sɴᴏᴡᴛᴀᴇ│ᴛᴋ [reposting]

.ɪx.

"I demand you tell me exactly what you told him yesterday!" Jungkook's knuckles were turning white under his efforts to contain his anger. He had overslept this morning, and when his eyes had finally opened, the other side of the bed had been empty. The dress Taehyung had worn the night before had been neatly folded on the chair. He had thought for a moment that the boy was downstairs, helping himself to an early breakfast, but after searching the whole house and waking everyone up, Jungkook had to face the fact that Taehyung was missing. Along with his old clothes and bow.

Namjoon, sitting at the table, drank his coffee, seemingly unaffected by all the turmoil.

"Namjoon hyung! Did you hear what I said? Tae is gone!"

"Taehyung was no captive. He was free to leave anytime."

Jungkook could not believe the words he was hearing. The boy they had nursed for days now was nowhere to be found, and no one appeared alarmed by the fact that he could barely stand on his own two feet a short week ago.

Hoseok placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know how much you like him. But Namjoon is right. He obviously hasn't discovered whatever it is his quest has him searching for."

Jungkook coldly removed the not-so-comforting hand. "You are correct about one thing. I like him. A lot. And I could have sworn Taehyung liked it here too. And if it were not for the silly dress and the unnecessary flirting and the intimidation, I am positive he would still be with us."

The youngster had glared at Jimin, Hoseok and Namjoon who simply scoffed at the underlying accusation. An angry Jungkook was such an easy target.

"Perhaps it was an overdose of clinginess that drove him away. Maybe the boy just needs to breathe a little," the older calmly pointed out.

As if on cue, the front door opened to let a tuft of ashen hair through. Taehyung—who had just walked in—was most surprised to find everyone awake. "Good morning?"

All watched Jungkook as his eyes turned wet. In an instant, he had wrapped himself around Taehyung in an attempt to hide his quiet sobbing in the boy's shoulder. "You came back!"

"Obviously."

"Where did you go?"

"I went to lay out some traps."

Puzzlement was written all over Jungkook's face. "You went out to hunt?"

"Yes. Like we talked about yesterday."

The youngster looked down, relieved and a little confused at the same time. "I thought you had left without saying goodbye," he confessed, mortified as he recalled his earlier tantrum.

The hunter realized his mistake. He had woken up at dawn and had stared for a while at the one with whom he had shared the bed and who had been sleeping peacefully. The house was so quiet he had believed he would make it back before everyone bestirred themselves.

Dropping his bow, he wrapped his arms around the dwarf and squeezed hard. "Why would I leave?" he asked truthfully.

The thought of losing Taehyung had brought to light the fact that Jungkook cared for him a lot more than he was willing to admit. Heart melting in this newfound awareness, he gripped onto Taehyung's shirt tightly. "Please don't. Don't ever." he whispered in the other's chest.

Clatter

Jin had placed a tray of food on the table, drawing everyone's attention to him. "That's way too much drama for a Saturday morning," he declared. "Who can handle such feels on an empty stomach?"

All were more than happy to do justice to Jin's copious breakfast. However, there were some unresolved tension in the air that needed to be addressed first. It was Namjoon who initiated the peace talks. "Taehyung, I'm glad to see you and I must say, your timing is just perfect. I believe Jungkook was about to punch me in the face when you turned up."

The youngster hated to admit it but Namjoon was right. "I'm sorry, hyung."

Taehyung was mystified. "What is all this about?" he probed, fearing the feud had to do with his presence. Or absence rather.

"I'm glad you asked," replied the older. "We all thought you had left for good this morning because, well, frankly, we don't really know you."

The moment of truth was nearing. The prince was aware that he owed it to his rescuers to tell them his identity, and the reason why he had fled his home, although he sincerely believed none of that would matter in the end.

Taking a deep inhale, he got ready to speak when loud knocks shook the front door which Jimin swiftly opened.

"What is it?" he asked the dishevelled villager who was trying to catch his breath.

"At the—over—for you—again—"

All the dwarves shared a look. And a similar thought: another body must have been found.

—

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