[eunhyuk/donghae] over which the winds of hope and glory blow

[catskilt.livejournal.com]

over which the winds of hope and glory blow by catskilt
eunhyuk/donghae
nc-17, 3184 words, au
donghae is a king, and eunhyuk is his most loved general.
i think this was written for a request by tees2mai - if it's not, i dedicate it to the t-lister who requested it on twitter, and to tee anyway for being a nice person.



over which the winds of hope and glory blow

Of course his given name isn't Cheoljong. His new concubine really should have known that; don't they teach them anything useful at all in the harem?

Donghae scowls as he stares out of the window at the willow trees dipping their heads into the palace lake. He used to pout when he was a prince, but ever since his ascension two years ago, his advisors had told him that scowling was more manly, more king-like. The population would feel more assured seeing portraits of him scowling than of him pouting, they said. So Donghae had forced himself to convert all pouting moments into scowling moments. Scowling takes more effort, but he has gotten there.

He might be thinking of his concubine and how gracefully she had prepared tea for him last night – almost made up for her not knowing his given name – but mostly he's thinking of the war at the border with those damned Chinese. The last envoy he'd sent to negotiate peace with the Chinese had returned with his head in a box. His advisors had told him not to look at the head. Donghae couldn't understand why they would tell him something like that – it's not like he'd wanted to look at it in the first place. He isn't very good with dismembered body parts.

Nevertheless, a head in the box means that he's either not offering enough or they're not willing to settle for peace, and that means that they'll be at war for a while longer, which means more men getting killed. Donghae taps his foot petulantly against the elegantly carved table. Two years ago he'd thought that he could end the war in the matter of months. Two years later he's beginning to find that this whole being a king thing is a lot harder than it looks.

Just then, Minister Gwangmu is announced, and Donghae has to sit up and look commanding for his benefit. Minister Gwangmu, all of sixty-one years old and, in his opinion, the most obnoxious life form on earth – has long disapproved of Donghae's lackadaisical way of dealing with his court. Six months ago, Donghae had sadly terminated the monthly parties with all the nobilities because Minister Gwangmu did not approve of such frivolities. Similarly, Donghae had taken a new concubine because Minister Gwangmu had grown concerned over the lack of an heir in the queen's womb. Donghae has done many things for Minister Gwangmu. He doesn't think Minister Gwangmu appreciates that fact.

"Your Majesty," the good minister booms after the appropriate greetings and bows. "I have come to you about a very serious matter."

"Yes," Donghae replies, squaring his shoulders.

"I heard that General Eunhyuk has returned to the palace."

Donghae drops his shoulders and almost, almost smiles. "He has?"

He might have sounded a little too pleased, because Minister Gwangmu frowns warningly at him. "We have just lost another envoy, sire, and yesterday we were forced into retreat. Why is one of our generals taking a holiday during this crucial period?"

"Um," Donghae says. "He isn't. I ordered him back to court to discuss battle plans."

"Sire," says Minister Gwangmu, "with all due respect, we send our battle plans on horseback to the generals."

"Well, yes," Donghae says. "I am aware of that procedure. However, since we have unwittingly lost another envoy, the Chinese appears to be more aggressive than we'd thought. Messengers can be so easily overpowered on their way to the front. I think it is safer for the generals to return to the palace and discuss the plans with us in person."

He realises right after the fabricated excuse that henceforth, all the generals in the army will be riding to and fro the palace and border to receive their instructions. He suppresses a groan just as Minister Gwangmu tries to disguise the pain on his face.

"Your Majesty," he says, "we cannot possibly…"

"No, no, I entirely understand your concerns." Donghae waves an imperious hand. "I shall relook the strategy. However, for now, since the general has returned under my orders, please inform the ministers and advisors that we will be having a meeting this afternoon."

General Eunhyuk is not worth the trouble he causes Donghae, has caused Donghae since they were eighteen and caught sight of each other at Donghae's first appearance in court. General Eunhyuk should be sent to the farthest reaches of Korea and never be allowed to show his face in the palace again. General Eunhyuk is a danger to the king. Or so the man himself says. Donghae doesn't share his view of the matter.

He closes the windows and waits.

General Eunhyuk doesn't disappoint him. Within minutes of Minister Gwangmu's departure, his arrival is announced, and Donghae doesn't bother to sit up. He does, on the other hand, push the table away and lean forward. The doors slide open, and he might be trying to look calm and imperial, king-like, but General Eunhyuk walks into the room with his shoulders firm and broad under his overcoat and Donghae just about manages to remain seated until the doors slide close again.

"Your Majesty," Eunhyuk is saying very properly, but Donghae lurches himself at him and the rest of Eunhyuk's greeting is swallowed up in a string of very eager, sloppy kisses. He doesn't care that Eunhyuk is dragging him across the floor towards the chair, or that Eunhyuk's arms are squeezing the breath out of him and if they continue kissing, he's going to run into some serious health problems. He just clings on like fungus until Eunhyuk has arranged them on the chair to his satisfaction and he's kissing down the side of Eunhyuk's neck, wrapping his legs around his waist.

"Well," says Eunhyuk. Donghae opens his eyes to grin at him. "I can see that you haven't been thinking of me while I've been away."

"Not for a single minute," Donghae replies, and shoves his mouth back on Eunhyuk's.

He tastes of smoke and battle, his lips soft and yielding. Donghae remembers the first time he'd kissed Eunhyuk under a willow tree, and Eunhyuk had backed away so hard that he fell into the lake, and Donghae had pulled him out and laughed at him and thought only of how soft his lips had been. He had anticipated then how addicted he would be to kissing Eunhyuk, and he hadn't proved himself wrong. Eunhyuk says he'll get both of them into trouble one of these days with his constant, unrelenting worship of Eunhyuk's body. Donghae says they're already in trouble.

Eunhyuk pulls away and holds Donghae's head so he can't come closer. "So," he says.

"Are we going to talk now?" Donghae asks.

"If you wish, sire."

"Is it going to be serious? Am I going to be sad?"

"I don't think that's going to be the case for you."

"Oh no." Donghae pouts, leaning back and placing his hands on Eunhyuk's knees to support himself. "Please don't tell me that you're sad."

"I heard last week that you've taken a new concubine."

"Yes…"

Eunhyuk just stares at him for a moment. "Has she been satisfying you?"

"I have to put an heir in her," Donghae says frankly. "My advisors say so. Besides, that's half the job of a king, Eunhyuk – the continuance of our lineage." He leans forward again and places a quick kiss on the crease between Eunhyuk's eyebrows. "If you're interested, though, we usually have two eunuchs in the room with us, making sure that everything goes smoothly."

"I assume that they've gone smoothly."

"I did my best," Donghae confesses. "But it isn't anywhere near my best with you. Anyway it's hard to get into the mood when the eunuchs are taking down notes."

"So they're getting serious about this, aren't they," Eunhyuk says.

Donghae licks a part of his ear before saying, very seriously, "I will do it. I will put a baby in her. And then nobody will bother me anymore about my virility."

"Not that there's anything wrong with your virility, really," says Eunhyuk dryly.

Donghae grins, cocking his head to one side. "You would know that better than anyone. Definitely better than my concubine."

"So tell me," Eunhyuk says conversationally, moving his hands to cup the roundness of Donghae's ass, "how does it feel like, having her in your bed?"

"Well, I don't fondle her very much," Donghae says, beginning to undo the complicated knot holding Eunhyuk's overcoat together, "because it would spoil the illusion."

"Which would be?"

Donghae leans forward and sucks lightly on his earlobe, relishing the little jump that Eunhyuk gives. Eunhyuk's so predictable, he thinks fondly; all the little secret areas of his body that elicit shivers and jumps and sudden moans have remained the same since he was twenty years old. It feels familiar, comforting almost to know that all those areas haven't changed even though Eunhyuk's pushing twenty-eight now and has a wrinkle between his brows that Donghae doesn't remember seeing a year ago when he left for the border.

"I don't think you'll be able to guess what my illusion is," he says, pressing the tip of his index finger into the centre of that wrinkle, "so I'll just tell you. You're in my bed, naked, breathing hard because we've just done it for the second time – and there are all those beads of perspiration on your forehead, just beneath your hairline, and you're asking me to make you come again."

"Charming," Eunhyuk manages, just as Donghae slips his overcoat and cheogori off his shoulders.

"It requires a lot less effort to get aroused when I think of it in that way," Donghae says.

"I can imagine." Eunhyuk runs his hand lightly over the bulge straining against Donghae's silken pants. "Look at the instantaneous effect."

They do manage to make it to the bed chamber before discarding any other item of clothing. Two palace maids silently roll the doors closed, and Donghae hastily jots down a reminder in his head to thank them for their faithfulness over the years. Jieun and Mihyun have witnessed enough indiscretions between him and Eunhyuk to start a revolution with the masses if they so wanted – not that it's such a bad idea, really, to not be a king anymore and live out in a nice countryside home with Eunhyuk beside him raising chickens – but that's his last thought before Eunhyuk's kissing coherency out of his head, rolling him over and grinding his hardness against Donghae's crotch. Donghae groans into his mouth.

"I've missed you," he says, digging his fingers into Eunhyuk's arms. "One year, Hyuk…"

"I know," Eunhyuk says, low into his ear, "I know."

He strips the both of them deftly and the coldness of the air settles against Donghae's skin, raises goose bumps along his arms until Eunhyuk fits the length of his body against his and it's all heat, and joy, and familiarity in their nakedness. Donghae smiles when he discovers the mole still in its rightful place on Eunhyuk's neck; the little dip just below his spine, the slight roughness on the third finger of his left hand because he'd burned the skin off during one of their festivals five years ago.

"I still can't believe you let yourself catch fire," says Donghae.

"If you recall," Eunhyuk says, "my finger caught fire because I was getting you away from it."

Donghae laughs, rifling his fingers through Eunhyuk's hair as Eunhyuk licks a strip from his throat to his navel, and then it suddenly seems like he can't wait anymore. "Hyukjae, Hyukjae, let's stop fooling around, we can do that later. Come inside me now."

He tries to keep his breath steady and his legs lifted when Eunhyuk pushes the tip of his cock in, but he's trembling so much that Eunhyuk has to prop his legs up with his shoulders and angle himself in by pulling Donghae's ass flush against his groin. It takes a while, and Donghae feels every inch by shuddering inch, the full length and thickness of Eunhyuk filling his insides, and he wonders dazedly - has it always been this big, has he always felt this full? Then he hits the base of Eunhyuk's cock and feels his balls tight against his butt cheeks and Eunhyuk draws in a deep breath and they look at each other for a beat and laugh, because it feels exactly as it ought to, as it's always felt; exhilarating.

"Come on," Donghae says, reaching down to fondle Eunhyuk's thighs. "I've fantasised about this for a year, you can't let me down now."

"I don't know if I've ever done this in your fantasies," Eunhyuk says, his gums showing as he laughs again, and it's all Donghae can do not to ravish him right there, "but we'll see."

"Just fuck me," Donghae demands, and Eunhyuk does.

They don't exactly set the room on fire, and the world does not exactly roll off its axis. But Eunhyuk does fuck him, does hold him and kiss him and make love to him, does balance himself on his hands and drive his cock into him in deep, measured strokes that has Donghae shivering and crying out beneath him like a child, tee totalling between begging for faster and trying to concentrate on keeping his legs high out of the way so that Eunhyuk can continue this torturously slow thrusting. And then Eunhyuk hits a spot so deep and so shocking that it's impossible not to scream and drive his fingers into Eunhyuk's shoulders and lunge for it again all at the same time, and when he touches Eunhyuk's face by accident his fingertips come away damp.

"Are you…" he chokes, lifting his head for a look at Eunhyuk's face.

Eunhyuk ducks his head to one side. "I've missed you."

"Hyukjae," Donghae says as though it's spelled out in bold strokes, big and black and plastered all over his heart. Eunhyuk's childhood name, boyhood name, the name he'd had that day under the willow tree, before they became king and general and had to think about saving the world.

Eunhyuk positions his hands beneath the small of Donghae's back and lifts him up as he moves back onto the bed. Donghae clings to his shoulders and bites a mark into his neck, not caring who will see it the day after, or if anyone at all will see it, as long as Eunhyuk himself sees it every day in the mirror and knows who put it there. He's on Eunhyuk's lap now, hips moving back and forth in such an accustomed way that he barely needs to think about it.

"I love you," he says, because this is what they say whenever they reach this point of intimacy, Eunhyuk has said before that it feels right to say it then; and Eunhyuk nods, looks into his eyes and says it back, "I love you too", with all his heart behind it.

Donghae balances himself on the balls of his feet, holds on to Eunhyuk's arms and rides him so hard that he practically sees Eunhyuk coming undone, gasping and panting with all those beads of perspiration forming beneath his hairline and rolling over his closed eyes before he comes in one long beautiful stroke, spilling over thick and hot inside Donghae.

It is, really, the look on Eunhyuk's face that pushes him over, has his hand flying up and down his own cock as he comes all over them. It's so intense that he feels a headache coming on, and he comes and comes and comes like he can't stop, until he's wrung out and struggling to breathe against Eunhyuk's chest, and Eunhyuk is holding his face, kissing the tip of his nose, laughing at him for having had one of those embarrassing schoolboy orgasms.

"When do you go back to the front?" he asks later, when they're lazing beside each other and nibbling on delicacies brought in by Jieun.

"In a couple of days," says Eunhyuk. "I can't leave for too long."

"I don't like to think of you out there," Donghae says, a touch of complaint in his voice. "I don't even know why you're out there in the first place; you're one of our top scholars, and you should be an advisor in my own court, holding my hand every day – you could be in Minister Gwangmu's position and I won't have to have three concubines."

"And then, my love, I would be executed for high treason," says Eunhyuk easily.

"You would not," Donghae growls. "Lest you've forgotten, I'm king. I decide who gets executed."

"They'd find a way." Eunhyuk suddenly drops his light tone. "We're not children anymore, Donghae. Your court is beginning to worry about you not having an heir and the country is at war – nothing is stable anymore. We can't do whatever we want."

Donghae sighs. "Hyukjae…we aren't doing what we want, that's the whole reason why you've been at the border for the past one year and I've been here with all my advisors. But I don't want you out there risking your life – do you know that every day I think someone is going to come tell me that you've gotten killed?"

"It's only what families all over this country are going through," Eunhyuk says gently.

"It doesn't make it any easier."

"No," Eunhyuk concedes. "It doesn't, does it?"

They lie in silence for a while, and then Donghae rolls over on his side and pulls Eunhyuk closer. "I just want to make love to you until you have to go."

Eunhyuk smiles, and this time Donghae gets to kiss him, teeth and gums and all. "I can't think of any objections I might have to that."

Three days later he returns to the border, and Donghae goes back to his throne and concubine and advisors and beheaded envoys. So much for being king, he thinks as he watches Eunhyuk leap onto his horse and ride out of the palace gates with four soldiers behind him.

But he's really thinking of the day they saw each other when they were eighteen, Eunhyuk thin as a reed and smiling with his teeth showing when Donghae walked into court behind his father, the then-king. The day when he'd kissed Eunhyuk under the willow tree, and Eunhyuk had fallen in love with him, and stammered and blushed his way through getting out of the lake, and that day when they'd slept together for the first time, trembling in fear in case someone found them – the day that they found out Donghae was to be married, and Eunhyuk had started his training to become a soldier despite his family's outrage – the day that Eunhyuk had said he would take a wife, too, and Donghae had fallen on him with fists and feet and tears and asked if Eunhyuk was still upset with him.

All those days, Donghae thinks, and yet we're still king and general, and that's the way it'll be; order the troops to take Yellow Mountain, your Majesty – General Eunhyuk will be in command.



###

i'm not sure how this ended as sadly as it did, i think it speaks much about my confused writing abilities these days. also, as you can tell, there is no historical value whatsoever in this - i'm sorry :| i think my research ended at what the thing eunhyuk wears is called, simply because i wanted donghae to remove it.