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Y/n

"My prince, did you miss me?"

"With every dagger so far," Jimin said with a tongue click, shutting his bedroom's door behind her; however, he didn't let her pass and instead stayed too close for longer than needed. His chest skimmed by hers, and, for a beat, she was pressed against the wood behind her. Then, he smirked and backed away, giving her the room she needed to collect herself.

Alright, she began regretting her decision to come visit him. It had been almost a month since her last visit. If she came too often, Mother and Father would figure out she was acting amiss, but she had figured out an excuse if anything went wrong: she had been staying up with Jung Hoseok, crafting new maps. Hoseok's loyalty to her was unmatched, and she knew he'd stick his neck out for her if needed. Not to mention that since he always worked on new maps, there would be proof that they "stayed up working." Whatever got Mother and Father off her trail, she'd go with.

"Such a gentleman, no wonder why all the ladies adore you, my prince," she said as she sat down, and he sat next to her, his hand close to hers as he chuckled.

"Oh, do they? I never noticed, my fair princess. My eyes have only been on you."

She wished she could ram her fist in his face for daring to say something so annoying, but she decided to fake a smile instead. "Is that so? And what do you possibly think of when you look at me?"

"Y'know, you burning at the stake, getting stabbed, bleeding out... the options are endless, my dear." He took her hand and kissed the back of it as if that emphasize his point, and he snickered at her. "But I do not wish to discuss that with you. Rather, I have a request."

"A request? And why do you believe you are in any position to ask something of me?"

"I risked questioning and maybe worse to go around asking my people if they supported a one nation solution. What I ask of you is much simpler than asking your entire population if they support your cause."

That had Y/n's curiosity piqued, so she raised a brow, realizing the warmth in her body originated from Jimin still holding her hand. For some reason, she didn't pull away.

"Out with it, then," she said, trying to ignore how comforting his skin felt.

"I want to see the waterfalls, and maybe sneak some containers of water back to my people. Please, our rivers are dry, and the water we get from Kaji isn't enough."

Bringing an enemy into her territory would result in exile and potential execution, though his request was noble, and, as much as she shouldn't, she believed he wouldn't harm anyone. The southeast waterfall would have no visitors by the time they arrived, so it was the perfect timing if they moved fast.

"If you insist," she said, and his pretty eyes bulged at that.

"Wait, you're serious? Just like that? No arguments?"

"For once, you're talking about something noble and not bringing death to Nionna, so I wish to grant your request as long as you promise not to harm any citizen of mine if they stumble upon us. Allow me to handle it. Have I made myself clear?"

Jimin stared at her, his gaze tracing over her face, jumping between her cheeks, nose, lips, and everything else. She shifted under the intensity of it, and after a second, he nodded.

"Thank you."

From there, he changed into a cloak as opposed to his typical himation, following her down the long path she had taken to get to Kayira in the first place. Both of them wore masks to hide themselves, just in case they were spotted, so they could conceal their faces from any guards and flee.

"This is how you got in? By hiking the side of the mountain?" he asked as they went, and she hummed, figuring there was no point in hiding it anymore.

"My parents discovered this route and wanted to use it to ambush you."

"And you're telling Kayira's commander this... why?"

She shrugged. "Maybe I wanted you to find out."

"Are you rooting against your own people?"

"Of course not, but I fear an ambush will annihilate all of yours. You're already stretched thin enough as is, and a surprise attack could kill all of Kayira. Am I wrong?"

He didn't answer. The silence meant no more than the word ever could.

They continued their trek to the southeast waterfall, and Y/n took her time guiding him there out of an abundance of caution. When they made it to the waterfall that had no people around as she predicted, they took off their masks, and Jimin ran to the water and shoved his face in it, drinking as much as he could and washing his face. A laugh filled the area, but it was barely heard over the massive waterfall ranging a good hundred feet tall, like all the waterfalls in Nionna.

Jimin slipped and fell in, and he splashed around. Y/n had to go and pull him out, and he coughed before trying to slurp the liquid back up from off the ground, and she whacked his shoulder to get him to stop. Mother would destroy him if she ever saw that.

"Ew," Y/n said with a grunt. "Are all Parks like this, or is it just you?"

"Oh, my beautiful princess." Jimin stopped to cough one last time, glancing up at her through his wet locks. His hair was so long that it covered the entirety of his neck and went down to the lobes of his ears, but it was (normally) parted to show his forehead. "I am far from the average Park."

"I've noticed." She helped him to his feet, and he didn't bother replying. Instead, he jumped back in again, and she rubbed the bridge of her nose when she saw that. Jimin didn't know how to swim, as evident by him thrashing and kicking his legs like a manic, yet he tried anyway. "My prince, the rapid movement makes it worse. Slow and steady."

Y/n hesitated before getting in the water that had a depth of around eight feet, and she demonstrated her strokes. He mimicked them, and although he was sloppy, he managed to at least not sink. For good measure, she grabbed him and taught him to tread water, and he grabbed onto her waist to keep himself afloat.

"I would come here every day," he said, breathless with his gorgeous eyes wide, scanning the environment as he clung to her, his cloak sticking to his body. "This is incredible. I... I think this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Glass shards broke off of her heart when he said that, and she hid her frown as best she could to instead chuckle at his remarks. The way he took in every inch of their surroundings had her heart fuzzing up and her stomach feeling warm.

"Not me?" she asked, and he burst into a grin that crinkled his eyes and scrunched up his tiny button nose. A dimple poked through on one of his cheeks.

"Well, you're a close third, right behind this and my sword."

"Which sword are we talking about, my prince?"

His eyes jumped at that. "My fairest princess, you did not just make such a joke. What would your parents think, hm?"

"Mother would disown me, and Father would laugh until Mother scolded him, and then he'd shut up." Y/n paused to return his expression, though she had to admit her attention was on the way his hands gripped her sides. "But I am in my twenties, my prince. Why would I care about their opinions?"

"I suppose I cannot argue with that, my dear."

They spent the next twenty minutes playing in the water, with Jimin drinking it and filling a container to take back to his people. They couldn't stay long considering how long it took to walk between kingdoms, but Y/n indulged and kept him company for longer than necessary.

When they finished, Y/n grabbed their masks and handed his to him. The masks concealed the details of their faces. Although the eyes were visible, Y/n had faith they'd be okay. After all, they had spent a while at the waterfall and hadn't been spotted. Patrols were every forty-five minutes about, so as long as they left as soon as possible, they would be okay.

"Princess," Jimin said, snapping her attention back to him. He hesitated for a beat. "Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me."

She hummed and brushed it off. "Perhaps now you know I mean well for your people."

"Perhaps I do." He laughed and came closer, his hand skimming by hers. "My dearest, I-"

"Intruders!"

Y/n almost fell over from the sudden male voice cracking through the dark sky. What she saw around forty feet away was a group of four; a patrol. So much for forty-five minutes. Time had been on her side for a while, but it looked like her luck ran out.

They had been found.

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