After dinner and so much dog petting Seonghwa believed the texture of their fur was permanently embedded into his hands, Yunho's parents ushered them to bed early. They didn't wait for the moon to reach its peak and bathe Seonghwa's skin in its glow. Since a long journey awaited them the next day, they provided all the blankets stored in their house to the two visitors and retreated onto the bench. After building their nest, Seonghwa heard them whisper with each other for a while before they fell silent.

Sleep wouldn't embrace Seonghwa. Perhaps he was too distracted by the snoring of the dogs, perhaps he was nervous about sleeping with Yunho's parents around. Though Seonghwa was an expert at beguiling others, he hesitated this time. He didn't want his glamour to fool them, or his voice. He genuinely wished they accepted him by Yunho's side.

Seonghwa rolled to his side, shaking off the thoughts that kept him awake. A sigh stifled in his chest when his eyes were alert as ever.

Behind him, Yunho shifted. The blankets rustled, and then a muscular arm wrapped around Seonghwa's waist. Doting lips pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. Their warmth made Seonghwa shudder.

"Can't sleep?" Yunho whispered against his skin. He cradled Seonghwa's body to adjust them until Yunho's larger frame aligned with the elf. Swaddled into his embrace, Seonghwa hummed.

"I can make you tea if it helps."

Seonghwa pondered it but ultimately shook his head. When he turned around to wrap his hands around Yunho's neck, the human readily accepted his kiss.

"Can you hold me?" Seonghwa asked as he nuzzled into Yunho's throat, leaving soft kisses in his wake.

Yunho made an undefined sound.

"I- I can't."

Puzzled, Seonghwa pulled back. He searched the other for injuries, but found Yunho as regular, just lacking a smile in the dark.

"Why not?"

"Not while my parents are outside!" Yunho whisper-yelled, eyes wide with terror. Blinking, Seonghwa glanced at the curtain.

"So? It's not as if they will hear us over the snoring of the dogs if we keep quiet. I can stifle my voice." With a fond roll of his eyes, Seonghwa cuddled closer, but Yunho's fingers held his hips at bay stiffly.

"B-but... This is also their bed."

Seonghwa's lingering desire, that hadn't been fed in so long, evaporated. Since Yunho was so disturbed by the suggestion, Seonghwa's bewilderment outgrew anything else.

"... and?"

"I can't do it in my parents' bed!" Yunho claimed, indignant at Seonghwa's nonchalance.

"Why not? It's not as if they are in here right now."

"Because that's where they sleep!"

"It's a bed," Seonghwa deducted. He wondered if Yunho was the one deprived of sleep.

"It's not any bed, it belongs to them. It would be nasty to use it for that." Huffing, Yunho stuck to yet another odd human custom.

Caught in a standoff of cultural differences where neither understood the other, Yunho just stared at Seonghwa. Then, after a long, agitating silence, he dropped his frown. When he reached for Seonghwa, the elf confusedly let himself be kissed.

"Let's just sleep and do these things back in your castle," he grumbled. Worried enough not to be frustrated, Seonghwa conceded. He snuggled up against Yunho and waited for sleep to come.

-

The clatter of pots and the scent of food woke Seonghwa. When he sat up to blink against the light falling through the corners of the curtain, Yunho grumbled at the loss of his warmth after he spent all night holding Seonghwa. While the elf braided his hair, Yunho woke begrudgingly and got dressed. They emerged refreshed from the night and found Seonghwa's mother working at the stove. His father had disappeared together with the dogs.

"Good morning," she smiled at the two sleepy men as they huddled on the bench together. Seonghwa shivered at the loss of warmth and leaned his shoulder against Yunho's.

"I'm making stew with fresh peas. You two take your time waking up."

"He doesn't eat meat," Yunho mumbled before she would put any inside. With a grateful hum, she set the chunks aside to fill into their broths later.

"Did you have a good sleep?"

"My dove is a night owl, but we found some rest. Father's out with the dogs?"

"Yes, he had an errand to run, so he took them for a walk." She put the bowls and bread in front of them and, though it was no spectacular feast, the scent of home filled Seonghwa's chest with sincerity.

Yunho's mother sat with them and they ate, the flaring sleeves of Seonghwa's beige blouse pushed back. He wore it combined with a loose pair of pants, leaving a sliver of his stomach bare to show off the silver chains glinting on his skin.

"While he is gone, I can't help but ask. Forgive me if this question might be impolite."

Seonghwa nodded her to go ahead, prepared for anything that required unabashed curiosity.

"What about grandchildren? I am an old woman and I looked forward to such rays of delight before I passed. But now that Yunho married a man, can my wish still come true? Is it common to take concubines to continue the bloodline and is there such a way for Yunho to do the same?"

Yunho choked on his stew. With his face red as the pepper in his bowl, he flicked his wide eyes for his mother to swallow her words.

"You can't ask him that! That's a political matter. If children aren't part of their royal plans, there is nothing us small people can do."

Seonghwa soothed them with a smile.

"You are no small person anymore, Yunho. Remember that." He turned to the woman, eyes patient when she feared to have stepped out of line.

"If the bloodline ended with me, there would be no sense in marrying men. Fear not, mother, you can have grandchildren. But I don't think we are ready for that yet."

Yunho stared at him like a fish.

"What?" He asked, tongue lame around the word. When his mind spluttered and reeled but came to no conclusion, his mother helped him out.

"Elves can bear children? Or rather, male elves can?"

"We can, yes," Seonghwa sat as he ripped a piece from his bread slice to dunk it into his soup. "It doesn't happen the same way it does for human females, but we can conceive children and bear them healthily. Hence why there are so many mixed elven races."

"Oh!" She clasped her hands over her heart when the thought caught up with her. "That is so adorable. A child, yours and Yunho's, that's a dream come true. I know just what you need. Give me a moment." She stood to scurry to the backroom and rustle through the chests in there. Peacefully in wait, Seonghwa gauged Yunho's reaction.

Because of his social rank that limited his education, he wasn't versed with other races to know this detail. Nor would he expect it to be the case, as male humans couldn't do the same no matter the circumstances.

"You can get pregnant?" Yunho asked once more, just to make sure. His face was pale as a sheet and his hand cramped around his bowl.

Once more, Seonghwa nodded.

"It can't happen by accident if you're worried about that. I make the conscious choice to open access to my womb, so nothing will happen to me until I want it to. The rest of the journey is the same for anyone."

"Womb," Yunho echoed, dumb by that piece of information. He was still out of it when his mother came hurrying back with a blanket. It was old and too small to fit a grown person. Some stains of age discoloured the edges, but it was clean and well-loved.

After sitting, she presented it to Seonghwa. A dog was embroidered on top, facing the beholder with a cheerful expression.

"This is the blanket I used to wrap Yunho in when he was a wee little lad. I wanted to give it to you as a memoir, but now I beg you to take it. Please. You would make an old woman very happy if I could see a child born from you two engulfed in it one day."

Yunho's mouth opened and closed. As soon as he thought about procreating with Seonghwa, his mind stepped into an inescapable void.

Ever so unperturbed since this wasn't news to him and he knew his body, Seonghwa accepted the blanket.

"I will cherish it. One day, my lineage must live on. I can't promise you that child will be one of my husbands' or even that I am the one to conceive it, but this blanket will be my precious memory of a young Yunho."

Touched, Yunho's mother reached across the table to squeeze Seonghwa's hands in hers.

"Thank you, my dear. I will look forward to any word you carry our way," she smiled with wet eyes. Helpless, Yunho uttered something to soothe her, but he was the one who looked as if he got hit by an avalanche.

"I hope they shall be favourable," Seonghwa agreed.

He wasn't put off by the idea of children. He grew up knowing that one day, he would have at least one heir, and it played no role whether he liked his partner. Now that he got to know his husbands, he was confident he would adore a child with them. But for now, it was much too soon.

Though he should address his biology towards anyone else who might not have known.

By the time Yunho's father returned, Yunho looked normal enough they could pretend the topic never came up. They talked some more about the human realm and about the price of land. Seonghwa was interested to hear the point of view from those who followed their own kingdom's regulations.

Before the sun climbed to its peak, Yunho and Seonghwa prepared for their departure. Seonghwa whistled for his unicorn and Yunho hugged every one of their dogs with cooed promises he would return soon.

This time, Seonghwa received hugs from Seonghwa's parents. They treated him as their own and Yunho's baby blanket was secure in his bag when he waved his goodbyes at them.

Yunho took a moment to stomach the goodbyes. He wiped his eyes and nose with his sleeves and his mother cradled his face with sweet assurances that he could visit anytime.

Respectful, Seonghwa lowered his eyes to the neck of his unicorn. He was at fault they had to part, but now that Yunho took this path, there was no return. The most Seonghwa could do was to arrange for regular visits and invite the families of his husbands to the palace occasionally.

Once Yunho gathered his wits, he mounted his horse. His smile was soft when he waved at his parents, who stood arm in arm in front of their little cottage with the dogs strewn around them.

"Be healthy. I look forward to our next meeting," he called. As soon as his horse started its trot, Buddy jumped along their side, ready for another adventure.

Seonghwa waved back at them, as well, towering on his unicorn with his back straight and pose regal.

Soon, they left the pair to their daily business and rode the field paths homeward. Yunho's heart was heavy, so Seonghwa left him to his peace while he watched the landscape travel past.

Finally, he had gathered all the contracts. His husbands got recognised as each country's spokesperson and diplomats responsible for upholding their peace with Seonghwa. In the same way, he was responsible they didn't claw out each other's throats or planted misery through the others.

There was no competition to win and even if there was, he could let no one succeed over the rest.

Soon, he would have to organise a royal ball to celebrate the occasion. It was another step towards his coronation and another proof of his stability as a crown prince.

But once he got home, Seonghwa just wanted to rest for a while. He wanted to catch up on sleep, take a long bath, and listen to the usual bickering of his favourite people.

On their way to the Crystal Sphere, he went through a list of names in his mind of all the people he had to invite. There were more and Seungyoun had scrolls of them, but Seonghwa needed to make sure everything was taken care of once he made his next public appearance.

Motivated for this new chapter of his life now that he was assured of his husbands' support, Seonghwa took them back into the lands of magic and whispers, where the forest sang for him and the faeries rode on Buddy's back to relish the wind in their glimmering hair.