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This story was requested by anonymous
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Prince/Servant AU

"TaeTae you're such a handsome prince!" A ten years old Seokjin exclaimed while clapping his little hands in mirth as he watched his friend.

"Really, hyungie? You really, really mean it?" An eight years old Taehyung asked with big, glimmering eyes as he looked up at his friend for confirmation that he indeed was a handsome prince.

Seokjin nodded with a smile, proudly enjoying how royal his companion looked in his rich garments and gold crown. In fact, he was so pleased to see Taehyung in his clothes that he wanted the boy to wear it everyday.

In Seokjin's eyes, Taehyung had always been a prince even though he was the orphaned son of the King's best knight. Ever since his father provided shelter to Taehyung in the palace, but with the condition of serving them, Seokjin had made it his goal to make the boy his dearest friend as he, despite being a prince, had no peers.

Seokjin had not always been close to Taehyung. To be very honest, during the first few weeks of Taehyung's arrival, Seokjin disregarded the boy, dismissing his presence as he assumed that he too was there only for the King's wealth. However, his views on the scrawny boy with a strange smile changed on the night when his father prohibited the cooks from serving Seokjin any sort of food as he did not do well in his geography assignment. Somehow, Taehyung had heard about the mistreatment and secretly visited Seokjin's chambers to share his dinner with the starved prince. Seokjin was astounded at the fact that Taehyung, whose meal only consisted of a small loaf of bread, a few pieces of burnt meat and carrots, having so little to fill his stomach, was willingly to give a portion of his food to him. The prince was moved to tears at the boy's compassion.

On that very night where they shared burnt food and whispered words, Seokjin made a silent resolution to himself that he would become Taehyung's pillar and anchor.

Seokjin embraced his friend from behind, causing the latter to giggle at the display of affection. Taehyung squirmed in Seokjin's arms as the prince's fingers decided to be playful and tickled his sensitive tummy. Taehyung, in an attempt to escape the mini torment, tried to pry Seokjin off him by flailing his arms but accidently hit Seokjin's little nose.

"Ouchie~" Seokjin feigned getting hurt badly and sat down on the carpet with his back on Taehyung. He smiled to himself mischievously, knowing very well that Taehyung always fell for his staging.

"Hyungie? Did I hurt you a lot?" Seokjin held in a giggle at Taehyung's concerned tone.

"Yes, TaeTae. I think my nose is bleeding," Seokjin lied.

"Oh no, let me see. I'm so sorry, hyungie," Taehyung said, his voice gurgling a bit which indicated that he was close to crying.

Taehyung kneeled down infront of him, careful not to tear the delicate material of the garment he sported, and cupped Seokjin's face that had a pout on.

"Let me kiss it better," Taehyung said before pecking Seokjin's nose, drawing a mellow smile from the older.

Seokjin was about to ask for another kiss with the excuse of his nose still hurting when the Great Gong of the palace resounded nine times, signaling Seokjin's curfew.

"Welp, hyungie, it's time to sleep," Taehyung said, standing up.

Seokjin watched his friend discard the expensive articles of clothing, revealing his battered clothes underneath. Taehyung never accepted more than three sets of new clothes each year despite having the job of an errand boy and stable boy. Seokjin honestly wanted to gift his every single possession to the boy but Taehyung would always laugh and say how his love was enough for him.

Taehyung neatly folded the clothes with Seokjin's help. Seokjin eyed the crown residing on Taehyung's head and concluded that it suited his friend better than him or any prince in existence as a matter of fact. Hence, when Taehyung reached up to remove the crown, Seokjin grabbed his hands quickly and lowered them.

Still holding onto his friend's hands, Seokjin's face adorned itself with a sweet smile as he spoke, "TaeTae, I want you to keep my crown."

Taehyung's face was priceless after what he heard. He shook his head and said, "But this is your crown! I'm not a prince, hyungie."

"Yes you are. You are and will always be a prince to me," Seokjin concluded stubbornly.

"Really, hyungie?" Taehyung asked with wide eyes, still not registering Seokjin's words properly.

Seokjin nodded and hugged Taehyung.

"But your father will see that your crown is gone."

"Don't worry about that. I'll say that I dropped it in the lake by accident."

"He won't be mad?"

"No, TaeTae." He would be livid. But Seokjin did not mind having to withstand punishments if it meant Taehyung could have his crown.

Taehyung finally gave in and embraced Seokjin back.

~~~~~~~~~

Seokjin was startled awake to the thunderous bellowing of his father. Groggily, he left the comfort of his bed and opened the doors of his quarters slightly to peek outside. His eyes widened when he saw the King mercilessly whipping a small, quivering figure while yelling degrading words at him. Without a single moment of reluctance, Seokjin bolted out into the corridor and pushed his father with all his might, causing the man to stumble, finally allowing Taehyung to breathe.

"H-hyungie-" Taehyung croaked out.

Seokjin dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around Taehyung, shielding him from the damned whip.

"What are you doing?" The King boomed, his eyes bloodshot from rage and his pride wounded.

"What are you doing, Father?" Seokjin snarled back. At the back of his head, a voice warned him that the consequences would be very painful but it did not stop Seokjin. It never would, when it came to the weeping boy in his arms.

"You dare speak back to your father like that? You will regret what you are doing, Seokjin, for you are holding a thief!"

"I-I am n-not a thief, I-I swear," Taehyung said with trembling lips.

Seokjin held him tighter and kissed the crown of his head, saying, "Ofcourse you're not, TaeTae. You'd never steal."

"Is that so?" The King jeered, "Then how does it explain your crown in his room? This scoundrel had the audacity to steal even after I kept him under my roof after his beggar of a mother died."

"Don't speak of his mother like that, Father. And it was me who gave him the crown." Seokjin spoke with newly discovered courage.

"What? You gave this lowlife your crown? Have you gone insane?" The King asked with a flabbergasted face.

Seokjin nodded confidently and immediately he got pulled away from Taehyung by the fabric of his shirt. He was shoved against the wall where his back collided painfully with the terracotta. His father grabbed his collar and lifted him up to align their eyes. Seokjin shuddered at the murderous tint in the King's eyes.

"Let him go," Taehyung begged while trying his best to pull the King away from his son but the man would not budge.

"Listen Seokjin, I will not let this outrageous behaivour of yours pass. I don't care if you're my son. You need to learn discipline and respect. Both of you will be severely punished tonight."

With that, the King threw his son onto the cold stone floor before storming out of the corridor.

"Hyungie!" Taehyung rushed to Seokjin's side and his eyes widened in horror as he saw red liquid gushing out of a cut on Seokjin's forehead.

"Are you alright, TaeTae? Are you hurting?" Seokjin asked, wincing at the pain due to the blow.

"Hyungie you're bleeding," Taehyung sobbed. Seokjin felt Taehyung lift him up into a sitting position and rested him against the walls. His vision was blurry, caving in every once in a while due to the blood he was losing.

The last thing he saw was Taehyung running towards the far end of the corridor screaming for the nurse.

~~~~~~~~~~~

When Seokjin regained consciousness, he found himself in his room with a sleeping Taehyung next to him. His face was buried into his folded arms that rested at the edge of the bed while the rest of his was sat on the floor in an uncomfortable position. Seokjin hoisted himself up into a sitting position but immediately regretted it as jabbing pain shot from his bandaged forehead. Ignoring the obvious throb, Seokjin reached down, pulled Taehyung fully onto the bed and lay him beside him. He watched the younger boy switch positions for a while before he curled against Seokjin's side, involuntarily wrapping his arms around Seokjin's waist. Seokjin smiled at his accomplishment of making his friend comfortable.

Seokjin sat there quiety, threading his fingers through Taehyung's dirty hair and wondering what sort of punishment his father had for them in store. After the furious look he spared Seokjin, the prince was sure that it would be painful. He just wished that Taehyung's punishment was less hurtful than his although that was less likely. He felt tears well up in his eyes at the mere thought of his friend getting whipped once again.

"Did you hear of the Prince and that servant boy Taehyung?" Seokjin's ears perked up at the faint voice of Nurse Hana outside his chambers.

"Yes, I heard that they caused trouble this morning. The King was fuming on his throne the entire day. Do you know what happened?" said a second voice that sounded like Daehyun, one of the maids.

"Not quite but I heard the King instructing Sehun to ready the thinnest whip and the sharpest knife," said Nurse Hana with a sense of fear in her voice.

Knife?

"Knife? Daehyun voiced out Seokjin's inquiries, "What do you mean knife?"

"Sehun told me earlier, but don't you go gossiping about this to anyone, that the King will use the whip on his Queen until Seokjin agrees to wound the servant boy with the knife," Nurse Sana recounted Sehun's words.

"Oh my, the King won't really whip his sick wife, will he? And force his own son to hurt his friend? What sort of monster are we serving?" Daehyun asked in a shrill tone.

"Quiet, or else we will be next. Now, let's go attend the Queen. She needs to be ready for the night," Nurse Sana said before fading footsteps were heard.

Seokjin felt his heart drop. His father was going to hurt his frail mother, the very woman who supported his father during his moments of grief, who single-handedly raised Seokjin until last year when she was diagnosed with a fatal blood disease that yet had no effective cure. Her health deteriorated to the point where one single lash would damage her feeble body immensely. She already had her life tied to her with a thin string and the King might kill her in the process of teaching Seokjin a lesson.

In addition to that, the only way to save his mother was to sabotage the sleeping boy who had lit a thousand candles to Seokjin's life. Seokjin would never dare to place a finger on Taehyung, let alone hurting him with a knife. He would rather be disowned by his father than see his friend suffer in agony because of him.

In the midst of the dilemma of choosing between his mother and friend, Seokjin's mind came up with an idea that he had never stumbled upon before.

Carefully, he detached Taehyung's arms from around him and placed a pillow for the younger boy to cuddle with. As stealthily as possible, Seokjin left his room and returned back after ten minutes with a pair of bags in his hands, one full, the other empty. He rummaged through his room, packing whatever his ten year old rationality thought was necessary.

"Hyungie?"

Seokjin turned his head to Taehyung who had climbed down from the bed and was rubbing his eyes with his small fists.

"TaeTae, did you sleep well?" Seokjin asked as he stuffed the last gold coin into his bag.

Taehyung nodded and asked, "What are you doing, hyungie? Is he sending you away?"

Seokjin quickly put an arm around Taehyung's shoulders at the younger's voice that was laced with fear. The prince shook his head, his bangs swinging left and right infront of his eyes, and told him the horrible intentions of the King.

Taehyung had started to cry but at the thought of the gentle Queen being harmed instead of his own self. The Queen had always treated Taehyung with such warmth that the boy often saw his mother in her eyes. Moreover, Seokjin would be devastated and scarred for the rest of his life if his mother died right infront of his eyes.

"Hyungie, the Queen. . .she'll die if the King whips her. You can hurt me. I don't mind, hyungie. I don't want the Queen to die," Taehyung said, wiping his tears and putting up a brave face but the fear swimming in his eyes was prominent.

"TaeTae, no," Seokjin said firmly, "Nobody will get hurt. We will run away."

"What?!"

"Yes, TaeTae, we will run away. . .but only if you want to," Seokjin said with a bit of hesitancy, scared that he might had frightened his friend at the sudden revelation.

"But hyungie. . .to where?" Taehyung asked.

Seokjin bit his lips. He did not think how where to take shelter. He envisioned sneaking out of the palace around sunset when everyone went to pray at the temples. He thought if they could disguise as villagers then some kind family would adopt them. However, now that his mind was clearer, he realized how flawed his plan was.

"We'll find a place. For now, you need to be safe," Seokjin said. He tried for a confident smile but it kept faltering.

Taehyung stared at him for a while, his eyes holding an incomprehensible gaze which made Seokjin nervous because he had always been able to read Taehyung.

"Okay, hyungie. I'll be right back."

With that, Taehyung exited Seokjin's quarters, leaving behind a muddled prince. Fifteen minutes had passed and Seokjin had started to think that his friend might have disapproved of his escapade, hiding in his room in order to avoid Seokjin. But that would be ridiculous, according to Seokjin, if the boy took refuge in his room only to face excruciating torture later on. Seokjin's nervousness crept upto his throat and made his nauseous as time flew by. Soon he was replaced with dread at the thought of Taehyung being dragged into the torture chamber by his foul father.

Just as Seokjin's anxiety was at its peak, Taehyung peeked his little head into the chanbers with his signature grin. Seokjin noticed two large flasks clutched tightly in his arms. He passed one to Seokjin saying, "Something needs to kleep us warm, right hyungie? I'm smart, right?"

Seokjin rebuked himself internally for not thinking about bringing warm tea with them in case they had to sleep on the streets with the temperature dropping at night.

"My TaeTae is very smart. A smart prince," Seokjin said as he ruffled Taehyung's already untidy hair.

"I made it, hyungie. Try it," Taehyung said with seal eyes which Seokjin never the will to resist.

Seokjin earnestly uncapped the flask and poured some of its warm contents into the cup. It was a lovely shade of red with a citrus yet sweet fragrance. Perhaps Taehyung made lemon tea. Seokjin brought it to his lips and emptied the cup in one long gulp. The beverage tasted a little unfamiliar but Seokjin did not complain as he was concerned about hurting his friend's feelings.

"Hyungie, I want to lie on your bed with you one last time," Taehyung requested and Seokjin, obviously, obliged.

Once Seokjin relaxed on the soft mattress of his bed, Taehyung began caressing his hair while singing the sweet lullaby that his mother used to sing to him when she was fit and blooming.

Seokjin realized late that his senses had started to become dull and his eyelids were horribly heavy as well as his limbs.

"TaeTae. . ." Seokjin murmured.

"Rest well, hyungie."

Poppies

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Tea, your Highness," A deep voice rumbled through Seokjin's chamber, ruining its tranquility but Seokjin could not care less.

"I told you not to call me that," said Seokjin with a sigh.

Suddenly Seokjin was pinned to the wall, two strong arms firmly barricaded him while a pair of gorgoeous eyes kept him in place with an intense gaze.

"Then what should I call you?" the man said, his voice dropping an octave lower.

Seokjin looked at him, a blush spreading over his cheeks as he bit his bottom lip and said, "Hyungie?"

Taehyung chuckled, his laugh echoing out of his throat like a sweet melody. Seokjin took a moment to admire how beautifully Taehyung had grown from a meek, gaunt boy who had no care about the dirty mop on top of his head to a tall, well-built man with features mesmerizing enough to cause one to forget their own name. His brown hair rested in messy, attractive curls and his pink lips were practically begging to be kissed. His broad chest, slender fingers and sharp jaw made Seokjin want to stare at him all day long and just admire the beauty that he was.

But what made Seokjin fall for the General was how he had learned to protect Seokjin, learned to fight for him like Seokjin did for the younger in their tender years. He stood as Seokjin's pillar when his mother fought her last battle with herself, wisely handled matters when the King tried his best to sabotage Seokjin's image to change the people's stance about Seokjin as he was supposed to be crowned ruler and protected him like a shield that night where he drugged Seokjin into sleep for weeks with poppy seeds and withstood the King's rage. His back was still etched with countless scars.

Most of all, he readily took responsibility of Seokjin and his feelings and promised to secure his heart as long as he lived. There had not been a day where Taehyung returned Seokjin's heart to to the latter.

"I had no sense of cringe as a child," Taehyung said.

"But it's cute," Seokjin whined.

"You have no sense of cringe, hyung," Taehyung teased.

"Move," Seokjin huffed as he pushed his lover away and picked up a teacup.

"You didn't drug this one, now did you?" Seokjin asked with an eye brow raised, a smile threatening to bloom.

"Oh, please hyung, that was fifteen years ago," Taehyung said with an eyeroll, an amused smile playing on his lips.

Seokjin smiled to himself as he sipped onto the tea. He sat on the bed and ushered Taehyung to do the same. He put down the cup and intertwined their hands.

"Taehyung, thank you," Seokjin said with genuine gratitude.

Taehyung tilted his head in question.

"Taehyung, if not for you, things would have been so different. Perhaps, our bond would have been destroyed, perhaps I would have seen my mother die in my father's hands, perhaps I would have killed myself. If you weren't strong for me, I wouldn't had lasted to be very honest. Taehyung, I'm so grateful to have you and I love you so much," Seokjin said.

He did not know why he suddenly chose to speak his mind but he was glad he did because the next moment he was in his lover's warm embrace.

"I love you too, hyung, I love you too. And there won't be a day where I stop loving you." Taehyung assured the prince.

They remained in that comfortable position in the serene silence of the room, basking in the affection they had for one another. Taehyung had one arm snaked around Seokjin's waist while the other gently played with his hair. Seokjin rested on hand on Taehyung's firm, chiselled chest and had the other creep under his shirt and tenderly caress the scars.

"Taehyung-ah. . ."

"Hmm?"

"You are a prince."

"Really, hyung?"

"Yes. . ."

And you've always been.

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Rigor Samsa:
A sheild that can protect you from pain and contain your anxieties, but always ends up cracking under pressure or hollowed out by time—and will keep growing back again and again, until you are strong enough to protect yourself.

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