four

9128 words

In the confines of a room that is foreign to them both, Jungkook takes comfort in Pia's predictable nature. 

Arms resting on the window ledge, she's staring out at the shores just beyond the cliffside boundary of the inn. It's their home for the night, and yet Pia finds herself somewhat homesick.

"You play the part well," Jungkook muses, his back resting up against the doorframe of their shared room. He's keeping a distance. Knows that he needs to for now, because doesn't know quite how long they'll be stuck here.

It had been the only room left. Sea view. Bathtub opposite the bed instead of in a separate room like the rest of the fixtures. There's a separate shower in the bathroom. The tub is completely unnecessary. It's for show—or rather to show off.

After all, it is the honeymoon suite. Paid for by Jungkook with more gold coins than Pia has ever collected from the sea floor.

"Oh, perfect," Pia had enthused when the concierge had told them both about the room, her hands clutching onto Jungkook's strong arm, a smile on her face as if the pair of them could conceivably be newlyweds.

The only thing that suggested otherwise were their lack of rings, and the way Pia had interrupted Jungkook to stop him from asking if there were any twin rooms available.

Her natural charm and Jungkook's handsome face could fool anyone into believing anything, mind you. They make quite the pair. Perhaps it's the whole reason sirens and fairies should never meet. Would be far too powerful of a unionship.

When you consider Jungkook's lineage—the stardust he leaves in his wake—and how Pia wouldn't ever conceivably be able to meet a star otherwise, it really is a rarity. A once in a lifetime. Something never to be repeated.

If you were to tell either Jungkook or Pia this, they'd say 'good,' or 'rightly so'. Would tell you  they'd rather face sure-death than ever fraternise with one another again after this.

Jungkook might furrow his brows if he were to hear Pia say it.

And Pia might cross her arms, suddenly cold if she were to hear Jungkook say it.

They'd both say it regardless. Would both mean it. Or at least, they'd both think they would.

Neither of them care all that much for who they're supposed to be right now, whether it be honeymooners or otherwise. They're just simply being.

"One of us had to," she muses, paying Jungkook very little attention as she yearns to be within touching distance of the vast shoreline. She can smell the sea. It's so unfair. Turning to look at him over his shoulder, there's a pale smile on her lips. "Thought you might choke on your own spit when she said it was the honeymoon room."

Jungkook's eyes drop to his feet. Something about eye contact right now is unpleasant. He doesn't want to see gold. Dirty shoes are a far safer alternative. He pretends as if it isn't embarrassment averting his eyes, and reaches down to undo his laces.

"Don't act like the idea of honeymooning with a fairy doesn't repulse you," he hums, not looking up until the very last word.

"Oh, so I repulse you?" She jokes, chin resting on her shoulder as she continues to look at him. Her hair wisps in the light breeze coming through the window, a deep blue sea framing her in such a way Jungkook wasn't expecting. He's never really seen her like this. He doesn't like the way it makes him feel; all disjointed and out of key. "Ouch, Jungkook. Way to make a lady feel special."

"You're not a lady," he shrugs without a smirk, but Pia knows he's joking. "You're a fish."

"Some boys like it."

"Well, this one doesn't."

Liar, Pia thinks to herself.

"Hmm?" Jungkook mumbles into the empty space. "Watcha say?"

"Nothing," Pia replies, entirely truthful.

"Could have sworn..." Jungkook begins, then cuts himself off.

Instead, he comes to stand beside her, gazing out at the ocean ahead. His brain is all lopsided, as if someone took it out and rearranged it in the wrong order. Whoever did it apparently took out the part of his brain that keeps him disciplined. Controlled.

The sea is beautiful without Pia interrupting his line of vision, but he can't say he prefers it.

"Gorgeous, isn't it?" She sighs, yearning to be in it.

Her affinity for the place she calls home is something admirable, Jungkook thinks. She really does adore the world she comes from. Even if he doesn't necessarily understand it, he can relate to it, in a way. Feels the same whenever he walks through the forest from the manor house to the beach back on the Caspartine Island.

He'll be home soon. It's something he takes solace in, but it's also something he knows isn't possible without Pia.

"I can sleep in the tub, tonight," she offers, out of the blue. It's curious how aligned their thoughts seem to be. "If you run to the store and get some salt, it'll be just like home."

It's cruel, he thinks, for her to be so close to the sea and yet so far from it.

And so he cracks. Allows himself to indulge in humanity—because while humans can be evil, they can be kind, too. He thinks she deserves that at the very least. He'd want his sister to be shown kindness. Though he knows her as a singular entity, he also knows that Pia is someone's sister, too.

"We can go," he offers, nodding down towards the small sandy cove just within their line of view. "You're not as strong as you were, are you? The sea will help. In the morning, we can go."

"You're not scared I'm gonna swim off?"

Jungkook shrugs. Hadn't given it much thought. Wouldn't say he trusts Pia, necessarily, but he doesn't think she'd fuck him over for the fun of it all. They've come too far for that.

"If you're telling me that you will, I'll just link the chains back up," he says of the threads that had kept them together, earlier. He doesn't actually know the charm to fuse it, but Pia doesn't need to know that. "Your choice."

"I won't," she hums, and for reasons even he isn't sure of, he chooses to believe her.

"Well then we're settled," he bookends the conversation, retreating from the window because he doesn't like the way he feels compelled to stand beside her. Supposes it's just residual charm lingering from the entanglement she'd tried on him earlier. " We can go in the morning. I'm gonna wash up. You make yourself at home."

Though the room is perfectly lovely—duck egg blue walls and white wooden furnishings — there's not much to it. Company is supposed to be enjoyed together here. Entertainment is scarce because most people in a honeymoon suite would much rather focus on one another than mindless forms of entertainment.

A bookcase is stacked with a handful of quick reads, but Pia has no interest in them. Understands how to read from the books that would sometimes be left on rocks from rogue beach-goers, but doesn't enjoy it particularly. Humans always talk of such trivial mundane things. Love, and other useless endeavours. Things she doesn't care for.

Instead, she chooses to flick the taps of the bath into action. She can hear water in the next room over. Assumes Jungkook is washing.

It's unfair that he should get to enjoy water when she's the one who's been parched for weeks now. Even if the water is without salt, it will at least ease some of her aches and pains.

Shedding her clothes, she becomes all too aware of her human-like body.

The things she hates most about legs are knees. All nobbly and bruised, she thinks they look decidedly bizarre.

Ankles are another thing she'd much rather be without. There's no grace to them. No elegance. She stands on their tiptoes to mimic something of a little more sophistication, and is pleased to see the shape of her legs take a slightly more tail-like appearance.

God, she cannot wait to get it back.

There are some parts that she likes. The softness, mostly, of her thighs. The silkiness of her skin. Tails are hard. All muscle. Rough with scales. To have legs is to be soft. Human.

They're strange things, humans. Their bodies don't make sense to her. Toes especially. Pussy, another. Why on earth it's positioned between the legs, she'll never know. (She'll also never understand why it's called pussy, when it neither resembles one, nor meows, but that's a conversation for another day).

It's far more convenient as a siren; tastefully hidden on the front of her tail by her waistline frills. It's all internal, really—concealed by design for both male and female sirens alike.

Contrarily, humans are just so...vulgar. Everything is just out there. In their personalities and in the way they parade themselves around. Sort of makes sense for their genitals to be the same way.

She's only ever seen a single human entirely naked before, and their anatomy was different so much in the fact he was male.

And she looks at her own human form, she finds herself disgusted by the mere thought of him; his dark brown eyes, and the weakness she'd shown. How looking at him had made her long for a pair of legs, too. How he'd smiled when she and her sisters used to fuck around with his small boat and crew of fishermen.

She'd tried—in earnest, desperately— to make it work with him. Wouldn't have to use her voice to lure him back because he came willingly. Would say shit like, "you're wasted on the sea, darlin'," and "if only you could be on dry land, I'd make you my wife."

Sirens flirt. They play. They fuck around in a literal and not-so-literal sense of the phrase.

But when they mate, they mate for life.

Aren't too dissimilar from fairies, in that way.

Aren't too dissimilar from fairies either, in the fact that their mating ritual can only bind them with another siren. To bind with a human just isn't possible.

So of course it was fruitless to fall in love with him, and his gorgeous dark hair and physique that rivalled even the strongest of sirens. Of course it wouldn't work. Of course when she offered herself up to him on a silver platter, it was only natural for him to eat her up and spit her right back out.

But she's got legs, now. Human anatomy. Everything he wanted from her.

But Pia didn't recognise human mating rituals just as much as he didn't recognise hers. The gold ring on his fourth finger was just a ring to her. The way her tail had wrapped around his legs had just been a 'siren thing' to him.

She shakes her head. Wipes a tear stalking down her cheek away with the back of her hand. Another fundamentally human flaw, she thinks. Sirens don't cry. But apparently she does, now.

Pia's never seen this much of herself all at once. Not with legs.

She feels awkward and unsightly; uncomfortable in her own skin. Then again, she doesn't really think it is her skin.

Three more souls.

That's all she needs until she's herself again.

"For the love of dust," Jungkook hisses as he opens the bathroom door, seemingly offended by Pia's 'humanity' on display. His arm crosses over his head to cover his eyes, body angling away from her. "Clothes, Pia. Now."

She sighs, emptying her lungs, sorrowful as she stares at herself, not caring for his arrival.

I hate them, she whines internally, not wanting to have this conversation with him

"I don't care!" Jungkook shrieks, because apparently she must keep verbalising her thoughts without realising. "Put them on!"

She glances over her shoulder to where Jungkook is still cowering from the mere sight of her, and finds that even though he's wearing his trousers, he's without a shirt. He's tightly holding it in his spare hand, because apparently decency doesn't matter when it comes to him.

Fairies are without shirts pretty much always—wings get in the way—so it's incredibly hypocritical for him to reprimand her for being in her preferred state, too.

Sure, normally she has a tail, and yes, she typically fashions something to cover her chest out of shells, but she'd argue that it's just the same as being naked.

That being said, Pia would much rather the feel of a shirt over her body than the restrictions of her dress—and so strides over to Jungkook and takes his shirt from his hands.

Dramatic idiot.

It's almost as if she can hear him pathetically reply, you're the idiot!

"You don't have to make it weird," she huffs, looking down as she does the buttons up. Only the ones by her chest. The rest will hang loose. "It's not my body. Or at least, beneath the belly button, it isn't."

"I simply don't care," he reinforces, only just now learning that sirens do, in fact, have belly buttons. "I'm not walking around with my cock out, am I?"

"Well it's not like I was presenting myself to you," she shrieks a little in response at such a suggestion.

That's what they call it down beneath the waves: presenting.

If you're presenting, it's because you're after one thing and one thing only. Intimate areas are always hidden, otherwise, by design. Their reproductive organs are tastefully hidden beyond the surface of their thick-skinned tails.

Regardless, she'd never present herself to a fairy—least of all him.

Leaning over to the now-full bathtub, she knocks the taps to shut off the water supply. All she wants is to sit in the water, like she supposes Jungkook probably likes to float in mid-air, or some dumb fairy shit like that.

"Also," she adds to her previous statement, picking up a small pot resting on the side of the tub. "What's Epsom?"

"I should bloody hope you're not presenting yourself to me! But as far as fairy standards go, that was presenting," he assures her, before racking his brain for a word he is vaguely familiar with. It's mentioned in spells occasionally. He knows that much. "Think it's a place. Somewhere from beyond the ice, y'know? A myth. Why? What you got there?"

"Oh, grow up," Pia sneers, knowing fairies are far more sophisticated than humans. If sirens have evolved to keep their dignity hidden, then so have fairies—or at least she assumes. "And it says Epsom salt. You think it's okay to add to the water?"

There's something comforting about the casual, helpful conversation that runs alongside their bickering. Something familiar and yet also foreign. She glances back towards him and catches sight of his darling blue eyes. They look just like the sea on a clear day. Just like home.

"If you haven't noticed, you've the body of a human at the moment, Pia," he states. "Humans, are like, the closest living relatives of fairies. You look just like us right now. So yeah, it is presenting. And yeah, I think it'll be okay. Probably just fancy salt, isn't it? I'm here, either way. You're safe."

"You cannot be serious. The big, high and mighty fairies reproduce like humans? That's just embarrassing," Pia scoffs, before glancing back down at the bottle. "But okay. I'm gonna sprinkle some in. I'm not sure how much I need. Is this okay?"

"Says the girl who reproduces like a fuckin' dolphin," Jungkook smirks, knowing that her true anatomy is far closer to them than it is to humans. Pia is cautiously sprinkling the salt into the tub as he speaks. "I think that's enough, P. You want me to test it first?"

"They're our closest relative you stupid fuckin' bug!" Pia snaps back. "And yeah, please. Just like, I dunno, put your hand in or something. Make sure it isn't acid."

"I know! You're little dolphinoid freaks of nature. Why'd you think I call you a fish? And for your information, Fairies are not bugs," Jungkook shrieks back, the shouting match silent to those outside the room thanks to Jungkook's enchantments. Still, he walks over and runs his hand through the tepid water. He makes figure eights in the tub, and says, "Try adding a little warm water. I know the sea isn't that warm, but it's nice. A warm bath is nice. And it's not acid. You're fine."

"Dolphins are mammals!" Pia corrects him, face contorted with repulsion from his sheer stupidity. "And fine, you're a stupid fuckin' bird, instead. And hot water is a stupid idea. Stupid."

Hooking a leg over the bath, Pia plonks herself down. Sits right in the middle, legs crossed, back straight. That is one thing she enjoys about legs; how many ways she can contort herself to fit in different spaces. The shirt saturates with water, and Jungkook just stares at her is disbelief. Thinks that maybe nakedness would have been better.

"Well that's just stupid isn't it?" Jungkook replies softly now, as a sense of calm washes over Pia's features. The pent up anger and stress that she's been venting seems to simmer into the water like blossom petals fall during spring. She takes a deep breath, eyes closed, and Jungkook knows the fight is up. He's tender as he says, "If anything, we're closer to butterflies. Birds squawk too much."

With a smile, Pia just tips her serene head back and hums, "You are aware you also squawk too much, right?"

He could argue. Could bicker. Instead, he just says, "Yeah. I'm aware."

In all reality, Jungkook doesn't think he squawks at all. He just realises how at peace Pia seems right now. He isn't gonna take it for granted.

"I've missed this," she sighs, letting her body sink down into the water, legs stretching out. They bend at the knee, so she can submerge her head beneath water, and Jungkook is taken back by how calm it all feels, now.

Then tension in the room—the tension between them—all seems to mellow out.

He doesn't know how long she stays under for. All he knows is that he keeps a steady gaze on the perfectly still surface of the water for the entirety of it. He's not sure why.

A slight breeze tickles at the curtain by the window, and knocks some of Jungkook's hair from behind his ear. He lets it fall in front of his eyes, and still keeps his focus on the water. On her.

She adjusts her legs. Sinks her body down the length of the tub and hooks her knees over the edge. He wonders if it hurts. Not the position, as such, but the lack of a tail.

Reaching to his back, he lightly massages the tops of his shoulder blades, fingers digging into the muscle. His wings have been concealed for so long he worries that he might have done permanent damage. Crushed and crumpled, they've been confined for aeons, it feels like.

The small respite of pressure against his back is enough for now. Closing his eyes, Jungkook eases into the sensation just like Pia had done with the bath water. It's not the same, but it's something—and after so long of nothing, it's so nice to just feel anything at all.

One of his eyes cracks open when the sound of bathwater sloshing echoes around the room, as Pia adjusts in the tub. He half expects her to still be submerged, but she's not. Hands on the side of the bath, her chin rests on her knuckles as she studies Jungkook. Her golden eyes bathe him in a light he can't escape. To be looked at by Pia is to be seen.

"It's your wings, isn't it?" She quietly asks, dark hair wet against her skin, Jungkook's shirt sticking to her shoulders.

Though for a second his arm remains stuck like a statue, Jungkook's hand eventually falls back down to his lap. Weakness is not something he enjoys showing, let alone in the company of someone he's hardwired to hate.

And yet he says, "Yeah. Ever since I got in that bust up with Scythe." He shakes his head. Laughs with very little humour. "S'like I'm being punished for it."

Silence surrounds them.

The waves are still crashing in the distance. The tap is still dripping, as is Pia's hair. They're both breathing.

And yet silence really does surround them.

See, Jungkook's magic is not a fine art. It is clumsy and it is careless. It's driven by emotion; by the stars. He puts walls of silence around him near constantly because there's no one he can truly trust. Pia's always been caged in this way with him—but the outside world has never been locked out like this before.

He doesn't mean for it to happen. In fact, he doesn't even realise it's happening at all.

Just like Pia didn't mean to verbalise all those silly little thoughts earlier.

"You fairies," Pia hums with a slight fondness. "So square. Can't even defend yourself without being reprimanded for it."

Jungkook's smile is tepid.

"I don't—" he begins, but isn't sure. Pia is silent, leaving the space open for him, and so he continues. "I don't really heal in the way most fairies do."

"I know."

"How could you possibly know?"

"Your cheek," Pia shrugs, before deciding that the space between them is too large for a conversation that makes the air around them so thin.

There's something unreadable about Jungkook as he watches Pia get to her feet, water dripping from every edge and curve of her body. The white shirt clings to her skin, translucent and leaving nothing to the imagination.

He doesn't even try to stop himself from looking at her.

She doesn't mind.

"There's a scar," she states, walking towards him, leaving footprints in her wake on the flooring beneath her. She's sopping wet but has no care nor regard for it. This is the closest she's been to her natural state in weeks.

And Jungkook finally gets it.

Understands why so many men fall victim to women like her, 'cause in another lifetime, he could imagine himself doing the same.

In front of him now, Pia places the pad of her index finger beneath Jungkook's chin. Tilts head. Positions his small scar so that she can observe it. "Fairies shouldn't scar."

He shakes his head. No. They shouldn't.

"Stars aren't so forgiving," Jungkook quietly tells her. "I don't heal in the same way as the others, 'cause there's stardust in my blood. It fuckin' —I dunno—sprints to the wound. Packs itself in. Stops any blood from escaping, but also prevents any meaningful healing. Double edged sword."

"So if your wings are damaged..."

"Then my wings are damaged, Pia."

"So show me," she whispers. "While the damage is still fresh. I might be—"

"You can't help."

"I could try," she sharply replies but there's an ache to her tone. She thought that they were beyond this; that he doesn't need to be on the defensive all the bloody time. They're on the same damn team. And so she insists, "You're hurt, Jungkook. Let me help you."

He wants to say no.

And yet his arm lifts, offering up the wrist wrapped in a concealment charm.

"You ever taken one of these off before?"

In all reality, Pia has dabbled in very little magic beyond her own. Doesn't really think it can be too hard—it's just a bracelet, after all—but knows how vital this is to Jungkook's entire operation. She can't afford to fuck this up.

"Talk me through it," she offers, as she gently brings her hands up to softly clasp his wrist. Her long nails tickle against his skin, the tenderness of her touch entirely out of character.

He swallows the lump in his throat. Says, "Okay."

Her touch is cold, but it makes Jungkook feel all warm. He doesn't understand it, but puts it down to some kind of warning signal embedded in their species. An indicator to stay away from one another.

If she notices it too, she doesn't mention it, which he's thankful for.

"The knots can't be undone, not until the charm expires," he says, nodding towards the red string. "But they can be loosened just enough for me to slip it off."

She glances up to his eyes, as if to question why. Somehow, he knows exactly what she's thinking.

"Failsafe," he fills the space her silence leaves. "Just in case it all went tits up."

She nods. Understands, to a degree. Doesn't have the luxury of a failsafe. Wishes she did.

Her nails are sharp enough to dig beneath the tightly knotted strands, loosening them ever so slightly.

"Careful," he quietly mumbles. "Not too loose."

Despite her innate need to retaliate, Pia just nods. Moves her focus from the knots to the lengths of string instead. Pulls on them, taking leverage of the limp ties to widen the circumference. Studies Jungkook's tattooed hand to assess if the string could pass over it.

She clasps his fingers together. Streamlines them. Hesitates. "You sure?"

Jungkook shakes his head. The sun setting over the horizon paints him in the most glorious clementine hue, and there's a sweetness reserved for the ripest of fruits in his eyes when he looks at her. Nervously, he laughs. Admits, "No."

Though she can sympathise, Pia knows he needs to check on his wings. He's been wincing ever since leaving the tavern.

"I'm scared," he confesses without meaning to. Realises how vulnerable he's being, so tries to explain himself. Rambles. "It's just, I haven't seen them in months. It's gonna hurt regardless, yanno? Unfurling them after so long. And then, if they're cracked—and let's face it, it fuckin' feels like they are—then who knows what damage I could be doing by moving them."

"But who knows what damage you could be doing by keeping them sealed? What if the damage goes right down to your heart? Huh? Could kill yourself before you even get to your sister," Pia poutily fights against him. "Don't be stupid."

Months. He's been working on this for months. Is so close to getting his little sister back home. Fucking up this close to the finish line is the most catastrophic he's done to date.

And so he bites back a retort and accepts her words for what they are: the truth.

"Just—" his words get stuck in his throat. "Look, Pia, this is really gonna fuckin' hurt. I don't know how my body is gonna deal with it all."

"Okay," she shrugs. "And?"

"And, I just... Just don't get too close, alright?"

"Are you taking it off, or am I?" She simply asks, ignoring his request. Is pleased she isn't being banished to the bathroom. Is morbidly curious about the process.

He doesn't verbalise a response. Instead, he holds his wrist out for her. Nods.

"Please," Jungkook says—except he doesn't. His lips are sealed.

But his voice is in her head.

Just like hers had been in his, without her even realising it.

She tilts her own head, curiously stating, "This is new."

Except she's silent too. Her voice is in his head.

Jungkook's lips twitch in the corner, fighting a smirk. "Well, I'll be damned."

It isn't new at all. In fact, it's incredibly old magic. Devised in the time of war, the most powerful families of the three realms — earth, ocean, and skies — developed a way to communicate remotely. It kept the peace. Kept wizards, sirens, and fairies comfortably apart, but allowed them to work together if needs be. Unused for decades, it's a gift held only by the direct descendants of leaders.

While their eyes gave away what they were when they first met, this gives away exactly who they are.

"Is it, Thelxiepeia?"

Pia's tongue runs along the inside of cheek as she knocks her head to the side. Nobody ever calls her that, except her father. Jungkook shouldn't know her name.

But he knows the legends. Knows the lore. Has heard about her and her sisters. Has always wondered if she was one of them, but when he heard her thoughts earlier, he knew she must've been.

Perhaps it was the safety fostered between them, or the indulgence in salted water that sparked it.

Whatever it was, he knew he had to test the theory out.

Used to use it as a way to communicate with his sister, but she went quiet on him once she hit fourteen. He sends out messages that are ignored, almost daily. He imagines she's too weak now to respond, even if she wanted to.

Knowing Pia can hear him makes him wanna fuckin' cry, 'cause it means that maybe his sister can hear him too. Not all hope is lost.

"It's like being back with my dad," she tells him, once more silently.

"That how you get your legs, huh?" he deflects, in a deliberate attempt to slow down the inevitable reveal of his wings to her. "Take after your daddy?"

The daughter of a river god and a singing muse, she and her sisters admittedly inherited many traits from her parents, but her fathers shapeshifting abilities was not one of those. She shakes her head.

"I'll tell you how I got my legs once we've checked your wings," she promises, then decides to give him a taste of his own medicine. He might have worked out her lineage, but she's no stranger to the history their families share. "Don't be a coward, Jeon."

It's his turn to run his tongue along his cheek, now. His family name. Just proves she knows as much about him as he does about her.

He speaks aloud when he says, "This is so fucked up."

Pia laughs, now. Also speaks aloud when she says, "Yeah. Now check your damn wings, Kook."

The juxtaposition from his family name to a term of endearment is confusing, to say the least. Suggests nobody knows him quite as intimately as she does, but she doesn't know him at all. Not really.

Yet her golden eyes sink into his soul as he pushes the concealment charm over his hand, as if he needs her gaze to stay controlled, or something stupid like that.

There's silence. Nothing.

Jungkook looks at her.

She looks at him.

And then it's as if an electrical pulse shoots through his body; scorching his muscles, contorting him in the most violent of ways.

"Fuck," he curses, but it's all internal. Just in her head. In the midst of his pain, he's silent, save for the way he yells inside her head. He twists away from her, a veil of sweat shining over his body as he pants and tries to control himself through the shooting pains.

Riddled in discomfort, it feels as if his wings are being pulled from his spine and through his thick skin.

In a way, they are.

They've been concealed for so long that a layer of skin has grown above them, like the chrysalis of a butterfly. Torn apart before it's ready, Jungkook's wings are splitting his own body open, in a way.

"It fucking hurts," he whimpers inside her head. "Pia, it really fuckin hurts."

His hands ball at the bed sheets, body tense as he can do little else but ride out the torture.

"Push through it," she says aloud. "C'mon Kook. You're nearly there."

Right on cue, his wings begin to fully push through the split skin.

Pia isn't sure what she'd been expecting, all that she knows is that it hadn't been this.

The wings tearing through his honey skin are dark. Black, almost, with a sheen in the light that matches his brilliant blue eyes.

Never before has she seen wings so dark. So brilliant. So bold.

As they unfurl, dust spills from them like a knocked jar of salt. It smudges on his skin, his heart beating faster than she's ever seen, stomach tensing and contracting from the sensation.

And as his body limply, pathetically, allows his wings to dominate over it, Pia is overcome with anguish when she notices the frayed edges of his shield.

A crack runs through one of his wings like a tear in a child's favourite book, or a splinter in painstaking crafted stained glass. His silvery dust clings to the edges of the tear, doing exactly as Jungkook said it would; stems the injury, but doesn't let it heal.

"Kook."

"Outta my head," he pants, sniffing back a sob of pain. He's too vulnerable right now to deal with her being inside his brain. He's exposed, and he's emotional. Two things he hates.

The torn skin disintegrates into stardust around him. It's like a star has crash landed right here in this very room.

He tips his head back. Rolls his shoulders, eyes closed as he tries to get used to the feeling. Like a chipped tooth, or brain freeze after a midsummer sundae, the sensation is uncomfortable. He knows he's cracked a wing. Knows it's bad.

When he opens his eyes, he doesn't look at Pia. Just stares straight ahead. Rubs across his face with an open palm. Sniffs. Says, "How bad?"

Pia takes a second to gather a response.

Still sitting on the bed, Jungkook's elbows are on his knees, head sinking to his hands.

From the top of his spine, the most curious pair of wings Pia has ever seen reside.

His upper wings are bulky. Robust. Thick black veins sprawl outwards, thin veils of membrane connecting them all together. Black and blue, they're coated in a silver shimmer that she knows must be stardust. They're almost feathery in the way there's no certain edge - spirals and off shoots hanging loose from the apex of his wings.

His lower wings are much the same, just smaller and more streamlined. They finish just above his hipbones, unlike his large upper wings that tower well above his head like some kind of omen; the heavy burden of his position in the world.

The crack that splinters through his wing looks like a lightning strike. It follows no natural line of his anatomy. The length of a small map, or a large book, it's treatable. Not a death sentence.

"Pia?" He turns to face her, lips tightly shut, gaze stern. "How bad?"

"Noticeable," she admits, coming to stand in front of him to get a closer look. "But manageable."

The dust gathering by the crack needs to be brushed off. They both know this.

"Can I?" She asks without clarifying.

"Just be gentle," Jungkook nods. "I feel it all."

Nodding, Pia is careful as she stands beside him, reaching up to his wing. As soon as her fingertips make contact, he hisses, grabbing onto her hip as if to tell her to stop.

"Hey," she whispers. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."

And so he nods. Grits his teeth through the pain of the dusting.

"Just a little more," she assures him, breaking up the crusty clumps of dust. It scatters on the sheets behind him, leaving a shimmering mess for them to clean up later. Better on the cotton than on him, though.

His hand is still on her hip. He tightens it every now and again when the pain sears through his body, but as Pia reaches the end of her dusting, it eases. Strokes. Thanks, almost.

"There," she gently tells him, brushing the dust on her hand off on the shirt she's wearing. It doesn't really help. There's a sheen to her skin, now. A sparkle. A stain. "Any better?"

The crack is far less intimidating now the dust is gone. It'll build back up again, but it won't matter. He'll be home in a couple of days. Will be able to dust it off whenever. Or at least, one of the girls constantly vying for his attention will offer to do it for him, and he'll let them.

None of them will be as gentle nor as thorough as Pia. None of them will hear his thoughts or soothe his woes. But they'll do the job.

Rolling his shoulders back, he drops his grip on her hip. Flexes the muscles that propel his wings. Lets them flick back and forth. Winces. Says, "Fuck."

"Good fuck or bad fuck?"

Jungkook smiles when he looks at her, his eyes a little stormy. She notices now that the brilliant blue she's so used to seeing is slightly darker; tiny black flecks sprinkled throughout his irises. They mimic his wings. Make him seem stronger. Bolder. More intimidating.

Pia finds herself holding her breath, as if she's suddenly scared he'll hear her breathe, or something ridiculous like that. Why she cares about his opinion is beyond her.

It's just seeing him like this—like he really is crafted from magic—makes him feel far more real. She's always known he was a fairy, but he's also presented like a human, save for his eyes. He's different now.

She wonders what he'll think of her when he sees her tail. If he ever sees her tail.

"Bit of both," he concedes. Keeps rolling his shoulders, getting used to the sensation again.

"You gonna leave the concealment off for tonight?" She asks. "Give them a little room to breathe?"

Jungkook purses his lips. Looks out of the window, the sun nearly completely gone, save for a faint orange line above the gentle waves. Wishes, more than anything, for the chance to fly. Gets exactly why Pia is so desperate for the sea, for he's now reminded of how desperate he is for the sky.

"I won't tell anyone," Pia promises, inherently understanding Jungkook's longing without needing him to verbalise a single thing. "You said we could go to the beach tomorrow, right? That's for me. You can go out tonight for you."

He just shakes his head. "Too dangerous."

"Even at night?"

"Probably even more so," he sighs, getting to his feet to stand by the window. His wings ebb in the air, dust sprinkling to the floor as he moves. There isn't normally this much, there's just been a build up, given how long he's been concealed for. Palms flat against the window sill, Jungkook takes in the view. Says, "Couple more days, Pia. Then it'll all be done. I'll go back to the forest and you'll..."

"Yeah," she offers, filling the space left empty by Jungkook. She stands beside him. Tucks herself infront of his wing. Rests her elbows on the window ledge, skin shimmering thanks to Jungkook. "Couple more days."

Jungkook presses his lips together. "When dawn breaks, we'll go to the beach—but I mean it, Pia. No funny business."

The smile on her face and the glint in her darling golden eyes are indicators that there's no front up. She really is just happy. She goes to thank him, then stops herself. Just says, "No funny business."

By the time morning comes, Pia has fashioned herself a much shorter dress using the underskirt of her bulky formal wear. Her hair is loose, tumbling around her shoulders, and her smile is impossible to break.

No matter how mean Jungkook is, nor how sarcastic his remarks are, she remains elated as they head down the narrow cliffside path towards her home.

"I'm gonna swim," she assures him. "You can't stop me—but I will come back. I owe it to your sister."

She owes nothing to a girl she's never met.

What she means to say is I want to help you, but that's a kindness she doesn't care to verbalise. Not after how much she helped him the night before.

Red string once more tightened around his wrist, Jungkook had let his wings breath overnight, just like Pia suggested. The re-concealment process this morning was far less painful than what the fuck happened last night. Was easy, even if a little sad.

As soon Pia's bare feet touch the sand she feels like she'll melt. Jungkook could call her any name under the sun, and she wouldn't be able to respond with anything other than a giggle.

"We've probably got an hour or so until people start coming down to the shores," Jungkook supposes. "It doesn't, like, appear, does it? That tail?"

Despite her elation, the reminder of her reality dampens her smile.

"No," she admits, slowing in her steps. Jungkook carries on but gradually slows to a halt too. Turning to face her, he cocks his head, his baby blue eyes mimicking the gently waving shore behind him. The concept of home is a funny thing; the way she can see it in his gaze is even more so. "This was a stupid idea. Look, let's just—"

"Shut up," he scowls, but it isn't harsh. He just thinks she's the one being stupid. Reaching out, he holds his hand open for her to take—and when she doesn't take it, he reaches even further and grabs it regardless. Pulling her along the beach, Jungkook doesn't have time for her nonsense. "You need your strength back."

"Jungkook—"

"I don't wanna hear it," he laughs, and drops the basket he'd been carrying with him to the sand below. It lands with a thud, but Jungkook doesn't care for it. He's too busy tossing Pia over his shoulder.

"Kook—" She shrieks, but it's no use. He's got her folded over his shoulder, the strength in his back from all the flying really coming in clutch.

"You're going in the water whether you like it or not, you slimy little fish," Jungkook tells her. There's a smile on his face. She can hear it in the way he talks.

There's also a strength to his grip as he carries her right to the lapping waves before setting her down. He'll get close, but he won't step foot in the water. The edges of the ocean reach within touching distance. It's like even the water itself is flirting with him.

Pia stands beside him. Doesn't enter the water. Just looks out across the vast expanse and contemplates what on earth she's doing.

She can go. She can get in the water and swim home. She can lure three more souls to the rocks. She can get her tail back and never see Jungkook again.

Her hesitation is noted by Jungkook. He took her to the water's edge, but he was never gonna force her in. He thinks it's important that she's making her own choices. That she's doing this because she chooses to, not because he forces her to.

He doesn't want to be living his reality any more than she does.

They're on the same boat in foreign shores. Are both navigating unknown waters.

"What's wrong, huh?" He silently asks, nudging against her shoulder with his.

In the early morning sun, the waves glisten. They're tepid and shallow, just like Pia's confidence in herself lately. She's been masking it well.

"Y'know what I was always known for?" She quizzes him, knowing that he wouldn't have a clue about her life before him. Or at least nothing of any substance. He knows of her family, that's much is certain. But he doesn't know her. Not really.

"Murder?"

Pia rolls her eyes with a smile. "The opposite, actually. Look, but don't touch. Play, don't prey. Me and my sisters... we'd find the most ridiculous ways to keep fishing boats out of our shores."

Jungkook doesn't say anything. Wants her to continue. Knows that honesty is a rarity when it comes to her kind. She could be lying right now, for all he knows. Trusts to believe her regardless.

"Spent the summer fucking around with this boat from the mainland. Selenelion, the boat was called." She laughs, but she doesn't smile. She shakes her head, instead. Dismisses her memories of a captain who indulged in her mischief a little too much. One of whom she gave up everything for. "Anyways, it all got a bit out of hand."

"How so?"

"Sirens might be good liars, but humans? God, humans... Oh, Pia, I wish we could be together. It only hurts this much because it's love. Imagine the life we could live if you were human... If only, if only, if only..." She mimics the man she hasn't thought about since she met Jungkook—not for any heartfelt reason, but simply just because she's always distracted by trying to figure out how his kind works. "I made a deal with a sea witch. Three souls and she'd give me legs."

It doesn't take a genius to work out that Pia went against her better judgment. Did things she swore she never would.

"I pretended the first one was an accident," she sheepishly admits. "My sisters were horrified. God, it was awful. Might be their soul you're taking, but god it takes a little bit of yours too."

"And the second?"

"Was impossible to pretend like I'd made the same mistake twice."

The waves had been particularly stormy that night. The fight with her sisters had raged on. Capsized a small fishing boat near the rocks before they could talk any sense into her. Three souls were taken and given as a result of Pia's actions. Her deal was done.

"They disowned me, because of course they did. Stupidly, I thought it wouldn't matter. I had legs, now. We could be together."

She casts her eyes to the sand. Shakes her head. Doesn't even know how to continue. Has never shared this story before. It weighs on her shoulders. Pushes her down into the sand. Quick, quick, quick, and then she's drowning. Impossible for a siren, and yet it feels entirely real.

"Turns out," she sighs, hesitantly continuing. "Apparently murder is not a turn on for most people."

"No?" He half laughs.

"No," she humours him. "I knew which house along the coastline was his, 'cause he'd watch me sometimes from the window. As soon as I got legs, I sprinted over there—I'm quite a good runner, yanno. Anyway, you know me. You know how much I hate clothes. I didn't even really realise I needed them. Turned up at his door completely naked, expecting to be welcomed in with open arms."

"For the love of dust," Jungkook laughs, shaking his head. "Hope the neighbours didn't see you."

"I'm not sure—but you know who did see me?"

"Who?"

"His wife."

The humour between them dies a pretty gnarly death. Jungkook winces. Asks, "And I'm guessing..."

"No," Pia admits. "I didn't know. Apparently, humans wear rings? To signify it? I dunno. I never realised. Anyway, she answered the door, I asked where he was and obviously told her the fantastic news that we were going to be in love and live together forever now that I had fuckin' legs—only for him to come running from another room, denying any knowledge of me."

It's mortifying to think of. Even if Pia doesn't really get the societal norms for humans, she knows just how terrible it really was. Feels her entire body flush with shame as she recounts it. Can still remember the way his cheeks flamed as called her a 'lunatic', and how the colour drained from him when Pia explained what she'd done to be with him. How he'd told his wife to call an ambulance, and how it seems like Pia was going through a mental breakdown, whatever that means.

Jungkook's jaw is tense as she shakes his head. Humans are rotten when they want to be. Lie even more so than sirens.

"Ouch."

"Yeah," Pia nods. "And so I made a new deal. A Hundred souls, and I get my tail back."

"Bit of a rip off," Jungkook muses, because he doesn't have the brain power to unpack what he's just been told. "Three for legs, a hundred for a tail? You've been swindled."

"Far easier to prey on the hopeless than the hopeful. Without my tail, I have nothing."

"Pia, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard—"

"Yeah, well what are you without your wings?" She snaps, knowing that Jungkook didn't mean it like that, but arguing with him 'cause it's far easier than dealing with his kindness.

He turns his head. Looks at her. Waits for her to look back, and though she takes a few seconds, she eventually does. Of course she does.

Jungkook keeps his voice internal. Silently says, "I'm still me. You've seen me with and without wings. You tell me what I am without mine. Tell me I'm nothing."

Pia narrows her eyes. Knows he's got a point, so instead just replies, "You're equally annoying on both counts."

Stepping forward, she lets the water tickle at her toes. Knows just how relieved Jungkook was to reveal his wings the night before. Knows that she'll feel a little something like that once she's submerged. Pulling the dress over her head, she tosses it down where the sand meets the sea. Gets inside his head again just to say, "Credit where it's due, Kook—you're kinda hotter with wings."

"What the fuck?" Jungkook almost chokes, very much out loud, as Pia descends into the water—but no matter how far she swims, his voice will always be able to echo in her head. "Having a crush on a fairy is so embarrassing for you."

"It's not a crush, just an observation."

"An observation of a crush."

"Shut up, bug."

"Fish."

"Fuck you."

"No, because apparently you'd like that—"

"How do we switch this thing off?"

"No idea."

"Fuck off. Let me swim in peace."

And yet when she finds herself alone with her thoughts, Pia can't seem to help but miss his intrusion. There's comfort in routine, and Jungkook has become that. She misses him. Yearns for the shore. Wants him to see the way she swims. Hopes that he'd be impressed.

It's how she finds herself back at the shore not even five minutes later. She's starving. Not for food, or for air, or for anything useful, but for his attention.

It's all rather troubling.

Casually reclining back on his elbows, legs out straight in front of him but crossed at the ankles, Jungkook doesn't look half bad on a beach—for a fairy.

Buttons undone down to his ribs, the chains around his neck glisten in the midday sun. They lay flat to his chest like a frame around art, but Pia knows better than to let her eyes linger. In this light, the brown discs hiding his brilliant blue eyes falter ever so slightly. Let a little bit of his truth peek through.

It's odd, Pia thinks, how the brown eyes that had once made her swoon now irritate her.

She's always had a certain affection for humans. How simple they are. Easy. Uncomplicated.

Jungkook is anything but those things. He's confusing, and complex. Hard to understand.

But she's a creature of the ocean. Would much rather look at a vast expanse of water than acres of muddy dirt. It's so simple in comparison.

She supposes his blue just reminds her of home.

"Sea water helps, huh?" Jungkook hums, as if he doesn't already know it to be true.

Pia is almost reluctant to admit it. Her arms gracefully fold over themselves as she rests where the shore meets the sea. On her front, her bare skin is against the sand just as it should be.

Resting her pointed chin on her forearm, she gives him a coy smile.

"You should join me," she toys, knowing he never will. The waves lap up and over curves of her lower body; legs where he knows there should be a tail.

"Hm, so you can drown me?" he toys right back. "I'll pass."

"You're no fun, twinkle toes."

"Don't call me that."

"Scythe calls you that."

The flirt is suddenly tense. Pia is pushing boundaries. Digging for information. Trying to scope Jungkook out.

Or maybe she's just trying to get to know him better. She learned a lot about him last night. His true form. His lineage. Just how connected the pair of them are, despite their notable differences. Perhaps there's no ulterior motive.

Jungkook finds that he'd much prefer it if that were true.

That's the trouble with sirens, mind you. Truth isn't their strong suit. He knows better to indulge in a game of trivial pursuit with her.

"You think I wanna be thinking about Scythe right now?" He teasingly replies, trying to mellow the cold shoulder that's interrupting the sun beating down on him.

Pia shrugs, her golden eyes far more sultry than they should be at a time like this. It's not hard to tell he doesn't want to divulge information about himself, and in any other circumstance, she'd just use entanglement to get the answers she wants.

But Jungkook's a fairy. She can't entangle him. Can't drag him to the ocean floor.

She repositions herself. Curves her back as she rests on her elbows, her chest exposed in such a way Jungkook knows he really shouldn't look—and yet his lips soften into a smirk, eyes raking down her body.

Sirens really aren't all that different from fairies. With a pair of wings, Pia would be able to fool Jungkook into thinking she really was one of them. Her body curves like the girls from back home. Even more so, in fact.

"Well, what are you thinking about?" She simpers, tilting her head ever so slightly. Butter wouldn't melt on a tongue like hers.

Jungkook's never given her tongue much thought before, yet he finds his tongue stroking across his bottom lip, now. He shakes his head with a short laugh, and reclines on to his back, eyes to the sky before he closes them. He chooses to ignore the knot that's tying itself in his stomach.

"Go drown," he replies in good humour.

"It's no fun playing with myself," she assures him with a pout he can't see but he can hear. "Join me."

"You're meant to be getting strength back, Pia, not using it up," he reminds her, folding his arms over his chest as the sun beats down on him. He adores the way it feels, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious about what it could feel like to be submerged in water.

"You can be my test subject."

"Shut your mouth, Pia. Go for a swim, or whatever it is you weird little fish do."

"Suit yourself... twinkle toes," her voice echoes in his mind, reminding him that just 'cause she shuts her mouth doesn't mean she'll shut up.

And quite confusingly, Jungkook finds himself pleased with this fact.

"Later. Get your strength back, then I'll be your test subject. Just don't try and drown me, and we'll be fine."

As she glides through the water, Pia smiles. Feels her heart race in a way it hasn't done for quite some time. This is bad—and yet it feels so fuckin' good.

"No promises."

a/n: hellooooooo. sorry sorry sorry for the delay!!! life has been crazy busy, and this story has also developed a life of it's own. there's so much lore?? that even I wasn't aware of??? just kind came outta nowhere??? my bad lol

1 more chapter, then the epilogue! next chapter is half-written, so will hopefully be ready soonish --- but pls know I go on vacation, move countries, and start my masters all within the next four weeks so I'm not really rich in time atm!! I'll try and be speedy tho!!! 'cause I'm very clear on what happens in the next chapter!! 

okay that's all, hope u enjoyed, byeeee <3