DragonHeart | Minsung

XXIX

Minho and Jisung got dressed and went downstairs to join Chan in the kitchen. The smell that emanating from the room immediately made their stomachs rumble, their lack of good cooked meals over their journey getting to them.

Chan's eyes traveled to the pair once he heard their footsteps approaching. "Ah, so you love birds finally decided to join me," he joked.

"I already told you that it's not like that!" Jisung whined, embarrassment still lingering from earlier.

"Mmhm, I just hope you didn't get my sheets dirty," Chan added with a shrug of his shoulders, holding back a smug smirk.

Jisung was left speechless mouth hung slightly open. Minho chuckled at the comment, but he couldn't deny the warmth he felt creeping onto his cheeks.

They quickly moved on from the subject, their attention drawn to the breakfast that Chan had prepared for them. Pancakes, toast, and eggs; simple, but delicious regardless.

"Damn, Chan, I wish I could hire you to cook for me back at home," Jisung said, his words muffled while his cheeks were stuffed full.

Minho's nose twitching slightly as he heard the compliment, that feeling from the night before brewing inside him.

Chan looked up to him with a smile. "Thanks. Jisung. It's nice to cook for someone else again,"

Chan's eyes scanned over the two, and he quickly took notice of Minho's distaste, his eyes burning holes through him. He fought back a chuckle. "...but, Minho is a great cook too, I'll leave that offer for him," he added.

"You cook?" Jisung asked, turning to look at Minho with a hint excitement is his eyes.

Minho's eyes softened as he looked back over to Jisung, and he nodded. "Mm...been a while, but I like to cook, yeah," he said, now pleased that the prince's attention had been diverted back to him.

"You should cook more once this is all over," Jisung said before shovelling another forkful into his mouth.

Minho had cooked food for Jisung a lot during their travels, but it was only bland game meat and preserved foods. Having the opportunity to try his actual cooking, and to see more of his interests sounded nice.

Minho hummed in agreement, that strange fluttering returning to his chest at the thought.

They continued their small banter at the table as they ate, but after finishing breakfast, and helping Chan clean up, they began to get ready to leave. Chan was a good host, but the longer they took, the more likely it was for them to not find Jisung's mother.

"What do you think about going the rest of the way on my back?" Minho asked after they had gathered their belongings and gone outside.

"What about the horses?" Jisung asked, uncertainty written on his face.

"They can stay with me, until you get back," Chan offered with a smile as he followed them outside.

Jisung seemed unsure at first, but soon gave a nod of in agreement. "Okay, let's do that.."

Instead of attatching all of their belongings to the horse's tack, Chan led them to into his stables, gaving them tack designed for a dragon.

"This is Felix's, but he wouldn't mind you two borrowing it," Chan said while he was showing Jisung how to properly secure the saddle.

"Who's Felix?" Jisung asked.

"His best friend," Minho interrupted.

Chan chuckled and hummed. With no other humans in Gimpo, most of his friends were dragons, and him and Felix had always gotten along well. Felix would visit Chan a lot, and he'd often take him to fly around with him, or take him somewhere if he needed.

Felix had never shared his heart, and Chan had never received one, but it was obvious that they'd be bonded if it ever came to that.

"You should stop by and see him and the others on the way. Everyone wondered why you just disappeared...I'm sure they'd be happy to see you again." Chan said.

"We'll see...we don't have much time for reunions." Minho mumbled, hesitant.

"Min, we can make time for you to see your friends," Jisung said. He didn't know much about Minho's past, but he knew it'd been a while since he'd been home.

Minho simply didn't respond, quickly dismissing the topic to focus on getting ready to leave again.

It wasn't long before everything was secure, saddle strapped tight around Minho's scales.

"Be good while I'm gone," Jisung said to Bbama and gave the large horse a couple soft pats on his neck, his heart clearly aching a bit that he had to leave him.

"I'll take good care of him and Dori for you guys, promise," Chan reassured them.

Jisung went back to where Minho was waiting, and pulled himself up and into the saddle, but not without a struggle of course.

Chan smiled as he watched Jisung struggle to get his footing and grip to climb up. He could see that the Prince was nervous, but he knew he'd felt the same way his first time flying too.

"Ready?" Minho asked once he felt Jisung stop squirming so much.

Jisung took a moment to adjust, gripping onto the leather tight. "Uh, yeah...ready..."

The dragon nodded, standing back up on his claws, stretching out his massive blue wings.

"Minho, wait!" Jisung yelled, gripping onto the saddle horn so tightly that his knuckles were white.

Minho's eyes widened, his wings quickly dropping. "What's wrong?" Minho asked, concern clear in his tone.

A mix of relief and embarrassment pooled in the Prince's chest, "I'm- uh...I'm scarred of heights..." he admitted.

Minho tucked his wings back in and sighed. "You could've said that earlier..."

"I'm sorry.."

"You don't need to apologize. It's okay," Minho assured him. Sure, it wasn't ideal, but he wouldn't berate him for it. "We can stay grounded then."

Jisung nodded appreciatively, feeling grateful for Minho's understanding.

Chan observed them with a smile still plastered on his face, and couldn't help but laugh. "I'll still keep the horses, the mountains are rough."

As the dragon and the prince continued their journey, Chan couldn't help but admire their dynamic. After everything that's happened, it was astounding that they connected so quickly.

He watched as they disappeared down the road, turning back to return home with a sign once they were gone. With a gentle pat on Bbama's mane, he led the horses back to the stable.