Work Text:
The walls of the Palace were cold to the touch. Made out of stone from the mountains, it kept the heat in the way it was supposed to during winter. When the snow started falling, the many fireplaces in the palace were used once more. Wood and fire crackled in every room, allowing a reprieve from the cold laying wait in the corridors. Despite the beautiful carpets and many tapestries, the hallways were never warm enough during the winter months.
Luckily for Hyunjin, winter did not last long. A few weeks prior to the Winter Solstice, the cold creeped in. Trees, who had already lost their leaves, froze. The lake near the castle stopped moving, allowing for children to play on the frozen water in the shallow end. The snow covered every surface after a few days, slowing the kingdom down each and every year. Despite that, however, Hyunjin quite liked the winter.
He loved the spring and summer, the regrowth it came with and the carefree air. He walked outside without a care in the world, wearing thin trousers and a tunic. In the winter, he needed to wear a heavy cloak made out of wolf fur, keeping him safe from the frost and snow.
Hyunjin looked down onto the castle grounds, shivering. His gloves, made from bear hide, were warm enough, but he had been outside for a while. In the distance, two small dots appeared in the air. Hyunjin smiled, recognizing them despite their distance. The palace walls were not the safest place for him to be, but it gave him the best view of the mountains, the air around it. The two dots grew and grew as they came closer, wings outstretched and cutting through the clouds.
Without a word to the guards standing on duty, Hyunjin moved. He sprinted down the wall, into one of the towers and down the stairs. By the time he reached the ground, his lungs were screaming, but he ignored them easily. The movement provided heat, the inside of the walls a reprieve from the winds. It didn’t last long, however, for Hyunjin sprinted out through the large gate and into the fields beyond without thinking.
The two creatures were entirely visible now. Their wings are majestic, stretched out like leathery things and yet so beautiful. Hyunjin placed his hands on his hips, craning his neck and head to look up at them entirely. Morghon, grey scaled and the smallest one of the two, roared in glee when his eyes landed on Hyunjin. His roar was powerful enough to make the ground vibrate, and if he had done this in the mountains, an avalanche would have formed. He merely shook the ground now, a blast of fire and smoke leaving him as he descended.
Hyunjin’s favorite, however, stayed up in the air. Her golden scales glinted in the harsh air, the winter snow casting her in a beautiful glow. She looked down at him, too, a huff of smoke erupting from her nostrils. She showed off her teeth, making Hyunjin giggle. He opened his mouth, and yelled. “Come on down, Liana.”
It was her rider that controlled her, and yet she listened to Hyunjin, too. Dragons did not listen to any other human than their riders, the one they were bonded to. An exception, however, existed. If two dragon riders fell in love, their dragons felt it. They adopted their rider’s partner as their own, and it was the only reason why Liana listened to Hyunjin at all. His own dragon, Yerin, was resting, an injury to his left wing keeping him on the ground.
Hyunjin had visited him that morning, Had sat on Yerin’s saddle to calm him, to let him know that everything would be fine. The bond of a rider and their dragon was sacred, the dragon sensitive to potential rejections. Hyunjin had sat with his forehead against Yerin’s snout for nearly an hour, allowing his energy to calm the dragon. In turn, Yerin had kept him warm and safe within the confines of his wings, separating him from the rest of the world.
Liana’s wings were larger and wider than Morghon’s, though she waited patiently for Morghon to touch ground first. The ground shook with the impact, Morghon bending his knees immediately to allow his rider to jump off of his back whenever they so pleased. Hyunjin smiled as Jeongin leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Morghon’s neck as much as he could. Once Morghon grew to full size, Jeongin would be but a small creature on Morghon’s back. For now, Morghon only rivalled his size a few times.
Morghon screeched, the heat coming out of his mouth making Hyunjin shiver. A break from the cold, no matter how short. Above, Liana mirrored Morghon’s screech. It was only their fourth flight together after Morghon hatched a few months ago, and judging from her demeanor, she was pleased. Hyunjin bowed down as was proper, allowing for Morghon to reject him coming closer.
The smaller dragon bent his own large head before closing his eyes. Hyunjin grinned, heart flipping as he rushed forward to help Jeongin. Jeongin stumbled in his saddle, Morghon immediately stretching out his wing to catch him in case it went awry. Hyunjin was there, too, taking Jeongin’s hand and squeezing it. His leather gloves were thicker, made only for flight. “How was it?”
“Wonderful,” Jeongin’s words were breathless, a bright smile on his face. “Morghon did so well.”
At the praise, said dragon screeched again. His mother above repeated it, before descending further. Hyunjin braced himself, placing both feet firmly on the ground before Liana did the same. Her four humongous paws shook the earth, a rumble coming from her throat so fierce it made Hyunjin’s teeth rattle. She agreed, apparently.
Hyunjin petted Morghon’s neck, feeling the scales give way underneath his hand and through his own glove. “I’m sure he did.”
As Jeongin walked around to Morghon’s face, Hyunjin stepped away. He turned to Liana, where her rider had already unlatched themselves from their saddle. The grin that creeped up on Hyunjin’s face was involuntary, for he was sort of angry with Changbin. “How dare you fly without me?”
Changbin levelled him with a look, the corners of his mouth turning upward. He looked breathlessly beautiful in his riding gear, hair mussled from the landing. “How would you have flown?”
“With you, on Liana.” Hyunjin huffed, crossing his arms. Anyone walking past would call Hyunjin a madman — speaking to the prince in such a way was simply not done, and yet, he felt no fear. Not even an ounce of it as he stood eye to eye with the largest, most powerful dragon the Kingdom had in its possession. Liana had levelled many armies all on her own. “You could have asked.”
“You were asleep, my dear.” Changbin replied, blowing Hyunjin a kiss. He pretended to catch it, to press it against his chest. Changbin’s laugh was beautiful, echoing across the fields and into Hyunjin’s mind. The most beautiful sound in the world, closely followed by the flapping of a dragon’s wings. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“You should have.” Hyunjin pouted, though he had quite liked sleeping a little longer. Preparations for the Winter Solstice were on their way, had been for nearly a week, and even though Hyunjin was not a prince yet, Changbin’s parents were rather keen in involving him in all the festivities and preparations. Hyunjin loved it, but it was a lot of work. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” Changbin said as he unhooked the last latch from his saddle. Liana stretched out her right wing, allowing Changbin to slide down it until he too reached the ground. The golden dragon huffed, laying her head on her front paws. Hyunjin reached for her without bowing — she no longer needed him to. He was Changbin’s, much like she was. Both in their own places in Changbin’s heart.
Her scales were strong and sturdy underneath his fingers, yet a sound that resembled a kitten’s purr erupted from deep within her chest as Hyunjin petted her. Every dragon had their weakness — Liana liked being pet. Morghon loved being tickled, and Yurin absolutely adored it when Hyunjin kissed his snout. If someone that was not their rider tried it, however, they would be burned to a crip.
Liana’s fire could not harm Hyunjin, however. Not anymore. As soon as Changbin’s love had grown strong enough, the magic that resided within his bond with Liana also flowed into his body. Yurin couldn’t harm Changbin either, his fire as useless to him as Liana’s to Hyunjin. A sacred bond, one not many achieved. Hyunjin wore it with pride.
Changbin reached him with a giggle, pulling Hyunjin into him immediately. Hyunjin went willingly, going slack in Changbin’s hold. He lowered his head, dug his nose into the crook of Changbin’s neck. Normally, bare skin greeted him there. Now, though, his riding gear was in the way. Hyunjin placed a kiss there anyway. “How was the flight?”
“Beautiful.” Changbin said with the same breathlessness as Jeongin. They were brothers, different in many ways, but their love for dragons was the same. Nothing rivalled it. Seeing Changbin alight with it made Hyunjin’s heart melt, made him fall in love all over again. “I’ll ask you to come next time.”
Hyunjin leaned back to look at Changbin and hummed. “I’m glad you had a nice flight.”
Footsteps echoed behind them, a yelp following suit. Hyunjin grinned as Changbin rolled his eyes at the disturbance. Hyunjin didn’t mind, however, and he turned around just in time to see Seungmin bow to Morghon before coming closer. Morghon huffed at him, as if the movement wasn’t necessary and he wondered why the human kept acting so strange. Seungmin’s shoulders visibly relaxed before he ran to where Jeongin stood in between Morghon’s front paws.
“Should we leave them to it?” Changbin asked. “I would quite like to sit in front of a warm fire with you.”
“Please,” Hyunjin smiled back, placing a quick peck on Changbin’s lips. “I’d quite like that, too.”
Changbin left Hyunjin to say goodbye to Liana. The dragon took it in stride, allowing her rider to leave her on the field. Soon enough, she would take off and go back to the Dragons Field, where the Royal Family kept their dragons. They were not shackled and free to take flight as they pleased. The unbonded ones did so. The ones that had humans tied to their souls tended not to it much. Liana didn’t like flying without Changbin, so Hyunjin wasn’t worried that she would fly off somewhere anytime soon.
Besides, she had three eggs hidden in her nest. A mother, no matter which species, didn’t like being far away from her children.
Changbin took Hyunjin’s hand and without another word, the two of them made for the gate. “How are her eggs?”
“Good,” Changbin said with a smile. “Tiros is quite the attentive father.”
Hyunjin grinned. Tiros, one of the older dragons belonging to the Royal Family, had been a father to only two other dragons. Morghon, and Poleo. Poleo was unbonded, still, but it wouldn’t take long for him to be snatched up by one of the new riders graduating into their ranks. “He’s in the nest now, then?”
“I think Liana forced him to.”
They talked as they walked, entering the palace. The warmth from Liana’s smoke still in Hyunjin’s clothes kept him comfortable as they made their way to their chambers, dodging any curious servants. Hyunjin had told the King and Queen he wished not to be disturbed this afternoon, after all. They were kind enough to grant him that wish, wanting nothing more than their son to spend time with his husband to be.
When Changbin opened the door leading to their chamber, the warmth grew stronger. Hyunjin smiled to himself as he stepped inside, immediately shedding his wolf fur and hanging it on the hooks on the wall. Changbin followed suit, taking Hyunjin’s hand right after. A dragon’s fire, voluntarily given, burned forever. Every winter, Changbin used Liana’s fire to warm up his chamber. Now that they shared, they had both Liana’s power and Yurin’s. Their chamber was never cold during the frozen months, and for that, Hyunjin was grateful.
He loved the Winter Solstice, the balls and dancing and music joined by drinks and laughter and tradition. The way Changbin loved it, and the gifts. Hyunjin liked curling up on a windowsill with a book or with his sketching pad and charcoal, watching the snow fall. He didn’t like it when he had to go out in said snow, no matter how much Changbin loved it.
Hyunjin reached out and booped Changbin’s nose, the tip red from the cold that remained. “What would you like to do?”
Changbin raised an eyebrow. “You ask that as if you do not have games to play together.”
“Do you have energy to play those?”
“Of course I do, my dear.” Changbin replied with a shrug. His parents had kept him busy, too. Despite Changbin having a younger brother, it was him his parents came to for help. He needed to be present during the Winter Solstice, involved in its preparations, for it was a party dedicated to him this year. It was his last Winter Solstice as a prince. Next year, he will be King. “Always, for you.”
“I love you.” Hyunjin stepped forward, their boots touching.
Changbin’s smile was blinding. “I love you more.”
“Highly impossible.”
“Liana wanted to go back to see you.”
“Now you are merely making things up.”
Changbin scoffed. “I do not lie about my dragon.”
Hyunjin’s cheeks flushed. “Liana does not love me that much.”
“She loves you more than she does me.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” Hyunjin rebutted, though the knowledge settled heavily in his heart. Liana’s approval was important. He’d gotten it years ago, but it was still nice to know it hadn’t faded after all this time. “I love her too.”
Changbin grinned. Hyunjin placed a hand on Changbin’s chest, right above his heart. The warmth seeped through his ribcage, to Hyunjin’s skin and into his veins. The bond bloomed and hummed, and somewhere in the Dragon Fields, Liana and Yurin felt it, too. “Now, do you wish to nap or play?”
Hyunjin pursed his lips, but before he could think of an answer, a yawn forced its way through. Changbin chuckled, pulling Hyunjin to their bed chamber. “That answers my question, my love.”
“After our nap I will beat you at cards.”
“Of course you will. And then we’ll go see Yurin.”
Hyunjin kissed Changbin again before allowing the prince to pull him into their bed chamber. With the promise of seeing his own dragon again, Hyunjin went willingly.