Chapter 30

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When the doorbell rang Jungkook felt like he had only just fallen asleep. One glance at the clock displaying 3 am made that assumption pretty plausible. It had been quite late when Jimin had taken Taehyung to go swimming and Yoongi had left for their hotel. It had been around 2 am when Jungkook had made it to bed, admittedly assuming that Taehyung would be away all night.

So it was quite surprising when he opened the door and it was indeed Taehyung who was standing there, his hair pretty wet and the t-shirt he was wearing with wet patches all over. Jungkook felt cold just from looking at him, but as usual Taehyung didn't seem to care much about the temperature.

Jungkook yawned. "Come in. Didn't expect you back so soon. Did you have fun with Jimin?"

Taehyung nodded as he moved past him and once again Jungkook was surprised about how little Taehyung seemed to care about their proximity now. A few weeks ago he would have taken that one step to the side to get at least half a meter between him and Jungkook but now he almost brushed him as he squeezed through the door, rubbing his wet head of hair and sending drops of water flying all over the floor. Jungkook stared at it wondering if maybe he should have gotten something to wipe them away just to make sure they wouldn't leave marks, but he was too tired and it wasn't going to do much damage... probably.

"Wanna dry off and then go to sleep?" Jungkook yawned again. God he was tired. He just wanted to get back into his bed, because it was freezing cold outside of it right now. Not really, but it certainly felt like it.

But of course, Taehyung didn't play along with his plans. Instead he shook his head, moving towards the kitchen. Since he wanted to know what stopped Taehyung from going to sleep like any sane person would have done at 3 am, he followed him. But Taehyung didn't stay in the kitchen for long. He just moved to one of the drawers, pulled something out of it, before walking back out of the kitchen, right past Jungkook.

Salt. Taehyung had gotten the salt. Wow. Jungkook couldn't help snorting. So that's what was going on. When they had been cooking today, he had been kind of confused by how entranced Taehyung had stared at the salt. But yeah, that made sense.

He followed Taehyung to his destination. Like Jungkook had expected, the bathroom. He watched as Taehyung turned on the faucet, before slipping out of his clothes. Jungkook tried not to let his gaze linger anywhere but the back of Taehyung's head as he started adding the salt to the bathtub. It seemed like Taehyung was in the mood for a hot bath, because the water seemed to be almost steaming in the somewhat cold air of the apartment.

Jungkook could have left and just gone to bed, but for some reason he couldn't get himself too. Maybe it was the impact of Jimin's words. The ones that had been the reason he'd only been able to fall asleep at 2am. Did he want Taehyung to come back? He had no idea. A month ago the answer would have been easy. Of course Jungkook would have wanted the siren to leave.

Yeah sure they had had some nice moments, but he would have gotten rid of Taehyung at the first chance he got. But now... he wasn't as sure anymore. Not when he watched Taehyung step into the bathtub scrunching up his nose at the heat, but still proceeding to sit down. Not after everything Jimin had told him. Not now that he was starting to notice that Taehyung really was trying to make him more comfortable.

Jungkook had been aware of the fact that he had started liking Taehyung. He wasn't all bad and for some reason showing Taehyung how to do human things was actually really fun. Jungkook didn't like the idea of throwing all that away.

He had no idea what to do. Keep himself safe and tell Taehyung to stay away, or risk his life and maybe he'd actually get to know Taehyung. Not just as something scary, but as a person. Jungkook knew that Taehyung was more than just a threat. He saw it in the way Taehyung interacted with Jimin and even Yoongi, although he was a little stiff with Yoongi. Hell even in the way Taehyung interacted with Jungkook.

What was he going to do? Jungkook sighed as he sat down on the floor. He really had no clue how to make this decision. The logical thing to do was to tell Taehyung to never come back, but since when did he act on logic?

"How was it having your brother over?" He watched as Taehyung slid deeper into the tub, until the water was covering all of his neck. Jungkook was surprised that Taehyung hadn't shifted yet. His hands had turned into claws and his eyes had grown that dull gray color again, but his legs were still the same. The usual pale shade of almost white. Usually all of his body would have taken the familiar form by now. But at least Jungkook didn't have to add that second tub to make sure Taehyung's tail was in warm water too.

For a while Taehyung didn't answer. Just closed his eyes and Jungkook ended up admiring his long lashes for the second time that day. He had to because if he had let his eyes wander down a little lower, he would have stared straight at Taehyung's dick. An impressive dick, but Jungkook really didn't want to do that.

"I liked it." Taehyung finally opened his mouth, his ears still submerged under the water, hair floating around his face and framing it perfectly. There was no other way to describe it but to say that Taehyung almost seemed to glow when he was in his element.

"It must be hard, seeing him this rarely. I mean he's your brother." Jungkook muttered, folding his legs to sit more comfortably. He was still freezing. His bed seemed to call to him from the other room, but he kind of felt like talking to Taehyung after today. It had been a long day and he felt like it was pretty important.

Taehyung was going to leave soon. Jimin had told him that the way Taehyung was treating him was special... and Jungkook knew there was some truth to it. Everything had felt a little more natural when they had been cooking today. When he thought back to when he taught Taehyung how to eat with chopsticks... things sure had changed.

He realized Taehyung still hadn't answered his question. Probably because he didn't intend to answer but when he looked back at Taehyung he found the siren looked a little lost in thought.

"Taehyung?"

Taehyung lifted his eyes, almost startled, looking right at Jungkook. For a few seconds Jungkook felt that familiar pull again. The feeling of getting lost in Taehyung's eyes. A feeling he had learnt was pretty normal. He'd watched Taehyung have that exact same effect on many other people before too.

He still had no clue what the difference between him and Jimin was. Jimin was stunning but not in that distracting way. The way that made it hard to look away. Jimin was just one of the most beautiful people he had ever seen while Taehyung's appearance almost felt unsettling.

"Jimin and I haven't been close... for a while." Taehyung stated when he finally opened his mouth sounding a little hesitant. "We only met again a few years ago."

Oh... Jungkook remembered Jimin saying something like that. Admittedly at the time he hadn't really cared that much for Taehyung's deep backstory so he might have only listened halfheartedly or maybe Jimin just hadn't said much more than that.

"Why though? You two are brothers right?" Jungkook crossed his arms over his chest. Maybe he should go and turn the heater up, but by the time the apartment would have gotten warmer he probably was going to be back in his bed.

"You're cold?" Taehyung asked looking down at the way Jungkook was pressing his arms to his body to at least keep some warmth to himself. To some extent Jungkook was surprised that Taehyung even noticed. So far he hadn't exactly proven himself to be the most empathetic person. Maybe Taehyung noticed more than he was letting on or maybe he just noticed certain things. Either way Jungkook felt weirdly happy about Taehyung's question.

"Don't mind me. I'm curious about you and Jimin. How come you haven't seen him for a while?" He asked again, adjusting the way he was sitting a little. He didn't care too much about the cold, even if it was a little annoying. He would get warmer anyways as soon as he was back in bed.

But still Taehyung didn't answer. Instead he pulled his legs closer to his body nodding towards the now free end of the bathtub. "Wanna get in?"

"No." That might have only been reflex but there were a good ten reasons Jungkook could name why he really shouldn't get into a bathtub with the siren that had almost drowned him in the past.

For one, the very simple reason of it being awkward as fuck. Second, because he really didn't like touching Taehyung more than necessary and they certainly would touch a lot if he got into that bathtub with him. And even more so... typical reasons. Jungkook still felt a little iffy about being near standing water in Taehyung's presence. It just felt off and quite scary. Especially when he thought back to the nightmares he had been plagued by the first few weeks after Taehyung had almost drowned him. Compared to then he was in paradise. Taehyung had gotten way nicer since then. The fact that he offered Jungkook to join him in the bathtub showed that quite intensely even if Jungkook had a hard time taking that offer seriously. He couldn't imagine Taehyung really being serious either.

"But you're cold." Taehyung looked at him with an unreadable expression. Jungkook couldn't help the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile. Maybe he was happy Taehyung cared a little.

"It's not that bad. I just get cold when I haven't gotten enough sleep, but don't worry. I won't get sick again." Good old times. He wondered how Taehyung would take care of him now. Maybe he'd even cook something for him. Jungkook had to advert his eyes because he couldn't allow himself to laugh at the thought of Taehyung trying to navigate the kitchen on his own.

"Just get in." Taehyung shifted his weight to the side before placing his arms on the edge of the bathtub and resting his head on them. He stared right at Jungkook almost challengingly.

"I don't want to... I don't feel comfortable doing that. I'd really prefer avoiding getting into any kind of water with you, no offense." Sure, the thought wasn't as scary anymore as it had been in the beginning, but it was certainly unsettling. And why would Jungkook do that, when he could just not?

"I won't do anything... promise." Taehyung looked at him expectantly. "No pulling under water." Taehyung blinked and his eyes turned normal again. Not the distracting empty gray, but instead they had pupils again. Was... Taehyung doing that to come off less scary? It certainly wouldn't work because the scary thing about Taehyung certainly wasn't his appearance.

Still Jungkook found himself hesitating about saying no again. On one hand he really didn't know how to feel about getting into a bathtub with Taehyung, but on the other hand he'd have to make a decision about whether he wanted Taehyung to come back again soon. And maybe this could help his decision. If Taehyung did anything, Jungkook knew he wouldn't want him back. And if nothing happened, maybe that was a good sign for their friendship.

Of course, being naked was an issue too, but Jungkook didn't care too much about that and it was pretty obvious Taehyung didn't give a shit about nudeness at all. It wasn't like Jungkook was a prude virgin who had never seen a dick before and couldn't handle being near one.

He'd seen – and touched – his fair share of dicks so really... the main issue was maybe the size of the bathtub and Taehyung's terrifying habit of drowning people.

"I don't know... don't you hate body contact?" Jungkook asked, searching for an excuse he could cling onto. He knew he could say no... actually he could even just go to sleep and leave Taehyung on his own, but he kind of didn't want to do either.

Part of him really wanted to better his and Taehyung's relationship and that part was strong enough to maybe get him to step into that bathtub, but he hadn't given up on fighting yet.

"I don't mind and you're cold." Taehyung tilted his head expectantly and Jungkook sighed. Fuck this shit. He was stupid so of course he was going to do this. Get into the bathtub with the hissing creature with the very sharp claws. Great idea. Jungkook wouldn't have it any other way.

Slowly he got up, realizing that in order to get warmer he'd first have to get out of his clothes to get into the warm water. An awful thought so he tried to get it over with relatively quickly. "I swear if you hiss at me when I get in there, I won't trust a single word you say ever again." Jungkook warned and Taehyung had the audacity to chuckle. God why did this deadly siren have to look so cute when he was smiling.

Jungkook couldn't help half groaning when he felt the hot water on his legs. Luckily the bathtub was relatively spacious for a bathtub. At least they'd be able to minimize any body contact. Taehyung watched him as he sat down, careful not to kick Taehyung. He was pretty sure the siren's patience wouldn't have endured that but Taehyung didn't react badly at all. Actually he seemed pretty relaxed even when Jungkook's legs brushed against his.

Jungkook still had a hard time believing Taehyung would offer Jungkook to join him even with how little space they had. They had so many baths with Jungkook sitting by the bathtub, that now sitting inside the bathtub felt more than wrong. Seeing Taehyung stare at him with a forced normal expression.

"You don't have to change the way you look for me..." Jungkook pointed at his own eyes to underline what he was talking about. "I don't mind your eyes... and trust me if you're scary, you're scary with or without them."

For a second Jungkook watched as the corners of Taehyung's mouth twitched as if to smile, but then the siren looked away. When he looked back at Jungkook his eyes were their normal gray color again.

"Better." He tried to relax his legs, placing them on Taehyung's right side. "Is this okay with you?"

The warm water really helped shake the cold from his freezing bones, but he just hoped Taehyung would be comfortable too. To his relief the siren nodded, shifting his own legs too so they were to Jungkook's left.

Jungkook would have felt weird about constantly being in contact with Taehyung, but he was distracted when Taehyung started talking again. "Jimin... and I are quite different."

Jungkook couldn't help but laugh a little. The hot water moving around him felt so good. Maybe he was a little grateful to Taehyung for offering this.

"I noticed that."

Taehyung gave him a smile that Jungkook couldn't describe as anything but sheepish. It looked awfully cute on him. Especially when he looked at the water as if to avoid Jungkook's eyes.

"He likes humans... I don't usually." Jungkook realized that maybe this was both the first time Taehyung actually told him about something and talked. Not just broken sentences but actually talked. Maybe Jungkook could still hear some uncertainty in the way he talked... some hesitance. But it was cute and Jungkook had the strong urge to tell Taehyung that he was doing well. But then again he would probably get killed if he did that, so he simply swallowed the urge down and listened as Taehyung talked about himself for the first time.

"It's been like that for centuries. He kept going on land... and I didn't like it. We ended up going separate ways... maybe 500... a thousand years ago." Taehyung muttered playing around with the water. Jungkook watched in awe as the water almost seemed to follow Taehyung's touch as he dipped his fingers in it.

A thousand years. That was a long time... and they hadn't seen each other since? They had only met a few years ago?

"Did you really only meet again a few years ago? You didn't see each other at all?" Jungkook asked, feeling oddly sad for them. From what he had seen they had seemed so close. Protective of one another. Sweet. Very very touchy. There didn't seem to be any tenseness, but maybe they had only gotten to that point the last few years.

"I went to the bottom of the ocean. Jimin likes the surface..." Taehyung moved a little and Jungkook barely noticed that they were touching a little more now. It was just more comfortable like that.

"I started searching for him a few centuries ago... but it wasn't easy. I didn't know his habits." Taehyung sounded a little sad too. Jungkook had the strong urge to reach his hand out to rub his shoulder or just do something but he really didn't think doing that would go well right now.

"And then you found him?"

Taehyung nodded. "Few years ago. He had already bound himself to Yoongi back then."

Bound?

"What does that mean?" Jungkook found himself asking. He knew that somehow Yoongi and Jimin were connected. Otherwise Yoongi wouldn't have had the problem of not aging, but he had no clue how exactly that worked.

"You..." Taehyung hesitated. "...humans fall in love many times... I think?" Taehyung looked a little lost, maybe unsure if the knowledge he had obtained from television was true. Jungkook nodded to reassure him that yes that was the case.

"Sirens don't. They only love one person."

Jungkook had a hard time imagining that. What if that person didn't return those feelings? Wouldn't that make dating between sirens quite hard?

"You only fall in love with one person?" Even if it was hard to imagine to Jungkook, in a way that was quite romantic.

Taehyung nodded, his eyes darting to the door. Jungkook followed them to find that their cat was peeking inside, before disappearing into the hallway again. Jungkook had almost forgotten about her existence. There had been so much going on that day, that the fact that they now had a cat had completely gone over his head. He'd have to take some time to get to know her soon...

"Sirens don't marry. They bond. When they kiss the person they love, they can make the decision to connect their life to that person's..."

That sounded like straight out of a drama. "Your life?"

"If you separate a siren from their mate, they die of a broken heart." Drama indeed. This sounded like it had great pain potential for a story.

"But what if... you get forced to kiss someone? I doubt anyone could force you to do anything..." Jungkook chuckled. "...but let's say they could."

"It's a choice. A kiss alone doesn't... connect. The siren has to want to connect their life."

Jungkook nodded slowly. It was weird to talk about sirens and the way they loved because Jungkook had mostly gotten to know the scary sides of siren nature. The moments he enjoyed spending time with Taehyung, Taehyung almost seemed human.

"Have you ever been in love?" Jungkook already expected no as an answer, so he wasn't surprised when Taehyung shook his head. Either Taehyung would have had to be dead or Jungkook would have had two sirens staying at his place.

"You?" That question Jungkook hadn't expected. His mind went back to how heartbroken he had felt when Minji had broken up with him to leave town...

"I guess... maybe I have."

Jungkook found himself in bed around half an hour later, after he had helped Taehyung blow dry his hair... something he had so far avoided, but he had to make sure his bed that Taehyung now slept in wouldn't get wet. For some reason he kept thinking about Minji now. Funnily not about how he missed her.

All he could think about as he stared at Taehyung's peaceful face, was that in all the time Taehyung had been here Jungkook had practically forgotten about Minji's existence. Maybe it hadn't been love... maybe Jungkook had just been so desperate to have something, anything in his life, that having a broken heart had been the better choice over being bored.

But now with Taehyung here... his life had been anything but boring.

A/N

*whispers*
Jimin might have lied to Yoongi about the kiss connection thing happening automatically... *gasp*

I'm sorry skdbsndns Lowkey was hyped to reveal that fact. Actually Jimin never mentioned it because he didn't want to make Yoongi more anxious and he had connected his life to his anyways so what difference would it make?

How did you guys like the chapter? I might have been way too soft for these two😔💜