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It had been a blissful three months for the King of Atlantis and the Prince of Themyscira. Namjoon had no regrets about accepting Jimin’s offer for a drink and definitely none about letting Jimin move in with him.
Yoongi had been against it at first, but that wasn’t surprising. The Dark Knight prided himself on his prosaic mind and his paranoiac persona. Yoongi didn’t trust anyone, not even himself.
‘He could turn out to be a psycho or, worse, a morning person,’ Yoongi had sneered when the two met in Gotham City a month before (Namjoon made it a point to visit the older man if only to force him out of his self-imposed isolation).
‘It’s been two months and he hasn’t demonstrated any psychotic tendencies.’
‘Is he a morning person?’
‘Well, yes, but so am I.’
‘God, how are we friends?’ the pale superhero made a face of disgust.
‘Did you just admit that we’re friends? Out loud?’ Namjoon clapped his hands in delight.
‘Fuck off right the hell now. I said no such thing,’ Yoongi growled.
‘Nope, it’s too late. We’re friends, you said it. I need to write my parents about this. The mighty Batman says we’re friends and that he loves, adores, and cherishes me.’
‘Try and write those falsehoods about me and I’ll slit your throat with a Batarang.’
‘See, those gory threats don’t scare me anymore because I’ve learned the truth of your feelings for me. And they’re good ones,’ Namjoon clutched at his chest dramatically.
Yoongi’s response was a swift kick to his ankle and the click of his grapple hook as he dragged himself away from the sappy situation and off to a rooftop. Namjoon laughed to himself the whole way back home.
“Good morning!” the melodious voice rang out, causing Namjoon to lift his head from his bowl of oatmeal to see Jimin literally floating into the room.
“I assume you’re in especially good spirits since you’ve forgone walking,” Namjoon teased.
“Walking is boring,” Jimin chirped. “Did you go on your daily patrol this morning?”
Namjoon made it a point to connect with the creatures of the sea every day, using his morning swims for more than just exercise. He didn’t make the voyage to Atlantis, but he would ride the currents and chat with schools of fish or nests of turtles. He would laugh with the dolphins as they squeaked and played in and out of the water. And he would consult the more serious sharks about the state of underwater affairs. Had there been any suspicious intruders near Atlantis or invading the sharks’ territories? Thankfully, everything seemed to be harmonious.
“I did. Everything’s as it should be.”
“What is it like talking to all those animals?” Jimin made himself a cup of tea before hovering to the seat across from Namjoon at the table.
“It’s incredible feeling so connected to them. It gives me insight into the world from a perspective I could never come up with myself. Each sea creature has their own language, if I can call it that.”
“The whales speak Russian but the crabs speak Chinese?” Jimin grinned.
“Not exactly,” Namjoon laughed. “It’s hard to describe because there is no human equivalent and when I listen to them and converse them it’s like we share a universal tongue. The ocean makes it possible, that’s the bottom line, I guess.”
“That’s why you don’t consume fish, right? It would be like eating your closest friends, I suppose.”
“Taehyung teases me about that,” he rolled his eyes. “But, it’s difficult to enter a restaurant and hear the lobsters in their tanks screaming out for help.”
“Oh no, that’s horrible! They cry out for you?” Jimin’s eyes saddened at the thought.
“They recognize me at a certain distance, yes. There have been occasions I...break them out of the tank and release them into the sea, but people were starting to get suspicious and it’s a fight I’d never win. I can’t force the world to stop eating fish.”
“I won’t eat them anymore!”
“Jimin, you don’t have to--”
“No, I promise I won’t! It means a lot to you and it’s the least I can do. You’ve been so kind to me, Namjoon,” he murmured, head ducked bashfully.
“Why wouldn’t I be, little prince, when you’re such lovely company to have?”
Jimin lifted his head, cheeks an attractive shade of rose.
“Really?”
“You’ve brightened my grungy bachelor pad into an actual living space. You also introduced me to vacuum cleaners.”
“This house was 95% dust bunnies before I got here,” Jimin giggled.
“You’re probably right,” Namjoon laughed along with him. “It’s also made our jobs easier. We’re a good team and now that I’ve gotten accustomed to flying places--more or less--we can respond to crime alerts more efficiently.”
“Seokjin looked so shocked when we got to Metropolis for the meeting before any of the others.”
“To be fair, the only reason we beat Taehyung was that he had run to Greece for fresh baklava and got caught up flirting with some Greek girls.”
“You know, Yoongi gave me his seal of approval.”
“What? Yoongi has a seal of approval?”
“He does when it comes to people getting too close to you.”
“That can’t be right. Yoongi only bothers with the fate of humanity and making sure Alfred irons his suit the right way.”
“He pulled me aside after the meeting and told me he was wrong about me. ‘You’re not a selfish, narcissistic pretty boy after all.’ Sweet, huh?”
“What a dick,” Namjoon shook his head. “What does that have to do with me, though?”
“He also told me I should take care of you because he trusted I could do the job as well as he did.”
“Okay, not appreciating the fact that I was discussed like a helpless toddler in need of a new babysitter, but I guess it was a compliment coming from Yoongi.”
“He’s your best friend, isn’t he?”
“Mm, if it could be said that I had one, I suppose so. He was the first member of the team I met. He knew who I was somehow--the Greatest Detective in the World struck again--and he drove his shiny Tesla all the way up to Maine to my front door. ‘Hello there, Aquaman,’ he smiled. Then, he invited himself in and raided my liquor cabinet and just started drinking.”
Jimin laughed so hard he almost tipped over in his chair. It was only his inherent grace and he fact that he could fly that allowed him to catch himself in mid air.
“How long ago was that?”
“Two years, I think. He introduced me to Taehyung next and then Seokjin and his boyfriend.”
“Oh, the fiery Daily Planet reporter?”
“Yeah, Hoseok. The man has Seokjin absolutely whipped. It’s honestly a little pathetic.”
“Don’t judge him for being in love!”
“When I’m in love I’m not going to allow myself to turn into a lovesick puppy though.”
“I’m going to remember this moment, so I can deliver a big I told you so when that exact thing happens to you.”
“It won’t,” Namjoon rolled his eyes.
“Have you never been in love?” Jimin asked curiously.
“No.”
“Never?”
“I’ve been with a few people--men, women, it doesn’t matter to me--but all fleeting affairs. There just wasn’t someone I clicked with. No one understood who I was, though for a long time neither did I.”
“And now?”
“I’ve accepted every part of me. The man. The king. The superhero.”
“Good,” Jimin smiled softly.
“Have you?”
“Been in love?”
“If I had to guess, I would say you had. Multiple times.”
“What gives you that idea?” Jimin arched a delicate eyebrow.
“You just seem like the type to fall in love easily and to love
love,
you know?”
“You give me too much credit. Even in the centuries I’ve lived away from Themyscira I’ve never been in love. I’ve sought the warmth of others for a night or two, but nothing more.”
“Is it because of what you told me? About your mother?”
“My upbringing had a lot to do with it, but it was also about me. I felt wary of giving in to such powerful emotions. What if I gave my heart to the wrong person and ended up as bitter as my mother?”
“You can’t let that stop you from experiencing love or anything else.”
“Hmm, I suppose so. What do you think has stopped you from falling in love?”
“I don’t know that it was only one thing. Ironically, my parent’s fairy tale love story made me feel daunted, like how would I ever hope to measure up to a love like that? Furthermore, who would love me as fervently as my dad did my mom or vice versa? The more people I came across, the more disillusioned I felt. No one seemed to stir an emotion
half
as potent as those my parents had described. Eventually, I stopped looking. That and…” Namjoon trailed off, suddenly apprehensive.
“And what?” Jimin tilted his head, confused as to why the blonde had stopped speaking.
“A few years ago when I took over the throne...I made a promise.”
“Okay? I don’t really understand, Namjoon. What does your status as a king have to do with seeking love?”
Namjoon took a deep breath, not meeting Jimin’s gaze anymore.
“It is Atlantean tradition that a ruler have a mate. They believe leaders are stronger with a partner by their side, though that partner must be of royal blood. It must be someone with the ability to rule if anything ever happened to me, someone who merits the trust and the love of the people. Initially, I was against this. I didn’t need a mate and I absolutely did not want to have to marry someone to get that mate...My vizier convinced me that this was a tradition I could not violate, not if I wanted to be worthy of the throne and not let my people down.”
Jimin sat there in a state of shock, not able to speak as Namjoon guiltily glanced at him quickly before looking away again.
“There was one person who fit all the necessary qualifications and who was already respected and adored in Atlantis...Princess Mera.”
Mera , Jimin remembered the name Namjoon had mentioned in his story weeks ago and how rapidly he had passed over the name, as if it meant nothing when it was the exact opposite.
“We are arranged to be married when the princess completes her training. Rulers must be expert warriors, as well as leaders. Mera is… a few months away from finishing.”
“And then you shall marry her,” Jimin finally spoke, internally wincing at how stilted and odd his voice sounded.
“I...It’s what I need to do as King of Atlantis.”
“Of course. You must do whatever your kingdom requires of you.”
“Jimin--”
“I’m going out. I’m not sure when I’ll be back, but...you shouldn’t wait up for me tonight.”
Jimin stood out of his chair and was making his way out the door before Namjoon could blink. He got himself together in time to stumble over the table and rush outside where Jimin was already shooting up from the ground. Namjoon jumped and grabbed Jimin’s ankle, the Amazonian prince halting in midair and looking down.
“What is it?”
“You’re coming back, right?” Namjoon’s voice was small and unsure, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking the question anyway.
Jimin contemplated the question as he stared out at the horizon, the moment seeming to drag on for hours before the silver-haired prince responded.
“I would like to say yes.”
“But you won’t?”
“Goodbye, Namjoon,” Jimin whispered, gently tugging his ankle free and rocketing up to touch the clouds in mere seconds.
“Goodbye, Jimin,” Namjoon said to the empty skies.
Jimin didn’t come back that night. Or the next one. Or the one after that.
Namjoon kept track of the days on the Looney Tunes calendar Taehyung has given him as a gag gift, sighing every night as he sat on his porch and watched the skies for Jimin.
Forty-six nights later he was still watching the skies in vain