Chapter Text
February 15th.
It was the middle of the day when Jimin finally came back into his room, immediately taking off his sweaty, white shirt, and throwing it away, while panting to catch his breath. He shivered because of the sudden change in temperature, as it was relatively cold inside his room, but he ignored it as he walked inside his bathroom and turned on his shower, cold water pouring immediately. He had been training with Hoseok and Yoongi for over five hours now, and he really needed a break. And maybe some food and sleep.
He undressed completely — clothes disregarded on the floor — and stepped inside the shower where he washed quickly, allowing his muscles to relax under the cold water. He walked out and wrapped a towel around his hips, and let himself airdry as he washed his face and brushed his teeth. It was barely evening, but the dragon had in plan to just go now and sleep until tomorrow morning since today was one of his rare free days.
Not that it is a truly free day, as for the ruler of the kingdom, there are no such things as “free” days.
Jimin walked back into his room lazily, stretching his body because his muscles were aching like hell, not having used them in a fight for a long time now. And with how busy he had been these past few months, he barely had any time to train with his friends, but he is planning on organizing his time and schedule a bit better.
He fetched a pair of black pajama shorts from his closet and put them on lazily, before using a towel to dry his black hair. Despite being the middle of February, the world frozen all around, Jimin’s body temperature stayed up as always. It was one of the benefits that came with being an ancient creature, older than the land he is currently ruling. The king-sized bed screamed for him, and the dragon could not wait to get under the blankets and just sleep all day, avoiding all of his problems.
However, as he prepared to lie down, the door to his room suddenly slammed open, revealing an out-of-breath Namjoon. He looked terrified, eyes shaky and unfocused. Jimin startled, jumping alarmed on his feet in less than a second. All of his thoughts about relaxing went away the second he saw the look on Namjoon’s face.
Worried, Jimin frowned. “What happened?”
The guard looked around frantically, examining every last inch of the dragon’s room without answering his question. Jimin opened his mouth to say something, but before any words could come out, something fluffy touched his leg making him yelp as he looked down, bewildered.
There, at his legs, was a beige ball of fluff, its black shiny eyes looking up at the dragon. Jimin frowns, crouching down and grabbing the creature in one scaled hand, holding it tightly, but careful not to poke it with his claws.
It’s small — extremely small, small enough to fit in his palm perfectly — and nothing like Jimin has ever seen before.
It seemed like the ball of fluff did not like being held like that, and soon started wiggling around scared, alarming Namjoon visibly. Jimin could practically see Namjoon’s heart drop to his stomach when his eyes laid on the struggling rabbit in Jimin’s hold.
"What is this creature?" the dragon huffed, his scaled hand holding tight the struggling rabbit that seemed frightened and on the verge of passing out. His tiny legs were kicking back in an attempt to free himself from the deadly grip, but it was useless.
Namjoon winced at Jimin’s tone, rushing forward to get the rabbit out of the dragon’s tight grip — with a little bit of a struggle because the dragon didn’t want to let go — and cradled it to his chest gently, shushing it softly and patting its head with his fingers. The poor thing was frightened, presumably not once expecting to find himself close to death in the hands of a dragon.
The rabbit was small. He fitted almost perfectly in Namjoon's palm — he has big hands and the rabbit is just so small —, his floppy ears long and almost reaching down to his paws. His beige fur was messy from Jimin's grip, and the guard cursed the dragon under his breath as he brushed the rabbit's fur back in place.
"This," Namjoon sighed, "Is a rabbit hybrid. A shifter, to be exact. Just like us”, he explained, then proceeded to boop the rabbit's nose gently, cooing at it with a sweet smile, all while Jimin looked at them perplexed.
Jimin vaguely remembered seeing this kind of creature up in the mountains, and despite his growing hunger, he never ate them, because they were way too small to sate his stomach, plus the fur would be a bitch to get out of between his teeth.
It was small — too small. And would definitely not be good in a fight, like he or his friends. Its fur had a weird texture, nothing like Namjoon’s, Yoongi’s, or even Seokjin’s. Its nose was twitching every second, and its ears were floppy and seemingly very useless.
Jimin despised it.
“And why is this thing inside my room?” he asked, almost indignant, watching the way the creature calmed down under Namjoon’s touch with a frown. Why did it seem so calm and content all of a sudden?
Namjoon looked at Jimin for a quick second but didn’t reply, which pissed the dragon off. He huffed warm air towards the guard, making Namjoon furrow his eyebrows. "Quit with the attitude. He hasn't done nothing to you."
Jimin was always short-tempered and never liked new things. New places, new people, new animals. He has lived the most hundreds of years of his life alone, and suddenly being a King and having to rule a whole kingdom by himself is new and hard enough for him. He didn’t need an additional problem besides all the others that he already has.
The dragon hybrid rolled his eyes. "I don't like it. It's small and it has fur. It’s useless." he frowned, barely looking at the small creature that was now curled up in Namjoon's palm.
The guard groaned and shushed the little rabbit that went still at Jimin’s harsh words. The dragon never knew when to shut up.
“The rest of us have fur as well,” he argued, and Jimin knew that Namjoon was trying to prove him that his reasons are irrelevant.
“He’s like, as big as your hand. What good can it bring to this castle?” Jimin asked. He truthfully was a little bit meaner than usual, but that was mostly because he’s exhausted and annoyed.
Jimin knew this was one of his biggest flaws. Not knowing when to stop, not knowing when to filter his words. And although he tries to tell himself that it is to be expected, and that it doesn’t matter, he can’t help but scold himself silently when seeing the look on Namjoon’s face at his words.
The dragon grew up all by himself, alone, with no human interactions whatsoever for a good hundred years. He was never taught how to act properly with someone, never taught how to think of his words and why it’s good to do so before speaking out. He never knew kindness and compassion until Namjoon came into his life. Never knew what to love and be loved meant, never knew how to communicate his feelings or how to control his emotions, until the panther hybrid came into his life and made it his job to teach Jimin how to be a person.
"It's not yours, anyway. It's a gift for Hoseok," the guard replied eventually, a little smile on his face at the mention of his husband. "His name is Jungkook, but he likes to be called Koo."
"Whatever." the dragon brushed him off. "Take that thing away from me before I eat it." he threatened, turning his back on the guard. "It would barely be enough for one tooth, but still good."
Namjoon emitted a sound between a whine and a groan, and almost stomped his foot at Jimin, arguing. "Don't be mean, Jimin. I need you to look after him for a few hours till Hoseok and I are done with our tasks, so I can gift it to him after."
The dragon almost spat fire at that. "No way!" he snarled, eyes flickering a bright orange. "I'm not looking after that creature, unless you want me to eat it."
There was silence after that. Jimin rarely lashed out like that at Namjoon, and the guard clearly did not expect it. Jimin could read the shock on his face. He didn’t expect to be screamed at because of a simple request. Maybe a simple no would have been more understandable than the screaming, Jimin concluded.
Without saying anything, Namjoon stepped forward and stood in front of Jimin, looking down at the dragon with narrowed eyes. Koo was curled up in his hands, still shaking in fear.
Despite their...differences, Jimin being a dragon hybrid and Namjoon being a panther hybrid, the latter is significantly taller and broader than the dragon in their human form, towering over Jimin easily. However, the dragon would never allow anyone to even try to intimidate him, like Namjoon is doing right now, so he took a step back, standing tall.
And even then, Namjoon spoke with the same intention."Yes, you will, Your Majesty." Namjoon firmly said. Jimin’s skin prickled at the sound of his best friend calling him Your Majesty in private, away from any strangers. “I don’t always ask you for such big favors like this one, but I am right now, and I would really appreciate it if you’d think about it before promptly screaming your response in my face.”
The dragon pressed his lips together in a thin line, but stood his ground and stared Namjoon into his eyes. The guard’s eyes were now yellow and slitted, just like they were in his panther form. He knew Namjoon was right. That he had no right to yell in his face like that, when all Namjoon did was ask him to just watch the creature for a few hours, but still . Why him? Why not Yoongi, Seokjin, or any other person that works in this damn castle?
“Fine,” Jimin eventually grumbled. “I’ll watch your dum — your rabbit.”
“Thank you,” Namjoon replied calmly. “But I swear, Jimin, if I come back and find Koo having as little as a scratch on him, we will have problems" the guard threatened. He didn’t specify what kind of problems exactly, but Jimin could only think of the worse.
The King wondered, who was this creature, that it got Namjoon threatening his own King for its safety?
Namjoon has known Jimin for years. He was his best friend, and he knew him. Namjoon knew that Jimin’s only fear was the unknown, and he knew how he reacted when he was scared. Just like he did now. Harsh words, harsh actions, puffing warm breaths, and growling. Doing anything he can to keep himself away from the unknown, and right now... Jungkook was the unknown that Jimin was scared of.
If it was someone else, Jimin would not hesitate to spit fire at them and leave, probably taking the creature with him as well. But it was Namjoon. His best friend, his guard, and the one that saved him in the first place. And despite Jimin being the King of this whole Kingdom, he will mostly always listen to his guard’s words and orders, no matter what.
"I will...look, after that thing. But I can't promise you it won't get hurt. I'm not touching it. If it wanders off, it's its problem," the dragon huffed, looking at the small ball of fur in Namjoon's hands with disgust.
The guard raises an eyebrow, almost mockingly. "It's a he, and he has a name. Koo. And I will come back and find him unharmed and not frightened, Jimin. My threat was very serious. Take care of Koo for a few hours, and then you won't have to see him again."
Jimin gave Namjoon a simple nod and signaled towards the bed. "You can leave him here," he said. All plans to get some sleep are out of the equation.
The guard sighed and walked towards the bed, where he carefully placed Koo in the middle of the soft, black sheets, the beige rabbit contrasting nicely with them. "I'll have to leave for a while Koo, okay? You'll stay here with Jimin, and when I come back, you'll be able to meet Hoseok, yeah?"
The rabbit looked at him with big eyes — as if listening attentively to what the guard was saying—, then ruffled his tail cutely — as if telling Namjoon that he understood. He then curled into a small ball and closed his eyes, slowly but visibly relaxing his animal body.
Jimin watched in silent confusion as Namjoon stepped back from the bed, worry visible all over his face. He turned to the dragon slowly, movements calculated and calm.
"Jimin," the guard spoke, his voice softer now. "Please, please take care of Koo. He means a lot to me, and I know he will mean a lot to Hoseok as well. Please, don't harm him. That’s all I’m asking for."
The dragon felt confused and torn at Namjoon's pleas. He had almost never seen that look on Namjoon’s face before, his eyes filled with worry and his voice almost trembling.
Jimin wanted to ask, why does the rabbit mean so much to Namjoon? Why does the rabbit seem so calm and content around the guard? Since when did Namjoon even own a rabbit? But after a short, quiet contemplation, he decided not to. He decided to keep his questions to himself, at least for now. After a few quiet seconds, the dragon nodded almost like compelled, no other pleas needed.
"I won't," Jimin whispered. "I promise."
Namjoon sighed in relief at that. Jimin knew his words meant a lot to Namjoon, because he was not the type to make promises often, but when he would, he would always keep them. And Namjoon knew that, which is presumably the reason while his body relaxed instantly at Jimin’s words.
The guard took a step back. "I have to leave now, I will be back in a couple of hours," he said, then turned towards the rabbit. "Please behave, Koo."
The rabbit thumped on the bed as if offended, earning a breathy laugh from the guard. "Take care of him." he pointed towards Jimin, and with that, he turned around and left the room, leaving the dragon alone with that ball of fur that he completely despises, for no reason whatsoever.