Chapter Text
The first thing that Namjoon noticed as he slowly woke was warmth. He opened his eyes and squinted against the early morning light coming in through the bus window. The sun was just casting its gentle rays across the horizon, painting the sky in glorious shades of pink. He blinked a few times and smiled at the sight, the taste of freedom sweet on his tongue.
The steady vibrations of the bus had lulled him to sleep after the adrenaline of the previous night's battle had worn off. He had slid into unconsciousness with his back against the window shortly after they had cleared the forest barrier surrounding The Site. Clearly, he hadn’t been the only one. Namjoon’s leg was bent on the seat, the other rested on the floor and Yoongi was nestled between his spread knees. The ex-hunter’s cheek rested against Namjoon’s chest, face completely relaxed. Namjoon felt warmth bloom in his chest as he watched the way Yoongi’s eyelashes brushed his cheeks, his plush lips parted with soft even breaths.
A blush raced up from Namjoon’s collarbones all the way to the slightly-pointed tips of his ears when he recalled their activities right before. He brushed his fingertips over his lips at the phantom feeling of Yoongi’s mouth against his. It had all happened so fast that Namjoon hadn’t had a second to process it all.
Suddenly, memories came flooding back in sharp relief against the tranquil morning. He saw the senseless deaths - Ben and Nadira laying so still, eyes open but unseeing after their lives had been stolen from them. His chest twisted painfully as he thought of the now orphaned Myra and what the sight of her mother’s death had awoken in the young girl. A tear slipped down his cheek and he sucked in a sharp breath.
The movement stirred the weight on his chest and Namjoon looked down at the top of Yoongi’s head. He quickly wiped his cheeks and fought down the rising panic attack his memories were stoking in his lungs. Yoongi lifted his head and scowled without opening his eyes. He grunted in question, trying to adjust his pillow and only succeeding in feeling up Namjoon’s chest.
Yoongi’s hand paused in it’s inadvertent wandering and he finally cracked his eyes open. His face flushed and he withdrew his hand slowly before meeting Namjoon’s eyes. The sheepish look on his face quickly shifted to concern when he saw the look on the half-elf’s face and he sat up.
“Everything okay, Sunshine?” Yoongi’s voice was deep and sleep-rough, but his eyes were alert. He carefully tucked the lengthening strands of Namjoon’s silver-purple hair behind his ear. The brush of fingertips against his sensitive ears made Namjoon shiver, and his eyes began to burn with tears once more.
“Reality is sinking in.” Namjoon responded thickly, trying to keep his voice low despite fighting back the scream that wanted to claw its way out of his throat. “My head is spinning with all these different emotions. Relief and joy to be free, but concern and dread about what happens now.” He moved his leg to join the other on the floor and leaned his head back on the seat. Yoongi slipped his hand into Namjoon’s. “It’s all twisted around with the grief of loss and the guilt of survival.” Namjoon stared at the ceiling of the bus as tears slid past his temples. “Nadira…” He stuffed his knuckle in his mouth the stifle a sob, glancing at the others still sleeping.
Yoongi scooted closer and pulled Namjoon into his arms, holding him close even at the awkward angle. Namjoon turned his head to bury his face in the crook of Yoongi’s neck and let the tears flow. Both he and the hunter were in desperate need of a bath, but Namjoon didn’t care and inhaled Yoongi’s scent deeply. Yoongi rubbed his arm in slow, steady movements and when Yoongi began humming the Selkie lullaby Namjoon felt his muscles begin to relax.
When the tears had slowed to a stop, Yoongi kissed the top of Namjoon’s head and laid his cheek there.
“I’m sorry, Sunshine. They told me about Nadira.” He squeezed Namjoon tighter. “You shouldn’t feel guilty about surviving when so many would have died if you hadn’t been there.”
Namjoon made a pained sound, but shifted out of Yoongi’s grasp and looked over his shoulder to where Daisy and Myra were still sleeping soundly wrapped around each other. Maybe Yoongi was right and this was enough. He felt Yoongi’s hand slip into his again and sighed.
“Where do we go from here?” Namjoon asked without looking away from the sleeping children, grief still coloring his tone.
Yoongi squeezed his hand. “We will figure it out after we get to this sanctuary, but whatever happens, we will get through it.”
Namjoon turned to meet Yoongi’s eyes and smiled wetly. The former hunter returned the smile and leaned in to press a light kiss to Namjoon’s lips. A throat clearing beside them prevented the kiss from becoming too heated and they turned to see Kaga standing in the aisle between the seats wearing a knowing smile.
“Good morning. We will be arriving at the sanctuary shortly.” He turned his wizened eyes to Yoongi and his voice became grave. “There may be some difficulty when they discover you are among our party.” Namjoon opened his mouth to protest, but Kaga held up a weathered hand. “We will do all in our power to protect you as you have protected us, but be warned - this will not be an easy journey for you.” With that, Kaga excused himself to help guide the driver to their destination.
Namjoon looked at Yoongi in growing alarm, but Yoongi plastered on his usual swagger and nudged Namjoon’s shoulder with his own. “It’s not like I thought I would be welcomed with open arms.” His smile faltered and he looked down at their joined hands. “I’ve done so much to the Fae. Not just me, my whole family.”
“I won’t let them hurt you.” The vehemence in Namjoon’s tone caused Yoongi to meet his eyes in surprise. Namjoon knew that if there had been any plants nearby they would be trembling with the protective rage that seared his veins.
Yoongi took Namjoon’s face in both his hands. “And I won’t let you get caught in the crossfire of the punishment for my sins. Sunshine, there will be consequences for my actions and I couldn’t bear you paying the price any longer.”
Namjoon felt dread pool low in his stomach. What would his people do to Yoongi if they got their hands on him? Should they get off the bus before they arrive at the sanctuary and make their way on their own? He opened his mouth to voice his concerns, but at that moment the bus slowed to a stop in front of an open field flanked by two massive trees.
The passengers all stirred from their sleep to look out the windows with curiosity. Kaga disembarked with a wave to the others to stay put. Namjoon lowered his window and poked his head through to get a better look. The wind stirred his hair gently as it swept through the bright green grass of the field. As Kaga approached the opening between the two guardian trees, two figures materialized out of thin air dressed in light armor and wielding long sabers.
The three exchanged words and the guards visibly started, looking between the line of buses and the elder. The two stepped aside and gestured for Kaga to enter, bowing they disappeared between the trees once more. Kaga stepped lightly onto the bus and nodded to the driver to continue. Namjoon felt at least a dozen questions jump to his tongue, but before he could voice even one, the bus slid forward between the wooden monoliths and the world around them transformed.
Every face on the bus was plastered to the windows as a vibrant city scape materialized before them. They were no longer on a dirt path in the middle of nowhere, but on a pristine paved blacktop which curved its way through a sprawling city. It was not as large as many of the human metropolises, but it was still stunning to see how far it stretched given how small the field had looked.
As they rolled through town, they passed shops and restaurants stirring with the first signs of life in the early morning. Beyond that, Namjoon could see apartment buildings and a few low houses. What stood out the most to Namjoon was the sheer amount of greenery intermixed with the concrete and steel structures. Trees and vines dominated the streets and sides of buildings painting everything in a green so bright it almost glowed. He could make out tiny winged Fae flitting between the branches of the ancient trees that moved with a gentle sway not caused by the wind.
Beside him, he heard Yoongi let out a noise of wonderment. He had squeezed himself beside Namjoon, not quite hanging his head out of the window like the half-elf, but barely restraining himself from doing so. Namjoon smiled fondly and pulled the former hunter against him, sharing the window a little more evenly.
“It’s beautiful.” Yoongi whispered and Namjoon hummed in agreement, dropping a kiss on the top of his head.
“I wish you could feel it, Yoongi. It’s so... alive.” It was the best word that Namjoon could find to describe the absolute onslaught of magic he felt in this place. It saturated every brick, dripped from every light, stirred like a flurry of leaves caught in a gale. The concentration of magical beings and buildings was unlike anything Namjoon had ever experienced before; it was making him light headed and giddy.
“Holy shit!” Yoongi exclaimed as a giant figure strode down the street, it’s massive limbs swaying and causing the other pedestrians to scatter lest they be sent airborne. All the children in the seats surrounding them made similar exclamations, if not as colorful.
“The Fae here don’t have to hide their forms.” Kaga’s voice called from behind them. He nodded towards the enormous Fae and clasped his hands behind his back in a perfect imitation of a scholar before a class of students. “ That is a troll.”
The children all ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’, but one little voice caught Namjoon’s attention. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw Myra looking out the window through tiny openings between her fingers. Daisy was hugging her tight, but Namjoon could see the fine tremors through her body. Feeling his heart crack, Namjoon nudged Yoongi and tilted his head towards the girls a few seats away. Yoongi’s face tightened and nodded, moving out of the way so Namjoon could go to them.
“Hey girls. How are my warrior princesses?” Namjoon asked, sitting in the seat beside them. Both girls flung themselves at him and Namjoon laughed softly, wrapping them both in tight hugs. He kissed the top of both of their heads and turned to Daisy. “Sweetie, could you go make sure that Yoongi doesn’t get lonely?” He glanced up to see the other man watching him fondly. At Namjoon’s suggestion, he rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face only grew gummier.
Daisy nodded curtly like a soldier ready to follow their general’s order to the end and marched over to Yoongi. She then proceeded to sit in his lap and wrap herself around him like an octopus. She turned to look out the window once more as if it was the most natural place for her to sit. Yoongi’s eyes went wild and he held his arms away from his body, jerking indecisively every time he tried to settle them somewhere. Namjoon stifled a giggle at Yoongi’s distress, reminding himself what he was doing.
“Myra?” Namjoon called softly. The little girl had buried her face in his side and the tremors he had noticed earlier were only getting worse. “Honey, it’s okay. We are safe here.”
She peeked up at him, her eyes a brilliant green and glassy with tears, then her entire face crumpled and she wailed. “I want mamma.”
Tears sprung to Namjoon’s eyes as he gathered the little elf girl in his arms, holding her tight while she poured out her grief into his chest. “I know, honey.” He rubbed circles on her back trying his best to soothe her when he knew that he could never give her what would really make her feel better.
He looked up and met Yoongi’s eyes once more. He had half turned in the seat when he heard Myra burst into tears. His face was carefully blank, the guilt he felt broadcasting from the tightness in his shoulders and jaw. Yoongi looked away after a beat and wrapped his arms around Daisy.
When Namjoon looked around the bus, he noticed that Myra’s cry had cast a subdued feeling over the rest of the children present. He knew that not all the parents that were imprisoned with these children made it out- some were waiting back in the forest while others were back inside if they survived the night at all. More than one sniffle sounded in the quiet of the bus.
Namjoon was so lost in thought that he startled when Kaga claimed the seat beside him. He pressed a hand to the crown of Myra’s head and she went limp in his hold.
“She has been through much.” Kaga smoothed down her mane of red hair. “Since she was born at The Site, she’s never known more than the cold iron bars and the unforgiving stone walls. This will be good for her.” When he smiled at Namjoon, something loosened in his chest. Maybe she could have the kind of life her mother wished her to have.
“What happens now?” Namjoon asked, turning to the waking city outside the window.
“We are going to the city center. There they will be able to shelter us until we can all decide where we want to go. I know many people are eager for their own homes.” Kaga explained.
Home. A twinge of pain twisted Namjoon’s chest when he thought of his bookstore. He wondered what became of his father’s shop and all his belongings in his apartment above. He knew he could never go back to the way his life was before his arrest now that he was a fugitive from human law. Who knew how long it would take for the heat to die down before he could live comfortably once more.
His eyes wandered to Yoongi who was looking out the window and murmuring softly to Daisy as she pointed at things through the window. She smiled up at him adoringly and he smiled back with just as much devotion. The sight was both endearing and heartbreaking and Namjoon had to make a conscious effort to even his breathing before Kaga picked up on his distress.
If Namjoon’s life had been turned upside down, Yoongi’s had been turned to ash. There was no going back after turning his back so completely on his family and his duties as a Fae hunter. A tendril of anxiety tickled the back of his mind that Yoongi may one day regret his decision and Namjoon’s part in it. After all, he did take his father’s arm off.
Swallowing hard, Namjoon eased Myra back to lay on the seat then nodded his head to Kaga and returned to Yoongi’s side. He was still speaking quietly to the little girl in his lap when Namjoon reclaimed his seat.
Yoongi glanced at Namjoon briefly, concern etched into his fine features. “She okay?”
“Honestly? No. We both know how painful it is to lose our mothers and to lose her in such a violent way right before her eyes,” Namjoon trailed off for a moment, remembering Nadira’s face as she fell and the tidal wave of uncontrolled magic that flowed from the little girl in his arms. “It… awoke something inside her. Something deadly and she struck down that guard without a second thought.”
Yoongi was staring at him with horror. “I didn’t know that Myra killed her mother’s murderer.” His voice was thin and Namjoon thought that this was just one more thing that Yoongi would blame himself for.
“Would you have done any different if you got your hands on your mother’s killer?” Namjoon asked honestly.
“No.” Yoongi replied immediately with a fierceness that Namjoon understood all too well.
Namjoon sighed and looked past Yoongi to the city beyond. “This place will be good for her. She can learn about her people and her powers around those that truly understand.”
“She will have you too.” Yoongi added, pulling Namjoon’s gaze back to him. Yoongi’s eyes were intense and cut straight to Namjoon’s heart. “I know you love her and would never abandon her.” The idea brought Namjoon up short. Could he stay here with Myra? Raise her as his own even?
“I’d… never thought,” Namjoon swallowed and looked back over his shoulder to where Myra slept, then something solidified in his mind. This was the only thing he could be absolutely sure about - he wanted to protect Myra and see her grow into a beautiful, strong young woman to make her mother proud. He cleared his throat, grasping for a change in subject before he started crying again. “Anyway, will you be staying here for awhile?”
Yoongi’s expression shuttered. “I don’t know how welcome I will be, but I have nowhere else to go.”
Before Namjoon could respond to that, a collective gasp rippled through the bus. Turning to see what caused the commotion, Namjoon sat stunned as a giant skull came into view. It was bleached bright white and gleamed in the morning sun, making its surface shift in a way that made it look alive. Two wicked looking horns sprouted from the sides of the skull, curling and twisting their way high in the sky. It stood at least four stories tall from Namjoon’s estimation with an elongated mouth which stood open, revealing row upon row of razor sharp teeth.
“Is that,” Yoongi whispered, “A dragon skull?” The awe in his voice was reflected on Namjoon’s face. He’d never seen actual evidence of dragons before. They had apparently been wiped out centuries prior- over hunting for their valuable organs and hides driving them to extinction. Even the valuable relics disappeared into history. “Isn’t that a bit much for a building?” Yoongi’s dry tone cut through the sadness in Namjoon’s heart at the loss of such a noble race and he took a closer look as they approached.
To Namjoon’s surprise Yoongi’s observation was correct, nestled in that enormous mouth was a structure which looked like any non-descript office building if it weren’t for the fact that there was a dragon skull sitting on its roof.
“That is city hall. We have arrived at the city center. The dragon was the protector of this sanctuary for centuries before it passed on to join the Mother.” Kaga explained from his seat beside the sleeping Myra.
The elder rose as the bus came to a halt outside of the imposing government building, under the shade of a giant willow tree. It struck Namjoon as odd that there would be a government here. Was it outside of the human version that he knew? Was there an entirely separate group of Fae laws and judicial process? Namjoon guessed it made sense, but was it the same in all Fae colonies or just this one?
His head spun with a million more questions as a nymph boarded the bus and welcomed all the escapees to their new home. The nymph’s genial smile lost several watts when their eyes landed on Yoongi then they invited everyone to disembark the bus and partake of the food that had been gathered for them.
Worry began to gnaw at Namjoon’s stomach as they helped herd the children off of the bus and towards the tables that were being set up with all kinds of delicious looking foods. Of course, once they saw the food, it was not difficult to get the rest of the group off the bus, but Daisy still clung to Yoongi’s hand and Myra still slept soundly.
Checking one last time for any remaining belongings, Yoongi nodded curtly like a captain approving his troops' living quarters. Namjoon stifled a giggle which loosened some of the anxiety in his stomach then scooped up the sleeping Myra to follow the others.
The moment Namjoon’s foot hit the ground he knew something was wrong. Even with the sudden surge of magical energy from direct contact with the ground blinding his senses for a moment, he could tell the Fae surrounding them were not here for food. He eyed the soldiers with growing alarm, looking around sharply for Kaga and the others. He spotted them hovering by the tables of food, making sure that everyone got their fill of food before finding a seat, completely oblivious to what was happening a few hundred feet away.
“What-” Namjoon managed before Yoongi stepped off the bus behind him and all hell broke loose. In an instant, a dozen swords were pointed at Yoongi’s throat, orders to get on his knees being barked at him as if he were putting up any fight. “Hey! Leave him alone!” Namjoon snarled, stirring Myra from her slumber in his arms.
“Min Yoongi, you are hereby under arrest for crimes against the Fae race!” A guard snapped, raising his chin with haughty indignation.
Yoongi’s face went blank as a statue and Namjoon's breath stalled in his chest.