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“Do I have to go?”
The entire team looked at him, all clearly unimpressed with his whining.
“Yes, Taehyung, you have to go,” Hoseok sighed, handing the letter back to Jungkook. “I know you don’t wanna see him, but it’s important.”
The Avatar groaned as he flopped over the table, his face buried in his crossed arms. It wasn’t fair that he had to attend some party for the Earth King and it certainly wasn’t fair that it was being held on the night of a new moon of all days. He wanted to spend the day with Seokjin, not a bunch of stuck-up upper-ringers. Why did being the Avatar include so many pleasantries?
“Says you can bring along a plus one so at least you don’t have to go alone,” Jungkook said as he shuffled closer to his best friend’s side, resting a hand on his back.
Jimin came up to his other side, giving him a warm smile. “Plus we can all come to Ba Sing Se itself and we can visit your family while we’re there.”
“Are you gonna make me dress up for it?” Taehyung asked, looking over at the small firebender with pouted lips.
“What do you think the answer to that is?”
He sighed, dragging himself to sit upright again. “Fine.”
__
The Moon Spirit Forest as he had dubbed it never lost its’ magic regardless of how much time he spent among the trees, by the pond. The cool glow of the flowers, the lush green grass, the swirling of the water, Seokjin’s soft voice as he spoke to some small animal spirit he had welcomed into his home. Despite the bad news that weighed on his heart, Taehyung found himself unable to stop smiling.
“You are awake awfully early, my dearest. Are you off on a mission again?” The Moon Spirit asked without looking away from the otter that was floating around in the pond.
He was so ethereal in his spirit form, tall with flowing white hair, sparkling gems under his eye and billowing white robes with detailed embroidery. And yet he was also so endearing, sitting by the pond, his sleeve pulled back and his fingers grazing along the surface of the water, just dipping in occasionally, no further than his first knuckle.
“I wish it was an actual mission, it’s just diplomatic shit in Ba Sing Se,” Taehyung sighed, standing up to join the spirit by the water.
Seokjin finally looked up from the otter with a gentle smile. “Is Hoseok unable to aid you in this? I believed it was his speciality, the formalities.”
“Not much he can do given it’s just some party the Earth King invited me to, pretty sure it’s his birthday or something just something I have to go to for the sake of maintaining relationships. Keep the King happy so he’s less of an asshole.”
“I did always find the times where I was paraded around, where I was less of a person and more of a symbol, were the worst. They are… dehumanizing,” Seokjin said, his smile fading into something sadder. “It is a shame the tradition continues after so many centuries have passed.”
The Avatar sat down by the spirit’s side, leaning his head on his bicep.
“You do have something I did not when I was at those same sort of events though.”
“If you’re gonna say back up, I’ve only got a plus one and I’m probably gonna take Joonie. He’ll be the best at calming me down if I lose my shit at any point and the best at getting other people to back off without them getting annoyed. Koo ain’t really safe enough there but an Air Nomad is.”
The waterbender chuckled. “Well you have two things I did not have. The one you forgot is confidence.”
“Huh?”
“You would never let yourself be their symbol, my dear, their puppet, you are too self assured, too bold to ever allow them to pressure you the way they did me. There is a reason Ravva could entrust herself with you but not me, I was never going to be ready within a normal life span.”
Taehyung sat silently for nearly a minute, digesting the words that had been so lovingly spilt into his ear, the kind of love that wasn’t ever flattery, but it would have been coming from anyone else. Only Seokjin could be so genuine, praise him so highly without a single other motivation behind his words, not even a hope that’ll reduce his insecurity. He only reassured with what he could see to be true.
“How do you always know what to say?” Taehyung whispered into his love’s arm as he buried his nose within the creases of those white robes.
“I have said the wrong thing enough times to learn my lesson, the perks of such a long life, no?”
“I love you, Seokjin.”
“As I love you, my Taehyung.”
“I didn’t come here to complain though.”
Seokjin smiled. “Are you sure? It is what you started with.”
The Moon Spirit laughed at the Avatar’s shove, managing to do little more than rock him slightly.
“What is it you came here for then, my dear?”
Taehyung’s shoulders dropped with his sigh. “The party is tomorrow.”
“There is nothing to worry about, I will just have to say goodbye to you earlier in the day than normal.”
“You don’t understand, I’m gonna be gone basically the whole of the new moon, I can’t see you at all,” he explained. His heart sank as he watched Seokjin’s smile falter.
“No bother,” the spirit said, his smile ever so slightly strained. “There is always another new moon and we always have my home.”
The Avatar could see perfectly through his lie, they both knew how much it really ached. Taehyung loved nothing more than waking up on the new moon to Seokjin laying by his side and then falling asleep with the spirit tucked in his arms. He knew Seokjin treasured those times too, when their time was limited to a whole day rather than just a few hours.
“No point pretending it’s fine, it fucking sucks, let’s just be sad.”
Seokjin’s lips twitched back up into a genuine smile. “Of course.”
“I’ll visit you as much as I can still, I promise.”
“I know you will,” he hummed as Taehyung intertwined their fingers, pressing a kiss to the back of the taller man’s hand. “Now give me a proper one lest I cry.”
Taehyung laughed as he leaned up to join their lips together in a tender kiss. Just a delicate press with no heat, not urgency, just a gentle love that lasted a few seconds.
“I need to see where we are, Hobi will flip a lid if I’m in here too long. Plus my mom will be worried if I come home looking too tired.”
“Shall I spend tomorrow with your family rather than you? I do believe I am becoming your mother’s favourite Seokjin laughed.
The Avatar rolled his eyes playfully. “Becoming? You already are her favourite, took over from Koo a while back.”
“If you insist,” the spirit said. “May I ask a favour of you when you return, my dear?”
“What am I buying you? Cus you can’t get seaweed cookies in Ba Sing Se, Yoongi has tried.”
His cheeks flushed pink. “Nothing like that. I would just like to talk to Jimin, it is nothing serious so neither of you should worry, but please do tell him to come here today. Namjoon is welcome too if he is free.”
Taehyung smiled. “Of course. Spirts know that Jimin is gonna get overwhelmed with my family and end up wanting a break away from the chaos anyway.”
“Thank you.”
“I guess, see you later, Seokjinnie.”
“I hope you find as much enjoyment as possible at your party tomorrow, dearest.”
The Avatar pressed a final peck to Seokjin’s lips before closing his eyes and slipping back to the Mortal World.
__
It was evening in the Mortal World by the time Seokjin felt two familiar presences appear within his forest, the couple sitting in the grass not far from the pond. Taehyung must have guessed right about Jimin eventually wanting a break from the bustling home.
“How are you both?” The spirit asked without looking away from the water, the glow of a play dancing across the ever-moving surface. He’d already seen it enough times over the centuries to almost not care that they decided to show up during the most climatic moment.
“Feel like we should be asking you that, you basically never ask to see us,” Jimin commented as he scooted closer to Seokjin. “Tae said it was nothing serious but I don’t believe that even a little.”
Namjoon stood up and stretched out before joining them too. “I said to trust you rather than worry but he’s still very good at overthinking.”
“I’ve still got it, huh?” Jimin chuckled, though his smile melted away again almost instantly. “But no, what’s going on, Seokjin? I’m terrified right now.”
The spirit smiled awkwardly. “It really is nothing serious, you have no reason to worry, I just wish to surprise Taehyung tomorrow and thus I had to be light on details with him.”
“Surprise him with what? We’re gonna be stuck in the palace basically all day,” the airbender questioned.
“That is the thing, Namjoon, Taehyung’s extra invite will be for me. I shall attend with him as a surprise.”
The husbands stared at him for a few seconds before turning to meet each other’s eyes, seemingly having an entire conversation with just facial expressions. Seokjin couldn’t remember when he had last felt quite so insecure. Well, he could, it was the whole time he knew he was head over heels for the Avatar, but he decided he wanted to forget as much as possible. Everything turned out well so do the details really matter when they make him squirm in embarrassment?
“That’s so….”
“Sweet?” Seokjin asked hopefully.
“Risky,” Namjoon said. “The attention you’d attract just as someone with the Avatar, let alone as another man clearly in a romantic relationship with him. The intention is great but there’s so many ways this can go so wrong that are very realistic unfortunately.”
“Oh.”
The Spirit felt as though he’d been smacked by an ice-cold wave and pushed under the surface. Everything was so distant, so drowned out as he thought and thought until his head was above water again.
“I need not attend as myself, as Seokjin, I can attend as someone else.”
“Last time I checked, you can’t do transformation stuff so I don’t know what you mean at all.”
“I can actually, though I doubt a koi fish will be of any use in this situation,” Seokjin hummed. “However, what I meant was to dress up, to disguise myself, and I require your help for that. To purchase the cosmetics and clothes and accessories and such.”
Jimin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What are you disguising yourself as?”
“Why, as a woman of course.”
__
As much as Jimin hated to admit it, given the ridiculousness of it all and the weight of the very overpriced dress he was lugging back to the inn, Seokjin’s plan was somewhat genius. He and Taehyung could act exactly how everyone knows they will, but without anywhere near as much scrutiny, as well as lessening any suspicions about the strange and shockingly wealthy Watertribe man that had been rumoured to travel with them but no one seemed to know anything about.
“I don’t know how he’s gonna actually wear all this, there’s no way someone could do anything when their clothes and hair are so heavy,” Namjoon muttered, his arms full of a box of makeup and accessories. There were bracelets and necklaces and rings and so many hairpins and clips that they were both sure that Seokjin would sparkle under the sun.
“He grew up gross amounts of rich, he’ll survive,” the firebender hummed. “You need to go hide all this stuff when we get in and then I’ll talk to everyone else about making sure none of us go with Tae, yeah? I am not having us spend all this money for nothing.”
Namjoon remained silent.
“Honey?”
“Maybe we’ll get to use them again another time anyway, if we end up with a kid who likes this sorta stuff.”
Jimin smiled so wide the corners of his mouth hurt. “I can’t wait.”
“Me neither.”
__
There was a shift in the air of his home whenever the new moon came. It took Seokjin perhaps too long to notice the pattern but things just felt different, as if he could just close his eyes and be on the other side of the pond within an instant. No fight, nothing trying to keep him within the forest, being washed along with the current rather than trying to swim upstream. He slipped through without a single thought beyond the image of his love curled up in bed, a pillow no doubt cuddled tight in his arms if one of his teammates weren’t.
That new moon he found himself appearing at the foot of an inn bed. Taehyung was entirely buried within the blanket except for one leg that was tossed over Jungkook’s back, the earthbender sleeping with a face full of plush pillows. Seokjin always wondered how he breathed like that, on his front with his face down, but he seemed comfortable enough.
With delicate footsteps, the spirit crept to the Avatar’s side and peeled down the blanket just enough to see his face. His cheeks always looked so round as he slept, his lips parted and his hair framing his face despite the way it seemed to stick in different directions, all so adorably scruffy. Seokjin couldn’t help but run his thumb across Taehyung’s jaw, feeling the soft skin of his cheek fade into the coarse stubble on his chin, tugging his bottom lip just a bit at the corner.
Taehyung groaned, half-heatedly trying to swat away the other man’s hand as he stirred.
“It is only sunrise, my dear, you need not wake up yet. I only wished to see you whilst I had the chance,” Seokjin whispered, tucking a chunk of hair that had slipped over the Avatar’s eyes behind his ear.
He remained asleep, something that the spirit could never find it in himself to be annoyed about. The Avatar was a busy man; no one else needed rest as much as he always did. Instead, Seokjin just leaned down to press a barely there kiss to his furrowed brow.
“I love you more than I have ever loved before.”
He had too long a day ahead of him to stay any longer, despite the way his heart ached. It was better to leave before a sleepy Taehyung dragged him into bed and coaxed him into cuddling for half the day anyway. So he slipped back to his own home and towards the friends who had promised to help him, almost as if the Spirit World were just a corridor.
On the other side was an identical room, just one with a couple tangled in the blanket rather than best friends. Seokjin also felt far less guilty about barging in at sunrise when they had known exactly what he had asked them for, when they agreed to it.
“Rise and shine,” Seokjin said with a clap of his hands. “We have so much work to do you two, now wake up and give me some coins, I shall fetch you breakfast while you wake up.”
Namjoon simply rolled onto his front, attempting to hide himself under the blanket, while Jimin forced himself to sit up, his long brown hair a tangled mess and his skin bare. The detail made the spirit’s heart warm.
“Wakey wakey, we have so much to do!”
“What time even is it?” The firebender grumbled, rubbing at his eyes as if attempting to wipe the exhaustion from them.
“Not long after dawn.”
He sighed. “You don’t gotta leave to get there until early afternoon at least, lemme sleep some more.”
Seokjin huffed, his hands resting on his hips. “My sister always used to tell me how beauty took time and patience and I will be heeding her advice; she was a smart woman.”
“Fine, go away for a bit and let us put some clothes on at least, my coin pouch is somewhere over there,” Jimin mumbled, gesturing vaguely to the other side of the room.
It was at that moment that Seokjin first properly looked around the room, at the clothes tossed over the floor, the shoes left in a pile by the door, the air glider that wasn’t propped up nicely against a wall but lying with that same pile. He supposed he had been too focused on the day ahead and Jimin’s nonchalant demeanour despite his arms being on full display to really see anything else.
“Of course,” the spirit squeaked, his cheeks tinting pink as he rushed to grab the coin pouch and head back out. The least he could do was make sure they ate well before he made them spend hours perfectly pampering him, he should get them some tea as well. As well as asking Taehyung to pay them back, making them pay for their own treat seemed wrong even if he had no money of his own.
It would all be worth it in the end.
__
“Are you serious? All of you?”
All of them felt bad as they watched Taehyung pacing around the small inn room. He was only half dressed with messy hair and a deep frown, chewing at his lip.
“I’m so sorry, Tae, but I think I fucked up that spicy chicken yesterday, undercooked it or something,” Hoseok said.
It was a perfect excuse really, something wrong with the food that Taehyung would never touch, landing most of the team in bed whilst the Avatar was entirely unaffected. Of course there one other teammate who wouldn’t have eaten it would have to stay back to help the sick and Namjoon had seen enough to play nurse convincingly enough despite the faked illnesses.
“Can I please just stay back with you guys? We can just say I’m sick too,” the Avatar whined. “I don’t wanna go alone.”
“Not in a million years,” Namjoon replied, grabbing the other man by his shoulders so their eyes locked. “It doesn’t take a diplomat to know that you can’t risk annoying the Earth King. I hate him as much as you but he has power, he doesn’t deserve it but he wears a crown and so you have to play nice, Taehyung.”
“Just get drunk and hide in a corner after saying hello to him,” Hoseok mumbled, curling up under his blanket to perfectly sell the lie. “What I always used to do in those sorta events when I didn’t wanna be there.”
Taehyung groaned and rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’m eating all their fancy food, drinking all their nice booze and then coming back. I don’t have the patience for that fuckface.”
“Now get ready or you’re gonna be more than fashionably late.”
“Re-”
“Go get dressed,” the monk said, spinning the Avatar around and pushing him towards the door.
“Fine!”
__
Taehyung felt as if he were being tested by the spirits with the party. The music sounded like it was meant to put him to sleep, he was alone in itchy clothes with a suffocating high collar and boots that squished his toes together painfully and there wasn’t even that much food. Where were the endless trays of meats and sweets and fruits he’d imagined?
He couldn’t even escape after nearly an hour because the Earth King himself was nowhere too be seen. Everyone had rushed him out acting like he would be late, only for him to end up there incredibly early with nothing to do. They seemed to underestimate the speed of a few good ostrich horses, that or they wanted to kick him out before he had the chance to convince them to let him stay. His remembered his mother once telling him that despite being the eldest child, he knew how to whine like the youngest to get his way. He reasoned that they had to learn it from somewhere so why not the best?
“Avatar!” Taehyung’s ears perked up at his title, looking around in search of who was calling for him. With any luck it might either be the Earth King or one of his cronies so he could say his pleasantries and leave already.
Much to his disappoint, it turned out to be a guard, a tall and broad earthbender with a gruff face that didn’t match his formal attire. The guard ran towards him, not needing to weave between people as they simply moved from his path, a privilege he found his friends were never granted without a glare.
“Can I help you?”
“We have a bit of a er… situation out front, we could use your help.”
Taehyung raised an eyebrow. What good were guards if they came running to him the moment he was there? He supposed it might beat sulking in the corner for any longer.
“There’s a woman insisting she’s with you and she’s… well she’s got a guest hostage, refusing to let him go until she speaks with you.”
“And you can’t get the guy away from her because?” Taehyung asked. The palace guards were some of the greatest benders the Earth Kingdom had to offer, they should have been able to beat anymore, especially when they outnumbered her by too many times to imagine.
The guard looked away. “She’s a waterbender and a damn good one, no one can get close without getting frozen in place. I’m just glad she’s not drowning anyone and I’d really like to keep it that way.”
If Taehyung were honest, he didn’t care much for the actual reasons people gave him why they needed his help often, he frequently listened just long enough to decide it hadn’t been worth his time. However this time, even if they didn’t need his help, he wanted to go see who this mysterious woman was, the kind of bender who could overpower countless guards. She could be a good ally or perhaps a teacher.
“Lead the way.”
The moment they got within earshot of the door, Taehyung could hear shouting, a mix of a few guards, a formal high-pitched voice and loud whimpering.
“I simply do not understand why you refuse to believe me when I have an invitation!”
“Do you know how many people we get claiming that they know the Avatar?! Now let him go!”
“Not until you bring the Avatar here, he shall tell you that I am his guest!”
“What is g-” the shout died on Taehyung’s lips as he took in the scene before him. A tall woman in a stunning green dress held a squirming man upside down in the air with vines of water that wrapped around his legs, a fan hiding her face where it was held open as a weapon. Surrounding her were cowering guests and guards frozen solid up to their necks in ice, there must have been at least half a dozen, if not more.
“Avatar you’re here!” The man held hostage cried in relief. “Please, let me free.”
Taehyung vaguely recognised the man as some official or other that he had seen around though had never spoken to before, he had thrown Jungkook more than enough dirty looks for Taehyung consider letting him stay up a little while longer though. Perhaps he just needed a bit more blood to go to his head for him to remember how to treat other people.
“Yeah, I’m here, now let everyone go and we can talk, yeah?”
Without wasting a moment the woman retracted into a resting position, her fan held up so it hid everything but her eyes, her ever so familiar deep blue eyes. Taehyung felt his heart skip a beat, hope flaring up in his spirit for a moment before he quickly dismissed it. How many other people were there in the world that could have those same eyes? Who could speak similarly and use a fan as a weapon?
Taehyung barely even noticed how all the ice melted away into puddles on the ground and the guest sat amongst it all, dripping wet but unharmed, too enchanted with the woman in front of him. She took a few steps closer to him and his heart raced as he half expected her to jump on him in some attempt to harm him. Instead, she just stared down at him through her eyelashes, towering over him in heels.
“Good evening, my dearest,” she said in a far deeper and more familiar voice.
“Seo-”
“It is Jinnie today, understood?” She whispered, folding away her fan to reveal her striking red lips, painted into a beautiful heart shaped pout.
“Yes ma’am.”
“May I come in now?” Jinnie asked in her high voice, looking between her love and the guards.
Taehyung cleared his throat. “She is actually my plus one, just not the one I expected so I’m surprised as you are.”
The guards looked at them sceptically but eventually stood aside, letting the couple into the party, their arms linked. She walked with a vice like grip on his arm, unsteady on her feet in what had to be a giant pair of shoes.
Once they had mingled their way back into the crowd, Taehyung finally turned to get a proper look at his date. She was nothing short of one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Her hair was pulled back into an elaborate bun with a massive metal hair piece in the shape of a lotus flower and a long ponytail over her shoulder. Her face wasn’t painted thick with white makeup as other upper-ring ladies so she didn’t seem so ghostly pale, just doll like with perfectly drawn eyebrows, sultry eyeliner and a soft pink rouge. And the dress, it was stunning with its mix of vibrant and deep shades of green and a golden belt pulled tight to show off her waist. Taehyung had to fight the urge to grab her waist and never let go again.
“You put on a show at the door, that desperate to see me?”
Jinnie’s ears flushed bright red. “I simply wished to not waste all our collective time, effort and money by the plan failing, I never intended for things to get so… icy.”
“Oh so you planned this? Got help from Jimin then I’m guessing,” Taehyung laughed.
“Perhaps.”
“Are they all in on this?”
“Indeed and they are all perfectly well, Jimin informed me of how they made sure you would go alone so I could join you.”
The Avatar breathed a mental sigh of relief. He’d been unable to stop his mind from wandering to how his friends were all suffering at home while he was at a party at the Palace and he was sure it would’ve gotten worse after Jinnie’s arrival if not for the quick explanation.
“I don’t know if I need to shout at them for freaking me out like that or thank them for helping with a very nice surprise.”
“Perhaps you could do both,” Jinnie suggested with a coy grin, soon hidden behind a fan. It wasn’t the Moon Spirit’s fan with its crashing waves, but rather an all black wooden thing covered in gold leaf flowers with a dainty wrist strap.
Taehyung couldn’t tear his eyes away from her hands. They were decorated with a few simple golden rings with modest gems set within them and long gold nail guards on her ring and pinky fingers, carved into ornate flower patterns. He could picture how Jinnie would tease him by pulling them off painfully slowly, taking her time on setting down each ring in a safe place before ever laying a finger on him.
“Something catch your eye, my dear?”
The Avatar coughed as his cheeks flushed pink, looking away out of embarrassment at getting caught staring so openly. There was no doubt in his mind that she knew exactly what he was thinking about, fantasising about.
“It is customary for a couple to at least share a few dances before even thinking about such things,” she hummed, looking down her nose at him with an almost demeaning look in her eyes. “Do be a gentleman, Taehyung.”
He deflated slightly. “I can’t say I know any of these fancy dances, never thought to pay attention at these sorta things. I never expected to have someone here I’d actually want to dance with.”
“You are most lucky that I only know the leader’s roles anyway, all you need to do is follow me, yes?”
“Really? It’s that simple?”
Jinnie offered him her hand.
As he took it, every other person faded into the background. The crowd around them didn’t matter, just the warm hands that held him, the deep blue eyes that looked at him with such love and the smiling lips he couldn’t wait to kiss. Seokjin certainly wouldn’t allow him to do something like that in public though, so it was best to assume Jinnie would be the same, far too shy to display such open affection in front of strangers.
So close together, practically pressed up against each other, Taehyung could smell her floral perfume. It had to be dabbed onto her neck level with where his nose was, the scent sweet and strong but not overpowering. The same could be said of the person who wore it he supposed.
He had forgotten who’s party they were at, why they were both so dressed up, why his feet hurt after barely any time at all, until a royal fanfare broke the spell they had been living under. Who was the Earth King to distract him from one of the people he loved most?
“His majesty, Monarch of All the Earth Lands and Glorious Defender of Ba Sing Se, the King!”
“Oh fuck that guy,” Taehyung groaned.
“I would prefer if you refrained from doing such things with him,” Jinnie said, her fan no doubt hiding a smirk. Two could play at that game.
“Of course, besides, you know what I like. Why would I ever even lift a finger myself when you’re just so happy to do all the hard work yourself?”
Her frantic attempts at fanning her face did nothing to hide the way she flushed bright red from her ears down to her neck. “You had no reason to say something like that.”
“I can list a few reasons if you’d like,” he hummed, shifting even closer to her to wrap an arm around her waist.
“I am quite alright for now.”
“For now?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Jinnie huffed, looking away as she whispered, “I will inform you when I want those reasons.”
“Of course, my lady.”
She cleared her throat. “I suppose you best find your way to his majesty for pleasantries and such.”
“I think I’d rather lick Moni clean while he’s shedding,” Taehyung said, his face and voice both entirely void of any emotion. They both knew he was barely exaggerating. During shedding season was a step too far for him.
“Get it done with and then you may enjoy yourself fully, I shall wait over there,” she explained as she pointed to the closest corner.
“Fine.”
His conversation with the King felt painfully long, though it was likely only a few minutes, any time away from Jinnie was too long for him really. He couldn’t stop his eyes from drifting to where she stood, nursing a glass of rice wine and fiddling with her outfit. It reminded him of Seokjin's anxious fidgeting.
After far too long, Taehyung finally approached her again. As he grew closer he noticed the flush spreading across her neck and face, just barely there at the moment but he had a feeling it would grow brighter and brighter.
“Is this why you don't really drink? Cus you go as red as Hoseok's wardrobe?”
“It is more so my awful tolerance, drink was never my particular vice and I do not wish to embarrass myself,” Jinnie mumbled, clutching her nearly empty glass close to her chest.
The Avatar plucked the glass from her hands to down the last of it, enjoying the barely there burn that came with such expensive alcohol. “So why now?”
Her skin seemed to glow red from embarrassment, though it was soon hidden by her fan. “It was a distraction from my… more inappropriate thoughts.”
“What kind?” Taehyung asked before he could stop himself. They both knew what she had meant already.
“Not something that is to be discussed so publicly.”
“We both know I'm not gonna patient enough to get home to the outer ring,” he said, setting down the glass on a table with a gentle click. “Besides, there's always something I wanted to do.”
Jinnie gulped. “What?”
“The first time I was here, he spoke at me for like an hour in his office and one of the things I can remember is him rambling about the desk, how it was a relic, centuries old and carved from a single piece of wood, how it was worth a fortune. I've always wanted to destroy it but I've got a better idea now.”
"I- I do not wish to be heard, let alone found by someone if you mean what I think you mean.”
“Hey, that office is ages away from here so no one’s gonna hear or show up,” Taehyung reassured her, offering her his hands. She took them without hesitation. “And when I said I couldn’t wait, I wasn’t serious, I want you to be comfortable so much more than I wanna get back at some fuck face. You matter more.”
A gentle smile spread across Jinnie’s cherry lips. “Thank you, my dearest.”
“I’m just not being a complete asshole, nothing to thank me for, ok?”
The way her deep blue eyes disappeared behind her pink cheeks made his heart swell. How could someone be so beautiful and cute and yet alluring all at once? It wasn’t good for him.
“Now lead the way as there is only one thing I enjoy more than seeing you dressed up so handsomely,” Jinnie hummed, pulling her hand free to grab her fan where it was hanging off her wrist.
“What?” Taehyung questioned.
She leaned forward, her lips grazing his ear as she whispered, her fan raised to keep her words just been them.
“Getting to rid you of it all to take in the beauty of you folding under my touch, under my fingers, under my tongue. You will look stunning covered in my lipstick.”
The Avatar barely stopped his jaw from dropping cartoonishly. His clothes felt even more stifling than before as Jinnie looked anywhere but at him, her blushing face hidden behind the fan.
It took him a few moments to snap back to reality and link their arms to guide her through the crowd and down the endless hallways. They would all be identical if not for the slightest differences in the obnoxiously large portraits of previous Kings that hung on the walls. He payed as little attention to them as possible normally but this time he found he actually had to focus on them to not get woefully lost in the labyrinth of twisting corridors. He could have cheered when he finally found the right room, bursting inside without a second thought.
Jinnie walked in far more cautiously, looking around the unfamiliar space as if she were trying to memorise every detail. The names of the books that filled the shelves, the details of the desk, the ash that hadn’t yet been swept from the fireplace, the lock on the door with no key, the maps that were left open. An ametuer move.
Taehyung helped himself to a chunk of earth from the fireplace, telling himself that no one would notice even if they most definitely would, and crushed it. The rock melted into his fist until all that was left was a handful of lava, perfect to jam to lock shut in a way no one could undo in a hurry. How many other earthbenders could lava bend?
“No one’s coming in, don’t worry.”
A pair of lips meeting his startled Taehyung. At first it was loving, a kiss filled with emotion, but it didn’t take long to melt into the heat of desperation, a mess of lips, teeth and tongue as they gripped onto each other. Jinnie’s hands raked through his hair, breaking apart the pomade that had held it slicked back while Taehyung clawed at the back of her dress, delighting in the taste of her lipstick on his own lips.
Nimble fingers made quickly work of Taehyung’s buttons. The relief of being free from the suffocating fabric alone made him groan, tilting his head back against the door. Jinnie took the opening to dive in and pepper his neck with kisses. Taehyung’s knees went weak, staying on his feet only where he was being held up.
The Moon Spirit was ridiculously strong in the Spirit World, able to pick him up with only one arm as if it were nothing, but the Mortal World was different. He could watch Jinnie’s biceps flex in the slim sleeves of her dress, the tight fabric highlighting the definition of the muscles. There was nothing he wanted more than to be swept up in those arms and given everything he wanted, everything he demanded.
“What are you thinking about?”
Taehyung looked up at Jinnie, her more pinkish lips turned down in a frown. “Just how much I really need you to bend me over that desk and fuck me and how we can’t cus we need oil or something or I’m gonna regret my whole life for the next week.”
“Well, you will have to give Jungkook your thanks later,” Jinnie said, pulling a small glass vial from a pocket hidden within her dress. “He insisted I bring it even when I said it would not necessary.”
“I’m gonna kick his ass and then thank him,” Taehyung grumbled. Why did his best friend have to know him quite so embarrassingly well? “Bet he did it in front of everyone too.”
She smiled. “You have better things to concern yourself with right now.”
“Like you?”
“Like holding me steady for a moment so I can free myself of these shoes. I simply do not understand how people wear things like these everyday, my toes have never hurt so much in my life.”
Taehyung laughed, slipping his hands down to wrap around her waist. “These boots feel like some sorta torture device and they haven’t even really got a heel so I can’t imagine.”
Resting one hand on his shoulder to stabilise herself, she fought her shoes off, sighing when she finally stood with her feet flat on the floor. It took her a moment to notice it, but she was slightly shorter than Taehyung now. It was only by an inch or so but it was so unnatural that she couldn’t help but find it strange.
“Allow me to return the favour,” she hummed, running her fingers down his sides as she knelled in front of him to untie his laces. Taehyung shivered under her touch.
Even when his boots joined her heels in a discarded pile, Jinnie remained kneeling, looking anywhere but up at him. Taehyung hummed.
“Not yet. Take me to the desk and strip me on it.”
Jinnie didn’t need to be told twice, sweeping him up in her arms as she stood. He rewarded her with a kiss to her jaw.
Gently, she placed him down and practically tore off the rest of his clothes, leaving him lounging on the desk. His hair was falling in front of his eyes, his skin was smeared with red lipstick, his cock rested heavy between his thighs. She bit her lip.
“Cover me in it.”
“What?”
“You said I’d look good covered in your lipstick so do it,” Taehyung stated, looking at her with a raised eyebrow as if to challenge her.
Jinnie dove in, trailing kisses down his neck, down his chest, over his thighs, sucking marks into his skin dark enough that they’d been there for at least a week. She knew he loved nothing more than admiring any love bites left across his skin, even more than wearing them proudly in meetings, refusing to cover them up for anything. His boldness only made her feel hotter, suck harder.
“How do I look?”
“Beautiful,” was all she could manage. Taehyung was smirking at her, laying back with his legs spread, his golden skin glowing from a thin layer of sweat, looking at her like no one else in the world existed.
"So fuck me.”
She rushed to pull all her rings off, dropping them into a pile of the desk that would no doubt be pushed off eventually, and then pop the cork off the vial of oil with her thumb. She coated her fingers in it just as desperately.
“Are you ready?”
“You have no fucking clue how ready I am.”
With gentle fingers she stretched him out, her other hand stroking his thigh while she pulled content hums and sighs from his throat. Taehyung knew that her slow pace and tenderness was caring rather than teasing, something to prevent him from getting injured, but it felt torturous. Why did he have to be so loved when he just wanted to be ruined? Maybe they were more limited in the Spirit World by what they had access to, but at least he didn’t have to deal with any pain or the prep to avoid it.
As if reading his mind, though more likely just reading the pout on his face, Jinnie crooked her fingers, pressing into his prostate with just the right amount of force to make him moan. He melted from the pleasure, not even needing to ask for more, for harder, for faster, as she followed their routine perfectly, fucking more and more moans out of him.
“I swear if you don’t get your dick in me right now I am gonna lose my fucking mind,” Taehyung said between gritted teeth, his fingers turning white from how hard he gripped onto the edge’s of the desk.
Jinnie went to start tugging at her dress desperately even if she knew there was no way she could get it off alone. It took the help of two people to get dressed, it would follow that she’d need at least Taehyung to help her out of it, yet he remained laying back. His eyes were locked on her every move.
“Keep it on.”
“Pardon?”
He smiled lazily. “You heard me, keep the dress on, just pull it up at the front. It’s kinda hot really.”
“How so?” Jinnie asked, fighting with the layers of her dress to try to pull them out of the way and let her reach what he wanted.
“Don’t know, it just does something for me.”
“I shall remember that,” she hummed as she finally pulled down her loose trousers, revealing a skin tight pair of shorts that left nothing to the imagination. She smiled when she noticed Taehyung’s staring. “And that too.”
“Shut up and fuck me already,” Taehyung grumbled.
After slathering her cock in the remaining oil, she guided herself in, pushing in bit by bit as gently as ever. The gentleness didn’t last long, not with Taehyung’s demands for more that were soon replaced by his chocked out gasps and groans. They were Jinnie’s favourite sounds, loud and unashamed, basking in the pleasure he was swimming in because of her. She was always quieter, biting her lip to muffle her moans that sounded more like whines when they slipped through.
Once a hand was wrapped around his dick, stroking in time with her thrusts, Taehyung soon tumbled into his orgasm. He grabbed her arms as he came, painting his own stomach white. Jinnie dug her nails into his thigh as she forced herself to slow her thrusts despite the way her cock ached in protest.
“Keep going, it’s ok,” he panted.
“Are you sure? I do not wish to-”
Taehyung tightened around her, forcing out a moan out of her mouth before she could suppress it. “I said it’s ok so keep going, enjoy yourself, yeah?”
Jinnie nodded, not trusting herself to open her mouth without any more sounds slipping passed her lips, and sped up once more, chasing her own orgasm as he writhed under her. She forced herself to keep her eyes open to watch him, to take in the image of his face flushed red and light up with ecstasy, his eyes rolled back and his lips parted, his skin painted a mix of red, purple and white. How was she meant to last?
“Cover me in it.”
With a muffled whine, Jinnie pulled out and stroked her cock desperately, moving her hand as fast as she could manage as Taehyung watched her. His lips were curled into a tired smile, his legs laying limply, his stomach rising and falling with his breathing, just waiting for her to add more stripes of white to it.
She choked on her moan as she came, her own cum mixing with Taehyung’s on his skin. He simply hummed, letting his head drop back and his eyes close, finally content. Jinnie dropped her dress and joined him on the desk, running her clean hand through his hair.
“Love you.”
“I love you too, my dearest.”
__
Seokjin ended up carrying Taehyung home, the Avatar complaining of how he couldn’t put his boots back on since they had swapped shoes but he couldn’t walk around barefoot either, not in the city. He ended up dozing off in his arms, though the spirit couldn’t understand what he was so tired from exactly, he had done all the work after all. Not that he minded tucking Taehyung into bed and pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead before slipping out into the hallway. He had a few people to thank.
After a few knocks on the door, it swung open to reveal the rest of Taehyung’s team scattered around the hotel room. Hoseok and Namjoon were sat on the floor with a pai sho board between them, the monk very obviously winning to anyone but his opponent, Yoongi laid asleep in the bed while Jungkook sat next to him with a book open.
“Do I even need to ask how it went?” Jimin greeted him with a smile.
“I do not think that will be necessary,” Seokjin agreed, regretting that his fan had been lost at some point and had nothing to hide his blush with.
Jungkook laughed. “I told you he’d jump you.”
“About that, be prepared for him to be a mixture of grateful and angry tomorrow, he did not enjoy how well you know him,” the Moon Spirit said. “As for me, I must express my deepest gratitude for all you did to make this night possible, I truly believe Taehyung really enjoyed himself.”
“Given he’s probably in bed rather than here with you to give us an earful himself, it’s pretty safe to assume that he had a great time,” Hoseok hummed without looking up from his game.
Namjoon gave him a smile. “We’re happy to help, though ideally with more warning next time.”
“Thank you, I am certain that Jinnie will appear on another new moon.”
“Better not be when we’re home, I’ve woken up to these two enough,” Yoongi grumbled, apparently far more awake than he seemed.
“We’re literally married, you knew what you signed up for!”
Seokjin laughed as the room lit up in argument.
It was time he returned to Taehyung, he would be so upset to wake up alone, especially while the sky was still dark and moonless. So he slipped back out of the room and to Taehyung’s to sit on his bed.
The Avatar’s hair was stiff with the residue of his hair pomade and sweat, already sticking up strangely from where he buried himself in the blanket and pillows, and he had smears of red lipstick across his face and down his neck still. Part of Seokjin considered washing him entirely but he knew better, Taehyung loved admiring it the day after, saying it stopped it from feeling like just a dream.
Seokjin couldn’t help but run his thumb across Taehyung’s jaw, his skin still soft from where he’d shaved the stubble away that morning but the stubborn hair would be back within a day or two. He’d look handsome with a beard if he ever decided to grow it out Seokjin decided, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to his chin. It would suit him when he was older.
The Spirit laid back, snuggling close to Taehyung, basking in the presence of the man he adored until the first glimpses of sunlight broke through the window. It was time to leave even if his heart longed to stay, even if he wanted nothing but to lay there until the Avatar awoke himself.
“My dear, I must leave now, it is already morning,” Seokjin said just above a whisper, nowhere near even to wake the exhausted man. “Rest well, come see me soon.”
He pressed a kiss to the tip of Taehyung’s nose, something so delicate it was more like just the graze of his lips.
“I love you, more than you could ever know.”