Sorry for not updating since June, but I hope that this 28 page (12.8k words) beast of a chapter makes up for it! A lot of stuff happens and Jimin learns a lot~ about the demons that he's living with.
WARNING! For violence and minor character death in this chapter.

I am also probably going to have to re-read the first chapters to make sure there is nothing that conflicts with this chapter. I suddenly had an idea and it sparked a muse, and I just went with it. So, if you do notice anything that conflicts with earlier chapters, feel free to point it out because I'd like to avoid that. Otherwise, I'll be re-reading and editing myself eventually, but who knows when. ^^

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“How many steps will I go through now?” Jimin was lying in bed with Taehyung after their activities with their friends earlier. His muscles ached, and he relaxed into the mattress from pure exhaustion. 

Taehyung was unbelievably beautiful. Maybe Jimin was just noticing that for the first time. Maybe he’s always known it. Maybe it was his new demon form that was making Jimin find him more and more attractive. It was almost unfair how good he looked.

He brushed Jimin’s hair out of his face, and he gave him an apologetic look.

“You’re going to hate the next part,” He warned Jimin.

“Worse than this?” Jimin patted one of his horns. That was the most painful thing Jimin had ever experienced in his life, and he was still adjusting to having horns. His seemed a lot more inconvenient than the horns that the fire demons sported. Since his horns didn’t stick out from the top of the head, he had to adjust to them being there when he was lying on his side. 

“I wouldn’t say it’s going to be more painful than this,” Taehyung grabbed Jimin’s hand which was on his horn. “But now you’re going to start losing everything that makes you human, and, well, it’s going to .”

Jimin felt his heart sink upon hearing those words. “What-what’s going to happen now?” He stuttered.

“We’ve been over this before,” Taehyung said, “You’ll lose your sensitivity to pain, your need for sleep, and you won’t have to eat anymore. I don’t think you’ll get a pit for burning food, but whatever the ice demon equivalent is. You’ll gain abilities similar to what I have.” Jimin had seen an example of some of Taehyung’s abilities before, like when Taehyung had burned him. He felt that he still had a lot to learn about that, though. “And, like I said before, you’ll be an omega, so you’ll—”

“Be carrying a baby eventually,” Jimin finished that statement for him.

“Yes,” Taehyung placed a hand on Jimin’s stomach. “Are you scared?”

“I won’t know until it happens,” Jimin said. 

The idea of being pregnant terrified the hell out of Jimin, but he wouldn’t know how scary it was actually going to be until it happened. 

“Demon pregnancies aren’t that bad,” Taehyung told him. “And you won’t have to worry about it for a long time. They are very rare. Yoongi has been trying for multiple millennia, and he hasn’t gotten pregnant yet.”

“Do you...want to have a baby?” Jimin needed to know. “Soon?” He added. 

“No, I wouldn’t say I want to have a baby soon,” Taehyung said. “For humans it might be different since they have such limited time to have children, but I don’t care. It’ll happen when it happens. Besides, you haven’t even started your heat yet, so let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here.”

“Right, one step at a time.” Jimin agreed, but a frown fell upon his face as he worried about his current state. “Are you upset that I’m turning into a demon of ice?” He needed to know. 

“No, my sweet,” Taehyung assured him. He gently under Jimin’s chin and placed a kiss to his cheek. “It’s puzzling, but not upsetting. If anything, you add a much needed splash of color to this monotonous world of fire.”

“That’s good to hear,” Jimin hummed and he snuggled closer to Taehyung, and he yawned. “I can’t wait until I don’t have to sleep anymore. I want to just lie here with you.”

He was sure that Taehyung offered a remarkably sweet remark to that, but he was drifting to sleep fast enough to miss it. 

*

“Ah!”

Jimin jolted from his sleep as he felt his body temperature drop suddenly, and his bones started to ache. It was a thousand degrees in Underland, yet Jimin was freezing.

He rolled to Taehyung’s side of the bed, hoping to seek some warmth, but the prince was nowhere to be found. Jimin was cold and alone. 

Or so he thought until he heard the tags of Cerberus’s collar jingling as the dog rose from his sleeping place. With just two steps forward Cerberus was in one corner of the room, and then in bed with Jimin. Being as large as he was, it was a mystery how the bed didn’t give under his weight, but he positioned himself on top of Jimin, laying across the boy’s stomach. He was huge, but also warm, so Jimin wasn’t about to complain. He snuggled more into the dog’s fur, quietly thanking him, and he remained there for the rest of the morning, teeth chattering and bones aching. 

It took Taehyung around an hour before he returned to the room. “Cerby, what are you-“

The dog got off of Jimin and returned to his corner. 

“Jimin?” Taehyung sounded surprised, and he jumped into bed. He enveloped Jimin in his warmth, which was much better than Cerberus’s warmth. 

“Tae, it hurts,” Jimin whined, a tear falling from his eye. Unlike before, when his tears would evaporate before they could fall, this one froze on its way down Jimin’s cheek, and the crystallized tear fell to the bed. 

“You’re freezing,” Taehyung noted, and Jimin could feel Taehyung’s body heating up in an attempt to keep him warm. “Does this hurt?” He asked cautiously. 

Jimin shook his head, nuzzling into Taehyung’s chest, seeking the warmth. “The cold hurts,” He complained. “I’m sorry that I complained about any of the pain before. It was all nothing compared to this. I just want it to stop.”

“Do you want to stop?” Taehyung asked. 

“What?” Jimin asked, more frozen tears falling from his eyes. 

“The transformation,” Taehyung clarified. “It’s worse for you than it any human before, and the one that I don’t want to make suffer.” Taehyung frowned. “We can stop, if you want.”

The pain that Jimin felt in his heart after hearing those words was more than the pain of his aching bones. “Y-you want to get rid of me?” His voice cracked. 

“Not like the others,” Taehyung said. “I have the power to return you to your true form.” He told Jimin. “I can return you to the surface, and you can live as a human once again.”

“You have that kind of power?” Jimin asked. 

“I have a lot of power,” Taehyung told him, and he traced Jimin’s upward facing horn with a finger. “It’s not something I want to do, but I hate to see you suffer like this. I would rather return you to the surface than let you die like the other humans, and I don’t know if this is ever going to end.”

It didn’t take any thought for Jimin to know that he didn’t want to return to the surface. There was nothing for him there. His family and kingdom likely already pronounced him dead, so he would have lost whatever inheritance he was going to get from his father. Even so, it would be shocking to the people if he came back after being sacrificed to the demons. The only plus, Jimin thought, would be that his return would give his people the courage to not be afraid of the demons anymore (which wasn’t a plus to the demons since they got strength from people’s fear). 

“Do you want me to send you home?” Taehyung asked again. 

I am home , was the first response that popped into  Jimin’s head, and he mentally chuckled at the thought. He had quite literally warmed up to the place since his arrival. 

“Can I think about it?” Jimin didn’t want to return home, but if it was the best thing for him, what choice did he have?

Taehyung frowned. That wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, but he kissed Jimin’s forehead anyway. “In that case, we need to take a break from the transformation,” He informed his fiancé. “It won’t be possible to change you back once it’s complete.” He brushed Jimin’s hair behind his horn. “Take all the time you need.”

*

Because Taehyung was working that morning, and Jimin was crushed under the weight of their giant dog (when did he start to consider Cerberus his dog?), Jimin missed out on the chance to have breakfast with Seokjin. Still having most of his human organs working the way they should, Jimin was starving, and he was still cold. The castle servants were out of the kitchen, focusing on other tasks now, so Taehyung decided that he would take Jimin to one of the cafés in town.

Taehyung held Jimin’s hand on the way, providing heat to keep Jimin warm. Luckily there was some pain relieving potion in the castle medicine cabinet, so his bones weren’t aching so much by now. Jimin was used to the cold (less so now, but still used to it), so he could handle that.

“Wow,” Hoseok said as he removed the thermometer from underneath Jimin’s tongue. He insisted on taking the boy’s temperature before they ate their food. “That’s some powerful magic. I don’t know how you’re managing to keep that body temperature so low.”

“Magic?” Taehyung still hadn’t let go of Jimin’s hand, even after they were seated at a table. “You don’t mean…”

“I don’t know,” Hoseok supplied an answer before Taehyung could even finish his statement. “I’d like you to come to the lab after we’re done here. That is, if you want to.” He was talking to Jimin. “There’s only so much I can do without my equipment.”

“Of course,” Jimin said, frowning as he looked at the menu. He still couldn’t read the demon language, and it wasn’t like there was enough humans down here for them to have a human-friendly menu.

“I recommend the twice-baked potato soup,” Jungkook suggested, probably picking up on Jimin’s frustration, and he offered a small smile. “This was my favorite place before Namjoon—” Jimin noticed his eyes jump in Taehyung’s direction as he abruptly cut himself off, and he looked back at Jimin. “Before I moved into the castle.” He transitioned his thought smooth and without hesitation that Jimin decided it was better not to ask what he was going to say.

“I’ll have that, then,” Jimin agreed. He let go of Taehyung’s hand long enough to push the menu away, and he felt the cold run through his body in an instant. He shivered, and Taehyung grabbed his hand again. “Soups are good for cold weather, anyway.”

“Do you want to sit on my lap?” Taehyung offered. “It’ll be easier to keep you warm that way.”

He tugged on Jimin’s hand, trying to get him to move over, but Jimin stayed where he was. “No,” He said, his blue cheeks turning a rosy red color. “Isn’t that a little inappropriate for public?”

“You’ve done it before. When I first brought you down here,” Taehyung said. “Besides,” He motioned around to the rest of the café where there were omegas sitting on their alphas and demons looking like they were almost ready to rip each other’s clothes off. Jimin had been too caught up in his shivers to notice. “I really don’t think anyone is going to be paying attention to you. Why do you think I picked this place?”

Jimin pouted, but he moved to Taehyung’s lap. He just didn’t want to be cold anymore.

*

Jimin had a feeling that he would be spending a lot of time in this lab while undergoing the next steps of his transformation. Despite it being the demon version of a hospital, it was comfortable to Jimin. Much like every other place in Underland had become to him. He felt like he belonged down here. Even when he was getting weird stares from the other demons because of his blue skin, this place felt like home. Even if it was hotter down here than it was cold in the kingdom Jimin had come from, this place felt more like his domain than the icelands ever did.

He sat on the examination table, waiting for Hoseok and Yoongi to come back with the results of their tests. He was bundled up underneath blankets that had been heated up with Taehyung’s magic, and Taehyung sat in one of the chairs next to the table, along with Jungkook.

“I know Taehyung doesn’t want us to say anything to influence your decision,” Jungkook said, and he scooted his chair further away from the prince as the words left his mouth. “But I hope you want to stay here. Yoongi doesn’t have any other omega friends.”

“I’m not an omega yet,” Jimin reminded him.

“But you will be,” Jungkook said easily enough. “And you’ll still be his friend when you are.”

No one needed to say anything to influence Jimin’s decision. Jimin knew that he wanted to stay down here, so there was no need for them to say anything. The only thing Jimin was worried about was whether he would be able to survive down here or if he would have to spend eternity feeling like this everyday. That would be his deciding factor.

“Everything looks good,” Hoseok said as he and Yoongi returned to the room together. “It’s strange to receive magic so early in the transformation, but it turns out that’s why your body is so cold.”

“Your magic levels are off the chart,” Yoongi said, “And I probably mean that literally since our computer readings reached their maximum data points, but things will probably even out as you get them under control.”

“Wait a minute,” Taehyung said. He stood from his chair, and he pulled something out of his pocket, showing it to the two researcher demons. Jimin had to lean forward to see what it was—one of his frozen tears from earlier that morning. He kept that? “I thought it was strange that his tears were able to freeze like this, and even stranger that it wouldn’t melt. I couldn’t even melt it. If his magic is this powerful, there’s a chance that he’ll be able to survive down here, right?”

Yoongi took the tear into his hand and examined it carefully. “This came from Jimin?” He asked and looked at the ice demon.

“Y-yeah. I was in a lot of pain this morning,” Jimin mumbled. A little embarrassed.

“Can I keep this?” Yoongi asked, “I might be able to learn more from it.”

“I don’t have any use for it,” Jimin told him.

“To answer your question, probably,” Yoongi said as he slipped the tear into his own pocket. “The cold seems to be hurting him more than the heat right now, and that’s probably simply because his body is trying to keep his temperature down due to how hot it is down here. Once he gains control over his abilities, he should be able to keep his body temperature at a comfortable level.”

“So until then?” Jimin asked. There was no telling how long it would take him to get a handle on his new abilities, and he wasn’t sure if he could handle even another week of this chilling pain.

“If you can stay warm until this time tomorrow, I should be able to create a potion to help you until you gain control,” Yoongi said. “This tear should help in making that potion possible.”

“And there’s one more thing,” Hoseok was the one to speak this time. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up, so I have to tell you this.”

“Hoseok,” Taehyung said in a warning tone. He already knew whatever information Hoseok was about to announce, so Jimin thought it was only fair that he should be able to hear it. 

“Go on,” Jimin said. 

“I can’t really explain it,” Hoseok said as he flipped the papers, “But I think that, somehow, this is your true form. I can’t think of any other reason why you’d be turning into an ice demon while being transformed by Taehyung. That means—“

“If that’s true,” Taehyung butted in, “There’s no way of turning you back. I can only change you back to human if that’s your true form.”

“Is that all?” Jimin asked with a smile on his lips. “That doesn’t matter. I don’t want to return to my human form. I want to stay here, and I trust all of you enough to make that happen.”

“I recommend taking a break from the transformation for just one night, however,” Yoongi informed them. “Jungkook and I need time to analyze this tear so I can create a potion for you.”

“I think we can manage that,” Jimin said with a chuckle. “One night won’t hurt.”

“If you think that, it must be easier to resist me than it is to resist you,” Taehyung noted with a frown, and Jimin’s cheeks turned a deep red that almost matched the color of the other demons in the room. 

*

Despite Taehyung’s comments earlier, he didn’t even attempt anything with Jimin as the ice demon snuggled up to him for warmth before falling asleep. 

It was late in the night when Jimin woke again, freezing and bones aching worse than the morning before. When he opened his eyes, he saw his fiancé standing next to the bed, staring at him with a pained look on his face.

“I’m sorry,” Was all Taehyung said.

Jimin didn’t know what was going on. Sharp, crystalized tears materialized themselves at his eyes once more as the pain was too much to handle. “You’re sorry?” He managed to say through a clenched jaw as he forced himself to sit up on the bed.

As Jimin got into an upright position, a black puff of smoke appeared in the chamber, near the door. When it cleared, he could see Namjoon standing there, and Jimin panicked. Taehyung summoned Hoseok and even Yoongi to the room before when Jimin had a problem, but the appearance of Namjoon terrified him as he thought that it was something much more serious.

“This better not be something that could have waited until morning,” Namjoon said as the smoke continued to clear and Jimin could see him adjusting his robe on his shoulder.

“I can’t touch him,” Taehyung said, voice cracking.

“You can’t—” Namjoon looked at Jimin, who was sitting on the bed, shivering. The king carefully stepped forward, and he grabbed Jimin’s wrist. There was a terrible burning sensation at his touch, and Jimin jerked back with a wince. At the same time, Namjoon jerked back as if he had been hurt as well. “This...is a problem.”

“Should we contact Boreas?” Taehyung asked, his chest falling as he let out a shaky sigh. “Maybe he has a doctor or alchemist with more knowledge in ice demons than our libraries have to offer.”

“Without a doubt,” Namjoon said. He walked over to the wardrobe in the room, and he opened it to grab a blanket out. Jimin could see the heat radiating from the blanket as Namjoon warmed it up, and he brought it to the bed. Careful not to touch the ice demon, Namjoon wrapped the blanket around him. “But we are not contacting him.”

“Why not? Can’t you see Jimin is in pain?” Taehyung demanded, motioning to his fiancé. “You were more than happy with the idea of sending him to Boreas before.”

“We are not contacting Boreas,” Namjoon’s voice boomed loud enough to wake the whole castle if demons actually slept. “I know what I said before, but this is what I’m saying now.”

“So we’re just going to let him suffer?” Taehyung argued.

“Why not? It’ll make up for all the time you’ve helped him through the suffering of his transformation,” Namjoon pointed out, and Jimin frowned. He thought he was finally breaking some ground and getting Namjoon to like him, but he was apparently very wrong about that. “Do you know what Yoongi is doing right now?”

“He’s supposed to be in the lab with Jungkook analyzing data and conjuring a potion,” Taehyung informed his father.

“Knowing him, he’s probably asleep at this hour,” Namjoon said. “Do what you can to keep Jimin warm until I get back.”

With that, he was gone in a puff of smoke.

“He hates me,” Jimin said with a frown, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. It provided a comforting amount of warmth to him, but it didn’t keep him from shivering. “He wants me to suffer.”

“He doesn’t,” Taehyung assured Jimin. He carefully reached toward his fiancé, and he wrapped his arms around the parts of Jimin that were covered by the blanket, which apparently provided enough protection to keep Jimin from getting burned by Taehyung’s body heat. “He wrapped you in the blanket, and he’s bothering the daimons in the middle of the night for your sake. I don’t know why he doesn’t want to contact Boreas, but there was concern in his voice when he demanded that we shouldn’t. He has his reasons, I’m sure.”

Jimin hoped that was true. As much as Namjoon intimidated him, he also admired the Devil for all of his more charming qualities. Jimin wanted nothing more than for Namjoon to recognize and accept him as his son-in-law when he and Taehyung got married. 

The ice demon hardly had the chance to get comfortable against his fiancé’s before Namjoon and Yoongi both poofed into the room. Jimin was glad that this teleportation ability was something that the king didn’t seem to use too often. At least, not to intrude on his son in his own personal bed chambers. 

“This is only my first attempt,” Yoongi was holding a glass bottle, and he handed it to Jimin. “We were in the middle of attempting something different with the second batch when Namjoon showed up, but—hopefully this works.”

“And if it doesn’t? What will happen to Jimin?” Taehyung grabbed the base of the bottle, keeping Jimin from taking a drink. “You remember what happened to the first test humans with your earliest attempts at the fireproof elixir, don’t you?”

“I was practically an infant in the art of alchemy back then,” Yoongi pointed out, a dark expression on his face. He must not have liked to be reminded of past failures. “If I thought this would do more harm than good, I wouldn’t even consider giving it to Jimin. As for how well it works, we won’t know until he tries it.”

Taehyung slowly let go of the bottle, and Jimin brought it to his mouth. As the potion neared his nose, he could smell spices like ginger and nutmeg, warming flavors. It was a familiar scent that reminded Jimin of his comfort foods and warm drinks from the kingdom he had come from, and contrasted from the minty, cool flavors of the potion he was drinking before. He didn’t even have to taste it to know that this one would taste much better, and he was not wrong. It tasted like a warm cup of ginger-spiced hot cocoa on a cold winter morning, and it warmed Jimin’s insides. The pain slowly eased away, and the chills came to a halt. When his body finished warming, there was still a cool feeling flowing through his veins, but he was no longer cold. 

“Did it work?” Yoongi asked, expectantly. 

Jimin nodded, and Taehyung carefully reached out to touch his hand. This time, only Jimin pulled back in pain, and Taehyung responded with a frown. 

“It appears to have tamed his magic,” The prince noted. “Touching him doesn’t hurt me anymore, but I still burn him.”

“That is all we can hope to achieve for now,” Namjoon said. “Yoongi will continue working on another mixture until he finds something that works without weakening Jimin’s magic. You’re just going to have to keep your hands off of him until then.”

“Okay, but like, Jimin is good for now as far as those chills are concerned, so,” Yoongi yawned. “Do I have to do it right now?”

“Not even the daimon of sleep actually needs to sleep,” Namjoon stated, his eyes narrowed toward Yoongi. “There’s no telling how long the effects of this potion will last, and Jimin will need something to keep his temperature at bay when this wears off.”

“Fine,” Yoongi said with a pout, slumping forward with an exhausted sigh.

“I think you should get some sleep,” Jimin decided for himself. “The potion is working for now, and there’s still half a bottle. If it wears off, I have something to get me through the night, at least. Thanks to you, I’ll be able to sleep, so you should rest, too.”

“That’s a very kindhearted thing for a demon to say,” Namjoon noted. “Maybe we should contact Boreas after all.”

It was impossible for Jimin to read the intentions behind any of Namjoon’s words, so he couldn’t tell if that was a threat or a kind offer. He decided to go with a neutral response. “It’s called being grateful,” He informed the demon. “It’s how a prince shows his subjects that he will take care of them in return for their service and loyalty.”

“So, I can sleep?” Yoongi asked, hopeful. 

Namjoon sighed in return. “If it were up to me, you’d be working until you made something successful. But Jimin seems soft on you, and he’s the one directly affected by this.” He said before disappearing from the room. 

Yoongi looked like he wanted to cry as he turned away from where Namjoon had just been standing.

“Is he always like that?” Jimin was pissed. It was one thing for Namjoon to treat Jimin like that. Jimin came here as an outsider and had only been living with the demons for a short period of time. It pissed him off to see the Devil treat Yoongi in a similar manner. “I know he’s your father, Taehyung, but he’s a real—”

“It’s okay,” Yoongi’s voice was softer than usual. “I’ll go back to the lab and see what I can do.”

“Um, no,” Jimin insisted, furious. “I want you to return to your chambers and take a rest,” He demanded and looked at Taehyung. “Taehyung, tell him to go rest.”

“Listen to Jimin,” Taehyung said. “Namjoon said that it’s up to him if you get to go to bed or not.”

Yoongi looked at Jimin with thankful, but still pained, eyes. “I still have to get Jungkook from the lab if he’s allowed to rest, too,” He said.

“No need,” Taehyung told him, and Jungkook appeared in the room on his summon. “Good night, you two.”

*

After receiving the potion from Yoongi, there were only two things that prevented sleep from coming to Jimin that night. The first of which was the fact that he couldn’t cuddle with Taehyung. He had grown used to the demon’s warmth lulling him to sleep, so it was hard to get to sleep without it. The second thing was everything that had happened earlier. He just couldn’t understand why Namjoon was so spiteful toward Yoongi. He pretended to sleep to keep Taehyung from worrying about him, but he couldn’t stop worrying about Yoongi.

He knew that the hour of breakfast had come when Cerberus stirred from his sleep, and Taehyung began carefully tracing patterns on Jimin’s back. He only touched Jimin where he was covered by the blanket, knowing that touching him anywhere else would burn him.

Jimin rolled over and faced his fiancé. “Good morning,” He said with a yawn.

“You didn’t sleep much,” Taehyung said, knowingly and with a frown.

“I tried,” Jimin said.

“You were thinking about Yoongi?” Taehyung presumed.

Jimin sat quietly for a moment, replaying, in his mind, the events from the night before. “Why did Namjoon talk to him like that?” He asked.

Namjoon was almost always busy doing Devil things, so Jimin hardly got to see him apart from breakfast, and he’s hardly had a chance to see him around their friends or any other demons for that matter. He had no idea that Namjoon was so cruel to his own people.

“Honestly, Yoongi’s lucky that Namjoon lets his softer side show around you,” Taehyung told him, but Jimin could not believe that was Namjoon being soft . “He wouldn’t have gotten off so easy if you weren’t there.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Jimin said, knowing Taehyung was only avoiding giving a straight answer to the question because he couldn’t lie and he didn’t want to tell Jimin the truth. “Yoongi is good at his job, and he works hard. There was no reason for him to act like that.”

“You know why Yoongi is good at his job, right?” Taehyung raised an eyebrow. “Do you know what demons do when you go soft on them?”

Jimin shook his head.

“They rest. Or, in Yoongi’s case, they go to sleep,” Taehyung told him.

Now, not only was Taehyung avoiding the topic of Namjoon’s behavior, he seemed to be siding with Namjoon.

“So it was wrong for me to let him take a break?” Jimin demanded, eyebrows furrowed as he was now furious with his fiancé.

“I’m not saying that it was, but it’s not necessary that demons rest,” Taehyung told him. “Had you done what Namjoon would have, Yoongi could have had a new potion ready by now.”

“The potion lasted me through the night, and I have another dose for when it wears off,” Jimin pointed out, “Like I said, I’m thankful that Yoongi’s potion allowed me to get some sleep, and I wanted to return the favor. He’ll have another potion ready by the time I need it.”

“I can agree without thinking you made the right choice,” Taehyung chuckled. “The moral choice isn’t always the right choice. That being said,” He leaned forward like he was going to kiss Jimin, but Jimin pulled back. Not because he didn’t want to kiss Taehyung, but because he knew that it would only burn him if they touched at all. “I don’t think I would love you as much as I do if you were like every other demon down here.”

There was a light tap at the door, followed by Yoongi’s voice. “Jimin?”

“I’ll get that,” Jimin said, and he crawled around Taehyung and slid off the bed. He walked to the chamber doors and pulled them open.

“Hi,” Yoongi said, and he pushed his way into the room, just barely touching Jimin’s skin and burning him. Although it was probably an accident, he was too focused on getting in the room and saying what he needed to that he probably didn’t even realize he did it. “I know this is probably a weird thing to ask, but do you have anymore of Jimin’s tears?” He asked.

Taehyung opened the drawer next to his side of the bed, and he pulled out a small, drawstring pouch made of black velvet. “Why?” He asked as he handed the pouch to Yoongi.

“When we created that potion, we tested it by putting a drop on the last tear that you gave us,” Yoongi explained. “We couldn’t melt it, but when I tested the tear afterward, some of the magic had been drained from it.”

“So you weren’t surprised that the potion drained Jimin’s magic?” Taehyung assumed.

“Not at all, but the most important thing was to keep him from freezing throughout the night, so Namjoon insisted that we tried it anyway,” Yoongi was super excited and passionate about what he was saying, and Jimin found it to be adorable. “My plan was originally to try a second mixture that didn’t pull the magic from the tear, but I was missing one clear piece of evidence that hit me after sleeping on it.”

Jimin flashed a cheeky grin in his fiancé’s direction.

“A piece of evidence that you wouldn’t have found without being told to take a break, I assume,” Jimin chimed, glad that his softhearted nature was proving itself in this moment.

“Probably,” Yoongi agreed. “The tears appear to be extractions of Jimin’s magic, and the potion that I created works aside from the fact that it drains his magic. It also extracts the magic from the tears.”

“So if you use the tears to put Jimin’s magic into the potion, it should work properly?” Taehyung concluded.

“That’s my guess,” Yoongi affirmed.

Taehyung grabbed the half-bottle of potion that was still left over from the night before. “Test it,” He said. He removed the cork from the bottle and held it out to Yoongi. “Drop a tear in here and test it before you take all of those and waste them.”

Yoongi nodded, and he carefully opened the drawstring bag. He dropped a tear into the bottle, and Taehyung rose from the mattress. He walked to Jimin, standing directly in front of the ice demon, and he held the bottle out to him.

“Drink,” He said.

Jimin took the potion and he drank it. He tried to be careful not to swallow the tear, but there appeared to be nothing solid in the drink. Maybe copious amounts of the potion were capable of melting the tears.

“Well?” Yoongi asked. “How do you feel?”

“Colder,” Jimin said with a nod. The potion had dropped his temperature again, but not to painful limits.

“And, this doesn’t hurt?” Taehyung asked.

“Hm?” Jimin hummed, and he felt Taehyung’s hand slip under his shirt. Taehyung’s hands were warm like always, but the skin-to-skin contact didn’t burn anymore. Jimin shook his head. “It’s—”

“Good,” Taehyung pulled Jimin firmly against himself, and Jimin squeaked in surprise as their lips were connected in a passionate kiss. Taehyung was hasty about slipping his tongue in Jimin’s mouth and drawing soft moans from him, and Jimin may have complained about it if he wasn’t craving Taehyung’s touch.

“So, I’m going to return to the lab and prepare more potion with these,” Yoongi informed them, knowing full well that neither of them were probably listening to him. “This should be enough to get Jimin through the transformation.”

As the door closed behind Yoongi, Taehyung pulled Jimin against him more as he stepped backward toward the bed. He fell back onto the mattress, pulling Jimin down with him, and Jimin pulled back for air.

“So, tell me again why it’s bad to take care of your friends,” Jimin panted, looking down at his fiancé.

“Something tells me that you should have been the heir to your father’s throne,” Taehyung mumbled, his fingers sliding under Jimin’s waistband. “You have the perfect balance of demonic cruel nature and a compassionate soul.”

“Not that I don’t agree,” Jimin reached behind him to grab Taehyung’s hand and pull it out of his pants. “But I wouldn’t be here if I was the heir up there.”

“Your kingdom is missing out,” Taehyung chimed, and his hands slid down to Jimin’s , and he squeezed. “On a lot.”

Jimin yelped, jolting forward with a giggle. He climbed over Taehyung to the center of the bed, and he laid so that he was the one with his back to the mattress. “I think it’s time we stop talking and get on with this transformation,” He said, smiling up at his fiancé as Taehyung sat up and looked at him.

He groaned in pain as Taehyung crawled on top of him. “Are you sure you don’t want to go down for breakfast?” Taehyung asked, raising an eyebrow with that cute half-smile/half-frown thing that he does often, and Jimin rolled his eyes. “My parents might start to worry if—”

“Do you ever shut up?” Jimin chuckled, and he wrapped his arms around Taehyung’s shoulder and pulled him down for a kiss.

*

Later that afternoon, Taehyung needed to meet with Namjoon for more work as the heir to the Infernal Throne, which normally meant that Jimin was free to do whatever he wanted. Now, however, with the transformation nearing completion, Jimin had duties of his own. It was finally time that he went through the preparations of becoming the devil’s spouse. This, of course, meant that he would be spending far more time with Seokjin.

Jimin tapped on the door to the office that the servant demon led him to, and Seokjin’s voice was muffled on the other side, but he was ordering Jimin to come in. He slowly pushed the door open to find Seokjin sitting on the other side of a large desk with Yoongi sitting across from him.

“A-anyway, I’ll go,” Yoongi said, and he stood from the chair. “I really should be working.”

“Okay,” Seokjin said with the same smile he had only ever seen him use toward Taehyung. The one that showed his parental love for his son, so it was weird to see him use it on another demon. “I’m probably taking Jimin to the markets later, but I’m sure he won’t mind if you join when you find the time.”

“I don’t mind,” Jimin said, and Yoongi offered him a quick smile before leaving the office. Jimin looked at Seokjin, and he walked further into the room, pulling the door closed behind him. “What was Yoongi doing here?”

Seokjin motioned for Jimin to take a seat in the chair that Yoongi had just been sitting in, and the ice demon did as he was instructed. “Apart from crafting a potion that works for you, he’s been having a bad day,” Seokjin said. “Even a four-thousand-year-old demon needs parental guidance once in a while.”

“So he came to you for that?” Jimin questioned, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Why not?” Seokjin chuckled. “I’m his parent.”

“Wha-” Jimin didn’t know how to take that information. He wondered if Seokjin and Namjoon just considered themselves to be the parents of every demon since they were the overseers of Underland, but that didn’t make sense. Surely Namjoon wouldn’t have been so harsh to Yoongi the night before if he thought of Yoongi as his own child.

“Taehyung never told you?” Seokjin asked.

Jimin shook his head, at a loss for what to say. He was completely speechless at this huge revelation, but he had so many questions. The idea of Yoongi and Taehyung being brothers wasn’t so weird to Jimin, all things considered. His eldest brother would be marrying their aunt, if he hadn’t already, and Jimin’s own paternal grandparents were brother and sister with their other sister having married their uncle and being the mother to Jimin’s mother, making his parents cousins. While it was weird for lower-born people to sleep with their family, it was normal for royalty, so the idea wasn’t anything new to Jimin. Besides, in his religious mythology class, he knew that deities had children with their own children even. At least, that’s what he was taught. “So Taehyung and Yoongi are—”

“Brothers? Yes,” Seokjin affirmed. “Half-brothers. Namjoon is not Yoongi’s father.”

“Is that why Namjoon hates him?” Jimin asked, recalling the Devil’s behavior from the night before.

“Namjoon doesn’t hate Yoongi,” Seokjin assured him. “He has some spite toward him because he was my first child and the product of another alpha, but he doesn’t hate him.”

“That means that Yoongi is older than Taehyung?” Jimin had presumed that to be the case anyway because he was more mature than the prince, but he didn’t know for sure. “So why isn’t he the heir to the throne?”

Seokjin chuckled. “Only the trueborn child of Hades can be the heir to the Infernal Throne,” He informed Jimin. “Besides, Yoongi is an omega, thankfully.”

“Thankfully?” Jimin questioned.

“Namjoon would have more of a grudge toward him if my first-born child was an alpha that wasn’t his son,” Seokjin explained. 

“So, um, Yoongi’s other parent,” Jimin knew that he came here to do preparations to become Taehyung’s spouse, but, as long as Seokjin wasn’t going to stop him from asking questions, he was going to feed his curiosity. “Is he your alpha, too?”

“His name is Jaehwan, or, as you may know him by, Erebus,” Seokjin informed the other. “And, no, he was not my official alpha, but I loved him just as I love Namjoon. My pact with Namjoon allowed me to sleep with other alphas as I chose, and I happened to get pregnant from one of them before I could with Namjoon.”

“So, then, is Yoongi’s ancient name Hypnos?” Jimin asked, recalling that as the name of the daimon of sleep and son of Erebus.

“That is correct,” Seokjin confirmed.

“Which would mean Taehyung is—”

“Thanatos,” Seokjin answered for him. “Because Sleep comes before Death.”

“So Taehyung is the God of Death,” Jimin said with a nod, trying to let that bit of information sink in. All of this made everything make sense for Jimin. He understood more of Yoongi’s behavior toward Taehyung, and he understood some things about Taehyung better, knowing all of this. 

“We prefer the term daimon over god,” Seokjin made sure to inform him. “But does that frighten you? The thought of marrying the Daimon of Death?”

Jimin shook his head. No matter what Taehyung was a deity of, he was still Taehyung. “I’m sorry,” Jimin said with a small laugh. “We’re supposed to be working, and I’m just caught up on this stuff.”

“That’s not a problem,” Seokjin said with a smile, “After all, learning family history is very important, no matter what family you are entering.”

“But what were we supposed to be doing today?” Jimin asked.

“One of the first things we need to do is brush up your knowledge of our history, and teach you to read and speak our primordial language,” Seokjin told him, “But I decided that we should get the boring stuff out of the way first.” He opened up a drawer on his side of the desk and plopped a huge binder down on the surface. “So, we are wedding planning. Because it’s the boring stuff and more immediately important. There will be more than enough time for all the fun stuff later.”

*

The very basic discussion of what Jimin wanted to do with the wedding happened in the office, but Seokjin informed him that most of the planning would take place at the markets, where they would make purchases and try on gowns. He gave Jimin the option of bringing human traditions into the wedding, but, as Jimin will be a full demon when the ceremony takes place, he decided that he would go with all demon traditions. Seokjin informed him that this did mean wearing a dress, and Jimin was okay with that.

“What colors do you like?” Seokjin asked Jimin as they went into the tailor’s shop.

The tailor, a cute little (probably omega) demon came up to greet them. His horns were short, similar to most omegas Jimin had seen. He had a bright smile and even brighter eyes.

“Um...I like blue?” Jimin said.

“I can see that,” The tailor chuckled, probably referring to Jimin’s blue skin. All of the other demons were red, so it was easy for Jimin to forget that he was different. “But let’s not go with blue. It will clash with your skin tone.”

Jimin frowned, but the tailor wouldn’t be having that. Frowns brought down his whole bright and positive vibe and changed the entire atmosphere of the shop.

“How about,” The tailor disappeared for a moment and came back with a piece of deep red fabric and piece of pale blue fabric, “Red for you,” He placed the red fabric in Jimin’s hand so that he could see how the silk contrasted with his own, pale blue skin. “And blue for the prince?” He held the blue silk against Seokjin’s skin, which was close in color to Taehyung’s skin.

“Yeah, okay,” Jimin agreed enthusiastically. The idea of him wearing a dress made with the color of flames and Taehyung wearing a tux as blue as the ice of winter was so romantic to him. “I like that.”

“Good,” The tailor chimed, and he grabbed Jimin’s wrist, dragging him to the back where there were a bunch of dresses hanging up on mannequins. There were plenty of choices, but far less dresses than Jimin had seen in human bridal shops. “For the bride, we have all kinds of dress options. This royal wedding is special because it’s the first time that fire and ice are ever coming together as one, and I think it would positively romantic for your dress to show that. So, this is what I have in mind,” He led Jimin to one particular dress in the room. “We can get the skirt of the dress to look like flames, similar to this pattern here. Over that, we can lay a mesh of blue net fabric to resemble your cold nature, and I’m thinking that we can create some fire and ice horn decorations for you, too.”

The tailor was very enthused about his work, and he ended up explaining that he had been looking forward to designing the gown for the royal wedding for over two thousand years now. He admitted that he had to rework a few ideas in his mind when the news broke that Jimin was an ice demon, but it was nothing that he couldn’t work with.

Jimin, not knowing much about design, or really caring much for a gown that he would only wear for one day, let the tailor go with whatever he had planned. Then, it was only a matter of him grabbing Jimin’s measurement, and then he and Seokjin were on their way to the next place.

The next stop was the bakery, where they would decide on what kind of desserts would be served at the wedding.

When the doors to the bakery came open, the overpowering scent of pastries was the first thing that Jimin noticed about the place, and it made him feel nauseous. It was fun to see the demons react to Seokjin’s presence in the street and walking into the bakery. It reminded Jimin of when humans would react to seeing him and his family around the castletown.

“Your majesty,” The baker said, coming up to the counter. “Is it that time already?”

“It is,” Seokjin told him.

Jimin tried to focus on their conversation, but he was distracted by the nauseous feeling. He almost felt like he was going to pass out, and it took everything in him to keep from losing his breakfast. He didn’t even notice that he was being talked to.

“Jimin?”

The boy looked at Seokjin. “Huh?” He asked.

“What do you think?” Seokjin pointed to the drawing of the cake that the baker had made to show what he had in mind for the wedding cake.

“Oh, um,” Jimin looked at the drawing, but it was hard to make out what it looked like. There were layers, much like you would see on a traditional wedding cake on the surface, so Jimin said, “Yeah. It looks good.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Seokjin pressed his palm to Jimin’s forehead. “You’re cold. Do you need more potion?”

Really? Was he cold? He felt like he was burning up. But then again, everything probably felt cold to the demons. “No, I’m good. I have some if I need it,” Jimin took in a shaky breath. “Can I go sit down?”

Seokjin frowned, but he nodded. “I’ll try to be quick,” He said.

Jimin found an empty table, and he went to sit there. He was very aware of everything that was going on around him in the suddenly busy bakery. He tuned into the door every time it rattled as a person entered or left and it clicked shut behind them. He could smell the sweet pastries and all of the spicy scents of the demons inside. The texture of the leather seats felt crepey against the exposed parts of his skin, and he hated it. He hated all of it.

“Jimin?” He was very aware of how familiar that voice sounded, and he looked up to see Yoongi joining him at the table. He was never aware of how sweet Yoongi smelled, but maybe his nose was just influenced by the overpowering scent of the desserts. “Where is Seokjin?”

“Oh, he went to the back with the baker because he wanted to taste some things for the reception,” Jimin said, but he didn’t even know how he knew that. He wasn’t listening to their conversation after he came to sit here, but maybe he had tuned in without realizing it.

“Right,” Yoongi said, giving Jimin a concerned look, and he stood from where he had taken a seat just seconds before. “I’m going to go get him. Does he know that you’re…” He looked around the bakery with shifty eyes. “Honestly I don’t even think it’s safe to leave you here alone for just a second. Come with me.” He grabbed Jimin by the wrist and dragged him along.

One of the bakers at the front tried to stop Yoongi when he started to go behind the counter, but the Daimon of Sleep just ignored them and walked right on through. “Seokjin,” He said when he walked through the doors to the kitchen. The aroma was a lot stronger back here, and Jimin couldn’t hold it in any longer. He turned away from Yoongi and released the contents of his breakfast all over the floor. Yoongi tightened his grip on Jimin’s wrist and rubbed Jimin’s skin with his thumb. “We need to go.”

“I- I’m sorry,” Jimin said, tears in his eyes. “I’ll clean this—”

“No you won’t, child,” Seokjin said as he walked toward them. He placed his hands on Jimin’s shoulder and turned the boy around so that he was facing the kitchen door. “You’re going home.” He patted Jimin’s shoulder and then looked at Yoongi. “Do you think you’ll be all right if I have you take him to the castle? I know he doesn’t want to do this stuff, so I’m just going to get it all out of the way. Besides, I can’t just leave this mess here for them to clean up.”

“Yeah, we’ll be okay,” Yoongi said. “I’ll call for Jaehwan or Jungkook if I need to.”

“Or Taehyung,” Seokjin said with a smile. “Be careful.”

Jimin didn’t know what was going on or why Seokjin was making such a big deal about them going back. It wasn’t like Yoongi didn’t know his way around the city. “What’s happening?” He asked as they left from the bakery. When the question left his mouth, however, he got some idea of what was going on. He felt the tiniest amount of wetness in his pants, and it gave him a clue. 

“Well, um,” Yoongi said, his voice in a bit of a panic, wavering and all. “This would appear to be your first heat.” He stepped quickly, giving Jimin a hard time keeping up with him. 

“And this is a big deal because?” Jimin wondered. Other than the fact that he felt like vomiting everywhere, he didn’t see what the problem was. 

“You are more vulnerable when you’re in heat,” Yoongi said. “Alphas think that an omega in heat only wants one thing, and they’ll jump at the chance to a vulnerable omega.”

“But they would be foolish to touch me, considering I belong to Taehyung,” Jimin pointed out. The demon prince surely wouldn’t let them get away with doing anything to his intended. 

“Technically, you don’t belong to Taehyung. You two don’t have a pact yet, so there’s nothing stopping an alpha from taking you,” Yoongi told him. “Yes, Taehyung would probably let them be eaten, regardless, but that would only be after the fact.”

“Eaten?” Jimin asked. 

“By Cerberus,” Yoongi explained. “He is the guardian of our land, which means that his meals consist of any demons that break the laws.”

“I see,” Jimin said, “I wasn’t aware that even Cerberus had a job.”

“Every deity has a job,” Yoongi said. 

“You are the Daimon of Sleep, but also an alchemist,” Jimin pointed out. “How do you manage both?” 

“Being an alchemist aids me in my job as the Daimon of Sleep,” Yoongi told him. “The population of the world grows larger over time, and I cannot possibly travel the world to ensure that sleep comes to every creature who needs it. Alchemy allows me to control components on the surface that affect large groups of people at a time.”

“That’s actually kind of fascinating,” Jimin declared. 

“It’s like Hoseok,” He said. “Hoseok is the Daimon of Judgement, and he is a doctor. Some of his work is more along the lines of what humans would call a forensic scientist or mortician, so he sees all the dead before they pass through. This allows him to judge each one.”

“What about Taehyung? Does he kill people?” Jimin wanted to know. 

“Not necessarily,” Yoongi said. “In Taehyung’s kind of work, he deploys a special class of demon called the reapers. These guys do the job of reaping souls and bringing them down here. Taehyung actually decides who gets to stay, and he withdraws the reaper that is trying to take them away. He’s the reason people come back from a periodic death and why people survive what should be a fatality.”

“So he’s the reason miracles exist,” Jimin was kind of breathless on his statement, just thinking about it. “He probably saved my life once.”

“It’s possible, but I don’t know anything about it,” Yoongi said. “But it is kind of funny, because humans beg the gods for their lives when it’s really up to Taehyung, and the gods get the credit when they survive.”

“Another reason for Taehyung to hate the gods,” Jimin chuckled. 

“Indeed,” Yoongi agreed. 

Talking with Yoongi was good because it got Jimin's mind off of the changes that his body was going through, and it made the trip home seem like it didn’t take that long. 

“The last thing I want to do is disturb Taehyung when he’s supposed to be working,” Yoongi said as he walked to the bed chambers with Jimin. “So, I can, um, show you what I normally do when my alphas are busy while I’m in heat.” He offered, almost shyly. 

“Y-yeah,” Jimin opened the doors to his and Taehyung’s bed chambers, and he walked in. “It’ll probably be a few hours before Taehyung gets back.”

Cerberus wasn’t in the room either, so Jimin assumed he must have been with Taehyung or off somewhere doing his job of protecting Underland. 

Jimin went to the bed and climbed up onto the mattress. Taehyung’s scent was very familiar to him, and it was even stronger with his senses heightened. This, being the room that Taehyung had slept in for thousands of years, smelled very much like Taehyung. It was a mix of the smell of fire and Taehyung’s warm scent that vaguely resembles the spicy scents of winter. Those warm scents were one thing that always made Jimin feel at home around the prince, but he hadn’t really picked up on what the smells resembled until now. The worst part of it all, Jimin was experiencing his first heat, and the smell was tricking him into thinking Taehyung was right there, and it only made him want his alpha more. 

*

After Yoongi showed Jimin how to use a few toys to help himself until Taehyung came back, he had to leave. Jungkook, not being a Daimon of anything, was getting off work, and he wanted to be there to greet his alpha when he got back. 

Taehyung, on the other hand, took a couple more hours, and he came back to a napping Jimin. The ice demon was worn out after his day of running around the city and playing with Yoongi, and he was out. The mattress sunk in as Taehyung climbed in bed with him, and Jimin’s eyes slowly opened. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Taehyung whispered. 

Now that the alpha was actually in the room, his scent was even stronger. Unlike most scents that made Jimin nauseous today, Taehyung’s scent got him excited and made him feel all warm and fuzzy at the same time. It was good to have him home. 

“It’s okay,” Jimin yawned, and he snuggled closer to Taehyung. “I should be up by now.”

“I heard you got sick today,” Taehyung said, and he ran his fingers through Jimin’s hair. Jimin sighed and melted into the mattress with Taehyung’s touch. “How are you feeling now?”

“I’m- I think I’m okay,” Jimin said, his breath hitching as he started to get wet again. This time, it came on a lot stronger than before. He whimpered and snuggled closer to Taehyung again. “I missed you terribly, though.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Taehyung chuckled. “I’m taking the next days off to help you through this. Namjoon predicts that you’ll probably be a full demon when your heat is over, but I’m not so sure about that.”

“Why?” Jimin tilted his head back to look at Taehyung’s face. 

Taehyung offered a sweet smile, and he ran his fingers through Jimin’s hair. “I don’t think that forcing you to have when you feel bad is the best thing to do,” He said. “If this is making you sick, it’s better to let you rest.”

“Oh, that’s—” Jimin sighed. He was feeling bad and nauseous earlier, particularly in the bakery, but he was feeling better by now. Still, he liked the sentiment. “Kind of sweet.”

“Well, us daimons never really get sick, so I can’t imagine what you feel like,” Taehyung said. “If you say you need rest, I’m going to let you rest.”

Jimin felt more wetness build up in his lower region, and he let out a soft whimper at how uncomfortable it felt. He didn’t know that he was so aroused by kindness, and he also hoped that was something that he’d get used to. 

“I wish I knew what it was like to not get sick,” He said.  

“I hope you find out one day,” Taehyung said. 

“You hope?” Jimin tilted his head in confusion. 

“You’re an ice demon living in the fire domain,” Taehyung reminded him. “If you don’t gain control over you magic and have to rely on a potion, it’s possible you’ll always be weak in some way.”

Jimin smirked, and he brought his lips right next to the prince’s, but he didn’t kiss him. “I am not weak,” He whispered, and he pushed Taehyung over so that he could roll on top of him, handfuls of Taehyung’s shirt in his fists, he held himself up to look down at the demon. “You should know that by now.”

“I do know that,” Taehyung hummed, and he brought his hand up to the small of Jimin’s back, pushing the fabric of his shirt out of the way to touch his skin there. Jimin’s breath hitched, extra sensitive and aware of the touches. “You just might be stronger than me.”

“Would that be a bad thing?” Jimin asked, and he rolled his hips back on Taehyung’s lap, letting the daimon know exactly what he wanted.

“Oh, it would be a wonderful thing,” Taehyung said with a chuckle, and he rolled over so that he was the one on top of Jimin,  and he rolled his hips down against Jimin’s groin. The omega let out a breathy moan, and he dug his fingers into Taehyung’s back. “It would be good if the demons could fear you just for being you, and not for being my spouse.”

*

Jimin’s heat lasted a couple of weeks, and Taehyung stayed home from work most of the time. Through the first half of his heat, Taehyung would go to work and take care of his princely and daimon duties while Jimin was sleeping. Through the second half of his heat, Jimin lost the ability to sleep, so Taehyung was home a lot more. They had a lot of , and sometimes their friends were included. It was a great and terrible time all together, but Jimin was grateful to have such amazing demons to help him through it.

“Will you get to take off every time I’m in heat?” Jimin asked as Taehyung was getting ready to go back to work.

“Unfortunately, no,” Taehyung fastened his cloak on. “This was your first heat, so it was a special circumstance. I’ll work less during your heat, but I won’t be able to completely take off for it.”

“Oh,” Jimin responded with a frown.

“On the bright side,” Taehyung took a step toward Jimin sitting on the bed, and he placed a kiss to his forehead. “After you complete all of your tasks with Seokjin, you’ll be able to work with me.”

“You are...the Daimon of Death, right?” Jimin asked. He hadn’t talked to Taehyung about any of this since he learned it. 

“That would be correct,” Taehyung didn’t seem surprised by Jimin’s newfound knowledge. 

“So working with you would include doing Daimon of Death things,” Jimin assumed. 

“Unless it turns out that Chaos has another job lined up for you,” Taehyung informed him. “You’ll be helping me rule Underland, too, of course.”

“Looks like my days of slothing around and being spoiled are almost through,” Jimin said with a sigh. 

“What are you talking about?” Taehyung asked, “I’ll have more opportunities to spoil you while we’re working together, so you can make up for your lack of sloth with plenty of greed.”

Taehyung had to go to work as soon as he was done getting ready, so Jimin didn’t have much time to spend with him that morning. Jimin had more lessons with Seokjin to continue, so he was in the same office again. 

“Is there anything you have questions about?” Seokjin asked after they were done going over the family tree of the deities, and they were just about to get into the history of why the demons were sentenced to eternal life in the underground. 

“Um, it’s a little off topic, but…” Jimin’s thoughts trailed off before he could even ask his question. 

“Go on,” Seokjin urged him. 

“I wanted to talk about…” Jimin hesitated a little. Since he had been down here, he hadn’t really gotten the chance to talk about his family, and the demons never asked how he was doing without them. It was like that part of his life never existed and wasn’t important to him, and he was scared to bring it up. “The guest list for the wedding.” He hit his lip and looked up at Seokjin. 

“Ah,” Seokjin said, and he pulled out the wedding planner, turning it to the right pace. “What about the guest list did you want to discuss?”

“I can’t help but notice that the only people invited are Taehyung’s friends and family,” Jimin said with a frown. 

“Hoseok, Yoongi, and Jungkook will all be there,” Seokjin reminded him. “Are they not your friends?”

“They are,” Jimin agreed, “But—never mind. There’s no problem with the list.”

“Jimin,” Seokjin said, “You are aware that your family can’t come, right?”

“Why not?” Jimin needed an answer. “Couldn’t they take the fireproof potion I was taking?”

“It’s not just a matter of possibility,” Seokjin told him, and he closed the planning book. “You have to remember that your family gave you away. Besides that, Namjoon doesn’t want them here. You don’t belong to them anymore.”

Now that made Jimin angry. “So what? I belong to you?” He demanded. He was used to getting angry with Namjoon like this, but he never expected Seokjin to be the same. 

“Not necessarily,” Seokjin said, completely unfazed by Jimin’s outburst, “Belonging to us would mean that you were a piece of property without rights. You were given to us as a gift from your parents who treated you as such. You are free to do as you wish, now. No one is going to force you to marry Taehyung, and Cerberus is not going to keep you from leaving Underland. You are free to return to the surface, ask the gods to make you human again, or even go to Thrace and live with the ice demons as you are now.” He paused to take a breath. “The only thing we ask you not to do is invite your family down here.”

That bothered Jimin. “I miss them,” Jimin said with a deep frown. It was the first time he admitted that, but it was true. He missed his family, and he missed the snow. 

“But they don’t—“ Seokjin stopped himself from finishing that sentence, and his mouth formed a frown. “Do you want to see them?”

“Can I?” Jimin asked. He hadn’t been to the surface since he was brought down here, and he so wanted to go back. Just once. 

“Maybe it would be for the best,” Seokjin said, and he walked around the desk. He offered his hand for Jimin to take, and they both left the office together. 

Seokjin led Jimin to the castle library, and they walked right to the back and through a set of doors that led to a computer lab. Seokjin found Jungkook, and he ordered the young demon to show Jimin his family. 

That was a little disappointing. Jimin was hoping to go back to the surface, even if only for a brief moment, but he wasn’t about to complain. Seokjin ordered Jungkook to show Jimin the day that he left, and he wanted to see that. He didn’t think that viewing the past would be possible from the surface, so he was fine with this. 

The screen focused on his parents in their bed chamber on the morning they gave Jimin away. They both had just been dressed by their maidens, and they faced each other. “Well, today is the day,” The king said, a solemn expression on his face. He was sad, Jimin could tell. 

“Finally,” The queen, his mother, was not. She sounded relieved. As if this were a day that she had been looking forward to. “Jimin is perfect in every way. After this, we should require no more dealings with these demons.”

With that, Jimin wondered if his parents knew that Jimin would be married to Taehyung. That was something they could have told him. 

“I hope you are right,” The king didn’t share his wife’s enthusiasm. “I would hate to sacrifice my youngest son to no avail.”

Jimin and his father were close once. After it was decided that he would be given to the demons as a gift, his father became distant. At the time, Jimin didn’t understand it. He thought his father hated him, but maybe he was just trying to make it easier on himself to give Jimin away. 

That scene was cut there, and it jumped to the scene where Jimin was given away. Jimin watched as he entered a portal with the three demons who came to the surface, and he watched as his parents turned away. 

“Thank goodness that’s over,” The queen wrapped herself in her cloak, and she started to walk away. “What do you suppose they are going to do with him?”

“I’d rather not think about it,” The king sighed. “Jimin is gone, so it’s better that we forget about him.”

That hurt Jimin. He didn’t want his family to forget. He wanted them to remember him. They only had a limited number of years to live, and Jimin had an eternity. He would never forget them.

It jumped to the next scene. Jimin’s old room was being cleared out. They removed anything that reminded them of the fact that this was once Jimin’s room. All of his action figures were carried out of the room and to the orphanage within the castle town. His clothes were all donated or burned, and his pictures were destroyed. His father ordered the removal of every portrait that included Jimin, and he fired any of the servants who even mentioned his name. It was painful to watch. 

Seeing his father in pain in the beginning would have convinced Jimin that he was missed, but seeing everything that happened afterward convinced him otherwise. Even if his father was doing it because being reminded of Jimin was painful for him, that was not how Jimin wanted him to live. It was like he didn’t honor Jimin’s values at all, and they meant nothing to him now that his son was gone. 

The scene was now on Soojin, Jimin’s personal handmaiden. She was decorating what was once Jimin’s room, but all of the furniture had been replaced to be suitable for a baby. It was now, apparently, going to be the room if Jimin’s niece/nephew. 

“No,” Jimin said, knowing that Soojin could only be the focus now because she was about to lose her job. She was one of the only friends Jimin had on the surface. 

She was setting a shelf with some figurines when Jimin’s eldest brother walked into the room. “Oh, by the way Soojin—“

His abrupt entrance had startled her, as she was caught up in her own little world, humming to herself. She jumped at the sound of his voice, and one of the glass figurines fell off the shelf and shattered on the floor. 

“You worthless ,” Jimin’s brother bellowed, and he rushed into the room, grabbing Soojin by the hair. 

Jimin’s hands clenched into a fist, and he watched as his, once kind, older brother attacked his handmaiden. He said some words to her and shoved her to the ground. He was griping about how expensive the figurines were, and Jimin clenched his teeth. Money could be earned back, and figurines could replaced, but Soojin would always remember this moment. That was no way for his older to behave. 

“I wish that you would have been sacrificed to those demons,” Soojin said from where she was still on the floor. “Jimin would have made a better king than you.”

That earned her a hard slap across the face, and she fell, landing hard on her elbows. 

“Jimin was worthless,” His brother said, and those words stung. His older brother had always protected him, and Jimin thought they were close. “He was just a burden to me and to the kingdom itself. You notice those demons haven’t come back around since he was accepted? They’re probably keeping him alive, torturing him and ing him like—”

Jungkook skipped the scene. “You don’t need to hear that,” He said. 

When the next scene played, Jimin’s parents and his eldest brother were standing at the castle entrance with Soojin and the executioner. A crowd of people were gathered before them to see the events unfold. 

“I can’t—” Jimin tried to turn around so he wouldn’t have to see this, tears forming in his eyes.

Seokjin grabbed him by the shoulder, and made him turn back to the screen. “Watch, my dear child.” He said. 

His vision was blurry and distorted from his crystallized tears forming, but he watched as his soon-to-be father-in-law ordered him to. 

“I know you all have been wondering about Jimin,” The king announced. “The truth is, he betrayed us and conspired with our enemies. He made a pact with the demons and went to live with them in their homeland.”

What? Jimin understood if the people of the kingdom were kept in the dark about the family’s dealings with the demons. He knew that people would be terrified if they knew that the kingdom was working with the Devil, but why was he trying to make Jimin look bad?

“Heo Soojin has been found guilty of conspiring with Jimin,” He continued. “To show what happens to those who conspire with our enemies in the future, we sentence Heo Soojin to death.”

Jimin grabbed the back of Jungkook’s shirt and hid his face as the executioner stepped forward. The maiden didn’t even beg for her life before Jimin heard the sword come down and slashing of the skin. He heard her body fall forward and the blood dripping on the ground. 

“Turn it off,” Jimin’s voice was weak. 

Jungkook clicked something, and the whole system shut down. 

Jimin turned to Seokjin. “Why did I have to watch that?” He needed to know. 

“Because I wanted you to see the people you were missing,” Seokjin told him quite matter of factly. “We demons can be cruel just like your family, but we are not traitors and liars. Namjoon never wanted you to see that because he didn’t think there would be any benefit, but I disagree.”

“And what’s the benefit?” Jimin asked, tears falling from his eyes. 

“You know the truth about your family,” Seokjin replied. “Now you can decide for yourself if they are worth missing.”

“They weren’t cruel like that before,” Jimin said.

“Are you sure about that?” Seokjin asked. “They were the ones who locked you away in the castle after deciding, without your consent, that you would be given to us. I think there’s a lot you don’t know about your family.”

As much as Jimin hated to admit it, he trusted Seokjin. Demons weren’t liars, after all. They have proven that time and time again. Still, this was his own family they were talking about. “They wouldn’t have given me up if you didn’t force them to promise a human to you,” Jimin reminded the demon. 

“Do you know why we were working with you parents?” Seokjin asked. 

Jimin didn’t have a response to that. He never understood anything about the deal that his kingdom had with his parents. 

“I didn’t think so,” Seokjin said. “Don’t go forming opinions and making judgments on topics you know little about.”

Jimin didn’t know anything. The longer he was down here, the more he began to realize that. 

“I want to talk to Taehyung,” He said. 

*

“Did you know?” Jimin demanded as he burst through the door of the council room Seokjin had led him to. 

Taehyung and Namjoon were both in there with a few other daimons, but Jimin didn’t recognize any of them. He wondered if Yoongi’s other parent was among them. 

“Know what?” Taehyung asked, rising from his spot near the head of the large table. He walked around the table and toward Jimin, carefully grabbing his elbows in an attempt to get him to calm down. 

“About Soojin,” Jimin clarified, trying not to cry again. “You’re the Daimon of Death, so I want to know. Did you know or did you not?”

“How did you—?” Taehyung looked over Jimin’s shoulder, toward Seokjin, and then back at Jimin. “Let’s talk out here.” He said, and he pushed Jimin out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him. 

“Did you know?” Jimin demanded again when the door was closed, and it was just them and Seokjin in the hall. 

“I did,” Taehyung admitted. “It just happened early this morning.”

“Yoongi said—“ Jimin choked on his words. “Yoongi once told me that you had the power to save people. That you could withdraw their reaper and you could save them.” He paused for a shaky breath, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Why didn’t you save her?”

Taehyung was quiet. He glanced over at his father, and Seokjin gave a slight nod before walking away and disappearing in a puff of smoke. When he looked back at Jimin, his brows were arched and there was a frown on his face. “I know she was your dear friend,” Taehyung placed a finger underneath Jimin’s chin and tilted his head back. “But I can’t play favorites in my work. She’s a mortal and was bound to die eventually, and that executioner’s skills are exceptional. It’s not easy to save those who are intentionally killed.”

Taehyung seemed truly sorry for Jimin’s loss—which could hardly be considered a loss since he was probably never going to see Soojin again anyway, and probably never would have known of her death if Seokjin didn’t show him.

“You do know where all the souls go, don’t you?” Taehyung said after a moment of silence between them.

“To the dungeon,” Jimin remembered Taehyung telling him that once. As the words left his mouth, he felt a warm feeling growing in his lower stomach area, and that small warmth intensified into a burning sensation.

Jimin winced, and he started to fall to the ground, but Taehyung caught him to keep him standing up right. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m—” Jimin tried to straighten himself up so that he was standing properly, but the pain returned, even stronger this time. “Ah!” He cried out, placing his hand where the pain was coming from, and he collapsed on the floor.

“Jimin!” Taehyung knelt down beside him. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, but— ah! It hurts,” Jimin said through clenched teeth, and he held onto his stomach. It felt like there was a fire burning inside of him, like it was trying to burn a hole right through him, and Jimin was sure that he was going to die.

“I’m taking you to Hoseok,” Taehyung said, and he put Jimin’s arm around his neck as he lifted him off the ground.