Drinks and Drabbles

Full Moons and Arrows (pjm - angst, fluff)

Jimin is never late, always making it by the entrance of your orchard thirty minutes after sunset. He always greets you with a kind smile, affection in his eyes. A passionate kiss, hand intertwining with yours, "I missed you today."

So, you feel a shiver down your spine when the glass candle clock tells you that it has been almost sixty minutes since you lit it after sunset. Jimin is late. And it's not something you can shrug off — he would send his trusted adviser to inform you if he got caught up in business. You know that with Jimin's status as the crown prince and how fast rumours spread in the small kingdom, news of him being potentially unwell would have reached you by now. Not to mention that you had seen Jimin earlier today in the village when he was tending to some business, fond look in his eyes telling you that he would meet you tonight under the full moon.

It's become somewhat of a tradition to meet under the full moon and spend the night together, ever since you had met him five moons ago. Since then, you had been courted by the crown prince. Since then, the nights spent together would sometimes last a full candle clock.

Five moons ago, you had arrived in the small kingdom with your friend Jungkook, deciding to settle down. There was an orchard owned by an elderly elven couple that the two of you had inherited after a mission that lasted four moons. The owners were thankful of the two of you granting their favour, and since they had no heir, they gifted their orchard to you in gratitude.

Settling down was a decision that you and Jungkook agreed on, disbanding from your party of rogue travellers and wanting nothing more than to settle in one place. To finally find a place to call home. You had offered the rest of your friends to settle alongside you and Jungkook, but they denied your offer, still wanting to live in the thrill of adventure.

On the second night of your settlement, you were greeted by a beautiful prince at the entrance of the orchard. Kind eyes and friendly conversation lead into stories of the young prince's childhood spent playing in the orchard and picking the fruit off the trees. Several nights under the stars passed, slowly falling into a romantic rhythm with the crown prince. Until one night, under the first full moon, you were courted by the prince, confessions shared and a candle clock spent in passion.

Five moons have passed and you're still enamoured by Jimin, Crown Prince of Jasmine, just like you were the first night you met him. A season has passed, and your lover looks even more beautiful under the cherry blossom trees. Despite your love for him, you've yet to tell him of your past. He knows that you were an adventurer before settling in Jasmine, but the reputation you once had is something you've kept in the dark.

Perchance you'll be telling him very soon.

You see a glimpse of the shadow of a person on the path toward the orchard, worry filling your lungs as the candle clock burns past the sixty minute mark. It takes a while to find the owner of the shadow, only to have a person you had not seen in five moons appearing by the trees beside you. Your eyes widen, an unsettling feeling travelling down your back. It's too convenient for an old friend to appear when your lover is late. There's no way that this could be a coincidence.

"Fox," you whisper into the silent night. "What are you doing here?"

Jung Hoseok, also known as Zinnia's Fox, one of the best rogues you know, looks conflicted. His sombre expression brings a constricting feeling of fear to your chest. Jungkook, who seemed to have noticed Hoseok's arrival, stumbles out of the front door of your humble house. Doe eyes wide, he looks between you and Hoseok.

"I'm sorry," Hoseok says, taking a shaky breath in. "The Crimson River Bandits, they–"

"They have the prince, don't they," Jungkook says, realising the situation after seeing how much time has passed since lighting the candle clock.