Chapter 66

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When Jungkook showed Taehyung the sauna it was quite late. He already knew that Taehyung barely even reacted to temperature changes but that didn't change anything about his own competitiveness. It was a little embarrassing when he blacked out and found himself lying on the ground outside with multiple people staring down at him worriedly though. The clearly most concerned person was Taehyung, who was leaning over him, not even noticing the fact that other people were standing close to him.

He demanded that Jungkook promise him never to go back in there again, and for Taehyung's peace of mind he did, even if he probably wasn't going to follow that. When they walked into the ice-cold pools outside the sauna Jungkook had learned his lesson though and didn't try to keep up with the siren that had probably visited the north pool at least once in his life.

Overall Taehyung clearly had fun. He was laughing more than usual, sticking by Jungkook's side unless told otherwise and even awkwardly took part in the conversation when an old woman told Jungkook he looked like her grandchild and continued to small talk afterwards.

When they eventually left the building and drove back into the city centre Jungkook was exhausted but content. It had been a fun day and he had made some fond memories. He was doing his absolute best to stop his mind from wandering to what Jimin had told him. He couldn't allow himself to get his hopes up. Even if he'd just had one of the most fun days in years.

Taehyung clearly seemed more relaxed too as he sat in the train next to Jungkook. Spending a whole day alongside humans having fun seemed to have helped him keep his calm in their presence. Now, when a child rushed past their seat, he barely batted an eye anymore. Maybe that had been the reason he had been able to sleep by Jungkook's side. It had nothing to do with trust. Just that Taehyung wasn't as afraid anymore. After all, Jimin had no idea how much better Taehyung had gotten.

"Where are we going now?" Taehyung asked, curiously looking out the window of the subway as they were crossing the Han river.

"Figuring out if a food place I absolutely loved as a child is still open." Jungkook shared excitedly. He could still remember the taste of their fried chicken. Back when he had been here first, he had forced his parents to go there around six times in the two weeks they had been in Seoul.

There was a longer pause during which neither Jungkook nor Taehyung said a word, but Taehyung broke it before things could get awkward. "I have a question."

Jungkook furrowed his brows. That was new.

"Shoot away."

"It's kind of dumb." Taehyung chuckled and Jungkook made a shushing gesture.

"There are no dumb questions. Honestly, I'm happy that for once I actually get asked a question and don't just overshare all on my own." He snickered and so did Taehyung.

"So what did you want to ask?"

"I was wondering why you're not scared of water. It has been in my head all day. I mean, I almost drowned you and you were scared of drowning at that swimming pool... Yoongi had something similar happen to him and he was terrified of water for years. Why aren't you scared?" Taehyung sounded genuinely curious.

What he mentioned about Yoongi was completely new to Jungkook and he made a mental note to ask about that later, if it had anything to do with Jimin for the most part. bBut for now the question was directed at him and he wanted to answer it. "Well... right after I almost drowned I was pretty nervous around water, but it wasn't really about the water itself. I was scared of drowning because I did almost drown. But the water wasn't the real threat back then. You were..." Jungkook glimpsed at Taehyung's face and found the siren grimacing. At least he didn't seem too happy about that anymore. "But yeah, water wasn't scary because it was you who was scary. Absolutely terrifying. You didn't need the water to kill me, being on land was just as dangerous. I guess that's why. I also generally do like water, so not even you could ruin that for me." Jungkook joked a little teasingly.

"Sorry about that." Taehyung looked sheepish and a little embarrassed. Maybe thinking about how much like a bad person he had been acting made him cringe. Taehyung certainly had come off differently back then. He still felt like the same person, just a lot softer. Still a little arrogant towards humans and full of pride, but also playful and warm. The walls that had been there when they'd first met were gone now.

"We've gotten over that, I'm not holding that over your head." Jungkook smiled, taking Taehyung's hand. "I'm just glad you warmed up to me."

Taehyung looked down, but a smile was tugging at the corners of his lips. "Me too."

The fried chicken was just as good as he remembered. First he had been scared the place might have closed down since he had not been able to find it on the map, but a little bit of searching based on vague childhood memories had eventually led them to the right place.

Taehyung seemed to be enjoying his fried chicken too, based on the fact that there were two bones missing from his plate and that Taehyung was eyeing the ones left with an attempt at holding back. Just when he seemed like he was losing the fight the waiter brought them some desserts on the house. The server was an older lady who Jungkook was pretty sure owned the place.

She asked the two of them whether they had enjoyed their meal and Jungkook felt weirdly proud when Taehyung managed a small, polite "We did." The woman talked to Jungkook for a little before walking back into the kitchen as they finished up their desserts.

Jungkook couldn't help praising Taehyung on how well he had been reacting all day. Jungkook really felt oddly proud at how smoothly he had handled every situation that had been thrown at him all day. Taehyung grimaced but let himself be praised as they walked down the street without much of a goal.

"Wait a second..." Jungkook furrowed his brows. He knew this area and he had some vague memories of... he grabbed Taehyung's hand and pulled him along through some streets. "I've got to check something... it should be right around..." They walked around a corner and then they were there. Just as Jungkook remembered it. "Here."

Right in front of them in the soft orange dawn light was a playground with a few slides and swings, but the highlight, the reason Jungkook could so vividly remember this place, was a little farther away, at the corner of the playground. Far from the other things there was a wooden ship. A pirate ship. With the skull flag and everything. A net children could climb on replacing the usual sail. What Jungkook loved the most about the ship was that the person making it clearly had had their fun with adding as much detail as they could and, unlike most of these playground ships, getting most of the proportions right.

He turned to look at Taehyung, who was also looking at the pirate ship, his curiosity clearly peaked.

"Looking familiar?" Jungkook asked with a smile and Taehyung raised his eyebrows before giving a sarcastic "vaguely" as an answer. Taehyung sure had picked up Jungkook's humor as they lived together.

"Come on." Jungkook tugged at Taehyung's hand before moving over towards the ship. It might not have been that late yet, but the playground was already empty. Maybe because it still was the middle of the week. He could hear Taehyung following right behind him as he walked through the grass. He had to strain his eyes to properly see in the near dark and avoid tripping over something like a stone or left behind ball.

Once he reached the ship, he climbed onto it. Taehyung on the other hand stayed standing where he was right next to the ship as Jungkook got on board. Led by the part of him that had been unwilling to grow up, Jungkook climbed the sail like it was intended for the children to do. When he reached the top he crawled into the crow's nest.

As if he was scanning the ocean he brought his hand up to above his eyes, checking around the area before looking at Taehyung. "Captain, there is a siren right by our ship!"

Even the dark Jungkook could see Taehyung snickering a little. He wondered how much Taehyung had really seen of pirates. He probably knew just how much of an inaccurate depiction this really was. Jungkook made a mental note to ask him later.

For now, he climbed down the netsail. He found himself lost in nostalgia when he looked at the helm. He could remember his parents sitting on the bench not far off as Jungkook played around with it and waved at them. He had a lot of positive memories in connection with this place.

As he stared in the distance, he could feel the wind pick up in speed. Just slightly at first, but when he felt the ship moving a little underneath his feet, he realized that it wasn't just the normal amount. The wind picked up even more, so when Jungkook turned his head to look at Taehyung his hair was blown into his view. That didn't stop him from realizing that there was more going on than just the wind though. They no longer were on the playground. Instead, he found Taehyung sitting where the railing was opened for people to climb up onto the ship, the water behind him raging in the winds of a storm. From the looks of it they were in the middle of the ocean, storm clouds darkening the sky, the waters wild and untamed and wind going at who knew how many miles an hour.

And in the middle of all of it was Taehyung, sitting just the way Jungkook had seen him the first night they had met. Chest bare, siren tail, unsettling grey eyes staring directly at Jungkook. Jungkook wondered what a pirate would have felt at the sight. Fear? Excitement? Lust?

For Jungkook it was a weird mix of excitement and fondness. He knew this wasn't real. He could hear the hints of Taehyung's humming even if it disappeared the second he focused too much on it. The wind was almost covering it completely.

He watched as Taehyung shifted forms. The version of him that Jungkook was seeing now was wearing pants that very well could have fit into the same time period as everything else Jungkook was seeing. He looked almost human now, aside from his eyes and claws, as he got up and walked towards Jungkook, the wind still blowing around them. Jungkook could even feel the droplets of the waves that the wind had picked up on his skin. The illusion felt so real... so natural, and Jungkook could feel his heart race in excitement.

"You sure you want to meet me when you're a pirate? In the middle of the ocean, in a siren's domain?" Jungkook could see that Taehyung was clearly having fun too. Even if he probably couldn't see the illusion he was projecting himself. Didn't get to see just how real this felt. "Quite the gruesome fate."

Jungkook giggled like a little child.

"Maybe not. Good thing we met in a different setting, is it not? There might have been some struggle at first, but now we're here and I'm being threatened by a siren on a ship in the middle of the ocean and it's not the least bit scary." He looked around the area once more taking in the wild sea, the beautiful color of the dark sky and the strong sense of adventure. But when he looked back at Taehyung all of that seemed to vanish in the background. Because Taehyung was looking at him with that expression again. That hard to read expression Jungkook had seen so many times on him. He kept eye contact for a couple of seconds before taking the last step towards him. Taehyung's eyes seemed to almost glow in the dark as he smiled at him. A smile that was a lot softer than most he had gotten used to seeing on Taehyung.

"Good... it isn't meant to be scary."

Before Jungkook could open his mouth to say something in return, to maybe ask why Taehyung was suddenly getting this close, he froze up completely when Taehyung placed both of his hands on Jungkook's cheeks, forcing him to look at him. "And now, just for once, shut up and let me have a moment."

And before he could even fathom what was about to happen Taehyung pressed his lips against Jungkook's.

A/N

So... who is now officially reading this as a corpse?

The fact that I've had this scene planned for more than a year now and every single time my boyfriend and I passed the playground near my place that has a pirate ship I went "Predator tae!!!" is honestly soooo weird to me... like it's written now

It's no longer just in my head... its on paper

How did ya'll like it?🥺 I hope it was up to the expectations... I was quite nervous skdnsnx

Ps: next chapter is up on patreon (link in my description) for those who can't wait another week for that!