#also this is the last req i'm doing tonight!! i gotta go to the museum in the morning but i'll do more when i get home

[jungnoir]

hello god ! eeEe since ur reqs r open nd u reblogged tht prompts list, im gonna request 11 with jinjin (a bit of an oddball req but i trust n admire u to make it wonderful) !! i hope ur writing is going well & tht it will continue to ! ily! -kura

how to train your sanha;

park jinwoo | 11. “You want me to take care of a dragon? Me, the person who can’t take care of a cactus.” fantasy!au. | 2.2k words. | fluff, humor. sanha is a smug lil shit dragon

a/n: “oddball req” KURA THIS IS SO UP MY ALLEY I MIGHT AS WELL HAVE SENT IT TO MYSELF (also I assumed you meant this number 11 and not the other, I’m sorry if it isn’t what you meant!! ily2 keep being a star bc u are). here’s the prince!eunwoo spin off.

“You want me to take care of a dragon? Me, the person who can’t take care of a cactus.”

Jinwoo smiles shyly, holding the leather reins in his hands. Hands that are littered with calluses and scars that guide the dragon who is several tens of feet taller than the both of you combined with gentleness and love, hands that reach out for you even as you can’t tear your eyes away from those of the dragon towering over your head. The dragon’s curious yellow eyes peer at you in curiosity, his white scales sparkling like diamonds and pearls under the winter sun. Even if you can’t decipher what he’s thinking, you have a feeling that the dragon is judging you and it makes you squirm in your spot.

“Don’t be afraid,” Jinwoo tries to reassure you, “Sanha is really a playful kid. He doesn’t wanna hurt anyone.” “He’s a dragon. A sixty foot dragon with teeth longer than my body and sharper than the knight’s swords! And I’ve seen those swords, they’re sharp!” You want to slap the dragon tamer for giggling at you despite this. You really, really would like to smack the cute grin off his face as even the dragon above the two of you seems to laugh at your utter dismay.

“You should be used to that by now, (Y/N). After all, dragons live among us just like all other creatures do. Sanha is like your next door neighbor.” Jinwoo tries to bargain with your logic, that of which feels definitely unchangeable in your eyes.

You snort and fold your arms along your chest, about to shout another remark at the dragon tamer when the dragon, Sanha, lowers his head from where it hovered so far above you. His snout is so long you have to jump back several feet just to get out of the way of it, and then you find yourself staring down the rather large nostrils of the creature in question, each exhale it took like a blast of July air in the middle of this crisp winter day.

“Sanha!” Jinwoo calls the dragon’s name in a scolding tone, “You’re scaring them! This is no way to treat your new babysitter.”

You blanch at the name, utterly horrified, “Babysitter?! I never said yes, Jinwoo!”

Your friend pouts, the upset clear in his sad eyes as he walks closer to you, thereby dragging the reins and making Sanha inch further as well. You keep your eyes locked with the closed lips of the dragon, waiting in anxiety in case the creature would suddenly snap open its jaws and eat you in one bite like the small cakes you would sneak Jinwoo from the palace’s kitchen.

“It’s not like you need to be scared he won’t like you. Sanha loves you already.” “But he’s only just met me…” You frown, looking at him with a stern glare. Despite never wanting to be close to one, you’d had to do your fair share of studying on them as a chef employed by the royal palace. Since Prince Eunwoo often kept company with the creatures in lieu of humans, there were several dragons littered all around the palace grounds. Even if you were never working in direct contact with dragons, God forbid there come a day you needed to tame one.

You had been working at the palace far longer than Jinwoo had, which meant that you were well aware of him before he was well aware of you. The last dragon tamer had retired, having taken care of the dragons since Prince Eunwoo was just a toddler fascinated with them. With the previous tamer’s departure, a new, younger tamer was preferred. In came Park Jinwoo, much smaller than the prince but so much stronger than most people at the court. You had watched Jinwoo prove himself, crowding a group of rowdy dragons back into their stalls without so much as breaking a sweat while most of the court watched in awe. Jinwoo was always impressive with his knowledge of the creatures, having taken care of them since he was younger and living in the mountains with his family.

It was only one night when you were finishing up cleaning in the kitchens, ready to turn in for the night and head back to the communal sleeping quarters for all the staff when you heard a knock on the doors that led from the kitchen to the outside. Knights looking for leftovers to stuff up on usually came in from the castle, not the back doors, and most of the staff had keys. You remembered a sudden rush of fear, followed by your quick reflexes to grab the nearest frying pan and approach the doors with caution. With each step, it seemed another knock came. Surely, whoever was out there could see the light filtering in from the kitchens. They knew you were there, so there was no point in hiding then.

Carefully, you had walked up to the doors and swung one open, ready to beat to death whomever was trying to get into the kitchens this late at night, when you came face to face with the new dragon tamer. Alarmed, he had fallen back into the dirty ground and knocked himself out cold. That night, you would never forget nursing him back to health on the kitchen floor and nearly laughing your ass off when the first thing he’d asked for after coming to back consciousness was “a really big bottle of rum, please”.

From then on, you had become accustomed to answering to the quiet knocks of the dragon tamer at the kitchen doors, always ready to sneak him a few extra scraps and leftovers for the dragons who would often get jealous of Jinwoo’s dinners. You were sure if the prince ever found out what you  up to, he wouldn’t be the least bit upset. After all, if anyone spoiled the dragons more than Jinwoo, it was the prince himself.

Sometimes, Jinwoo would invite you out of the kitchens with him, away to the highest hill outside of the palace where he would then point out constellations with you and talk about his life. In return, you too would tell him things about yourself. He would always say that even with living at the palace, the place placed on the highest piece of land where everyone could see it out of the windows of their stone homes with ease, its view would never compare to that of the view from the mountain peaks back home. There, Jinwoo divulged, was a place where dragons rested often and where you could feel like you could touch the stars. The closer you two had gotten, the more you had wanted to go.

Despite having known each other for so many years, it was always Jinwoo who came to you and not the other way around. Seldom did you ever venture close enough to the dragon stalls in fear of inciting some rage out of them and having them stampede over your soon-to-be limp body. Jinwoo was well aware of your fear of the large creatures, and had always laughed at the fact and never thought more of it… Or so you had naively believed.

For the first time since birth, you were closer to a dragon than you had ever been or ever wanted to be. You did not like it at all.

“The cakes,” Jinwoo says with a matter-of-fact voice, “all those cakes you sneaked me had your scent on them. They all know you’ve baked them, and they all know you’re the one who has been giving them their sugary fill late at night. They quite adore you, (Y/N).”

At this revelation, Sanha seems to almost smile as much as a dragon can. The dragon sniffs the air around you and a grumble erupts in the air, sounding something like a kitten’s purr amplified off an empty ballroom’s walls.

“O-Oh? Is that so?” You ask, suddenly a bit curious. Hey, if they didn’t hate you…

Out of the blue, Sanha opens his mouth and you see two long, skinny tongues dart out before you can blink. You yelp in surprise when the dragon licks at your apron all of a sudden, clearly tasting some of the leftover cherry filling from the pies you’d made earlier that day. It takes you a few seconds to get used to the pressure of the dragon’s tongue damn near trying to knock you off your feet, but after a bit, you grow used to it. However, you still don’t like it.

The air shifts near you and out of the corner of your eye you see Jinwoo move behind you, just as hands fall to your waist and pull you back a step, right into the dragon tamer’s chest. You gasp at the feeling, unsure how to react. You can’t even protest when the dragon tamer’s fingers start to move against your belly button… wait.

You look down and see that at your waist are Jinwoo’s hands, and in between his slender fingers are the ties of your apron. Oh. He’s untying it.

“It’s probably best to just give it to him. It’s really hard to get dragon saliva smell out of your clothes. Trust me. I’ve tried.” Jinwoo’s voice is calm and sweet against the shell of your ear, an involuntary shudder running down the length of your body from your brain to your toes in those hideous required shoes you had to wear for work.

“I-I could have untied it myself, thank you,” you try to sound stern but keep your arms hovering above your hips nonetheless, allowing him to undo your apron from around you. When it is in his hands and not on you, he tosses it to the dragon who now only has eyes for the fabric. Sanha catches it in his mouth and quickly retreats to his stall like a dog with a bone.

“You needed a new one anyway. It was so big on you that you had to tie it around your front!” Jinwoo protests, moving around you to face you. The dragon tamer looks amused, “And don’t think I didn’t see the look in your eyes.”

You freeze. Oh, there was a plethora of looks that could have been shown in the mere seconds Jinwoo had been pressed up against you. Which ones he could have meant were all a wild card to you. “…you did?”

“Yes! You let Sanha lick you and you didn’t scream or run away crying. You’re warming up to him already!” Jinwoo looks extremely pleased, eyes turning into the pretty half moons you always admired with how big he grins. You let out a sigh; it’s a mix of relief and very, very slight infatuation that you hope he doesn’t catch.

He was right though. For the few moments that Sanha licked at you, you hadn’t been so much scared as you were surprised. The dragon had resembled a puppy to you almost; a large, fire-breathing puppy that could probably eat half of an army in one go if he so pleased. A puppy nonetheless.

Sighing, you glance at the dragon and shake your head slightly, “Still… Jinwoo… I didn’t grow up with dragons like you did. I don’t know the first thing about taking care of them.” “You don’t have to take care of all of them, I’m not the only one here. I’ve got some other dragon tamers coming to help while I’m away visiting my grandmother. I just need you to check on Sanha, just for a few hours out of the day, between cooking and such. I’ll be back before you know it and time will have passed so quickly you’ll be in awe.”

Jinwoo, as a comforting gesture, walks up to you and places both hands on your shoulders. He lowers his head some and smiles at you, “I know you’re capable, (Y/N). I trust you not only with Sanha’s life, but my own. It’s only for a little bit. Can you please help me?”

The combination of his smile and his hands on you must have you going crazy, because despite the doubt that piles in your stomach, another feeling altogether trumps it: honor. You’re so very honored to have Jinwoo trust you this much, and the very thought of bringing sadness or worry to the dragon tamer has you steeling your nerves and straightening your posture before him. It’s almost like another you is speaking when you say, “I’ll do it.”

Overcome with joy, Jinwoo attacks you in a bear hug that nearly squeezes the life out of you, though you can’t help but laugh nonetheless. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won’t regret this! You will have so much fun with Sanha, and I’ll deliver you letters via owl-mail when I get the chance to check up on you. This is great, I’ve always wanted you two to get along. I’ll go alert the prince of my departure and then I’ll show you how to care for Sanha, okay? Don’t move!” The excited boy releases you, giving you one last starry-eyed look before bolting off in the direction of the palace.

You’re left winded, a small smile on your face that is covering up a slight grimace. These were the things you did for love, apparently.

You feel a pair of eyes on you and turn your head from watching Jinwoo sprint across the lawn back to Sanha, the canary yellow-eyed dragon seemingly smirking at you from his stall. Your lip turns up into a scowl, “Don’t mock me, you overgrown lizard.”