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Chapter Text

Jimin hid behind the stem of one of the wildflowers that covered the open field in the middle of the forest, the flower he hid behind the most.

Because he always came, every Saturday. And every Saturday he laid in the middle, with his head laid on his jacket that was bunched up on the same rock. And he looked up at the sky, softly humming to himself.

Jimin would always watch; watch how the light hit his golden skin, watch how he’d breath softly, watch how it seemed all his troubles disappeared.

Of course this was just Jimin assuming. The biggest rule of the faeries was not to make yourself known to humans. Granted, it wasn’t hard. The clearing in which they lived was deep within the forest and not many humans wandered that far in.

But this one, this specific human came regularly. And Jimin was entranced. He’d never been this close to a human before, he’s sure none in their herd has. And so Jimin watched and dreamed, dreamed of being able to talk to this human.

He’d watch as he’d pick a flower and hold it as if it was his prized possession; delicately, carefully. Jimin appreciated that. He seemed to appreciate nature, to enjoy it. 

Sure, picking a flower wasn’t the best thing to do, the flowers were his friends but for him? He’d overlook it. 

When he’d smile there were two dents in his face that Jimin wanted to fly into and sleep in. Dimples his friend Taehyung had told him when he’d mentioned them to him. 

Taehyung was the only one he trusted with his secret; no one knew Jimin had an obsession with humans. Well, a human. Fae were normally distrustful of humans; but Jimin didn’t see it that way. He found them fascinating, especially this one. 

What was it that brought him so deep into the forest? What was it that had him continually coming back? He wanted so badly to find out.

“Jimin,” Taehyung hissed at him from behind a flower a few feet back. “Jimin get back here.”

Jimin was closer than he’s ever been, unable to help himself flitting from flower to flower to lessen the distance between him and the human. 

“Shhh,” He hushes the blue haired faerie. 

“What if he sees you?” Taehyung looks between Jimin and the human.

“He won’t see me, his eyes are closed. But he’ll hear us if you don’t shut up,” Jimin hissed.

Taehyung didn’t retort, but he could hear him huff before flying away carefully beneath the cover of the wildflowers. 

Truth be told, Jimin and the rest of the faerie were so small most humans who did happen to wander this deep into the forest never saw them; the humans too focused on themselves, too focused on everything except what’s right under their noses. 

But this one, this golden skinned giant that came regularly to the clearing, Jimin is sure he’d see him. He seemed to actually pay attention to the world around him, pay attention to the little things. And for that reason Jimin kept himself hidden underneath the petals of the flowers. Always watching from afar, always yearning to know more.

The human eventually leaves, leaving Jimin feeling downtrodden as he usually does.

“I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with him,” Taehyung says when Jimin returns to the safety of the forest.

“How are you not? Have you seen him?” Jimin sighs dreamily.

“I have, but he’s a human. Why are you wasting your time?” 

“That’s a horrible thought to have, Tae. Humans are living creatures just like us, what’s wrong with being fascinated by them?” 

“You’re more than fascinated, Jimin. I swear you’re in love with him despite not knowing anything about him.”

Jimin doesn’t answer that. Because truth be told, and he’d never say this out loud, he kind of was. It was practically love at first sight. And well, obviously nothing could come of it seeing as he was a faerie and the stranger was a human. It broke his heart, really, knowing he’d never be able to know if they’d be able to work.

Unless…

He quickly flaps his wings and lifts himself up and takes off.

“Jimin where are you going?” Taehyung rushes after him.

“To the high fae, I have to know.”

“You have to know what? Jimin?” Taehyung was getting closer, he always was the faster flier of the two. 

Jimin finally arrives at the tree hollow where the high fae resided. He lands at the base and looks inside, seeing various faeries in line to present their need to the high fae. 

The line is not as long as he thought it’d be, so he tiptoes inside and gets behind a faerie he wasn’t familiar with. He tries not to eavesdrop on the other faeries as they confess their plight, feeling it was improper. He hopes the other faeries here are as respectful of him once it’s his turn.

Instead he spends his time looking around, he hadn’t spent much time where the high fae gathered. The walls, despite being inside of a tree, were adorned with jewels shaped like various creatures of the forest. Almost like stained glass albeit without windows. It was beautiful, the way the light from the hollow opening of the tree bounced off of them causing rainbows to form in some areas. 

Before he knew it, it was his turn. The high fae usually wasting no time with their decisions for the faeries wants and needs. 

“Faerie Jimin, what brings you to the high fae today?” Jimin always found it fascinating how they knew every faerie here, how they knew them all by name. 

“I am here for an unusual request,” Jimin starts off. His hands begin playing with the hem of his shirt from nerves. 

“And what might that be?” the Fae in the middle asks, Breccan was his name. 

“I— I want to become human.”

Jimin’s desire is met with laughs from the high fae and other faeries around them. He looks around unsure of why they’re laughing.

“And what, may I ask, is the reason for this unusual request?” Alwyn, the high fae on the left asks. 

“I—” Jimin starts but isn’t sure how to finish. 

“Is this about the human you spy on every weekend? Hm?” Casimer, the high fae on the right asks. Jimin’s eyes go wide. Did the high fae know everything?

“How—How did you know?”

“Dearest Jimin,” Breccan starts. “We know everything that goes on here. Do you not think someone wouldn’t alert us to the way you fawn over this human every week? What is even so great about him? He is just a human after all?”

“I just— I just want a chance. He’s not just a human, he’s the most special human. I want to get to know him, I want to befriend him. I—”

“You want to unite with him,” Casimer finishes Jimin’s sentence for him.

“Yes,” Jimin says looking down at his feet, his face flushing pink. 

“Such a thing has never been asked of us before. Let us think on it. Come back tomorrow as the sun sets over the trees and we will have your decision,” Alwyn states.

“Yes, thank you,” Jimin gives a bow, flapping his wings slightly as a sign of respect to the high fae and flitters off before they can change their minds,

Jimin flies back towards his house where Taehyung is waiting on the porch. Jimin’s high was high in the trees, among branches filled with other small houses containing other faeries. They lived up high within the leaves of the trees as to not be spotted by humans were they venture this far into the forest.

“So? How’d it go?” Taehyung asks between bites on a piece of grass.

“They are going to give me an answer tomorrow. They knew about me spying on the human,” Jimin answers freely. He’s already gotten his hopes up and that alone is enough to make his heart start beating faster.

“What if they say no?”

“But what if they say yes?” Jimin brings his fists up next to his face out of excitement. He knows they’ll tell him yes. He’s sure no one has ever asked for such a thing, and why shouldn’t they tell him yes? People have asked for far worse. 

“What would you even do as a human? Do you know the first thing about humans?” Taehyung asks and Jimin considers because no. All he knows is what he’s observed from the human that visits their flower field every week. 

“I know exactly who to ask,” Jimin begins flying away without a look back, knowing Taehyung is just waving his hand and finishing his grass.

Jimin flies across the trees, until he lands on a particularly large tree with a particularly large house with green smoke coming out of the chimney. 

“Hello?” Jimin asks as he knocks on the door lightly. It swings open from the light tapping, and he peeks inside. 

Seokjin, the local faerie witch, was standing over a cauldron emitting the green smoke Jimin had seen coming out of the chimney.

“Seokjin?” he says softly, not wanting to startle the witch. 

“Jimin?” Seokjin looks up, a large smile on his face.

Jimin always liked Seokjin. Most of the people in the forest found him to be too quirky, found him to be too out there. But Jimin found him fascinating; sure he was quirky but he knew a lot about a lot of things. He was always helpful when someone needed him, dropping everything to help a fae in need. 

“What brings you here?” Seokjin asks, dropping a blue liquid into the cauldron causing a loud popping noise that causes Jimin to jump. “Just making a little potion for dear Woozi, he’s come down with a cold.”

“I was hoping you’d be able to help me with something…”

“Anything, anything at all! What do you need?” 

“What do you know about humans?” Jimin bites at his bottom lip

“What do I know about humans? Why do you ask? Does this have to do with that attractive human that comes to our field regularly?” Seokjin wiggles his eyebrows as Jimin’s face turns pink. “You face tells me I am right.”

“I–I asked the high fae to make me human…” Jimin admits. There’s few people he’d admit that too but Seokjin is one of the few. 

“Oh! You have come to the right place, yes indeed. Sit sit, have a seat, I will tell you everything I know about being human,” Seokjin points at a chair at his table where Jimin sits, waiting expectantly.

“So. Human,” Seokjin grabs a chalkboard from the side of his house with some chalk and begins writing on the board. “They have five fingers and five toes, much like us. They’re very much like us only bigger. They eat a lot of meat, but maybe yours doesn’t, he seems to be in tune with nature.”

“Meat? What kind of meat?” Jimin asks. He’s never heard of such a thing.

“Cows, pigs, chickens; a variety of meats.”

“How could someone eat a cow? They’re so cute!” Jimin has a horrified look on his face.

“It doesn’t make them bad, it’s just the kind of meat they prefer. Most don’t believe in faeries, that’s going to be your hardest thing with him. They don’t believe in magic, they don’t believe in things other than what they can see. Now, to pretend to be human, you will also have to pretend you don’t believe in faeries and the like, no more magic. You also have to walk everywhere you go, no more wings.”

“That can’t be that bad,” Jimin is sure he can get through that. His feet are fine, thank you very much.

“You say that now, but I hear humans in the city talk tirelessly about how much their feet hurt.” Right, the city. The place Seokjin often ventured to get items for potions and spells. 

“How do you stop your feet from hurting?” Jimin asks, curious about how humans do it.

“That I don’t know, but I guess you’ll have to find out,” Seokjin tells him. 

“Any other advice?” 

“Just be yourself, Jimin. You’re such a lovely faerie, you always treat me with kindness when others treat me differently because I’m a witch and extravagant. You’ll get your human, just wait.” 

“What if they deny my request?” Jimin wants so badly for them to allow it, to allow him to become human. 

“They probably won’t. Sure it’s an odd request from a faerie, but everyone loves you Jimin. They know you wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t something you wanted badly,” Seokjin tries to encourage him. “When will you have your answer?”

“They said tomorrow,” Jimin bites his bottom lip from nerves. Tomorrow could be the day his entire life changes. 

“You better get some rest tonight then, my dear Jimin. Tomorrow will be here soon,” Seokjin says as he looks out the window at the setting sun. 

“Thanks for your help,” Jimin bids him farewell and flies back to his own home on the other side of the meadow. 

Taehyung is waiting for him on his doorstep when he arrives.

“How’d it go? You learn how to be a human?”

“According to Seokjin it isn’t much different than faeries except what they eat and they can’t fly,” Jimin shrugs as he opens his door, allowing Taehyung to enter.

Jimin’s house is small; only one room with a small kitchen on one side and a bed on the other. But it’s perfect for him, he doesn’t need a lot of room in his little house. Most of his time is spent outdoors anyway. He loves flying around looking at all the flowers in the meadows. And of course, Saturday’s he loves to watch the human who comes to lay among the blooms. 

“Are you sure you want to be human, though? That’s a big deal, Jimin.”

“I know, but I just know that human is my destiny, I can feel it in my wings.” 

“But what about me? What about your friends? You’re willing to give all of us up for a human?”

Jimin hadn’t thought about that, hadn’t realized that he’d be giving up literally everything he knows for someone who may hate him. 

“I will come visit all the time. Maybe I’ll be a giant compared to you but I will always come visit you. I could never let you go, you’re my best friend Tae,” Jimin pulls him into a hug. “Plus, it might not even happen. But wouldn’t you want me to follow my dreams? He is my dream.” 

“Of course I want you to follow your dream, but even if you come visit it won’t be the same. Will you even be able to see me? Humans can never see us.”

“You know what they say, humans can’t see what’s in front of their noses. But I’ll be looking for you, so of course I’ll be able to see you.” 

“You promise?” Jimin hears Taehyung begin to sniffle. 

“Promise,” Jimin pulls back, holding out his hands in their version of a pinky swear. 

“You should get some sleep, tomorrow might change everything,” Taehyung returns the hand signal. 

“Will you come with me tomorrow?” Jimin asks. He’s scared of the answer from the high fae, scared they’ll say no. But even more scared they’ll say yes and everything he knows will change. 

“Of course, I’ll meet you there as the sun begins to set,” Taehyung tells him with a nod before leaving. 

Jimin gets in his bed, laying on his side and staring at the wall. This could be the last night he’s home. It’s all starting to hit him, that so many things could be the last time. He decides then he’s not ready to sleep; just in case he wants to take another night time flight.

He exits his home, and sees the lightning bugs flying around over the meadow. He decides to join them. He’s always loved lightning bugs, the little light they provide on dark nights. They play games; mostly tag. Of course they can’t speak with each other, but they understand each other, they enjoy the games together. It’s fun, and by the time they’re done Jimin has worn himself out. He waves goodbye, the lightning bugs light his way back to his house where he goes inside and passes out on the bed. 

He wakes up in the middle of the day, exhausted from the night before. He dreams of being human, of walking around like a human would. He dreams of him . Of them walking together through the meadow. He can’t believe today is the day, the day he finds out if his dreams come true.

He quickly showers and dresses and finds Taehyung already waiting for him outside of his house.

“You’re up late,” Taehyung comments as Jimin walks out the door.

“I was out playing with the fireflies,” he tells him, sitting next to him on the stoop.

“Won’t you miss that?” 

“Of course, but for love it’s worth it.”

“Jimin…”

“What?”

“Nevermind,” Taehyung sighs. “I just don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“I’d rather try and fail than never try at all,” Jimin tells him. 

“I didn’t look at it like that, you know I’m just protective of you. You’re my best friend,” Taehyung hits him lightly with his shoulder.

“I’m going to miss you if they say yes,” Jimin tells him, wrapping his arm around Taehyung’s arms. “But I promise I’ll come visit. You can ride around on my shoulder.”

“Can’t I come with you?” Taehyung turns and looks at him.

“You…you want to come with me?”

“I can ride on your shoulder, like you said. Humans never notice us, so no one would see. Please, I don’t want to be here without you.” 

“It would be nice to not be alone…” Jimin bites at his bottom lip while he thinks about it. “If they say yes, you can come with me.” 

“Oh thank gods,” Taehyung leans over and envelopes Jimin in a tight hug. “I will be the best sidekick ever.” 

“I’m sure you will,” Jimin giggles as they fall backwards under Taehyung’s weight on him. “Shall we enjoy the rest of the day before sunset?” 

“Let’s go!” Taehyung jumps up, as if filled with new energy, and grabs Jimin’s hand.

They fly all over the forest, all over the meadow, to their favorite places, eating their favorite foods, just spending their time together. They race, they sit on flowers by the babbling brook, they lay in the sun on a leaf. It’s a wonderful day together, one Jimin will remember even if the high fae deny his request. 

The sun begins to threaten to set, so Jimin and Taehyung head towards the tree hollow, pleased and scared to see there’s no line to enter this time around. Jimin brushes off the dirt from their day off his clothes and wings. 

“Don’t be nervous, what they say will be for the best, okay? Just believe that and everything will be okay,” Taehyung tells him as he straightens the collar on Jimin’s shirt. Jimin nods while taking a big breath.

He turns towards the entrance and walks in slowly, down the hallway towards the chamber room where the high fae are obviously waiting on him.

“It’s good to see you again, Jimin,” Breccan begins. 

“It’s my pleasure,” Jimin says with a bow. 

“So we have discussed your plea,” Alwyn tells him. Jimin’s head jerks up at this, his eyes going wide as he stares at the three high fae before him. 

“We have decided…” Casimer begins and Jimin begins holding his breath.

Chapter Text

“We have decided…” Casimer begins and Jimin begins holding his breath. “To grant you your wish.”

“What!” Jimin slaps his hand over his mouth at his outburst. “I’m sorry, you have?”

“You seem shocked,” Alwyn says with a smile. 

“I–I am. When will it happen?” 

“It will take some time, so we will grant your plea on Saturday morning, when the sun first begins to say hello to the new day. Please meet us here before then, we will travel to the meadow together and make you human,” Breccan tells him. 

“I–I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much,” Jimin bows again. “I will be here before the sun rises on Saturday.”

“We will see you then,” Casimer smiles down at him, nodding his head slightly to signal the end of their meeting. 

Jimin gives one final bow as he begins walking backwards. He turns and practically runs out of the room to where Taehyung is waiting outside. He doesn’t stop, running straight into Taehyung and almost knocking him down.

“They said yes!” he screams into his ear as he wraps his arms around his neck.

“I knew they would,” Taehyung tells him, embracing him in the hug. 

“They’re doing it Saturday,” Jimin pulls back, his smile so wide he’s sure it’s wider than his face.

“So we still have a week to fly together,” Taehyung gives him a smile back. 

“I guess so. Taehyung, I don’t know what to do. I’m so excited,” Jimin brings his hands up to his face, still in shock that they’re allowing his request. 

“We need to come up with a plan, a plan to get this human to fall for you.” 

“The– The high fae didn’t say how long I’d have,” Jimin realizes it only in this moment. 

“Let’s make a list of questions to ask before they make you human, come on,” Taehyung grabs Jimin’s hand. They fly back towards Jimin’s house, immediately entering. Taehyung grabs paper and a quill. 

“So obviously the first question is how long I’ll be human,” Jimin says as he begins pacing around the room as Taehyung begins scrawling the words onto the paper.

“You should also ask them about if you want to stay human, how that’d work,” Taehyung looks sad as he says it which makes Jimin’s heart pang. 

“That’s only if he falls in love with me the way I have him,” Jimin says, trying to assure Taehyung it might not be permanent. “Taehyung, what if he doesn’t love me?”

The thought hadn’t occurred to Jimin, he’d been so set on becoming human to be with the beautiful human that visits their meadow. 

“He’d be a fool not to fall in love with you,” Taehyung scoffs.

“What if he thinks I’m weird? Because I don’t understand human social cues or how to even be human.” 

“If he thinks that he’s an idiot. Now, another question. How tall will they make you?” Taehyung scribbles on the paper. 

“Why is that important?” Jimin turns and puts his hands on his hips. 

“I mean, what if they make you seven feet tall? That’d be a bit extreme.” 

“They won’t make me seven feet tall,” Jimin giggles. “I’m sure they’ll make me average size.”

“What is average size?” Taehyung questions.

“I don’t know, surely they know,” Jimin shrugs. 

Taehyung and Jimin come up with enough questions to fill the paper, some more ridiculous than others. 

Taehyung excuses himself to leave to go prepare to leave for an unknown amount of time. Jimin isn’t sure what it is he has to do, but he waves bye as Taehyung flies off towards his own home. 

Jimin spends the next week attempting to get his affairs in order; not that he had many. He mostly spent time with Seokjin, asking him more questions about what it was like to be human. Taehyung came by every other day to make sure he was still sure it was what he wanted to do, and that he wanted Taehyung to accompany him.

He wasn’t sure how the high fae would feel about Taehyung coming with him, but he found he didn’t care. He liked knowing he’d have a piece of home with him, someone to go to for advice. 

Friday night though, he can not sleep a wink. He lays in bed staring at his ceiling, wondering what it will feel like. Will it hurt to become human? Will he just grow steadily? Will he automatically become 7 feet tall? He hopes he won’t be 7 feet tall. He likes his small stature, thank you very much.

Jimin looks out his window, gauging the moon’s placement in the sky. He needed to leave soon. He suddenly felt saddened by it; by the idea of leaving his home. He loved his little home, he loved how comfortable it was. 

But he loved the human more, that’s what he tells himself as he gets up and changes clothes before sitting outside his house to wait for Taehyung. He has a small bag of provisions; unsure of how long this will take. Some food, water, his favorite flower petals, and the list of questions.

Taehyung shows up not ten minutes later, his own bag in tow.

“You ready?” Taehyung doesn’t even land, floating in front of Jimin. Wings moving so fast they can’t even be seen. 

“What’d you do to your hair?” Jimin’s jaw drops as he notices Taehyung’s usually blue hair is now black.

“Do you not like it? I thought the blue might stand out too much,” Taehyung ruffles his hair with his hand.

“You look good,” Jimin gives a smile. Jimin’s smile drops as he remembers his own pink hair. “What if he doesn’t like my hair?”

“You can always ask the high fae to change it, but I think it suits you. I only did it because I’m supposed to keep hidden, you’re going to be out in the open, no?” Taehyung tilts his head.

Taehyung had a point; Jimin was going to become human, the whole point was to be noticed by the human that came to visit the meadow. Oh how Jimin hopes the human comes today. 

“Well are you coming or not?” Taehyung puts his hands on his hips. Jimin grabs his bag and flaps his wings, joining Taehyung. They join hands as they fly towards the tree where they are to meet the high fae. 

The high fae are already gathered when they arrive, with their entourage of faeries; mostly their guard and a few commoners.

“Faerie Jimin, we were worried you weren’t going to make it,” Alwyn greets him with a smile. 

“I apologize,” Jimin gives a deep bow, folding his wings against his back.

“Nonsense, there’s no need to bow before us,” Casmier walks forward, gently pulling Jimin into a standing position. “We spent all week finding out how to perform this task. While it may be unusual, it is not unprecedented.” 

“Really?” Jimin is shocked to hear that. You’d think there’d be tales of a faerie who decided to become human.

“Indeed,” Breccan speaks. “Now, if you would please,” he motions for Jimin to walk forward. “What brings you to us today, faerie Taehyung?” 

“I am here for moral support,” Taehyung gives a bow. 

“You must deeply care for your friend,” Alwyn looks towards Taehyung. “You changed your hair.”

“I did,” Taehyung ruffles his hair a bit. “I thought it was time for a change.”

“It suits you,” Casimer tells him before turning his attention back towards Jimin. “It is time. We shall travel to the meadow.”

The high fae lift off the ground, their entourage following closely. Jimin and Taehyung follow behind them as they all fly to the meadow together.

They land in the middle of the meadow, gathering underneath the blades of grass. 

“Now, Jimin, you will stand in the middle as we surround you in a triangle,” Casimer tells him. Jimin does as he’s told, moving towards the middle of the faeries currently circling him.

Casimer, Alwyn and Breccan take their spots, forming a triangle around him. Jimin is unsure where to look, where to turn. So he decides to stand facing Taehyung who is biting his lip as if he’s nervous. He takes a deep breath, taking Taehyung in one last time and closes his eyes.

He’s unsure what the high fae are doing, but he begins to feel the wind pick up, begins to feel it swirling around him. He feels his body begin to heat up, can feel the magic absorbing into his skin. He dares not open his eyes, unsure of what he might see. He begins to feel his limbs growing, feels himself getting taller. His clothes begin to rip, tight against his skin as his body grows. He feels his wings disappearing. It doesn’t hurt, it just feels weird . 

After minutes or maybe even an hour, Jimin isn’t sure, the wind and heat disappear. He carefully opens one eye, expecting to be surrounded by grass, but the grass is far below him. He dares not move his feet, not wanting to risk stepping on the high fae. Were they still down there?

His question is answered as they fly up and gather in front of his eyes.

“There you are, Jimin,” Alywn yells at him to make sure they can hear him. 

“How long?” He had so many questions, and yet he forgot to ask any of them. 

“You will have one week. Then you can decide,” Casimer tells him.

“Decide what?”

“You must return before the sun sets in a week’s time.” Breccan says before the three faeries give a bow of their head and fly away.

“Wait!” Jimin yells, shocked at just how loud his voice is now.

It’s useless, the high fae and their entourage are gone. 

“Taehyung?” Jimin whispers, not wanting the high fae to hear. 

“I’m here,” he hears in his right ear. He turns his head and sees Taehyung sitting on his shoulder. “You’re big.”

“You’re tiny,” Jimin smiles at him. 

“How long until he comes?” Taehyung asks. Jimin looks up at the sky, the sun just now appearing above the trees surrounding them in the meadow.

“Probably an hour?” Jimin guesses. The human always came early. 

“What do we do until then?” 

“I’m not sure,” Jimin looks around then down at himself. His clothes had ripped off as he grew and now he was in the middle of the meadow stark naked. “I wish I had clothes.”

“All the better, you can entice him more if you’re naked.”

“I want him to fall in love with me, not use me for my body,” Jimin huffs. “I’m going to sit down,” he warns Taehyung so he doesn’t startle as he begins to move. The grass feels itchy against his bare skin. He lays down on his back, looking up at the sky as the human usually does.

The view was actually quite nice, the sun peeking over the trees, the clouds making shapes in the sky. 

Taehyung comes and lands on his chest, laying down on top of him. 

“Is this what we’re going to do until he comes?” 

“What else is there to do? I’m not walking towards the city with no clothes.”

“Good point.” 

They lay there, listening to the breeze rustling the leaves, listening to the birds chirping. Jimin takes a deep breathe and exhales, trying to force his brain to relax. There were so many questions he’d wanted to ask the high fae and he had no chance to do so. 

He isn’t sure how much time as passed, but suddenly they hear a stick crack in the forest. Jimin immediately sits up, knocking Taehyung down onto his lap.

“Hey!” he yells before he flaps his wings and flies back up to Jimin’s shoulder. 

“Shhh, I think he’s here,” Jimin turns over, laying down in the grass face down, peeking through the blades towards where the sound came from. 

The human walks past the trees, immediately bending down to pick a flower at the edge of the meadow. He holds it up to his nose, smelling the sweet scent. 

Jimin watches, unsure of what to do now. Does he stand? Does he call out? Does he stay hidden? This was something he honestly hadn’t considered, especially since he didn’t realize he’d be naked for this moment. 

“Hello?” the human tilts his head. 

Spotted.

He drops his head, hoping to remain hidden. He isn’t ready, he thought he was but he wasn’t. 

“Say something,” Taehyung hisses in his ear. 

“I won’t hurt you,” the human says gently, walking forward slowly. “I’m Namjoon.”

So that’s his name, Namjoon. What a pretty name for a pretty dimpled face. 

“What’s your name?” his voice is closer. Jimin closes his eyes, hoping maybe that will make it harder for Namjoon to find him. He can feel Taehyung climb into his hair to hide away.“Where are your clothes?”

Oh, he’s right there. Jimin can hear him stop directly in front of him. He opens one eye and looks up. He’s so tall . Even as a human he is tall. 

“Can you speak Korean?” Namjoon asks. 

“Yes,” Jimin answers finally. 

“What’s your name?” Namjoon repeats. 

“Jimin,” he opens his other eye, staring up at Namjoon. 

“Where are your clothes?” Namjoon sounded concerned.

“I–,” he had no reasonable explanation for why he’s naked in the middle of a forest. So he improvises. “I lost them.” 

“How did you lose them?” the dimples make an appearance as he smiles widely. He had such a beautiful smile. 

“It’s a long story,” Jimin admits, unmoving from where he still lays stomach down in the grass. 

“Here, put this on,” Namjoon takes off his oversized sweater and holds it out for Jimin to take. 

“Thank you,” Jimin says, moving so he’s in a sitting position before he takes the sweater out of Namjoon’s hands. He pulls it over his head, and pulls it down over his body and stands up. 

He is still significantly smaller than Namjoon, only coming up to his shoulder. The sweater falls to his mid-thigh and for that Jimin is grateful. 

“What are you doing all the way out here? Usually I don’t see anyone else.”

“I got lost,” Jimin lies. 

“Where are you from?” 

“The city,” he lies again, unsure of what to say. 

“We should get you home,” Namjoon motions for Jimin to follow him but Jimin doesn’t move. 

“I–” 

“Hmm?” Namjoon turns and notices he hasn’t taken a step. 

“I don’t have anywhere to go,” Jimin bites his bottom lip out of nerves. This was another thing he hadn’t considered. Where would he stay in the city? He doesn’t know humans.

“Oh,” Namjoon’s face seems to fall. He looks deep in thought as his eyebrows furrow. “Come on, you can stay with me for now.”

“I couldn’t,” Jimin tries to argue, but this is the only option he has. 

“Please, you can’t stay out here and you can’t go live on the street. Come on, we’ll get you some pants,” Namjoon smiles his dimpled smile. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yea, yea I’m sure,” Namjoon says, as if he’s trying to convince himself. 

“O–okay,” Jimin takes one hesitant step forward. He wobbles a little with each step. His balance is off without his wings. 

“I got you,” Namjoon reaches out and takes Jimin’s arm to steady him. Jimin feels a jolt of electricity shoot through his entire body at the touch. 

Jimin holds onto Namjoon’s arm like a lifeline. He takes one look back towards the trees where he knows the faeries are currently watching him. He looks forward again, ready to take on this new life.

Chapter Text

Walking through the forest without shoes hurts . Jimin is grunting and whining with every step. He’s sure the bottoms of his feet are bleeding at this point. 

“Here, let’s get you on my back,” Namjoon lets go of Jimin’s arm and gets in front of him.

“On your back?” Jimin asks, unsure of what he means.

“Yea, wrap your arms around my neck and I’ll pick you up by your legs,” Namjoon explains over his shoulder.

Jimin hesitates, but only for a second. He reaches out and puts his arms over Namjoon’s shoulders. Namjoon reaches back and puts his hands underneath Jimin’s knees and lifts him up.

“ Oh .” Jimin is shocked by how easy Namjoon is able to pick him up, how sturdy he feels against him.

Jimin bounces as Namjoon walks with him on his back. He can feel the air on his ass, grateful they’re in the middle of trees. He’ll have to be put back down once they get near the city. But he hopes they don’t have to walk too far once they arrive.

Namjoon carries him all the way to the edge of city, where he stops and allows Jimin to get down. Jimin pulls down the sweater to cover himself up. 

“Don’t lose me, okay?” Namjoon holds out his hand for Jimin to take. Jimin does and feels his entire body heat up when their hands join. 

Namjoon begins leading him down the sidewalks, Jimin following closely behind.

“How far?” Jimin asks, the bottoms of his feet sore from the walk in the forest. 

“Not far, just a couple of blocks,” Namjoon turns and smiles at him, dimples on full display. Jimin wants to poke them so badly, but he figures that would be considered rude in the human world so he keeps his hand to himself. 

“This is me,” Namjoon stops in front of a nice building, or nice to Jimin. He’s never seen so many humans before, never seen their dwellings. Namjoon pulls him inside, leading him to some steel doors. He presses a button and enters once the doors open. 

Jimin follows closely behind. He squeezes Namjoon’s hand when the doors close and jumps when the box they’re in starts moving. What was this contraption? It stops after a little bit and the doors open again. Jimin follows Namjoon out, looking back as the doors close yet again. 

“What was that?” Jimin asks.

“The elevator?” 

An elevator. Jimin tries to commit the word to memory. 

“Where exactly are you from?” Namjoon asks as they stop in front of a door and he pulls a metal spear out of his pocket. 

“The city,” Jimin watches as he puts the spear into a hole in the door and turns it. 

“Go on in,” Namjoon opens the door, allowing Jimin to enter first. 

Jimin walks in slowly, taking in his surroundings. He’s in some sort of hallway with what he assumes are shoes lining the wall. He walks in further and is met with a giant room with a couch and some sort of black box hanging up on the wall in front of it. To his right is another room with all sorts of things he’s never seen before. He starts getting nervous, seeing how much he doesn’t know about the human world, unsure what any of this stuff is. How is he supposed to pass as a human from the city? 

“Let’s get you some pants, yea?” Namjoon comes up behind him, startling him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Just wait here, I’ll be right back.”

Namjoon leaves down another hallway, Jimin watching him from behind. He walks into another room and out of sight. Jimin plays with the bottom of the sweater, unsure of what to do. He bites his bottom lip as he looks around, completely overwhelmed by being in a human’s home. 

Namjoon returns quickly, gray pants in his hands. 

“Here, try these on. My friend left them here and he’s about your size,” Namjoon hands them to Jimin. They’re soft, they’re so soft. Jimin fights to not rub his cheek on them. 

He carefully puts his feet through the legs of the pants and pulls them up. 

“Perfect,” Namjoon smiles his dimpled smile. Jimin balls his fists to keep from poking them.  “So are you hungry?”

In that moment, Jimin’s stomach makes a funny sound that makes Namjoon laugh. It sounds like heaven to Jimin’s ears. 

“I’d say that’s a yes, here, let’s order something.”

Jimin has no idea what he means by order something, but he follows Namjoon to the couch where he pulls out a small rectangular device that lights up. 

Jimin watches transfixed as the rectangle comes to life, seemingly moving under Namjoon’s finger. He wants to touch it, see if it’d do the same thing for him but he dares not. 

“So what do you want? Chicken? Pork belly? Noodles?” Namjoon looks at him. Jimin pulls back, not realizing how close he was until Namjoon turned his head. 

“Whatever you want,” Jimin shrugs, unsure of how to answer. 

“Can never go wrong with chicken,” Namjoon turns back towards his phone, pressing his finger against the rectangle in his hand. Jimin finds himself leaning back in again, watching with wide eyes as colors flash across the screen.

“All done, it’ll be here in 30 minutes,” he presses a button and the rectangle goes black. 

Jimin must have a look of confusion on his face because Namjoon holds the rectangle out.

“Have you never seen a phone before?”

“Phone?” Jimin parrots back. So that’s what that contraption was called.

“Are you sure you’re from the city?” Namjoon asks, not accusingly. 

“Small city,” Jimin corrects him. 

But Namjoon doesn’t seem to believe him the way he’s staring at him. It makes Jimin curl in on himself, wondering how he’s going to manage to convince him that he’s human just like him. 

“Let’s watch something while we wait for the food,” he grabs another rectangle off the table and points it at the rectangle on the wall. Jimin’s eyes go wide as the one on the wall fills with color. “What do you like?” 

“Anything,” Jimin answers, still spell binded by the colors on the wall. 

“Can never go wrong with a comedy,” Namjoon presses on the rectangle in his hand before setting it down on the table. The rectangle on the wall is showing two people walking. Jimin wonders how they got in there.

Jimin monitors Namjoon and what he does to try to mirror him. His focus is solely on the people on the wall, so Jimin watches as well. He doesn’t understand what is going on, and why they’re watching strangers on this box.

Namjoon laughs at something that happened, but Jimin is so deep into his head wondering what this contraption is that he must’ve missed what he’s laughing at.

“Do you not like this movie?”

“Movie?” Jimin glances at him.

“Yea, the movie, have you seen it?”

Jimin shakes his head, unsure of what to say. What is a movie? Seokjin didn’t prepare him for any of this. 

“We can watch something else if you’d like,” Namjoon grabs the rectangle from the table and presses on it. The screen goes back to a bunch of small images. He hands the rectangle to Jimin. “Here, you pick something.” 

Jimin stares at the thing in his hand, unsure of what to do with it. He hands it back to Namjoon, too scared to do anything with it. 

“That’s a remote,” Namjoon tells him.

“Remote.” Jimin parrots back. 

“You didn’t have electronics where you came from, did you?” 

“Electronics?” 

“Yea, like a television,” Namjoon points at the rectangle on the wall.

“Television.”

“I guess not,” Namjoon chuckles. “We don’t have to watch anything.”

Jimin wants to ask how the people got into this television. But he fears Namjoon would laugh at him if he did. So he bites his bottom lip to prevent himself from doing so. 

“The television is how we watch things,” Namjoon starts explaining. Jimin just nods as if he understands. He wonders if those are faeries in the television, they look like they could be small enough. But he didn’t see any wings. His thoughts are interrupted by a knock. “Oh, food’s here!” 

Namjoon stands and walks towards the door, leaving Jimin alone in the room. 

“What the hell is a television,” he hears Taehyung whisper in his ear.

“Shhhh, he might hear you,” Jimin whispers back, louder than he expected. 

“How are you going to pretend to be human when there’s so much we don’t know?” Taehyung whispers. 

“He doesn’t suspect yet…shhh he’s coming back.”

“Did you say something?” Namjoon asks as he turns the corner, a bag in hand. Whatever it is smells delicious. 

“Oh, no,” Jimin smiles. “What’s that?”

“Chicken from my favorite chicken place,” Namjoon sets the bag on the table and leaves the room again.

“They eat chickens?” Taehyung whispers. 

“Seokjin warned me of this,” Jimin whispers back. 

“Heathens,” Taehyung scoffs. Jimin shoos him away with his hand as Namjoon walks back, carrying what appear to be giant plates and cleanly shaven twigs. 

He sets one plate and 2 twigs in front of Jimin and the rest in front of where he was sitting. 

Jimin watches as he holds the twigs between his fingers and uses them to pick up a piece of chicken out of some sort of container. Jimin stares at the twigs, picking them up and trying to emulate what Namjoon is doing. It doesn’t go well.

“Never used chopsticks before?” Namjoon asks gently. Jimin shakes his head. “Here, hold it like this…” Namjoon reaches over and rearranges the wood between Jimin’s small fingers. “Now, move this finger to close them.”

Jimin does as he’s told, but he’s still not quite able to get it. 

“You can use your hands if you want, it’ll probably be easier,” Namjoon suggests. 

Jimin picks up a piece of the chicken, shocked by the wetness immediately on his fingers. He brings it up to his mouth and takes a small bite. It’s good, it’s really good. He takes a bigger bite next time, looking at Namjoon with a smile.

“You like it?” 

Jimin nods as he chews, the meat soft between his teeth. 

He takes another piece, practically inhaling the delicate meat. Namjoon seems to find it amusing, because he’s chuckling as he watches Jimin. 

“Try some of this,” Namjoon passes a bowl of white towards him. “It’s rice.”

Jimin likes that he doesn’t have to pretend like he doesn’t know what it is anymore, that Namjoon just seems to understand and tell him what it is. 

“Here, try it with a spoon,” Namjoon hands Jimin a piece of silver.

“Spoon?” 

“Here, you use it like this,” Namjoon wraps his hand around Jimin’s hand, bringing it down towards the rice and dipping it into it until the spoon is covered with the sticky substance. Namjoon brings it up to Jimin’s mouth, he opens it and Namjoon puts the spoon in his mouth. Jimin’s eyes never leave Namjoon as he chews. 

“Good.” It was sticky but it was good, despite it not really having much of a taste. It went well with the chicken. 

“So, where are you really from?” Namjoon asks after they’re done eating. 

“I’m from a village far from here,” which isn’t a total lie, though it’s closer than Namjoon would think. 

“What did you eat there if not chicken and rice?”

“Lots of stuff!” But Jimin is wary to tell him. “You know, water.” 

“You drink water, not what you eat,” Namjoon laughs. But he doesn’t press it.

“The couch isn’t the most comfortable, but it’ll do. Unless you’d like my bed?” Namjoon suddenly says.

“Oh, I do not want to take you away from your bed.”

“So you at least know what a bed is,” Namjoon teases lightly, not at all rudely. 

“Of course I know what a bed is,” Jimin giggles. Namjoon seems to smile at that and it makes Jimin’s heart race. 

“I’ll go get you some blankets.” Namjoon exits the living room and heads through a door to another room. 

“They sure do have a lot of rooms in their dwellings,” Taehyung whispers from Jimin’s shoulder.

“Why do they need so much space?” Jimin whispers back. 

“What is he hiding back there? It must be more than a bed.” 

“Shh, he’s coming back.”

“These are the most comfortable blankets I have. They’re freshly washed, so they should be comfortable,” Namjoon carries the blankets in and places them on the couch. “If you need anything, I’m right down the hallway.” Namjoon points where he walked earlier. “Water is in the kitchen if you need any.” 

Jimin just nods, playing with his hands, suddenly nervous. 

“Are you sure you don’t want my bed?”

“I am sure,” Jimin nods. “But thank you.”

“Of course, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night,” Jimin gives a wave as Namjoon exits towards his own room. 

“You should have taken his bed,” Taehyung says as he stands on Jimin’s chest after Jimin lays down.

“That would be rude, plus this couch is plenty comfortable.” He wiggles down, pulling the blanket over himself. 

“What’s rude is he hasn’t kissed you yet.”

“We have only just met, it’s not in their custom to kiss someone they’ve just met.” 

“How would you know?”

“Go to sleep,” Jimin sticks his tongue out at Taehyung. 

“How do you turn the lights off? The sun has set why is it bright in here?”

“Namjoon?” Jimin calls out. 

“Yea?” Namjoon appears in the room like magic. 

“Why is it so bright?” 

“Oh, let me turn the light off.” Namjoon grabs a remote off the table and points it at the bright sun above them. With a click, it’s off and Jimin is amazed. 

“You control the sun?” 

“It’s a lightbulb,” Namjoon offers.

“Lightbulb.” 

“Good night, Jimin.” 

“Good night, Namjoon.”