Archive of Our Own

I . Changbin

It’s true that being a crown prince shows you multiple aspects in life. It shows you the busy life, always walking around to attend meetings you’ll be attending later. It shows you the people you’ll be serving and it teaches you about them. It shows how busy a schedule can get. 

But it also teaches one how to sometimes use a little bit of that influence to get someone you care for what you need. And in this case, for 2 people that have been overworking for a whole week. 

As much as Changbin knows how it is to have a busy schedule, his boyfriends need a goddamn break. And this is where pulling strings as a crown prince comes in as very, very handy. 

Changbin’s car drives into the parking lot of the hospital, and he thanks his chauffeur. The driver, Shownu, answers him right back, a grin adoring his lips. “Go get his overworking ass. Hyunjin and Seungmin will probably be ready to be picked up by the time we leave.” 

Changbin nods, his face contorting into a grin as well. “I’ll be right back. I’ll drag him out of there, even if I need to get him out by dragging him by his goddamn legs.” 

Shownu chuckles as Changbin closes the door, and enters through the automatic doors of the hospital. Multiple doctors and workers recognize him and are quick to bow, but he ushers them back up quickly. He heads towards the counter, stopping right in front of it. “Chen, is Chan in the operating room at the moment?” 

The man behind the counter looks up from his screen and adjusts his glasses. “Chan? I’ll take a look.” His eyes shoot back to the screen in front of him, and quickly types in something on his keyboard. “He must have just finished his last operation of the night, just as planned. He must be at his desk.” 

“Thanks Chen, I owe you all a lot for this.” 

Chen flashes him a bright smile. “Honestly, we owe both him and you. Him for all the shifts he’s taken over the past days, and you for finally dragging his ass out so he can rest.” They both chuckle. 

“It was needed,” Changbin nods confidently. “Say hi to Xiumin for me!” Changbin waves his goodbye and darts into the hospital, his foot instinctively guiding him to Chan’s desk. 

He enters the elevator and presses the button to the 4th floor. His foot rapidly taps on the ground as he waits for the elevator to arrive at the right floor, rushing out of it the moment the doors open. A lot of other people bow as he meets them in the hallway. He salutes them quickly, too focused on his end destination. 

Room 4.119 is right at the end of the hallway, on the right. Changbin almost barges in, but stops himself right in time. He knocks gently, hitting the door in a melody only him and his boyfriends know. 

He hears a tired, but clear “Come in!” from the other side of the door and enters. “Hey Channie,” Changbin greets the older. 

Chan peeks up from his screen to look at the man coming in, and smiles widely at the boy’s voice. “Hi baby, I was just finishing up my shift. It’s weird, there was apparently nothing else scheduled for me? I remember seeing multiple shifts for the next week but it all disappeared just some minutes ago.” 

Changbin silently thanked Chen for only clearing Chan’s schedule when he arrived. He knows it was planned as such so that Chan wouldn’t suspect anything, but he forgot to check as he entered. 

As much as he loves the caring and selfless nature of his boyfriend, he sometimes needs to remember that he has his own needs as well. Changbin has known him as someone selfless ever since the first day he met him, back at the library. It’s what made Changbin fall for him, in the end. 

It was the month of May, when Changbin was 16. He was walking next to the football field, on his way to one of his classes. 

A group of students were playing on the field, kicking the ball around and having fun. Changbin would have joined them at any other moment, but as he had class he couldn’t stay. He saw his good friend Wooyoung play, and encouraged him with a scream. The boy turned around and saw Changbin, and eagerly waved at him, a big smile on his face. Changbin waved back, the same happy smile on his face. Wooyoung screamed something Changbin couldn’t discern, when something hard hit his head, and he fell to the ground. He held his head steady, his hand on the part where he got hit, and saw four people run up to him. He faintly recognized his best friend as one of them; the other two seemed to be twins, but he didn’t recognize them. 

“Wait, Wooyoung, since when do you have a twin?” 

Wooyoung grimaced, and that was the last thing Changbin remembered before knocking out. 

Changbin woke up with Chan profoundly apologizing to him in the infirmary. Apparently, Changbin had had bad timing, and Chan had been a bit too eager when kicking into the football. The ball had flown into the wrong direction, and hit Changbin full on the head. 

Wooyoung later told him that Chan had taken him to the infirmary in bridal style, not caring one bit about the spectators. (Changbin still was the crown prince, in the end. He was bound to attract attention.) 

Chan had taken care of him for the rest of the day, and Changbin definitely wasn’t complaining. He did throw a fit later when he learned that Chan lied about having no classes. His pouting face quickly turned into a big blush when Chan just joked back that he “wasn’t going to refuse a day of taking care of a beautiful human being”. They got closer after that, and that brought them to who they are today.

But Changbin doesn’t have time to reminisce. He is on a mission.

Chan sighs as he rolls back his chair, and stands up. “I’ll have to check with Chen, it might just be a glitch in the system. It has happened before anyways.” 

Changbin looks at his boyfriend who opened his arms and is darting forwards to greet him. He gives Chan a quick peck on the lips and then nestles himself into the elder’s warm arms. One of his safest places on earth. He sighs with contentment. 

“How was your day?” Changbin asks, peeking up to look at the elder. He can see the big eyebags that have been growing under the elder’s eyes, and he pouts. 

“It was okay. Finished my second and last operation of the day. This morning was a long one, I’m glad this one was shorter. Both operations went very well and both patients are doing well,” Chan says, a content smile roaming around his lips as he looked down to meet Changbin’s gaze. 

“I’m glad,” Changbin answers, the pout turning into a genuine smile.

Chan smiles as he looks lovingly at Changbin. Even after knowing Chan for years, his love for Changbin has always made him feel warm. 

Then his gaze turns to a questioning one. “Wait a second.”

He puts his hands on Changbin’s shoulders to push him to look at him better and Changbin pouts at the loss of warmth. “How did you know that I’ve finished my shift? I forgot to tell you when I was coming home today, I was just going to text you.” 

Changbin grins. “Well, the same reason as to why there’s nothing on your schedule.” 

Chan looks even more confused. “What do you mean?” 

“You have a week off and will be coming with me, Jinnie and Minnie on a trip.” 

And before Chan can respond he adds: “I’ve already arranged it all. Felix and Jisung will be taking over your shifts together as you took over one of each. Chanyeol will be checking up on the patients you were meant to look after. He was there during multiple operations, so there’s no need to panic as he knows all that he needs to know. He has access to the information he needs to be able to properly take care of them. Same for Jisung and Felix. It’s all been taken care of and you do not need to worry. Now, Mister,” Changbin grabs Chan’s hand and intertwines their fingers as he grabs Chan’s bag that was on his desk just before, “you are coming with me as we have a boat to catch tonight. Your bag has already been made.” 

Chan gapes at him but Changbin pulls his older boyfriend towards the door before he can retort anything. Changbin is unable to move further than 4 steps though before he’s pulled back and soft lips meet his. It’s a gentle, longing kiss. 

Chan pulls away, his loving gaze piercing Changbin’s. “Thank you.” 

Changbin smiles and gives him a quick peck. “You’re welcome, you workaholic of mine. Now let’s get moving, we have to fetch Hyunjin and Seungmin on the way.” 

II. Hyunjin

Hyunjin paces through the entrance of the new-built library. Multiple people greet him upon his arrival, most do so with a bow, some others with a short nod. Hyunjin doesn’t care who does which one. He greets them all back with a short nod himself, a prominent destination in mind. 

Changbin was charged to get Chan out of the hospital. Knowing Binnie, he’d be able to manage that easily. They had both taken care of clearing out schedules for both Chan and Seungmin, but they also knew that it would be much harder to convince Seungmin of going along with their plan. It was actually pretty easy to decide who would get who; it was an instinct, in a sense, but they both just knew how it would work out the best way. And anyways, Changbin and him did pull multiple strings for this, so it’s not like their other two boyfriends had much choice. 

As Changbin and he decided, both of them needed a goddamn break . 

The smell of books makes Hyunjin slow down his pace, just so he can look around and admire the new library in its glory. The sun started setting, summer entering slowly into everyone’s life at the archipels. The glass windows let in streams of sunlight, the sun starting to set slowly and giving the library a dreamy look.

The building had only been finished recently, celebrating its official opening two weeks ago. They were all there at the ceremony, Hyunjin being the one leading it and all. But Seungmin had been behind the scenes to get it all done. He had been working in the previous library for a while, where he had started as one of the library assistants when he was a student. So when the plans came out for the new library, Seungmin got busy, but it was livable. 

But then, the library opened, they celebrated, and Seungmin pretty much submerged himself with work. Two weeks later, most of the staff got the hang of how the library will be working and everything started to roll more smoothly. That’s when Hyunjin and Changbin decided they had enough of their workaholic pieces of boyfriends who didn’t want to take a rest for their bodies and prepared a week of relaxation for all of them, together. 

Hyunjin smiles as he recognizes one of Seungmin’s favorite spots in the library: the reading corner. The whole building had pretty big windows, but this one spot gave an extended view on the rest of the city. It was meant to be a quiet space, only made for reading books, whether fictional or not. 

It made him remember the day he met Seungmin, although it wasn’t in the same position. 

Hyunjin made way to the university’s library, trying to find a place to sit. He knew Chan was finishing up his class, so he opted to find their spots first. Only problem was that he had never been to the library before. Chan knew and asked Hyunjin to wait for him, but Hyunjin wanted to make sure they would find spots. He had heard from Changbin before that spots could be scarce around this period. They would have stayed in the royal library, but it wasn’t exactly made for studying. And honestly, it’s not because they’re royals (or dating royals, in Chan’s case) that they wanted to be different than any other person their age. They were university students for fuck’s sake, so they will be, just like any other uni student.

He walked into the library, and saw, much to his dismay, no free spots on the first floor. He looked around and found the stairs much further in the back. He heads over, and immediately goes to the third floor. Binnie had told him that that floor usually had the least students as the books there were mostly fictional works. Something about it being a possible distraction, but Hyunjin doesn’t remember the exact words the elder had said.

He reached the floor, and spotted no empty table. Every table was occupied by multiple students, and most of them didn’t have space for two more people. He walked further into the space, and found a table with three free spots; the last spot was occupied by a boy with hazel brown hair who was sitting alone. 

Just as he headed towards the spot, he felt a pinkie link into his. He looked to his side, and was met with Chan’s blinding smile. “Thought I’d find you on this floor,” Chan said silently. 

Hyunjin answered in the same hushed tone. “Yeah, Binnie told me that we were more likely to find a spot here. I was thinking of asking the boy there if we could sit with him, as those are the only spots available.” 

Chan nodded, and they trotted towards the table, hidden between the shelves of books. 

“Hi,” Hyunjin said, brown eyes and soft features meeting his gaze. Chan and Hyunjin’s breaths both hitch at the softness and the beauty that is sitting in front of them. The boy did seem to be annoyed at being interrupted, and Hyunjin gulps. “Can we sit here with you? All the other spots are taken.” 

The boy’s eyes flickered quick to their linked pinkies, and a curious smile creeped up onto his features. 

“Sure”, the boy shrugs. Hyunjin sat down quickly, scared that his legs would give out under him from the boy’s voice. Chan followed quickly, and both pulled out their stuff to start working on their respective papers. 

An hour later, Chan stood up, left a small kiss on Hyunjin's forehead and trotted over to the exit of the library. He returned 10 minutes later, 3 water bottles in his hands. He gave one to Hyunjin, and then one to Seungmin, flashing the latter his soothing smile, and sat down. Seungmin shot him a wary look, but still gave him a genuine “thank you”, and drank from it.

From then on, all three boys found each other back every other day when they went to the library to study together. One day, it was just Hyunjin and Seungmin, and both groaned over the paper they were working on. As they talked, they realized they were writing a paper for the same professor, and bonded over that.

After some time, Changbin also joined them, and it just clicked. And then they got closer than what they thought at first.

Hyunjin takes a deep breath and continues his way towards Seungmin’s desk. 

When he gets closer to his destination, Felix appears in his sight. The younger one waves at him, and Hyunjin waves right back. 

“Hey, Seungmin is in his office and his schedule was cleared for the rest of the week. I’m taking over multiple of the tasks he was doing and tried my best to catch up on things I might need to remember subtly,” Felix starts, and then he sighs. “But I have this idea that he might know that something’s up. Minho has been too much of a nosy person the past few days and it made him suspicious. As much as Minho annoys him, he usually doesn’t ask that much about the importance of the tasks Seungmin is doing.” 

Hyunjin sighs, dropping his head down. “I had an idea this would happen, so that’s fine. Thanks for keeping it a secret; I know how hard it is with that stubborn ass to even get anything secret past him. Believe me, it’s a hassle when we try to celebrate his birthday.” 

Felix laughs softly. “I think I can imagine, yeah. I’m gonna have to go though; I have some things I have to prepare before going home so I can start work prepared tomorrow, with our head librarian’s absence.” He winks as he mentions the last part. 

Hyunjin smiles. “Thank you for your work today, Lix, we owe you a lot for this.” 

Felix waves it away. “Nah, don’t worry ‘bout it. We owe Seungmin a lot, and he definitely deserves a break. Just like Channie-hyung does. I’m glad you are getting them both out of their spaces. Have a great break!” He waves and adds a big grin onto the mix as he walks past Hyunjin, back to his own desk.

Hyunjin bids his goodbyes as well, and then walks towards Seungmin’s door. He knocks softly, a soft rhythm that he always uses when he’s knocking on his boyfriends’ doors. 

Seungmin answers a soft “Come in” and Hyunjin pushes the door open. Seungmin is frowning at his screen, trying to click multiple elements. He looks up at Hyunjin, their eyes meeting, and shoots him a quick smile. 

“Hi,” Hyunjin starts softly.

“Hi sweetheart, give me just a second. I’m trying to figure out how my meetings for next week have disappeared at the last minute. I swear I still had them here an hour ago before the meeting with Felix.”

Hyunjin is even more impressed with Felix’s work. He managed to make all of Seungmin’s schedules disappear as he was in a meeting with him? That was pretty impressive; Such things don’t go past Seungmin easily. He would have to treat the younger with some ice cream or coffee some day. 

Hyunjin feigns innocence. “All your meetings disappeared? Are you sure you had any planned? I remember you saying once that sometimes the meetings can’t be planned yet because you’re waiting for books to arrive.” 

Seungmin frowns even more. “Yeah, I did tell you that and it’s true. But for next week we had some meetings planned with some authors and they just,” Seungmin pauses his rant to roll back his chair and show his screen with his hands, a disbelieving scowl on his face, “vanished!”

Hyunjin tries to contain the smile that is trying to appear on his face. Well, he tries .

He fails.

A big grin appears on his face as he struts forward to the younger boy, and it’s only when he’s standing right in front of the younger that Seungmin looks up to him. He frowns, and then he glares. 

“Wait a second. You know what this is about, don’t you?’ 

Hyunjin just smiles even wider, and Seungmin shoots him a disbelieving look, his hands raising up in the air.. “You know what, I’m not even surprised anymore.”

Hyunjin laughs out loud at that. 

Seungmin gets up from his chair and moves around to grab his stuff. “Can you grab my jacket for me, sweetheart?”

Hyunjin looks perplexed. “You’re not gonna question anything? Like, not even why I’m here early or anything?”

Seungmin stops his movements and lets out a small sigh, but the smile is very visible on his face. “I feel like whatever’s up this time, I won’t be able to back out from it. For sure if you were able to clear the whole of my schedule for next week just like that.” 

Hyunjin had the face of a child that got caught and Seungmin laughed. The elder grabbed the other’s coat and Seungmin turned around. 

Hyunjin spoke up as he put Seungmin’s coat on his shoulders. “Yeah. Binnie and I prepared a whole week of break for just us four. He went to pick up Chan, so Shownu should be here any minute. Your baggage has been made and yes, I promise we’ve got everything. I didn’t keep that one list for travelling you made once for nothing.”

Seungmin gapes at his boyfriend when the other finishes speaking, and before Hyunjin can say anything more, soft lips meet his. A thankful, sweet kiss. 

Seungmin pulls back, and the adoration in his eyes makes Hyunjin feel weak in his knees. 

“Thank you.” Seungmin’s smile is sweet, small, but conveys all the feelings Hyunjin needs to know. 

Hyunjin smiles back, intertwines their fingers, and pulls Seungmin with him towards the exit.

III. Chan

“You have got to be kidding me,” Chan hears Seungmin swear, and he snickers. Although, he has to admit he was pretty impressed himself. 

It’s not the first time he has gone to the secluded island, the first time being with Changbin back for their second anniversary six years ago. The last time was with Hyunjin, when all three of them had been together for a year. They met Seungmin not long after that. The place hasn’t really changed since then, but Binnie has apparently added some details since. 

After Changbin picked Chan up, they picked up their two other boyfriends from the library. From there, they went directly to the port, took a boat to head towards one of the more secluded islands where the royal family had their own little set-up. The journey wasn’t that long, but long enough to get a little bit of sleep before their arrival. The sun was rising up when they arrived, but they were awake enough to function.

It wasn’t a palace, per sé. Let’s call it a pretty big cottage; it fits all four of them in the master bedroom, so it was big enough. The cottage has two levels: the ground floor, with the lounge and the kitchen that gives onto the beach and the upper level with the bathroom and the master bedroom. The cottage was built long ago, by one of Changbin’s ancestors with the help of some citizens. 

And that’s where they are now. The four lovers have arrived at the cottage, all standing in front of it, and Seungmin’s eyes are wide open. The entrance is grandiose, gardens adorning it around. 

Changbin turns around to face the other two, smiling when he sees the other two’s pinkies linked between them. “I’ll show Seungminnie around, as it’s the first time he’s here.”

“Do that, he seems ready to discover every mystery of this place”, Chan chuckles, and Seungmin pouts.

“Hey! The place just comes right out of one of my favorite books. Let me live my dream here.” Even though he’s pouting, you can hear the giddiness in his voice. 

Chan steps forward, and presses a small kiss on Seungmin’s forehead. “I know, love. Hence why I’m teasing you.”

The eldest turns to Changbin. “I’ll already grab our suitcases and put our stuff away.”

“I’ll help him out!” Hyunjin speaks out from behind Chan. Changbin nods, agreeing to the idea. They enter the cottage, Changbin and Seungmin’s fingers intertwined with Hyunjin and Chan walking behind them, their pinkies still linked between them. 

Chan and Hyunjin walk up the stairs with their suitcases, entering the master bedroom. The open attic hasn’t changed since the last time both of them were at the cottage. The open space greets them as they reach the end of the staircase, The white ceiling and the few but big windows making the room look bright and spacious. The big sized bed in the back of the room is now placed against the wall, priorly being situated in the center of the room. 

It’s separated from the rest of the room by a curtain, and when Chan and Hyunjin enter it, they’re met with the cables of fairy lights placed everywhere. They’re not turned on as it’s the middle of the day, but it will probably give a majestical scene when they are. 

The shower can be found in the opposite corner of the bed. It’s accessible through a door frame from which bead chains are hanging from. 

The two very easily find the new shelves used to deposit their clothes, with two garment racks standing right next to it. They put down the suitcases, open the suitcases of Seungmin and Changbin, and work in comfortable silence. 

“You know,” Hyunjin says, breaking the silence and making Chan stop his movements and meet his gaze. “This makes me remember the first day I settled into the palace.” 

Chan’s lips turn into a knowing smile, his eyes filling with fondness as he remembers that time. 

“I helped you settle in back then, as Changbin couldn’t join immediately.”

“You didn’t have to, but you still did.”

“I told you, we both didn’t have school that day. Changbin had some royal duties to do, and he wanted you to be able to settle in as nicely as possible.” 

Hyunjin puffs, rolling his eyes, but his smile is big. “Yeah, yeah, I know, I know.”

Hyunjin had joined the palace when Chan and Changbin were 19 and 18 respectively. The two lovers had been dating for more than a year by then. 

The end of summer was approaching, and it was just announced that the eldest son of one of the most important nobles of the kingdom would be coming to live in the palace. He was a bit younger than Changbin, and Changbin (and Chan, as he was well known around the palace) received the task to take care of the noble boy. 

Hyunjin arrived mid September, so he could join the school Changbin just graduated from. He had changed options so he could study an option that mixed both his passion for dance and the training he should receive as a noble. His family had arranged with the royal family that he could stay over at the palace, as it was much closer to the campus than their own mansion.  

As Changbin couldn’t be there the day Hyunjin arrived, he had asked Chan to help Hyunjin unpack & visit the castle. Chan would also have an easier time easing Hyunjin in, his natural self being very calming. 

Hyunjin was a nervous wreck when he arrived at the palace. It was the first time he would stay so long in a foreign place that he’d have to call home for a good period of time. He knew it was for the best, but that hadn’t made him any less nervous. 

Hyunjin had been starstruck when he first met Chan, who helped him out. They unpacked all of his stuff, and tidied up the room that way that it represent Hyunjin’s personality. Chan got to know a lot about him that day, and he answered any question Hyunjin had. Even the questions about Changbin, which Chan answered with adoring eyes. The elder had been perfect to soothe Hyunjin’s nerves about living in the castle, and he felt much better when the evening came around.

He met Changbin during dinner, the other older boy presenting himself politely, with a smile. He was starstruck again, and couldn’t believe his eyes. He silently prayed he would be able to survive the two awfully good looking boys who he would be living with. Their looks 

When he saw their pinkies link, though, he thought he wouldn’t stand a chance with either of them. He was pretty much very wrong. All three of them got close over time, and then Hyunjin joined the duo of lovers, making it a trio.

Both smiled fondly as they remembered the period of their meeting, and all the memories after. They finish unpacking and Chan puts away their suitcases.

Hyunjin heads to the bed, taking in the fairy lights hanging around the bed. He couldn’t wait to see the effect it would give when it was darker outside. 

He startles as two arms sneak around his waist, and he turns around to meet Chan’s loving gaze. He puts his arms around the elder automatically.

“You scared me”, Hyunjin pouts. Chan just giggles in response, and pecks him on the nose.

“Sorry, love, I didn’t mean to.” 

“Wow, you really sound sorry”, Hyunjin answers in a teasing tone. 

“I really should have become an actor.” Hyunjin’s pout only grows bigger. Chan laughs and pokes the side of Hyunjin’s body, the younger jumping up as he does.

“Hey!”

They both dissolve into giggles, Hyunjin placing his head into the crook of the other’s neck. Chan gently rubs his back as they hug. 

“Hey, Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin hums in response. 

“Do you think Binnie took us here for a special reason?”

Hyunjin retrieves his head from the cozy spot it was in to look at Chan with confused eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Well, the first time I came here was for the second anniversary of Binnie and I dating. The second time was when we celebrated our first year anniversary with you and Binnie.”

Confused eyes look back at him.

“But our second anniversary just passed. And I organized this gateway with Binnie to get you and Minnie to rest for once.” 

“That’s true, but why here? He could have just taken us to the countryside, at your home, like we did last time. Why did he offer to do it here?” 

Chan can see the gears turning in the younger’s brain, and sees recognition pass his features.

“It is true that he was very adamant to do it here. I agreed because it’s more secluded and we will really have peace here. But still, When I offered to go back to Hwang's mansion, he tried to turn it down as nicely as possible. So it’s not exactly that far-fetched that he might be planning something.” 

Chan hums, thinking as well. 

“Well, if Binnie has something planned, we’ll know about it soon. It’s Binnie, after all.” 

Hyunjin nods in agreement. “Very true,” he answers, a big smile on his face. Chan can’t keep himself and gives the younger’s lips a peck. 

“Let’s see where the other two are?”

Hyunjin nods, links his pinkie with Chan, and both trod downstairs.

IV. Seungmin

Seungmin couldn’t possibly not be impressed with this. The cottage came right out of one of his favorite fairy tales. He was completely sold the moment he had seen the house, and his eyes were wide open the whole time. 

Changbin pulls the younger back inside after visiting the garden, which he claims is the garden of paradise. Changbin just chuckled, a fond smile on his face. 

They plan to go upstairs when they see Chan and Hyunjin come down from the stairs. Both seem to be relaxed, and Seungmin feels his own shoulders relax. His lovers are right; he should take a rest sometime. And if he can do it in such a beautiful place, with all of his favorite people, then he’d be okay with doing it more often.

“How do you find the place?” Hyunjin asks when he has reached the end of the staircase.

“It’s magical”, Seungmin practically exclaims. “The whole house seems like it came right out of one of my favorite fairy tales and the garden is pretty big, and we literally have direct access to the sea, I can’t believe it. And then we have the patio . Have you seen the patio? It’s so perfect for reading, I’m going to coop myself up there and read all the books that exist in the whole world.”

Seungmin’s enthusiasm is contagious, and all three of his lovers smile fondly at him. They haven’t seen him so eager about anything in a long time, and they all know it means that he’s actually relaxed. 

“I’ll show the bedroom tonight; we’ll have to head up at some point anyway. Let’s at least do it when I can turn on the fairy lights.” 

Seungmin turns to face Changbin and pouts. 

Changbin groans. “No, Seungmin, don’t pull the puppy-eyes trick on me. I am very hungry and I think we’d all like something to eat seeing it’s kind of nine in the morning, and we haven’t eaten breakfast yet.”

Seungmin tries to put up his best puppy eyes, when his own stomach growls. All three of them laugh as Seungmin pouts, a small blush adorning his cheeks. They tease him a little bit about it, but all four of them go into the kitchen and start upon breakfast.

After eating breakfast, all four of them take a stroll through the village located more to the centre of the small island. Chan drives the car, their voices uniting on the way as they sing along to a song played through Hyunjin’s phone. 

Changbin shows them the small spots that Chan and Hyunjin had already seen. This time though, they take their time checking everything out. Seungmin likes taking his time when discovering new places, and they are all eager to show the youngest around. 

A lot of villagers smile at them, and some even come forward to formally greet the crown prince and his lovers. Changbin stays to talk with them for a bit as the others continue their stroll. They don’t wander too far off so that their prince can easily find them back, though. 

They pass a small jewelry shop, and Changbin stops them to go inside; something about information about a formal stone reigning in his family tree. His three lovers glance at each other, confused looks on their faces, but they shrug it off. They enter the store with him, and check out the handmade jewelry displayed. 

Changbin enters a small private room inside, and they all patiently wait for him to return. Hyunjin seems to have noticed a small jewel in one of the showcases, and Seungmin and Chan trot beside him to look at it as well. 

Both of them gasp at the ring on display; it’s made of silver, embedded by small blue and red stones. It’s not big, it’s just a little bit wider than a simple, golden wedding ring. The colors entrance them, pulling them in, in a way. They’re fascinated by how something so simple can be so beautiful.

“What are all three of you gaping at?” Changbin’s teasing voice asks from behind them. They all jump, surprised by his sudden appearance. 

“Binnie, Binnie! Look at this ring! It’s really pretty.” Hyunjin pulls him over, Seungmin and Chan moving aside to leave space for him. 

Changbin’s eyes widen in realization, and a smile blooms onto his features. He nods.

“I agree. It’s really pretty.” He turns around, and grins at all three of them. “But you’re all prettier, though.”

They all roll their eyes at him fondly. 

“Let’s come back later? We haven’t finished visiting the rest of the village yet.”

Hyunjin pouts, but Chan chimes in. “Yeah, let’s visit the rest first. We can always come back tomorrow or later to pick it up. Let’s enjoy the view first?”

Hyunjin relents, but not without pouting. Seungmin makes it up to him with a quick peck on his lips, and Seungmin smiles. 

They fail to notice the grin the shop klerk and Changbin exchange before they leave the store, a silent agreement settling between them.

They wake up the next morning and decide to have a lazy morning. They stay in, bodies entangled in each other, warmth all between them. Lazy kisses are exchanged, soft caresses as well; for sure after the night they just spent together. 

They only get out of bed when lunch time comes around, and have a long brunch outside on the terrace. Chan bakes pancakes for all of them, and Changbin helps him prepare the eggs and milk and all other elements they all love to eat. Seungmin and Hyunjin set the table outside so they can enjoy the sunny weather that has draped over the island. 

They eat in comfortable silence, exchanging small talk here and there. The sun shines bright, but a soft breeze cools the heat. 

When they’ve finished, all take their sweet time to clear the table. They head back inside, change into their swimming trunks, take some towels and head to the beach. Chan adds a volleyball to the whole, Seungmin grabs two books he’s been meaning to finish. Changbin grabs a snorkel for all of them, even if he knows they’re not all gonna swim. 

They enjoy the rest of the afternoon on the beach, until it gets a bit colder and Seungmin and Hyunjin head back inside to grab some warmer sweats for all of them. The hoodies all suspectly resemble Chan's and Changbin’s hoodies, and even if they aren’t (which they are), they both have never bat an eye on the situation. 

He also brings his guitar with him and some wood, Hyunjin grabs Chan’s guitar, and some marshmallows and matches to light the fire.

They sing their hearts out under the stars, giggles ringing through the cold air of the night. 

The third day, the lovers all stay inside. The weather had taken a turn; the clouds had arrived during the night, after they went to sleep, and the rain started falling early in the morning. 

They take the liberty of eating and drinking warm food and drinks all day, and walk around in warm clothes (that they might or might not have stolen from one of the others). 

They play board games, read some books as well; After long whining, Seungmin was allowed to go over some elements for work, but not without supervision of Changbin. Seungmin takes the opportunity to ask the elder for some of his views on things as well. His boyfriend still is the crown prince, after all. 

Late into the afternoon they play a round of uno, and one turns into two, until they realize that they should maybe start upon dinner. Hyunjin groans at the cards at every round, only winning one of them. Even with all of them ganging up on Changbin, he still manages to lose. Changbin wins a total of two rounds, Seungmin wins one, and Chan wins three of them.

It’s now their fourth day on the island. The sky is blue, but you can see clouds further from the horizon arriving their way. The sun was out enough for both readers to sit outside to read, but both are wearing a hoodie to keep themselves warm.

Seungmin’s sitting on the patio, finally finishing a book he has been wanting to finish for so long. The tree hanging above the patio blocks part of the rare sunrays, but not all. The few sun rays that manage to slip through the leaves hit Seungmin’s shoulders softly as he sits on the outdoor sofa, Chan’s head on his lap. The elder is reading his own book, probably with the same reasoning as Seungmin. 

Their other two lovers are sitting inside, playing a card game. The weather has cooled down a bit today, and both opted to stay inside. A little bit too chilly for them. 

They’re all enjoying their time off, and it gives the two workaholics a change of pace. 

It’s nice, Seungmin decides. He definitely will go through with what he said before; he will try to not overwork himself too much anymore. And not only for his lovers, but also for himself; he knows that he needs it sometimes. This break was perfect to show him that it’s fine to take that time off when he needs it.

It has been a long while since he actually took some actual, proper time off. He’s beyond grateful for what Hyunjin and Changbin organized for them; He’s been enjoying every day of his break ever since their arrival.

Seungmin puts his book down and chuckles. The others perk up at the sound. 

Chan snorts softly. “What’s so funny, love?”

“Nothing much,” Seungmin responds, “I just remembered the day you guys asked me to live with all of you.”

“Oh,” Hyunjin smiles, “that mess.” 

“Yes,” Seungmin smiles back, fondly. “That mess .” 

“Okay but we handled that mess very well, thank you very much”, Changbin answers, pouting and crossing his arms as he does. 

“It was indeed a well organized, and wonderful mess ”, Seungmin chuckles.

They had been together for six months, all four of them. But they all would have told you that it felt like it had been for much longer. All boys felt complete, and their relationship became completely exclusive. 

Seungmin was more often at the palace then not. Most servants knew who he was, and he even had some spare clothing in his lovers’ room. Originally, Changbin and Hyunjin had their own, respective rooms, but when they started dating, Hyunjin spent more time in Changbin’s room together with Chan than anything else. 

So the three decided to keep Hyunjin’s room for other occasions, and they all moved to Changbin’s room, getting a bigger bed as well. It was some kind of preparation, and a lot of the palace staff were very eager to help. 

Even though Seungmin spent so much time at the palace, not everyone had always been very warm towards him. Chan and Hyunjin can attest that he’s not the only one, but those are only a few; and usually, either Binnie or his father ended up lecturing them. It was definitely not uncommon to have multiple lovers in their kingdom, but it didn’t mean that everyone had always agreed with the idea.

All in all, that’s what made Seungmin hesitant. He was at the palace every other day, and usually tended to sleep over often. And even though he had thought about actually living there, these last elements were what kept him from doing so.

Oh, and also the fact that his boyfriends hadn’t asked him to do so. He was scared that if he’d offer it, it would be much too fast. Even if it feels like they’ve been dating for more than six months, maybe the step of all living together would be taken too fast. And that definitely was the last thing he wanted to do: rush their relationship. 

So when a week later, all three of his lovers pulled him inside their room, put him on their bed and fixed him, he didn’t expect their demand.

“Look, Seungmin,” Chan started, “we have talked about this and we are really behind the idea but do know that it’s okay if you don’t want to yet or if you can’t answer us immediately; Honestly, you should really take your time because we were scared this could feel rushed or-”

“Chan, breathe.” Changbin interrupted him, and gave the elder’s shoulder a light squeeze. 

“As Hyunjin said, the question we’re going to ask you isn’t one to be answered on a whim, and we want to make sure that you know that you can take all your time to answer it. And don’t fret about your response being negative or positive. Take a decision that you feel most comfortable with.” 

Changbin looked at his lovers standing beside him, who smiled at him softly. Hyunjin took a deep breath, as did Chan. Changbin turned back to Seungmin, and opened his mouth.

“Do-”

“Do you want to come live with us, here, at the palace?” 

Changbin and Chan both turned their heads towards Hyunjin, both of their eyebrows raised at him, but a soft smile around their lips. 

Hyunjin’s cheeks turned a deep crimson, and he stammered out a response. “Sorry, I really just wanted to ask him! Why do you all make it so long and dramatic; this is not a competition show on tv!” Hyunjin pouts. He turns his head towards a wide-eyed Seungmin, who is still processing the question that was asked. 

“Look, Seungminnie. It’s true that we’ve been all together for only 6 months now, but all of this,” Hyunjin said, as he moved his arms to show all four of them,” just feels right. And I really think it’d be nice to have you over at the palace, with us. We do know this could feel rushed, so we want you to take your time upon deciding on an answer. We just want you to know that we feel completely okay with this, and would love having you with us. But again, take all your-”

“Yes.”

All three of the boys standing in front of Seungmin gape at him. “Wait, really?”

Seungmin takes a deep breath, and meets their gaze. “Yes, really. I agree that it maybe could feel like a rushed decision, but for me it isn’t. I really feel most comfortable when I’m around you guys and I’d love to live with all three of you, at the palace.”

The three elder lovers’ eyes blink multiple times, when a tear leaves Changbin’s eye. Seungmin bolts upright immediately, taking Changbin into his arms. Chan and Hyunjin immediately join, and they enjoy their embrace in comforting silence. They exchange some kisses, and they share their ideas on what could be done, all the while cuddling. 

The preparations of Seungmin’s move could start much later. Seungmin first had some lovers to kiss. 

Seungmin smiles as he remembers that day fondly. It wasn’t that much of a mess, but it was mostly really them . And that’s what he loved about them. 

They stay there, all thinking about their own memories, enjoying the cold breeze of the day. Ten minutes later, Changbin and Hyunjin head back inside. Something about preparing hot chocolate for everyone. 

Seungmin pushes Chan up from his lap, and the elder pouts at him as he sits upright. Seungmin stands up, and takes Chan’s hand to help him up. He pulls the elder close, and starts swinging softly. Chan joins him, both of their bodies close to each other as they hum the same song in each other’s ear. 

A sudden cold feeling in Seungmin’s nape makes him jolt, though. And then a second one, and then a third one; and then the rain comes pouring down onto them. Chan thinks of running inside, pulling Seungmin by his hand, but the younger one has other plans. He keeps Chan close, now actually hugging him. 

“Seungmiiiin,” Chan whines, “we’re going to get cold!” 

Seungmin softly grabs his face and inches forward. “I’ll keep you warm then.” 

He closes the distance, their lips meeting softly, and immediately moving in sync. They kiss softly and languidly for a while, their hair and clothes getting drenched in the rain. 

“Chan! Seungmin!” 

Both lovers separate their lips at the call of their boyfriend. 

“Get back inside! You guys are gonna get cold, and the cocoa’s warm! Now get your asses here before I come kick you both inside!” 

The two chuckle, but do detach themselves from each other. Their hands find each other and they link their fingers, right before running back inside, completely drenched. 

V. Changbin

To say that Changbin is nervous has to be an understatement. He’s shaking, nervousness stuck in his stomach showing him that he’s definitely nervous as hell . His tie seems to be too tight around his throat and he feels his sweat just drip down his back. 

But he pushes it all back down as he finishes his preparations inside the cottage. Two other villagers and Wooyoung were helping out inside, pulling up fairy lights as Changbin put in the place where he’d, well, pop the question. 

His three lovers are outside, taking a stroll in the village. A lot of villagers are helping inside the town to try and keep them all out of the house. Changbin said he’d stay back to take care of “prince duties” like he calls them. He tried to smooth it out saying he really couldn’t let this wait and that he’d be there when they come back. 

Changbin is so thankful towards the town; if it weren’t for them, he wouldn’t be able to organize this for the loves of his life. It’s true that the idea of going away was Hyunjin and Changbin’s, but this is Changbin’s only. There’s a reason he wanted to go to the island; it’s where all special occasions are celebrated and this is definitely an important event. 

Wooyoung is in the kitchen with Jihyo, one of the best patisserie makers in town. He came over from the main island to come help out with the preparations. As if he can sense his best friend’s nerves, he trots over to where Changbin was spacing out. He can see how nervous his smaller friend is, holding the box in his hand tightly until his knuckles are white. He calls out to him, giving him a small but soft back hug. 

“Binnie, breathe”, he reminds his best friend. He smiles as he feels Changbin letting out a shuddered breath. “You’ll be fine; they love you with all their hearts. It will be fine.” 

“But what if it isn’t? It’s still some kind of marriage for four people, four . And not everyone will be okay with it and I personally don’t care but I don’t want it to be a burden on them. Also, I’m going to be a king. Would they really want to stay stuck with me or at the palace, when I sometimes might be away for long periods of time?”

“Hey, hey, hey. Look at me.”

Wooyoung forces Changbin to turn around to look at his best friend, who has a stern but soft gaze. “First of all, they have been dating the crown prince for a while and never have seemed to complain at all whenever you had to leave for a while. Yes, Hyunjin could get whiny, but that’s the exact same when he has to leave back for his own hometown with you guys. And you know very well they can stand up for each other and that most of the palace staff has your backs; they’ll be there if someone’s being an ass to them, and then you can give them a worse punishment as king.” Wooyoung winks at it, and Changbin smiles faintly, showing Wooyoung he’s getting victorious. 

“And look, you said it yourself: you don’t care what others say. So why would they? You all care and love each other and that is no one else’s business than yours.” 

Changbin takes another deep breath, but this time it’s determined. Wooyoung’s right. He loves his three loves so much, and he knows he wants to spend the rest of his lifetime with them. It’s not marriage yet, just promise rings, but they mean everything to him. Their small break together gave them some quality time again after all their work, which they all needed. His love for them is beyond the sea, beyond the sky, and he wants to show it to them. 

Changbin looks at Wooyoung and nods, and his best friend beams right back at him. He settles his tie back properly, and that’s when they hear them. 

“They’re back, they’re back! Jihyo whisper-shouts from the kitchen. She has the window that goes onto the front of the cottage, so she was in charge of warning everyone when the boys would be back. 

Wooyoung gives his best friend’s shoulder a light squeeze before tumbling right out of the living room to go hide in the kitchen. He rushes Jihyo and the other two villagers out of the house, right in time when Changbin’s three stars enter the house. 

“Don’t worry Hyunjin”, Changbin hears Chan say, “We’ll find a necklace like that again, Jinnie.”

“We definitely will”, Seungmin agrees, and Changbin can hear them all shuffle to take off their shoes and jackets. “The flowers in your hair are beautiful, though. I definitely want to take more pictures of it later!” 

“Okay, okay”, Hyunjin answers, and Changbin can hear the pout in his words. He grins, knowing why Hyunjin pouts; the taller lover has no idea what to expect. 

“Why is it so dark in here? Binnie! We’re back!”

All three of them enter, and Changbin straightens up his back, a nervous smile on his face. The fairy lights are turned on, hanging all around the room, courtesy of Wooyoung, and he stands in the middle of the living room, flower petals all around him. 

Seungmin, Chan and Hyunjin all gape at Changbin, not expecting this at all. They don’t know how to react, but also don’t have a clue on what’s happening. 

Changbin clears his throat. “Can you all come over here? I’m too nervous to do this with all three of you more than five meters away from me.” 

In the flash of a second, all three of them are around him, and they link all of their pinkies, standing in a circle. It’s a habit of theirs for whenever one of them is nervous, or when they want to be close to each other without the heat of a total of three bodies. 

Changbin exhales out his nerves, and looks at them one by one. 

“I know this is probably just the slightest unexpected, but I have been thinking about this for a long time. And after all that thinking, I came to a conclusion." All three of his lovers look at him with an amused, but nervous smile. 

“I love all three of you so much-” Changbin chokes up slightly, and tries to pick up his breath again, a tear rolling down his face. “I love you all so much, and I really can’t imagine my life without all three of you.”

Another tear rolls down his cheek, and he can see that Hyunjin has followed suit. Seungmin and Chan’s eyes are misty, and Changbin has to blink multiple times before he can continue. 

“So hereby”, Changbin looks at them one by one, “Bang Chan, Hwang Hyunjin and Kim Seungmin.”

He unlinks his pinkies from their hands, drops down on his knee and pulls out the box with the rings in it. A tear strolls down Chan’s face, Hyunjin gasps, tears flowing over his cheeks and Seungmin has one hand in front of his lips, multiple tears leaking out of his eyes. 

“Would you make me the most lucky person in the world and promise me to stay by my side forever?”

The box opens, showing four silver rings with blue embedded stones. Hyunjin gasps as he recognizes the jewel he wanted to buy back at the jewelry store; it explains why the owner didn’t have any of the model anymore.

Changbin smiles shyly, and adds, “they’re not really wedding rings. Well, not yet. They’re promise rings. I’m allowed to ask you guys for marriage when I’m a king, though.” 

He looks up as he says the latter, smiling fondly at all three of his loves. 

Their heads all shake, too emotional to respond verbally. One by one, they receive their ring, Changbin sliding it on slowly. All three of them push the ring onto Changbin’s finger, and his smile could make the sun hide in shame. 

They’re all crying by now, happiness streaming through the room. Hyunjin is the first one to react, launching himself towards Changbin. The other two react in an instant, and quickly four bodies tremble from crying and laughter, all pressed together. 

“Yes,” they all think, “this is where and with whom I want to be for the rest of my life.”