#final dragon

The only sound left in the small karaoke room after Taemin had slammed the door was the bubbly pop music pulsating from the speakers. Minho and Kibum had stopped belting the lyrics after Taemin had stormed out, gaping at the door in shock before turning around to stare at Jonghyun.

“What the fuck did you - ” Kibum started, only to cut himself off when Jonghyun sprang from the couch and rushed towards the door, scampering backwards for a second to hastily grab the empty plastic bag on the table.

His eyes frantically searched the hallway, quickly realizing it was empty and cursing under his breath. He sprinted towards the building entrance, slamming his palms against the surface louder than he had meant to and startling the man behind the counter.

“Did you see a boy leave just now?” Jonghyun asked the man, slightly out of breath. The man nodded and was about to say something, but Jonghyun was already out the doors before he could get the first word out.

Jonghyun looked for Taemin’s familiar face amongst the few stragglers still outside at night, rising on his toes in order to see over their heads. He ran his free hand through his hair in annoyance, taking in a sharp inhale of breath. Frustrated, he turned around to go back inside and ask the man if he had seen which way Taemin had gone, only to pause when he saw him sitting on the pavement, back against the wall, and head lowered onto his knees.

“Taemin.” Jonghyun gasped, crouching down to Taemin’s level. He reached out a hand to brush Taemin’s hair aside only for Taemin to push him away. “Do - ” He took a moment to catch his breath, “Are you having a panic attack?” Jonghyun asked, already holding the plastic bag in front of him.

Taemin glared at the bag from underneath his bangs. “No, I’m not.” He mumbled into his arms, barely audible to Jonghyun’s ears.

Jonghyun breathed a sigh of relief and set the bag on the ground, not caring if the wind blew it away. “I’m so, so sorry Taemin, I shouldn’t have told you like that. I was just overwhelmed and I wasn’t thinking and I’m so - ”

“So you really meant it then?” Taemin spat, head rising. “You don’t like me anymore?”

“I never said that - ”

“Then why?!” He yelled, now looking Jonghyun dead in the eye. “Why would you say that?!”

Jonghyun felt a pang in his chest at the way Taemin looked at him in utter resentment. He promised himself he wouldn’t hurt Taemin again, and now… “Taeminnie, please…” Jonghyun said, keeping his voice calm. He placed a hand on Taemin’s, but he pulled away once more. “Can we please just talk about this tomorrow, maybe when both our heads are little clearer?”

“I’m not drunk.” Taemin said defensively, lowering his eyebrows. “I’m just...uh…” His forehead creased as he thought of the word he wanted to use.

“Tipsy?” Jonghyun offered.

“Yeah. That.” Taemin sighed and dropped his head into his arms again. “I want to talk about this now.”

Jonghyun sat down onto the ground so he wasn’t crouching anymore and killing his knees. “Okay, Taemin-ah. We’ll do what you want.”

“What I want is to not be having this fucking conversation.” He said with a little edge, eyes darting to the the side.

Jonghyun reached out for Taemin’s hand again and this time he didn’t pull away. “We both knew it was going to happen sooner or later, Taemin-ah.” He said, rubbing his thumb against Taemin’s knuckles.

“I didn’t.” Taemin huffed. “And don’t call me by my nickname when I’m mad at you.”

“Sorry.” Jonghyun murmured, patting Taemin’s hand. “I just...I thought it would be better to end this sooner rather than later, that’s all.” He bit his lip. Although it was the truth, it still sounded like a lame excuse, even to his own ears.

Taemin let out a cold laugh. “Really? I’ve liked you for months now. You’re my first boyfriend and first kiss. Did you seriously expect this not to hurt me?”

“This hurts me too, Taemin!” Jonghyun said, holding his free hand to his chest. “I was just trying to be reasonable, that’s all.”

“Why would you go and do something stupid like being reasonable?” Taemin scoffed. “That’s not the Jonghyun I know.”

Jonghyun looked down to the ground, hand falling to his side. “I just want what’s best for you.”

“Oh my GOD, you two.” A voice said from above the pair. They raised their heads to see Kibum, the source of the voice, and Minho, who looked much more worried and less terrifying. “If you don’t want to break up, then don’t. It’s not that hard of a concept.”

“But what about the law?” Jonghyun asked, followed by a rather unattractive snort from Kibum.

“Who gives a shit about the law?” Kibum said, crossing his arms. Everyone turned and stared at him in disbelief. “...I do.” He sputtered. “Obviously. But I mean, King Jinki has been trying to get rid of that dumb law for years now, I’m sure that - ”

“He did what now?” Taemin spoke up, his interest in this conversation suddenly increasing.

“You didn’t know?” Kibum tsked, slapping Jonghyun upside the head. “Idiot. Why didn’t you tell him?”

Jonghyun glared at Kibum and rubbed the back of his neck. “I haven’t worked for King Jinki that long, you asshole.”

“Oh, right.” Kibum replied flippantly, placing his arm around Minho’s shoulders. “Well, I’m already working on a plan, you know, but even if the law never goes through, you’ll always have us to fight for you.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Taemin said.

Kibum opened his mouth to tell Taemin off, but was cut off when Minho began talking. “Wait, why exactly would I be fighting for him?” His face heated as he realized what he had said. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to, it just seems a bit difficult since I’ll still be in Korea.”

“Who said you were staying in Korea?” Kibum asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re coming home with me, whether you like it or not.”

Minho blushed at the obvious double meaning behind his words. “B-but my family is still here.” He said, wringing his hands together.

“Guess I’ll just have to make myself a part of your family.” Kibum said.

Taemin blinked. Minho’s jaw hung open. Jonghyun looked disgusted. A car honked in the distance.

“Oh my god, did you fucking plan this?” Jonghyun scowled, disappointment clear on his face.

“Absolutely. It was all part of my elaborate scheme to propose to Minho at a shitty karaoke place.” Kibum rolled his eyes. “Too bad I forgot the ring.”

“Hyung, I know you’re joking but I’m not entirely opposed to the idea.” Minho hurriedly blurted out, looking out into the distance and then at the ground.

Jonghyun nearly pinched himself to make sure he was seeing things right when a blush creeped up Kibum’s neck. “Ah.” Kibum said.

“Why must you two rub it in.” Taemin groaned, bringing his legs up and shoving his face on his kneecaps again. Jonghyun frowned at Minho and Kibum before crawling over to Taemin’s side and rubbing his back.

“Well.” Kibum cleared his throat, blush steadily rising to his cheeks. “Just, uh, give me a few months first so I can try again properly.”

Minho smiled down at him. “Hopefully with a ring next time.”

Without meaning to, Taemin’s gaze fell onto his left hand that was resting on his knee. Jonghyun followed his eyes and placed his palm on Taemin’s hand, giving him a small smile. Taemin lifted his head and mirrored Jonghyun’s expression, growing bigger the longer they stared at each other.

“Are we okay?” Jonghyun asked. Taemin thought his eyes looked like stars as they glimmered in anticipation, the lights of the street reflecting off the dark irises.

“Yeah.” Taemin replied, voice almost catching in his throat. “We’re okay.”

3 weeks later

“Okay, but why purple?” Taemin asked, turning around and inspecting himself in the mirror. He was suited in a violet, silk tuxedo, with a white undershirt and black bow tie that didn’t necessarily look bad in his opinion, he just didn’t understand why it was anything other than black. In fact, he didn’t even know tuxes came in other colors.

“When I met you your hair was purple, now you suddenly hate the color?” Kibum scoffed from his place on the floor, where he was folding and pinning the ends of Taemin’s pants.

Before Taemin could reply, the door to his room opened and Jonghyun walked through, holding three drinks in his hands. Kibum stood up so Jonghyun could hand him one, the next going to Taemin and the last staying with him.

“Jonghyun,” Kibum said after he stook a sip of his juice, “Asking you to get us drinks was a nice way of me telling you to go away and let me work.”

“You can still work with me here.” Jonghyun replied, plopping down onto a chair.

“It’s extremely distracting.” Kibum deadpanned.

Jonghyun let out a noise of mock offense and raised his hands defensively. “I’m not even doing anything!”

“It’s a mirror, Jonghyun. Don’t think I can’t see you two making goo-goo eyes at each other.” Kibum turned and worked on one of Taemin’s sleeves so he didn’t have to lay on the floor again. Taemin lowered his head as a blush formed on his cheeks.

“Well I’m not leaving him alone with you.” Jonghyun said, pointing an accusatory finger towards Kibum. “I don’t trust you.”

Kibum’s hands fell to his sides and he threw his head back. “First of all, I’m not some kind of douchebag who hits on someone else’s boyfriend.” He resumed his work on Taemin’s sleeve. “Second of all, I’m kinda sorta engaged, so.”

“That’s not even what I was referring to, but congratulations, I guess.” Jonghyun responded.

“For the record, I don’t trust you, either.” Taemin said, followed by a yelp as one of Kibum’s pins poked his wrist.

Jonghyun got up and hurried to Taemin’s side to inspect the damage. Taemin patted Jonghyun’s shoulder in reassurance. “I’m not bleeding, it just surprised me.” He said.

“Full offense, but like, isn’t there staff around here who should be doing this?” Jonghyun retorted, pushing Kibum’s hands away and pulling Taemin’s arm to his face to see for himself that Taemin was unharmed.

Kibum scoffed and grabbed Taemin’s arm back and glared at Jonghyun. “Yes, there are. And I’m the one who asked to do it.”

“Why’d you do that?” Taemin said, genuinely curious and trying to relieve some of the tension in the room.

“Because I wanted to.” Kibum said. Jonghyun let out a ‘pfft’ and walked back to his chair, keeping a close eye on the pins in Kibum’s hand once he sat down. “Anyways, to answer your question from before,” Kibum continued, checking the length of the sleeve, “It’s purple because black tuxedos are boring and overused.” He nodded and walked around to the opposite side of Taemin. “If it makes you feel less weird, my tux is gonna have flowers on it.” He looked over his shoulder and smirked at Jonghyun. “And Jonghyun’s is going to be yellow.”

Jonghyun choked on his tea, hitting himself on the chest in an attempt not to spit it out. “Jonghyun’s gonna wear what now?” He asked, wiping his lips.

“To complement Taemin’s purple, of course!”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

“Orange?”

“No.”

“Red?”

“Shut up.”

Kibum glared at him. “Fine, do what you want. Just don’t wear fucking blue or else you’ll clash.”

“Oh I’m DEFINITELY gonna wear blue now.” Jonghyun smirked and leaned back in his chair.

Kibum’s arms dropped to his sides as he let out a groan. “Fine, make him look stupid the night of his first speech, see if I care.”

Taemin’s body immediately tensed at the word ‘speech’. “Could you maybe, like, not mention that?” He grumbled.

“What?” Kibum said, placing his leftover pins on a dresser now that he was done. “You’ve been practicing, right? There’s no reason I can’t talk about it.”

“Uh, yes there is.” Taemin scoffed and gestured to himself. “You fucked up a perfectly good Taemin. Look at me, I’ve got anxiety.”

The loveseat screeched against the wooden floors as Jonghyun hastily rose from it, stopping at Taemin’s side. “Are you okay? Do you need your meds? A bag? Kibum, go get Taemin a fucking ba - ”

Taemin rolled his eyes, pulling Jonghyun’s hands away from where he was coddling his face. “I’m fine right now, hyung.” He pressed a kiss to Jonghyun’s nose. “Just...worry about me the night of the ceremony, okay?”

“But I worry about you all the time.” Jonghyun pouted.

“Both of you disgust me.” Kibum said, face pulled into a grimace.

“You can leave, you know.” Taemin said, pulling Jonghyun closer specifically to piss Kibum off more. “My suit’s finished, so we’re done here, right?”

“First of all, it’s not finished until I make someone sew it for me. Second of all, you’re gonna have to take it off before you even think about doing anything with Jonghyun.” Kibum said. “I’m not letting you mess up my hard work with...whatever it is you two do.”

Taemin let out a frustrated huff of air through his nose. “Fine, I’ll take it off.”

“Would you, uh…” Jonghyun trailed off, backing away from Taemin and pointing towards the bedroom door with his thumb, “...like me to leave?”

“Yes, please.” Taemin replied, slapping away Kibum’s hands that were already trying to undo his jacket buttons. “I’ll meet you in your room, okay?”

One of Kibum’s sharp laughs escaped his lips, but Jonghyun interrupted him with an “okay” before he could say whatever nasty shit they all knew he was planning on saying.

“I have condoms upstairs if you need any.” He said after Jonghyun left, struggling not to snicker.

Instead, the only sound he made was a yelp as Taemin hit his chest.

“Taemin-ah, I’m ready to - ”

Jonghyun stopped himself once he entered Taemin’s room, only to find all the lights off and Taemin curled up on the mattress. Heart dropping to his stomach, he rushed over to the bed and lightly pushed on Taemin’s shoulder until he turned around and faced Jonghyun. Taemin was covered in a cold sweat that stained the collar of his white shirt, breathing so harshly that his whole body shook. Jonghyun cursed under his breath and hurriedly made his way towards the bathroom, haphazardly opening the cabinet behind the mirror and grabbing the pill bottle inside. He filled one of the paper cups with water and rushed back to Taemin, spilling some in his haste.

Placing his arm under Taemin’s back, Jonghyun pulled Taemin into a sitting position, raising the cup to his lips. Taemin grabbed it himself with weak fingers, holding the water in his mouth until he plucked the pill from Jonghyun’s hand and pushed it past his lips. He sat hunched over on his bed as rubbed his back, talking him through their breathing exercise.

Once Taemin’s breathing was more or less steady, Jonghyun rested his head on Taemin’s back. “I’m so fucking sorry, I thought you would be okay if I left to go get ready for a few minutes, I’m such an idiot, I’m so - ”

“This was going to happen whether you were here or not.” Taemin said, voice raspy. He cleared his throat and shrugged Jonghyun off so he could finish the rest of his water. “I’ve practiced this stupid speech a hundred times and it still doesn’t help. If I mess up, not only will all the guests notice, but so will the reporters, and then the reporters will make articles about me, and - ” His breathing sped up again and Jonghyun timed their inhales and exhales aloud once more until he calmed down, holding his hands. “I want to do well, hyung.” Taemin continued, voice almost a whisper. “I don’t want anyone to think I can’t handle this, because I really do want to help people, and I just - ” He let out a sob. “What if I have an attack on stage and they think I’m crazy? What if no one trusts me after that and all this preparing was for nothing?”

“Having an illness doesn’t make you crazy, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun replied in a soft voice, tracing a finger up and down Taemin’s arm in a repetitive motion.

Taemin let out a bitter laugh. “Of course you’d think that. You have illnesses too. Other people won’t see it that way.”

“Your uncle has depression, you know.” Jonghyun stated, finger stopping for a second before resuming the calming gesture.

Taemin blinked. “Wait, really?”

“Well yeah.” Jonghyun said. “And it’s not like it’s a secret or anything, like I’m pretty sure basically everyone in Aellyn knows about it. People still trust him and look to him for leadership, and I don’t know of anyone thinks of him any less because of it. And if anyone does, they’re an asshole, because I mean, who else would be able to console an entire country that just lost a prince, even though it was his own brother?” He shifted closer to Taemin and placed one hand on his cheek, coaxing Taemin into facing him. “Just because you’re sick doesn’t mean you can’t chase after anything you want.”

Taemin looked down sheepishly. “Thank you, hyung.” He said, and leaned forward as if he was going to kiss Jonghyun before pulling back. “Sorry, you probably don’t want to kiss me if I’m all sweaty.” He let out a weak laugh.

A smirk played across Jonghyun’s face before his lips pressed against Taemin’s nose, cheeks, and forehead. “Try me.” he said.

Taemin blushed and looked off to the side. “I should go get ready now, I wasted a lot of time…” He mumbled, silently scolding himself.

“Okay, Taemin-ah.” Jonghyun agreed, pulling away from Taemin’s face. Taemin’s knees wobbled a bit when he stood up to walk towards the bathroom, but Jonghyun grabbed his waist before he fell. “I’ll be here when you get back.” He said, sitting down on the comforter again.

Taemin stopped in the doorway and looked back at Jonghyun. “Thank you.”

“What’s that thing in your ear for?” Minho asked an anxious looking Kibum, poking at the small black contraption.

Kibum pushed Minho’s hand away without looking up from his checklist. “It lets me hear and talk to anyone else wearing one so we can keep track of everything.” He replied, flipping between two of the pages and mumbling to himself.

Minho hummed, placing his hands in the pockets of his black trousers. He peered over the heads of the crowd, not really searching for anything in particular. It was difficult to see the marble floors because of the mass of people, but no one had to wonder what it looked like, as it was the same marble as the pillars rising to the ceiling, encircling a round skylight window which showcased the stormy night outside.

Too bad Minho didn’t care about that. He studied the architecture for maybe five seconds before leaning down and dropping his head onto Kibum’s shoulder.

“Hyung, I’m bored.” He whined.

“I know baby, but I’m really busy right now.” Kibum tried not to let his frustration seep into his tone. “Go talk to someone.”

“But I don’t know anyone here and they’re probably, like, a bunch of rich aristocrats.” Minho gestured to the elegantly dressed people. “I can’t just talk to them.”

“Guess you’re screwed by something other than me, then.” Kibum sighed.

Minho took a second to register that sentence in his mind. “Why would you say that in publi - ”

He was cut off when the golden side doors opened, letting in a gust of wind and four people; two guards holding up umbrellas shielding Jonghyun and Taemin from the rain.

“Are we late?” Jonghyun asked, the two of them approaching Kibum.

“What the fuck are you wearing?” Taemin said before Kibum could reply.

Kibum glared at Taemin but answered Jonghyun regardless. “No, you still have like five minutes. You should probably get backstage, though.”

“Thanks.” Jonghyun replied, turning towards Taemin. “Okay, Taemin-ah, you got this.”

“You’re not coming backstage with me?” Taemin asked, already feeling a pit form in his stomach.

“I don’t think I can.” Jonghyun said, gauging Taemin’s reaction. He held Taemin’s hands in his own when Taemin raised his thumbnail to his mouth, recognizing his nervous habit. “Taemin-ah.” He said softly, prompting Taemin to look up and into his eyes. “You can do this. Nobody is going to judge you and I’ll be in the audience the whole time, okay?”

“Okay.” Taemin whispered, looking to the ground again.

“Hey.” Jonghyun placed his hand on Taemin’s cheek once more. “No one can be better at this than you.” He thought for a moment. “Just imagine everybody as a puppy because puppies love everyone unconditionally.”

Taemin giggled and Jonghyun gave himself an imaginary high five. “Thank you, hyung. Again.”

“Anything for you, Taemin-ah.” He said before kissing the tip of Taemin’s nose. “I’m so proud of you for making it this far and I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Taemin said for the first time. “I’m gonna go now.” Jonghyun didn’t even hear that last part because the first part kept replaying in his head. He loves me back. Taemin loves me back.

Jonghyun wasn’t pulled out of his trance until he heard Jinki’s voice through the speakers, introducing Taemin to the guests. He hurried to the platform and stood as close to Taemin’s podium at as he could. Luckily most of the guests weren’t too concerned with standing as close to the stage as humanly possible like Jonghyun was.

When Jinki extended his hand towards Taemin as his cue to come out, Jonghyun had to physically restrain himself from shouting out like he was at a concert. Taemin placed his cue cards on the podium, not without a bit of a shaky hand, and looked out to the crowd, jaw set.

“Good evening everyone, I’m Lee Taemin. Tonight, I stand before you with every intention of becoming your prince. I want to follow my father’s legacy, and my uncle’s footsteps, doing the highest quality work possible in order to help shape our country and our world into a place we can be proud of.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped. “However,” at this word, the room became tangibly tense and the reporters at the back of the room stretched their mics even closer to the podium, “I believe that all human beings should be treated with equity. And as of right now, my family, including myself, are being denied a right that many of us take for granted; the right to love who we choose.” Hushed whispers raked through the crowd and Taemin’s fingers twitched against the podium. “Currently, I am in love with a man who I could see myself living the rest of my life with. But because of our Bill of Rights, created in 1812, I am not free to marry whom I choose. We tried to ignore our feelings, only to realize they were too strong, which left me with a difficult decision to make; leave the man I love, or give up on the country that needs me. But with the help of a friend, we realized I may not have to make this decision. Rather, the people will decide for me.” He looked straight on at the cameras livestreaming the ceremony. “I urge you, if you believe my family and I should have the right to marry who we choose, please call Parliament. Ask them to overturn the law as our inside efforts have proved to be fruitless. Regardless of the turnout, I choose to be forevermore Lee Taemin, Prince of Aellyn. Thank you.”

The crowd applauded politely, even more people choosing to whisper to one another now that the clapping would overpower their voices. Taemin let out a long breath now that he was finished, almost turning to leave the platform before remembering he had to pose with his uncle for photos. Jinki stood shoulder to shoulder with Taemin, smiling much more naturally than Taemin was. When the flashes died out, he pulled Taemin into a hug and whispered into his ear a quick “you were amazing” before pulling back.

“Thank you, Uncle Jinki.” Taemin said, smiling at him. He almost felt as if he was seeing his uncle in a new light, and now had another reason to look forward to moving to Aellyn.

Taemin found Jonghyun, Kibum, and Minho shortly after leaving the stage and they all took turns giving him a hug (Kibum’s was a little more than awkward but no one dared to mention it) and Minho couldn’t stop grinning.

“Kibum said that the phone lines have already started ringing back in Aellyn!” He said, bouncing slightly. “This could actually work!”

“Yeah, well, don’t get your hopes up too high.” Kibum said sarcastically, only to be met with glares from three different pairs of eyes. “What? I was kidding!”

“Taemin.” Jonghyun said, turning to face Taemin, eyes serious. “I just want you to know that no matter how this turns out, I will always be with you.”

“I know, hyung.” Taemin grinned, leftover jitters still fading out.

“I’ll always love you no matter what, you know that?” Jonghyun said playfully, taking Taemin into his arms and rubbing their noses together.