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“Do you want to go get a drink...with, uh, me?” a soft, melodious voice forced Namjoon to pause and turn back to face the other man.
“Jimin, we just saved the world. Literally, the whole entire world.”
“So we should celebrate.”
“I’m exhausted. None of us has gotten any sleep for a week and now that the planet is safe and secure again, I need to go home and get some rest.”
“Home. Is that Atlantis?”
“No. Maine.”
Jimin tilted his head, painting quite an adorable sight with the ruffled silver hair and the delicate crown on his head. Despite the Prince of Themyscira having lived more than a millennia on Earth, there remained a great deal he knew nothing of. This made sense considering he had spent most of those millennia on an isolated island of paradise thought to be mere myth.
That was a funny thought--being mere myth. There he, the king of the underwater empire of Atlantis, stood, before the ambassador of the Amazons. In that case would their existence make null the idea of “myth” or was an appropriate label for them “myths come to life”?
“It’s located on the Northeastern tip of the United States. I grew up there. On the coast.”
“Glued to the ocean of course?”
“Of course,” Namjoon smiled.
“Are you not planning to return to Atlantis?”
“Eventually. I’m more of a figurehead. The royal vizier rules in my stead and other noble families serve as a council of sorts. It’s a fair system of checks and balances. Really, I’m not even needed.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Jimin laughed.
“Where is home for you?”
“Mm, a difficult question,” Jimin sighed.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” Namjoon apologized, unable to stand idly by while Jimin’s beautiful features twisted in sorrow.
“No no, you had the right to. I asked you, didn’t I?”
“You don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to. We’re superheroes, aren’t we? It kind of comes with the secrecy and emotional compartmentalizing. A package deal.”
“How terribly accurate,” Jimin snorted.
“An astute observation, though not one I can claim to have made myself.”
“Yoongi?”
“How’d you guess?”
“The man runs around in a batsuit. If that doesn’t scream ‘issues’ then I don’t know what does.”
Namjoon laughed, listening to the gentle wind chimes of Jimin’s laughter join with his.
“The world deems us a 'justice league' when all we are is a League of Outcasts and Misfits,” Namjoon murmured.
“An army of broken toys…” Jimin stared off into the distance, the twilight sky serving as a backdrop that only made the prince’s allure intensify. “There’s no place I can call home. Not anymore.”
“What happened?” Namjoon frowned, watching Jimin’s bright brown eyes dim and dull as memories of a tragic, ancient past flashed behind them.
“It’s a long story.”
“Oh,” Namjoon cleared his throat, assuming he was being politely rebuffed and he should be taking his leave and jumping into the sea right about now.
“The type of story that needs to be told over a few glasses of something strong and expensive.”
“ Oh ,” Namjoon said again, with sudden awareness.
“I know a place,” Jimin grinned. “But, it’s a bit far from here.”
“I’d assume any quality bar was far from here. We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
The battle against the foreign invaders had ended a mere hour before, the other heroes filtering away one by one until only he and Jimin remained. Yoongi had been the first to leave--with one press of a button on his suit a private plane descended from the sky to whisk him back to Gotham City. Taehyung, being the fastest man alive, gave a quick salute before speeding away, disappearing in the distance milliseconds later. Jungkook was only seconds after the Flash, utilizing all the power in his suit’s leg thrusters to fly off, seemingly chasing the slowly rising sun. The youngest of the group had given them a shy smile before departing, declaring a wish for all of them to stay in touch.
‘Let’s not wait until the next global crisis, alright?’ Seokjin had seconded with the picture-perfect smile that graced the cover of most media publications these days. He truly was Superman in every possible way.
“Well, we’re in the middle of Russia, though I’m not sure of the exact location. The place I have in mind is...a quick flight across a few national borders,” Jimin’s smile was impish, eyes glittering with something warm and playful again.
“We have to fly there?” Namjoon raised an eyebrow. “I assume you don’t mean via airplane.”
Jimin giggled, his small frame gracefully lifting off the ground until he was hovering a few feet above Namjoon.
“Come on, Aquaman. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights.”
“Didn’t say I was,
Wonder Man
,” he drawled the media given name with disdain, making the Amazonian prince narrow his eyes.
“Don’t make me manhandle you because you know I can. I’m much stronger than you.”
“Not that much stronger,” Namjoon grumbled.
“All of my abilities were gifts from the gods themselves,” Jimin bragged.
“Not my gods and, oh yeah, I don’t care. I bridged the divide between the land and the sea simply by
existing
. If I wanted to I could wield an army bigger than any human history has ever recorded.”
“As could I.”
“I can communicate with all creatures under the sea.”
“I have a lasso of truth.”
Namjoon crossed his arms, jaw stubbornly set.
“Okay, I believe we’ve reached an impasse.”
“What do you propose we do then?”
“Go our separate ways. It was nice fighting with you, Jimin. Bye bye now,” the blonde king smirked, turning on his heel.
“Nice try,” the silky voice caressed his ear, giving him less than a second of warning before he was being pulled upwards, locked in Jimin’s embrace as he skyrocketed up, far past the clouds.
All Namjoon could do was scream.
“The top of the Eiffel Tower? Seriously, how much more cliche could you get?” Namjoon sniffed nastily.
“Shut up and enjoy the exorbitantly expensive champagne I picked out,” Jimin smiled self-satisfactorily into his glass.
“You truly are a little prince. From head to toe. Is your entire costume embroidered with jewels?”
“Yep.”
“You look like a sparkly gladiator,” he sneered.
“What a compliment,” Jimin tossed his glass back, a waiter instantly appearing to refill it. “ Merci ,” he smiled dazzlingly, the young waiter nearly tripping over air at the sight of it. “Especially from a man such as yourself, who is clearly at the forefront of fashion. Where did you get your wetsuit and cleaning gloves?”
Namjoon did not appreciate the sarcasm dripping from every word.
“This suit is made from material so technologically advanced mankind won’t discover it for another two centuries, at least. It molds to my body and moves with me, on air or underwater and the shades of blue allow me to stay undetected in the water. It also makes all the animals comfortable around me. Colors as...bold as the ones you chose to wear would alarm the animals and could make them aggressive.”
“My costume as you chose to call it was crafted by the most talented warriors on Themyscira to allow me to access all of the power the gods put at my disposal. It’s about more than just pretty colors or shiny gemstones,” Jimin glowered. “It’s meant to symbolize strength. The strength of my people.”
Jimin bit his lip, falling back in his seat with a sort of resigned melancholia radiating from him.
“It’s just too bad my people want nothing to do with me,” Jimin whispered.
“I’m sorry, Jimin,” Namjoon didn’t question why his first instinct was to stretch an arm across the small table so he could lay his palm over the one Jimin had left beside his glass.
Jimin’s eyes dropped to where their hands made contact before meeting Namjoon’s gaze again.
“I assume you know the story of my people? The Amazon and Atlantean warriors were once close allies with yearly summits meant to serve as a time to share information and technology with each other. That changed after mankind forced nature to bend to its will and took over. The Atlanteans didn’t surface anymore and the Amazons never left the island again.”
“I’ve read accounts of the old alliance and of your people,” Namjoon nodded. “But there was nothing about your birth.”
“No, I assumed there wouldn’t be. My existence was nothing to be proud of,” Jimin offered him a small, shaky smile.
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s true,” he shrugged. “I’ve made my peace with it...More or less. Of course, it still stabs at my heart when I remember that growing up I was loathed by most of my people simply because I was born a man. The only reason the Amazons didn’t try and drown me was that my mother kept me under careful watch, night and day. It wasn’t because she loved me, but because I was a gift from the gods. My birth was not traditional or normal, like that of every other being I know. My mother crafted me from clay, receiving exact instructions from the gods who breathed me into existence with the force of the wind and the waves beside the shore.”
“That’s...incredible,” Namjoon gasped.
“It was also incredibly lonely,” Jimin sighed. “The gods gave me life through my mother’s hands, but they didn’t give me love, far removed as they were. The Amazons could not love me. They could not love a man who they felt had infiltrated their island and would someday steal the throne. I never wanted to rule. You of all people know how heavy weighs the crown, but I thought if I became king I would have been given the opportunity to prove myself to my people...to my mother. I assumed things would change in time….They didn’t.”
“What made you decide...to leave?”
“It was a combination of many things and not only one factor or event. It just got to the point where I couldn’t pretend anymore. I was a stranger amongst the people who were meant to be my family, my race, my people. My own mother couldn’t stand the sight of me. And she has her reasons. I understand why she hates mankind and why she flinches at the sight of a man, but I should have been different. At least, I thought I should have…”
“You did the right thing,” Namjoon murmured. “It was brave what you did. There is comfort in the familiar, even if you felt miserable there. You chose to face the unknown and to become a defender of the innocent. You’re a
hero
.”
Jimin flipped his hand palm up, letting his dainty fingers intertwine with Namjoon’s longer, thinner fingers.
“All I had to do was spoil you with pricey champagne to get you to be nice to me, huh?”
“I wasn’t not nice before,” Namjoon said, feeling his cheeks redden.
“You were more or less indifferent to my existence and that was something I was used to, but it still hurt.”
“I’m sorry,” Namjoon winced. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that I didn’t care if you lived or died. We’re teammates and we fought side by side--chances are we’ll have to do so again in the future. I hold a great deal of respect for you.”
“Is that all?”
Namjoon seemed confused.
“You respect me. Is that all?” Jimin clarified.
“Uh, I mean I also admire you and I find you impressive in combat.”
“And?”
“I...think you have a kind nature and a sweet temperament--for the most part--and you were key in bringing our team together. Seokjin’s great as our unofficial leader, but you’re the one who convinced us to work together.”
“Anything else?” Jimin’s smile was as pretty as it was dangerous.
“You redefine the word beautiful. Whatever the dictionary description claims it to be, you prove it wrong. It would only be accurate if the dictionary entry had a picture of you to define it.”
Namjoon’s eyes widened and he clapped a hand to his mouth as soon as he finished speaking. Jimin nearly fell off his chair from the force of his laughter.
“Oh shit. I didn’t mean to say that...Why did I say that? I didn’t drink that much, did I?” he wondered aloud.
Jimin reached under the table, casually pulling his golden lasso out and tying it to one side of his waist again.
“Where...Was that lasso under the table this entire time?”
“It fell,” Jimin said innocently. “It fell and it happened to be right under you...lightly wrapped around one of your ankles.”
“Fuck.”
“The truth will set you free,” Jimin sing-sang. “Don’t be embarrassed. I liked all that I heard.”
“I need to go,” Namjoon stood from the table, but Jimin was beside him before he could blink.
“No, wait. Please don’t leave.”
“I’ve been away from home for too long.”
“Then go home but...take me with you.”
“What?” Namjoon frowned. “You want to come? To Maine?”
“I like to explore new places! And this would be a place you hold dear, so who better than you to introduce me to this wonderful land?”
“Yeah, Maine’s not wonderful. It’s cold and stormy and perfectly located on the Atlantic Ocean, but not wonderful,” he reiterated. “It’s certainly not paradise like you’re used to.”
“I’ve never known paradise, Namjoon,” he said softly. “I was never allowed to.”
Namjoon took a deep breath, analyzing the silver-haired prince before him, taking in his bowed head and the crown nestled between his messy locks.
Heavy weighs the crown , he thought.
“Okay,” he finally spoke. “You can come.”
“You’re shacking up with Wonder Man?” Yoongi’s signature wry drawl came through more sardonic than usual through the phone.
“It’s not like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like whatever you’re thinking!”
“Hmm, and here I was imagining some particularly lewd BDSM, playing house scenarios.”
“Shut up!” Namjoon hissed, peeking through the kitchen curtains to make sure Jimin was still outside floating peacefully through the air, sometimes dipping down to run his fingers through the ocean surface before gliding higher again. “He didn’t have anywhere to go.”
“Now that can’t be true, can it? He’s lived for millennia and in that time he’s accumulated quite a fortune. He owns summer villas and penthouses in most major cities.”
“He doesn’t have a home , Yoongi.”
The Dark Knight fell silent for a moment. When he spoke again he sounded subdued.
“Are you prepared to be the one to give him one, Namjoon?”
Jimin touched down on solid ground again, making his way up the path that led from the beach to Namjoon’s house. He began to skip, giggling happily as the wind picked up and rustled the hem of his costume and played with his already mussed hair. As he got closer and saw Namjoon looking out through the curtains the Amazonian prince stopped and began to wave wildly, smiling beatifically when Namjoon waved back. He continued skipping forward until he was entering through the back door.
“Namjoon?” Yoongi urged.
“I think I hear a storm coming! The clouds are crashing together and the waves are intensifying. You can say no and I won’t be offended,” Jimin prefaced his request. “I wondered if you would want to go for a quick flight over the ocean. I’ve never been so close to it when it storms, maybe I’ve even been afraid of it,” he laughed. “I don’t think I will be with you beside me.”
Namjoon watched Jimin. And he watched him some more.
“Do you want to come fly with me?” Jimin asked hopefully.
“Yes,” Namjoon whispered, hanging up the phone.
Jimin extended his small hand and Namjoon didn’t think twice before reaching out to take it.
Yes, I’ll fly with you, Jimin...Yes, I’m prepared to offer you a home. Yes to anything you ever desire of me. Yes. Yes. Yes.