♚◞ 𝕝𝕠𝕨 / 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒.

* / @villastarters· ! 

it’s their worst nightmare about the show and its ‘arrangements’ come to fruition. being paired with either of the names they’d had in mind for the coupling would have been hard enough for indie but sharing a bed with a complete stranger is downright terrifying. they are sure ares is fine enough company and probably not evil but, still. still! it’s easy enough to avoid going to bed that first night, staying up into the early hours in the lounge scribbling away in their notebook. exhaustion is hitting though and it’s with a yawn and a bleary blink that they realize they’re not alone in the room anymore. “how long have you been here?” they ask quietly, tucking legs closer to their chest from their perch in the corner of the couch. bare toes curl into the cushion self consciously. “sorry – i mean, good morning?”

For the first time since arriving at the villa, Henry is perfectly content with the results of one of the coupling ceremonies. To have been not only chosen by someone he cares about so much, but to have been allowed to be put into a trio with the second person who has caught the majority of his attention and his affection is a blessing. Minkyu and Babylon have been together for as long as Henry can remember being on the show, but he still doesn’t feel as if he’s coming between them when he gets put together with them, and rather he feels more like he’s expanding the dynamic for all three of them and transforming it into something different than how it started out. It’s a nice feeling, and it’s one that he doesn’t take for granted given how long it’s taken for them to get to where they are now.

The bed feels plush and warm beneath his back, and he’s sprawled out over it starfish style, long longs reaching to each corner of it. It’s the one that he’s going to be sharing with Baby and Minkyu, and the idea alone makes him smile to himself for all that he’s worth, unable to help it. The most he’s wanted to do for weeks now is just sleep in their bed with them, and as he closes his tired eyes now, he imagines he can still feels Kyu’s presence when he gets closer. Reaching a hand out blindly, Henry flexes his fingers. “Join me, darling?” / @miinkyuu·, @lownctes·.

it’s difficult to remember that their room is shared in moments like this – just him and henry and baby all together. sleeping out in the sands, under the stars had been fine, lovely even, but the idea of getting to curl into the plush blankets and both his lovers’ arms is far more enticing. it feels like a resolution, like some final cog has ticked into place to begin the harmonious something they were always striving for, even before now. the path upon which they tread is still going to be one of exploration and learning but this newest coupling and the perks that come along with it. 

“how are we all going to fit?” he muses playfully as he draws up next to the bed. at first, it’s just to admire. the rightness of the sight sends a warm thrum through his veins. a pleasant flush heats freckled cheeks and he has to take a breath just to process the rush of sensations. then, fingertips are reaching out to skim along the back of hyuntae’s hand, up his forearm and back down again, settling at his wrist. curling up, kyu folds under one extended arm and presses himself solidly at hyuntae’s side. eyes flutter from the rise and fall of his chest over towards baby, an invitation glittering in his gaze. “come,” he vocalizes it with an airy, excited sort of sigh.  “cuddle us.” how nice, minkyu’s heart sings, to be an us. ( @lownctes· )

                    𝐢𝐭'𝐬  𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞  𝐢𝐧  𝐚  𝐰𝐚𝐲   that  makes  his  heart  flutter  ,  being  able  to  share  a  bed  with  both  of  his  lovers  .  his  lovers  ,  though  he  has  yet  to  call  hyuntae  such  a  thing .  it’s  a  situation  that  he’d  never  thought  he’d  find  himself  in  ,  one  that  still  has  him  feeling  overgrown  in  every  possible   way  ,  still  trying  to  untangle  himself  from  the  pretty  ,  little  mess  of  emotions  that  has  wound  its  way  around  his  heart  .  it’s  welcome  ,  though  .  not  an  ounce  of  true  uncertainty  lingers  ,  any  remaining  bits  of  it  having  melted  away  entirely  during  the  coupling  ceremony  ,  he  thinks  .  thoughts  have  turned  to  the  universe  countless  times  ,  and  yet  he  can’t  find  himself  thanking  her  for  this  .  this  something  that  they  have  is  dressed  in  starshine  and  moonlight  ,  yes  ,  but  he  likes  to  think  it’s  all  them  ,  and  as  far  as  he’s  concerned  ,  the  universe  has  no  place  between  them  .

already, he feels like maybe this conversation is going to go better than their last proper conversation about hyuntae, one on one. there’s a smile to start it off, one that minkyu matches so that he resists the temptation to lean up and kiss baby’s instead. he can’t fight off the adorable nose scrunch though and so he does lean up to press a tiny kiss there to the tip before taking up their beach side walk again. they process slowly, hands swinging loosely in between them. he sidesteps a bit closer when he picks up a misty chill in the air, nothing bad enough to draw them inside but enough to make kyu want to share the minimal warmth caused by the brushing of their shoulders. he watches fondly, affectionately, as baby dots his own kisses to minkyu’s hands. he’s so very in love. “tell me what you think of him,” he prompts in a voice that carries on the salted breeze. “just your honest thoughts – no expectations or wrong answers.” a thumb lightly traces the shape of a few tattoos without even looking down; he knows baby well. “you were holding hands when i found you.” minkyu smiles at the memory and nudges his forehead against baby’s shoulder, touching just for the sake of more touching.   

          the familiar feeling of a challenge rose quickly from the pit of basher’s stomach and into his heart - and he loved it . most of the other contestants sat pretty and dodged his ego , but babylon … how new and exciting . basher could sense that the other meant no ill-will and held no bitterness behind his word , so he leaned forward , just an inch closer . “ you would really just let me drown like that ? ah , so cold … ” basher smirked and leaned back into his own personal bubble once again , keeping the comfort . with others , it was always about the comfort of the other . light teasing and borderline flirting was as far as he would get , keeping himself in check . boundaries , boundaries , boundaries . “ do you let aussies tattoo you , or did you get them done at … ” he paused , picking his words . “ home ? where are you from , baby ? ” 

          ah , love island . basher would be lying if he said he had watched the last season - he’d given up when his favorites were voted off . typical . it was different as a contestant , which seemed rather obvious , but different in a way he had never experienced . different in a way that made his stomach twist into knots , different in a way that allowed him to be the person he wanted . and being a pretty boy , it seemed , was what he wanted . on camera , he tried to be smooth , but off camera was a different story . off-camera , he had a tendency to be a little looser . but the villa was no place to be loose . never let your guard down around the camera , ever . it wasn’t until he’d found babylon that he’d realized how wound up he had felt the entire week , but that seemed to be expected . fresh from the shower , his hair brushed back and out of his face , he’d made his way to the kitchen - ready to make the most disgusting green smoothie known to man , but instead saw the familiar tattooed contestant he was so desperate to impress . “ a chef , i see , ” basher teased lightly , making his way over to the counter . “ unless you were waiting for me to make you lunch . ” @lownctes·

* / @lownctes· ! 

minkyu’s always been accused of having an overactive imagination. it’s why he’s found himself in the career he has – he’d be nothing without his surplus of creativity. however, nothing could have prepared him for the fantasy-like turn his life has taken. no amount of wishing and hoping and dreaming could have convinced him that this is his reality. there are talks to be had but unlike some in minkyu’s past, he can only see good outcomes. one of these talks, he wants to have now – while the memory of him, henry and baby meeting on the beach in the early morning is still fresh on his mind. as him and babylon alone stroll down those same sands, hand-in-hand, kyu gives a sweet little tug to get his lover’s attention. “can i pick your brain?” he prompts with a smile, sea-salted silver wisps tugged into his eyes by the coastal breeze. “it’s about hyuntae.” it’s almost a role reversal of sorts but, instead of tears and fear and panic, there’s only a nagging sort of excitement he won’t let himself experience in its entirety until he’s gotten confirmation from his boyfriend. 

                    ❝  minkyu  and  hyuntae  ,  ❞  he  clarifies  ,  and  maybe  now’s  not  the  time  for  it  ,  but  it  leaves  his  lips  before  he  can  swallow  it  down  .  ❝  i  think  that  —  i've  already  littered  myself  and  my  career  in  so  many  scandals  ,  ❝  from  substance  abuse  to  past  relationships  ,  it  was  a  miracle  his  company  hadn’t  dropped  him  ,  truly  .  ❝  that  whatever  k - media  thinks  won’t  …  matter  much  .  ❞  a  pause  ,  a  moment  to  collect  his  thoughts  .  ❝  the  only  thing  i  worry  about  is  ,  if  they  don’t  like  it  and  they  turn  it  into  some  blown - up  scandal  —  ❞  which  they  may  as  well  already  have  ,  he  has  no  way  of  knowing  while  at  the  villa  .  ❝  —  i  don’t  want  it  to  affect  minkyu  or  hyuntae  negatively  at  all  .  ❞  silence  lingers  ,  a  hand  comes  up  to  touch  the  tattoo  on  his  collarbone  .  ❝  ah  .  things  seemed  relatively  okay  over  winter  break  when  kyu  and  i  went  home  together  ,  so  i  supposed  all  i  can  do  is  hope  that  it  remains  that  way  in  regards  to  the  more  recent  developments  regarding  my  relationships  ,  as  well  .  ❞

          it had only been a few days since he had arrived , and naturally , he hadn’t met everyone - but he felt close . if he skulked around enough during all hours of the day , he was able to make at least one new friend , but he found most of his luck at the bar. he hadn’t been there long before he was joined by another , and -

          now, wait , who is this ? basher allows himself to turn toward the other and quirks an eyebrow , looking him up and down . “ oh , you are so intimidating … ” he smirked and brought his almost-empty glass up to his lips, drinking the rest of what was left . “ maybe i would like that . you’ll have to find out , assuming i don’t chase after my reflection and drown , ” basher offered a half-smile before extending his free hand , inspecting the hand of the other . “ i’m basher . your tattoos … you make a beautiful canvas. ” 

Flushing at compliments still seems to be something he does, especially when they’re coming from Baby’s pretty lips, and he ducks his head a little bit shyly, bumping their noses together and everything. They’re so close to each other already, close enough that he feels so much more settled than he was even the shortest distance from him. Carry me, Babylon says, and something inside of Hyuntae shivers. Those embers are still burning, gaining more and more heat by the second, and when Hyuntae bends down to loop his arms beneath Baby’s thighs and lift him, it’s like someone’s suddenly added fuel to the fire. Flames burst from it with legs wrapping around his waist, and he keeps his hands beneath his thighs in order to support his weight. Canting his head to the side slightly, Hyuntae presses a kiss to his mouth, sweet and a little greedy. “You can have anything you want. Say the word and I’ll give it to you, Baby. I swear I will.” It’s not a difficult thing for him to put his word to, and he wants him to know that above all else. There is no hesitation in him to be found, no reason for him to feel as if he needs to keep his guard up. The authenticity and the chemistry between them tells him enough to chase away any fears that he may have had otherwise. “Promise.”

Tucking Baby’s head beneath his chin, he presses a kiss to his hair, and then he carries him outside and down the path that will lead them to the beach, to their spot. He doesn’t want to waste time, the sunset already casting the world in fantastic shades, deep colors. It feels good, the temperature not as oppressive as it is during the day, and he lets his bare feet sink into the sand as he makes his way out onto it and towards the place where they will be spending their evening together. Baby’s body feels amazing wrapped around his, and he finds that it makes his heart race every time he thinks about it, every time he processes again where he is, what he’s doing.

“Okay, darling.” Rubbing a hand over Babylon’s back, Hyuntae carefully bends down to let his feet touch the ground. Even then, he doesn’t allow him to pull away, and instead presses a hand to the small of his back and pulls him in against him firm, tight. Once again he presses a kiss to his lips, and this time it is not sweet, and it is not chaste. It bears some of that pent-up passion from earlier, that relentless need that hammers at his insides every moment he is not pursuing discovery of more and more of Baby. Hyuntae finally nips at his bottom lip again, and his pulse pounds in his ears as he gives a little tug to go along with it. He wants to make more of those whines that he’s so good at giving come out of him, and he wants to be even more the reason this time than he was before. It feels good to him, makes his heart rate pick up, and the only reason that he pulls away from bitten, kiss-swollen lips is because he wants to lay down. He’s barely slept in days again, and there’s so much exhaustion weighing on his chest that it’s hard to inhale sometimes. Even with all of this excitement, all of this dreamy sort of affection and discovery happening between them, he feels tired. When he gets the blanket spread out, it doesn’t take him long to sit down on it, reaching out for Baby’s wrist to give it a little tug. In the fading light, he smiles up at him, and then he lets his hand drop away to lay down. “The stars will start coming out soon. We can greet them.” Patting his chest because he knows he wants Baby to lay against him, he gives another smile, this one just as pretty as the one before it. He hopes he thinks his smile is pretty. Believes that he must. “Come here, sweetheart.”

                    𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐬  𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩  𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲  𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝  𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐞'𝐬   waist  as  he’s  lifted  into  his  arms  ,  one  hand  splayed  over  the  back  of  his  neck  ,  the  other  entangling  with  dark  strands  of  hair  .  maybe  he’s  a  selfish  little  thing  ,  just  a  little  bit  selfish  ,  a  little  bit  needy  and  greedy  ,  for  wanting  to  be  held  the  way  he  is  .  as  far  as  the  world  knows  ,  it’s  out  of  character  for  him  ,  not  who  he’s  supposed  to  be  ,  but  he  can’t  seem  to  care  with  the  kiss  that  he’s  treated  to  ,  the  words  that  spill  from  hyuntae’s  pretty  lips  .  ❝  want  you  ,  ❞  he  murmurs  ,  tilting  his  chin  to  catch  their  lips  against  one  another’s  only  briefly  .  ❝  don’t  give  me  anything  else  but  you  .  promise  .  ❞  he  smiles  ,  something  soft  and  genuine  and  fond  ,  and  takes  the  word  (  a  word  that’s  maybe  far  too  quickly  beginning  to  feel  like  it  belongs  to  them  )  and  tucks  it  away  for  safekeeping  ,  right  in  his  ribcage  ,  next  to  his  heart  and  amidst  the  pretty  garden  of  flowers  that  he  swears  hyuntae  and  minkyu  have  both  bloomed  there  .

                    skin  feels  warm  ,  though  not  due  to  the  sun  and  the  heat  it  gives  off  ,  no  ,  it  has  something  more  to  do  with  hyuntae  ,  the  proximity  of  their  closeness  ,  the  way  babylon  is  wrapped  around  him  in  such  a  way  .  tired  eyes  ,  not  quite  as  sleepless  as  the  other  morning  but  never  seeming  to  be  fully  rested  ,  flutter  in  a  way  that  dare  to  let  them  slipped  close  ,  and  maybe  they  would  have  if  he  didn’t  find  himself  simply  wanting  to  admire  each  and  every  pretty  feature  of  his  almost  lover  in  as  full  detail  as  he  can  achieve  ,  even  as  he’s  set  down  ,  bare  feet  sinking  into  sticky  sand  .

Oh, but Hyuntae doesn’t want to part from him. Giving Baby everything he wants is the only thing on his mind right now, the only thing in his heart, and he hears him in such an impossibly deep way that he can hardly breathe past it himself. Those whines, those words, the way they resonate in him — there are embers simmering in the pit of his stomach, getting warmer and warmer. He knows what it means, but he almost isn’t ready to accept it yet. Not here, in the low-light of the setting sun, practically in front of the thrown open doors to the backyard. Anyone can walk in on them and see them, raw and tangled up together, desperate and clinging and holding and touching and kissing. Fuck, God, he doesn’t want it to end. He doesn’t. And he knows that it won’t, because Babylon wants him just as much as Hyuntae does, and for once he’s completely confident that it’s not going to fade away the moment he stops touching him. It hits him, suddenly, as he watches him pull back, that he would rather watch him fall into his arms a hundred times than watch him walk away for any reason. Please. Please is a word that he did not know could sound so pretty as it does falling from Babylon’s cherry-vanilla lips, and he tucks every single one of those pleas away in his heart for safekeeping. He tucks Baby away in his heart for safekeeping.

Even as he untangles himself from him, Hyuntae can’t help but reach out for him again. He’s on the floor beside him, not in his lap anymore, but he still takes his face in one of his large hands and presses a soft kiss to his lips. It’s the sort of kiss that’s longing, a promise for more, and he smiles into it before he pulls away. “I’ll be just a moment. Promise.” Promise, he says, and he finds that he actually means it to his core. Every time he speaks that word to Babylon, it seems to mean something more than it did before, and he doesn’t want that to change. He always wants their promises to mean something, and he knows deep down that they always will. It’s with a startling sort of confidence that he gets to his feet, aching already at even the most minute distance put between them. Hyuntae’s eyes linger on his baby even as he begins to walk away. Seconds feel like hours when he is not with him. 

In reality, it’s only about two minutes before Hyntae returns with a blanket — with their blanket — thrown over his shoulder. It’s reminiscent of the other morning, the only difference being that both of them are entirely sober and intending to stay that way. It would be a shame to ruin this with alcohol, or with anything that can possibly alter the experience, alter the feeling of just being with him like this. It’s all for the very first time, and it continues to take his breath away when he so much as thinks about that. Seeing Baby again is like seeing the stars for the first time, and he stops short a bit, just taking him in. Standing a few feet away from him, he still looks at him like he’s everything, all soft, wide eyes and a gentle curve to his lips. “You’re beautiful, you know. Stunningly so. You make me — uh. You make me stop and stare, and there’s nothing else in the world I would rather be looking at than you.” Moving closer, Henry bends down to offer Baby both of his hands, that curve spreading into a slow smile as he does. Oh, he’s happy to see him. He’s happy to touch him. “Please. Get in my arms. I ache without you.”

                    𝐚  𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩  𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞  𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬  𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧   babylon  the  instant  he  brings  himself  to  fully  detangle  from  hyuntae  ,  fingertips  already  twitching  with  the  urge  ,  the  need  ,  to  reach  out  .  to  grab  his  hand  ,  to  clutch  a  fistful  of  his  shirt  ,  to  make  some  point  of  contact  ,  no  matter  how  small  or  brief  or  absolutely  trivial  .  the  kiss  that  he’s  gifted,  soft  and  gentle  ,  leaving  him  wanting  more  ,  settles  him  for  the  time  being  ,  but  he  still  has  to  will  himself  to  not  plead  for  him  not  to  go  ,  not  to  leave  him  ,  even  though  he  knows  ,  with  everything  he  has  ,  that  he’ll  be  back  .  ❝  promise  ,  ❞  he  whispers  in  return  ,  and  it  means  something  more  akin  to  i  trust  you  ---  to  come  back  ,  with  all  of  me  ,  i  trust  you  .  promise  .  such  a  simple  word  ,  one  of  pure  innocence  ,  and  yet  it’s  what  seems  to  keep  baby  grounded  as  hyuntae  turns  his  back  to  him  ,  walks  away  from  him  .

                    he  remains  on  the  floor  as  he  waits  ,  fingers  pressing  into  it  because  he  doesn’t  know  what  else  to  do  with  them  without  his  almost - lover  there  for  him  to  touch  .  if  someone  walked  in  ,  they’d  probably  think  he  looked  small  ,  lost  .  if  he  didn’t  know  ,  with  utmost  certainty  ,  that  hyuntae  was  returning  to  him  ,  he  might  have  burst  into  a  fit  of  tears  the  mere  second  his  back  had  turned  to  him  ,  begging  ,  pleading  for  him  to  return  .