Archive of Our Own ^beta

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The Past

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The Emperor is dead.

A mysterious man that rules the entirety of their land and provinces. They whisper about him and talk about him with awe. A distant god that Yoongi believes may be too good to be true.

With his death, change is coming - that is all young Min Yoongi knows.

The Daegu procession enters Hangwai in white, all on foot as is their tradition as mountain folk. The capital is full of strange-looking people of light skin, colourful clothes, and Yoongi stares, taking in the bustle of a less mountainous trading city connected to the proud river.

They reach the inside of the palace walls and Yoongi crawls out of the palanquin behind Junki. They follow in their mother’s calm and practiced steps as she navigates the strange new city with poise. She has been here before as part of the Queen’s party when she was young, and she tells stories of the splendor of the palace grounds.

With the Emperor dead, not only will the eldest son become the new regent, but Junki has been called to prepare as Kim Seokjin’s brother of war, a solemn life-long title that will bind Junki’s life to the new Emperor for the rest of his life.

“Our house has been honored,” Mother said when they left Yshara and the familiar sound of wind chimes.

There has been little preferential treatment between him and Junki as they grew up in the isolated mountain region of Daegu, but it is unlikely Yoongi - with his slight build and slender figure - will present as an alpha as his brother had. He will not have brothers of war or the possibility of an extended stay at the capital as there has not been born an omega in this royal generation. His life will be in Daegu in its gentle familiarity with little change or disruption.

The three Kim princes sit in mourning over their father in his chambers.

“The Dowager of Daegu with her two sons,” a servant whispers and the eldest looks up from his solemn contemplation.

Yoongi falls to his knees behind his mother and brother, prostating in respect. He does not look up as pleasantries are exchanged and keeps his head down when they back out of the chamber. The only thing he does see is the youngest looking up, teary-eyed and sad, trying for a polite smile in the face of his devastation. It goes against royal etiquette, but Yoongi offers him an encouraging smile before finally leaving the room.

They stay through the initial grieving period and Yoongi gets to study with the second son, Prince Namjoon, who is both clever and clumsy. He watches as Junki trains alongside the new Emperor with barely disguised interest, wondering how different his life would be if he had been born different.

On the last day before he has to leave with his mother, he sneaks out of the library and walks along the path of the plum trees lining the palace gardens. He only looks up, staring at the trees which they do not have in his mountain reach, and does not see the boy catapulting towards him.

“Unf!” he grunts in pain and pats at the now sensitive part of his buttocks from where they hit the stone floor.

The boy gives him a wide boxy smile and Yoongi notices his red nose and sickly demeanor. It is the youngest prince who looks at home in the garden. There are twigs in his hair and his feet are bare and dirty.

The frazzled servant calls the prince’s name and the prince gives Yoongi a panicked look before bobbing his nose and running away as quickly as he came.

Yoongi’s nose itches and he scratches the tip, suddenly overcome with the fresh scent of trees and flowers. He leaves all thoughts of the prince behind - now only focused on leaving his big brother behind while he goes back to Daegu.

But the scent of nature lingers.

-

Eight years later

-

Min Yoongi watches the pillars of the palace entrance pass the palanquin by with muted interest. The figures drawn on the entrance pillars tells a story of glory and triumph interlaced with the imperial colors of red and gold. Hangwai and the Kim Dynasty are interconnected and nothing tells this story better than the capital itself and its glorious splendor. He remembers being much younger, visiting during a time of crisis with his older brother and his mother not long before she had passed. Junki had stayed to train with other alphas like himself and not returned until his shoulders had been wide from war and his left eyebrow marred with a deep scar. He had ridden into the Daegu capital with pride and resolution and Yoongi remembers thinking the world was his to conquer.

Yoongi is dressed in white befitting his grief and while he watches the palanquin reach marble, he tastes only bile in his throat, trying to force the nervousness down. Everything depends on this.

He can hear the bustle of the town around him and then the serenity of the palace gates as they ascend to the palace itself. He can hear running water and he visualises the small streams where he once played as a boy.

The palanquin is opened before him and he steps outside, pulling the fabric of his hanbok into place with what he hopes is grace.

“Welcome, Min Yoongi,” a familiar voice booms over the quiet grounds and Yoongi bows deeply before finding it in himself to smile.

Namjoon looks the same, broad-shouldered and imposing but with a dimpled smile and dark hair falling into his eyes.

“It is good to see you, old friend,” Yoongi says. “Thank you for welcoming me on such short notice.”

Namjoon shakes his head. “Nonsense. We are deeply saddened to hear of your brother’s death.”

The lifeless corpse of his brother flashes through his mind and he looks at the white stone beneath his feet. “Thank you.”

“Come. Seokjin is waiting for you.”

-

Junki was the pride of Daegu, a handsome young alpha with the world at his feet. He was good, strong and kind - everything that Daegu needed.

“Your Imperial Majesty,” Yoongi says before the court. “Daegu has no heirs. My brother was too kind and left me to do what I pleased, leaving our province without hereditary security and a hostile neighbour that wishes to possess our good crops and thousands of sheep.”

Seokjin looks regal, sitting stiffly on the throne above him. His two brothers sit on the steps below and his advisors and ministers line the hall on his right and left side.

“It is my duty as the younger brother to secure my family name, but I am an omega - as you well know - and cannot inherit,” Yoongi continues.

“What do you propose?” Seokjin asks.

“Prince Namjoon is my good friend and has spent many months beneath the roof of our ancestral home, Yshara,” Yoongi battles on. “He would have a good life with me, one where he can continue his studies in peace and continue to secure our enduring loyalty to the Empire.”

Namjoon gives him a surprised look, quickly looking up to his older brother on the dais.

“Namjoon joined the Brotherhood of Halleyu not one month ago,” Seokjin says. “He can no longer marry anyone, though a union of our two families would have my blessing.”

They would have been good friends, best friends, through life, him and Namjoon. They would have spun poetry in the library and made music in the afternoons. It may not have been a passionate love, but kind companionship is all they, as royals, could have expected. The thought of someone else moving into Yoongi’s home would be... difficult.

“I will do it.”

-

Taehyung is the youngest brother. When their mother had given birth to the third son, the Empire had cried tears of joy for the stability it created. When he presented as the third alpha son, the security of the Hangwai future seemed impossible to shake. Beyond his status, Yoongi will admit he knows very little about the youngest prince beyond anecdotes that Namjoon has shared. While Seokjin has been the dutiful young Emperor since their father’s death, Namjoon has been allowed to study the sciences of the world and Yoongi marvels at his level of knowledge when his own is only limited to things he finds interesting.

“I know I’m not the brother you wanted,” Taehyung says honestly, sitting across from him while he looks at the prince with a critical eye. He is unfamiliar and strange, but his shoulders are strong and his manners impeccable. Unlike Yoongi’s own slight build, he is tall and he does not hunch trying to escape the stares that Yoongi dislike even within his own province.

“Your sons will be Mins, your highness,” Yoongi says.

“I am nothing but the third brother, the maknae, with no other prospect than military service as I have been trained for nothing but the moment I presented. I wish to make something of myself,” Taehyung says. “I will be proud of Daegu and I would proudly call my sons Min.”

“You will have to go to war for Daegu.”

“Now, the Emperor will go to war for Daegu,” Taehyung says. “Your house will be joined to ours for eternity just as Junki meant for it to be.”

Yoongi barely remembers the younger boy when he visited the capital the last time, only dimly remembering a third brother. He was sick then, guarded over lovingly by his mother while the two older brothers were closer in age to Yoongi himself even if their genders were different and it was not appropriate to play together.

“Do you agree to my offer of marriage, Yoongi-nim?” Taehyung asks nervously. “I hope you say yes.”

Yoongi is charmed despite himself. It is a virtual stranger who sits in front of him, nothing like the pleasant familiarity of Namjoon. But it is a Kim brother and Junki never had a bad word to say about any of them.

“I like sleeping,” he says. “Even after the morning bell.”

“Me, too,” Taehyung says with excitement. “Though I rarely do. Training is an early morning sport.”

“And noise and too many people. My library is my sanctuary.”

Taehyung nods in understanding. “The stables are mine.”

Yoongi gives him a final look. “Okay. Let’s marry.”

-

They are married the next day to make sure the strength of Daegu remains strong and their allies visible. Taehyung may be younger, but as an alpha he is supposed to be superior in confidence and strength.

He shakes as he takes hold of Yoongi’s hand, but his eyes are kind as Seokjin ties their lives together for eternity. The ceremony is happening to someone else, Yoongi observes, another person who is not him. Ingrained etiquette and propriety lets his body move without thought as he watches unfamiliar faces of the royal court cheer on a wedding that has little prompt and circumstance and is certainly not befitting a prince, even if he is only the third born. His mother would turn in her grave. Yet, the thought that Prince Taehyung finds the situation as nerve-wrecking as he himself does creates an instant bond of similarity between them. He wishes his own brother would cheer him on, tell him that he is doing the right thing, but his only travel companions are his servants and guards as he had left in a hurry, covered by darkness.

With the ceremony finished, Taehyung leads him to the feast where they eat plenty of delicious foods that Daegu are unable to obtain during the majority of its seasons. Today, he picks at the food and hopes it will somehow disappear.

The festivities are mostly a show for the alphas and Taehyung’s alpha friends are plentiful and boisterous. His personal guard will go to Daegu with him, all five of them, alongside members of his household. Junki will no longer be master of the house. A stranger will sit in his rightful spot and move into the rooms that Junki has slept in since their father died. Yoongi wanted to leave Hangwai with a husband, but this strange creature with a boxy smile and bright energy seems so different than what he expected to bring back.

He is excused as the alphas grow rowdier and Taehyung’s servants show him to an opulent room from Seokjin’s own palace wing. His servants frees him from the restricting material of the formal hanbok that was placed on his bed this morning. The material is soft and vaguely musty from years of disuse, but its complicated design shows its value beyond anything Yoongi has ever worn before. The new hanbok is lighter, the material less constricting, yet the atmosphere closes around Yoongi as servants carry in liquor and other snacks.

He hears the doors sliding open and suddenly he cannot handle change at all, wishing to be anywhere else than in this room. None of this is what life prepared for him. While his desire to marry had never seemed a significant possibility, he has always known what his duty within Daegu should be. The reality of doing his duty now seems too overwhelming and frightening to consider.

While he had never had a conversation with his mother about this part, he does know what is expected of him. As an omega he has one duty tonight. He stands with his back towards the prince and slides the hanbok off with little finesse. He lies on his tummy on the silk bed and waits, fists clenched.

The bed dips behind him, but no foreign touch marks his skin. “Yoongi,” a tentative voice says.

Yoongi closes his eyes and wishes for all of it to be over.

“I can’t if you do not look at me,” Taehyung says softly, his voice deep and almost impossibly to hear. “It feels weird.”

“You have to. It won’t be legal until you do it. You know they will check,” Yoongi says, voice trembling. The reality of the act itself had seemed like a distant thing just a couple of days ago when he had left Daegu for the capital. “I know what is expected of me.”

“And I will do my duty, but please look at me.”

The kindness is worse. Not once has he felt different from Junki. His duties may be less physically demanding, but the responsibilities of taking care of their province have fallen on both of them with equal measure. In the back of his mind, he may have realised that he was of a different gender, but Junki never treated him differently or told him to act differently after that one horrible first heat fever that had changed the course of his life. He was only promised he could marry for love if he wanted to because Junki knew his duty and never wanted for anything else. How sheltered he had been, how spoiled...

“I’m embarrassed,” he mumbles into the embroidered pillow.

He feels rough hands touch his left hand. It is clenched in the silk sheet and the tension stretches throughout his entire body.

“You are not alone,” Taehyung says and his deep voice has no threat or strain of menace.

Yoongi begins to relax after a while, the tension leaving his body, and he turns around, pulling the sheet with him to cover himself, and finally looks at Taehyung for the first time since leaving the festivities.

“I thought we could be naked together,” Taehyung says and shrugs. Compared to Yoongi, he has no shame. His body is hard from the sports of men and his skin is darker from spending time outside in the sun. Nothing is soft on him. In contrast, Yoongi is pale and his hips are wide and protruding from his body. His knees are nubby and his face young to look at. He feels small compared to Taehyung who towers over him and whose shoulders are wide and his waist is slim. His cock is nestled openly soft between his thighs and for a moment Yoongi wonders at how their bodies can be so similar, yet so different.

“You look nice,” he says honestly, staring at the soft cock on his partner and wondering how it will work.

Taehyung gives him a pleased smile in return. “Thank you. You do as well.”

The silence stretches but the tension seems to lesson as they get used to each other naked forms. Slowly, Yoongi pulls off the silk sheet covering his own body and watches as Taehyung’s eyes follow the movement.

“I thought omega bodies would be different,” Taehyung says, watching in wonder. “More like a woman’s.”

“Our cycles are harsher and shorter,” Yoongi explains, surprised by the childlike question. “It is... hard going through them without...”

It lingers between them.

“So, you haven’t...”

Offended, Yoongi gives the other man a sharp look. “Never!”

“Oh? Not even Joon?” The question is insecure and the difference between the confidence Taehyung shows for his body and the nervous tremble in his voice is startling.

“My brother trusted me and I repaid that trust with loyalty,” Yoongi tells him fervently.

Taehyung looks admonished and then it changes back to shy. “Does that mean you’ll only smell like me?”

Yoongi rolls his eyes, fighting back a smile.

-

He grabs Taehyung’s hand and runs his lips over each knuckle. Taehyung’s body is coiled for action, but he holds himself back, watching Yoongi relax before him.

“Show me what to do,” Yoongi breathes out and feels a hand settle at the nape of his neck, gently pulling his head to the side. A pair of lips settle right beneath his jaw and he can feel the tip of a tongue licking over the area where Yoongi’s scent is strongest. He shivers and settles a hesitant hand on Taehyung’s bare chest, right above a dark nipple. Taehyung’s skin reacts and he rubs a thump over the nipple.

“Don’t be afraid to touch me,” Taehyung says, resting on his forearms above Yoongi. “I like it.”

Yoongi flushes at the frank admission and hides his face in the pillow.

Taehyung chuckles and the next thing Yoongi knows he has attached his lips to Yoongi’s own nipple and is running his tongue over it repeatedly. It is frankly a revelation that such an insignificant part of him can make his toes curl and a warmth spread in his tummy. The sensations does not let up, not when Taehyung turns him onto his tummy and rests one leg between Yoongi’s own and Yoongi can feel him rubbing his cock against Yoongi’s leg. It is a powerful feeling.

Taehyung kisses along his spine, pressing his lips to each vertebrae in turn until he reaches the cleft of Yoongi’s buttocks. He spreads each cheek, exposing it to colder air in the room, and licks over Yoongi’s hole with little finesse. Yoongi can hear him breathing in and something primal awakes inside him. The tongue does not let up and he writhes into the sheets, trying at the same time to press into it and get away from the feeling. He can feel his body responding like when it is going through heat, but a little bit less intense. Emotionally, he has never felt so close to another person as he does in this moment.

A husband, someone who agreed to marry him, who is his.

“I can’t breathe,” Yoongi breathes out and he can feel Taehyung’s satisfied laughter against his hole. The tip of a tongue is scalding him from the inside and he wants more.

It feels like forever, but no time at all, before Taehyung moves back upwards, hovering over Yoongi’s back. They had agreed to do it like this in the end just as Yoongi had been taught. He feels a hand circle his chest and pulling him backwards to they are chest to back and another circle around his pucker before pushing inside. Soon it is two, then three, fingers messaging him inside and he grunts and pants.

“Are you ready?” Taehyung whispers into his ear and he nods.

Taehyung lifts his hips up and he forms Yoongi’s back so it arches, leaving his ass in the air and his head pressed into a pillow. The first press against his opening feels wrong and he moves away from it, clamping down.

Fingers caress his hips. “You have to press out or it won’t feel good at all.”

“I know!” Yoongi hisses, annoyed at his own reaction. He takes a deep breath and nods. This time when the press comes, he presses against the feeling and is almost surprised when the initial circle gives away and eases the way for Taehyung to enter him fully.

“Oh,” Taehyung mutters, sounding almost surprised.

Something else gives away inside Yoongi and he feels something gush out of his hole, leaking in the white sheet beneath them. He cries out in pain and is only held up by the persistence of Taehyung who is silent and a sturdy weight behind him. Hands message his lower back until the pain tapers out and he can feel his body responding to the breach in the way it is supposed to.

It feels like a long time, but none at all before Taehyung is moving rhythmically back and forward and Yoongi is panting only in pleasure.

Taehyung is breathing against his ear, kissing his earlobes. Only his hips moves away, otherwise his entire body is aligned with Yoongi’s. “Good,” he says. “Good good good.”

Suddenly, something changes inside Yoongi, a sharp sting that makes Taehyung feel bigger. “No, stop!” Yoongi protests, but even he knows it is already too late.

Nothing can tear them apart now without causing great harm to them both.

Taehyung apologises profoundly, but his voice is vacant and high on the omega pheromones that this sort of coupling creates. His movements have stopped but the pleasure intensifies significantly as Yoongi comes from his internal orgasm alone. His hole is stretched inside and his pucker has clamped shut as Taehyung pulses inside him.

He grunts as Taehyung falls on top of him in exhaustion and tries to move away from the overwhelming heat. This time he hisses as the lock prevents him from moving, only shooting another wave of pleasure through him.

“I don’t know what to do,” Yoongi says. “I can’t breathe.”

Taehyung grunts on top of him and manhandles him onto his side. “I’m sorry,” he repeats and settles them together. He fits perfectly behind Yoongi and kisses the crown of his head. “It will go down.”

“Not for a while.”

Taehyung pulls him closer, settling an arm around his waist and thrusts once, long and hard, so that Yoongi can see stars. He falls asleep instantly.

-

The next morning, he wakes up overheated and sticky, with a cock hardening at his lower back and the smell of morning arousal thick in the air. He is empty and he traces his abused hole with a finger, finding the flesh tender. He pulls his hand back and sees flaked blood under his fingernails. His hips feels opened wide and the flesh at his neck must be littered with bruises from where Taehyung bit him possessively.

He feels different from before, awakened. Sexual.

He pulls out from Taehyung’s arms and rolls the alpha onto his back, watching him for a moment unguarded. What a strange thing. He places a hand on Taehyung’s chest and puts one leg on each side of Taehyung’s hips, grinding down on the slowly hardening length. He feels slickness between his legs and pulls at the cock until it is upright and slowly sinks down. The pain is sharp and too much, but otherwise the movement itself is swift and easy. He grunts, having sat all the way down, and experiments with a slow roll.

Bleary eyes opens for him and they lock eyes as Yoongi moves up and down slowly.

“You will hurt,” Taehyung mutters.

“It will hurt if I don’t,” Yoongi responds and laugh when he is manhandled onto his back. This coupling is shorter, less intense, but they are face to face with nothing hidden between their bodies. This time, Taehyung grabs Yoongi cock and moves it with his own pistoning. A different kind of pleasure, but good nonetheless.

-

He can barely walk.

Taehyung has bathed him and clothed him, sticking to his side like an overzealous mother hen. The bell had rung outside their room when the servants had found the soiled sheet and a cheer could be heard in the courtyard.

The tradition had always made Yoongi happy for other people but the moment it has happened to him, he feels exposed and used. It is all a ritual that has little to do with the sanctity of marriage and more to seal an alliance.

Taehyung, however, looks as if nothing can ruin his day, preening and constantly keeping a hand at Yoongi’s lower back.

“May your house be blessed,” echoes around the hallways as they enter the private chambers of Seokjin.

The Emperor looks nothing like the ruler on his throne, with unruly bed hair and eating fish with his hands. Yoongi bows and grunts in pain on the way up, flushing red as Seokjin sends Taehyung an impressed smile.

Namjoon looks sceptical on the Emperor’s right, looking just as uncomfortable as when Taehyung had volunteered for the marriage.

“The maknae has done his married duty, Joon,” Seokjin says. “Makes hyung proud.”

“Thank you,” Taehyung says. He unceremoniously falls into a mountain of pillows and grabs a handful of berries, patting the space beside him.

Yoongi stands in defiance, crossing his arms, making Seokjin laugh loudly and happily.

“Your brother loved you beyond reason, my new younger brother,” Seokjin says. “You will keep my wildling in check.”

“Yes, your Imperial Majesty,” Yoongi says.

Wildling indeed, he thinks, sending thoughts to his lower region.

-

Daegu is old and steeped in tradition. His brother’s council greats them on the front steps with serious faces and perfect bows of respect befitting the Emperor’s brother. The fresh air of the mountains is more of a welcome home than the gloomy faces of the councilmen.

They do not, however, largely object to the new duke.

“You have acted in the best interest of your province, my Lord,” Park Hywoo, who is the master of agriculture and a lifelong friend of his, says. “I hope our new prince has Daegu’s best interest in mind.”

“The Kim Dynasty has always been our friends,” Yoongi says at the banquet. He watches Taehyung great high and low with the same air of respect, always with a smile.

Park grins. “You smell just like him.”

“Only you would think such thoughts,” Yoongi remarks. “Our union may have been hasty yet.”

“No, my dear Lord, I think our new prince will enjoy our lands and his new clever husband.”

They stand together, watching a court paralysed by grief, slowly awakening with the arrival of a kind face and a new future. It may be uncertain now, but less so than before.

Councilman Choi who had played with Junki as kids is the only gloomy cloud in an otherwise positive atmosphere. Yoongi attributes his scowl to his loyalty to Junki - something that he had guarded possessively in all their many years as brothers of war. They had learned the letters of their mountain language together and Yoongi remembers listening to their excited whispering when they were younger, both so excited for their life and what the future would bring.

The entire Daegu court had revolved around Junki and everyone had loved him or adored him beyond reason. The sea of white clothes is a testament to their grief. Choi is only one among many disrupted by grief.

Taehyung wore white too when their procession left the capital. He walked beside his regal steed through the streets of Hangwai with his lifeguard behind him and Yoongi’s palanquin in front of him. He had waved goodbye to all and received well wishes and flowers from pretty girls. Even when white had been impractical for travelling and the guard had changed back into their grey cloaks, he had continued in white, speaking little as if nervous. Yoongi had watched him in wonder, this strange creature who was loved and admired. He knew nothing of him, knew only his body and the colour of his hooded eyes when he was high on pheromones before coming. None of these things told him much about the Prince’s personality.

When the opportunities rose, they slept in inns and while propriety dictated omegas and alphas be separated at night to keep peace, Taehyung did not leave Yoongi’s room after the servants had finished their duties and made no motion to do so. When they slept out in the open, Yoongi would feel a heavy stare watching his every move and somehow a wide birth around his bedroll appeared every night and he would wake in the mornings with a warm body pressed against his back.

All Yoongi knows is change has come whether he wants it or not.

-

A strange shift occurs within him as he returns to his home region, having done his duty for Daegu.

Sadness overwhelms him and he closes the partitions to Taehyung’s side each night, unable to bear the thought of touching someone else when Junki is dead. All interests leaves him and he watches with a dull mind as Taehyung attends meeting after meeting, learning about his new lands.

The servants tut at him worriedly as they remove untouched food from his room and forces the blinds open well after noon.

The healer asks him if Taehyung treats him well because nothing is wrong with his body. Jihio has been with them as long as Yoongi remembers but he is unable to open his mouth to respond.

Weeks pass in silence as darkness clouds his mind. He is surprised that Taehyung leaves him be, grateful and irrationally annoyed that any husband of his would take such little interest in his health. On the other hand, he would never ask for it.

-

One night, he tired of the silence and opens the partitions. Every night he has been able to see Taehyung’s silhouette behind the paper thin walls stopping as if waiting.

Taehyung arrives late, minding his own business, until he sees the light from Yoongi’s room.

The pillows creates a comforting cocoon around Yoongi and he watches Taehyung approach tentatively. His hair is wild from the cold mountain winds and his feet dirty.

“You’re dirty,” Yoongi says and Taehyung looks down, inspecting his own state.

“Councilman Park took me to the southern villages near the river,” Taehyung tells him. He sits down on the stone steps by the bed, mindful of his dirty appearance. “Everything is so quiet here, so peaceful.”

“You like it here?”

Taehyung’s face lights up and he launches into a detailed description of his day and the day before it while Yoongi listens, letting the other’s soft baritone wash over him.

He barely notices when Taehyung has stopped talking but Taehyung does not seem offended.

“Namjoon was like you when our mother died,” Taehyung says softly after the silence has stretched on. “After a while he came here and when he came back he was better.”

“I remember,” Yoongi says, thinking of the countless worried nights where his friend struggled.

“I met him many times, your brother. I see why you loved him. I have very large shoes to fill.”

Yoongi pulls himself upwards a little. It seems easier now than it had earlier. “Thank you.”

“Maybe we could sit on the terrace tomorrow, Yoongi-ah,” Taehyung suggests softly. “Your mountain air is good for the soul.”

-

So, they do.

He still feels alien with limps that does not quite function, but he lets Taehyung hold onto his arm as they walk together to the terrace. It overlooks the valley and the fields below and he loves this place the most. A group of five men that Yoongi vaguely recognises from their trip back that must be Taehyung’s guard are on their knees to the side, bands of white tied around their arms in support of the official mourning period. Seokjin’s imperial seal is on their leather vests and swords are fastened to their hips.

“These are my brothers of war,” Taehyung says. “They are anxious to meet you officially.”

Everything had happened so suddenly in Hangwai that trivial greetings had gone to the wayside. Junki had been one of Seokjin’s brothers of war, proudly so. The bond is beyond Yoongi’s understanding, but he knew how much Junki had treasured his.

“Jungkook is our maknae,” Taehyung introduces proudly. “He is the strongest and fastest.” A tall broad-shouldered young man lifts his head towards Yoongi and Yoongi nods a him. “He will protect you.”

Yoongi raises his eyebrows at his husband. “I will not take away from your guard.”

Taehyung squares his shoulders. “I will allow you freedom to do as you please, but this is not up for negotiation. The survival of your house is important to the Empire and right now you are the only one who can carry its heir.”

“I was not aware I needed permission to exist in my own home,” Yoongi bites back spitefully.

The maknae guard Jungkook looks surprised by his outburst but remains silent.

“Do whatever you want, Yoongi-ah,” Taehyung says tiredly. “As long as Jungkook doesn’t leave your side.”

The names of the other guards are lost on him as an irritated feeling replaces the dullness of his sadness. He crosses his arms and sits back, turning his eyes out towards the view. A servant brings him water, sitting it beside him when he does not move to receive it.

Eventually, the guards leave and it is just the two of them alone.

Without the others around, Yoongi expects Taehyung to tell him off for his treatment of his guard, but Taehyung just settles beside him and says nothing at all, which irritates Yoongi more. Junki always told him off when his moods were bad. He does not, however, get up to leave.

-

Jimin arrives a few days later looking dirty from the road with tear stained eyes when he meets Yoongi in the great hall.

“I came as quick as I could, hyung,” he says, bowing first to Yoongi before giving the new arrival a long sceptical look.

“This is Taehyung, the Emperor’s youngest brother, prince of our realm,” Yoongi says with amusement. “My new husband.”

Jimin falls to his knees with wide eyes and displays his respect.

“Stand up, you who calls your lord hyung,” Taehyung says formally. “Introduce yourself.”

Jimin swallows. “Park Jimin, artisan of the Daegu court, your highness. Fostered by the kindness of the old Lord Father before his passing.”

“Jimin has been part of our household since he was nine,” Yoongi says. “One of my dearest friends.”

Taehyung softens beside him, having listened to the worries of farmers for most of the morning and his mind filled with duties to be done.

“I was far away when I heard the news of the Duke’s passing,” Jimin says. “It has taken me long to travel the distance and my respect has not been received.”

“I will take my leave, husband,” Yoongi says, getting up from his perch.

Taehyung looks like he wants to follow, but waiting peasants stands in a quiet line. Only one such day existed for peasants to air their worries for every noble trouble. His nod is sharp and his surprise palpable when Jimin follows Yoongi through their private entrance to the residence.

The moment they are out of sight, Jimin’s shoulders relax. “A princely husband, hyung,” he says. “Is it not the wrong brother?”

They walk together to Jimin’s private rooms. Servants great him on their way with pleased smiles and a bath is already being drawn when they arrive. Once inside, Yoongi pulls off his ceremonial hanbok and he sits at the foot of the tub as Jimin undresses.

“He’s younger than me,” Yoongi tells his friend. “But he... he volunteered. The Emperor blessed it instantly.”

“He is the third son of an emperor,” Jimin says as he lowers himself into the water. “With his brothers this is the only way he can distinguish himself. I wished it could be Namjoon, though, for you.”

It seems strange to think he went to Hangwai to ask for Namjoon to marry him, so far away from his current situation. “I don’t think I could have done... my ‘duty’ if it had been Namjoon,” he realises. “It would have been like you and I.”

Jimin wrinkles his nose. “Strange thought.”

Yoongi agrees, shuddering. “He grew inside me, you know,” he says, feeling unbearably awkward, but having no one else to confide in. “I couldn’t walk for days.”

Jimin laughs clear as day and Yoongi has missed his companionship dearly. “My poor Yoongi-hyung. The young prince thought you were a tasty snack.”

“Is it not uncommon for the first time?”

“Not if you are compatible,” Jimin replies honestly. “It has never happened to me.”

Yoongi can feel the heat rise in his cheeks. “You should,” he finds himself revealing.

They laugh together and Yoongi remembers when Jimin was young and scared as his body changed and alphas started to court him because of his pretty cheekbones. He could dance better than anyone else Yoongi has ever seen and others thought so, too. Junki who also saw Jimin as a brother brought him into the woods and taught him to throw knives better than any soldier, so that he could leave the castle in peace and practise his craft outside of the protected walls of Daegu. He has a home in Daegu forever, but his hunger for the world has triumphed his need for safety and security. Sometimes, he is Yoongi’s only source of adventure.

For the first time, he haltingly tells of the desirable things Taehyung had done to his body, how hungry it had made him for more. Jimin does not give him looks as if he is crazy for having enjoyed it and while his desire is currently as non-existent as clouds hang low in his mind, he wants to try again.

-

The closed partitions opens that night and Taehyung walks inside. Jimin startles by his side, putting space between them.

“Leave,” Taehyung says coolly.

“Taehyung!” Yoongi warns.

Jimin backs away from the bed and bows his head on the way out.

The silence left behind is unbearable. Yoongi sits up, pulling the silky fabric over his exposed shoulders. It sticks to his oily skin.

Taehyung bares his teeth in anger.

“It’s not what you think,” Yoongi says coolly.

“He cannot touch you.”

“We are the same, Taehyung. We’re both omegas. It would not feel right.”

His words only seem to enrage the alpha more and Yoongi gets up and walks to the water basin in the corner, not wanting to look at him. “You cannot come in here when you want to.”

“My mark is on your neck,” Taehyung says. “He was touching it.”

“Jimin travels and he learned the art of message. I would only allow him to do it for me,” Yoongi says. He wets a cloth and dries the oil from his shoulders. It is cold now, just as the air between them. “Please apologise and leave.”

He hears no apology, but Taehyung’s bare feet retreats quickly and when he finally turns around the light in the other room is out and he is alone.

-

Jungkook greats him the next morning when Yoongi meets with the masters of coin. His round eyes follows his movements and the movements of others with distinct intelligence and smarts. He is silent and uncommunicative and only speaks when Yoongi demands to know where Taehyung is.

“His highness left this morning, my Lord,” Jungkook says. “Important business.”

Yoongi looks at the white mountain peaks outside.

The dull business of finance is one he is particularly good at, which means that the day passes in a swirl of numbers and solutions for the incoming winter months. He hopes the snow will arrive before Taehyung returns and he can enjoy the frozen months without the confusing mess Taehyung has become.

Councilman Choi stays after the meeting, pouring Yoongi tea and moving closer to the end of the table that Yoongi occupies.

“Are you well, my lord?”

Yoongi looks up from the calculations in front of him and shrugs. “Winter will arrive.”

“Yes, soon,” Choi says and opens his mouth as if to speak.

“Is there something you want to ask me?”

Choi clears his throat. “Is the Prince treating you right? I feel as it is my duty to ask.”

It is not his duty to ask, but Yoongi takes the concern for what it is - merely concern for a dongsang he has watched grow up.

“If he is not, there are many behind you, my lord,” Choi continues in an almost whisper, giving Jungkook a look.

Unsettled by his own strange reaction, Yoongi gets up and wonders why exactly questioning Taehyung would make him irritated. “We are fine. Good day, Councilman.”

Choi bows his head and Yoongi turns on his heels. “Follow me if you must,” he tells the maknae guard as he leaves the meeting room and makes his way towards Jimin’s rooms.

Jungkook is silent behind him. He does however breathe in sharply upon seeing the beauty of Jimin up close.

“This is my new statue,” Yoongi introduces and Jimin snickers amusedly. “Statue, meet Jimin-ssi.”

Lessor men have been brought to their knees for Jimin’s cheekbones, but the colour rising in Jimin’s cheeks are a new development.

“Let’s dine alone tonight,” Yoongi says. “My husband has left for some undefined important business and his petty jealousy is no concern tonight.”

Jungkook shifts as if he has something on his mind, but Yoongi has no desire to listen to a friend of Taehyung when soju will be plentiful in the library.

However, as the hours have passed and his heart is open from telling stories of Junki, he turns to Jungkook and finally asks. Jimin is snoring softly behind him, cradling a pillow and cheeks pink from the alcohol.

Jungkook has not moved since arriving and does not look tired or angry. Instead, he answers Yoongi with apparent frankness. “It is not in the prince’s nature to share, my lord. His alpha nature even less so. The coupling is new and his claim still weak.”

“He married me,” Yoongi says. “What claim is more permanent than marriage?”

“The feral kind, of course.”

“But...”

“Once is not enough.”

Yoongi flushes from the implication.

“Your scent is changing back to what it was before,” Jungkook soldiers on. “I can smell it and so can he.”

-

He is not much of a walker but when the city’s lower bell sounds, he dresses in several overcoats and goes to great Taehyung welcome.

Jungkook trails one step behind him, one hand on the top of the sword, and a guarded look on his face at the surroundings.

“Would you not rather be with your brothers on the road?” Yoongi asks as he watches the horses come into view.

“My purpose is with you, my lord,” Jungkook says without feeling.

“I live a boring sheltered life, Jungkook.”

Taehyung pulls the reins of his horse at the sight of them, a frown on his face.

“I shared by blood with a prince in exchange for my loyalty. If the prince wants me to protect a spoiled omega, then this is my purpose.” The words are said with a smile and Yoongi takes little offence.

Taehyung finally reaches them, swinging his leg over the horse’s neck and jumping down elegantly. Jungkook moves forward to take the reins, placing a hand on the soft spot between its eyes.

“Welcome home,” Yoongi says softly.

Taehyung’s silence is stony.

“Walk with me?” he tries. For a moment he thinks Taehyung will ignore him and leave him behind. But Taehyung’s larger strides catch up to him swiftly.

They walk in silence through the city, Jungkook and the rest of the guard trailing behind with little sound. The people greet them, bowing their heads in respect, as they move along the cobbled streets. Their path is followed by the gentle rustles of wind chimes blowing, leaving their silence only interrupted by clear sounds and the natural chatter of people.

Once they reach the castle grounds, Yoongi waves the guards away and grabs Taehyung’s hand, leading him towards their private residential area. The bath is drawn in his room and the steam rises slowly. Jasmine flowers litter the surface and as soon as they are alone, Yoongi turns to his husband and pulls at the strings of Taehyung’s vest.

Taehyung’s mouth is set in a tight line and he grabs Yoongi’s fingers, stopping their progress.

“Let me,” Yoongi whispers.

The fingers slide away and allows Yoongi free access to remove his clothes. The sensual act of washing another man’s body is not lost on him and he trails his fingers over tired muscles and frown lines, a sense of wonderment settling within him as the powerful creature before him is at his mercy.

“Yoongi,” Taehyung finally says. “I want to be inside you.”

Yoongi rises up from his perch beside the basin and pulls at the strings of his cloak, revealing only a light under-gown. He pulls it over his head, discarding it carelessly, and gets in the basin. It is wide enough for the both of them and he gets on his knees in front of Taehyung. Taehyung stares up at him and groans softly when Yoongi lines up his cock and sinks down. It is harder without the longer sensuality that had preceded their last coupling, but this is a new feeling, too, one Yoongi could stand to try again. It does not stop him from groaning loudly and gripping Taehyung’s shoulders tightly to keep his balance.

“Oh,” Taehyung pants as he moves his hips upwards and into Yoongi with decisive precision. The water falls over the sides and they could not worry less. When the movements of water slows them down, strong arms settle around Yoongi and he is lifted up and out of the water. He grunts when his back hits the tiled floor and Taehyung enters him again, lifting up his right knee to his shoulder. Yoongi cries out but is helpless beneath the onslaught, letting Taehyung have this however he wishes. He comes with a harsh cry, spurting between them and Taehyung is cross-eyed as he follows over the edge.

Taehyung falls over him, nose edging at the fading scar in his neck, and Yoongi shifts his head, allowing Taehyung better access.

They come together three more times that day and for each time, Yoongi feels less like a novice and more in control of what he thinks feels good and what he responds to. It is less about the duty of coupling and more about the proximity of the act.

They kiss now, too, long wet kisses that leaves his jaw hurting and his lips sticky from spit.

“Ouch,” he grunts as Taehyung drives into him and they are forcibly coupled. He feels his pucker clamp down around the swelling cock inside him and he reaches down to feel curiously as Taehyung struggles to focus. The flesh is hard to the touch, stiff and unyielding, and the cock is full of veins protruding as it spurts inside Yoongi. He tries to pull away from what is inside him, but his own flesh betrays him, spreading calming chemicals through his body. He falls into Taehyung’s embrace and settles there as the pheromones battle through their systems.

“We have to talk about this,” he whispers into Taehyung’s ear, but the alpha grunts and bites into the newly ruined flesh of his neck. “Tomorrow, then,” he says and promptly falls asleep.

-

They wake up in the same bed.

Yoongi wakes first and he shifts his hips, trying to regain some feeling beyond the twinge of the rough couplings of last night. His hole is leaking and he smells distinctly unpleasant, yet when he tries to move, the strong arm around his waist keeps him in place.

“Taehyung,” he murmurs softly and runs his fingers over the veins of Taehyung’s arm. There is no response and he stays in the embrace for a long time, enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning. He can hear the bustle of the castle as it wakes up and the steady breath of his husband behind him. It is a calming feeling and he enjoys the simplicity of the act itself. Their beginning has been wrought with disruption and uncertainty, leaving little time to focus on themselves and this new strange thing between. Instead of repairing and fixing, Yoongi has fought and snapped back in an attempt for things to remain the same. They cannot, however.

“I can hear you thinking,” a deep voice penetrates the silence.

“Maybe,” Yoongi says and goosebumps rises on his skin when Taehyung kisses the mark from last night. He lets himself revel in the intimacy for a moment before turning around in the arms around him.

Taehyung’s hair curls around his face and is displayed on the pillow behind him. His lips are red and eyes puffy from sleep. “I’m sorry,” he says and looks down.

Yoongi caresses the shell of his ear and kisses him. Their lips meet as a soft caress, pressing against each until Yoongi pokes his tongue out and is met with another. Something heats in his belly, something pleasant and warm, and the feeling spreads as they continue nipping and caressing each other softly with little interruption except air.

Once they do finally separate, it is to call on the servants to bring food and drink. Ai-wa’s eyes are round as she comes inside, her nose itching from last night’s rough activities. An omega herself and one of Yoongi’s main personal servants, she has never seen him cuddled up and naked with an alpha. But despite the flush in her cheeks, her kind eyes show happiness for him and her hand lingers on his knuckles as she brings him a wet cloth.

When they are finally alone again, they sit cross legged across from each other, sipping at tea and broth soup.

“It’s special, right? When we...” Yoongi looses his confidence quickly. He thinks about the high and flushes at the phantom feeling of Taehyung inside him.

Taehyung looks suddenly shy, too.

“It feels special,” Yoongi tells him honestly. “Jimin says it almost never happens.”

At the mention of the other omega, Taehyung looks suddenly pinched, but his features are quickly schooled back into something else. “It doesn’t,” is his reply. “Does it hurt you? I read that it could hurt you.”

Yoongi thinks of the moment when Taehyung locks inside him and they are both vulnerable to outside forces because they cannot move away from each other. “For a moment,” he says honestly. “Like a hard pinch on the arm but inside me.”

Taehyung looks confused. “Really? I don’t feel anything.”

“And then it grows, like I’ll split open and my hips will tear apart.” Full, so full, Yoongi thinks and shifts slightly from where he is still tender.

Taehyung smells his arousal and breaks into a satisfied grin. “You like it.”

“I do,” Yoongi says honestly.

“I like it, too.”

They both avoid their eyes, shy and wanting.

“Taehyungie,” Yoongi whispers.

Taehyung locks eyes with him.

“Thank you for giving me the space I needed and my land time to grieve,” he says truthfully. “You didn’t have to.”

He is honestly surprised when tears wells in the alpha’s eyes. Taehyung wipes at them embarrassed, but he cannot seem to stop either.

Yoongi crawls over and hugs his back, fitting himself behind and pulling Taehyung closer. They stay together like this while Taehyung cries and Yoongi wonders at all the things he does not know about the other. He should do better. They are life-long companions now after all.

-

Snow comes and the summer passes freeze leaving Yshara and Daegu cut off from each other. The City of Chimes settle in for the winter and the castle is boarded with wool and wooden plates to keep the cold out.

Taehyung, Yoongi learns, is an entirely different species when he no longer has his guard up. He is goofy and playful, teasing Yoongi mercilessly for being his senior. He listens to Yoongi’s long and prosaic poems in the library and lets his emotions overwhelm the first time he sees Jimin dance. He likes cuddling, horses and not being alone for too long. He lets Yoongi pierce his ear in the Daegu tradition and picks out pretty gems that plays hide and seek with his hair. He is a study of contradictions - stubbornly confident when he needs to be but overly emotional when they are alone and protected. All the things that make him kind and interesting are what makes him complex. But he is honest, so very honest, and the ease Yoongi feels being with him slowly transforms into mutual trust.

Slowly Yoongi starts to talk like he used to, opening up about his thoughts on the universe and the harvest and state of the capital. He has an enraptured audience in his husband who seems to crave his attention - so he talks and Taehyung listens, inputting here and there. His words are thoughtful and observations always interesting. His Hangwai perspective leaves Yoongi fuming in frustration, which leaves them rutting against each other in the library while the servants scatter red-faced and embarrassed.

Near the new year, the fever heat strikes Ai-wa and due to the close proximity of the castle’s inhabitants, it spreads to most of its omegas.

The first day, Yoongi thinks he has escaped the hellish fever by staying in his room, but by nightfall, his skin itches and he tries and fails to wash it away.

As usual, alpha servants are banned from the premises until Yoongi remembers that the danger of a restless alpha entering his room is no longer a concern. Still, for Ai-wa and Jimin, he orders beta servants to take over intimate details and their null scents causes calm in the mayhem of pheromones.

Usually, when the heat fever hits, he sweats and ruts until he is almost lifeless. Now, Taehyung is right beside him.

Together, they face it head on.

Taehyung splays a hand over his tummy possessively and Yoongi thinks about the possibility of a life being made at that moment. He clenches around the cock driving into him and forces a groan out of Taehyung.

“Your skin tastes like sugar,” Taehyung says, licking over the tender skin behind his ears.

“Pheromones,” Yoongi grunts out between thrusts and places a hand on top of Taehyung’s. He keeps it there until they both come, groaning into each other’s mouths and breathing together.

The fever pitch of his heat ends quicker than it ever has before, leaving him gratefully sated and grateful to have someone to share it with. He attends to Jimin instead, cooling his skin with ice from the outside and feeding him water as he whines and claws at his own skin. Jimin seems particularly hit and Yoongi is surprised to discover Jungkook leaving presents outside Jimin’s door and looking particularly caught when Yoongi catches him.

“Leave!” Yoongi orders.

Jungkook’s nostrils flare dangerously, fingers clenched into tight fists. Yoongi wonders how long he has been hiding near Jimin’s room, prolonging the fever substantially.

“Do not threaten me,” he warns again.

A curious beta servant peaks her head out from a nearby room and sees the dangerous stand down in front of an omega’s room. She scurries away and soon Taehyung appears beside her, heckles raised and ready to fight.

Jungkook stands down, backing away with his shoulders lowered and stance deflated. Taehyung follows after him with a regretful look in Yoongi’s direction and Yoongi sighs. He returns to Jimin’s room and can only now recognise the desperate swings in temperature as Jimin’s body recognising the closeness of an unmated alpha. “I’m sorry, friend,” he mutters and wipes a damp piece of hair from Jimin’s forehead.

-

He finds Taehyung near the furthest stables running drills with the guard. Jungkook he seems to be punishing the most.

“The fever broke,” he says and Taehyung orders them to continue while he joins Yoongi who is standing far enough away that they will not be overheard. It took another morning bell before Jimin was lucid enough to sit up and another before his temperature lowered. Taehyung himself has walked the perimeters of the castle with six other mated alphas to make sure no such thing would happen again.

“I thought when your fever broke I could let them come back. I didn’t realise others could be affected,” Taehyung says and he sounds mostly angry at himself. “In Hangwai our traditions are different.”

The Fever House is legendary even in a far away province as Daegu. In Hangwai, they do not call it that, of course, but they only whisper ‘fever house’ when it hits the most powerful palace in their lands.

“I have never seen Jimin like this before,” Yoongi says worriedly. “They may just be... compatible.”

Taehyung gives his friend a regretful look. “The class difference is too great, Yoongi. It cannot happen.”

The rigidity of their system is not lost on either of them.

-

The celebration of the new year happens on a cloudy day. With the castle inhabitants finally settling back into its old routines, Jungkook returns to his duties of being Yoongi’s shadow. He seems too embarrassed to talk, so unlike the man who had given Yoongi advise on how to handle Taehyung’s terrible moods.

Yoongi is dressed for the party when he calls him inside, asking the servants to leave them be.

“Jimin makes his own fortune, Jungkook. I have little say in what he does anymore,” he begins. “I do however strongly advise that you don’t make your advances known in any way.”

Jungkook flushes bright red.

“Such a relationship would be severely improper for Prince Taehyung’s brother of war,” Yoongi continues coolly.

At the mention of his duty, Jungkook squares his shoulders. “I would never embarrass my prince. I... I don’t know what came over me.”

Yoongi sighs. “Jungkook-ah, when we were younger Jimin was the center of attention. He is so kind and thoughtful. Don’t take his kindness for anything else.”

“I won’t disappoint you, milord,” Jungkook says. “I promise.”

“Thank you,” Yoongi says and gets up.

He spends the new year wrapped up in the comfort of Taehyung’s presence, perched at the high table with his closest. He feels the absence of his brother keenly, but the stabbing despair of his earlier grief has lessoned into a slow acceptance that Junki will not return from one of his trips with a boisterous laughter and flurry of friends. Instead, Taehyung has filled the hole inside him with something entirely different, something that he never expected. It is improper for physical affection when they are in public, but Yoongi places a hidden hand on Taehyung’s knee and lets himself enjoy the heat of his husband.

The new year will bring new challenges - of that he is completely sure.

-

Spring

-

First comes the hunger. Then comes the vomiting and by the second week, Yoongi admits to himself that something inside him is changing. He has not thought much about the way Taehyung is able to hold onto the extra flesh on his hips or his rounder face. It is, however, glaringly obvious in retrospect.

“Ai-wa, fetch the healer,” he calls after his servant one morning after watching Taehyung leave in a hurry of impatient energy, leaving a sleepy Yoongi behind who ignored the morning bell to find an ounce of energy he does not feel. The snow has melted enough for Taehying to ride down to inspect the damage of winter on the lower villages and resume his routines.

Ai-wa cannot hide the look of excitement on her face. Probably, she has even known longer than him, usually tending to his body closer than he does himself and waited patiently while he pondered the oddness of his new curves and the roundness of his face. She dresses him and cuts his hair. She cleans his room and feeds him dried fruit when he could not eat anything else because of nausea.

Healer Jihio has only been in Yshara for a few years, called back from her studies in the capital when their old court healer had passed away suddenly. She is a quiet authoritative figure whose invasive questions feel less intrusive than inquisitive. Her place in the castle is secure beyond doubt considering her relative youth and inexperience. Yoongi knows that often alpha females are stigmatized in other provinces and even the lower classes of his own province, persecuted for not being able to reproduce offspring the same way beta females or even omega males are able to. In Yshara, she is treated differently, living in a region whose traditions of fostering artisans of unconventional genders and classes goes beyond the strictness of the Min Family’s tradition-rich upbringing. Artisans who are able to hold noteworthy practices usually reserved for nobles may fit into Yshara better than a noble with their own agendas. He may favor the practice as he finds the loyalties of both Jimin and Jihio to be beyond doubt whereas the nearest nobles he can hardly stand. They are intricate parts of the fabric of Yshara.

Jihio counts the days from the fever heat with a complex diagram that makes little sense and he taps his fingers on the wooden panels behind the bed impatiently.

After an inhuman amount of time, she cracks a smile. “The House stays strong,” she says.

“For another hundred years,” Yoongi replies automatically. His mind has gone somewhere else.

Ai-wa bursts into tears.

-

His small world tilts in an unexpected way, a way he perhaps should have realized the second his fever heat abated quicker than ever before.

He knows the risks of carrying forth the line. This child will be his first and according to the book in front of him, the first is the hardest one. Will he survive? Will the child? He thinks of Councilman Park’s beloved omega husband who died in a pool of blood as Yoongi’s mother held his hand, slipping away while the child screamed and screamed. He thinks about the beta wife of the chef who had cleaned the floors in the hall while he had passed by and her tears of despair as blood had pooled in her lap.

Suddenly, he is afraid. Afraid for himself and afraid for the burden that has been bestowed upon him. He swears Ai-wa to secrecy and so decides to keep quiet until a couple of weeks has passed and his body has adjusted to the newness of his condition.

When Taehyung does return from the lower valleys resembling a wild animal with rosy cheeks and brimming with new energy, Yoongi nearly blurts it out right then and there. The good afternoon light by the terrace lights up his presence and the servants hurry to find him a seat near his husband. Taehyung is not one to sit still and his routine inspections of the province is one of his greatest joys of having left the capital. His bright energy even brings out a smile on Yoongi’s for the first time since realization had set in.

Taehyung finally joins him on the stone steps, brushing a hand over Yoongi’s knuckles and pressing a quick kiss to his temple. Yoongi breathes in, letting the now intimately familiarity wash over him, and only then spares a glance the two companions that has arrived with his husband. It takes Yoongi but a moment to recognize the features of first his good friend Namjoon and then the Emperor himself.

He blinks.

Taehyung is already greeting Jimin who has been waiting with Yoongi since they heard the bell. They had risen from the relaxing atmosphere of Yoongi’s private quarters and had thought they would great Taehyung and perhaps members of his guards, men they had grown so accustomed to in their normal routines that they barely register. Even though the attire of the three brothers are relaxed and comfortable, Yoongi’s noble upbringing forbids him to have an underclassman near the unkempt Emperor. He gives Jimin a stern look and while Jimin frowns, he does not question the abruptness of Yoongi’s changing mood, getting up and ushering out the remaining servants.

“Ah, I wanted to introduce Jimin-ssi to my brothers,” Taehyung pouts and leads the way through the private entrance, pulling Yoongi up from his place on the steps.

Yoongi is following steps behind the brothers, trying to straighten his hanbok and rubbing at the creases from having laid down for too long. Even though Namjoon is a familiar presence in the castle, the Emperor himself rarely leaves the capital - or so Yoongi thought, wondering how many times they have travelled in disguise with the Imperial court being none the wiser.

The informality of the winter months have created a world away from court proceedings and suddenly Yoongi is ashamed at the state of his home.

“Taehyung,” he says firmly and the delighted carefree smile falls from his husband’s face.

“Give us a moment,” Taehyung tells his brothers as they reach the room where they entertain their private friends and he follows Yoongi out of the room.

Namjoon lifts an eyebrow, but remain silent.

As soon as they can no longer be overheard, Taehyung tells Yoongi to relax.

“I can’t relax! Look at the state of me!”

Taehyung frowns. “There is nothing wrong with you?”

Yoongi huffs annoyed and thinks of the awful morning where he realised the fat on his belly would not go away for months and he had cried for an hour until Ai-wa had brought him honey tea. Jimin had off-handedly told him his face was fuller and that had set up another hour of him battling uselessness while Jimin’s perfect cheekbones had seemed extra sharp and handsome. It was not his best day.

“Your brother, the actual Emperor, is sitting in my spot! It should be cleaned!” He whispers dramatically.

“Jin hyung doesn’t care about any of that,” Taehyung says off-handedly.

“Well, I care!”

Taehyung arches an eyebrow. “Since when?”

Yoongi turns on his heal in a huff and leaves his pig-headed husband behind. Making sure the staff is otherwise preoccupied, he returns to the living quarters. “I am sorry for the state of my home, your excellency, I wish I had had a chance to prepare.”

Seokjin’s friendly demeanour is legendary and his admissions only bring an easy smile to fuze the situation. “Min Yoongi, Yshara is older than my residence. It looks just the way it is supposed to - loved and lived in.”

Yoongi remembers the morning after his marriage and Taehyung’s relaxed entrance to Seokjin’s private rooms. “Please, feel at home.”

“Thank you,” Seokjin says.

The absurdity of the day is only reinforced by Taehyung getting on his knees as soon as they are alone and sucking Yoongi’s cock, leaving Yoongi a surprised mess. He is grateful that Taehyung managed to read his mood correctly and he accepts the apology with a low whine when he comes in Taehyung’s mouth.

“I have never had a noble higher than my father to entertain before,” he says afterwards when they are laying side by side in his bed.

“I’m a prince,” Taehyung says cheekily.

Yoongi turns on his side and kisses his throat. “But you are my husband, dear.”

Taehyung laughs heartily and pulls Yoongi on top of him, fastening his arms around his waist.

-

While Seokjin explore Yshara in anonymity with his pleased guide Taehyung, Yoongi retreats to the library with his bad nerves and tries to relax.

Namjoon is there already, reading beneath bad light and looking comfortable in the corner he likes best.

Yoongi pours him tea and sits down cross legged in front of him.

“It’s good to see you, old friend.” Namjoon says. “I have worried.”

The passing of the six months of Junki’s death meant he no longer had to wear white officially and he had gradually left behind his white wardrobe, exchanging it back to his preferred darker colours. By his lead, the castle inhabitants followed and soon the vibrant colours of Daegu returned. And it did not leave a sour taste in his mouth.

“It was hard,” he tells Namjoon. “I always expect him to return as if nothing has changed.”

Namjoon hums in understanding. They speak of nonsensical things for a while, avoiding the one subject that Yoongi knows lays heavily on Namjoon’s mind.

Somehow, they never quite manage to reach the subject they both want to discuss before the bell rings for the evening meal. They meet Jimin on their way and Namjoon lights up in response and the two friends bicker in earnest.

Yoongi participates with snide comments and it feels like old times when it was just the three of them - an odd trio. The evening dinner is informal and the small gathering include only trusted friends of the house. Seokjin has anyone at ease, cracking improper jokes and embarrassing his youngest brother with stories of their childhood. Taehyung is brimming with nervous proud energy and flits from one end of the table to the other to make sure their drinks are full and the atmosphere jovial.

“Tae,” Yoongi laughs and grabs his husband’s hand, forcing him down beside him. “Relax.”

Taehyung pouts, but allows Yoongi to refill his drink and finally sit back. Seokjin’s own guard is being entertained by Taehyung’s men who asked permission to see Yshara. Jimin had volunteered to go along.

“Don’t go to Madame, Jiminie!” Yoongi had called after him but the other’s cheeky look had done little to placate him.

Choi and Park who had also served with Junki in the capital have been invited and while Seokjin does not talk to them it creates a pleasant atmosphere bereft of ceremony and titles. The dinner is small and intimate and Yoongi thinks this is probably the reason Seokjin travels without announcing his arrival.

The reason for Taehyung’s nervousness only becomes apparent later when Namjoon appears with a folded piece of cloth and places it at Yoongi’s bent knees.

“I had it especially made,” Taehyung says shyly.

Yoongi’s heart starts a staccato beat and he folds the material out softly, marvelling at the quality and the richness of the purple colour. Taehyung gets up and helps to display it, revealing his own royal crest interconnected with Yoongi’s own family house symbol. There is a wind chime below, signifying their connection to the Min family home in Yshara. The care and detail of the piece is astounding and the look on Taehyung’s face shows pride in the work.

“Why?” Yoongi says hoarsely. “You didn’t have to do this.”

Taehyung looks like he wants to blurt something out, but Yoongi can read it on his face anyway. He knows what it means because he feels it, too.

“Why is is purple?” Namjoon asks innocently.

The memory of their first fumbling night together is crystal clear in Yoongi’s mind, remembering the sheet covering his dignity until Taehyung had made him feel comfortable enough to be naked together.

“It’s the colour of devotion,” Taehyung says.

-

Seokjin (“Call me Jin, we are family now”) refused point blank to take Taehyung and Yoongi master rooms. Instead, he gratefully accepts Yoongi’s mother’s old rooms and Yoongi tries not to feel like a noble failure.

He bids Namjoon and Seokjin goodnight, feeling pleasantly full on both happiness and food, and expects Taehyung to stay behind with his brothers to catch up. The silk material of the new banner is light and soft in his hands as he picks it up, wanting it to himself before unveiling it for the rest of court and people. He wants to study the intricate design and the fine stitching.

Suddenly, there is air beneath his feet and he is hoisted up and onto Taehyung’s back. He clasps one hand around Taehyung’s neck in surprise and hears a grunt of strain.

“Have you gotten heavier?” Taehyung remarks and Yoongi huffs in annoyance as they leave the rooms. He likes Taehyung’s shoulders, though, and likes when they bulge with strain. He especially likes them when he trails his fingernails over them, leaving angry red marks that he can trace for days, like they are their own omega signature as the alpha one he carries on his neck.

Taehyung deposits him on his own bed and pulls the banner to the side. Yoongi scoots backwards and opens his knees , allowing space for the alpha to rest against him. The weight of Taehyung is familiar and he enjoys how safe he feels within their own little world. Taehyung likes to have one knee on either side of Yoongi’s leg, so he can better rub against him and Yoongi can do the same to him. The stimulants translates to the usually hungry kisses between them, but tonight they are slow and careful, nipping at skin and trying to caress as much skin as possible. Slowly, they are completely naked and Yoongi turns them around so that Taehyung is below him.

“Colour of devotion, you soft doofus,” he says and plays with a long strand of Taehyung’s hair.

Taehyung pushes his upper body, upwards, reaching his arms around Yoongi’s neck and looking up at him. “It’s true.”

“I know,” Yoongi says, pressing kisses to his cheekbones. He can barely reach the the banner, just gracing it with his fingers, and spreads it out over them both. Taehyung enters him in one slow go as they laughs and pant below the purple darkness.

-

Seokjin and Taehyung ride out again the next morning with their guard mostly disguised as Daegu soldiers. It is only now that Yoongi realises Taehyung has left for the lower valleys every day since the passes opened and has kept their state in complete secrecy. He is frowning at the retreating horses from his perch near the small water stream in front of the stables, clothed in layers, and decides that the wispy cloud of happiness he has been on must face a reality check.

A shadow falls over him and he looks up at Namjoon who has a serious look on his face.

“Is something wrong?”

Namjoon sits down beside him. “I should apologise.”

“Why?” Yoongi asks confused.

“For disappointing you.”

Namjoon looks crushed, shoulders sagged. Yoongi wonders how long those thoughts have been building in his head for him to confess in front of the stables.

“It happened so fast,” Yoongi says.

What he does not say is that he dreads the days Taehyung does not return to Yshara because they make him feel lonely and bereft. He can hardly stand the silence of the bedrooms or missing the low timbre of Taehyung’s baritone voice as it whines about the state of his hair or his horse’s hair or Yoongi’s hair.

“Taehyung loves it here,” he says instead.

Namjoon nods in agreement. “He does.”

“He likes having people depend on him and be useful, things he would never have in Hangwai,” Yoongi says. “He can be himself.”

Namjoon gives him a searching look. “Sorry, hyung, I didn’t know.”

“Know what?” Yoongi says.

“That you love him.”

He sputters indignantly. “I’m... NOT. That would... No!”

Namjoon raises a sceptical eyebrow at him.

“Don’t tell him,” Yoongi whines. “It’s embarrassing.”

“It’s not, Yoongi-hyung,” Namjoon says. “Imagine how often we read about it or write about it. It’s everything.”

“You won’t experience it,” Yoongi says pointedly.

Namjoon shrugs, but his eyes tell a story of duty and commitment. “I’m the second son. I didn’t have a choice.”

-

It is only when Jungkook starts to worry that Yoongi panics. It has been three days.

“You have to stop,” Ai-wa whispers to him in the room behind the greeting hall. She is covering for him while Choi is trying to reorganise the people who have come to see Taehyung, expecting him to come back one day earlier.

The room is shrinking around him and white dots appear on his already limited field of vision.

“Breathe, milord,” she urges.

He is leaning against a tree pillar, head down, while Ai-wa is fanning the air around him.

“What can I do?” Jungkook says, peeking in behind the partition.

“Stay here, Jungkook-nim,” Ai-wa says. “I’ll find help!”

Before long both Namjoon and Jimin has arrived and Namjoon quickly organises new security for Yoongi while Jungkook will ride out to Taehyung’s last known location.

“Take three of my guards,” Namjoon orders and Jungkook nods in reply.

“Jungkook will find him,” Jimin says softly with a cool hand to Yoongi’s neck. “I will tell Councilman Choi you have fallen sick, let him receive grievances alone.”

Yoongi nods with great difficulty.

“Let’s get you back to bed.”

-

The lower city bell rings on the fourth day.

Yoongi looks up from his perch lying over his water basin. Ai-wa is washing the sweat from his forehead, trying to calm his bout of sickness. He barely has the energy to get up and is admonished for even trying.

Jimin had tried to reach him several times, but Yoongi cannot stand the idea of company that is not Taehyung.

“I will send you to Madame and leave you there for the rest of your life if you stop me,” Yoongi tells Ai-wa matter-of-factly.

Only years and years of loyal service stops Yoongi from talking back at her when she continues to whine about his health and the cold weather and his lack of appetite. She will not stop him as he forces lukewarm tea down his nauseated tummy and wipes the sweat from his face. He almost makes it through the partition before another wave of vomit forces itself upwards. He grumbles all the way back to bed.

“I will inform His Highness you wish to see him urgently,” Ai-wa says with not a sound of gloating.

He turns his back to her.

-

He must have fallen asleep, only waking up when a familiar body lines up behind him. Yoongi breathes in deeply, refamiliarising himself with the earthy scent that sticks to Taehyung’s skin even after he bathes.

“Your skin smells sick,” Taehyung mutters into his neck.

“Taehyungie?” Yoongi says, burrowing further into him.

Taehyung hums.

“I love you.”

A hand sneaks over his waist and grasps his left hand tightly and rests it against his heart. “I wanted to say it first,” Taehyung pouts and Yoongi chuckles.

“I’ll still love you even if I said it first,” Yoongi says.

Taehyung laughs deep in his belly. “I love you second, then, but in my heart I love you first.”

Only then does Yoongi turn around to look at him, noticing for the first time the black eye around his left eye and several cuts and bruises on his face. “What...”

“Don’t worry, Yoongi,” Taehyung says indignantly.

Yoongi sputters and pushes away from him. “I’m your senior! Don’t talk to me like that.” Taehyung reaches out for him, but Yoongi evades his hands. “Don’t treat me like glass.”

When the words leave his mouth, he can feel another round of nausea well up and he scrambles towards the basin at the food of the bed, throwing up clear fluid from drinking only water and tea.

This time it is Taehyung’s turn to tut at him worriedly as he wipes his sweaty forehead and Yoongi feeling gross.

“What a pair we make,” Taehyung says.

Yoongi lies on steps to the bed with his husband close by and he wants to tell him right there, explain why his body is acting strange and why this overwhelming feeling of love has overtaken him. All rationality has left him but he holds back, looking at the bruises on Taehyung’s face and why the subject is sensitive.

“Tell me you love me,” he asks for instead and Taehyung does until he once again drifts off to sleep.

-

“I have to allocate additional coin for our soldiers,” Taehyung says.

The scratching and rustle of various advisors and councilmen stops as they collectively look up. Yoongi is going through a complicated system of rice storage and only half-hear the request. But the silence of the Councilmen makes him look up.

“I have received news from the Imperial Palace that our neighbour has outfitted an army ready for march,” Taehyung continues. “When I went to verify the information, we came upon a foreign raiding party that was far passed their allotted borders. Thankfully, the raiders did not realise my position or status.”

The real reason for Seokjin’s secret arrival in Daegu finally appears, Yoongi thinks. A group of scouts coming across the Emperor and his brother and not realising the valuable currency in their hands. While the sight of Namjoon may be familiar to the castle, Seokjin could pass by in relative anonymity, only recognised as a man of the upper class but nothing else. Only a handful - apart from the Kim brothers’ lifeguards - knew his true identity and guarded it possessively.

“We knew this day would come,” Park says gravely. “Daegu is glad not to stand alone.”

“A war fund was set up shortly after my brother’s death,” Yoongi says. “We have expected it for quite some time.”

“I will ride to Hangwai for a fortnight to muster support from my brother,” Taehyung says. “The southern border is severely compromised.”

“What do you need us to do?” Choi asks.

“I have promoted Jung Hoseok to lead in my absence. His help and guidance through my initial months here has earned him my respect and gratitude,” Taehyung says. “Without him the customs and traditions of this region would have been much harder to discern.”

An older Councilman speaks up scandalised. “His family is disgraced!”

“I approve the choice,” Yoongi says firmly and the older Councilman ducks his head.

Taehyung gives him a grateful look. Yoongi has always taken part of the Council and been admired for it. Daegu men only listens to a Daegu man and while Taehyung has pledged his name and loyalty to House Min, he is still essentially a foreigner. Only Yoongi could force the election of Jung Hoseok and the councilmen knows it.

-

The prospect of Taehyung leaving for an extended period of time makes Yoongi feel suddenly anxious. The meeting ends with coin for the soldiers and a date of departure for Taehyung.

The councilmen leave the room with their aides and Yoongi motions for the servants to leave as well, leaving him alone with Taehyung. Taehyung is silent as he watches Yoongi push the wooden chair backwards and fall to his knees. Yoongi pulls at the layers, finally freeing Taehyung’s cock from its confines. It is already half erect, jumping at the cool air as he mouths at the top, sucking around the head. Taehyung grunts and his hand falls into Yoongi’s shorter hair, gripping it tight enough for Yoongi to wince. Yoongi swallows him deeper, flattening his tongue underneath and bobbing up and down. He releases Taehyung’s cock for a moment to mouth at his balls, before going back to suckle at the tightening cock.

He feels it when Taehyung’s body is getting ready for release and is not entirely surprised when Taehyung pulls him off and up. He is forcibly turned around and pushed tummy first onto the table. His clothes is pulled apart and he gasps in surprise when a warm tongue licks him open with persistence. With a tongue comes one insistent finger pushed into the knuckle and then another until he can feel his body start to slick the passage more easily. Without much more preparation, Taehyung pushes into him, keeping Yoongi spread open before him.

Yoongi cannot see him, but he feels and hears Taehyung’s rhythmic thrusts. The unyielding surface underneath him pushes groans out of his mouth too loud for what is appropriate but in his state, the workers of the castle will hardly be surprised when the news are finally disclosed.

Taehyung takes his time, pushing in only halfway and then not moving at all, leaving Yoongi spread open and pleading for something faster and more satisfying. Not being able to see or feel Taehyung closer is driving Yoongi crazy and he reaches backwards, trying to get him to be closer. Taehyung stays stubbornly allusive, but his fingers are searching desperately on Yoongi’s half naked back.

Taehyung refuses to speed up, sometimes only teasing the rim by pushing only the head inside and then out, leaving the cool air of the castle to counter effect the heat inside Yoongi. Yoongi clenches around nothing and only when his hole is almost entirely closed does Taehyung push in again almost hypnotically.

When he comes it is a long slowed response that takes his breath away and makes him see stars. Taehyung follows him quickly over the edge, making a simple act of giving into sweat and slickness mixed together. Yoongi is finally allowed to turn around and he hops onto the table, wincing at the burn, and throws his arms around Taehyung’s neck and pulls him into a deep kiss. Taehyung grins into it and closes his arms around Yoongi’s waist, pulling them closer together.

“I love you first,” Taehyung says mischievously.

Yoongi clings to him a little tighter and is suddenly frightened for the silence of Yshara without the comings and goings of his always active husband, not when he can barely remember the days before Taehyung was a fixture in the castle.

Taehyung pulls him down from the table and puts his clothes back together with gentle hands while pressing soft kisses to cheeks and lips.

“I will have a hard friend next time I do tax calculations,” Yoongi says wryly. He has his arms around Taehyung’s waist and his cheek resting against his chest.

Taehyung is running his hand up and down his back. “It will be another reminder of how much I want you.”

“I love you, too,” Yoongi says.

They straighten themselves and look halfway presentable when they finally exit the council room, but the red cheeks on both Jungkook and Taehyung’s primary bodyguard Seojoon reveal that their coupling did not go unnoticed or indeed unheard.

Yoongi hides his own embarrassed cheeks into Taehyung’s shoulder.

“Ah, it’s only natural,” Taehyung teases. He pulls Yoongi with him as he walks, caring little about public decorum - thankfully, they are not met by any of the castle’s noble residents, only servants who would avert their eyes in their presence in curtesy.

However, when they make it to their residential area, Taehyung politely but firmly tells both Jungkook and Seojoon they will not be needed for the night. Yoongi leaves them be as Taehyung sends them off for preparations, unable to help much in that regard, and sends a servant for food. He is pulling off his ceremonial wardrobe, changing into something relaxing, when Taehyung returns.

They will make the most of their days together.

-

The night is dark when something wakes Yoongi. He shifts his hips and loosens the hold he has around Taehyung’s waist. The weight on top of him is uncomfortable, but their bodies are locked together, leaving little room for movement or any separation at all. The pheromones coursing through his body is keeping him from completely taking in his surroundings, but warning bells are ringing in his mind, keeping him more alert than what should be possible.

He barely has a second to react when he sees a shadow appearing from the darkness. He forcibly turns Taehyung away from the attack and is awarded with something sharp penetrating his left shoulder. He howls in pain, startling the attacker who backs away. Fearing another attack, he curls around Taehyung, protecting every single vulnerable inch of the alpha’s body and yells for help. He hears the assassin scramble in panic and hides his face in Taehyung’c neck as the guards finally arrives.

Taehyung wakes only because the smell of his alpha guards awakens primal instincts inside him. He bares his teeth, his eyes blown in euphoria, and it takes several moments before he senses the commotion in the room and then finally notices the tears on Yoongi’s face.

“Get the healer!” someone cries out from somewhere behind him.

Yoongi feels an overwhelming sense of gratitude when Ai-wa pulls the privacy partition around the bed, protecting their modesty. A searching hand finds the wound on Yoongi’s back and Taehyung looks shocked at the blood staining his fingers when Yoongi gasps in pain. Only then is Taehyung finally lucid enough to understand the seriousness of the situation and Yoongi feels the swelling inside him go down. Taehyung is gentle when they part but Yoongi falls backwards in pain and almost hits the edge of the bed but Taehyung catches him quickly, pressing an urgent hand on the wound, and shouts for the healer.

The enduring madness is heightened by Taehyung’s combined panic and anger while the healer treats Yoongi’s wound carefully. Every grunt of pain leaves his husband with a snarl on his lips and furrowed brows. He watches the commotion while biting down on a piece of wood to keep from biting his own tongue. He grips Taehyung’s hand tightly and Taehyung strokes the hair away from his forehead.

“Forgive me,” he whispers and Yoongi wonders why he is sorry when he could have woken and found Taehyung dead and a cold startling feeling of despair courses through him. Taehyung could have been dead.

“I love you,” he says and it felt real the first time he said it - yet it is definite now, a startling clarity that he has never experienced before. They could have been nothing to each other except husbands, but they are so much more. He wants to see Taehyung for the rest of his life and in the next life as well.

“Beyond reason, Yoongi,” Taehyung says. “You saved my life.”

Yoongi winces when the healer pulls at the skin around his wound. He knows already that Taehyung will blame himself for wanting privacy and not realising danger was so close. Their safety concerns had been for the southern border and not the castle itself, making Yoongi once again realise the seriousness of the brewing war.

The sting of alcohol marks the end of stitches. Yoongi spits out the piece of wood in his mouth and sits up. He is dizzy with pain but his purpose is clear. “I will kill the assassin with my bare hands.”

“He will suffer from knife wounds first, my Lord,” Jungkook says from the opening into the bedroom. “I never should have left your side!” He falls to his knees and bends his entire body into a full bow in front of the risen plateau where Yoongi’s bed sits.

“I sent you away, brother,” Taehyung says, still keeping a hand on Yoongi’s arm. “It does not fall on you.”

“Nevertheless, I shall bring the assassin before you,” Jungkook says clearly though his voice is muffled behind his arms.

The healer gently pushes at Yoongi’s shoulders to lie down, but he resists her. He knows why she wants him to relax, but adrenaline is running through his body, knowing how startlingly close he was to loosing the man now angrily pacing in front of the bed.

“Jungkook-ah,” Yoongi says resolutely. “Wake Jimin! No one knows Yshara better than him.”

Jungkook bows again. “Of course.” He backs out of the room and Yoongi sees him sprinting the moment he reaches the other side, nearly colliding with Seokjin and Namjoon who enters instead.

“Is it true?” Seokjin says with a stern look. His own guard is visible among the Daegu guards and they bring a sense of security that Yoongi did not realise he wanted.

“There will be more bloodshed before this night is over,” Taehyung says darkly. “Yoongi saved my life.”

Namjoon moves to come closer, but Taehyung bares his teeth at him, showing how off-footed he is by the situation.

The healer once again urges Yoongi to lie down to no avail and he dismisses her, wanting the privacy of only Taehyung and the brothers.

“How could they know such a private thing about us?” He wonders out loud. “They attacked the exact moment you would be most vulnerable.”

“How did you wake up?” Taehyung says. “You never have before.”

Namjoon gives them both a confused look. “What are you talking about?” Seokjin arches his eyebrows at his younger brother who coughs awkwardly at the realisation. “Really? Like often? That is truly unprecedented.”

Yoongi flushes bright red and watches Taehyung do the same. Haltingly, though, Yoongi retells the order of events - Taehyung sending the guards away for privacy, falling asleep together and Yoongi waking with a sense of unease only to realise that they were not alone in the room.

“I have only read about omegas waking because of danger when they are pregnant,” Namjoon says off-handedly. “Or maybe the swelling was going down.”

Taehyung stops his pacing, probably connecting the same dots that Yoongi is. Yoongi watches as the realisation crosses his features and for a moment it is just the two of them.

“Oh Namjoon-ah!” Seokjin says laughing, interrupting the silence. “Our house can rejoice! An heir will be born.”

Taehyung takes the steps to the bed in quick jumps and closes his hands around the back of Yoongi’s head. “You already knew?”

Yoongi is lost for a moment in the big round eyes before finally nodding.

Seokjin cheers somewhere behind them.

“For how long?” Taehyung pouts.

“Since the passes opened, maybe before,” Yoongi says. He pulls the hands away from his cheeks and pulls Taehyung down for a kiss. “And you should have known,” he says between biting Taehyung’s lower lip. “I haven’t eaten for three weeks and you’ve been complaining about my mood swings and my weight!”

Taehyung pulls back with a look of epiphany.

The bell on the castle rings out loudly, nothing like the faint southern bell that is only used when high nobility passes through it or an enemy is closing in. The castle bell means danger has passed.

“I can’t believe we have an assassination attempt and an heir in one night,” Seokjin notes. “Daegu is never boring. Junki always had a sense for the dramatics as well.”

-

Yoongi jumps at every shadow for the rest of the night. The healer will not give him sedatives, leaving the wound pounding dully when the adrenaline finally tapers out. With only thoughts left to occupy him, Yoongi balks at his own frankly insane actions. The same thoughts seem to occupy Taehyung who embodies every extreme emotion with utmost sincerity and dread. At once excited and outraged, Taehyung paces the bedrooms in a constant predatory circle, securing an area that had been grossly violated in a moment where he was at his weakest. Yoongi tries to be a calm rock in the eye of the hurricane, knowing he is not succeeding. They are both running high on emotions, but Yoongi is unable to find the right words to say to calm the situation. All he wants is revenge.

He wants to seek out those who sells their information and all those who profit from it. He wants to destroy the men who snuck into Junki’s private chambers when he visited the lower villages and struck his chest with a sharp instrument, the same weapon as the one that struck Yoongi himself. Junki died at night helplessly and alone and Taehyung would have died too in his weakest moment if Yoongi had not woken.

The what-if is what unsettles him most.

In the early morning, Jungkook drags a dead body through the doors of the greeting hall. Yoongi who has lived his life mostly protected in Yshara has never seen a person killed by violence, upsetting his already tender stomach. Yet, he cannot look away from from the dried blood or the empty look in the assassin’s eyes.

Jimin’s hands are flaked by blood, showing he had tried to stop the bleeding from the open wound in the assassin’s neck, but he does not seem upset by the loss of life. Jungkook, however, has his head bowed, once again looking as if he has failed.

“He is a Storm city assassin,” Jimin says, showing a medallion with the symbol on it that Yoongi vaguely recognises. “It is unlikely he had any connection with the actual perpetrators.”

Yoongi wonders about the his old friend and how their lives ended up so differently. He barely recognises the confident man who lays out a plan and will be the one to see it through while Yoongi will not leave the confines of Yshara at all to defend what he believes in. It does not sit right with him.

“Jungkook,” Taehyung says gravelly with his legs crossed and restless. “Go with Jimin. I want answers.”

“I will get you some,” Jimin says resolutely and turns his gaze towards Yoongi. “Yshara will not see another Min slain in his sleep.”

A strange feeling of gratitude towards his loyal friend pulses through Yoongi who shies away from Jimin’s gaze. The wound pulses and he shifts uncomfortably.

The dead man continues to lay dead on the floor.

-

Hyunsik, the new unmovable statue that has taken Jungkook’s place, is in the corner of the room with his gaze settled somewhere that is not Yoongi. Seojoon is settled on the floor, surrounded by pillows. Wherein Seojoon is used to the business of watching Taehyung’s every move, Hyunsik has always had other purposes as a brother of war. It is funny to see if their presence had been half as necessary.

He has not stopped shaking since the moment Taehyung left his side to bid his brothers goodbye. The thought of another assassin jumping out from a shadow and Yoongi not being there to protect him is beyond a feeling he has experienced before.

“Where is he?” he bites out between shaky breaths.

“He can take care of himself,” Seojoon says.

“I don’t care!”

The partitions opens and Taehyung steps sombrely inside.

It is not their rooms. Nothing is familiar about the bedding or the lumps where another body is used to sleeping. Yoongi’s blood covered the sheets and passing the rooms earlier had not been pleasant.

Taehyung falls into the bed, rubbing at his eyes and forehead, and slings arms and legs around Yoongi’s body. “Sleep now,” he whispers.

While the adrenaline has finally left his body, they both lie awake for hours, breathing quietly next to each other.

As the days pass and tension rises within Yshara and Daegu, Yoongi’s body revolts against him. Taehyung is spread thin and looks gaunt and haunted when he comes home, some days only to sleep. He has the healer moved close and one servant near Yoongi at all hours of the night. Yoongi should be irritated but days pass and he can barely lift his hands to eat. His body swells and changes, ankles doubling in size, and his tummy extending out from his body.

When the rumours start circulating, Daegu celebrates and Taehyung holds feasts for good fortune, though Ai-wa whispers that his smiles are thin and fake. The threat of danger lies heavily on both their minds and strains the peace between them that has held for many months. The surety of their love for each other has opened the floodgates of worry and insecurity.

Yoongi barely knows what goes on outside the rooms.

The wound heals with time and patience and the sickness in his body overtakes the stab wound.

It is the sixth time he has woken tonight and Taehyung stirs beside him again. Yoongi turns onto his side and runs his fingers through his husband’s hair and Taehyung hums in contentment. His eyes does, however, flutter open.

“Did I tell you about that time Junki took me to Gwanju,” Yoongi says softly, running a hand underneath the soft sheet until he reaches the bare leg underneath. He messages Taehyung’s calf while he tells a childhood story of brothers exploring the world for the first time. They had been so young and innocent, following their guard to visit the neighbouring fiefdom. Taehyung nuzzles closer to his body, eyes dropping from tiredness, and places a hand over the swell of Yoongi’s tummy possessively.

“I’m glad you are alive,” Yoongi says to the sleeping form beside him and whispers yet another thanks to the deity that woke him up at exactly the right moment. He thinks of a world where he would have been alone now, again, and burying another person so very close to him, wearing white and once again falling into the throes of unbelievable sadness.

The next day, he holds onto Taehyung’s arm as his shaky legs tries to find the surface beneath him. The nausea nearly fells him, but he takes another step stubbornly and lets Ai-wa dress him in simple formal clothes while Taehyung watches on in near perfect silence. His brows are furrowed in worry, but his protest had fallen on deaf ears.

The clothes feel wretched on his sensitive skin and he looks down and sees the awkwardness of the fit as his body has changed to something larger and rounder.

“We will get you new clothes,” Ai-wa says as the sashes refuses to corporate as they had done before, a frown marring her brows.

“I don’t care,” Yoongi says, though he can feel the pout on his lips that gives his true thoughts away.

“Yoongi...” Taehyung tries again with his arms crossed.

“No,” Yoongi says stubbornly. “No.”

Seojoon and Hyunsik meets them outside their new rooms and follows steps behind until they make it outside the palace grounds. The rest of the guard and Daegu footmen stand at attention as the people great them cheerfully, seeing Yoongi on his feet for the first time in weeks as his body has demanded rest and he has been excused from public affairs.

He smiles despite the tiredness of his limbs and climbs into the palanquin, welcoming the darkness and solitude of its isolation from the surrounding world.

Unlike other times when they have travelled together, Taehyung joins him inside the palanquin instead of travelling by horse.

“I won’t disappear if you look away,” Yoongi says and pulls at the stiffness of his clothes. Taehyung’s limps are bent beside him, too long and strong to fit into a space of leisure like this.

“I enjoy looking at you,” Taehyung says with a hint of the humour they once had. “Your face is very nice to look at.”

Yoongi holds out his hand and Taehyung instantly links their hands together while they travel the distance to the temple in silence.

Thank you, he tells any deity around him him. Thank you for giving me another chance at a happy life.

-

Jung Hoseok arrives in Daegu with determination and finally returned to the status he rightly deserves. A man of relentless drive and passion, he is loved by his soldiers and adored by Taehyung.

Yoongi has not seen him in years, having been banned by ruthless old rituals and strictness that he finds ridiculous now. He is cheerful and exclaims happily when he sees Yoongi’s condition.

“I picked these fine gentlemen up on my way from the south,” Hoseok says and points to a pair of filthy young men who comes forward.

They are in the garden overlooking the mountains, enjoying the summer as it bares its rays on Yshara and the chimes hardly making a sound. Apart from a formal robe, Yoongi wears little layers, preferring to greet an old friend in an environment Hoseok’s critics can only describe as favouritism.

“Wake Taehyung,” he says and Ai-wa scurries away. “It is truly good to see you both.”

“I apologise for our appearance, milord,” Jungkook says, one step behind Jimin who looks so unlike himself Yoongi can hardly recognise him.

“I hardly care,” Yoongi says fervently, wishing he could rise from his perch and hug his filthy friend.

“Our information is... disturbing,” Jimin says. “Had the General not come upon us, I fear our lives would have been lost.”

“Let us wait for Taehyung,” Yoongi says and offers drinks for the travellers.

Jimin and Jungkook left Yshara on foot to remain as anonymous as possible, packing lightly so to move quickly. They had been intercepted by the assassin’s allies near the pass out of Daegu, but had survived due to the arrival of the Emperor and Namjoon who had recognised them being in trouble. While the Kim brothers had to continue back to Hangwai, Namjoon volunteered his guard to help them to Storm City. It had possibly saved their lives as the assassin had much support and news of his failed attempt on the Prince’s life had reached an area in constant conflict with the capital and its ruler.

“We found the identity of the assassin and moved further inland to see their benefactor, their middle-man,” Jimin explains. It must not have been a pleasant conversation as both Jungkook and Jimin quickly passes over this part and tells of the clue leading them back to Daegu.

“What?” Yoongi says surprised. “My own people?”

“There was a house where we found this letter,” Jungkook says and hands it Yoongi.

My dear brother Junki,
A marriage between our houses would solidify our commitment to furthering the stability of the dynasty and securing lasting peace. I cannot however promise my youngest brother away without it being seen as improper for Namjoon. I have many thoughts on this and I do believe some should be beholden their potential for a truly magnificent match. If your omega brother truly showed such potential from merely meeting Taehyung for a moment, their match would be not only necessary for their happiness but for the heirs they would produce for our families. I admire your commitment to your brother’s happiness and I hope to one day to meet him again and learn from him all the things he teaches you.
Seokjin, Emperor of Hangwai and Provinces.

“Let me read,” Taehyung says and his brows furrows deeper upon going through the words.

My brother Jin
Since my last letter, my old friend and brother of war has shown his interest in my dear brother. Yoongi, bless him, has not noticed a thing, too busy writing and studying to notice an alpha’s interest.
His interest is improper as his family are not noble, though their station is high. His ambition is for power only and my brother could be the one to give it to him. I have learned... I can no longer trust him. We must hasten another meeting between our brothers so that their potential can be rekindled. I will not entrust my brother’s life to many people but Taehyung is perhaps the only one. If something bad was to happen to me, I hope my brother Emperor will do what is best for my family in the mountains.
I trust you.
Junki, Duke of Daegu

“Where did you find these?” Taehyung demands.

“Councilman Choi.”

None of it makes sense until Jimin continues, talking about how the Councilman for years has coveted Yoongi’s attention and scared away prospective suitors, placing himself in a situation so that he could one day be worthy enough to be Yoongi’s husband.

“Your healer Jihio did not realise the extent of his obsession with you until she let it slip about the heir. They were lovers,” Jimin explains. “He knows everything about you.”

Jihio had been the one to tell him about the lock, how it hurt and amazed at the same time. She had told him to soothe the stretch with ointment the next day so he could walk easier. She had examined him once when the lock had gone on for too long and become painful. Such details that could hurt them had been shared during a bedroom encounter that never should have taken place at all.

“Junki died because he wanted me to be happy?”

“Yes,” Jimin says softly. “It appears so.”

-

Hoseok catches Choi trying to cross the border into the south. When Choi is brought forward in the hall the nobles spit on him and turn their backs. He spits vile insults toward Taehyung who sits calmly towering over him on his perch.

The noise dies down when Yoongi gets up from his own perch and slowly moves towards the man who he thought a friend and ally.

“Yoongi...” the hateful man pleads on his knees. “I never wanted it to end this way. I just got so angry.”

“You are nothing to me,” Yoongi states coolly and turns his back on him. He watches his husband stand, his hand fastening around the blade beside him, and move towards the cowering man.

“Justice for Daegu!” he shouts and lifts it over his head. The hall echoes in agreement and Yoongi watches emotionless as Taehyung swings elegantly and the body drops before him. The spray of blood hits him and a feeling of both satisfaction and calm passes through him.

Finally.

-

He can no longer bend forward to reach his ankles, resulting in him trying to twitch backwards to rub at his swollen muscles with little success. He grunts in pain and gives up.

The cheers of the people outside is loud as the murderer of Junki is strung on the wall outside the fortress. The act of dragging Choi’s lifeless body out of the hall had been harrowing and Yoongi wonders if he will ever unsee the string of blood left behind as his headless body moved. Seojoon had grabbed the head carelessly and followed the body.

There will be a feast after. He ordered it as he leaned against Jungkook on his way out of the hall and he can already smell the aromas of mouth-watering food.

“Be a friend and find me Jimin,” he had asked his calm guard and Jungkook had nodded with a blush.

The mark on Jimin’s neck is fresh and visible just above his collar. Yoongi watches it as Jimin is bent down helping him get out of his shoes.

The challenges will be plenty for them going forward, battling hierarchy and prejudice - yet, the sheer joy of seeing Jimin happy slightly lessens Yoongi’s worry. Not only will the mark have a direct affect on Jungkook’s title and standing, but Taehyung will feel its impact as well, a lesson Yoongi had hoped Jungkook had learnt during the fever heat.

Yoongi steps into the water, feeling it scalding his skin as he lowers himself slowly. Jimin has a firm grip on his arm and only lets go as he is completely down. Only then does he pull his own clothes off and sink into the water opposite Yoongi.

“You looks as if you ate a bear,” he comments.

Yoongi splashes water at him annoyed and folds his other hand around the curve of his extended belly. “Despite what will come you and Jungkook’s way, your home is here, Jimin-ah.”

Jimin smiles softly and moves through the water to sit next to Yoongi, running a soft hand over the imprint of a tiny bump that keeps appearing and disappearing.

“I am your friend first and your servant second, hyung,” he says. “Nothing could have stopped me from loving Jungkook, but nothing can stop me from serving you either. My home is here where you are.”

He hums in contentment and closes his eyes, letting the noise of a full home lull him into a higher plane. Though the war with the south looms ever closer the strength of Daegu and its Hangwai prince will no longer be underestimated. The legacy that Junki left behind of unity and prosperity is something Yoongi will work tirelessly to further with every breath he takes until the day he draws his last.

“I was thinking,” he says much later when Jimin has left after helping him get ready for the night and Taehyung has appeared and undressed. He is sitting behind Yoongi on the bed with his nose pressed against the spot behind his ears and one hand placed high on his thigh. The other hand is rubbing slow circles on his tummy, teasing the extended belly button. It would be annoying if it did not make him feel so good. “Junki was loved because he went to see the people. He travelled on the mountains and heard their stories.”

“Go on,” Taehyung whispers, pressing kisses to the shell of his ear.

Yoongi shivers. “He never asked anything of me and let me do as I pleased. But I am no longer just the second brother but the one to carry the Min legacy’s next generation. My duty is different now.”

“You do not have to change for me,” Taehyung says and gasps as Yoongi reaches behind himself and grasps the half-erect cock teasing his lower back.

“But I want to.”

“Then you should. I will love you no matter what.”

Yoongi lifts his hip and sinks down, shifting up and down while Taehyung groans behind him. Their love-making is slow and careful and so utterly consuming. Taehyung is tall and broad behind him, keeping him safe in his embrace, as they rock together in the confines of their bedroom. Their room that they decided to make theirs again, deciding that what nearly killed them could only make them stronger. Their scents are interchangeable and connected beyond distance now - connected by the future and endless possibilities.

-

End

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