Seabound-SKZ

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jeongin had tackled the prince in a hug as soon as he was pulled from the water, soaking Chan's shirt through immediately and making the oldest fall backward from the force behind the hug, Felix and Hyunjin reaching to try and save the two from tumbling off the dock, however, they were unsuccessful, the two boys hitting the water with a splash, Chan coming up couching and Jeongin giggling and apologizing profusely. Minho and Changbin scolding Jeongin when they reached to help them back up onto the dock, Seungmin ruffling the youngest's hair and joining in the lecturing, Chan shaking his head and repeating "It's okay! I'm okay!" over and over, but the two oldest Mer's weren't having any of it, worried about Chan getting cold in the wind that was starting to pick up, to which Chan said, "If I get cold I'll go inside and get changed, I don't want to right now." the Mer's nodded reluctantly, Jisung switching the conversation quickly, asking about the royal boat that had come in the other day. 

Felix, noticing Chan shivering in the cold, the wind that had been refreshing during the hot day now blew shard and cold, the temperature changed so fast in the evening that he wondered how the humans with their sensitivity to heat coped with it. He automatically reached an arm out around Chan, pulling him closer to himself to try and share body heat, Seungmin noticing his plan and joining the hug, squashing Chan in between them. The prince immediately tucked his face into Felix's neck, the Mer blushing and giggling in surprise.

Minho clicked his tongue disapprovingly when he noticed how cold Chan had gotten, the prince looking guiltily at him, knowing he hadn't acted on the promise to go inside when he got cold, Jeongin shuffled between them, blocking Minho's view and hugging the prince again, softly this time, he still felt bad about knocking him into the water so he cuddled tightly into the oldest's chest, tail laying heavy on the prince's lap. 

"So," Hyunjin startled the others when he spoke up in the silence "You have a ball?" He asked Chan, laying with his chin propped up on his hands; If human balls were anything like Merfolk ones, Chan wouldn't be able to get away from the palace again anytime soon. Chan nodded, "My mother wants to speak to the neighboring kingdom's royal family, as well as a few governors and the duke, there will be a few lords and ladies arriving the day of the ball," Hyunjin nodded, "And when is this ball?" He questioned "Surely it must be soon? since the royals have already arrived," Chan sighed softly "It's in a week, our parents, by that I mean my mother and the other royals and them, want me to end up marrying one of their daughters." Jisung gasped "Humans do that? why can't you decide?" He frowned at the thought of not being able to be with someone you loved, Chan just shrugged and said: "That's just how it is for most high ranking people." and that was the end of that conversation. 

Jisung was still thinking about how Chan said he might be forced to marry one of the princesses, he couldn't believe that humans actually did that, he had heard whispers that it was true before but always brushed it off as a stupid rumor, his hard feelings toward the practice may have also come from the fact that he didn't want Chan to marry anyone, much less a random person he didn't even like. He tuned back into the conversation, Hyunjin and Felix were asking about other foods on land, Chan looking a little overwhelmed but answered the rapid-fire questions anyway, Minho still watching him carefully in concern, he knew the prince couldn't get sick before the ball and he didn't want to be the reason he caught something in the cold wind. 

The comfortable way the eight of them settled together after Felix and Hyunjin got all their questions out made Chan so happy; like he was in the right place, he had never felt properly at home in the palace, especially since his father died. preferring the open water to the palace walls, and the freedom that came with the sea to the locked schedule he had to follow at home. He realized how much he had melted into the embrace of the Mer's surrounding him when he heard Felix coo at him softly, immediately he pushed off a tiny bit, resisting the urge to burrow back into the boy, too shy to look up at the rest of the boy's Chan kept his head ducked, avoiding eye contact.  Jeongin, who was still laying on his lap and the only one of them who could still see Chan's face smiled up at him, dimples coming out in all of their beauty, making Chan smile back at him softly, Jeongin reaching up to poke the prince's cheeks gently. 

Chan only noticed how late-or early- it had gotten when he heard people begin to awaken in the palace, quickly alerting the Mers' who startled and slipped into the water, Felix laying a quick kiss on his cheek when he released the prince from his arms, Jeongin doing the same and making Chan blush hard and giggle softly, giving a tiny wave to the Mers' as they sped away. Felix and Jeongin high-fiving in the water, both slightly flushed and buzzing from happiness, the rest slightly jealous, the three youngest having the first real romantic interaction? of course, nothing compared to Seungmin, who had actually kissed the prince, but still. And definitely not brushing past the fact they hadn't even admitted their feelings to each other, they would have no chance at being together by this point. 

Changbin had dropped to the back of the group, deep in his own thoughts. He had recently realized his feelings surrounding the rest of his friends, he was sure they all liked the prince by this point, each one of them showing it in their own ways. he knew Seungmin liked Jeongin, well he was pretty sure they all did, no one able to resist the baby's charms. He was pretty sure Felix liked everyone as well, but the boy was naturally cuddly so it was hard to tell with him.