Ok so this is actually the last chapter :'( I'm sorry if it seems abrupt/rushed but I just have no more plot left in me, even this one was a struggle. if somebody has a specific scene/situation they want to see I'd be happy to write it into a bonus chapter! but other than that the story is basically done. thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!! <3 <3
It was one of those rare moments where Yeosang and San were alone together. It was in the evening--Yeosang had finished all he wanted to do for the day and Wooyoung was spending time with his tall servant friend, so San and Yeosang had the library all to themselves.
"Do you spend a lot of time here these days?" Yeosang asked while he browsed the shelves, San trailing behind.
"Some," San said.
"I suppose you have been in the training room a lot, too. Perhaps you could go there with Wooyoungie."
"No, I haven't been training much."
"Oh." Yeosang cocked his head. "But I thought..."
"Prince, I have something to tell you."
"King."
San gave Yeosang a glare that told him 'not the time'.
"Sorry," Yeosang giggled. He put down the book he'd been looking at, giving his lover his full attention. "What is it?"
San then told Yeosang about how he and Wooyoung had gone to see the doctor, insisting that he didn't want to worry Yeosang until they knew for sure that the damage was permanent. He analyzed Yeosang's expression carefully.
"Oh, San," Yeosang said sadly. "I am sorry that happened to you."
"Don't be," San dismissed. "It's fine. Don't be sorry, Wooyoungie already blames himself."
"He should not. It is the fault only of my mother."
"I agree."
"The knighthood would surely accept you if I made them," Yeosang suggested. "Though, I am certain you would not want that."
"No, I wouldn't."
Yeosang hugged him. He fit so perfectly in San's arms. "You do not have to work at all, you know." Yeosang pointed out. "I will take care of you."
San smiled. Yeosang had everything yet he wouldn't hesitate to give the same to the ones he loved. "I love you, did you know that?"
"Of course I knew that." Yeosang's words were muffled by San's shoulder. "And I love you, too."
The door opened and they parted from their hug to see Wooyoung enter. Yeosang looked puzzled. "I thought you were with..."
"Yunho," Wooyoung finished. "Yes, I was, but..." He smiled a bit sheepishly. "I missed you two."
You two. Not just Yeosang, but San, too.
"San was just telling me about your little secret," Yeosang said.
"San made me promise not to tell you!" Wooyoung said defensively.
Yeosang laughed. "I have no doubt about that."
San glared at Wooyoung. Traitor. Not that Yeosang was mad, anyway.
Yeosang looked at them both. "Now that you are here, Wooyoungie, shall we start a new book?"
~~~
Yeosang had sent Princess Yuna word about San's return soon after he came back, and it seemed that she finally received it and wanted to come visit.
"As long as she does not try to take you back, I will be happy to see her," Yeosang told San, only half-joking.
"She wouldn't do that. I'm just hoping that she doesn't bring that brother of hers along," San said with distaste. Wooyoung was quick to agree.
Truthfully, Yeosang wouldn't be bothered even if the prince did come, for he now had both Wooyoung and San watching over him.
~
It seemed that one way or another--probably because of their mother--Jongho ended up finding out about Yuna's upcoming visit. He showed up in the throne room. Coincidentally, nobody else was around. Not even Wooyoung, who had gone off to do something with San.
"Hello, brother," Jongho said, lingering in the doorway.
Yeosang raised his eyebrows. "We are still brothers? You have not spoken to me in weeks."
Jongho looked everywhere but Yeosang. "I thought you would not have wanted to speak to me."
"You were correct." Yeosang watched Jongho hesitate for a few more seconds, thinking that he deserved to feel that awkwardness, before finally inviting him in.
Jongho took a few steps inside, still keeping his distance. "I came to apologize for what I did before. I know you will not believe me but I do regret it. And..."
Yeosang waited for him to go on.
"I also wanted to see whether the Princess would be willing to speak with me when she arrives," Jongho finished.
Yeosang wanted to cry. His brother wasn't sorry, he was more concerned with Princess Yuna.
"She will not want to see you, Jongho," Yeosang said.
Jongho looked so desperate. With tears in his eyes, he looked so much younger. Like the baby brother Yeosang known before. "I know," Jongho admitted. "But perhaps you could ask, anyway?"
"Fine," Yeosang said, struggling to keep his voice cool and collected. He just wanted Jongho to leave already so he could lock the door and cry in solitude.
"Thank you." Jongho bowed his head. "I am sorry."
Perhaps Yeosang was getting better at controlling his emotions because only a single tear fell after Jongho left. He wiped it away quickly. He couldn't trust his family anymore, but that was alright. He had something better.
~~~
San had a very similar reaction to Wooyoung when Yeosang told them about the favour he was doing for Jongho. They were gathered in Yeosang's bedroom rather than the library; Yeosang claimed he wanted to fall asleep as Wooyoung read to them without worrying about making his way to his bed later.
Wooyoung took the middle space on the bed--he thought he should be in the middle since he was the one reading, with Yeosang and San on either side. Yeosang cuddled right up to him while San stayed a bit farther away, but not by much.
At the moment, however, all eyes were on Yeosang.
"How could you forgive him so easily?" San asked.
"I did not forgive him," Yeosang defended, his jaw set.
Wooyoung spoke up. "Doing favours for him certainly indicates that you will."
"He is my brother," Yeosang said. "Besides, I spoke to Yuna right before we left the castle and there is no way she will want to speak with him. Perhaps I simply want to see the look on his face when I tell him so."
San shook his head. "You are not that malicious."
"Indeed," Wooyoung agreed.
Yeosang crossed his arms. "With you two teaming up against me, I almost miss when you hated each other."
Wooyoung laughed, and so did San. Yeosang had always said that Wooyoung and San were similar; he knew what he was getting into. "Too late," San teased.
"Just start reading," Yeosang muttered to Wooyoung.
With a smile on his face, and pulling Yeosang closer, Wooyoung did as he asked. He read to them a story of love and adventure, sure to have a happy ending, as he knew those were always Yeosang's favourites. By the time he'd finished the chapter, both Yeosang and San had fallen asleep.
Wooyoung wasn't very tired but he didn't dare move from his spot; he just took in their sleeping faces, both so beautiful in their own way, until the candles died out and he drifted off, too.
~~~
Months passed. Enough time that the winter weather had turned much warmer. Which was good, because the ceremony was outside. It was just a small one; not everybody cared about the formal appointment of the Captain of the Guard, but Yeosang sure cared. San, too, of course.
It was bittersweet. San knew that he claimed he'd get jealous of Wooyoung and Yeosang constantly being together, but that never quite came to be. San liked being able to just stroll into whatever room Yeosang happened to be working in and know that Wooyoung would be there, too.
"Jongho is here," Yeosang murmured to San. San looked and sure enough, the prince was lingering at the far end of the courtyard.
"Princess Yuna isn't coming again, is she?" San joked.
Yeosang winced, probably also remembering the very public reckoning the princess had given Jongho those months ago. He deserved the humiliation, though--even Yeosang agreed.
"Perhaps he truly does want to make things right," Yeosang said. San could hear the hope in his voice, even if he tried to pass the remark off as casual.
"Perhaps. Just be careful," San warned. Though he did have to admit, it did count for something that Jongho was still there even when there was no hope of Yeosang helping him with Yuna.
Before they could say any more, it was time for Wooyoung's special moment. He was all dressed up in his fancy guard's uniform, and people stood in neat rows to watch him receive his badge.
Wooyoung wasn't used to being the centre of attention, that much was apparent. When he spotted San and Yeosang standing in the front, his cheeks turned slightly pink. Yeosang grabbed San's hand, and San could tell they were both thinking the same thing. Wooyoung is adorable.
The General made a small speech. It was clearly getting harder and harder for Wooyoung to keep his stoic guard's persona because he kept looking over at them and trying not to smile. San just wanted to run up there and hug him. But no, this was Wooyoung's moment and his alone.
When it was over, Yeosang and San watched several people congratulate Wooyoung on his new position before everyone dispersed throughout the courtyard. Finally free, Wooyoung came right up to them. He kissed Yeosang with a smile on his face. "I do not know how you do it, always being in front of crowds much larger than this one."
San wasn't jealous that Wooyoung didn't kiss him, too. He knew it would be his turn later, behind closed doors.
"I am used to it," Yeosang said. "I have had such attention from the moment I was born."
"You'll have to get used to it, too," San pointed out teasingly. "Won't you be making monthly speeches in front of our soldiers?"
He barely even registered the significance of what he said. Our soldiers. Aurora was his home now, even if he grew up in Cheshire.
"Must you be so annoying as to constantly remind me?" Wooyoung groaned.
San shrugged. "Just trying to help you prepare yourself."
Yeosang shoved San lightly. "Do not worry," he said to Wooyoung. "San will be there to support you at every one of your speeches, won't he?"
"Oh, yes." Wooyoung's condescending tone and smile were annoyingly attractive. "Our unemployed lover will have nothing better to do, will he?"
San gasped. "Now you've gone too far!" Wooyoung would regret all this teasing later, San promised himself that.
~~~
At first, Yeosang felt disappointed when Wooyoung and San started up their bickering again not long after they returned. The two managed to find something to argue about almost every day, much to Yeosang's annoyance. Then, slowly, he realized that the bickering was just another way that they showed affection.
Now, as long as they didn't tease Yeosang the way they teased each other, Yeosang was completely fine with it. He knew he had nothing to worry about--they showered him with nothing but love.
The three spent so long in their own little bubble in the courtyard that everyone else had vanished by the time they decided to head inside. That happened quite often.
It was strange; after all this time, they had never explicitly spoken about whatever it was they had between the three of them. Perhaps they should have, but what would be the point when things fell into place naturally?
Like how, more often than not, San ended up falling asleep in Yeosang and Wooyong's room. They may as well call it San's room, too, at this point, because he was there so much.
The kingdom may have gossiped constantly about the three of them, but Yeosang didn't care. He loved both Wooyoung and San, and they loved him back. Perhaps they didn't love each other, but they had some sort of physical chemistry that said they one day might. All in all, Yeosang had everything he'd ever wanted and more; he truly was spoiled.
Help that last line kinda made me want to puke a bit but what can I say, I unapologetically love cheesy endings ahaha