"Are you sure you're going to manage?" Jeongguk asked once again, staring at Jimin who was comfortably resting in the shallow waters.
"I'm sure. Knowing our society, I'm certain they left their home and moved back to─ ah, that doesn't matter. I couldn't bare with the bathtub any longer. Plus, we'll both manage, Jeongguk-ah. We're doing great." He laughed, referring back to the time the news claimed Jeongguk's previous company had gone bankrupt.
His boss is locked away behind closed bars and those who helped him, all of the accomplices, followed after.
He had nothing to deal with them anymore, and neither had anyone picked up on what happened with the mermen who used to be stuck there, either. Their cover-up went according to plan.
"Plus, I won't be alone! I'm not going anywhere for now. We're going to meet up every night, like you promised."
Jeongguk shook his head with a smile, chuckling. "Alright, Minnie. Know that my door is always open for you. If you need anything, ever, don't hesitate to ask, alright?"
Jimin beamed, "I will." He reached out his hand, grasping softly onto Jeongguk's. "Thank you. For everything. For being my friend and all. God, in the beginning, I actually thought I was crushing on you. You're amazing, you know that, right?"
Jeongguk eyes widened at the sudden information, a blush spreading on his cheeks.
"Oh, whoa, that's─ uh, thank you!" He laughed bashfully, ruffling the silver mop of hair in front of him.
"How are you going to find your mate now, though? Everyone left."
Jimin grinned, shaking his head. "There are multiple clans. They are spread out all over the world. I'll be swimming for a while when I decide to leave, but I'll manage."
Jeongguk's mouth went agape. "That's so cool! Wait! You did say goodbye to Taehyung, right? You guys are best friends! Gosh, that must be so hard on you both, I'm sorry."
Jimin blinked.
Right.
"O─of course! Yeah, it was tough, but he can visit me whenever and vice versa. I'm going to miss him deeply." The last sentence came out almost monotonously, knowing inside that Taehyung was triumphing at his departure.
"I'm going to head out for a bit, Gguk! Now that I no longer have to follow any rules, I'm free to do whatever I like! I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"
Jeongguk smiled, nodding vigorously. "Of course! I'll see you tomorrow, Minnie! Be careful, alright? Don't get eaten by a shark."
The merman laughed loudly, throwing his head back. "I'll make sure! See you!"
The human watched his friend dive under water, disappearing out of sight.
He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling the fresh air of the peaceful night deeply.
His moment got interrupted, however, when his phone started to blast. Fishing it out of his back pocket, he started smile widely at the caller ID.
"Jeonggukkie!
When are you coming back?
It's late and I miss─ whoops!"
The boy frowned, half of Taehyung's face disappearing out of sight when the device dropped to the ground. He could hear some stuff tumbling down, a minute of silence and then an awkward chuckle after.
The phone was picked up again, the mop of blue hair on display on the screen.
"Tae! Is everything alright over there? Also, you need to direct the camera a bit downwards, your face isn't on screen."
He could hear a set of giggles.
"E─everything is fine!"
His voice went a few octaves higher before he continued.
"Oh! Like this?"
Jeongguk watched as Taehyung overexcitedly shoved the camera downwards, now only a set of nipples on display.
"Uh.. not exactly.. try pointing it up."
Doing as instructed, Taehyung's tongue darted out between his lips, now showing nothing more than the ceiling.
Jeongguk snorted, "No, no, now I can only see the ceiling. Try to point it directly at your face!"
Taehyung mumbled some things, moving the phone around which made everything blurry at the speed of it.
"Where is that stupid camera anyway?"
The merman curiously peeked at the device, causing Jeongguk to laugh his butt off when the screen now only displayed Taehyung's eye, that slowly got nearer until all he could see was the pupil, until it went black.
"Hey, Tae? Are you─"
The phone slipped from the merman's hands once again, causing the carpet to suddenly come into view.
"Oops!"
He could see the merman reach for it. Once he grasped it, his blue tail came in sight. Then, suddenly, the call was disconnected.
Jeongguk laughed, turning on his heels and running back towards his apartment.
His apartment, which he doesn't dread to go back to anymore. No, it is the complete opposite now.
Maybe Seokjin's idea to give the boy a phone was a bit too much within just three weeks of adapting to a more human-ish life.
Once he arrived, he locked the door behind him and shrugged off his coat. He didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't Taehyung on the ground, sandwiched awkwardly between the table and the couch.
"Hi there!" He excitedly said, once he caught sight of his favourite human.
Jeongguk grinned, "Hi there. Do you need help?"
Taehyung blushed, shaking his head quickly. "What? No! I'm perfectly fine. I'm comfortable. This was planned, really." He attempted to get up, his long tail flaunting around and knocking over a potted plant.
Jeongguk clasped his hand over his mouth, seeing the thing fall over and empty the contents right above Taehyung's head.
The boy froze, slowly turning his head towards the human.
Jeongguk bit back his laughter, squatting down in front of him and plucking a small flower that stood upright on his blue hair in some soil, showing it to him.
"I'll admit, that, wasn't planned." He said stubbornly, pointing at the plant and still not admitting that his current position happened accidentally.
"Hmm, alright. C'mon, let's get you up." Jeongguk lifted the boy up, heading over to the bathtub upstairs.
Placing Taehyung in it, he opened the faucet to let the water fill it up.
"Do you want some bubbles?" He wondered, showing Taehyung a bathbomb. The merman nodded, eyes sparkling.
"Here, let me wash your hair." Jeongguk sat behind him, cupping some water in his hands and pouring it over his head.
He then started to massage the soap in, creating funny spikes before rinsing it off.
When he did so, however, his fingertip accidentally brushed against Taehyung's gills on one side of his neck.
Jeongguk froze when Taehyung did.
"Sorry! That wasn't meant to happen." He apologised quickly, chuckling uncomfortably when the merman didn't respond.
"Tae?" He asked again, resting his chin above of his head to get him back to reality.
His brows scrunched together when the male grabbed a hold of his hand, almost trembling.
"Taehyungie?" He repeated, unsure when his fingers were about to touch his gills again.
Never verbally responding, the merman pressed Jeongguk's hand gently against his gills, shivering.
Heart beating loudly in his chest, Jeongguk started to caress him, the male going limp against him.
Taehyung rested his head backwards on the edge of the tub, staring back up into Jeongguk's eyes with his pupils blown wide.
The tension thickened, the human's finger still subconsciously tracing his gills.
Then, the merman reached his arm up, grabbing him by the back of his neck and softly pulling him down until their faces were inches away from each other.
Blushing terribly, Taehyung went for the triangle method and his eyes then stopped at his lips.
His mind went blank, his urges taking over.
So, he finally made his decision and pressed his lips gently against Jeongguk's. The peck lasted three seconds, before he moved away with big eyes.
Jeongguk slowly came back to earth, a small smirk finding it's way to his lips seeing Taehyung's state. Not saying anything, he pulled the merman back in, lips colliding against each other.
Taehyung gasped, trying to mimick the human's moves clumsily. He felt the other smile in the kiss, their teeth clashing and tongues started to press up against one another.
The already thick tension grew even hotter. Taehyung grabbed Jeongguk's arms, trying to get as close as possible.
When they moved away to take a few deep breaths, the merman bit his lip, with big eyes peering into the other's.
That's when he finally spoke up.
"Jeonggukkie..."
He blushed even deeper, but very curiously asked,
"How do humans have sex?"
At that question, the human's eyes doubled in size. His hands that were holding the edge of the bathtub suddenly slipped due to surprise.
With that, his arms gave out from underneath him and he toppled face-first into the bathtub, bubbles going up his nose.
That, he hadn't expected to hear from his cute, innocent, sweet little merman.
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