"You have a visitor, Mingi."

Sleepily, Mingi rolled onto his back to brush the curtains aside. Around the corner leading towards the living room stood Yeosang, hands patiently clasped behind his back. He met Mingi's early morning confusion with a smile.

"This early?"

"Yes. Shall I allow him in?"

Hand already shaking on Yunho's arm, Mingi sat up to rub his eyes.

"Give us two minutes to get dressed," he yawned. With a chuckle, Yeosang dipped out of the room.

Yunho had taken notice of their situation by now. One of his arms still wrapped around Mingi's waist stubbornly. He saw no reason to let go of Mingi so early already.

Gently, Mingi pushed his arm off to slip into his pants. Quick fingers brushed his hair back before he handed Yunho his clothes of the day. His eyes got stuck on the breathtaking man that Yunho was, even as he rolled in the sheets unwillingly.

Before the door had to spur him into action, Yunho at least put on his pants. He disappeared into the bathing area to wash his face as Mingi stumbled to greet his visitor outside.

With one horn and a crooked smile, Seonghwa stood in front of the door.

"Oh, it's just you," Mingi muttered groggily as he let him in. The sudden hit of an elbow into his rips woke Mingi up. They snickered at his dramatic gasp.

"What do you mean, just me? At least pretend as if the politeness of the court applies to you." With his bag in tow, Seonghwa got comfortable on the divan. Mingi sat down next to him, still not awake entirely, as he prepared some tea and cookies for them to snack on.

"What do I owe the honour?" Mingi asked exaggeratedly excited. His soundless laughter trembled in his hooves when Seonghwa's tail slapped his indignantly.

"The prince's pants. I had to find them again and make sure they were in an acceptable condition before I could return them."

As he pulled the fabric from his bag, Yunho reappeared from the other room. His cheerful grin was more blinding in the morning than the daylight outside. Contrary to Mingi, he had the ability to look presentable within a few minutes.

"Hello, Seonghwa," Yunho greeted him as he sat down opposite of them. Seonghwa politely bowed his head as he copied the welcome.

"They are as good as new," Seonghwa announced with a beckon at the pants. He stifled his triumphant grin in his mug when Yunho picked up the garment to marvel at his invisible work.

"This is incredible. I must owe you quite a price."

"You don't. It's a favour I did for my clumsy friend here." When Seonghwa ruffled Mingi's hair brotherly, Mingi batted at him as if at an annoying insect. Chuckling, Yunho watched their antics as he set down the pants again to reach for a cookie instead.

"Then at least allow me to demand your services more often and to recommend them to my friends here in the castle."

With a charming smile, Seonghwa set his mug down.

"Of course, Your Highness."

"Just Yunho, please," Yunho muttered, but his words got drowned in the noise of a knock on the door. All three of them diverted their attention to the entrance when Yunho called for the guest to enter.

It was Hongjoong. His piercings dangled from his ears as he peeked his head inside at a much lower height than the group of demons would have expected. Now that he had the time and place, he had fixed his hair in a nice updo with prettily braided strands.

When Mingi felt Seonghwa's body tense next to him, he held his tail comfortingly.

"It's fine. We have a truce with them."

Seonghwa breathed out when his eyes met Hongjoong's. Through the room, that silver clouded over with recognition.

"I heard they got restrained... So you don't plan to execute them?" Seonghwa ripped his eyes away from the pixie when he stepped in to reach for his mug instead. His fingers trembled around the sleek black grip.

"No, we asked them for cooperation. Hongjoong, what can I help you with?" Yunho said the second part towards the pixie. The smaller male stalked closer to their table slowly, his eyes still fixated on Seonghwa. Defensively, Mingi pulled him in close when the pixie neared. He didn't like those pools of quicksilver staring at his friend like that.

"I will ask in a moment. You, can we have a talk?"

Seonghwa tried to pretend as if he wasn't meant but failed when the two other demons stared at him with heavy gazes. Gulping, he turned his head towards the pixie.

"About what?" He croaked, elegance crumbling off him as his voice gave up on him. Even his pretty veiled garments offered no protection against the shiver that travelled through his body under Mingi's fingers. Soothing, Mingi cradled his narrow frame tighter.

"About what I did to you," Hongjoong said. For once, his features weren't contorted by wariness or anger. He looked remorseful. A certain softness carried in his plea.

"I don't want to think about that again." Seonghwa stared into his cup, at the amber glow of his tea. Mingi had noticed earlier how the jar with pixie dust on the table had disappeared.

"I want to apologise. You got caught up in something that wasn't my intent. I regret only one thing I have done ever since we came to the Fiery Lands, and it was attacking you."

Seonghwa trembled in Mingi's arm. When Yunho carefully reached over the table to take his mug from him before he could spill anything, Seonghwa allowed him wordlessly. His fingers dug into his thighs then. With his lips stuck under his teeth, Seonghwa tried to exhale and face the pixie once more.

Hongjoong looked even more apologetic now. One of his hands jolted at his side, as if wanting to reach out but deciding that it would be unwise to do so. Trembling, he stood next to their group as the taller demon weighed his trauma with the begging pixie's worth.

Ultimately, Seonghwa raised his eyes to look between Yunho and Mingi again.

"Excuse me for a moment. I will hear his words." When he stood and his limbs untangled from Mingi's, relief painted a tender smile on Hongjoong's lips. For the first time, he wasn't the snarling, vicious creature Mingi had met him as.

They escaped the room together and left the demon couple behind. For a while, Yunho pensively stared at the closed door before he picked up his cookie again. When their eyes met, Yunho smiled reassuringly at Mingi to ease the frown on his face.

"Don't worry about them. Seonghwa will handle this."

Mingi nodded but couldn't help touching his injured horn fleetingly. Hongjoong had voiced no remorse towards him, despite agreeing that Mingi had been innocent in their dispute.

Not taking it to heart, Mingi agreed with Yunho's advice and returned to slurping his tea. When Yunho offered him a cookie, Mingi took it without needing to be asked twice.

"What will happen to Hongjoong and Wooyoung if you don't get your law approved?"

The palace had already been in a mess since the past evening. San had come to yell at Yunho, and several advisors had also paid him exasperated visits. None of them approved of the pixies straying around in the castle unguarded, but Yunho had met all of their desperation with self-assured smiles. None of them could convince him of the danger that the two small males posed. One by one, they had retreated with bitter scowls on their faces.

"I don't know. Smuggling them out so no more blood has to flow would mean a betrayal of the loyal citizens who had to die under their blades. But I will make an effort to take the worst weight off them if I can't pledge for their cooperation."

Dimly, Mingi nibbled on his cookie. Picking up on his distress, Yunho didn't miss a beat to continue.

"It's not the first time I did something that doesn't stand in my father's rulebook. Sometimes helping the people means forgoing the conservative techniques. It's what makes people trust me as a prince. You can trust me too, Mingi." With a tender hand, he reached over the table to cradle Mingi's hand in his.

Mingi raised his eyes to look at him, searching for that confidence. When he found it simmering in the depths of Yunho's eyes like the never-ending fire basins, he tried a little smile.

"I trust you," Mingi whispered. His lashes fluttered shut when Yunho leaned over the table to bring their faces together.

"Good. That is all I need."

As always, the tension flaked off Mingi when Yunho pressed their lips to each other. All the affection and care conveyed in Yunho's kisses fuelled Mingi with fresh energy.

Yunho had one hand in the middle of the table and one holding onto Mingi's good horn with barely any pressure to keep him close. When Seonghwa returned into the room without knocking, he instantly turned to stare at the wall.

"I apologise! I didn't think you two would go at it in the five minutes I was gone!"

Parting only reluctantly, the two demons pulled back to fix their position to their respective seats. Yunho's chuckle notified Seonghwa that he could turn back around and peek through his fingers whether he could return. As he did, Hongjoong followed him back into the room as well.

"I will take my leave by now. I still have some work to do. Don't hesitate to contact me with any other job you may have. Mingi, do you want to walk me to the bridge?"

Yunho smiled at Seonghwa as he emptied his tea.

"Of course, thank you for your hard work. See you next time, Seonghwa."

As Mingi and Seonghwa stood to escape, Hongjoong awkwardly lingered next to Yunho as he waited for his moment to voice the matter that had brought him over. As Mingi dragged Seonghwa off, the pixie's eyes stuck to the single-horned demon, but they didn't say any goodbyes to each other.

Once outside in the corridor, Seonghwa exhaled, as if he had just finished the worst trial of his life. Concerned, Mingi checked his appearance for signs of an attack.

"He just wanted to apologise?" Mingi couldn't help how his curiosity burst over his lips before he could swallow it. But Seonghwa nodded, his hands clutched around his bag as he admired the dark red carpet on the black stone floors. Their hooves sunk into it as if it were a fluffy cloud, barely making any noise.

"When they appeared at my shop, it was the force of circumstances that prompted him to attack me. He sounded genuine. He, uh, he even offered me my horn back." Seonghwa muttered. The confusion in his voice had Mingi snicker even if the mention of the horn was equal parts terrifying and weird. He wouldn't want to collect severed limbs, even if they had been his own once.

"Did you accept?"

"No. I don't know what he does with the horns he cut off, but I would rather not have it around to remind me of the pain. This stump is bad enough." With a frown, Seonghwa touched it. Its ragged side looked so much worse than San's flat stumps. It had yet to heal entirely, but he didn't wear bandages anymore.

Together, they walked down the stairs and greeted Jongho and Yeosang, who lingered in a corner at the bottom. Yeosang had leaned his elbow against the railing and chatted up the guard with sweet words. Jongho stood with his helmet under his arms, and his lips curled into a shy smile when they interrupted their conversation to greet Seonghwa and Mingi.

"In that case, do you plan to forgive him?" Mingi asked as they strolled through the foyer. Seonghwa responded with a chuckle, but it wasn't sarcastic.

"You don't forgive the pain of a missing horn just like that."

Nodding, Mingi halted as the mighty doors opened behind Seonghwa to let him back out into their fiery world.

"But I would like to try, yes," Seonghwa added before he turned.

A smile spread across Mingi's features. They said their goodbyes for another time before Mingi returned upstairs to rejoin Yunho. On his way back, all he could think about was how genuine Hongjoong's regret towards Seonghwa had shone in the pixie's eyes.