Spring clad the Crystal Sphere in a kaleidoscope of colours. It came rushing in with a fluttering cape of pinks, yellows, and lush greens. Soon, Seonghwa's gardens donned their most adorable gowns and competed on who might wear the flower crown.

With the weather, his husbands also became perkier. Yeosang fitted the merrymaking outside. He sprouted matching wildflowers and his greens were lively and soft as silk. Seonghwa loved running his fingers over him at this time of the year.

Though Jongho didn't change his physical appearance, he seemed to groan less. The cold didn't seep into his limbs anymore and froze him from the inside out. He attracted the stable cats now that he spent hours outside heating in the sun.

San and Wooyoung barely stayed inside. They visited their people, Mulberry, went to do their daily activities out in the sun every day. Both glowed under it and Seonghwa was ever so awed to watch the rays of gold dance on their wings as the two shot through the blue skies dotted with lovely white clouds.

As the Spire of Magic settled into its new routine, Hongjoong found time to sneak away more often. He left things to his arch-mages and returned home to his crown prince to hug him close and worship him after the long nights of missing each other.

Though Mingi wasn't as interested in the sun since its light hurt the blindness of his eyes, he liked the warm breeze greeting them in the hallways. Sometimes, he sat on the balconies with Buddy, both with their eyes closed as they relished the wind in their hair. Sometimes, Jongho joined them.

It was sunny, but not yet unbearable for the delicate moon elf. As he relished in the first spring by his husbands' sides, he got swept away by their enthusiasm. They used every free second to play in the gardens and go on trips to the forests and nearby towns. Seonghwa showed them the lovely lake in the forest overhung by apple trees, and he accompanied Yunho on a dreamy ride through the Kingdom of Man where spring festivals shooed away the harsh winter.

With the seasons, the general mood of the folk also lightened. Seonghwa invited his husbands to visit their local festivities. Contrary to the humans, elves didn't celebrate the leaving of winter, but the arrival of yet another season blessed with its specific advantages. Fresh sprouts blossomed along the fields and the flower fairies rejoiced as they blessed everyone with woven accessories.

Seonghwa enjoyed watching the shift, though everything stayed the same. His tower of the night shrouded him in mysteries, luring his husbands back time and time again to sit at his feet and marvel at his serene beauty. Spring didn't touch upon Seonghwa, for his season was winter, but he livened up and dressed in the pastel hues of the flowers as often as he could.

San was obsessed with seeing him in sweet pink.

All the snow melted away to make way for a beautiful green landscape. Seonghwa liked to marvel at it while he wandered the corridors of quartz. Birds matched their song now and lulled Seonghwa with the loveliest melodies.

Upon Seonghwa's request, the servants adjusted the inner appearance of the Moon Castle. Where it usually stayed serene and elevated, he wanted it to appeal to his husbands the same way nature's lure did. Soon, Seungyoun arranged a grand bouquet of never-dying flowers on the table in Seonghwa's conversation pit. Flowers raked over the rounded passageways and adorned the corners. The balcony doors stayed open all the time for his husbands and their various purposes to transgress.

Seonghwa walked the corridors on yet another day with a placid smile. He watched San circling the skies outside, snowy wings brilliant under the expanse of blue. He was chased by a bunch of giggling fairies, shy little things who had taken a liking to his appearance during his sparring. Seonghwa spotted Yeosang on the ground, crown big and gorgeous as it rivalled the other trees in its beauty. Amused by the sight above, the dryad watched over Jongho and his pet rock.

Clad in a short gown that imitated the leaves of lush ferns and combined it with a breath of silk as fine as a spider's web, Seonghwa halted next to a flower vase. The pin Hongjoong brought as a gift the last time he returned adorned the twist of his hair. It was an amethyst rose, wrapped in gorgeous green vines. When Seonghwa smelled the flowers that spread their saccharine scent through the corridors to compete with him, it matched their velvety petals.

The song of the castle turned even sweeter. A few corners away, Mingi tilted his head where he sat in the sun, pointed ears enticed by its call.

Seonghwa rarely felt the glee of spring in his own spirit. Even as children, when Yongguk livened up as soon as the days got warmer and brighter and Seonghwa started to shine as the nights deepened, it brushed past him. He appreciated its beauty and spent hours staring up into the small leaves on his weeping willow's branches, but he never found one spring more compelling than the others.

Was it his husbands' glee that took him along like a rivulet in the forest? Or something else?

Seonghwa was about to turn on his heel and continue down the hallway to meet with his husbands for dinner when an inkling tickled at the back of his mind. He halted before the window showing off the luxuriant landscape and the glistening elven towns in the distance.

A tentative hand settled on his abdomen. He tilted his head, elegant updo caressing around his filigree circlet.

"Could it be? Is there someone else happy about spring?"

He went deep into the depths of his soul. Asked them a question and waited for the ripples to echo back. Seonghwa was made of stardust, of the night sky itself. Where it knew his fate, it also knew of every change in its cosmos.

And there was a change. A tiny seed, no more but a strawberry sprout in the grand scheme of his universe. It was so insignificant it would have slipped his attention for another while hadn't he stretched out purposeful feelers.

There it was, buried in his depths. Growing, changing, ever so curious in its warping as it never sat still.

New life.

Seonghwa pressed his second hand to his lips. He couldn't help his smile as he ran his fingers over the place where his womb lay hidden. He warmed it, greeted it with a fatherly touch.

"Hello, little one," he whispered in disbelief. He and Yunho took their task seriously. Whenever they found to each other - and Seonghwa would never disregard his other husbands - Yunho held him all night and ensured Seonghwa was sated by the time they parted. Hongjoong assured them he was doing his absolute best to guide the process, but only time would show.

Now that several weeks had passed and spring swept Seonghwa away with its excitement, their fruit showed. And Seonghwa had to bite his lip so he wouldn't squeal with joy.

He felt a core. A distant magical core that was so tiny and lithe, he could squash it between his fingers if he wanted to. Its thrum resonated with his own, matched the melodies of their souls.

A core undoubtedly belonging to a celestial elf.

Leaned against the window, Seonghwa took a moment to gather himself. His glee robbed his every strength, and his head was spinning.

By this timing, the sprout must have been planted on that first night. Less than fifteen moons from now, he would bear the child of this marriage. Of his love.

Feeling faint, Seonghwa leaned in the corner. Mingi found him there a few moments later, curious why the music changed. It rarely played such quick and merry beats. But just like Seonghwa, it didn't haunt in mysteries today. The delight of spring caught up.

"Seonghwa?" Mingi called, unsure of having found his presence when the flowers disoriented his sense of smell.

Seonghwa stretched out a hand. The other one still cradled his stomach.

"Come here, my sweet hawthorn. I might need your assistance to walk to the dining hall."

In an instant, Mingi was by his side. Concerned palms fretted over Seonghwa's sunken frame.

"Are you in pain? What happened?" His scary claws cradled Seonghwa's shoulders, running down his arms. They stilled on his stomach, eyes widening in panic.

Before he could turn and call for Hongjoong in fear, Seonghwa went on his tiptoes to kiss him.

"Fret not, my sweet. I merely can't contain my happiness. Help me gather the others, then I will announce it to everyone, yes?"

Though hesitant, Mingi complied. He took Seonghwa's hand and guided him with one hand on the wall, studying the deep dark lines Seonghwa had built into the blinding quartz for Mingi's eyes only so he could tell the corridors from the doors. Soon, they made it into the safety of his dining room. Seonghwa sunk into his chair and Mingi tensely stood by his side.

"Seungyoun, please send for my husbands," Seonghwa pleaded with a graceful smile. The servant scurried away to flag each of them down.

Seonghwa couldn't control his excitement. He shifted in his seat, eager to share the news. Hongjoong was here, as well; they could all have this together.

The new life of spring.

Playing nervously with Mingi's hand, Seonghwa reminded himself of his poise. The demon wasn't put off by his enthusiasm, rather worried.

Finally, everyone filtered inside one by one. They chattered with each other, sharing the marvels of the day and the beauty of nature. Jongho kept seeing new animals here now, and Yeosang explained each to him in detail. The rough, jagged mountains of the north offered a habitat only for limited races.

San and Hongjoong were the first ones to pick up on the odd display of Seonghwa vibrating in his seat and a helpless Mingi by his side. Then Yeosang cut himself off in the middle of his sentence and tilted his head.

"What is going on here?" San demanded to know, vigilant about any changes in their usual routine.

Seonghwa stood from his seat and rounded Mingi. With a soothing hand on his arm, he faced the crowd of his assembled husbands. Uncaring, Buddy broke formation to cosy up to the demon.

"I have an announcement to make," Seonghwa opened before they even sat down. His grin must have given him away because Hongjoong's eyes immediately dropped to his stomach. As usual, when his magic entered Seonghwa, it was so gentle, so careful not to disrupt the brilliant constellation of his soul. It searched for another match, for a new core.

Seonghwa spared him the effort. He settled a loving hand on his stomach, smiling so brightly that tears brimmed in his eyes.

"I am with child."

Seungyoun gasped the loudest. Immediately, he ushered the maids together in a corner, demanding they prepare a celebratory dessert as swiftly as they could.

But Seonghwa saw only his husbands and their faces of surprise. Though they knew he tried, they didn't know what to say now that his efforts bore fruit.

Yeosang was the first to shake it off. As usual, he was used to Seonghwa's many wonders. He came forward and enclosed Seonghwa in the softest hug that smelled of mosses and earth. The trembling, fragile elf made Yeosang chuckle.

"Congratulations, Hwa. I bet you will have such a beautiful heir," he breathed before he stepped back. Seonghwa's hands lingered in his.

"Thank you," he whimpered, voice breaking. When he hid away in embarrassment, the others couldn't help their grins.

"Imp," Mingi stuttered, awed. He still petted Buddy. Next to him, Wooyoung and San took their seats. Though both were interested, they weren't so agitated over the matter to overwhelm Seonghwa. Wooyoung reflected his support even when he was so tentative about the topic.

Jongho hummed as he followed Yeosang to his seat. He had many questions, but they waited until everyone settled to catch up.

First, however, Yunho sunk to his knees in front of Seonghwa. With wide, awed eyes, he stared at the flat of his stomach under his dress. So unassuming.

He held out trembling hands and Seonghwa let them smooth against his waist.

"My- my child," Yunho stuttered, hopelessly overwhelmed as father and husband to such a mighty being. Already, his unconditional love made Seonghwa surer than ever that he chose the right ones to love.

Hongjoong took Seonghwa's hand, kissed it.

"Again, you baffle us. Sit, our moonlight. Tell us how you feel."

Glad to share his overwhelming joy with their glee about spring, Seonghwa did just that.