✤
chan stood in front of a tall mirror that had a golden frame, watching carefully how seungcheol fixated the suit that was made for him. the king had asked the finest sewer in town to make him a suit, now they ran out of time before the annual yule would take place. and to their surprise, it had came out even more beautiful than they expected it to be.
"you look like a full grown prince." seungcheol said to the boy, patting him on his shoulder once he was done adjusting the suit so chan would wear it correctly.
it was for the first time the young boy was able to wear clothes from such wealth. saying he felt proud of himself was an understatement. with his chest puffed, wiping the wrinkles out of the finest fabric, chan felt like a grown up man. even when he was among the only orphanage teenagers in the castle, chan felt like any other regular adult.
"let me comb your hair again, seungcheol made it all messy when he put you your suit on." while the king still stood beside the boy, jeonghan took place on the other side of chan, grabbing a gentle hold of the back of his head. with a golden accentuated comb, jeonghan ensured chan's hair to be in shape for the rest of the night.
it was seungcheol who first noticed something rather beautiful. as he looked in the mirror, he saw the picture of them being a family. chan radiated more genuine happiness than he had ever done before and he doubted he had ever seen jeonghan sparkling this much either. the warmth that filled his chest on the reassuring thought was irreplaceable, making their night even more worth treasuring.
"don't we look like a family to any of you?" seungcheol asked to whoever felt the need to answer in general, having his gaze still fixated on the peaceful scenario in the mirror.
"we sure look like a royal family." chan said, his eyes sparking even more pride than they already did. "you two would make good fathers together."
it were those words that had both seungcheol and jeonghan looking up as they gave each other a heartwarming look, sincerely touched by chan's words. seeing jeonghan's former situation, he now finally seemed to find more warmth within the castle, brought to him by both the man he loved and the boy who brought so much happiness to everyone.
"i could be your faithful crown prince if i were actually your son." chan breathed out, his eyes mesmerized as they were glued to his enchanting suit. it was a little too perfect to seungcheol, as if it wasn't meant to be; like they were bound to break anyhow. yet it was also something seungcheol wished to hold onto for as long as he could.
as long as nothing would get in their way, he might be able to keep jeonghan under his wings of safety. he would even be able to give the orphanage boy an even more home-like environment. even when chan seemed to love wandering through the high hallways of his castle, he wished to give him something more soothing and warm; something that would resemble an actual home.
"chan, there's an important task i want to give you. will you take it from me?" seungcheol suddenly decided, applying a gentle pressure onto chan's shoulder as the boy turned to face his king.
"if it's for the sake of my kingdom, i would be honored to take any important task from you." chan spoke, his eyes growing twice the size upon seeing the serious look seungcheol's eyes held. even jeonghan had to hold his breath for a spare second, eyes glued on the scenario in front of him.
"my dear boy, would you allow me to crown you as the heir apparent of adora's throne?" seungcheol's words made a heavy silence dawn upon the room, creating slight tension into the atmosphere.
"but.. what about your brother? doesn't he have the right to rule over the kingdom if you ever decide to distance yourself from the throne?" chan's eyes spoke panic, all caused by worry for everyone's sake but his own.
"seokmin isn't family by blood, that's why he made his own decision to not call himself onto the right as faithful heir apparent. it was given to me to choose one, in case anything bad would happen to me." seungcheol explained to the still dumbfounded boy. "hearing you speak just now made me realize that you have it in you. if becoming a prince one day is your dream, my boy, i will now give you the opportunity to become one."
it only took a split second for chan to nod his head, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. seungcheol gave him a heart warming smile, releasing the grip on his shoulders as he grabbed his boyfriend by the waist and pulled him closer to his side. it was as if chan was able to look at his parents again, though they looked different than how he could remember them.
even when their faces had been almost entirely erased from his memory, it was as if he was fully reborn right in front of his king. now he was given the chance to live up to his dream, chan couldn't help but to feel genuinely happiness again, like how he had done all throughout his sorrowless childhood.
if only his parents hadn't died back on that battlefield, they would have been able to share this moment with him. yet with seungcheol and jeonghan standing right in front of him, staring down upon him with the proudest smiles plastered to their faces, wearing the finest sewed suits that had been made for them, chan knew that this was it. this was his chance, he had always been dreaming of.
"i will serve adora as its proud prince. i won't disappoint you." chan puffed his chest as he spoke, bowing slightly for seungcheol to show the king his gratitude.
"please don't bow for me, chan." seungcheol said, hurriedly making sure chan was standing straight again. "from now on, they should bow for you, my prince."
