Chapter Text
Ever since The War of The Ages, all young princes had a certain set of tasks and obstacles that they were required to overcome in order to claim the throne to their kingdom.
Each task given to the young princes would be something beneficial to all kingdoms as a sign of peace, but it would also be something special to the princes' specific kingdom and their specialties.
For example, Kim Seokjin of the kingdom Eryngium specialized in oceanic travels, collections, and cuisine, was sent off on a year-long exploration for his task.
Kim Taehyung, however, wasn’t from a kingdom that specialized in something as specific as the ocean.
His kingdom was home to a variety of information and knowledge. The kingdom of Begonia specialized in containing knowledge from all kingdoms.
Begonia was home to people who valued wisdom and teachings, those who believed in keeping track of history, and ensuring written word be passed on.
Prince Taehyung had gotten his task at age eighteen after years of sitting around the castle and absorbing as much information as he could.
His task was to overlook the library of Begonia, restoring and protecting all the books sacred to his kingdom, and it was not a task one should take lightly.
Begonia was home to the only library within all seven kingdoms. It was the only place where those of elite blood could come to obtain knowledge about sensitive topics, general knowledge, or even simple arts.
Needless to say, this task was one Taehyung valued rather highly, because he understood how disgraceful it would be should something happen to any of the knowledge stored in this library, even if it was something simple or seemingly unimportant.
As far as he had been taught, anything that was worthy enough to be written down meant that it was of the utmost importance.
Taehyung took his task very seriously.
But, he also found his task rather… lonesome.
There were weeks in which not a single person even walked inside of the library, not only because Begonia itself was not the most popular place for people to visit, but because the sacred library was only available for those with elite blood.
Only people with special bracelets were allowed entry.
A bracelet like Taehyung’s own - one with a soft blue crown in the corner and a row of beautiful begonia flowers wrapping around the band.
There were a variety of bracelets that were allowed entry, like the solid black ones with crossed swords in the corner that signified someone of the Royal Guard, but every bracelet came along with a plant that indicated the kingdom they’d come from.
Taehyung understood why it was important that only the elite be allowed inside, but it was rather boring for himself and more often than not he spent his days rewriting older versions of stories onto new book spines just to pass the time.
The only person whom he saw on a semi-regular basis, was a prince from the kingdom of Aster named Park Jimin.
That was to be expected considering Aster was a place that valued wisdom purely because it was a place of invention. It was the first place to have created all of the more modern inventions around - things such as fire-lit lamps, horse-drawn carriages, and water filtration.
So although Taehyung didn’t have much to talk about, he just couldn’t help himself when Jimin stepped through that door.
“And this one should be helpful! If you’re planning to build something, you’ll need to create wheels for movement!” Taehyung chirped as he struggled with the huge, dusty textbook he lugged off a shelf, waddling his way towards the long table in the middle of the library, “It’s good to think about that in advance! How else would you move your invention about? Did you know that the first time a carriage was built, Sir Jaein had made square wheels? It was thought that circular ones would move the carriage too fast due to gravity, how ridiculous, and-“
“Tae.”
Taehyung laughed, smiling boxily and setting the textbook down into the table, meeting Jimin’s exasperated look as he tugged down his tunic and mumbled, “I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”
Jimin cracked a smile, snickering as he removed his reading glasses, “Don’t you always?”
The Prince of Begonia grinned sheepishly and licked his lips before replying, “Rambling is not something I do often, Jimin, you know that. I only have very much to say and so few chances to say it.”
“No, you’re just full of so much information you may explode one day.”
Taehyung pressed his lips together and slumped down into the seat opposite Jimin, reaching over for the other’s blueprint to take a peek and arguing under his breath, “Human combustion has only been reported once, and even then, it’s debatable whether or not there was an outside factor.”
Jimin kicked his leg under the table and Taehyung released an embarrassed noise for having been caught and leaned over to spread the blueprint out on the tabletop.
“Do you not think that a stopping mechanism is needed?” Taehyung wondered, tapping his finger on the paper.
Truthfully, he wasn’t too sure what exactly Jimin was building, it seemed like some kind of one person carriage, something for people to get around quicker in, but to Taehyung it just looked strange with it's two wheels and oddly shaped metal frame.
Taehyung wasn’t too sure that he’d ever ride on it himself, it looked frightening, but Jimin seemed sure of himself and he was confident in his friend's success.
“There is one,” Jimin replied, shifting onto his elbows to take the blueprint, “I’ll explain it to you next month sometime, do you remember how I told you my father and I were going to visit Gladiolus again this year?”
Taehyung’s eyes widened with interest as he began to clean up the table of their mess of books, “The warrior kingdom - will you bring me the prince from there! I’d love to ask a few things! I’ve read very much about it recently. Did you know that their children are trained as soldiers from the age of six? That’s incredibly young, I can’t even imagine! Can you please ask them about it for me? Oh, Minnie, I’d just love to go with you…”
“You’re such a curious boy,” Jimin sighed with false exasperation before releasing a laugh and tugging his backpack on, “I’m not sure you'd like the prince truthfully, the people of Gladiolus are… well, very boring compared to you, Tae. You’d get bored easily.”
Pouting, Taehyung stalked after the other towards the doors of the library, practically sulking as Jimin moved to leave.
“When will you come back?” Taehyung whispered, tugging at the end of his shirt.
Jimin smiled, turning towards him to lay a hand on his arm and shaking his shoulder, “A month or two. You can survive a few weeks.”
“… sometimes it feels dreadful though…”
“You should ask permission to leave the library every once in a while,” The other prince frowned, tapping his knuckles against Taehyung’s chin as if to say cheer up, “It is unfair to task you with this and not allow you to leave.”
“Only a few months until I’m twenty,” Taehyung argued, straightening up, “Then, I’ll go back to the castle and be assigned a new task, I can make it for a few more months…”
Jimin stared at him for a moment longer before clicking his tongue and turning to leave, “I’ll see you within a few weeks.”
Two months was more than a simple few weeks to Taehyung, so the prince frowned and shuffled in the doorway for a moment as he watched Jimin fix his leather bag onto his shoulder before the feeling of loneliness overwhelmed him and Taehyung practically jumped at the other prince’s side for a hug.
“Come back safe.” Taehyung whispered.
“Oh, Tae.” The Prince of Aster whispered, turning to wrap arms around the other’s back, “I’ll be back before you know it, my dearest friend.”
“I’m your dearest friend?”
Jimin laughed and pulled away to look at Taehyung’s puppy-like expression of hope, “That’s strange,” he grinned and tweaked Taehyung’s nose, “It seems even a know-it-all like you can learn a thing or two sometimes.”
***
Taehyung found the library beautiful.
It was grand, perhaps even grander than the castle he'd grown up in with the tall, glass-covered ceiling, and the diamond chandeliers.
Though the black and golden, long tables that sat in the center of the library surrounded by rows upon rows of books hardly got much use, Taehyung still made sure to clear them off every night before bed - if only to be respectful of such an ancient place to begin with.
Sometimes he wondered about the library.
He wondered what it would look like full with people, children giggling and climbing the rolling ladders that were attached to the walls, but he'd never quite know what that would look like.
It was rare for two people to be in here, let alone more, so it was a wistful daydreaming thought, but one that left Taehyung’s mind wandering.
He knew that at one point in time the library had been open access for all people, of any kingdom, but that had led to too much chaos.
Precious books had gotten destroyed during those times, especially during the chaos that had been the war, and it led to many restrictions for commoners.
Taehyung had been too young to remember how things were before the war, but he researched it often, and to his knowledge there had even been a time where the kingdoms had all been one, and that idea seemed preposterous.
The system they had in place now ensured a smooth running community, and allowed for commoners to move to any section of land they liked, but it was not an unflawed system.
The system did have many kinks, mainly for commoners who were restricted access to positions within palaces and to certain places - such as the library - but more importantly, the system put a lot of pressure on people from a young age.
Every child has to decide what future they want at such a young age.
By age thirteen, all people would have to decide where to live for the rest of their lives in order to find them a place within a community; this could be incredibly pressuring.
Taehyung, of course, had never had a choice to begin with; he'd been born into the world as a prince and always raised to continue living in Begonia, but truthfully, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
He enjoyed the feeling of learning, and he found the practice of teaching others what he knew a genuinely useful, practical lifestyle that he could continue on.
Unfortunately, being alone was a bump in his journey that he’d need to overcome, because Taehyung was incredibly alone.
The prince had a room within the library, one that was incredibly small compared to his chambers within the palace, but after nearly two years he was used to the situation.
Just like how he was used to his morning routine by now - washing up before getting dressed and dragging himself to the door of the library to receive his meals for the day that were always dropped off at ten o’ clock, the time he was supposed to unlock the library.
Then, normally around noon was when Jimin would come by - about once a week - and spend the day with him until it darkened outside at six.
Sometimes his dear friend would even step out to go bring them treats, especially when Taehyung rambled about missing sweets, or fresh bread.
Taehyung missed Jimin already, and it has been merely two days since he'd left.
Sighing, Taehyung lazily tucked the front of his low cut, well-embellished white tunic into his high waisted, deep blue trousers, as he walked across the wooden floors of the library towards the door.
Normally he tried to be well dressed and ready for the day by the time he answered the door, but today he was starving.
Taehyung couldn’t have hurried over to the door faster, unlocking all three of the locks on the heavy, dark oak doors, and swinging the right one open.
The prince looked down for his meals, but was instantly taken back when he noticed - rather quickly - that his food was not there.
“What in the world…” Taehyung whispered, stepping out just a little bit to see if perhaps it was placed in front of the other door, but his basket of food for the day was not what he saw.
Instead, he found himself looking at a pair of nicely crafted, leather ankle boots embroidered with golden gems.
His eyes drifted up, over the solid black trousers the other wore, until they landed on a white, lace covered shirt.
Taehyung stared for a moment, unknowingly staring too much, and quickly flicking his eyes away from the broad, chiseled muscle he could see through the lace - in his defense, he didn’t often see people wearing such clothing - and met deep brown, almond shaped eyes.
The other man was rather tall, at least in Taehyung’s perspective considering he had to tilt his head up to look at him.
He had rather defined features with his plump, rosy lips, chiseled jawline and softly curved nose. His hair was combed back rather pristinely, in a way revealed the expense of his forehead, and out-turned ears.
Taehyung watched, frozen with shock, as the corner of plump lips curved upwards, and found that the other man’s eyes were slightly uneven when he smiled, but it was in an endearing way - as if it was genuine joy that caused him to smile so hard.
His eyes practically shone with excitement when he mused, in a tone so deep and modulated, that Taehyung felt as if it gave him goosebumps.
“I believe this must be yours.”
Taehyung swallowed hard when he held out his food basket, quickly surging forward to accept it, “Thank you, oh god, I thought I’d starve today. Of course it would be a first that the kingdom forgot to send my meals, but you can never be too sure! That reminds me, I must be going, I have much to do-“
A low, amused chuckle cut him off, and the hand that laid on the door before Taehyung could close it and run off to hide - embarrassed by himself - was large and calloused.
But the action made it impossible for Taehyung to miss the deep red of his bracelet and that familiar, golden crown shining in the corner.
It left the Prince of Begonia gasping audibly and quickly moving to the side, eyes locked on the bracelet, recognizing the flower printed on the band.
“You’re from Acanthus!”
Taehyung flipped like a switch, forgetting about the way he'd idiotically stared the other down, and running into the library to toss his basket down and then practically jumping with joy as he spun around, tucking his hands under his chin and standing on his toes.
“Oh- oh my…” The smaller rambled, “I don’t know where to begin, oh… I’ve always wanted to meet you! I’ve.. I’ve read all about your home! Y-You guys do arts! And explore! I’m so… oh my god, I’m doing it again…” Taehyung lowered his tone a bit, pressing his lips together and zipping them shut, but was unable to stop the soft bounce in place he did.
If the other prince was annoyed, he didn’t show it.
In fact, he merely laughed and shut the heavy door behind himself as he removed the coat on his arm - one Taehyung must have been too flustered to notice - and placed it onto the closest table to them.
“You sure are curious, aren't you?”
Taehyung blushed, turning light pink as he tried not to look too much at the lace the other wore.
He wondered if perhaps it was a fashion statement in Acanthus, because he’d never seen such… flashy clothing, much less a man wearing so little clothes in public, although when doing physical work it was expected.
On a prince, however, Taehyung found it interesting.
“I tend to ramble when I’m excited, I’ll try to keep it to a minimum.”
“Oh, there’s no need-“ The other shifted, walking towards him to take a seat at the table beside Taehyung, seemingly making himself comfortable as he spread his arms out on the back of the chair and leaned into his seat. “- You’re welcome to ask what you’d like, we’ll have time. I’ll be here often from now on, but, I guess we should introduce ourselves, no?”
Taehyung grinned widely, smiling a boxy grin and giving his best eye smile as he put a hand out towards him, “Kim Taehyung of Begonia. My task is to oversee the library.”
The other prince accepted his hand, but yanked him closer, only a small bit until Taehyung squeaked a surprised noise.
“Prince Jungkook,” He murmured, “Of Acanthus, my task is to gain knowledge before venturing onward.”
“Knowledge?” Taehyung mumbled, excitement building up, “Like… like what kind? Like… about art? Or.. we have history on marble carving, perhaps you’d want to look at more recent works! Recently, they discovered what they call a fossil in ice within the mountains- oh, oh, and also a new species of monkey…”
Jungkook merely hummed, and didn’t specify what sort of knowledge it was he needed to gain, so Taehyung bounced away rambling towards the right side of the library where the more abstract topics were kept.
Perhaps what the other needed was general knowledge, just things that could be useful to him, and Taehyung knew exactly where to start - knowing about all plant life was incredibly useful for travel, or so he'd read.
He assumed that was okay when Jungkook didn’t stop him from running to get the textbook.
Then again, Jungkook didn’t say much at all when Taehyung came back and asked, again, what he’d like to read, he simply smiled, and allowed the smaller to see the deep-set dimple in his cheek whilst murmuring, “Whatever you have will do.”
Taehyung had a feeling that he and Jungkook would be very, very good friends.
***
Jungkook came in everyday, it was something Taehyung wasn’t used to seeing as not even Jimin visited so often.
But he found himself liking his company, even when the other didn’t really talk much at all.
Taehyung spoke enough for the both of them, and had plenty to rant about seeing as he had read nearly all of the books inside within the past two years.
Jungkook didn’t really have a preference as to what Taehyung picked out to show him, but the smaller noticed, however, that he did seem to look more interested when he took out more rare books, like those about the sky and the stars, very unknown things.
That was practically all Taehyung had to go off of considering Jungkook was pretty vague about what knowledge it was he liked to learn.
Taehyung, on the other hand, found that the knowledge he, himself, wanted to learn, was all about Jungkook.
It was proving to be a rather difficult task.
“- and when I was a boy,” Taehyung continued as he roamed between aisles, running his fingers along the book spines, “My mother told me about how my grandfather was a commander in the war.”
“The war?”
“Yeah, commander Kim Taeho, he was the third commander of Begonia, well… what was Begonia before it had officially gotten renamed, I believe they just referred to it as “The mountainous region,” seeing as there had been no sectors then. What was yours called?”
He heard Jungkook hum, before there was a pause and a mutter of, “I’m not sure I know. Can you tell me more about the war?”
“You don’t know?” Taehyung asked, a slightly shocked tone to his voice as he reached for a large, red book that was torn at the spine and in dire need of a new cover.
He pulled the book out only to jolt, clutching the book to his chest, at the sight of Jungkook on the other side of the shelf, leaning against it with crossed arms and this winning grin.
Taehyung swallowed, feeling the blood rush up to his ears.
“I do know,” Jungkook replied, leaning closer to the gap between books to look at him, “I just so happen to like hearing your voice over my own.”
Immediately, Taehyung flushed down his chest, wrapping both arms around his book as he giggled once and then swiftly turned to walk out of the aisle, “What a ridiculous thing to say! You know I babble like a newborn who only just discovered sounds!”
“I just so happen to adore newborns.” Jungkook replied, an entertained drawl to his voice as he breezed behind Taehyung to take a seat on the other side of a table.
The Prince of Begonia looked at him sheepishly through his mess of deep brown hair and quickly looked away when he felt that the twinkle to Jungkook’s eye was much more serious than he expected.
“I…” Taehyung gulped, laying the old, torn book down and peeling back the leather of the cover page, “Sorry- I’ll be back!” He squeaked, unable to handle the stare Jungkook had that was burning into his face.
The smaller prince took off towards the desk in the front, leaving Jungkook to tilt his head in confusion and shift to stand up and watch him.
Taehyung felt his cheeks heat up as he dropped down to behind the desk near the front to rifle through a box of book re-binding supplies, and mumbling under his breath.
“It’s not that big a deal!” He puffed out, “You've spoken to hundreds of people, Tae! He’s not that cute! He’s really not! … okay, maybe he is, but that’s beside the point!”
Taehyung groaned, accidentally dropping a handful of metal supplies that made a loud, clattering noise on the floor and cursed when he heard Jungkook yell, “You need help?”
“I’m okay!” Taehyung cried back, before reaching up to check his cheeks and internally sobbing when he felt like they were still much too warm, but he hadn’t much time and quickly picked up his wooden box of tools to walk over, placing a big grin on his face as if he’d never ran away like a coward.
“Anyway,” Jungkook raised a brow, sitting back down once the smaller was placing his box onto the table, then he leaned forward, holding his chin up on his palms, “What do you know about the war, little genius?”
“Oh, I’m really… not…”
Taehyung shrugged his shoulders up to his ears, not daring to look up at Jungkook although it was impossible not to feel that gaze of his.
It was so intense, and sharp, as if it was cutting right into him to find out all about him.
“… anyway, the way I recall it beginning was when the king decided to expand, but the land was so dense that the people petitioned for more than one ruler over fears that a single ruler would not be able to hear all their worries, but… of course, the people are all greedy for power, and it became The War of All Ages when people began to hand their children over to the king in hopes that they could be princes or princesses, trying to push their name upon them and mark it as a royal bloodline.
Instead, the children were used as weapons against the people, held captive by the soldiers to ensure the riots dropped. But, during that time, a single life was not worth dirtying royal bloodlines with commoner’s names, and many were sacrificed-“
Abruptly, Jungkook reached across the table, startling Taehyung from his rambling as he reached over to still the binding needle that was rolling around utop the table, hand resting beside Taehyung’s own as the smaller measured out a new piece of leather for the book cover.
“Can you tell me again - who was the king at that time?” Jungkook asked, tapping his thumb over the cold metal of the needle.
Taehyung furrowed his brow, confused, and reached across the table for his heavy, steel scissors, “I believe it was… King Jeon Haechan, if I’m not mistaken, a cruel king, more of an overlord with how much he hated the idea of separating the sectors. Good riddance to him, I’m glad that the Kim family was able to put him on trial and fix this mess. I’ve always been interested in that story - a commoner becoming prince due to good deeds, the Kim family deserves the kingdom of Peony, I’ve even visited their prince - Kim Namjoon before - isn’t it wonderful?”
Despite thinking Jungkook would interrupt his rambling again, Taehyung was surprised he made it to the end of his rant, and laughed under his breath as he reached over to pull out his seat.
Taehyung waited for him to reply while he gathered his inkwell and pen to rewrite the book cover he was working on restoring, but was a bit concerned at the silence.
“Taehyung,” Jungkook muttered, leaning onto a single palm and expression plain, “If I’m not mistaken, the Jeon family overrules Gladiolus still to this day, no? What is your opinion on that?”
The smaller prince released a giggle of delight as he dripped excess ink onto the old cloth for a moment, thinking, before he grinned, “Oh my goodness, this must be the most exhilarating conversation I’ve had in years!”
Jungkook cracked a smile, releasing a guttural chuckle as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms comfortably over his chest, “You’re just full of rambles, aren't you?”
“In all fairness!” Taehyung giggled, pointing his feathered pin at him, “I did warn you.”
“I never said I disliked it at all, Taehyung,” The other shot back with a laugh.
Grinning in response, Taehyung shifted in his wooden chair to climb up onto his knees, tucking his legs comfortably underneath himself. “The kingdom of Gladiolus is complex-“
“In what way?”
“Hey!” Taehyung whined, shooing away Jungkook's hand when the other reached over as if he was going to mess with the end of his feathered pen. “Are you going to let me explain, sir! Or continue blabbing!” He huffed.
Jungkook's dimple popped out on his cheek when he gave a lopsided grin and Taehyung, unsure exactly why, felt as if he’d stared too long once again.
That smile was incredibly pleasing to look at, Taehyung reasoned, and he enjoyed giving others happiness - that was all the prince decided his pinkening ears meant.
“… the Jeon family isn’t inherently evil,” Taehyung mumbled, “They’re simply… old fashioned… just because they had a bad apple doesn’t mean they continue such habits. I mean, there are seven kingdoms, and the Gladiolus kingdom is known for loyalty. I'd say that is a pretty wholesome reputation despite Jeon Haechan having caused so much… fury.”
Jungkook looked at him with this searching expression, as if he was waiting for Taehyung to add more, or show a hidden emotion on his face, but the smaller one didn't.
Taehyung merely smiled as he leaned forward to offer Jungkook a roll of twine.
“Would you like to help me?” Taehyung asked when he realized Jungkook was unlikely to reply, “I’ll need you to remove the old threads, I always hurt my fingers doing so.”
Jungkook seemed like a rather simple person, he didn’t speak too much, but not too little, and was very interested in everything Taehyung did throughout the days, so the smaller wasn’t surprised when he sat up at the ready.
He was surprised, however, when Jungkook laid a hand on the back of his own hand that was dragging the old book across the table and muttered, “You must be the most insightful person in all the seven kingdoms, aren’t you?”
Taehyung released a breathy laugh and ducked his head, “You’re very flattering, Jungkook. Acanthus must be a very kind kingdom.”
Jungkook didn’t reply, but Taehyung was beginning to accept his quiet chuckles as responses all on their own.
***
“You know, when I was thirteen I ended up falling face first into a gopher hole, true story! I sprained my ankle and had to have my friends carry me home.”
“No way,” Taehyung burst, giggling with his shoulders vibrating with laughter as he tossed a hand over his lips, “Oh my goodness! How silly!”
“Truly,” Jungkook laughed, pushing up his sleeves until they sat comfortably on his wrists, before he reached over to collect a steamed bun that he’d brought in for dinner. “I was such an accident prone child.”
Taehyung had expressed very much to the other recently, probably more than he should considering he’d only known Jungkook for… well, only two weeks.
But two weeks was an awfully long time when you were Taehyung who was locked in a library from dusk until dawn with nothing to do but wallow in his own thoughts.
Sometimes he ended up saying more than he wanted, like babbling about extremely unimportant topics such as why sloths are incredibly adept creatures, or how a solar eclipse happens at least twice a year.
Rather unimportant topics that Jungkook always found interesting, at least he pretended to as Taehyung rambled on.
“I can’t even begin to picture it,” Taehyung grinned ear to ear as Jungkook took a cloth and placed down a fresh bun in front of him. “Thank you, Jungkook…” He whispered, reaching up to tuck his hair behind his ears and shifting up onto his knees, as he habitually did when sitting at the table.
“You only had to mention missing these once…” Jungkook rumbled as he pulled out a chair beside the smaller prince, turning to give him a soft smile, “… and I just had to grab you some, I’m sorry it’s so late though.”
“That’s okay!” Taehyung cried quickly, shaking his head back and forth, “It’s truly okay! No worries, I just… I…”
“Well look at this, the babbling prince is tongue-tied.”
Taehyung smiled sheepishly at his teasing, but quickly shifted to face him, hands in his lap, as he asked, “Are you… are you planning to leave anytime soon? I’m just.. sometimes… I…”
The taller prince, whom Taehyung had only learned was merely a few months younger than him - a shock to him too considering how absolutely… grown Jungkook was - shifted to give him a smirking smile, one mixed between amusement and interest, “Are you saying you would miss me, Taehyung?”
“No!” Taehyung denied quickly, stammering as he fumbled for an excuse, eyes wide with alert as he flailed his hands about in defense and rambled. “I was only asking a simple question! Do you not know what that is, Jungkook? A question is defined as something one says to elicit information from another! And- and it is something every single person does, even babies do it! You know, they begin to question why this - why that! It’s human curiosity expressed at a young age! The human brain cannot possibly develop without expressing these things an-“
“I understand that you’re a genius, Tae.”
Taehyung froze, not moving a muscle as a long, slender finger tapped his chin, softly urging him to close his mouth and pay attention.
“But even little genius princes have to eat every once in a while,” Jungkook whispered, a soft, knowing twinkle in his eye as he tapped the side of Taehyung’s cheek and then motioned towards his food. “Eat up or you’ll have no strength to ramble so much, and by god I would miss that.”
Self-consciously, Taehyung took his lip between his teeth, and gave a single, stiff nod before turning to his food.
Although he didn’t pick it up, and instead reached down for the end of his deep red heavy, cotton tunic and tugged it over his knees as he requested, “Can you answer my question, Jungkook?”
“I’ll tell you what - I’ll answer yours if you answer one of mine. And you eat.”
Smiling, Taehyung agreed and reached over for his bun, sighing happily as he leaned back into his seat to devour something he’d been missing for months.
The food that was delivered onto his doorstep was great, it was amazing food, but it was… so simple, it was stuff Taehyung ate everyday like japchae or fish cakes, it was never specialized to what he liked because here he didn’t have any way to contact the castle cooks and ask for what he liked.
Because here he was isolated, and Taehyung was beginning to wonder if that was the point of this task.
Perhaps he spoke too much, perhaps he was sent here to learn the art of silence, but even then… Taehyung simply felt… lost when he was alone.
He felt like he had no one to share interesting information with, and he’d always been taught that teaching others was the best way to make friends and become a better man.
It was the way of life for the Begonian Prince.
Taehyung was more than envious to learn more about the way of life for other princes. Jimin, Taehyung understood, he’d been friends with him for over a year, but Jungkook… was so complex.
He didn’t specify much about Acanthus, in fact Jungkook didn’t ever bring it up, yet when Taehyung asked he fed him stories about his childhood, something Taehyung enjoyed, but it never gave him much insight into what the other kingdom was like.
It never fully… fulfilled the burning hole of curiosity that Taehyung needed to fill in order to cure himself of his boredom and the itch-like need to learn more and more.
Perhaps he was too nosy for his own good, just like his mother used to say.
“For your information,” Jungkook muttered, leaning onto the left arm of his chair, leaving his left arm brushing Taehyung’s right one, “I’ll be here for a long time, you don’t have to worry about me leaving, I have… quite a task to deal with.”
Taehyung side-eyed him, licking the corner of his mouth as he placed down his bun to properly address him, “I don’t know what kind of knowledge it is that your kingdom wants you to gain, you’re plenty knowledgeable on your own.”
“Now who’s the one that flatters too much?” Jungkook chirped, bubbling with a laugh as he leaned over the arm of his chair, face merely a foot from Taehyung’s, “You underestimate how much it is I need to learn.”
They were both silent for a good minute, Taehyung was stiff as he simply looked at Jungkook, incredibly aware of the shrinking distance between them, yet it wasn’t uncomfortable.
Sure, Taehyung felt his heart rate pick up, but that most definitely was not out of discomfort.
Instead, he felt rather tranquil just looking at Jungkook.
Taehyung had never had many friends, in Begonia it wasn’t exactly a priority when one had lessons upon lessons to attend and strict rules that were set down to the very minute he completed his hundredth page of reading for the day, but he considered Jungkook his friend.
Even if he hadn’t known him for long, and even if Jungkook didn’t talk very often, Taehyung found him… interesting.
That word itself could account for many things that were interesting about Jungkook; things like the way he intently watched when Taehyung spoke, how content he was to sit there and listen to anything Taehyung rambled about for hours, or even just… the soft way he got small crinkles beside his eyes when he laughed really, really hard over Taehyung ranting angrily about why the ocean is underappreciated.
For a lack of a better word, despite Taehyung knowing quite so many good alternatives, Jungkook was very interesting.
“So, um.” Taehyung jerked his head to the side, snapping out of it when Jungkook sent him this urging, calm smile. “Um.. what- what were we saying? Oh! Questions! Oh yes, yes…It’s your turn to ask, right?”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that today,” Jungkook replied, releasing a quiet sigh and reluctantly beginning to stand when Taehyung quickly snapped to look up at him, “I have to leave, unfortunately.”
Taehyung frowned, twisting all the way in his chair to follow Jungkook’s form as the other walked across the library with long strides to grab his woolen scarf off of where it hung on a bookshelf.
The smaller had been too excited to show him a collection of wilderness textbooks that Jungkook had been forced to toss away his coat and belongings so Taehyung could utilize his long arms for the dusty, rarely touched textbooks.
Little did Jungkook know that Taehyung had scoured the library for hours the night before looking for books he hoped would be useful for the Prince of Acanthus’ future travels.
“You… you don’t have to leave…” Taehyung murmured, lips poking out in a light pout as he laid his chin onto the backrest of his chair, “You… you can stay for longer, I won’t even lock up if you want-“
“Taehyung.” Jungkook sighed, looking at him as he wrapped his scarf around his neck, eyes regretful, “I’m sorry, the inn I’m staying at has a strict policy about being out past dark, plus you shouldn’t be up so late. You should lock the door at night and go to your room and lock that also. Don't ever forget that you are a prince and there are still many reasons one may want to harm you.”
Taehyung sulked, feeling scolded as he slumped over his seat and grumpily mumbled under his breath, “You're a prince too and go out at dark...”
But it seemed Jungkook either didn’t hear, or didn’t care to acknowledge his whining, since the other was simply tugging on his coat.
“But… but you didn’t ask me your question!” Taehyung complained, fumbling for an excuse, “Jungkook,” He sighed exasperatedly, “Your question, ask it!”
The taller prince, in reply, sent him this amused smile over his shoulder, one that Taehyung would dare to consider fond. “I’ll simply have to save it for later then, won't I, little prince?”
Taehyung's breath caught in his throat, unsure if that was a term of endearment or if he should be offended to be called little when they were the same size, but the way his cheeks began to heat up suggested the former - that and the fact that Jungkook was still smiling.
“I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, Taehyung,” Jungkook added, shifting towards the door with a final smile.
The prince panicked, jumping out of his seat with one last excuse to stop his friend from leaving by scooping up a fresh bun that was still wrapped in paper from the basket and running towards the door, “Wait! Your dinner! You can’t leave without eating, it’s improper!”
Taehyung managed to catch the door as it was shutting, leaning out of the library and promptly shivering at the cold, windy breeze on his bare feet and improperly dressed body.
Jungkook turned to him with an alerted noise, shifting to instead press himself into the doorway and blocking Taehyung from the dark, cold outdoors, “What are you doing? You shouldn’t come out here.”
With one breath Taehyung rambled out, “You were going to leave without eating and that’s improper and it’s rude and I would be a horrible host if I let you walk out without eating, Jungkook!”
For a moment, Jungkook looked slightly irritated, but Taehyung didn’t get the idea that it was towards him.
Then, the larger prince was squeezing himself between Taehyung and the cracked door, fully blocking the smaller prince as he shifted to wrap large hands around the outside of Taehyung’s, forcing the prince to enclose his palms around the warm bun.
“These are for you. Enjoy them,” Jungkook murmured, staring at him with a mesmerizing, yet firm, look in his eyes. “Now go inside, lock up, and eat to your heart's content, troublemaker.”
Taehyung swallowed hard, mouth parted the smallest bit as Jungkook stood up, pulling away. “I-I’m not a troublemaker, I’m simply… loquacious!”
Jungkook tsked, but in a rather fond way, and pointed a finger into the library, “Go. You’re freezing over here.”
Well… Taehyung couldn’t exactly deny that seeing as he was shaking in place.
Still, he stuck his lip out a bit as a small act of defiance as he stepped back away from the door, hands still enclosed over the bun that he held in front of his chest.
“And Taehyung?” Jungkook murmured, squeezing the door handle as he leaned inside. His lip twitched a small bit, as if he had words he felt the need to say.
But he settled on flashing a small, wistful smile. “If I did leave, I’d miss my dearest friend, the little prince, too much, wouldn’t I?”
Taehyung’s smile was truly radiant.
***
“Are you not afraid of what your next task will be?”
“Hmm…”
Taehyung heard the other humming as if in thought, and shook his head with amusement as he closed the door to his bedroom, a thick sheep’s skin blanket hanging off his arm. “It’s a simple question! What is with you and never wanting to share?”
Jungkook snickered and raised his head from the book he was skimming to send Taehyung a bright smile, “Did you know that five of the planets were known by ancient ancestors prior to official research being done?”
The other prince huffed once, pouting his lips, before reluctantly admitting, “I didn’t learn much about astronomy… now please answer my question.”
“I’m not all that scared,” Jungkook replied simply, reaching to his side to pull out a chair, “Now come here, we finally have something we can learn more about together.”
“How are you not scared?” Taehyung wondered, lugging his blanket with him to the table, “I’m scared they’ll send me off again, to a new place where I’m alone again. Your kingdom typically goes out to discover artifacts, are you not afraid of journeying to somewhere dangerous?”
Jungkook paused for a second, Taehyung nearly thought he didn’t hear him, before he cleared his throat and rather stiffly turned to him with an unreadable expression. “I’m not scared of danger, now please sit down. You can be curious while sitting.”
Taehyung snickered once before climbing into his seat, bringing the corner of his blanket up under his chin.
Jungkook sat against the right arm of his chair, pressed up against the left side of Taehyung’s own, and held up the textbook between them. “Look, it says the ancients called them wandering stars at first, did you know that?”
“Contrary to what you think, I don't know everything, Jungkook,” Taehyung chided with a soft laugh, reaching over to hold the corner of the page and still the other from moving as he leaned over to read.
“Oh…” Jungkook mumbled, shifting to turn his seat a bit so he could lean even closer to Taehyung, “Is this okay?”
It was… well, it was okay.
If okay meant that Taehyung felt his stomach warming up with a sensation he’d rather ignore, but the fact that Jungkook’s lips were now so close to his face that he could feel warm breath against his cheek, left little for him to ignore presently.
“S-Sure.” Taehyung whispered, looking down to focus on his blanket and lifting the corner in offering, “Cold?”
Jungkook accepted the fabric across his lap only to smile at Taehyung and turn back to the book at hand, using both hands to hold it steady as he mused, “Finally I can contribute to that ever-growing bundle of knowledge you keep.”
Taehyung smiled a tiny bit, attention focusing elsewhere, but he was still listening and acknowledging the other prince.
Only he was focusing with his head tilting to the side, unknowingly towards where Jungkook's shoulder was more so than against his own, it was a confused and slightly worried action.
“- Tae? Hey. Are you listening? I would’ve expected some grand exclamation by now. Do you want me to read the passage again?”
Blinking once, Taehyung snapped his eyes to Jungkook’s, mouth agape in surprise he asked, very worriedly, “Where did all the scars on your hands come from?”
Jungkook reeled back an inch, raising a brow and wondering, “Huh?”
Taehyung removed the book from Jungkook's hand, placing it onto the table before taking a hold of his right hand and laying the other’s palm onto his knee to look at it closer.
He hadn’t noticed before, but that wasn’t exactly shocking considering he hadn’t really had a reason to examine Jungkook's hands.
But now, when he had no other option but to view them seeing as Jungkook had been holding up the textbook, he was… well, upset.
Across the other’s knuckles were a variety of deep, soft pink and white lines, small but very visible scars.
“Oh, oh!”
Taehyung felt this pang of disappointment when Jungkook pulled his hands away, immediately shifting to sit up straighter as if the other was going to storm off.
Only Jungkook didn’t really have much of a temper, so Taehyung was confused why he seemed so.. conflicted as he rubbed across his own knuckles and was oddly quiet.
He wouldn’t have pointed them out if he knew Jungkook's demeanor would change so quickly - from grinning ear to ear to incredibly silent and stiff Wasn't exactly something Taehyung was happy to see.
It truly was as if he’d sucked all the joy out of the air.
And, at least in Taehyung’s opinion, he has been rather filled with joy to be so close to Jungkook.
“I…” Jungkook tilted his head to the side and did this soft, nearly tsking noise under his breath before licking his lips and turning to Taehyung to murmur, “It’s only training scars, they’re nothing to worry about.”
Taehyung, on the other hand, couldn't accept that as an explanation, not when Jungkook seemed to be so conflicted with just giving him a simple answer.
He should accept that Jungkook was not simple by now, the other valued his privacy with the way that he seemingly always brushed off topics and would substitute his answers with rather useless stories about himself rather than directly answering Taehyung.
But Taehyung had been taught to be curious and rather nosy, and it was difficult for him to just drop topics.
“But…” Taehyung whispered, reaching over to curl his fingers around the back of Jungkook's hand, “But they seem important to you and I only…”
“What?” The other prince asked, ducking his head down a bit when Taehyung sheepishly tucked his chin closer to his chest.
With a loud gulp, Taehyung peered through his hair and muttered, “I only want to be close with you.”
Jungkook's jaw dropped the smallest bit as surprise covered his face, leaning closer across the arms of their chairs to press fingertips over Taehyung’s cheekbone and brush the messy strands of chocolate brown hair behind his ear.
It was a habit that Taehyung himself had - always combing his hair out of his face - because, truthfully, he felt much more attractive when not hiding behind his locks.
Or perhaps it was simply the way that Jungkook looked at him when he did so that left a feeling of confidence blooming in his chest.
“We can be close like this, don’t you think?” Jungkook asked, brushing his fingertips over the shell of Taehyung’s ear, fixing the strands where they belonged. “We don’t need to speak all the time to be close, little prince. We can be plenty close in silence also.”
Taehyung felt too tongue-tied to reply, so he opted to give a single, firm nod and reached for his blanket on his knees to yank it up to his chest. Leaning even more against his chair’s arm, he was left feeling Jungkook's soft breathing against his temple at such an angle.
Silently, Jungkook retrieved the book once again, holding it in one hand on his knee and leaning his arm resting across the back of Taehyung’s chair in a way that left the smaller prince able to feel his fingertips brushing his shoulder.
As effortless as that, Taehyung had learned that the silence between them had unearthed a bond that was more particular than any words he could have ever formed.
***
Taehyung finally got around to straightening up the library.
It was something he hadn’t really been spending much time doing - purely his own fault - because he’d much rather spend time with Jungkook exploring the worlds that were contained in black ink.
Jungkook was rather helpful though, especially given his sheer height, and he’d been more than willing to help straighten up with him this afternoon.
Of course, that wasn’t exactly the deal, technically Taehyung had promised to finish eating the lunch Jungkook had brought them if the other prince helped, but that was an incredibly easy deal to make.
“Have you had time to go to the palace like I suggested?” Taehyung laughed under his breath at the thought, “My mother would trip over her gown to ask you about Acanthus, Jungkook! Truly! It would be hilarious.”
Shifting to look across the library at the taller prince, Taehyung awaited his response while Jungkook climbed down a rolling ladder on the wall, a damp cloth in hand that he’d been using to clean off the top shelves that Taehyung never could quite reach.
“You know I only have time to visit you, Taehyung,” Jungkook chuckled, shaking his head with amusement as he stepped onto the floor before turning to face him, his usually neat and tidy hair dismayed as he grasped the end of his light blue tunic and pulled it up in order to wipe sweat off his brow.
Taehyung was a prince that would consider himself rather… appropriate, but there was nothing appropriate to how quickly he flushed at the sight of the other prince’s bare torso.
It was merely a peek of skin, a sliver of golden muscle that shone from the top of his trousers, but Taehyung felt himself flush all the same.
“You… you could always skip a day if you’d like,” The Prince of Begonia added, placing his elbows onto the desk beside the front door, using his palms to cover his cheeks under the guise of simply holding up his chin. “If you’d like to go explore my kingdom, or even if you simply don’t feel up to visiting - your task has given you a rather large range of land to explore, and it would be a shame should you not-“
“Little prince,” Jungkook muttered, giving a charming, crooked grin, “I couldn't possibly go exploring while you were trapped, all alone, in this place. Plus, I’m not entirely sure I could go a day without seeing you. How dreadful would my day be if I didn’t get to see that childlike wonder in your eyes? Don’t put out preposterous ideas, dear.”
Taehyung knew Jungkook meant it in the most general way - that he would miss his company, or his rambling, not him - but… for a moment he could fool himself into believing it was something much more than a lasting friendship between them.
“Of course,” Taehyung smiled, shifting to lay his chin onto his knuckles as he leaned over the counter more, hoping his face wasn’t blazing red, “I must be very much fun for you to enjoy my company more than exploring.”
Jungkook bubbled with titters and tossed his dirty cloth onto the table as he began to walk over, “You, Taehyung, are the most entertaining person I’ve ever met.”
“Well, considering I’ve been locked in this library for so long, I suppose I must have learned a thing or two about how to entertain myself-“
Abruptly, the left of the double doors to the library swung open, leaving Taehyung to trail off with a confused gasp.
Those doors were never opened, not mid-day like this.
It left Taehyung bubbling with excitement, pressing his palms onto the countertop to impatiently lean over, grinning boxily and excitedly.
Then, Jungkook's loud, booming voice cut through the air, “Taehyung! Get down!”
The smaller prince immediately thought he misheard, tilting his head to the side in confusion and stuttering a complaint when Jungkook launched himself at the front door, pressing his back against it and slamming it shut once more.
Taehyung stumbled, confused and upset, “Hey! What are you doing, Jungkook! It could be a royal-“
Jungkook didn’t reply, but he didn’t have to, because Taehyung jumped about a foot high when there was a heavy pounding on the door.
“Open up! Open this damn door you filthy coward!”
Taehyung had never heard such aggression in his life, he began to shake and looked at Jungkook with these huge doe eyes. He was confused out of his mind - was that aggression aimed towards him?
But Taehyung hadn’t even been outside in over a year? He hadn’t done anything bad…
“Taehyung, do you trust me?” Jungkook said over the continuous pounding, finally clicking the third lock on the door in place before carefully spinning around and rushing at the curtains beside the desk, pulling everything shut, “Do you?”
Taehyung nodded, face gone pale and eyes slightly glassed over, “What’s happening? What- what did I do?”
“Nothing.” Jungkook seethed to himself, “Absolutely nothing. Now please go to your room while I check all the windows.”
Taehyung didn’t move a muscle, shaking in his spot and clutching at the end of his tunic, looking lost as his eyes followed Jungkook.
When there was no sound of steps, the taller prince turned around with a quiet sigh and came around the counter to grab ahold of his cheeks, leaning down until their noses were mere centimeters apart. “Do you trust me?”
“What… what did I do?” Taehyung whispered, tears forming at the corner of his eyes as he sniffed, “Wh-Why is the man so angry with me?”
“Sh, sh, no. No, no it’s not you. It’s not what you’ve done,” Jungkook assured, letting his thumbs brush over Taehyung’s cheekbones. “Look at me, you’ve done nothing wrong. Now go back to your room, now.”
Taehyung nodded, taking his lip between his teeth and sniffling much like a child as he tried to hold back tears.
“Okay?” Jungkook whispered, cupping the back of his head and bringing him under his chin for a split second for a hug, “Go - run along, I’ll be there in a second.”
Taehyung took that literally and turned to run to his tiny bedroom in the corner of the library, promptly throwing himself onto his small cot of a bed and digging into the covers until he was tucked in and hiding.
He could still hear the awful slurs being thrown at him, the threats being promised, and Taehyung had been… so sheltered in life that it made him shake and sob, because he’d never heard such awful things.
He was a prince, of course he recognized the potential dangers of that alone, at any moment someone could harm him and take control of the royal bloodline, Taehyung had just never had to experience something like this in his life.
He’d never had to hide from danger, nor hear his life being undermined so easily.
Royalty was politics. And politics could cost lives.
Taehyung had just never considered that his own life was of much interest to people when he didn’t even have a say in rules or order within the kingdom.
He didn’t move a single muscle until Jungkook was strolling back in and shutting the bedroom door, releasing this heavy sigh as he ran a hand over his face and then quickly stood up to find Taehyung’s eyes.
Taehyung felt his heart jump into his throat at the look of pure, unadulterated vexation that was on Jungkook's face, but within a second it mellowed out until all the frustration and anger across the other’s features smoothed out.
And then he was left with the Jungkook he knew, the one with tender eyes.
“You’re okay. You’re okay, Taehyung.”
Taehyung sobbed, shifting to his knees and wrapping arms around Jungkook's shoulders the second he took a seat on his bed.
There was truly nothing Taehyung could say, because he felt broken-hearted and disappointed with himself, with no explanation as to why he should feel that way, but he did. He felt weak.
“Oh, Taehyung.” He felt Jungkook murmur against his temple along with a large hand combing hair from his face, “You’re such a gentle prince, aren't you? Tsk, you’re a very soft hearted prince.”
Taehyung could merely nod, releasing a quiet breath as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve and tilted his head up to look at Jungkook, “Why do people want to hurt me?”
“You’re a royal,” Jungkook said instantly, raking fingers through Taehyung’s hair, “There are many reasons why someone may want to hurt you, but you won’t get hurt. I promise. You’ll never get hurt while I’m here.”
“How can you promise me such a thing?”
Jungkook released a breath, but one out of fondness rather than exasperation, and laid a hand on Taehyung’s jaw, fingertips dancing along his skin as he leaned down to whisper, “As long as you trust me, I can make sure you’re safe, Taehyung. It is easier if you take my word about things like this, okay?”
Taehyung simply wasn’t a person who relied on things such as a person's word , he relied on what he knew, he relied on facts and certitude. And the absolute truth was that should that person have gotten inside, he would have been harmed.
Jungkook couldn’t possibly tell him otherwise, because he was only a prince too, and Taehyung was… well, afraid.
“But I,” Taehyung sucked in a breath, tightening his hold on the other’s sleeve, “I would never forgive myself if you got hurt too. My safety is of equal importance to yours, and neither of us are truly qualified to stand in-“
“You always choose the most pressing times to go into a rant, don’t you, dear?”
Jungkook began to chuckle under his breath, this breathy, airy laugh as he held Taehyung’s chin and caught his eyes.
They held amusement, fondness, and this twinkle of something in his eye that Taehyung could only label as intent.
“I’m comforting you, blatantly adoring you, and you only continue to find reasons to ignore my affection,” Jungkook mused, “One might think you were trying to reject me, are you?”
Taehyung’s lips parted with astonishment, beginning to reply but only able to murmur this quiet, minimal response due to the sound of his own heart racing in his ears. “… I-of course not. No, I’m not.. I-you don’t.. I mean…”
Jungkook simply beamed, laying his forehead onto Taehyung’s and drifting to place his palm below the smaller prince’s ear, allowing it to hold his jaw as he whispered, “So this is okay then?”
Swallowing, Taehyung merely dropped his gaze in response, feeling like he may burst if he opened his mouth, but he didn’t have to.
Today, it seemed, Jungkook wanted to do all of the talking.
“So this…” Jungkook said softly, tilting Taehyung’s head up the smallest bit so his breath fanned his lips, “… is okay?”
Taehyung was unsure if there was a verbal response he was looking for, because there was no way that he could form any words at the moment, not now, not when he couldn't focus on anything other than Jungkook's lips brushing his own.
So he didn’t reply, instead his hand drifted up to the back of Jungkook's head, fingers tangling in his locks as Taehyung settled against him.
Silence was considered a response, but sometimes actions were just as rewarding, because Jungkook accepted the tangling of his hair in a fist as an okay and pulled him in.
Taehyung had been kissed before. As a child he'd hidden behind the bushes and shared a kiss with one of the boys training for the Royal Guard, but it had been nothing more than two children learning what kissing entailed.
This, however, was not a kiss between two naive, unknowing, innocent little boys.
It was a hurricane of unexplored words and secret admissions, and Taehyung knew that he’d never find a proper word to encompass the feeling of Jungkook's lips on his own.
Jungkook was gentle, yet restless in his passion for kissing Taehyung, one hand held the smaller still, yet the other was on a silent mission to rearrange the prince in his arms, guiding him to lay down on his bed and running a hand across his thigh until Taehyung allowed him to lay between them.
He found purchase hovering above Taehyung while guiding him in a kiss, one that was slowly becoming less chaste when Jungkook's thumb pressed against his chin, holding his lips parted as he took Taehyung’s bottom lip between his teeth.
It was an experience Taehyung had never felt; it gave him feelings he’d never felt.
The amount of passion, the way in which Jungkook seemed eager to give his affections, and the warmth stirring in his stomach left Taehyung unable to do much more but fall prey to the lure that Jungkook was.
“Don’t go, don’t go,” Taehyung muttered, lips slick and red as he released a heavy breath and cupped both hands around Jungkook's cheeks.
For a moment Jungkook looked at Taehyung, simply looking at the wetness to his eyes and the swell of his lips. He’d caused that and the amount of pride he felt was immeasurable.
“Don’t.” The prince whispered, sitting up to return one of the many kisses he owed Jungkook.
His rosy lips encased Jungkook’s for a second before pulling himself away with an audible noise created between their wet lips and a pleasing expression formed on his face as he passed a hand over Jungkook’s temple to smooth back his hair, “Stay with me.”
“There is absolutely no place I’d rather be than here with you,” Jungkook answered, looking dazed in a way that Taehyung felt within his own chest too. “I’m not going anywhere, my prince.”
Taehyung began to smile as Jungkook sank back down to taste his lips once again.