Chapter Text
Baekseung’s, Yujun’s, and Hunter’s nameday went unexpectedly well. Minjae didn't cause any trouble for once, maybe because Gunwook had taken it upon himself to keep both Minjae and Junmin entertained so Taesan and Leehan could focus on their triplets. Gyuvin and Ricky sat with their son Jinsik as well as Sumin, who’d snuck off from his one seat beside Jake and was now sharing a chair with Jinsik, which actually worked out quite well since the two four-year-olds weren’t so big and could easily fit on the same chair together. Taesan was currently standing with Baekseung behind the last row of tables on the side of the great hall. He was helping the oldest of the triplets aim at a makeshift target Taesan had put up so Baekseung could try out the new toy bow and arrows he’d gotten as a present. Yujun and Hunter had gotten one each as well, but they didn’t really pay theirs as much mind as Baekseung did and were instead very focused on some sort of a boardgame Doyoung had brought with him back from Greywater Watch when he’d visited his brothers. Minseo and Yunseong had stayed with Sungho for most of the celebrations, laughing and joking with the knight. Leehan sat in the chair closest to where Yujun and Hunter were sitting on the floor, but he had been watching Minseo for the last few minutes, noticing the small but still noticeable resemblance the boy had with Sungho… Not just the black hair, but also his features and soft and kind brown eyes… It worried Leehan because if he noticed the resemblance, who else could? But it seemed as though Taesan at least hadn’t, or he’d just not mentioned it yet…
“Papa! Look!” Hunter’s voice made Leehan snap out of his thoughts and look down at his two youngest. Hunter was pointing at the boardgame where he and Yujun had apparently stacked the game pieces on top of each other instead of actually playing the game as it should be played, but Leehan figured they’d not really listened when Doyoung had explained the rules to them earlier, not that it mattered.
“I see, sweety,” Leehan answered, running a hand over Hunter’s brown hair before standing up and walking across the great hall. “Could I have a word… in private?” Leehan asked, making Sungho look up at him.
“My prince…?” Sungho questioned, eyes darting around them briefly before looking back at Leehan. When the prince didn’t say anything else, Sungho stood up, much to Minseo’s and Yunseong’s dismay, but the knight promised them he’d be back soon before walking around the table and following Leehan out of the great hall. “What was it you wanted to talk about, my prince?” Sungho asked once they’d walled all the way into the Godswood and up to the pond.
“Minseo…” Leehan said. He’d stopped walking and was watching the few small fish swimming around in the pond in front of him.
“What about him, my prince?” Sungho asked, trying to keep a respectful distance between himself and Leehan even though it was as if he could feel the other’s need to be held.
“You don’t see it…?” Leehan questioned, finally turning to face Sungho.
“See what, my princ-“
“Don’t call me that, Sungho! I don’t want you to, and I don’t care about that stupid oath you took, preventing you from calling me by my name!” Leehan interrupted him. “And Minseo… He… How can you not see it?”
“I don’t know what you’re referring to…” Sungho answered, finally leaving out the formalities Leehan hated that he used.
“He looks like you…” Leehan murmured, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Sungho didn’t respond this time and just watched Leehan. They both stayed silent for a while, long enough for Leehan to start to move his weight from one leg to the other as it somewhat pained him to stand up for too long. Sungho seemed to notice this and finally took a few steps closer to the prince.
“Maybe it would be wise if you went back to the great hall so you could sit down, my pr… Leehan,” Sungho said, but Leehan just let out a huff in disbelief.
“Don’t you even care? You know what that means, and yet you refuse to acknowledge it!?” Leehan snapped, pushing away the hand Sungho had reached out to assist the younger.
“There’s nothing to acknowledge… He’s your son, a prince, and has many of your features, as well as your father’s hair color,” Sungho said.
“Yeah… he’s my son, but is he Taesan’s, or… is he yours? That’s the important question, isn’t it?” Leehan said slowly. He looked up to meet Sungho’s eyes, so soft, warm, and brown, just like Minseo’s…
“He’s your son, and he’s Taesan’s son. There’s no questioning it, and you’re just overthinking it, Leehan,” Sungho tried to convince the younger, but the question had always been somewhere in the back of his mind, no matter how much he’d tried to push it away.
“And if he’s not? I know my children, Sungho! They all have some sort of trait from Taesan, whether it be good or bad, but they have them, everyone but Minseo! He doesn’t look like him, he doesn’t act like him, there’s nothing in him that he’d got from Taesan because Taesan didn’t father him, you did!” Leehan said, trying to keep his voice down even though the Godswood seemed to be empty.
“He is Taesan’s son! Because if he wasn’t, your people would have put both him and you to the blade! You’re married to Taesan, and he fathered your children, all of them! There is no other way it could be!” Sungho argued, slightly startling Leehan with the tone of his voice. “And for that boy’s sake, just let go of your worry because it’s for nothing… He’s a prince, you’re a prince, and your brother will be the next King in the North, and Minseo after him because that is how it is supposed to be!” Sungho clenched his fist to prevent himself from trying to reach out for Leehan, who had started crying by now, and instead, turned around to leave the Godswood.
“Don’t you want him to be your son…?” Leehan asked, prompting Sungho to stop walking away.
“It’s not a matter of what I want, Leehan. It’s what’s best for him… and for you. And that is him being Taesan’s son, not mine…” Sungho hadn’t turned around this time because if he had, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to leave, which was what he eventually did now, finally walking out of the Godswood and leaving Leehan alone behind… He walked past a man, some other lord of some smaller place in the North, he believed, not that he really cared. But the man gave him a nod, which Sungho returned before making his way back into the castle.
- - - -
“Hold it up like this, then you aim where you want it to end up, and then let go!” Taesan explained, helping Baekseung hold up the bow and aim it at the makeshift target. Baekseung tried really hard to do just as his dad told him, but the bow, even if it was basically just a toy, was still a little too big for a three-year-old.
“It’s too heavy, dad!” Baekseung complained, but Taesan just chuckled before placing the bow on the nearby table and picking up his son.
“You’ll learn to use it one day, buddy. Your father is really good with a bow and arrows; I’m sure he’ll be better at teaching you than I am,” Taesan walked back to his seat at the largest table, only to find Leehan’s seat empty, and Yujun and Hunter playing on their own on the floor. “Where’s your father?” Taesan asked as he placed Baekseung down beside his brothers, but he had to gently tap Hunter’s shoulder to get the boy’s attention.
“He walked away,” Yujun said as Hunter seemed too focused on what they were playing with.
“Mmh,” Taesan hummed, standing back up and looking around the great hall.
“He went outside, I believe,” Taerae’s voice came from the side, making Taesan turn in that direction. The crown prince raised an eyebrow at the elder, who was sitting with his and Gunwook’s other son, Yujin, on his lap. Taerae didn’t say anything else and just gestured toward the huge doors leading out of the great hall. Taesan looked up toward the doors, and just as he did, Sungho came walking back through them. His eyes met the prince’s, but the knight quickly looked away again and made his way back to where Minseo and Yunseong were seemingly waiting for him.
“Can you keep an eye on them?” Taesan asked, not looking away from the doors, but Taerae still understood that the prince had been referring to the triplets.
“Sure,” He said, and that’s all Taesan needed before making his way out of the great hall. He found Leehan still in the Godswood, sitting down beside the pond and running his fingers through the cold water, much like he used to do when they were younger.
“Why are you out here all alone, love?” Taesan asked, kneeling down beside his brother before gently using the back of his hand to wipe off the tears running down Leehan’s cheek.
“I’m worried…” Leehan mumbled.
“Why? There’s nothing for you to worry about,” Taesan said, but Leehan shook his head before reaching out to take one of Taesan’s hands in his own.
“For our children… What if something happens to them? What if people decide they don’t want us to rule and take it out on the boys just because they are young and vulnerable? What if someone goes after Minseo for being the oldest, or Hunter for being different, or…?” Leehan’s sobbing prevented him from continuing his worried rant, but Taesan pulled the younger into his lap and wrapped his arms around him.
“If anyone even dares to try, I would have them hanged before the day’s end,” He assured Leehan, kissing the younger’s cheek. “And with Sungho and Doyoung watching over them, I don’t think anyone would even want to try,” Taesan added, chuckling lightly.
“But what if they do?” Leehan turned to face Taesan fully, tears still running down his cheeks. “I don’t want to lose any of them; I don’t think I could handle that….”
“You won’t lose them. They’re Stark princes, our sons, and I would never let anything happen to them… or to you,” Taesan answered, pulling Leehan even closer until the younger rested his head on his shoulder. “Winter will come for anyone who tries to go against House Stark!”
“Papa! Papa!” Hunter’s little voice echoed through the Godswood, making both Taesan and Leehan look in the direction it came from, and they quite quickly noticed their youngest coming running toward them. Leehan tensed up, most likely worried that something had happened, but as he saw that Hunter was smiling and not crying or otherwise upset, he calmed down somewhat.
“What is it, sweety?” Leehan asked, standing up with Taesan's help before picking up Hunter.
“The maester said he needed to speak with you,” Hunter said, which prompted Leehan and Taesan to share a look before starting to make their way back into the castle.
- - - -
“But is it harmful?” Leehan asked. They were currently in the maester’s working chambers, himself, Taesan, and Jake, having left the boys with their friends and the two knights.
“Seeing that your son has survived for this long without any apparent struggles, I would say that his dragon-like features are not harmful in themselves, but the question still remains: for how long will it stay that way?” The maester answered. He’d gotten a raven from the grand maesters in Oldtown this same morning, and finally, after three years, they’d managed to find something that could maybe be of use to help them know what the scales on Hunter’s back meant and if they were harmful to the boy in any way.
“So there’s no way of telling if it will hurt him in the future…?” Leehan asked worriedly.
“I’m afraid not, my prince,” The maester said, and that made Leehan have to hold back another wave of tears. “But we’ll be doing everything we can to make sure your son has a normal life, and I’ll keep close contact with the grandmaesters in Oldtown,” Leehan nodded, and Taesan pulled him into another hug again.
“He’ll be fine. He has us and his brothers, and if anything regarding his condition changes, then we’ll find whatever’s needed to make him better!” Taesan whispered into the younger’s hair. Taesan wasn’t one to let anything hurt his sons, so not even whatever Hunter’s scales might do him was something Taesan would get past him! Not without doing anything in his power to make sure his son had a life just as good as his brothers'!