Royal Temptations

Bonus Chapter: Final

First and foremost Holy shit 55 THOUSAND reads. That's insane. I remember being giddy over one thousand reads. I definitely never pictured this. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart thank you. You guys have become such an important part of my life. I'm so, so glad for that.

One last hurrah everyone. For old times sake.

I suppose this will contain spoilers for the DaeHyun/Li Jie spin off. But only tiny ones.

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Yixing's POV

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I cracked an eye open, stifling a yawn and moving my stiff body slowly. Being in your eighties had that affect on you anymore. Especially after running the country for so, so long. Longer than even father before me. But I'd enjoyed every single moment of it, so long as my family were a part of it. They were my every reason. Back then and now.

"Hmm?" I hummed to myself thoughtfully, noticing an empty bed beside me. Junmyeon must have gotten up before me today. I rose and stretched, shuffling quietly to the closet to retrieve my outfit for the day. Something comfortable, as we often did things during the warmer parts of the day. I groaned at the thought of taking the one flight of stairs down to the kitchen, but the thought flittered away before it fully formed. I smiled softly. My husband would be waiting for me in the living room. That was enough to motivate me to get downstairs.

"Who are you?" Another tiny piece of me shattered as Junmyeon's scared and unfocused expression swung my way. Another one of the many reason's I'd decided to step down when I did. Junmyeon retired about five years before I did, when his mind began to go. At first it was small things. Forgetting where he'd put things. The names of certain countries leaving him. DaeHyun took over shortly after that, and I'd continued to run China until it just became unbearable. The final straw had to be when we'd wake up together and Junmyeon had no idea who I was anymore.

"It's me baby boy," I whispered, approaching him slowly. He followed my movements. I parted his hair and planted a kiss to his forehead. "It's Yixing baby. Your husband. We've wmbeen married for sixty years."

"We have?" he asked me, eyes widening in wonder. I couldn't help but smile at him even if a part of me felt like it would never be the same. "You're cute," he told me next as I sat in the chair opposite him. It was the same conversation we had every morning. On one hand I was thankful to have it at all. On the other hand...

"Thank you Junnie," I told him at last, my gaze wandering to the wall behind him. Lined with photos over the years. After we both stepped down from our positions we moved from the castles to the small community Yifan and my aunt and uncle lived in, so now our days were spent in a cozy two storey home just outside of Beijing. Surrounded by the memories of what once was and what was yet to be. Shots of Junmyeon and I in our younger years. Pictures of DaeHyun and ChaoXing. Luhan and Yu Yan. Ying Yu and her family. Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Sungbin. Tao and the twins. Pictures of Hyeja on her adventures.

My favorite pictures were, of course, of my favorite memories. Pictures from mine and Junmyeon's wedding. Our honeymoon. Us just being together. The children when they were little. A picture DaeHyun begged us to take down but we never did. A shot of him and Li Jie at their own wedding, twirling around long after the crowd departed for the night. ChaoXing and Sungbin feeding each other cake at theirs. My children, finally happy. All I'd wanted in life, finally complete.

"I love you," I told Junmyeon, causing him to jump. He studied me seriously for a second before his expression morphed into one of pure delight. He giggled to himself. Music to my ears.

"I love you too," he exclaimed, and I swear my heart stopped again. He hadn't said it in so, so long. "Yixing," he said, some clarity seeming to come back to him all at once. "I love you. I always have..." He paused, staring at me expectantly.