jaemin didn't know what has gotten inside his head that he decided to get out of his quarter and go to the king's room, and he had to do it at night. honestly speaking, he had no idea where it was located inside the palace. he had to roam around and get lost, hiding from the eagles, before he finally had seen a room which he took a wild guess that it is mark's. he was looking for a specific lion plushie that the king wanted him to get and the bunny was struggling to find where on earth was it.

mark told him that it was on his bed but after flipping every pillows around, the lion plushie was no where in sight.

❝where in pride lands is it?❞ the bunny ruffled his hair as he had his furry ears drooping down in frustration.

standing there for a good minute trying to think hard as to where the plushie is, the bunny's eyes widened and quickly got down on his knees. he had his body leaned down as it almost touched the floor and had his hand reached out under the bed.

jaemin could feel his heart getting out from his ribcage as a lot of scenarios of someone grabbing his hand underneath scared him. after a few more inches to reach, the bunny felt a soft fabric and didn't hesitate to pull it with him.

and that made his freeze there with heat rushing to his face and turning red not long after.

❝oh my!❞ jaemin threw the soft fabric away as he panicked there. ❝why the fuck was his boxers there?❞

shaking his head to remove all thoughts, making sure to have rainbows and butterflies dominating his not so holy thoughts, jaemin went leaning down once again and tried to reach out for the plushie.

finally feeling another fabric, the bunny first heaved out a sigh in hopes that it wasn't another of the king's undergarments. he then pulled it with him and his smile widened upon seeing the plushie that mark asked him to get.

❝now, i have to find my way back.❞ jaemin stood up from the ground and ran towards the door.

he then opened it and peeked his head outside to check if there was any eagles around. once the coast was clear, jaemin carefully and silently closed the door and started to walk away. actually, he could just let himself be caught and just reason out that the king ordered him to get something from his room but without the lion's presence, jaemin doubted that the eagles would listen to him.

hiding at a corner, jaemin closed his eyes as he heard whispers that probably came from the eagles.

"i still think that we could have captured that meerkat and bunny."

"thinking about it, what were they fighting about in the first place?"

letting out a silent shriek, jaemin turned to the other way and fastened his pace when he saw the shadows of the eagles coming towards his way.

he didn't know where on earth he was headed to but as long as he doesn't get caught then it was fine. the bunny went from one intersection to another, not knowing where it led to, and continued to ran while having the lion plushie in hand.

at this point, he had no idea which part inside the palace he was already in. he knew he was doomed, not knowing his way back to his quarters. he continued to walk and eyed his surroundings, noticing that it was getting darker and darker until he could see a wooden at some point by the end of the corridors. the bunny gathered the courage to walk over there.

he had his hand reached out but he hesitated to touch the door knob.

tilting his head with his brows furrowed, ❝what if this is some secret room?❞ he whispered to himself.

he knew he wasn't allowed to go out till he was at the right age but since he got pass from the boundary, might as well make the most of it. after all, he did say he wanted to find the secret to this kingdom once he gets to roam around the palace. nodding his head after convincing himself, jaemin finally took hold of the door knob and opened the door.

coughing at the dusts, jaemin took a step inside and it was dark but not to the point he couldn't see a thing. having the door just opened, jaemin used it to scan the place and observe what it was.

the bunny then let out a silent gasp after realizing what it was, ❝an abandoned library?❞

and to think that he was scared and nervous a while ago. jaemin happily hopped his way to the bookshelves being glued to the wall and had his mouth opened in agape as he eyed the books on the bookshelf. turning around, jaemin saw a chair and went to it just to place the king's lion plushie there.

going back to the bookshelf, jaemin took one book that had a leather cover in it and wiped off the dusts on it. standing there, he slowly opened the book and had his eyes widened at the contents he saw.

❝is this a diary?❞ the bunny pulled the, what he thought it was, diary closer and flipped through the pages that looked ages old. ❝.. and it's a tragedy that we had to separate ways.❞ he read a line out loud before deciding to read it silently.

jaemin first guessed that it was mark's diary because of a pudu being mentioned. after all, he only knew mark as the only lion who's in a relationship with a pudu.

but boy was he wrong.

❝it hurt me to see my pudu cry in despair as i stood there by the altar, waiting for the lioness i am told to marry..❞ jaemin covered his mouth as he flipped more unto the pages to find out who owned the diary. ❝mark's father?❞

pausing there for another second, jaemin continued to read the contents. he felt like he was invading someone else's privacy but it could be the palace's secret that had to stay hidden. if he won't find out about it now then he doesn't know when he'll get another chance to stumble down here.

❝wait,❞ getting to the last page, jaemin covered his mouth. ❝it is mark's grandfather—❞

❝and what are you doing here?❞

the bunny flinched from his place with a squeak, almost dropping the leather diary he was holding as soon as he heard a voice inside the abandoned library he was in. his eyes then quickly went to the opened door and a figure of an eagle came in sight, making jaemin panic even more.

having the diary in his hold, jaemin went to the lion plushie and took it with him as he took an apologetic bow in front of the eagle that had caught him being present there. ❝jeno, i'm sorry. i was just hiding from the other eagles and then i saw this room. then this diary was..❞

hearing footsteps outside, jaemin wasted no time and sprinted towards the eagle, pulling him inside the abandoned library, closing the door while at it. he had his back leaned on the wall right next to the door that he left a small gap open just to hear what was going on outside. while doing that, the eagle he had pulled inside was confused as ever as he stood right in front of the bunny that's busy getting a clear view from the outside with that small opening gap.

❝i asked you why you're here.❞ jeno spoke, having his arms crossed.

jaemin just clicked his tongue, ❝sshh.❞

❝don't you hush me!❞ the eagle's voice was now raised all so suddenly that startled jaemin. ❝i have so much questions to ask. first is about my boyfriend and how you two were kissing right in front of a bunch of eagles,❞

jaemin's heart skipped a beat not because of jeno mentioning about the kiss he had with the meerkat but because of the shadows that's slowly coming in sight by the door. raising his hand, jaemin clamped the eagle's mouth with it to shut him up.

but he should have known that jeno was stronger than him. the eagle didn't break a sweat as he removed the bunny hand from covering his mouth and pinned it on top of his drooped bunny ears.

that didn't stop jeno from talking, still unaware of the shadows outside of the dark room they were in. ❝and then i find you here? you are not supposed to be outside your quarters at this hour, how—❞

gripping on to the plushie and the diary he is holding with his other free hand that's not being pinned on top of him, jaemin had no choice but to lean forward and shut the eagle up with his own lips.

jeno was taken by surprise, but the bunny was successful in putting him to silence.

"i could have sworn that i heard voices here.."

the kiss lasted for more than a second, making jeno completely forget about his purpose as to what he was shouting about just a minute ago. tightening his grip on the bunny's arm that he pinned on the wall, he has his other hand snaking on jaemin's waist as he opened his mouth to breathe and deepening the kiss after.

the bunny had his brows furrowed when he felt his lower lip being bitten, wincing in pain as it happened, but it was being treated with soft licks the next moment. he hummed his satisfaction when the eagle's hand caressed his side gently, tilting his head to the side to give jeno more access on his lips.

they didn't know how long they were at it but jaemin did know that he was drowned for the whole time. even when he was given seconds to breathe, he couldn't. he felt like he could only breathe if they'd have their lips in contact once more—

wait, this is wrong.

pushing the eagle away, jaemin finally had his arms that was pinned on the wall being released. he then hugged the plushie along with the diary as he breathed heavily looking at the eagle who's as shocked as him.

❝jaemin..❞

clutching on to the diary and plushie, jaemin felt tears welled up in his eyes for some reasons he could pin point himself. ❝p-please forget about this.❞

❝jaemin wait!❞

not hearing what the eagle had to say, jaemin went out of the room without checking if there was anyone nearby. he had his eyes closed, holding both the lion plushie and the diary very tight, as all he had wanted to do was to run back towards he quarters.

he didn't know where exactly is the right way but as long as he'd be far from jeno then that's where he'd start to figure out where he had to go to reach back to his quarters.

but he didn't know what was going to greet him at a specific corner.

🦁

with the sunrise greeting them, both the lion and the pudu laid there peacefully as they spent the whole night just being in each other's arms and talking to each other in the most comforting way.

they'd pay their souls just for this to last forever.

not having to worry about anything, just having each other's company, making each other smile, and having no problems to deal at all. this is what they wanted and all donghyuck could say, he didn't regret running away with his lion.

he admits it, he did worry a lot the first hour he ran away with this lion. he even had the big urge to go back and face the consequences knowing how wrong this is. but thinking about it now, mark sacrificed a lot for him and he wanted for the lion to see that he appreciated each of the things he had done for him.

❝how long were you awake?❞ mark had a hoarse voice from waking up, noticing a beauty of a pudu on top of him just simply staring at him. ❝god, can i just wake up at this beautiful sight all the time?❞

the pudu let out a chuckle as he leaned closer to the lion just to place a short peck at the tip of the lion's nose. ❝morning good to you too.❞

❝good morning, sunshine.❞ placing a hand on the pudu's exposed neck, mark had him pulled down once again and had their lips connected. donghyuck only smiled in between the kiss before pulling away the next second to breathe.

pushing himself up till he got to straddle on to the lion's hips, donghyuck playfully hit mark's chest. ❝let's go, jaemin's parents might be looking for us.❞

with a groan, mark closed his eyes and placed his arm on top on his forehead. ❝but i love to sleep more.❞

❝simba!❞ donghyuck pulled the lion's arms as he whined, ❝we need to— hey!❞

in just a blink of an eye, donghyuck was flipped around and was now being laid on the grass with mark smirking on top of him. the pudu showed a pout as he gripped on to the lion's shirt, hating (loving) the fact that mark's lips was tempting him. with a small smile, shrugging off any thoughts he had, donghyuck threw his arms over mark's shoulders and made the lion leaned down for their lips to come in contact again.

this time, not planing to pull away as they cherished the moment they were having.

❝you know what, maybe we can spend another night here.❞ the pudu whispered the moment they pulled away for a tiny centimeter.

hearing that coming from donghyuck made mark chuckle before capturing the pudu's lips again,

also capturing his heart in the process.

⚊ t b c ⚊