Archive of Our Own

Jeongguk always felt like he fitted in, yet never belonged. He grew up in the system, and while the foster homes he stayed in were very kind and welcoming, he always found himself looking for something more permanent. When he had finally turned 18, he moved in with a friend until the end of high school and using the money he had saved up from all of his part-time jobs, he managed to find himself a cheap apartment a few blocks away from his university. The full scholarship he got really helped him financially, and the added support of his friends was a major boost. And it's not that he wasn't grateful, but his weird emptiness despite it all always left him feeling a little guilty and undeserving.

Sometimes he'd try to remember his life before the adoption center and flashes of endless rose walls and high gilded ceilings would cross his mind before the headaches would tear them away. He wasn't even sure if those were memories at all with how surreal they seemed. He had asked the staff of the center once about how he got there and all they could tell him was that he showed up with a note asking them to take care of him along with his basic information. He had tried to find the person that wrote the note, but with so little to go by, it wasn't that hard to realise it was a dead end.

So there he was— Jeon Jeongguk, aged 24, a freelance photographer and graphics designer living off the minimum wage. His life wasn't all that exciting considering he was trying to make ends meet after leaving his old, ratty apartment for a studio flat closer to the city center. That, and he had never had a significant other in all his 24 years of living. He was ready to subject himself to an average life all alone when everything came crashing down.

Literally.

The transition from spring to fall was always inconsistent, one day chilly and the next humid and hot. Despite living in Seoul for almost a decade, Jeongguk had never managed to understand the weather patterns of the place and he was suffering for it greatly. There he was, dressed in his usual black on black ensemble, shivering in his thin, oversized tee and shorts as the cool breeze brushed against his bare skin. Of all the days to not wear a hoodie, really. Cursing himself, he gripped his hot chocolate with both hands as if his life depended on it as he strolled down the street, heading to the bookstore to pick up the materials he had ordered in advance. Perhaps he’d finally find that book he’d been looking for while he was there.

There wasn’t much of a crowd in the city that day despite it being a Friday. Jeongguk guessed it was mainly due to it being 7 o’clock in the morning and no one in their right mind would be wandering around in the mist and cold, unlike him. It was good for him since he didn't like the crowds, bad since there were no other bodies to block the wind and keep the warmth in. He hurried even more, nearly sprinting the rest of the way. He applauded himself in his head for not spilling the hot drink all over himself as he shivered in delight at the gust of warm air that greeted him when he pushed through the glass doors of the bookstore.

The store wasn't all that big, shelves filling up more space and making it hard to walk through sometimes when the store was a tad bit more crowded. Luckily it wasn’t a busy day, so Jeongguk easily made his way to the back after greeting the clerk up front. He was a regular at the store and had been granted special privileges to scour through the stocks in the back room if he wanted. It helped as well that he was friends with the owner’s son. He passed shelves overflowing with books both new and preloved, enjoying the subtle cedarwood scent of them mixing with the mint of the air fresheners hanging above. He had to move a couple of boxes before reaching the back door.

Despite being a bookstore, the shop also sold crafts and other knick knacks, but you have to ask for them since they aren’t put out on display considering the books already took up too much space. Jeongguk was grabbing a few canvases of various sizes, some paint colors he was running out of, and a couple sponge brushes after he wrecked his old ones for a commission when a voice startled him.

“ Ah ! I finally found you!”

Jeongguk was startled enough that he dropped the paint tubes in his hands and whacked the bottom of a shelf of paintbrushes, making them roll and scatter on the floor. The raven took a moment to take in the mess he created before he lifted his head to see who screamed and—

Wow.

Oh, wow .

He was the most beautiful person Jeongguk had ever seen. 

And he had the sharpest ears Jeongguk had ever seen as well.

Forgetting the mess around him for a moment, the raven swallowed before speaking. "Uhm, may I help you?"

The stranger’s face contorted into bewildered confusion. “Help me? Oh, no , Your Highness, I’m here to help bring you back.”

The loose cream sweater really looked good on the other, the brown slacks and black slip-ons seemed pretty comfy as well, not to mention the light from the main room was hitting the side of his face just right—

“W—What did you just call me?”

“Your Highness,” there was no doubt in the man’s voice, as if the title was completely normal.

A weird noise left the raven’s throat as he chuckled awkwardly, finally being brought out of his reverie to start picking up everything that fell. "Ah, yeah, sorry. I think you've got the wrong guy."

"You might not look like yourself right now, Your Highness, but I will always remember your scent."

Yeah, like that wasn't weird at all. Jeongguk snorted to himself, reaching out to pick another brush up when the stranger spoke up again.

"Oh, no need for that, Your Highness. Allow me."

A snap of the fingers, and suddenly the storeroom was clean, cleaner than it had been before the mess and much, much more organised. The raven froze, left hand still in the air where they were about to grab another brush only for said brush to disappear from sight and his right hand suddenly empty and weightless of all the things he held gone as well.

A beat.

Two.

Three.

Four.

"Uhm."

Five.

Six.

"What just happened?"

Seven.

He rose on shaky feet, eyes flitting here and there to check the rest of the room. Lo and behold, it really was transformed. He turned back to the stranger with wide eyes. “What did you do?”

The man tilted his head, looking confused with his lips jutted out in a pout. “Helping His Highness clean up, obviously.”

Jeongguk let out a short, hysterical laughter, slowly picking out the items he needed for the second time. “You—You—I don’t know what the hell you want with me, so how ‘bout we just forget this ever happened and move on, yeah?”

“But Your Highness—!”

“Stop calling me that!” A weird, twisting emotion rose in the raven every time the title was uttered and he didn’t like how it made him feel. Double checking he had everything he needed, he stomped towards the open doorway and stopped right in front of the other, glaring. “What’s with the name, anyway? And why do you keep acting like you know me?”

The brunette had the good idea to avert his gaze, fingers fiddling with his sweater. He spoke with a softer, lower voice. “Because you are His Highness Jeon Jeongguk, heir to the Seelie Court and the only offspring of the last king of the Unseelie Court, therefore being as well the heir to the Unseelie Court.”

“Seelie what—” bits and pieces of the literature elective he took in college suddenly popped into his head.

Faeries are traditionally divided into two courts— seelie and unseelie. Seelie faes are the generally ‘nicer’ groups while unseelie faes, well, let’s just say it’s better to avoid them lest you want an early death.

Faeries.

The stranger was referring to faeries .

And he was saying Jeongguk was some sort of heir to both courts.

Oh, this had to be some sort of joke.

He said the same thing as he pushed past the other and made his way to the counter. The clerk only raised a brow but the raven waved away her concern, foot tapping against the soft wood in impatience. He nearly shoved the money into the cash register himself before grabbing the eco bag full of his things off the counter as the stranger still tried to change his mind, begging him to come with him to his magical world of faeries.

Jeongguk let out an annoyed groan as he used his shoulder to open the door, irritation only growing when the cold bit at him again. “Listen, I don’t know who you are or what you did back there, but please, for the love of all things good and bad, stop following me or I’ll call the cops on you.”

“Your Highness, please , you have to listen to me!” The brunette tugged him by the arm and effectively made him stop from speed walking away. “You have to come back with me to take your rightful place to the throne, your people have waited long enough for your return.”

“Faeries don’t exist .”

The stranger huffed, crossing his arms. “I take offense to that.” A pause. “ You should take offense to that.”

“Well, I don’t,” the raven pulled himself away, feeling only a little bad for glaring at the pretty man. If faeries did exist, he would play the perfect part, a waste that he was mad in the head. “Good day to you, sir .”

Even walking away, he kept hearing the other yell after him. It took everything in him and the remaining goodness of his moral responsibility not to march back and sic the pretty guy in the stomach. (Not the face, that would be a dishonor to Mother Nature if he would ever bruise a single spot on the stranger’s face.)

“I won’t stop until you come back with me, Your Highness! Faeries never go back on their word, and I’ve already sworn to bring you back! Just wait, I’ll bring you home!”

Jeongguk snorted to himself, letting out a small sigh. The sentiment would’ve been nice if he even knew what home was.

Jeongguk was a patient person, an understanding one, a nice one, he had no reason to commit mass murder on a whim—

“Your Highness!”

But he did have a good reason to butcher the grass surrounding him where he sat on the small hill of the local park. Sorry Mother Nature, he’d make it up to you next time.

The former stranger— Taehyung, as he had introduced himself after jumping Jeongguk just the other day in the cafe near the bookstore and shamelessly sitting across from him without permission— bounded towards him with a bright smile and bouncing curls. Jeongguk paused from his massacre to watch in awe how soft the curls looked before remembering his annoyance and huffing, returning to his oh-so-very-important task at hand.

“I told you to call me Jeongguk if you were gonna keep pestering me.”

“Oh, I can’t do that, Your Highness.” The brunette happily took a seat on the raised roots of the tree right behind the raven, grin bright and warm. He was dressed in shades of green this time with the usual sweater-slacks-slip-ons combo. Jeongguk hated how he thought he looked wonderful next to the tree which was in full bloom, and if he leaned against it and raised his chin a little to let the light peeking through the leaves hit his eyes just right, it would look absolutely perfect for the next portfolio he had in mind—

“And why can’t you call me by my completely, absolutely normal name?”

“‘Cause I have a habit of calling others by nicknames and I wouldn’t dare be too friendly with His Highness.”

“A stupid nickname would be much better than being stared at weirdly whenever you call me by that dumb title,” the raven mumbled to himself, wincing when he felt the balde of grass he had tugged from the ground retaliate, it’s sharp edge slicing through the calouses on his fingers. Hissing, he brought his fingers to his mouth, thinking of licking off the blood and letting the wound clot by itself. A hand intercepted him, though, and before he could speak, Taehyung had passed a hand over his, face drawn so seriously. A short prickle across his open wound made the raven flinch but it was gone in the next second, bringing with it the soft stinging. When the brunette uncovered his hand and showed it to him, he was smiling with satisfaction.

“There, all better. His Highness should not bleed over little things. The grass here is lucky to have no conscience or else I would’ve dug them a new one.”

Jeongguk stared blankly at his hand and ever so slowly withdrew it from the other’s hold, turning away as well. "Nope. Nope. You didn’t do that."

"But… I did?"

"Nope, you didn't."

"I—I did, though."

"I said you didn't, so it didn't happen."

"Alright, Your Highness."

The raven turned his head to frown at the brunette at the quick submission but ultimately pushed it aside, facing front again as he grabbed his bag to take out his sketchbook. Might as well get something done. "What did you mean by conscience, by the way?"

He felt Taehyung shuffle closer, peering over his shoulder. "Oh, I was talking about the grass. Here in the Otherworld, I realized that nature didn't have any conscience, so they never responded when I talked to them or asked about something."

"Respond how? Like, literally talking back to you?'

"Well, yes, but also move and such."

"Okay, how?"

The other didn't answer immediately which made the raven turn away from his landscape portrait to glance at him. Taehyung’s cheeks and sharp ears were dusted pink and, if he squinted enough, bits of gold. There was an embarrassed smile on the brunette's face. "I tend to ramble if I keep going. I'm already bothering His Highness as is, I wouldn't want to annoy you further."

Jeongguk thought his words over, tilting his head. The man had a point, but also, well. "If you're gonna continue to annoy me anyway, might as well go the full mile. 'Don't do things half-assed', that's what my caretaker used to tell me."

Which was technically true, but Jeongguk was never one to follow rules and such.

The brunette brightened at that, seemingly overjoyed. Jeongguk flushed and turned back around, mumbling to himself that it wasn't like he handed the other the world on a silver platter. He got comfortable, nonetheless, as did Taehyung. As he continued to sketch the horizon, he listened as the other told him tales and myths and things that made his heart ache for whatever reason.

Now, just to be clear, Jeongguk isn't the type of person to be deliberately rude or standoffish to a person, especially when that person has been nothing but nice to him, if not a little persistent. He was, however, a sensitive person with attachment and abandonment issues, so forgive him for wanting to keep the wall around his heart up for a little while longer despite the insistent knocking of hope on its exterior. He still had his manners, though, so he took care of Taehyung whenever the other would manage to find him in whatever nook in town he'd managed to find himself in.

They’d met up multiple times, and the so-proclaimed faerie always had a story from what he referred to as Faerheim. After about a dozen ‘accidental’ meet-ups, Jeongguk decided it was just easier for them to exchange numbers and just actually plan to meet. He was pleased the brunette already had a phone, even if he didn’t know how to use it. He was not buying a phone for someone he just met. Money didn’t grow on trees. Not his trees, at least. Metaphorically speaking.

He was too in his head to notice someone calling his name until a hand was promptly shoved in his face, elegant fingers wiggling madly.

"—ighness? Hello? Your Highness? Jeonggukkie!"

That snapped the raven into reality. He turned to the frowning brunette with an arched brow, forcing down the smile that plays on his lips. “Jeonggukkie?”

Taehyung positively blanched at that, pale faced as he made a hand gesture too fast for Jeongguk to see properly before bowing deeply at the waist. “F—Forgive this disrespectful one, Your Highness! I shouldn’t have acted too familiar with you and—”

The raven caught him by the arm and hauled him up before he could get on his knees in the middle of the street. People were already looking at them and Jeongguk never liked that sort of attention.

"Quit that, and it took you long enough. Anything is better than that title you keep calling me," he muttered harshly as he subtly took a step back, cheeks growing warm. He did not calculate the distance between them when he pulled the other up. Not at all. Taehyung still looked disheartened but there was excitement there as well. He chuckled nervously, playing with one of the bracelets he wore.

"Forgive me, Your Hi—"

"Ah, ah."

His shoulders grew less tense, a small smile crawling up his face. "Jeongguk...ssi."

The raven shrugged, hiking his backpack higher up his shoulders. "That's better, now c'mon, I am not gonna be late to that convention."

The brunette easily kept pace with him as they headed off. "I bought the series you were telling me about the other day and I've almost finished it, and I must say that I totally agree that the father deserved to die, but I don't think the other one deserved the same fate."

Jeongguk had stumbled, righted by the gentle but courteous hand the other had on his arm, before turning to Taehyung with the most appalled and betrayed expression. "He plotted everything from the beginning, how can you feel bad for him?"

"But it was the father's fault. Had he been a better man, many things wouldn't have happened."

"...Fine, you got me there."

"I also think the candy boy deserved better."

A scoff. "Debatable."

"I dare you."

Perhaps it was the casual way in which it was spoken, but Jeongguk indeed began to raise his own points while Taehyung raised his without realizing that it was the most normal conversation they ever had. He did realize, however, that it was the most comfortable he'd ever been with anyone else, and it was both a frightening and exciting experience.

"Say I believe you," Jeongguk began. It's been literally weeks and more than a month that Taehyung’s  been trailing behind him like a puppy wanting to be picked up by its disregardful owner. They’d become friends at this point, reluctantly , Jeongguk might say. For all that the other was strange and determined, he was fun and easy to be around. Not to mention it was nice to explain certain things Taehyung found new and interesting, especially when it was one of Jeongguk’s many hobbies. And sure, maybe all the stories he's heard thus far were just that— faerie tales — they were always told with such conviction that it made the raven waver in the slightest.

At his words, Taehyung physically perked up from where he had begun to slide down his chair, nearly toppling over the cup of tea in front of him when he leaned forward. Yes, a puppy indeed, especially with the way his eyes were shining. Jeongguk didn't think the cafe lights were that bright, maybe it was the magic the other claimed he had.

"You do?" The brunette asked, a little bit breathless. The raven had to turn away, lest the other saw what his tone did to him. "Not really, but say I believe you,what exactly do you expect me to do?"

"Take your rightful place as High King, of course.”

"Why," it wasn't a question. The brunette’s brows furrowed, frame deflating slowly against the chair. "Why? B—Because you are the rightful heir!"

"Heir or not, you can't really expect me to drop everything here to just go with you, did you?"

The look on Taehyung’s face told him that he did and the raven could only sigh.

"I grew up here, I know and remember nothing of all the things you've told me, heck, I'm still finding it hard to believe to even think it all real. How do you expect me to lead an entire land I don't know when I can barely keep myself afloat in this world?"

Jeongguk watched the other think it over, dissecting his words. It was a long moment later when Taehyung finally raised his head and gave him a look of pure determination. "One week. Come with me and see the land. Stay in the palace and meet the people. Learn about your parents, your heritage, and when you still don't wish to have any part of us, I… My position is low, and I am not worthy enough to appeal to the council, but I will do my best so that you will never be disturbed after that."

Jeongguk thought it over. On one hand, he could pull off the cloth on this ruse or possibly find the answers he’d been asking himself all his life. He didn’t have any commission or scheduled shoot for the next week, possibly the next following ones as well. He didn’t really have anything to lose with this bargain. His eyes narrowed.

“One week. If I do not wish to stay, no harm shall become of me and anyone I know. I shall be left completely alone, with no one trailing my every move. I demand respect, then, if privacy cannot be given. Do you accept these terms?”

Partly listening to Taehyung when he went off on one of his lecture moments in the early days helped him understand the basic faerie laws, surfing the web once he returned to his apartment helped even more, and then subtly clarifying details with the brunette again made him feel confident enough to interact with other faeries who might not be as nice and genuine as the one in front of him.

The smile returned to the other’s face. “You’re already familiar with our rules, you’ll fit right in,” he said with a soft tone before extending a hand. “Your terms shall be met at the cost of my life, It’s a deal.”

The mention of life deals didn’t sit well with Jeongguk but that was not something he could meddle in. reaching across, he shook Taehyung’s hand, hoping he wasn’t making a huge mistake.

“What, exactly, are we doing here?” Jeongguk turned to his ex-manager turned friend and frowned. “I knew there was something fishy about you. No one is as supportive of a fresh-grad as you were without having any other intentions.”

Hoseok only chuckled, looking sheepish in the least as he slung an arm around the younger. “C’mon now, JK, my only hidden intention was to keep you safe. I was serious when I said you were talented and that I wanted to become friends. Plus, you love me enough now not to kick me to the curb just like that.”

The raven looked away, huffing. “Good for you, then.”

They were standing around the small, clearly unmaintained courtyard behind Jeongguk’s apartment building. It was well hidden with another apartment complex and piles of trash bags and a few scattered dumpsters to block it on its opposing sides. Taehyung was going around the fountain in the middle of the space, leaving little pebbles along the flat surface of the lowest basin. Taehyung paused his task to turn to him with his usual warm smile.

“Faerie rings are easier to use and navigate, but pure mushrooms are hard to find in the city, and I couldn’t find any faerie portals either. Hoseok hyung is half water sprite and his magic works best when dealing with water. We would’ve done this somewhere cleaner and, well, with a bigger working space, but we had to be discreet lest someone saw us.”

“Okay, but even I didn’t know this place existed, and I live here. How do you know about it?”

“This is where I came back the second time, so I’ve been using it as correspondence with the other side since it's pretty hidden. Taetae apparently appeared near the edge of the park when he was sent here so I didn’t know he was already here till I saw you two together.” Hoseok spoke up, ruffling his platinum locks when a strand got into his eye. Jeongguk frowned, turning to face him. “Second time? You’ve been here before?”

A nod. “I was tasked to keep you safe, but it would’ve been weird for a grown man to be following a baby, weirder if you consider you were in the system and I couldn’t just adopt you. Magic is suppressed here, so I had to come as a regular, not-at-all suspicious animal form when you were sent here so it wouldn’t be weird. I returned to Faerheim very quickly around the time you finally graduated to reverse the animal spell so I could return in this form and actually interact with you in person.”

"Huh. So that's why you acted all friendly."

"That's just his nature," Taehyung piped up as he laid down the last pebble. He hopped a little on his feet and propped both hands in his hips, grin wide and excited to return home. “Ready to go, Gukkie?”

Jeongguk looked at the eldest of them who wiggled his brows with a stupid grin on his face and sighed, stepping forward. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Standing in front of the fountain, he wrinkled his nose at how dirty the water was, already wanting to take a shower or three. Leaning closer to check out the rock formation, he scratched his temple. “Uhm, so how exactly is this supposed to wORK—!”

One moment, he was standing in the abandoned courtyard behind his apartment building,  and the next he was being pushed into dirty as hell water and being sucked into a whirlpool of both light and darkness. Had he not been busy trying not to drown, he might’ve appreciated the glowing glitter swirling around him. A pity.

There was a wetness poking at his arms and kissing his forehead. Jeongguk groaned, trying to swat them away when his hand came in contact with something very, very slimy.

“ARGHHHH!”

He bolted up, cursed at the sudden dizzy spell, and then cursed again when he opened his eyes to see a large koi fish swimming right in front of him. The fish startled, startling the rest of its friends that were apparently surrounding him as well, and they all wiggled themselves to join the rest of the fish in the sky. Jeongguk took a moment to take in the sight, jaw hanging. “There— are fish in the sky.”

A snort sounded from somewhere to his right as a male voice spoke up. “There are koi in the sky, at least give them the respect they’re due.”

Jeongguk whipped his head, wincing as spots played pinball around his eyes. Looking past the glare of the sun, he made out a figure of a fairly slim man a little bit shorter than him. He was pale-skinned and had feline-like features, ears less sharper than Taehyung’s but pointed nonetheless. He was pretty, objectively delicate looking, but the nasty looking crossbow in his hands and the jagged, red scar running down his right eye told the raven he was anything but delicate.

"Uhm, uh, right, koi, yes,'" Jeongguk forcefully swallowed, trying not to say anything else lest he look even more stupid. His response only made the man snicker as he stopped in front of him and offered a hand. The raven tried not to stare at the scars littered across the other's exposed skin and thanked him softly when he got his feet beneath him. “I’m, uh, sorry, I didn’t get your name?”

“Min Yoongi, First Officer of the Guild, Your Highness.”

“Just Jeongguk is fine.”

A smirk. “Alright, Just Jeongguk.”

The raven chuckled, not as tense as before anymore. “I’m kinda glad you’re not as formal as Taehyung. It took me a while to get him to just call me by my name.”

“Tae’s a bit scared of the council, getting sent to fetch you and that loud mouth must’ve made him much more scared of accidentally offending the heir of the land.”

The raven winced, feeling bad about being a little mean to the brunette. “Yeah, about that heir thing, I—”

A plop! sounded from behind and Jeongguk turned just in time to see Hoseok materialize from water droplets, Taehyung appearing next to him in a cloud of silver mist. The raven noticed three things:

One, brunette locks had turned a lighter shade of ash that seemed silver in the sunlight.

Two, brown orbs were replaced by ones that gleamed cerulean ringed with pulsing gold.

And three, those were tiny fangs peeking from inside his mouth and those were actual white wings peeking from above his shoulders, small and very, very cute.

Oh, wow.

He didn’t notice he was malfunctioning until Hoseok let out a squeal and bounded up to him, bunching his cheeks together and turning his head this way and that.

“Jeonggukkie, look at you! Oh my gods of old, you’re so fucking adorable !”

Having a face full of the older, he barely noticed the slightly blue-tinted complexion and dark blue hair before he was struggling to get the hands off of him. “Hyung, what— the hell, man— jeez, stop!”

“Nuh uh! This is the first time I’ve seen your real form, I’m taking it all in before those old geezers steal you for the week!”

Real form?

Yoongi must’ve seen his confusion. With a wave of his free hand, a mirror appeared in front of the raven, Hoseok stepping away to let him inspect himself. It was almost a different person, but not at all. His hair was still dark, but it seemed to be made of pure shadow that swallowed any light, plus it was longer, kinda like a long mullet. His ears peeked out of the dark strands, extending into the same sharp edge of Taehyung’s own ears. He had fangs, too, ones that were longer and sharper than the ones the others had but they didn't feel weird in his mouth. His eyes— the one on the right looked like those ruby red contact lenses he bought for his vampire costume for Halloween 5 years ago, but if he bought them from Swarovski and not online on a kinda shady site; the one on the left was still a dark grey, almost black, but now it had golden shards surrounding the iris. He let out a hitched breath when he saw shadows gathering by his shoulders, but there was light there as well, bouncing between the shadows as if courting it. Together, they were seemingly trying to form what he guessed were the beginnings of what would be wings. Oh, boy. Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh , boy —

“The wings will manifest properly once you can fully control your powers. The shadows came from your father, as does the red eye. The rest is from your mother.” Yoongi said plainly. The other two were assessing his wings with awe and curiosity, Hoseok looking back and forth between him and Taehyung with furrowed brows, comparing the two.

“The… rest?”Jeongguk squeaked out, voice too high pitched to sound normal.

“Your father was called the King of Darkness for his exceptional control over shadows and creatures of the dark, as is expected of the ruler of the Unseelie Court. Your mother, on the other hand, was the Princess of Dawn for her power of light manipulation and exceptional connection with the spiritual energy of the land. I can’t believe those two didn’t mention this,” the glare the small man sent the two had them averting their gazes, finding the grass and sky much more entertaining. Yoongi scoffed. “Anyway, being their lovechild, to be able to control both light and dark despite the impossibility of those two things coexisting within a fae without it tearing them from within their very soul, I’d say you are now the strongest fae to have ever existed, though all that power would be useless if you didn’t know how to use it properly and if you couldn’t protect yourself even without it. Still, congrats, Heir of Twilight.”

The raven made a pitiful sound in the back of his throat, voice even weaker than before. “holy fucking mother of—"

A soft touch on his arm. He met eyes of the sea ringed by sunbeams through the mirror. Taehyung gave him a soft smile. "One week," he said gently. "Bear with us for one week."

Jeongguk closed his eyes and shakily took in a couple of steadying breaths. When he felt his heart finally settle back to a normal pace, he opened his eyes and gave a small smile. "Alright. One week."

Turning to the other two, he averted his gaze from their sympathetic looks. "So, uh, shall we?"

Hoseok took initiative and slung his arms around Jeongguk's shoulders, tugging along the grumbling Yoongi— who apparently had twitching cat ears that Jeongguk thought were just part of the shaggy look he had going on— and gesturing for Taehyung to follow. "C'mon, Your Royal Culleness, time to meet your loyal subjects."

The raven sighed. "I regret daring you to watch that dumb series. You enjoyed it too much."

"Team Jacob all the way, baby."

"Shut up."

"Sorry, daddy."

"Oh, my fucking god —"

They had apparently appeared in the back hills of the main palace, which was better for him since Jeongguk wasn't ready to be mobbed. Passing by the gardens and gazebos, however, wasn't much better since he could literally feel the excitement radiating from the servants (who thankfully kept their distance for the sake of Jeongguk’s social anxiety), their whispers reaching him easily thanks to his new heightened senses. Another thing he had to get used to while in this new place. He also found out that if he shut his left eye and kept his right open, he could see literal auras of souls, or what he guessed was auras of soul. Either way, it was pretty cool.

He was too distracted noting all the nice spots with good lighting that would be perfect for a photoshoot to notice the two approaching males.

"Yo, cousin!"

The raven didn't turn, still eyeing a little pavilion off to the treeline, partially hidden by walls of white roses. He was thinking about what lights he could add to make the place look more sunbathed than it is when he was startled out of his thoughts by a harsh slap on the shoulder. Finally turning around, he was blinded by the smile of a devilishly handsome man with grey ram horns on either side of his head and eyes gleaming red like his, only a few shades darker.

An inquisitive hum and a tilt of the head. "Huh, you really do look like uncle. You have your mother's eyes, though. Not the color, the shape, I mean."

Jeongguk gawked at him, tense at the unfamiliar touch. "Sorry, but who are you?"

The man, who noticed the raven’s discomfort and easily moved away, dipped into a bow at the waist, much more dramatic and unnecessarily flourished than any other bow he'd received so far. "Ah, my apologies. This one is named Kim Seokjin, son of the First Princess of the last Unseelie Court. My mother was your father’s older sister, but if you don't wish to be so familiar, I wouldn't mind."

Huh, cousin. Relatives. Family . That's new.

"N—No, I, uhm, it's fine. I'd rather not be formal, please."

His cousin, Seokjin, stood back up with a much calmer grin on his face. The mischief seemed like it was permanent, however. “Wonderful, I hate formalities too. That being said,” he dragged the equally handsome, much more tanned, and seemingly suffering male who’s sharp ears drooped downwards instead of shooting upward. “This is Kim Namjoon, also known as Joonie, Namu, Joobear, or Lord Smartsy Pants. He was your father’s youngest but most trusted advisor and is currently the head scholar of Faerheim’s joint Library Pavillion. He is also my husband so say hello to your cousin-in-law.”

“Hello, cousin-in-law,” Jeongguk said on instinct, hands coming up to clamp his mouth shut, eyes wide and ears red. Namjoon only sighed at his husband’s antics before he faced the raven with a warm smile and wow, he had dimples . “A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. This one has been awaiting your return.”

Jeongguk bowed his head politely, trying to forget his previous embarrassment. “Ah, Jeongguk’s perfectly fine.”

A nod. “Jeongguk, then.” Something in the scholar’s smile grew melancholic. “You really do look like your father.”

The continuous mentions of parents he never knew only add to Jeongguk’s heavy heart. He averted his gaze. “Thanks, but I don’t really have anything to compare to, so… yeah.”

Seokjin returned to his side and laid a hand on his shoulder, much more gentle than before. Looking up, he found a small but reassuring smile on his cousin’s face. “Then we’ll tell you all we know, how ‘bout that?”

Jeongguk tried to smile back. “That sounds good.” He cleared his throat and tried to switch subjects as smoothly as he could, which wasn’t much, but no one minded. “So, uh, what’s the story? What do you do?”

Seokjin tugged him down the path and towards one of the palace’s back entrances as he talked. “After the war against the giants, changelings, and dragons that forced the Seelie and Unseelie courts to form an alliance ended, it was decided that the land was still too unstable and with the announcement of uncle’s death during the last battle and your mother’s own death after labor, it was decided by the elders of both courts and whatever remained of the royal families at the time that you were not safe here. You were sent away to the Otherworld with a fae spy and I was made regent. My parents passed due to an assassination attempt, as did my younger brother. The assailants were dealt with by yours truly, of course, but the damage was already done. Other distant relatives kept on popping up dead while we continued to purge the traitors and did our best to unite the courts. With contrasting essences and characters in general, it was a rough decade before we got a sense of stability. Even then, it was still too risky to bring you back.

“Some faes who were part of the Olden Alliance, the opposition, found out that you were sent to the Otherworld and the ones more well-versed in spells tried to come for you. Luckily it was Hoseok who was sent with you and not that dimwit the Seelie oldies wanted to send,” the older rolled his eyes, waving his hand. Servants hurried to open the large, double doors made of gleaming mahogany. Jeongguk barely managed to thank them in between listening to Seokjin prattle off and admiring the wonderfully done etchings and carvings on the doors that depicted a gorgeous field of tulips with rising mountains and the setting sun in the background. An arm looping through his, a familiar touch, had him turning to the grinning spy. "Aren't you lucky you have me, JK?"

Truthfully, Jeongguk was feeling detached from the story, if not a little sympathetic, because that's all it was to him— a story, told by a stranger claiming to be his cousin, painting pictures of war and death and deceit and secrecy. In his head, the only way he could rationalize everything was thinking it was all a dream, which didn't work since he'd been pinching himself (quite harshly, really) in discrete areas at intervals since they've arrived. He hasn't woken up just yet so it might actually be real, and that's terrifying , because if it was real, then he really was—

"Taehyung, my friend, you have returned! Now hurry with me lest I be burned!"

The group pauses in the middle of the hall to see a blonde male, decked out in clothing so bright it was painful merely having him in the peripheral, running towards them, thin, white, furry tail swishing behind him.

Namjoon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Jimin-ah, you've trekked the carpet with rosin again."

The blonde paused a few feet away and glanced behind him, wincing as he smiled sheepishly. "Ah, my mistake. May the cleanup wait?”

“No need,” Seokjin waved his hand and the white powdered footsteps running down the brilliant red carpet vanished into thin air. “Sweet cousin, may I introduce Park Jimin, the true Master of Revels and our greatest showman. I don’t know if Taehyung ever mentioned he was a court revel but he’s Jimin's partner and a crowd favourite.”

Jeongguk turned to Taehyung with raised brows, hiding a smile at the red staining the other’s cheeks. “He only said he worked in court, but mentioned none of that.”

“You didn’t ask.” The raven had to chuckle at the words he was obviously not meant to hear. The newcomer bowed in a curtsy, frills rustling and silk swaying. It wasn’t exactly stylish, but at least the colors compliment each other and with a face like that, Jimin could honestly pull off anything. “Your Highness, please excuse my frankness.”

A nod. “Go ahead, and no need for formalities.”

Jimin stepped forward and grabbed Taehyung by the arm. "Taehyung, my dear, to be completely clear, your help is greatly needed. The mad woman goes and I love all my toes, I pray my request is heeded."

"I’m sorry, but what's up with all the rhyming?" Jeongguk failed in holding back a snort, clearing his throat when silver eyes turned slitted and glared at him. No formalities indeed. Well, he preferred this to the awkward stiffness. It felt more realistic, anyway.

Jimin huffed, turning up his nose. "Though intended, it was not my fault. The target was different but the victim was a dolt. Cursed, I was, though I worked not alone, to rhyme for a day and be worked to the bone."

A low whistle. The raven gave him a sympathetic look. He knew the feeling of a prank gone wrong. "Damn, that sucks. Sorry to hear."

The blond grinned, contempt suddenly gone. "'Tis was fun, but we must run. Regards, Your Highness, enjoy the land. May it bloom wonderfully beneath your hand."

Before Jeongguk could even say goodbye, the two were already sprinting down the hall, the master of revels leaving white tracks on the carpet again that Seokjin spelled away with every step. Taehyung managed to turn around and smile, hand raising in farewell before he was tugged down the corner. Jeongguk coughed, raising his hand to his mouth after it rose by itself to wave goodbye as well. He turned back to his cousin and cousin-in-law and gestured to the opposite hall. Hoseok and Yoongi seemed to have slipped off to god knows where when he wasn’t looking either but he figured they had much better things to do than give poor ‘ole him a tour around the grounds. “Shall we?”

He ignored Seokjin’s teasing grin and walked ahead, not really knowing where he’s going but too awkward to ask anyway. He entered an open archway and seemed to have stumbled into a ballroom. He gawked at the high ceilings and gilded walls and crystal chandeliers as he asked Seokjin to continue his retelling of the past.

“Well, as the standing regent, it was a hard transition from lord to majesty, especially when the Seelie council kept trying to get one of the royals on their side to rise to the throne. I knew none of your cousins from your mother’s side wanted to rule, some had even come to me privately during those times to imply that very clearly, and the ones on my side kept on ending up dead mostly due to their own… proud and taunting nature. Plus I was the eldest of the next generation. Tradition forced us to always pass the crown to the next generation, even if the eldest of them was but a child. I had no choice, and I was not made for court politics which made me easy pickings. I was lucky to have Joonie with me, he’s been my strongest pillar against the councils, especially when they finally merged. We haven’t finished rooting out the weeds even up until now due to many circumstances like old power, lineage claim, and infuriatingly well evasion on their end, but also mostly because despite being regent, I am not Heir nor King, and therefore I don’t have the right to do anything beyond my limit line.”

“He loves to dance along that line, nonetheless,” Namjoon said, watching in fondness as the raven ran his fingers against the paintings lining the walls, pure awe and calculated interest in his dual-toned eyes. Seokjin shrugged, looping his arm through his husband’s. “I have a penchant for chaos, what can I say?”

"You’re a devil in the council room, that's for sure," the scholar sighed.

The older bumped shoulders with the other, an infatuated smile on his face. "Only to those who deserve it. Aren't you glad I'm on your side?"

"I'll be glad when you stop inserting an innuendo or terrible joke between sentences."

"You rob me of joy."

"Thought you said I am your joy."

"That is true," he clapped his hands before turning back to the distracted younger. "And now I have found another joy. Say, cousin,  how much trouble do you think the old geezers will let us get away with simply because you are you?"

Jeongguk turned back to face them with an arched brow. “What kind of trouble?”

“Something easy for now. How about we sneak into the forbidden area of the old throne hall and see what mischief we can come up with.”

“You only live to give me more headaches, don’t you?”

Seokjin leaned over to smack a loud kiss on the scholar’s cheeks. “You willingly chose to marry this big headache, deal with it.”

Jeongguk chuckled, reminded of aunt and uncle Kim whenever they’d bicker. They were warm and caring people, something their son, Yugyeom, had clearly inherited, but he knew he couldn’t have stayed long. He suddenly missed them and old feelings of longing for what they had returned to the front of his mind. He did his best to push those ghosts and memories away as he smiled, walking back to where the couple stood. “Trouble sounds fun, count me in.”

When they arrived, the throne hall was empty and cobwebs and dust clung to its edges. It was bare beyond the raised dais and the elaborate and intimidating golden throne in the center of it. There were large double doors behind the throne and, with a shared look of curiosity and mischief, the two cousins raced up the steps, sidestepping the large throne, and pushing the large doors open. It groaned, raining dust as it flew open to show a small circular room with a stained glass ceiling of various hues of blue and gold, depicting an image of a golden palace in the sky.. A bit over the top, but it did wonders for the lighting within the room. There were a couple of indistinguishable objects covered in white sheets but Jeongguk’s attention was brought to the funny looking guitar in the very center. Its intricate ivory fretboard rested against a golden stand fashioned in twisting vines. The pegs and strings seemed to be made of some sort of silver that was so white, it looked like the pegs were made of bone and the strings were spider silk. The body was in a peculiar shape that barely resembled the usual shape of an acoustic guitar, made in the same ivory of the pegs, a touch of gold here and there, and the occasional dark stone.

With how it looked, Jeongguk thought it would be heavy as fuck, but it was light as a feather when he moved to pick it up. The strings were much softer and really did feel like silk, but the sound they produced was clear if not a little off tune. He off-handedly began to tweak the pegs and tested out the strings to get them to the right notes. It’s been a while since he’s played and he laments leaving his own guitar in a junk filled corner of his tiny bedroom to house dust motes but the chords come to him easily. Hiking the body and hooking it between his body and arm, he strummed a couple of random chords before settling with the song he was trying to learn the last time he played.

There was an energy within the instrument that, the longer he played, seemed to emanate throughout the room and filled him with a calmness he hasn’t felt in so long, maybe ever. It was refreshing and soothing and it made Jeongguk feel like he could take on the world. Multiple gasps had him lifting his head and stopping. He was met with multiple eyes that varied from shocked to reverent to annoyed to full on furious. They looked to be around late 20s to something 30s, but Jeongguk could tell they were much older than they looked, the entitlement that came with old age radiating from a lot of them. The one at the head, a man with flaming red hair, green eyes, bronze skin, and dressed in a tunic held together with a golden belt looking like he stepped out of Jeongguk’s Roman and Greek history book turned to Seokjin with a deep glare. His cousin examined his nails, playing indifferent and innocent.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Seokjin shrugged, Namjoon standing perfectly straight next to him. “We were on a tour, we ended up here, he picked up the thing and started playing.”

The entire group gawked at them in silence. One of them stepped forward on shaky feet, brown eyes peeking through dark bangs wide in shock as he turned to Jeongguk. “How do you know how to play the Forlorn Instrument of Old?”

The raven rubbed his nape with his free hand, chuckling awkwardly. “Well, you see, we call this a guitar over in the, uhm, other world. The one I have in my apartment isn’t as, uh, extravagant as this one, but it sounds basically the same.”

“My Lord Kim,” said the red head. Damn, that sounded more like an insult than a title , Jeongguk couldn’t help but think. “Pardon me, but why have you brought this filthy outsider into the treasure room and allowed him to touch our sacred relic?”

Seokjin chuckled, grin smug and a little too sharp. “There is no law that states I cannot enter this room along with those of my choosing, only a verbal leash that no one should enter. We could, of course. There are no spells or wards keeping us from doing so. If you were truly worried about the contents of this room, perhaps a rotation of guards could have been assigned, but seeing as no such thing has been done in the last two or so decades, well, that’s as big a sign that tells all to come and take a peak, is it not?”

Jeongguk had to hold back a laugh at how red the face of the leader of the group grew, making him look like a perfectly ripe tomato. Indeed, there were no guards at the doors of the hall nor the room, and the very place looked more like a storage rather than a treasure room. There was barely any treasure in it anyway, he guessed the more important stuff was kept somewhere else where there was actual security around.

“My Lord —”

“Another thing,” Seokjin clicked his tongue, shaking his head as he rested a hand on the raven’s shoulder. “Don’t you think it rude to call His Highness, the Heir of Twilight, a filthy outsider?”

More gasps, whispers accompanied them this time. Jeongguk ducked his head, growing shy at the full attention of a lot of strangers. The title still made him uncomfortable, but the added judgement just made his skin crawl. His hold on the ‘sacred relic’ tightened.

A scoff. The same man spoke again. “And how are you so sure this is His Crown Prince? With your gift, you could as easily deceive us to believe your tricks.”

“One, I cannot lie. Two, my power is that of an amplifier, I do not dabble in illusions. Three, did you not look into his eyes and see the King of Darkness and the Princess of Dawn in them? Surely your age has not meddled with your memory.” A roll of eyes. “Truly, the helpers had recognized who he was much quicker than you lot.”

Jeongguk could’ve sworn a growl rippled through the room.

“Raise your head, boy.”

Well, it was definitely him being addressed. No one else was young enough to be called a boy but him. Namjoon, despite being younger than Seokjin, was apparently well into his 50s. Seokjin only alluded to his age being greater than a hundred but less than two, and that really wasn’t helping his case—

“You will not be punished, young one. We merely wish to be certain.” a new voice. Softer, kinder, one he could probably trust.

With a deep breath, he raised his head and did his best to meet the stare of the red haired man. Green eyes narrowed before blowing wide open. In a heartbeat, the man was falling to his knee, the rest of his group following.

“Your Highness,” they spoke in unison.

Jeongguk barely placed the guitar back onto its stand, shaking his hands and gesturing them to get up, which was a useless thing considering they all had their heads bowed. “Ah, no need to kneel! Totally unnecessary, yep, uhm, please get up? How should I say this, dammit — hyung, help?”

He turned to the two people he knew with pleading eyes. It was Namjoon that spoke for him, smile civil and betraying none of his own dislike for the group of fae, a sharp contrast to his husband who had no inclination of being civil with them. “Jeongguk-ssi doesn’t like formality and requests the disuse of titles and formal greetings.”

One of them, a wiry one with green hair and yellow eyes, shot up, pointing a finger at the scholar. “Y—You! H—How dare you call His Highness so casually and—”

“It is his request, I am not one to deny him simple comforts.”

The one who spoke up flushed in embarrassment, began to bow again but paused, hovering awkwardly as he remembered what the prince wanted. Jeongguk sighed, already feeling overwhelmed and tired with all the back and forth. He already wanted to go home, but he made a deal with Taehyung. He would not go back on his word. One week, he could survive one week, right?

“Please, stand.”

They finally did, most looking unsure. Seokjin cleared his throat. “Well, there you have it. And as much as I want to introduce my dear cousin to each one of you and shove him to the rest of the wolves, it’ll do him good to retire to his chambers first before anything, yes?”

“The preparations—”

“Can be handled by Scholar Kim and myself after I show my cousin to his rooms, Elder Dili. The prince has only just returned to a place he does not remember, I’m sure he already feels quite overwhelmed with everything. He’ll be at the banquet tonight, worry not.”

Tomato head— Elder Dili— seemed to want to say more but stopped himself, huffing. “Fine,” he gritted out. He turned back to the raven and tipped his head in a shallow bow. Jeongguk had an inkling that it was done mockingly. “Enjoy your rest, Your Highness. I look forward to meeting you properly tonight.”

Then he turned and left, the rest of them following suite, bowing at the waist before turning. A man with a lithe physique, pale blue hair and purple orbs lingered longer behind his group. Facing the prince, he smiled warmly and saluted with two fingers moving away from his temple. Jeongguk felt himself unwind slightly at the casual gesture.

“You play wonderfully, young one. I look forward to seeing what else you’ll do.” And oh, he was the nice voice who spoke before. There was a mischievous lilt to his tone, his words seeming to hold double meanings. Jeongguk smiled at him, bowing at the waist and ignoring the loud intakes of air from the elders who saw. “I am in your care.”

When he stood back up, the group was already turning down the hallway away from the throne room. Seokjin’s calculated smile quickly dropped once the group was out of sight as he turned to the raven with grim eyes, tone serious. “I won’t tell you to not trust them, but there are still those that only seek to use you for their own personal gain and intent. Be wary, but not distrustful.”

Jeongguk nodded. He might’ve liked the one with the soft voice, but their auras were all mixed up and he had seen some concerningly dark ones. He was used to being wary, he could do that.

“What was the name of the blue haired one?” He asked once the doors to the treasure storage room were shoved close and the two were taking him to where he’d stay for the week.

“That was Lord Hila, he monitors and runs the majority of the towns and villages in the north of former Tildorm, the land governed by the Seelie Court in the past. He was one of the former Seelie Queen’s advisors and a close friend of your mother. Currently, he is a lower court elder.”

“Lower court?”

A nod. “The current Council of Elders is divided into two groups. The upper court consists of those who have served the royal family the longest or those with enough power to influence the vote in their direction. They serve as the direct advisors of, well, me. Useless bunch, really, when I have my dependable advisor right here,” he sent a smile to his husband, the other smiling back fondly. “The lower court, on the other hand, consists of those who handle matters that directly affect the people. Food distribution, tax, those stuff. Honestly, it’s just another stupid system of powerplay and it’s another thing I’ve been trying to get rid of for years.”

They arrive at a door with carvings of the phases of the moon, found two levels up in the western wing of the palace. A little tacky, Jeongguk had to admit, but at least it looked pretty. There were four faes standing guard by the door and though they didn’t wear the same uniform the rest of the guards he’d seen had, a nod from Seokjin meant they could be trusted. Through the door was a room larger than his entire apartment decorated in lavish and fancy furniture of black, blues, and gold. His bed could probably fit four people with space to spare, a hearth sparked with fire opposite it, there was a door to his left and one to his right, one of which he guessed led to the bathroom. A few other things laid here and there, but what snagged his attention was the large working table directly ahead of him that laid beneath a large window that let it the soft hues of the late evening sun. Leaning against it was Yoongi who gave him a short nod, Taehyung standing next to him on shifting feet. The latter perked up when their eyes met, his usual smile stretching his lips. “Gukkie!”

The raven felt his heart settle at the familiar face, letting the comforting scent he had grown accustomed to the past few weeks settle around him. There was a pat on his back. “We’ll come for you before dinner. Rest well, cousin.”

He turned and waved goodbye to the regent and scholar as they closed the door and approached the other two. “Where’s Hoseok hyung and, uh, the blonde rhyming one?”

Yoongi snickered. “Seok is running through the guards the elders have assigned to you and inspecting them one by one. Jimin is making sure the food and entertainment for the banquet is on par with Lady Luo’s expectations.”

“Who’s Lady Luo?”

“His boss and the Officer of the Lotus Division. They’re one the entertainment divisions of the Guild.”

Jeongguk frowned as he sat on the very edge of the bed closest to them, feeling awkward amidst the sea of silk. “So you do more than spying and protecting and stuff, cool. Why does Hoseok hyung have to inspect the guards? I thought they were your men.”

“The Guild is not part of the court, and we do not wish to be so,” Yoongi said curtly though not unkindly, shifting to fully sit on the table. “We worked independently even during the war and only allied ourselves to Seokjin hyung a few years ago. The upper court cannot control us and they hate it. The lower court kinda likes us because they commission the skills of our divisions, especially services like those of Lotus.”

He studied the raven for a short moment, trying to find his words. Jeongguk lets him, untying the laces of his shoes and putting them off neatly to the corner of the bed frame. “Listen, Hoseok has vouched for you, and the favor of an Officer holds a lot of sway within the Guild. I had to see you myself, which is why I personally came to fetch you.” He grinned. “I also got to see Dick Dili publicly shame the prince and get humiliated for it. He’s the worst of them, so you better keep your eye on him the most.”

“You were there? I didn’t see you.”

“Uh, duh.”

Right, right, spy, assassin, shouldn’t be seen. Noted. 

“That being said,” Yoongi’s cat ears twitched as he tilted his head, as informal as a bow could get. “As First Officer and current Head of the Guild, if His Highness would grant it so, the Phantom Division would see it as the greatest honor if we could become the Prince’s Guard, and upon your coronation, the King’s Guard.”

Jeongguk was too shocked to speak. Meeting Taehyung’s encouraging gaze, he smiled shakily at the other. “Uhm, see, I don’t even know if I’ll still be here by the end of the week, so I don’t want to make any promises.”

A nod. “Then for as long as you’ll stay. Hoseok and I will personally see to your safety.”

Seeing nothing wrong and feeling more secure being surrounded by familiar faces, the raven nodded slowly. “Alright, I’m in your care then.”

Yoongi nodded and hopped down from the table. “Now that that’s over, you should really get some sleep. With the council at the banquet, you’ll need all the rest you can get. Gotta recharge your patience and all that.”

Jeongguk groaned, finally allowing himself to flop back onto the bed and nearly moaning at how soft the mattress was. “I fucking hate boomers.”

“Boomers?”

“Old people stuck in their ways and too entitled and stubborn for their own good,” Taehyung supplied, having learned the lingo from being around Jeongguk so much. Yoongi hummed. “That they are. Well, sweet dreams, little prince.”

And then he was out the door and gone, leaving Jeongguk with Taehyung in the room. Alone.

He’s been alone with the other before. Whether he wanted to be or not, but being alone with him then, after finally seeing for himself that everything he’s told him was true, plus the fact that he got even more beautiful like holy fucking hell—

“I know you probably want to go back. Even if our deal stands for a week, I'll take you back tonight if you so wish it."

Jeongguk sat back up and studied the other, not liking how Taehyung seemed to curl into himself, wings tucked in tight. He knew he would, Taehyung would really take him back if he so much as hinted that he wanted to leave. But after meeting the council and hearing what his cousin had told him, guilt and shame would only tear him to pieces if he would ever willingly leave Taehyung’s fate in their hands. He’s handled terrible clients before, lived with foster parents who’d hit him for so much as looking at them wrong, listened quietly as arrogant professors berated him on things he already knew but had somehow done wrong— he could handle a bunch of old men with super powers. He had super powers now too, and he’d always been good at figuring out how things work through trial and error. If he accidentally blows something up in the process, well, hopefully Yoongi and Hoseok would be quick enough to get him to safety.

“Hey, what are we?”

He's just as surprised as the other by his question. Being tired really made him loose-lipped, not even alcohol made him so honest. Taehyung was looking at him with inquisitive eyes. “Well, we’re fae?”

Jeongguk smiled, the warmest one he’d ever given Taehyung. The other seemed surprised at the sight, cheeks blushing crimson. “We’re friends, Tae, and when I make promises to friends, I always see it through.”

That made the man relax, lips curling up. “Oh… okay then.”

“Yeah.” 

A moment of silence passed, more expectant than awkward. Jeongguk had more things to say, more things to ask, but he had to figure things out on his own first before. Taehyung must’ve sensed it because he smiled softer, bowing his head. “I’ll go ahead then, Jeonggukkie. I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yeah, yes, of course,” nice going, Jeon. super smooth. Taehyung chuckled and waved goodbye, leaving the room in slow steps. Finally left alone, the raven  moved to the center of the bed, lying down amidst the millions of cushions. He went over the events of the day. He finally knew what he looked like as a fae, his old manager turned friend was actually a faerie spy, he had a cousin, his cousin was married, a guitar was apparently some sort of holy thing in Faerheim (he wondered if drums was something they considered sacred too), some boomers didn’t like him, some did, the people protecting him have too many secrets, and he has to go to a fucking banquet tonight, meaning having to dress up and socialize . All in all, a pretty eventful day.

Sighing, he closed his eyes. He hummed to himself a song he didn’t know where he heard, mentally noting to find a piece of paper and some charcoal to draw how Taehyung looked in the sunlight with his bright eyes and cotton-like wings before sleep took him.