❋ Beach

"Take care of yourself." Lay smiled softly after the merman kissed his cheek before hurrying over to Chen. The prince waved back at him, trying not to giggle at the blush that covered his cheeks. He waved back to Chen as well, returning his nod. As they headed towards Chen's car he presumed, Lay wondered what exactly this man was, because he knew he was not human, but he couldn't really figure it out. Needless to say, he was still bothered by the idea was with some unknown creature, but he let out a resigned sigh as he headed towards the portal, now remembering that he wasn't feeling so well after the time spent there.

@ღ Prince Lay ღ Kyungsoo breathed in the princes scent one last time before he slowly detached himself. He smiled softly, knowing that it wasnt appropriate to shed any tears now and two days would definitely pass by in a flash.
"Okay, see you soon!" He said and with a light flush he tiptoed and pressed a kiss to the princes cheek, just next to one of those dimples he liked to much. After that he scurried over to Chen as fast as he good and grabbed his hand, walking away in hurried steps. He couldnt resist turning back around and wave a couple of times though, face still red from his previous stunt.

When Chen thought he would never get out of there he witnessed the merman do something rather bold for the shy creature, though it was obvious that took all the courage the boy had because one second later he was already dragging Chen with his by hand. Chen felt oddly pleased by this turn of events, since Kyungsoo was now back by his side. He gave a casual wave and head nod towards the other guy before he turned completely and matched his strides with the merman. Finally they where getting out of there, finally. Now he kind of regretted not giving the stranger a small electricity shok when they shook hands, but he figured it was better if the guy did not know what kind of creature he was.

"I can't wait then." Lay chuckled. "I didn't doubt that one second, thanks." He smiled at the shorter boy, now actually curious about how it felt to be in a car, because he had never had the chance to be in one before. "Yes, I'll see you the day after tomorrow." he nodded, trying not to giggle at the shorter boy's mumbles, because he was just adorable clinging to him like that. "Me too, but you'll get through it. Two days isn't much." he added, planting another light kiss on the other's hair. "I have to go now, they're probably looking for me already. See you soon." he smiled a little, even though he would much rather remain here a while longer than returning home now.

@ღ Prince Lay ღ Kyungsoo was beaming at the thought of seeing his friend again so soon, squishing himself just a little bit closer to the prince. He knew it was time to say goodbye now though, he could tell Chen was growing more and more impatient by the way he didnt seem to be able to stand still.
"We will be here waiting for you." He said, smiling towards his friends, not bothering to hear if the thunderbird was agreeing to it or not. But it seemed like he was ok with it. "Those car things are a bit scary but dont worry i will definitely protect you!" Kyungsoo said with determination, though it might be more of an excuse to cling to the prince more than usual. "Okay so.. I will see you in two days?" He said and even though that was a really short time compared to how long they last saw each other it still felt tol long and he was really reluctant to let go of him. "Ill miss you." He mumbled, willing himself to not get too emotional because it was just two days and then they would see each other again.

Chen was really growing tired of waiting, simply nodding along. If agreeing to pick this guy up would get him home faster then he would.
"Yes, I will come pick you up, two days. Got it. Now Soo, be a sweetheart and come with me to the car, the traffic can be horrible at this hour and i want to get back today."'he said and reached out his hand again, now the traffic part was a small lie just to get Kyungsoo going but he really didnt like the way the boy was gluing himself to the other, he wasnt sure if it was just the sense of wanted to protect the boy or if he was actually feeling a little jealous, he was just so used to having the mermans attention all to himself so to see him cling so much to another person was just so strange. To his relief it seemed like the merman was saying goodbye.

Lay chuckled a bit at Kyungsoo's reaction to his words, and then looked at Chen, curious about his response to the merman's suggestion, not really expecting a positive one, but to his surprise, the man agreed to it. "Around this time the day after tomorrow, if it's ok with you." Lay replied. "No, I don't have a cellphone and no, I don't think I would find it by myself since I barely come here and I hardly find my way in the city." He figured the other wouldn't really want to come pick him up, but that was the truth, he would probably get lost. Since the times he visited this side often, things had changed quite a bit, and even back then, it wasn't really easy for him not to lose his way around.

@ღ Prince Lay ღ Kyungsoo closed his eyes, melting in to the embrace as much as possible. His head then snapped up when the prince mentioned that he could come back in a couple of days and his eys almost sparkled with excitement.
"You can? Then, you must visit our house.. But i dont know how you can find it because chen is driving this weird car thing that moves very fast on land so i wouldnt be able to tell you where it is." He said with a small pout, he then thought of an idea, hoping that Chen could just go along with it. "Maybe you can just come here and chen and i will come and pick you up!" He said, turning on his best puppy eyes and turned to Chen. "You can do that, cant you?

Chen sighed yet again, he kind of saw it coming but that didnt mean he was pleased that Kyungsoo was offering favours that Chen hadnt agreed to. But it had been a while since he had seen the merman this happy, in fact he didnt think he had ever seen him like this so he just knew that no matter what he would just agree to it. Because Kyungsoos happiness had somehow became really important to him.
"Yes, we can but if you are bringing him to the house i will be bringing a friend of my own over." He said and then looked at Lay. "just tell which time and day you will be coming and we can arrange something, i assume you dont own a cellphone? Would you find your way if i told you the adress? Because that way you can just come on your own." He said, because if he could get out of having to pick this guy up then it was definitely better.

Lay smiled when the boy nestled by his side, and he wrapped an arm around him gently, holding him and lightly rubbing his back. "I'd like to come over." the prince nodded. “I hope I can see you soon too.” He said as he leaned in a little, pressing a soft kiss on his hair. Then he glanced at Chen, seeing no sign of agreeing or disagreeing with Kyungsoo’s suggestion – not that he was going to take it into consideration too much, because he wasn’t going to let him get between him and Kyungsoo anyway. “I can come back in a couple of days.” He added as he looked back to the merman this time.

Kyungsoo noticed that Chen seemed to be giving in, the stiff and threatening air toned down completely around him. He positively beamed when the thunderbird offered out his hand, finally they seemed to get slong the way he wanted them to. He then realized that since Chen was there it meant that it was time to go back home to the apartment. He glanced over at the prince and then back to Chen, sending the thunderbird a look before he nestled himself close to the prince in a weird kind of side hug.
"It was really great seeing you again, when you have time you should come to our place, its really nothing fancy but for now its home and I just really... really hope it wont be long before i can see you again." He mumbled in to the princes arm, he knew being this close never did himself any favors but he just needed to,msince he wasnt sure when they could actually meet again.

Chen on the other hand was just awkardly standing on his own, trying to not look too much at the other two, just waiting rather impatiently for Kyungsoo to finish his business so he could take him home already. He kind of thought the merman was stupid for putting himself out there when the person he was crushing on was unavailable, but somehow there was something about Lay that told him that maybe kyungsoos little one sided crush wasnt completely one sided after all.
"Soo, we should really go." He said, holding his hand out for the merman, who seemed to be currently glued to the other. He rolled his eyes and dropped his hand, maybe he could wait just a few more minutes then.
((Combining the two in one bcz lazyass t.t))

Lay gave Kyungsoo an understanding smile when he looked at him, because it wasn't really his fault that they were now in this situation. Or it kind of was his fault because he was the one who trusted Chen enough to come here, on the other side, but he just couldn't blame the merman, because it didn't seem right in a way. The prince looked at them curiously when Kyungsoo whispered something to Chen, and the pink shade that covered his cheeks afterwards only made him more curious, but since he wasn't supposed to know, he didn't ask. Whatever it was, the guy seemed to be convinced by it and, to his surprise, Chen extended his hand. "Alright, I guess." Lay trailed off, shaking the other's hand. It was not like he feared any possible harm Chen would have liked to cause to him, he wasn't the weakest person after all, but he didn't know about Kyungsoo. Although the man seemed rather protective over the merman, the prince just couldn't trust him yet, but there was also not much that he could so about it right now, since he didn't want to upset Kyungsoo either.

Chen wasnt quite satisfied with that answer because really, if he was from the other side.. What were the odds of them randomly meeting at a beach in the city? It just screamed suspicion to him but he couldnt do anything else other than sighing. And Kyungsoo was doing that puppy eye thing to him again and he could just feel all of his defenses melting at the sight. He wasnt really buying Kyungsoos explanation either but from what he understood from Kyungsoos stories it wasnt like he was anyone important down there so the odds of someone dangerous coming after him had to be rather low. And when Kyungsoo decided to tell him about this guy being his sad one sided crush who was engaged to a prince he just knew he was wrong for doubting him in the first place. kyungsoo had a good heart, something that you shouldnt taint, something Chen realized after they met, since his original plan for Kyungsoo was quite nasty, but those eyes could probably convince anyone to do anything for him. He sighed and held his hand out towards this Lay guy.
"I guess you dont mean any harm to him and as long as that is the case I wont harm you." He said in a sincere voice, though in his head he could hear the echo of: but if you hurt him i will destroy everything that you love. He figured Kyungsoo wouldnt be pleased if he voiced that out loud though.

Kyungsoo whined when he noticed that Chen didnt seem to have any intention at being friendly, this was not how he had pictured the three of them meeting.
"I really didnt expect to meet Lay here, but I did and it made me so happy to see him and he is not dangerous one bit and he would never hurt me so can you relax, youre acting weird." Kyungsoo said, looking at Chen with a stern expression. He kind of knew that the moment Chen stopped being so hostile the tension would ebb out, he wasnt sure why both of them seemed so tense. He let go of Chens arm, disappointed that he could be his usual playful and charming self and looked at Lay with an apologetic look in his eyes. He leaned in to Chens ear, whispering the one thing he at least hoped would make the thunderbird relax. "He's the one i told you about, the engaged one." He whispered, cheeks turning pink again. He then stepped out of Chens personal space, fiddling with his fingers a bit awkwardly.

(OTL)

Lay stared at Chen as the other looked at him, eyes obviously filled with suspicion, and the prince wondered what intentions hid behind that suspicion targetting him. He doubted that they were the same as his own. This guy just didn't look safe to him, and he pondered for a bit if he should do sonething to make Kyungsoo leave him or at least realize that he should be more careful about who to trust. It was true that the merman trusted him pretty quickly too, but he wasn't the one who took him away from home to somewhere in another world.
"Might be." he shrugged. "I came here looking for Kyungsoo because I haven't seen him anywhere for a while and I was worried. So we met here." Lay glanced at his friend, figuring that the situation might be at least a little awkward because of the tension floating in the air between the ones who were supposedly his friends. He couldn't apologize though because he only cared about his safety. And maybe, just maybe he felt a little possessive. But he asumed that was the case just becuse it was Chen, who wasn't the most pleasant person that he had ever met.

(U dun even know how much i struggled posting that orz, my internet kept coming and going OTL)

Chen narrowed his eyes, slowly letting his eyes check this "Lay" guy. It was weird, that a person from Kyungsoos former life just suddenly appeared out of no where the one day that Chen let him out of his sight. He decided to be cautious, since he wasnt sure who he was dealing with exactly.
"Ah, so.. How did you end up meeting here? Last time I checked this beach was deserted." He said slowly, not wanting to create too much friction but he was still unsure if he could trust this guy around his baby soo, the poor boy was just far too gullable for Chens liking, i mean he befriended a thunderbird on their first meeting, not even thinking twice when Chen offered to take him away. He sighed, almost feeling his blood pressure rise. He wasnt asking Kyungsoo because he would just tell some fairytale about fate brought them together and yadiyadiyada and he really needed to figure this guy out fast so he could know what to do.

Kyungsoo smiled brightly as Chen came closer, latching on to the thinderbirds arm. He was just about to introduce his two friends to eachother when Chen spoke first. He blinked a few times because somehow Chen sounded upset, but he must be imagining things because Chen was the greatest person ever and he wouldnt be rude towards one of his friends, would he? Before he could answer Lay had already introduced himself, Kyungsoo beaming st how polite he was despite Chens lack of it. He pinched chen slightly in the side, not wanting anymore weird behavior from him.
"Lay is a very dear friend of mine, I knew him from when I was still living in the sea." He explained, hoping that this situation, whatever it was would mellow out. Of course his two best friends would get along just grreat. He turned towards the prince. "And this is Chen, he has also become a very dear friend of mine." He said, since he had already talked about chen before and further explaination didnt feel neccessary.

One of the advantages of having control over water was that Lay could instantly dry himself without the use of towels and the such, so as soon as he stepped on the sand, he headed towards his clothes, piled somewhere not too far from the shore and got dressed. The prince didn't really have any idea of how much time passed since he met Kyungsoo here, so he didn't say anything in response to the merman's words. A few moments later, they heard a distant, unknown to him, voice, which he inferred belonged to Chen, since he was calling him and the merman's head snapped in that direction. It seemed they were quite close judging by the appellative used by the man, and the prince didn't know how he should feel about that, but for some reason, he wasn't really comfortable with it. "Hello to you too." Lay said when the other reached them. "I'm Lay and Kyungsoo's friend.

Chen was never going to admit it out loud but he was worried sick about leaving the sweet naive little merman alone at the beach, sure there wasnt a big risk of anyone going there but something just didnt sit well inside of him. So even though it had only been an hour and a half he was at his breaking point and decided it was about time to pick the sweet thing up. He arrived at the beach, walking towards the spot he had dropped the other off and quickly spotted him.
"Baby Soo~" He shouted, pleased at how the younger instantly turned towards the sound of his voice and chuckled slightly to himself when he saw the other grinning brightly. His smile did however drop when he noticed that the merman wasnt quite as alone as he thought. Spotting another figure, not far from where Kyungsoo was standing, he instantly got protective and walked a little faster so he could stand in between this unknown person and his sweet little merman friend.
"Kyungsoo ya, do you know this guy?" He asked, side eyeing the new guy.

@ღ Prince Lay ღ Kyungsoo let go of the other once they reached the sand, he pulled himself up a bit on the beach and cleared his head. He focued on the mental image of his fin turning in to legs and fortunately he had to trouble with it this time, grinning proudly once he was done.
"I wonder what time it is, I dont remember how long he was going to be gone for." he mumbled, mostly to himself and stood up, tiptoeing over to his clothes and put them on, the fabric slightly becoming wet due to his hair. He shook his head a little and ran his fingers through his hair to make it dry faster. He was just going to check up on the prince when a familiar high pitched voice rang through the air, making him snap his head in that direction, a grin automatically spreading on his lips at the sight of the thunderbird.

@♒ Kyungsoo ♒ Lay struggled to hold back a chuckle at seeing Kyungsoo flustered because of his compliment, simple and fade as it was, at least in his opinion, because for the other it didn't seem to matter.
"Oh, right..." the prince responded, having completely forgotten that Chen had to pick him up soon. He tried not to allow the change in his mood to be seen by Kyungsoo, putting up a little smile. He let the merman drag him back towards the beach again, only now realizing that his heart was beating at a little faster pace than usual, which was probably proof of how much he enjoyed the other singing to him, and he was sure it wasn't because his poor health this time around.
One one hand, the prince was disappointed that Kyungsoo had to go soon, but on the other hand, he was still a little impatient to get to know his friend, to form an impression of him and to see if he was trustworthy.

@ღ Prince Lay ღ At the compliment Kyungsoo could feel his whole face heating up, all the way to the tip of his ears because it was just something about the way he said it that made the merman blush. Now it wasnt a rare occurance by now that he would get flustered by the prince but to hear such a sincere compliment was just melting him in ways he wasnt going to figure out. He smiled and let his eys drop, mumbling a thank you in response. He wondered how long he had been at the beach, suddenly remembering that Chen was going to come soon to pick him up.
"Maybe we should get out of the water, i think my friend might be coming soon" He said, distracted by the new thoughts circling his head, he hoped the thunderbird wouldnt overreact seeing that he had company with him, he knew that the older sometimes got a bit too protective over him even if he acted like he didnt really care. He flashed another smile to the prince before he grabbed his hand and started making his was towards the sand again.

@♒ Kyungsoo ♒ Lay had almost forgotten how the merman sounded when singing, almost, but not quite, because it wasn't really easy, especially because it was Kyungsoo. And Kyungsoo's voice was too marvelous to forget despite the time that had passed since the prince had last heard it,even though it wasn't even /that/ long. Maybe it was only an impression caused by the fact that he was so engulfed in his work as a prince and that he missed Kyungsoo that time seemed to dilate. Without opening his eyes, Lat listened to the song that seemed so out of this world for him, and in a way, it really was, because it came from Kyungsoo's world, not his. Th smile didn't falter on his expression until he felt himself pulled all of a sudden, the curl of his lips replaced by a surprised gasp as he found himself under the surface once again. The prince gazed at the boy, eyes slightly wider than normal as he continued singing, wonder and admiration melting in his irises. Now it really seemed like he was in another world. Even if it wasn't nearly the first time to hear someone's voice underwater, it was the first time singing someone sing underwater, and not anyone. He didn't know if any song sounded ten times more wonderful here or it was just Kyungsoo who made it that way, but he didn't care to find out, because now was enough. Lay continued to gaze at him, letting the notes melt into his eardrums until the last one, and when it did, he was speechless for a few moments, not sure of what to say and not daring to ask for more. "That was beautiful..." he simply trailed off after a while, after searching for the proper words to express what he felt, and he considered that the short sentence didn't do it justice.

@ღ Prince Lay ღ It was almost enchanting, the way the sun danced across the shifters skin. And like always it affected Kyungsoo far more than he wanted to because feelings where just too much to deal with so instead he just let himself enjoy the sight, mentally telling himself that its the same as watching a beautiful artwork, though he knew he wasnt going to settle for that as a reason deep down. He smiled though, as the prince told him he wanted to hear him sing. He started off softly, mostly because he felt a little embarrassed that he actually volonteered to thing out of the blue. But he gained more courage the longer he sang, he had always liked the sound of his own voice out in the open air, but with a glint of mischief he reached out and pulled the prince down under the surface again, still singing the soft melody from before. The sound under water was to him a way of showing his true self to the other, because this was the way he had grown up after all, under the water. He slowly stopped singing and just looked over at the prince, soft eyes gracing over his form in the water,

@♒ Kyungsoo ♒ "It's not that bad I guess." Lay trailed off in response to the other's words, feeling warmth on his face as a patch of light reached his skin when a cloud passed from between the Earth and the sun above for a moment. He stayed like that for a few moments, eyes closed and mind full of thoughts. He figured it could be worse. He still had some freedom after all and didn't need to run away from home - not now at least, not anymore. He opened his eyes only to shut them again the next second because of the light when Kyungsoo asked him if he should sing. A light smile settled on his lips and he nodded slowly. "I'd love to hear you sing again. It's been a while since I last heard you." After having heard the merman's singing voice once, the prince couldn't help but yearn to hear it again, although until now, he hadn't found the occasion to ask him that.

@ღ Prince Lay ღ The merman was quite amazed that not only could the prince hear him well under water, he could even speak. Now he knew the other was an elemental but he was constantly suprised by the others powers. He could tell that his friend had no troubles with swimming and being in the water and something just tugged in Kyungsoos chest at the sight, knowing that despite the other taking over the sea kingdom, he himself would not be there to witness him like this.

He resurfaced too, letting his head stick up from under the water, fin swishing slowly back and forth to keep him afloat. He nodded as the prince spoke, it had to be tough, being in the water but not being able to freely move due to obligations. Kind of reminded him of how his parents didnt want him to swim too far from the house.
"Thats really sad" He mumbled in response, circling around the prince slowly. "Should I sing something?' He asked, being in the water like this was calming and he remembered that the prince had praised his singing when they first met.

@♒ Kyungsoo ♒ "I can hear you very well." the prince grinned, swimming closer to Kyungsoo. "Even though it's weird." He was used to listening underwater, since he had some experience because of his trips to the water kingdom lately. And it wasn't that hard, although maybe that was the case grace to his abilities, even though he was far more familiar with the air medium, in which he lived. For the merman it should have been the opposite. Lay wondered how it felt for him to live on land after so many years in the ocean. He himself could get used to living underwater, but that didn't mean it would be the same for the merman.

After a few moments, the prince resurfaced, letting himself float on the clear liquid. "It's been a while since I've swum just for the sake of it." he said, closing his eyes to prevent the sun from hurting them. "It's just 'business trips' lately. Otherwise I wouldn't even meet the ocean." he laughed, glancing in Kyungsoo's direction.

@ღ Prince Lay ღ Kyungsoo laughed out loud, diving underneath the water to avoid the other hitting him with the splashes. As he resurfaced he noticed that the elemental was nowhere in sight and dove back under to see if he was under water, he had always wondered to what extent the prince could stay under water, if he could breathe and see properly or if he would have to surround himself eith oxygen somehow. He looked around, seeing past the bubbles to see the princes figure swimming closer to him. He grinned, feeling like he could actually see the prince in a different light now that his eyes where in the enviroment he was most comfortable in.

"Can you hear me?" He tried, still not knowing the extent of the elementals abilities and connection to the water. He figured that the prince would have to trouble with it since he was supposed to become king over the sea kingdom anyway, but kyungsoo didnt know everything and thats why he was intruiged to know new thing about his friend.

@Kyungsoo Lay watched the merman for a while as he ran further into the sea, soon turning back to his true form. He figured Kyungsoo had missed the water, since that’s where he normally lived after all. Meanwhile, as the boy dived into the sea, the prince removed his shirt and pants, remaining in his underwear, before he walked further as well, approaching Kyungsoo. He could see how happy his friend was as he was swimming closer, as a grin had loomed on his expression, and he was glad he felt like that.

It had been a while since Lay had last swum as well, and now he realized he missed it actually. He was not a merman or anything of the sort, raised in water, but it was still the element he controlled, and he felt comfortable surrounded by it. The prince didn’t really have the time to get away from the splash of water from the other’s fin, so it eventually hit him, causing him to laugh at his friend’s playful demeanor. “What do you mean ‘oops’?” he retorted in the same manner, splashing Kyungsoo himself as he walked further into the expanse of water expansive the entire horizon line before his eyes. He eventually dived in as well, swimming closer to the merman in order to be able to target him better.

@Prince Lay Kyungsoo let go of the other in favor of running as far into the water he could before his legs gave in to the water, turning back to their true form. He dove down under the water for a while before he resurfaced, turning towards the shore where he noticed that lack of clothing that the other was currently not wearing, he should have expected it when he told the other to swim with him but he couldn't help but to blush at the sight, he had never seen the other like that before so he reason that was why. He was glad he was far away from the other so he wouldn't see his red cheeks.

Once he willed the blush away he swam closer, smiling brightly. The water always made him happy, even though being on land was also great he was still a merman and his connection to water ran deep. He playfully splashed some water with his fin, eyes turning in to crescents as the water hit the elemental.
"Oops." He said, blinking his eyes innocently as if the whole thing was an accident, although the playful twinkle was still there to give him away. He wasn't really trying to play it off as an accident anyway.

@Kyungsoo Seeing that Kyungsoo didn’t try to argue with his reasoning, Lay was pleased and relieved. He was aware that passing through a portal several times shouldn’t have major effects on someone’s body, but he just wanted to make sure. Besides, if Kyungsoo came at a time when the prince couldn’t see him, he would just be disappointed most probably. Lay couldn’t just bend his schedule however he pleased, no matter how important he considered the merman to be. He didn’t voice that out now though, deciding that it was better just to keep it to himself, not to risk to make the other feel uncomfortable talking about this. Moreover, it would be just a loss of time, for Kyungsoo seemed to agree to his words.

Pulled out of his thoughts, Lay blinked as the merman had suddenly stood up, grabbing his hand. In a couple of seconds, after processing his words, the prince nodded a little, getting up as well. “Sure.” he responded, a grin settling on his expression, before stepping towards the water a little. Meanwhile, he remembered that he still had his clothes on and it wouldn’t be pleasant to go home with wet materials sticking to his skin, so he proceeded to take his shirt off. Although it was true he could pull out the water from the fabric afterwards, it still wasn’t that comfortable to swim fully dressed.

@Prince Lay Kyungsoo decided that he wouldn't try to argue with his friend, after all he didn't know how long they had and if he kept thinking of what if this and that he wouldn't be able to enjoy the time they had together. And even though the prince told him he would visit he still would not be able to resist returning to the forest someday, he just knew that. He wasn't sure what kind of strain one would be put through when passing through the portal, but Chen had seemed fine and it seemed like he had done it several times before so he just hoped he would be alright when he do decide to go over.

He perked up a little grabbing his friends hand as he stood up.
"Come swim with me." He said, a happy grin on his face, he just wanted to forget about everything and just enjoy his time together with the one person who probably meant the most to him. He shouldn't worry when the prince told him not to and he always trusted his friend so he was just going to relax and try to spend as much time with his friend as it would allow. Chen would be coming soon to pick him up and then he wasn't sure what would happen.. would he offer to take Lay back to their apartment.. or well.. Chen's apartment.

@Kyungsoo Lay couldn’t help notice the red tint painted on Kyungsoo’s cheeks as he spoke, and he didn’t know if he should feel bad for making the boy embarrassed or if he should feel amused, even though he was used to the merman being like this in front of him. He wondered if he behaved like this in front of others too. In front of Chen for example. Was he just easily embarrassed or was there more to it than that when he was around the prince? Lay blinked at the suggestion Kyungsoo came up with. He remained silent for a while, pondering the pros and cons before he opened his mouth again. He wanted the other to stay safe. Unfortunately he sort of needed to trust Chen for that as well. Supposedly that guy would take care of Kyungsoo here, travelling between the two sides would be dangerous. But when was travelling not problematic? Lay was afraid that the merman would end up like him in the end, weakened by all the movement he had to make through the portal. He would rather be the only one to have gone through that. “No, it’s better if I come. I don’t want you to end up liked this.”

The prince nodded slowly at the other’s affirmation. Indeed, the trees from this side didn’t come close to the ones they could see home, but if Kyungsoo was pleased, then it was alright. “Not exactly. Everything is extremely boring home.” The prince responded. “I just hope I don’t have to leave soon.” He added, voice barely a murmur as his arms came around his knees, fingers playing together. To be honest, he had no idea when he would have to leave, and he hadn’t heard about this topic for a while, not that he wanted to.