THE RAVEN KING, yoonkook

chapter iii: flirting at dinner

"If it isn't that we gives these refugees a home, I don't want to hear it." The raven then interrupts and his uncle sighs softly in frustration. It isn't a meeting if his uncle doesn't get annoyed in some way, irritated the boy isn't his perfect puppet yet. Seeing the old man's nostrils flare brings Jungkook a sort of satisfaction, gives him a way to rebel.

"Soon we won't have enough food to even feed our own people. The city is starting to get upset with us."

"I said, I didn't want to hear it." Jungkook responds stubbornly, annoyance painting his expression. He stares the Council member down, until he drops the subject. From the gaze shared between two members, the dark haired male knows they'll be talking about him later ― once again he has failed to do what others want of him. "Our doors will remain open to anyone who needs a home. Now, what next?"

"U-Uh, well, other than that... both the Hawks and your cousin are still pretty equal. No clear signs of victory yet."

"Your highness, we really do recommend you side with someone. People―" The woman cuts off when she receives the same glare from the king, already knowing his answer. Jungkook's uncle shifts in his seat, frustration even more evident. The coldness in his eyes now worries the boy and his own expression softens as he sinks in his seat. The king provides little more challenges for the rest of the meeting, although he doesn't necessarily agree with anyone either.

* * *

Dinner is filled with chatter that Yoongi mostly ignores. His attention remains almost fixed on Jungkook, who sits at the head of the table with Speckled Beard (who, after some asking around, Yoongi discovered was the king's uncle and one of the chief advisors ― next in line to the throne, too, should anything happen to the boy). While they eat, the fool does his job and keeps them mostly entertained with his failed attempts at juggling (all of which manage to cause some form of injury to the kookaburra) and jokes and insults thrown around.

Yoongi is a few seats down from the raven king, who captures most of his attention. The boy's own attention is solely on his jester, laughing in delight as the older male's juggling balls come toppling down atop his head. The kookaburra stumbles, narrowly avoiding the table and instead falling in the kid's lap. Genuine affection sparkles in the younger's eyes as he grins at the fool. The blonde haired male leans up, giving the king a kiss on the cheek ― followed by a wet lick. Jungkook grimaces, wiping the space on his cheek as the kookaburra gets back up onto his feet. As this is occurring, the uncle seems anything but amused, watching with distaste.

Watching the delight on the boy king's face brings a moment in softness in the assassin, touches a place inside of him long suppressed, and he almost regrets that he'll have to kill him. But then he glances at the speckled bearded male and remembers where his pay comes from. The softness turns hard and he returns to calculating, planning. If he could pull it off, right now would be the best time to try a first attempt: slip a little untraceable poison into the little king's food or drink and he could see how effective that is.

Yoongi excuses himself as he gets up to leave, much to the disappointment of the ever-chattering Seokjin. The dark haired male walks slowly, trying to figure out the best way to approach this task. It seems nearly impossible to get close enough to Jungkook's cup without being noticed, until Fate seems grip him and pull him closer. Or, at least, the fool does. The kookaburra startles the magpie by grabbing him by the wrist, dragging him over to the table. Even Jungkook is startled, when the smaller male is thrown onto his lap.

"Will he be your dearest husband, my little king?" The kookaburra asks, seeming to almost mock the idea of them being married. Yoongi remains on the king's lap, almost in shock, as he looks down the table. Almost all eyes seem to be on him, everyone's attention fixated on him. Only an idiot would be stupid enough to try and kill the king like this ― Yoongi may be good but he's not this good. All plans to try now leave the assassin's mind. The fool gives Yoongi an exaggerated once over, "He seems a bit small ― are you sure he's male?"

"I am." Yoongi responds quickly, frowning up at the jester. He tries to push himself up onto his feet, no longer wanting to be targeted by the blonde, but he fails to get secure footing and soon slips back into Jungkook's lap. Surprisingly, the king laughs ― a melodious chirp leaves his lips as he helps the assassin up. Yoongi adjusts his robes before going to leave.

"Don't worry, Min Yoongi," Jungkook calls after him. The sound of his name makes the older male pause, glancing over his shoulder. The boy with jet black hair is grinning wickedly, "I think you're definitely male."

"This isn't appropriate for a formal meal, Jungkook." The uncle mutters, stealing the boy's attention and allowing Yoongi to leave. The king's mood seems to dampen at this as he becomes more reserved, but he smiles and winks at Yoongi when he catches the magpie's eyes again a few seconds later.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but that looked like flirting." Seokjin pipes up as Yoongi sits back down in his seat. Envy is painted across his expression. "That was definitely a bonding moment. You two bonded just then ― I saw you, everyone saw you. Didn't we, Jimin?"

"Yep." Jimin pipes up from beside the older male, but doesn't even seem to know what he's agreeing with. He doesn't even look up from his plate of fish.

"I got thrown on top of the king and then had my masculinity threatened... It wasn't that great."

"I bet sitting in his lap feels great." Seokjin seems to ignore the assassin, too engulfed in his daydreams. "Besides, there's no way my masculinity could be questioned ― have you seen me? I'm a man, aren't I, Jimin?"

Jimin freezes, gaze growing distance for a moment. Then he nods, rather quickly, cheeks flushing pink as he gives his answer, "Yep, definitely a man..."

NOTE: I learnt that there are apparently magpies with blue on their wings instead of white