Desert • Flower | TaeJin || BOOK 3#

XLI. Voiceless little ones among vultures

"A pleasure to see you, your highness."

Agust doesn't reply, he walks past Taehyung who went to greet him. Namjoon salutes instead and walks next to Taehyung. He is tense, somewhat nervous. He has heard that in a week's time the emperors of China and Japan are coming. He feels that his home is a kind of ticking time bomb. Even his dragon is nervous, making spikes wherever he accidentally steps.

What relieves him most is that everything is in order. Jimin was kind enough to specify what food they should have, how much, the decorations, small details that at the end of the day can mean an empire doesn't crumble or the emperor doesn't turn it into jade. Agust stops at the sight of a painting on the wall.

"Are those your parents?" he asks and Taehyung nods.

"Yes. My mother passed away when the war was just starting and my father before it escalated" comments Taehyung. Agust looks down at the small bouquet adorning the cabinet and a couple of incense sticks. He picks one of the flowers. "They taught me everything I know and left me everything and more of what they had of possessions."

Agust turns the flower in his hands and Taehyung watches as little by little the plant turns to jade. Agust puts it back in place and continues on his way. Taehyung turns to Namjoon who comes over to whisper to him:

"It is a token of respect, considering that thanks to them, you are a person of good in their esteem." clarifies Namjoon gently. Taehyung shakes his head in a surprised gesture before smiling square.

"What a tender emperor."

Namjoon laughs through his nose. He's the first person outside the childhood social circle to say something like that.

Having Agust present is Strange? Being too formal is excluded because, in his own words, "it annoys him." Quiet at all times, barely giving the occasional bad look, going to his room to rest or have Jimin comb his hair. Overall he is very quiet, more so than Taehyung had intended. Jin has been kept very much at bay, intimidated by Agust.

~ * * * ~

"Did your majesty get lost?"

"She... Has a light dragon Right?"

Jin approaches at a slow pace. Agust stares at Yune in his endless slumber. The emperor lets out a deep breath, cocking his head to one side and Taehyung can accurately guess what crosses his mind.

"Do you miss her? My mother."

"Yes, as you can't imagine," he replies frankly, clasping his hands together. "In my dreams it haunts me to know that I could not accompany her... stop her from doing such a thing."

"You weren't going to stop her, no one was going to be able to" assures Agust in a raspy, slurred voice. "She made her decision: to run away from this nightmare because no one was going to be able to truly save her" Jin lowers his gaze. "I trust that her last moments, that her last day, was a good one and that's why she was smiling as she said goodbye to me."

Jin dares to take Agust's hand, squeeze it lovingly in his own. Somehow, it's seeing that same little blond boy who hid in his mother, because only she loved him and would hold him when the danger was over. Agust takes a deep breath, pursing his lips and eyes for a moment.

"We all break down and shut down."

Jin nods. Agust taps the glass box where the girl sleeps and excepting the cover, makes it jade. A faint, lovely glow to her that seems to gush its own small, faint, watchable light in there. Nokssek Lady rubs her head with Eunji's, the green, weeping dragoness leaning against the pink dragoness.

"That night, Lubit came to my room," Jin recounts as they walk down the hallway. "I held her in my hands as she faded away. It didn't matter how much I rushed to get there..." they go down the stairs and walk down the hallway. "You found her first, just like that and I had nothing in my hands anymore, just the memory of that light and that glow" Agust tilts his head, looking at the small altar to his mother made by Jin. Having an elegant house made of wood to protect it from rain, snow and so on. "Fizzling out like it never existed... but I know it did and even if we're off now, I think we have a chance to shine again like we used to."

"I doubt it."

"I don't. Least of all you... You're a ray of light." smiles toward Agust. "She believed it and I'm sure she wasn't wrong."

Agust says nothing. He can't consider that his mother was right about something like this. She had no way of knowing all this misfortune would happen.

"At least not only I remember her." murmurs Agust and Jin nods, laying his head on Agust's head. Staying there for a while in comfortable, shocked silence thanks to the birds flying and the breeze that never stops blowing.

~ * * * ~

"It is satisfying to see how everything is going according to plan. I had my doubts, but undoubtedly, there is potential and honesty in your words, Emperor Agust."

Agust nods. He and Namjoon are the only ones present along with the emperors of China and Japan. Jimin and Jin have just finished grooming themselves, knowing that the time is approaching when they must enter to entertain them. They have spent almost eight days with them here. They have visited the Japanese settlement, who have spoken of the wonders of Taehyung, that the Emperor sent help as soon as they began to have trouble, the offers to return to Japan, etc.

It can't possibly get any better at this point. Namjoon is quite relieved. The only thing that has Taehyung uncomfortable is that, even though it's his house, he's not even allowed to talk to them. He has to be quiet and keep his head down. Not to mention questioned a lot of his way of running things. Calling him inefficient, soft-handed, dumb, incompetent. A thousand and one things that have him irritated and annoyed by the bucketload.

At the same time, convincing himself that this is almost over calms him down.

For all the preparation that went into it, the visit wasn't that big of a deal. It seemed like it didn't even happen, or else it just caused Taehyung a couple of bad weeks, slightly hurting his pride and self-esteem. Before he knew it, the two emperors were gone, Agust stayed a couple more days and with him went Jungkook, Namjoon and Jimin. He was left alone with Jin as usual.

"Looks like real peace is coming now, don't you think?" questions Taehyung to Jin who takes off his earrings, tteoljam and undoes his high hairdo. "I certainly prefer to be the visitor rather than the visited. I am exhausted."

"Don't talk so much my lord" Jin recommends running his fingers through his hair. "Remember that you have more meetings with other nobles and on this occasion, you won't have a chance to keep quiet and do anything" He reminds him and Taehyung gives an annoyed groan, gets up from where he is. "You will be the center of attention. The perfect target to shoot arrow after arrow."

"You're going to help me dodge them aren't you?" asks Taehyung hugging him from behind, he sniffs the back of Jin's neck before leaning back more from him.

"Of course, my lord."

"Tell me Tae."

"No. I can't do that."

"Of course you can. You are my kisaeng, my lover and my adoration." He kisses the bare, warm skin exposed. "At this point in life, the one who should say 'my lord' is me."

"You are dumber than usual Is something wrong with you my lord? " Jin asks teasingly and nervously. Taehyung is not this direct and invasive.

"I just want you with me."

Jin sighs, Taehyung's hands caress him with extreme slowness, all with the purpose that, in case he doesn't want to continue, he can stop him. Jin on the contrary throws his head back, feeling Taehyung's kisses and bites on his skin. He laughs uproariously from the shock of being lifted up and then falling on the messy futon. He drapes his arms around Taehyung's shoulders.

"That's a bit of a cheat of you, my lord." remarks Jin interlacing his fingers. Taehyung starts giving him kisses on the lips, shallow, silly and constant.

"Cheating is you undressing in front of me without expecting me to want to cuddle you all night." justifies Taehyung.

Jin laughs, shaking his head. Taehyung kisses his neck and moves down. Jin takes a deep breath, grabbing his head. Frankly, without having more guests here they can really go back to the usual normal. One a little closer and more loving to the one they had. Whether it's because they've missed each other or have come to greater inner peace, he doesn't know.

Either way, he loves it.