The woodlands were beautiful at this time of year, colours of rusted red and burnt orange tinging the leaves on the trees and the crunch of the dead leaves underfoot made your current hike as you returned from the village more enjoyable than you'd expected. There was no noise apart from the sound of your feet kicking up leaves and the odd birdsong, silence was rare with most forests full of people cutting down trees and hunting.
This forest was different, mainly due to the name being 'the forbidden forest' although no one knew why - not that a mere word had ever stopped you going to them even if it had been decreed by a fae king.
Having frequented this particular part of the forest often, you wondered why it had gotten that kind of reputation, musing to yourself as you pushed aside a curtain of ivy to see the tower surrounded by a meadow of wildflowers. It was a clearing you had come upon by accident almost a month ago and just like then, the sound of singing still filled the clearing.
It was the same song he had been singing when you realised just who the mysterious boy in the tower was, Kim Taehyung, prince of the Light Fae and currently with a huge bounty over his head. There had been rumours that he lived somewhere in the forest and when you'd seen him, you knew that you were going to be rich.
The sound of his deep rasping voice broke your concentration and made your heart race with each note, quickly you adjusted your bag full of food and continuing to walk through grass that reached your waist until you reached the bottom of the tower. It wasn't the plan to feel this way towards you target, but maybe just for now you would leave the feelings be.
"Tae! Throw down the rope!" A yelp sounded from above making you laugh at the idea of startling Taehyung who was a complete airhead. His head appeared from the small balcony above you, as if to watch something but as his blonde hair was rustled in the wind, you were completely mesmerised.
Until a thump on your head broke your concentration, it was insult to injury when Taehyung called down, "watch out!" leaning further over the balcony before using a hand to cover his mouth at the sight of you. It had been a paint pot that had fallen from above you, landing directly on your head and now as goblets of yellow began to roll down your hair, dripping onto the floor, you sighed - only Taehyung would manage to make such a spectacle out of you.
You waited a few more seconds for him to throw down the rope before beginning to climb up the side of the tower, using the bricks that stuck out to help you up. Taehyung had probably run away to hide thinking you were angry with him; in fact, he thought most things he did would make you angry with him.
That was likely a side effect of living alone for so long but by now you only found it an endearing quality, although slightly worrying when you thought of how you he'd behave in public when you finally persuaded him to leave.
Your hand caught purchase of the balcony, hauling yourself up and onto the platform, glancing at the canvas that Taehyung had been working on before walking into the main room. It was silent until you called out, "Tae?"
A yelp sounded from the kitchen and you watched him stumble before trying to run towards his room, instead of following him you walked to the table and placed the vegetables on the table until a hand caught your wrist, "are you angry?"
Taehyung's eyebrows were knotted together, eyes wide as if he was about to cry, "I don't get angry at accidents Tae Tae," you grinned, and before you could blink he had tackled you into a hug. Your hands moved around to hug his waist, feeling the tickle of his hair on the tips of your fingers before pulling back slowly.
"Keep playing with it," Taehyung pouted, grasping your hand to place it on his neck, waiting for your fingers to dig into his scalp but they didn't as you instead looked at the disaster of a haircut he had given himself, laughing as his face fell. "What are you smiling at?"
"Do you cut your own hair?" you scratched his scalp a bit, just so you could look at the way his eyes shut in bliss with his head leaning back into your touch. As much as he loved hugs and being touched, every touch made him jump.
Taehyung could tell where you where your question was leading as he began to walk towards the kitchen, grabbing a pair of scissors and laughing, "obviously I cut it myself since only three people come here."
He handed you the scissors and sat on the floor in front of the fire, grasping your hand to place it on his head which allowed you to begin to run your fingers through his golden hair, combing through any tangles chatting to him as you worked, "the mysterious Jeongguk and Jimin?"
"They're real!" he crossed his arms before gasping when he felt the cold metal on his skin, "don't cut it short!" Taehyung's hair was currently so long that you often had to braid it into a plait to keep it from blocking his vision and because it was always so tangled you decided to meet him halfway.
"Why do we need it long in the back? I'm sure Jeongguk and Jimin have short hair," you watched as he turned around to look at you, cheeks blushed as he stared at his hands.
