Diamonds, and then there's You.

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/18993991.

Rating: Mature
Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: M/M
Fandom: EXO (Band)
Relationship: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Character: Byun Baekhyun, Park Chanyeol
Additional Tags: Romance, Fluff, Angst, slight fantasy, Smut, Royalty, Prince Baekhyun,
Pirate Chanyeol, Love/Hate
Collections: BAE2019
Stats: Published: 2019-05-27 Words: 23607

Diamonds, and then there's You.

by baeconandeggs, chanyeoloving

Summary

Park Chanyeol, the captain of the infamous pirate ship named Heaven, thinks diamonds are
the prettiest things. And then he meets Byun Baekhyun again, the prince who can't stand
him.

Notes

Prompt: BAE291
Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and
tagged after reveals. The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the
celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters
and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright
infringement is intended.

Author's Note: This is rushed and unnecessarily flowery but I hope the prompter and
everyone enjoys reading it :3 Thank you for the mods for being really patient with me and
thank you to P and E

“Chanyeol will come back, right?”

The boy stares at the small prince and at the small hand grasping the bottom of his shirt, the skin
of his hand a bruising white as he clenches onto the worn material tightly. He stares at the sad
smile on the young prince’s face, not sure if the six year old understands what’s going on – he only
know that Chanyeol has to leave the tea party he held for him under the big oak tree in the
palace’s garden.

Chanyeol smiles, his lips still stained with frosting from the cake he just ate to celebrate his twelfth
birthday, but the glimmer in his eyes go unnoticed. He stays there for a while, letting the younger
boy hold onto his shirt as he smooths a hand over his head and through his hair, patting him as if
to say everything’s going to be okay. For a while, he ignores his father’s muted yells coming from
the small boat rocking against the docks, telling him to hurry up before they get here. So, for a
while, he hopes he won’t be forgotten.

“Chanyeol will come back, right? Chanyeol will come back to my tea party?”

He nods, gently pulling the prince’s hand away from his shirt, before he’s taking several steps back
and stepping down the stairs. He looks up at him one last time, to see him standing there alone,
like he’s lost and doesn’t know what to do. He still smiles, receiving one that’s just as unsure in
return.

“I will. I’ll come back for Baekhyunee.”

“You must be out of your mind, Captain.”

“Twenty years, Jongin. It’s been twenty long years.”

White sails stained by fire and blood and made out of stolen cotton, standing tall as the ship floats
at the edge of the sea. It stands sturdy, even with the splintering of the wood from where the bullets
and cannons had been shot, rows of bunks, food, wine and chests of gold trapped underneath the
body of the ship. The ropes are pulled and secured tightly while the men stay on the wooden deck.
They stand quietly, squinting against the glowing sun, trying to make out the silhouette of a
shipping dock up ahead.

Heaven seems to be the only ship in the sea.

And up in the crow’s nest stands their captain, grinning like he’s seen heaven himself. It’s a sight to
swoon at; a sight of a dimple, of plump lips stretched into a smile and eyes the shape of almonds,
wide and covered with smudges of kohl at the corners, shimmering like they’re treasures
themselves.

Hands on his hips, fingers over the purple cloth wrapped around his waist, cinching his loose shirt
that has a deep neckline and a few tears from endless wars, it’s a sight to see. With his tall legs
apart and hidden beneath tight, black trousers, the ends crumpled up in his worn boots, Chanyeol
looks out in the sea with a sigh, proud and haughty.

“We’ve somehow landed right in front of the palace docks!”

The pirate - the captain of Heaven - rubs at his earlobe, slightly tugging at the hoop earring there.
Stolen, of course. He grimaces for a second too long. Sending his men a wary look and gesturing
wildly at the sea, at himself, at anything he can see, Chanyeol leaves them all confused.

“Can’t you see,” he starts, his voice low and gruff, but full of shameless excitement, “this is our
biggest conquest yet. What makes you idiots think we can’t get past the royal guards. We sail
Heaven, do we not?”

As the words slip past his lips and in through the ears of his uncertain crew mates, Chanyeol is
suddenly thrown against the steering wheel, made of old oak and scarred under the pirate’s hands
after all the storms and seas they had sailed through. Toppled onto the floor and momentarily
confused, Sehun – the youngest of the crew – peers overboard and winces, cursing loudly for all of
them to hear.

The wood has splintered as Heaven rocks against the docks, her right side stabbed and cracking
under the corner of the wooden piers, creating a hole large enough to give the guards waiting by a
glimpse of stolen wine, expensive and imported from Asiatica until Chanyeol and his men had
come across it in the middle of the black sea.

“You’ve done it now, Captain.”

The sheepish smile Chanyeol sends his shipmates, after standing up on his feet and smoothing
down his white cotton shirt, is met with unamused glares.

And across the town and the colourful brick buildings lined with cobblestone pathways, waits a
prince looking out in the sea.

“Should we not inform the king, your highness?”

Lips painted red and cheeks dusted with pink powder, eyes decorated with two pearls placed on the
corners of his eyes – droopy yet hard, staring out into the dock – Byun Baekhyun waits,
exasperated. His jaw ticks as he stares, unblinking, and it has Yixing dabbing the sweat of his own
forehead with a folded napkin. The royal assistant moves towards the prince to speak, only to nod
and stand beside him after receiving a tight-lipped smile.

His hair is just as red as his lips, brighter, but soft against the sunlight as the jewelled clip in his
hair shines with every move of his head. Stones of sapphire diamonds line the band of the clip,
fastening strands of his hair into place and out of his eyes. Pretty, he would say fondly, whenever
his father – the king – would present him a new pair, taken out of his mother’s box, for every
birthday. He had received one for his twenty-sixth, prettier than the ones he was given before, but
not as pretty as the one he keeps tucked behind his ear. The first pair he had found, belonging to his
mother.

“I always knew he was an oaf.”

The prince abruptly states, and it’s to no one in particular, focused on the ship sailing closer to the
royal docks; he just stands there with his nose tilted up a little and he lets his words settle into the
air. Yixing murmurs words of agreement, as do the several maids fidgeting behind the prince as
they try to peek over his shoulder to steal glimpses of Heaven and their proud captain.

“Well, your highness,” Yixing licks his lips as he thinks over his words, hoisting up the books in
his arms as he does so, “as much as your words are correct, we should not underestimate the…
power this crew may have. It is Park Chanyeol—”

“Do not say his name.”

The royal assistant turns towards the prince, wide eyed and surprised, before staring out into the
docks again, at the ships and the bright blue sea beneath it. The lack of people surrounding the
wooden boats would be unusual, if there had not been a party being thrown at the grand hall near
the palace.

Baekhyun had attended, dressed in deep, red robes, a white shirt cleaned and pressed underneath it,
tucked into a pair of black trousers that have been fit into leather boots. His crown has been
discarded, instead his hair clips rest at the side of his head, pinning his hair back from his face. But
as the third prince, younger than his brother Junmyeon – the crown prince – and his other brother
Kyungsoo, no one hand noticed Baekhyun shuffling out of the grand hall.

He just couldn’t ignore the murmurs of people supposedly seeing Heaven nearing the island of
Byulumos.

Yixing bites at his lip, staring out into the sea, watching as the scene before them unfolds as the
ship sails closer to the docks, the ocean water lapping against its side while it floats dangerously
close. He speaks, cautious and quiet, “What do you suppose we do?”

“Send twenty guards out into the front and keep at least eight near the main gates. The ship is too
close for them to manoeuvre it back out into sea – the body is too big, and those sails look far too
worn, unsurprising when the captain is just as unkept.”

“I would not say unkept—”

Baekhyun waves a hand at his assistant, cutting him off with a flurry of directions, “no one should
hear of this until we have caught them. Is that clear? I want Park Chanyeol at my feet, you see—
what in the skies’ land is he doing?”

Yixing turns around at the young prince’s sudden exclamation, the maids following, as they narrow
their eyes to look out in the bright sea, the warm sun has their eyes squinting and their palms up
against their foreheads. They all watch silently as the ship rocks forward, tilting to its side as roars
of panic come from the decks, before the corner of the docks is suddenly pressing into it, piercing
through it with ease and wedging itself into the side. It’s quiet, slightly deafening, while everyone
stands frozen, waiting for something to happen. Anything. Whether it’s a yell from the royal
guards down there or an order from their youngest prince.

Baekhyun just covers his mouth with a hand, lips twitching – a tell-tale sign that he’s trying to a
hide a smile.

“What did I tell you people? An oaf.”

With red cheeks and the ends of his velvet robes balled up in his hands, ignoring the shocked
squeals of his maids, Baekhyun rushes out of the balcony doors and down the grand stairs. His hair
bounces while he stumbles out of the palace, the red strands as bright as his cheeks, flustered and
overwhelmed because finally, he has caught Park Chanyeol.

The guards must have the man by now, he thinks, running further away from Yixing, who fumbles
with the books in his arms.

“Your highness. Your highness- Baekhyun! You cannot just run down the streets without care. The
people will see! Junmyeon will know!” Yixing calls after him, forgoing his formalities and the
calling the younger prince by his name.

Baekhyun does nothing but look over his shoulder, sending his assistant a wide grin before he’s
picking up the end of his robes even higher. His shoes hit the floor, over the cobbled stone
pathways and past the houses, until he’s nearing the sea and the wooden docks. With his hands
upon his knees, he breathes heavily, tugging at the collar of his shirt and letting the ends of his
heavy, velvet robes fall gently against his legs, barely touching the floor as he begins to walk
towards the hoard of guards near the broken ship.

He walks past some guards holding the shipmates against the floor, pressing their sullied faces
onto the ground, thrashing and spewing curse words the sea had taught them. Baekhyun walks past
the other guards, who stare at the sight of the prince who shouldn’t be anywhere near the thugs,
not until they’re chained with shackles and brought into the holding cells. He still walks past them,
holding up his hand when one tries to approach him, merely shaking his head until he’s standing
right in front of Park Chanyeol.

He stands still as Chanyeol roams his huge eyes over him, eyes that are almond shaped and shining
and red. They move from Baekhyun’s own eyes, droopy and lined with black, to his royal robes
and leather shoes tapping away on the dock, till they stop on his bright red hair and the jewelled
clips attached carefully to his hair. The man towers him, and Baekhyun tilts his head up in return,
nose in the air.

It isn’t until a guard places a hand against the back of Chanyeol’s neck, forcing him to bend down
at the waist and bow are the smaller man before him, does the prince break out of his dazed state.

“Byun Baekhyun, third son of Byun Yunho, the third in line for the crown and Byulumos’
youngest prince.”

Chanyeol doesn’t see the fist aimed at his gut as he subconsciously takes a step towards the
younger man, a warning from one of the guards as another tightens the chains around his ankles
and wrist. But he’s pirate, the captain of Heaven, so he shoves the closest guard with his shoulder,
standing tall and broad, a curse on the tip of his tongue that turns into a grunt when he’s suddenly
pushed forward. He falls to his knees, meeting the wood of the dock harshly, kneeling with his
hands tied behind his back.

The grimace, however, falls of Chanyeol’s lips once a pair of leather shoes, appear directly in front
of him, an amused smile taking its place. The guards stare at him perplexed when he suddenly
seems pleased, like the sight of him is entertaining, his smile growing deeper as it’s returned with a
piercing glare. And Chanyeol takes him in, standing there covered in an air of authority, elegant,
like the pampered prince he is.

Fancy, the pirate thinks.

“Do you know why you are here?” Baekhyun asks, voice loud and commanding. He circles around
the taller man when he takes too long to respond, letting his robes brush against the pirate’s back,
warm and smelling like fresh cotton.

It’s only when Chanyeol speaks, words coming out in a murmur and playful, a little tense as he
tries to hide the fear climbing up his neck, but he bows his head, “I’m wanting for stealing your
heart?”

Instead of a kick to the chest, something Chanyeol has received too many times before he had them
walk the plank, Baekhyun gives a soft laugh. It rings and it’s forced, and it’s evident when he
finally stops in front of the familiar man again and frowns down at him.

”Charming,” Baekhyun pauses, pointing a finger at the pirate, accusingly, “but you should avoid
using quips with me in case they get you killed.”

”Feisty.”
Then there’s a tug to his ear, his gold hoop pulled at slightly, that Chanyeol stops chuckling under
his breath and begins to struggle against the guards, knowing he shouldn’t have said that. They
soon pull him up to his feet by the chains wrapped around his wrists.

The captain sees his shipmates struggling beside him; Jongin and Sehun only a few spots away as
they call for him, struggling as they do, throwing every curse word and threat they know at the
guards and the prince. Baekhyun strolls along like he doesn’t have a care in the world, and so the
jittery smile on his face goes unnoticed, walking with his hands clasped behind his back and his
robes swaying around his legs, relieved. Chanyeol stares at the back of his head, curious and a little
confused.

The walk to the palace is quick and surrounded by gasps of the island’s people as they watch the
Park Chanyeol and his crew being dragged along the cobblestone pathways, sometimes pushed into
the dirt and shoved against the walls, shoulders and torsos hitting the straight faced guards. The
people gasp at the sight of the youngest prince, so poised and ethereal, leading them past the gates
and the tall doors, into the palace where the royal family wait. The party had come to an abrupt
end when Junmyeon had frantically searched for his father, informing him of what Baekhyun has
done, breathless and a whole lot frustrated.

”There was absolutely no reason for you to go down there! They are pirates for the skies’ sake,
Baekhyun! What if they had gotten past the guards and to you.”

Junmyeon yells, loud and clear, almost mad, as soon as his younger brother walks in through the
front doors, several guards and pirates behind him. Their father quickly follows; the king frowning
at his son, who lets a small smile play of his lips, gesturing behind him with a wave of his arms.
Baekhyun looks young like this, like he’s a child who doesn’t quite understand just how dangerous
people can, doesn’t understand that there’s more to stealing gold and ruining ships for pirates. Still,
he stands there like he’s proud, his eyes twinkling and his nose twitching just a little as his brother
continues to glare at him.

”But they did not,” Baekhyun replies, wistful, and then he’s nodding at the head guard before
turning back to his livid looking brother, “see, I have everything under control. Even Kyungsoo
would agree with me.”

The second prince in line – Byun Kyungsoo – lets his gaze fall away from one of the pirates,
blanking staring at him, and turns to his brothers, looking uncertain. His eyes are narrowed, his
glasses tucked away in the pocket of his robes, but his heart shaped lips part to speak as Baekhyun
looks at him expectantly.

“It was a stupid thing to do.”

Soon falling into bickering, mostly on Baekhyun’s part as he insists that it was the right thing to do
and that his brothers don’t know anything about bringing pirates down, neither of the princes
notice their father walking past them. Baekhyun doesn’t, who stares at Kyungsoo with wide eyes,
flabbergasted. They miss the king’s look of curiosity, eyeing the head pirate with his back straight
and his shoulder strong like the leader he is, fingers tapping away at his chin. They also miss the
look of understanding that dawns upon his face as he commands Chanyeol to stand up, taking in
the tall man and the way he stands, looking all haughty. And suddenly, he’s taking him by the
shoulders, not believing his eyes. Neither could Baekhyun as he turns around to see his father
grinning at Park Chanyeol.

“What happened to Changmin never letting you return?”

Stealing a glimpse of the youngest prince over the king’s shoulder, Chanyeol looks back at the
ruler of Byulumos and smiles, his eyes twinkling and huge, and his dimples deep.

The pirate’s voice is deep and smooth, as he stands with his feet apart, confident, even with the
guards standing on either side of him. They soon start to pull at his shipmates, dragging them out
of the room amongst the protests, save Jongin and Sehun as they stick to their captain once
Chanyeol shakes his head at the king – a move that has the three princes staring open mouthed at
because Yunho just laughs, hearty and full.

“Father doesn’t know I’m here, your majesty, but I’m sure he sends his best wishes.”

Neither the king nor the pirate notice Baekhyun scurrying towards them, coming to stand in-
between, looking at them with his eyes as round as the moons and his pink mouth still open.

“Well, it seems like fate is on your side, my boy. I cannot put Changmin’s son in jail. I had made
an oath to a… good friend.”

Changmin was known as the infamous sailor of Mirotic, the biggest, most grandest ship to sail the
seas. It had encountered many ships and islands and chests full of treasure in its lifetime. He was
also known as the king’s best friend, loyal and charming to the island’s people, but also someone
to be wary of when he smiled at anything and everything for a little too long.

It came as a surprise when one evening he left the island once one his crewmates had been caught
stealing one of the silver crowns, locked away in a podium in the main hall, beside the tall thrones
covered in gold and red velvet. It was a crown wrapped around with silver roses and silver leaves,
small stones of sapphire placed delicately in-between each nook and curve.

It was one that belonged to the youngest prince – Byun Baekhyun.

Tucked away in a torn satchel, and with the sunset slowly falling behind, a guard had run in on
Changmin, misunderstanding the situation, not catching the last of his words as he scolded his old
crew members. He had yelled for the guards to show, alarming the captain. The crown was stolen
that night and with it, so was Baekhyun’s best friend. Park Chanyeol.

Having celebrated his twelfth birthday with the youngest prince in the palace garden, makeshift
streamers and balloons hanging from loose string from the branches of the orange trees above
them, the two were unaware of the chaos taking place inside of the palace. Until Changmin had
called for his son, ordering him to climb into the nearest ship, the only ship, because all the others
had sailed out before dawn.

Chanyeol knew. He knew that they had to leave for good this time because that’s what pirates do.
They never stay in the same place for too long; they never stay long enough to see spring turn into
winter.

He had let the prince follow him then, knowing he wouldn’t understand, and that once the sea
comes into view, he would have to stop following Chanyeol. And he did, standing on the stone
steps that looked out into the ocean, watching the ship sail away with tears blurring his vision
because he couldn’t make sense of anything.

Chanyeol hadn’t even said goodbye.

By the time the king had found out, ready to hear out his dear friend despite what the island’s
people were already saying, to forgive him, the ship had already sailed halfway across the sea and
into the ocean. The king never talked about it after that day. Baekhyun never understood since.

“Father! This is Park Chanyeol! He has wrecked almost every ship in the seas, destroyed many
lands—they say he’s a demon who sails heaven! You cannot let him go.”

Pursing his lips and shaking his head, the king brings Baekhyun closer to his side by hooking an
arm around his shoulders. His youngest son lets out a disgruntled groan and Yunho just squeezes
him tighter, voice still hearty as he explains to his sons, to the guards and the pirates, “who said
anything about letting him go. I have a deal for him, of course.”

The furrow of Chanyeol’s eyebrows drop and he stares at the king, curious, waiting for the land’s
ruler to continue as his shipmates frown behind him.

“A deal?” He asks.”

“You and your crewmates here, your men, must build me three ships. They have to be sturdy and
strong, enough to support five hundred people. It should include cabins and an engine room, lavish
enough for me and my boys.”

Chanyeol stares silently, incredulous, “that’s all?”

“They have to be the finest ships sailing the seas. Maybe as fine as yours. We have the materials
for it, even the glass and the gold for the windows and port holes.”

The man’s grin is too bright, teeth too white for a pirate’s and his smile too pleased for someone
who has been captured by the royal kingdom. It has Baekhyun feeling uneasy as he casts a look
over at his brothers. Even more so when the pirate steals a glance at him, his almond eyes
fluttering as he sighs dramatically, as if he couldn’t believe that Byun Baekhyun is in front of him.
Like he’s been waiting twenty years.

The look goes as quick as it had come, and before Baekhyun realises it, Chanyeol’s shaking hands
with his father, the king.

“You will only be allowed to leave once the ships have been completed. Be it weeks or maybe
months, you will live here in Byulumos until you have done your part of the deal.”

With that said, the king’s words and promise settled in the air, the guards disappear as do the
chains, and Yunho walks out with a hand clasping Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“What in the skies’ moon just happened?!”

Baekhyun steps out of the palace with Yixing pacing around him in circles, the younger man’s
schedules in his hands and a pencil in his mouth as he fills in the blank spaces with calligraphy
lessons. The prince walks with his hands in the pocket of his slacks, robes left in his room, and the
top two buttons of his silk shirt undone, enough for the slight wind to be felt against his cool skin.
Even as the sun shines blindingly above them, and the skies of Byulumos are blue and yellow and
filled with clouds, the trees planted around the high walls of the palace and the courtyard still
sway.

And a new pair of clips stand out against the burning red of his hair, covered in emerald stones and
painted a soft green that would go well with spring.

With his head in the clouds, Baekhyun comes across Jongin, who stands there helplessly as the
palace’s gardener trims the full, tall hedges. The tall boy looks up at Baekhyun once he comes to a
stop, the slit of his eyebrow prominent as he arches it up, amused and a little arrogant, as he puts a
foot out in front of the prince to interrupt his walk.

”Sehun’s probably running amuck in your island somewhere. The captain is that way, though, if
you’re looking for him,” Jongin points out, cocking his head to the side as if Baekhyun could
understand, but all the prince does is furrow his eyebrows in confusion and pouts. The sight has the
younger boy laughing, clicking his tongue because a prince shouldn’t look so lost, “so dainty. No
wonder Chanyeol’s took a fancy to you.”

”You should not talk to his highness like that.”

Jongin’s smile fades as he turns to Yixing, jutting out his bottom lip while he speaks, “what’s he
going to do? Throw me into a cell?”

The royal assistant steps forward, hasty, before Baekhyun’s pulling him back by the arm, shaking
his head as if to say no, while he stares at the young pirate, tight-lipped. Yixing stutters, a fumble
of incoherent words as he points towards Jongin, but the prince pulls him along, passing the hedges
and the purple roses as if nothing happened.

“Fools are not worthy of your time, Yixing,” Baekhyun begins, climbing up the bridge that hovers
over the small stream of water, briefly watching at the way it runs into one of the smaller ponds,
filled with koi fish and mermaids. He walks several steps ahead, basking in the warm sunlight and
humming under his breath, gesturing for Yixing to walk beside him before he’s speaking again,
“besides, he will be in trouble soon enough. He has just ruined Kyungsoo’s favourite flowers.”

And Yixing turns around just in time to see blue tulips hitting the ground, scattered over the stone
pathways as Jongin sheepishly smiles under the gardener’s stare. The prince and his assistant also
spot Kyungsoo walking out of the palace doors, his nose stuffed into a book but his mind clear as
he walks towards the flowers. Baekhyun doesn’t wait and walks away with Yixing scurrying after
him.

Giggles soon fill the air around Baekhyun, coy and faint, as he narrows his eyes through the
sunlight and gazes upon the largest pond a few feet away. His shoulders instantly lose their
straightened posture and his droopy eyes widen with disbelief, coming to an abrupt halt that nearly
sends Yixing into his back.

There isn’t anything unusual about the sight of iridescent scales, blues and pinks and reds laced
with silver, as the mermaids break through the surface of the water with their tails. And their tails,
they shine brightly, shimmering, hair as black as the night sky and faces white like snow. There’s
something beautiful about the mermaids of Byulumos inhabiting the ponds and the lakes of the
island, sometimes swimming out into the sea where the ships from other lands sail too close. They
sing songs of all tones and the people listen, drowning in the melody before the mermaids swim
below the surface and go off to sleep.

What is unusual is the sight of Park Chanyeol with the ends of his trousers rolled up to his knees
and his toned legs in the cool water as he sits back on his hands. And the way he has his head tilted
to the side while the mermaids swim around him, it has Baekhyun fastening his steps towards the
pond.

The prince comes to a stop behind the pirate, going unnoticed while the older man grins goofily at
all the attention he’s receiving, and at the song that is being sung to him as the mermaids giggle
under his bright, almond eyes. And they would because the pirate is charming, handsome, running
his fingers through his windswept hair, before he’s moving his hand down to tug at the golden
hoop hanging from his right ear. Even his hands are something to swoon over, big and calloused
from the ropes that keep the sails upright, hands that steer the wheel of Heaven and are tanned
from all the suns he has seen.

Baekhyun finds himself also momentarily dazed.

“What do you think you are doing?”

The mermaids squeal at the sound of the third prince’s voice, blinking up at him as he gives them a
scolding look, quickly scattering themselves across the pond again. He doesn’t expect the wistful
sigh that comes from Chanyeol and neither does he expect the pirate to turn around to face with
him a bashful smile. Baekhyun blanches in response for a second too long, long enough that
Chanyeol raises his eyebrows, mocking him. He waits until the smaller man suddenly shakes his
head, breaking himself out of his thoughts, and starts smoothing down the front of his silk shirt.
Chanyeol’s gaze lingers on the many rings adorning his fingers and the thin bracelet around his
wrist.

“Pretty.”

Baekhyun huffs, “I said, what do you think you are doing?”

“Waiting for you, Darling.”

The answer has Yixing choking on a cough who stands behind the prince, peering over his
shoulder in shock. But it has Baekhyun feeling hot under the collar of his shirt, pink staining his
cheeks as he looks at Chanyeol like he’s baffled.

The older man suddenly stands up while Baekhyun stutters to himself. He smooths out his loose,
cotton shirt and pats down his skin tight trousers, causing the prince to stumble back and bump into
Yixing. Chanyeol doesn’t say anything, not for a while, instead he brings his hands to the small of
his back and leans forward, enough so that he’s the one peering up a flustered Baekhyun. And his
eyes, so pretty and lined with creases around the corners, exploring and exquisite, have Baekhyun
looking away first.

The young prince’s voice is gruff as he gathers his senses together, clearing his throat as he does
so, “what did I say about using quips with me?”

“I can’t quite remember.”

“I can call for the guards right now.”

”But,” Chanyeol cuts in, fingers cupping his chin as he looks at the skies and at nothing in
particular, like he’s thinking. Then without a word, he’s taking a step, then two, before he’s
standing in front of Baekhyun; he towers over him, dripping pond water onto the dry cobblestone
pathway.

The pirate sends Yixing a brief glance and the royal assistant shares a polite smile with him, one
that Baekhyun doesn’t notice. He’s too busy staring at the open collar of Chanyeol’s shirt, at the
faint moles scattered across his lightly tanned skin, only to stumble in his spot when the taller man
finally speaks, “I was waiting for you, my prince.”

There’s a hand cupping Baekhyun’s head, warm, and even if his fingertips and palms are rough and
his skin damp from the pond, Chanyeol’s touch is gentle as he threads his hands through the rose
coloured hair. Yet, the prince doesn’t get to utter a word before Chanyeol’s pulling his hand back,
holding something up in front of him. The jewels glimmer under the sunlight and it’s blurry, until
Baekhyun pulls back and realises it’s one of his hairclips between the pirate’s fingers. It disappears
into the palm of the other’s hand but Baekhyun remains stupefied, eyes blinking furiously, trying to
make sense of it all.

Chanyeol clicks his tongue, chuckling out his words, “well, duty calls, the ships call. I will see you
around, my prince.”

And he leaves just like that, with Baekhyun’s clip tucked away in the back pocket of his trousers.

Days pass by, turning into weeks, and the shipmates have been forgotten as they spend day and
night near the temporary garage near the docks. Some are tasked with painting and glossing the
wood of the ships before their final assemble, while others work the engines under the front deck,
or below the wheel where the rooms are being constructed with hard beds and round windows –
cosy enough for when one is at sea.

The season has turned into autumn, a month perfect for being hoarded into the library and focused
on lessons about all the places in the world, as the king had said as his two youngest sons strolled
by. Kyungsoo had just nodded, not a word escaping past his lips, only clutching the book in his
arms to his chest. But Baekhyun lets a whine build up in his chest, the noise growing louder as he
slouches over dramatically and looks at Yunho pleadingly.

That’s how Baekhyun finds himself trying to sneak out of the palace library, built in the west wing
of the wide building, filled with books and golden staircases that spiral upwards towards the few
balconies lining the room. With one glance at his sleeping tutor and Kyungsoo, who merely stares
at him, Baekhyun stifles a laugh behind his hand and proceeds to shuffle out of the room and down
the corridor. He ignores the disapproving loos he receives from the maids, but he still looks over
his shoulder and sends them a grin, waving his hands, before his robes follow him down a set of
stairs.

It’s only mid-afternoon, the doors of the palace wide open to let in the cool air of autumn in as the
humid winds of summer still linger. The king is nowhere to be seen and neither is Junmyeon, so the
guards lazily loiter around the entrances, chatting mindlessly.

There doesn’t seem to be a soul in sight until Baekhyun catches the boisterous laughter coming
from the kitchen, hidden away into a crook of the palace and under an arch so the cooks aren’t seen
preparing meals upon meals for their royal feasts. But it’s the sound of a particular laugh, deep and
rumbling, a timbre so low that Baekhyun feels confused at something plummeting to the pit of his
stomach, and he frowns. It’s only when he makes his way to the kitchen and abruptly opens the
door to find a sight that irks him as soon as his eyes land on it.

Park Chanyeol is seated in the middle of the kitchen table, a giant slab of wood where meals are
prepared and the bread is baked, and if empty, then space for the cooks to eat after serving the
royal family. He sits there like he’s used to it, like he’s been there forever, surrounded by the maids
and the cooks, who listen to his words with attentive ears and sparkling sighs. Some even sigh.
Chanyeol just laughs louder, mouth full of food and his hands slapping the top of the table.

“You wouldn’t believe the dragons I have seen. The dragons I have fought. It’s unimaginable, I tell
you.”
Baekhyun clears his throat, standing there with a hand on his waist, shoe tapping away on the
ground, and Chanyeol finally stops talking to stare surprised at the younger man.

However, the pirate begins to talk again, his mouth still full of food but even then, the maids still
swoon, “My prince! I didn’t see you there. Care to join us?”

“No, thank you,” and maybe it’s the way the pirate is staring at him, unashamedly ecstatic as the
thought of the prince joining him, or maybe it’s the way he’s sitting – his shoulder broads and firm
looking, the posture of a king that shouldn’t be so easily done by a pirate – that has Baekhyun
gritting his teeth. “You cannot eat here in the palace. Food is taken down to the garage where you
should be, with your men.”

Chanyeol bites into a piece of bread then, smiling, before he’s pointing it towards the other man,
“and if I want to be here with you?”

“You are not the first; you will not be the last.”

Baekhyun’s jaw ticks and his tapping grows furious, so the maids start to bow, apologising, before
they’re running away and out of the room, leaving only the old head cook, the pirate and the
prince. Chanyeol, however, continues eating, slurping on his soup noisily and smacking his lips
together, so plush and pink, infuriatingly so, as if he’s doing it on purpose to frazzle the smaller’s
thoughts – and he is, Baekhyun knows, because he’s a pirate after all.

“There is no such thing as dragons,” he says, unmoving, “telling such fibs must get you a few
crawling into your bed at night but telling such stories, it is a bit childish, is it not?”

Chanyeol wipes his mouth with the end of a discarded towel, responding with a tone so mocking, it
only further annoys the younger man, “they aren’t exactly creatures you’d see out of your bedroom
window, my prince.”

“Are you trying to imply something, you oaf.”

“Harsh.” A pause, as Chanyeol finally stands up and walks around the table like he doesn’t have
any ships to tend to, taking his time before he comes to stand right in front of Baekhyun, “but you
speak very bravely for someone who has never stepped foot out of Byulumos, let alone someone
who is always under the eye of the royal palace. You probably never will.”

“You know nothing about me.”

Baekhyun, too caught up in his annoyance, misses the way Chanyeol’s eyes flitter up to the jewels
in his hair, a soft pink colour as they decorate the band of his silver hairclip, tucked above his ears
on either side of his head. He doesn’t notice the hand reaching up for one either, just like the first
time, before the pirate is walking out of the kitchen with another one in his pocket.

Baekhyun is left standing there, hating how he stupidly feels so breathless.

A few more weeks pass by and it’s already the middle of autumn, and the captured pirates have
been working away on building the three grand ships for the palace with their knowledge and
expertise, and so they’re granted a break for a few days for their hard work. With an island as
packed as Byulumos, covered in sandy beaches and markets that are placed around the streets and
old buildings with stained glass windows, some of them decide to explore the beautiful land.

Except for two.

Lounging under a tree where the oranges have already been plucked off back in summer and the
leaves are turning into shades of brows and yellows, with their backs against the trees and their
long legs spread out in front of them, two of the pirates decide not to stray too far from the palace.

Chanyeol looks over at Jongin, who has his eyes shut and his mouth parted a little as the quiet
snores fill the silent air. The captain tuts at this, poking the younger boy on the forehead, before his
attention is stolen by the grunts and yells coming for the palace garden.

The field is huge, filled with freshly cut grass and dandelions and daisies. There’s a patio where an
umbrella stands, hovering over the tables and chairs as the king and his sons bask in the last days of
the sun before autumn becomes too cold.

He notices the second prince first, sitting down with a notepad in his hand as he chews on the end
of a pen, quiet like he always is. Kyungsoo, the pirate remembers, the one Jongin constantly
whines about, although, is strangely infatuated with, too. Chanyeol doesn’t ponder on it for too
long, as Junmyeon – the eldest prince, the heir to his father’s crown – comes into view,
immediately narrowing his eyes at the pirate from across the field. He stays tight-lipped, turning
away, and that’s when Chanyeol finally notices Baekhyun stepping out into the garden. It takes a
second or more for him to also notice the lack of robes on the youngest prince, or one of his silken
shirts, or leather shoes. Instead, he’s dressed in black, a sash tied tightly around his waist and a
sword tucked into his side. He isn’t wearing any of his jewels today.

But Chanyeol doesn’t notice the blinding smile on his own face.

”Should they be here?”

Junmyeon follows his brother’s pointed gaze towards Chanyeol and Jongin under the tree, sighing
while he turns back to his brother, who stares in mild distaste, “I have been keeping an eye on
them. They do not seem to be doing anything particularly suspicious. So we are fine, Baekhyun;
they will not disrupt your training.”

The crown prince spoke too soon.

Not even halfway into the training, which Chanyeol admits is an interesting sight as Baekhyun
holds the sword firmly in his pretty hands, swinging it around and letting it soar above his head,
soon coming into close contact with Junmyeon’s chest just like he’s been taught. The taller moves
closer, a little too enthralled. With his hair free of clips, it looks like fire, falling into Baekhyun’s
eyes; the absence of colours on his eyelids and the pearls, tiny enough to be placed around the
corners, make his eyes seem even more droopy, young, like someone who’s preparing for a war in
case it happens.

Yunho has drifted off to sleep on one of the lounge chairs and neither of the princes notice
Chanyeol stepping onto the patio, Jongin running after him once he’s startled awake, catching up to
him with bleary eyes and messy thoughts.

“A sword wouldn’t be precise as your first. You’d be in a losing battle from the start, Darling.”

All three princes jolt at the pirate’s voice, whipping their heads around to stare at him and his
shipmate incredulously. They blink up at him in unison, wordlessly sharing their thoughts as they
look back and forth between each other. But it only takes a minute or two before the surprised
expression falls of Baekhyun’s face, replaced by a look of complete irritation. His eyes are
narrowed, formed into slits, and his nostrils flare, a little too cutely, Chanyeol thinks, soon
remembering the sword in Baekhyun’s hands.

The youngest prince grunts, “you probably have your men fight your battles for you. What would
you know, Captain.”

“They usually fall at my feet before it even happens, my prince. I’m sure you’re no stranger to
that.”

Chanyeol’s loud guffaw is cut short, from where he has his head facing the sky and his hands
grabbing onto his stomach, as he suddenly feels a shooting pain crawling up his forearm, his skin
suddenly burning.

Baekhyun had reached forward after his dropping his sword to his side, taking Chanyeol by the
wrist, pulling his arm around to twist it against the older man’s hip. The prince stands behind his,
his chest pressed up against his back, his mouth close to an ear that Baekhyun realises is still as
pinched and pointy from what he remembers, growing red with each passing second. Chanyeol
isn’t aware when he stands on the tips of his toes, but Baekhyun becomes momentarily flustered at
the thought of how tall the man is.

Kyungsoo doesn’t say a word but he goes unnoticed and so does the faint squeak that leaves
Junmyeon. So does Yixing’s look of bewilderment as he scurries down the steps leading to the
garden, sends Jongin a warning look and comes to stand beside the crown prince.

“The day the stars fall from the skies is the day I will at your feet, Park Chanyeol.” Baekhyun grits
out, whispering into the pirate’s ear, feeling joy as the latter’s neck and cheeks start to flush a
pretty colour, a faint red just like the tips of his ears. He decides to blow into it for no reason at all,
but his voice is faint and low, like he doesn’t want anyone else to hear, “you came back but it was
not for me. Do not think that I was here waiting for you.”

And for the first time, Park Chanyeol, the sailor of Heaven who never shuts up, is the one who’s
left confused as Baekhyun places his hands against the top of his back and pushes him away. It’s
too gently as he does so, while he keeps his head bowed down and moves to pick up his sword,
ignoring Yixing’s calls as he walks back into the palace, his head held high and his bottom lip
quivering.

Jongin doesn’t understand and neither does Kyungsoo. Yet, Junmyeon stares at Chanyeol,
disappointed. He stares with his lips pulled taught and his eyes downcast, before he’s tugging his
younger brother away and after Baekhyun.

”You couldn’t mind your own business, Sweetheart?”

Jongin bares his teeth from where he’s standing on the other side the long mahogany table placed
in the centre of the feasting hall. He stands there in his cotton shirt, a visible tear at the collar
because a guard had tugged him back to the palace once they saw him loitering around the town’s
bakery. His hair is out of his eyes, a piece of cloth tied around his forehead, giving the second
prince in front of him a clear view of the slit across his eyebrows – one had gotten when he was
found alone at sea.
Kyungsoo had hastily retreated to the other side, although not without holding his ground at first,
but as soon as the pirate had stormed towards the dinner hall, harshly shrugging off the guard
behind him, the shorter man had run off.

“You stole bread from the Kim’s.” The second prince accuses, his voice monotone, but the tell-tale
sign of his huge eyes shifting towards the doors gives away his nervousness, “that is called theft,
Kim Jongin.”

“No one likes a tattle tale, Soo.”

Kyungsoo’s large eyes flare at the nickname, appalled and mildly disgusted that the pirate had said
it like it’s an endearment. The reaction has Jongin blanching, stumbling with his thoughts, because
the prince is glaring at him now as he stands there with a book firmly clutched in his hands.

It isn’t until Chanyeol comes walking into the same room, whistling under his breath, hands stuffed
into the pocket of his trousers, does Jongin breathe a sigh of relief. But it’s also then when he spots
Baekhyun following the captain into the hall, his hands balled into fists and his mouth pulled
taught. Chanyeol doesn’t notice him as he stops to stand beside Jongin, looking at him
questioningly and completely unaware of the glooming looking princes behind him.

“Park!” Baekhyun yells out, surprising the tall man, who turns around swiftly to face the youngest
prince, pointing at himself as the prince seethes, “keep your men in their places!”

Chanyeol lets his arm fall to his side, deciding to roll his eyes, while his words come out in a
mumble, “is that it? Well, good afternoon to you, too, my prince. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

And he hasn’t, because no matter how many times Chanyeol had laughed obnoxiously in the
kitchen with the cooks, sharing his stories about the dragons, throwing in a few phoenixes here and
there for all to hear, and sometimes dipping his feet into the cold water of the pond to talk to the
mermaids, Baekhyun hadn’t come around once. He hasn’t stepped out of the library, practising his
calligraphy again and again until Junmyeon would drag him by the collar of his robes to his room
to sleep for the night. Chanyeol should have been relieved.

“Jongin will have to apologise. First to the Kim family and then to Kyungsoo.”

Said so bluntly and directly, Chanyeol narrows his eyes at that.

“For what?” He asks, tone gruff.

“For stealing, of course. For cornering my brother like this, too, when your boy over here is the one
who has committed a crime.”

“A crime,” Chanyeol scoffs, standing taller and straight, feeling defensive and looking intimidating
like the captain he is, “a man stealing bread is hardly a crime. He can’t let himself go hungry, can
he? You’re lucky he didn’t steal several. That would have been greedy.”

Baekhyun looks back at him, not believing his ears, proceeding to retaliate, “if he had worked hard
himself, maybe he would have been able to afford the bread—”

“Worked hard? How do you know he hasn’t worked hard, my prince? Jongin here does most of the
heavier tasks to build your ships,” the pirate explains, gesturing towards the younger boy, “now he
isn’t grateful for the food your father has kindly provided us with, but he’s young and he was
hungry. Hasn’t he worked hard enough for that?”

Baekhyun looks away at that, turning to stare out of the one of the tall windows in the hall,
overlooking the courtyard where the flowers wither under the autumn air. It infuriates Chanyeol,
like he’s been dismissed, gaze unfaltering and growing impatient by the second, waiting for the
prince to turn around and listen. Baekhyun doesn’t listen, but he finally looks back at Chanyeol and
locks eyes with the older man, eyes that seem heavy under the black power smudged neatly across
his eyelids.

“Stealing is the only thing you sea people know.”

Maybe it’s the way holds himself, with an air of royalty, one he never had when he used to invite
Chanyeol to his impromptu tea parties in the garden, or when had build forts with spare blankets –
ones he asked one of the maids for – building them tall enough so Chanyeol could fit through. It’s
one he never hand when he would hold onto Chanyeol’s tightly as Byun Yunho and Park
Changmin would lead the way to the yearly festivals, showing their sons the treasures they’ve
found at sea that are the sold on land. Even when he’d ask for one more piece of candy because
Chanyeol didn’t have enough coins in his pockets, Baekhyun was just Baekhyun, not a prince, and
he understood.

“Yes, it is!” Chanyeol suddenly snaps, the tone of his voice harsh and the lowest they’ve heard it,
words being spat out of his mouth, and his eyes harden and focus on the youngest prince, “you
know why? Because we simply couldn’t have the things we wanted. You probably think what
could we possibly want when we spend all our lives at sea? When we aren’t welcomed on land.
We don’t steal for the sake of it; we steal to live.”

The silence grows heavy, Chanyeol’s outburst lingering in the air.

Baekhyun doesn’t feel the hand on his shoulder from where Kyungsoo’s trying to hold him back –
from what, he doesn’t know. But his eyes never leave the taller man’s, watching as his shoulders
slouch like he’s tired, the wrinkles around his own eyes more prominent, before he’s giving Jongin
a tense pat on the shoulder. He pats him as if to say it’s okay. It’s always okay.

Baekhyun ignores the displeased look on Jongin’s face and Kyungsoo’s hand brushing at his
shoulder softly, as he picks up his light robes until they’re bunched up near his chest. He walks out
of the feasting hall in haste, shuffling past the stunned guards, his bows returned when he steps out
into the courtyard a little breathless. Catching his breath, Baekhyun presses his hands to his face,
hot under his palms. He doesn’t notice the man leaning against the wall of the palace, arms crossed
over his torso and his boots kicking at the stones on the ground.

“Looking for me, my prince?”

Baekhyun jumps a little at the voice, and for a moment, he just stares at the older man’s arms, at
how the sleeves of his shirt are tight around his bulging muscles and cinched around his wrists,
where a picture of a crescent moon peeks out from underneath. A tattoo inked into his skin. Finally
breaking out of his reverie and looking up, Baekhyun’s greeted with a lopsided smile, one that
seems slightly mocking.

“Chanyeol…”

“The pirate holds up a hand, evidentially irritated, “if you have come here to pity me, save yourself
the trouble—”

“Come with me.”

Chanyeol expression slackens, mouth parted slightly, and the creases of his eyes smoothen out. He
feel the heat of his own cheeks and shakes his head at himself, although, Baekhyun’s now looking
at him like he’s pleading, his own droopy eyes are sparkling and apologetic. He nods towards the
roses behind him. It’s enough for the pirate to shrug, like he’s nonchalant, even as something
flutters behind his ribcage and he follows behind Baekhyun, his footsteps falling in sync with the
prince’s.

As they stroll through the empty garden, the sunset casting a light glow on the flowers and the
ponds, turning the pinks and purples into oranges and reds, against the stoned pathway as they
walk up the bridge and into the tall hedges, Baekhyun doesn’t say a word. He walks with his
fingers fidgeting against the ribbons of his robes, ad his eyes are trained on his shoes as if he’s
thinking, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration and his nose scrunching up like it usually does.
He doesn’t notice Chanyeol staring at him, not until the taller man coughs into his fist, bringing
him out of his reverie.

And maybe then, it’s the way he stares at him, head still high and his eyes heavy because the top of
Baekhyun’s head just reaches his chin, the prince having to lift his head up to return his faze, that
has the prince staring back just as unabashedly. They take in the sight of each other - twenty long
years finally catching up to them.

Twenty years and Baekhyun still wears the clips in his hair, on either side of his head, different
colours of diamonds lining them every day, glistening under the sunlight even in winter. But they
also shine under the moon who makes its early appearance, soft just like his drooping eyes. Just
like the red of his hair that stands bright against the oranges and the reds, even the purples and the
pinks of the ponds.

Chanyeol has seen basket full of diamonds, of pure crystals, and ships filled with gold – he has seen
many faces as sea too – but he has never seen anything as beautiful as the prince in front of him, he
thinks.

”I am sorry.” Baekhyun blurts out, loud and somewhat heady.

He brings his bottom lip into his mouth, biting down on it with his front two teeth, waiting, while
Chanyeol blinks down at him, bleary and out of his own thoughts. The apology soon sinks in and
the older man frowns.

“I told you—”

“No, no,” the prince argues, almost frantic as he takes a step towards Chanyeol without thinking,
close enough for the pirate to see the faint freckles across the prince’s cheekbones and the bridge
of his nose, enough for him to grow flustered, “what I had said in there, it was uncalled for. I- I
should have not scolded Jongin, well, at least not like that. Stealing is still very bad. But I… I
understand. I think I do. And he works hard, he really does, and so it was not in my place to say
such horrible things to him and… to you.”

Suddenly a small smile blooms on Chanyeol’s face, going unnoticed because Baekhyun is
blabbering, his words fast and slurred as he talks with his lips in a pout, staring at the pirate’s chest.
Yet, he’s sincere as he finally looks up, just as Chanyeol schools his expression, looking neutral but
attentive.

Baekhyun nods his head – at what, Chanyeol doesn’t really know – and he heaves a sigh, “I
understand if you are angry, and you may tell my father about this, but please know that I did not
mean it—”

“It’s okay.”
“Huh?”

The pirate chuckles, deep in his throat, the timbre so low that Baekhyun feels it climb up his spine.
He waits, confused and apprehensive, eyeing the tall man. And for some reason Chanyeol himself
doesn’t know, Baekhyun’s cheeks flush a deeper shade of red, almost as red as his hair, but still
soft under the sunset glow.

“You’ve apologised, and you’ve said you understood. What more could I ask for, my prince?”
Chanyeol questions.

Baekhyun replies, dumbfounded, “really? It really is okay? You forgive me?”

Chanyeol nods, and almost instantly, Baekhyun’s smiling up at him. It’s bright like the skies’
moon, his smile, like there’s stars in his eyes even if they’re covered by the purple clouds. It’s
breath-taking and ethereal, and Chanyeol look away with a grin of his own.

It’s okay.

“You are still a giant oaf.”

With that, Baekhyun steps around him and walks back to the castle, his nose up in the air again and
the ends of his robes kiss the ground, leaving Chanyeol to stare at him, stupefied.

“What did you call me?”

The weeks are filled with the island’s people staying indoors, autumn having turned into winter
where the streets are cold, and the ocean had frosted over. The tree have lost their oranges and res,
replaced with brown and white from the sprinkling of snow falling on Byulumos. The lights of the
palace seem dimmed, soft, every chandelier lit, and candles set in the bedrooms, as well as the
fireplaces that burn slowly and warm up the rooms. The tall, heavy curtains are pulled back from
the floor to ceiling windows, visible for everyone to see from their homes

So it allows Chanyeol to drop a slab of wood down onto the floor, curious, absentmindedly telling
Jongin to take over as he grabs his hat and coat the head cook had let him borrow for the winter.

Slipping into the coat, Chanyeol hurries after the figure dawdling down the street, carefully on the
frosted pathway. The hood of Baekhyun’s jacket is pulled up over his head, only allowing his
mouth to be visible as small puffs of air slip but his lips. But the prince’s prominent cupid’s bow
hadn’t gone unnoticed by the pirate.

He follows him down the streets and through the alleyways between the buildings, focused on the
emerald coloured robes and the brown leather shoes scurrying away from him, unaware. Chanyeol
only grows more puzzled as Baekhyun comes to a stop in the middle of the island’s market, where
the stools still stand even in winter, lit by lanterns and covered with rugs, tables of ornaments,
jewellery, and windchimes that hang from the roofs.

Chanyeol soon hears the faint sound of a piano playing, lost in the growing crowd of people as they
wander about, chattering cheerfully in the winter’s cold, mumbling into the woollen mufflers
wrapped around their laughs while some laugh into their cups of tea. He loses Baekhyun then. Not
a strand of red hair in sight. And so, he decides to follow the music, shouldering past people while
they stare up at him – in awe or bewilderment, he isn’t quite sure – at Park Chanyeol, the captain of
Heaven, a ship that had sailed through all the seas, but had never come to Byulumos. Some talk in
hushed tones while other’s run out of his path, yet he pays them no heed and follows the tune of
the piano.

After a while, he finds himself stumbling onto a scene he never thought he’d see.

While people loiter around and explore the market, a piano stands in the centre of a circle of
people, dancing, their shoes tapping against the ground in a neat rhythm, with their heads thrown
back as they laugh in joy. But standing amongst the people is the youngest prince himself, skipping
in step with a group of children as they dance with their hands held and until their noses start
turning red from the cold.

It’s when he laughs too loud, too overjoyed, eyes closed, and the hood of his thick robes tips back,
that Chanyeol rushes forward and pulls it over his head. No one had recognised the prince’s eyes,
clear shades of pink over his eyelids, just droopy and pretty and surprised. Even as they blink up at
Chanyeol, like he can’t quite believe the man had found him here. Baekhyun’s stare falters for a
second, and he doesn’t seem to realise his own hand clutching onto the sleeve of the taller man’s
coat.

“Did you follow me here?”

Chanyeol goes to shake his head, sheepishly smiling down at the youngest prince and instead nods
his head. He doesn’t wait for Baekhyun to respond as he quickly ushers him to the side of the road,
away from the piano and the people dancing around them. With Baekhyun up against a stone wall
of an almost empty pub nearby, where the light shines through the open door and the warm
buzzing joins the music, Chanyeol stands in front of him, dwarfing the prince who peers over his
shoulders.

Baekhyun groans, “Listen--”

“My prince, you dance?”

The question throws the smaller man off; the enthusiasm in Chanyeol’s voice has him staring up at
the older man suspiciously because he sounds far too excited at the idea of the prince dancing in
the middle of the market.

Chanyeol only smiles wider when Baekhyun goes to pull at the collar of his shirt, lightly as a
warning, tugging him down until they stand nose to nose. His voice is muffled under the music, the
cold and Chanyeol’s eyes, “you tell a soul and I will have you locked up.”

“Then dance with me.”

He doesn’t ask, instead, he straightens up, dusts down the front of his coat and offers the prince a
hand. He waits while Baekhyun bites at his bottom lip, his eyes falling from Chanyeol’s own, to
the smile of his lips, to the crumpled shirt and to the hand offering him a dance, tanned and
calloused and warm. The music grows louder and Baekhyun finds it calming, just like the smile on
Chanyeol’s face. Just like Chanyeol.

“Can you even dance, Park?”

The older man scoffs playfully, his eyes covered with mirth, “I’m a pirate, my prince. Dancing
runs in our blood; we’ve danced across the seven seas. The question is: can you keep up with me,
Darling?”
That’s all it takes for Baekhyun to quirk up an eyebrow, challenging him, before he’s firmly taking
a hold of the hand in front of him and he pulls Chanyeol away to the centre of the circle as the
crowd subconsciously closes in around them.

Then it’s like they’re in a place of their own, with Baekhyun grasping onto both of Chanyeol’s
hands, bringing him closer and singing along with the music, quiet under his breath but growing
louder as the island’s people sing along, too. It’s like that as Chanyeol laughs, his breath mixing in
with the cold air. Baekhyun feels it against his reddening cheeks, and over his eyelids, as he closes
his eyes and just basks in all the sound. He basks in Chanyeol’s hot hands engulfing his, in the
baritone of his voice when he jokes about Baekhyun stepping on his toes. And when he calls his
name, the prince finally opens his eyes and finds the man staring at his mouth – at his rosy lips, his
cupid’s bow and the mole at the top corner of his mouth.

Plump lips, like the petals of the roses in the palace’s courtyard, like the tulips crowing in the pond
of their garden, and like the faint blush of his cheeks, Baekhyun doesn’t notice himself staring, too.

When the pianist finally finishes their piece and yells out of her gratitude for the people joining in,
Baekhyun jumps in his place and suddenly pulls away. Chanyeol pulls away, too, a little abruptly,
shaking his head at himself like he’s in a daze, eyes barely focused as he glances between the
prince and the crowd as they leave to different corners of the market.

In the middle of the fluttering of words and the unfamiliar feeling blooming inside of Baekhyun’s
chest, Chanyeol takes several steps back and tilts his head to the side, smiling as if nothing’s
happened. His opens his mouth to speak, to tease, but the prince thoughtfully steps forward again,
and he softly tugs at the loose button of the pirate’s coat.

Baekhyun stutters, letting the hood of his robes fall lower over his face, “take me home?”

He misses the smile on Chanyeol’s face, and he misses the way he nods at him, as they both walk
along the pathways and out of the market, towards the palace while the night still falls.

Of course I will, my prince.

The first snow arrives four nights later, covering the ground in white and the skies in grey. The
shipmates continue to work under the glowing lights of the garage. It’s wide enough for the ships
to be build, big enough for thirty or so pirates to live in. There’s a few ladders at the far back that
lead up to the stacks of hay where blankets and belongings are scattered. Amidst the wood and the
finished port holes is Yunho, pacing back and forth, assessing the handiwork of the shipmates.
Standing beside him are his three sons, dressed in their thickets robes and heaviest shoes.

Junmyeon stands close to Sehun, pointing out a few things like the mast of the first ship and the
decking of the second, watching the boy scribble down a few words. Kyungsoo isn’t too far away,
having put down his book on a makeshift table for spare parts, staring up at the sails in wonder.

Then there’s Baekhyun. He stands next to his father, who realises that his youngest son hasn’t been
any paying much attention to a word he’s been saying since they stepped into the garage. So,
Yunho follows his gaze, soon nodding in understanding when he spots Chanyeol leaning over
some blueprints.
With the sleeves of his worn shirt rolled up and his dark hair slicked back from the amount of times
he had run his fingers through it, taking on the strict role of a captain as he orders Sehun to change
the bolts of the panels – it’s a charming sight.

Broken out of his focus by one of the crewmates shouting from behind a ship for Chanyeol, it
doesn’t take long for Baekhyun to notice his father staring at him. The king raises his eyebrows
suggestively, to which the prince sends a look of mild disgust to.

“You were staring at him, son,” Yunho teases, before he’s gesturing for Kyungsoo to join them,
“he was staring.”

Baekhyun looks between his father and brother, appalled, “No I was not.”

“Yes, you were.”

As the king and the third prince argue back and forth in the middle of the garage, earning a few
amused looks and chuckles from the shipmates nearby, Jongin sidles up to his captain and bumps a
shoulder into his.

“Your prince has been staring at you.” The boy points out.

Eyeing the blueprints like he understands, but everyone knows that he has never been taught how
to read, Jongin starts humming under his breath as he glances over at Chanyeol.

The older man frowns, taking his eyes off the sketched plans for a minute to stare at the other. His
voice comes out in a grumble as he asks, “my prince?”

“Prince Baekhyun. He’s been staring at you since he’s stepped into the room. Hasn’t taken his
eyes off you,” Jongin presses on, pausing for a second while he looks between the captain and the
youngest prince, who seems to be still arguing with the king, “say… did anything happen between
you two when you followed him to the market the other night?”

What could possibly happen between us, idiot?”

“What wouldn’t happen between you two is the question, Captain.”

“Kid,” Chanyeol grunts out, pointedly staring at Jongin, “shouldn’t you be working on the cabins.”

The boy grimaces at that, scurrying away once a disapproving look is directed his way.

Chanyeol’s left with a blank mind, the words and the drawings on his blueprints a blur as places
his hands on the table and leans forward to hover over them. Through the blur and the dim lights of
the garage, of the lanterns hanging near the opened gates, Chanyeol catches Baekhyun’s eye. He
had no clue that the prince had been staring at him, being left behind the king who’s testing out of
the decks. So, he stands there alone, thick robes making him look smaller, the colour of midnight,
shine and blue, and beautiful with his bright red hair.

The pirate ends up smiling as the prince brings up a hand and waves at him, shyly bowing his head
immediately after and walking back to the palace with his brothers.

The smile doesn’t fall for some time, even as his crew members call it a day, turning off the lights
and crawling into their makeshift beds on the top of the hay stacks.

In fact, it only grows brighter – his smile – when Baekhyun comes by again the next day, while
Yixing stands a few feet away with a knowing look. He comes the day after that, too, and the next
day, nor saying a word as he stands next to the growing ships, almost always furrowing his
eyebrows and tapping away at his lips with his fingers like he understands what’s going on. He has
no clue, chanyeol knows that, but he stays until he’s called for dinner.

Sometimes when the moon is too high and the island is half asleep, Kyungsoo himself has to come
out to take Baekhyun back inside. Sometimes, Jongin looks at Chanyeol, speculative, trying to put
pieces together and not making any sense of the smile the prince sends his captain. He forgets it all
every time he sees Kyungsoo and his dark coloured robes trailing behind him walking through the
door.

It isn’t until one day that Baekhyun musters up the courage and slowly makes his way to the table
Chanyeol’s crouched over, silent for a second as he watches the older man chew away on the tip of
his pen, scribbling over his plans with a groan. The pirate finally looks up when the younger man
suddenly clears his throat, gently, as if not to surprise him, but his presence still has the other
looking at him in shock. The expression fades away as soon as Chanyeol straightens up, standing
on the other of the table, and sends the smaller a smirk.

“Isn’t it a bit too late for you to be out, my prince?” Chanyeol jests, although his eyes are heavy and
lined with red, tired as his words come out in a slur, still charming and jovial, “there’s pirates out
and about in the streets. Can’t say they’re as kind as me.”

Baekhyun nose twitches as he says, “I do not need people to fight for me.”

“I didn’t say you did, Darling.”

The pout grows slack and Baekhyun’s eyes shutter when Chanyeol wordlessly moves forward and
gently touches the younger man’s head, sinking in his fingers in through soft hair until he catches
the clip between his fingers. It’s yellow today – canary diamonds cut so neatly and placed one after
the other across the width of the clip’s band. It’s pretty and mellow, as soft as Baekhyun’s eyes
fluttering close, his eyelids also painted the same soft hue of yellow, barely there.

“Beautiful.”

Baekhyun snaps his eyes open, dazed and a little confused, “What did you say?”

“This,” Chanyeol exclaims, pulling his hand back to reveal the clip in the middle of his palm.
Baekhyun stares at it, a second or two passing by before he makes sense of the situation and scowls
up at Chanyeol. The taller man just chuckles at the wordless response, voice breathy and teasing,
“they’re beautiful.”

On you, he thinks, eyes fond and lips pulled into a lazy smile.

“Can you please stop stealing these from me?”

“Only if you’d let me steal your heart instead, my prince.”

Baekhyun blanches. And so, maybe it’s in the way that Chanyeol laughs loudly, a rumble coming
from his chest, that has Baekhyun suddenly flustered, turning around and storming towards the
opened doors, glaring at the floor as he pushes past Sehun as the young pirate walks in with a pile
of bread rolls and glass milk bottles in his arms.

“I’ll keep them safe for you, Baekhyunee!” Chanyeol yells after the prince, slipping the clip in the
back pocket of his trousers, only for the latter to send him a grimace over his shoulder not even a
second later.
“It is prince Baekhyun to you, you giant oaf!”

Fourteen moons later, after a night full of black and white keys and dancing, Baekhyun finds
himself groaning into the front of his robes as he hikes a foot atop the balcony outside of his
bedroom window. He balances himself before he’s falling forwards, landing on his hands and
knees as his robes pool around him.

“Is this your way of sneaking into the palace?”

Chanyeol’s voice is low and deep, the pirate leaning up against the archway of Baekhyun’s
bedroom door. He has his arms crossed over his sturdy chest and with his boots heavy the floor,
the shoelaces untied like they usually are. His voice alone sends Baekhyun tumbling into the chest
drawer underneath his open windows. His robes are crumpled, and his hairclips are barely holding
onto his bright red hair, but his cheeks stand brighter, a deeper red that has Chanyeol widening his
eyes at, like he’s amused and a little entertained.

“What are you doing here?” Baekhyun asks, breathless, hands grasping at his hips as he shuffles to
his closet.

“Your brother has asked me to check up on you.”

Baekhyun narrows his eyes, turning to face the pirate, “my brother? Why would he send you of all
people?”

The dramatic gasp is expected as Chanyeol holds a hand on top of his chest and bows his head a
little forward, pretending to be hurt and devastated. His pout is full, and his eyes are wide, and it
has Baekhyun scoffing at Chanyeol, who trips up in his spot like he can barely hold himself up.

“What do you mean by me of all people?” the older man questions, voice almost groggy and
slurred, loud as he takes a step closer to the prince, “am I not trustworthy? Do you think so badly of
me?”

“Would you not steal my crown if I left here unattended?”

Chanyeol blinks down at Baekhyun like it’s the most scandalous thing he has ever heard. And even
though he stands less than a foot away, his boots still heavy on the oak floor, his back straight and
his shoulders stiff and broad, the prince stars back at him, too, unfazed for the first time in a while.

“Of course I wouldn’t,” Chanyeol exclaims, the tick in his jaw visible as he speaks. His eyes
suddenly grow heavy lidded, the creases along his skin gone and his mouth goes slack, his lips
always plump and pink and slightly chapped. The back of Baekhyun’s neck begins to burn because
Chanyeol doesn’t look away.

“I would steal you, too.”

The pirate is left guffawing, laughter rumbling from his chest and into the open space of
Baekhyun’s bedroom. The creases of the corners of his eyes appear again, just as the creases of his
mouth do.

And with Baekhyun so caught up in the way Chanyeol laughs, ringing through his own chest, heart
beating wildly for reason he can’t think of, he misses the way the taller man leans forward until he
finds them standing almost nose to nose, the tips of their boots barely touching. He doesn’t notice
the warm hand stealing one of his ruby red hairclips – he never does – being pulled gently out of
his hair, until it’s being held right in front of Baekhyun. Chanyeol laughs soften, and he smiles at
the sight of red hair falling into droopy, bright eyes.

“I’ll be adding this to my collection.”

He the leaves the room like nothing happened.

The snow starts to thaw, frost left only on the orange trees, the months going by until it’s almost
the start of spring.

The pirates scatter around the island, having been given several days off again to rest as they’ve
run out of material, waiting for them to be imported in front the neighbouring islands. They visit
the markets and the beaches, while Chanyeol strolls through the palace with Sehun, as if he knows
where the hallways lead to, or when it’s the best time to sneak some food from the head cook.

He’s bumped into Baekhyun a few times, just like now as he stands a distance away while
watching the prince slipping out of the library, checking to see if the hallways are empty. Then he
jolts in his place, a hand brought to his chest, and Baekhyun narrows his eyes at Chanyeol and
Sehun as they lean against the bannisters of the stairs. Although Sehun’s just staring too hard at the
painted portrait to his right, gazing upon the picture of Junmyeon before he’s laughing to himself.
Chanyeol only ignores him and nods at the prince.

“Are you following me?” Baekhyun whispers, making his way over to the two.

The eldest pirate rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest while doing so, and purposefully
slurs his words to seem uninterested, “We just happened to be coming out of the kitchen the same
time you’ve decided to run out on your lesson. Maybe it’s fate.”

“I was not running out,” Baekhyun corrects, fiddling with the edges of his robes as he steals a wary
glance behind him, “and there is no such thing as fate—”

“I am right here.” Sehun interrupts, coming to stand in-between his captain and the prince,
gesturing towards himself by running his hands down his torso. He turns to Baekhyun, who frowns
at him, but he still sighs and places a hand on the shorter man’s shoulder, earning himself a look of
complete bewilderment from Chanyeol, “if you want to pull Captain into of these rooms – these
many, many rooms – and kiss the living daylights out of him then please do. I insist. I’ll be on the
lookout for any guards.”

“Oh Sehun!”

The younger boy just casts a weary look over at Chanyeol, unmoved by his yell and his huge eyes
that stare back at him in disbelief. It’s expected, but before Sehun knows it, he’s being dragged
away by the ear as the eldest pirate storms down the hallway and pulling him down the stairs.
Sehun still turns around to send a seemingly frozen Baekhyun a smile, waving his hands while
Chanyeol pulls on his ear, harshly.
In a daze, Baekhyun leaves, absentmindedly entering the same room he had spent at least an hour
escaping out of. He opens his book to whatever page silently, while his tutor walks up from their
slumber, having no clue that the prince had been gone in the first place. Kyungsoo doesn’t even
look at him. The burning blush of his cheeks doesn’t die, even when night falls and his lessons are
soon done for the day, and Baekhyun walks out into the courtyard with his blush still burning red.
He decides to take a stroll through the night, waving off Yixing, who slides back inside the palace
to leave the prince alone.

The huge ponds are expectedly empty of the mermaids and the koi fish, being set into the sea for
spring because the water is cooler there and the currents are gentle. Cleaned out and filled with
fresh water, Baekhyun slips off his robes and his leather shoes, rolling up the ends of his slack to
dip his toes into the water, sitting down on the edge of the pond. He basks in the oncoming spring
air, in the scent of the roses and tulips around him, and in the way the water laps at his smooth
skin, pale against the moonlight.

“This is precisely what you’d call fate.”

Baekhyun feels an arm brushing against his and another pair of legs slip into the water as he turns
to his left to face Chanyeol, peering up at him while the older man whistles under his breath. The
prince steals a glimpse and then another at the glistening hoop hanging from the man’s ear, to the
loose button of his shirt and his hands that hold onto the edge of the pond, too, tanned and
calloused and nothing like Baekhyun’s that are still adorned with silver rings.

“I hardly think following me means fate, Park.”

Chanyeol shakes his head, even if Baekhyun isn’t staring at him to see, the both of them watching
tiny ripples of water around their bare feet. His voice comes out ow, soft, with no one else in the
dark courtyard, “I come here often when the boys are done for the day. It’s… peaceful, whether it’s
to just sit by the pond or to go for a swim.”

Baekhyun stills, pondering, “you swim with the mermaids?”

“Why?” The taller mans asks, resting his chin on his shoulder as he peers up at the prince. His lips
are pinched into a smirk and his eyes are filled with the stars as he does, “are you jealous, my
prince?”

“Why would I be jealous?”

It comes as a surprise when Chanyeol leans forward and fully steps into the pond, till the water
licks at his waist and seeps in through his shirt. And it’s playful the way he looks up at the prince
still sitting on the edge, stepping a few steps back into the water where it grows more shallow the
further he goes. Like this, Baekhyun looks at him like he’s crazy, incredulous.

“You must be mad if you think I am stepping in there with you.”

The pirate licks his lips, gesturing widely at nothing in particular with his arms, challenging the
other man, “are royalty not allowed to play?”

“Excuse me—”

“Or maybe my prince isn’t as brave as he chalks up to be.”

But it doesn’t come as a surprise when Baekhyun huffs and suddenly climbs down from the edge
and into the pool of water, fire in his eyes and hands up into fists as the water sends shivers inside
his shirt and up his skin. He gasps, wading through the water, not sure where he’s going, only that
he’s getting closer to Chanyeol, who waits by the stone wall surrounded by lily pads. They float
around him, pink and yellow, seen under the moonlight.

Baekhyun soon stops. Because under the moon, and the stars in the dark blue sky, Chanyeol stands
there, his shirt wet and clinging to his torso, to his waist and to his arms that Baekhyun stares at for
a little too long – waiting for the prince. His hair is wet, too, slicked back and out of his face, water
droplets falling onto his eyelashes as he grins. And suddenly, his gaze falls, hooded and heady,
molten almost, and Baekhyun isn’t sure when the water had gotten warmer.

“Do you need a hand, Darling?”

He does, and he takes it, but instead of letting go when Chanyeol finally pulls him closer,
Baekhyun holds on. He holds on until the older man’s smile disappears to be replaced by a look of
worry as he ducks his head down, bending a little, because he doesn’t understand.

And he should have seen it coming, should have noticed, when Baekhyun suddenly lifts up his
head, takes away his hand and places them on the taller man’s shoulders. Stiff and broad, and
tensed under Baekhyun’s touch, Chanyeol doesn’t see it coming at all.

Because Baekhyun isn’t thinking as he presses his chest against Chanyeol’s, the water from the
latter’s shirt seeping in his own; he isn’t thinking when he tiptoes on bare feet and takes
Chanyeol’s mouth into a kiss.

So, when he feels a nose bumping into his and an arm wrapping around his waist, dipping him
down with a hand at the small of his back, until he feels the water around his hips, Baekhyun
stumbles forward because Chanyeol’s kissing his back. Smoothing his hands over the pirate’s
shoulders, he thinks he’s out of his mind as he continues to reach into Chanyeol’s wet hair. He
feels the latter smoothing his warm hands down his back and the hands dipping down into the
curves of his waist.

The kiss is soft, tentative, soon turning desperate and dizzying as Baekhyun grips onto Chanyeol’s
hair, tousling it even more than usual, his hold tightening when he begins to kiss the corners of his
mouth. But it’s ruthless and all sorts of heady when Chanyeol catches Baekhyun bottom lip
between both of his own. He also doesn’t realise that the deep groan had come from him, enough
for Baekhyun to whine low in his throat. And he feels it; he feels it beneath his chest as Chanyeol
pushes him up against the stone wall.

Like that, Baekhyun begins to pull back, gasping for much needed breath, tilting his head
backwards until he’s looking at the stars above them with blurry eyes. Then he’s whining louder,
keening, because Chanyeol’s kissing his neck, covering up Baekhyun’s moles with pretty purples
and pinks.

The pirate pulls back to find Baekhyun staring at him with widening eyes, and the prince would
have tripped if it wasn’t for the pirate’s hands on his hips, the warmth sinking in through his wet
shirt – his senses all over the place as he begins to blush under Chanyeol’s hooded gaze.

“I shouldn’t have—”

The words fall just as Baekhyun places his own hand over Chanyeol’s, firm on his waist. He
doesn’t whisper a word until the warmth slides down the side of his side and to the back of his
knees, moving to hike a leg up around the older man’s own waist. He doesn’t say anything because
with Chanyeol’s plump lips so swollen and so red under his kisses, Baekhyun chases after him
again.
Their noses bump into each other again, once, twice, thrice, as Baekhyun cradles the taller’s face,
unaware of Chanyeol holding the back of his head, helping him to tilt his head up just a little,
opening his mouth to deepen the kiss. He’s unaware as he circles his other leg around the pirate’s
waist, leaning into him, body wrapped around him, hands desperate while Chanyeol’s kisses grow
eager. They’re drowning him, and he’s unaware.

The sound of faint footsteps has Baekhyun quickly pulling back, head snapping up to look at the
entrance of the palace, alert, before he’s pulling himself out of his heady senses as he makes out a
guard walking towards the pond.

“What- hey, hey, Baekhyun, where are you going?”

The prince untangles himself form Chanyeol, shuffling past him to swim near the opposite side of
the pond, hastily, and then he’s looking over his shoulder and gestures at the pirate to follow after
him. Still caught up in the kisses, with his mouth still swollen and his senses in a mess, Chanyeol
takes the hand offered to him, letting Baekhyun pull him out from the pond.

It’s all fuzzy as they hear the guard yelling behind him – running further down the pathway and out
of the palace courtyard; Chanyeol’s shoes sounding heavier against the cobblestone pathways.
Even through the cold air nipping at his skin, and his ears are buzzing with the sounds of
Baekhyun’s laughter bubbling up past his lips, Chanyeol feels a hand squeezing his. He looks up to
see crescent eyes, smiling, bright like the moon and the lanterns around, filled with joy like
Chanyeol’s never seen.”

“Keep up with me, Captain!”

Their giggles echo through the silent night, chasing after them while they run past the colourful
houses and dainty shops, till they reach the dorks where Baekhyun’s tugging him onto a plank
leading to an empty ship floating gently against the dock and on the sea. Then the buzzing stops,
and Baekhyun’s laugh is loud, beautiful, as Chanyeol turns him around reaches behind his back to
unlock the door to a cabin under the back deck. Like this, they stumble in after each other, into
each other.

Chanyeol brings him closer for another kiss, laughing into his mouth as the prince takes in a shaky
breath, pulling him in, too.

It’s an empty cabin, although there’s sheets on a bed that’s placed under the huge, round port hole,
looking out into the black ocean and the bright stars, it’s void of paintings and vases and chests.
But neither pay attention as they fall onto the thin mattress, fit for one person for like the rest of the
cabins so Chanyeol brings Baekhyun onto his lap. He kisses him, torrid, just like the hands fiddling
with the buttons of the prince’s shirt, who growls in annoyance and pulls at the buttons. He helps
as Chanyeol gazes down at himself softly, fond, tries to at least, letting him do so while he pulls
the older man’s arms out of the sleeves and the shirt over his head.

His skin is still damp and cold under Baekhyun’s hands roaming over the toned expanse of his
chest, over the defined muscles of his stomach; he lets the touch linger at the moons being drawn
onto Chanyeol’s chest and over the skin of his biceps as he marvels at the sight.

“Did… did this hurt?” Baekhyun asks, words a whisper, thumbing over the faint lines of the
pirate’s tattoo.

Chanyeol clicks his tongue and takes a hold of his hand, seemingly solemn, “a little. Maybe not as
much as when you fell from heaven, though.”
He expects the light smack against his arm, so he laughs. Yet, the feeling of soft hands fumbling
with the laces of his trousers has him forgetting how to breathe. He blanches for a moment too long
because he suddenly realises that Baekhyun is also slipping out of his own shirt, pulling it over his
head swiftly and discarding it onto the floor. Soon after, the prince is stepping down from the bed,
unbuttoning his slack like he’s a hurry, letting them pool at his feet. Then he straddles the pirate
without a word.

But Chanyeol doesn’t realise the weight on his waist, too busy choking on a gasp, noticing the lack
of underwear of the prince’s, revealing smooth and bare skin that shines under the stream of
moonlight coming in through the port hole. It seems too flawless, Chanyeol, thinks.

Baekhyun only arches up an eyebrow at his, completely bemused and only letting his expression
grow, teasing, as he takes Chanyeol’s hands and places them on the curve of his bottom.

Without a warning but with a sharp intake of breath, Baekhyun takes Chanyeol’s hands in his,
places them on the dip of his waist, and rolls his hips, down onto the other’s clothed member. But
the hands fall from his waist and he’s confused, only for Chanyeol to drop them against his bare
bottom, kneading the skin in his palms.

It’s after Chanyeol slips out of the last piece of clothing he has on, and after they find the oil stored
in one of the compartments underneath the bed for reasons unknown, while the island’s in deep
sleep, does the pirate rock his fingers into Baekhyun. Muffling his whines into the older man’s
shoulder, Baekhyun tightens the grip of his thighs around his waist, as Chanyeol pushes in and out
of him like he’s playing the strings of a guitar, whispering senseless words into his ear to ease him.

When Chanyeol pulls out and unwraps his arm around from Baekhyun’s waist, laying back until he
feels the smooth hands on his stomach as the prince balances himself on top of him, it has the
unsettling fire in his chest setting alight. It begins to burn too brightly, too warmly, and explodes
when Baekhyun sinks down onto Chanyeol’s aching member. A scream mixes in with his groan,
and Chanyeol cants his hips up at the tight feeling enveloping him, placing his feet down flat on
the bed.

With every swipe of the pirate’s hands on his hips, against the small of his back and over the top of
his thighs that are littered with bruising hickeys, it has Baekhyun shaking as his fingers dig into
Chanyeol’s chest, creating crescents under his fingertips as he does so.

Under the deck of an old palace ship swimming on top of the sea, alone as the skies grow darker
and the stars turn brighter, in a cabin where the sound of the back of Baekhyun’s thighs hitting
Chanyeol’s hips, along with heady kisses, are drowned out beneath the waves, a prince and a pirate
grow lost together.

Black hair spread out against the white of the bedsheets and the gold hoop of in his ear shining and
bold, Chanyeol helps Baekhyun move against him, placing kisses at the corner of his mouth. He
groans low in his throat as the younger man sinks deeper onto him.

Baekhyun begins to push himself back onto the older man, breath coming out in stutters every time
Chanyeol thrusts up into his heat, the base of the other’s girth cold against the air as Baekhyun lifts
himself up, before dropping himself back down again. Taking a hold of the window ledge, the
prince falls forward and buries his face into the crook of Chanyeol’s neck, urging him to hold onto
his hips harder, for him to go faster, crying out when it becomes too much.

“Just—just a little more, my prince.”

Baekhyun’s thighs start to ache, feeling heavy, his emotions in a turmoil as he slows down and
holds onto the sheets on either side of Chanyeol’s head. He’s breathless, air coming out in short
puffs against the man’s ears. But he soon finds himself on his back when Chanyeol rolls him
underneath, hovering above him, inside of him, until the smaller man is covered entirely by him.

Chanyeol’s face is flushed and his head is bowed, his lips enclosed around on of Baekhyun’s nubs
while he drives into the prince, slowly, dragging himself against his walls, bare and warm. It drives
the both of them insane and in a daze.

And with Baekhyun carding his fingers through his hair, smoothing the long, loose strands out of
Chanyeol’s faze, so he could look up in the almond shaped eyes, pretty and fluttering, it becomes
too much.

His head above the clouds and the stars, Chanyeol takes the back of his Baekhyun’s thigh, his
hands dry and rough and warm, and pushed at them until Baekhyun had his knees touching his
chest. The angle lets Chanyeol drive deeper, the oil running dry till Baekhyun’s walls catch onto
his member, rim pink and puffy; it has his groans cracking halfway through his thrusts – and he
thrusts until Baekhyun’s pressed into the corner of the cabin room, where the moonlight doesn’t
reach the walls. But Chanyeol makes out of the prince’s face in the shadows, blissed and tired, and
he lets him steal a kiss, then several.

“So beautiful,” he says, voice hoarse, filling up the dark room with its timbre, “my Baekhyunee."

The prince burns brighter under his words, under his hooded eyes, flushing a pretty red just like his
hair. He’s so close and so unfocused, letting Chanyeol pound away into him, huge and heavy
against his tight walls. He lets him, until the seas and the stars become hues of oranges and reds.
Like the burning feeling Baekhyun can feel under the skin of his hips – a burning feeling he knows
could be felt in thighs if they weren’t so numb with touches and hickeys.

When Chanyeol takes a hold of him, Baekhyun comes, sobbing, staining his stomach as he
clenches around the older man. With his name on his lips and his mind filled with nothing else but
him, Baekhyun digs the heels of his feet into the middle of Chanyeol’s back, arching up into his
high.

It’s when Chanyeol goes to pull out that Baekhyun hesitantly shakes his head. It’s enough for him
to stay, to take in all of the prince, who looks up at him with wide, wet eyes, shining with
something Chanyeol doesn’t understand. He doesn’t understand; he only knows that Baekhyun
doesn’t look away when Chanyeol finally comes, too, blinded by the white and the red and
oranges, coming so deep inside of Baekhyun, his girth pulsing and frantic up against the bundle of
nerves, moving his hips lazily against his, thoroughly. It’s lewd the way Chanyeol stays inside,
dripping, and Baekhyun shudders at the warm feeling as it begins to slip out. Dirty sheets below
them and filling the room with short puffs of air, they stay like this.

As the waves crash against the ship and the shore, and the sun has yet to be seen, Chanyeol falls
asleep with Baekhyun tucked against his side, where the colours start to summer, and it just feels
warm. So like that, he misses the way Baekhyun steals a glance at his face from where he has his
ear pressed against the older’s chest and above his furiously beating heart, staring at him so softly.
He takes it all in, from the creases at the corners of Chanyeol’s eyes, to the mole on his nose, to his
lips that are slightly parted as he mumbles in his sleep. Baekhyun stares like he’s fond and almost
in love.

The prince quickly shakes his head at the wandering though, laughing quietly at himself. With his
eyes still soft, growing heavier as his breathing starts to even out and fall into sync with Chanyeol,
he falls asleep, too.
‘Chanyeol will come back, right?’

So will you stay?

Chanyeol, however, wakes up alone, with a thin blanket thrown over him and his clothes stacked
neatly in a pile on top of the trunk beside the bed. But the pirate grins, bashful, as he slips into his
clothes and walks up on the deck, looking out into the ocean where the sun has barely risen, and
the stars have disappeared. He warns a few dubious looks while he climbs down from the unused
ship, as he walks along the colourful buildings, kicking a few stones in his path, and past the
guards at the doors after they acknowledge him with a nod.

He walks in on a saddened looking Jongin trailing after Kyungsoo, the prince having buried his
nose in yet another book, his glasses perches on his nose as he continues to read, oblivious to the
young shipmate behind him. It’s not soon after that Sehun follows them into the room, a hand in
his pocket and a roll of bread stuffed into his mouth, chewing noisily until his face brightens up
after noticing Chanyeol.

“Well, someone had a fun night,” Sehun exclaims, pointedly staring at the opened collar of
Chanyeol’s shirt, who frowns, touching his neck, feeling nothing out of the ordinary, “got quite a
few hickeys on you there, Captain.”

Neither of the two notice Kyungsoo suddenly peering up from his book, eyeing them uncertainly
as they wear identical smirks on their faces. The second prince then spots the stains on Chanyeol’s
neck, the same shade of pink splotched he had found on Baekhyun earlier this morning. He had
been staring at his brother, wary; he watched him as he stumbled into the palace just before dawn,
in clothes that were too wrinkles and with hair that was ruffled. Kyungsoo had only caught him
because he had made his way down the kitchen for a glass of water. His younger brother had run
off upstairs before he could question him, watching as he limped the entire way.

Sehun raises his eyebrows up at the ceiling, glancing back briefly towards the grand set of stairs
behind them, voice hushed as he asks, “was it, you know, him?”

“A pirate never kisses and tells, kid.”

“That’s bullshi— where are you going?”

Chanyeol walks through off and through the countless amount of hallways, passing paintings upon
painting and bedroom decorated with the finest paints and velvet curtains, with canopy beds fit for
royalty. He greets the maids along the way, smiles at Yunho, too, who rushes past him with a grin
of his own, Yixing not too far behind as he juggles between phone calls and papers and tea.

He walks until he reaches the centre of the palace, where a chandelier bigger than most ships he’s
seen at sea hangs from the ceiling, made of gold and decorated with amethyst, purple diamonds
that match the lavender hanging in baskets on each wall. Too caught up in marvelling at the lights,
Chanyeol doesn’t see the prince slipping out of his room, dressed in a fresh shirt and a new robe,
hair still wet from shower. He doesn’t notice him until he’s bumping into Baekhyun’s side, causing
the younger man to topple over as he yelps in surprise.

“What are you—Chanyeol?”

“Baekhyun—”

“You should not be here.”

The prince keeps his head down, refusing to meet Chanyeol’s eyes and hoping his silence is
enough for the man to drop it and leaves things as they are. Chanyeol doesn’t. Instead, he moved a
hand to Baekhyun’s chin and gently turns his face towards him, smoothing over the skin there with
his thumb.

“What happened between us—what took place yesterday, we should not speak about it.” He says it
so quietly, and Chanyeol just hums under his breath.

“You don’t want anyone else finding out, is that it?”

Baekhyun shakes his head, hesitant at first, before he’s taking a hold off Chanyeol’s wrist,
bringing it down and away from his face, and he just holds it, fiddling with the taller man’s fingers
instead of the strings of his robes.

He heaves a sigh, “You are a pirate, Chanyeol. I am a prince. If my father found out—”

“I think your father is the least of our concerns.” The pirate taunts, teasing, only to end up sighing
himself when Baekhyun starts to worry his bottom lip between his teeth.

So, he glances up and down the wide hallway, for signs of anyone loitering around. Baekhyun is
too lost in his thoughts, and so he completely misses the way Chanyeol nods to himself. Then he’s
swiftly leaning down to steal a kiss, and then another, and another, until he finally feels
Baekhyun’s smile on his lips.

“Chanyeol!”

The yell of his name has him taking Baekhyun into his arms as the younger man trips up on the
marble floor and into his chest, where his protests mix with his laughs, muffled into the front of
Chanyeol’s shirt.

“It wouldn’t be the end of the word, Darling. Not with you and me.”

And this time, Baekhyun manages to catch Chanyeol’s wrist in his hand as the pirate moves to steal
another clip from his hair, a new one that’s covered in onyx diamonds, the colour of the ocean at
night. This time, he takes it out of his hair himself, reaching out for Chanyeol’s hand and placing
the clip into his palm.

“For you.”

The day continue to pass by like that, with Chanyeol bumping into Baekhyun in the palace, outside
near the pond at night while the mermaids are gone, behind the garage where he follows after
Baekhyun when the prince stomps away, embarrassed by the pirate’s loud endearments. The days
follow with stolen kisses and warm hands always reaching up to cup Chanyeol’s face, and the night
ends with Baekhyun returning to his bedroom, his lips pink and the stars in his eyes.

But in the middle of the night, where the stars in the skies don’t see to shine so brightly outside of
Baekhyun’s window, he sits on the sofa just below it, gazing up at the moon. Completely unaware
about the words being shared in the stables near the garage.

“You’re not in love with him?”

Chanyeol scoffs, “Love? Am I fool, Jongin?”

“Then how do you suppose we go through with his plan if you’re still going ahead with this plan?”
Sehun whispers, his tone breathy and frustrated, while he stacks a bundle of hay on top of another,
the sound somewhat loud in the quiet stables while the horses sleep for the night.

Chanyeol sits on top of his own pile, back against the side of the stable walls. There’s a stick in his
mouth and his hands are clasped together behind his eyes, and his eyes are stating up at the night
sky seen through the open doors. His boots lay discarded and untied on the floor, as does the
blanket the head cook had offered to him, the old woman having had smiled sweetly at him before
patting the side of his face.

“How many times do I have to explain it to you idiots?” The eldest man grunts out, closing his eyes
briefly, and then he’s glaring at Jongin and Sehun from across the room, the both of them climbing
on top of their own stacks of hay – some they borrowed from the garage for makeshift beds that
poke into their skin through their loose shirts, still warm in Byulumos’ unusual heat.

”I’ve gotten a letter from Jongdae. Says he and Minseok have been in Sakuralin for twenty nights
and they’re on their way to Kasailon. They’ll bring April around here, just as the island’s imports
come in. That’s fourteen days, maybe more. We head out no earlier than midnight, take as much of
this palace’s treasure you can find, then we’ll blend in with the land’s people working the night
shifts. It’s fool proof.”

“You’re think you’re going to get past him?”

“Baekhyun? Of course. He’ll be the one escorting us out of the palace grounds.” The pirate says,
closing his eyes for a little while longer, body growing slack as he nestles into the hay. The spring
heat is warm on his tanned skin, kissing at his neck and the spaces behind his ears, and his voice
would lull anyone to sleep, “you’ve ever broken a prince’s heart?”

“Chanyeol…”

“Me neither.”

He ignores the pinching of his chest, ignores the restless burning of his eyes, and he closes them,
only to see bright reds and blues.

When spring arrives again and the tulips bloom, the roses taking a little longer, the royal family
announce Junmyeon’s engagement to a princess from one of Byulumos’ neighbouring islands. The
party takes place a week later, held in the grand ballroom of the palace, late into the evening as
most of the land’s people have turned in for the night.

The guests arrive in either black of white, in expensive suits and gorgeous dresses, elegant against
the rose gold interior of the room. Chanyeol was unexpectedly invited, too, bringing along Jongin
and Sehun; the three of them were lent suits by Yunho himself, because pirates never own
anything more than the shirts on their backs and trousers.

Amidst the dancing guests stands Chanyeol dressed in a black suit that fits him too well,
emphasising the broadness of his shoulders and the size of his arms, while he observes the room,
holding a flute of champagne in one hand, the other tucked into a pocket of his slacks.

It’s a sight to swoon over, and people do, lingering near the pirate as he rubs his golden earring,
sheepishly smiling at them when they don’t look away. They stare at his shipmates, too, looking
up at them in something akin to awe because with their hair slicked back and their suits neat and
pressed, slacks defining their long legs, they fit right into the vision of royalty.

However, it’s Baekhyun stepping down the stairs after Junmyeon and his fiancée, after the king
and beside Kyungsoo, dressed in white, that has Chanyeol straightening up – taking his breath
away. It’s his red hair that seems faint under the ballroom lights, almost pink, and there’s smudges
of black and gold against his eyelids, yellow pearls on either corners of his eyes. It’s the matching
yellow clips in his, and the white suit, so pristine and cut perfectly, tailored to fit the youngest
prince and only him. But it’s really the most prettiest smile he sends Chanyeol once he spots him
amongst everyone else, blinding, as his eyes turn into crescent moons.

“Slow down there, Captain,” Sehun says, voice hushed as he sidles up to the man and shares a
knowing look with him, ignoring the glare Chanyeol sends his way. It doesn’t stop Jongin from
adding on, “you look like you’re in love right now.”

“And you two look like idiots.”

Sehun and Jongin stare at Chanyeol, gaping at him in disbelief, continuing to do so when he walks
away from them, seething to himself. Until Kyungsoo comes around after excusing himself from
his family, seeking out Jongin and standing beside him, as the younger boy offers him a plate of
food he snuck back from the buffet table.

On the other side of the ballroom, Chanyeol walks along the opened set of doors, leading out to the
balconies while he picks at the collar of his shirt, loosening it by a button or two, when he’s
suddenly pulled through the doors by a hand holding onto the hem of his suit.

“What in the seas do you think you’re doing—”

Chanyeol abruptly cuts himself off, blinking down at Baekhyun leaning against the stone railings
of the balcony. He smiles at him like he knows something, and it just puzzles, who stares at him
perplexed. Then he had no idea why he starts laughing, too, along with Baekhyun, stifling it into a
fist as they shuffle behind the doors and away from the guests.

He has no idea why he bends down and softly places a kiss on Baekhyun’s cheek, taking the prince
by surprise. Although it only last momentarily, because without a word, Baekhyun stands up on his
tiptoes and returns the kiss, open mouthed and against his lips, blushing as soon as he settles down
on the balls of his feet.

Chanyeol presses his lips into a thin line, fighting the smile threatening to bloom on his face, “what
did I do to deserve something as special as that?”

“Nothing,” Baekhyun answers, pausing to peer around the glass doors of the balcony, rocking back
and forth on his feet, and then he turns back to face Chanyeol, bashful, “you just look exceptionally
handsome tonight, Captain.”

“Only tonight?”

The smaller man huffs loudly, albeit playful, and he parts his lips to retaliate, but Junmyeon
suddenly calls for him from inside the ballroom. And Chanyeol expects to say goodbye, the night
too long to stay behind for the party, hoping he can slip out of the palace and head down to the
garage to sleep.

What he doesn’t expect is Baekhyun slipping off a clip from his hair and hooking the jewelled clip
onto the breast pocket of Chanyeol’s suit, right over his chest, which the prince pats once, twice,
before pulling back and stepping away. The yellow is colourful against the black, shining under the
light that streams in through the ballroom and out into the balcony.

Chanyeol grows stuck in a daze, and Baekhyun slips back into the room unnoticed, as does the last
lopsided smile he gives to the taller before he disappears.

And he feels like a fool, leaving the palace in a hurry and only stumbling to a halt when he sees
Sehun and Jongin waiting for him outside the gates. They walk on ahead as Chanyeol trails behind
them. They don’t turn to look back as he unhooks the clip from his pocket and presses it into the
palm of his hand – but they know.

“It’s not too late, Captain,” Sehun speaks, slowing down in his stroll to walk beside the older man.
Jongin soon turns back, too, firmly nodding along with him as if he knows what the other pirate
will say, “you don’t have to do it. Not to your prince at least. Don’t be an… idiot.”

“It isn’t that easy—”

“It might be foolish to love, but when you’re a fool in love, does it really matter?”

“Jongin—”

“He was your best friend, Chanyeol.”

He’s your prince.

So be his.

It’s the end of spring when the ships return to Byulumos, bringing in crates of imported goods,
materials and stocks of clothing and food, enough to last the island another year. The sun glows
and the clouds seem larger than usual up in the blue skies; the beaches seem to be filled with sand
and the markets are buzzing with people in their summer hats.

So, it all happens as the royal family stand on the desk, observing the sturdiness of the new ships
the pirates have been working on for almost a year, testing out how good they’ll float on the sea
and how great they’ll fight the waves. No one seems to notice a palace guard rushing down the
steps, a panic stricken look on his face.

The king is too preoccupied with the wood of the decking to notice, and Junmyeon is huddled in a
circle with Sehun and Yixing, discussing the masts and the sails. Kyungsoo is seemingly ignoring a
smitten looking Jongin, who trails after him once Yunho calls for his second son. Then there’s the
youngest prince, standing behind the wheel with his feet apart and his hands holding onto the bars,
in amazement over the wood and silver used to make it – one Chanyeol had spent months to
perfect.

Said pirate rests against the seating area behind the wheel, seats that have been carved into the ship
and covered with handmade pillows the cooks had given him, returning his bow with gratitude. He
lies there, eyes closed and his hands behind head, feeling the warm sunlight on his face; he feels
the light laughter coming from Baekhyun as he turns the wheel too quickly, too, overjoyed. Too
caught up in it all, they don’t notice the guard running towards them either.

“The first prince’s crown has been stolen!”

It’s silent first, the statement sinking into the darkening atmosphere, and then there’s yells and
orders coming from the alarmed king. Everyone is told to climb down from the ships, from the
pirates to the guards and the few maids who had lingered behind to tend to the three princes. They
all step off, one after the other, alert by the announcement. In the middle of it all once he lands on
the docks, Chanyeol stands there, looking confused as a guard shoves past him. The bump to his
shoulder is harsh and the cold sneer that follows has him taken aback.

He doesn’t understand as he turns around and scurries over to help Baekhyun off the ship, but the
prince just stands still before him, standing a few feet away. It’s only when he calls for him again
and the younger man doesn’t answer that Chanyeol realises he’s not looking at him. He’s looking
past him, his usual droopy eyes wide and his mouth parted in surprise. And when Chanyeol finally
goes to turn around, he immediately frowns, paling at the ship sailing towards them.

Because standing there in all its glory is April.

Behind the grey sails and the light coloured ropes keeping them up, behind its name engraved into
the side of the ship in bronze, not as grand as Heaven, but infamous enough for Byulumos’ people
to recognise, is Jongdae and Minseok up on the front deck. But behind them, in charge of the wheel
that’s splintered but still strong as the ship comes to a halt, is Park Changmin.

He grins even as his son’s face drains of its colour, paling, while Chanyeol’s mind is a blur. The
pounding of his head grows frustrating and incessant as he looks up at his old friends, up at his
father, as the eldest pirate of them all hops off the ship like he owns the place. When Chanyeol
remembers Baekhyun behind him and hurries to face him, not expecting him to look so lost, alone,
just like he did those twenty years ago, the feeling explodes.

“I see Byulumos hasn’t changed at all,” Changmin begins, tutting under his breath, clasping a hand
over Chanyeol’s shoulder, before he’s moving past him and walking towards a wary looking
Baekhyun, “anyone could just steal a crown, board a ship and no one would know.”

“What are you doing here?”

Changmin waves off his son, pursing his lips and looking displeased at Chanyeol, before he’s
shrugging to himself and smiling widely at the youngest a prince. It’s a smile so different to the
ones he would give to the youngest Byun all those years ago, ones that were fond and fatherly.

“You don’t have to act so naïve in front of these people. You knew Jongdae and Minseok were
coming here after leaving – where was it – Kasailon. Yes, Kasailon. Did you not call for them?
You did, didn’t you? So I just decided to tag along for you, son.”

“I sent a letter—”

“Ah, is this Baekhyunee? You came back here for him, right?”

Through the roar of the guards marching down the steps, armed with swords, the king and his sons
running after them, it all happens before Chanyeol’s eyes. But they’re too far away, he realises,
amongst the colourful houses of Byulumos; they’re too far away to see their youngest prince
flinching away from Chanyeol, ignoring the taller man as he shakes his head and refuses to look at
his father and his pitiful smile.

“Baekhyun—”

“Was it you?” The prince asks, so abrupt, hushed, throat aching while he blinks up him, repeating,
“was it you? Did you steal the crown?”

Chanyeol reaches out, stuttering like he’s never done before, and this time it’s him who looks lost,
on an island that been his home for almost a year, “My- my prince—”

The words fall, lost as well, because one of Chanyeol’s men come running onto the dock, out of
breath, a bag clutched in his hands. It has the pirate’s eyes shuttering, faltering. The buzzing
becomes too loud and his eyes start to cloud over, not noticing Sehun and Jongin stumbling
towards him, just as confused as he is.

“Captain, what’s going on?”

Through it all, he sees Baekhyun staring at him like he’s angry, hurt, like he doesn’t know
Chanyeol at all. He doesn’t look away and neither does anyone else. The chaos only unwinds when
the ship is soon untied from the dock and his father is tugging at his arm, ushering for him follow.

“Did you think people like us would ever be welcomed here?”

Chanyeol still doesn’t look away. He can’t as Baekhyun refuses to look at the hurt look on his face,
his own eyes stinging as he furiously tries to blink away the feeling, the ache in his chest too
foreign, the sound of blood rushing through his ears too loud.

“What are you doing, Chanyeol?! Get on the ship. We have the crown.”

When the guards come rushing forward onto the dock and Jongdae has yet to lift up the anchor
from the sea, Chanyeol finds himself falling backwards as Sehun pulls at his arm. He notices that
it’s a little too late when the ship starts moving away, when Changmin gives a two fingered salute
like he isn’t leaving his only son behind.

“We can’t make it. We- we have to run.”

They run, however, in the opposite direction, shocking the guards and moving further into the
island of Byulumos. Jongin lags behind them, frantic, glancing over his shoulder and losing the
sight of Kyungsoo. He curses under his breath, not realising that the second prince has kept his
head down.

April starts to sail away, leaving them behind.

Yunho unexpectedly raises a hand and halts his guard, watching them run until he’s looking over
behind him and casting a glance at his youngest son.

Despite being a king, Yunho had treated his sons like the princes they are, taught them how to
fight, taught them how to hold themselves confidently, the four of them only having each other as
family when their mother had passed away during birth of Byulumos’ youngest prince. Baekhyun
had never gotten the chance to meet her, so the king had spoilt his son in all the way he could,
made sure Yixing would become a friend as well as their royal assistant, even if his youngest son
hadn’t asked for anything other than to keep the box of hairclips he found in his mother’s
untouched drawers.

Yet, looking at him now, with his eyes blank, usually filled with mischief or fire, Yunho doesn’t
know what to do.

“Baekhyun,” the king starts softly as the prince doesn’t look away from the spot the pirate and his
shipmates had disappeared off to, “I am sure it is a misunderstanding. It must be. The boy- he
would never do such a thing—”

“He is a pirate father. What more do you expect?”

Junmyeon frowns from beside Baekhyun, taking his youngest brother by the shoulder and turning
him around, gentle as he does so, sympathetic but reprimanding, too, “since when was he just a
pirate to you?”

Baekhyun’s expression falls, if only for a second, enough for Junmyeon and Kyungsoo to notice
the distress in his eyes, hurt and broken, before he’s shrugging out of his elder brother’s hold and
questions, “is he not? Your crown has been stolen. They were planning to steal it from the start.
It… it was his plan all along, was it not?”

“Listen to me—”

“May I be excused.”

The youngest prince leaves without waiting for a response, picking up his robes in his hands, and
he walks away. He lingers a couple of steps later, causing Yunho to sigh as he comes to realise that
his son is staring out into the distance again, like he’s waiting for someone. He notices Baekhyun’s
bottom lip wobbling, notices the drop of his head as he begins to walk away with the maids
following after him, staring at the cracks of the cobblestone pathways and nothing else.

‘Chanyeol will come back, right?’

Summer falls into autumn again, the blue skies turn orange and the ships are tied to the deck for
the season.

The palace stands still since then, and the garage does, too, empty of its familiar chatter and the
joyous buzz shared between the rooms. Even the cooks solemnly do their work, accidentally
making too many bread rolls that go stale on several occasions, like the maids, who usher
themselves out once the youngest prince passes by.

Baekhyun walks into the living room, with his nose in the air, narrowing his eyes as Kyungsoo
sitting too close to the lit fireplace with his books. The second prince stares the same page, on the
same word, unmoving. It’s only when Baekhyun shuffles closer to him does Kyungsoo slightly
jump in his spot and sends his brother a weary glare, closing his book with a quiet sigh. Junmyeon
enters the room then, taking a seat on the armchair closest to them and he sags against the pillows
like a crown prince shouldn’t.

“Why do you two look so glum?” Baekhyun asks, mumbling, distracted by the glass pieces on top
of the fireplace.

“We look glum?” It’s the snippy tone of Junmyeon’s words that has Baekhyun arching up an
eyebrow at his eldest brother, silently questioning him. Junmyeon responds to the condescending
look by narrow his eyes, glaring at the younger, and he continues, “have you seen yourself in the
mirror, Baek? In fact, you do not just look glum, you look like you are devastated. You walk
around like you are heartbroken, like you cannot move on. Kyungsoo here only looks glum
because Jongin left. He left with Chanyeol, who you drove away.”

Baekhyun stares at Junmyeon in bewilderment, at his brother’s outburst, mildly irritated by his
words.

“Do I look heartbroken to you?”

“Yes! Yes, you do. Is that even a question?”

Kyungsoo looks up at his brother’s from where he’s sat, glancing between them as they both grow
red in the face, exhausted and frustrated, because they’ve been avoiding this for weeks.

They hadn’t seen Baekhyun at the dinner table for days, hadn’t seen him come out of his room
since, until the tenth night had passed by and he walked into the living room. He had settled beside
Yunho and just sat there, not saying a word while leaning his head on his father’s shoulder.

Weeks in and Baekhyun still won’t wear his robes, most of them discarded over his bedroom floor
as he’d wake up in the morning and sit down the edge of his bed. He’d look out of his window, at
the moon still shining in the sky with dawn only a few hours away. The prince wouldn’t answer
when Kyungsoo would knock on his door, still entering despite Baekhyun telling him to get out;
he’d just let him sit on his bed, too, and talk about the current book he’s reading. He’d know that
Baekhyun wouldn’t be listening to a word he’d say, but he still speaks anyway. Although when
Junmyeon would come around with their father, Kyungsoo would find himself being kicked out of
the room.

Summer had lasted like that, until autumn arrived, and Junmyeon just couldn’t take it anymore.

“You have not worn mother’s clips ever since he left, Baekhyun. When you had accused him,
doubted him, you have not touched them since. Does that not sound like a man who is
heartbroken?”

The glassy look in Baekhyun’s finally crack, splintering as he grits his teeth and storms over to his
brother. He yells, and Yunho and Yixing come running into the room, “what if I am?! Would that
matter to you, to any of you?”

“Your highness…” Yixing sighs, sharing a glance with the king.

But the prince’s voice breaks, “would- would that matter to him? That I had been a fool?”

That I was fooled.

“He did not come back, did he? So tell me, Junmyeon, what else was I to think? I had been blinded
– I thought I had fallen in love – just because he made me feel pretty. He made me feel loved. And
what was it for? Absolutely nothing.”

Junmyeon snaps, “you were not thinking, Baekhyun!”

“He stole your crown!”

“It was never stolen! I let them take it!”

The stunned silence weighs upon Baekhyun’s shoulders as he feel his heart plummet in his chest.
He feels the burning wetness of his eyes, only for them fall against his cheeks, running cold until
they reach into the front of his shirt. With his skin so pale from sleepless nights and his red hair
disarray, he looks so lost and afraid, and Junmyeon can’t help but look away. And at this, Yunho
and Yixing had whipped their heads around, too, just as Kyungsoo quickly stands up from his spot
in front of the fireplace.

“I- I let them take it.” The crown prince repeats quietly, wringing his hands together until they turn
white, “I had offered it to one of the men. I told him to run and never return.”

The seconds tick by before Junmyeon finally looks up, and Baekhyun sees his tired eyes, spots the
wrinkles around his mouth and the pale pink of his cheeks. The youngest prince twists his face at
the sight, button nose scrunching up a little, as if it would stop the ache in his throat and the
stinging of his eyes.

“I overheard Chanyeol one night. I heard him say that he was going to steal our treasure and board
April. I had thought I could have given him the crown and helped him escape. But I was wrong,
Baekhyun. He never once went looking for the palace’s gold, even when I had told him where it is
hidden. He did not steal my crown; he had no reason to because—because he wanted to stay here…
with you.”

The first sob slips out with a hiccup.

“He loves you.”

And then the second and the third, until Baekhyun’s crying into his arm, his tears soaking the
sleeve of his shirt. He cries loudly, open mouthed, even as Junmyeon apologises over and over
again and lets his brother hold onto him. Baekhyun shakes his head, as if it to say it’s not his fault,
hugging his brother closer and muffling his sobs into his shoulder. The cries are heart-breaking, so
broken and breathless, as the palace is filled with them, echoing until they reach the cooks in the
kitchen and the maids upstairs, who listen on, upset for their princes.

Yunho is gently when he steps forward to run a hand through Baekhyun’s hair, and he turns to ask
Junmyeon, “why did you do it, son?”

“I… I thought that without my crown, I cannot become king, father. I do not want to become a
king. I do not want to marry a princess.”

“You could have come to me.”

“And disappoint you?” Junmyeon asks, tired, just as Baekhyun clings onto him tighter.

“Disappoint me? When have you ever disappointed me? I have only ever been proud of you. Of all
three of you. Your mother would have been proud of you, too. I promise you that.”

When evening falls and the sleepless nights finally catch up on Baekhyun, he smiles at Junmyeon
with his nose all red and his eyes puffy, and he hugs him tightly. Then he laughs for the first time
since, heart-warming, while it rings through the room as Kyungsoo squeezes himself between them
and joins in on the embrace. From behind them and next to the doorway, Yixing and Yunho stare
at the scene, overjoyed to see the princes smiling again.

“Do you forgive me?” Junmyeon pulls back a little and asks, his smile still there and comforting
and his eyes apologetic.

Baekhyun nods, sniffling while he pinches his brother’s cheek and laughs,

“Now, will you go and bring your Chanyeol back home.”

You’ll come back to Baekhyun, right?

Dozens of guards are sent out by the next morning, just a little after dawn, being ordered to find
Park Chanyeol. Kim Jongin and Oh Sehun are also being sought out within the streets and the
land, within the shops and the ships that still line the docks. It has the palace buzzing and the
island passing on whispers, about the men were innocent and must be rewarded for their royalty.
That was an order from the king. But Baekhyun just wanted Chanyeol to know – that he’s waiting
for him to come home, and he’s stupid and in love and is sorry for the things he had done.

By the eighth day, there aren’t any signs of the pirates. The guards always return by the end of the
day, shaking their heads before turning in for the night. Junmyeon would notice Baekhyun’s
shoulders deflating, turning quiet as Yunho would turn to Yixing, wondering where the boys could
have gone in an island as dainty as Byulumos. The crown prince would pat the back of his
Baekhyun’s head, ruffling his already tousled hair, reassuring him that there’s always another day
and that Chanyeol isn’t too far away.

By the fourteenth day, Baekhyun grows too restless and slips on a blue velvet robe over his shirt
and slacks, wearing hoots instead of his usual leather shoes because autumn had gotten cold too
quickly and Baekhyun will not stop looking for Park Chanyeol. Night has fallen and the guards
have returned to the place, however, the king lets him leave alone. It’s another full night, and
although the stars are also bright in the sky, the market is cosy with piano music and chatter as
people go from stool to stool, already buying things like rugs and coats for the winter.

For the first time in a while, instead of heading to the piano in the middle of the market, Baekhyun
starts walking in the opposite direction, looking at the stools he’s never seen before. His robes
slide across the floor behind him while he hums under his breath, hood over his face, eyes covered
and only his mouth visible under the lanterns hanging from the tents above the stools.

At the end of the street, one stool suddenly catches the prince’s eye, glimmering under the night
sky. Before him stands a stool with pairs of hairclips lined up in rows, some placed in small boxes
and some hooked onto a glass stand. And even if they aren’t diamonds but coloured crystals glued
onto the silver, gold and bronze bands, Baekhyun still stares them, amazed.

Then he sees a pair of dark blue ones, the same colour as his robes and the same colour as the sky
on a winters day, prettier than anything else he has ever seen.

It’s when he goes to reach out for them, calling for the person running the booth to come to the
front so he could pay for the clips, that Baekhyun ends up being startled by a voice he never
thought he’d hear again.

“They would look beautiful on you.”

Chanyeol rests his elbows on the top of his stand, holding his face with his hands, with his chin in
his palms. He’s smiling. His almond eyes shine, prettier than the coloured crystals and the
diamonds, as pretty as the stars. He smiles like he’s never let Baekhyun’s side, The prince doesn’t
mean to let his eyes fall on Chanyeol’s lips, but he licks them, plump and pink, he turns flustered.

“C-Chanyeol?”
The older man nods. Then he’s peering over his shoulder to address someone as the back of the
booth, and that’s when Baekhyun sees Sehun and Jongin looking at him in shock. They quickly
scurry around after Chanyeol clicks his fingers, disappearing in through the back entrance of the
stool.

“We just brought in new stock, not as great as the real ones, you know, they’re just as mesmerising.
But… blue is the most beautiful on you, my prince.”

“Then will you put them on for me?”

The sudden question has the smile slipping off Chanyeol’s face as he straightens up in his spot,
eyes flittering from the floor, to the clips, to the pleading look in Baekhyun’s own droopy eyes. It’s
soft when he smiles, again, pure and lovely, nodding shyly. The blush on the older man’s cheeks is
unexpected but so is Baekhyun circling around the table and coming to stand inside the booth.

So it’s in the way he looks up at him, with crescent shaped eyes and a rectangular smile, cheeks
round and full, and it’s in the way he lets Chanyeol thread his fingers through his hair, just as bright
as the day the pirate had returned to Byulumos, red and soft under his touch. Baekhyun doesn’t
look away. He doesn’t look away as Chanyeol’s hands fall from his hair and onto his cheeks. And
then he takes the taller man by surprise by circling his hands around his wrists, turning his own
face just a little, and presses his lips to Chanyeol’s quickening pulse.

“Please forgive me.”

It’s said so quietly, Chanyeol almost misses it. Almost. He doesn’t, and he frowns, shaking his
head before he’s urging the prince to look up at him. Baekhyun does, his eyes wide and imploring,
filled with so much sorrow as Chanyeol catches his sudden falling tears by swiping his thumbs
over the smaller’s cheeks. He chuckles just as Baekhyun sniffs.

“I was s-so stupid. I did not listen to you. I- I hurt you.”

“You simply didn’t know, Darling.”

“I should have! I would have known if I listened to you,” Baekhyun argues, gripping onto
Chanyeol’s hand, frustrated with himself. “I… I waited for you to come back. I wanted you to
come back so I could let you know that I was an idiot – I am an idiot. And I am sorry, and I should
have gone after you. I wanted you to come back because I missed you. I missed you so much. I was
too stubborn to realise that I am—”

“Aren’t you being a little dramatic right now—”

“--in love with you.”

The breath is knocked out of him, Baekhyun’s words finally sinking into his messy thoughts,
ringing through the stool and the tent, bringing out unexpected chortles from Sehun and Jongin,
who eavesdrop from behind a stack of boxes. It feels as though the skies have decided to sit on his
shoulders, with the stars a pretty mess above his head, but he also feels grounded when Baekhyun
ducks down and peers up at him with worried eyes.

Because in them, he also sees love, so pure and so beautiful, and it’s all for him.

“Well, I can’t say it back now, can I,” Chanyeol blurts out, and he knows he isn’t thinking straight
as he slides his arms under Baekhyun’s robes and around his waist, pulling him in until the shorter
man bumps his nose into his chest, “it would be too awkward.”
“Chanyeol!”

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding. So impatient.”

With the piano playing outside and all of Byulumos lit with lanterns for autumn, and with
Baekhyun grumbling under his breath, absentmindedly picking at the lint on the pirate’s shirt,
Chanyeol thinks he’s never felt so at home. It is his home.

He is his home

“I love you, my prince.”

One Year Later

“Can you stop staring at me?”

Chanyeol’s question flies over Yixing’s head, who stands before him with a notepad in his hands,
scrutinising the man as he straightens up and brushes the front of his shirt. He turns uncomfortable
under the royal assistant’s calculating stare, so he looks around at the painting on the ceiling above
them, whistling under his breath as if that would be enough to annoy the other man until he leaves
him alone.

“I just saw Sehun and Jongin downstairs. Well, it was just Sehun really because Jongin did not
even realise I was there once prince Kyungsoo had arrived,” Yixing explains, lost in his own
thoughts as he begins to mumble to himself, “but that is besides the point. Now, I understand your
wedding is in three days but there really is no need for you sneak around to see the prince,
Chanyeol. He is your fiancé. You do share the same bed after all.”

Chanyeol has no idea what that has got to do with Yixing’s point, but he nods, hoping that’s all the
man has to say because Baekhyun should be coming out of his meeting with the king soon.

It’s odd, the taller man thinks, as Yixing realises that he hasn’t been paying attention to any of the
words that had left his mouth and smiles, his dimple deep, “I am waiting for the king, too. Let us
wait together and talk. So, do you have any places in mind for your honeymoon?”

As soon as Baekhyun slips out of the room, Chanyeol wastes no time in dragging him away by the
hand, both tumbling down the hallway until they reach their bedroom door. The prince parts his
mouth to speak, having been whisked away like that, only to end up squeaking when Chanyeol
suddenly slouches forward and hugs him around the waist. He places his head chin on top of the
smaller man’s head, and Baekhyun just blinks, already toying with the top button of Chanyeol’s
silk shirt.

“I know we’re getting married really soon, but please, never leave me alone again.”

Baekhyun chortles at the pleading look in Chanyeol’s eyes, affectionately patting his cheek and
tiptoeing to place a small, quick kiss on his pout, “did you miss me?”
Chanyeol knows it’s obvious that he did, so he clicks his tongue and pinches the tip of Baekhyun’s
nose, pulling a whine out of the prince.

“What was that for—”

“I love you.”

Baekhyun pushes him away, scrunching up his nose at the other man to show his blatant
annoyance, before he’s fumbling around with his door handle, as Chanyeol laughs loudly. It
doesn’t seem to open and Baekhyun grows red under his fiancé’s smirk, scowling up at him.
Expecting the door to be slammed on his face, a deep yelp rings through the hallway instead as
Chanyeol’s pulled inside their room by the collar of his shirt, not expecting a face full of
Baekhyun’s hair. It’s warm in their room and familiar, and the prince just nuzzles his nose into the
crook of the old pirate’s neck.

And although the blush on his face is burning and he feels the vibration of Chanyeol’s laugh
against his chest, warm whispers in his ear, Baekhyun hugs him tighter.

“I love you, too.”

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