Work Text:
For the past few years, since he's been crowned royal prince, Jimin anticipates to greet autumn. He takes a special interest to countdown the days every year. It isn't without reasons. He has a particular liking to the leafless branches overhead, its leaves scattering with the breeze making the otherwise boring and grey roads to come alive and beam in vibrant hues of reds and yellow.
It's not like he hates other seasons; springs are lovely, the smell of the flowers and the twittering of the birds never ceases. The sun is warm, generous and Jimin likes watching the huge garden that surrounds the castle, of flower beds lined and spread till far, from the tallest tower in the special chamber that's been given to him.
He doesn't use that special chamber during winters. Winters are brutally cold so he makes the best use of the grand fireplace in the King’s hall — and often gets scolded about his duties as the prince.
So winters are boring.He has to sit through hours of counsel and then devote even more of his time in the royal scribes’ room, overlooking their work, progress and to guide them if necessary.
He doesn't really care about who fed the chickens and goats; as long as they are fed, healthy and looked after, that is enough for him.
Sometimes he takes pity on the scribes and let them go easily. When he becomes king, Jimin will make sure that the scribes only would be hired for the royal gatherings and negotiations.
Winters actually don’t hold a candle and don’t suck so bad when Jimin thinks about the amount of work that piles up throughout summers.
Summers were spawns of satan; in summers his royal duties seem to magically intensify with the infuriating heat. The days were long and he always aches for the comfort of his bed.
Sometimes he didn't like being a prince at all. He has been taught about being a prince, his duties, ever since he learned how to walk; and it gets tiring. He endures it because autumn will always come.
He loves autumns. In autumn, the restrictions on his private life outside of royal duties lessen, and he gets to enjoy a normal life as a regular citizen enjoying simple things that life has to offer. And in autumn, his lover Yoongi is called for duty.
Yoongi is the appointed royal stable boy to the royal family. People can't say that Yoongi is a commoner. His family has been known in service of the Parks since days before Yoongi's grandfather was alive. Their families know each other and are well acquainted.
As children, Jimin and Yoongi had crossed paths. It was a day, one in autumn when Yoongi's father brought him to the castle when he came to work. Jimin's uncle, Namjoon was learning to ride horses then. And It was the first time they saw each other. Sometimes Jimin thinks back to that day and giggles at how nervous he was about not being able to climb down his pony.
*
Jimin was nine years old when he first saw the boy who addressed Senior Min as 'Father'. He was straddled on his pony as his uncle practiced with Senior Min. He liked watching his uncle ride the horses and Jimin wanted to ride horses when he grew up too. It was that anticipation that his father bought him a beautiful pony which was a rare breed of light pecan and it had the most fluffiest white mane and tail Jimin had ever seen or heard of.
While Jimin watched them ride horses and race each other, he noticed a boy in brown fur boots, wearing a cream shirt with black trousers and a beret. Jimin does not see people inside the castle except for the ones who come for counsel with his parents or the royal attendants. Being an only son, he does not have a sibling to play with and it was the only time he had seen someone around his height, at least if not his age, He wanted to be friends with the son of Senior Min.
Jimin had good manners and he was excited to make a potential friend out of this boy.
"You are the bestest boy, Peach. But I think we are going to make a new friend with Senior Min's son. Do you want us to be friends with him?" He reached for the pony's mane and ran a hand over it's head. His chubby little fingers combed the frizzies.
Unhitching the leather belt around his waist which was attached to the straddle on the pony's back, Jimin removed his right foot from the stirrup to climb off the pony.
In his excitement he forgot that he needed someone else's assistance to get on and off the animal. His right leg was already lifted over the cantle and he started sweating tensely. His left hand was looking for a thing to hold on to but he could not find any. His body was going to fall if he didn't call for help and Senior Min and his uncle was not too close.
"Help me, somebody...p-please," He called out. He wanted to turn his head or wave his arm but in that position, he was unable to. Peach was getting restless too, maybe it was too heavy for its right side, and its legs were unable to hold them both without letting Jimin fall.
“I can't get down” He said again, his growing voice a few octaves higher.
“Please God, I don't wanna fall. Plea-please If I fall Peach will fall with me he'll get hurt and I can't play with him again.” Jimin said a little prayer as he waited for some kind of help to show.
He couldn't fall.
If Jimin fell, he could have been injured really bad but the boy had heard Jimin's voice. The sound of soft footsteps on the ground grew near.
Jimin was too afraid to even move a muscle and he felt a voice, a shy whisper asking if he was alright. Nodding was the only thing Jimin could do as he was biting his bottom lip to stop himself from crying in front of the boy. He was taught that brave princes cried but not too often.
Maybe Jimin wanted to show a strong image of himself to the boy that he was going to ask to be friends with. He was getting a little bored with seeing the same faces everyday and the same bedtime stories read by the servants who did not tell him why the villains chose a bad life instead of being good. Jimin had always been curious.
"Can you put your left arm around my neck so I can help you get down?" He asked Jimin. There was no trace of uncertainty in the taller boy's voice. Jimin decided to trust him. It was his only option anyway.
"O-okay. I completely forgot that I can't come down on my own." Jimin could feel the tip of his ears go pink because he told a complete stranger that he was unable to climb off his pet.
“I'll help you, my dear Prince boy," The boy announced, and put one of his arms on Jimin's back to hold him.
The boy's voice was laced with concern for Jimin, he knew. But he was determined to make this boy his friend. Even in that position, he thought of ways to ask the boy to be his friend.
Jimin was being careful not to hurt the boy or his shoulders. "I am sorry if I am heavy," He said, as if it was something he should be apologetic about.
"You are not heavy, my prince. If you don't put too much pressure on my shoulders, that is.”
Jimin relaxed his muscles and let the boy lower him onto the ground.
The taller boy was careful, and Jimin thought he was being too gentle with him, in slow movements, as if the boy was going to slip up and it could hurt Jimin.
“Jimin.” He voiced out, when his feet touched the ground.
“Yes, my prince? I don't quite know what you meant.” Sure, the taller boy with his beret almost slipping off from his head, did look confused.
“No. Call me Jimin. And thank you, for your kindness.” He reached for the boy’s hand and shook it without pulling his hand back, making Yoongi's whole body totter.
“Sorry. I want a friend. please will you be my friend. I have this beautiful pony and we can play together pweeeeese” The nine year old pulled his hands from the handshake and curled his fists on his sides and leaned from his left to right, his cheeks puffed out and eyes excited.
“Oh,
a friend,
well I'll have to ask my father” The tall boy nervously laughed, and scratched the back of his neck. His cheeks were flushed pink; must have been the cold.
“Senior Min won't mind.
Pweeeeese
I'll let you take the pony for a day. I trust you.” Jimin convinced.
“You don't even know my name” The silver haired boy spoke. He had a good point.
“Little Min.” Jimin replied, after the cogs in his nine year old brain arrived to call the boy by a name.
“It's Yoongi.” Yoongi repositioned his beret on his head, the ends of a single peacock feather — put there for decoration? — smushed against his palm.
“Let's be friends. Wheee” Jimin lunged forward to hug Yoongi and it was too quick and too hard, which caused their flushed bodies to plummet backwards and fall flat on the slightly wet ground.
"Ouch." Jimin heard Yoongi say.
“Son, are you alright?” It was the voice of Senior Min. The sound of the neighing and the steps of the horses started to become more clear.
Namjoon rode faster and his horse stopped right beside their heads.
“Mochi, are you hurt? How did you get off the pony?” Namjoon was concerned, of course.
“I- I made a friend Uncle.” Jimin rolled onto his back, a wide smile on his face. Namjoon drops his gaze on Yoongi, who had scrunched his face, seemingly from the pain with the fall.
“By pushing yourself into them and making them fall?”
Namjoon climbed down and helped Yoongi up.
“Yoongi-ya, I apologise on behalf of my nephew. I hope the fall didn't hurt too much.”
Jimin listened Namjoon apologise to Yoongi and his father for ten minutes before he bid them farewell for the day.
“Please come back tomorrow. Friends will see each other everyday,” Jimin called out gently craning his head, as they were leaving the castle. Jimin smiled to himself with his new accomplishment — making a friend.
“Mochi. He's a good kid, alright. Be nice to him when he comes back tomorrow. I asked Senior Min to bring him along.” Namjoon pats Jimin's head as the latter looked up at his uncle, his big eyes twinkling with the anticipation of spending more time with his new friend
“And don't ever try to get off the pony by yourself. Yoongi won't be there every time to save you.”
“I know, Uncle. But is it a bad thing that I want him to save me. Something like a prince saves the princesses in the stories Mama tells me every night?” He asked innocently.
Namjoon sighed and picked his nephew up. "It's not wrong to think that. But my sweet dear Mochi… your Mama didn't tell you this but sometimes princes are saved by princes and princes are saved by other princes too, just like you."
"Really, uncle?" Jimin asked again, his curiosity grew.
"Really." Namjoon answered and stole a kiss from his nephew's big cheek.
In Jimin's nine year old mind, he already had pictured Yoongi as a prince, imagined how Yoongi would look with a little crown on his head when he had first seen him.
***
After supper, －of which Jimin hardly had any food except for some fruit slices and a cup of wine－ waits in his chambers sitting cross legged on his bed while his butler reads a story to him.
“Chiminie,” The blonde says.
“Tae, please, I thought we outgrew that name.” Jimin pouts at his best friend. Taehyung may have the title of Jimin’s butler, but it is just for namesake. Jimin just wants to be close to his best friend.
“Listen, when I gave you that name and if I remember correctly, you said you liked being called that and … What is is Yoongi hyung calls you?" Taehyung drops his head to the side and looks at his friend. Jimin blushes, hard.
"YES! Sunshine.. He calls you Sunshine and that's your favourite name in the world."
"What about it? I am in love with him," Jimin hugs a pillow.
"Are you excited to see him tomorrow?" Taehyung asks, voice akin to a whisper, though he doesn't have to do it. Jimin assumes that everyone in the castle at least suspects his relationship with him.
"Yeah and now, it feels like the hours are moving in the lowest speed. I just want him to hug me and tell me that he loves me, in person."
"Well, he'll tell you that in the morning. Goodnight Sunshine." Taehyung kisses Jimin's forehead like he always does every night. "You should get some sleep and like magic, Yoongi hyung will appear in front of you when you wake up. I will make sure he's the first person you see in the morning." The blonde covers Jimin's body in a fluffy blanket.
If there was no Taehyung in his life, Jimin honestly doesn't know how his secret would have survived for these lengths of time. "Thanks, Taetae." He smiles and close his eyes
And when he sleeps, he dreams of Yoongi, waiting for him on a white horse, in front of the castle.
And when he sleeps he dreams that Yoongi taking him into the depths of the forest where autumn cold can't touch the green grass.
Jimin dreams Yoongi sweeping Jimin off his feet and laying him on the ground. Jimin can feel the fresh, cold dew pelt on his cheek from the short brittles of grass underneath his body.
And Yoongi, lay beside him, face to face. He always has the warmest smile on his lips and eyes. Jimin wants Yoongi for him, paint a kiss on his lips, tell the other about how much he has missed him.
They lay there, in the midst of the depths of the forest, hand in hand, so close that their breaths leaping from their chests and landing on each others' cheeks. So close that they don't need to open their mouths to speak the words they try to convey in letters, paper and ink. So close that their heartbeats sound like faint, gentle beat of drums, beating close and rhythmic.
Jimin dreams that he's always happiest when he's with Yoongi. And when he wakes up, he's going to remember all these and he'll tell about it to his lover, in between kisses and giggles. Exactly like the place he's seen in his dream, with the man of his dreams.