Archive of Our Own ^beta

The one setting - Paradise Hotel - The Honeymoon Suite, on an Island somewhere in the Indian Ocean.

Taehyung sighed as he lugged his backpack over his shoulder and started to pull his suitcase towards the hotel front desk.

He wasn’t supposed to be here alone. He wasn’t supposed to be here at all.

The holiday had been booked as a honeymoon for his sister and her fiance by their parents. Then, a week before the wedding, it had been called off and his sister had holed herself up in her room refusing to eat or speak to anyone but their mother.

Taehyung had been handed the plane tickets while being told by their father that it was non refundable, and they’d rather someone enjoy the trip than for it to go to waste.

His best friend, Wooshik, had been unable to get the time off work at such short notice, so here he was, travelling solo to a romance themed underwater hotel that cost heaven knows how much. 

The fact he was painfully single was just icing on the misery cake to be honest.

“Welcome to Paradise Mr Kim! Where is your wife?!”

After an excruciating conversation with the staff, where he tried to clarify that he was not the intended groom, he had not, in fact, booked a honeymoon suite with his sister and that he would be staying alone, he finally got hold of his room key and headed for the elevators.

The entrance to the hotel was at the top of the structure, and all the elevators went down. Down, down, down, deep under the Indian Ocean.

The corridor leading to the rooms was dark panelled and lit with low lighting that shimmered on the flooring. The Honeymoon suite was one of only two on that floor. Taehyung had been travelling for 16 hours by this point, so all he intended was to step inside his room, maybe kick off his shoes and fall face first on the bed.

The moment he stepped in, however, his mouth dropped open and he just stared, gobsmacked. The whole far wall of the room was thick glass that gave an endless view beneath the ocean. 

It was fantastic and completely mesmerising. Taehyung let the door click shut behind him, dropped his cases where he stood and walked right up to the glass. He pressed his nose up against it and gazed as far as he could see.

Several minutes passed as he watched tiny brightly coloured fish flit past the window, in and out of the seaweed and corals that covered the seabed. Artfully placed low lights shone from the hotel, to highlight parts of the coral, without being overly intrusive to the sealife.

Taehyung decided to message his father to thank him for making him come. He could happily not leave the room for the whole trip, just to sit and stare out of the windows.

After sending off a brief message to his dad, he suddenly realised how tired he was as a wave of fatigue rushed over him and he swayed on his feet.

Stripping off his clothes, he stumbled, first to the bathroom, and then crawled into the massive bed. It felt like he was laying on a cloud and in no time had fallen into a deep exhausted sleep.

🐟🐟🐟

Long, elegant golden legs. As beautiful as they were curious. Curves as soft as the sand, but gleaming in the soft light as if covered in tiny shimmering pearls. Humans had never seemed this beautiful before.

🐟🐟🐟

Taehyung was woken by the room telephone, ringing endlessly. He sat up completely disoriented and fumbled for the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hello Mr Kim, this is reception speaking. I’m calling to let you know that breakfast is only served until 10am”

“What time is it?”

“Oh! I’m sorry if I woke you up sir, it’s 9.30am. All meals are included and we didn’t want you to miss out. Would you like something sent up?”

He blinked slowly as his brain sorted itself out so he could process and reply. He picked up the room service menu from the bedside table and scanned it quickly. His stomach growled noisily as he read through the list of available food.

“Erm. A pot of tea please and waffles with fruit. Maybe some bacon and poached eggs. And toast.”

“Is that all sir?” The receptionist sounded amused.

“You are right, some peach yoghurt and a banana if you have any? Thanks.”

“Right you are sir, it should be with you shortly.”

They rang off and Taehyung dropped the phone and menu back on the table. He looked out of the window and saw how the sun shimmered at the surface of the ocean and filtered down to the sea bed.

Yawning, he walked to the bathroom and used the facilities. It wasn’t until he heard the knock at the door and pulled it open that he remembered he was still completely naked.

“Room Serv….!” the young man holding the tray began before stumbling over his words and blushing beetroot red.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! Please hold on for a second!” Taehyung yelled as he swung the door shut in the porter’s face.

He looked around desperately for something to wear, but his suitcase was still as locked as it had been when he dropped it on the floor last night, and his travel clothes were in a damp heap on the bathroom floor.

“Robe! Is there a robe?” he called through the door.

“Back of the bathroom door, sir.” came the muffled reply. Taehyung dashed to the ensuite, grabbed the thick fluffy robe and tied it haphazardly around him, before pulling the door open again, panting.

“I AM SO SORRY!” he yelled. The porter walked in and placed the tray on the little dining table in the alcove.

His nametag said Jimin, and he was trying his very hardest not to giggle as he laid out the food.

“I’m so jet lagged and fell asleep before I could open my case to find my pyjamas. I wasn’t trying to be inappropriate. Oh my god, please don’t report me, I only just got here. My father would kill me if I got kicked out of the hotel after he spent all this money.”

Gradually, the tinkling sound of the porter laughing broke through his rambling and Taehyung paused for breath, clasping his robe closed at the neck like a Victorian maiden.

“It’s quite alright sir. Please don’t distress yourself. I was just surprised, but no harm done. Hopefully you will catch up with your sleep today and avoid flashing anyone else.” He giggled and Taehyung couldn’t help but laugh as well.

After a few moments trying to compose himself, Taehyung held out his hand not clasping the robe shut to shake.

“I’m Kim Taehyung. I’m staying here because my sister and her fiance broke up before the wedding and my father didn’t want to lose the deposit. If you haven’t worked it out already, I’m completely alone and have no idea what to do with myself here.”

The porter politely touched Taehyung’s fingertips, bowed a little bow and smiled.

“My name is Jimin, it is very nice to meet you Taehyung. I am at your service from 7am to 3pm every day. If you like, I can send a selection of suggested activities to your room TV. If there is anything you would like to try or book, you can do it via the TV remote, or of course you can call and I can arrange it for you.If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to call the service desk.”

Jimin accepted the offered tip gratefully and left the room so swiftly that Taehyung blinked and he was gone. Yawning widely, the weary traveller wandered over to the little table and plopped himself down on the chair.

Taehyung sipped the tea while staring out of the window into the water. The lighting seemed brighter and he was able to see a little further into the shimmering distance. The seabed undulated gently down, getting deeper until he couldn’t see anything but water in the distance.

He spent a very peaceful hour, sipping his tea and grazing his way through his breakfast. It was a luxury he hadn’t been able to enjoy for some time. After graduating from Cambridge University with a first in Fine Arts, he had been whisked into a full time research and restoration job at his Father’s company. Under the Kim Corp. umbrella there was a string of Auction houses, galleries and jewellers. His sister was a buyer and had met her former fiance in Europe when they were bidding for the same old masterpiece for rival galleries. 

Taehyung had never liked him, smarmy git. Joaquin was tanned like a nut, charming, arrogant and a terrible flirt. He had swept Leah off her feet and persuaded her to agree to a marriage after a whirlwind romance. Taehyung had first met the letch in the back hallway of his parent’s villa when he had been looking for some snacks in the night and came across Joaquin standing rather closer than appropriate to their young house maid.

She had been sent off to bed with a relieved look on her face. Taehyung wasn’t a snitch and he knew full well that some people thought that house staff were open season. It was hard to reject the advances of someone who could get you fired. 

Instead of looking ashamed or trying to deny what Taehyung had seen, Joaquin had cornered Taehyung against the kitchen counter and tried it on with him as well! 

He had no compunction about shoving him away and telling him to back off. That had been 3 months ago. He went to his father to ask for his advice, but Mr Kim decided that Lea’s fiance must have been very drunk and for Taehyung to forget about it.

Unfortunately, whether fueled by alcohol or by some other compulsion, eventually Joaquin had been discovered in bed with someone who was definitely not wife-to-be, as she was the one who walked in on them.

Watching the brightly coloured fish flit in and out of the clumps of seaweed and coral, Taehyung decided that this would have been wasted on the greasy scumbag. He was glad his sister had found out in time, despite still carrying some guilt for not having mentioned the earlier incident.  But he had come here with her blessing, so he didn’t want to waste his time thinking of Joaquin when he could be doing what he loved. He hadn’t painted for months and his fingers itched to find his paintbrushes and get the view down on paper.

In the distance, just where the seabed seemed to fall away, he spotted a figure swimming. It was quite far away, beyond the reach of the hotel lights, so he imagined there must be a mask and breathing equipment that he couldn’t quite see.

Leah would love this. She was a water baby and spent so much time swimming and playing in the sea when they were kids. Taehyung had usually followed wherever she went and in their college years, they’d both taken Scuba courses and enjoyed diving.

That made him think of the other hotel activities and he moved to find the remote so he could check out the options that Jimin had promised to send to his TV.

The list was impressive. There was a spa full of all kinds of treatments, two gyms and 3 swimming pools. There seemed to be several surface related watersports, like windsurfing, kayaking and pedal boats. He kept scrolling, looking for the diving and in the end found a link for a diving school over on the next bay but not in the hotel grounds itself.

“Curious.” he muttered to himself. He dropped the remote on the bed and walked back to the window, pressing his hands and forehead against the glass.  The figure was still there and a bit closer than before. He could see a head peeking up behind a clump of weeds. It was impossible to make out the features of the diver, but he felt like for a moment, they were watching each other, before the head disappeared and what looked like a large fish swam across where they had been hiding.

🐟🐟🐟

From the other side of the glass, the rooms looked like tens of screens on a large wall. Not that the fish paid much attention. No one else came here, it was forbidden. But this new human was captivating. Beauty that demanded adoration and needed protection. 

Needed them.

The pull was unmistakable now.

🐟🐟🐟

“No sir, diving is not allowed in the demarcated area on the south side of the hotel. It is fully private as all of the rooms look out onto the water, as we want to ensure absolute privacy for our guests.” On the other end of the phone, Jimin sounded very certain, but Taehyung was equally certain that he’d seen a diver directly opposite his room.

He didn’t want to get anyone in trouble, but also, the thought of someone spying on the guests was quite disturbing, so he told Jimin, who assured him that he would have security check the boundaries.

There seemed nothing more to do about it and Taehyung was still weary from the trip, so rather than go seek amusement in the vast complex, he dug in his suitcase to retrieve his travel easel and art supplies.

The subject of his first sketch was obvious. He situated his chair in front of the window, directly looking at the scene where the diver had been hiding. 

He spent a happy few hours sketching and adding colour to the piece, only stopping when his stomach grumbled loudly. Loathing to stop mid flow, he decided to call for room service again.

It seemed like no time at all before there was a knock at the door and he met Jimin again, for the second time that day.

“Oh Jimin! I thought you would have finished your shift.” Taehyung said, looking at his wristwatch. It was half past 3 in the afternoon by now.

“I saw your order come in and decided to wait so I could deliver it myself.” Jimin smiled brightly. Taehyung felt embarrassed as he remembered the flashing incident from that morning, but Jimin seemed completely unbothered. He put the tray down on the table and stopped to admire Taehyung’s half completed painting.

“You have captured the seascape beautifully.” he said, reaching out but not quite touching where the seabed fell away behind the rock formations.

Taehyung came up next to him and pointed to the rocks.

“That’s where I saw the diver this morning, it seemed like he was watching the hotel,” he said. Jimin’s eyebrows twitched infinitesimally before he plastered on his professional smile and turned to the artist. 

“I want to reassure you that the only divers allowed in the private area here are technicians servicing the lights or exterior of the building. On the occasion that they have to do any work, all residents are informed and encouraged to pull the curtains across if they will be in their room during the service period.”

It sounded a little rehearsed, but Taehyung just nodded and accepted his food with thanks. Jimin said goodbye, letting Taehyung know he was leaving now until the morning and that if he needed anything more, to call the front desk, where his colleague Hoseok would be happy to help.

After he’d gone, Taehyung quickly washed his hands and then sat down to his meal. After eating his fill, he pushed the tray outside his door and flopped down on his bed, a wave of fatigue washing over him. Normally he would power through the post lunch tiredness, but determined to experience everything his holiday had to offer, he succumbed to sleep.

🐟🐟🐟

While he slept, he was completely unaware of the eyes on him, watching his every breath.

Regardless of risks, they had to guard and protect.

And provide.

🐟🐟🐟

Taehyung woke up at 8am the next morning, completely discombobulated.  He’d slept for 15 hours straight.  

He felt like he should probably leave his room and thought he might take a look at the rest of the hotel facilities after breakfast. Not feeling the need to sit alone in a dining room full of couples, however, he called for room service again and showered and dressed quickly.

He was just buttoning up his shirt when there was a knock at the door.

“Good morning Mr Kim! How are you feeling today?”  Jimin’s smile was bright and his eyes almost disappeared behind his cheeks. Taehyung thought he looked very cute and smiled back.

“I feel great, thank you. I was thinking about checking out the facilities this morning. Do you have any recommendations?”

They spent a good 15 minutes chatting about things to do and working out an itinerary for Taehyung’s day. Just as he was going to leave, Jimin reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a slim packet.

“I almost forgot, this arrived at the front desk for you.” He gave a little bow and left.

It was a curious package. About the size of a business envelope, but bulky and wrapped in some kind of parchment paper that Taehyung had never seen before. There was nothing written on the outside, and intrigued by the paper, he opened it very carefully trying not to tear it.

The paper unrolled to reveal three paint brushes. The handles were inlaid with mother of pearl and the brush hairs were each shaped differently, into a flat edge, a fine point and a curve. 

They were exquisite. Taehyung lifted them carefully and brushed them against his jaw to feel the hairs. They were soft but firm enough to hold their shape. Gorgeous.

He picked up his phone and sent a quick message to his father.

“Thank you for the brushes, they are wonderful! Where did you get them from?”

His father responded almost immediately, 

“Hello son. What brushes? I don’t know what you mean.”

“You didn’t send a package to the hotel for me? No one else knows I’m here.”

“I’ll check with Lea, maybe it’s a peace offering.”

“Do you think so?”

“How is she doing? I feel so bad for her.”

“She will be fine, don’t worry. Just enjoy yourself, ok? I want a full review of the place when you get back, I was thinking of investing.”

“Of course you were.”

“Thanks Appa, Love you.”

“Love you too, son.”

“They must be from Leah,” he mumbled to himself, putting the brushes in the cup that held the other few he’d brought from home. They gave him an idea. He grabbed his trusty old film camera and went to explore.

Taehyung returned to his room after having spent a good hour exploring the hotel. He had found a rooftop garden and discovered the hotel was just one storey above ground, with a manicured space to relax, eat and enjoy the cooling breeze that came off the sea. The north, east and west sides were surrounded by lush tropical rainforest and rolling hills. The south side however, was all deep blue ocean. 

From his viewpoint, Taehyung had been able to see the buoys that marked the restricted area of water around the submerged guest rooms. There was an area to the side of the main building with some boats and other water sports. The tennis courts were enclosed with a well camouflaged fence so that they didn’t marr the landscape. The whole complex was well thought out and built, so as to blend in with the forest. 

Back in front of his easel, Taehyung looked through his memory card at all the pictures he had taken from the rooftop. He thought he might do a series of watercolours for his father, the landscape was so inspiring.

In particular, he had taken photos of the sea. The blue expanse of the ocean, with her countless secrets beneath the surface.

Inspired, he spent hours in his room painting, completely possessed by the beauty of the ocean. 

🐟🐟🐟

Have you ever fallen in love with something that you can’t touch? Something so captivating on screen, or behind a window, that your every thought is consumed by them? 

As Taehyung moved around his room, painting, humming to himself, staring into the distance, he was strikingly beautiful. Especially when it seemed he was thinking of nothing.

Seeing him use the brushes brought more feelings, like someone had thrust a shimmer of sardines in their chest and they wouldn’t stop doing backflips. 

More

. 

They needed to give him more. They needed to give him everything.

🐟🐟🐟

Each morning, Jimin would bring a tray of breakfast and a new gift.  Taehyung questioned him, but Jimin would only say that they had been left for him at the front desk when no one was there. That no, Sir, they weren’t from him himself, he was a happily married man, but he would of course try to find out who was leaving them. 

Curiously, Jimin didn’t have a smartphone with any photos of his spouse, but he said it was because they weren’t allowed to carry a personal device on them while working. Taehyung accepted this but felt like Jimin was hiding something. Maybe he was married to a man and being careful in case of homophobia. That would make sense, Taehyung had suffered his fair share of prejudice and knew all about being discreet to the point of secretive about his love life (Or lack thereof) 

By the end of his first week, Taehyung had received the paintbrushes, a coral bracelet and a well worn piece of seaglass that glimmered a thousand different colours in its facets.This morning, Jimin had handed over a hand mirror backed with the most beautiful carved mother of pearl that Taehyung had ever seen.

“Jimin, you must have some idea of the gift giver by now? How can they have left these unseen every single day?”

“I couldn't say sir.” Obviously avoiding having to answer the question, he walked over to look at the watercolours that were lined up along the windowsill.

“Your paintings are coming along nicely, sir, you've captured every aspect of the views from the roof.”

“Please just call me Taehyung.” He’d asked Jimin every day to call him by his name, but he persisted with the formality. “Thank you, I’m glad you like them. I want to try some more underwater scenes, but I don’t know how to see a different view from this one.” Taehyung gestured to the window. Jimin’s eyes lit up.

“I could take you to the moon pool!”

“The what?”

“The moon pool! It's an access point to the water from beneath the surface. Our maintenance divers use it, but I think you said you had Scuba training?

Taehyung nodded. He had told Jimin that when they were talking about different activities.

“I could set you up with some equipment and a waterproof camera and you could take some pictures from outside.”

“I thought it was a restricted area?” Taehyung asked, a bit confused. Jimin seemed far too eager to help him.

“It is, but we can do an announcement to the guests that there will be some activity. If you went in the middle of the day, most people would be outside of their rooms anyway.”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t been diving for a couple of years.” Taehyung hadn’t had time since starting to work for the family business. 

“Mr Kim, Taehyung . It would be my honour to commission one of your watercolours for the hotel and to give you every assistance to carry out the commission. The moon pool is on this floor, I’ll wait for you with the tow rope and you can have 45 minutes outside.”

Taehyung looked up at the ceiling and thought about it for at least 4 seconds before he grinned and agreed. 

Jimin made a happy little whoop and clapped his hands in excitement.

“Come with me! 

🐟🐟🐟

Their first touch shouldn’t have been like this.

🐟🐟🐟

“Taehyung! Taehyung!”

Jimin quickly removed the breathing apparatus and unzipped the top of Taehyung’s wetsuit so he could check his breathing.

He leaned down to give a rescue breath and then was about to start chest compressions when Taehyung heaved up a bit of water and coughed violently. He tried to sit up, but Jimin helped him onto his side with a rolled towel under his head instead.

“Take it easy, just get your breath back first.” He said. Jimin sounded close to passing out himself. Still completely disoriented, Taehyung reached out a hand and gripped the porter’s arm.

“How?” he croaked. “Where am I?” Jimin rolled off his knees and sat on the floor so Taehyung could see clearer. They were back in his room and Taehyung was laying on the floor. He blinked several times, his vision still blurry after the coughing fit. It took him several seconds to realise there was a third person in the room with them. 

“Who?” he turned his head to peer behind him at the man who was dripping wet and apparently naked.

He had long dark hair, so black it almost looked blue, like a raven's feathers. His eyes were huge and listened as if the stars were contained within them. He was staring intensely at Taehyung with a look of concern.

“This is Jungkook. He brought you back inside.” Jimin said, squeezing Taehyung’s hand with his left and stroking his hair back out of his eyes with the other.

“You saved me.” he croaked and reached his free hand out to the man. Jungkook took his hand very carefully as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

“I’m sorry I hurt you.” he said. His accent was lyrical, almost like a song. Taehyung frowned in confusion.

“Hurt?”

Jungkook gently brushed his fingertips along the bruises that were starting to form around Taehyung’s wrist.

“I held you too tightly.” he said, sounding so heartbroken that Taehyung felt the need to sit up and comfort the stranger. This time, Jimin helped him up and supported his back so he could lean closer to the man, Jungkook.

“You saved me.” he said again and put his other hand over their joined ones. “Thank you so much.”

“What happened?” Jimin asked behind him. Taehyung opened his mouth to speak but Jungkook was faster.

“Tiger shark. I didn’t sense it in the area. I should never have let you…” He faltered.

“Let me?” Taehyung asked, confused. He tried to look round at Jimin, but he felt suddenly dizzy again and slumped forward.

🐟🐟🐟

Needless to say, the Tiger Shark didn’t make it far.

🐟🐟🐟

When Taehyung woke up again, he was in his bed, dressed in his pyjamas. His chest hurt and, as he tried to move, he found that he ached all over. There was a movement to his left and he turned his head to see a man sitting at a chair next to the bed. He had long hair, so dark that it seemed almost blue in its blackness. His dark eyes were intense and huge. There was a necklace around his neck, strung with shells, pearls and a single, very large tooth.

It took Taehyung a few seconds to remember where he’d seen him before. One moment he had been trying to take a picture of some coral, and the next a shark had sprung from nowhere and bitten him on the calf. He had flailed violently, and in his struggle, the mouthpiece of his oxygen supply had become dislodged and he’d started to choke on water. He honestly thought he was going to die at that moment, but then someone grabbed his wrist, pulling him so hard that the shark lost its grip on his leg. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was seeing a flash of blue and long black hair, floating like ink in the water.

“You were in the water.”

The man nodded. He picked up a glass of water and brought it to Taehyung’s lips. He took several long sips and then laid his head back on the pillow.

“How?” He croaked. His throat felt as if he had been screaming at a rock concert for hours. He tried to sit up again and this time, the man helped. Holding his arm carefully and plumping the pillows behind Taehyung’s back.

“Try not to speak until your throat is less sore.” The man said, but Taehyung was determined.

“Who are you?” he croaked. “Why are you in my room?”

The man sat back down after refilling the glass and placing it in Taehyung’s reach. 

“Jimin had to attend to some things in the hotel, so I offered to watch over you until you recovered.”

“I forgot your name.” Taehyung’s head still felt foggy and his eyes hurt when he tried to remember everything that had passed.

“Jungkook. My name is Jungkook.” he reached out and touched the bedcover tentatively, before retracting his hand and tucking it under his thigh. 

“What happened?”

“You were taking pictures of some coral and a shark went for you. I was too far away to stop it from scratching your leg, I'm so sorry.” 

Jungkook looked heartbroken and Taehyung felt guilty even though he was the one that had almost been fish food. He pulled the blanket off his legs and reached down to pull his left pyjama leg up. There was a dressing on his calf with some angry looking scratches coming out from the edges. Stretching made his sleeve ride up and expose his wrist and arm. Bruises the shape of fingerprints were blackening on his forearm.

“I was able to pull you out of its reach and get you back to Jimin, but I am afraid I hurt you more than the shark did.” 

Taehyung reached past the glass of water and touched Jungkook’s shoulder.

“You saved my life. Please don’t feel bad about a few bruises.” 

Jungkook continued to look at the floor, so Taehyung sat back up straight and rubbed his bruises. 

“Oh.” he said, looking around frantically while holding onto his left wrist.

Jungkook finally looked up, alarmed. 

“What’s the matter?”

“My bracelet. It must have been lost.” Taehyung felt remarkably sad at the loss of the coral trinket, seeing that he’d only known of its existence for three days. Pale sturdy fingers reached out and touched his wrist, where the bracelet had been.

“I can get you another. The pink coral this time I think, to match your skin better.”

Taehyung looked up, eyes wide at the admission.

“The gifts were from you?”

Jungkook nodded in silent assent. Taehyung withdrew back to his pillow, tucking both hands in his lap. 

“Why?”

“Are you afraid of me?” Jungkook asked, that sad look back on his face.

“I don’t know who you are.” Taehyung whispered. “I don’t understand how you saved me or why you have been sending me gifts.”

The hotel door beeped and opened to reveal Jimin carrying a tray just as Jungkook replied,

“You are my mate.”

🐟🐟🐟

“Are you insane?” Jimin hissed. Jungkook looked nonchalant and shrugged.

“He asked me, so I told the truth.”

Jimin had dragged Jungkook to the bathroom and was hissing in frustration at him after seeing Taehyung’s face go pale, eyes wide at the confession.

“He knows nothing of us! Nothing of our customs. Do you seriously think this is the way for him to find out?”

They both froze as there was a knock at the door and Taehyung pushed it open.

“Can somebody please explain to me what is going on? Jimin?”

“You should get back in bed, Mr Kim.” Jimin sighed, trying to steer Taehyung back to the room by his elbow. Taehyung stood firm.

“Tell me, or I will call the manager and get him to explain to me who you and this man are.”

Jimin winced, hesitating. It was Jungkook who spoke.

“Jimin is my kinsman. I asked him to deliver my courting gifts to you.”

“Courting gifts? What?” Taehyung leaned heavily against the door post. His leg and arm and basically every part of him ached, and he was getting irritated by the lack of clarity.

“You are in pain. Please get back in bed and I give you my word, I will answer all of your questions.”

Jimin made a sound of protest, but looks from the two men, one stubborn and the other annoyed, silenced him. He sighed heavily and went back to the tray he had brought with him.

“I brought you some food. Sit and eat at least while he confesses all.” The snark in his voice was undisguised and piqued Taehyung’s curiosity so he complied. He allowed Jimin to tuck him back into bed and place a bed tray over his lap. There was soup, crackers, bread, fruit and some small jars of assorted jams and spreads.

Suddenly ravenous, Taehyung opened a jar of strawberry jam and spread most of it over one of the bread rolls. As he munched through the food, Jungkook spoke as if telling him a fairytale.

🐟🐟🐟

“Our people are from this place. This hotel is built upon my family’s land, with our cooperation and blessing. Several of my clan work here as we have a special affinity with the sea and surroundings.”

He locked eyes with Taehyung.

“I saw you when you arrived and was struck by your beauty and grace.”

Taehyung gracefully choked on a crumb of his bread and there was a brief interlude as Jungkook patted his back and helped him take a sip of water.

“Saw me how?” As far as he remembered, he had only ventured outside his room twice since he arrived. One of those times was after the first of Jungkook’s gifts.

Jungkook gestured to the transparent wall that gave way to the endless ocean.

“From there.”

“I saw you.” Taehyung said, after staring at the sea view and then back to Jungkook. “It was you hiding behind those rocks!  You were spying on me? On all the guests in the hotel? Are you a peeping tom?”

“I don’t know what that means.” Jungkook tipped his head to the side, considering the expression. “But no, I was not spying on the people in the rooms. Only you.”

There was the sound of Jimin groaning into his hands, somewhere in the background. Taehyung turned to the porter.

“You lied to me! You told me you didn’t know who was leaving the gifts. You told me that no one was allowed to dive in the area outside the windows, and you knew he was spying on me this whole time!”

“I was not spying. I was watching over you.” Jungkook remained serene, despite Taehyung’s increasing anger and volume.

“WHY WERE YOU WATCHING ME?” He yelled. The soup splashed over the edge of the bowl onto the tray as he shoved it off his lap and tried to get out of bed again.

“You are my mate.” 

“What is that supposed to mean? Are you insane?”

“I knew as soon as I saw you. Here.” Jungkook rubbed his chest over his heart. “My people. When we meet our mate, the Goddess tells us here.”

“I am not one of your people. I don’t have any feelings about you other than you are scaring the shit out of me right now!”

Jungkook’s face dropped at that. 

“Don’t be scared of me. I mean you no harm at all…” he backed away, palms in the air. Then a little sadly,

“You really feel nothing?” 

“He is a human, Jungkook.” Jimin said quietly. Of course Taehyung heard him and looked even more alarmed. He picked up the butter knife from the tray and gripped it tightly in his fist.

“Are you not human?” he asked weakly, the knife trembling in his fist. Jimin and Jungkook both looked at him, standing perfectly still as if they didn’t dare to breathe. 

“Tell me!” 

Jungkook took the bottle of water and while stretching out his hand, trickled it over his fingers. Taehyung watched in disbelief as pale green webs grew in between his fingers and his skin took on a shimmer.

“What the fuck…” he whispered before swaying backwards and blacking out.

🐟🐟🐟

The next time he opened his eyes, Jimin was hovering over him. 

“You fainted,” the porter whispered, not wanting to alarm him. “Don’t try to move.”

The room was dark, the only light coming from the shimmering lights beyond the glass wall. There was no one else there and for a moment, Taehyung thought that maybe he had dreamed it all. The shark, the man, the webbed fingers. But then he saw that where the bracelet of coral used to be was now only a circle of dark bruises.

“Who are you Jimin?” He asked, trying to unravel his thoughts. “ What are you?”

Jimin took a deep breath before he answered in a very careful voice,

“My people are from the sea. In your mythology we are called Sirens”

Needless to say, Taehyung did not believe him. Not until there was a thud on the glass and he turned to see Jungkook swimming outside his window, with no breathing equipment, no wetsuit and a massive midnight blue fishtail.

Taehyung was proud to say that he did not faint again. 

There was a small amount of heavy breathing, however.

🐟🐟🐟

Jimin sat with him and explained the things that were his place to say.  His people lived and owned the ocean from the edge of the land far out to the borders of the next clan, some 500 miles away.

There weren’t as many of them as there were humans. They had been hunted in the generations past, so kept to the deep sea and away from manmade things as much as possible.

The hotel belonged to them. Their ancestors had land-walked when necessary, and made connections with a local human tribe. 

50 years ago, the human leader, a matriarch of great repute and dignity had come to beg for their assistance. Foreign investors were pressuring them to leave the island so they could tear down the forest and develop it for great profit. The constructions would destroy the ecosystem and pollute both the soil and the sea.

Jungkook’s mother had agreed to join them and provide force and fortune to protect their homes.

And so, at the cost of a great many deep sea pearls, the island was officially registered to the people who had lived on it for centuries. The hotel was built to deter others from thinking they could come and develop ‘empty’ land. And the workforce, a mixture of human and siren, maintained the area in a way that preserved the health and beauty of the forest and sea.

Taehyung sat silent and fascinated as Jimin told him everything. Now he was listening properly, he could hear the same lyrical accent to Jimin’s words, see the otherworldly resemblance in his face and bone structure to Jungkook.

“What about the courting gifts?” he asked, finally, as Jimin paused at the end of his tale.

“That is Jungkook’s story to tell.” Jimin replied, with a hint of a smile. “Safe to say, he is the son of our Queen and has been raised in a very traditional way. He rarely comes to the land for his own safety. There was quite a hoo-ha in the royal court when he told them that he had found his mate in a human.”

“How could he say I am his mate when we never even met before today?”

Jimin looked like he was having an inner battle before he spoke again.

“I cannot speak for our prince, but… Remember when I told you I was happily married?”

Taehyung nodded.

“I met my mate here in the hotel. He is a chef in the kitchen. He was from the neighbouring clan, but had come to our territory to petition the queen for safe asylum. She offered him work in the hotel as he would be safer based mainly on the island, than in the water, if hunters from his old clan came looking. He agreed and learned how to cook from the old human chef. We met when I first came to work and he provided the staff meal.”

“What happened?” 

“He stopped just short of handing me the plate and when I looked up and locked eyes with him, it felt like myriads of tiny fish flipping over and over in my chest. I took the plate with one hand and his empty hand with my other. We just stood there for what felt like ages, until my colleague bumped into me and I dropped my food.”

Jimin laughed at the memory. 

“Hobi was so apologetic for the mess, and I barely even noticed, I was so transfixed by Yoongi. Hobi said afterwards that it was like we were in a trance. Both our eyes went inky black and he couldn’t get either of our attention for a good 20 minutes.”

“Is Hobi a siren as well?”

Jimin shook his head,

“No, he’s human, from the local tribe we built the hotel with. All the staff are either from that tribe or clan.”

“Ah.” Taehyung suddenly gave a sad little laugh.  “My father said he wanted to invest, but if it’s a family business, then you probably won’t want outside interference.”

“It doesn’t have to be outside.” Jimin said with a wry smile. Taehyung looked confused, so he continued.

“If you allowed Jungkook to court you, then maybe eventually, you would be family as well.”

🐟🐟🐟

Jungkook came back to Taehyung’s room about three hours later. Jimin had watched over him while he ate and then left him to get some rest, so Jungkook returned to a dark and silent room. He had taken a key card with Taehyung’s permission, so he let himself in, placed a bag on the table, then sat quietly, watching over the sleeping human. 

“You know,” came a sleepy voice, “In human society, watching over someone while they sleep could be considered very creepy.”

“What does creepy mean?” Jungkook cocked his head, trying to parse the unfamiliar word.

“When you creep around and do things that make someone feel unsafe.”

At Jungkook’s sad pout, Taehyung hastened to explain further.

“I understand now that you are watching over me to keep me safe, but in the human world, people who creep about are usually up to no good.”

“I only walked in quietly so I didn’t wake you.” Jungkook took off the cord around his neck that had the shark’s tooth on it and held it out to Taehyung. “The shark won’t hurt you or anyone else again.”

This made Taehyung wake up fully, and he struggled to sit up, accepting the strong arm in assistance. 

“What did you do?” he asked with a hint of panic in his voice. He inspected Jungkook’s arm, having not let go of it yet, and found an angry looking scratch that ran from his elbow to wrist. “Did it hurt you?”

“It tried,” Jungkook scoffed. “I got this on the coral when I was dragging the body out of the territory.”

“Do you hunt often?” Taehyung trailed his fingers along the scratch and noted the goosebumps that rose on Jungkook’s skin.

“Only for food and protection. I don’t hunt for sport, much to my brother in law’s amusement.”

“Why is that?”

“My sister has a liking for trophies and has two full garlands of teeth already, one for each of their pups. He is working on filling the third, now that she is pupped again. I find it distasteful. I only killed the shark because it hurt you.”

They sat in silence for a while, Taehyung staring out at the sea while fiddling with the shark’s tooth in his hands and Jungkook gazing at Taehyung. Taehyung was just starting to doze off again when Jungkook suddenly asked him a question.

“How do humans conduct their courtships, if not giving gifts that show how they can provide for their future mate?”

He stood up and retrieved his bag from the table..

“I want to show you that my feelings and intentions are sincere.” He handed the bag to Taehyung who took it curiously. Before he opened it, he answered Jungkook’s question.

“Humans go on dates. If we like someone, then we eat a meal together, or go out to a park or someplace of interest to spend time together. That’s how we find out if we want to enter a serious relationship, by getting to know the person and seeing if we suit each other.”

“Have you been on dates with other people?” Jungkook did not like this idea of ‘dates’ at all.

“Yes, a few. But as you can see, I haven’t met my person yet.” 

“Because you hadn’t met me yet.” Jungkook said with the most confidence yet. “Please open the bag.”

Taehyung gripped the bag with some trepidation. He was expecting this to be another courting gift and so far he’d only opened them in private, not knowing the intention and not having to control his reaction. This time, he knew they were meant to show Jungkook’s sincere intention to be his partner (mate!) and Jungkook was sitting right in front of him, watching him intensely.

No pressure then.

He opened the bag and looked inside.

“Oh!” This time it was Taehyung cocking his head in confusion. He tipped the contents onto the bedcover. There was a jar of honey, a bunch of grapes, some lemons, a small jewelled bottle filled with clear liquid and two smooth black stones that fit snugly into his palms.

Jungkook pointed to the fruit and honey.

“Jimin told me that these are items that will help you soothe your sore throat. I am not familiar with them, we use the slime from certain seaweed polyps, but Jimin said you probably wouldn’t want to try that.”

Taehyung shuddered at the thought. 

“Jimin was correct. Thank you for these, it was very thoughtful of you.”

“Do you know what to do with them?” Jungkook picked up the lemon and sniffed it with some suspicion. Taehyung had to suppress a chuckle at his expression. 

“I do, You mix the juice of the lemon with some honey and hot water to make a soothing drink. Would you like to try it?” 

Jungkook took another sniff of the lemon skin and pulled a disgusted face.

“No, I do not. It smells very bad.”

Taehyung internally cooed at the Siren’s cute pout. He plucked one of the grapes and held it out to him.

“Try this, you may find it more palatable.”  Jungkook took the grape and rolled it between his fingers curiously before popping it in his mouth. His eyes widened as he bit down and the sweet juice flooded his mouth.

“It feels like a fish eye, but tastes like nothing I've eaten before!” 

Trying not to dwell on the Fish Eyeball part, Taehyung popped a grape in his own mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

“What foods do you eat?” he asked, offering another grape across the bedcover. Jungkook took it and popped it into his mouth, smiling in delight at the taste.

“Lots of fish.” he said with his mouth full, some juice dribbling down his chin. “Sometimes plants.”

“Does everything taste of salt?” Taehyung asked, the thought suddenly occurring to him. “Have you not tasted sweet food before?”

Jungkook cocked his head, that confused face that was becoming familiar to Taehyung, on his face.

“What is sweet?”

Looking around him, Taehyung grabbed his food tray that had been placed on the side table and placed it on his lap. There were still a few salted crackers and a little butter left. 

He took a clean napkin and laid it over the plate, then laid out a salted cracker spread with some butter, a teaspoon with a drip of honey in it, a slice of lemon and lemon pip.

Pointing to each in turn he named the flavours,

“This is salty, this is sweet, this is sour and this is bitter.” He held up the cracker and Jungkook eyed it warily.

“Taste it, it's good!” Taehyung urged. Jungkook felt a warmth spread in his chest as he realised that his mate was hand feeding him and he took it between his teeth, straight from Taehyung's fingers. 

He enjoyed the deep blush that bloomed across his mate’s face. It made him look even more beautiful, if that were possible. 

“Do you like it?” he was asking. Jungkook took a moment to realise he meant the thing he had put in his mouth, so he chewed and considered.

“It tastes like the sea, but dry. Odd.” He swallowed the mouthful and waited for more. 

“That was salty, like the sea. Now this is sweet.”

Taehyung pointed to the spoon. Jungkook made no move to pick it up and Taehyung realised that he expected him to feed him that as well. Suppressing a sigh, he lifted the spoon to his lips and watched as Jungkook almost winced at the intense sweetness of the honey.

He shuddered, licking his lips and screwing his face up.

“What is that? Can I have more?”

Taehyung couldn’t hide the endeared chuckle that time. He explained about bees as he squeezed some more honey on the spoon. Jungkook sucked on it eagerly, his eyebrows pulling into an angry frown as he tasted the new flavour.

“That is what I meant by sweet. So do you not have sweet food like that?”

Jungkook shook his head, the spoon still in his mouth.

“No. What's that one?” he pointed to the lemon slice and pip.

“Lemons are sour and their pips are bitter. You can try them, but don’t swallow the pip. Just bite it and then spit it out.”

The face he pulled when he licked the lemon slice was so disgusted and offended that Taehyung couldn’t help laughing out loud. Jungkook refused to bite the pip, deciding that Lemons were a human food he could do without.

Taehyung put the tray away and lay back on his pillow. He was feeling more comfortable with Jungkook, now they had talked, he wasn’t sure about the whole destined mates thing, but there was no denying that his suitor had shown him kindness and care and was very very handsome. Hell, who was Taehyung trying to kid, Jungkook was the prettiest man he had laid eyes on in years.

If they had met in a more normal circumstance, normal to Taehyung at least, then maybe he would have plucked up the courage to ask for his number and go on some dates.

His eyes wandered to the flat smooth stones and small bottle still laying on the cover.

“What are these for?” he asked, picking up one of the stones. It was heavy and cool to the touch.

“We use them to treat pain, I thought maybe your back and neck may ache after the struggle.”

“How do they work?” Taehyung was slightly confused. He picked up the tiny bottle and held it up to the light to look at the fluid inside.

“You can use the stones either hot or cold, and then you scrape them over the sore muscles. The oil stops them pulling the skin. If you have pain anywhere, I can use them on you. I have lots of experience, my mother asks me to do her neck all the time.”

“You want to massage me?” Taehyung squeaked. Jungkook nodded as if this were a perfectly normal activity to do with someone you’ve just met and intends to mate you.

“Yes. You should lay on your front.”

“Erm, I’m not sure if I..” Taehyung’s protestations were cut off with a strangled moan of pleasure as strong deft fingers pressed into his neck and worked on the sore muscles. Jungkook’s fingers were skillful and pretty soon, Taehyung’s head was dropping heavily between his shoulders.

“If you take off your shirt I can work on your shoulders.” The fingers paused momentarily and Taehyung nodded, far too gone to protest further.

He slipped his pyjama shirt off his shoulders and flopped onto his front.

Jungkook told him to get comfortable and went to do something in the bathroom. He came back with a mug full of hot water and dropped the two stones into it to heat up. While he waited for them, he poured some oil into his clean hands and gently rubbed his hands up and down the golden expanse of Taehyung’s back.

The Siren congratulated himself for holding up so well. His hands barely trembled as they worked over the muscles and gentle curves that he had been worshipping from afar only a week earlier. His mother often praised his strong hands when she had a stiff neck after working hard with her duties, so he used every trick he’d learned over the years. Taehyung turned to complete putty under his hands, making little sounds that sounded happy to Jungkook’s ears. Goosebumps flared up everywhere that he touched and Jungkook felt the draw in his own chest grow stronger and stronger with every skin to skin connection.

“I’m going to use the stones now. Tell me if they are too hot,” Jungkook dried the stones, and with one in each palm, glided them up and over the knots he’d found in his mate’s back. The noise that Taehyung let out when he got a big one was almost pornographic. 

“Does it feel good?” Jungkook asked, his voice deeper than usual, it came out almost a growl. Taehyung shivered and nodded.

“Mhm. really good.” His reply was muffled in the pillow he was face down in. Neither of them heard the door open or the approaching footsteps as Jimin walked in.

“I see you two have got to know each other quite well while I was gone.” he said with a laugh. Jungkook sat back on his haunches and gave his kinsman a stern glare.

“Why are you here?” He sounded like he was pouting and Taehyung peeped out from the pillow to take a look. His powerful merman was sitting there on his feet, sulking like a toddler who just got caught eating out of the cookie jar.

“I brought dinner. It’s getting late and you hadn’t called for room service, so Yoongi told me to bring this up.”

“Why is Yoongi keeping tabs on my mate?” 

“Because you seem to have forgotten that humans need regular meals!”

“I haven’t!”

“Gentlemen, please. Don’t argue over me.” Taehyung rose up on his elbows and pulled his discarded shirt to cover himself which made Jungkook pout even harder. “I can assure you, I’m not worth it.”

He meant it as a lighthearted self deprecating joke, but both sirens turned their indignant glares to him.

“I can assure you , that my Mate is worth all the trouble and care in the ocean.” Jungkook looked almost angry, but Taehyung wasn’t afraid, instead a persistent little feeling of warmth started to spread through his heart and creep up to his face, where a smile refused to be held back.

“Thank you.” he said and let himself be helped up, fed and generally fussed over. As he sat there watching them bicker gently over who got to plump his pillows and place his tray, he realised that, aside from his family, no one had ever cared this much about him before. Certainly not any of the men he’d been on dates with. 

Jimin let himself out with the tray, after making Taehyung promise to call if he needed anything at all and left Jungkook there to look after him.

Taehyung was feeling much better and pretty sure he didn’t need looking after, but he decided he could quite get used to having his handsome siren as his bed nurse.

“Jungkook?” he asked, after Jimin had left and they had settled down into a peaceful silence looking out at the water.

“Yes?” Jungkook turned in his chair and held Taehyung’s gaze, unblinking.

“If I accepted your courtship, what would happen next?” The more their eyes held, the more Taehyung’s heart thumped, beating an erratic pattern in his chest. Maybe this was what Jimin had described as fish jumping when he saw Yoongi for the first time?

“How would it even be possible? Your life is under the sea, mine is on land. I can’t breathe underwater…”

Jungkook didn’t look upset by the question. On the contrary, his face gleamed with delight,

“You would accept me then?” There was more than a tinge of excitement in his voice and Taehyung felt his heart-fish do another flip.

“I would consider it, yes. But I need to know to what end? My life and work is in another country, many thousands of miles from here. Would you leave your clan and the sea to be with me?”

Taehyung’s question was cut off by a kiss. Two strong hands cupped his face gently and he found himself staring into the blackest eyes, filled with stars.

“The goddess has told me that you are my mate. I know deep to my core, that you are the one for me. I would follow you across the oceans and over the highest mountain, if you will only be mine.”

“Oh. That’s.. Oh..” Taehyung didn’t need to articulate that thought, because it was silenced with another kiss, and then another.

🐟🐟🐟

Jungkook finally left Taehyung’s room after midnight. He needed to go and speak to his mother, the Queen. 

Taehyung lay awake until the early hours, watching the fish swim back and forth in front of his glass wall. There was even a huge starfish that had suctioned itself to the glass and was gradually making its way across the surface. He watched for over an hour as it slowly moved a total of 30 cms, the slow pace allowing his mind to process.

So much had happened that day and his mind raced through everything, from facing a shark and thinking he was going to die, to finding out that Sirens exist and he was being courted by a mermaid prince.

He’d napped on and off all afternoon, so sleep didn’t come. He decided to get up and get out a pen and paper and write down everything, get his thoughts straight.

First he wrote down everything he liked about his life at home; the galleries, the art, being close to his parents.

He wrote down what he didn’t like; the exhausting long hours, the homophobia of his home nation, the soul crushing loneliness.

He wrote what he knew about the hotel and community, about the local tribe and Sirens and Jungkook.

Ah, Jungkook. 

Taehyung found himself writing copious paragraphs about his kind smile and intense stare. His galaxy eyes and inky black hair. How he had carefully selected courting gifts that would pique Taehyung’s curiosity and delight. He had saved him from being maimed and possibly killed by the shark and then cared for him so gently as he struggled to comprehend this whole new reality about the world around him.

Putting the pen down, he read through his notes and realised that his heart and soul had already made the decision for him.

“Hi Dad. Are you still interested in investing in this place? I think I’d like to stay a bit longer and find out more. They’ve commissioned me to paint something for the hotel lobby, so I’ll be paid for that.

Can you do without me for another couple of weeks?”

“What about your poor old dad? Leaving me here all alone.”

“Alone…With Mum and Lea…”

“Outnumbered then.

All jokes aside, of course. I trust your judgement. 

Enjoy the painting time and stay as long as you need to.”

“Thanks Dad. Love you.”

“Love you too son.”

Taehyung was woken the next morning by his favourite hotel employee pushing a food trolley into his room. He was obviously trying to be quiet, but the wheel got wedged on a discarded shoe and the cups rattled, provoking a muffled ‘shit’ from the porter and a giggle from the heap of blankets on the bed.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to wake you. I just brought up some breakfast for when you feel up to it.” Jimin said, parking the trolley and stepping closer to peer over the blankets in search of Taehyung’s face. 

Taehyung obliged by pulling the duvet to his chin and smiling sleepily.

“How are you feeling?”

Taehyung thought about it. He wiggled his toes and in this position, he felt ok. But as soon as he tried to sit up, a sharp pain shot through both his left arm and leg. His back ached and his neck felt sore as well.

“Everything hurts.” he announced and flopped back onto his pillow.

“I thought that might happen.” Jimin said with a concerned frown. “Jungkook said he wrenched your arm quite sharply to pull you away and it would have jerked your leg as you got free of the teeth.”

They both shuddered at the memory.

“I can call the local doctor. I know Jungkook used some of the sacred oil on you yesterday, but I don’t know if it works on human physiology as it does for sirens.”

“The sacred what now?” Taehyung reached to the side table where the vial of oil still lay from the night before. The action hurt so much, he hissed in pain, his fingers barely reaching the edge of the bed.

“Sacred oil. We make it from a plant that grows deep in the ocean. It has healing properties and we use it to treat wounds and injuries. The bottle looks like one from the Royal family collection. The Prince must have got it from his mother’s physician.”

“I keep forgetting he’s a prince. Another reason why choosing me is such a crazy idea.”

“Only if you view it from the perspective that Jungkook chose you, when in fact, your match was made by the Ocean Goddess.”

Taehyung was too sore and tired for this conversation. He, a land-living, city born, privately educated, surrounded by conservatives, gay man, was being courted by the handsome, pouty, preternaturally beautiful son of an underwater Siren Queen. He had almost been eaten by a shark and just found out his massage last night came courtesy of the Queen’s private potion stash and his romantic destiny had been determined by a water spirit. He took a deep breath and stretched.

“What food did you bring?”

Jungkook let himself into the room, having refused to return the keycard the night before. 

“Until my mate tells me not to come, you can’t take it from me.” he’d told Jimin very sharply. Yoongi had just snorted discreetly in the background and then patiently listened to his mate complain about the prince for at least an hour before he distracted him with food and affection.

The conversation with his mother had gone better than expected. She was not terribly happy about his mate being a human, but that was because of practicality and the real possibility that Jungkook would leave them to live on the land. She respected the choice of the Goddess and wouldn’t try to prevent her son from mating his intended. He had left her with a happy heart and something very precious in his hand.

He found his mate sitting up in bed, chewing on a piece of toast and once again, bloody Park Jimin, sitting on the bed with him.

“Why are you always here?” he whined, sounding less princely and more little brotherly. Jimin grinned at him. 

“I was feeding your mate. Why are you here?” he gave a little yelp as Jungkook lunged for him and pinched his side.

“I wouldn’t have left at all, but I needed to speak to my mother.” the prince replied. His fist was clenched tightly, a mixture of nerves and anticipation unfurling in his belly.

“What did she say?” Jimin asked. There was a note of apprehension in his voice. 

Taehyung wanted to know too. Jungkook had told him about some more of his life the night before and Taehyung had the impression that the Queen was a force to be reckoned with. He couldn’t imagine she would take to a human son in law any more than his father would take to a fishtailed one.

But then he was probably doing his parents a disservice. They had accepted him with love and continuous support, their only concerns being that he protect himself from outside abuse. Going to England to study had been a conscious choice to spend some of his formative years in a slightly more accepting environment. Nowhere was perfect, but there he’d seen men of many races be able to marry and adopt children and it had made him believe that anything could be possible, somewhere. 

Not that he’d imagined this. Did any country allow marriage between species? He didn’t think so. Then he suddenly processed that he was thinking about Jungkook in terms of marriage and suppressed a little snort of laughter. He became aware that both the sirens in the room were looking at him, one with an amused expression and the other with concern.

“Are you sure you feel ok?” Jungkook asked, reaching out to smooth a strand of hair out of his eyes. Taehyung grabbed his hand and pulled it into his own, linking their fingers together and immediately feeling some of the anxiety release from his chest.

“Better now you are here.” Taehyung said and realised he truly meant it. Jimin made a small noise behind them and Jungkook looked back at him

“My mother  wanted to be sure that I knew what I was doing and the reality of a future together with my mate. We discussed the logistics and she was able to accept that this is my decision as much as it is my destiny.”

Jimin nodded and took his leave so the mates could speak in private.

They both waited until the door was closed and then Taehyung pulled Jungkook to sit next to him on the bed.

“What does this mean for you, be honest with me please.”

Jungkook slipped one arm around his shoulders and drew Taehyung closer, so his head could lean on his chest.

“It means that I will make being with you my priority. I can serve my people from here by watching over the protection and preservation of the land and sea. My mother trusts me to represent her interests here and sees the potential of having a relationship with someone from outside of this region, to help our people continue to thrive and stay safe.”

“Oh.” that sounded a bit mercenary. Taehyung’s tone must have sounded glum because Jungkook continued quickly,

“None of that is why I want to be with you, Taehyung. I feel like half my heart was missing all my life and you have filled in that space. You are the missing piece. If my mother had told me to choose between being a prince or being with you, I would choose you.”

“But you hardly know me.”

“Maybe my head doesn’t know every single thing about you, but my heart knows what the Goddess says is right for me, for us. We have the rest of our lives to catch up on the past, love.”

Taehyung felt quite overwhelmed. His body hurt, his thoughts were confused, and despite the completely alien situation he found himself in, his instinct craved the comfort of the man next to him. He buried his face into Jungkook’s shirt and tried to focus on his breathing, inadvertently inhaling the delicious salty scent that came from the warm body beneath his face.

Gentle hands stroked his back and for the second time in two days, they shared a comfortable peace that usually comes after time. Taehyung had not known this kind of ease could exist with someone so quickly. Maybe the Ocean Goddess was right after all, and everything he had accepted as fact, was only a fraction of what was real. 

After several minutes of silence, he sat up, with help, and accepted a drink of water.

“I told my father that I wanted to stay here longer.” he said at last. Jungkook looked at him, unblinking, with bright encouraging eyes.

“He wanted to invest in the hotel, so I told him I was going to stay and paint and look around more.”

“How long will you stay?”

“At least another month I think. That will give me time to spend more time with you and work out what I’m going to do.”

“Your father doesn't need to invest money. What is mine will be yours when we are mated.” 

“You are very sure of yourself.” Taehyung said with a smile. Jungkook shrugged,

“I have no reason not to be. The Goddess has never been wrong before.” He pulled Taehyung’s uninjured hand into his lap. “I have something for you.”

He tied on a new bracelet, made of peachy pink coral that complemented Taehyung’s golden skin tone. After securing the knot, Jungkook kissed the delicate wrist and pulled Taehyung back into his hold. 

🐟🐟🐟

The next few days went like this: 

Taehyung would wake up naturally, sometimes at 8, sometimes at 10. 

Jungkook would be there when he woke, usually picking through the breakfast that Jimin had brought. He had developed a taste for grapes and blueberries and Yoongi always made sure to send extra bowlfuls after Jimin complained that Taehyung wasn’t getting a look in.

While his injuries still ached, Jungkook would help him get up and dressed, massaging his sore joints and dressing the bite on his leg. Taehyung had taken to wearing the shark’s tooth around his neck, much to Jungkook’s delight and deep satisfaction. He finally understood why his brother in law kept giving his sister more and more teeth. It was a sign to anyone who cared to look that they were well protected by their mate.

They would eat breakfast together and talk, asking each other endless questions. Jungkook had as many questions about Taehyung’s life in the city as he had about the prince’s life in the ocean.

Then after they had eaten, Taehyung would paint. Jungkook sat and watched in amazement as his mate’s talent flowed through his beautiful hands onto the paper.

One day, Taehyung got Jungkook to sit for him and over three days, produced a portrait that made the siren gasp in astonishment. Jungkook had asked if he could keep it, but Taehyung didn’t want to part with it. Jungkook had been looking directly at him throughout the sitting and the picture Taehyung had painted looked like he was staring into the artist’s soul. He did, however, ask Jimin to take it to scan a copy along with all the other paintings he had completed, so he could send a record of his progress to his father. Jimin had raved over the portrait and asked him to do a portrait of him and Yoongi as they had never had wedding photos taken like humans did.

Taehyung agreed and in the third week of his stay, he finally got to meet Yoongi. Jimin wanted a portrait that showed them as sirens, so after talking through various poses and some preliminary sketches, Yoongi suggested that they could go and pose in the water outside Taehyung's window, and he could sketch them from there.

“I want the image of our tails entwined forever on paper.” he had said quietly in Jimin’s ear, making him blush pink. Jimin’s mate was softly spoken, with sharp cat eyes that surveyed the room occasionally in between gazing upon his beloved with adoring eyes. Taehyung liked him immediately.

It turned out to be one of the most inspiring and brilliant sessions that Taehyung had ever been a part of. In the course of the weeks together, Taehyung had shown Jungkook how to use his camera, and while he sketched, Jungkook would take reference photos.

“You two have become quite the dynamic team,” Jimin had remarked, when looking at some of the pictures side by side to Taehyung’s work in progress. Then turning to speak more quietly in Jungkook’s ear,

“I have what you asked for.” Jungkook nodded and followed his friend out of the room. Taehyung didn’t notice, he was too engrossed in painting the fine detail of Yoongi’s ink black tail that somehow swallowed all the light while shimmering at the same time.

🐟🐟🐟

There was a knock at the door and Taehyung ignored it at first, as Jungkook and Jimin usually let themselves in. But the knocking persisted and so Taehyung was forced to get up from his easel, limping to the door, paintbrush in hand, to see who it was.

“Good evening sir, I’ve brought you some dinner. Jimin asked me to let you know that he has the rest of today and tomorrow off, so I will be attending to your needs.” The man at the door had the same hotel uniform and a name badge that said Hoseok.

Taehyung blinked at him, his brain struggling to switch out of the painting focus he had been in. Hoseok started to push the trolley into the room and Taehyung held the door wide for him, before realising that his work in progress was on full display and hurrying as fast as he could to cover it. It was too late though, the newcomer had already seen it and was smiling broadly.

“Jimin wasn’t exaggerating about your talent.” he said with admiration clear in his voice. “You have captured Yoongi’s likeness perfectly!”

“You know about them?” Taehyung asked nervously and then remembered, “Oh, but Jimin said all the staff are sirens or local, so you probably do. Are you a siren as well?”

“I’m sorry! I thought Jimin had told you about me. My name is Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi. I’m not a siren, I’m as human as you appear to be!”

Jimin had mentioned a ‘Hobi’, Taehyung relaxed a fraction but then the last statement threw him for a moment. As human as he appeared to be? What else could he be?

Hobi continued, unbothered by Taehyung’s bewilderment.

“My grandmother worked with the Siren Queen to build this place.” He gestured around them in the room, 

“All my family work in or around the hotel in some capacity. As a rule we keep the Siren’s existence a secret, but you appear to have captivated our Prince. I’ve never seen him on two legs as much as I have these last two weeks.

“Here, you should eat before the food gets cold.” Hobi laid out the plates on the table and continued to chatter as he worked.

“It has caused quite the excitement! The Prince in love! So many hearts will be broken, I can tell you.”

“Why?” Taehyung asked before popping a chunk of crispy fried chicken into his mouth.

“Because he is the most eligible bachelor around! The heir to the Ocean territories, rich as Creosus, handsome as a god, and now apparently mated to a brilliant and beautiful artist.” Hobi waggled his eyebrows. Taehyung was wondering how he could possibly respond to that when the door opened and Jungkook walked in. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Hoseok and raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you here?” He asked flatly, crossing his arms. Hoseok stood up quickly from where he had been perched on the corner of the bed, and gulped.

“Good evening, my Prince, I brought Mr Kim’s dinner because Jimin is not here.” He said very politely. Taehyung raised an eyebrow at the change in demeanour, but carried on munching his way through the plate of chicken.

“You can leave now.” Jungkook said, not very politely. Hoseok bowed and scuttled out, like a frightened squirrel.

“That wasn’t very polite.” Taehyung said with his mouth full. Jungkook looked directly at the dribble of ssamjang sauce that was dribbling down his mate’s chin. The irritated glint in his eye softened as he reached out to wipe the sauce away with his thumb.

“Jung Hoseok is a profligate gossip. He will no doubt be repeating our business to the whole staff cohort by now.” 

Taehyung blushed, whether it was from the comment or the thumb on his chin, he couldn’t say. Both triggered feelings ranging from mortification to affection.

He patted the seat next to him so Jungkook would sit down. He, in turn, made Taehyung eat his fill before letting him ask all his questions, of which he knew there would be many.

Jungkook enjoyed watching his mate eat well. It soothed the lingering ache in his chest from when he hadn’t been quick enough to prevent the shark injuring Taehyung.

After Taehyung had eaten his fill, Jungkook led them to the sofa and gently guided Taehyung’s legs onto his lap. 

“I will answer your questions while I change your bandages.” he said, and began to remove the dressing on his calf to reveal the scabbed over bite marks. 

The flesh was pink around the edges, but cool to the touch and looked to be healing well. Jungkook had seen some of his tribe die from infected bites, so on that first day, he had made sure to hunt for the most potent healing plants and begged his mother’s physician to macerate the oil immediately. Since that initial massage session, he had used three quarters of the little bottle on Taehyung’s wounds. He tipped a drop into his  bottle now and massaged it gently over the scabs, trying not to pull the skin or hurt his mate.

Taehyung tried really hard not to wince. The oil became warm on the skin and tingled the scabs. At one point, a callous on the siren’s finger caught on the edge of a scab and pulled it, making it bleed a little and causing Taehyung to flinch.

Jungkook apologised profusely, pressing a new gauze over the wounded area and holding it until the bleeding stopped.

“It’s not your fault, it just caught me by surprise.” Taehyung assured him through gritted teeth. His leg still ached a lot and he couldn’t yet walk without holding onto furniture or leaving on Jungkook or Jimin.

“Ask me your questions.” Jungkook said, stretching out the muscle and trying to relieve the pain with gentle movements.

“Where did you go today? You were gone for hours.” They had barely spent more than 2 or 3 hours apart in the last two weeks, so Jungkook’s absence that afternoon and evening had been unusual.

“Did you miss me?” The siren asked, with a cheeky smile. Taehyung protested, but they both knew at this point it was harder to be apart than not.

“I had to go and see my mother and collect something.” 

“What did you collect?”

“My final courting gift to you. If you accept it, then we will become mates officially, as well as in my heart.”

Taehyung lifted his bandaged wrist and tapped his own chest.

“And my heart too.”

Jungkook leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. 

“Thank you my love.”

“Can I see it?”

“My heart?”

“No, my courting gift.”

“Not yet.”

Taehyung pouted. It was powerful. The combination of huge watery eyes and plush lips almost broke Jungkook’s conviction, but there was a process and a ritual that had to be observed.

“There is a ritual that my people carry out for the final courting gift.” he said, looking a bit nervous all of a sudden,

“And I wanted to honour your customs as well, so that is what I am arranging and I would be eternally grateful if you would allow me to make sure it is perfect before I show you.”

Taehyung was momentarily lost for words, so he reached and pulled Jungkook's hands into his own and kissed them tenderly.

“I will wait for you,” he whispered. Jungkook gave him a grateful nod, “But could you not give me a tiny clue?”

The pinch and tickle he got in response was an affectionate but definitive ‘No.’

“Be patient, love. Please give me one more day and then there will be no more secrets between us.”

On the mention of secrets, Taehyung started to think of his family and how none of them had any idea what he had actually been up to for the last month.

After one child having a cancelled wedding and a broken heart, he was sure his parents wouldn’t be overjoyed about him coming home after 4 weeks away with a new husband.

“I should speak with my parents.” he murmured, biting his lip with some concern. 

“They aren’t royalty, but they will be just as cautious about this as your mother was.”

Jungkook eased the bitten lip away from Taehyung’s teeth with his thumb.

“Have you not told them about me?” His question was calm and bore no pressure. Jungkook didn’t feel any threat from Taehyung’s family or anyone else, but he understood that his mate needed to feel the approval of the parents that he spoke so fondly of.

“Not yet, I kept meaning to, but it never seemed like the right time.” Jungkook didn’t want his mate to lose valuable sleep to worry, so he carried him over to the bed, tucked himself up behind him and held him close.

“It is very late, sleep now and you can call them tomorrow while I am making my final preparations.” He kissed him on his temple, “Everything will work out fine, Love.”

🐟🐟🐟

The next morning, after eating breakfast with Jungkook, being helped to have a long hot shower with cling film to cover the dressings on his leg, and being settled in his painting chair by the window, Taehyung found himself finally alone in the room.

Jungkook had gone to make his ‘final preparations’. Taehyung’s wild imagination was running overtime, wondering if the next day was just some kind of engagement, or if he was actually getting ‘merman married’. 

For now, he was staring nervously at his mobile phone, where his father’s contact details were showing on the screen.

What on earth was he supposed to say?

“Hi Appa, how are you? By the way,  I met my soulmate and I’m getting soulmated tomorrow.” 

No, not that.

“ Father, I’ve fallen for someone and I want to be with them forever.”  

That sounded dangerously like Leah had when she met her evil ex. Ugh, definitely not. He needed to be honest, but sound rational enough that they didn’t try to do an intervention like they wished they’d done for his sister.

“Appa, there is someone I want you and Ma to meet. He’s special.”

The room phone rang loudly and startled him. He hobbled across to the nightstand and picked it up, hearing the familiar sound of Hobi’s voice on the line.

“Mr Kim, there are two people here at the front desk to see you. They say they are your parents.”

After checking their passports and confirming their details with Taehyung, Hobi agreed to bring them to the room as Taehyung was still mostly confined to his chair and bed.

Having been so preoccupied about how to tell them he had met his soulmate who happened to be a Siren, Taehyung completely forgot that he hadn’t told them about his injury.

Mr and Mrs Kim were a liberal minded and kind couple. Taehyung had no reason to think that they wouldn’t be supportive once they met Jungkook and got to know him. He hadn’t, however, ever had to tell them that he’d had a near death experience in the deep ocean with a violent shark. 

So the ensuing shriek of horror from his mother and constant stream of questions when Hobi let them in to find him, leg propped up and both leg and arm bandaged, completely blindsided him.

Hobi, the absolute traitor, quietly let himself out of the room and left them to it.

“What do you mean you almost got eaten by a shark! Where were the professional divers? Why was a shark allowed to get that close to you? Have you seen a doctor? Is it infected? We need to take you to hospital and this hotel will pay you damages, I will make sure of it!”

Both Taehyung and his father let Mrs Kim express her concerns until she ran out of steam. This was their tried and tested method. Once she was in a rage, no amount of intervention could halt it, so they just had to wait it out.

Taehyung settled himself back into his chair, swivelled round to face the sofa again. His father sat, clasping a document folder in one hand, and fiddling with the corner of the cardboard with the other. Mrs Kim paced back and forth, widely gesturing as she catastrophised for about 5 minutes flat.

Finally she flopped down into the sofa next to her husband and locked eyes with her son,

“I think it’s best if you come home with us on the first flight out of here.”

“Eomma.” Taehyung said calmly and respectfully. “I want to stay.”

She made a noise of protestation, but her husband laid a gentle hand on her knee and squeezed.

“Let the boy speak, Honey.”

“First of all, it’s nobody’s fault that the shark was there. It had strayed into the hotel waters and as soon as he saw it, Jungkook saved me. He brought me straight back into the chamber and the hotel has given me excellent medical care for the last few weeks.

If you are angry at anyone, let it be me. I was too busy taking pictures of coral to pay attention to my surroundings.”

“Well. Fine then, but it’s very shocking. And you young man! Why didn’t you tell us straight away? Three weeks ago this happened and we only found out now, by accident, because we arrived unannounced!”

“Why are you here unannounced?”

“Don’t try to deflect.” his mother scolded.

“I’m not! I just didn’t want to worry you with something not serious.”

“Not serious?” she turned to her husband in disbelief, “He almost gets eaten by a shark and he says it’s not serious!”

“Who is Jungkook?” Mr Kim asked, taking Taehyung by surprise. His deep blush did not go unnoticed.

“He’s the one who saved me from the shark.”

“Is he one of the diving instructors?” his father asked. Mrs Kim gave a little laugh,

“Of course he must be, why else was he in the water with Taehyung?”

“He’s more than that though, isn’t he?” Mr Kim persisted.

“Why do you ask?” Taehyung tried to sound nonchalant. He did not succeed. His father opened the document folder and took out some papers. They were the scanned copies of Taehyung’s watercolours that he had emailed to show his progress.

“These are impressive son, I haven’t seen you produce pieces like this since you were in Cambridge.” he sifted through the papers until he found the one he wanted. He leaned forward and laid it on the coffee table in front of Taehyung.

“This is Jungkook?” he asked. It was the portrait that Taehyung had painted more than a week ago. He looked down at the print and couldn’t stop the small smile from forming on his face.

“Yes, that’s him. He was kind enough to sit for me.”

“It’s a very intense image.” his father observed, “He seems to be staring into the artist's soul.”

“Is he as handsome in real life?” Mrs Kim asked. Taehyung gave a small laugh and nodded.

“He’s very handsome, Ma”

“Can I see the original? The scan doesn’t do the colours justice, I’m sure.” Mr Kim stood, stopping Taehyung from getting up, walking to the small stack of canvases and watercolour boards leaning against the side wall by the easel.

“Yeah, sure. It might not be in that stack. I think I kept it to one side.”

“Hmm? Why is that?” his mother, with her keen nose for trouble and romance, sniffed a secret.

“He. We..” Taehyung completely forgot all of the sensible words he was going to say to introduce the subject of Jungkook to his parents. “We became good friends. He has been very kind to me.”

His mother raised her eyebrow and his father helped Taehyung up so he could retrieve the watercolour from his bedroom where the board had been propped up by his side of the bed.

He was leaning on his father’s arm when the door beeped and in came the man himself, followed by a very beautiful, yet tiny woman, dressed in something akin to a ballgown.

Mr Kim stepped out of the bedroom area, peering at the watercolour and looked up into Jungkook’s eyes.

“I see,” he said. And he did see. There was something extraordinary about this particular painting. Taehyung always painted beautifully, his use of colours and contrast brought landscapes and seascapes to life. But this? This one was completely saturated with emotion. Mr Kim had a pretty good idea what that emotion was.

“Taehyung?” Jungkook asked curiously, hiding his instinctual alarm. He could clearly see the family resemblance. The man in front of him was an older, matured version of his mate, obviously his father. Jungkook led his mother to a chair and looked around for the one face he couldn’t see.

Taehyung’s head appeared at the archway that separated the sleeping and living area, and abandoning all formality, Jungkook rushed over and slipped one arm around his waist, helping his mate back to his armchair. 

“Are you ok?” he asked. Taehyung looked flushed and a bit bewildered.

“My parents are here.” he said, somewhat redundantly. Jungkook nodded and bent to kiss his forehead.

“Can I get you anything, Love?” He said it quietly, but the rest of the room was hushed, so there was no misunderstanding the nature of the friendship between the two men.

“Please can you sit with me?” Taehyung’s heart was racing with nerves. There was no time to rehearse or break it gently now. He needed to speak before his parents drew their own conclusions and he needed Jungkook’s support to do it. 

Jungkook squeezed onto the large armchair next to him, pulling Taehyung’s legs onto his lap, as had been their custom all these weeks. He could feel the other trembling and placed a soothing hand on his hip.

“Appa, Eomma, please sit down. This is Jungkook. As you have probably guessed, we have become very close during my stay here. Jungkook, these are my parents, Kim Sejin and Kim Songie.” 

Jungkook said hello very respectfully to both of them. He apologised for not being able to stand, as he was supporting Taehyung’s injured leg, but bowed his head and said it was his great honour to meet them both. They said hello back and fell into a curious silence, waiting for Taehyung to explain himself.

“Please will you introduce us to your mother?” 

“Of course. Taehyung, Mr and Mrs Kim, I am honoured to introduce you to my mother, her royal highness Queen Jeon Kyung-Mi”

Taehyung’s mother definitely made a noise at that. Taehyung tried to get up, but Jungkook told him to stay put. His mother nodded in agreement.

“It is a great honour to meet you, your majesty. Jungkook saved my life and treated my wounds with your precious medicines. I cannot thank you enough.” Taehyung bowed his head as best he could from his ‘half on a royal prince’s lap’ position.

“My son is greatly enamoured of you.” The queen said with a voice so enticing that all three humans leaned infinitesimally closer. 

“I can see your beauty is as great as your talent.” She drew out a laminated print of the same portrait of Jungkook.

“My son brought this to me and I was greatly impressed.” The Queen turned to Taehyung’s father, who was still holding the original watercolour,

“May I see the original please?”

Mr Kim handed it over without hesitation and they all watched as she traced the paint strokes with careful fingertips.

“I would be pleased if you would complete a portrait of my grandchildren. Jungkook will see that you are compensated appropriately.”

“It would be my honour, your majesty, you don’t need to pay..” Taehyung cut off as Jungkook squeezed his hip and shook his head.

“I will see to it that my .. Taehyung has everything he needs.” Jungkook assured his mother, who nodded at him and then turned her eyes to the Kims.

“As our sons intend to share a life together, I believe it would be beneficial for us to become acquainted.”

As a way to break the news, that certainly was what Taehyung would classify under the heading of 'Bombshell'. He watched his mother’s face grow pink in shock and his father’s expression harden in caution.

“Son, is this true? How can you be so foolish?” Mr Kim spoke sternly, his memories of everything that had befallen his other child resurfacing unpleasantly.

Jungkook stiffened at his tone and it was Taehyung’s turn to squeeze him to stay calm.

“Jungkook is nothing like Joaquin, Appa. He’s not a gold digger or a cad. Our affection has been based on friendship and spending time together. I am sure once you get to know him, you will love him as much as I do.”

Taehyung didn’t truly realise what he had just confessed until the hand around his waist tightened and a sweet kiss was left on his cheek.

“I love you too.” was whispered into his ear. Taehyung considered his feelings at that moment. The expected fear and recoil was undetectable. All he felt was the secure warm steady thump of his heart.

“It is very sudden.” Mrs Kim said with a deliberately steady calm. She turned to Jungkook’s mother to explain their reaction,

“Taehyung’s sister was recently jilted by a man who swept her up into a whirlwind romance and insisted on marrying her within 3 months of meeting. Taehyung is only here because their wedding was cancelled. This booking was supposed to be for their wedding.”

The Queen nodded in understanding, 

“That was indeed, most unfortunate. My son would never disrespect you or your Taehyung in that way. We have talked at length and he is sure of his heart and very committed. My people have a tradition of finding their life partner and sticking to them loyally for life. I can assure you that Jungkook would not even have spoken to me about your son, had he not the complete conviction that he had found his soulmate.”

“Soulmate?” Mr Kim asked with raised eyebrows, “Do you believe in such things?”

“We do. Not everyone is blessed to meet their true mate, but those who do, recognise it without a doubt. My son has found his true mate in Taehyung and I believe your son recognises those same feelings in my child.”

“I do, Appa. Eomma. I really do. It wasn’t instant by any means, but we have spent quality time together and talked so much. I have seen how caring and kind Jungkook is. He is strong, protective and gentle." 

Taehyung took a big gulp of air, needing to make his parents understand.

“I thought so much of Leah and her heartbreak, I told Jungkook about how I had seen fast romances go bad so quickly and that I was scared that would happen to us. We spoke together about our different lives and what it would mean if we wanted to be together even though at the moment we live thousands of miles apart.

“I know it’s sudden, please don't think that I haven’t considered that.”

Jungkook took his hand and kissed the back of his fingers. Then he turned his gaze to the Kims.

“Mr and Mrs Kim. When I first saw your son, I was struck by his beauty. I had never seen someone so perfectly created and felt a surge of hopeful desire in my chest. I wanted to get to know him, even if it meant only being an acquaintance. 

“Days later, when I was supposed to be protecting him and I saw the Tiger shark just a fraction too late to stop it injuring Taehyung, I felt such despair that I had been responsible for even a scratch on his body, let alone a painful bite. I prayed my thanks to our Gods when he regained consciousness and let me care for his wounds.

“The more time I have spent with your son, the more I have come to realise that his heart and soul are even more beautiful than his appearance. 

“I love your son, please allow me to prove to you that I can even begin to deserve him.”

“Oh.” gasped Mrs Kim. She got up and rushed forward putting both her arms around both the boys still wedged in the single chair.

“You are nothing like my daughter's awful fiance.” She kissed them both on the cheek.

“I should hope not!” came the voice of the Queen, who was watching the whole scene unfold with a poker face.

“I don’t imagine your daughter’s ex fiance was raised as a Prince with duty and responsibility impressed upon him from infancy”

“You are correct, your majesty,” Taehyung said with a shy smile, “Joaquin was certainly no prince.”

Despite seemingly winning his mother over, Taehyung could tell that his father was still holding back. 

“Why don't we order some lunch and eat together?” He suggested. The Queen stood up and went to the telephone.

“Oh please, don’t trouble yourself!” Taehyung cried out, mortified that a monarch was ordering his room service, but she waved him off with a smile and picked up the receiver.

The language she spoke down the phone was not one any of the humans in the room had heard before. She spoke rapidly and sounded like she was giving instructions that would suffer no disappointment.

“My mother owns the hotel.” Jungkook revealed this to the Kims. Taehyung half knew this, but the reality of it was still a shock to the system. His parents both looked like Jungkook had announced his mother owned the moon. Well she did seem to own half the Ocean, so maybe that was exactly what it seemed like.

The Queen glided back to her chair and turned her attention to Taehyung.

“You cannot easily go to my preferred restaurant in the complex, so I have ordered them to bring some of my favourite delicacies to us here.” Taehyung really hoped she wasn’t referring to any slimy seaweed polyps or fish eyeballs.

“I see you are wearing my son’s token.” She indicated the shark’s tooth strung on the rope woven from seagrass around his neck.

He touched it reflexively and nodded.

“Jungkook never showed an affinity for hunting, but for you, I believe he would fight the moon.” she said this with much affection, but it completely threw Mr Kim.

“Hunting?” he asked.

“Yes.” The queen nodded, “That is the tooth of the shark that injured your son.” She said this so matter of fact that it took a good few seconds for the reality of that statement to sink in.

“You hunted the shark that attacked Taehyung?!!” Mr Kim exclaimed. “How on earth is that possible?”

Jungkook gave his mother a beseeching look that roughly translated as “Please stop talking”

“I am a good swimmer.” he said as if that explained everything. Taehyung didn’t think today was the day his parents needed to find out about sirens, so he tried to change the subject.

“Did you finish your preparations?” he asked Jungkook. Jungkook looked at him with a pained look. 

“I did.” 

“Preparations for what, dear?” Taehyung's mother asked. Jungkook tried to think rapidly how to explain the ritual of the mating ceremony in a way that wouldn’t have Taehyung’s parents run off screaming and dragging their son behind them.

“I wanted to share a customary ritual of my people with Taehyung.” he started. Mrs Kim nodded, encouraging him to go on.

“It is to show my.. Commitment.” Yes, that sounded human enough. “Like a pledge to protect and love my m.. Taehyung, for the rest of my life.” Ok, maybe that was a bit too much like a wedding. He looked at his mother, who shrugged. 

“It is essentially a mating ceremony. It is usually done at the highest swell of the tide, when the moon holds her greatest force on the ocean.” The Queen recited as if she were giving a history lesson.

“They don't actually have to mate in front of anyone anymore, that was very much the ancient way, but now it's more ceremonial. They exchange gifts and make their vows in front of the Goddess.”

For someone who had a whole human hybrid enterprise going on, Jungkook felt his mother had never been quite so brazen about Siren customs as she was right now. She was usually a lot more guarded. He didn’t understand and he feared she would frighten Taehyung’s parents away.

“Mother.” he began, but she held up a single finger to hush him.

“Our people have different ways to your people.” She said, “But that does not mean that love cannot thrive between us. Honesty has to be part of that love.”

There was a tap at the door and suddenly three waiters walked in, each pushing a trolley laden with salvers and dishes. As they set up the food, Jungkook’s mother invited everyone to sit around the table, facing the window out onto the ocean.

As the porters left, she told one of them a command in the same foreign tongue as earlier, and the young siren nodded and hurried away.

Jungkook knew that there was no going back now and he held onto Taehyung’s hand tightly as his mother spoke.

“My people come from the sea. We live in harmony with those in this land and together we are caretakers of the life and environment of this whole island.

“I invite you to join our family and safeguard our treasures and secrets as safely as we will safeguard your precious son.”

She waved at the window and they watched, open mouthed and in complete shock and awe as hundreds of sirens of all ages and genders started to gather in front of the hotel. They swam in formation and finally settled in a shell shaped formation, so that they all faced inwards as if an audience were watching the stage that was Taehyung’s hotel room.

Jungkook helped Taehyung up, so he could limp to the window and gaze upon them all. 

“When our people heard that their prince had met his mate, they were eager to see if he was as breathtaking as Jungkook and Jimin both claimed.”

Taehyung made a small squeak at that, and nudged Jungkook with his elbow. His mate didn’t budge, but simply smiled at him with such adoration in his face, that Taehyung almost buckled at the knees.

There was a movement in the corner of his eye and he pointed,

“Appa! That’s my friend Jimin! He sent you the scans of my paintings.” Taehyung waved at the smiling siren who was doing excited loop de loops at the edge of the gathering. His father stepped across and looked where he was pointing. 

Before being a businessman, Mr Kim was at heart, an artist. He loved the wonder and beauty of the universe. As he stared in disbelief out at the Sirens, his brain battled between being a concerned father and an awe-inspired painter.

The enormity of what they were being allowed to see gradually occurred to him.

“Why? Why are you showing us this?” he asked the Queen. She regarded him seriously for several seconds before reaching forward and patting him on the shoulder.

“Our sons plan to share their life together. I am fully aware that I know much more about your world than you do about mine. If our children are to have the best chance at happiness, we should be united and open with each other.

You are welcome to stay here as long as you like, so that you can get to know Jungkook and our family.”

Mrs Kim stood next to her husband and held her arms out. The Queen accepted the offer and the two mothers embraced.

Outside of the window, the gathered sirens all cheered and swam in joyful formations.

They ate well and talked at length. There were plenty of questions on both sides and by the end of the meal, invitations had been extended for Jungkook and his mother and sister to visit the Kim home and see their art collections.

The Queen arranged a suite for Taehyung’s parents, and they left to go and rest and refresh as the afternoon waned.

Jungkook’s mother spoke one to one with Taehyung, reassuring herself that her son was giving his mating mark to the right person. She left them in peace eventually after satisfying herself that the human in front of her was pure of heart.

By the time all their visitors had left, Taehyung was completely overwhelmed. Jungkook held him in his arms on the sofa and whispered soft assurances to him until he fell into an exhausted sleep.

🐟🐟🐟

The next morning, Taehyung woke up in his bed, still wrapped up in an embrace. It was the first time Jungkook had actually slept in the bed with him for the whole night, and they both felt the pull. The need to stay close and not let go. Jungkook recognised it for what it was, his mate bond alive and fired up at full power. 

For Taehyung, the nearest thing he could liken it to was the urge he remembered as a child, needing to be close to his parents, even sometimes now, when he was sick and craved the comfort and security of his mother.

This feeling was more than that, though. Along with the comfort and security came intense need and heat as well. As if he needed to get so close, he would crawl inside Jungkook’s chest if he could.

He had never felt such attraction combined with attachment and belonging like this before. He tried to stretch and got a sharp cramp in his leg. The flinch is what woke up his siren. Jungkook sat up, alert for danger and then realising the issue, dived under the cover to massage Taehyung’s left calf. 

The door opened with a beep and Jimin walked in holding a suit carrier and a shoe box. He stopped dead in his tracks when he locked eyes with Taehyung who was pulling a pained face and groaning, at the same time that the lump under the cover was moving around.

“I’ll come back later!” Jimin yelled, tossing the items at the sofa and missing, before running back out of the door.

Jungkook popped his head out of the covers ruffled and hot, 

“Who was that?”

“Jimin.” hissed Taehyung. His leg was still spasming and he was gritting his teeth.

“I think he got the wrong impression.”

“Well that will teach him not to just walk in unannounced.” Jungkook huffed and got back to work, kneading out the tight muscles around the wound on his mate’s leg.

About an hour later, Jimin knocked at the door and waited until he was let in. Taehyung was showered and dressed with his leg resting on a pillow. Jungkook had one arm around him and with the other, was feeding him cut up pieces of apple.

Jimin gave a heavy sigh.

“Is it ever going to be safe to come in here and not find you two completely tangled up with each other?” 

Jungkook glared at him,

“No, it isn’t, so you can stop walking into the room unannounced.”

Jimin rolled his eyes and retrieved the suit carrier from where it had been draped over a chair.

“These are the garments you requested for the ceremony. High tide is at 5.32pm today, so your mother suggests that we begin at 5pm, so that you can complete the ritual at the peak.

“As Taehyung can’t stand for too long or breathe underwater, we have altered the ceremony so that he can sit in this room and the witnesses can be arranged outside the window in the same formation we practised yesterday. You'll have to give him your mark afterwards.”

“What do you mean, give me my mark ?” Taehyung asked, his mouth full of apple. Jungkook watched him with an adoring gaze, the human’s pout was just too cute. 

Jimin sighed dramatically,

“Haven’t you explained the ritual to him yet? It’s this afternoon Jungkook. For the Goddess’ sake! He needs to know the vows and how to enact the exchange!” 

Jimin looked like he was about to explode, so Jungkook, after very gently removing himself from the ‘Mate pretzel’ that he and Taehyung had going on the sofa, stood up, and pulled rank.

“You may leave us, Park Jimin. You can assure Her Royal Highness that everything is in hand and we shall be ready at 5pm.”

Taehyung detected the change in Jungkook’s tone of voice and it gave him goosebumps. Apparently it did a lot more to Jimin, his face went pale and he bowed his head before scurrying out.

“What just happened?” Taehyung put down his bowl of fruit and tried to stand up. Jungkook hurried to his side and helped him. They started to walk towards the bathroom.

“He was being insubordinate. He has spent too much time freely with you and forgot his place.” 

Taehyung stopped suddenly jerking out of Jungkook’s hold.

“His place?! I didn’t take you for an entitled snob. Jimin has been nothing but kind to me the whole time I’ve been here. He is my friend.”

“Taehyung, please. I don’t know what a snob is, but I am a Prince. I am Jimin’s prince and we were raised with a set of rules that he just breached. I am happy that he is your friend, truly I am. But he is also interfering with our mating ritual. That is something that should be private between you and me.”

“Then why is it done in front of a whole crowd of sirens?” Taehyung limped into the bathroom and shut the door.

“Taehyung.” Jungkook said sadly.

“I can piss by myself, Jungkook.” Taehyung snapped, he was in pain and suddenly full of dread. Was he finally seeing the siren’s true colours? Were his parent’s right? Had he rushed into something crazy and about to be ‘mermaid married’ to an entitled and controlling stranger?

But deep in his heart, he knew that wasn’t the case. Taehyung was new to Siren culture. He had no idea about the dynamics of their ruling system, other than what he had observed already.  And if he was honest with himself, Jimin had become very bold and comfortable over the last month, letting himself in, even when Taehyung was in the bath or getting dressed. 

While he appreciated all the help since his injury, he did wish sometimes that Jimin would knock before he walked in. That first day when he’d opened the door in the nude, wasn’t the only time Jimin had seen him naked, and none of those times were voluntary.

He sighed, washed his hands and opened the door.

Jungkook was leaning against the doorpost, head on his arm and shoulders shaking.

“Are you crying?” He laid a hand on the siren’s shoulder. Jungkook looked up, tears streaming down his face.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want you to hate me. I will apologise to Jimin. Please forgive me.”

Taehyung’s heart broke a little bit and he wrapped Jungkook up in a hug.

“There’s nothing to forgive. We still have so much to find out about each other. I shouldn’t judge you by Human customs.”

There was a sniffle and some unintelligible words, muffled by Taehyung’s chest. 

“The first thing you need to tell me, in the next 5 hours, is what is going to happen at our ceremony this evening.”

“You still want to be my mate?” Jungkook croaked, looking up with his huge inky eyes. 

“I thought that was already decided by the Goddess.” Taehyung replied softly, wiping a tear away with his thumb, “And that the ceremony was just the formal registering of the mateship?”

“It is for me, but you still have a choice, you will always have a choice. I..” the siren broke off with a choked sob.

“I hope you will choose me.”

“I already did choose you. Didn’t you hear me yesterday? I told my parents I love you and I meant it.”

“I love you too.”

“I know you do. Now please, tell me what I need to know about the ceremony.”

🐟🐟🐟

It was time. Taehyung was wearing loose linen trousers and a flowing shirt, open at the neck, only barely holding onto his shoulders. Jimin had said it was important that his collarbones be showing. Taehyung wasn’t sure if this was ceremonial or if Jimin was just trying to spice up the costume.

Jimin had reappeared at 3pm, at Jungkook’s bidding, to help Taehyung prepare. Taehyung had asked him if he was ok.

“If he abuses his position and is rude to you, you have to tell me. I won’t hesitate to kick his ass.” Taehyung had said so earnestly that Jimin had broken into that chiming bells laugh of his.

“You are so precious. I promise you, that brat wouldn’t dare overstep.” his face straightened. 

“In fact, it was me who was out of line. I got too comfortable and forgot my place.”

“No Jimin! There is no such thing. You are my friend, not my subject.”

“It’s not that, even if you weren’t mating the Prince. You are not my mate. I thought about how I would feel if anyone walked in on Yoongi undressed, or when we were having a private time together, and I would hate it. It was your dignity and privacy that Jungkook was protecting and that he rightly scolded me for forgetting to respect.”

They had hugged, Taehyung had told him that he was always welcome, but that he needed to knock before entering. Jimin had promised that he had no desire to see Taehyung undressed ever again. And then in complete contradiction, told him to strip so he could get him dressed in the outfit for the ceremony.

So here he sat, dressed like an ancient god, made up with some glowing creams and locations that made his skin gleam like a pearl, waiting nervously for everyone to show up.

And show up, they did.

His parents arrived first, accompanied by Hobi, and two men who Taehyung hadn’t met before. They introduced themselves as the representatives of the Ocean Goddess and Forest Spirit. Taehyung had thought that nothing could surprise him any more, and looked to Hobi for guidance.  Hobi explained that they were something like a human priest and were there to conduct the ceremony.

The Ocean Pontifex was called Jin, this was his first time conducting the mating ritual on dry land, but he was very honoured to be officiating for the Prince and his mate.

He was dressed in sea green robes that shimmered in the light. The fabric reminded Taehyung of the dancing sea grass on the seabed. When he remarked upon them, Jin explained that the cloth was indeed  woven from seagrass. Jin had had them made especially for the occasion, as they matched his natural tail colour. 

“I thought you would appreciate it if I wore clothing while on land.” Jin had said in all seriousness. 

In all seriousness, Taehyung wholeheartedly thanked him for his consideration and gave a small prayer of thanks to the Ocean Goddess who definitely seemed to know what she was doing.

Namjoon, the Forest Augur, was dressed in unbleached linen trousers and a tunic. He wore simple wooden beads around his wrist and had bare feet. He  was attending at Jungkook’s request because the Prince wanted to represent both siren and human customs. Sounding a little nervous, Namjoon explained that he understood that not all human customs were the same, but he hoped he could blend some universal traditions into the ceremony. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it up to Taehyung. It was a carved wooden ring on a finely plaited rope.

“It is a promise ring. The Sirens can’t easily wear rings on their fingers in the water, but I thought you could present him with this to wear around his neck when he gives you his final token.”

Thanking him for his thoughtfulness, Taehyung took the ring and looked closely at it. The wood was carved with tiny vine leaves and tendrils twisted into hearts.

“This is beautiful.” he said with admiration, “Did you make it?”

The Forest Augur smiled with deep dimples and shook his head. 

“No, I would have surely sliced my own finger off had I tried. I designed it though. My friend Yoongi carved it. He watched me try to carve a spoon once and never let me near a chisel again.”

“I know Yoongi!” Taehyung said happily. “I wonder if he would make one for me to wear as well?”

“I am sure he would be delighted, Prince.” Namjoon said with a smile. Taehyung tried to tell him that he wasn’t a prince, but Namjoon just patted him on the shoulder.

Their outfits were remarkably similar, Namjoon wasn’t showing as much of his chest though. When Taehyung remarked upon the similarities, Namjoon said that they represented the land, cloth woven from fibres grown in the forest by the people who lived and protected the Island. 

“Should I have bare feet as well?” Taehyung asked and after one flash of Namjoon’s dimples, he’d whipped off his slippers and socks. Together, they’d wiggled their toes on the plush carpet. It was unexpectedly calming.

When the time for the ceremony to begin approached, the two officiants positioned themselves at the right hand side of the glass wall, opposite Taehyung’s chair and the one to his right where Jungkook would sit. They had agreed they would both sit, rather than Jungkook tower over him through the ritual.

As the clock chimed on the hour, the door opened again and the Queen came in, followed by Jungkook and Hoseok carrying a large covered tray.

Jungkook was dressed in loose trousers, the same midnight blue as his tail and nothing on top aside from a garland of coral and a second plaited rope strung with what looked like an intact oyster shell. Taehyung was so distracted by watching him approach, he failed to notice that outside the glass wall, the entire siren clan had gathered.

Jungkook greeted his mate with a kiss on the cheek and sat down next to him. He took Taehyung’s right hand and held it in both his own hands, on his lap.

“Are you ready my love?” he whispered. Taehyung shivered as the breath tickled his ear. He nodded and squeezed his hand.

“As ready as I will ever be.” he replied and took a steadying breath as the nerves threatened to take over.

“Just follow my lead like we practised.” Jungkook reassured and dropped a kiss onto his clasped hand.

Jin rang a tiny silver bell and called the room to attention. He nodded over to Hoseok, standing at the back of the room, who adjusted the lighting, so that a soft light fell on the waiting couple, while in the rest of the room and outside the glass wall, all the lights dimmed.

“It’s to make it easier for everyone to see us.” Jungkook explained when Taehyung raised a questioning brow. 

Once the lighting was set, the large covered tray was set in front of them and the cloth removed. On it was a coiled green cord, a corked bottle and a wicked looking knife with a mother of pearl handle.

Taehyung heard his parents catch their breath in surprise, and he tried to find their gaze to reassure them, but with the light on him, he couldn’t see beyond the two priests standing before them.

Jin began speaking in the same tongue that the Queen had used before. He saw Taehyung’s confused expression and winked at him, before repeating the whole phrase again, translated so that he could understand.

“Before us here, these true mates, united by the Goddess in her wisdom. One soul from the earth and one soul from the sea.

“Today, before us all, they accept the blessing and future bestowed upon them.”

Namjoon took the oil from the tray and stepped close to the seated pair. He locked eyes with Jungkook.

“Do you, Prince Jungkook, heir to the Eastern seas and territories, promise to love and protect your mate and bind your soul only to him?”

Jungkook nodded as he said “I do” and Namjoon poured a drop of the oil from the bottle onto his head.

Then he turned to Taehyung,

“Do you, Kim Taehyung, cleave your soul to your mate and promise to love and protect him?

Taehyung nodded and said “I do”. Namjoon annointed him with the oil.

Jin stepped forward and, taking the coil of rope, looped it round and round their clasped hands, binding them securely while reciting what sounded like a prayer.

Leaving about a metre of length at each end, he handed one end to Taehyung’s mother and the other end to The Siren Queen. Then the Ocean Pontifex picked up the knife and held it flat across his palm, kissed the blade and then held the knife high.

There was a nervous intake of breath from the Kim side of the room.

“This cord that tied you to your mother, we now cut.”

The blade came down like a whip and slashed the cord held between Mrs Kim and Taehyung’s hand.

“This cord that tied you to your mother, we now cut.”

Jin slashed the rope between the Queen and Jungkook.

He took the knife and turned it, so that he presented the handle to Jungkook,

“May the cord that binds you to your mate, never be severed.”

Jungkook took the knife and placed it on the floor beneath his foot. Taehyung breathed a sigh of relief and he definitely heard one coming from his mother as well.

Jin now turned to the window. 

“The next part of the ceremony usually happens under the water, but because of our dear couple’s mixed heritage, we have adapted some of the ritual.

“Taehyung, Jungkook will now present you with a token of his soul, for you to carry with you and link your spirits.”

With his free hand, Jungkook took the plaited thin cord from around his neck and laid the oyster shell hanging from it, on their bound hands. Then, with a bit of a wiggle and a stifled giggle, after which Taehyung used his free hand to hold it still, so Jungkook could get a hold of the top half, they managed to open the shell to reveal a huge pearl set in a rose gold ring.

“This is my pearl.” Jungkook said, almost reverently, “Grown around a tiny scale taken from my tail and placed in the oyster shell on the day I was born. If you wear this ring, then you will carry a piece of me with you, always.”

Taehyung held his left hand out and Jungkook slid the ring onto his finger. It fitted perfectly. Despite the size of the pearl being something that Taehyung would never have thought to wear himself, as soon as it was on his finger, he felt as if another link clicked into place in his chest. He couldn’t touch it with his right hand as it was still tied to Jungkook’s left, so he gently stroked the pearl against his cheek. Jungkook looked at him with a gleam in his eye and touched his other cheek gently.

“Your turn” he whispered. Taehyung nodded and squeezed their bound hands.

Namjoon looked at Jungkook.

“Jungkook,Taehyung will present you with a token of his commitment to you.” He stepped back and nodded at Taehyung, who took the carved wooden ring on the cord and with the help of Jungkook’s free hand, looped it over his mate’s head.

“This ring is a promise that I will protect you on the land and stick close to you in the water. I choose you as my mate, my partner and my friend.”

Jungkook smiled at him with such adoration, that Taehyung thought he might spontaneously combust in his chair. 

“Can you stand?” Jungkook helped him up and let him lean on his arm so that his injured leg wasn’t bearing all the weight.

They shuffled carefully to face the window and Jin and Namjoon came to stand on either side of the couple.

“I present to you,” Jin said grandly, “Your Prince and his True Mate!” 

The sirens outside the window all erupted in joyful cheers and smiles.

🐟🐟🐟

Later on, when all their visitors had gone and it was just the two of them, Jungkook helped Taehyung bathe, carefully uncoiling the binding that tied them together at the wrists. When they had unwound the rope, their two wrists were red but not sore or scraped.

Jungkook tended to his leg and wrist dressings carefully and felt some satisfaction that the scabs were starting to drop off, revealing pink new skin. 

He would still need physiotherapy to get the muscle tone in his leg back, but he was expected to make a full recovery.

“When humans get married, they usually have a first dance at their wedding reception.” Taehyung told him, as they limped over to the bed,  “but I might need you to wait before we can have ours.”

“What if we wait until we can have a proper human wedding in your city?” Jungkook suggested. “In a few months, once you have recovered, so that your friends and family can attend.”

Taehyung agreed readily. He wasn’t sure how they would get Jungkook into the country when he didn’t hold a passport or any kind of human documentation, but they would figure it out.

“In the meantime, there’s one more part of the ceremony that we need to do.” Jungkook crawled onto the bed after his mate and caged him in with wickedly strong arms that rippled with muscle.

“Yes?” Taehyung attempted an innocent tone, but they both knew exactly what was coming next. 

Jimin had delicately updated Taehyung on how the mating ritual was usually concluded and hinted that despite them having to stay on dry land, he was sure that Jungkook would still want to carry out the essential parts.

The essential parts being the consummation of the union. Although they had spent several days and nights together in the room, they hadn’t actually slept together yet.

“You just rest your leg, let me take care of you.” Jungkook dropped little kisses all over his face and neck, slowly making his way down Taehyung’s body. He treated every inch of his mate with reverence, worshipping and cherishing as if his life depended on it. 

Taking the now familiar vial of oil, Jungkook dipped his finger into it and drew a cross on first his own chest above his heart and then directly matching where they would touch, on Taehyung’s. Then he took powder, made from crushed pearls and pressed it onto the oil, so that it stuck to the skin, shimmering in the low lamp light.

The sacred oil came into play again, Jungkook demonstrating yet another of its uses when he used it to prepare them so that when finally, they joined together, there was no pain or resistance, only intense pleasure.

Careful not to hurt his leg or wrist, Jungkook held Taehyung close to him, kissing every part he could reach with his lips, while their bodies touched from almost head to toe, without smudging the pearl crosses on their chests.

As the peak of their pleasure approached, Jungkook paused to look at his lover in the eyes and ask one last time,

“Are you ready?” Taehyung nodded and pulled his face down, kissing him hard.

Jungkook took the pearl handled knife from where he had placed it under his pillow and with skill that belied a lot of practice, used the tip of the blade to cut a tiny line in the centre of each of the pearl crosses, so that dark blood bloomed up and spread into the pearl dust.

Then, moving together so that they could press the crosses together, they rocked until they came together, sealing their commitment in blood and love.

🐟🐟🐟

A couple of weeks later, Hobi stood in Taehyung and Jungkook’s room, watching through the window as the couple swam away from the hotel. He took a couple of pictures on his phone, as he knew that Taehyung would want to see what he looked like.

No Siren had traditionally mated with a human in recorded history, so the aftereffects of the blood promise came as somewhat of a surprise.

As soon as Taehyung was recovered enough to get back in a wetsuit, he had asked if Jungkook would take him diving to meet his family in their home. 

At first, Jungkook had been so overprotective, he’d tried to bargain, promising to bring his sister and her mate and pups to see Taehyung in the moon pool, but after much persuasion and promises from Jimin and the rest of his people, that there would be no sharks allowed anywhere near the vicinity he finally relented.

They didn’t notice at first. Taehyung suited up and donned the oxygen tank as he had done countless times before, falling into the water and swimming over to some coral he had been trying to paint from his room.

The nature of wetsuits is that they allow a thin layer of water next to the skin, that heats up from your body heat and keeps you warm. With his body covered with neoprene and his feet slotted into flippers, the only part of his skin that Taehyung could see was his hands, if he cared to look.

But for a good ten minutes while he was taking pictures close up of the coral, Taehyung wasn’t looking at his hands. 

In fact, it wasn’t until Jungkook swam up close and almost knocked the camera out of his hands, causing Taehyung to flail a little and hold the camera out in front, that he saw his hands. More specifically his fingers, and the webbing that was forming between them.

The camera floated harmlessly to the sea bed as Taehyung held both his hands out in front of him, palms out.

Without thinking, he pulled away his mask and mouthpiece to get a clearer look and stared in disbelief at his hands as his mate stared in equal disbelief at his face.

“Taehyung!” Jungkook shouted and Taehyung looked up at him in shock. He’d never heard Jungkook so clearly under water before, this sounded like he was speaking inside his head.

“What? Look!” He tried to show his mate the webbing on his hands, which on any other normal day would have been astonishing enough, but Jungkook wasn’t paying them any attention. He cupped Taehyung’s face with his own webbed hands and made him look him in the eye.

“Taehyung. You are breathing underwater.” 

Taehyung froze and then the panic set in. 

It had taken Jungkook holding him tight and swimming them back to the moon pool, to help him calm down and start to breathe slowly.

He had stripped off his wetsuit and they both were speechless as they found his legs and feet covered in tiny shimmering golden scales.

They had disappeared once he dried his skin and came back when he jumped back into the seawater.

“I think my blood is giving you some of my abilities.” Jungkook said in awe.

“Either that or you have magic sperm.” Taehyung had joked and Jungkook laughed out loud. Since the ceremony and their blood ritual, Taehyung had become a lot less reserved and the siren loved it.

“I’d better make sure you are topped up with magic powers before we visit my mother then.”

So here Hobi stood, watching his friends from the other side of the glass wall and admiring how their midnight blue and gold scales looked so good together.

The mates disappeared into the distance and Hobi took his leave, closing the door behind him and polishing the new brass sign on the door. Instead of the old room number, it now simply said ‘Private, No Entry” and had two little crowns etched onto it.

This would forever be Taehyung and Jungkook’s room now.

FIN

🐟