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You first meet Park Jimin in Ibiza; or rather meeting is the wrong word. You first see DJ Plouton in Ibiza, the strobe lighting of the club giving him a blue-ish tinge that changes to sickly green just as quick as the way his wayward tongue licks his plush lips rather seductively to the crowd.
From your viewpoint on the side, observing his performance for the night you couldn’t help but find yourself oddly enamoured with him. He seemed to have some magnetic pull that meant every eye in the large club was on him, despite the fact that it was hard to even see him properly from this far back.
His overwhelming stage presence meant the DJ set he put on was intense, the pounding beat through the speakers flowing through your body and making your heart jerk in time. The seductive music danced through the air in the club, mixed together on the spot as Jimin’s hands turn the dials and settings on his mixing table with practiced ease, one headphone pad pressed to his ear to make sure his music sounded right.
Not that it would matter to the crowd who screamed in ecstasy as they danced the night away, the vast majority drunk on alcohol while a good portion are likely drugged up too. Many of them are simply losing themselves in the music, the rhythms and flows that DJ Plouton creates, world famous and often ripping up the music charts.
It’s as you watch him blow a kiss to a girl at the front, before he winks at the guy next to her, that you realise Park Jimin has the crowd in the palm of his hand and he knows it. He’s good at his job, and his job is to make people feel good with music.
And you were here, in this overwhelming large club, trying to fend off drunk guys and girls, because he was now your job. You’d applied for a personal assistant job at the music label he was signed under, and they’d assigned you to him. The world’s most in demand DJ, and from what you’d heard he went through assistants quicker than he did underwear.
Shaking your head at the vision of musical royalty, you head towards the door that leads back stage, flashing the pass you’d been given by his manager and heading to his dressing room. Apparently, the good DJ liked a pomegranate juice drink whenever he finished a set followed by two pizzas, which seemed a little overboard to you but whatever floats his boat.
A quick call to the local pizzeria has you with three pizzas in hand, a delicious pepperoni pizza for yourself of course, and it’s as your pouring out the juice for him, really what a drink of choice, that the door slams open and you’re greeted by a melodious and light voice that is soon followed by a handsome face and body.
“Seriously Jake! Did you see that? I offered him a night he’d never forget and he turned me down. I’m the God of the Underworld and I can’t even get fucking laid. Never mind the shed loads of money I have, what’s a god gotta do to get some good sex lately? I know this face and body is bangable, I chose it specifically because I’d fuck myself if given the option so there’s no way he…oh hi.” Jimin pauses mind rant, and what a strange rant that was, before giving you a stunning smile.
It spreads wide across his face, giving you a perfect look at a row of blindingly white teeth, and gives him the happiest looking eye smile you’ve seen in a while. If it wasn’t for the fact the man had no shirt on currently and was displaying the most ridiculously chiselled body you’d seen in a while, you’d call him cute.
Striding over to you, he holds out a hand as his other runs through his neon blue hair, pushing the sweaty strands out of his face before they simply fall back. “Hi, I’m Park Jimin, also known as DJ Plouton or Hades, take your pick.”
Raising an eyebrow, you let him grip your hand as he shakes it vigorously, his touch warm yet somehow cold at the same time, causing the hair on your arms to rise for some reason.
“Hades…like the Greek god Hades? Hercules Hades?” Jimin snorts and rolls his eyes, flopping his body onto the battered sofa that’s pressed up against the wall before eagerly grabbing a piece of pizza.
“Okay firstly it’s Heracles, or if you’re being super precise Alcaeus and let me tell you, the guy as a grade A prick so he’d want you to be precise. But…yes that Hades. You know, God of the Underworld, Death and all that good stuff. A three headed dog called Cerberus, an old dude with a boat called Charon and five rivers.” He finishes with a lazy hand wave before stuffing an entire slice into his mouth at once.
You stare at him for a few seconds, face incredulous as you try to absorb what he’s just told you. This is evidently why he’s gone through so many assistants, and you wonder how many people are aware of the fact that DJ Plouton, one of the world’s hottest DJs, believes he’s an Ancient Greek god.
Shaking your head suddenly, you spin around slowly and run fingers through your hair in exasperation. “Whatever, I need the job and I need the money. I can cope with this.” You mutter to yourself before facing him again. He’s not even remotely paying attention to you, instead his succulent, thick lips are pressed to the edge of the glass as his throat works rhythmically, swallowing half the glass at once.
“So…you’re the God of the Underworld?” You push a smile onto your face and Jimin pauses, lowering the glass as he uses his arm to wipe away the liquid remaining on his lips.
Leaning back against the sofa, he gives another grin that borders on smug as he spreads his arms, his biceps flexing as he does so and his abs clenching slightly as he purposefully brings attention to himself. He knows he looks good, quite evidently. “And death, don’t forget about that.”
“Right…okay.” You’re frowning as you sit slowly onto the chair opposite him and his manager eyes you wearily, almost as if he expects you to bolt at any moment. When you’d agreed to be DJ Plouton’s assistant, you’d expected him to be sex mad, drunk and drugged up all the time but maybe this will be easier.
“You don’t sound too happy about that? Why?” Jimin queries, licking his lips of grease as his pale blue eyes narrow slightly at you in suspicion. Well, he might have an active imagination but at least he’s apparently got his wits about him.
“Well…I don’t know. I just…expected the God of Death to be a little…taller you know?” It wasn’t that he was short; he was…just not as tall as you would have expected such a powerful ‘god’ to be.
He gasps loudly and his face creases in offense, dropping his new slice of pizza on the floor, as he seems to forget all about it. If possible, his eyes are now icy, reminding you of freshly fallen snow and you puzzle over the sudden change in them. You knew someone whose hazel eyes would go green or brown depending on their mood, but his looks way cooler, literally.
But right now they’re tracking up and down your body with barely disguised disgust, his pretty mouth twisted up in a sneer. “I expected you to be a little more respectful to your boss. Have you never heard that the best things come in small packages?” He glares, baring his teeth in a mock attempt to be vicious.
Chuckling lightly, you reach for a slice of your own pizza and take a dainty bite, amused at the way his own eyes track the movement of your mouth despite his irritation.
“Maybe so, but still. I’ve never seen a Ferrari in a shoe box before you know.” You sigh and shrug, looking up at the ceiling momentarily before taking another delicious bite. You’d feel more panicked about obviously irritating your new boss, but his manager is currently trying to hold in laughter in the corner so you feel good about yourself.
Jimin hands fist themselves petulantly and he grinds his teeth together, completely unable to prevent his annoyance from flaring. Unclenching a hand, he aggressively runs his fingers through his drying hair once more, sending the vivid blue strands flying.
“Keep it up and I’ll make a special place in the Underworld for your bitch ass. I’m small but powerful you know, way more powerful than you can ever imagine. I’m not ashamed of being small either, it means that I don’t need to buy dick enhancers to supplement my tiny ego.” He smirks, obviously proud of himself for the retort.
A snicker leaves your throat as your eyes graze along his stunning body, admiring the way his thighs fill out the skinny black jeans he’s wearing. He truly is gorgeous, but you’d never in a million years let on to him now. The guy has an ego that could outsize Jupiter.
“You’re right I guess. You just need to buy shoe lifts instead.”
Jimin is silent for a long moment, his mouth opening and closing in indignation and shock as he tries desperately to find the words he needs to retaliate to that statement. His manager is almost purple as he tries desperately not to laugh out loud, pleased to have found an assistant who will finally go toe to toe with his wayward charge.
“THAT’S IT. JAKE, I WANT HER FIRED. THAT’S JUST UNNACCEPTABLE.” He yells out, standing up and pointing a finger towards her in outrage. He’s stopped in his tracks though when Jake bursts out into laughter, loud almost honking bellows as the poor man falls off his chair onto the floor. Jimin stares at him in blankly before a frown slips onto his face.
“No way Jimin, she’s the only assistant who hasn’t gone running from you. She’s staying.” Immediately Jimin’s face mouth falls into an annoyed pout, before he’s glaring at you. You’d say he was being childish, but that’s sealed when he pokes his tongue out at you.
“Ooh, real scary God of the Underworld. I’m shaking. Come on Thumbelina, finish eating so we can get you in the car to get back to the hotel. Your flight is at 8am tomorrow morning.” You point from his pizza to his face, indicating that he should finish eating so that you can get moving.
He scowls at you before leaning forward and biting at your finger, his teeth snapping only inches away from it. Looking at him incredulously, you look from your finger to his mouth and shake your head.
“I never took the God of the Underworld to be so childish.” He simply crosses his arms, making the muscles pop out even more so than normal. “And put on a shirt, god aren’t you cold or something?” You query, looking down at your phone as you leave the room.
The last thing you hear is Jimin shouting after you. “I’M THE GOD OF DEATH, I DON’T FEEL COLD. Also we’re in Ibiza in August, what’s your idea of cold you little ice princess?” The rest of his complaints vanish, as the door slams shut, leaving you to sigh so heavily your shoulders drop.
You can do this, so your boss believes he’s an ancient god. It’s fine. You’d heard weirder stuff when you were in college.
It is fine.
Two months since you became Jimin’s assistant and the strangeness has only got weirder. You wish that you could say it’s annoyed you, but in all honesty it’s slowly becoming a source of amusement to you. You’d an outright liar if you said Jimin wasn’t perhaps one of the funniest people you’d ever met, even if he was convinced he was some deity.
Jimin was beautiful, so ethereal that you sometimes wondered whether his god talk had some real relevance. Lots of guys knew they were good looking, but they were rarely as egotistical about it as Jimin, yet he never seemed to be malicious about it or use it in mean ways.
He just…knew he was hot and was genuinely confused when people didn’t agree. You’d rather die than tell him that you agreed with him on that, but telling him would simply inflate his ego from Jupiter size to sun size, so you thought it best to keep quiet.
You were currently sat on his private jet with him to Tokyo to his next stop on his tour, the dude was that loaded he had a private jet for goodness sake, and you’d had to witness him pouting for three hours at the fact that he’d only been voted the 2nd most handsome guy on Earth in one of those stupid magazine polls.
If it were anyone else, you’d have found it bizarre that they cared so much, but honestly it’s Jimin and he’ll find the strangest thing important. Someone stealing his credit card and wasting $400,000 and the guy didn’t even raise an eyebrow in annoyance, but made an idle comment about how Hades in Hercules is awesome and he’ll freak out.
“Copyright infringement I tell you! I get drunk one time with some random guy in a bar and accidentally mention that one time I had a little mid-millennia crisis in the Underworld and decided to turn my hair into fire and suddenly they use that in their next film! Ridiculous. Classic character design though so can’t fault them for that.” Had been his rant about that, leading you to simply turning the film off and putting on Tangled instead.
It was apparently Jimin’s favourite film, which he had proven by singing all the songs very loudly and giving you the Flynn smoulder.
“Jimin, are you seriously this bothered?” You can’t help but query, looking up from your iPad to find his bottom lip still stuck out petulantly as he glares out at the clouds. Before taking off, he’d taken a moment to glare up at the sky and tell Zeus to not be a dick this time, which had mildly worried you.
Turning his head towards you, you look at him for a few moments before diverting your eyes away to his hands that are currently tapping on the seat arm repeatedly. For some reason, you’ve found that it’s hard to take his direct gaze for longer than a few seconds. Something about those pale eyes causes shivers to run down your spine, not only because he’s almost inhumanely beautiful but also because it’s like he’s looking straight through you to your soul.
Silent, he just watches you before sucking in one of his cheeks, pushing his pout to one side as his eyes flicker away, considering his words. There’s a few seconds of you expecting a genuinely serious conversation from him, but that hope gets immediately dashed with his next words.
“Of course I am! How the hell did I come second. Second! Have they even looked at my face? Or my body? It’s ridiculous. Fucking Aphrodite, he can’t ever let me win.” He grumbles as his head lowers and he crosses his arm over his chest. You’re left with the striking impression that a two-year-old child perhaps possesses Jimin.
“Aphrodite? What does…oh wait. Let me guess, Kai is Aphrodite? Well…he is beautiful so I’ll roll with that.” Musing, you lift up the magazine he’s been evil eyeing the entire flight to admire the full page shot of Kai pressed up against a wall.
A deep, almost vicious sounding rumble comes from Jimin’s direction and it’s only when you glance back up that you see his face has turned stony, eyebrows drawn together as he glares at you.
Before you can even say anything, he sits forward quickly, his hands cradling together for him to rest his face in them. “I’m more attractive. He’s got an unfair advantage, being the goddess of beauty and all that bullshit. So if we remove that, then I’m officially the most attractive man on the planet.”
He sits back smugly, arms folding behind his head as a deep sigh of what sounds like relief leaves him. It’s then that you realise he’s spent the entire trip trying to rationalise to himself why this has happened and you can’t help but laugh lightly in amusement at him.
“I wish I could half your confidence Jimin, you know that? I don’t know many people so convinced they’re as good looking as you are.” Shaking your head, you take a drink of water from the bottle the flight attendant had handed you an hour ago.
“What do you mean convinced? That would imply that I thought I wasn’t at some point. Patently untrue,” He leans over and grabs the bottle from your hand, ignoring your protests as he takes a drink himself. It’s hard to ignore the way his throat works as his head tips back. “I’ve known since the moment I came into existence that my physical body is a blessing to humans.”
You’re not entirely sure how to respond to that and simply stare at him for a few minutes in stunned silence. Jimin truly isn’t a dick, he’s actually been one of the nicest people possible to you, but he definitely has a high opinion of himself.
“You…you are incredible you know that? Not only are you convinced you’re Hades, but you genuinely think you’re a gift to humanity or something don’t you?” A bemused laugh leaves your mouth involuntarily.
Jimin stares at you confused before raising his arms, white shirt stretching tight across his chest, as if indicating towards himself. “Of course I’m a gift. I’m a god, you don’t get to be this attractive if you’re human you know.”
“You know what, that statement right there might just convince me you’re a god as I think only a god could have an ego that big. You seem like the kind of person who would follow someone to the Underworld just to confirm that they think you’re hot you know?” Sighing gently, you glance back down at your iPad as you try to unpluck the packed schedule the idiots at the label had arranged.
“You’re damn right I would! Why would I deny someone these visuals? At least they can have one good memory down there…my face. I’ll even let them have that for free, no extra years added on.” His tone is matter of fact as he slouches back while his expression makes it clear that he genuinely thinks he’d be doing the so-called dead person a favour.
“What if they died to get away from your face?” The question causes said pretty face to go blank for a moment, his attractive eyes staring vacantly past you as he tries to consider the possibility before his smooth forehead creases in indignation.
“Well that’s definitely rude. To the lowest levels they go.” He scoffs, looking out of the window once more before murmuring quietly to himself. “Not find me attractive? On what planet?”
At least he was distracted now and wasn’t pouting anymore; you couldn’t help but think to yourself. He’d pulled out his phone again and was playing Candy Crush, which he still enjoyed despite the fact that surely everyone was over that game by now.
“Do you want me to book a restaurant for you in Tokyo or are you just going to eat room service?” A list of the top restaurants is shown on your screen as you scroll through them, the ratings on them so high that you have no doubt there will be no prices on the menus.
Jimin doesn’t even look up from his phone as he answers half-heartedly. “A restaurant, decide what you like and book it for us.”
Nodding, you look through the options and find a nice looking place in Minato with great reviews. Looking it over, it looks like it would offer some of the privacy that Jimin likes when he’s out and about while the food looks delicious as well. Showing him the screen, you query if he’d like this place.
Looking up, he eyes the screen for a moment before shrugging. “Do you like it?” He queries almost idly, his fingers moving over his phone once more. Frowning, you wonder why on earth he’s suddenly not bothered. Jimin likes to be involved in everything you’ve discovered, as he was very convinced that he was the centre of the world and the sun revolved around him.
“Why do I have to like it? You’re the one eating there.” He nods absentmindedly and a hand comes up to wave lazily.
“Then book it for two please.” Eyeing him, you frown as you send an email to your Japanese translator with the request for them to book the restaurant under Jimin’s name.
“Who are you going with then? Got a hot date?” Smirking at him, you expect him to start smart mouthing you as per usual but instead he looks up and gives a sincere smile.
“You.”
Anything you were going to say vanishes as your mind goes completely blank at him. You’re not even sure what you were expecting him to say, but that was most definitely not it.
“Me? Why me? Why don’t you take some hot girl?” At that he snorts, rolling his eyes at the ceiling of the jet before giving you a sardonic look. His piercing gaze causes you to hug the iPad to your chest, as if it could somehow stop him from looking into you.
“I know you’re human and all, but you’re not that stupid. No, you’re not Aphrodite level, or even Demeter, but you’re still incredibly pretty for a human girl. Not the best I’ve seen but definitely not the worst. But your soul is pure and bright and that makes you even more stunning. So yeah, that’s why I want to go with you. You’re beautiful, your personality is nice and…well you’ve stuck around. Enjoy the dinner dammit, it’s free.” By the time he finishes and looks back at his phone his cheeks are flushing slightly.
He doesn’t make any further comments though, as if he hadn’t just been both simultaneously the sweetest guy ever while still retaining his egotistical qualities.
Like you’d said before, he had a high opinion of himself but he wasn’t a dickhead about it. You’d caught him once donating money to a charity that fought to stop child soldiers and another to help sick kids. When you’d seen, he’d simply shrugged and told you that the souls of children were always the worst to sort.
It had been weird, as many of his comments often are, but you’d appreciated that despite his strange obsession with Hades, he was still a decent guy who cared no matter what he said. He just showed it in the strangest ways, like now.
Six months with Jimin had resulted in a strange relationship between the two of you. The dinner in Tokyo had been almost normal, with Jimin perhaps on his best behaviour and putting his best foot forward. He’d been sweet and kind, spending most of his time actually bothering to find out more about you.
You hadn’t been sure what to do about the whole night once it had happened, but Jimin seemed to take it as a positive as he demanded one dinner together in whatever city they went to. His manager, Jake, seemed to be ecstatic over Jimin not blowing through the city with his dick wherever they went, even though it confused you immensely that he didn’t seem to be sleeping with anybody anymore.
It confused you even more that every date felt like a date, and each day that passed Jimin seemed to act more like a boyfriend than a boss. He’d remembered your birthday and took you to see the Coliseum at night as you’d both been in Rome, before taking a walk through the Roman streets where he regaled you with whimsical stories of the Roman times that seemed oddly real.
He had his strange ways, but you still found yourself bizarrely attracted to him despite all those. He was still hilarious though, even though he didn’t intend to be which just made him even funnier.
At that very moment however you were walking into Jimin’s house to check on him. His tour had ended two weeks ago and you only seemed to have contact with him when you initiated it at the moment. It didn’t feel malicious though, despite him being stuck to his phone permanently, it seemed like he had gained temporary amnesia when it came to his assistant but whenever you did call, he’d spend hours talking to you.
His house, or rather ridiculously large apartment, was beautiful and spacious, with large open rooms, giant windows that overlooked the city and a high ceiling. Dark wooden floors ran throughout while each room was practically overflowing with plants. It kind of confused you, as Jimin had given no impression that he liked plants during the whole time you’d known him.
When you’d queried it the first time you’d seen his home, he’d simply shrugged as he stroked one of the leaves quietly. “I’m the God of Death so I’m infertile. I don’t like pets up here as they always die, but if you’re careful with a plant you can help it to live for a very long time. And they’re easy to care for, even I can keep them alive.”
It had made you shiver with his tone and despite the fact that he was indulging himself in his god fantasy again, it had saddened you immensely for him to so casually announce his infertility. It seemed like he had long ago accepted it however, but you hadn’t brought it up again as things like that were often sensitive subjects.
But right now, the room you find Jimin in was what you would consider his living room. It had a huge television, which he’d smugly informed you was the latest OLED 4K TV, every gaming system available and a ton of other ridiculous technology that you had not doubt cost more than your own apartment when put together.
He was laid out on the sofa currently, eyes staring vacantly up at the ceiling, and if it weren’t for the fact that you could see his chest moving you’d have been convinced that he was actually dead. You stood there for ten minutes just watching him to see if he noticed you, but he never acknowledged the whole time.
“Why are you just sat on the sofa staring at the ceiling? You’re crazy rich and famous, shouldn’t you be out partying it up with hot girls and guys? Don’t you have a life?” You query, moving over to the sofa and running a hand through his hair without even realising.
He lets out a gentle hum as you do so before he begins to pat his chest lightly, his hands roving over his torso lightly as he lets out a gentle sigh of relief and lets his hands drop back down, simply enjoying the head massage you’re giving him.
“What are you doing?” You ask quietly, hands vanishing in the thickness of his vivid blue hair that is growing out slowly, leaving him with black roots that made him look even sexier than normal.
A smirk slowly spreads along one side of his face as he pushes his head into your hand. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought I’d turned into the God of Life for a second there as you looked to have mistaken me.” Pausing, he lifts a hand up to you as if to shake it. “I’m Jimin, also known as Hades the God of Death, and sometimes I wish god of not giving a fuck. Can I go back to disassociating now your highness?”
Frowning at his sarcasm, you push at his head lightly causing him to laugh and drop his hand. Moving around the sofa, you sit down next to him lightly only to get dragged back as Jimin’s arm wraps around your front. Spluttering, you push at him only to give in as his arms are like iron bands around your waist.
“This is inappropriate you know, you’re my boss.” You mutter at him but he only gives you that pretty smile before nestling his head on your shoulder.
“You shouldn’t worry so much, humans have a short life span. Enjoy it, because you never know when it’ll be over.” His words are supposed to be supportive and encouraging you know, but instead they cause a shudder to run through you at the way he’d worded it. Almost sad even.
“You really believe that you’re the God of the Underworld don’t you?” Twisting in his arms, you face him only millimetres away from each other. His startlingly pale blue eyes remind of footage you’ve seen of underneath the ocean in Antarctica and the icebergs, frigid and cold with the promise of death if you spend too long.
“You’ll believe me one day.” Is all says, before he plants the softest kiss on your cheek. His lips are gentle, as if two rose petals have graced your skin but the effect is instantaneous. It’s like his kiss was infused with the chill of outer space and it radiates out from the spot quickly, causing goosebumps along your skin as it races along.
A primal part of your mind screams out in fear at what he’d done, and though you don’t quite realise what it’s telling you, it knows very clearly what that was. A kiss of death.
He sees the hair on your arms have risen and immediately begins to soothe you, cooing gently as he does so. It’s hard to reconcile this soft and caring Jimin with the argumentative and egotistical asshole that you often see, and part of you is suddenly afraid of him for some reason, making so you desperate to bring that side back.
“If you’re the God of the Underworld, why are you working as DJ? Shouldn’t you be like, a funeral home director or something. Maybe work in a morgue or crime scene, maybe even a homicide detective? Something that involves dead people?” If you were being honest, you’d thought about this a lot with him but just never vocalised it, as you were afraid to encourage him sometimes. Also you felt stupid even thinking it.
Jimin scoffs immediately, pulling away slightly to give you a side eye.
“Why would I want to work with dead people? I lived thousands of years with them. Have you ever lived with a dead person before? They’re boring and dead, and all they can talk about is the fact that they’re dead. Now imagine billions of them. It’s enough to drive the sanest person mad!” He’s suddenly more animated than you’ve seen in a while, the empty look in his eyes filled with something you can’t describe.
“Well yeah, but I always thought that Hades doesn’t work with actual dead bodies right? The Greeks would put gold coins on the bodies so that when they went to the afterlife they could pay Charon correct? So you just work with the souls.” He looks impressed for a moment at your knowledge, giving you a respectful nod.
“Yeah but like, that’s even worse! You wanna know what’s worse than a dead body that smells and doesn’t talk? A fucking whiney ass soul that won’t accept where it’s going!” Staring at a spot in front of you both, he suddenly points forward.
“Guess what Susan? Killing your neighbour’s cat because it shit in your garden is going to get you sent to Tartarus you vindictive bitch! I don’t give two hoots if it was a pain to clean up, Mr Snuggles was adorable and innocent and it’s a pain to my ears to listen to your whining.” There’s a pause and you slowly look at the spot he’s pointing to, suddenly nervous of him as he seems to be actually talking to someone you can’t see.
“Oh lady, keep it up and I’ll double your time! I’m already giving you 500 extra years because your face is annoying me and you’re interrupting my time with my girl. I mean, who mixes hot pink lipstick with lime green and neon blue eyeshadow? What is this the eighties?! You’re already dead, there’s no need to make it any worse my god!” He grumbles, scowling at the empty spot. Suddenly he tips his head like he’s listening to someone.
“Okay look, there’s some folk in Tartarus that you should meet, I’ll send you their names. They can teach you what works for their face. Zeus knows they should know how to do that, as they’re all beauty and no soul. Tell them Hades sent you, this one’s on me yeah? Shut up and go.” A flick of his hand seems to end the conversation and you sit frozen in his arms.
After the silence goes on for a bit longer, you finally shuffle slightly to look at him. For a moment, you’re convinced his eyes are glowing but then he looks at you and they’re back the way they were. Wide eyed, you simply watch him for a few seconds.
“You scare me sometimes you know that?”
A year and a half with Jimin and you’ve developed some strange sort of faux romantic relationship with him, where neither of you have agreed on a label yet he only sleeps with you and you only sleep with him. He seems to be as emotionally invested in it as he can be, kissing you and taking you on dates and doing all the stuff relationships involve.
You doubt he could possibly be with someone properly in a long-term relationship, and not just because he’s constantly telling you that this isn’t a proper thing but just a really long fling. It’s almost been like he’s desperate not to upset you if possible by reducing your hopes. You’d like to say it had worked, but feelings don’t quite get the message.
It’s always felt like Jimin wasn’t quite like everyone else, and there’s been more than once over the past year and a half that you’ve felt there was something more to him. There had even been moments when you’d toyed with the idea that maybe he wasn’t lying about the whole god thing, but your mind would immediately rebel at the thought.
All those times he seems to talk vehemently to someone, despite there being no one there. The times he starts speaking some strange, yet beautifully musical language that just feels ancient when he’s on the phone or that one time he took you to a museum in Athens and started reading the Ancient Greek tablets and pointing out spelling mistakes.
Or the fact that he seemed to attract the sick and dying for some reason. It was strange, but they would flock to him in droves and find him no matter where he was. Jimin had granted the highest number of wishes possible for sick and dying people, and you’d long since realised that he had a large soft spot for kids and this was often one of the few times he was serious.
At his newest tour date in London, he’d spent the afternoon granting an eight-year-old kid with terminal cancer their wish to hang out with DJ Plouton. One you’d escorted the kid away, you’d come back to find him simply sat there watching the door with the strangest look on his face. Regret mixed with wistfulness.
“Are you okay?” You asked, moving over and running your fingers through his hair like he loved. It hadn’t taken long to discover that doing this would relax him immensely and often resulted in him snoring quickly, particularly after a round of good sex.
He started at your touch though, and looked up at you with wide eyes that looked shocked. “Yeah I’m fine. It’s just…kids are the hardest you know? Even down there, there’s nothing sadder than seeing the soul of a child. They have their lives just taken away before they even get a chance to properly live you know? When I first was given the Underworld, I begged the Moirai to spare the children. Just…let them live a few years longer before they cut the cord you know? But they wouldn’t. Fate is fate and no one can escape it.”
His tone sounds bitter yet defeated and you straddle his lap, allowing you to massage his head easier. His head drops forward onto your chest and he lets out a heavy sigh, the fluttering of his eyelashes as they close tickling your skin.
“I remember the Moirai, they’re the Fates right? And even the gods couldn’t change their mind, so don’t worry too much Mr God.” His body shakes slightly as he laughs before he nods, moving his head so that his ear is pressed to your heart. Listening for a moment, he shifts his hand over the same spot to feel the heartbeat.
“You know what’s funny? Hearing humans talk about dieting, exercise, surgeries and all this stuff to help them live longer. But it’s pointless. You could be the healthiest person in the world and if they decide that it’s your time, then the next thing you know, you’re in my world.” You’re not entirely sure what you’re supposed to say or do here, so instead you just keep stroking his hair soothingly.
“I’ve never been in love you know.” Jimin speaks in such a matter of fact tone that for a moment you don’t even register what he’s said, before the words finally sink into your mind and you pull away in shock.
“Really? Well, you’re young I guess.” He’s only 29, so there’s plenty of time for him to fall in love, even if you’re positive it will probably never be with you despite your feelings. You can’t be too hurt though, he’d made it clear over your time together that this was probably going to be just a fling as he doesn’t do long term, but you’d never expected it from him anyway.
Still, he laughs at you and shakes his head before leaning up and pressing a gentle kiss to your lips. As always, it takes your breath away and causes a shudder in your body, not only because he always turns you on.
“Not as young as you’d like to think, but seriously. Never been in love. For the longest time I contemplated if I should try, until I realised that it’s not worth it. I’m the God of Death you know?” He pauses for a moment and looks away from you to the wall, his facial expression falling. You palm his cheek gently and turn his head back towards you, causing him to give a sad smile and press a kiss to the palm of each hand.
“Imagine falling in love with someone, only to watch them grow old and die in your arms while you’ll never die. Then think about the fact that I’d have to see them in the Underworld forever, knowing that I love them so much but am unable to do anything with them. I realised a long time ago that death is lonely, and the God of Death is perhaps the loneliest.” His painfully sad words trail off, despite how upbeat he tries to make them seem and you can’t help but watch him in silence as his eyes show a desolation and pain you can’t even imagine.
“You really believe you’re the God of Death don’t you? Like, genuinely.” For once your tone is entirely serious with him when you ask this. His frozen eyes look up at you, cold at first before they fill with such warmth that for once thaws them out and your throat squeezes involuntarily at the sight. It’s like he’s looking at you with love, despite his words.
“I am, I know you think it’s some silly thing I believe but I really am. I wouldn’t make this up. Why would I make up this? I want to…I mean I…I think I…I love you.” His words are hushed as he struggles over them. Swallowing thickly, he presses his forehead to your chest and tightens his arms around his waist.
“I love you and I’ve tried so hard not to. I’ve spent thousands of years never letting myself close to anyone because I never wanted this for the reasons I told you.” Looking back up, those icy blue eyes are watery with tears of pain.
“It isn’t fair, you deserve better than me. Someone who can give everything you need and I’ve been so selfish. I’m sorry agapi mou.” There are a few seconds before you respond, shock filling you at the knowledge he loves you.
“I love you too Jimin, you’re so worthy of love despite what you think. You’re not unlovable.” You whisper, smiling encouragingly at him and pressing a kiss to his forehead. His eyelids flutter closed as he savours the moment before he’s shaking his head.
“That’s not what I mean. I literally can’t give you a normal life even though I desperately wish I could. I never asked for any of this you know. My brothers gave it to me and I’m just expected to get on with it. But it’s lonely. I’m surrounded by the entirety of humanity that has passed and I’m so lonely. I get to watch everyone up here live their short lives, waste them on stupid things and then die.” Pushing you off his lap, he stands up suddenly and begins pacing, his breath shortening as he runs his own hands through his hair almost desperately.
“They laugh at me you know, in the Pantheon. I’m the dead god, the god where things go to die, the god that no one wants to even fucking name. Did you know the Greeks wouldn’t even say my name? They feared me that much even though I didn’t kill anyone, I just ran the place. My family would laugh at me, sneer at me because I sullied myself with the dead when they put this on me!” He’s shouting now, his eyes causing your stomach to drop as they begin to glow suddenly, the blue illuminating into a cold, furious fire.
“They laugh at me and the fact I live in a place where nothing lives and the fact I can’t produce living things, but they play with humans like toys. I can’t even tell you how many souls are in the Underworld because the gods got fucking bored and played with them. ‘They’re the bad guys’ whispers one while the other whispers into another ‘no they’re the bad guys’. But everyone worships them, asks for their blessings. No one asks for the blessings of the God of the Dead.
“And then the fucking, god the fucking. I have so many nieces and nephews, cousins and god knows what else because they can’t keep to themselves. That destroys me you know? I’d hear about it, the newest girl that Zeus fucked and spawned a child with and then how that poor girl got killed because Hera was jealous. They’re calmer now, but the way they treated life angered me. Because I can’t have that! I can’t have those children that they so easily threw away. I would give anything to love fully and to have children, but I can’t.”
Punching the wall suddenly, his hand going straight through in a show of inhuman strength, his shoulders fall and his voice is raspy and filled with so much emotion that you can’t help but walk over to him, hand hovering over his shoulder before pressing down firmly, letting him know that you’re here. At your touch, you gasp as his body begins to glow suddenly but he speaks, taking your attention.
“I can’t have kids. I can’t give you kids. I can’t give you kids and I’ve fallen in love with you. I imagine this stupid life where we live happy and I want a child finally and I want to be happy for once. That terrifies me because that’s never been my life and I can’t do this. I can’t watch you die, I can’t. Please don’t make me. Please.” His voice cracks and breaks at the end, his shoulders shaking as his head falls forward, hitting the wall with a soft thump.
“I believe you Jimin, I believe you. It’s okay that you can’t have kids, really it’s fine and I would never in a million years hold that against you. But you’re allowed to love, you really are, you know that right? Everyone is allowed to love, even if you don’t think you’re worthy of it. Death doesn’t have to mean there’s no love.” You watch him quietly for a moment before wrapping your arms around him.
He’s freezing, his skin so cold it feels like you’re hugging an ice block and you suddenly have no doubt that if he turned around, what you’d see would scare you. The ridiculous stories he’d told for months are true, and you fully recognise that you’re currently in shock over realising that you’re hugging an ancient god.
One that has fallen deeply in love with you, despite the fears that he’s had for possibly his entire life, which you have no doubt is long.
You’re a lot calmer than you would have expected yourself to be, but all you can think right now is that Jimin is hurting. And the pain in his voice tells you that this is pain that is millennia old.
“I don’t want to fall in love with you and then watch you die. It would hurt me, I know that’s selfish as it’s your death but it would. I’d have to see you in the Underworld forever, knowing that I couldn’t do anything. How is that fair? If I were Zeus or Poseidon or something I could turn you into a demigod or…or some other immortal creature but I’m the God of Death. I can’t give life.”
Turning him around slowly, your mind screams in fear at the sight of his eyes, black pools of darkness and nothing surrounded by frozen ice. You finally acknowledge what your mind has been telling you for months, that you’re staring death in the face. Only you would have to acknowledge that death had never been so hauntingly beautiful?
“I never said I wanted to be immortal Jimin. I’ve always grown up believing that my life has an end date and I still believe that. Who’s to say you’d stay in love anyway? You might fall out of love with me in two years time, so that immortal crap would have been particularly useless.” Taking his cheeks in your hands, you rub them reassuringly despite them feeling like they might fall off from the cold.
“Death is just a part of humanity, and if we stay together and one day I die…then maybe you could show me around the Underworld right? The Moirai only have a say in the living, not the dead.” You give him a little smile and he frowns at you in disbelief, confused as to why you’re not more afraid.
“I don’t expect anything from you Jimin, and if you want to stop this now then okay. And as for kids, well. There’s always adoption available and imagine how much they’d love having such a badass dad if we ever got to that point yeah? So, please smile for me God of Death, I’ve found that death is incredibly handsome.” Despite the tears that still threaten to overflow, he forces his lips into a smile just for you and you grin back before pressing them to his.
The cold takes your breath away, but it’s not because of what he is. It’s who he is, because Jimin has always taken your breath away. Pulling away, he gives you a look of such happiness, wonder and life, that it makes you want to cry yourself.
“I love you, and I am willing to do whatever you want to make you feel happy and comfortable too. At the end of the day, you’re the one who will have to live on after me. You know all about death Jimin, but I know all about life. And life is painful and it hurts and one day it stops. I know that doesn’t happen for you, but right now I can think of no person I’d rather the spend the rest of my short life with than the God of Death. In fact I’d consider it an honour. But this is your choice, would you like us to stop now before it hurts you even more?” You pull away from him, taking a few steps back and let him come to his own decision.
He stands frozen, a thousand emotions running over that inhumanely beautiful face that glows with the indomitable life force of a celestial being. Looking at his hands for a moment, he slowly looks back up at you and you can see that a decision has been made.
“No agapi mou, the honour would be mine for you to spend your life on me. I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’ll try. I swear I’ll try to love you how you should be loved.” He takes your hands in his before kissing you hard, his lips fighting yours for a few seconds for letting you take the lead. It would be easy to just do this for the rest of the afternoon, but he pulls away finally and simply presses his forehead to yours, a look of happiness and contentment on his face.
It’s a sweet moment, knowing that the God of Death has finally chosen to take a risk and if you thought hard enough it might blow your mind to know that he’s chosen you out of all of humanity.
But of course, it’s Jimin and so you’re unable to have an entire conversation without him suddenly reverting to a child himself. Opening his eyes, they flicker down to your feet, which are currently covered in Birkenstock’s, and he’s suddenly reeling away in shock, disgust replacing any softness on his face.
“What are thoooooooose?!”