#tlrpg

He had been gone on an important trip for work for a couple of days, and honestly he didn’t think it was such a good idea in the first place.

Especially since Kyu’s finals are in a month.

Unlocking the apartment door, Ven is hardly surprised that it’s so dark and quiet. And the place doesn’t look that messy... which is a good thing? Ah, but the kitchen being spotless is something of concern...

Well, at least he had called Kyu earlier when he was stepping off the bus, and his boyfriend sounded relatively alive—even if he was mumbling something about pancakes and organisms.

“Kyu...?” Ven calls out as he slowly opens the door to the other’s bedroom (that acts more as a study really, since Kyu only ever sleeps with him).

Just as he thought, Ven finds his boyfriend on the study desk with nothing but books, papers, a laptop, some empty bottles of water, empty mugs of coffee, and a table lamp that’s probably been left on for a longer time than it should be..

Kyu seems to be furiously mumbling something as he writes it all down from a textbook, and doesn’t even turn around at the sound of Ven entering the room. It’s not like he’s even trying to be discreet.

The taller man can only shake his head.

“Okay Kyu, when was the last time you ate?” Ven asks, dumping his bags on the floor to stand behind Kyu’s chair.

For a moment, Kyu jolts wildly like a startled cat, before he relaxes and slumps over the table again. Ven caught sight of dark eye bags and he frowns.

“I don’t know... It doesn’t...” here Kyu yawns, “doesn’t matter...”

“And the last time you slept?”

“Don’t know either...” Kyu says. Reaching for one of the mugs of coffee, Kyu waves Ven off. “Now go away, Dream Ven... I need to get back to studying...”

Ven stifles a laugh. Dream Ven? Don’t tell him Kyu thinks he’s a dream apparition now?

Sighing fondly, Ven holds Kyu’s shoulder and pulls him away from the books. “Come on, Kyu. You need some actual sleep.”

But Kyu is stubborn, and he grabs onto the desk with surprising strength for someone so tired. “Nnooooo...” is all that comes from his mouth though.

Deciding he’ll probably get nowhere like this, Ven wraps his arms around his small boyfriend and easily picks him up.

Kyu screams in a soft voice, still holding onto a pen in one hand and onto the table with the other. “Nnnoooooo! Don’t... tear me away... from nirvana...!”

“Yes, yes, your nirvana’s not going anywhere, Kyu.” Ven adjusts his boyfriend in his arms, so that Kyu’s head is on his shoulder and that his legs are wrapped around his waist.

Kyu’s still grumbling, a frown etched on his face, but his eyes are closed and he snuggles closer into Ven’s neck, his hair tickling his chin. Ven laughs, carrying his sleepy boyfriend to their shared room.

Ven tries to place Kyu on the bed gently, but now the stubborn little man won’t let go of Ven, and it causes him to fall over into the bed with him.

The jostle wakes Kyu a bit, and he looks right up into Ven’s face.

Kyu blinks, and squints.

“Wait...” he yawns. “You’re home...?”

“Been home for a bit now, thanks for noticing.” Ven grins. He kisses the top of Kyu’s head and decides to settle in beside his boyfriend. “You didn’t sleep at all last night, huh?”

Kyu instinctively nestles himself closer into Ven. His eyes closing again, he closes his fingers around Ven’s shirt and manages a chaste kiss on Ven’s neck. “Mmm... Had dreams about you... I really... missed you...”

Ven’s heart does a double take at Kyu’s display of honesty. But Kyu is already off to dreamland again, if his slow breathing and stillness any indication. Ven feels his chest swell up, and he can’t help his smile.

He recognizes the tallest one among them as Ven almost immediately, all muscle and big smiles, looking as healthy as ever after all these years. Jay’s smile stretches widely across his own face at the sight of him.

But the other one, slightly shorter in height and smaller in stature, looks vaguely like someone else he knows but… that can’t be right.

Kyu isn’t that tall.

The Not-Kyu guy is looking around the castle as the duo come closer to him. His eyes seem to roam everywhere, taking in every nook and cranny like a curious child. There seems to be a bounce in his step too…?

Jay really can’t pin out who that person really is.

He seems far too chirpy to be Kyu.

But really, the only guests he’s expecting today are Ven and Kyu and not really anybody else. He’s sure Zhi has a number of people—important people—she has to meet with today, but he’s sure none of them would get redirected to meet him, right?

The weird Not-Kyu guy lags behind, inspecting a piece of giant tapestry hung over one part of the wall. It tells the tale of how their land, Protea, rose into the sky hundreds of years back—one of the many tapestries around the castle that showcases their adventures to reclaim their homeland, from the start to the end.

Ven walks right up to him and spreads his arms out in greeting. “Jay! It’s been so long!” and before he knows it, he’s being scooped up into a bear hug.

He laughs into the hug, patting the muscled man on the arms when he’s back on his feet. “It’s good to see you too, Ven! How are you?”

“Great, great. A bit tired from the journey here, but otherwise I’m just fine. What about you? How’s life as a king?”

“Ahahaha… Well…” he can’t really say. He doesn’t do much around here as king. He mostly just drops for a visit here or there to some countries or kingdoms every once in a while to keep good diplomatic relations. He’s been told he’s good at that.

“Well, it can’t be that much harder than shooting arrows now is it, Your Highness?” a condescending voice speaks up from behind him. Jay jumps, his battle instincts kicking in immediately as his hands look for his bow and arrow.

Of course, they’re not there, and he feels a bit silly, but it’s not like he can help it.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down, it’s just me.” The condescending voice speaks again, sounding less mean and more amused. Jay finally registers the person he’s looking at. And, well, surprise doesn’t cover half of what he’s feeling right now.

He sputters. “Oh my God, Kyu, it really is you.”

Kyu raises an eyebrow. Realization dawns on his face before he laughs. “Yeah, I’m taller now. Surprise.”

Jay’s eyes rake him up and down. They’re not standing that close to each other, but Jay can tell. Kyu’s no longer that height where he has to look up at an awkward angle to meet Jay’s eyes. Honestly, it’s throwing him off so much. He gulps. “B-B-But, how?!”

Kyu smirks. He inspects his nails, as if he can see them through his gloves. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe some magic, maybe some potions. Maybe I was just a late bloomer.”

Aghast, Jay turns to Ven. “And you’re fine with this?!” he sounds indignant as he aims both hands at Kyu, who now looks mildly annoyed. “You’re fine with our small little Kyu being… not so small anymore?!”

“Hey! I heard that!”

Ven just laughs. There’s a shine of joy on his face as he grabs the both of them and squishes them in a hug. “How I miss having all three of us together!”

“That makes one of us…” Kyu says, sounding very much breathless in the chokehold. Jay relates to that feeling. The not being able to breathe part, he means.

When Ven finally releases them, with his arm still around Kyu’s shoulders, Jay can’t help the grin that lands on his lips. All of them are so different now, physically, emotionally, yet they’re still the same three idiots who ran around and chased after each other in the Protean woods.

“Come on, I’ll show you guys to your room.” Jay says. “Oh, and remember to lock it this time, okay?”

Kyu kicks his back without hesitation and Ven laughs.

Yeah, Jay definitely missed them.

   ♛

During dinner later on, Zhi joins them.

Jay feels like this should be a blessing, having the Queen of Protea dining with them—since her presence alone should be enough to keep the three men in check.

Alas, perhaps he hoped for too much.

“I hope Jay hasn’t been too much of a burden on you, Your Majesty.” Kyu says to Zhi with an all-knowing smile over their appetizers, like he’s heard all about Jay’s first few days of trying to handle royal duties. Which he probably has.

It’s fine. Jay probably would’ve told him anyway.

The conversation between the two goes on about something or other, and Jay finds himself increasingly losing focus. He’s even starting to play with his food. Not before eating most of the things on his plate, though.

The man is beginning to wonder when dessert is going to come, when something hits him right on the nose. He flinches. Blinks. Looking up, he catches a glimpse of Ven with a spoon aimed towards him for a split second before Ven turns away, pretending like he’s admiring the dining room décor.

Jay looks back down on his plate. There’s an extra pea.

Ven threw a pea at him.

Jay purses his lips, trying to contain a laugh. He keeps a discreet eye on Ven as he loads that same pea on his spoon, and launches it into an arc over the table right on Ven’s face. Ven startles, and the pea bounces off—right onto Kyu’s cheek.

There’s a pause in the conversation.

Kyu decides to ignore it and go back to talking.

Jay and Ven, meanwhile, are trying really hard to hold in their laughter. He’s clutching his gut in the effort, visibly shaking, and he’s 100% sure Zhi notices their antics. She’s just not commenting on it. Yet.

He sees Ven launch a sliced carrot towards him, and in that split second panic he deflects the vegetable with an empty plate, saving him from the orange ammo.

The downside of this is that the carrot rebounded and landed exactly on Kyu’s head.

The shortest of them all slams his hands down on the table and turns to Jay. “Are you trying to be annoying, or does it come naturally?!”

With an innocent smile, Jay says, “It comes naturally.”

He gets mashed potato in his face, courtesy of Kyu.

All hell breaks loose as more food flies around the trio and it becomes an every-man-for-himself kind of thing—mashed potato, leftover chicken, gravy and vegetables, anything at all on the table is turned into ammo. Plates become shields and spoons become cannons. Jay gets another pea in his forehead, he can barely see through his glasses, and gravy is spilling all over his clothes.

He notices that neither Kyu nor Ven are in better shape either, with the taller one of the two having a bowl over his head as armour. A stray strand of noodle is hanging over his ear.

Laughter decorates the air just like the food being thrown around. Kyu is shouting out threats that if he gets another spoonful of mashed potato in his face, he’s going to kill the two of them. Jay and Ven retaliate by giving him exactly what he didn’t ask for.

Kyu’s starting to throw the cutlery now, and in hindsight that’s probably a dangerous idea and they probably shouldn’t have pissed him off, but Jay’s laughing too hard to really think about it too much and he doesn’t think Ven pays it any mind either. They’re both doing a good job at avoiding the forks and butter knives anyway.

If any of them get hurt, well.

In the midst of it all, he barely notices that the Queen of Protea is missing from the table.

   ♛

Zhi is walking out the dining room door, when one of the guards on duty there asks here, “Shall I stop them, my Queen?”

Without halting her stride, she answers. “If I had wanted them stopped, I would’ve done so myself.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

She pauses walking for a moment. The guard stills a few paces behind her.

“Tell them to clean up after their own mess when they’re done. I want the place spotless when breakfast comes.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

   ♛

The next morning, breakfast is much more tamed.

(Jay finds a stray pea under his chair that he missed yesterday and quickly disposes it.)

   ♛

Afterwards, Jay has some royal business to attend to with Zhi, so Ven and Kyu are free to explore the castle and do whatever they wish.

When that matter is done and settled with, he wonders where they are. It’s a bright day, with the sun shining magnificently through the windows, so he doesn’t think they’ll be inside. After a few inquiries made on the servants, he makes his way towards the palace gardens, where a large variety of trees, flowers, and plants reside.

Honestly, he’s not entirely sure whether or not he should be imposing on them. He can just let them have the day together and run off do other things, like practicing his archery or work on his swordsmanship on the other side of the castle.

They’ve spent years and years travelling the world together, and occasionally sending letters to him without a way for him to write back because they’ll be in another place soon enough. They wouldn’t really notice if he’s there or not. Yeah, maybe he should just head back—

Just as he makes a turn at a hedge, Jay sees the couple under an apple tree in animated conversation. He hides himself behind the hedge, not entirely sure why he’s hiding in the first place, and watches as Kyu points excitedly at the ripe apples on a lower branch. With a grin, Ven hoists Kyu up by the waist, and soon enough there’s a bunch of apples in Kyu’s arms. Ven lets him down on his feet again and gives Kyu a kiss on the lips before they both laugh.

Jay vaguely remembers something akin to this happening hundreds of years ago, when they were much younger and probably more stupid, where he’s hiding behind something just like he is right now, as he watches Kyu gazing longingly at an apple tree and Ven casually lifting him up so he can pick it, even though Kyu never said a word that he wanted one.

A smile rests on Jay’s face. Yeah, maybe he should let them have the day together.

Just as he’s about to leave them for the archery range, he hears Ven call out, “We know you’re behind that hedge, Jay!”

He freezes. Damn it. He wishes he was better at stealth than he is now.

He pops his head out from behind the accursed plant, smiling and waving. “Ahaha… hi guys!”

Ven makes a ‘come here’ gesture towards him. Almost reluctantly, Jay pulls himself away from his hiding place and takes steady steps towards them. He wishes he can just turn back around and pretend someone came looking for him for some very urgent and very royal business.

Too late for that now.

He laughs again as he stands before them. “Sorry, am I bothering you two right now?”

Kyu throws an apple towards him and Jay stumbles to catch it. “What an idiot.” Kyu says with a smirk. “You’re always a bother. It doesn’t mean we don’t want you around.”

Ven laughs. “Didn’t we already say we missed hanging out with you? If you’re already done with work today, we should do something together!”

“Work? What work?” Kyu pipes up, wiping an apple on his shirt before biting into it. “He probably just sits around all day doing nothing like a cat.”

“Hey, I do have things to do…” Jay says weakly. Okay, he doesn’t have things to do all the time, but there are things for him to do. Sometimes. Occasionally. Like today. The last time he did something was probably months ago. But Kyu doesn’t need to know that.

Kyu eyes him up and down. He sighs and then smiles. “Well, even if you are busy today, we’re still kidnapping you for some fun in the city.”

Jay perks up at that. He hasn’t been to the city in a while.

“Yup.” Ven agrees. “And you can’t say no!” With that said, Ven wraps one arm around Jay’s shoulders, and the other around Kyu’s waist. He starts leading them towards the garden’s gates in a hurry, the excitement showing all over his face.

As Kyu complains about being pulled around, Jay grins without realizing.

im gonna go in with a classic cliche, if ya know what im sayin

The day he found out, it was like any other normal day.

Jay was on the way home, whistling a peppy tune of his own creation and occasionally chuckling at the events of the day that happened at work with Ven and Kyu.

The three of them working at the same place in the same shift together? It spelled disaster in more ways than one. He's honestly amazed at how after all these years, they're still together as a trio. (Albeit, a trio of catastrophe.)

He turned the key in the lock, and opened the door to his humble house.  "I'm home~"

"Welcome back." Zhi said nonchalantly, sipping on her mug of coffee from the dining room table. She was reading a magazine, a pretty bored look on her face.

"How's my lovely wife today?~"

Zhi hummed in reply. "Fine. I went out for a bit, to get groceries and stuff."

"Yeah? Did you get some chocolates?" he placed his bag on the table, sitting down across from her.

"I did. I went to the clinic before that though. Apparently I'm pregnant."

"Oh? That's good~"

There was a pause.

"Wait, WHAT?!"

He slowly pushes himself up, trying to get into a sitting position, but quickly puts a hand over his abdomen when something sharp shoots up him. Ven groans in regret, the pain something he's not used to yet.

Life in the hospital is terrible.

It smells terrible, his surgical wound still hurts him like it has unfinished business (technically it is unfinished business) and he's bored out of his mind.

He wants to get out for a little while, maybe hang in the garden or go and grab a drink from a vending machine somewhere in the lobby. But Ven knows he can't do that, mainly because of the pain tying him to the bed and the wires and other things. The doctors and his parents would freak if they find out, he's sure.

So, like a good little kid, he decides to sleep.

When he wakes up, the first thing he notices is that the bed next to his isn't empty anymore.

There's another kid in the bed, sitting up with a broken leg in a cast hanging in the air and his face is buried deep in a book. His brown hair is braided on the right side of his face while the rest of his hair is tied in a loose ponytail. He must have noticed Ven, because he looks up from his book and blinks at him with wide orange eyes.