Chapter Text
Part V: ‘The Pearl’
Climbing into bed that night is a strange feeling. Jimin and Yoongi retire much earlier than usual, separating only briefly for the emperor to make sure his presence is not needed elsewhere; now that his guest is gone. As Jimin waits in bed for Yoongi, he feels strange fluttering in his chest, and his lips tingle in memory of their first kisses. He feels both antsy and relieved, which is a confusing combination to have at the same time.
His eyes catch on the bowl of tiny pearls beside the bed, and he lifts it to look into the sheer number resting in the basin. He’s had such a hard time in the land dwellers’ world, he thinks as he reaches in to sift through the smooth but deformed tears. Perhaps he has a chance at happiness, though.
When Yoongi enters the room and locks the door behind him as usual, Jimin looks up and finds the emperor smiling at him.
“Hello,” he says, as if it is the first time they’ve seen each other in a while. Jimin sets the bowl of pearls back where they were, and sits up a little straighter.
“It seems that the captain and my cousin are acting suspicious,” Yoongi continues as he moves around the room to begin changing for bed. “Namjoon warned me that he’d seen them whispering and arguing with each other, but they quickly went silent when he passed by—I assume that means they saw us.”
He doesn’t sound regretful, or ashamed; he only sounds a little tired. “In the morning, I will speak with them.”
When he has changed into his sleep clothes and slipped under the covers, lying back on his pillow, he raises his eyebrows at Jimin. “You’re quiet. Are you all right?”
“I’m sorry,” Jimin responds immediately. “I’m just—I don’t know what I should do.”
Yoongi huffs out a quiet laugh through his nose, and pats the bed beside him. “You don’t need to do anything. But come here.”
Jimin shifts over until they are side by side, only a finger’s width between them. Yoongi lifts his hand to thumb Jimin’s cheek.
“Can I kiss you again?” he asks, looking so fond that Jimin’s stomach does a little spasm.
“Of course,” he whispers.
The kiss is soft, now, barely more than lips on his, and he finds himself giggling into the kiss, unintentionally breaking it with his smile.
“What?” Yoongi frowns, voice light with false offense. His face is so close that Jimin can barely focus on his eyes.
“Nothing; I just feel…good. Nice.”
He gets another laugh, and is pulled close by the back of his neck, this time with a tongue slipping between his lips to curl around his and taste him. Jimin finds the sound of their kissing soothing; like waves lapping slowly against water-smooth rocks.
They hold each other and sleepily kiss like that for a while before drifting off in each other’s arms, uncomfortable and sweaty due to the summer heat, but not wanting to be apart.
The gentle kiss pressed to Jimin’s forehead as he falls asleep makes his lips curve up contentedly.
.
Jimin is kidnapped by Taehyung barely midway through the morning. He is looking through some books when abruptly two large hands fall upon his shoulders, and he gasps loudly enough to cause Seokjin to look up from his desk where he is scrawling out some kind of notes.
“Come with me” Taehyung whispers, already taking the book from Jimin’s hands and pushing it right back onto the shelf. He mentally makes a note of where it is so he can find it again.
“Taehyung,” Jimin hisses as he is pulled quickly out of the library and down the corridors, until they reach one of the doors leading outside. Whenever they want to talk secretly, they nearly always do it outside where there is less chance of someone listening through a wall or around a corner without their knowledge.
“I saw you last night,” his friend says the moment they sit down upon a set of stone benches covered with soft moss on one side.
Jimin had known it was coming, but he shoves Taehyung all the same. He tries to keep a straight face, but then they hold each other’s gaze for too long, and Jimin breaks into a happy smile.
“It was wonderful,” he breathes. “I never thought…” He looks down and fiddles with his fingers. “I didn’t think he was even interested. I’d hoped, but I didn’t think….”
“I’m so glad he came to his senses, finally.” Taehyung ruffles Jimin’s hair. He pauses for a moment. “I thought Jungkook was going to try to interrupt you two; I had to drag him away.”
Jimin can’t quite imagine Taehyung managing to drag the bulky, too-strong captain of the guard away. And besides— “What were you even doing with him?” he asks. He isn’t expecting the way Taehyung’s eyes widen and he draws back as if he can pretend the question was never asked.
“No reason,” he avoids, and Jimin frowns, momentarily distracted from his own issues.
“Why are you acting like you two are doing something bad?”
Taehyung flushes. “It’s nothing bad, I promise. I just—I may have accidentally let slip that I think he’s handsome, and—”
Jimin bursts into laughter. “You what? Oh, Taehyung—I had no idea,” he grabs his friend’s hand and squeezes it as he continues to smile up at him. “What happened?”
“Oh…I, well I was arguing with him after the feast ended—about you, actually—and I think I said something like, ‘if only you could get it through your thick, handsome skull that he’s just as human as you are’—and he is too smart for his own good and noticed, and,” Taehyung looks a cross between miserable and delighted, if that is even possible, “he started teasing me, Jimin. He started teasing me, and I panicked, and, and I told him, ‘so what if I think you’re handsome; it doesn’t keep you from being an asshole,’ and he retorted, ‘But you like this asshole,’ and I just—oh, this is so embarrassing, why can’t my life be as romantic as yours—I asked him what he was going to do about it, and he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the corridor,” Taehyung breaks off dramatically, and Jimin waits with bated breath until it’s clear that Taehyung isn’t going to continue.
“And then what?”
Taehyung deflates. “And then we saw you and Yoongi kissing, and I panicked and covered Jungkook’s mouth and dragged him away.” He sighs. “That’s it.”
Jimin recalls what he’d heard from Yoongi. “I heard Namjoon saw you two arguing.”
“Oh, that… That was just—he…I think he’s confused,” Taehyung says. “He couldn’t decide if he thought you were just trying to…seduce the emperor, or if it was genuine.”
They both know how loyal Jungkook is to the emperor. Yoongi has asked the captain to do many a thing that he is less than pleased with, but he never fails to follow orders faithfully and to the very best of his ability. Even without being asked.
Jimin knows this very well; he might not be alive right now if it weren’t for Jungkook jumping into the pond to save him that day. Perhaps someone else could have helped him, of course, but the captain of the guard had been by far the quickest to spring into action and pull Jimin from the water.
“What did you tell him?” Jimin asks, looking out over the grass, watching a grasshopper flit from a bush to land on one of the stone benches in the shade, turn around, and then spring back into the lawn.
“I only told him that you had no hidden agenda. That your feelings were true. I think he knows that already, deep down.” Taehyung puts his hand on Jimin’s knee. “He saw firsthand how you wanted no one but Yoongi when he pulled you, frightened, from the pond. He can’t deny what he saw. You are just as human as any of us,” Taehyung adds softly, squeezing Jimin’s knee once before withdrawing his hand.
“I’m not quite all human, though,” Jimin reminds him. “But I know you are just speaking of my mind.”
.
The days pass uneventfully. Jimin finds himself spending less time with Taehyung and more time with Yoongi; he spots Taehyung with Jungkook here and there, but the only thing suspicious about their behavior is that previously they would never speak to one another.
Jimin feels less guilty about spending so much time with the emperor, though, knowing that Taehyung has someone of his own.
Jimin and Yoongi continue to read together in the evenings, only now they are often wrapped in each other’s arms as they read. Now, they often don’t finish nearly as much of a passage before Yoongi gets distracted by kissing the back of Jimin’s neck, or he turns completely around and kisses him properly.
They have not gone beyond simple caresses and kisses, though. Jimin wonders if Yoongi is simply not interested, but then again he has felt the press of the emperor’s erection against his thigh in the mornings. He has never done anything about it; never asked Jimin to touch him, nor made any move in bringing them in that direction of intimacy.
That changes, finally, when Jimin wakes in the middle of the night toward the beginning of the end of summer, when storms are common.
Jimin is not very deep into sleep one night when he is roused by a low rumble, followed by a much louder boom. He sleepily blinks, staring across the dark room. Yoongi is still fast asleep beside him, unbothered. A minute or two later, there is a startling flash of light outside quickly followed by booming rumble. It sends shivers down his spine, and he sits partway up.
Jimin knows many sailors and fishermen are afraid of thunderstorms. The seas can get dangerous, and lightning causes fire—which of course can burn down a ship at sea. He’s seen the wreckage of many such events, littering the sea floor. Since coming to live on land, he has become much more aware of the storms. He’s not frightened, but he does feel a bit of anxiousness at the volume of the thunder; he knows that means it is close by.
He rolls over to face Yoongi, and gently nudges him. At first nothing happens, but then the emperor grumbles and pushes Jimin’s hand away.
“Yoongi,” he whispers, involuntarily flinching when a large crack of lightning sounds overhead. The emperor’s eyes snap open, and only take a moment to focus on Jimin. “Yoongi, there’s a—” he’s interrupted by two powerful booms, one right after each other.
Yoongi doesn’t flinch, but he frowns and lets out a sleepy groan, reaching out to pull Jimin much, much closer until they are pressed right up against each other. “It’s not going to hurt you,” he mutters. “Just sleep.” He buries his face in Jimin’s neck, letting out a hot sigh against his bare collarbone, and settles in closer as their bodies mold against one another.
“It’s so loud,” Jimin murmurs, squirming a little to get more comfortable. He feels Yoongi’s hands slide along his body, pulling him closer and absently feeling where he is softer or firmer. It feels nice.
“It’s just a storm. It’ll be fine,” Yoongi mumbles, lips against Jimin’s neck. “Mm. Y’smell good,” he comments, and nuzzles in closer.
Jimin can feel his heart starting to beat faster, and startles hard when there is a succession of several cracks and booms outside. The jolt causes Yoongi’s open mouth to press more firmly against his skin, and Jimin feels a wet tongue slip out to taste him. He sucks in a breath and wraps his arms more tightly around Yoongi.
The emperor begins to drowsily mouth at the mer’s neck, sometimes suckling, sometimes flicking his tongue out to run along the skin. His lips trail over his gills, which are startlingly sensitive. Jimin squirms more, until Yoongi pulls back just enough for them to look at each other. Then Jimin opens his mouth, licking his lips as he stares down at Yoongi’s mouth—which covers his a moment later.
The emperor kisses slowly, licking into his mouth and running his tongue along Jimin’s in an extremely deliberate fashion. He kisses back with just as much enthusiasm, pressing their bodies tightly together and moaning quietly around Yoongi’s tongue. The emperor rolls Jimin over onto his back, crawling over him and pushing him down into the bedding.
Yoongi’s hands begin to wander more, and Jimin feels his cock starting to harden. He gasps and moans lowly when warm fingers slip under his shirt, skimming delicately over his skin. A soft whimper leaves his lips when Yoongi’s fingertips catch on his nipple before circling it and rolling it between his thumb and forefinger.
Overwhelmed, Jimin opens his mouth wider and pushes his own tongue into Yoongi’s mouth, locking their mouths together as they slowly kiss.
But then, Yoongi gently breaks from the kiss and moves his mouth along Jimin’s jaw, causing him to tilt his head back. He moves down, licking and kissing—and occasionally nibbling and sucking a little harder—until he is giving Jimin’s collar far too much attention.
Jimin feels almost too hot, sweat dripping down his back. He doesn’t even notice the pounding rain or howling wind outside, or the rolling thunder overhead.
Yoongi pushes at Jimin’s shirt until he slips it off. It’s a little awkward the way they shift on the bed, Jimin pulling at Yoongi’s robes, wanting to feel skin.
Then Yoongi’s mouth closes over one of Jimin’s nipples, and he slowly suckles it, tongue laving around the nib. Jimin sucks in mouthfuls of air and squirms, hands coming up to clutch at the emperor’s shoulder and hair. Yoongi moves from the nipple across his chest, mouthing over so much of his skin that Jimin’s gut clenches and the overwhelmed moan that spills from his lips when his other nipple is covered is far louder than he expects.
“Yoongi.” He’s panting, and far too aroused. “Yoongi, Please, I want you to—please I want to feel you.”
Merfolk aren’t as shy about sex. It usually is a quick affair, the male orgasming within moments to fill his partner. Intercourse underwater often requires such speed. Although, as son of a shaman, Jimin has not had such experiences himself, he knows what he has been taught.
He takes the emperor’s hand and presses it against his hard cock. “I want you.”
Yoongi hisses and abruptly tightens his fist around Jimin’s clothed erection, and the mer chokes out a whine.
“You’re so hard,” Yoongi comments, voice barely a whisper. He moves his hand over Jimin’s cock, rubbing and squeezing slowly. Every movement he makes is so, so slow; Jimin’s mind is growing frantic. He whines into Yoongi’s mouth when the emperor moves back up to kiss him, never letting go of his cock.
When Yoongi’s hand slides up and then dips down below the waistline of his trousers, fingers wrapping themselves around Jimin’s stiff cock, he gasps and jerks in Yoongi’s hold.
Yoongi pulls back a little, breaking their kiss. “Is that all right?”
“Y-yes,” he breathes. “Don’t stop.”
He ruts into Yoongi’s fist as they continue to kiss, until he’s forced to pull away and pant, eyes squeezed shut. He can feel something coiling tight in his body—until Yoongi abruptly lets go of him and pushes away.
The whine that breaks out of Jimin’s throat startles him.
“Shh, shh,” Yoongi urges, smiling slightly.
Then Jimin’s being flipped around, and his trousers are pulled off. It doesn’t happen too fast; he doesn’t realize at first why he’s being rolled over and then his hips are lifted into the air, though. Yoongi tugs his trousers down to Jimin’s knees and then carefully draws them down over his calves and past his ankles. Jimin’s sleep tunic slides down toward his shoulders, exposing him completely; his pale, smooth rear on display. Jimin wriggles out of the article of clothing and pushes it to the side.
Yoongi’s large hands are on his waist, thumbs massaging into his skin. He still has his own clothing on, but he is pressed up against Jimin’s ass; he can feel how hard the other man is between his cheeks.
Jimin instinctively pushes back, rubbing against him, and Yoongi groans.
“Damn it—Jimin I—”
Jimin never finds out what Yoongi was about to say, because a second later the emperor moves back and rids himself of his clothes, and then goes over to a standing chest where he pulls out a dark glass vial. Jimin sinks back down to lie with his knees on either side of his chest, cheek pillowed on an arm as he watches Yoongi’s movements.
“What’s that?” he finds himself asking, voice soft.
Yoongi’s eyebrows rise. “It’s oil—so I don’t hurt you,” he elaborates when Jimin frowns in confusion.
“It’s going to hurt?” he unconsciously hunches his shoulders a little.
Yoongi only smiles fondly at him, though. “Not if I can help it, love. Promise to tell me if it hurts, and I’ll stop immediately.”
Jimin’s never heard anything about sex hurting underwater. The penetrator usually just…slips in, and—the most difficult part is dealing with the currents if the couple is out in open water, away from caves or rocks to brace themselves on.
Yoongi climbs back onto the bed, but he sets the vial down and leans down to connect their mouths, carding his fingers through Jimin’s pale hair. “I’ll make you feel good. Promise.”
He straightens up and takes the vial again, uncapping it to drip some oil onto his fingers. Jimin lets out a small meep! of a sound when two fingers come in contact with his rim and begin to massage the skin there. Yoongi presses a soft kiss to the dip in his back right when the first finger slips inside.
“Ah—Yoongi—”
The finger inside him crooks, stroking along his walls, and Jimin lets out a sigh of a moan. It feels incredible, and he wonders why it’s taken them so long to do this. He keeps his arms folded up by his head, eyes closed in bliss as Yoongi slowly massages him with one and then two fingers; his heart picks up when a third is squeezed inside, and his whimper is much louder when he feels the stretch more than before.
Suddenly, the fingers are gone, and he whimpers into the pillow.
“Shh, just a moment, Jiminie,” Yoongi murmurs, and Jimin hears a slick sound rubbing back and forth somewhere not on his own body—until he feels the press of something hard and wet against his quivering hole.
Yoongi pushes into him slowly, one hand down between Jimin’s legs from the front, pressed firmly against the crease between his thigh and his perineum. His thumb pushes against the base of Jimin’s cock. Both of the mer’s hands are flat on the bed by his head now, and he clenches the blankets between his fists as he feels the heat of the stretch.
He doesn’t realize he’s gone completely tense until he feels Yoongi’s hands smoothing along his sides and stomach, and there’s a hot breath in his ear.
“It’s okay,” Yoongi whispers. “Relax—I won’t hurt you.”
A small, almost embarrassingly high whine slips out of Jimin’s mouth, and he trembles as he tries to force himself to relax.
“That’s it,” Yoongi murmurs, hands still stroking all over his body, like a massage.
He feels Yoongi shift a little against him, moving his hips in a careful circle, drawing out a bit and pushing back in.
“Uh—hukh—” Jimin’s breath stutters as he fights his instinct to brace himself.
“That’s it,” he hears again. “You can do it, Jiminie.”
He pants loudly, clenching around the thick, hard cock, and feels the groan in Yoongi’s chest against his back. Then, as Yoongi pulls nearly all the way out and pushes himself back in, a startled moan bursts out of him, and he feels himself harden with a surge of arousal. Both of Yoongi’s hands clamp down on his hips to pull him flush against the other man, and Jimin finds himself arching his back more and spreading his legs wider.
Soon, Yoongi is plunging into him in calm, yet deep thrusts. Jimin moves one hand down to wrap around his own leaking cock; Yoongi’s large hand curls around it and encourages him to pump himself in time with each thrust.
Each time Jimin feels himself getting too close to that edge where he feels tense and tingly all over, he grabs Yoongi’s hand and whimpers, squishing his face into the bed, gasping hard and holding them still until he feels himself calm. Then he rolls his hips back to meet Yoongi’s, and increases the pace of their coupling.
All of it is somehow softer and yet more intense than he’s expected. He doesn’t know how long they’ve been moving against each other, but surely it is far more than simply a few minutes. They are sweaty and panting, groaning each other’s names and pausing every now and then to capture each other’s mouths, even though it stretches Jimin’s neck a little uncomfortably to kiss Yoongi from that angle.
The bed is a mess, pillows scrunched and scattered, bedding wrinkled and twisted beneath them. Jimin is leaking precum onto the bed, his hand slippery from stroking himself through the mess.
He whines and protests loudly when Yoongi suddenly pulls out of him and turns him over to roll onto his back. But then he pushes right back in, and leans down to kiss Jimin, swallowing each loud moan before it can leave his mouth. All that get out are tiny whines through his nose, only loud in his own head.
Yoongi rolls his hips into his harder and faster, his entire body growing tenser. Jimin, too, is starting to feel himself approach his climax, and his moan becomes desperate as Yoongi thrusts into him hard and deep.
“Jimin—” Yoongi groans against his neck, the sound low and guttural.
Jimin clenches around him as he comes, choking out a startled cry at the overload of sensation. Yoongi groans again and puts both hands on Jimin’s hips to pull out of him, only to kneel over him and pump himself barely two or three times before he’s coming all over Jimin’s stomach and limp cock.
They are silent, breathing heavily as they stare at each other. Jimin can feel himself tremble with small aftershocks, his mind a strange, warm fog of nothingness. He’s aware of the sticky white liquid splattered across the lower half of his body, the odd ache inside, and the flutter of his clenching hole.
“Are you all right?” Yoongi whispers through his panting, leaning down to brush some hair from Jimin’s sweaty forehead. “I didn’t hurt you?”
Jimin shakes his head. “N-no.” He quakes as another aftershock hits him, and he sees the way Yoongi’s eyes grow fond.
“You did so well. Do you feel good?”
“Yes. I feel…Yoongi, I feel so wonderful.” He tilts his chin up to capture a soft kiss. “I never knew it could be like that.”
Yoongi smiles down at him and reconnects their mouths, licking in between his lips to curl his tongue around Jimin’s.
Eventually, though, the emperor pushes himself up, and climbs off of the bed. Jimin watches in a sleepy daze as he collects a cloth and shallow basin, into which he pours some water from a porcelain jug. He dips the cloth into the water, squeezes it out, and then brings it over to the bed.
Jimin’s stomach muscles clench up when the cool cloth touches his hot, sticky skin.
“I’m sorry; I know it’s probably a little cold.” Yoongi’s voice is so soft and low, but a little hoarse. Jimin only hums and heaves a deep sigh as he feels himself relaxing into the bedding as Yoongi cleans the mess from his body.
When Yoongi finishes, he lies down beside Jimin, pulling him close.
The worst of the storm has passed, though the rain is still pattering hard against the roof and yard outside.
Jimin has a thought as he drifts to sleep: he’s never loved anyone before, but he thinks this warm feeling inside his chest that he feels right now just might be love. He smiles against Yoongi’s collarbone and wraps his arm under his to pull himself closer. Their soft, spent cocks press against each other, and rather than feel excited by the touch, he just feels right.
.
Not much changes in their lives in the days and weeks following their first intimate night together. Summer draws to a close, and the leaves begin to turn. The nights grow chilly, but Jimin and Yoongi don’t mind; it only gives them more excuse to cuddle up close beneath the blankets and move against each other until they are soaked with sweat. Their love-making improves as they learn each other’s bodies and what they each enjoy.
Outside of the safety of their bedroom, Jimin’s smiles grow more frequent and glowing. Whether he is in the presence of the emperor and receiving a sweet smile or chaste kiss before the entire court, or if he is out in the market with Taehyung (and sometimes Jungkook, if Taehyung convinces him that it is his duty to protect the emperor’s lover as well as the emperor’s cousin), Jimin’s smiles are never too far away.
Autumn draws close to an end, the final harvest feast just around the corner. As the nights turn especially crisp, the servants bring out the furs to clean, air out, and scent with incense before distributing to the beds in the residence.
Jimin hasn’t had many opportunities to touch fur before. The texture is so soft on his skin, like the gentlest of caresses. He lets his fingertips stroke through the fine strands before hesitantly leaning down to rub his face into it. His bare shoulder touches the fur, and he can’t resist letting the rest of him settle upon the material. It is soothing in a way that he never thought any material from the land dwellers’ world could be.
When Yoongi finds him, wrapped naked in the furs later, he can only blush and hide his face when the emperor looks at him in mild amusement.
“If you like furs so much, I can always get more for you,” is all he says.
Jimin lowers the furs from his face just enough so that Yoongi can see him. The emperor sits down on the bed and reaches into the furs to pull Jimin toward him.
“Come here.”
Jimin allows himself to be drawn up onto the emperor’s lap and caressed intimately until he is shuddering and gasping over his shoulder. He doesn’t understand how the emperor can be so gentle with him all the time, yet still reduce him to such a weak, overwhelmed state.
“You are so beautiful,” Yoongi murmurs, fingers tracing through Jimin’s hair, down his neck, and along his spine. The other hand moves upward along his stomach and chest, spreading his release and sending the heavy scent into the air around them. “So beautiful.”
Jimin knows he has gone soft and a little round recently, probably due to all of the delicious food he’s been eating, and his sluggishness in the mornings which keeps him cuddled up warm in the blankets until he has to rise for the day. He’s relieved that Yoongi seems to love his body all the same.
He tilts his head up to kiss Yoongi; a soft, nearly closed-mouth kiss that still somehow leaves him nearly breathless.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” Yoongi murmurs against his skin as he trails feather-like kisses along his jaw and over his cheekbones.
Jimin feels his eyes sting, sees his vision blur, and then he can’t help the hiccup of a whimper when the sting suddenly turns painful. He clutches Yoongi’s arm, vision swimming as his eyes water. He sees the concern on the emperor’s face morph into wonder just as he is forced to squeeze his eyes shut against the pain.
Then, he feels not one, but two unusual sensations.
A heavy weight bounces off of his chest onto the fur. Meanwhile, a warm stream of liquid runs down one cheek, catching against his lips. It tastes salty, like the sea.
“Jimin,” Yoongi gasps, and he opens his eyes to see Yoongi holding in his palm one of the most beautiful pearls Jimin has ever seen in his life. It is large and perfectly formed, with a golden sheen and a tint of peach-rose. “Is this…?”
When Yoongi looks up at him from the pearl in his hand, Jimin abruptly feels more tears stream down his face. Not pearls, but liquid tears which roll down his skin and cool in the air.
“Yoongi, I—” Jimin reaches forward, heaving against the sobs, and carefully pulls the deformed pearl earrings from Yoongi’s ears. “We have to destroy these.”
The emperor is clearly startled, but he only takes a brief moment to move. He quickly helps Jimin into the clothes lying upon the bed, and takes Jimin’s other hand with his free one.
“Where—?”
Jimin somehow knows. Instinct, perhaps. “By the sea.”
They slip the new pearl into a red silk pouch with a long cord, and Yoongi takes it, hanging it around his neck to Jimin’s surprise.
“To keep it safe until we can make something to keep it on.” He pulls Jimin against him to kiss him sweetly. “Come on.”
It is chilly as they step outside, paying no mind to the guards throughout the residence. They are used to the way Yoongi and Jimin go off together at odd hours. They bury their faces into their collars against the wind which increases as they draw nearer to the sea.
Jimin feels something in him grow; a fluttering warm feeling that gets bigger with every step. He hadn’t realized it; it had all happened so gradually, but the pearl hanging around Yoongi’s neck is pure proof: he has finally found true happiness. He squeezes Yoongi’s hand tightly as they traverse the path leading to the small cliff over the bay. They can’t get much closer to the water than this without having to go through the entire town, and the cliff has no way to climb up or down from it they can see; the shore alongside is rocky, too precarious for walking down to the water.
There is a large boulder where they’ve sometimes sat together on nicer days, enjoying the sea breeze and sharing a small picnic. Jimin sets the two tears upon the rock’s surface now.
“Will this do?” Yoongi holds out a rock about the size of a small hen, flat on one side.
“Yes, I think so.”
Jimin puts his hands over Yoongi’s, and together they raise it above the two pearl earrings. Jimin ignores the jolt of nervousness that comes over him just then, and as if they both know it is time, they swing the rock down upon the pearls.
Jimin almost doesn’t hear the crunch, for at the same moment, he chokes when a sharp pain like shattering pottery hits him in the chest, quickly traveling down toward his legs and up toward his throat, culminating in a dull, twisting burn. There is a ripping noise as his trousers split, and as his legs lock together and reform, growing twice as long, he loses his balance. Yoongi grabs at his hands as he falls backward, but Jimin pushes him away with all of his strength.
He tumbles over the side of the cliff, beautiful red tailfins flapping uselessly in the air until he hits the cold water hard and sinks below the waves.
The shock of the transformation followed so quickly by the intense impact with the sea stuns Jimin, and he can only float limply like a clump of seaweed for a moment as his gills flutter open and his vision adjusts. Just as his senses come back to him, and he quickly rolls over in the water, there is a large burst of bubbles as a large object falls through the surface of the waves. It takes less than a second for Jimin to realize that the emperor has dove after him, and he immediately propels himself through the water to catch hold of his lover as he struggles to swim in the cold water with his heavy clothes.
Jimin launches them out of the water with the strength he’s forgotten he has in his beautiful tail, and they rise several feet up before falling back down and sinking below the surface. He’s more careful the second time, lifting Yoongi above him in a spluttering splash.
“Why would you jump?!” Jimin cries, holding Yoongi tightly, already seeing the way he is shivering. They need to get him out of the water. He looks frantically at the shore, where there is nothing but rocks and uneven footing. “What if you had hit the rocks on the way down?” he continues, swimming parallel to the shore, trying to protect Yoongi from the waves. “You’re the emperor; what would the country do if you die? Why would you endanger yourself like that?!”
“I’m not going to die that easily,” Yoongi coughs against his neck. His grip is strong around Jimin’s torso.
“You might if we don’t get you out of this water, soon,” Jimin growls, his worry turning into panic—he doesn’t even know if he can turn back into a human if they reach the shore. He doesn’t want to think about that.
“I couldn’t just let you drown,” he hears in his ear.
“I’m not going to drown like this,” Jimin scoffs.
“I couldn’t have known that—”
“There!” the mer interrupts him, pointing as he exclaims loudly. There is a small pebbly shore and a somewhat traversable path between some larger rocks, leading to a hidden but less steep slope up the side of the cliff.
He cautiously makes his way through the water, careful of any sharp rocks that might catch him unaware just under the water’s surface. When he reaches land, he heaves Yoongi onto the shore, the weight of his water-logged clothes dragging him down. Yoongi turns when he realizes Jimin isn’t following him up onto land, but instead supporting himself on his hands, back arched with his tail floating behind him.
“Jimin—” he breaks off, unsure and clearly startled. “Why aren’t you—?”
Jimin shakes his head. “I don’t know how.” He closes his eyes, trying to remember the change all those months ago. He remembers the pain…but he hadn’t been the one to trigger the change. His father, the shaman, had been.
He knows it’s possible to change without assistance, but he’s never had any magic within him. Despite that, he tries. He imagines himself growing legs again and standing up. He imagines walking over to Yoongi and holding him tight, kissing him.
Nothing happens.
“I don’t know how,” he chokes out. “I don’t know how.”
He can see the way Yoongi’s face falls, and suddenly the emperor is on his knees in the wet, muddy sand and pebbles, holding Jimin’s face with both hands. “Don’t go. Why would—” he reaches for the silk pouch still hanging around his neck, safe where it had been tucked beneath his shirt. “Why would the enchantment—why—I don’t understand!”
Jimin lets out a sob, and clutches the front of Yoongi’s shirt. “I don’t want to leave you. I don’t—” he cuts himself off abruptly, and gasps, pulling away just enough to look into Yoongi’s eyes. “The shaman! Yoongi, the shaman!”
“What?” There are tears running down his lover’s face, which is blotchy from the cold.
“I will go to my father; he can change me back. He can help me. I know he will.”
Yoongi’s grip on him tightens. “You will come back?”
Jimin surges up and kisses him, hard. When he breaks away, he puts a hand to Yoongi’s cheek. “Of course I will. I promise.” He lowers his hand to the pouch in Yoongi’s hand, feeling the pearl within. “You have my heart. I will never leave you.”
He begins to back into the water, but pauses, and gives Yoongi a firm stare. “You must go back, and get out of those wet clothes! I won’t have you coming down with the fever and, and d-dying,” he ends weakly.
He sees the way Yoongi is steeling himself. “You better come back,” he orders, the words sounding far more fragile than intended.
Jimin swallows and pushes himself back from the shore.
“I love you,” he blurts, before he ducks under the waves. He gives a tremendous flip of his tail and dives deep.
.
Yoongi stands frozen on the shore for half a minute after Jimin’s head disappears under the surface of the water, still seeing the way his startling smoky black eyes had been pinched in anguish. He feels empty.
Then he comes back to himself as a shiver hits him, and he turns quickly to squint through the falling darkness. Jimin had seemed to think this was a good place to climb back up, but it is hard for him to see in the low light. He absently wonders if Jimin can see better in the dark with his mer eyes.
He feels around the rocks until he finds what seems to be a path, and he cautiously moves along it, halfway crawling, halfway climbing. He is just climbing over the top when he hears a shout.
“Your Highness!”
He looks up to see Jungkook sprinting toward him, eyes wide, the terror on his face revealing how young he really is. He skids to a stop just in front of Yoongi, and hurries to help haul him to his feet.
“What happened?! Why are you wet like this? Where is Jimin?”
They both glance out toward the sea at the same moment.
“He’s coming back,” Yoongi says in lieu of a proper answer.
“What happened?”
Yoongi shivers, then, and Jungkook stiffens. “Your Highness. We need to get you dry.”
“Yes.” He nods. He has to stay healthy for when Jimin returns.
They return to the residence, at which point several people rush out to help him into the building. He is urged toward the baths, but he only soaks for a few minutes before growing antsy and reaching for robes to dry himself with.
“Where is Jimin?” Taehyung accosts him in the corridor just outside the bath house.
“He will return,” Yoongi says, and wonders if the promise is for himself instead.
“But where is he? Jungkook said—he said he found you at the cliffs. What happened? Yoongi?”
He takes a deep breath. “The enchantment is broken. He is free.”
“What? But—no, that doesn’t—why is he gone? He loves you!”
“We broke the enchantment, and he transformed. He felt into the water. I stupidly went after him, and he had to lift me from the sea.” He meets Taehyung’s eyes. “He couldn’t turn back. He didn’t know how.”
“So he’s—he’s just gone back to being a mer??”
“He’s gone to find his—the shaman, to help. To turn him back into a human.”
“What if he can’t?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course he can.”
It is strange and uncomfortable sleeping alone that night. The bed feels too large, and too empty. It takes Yoongi hours to fall asleep. He wakes up groggy, reaching for a body that isn’t there. It’s too quiet. He hadn’t realized how much he’s gotten used to seeing Jimin’s puffy, adorable face in the mornings, grumbling and squished into his pillow. Lips popped out just begging to be kissed.
The bed is empty, and silent.
.
Jimin swims as fast as he can toward the shaman’s cavern. He tries to not think about the way Yoongi had looked as he pulled away and left him alone on the shore. It hurts too much. The sheer whiplash from feeling pure happiness to this horror of a change has his head spinning and his stomach twisting.
The shaman is not in his cavern when he arrives, and for a moment Jimin feels panic overwhelm him. Where is his father? But then he swims past a warrior, and pulls up short.
“Where is the shaman?” he asks, knowing that he probably looks a sight with the top half of his land clothing still clinging to him.
“You have returned?” the warrior asks, eyebrows rising.
“No,” Jimin shakes his head frantically. “Where is my father? Why isn’t he here?”
“He is in the southern caves, gathering specimens. He should be back soon.”
“How soon is ‘soon’?”
The warrior shrugs. “A few hours, perhaps.” He swims off, leaving Jimin alone.
The young mer goes into the cavern and carefully removes his land clothing, which just inhibits his movements underwater. He considers going in search of his father, but if he returns and their paths do not cross, Jimin could be searching for much more than just a few hours.
He floats listlessly about the cavern, and doesn’t realize he’s dozed off until suddenly there are hands on his body.
Jimin startles awake, frightened for a brief moment until he recognizes his father’s figure. The shaman is touching his arms, stomach, and face, with soft but purposeful touches.
“Jimin, it has been so long; don’t tell me he sent you away when you finally sealed the vow?”
“What? No.” He is confused. “What vow?” He tries to push the shaman’s hands away, but he is unsuccessful. “Why are you—why do you keep touching me like that?”
“You are with child.”
Jimin gasps, tensing, and looks down at his belly. “What?”
The shaman looks only mildly surprised. “You did not know?”
“I—” he falters. “Are you sure?”
The shaman smiles warmly. “Of course. I can feel its spirit growing in you.”
“How, how long?” Jimin hasn’t noticed any symptoms; only that he has felt tired and has grown a little plump from the delicious land food. However, he and Yoongi have certainly had enough sex during which the other man has released his seed inside Jimin to warrant him becoming with child.
The shaman’s palm moves along his stomach, so gentle it almost tickles. “It is not long,” he says. “perhaps a month or two.”
“I didn’t…realize,” Jimin murmurs, wonderment beginning to affect him. He places his own palm upon his belly. He imagines what Yoongi’s reaction will be when he finds out—and then he abruptly remembers why he is there.
“Father,” he exclaims urgently. “Please tell me how to change back. I don’t know how.”
“Where are your pearls?” he asks instead of answering.
“I—we destroyed them. Just like we were supposed to.”
The shaman shakes his head, long hair shifting in the water around his head. “No, your new pearls. Where are they?”
Jimin opens his mouth and then pauses. “There was only the one. One large, beautiful pearl.”
The shaman’s eyebrow rise. “Interesting. And where is the pearl now?”
“Yoongi has it,” Jimin replies.
“The emperor?”
He nods.
“Well, you need it to turn back,” is the simple answer he receives, but Jimin isn’t reassured.
“How will I get to the pearl if he’s on land?”
The shaman puts his hands on Jimin’s shoulders. “Do not worry. I will go with you. I must give my blessing for this union and the emperor’s child, after all.”
Jimin feels his eyes stinging with tears, but no pearls come from his eyes. “Oh—” He throws his arms around his father, shaking with emotion as he clings to him.
“Let’s bring you back to your happiness, my dear son.”
.
Yoongi is just finishing his breakfast, having not tasted much at all, too conscious of the empty space beside him. There is no telling how long it will take Jimin, and he finds himself growing worried; there are dangers in the depths of the sea, and it is so long since Jimin has been a mer…what if he isn’t careful? What if something has already happened to him?
No one brings up his name. He knows it is because they believe him to have run away at long last. He doesn’t bother trying to convince anyone that it simply isn’t possible. Jimin wouldn’t abandon him.
His lovely, sweet, wonderful Jimin.
Yoongi feels ill and distracted. He cradles the pouch with the pearl inside, afraid that it will somehow disappear.
At Namjoon’s encouragement, Yoongi puts on a coat and steps outside. He finds himself walking toward Metalsmith Jung’s workshop, and greeting the surprised faces of both him and his son Hoseok.
“I have a favor to ask,” he begins right away. He holds up the pouch and reveals the pearl. “I need a pendant in which to hold this safe.” He doesn’t allow the metalsmith to touch the pearl, unsure if the same rules apply to this one, and unwilling to take a chance.
He holds it while Jung measures it and draws up some designs.
“This shouldn’t take long,” he says, after they have decided on one. Hoseok gathers the materials and sets them out on the work table. He seems to notice Yoongi’s worry. “I will work quickly, Your Highness.”
“Thank you.”
It is as Yoongi is returning to the front gardens when he hears something of a commotion outside the gates. When they are opened, a man with long, pale hair Yoongi has never seen before walks through, long robes swirling about his legs. When the emperor realizes that the man is dripping wet and in no way dressed for the chill of the day, he rushes forward to meet him, despite several of the guards moving to block him from the emperor.
The man bows low when he sees Yoongi.
“Your Highness,” he greets. He notices how Yoongi looks beyond him, crestfallen when he realizes no one is with the old man. “I am the shaman of the merfolk of these waters.”
Yoongi’s heart quickens. “You are…Jimin’s father?”
A soft smile appears on the man’s face. “I am.”
“Where is he? Why isn’t he here with you?”
“Do you have his pearl?”
“Yes.” He slips the silk pouch from his shirts and loosens the cord to deposit the pearl into his palm. It is warm, as if heated from the inside.
To his surprise, the mer shaman holds out his hand for the pearl.
“It is all right. I am one of the few able to touch these kinds of pearls.”
“Where is Jimin? Is he all right?” He is hesitant to give up the pearl to this stranger, who could even be lying to him about his identity.
“He is perfectly safe, and healthy. We can go to him now, if you’d like. But he needs the pearl to become human again. May I see it?” The shaman keeps his hand extended.
“I would rather give it to him myself,” Yoongi insists. He isn’t expecting the bright smile which spreads across the shaman’s face. It has a familiar aura to it, he realizes.
“Very well. I understand. You wish to protect it.”
“I do.”
“Your Highness,” Jungkook comes up beside them. “I am going with you.”
“And I,” Taehyung, just a few steps behind, chimes in.
They ready a carriage, and make their way toward the port. The emperor has barely stepped foot on the pier when there is a splash, and Jimin rises from the water to cling to a post. He is bare from the waist up, and even though it has been barely a dozen hours, Yoongi feels the same rush of emotion he might feel if it had been weeks or months since they last met.
Yoongi bends down and cups his face to gently kiss him. He doesn’t care that Jimin’s eyes are that haunting black abyss. He is happy only to see him.
“You’re all right,” he breathes, only loud enough for Jimin to hear him. The mer smiles and nuzzles his face into Yoongi’s cheek, in a distinctly animal-like manner.
“Yoongi,” he whispers.
“Give him the pearl,” the shaman says, behind them on the pier.
Yoongi reaches into the pouch again and reveals the smooth, perfect pearl.
“When you take it, simply imagine yourself returning to your land dwelling form,” the shaman continues.
Jimin reaches for the pearl but then pauses. Yoongi sees fear in his eyes.
“Will it hurt like before?” Jimin lowers a hand to his belly. “Is it safe?”
“The pain is unavoidable,” the shaman concedes, “but it will be minor compared to the first time. And with each shift, you will feel less pain. It is safe.”
Jimin’s hand closes over the pearl in Yoongi’s hand, but doesn’t take it from him. He simply clasps his hand around Yoongi’s, and holds on tight. Then he shuts his eyes, and Yoongi can feel the shift begin to happen.
He feels it in the texture of Jimin’s skin, in the distribution of weight, in the way he is supporting himself against the pier and Yoongi. He sees Jimin grimace and press his lips together, a small sound of pain coming through his nose, and then abruptly his body is far lighter than before. He opens his human eyes.
Tucking the pearl away, Yoongi quickly lifts his naked lover from the water. He immediately shrugs off his coat and wraps it around Jimin’s shivering form. He can’t resist any longer, then:
Yoongi pulls Jimin close and kisses him as if his life depends on it, uncaring who is watching. Jimin’s fingers wipe at his cheeks, and he realizes that he’s weeping.
“I love you,” the emperor gasps against Jimin’s mouth. “Please don’t leave me again.”
“I won’t, Jimin mumbles back. “I promise. You have me forever.”
Yoongi pulls Jimin to his feet before bending slightly and scooping him up into his arms so that he doesn’t have to walk upon the splintery pier with bare feet. Jimin muffles a startled giggle against his neck.
As they reach the others, Taehyung reaches out to lace his fingers with Jimin’s for a moment.
“I’m happy to see you safe, my friend,” he says. “We were all worried.”
Yoongi faces the shaman, then. “Will you join us for a short while?”
The shaman smiles. “If it isn’t any trouble. I wish to give you both my blessings.”
Jimin squirms a little in his hold, then, and his small fingers tighten where they are clutching his shoulder close to his neck.
“I have something to tell you,” his lover whispers. He seems to be nervous, but glowing with happiness at the same time.
“What is it?” Yoongi shifts his hold to increase the strength of his grip.
“Later. When we are…home.”
The shaman waits in the receiving throne room, speaking with Namjoon (and Taehyung, whose curiosity cannot be quelled, it seems) while Yoongi and Jimin return to their chambers to get some proper clothing for Jimin.
There is something wonderfully intimate in the way Yoongi helps Jimin step into his fresh clothes; he doesn’t need the assistance, but Yoongi wants to help him. As he is tying the band around Jimin’s waist, his lover puts a hand over his to stop him.
“Yoongi.”
“Yes? What is it?”
Jimin looks up at him, and then hesitantly takes him gently by the wrist, fingers slowly sliding down to hold his hand loosely as he presses Yoongi’s palm to his lower belly. The emperor isn’t ignorant. He’s seen people do this before. His instinct knows.
He doesn’t feel anything other than the warmth and softness of Jimin’s belly, but he holds his palm more firmly against his lover’s skin as if he could.
“What is this?” he knows, but he wants to hear the words.
“Love,” Jimin leans close, until their lips are barely separated by a breath, “I am with child. The shaman sensed it right away. Perhaps two months along.”
Yoongi has known this could happen, but it hasn’t been at the forefront of his mind. He is still young, Jimin is still young, and although an heir will be necessary if they do not wish for political troubles when his time is over, having Jimin bear a child hasn’t been particularly important to him.
Now, though… the knowledge that his beloved companion will be the one to bring life to his children, the emperor finds a great warmth bursting in his chest.
“Oh, Jimin.”
“Are you…happy with the news?” Jimin asks timidly, and Yoongi can’t resist the urge to kiss the worried pout off of his lips.
“Of course I’m happy,” he says. “But I’m happiest because you are here, safe, and—oh god I longed for you so badly last night.” He draws Jimin close, in a tight embrace. “I am useless without you by my side, you dangerous, lovely mer.” He laughs and kisses Jimin once again, slowly and softly, taking his time and loving the way Jimin seems to melt into his arms, pressed against him.
Eventually they have to part and finish dressing Jimin, though.
“The shaman has come to bless the baby,” Jimin explains as they are just about to leave. “He said he wanted to give his blessings for our union and,” he pauses, an almost sly smile gracing his lips, “the emperor’s child.”
“Our child,” Yoongi corrects him, pinching him lightly just above his hip where the skin is soft.
“Our child.”
They return to the receiving throne room where everyone is waiting.
“May I present my blessing on this successful union,” the shaman speaks, bowed low in respect, hands extended before him, where he holds a strand of shells and beads within one fist.
Yoongi doesn’t protest when Jimin reaches into the silk pouch to remove the pearl, and holds out his hand, palm up, toward the shaman. The emperor stares in silent awe as Jimin steps down to place the pearl into the shaman’s empty palm.
The shaman’s eyes are mer-like, unhuman and too haunting to stare into for too long, but he seems calm as he examines the pearl in his hand. He brings both palms together, and rolls the pearl with the beads and shells, the rattling and clicking almost like music. Yoongi wonders if he is imagining things when it seems there is light coming from between the shaman’s fingers.
He opens his hands, then, and there is nothing different about the pearl from what he can see. Jimin steps forward to retrieve the pearl, and then the shaman steps forward as well.
“I also present my warmest blessing upon this child of the emperor.”
There are startled gasps throughout the room, and Yoongi automatically slips his fingers between Jimin’s when the mer reaches back for his hand. He squeezes Yoongi’s fingers tight as the shaman places both hands upon his nearly flat belly, the beads pressing in on one side.
There is a sudden, hushed silence as everyone watches with bated breath. Yoongi feels Jimin shudder subtly, and then the shaman straightens up and steps back.
“My blessings have been offered.”
.
The scene on the pier that day is so very different to the one only months prior. The beautiful young mer, carrying a new life within his body, sees off the mer shaman as the chilly late autumn breeze blows over the waves. He whispers a promise to visit, and then embraces his father tightly before the shaman dives into the water. He transforms midway through the dive, his burgundy tail splashing water all over the wood. A few drops catch on the beautiful mer’s ankles.
The emperor waits and watches from a distance, smiling when his lover looks up at him, walking slowly back along the waterworn wood. The somewhat sad expression on the mer’s face shifts into a sweet smile, his eyes nearly disappearing into crescents.
No words are needed as they meet, weaving their fingers together and stepping up close.
Several guards watch from a safe distance, and a handful of nearby curious fishermen stare, but the emperor and his mer lover don’t seem to worry about any of that as they kiss, silly little smiles continuously interrupting them and turning the deeper kisses into the softest of touches.
The mer presses close until there is no space between them, and the emperor wouldn’t have it any other way.
The pearl rests between their chests, an eternal reminder of all they have been through…as well as a promise of what lies ahead of them as they make this journey together.
.
.
.
The End.