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“Captain, this idea is absurd. Agreeing to meet with the others is one thing, but to go alone is a fool’s journey,” his quartermaster argued, setting down the ales on their table.
“Ah, Soyoon, always such a good friend. Don’t worry. I promise I’ll be just fine,” the pirate laughed, taking a large swig of his ale. “Just enjoy your extra time at port. Now, enough fretting, let’s get to drinking!”
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Across the seven seas, seven pirate captains prepared for the long journey to what was once their home. A home they had been cursed to abandon long ago. Damned to only see each other for seven days starting on the full moon of the seventh month of every seventh year.
For immortal beings, this may seem like a blip in time, but every moment apart from each other had been heartbreaking. They had earned the wrath of the great mage of their kind for refusing to follow orders to separate the small pod they had formed together.
They had come from different backgrounds and different pods to form their own – one based not on family ties but on love. Love between two mermen had been seen as immoral, having no purpose as having children was impossible. But to have such a relationship between seven mermen was reprehensible.
It did not matter that they hurt no one, that they kept to themselves, and that they genuinely loved and cared for each other. They didn’t even eat meat because Namjoon loved their fellow sea creatures too much and it broke his heart to see them die.
But that mattered not to the powers that be. All that mattered was they were doing something they thought was wrong. But how could love be wrong? How could something so pure, so wonderful be wrong?
This was to be the final full moon of their curse. After this week, they would no longer need to be apart. They would finally have a life together again.
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Seokjin was the first to arrive at their home. He decided as the hyung of the group, he needed to ensure that everything was ready for his mates’ arrival. He was happy to finally have the end in sight. It had been almost a millennium of waiting, rushed moments, and lonely nights without them by his side.
As a captain, he had enjoyed a successful life, travelling throughout the area he was assigned. His crew had always tried to urge him to travel further, not knowing he was physically unable to do so. He had tried on more than one occasion, tired and lonely without his pod. And each time had resulted in terrible physical pain and a transformation somewhere between his two forms that was the most excruciating sensation he had ever known.
But seven hundred and seventy-seven years alone would make anyone desperate to see the people they loved. Their time together was limited as was the contact they could have. While they could be near each other for those seven days, they could not touch. Being so close without the ability to kiss, hold, or even caress each other’s cheek was torment.
But the start of this full moon would mark the end of their trials. And hopefully, the beginning of their happily ever after.
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Yoongi was tired, so very tired of spending so many days away from the people he loved most. He wanted life to have meaning again. Everything felt so empty without them.
So many wasted years spent crying himself to sleep, living on the water instead of in it, and questioning his own sanity. And all because some assholes didn’t like his pod? Life was so abysmally unfair sometimes that he had no idea how he kept going without his mates.
He yearned for their touch, just to be able to feel their skin against his own. He would close his eyes and remember the days when they were one, all together in their home, a pod of seven. As he headed back home, his heart rejoiced at the thought that they’d finally be together again.
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When Hoseok woke up, face down, naked, and sunburnt on the deck of his ship, he knew it was time to get his reddened ass in gear. Hangovers stop for no one though, so he was sure to at least lean over the side of the ship before throwing up whatever the hell it was that drunk Hoseok thought would make a good two AM meal. Gods, drunk Hoseok was an idiot.
Well, in all fairness, sober Hoseok was an idiot, too, but at least sober Hoseok didn’t have an ass the color of a lobster. Damn drunk Hoseok and his love for everything naked.
Considering the puffy redness of the eyes staring back at him in the mirror, it must’ve been a very sad horny night for drunk Hoseok. It usually was one or the other, but on the rare occasion it was both, life was always unusually hell the next day.
At least he was alone on the ship today. It took him a few painkillers and another hour before he remembered what day it was.
“Holy fuck! Hoseok, you bleeding imbecile!” he screamed at himself, rushing back up to change his course.
He had no idea how late he would be, but he’d do his best to get there as fast as possible.
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Jimin had no idea where the hell he was or how he got there. His compass and all of his tools were broken by the weird merman hunter that had attacked his ship while he slept.
The crazed fool had burst into his cabin with a net, trying his damnedest to “catch” Jimin and take him back to the locals for profit. Of course, that didn’t work, and he ended up in chains in the makeshift holding cell. He then tried to convince Jimin to let himself be turned in for half the profit. He declined.
With his magic limited by everyone’s favorite curse, he was forced to find a way to repair the ship if he wanted to get anywhere. Which meant he had to trade with the humans. Gah, the humans.
It took far too long to find a fair trade, but once he retrieved the needed parts, he was able to quickly make enough repairs to get the ship going.
But now, as he drifted in some random part of the ocean, staring down at his too hastily repaired equipment that was undoubtedly leading him somewhere random.
This meant two things. One, he sucked at repairs. Thanks for the observation; he already knew that. And two, he had to follow his gut. His gut sucked. Let’s hope it sucked a little less today.
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Taehyung drifted along, holding on to his lifebuoy ring. The irony of a merman trying not to drown did not escape him. Stupid curse.
He hummed a tune, using his clumsy human legs to slowly make his way toward home. Man, he missed his pretty tail. The curse kept them from shifting outside of their brief times together, so floating was his best option.
He wasn’t a violent guy per se, but he hoped the clamheads that did this to them had their mating slits sewn shut. The bastards.
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Jungkook arrived at their home not long after Seokjin. He took a deep breath before entering the small island home they had built all those years ago. So many fond memories of their times together made his heart yearn for the moment they had been waiting so many years for. A moment that was finally right before his eyes.
As he walked into the home, he smiled at the sight that greeted him. Seokjin nervously arranging this and that. Seokjin was always the worrier of the group, wanting to make sure everyone had what they needed and doing everything he could to make sure no one felt alone.
Jungkook had always felt so lucky to have so many wonderful pod mates. So lucky to have Seokjin. The two would tease each other endlessly, but if anyone ever dare try to hurt the older merman, Jungkook was always there to knock them down a peg or two. Or three.
It took a few more moments before Seokjin realized he was standing there, but when he finally turned to face him, his face lit up with so many emotions. The two stood before each other, excitement and anticipation in their eyes. Only a few short hours before their damnation was to end and the two could only stare at each other with a deep want and need in their eyes.
If the pull to keep them apart was any lesser, they would’ve crossed those last few feet. The sound of Yoongi joining them had the two turning their heads toward him with smiles as bright as the morning sun.
The three formed a small circle, only moving when Namjoon showed up, dimples on display. They barely exchanged words, having said all there is to say about their situation during their time apart.
The next one to arrive was Taehyung, still holding onto his lifebuoy for some reason. When the others questioned him with their eyes, he simply responded, “I didn’t want to drown” with a pout, earning coos from the others.
Jimin finally showed up, looking tired and a bit frazzled but smiling, nonetheless. “I was feeling so good, I even let my prisoner go!”
“Prisoner?” Jungkook asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Eh, a story for another day,” he replied. Then after looking around, he asked, “Uh, where’s Hoseok?”
Suddenly, the sounds of Hoseok’s all too familiar screeching filled the air. Turning toward him, they were all met with the sounds of an overly excited and completely naked man running toward them, his kibbles and bits flapping in the wind.
“Bah! Why are you idiots just standing there?! Can’t you feel the moon?!” he yelled as he ran toward them.
The others looked at each other briefly in confusion before their eyes all went wide in realization that yes, in fact, they could for the first time in millennia, feel the pull of the moon. Something they had thought they’d never feel again. Before they could even think, a naked Hoseok came crashing down on them, causing a pile of shifted mermen to form on the ground below.
“Hurry up, you fools! Let’s get in the water!” Hoseok yelled, jumping up and rushing toward the small pier just outside the house. Without hesitation, he jumped right in, his familiar bright green tail appearing as he did.
It only seconds for the others to quickly strip and follow suit. Giggles and wolf whistles followed as each jumped into the beautiful lagoon surrounding their isolated island home. The reason they had chosen this location in the first place was just how remote it seemed to be from everyone and everything else.
They laughed and giggled as they circled each other in a mating circle – what would be the first in so many years. As their bodies and hearts intertwined, the waters around them seemed to embrace them in a welcoming cocoon. It almost as if the waters and moon themselves seemed to know the heartache they had all felt and the relief and sheer merriment being together once again had brought them.
Time seemed to stand still for the mermen who knew deep in their hearts that their hearts were finally complete. They took turns teasing each other, smacking Hoseok on his still sore bum, “rescuing” Taehyung from drowning, and asking seductively if Jimin was going to tie them up as well.
Namjoon could only laugh as he watched his pod mates be truly happy for the first time in so many years. It felt almost surreal to finally have them all together like this again. Soon, he could no longer only watch, rushing to join his mates once more.
As their tails flittered in the water, they swam together, finally free to share all the hugs and kisses that fate had deprived them of in the past. Life once again had meaning and for the first time in a long time, they could finally be happy and free.