. Jongho almost scoffed, how was this real? It had to be a trap.
Once Yunho seemed to get used to standing on solid ground, he started wringing out his blue shorts that appeared from the water only moments before he breached said water. After he was satisfied, he turned and gave a sheepish look to the duo.
“Is it okay if I hug you? Seonghwa has told me a vague background on you guys and I’m not sure how else to express myself.” He waited for Jongho’s nod (Mingi had immediately nodded before the nymph had even finished his explanation, the fairy adored affection) before actually acting on his words.
But when he wrapped one hand around Mingi’s waist, and the other cupping the space on his back in between his wings, Mingi stiffened and let out a distressed squeak causing Jongho to spring into action.
He tore them apart, pulling Mingi into his side as he shot a warning fireball at Yunho’s feet who quickly dove behind Seonghwa. “Don’t you ever touch his back! Do you hear me? Do you know nothing you piece of shit?! Where is the exit we’re leaving!” Jongho snarled, wings flaring and glowing orange, his hand heating up with a another fireball he aimed at the Witch and cowering nymph.
“Woah! Hey! Hey please lower your hand he didn’t mean it! I forgot to tell him about Mingi’s back I’m sorry!” Seonghwa spoke, hands up with a pleading look.
“I’m truly sorry I forgot.”
Screaming, pain, blood.
“He didn’t know, he was just trying to avoid Mingi’s wings.”
Mingi limp in his arms, blood coating his back, wings twitching pathetically.
“I’m sorry, please don’t leave. You’re safe here I promise.”
The screams of Mingi’s captors as Jongho’s fire spread and burned them all alive.
“I’m sorry, please relax, we don’t mean you any harm.”
Tears blocking his vision, the love of his life limp in his arms. The familiar noise of police sirens filling his ears.
“Jongho you’re hurting Mingi.”
Mingi? He’s hurting Mingi? No.
That snapped the fire fairy back into reality where he had pulled Mingi as close to him as possible and was slowly squeezing him to death.
“No, no no precious I’m so sorry oh god. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I-I didn’t mean it.” Jongho was spiraling, releasing his lover as if he burned, tears streaming down his face as he crumpled and curled into a ball.
Jongho registered distressed noises coming from Mingi and Yunho before Seonghwa fell into his vision. The witch looked terrified. “Hey, hey it’s okay. I’m sorry that was my fault. Mingi is okay. You’re okay. Mingi still loves you. It’s okay. You’re safe. Come back to us.”
Seonghwa kept repeating his words, slowly coaxing Jongho into a sitting position as the fairy hiccuped and sobbed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it. I never wanted to hurt him. Never. I’m supposed to protect him. I hurt him. I hurt him.”
The witch pursed his lips, sorrow covering his face at the youngers words. “No, no you didn’t actually hurt him. He’s okay. Mingi is okay. Mingi is safe. He loves you.” Jongho just shook his head, knees coming back up as he shook, quietly repeating his previous words.
Then Seonghwa was moved out of his teary view and replaced by a crying Mingi who cupped the smallers face. “Jongie please stop crying it makes me cry. I’m fine, see? No blood. You did so well. You protected me. I’m okay. Come back to us baby. Please come back.”
And he did. Slowly, very slowly. He began to loosen his locked limbs, letting the taller properly hug him and move to cradle the smaller against his chest. His sobs turned into light sniffles and he eventually responded to Mingi’s touch, hugging the older back.
After another few minutes, Jongho finally composed himself and stood up on shaky legs. The redhead turned to look at the nymph and bit his bottom lip. “I’m sorry for attacking you, the last person who touched Mingi’s back tried to cut Mingi’s wings off. He almost succeeded but I… I ended up burning him and his accomplices alive… it’s a sore subject and I’m just so used to responding to Mingi’s pain in anger I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t hurt me, I promise.” Yunho amended, giving the smaller a timid smile which Jongho returned before blanching.
“I-I’m not a mass murderer! It was an accident because I was so scared and angry at what they did. Wait no that still sounds bad. I’m mostly harmless?” Jongho stuttered over his words, causing Yunho to purse his lips to stifle a grin.
“It’s okay, I drowned an entire circus crew if that makes you feel better. I know you did it to protect Mingi and I’m really sorry for scaring you like that.” Mingi’s jaw dropped at the nymphs' words, Jongho blinking in surprise.
Seonghwa cleared his throat, clapping lightly and diverting the attention onto him. “Okay, now that everyone is on the same page and Jongho’s back to normal, would you like to continue the tour?”
Jongho nodded, flushing in embarrassment.
The rest of the tour was much smoother after that. Yunho accompanied them the entire time. Once the quad reached the meadow, Mingi gasped in awe.
There, about 20 yards away stood four small cottages in a circle. The closest one to them on the right side of the path held a small gated garden. “Oh this is so pretty. Jongie it’s so pretty!” Mingi spoke in a glee filled tone as they approached the empty village.
“Like I said it’s a tiny village, and you two would be the first occupants. I got a little ahead of myself and added a garden at the back of one of them for Mingi to use if you guys said yes to coming here.” Seonghwa told them, a sheepish grin on his face.
Seonghwa let them look into all the small cottages, each having two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen and living space. They all had minimal furniture so the occupants could customize the house to their liking, or so Seonghwa said.
The path continued on and lead them to the giant farm behind Seonghwa’s cottage, which included a greenhouse filled with magic based plants and bugs. It was safe to say that this place was in fact a sanctuary, and Jongho was starting to like it.
After the tour, Seonghwa had dropped them back off at their apartment and let them sit with their thought for a few days before texting Jongho about his answer.
It was really a no-brainer question, but Jongho still typed it out to seem like a reluctant agreement, not keen on showing how excited he truly was.
Seonghwa however didn’t hide his excitement at all, calling the younger as soon as he read the response.
The next few weeks were filled with packing and a shit ton of paperwork since Jongho and Mingi were being put under a sanctuary program. Which was hard to do with Jongho’s criminal record but after some finagling on Seonghwa’s end, the lawyers yielded.
And finally, on a warm spring afternoon, they were moving in. The duo had chosen the cottage with the garden, Mingi animatedly talking to the plants as Jongho and Yunho carried the heavy boxes into the house from the moving truck Seonghwa had rented.
It took a couple hours and Mingi constantly fussing and moving all the decor to his liking, but by dusk the fairies were settled into their new home. After bidding farewell to the nymph and witch, Mingi dragged Jongho into their shared bedroom for sleepy cuddles.
They fell asleep quickly, Jongho plastered against Mingi’s side, arms and legs protectively wrapped around the taller. It was nice, not having to worry about threats and simply living.
Seonghwa came in the morning, causing Jongho to stir and groan grumpily at the gentle knocking on their front door. Mingi stayed asleep, light brown hair mussed up and fluffy, cheeks puffed out.
Jongho left a lingering kiss on his forehead as he detached himself, huffing in annoyance at the interruption. Once he left the bedroom and crossed the main living space, he flung open the door and glared at the beaming witch.
“Jongho! Good morning! I know it’s early but I wanted you to meet my second in command, a guardian in training if you will. This is Yeosang.” Seonghwa announced, grinning.
A man about Jongho’s height stepped out from behind Seonghwa and sheepishly grinned, his fangs glinting in the morning sun. The vampire was fucking gorgeous .
Jongho groaned. “What the fuck is with this place and only having hot people?!”