The Tail Of Taekook

6 - Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

We get back to our cave after clearing away some similar debris, probably washed by a particularly strong current last night, making sure that nothing made by humanity can hurt any of the inhabitants of my part of the reef. It takes us a long time, but we have the help of some of them, who point out the objects that are most worrying to them, which speeds us up slightly.

By the time we arrive, there's a familiar quartet outside the cave, accompanied by a sandy-tailed merman who looks like he's struggling to control his excitement. He's small, even smaller than Yoongi hyung, but only by a small amount.

At the sight of us, they swim over, grinning cheerfully. "Hey guys," Jin says cheerfully, "as promised, I've brought the whole gang along. This is Park Jimin," he adds, gesturing to the only unfamiliar person in the group, who smiles at us, clearly eager to make some new friends.

"It's nice to meet you, Jimin," Taehyung says, "I'm Kim Taehyung, and this is my mate Jeon Jungkook."

Jimin flicks his tail a little, moving a little closer to us, and scanning us both from head to fin for a second. "You seem like you've met recently," he determines after a few seconds, "but you're proud to have each other, despite the fact that being with a male isn't really accepted completely yet. Am I right?"

Tae and I nod. "How did you-"

"I'm a telepath," Jimin explains simply. "With a more neutral tail like mine, it gives me a different type of control over others, allowing me to have some sort of self defence system if dominant or submissive tries to get on my bad side. It's cool, I guess, as I can control it, but it can be annoying when the person doesn't have anything interesting to think about. But it lets me understand people more. I'm not reading your mind now, don't worry. That was just an application of previous experiences and previous individuals."

"What about us?" I ask, genuinely interested, and Jimin raises an eyebrow, surprised.
"You want me to read your mind?" he asks, a little baffled, and I nod, shrugging.
"I don't think I have anything to be ashamed of," I admit quietly, "I won't apologise for being into boys, and I won't apologise for having my own ideals."

"Fair enough," Jimin allows, gazing into my eyes in concentrated silence for a few seconds, his eyes going a sandy yellow for a second. He stays in place for a moment, an almost surprised look on his face, before he blinks, returning to his normal self. He almost looks dazed.
"What did you find?" Taehyung asks, faintly concerned, and Jimin chuckles a little.

"Don't worry, it's nothing awful," he reassures my mate, "I wouldn't be worried. It's just that Jungkook has the most resistive mind I've ever encountered."
"Sorry,, I promise that I wasn't doing that on purpose," I say guiltily, and he shakes his head, smiling slightly. It's a pleasant, infectious expression that makes me wonder how often he actually does smile.
"Not under your control," he says simply. "Anyway, your mind was actually quite interesting. I wouldn't speak of some of your opinions, or you'd be very unpopular, I think. But I do agree with you."

"What?" Tae asks, and I smile.
"I'll tell you some day," I say calmly, "just not in the middle of the city in front of everyone." He nods, accepting my point without complaint.
"Fair enough," he accepts quietly, and then smiles playfully. "I'll hold you to that, Kookie."

"Kookie?" I question, a little amused, and he shrugs, that same smile playing on his lips.
"It's your nickname," he explains shortly, "it's cute."
"That's true," I agree, tilting my head to the side for a moment, considering it, before speaking my mind, "I like it. But only from you."

Yoongi raises an eyebrow at me, but then seems to change his mind, and shrugs, letting us be. Hoseok watches his mate do this with a wide, amused smile, one that shows how fond he really is of the short mint-tailed merman. The differences between them come into my mind again, how lively Hoseok is compared to Yoongi, but it seems to work for them. They've never outwardly complained against each other's presence or the sea's choice of their mate.