Chapter 68

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There were so many questions Jungkook still had. So much he had yet to ask Taehyung. But all of that he decided to take care of later. He didn't want to think about this too deeply for now. Didn't want to think of the implications of the kiss, whether Taehyung had connected his own life to his, just yet. He knew that it was possible. He was aware of it, but he didn't want to ruin the evening by worrying about Taehyung.

Maybe it was dumb, but whatever had been done couldn't be changed either way and at least Jungkook knew that he didn't want Taehyung to leave, so why worry about it. Instead, he filled the bathtub once they were back at the hotel, like so many times before, and added some bath salt he had bought at a little shop in the waterpark.

"Thank you." Taehyung, who was stretched out on the bed, muttered when Jungkook entered the room again. "I can still smell the chlorine on my skin." He grimaced, looking at his own arm like it was poisonous.

Jungkook let himself fall onto the bed flat on his stomach as well. Taehyung grimaced again as he caught a whiff of what Jungkook assumed was probably his own chlorine stench. "Wow, just confessed to me like an hour ago and now you're making faces at me cause I stink. I see how it is."

Taehyung rolled his eyes but grinned a little. "Can't be too picky, can I?" He looked up at the ceiling. "Chlorine really does stink though. Do you smell it too? Or does your nose not..." Jungkook could practically hear the "not work" but Taehyung stopped himself, instead looking at Jungkook questioningly. Jungkook really didn't feel insulted though. They had already clearly established that a siren's capabilities went far beyond those of a human.

"No, I actually notice it too. And yeah, it doesn't exactly have the most pleasant smell. Back when I was a child my parents actually sent me to a swimming team but I stopped because the heavy scent of chlorine would make me dizzy. It's not really the healthiest either. Like, huge amounts of it are toxic. But the amount they use at swimming pools is just enough to keep them relatively clean."

Taehyung hummed in agreement. "Why not just clean the water regularly?"

"It's sadly not that easy... but honestly, I have no fucking clue how all of that shit works so I wouldn't be able to give you a proper explanation on what you would have to do to keep it clean and why that doesn't pay off for waterparks... so meh." He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Wanna get into the bathtub now though? I can guarantee that this water is actually clean." He chuckled while looking over at Taehyung, who was still lying on his back and staring at the ceiling.

He still couldn't believe that he was now... Taehyung's what actually? Boyfriend? Partner? Basically husband? He didn't even know if the kiss had been THE kiss he had heard about from both Taehyung and Jimin.

Whatever they were, Jungkook had a hard time believing it. Especially with how unreal Taehyung looked from the side. His skin and eyes basically glowing even in the soft light of the hotel room.
"Are we actually together now? Like, romantically?"

Maybe he was just imagining things, but Taehyung's eyes seemed to widen just a little bit at the question and the tiniest bit of blush spread over his cheeks. At least Jungkook didn't seem to be alone with being a little overwhelmed with this whole thing.

"Do you really still have to ask that question?" Jungkook would have felt a little defensive at that if it hadn't been for the way Taehyung was very clearly avoiding his eyes. Was he embarrassed?

"Not really but..." Jungkook could feel blush rising to his cheeks. "I've been crushing on you for so long now and I was so certain that there was no way you could like me that this feels a little surreal."

Instead of answering Taehyung rolled over to his side to face Jungkook and pressed a short kiss to his lips. Jungkook's brain short-circuited. "Is this enough of an answer?"

When he opened his mouth to respond with literally anything, all that came out was a squeaky sound. His brain really wasn't made to process being kissed by a siren. Jungkook didn't give Taehyung the chance to laugh, quickly covering his mouth the second his eyes glinted in amusement.

"Don't you dare laugh. This is very confusing, okay?!"

Taehyung snickered through his hand before pulling it away from his mouth. When he did his expression was still clearly amused, but also pretty soft. "I admit it's quite weird to kiss you though. Weird feeling."

"See! I'm not alone, okay? I've been in denial for who knows how long and for you romance hasn't even been something you considered for centuries!"

Taehyung flicked his forehead with his fingers. "Hey, don't use those memories I showed you against me."

"I'm just trying to say it's okay for this to feel a little weird right now... right? It'll get more... natural as we get used to it?" He was more so asking Taehyung than really stating it certainly. He wanted to hear it from Taehyung. He knew he was going to fully enjoy it soon. He just wanted to have the reassurance that it was okay to feel a little confused right now.

All of this had been easier when he had gotten together with Minji. As amazing as their chemistry had been back then, even on a platonic level, there had never been a point where it hadn't been clear that both of them had been after more than just friendship. With Taehyung he had gone through so many stages from fear to developing feelings that every time they took a bigger step it left him feeling whiplashed.

"It's okay to take your time. You can take today as the confession Jimin promised you." Taehyung chuckled, very aware that this was not something he should have heard about. "You can give me your answer when you want to."

"But the kiss..." Jungkook tried saying, but Taehyung shook his head.

"It's not a binding kiss." Taehyung smiled a little. "Don't worry, you still have the choice to say no."

Why did Jungkook feel a little disappointed at that? But at the same time, he also felt a little relieved. It wasn't like Taehyung to make hasty decisions like that. And the thought that Taehyung's life was resting on his shoulders was a little terrifying. Maybe a bit romantic, but mostly terrifying.

"But I already know I like you." Jungkook said a little hesitantly. He had known for a while. He just hadn't even dared imaging being in a relationship with Taehyung, which made all of this so much harder to work through.

"Give yourself a little bit of time to decide. I made my decision. Now it's time for you to make yours." Taehyung got up, stretching a little. "Let's go take that bath now. I need to get this off my skin."

Jungkook wondered if maybe he had found the ultimate weapon against sirens. Chlorine. For some reason he actually felt like a weight had been lifted off him. It wasn't that he didn't want to take up Taehyung's offer. But things had been moving way too quickly for him.

"But even if I'm not allowed to make the decision right now, I'm still allowed to, like, hug you and stuff, right? You didn't revoke my rights to that, right?" Jungkook asked as he pulled his t-shirt over his head in the bathroom.

"As long as you don't revoke my pillow rights I'll accept it." Taehyung clearly joked while slipping out of his clothes, and Jungkook really really had to focus on not letting his eyes wander. Taehyung actually being someone Jungkook could have... certainly changed things a little.

So far Jungkook had appreciated Taehyung's beauty the same way he would whenever he saw a model in a magazine that was his type. Being impressed and quite aesthetically pleased, but never quite in reach.

But now that actually dating Taehyung was an option, seeing him slipping into the bathtub in the nude sure felt different. He really had to get his brain away from these thoughts though since he was about to get naked too and he really didn't want to embarrass himself.

"Move forward a little so I can squeeze in there." Jungkook gestured with his hand. "And yeah, you get pillow rights in exchange... seems like a fair deal."

Once Jungkook had gotten comfortable behind Taehyung, Taehyung leant against him. Jungkook could practically hear the teasing tone in his voice oozing over even when Taehyung was facing away. "Good pillow."

As many times before, Taehyung finally let his body relax now that he was in the bathtub, his fingers changing their shape and his legs, although not completely turning, growing patches of sharp scales Jungkook knew better than to touch. It was honestly quite interesting that even after months of training in turning into a human, Taehyung was still clearly exhausted at keeping a human form up after a while.

Jungkook couldn't help wondering whether Jimin had the same issues. Speaking of the devil. His phone was ringing. Jimin sure was nosy. Jungkook probably wouldn't have accepted the call if it hadn't been for Taehyung. Especially because it was a video call.

"Who is that?" Right, he couldn't read.

"Jimin."

"Pick up."

Jungkook sighed, but quickly wiped off his hand to grab his phone. He was pretty certain that he was going to miss the call, but as if to make sure he certainly couldn't escape, his phone kept ringing the whole time.

"Damn, you two are moving quickly. Am I interrupting something?" Jimin gasped in surprise. He wasn't seeing much more than their upper bodies up to their chest, the rest hidden by the bathtub, but it was pretty obvious they were both nude.

"Nope." Jungkook sighed in exasperation. At least one of the sirens seemed to understand that this wasn't normal behaviour. "Completely platonic and has been happening for months."

For a second Jimin seemed genuinely confused at the bathtub sharing part, but then his eyes widened in clear worry that he had just babbled out something that he shouldn't have said.

"But no worries, Taehyung 'confessed' earlier today. He heard your first call." Jungkook would have been angry, but how could he when he possibly had Jimin to thank for the fact that Taehyung had been brave enough to confess? Jungkook certainly never would have.

"Oooopsie." Jimin didn't sound the least bit sorry. "Wait, so you two are together now?"

"Not exactly yet. Letting it sink in to be honest." Why did it feel so much more natural to think about it now? How could taking a step back just for a second have helped already? Jungkook knew he wanted things to progress with Taehyung... and that was all he needed to know for now.

What the hell was wrong with his brain?

"Wow, I'm proud of you, Tae. Actually letting the human make a decision of his own for once. You grew so much." Jimin wiped away a fake tear, clearly teasing Taehyung. Jungkook didn't need to see Taehyung's face to know he was rolling his eyes.

"Very funny."

"Anyways, so you guys are just seeing how it'll go? Honestly, good idea. Damn, I miss that phase with Yoongi when we'd just met... those were the times. Dates, handholding, shy kisses..." Jungkook could practically see Jimin melt into those old memories he clearly remembered fondly.

He wondered if he would actually make those kinds of memories with Taehyung. After all, Taehyung didn't seem like the most typically romantic person. What if they went on a date? Jungkook played with the thought. He knew he wanted to try things out with Taehyung... what if he eased himself into the mindset of being together through a date?

"Sorry for going all sappy on you guys... but I'm glad I was right." Jimin grinned widely. "I was really hoping for things to work out between you two... hehehe... I gotta tell Yoongi about this. Bye. Have fun!" And with that, just as quickly as he had shown up, Jimin was gone.

"Your brother sure is something." Jungkook chuckled. "Honestly it's hard to believe you are both mythical creatures. I mean you are... very mysterious and scary, so no doubts there, but he is... more like a scary overexcited child."

He could hear Taehyung snickering. "He is."

"Has he always been like this?" Jungkook asked, genuinely curious. "How does that fit with him... you know, also having killed humans?" At least that was something he knew about Jimin. Even though he seemed so much more human, that certainly didn't mean he was.

"As far as I know he doesn't really actively enjoy killing humans. At least not ones that haven't done anything to him. For him it was something he had to do to survive, and there have been periods of times that he also... didn't enjoy the company of humans anymore."

Taehyung tilted his head a little to look at Jungkook and let his upper body slip deeper into the bathtub. "Over a couple of centuries, you're bound to have bad experiences with humans. There are so many of you and so many cruel ones. So far I have made the experience of meeting exactly two pleasant ones." Taehyung grinned a little, looking up at him. For a second Jungkook was confused who the second one was, but then he realized Yoongi was human too. Something that was easy to forget given how entangled he seemed with both Jimin and Taehyung.

"Jimin on the other hand generally likes humans. But he also doesn't follow the same moral standards. One small conflict between Jimin and Yoongi, for example, was that Jimin killed Yoongi's bullies back when they had just gotten together. For Jimin a logical course of action, but Yoongi wasn't too happy."

And once again Jungkook had been reassured that the fact that Jimin did give him the creeps just the tiniest bit sometimes was more than fair.

"Damn. Remind me to never tease Yoongi or something." Jungkook joked, dropping his head against the edge of the bathtub. It was funny how even though they were talking about things like Jimin killing humans, while soaking naked in the bathtub, he was completely at ease. Such a ridiculous situation to be in, and yet Jungkook found himself actually enjoying talking to Taehyung like this.

He actually wanted to get to know Taehyung. Not just the surface level stuff. He wanted to hear about the way Taehyung thought, what he had experienced, what he liked and what not. There was so much Jungkook didn't know about him, while Taehyung probably knew everything about him based on all his previous hour long monologues.

"Tae... since we're currently figuring out if being together for real is a good idea... wanna go on a date with me tomorrow? Let's go out and actually get to know each other. Or at least I want to get to know you."

When Jungkook looked down to check for Taehyung's reaction, Taehyung was smiling, clearly satisfied. "Sure. Like they do in the movies."

Jungkook chuckled. "No, not like they do in movies. The way humans usually do."

A/N

Why do I like this chapter so much???😖💜

Anyways its cute shit and I rlly cant wait to write all my plans I have now! Like its some good shit👀💜