"There has to be a way," Kagami said around his thirteenth grilled fish.
"If you know of one, I'll be happy to hear it," Kuroko said as he politely munched on a piece of his first fish.
"I won't leave until I find one !" He promised grinning widely at the smaller man who stared at him with curiosity clear in his face.
"You have a beautiful smile," he said in an even tone.
"I- You-" Kagami choked on his food and his face turned bright red. "There's nothing beautiful about me ! I'm a manly king, you know ?"
"I'm sorry, I don't get it. I don't know much about the world," Kuroko lowered his head and Kagami wanted to punch himself.
Of course, there was a lot he had never been taught since he had been exiled around seven years old. And had spent a fucking century alone here.
"I'll teach you," he promised, his voice low but intense.
"What is it like ? Being a king." Kuroko asked tilting his head to the side.
"I rule over Seirin which is the most beautiful part of the Teiko empire. Do you know it ?" Kuroko nodded which wasn't surprising as the whole world knew about it, even children. "I have to make sure my people don't starve, stay healthy and grow strong. In return, I have everything I want. A grand castle, the best food you can find, legendary weapons and whatever you can think of."
"How is your castle ?" Kuroko asked, his eyes wide and attentive.
"It could fit ten thousand of us and there would still be space," Kagami described proudly. "It's made of the blackest obsidian and bright red marble. Red is our kingdom colour. It is built like a big rectangle and stretch on one level only, but the ceiling is very high and embedded with enough gemstones to make it look like a starry sky. Though it's not dark as the windows are wide and high and the use of copper light up the rooms."
Kagami had never been as proud of his home as he was when he saw the awe in Kuroko's pretty turquoise eyes. He swore then and there that he would take him there. Bring him home. His beast purred in agreement at the thought.
"How can you survive on that ?" He frowned as they finished eating.
"Storms and hurricane bring all kind of goods over," Kuroko chuckled and something tightened in the king's chest. "In a century I have collected quite the collection. I'll show you," he said and stood up.
Kagami got up to follow the bluenet and, very uncharacteristically, reached for his hand.
The feel of the soft, cold hand was like nothing he had ever felt and it soothed something very deep at the same time as it lit something equally primal in him. He was getting addicted to it.
"Is it something people do ?" Kuroko asked as he squeezed the hot hand.
"Y-yes," Kagami lied and squeezed in return.
"Are you ready ?" Kuroko asked.
"Ready for what ?" Kagami asked and as an answer Kuroko pointed his forefinger at their feet and waved. Soon their feet were clad in weird ice shoes with a blade at their bottom. Kagami struggled to keep up at first but soon got the hang of it as Kuroko gracefully slid across the white ground.
"Ice skating."
A few minutes later, he squeezed the king's hand and pulled his out of the hold, much to Kagami's pain. Not that he couldn't skate on his own, but he missed the incredible feeling of their skin touching. But then he threw him a playful look and picked up his speed and Kagami understood they were racing now. That he knew well. Lowering his upper body, he pushed his legs faster and it was almost like flying, but not quite. His heart skipped a beat as Kuroko laughed when he caught up to him once again.
This was where he was supposed to be, he thought as he followed the fairy like form of his guide.
They made it to a place where a part of the ground was shaped like a slide and it went down and around for miles. The ice has a blue tint to it and shimmered under the sun. They went down like lightning and of course Kagami ran into Kuroko as the latter brutally stopped at the end of the slide.
"Ah !" They both screamed and the king instinctively turned around to protect the smaller man from hitting the ground.
They stayed like this for a moment, their bodies stuck together, not an inch of air between, their breath pushing their chest closer a second on two, Kuroko's face burrowed in the crook of his neck, his breath tingling the taller man who felt himself get aroused and blushed bright red.
"Sorry," Kuroko raised himself to sit down on the red haired under him and the move made him groan in pleasure. "Am I hurting you ?"
"No !" He cried out and felt ashamed at himself for being so sensitive. He had thousands of beautiful people throw themselves at him over the centuries, never had he wanted to go any further than kissing with any of them. But now, here, with him, he felt like he was burning up in a brand new way. Him, his beast growled. Mine.
Kuroko frowned like he didn't believe him and stood up quickly. The loss of his weight was a painful experience to the king who immediately wanted to pull him back.
"We're here," he announced and held out a hand for Kagami who didn't release it even once on his feet.
They had arrived in some sort of underground cave. It was lined with high ice shelves that went way up. The place was lit up thanks to the sun shining through the ceiling's clear material.
"We have spices," he tugged his hand to guide him to the left side. "Quite a lot."
"They probably came from commercial ships," the king said as he took in the big barils.
"I remember how my mom would put some in soups, but I can't make soups because of the curse so I rub those on the fishes I catch," Kuroko explained and Kagami felt so sad for everything he had missed on.
"I'll make you soup tonight," he said with confidence. He had never cooked before but it couldn't be hard. "You saw how our powers react to each other, I'm sure it'll be possible."
"It's true that I didn't cause any blizzards since you've been here," Kuroko smiled and it was the most enchanting sight in the whole wide world. "Then we have the books. Most of my knowledge comes from their pages. Here, my favourite." He pulled out a small green tome.
"My mom used to read those to me !" Kagami smiled down at the familiar cover.
"I love the rhymes," Kuroko said as he caressed the book containing popular children tales.
"Shall I never die-"
"And you forever smile," Kuroko ended in a soft voice. "Come."
He showed him the rest of the shelves. Clothes, jewellery, weapons.
"That's fucking impossible !" Kagami exclaimed as he saw the blade pushed against one shelf.
He walked closer, and grabbed it. The sword lit up at the contact of his hand and the iron of the blade took on a reddish hint.
"What is it ?" Kuroko asked him.
"This," he gestured to the beautiful sword. "Is a legendary weapons that can only be handled by fire dragons. It was made a long time ago by one of the strongest of our kind by killing a million ennemies to save his beloved. Then his beloved, who was a strong witch, blessed the blade with the magic cores of the ennemies whose blood still stained it."
"It's beautiful," Kuroko said and touched the reddish iron.
"Don't ! It-" Kagami stared in shock as shining blue markings appeared on the blade.
"Sorry," Kuroko apologised, taking his fingers off the sword.
Kagami couldn't say anything. He didn't understand. He should have been burnt. A warning for the other kinds not to ever touch this sacred weapons. Only the mate and family of its holder was spared its punishment. His mate...
"It should have burned you," he said as his heart picked up its speed and filled with a happy kind of hope.
"Oh. My curse probably cancelled the effect," Kuroko said then. It made sense. Kagami hated it.
He chuckled awkwardly at his silly thought and turned the blade in his hand.
"Can I have it ?" He asked Kuroko.
"It's yours, you don't need to ask."
They smiled at each other for a moment before Kuroko resumed their tour. That night, Kagami cooked. And it was damn delicious. Kuroko looked so amazed by the tastes and textures that Kagami promised to cook everyday from then on.
Along the days, they realised their magical harmony had extended to a wider radius and Kagami had not burst into flames in a long time though he still got angry sometimes, such as when they spoke about Kuroko's lonely past. For Kuroko, he wasn't freezing everything he touched, and no more blizzards happened.