Crown Prince Bang Chan is having a normal day... until he isn't.
He narrowly avoids his death, and suddenly he's on the run with nowhere to go. He escapes into the Black Forest and finds a cottage full of kindness, magic, and seven men who refuse to turn him away.
❄◌✴︎˚Chan｡✴︎◌❄
All his life, Prince Chan has been told how beautiful he is with his ebony hair, his plump lips as red as a rose, and his skin as white as snow.
But even so there are more important things to concern himself with. He does his best to be a good person and cultivate his interests, knowing that beauty can only take you so far. Plus, regardless of others’ praise, Chan trusts his family above all, and his stepmother is always willing to point out his flaws. By age 26, Chan’s father has been gone for over ten years, and he is sure that most compliments he receives are a result of his status as future king rather than his appearance.
One day, he’s called to the stable and runs into the famed Huntsman. While he tends to be away from court for long periods at a time, he’s always made time for the prince. Chan has always loved to hear about the adventures he goes on, hunting for unique and mysterious game. So, when the man invites him on a stroll through the woods, Chan is more than happy to accompany him, as he has many times before. Once the palace walls are out of sight, the Huntsman quiets and turns to him.
Chan smiles up at him, about to ask why they were stopping, when the man roughly grabs him by the throat and thrusts him back against the trunk of a tree. Chan struggles as he’s lifted off his feet; he scratches at the hand holding him in a futile attempt to loosen the grip. The Huntsman’s other fist raises, a large hunting knife in hand.
“Please!” Chan barely chokes out. Tears streaming down his face, he uses what little air he has left to beg for his life. “D-don’t kill me!”
The Huntsman stares down at him, and Chan thinks he might see a hint of empathy in his eyes, though his sight is already starting to darken.
This is it, Chan resigns himself to this fate. He lets his arms fall, his legs go still. He knows this isn’t something the Huntsman decided to do on his own. He has no reason to. It’s not his fault. With the last of his strength, Chan meets the Huntsman’s eyes and gives him a watery smile.
In the next second, Chan’s feet hit the ground. Unable to hold his own weight, he folds in on himself. The Huntsman kneels beside him, actually rubbing his back as Chan gulps in breath after breath.
After a few moments, he realizes the other man is speaking. “I’m so sorry, my Prince. The Queen, she said I had to do it! But you don’t deserve to die like this, not by my hand.”
Chan tries to raise his head and is helped along by the Huntsman, who shifts to face him fully. The hands that were poised to kill him, mere moments ago, cup his cheeks delicately.
The Queen? No, he thinks, not just the Queen, but my stepmother. My stepmother tried to have me killed. How could she do such a thing? Why? What have I done to deserve this?
“How could I harm such a beautiful man?” The Huntsman nearly sobs. His thumbs gently swipe the tears still falling from Chan’s eyes. “A man so kind as to offer me a smile as I take the life from him. I cannot. You must flee. The Queen will not stop until you are gone. I will tell her I finished the job, but you must go and never return.”
Chan finally starts to feel like himself again, no more stars swimming in his vision. He looks at this man, his would-be killer, and all he can feel is thankful. He clearly was more than capable of killing Chan, and he chose not to. He’s offering him the chance at a life that his stepmother would deny him. He swallows, and immediately regrets the sting of it in his damaged throat.
“Thank you,” he rasps. “Thank you for sparing me.”
He allows the Huntsman to help him to his feet. He only wobbles a bit before trying to take a step back, forgetting the tree at his back.
“I do not deserve your thanks,” the Huntsman murmurs, head dipping low. “Go now. Find the spring to the east and follow it a ways until you’re a good distance from the palace. I’ll do what I can for you there.”
Chan simply nods in return and stumbles in the direction the man indicates. When he’s been walking a few minutes, he hears the squeal of a boar, likely taken down by his would-be executioner. He shudders.
He also realizes that if he runs into a wild boar, the Huntsman’s kindness could be all for naught. The beasts are dangerous and territorial. Chan speeds up the best he can in hopes of finding somewhere to hide and camp for the night soon.
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Shelter is harder to find than Chan had hoped. He ends up climbing a tree beside the river in hopes of avoiding any nighttime predators. Sleep has never come easily to Chan, not since before his father died. Feeling as he does, he doesn’t even pretend to try to sleep. He sits on his branch, alert and listening for any sign of pursuit or wild animals.
The Huntsman told him that he would cover for him, but what if the man had another change of heart? Or if the Queen didn’t believe him with no body to show for it? It’s not worth the risk of letting his guard down.
Come morning, Chan is exhausted. He climbs down the tree just after first light and rinses his face in the chilly water. He continues his trek, unsure of what he’ll do if he can’t find shelter tonight.
Luckily, Chan enjoys exercising, so his walk through the woods is less uncomfortable than it could be. After a while, he begins singing to himself to pass the time, glad that being choked doesn’t seem to have caused any lasting damage. He picks up an audience when he takes a break around midday. A few birds, a squirrel, and even a bunny all stop, seeming to just enjoy his song. On the next, the birds accompany him, harmonizing and adding a melody to support his lyrics.
He loves it.
Soon, though, he realizes he should get moving again, especially considering the growling of his stomach. He turns to the animals, nodding to each, including the fox, chipmunks, and deer that seem to have joined the party as well. “Goodbye, friends. I’ve so enjoyed your company, but I need to keep walking now. I must find food and somewhere safe to sleep.”
There’s a buzz amongst them, almost as if the animals are communicating with each other. When Chan stands to get on his way, the deer moves into his path, and he’s pretty sure she shakes her head ‘no.’ He’s befuddled, unsure if he should try to side-step the doe, or wait until she’s ready to move. A few squirrels run up to him next, their little arms full of a few nuts and berries. They hold them out like an offering to him, before setting them at his feet.
Profoundly confused now, Chan sinks down to sit on the ground once more. “These are for me?” he asks the critters, and this time he’s positive that the doe nods her head in assent. He reaches out tentatively and takes the food. Tears welling in his eyes, he offers them all a radiant smile. “Thank you! This is so kind.”
He recognizes the berries, thankfully, and is sure they’re safe to eat. He struggles to shell the nuts, and one of the chipmunks appears, taking one and chewing until the gap is big enough to pry it open. Chan sheepishly trades him for the nut in his hand, so he can eat the open one. The other chipmunks join the first so that they can prepare the rest for him.
Once his meager meal is done, Chan looks around at all his woodland friends. He thanks them again, and asks, “You don’t know of a nice cave or abandoned hut in the area that I could sleep in tonight, do you?”
Glances are exchanged among the animals, and a fox comes to stand in front of Chan. He throws his head toward the right and turns around. He takes two steps before looking back at Chan.
“Oh!” Chan scrambles to his feet and looks around. “I’m supposed to follow you, right?”
The fox yips softly and starts to walk. Chan watches long enough for the doe to get impatient; she nudges him in the back with her head as if to say ‘yes, dummy, now hop to it!’
So Chan follows. Some of the animals follow along with him while others scurry off to do whatever else they planned to do with their days. Chan sings another song, hoping that his new friends will accept it as payment for their help. The birds continue to sing along, and after an hour or so, they come upon a cottage.
Chan knocks on the door, but receives no answer. An encouraging look from the fox leads him to turn the door handle. With a small bow of his head, the fox trots off, and Chan enters the house.
The interior looks well lived in, if a bit messy. Chan wanders through the house in search of any occupants and finds none. It's larger than he'd expect for a house out in the middle of the nowhere. He decides to wait for them to return and ask if he can stay until he figures out his next move. The nearest kingdom is a ways away, and he doubts he could just keep walking until he gets there, even with the help of the forest’s fauna.
So he waits.
And waits.
And waits.
Come nightfall, Chan is incredibly bored. He’s spent so much of the day sitting and taking in the cottage with it's ample seating and plenty of knick knacks. His stomach is rumbling, and he has no idea if anyone actually lives here at present. There is some dust on the shelves, and while it doesn’t seem like it has been long since people had been here, that doesn’t mean they intend to return. That in mind, he decides that looking around is not so much snooping as it is investigating his environment.
He starts in the living room, looking for anything that might indicate a date. When he doesn’t find anything, he heads to the kitchen. The dishes in the sink don’t seem that old, but they don’t smell great and neither does the full trash. The cabinets are well stocked, and nothing appears to be spoiled. Seeing that makes Chan’s stomach twist in hunger again.
He glances at the door then at the quickly dwindling daylight out the window and makes a decision. He takes out a small a bit of bread, and a few pieces of dried meat. After his lunch of nuts and berries, it feels like a feast. He takes his plate over to the sink and decides to do all of the dishes to thank the homeowners for sharing their food, especially since he didn’t give them the chance to offer or decline.
After the dishes, he takes out the trash, finding where they put it outside fairly easily despite the dark. Then while he’s at it, he decides to straighten up a bit; there are utensils, spices, and other kitchen paraphernalia strewn about the room all willy nilly, and Chan can’t help but want to put everything right. Those instincts lead him to straightening things up in the living room as well, and before he knows it, the whole lower level of the cottage is in much better shape than when he found it.
Chan finds that he’s tired, both in body and mind. It may not be wise to sleep in an unknown person’s home, but he trusts that the fox brought him here for a good reason and that the owner will appreciate the work he did.
So, Chan lays down on the couch. Despite the exhaustion, he doesn’t actually think he’ll sleep anyway. His thoughts are consumed with the woman who’d raised him since his father died, albeit she’d never been particularly affectionate, or even particularly nice to him. Still, she was his only family, and she’d arranged to have him murdered. He doesn’t even understand why. He agreed to let her lead as regent until at least his 30th birthday, and even then, they were to do so in tandem, as she taught him the things you can only know by doing. Did she hate him that much? Why?
These questions and more swirl around his head, yet somehow he manages to drift off just a few minutes after laying down.
Tags: @mrbangchannie @runningonkpop @straysrachaa @jisungsjheekies @luminouskalopsia (tag info here )
He had hunted and hiked and led backpacking trips through these woods for twenty years and he had never seen an animal track like that. At first glance it resembled a wolf track, something he was very familiar with. But the longer he stared at it, the more he realized that it was different - larger. He was positive that there wasn't any large animals in this forest. It was free of any bears which would be the most and only dangerous animal. So it baffled him at what sort of animal could possibly make this track. Chan was a little wary about continuing down the trail, but he was about halfway through his hike and there was honestly no telling where this creature was. He hadn't encountered it at the start of the hike, nor on any of his previous trips. The probability of seeing the creature seemed low, so he made the decision to carry on with his hike. Though was more aware of his surroundings now.
Chan managed to complete his hike without incident, but he could never quite shake the feeling that he was being watched the entire time.
The occupants of the cabin return home after an extra long day of work. Chan tells them about his ordeal, and they have a discussion about what he's has experienced and how they'll move forward from there.
❄◌✴︎˚Chan｡✴︎◌❄
A little less than a kilometer away, seven young dwarves are making their way through the forest toward their cottage.
“We should’ve just camped at the mine,” one grumbles for the umpteenth time.
“Yes, yes, I know,” the one in the lead sighs. “You’d have rather traveled during the day; I think we all understand that.”
The strongest of them stops in front of the tired one and crouches down. “We’re nearly home, just hop on.”
“You’re tired, too, though,” the younger man mumbles, but it doesn’t stop him from climbing onto his back and promptly falling asleep. The strong one pats the leader’s arm beside him. “He did have to use a lot of mana back there. Give him a break.”
“I know,” He nods as he brushes his hand through the tired one’s hair. “I just hate when he’s whiny and right.”
There are a few giggles from the back of the pack, and he turns to glare back at them. They continue in comfortable silence from then on, walking until they make it back onto their small patch of land. Conversations about bathing and eating and sleeping seem to start all at once then. By the time they can see their home, it’s decided that they’ll all eat then head straight to bed and just worry about cleaning their sheets in the morning.
The leader walks through the door and straight to the stairs, followed by the strong one and his charge, and two others, but the next in line pauses and puts a hand out to stop the youngest dwarf from going around him.
“Um, guys?” He says it in the loudest whisper he can manage. “What the fuck?”
The three on the stairs turn to look back at him, and unsurprisingly, and much too loudly, the leader asks, “What’s the problem, Kim Seungmin? Forgot how to walk up stairs?”
The sound of Chan gasping and jolting awake at his voice draws five more pairs of eyes to the couch. They can only sort of make out his shape in the dim moonlight.
“Hello?” comes his clearly nervous, if not plain scared, voice. “Who’s there?”
“Who’s there?” the youngest dwarf echoes. “Who are you, and what are you doing in our house?”
Chan cringes, though he figures no one can really see him. It’s a wonder Seungmin managed to. He clears his throat. “I’m sorry to intrude. I’m, um, lost, and I was hoping to speak to you about staying for the night so I can figure out where I am and where to go next. I guess I fell asleep. I do apologize.”
The man closest to him lights the lamps in quick succession, each punctuated with a sneeze, though he doesn’t move from the spot, and Chan looks dumbfounded. “How did you do that?”
The dwarves exchange glances, but it’s the one highest on the stairs that responds gruffly. “Lost in the Black Forest, huh? Where’d you come from? And what, you’ve never seen a dwarf who can use fire magic?”
“Dwarf?” is the first thing to pop out of Chan’s mouth. He may be sitting, but even from this vantage point, he can tell that the two closer to him are taller than he is, and likely at least one of the ones on the stairs is as well. The glares he gets has him stammering, trying to at least answer their other questions. “I, um, I’m from the kingdom of Baekguk. And I’ve, uh, I’ve never seen a dwarf before? Or anyone who c-can use magic outside of the parlor tricks of the court jester.” His oration tutor is rolling over in his grave.
More glances are exchanged, and three of the men come back down the stairs while the fourth goes the rest of the way upstairs. Chan sits stock still on the couch, waiting for one of the men, the dwarves, to say something, but they stay silent until the other man returns.
He looks at his friends then back at Chan before indicating the kitchen table. “Alright, we might as well get comfortable for this conversation then. Minho, get some food out?”
They all move toward the table, giving Chan a wide berth before the one who suggested it pulls a chair out for him. He moves tentatively to take it. They haven’t really given him any reason to worry, but he’s well aware that he’s trespassing.
“So tell me,” the blond one says. Chan has to blink at him a couple times. His voice is so deep, at odds with his sunshiny smile and general angelic visage. “What is a nobleman from Baekguk doing way out here? How did you come to be lost in the forest?”
“Wait a second,” the one called Minho interrupts before he can respond. “What the hell happened in here?”
Man, he’s so grumpy, Chan observes. He looks around at the six of them, then the room and decides that if they aren’t going to introduce themselves properly, he’ll give them names of his own. He turns his thoughts back to Grumpy’s question. “What do you mean?”
“Did you,” he looks at Chan incredulously, “clean our kitchen?”
The rest of them actually look around the room now, and a couple seem to notice the state of the living room as well. Their expressions range from confusion to happiness.
Chan clears his throat again. “Um, yeah. I also kind of ate a little of your food, so I wanted to clean up a bit as a thank you and an apology. I hope you don’t mind. I followed the bones of your organization, so it shouldn’t be hard to find anything.”
The one with the cute mole under his eye smiles brightly. The smile is a bit dopey, and Chan loves it. “Wow, that’s so nice of you! Now I don’t have to do the dishes!”
Considering how seriously Grumpy seems to be taking the situation, it seems a bit silly of him. Chan decides to call this one Dopey, affectionately of course.
“All in favor of it still being his turn til he does them?” The sneezy one asks the group. Oh, duh. Sneezy it is. The response is a resounding ‘yes,’ and Dopey lets out an exaggerated sigh. Maybe this is all a bit less tense than Grumpy makes Chan feel, if they’re willing to make jokes in front of him.
“Why are we ignoring the fact that he ate our food, messed around with our stuff, and made himself at home on our couch?” asks Grumpy.
The buff one gives him a look and pulls a chair directly in front of Chan. “Chill for a minute, Min. Um, sorry, but would you mind if I take a closer look at your neck?”
“My…” Chan touches his neck briefly and realizes that the Huntsman’s hold must’ve bruised him. Unsure of what else to do, he tips his head up and allows the other man to prod lightly at it, like a doctor might when examining a patient. Chan appreciates that he doesn’t press very hard; he didn’t remember noticing the tenderness before.
“This is pretty fresh, huh? Innie, can you make him an ice pack?” Doc says. He leans out of Chan’s personal space and meets his eyes. “Are you okay?”
It’s not much, but this small show of care brings Chan close to tears yet again. Apparently, almost dying makes him a very easy crier. He flinches a little when the cold suddenly touches him. It’s the one Doc called Innie placing ice on his neck. He looks up in wonder, having seen that a towel was suddenly frozen in the young man’s hand. When Chan smiles at him in return, the man’s cheeks pink as he looks away. Bashful little thing, isn’t he?
“It’ll help reduce the bruising and swelling,” Doc explains as Bashful goes back to his seat between Dopey and Sneezy. Chan allows him to pull up his sleeves to check his wrists and touch him gently to check his condition. “Do you have any other injuries? Is the person who did this still after you? Did you get lost running from them?”
Chan pulls himself together and nods. “He’s not after me anymore. He let me go. I guess I’m okay. I just… need to figure out my next move.”
“Can you not go home?” Bashful asks, sadness touching his eyes. Dopey reaches over to hold his hand. “We can help you get back.”
Eyes downcast, Chan wonders how much he should share. These men haven’t even told him who they are. What if they react poorly to him being the Prince of Baekguk. Chan’s not so naive as to think that the royal family is loved outside of his kingdom. Before he can decide, Grumpy chimes in again. “Hold on. We don’t know how or why he got that bruise, or if he led someone dangerous here. For all we know, we’re helping an escaped criminal. We need more answers before we agree to do anything for him.”
“He’s not wrong,” Sneezy adds. Then he addresses Chan directly. “Can you tell us what happened?”
“Of course,” Chan sighs, resigning himself to telling the full truth. Despite the knowledge that they may not appreciate a prince in their midst, he realizes that he’s already put his trust in these men, and he feels a strange surety that it’s not misplaced. “My stepmother ordered a man to kill me yesterday. He almost did, but I’ve known him for a long time, and I guess he ended up feeling sorry for me. He let me go. Told me to find and follow the river and that he’d lie to her about following through. I, um, heard him kill a boar while I was walking away, so I guess he got bloody for proof. I doubt anyone is out looking for me.”
He’s speaking to his lap by the time he finishes, unable to look up and see their reactions. Doc’s hand comes to rest on his, though, and that gives him hope. He’s not sure who it is that asks the next question.
“Why would your stepmother do such a thing?”
Chan’s lip trembles. “I really don’t know. Our relationship wasn’t great, but I didn’t think it was truly bad. She basically raised me. I didn’t think she could hate me, but she must.”
“Who is your stepmother that she could ‘order’ something like this,” Grumpy asks, most of the heat gone from his tone.
“The Queen.”
There are a couple gasps, and Chan can hear at least one whispered conversation.
“What a bitch.”
Chan’s head snaps up to look at the blond. If he weren’t so down, it would be funny to hear such vulgar language coming from such a happy looking face.
“Is he really the Prince then?” Doc asks, as if the blond would know. Has he been to court? “Did you see why she did it?”
“Yep,” he says matter of factly. He inclines his head to Chan before proceeding, smile bright. I’ll call him Happy. “Welcome to our humble home, your highness.” He directs the next part to Doc. “She’s so fuckin’ petty, bro. It’s because he’s so beautiful.”
“What?” The question comes from half the room, including the prince himself.
Happy turns back to Chan. “You may think you’ve never seen real magic before, but that’s because the Queen outlawed magic use in the kingdom back when she first married your father. Since then, she’s the only one who can openly use it.”
Chan shakes his head, as if that’ll help to make his words more comprehensible. “My stepmother doesn’t use magic? And why would my father allow her to outlaw it if it can be used to make life easier?”
Sneezy clears his throat. “Well, you’ve only seen a couple examples of how people can use magic. It’s possible to do much less honorable stuff, too. But that’s not why it was outlawed.”
“The Queen covets power and status above all else,” Grumpy sneers. “If she’s the only one using magic, that makes her the best, the supreme.”
“Not just that,” Happy adds. He rolls his eyes. “She also ‘needs’ to be the most beautiful person in the kingdom. She literally has a magic mirror that she checks to make sure she’s ‘the fairest of them all.’” He throws finger quotes around the phrase.
“But,” Chan is very confused. “How would you know all that?”
“Oh, I’m a Seer!” Happy beams at him. “It’s another form of magic. Once you gave me an idea of what to look for, I could see why she gave the order. For years, the mirror has told her that she’s the fairest, but once you became an adult, the answer changed.”
“But I’ve been an adult for years now?”
Happy makes a zipping motion across his lips. “Exactly. For years she’s been trying to improve herself and subtly make you lesser, but it never lasts long. She finally snapped and decided that if you’re dead, she won’t have to worry about it any more.”
“So is he safe now that he’s out of the kingdom?” Bashful asks, concern clear on his face.
Happy’s expression darkens slightly. “I can’t see how the magic works well enough to say.”
“Honesly, the fact that you saw this much is something to celebrate, Lix,” Sneezy says, pride coloring his expression. That sunshine smile returns.
Just then, a sleepy voice comes from the stairs. “What’s going on?”
They all turn toward the sound. The man Doc had been carrying when they came home looks disheveled and confused.
“Sungie, baby, you can go back to bed,” Dopey calls over. “I’ll come snuggle you when we finish talking, and we can fill you in tomorrow morning.”
Sleepy, Chan dubs him, looks like he’s going to follow that advice, but ultimately he comes the rest of the way down the stairs. They only have seven chairs, so there’s not another seat around the table for him. Seemingly unbothered by Chan in his seat, Sleepy plops himself down in Sneezy’s lap, an arm around his shoulders.
Considering Dopey calling him ‘baby’ and promising to come snuggle, the action thoroughly confuses Chan. Even more so when Sneezy nuzzles his nose against him before asking what woke him. He wonders what exactly the relationship dynamic is here.
“Honestly, it’s pretty late,” Doc reasons. “Maybe we should all go to sleep and pick this up tomorrow.” He takes a moment to lock eyes with each of the other dwarves before turning to Chan. “You can take one of our beds, your highness, and once we get everything sorted, we’ll help you however we can.”
Chan bows his head. “Thank you so much. I will be fine on the couch, though. I won’t kick anyone out of their bed.”
“Don’t be silly,” Bashful insists. “We can’t let royalty sleep on the couch. At this point the bed will be empty anyway.”
Chan takes in the kind, encouraging looks on Happy, Bashful, and Dopey faces and nods.
“I’ll get him set up,” Grumpy says as he hands a chunk of bread to everyone around the table. Chan had forgotten that he was meant to be getting food for the rest of them, distracted by Chan’s interrogation. He’s more than a little surprised when he gets a piece as well.
They all head up the stairs, with him and Grumpy taking up the rear. Chan watches as they peel off: Doc and Bashful to one room, Happy to another, Dopey, Sleepy, and Sneezy all into a third. Grumpy opens the last door on the left and gestures for him to go inside.
“The bathroom is right here across the hall.” Then he indicates the door Doc and Bashful went into, then the one Happy is in. “If you need anything, anyone can help you, but probably best to check in with Changbin in there, or myself in that one.”
“Thank you, G-” Chan cuts himself off, sure that if he calls this man ‘Grumpy’ to his face, it will not go over well. He wracks his brain for a moment. “Um, it’s Minho, right?”
“Ah, yeah,” he nods. “I guess we never actually introduced ourselves. But yes, I’m Minho, and the one who looked at your neck is Changbin. I imagine we can leave the rest of the introductions for tomorrow.” He peers down the hall again. “Some of us can be early risers, but today was a long one, so I’m not sure when we’ll be getting up. Feel free to use the kitchen or living room if you wake up before us, your highness.”
Chan’s ears feel a little warm. “Okay, thank you. And you guys don’t have to use my title, if it’s even mine at this point. You can just call me Chan.”
The way he looks at him reminds Chan of a cat suddenly. “Alright. Goodnight, Chan.”
“Goodnight, Minho.”
When he closes the door, Chan sees that there’s a lock and sighs. Not that he’s concerned about any of the dwarves coming in, but he’s been wearing these clothes for nearly two days, and he’s ready to be free of them. As he lays naked in a stranger’s bed, he wonders who would’ve slept here if not for him. Three had gone into one room, so maybe one of them. Though, with the sweet words and actions he witnessed, Chan could imagine that they would’ve all slept together anyway. Unless there are multiple beds in each room?
Chan allows himself to needlessly analyze the night to try to determine what kind of relationships are at play under this roof, knowing that the moment he stops, his thoughts will return to the Queen. Before he knows it, he slips out of consciousness, and into the nightmare he was avoiding.
A couple hours later, Changbin stares at the locked door. Behind it, just a few feet away, he can hear the prince’s whimpers and cries. He’d knocked softly to no avail. He must be dreaming. Changbin is loath to wake Hyunjin, but he hates to listen to the prince suffer, knowing he must be plagued with nightmares of his ordeal. He could knock louder, try to wake the man himself, but he doesn’t want to scare the man. No one likes to wake to a stranger pounding on their door.
“Hyunjin might not even be able to reach him from out here.”
Changbin nearly jumps out of his skin when Minho speaks behind him. He turns, heart pounding, hand to his chest. “Jesus Min, do you have to sneak up on me like that?”
“It’s not my fault you lose track of your surroundings when you focus on something,” the older man teases, a soft smile on his lips. He wraps his arms around Changbin by way of apology, letting his chin rest on his shoulder.
“You having trouble sleeping, too?” Changbin whispers into his hair. His eyes drift back to the door when he hears a distressed shout.
Minho pulls back to look him in the eye. He deadpans, “No, you were just thinking so loud that it woke me up. Plus, Felix is feeling kicky tonight.”
It has the intended effect. Changbin laughs and shakes off the tension that had been building in his shoulders. Unfortunately, it starts to return with his next question.
“Did Lix say anything else before he went to sleep?”
“Binnie, you said yourself that we’d sort things out in the morning,” Minho sighs. He looks between Changbin and the door. “There’s nothing else we can do tonight. You should go back to bed.”
Before he can respond, a door opens, and Hyunjin sticks his head out. He pads down the hall toward them, anxiety clear on his face. “I couldn’t manage anything from there, so I wanted to try to get closer.” He explains, knowing they understand his intention. He places his hands and forehead on the prince’s door. A deep breath and his eyes begin to glow – a lavender mist radiating out.
After a moment, he steps back, a grimace on his face. Both Changbin and Minho immediately move to wrap an arm around him.
“I need to be able to see him,” Hyunjin pouts. “I thought I’d gotten a lot stronger, but I guess not.”
“Don’t be like that,” Changbin coos, bringing a hand up to caress his cheek. Minho presses a kiss to the opposite side. “You hardly ever practice with new people who are sleeping like this. You’ve grown so much; you can’t be discouraged by a unique situation.”
Hyunjin mumbles out an agreement and allows Minho to pull him back toward his room. “Do you wanna join me and Lix or go back to the other two?”
Changbin takes one last look at the door and follows them.
“I’ll come to yours,” Hyunjin says, though he reaches out a hand to Changbin. He pulls him close and presses a kiss to his forehead, eyes shimmering faintly again. “Sungie somehow managed to wrap the blanket around himself with both ends under him, on top of Minnie.”
“That’s talent,” Changbin giggles. Sleepiness is threatening to overtake him, so he steps back toward the bed he’s sharing with Jeongin. “Thank you, Hyuni. Minho, too, okay?”
The younger man nods, and Minho sticks his tongue out at Changbin. They head into their respective rooms. Changbin falls asleep the moment his head hits the pillow.
When he opens his eyes next, it’s mid-morning. Jeongin’s side of the bed is still warm; he must’ve just gotten up.
By the time he cleans up and makes his way downstairs, it’s clear that he is the last to wake. Minho and Felix are bustling around the kitchen while Jeongin and Jisung cuddle on the couch. He catches a glimpse of Hyunjin and Seungmin out the window, picking vegetables from the garden. One person is conspicuously missing.
“Where’s the prince?” he asks, eyes floating back to Minho on instinct.
“Back upstairs.” Minho looks up as if he can see him through to floor boards. “He was down here when I got up, probably had been for a while. He looked exhausted.”
The dreams kept him from sleeping well, I’m sure, Changbin thinks, remembering the pitiful cries he could hear through the door.
“I had the menaces run him a bath and had Hyunjin bring him fresh clothes and a snack before encouraging him to try to sleep a bit longer,” Minho continues.
Changbin is sure that he had Hyunjin soothe him as well. He looks back up the stairs. “How long ago was that?”
“About an hour,” Minho scrunches his nose in concentration. “Wanna give him another hour, then wake him, if he doesn’t come down before then?”
“That sounds fair,” Changbin agrees, though he’s itching to do a more thorough check of the prince’s condition.
There hadn’t been any other visible injuries last night, and Changbin hadn’t wanted to scare him with more magic when he seemed so unaware of its existence. That fact shocked him a bit. They were all well aware of the Queen’s stance on magic, but the general assumption is that the prince, and likely several noble families, were above that law. It’s curious that he’s so far out of the loop. Then again, with the knowledge that the Queen tried to have him murdered, maybe it’s understandable that there were secrets between them.
The dwarves spend the rest of their morning like most other off days, though Felix opts to go down to the river, Seungmin in tow, hoping that it may act as a natural conduit for his magic, so that he can see more about the situation. Changbin is feeling antsy. He wants to drag the prince downstairs and have him tell the story again, in full detail. He’s not sure what good it’ll do, but maybe it will give them a better idea of how to help him.
He and Minho had agreed on giving Chan another hour’s rest, but when Changbin went up to wake him and couldn’t hear anything to indicate troubled sleep, he couldn’t interrupt it. After an additional hour and a half, they finally hear movement upstairs. The dwarves gather in their living room, trying not to look like they’ve all just been waiting for him, but they have been.
As he makes his way down the stairs, looking sleepy and shy, Changbin is struck by how pretty the prince is. The thought reminds him of why Felix said the Queen wanted him dead, and he feels a pit form in his stomach.
“Um,” Chan’s soft tone pulls him out of his thoughts. “Good morning, everyone, or good afternoon maybe.”
“Good afternoon, your highness!” Felix’s warm smile works its usual magic.
The prince visibly relaxes, if only a little bit. Changbin can certainly sympathize with him. As awkward as it was for them to have an impromptu royal guest in their home, he can’t imagine how the prince is feeling. He stands and offers the arm chair. “Please, have a seat, your highness. Can we get you anything?”
The prince hesitates for just a moment before crossing the room. He bows his head and says, “No, thank you. I’m fine for now.”
They all sit in awkward silence for a minute, unsure of where to start. Thank the gods for Kim Seungmin.
“So, can you tell us all from the beginning how we got here?”
The prince takes a deep breath and sighs. “From the beginning? I’m not even sure when that was, if I’m being honest.”
He’s quiet for another minute while the dwarves wait with bated breath. Changbin is about to put him out of his misery and ask a more finite question, when he begins his tale.
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The King and Queen of Baekguk had always seemed to be an agreeable pair, an odd match, sure, but a happy enough couple. Back in those early days, the Queen seemed to dote on Chan. Gifts, attention, praise, he got it all. He was around eight years old when they married. He was old enough to remember and miss his mother, the king’s first wife, but he was already letting his stepmother into his heart.
When the King and supporters of the late Queen were around, she was picture perfect. Chan was so happy to have her, that when the audience was gone and her attitude turned a bit colder, more formal, he didn’t think much of it. Even so young, as part of the royal family, he already understood the concept of having a public facing mask. So despite the disparity between how she acted when his father was around and when he wasn’t, Chan tried to be a good boy for her.
In retrospect, the frequency and tone with which she told him how beautiful and perfect he was could have been a sign. As he grew older, the compliments more and more often were backhanded.
‘Oh, Channie, you’d have the most perfect profile if your nose weren’t quite so big.’
‘What I would give to have your porcelain skin, my Chan-ah. Though I thank god every day that my veins don’t constantly shine through my skin.”
‘Splendid form, my son. I do hope the knight captain also has a plan for your posture outside of training.’
‘Sweet, simple boy. If only you excelled in your lessons the way you do in your training.’
‘I only wish to help you reach your true potential, Chan-ah. I can only do so much when you’re not of my blood. You must do as I say if you wish to lead well.’
Never a kind word without a thinly veiled snipe. When his father died 16 years ago, their interactions waned. Any gift she gave him had a tendency to lead him toward misfortune. Fencing lessons led to a scratched face. Make up that triggered hives. Commissioned portraits that exaggerated the aspects of his appearance that she deemed flawed. Ill-fitting clothing that she assured him accentuated his assets and required that he wore them to important dinners and audiences.
As he approached the age of maturity, they met with advisors to discuss the matter of succession. His father’s passing had been sudden and extremely debilitating. There hadn’t been time to make a plan for Chan. They followed precedent, which meant his stepmother would rule as Queen Regent until such time as the prince is ready to take the throne. It was the ‘ready’ that was subjective.
After hearing about how he wasn’t good enough, smart enough, kingly enough for so many years, Chan was anxious about ascending the throne. Paired with advisors in the Queen Regent’s pocket, he readily agreed to learn at her side. He wasn’t even aware of how much his feelings of inadequacy had been specially cultivated by the Queen herself. They wrote out a contract; more than a few nobles’ concerns were silenced before they could reach Chan about the length of time he agreed to leave her at the reins. She’d convinced him that age 30 was an appropriate time for the official succession, but he wasn’t unhappy about the fact that he’d rule with a partner without having to worry about finding a queen or prince consort of his own yet.
Things went on like that for years until that faithful day when the Huntsman invited him out for a walk through the woods.
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Leading questions from Felix allowed the prince to give them more information than he likely would’ve shared otherwise. It’s clear to them all each time one such question forces a bit of recognition. Clearly he’d been unaware of just how detrimental to his growth and self confidence the Queen had been during his formative years.
Changbin truly felt for the man. Based on what Felix and the prince had told him, he doubts the man would’ve made it past 30. He might actually have been lucky that her impatient vanity outshone her need for power. Otherwise, Changbin truly believes that Chan would’ve fallen ill much like his father after taking the throne. Without a spouse or heir, the Queen Regent would simply take control again.
The distraught expression on the prince’s face has Changbin’s heart aching. They will help this man.
“So your highness,” he asks gently, “what would you like to do next?”
“I…” the prince looks so lost. “I really don’t know. I never expected to be in this position. Like I said, things weren’t perfect between us, but my stepmother, she was teaching me, y’know? I thought we were building something together. She always told me that she’d round off my jagged edges, and by the time I became king, I’d be able to handle it.”
He starts to cry again, and Changbin can feel Hyunjin’s stare boring into him. He looks to Minho in turn, and they come to a silent agreement.
“Your highness–”
“Please,” the prince sobs out. “Please stop that. I’m-” he hiccups “-Chan. Just Chan. No… no more ‘your highness.’ Not r-right now.”
“Chan,” Changbin says gently, coming forward to kneel in front of the man who appears to have shrunken in the last couple of minutes. The weight of everything seems to have caused something in him to break. “How about we take a break for now? We can have some lunch soon, and in the meantime, maybe I can take a closer look at your injuries? And if you’d allow it, Hyunjinnie over there would really like to help you to calm down with his magic.”
Watery eyes meet Changbin’s. “H-help me c-calm down with ma-magic?”
Hyunjin is beside him in a second. “My gift,” he explains earnestly, taking Chan’s hands in his. “Allows me to influence someone’s mood and emotions. I can’t fully take away your pain, but I can help you to work through it and feel it less intensely for now. Will you let me?”
They all watch as Chan studies Hyunjin’s face through his tears. Changbin is sure that they all breathe a sigh of relief when he nods his head yes. Chan’s eyes grow large when Hyunjin’s begin to glow. Thankfully, his tears slow to a stop, and a small smile graces his face.
“Thank you, Hyunjin.”
“I’m happy to help, your- I mean, Chan.” Hyunjin gives him a sweet smile before standing and going back to his seat beside Seungmin.
Changbin moves directly in front of Chan again. “I probably should’ve done this last night, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you. May I touch your neck again?”
Changbin waits until Chan nods his assent and tips his head up. He places his hands over the handprint bruise left by the Huntsman. He knows that his own eyes are glowing now, a pulsing crimson hue obscuring his natural brown. Chan’s neck matches his eyes briefly, and when all that’s left is creamy, smooth skin, he moves his hands to cover Chan’s heart. He searches for any other injuries, aware of Chan’s gaze moving to his face. All he comes up with is a slight ankle strain, likely from when the Huntsman dropped him, and a mild bruise on the back of his head from hitting the tree trunk. He moves slowly so that Chan can stop him, if he wishes. He starts with the ankle, encircling it with both hands and that throbbing red light beats a few times. Then he straightens up and puts a hand on the back of Chan’s head.
Changbin watches as Chan’s pupils dilate. He’d be lying if he said the moment didn’t feel intimate. He can feel his ears start to tint pink, and he finds he’s a little embarrassed to be having this moment in front of the others. A novel experience, considering the fact that they’re all in a relationship together and very well accustomed to public displays of affection, if this can even be labeled as such.
He stands and gives Chan a smile. “All fixed up. If there’s anything I missed, something that’s hurting you, please let me know.”
“Wow,” Chan’s voice is a touch breathier than before. “Thanks, Doc.”
“Doc?” Jisung blurts out, giggling.
Chan’s pale cheeks flame red. “Oh! I mean, I’m sorry. Um. My mind is a bit of a mess. I’m sorry, but I don’t remember what he told me your name was.”
Embarrassment strikes again, though more than one of the others is tittering. “I’m sorry, Chan. I never introduced myself. My name is Changbin.”
“No, no. You don’t have to apologize. I showed up without warning. Plus he,” Chan gestures to Minho, his blush deepening and giving away the fact that he’s forgotten his name as well, “told me your name last night. I should’ve remembered. I’m sorry.”
Before Changbin can assure him that it’s alright, Jeongin pipes up. “Okay, but why’d you call him ‘Doc?’”
The blush seems to be spreading down to Chan’s chest. He mumbles, “Last night, he kind of reminded me of a physician when he checked me over, so that’s how I was thinking of him in my head.”
“Well, I gave you an ice pack last night,” Jeongin presses, reminding Changbin of why Minho referred to him as one of the menaces earlier. “Did you give me a nickname?”
“Ah,” Chan looks adorably uncomfortable. “Yes, well… I did.”
When he doesn’t go on, it’s Jisung who shouts out, “Well don’t leave us in suspense! What’s his nickname?”
“Bashful,” Chan says, almost like a question. Jeongin blushes and looks away, making it clear that it’s a fitting moniker, while the rest of them all laugh.
“So we have Doc and Bashful,” Seungmin smirks. “I assume we all have names then?”
Chan nods his head in defeat and points to them in turn, naming them. He starts with Hyunjin, and moves on to Jisung, Felix, Seungmin, and ending on Minho. “Dopey, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, and… Grumpy.”
The room erupts in sound. There’s laughing, faux outrage, confusion, and clapping.
“Settle down! Settle down!” Changbin manages to call out when he recovers from his laughter. “I’m sorry, Chan. Excuse them. We can be quite the chaotic bunch.”
Chan looks torn between amusement and embarrassment, but Changbin is pretty sure amusement is winning.
“Okay, but you have to explain!” Seungmin insists. “Like, it’s obvious why he’s grumpy–” he’s forced to duck as Minho swats at him– “But why is Jinnie Dopey?”
“Yeah!” Hyunjin huffs, indignantly. “I’m not dopey!”
Chan actually laughs. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it in a bad way! You just… you gave me this cute, little dumpling smile, and dopey is the word that came to mind. I meant no disrespect to any of you. I really just thought you deserved a cute name to match you.”
Hyunjin preens a bit at the compliment, then leans over conspiratorially. “So you think I’m the cutest one here?”
Chan’s eyes go wide again as he’s met with several very interested expressions. He looks like he might explode, and Changbin takes pity on him. He snaps his fingers. “Alright, alright, give the man a break. You all asked him his nicknames but still failed to introduce yourselves.”
At least a couple of them have the decency to look abashed. Jisung quickly names them all with an apology for their rudeness.
“Good,” Changbin says with a clap. “Now I’m sure we can all find some chores to do, and some of us need to get started on lunch.” He considers who might be the least bothersome to the prince. “Felix, why don’t you give Chan a little tour of the land?”
Felix offers him a silly salute, and the rest grumble out agreements before fanning out. Once he’s alone again, Changbin flops down into the arm chair, head falling into his hands. He needs to figure out what they should do for Chan.
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By the time they all gather around the table again for lunch, save Minho who insists on standing near the counter to give Chan a seat, Changbin is no closer to a solid solution. They could guide him to a neighboring kingdom, encourage him to seek aid from more powerful allies. They could help him determine which noble families in Baekguk would back him and deliver him to them. They’re not particularly up to date on anything going on at court, or in the kingdom in general, but Felix should be a big help with that. Does he even actually want their help? Would helping him get them caught in the Queen’s cross hairs? They’re shielded, to an extent, here in the Black Forest, but venturing out is a risk. They would help regardless, but at the same time, Changbin doesn’t want to endanger their little family.
He’s unsure of if he should bring the situation up, or should he wait for Chan to do so. Does he wait until the meal is over or cut right to the chase? They don’t have an unlimited amount of time to offer their assistance. After tomorrow, they need to head back to work. A few of them could take some time off if need be, but if he needs more bodies than they can spare, they need to act now.
“So Chan,” Seungmin begins once everyone is settled with their food. “What is your plan? Your next move?”
Chan swallows visibly. His cheeks start to pink up and he looks down at his plate. “Honestly, I don’t really know what I should do. I, I can’t go back. And there’s no one… there’s no one I can count on. I know it might sound weird, as a prince to not have anyone’s friendship or loyalty to rely on, but who could I trust? All I do know is that you all seem like good people, and…” He takes a deep breath. “I would really like it if I could stay here while I figure it out.”
All seven dwarves are a bit shocked. They exchange looks, before looking to Changbin. He turns back to Chan, who slowly lifts his head to meet his gaze. He looks earnest, fearful, but also full of hope.
“I-I know it’s a lot to ask,” Chan says hurriedly. “You don’t know me, and obviously I know I’d be saddling you with an extra burden, but I would do my best to earn my keep. I’m very neat; I like cleaning. I used to help the maids in my room and around the palace when I was bored and didn’t have lessons. I can make sure the cottage is in tip top shape and do your laundry. I’ve never really tried cooking, but I’m a fast learner. Please, just… just at least until I can sleep through the night. Please let me stay.”
Changbin is filled with… relief. He is worried about Chan, feels sorry for him, and he did feel burdened with the need to help him. But this? Letting him stay? It’s like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Changbin can fulfill that odd, intrinsic desire to care for the man with minimal threat to his household.
These thoughts flash through his head in an instant. To his left, he hears sniffling. When he checks, he sees that Hyunjin is tearing up. While he tends to take on the role of their group’s leader, they all should have input on big decisions. Changbin doesn’t need anything else to know what Hyunjin’s answer is. He shifts this gaze to land on each of the others in turn. They all give him a nod or smile to indicate that they are on board. Changbin reaches over to lay a hand on Chan’s.
Jeongin helps out with laundry and is rewarded by a first row seat to an awkward conversation. Teasing his boyfriends is one of his favorite pasttimes.
That night, they find out about the animals helping Chan and end up changing the sleeping arrangements.
❄◌✴︎˚Jeongin｡✴︎◌❄
Back down in the kitchen, Minho and Felix have started cooking dinner while Hyunjin is sorting the clean laundry. Jeongin helps him finish up but gets confused when he finds eight more or less even stacks of clothes rather than seven.
“So I’m guessing one of these is for Chan, but which one?”
Hyunjin pats the stack between what seems to be Minho and Changbin’s clothes. “Right here. I want to give him some options until we can help him get more clothes. I think Minho, Bin, and Jisung’s clothes seem most likely to fit him best, right?”
“Yeah,” Jeongin nods in agreement. “Maybe instead of helping in the mine tomorrow you and Lix should go to the market to find stuff for him? I’d say you should take him with you, but…”
“We don’t want anyone to recognize him and report back to the Queen,” Hyunjin finishes for him. He looks up in the direction of the bathroom upstairs. “He didn’t talk much when he woke up, but it doesn’t seem like he had a bad day, even if he clearly spent all of it cleaning.”
“That’s good at least,” Jeongin says. They gather their stacks of laundry and head up the stairs. As they go to put Minho and Felix’s clothes away, he shuts the door, just in case. “Did he happen to say anything about his nightmares?”
Hyunjin shakes his head sadly. “He never does. I’ve honestly been thinking about asking him if I can sleep in his room with him. That way I can soothe him right away when they start.”
It’s a pretty good idea, and with the way Chan seems to trust them, he’d probably allow it. At the same time, it may be slightly problematic, logistically speaking. “Would you sleep in the bed with him?”
“That’s the thing. I don’t want to have to sleep on the floor, but maybe that would be too much?” Hyunjin clearly has been thinking about this a lot. He starts rambling. “I wouldn’t stay up all night, obviously, so I could end up crowding him and making him feel worse, like trapped, y’know? Plus, based on what we know, he’s probably never even shared a bed before. Maybe he’d be too uncomfortable to even fall asleep, which would definitely defeat the purpose. Or what if he feels so weird about it that he stops letting me come in to soothe him at all?”
Jeongin puts his hands on Hyunjin’s shoulders in what he hopes is a calming, grounding gesture. “I think you’re worrying a little too much. He seems very comfortable with everyone, especially you and Binnie. I can’t speak to if he’d feel trapped, but we can tell him that you tend to cuddle in your sleep, and let him tell us how he feels about that.”
Hyunjin sighs, letting his head drop down onto Jeongin’s shoulder. “You’re right. I just really don’t want to make his situation any worse than it already is.”
“Yeah,” Jeongin says as he moves one hand to pet the older man’s hair. “I really can’t imagine being in his position. But you know what?” Hyunjin tilts his head a bit so that he can peak up at him. “He’s lucky to have found us. I can’t think of a more healing and safe place for him to be, and I think on some level he must know that.”
Hyunjin lifts his head, a grin spreading across his face. He pulls Jeongin in for a hug and starts trying to pepper his face with kisses. As Jeongin feigns disgust, pushing his face away, he says, “Aww, I can’t wait to tell everyone how much our Innie loves us.”
“Ugh, why are you all so annoying today?” Jeongin grumbles, finally giving in and letting Hyunjin press a long, wet kiss on his cheek. “You’re the worst. I hope Chan does want to sleep with you so I can lock myself in a room away from you losers.”
Nuzzling his nose against Jeongin, Hyunjin whispers, “You know you can’t fool me with your mean words, Iyen-ah.”
He does know that, but it doesn’t stop him from groaning and pushing him away. “Can we put everyone else’s clothes away so I can go be somewhere that you aren’t?” He appreciates the way Hyunjin only smiles and nods rather than pointing out that they could simply take stacks of clothes that would require that they split up to take them to different rooms.
They finish up in Chan’s temporary room. As they turn to leave it, Chan walks in; clearly Changbin hadn’t thought to leave clothes in the bathroom for him, because the prince walks in with just a towel slung low on his hips. He looks good. His hair is still dripping slightly, creating little rivulets that run over the hills and valleys of his sharp collarbones, impressive pecs, and washboard abs. His arms and shoulders were already obviously muscular with a shirt on, but seeing them in their full glory is something else.
Jeongin doesn’t realize they’re both just staring until Chan lets loose a nervous giggle. His eyes fly up to the prince’s face to see the pretty blush across his cheeks begin spreading down to his lovely chest. He elbows Hyunjin, who immediately springs into action.
Unfortunately, his mouth works just a little faster than his brain. “Oh, sorry! We were just leaving you some clothes.” He gestures to the stack of laundry they’d just put on the dresser. “And I, um, wanted to ask if you’d be open to sleeping with me tonight?”
Jeongin slaps his hand up over his eyes to block his view of a wide-eyed, rapidly reddening Chan and hisses, “Hyunjin.”
Understanding falls across Hyunjin’s face before his expression turns panicked. “Oh my gods! What I meant was, just like, sleeping. I wanna make you feel– wait no, soothing! I want to be able to soothe you right away, to take you out of your nightmares without having to wake you up and get you out of bed.”
Jeongin is trying so hard not to either burst out laughing or die from secondhand embarrassment.
“Obviously it’s fine if you’d rather not; I was just trying to think of what might be better for you rest-wise.” Hyunjin finishes with a sigh. It’s hard to say whose blush is deeper at this point, Chan’s or Hyunjin’s.
Jeongin takes Hyunjin’s arm and starts pulling him toward the door. To Chan, he says, “We’ll get out of your way so you can get ready for dinner and think about it.” He pauses for a beat and adds, “And just so you know, he sometimes gets cuddly in his sleep, but it’s not on purpose.”
They’ve almost made it to the stairs when they hear Chan’s voice. They turn to see him peeking his head back out into the hallway when he says, “I think it would be alright. Sleeping in the same bed.”
Hyunjin beams back at him. He looks so beautiful and sweet that Jeongin wouldn’t be surprised if Chan is thinking he wouldn’t mind sleeping with him, too.
They carry on, heading downstairs, and Hyunjin whispers excitedly, “That made me so nervous! I’m glad I didn’t make him uncomfortable. That could’ve been terrible.”
It’s so endearing, seeing him like this. Jeongin just rolls his eyes at him and tells him to calm down about it before he tells the others. At the same time, though, watching the way Hyunjin happily floats the rest of the way downstairs, he can’t help but think, I really do love him so much.
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❄◌✴︎˚Hyunjin｡✴︎◌❄
Hyunjin plasters himself to Changbin’s back as soon as he gets down to the kitchen. He murmurs into his neck, “Gods, I’m so embarrassing sometimes.”
“What happened, baby?” Changbin chuckles as he continues to set the table.
“You know how we talked about sleeping arrangements this afternoon?” Hyunjin asks.
Felix pops up beside them. “Oh! Did you ask Chan about it?”
They all look up when Jeongin barks out a laugh from where he’s leaning against the sink. Hyunjin sticks his tongue at him. “It’s not funny, Innie!”
“I mean,” Jeongin shrugs and gestures to himself. “It’s pretty hilarious from where I’m standing.”
“I was nervous!” There’s a warm wash of light over the table. Hyunjin slaps Felix’s shoulder, knowing it’ll do nothing to stop him from watching what happened upstairs. “Hey, hey! No fair! Just let me tell the story!”
Felix starts guffawing as the gold fades from his gaze, and Hyunjin catches Minho jump at the sudden sound out of the corner of his eye. Felix takes his face between his hands and presses a kiss to his lip. “Baby, I’m sorry, but it was actually really cute.”
“Is someone going to tell us the story, or should I go ask Chan?” Minho asks. Though he then sits at the head of the table, making the threat moot.
“I just misspoke is all,” Hyunjin shrugs, knowing that is not gonna be enough. When Minho moves towards the stairs, he sighs heavily. Then he mumbles out, “IkindofaskedChanifhewantstosleepwithme.”
Jeongin and Felix break into another round of giggles, but Minho and Changbin look confused. “Can you try that again using actual words?” asks the latter.
One more sigh, and Hyunjin gives in. “I kind of, accidentally, asked Chan if he wants to… sleep with me tonight. I just phrased the question awkwardly. Obviously, I wouldn’t ask him to have sex so soon, so he was cool about it.” He sucks his lips between his teeth, eyes falling shut, as he braces for what he knows is coming. Felix is already giggling.
“So soon, huh?” Jeongin manages to get out before he bursts out laughing. Minho only holds out as long as Jeongin does, cackling along with him.
Hyunjin considers just sinking into the floor. Then at least he’ll be out of this conversation. He knows that they’re just messing around with him, but he also knows they wouldn’t be if it weren’t clear that he’s a little taken with the prince. Luckily, Changbin takes pity on him and stifles his own laughter.
“Alright, alright, leave Hyuni alone. Why don’t you go wake up Sleepy and Sneezy.” A few more giggles follow the use of Chan’s nicknames for them as Changbin wraps Hyunjin in a hug. Softer, he asks, “Help me finish setting the table?”
By the time Jeongin returns with Chan, Jisung, and Seungmin in tow, Felix is just finishing up serving bowls of rice to each setting.
Hyunjin can feel the slight apprehension radiating off of Chan as he takes in Minho frowning down at the platters piled high with meats and veggies. When Minho immediately begins serving him first, it spikes just a little before shifting to gratitude when Minho gifts him what likely seems to be a rare smile.
Once everyone is served, Jisung turns to Chan with a yawn and asks, “So your high– I mean, Chan, how did you manage to get so much done today? Or are we just, like, really bad at housekeeping, and it’s just way easier than I think?”
“Oh, I’m sure you’re all great at housekeeping,” Chan rushes to say with this adorable blush spreading across his face. He graciously ignores Jeongin’s faux coughed ‘except Ji.’ “I actually had a bit of help.”
Jisung sits upright, his tiredness seems to evaporate immediately. Around the table, the Seubalpae all trade glances. Changbin is the one to ask this time. “Who was here? Someone from the kingdom?”
“Oh no, no. It wasn’t a person,” Chan assures them, though it doesn’t provide any clarity. Hyunjin locks eyes with Felix, knowing he’s considering looking back at what happened today. “It was actually a group of animals. Some of them have even helped me before. That’s how I found your cottage to begin with.”
More eyes land on Felix, and Hyunjin can feel the embarrassment and shame welling up in Chan. “It’s not that we don’t believe you, Chan. It just…” Hyunjin trails off as he searches for the right words.
“No, I know,” Chan nods with a sad smile. “It sounds crazy. I really don’t understand how it happened, but they really did just appear and start doing things I was planning to get done.”
Seungmin tilts his head in thought. “What happened before they showed up?”
“Nothing really. I’d just gotten started and decided to whistle while I worked. Then some birds started to whistle along with me.” Chan smiles at the memory. “Before I knew it, there was a whole group of them there to help. They were pretty insistent actually.”
“And you said they’ve helped you before?”
“Yes! When I was walking through the forest, I started singing to try to lift my spirits and pass the time. A few birds started to follow me, singing along with me. I stopped to rest for a while and a larger group of critters stopped to listen.” Chan’s ears start to turn pink again, but he goes on, “After a bit I told them I needed to find food and shelter. They brought me nuts and berries, and then a fox led me here.”
A pensive silence settles over the table. Hyunjin looks over to Changbin and says what he assumes most of them are thinking. “It sounds like magic.”
“Do you mind if I…?” Felix ventures.
Chan nods. “Yes, go ahead. But I definitely don’t know how to do any magic.”
The golden light of Felix’s eyes washes over the room. They all wait with baited breath. When the light fades, his eyes are wide. “Will you sing for us now?” He asks excitedly.
All eyes turn back to Chan. The apprehension in him is cresting, so Hyunjin lays his hand over one of Chan’s. He whispers to Chan before addressing the group. “Don’t worry about it. Lix-ah, can you just tell us what you saw? This is kind of overwhelming.”
Felix’s eyes widen further, if possible. “Oh, I’m sorry, Channie. I’m sure this is a lot. But,” he pauses, looking to Hyunjin for the go ahead to drop the bomb. He gives Chan’s hand a squeeze and nods. Felix must wait until the lavender shows in his eyes before adding, “Your eyes look gorgeous with those green rings.”
The room erupts in sound as several of them question how it that be possible. As he said, Chan didn’t even know people used magic before he got here. He can’t have used it without knowing; human magic doesn’t work that way. Human magic also doesn’t manifest that way.
It is, however, how Nidabeorinian magic manifests.
But that doesn’t make any sense. Humans think Nidabeorin is just a myth, and Seubalpae haven’t been welcome in Baekguk for decades. To Hyunjin’s knowledge, since long before Chan’s birth. Could he be wrong?
He lets his power sweep over the room, a calming mist spreading among them. When the group settles, Seungmin speaks up again.
“Bin, maybe it is worth it to make that visit to your parents.” He looks over at Chan with a gentle smile. “We can find out if there’s a remedy for my cold, and maybe they can help us to get a better understanding of Chan’s magic.”
“I think that’s a great idea, Minnie,” Changbin agrees. “I’ll arrange it. Would you be open to going to meet them, Chan?”
Chan nods but keeps quiet. The rest of dinner is much more subdued. Felix tries to brighten the mood afterwards by suggesting a card game. As usual, it was just the right thing. They spend the rest of the evening joking and laughing. When it comes time to turn in, Hyunjin changes in the room with Seungmin and Jisung before heading down the hall.
He knocks lightly on the door to Chan’s room. Almost as if he were just standing by waiting, Chan opens it seconds after and gestures for him to come inside. They approach the bed and pause. Hyunjin can’t tell if the awkwardness he’s feeling is just his or both of theirs.
“So, um,” he chooses to break the silence himself, “which side of the bed do you prefer?”
Chan chuckles. “I was thinking about asking you that. I’ve never… well I’ve never shared a bed with someone else, so I don’t have a side.”
“Never?” Hyunjin asks impulsively, though he regrets his rudeness immediately.
Chan’s ears are bright red, and the blush is racing to color his cheeks as well. He shakes his head and quietly says, “Not overnight, at least.”
Hyunjin’s blushing at the implication now. He really keeps stepping in it. If it weren’t for his gift helping him to know he doesn’t make Chan uncomfortable, he’d probably have to avoid him for a few days. Instead, he puts on a smile and tells him, “In that case, I’ll take the right. Sungie typically prefers the left, and I sleep with him most often lately.”
Hyunjin blows out the lamp, leaving the moon shining through the window as the only source of light in the room. They climb into bed, several inches of sheets between them, awkward silence still filling the room.
Chan clears his throat, and perhaps emboldened by the darkness, asks. “Can I, um, ask you a personal question?”
Hyunjin nods before realizing he probably can’t see him. “Sure, go for it.”
“I noticed… well, I noticed a lot of things, but one thing is that you all shift around rooms some nights, and you just said you sleep with Jisung the most.” He pauses, but Hyunjin decides to wait for the actual question, even though he thinks he knows what it is. Chan goes on to say, “Plus, there are only four bedrooms for the seven of you. What, um, or how would you describe your relationship with the rest of the guys?”
Hyunjin isn’t at all ashamed of their relationship. He loves all his boyfriends. So much so that ‘boyfriend’ doesn’t actually seem like the proper label for them; it doesn’t feel strong enough. Still, it doesn’t stop him from fiddling with the edge of the blanket, embarrassed, not about his loves, just to be speaking candidly with a new friend who’s laying beside him. Still, Chan deserves an answer, especially if he wants to stay here with them, and if Hyunjin is being honest with himself, he wants Chan to know.
He explains, “We’re all in a romantic relationship together. We’ve all been together for years now. Does that…” He was going to ask if it makes him uncomfortable, but Hyunjin is pleased to know that it doesn’t. So instead he asks, “Do you have any other questions about us? You’re welcome to ask anything, about our relationship or otherwise.”
Chan stays quiet for a minute, and Hyunjin wonders if he’s just considering going to sleep when he speaks again. Turns out he actually has quite a few questions. “Since you’re all together there’s no jealousy or anything? Even when you’d rather choose to, like, bunk up with one over the others? Are polyamorous relationships the norm for dwarves, I mean, Seubalpae? Did you all get together at once or were some of you together already? And –”
“Wait, wait,” Hyunjin laughs. Having all these questions must be a good sign. He’s struck once more by this feeling that he can’t quite quantify, quite an unusual occurrence for the cottage’s resident empath. Like Chan’s immediate acceptance of their relationship is a sign that him being there with them is right. “Let me answer those first, or I’m going to start forgetting what you asked.”
Chan giggles as well, apologizing and telling him to go ahead.
“Okay, so to start,” Hyunjin begins to explain, trying to tackle the first couple of questions by describing his and Jisung’s compatible sleep habits and how none of them feel like they can’t just ask to switch things up or crawl into bed with another pair at the drop of a hat. “I think jealousy is natural to an extent, but like, in a playful way. With so much love to spread around, there’s no need for anger or frustration.”
Chan nods along, and isn’t surprised to hear that polyamory is just as common as one-on-one relationships in their culture. He seems… relieved to hear that only Changbin and Seungmin had already been in a relationship prior to them all starting to date. They had all met around the same time, except for Jisung, who came along not too long before they moved out here.
“Yeah, we all just kinda started spending more time together, and the more we did, the more we started falling for each other. Then, we met Jisung, and things fell into place so easily it felt like fate,” Hyunjin smiles at the memory and looks over at Chan now that his eyes have adjusted to the low light. At some point, one or both of them must’ve shifted, because they’re closer than they were when they first got in bed. Hyunjin finds that he doesn’t mind it at all.
“That sounds,” Chan searches for the right word. “Magical? I love that for you all. And, um, you guys don’t get jealous of each other, but is Jisung or anyone gonna mind you sharing my bed tonight?”
Hyunjin grins and shakes his head. “We all wanna help you, Channie, so they get it. If this will help you to get to a better place, that’s all we care about. Plus, Jisung will have his hands full tonight; he won’t even miss me.” He feels Chan’s relief surging again. He uses the good feelings as encouragement to ask, “And what about you? You won’t mind if I end up cuddling you in my sleep tonight?”
“Oh,” Chan gulps audibly. A few emotions flare up in him, but Hyunjin does his best to ignore them so he can listen to the answer Chan actually intends to give him. “I don’t think I’ll mind. I do run kind of hot, though, so it might get uncomfortable for you.” He punctuates the sentence with a yawn.
“I think we’ll be fine.” Hyunjin decides to act on what he thinks he’s feeling. Without a doubt, he’ll end up wrapped around the man, so maybe it’s better to see that they’ll both feel okay about it earlier rather than later. “It’s probably time we actually try sleeping. If you want to start out cuddling, to see if it works for us, I think that would be alright, too. Plus, touch can enhance my gift, so if you start having a nightmare, I might be able to start soothing you right instinctively.”
Chan agrees hesitatingly, and they shift around so that he’s spooning Hyunjin, easily able to turn away if he ends up wanting to. The second he wraps his arm around Hyunjin’s middle, Hyunjin sighs. It feels so much like he has Changbin behind him, so comfortable that he falls asleep almost instantly.
Things are starting off pretty spicy! If that's not your vibe, I recommend skipping to the first section break.
A small content warning:
When Felix is looking back at the past, he does witness the king's death. It's not graphic, but it is there.
❄◌✴︎˚Felix｡✴︎◌❄
Felix actually drools a bit as he looks down at Changbin and Seungmin. His boys. He surges forward to suck a few marks on Changbin’s cheeks, giving in to the desire to put a physical claim on him the way he did with Seungmin. He squirts some lube onto his fingers and rubs them together to warm it.
“You have such a pretty hole, Binnie,” he purrs. Then he gets a better idea. He leans in to lick a fat stripe across it. He grins against him as he feels Changbin shudder at the feeling. Then he’s circling his tongue around before plunging in. He thrusts and wiggles his tongue around, sucks at Changbin’s rim.
Soon, he’s loose enough for Felix to work a couple fingers in along with his tongue. He relishes the way Changbin whines and squirms under his ministrations. It pains him to pull back, but he knows he won’t be able to stimulate Changbin’s prostate the way he wants to with his tongue in the way. He adds another finger and curls them to press right on his sweet spot.
Changbin moans loudly, though it’s quickly muffled by Seungmin’s hand. He shushes him sweetly. “Shh, Binnie, I know it’s unlikely that someone will come in and interrupt us, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hear us if we get too loud.”
“Feels so good, Minnie,” Changbin mumbles behind his hand.
“I know, baby,” Seungmin kisses him again. “Lixie always knows how to make us feel good.”
Even if the praise is indirect, it goes to Felix’s head a bit. He pumps his fingers in and out, in and out, only occasionally stopping to rub circles on Changbin’s prostate. He sinks his teeth back into his backside, adding bite marks to the hickies he started with. He’s spurred on by the continued whimpers and moans falling from Changbin’s lips.
“Lix,” Changbin pants.
Instead of continuing, he groans, clenching around Felix’s fingers. Felix knows he’s getting close. So, he pulls out slowly and watches as Changbin’s empty hole winks at him, begging to be filled back up. Felix adds a bit more lube to his hand and reaches to stroke Seungmin a few times while he nips at Changbin’s rim again.
This time when he pulls back, he moves aside, grabbing a cloth to wipe his hands. Before he can ask if he’ll get the pleasure of watching Changbin ride Seungmin, the latter is flipping them.
He seems to know what Felix was thinking. As he lines himself up to enter Changbin, Seungmin flashes him a smile. “Remember, Binnie’s in our room so that he can rest for tomorrow. Can’t have him doing too much work.”
“Fuck,” Changbin groans as Seungmin slowly slides into him. He’s just this side of too loud.
Seungmin lets out a moan of his own, gritting his teeth as he bottoms out. He’s breathing a bit heavier, when he suggests, “Lix-ah, you might have to keep his mouth busy, if he can’t be quiet.”
Changbin squirms below him, already wanting Seungmin to start moving. He does look up at Felix, though, with a big smile. “I think that might, ah!” He’s interrupted by Seungmin pulling out almost fully to thrust back in again, hard. He pants between the words. “Ah, oh, yeah. Help me, Lix. Keep me quiet.”
He and Seungmin trade matching grins before he cups Changbin’s face. “But baby, how can I do that and watch Seungmin rail you?”
Changbin whines, “Please Lixie?”
Seungmin picks up a rhythm, not quite going hard yet, but his thrusts each elicit a sigh or gasp. He slows a bit as he says, “Oh, Lix has a point, Bin. You’re gonna have to control yourself.” The second he stops speaking, Seungmin speeds up, pounding into Changbin now, grunting a bit as he goes.
Changbin mewls and gasps. “P-please. F-fuck. L-lix, ah. Sit on my, my, ah, sit on my face.” He lets out another too loud moan, but Felix cuts it off with a kiss.
“Since you asked so nicely,” Felix purrs when he pulls up. “Minnie, baby, can you slow down while I get situated?”
“‘Anything for you, babe,” he growls out, though it takes him a few seconds to comply.
Felix straddles Changbin’s head and sinks down slowly. He feels the warmth of Changbin’s tongue as it enters him and sighs. Seungmin resumes his rhythm as soon as he’s settled. Changbin’s more than a little sloppier than usual, but with the way Seungmin is giving it to him, Felix can’t blame him in the least. Plus, it still feels amazing and is only enhanced by the rumbling moans and groans Changbin is breathing into him.
“Fuck, yes,” Felix breathes. “Good boy, Binnie. Makin’ me feel good.”
Seungmin looks so hot. His body moves so fluidly, his muscles tensed and sweat starting to drip. Felix’s cock is weeping. He was already almost painfully hard. Between the feeling of Changbin inside him and squeezing his thighs, and the sight of Seungmin pounding him into the mattress, he’s sure he won’t last very long.
Changbin is getting sloppier and sloppier, and Felix briefly wonders if he could fold himself up enough to maintain his position and suck Changbin’s dick. But instead, he lifts himself up, with effort as Changbin attempts to pull him back down. Luckily, his proximity to his orgasm drains some of the strength from him. Felix shifts off of him, ignoring Changbin’s cries. He’s easily distracted again as Seungmin lifts his lower body up higher, changing his angle to ram into Changbin’s prostate.
Felix immediately slaps a hand over his mouth as he adjusts his position to Changbin’s side. He removes it to take Changbin’s own hand to replace it with. “I know it’s hard, but you’ve gotta keep yourself quiet now, Bin-ah.” That said, he lowers himself down, taking Changbin’s entire length into his mouth in one motion.
He bobs his head twice and when he hollows his cheeks, Changbin is crying out. He swallows down every drop of cum, sucking him dry before pulling off with a pop.
Felix takes his cock in hand as he watches Seungmin adjust again and speed up his thrusts. Seungmin’s teeth dig into his lower lip as he tries to contain his own sounds of pleasure. Soon his movements become more erratic and he’s filling Changbin up beautifully.
Rather than collapsing onto Changbin as he likely would have done, Seungmin reaches over to Felix. He grabs him by the hair and pulls him closer, crashing their lips together. Felix’s moves to hold onto Seungmin’s shoulders. A hand slightly bigger than his own replaces his in an instant, and Felix shudders. Changbin doesn’t relent, stroking him fast, using his precum to ease the glide.
Felix was already so turned on, that when Seungmin bites down on his lip while simultaneously tightening the grip in his hair, he explodes. White ropes paint Seungmin’s body and Changbin’s hand. This time Seungmin does lay down, bringing Felix with him. They’re all breathing heavily, spent.
All too soon, Changbin is wiggling underneath them. “You cannot fall asleep on me, we need to clean up.”
Seungmin hums, and Felix snuggles in before saying, “But Binnie, you’re so comfy.”
Changbin lets out a whine, and the two of them laugh. When they start to get up, Changbin hisses as Seungmin’s softened length slides out of him finally. As the one who is least covered in body fluids, Felix throws on a pair of shorts and ventures out to get a wet towel. They take turns cleaning each other up, and climb under the covers.
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Changbin spoons against him, already falling asleep. Seungmin lays in front of him. His hand drifts up and down Felix’s side, and he kisses him gently.
They hear a snore from Changbin, and Seungmin whispers against his lips, “Before we go to sleep, can you double check things with the Queen?”
Felix nods. He was going to do it anyway. He and Seungmin likely were thinking the same thing. In the darkness, the glow of his eyes works to illuminate his lover’s face. He has a second to appreciate Seungmin’s beauty until he’s seeing the Queen earlier that day.
The Queen sits in her throne room. There’s a decent sized audience in front of her. She sits still as a statue and looks down her nose at the peasants dirtying up her floor. There are murmurs floating around questioning Prince Chan’s absence.
One of her attendants comes up beside her. "That’s all for this group, Your Majesty. Would you like me to call the room to order?”
She waves him off like an annoying insect. “No need, they will attend to me when I require it. It grows tiresome, having to waste my energy ensuring no one gets the wrong idea of what happened to him. How many more audiences like this do I have?”
“As of now,” the attendant consults a list. “This is your final audience. After them, I’m sure word of mouth will be enough to dispel any remaining agitation.”
The queen scoffs. “Alright. My amulet.” She holds out her hand for it. He sets the talisman in her palm gently. She carefully slots it into its spot on the choker she’s wearing. It’s almost like a little mirror, glittering on her neck.
She stands then, and the room takes on an unnatural stillness.
“People of Baekguk, my dear subjects, welcome. I’m so happy to have the opportunity to address your concerns.” Her words are warm, but her tone is frosty. No one seems to notice the disparity or the lack of emotion on her face. “I understand that you have a spokesperson. Please, express yourself so I may do my best to set things right.”
It takes a few seconds, but a middle-aged man steps forward. The Queen’s eyes flick down to the floor, and he kneels.
Despite his clear nerves, his voice is clear and strong when he speaks. “You Majesty, thank you for hearing us. We have heard the troubling news about our beloved prince, but it was just days ago that he was in our neighborhood. He was in fine health as always. He even joined in a game of Jegichagi with several of our children. He moved with ease, even keeping the shuttlecock aloft where his guards could not when they attempted to join in as well.”
He clears his throat, obviously uncomfortable with the way the Queen simply stares down at him, her expression souring slightly. He goes on, “The Prince was jovial and full of vitality. We cannot fathom how he might’ve been so ill for so long and hid it so well.”
“Unfathomable as it may be to you,” The Queen interrupts, clearly tired of playing the caring sovereign. “Chan was ill for quite a long time. You all clearly are thinking of another time he visited. The Prince hadn’t left the palace in months, barely able to leave his chambers. Your grief has confused you. Chan was sick and has now succumbed to his illness. Now, return to your homes and remember.”
The murmurs are different now. There is less confusion, more sadness. The people are lamenting Chan’s illness, so like his father in his passing. They’re grateful that the Queen allowed them to come share in her grief.
Felix locks in on the Queen’s nightly routine next. It manifests readily, and he can’t help but be satisfied with his control.
“Magic mirror on the wall,” she says almost giddily as she runs a brush through her silky, blonde locks. “Tell me, have I done all I need? Do all within the kingdom believe that sniveling brat’s death was a foreseen ending for a worthless waste of space?”
“O Queen,” a diplophonic voice radiates out from the mirror’s surface. “Your subjects’ thoughts reflect your desire. While scant few may doubt, the point is moot when met with your power.”
The Queen cackles. She strides away from the mirror, now speaking to herself rather than the magical object. “Perfect. Now I can move on and begin to put more plans into action.”
She looks out her window, the light of the moon and stars giving her a soft view of the kingdom below. She dawns a sinister smile, and hisses, “Mine.”
When he returns to himself, Felix meets Seungmin’s gaze in the fading light of his power. He shudders.
“She’s so cold,” he says, trying to shake the feeling of her from his mind. Seungmin runs a thumb over his cheek, offering comfort with the small touch.
He’d felt this before as well, but since he wasn’t very familiar with her, he wasn’t as in the moment. The first couple times, it felt like standing too close to something Jeongin is freezing. This time, when he returned to himself, it was like falling through the ice on a pond. After seeing her a couple times and having heard what Chan had to say about her, Felix was much more grounded in his vision this time. It helps him to understand better, but the connection cuts deeper. He’s not sure how to convey it.
“She is beautiful, but in a scary way?” He says it like a question. “Her people seem to know the truth and still support her, but I wonder if it’s out of fear or if she’s… brainwashed them in a different way.”
“A different way?” Seungmin prompts.
“She’s been using mirror magic to convince the people of Baekguk that Chan was sickly and, unsurprisingly, died because of it,” Felix explains. “But the important thing is that we’re all safe. She won’t be sending anyone to look for him now.
“Shit,” Seungmin sighs. “And she believes it, right? That he’s dead, I mean.”
“Yeah, she was gloating to herself about it,” Felix says, scrunching his face in disgust. “I’m glad he’s away from her. She’s so awful.”
Seungmin pulls him in close and presses a kiss into his hair. “He’ll be safe here. We can help him heal.”
They lay there in silence for a minute, and Felix starts to drift off. Not before he hears Seungmin whisper. He can’t tell if he’s talking to Felix or himself.
“Gods help the kingdom of Baekguk, though.”
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The following morning, Felix is still settled between his loves when he wakes. It’s so cozy, he considers going back to sleep, but he has a plan for the day, so he should follow it. He crawls over Seungmin, sure that he’s less likely to grab him and keep him in bed.
He runs into Minho in the hall, who grunts sleepily, and Felix can’t help but think about how Chan dubbed him Grumpy and giggle. They make their way to the kitchen, working in tandem to get a simple breakfast and some coffee and tea made. When everything is about ready, just waiting on water to boil, Minho slumps against him.
“How’d you sleep, honey?” He purrs into Minho’s black and blue hair.
Minho pulls back to look at him. “You mean that thing people do when they lay in bed at night instead of pacing and stressing about the distressed royal a room over?”
“Did Jinnie really not offer to help him at all last night?” Felix asks. He really did expect Hyunjin to offer to soothe Chan into sleep right off the bat after hearing how stressed he’d been knowing he couldn’t do anything for him.
“He was very focused on not wanting to push something on someone who’s been so mistreated, and knowing that Chan knows he can help, so he feels like it’s better to wait to be asked,” Minho explains. He’s clearly trying to maintain his Grumpy facade, but Felix is warmed by the fondness in his tone.
“Well maybe you should go sneak back into my spot in bed,” Felix suggests, giving him a light squeeze around the shoulders. “It’s so comfy cozy, you’ll be asleep in seconds.”
Suddenly Minho shifts and is lifting Felix into the air by his thighs. They settle onto the couch together as he tells him, “No, we agreed to talk this morning. I can always try to take a nap later.”
So Felix fills him in on what he saw yesterday. They talk for a while trying to analyze the Queen’s actions and the way she seems to wield her power. Others join them as the morning stretches on, and Felix regrets not having just waited for everyone to gather to talk with how much he ends up repeating himself.
Their conversation ends when Chan drags himself down the stairs. Hyunjin sinks into Felix’s side to whisper, “I’m the worst. I should’ve just gone to him.”
“No, Jinnie,” Felix murmurs, stroking his hair. “You were trying to respect his space and leave him in control. It makes sense that you didn’t wanna push him. But he’s up now, and you can always remind him of your offer.”
“Thanks, Lix-ah.” Hyunjin presses a kiss to his cheek then follows the prince into the kitchen.
He’s replaced by Jeongin. On an impulse, Felix wraps his arms around him and gives him a little shake. He’s met with giggles and protestations that he ignores until he has the chance to give him a tiny bite on the shoulder.
Jeongin sighs heavily when he releases him, as if the affection is a burden. “You ready to head to the river?”
Yesterday he’d gone with Seungmin to try to learn more about Chan’s relationship with the Queen. This morning Minho helped Felix come up with the plan to mimic her by using a water “mirror” and look farther into the past and gain a more well rounded picture. They agreed that they don’t want to force Chan to focus so much on these things when he’s clearly struggling.
“Is Seungminnie ready?” Felix asks rather than answering.
Jeongin nods his head toward the kitchen. “He’s just grabbing the springform pan.”
The two of them rise as Seungmin walks by, headed to the door. Together they make their way toward the river. They don’t rush, soaking up the sun shining through the forest’s leaves. Felix loves simple moments like this. Seungmin sings a bit, with Jeongin and Felix chiming in periodically. They all burst out laughing when Jeongin trips over a root and nearly faceplants.
When they make it to the river, they keep up the playful vibe, taking off their boots and rolling their pantlegs up so they can wade into it. They splash around a bit, and sweetie that he is, Jeongin picks a small bouquet of fringed pinks from the riverbed and presents them to Felix with a flourish.
All too soon, however, it’s time to turn to the task at hand.
Jeongin fills the springform pan about midway with water before freezing it solid. Seungmin takes it from him, and with a sneeze, he warms the sides and bottom of the pan, not enough to melt much, but enough to be able to open the pan and slide the ice into Jeongin’s hands.
“That worked beautifully,” Felix tells them, awe in his voice. Jeongin holds it up for him, and rather than reflecting his image as a mirror would, he sees a distorted version of Jeongin’s smiling face. “I really hope it works.”
“We’ve already seen that water can help you,” Seungmin says. “If what I read is correct, the ‘mirror’ will serve as a greater connection to the Queen and the palace.”
Felix settles down on his favorite rock for seeing and his eyes light up. He focuses on Chan’s family, reaching far into the past. He watches the way the King and Queen interact with each other and with Chan. It’s clear that Chan’s father loved him, which Felix is glad to know, but it’s also clear that he did not have the time to dedicate to him.
Felix is particularly interested in seeing the end of His Majesty's life. Despite feeling that the water mirror is helping him to reach into the past, Chan’s lack of closeness with the King makes him the hardest to look for. Then he remembers what Seungmin said about the mirror acting as a connection to Her Majesty’s own mirror magic. He focused not on all three of them, but just the King and Queen, trying to look more through her than at her.
Felix finds himself in the chamber they shared:
The Queen sits upon her vanity bench, brushing her long dark hair, staring into her own shockingly green eyes. She sets the brush down and one hand comes up to finger along the edge of the small mirror broach at the hollow of her throat.
“Looking glass, looking glass, please be candid: Who is the most powerful in the land?”
The mirror before her ripples for a moment before her reflection vanishes and is replaced by an image of her and her husband. It intones, “His Majesty the king holds the most power in this land, closely followed by you, My Queen.”
The pleased look drops from her face. “Magic mirror, but surely we are equals?”
“Magic power flows through your veins, but royal blood and loyalty of the masses provides a greater claim.”
Before she can say more, a booming voice calls out, “Geyonghui, my dear, I’m off to break my fast. Will you be joining me in the advisors’ chamber afterward?”
A wicked smile graces her lips before she calls back, “Actually, I’ll join you in this morning’s meal. One of my ladies told me of the benefits of eating passionfruit to start your day, and I think we should both make it part of our routine.”
The King arrives at her side, caressing her cheek with a fond look in his eye. “Whatever you say, my love. Shall I wait to escort you?”
“No, dear,” she tells him, patting his hand. “Hae will braid my hair quickly, and I’ll be down. Just don’t eat the fruit without me; it shall be our new morning ritual.”
Before the maid arrives, she opens a drawer in her vanity. Glancing back over her shoulder to be sure no one will see, she pulls on a small tab, nearly hidden by the make up brushes inside. It reveals that the brushes sit on a false bottom. The hidden bounty of the drawer boasts several vials and jars. The Queen selects a few and retrieves an empty perfume bottle.
“I may not have royal blood and mindless sheep that follow whoever is on the throne, but as you said,” she glares at the mirror once more before continuing, “my powers are strong.” She mixes a few powders and liquids together in the bottle, all the while muttering in an ancient language. She tops the concoction with a bit of spring water she saves for such an occasion. That black-heart smile is back. “But hear this, looking glass. Soon, I will be the only one reflected on your surface.”
With a blink, the scene in Felix’s mirror shifts. It’s like he’s seeing it in fast forward. Over the course of what appears to be the next couple weeks, the Queen uses the potion in the perfume bottle, injecting it into the passionfruit’s wrinkled skin before it’s served to the King.
More key moments come to him, from the bedchamber, advisors’ chamber, throne room, training rooms. As time passes, he sees the King getting weaker and weaker. His illness becomes apparent to all in two weeks’ time. Even after he’s no longer eating the passionfruits, the Queen slips the potion into ale, then teas, eventually infusing it into his medical treatments. It’s clear he’s nearing the end as he begins to spend all day abed.
The Queen sits at the King’s bedside, ever the dutiful wife. She attempts to quiet his feeble utterances, but for the first time in weeks, he momentarily takes on a tone of command: “Geyonghui, listen to me. I… I’m not long for this world, love.” He hushes her when she tries to deny his claim. “I need you to promise me that you will bring Chan up right, that you will be his mentor, his confidant. Guide him so he can become the king I know he’s destined to be.”
The Queen’s crocodile tears flow heavily, but she nods and says, “Oh, my dear Kyungsoo. I will continue to raise him as my own. I will hold the throne until he’s ready, then he will follow in your footsteps, love. I swear it.”
He thanks her weakly and asks that the boy be brought in for what ends up being their last conversation. He holds 10 year-old Chan’s hand, patting it gently, his kind smile made into more of a grimace because of the pain. His voice is exponentially dulled following his show of strength with the Queen. “Channie. My beautiful son. My heir. It is my greatest regret that I will not be here to see you grow into a man. Listen to Geyonghui and the advisors, they will lead you to your future. Dry your tears, my boy. I will always be with you.” He attempts to tap on the spot over Chan’s heart, but he barely has the strength to reach it, “Right in here. And you will be great. I love you, my sweet son.”
The moment he opens his arms, Chan surges forward to hug him. Sobbing into his chest, he begs his father not to leave, not to die, and tells him over and over again that he loves him.
That night, the Queen takes that final step, unwilling to just let the poison take its time. As the King sleeps, she draws near, pillow in her hands. She’s heartbreakingly gentle as she smothers him. It seems he can’t even wake enough to try to fight, and then he’s gone.
Felix closes his eyes for nearly 30 seconds before he registers the body beneath his own. At some point, Seungmin must’ve lifted him to sit in his lap while he was seeing. He leans back against him with a sigh as he hears the water mirror hit the ground. Then he feels Jeongin’s arms come around him from the front.
“My gods, Innie,” Seungmin sucks in a breath, shuddering.
Felix looks to see that Jeongin has reached around him to tuck his icy hands under Seungmin’s shirt to lay them against Seungmin’s bare skin. Then he realizes how dark it already is. He looks from Jeongin’s face to Seungmin’s and asks, “Why didn’t you stop me earlier? It’s so late!”
Jeongin gives him an easy smile. “We didn’t mind waiting you out.”
“But the water mirror—“
“We traded off.” Felix can feel Seungmin shrug. “And we planned to give you around 12 more minutes before pulling you out.”
“Exactly,” Jeongin adds as he helps to lift Felix out of Seungmin’s lap so he can stand. “Will you tell us about what you saw on the walk back or do we have to wait for the others?”
Felix gives them a brief summary of all he saw as they head for the cottage. He’s feeling exhausted, but despite their nonchalance, he knows the other men must feel somewhat drained after standing and holding a block of ice for hours.
When they arrive at home, Chan is near the door, probably headed to the stairs. Felix moves without thought, and immediately wraps him in a hug. Stunned, Chan returns it, but Felix can feel him looking at the other two, likely trying to understand what’s happening. He lets go and flops onto the couch, not caring that it’s currently occupied by Changbin and Jisung.
It remains quiet for a minute before Minho is scolding the trio for staying out so late and letting them all know dinner will be ready soon.
“Binnie?” Felix looks up at him with wide eyes, hoping he knows what he wants without having to truly ask him.
Changbin doesn’t generally heal them from exhaustion. Using your power is like using a muscle: if you want gains, you have to endure. Healing would take away a bit of the progress, but Felix went beyond his skill today, and the comfort it would bring seems worth it.
Changbin’s hand rests on Felix’s chest and he watches as the healer’s eyes begin to pulse. It doesn’t last long, but when he finishes, Felix feels a bit lighter.
During dinner, Felix keeps his revelation fairly shallow. He wants to avoid drudging up even more bad feelings and memories for the prince, for now at least. If Chan realizes this, he doesn’t let it show.
Afterwards, Felix decides to turn in early. He only partially wakes up to greet Jisung when he slides into bed with him a bit later. Then he’s drawn back into the blissful emptiness of the unconscious.
Chan struggles with his insecurities and gets to show off his magic skills.
❄◌✴︎˚Chan｡✴︎◌❄
It’s the first time Chan has slept through the night in a long, long time. Even before he almost died, he’d been dealing with insomnia in varying degrees since his father passed. He knew that was the point of sharing a bed with Hyunjin, but Chan hadn’t realized it would work so well.
Hyunjin.
The Seubalpae is currently tucked against Chan’s chest, an arm and a leg each slung over him, the picture of contentment. Chan wonders idly if this should feel more wrong.
Even without using his gift, Hyunjin just seems to make things more comfortable. Between the intimacy of laying in bed together, and the way it’s always easier to share secrets and stories in the moonlight, the questions about the Seubalpae’s relationship had just flowed out of him the night before. He’s been so curious, ever since that first meal they shared, after Jisung had come downstairs.
Based on what Hyunjin told him, he has nothing to worry about. Though there are several scenarios running through Chan’s mind that counter the surety with which Hyunjin told him that no one would mind their being in this predicament. This whole thing was meant to just be a way to help Chan sleep. Now that he’s up, the expectation of cuddles should be over. The longer he thinks about it, the more he feels like he should try to extricate himself from the sleeping man’s embrace.
“Mmm Channie?” Hyunjin mumbles against his skin. “What’s wrong?”
He hopes now that Hyunjin’s awake, he’ll move away on his own. Instead, Hyunjin squeezes him a bit tighter before bringing a hand up to stroke Chan’s cheek. That lavender mist fills the space between them, and Chan feels the knot in his chest loosen.
“I was just thinking about the others,” Chan says. He takes a deep breath and continues, “I know you said they wouldn’t mind this, but I can’t help but worry that you’re wrong. Obviously you know them better and everything, but…”
Hyunjin watches him, expression serious as he trails off. Then he’s moving back, away from Chan to sit up and face him. Even though it’s what he felt like should happen, Chan would be lying if he said it made him feel better. He sits up as well, but stays quiet.
After a sigh, Hyunjin tells him, “I understand your apprehension, but there’s nothing inherently wrong about cuddling, Chan. Have you never cuddled with a friend?”
Heat flares across Chan’s cheeks. Maybe he is sexualizing something innocent. Of all things Hyunjin, and the rest of them really, does not seem like one to be unfaithful or willing to do something that might harm the ones he loves. It wouldn’t be the first time, considering his mind went straight to the gutter when Hyunjin brought up sleeping together last night. He needs to have a more wholesome mindset. I’m not at court anymore. These men really don’t want anything from me.
“I guess I haven’t,” Chan says to his hands, shame keeping him from making eye contact again. “I suppose I forget how different your lives have been from mine. I’m sorry I doubted you.”
Hyunjin’s hand finds Chan’s; his thumbs rubbing soothing circles into his palms. “You don’t have to be sorry. I guess maybe we should’ve talked more before bed after all.” Hyunjin pauses, so Chan risks a glance up. He pouts his lips in thought for a minute before continuing. Adorable. “I understand if you don’t want to, but can you tell me about your friends back home, or growing up, if that’s easier for you?”
Chan sighs. How do you explain to someone so clearly loved and appreciated by so many that you’ve barely ever really had real friends. “I mostly spent time with different nobles’ children while they were at court, when I wasn’t in my private lessons or the throne room.” He hesitates before adding, “The Queen encouraged me to keep my distance, and I think the other children might’ve resented having to spend time with me.”
The sadness and pity are clear on Hyunjin’s face. “What about in more recent years?” he asks.
“Well as the crown prince, I’m very– I mean I was very busy,” Chan winces at the error. He’s not crown prince anymore. As far as anyone outside the eight of them in the cabin knows, Chan is dead. He realizes, however, that he’s okay with that; just a couple days in this afterlife have been great. He finishes answering the question with, “I didn’t really have time to cultivate personal relationships. Most of my social interactions had a number of strings attached.”
Hyunjin’s eyes start emanating that calming light. It’s odd, though, Chan can’t tell what emotion he’s trying to affect. He’s grown very accustomed to the lack of closeness to others, resigned to what he’s been taught is the life of a royal. He’s sure he isn’t any more sad or regretful than he’s been since the first question about friends. Then, he actually looks through the mist and sees Hyunjin’s eyes are a little glassy.
On instinct, Chan reaches out to cup his cheek as he asks, “Hyunjinnie, what’s wrong?”
Unfortunately, before he can respond there’s a soft knock, and Minho is opening the door, likely checking to see if Hyunjin’s up and getting ready for work. His eyes sharpen almost immediately, and Chan flinches back. Minho is at Hyunjin’s other side in a second. For some reason, his eyes are on Chan when asking, “Are you alright?”
Chan turns his gaze back on Hyunjin, eager to hear the answer. Then Minho snaps in front of his face and repeats the question. Incredulous, he asks, “Me?”
“Of course,” Minho says with a roll of his eyes. “What else would overwhelm him but your emotions?”
“I’m fine, Min–”
“Overwhelm him?” Chan is dumbfounded. “There’s nothing wrong, though? He already soothed me several minutes before he got upset. Hyunjin, if I did something–”
Hyunjin interrupts him now, simultaneously slapping a hand over Minho’s mouth. “You didn’t do anything, Channie, and it’s not what you think, Minho. I just went a bit deep on accident. We should probably get ready for the day.”
Chan sees his own frown reflected on Minho’s newly uncovered face. But Hyunjin insists, “Really, I’m fine, and Chan feels better now, right?”
Chan nods slowly, feeling like he should push more but at the same time, he knows it’s not his place. Minho shrugs before standing and pulling Hyunjin up to his feet.
Chan debates following them out, but decides to wait a couple minutes before emerging from the room. Hyunjin must still be in the bathroom nearest his room, so he forgoes washing up until everyone who actually needs to get ready for the day is through. He goes downstairs to sit on the couch until Seungmin encourages him to come eat some of the breakfast he and Felix prepared.
The Seubalpae chat sleepily, making plans for the day and discussing their trip to Changbin’s parents’ house. When Minho comes downstairs, he makes eye contact then cocks his head towards the couch in a silent invitation to come talk. Chan takes a couple deep breaths to calm his nerves and joins him. Despite his kindness, Chan struggles to shake the feeling that Minho would rather he weren’t here.
They sit on the couch with Minho just staring him down long enough that Chan feels like he needs to break the silence or just die from the awkwardness of the moment. “Is, um, is Hyunjin okay?” He asks.
Minho blinks at him slowly, and Chan wonders if coming over here was a mistake. Finally, Minho says, “Hyunjin is fine. I do think it’s important for you to know, though: when you share things with him, even when he doesn’t seem to be actively using his gift, he tends to understand the heart of what you’re saying.” He pauses, looking Chan up and down. “Even if you don’t.”
Chan latches onto that last part. With how confused he was at Hyunjin’s reaction, he wonders how much of his own feelings he might not understand. For all his time spent alone, Chan thinks he has pretty good self-awareness. It’s his understanding of others that’s lacking.
Before he can turn any of those thoughts into a coherent response, Minho clears his throat, suddenly looking a little less than comfortable. He continues, “He also knows his own heart very well. The rest of ours, too, in theory.”
“In theory?” Chan asks with a slight smirk. Something about the way Minho said it, begrudgingly so, that tickles him.
“Usually,” Minho snaps, but there’s no fire behind it. “Jury’s still out on this one, though.”
Chan can only guess at what he means, and with Minho, who he’s so unsure of things generally, he’s a little at a loss. So he just nods, waiting to see if he’ll add anything that will add clarity.
Instead, Minho pats his thigh and says, “Anyway. Rest up today. Depending on how anxious Sneezy is feeling to get to Bin’s parents’ place, there’s a chance that we’ll leave when we get home tonight.” Then he’s getting up and grabbing Seungmin, teasing him about the nickname Chan bestowed on him.
Soon enough, the Seubalpae are out the door, leaving Chan to ponder how to spend his day. Thoughts on what they might learn from Changbin’s parents, he heads outside. He’s never sung with the intent of using magic before and feels awkward wondering how he should start; normally the tunes just pour out of him when he’s alone and focused or feeling heavy emotions. It feels silly to start singing without purpose or an instinctive need.
What should I even sing?
He decides to sing the cleaning song that he made up yesterday, since he’ll be doing much the same thing today, just focusing on the upstairs. Within a minute, Chan has several woodland helpers surrounding him. The sight fills him with profound wonderment and joy. He really called them to him.
“Hello friends!” He greets them happily. “If you don’t mind, I’d love more help with the laundry today. We’re doing the bedding from my bed and a lot of towels, so it could take a while to do it on my own.”
The fox chirps in what seems to be agreement before gekkering to the rest.
“Thank you,” Chan tells them, then looks back into the cottage. “You can wait here, and I can bring stuff down. That way you won’t have to worry about the stairs.” He rushes inside, grabbing the basket he used yesterday then collecting the sheets and blanket from ‘his’ room first. He feels compelled to check the mirror first, needing to know what his eyes look like right now. Felix had told him it looks like they have green rings when he uses his magic.
Chan is happy to be alone when he gasps at his own reflection. He feels a rush of unfamiliar self-appreciation when he sees how the lush, forest green rings have overrun his irises. Something about the glow and the knowledge that they display his power makes him feel beautiful.
But he knows he can’t linger here; his furry friends are waiting to help him. So, Chan gathers the towels from this bathroom and the other, then heads back down. When he gets outside, the doe is back and she’s brought a friend. They block his way when he attempts to bring the basket to the tub to help with the washing. He ends up letting them carry the basket between them and turning back to the fox.
“Well, if you all will handle the laundry, I guess I’ll dust and do this morning’s dishes,” Chan says. He thinks about how the Queen uses her magic to make others do her bidding and believe her lies, and a pit forms in his stomach. He almost walks away but stops himself and crouches down to be closer to eye level with the animal. He asks, “I’m… am I forcing you all to help me against your will?”
The sound it makes can only be described as a laugh. It shakes its head. That makes Chan feel better. Maybe they just come because they’re willing to help. He thanks the fox and the chipmunks that accompany him inside. He starts up a new song as they gather small cloths and climb up among the Seubalpaes’ knick knacks to start the dusting.
Once again, Chan’s chores are done in no time at all. He helps the birds hang the bedclothes on the lines to dry, and while he’s out notices that some of the other animals have clearly been organizing some of the garden tools.
“I really feel like I should do something for you all,” Chan says with a sigh. He pets the doe between her ears. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything to offer.”
So he gives the only thing he can. He sits on a stump and sings some more. With everything done, the animals all just gather around to listen. That’s where they are when they hear voices approaching. Chan only falters for a moment, unsure if he should go back in to hide, but then he hears Changbin’s laugh. A few of the animals run off, but when Chan asks if he should continue, the doe at his side nods her head.
That’s how the Seubalpae find him: surrounded by woodland creatures, bright green rings alight in his eyes. He looks more at ease than they’ve ever seen him. Chan’s voice is clear and calming, absolutely lovely.
When they reach him, Chan smiles up at them, noticing Jisung is fast asleep, drooling a bit on Jeongin’s shoulder, as he welcomes them home. Jeongin heads inside with his passenger but the others sit amidst the fauna, some quietly reveling in the uncharacteristic willingness to coexist so closely.
Changbin, however, only seems to focus on Chan’s face, a look of wonder on his own. It makes Chan feel a bit shy, and he considers stopping when the song is complete, but then another voice joins his. Startled, Chan locks eyes with Seungmin. They finish out the song in perfect harmony, and Chan needs to sing more so that he can hear Seungmin’s lovely voice again.
ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ
After a while, the songs come to an end, and the animals disperse. The men all head inside, chatting excitedly.
“Chan, that was,” Changbin begins excitedly.
Felix finishes for him, “Amazing!”
“And they all helped clean again?” Minho asks, wonder plain on his face as the prettiest smile breaks across it.
For a second, Chan forgets why he ever found the man intimidating or unfriendly. He’s beautiful. Then he realizes that the question was directed at him. “Oh, yes. Yeah, they helped with everything.”
“Fascinating,” Minho says, turning to Changbin. “You can’t think of anyone who communicates with animals?”
“Oh, what about that girl,” Seungmin says with a light slap on Changbin’s arm. “Remember back when we helped your sister move? Her neighbor’s daughter got that funky looking bear to help you so I didn’t have to lift furniture.”
“How could I forget the moon bear!”
A bear helped move furniture? Despite all that’s happened the last few days, Chan isn’t sure he’ll ever get used to what magic can make happen. He tunes back in enough to learn that the bear was the family’s pet, bonded to the girl through her magic. Not too similar to his situation. Still, it is something.
Then Minho claps a hand on Chan’s shoulder, and he fails not to jump. Minho cackles and says, “Come on. If you really wanna earn your keep, you better start learning to cook so I don’t have to slave away at the stove after a long day at the mine.”
“Of course,” Chan says eagerly.
He does want to make life easier for the men who have saved his life. Learning to cook is an easy way to do so. Minho is a good teacher, too. He plays at impatience and indifference, but this one-on-one time shows Chan that it's possible that Minho is all bark and no bite.
Minho stills his hand with a soft touch. “We only chop like that if we’re interested in cutting the tip of our fingers off,” he snarks. But then he’s slotting himself behind Chan, curling his own fingers over Chan’s to correct him, guiding him to make a few more cuts. It’s little things like that, the softness with the sassiness that makes Chan feel welcome, like he belongs.
By the time the meal is prepared, Chan is feeling a new warmth when he looks at the formerly dubbed Grumpy. As they sit down to eat, Jeongin insists that he sits between him and Jisung so they can tell the telekinetic what he missed during his nap, including having Chan sing little snippets of the songs. When he does, he finds that both of them have lovely voices as well, joining in when they recognize the song.
“Maybe you all should’ve been a band instead of miners,” Chan laughs, though he means it whole heartedly.
“I mean, I do play a mean air guitar,” Changbin jokes, showing off his skills.
Felix grins, hands rubbing at Changbin’s impressive arms. “Don’t let him fool you, Chan. Our Binnie is very talented with his mouth, too.”
“Yah,” Changbin says, ears and cheeks flaring.
“What?” Felix asks with a glint in his eye that tells everyone giggling around the table that he knows exactly why Changbin spoke up. “You rap so well, and you can even beatbox. Seemed worth mentioning, since Channie thinks we could be a band.”
“Right, of course,” Changbin mutters. When Chan makes eye contact with him, he giggles a little, too. “Anyway, Chan we were talking today, and I think we’ll hold off until this weekend to go see my parents. Seungmin’s eyes were glowing along with his sneezes today, so we think he might be on the mend. If you don’t mind waiting, especially now that we’ve seen your magic, I don’t think it would be the worst thing to wait. I did get a letter out to them, though.”
“Of course. Whatever is best for you all,” Chan tells him before turning to Seungmin. “I’m glad you’re starting to get better.”
As shocking as the mystery of Chan having magic he shouldn’t be able to have is, he doesn’t mind not waiting to find out how it’s possible. Maybe it’s cowardly, but he can’t help but want to keep everything as it is now. Chan has had so much change in his life lately, and what he thought he knew, in such a short amount of time. He’s craving stability, and he’ll take it however he can get it.
“Chan?”
“Sorry, what?” Jeongin is looking at him expectantly, and Chan realizes he’s zoned out again.
“Are you alright?” Jeongin’s smile has dimmed a bit as his eyes search Chan’s face.
“Yes, I’m sorry,” Chan says, chagrined. He doesn’t want to burden any of them any more than he already has. I need to stay present. “Just a little lost in thought. What did you say?”
Jeongin’s ears take on a pink hue. “Nothing important. Just asked what your favorite fruit is. Lix said he might teach you to bake a pie tomorrow since you did so well with dinner tonight.”
Chan looks at Felix’s sunshiny grin, then back to Jeongin. He gives them a smile of his own. “That’s a great idea. I’ll do my best.”
“And?” Jeongin asks, eagerness returned to his expression.
Chan is dumbfounded for a moment when a pear floats behind Jeongin’s head. His eyes snap to Jisung who gives him a wink. “Right,” he laughs, “I actually really like pears, though peaches are my favorite.”
“That’s perfect!” Jeongin is too cute when he smiles like that. “There are some wild peach trees not too far from here.”
“Maybe your animal friends can bring you some?” Jisung suggests.
From there, they talk about favorite fruits and desserts, and Chan manages to stay in the moment the whole time. The Seubalpae tease and joke with him, treating him like he’s just part of the group. Hyunjin must’ve told them about their conversation the night before, because they all seem a bit freer with the causal touches and pet names.
Chan is happy that they aren’t afraid to be themselves around him, though he spends a good portion of the night blushing at all the innuendos Minho, Jisung, and Felix throw around. When Felix makes a joke about him and Hyunjin in bed together, Chan just about dies, but he can’t help but imagine what that would’ve been like.
“Stop messing with him, Lix-ah,” Hyunjin calls, looking quite red himself.
“It’s fine,” Chan finds himself saying, though he certainly made no active choice to do so. Seven pairs of eyes turn on him, and he’s sure he’s officially turned into a tomato. His voice loses its stability as he tries to explain himself. “I-I mean, I can take it – the jokes. It actually feels nice to be included. Plus, it is a funny thought.”
There are a few giggles at that, but Minho’s tone is sharp when he asks, “And what do you think makes it funny?”
“Min,” Changbin says.
A couple of the others start to say something as well, but Minho cuts them all off, and persists, “No, I really wanna know what he’s thinking.”
“I, um,” Chan stutters out, feeling like he made a mistake, but he’s not quite sure what it was. So, he does the only thing he can think to do and tells the truth. “The idea that Hyunjin would be with me like that. He has all of you already, and look at him, he’s clearly out of my league.”
“Out of your league?” Hyunjin sounds completely flabbergasted for some reason.
“I got this, Hyuni,” Felix interrupts. The man comes around in front of Chan and inexplicably cups both hands around his face, leaning in to look him dead in the eyes. “Darling, I don’t care what that wicked Queen has told you, you don’t need to be a prince for people to want to be with you. And you are very handsome. Whenever you doubt that, I want you to remind yourself that that bitch was so jealous of you being prettier than her that she literally got homicidal.”
“Lix, I’m not sure that–”
Despite the fact that it definitely wasn’t the nicest thing he’s ever heard, Chan is suddenly choking back a sob. It cuts off any other comments following Felix’s proclamation. From what they’ve said, he knows that Felix has seen a lot about his life in the last few days. Something about that knowledge in addition to his kindness breaks another piece of Chan loose.
“Oh Chan-ah, it’s okay,” Hyunjin murmurs. Chan can tell he’s using his gift again, the wave of emotion is receding. “Maybe it’s time to call it a night guys. Channie, how about you go get ready for bed?”
It’s the kind of thing you ask a child when you want to avoid a whole situation, but he doesn’t mind. He latches onto the idea, nodding and getting up from the table. He hears Hyunjin following him up the stairs, telling him that they can talk if he wants or he can help him go to bed.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I reacted like that,” he says, embarrassment fighting against Hyunjin’s soothing.
“You never have to apologize for being human, Channie,” Hyunjin tells him. “Triggers often surprise you. Sometimes it can be the simplest thing that sets you off, even if it doesn’t seem logical.”
Chan nods, not really comforted by his words. He knows it’s true, but that doesn’t make him feel any less ridiculous. It’s not very late, but he changes quickly and lays down. He doesn’t expect Hyunjin to get in bed beside him. He figured the empath would soothe him quickly and return to the others. Chan turns over to look at him questioningly, but Hyunjin speaks before he can ask.
“Just get comfortable. Let me help you sleep.” Hyunjin curls his body around Chan’s. Even without his power, the action itself sends a comforting warmth through him. It’s extremely rare for him to have someone take care of him like this. Even last night it had been up to Chan to initiate the contact, albeit by Hyunjin’s suggestion. Chan starts to tear up before he feels himself even out. A yawn escapes him as Hyunjin gives him a little squeeze. “No more thinking. I’ve got you.”
Chan is out within the minute. In his dream, he and the Seubalpae are gathered in a glade, all his forest friends mixed in among them as they sing together.
Chan gets help sleeping and cleaning, starting to truly find his place in the Seubalpae's cottage.
Jeongin gets a bit reflective with Felix before doing his part to take care of his boyfriends.
❄◌✴︎˚Chan｡✴︎◌❄
Chan wakes with a gasp. He grabs at his own chest, feels the way he’s drenched in sweat. Will these nightmares ever end?
There’s a soft knock at the door, and he wonders if that’s what woke him. He hears Hyunjin’s soft voice call his name through the door. Chan considers feigning sleep, but remembering what Hyunjin said about his empathic sense, he scrambles out of bed to go unlock the door. He hesitates, lamenting his appearance, then opens it.
“Hi Channie,” Hyunjin says gently. Changbin is behind him. “I, we, were wondering if you’d be open to me helping you sleep again?”
Relief floods through him, but there’s guilt, too. “I’m sorry to have kept you up.”
“Oh, honey, no,” Hyunjin coos.
He moves as if to touch Chan and thinks better of it. Chan tries to hide his grimace, sure Hyunjin must be disgusted.
“Remember what Seungmin said?” Changbin asks. “You’ve been through something terrible. You don’t need to apologize. Jinnie just wants to help. We all do.” He pauses, looking Chan over. “Do you want me to grab you some fresh sheets?”
Shame washes over Chan, and Hyunjin elbows Changbin in the gut.
“I’m fine; you don’t need to go to the trouble,” he murmurs to the floor.
“Binnie, can you go grab him some water?” Hyunjin does touch him this time, taking his hand and leading him to sit on the dry side of the bed. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Chan. Nightmares are really hard on the body. I actually have a condition that makes me sweat extra. Even without a nightmare, if the room is too warm or if someone cuddles me for too long, I end up soaked.”
It alleviates some of his discomfort with the moment, but not all of it. Chan tries to swallow the lump in his throat. “I really am sorry, though.” He pushes on before Hyunjin can interrupt him. “I know you said you just want to help, but it doesn’t change the fact that I showed up on your doorstep suddenly and now you’re up in the middle of the night to take care of me.”
Hyunjin looks at him sadly and pats his hand. “Why don’t you lay back down now?”
Changbin is back then, and after taking a long sip of the water he brought with him, Chan complies. Hyunjin brushes back his sweaty hair with a serene smile. Lavender mist seems to diffuse out of his gaze, and Chan is already feeling calmer. When he feels Changbin’s weight settle on the bed behind Hyunjin, he doesn’t think much of it. He’s nearly asleep before one of them speaks again.
“Never apologize for fighting and doing your best,” Changbin whispers. “We’ve got you now.”
When Chan drifts off, he dreams of walking hand in hand with Changbin through a field of lavender. Up ahead he sees the rest of the dwarves, smiling and laughing. Hyunjin looks back at him with a blinding smile and tells them to catch up.
It’s probably the best sleep of his life.
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Chan wakes up much later than he thought he would. By the light peeking out from behind the curtain of his window, it’s mid, if not late, morning. When he ventures out, it’s clear he’s alone in the cabin. So he cleans himself up, realizing that without Seungmin here to heat the water, bathing is much less pleasant if you aren’t willing to take several trips from the stove to the bathroom. The Seubalpae had offered him a collection of clothes, and he likes how comfortable they are compared to his usual garb.
On the dining table is a plate with bread, cheese, and a bit of dried meat. Next to it is a note that reads:
Good morning Chan!
We hope you slept well. We didn’t want to wake you just to say goodbye. We’ll be back around seven this evening. Try to relax today. Don’t push yourself to do anything because you think you have to. (That’s an order from Changbinnie.) Your rest and recovery should come first. Also, you should be sure to eat before you do anything else.
We have one earnest request for you: please do not leave our land on your own. While the Queen thinks you’re dead for now, if you were to run into the wrong person, they might reveal you. No one usually comes here unannounced, so you should be safe.
♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎
Chan can’t help but think, I don’t deserve all this. They’re all too kind.
He decides to mostly listen to them, but he’s not sure that just sitting around is going to help him relax or recover. Working is relaxing. It allows him to put the hard things out of his mind. So, he finds the Seubalpae’s cleaning supplies, all helpfully stored together in the little closet off the kitchen. Chan peers around the room, not entirely sure where to start, but resolves to check the place top to bottom and make a list.
The first thing he needs to do is figure out how he’ll handle the laundry, considering how long it may take to dry. He finds the wash tub outside easily, remembering from his tour with Felix. The lines for drying are at the bottom of the tub along with a bucket they likely use to fill it with water. Filling it will be a bit of a chore, but Chan isn’t afraid of hard work. He sets up the lines, and gets started.
Chan whistles to himself, making up a little tune. Soon enough, much like they did by the river, a few birds join him. They flit around and match his melody, so he adds in some vocalizations. The next time he returns to the water pump, he sees that his fox friend is back. He’s sure it’s the same one.
“Hi there, friend!” He calls to it as he puts the bucket under the spigot. He inclines his head. “I don’t think I thanked you for bringing me here before. I’m so grateful to you.”
The fox chirps and jumps up, its forepaws landing on the pump and helping to fill the bucket. Chan can’t believe it.
“Are you helping me again?” he asks, embarrassed to find tears pricking his eyes. “You’ve already done so much for me, you don’t need to do that.”
The fox gives him a sassier look than he even thought an animal capable of. He laughs and grabs the handle. He starts whistling again. The tub is full in no time. He thanks the fox again, but it follows him toward the house.
Chan gathers up a bunch of the Seubalpae’s clothes, and when he steps outside again, a deer is in his path. He tries to sidestep her, but she stays in his way. One of the birds swoops down and takes a sock off the top of his pile, laying it on the doe’s back. He looks around at them quizzically. Are these animals really trying to help me do these chores?
As if to answer his question, two more birds snag a shirt to stack on the sock. Chan decides not to question it anymore. He lays the rest of his load on the deer’s back and watches as she dutifully drops them off at the tub where a few raccoons are waiting. He walks over with the soap, and takes in the turtles that have somehow found their way into the water. One of the raccoons takes the soap, and they get to work, using the turtles’ shells as washboards.
Despite his recent decision to go with the flow, Chan can’t help but wonder if he’s lost his mind. He shakes it off and heads inside, leaving the door wide open as well as opening the windows. All the while he’s whistling along with the birds.
Rag in hand, he starts dusting. A few squirrels pop up on the window sill, bunnies and chipmunks fill the doorway. “Feel free to jump in, if you want to,” Chan tells them, and they hop to it. Some dust or sweep with their tails. A few of them even start on the dishes.
Chan only needs to offer them a few instructions - making sure the squirrels don’t just sweep dirt under the rug, ensuring they’re clean and using soap to clean the dishes. Otherwise, the animals are excellent help.
And Chan is having fun.
The Seubalpae requested that he relax and recover, and regardless of the physical experience, Chan feels that he’s doing just that. Soon he’s not just whistling, he starts to sing:
“Just whistle while you work (whistle) / And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place / So hum a merry tune (hum) / It won't take long when there's a song / To help you set the pace / And as you sweep the room, imagine that the broom / Is someone that you love, and soon you'll find you're dancing to the tune / When hearts are high the time will fly / So whistle while you work.”
It feels like it takes no time at all for the first floor to be spotless. A group of birds even go so far as to fill a vase the bunnies found with a bouquet of flowers. The laundry gang even semi-folded the clothes when they dried, leaving clean stacks on the couch. Chan thanks them all profusely for all their hard work, and they take their leave.
All that’s left to do is make dinner. While Chan has plenty of experience cleaning, he has never tried cooking. He had wanted to have something ready for the Seubalpae when they get home, but he doesn’t want them to have to eat crap. He takes another look at the kitchen and sighs.
Maybe I can take them at their word, Chan thinks. Changbin said not to do things just because I think I should.
So instead, he tries to sort the clothes by size so that it might be easier for the Seubalpae to collect their own clothes. Maybe when they return, Chan can find out where to put their clothes away and get a sense for who wears what. That done, he curls up on the remaining free space on the couch, feeling comfortable and at home.
He hopes that the Seubalpae get back soon.
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❄◌✴︎˚Jeongin｡✴︎◌❄
Hyunjin nudges Jeongin on the shoulder, bumping him out of his thoughts. “What’s on your mind, Innie?” he asks in a low voice.
“Nothing, really. Just thinking about Prince Chan.”
Felix already told them about seeing that the Queen believes Chan is dead, so Jeongin knows that he should be completely fine on his own. But Jeongin also knows that if he had almost been murdered by his parent, step or not, he’d be spiraling so hard there’d be a hole in the ground. Granted, growing up with the Queen hadn’t sounded nice. Maybe not having been loved much changes your perspective.
He realizes that Hyunjin is still watching him. He gives him a weak smile. “Worried about how he’ll do on his own today, I guess,” he admits.
“I get that,” Hyunjin sympathizes, taking his hand to swing between them as they walk. “I don’t think he seems entirely ready to try to process all this consciously, so I think he needed time alone today. Whether it’s to just decompress or to freak out about everything without having a bunch of strangers around, I’m not sure. I just hope it helps him.”
Jeongin just nods in agreement.
They’re almost to the mine now, and he looks forward to losing himself in their work today. Even after the extra time they spent opening up a new level on Friday, there’s still a lot to be done to get it fully operational. Changbin believes they can get it done today.
Despite the amount of activity, the day drags on, but finally, it’s time to head home.
Felix sidles up next to him and slings an arm over his shoulder. “How ya feeling? You guys were able to clear so much today!”
“Tired,” Jeongin sighs. With a sidelong glance at Jisung, he adds, “Minnie and I are lucky our powers don’t wear us out so bad. Though, I know the sneezing is driving Min up a wall.”
“Minho, too,” Felix giggles. He takes a longer look at their resident telekinetic. He looks exhausted, but not dead on his feet like he was Friday. Still, maybe someone should carry him the rest of the way. “He’ll adjust. I think he needs to be moving inorganic material more often throughout the day. You guys use your powers so often for little stuff all the time. He just needs to build up his stamina.”
Jeongin nods. Jisung’s parents moved them into a less magic friendly community for a while when he was younger, and while they were generally supportive, they made him abstain from using his innate gift as much as possible. If not for that, knowing Jisung, he’d likely be stronger than all the rest of them at this point.
His thoughts circle back around to carrying Jisung home. Jeongin could do it, but as Felix pointed out, he’d done a lot today. Then he has another thought. “Hey Lix-ah, do you think since organic material is so much less tiring for him, Jisung could, like, carry himself home? Like float himself so he doesn’t have to walk?”
Felix presses his lips together in thought. “Great question. I feel like when he’s all physically tired like this from using his magic, probably not? But maybe? I guess that’s the kind of thing his folks probably would’ve warned him against trying.”
Jeongin hums in agreement, his thoughts on parents, their expectations, and their restrictions. The way he, and really all the rest of them, grew up in regard to their magic was more or less aligned, but they’d all had different levels of freedom and responsibilities that helped to shape them.
He can’t help but think about Chan again. He’d given them a decent picture, but exactly what kind of rules had he grown up under? He’s not at all what Jeongin would’ve expected a prince to be like. He seems so kind and trusting, even after facing a mortal betrayal. Yet, he also seems so resigned to having been treated like trash, almost as if he felt he deserves it. And he was so sure there’s no one he could count on to care that he’s still alive. He can’t help but make comparisons.
“Do you ever think…” Jeongin looks down at the path in front of him. He realizes he’d been silent for a while, so he peeks up to make sure Felix was still with him. “If he hadn’t left and met us, would his life have been his own? Or would he have gotten pigeonholed into a situation where he could never be his true self? Never be loved for who he is?”
Felix seems to be considering the question seriously. After a moment, he says, “You know what, Innie? I don’t think that ever would’ve happened. I can’t imagine seeing a future where Jisung isn’t with us. I think if he hadn’t left, we would’ve gone to find him. He belongs with us, and his happiness is our responsibility.”
“I like that.” Jeongin smiles softly. To his knowledge, Felix has only managed to see the future once, so he knows he doesn’t mean it literally. He can understand that feeling of rightness with their little family making it feel impossible to imagine them not all being together. Now for his other line of thought. He asks, “And what do you think about the prince? I know his situation isn’t the same as Sungie’s, but do you think, maybe…”
“Maybe he’s meant to be with us, too?” Felix asks gently when he trails off. Jeongin can’t decide if Felix’s ability to finish his question immediately like that means that he might feel that way or if he’s just very obvious.
“Maybe?” He asks weakly. He knows Felix wouldn’t judge him, but he feels kind of embarrassed sharing these thoughts. “I know we barely know him, but something about him feels… good? Right?”
The warm smile he gets in answer eases the knot in his stomach. Felix agrees, “He has good energy. Even if it has been in small ways, he’s shown that he fits well with us. But time will tell. I’m definitely on your side if we end up having a discussion about whether or not we want him to stay with us long term.”
They walk the rest of the way back in easy silence, hands linked and arms swinging between them.
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When they arrive home, they can already tell Chan has been busy today. Jeongin is surprised to see him asleep on the couch, surrounded by stacks of laundry. Clearly Jisung is too.
“How did he get so much laundry done while also cleaning literally everything in here,” he asks, awe present in his tone.
Before anyone can respond, Chan cries out in his sleep. Hyunjin rushes to his side while the rest of them crowd around them in a semi circle. With a couple sneezes, the room is alight. Now, Jeongin notices the sweat coating him and the grimace in his expression.
Hyunjin gently lays a hand on Chan’s brow, lavender mist radiating out from his eyes. It’s like the whole room lets out their breath in a collective sigh when the prince’s whole body seems to relax.
Seungmin taps Jeongin on the shoulder, leaning in to whisper, “Let’s go get baths set up for him and Jisung.”
While they have the plumbing set up for a pump to reach the bathrooms upstairs, it’s generally up to the two of them to fill the bath tubs. They’ve perfected the process; Jeongin freezes then Seungmin melts, leaving them with evenly warmed water, much more quickly than the alternative.
After both tubs are full, Jeongin wraps Seungmin in a hug. His nose is red, and he’s so obviously over this magical cold. “Maybe we should write to Changbin’s parents or go see them to find out if there’s anything else to be done for you?”
“It’s fine, babe. Annoying as they are, they’re just sneezes, and they’ll go away eventually,” Seungmin shrugs but holds on tight. “Plus, it gets me extra Innie hugs.”
Jeongin attempts to pull back out of principle, but Seungmin clings to him, whining about how he needs him to feel better. Sighing, Jeongin slides his hands down to Seungmin’s thighs, and lifts him fully into his arms, Seungmin’s legs wrapping around his waist. “You big baby,” he says gruffly, but he fears the fondness is still clear in his voice. He relishes the way he can feel the warmth of the fire starter’s body through his shirt.
He takes Seungmin into the room closest to the stairs and gently lays him down, settling on top of him for just a few seconds. He presses a kiss to the underside of his jaw, then utilizes the way Seungmin relaxes to almost immediately to slip out of his grasp.
“Iyen-ah,” Seungmin whines.
“I’m gonna go get Ji. You should take those clothes off and actually get into bed,” he says, ignoring the older man’s grabby hands. “You know Binnie said extra rest might help.” He heads for the door, but turns back. “Actually, maybe you should get in the big tub with him. Get all cleaned up, then you can nap together.”
He can hear Seungmin grumbling as he goes, but when he carries Jisung back up the stairs, he finds him sitting in the water already.
“Ooh,” Jisung giggles. “First Innie carries me upstairs, and now I have Minnie here to wash me? Am I a prince? Is it my birthday?”
Jeongin and Seungmin roll their eyes in tandem. “Should I actually just throw him in the trash?”
“I mean, it seems like the right choice.” Seungmin nods in agreement.
“Hey hey hey!” Jisung squirms in his grasp. Jeongin places him on his feet when he settles. He pouts, “Here I thought you guys were being nice to me.”
Seungmin puts on a cute little voice and coos, “Oh, poor Jisung-ah. Come here, I’ll be nice.”
Jisung slips into the tub in front of Seungmin, who pulls him back against his chest instantly. The steam curls around them. Jeongin sits on the edge to card his hand through his hair, remembering his earlier conversation with Felix. As much as he likes to tease and mess with Jisung, he loves him more. His happiness is our responsibility. Not because someone made it so, but because we want it to be.
“You two get cleaned up,” he says after pressing a kiss to the crown of his head. Not wanting them to know just how soft his thoughts had turned, he doesn’t add the next part until his back is to them. “And let’s all room together tonight.”
Jeongin opens the door in time to see a sleepy looking Chan walk by on his way to his own bath. He definitely sees past Jeongin into the bathroom based on the way his eyes widen briefly. Glancing back himself, he sees that Jisung has already turned around to kiss Seungmin. He shakes his head as he exits, but the smile doesn’t leave his face.
