Chapter Text
Ponk took a deep breath as he watched King Samuel ride away, his face still flushed from the king’s proposal. Marriage . To the king. Ponk crumpled back into a stray chair, and it creaked under his weight.
The king and Ponk had a- strange relationship, to say the least. They’d met shortly after the king’s wife had passed three years ago in Ponk farmer’s market stand. The king had been undercover, for lack of better phrasing. He’d had his hood pulled over his head, and oddity in summer, and was checking over his shoulder surreptitiously. He’d walked into Ponk’s lemon stand, which had sent Ponk’s two adopted children, Hannah and Tommy, into fits of laughter.
“Sorry,” he had said over the noise of the giggles. “I wasn’t looking.” His voice was deep and smooth, and there were smile lines around his eyes even though he looked fairly young, not much older than Ponk himself.
“Clearly,” Ponk had answered dryly. “Are you going to buy anything?”
Sure, the man had looked like a criminal or assassin, albeit a pitiful one, but Ponk’s closest friend was a mercenary. He knew how to defend himself and when to call for local authorities. And the man was exceptionally good-looking.
“Ah, sure,” the man had said, blinking in surprise. “Um, what would I do with lemons?”
“Put them in water so that people think that you’re rich,” Tommy had said.
“Mix the juice with sugar-water so that people know you’re rich,” Hannah added, looking pointedly at the well-kept state of his clothes.
They were clearly expensive, new-looking, if Ponk had to say. The material was light, like the fine silk hood Punz wore. There weren’t any holes, and if Ponk could see his shoes, he would have been able to see that they were in pristine condition, only the day’s dirt on them.
The man had laughed nervously but bought a few despite being uncomfortable.
“I’m Sam,” he had said. “Maybe I could come back sometime and you could show me how to make lemon-sugar-water?”
“It’s called lemonade ,” Tommy had said.
“If you get the sugar, I’d be glad to,” Ponk had smiled. “I’m Ponk, and this is my daughter, Hannah, and my son, Tommy.”
The next time that they had met, for their lemonade date, as Hannah called it, they’d discussed their families.
“I’ve got two sons of my own,” Sam had said as they mixed ingredients. “George and Quackity. They’re sixteen and twelve, but they’re really close. It tore them up when their mother died last year. I had to put off sending George to school. It turned out well, though, George had made a lot of friends with the class he’s in.”
“Hannah’s thirteen and Tommy’s nine,” Ponk had replied. “They’re both adopted. I was only going to adopt Hannah at first, but she and Tommy were so close I couldn’t bear to split them up. My, ah, brother adopted Tommy’s cousin. They travel a lot.”
“That’s nice of you two. I know that if I passed away, I wouldn’t want my boys split up either.”
Punz and Ponk weren’t brothers. They had grown up in the same orphanage, but they were adopted by different families; Ponk went to a family of doctors and Punz to a mercenary ring.
Sam and Ponk got along well. Ponk had always known that Sam had to be upper class, from the clothes he wore to the way he spoke of tutors and boarding schools to the fact that his children had names for nobility and the way he spoke. Sam talked of travels to other kingdoms and excursions that Ponk could only ever dream of affording.
Ponk had been ignoring the ever-growing possibility that Sam was the king. All of the signs were there. Sam was only barely trying to hide it. Ponk just… didn’t want their time together to end. Sam was perfect, in his eyes.
When Punz had made a trip back home, his visit overlapped with one of Sam’s.
Their interaction had been short and stilted, Punz glaring at Sam the whole time.
After Sam had left, Punz had confronted Ponk.
“He’s the king,” he said pointedly while Purpled and Ponk’s two played outside.
“I know,” Ponk admitted. “But I like him and I don’t want anything to change.”
“You’re dating the king of Franzolia. Things will change for you,” Punkz said, deadpan.
“I know that,” Ponk said, sighing. “But… he’s so kind, Punz. He loves his children, and everyone who works under him says so too. He likes my kids. He’s so sweet. I don't want things between us to change, and I know that I already said that, but it’s true.”
Punz and Ponk had argued for hours, but Punz had finally relented.
“Fine,” he spat. “Date the king- marry him, for all I care! But don’t come crying to me when he marries some princess. You’ll always be second to him, Ponk. But fine.”
Punz and Ponk hadn’t spoken much after that.
“Dad?”
Hannah’s voice startled Ponk. He looked up to see both of his children peering over at him from the stairwell.
“Was that Sam? Why’d he leave so soon?” Tommy asked, clearly disappointed.
“Yeah, he- he asked me something important and I need some time to think about it,” Ponk answered.
“I haven’t seen him lately,” Tommy pouted. “He said that he was gonna in-tro-duce me to his sons soon.”
“What’d he asked, dad?” Hannah said, ignoring her brother.
“He proposed,” Ponk said softly, a smile slipping onto his face, unbidden.
“What!” both children exclaimed.
“Say yes!” Hannah pleaded, wringing her hands.
Tommy was bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Please, please, please! He’s so cool and nice! And we could go to school everyday, and I could have brothers! And you’re always happier when he’s around, too! It would be great!”
Out of the mouths of babes , Ponk thought wryly.
“I would love to,” he said out loud. “But there are lots of things to account for.”
“Like what?” Hannah scoffed, and Ponk was reminded that she was sixteen and obnoxious.
“LIke the fact that he’s the king,” Ponk replied, watching as their faces froze. Surprise flitted across them, then-
“Duh!” Hannah gasped. “I’m so dumb, all of their names are the same!”
“It was a joke!” Tommy goaned. “Purpled told me it was just a coincidence, I thought that I was just seeing weird parallels!”
Ponk laughed, his smile widening even though he didn’t quite know what Tommy was talking about. “So if I married him, I would be prince or king consort, and you two would be prince and princess, but I don’t know how much of a claim to the throne you would have,” Ponk explained.
“Pog,” Tommy whispered.
“That would be a lot of rules and stuff,” Hannah said, frowning. “I guess I get why you need to think about it.”
“I still think that you should say yes,” Tommy said. “I like Sam. He would be a good bonus dad.”
“Bonus dad?” Ponk laughed, surprised.
“Is dad-the-second better?” Hannah grinned.
“Extra dad?” Tommy suggested.
“Dad squared when we’re talking to both of you?”
“Double dads?”
Ponk laughed harder, almost falling out of his seat as his kids rattled off random things to call him and Sam.
The thought of them calling Sam dad as well warmed Ponk’s heart, and he found it harder to think of any way to say no. Sam would be so good for them.
When Sam rode back to Ponk’s house three days later, he came in a carriage. Awfully confident of him, as Tommy would say. Ponk was waiting inside, all of his things and the kids' things packed.
“Hello, Ponk,” Sam said, stepping inside. He wore what Ponk recognized as a more casual royal outfit. It was, of course, more expensive than Ponk’s entire house and everything in it, but not the most elaborate of outfits. His crown was clearly gold, embedded with emeralds. On the breast of his green tunic was the country's emblem.
“Hello, your majesty,” Ponk replied, dipping into a bow.
Sam laughed warmly, pulling Ponk up. “I- have you made your decision?” He sounded nervous, a contrast to everything else about him.
“I have,” Ponk smiled.
“Well?” Sam said hopefully.
“Yes,” Ponk said, looking into Sam’s brilliant green eyes. “I will marry you.”
Sam’s face broke out into the biggest smile that Ponk had ever seen, and he wrapped his arms around Ponk, pulling him close. Ponk leaned up and pressed their lips together.
Cheers broke out behind Ponk as Hannah and Tommy raced down the stairs, fling themselves into the adults. Ponk pulled back from Sam just enough to tug them into a massive hug.
When they broke apart, Sam beamed down at all of them. “Do you all have your things?” he asked brightly. His hand slipped from Ponk’s shoulder down to his palm and laced their fingers together.
“Yeah! Dad made us pack everything up yesterday,” Tommy said.
“I’ll get someone to carry them to the other carriage, then. Are you all ready to go?” Sam said, shifting towards the door, still holding Ponk’s hand.
“I think so,” Ponk said. “Kids?”
“Let’s go!” Tommy cheered, and Hannah nodded.
Ponk let Sam guide them out and help him up into the carriage. He settled into a seat as Sam helped Hannah then Tommy up, before allowing a servant to help him up.
“Have someone bring the bags inside to the other carriage, please,” he said, sitting down beside Ponk.
A moment later, the carriage started moving. Outside, Ponk could see people watching. He narrowly spotted Punz and Purpled at the edge of the crowd, waving sadly.
“Do you have any questions?” Sam asked, and Ponk returned his focus to inside the carriage.
“What are we supposed to call you now?” Hannah asked, looking at Sam.
“Whatever you're comfortable with, I suppose,” Sam answered bashfully. “My boys call my padre or papa, for the most part.”
“What does padre mean?” Tommy asked, swinging his legs.
“It’s Spanish for father or dad. My late wife, Prime rest her soul, spoke it as her first language and taught it to George and Quackity,” Sam said.
An awkward silence filled the carriage. Ponk squeezed Sam's hand.
“They spent practically all night after you proposed coming up with silly ways to call us,” Ponk laughed. “I think dads squared was my favorite.”
Sam burst into giggles, making Ponk’s stomach swoop.
“Q is excited to meet you three,” Sam said after he finished laughing. “George is a bit more apprehensive, although he won’t be home until a week before the coronation and wedding because of school.”
“When will the wedding be?” Hannah asked. Ponk watched as Tommy tapped her knee twice and she shifted so that he could braid her hair.
“In about five months. We need to pick an exact date before we can send out invitations, but the coronation will be three days after that. Ponk and I will honeymoon, probably out to the Badlands, for about a week.”
“Who’s going to wear the dress?” Hannah asked. “And who all would you invite?”
“We’ll probably invite representatives of any nation that Franzolia is allied with, as well any nobles here underneath me. My advisors, a fair amount of servants, and any family you have, as well as the family of my late wife, Prime rest her soul. From there, It’ll be open to any citizens who want to come.” Ponk noted that Sm hadn't answered thee dress question.
Tommy and Hannah peppered Sam with questions as they rode to the castle, ranging from their living situation - “You’ll each have your own quarters in the royal family’s floors, and Ponk will stay in special rooms that are for the betrothed of the king.” - to how they would navigate the castle - “There will be attendants on hand for all of you, and if you manage to get lost, there are guards who can help you find your way.” - to their own classes - “Hannah’s old enough to attend the same boarding school that George does, but you both will be tutored until after the wedding so that you’re familiar with the necessary protocols.” Every time that Sam mentioned their wedding, Ponk felt a swarm of butterflies take off in his stomach.
By the time that they finally arrived, Tommy was yawning and had braided and unbraided Hannah’s hair six separate times.
Sam left the carriage first, helping down Ponk and then the children. They followed a servant in, marvelling at the grounds.
“Padre!” A well-dressed teenage boy came sprinting across the path. Sam let go of Ponk’s hand just in time to catch the boy, who had flung himself bodily at the king.
“Hello, Q,” Sam said, hugging his son. “I saw you two hours ago.”
“I wasn’t even awake, though!” Prince Quackity whined.
“We ate breakfast together,” Sam laughed, letting the prince stand back. “We had an entire conversation.”
“It was before ten in the morning, doesn’t count,” Prince Quackity shrugged. “Now will you introduce me to the rest of my family?”
“Of course,” Sam smiled fondly. “This is my fiance, Ponk, and his daughter and son, Hannah and Tommy. Ponk, Hannah, Tommy, this is my younger son, Prince Quackity.”
“Hi,” Tommy said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “You’re my brother now, right?”
“Yeah!” Prince Quackity shouted. “I’m not the youngest anymore! C’mon, Tommy, I’ll show you and Hannah around!”
The prince grabbed Tommy’s hand and dragged him inside, Hannah at their heel, waving to the two men.
“He’s been so excited to meet them,” Sam said, offering his arm to Ponk. “He completely forgot to greet you.” Sam’s face was flushed, but his smile didn’t falter.
“It’s okay,” Ponk answered, looping his arm through Sam’s. “Tommy and Hannah have been looking forward to this, too.”
“Well, since we’re alone, I could give you a private tour?” Sam suggested, winking playfully.
“That would be perfect,” Ponk agreed, letting Sam guide him inside.