jongho and wooyoung returned to the castle after a while, the two of them beaming from the time they've spent with yeosang today. jongho promised yeosang that he'd come back for him, that he'd court yeosang if that's what needed, because he will never, ever in a million years let go of him now. and to say yeosang was moved was an understatement. wooyoung had never seen his best friend cry so much and he's honestly glad that yeosang found someone that could not only love him, but love all of him.
"i'm glad you're back, sir jongho. the king requests your presence at the strategy room immediately." one of the guards told jongho as soon as the young man stepped off of his horse. jongho frowned, he looked over at wooyoung who was already asking the guard, "is his highness there already?"
the guard shook his head, "we sent someone to ask for his presence but he wouldn't go without you meeting him first, sir."
wooyoung and jongho exchanged glances and the two immediately understood what's going on: the ambush was going to happen. wooyoung rushed over to san's quarters while jongho went to the strategy room, apologising for his previous absence and sat down, hoping that whatever san had to say to wooyoung was quick.
"sannie!" wooyoung exclaimed when barging into san's room. san was sitting on wooyoung's favourite seat — the windowsill — with a bunch of parchment on his lap. wooyoung never understood why san loved to use the old fashion way of parchments and quills, but san only ever told him that it, quote unquote, "adds to the experience".
"sannie, hey," wooyoung approached san and pressed a kiss on san's forehead, "what are you doing here?"
san turned to face wooyoung and the sight of the younger immediately brought a smile to his face. he pulled wooyoung closer to him and starting inhaling his cinnamon scent, now heightened because wooyoung was feeling so happy before this. "i missed you, cinnamon. how was meeting yeosang?"
wooyoung hummed, threading a hand through san's thick locks. perhaps he should give the prince a trim sooner or later. "good. he was so glad to see jongho. we arrived and the first thing the guard told us was-"
"no, just stay here. just stay here with me for a while." san muttered against wooyoung's chest. wooyoung sighed, "sannie, you have to be there. you know that."
san lifted his head from wooyoung's chest and smiled up at him, "i know. but i just wanted to spend some time with my baby before i go there. don't you wanna as well?"
wooyoung blushed at the pet name. san had only call him 'cinnamon' before, and that nickname alone was enough for butterflies to erupt in wooyoung's stomach and have his heart doing summersaults. with san calling him 'baby', it felt more intimate and more... loving. like san wanted to have wooyoung as his forever. and wooyoung wouldn't mind that at all.
"pretty baby's blushing~" san teased, wooyoung pouting and pushing him slightly away from him. san only kept his grip on wooyoung waist tighter, stopping the younger from going anywhere at all. "please, just—i don't wanna get thrown into that mess already."
wooyoung sighed. he slowly moved the parchments from san's lap onto his desk and replaced himself onto san's lap. wooyoung caressed san's face and smiled softly, "sannie, you'll be okay. you'll be fine out there. the army's trained and all they need is a trustworthy, experienced commander. i get that you're not experienced, but from what i could see yesterday during the training, you were level-headed and just what they need in a commander. you are so much more than what you give yourself credit for, choi san. so go be yourself and come back home. to here, and to me, yeah?"
wooyoung's words went straight to san's heart. he adored the younger male in front of him so much that he wanted nothing more than to just have their own little space and for them to never get out of it. he wanted nothing more than to have a place for them and them only where no one could take the other away from them. but san knew what wooyoung said was right. he had to be at the meeting. it's his fate to fight while it was wooyoung's fate to be a moon dust. there's no changing in these roles. they were assigned to him at birth and now, he'll have to embrace it just like anyone would: with bravery and with hope.
and san knew that everything would be okay in the end. because wooyoung would always be here, waiting for him to come home.
"you promise you'll be here when i come back?" san muttered, like it was a promise that he didn't want anyone else other than wooyoung to hear.
wooyoung nodded, pressing his forehead against san's, "i promise. i promise with my entire existence."
san connected their lips in a quick motion, pushing wooyoung against one of the walls that made up the windowsill as they made out passionately. there was nothing but love that was conveyed through the kiss, nothing but pure and absolute love for each other. and that's when the two of them knew, that no matter what happened, they'd always have each other. that even if they're not soulmates anymore, their hearts would still be connected as one. not because they're soulmates, but because they're lovers. and that was always more important to the humankind than soulmates were.
—
a/n: this isn't over 1000 words but i feel like it was the correct moment to just pause. also this was written the same time as the last chapter n idk man... seems like my emotions today r through the mf ROOF and that i just write to cope with it.
writing = best coping mechanism <3
