English / Latin | Noun

♦the state of loving the one who loves you; a love returned in full

 

---

 

Jeongguk studies the book he's been given by Asterin to an extend where it almost turns religiously. In the secrecy of the night, he uses his daily shifting training not only to keep himself accustomed to the pain it always brings, but to explore the human body on his own. Which includes quite a few cases of trial and error.

Because as kind as it was from the Nordic mermaid to lend him this book - what does kamasutra even mean? - it happens not to be written in English or Korean.

Sure enough it's filled with many pictures that easily enough give the mer an idea what all this is about. Usually the drawing of a man and a woman together take up half of an entire page and then beneath it, in an obviously different drawing style, variations for two men or two women are shown. Which is perfect! Jeongguk wouldn't have known where to start with his research when it's been the big, probably original drawings only. Even he knows that a human woman's body works very differently from its male counterpart. 

Be it as it may, the many pictures don't warn him about how painful it is to try and open up himself in the back. It's a completely different kind of pain than the one when his scales break through skin a dozen within a heartbeat. Comes at him so unexpected he halts in his ministration, confused whether he's really feeling pain now, and why. And. That burn... feels a little weird.

Maybe he's doing something wrong. Maybe the foreign text warned him about it. And maybe, just maybe, it would have been the smarter decision from the beginning to find out which language it is and translate at least parts of the introduction.

So between customising the little cave he'd hastily hewn into the cliffs of their secret bay - not too much, just enough so it's comfortable for Taehyung; he wants to bring him to his actual cave soon - and spending the day with his most special human, Jeongguk reads and learns and tries to understand that book.

It takes him three nights to figure out his copy is printed in Spanish. And that too only because the hermit crab (who Jeongguk had allowed to share his space with for now) throws the bended, wobbly little book off the stone shelf. And it so happens to be a Spanish pocket dictionary.

Then it takes him another night to understand that what he's lacking in his little anatomic explorations is something called lube. Which is frustrating, just a little. Because. Maybe his mind is clogged or something but he can't think of anything the sea could provide him with for that specific cause.

Human-made goods, however!

He has to be quick. A look through the hole in the ceiling tells him the bigger part of the night has already passed. Digging his claws into the sea and forcing the tides under his command, he once more makes his way eastward.

 

Jeongguk almost slams into the shadow that is Seokjin, nothing more than a whisper cutting through the water himself.

"Yah, what- Jeonggukkie?!"

"Uh, hi."

Okay yeah, he's a little out of breath. But he really hurried to get here and then hopefully be back at sunrise.

The other mer notices and instantly turns worried, brows nudging together. "Is everything alright? Are you fleeing from something?" And then, a hint of panic seeping into his voice, "Are there- are there humans chasing you?"

Jeongguk quickly shakes his head. Not a smart idea. Now everything is spinning. He squeezes his eyes shut and waits for the sensation to fade. Maybe he did go too fast this time. "No no, no humans."

"Then, are you fleeing something else?"

"Nope." Well. He shrugs. "Time, maybe?"

The other mer huffs. "Now you just sound like Joonie."

"He did raise me too, y'know," Jeongguk quips with a toothy grin.

Seokjin sighs dramatically. "What will it take, I wonder, for me to become your favourite dad?"

The grin slips off the younger's face and turns into a scowl. "It's not like that and you know it."

"It's exactly like that and everybody knows it," Seokjin accuses with a jab of his finger against Jeongguk's chest. Then his features soften. "But I understand. I love him for the same reasons as you do."

"Huh? Whom do you love," comes a familiar voice out of their cave, followed by a rumble like from stones falling down and a muffled "Ouch!"

"Not you, you swimming disaster," Seokjin shoots back before hurrying into their cave when the faint taste of blood seeps into the sea. "Gosh, you are such an idiot. Why do I love you again?" He sticks his head back out of the cave. "Oh right, why are you here, Jeonggukkie? Do you need anything?"

Jeongguk his lips. Decides to slip into the cave at last, if only so his dad doesn't have to alternate between tending to yet another wound that's proof of Namjoon's ever-lasting clumsiness, and talking to him. There is not much Jeongguk himself can help. He doesn't have any more healing powers than every other mer and his knowledge about tending wounds is definitely poorer than Seokjin's.

"Uh, yeah, I was wondering if you still have that box of oil you stole from a ship."

"Excuse you, I didn't steal it, it fell into the sea and thus rightfully belongs to me," the older snips. 

"Yeah, the sea that miraculously raised five metres high all of a sudden and enveloped half of the cog," Jeongguk mutters.

"Yah! Do you want something from me or not, you brat?!"

He does.

"I wanna have the whole box, please."

Seokjin fully turns to him, eyebrows raised high. The gash on Namjoon's tail has clogged up already and is no longer leaking, the mer muttering some sheepish Thank Yous.

"What do you need so much oil for?"

"Uh, cooking!"

"...Mers don't eat, stupid."

"Which means you have no use for it too, right? Perfect!"

"But the entire thing? That's heavy. You know the box is solid wood and- yah, Jeongguk, are you even listening?!"

 

In the early hours of dawn, way before he's made his way back to the bay, Jeongguk feels something. Or rather, someone. 

And that someone is not his Taehyung.

It was a good thing, he decides, that he's been practising to expand his reach. To keep a connection with Nakseongdae and its surroundings no matter how far off he goes.

Controlling the sea and lending its tremendous powers is, as he learnt from his dads, all about imagination. As long as you can visualise what you want the sea to do for you, nothing is impossible. (Well, almost. He can't change things that don't belong with the sea. That's why he also can't make Taehyung breathe underwater.) His hold on Nakseongdae, he imagines like ropes fastened around his waist, the other ends unravelling into thin strings weaving themselves together into a net that broadens and fans out all over the bay, floating on top of the waves like foam and lapping at the stilts, the trawlers, the pier, everywhere.

That's how he knows somebody is standing at the pier. The humans of Nakseongdae think they are so subtle, that he can't tell where they are as long as they don't touch the sea correctly. Idiots. Even with the concrete pier, Jeongguk can still sense the vibrations of people walking across. And right now, while he is still swimming along the long chain of islands cutting off a little part of the pacific ocean from the rest of it, he can clearly feel it. That someone stands at the end of the pier, unmoving.

Then, a few pebbles get thrown into the sea.

And. Maybe it's nothing to worry about. Maybe he is overthinking it.

But his gut tells him that whoever stands there is looking for him. And not in a friendly way.

He mustn't let his guard down.

 

•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•

 

"...And I lost the bet, because of course I did, but I am a man of my word, you know?"

The weather is nice enough to be at the beach today, the autumn sun drenching everything into a warm gold. The fallen leaves and pine needles floating atop of the waves contribute their part to the warm colour palette with hues of yellow, orange, red and brown.

Taehyung and Jeongguk - in his human form - are huddled together on their preferred stone ledge, an old blanket wrapped around them. They can't read books like that very well, so Taehyung has resorted to telling the mer all kinds of stories from his idol life. He also brought some snacks (like a romantic little picnic) and occasionally darts a hand out of the toasty warmth of their blanket nest to grab something and feed it to Jeongguk.

Chilly wind pulls at his hair. He splutters as he gets a strand in his mouth. Buries himself further into the blanket and Jeongguk's lose hold around him.

With a soft laugh, the mer plucks the hair out of his mouth and tucks it behind his ear. Pecks him on the cheek, then rests his chin on Taehyung's shoulder again. 

"Do you have pictures?"

"Of course I do, who do you think I am?!"

Taehyung fumbles for his phone. Scrolls through his camera folder until he finds it: a picture of the quacking, fuzzy duck sandals on his feet. The penalty for his lost bet against Hoseok. Excuse him. Taehyung has been so sure ATEEZ would win a Daesang this time, but no!

"You really wore them in public?"

Taehyung grins. "Of course I did. Hobi-hyung sure enough regretted his choice of penalty soon." 

"He did?"

"Oh yeah. Absolutely," Taehyung chuckles. "We've been grocery shopping with me wearing them, a whole group of bodyguards in tow. After like, five steps, Hobi-hyung hated them already. Their obnoxious quacking. Was trying to speed-walk away from me, going 'I don't know you, we are not friends, we don't belong together' and all that. So naturally I chased him all through the store and had the time of my life while the quacking drove him insane."

Jeongguk shakes his head, laughing. "You really are something."

"Yeah. I'm a handful. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"Mhm. Ever since you kicked me in the face."

Blushing, Taehyung turns away. "Well, sorry, you surprised me, okay?! I've never seen anything that big in the water before." He pouts.

The mer laughs and gives him another kiss. "Don't worry about it. I barely felt anything. And, I mean, it was probably quite an appropriate reaction. Considering everything."

"Well, at least I didn't up as hard as the dudes who had to organise the 1904 Olympic marathon," Taehyung huffs. He is still pouting. Sue him.

Jeongguk halts. Blinks.

"I- what?"

Taehyung is once again very thankful for his random knowledge. It helped him divert the topic in so many awkward situations already. And if the reporters twist that into him being weird just because they never heard of the pear being the official fruit of Genovia, well. Then it's their loss. He stopped caring what the tabloids write about him long ago. As long as people enjoy his music and have a good time at his concerts, that's more than enough.

Speaking of which, he should continue working on his album soon.

Jeongguk flicks Taehyung's earring against his neck. "Hey. You haven't explained yet. What is a 1904 Olympic meth-hatlon?"

At that, Taehyung laughs so hard he almost drops his phone in the ocean. That guy is too cute.

Between chuckles, he quickly explains the concept of the Olympic games, Jeongguk hanging on his every word like always when he tells him something new about the human world.

"Okay, and why did the organisers up?"

"Because." Somehow, during that explanation he's made his way into the mer's lap. Not that anyone of them is complaining. As he now counts the many mistakes made by those so-called organisers, he takes one of the mer's hands, entwines their fingers and then taps onto one of Jeongguk's knuckles for each thing he names. "Because one, they forgot to prepare water stations along the way which means the athletes had to run a ton of kilometres without any chance of staying hydrated."

Tap.

"Two, they gave a cocktail that included actual rat poison to one of the competitors."

Tap. A playful nip of Jeongguk's teeth at the shell of his ear. Taehyung shivers.

"Three, one guy who hadn't been given food for almost two days sneaked into a garden or something, ate some rotten apples and then vomited his guts out right onto the track but still came in as one of the first guys because everybody else collapsed of dehydration."

Tap. Jeongguk shifts his food and wiggles his toes against Taehyung's ankles - in a way that has him clamping his mouth shut against the mixture of a high-pitched chuckle and a moan that's threatening to escape him. He wonders if Jeongguk knows how much those fleeting little touches . Gulping, Taehyung his lips.

"Uhm, four, the race was held on a dusty road which is a stupid idea to begin with. But it was so dusty in fact, that one competitor managed to inhale enough dust to tear his stomach lining open, which. Before you ask, I don't know what that means exactly but it certainly doesn't sound pleasant at all."

Tap. Chin hooked over his shoulder and chest tightly pressed against his back, Jeongguk hums. The puff of warm air tickles in Taehyung's ear and the vibration he feels at his back momentarily distracts him.

The mer just feels so nice against him.

"Uh. Where- where was I?"

"Number five."

"Oh. Right." He nods. "Five. Someone accidentally released feral dogs onto the track. Which is about as stupid as one can be, because when dogs see someone running, then of course they'll give chase. I don't remember if anyone got injured and how badly but I bet the answer to both is Yes. So, yeah." He runs his thumb over Jeongguk's fingers, then traces one of his long nails up to the tip. Wonders if, with how sharp and clean they always are, the mer regularly sits in his cave or wherever and does manicure. The picture of Jeongguk sitting somewhere with furrowed eyebrows, maybe tongue peeking out in concentration and filing his nails has him smile. "Basically they ed up everyone so bad that the dude who drank rat poison still was the one who won. Which tells a lot about their non-existing organising abilities."

"Hmm." 

Jeongguk's other hand comes up to delicately caress Taehyung's face, the touch one of utmost gentleness. Everything in Taehyung warms. He sags against the mer with a shaky breath. 

"Will you grace me with the sight of your splendid face, my dear?"

All air stutters out of Taehyung's lungs in uncontrolled wheezes.

"I didn't- gosh. Admit it, you actually own some old books, don't you? There's no way you'd know how to butter me up like that with the literacy diet I've given you. Gosh," he says again, drags a hand over his face. "Just, give me a minute."

Where did his ability to change subjects - and save his poor heart, for crying out loud - go when he needs it? He his lips. Looks around in search of anything until he spots the little snack basket.

"Come on," he says and hopes his voice sounds firmer than it feels. "We really should delete cookies."

Taehyung turns around in the mer's lap to straddle him instead, and grapples for the pack of chocolate chip cookies. He doesn't, however, make eye contact. Still feels like he'd fall flat on his nose if he was to get up now. Stupid Jeongguk and his sweet-talking. Stupid, lovely, wonderful Jeongguk.

The mer hums some more, hands idly slipping under Taehyung's shirt and wandering up and down his sides.

Which doesn't help him try to regain his composure at all.

"Why do I feel like this is supposed to be a joke of some sort?" Jeongguk's hands are warm on Taehyung's skin. Grounding him.

"Oh, right. I forgot that you're- right. It's, uh, some technical thing. Where websites and stuff put little trackers on you. They're called cookies."

"Why?"

"Well," Taehyung muses around a mouthful of cookie, "it sure sounds better than spiderweb, doesn't it? Or maybe it's because the programmers are playing Hänsel und Gretel with the data crumbs. Here." He feeds Jeongguk another cookie, holding the bit that wasn't eaten with the first bite and waiting patiently for the mer to swallow, chocolate slowly melting on his fingers.

Jeongguk notices, of course. Eats the other half of the cookie right out of Taehyung's hand and then teasingly the molten chocolate away. Which only partly works, as his tongue is still coated with chocolate and cookie crumbs that get smeared onto Taehyung's finger now. So, the mer grabs Taehyung's wrist, sticks his finger in his mouth, and .

Taehyung gapes. Heat pools in his stomach.

He slowly shakes his head. "You horrible thing," Taehyung mutters. Pulls his finger out of Jeongguk's mouth, grasps his face and surges forward for a filthy kiss.

 

"So..."

"Oh no," Taehyung groans. "I know that tone."

"I thought, now that you, like, used up all of your pearls, you might want replenishment."

"Gguk." He laughs. Shakes his head. Keeps tracing swirls and waves onto Jeongguk's chest and shoulders, a habit he recently picked up from the mer. "Babe. I wouldn't even know what to do with them at this point, I'm pretty much out of ideas. Not that I'm not happy about your gifts, of course."

Jeongguk purses his lips. "I thought, because you humans value pearls a lot, there is never something like too many." He cards a hand through Taehyung's gradually lengthening hair. Taehyung leans into the touch and mocks a purr. "Besides, you are my pearl. Of course you gotta get all the pretty pearls in the world."

Taehyung smooches his face into the mer's shoulder. "You really love to do terrible things to my heart, don't you."

Again, there is that crease between Jeongguk brows when Taehyung peels his face off him, like last time when he gave Taehyung the dagger. As if he doesn't understand how completely over the top all his presents are. Honestly, how could Taehyung, a mere human, ever give back to Jeongguk for all the invaluable things he received already? (Maybe he should start making good use of the little fortune he's earned himself as an idol. Maybe he should stop feeling bad for all the potential vendors who have to make their way from big cities across the pathetically maintained street that leads to the village and start buying luxuries he can shower Jeongguk with.) 

"I just want to give you all the treasures you deserve."

Well.

The feeling is mutual.

"Okay," he says and has the faint sense of sounding hoarse. "As I know you, you've probably had the pearls ready all along, right?"

The mer gives him a secretive smile that's more than enough confirmation. With Taehyung securely in his hold, he sits the both of them up, then scoots to the stone ledge's rim, bare foot popping out of their blanket cocoon and dipping into the water. Moments later, a swirling water stream rises up like a small geyser, carrying a big mussel on top.

"What the f-"

Sometimes Taehyung forgets the mer can do literally anything with the sea. Every time he witnesses a new magical trick, it's mind-boggling anew.

"I haven't had a lot of contact with humans before I met you, as you can probably imagine," Jeongguk admits. "But occasionally, I would listen to them. Just drift behind their big loud swimming cities and hear all kinds of stuff. And a few of them talked about how much better it is when things are fresh. And. It doesn't get fresher than this, I suppose."

With that, he picks up the mussel, and the water stream plummets into itself. Jeongguk fits one of his nails between the two halves of the mussel and, with one twist, pries it open.

Taehyung stares.

Aside from the slimy thing in the middle that must be the - is that an oyster? - there indeed are pearls inside the shells. As in, lots. At least twenty. 

"That's.That's not how I pictured it. Give me a second, I gotta process."

Jeongguk tilts his head and gives him a funny look. "Pictured what?"

"How pearls are made!" He throws his hands in the air. Halts, shudders, and tucks them back into the blanket's warmth. "Okay so- so maybe it was naive of me to actually believe those things, but thanks to the pictures Gidnep and others-"

"Gidnep?"

"I used to misread the Disney logo for a long time. But that's not- anyway! The pictures I've been fed from an early age always were of mussels that pop open on their own and then inside is one single big perfect pearl, sitting on something that looks like a cushion. There was always only one big pearl, smack-dab in the middle. And not, like, a ton."

Taehyung can't even be mad when Jeongguk starts laughing at him. In hindsight it's been pretty narrow-minded to take anything Disney as given fact. But still! This doesn't look like the image in his head at all.

"Do you even know what pearls are?"

"Uh, well, oysters produce and then guard them?"

Another string of carefree laughs rasps out of the mer, Taehyung shaking with him. "Pearls essentially are nothing else than enclosed foreign objects. They are grains of sand or something similar that make their way into the oysters and hurt them, so the oysters try to get rid of them by coating them in several layers of, uh, stuff they produce. To make the surface smooth and not have it hurting them any longer."

"So this oyster here basically has, like, a ton of solid blisters?"

"Depends. What are blisters?"

"Well, blisters..." Taehyung begrudgingly peels out of the blanket, pushes up his sleeves, then the legs of his trousers. Checks his chest too, with a glance down his neckline. Everywhere he can look on his own without a mirror. He's already had blisters in the weirdest places. But of course, now, when he actually needs it, there is not one in sight. Typical. He huffs, tucks all the fabric back down and slinks back into Jeongguk's arms. 

"Blisters are like bubbles of some kind of dirt liquid under your skin."

"That... doesn't sound too far off," Jeongguk concludes, then begins peppering Taehyung with kisses - neck, shoulder, face, everywhere he can reach.

Taehyung giggles and lets him.

 

He'll start easy.

With something he can even make on his own. Probably. Hours of Internet surfing for present ideas lead to him creating a Pinterest account and then a pinboard exclusively for gift ideas. 

(He'll like anything if it's a gift from you, a voice in his head whispers. Taehyung ignores it. Wants Jeongguk to genuinely like the gift and make good use of it, not only because it's from him.)

So. After a nice shower and going through his skincare routine, it dawns on Taehyung that, well. Jeonguk most likely doesn't know the meaning of wellness. And that, that little random thought, becomes his starting point. He sneaks down the stairs to check the kitchen for all kinds of ingredients, cursing at that one step that always creaks and praying that neither of his landlords woke up from it. He gets lucky.

Two hours later, he's done with everything. Carries the finished things up to his room and then, with a full-body-shuddering yawn, collapses on the bed.

 

When he's just about to fall asleep, he gets an idea what to add to his first gift. Something really cool. And. If he wants to do it right, worth a small fortune.

Taehyung sits up again and grabs his phone.

Eventually, he finds what he's been searching for. A set perfect for Jeongguk. Giddy with excitement - he's almost vibrating out of his skin where he sits on the bed - he orders the item, ignoring the price tag completely. Activates the priority delivery too.

This is going to be one hell of a first present!

Finally, when it's way too late and his eyes are beginning to burn, he puts the phone away. 

Taehyung buries his face in the pillow with a big smile and lets out a squeal. This is gonna be so cool!

 

"Can I take you somewhere today?" Jeongguk asks as soon as he holds Taehyung in his arms in the shadow of the old huts.

You can take me wherever you want, Taehyung almost says. Bites his tongue just in time. . I'm so weak for you. Instead, he silently nods with a broad grin.

Jeongguk gives him a peck on the forehead. "Alright. Deep breaths, pearl."

Taehyung refuses to admit what a knee-wobbling effect that name still has on him. He is not affected. He isn't!

He opens his mouth wide, lungs filling with air - and the world turns shades of dark blue and green.

 

They swim for a long time. It's probably the longest trip Jeongguk has taken him. The farthest away from Nakseongdae.

Taehyung loses all feeling for time and direction. At the beginning, he tries to keep up with where they're going but after a while he simply gives up. With how fast Jeongguk goes, his senses are confused to the max. (Truth be told, he has to concentrate to keep the faint feeling of dizziness at bay.)

Five times - that's how often they come up for air and a short break.

Then, Taehyung spots foreign land on the horizon.

The next time they come up, walls of a steep gorge are looming tall into the sky around them. Taehyung can't see much with how quickly the mer pulls them under again but it looks like that gorge is on fire. Covered in brilliant hues of gold and orange and red.

They slow down at last. And when they come up with deep gasping breaths that taste like the finality of reaching their target destination, Taehyung finds himself in the middle of a wild pond. 

From the very first moment, it's a magical place. With the water-polished rocks scattered around the edges, the gurgling waterfall at one side, the blood-red maple trees towering above them and the other broadleaves adding their own fierce hues of smouldering flames to the picture, to the deer that stares at them with twitching ears before hopping off.

"Whoa!"

Taehyung doesn't have time to notice the satisfied little smile on Jeongguk's face, too busy gaping at their surroundings worthy of a fairy tale.

His gaze keeps getting caught by the deep-red spiked leaves.

"Is this- wait. Are we, like, actually in Japan?!"

Realistically speaking he know it's a foolish thought. That they are in a completely different country. On the other hand, they've been on the move for a while. And... Jeongguk went really fast. Besides, those trees scream ko- wait, what was the word again? Koya? Koyo? Koichi? Something short with 'ko'. The opposite of sakura. Anyway! Those trees scream Japanese picture book autumn. That's the .

Jeongguk's answer doesn't help dwindling Taehyung's awe at all.

"I don't know how you call these lands."

What.

Now Taehyung stares at him.

Watches the mer swimming over to one of those rocks and wiping the layer of wet leaves clustered to it away to scratch markings in the hard surface with his nail. By the time Taehyung joins him, the map is already clearly recognisable. The lines show the Korean east coast, bits of Russia and the entire Japanese west coast - everything surrounding the east sea - with the accuracy of an atlas map.

"Here," Jeongguk mutters and points somewhere, nail clicking on stone. "We're here."

Honshu. They are somewhere at the north-western coast of ing Honshu! Taehyung is going to pee, or something. He doesn't know how to cope with Jeonguk's sheer awesomeness.

(Also, nobody told him that mers are born cartographers. He feels so betrayed. Or is it maybe a Jeongguk thing? Either way! Hidden talents everywhere. Gosh. How is he so good?)

"Yep," Taehyung admits weakly, "that's Japan."

Sweet Jesus. 

Jeongguk is such a beast.

 

They spend the day there, in their magical little pond. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Japan. Just the two of them - and the fox and two more deer that hesitantly pass by.

It's a day full of leisure, the two of them enjoying their pretty surrounding just as much as each other's company. 

Taehyung is thrilled as to cross 'kissing under a waterfall' off his non-existent bucket list. (They only try int once, though. The water pressure is too annoying to stay there for long and it's not like there is a hidden cave behind the veil pouring down on them. That would be too cliché.)

Which doesn't mean there is not a lot of kissing happening anyway. Because there is. To a point where Taehyung's lips feel raw and won't stop tingling. Not that he's complaining. Jeongguk is a great kisser. He secretly hopes the fox is jealous because it can't kiss Jeongguk. But Taehyung can. To his heart's content, even. Heh. He smirks and pulls the mer's head forward once more.

 

"By the way, does it bother you in any way to be in freshwater?" Taehyung is sprawled over a rock with his belly up and head hanging upside-down, the mer brushing their noses together or craning his neck for a short kiss every few seconds. "Some saltwater beings can't live in freshwater, from what I remember."

When the next peck lands on his cheek, Taehyung can feel Jeongguk smile.

"Don't worry about that. I always keep the sea close to me. See?"

He lifts a hand up to Taehyung's eye-level and shows it to him, a sliver of water flitting through his fingers. Then it leaves the mer's grasp as a floating ribbon, growing longer and longer until it encircles the entire pond. Like a broad blue string. It swirls around in the air some more before returning to its master and flitting back into the pond.

Taehyung stares.

"You are so ing cool!"

 

Three days after their trip to Japan, Taehyung gets an e-mail about his delivery coming soon. 

He grins.

About time.

 

"Ugh." 

Taehyung eyes the store where Yoongi works. He's in a squeeze. It's either going to that old lady who had needed half an hour to get his request right last time, or going here, with the unmistakable knowledge that whatever he purchases will be reported to Jimin immediately.

He stands across the store, staring at the entrance for five minutes longer before caving and going in.

"Look who's finally worked up the courage to come in," Yoongi drawls from behind the counter.

Of course he saw Taehyung standing outside like the absolute dimwit he is. Taehyung sighs. That's just his kind of luck.

"Hello to you too."

His landlord weaves out of the confines of the tiny cashier area and comes to plant himself right in front of him. "So? Whaddaya need?"

Taehyung mutters something.

"Huh?"

"A... a gift basket. But empty. So like, just a basket. But a pretty one."

Yoongi squints at him. "Weird kink but okay."

"It's- that's not a kink," Taehyung splutters. "I forgot to bring one of my presents for mum's birthday and I want it to look nice, okay?!"

"If you say so."

"Yah!"

 

After some more completely unnecessary teasing on Yoongi's end and whines from Taehyung's, he's got his basket at last. Makes, with one last scowl over his shoulder at a smirking Yoongi, his way around the corner to stop, put down his bag and quickly arrange the several glasses in the basket. He even adds a bow wrapped around the handle. Then, once the whole thing looks decent, he stuffs it in the bag and bundles his spare clothes around it as makeshift cushion. Right next to the precious box that came yesterday and is wrapped up just as tightly.

Mindful of all the fragile things he carries, Taehyung has to walk slower than usual. Yeah, he's officially late.

And of course Jeongguk teases him with it.

Greets him with those exact words.

"You're late."

"I know." Taehyung pouts. Sits down onto the pier, swings his legs over the ledge and, hugging his bag, drops down into the sea. Into the mer's awaiting arms. Easily mirrors the smile Jeongguk gives him at their first body contact of the day. He wants to give him a quick kiss on the mouth but miscalculates, lips landing on the mer's chin instead. Jeongguk giggles. Leans back in for a proper kiss this time that Taehyung is all too happy to answer. "Sorry I made you wait."

Jeongguk shakes his head. "Don't mention it. I'm happy now that you're here. Now, cave or beach?"

"Cave, please."

The mer gives him an exquisite look. "You sound like you have a plan."

"Maybe~," Taehyung sings and winks at him.

 

"Congratulations to you very own exclusive spa day!"

Jeongguk stares from where he's still in the water, floating between where Taehyung has his legs spread open and dangling over the mossy ledge.

"My... what?!"

"Your spa day. Wellness. Relaxation." Taehyung opens his bag and gets out the little basket to gingerly place it on his lap. "Here, I made something for you."

A strangled noise makes its way out of the mer's throat.

"You, you made something? For me?"

Taehyung furrows his eyebrows. "Yes?"

If he didn't know any better, he'd say Jeongguk looks a little constipated. With how he doesn't say anything for a long while before his entire face melts into the most blinding smile. "Thank you," Jeongguk breathes with a reverence one might use to thank God for a miracle.

Taehyung blushes bright red to the root of his hair. "Hush," he stutters. "You- you don't even know what it is yet."

"Still."

And yeah, he thinks, that backfired quickly. He didn't plan to get himself killed by gifting something to Jeongguk. Deep breaths. Gosh. Are his hands shaking? The tremendous effect that stupid fish has on him, really. He hates it. (He loves it.)

"Alright. You, uhm, you just stay there, get comfy. And I'll just- yeah."

Entire head burning, Taehyung clamours to unpack his bag. First gets out the gift basket, little glasses clinking against each other, and puts it in the moss, followed by the silk-wrapped box. Then he slips out of his trousers - shoes and socks early abandoned upon their arrival as always - and gets into the water.

Jeongguk smiles at him. "Hi."

"Hi," Taehyung breathes and gives a peck behind the mer's ear. He pulls the silk box closer to the edge. "Could you help me with one thing, please?"

"Of course."

The answer comes promptly and with such a reverence it once more makes Taehyung's heart skip a beat or two.

He quickly looks away and focusses on the box instead. On opening it and fishing out the hand-carved tea pot and one of the cups belonging to that set crafted out of deep green Burmese jade. Imperial jade, the auctioneer had called it. One of the most valuable types of jade there is. Taehyung had mostly liked the colour, that shade of rich bluish green that looked so much like Jeongguk's scales in the shadow.

"Here." He hands the pot to Jeongguk who obediently takes it, a questioning look on his face. And then, lest he forgets it later, is quick to add, "That's yours now, by the way. I'm just showing you how to use it."

The mer is about to open his mouth and protest after taking a good look on the insanely intricate craft and all the shapes carved into the green gemstone, but Taehyung doesn't let him. Pulls the basket close already to get another thing.

Because next is the little metal box that sits in the centre of the basket, surrounded by a handful of glasses. It holds a couple of fish-shaped tea bags. One of those now makes its way inside the pot, followed by a generous pour of drinking water from Taehyung's bottle.

"Could you have the water boil for a second and then let it cool down on its own, please?"

Jeongguk doesn't bother answering.

Two seconds later, water bubbles are fizzing and popping inside the green pot. Taehyung quickly puts on the lid. He smiles.

"Thank you, baby."

The mer beams at him.

From then on, Jeongguk's spa day officially begins. The mer languidly sips his very first self-made tea (a mixture advised for singers, to soothe their throat) while Taehyung's hands roam all over him. First to rub in the citrus coconut peeling he mixed in the kitchen a few days ago, then to wash it off and treat the skin with a body lotion instead. He leaves out the tail for that, not sure how Jeongguk's scales would react.

Taehyung takes his sweet time with every single step of it. Revels in the slow and thorough touches just as much as the mer does. In the satisfaction that he can touch wherever he wants, for however long he wants. Maybe he overdoes it a bit with the massage, but. He needs to make sure Jeongguk's muscles are all nice and relaxed. So what if his hands linger?

By the time he gets to the hair care part, the tea pot is all empty. Jeongguk takes to humming soothing melodies and, with a casual flick of his wrist, lets water bubbles of all size rise up in the air and float around the entire cave while Taehyung, riding on the mer's tail, untangles his long hair and all those braids. Jeongguk's humming gets louder once Taehyung works on massaging in the shea butter hair conditioner and Taehyung watches in amusement how his eyes slip shut, entire body turning lax. Now he'd only have to purr to make a perfect cat.

Taehyung's favourite part of that little wellness programme of his however is the one for the lips. It's easy enough - he has to scrub old skin off Jeongguk's lips, then coat them with honey and wait. And then-

The honey needs to be removed, of course.

And what better way to do that, than and kissing the sticky sweetness right off Jeongguk's mouth?

 

"Thank you," Jeongguk whispers when they're back at the pier, dropping the words right into Taehyung's ear like secrets, or gemstones in a treasure box, "for this very special day with you."

Taehyung's hand comes up to bury itself in the mer's silken hair. He turns his head to give a peck to Jeongguk's temple, then another one to the bridge of his nose.

"Of course. Anytime."

Anything for you.

...I love you.