Yours To Keep

As far as life as a captive pet went, little Namjoon the hermit crab had it pretty good. He often missed the coastal home he was taken from, as well as his brothers and sisters that were now undoubtedly scattered all over the country - if any of them were even still alive. He'd learned the hard way during his time in the pet shop that many hermit crabs didn't live very long, as most humans didn't feel the need or desire to do all the work to give the crabs a proper home.

This is why he was eternally grateful that he was picked by the best human out there. He could still remember the day that Kim Taehyung came to the little pet shop and peered thoughtfully into his cramped plastic tank a whole ten years ago. The baby crab did his utmost to impress the boy, though he was surrounded by others, and showed off his shell that admittedly wasn't the best, but it was the best he had. He made sure the boy saw that he was a beautiful purple color in a sea of brown. When the boy looked around and then reached inside to touch the little hermit crab, he'd allowed it and was very proud that he didn't pinch the boy even once.

Taehyung had taken him home that very day and named him Namjoon. The hermit crab now lived as close to a life of luxury as one of his kind could get. Taehyung spent so much time and money perfecting Namjoon's habitat. He now had a huge ninety-gallon tank all to himself that had the perfect humidity and substrate as well as plenty of fun things to hide in or climb. Taehyung had researched for days to find Namjoon the most beautiful shells of all shapes and sizes, so he never had to work too hard to find a good one as he grew. He even had a separate tank that was used just for playtime since Taehyung loved to do tricks with him. Normally those of his kind had to be kept in groups, but Namjoon had always been a little different than his siblings, preferring solitude most of the time. Besides, this way he had his Taehyung all to himself.

Namjoon was especially blessed because as a creature that was normally more active at night, he had an owner that was much the same. Taehyung was usually busy during the day as well, but that never seemed to stop him from staying up until it was nearly dawn some days playing video games or watching television. He often took the time to talk to Namjoon, not knowing that the little crab actually could understand what he was saying. He would always angle the television so that Namjoon could watch too, attempting to talk to the crab like he would anyone else as he made comments about the movie or anime. Namjoon didn't know much about the human world to have much of an opinion, but he did enjoy listening to his Taehyung speak, so he was happy enough.

The only time Namjoon wasn't the happiest was when Taehyung had one of his many friends over. Taehyung didn't talk much to him then and often his friends would try to poke at the little crab and pick him up roughly. Thankfully Taehyung would scold his friends for messing with Namjoon and they all eventually learned that he wasn't to be handled by anyone except Taehyung.

Eventually, Taehyung got older. Once he started high school, he began to leave the house more and more. He still took the time to make sure that Namjoon was fed well and his tank was still perfectly maintained, but he didn't talk to Namjoon as much as he used to. Every now and then he would vent to the little crab as he cleaned up his tank, but no longer did he act like he was his best friend. He had a new best friend now - a human with plump lips and smiling eyes that sometimes brought Namjoon fresh mangos since the human didn't like them but the little hermit crab loved them.

Namjoon was often a little sad with this new change, but he knew there wasn't much he could do. Taehyung was a human with the world at his feet. He didn't know that to little Namjoon, Taehyung was his entire world.

The next four years flew by much like this, with Namjoon relishing every moment spent with his human as Taehyung grew taller and his voice deepened. Namjoon loved the way Taehyung's voice sounded now - so deep and calming that as soon as he heard his human come home he'd scuttle towards the front of the tank to hear more. He'd also heard many of Taehyung's friends call him handsome, and although he had no real concept of human beauty, he'd always found his boy nice to look at. He always smiled brightly at the crab and his eyes would shine with happiness and that was enough for Namjoon.