KINGDOM COME. ━ PETER PARKER!

prologue.

Kang Jihwan liked to blame all his faults on the fact that he wasn't given much attention as a child. His father didn't show much affection to him, or to his mother, perhaps to no one at all. Since he was a little boy, he'd never once seen his father without that cold stare on his face, the stare that he himself was beginning to perfect. His father didn't talk to many people, and instead usually looked down at them from his throne, as if nobody could even come near to his level. As much as Jihwan hated his father, he couldn't deny he was becoming quite like him.

Most people who worked at the palace didn't even know what he looked like, — other than the few maids who'd catch his eye once in a while, but that was a different story — much less know what he acted like. But he liked it. Liked the fact that he was a mystery, almost like one of those legends that his nanny used to tell him about.

His name was spoken in hushed whispers, careful not to mention anything bad with his name, for all they knew he could be walking amongst them and the second he'd ascend to the throne, he'd bring up those rumours they tried to spread about him or the nasty accusations they'd made against him, thinking he wouldn't notice.

But even they wouldn't have expected him to follow in his uncle's footsteps.

When people talked about his uncle, they'd talk about how wrong he must've felt, how disgraceful his actions were and how sinful he had been, even though right now Jihwan feel none of those emotions. Disgraceful, perhaps, — he'd always been a bit of a sloppy kisser — but he felt nowhere near sinful. He felt euphoric, almost.

Why would he want to feel bad when such a beautiful boy was so deeply in love with him?

The boy in question was named Keith. He was smaller than him — not by much, perhaps two or three inches, but Jihwan did like pointing it out just to see the boy get annoyed — and had floppy blonde hair that he probably needed to cut soon with the brightest eyes Jihwan had ever seen. He liked to tell the boy his eyes held more stars in the night sky, but Keith would just tell him to not say these things in public, which made him mad — he really just wanted to compliment him — but at the end of the day, he couldn't really do anything about it.

Jihwan almost regretted running away now that he was standing next to the well without his boy next to him. The forest seemed much less scary if someone was constantly holding onto his hand.

But he had to run away.

The maid has seen them, he knew she had. Keith had already left, and would probably be too far away for any news to reach them. However, Jihwan was still here and he'd probably be executed the second the maid got her hold on some guards and told them about what happened.

Jihwan sat down next to the well. He wasn't crying. God, he almost felt bad for not crying. What kind of heartless freak was he? He couldn't even cry over potentially getting his head cut off.

He rested his head against the well, taking in deep breaths.

He hoped if he fell asleep, he wouldn't be awoken to guards brandishing their knives. He hoped when he woke up, he'd be in a different place, a place that accepted him, whether he liked a girl or a boy. He'd take Keith there and they'd live in a small house — take it from a crowned prince, large houses are overrated — and they'd have a dog, because dogs are way better than children.

It wasn't long before he fell asleep, dreaming about a life where he was, well, happy.

☽    🕷   ☾

                    Peter Parker was usually careful when it came to his superhero identity. He didn't expect bad guys to strike during his trip to the museum, but when they strike, well, he has to fulfill his duty as the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman.

When everyone was safely out of the building and he was sure nobody was left to witness him, he was still careful enough to go into a storage closet when he had to change into his normal clothes.

And yet when he had stuffed the red costume into his backpack, he turned around to find a sleeping boy — man?

Whatever he was, he was clearly alive. Peter had spend enough time in the museum to be able to differentiate between what was a mannequin and what was a human being, the biggest difference being mannequins didn't usually breathe.

Although Peter was curious — what was he doing sleeping inside a storage closet — he decided not to wake him up. What if he ended up being a thief or something? If he was, there was no doubt it Peter's mind that he could take him on, even if he towered over him by two or three inches. But the larger problem was what if he ended up asking him why he was in the closet.

That sentence definitely sounded weird

So Peter did what he thought was reasonable, he turned around and started walking towards the door.

But before he could open it and leave, he felt a familiar tingle down his back— his Spidey-senses. He turned around, against his better judgement, and found himself face to face with the previously sleeping man.

( author's note..! )
yikes i know i haven't updated in forever but,, im
finally back on my bullshit so expect some more updates
soon. also sorry if the prologue was vague and rushed,,
this was done on purpose because i intend on revealing
some more history in the flashbacks.

also the Keith in the past and the Keith in the present
are two different people, just thought I'd let you know.
i was planning on adding a cast for (past) Keith, but
he isn't too important so feel free to imagine him
as whoever you like.

— ella.