"You don't know if marriage is equal in their society. I heard from one of the scholars that their wedding rituals is just -- just --" Jimin blushed and pulled a face, he didn't even think he could say it aloud. He mumbled something that sounded a bit like sex and then pulled away, shoving his hands into his pockets and pouting a little. Did his brother really have to suffer this?
"If he hurts you, the deal is off! I said so." Young or not, he was going to fight for his brother. He'd find a way. Somehow. Maybe.
"If you are sure. But remember your manners, yes?" Jin smiled and got up, one hand on his brother's arm. He knew that Jimin was more likely to let his emotions rule him than he was, he was still young after all. Whether fear or anger, they couldn't risk an incident, but he thought he could trust him brother with that. "And please don't worry too much. I will make sure that he will know what marriage means in our society and he has come to live here."
He would just have to make sure. Somehow. Even though there wouldn't be a damn thing he could do when alone with a man like that. He swallowed at the thought and headed for the door, walking into the throne room. The throne remained empty, their father was too sick to sit on it, but he sat down in his own chair, with Jimin next to him. After a quick prayer, he nodded his head to a servant and the doors were opened.
Jin stiffened when they walked in, spotting even more warriors out in the hall. So many! They could probably take the entire palace guard in minutes. He looked at the two men who'd entered and tried to figure out who was the one he was supposed to marry based on their appearance, but he had no idea what their clothing symbolised.
It wasn't until the shorter one stopped in front of him and went down on one knee, his head bent, that he decided it had to be the other one. Jin tried to meet his eyes and still smile, standing up and folding his hands to greet him. "Welcome, Namjoon-nim. I'm Prince Jin. This is my brother, Prince Jimin."
"Greeting, prince Jin. Best wishes on you and your family." And then Namjoon spat on the floor. It was common in their culture, it was a way of warding off hexes, curses and bad luck. Namjoon knew because people did it a lot around him. Especially his brothers. Though they often spat at him, not around him, as a sort of joke. He was considered bad luck a lot of the time.
Jimin cringed and tried his best to school his expression but ew. A guy just spat on their floor! That was icky.
Namjoon wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do, he turned his head and eyed up the architecture, wondering what kind of inspirations they drew from. It was so grand, he expected nothing less of these men. Artists, thinkers, talkers - just not big on the acting side of life. Hence their issues.
"I like your digs." They were pretty cool. Credit where credit is due. He turned his head back to Jin and grinned, not overly endearing, he was trying his best not to look soft so Yoongi would be proud of him later. "Shall we drink to our deal?"
Jin wanted to bolt. Ideally after making sure these men would be thrown out so he'd never meet them again, ever. Instead the best he could do was try to hide his disgust and not stare at the ground, looking at the man in front of him. The man he was supposed to marry. "Drink?"
Yoongi took it as his cue and so he got up, pulling his flask from his inside pocket, mostly since he knew that Namjoon had forgotten his own. Of course he had. Whatever, they could make it work. He opened it, poured some of the liquid into the cap and handed it to Namjoon with a bow and without a word, then stepped back and watched them both, so he could be a witness.
"...is that something to be done where you are from?" Polite, he had to be polite. He'd have to drink that. "I'd be glad to."
"Yeah, it's sort of a way to make sure that a deal is forged. In good will and in good times, of course." He raised his cap and knocked a good bit of it back, grateful that Yoongi had remembered because he really hadn't It burned his throat in a great way and he licked his lips, grinning down at Yoongi. "Thank you, hyung."
There was half left and Namjoon walked over towards Jin, bold and confident - on the outside, at least. Jimin tensed in his seat, baffled and horrified, wanting to help Jin out. He didn't want him to drink that strange liquid.
"Drink it all in one shot and swallow. If you spill any, it sort of brings bad luck." He should know. He'd spilled it a lot. "Praise the Gods!"
Hyung? That was strange. How could his servant be his hyung? How would he ever make sense of this strange culture? How would he ever manage to swallow that surely disgusting liquid? Maybe he should spit it too, since that was apparently something they did.
He reached for the cap, his hand shaking a little. Damn it, he needed to get himself under control. He did mutter a prayer to the gods, but he was just asking for their help, feeling that he'd need it.
Then he downed the shot, shuddering and keeping his head bent to hide the horrified expression on his face, even if he couldn't keep from coughing. What demon drink was this? He looked back up, no idea what to do or say after all this. "Hopefully there won't be too many deals to seal."
"Ha! You react like a twelve year old, prince. Did you never have this before? Me and Yoongi toasted with it as children, it was how we secured our bond. I guess you don't notice after a certain point that it still burns." Namjoon had to laugh, it was kind of funny. He came forward and playfully slapped Jin on the back. Of course his playful was probably another man's painful. Namjoon may be weak among his people but he was strong by most standards.
"Are you okay, Jinnie-hyung?" Jimin whispered, leaning forward a little and trying not to get in the way but Jin looked like his mouth was on fire.
Namjoon walked back over to Yoongi's side and passed him the cap, smiling faintly at his friend. This guys were pretty soft, maybe he would look like a warrior among them. "We brought a barrel of the stuff so we can all toast once more. We're uniting as a family so you should both drink."
"... Wait, what? No! I'm not marrying you!" Jimin protested before he remembered his place and lowered his eyes. "I mean... do I have to? Why don't your brothers do it?"
"They will but they're all currently in battle so they can't be here." Was this a problem? Namjoon frowned and looked at Jin, fixing him a hard stare. "Will you not drink with us?"
"Of course I will drink with you." He felt like his body was poisoned just from the little bit he had, but what else was he supposed to do? His back still hurt from Namjoon's slap and there was a dark knot of fear in his stomach. He felt more like crying, but instead smiled bravely, not wanting these barbarians to look down at his people for any reason. Even if that reason was intolerance to disgusting alcohol. "Jimin is too young. It is not common for anyone at his age to drink alcohol here. I'm sure he will gladly drink to our unity with something other."
Maybe something not toxic, there was a thought. "Are you happy with your accommodations? I hope there are enough beds and baths for all of your men."
"My men would like to use your courtyard for exercise and training but otherwise, we are all happy with the accommodation. Jeon Jungkook is the man to speak to about my men, he is their leader. He speaks as one for the many." So Namjoon didn't have to talk for them. They may have to be polite and follow his orders but he knew they didn't overly respect him. A man who has not seen a proper battle alone is not a man.
And he always took Yoongi. He was not a true man. Not that Jin needed to know that.
"Do you by any chance have a li--" Wait. No. What the fuck was he doing? A library? Was he crazy? He forgot himself. Peddling back, he tried to think of a word with a similar start. "Liiiiiovely. Lovely. Place. To be." Fuck. "With me."
Oh. Shit. That came out like he wanted to take him away and fuck... oh no.
"...that will have to wait. We are not supposed to be alone until after the wedding." Thankfully. Damn. Jin closed his eyes for a moment, smiling and hoping it didn't look forced. His heart was beating too fast, he still felt his back. If he would bruise just from this, how bruises would he be when... He didn't even want to think about it. "We can have tea tomorrow. In the garden."
There, that was something nice. He loved the garden. Perhaps that would make the company more bearable.
Honestly, he preferred the other one. At least he didn't talk. Why had Namjoon called him hyung? It was strange.
Ah, no. He fucked up. He fucked up big time. Now he just looked like a horny jerk. He sighed in frustration and raised his hand to cover his eyes, walking away a little in annoyance. With himself. Before realising he just looked annoyed about the potential not fucking thing. Urgh. No! Why?
"I-- Yeah, tea. I'm excited for tea." Oh boy. He came back over, reached out and tugged on the back of Yoongi's shirt. He wanted to leave this trainwreck.
"It's been lovely, prince. I-- I look forward to seeing more of you." ... Oh my God, why was this happening? What was he doing? Seriously. What? "Hyung, let's get the fuck out of here."
"I look forward to seeing you tomorrow." No, he did not. He wanted to never see him again. Jin bowed his head a little, trying to keep his expression schooled and watching how the servant bowed to both him and Jimin before silently - apparently he did everything silently - turning around and walking next to Namjoon. The door was opened for them and Jin sat back down in his chair, realising that he was trembling a little.
Oh, damn.
"He's a beast." Horror was threatening to overtake him.
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"If he hurts you, the deal is off! I said so." Young or not, he was going to fight for his brother. He'd find a way. Somehow. Maybe.
"Can I come with you to meet them?"
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He would just have to make sure. Somehow. Even though there wouldn't be a damn thing he could do when alone with a man like that. He swallowed at the thought and headed for the door, walking into the throne room. The throne remained empty, their father was too sick to sit on it, but he sat down in his own chair, with Jimin next to him. After a quick prayer, he nodded his head to a servant and the doors were opened.
Jin stiffened when they walked in, spotting even more warriors out in the hall. So many! They could probably take the entire palace guard in minutes. He looked at the two men who'd entered and tried to figure out who was the one he was supposed to marry based on their appearance, but he had no idea what their clothing symbolised.
It wasn't until the shorter one stopped in front of him and went down on one knee, his head bent, that he decided it had to be the other one. Jin tried to meet his eyes and still smile, standing up and folding his hands to greet him. "Welcome, Namjoon-nim. I'm Prince Jin. This is my brother, Prince Jimin."
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Jimin cringed and tried his best to school his expression but ew. A guy just spat on their floor! That was icky.
Namjoon wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do, he turned his head and eyed up the architecture, wondering what kind of inspirations they drew from. It was so grand, he expected nothing less of these men. Artists, thinkers, talkers - just not big on the acting side of life. Hence their issues.
"I like your digs." They were pretty cool. Credit where credit is due. He turned his head back to Jin and grinned, not overly endearing, he was trying his best not to look soft so Yoongi would be proud of him later. "Shall we drink to our deal?"
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Yoongi took it as his cue and so he got up, pulling his flask from his inside pocket, mostly since he knew that Namjoon had forgotten his own. Of course he had. Whatever, they could make it work. He opened it, poured some of the liquid into the cap and handed it to Namjoon with a bow and without a word, then stepped back and watched them both, so he could be a witness.
"...is that something to be done where you are from?" Polite, he had to be polite. He'd have to drink that. "I'd be glad to."
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There was half left and Namjoon walked over towards Jin, bold and confident - on the outside, at least. Jimin tensed in his seat, baffled and horrified, wanting to help Jin out. He didn't want him to drink that strange liquid.
"Drink it all in one shot and swallow. If you spill any, it sort of brings bad luck." He should know. He'd spilled it a lot. "Praise the Gods!"
With a grin, he offered the cap.
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He reached for the cap, his hand shaking a little. Damn it, he needed to get himself under control. He did mutter a prayer to the gods, but he was just asking for their help, feeling that he'd need it.
Then he downed the shot, shuddering and keeping his head bent to hide the horrified expression on his face, even if he couldn't keep from coughing. What demon drink was this? He looked back up, no idea what to do or say after all this. "Hopefully there won't be too many deals to seal."
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"Are you okay, Jinnie-hyung?" Jimin whispered, leaning forward a little and trying not to get in the way but Jin looked like his mouth was on fire.
Namjoon walked back over to Yoongi's side and passed him the cap, smiling faintly at his friend. This guys were pretty soft, maybe he would look like a warrior among them. "We brought a barrel of the stuff so we can all toast once more. We're uniting as a family so you should both drink."
"... Wait, what? No! I'm not marrying you!" Jimin protested before he remembered his place and lowered his eyes. "I mean... do I have to? Why don't your brothers do it?"
"They will but they're all currently in battle so they can't be here." Was this a problem? Namjoon frowned and looked at Jin, fixing him a hard stare. "Will you not drink with us?"
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Maybe something not toxic, there was a thought. "Are you happy with your accommodations? I hope there are enough beds and baths for all of your men."
He really, really hoped they would bathe.
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And he always took Yoongi. He was not a true man. Not that Jin needed to know that.
"Do you by any chance have a li--" Wait. No. What the fuck was he doing? A library? Was he crazy? He forgot himself. Peddling back, he tried to think of a word with a similar start. "Liiiiiovely. Lovely. Place. To be." Fuck. "With me."
Oh. Shit. That came out like he wanted to take him away and fuck... oh no.
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There, that was something nice. He loved the garden. Perhaps that would make the company more bearable.
Honestly, he preferred the other one. At least he didn't talk. Why had Namjoon called him hyung? It was strange.
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"I-- Yeah, tea. I'm excited for tea." Oh boy. He came back over, reached out and tugged on the back of Yoongi's shirt. He wanted to leave this trainwreck.
"It's been lovely, prince. I-- I look forward to seeing more of you." ... Oh my God, why was this happening? What was he doing? Seriously. What? "Hyung, let's get the fuck out of here."
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Oh, damn.
"He's a beast." Horror was threatening to overtake him.