"I am rooted, but I flow." (Virginia Woolf)

They were here. Ashur and Zephyr had entered the room.

Fayez knew he should get up from Akhenaton's lap, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It would require too much strength from him, and he simply lacked the motivation. He was feeling so good right now. He hadn't felt so warm and safe for a long time.

Also, Akhenaton wasn't doing much to help. On the contrary, the brunette never stopped touching him, despite his two lovers' presence. He kept rubbing his back, caressing his hair and his nape in the most tender way.

The cold-blooded prefect was now showing him the affection that Fayez had only ever seen him show to Ashur and Zephyr.

When he lightly pressed his lips against Fayez's earlobe, the latter let out a soft moan, that the three other men couldn't have not heard.

How embarrassing, Fayez thought, as he quickly hid his face back against Akhenaton's chest.

There was a light chuckle behind him, then a hand was pressing his shoulder.

Zephyr.

How could he tell, from a mere touch, that it was Zephyr?

Something about these three men was driving him crazy, but how could he confess such feelings, when the three of them were already in a relationship?

Right. They were supposed to have a talk. Ashur wanted to talk.

What were they going to talk about?

Maybe they were about to tell him that they shouldn't take things any further than that? That they had let things go too far already?

What if they accused Fayez of trying to seduce them in order to break them out?

But then, Akhenaton had said those sweet words to him. It had seemed like a ...

A love confession.

Zephyr cuddled with him every night and Ashur...

Ashur had kissed him.

Did he... Did they... But then why -

"Alright, guys. He's already tensing up in my arms. Maybe we should start talking now, before he gives himself a panick attack." Akhenaton suddenly declared, before letting out a pained groan as Fayez pinched his nipple.

"Ouch. What was that for, little brat?" he complained out loud.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." Fayez mumbled against his shirt.

Someone took a step closer, and let out a soft cough.

Ashur.

"I'm glad you guys made up, but maybe you could let go of each other now, so we can see Fayez's lovely face while talking to him?" Ashur spoke softly, but Fayez could tell it was not so much a suggestion but more like an implicit order.

Akhenaton tightened his grip around him for a few more seconds, before letting go of Fayez with a sigh.

"Fine."

"What an obedient little prefect you are" Fayez whispered in his ear, before getting up as far as he could, so that Akhenaton wouldn't have time to retaliate.

He took a seat on a chair, and glanced toward the two prefects.

Shit.

He shouldn't have done that, because he could now feel himself blushing furiously.

Zephyr was sitting so close to Ashur, that their bodies were touching from their ankles to their shoulders. The blond vampire was looking back at Fayez with an expression of pure sin on his angelic face.

As for Ashur, the man wasn't showing much, like usual, but the smug little smile on his face was saying it all.

"Would you guys stop looking at me like that?" Fayez complained, feeling shy again.

"Like what?" Zephyr asked innocently. "Don't you project your dirty thoughts on us, squirrel."

Fayez tried averting his eyes, but they kept landing back on the three prefects' faces.

Against his will.

Yes. On their faces only. Yes. Yes. Yes.

"Don't call me squirrel." Fayez eventually replied, in hopes of changing the topic of the conversation. "I don't like it. I am not five."

"Really? But I think it suits you." Zephyr smiled at him fondly. "You're always on your toes, letting people get close only to flee surprisingly quick when they reach out."

"This pet name doesn't fit me." Fayez insisted, in an unconvinced tone. "I'm big and buffy. "

"Fine, big boy." Zephyr pretended to give in. "Have it your way. I'm going back to my first option then. Sweet cheeks, it is."

Fayez touched his face in disbelief, before asking mockingly:

"That's not any better, Zeph. It's not like I have a baby face for you to call me like that. "

"I'm not talking about those cheeks, sweetheart." Zephyr simply replied with a raised brow, before winking at him.

"You, oh - "

Fayez was now blushing so hard, you could probably cook an entire meal on his face. Thankfully, Ashur came to his rescue, punishing his cheeky lover with a light tap on his thigh, before declaring:

"Alright, guys. Have some mercy on our poor Faye, and remember that we don't have much time left before the students start leaving the refectory. There are several things that need to be adressed today - and don't look at me like that, Fayez."

"I - What did I do?"

"You're torturing yourself again, I can tell. I promise, nothing's wrong. Quite the contrary, actually."

Fayez nodded, feeling a bit relieved by Ashur's reassuring words.

Ashur's next words weren't of any comfort to him, though.

"Let's not beat around the bush. As Zephyr already told you, you're our mate. That's a fact."

Here they went again, Fayez thought, as he could feel himself starting to get pissed off. And here he thought they were making progress.

"Why do you need to constantly remind me of this? I know, right. I know that we are all good ol' pals, and that we can never be anything more than mates. I'm aware that-"

"Hush, Fayez." Ashur interrupted him with a stern, but not unkind voice.

Fayez immediately complied, because there was something about Ashur which always made him want to obey him without arguing. It had a similar effect on Zephyr and Akhenaton, whatever the latter might pretend.

"Jeez, our third mate is fun to tease, right, guys?"

"Shut your big mouth, Zeph" Akhenaton intervened, but he looked amused, and started ruffling the blond vampire's hair, until the latter bit his neck to make him stop.

Fayez looked at them in confusion, which didn't go unnoticed by the perceptive Ashur, whose expression softened.

"I keep forgetting that you don't know much about our world, sweet boy. Let me explain." he started, with his deep, calming voice. "See, there is something in the supernatural world that is called mates or fated mates. They are basically people that were made for each others."

Fayez was now intently listening to the tall prefect. He vaguely remembered his mother telling him something about soulmates, when he was a child, but he had thought that it was just a legend to keep the younger ones entertained.

Had he known the legend was true, he would have tried to leave his castle sooner. Alas, the reason why so many people, who are wealthy enough, young enough and unattached, never leave their places, is because they believe that the world is exactly the way they see it.

No magic, no hidden treasures, no unsolved mysteries, nothing.

"The three of us are mates." Ashur continued, while designating Akhenaton and Zephyr with his hand, "but there's more to it. You, Fayez, are our mate as well."

Fayez blinked several times, as he met the others' eyes. He should have been happy that the three men didn't mean "mates" as "friends", as he had feared. He should have been relieved that he hadn't been imaginating their special bond. Still, he felt...

Sad.

"Faye?" Zephyr asked softly. "What is it, squirrel?"

This time, Fayez didn't think of asking Zephyr to stop using this nickname. He had too much on his mind.

"You - you're saying I'm your fated mate..."

"Yes?"

"But then... It means you didn't really choose me. You didn't want any part of this. You were happy, just the three of you, but now you feel like it's your duty to take me in just because I'm your mate."

Ashur reached out, and took a hold of his gloved hands. Suddenly, Fayez hated the stupid garment more than ever. He wanted nothing more than feeling Ashur's hand on his bare skin.

"Let's be clear, Faye." Zephyr replied, in a serious tone. "Mates aren't an uncommon thing. In fact, I have met other people who were my mates, just like Ake and Ash are. We - "

"But then, it makes me even more unimportant to you. I'm a nobody.-"

"Let me finish, sweets. That's when the notion of choice comes into play. You have mates, but you don't love all of them. I only love Ash and Ake. I love them so much and so do they."

"Well, I don't love Zeph but I am good at pretending."

"Shut up, Ake, or I am leaving another hickey on your pretty neck. Good luck hiding that" Zephyr threatened, before resuming his explanation. "It's the first time we met someone like you, Faye. See, as Ashur told you, you're not only mated to me, but to the three of us. It's the first time something like this ever happened to us.

Akhenaton, who had remained silent for most of the talk, cleared his voice, before adding:

"The first time we saw you, and felt the bond, we knew you were different. Then, we talked to you, and we knew you were perfect for us."

His eyes started to shine, and Fayez knew he was about to say something important.

"There is something you should know, Faye. Shortly after we discovered Zeph's disease, this little bratty vampire brought a new person to the group. The guy was Ashur and I's mate, and Zephyr thought that it would help us overcome his upcoming death."

He took a shuddering breath, and Fayez looked in horror as a tear started to roll on Akhenaton's cheek.

"Ashur and I were devastated, and we told the guy to leave. We didn't like that Zephyr seem to believe that he could be easily replaced. He could never be replaced..."

Fayez could feel his throat tighten, as he had to fight his own tears. He now understood why the brunet had always been so wary of him, since the very beginning.

"I'm sorry, Faye." Akhenaton added, closing his eyes as Ashur gently cupped his cheek. He leaned against the palm of Ashur's hand, before opening his eyes again. "I thought that accepting that you were our mate meant accepting that Zephyr was going to die. Now, I know that you won't replace anyone. You have your own place in this group. That is, if you want to be our mate, of course."

They were all looking at him again, a hopeful expression on their tired faces. Fayez looked back, a little dazed, for this was certainly a lot to process.

One thing was for sure, though. He wanted them. He wanted them to be a part of his life.

Since he was positive about it, why not take the leap? It was time to be brave.

"Yes." he replied, in a shaking voice. "I would be - I would be honored to be your mate. I want - I want the three of you to be mine. And I want to be yours."

He looked down at his feet, fearing that he might have seem too possessive. After all, there was no guarantee that this would work. It was too early. They could still have doubts -

"Look at us, sweet boy" Ashur demanded, in a weird voice that carried too many emotions for Fayez to be able to single out any of them.

He looked up, to see the three men looking back at him with glistening eyes and huge smiles. Fayez smiled back timidly, wanting to reach but unsure if it was appropriate.

Finally, Ashur slowly opened his arms in a beckoning gesture.

This time, Fayez didn't hesitate, as he rushed into the tall man's lap.

Realizing how needy he must seem, he turned toward Akhenaton, and mumbled "Don't get use to having me in such an embarrassing position, guys. Today is an exception."

Ake and Ash laughed, but Zephyr started pouting.

"What about me? Why am I the only one who never got the chance to have you on my lap?" he asked in a fake offended voice.

"Trust me, Zeph, it's not a good idea." Akhenaton casually replied. "You would be crushed to death the moment his plump bottom touched your slender thighs."

"Hey, shut it, Ake, I'm not that heavy! Plus, who gave you the permission to look at my ass? That's disrespectful."

The four of them laughed, then sat in comfortable silence. For once, they all felt at peace. Of course, the moment they would leave the room, reality would strike again, as none of them could forget that Zephyr was dying for more than a few minutes.

Still, they felt like they were now complete. They had been happy before, but what they had now was above happiness. It was the certainty that you were exactly where you should be, surrounded by the right people.

"Okay, guys, it's all romantic and all, but I've got a question. When do we complete the mating process with Fayez? I really can't wait."

Trust Zephyr to ruin any peaceful atmosphere.

Unedited. Will edit when my eyes no longer feel like they're burning ^^"