farm boy taehyung always sees this small bunny on their flower beds, and that same bunny always has several bigger bunnies near it. taehyung’s family dont have any rabbits as livestock. this same bunny is also always out when hes working and gone when hes done.

its spans like this for a month and taehyung just lets it be. its cute that this bunny and his other bunny friends seem to be watching over him from the flower beds. taehyung actually grows fond of the same bunny that visits everyday.

it never really does anything like ruin plants or eat their carrots, simply staying there and... watching? anyways. taehyung finds this cute, having a huge soft spot for animals.

so one day, he walks over to the flower beds where the bunny always stays in, a small flower crown

in hand. gently, he places the crown on the bunny— & hes kinda surprised that the bunny lets him. the pink flowers are stark against the pure white fur. its cute. whats even cuter is how the bunny looks up at him, nose scrunching & cotton tail twitching— but the crown doesnt fall

“aish. youre so cute, bun. come over everyday still, okay?” hesitantly, he strokes a finger over the bunny’s head and again, the bunny just lets him. “hmm... youre really friendly. maybe the neighbors own you?” as if answering, the bunnt tilts its head. “no? oh well.”

easter rolls around the corner and suddenly, for the first time, taehyung doesnt see him little rabbit friend anywhere. he looks around the flowers just to be sure, brows furrowed. nothing. what if something happened to the bunnies who come here everyday?

he feels a bit sad, but theres really nothing he could do about it. so maybe he pouts while doing his everyday chores— until he feels a light tap on his shoulder. at first, he thinks it couldve been the wind... but its grown insistent enough to contradict that

so taehyung turns around... and he thinks he might’ve died already and went to heaven. is that why he didnt see his bunny friend today?

behind him stands a young man with soft, white hair, milky skin, and the softest features taehyung had ever seen. and those eyes, god.

taehyung gets lost in the beauty... that he delays in realising the fuzzy lop ears perched on the guy’s head, the same pure white as his hair... the same pure white like the rabbit who comes over daily.

“are you... youre taehyung, right?” a voice so smooth and mellifluous...

taehyung is sure hes dreaming now. “uh, yeah. ‘m taehyung. and you, bunny?” the petname just... slips. and its a very obvious one too, given the bunny ears. yep— he’s definitely hallucinating, trying to make up for the loss of his rabbit friend

“oh! youre not as tall as I expected,” the boy giggles, ears perking up and dear lord taehyung might just be double dead. “i’m jeongguk—“

“your ears are real,” taehyung asks dumbly, wide eyed when the said ears twitch.

“well, of course they are.”

“oh my god you have rabbit ears.”

“why, are they weird for you? I thought... i thought you liked rabbits...” jeongguk says it so softly, so hesitant and taehyung knows he mustve upset him. he sees a pout and his heart aches. he cant just... do that

“No! I mean, yes! I— i love bunnies. Theyre cute. Uhm, youre cute,” taehyung splutters, cheeks dusted a faint pink from embarrassing himself like a graceless idiot. “but i just... how are you real? what even... are you, really? aside from having rabbit ears...”

“i dont know if you’ll believe me because people usually dont... but i’m a bunny prince. were just like fae... or shifters. eve the werewolves. there are a lot of other supernatural— even the foxes, they can be kitsunes!” Jeongguk talks quite animatedly.

taehyung is so endeared that he thinks his heart might explode. “okay. I believe you, ggukie.” he has too, right? because nothing seems plausible and even if jeongguk sounds farfetched... it does make sense.

“huh? ggukie?”

“o-oh, yeah. ggukie. because your name is jeongguk.”

the self proclaimed bunny prince goes silent and taehyung fears that he mightve fucked something up, but then hes greeted with a bright smile, cute overbite apparent— and oh god hes gone. its over for him. “okay! you can call me ggukie... if i can call you taetae or taehyungie!”

“okay. you can call me taehyungie... but how do you know my name?”

“huh. youre silly. i watch you everyday and sometimes your mom calls for you.”

taehyung... for a lack of better word, is shocked. “you... y-you watch me everyday?”

“yeah... you give me small crowns made of pretty flowers. you treat my guards with carrots. you seem to like my company. was i wrong?” everything is so genuine and pure... but taehyung is a normal human with normal human experiences. it takes time to process... these things.

chuckling, jeongguk pats taehyung’s rosy cheeks. “hm. i guess i should explain, huh? in fact... we really arent supposed to interact with humans, unless something intervenes with it, or goes around the rule. youre special, taehyungie... do you remember anything?”

and for the life of him, taehyung cant remember anything in particular that might give him a free pass to be able to interact with the supernatural. hes a farm kid. he never really did anything. taehyung cant remember any event that feels as magical and surreal as right now.

“no. im sorry... i dont remember anything important that would relate to this.” taehyunf scans jeongguks face, but finds no sort of negative emotion.

“thats fine. you were young then... both of us were, but i could never forget you, taehyung...”

“i remember being smaller. a very tiny bunny. at that time, usagis had a misunderstanding with the kitsunes. its funny, how the bunny and fox childrens tale are actually quite real,” the prince chuckles, “i was a stubborn child. i wanted to see the outside, you know?”

“i know our terrains are beautiful, but as a child, i wanted to see more. so i snuck out. it was idiotic of me. i remember being chased by a fox... a kitsune no doubt, but i was able to run away and hide... do you remember a small, dirtied bunny?”

taehyung curses his shit memory before shaking his head no. jeongguk finds no offence to this and continues. “that was me. i somehow found my way here... and you were so young too. small and adorable— yet the same eyes and smile, same heart.” the bunny smiles once more.

“i remember you cleaning me up, feeding me vegetables and giving me water before sending me off... you sounded a lot different then, but ever since, i always looked for your voice.” its said so sweetly and genuinely that taehyung really cant help but flush to the tips of his ears

“me and my family, our clan, are grateful for what you did, but still, we werent allowed to thank you in person since it would go against the rule we— every supernatural —have set up... but i pleaded my whole life. they said i could watch over you as i wish in my animal form,

for as long as i bring guards with me as well. so i did. and you havent changed since then... so now, its easter. ive been granted this day to spend with you,” doe eyes glance up at him with such loving adoration. taehyung feels so unworthy.

something so beautiful and ethereal saying all these praise to him, a simple guy? it seems too good to be true. soft hands reach for his dirtied and calloused onces, further showing their contrast. a prince of a race humans arent supposed to see and a common boy from the farms.

“from now on... could i talk to you like i am now?” taehyung yearns for it so much. from this alone, he wants to spend as much time as he can with the beautiful, kind prince thats out of reach, out of his ability.

jeongguk looks away, the corners of his lips turned down. “no...

i only asked for today and theyve allowed me to since its easter— where us usagis are in charge to maintain the season. at most... i can only talk with you once every easter.” is it possible to have your heart break after just falling in love?

“then visit every day like before... and ill wait every year for easter,” taehyung suggests, lightly squeezing jeongguks hands, eyes a bit sad, maybe even a bit desperate.

jeongguks own eyes turn less sparkly as he retracts a hand to cup taehyungs face.

“im not sure... for i think ive exhausted their limits of interaction. but ill try. i truly do think that i love you. after all those days. we never talked then, since i couldnt reply... but i listen to everything you tell me and my heart and tummy tells me... that i do love you”

bittersweet. it feels bittersweet. like a childhood friend youve been longing for being swept away under your nose. taehyung mightve forgotten that small moment from years ago, but its the recent moments that he holds dear. taehyung cant stop himself from leaning close.

their lips touch, just the faintest peck— bittersweet like the atmosphere. “then ill make sure that this time... ill never forget you, ggukie.”

“and i know ill never stop thinking about you, taehyungie.”

taehyung doesnt see a fleet of bunnies the nest day and his heart sinks. they dont come back for the rest of the year and taehyung learns that jeongguk isnt allowed to see him anymore. beings of power and normal mortals wont mesh.

but the next easter... taehyung sees jeongguk again. and hes never been happier. theyve been granted a day every month of easter, an exception to the rule for jeongguk— and gratitude to taehyung who had kept their prince safe even if he didnt know any better.

every year, taehyung never fails to meet jeongguk in the same spot theyve kissed, always bringing a crown of flowers. even as years pass by and taehyung had to marry, have kids, until hes old and wrinkly while jeongguk retains youth. they fall in love in that slow, slow pace.

but one day, gguk doesnt visit tae on an easter month. hes allowed one last time with him, a last goodbye to go with taehyungs last breath.

“we’ll meet again, right, ggukie?”

“yeah. we’ll meet again... maybe in your next life, youd be a bunny too. then we can be together.”

love can be found anywhere and experienced differently. love can be the budding of roses and the smell of sweets... but taehyung learns that love can be the opening of easter.

(— and they do meet again, years after. But they don’t meet like they expect, like Jeongguk hopes.

It’s a centuries after the tensions with the kitsunes, the foxes. It should be stopped. There should be peace.

But the way they plan to solve it is far from Jeongguk’s liking.

He may be quite old, older than what humans can achieve, but he remains young compared to the immortal spirits of their kind. He’s still the youngest prince and it reflects on his face.

Being the youngest prince or princess only means one thing and it’s treaty.

But, rumour has it that the youngest prince of the kitsunes suggested this himself, practically offered himself eagerly and Jeongguk thinks he’s sick.

A fox wanting a bunny means one thing alone, in his mind, in the way he was brought up to think.

Despite his hesitation, however, what can he do? The spirits, the animals— they all need peace and this is one way to truce.

Both parties journey to the centre of a bare field, a boundary— and Jeongguk thinks something must be wrong.

Standing parallel to him is the youngest prince, tall and broad, hair long in a fiery shade of red that fades into orange, like fire. And his face— his face is so familiar, the same strong brows and fox like eyes, even that mole on the tip of the nose.

Standing before him is the youngest Prince of the kitsunes. Standing before him is... Taehyung—

“We meet again, Jeonggukie.”

— and Taehyung remembers.)