Again, Seonghwa didn't get the rest he had looked forward to. The moment he passed the doors with Yunho by his side and Buddy's barks bounced off the walls of the castle, doors opened all around and his eager husbands streamed into the hallway like a swarm of bees. Wooyoung, ever the fastest, came running at Seonghwa. His talons shrieked on the crystal floor and Seonghwa lifted his arms with a wince, hoping the gryphon-born would use his wings to surge at him instead.

Just as Mingi walked into a wall and Seonghwa turned to tend to him instead, a portal opened right next to him and out stepped Hongjoong. A finger clad in black leather touched upon Seonghwa's chin and momentarily halted all thought process. Then the mage breathed a kiss upon Seonghwa's lips.

"Welcome back," the mage muttered with a seductive smile. His lidded eyes hung on Seonghwa's lips, uncaring of Wooyoung's indignant screech.

"Hello," Seonghwa smiled. He closed his arms around Wooyoung when he stubbornly came for cuddles, anyway. As he kissed his pouts over Seonghwa's cheek and glared at Hongjoong in the meantime, Seonghwa's eyes sought Mingi. Yunho had hurried to help him up and Jongho and Yeosang hovered nearby, ready for added support. As soon as Buddy licked Mingi's cheek, the demon was healed and stood with a smile.

San had slowed on the stairs and leaned against the railing. His smile was fond and his wings shone ghostly in the moonlight.

It was a sight most like home.

"Did you finish?" Yeosang asked as he led Mingi to where Seonghwa was. When the elf parted from the other two, they scrambled with matching grumbles so he could push Mingi's hair back and check his forehead. His horns cushioned the impact, but the demon still hung his head at the pity in Seonghwa's touch.

"I did. I have all the contracts signed and stored away safely. No more travels for now." He raked his fingers through Mingi's hair, petting him. The cheers of the others drowned out his alleviated smile.

"Then let's have dinner together! Tell us what you thought about our homes and which was the best." Wooyoung impatiently tugged at Seonghwa's sleeve. Convinced, Seonghwa let himself be dragged along. He held Mingi's hand, and the others followed, eager to spend time with him.

"Definitely not your place," Seonghwa snickered. Hongjoong's triumphant smirk had Wooyoung swat at him, only to be zapped in return.

"One second before you indulge us with your stories, dove. But I must address this matter before I lose my mind. Did anyone here know Seonghwa can get pregnant?" Yunho said as they entered the dining room. Seonghwa sat with a sigh. The cat was out of the bag. So far, the matter hadn't concerned them, but now that Yunho mentioned it, everyone had an opinion.

"What are you, stupid?" Hongjoong asked as he sunk into his chair. Obviously, he knew, and he was done with the topic as soon as he reached for his wine chalice.

Wooyoung, on the other hand, fell over the leg of his chair.

"What?!"

Yunho nodded grimly.

"You heard right."

In matching shock to Yunho earlier that day, Wooyoung stared at Seonghwa in marvel. By his side, Jongho tugged his chair out.

"Isn't that how you procreate? What is the shock about?" The golem asked, peeved since their people were made by a spell bringing a rock to life.

"But- But he's a man!" Wooyoung exclaimed, staring down at Seonghwa as if he had to remember if he missed something.

"Elves are hermaphrodites, like most plants. They come from nature, so they also grow like nature. If necessary, they can impregnate and get pregnant, no matter their sexual organs." Yeosang dropped the casual information on them.

Floored, Wooyoung gawked at Seonghwa. He wasn't repulsed, but his surprise came without the blush Yunho had sported.

"Speaking of, how do you father offspring?" Yunho asked. San, next to Yeosang, didn't comment, not foreign to that information. Mingi cluelessly scratched his horns.

"Me? Oh, you know. We grow seed in the form of berries and blossoms. They fall to the ground where the earth nurses them. Once our scions grow up, they develop the ability to shift. We are dryads from the moment we are born," Yeosang explained merrily.

Yunho grimaced.

"I don't know why I asked."

"So, what, you can get pregnant? Just like that? Anytime someone, you know." Since it was the dinner table, Wooyoung didn't spell it out loud. He saved himself with a vulgar gesture of his hands in front of his groin instead. A faint blush settled over Seonghwa's cheeks.

"It's not that easy. Male elves have an extra muscle inside that we can open and close depending on what we look for in coupling. The only way your seed can enter my womb is if I relax that muscle. No accident can happen."

Baffled, Wooyoung plummeted into his chair. By his side, Yunho's shock held on.

"But we are nowhere near that time," Hongjoong reminded everyone at the table before their minds could wander. "Our bond is fresh and we are still accustoming to each other. Until there is an actual need for an heir, we shan't pressure Seonghwa. He will tell us when he is ready and if I catch any of you trying to force him..." He lifted his knife in warning, beckoning it around the table. The dark glint of his eyes sent chills down their spines.

San frowned at the sorcerer.

"Seonghwa is not a breeding ewe. The only reason we would have to defile his body with something so vulgar as our seed is for an heir, no more, no less," he said. The grumbles around the table didn't quite agree, but they shared the sentiment. Even when the topic appeared out of nowhere, it wasn't of concern. Not now and not for a long time.

For a while, the table cast in tense silence. Wooyoung regarded every male elf who brought their food with wide eyes, and Yunho whispered to Buddy.

The topic was already gone from Seonghwa's mind and he focused on his preparations for the upcoming ball when Mingi addressed it again.

"So Seonghwa can make imps? The little ones?"

Seonghwa's smile softened. Mingi wouldn't know what a pregnancy looked like or how the components matched together.

"Your hell spawn is the last we need in him," Hongjoong hissed. San glared as well, but Seonghwa leaned his face into his hand.

"I can. We call them darkspawn, since couplings with demons are most common in dark elves. They keep their horns."

Mingi made a choked-up sound of endearment. His curiosity was simple, not imposing on Seonghwa, and the elf had to admit how sugary the image was in his mind.

"Elves cross notoriously well with other races, don't they?" Hongjoong asked, turning his head toward Seonghwa once more. When their food floated in, Seonghwa busied his hands as the knowledge from countless lessons came flooding back to him.

"We do. Since we are birthed from the nature that is so close to all life forms, we are instinctively an excellent match. Though our bodies are lithe, we can endure much more than humans, and our genes mix well with others. In the past, elves were popular slaves for that very reason. Few seek to kill an elf, but the desire for rape crosses everyone."

Seonghwa didn't say it to garner pity. Those stories were the past and though disgusting creatures like that orc existed and hunted elves to this day, it was not a crime to blame easily.

San hissed and Jongho's flaming eyes flashed in alert.

"Elves are dignified and prideful. Breaking them is a fun to many, historically mostly orcs. The goblins that lurk under bridges and holes in the earth are the hellish result that comes of such abuse."

Uncomfortable silence spread throughout the room. They all knew how common goblins were, how their numbers grew like spiders, and each time one was slayed, another hundred appeared. There was no getting rid of them.

The most prominent reason the orcs could never be part of the empire was their constant kidnapping and raping, taking what they wanted to cultivate their kin.

San remained quiet over the orc encounter he witnessed. It was too late now to hunt down that mercenary and seek answers or demand an apology. Many others who weren't as lucky as Seonghwa suffered that very fate.

"I think I'm good without children," Wooyoung said to break the grim spell overshadowing them. With his ring on his hand, he snuggled up to Seonghwa's arm. "I can be your darling to nurse and pamper."

"You already are," Seonghwa chuckled. He made a reminder to buy Wooyoung something nice soon for his patience.

San scowled at the cheeky gryphon-born.

"As I said," Hongjoong repeated, irritated, "Seonghwa is not our plaything and we are to serve him in this matter, not the other way around. Whomever he picks to conceive an heir - as if the obvious strongest lineage isn't clear - shall fulfill his duties without hurting him."

They concurred in unison this time. Though Mingi seemed sad about no imps, he didn't word that wish out loud.

Glad that the matter resolved itself and none of them pushed him to gift them children (aside from Yunho's mother), Seonghwa finished his food. He directed the conversation to more light-hearted topics, asking them how they fared in their time without him.

Wooyoung and Yunho had bonded over shared pet ownership and Yunho got to meet Mulberry.

Jongho's and Yeosang's friendship was 'strong as a rock.... And a tree.'

Mingi said he looked forward to building better relationships with the others as he overcame his shyness. Yeosang snickered at him.

As for Wooyoung and Hongjoong, they confessed their eternal hatred for each other with a shared glare, but Seonghwa felt the fuel behind their heat had changed.

After dinner ended, everyone dissipated. Hongjoong's eyes lingered on Seonghwa's back and Yunho's hand brushed the exposed strip of skin on his waist, offering to catch up with anything they hadn't got done in his parents' bed. Wooyoung winked at him thrice.

Seonghwa ignored their questioning offers and parted from them in the hallway. It was his revenge for being teased when he had mustered the dignity to approach them first.

"I will wash up and rest; let's talk about my future preparations in the morning." His gaze strayed over them and got stuck on San. The message got received after his eyes lingered for a beat. Then Seonghwa turned on his heel to march into his room.

Finally in his own four walls, the elf didn't wait to make it to his closet to undress. He took off his circlet and heavy earrings and dropped them into the conversation pit while passing by. His blouse landed on the ground, then the fluttering fabric of his pants.

He stepped into the bathroom naked as day. Seungyoun had prepared it for him, heating the water hot enough for Seonghwa to enjoy but not to damage his coldness-loving skin.

As the name suggested, all of Seonghwa's bathroom was the bath. Towels sat on a drawer behind the door, but right next to it, three steps led into the large rectangular pool. The water shimmered like the stars and smelled heavenly of moonflowers. Seonghwa waded inside to find it at the perfect temperature. The heated stones of the pool kept it level.

A large, round full moon fell through the window to bathe him in its light. The lonely shape of a person circled before it, majestic in flight and worth a painter's every breathless second.

Seonghwa pushed the window open and moved back. He tugged the pins from his hair and placed them on the dry ground one by one, turning his back to the rush of cold winter air that hit his back.

A moment later, two feet delved into the water and the window shut. San's white clothes became transparent when doused and he waded over to engulf Seonghwa in his arms and kiss his neck just before his hair cascaded down his back.

"Hello," Seonghwa purred at him as he lowered the last pin. He turned in San's arms and the angel surged to kiss him as soon as their chests aligned. Seonghwa drowned in his scent and the brilliant shine of his wings as he relaxed in those arms and allowed San to lead him to the deeper end of the pool so he could lovingly help the elf wash up.