Tails and Toes • Jikook Mermaid AU

Chapter Ten

They were laying next to each other in Jungkook's bed. It was about 11 PM when the boys came back from Busan and Jimin was so tired that he slept the whole ride back in the car. Jungkook was also feeling sleepy, but he had to drive, so he had to focus. Jimin's head was nestled in the crook of Jungkook's neck and their bodies held each other. They gazed up at the ceiling in the darkness of the bedroom and thought about how life would be if they always would be together. Just the two of them against the world. Jungkook wanted nothing more and Jimin felt the same. Jimin enjoyed these moments with his human friend the most. Laying next to each other in bed while thinking about being together. It was peaceful. Jimin's fingers were drawing circles on Jungkook's naked chest and the mermaid softly rubbed his nose against the skin of Jungkook's neck. That's the way they fell asleep. Holding each other like they were each others happiness.

...

Jungkook's birthday was coming up and Taehyung wanted to celebrate it. The boy with the purple-dyed hair wanted to plan a party, but he needed Jimin's help. He wanted to organise it together, without Jungkook knowing. Taehyung was glad he still had the spare key of his friend's home and opened the front door. It was morning, but Taehyung felt like half of the day had already passed. He helped Yoongi clean the beach café and then he left, because Yoongi had to begin his shift at the café. Taehyung walked into the little hallway of Jungkook's home and closed the door carefully. He didn't knew if Jungkook was still sleeping. He just wanted to find Jimin to talk with him about the birthday party he wanted to organise. Taehyung looked around in the living room, but nobody was there. Then he tried the kitchen, still nobody. Then the boy noticed that the door to the backyard was open, so he assumed that someone was in the backyard. Taehyung walked into the backyard and saw someone in the swimming pool. He recognised the red flaming hair of Jimin and Taehyung smiled lightly. Their eyes met and Jimin gasped loudly when he saw Taehyung standing there. As for Taehyung, the boy let out a scream that woke Jungkook up. He wasn't shocked by Jimin, but he was shocked by the blue tail he had. ''Holy fuck.'' Taehyung said and he looked with big eyes at the mermaid in the pool. Jimin felt suprised and he wanted to hide from Taehyung, but he couldn't, there was no place to hide in the pool. He swam away from the spot the boy stood and was scared Taehyung was gonna hurt him, because he was different. They just stared at each other without saying words. Taehyung thought he was going crazy and pinched himself to check if he wasn't still laying in his bed, just dreaming about a fucking mermaid. "What's going on?'' Jungkook yelled when he ran off the stairs and directly into the backyard. He saw Taehyung standing by the pool and then Jungkook realised what just happened. ''Fuck.'' He said and grabbed his friend by one of his arms. He tried to pull Taehyung away from the pool, but his friend had already seen Jimin. Taehyung snapped out of his trance and looked at his friend. ''What the fuck?'' He asked Jungkook who let go of his arm and sighed deep. ''Well, um-'' Jungkook wanted to explain the situation like it wasn't real and that Jimin was just wearing a costume, but he knew Taehyung wouldn't be fooled by that. ''Jimin is a mermaid. He lives in the sea and he was the mermaid I told you about, the one who saved me from drowning. The day after that, I met him at the beach, he had legs instead of a tail. I said to him that he could stay with me and that I would keep him safe. He wants to explore the human world and I want to show him everything I can.'' Jungkook explained and Taehyung turned his head to look at Jimin again. The mermaid was scared and his whole body was pressed against the side of the pool that was the most far away from Taehyung. He was okay with meeting humans when he had legs, but humans couldn't see his tail, except for Jungkook. ''So he is real.'' Taehyung whispered and Jungkook nodded with his head. Then the black-haired boy noticed how scared Jimin was and he sat down at the edge of the pool, he had his hand reaching out for the mermaid. ''It's okay, Jimin. He's not gonna hurt you. Taehyung is my friend, you're safe around him.'' Jungkook softly said to Jimin who immediatly swam towards him and laid his hand in the one of Jungkook. ''Say it, Taehyung.'' Jungkook demanded his friend who also sat down by the pool. ''Jimin, you can trust me. I'm not gonna hurt you.'' Taehyung said those words with a confidence and he did the same Jungkook did. He had his right hand reached out in Jimin's direction and the mermaid stared Taehyung in the eyes. He wasn't fully sure at first, but he trusted Jungkook and he told him not to be scared of Taehyung, so he listened to Jungkook. The mermaid let go of Jungkook's hand and carefully swam towards Taehyung. The purple-haired boy looked fascinated at the blue tail of Jimin. The mermaid held his arm above the surface of the water and slowly let his fingers slip into Taehyung's hand. When he finally had a good feeling about it, he held Taehyung's hand and the human boy immediatly smiled down at him. ''See? That wasn't so bad, right?'' Taehyung asked Jimin who shook his head and also smiled. ''Okay, nice that you two finally got to be friends.'' Jungkook said and the duo both looked at Jungkook. ''If you tell this to Yoongi, I will cut your balls off, Tae. You are the only human besides me who can know about Jimin's secret.'' Jungkook threatened his friend who immediatly nodded with his head. Jimin slowly let go of Taehyung's hand, a sign of trust, and then he started to swim again while the human boys made promises. ''No-one can know about this?'' Taehyung asked and Jungkook nodded. ''Only we can.'' Taehyung stood up and looked at his friend who he had known for years. ''I won't tell anybody. Not even Yoongi-'' . ''You better.'' Jungkook said those two words while he turned around and walked to the kitchen. Taehyung looked one more time at Jimin who swam peacefully on his back and then he followed Jungkook. ''Is he the only one?'' Taehyung asked Jungkook curiously who grabbed some eggs and cracked them open in a pan that stood on the stove. ''What?'' Jungkook asked his friend, not understanding what Taehyung meant. ''The only mermaid?'' The black-haired boy shook his head while Taehyung leaned against one of the kitchen cabinets. ''He isn't?'' . ''No, there are more. He has two mermaid friends back in the ocean. The three of them have always been together.'' Jungkook answered and stirred the eggs. ''Poor boy.'' Taehyung spoke while he shook his head. ''Why that?'' Jungkook asked and turned around to face his friend. ''Well, he lived his whole life in the ocean. Always the same, I'm pretty sure you would get sick of being surrounded by water everyday, seeing humans from the beach. With legs. And then you look down and realise you have a tail, I couldn't live like that. Poor Jimin.'' Taehyung explained and his fingers ran over the kitchen blade. ''That's why it's better for him to live on land, to explore the human world. He doesn't think of the ocean that much, because I'll try to distract him from that. Because if he would be by the ocean all day, I'm pretty sure he would get homesick.'' Jungkook clapped his hands together and looked around in the kitchen, he wanted to treat Jimin with something he liked for breakfast. But Jungkook always forgot that Jimin was unfamiliar to almost all the food humans have made, so he didn't knew if Jimin would like it. He just chose for some French toast. ''You love him, don't you?'' Taehyung's sudden question made Jungkook froze in his spot and he looked at his friend with big eyes. ''Yes, as a friend.'' Jungkook lied and he tried so hard to hide the blush from his face. ''Come on, don't lie to me. I've never seen you act so strange before.'' Taehyung said to Jungkook who shook his head. ''Me? Strange? I never act strange.'' The words barely left his mouth when he dropped the toaster in his hands, because they became so sweaty. When Jungkook was lying or nervous, he would start to get a blush on his face and get sweaty hands. In this situation, Jungkook was both. Taehyung sarcastically nodded with his head and Jungkook sighed deep while he let go of the toaster that became slippery in his sweaty hands. ''Okay.'' Jungkook confessed while he held up both of his hands. ''I am in love with him.'' Taehyung cheered for Jungkook and hugged him. ''You finally found someone you love.'' The boy with the purple hair said and let go of Jungkook who still wanted to keep it a secret. ''Don't tell him, please. I'm not sure if he loves me back, so I'll just keep it a secret.'' Taehyung nodded, he understood Jungkook's concern. ''Eventually, you need to tell him, you know.'' Taehyung said and crossed his arms for his chest. ''For now it's a secret.'' Jungkook glanced at Taehyung who agreed. ''Then can I tell you something? A secret?'' Taehyung asked and Jungkook immediatly nodded. ''Ofcourse, that's what friends are for.'' The black-haired boy answered. ''I have a crush on Yoongi.'' Taehyung said, he was kind of proud that he finally got it off his chest. ''Just as I expected.'' Jungkook muttered and rubbed his face with his hands. The dissapointed tone in his voice was something that Taehyung found weird and he slightly furrowed his eyebrows. ''What? You don't like it? I thought you would be happy for me-'' . ''That's not it, Tae. I'm just- not sure what to think of Yoongi.'' Jungkook answered and it made Taehyung frown even more. ''Yoongi is a nice guy. He's just kind of cold when you first meet him. He isn't that hyper as me, but that doesn't matter. I love him anyways. And he gives me free drinks at the beach café.'' Taehyung smiled when he thought about all the drinks Yoongi had given him for free. ''Well, he doesn't like me, that's for sure.'' Jungkook sighed. ''Ah, Jungkook. You just need to know him better, he becomes soft for me, so he will for you too. And you saw at the beach party that he liked Jimin, they immediatly became friends-'' . ''That's not fair, everybody likes Jimin.'' Jungkook whined and Taehyung agreed with Jungkook on that. ''True.'' He whispered. ''Besides, he only likes Jimin and not me. Guess he just hates me.'' The black-haired boy said while he shrugged his shoulders. ''He doesn't hate you. Let's forget about it, okay? We'll talk about it when we're completely alone.'' Taehyung said while he glared over Jungkook's shoulder. He looked at Jimin who stood in the doorway, he was completely dry and had legs again. ''I don't hate you.'' The red-haired boy softly said to Jungkook and walked towards the two boys in the kitchen. ''Ah, you've been eavesdropping, Jiminie?'' Taehyung smiled at Jimin who quickly shook his head. He had a smile on his face though, because of the nickname Taehyung gave him. Jimin liked nicknames, it was a completely human thing and that was probably why he liked it so much. ''No, Jimin, it wasn't about you. Just about someone else we both know.'' Jungkook explained and the mermaid slowly gave a nod with his head. ''Can I just say that I am fascinated by you, Jiminie?'' Taehyung asked and Jimin softly chuckled. He hid his face in the paws of his striped sweater, an adorable sight. ''Tae.'' Jungkook glanced at him again and he had a jealous look on his face. Taehyung nodded that he understood his friend and then he turned to Jimin, who stood there with his face hidden in his sweater paws. ''I mean, a mermaid. Wow, you don't see that everyday.'' Taehyung laid his hands on Jimin's slightly pink chubby cheeks and he softly squeezed them. Jimin let out a squeal of happiness and it made Taehyung laugh. ''Taehyung-ah, did you know about Hoseok and Seokjin? They are my mermaid friends, my hyungs, back in the sea.'' Jimin explained to Taehyung. ''Yeah, Kookie told me about them. They sound friendly, I wish I could meet them. Can't we hang out with each other? The five of us?'' Taehyung asked the red-haired boy who shook his head. He bit his lip and sat down in one of the grey chairs by the dinner table. ''It's complicated-'' . ''But you're on land, Jiminie, then they can come on land too, right?'' Suddenly it was silent in the kitchen and dinner room, with Taehyung's question still hanging in the air. Jungkook brought the pan with eggs to the dinner table and he gave Taehyung a smack on the back of his head when he passed by. ''Ow! Where was that for?'' The purple-haired boy asked his friend who sat down at the dinner table with a face made of steel. ''For asking questions you aren't allowed to.'' Jungkook answered casually, this wasn't the first time he scolded Taehyung. ''Jungkook, it's okay. He can know about it too, it doesn't hurt me like it used to.'' Jimin answered while he looked at the black-haired boy who sat at the opposite of him. Jungkook avoided Jimin's dark brown eyes and instead, he just looked at the cooked eggs in the pan on the dinner table. Jungkook began to eat while Jimin wanted to explain to Taehyung why he only could come on land once. Taehyung sat down at the head of the table and looked interested at the red-haired boy. ''Bascially, all mermaids can come on land once. When we have been on land, return to the sea and want to come on land again, we can't. Only once. Seokjin-hyung has been on land before, so he can't go and as for Hoseok-hyung, he is really stubborn. He doesn't want to know about humans and he also doesn't want to come on land. The true thing about him is, that he's scared of humans-'' Jungkook immediatly looked up from his eggs and stared into Jimin's dark brown eyes. ''You never told me that-'' . ''You wouldn't listen.'' Jimin answered and Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows. ''That's not true, Jimin. I always listen to your stories about the ocean, I'm fascinated by your world.'' Jungkook said and Jimin sighed heavily. ''I told you about Hoseok yesterday night, when we we're laying in bed with each other.'' Jimin explained to Jungkook who felt a bit stupid. ''Then I probably was already asleep, I apologise.'' Jungkook's words made Jimin sigh again, but he accepted Jungkook's apology. ''Woah, married couple. Stop bitching on each other, I want to hear Jimin's story.'' Taehyung interrupted both of the boys. Jungkook went back to eating his breakfast, while Jimin resumed his story. ''We can choose when we want to come on land, but we don't know how long our time on land lasts. Only the ocean knows that.'' Jimin said to Taehyung who listened to the mermaid. ''And that's all? When does your tail appear, only when you touch water?'' Jimin chuckled softly when Taehyung asked him the question and Jungkook was a bit jealous of Taehyung, but he ignored the both of them and took a sip of his coffee. ''No, a few drops of water are fine. Large amounts of water, like pools and bathtubs is what I need to be careful around, because then my tail will appear.'' Jimin explained and Taehyung nodded. Jungkook stood up from his chair with his empty plate and cleaned it, so he had something to do. He hated being left out of the conversation. The boy drank the rest of the coffee and then he went upstairs to take a calming bath. When he soaked himself in the water and laid down in the tub, he sighed deeply. He left Jimin and Taehyung alone on purpose, because he got sick in his stomach when Jimin talked about leaving and that only the sea knew how long their time together would last. Jungkook always avoided it when Jimin told him that he eventually had to go back, but now it seemed so much closer than Jungkook expected. It felt like he knew and had been with Jimin for years. He was so scared that the mermaid had to go back to the sea unexpectedly. Jungkook wanted to spend every second with Jimin, because he was terrified to lose him. It felt like his heart would rip open, everytime he thought about the fact that it was real. That Jimin would leave him. It would happen, that was for sure. But they both didn't knew when. This was what love felt like, Jungkook realised. He had never loved someone so much like he loved Jimin. He always thought that love was a sweet feeling and like butterflies in your stomach, like movies always taught him. But this wasn't a movie, this was real life. Love wasn't just sweet and soft, love was also heartwrenching and the most horrible pain you could ever feel. Jungkook rubbed his face with his hands and sighed deep. He was so fucking scared and hated himself for it. This was what love did to you, Jungkook thought. Love wasn't merciful. Jungkook lowered his body in the bathtub, so that the water came to his chin. He looked at the surface of the water, it rippled but then it was smooth again. He closed his eyes and hoped with all the luck he had that Jimin wouldn't have to go back too soon.