Brazilian | verb

♦ the act of tenderly running fingers through someone's hair

 

---

The expression Jeongguk had when he realised Taehyung had a gift for him stays with the singer for the rest of the day. Longer, even. It haunts him in the most delicious way. Like a ghost who has been dearly yearned for and gets readily accepted in the family with no less kindness than a long-lost relative. Like the sweetest memory that seeps into every crack of one's mind, into the farthest corner, and settles there as clear golden honey that glistens in the sunlight.

It's simply the way Jeongguk had been so incredibly awe-struck by the mere fact Taehyung had gotten him something - made himself, at least partly - that keeps pulling at the strings of Taehyung's heart. The way Jeongguk's mouth had dropped open, eyes widening and voice almost breaking in tender disbelief.

As if it had never occurred to him Taehyung would want to give back, too. To reciprocate all those lavish gifts at least by a fraction. 

'Simply.'

Taehyung shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair. Nothing about Jeongguk has ever been simple. He is the furthest from simple one can get. Every minute detail about him is extraordinary. Breathtaking. What a silly idea, to think Taehyung would just take and take and take, and cease to appreciate the wonder that is Jeongguk. No, not just silly but plainly impossible is what it is with how much he's come to adore the mer.

Adore.

Taehyung frowns. Bites at his lip and turns the word over in his head.

Something clicks.

He stretches to the window ledge where his notebook rests. Flips through the pages and skims some of his notes as an idea forms in his head. A theme, a direction, a soft melody. Some chords, a selection of instruments.

The singer opens an empty page, then writes down the word 'Adore' in big letters right at the top before underlining it twice.

He knows what the opening track for his new album will be now. 

While his hand keeps flying over the page and fills it with verse after verse, he keeps musing about the term. Adore is such a soft word. 

'I adore you. I adore the way your eyes light up when you're excited, when I teach you new things about my world. I adore everything about you. I look upon you in adoration. I adore your affection and what it does to me.' 

Adore, adore, adore. He keeps mumbling the word to himself as the song steadily comes to life all on its own, the ever-present picture of Jeongguk's softest smile burnt into the back of his head.

Of course like that he misses Jimin calling out for him through the open door. ALthough honestly, even if he'd noticed his landlord he'd have ignored him. Taehyung is in the zone. Nothing deserves his attention at this moment other than the song in his head.

It's been ages since he's been like that. A broad smile stretches across the singer's face. When was the last time he truly basked in creating new music with every fibre of his being? It feels like half a lifetime has passed since his last title release. Too long.

But now he's back. Over the past weeks he's had a little taste of the exhilarating euphoria that came with working on an album, has dipped his toe into the water. This, however. This is pure indulgence. The longer he works on 'Adore', the more it reminds him of why he became an idol in the first place. A singer.

Much later, when dawn is just to break over the horizon, it is done. Taehyung closes his transcribing programme, shuts down the laptop and puts it aside together with his notebook. This time, he falls asleep with a different kind of smile than the past days. It's a smile of someone riding the high of their latest creation. The smile of a happy artist who gave it their all and has no regrets.

Just for that, for Jeongguk bringing back that rare kind of smile to him, Taehyung loves him even more.

 

"You can't- you can't spring things like that at me," Taehyung whines. He dares a peak through his fingers where he has both hands raised in front of his face, takes another look at the thing and squeezes his eyes shut once more.

Jeongguk winds his tail tighter around Taehyung's legs until they are no longer resting on the moss and chuckles, bright sound bouncing off the cave's walls. 

"I thought you like to learn new things about my world," he teases with a little poke to Taehyung's side.

Taehyung pouts. "I like to learn things period. But yes, especially about you," he admits. And quickly adds, "As long as it doesn't weird me out! But, like, seriously? First the oyster and now this?"

The mer keeps laughing. Pries one of Taehyung's hands off his face with nimble fingers and lifts up the scallop for Taehyung to look at once more. 

Taehyung obliges hesitantly. Looks at the scallop that is staring right back at him with all its two hundred something eyes, and shrieks some more.

He wasn't aware scallops have eyes at all! Let alone that many. To be fair, he wasn't aware that eyes are an existing concept for mussels in general. But you never stop learning. The old saying keeps true to itself with every new thing Jeongguk shows him. Be it pearls in their most natural form, or many-eyed scallops, or how to float on water.

"Come on," the mer urges, chuckling. "I promise it won't bite. They are completely harmless."

"The things I do for you," Taehyung sighs before turning both palms up for Jeongguk to place the thing there. Cringes, when he beholds those way too many eyes once more. Excuse him. Usually, two hundred eyes are what he sees during a warm-up for a concert, when the holders of VIP pre-show tickets huddle together in the pit right in front of the stage. Evenly divided onto a hundred lucky people. And not... one. Two hundred eyes are one hundred eighty too many for one living being (spiders and insects notwithstanding). That's just- no. A big Nope from him.

Open and close the scallop clacks. Taehyung looks... and looks and looks, as he forces himself to relax. To come to terms with what he's holding. Deep breaths. If Jeongguk says it's harmless, if it's part of his wondrous world, then he can do this. 

Stop being a wimp, Kim the Taehyung!

"Okay, I'm chill," he tries to convince himself.

Jeongguk is still smiling at him but more fondly so. Less teasing, more affectionate. "Are you sure?"

"Mhm, positive. I mean, if I keep thinking about it, it could even be cute? Kinda? Maybe I should give it a name?"

"...What?"

"A name! Yes!" Taehyung grows more excited by the second. He loves giving names. "I mean, I'm not gonna adopt it as a pet, obviously, but still. Maybe something like... what was it again... Poppy... Popeye... Polpetto? Something like that?"

The mer perches himself up on his arm. "What does that mean?"

"Meatball, I think. It's Italian."

"Why would you chose-" Jeongguk starts before cutting himself off with raised voice, "wait, you speak Italian?! Isn't that really far away? Since when do you speak a language from the other end of the world? Did I miss something?"

Now it's Taehyung's turn to chuckle. Which is funny. Moments ago he was the one rambling and now it's the mer, with eyes going wide and fins twitching endearingly. Taehyung runs a hand through Jeongguk's long, long hair. He should braid it again soon. So pretty. His other hand joins in, and soon enough the mer closes his eyes, gently pushes his head into one of Taehyung's palms and stays like that. Lets him do as he pleases.

"No baby, you didn't miss anything important," he assures. Tucks one of the mer's strands behind his ear and caresses the soft skin there. Jeongguk hums, burying his head further into the touch. Taehyung smiles. "I'm not half Italian or anything like that. It's part of the idol training, you know? To learn multiple languages. At least English and Japanese. And at some point I wanted to try out another language. Maybe French, or Spanish, or Norwegian. Or, dunno, Italian."

"You say it like it's such an easy thing to do. Learning a new language," Jeongguk says with his eyes still closed. "As if it doesn't take incredibly much work and dedication to learn one, let alone three."

Taehyung shrugs. "I only did what every trainee has to do. Besides, I didn't exactly succeed with the third foreign language. I wasn't sure which language to go for, so I tried them out all at once but of course that didn't work at all because I got everything jumbled up and only remembered a bunch of the most random words. I can barely form a proper sentence in any of those languages, to be honest."

Jeongguk huffs out a little laugh. Turns his face to brand Taehyung's wrist with a sweet kiss, then noses along his hand, his arm, before he leans down to give a peck on Taehyung's mouth.

"That sounds so much like you."

Taehyung snorts. "Everything I do is me."

"I know." The mer's voice dwindles down to a low mutter that Taehyung physically feels where they are laying chest to chest. "I love it."

And. Taehyung doesn't even have to try hard for the smile to spread all over his face.

"You are such a sweet-talker."

Jeongguk shakes his head. "Just being honest."

"Aish, seriously."

 

The daylight is gradually vanishing and turning the cave into a dark hole. Taehyung should probably get back soon. He sighs. Keeps tracing the edges of Jeongguk's many, many glistening scales as he comes to terms with the fact that it's time for tonight's goodbye.

"I'm really glad I came to Nakseongdae of all places," he confesses absentmindedly.

There is just enough daylight left for him to see the shadow flitting over the mer's face. He frowns. Cradles Jeongguk's face and gives him a scrutinizing look.

"What is it, Gguk?"

The mer turns away - such a small gesture, but it stings - and bites his lip, then frowns, eyes turning into slits. For a moment he looks incredibly angry before his features smooth out again and he turns back. "It's just ironic."

"Ironic?"

Jeongguk hums. He curls a strand of Taehyung's hair around his finger. "Let me tell you a little story, Tae. About the old village Nakseongdae."

Taehyung sinks further into the damp moss, taking the mer with him. Begins to lazily trace patterns onto Jeongguk's back of those waves and swirls the other loves so much.

"Tell me."

Another hum, followed by a short silence as the mer collects himself.

"Long ago, there was a star that gazed down on earth from far away and fell in love. Not with the earth itself, nor its lands. But with the vast blue sea.

"And after years and centuries and aeons of yearning, the star couldn't bear it any longer. He gave up everything he was, his very essence, and ripped himself out of his place in the universe. Shot through several galaxies and crossed time and space until he finally reached this planet and plunged himself into the sea he watched for so long. Right here-" Jeongguk gestures around them, "in this very bay."

Taehyung's breath hitches. His fingers dig into the mer's shoulder before he notices and gives a few apologetic caresses to the spot.

"Was it you?," he breathes.

Jeongguk shakes his head. "No. But someone I know very well." His gaze turns distant again. "That night when the star drowned itself in this bay and a new mer was born, there was a witness. A lone fisher who had drifted off too far. He saw the wonder unfold, saw another mer coming to collect the newborn, his large, bright pink tail impossible to miss in these shallow waters during a full moon.

"The fisher went back home and told everyone from the tremendous thing he'd seen. Barely anyone believed him. But he was convinced he hadn't hallucinated. So he took his family and the few people who believed him, and moved to the bay where he'd seen the star fall down. He settled down there, founded a new village that was nothing more than a handful of huts at first. For many years it didn't have a single road, let alone a name. Eventually, however, it grew."

Taehyung turns on his side, chin propped up on his hand, and watches how Jeongguk's lips curl around all those words. He zones out for a second before the story continues to register in his head.

"Just like the mer who'd been born here. He loved coming to the surface to meet the humans. Word spread about him, and more and more people came. Amongst merfolk, some called him young and naive for being so trusty of humans. Which is plain wrong. The truth is, that despite his young age the mer was very wise. He had watched the forming of that nameless village and studied the humans living there from afar before making the decision to show himself. Each time, it was an active choice he made. He decided to like and trust the humans here - and only here. In exchange, the humans showed him kindness and taught him many things. Their language, their habits, their beliefs.

"To show his gratitude, the mer told them about our kin. Not much, for most of our knowledge is to be kept secret. But a few things he revealed. And vowed to protect the village. Which he did. Thrice. Two times from impending tsunamis, and once from a tempest so disastrous it swept away entire coasts.

"The fisher, an old man by now, was by far the most reverent of them all and came to the shore every single day to wait for the mer. Wonder turned into fascination turned into worship. He named the village Nakseongdae - the place where a star was fallen. And after they've been saved from the first tsunami in such an unrealistic way that it had to have been the mer's work, he prompted the building of a temple. 

"The inhabitants of Nakseongdae worshipped the mer like a God, even more so after the temple was completed. Both sides prospered from the connection. The villagers from their divine protection, and the mer from the knowledge that was shared with him."

Jeongguk's expression turns sour again. He furrows his eyebrows so hard they almost touch in the middle. 

Taehyung absentmindedly lifts a hand to poke at the deep crease between them.

"However, things changed," the mer goes on. "Time kept flowing, the hearts of the humans changed. And what should not have been forgotten was forgotten. The temple was abandoned. Left to fend for its own until it crumpled and turned to dust. Until nothing remained at all. The villagers no longer worshipped the mer. People stopped coming to the shore to talk to him. They grew restless and unhappy, and began looking for a scapegoat. For anyone to blame for all the things that went wrong in their lives.

"With the mer who had no grounds to defend himself, they found the perfect victim.

Taehyung joins the mer in scowling. He doesn't like where this is going. 

Jeongguk notices and gives him a sad little smile, hand coming up to smooth out the frown in a way that's both reassuring and telling Taehyung they haven't reached the bottom of it yet.

"There were no tragedies to defend Nakseongdae from for a while. So the villagers forgot about the mer's kindness altogether. Instead, they began twisting things until truths were turned into lies, and lies became truth. 

"At some point, the mer couldn't bear it any longer. He left this bay that has been his home for centuries - and never came back. 

"A few decades was all it took for the now thriving town of Nakseongdae to forget why it came to be in the first place. Nobody cared about the mer any more, and nobody thanked him for the many lives he'd saved. The people failed to remember their history, too busy with themselves. The village that had prospered into a town dwindled down once more and shrank back to half of its size - stagnating ever since, I guess. That's the story of Nakseongdae," the mer finishes with a deep exhale.

Taehyung sniffles.

He cannot see the way Jeongguk flinches, only feel it in the now dark cave. 

The mer's voice is back to normal with the next sentence. Back into the present. 

"Tae. My sweet treasure," he coos. Blindly pats around until he finds Taehyung's face and cradles it in his hands, then lands a peck somewhere off-centre on his forehead. "It's not all bad. That mer is living very happily now. Far away from the humans he came to love, but happy nonetheless. Hey." Another peck, this time on his eyebrow. "Please, don't cry. There is nothing to cry about for you, yeah? Don't be sad for something that's long in the past. No more crying."

"I'm not crying," Taehyung sniffs.

"Your cheeks are wet."

"The ceiling is dripping, or something."

With the next kiss, he can feel the mer smile against his skin. "That's a really poor excuse, pearl."

"Shut up."

It takes him a few more sniffles and a tight hug before he remembers something that crossed his mind during Jeongguk's undeniably sad tale.

"Is that why you are here now? Because of that mer you are close with?"

Jeongguk hums. 

"Yeah. I wanted to see what kind of place this is. And, well, I don't know." He shrugs in Taehyung's embrace. "I guess I wanted to prove a point."

"What point?"

"...I'm not sure yet."

"That's okay baby." Gosh, it's dark. Taehyung is just as clueless as the mer about where anything is and blindly places a kiss at the nearest surface that must be part of Jeongguk. Judging by the following giggle, it was indeed a random spot. "Sometimes it takes time to figure things out. You can't force personal decisions."

"Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me for anything, Gguk."

 

That evening when he comes home, Taehyung doesn't write any lyrics. He is in no mood for that. Barely says a word at the dinner table as he keeps glancing between his two landlords. And wonders, do they know? Are they familiar with the story of their hometown?

But-

Maybe he needs to take a step back. Look at it from a certain distance.

Is what Jeongguk told him even true?

Of course he wants to think so. But with Jeongguk's close relationship to that other mer it's clear that he is anything but objective about the whole matter.

The story seems plausible. Nakseongdae is an unusual name for a village, and sure to be connected to some kind of special event. And it would explain a few other things too. 

Probably.

Taehyung needs to keep cool about it. 

He slowly shakes his head. This, giving Jimin and Yoongi the stink eye, doesn't lead him anywhere. It would probably be best for now that he doesn't look at the people of Nakseongdae any differently than before. Not until he knows more about the matter. Until he has any kind of proof.

 

The next day, their luck with the good weather is over.

It's been surprisingly sunny the past weeks, considering it is autumn. Chilly, yes. But not unpleasant yet. Not like today, where daylight refuses to break - is unable to, with how everything is covered up by those dark clouds that have been pouring their content onto Korea's east coast relentlessly since early morning.

weather is what it is. Honestly, Taehyung dreads putting but a single foot out the door. Despite the knowledge that Jeongguk will no doubt be waiting for him at the pier. For the both of them to meet up, he has to brave that never-ending downpour first.

Yoongi's comment during breakfast - thanks to the heavy rain beating down on the roof loudly Taehyung has been awake early enough to eat breakfast together for once - has simply been, 'Ah. So it begun.' With the finality of someone who knew the rain wouldn't relent for the next days.

Just, great. Wonderful.

Taehyung groans into his empty tea pot.

He's going to need a -ton of tea, blankets and cookies to get through this. And board games. And his laptop. And crafting paper. And yarn, and knitting needles, and-

And he should probably get going now. 

How many umbrellas are there in this house? Do they have any waterproof film? He needs to check a few things and then hurry to the pier.

 

"Okay, so, on a scale from one to ten, how likely is it that this horrible weather is going to last for the rest of the week," Taehyung asks after he leans down the pier to give a greeting kiss to Jeongguk and then beckons him to come out of the water.

With as much grace as ever, the mer hoists himself up on the pier. (Of course Taehyung stares.) 

"At least nine."

Taehyung throws his head back and groans dramatically. 

"Are you for real?"

"Yeah, the clouds are spanning the entire coast and far over the open sea. This rain is going to last for for a while."

"Dammit," Taehyung mutters, then adds louder, "but that's okay, I have a plan! We are going to have lots of fun, you and I. Promise."

The mer raises his brows with a little smirk. "Oh?"

"Mhm. Are you okay with staying inside the next days?"

Jeongguk's expression turns wary. "Define 'inside'."

"Well..." Taehyung gnaws at his lip, "we can go to the cave of course, but maybe for one day or two... would you be fine with staying in the hut again?"

The mer lets out an empty chuckle. "Taehyung," he says. Drags a hand over his face, and then, again, with even more fervour in his voice, repeats "Taehyung." He slinks forward until he can take Taehyung's hands in his and entwines their fingers, grip warm and secure. "My dear Taehyung." He kisses the back of Taehyung's hands, his knuckles, wrist, cheek. "I never want you to feel trapped if that's the issue here. Least of all because of me. If you are uncomfortable in the cave, I will try my best to find someplace better."

Jeongguk halts to give him an apologetic look. "But I won't lie, I have a bad feeling staying here in a hut. Especially when I would be in human form, with wooden planks between the sea and me." A kiss to his mouth this time, lingering and scorching like a vow. "That's why, my beautiful pearl, please bear with me just for a bit. Only until I found a better place to ride out the storm. I promise I'll be quick."

"Alright," Taehyung easily agrees. Pulls their joined hands up and his thumbs over Jeongguk's always so gentle claws. He can understand the mer, of course he can. If you have a deep connection with something that has always been there to protect you, severing that connection or even just straining it must be a horrendous experience. Like cutting off parts of yourself. He doesn't want that. Hates the very idea of the mer being uncomfortable. So he won't ask about staying in the hut again. Especially now that he has an inkling how Jeongguk might feel about Nakseongdae.

It was probably insensitive of him to ask in the first place.

"Okay. Let's go to the cave. It's not even that bad, really. I like it there."

"I'm sorry, little pearl."

Jeongguk's voice is small and muffled with regret.

Taehyung shakes his head.

"No, don't be. You did nothing wrong. Just don't let me catch a cold, 'kay?"

"I won't." Jeongguk looks down where he's etching patterns into the old wood with his claw. He peers up at him through fluttering lashes. "...How do colds work again?"

It goes without saying Taehyung is all too happy to explain.

 

In order to fight The Bad Weather^TM, Taehyung needs to make a re-run.

"Can you bring this bag to the cave already, please? I think I'll have to fetch a few more things."

Jeongguk is already nodding and stretching out both hands to accept the bag but pauses at the second sentence.

"...So you have to go back through that heavy rain? Even if extreme weather like this makes you sick?"

"I, well, yeah." Taehyung scratches his temple with a sheepish smile. "It's okay though. I have an umbrella, remember? And I'm wearing a rain jacket." He looks down at said jacket and pouts. Rain jackets are so unstylish. Whatever. He's an idol on vacation, he doesn't have to look runway-ready. 

"Tae, pearl." The mer shifts the bag from both hands to one to tenderly run a sharp nail down Taehyung's jaw. "The sea is my home, protector and family. It bends and listens to my will. And in extension, so does the rain coming from the sea. If you really are in danger to get sick from the rain, I could simply command it to not fall on you."

Wow. With each sentence coming from Jeongguk, Taehyung's mouth has dropped open wider, until he's openly gaping.

"That was the most badass thing I heard in my entire life," he whispers. And then louder, "You are so ing cool!"

He does not accept the super-cool offer, however. Him walking through town with the rain cleanly avoiding him as if he were in a bubble would be way too suspicious for anyone watching. Jeongguk doesn't want people to know of his presence. But Taehyung would have a hard time explaining the rain's aversion of him as a natural phenomenon. Or anything else than magic, really.

So yeah. He'll have to brave it on his own.

It's just rain. No big deal. Just really heavy rain. He's not made of sugar.

Jeongguk can easily dry him up when he's back. Besides, in the cave he can snuggle in one of the blankets he brought and drink a big cup of hot chocolate and then everything's gonna be fine, right?

Taehyung stops in the middle of the street and turns on his heels to run back to the house. (Maybe he's cursing like a sailor while doing so, literally. He picked up some good lines during his one time on the trawler.) Dammit! He was really dumb enough to forget the marshmallows.

 

"So you can honestly control the rain?," he asks when he's finally all snuggled up in their cave, Jeongguk's chest pressing against his cashmere-clad back where the mer is sitting behind him, the two of them wrapped in the blanket together.

"Not all rain," the mer admits. "Only the one from the sea. If the clouds are water out of a lake or river, it stubbornly refuses to listen. Then I'm as powerless as you."

"Yah!" Taehyung pinches Jeongguk's leg. The mer has shifted forms as soon as they reached the cave while mumbling something about fish being colder than humans. What a complete sweetheart. "I'm not powerless, I have an umbrella."

Jeongguk ponders it for a moment, then nods, chin grazing Taehyung's shoulder. "Then I'm even more powerless than you during lake rain."

"...Why does that still sound belittling?"

The mer splutters. "That's- I didn't mean it like-"

"I know, I know," Taehyung chuckles and turns his head to smooch a wet kiss onto whatever part of Jeongguk's face he can get. "I'm just teasing, babe."

A sharp nip to his earlobe makes him yelp.

"...Meanie," Jeongguk mutters.

 

Despite Taehyung's many big plans and the considerable amount of stuff he raided from his landlords' house, aside from sipping hot chocolate - and tea, once Jeongguk brought the jade tea set Taehyung got him - oh, and halfheartedly solving a few crossword puzzles - on that first day of The ty Weather they end up doing a whole lot of... nothing.

The dim light in the cave and constant sound of rain from outside coupled with the cosy warmth of being cuddled together are doing a great job of making Taehyung drowsy. It's a lethal combination. Especially considering they are sitting on fluffy moss and that Taehyung brought two little cushions in his second bag for maximum comfort.

So maybe it shouldn't really come as surprise that he ends up napping the day away.

Jeongguk doesn't complain once. Lets him doze off to his heart's content and doesn't shift or change position. Even when one time Taehyung slowly blinks open his eyes and sees the mer's arm pinned under him in a way where it's impossible to not have gone dead.

(His Jeonggukkie is just the sweetest soul in the entire world.)

 

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

 

Jeongguk does not sleep that night.

Instead, he swims up and down the coast all night, head breaching the water surface time and again as he searches for a new spot for them. For Taehyung and him. Somewhere where both of them feel comfortable. Far away from prying eyes.

It is by no means easy.

There are only so many places that are not visible both from land and from sea. And most of them don't fulfil the comfort part.

He finds a place eventually, that could work in his favour. 

Covered by a row of tall rocks that tower over the water surface like rusty needles grown together, there, in the actual cliff behind, he spots a row of large holes in the stone that look too deliberate to be natural. Too even-sized.

He dives into the water that's sloshing in little maelstroms between the cliff and its stony curtain. Digs his claws into the water to momentarily silence the strong swirls and bring the sea up instead, rising higher and higher with it until he can enter the cave. It's high up in the stone, several metres. But he has no idea how many. Has always been bad at estimating. Maybe high up enough that if a fragile human fell out, they would die from the impact on the water surface rather than the maelstroms lurking beneath. 

Jeongguk doesn't bother shifting to explore the place. Instead, he stretches his reach for the water longer and longer so he can float through the large cave on an ever-growing wave. He finds out there are not many separate caves but rather a big and a smaller one. If he widens the holes in the wall directed towards the sea, it could look like one of those ancient colonnades Taehyung showed him on his phone, and-

Why 'if'? How about 'when'?

The mer promptly gets to work and summons even more water to mill away at the sturdy material while continuing his exploration. With the growing holes, by day this place would probably be filled with light. Now however, it remains as glum as before. Not that it bothers Jeongguk, he can still see well. And what he sees is... 

A tunnel. Leading far into the rock, then twisting out of sight. In the large cave, a few half-rotten chests are scattered over the floor. In a corner, long metal things rest against the wall that look like those hateful weapons Seokjin has told him from.

Jeongguk briefly wonders what used to be this place's purpose, if it had been a pirate's or smuggler's lair. Then decides it doesn't matter because this is his cave now. He redirects the debris of his doing at the cave's front to the tunnel entrance and lets it plop down there, then sweeps a mighty wave through cave and tunnel to collect all the rocks and clutter laying there and haul it back, until the entrance is completely blocked. Just to be sure.

The mer keeps working at the cave all night. Forms the outer wall into pretty pillars and evens out the floor until it's as smooth as humans like things to be, then does the same with the ceiling. Until he floats in the middle of a very much , empty hall.

Uhm.

That's not exactly the level of cosiness Taehyung deserves.

So off he goes, plunges back into the sea deep below, checks one last time that his cave is indeed hidden from view and then makes to collect sea grass, shells, moss, sand, drift wood and any kind of human furniture he can get his claws on.

And while he does so, he congratulates himself.

If Taehyung feels trapped in their improvised little cave, then surely he'll like this one. It's bigger, neater, and much more open. On top of that, it has a view to the open sea - well, and the stones needles, but ehh. It's not the dark, wet hole the other cave was when Jeongguk found it. No, this one's a big improvement. He just has to keep working harder to make it even better.

 

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

 

"I got you another something," Taehyung shyly declares two days later.

The courier arrived yesterday with the precious package and rung up a storm for Taehyung to accept it and give his signature. (Good thing he stayed behind until the delivery arrived.) Then he got out a second document to demand a signature there, too, together with Taehyung's ID, if he would be so kind. 

Something as valuable as the almost 600.000.000 won tiara he ordered needs more than just one signature. It took time to find someone who could deliver him what he's been looking for. Who could offer a design worthy of Jeongguk and everything he embodies. A design that, maybe, could take Jeongguk's breath away for once.

And indeed, when he gets out the velvet box and lifts the lid to present its content, the mer gasps.

"You- you can't just-"

Taehyung huffs. "Oh, please. You are known to make my heart stop every now and then with your wonderful and extravagant gifts. It's just fair that I try to do the same for once." He grins. "Did I succeed?"

Jeongguk stares at the tiara for a long moment, then at Taehyung. It's the kind of intense gaze that melts Taehyung's very bones away and turns him to putty right where he sits. That deep, scorching, wondrous look Taehyung knows only from Jeongguk.

"Immensely," the mer chokes out.

Taehyung gulps, his lips. Then remembers his little plan.

"Here," he says, and pats the space between his legs. "Come. I watched some tutorials and bought a -ton of bobby pins. Let's tame your hair and put this ridiculous thing on your head."

Jeongguk splutters. "Wh- you can't call it like that!"

"Shush. I bought it, therefore I can call it however I want."

The mer grumbles some more but sits down in front of him, back to Taehyung. His black hair freely tumbling over it.

Hair, which, as Taehyung noticed, doesn't just look pretty (because of course it does. This is Jeongguk!) but also has a tendency to grow insanely quick. When they first met it barely reached past the mer's shoulders. Now it tickles down his entire spine and can almost touch the point where blue and green scales protrude from soft skin around his hips.

How does that work? Is it because Jeongguk is so much underwater? Can you water hair and make it grow like a plant? Or is it a 'fabulous merfolk' thing?

"Are all mers visual stunners?," he muses out loud around the tiny hair ties stuck between his lips.

Jeongguk hums. "I guess? At least I haven't met any ugly mer yet. But then again I don't know if your idea of stunning is the same as mine. I mean, one of my dads has a tail that's covered with scars and still looks gorgeous. Maybe in your eyes, he wouldn't."

"Well, apparently you think I'm pretty and I think you're pretty," Taehyung quips. "So I'd say our preferences match perfectly well."

"Yeah," Jeongguk says and reaches up to caress Taehyung's cheek without turning around so the latter can keep combing through his hair and slowly braiding it. "The prettiest."

Maybe Taehyung's throat goes a little dry. He stubbornly looks at his fingers - only his fingers - and fights down the urge to bend down and press a kiss against the mer's shoulder.

"Uhm."

Change of topic. If he gets flustered now, he'll never pull off the hairstyle he wants.

"How did he get the scars?"

It takes two heartbeats and the stiffening of Jeongguk's entire upper body for him to realise that maybe this was a very bad question.

"Not all humans are curious in a good way," the mer supplies with a dark quality to his voice Taehyung never heard there before.

"...Oh."

Taehyung has a feeling he really, really doesn't want to know what happened to Jeongguk's dad. At least not if he wants his lunch to stay with him. 

"I'm sorry."

Another hum from the mer that no doubt has his gills fluttering in this absurdly endearing way. "Don't be. You did nothing wrong."

An uncomfortable silence begins to fill the cave, in which Taehyung regrets having asked in the first place. Can't even imagine the kind of dark places Jeongguk's mind might drift off now.

Hesitantly, fingers tightening around the strands they hold, he asks, "Can you sing for me?"

The glum atmosphere evaporates within two words.

"Of course," the mer says with a voice so warm Taehyung can hear the smile in it.

He loves it when Jeongguk smiles so broadly it's audible. Adores it.

(Maybe he should add just one more verse to his new song.)

The mer begins humming a soothing melody that has the water curling around them in little swirls and spirals. Taehyung stares. And, with a smile of his own, shakes his head.

Are there any limits to Jeongguk's awesomeness?

 

Taehyung is not a professional hairstylist - that would make this whole thing a lot easier. And also not see him redoing Jeongguk's hair three times. Alas, the saying goes 'three times a charm'. So he braids up Jeongguk's entire hair, hates it, untangles it to try a half-up, half-down style, is not satisfied with that one either and braids it up again - but differently this time. With five strands and not just three. (Which gives him only two tiny mental meltdowns and has him wish he had a third hand). Inverted french plait for more wow-effect, some tiny braids interwoven. And the tiara resting on the mer's head from the beginning, so he can braid it in and fixate it. Dare he say, he's slowly but surely getting the hang of more advanced braiding styles thanks to the fact that Jeongguk's hair is so lusciously long and he is allowed to play around with it whenever he wants.

Finally, he shuffles around Jeongguk to have a look at him from all sides.

Taehyung purses his lips and nods.

"There. I mean. Not perfect, but it'll do."

An understatement. Jeongguk looks every bit the royalty he is - at least where Taehyung is concerned. The tiara fashioned of silver, diamonds and sapphires proudly sits atop of his head in a way that silently demands attention, the waves in which it's styled looking as vivid as the mer whenever he plays with the sea.

Taehyung has sent twenty mails with a picture of the Boucheron wave tiara to different designers and asked, 'Can you make something similar?'.

And now... It fits Jeongguk perfectly.

To be honest, the hairstyle might not matter that much. The mer would probably rock the look no matter what Taehyung does. 

But he is a perfectionist, so there. 

And with those cresting waves in his hair, with those diamonds twinkling just like the stars under Jeongguk's eyes and the little galaxies swirling in them, the mer takes his breath away.

Taehyung doesn't get out a single word. Silently gapes at him, a lump in his throat. He's got the distinct feeling of his eyes watering, which is completely stupid, who the hell cries because the person they happen to love looks too good to cope, get a grip, Taehyung, and, just-

"...."

No. Wait! That's not what he is supposed to say. Uhh. Oh gosh. But just, like, look at him...

"You are absolutely gorgeous."

There, better. That's the way.

Except-

Taehyung's eyes widen.

"No, I mean, not that you're not gorgeous at all times, which you are, I mean, of course, I was just- I mean, oh ! I can't even- Gguk," he whines. "Babe. I'm turning into a disaster because of you."

And because Taehyung's coping mechanism for anything is terrible at best and out of service most of the time, the next thing he does is smack Jeongguk on his chest. Quite hard, might he say.

Which throws him right into the next cluster of stuttered words that are a jumbled mess of apologies and "Stop looking so fatally attractive! I mean, don't. No, wait, yes, please do... and, like, ! This was a horrible idea, Kim Taehyung. Horrible, horrible, horrible. You check-mated yourself. Nooo, don't look at me like that, Gguk, my mind is doing a way too good job at pureeing itself already. Stop laughing! No!"

Indeed, at some point the mer bursts into bright laughter while Taehyung is still rambling like the complete mess he is. And maybe he's making the biggest idiot of himself. Wait. This is not a 'maybe' scenario. It's not up to debate at this point. He is an idiot. But maybe he too has the emotional range of a tea spoon because right now he can't even begin to feel ashamed of himself, too busy trying not to go absolutely bonkers because of that visual attack.

In fact, Jeongguk smiling so happily doesn't make things better one bit. To the contrary. It adds to the already devastating effect of his appearance.

Taehyung groans. There is nothing left to save him. This vision is going to haunt him and turn him into a dumb, drooling mess, brain liquefied and then dried up into a sad little raisin, here, snip it straight in the trash where it belongs, goshdammit!

"Deep breaths, pearl."

Taehyung whacks his chest again. That stupidly chiseled, perfect chest- don't, don't go there. Except, he miscalculates and somehow manages to hit himself too. Just proves his liquid brain theory.

"The , I can't just breathe now, I gotta hyperventilate!"

Jeongguk laughs again.

And oh, isn't it the most beautiful sound in the world.

Taehyung shuts up for a moment to listen and revel in it. 

A moment that the mer uses to grab the lapels of his coat (Taehyung is very much into coats these days) and pull him in for a deep, long kiss. Not even Taehyung dares to pull away and continue his ramble of madness. He sighs into Jeongguk's mouth and kisses back with equal passion. Putty in Jeongguk's hands, that's what he is. And man, does he love it.

 

In Taehyung's defence, he absolutely was determined to complete the murder mystery game he brought for the two of them. It should have been a thing of two hours cuddling and putting the pieces together until the riddle was solved. Alas, that was the plan before he did The Thing.

Jeongguk in a crown is ravishing.

Taehyung clearly miscalculated when he thought he would not get too distracted by that sight to even remember his own train of thoughts from the last clue they solved.

Instead of two hours, by now it's been three and they still don't know who killed the Duchess. Sure, they take notes on a few sheets of paper Taehyung brought, but then he looks up, sees the splendour of Jeongguk's everything, gapes at him for a solid five minutes, looks back at the paper in his hand and has no clue why the he wrote what he wrote there.

And that little knows!

Not that Taehyung is being even remotely subtle about it. And being the menace he is, of course he the mer rubs it in. Gives those knowing little smirks whenever Taehyung goes slack-jawed that drive him absolutely insane.

Naturally, the only appropriate reaction to Jeongguk's cockiness is to kiss the smirk right off his mouth.

Which... doesn't help with getting the riddle solved. At all.

Maybe Taehyung should just give up. Who cares about the late Duchess when he can make out with the most gorgeous being on the planet instead?

Something inside him snaps. He tosses his notes away, together with the clue cards and the mansion map - and pounces. Jeongguk barely has time to open his arms for him and let out a surprised laugh before Taehyung is all over him.

this game. It's indulgence time now.

 

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

 

That night again, Jeongguk barely gets any sleep.

He's completely forgotten about the open bottle of olive oil resting in one of the stone-hewn shelves in his cave and waiting for his curious hands to pick it up again.

No, both book and bottle have slipped his mind. Instead, he remembered something else.

Or rather, someone.

A mermaid he met many decades ago. 

And with his current quest of turning the smuggler cave into a comfortable retreat, it might be the right time to pay her a visit.

So he leaves, not long after bringing Taehyung back to the pier, and sets out south. Further and further down the Korean coast until he can pass the peninsular and make his way south-west, a fine assortment of books and other human curiosities in his clutch. Hopes Kraken will accept it for exchange.

Kraken.

The word clangs through him.

It's a fun story with the mermaid's name. The mer who picked her up as newborn didn't know how to name her and told her to choose a name herself. So she did. Although it took quite a while.

Kraken, like so many mers, happens to have a very specific collecting habit. Where Jeongguk collects books despite not having been able to read them until recently and Namjoon collects knowledge, the old mermaid has a knack for fabric. For anything woven by human hands.

There was a time, she told Jeongguk, long before he was born, where she used to viciously drown entire ships laden with goods such as fine silk. Partly irritated by all the commotion above her head as more and more heavy dhows sailed her waters, yet also partly curious. She had told Jeongguk all about the euphoric feeling, the adrenaline rush she felt during her first drowning - young little Jeongguk eagerly listening to her.

He is ripped out of the memory by a sudden impact on the water surface when a harpoon spears through the sea, aiming straight for him. The mer rolls his eyes and shatters the offensive thing with barely more than a thought, then sends a lethal wave to the ship it came from.

He continues on his way and once more gets lost in his memories about the unusual mermaid with the spotted tail. Kraken sure is one of a kind. One of the most violent mers he ever met but driven by an almost childish curiosity.

He's had long talks with Namjoon about her - about what Jeongguk should and definitely shouldn't learn from her. Together they've wondered to what degree she is conscious about the horror she inflicts. With how proudly she carries her chosen name - a word she picked up the sailors screaming when she kept wrapping giant water ropes around the ship before pulling it down to the bottom of the sea with the entire crew on board - she has to be aware of the death and misery she brings to at least some point. Probably.

It's debatable, really. Just like her sense of morality.

What's not up to debate however is her excellent taste in textiles. That's why Jeongguk ignores Namjoon's plea from half a century ago to not meet up with her and does just that.

If there is one person who can provide him with fine fabric to cover up all that cold stone in the cave, then it's Kraken.

 

"Aww, if it isn't little Jeonggukkie," Kraken croons in greeting from where she is sprawled on a colourful coral throne, numerous silk scarfs tied to it and branching off to the ceiling. She's got a large piece of patterned yellow fabric wrapped around her upper body this time, the bright colour contrasting with her dark skin prettily.

Jeongguk bows deeply. "It's been a while."

The mermaid tuts. "It sure has." She nods her head, the heavy dark hair as long as her entire body swaying with the movement like a sentient being. A water tendril darts out of her hand and pokes at the tiara nestled in Jeongguk's hair. She smirks. "Cute."

Maybe Jeongguk blushes a little.

The old mer cackles obnoxiously. "Oh my, look at you." Two more tendrils come up to squish his cheeks. "You are adorable!"

Jeongguk splutters. "Kraken!," he shrieks, mortified. Nobody is allowed to squish his cheeks aside from his Taehyung. (And Seokjin. Jeongguk would probably die if he refused his dad something like that)

She just laughs louder.

"Anyway, you little rascal. What is it that you want, hm?"

 

"Phew." 

Jeongguk cracks his knuckles. 

Better.

The new cave is slowly coming to life. Between the pillars, there now are sheer curtains billowing, made of... uh... he already forgot how the fabric is called. But it's almost transparent, and really pretty. He fastened it on some rusty bars he found in a submarine long ago - after polishing them, of course. More fabric is covering the floor, two large and heavy rugs with intricate patterns of flowers, swirls and whatnot. He also draped fabric on the walls and tried his best to craft furniture to sit on. The cave surely is getting some colour. 

Aside from a bellowing laughter once Jeongguk had meekly explained what he needs the fabric for, Kraken gave him a helpful advice after inspecting the goods he brought her. If he had too much olive oil for his own good but no artifical light source, she said, he could just set the oil on fire. Not that Jeongguk has any clue how to make fire. But in case Taehyung wants to stay here until it gets dark, he'll be prepared. Has carved grooves and dents in the stone to fill with oil and hopefully keep the cave alight. If Taehyung knows how to light it up, that is.

So. Now.

Time to try and catch some sleep at last.

 

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

 

The next day, Taehyung is still very much smitten with the crown-bearing mer. Tiara. Whatever. It's sparkly, expensive, remotely circular and goes on top of one's head. And Jeonguk looks damn fine with it.

This time however it's not just Taehyung mooning over the mer. Rather, they are all over each other - and spectacularly failing to do their Pirates of the Caribbean marathon. While Taehyung can't stop ogling Jeongguk, his fingers itching to redo the mer's hair and try out various more hairstyles, Jeongguk seems to have lots of fun fiddling with Taehyung's pearl jewels. He keeps flicking the earrings with his long nails, again and again and again.

Taehyung smiles. Something warm pools in his chest.

"They are my treasure now," he mutters when Jeongguk flicks the earring strong enough to bounce against Taehyung's neck.

"...Why?"

Taehyung tightens his grip ever so slightly where he's got his hand buried in the mer's hair and pulls him in for a peck on the nose, then on his cheeks.

"Because you gave those pearls to me."

Jeongguk smiles into the next kiss, one hand teasingly up Taehyung's arm in a way that has goosebumps erupting in its wake. "I did."

Taehyung hums. "Yeah. That's why I'll never remove them again. They are always with me. When I take a bath, when I sleep, wherever I go. This way I always have a piece of you with me."

The mer's gaze turns impossibly soft at that. His wandering hand has reached Taehyung's shoulder now and from there darts up to cup his face. Pulls him closer once more until their foreheads are resting against each other, thumb rubbing over Taehyung's cheekbone.

"You always have me already, Taehyung. I'm always with you."

 

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

 

Jeongguk wears Taehyung's words under his skin like his personal armour.

Treasures them, keeps them safe - and mulls over them. An idea begins to manifest in his head. It's unusual and risky. Also he's not sure any mer has done such a thing before. But with Taehyung...

With Taehyung, he feels safe.

Feels like he can take his precious words just one step further.

He takes his most treasured possession out of its casket and smiles.