summary: The setting sun gives time for Jungkook to cherish his family.
↳ pairing: jungkook x reader
↳ genres: fluff, like so much fluff, established relationship, slice of life au.
↳ word count: 1.4K
↳ disclaimers: none.
a/n: A completely self indulgent Jungkook fluff drabble written at two at night haha,, I was really going through it. Written for the @bangtanwritingbingo prompt no. 14 - watching sunsets/sunrises, and for @btscreatorscorner June workshop- writing from a member's POV! a massive thank you to @jikookiekosmos for making the banner for me😭 and a massive thank you to @vaekth and @joonscore for bearing with me because I just kept talking on and on about this in your dms lol.
Jungkook leaned back, eyes shutting close as he felt the breeze kiss over every inch of his skin. The warm sunset was only just spreading across the sky, a bright yellow turning to a scarlet - as if the sun was blushing at the idea of leaving the sky, it's lover.
"It's nice," You sighed, hands resting over his as you looked at the sunset.
Jungkook looked at you, smiling, and hummed in agreement. "I like this scenario, you know. A sunset, the kids are playing in the sand, and your hand in mine. My day is coming to a good end."
You turned to face him just as he lifted your joined hands to his mouth to leave a small kiss. You smiled, with your other hand coming up to pull your hair to the side, and Jungkook remembered why he fell in love with you all over again. He looked at you, your eyes sparkling in the deep orange of the sunset, keeping his eyes locked with yours as he pulled you closer.
Kissing you never got old.
His lips softly settled on yours, the feeling of them feeling right. Your scent- an unlikely mix of mint, from his perfume, and chocolate, from baking with the kids earlier today- filled his surroundings - and he didn't want anything more. His hand clasped yours, thumb tracing small universes over the back of your hand - universes where it was only you, him and your family. You other hand languidly traced up his arm, curling behind the nape of his neck to pull him closer. He felt you smile, nearly giggle, and it was only seconds before the two of you pulled away and just laughed. It felt good to be here. It felt good to be with you.
The setting sun cast beautiful spells over the waves that were splashing and playing around in the sea, washing them in shades of burnt red and gentle yellows. The glimmering swell of water that leaped over the sand had your children squealing in delight, running away from the wave. You waved them over, watching as they ran helter skelter to collect their sand toys before running the two of you.
Jungkook spread his arms out as his daughter ran to her father, not minding the sand that stuck to her body as she leaped on him - squealing in happiness at being reunited with her partner in crime. You reached over to ruffle her hair, eyes crinkling as your son walked over and buried his face in your lap, finally exhausted with the events of the day.
It was a vacation for you and him - time to spend with family. There were so many highs and so many lows in your daily lives that it was exhausting, even if you loved your work - and you both needed that break, even if it was only for a weekend. Now, as he watched the waves crash into each other and then end in bubbles, he felt that peace he had wanted.
"Tomorrow, we will go back to the city. Right, dad?" Your daughter sat up and spoke to Jungkook, his hand coming up to caress the hair that flew wildly behind her, settling it behind her ear. "Yes, my bunny. We're going back tomorrow."
"Good!" She beamed at him, and Jungkook felt his heart swell. She took his palm, and he couldn't help but be amazed at how wonderfully she had grown up - he remembered when he would walk her around with her clinging onto his pinky finger only, and now her hand fit in the palm of his hand, big enough to clutch his hand and swing it while playing games. "I wanted to show you a drawing I had made for you and mommy."
You turned towards your daughter while petting your son's head, fingertips gently untangling the heap of curls in his hair as he slept soundly. "What drawing, baby?"
"I made a big girl drawing. Teacher had said it was really good!" Your daughter beamed, missing incisors displayed in a beautiful smile that strangely reminded Jungkook of your own -upper lip quirking in a way that he thought only you could, till his daughter first beamed at him. The thought made him smile.
"Really? I can't wait to see it then, bub. We'll pin it on the fridge too!" You cheered for her, her eyes widening in happiness and surprise at the sudden announcement. She jumped onto both of you, nearly knocking her brother off his mother's lap as she squealed again, screaming to the waves in the distance about how she loved her family. "We will be here forever!" she said, happily clapping.
After a few more moments of excited babbling - including a certain confession she had received from a classmate ("I promised not to tell anyone, but I didn't want to hide it from you! He said he loved me!") Jungkook's shocked exclamation at his baby getting confessions, you laughing, and her defending her 'friend', she was peacefully dosing on Jungkook's lap. His hand went to softly pat her hair, humming a soft lullaby - the same one he had sung to her for years- for all the times she wouldn't sleep at night.
Eight years, and she still paraded up to him at night to demand the lullaby, and Jungkook would simply cherish that time as he would caress her head, wishing her sweet dreams and tucking the blanket in. "It's to keep the monsters away, " he'd hear her murmur everytime, and he'd smile before returning to his wife and son in the next room, softly patting his son's cheek, kissing his wife good night, and falling asleep.
Looking at you now - your eyes paying attention to the two year old that had curled up in your lap - he held back the sudden urge to shout in happiness like his daughter had. That's what he felt. Overwhelmed with happiness. He didn't believe that he actually got to live with this euphoria in his life. One look at the three of you made him feel so proud, so responsible, and so loved - he simply couldn't put it all into words.
Your head came to rest on his shoulder, and Jungkook leaned his head over yours, hands finding each other. You squeezed his hand tightly, and sighed - and he understood you. This silence, this time - it all meant so much for the two of you.
"Once we go back, we're probably not getting time like this again, are we?" You whispered, letting the words fly away with the breeze.
"Maybe. Who knows, I'll whisk you away on a getaway next week?" He smiled, and though he couldn't see you, he knew you were smiling, too.
"Maybe? What about our daughter's annual day, mister? Forgot so soon?" You laughed as you spoke, punching his arm playfully. "I guess my husband is turning old already."
"Hey!" Jungkook said, trying to fake his anger even if he couldn't take the smile off his face. "I remembered it, of course I remember! I had to learn the ballet routine as well!" You laughed again, the sound familiar and known to him- his heart beating a happy beat. "I twisted round and round, over and over, and nearly ripped my pants."
"Mmmm, and I didn't see you complaining after this baby appreciated you." Jungkook watched you caress your daughter's hair, then her cheek, and settle on the sand. "You went for it all the way."
"I would always go all the way for her. And for this pumpkin too." He pointed at his son, and you giggled. "And for you too. You're my world, you know that?"
You raised your head to face him, Jungkook almost complaining at the loss of your body heat right near him. "And you're mine. You, and our kids. You're all my everything."
Jungkook's eyes softened, pulling you closer for you to rest your head on him again. You leaned against his chest, and Jungkook bent down to kiss the top of your head before leaning back to bade goodbye to the sun.
"I think sunsets look the prettiest, don't they?" You marvelled at the sky, lush shades of warm orange letting hints of blue peak through as the sky prepared for nightfall.
I think everything looks prettier when it's with you, Jungkook wanted to say, but he lets the babble of the returning seagulls fill the space. His hands wrap around you, letting his eyes look to the sky once again, awed by everything around him now. This was all he needed.
"I love you," he murmured, pressing another kiss to his lover as the sun set upon the evening.
a/n: I'm not really sure if this would be drabble length or fic length, but I'd like to think of it as a drabble. Writing this was really warm and comforting for me, so I hope that it gave you a similar feeling. I'd love to hear any feedback you have either as a comment, reblog, or as an ask! Thank you so much for giving your time to my work 💞 love, hazel 🤗
The woods are calling out, it has a secret that it must tell and it wants you. The creature that lives beyond is alluring, it’s hard to keep your eyes off him. You know he’s dangerous. You know you should run. Will you be able to escape his clutches in time to save yourself?
Warnings -
Suggestive / implied sexual content
A/N -
This is for my lost in the woods square for BTS Summer Bingo 2021 @bangtanwritingbingo
KPOP Masterlist
When dusk is starting to settle across the forest, giving the already dark entrance an eerie glow as the sun's rays drift over to the other side of the world, you know it’s time to meet him. It’s the only time he comes out.
Walking down the familiar path and picking up your pace as you get closer to his secret circle, the place you first met him only a few short months ago comes into view. His circle is made of blue and purple flowers, the small buds littering the smooth stones placed one inch apart.
The large oak tree just off to the right of the path glitters with malicious elegance and the leaves glow softly as the sun fades from view. It's the only of its kind, your favourite detail of his woods. The rest of the forest, at least what you’ve explored, is filled with pines and redwoods. The glimmer from the oak tree adds to the heat of summer, even the statuesque limbs sheltering those beneath it not enough to quell the warmth it creates.
Although there's a need inside, gnawing and scratching, that longs to, you haven’t stepped foot inside his circle. There’s something at the back of your mind that nags against your brain, tapping at the squishy gray matter, warning you not to climb into the ring of flowers. Something feels off about the energy when you visit. It’s not human and if you’re being honest with yourself, you know he isn’t either.
“You made it.” He’s in the middle of his circle, his boxy smile beckoning. When you don’t pass the edge of the round boundary, your toes just out of reach of the stone border, he makes his way to you. “It’s late. I didn’t think you were coming today.”
“I’m not late. This is the time you usually show up.”
“Yes, but you’re usually here before me.”
“That’s true. I had an issue getting away, family-” He places a finger over your lips to stop you from continuing.
“You don’t need to think about anyone else when I’m with you,” he says, his fingers drifting across your skin. Rotating around you, his lingering steps are silent against the brittle ground. The only grass in this spot of the woods is inside the ring of stones, the overbearing trees absorbing the nutrients of everything in sight. “There’s nothing to worry about out here. Out here you can be truly free.”
“That’s why I come. I want to be free. I want to stop thinking about what lies outside of this space.”
“I wish you would come more often,” he says, his eyes capturing yours before falling to the ground and wandering across the small meadow behind him. The stones call out, daring you to dance inside, to feel the soft grass beneath your bare feet and you resist the urge to grab the stone closest to your feet. You wonder what it would feel like in your hands. “It’s lonely out here.”
“Why don’t you come back with me?”
“You know I can’t.”
It’s true, you know it, don’t you? He’s never explicitly said it but he lives here. Here in the circle. He isn’t human. He lives in this forest and he’s dangerous. Part of that danger comes from his beauty. Glossy untouched skin, supple lips and a neck that screams to be kissed. Perfect asymmetrical features. He is a dream that you never want to wake up from.
“I come when I can,” you say, not wanting to say what needs to come next. “But maybe I should stop coming so often. I can’t stay here. I will waste away to dust. I don’t like who I become when I spend too much time here.”
“What are you trying to say?” He’s behind you. Unmoving.
“I think you know.”
“No, I don’t. Tell me.”
“It’s the power of this place. It’s draining and encompassing all at the same time. I crave it when I’m not here. I think about it - about you - every second I’m not here and that’s not natural.” Your voice is becoming a whisper as his hands engulf your neck, turning you slightly as he litters kisses up your throat. One hand stays close to your throat while the other explores your body like it’s a ride at a carnival, your shorts and tank providing a vast area for him to caress. He likes to play. Savouring the feeling of him on your skin, you take a moment before continuing. “It’s addicting. I want it but I shouldn't and when I leave I feel like I have nothing left inside. Like I’m a shell of what I once was.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” His deep voice penetrates your flesh along with his fingers that dig into your shoulders. A faint yelp exits your lips and he spins you to face him. On the tips of your toes, your feet dangerously close to the circle’s edge, he holds you up by your throat. “Why would you want to leave?”
“Taehyung,” you murmur, turning your head to look down at the smooth stones, black spots sprinkling in front of your eyes as your breath is stolen. “Please.”
“Say you’ll come back.”
“I want to.”
“Say it,” he hisses the words between his teeth, his eyes inches from yours.
“I’ll come back.” You’re not sure if the words can be heard until he lets you go and you fall to the dusty ground coughing, tears stinging your eyes.
The idea enters your mind quickly and you act on it. Getting up without bothering to dust yourself off, you make a run for the path, your lungs on fire as you dash through the trees that you could have sworn weren’t there just a moment before. The path is now covered in moss and crooked bushes whose branches strike out, reaching for the material of your clothes as if they are alive. The darkness is all encompassing, swallowing you up inside. Tears roll down your cheeks as you sob, refusing to stop running even as the pain in your chest becomes unbearable. A rubberband of fire closes in on your chest as you push aside the clinging, broken wings of the trees desperate in their need to possess you. Just a little further. It has to be this way.
But it isn’t.
As you make your way out from the dense forest, the small opening coaxing you forward, you see him. He’s leaning against the large oak tree next to the ring of death, those small sagging flowers blackening in the absence of light. How? There is no way you ran in a circle in that short time.
Turning away from him you run back the way you came, paying more attention to the direction you take, yet knowing that it doesn’t matter. When you run the same amount of steps as your last attempt you see him again, a glint of mischief in his eyes, a smirk on his lips.
“Where you gonna run? Where you gonna go?”
“Stop it! Stop it!” you yell, your hands over your ears as you hunch over, screwing your eyes shut. “Please stop this, Tae. Please.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says from behind you, the quickness of his movements causing you to jolt up. “I want to love you always. Forever.”
“Forever is a long time.”
“My promises are unbreakable and I promise to love you until my dying breath. I can give you everything.” You tense as his hands glide over your exposed skin, pulling you close, your back flush with his chest as his lips dot kisses across the back of your neck and shoulders. “All I ask is for your loyalty in return. Love me. Need me.”
“That’s the problem.” The words are faint but you know he can hear them. “I already do and that scares me.”
“Love is terrifyingly beautiful,” he says, a chuckle dripping from his lips. His hands snake around first followed closely by the rest of him until he’s standing in front of you and every thought starts to drift away. On this midsummer night which might not be a dream but very well might be a nightmare, you can’t resist. Your lips wander across the flesh of his neck and it’s as kissable as you imagined but he doesn’t let you linger long. Pulling your face up to his, he hovers a moment, letting the anticipation build before tasting your lips.
His creamy kisses deepen, citrus, honey and bitter musk. He bites your bottom lip with a frantic need before sucking your tongue, his thigh positioning between your legs, lifting you slightly above the ground. Grinding into him, your hands searching for the perfect position, you grasp at his back, your nails gliding along his shoulders before sliding under his shirt.
“Stay with me,” he says against your lips as you feel yourself being moved. A part of you knows he’s taking you to his circle, the other part has your tongue down his throat and you can’t remember why you didn’t want to go to the circle anyway.
“I want you." The breathless words are said between kisses as you nibble on his lips, your legs wrapping around his waist. The hand not holding your arse to keep you in the air slithers up your shirt, the tickling sensation mixing with the spiralling heat pooling between your legs and you have to bite back a moan. His lips brush against your neck as his fingers prance across your hardening nipples.
“You are mine. I’ll never let you go.” He lays you down on the ground and you remember why you shouldn’t be in the ring of flowers and stone. He’s caught you. You’re inside the circle. There’s no escape. “No one else will touch you. I will engrain myself on you until we waste away to nothing. Together. Forever.”
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this content! If you did, please consider liking, commenting, reblogging and/or following, and check out my masterlist for similar content. Have a great day!
Description: Part of the summer #btswritingbingo, hosted by @bangtanwritingbingo! For the dragon prompt.
Warnings: n/a
Posted: 06/21/2021
Tags: taehyung x reader, dragon au, dragon!taehyung
Uncertain: 434 words
A/N: Dragons! This is more drabble length, so it’ll probably end up on that masterlist.
“I need that!”
You looked up, startled, at the man before you. “Need...what?”
He pointed at the stuffed animal you were making. “THat.”
You frowned a little. “Um, why?”
He blinked rapidly. “Why?”
“Yeah, why?”
He snorted out smoke, and seemed to be scrambling for words.
But the smoke said enough.
“I’m sorry, but it’s incomplete. I cannot allow you to add something incomplete to your hoard,” You said politely, turning back to your work.
“But...when it’s done?”
“It’s for my neighbor’s son,” You said firmly. “If you really want one, then I can make you one after I finish his.”
“Really?” He sat down beside you, eyes fixed on your work. “You’ll make me one?”
“Sure. I can even customize it for you.”
He proceeded to look at you as though you had hung the stars in the sky. “You can?”
You nodded again, stitching the horn in place and then observing the stuffed animal for a moment. “Needs a bow-tie. Can you go into that basket and get me some of the yellow strips? They should be silky.”
He nodded, going into your fabric basket and rummaging until he found what you were asking for.
You finished threading your hand-held sewing machine and set it aside to pin the fabric. “So, what brings you so far into a human settlement?”
His gaze darted to your face before he looked away. “I’m not causing trouble.”
“I never said you were, just asked what you thought you’d find.”
“New things,” He answered simply. “For my hoard. Dragon-kind aren’t very good at making the things I like to hoard.”
“Stuffed animals?”
He shrugged. “Softer than laying on a pile of hard metal treasure.” He wrinkled his nose at the thought.
“Fair point,” You agreed, carefully forming the bow-tie and tying it. “There, what do you think?”
You swore he had hearts in his eyes as he gazed at it. “Your neighbor’s son is really lucky. It’s so unique!”
You set it aside and got up, collecting your things. “It is. It was a fun challenge. It takes me a while to make these, so maybe meet me back here in three days?”
“Oh,” He blinked up at you for a moment, then got up and helped you break down your setup. “Uh. Sure?”
“Great. See you then…?”
“Taehyung,” He hurriedly answered, shaking your hand a little overenthusiastically.
“Y/n. Nice to meet you Taehyung. I’ll have your little monster ready in three days.” You smiled at him. “And maybe you can tell me a little more about yourself, too.”
Pairing: Park Jimin x reader (non-idol!au, ballet!au)
Genre: fluff
Warnings: none
Word count: 7k (she the biggest one yet)
rating: pg
Summary: As a minor ballet dancer in the corps du ballet, suddenly thrown into the limelight you are struggling to cope with the pressure, but when a secret admirer with a love for gardenias comes forth you realise that you may actually be able to do it
Copyrights @joyfulhopelox for both the work and the banner
I want to throw the massivest thank you to my beta the amazing and talented @rosietae she's been the rock that supported this foundation and prevented it from crumbling. I had 2 breakdowns and a couple of identity crises when I wrote this one and her help has been a major pick me up. She made this from a withering bud into a fully bloomed flower and I can't express my thanks to her enough!
This is part 2 of my Love Blossom series and the 3/25 square for the @bangtanwritingbingo event (square: Park Jimin)
As always please leave feedback and/or talk to me as i love to hear from you! Enjoy <3
Entrée
A grand pas de deux usually begins with an entrée (literally "entrance"), which serves as a short prelude to and also unequivocally denotes the beginning of the dance suite.
You could do this, you could do this. You could definitely do this. The mantra had been in your head for the past few days. You’d hoped that the psychology articles about daily affirmations you read would work, but it proved to be more difficult than you thought.
Instead you felt like you wasted 10 minutes of your practice time, to stupidly look at yourself in the mirror. For those 10 minutes you kept telling yourself that you were able to dance as the main act in the show your ballet school had signed you up for. Maybe you were not doing it right; probably because you disconnected from those positive affirmations very often. So indeed, those 10 minutes were a waste of time.
Your mouth would say ‘you can do it’ but your brain would instantly doubt you, doubt your skills. You were always a dancer in the background and no one ever complimented your dancing more than necessary. How could you believe in yourself when, for years that’s all that it had been? Was all that doubt supposed to disappear just because all of a sudden you were called by your ballet master informing you of the big role change? You had been specifically picked to dance with one of the most prominent ballet dancers that your school had produced: none other than Park Jimin himself.
Everyone knew of him. He travelled abroad multiple times to be the star of a lot of performances. From New York, to Moscow, to Hong Kong, everyone had seen him in at least one performance. This, as well as the fact that you were a couple of years his junior, and in the corps du ballet instead of a soloist, had made it impossible for you to catch more than a glimpse of him around the school. But of course you had heard of him and his stellar performance. Everyone in your school had, but very few actually had the chance to interact with him. He seemed to have a small group of friends that he mostly spent his time with, but no one else seemed to have gotten the chance to get close to him, which instantly made him a snob in your eyes. He probably had the personality of Narcissus himself. Always so high up his own, it made it difficult for him to get the reality check from the people down below. No matter how much your friends berated you for thinking this way, you were certain you were right.
So imagine your surprise when you were told you had been picked for a pas de deux and he was to be your partner. Surprised was a very mild word for how you really felt. Astonished, perplexed? Those two seemed more appropriate. Not only had you been picked to perform on the stage outside of your usual group but you had the famous wonder boy Jimin as your partner.
For the first few days your friends would only see and hear your excited smile and squeals. You had been waiting so long for this opportunity to come by and now you finally had the chance to prove yourself. No one even threw a second glance at the dancers in the corps du ballet. As a group, you were all there to tie in the loose ends that the soloists and main dancers could not. You were the background of a painting. Without it, the painting was incomplete, but no one observed it in detail. It was not as if you were thinking ill of your fellow dancers, but you had promised yourself and your parents when you chose ballet as your profession that you would make it big. You would stand on that stage and perform as a soloist, in the light, the piece de resistance. And so you worked hard to be noticed. Asking extra questions during lessons, making sure you did the movements perfectly. Staying after hours in the abandoned studio to practice until your feet hurt and bled,having to ice your muscles every night, going home late and heading back out early, the tears, the criticism. It didn’t matter to you. You had a dream. And now, all that hard work seemed to pay off. You would be there on that stage in the limelight.
Soon enough though, reality set in after the second meeting you had with the ballet master. You realised the pressure of not only having to be a main performer, but also standing on the stage with the pride of your school. Your demeanor instantly changed. Instead of exaltation, you were filled with dread and anxiety.
Heading to your locker,you grabbed your gym bag, ready for another hour of basic ballet techniques before you met up with your friends.
“Hey, Y/N, the artistic director is looking for you” they motioned to the general direction of where the offices were.
“After class?” you inquired and they nodded at you.
You gulp, what if they are going to pull you away from the show? You don’t let that thought fester in your head for too long because a red flower taped to your locker caught your attention.
“Oooooh, I see they’re at it again” your friend teased, lightly nudging you with their elbow. You smiled softly to yourself and gently peeled off the tape.
A red gardenia, secret love. Whoever had been harbouring these feelings for you, had been doing it for almost 3 months. They had yet to confess their feelings to you. At the beginning you thought it was a scam and scoffed at the flower, throwing it away whilst telling your friends your opinion of ‘poor jokes like these’. A few weeks after that the flowers kept coming in. You finally accepted that it was not a prank, and someone was expressing their genuine admiration and love for you, when one day along with the gardenia a note waited for your attention.
‘Please accept my feelings’ that was it, no name and no indication of who it may be. But it did make you realise that this person was real, and you instantly felt ashamed of the flowers that you had thrown away until then. Had they noticed you doing that? You hoped not. If they had come out and admitted who they were, you would’ve apologised to their face about your insensitivity.
Without responding to your friend’s playful teasing, you gently put the flower behind your ear and turned around. “Let’s get going, or we’ll be late.”
Unbeknownst to you, a couple of lockers down, a boy with hair the colour of sand smiled fondly to himself, watching your form retreat.
Adagio 1
The adagio or adage (meaning "slowly") part of a grand pas de deux features graceful and elaborate partnering by the dancing pair. In the adagio, the ballerina performs elegant, often slow and sustained movements while the danseur supports her.
“Y/N, thank you for coming to see me before class” your ballet master said, motioning for you to take a seat. “Now, I have told you about the performance, but seeing as things are settling and the performance schedule of Swan Lake will be ending soon, I need to update you on yours.” All you could do was sit in silence and nod once in a while, trying to not look like an excited mess and potentially ruin your chances. After all, a ballerina had to have poise and grace, and if you ruined that image, the role could have been handed over to someone else easily.
Shuffling some papers on her desk, she fished a thick folder out of them and stuck it out for you to take.
“Is this the full schedule for the performance?” your voice wavered, seeing the enormity of the folder reminded you of the enormity of the situation. You were about to perform as a main dancer. No more the quiet mouse dancing in the back or the even worse placement of being a backup for a performance.
“Ah, no dear, this is just the contract. As you know, you will be working with our school’s pride, Park Jimin.” You tried your hardest to keep a neutral face and not scoff at that. Of course the teacher would be shoving Park Jimin’s greatness into your face. “And because he is an international dancer, we cannot afford to have him exposed to any potential issues that may arise if anything were to happen.” Her tight lipped smile stopped you from inquiring what she thought may go wrong, so instead you resigned with a nod of your head. Your friends would listen to your rant later, there was no need to explode in your teacher’s office.
After that encounter, which ended up with you not only being insulted as a ‘minor’ figure in the school as opposed to the illustrious Jimin, but also having to lug a contract as big as a dictionary.
“Who needs a contract as big as this? Who does he think he is? International star my foot” you huffed as you struggled to carry the said atrocity and your gym bag down the hall. “I mean, international dancer but also how much trouble does he get into to need so much coverage for his ass? I get it, his ass is big enough to need a hefty contract….!”
Your friends, who’d tried to warn you beforehand of the situation you ended up up stumbling in, gasped. You were not paying attention to where you were headed and oh so ungracefully smacked your head into someone’s shoulder. “Oh, I’m sorry” not looking up, you bent down to pick the gym bag that fell off your shoulder on impact.
“It’s ok” a soft voice responded and you swear you can hear angels sing in your ear. You quickly glanced up, the gym bag long forgotten by now. You wanted to put a face to the melodious voice. And so the dream ended and the angel choir broke up. No longer apologetic, your face instantly dropped. It did not matter you have never interacted with him before and that for a first time meeting you were being incredibly rude. Not when the voice belonged to the one and only aforementioned Park Jimin.
“Oh, it’s you”
Smiling brightly at you he nodded, “it is me”.
His soft and plush features were enough to intimidate you. Not that he looked fierce, not by a long shot. It was the opposite, he looked so innocent it almost made you regret ever thinking he was a stuck up brat. Round cheeks, plump lips and eyes that reflected his bright smile, he looked handsome. His sand coloured hair and the blue contacts made him look princely handsome. And you hated it. “Are you Y/N by any chance?” you pondered whether or not you should have responded to him, but your friends made that decision for you before you could utter a word.
“Yes she is” they nudged you to say something. You shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.
“Yes, hi….” you trailed off. You were not close enough for you to be calling him by his name before he even got the chance to introduce himself properly to you. “Jimin” he filled you in, offering you his hand to shake. Having little faith in you and your ability to be polite, your friends nudged you again in a silent warning to not push his hand away. You had to admit the thought had crossed your mind for a couple of seconds, but your parents had not raised you that way. Glaring at the offered hand, you grabbed it in a firm shake.
Jimin faltered a bit, your intense grimace making him think he was an inconvenience. “Well, uh, nice to meet you” you glanced at him, catching the shy look he was giving you before letting go of your hand and stepping aside. “I will not keep you any longer, I will see you later” He hurriedly retreated to his friends, who were on the side waiting for him. You observed the scene silently for a few seconds whilst chewing on your bottom lip. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as you made him out to be. But when two of his friends laughed and patted his back in a congratulatory way, you instantly changed your mind.
Variation-Him
Upon completion of the adagio, the dancers separate and each dancer, in turn, takes center stage and performs a variation (1)
To say you had stopped thinking about the pretentious Park Jimin and the encounter you had would be a total lie. How could you, when you were meant to start practicing for your duet in a few days?
Not only that, but from someone who you’d barely see around the school, he turned into someone who would not leave your eyesight. Not by choice, though you would admit sometimes you would seek his form after hearing his laughter nearby. In your defence, he had a very light and airy voice, one that was instantly recognisable and so your traitorous eyes would be drawn to the sound.
Moreover, the way you treated him at the time, as well as the knowledge that you would be performing a pas de deux together, made it impossible for your peers not to gossip. And so, your name and his were strung together and uttered by everyone that would pass by you.
“It is becoming kind of annoying now,” you muttered angrily to your friends. They had tried their best to keep you level headed during the period but they were finding it more and more difficult to try to reason with you.
“Look Y/N, you are getting to perform on stage, with a great dancer” your friend raised their hand up and covered your mouth with it when you instantly tried to protest. “Nuh-uh, as much as you have a personal vendetta against him, you have to admit he is a great performer. This school does not pick talentless people'' you sighed, they were right. He was a good performer, but you were not ready to admit that yet. Not when that would have given him more rights to be prideful about it. Pushing your friends’ hand away, you whined, “He may be a great dancer, but that puts even more pressure on me to be good, otherwise any chance I may have had at a career as a main performer is gone!”
“Hey, you will be just fine! You got picked for a reason!” your friend tried to encourage you but you could only smile sadly at them, finding it hard to believe it. “Plus, your admirer seems to think so too” your friend smiled smugly at you.
Rolling your eyes at them you scoffed, “what, am I supposed to believe the words of someone who can’t even come out clean with who they are? All I know is that they could be someone who has no clue what they are talking about. I mean, they are confessing their love for me. I wouldn’t call that good taste.”
“Maybe you should,” the voice you had come to know very well over the past few weeks spoke from behind you. Confusedly, you turn around “huh?” did he happen to know something about it? Could it be him? Giving you a once over, Jimin cleared his throat. “Maybe you should, you know, hurry up. Our first practice starts in less than 10 minutes. Don’t know about you, but I would like to warm up before anything” his soft smile faltered when you glared at him. You couldn’t help it, spending so much time hating a made up version of him in your head made it impossible for you to warm up to the real version. And his last comment did grate your nerves, was he implying that you weren’t able to manage your time effectively?
You didn’t miss the slight hurt in his eyes as he passed by you, and against your better judgement your heart twinged. Saying a quick goodbye to your friends, you rushed down the corridor to catch up to him.
“Hey, Jimin” he didn’t stop. Not because he couldn’t hear you, but because the slightly panicked look on his face was not something he wanted you to witness. He had almost given himself away, but he couldn’t stand hearing you talk about his admiration and yourself in that way anymore. He tried to play it off as reminding you of the time, but then you gave him that look, a look that told him you really did not want anything to do with him. At that thought, he felt his heart drop to his stomach faster than he could say pas de chat.
“Jimin wait” he did not want to wait, but he listened to you. Why? Because even if you seemed to hate him with a passion, he would do anything for you.
You thought you had not met before, and in a way Jimin supposed you hadn’t. Not in person at least. But he was there when you had your performance for the entrance exam. To say he was entranced from the very beginning was an understatement. His eyes didn’t leave your form. Every pirouette, every arabesque, glissade, plie... you moved like silk in the wind: smooth, seamless, weightless. When your performance was finished, his heart felt weightless and completely enamoured.
He tried to talk to you after, but you disappeared as quickly as you had done your jete. All he was left with was your name from the application form and the hope that you would succeed in entering so he could see you again.
Bringing himself back to the present, he didn’t turn to face you, and you could not bring yourself to apologise, as the words got stuck in your throat. Instead, you walked a few steps ahead of him and stopped. Doing a silly turn on pointe you gave him an unsure smile, “you coming?”
Variation-Her
In general, the variations are intended to showcase spectacular, acrobatic leaps and turns, as well as the skills and athleticism of the individual dancers.
“Now, Y/N, what did I tell you? This has to be all allegro! Quick, quick, quick!” Your director clapped his hands as if to make a point of what quick meant. You nodded, your breath coming out in heavy pants. Having been practicing all the brisees and pas de chat for a good four hours, you were already tired. Your limbs felt like they were made of lead and your breath came out in shallow rasps.
“Once more” You bit your lip as you tried not to glare at them. You barely got a break and it was just the first week. You had a lot more weeks to perfect it. Indeed, it was not perfect and your insistence on not being closer to Jimin during the partnered moves made it even more awkward. The dance was just not flowing as it should have. Flower Festival in Genzano was a classical pas de deux performance, with rapt moves expressing the happiness and flirtation between two young lovers.
Yours portrayed more of a tragedy between two lovers than the blossoming of love between them. Your movements were adagio instead of alegro, and the swiftness of the intended movements were rough and unsure. Frustrated couldn’t even begin to explain how you were feeling.
Jimin, had yet to utter a word during this time , and in a way you were grateful. You didn’t think you could stand it if he’d opened his mouth to boast about his skills. His moves were graceful, quick, resembling a lark hopping through the grass. He had a lightness of movement that made you realise why he was called the wonder boy of the school. Looking as if he was as light as a feather, he breezed through his variation with ease.
“Y/N, come on, up up up!” the director clapped their hands impatiently. “Your variation from the beginning” gesturing you to get off the floor they restarted the musical accompaniment. Huffing in distress you quickly got on your feet, a sharp pain shooting up your calf. Grimacing you tried to get into position, but with the music being way ahead of your start you fumbled around to get into the right position. It only took a wrong turn of your ankle during a quicker brise for your whole leg to cramp causing you to fall into a heap on the floor.
“What are you doing? Up! From the beginning, you can’t be lazing around. Look at Jimin, he’s done his perfectly. You can’t be sullying his name like this.” Trying your hardest to hide the tears of pain and humiliation out of your eyes, you slowly got on your knees in an attempt to get off the floor.
“Uhm, maybe it would be better if we took a small break?” for the first time since you’ve started Jimin spoke up. Shooting him a stubborn scowl you pushed yourself up with great effort. Stumbling a bit from the pain in your leg you refused to give up. “No, I can do this”
“Y/N, look at you” he slowly approached you as if you were going to strike like an injured animal. And maybe that is how he viewed you. Weak and easily hurt by your lack of talent and professionalism. Before you could retort, the artistic director abruptly stopped the music.
“Yes, Y/N, look at you. You’re stiff and uncoordinated. You’re making the proverbial bull in a chinashop look like a ballerina. How can I let you perform next to Jimin? He’s an international star and he has a reputation to maintain. You’re doing your best to sully that” hurtful tears started pooling in your eyes. Maybe you should just withdraw now. Clearly, no one thought you were good enough. As if to confirm your unspoken thoughts, they carried on, “you were not my first choice by any chance. But you were asked for, specifically, so I had to comply. Please don’t treat this like you do with the corps du ballet.”
You tried your best to reign in your tears, you could not expose your feelings like that. One wrong move and they could’ve removed you from the performance.
“Sir, I think it is best we stop here for the day” Jimin suggested. Who was he to ask for such a thing? How dare he ask the artistic director to stop for the day, as if they would listen to him. “I, uh, forgot i have another meeting in half an hour and it’s best if I don’t miss it” you glanced at the two, a heavy feeling settling into your stomach when you observed the change in the director’s demeanour. Grovelling, he assured Jimin that you’d stop there for the day, flourishing his respect and admiration for how hardworking he was. With a last disappointed glance at you and a scoff, they exited the studio.
It was just you and Jimin left, the silence deafening. Pretending to be busy with tying your pointe shoes, you refused to glance at him. You felt disgraced and belittled. Even though you were aware that Jimin had said nothing against you or your performance, you couldn’t help but channel all your hurt into your behaviour towards him.
“You ok? You should go get that checked” finally gathering the courage to address you, Jimin crouched down to have a look at your leg. You retracted it instantly before his hand could touch you.
“I’m fine, don’t be late for your meeting” you snapped at him.
He observed you in silence for a few moments, and you didn’t know if it was the look on his face which screamed pity to you, his concern for your wellbeing, or the humiliation that you have faced because of him, but your anger levels increased exponentially.
“Look, you don’t need to pity me, I’m fine, just go and show the world your greatness and stop bothering with the likes of me” you huffed. “I’m clearly not good enough and need to improve” your voice softened. You knew you were angry at yourself and not at him. He’d been nothing but kind to you from the first moment you have spoken. Maybe that was why you were taking it all out on him. He was always close to perfect. And it irked you.
“I’m not pitying you. In fact, I admire you a lot.” His confession made you snap out of your thoughts and look at him in disbelief. His cheeks were tinted red and you couldn’t help but think of how cute he looked when he was bashful like that.
“You don’t mean that,” you whispered. “Why would you mean that?”
The silence that ensued, along with the uncertain look on his face, made you think that he would finally admit his joke and tell you that he didn’t mean it. He was him, and you were you. The thought made your heart ache.
“Why do you hate me so much?” he finally asked, and you were once again taken aback, not expecting the change in subject.
“I— don’t. You irritate me, but I don’t hate you,” at your words his expression instantly changed to confusion and a slither of hurt flashed across his face. You hurried to explain yourself, “look you are perfect, everyone clearly loves you, you are nice and everyone flocks around you like bees to honey. And it annoys me. But that is my shortcoming, and not your fault so forget I said that” you sat up quickly, the pain in your leg making it difficult. But a warm hand grabbed your forearm. You wanted to shake it off since you did not want his help, but the heat and support it provided was exactly what you needed. And in that moment you realised that, just like everyone else, you had fallen for him and his charms. He was definitely not what you wanted. What you wanted was to be able to perform to the best of your abilities, to stand on that stage proudly next to him. But what you actually needed was him, his soft words, and his sweet gestures that somehow managed to lift you up and nurse your pride, if only by a bit.
With that realisation, fear and determination gripped your heart. “You should go to your meeting” you nod towards the door. “I’ll be fine” seeing that he was prepared to protest, you added quietly, “please, I would like to be alone right now.”
With a heavy heart, Jimin let go of your arm and retracted slowly. Your words hurt, but they also gave him hope that he may actually stand a chance at becoming your rock. And for now that was all he wanted from you.
“Please rest and get that checked” He said, before he turned around and looked at you wistfully one last time, “I don’t really have a meeting to go to, but i will leave if you want me to”
His exit was swift and graceful, but his heart was heavy and uncertain. How could he make it better for you? How could he convince you to trust in your skills more? Suddenly, he got an idea and he prayed that it would work. It was a shot in the dark, but it was the only one he had.
Adagio 2
A few days after that, you were by your locker once again, with a red gardenia in your hands. With a letter grasped between your fingers, you decided you would read it later as you saw your partner approaching. You hadn’t practiced together since that day, left on your own with the artistic director to practice your variation. The first time you entered the studio and realised that Jimin would not be joining you had made you nervous.
As much as you’d tried to ignore it, it strengthened the realisation that you did need him. In such a short amount of time, he made it so that you saw him as comfort and protection. His soft demeanour and worried glances melted your resolve to loathe him. You were ready to admit you were wrong about him, but you did not get the chance to until now.
Approaching you, he smiled unsurely. You looked a lot better and a lot more rested. He only hoped that having a separate chat with the artistic director gave you a small break in his absence. Sparing a short glance at the flower and letter in your hand he tried his best to hide his smile. Instead he motioned to it as nonchalantly as he could, “Secret admirer?”
With the flower in your hand, forgotten at the sight of him, you quickly rushed to hide it behind your back. “Uhm, none of your business” your cheeks were dusted in pink, making him smile at you fully, his eyes crinkling in amusement. “You ready for today? We’re practicing the duet together”
“Ah, so you will be part of this one then?” You tried to make it seem like you didn’t care as to where he had disappeared in the last few days as you subtly prodded him for more information. Quickly catching onto your scheme, he smirked.
“Did you miss me?”
You scoffed, “Not by a long shot wonder boy. Let's go or we’ll be late, don’t know about you but I would like to warm up first” You turned around and started walking away from him, completely missing the lovestruck Jimin you left in your wake.
“Huh” he whispered to himself. You'd rendered him speechless once again.
Hours of practice later, everything went down better than the first time you’d worked together, as you had all the movements down to a ‘T’. Unfortunately, you were so focused on getting the technicalities right that you forgot about the freedom of the movement that went with the dance. You were stiff once again, and lacked the passion that the female lead should portray.
“No, no, no, Y/N. Once more from the top” the artistic director shooks their head in disapproval. You could feel frustration bubbling up threatening to spill in the form of tears once again. Before that could happen, Jimin instantly called for a small break, under the excuse that he needed to readjust his pointe shoes. He motioned for you to sit down next to him, and you shakily and reluctantly took a seat next to him on the floor. You couldn’t even look at him, let alone address him. Once again doubt started creeping in your thoughts.
“You need to relax more. Feel the steps, don’t think the steps” he whispered to you. Without giving you a chance to respond, he quickly got up and the artistic director immediately rushed to start the music again. You had no choice but to get into position, his words still swimming inside your mind. Feel the steps.
You tried, you swore you did. But somehow, it wasn’t working. By the time it got to the adagio, which was less slow and more of a petite allegro, with smaller and quicker movements, you were ready to give up. You felt as though you were made of wood. When it came to the partnered planche, all you did was stiffly raise your left leg to the back with your arms behind you, waiting for Jimin to grab them.
Improvising, he gripped you from the waist to support your planche, instead of grabbing just your hands from behind your back. He brought himself as close to you as he could, his warmth enveloping all of your senses. Luckily this planche was on flat— your foot planted firmly on the ground, rather than on pointe—otherwise you would’ve lost your footing and toppled over on the floor. He smelled good. Funnily enough, he smelled like gardenias in the warmth of the sun. For a second you couldn’t breathe, forgetting entirely where you were. All you could focus on was his gentle grip on your waist and his breath in your ear as he whispered, “focus on me”
As if he’d muttered a magic word, your guard fell down. All your insecurities melted away at his touch. Your brain was filled with the thought of him and as soon as you came down to pirouette in his arms, he was all you could see. Today he wasn’t wearing contacts, offering you an unobstructed view into his chocolate coloured eyes. His smile was soft and encouraging and his hands around you were strong and supportive. He was silently attempting to tell you that he had you, that you could trust him. There was something else hidden there deep in his eyes, however. As you stared at him for a second longer, trying to decipher what it was, something in you shifted. But the next move didn’t wait for either of you, so you quickly moved away from his arms and into the next position.
This time though, things were different. You feltl it in your movements. The uncertainty and stiffness was long gone. You both moved as one, even with your individual variations, you both came back together as if an unknown string was connecting the two of you.
As the end of the last note on the track rang out into the studio, so did the dream of two young lovers. Both you and Jimin finished returning to the first position in tandem, as if you were one. The two of you panted for different reasons. You, from the effort and the thrill of the closeness that you’ve both experienced. Him from performing without breathing, as his heart threatened to burst at having you so close to him. The performance gave him a snippet of what it would be like for him to be your real lover. And it was intoxicating.
The satisfied smile that the director gave you told you that you’d done it. You finally let go, and it was all thanks to Jimin. Excitedly, you turned your head to beam at him. The admiration in his eyes caused warmth to pool in your stomach. You finally saw the invisible string that tied you both together during the duet. It was affection.
Coda
A Coda is a classical ballet term that refers to the finale of a group of dancers and more often, the finale of a pas de deux.
No one spoke of what had transpired between you and Jimin that day. Completely ignoring your admittance, as well as his confession, you tried your best to act professionally. Practicing both together and apart made the days blend together. In that time you attempted to ignore the feelings that were threatening your performance (and your sanity). There was no time for any of that. You had a dream and this was your only chance to grasp it.
For weeks on end, all you did was practice, completely missing out on sleep and any social activities that your friends partook in. You avoided any social interaction that stepped over the small ‘Talk’ line. And you most definitely avoided your partner outside of your practice sessions. Whenever you would see him come from the opposite end of the corridor, you would quickly turn around and pretend you were looking for something in your gym bag. Sometimes, if you were lucky enough, you’d quickly veer to go towards the toilets. You made sure that there was no chance for the two of you to speak outside of the performance, afraid that you would blurt something out that you’d have rather kept to yourself.
The only interaction you had, if you could call it that, was with your secret admirer. And by interaction, you meant smiling at the flower he’d tape to your locker. Oddly though, for the past few weeks they would leave little notes taped next to the flower. From encouraging messages such as ‘You can do it’ to longer ones that spoke highly of your performances and your capability as a dancer. They were never consistent in length or content, but were always signed off the same way: ‘Forever yours, your secret admirer’
Weeks had passed, and with each day your confidence grew alongside your feelings for your partner. Even with little verbal interaction between the two of you, you were dancers. You did not need words to convey messages, and you certainly didn’t need words to convey feelings. Each time you would reach the finale of the dance you were breathless and dazed, craving for more.
More had to wait though. This was it, the first day of the show. You were nervous to say the least, but having worked so hard, day and night, and with the knowledge that no matter what Jimin was there to support you, you were as ready as you’d ever be.
Thinking about it, from someone you thought was a narcissist to someone you’d viewed as a rock, Jimin had managed to ground you and lift you up at the same time. You’d fallen so hard and fast for him, that you didn't even know what hit you. However, at the thought that there was still a secret admirer that had silently cheered you on, and the fact that Jimin was still a more professional dancer than you were, he probably made each one of his partners fall for him quickly. That was enough to dampen the fire in your heart. You would carry on with this performance and prove yourself to everyone. Prove that you deserved a spot on that stage as a main dancer. Show everyone that you deserved the spot standing next to Jimin, even if it was only as his dance partner.
“Hey, Y/N” your friends greeted as you were putting on the make up for the performance. “Are you nervous?” One of them asked as they all crowded around you.
Laughing, another one of your friends responded, “why would she? I bet she’s smug, now that she’s been favoured by the top star of our school. She clearly caught his eye from the beginning if she’s been personally requested by him” your friends' words left you confused, so you turned around to face them.
“What do you mean?”
They looked at each other warily. “You mean you haven’t heard?” They asked you and you shook your head, left even more confused. “The other day someone heard the artistic director discussing how they didn’t think that you’d pull through, but you did and that Jimin was correct in requesting you as his partner for the performance. Apparently…” they would have said more if not for the appearance of said man at your door. Quickly they wished you good luck and exited the room leaving the two of you alone. He looked dashing in his white shirt and tights. The shirt was made of a silky material to allow freedom of movement and the top buttons were undone, exposing his defined collarbones and the white of his skin. It was tantalizing enough to make you swallow thickly.
However, the words of your friends still buzzed in your head, and you didn’t have the time to ask him if it was true. You were both hurried by your ballet master towards the entrance to the stage. It was time.
In the last few minutes before you were supposed to exit and show the world what both of you had worked for, you expected to be nervous, yet you felt strangely calm. Taking advantage of the stillness around you, you stole a glance to your right. Jimin looked tense, more tense than you had seen him before, and you couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of the performance or because he suspected what you were about to ask him.
“Is it true?” You whispered, not holding back. You needed one last piece of information before the puzzle was complete. And you wanted him to freely offer you that piece.
His jaw muscles twitched, and you could see his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed. The silence between you two was even more deafening. It was as if the dancers that pitter-pattered around you, or the people chatting in the audience, did not reach the bubble around the two of you. The string that connected the two of you before, was shortening in length until there were mere inches between you two.
“You made it up to this stage on your own” He whispered, “There is nothing else bringing you up here but yourself. You may think I’m irritating, but in reality, you hate me.” He prevented you from responding by grabbing your hand. His hands were warm, while yours were clammy. “You can’t say hateful things about yourself and claim that you don’t hate me. If you hate yourself, you hate me. If you belittle yourself, you belittle me. So please don’t do that anymore. If you care even a little…” He didn’t continue, he couldn’t. He was on the verge of tears. You could hear it in his voice.
What he implied didn’t go unnoticed by you, and you were more than ready to surrender. But you needed one more thing. “And the flowers?”
Instead of offering you a straight up response he raises his right hand, the one that was hidden from you until now.
You let out a short breath. The puzzle was complete. In his hand stood a lone red gardenia. His secret love.
Well, not so secret anymore.
“Do you trust me?” He asked with a smile.
Smiling back at him with all the love you could muster, you intertwined your fingers together.
Genre/AU: Smut, Supernatural/Demon AU, strangers to lovers
Rating: E for Explicit
Warnings/Tags: Smut, Demons, Incubi/Succubi, Demon Jimin, Virgin Jimin, First Time
Word Count: 4.8k
Summary: Yoongi meets the man of his dreams. Literally. Jimin has been visiting Yoongi's dreams for weeks and finally decides to show up in person. Yoongi is surprised to discover not only is Jimin real, and an incubus (aka a sexy sex demon), he is also a cute blushing virgin. Yoongi kindly offers to change that last part.
A/N: So, this is my first fic in a while. And the first fic with smut in even longer. I'm feeling a little out of practice so please forgive any awkwardness. This was written for @chemicalpink for a fic exchange with The BTS Writers' Club. It also fits the July monthly prompt of "x to lovers" as Strangers to Lovers. And because I love double dipping apparently it is also filling my Min Yoongi bingo square for BTS Writing Bingo.
Link: AO3
Yoongi answered the door to the last face he ever expected to see.
"You!" He blurted. He froze but his gut twisted with desire.
In his doorway stood the man of his dreams. Literally. Yoongi had dreamt about him many times over the past few weeks. He was dressed casually in well fitted jeans and a loose white t-shirt with a jean jacket over it. His black hair hung slightly in his face and his lips quirked in a smile.
"Me," he agreed.
Yoongi blinked. He couldn't be real. Yoongi had assumed his mind had conjured up his ideal type and been haunting him with it. Not that there was an actual person who looked like the man from his dreams. Maybe they had met sometime before and Yoongi had just forgotten.
"I'm sorry. But, um, do we know each other? Have we met?" Yoongi asked. Every detail of his face was etched in Yoongi's memory and part of him wanted to bury his fingers in the man's hair and kiss him breathless. But, that was crazy, right?
The man looked offended at the question. "Of course. I'm Jimin. I've been in your dreams many times. I didn't realize I was that easily forgettable." Jimin pouted slightly.
"You're not!" Yoongi assured him. "I-" Yoongi wasn't sure what to say. There was no way this was real. People don't share dreams. And yet, he couldn’t deny that Jimin felt so familiar.
Yoongi just stood there staring dumbfounded until Jimin shifted nervously. “Can I come in?” he asked.
Yoongi suddenly remembered his manners and jumped back. "Please. Make yourself at home. I’m sorry for the mess.” Yoongi was suddenly grateful that in the dreams the background was just hazy grey. Nothing had really mattered outside him, his partner and the bed. He swallowed thickly as the memories flooded his mind. “Would you like something to drink?" Yoongi ran one hand through his hair. He didn't know the protocol for having a guest that was both a total stranger and someone he'd dreamt, countless times, with varying degrees of intensity, about fucking.
Jimin for his part looked mildly amused at Yoongi's confusion.
"How?" Yoongi finally asked. It was the only word bouncing around in his head.
"Oh… I'm an incubus."
Jimin said it as though that explained everything but Yoongi was still confused. He vaguely remembered stories about incubi and succubi seducing humans and having their way with them. But he'd assumed, like most rational, sane people, those were stories made up to explain vivid dreams, pre-marital sex and adultery.
"An incubus?"
"A, well uh, a sex demon." Jimin smiled a little awkwardly but tried to push past it. "Is it too vain to say a sexy sex demon too?" He grinned.
He was stunning, gorgeous, sexy, Yoongi had mentioned it to Jimin in the dreams. But right now, Yoongi was still confused and starting to get slightly concerned. Either he was going crazy or... He swallowed nervously. "Are you going to kill me now?" If he was a demon, there probably wasn't much Yoongi could do about it but he still tried to run through anything he could use as a weapon.
Jimin looked shocked. "What? No! Why would I…?" He sighed, twisting his fingers nervously. "Look, I just wanted to meet you in person. If it's freaking you out too much I can leave." He took a step toward the door.
"No!" Yoongi put out his hands to stop him and moved to block the door. "It's just weird. I've been dreaming about you for weeks. I thought I was going crazy. But…You're real." He could hear the wonder, even reverence, in his voice. He wanted to reach out a hand to touch Jimin’s face and confirm he was solid but held himself back. Dreams were different from reality and what was allowed there, probably wasn’t here.
"Yeah." Jimin stopped fidgeting. He met Yoongi's eyes and they stared at each other for a moment, the air becoming charged. For as often as Yoongi had dreamed of Jimin, he'd thought about Jimin during his waking hours too. He'd wondered what Jimin would be like if he were real. He'd felt a chemistry that had gone beyond sex but the dreams never allowed them to explore it much. Now, Jimin was here, in his kitchen.
"So." Yoongi swallowed. "What does this mean? If you aren't here to kill me…"
Jimin toed at the floor. "I just wanted to talk to you. We've only gotten bits of conversations in the dreams after…"
"You're blushing!" Yoongi couldn't help the exclamation that burst from him. "You're a sex demon. A sexy sex demon. And you're blushing talking about dirty dreams." Yoongi chuckled when Jimin blushed further but frowned again. "...wait...were they dreams or did they actually happen?"
Jimin shook his head. “They were dreams. It's just part of my power to be able to enter humans’ dreams, to…um..." He faltered but eventually finished. "Feed.”
Yoongi gulped. "Feed?" Maybe Jimin wasn't going to kill him now, maybe he was just slowly killing him in his dreams. He didn’t want to die but couldn’t help thinking it might almost be worth it. Almost.
Jimin hurried to explain. "Yes, incubi and succubi feed off human sexual energy. It regenerates within a week, sometimes less depending on the person. So we can enter dreams to… well you know…and it doesn't hurt the humans so long as we don't… feed… too often." Jimins cheeks were pink again.
Yoongi chuckled. "You're blushing again." It was cute. And made Yoongi want to squish his cheeks. Had he ever thought demons were real he wouldn't have imagined he'd want to squish their cheeks. "Aside from being gorgeous, you aren't really what I pictured a sex demon to be like."
Jimin seemed bothered by this comment, pouting his lower lip out, furthering his cuteness. "I… I'm young. And somewhat inexperienced."
Yoongi chuckled again, darker this time as his mind filled with memories of their escapades. "You didn't seem inexperienced in the dream."
Jimin was now as red as a tomato. "I, uh, dreams are dreams. It's easier."
Yoongi wasn't sure what that meant. "Huh. Well, the blushing is still kind of cute."
"How young is young for a demon?" Yoongi expected he was hundreds of years old or something, like vampires from romance books, and was ready to make a crack about looking good for his age.
"I'm 22," Jimin said. "We age the same as humans. Aside from different sources of energy and a few special powers, we aren't all that different." He shrugged, his blush starting to subside.
Yoongi's curiosity was piqued. "How often do you… feed? Fuck? I'm not sure what you'd call the mind blowing dreams," he said with a lascivious grin.
"Feeding," Jimin was quick to answer. "Only once a week or so."
"Wait...So then why was I dreaming of you more than that?" Yoongi drew his brows together thinking. He'd definitely dreamed about Jimin more than once a week.
"Y-you were?" Jimin seemed equally confused. "That must have been your own mind then."
"Oh." It was Yoongi’s turn to be embarrassed. "I probably wasn't your only source of food either."
"No...you were."
Yoongi felt a little better. If Jimin kept coming back, maybe he had enjoyed their nights together too. "If I've been your only source of food for a few months now. Doesn't that get boring? Isn't it like a human having the same thing everyday?"
Jimin hesitated. "Most incubi would say yes but… um… I quite enjoyed my, er, time with you." He brushed his hair out of his face, cheeks burning again. "It's why I came to meet you in person," he mumbled.
Yoongi laughed. "We've fucked a bunch in my dreams. And you're apparently a literal sex demon. There's really no need to blush like a virgin everytime sex comes up."
Jimin gave a weak chuckle. "Oh, yeah, right."
Something about the way he agreed made Yoongi curious. "Wait… you aren't actually a virgin, right? You've had sex, outside of dreams?"
Jimin toed at the floor again and didn't answer.
"But wait, is it even different for you in dreams? For a human it is. Those were vivid dreams but they were still dreams. Maybe for you it isn't like that?"
"It's… I don't…. I don't know," Jimin muttered. He was sticking out his lower lip again. "Other incubi say it is."
"So… you are a virgin!" Yoongi exclaimed.
"Yes."
Yoongi laughed in surprise. "I'm sorry I don't mean to laugh. It's not bad. It really doesn't actually mean anything. It's just odd that… you… of all people are a virgin."
"You don't have to keep rubbing it in," Jimin pouted. He was still cute, all frowny and mad, but Yoongi could tell it was actually bugging him.
"I'm sorry," Yoongi said sincerely. "I'm not trying to rub it in. Like I said, it doesn't even matter. It's such a made up thing."
"Easy for you to say," Jimin huffed.
Yoongi shrugged. "True." A thought occurred to him. "I could help you with that if it's a problem?" He grinned slyly, arching an eyebrow. He stepped closer, into Jimin’s space. The tension between them was familiar. He knew how to make Jimin feel good and he was eager to prove it.
Jimin shook his head and backed up till his back hit the wall. "No no, that's not it. It's okay. I wanted to talk to you. Just… get to know you."
Yoongi frowned. He’d been the one asking all the questions. He cocked his head to the side, still slowly closing the distance between them. "Oh, then what do you want to know?"
Jimin licked his lips. "Um. I don't know anymore."
It was obvious Jimin was frazzled from Yoongi's nearness. He waited to see if Jimin would say anything then stepped closer.
"What’s your favorite color?" Jimin blurted.
Yoongi paused. "White. Yours?"
"Blue."
Yoongi took another step.
"When's your birthday?" Jimin asked nervously. He was looking at Yoongi, his eyes round and flicking to his lips every few seconds.
"March 9th."
"October 13th. You're a pisces."
Yoongi nodded in agreement. "Any other questions?"
Jimin made a pained expression. "All I can think about right now is whether your lips are as soft in real life as they are in the dream."
"I can answer that too." Yoongi stepped forward again, now close enough to feel Jimin's heat. "And… you know… there's plenty of time for talking… later. I've got all night." He put one hand on the wall next to Jimin and stepped close enough their thighs were just touching.
Jimin met his gaze, his eyes wide and dark. "Yeah?"
Yoongi licked his lips and hummed in agreement. Jimin smelled amazing, sweet and intoxicating, better even than he had in his dreams. Yoongi reached out to cup Jimin’s face and stroke his lower lip with his thumb. He was as solid as Yoongi had been hoping, so either this was a very vivid dream or hallucination or it really was real. Yoongi had stopped caring either way. "...Jimin?"
"Yes?" He said breathlessly.
"Can I kiss you?" Yoongi asked.
"Yes."
Yoongi closed the space between them, pressing Jimin against the wall. Jimin’s hands came up to find their usual place, one around Yoongi’s waist and one buried in the hair at the nap of his neck.
Their lips met eagerly, moving against each other in practiced patterns. The lightest pressure of Yoongi’s thumb on Jimin’s chin had him opening invitingly. As they explored each other's mouths, Yoongi let his hands explore Jimin’s body, finding the familiar jut of Jimin’s hip bone, the pebbled hardness of his nipples, and the delicate curve of his ass. Everything was familiar but given new life in reality. Jimin’s hands on his body were like brands, raising heat wherever they went.
Yoongi finally had to gasp for air, pulling away sharply but staying close enough to brush his forehead against Jimin’s. Jimin swayed, his head knocking against Yoongi’s hard enough to hurt.
“Ouch.” Yoongi leaned his head away and got a better look at Jimin. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes glazed. “Are you okay?”
Jimin shook his head and blinked a few times. “Yeah, sorry. I guess it is different in person.”
Yoongi brushed Jimin’s hair off his forehead. “We can stop,” he said, though every inch of his flaming skin begged Jimin to say no. “Just talk, like you wanted.”
Jimin shook his head again. “No I…” He wound his arms around Yoongi’s neck but looked away. “I want to keep going… if you do.”
“Oh, I definitely do.” Yoongi ground himself against Jimin’s hip so he could feel just how much he wanted to keep going. Jimin moaned when Yoongi’s thigh rubbed against his erection. “Want you so bad,” Yoongi mumbled against Jimin’s lips.
“Yes,” Jimin gasped.
Yoongi broke the kiss to meet Jimin’s eyes. They were a little hazy still, dark with want. “We can go slow. If it’s too much, tell me.”
Jimin nodded.
Yoongi took Jimin’s hand and led him to the bedroom. He quickly shed his own baggy t-shirt before helping Jimin with his own. The sight of Jimin shirtless made his mouth water. He marveled at the smooth skin, solid beneath his palms, he could feel Jimin’s heart beating frantically and the red flush of warmth across his chest.
Jimin seemed to be doing the same, combing gentle fingers through Yoongi’s hair and running his hands over his neck and shoulders.
Yoongi had said they could go slow, so he resisted throwing Jimin on the bed and pouncing on him. Instead, he kissed him gently and guided him back to lay in the middle of the bed. He climbed over him, slotting one leg between Jimin’s and propping himself up on his elbows to look down at Jimin’s beautiful face.
“You are so gorgeous,” Yoongi marveled.
Jimin blushed and bit his lip.
“A sexy sex demon for sure.” Yoongi chuckled and his joke made Jimin smile.
He pressed a soft kiss to Jimin’s plush lips before leaning down to mouth his way over Jimin’s neck. He tried to go slow, to let Jimin get used to the feel of his mouth and tongue against his skin, the soft sucks and gentle bites. He already knew where Jimin was most sensitive though, and he laved extra attention to his nipples, nipping gently just below them in a way that had driven Jimin crazy in the dreams. It seems to have a similar effect in reality. Jimin arched and moaned, his fingers digging sharply into Yoongi’s shoulders.
Yoongi glanced up at Jimin’s face to check on him before moving lower. He held his gaze as he undid Jimin’s jeans and pulled them down. Jimin lifted his hips to help.
There was a wet spot already at the tip of the bulge in Jimin’s boxers. Yoongi leaned down to press his mouth to it, licking through the fabric.
Jimin let out a garbled cry, his hands fisting in the sheets.
“It’s okay, relax. I’ll go slow,” Yoongi murmured, rubbing calming circles into Jimin’s muscular thighs.
Jimin whimpered but settled.
Yoongi rubbed higher, till his thumbs brushed against Jimin’s balls. He lowered his mouth to the base of Jimin’s cock, pressing open mouth kisses and cupping his sack.
Jimin hummed above him in appreciation. Yoongi had always loved how vocal Jimin had been in his dreams. He was glad to see that in person it wasn't much different. He was a little quieter but Yoongi chalked it up to nerves.
Eventually Yoongi sat up and tugged Jimin’s boxers down. He almost gasped to finally see Jimin bare, all that smooth tan skin and at the center, Jimin’s cock, hard and red and leaking.
He leaned down, licking a stripe up Jimin’s cock and dipping his tongue in pre cum gathered at the slit. It was almost sweet, just like the rest of him.
He repeated the action, provoking a shuddering breath from Jimin. This time Yoongi ended with wrapping his lips around the tip of Jimin's cock. He sucked, taking more into his mouth and massaging the underside with his tongue.
"Fuck, that feels good." Jimin's voice was high at the end. One hand scratched against Yoongi’s scalp and tugged gently at his hair.
"Yeah?" Yoongi popped off and stroked Jimin's cock. "Tell me how good it feels," Yoongi encouraged, before sucking Jimin down as far as he could.
Jimin bucked his hips up into Yoongi's mouth with a surprised pleasured groan. "Ah, fuck, fuck. So-so good," Jimin mumbled, his head was turned to the side so his voice was muffled by the pillow.
"Yeah?" Yoongi asked again.
"Fuck, I knew you were good with your mouth in the dreams but-ah," Jimin stuttered as Yoongi flicked his tongue expertly.
Yoongi smirked. "You haven't seen anything yet." He sat back and tapped Jimin on the side encouraging him to flip over. Jimin obliged and lifted his hips when Yoongi grabbed them so he was on hands and knees.
This gave Yoongi a perfect view of Jimin's ass. He palmed both globes, kneading the firm flesh, and marveling at how fucking gorgeous Jimin was. He didn't think it was possible for a person this hot to exist and yet here he was. Sexy sex demon was right.
He brushed a thumb over the tight ring of muscle causing Jimin to jump a little. He used his other hand to massage Jimin’s ass, encouraging him to relax. He pressed light kisses along his cheeks until he was close enough to breathe across Jimin’s hole. Jimin shuddered a little but this time Yoongi didn’t let him adjust. He pressed his tongue to his furled entrance, licking and nibbling. Jimin cried out in surprise but was soon lost in the feeling, moaning senseless praise.
Yoongi filled him with his tongue over and over, using his chin for leverage to get as deep as possible. Jimin was voicing his pleasure loud enough Yoongi might have worried the neighbors would complain if he wasn't enjoying it so much. His own cock ached untouched between his legs but Yoongi ignored it.
When his jaw started to ache, Yoongi stopped to admire his work. Jimin's hole was puffy pink and glistening with spit. He rubbed it with his thumb and this time Jimin leaned into it, asking for more. Yoongi obliged, licking his thumb, soaking it in spit and sliding in to the first knuckle.
Jimin pushed back against him, whining. “Just fuck me already, please.”
Yoongi chuckled. “We’ll get there." He moved his thumb in a circle, testing Jimin’s tightness. Before the spit could dry, he leaned over to the night stand and pulled out a bottle of lube. He squeezed some onto his fingers, curling them to try to warm it up a bit. "This might be cold, sorry," Yoongi mumbled.
Jimin flinched when Yoongi used two fingers to spread the lube but it wasn't long before he was back to panting and moaning.
"You're still so tight," Yoongi said, two fingers buried in Jimin's ass. He eased them out slowly, scissoring them to try to loosen Jimin enough to take him.
This part was new. In the dreams, Jimin had always been ready for him. Yoongi still ate him out or fingered him to tease but Jimin was always ready to take his cock whenever Yoongi wanted. It reminded Yoongi this was real and he marveled again at Jimin's existence.
"Please, I need your cock. Fuck me already. Fill me up. Please." Jimin's moans brought Yoongi more firmly back to the present. For a virgin, Jimin sure had a dirty mouth, but Yoongi wasn't complaining.
"Yeah? You think you're ready?" Yoongi slipped a third finger in alongside the other two and prodded at Jimin's prostate.
"Fuck, yes, please."
Yoongi really loved the begging. He couldn't resist anymore. He climbed off the bed to shuck his pants and boxers and grab a condom from the nightstand.
Jimin noticed the foil packet. "Oh, you don't, I mean, if you are comfortable bare, you don't have to. But if you aren't, I won't be offended."
Yoongi wondered whether incubi could even get std's but it didn't really matter. He believed Jimin was a virgin and he knew he was clean. So if Jimin didn't want him to use a condom, he was happy to toss it back in the drawer.
Jimin bit his lip to hide a pleased grin.
Once Yoongi was back in position, he popped open the bottle of lube again. He spread some over his cock gasping a little at the cold and the smooth glide of his hand. He was more wound up than he realized and hoped he wouldn’t end things too soon.
He used the head of his cock to spread more lube on Jimin’s hole. He had to resist the animal urge to just fuck Jimin into the mattress then and there.
"You ready?" Yoongi asked. He lined his cock up and put a reassuring hand on the small of Jimin's back.
Jimin nodded.
"All you have to do is ask and I can stop or go slower. Whatever you need."
"Just do it already," Jimin huffed.
Yoongi smirked and gave Jimin’s ass a light smack. "Bossy," he mumbled.
Jimin rolled his eyes.
Yoongi leaned over to plant a gentle kiss on Jimin's spine. "I just don't want to hurt you."
With a deep breath, Yoongi pushed in.
"Ah," Jimin gasped.
Yoongi stopped, only the head of his cock gripped by Jimin's ass.
"You okay?"
"It's so much." Jimin had his head between his shoulders so Yoongi couldn't tell if it was a good too much or a bad too much.
"Keep going. Slow."
Yoongi swallowed. Slow was hard. Jimin was warm and slick around his cock, but Yoongi managed. He eased his way inside. All the while Jimin made pleasured-pained noises of encouragement that did nothing for Yoongi’s self control.
When his hips finally met Jimin's ass they both sighed.
Yoongi bent over to brush more kisses against Jimin's back. "You feel so good. So tight," he whispered.
"So do you," Jimin said, equally as quiet. "So big, so full. It's so much more than in the dreams."
Yoongi nodded in agreement. "Can I move now?"
"Yes. Slow though."
"Of course." Yoongi’s feral drive had evaporated once he was fully inside Jimin. All he wanted now was to hear Jimin’s soft sighs and feel his warmth around him over and over.
Yoongi eased out and gently back in, watching himself disappear. He checked Jimin's face for a reaction. When he didn't seem in pain he did it again and again. On every thrust Jimin would let out a breathy groan.
Jimin leaned back into Yoongi, their hips meeting harder and Jimin getting louder. Yoongi picked up the pace.
“Fuck, feels so good,” Jimin moaned.
Yoongi ran his hand down Jimin’s back. It didn’t feel like enough, so he wrapped an arm around Jimin’s chest and pulled him up against him. Jimin arched his back and laid his head on Yoongi’s shoulder. Yoongi took the opportunity to nibble at Jimin’s neck. From this position he couldn’t thrust as hard so he settled for rocking up into Jimin as Jimin ground back against him.
Jimin let out a little chorus of “ahs” that Yoongi could feel through his chest. The sound went straight to the fire at the base of his spine.
“I love hearing how good I make you feel,” Yoongi whispered against Jimin’s ear.
Jimin bit his lip making a high noise in the back of his throat.
Yoongi sucked Jimin’s neck and lowered one hand to Jimin’s cock, stroking it steadily.
Yoongi stopped and pulled out. Jimin blinked, startled, but Yoongi pushed him over onto his back and climbed between his legs before he could even ask.
“I want to be able to see you,” Yoongi said looking down at Jimin.
If Jimin could have blushed further he probably would have but all his blood was busy elsewhere. He nodded.
Yoongi lined his cock up and pushed in again. It was far easier this time but still felt amazing. He leaned down to kiss Jimin and he rocked into him. This way he could swallow all of Jimin’s little moans and gasps. He eased into a steady rhythm. When he felt Jimin getting close again, he sat back to free a hand to stroke Jimin’s cock.
Watching Jimin fall apart beneath him was the most gorgeous sight Yoongi had ever seen. He still couldn’t believe it was real. He’d seen it in his dreams before, but so rarely do such beautiful visions become reality. Yoongi was a little in awe that this ethereal being had chosen his dreams to visit and his bed to occupy.
Jimin met his eyes and must have read the intensity of his thoughts on his face. He reached out to pull Yoongi close enough to fill his fingers with Yoongi’s hair. “You make me feel so good. So fucking good.” Jimin’s eyes were dark and unfocused, his face flushed, hair plastered to his forehead with sweat.
Yoongi leaned forward for a harsh kiss. “So gorgeous. Want to see you come. Come for me baby.”
“Fuck, Yoongi!” Jimin threw his head back and arched off the bed, all his muscles tensed as he came. His brows furrowed and his mouth opened in a wordless cry. Jimin clenched around Yoongi’s cock, his walls pulsing with the waves of his orgasm. Yoongi wanted so badly to watch every second but it was too much. His vision went white and the universe seemed to explode into a million pieces.
When the world finally pulled itself together, Yoongi could focus on Jimin looking up at him. His eyes were hazy and he smiled, fuzzy and soft. He reached for Yoongi for a lazy kiss which Yoongi returned happily.
Yoongi could feel his cock softening, so he pulled out and rolled to the side.
“That was…” Yoongi laughed. He couldn’t even begin to describe it.
“Yeah,” Jimin agreed, giggling. He rolled to his side to lean his forehead against Yoongi's shoulder.
Yoongi shifted, tucking an arm under Jimin and pulling him close to let him lay against his chest.
“So, sexy sex demon, different than dreams?” Yoongi asked, smirking.
Jimin nodded vigorously. “I feel like I could run a marathon.”
Yoongi frowned. “Uh…” Not the response he was expecting. He wasn’t sure if he should be offended.
“Oh, um… you meant…” He trailed off. “Yeah that was different too. Really different. I liked it though,” Jimin added quickly.
Yoongi was still confused. He sat up to look at Jimin fully.
Jimin looked a little guilty. “Well, incubi don’t have to feed in dreams. They can feed in person. And it can actually be more, um, fulfilling, that way.”
Yoongi nodded considering. “Am I going to feel any different?”
Jimin shook his head. “You shouldn’t. It’s actually less draining for the humans this way.”
“Oh.”
There was an awkward pause.
“So, you liked the sex though? Just… liked it?” Yoongi shouldn’t be surprised, he supposed. Jimin was a literal sex demon, they probably had really high standards. ”Because I thought it was pretty damn amazing.”
Jimin rolled his eyes. “It was. I’m not sure any incubus has ever had a better first time. I’ll have to write epic poetry about your tongue and cock,” Jimin laughed.
“Well if you insist.” Yoongi shrugged.
Jimin smacked him lightly. “It was a lot for me.”
“Yeah? Anything I can do? Want something to drink?”
“Maybe later. I was really enjoying the cuddling actually.”
Yoongi laid back down and opened his arms. “Me too.”
Jimin snuggled against him again. It probably should feel weird. They didn’t actually know each other that well. But Yoongi was content, especially when he was able to link his hand with Jimin’s over his chest.
Yoongi yawned. “I might fall asleep.”
Jimin pinched his side. “You can’t. You owe me answers. You said after!”
Yoongi nuzzled Jimin’s hair and kissed the top of his head. His eyes are already feeling heavy.
“Oh fine. I guess I can just ask them in your dreams instead. You’ll probably be more honest that way anyway.”
Yoongi was too close to sleep to worry too much. If Jimin was in his dreams, it would be a good dream. And if Jimin was there when he woke up, it would be even better.
***
Jimin and Yoongi sat cross legged facing each other on the bed, the surroundings were dark and hazy but Yoongi wasn’t scared.
Jungkook is determined to find a sea monster no matter the cost and he has dragged you along for the ride.
Warnings -
Some swearing, kissing/suggestive
A/N -
This is for my sea monster square for BTS Summer Bingo 2021 @bangtanwritingbingo
KPOP Masterlist
“This is a really bad idea, Kookie. I think we should turn back,” you yell over the crash of water against your small speed boat as you hold onto the handle close to the cockpit with both hands. “I really think we should turn around.”
“Nonsense. We’re almost there!” He has an unhinged gleam in his eyes as he stares straight ahead at the vast ocean, ignoring the thunderous waves belting towards him.
This is a bad idea but he won’t stop now, not when you’re this close. Not when he can see the prize. His crazy idea is starting to take form and you just happen to be along for the ride. It shouldn’t have ended up like this. When you woke up this morning, this wasn’t how you thought you would be spending your afternoon - wearing a pink life vest over your cute new blue and white polka dot bikini while clinging to the slippery surface of your lover's boat, praying to a God you don’t believe in.
“We could die if we keep going. Is it really worth it?”
“Yes.”
Yes? What the fuck? He is literally willing to let you both die so he can see an imaginary creature up close? If you weren’t in the middle of the God damn ocean you would storm off, but the lack of space to do that is terrifying. How did you end up on this stupid boat anyway? Swimming was never your strong suit and if you have to try swimming in this you will certainly die and Jungkook will get his wish.
“I think you should reconsider your priorities,” you yell, kicking your leg out towards him, colliding with his side.
“Hey!” Turning to look over his shoulder at you, his eyes soften. “I’m sorry. Do you want to go back?”
“Yes!” His youthful eyes once filled with excitement empty as he grimaces, his wavy hair slicked against his face as water continues to barrel into the boat. It’s hard to stop his dream when he gives you a look like that, as if you’ve taken the only thing he ever loved and stomped it into the ground. “Fine. But you promise we’ll be okay?”
“No promises. I kid, I kid, don’t give me that look.” He chuckles, kissing your elbow, the only piece of you close enough to touch before he turns back to the waves, determination shining in his eyes once more. “We’ll be just fine. It’s not much further now.”
“You said that fifteen minutes ago,” you say under your breath, swinging out an arm to grab the headrest of the passenger side chair, not bothering to ask him to slow down. How long will it take him to notice if you go flying off the boat? Too long you decide, creeping along the floor until you're clinging to the back of the chair.
“There it is!”
“Where?” You squint, searching the area in front of you as you buckle yourself into the seat. The soda you had craved is now long gone, lost at the bottom of the ocean's depths. It had been a stupid idea to get up in the middle of a search anyway, no matter how antsy you had felt. “I don’t see anything.”
“The cove. Right there.” He points to the horizon and at first you don’t see it, the waves blinding your sight, but between the gaps you see the outline of land. “No one lives there. It’s too dangerous, they’d never get supplies out here.”
“No shit.”
“This is where it lives. This is where it’s been spotted the most frequently,” he says, his eyes sparkling, a contagious grin gracing his lips. “I can’t believe we’re really here!”
“Me too.”
Shivering you look over your shoulder and wonder if you should try and grab the raincoat Jungkook packed when you feel his fingers entwine with yours. He’s still looking out at the water, his furrowed eyes searching for his mystery sea creature, but he’s also here, with you. He’s close and you realize he would have noticed if you had flown overboard straight away because his attention has always been on you. He was prepared to leave even though he really didn’t want to miss the opportunity to find his legendary beast.
He will always choose you first.
“We can’t go inside. If the waves pull us in there it’s unlikely we’ll survive.” His eyes are wide, a glint of something you haven’t seen glimmer inside them. “They don’t call it The Undead Cove for nothing.”
“That’s encouraging,” you say, your fingers tightening around his. The waves are still vicious but as the boat propels closer you can see the looming bridge made of earth he is pointing at, water rippling haphazardly underneath as waves crash against the cove's entrance. It’s shrouded in mystery, the dark space between the impenetrable walls a secret you may never unlock. The boat is being pulled towards it, as if it too wants to understand what makes this area so enticing. “Aren’t we getting a little too close for comfort?”
Jungkook turns the steering wheel, forcing the boat to spin around in a huge circle before lining back up with the cove's passageway. That’s when you hear it. A booming screeching sound. It’s like nails on a chalkboard and the thunderous sound of a hippopotamus mating call.
“Holy shit!” Your eyes meet, his mouth wide before his hand slaps across his mouth, an aura of bewilderment shining out from every pour until you are returning his enthusiasm, pure glee resonating from your skin. “Is that it?”
“I don’t know,” he says, grabbing your face and kissing your lips, once, twice and again for luck. He’s laughing, excitement shaking outward from his core. “But I think so!”
“Grab your camera.”
“Ah! Yes.” He slides over your legs to grab the case at your feet. As he pulls himself back up, he smirks up at you. “I told you it was real.”
“So you did,” you say, shaking your head. Reaching out you push his hair behind his ear and as you move to pull your hand away he catches it, kissing each finger tip. Shaking your head, you add, “I love how crazy you are.”
“I love that you love that about me. I love that you came on this crazy little adventure with me. And I love that we found a motherfucking sea monster!” he hollers out and you can’t help but grin at your ridiculous boyfriend as he pulls out the waterproof camera that he bought for this very occasion, handing it over to you. “We’re going to make so much money of these pictures.”
“If we survive to tell the tale.”
“Baby, we are solid. This is going to be a story we tell our grandkids one day.” Camera in hand, you point the lens towards the cove, the outline of something moving along the edge of the rocks catching your eyes. It’s real. It’s here and he was right. “This is gonna be epic!”
“Yeah, yeah,” you mutter, trying to hide a smile. “Just try and keep the boat steady. We need to impress the grandkids.”
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this content! If you did, please consider liking, commenting, reblogging and/or following, and check out my masterlist for similar content. Have a great day!
Description: Part of the summer #btswritingbingo, hosted by @bangtanwritingbingo! For Flower Shop.
Warnings: n/a (that I know of, I will add any necessary)
Posted: 07/26/2021
Tags: Vmin x reader, flower shop au
Fluff I think: 694 words
A/N: I’ve had this written and I’m stuck on a different prompt so here you go.
The bell jangled angrily overhead, protesting your abuse of the door to the shop as you marched determinedly to the counter.
“What flowers would you send to someone as an obvious death threat?” You asked the worker in the flower shop. “Black roses? Dead flowers? Do you sell dead flowers? Poisonous flowers?”
He blinked at you, wide-eyed for a few moments as your barrage of questions sank in. “Jimin!”
“Yeah?”
“It’s for you!” The man called, carefully taking the bouquet of delicate flowers he’d been wrapping, as though frightened you might hurt him or them.
The other man, Jimin, came out looking confused. “Hello, how can I help you?”
“I need a bouquet that is a clear death threat.”
His eyes widened slightly, then narrowed as he smiled. “I see. I can definitely help you with that. Tae, can you go get me that Halloween tissue paper?”
“The….”
“The one with the skulls,” Jimin clarified, coming out from behind the counter. “So, we usually keep what you’re thinking of for Halloween time, but I like to keep it in stock in case anyone wants to do something fun. So, what I usually suggest is a single back rose, lots of thorny branches, some withered vines, and then I usually add these because by the time they’ve arrived they’ve usually reached the stage where any touching will make the seeds burst all over the place.”
“Ooh! Excellent!”
“Jiminie, I brought the stuff with the gravestones on it too.”
“That’s the spirit!” Jimin replied brightly, practically skipping back to the counter with the bundles. “Now, I’m thinking around the bottom of all of this, we put white lilies. Because they’re funeral flowers.”
“Marry me,” you muttered, glad to finally find a place where you didn’t feel ostracized.
“Not until after the third date,” Jimin answered with a wink. “And he’s part of the package I come with.”
You looked up at a flustered Taehyung and shrugged. “Okay. He’s pretty.”
“Isn’t he? He’s super adorable.” Jimin started expertly arranging the flowers and thorns in a vase. “Not that he’s agreed to be part of whatever I’m in, but I don’t think he has a choice, you know?”
“I get that,” You replied, watching Taehyung turn a deeper shade of red. “I mean, look how flustered he is even now.”
Taehyung choked out a sound. “Two Jimins is one too many.”
You faked a pout. “I don’t think he likes me.”
“Nah, that’s his hot and bothered face. He’s been checking you out since you stepped in. He may have been a little thrown off by your order though. He doesn’t like to admit that there is a niche for breakup bouquets.”
“Well, this is for my backstabbing former best friend, but yes, it would do well as a breakup bouquet as well.” You smelled one of the roses near the counter, smiling softly. “I’ve been meaning to come in here for a while. Your shop is so pretty.”
“Thank you!” Jimin grinned at you, and even Taehyung looked happy with the compliment. “What kept you so long?”
“Work. The last place I worked went bankrupt so I had to get a new job before splurging on my love for flowers.”
“Makes sense.”
“Very sensible,” Taehyung agreed, exchanging a glance with Jimin.
You did your best to ignore that look, watching Jimin wrap the vase and bouquet instead.
“There. Now, what would you like on the card?”
You thought for a moment. “This is the last time, signed y/n.”
He nodded, writing it out in careful calligraphy. “There. Just an address and we’ll deliver it for you.”
You scribbled the address onto the notepad and then got your wallet out. “How much?”
“Dinner,” Jimin countered with a sly smile. “We like pizza?”
You laughed and checked the time. “When do you want it?”
Taehyung's stomach growled. “Soon.”
“And with a side of your company.”
“Smooth,” you complimented, pulling up the number of the pizza shop. “Better tell me what toppings you want. I’ll eat anything. Except anchovies.”
They exchanged grins and you knew you were in for a wild ride, but what a ride it would be.
Description: Part of the summer #btswritingbingo, hosted by @bangtanwritingbingo! For the Kim Taehyung Square. Humans are beautiful and strange and completely off-limits. But beautiful things are meant to survive, and he was the most beautiful human you had ever seen.
Warnings: n/a (that I know of, I will add any necessary)
Posted: 07/17/2021
Tags: Taehyung x reader, merfolk au, mer!reader, human!Taehyung
Fluff I think: 4,580 words
A/N: I’ve been trying to post this for five days. 20th time’s the charm? It’s not my best work but I hope you guys enjoy.
He was gorgeous.
And off limits.
He had beautiful honey skin.
But he couldn’t see you.
He looked too perfect to be real.
But once he awoke…
You gasped as his eyes snapped open, quickly flopping off the rock and back into the ocean, swimming down deep and peering up at the rock, still curious but not wanting to risk it.
You were surprised when he dove into the water, looking around for you.
But you’d had time to blend in.
After a moment he swam back to the surface, slowly climbing out. Struggling to get out.
You sent a wave to boost him out, biting your lip until he had disappeared onto the rock. Still, safe on the rock wasn’t safe from dehydration or hunger or the sun.
You would give him time to rest, then drive him toward the island. It would be dangerous but you’d see him safely there.
And no one would ever be the wiser.
The hard part would be doing it without him seeing you.
You swam some distance away, hiding behind another rock so you could surface and peer at him.
He was still peering into the water. “Are you still here? I’m Taehyung. I won’t hurt you.”
You leaned against the sun-warmed rock as you listened to the deep timbre of his voice.
“Thank you for saving me…but I wish you’d let me thank you face to face. It’s…,” He paused and looked around, looking troubled, “It’s scary here. All alone. I promise I won’t tell anyone about you.”
Promises were made to be broken, your brain whispered.
But he’s scared, your heart whispered.
“I should probably rest, huh?” He murmured, curling up slightly. He was already drying off again, which was good if you were correct in your knowledge of humans.
“Is there land nearby? What if another storm comes?” Taehyung (you liked that) asked, looking to the sky. “What if I get sun poisoning?”
Oh.
Oh no.
Why was keeping a human healthy so difficult?
You had to decide. Save him, or leave him to die.
But then…you’d already made your choice.
It’d be a shame for such a pretty human to die.
Maybe you could get away with it without him seeing you, still.
You willed the waves to lap higher at the rock, on all sides, hoping he would notice it wasn’t natural.
He froze, eyes wide. “Oh…okay…you’re still here?”
You sent waves away from the rock.
“Right. Okay. What do you want me to do?” His expression brightened.
You made a slight whirlpool on the side of the rock he needed to get down in, hoping. All you could do was hope.
He hesitated. “You…want me to get back in the water?”
You made it swirl in the opposite direct. Come on, human. You were already breaking about a dozen rules.
He slowly, shakily, started getting in the water. “O-okay. I’m trusting you.”
You kept him afloat, sinking under the water to direct him. You would have to be quick.
A race. With yourself and the sun.
The finish line, the island.
You got him there with just a few hours left until the sun set beyond the horizon.
He swam the last stretch, rushing up on shore and just feeling the sand.
Then he stood up and turned, searching the waves.
“Are you still here?” He asked, calling over the waves.
You knew you shouldn’t answer.
But the look on his face. In his eyes.
You made a wave wash up to his ankles and stay there longer than a wave normally would.
He relaxed and smiled again. “Oh good. I’m not good at being alone. Will you come check on me? I’ll be okay if I know someone is here with me.”
You held your breath and slowly let it out. You could check on him. It wouldn’t be hard. Just let him see something abnormal in the waters and he would know he wasn’t alone. Humans needed companionship. And it wouldn’t be unpleasant to check on him. You would get to keep hearing his voice, seeing his smile….
You sent a seashell up to him, a pretty one from your stash, and a fish for him to eat.
He picked up the seashell but looked uncertainly at the flopping fish. “I…I don’t think I can kill it….”
Who knew humans were that cute and innocent?
You collected the fish again to prepare it for him.
He waited a moment, then turned toward the island, looking it over. “So, I should follow that stream of water to its source, right? Will you follow me? Or must you stay in the ocean?”
Did he expect an answer? How would you even answer that? Technically, you could follow him. You’d gone upstream quite a few times and at one point there was a nice lagoon and you kept some of your favorite treasures hidden there. And you hid there when the menfolk went by. They were not nice.
You did have some treasures you wanted to deposit, so you carefully followed, trying to stay unseen by blending in. You were good at blending in, one of the best in your former colony.
He made good time in reaching the lagoon, and then went further in where you didn’t dare follow to see the source of the water.
He came back shortly, drinking water from the shell. “Alright, water is good. Now shelter.”
You prepared the fish for him, absently watching as he did his best to make himself a shelter in the shade of the trees. You had a feeling he wasn’t entirely certain what he was doing, but you were sure he would figure it out.
He stood back to examine his work. “Well, it should keep the rain off of me, hopefully. Do you have to worry about rain?”
You shook your head, the only thing you did during rain was hide in the deep if the surface was particularly rough. You remembered some wild adventures in your youth that you deeply regretted.
“Do you have to worry about hurricanes and waterspouts?”
Yes. Yes you did.
“Or tidal waves?”
You shuddered. It was always mass exodus with those. Anyone could be washed in and killed. Mostly, your kind avoided the areas that seemed to have them most.
“Has the rise of the ocean affected you?”
You paused. The ocean was rising?
“Or do you have different issues due to the die-off of coral reefs? Like, the Great Barrier Reef?”
You considered it for a moment before sort of nodding. It had caused issues, but it wasn’t something that would kill your kind, not as much as—
“What about destructive fishing techniques and overfishing? Having fishers stir up the bottom of the ocean must be dangerous, and I bet it’s cut your food supply.”
You smiled a bit, then sent his fish up to him.
He stared at the fish, carefully floating in the water, and gingerly took it. “Thank you.”
You wished you could tell him about the old magic that was used to help coral reefs. About the secret colonies of fish that your people herded for safe-keeping. About the secret islands that your kind kept hidden from the world. How some of your kind used to live in icebergs until this big old ship crashed into a colony, and the resulting mess had traumatized the little ones.
You wanted to tell him.
“Can I eat this raw?” He asked, but it was quiet, like he was asking himself.
You sighed, holding your hand out and focusing on the fish, using your abilities to heat the flesh until it was cooked.
“Oh!” He stared down at it. “Um…thank you.”
You nodded curtly and then dove into your treasure room. Maybe there was something there that he could use. You glanced over your collection of tiny items that could be held in your hand easily. Small bits like coins, shiny stones, pretty shells, glimmering jewels, rings, pendants from necklaces or something called a key-chain, tiny toys that you didn’t know could be that small, and some carvings—some crude, your own work, and others magnificent, the work of your father. Your gaze landed on a small device that your father showed you, the one that could make fire.
Perfect.
You put it in your pouch, setting a fossil in its place.
Then you turned to your collection of larger items. You immediately grabbed one of the knives, and you thought he might be able to use the container with a handle that did not leak so you grabbed that as well.
There were...various articles of clothing such as the humans tended to wear. Some you could perceive as feminine, having such shape as would show the differences in body structure between the genders of humans. But you found some things that might help, like the fake fins, and the strange face-covering that you saw humans using now and then when they were underwater. Then you grabbed a covering that appeared as though it might fit him and bundled everything else inside of it.
You surfaced behind your rock, pinpointing him on the beach and directing the bundle to the shore.
He spotted it as he was licking his fingers clean. “Huh?”
You bit your lip as you watched him get up, and fish the bundle out of the water. Watched him unwrap it.
His eyes were wide as he examined the contents. He picked up the fire-maker and tested it.
It took a couple tries, but a tiny flame finally sparked up.
He quickly started making himself a fire, murmuring to himself.
Soon he had a nice blaze going, humming to himself as he gathered more to burn later.
“You’re a life-saver,” he said, looking out into the water. “Really. Thank you so much. I don’t know why you’re helping me, but thank you.”
He looked at the bundle. “And while I’m curious about where and how you got this stuff…don’t tell me. My imagination is creative enough. Or if you do tell me, lie. Tell me something nice, like you were trying to return them but didn’t know how without revealing your existence.”
But that was the truth?
Humans were pretty clumsy with their belongings. They were always dropping things and sinking ships. Your kind were usually the first to investigate the sunken ships, like the large one that hit the icebergs. But most of your kind left things alone. Checked things out, maybe took a small momento, and then left the vicinity. Especially now that humans kept venturing into the deep.
“I bet your kind got pretty mad when humans started killing whales. Maybe not so much the killer whales, but blue whales and humpback whales.”
“All whales,” You whispered, picking at a mussel that was firmly attached to the rock you were hiding behind.
“Do killer whales try to eat you?”
Only our young.
“How do you deal with sharks?”
With spears of sharp coral, but only when necessary.
“What do you eat? I mean, I’m assuming you eat some fish since you prepared this fish for me, but can you talk to fish? How does that work?”
“Fish are stupid,” You answered, rolling your eyes.
“Oh….”
You froze, breath catching in your throat. That was loud. What you said was very loud.
You slowly sunk beneath the surface of the water, camouflaging with the seaweed in the hopes he didn’t see you.
“You have a pretty voice,” Taehyung called out softly. “I’m happy to know I’m not just imagining I’m alone. I mean, you could still be a hallucination, or a dream. But….”
Would it really be so bad? As far as you knew, he was trapped here for now. Until you could get him out of there. And there would be very few humans who believed him even if he did tell people about you.
You slowly surface, just letting your eyes above the surface of the water and watching him.
He was looking toward the sunset, a sad look in his eyes.
You headed for the shore to practice a very ancient form of magic that your selkie cousins had taught you.
Having legs was annoying and you were clumsy at the best of times, but you’d do anything if he would stop looking so sad.
He seemed to sense you more than hear or see you, turning toward you quickly--as though about to face a predator.
Then his eyes became huge, and his mouth hung open slightly.
“Oh….”
You leaned against a tree, biting your lip uncertainly. Maybe you should go back in the water.
You should go back in the water.
“No! Wait!” Taehyung’s voice was desperate as you stumbled forward. “Please! Just...sit with me?”
You wobbled near the water’s edge.
He hurried forward and caught you as you fell, pulling you away from the water, but looked away, his face oddly tinged. “You...you’re naked.”
You tilted your head. “Naked?”
He nodded, not looking at you. “Not...clothed.”
“Oh. Coverings. Yes. Right. Water.”
He looked conflicted.
You shifted. “I’ll come back.”
Slowly he helped you to the water, and let go of you.
You let yourself fall into the water, shifting back and diving to the cave, grabbing one of the coverings that you had tried on once before.
You put it mostly on and then swam back to the shore, pulling yourself onto the dry land, focusing on shifting as before.
“Cool,” He whispered, then sort of smiled at you. “You just...had a dress down there?”
You shrugged.
He moved closer to the fire, making an odd gesture that appeared to be inviting you over as well.
You sort of fumbled and ended up on hands and knees (gangly knees, gangly limbs, why were limbs so strange?), using your arms to bring you over more than anything.
“So...you’re a mer-person?”
“Atlantian,” You replied, frowning. “What’s a mer-person?”
“Uh...it’s a human name for your...kind.”
“Huh,” You replied, thinking about it a bit.
“Atlantian? So...you’re from Atlantica?”
“Huh? Atlantis. Our capital is Atlantis,” You shrugged, tucking your strange limbs away from the flames. You’d felt fire before. You’d also seen the effects of heat on one of your school friends who’d touched lava. Lava beds were wonderfully warm but also dangerous.
“No one would believe me, you know. If I tried to say anything about you. There are very few people who would believe me and I’d be written off as crazy. But I have so many questions! The whales?”
“We get mad about all of them being killed,” You answered. “But regular fish are stupid and thus worth eating. Killer whales do try to eat our young, but we’ve got some pretty solid defenses so it’s more rare nowadays. Humans are clumsy and drop things quite often and they’re always sinking their ships. Like this really big one that hit one of our icebergs, it caused the little ones lots of trauma, though we had minimal casualties. At least, that’s what I was told. We deal with sharks with spears most of the time: sharp, coral spears.”
“Wait...how long ago was the iceberg thing?”
You shrugged. “My great-grandsire’s time.”
“The...Titanic?” He asked, eyes huge.
You nodded. “Sounds right. My PaPa showed it to me when I was just a guppy.”
“But you guys didn’t like...do anything to cause it?”
“What? No.” You flicked your fingers in disgust, then stared at your hand. No webbing. Weird.
“Ok.” But he seemed troubled. “Did...did you guys help?”
You looked at the flames. “The water was so cold that by the time our folk had figured out what was happening, and helped our own…humans are more sensitive to cold. All we could do was try to discreetly direct those floating to the ships. My great-grandmother told me it was a thing to mourn just as the humans would mourn it. A battlefield without the fight. I apologize for being insensitive to that mourning.”
He shook his head. “It...it didn’t really...affect me. My family. But...it’s a famous tragedy.”
You respected his distraction with silence. It was the polite thing to do.
“And the things...the things you have? You found them?”
“Yup. No bodies,” You reassured. “At least...not for the items I collected myself. Which is all of the things you’ve seen.”
He nodded, looking relieved. “Where is this island?”
“Mmmm, in relation to…?”
“Um...the mainland?”
“Which one?”
He groaned. “Uh...Korea. Do you know where Korea is?”
You tried to think back to geography. “I think so.”
“Where are we in relation to that?”
“Five days swim? If I’m remembering correctly?” You offered him a weak smile. “I’ll try to direct a ship your way. If possible.”
“You live here?”
You nodded. “I...don’t really fit in. So I stay here. It’s secluded. Safe. And I get visitors. And it’s a really good kelp-farm.”
“You farm kelp?”
“Of course. Kelp is a very good source of long-term nutrition.” You played with the ‘dress’. It appeared more effeminate, not that you cared. “So...do you like to wear dresses?”
“Uh...I don’t exactly...uh….”
You tilted your head curiously.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t wear them regularly. Or at all, really.”
“Oh. Okay. But are the other clothes hindering? These legs are quite annoying.”
“What do you wear in the water?”
You tilted your head. “Scales?”
“But...do you hide your...privates?”
You blinked again. “Humans ask very strange questions.”
“Sorry.”
“Why do you wear coverings?”
“Because...because we don’t have scales to protect us.” He seemed to be very tinged again.
“Why do you ask such questions if they upset you so?”
He couldn’t look at you again, despite you wearing the coverings that humans found so necessary.
“Is it physical attraction?”
He groaned. “Let’s go swimming.”
“You’ll get cold,” You objected. “You don’t have scales.”
“But...ugh.”
“You appear flustered again. Have I talked upon a sensitive topic once more?”
“No...just...an embarrassing one?”
“Ah. Procreation?” You guessed.
He shuddered. “Please change the topic.”
You laughed a bit and pressed your strange feet into the sand. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you back to your people.”
“You’ve already said you’re going to help me return. If possible. And you saved my life. I kind of owe you.” He let a handful of sand slip through his fingers. “And, on top of that, you’re sitting here on the shore with me. Wearing a dress.”
“Is wearing a dress that odd? I could change coverings?”
“No!” He turned toward you again, but quickly looked away again. “Um, it, um, it looks good on you.”
“Procreation,” you whispered to tease him.
He shoved your shoulder, rolling his eyes and skin tinging all the way down his neck this time.
You hit the sand, laughing at his reaction.
“That kind of thing doesn’t faze you at all, does it?” He asked.
You shrugged. “I mean, I grew up herding fish. They don’t really procreate in private.”
“You used to herd fish?”
“My father has quite the business. Or. He did. My mother keeps it going as best she can now, but she moved to specialty species to keep afloat.”
“Do you have currency?”
“There are many currents in the sea?” You replied slowly, confused.
“No, like, when someone takes one of the fish you raise, what do they give you in return?”
You shrugged. “Tools, food, work, or valuable pretties. Generally tools, food or work. My mother is fairly strict.”
“Okay, what’s the strangest thing your family has traded?”
You considered, then shook your head. “Probably some shiny,” you lied.
He looked at you curiously. “Really?”
You fiddled with a part of the dress.
“So, the actual strangest was something…unpleasant?”
You shrugged. “It was a child.”
He froze. “A…child…?”
You nodded. “A human child.”
He just stared at you.
“The child fell into the water and was found by a very desperate Atlantian. He put it in an air-bubble and brought it to my father. My father traded with him and then took the child back to the surface world.”
“And then what?”
You shrugged. “No clue. My father never returned. My mother went looking, came back angry. Won’t mention my father except to curse him.”
“Do you know the child’s name?”
“Yoongi Min?” You tilted your head, trying to remember if that’s what everyone had called him. “I was just a guppy, so I’m not entirely certain.”
“I know a Yoongi,” he said softly. “Small world.”
You nodded. “Surprisingly small.”
“I know it might be risky, but do you think there’s a way to get me to my people without waiting for a ship?”
“You could hold onto me while I swim…”
He thought about it for a while, then nodded. “Then that’s what I’ll have to do.”
“Are you certain?” You asked, heart dropping a little.
“Yeah. But don’t worry. I’ll come back to visit. And I’ll get a home by the ocean so you can visit me, too.” He leaned over and let his head rest on your shoulder. His eyes fluttered shut. “I don’t lie, either. I keep my promises.”
“As one should,” you whispered.
He nodded.
You started humming a lullaby, hoping to spare him the pain of trying to fall asleep in a strange place.
“Pretty,” he murmured.
——
You admired his sleeping face one last time, kissing his forehead and then slipping back into the waters as figures appeared further down the beach. You watched from behind a rock as the people spotted Taehyung and raced to him.
Watched Taehyung wake up in a daze, looking around in confusion.
Watched Taehyung try to go into the water, fighting the people.
“I didn’t thank them! I didn’t get their name!” He yelled as they wrestled him back to shore. “I didn’t say goodbye!”
You didn’t dare acknowledge your presence. You didn’t dare reveal yourself.
It was best if all you were was a dream.
Yet, week after week, you returned to that spot on the shore. You returned in the night and you sang.
Month after month, you visited those waters and you wondered if he was okay.
And a year after you had returned him, there you were, watching the sunrise.
But you didn’t dare stay longer.
“Y/n,” a voice called behind you.
A familiar voice.
A Taehyung voice.
“Names have power with your people, and yours is y/n.”
You stood up slowly, keeping your back to him.
“You never said goodbye,” Taehyung whispered.
“How did you find my name?”
“I asked Yoongi. Funny how he didn’t think me crazy. Our other friends did. But…I think they believe me now.”
You felt horror course through your veins and slowly turned to him.
He had several other people with him, but they still looked skeptical.
“You…you said….” You took a step back.
“I kept my word. They’re not going to tell anyone. But I wanted my friends to meet.” He moved closer, holding out his hand. “You’re steadier on your feet than before.”
“I’ve been practicing.” You glanced down at your feet, then at the faces of his friends.
Yoongi slowly dipped his head to you, looking grave.
Taehyung’s hand gently guided your chin so you were facing him. “How could you not say goodbye?”
“It would have been better for you to forget me,” you whispered.
“But...you’re so alone….” He looked down at the ground. “You can see the human world. Haven’t you ever wanted to?”
“I...it’s...it’s dangerous,” You whispered, looking around at the others. “It’s very, very dangerous.”
“That’s true,” Yoongi said quietly, his voice deceptively deep, though not as deep as Taehyung’s. He moved forward, but stayed behind Taehyung, meeting your gaze softly. Apologetically.
Taehyung turned back to him. “But...we’d look out for her...how dangerous could it be?”
Yoongi looked toward the horizon. “Even a drop of water and y/n would turn back into an Atlantian. Condensation on a cup. A drop of rain. Water from a faucet. Anything could happen, and we couldn’t always guarantee that y/n’d be within ocean’s distance at any given moment.”
Taehyung looked gutted. “But...we could try.”
“What if,” One of the others started quietly, looking uncertain, “What if we tried it out? In this town. If we can manage it today, maybe we can plan careful excursions?”
“Please, y/n?” Taehyung immediately turned to you.
Yoongi gave you a look that seemed to say he’d help you escape if that’s what you wanted. If that’s what he owed you.
“There’s a carnival in town, y/n,” Taehyung said quietly. “It’ll be new and exciting. Don’t you want to see it?”
You studied the handsome face before you. “If I say at any moment, that I want to return to the ocean….”
“Then we’ll come straight here. And hopefully make a different plan for seeing one another again. I want to show you where we’re living, too. We just moved here, you see,” Taehyung said quietly, happily. “So...even if you don’t like town...maybe you could just visit our house.”
You slowly nodded. “Maybe.”
Yoongi cleared his throat. “Maybe don’t blend in with your surroundings while in human form.”
You gasped, checking yourself again.
“Let’s go with baby steps, Tae,” Yoongi continued. “Let’s try our house first, then maybe in a couple days try the carnival. At least at the house, we can easily deal with y/n transforming. At a carnival, I think there would be some panic.”
You nodded, thinking that sounded logical.
Taehyung nodded as well. “Okay! Okay, let’s go!”
“Uh, are you going to introduce us?” One of his friends asked, looking a little stressed.
“Oh. Right.” Taehyung glanced back at them, then stepped closer to you, offering his hand. “Don’t mind them too much. They’re great, but they’re also skeptical and can be annoying.”
“What you’re describing sounds similar to the description other guppies in my school would use for their siblings.”
“I’m sure it does. Guys, this is y/n, who saved my life about five times in the span of twenty-four hours. Y/n, these guys kept me alive after you brought me back.”
“Names, Tae. You’re supposed to say our names,” One of them pushed, rolling his eyes.
“Tide is coming in, maybe save the names for when we’re away from the water,” Yoongi grumbled, glaring at the water.
“Right!”
There were some groans of protest, and someone definitely said that Taehyung would forget by then--yet you felt the warmth and fondness between all of them.
You glanced back at the ocean as they led you ashore, acknowledging that the pull of the water wasn’t quite as strong as the pull of the man holding your hand to keep you steady. And maybe you would find out what really happened to your father while you were here.
Taehyung casually slid his arm around your waist to help you walk. “It isn’t far, don’t worry.”
You met his gaze and nodded. “I believe you.”
“It’s not going to be as grand as an Iceberg apartment building.”
You rolled your eyes.
“But I promise we’ll keep you safe. It wouldn’t be very considerate of me to have you save my life and then get you killed.”
“Let’s avoid that last bit,” Someone piped in.
Taehyung nodded. “I’ll protect you with my life, y/n. Promise.”
