Thread by @jeonthebun, marine biologist and deep diver seokjin + octokoo who hides in his [...]

marine biologist and deep diver seokjin + octokoo who hides in his own tentacles when he gets shy

sunshine yellow octokoo getting oJo shy when seokjin drifts around the edges of his habitat, observing the ocean fauna and taking small samples..koo wants to give him flowers but is too scared to approach him

he's sure seokjin has seen him at least once or twice...but sj just waits for jk to come closer, and eventually that consideration emboldens koo to crawl closer, little bouquet of colorful strips of plants that resemble flowers in hand

even behind his diving gear jungkook can tell that the human is smiling at his offering, so he gently takes seokjin by the hand and beckons him deeper into his safe little sanctuary

'cause y'know, in any universe seokjin will make jungkook feel safe and comfortable

sj dives in that same spot for weeks, and sure there's scientific merit for doing so, but he's also just really fascinated and taken with jk. it's always beyond adorable to see him unfurl from where he'd been curled and hugging his tentacles to propel himself forward and greet sj

the first time jungkook hugs seokjin he's so incredibly nervous to make the first move, reaching out very tentatively and very slowly coiling a few suctioned tentacles around seokjin's torso, and for a hot flash of a panicked second seokjin thinks he's being strangled for food

oh but surely one day seokjin’s duties will force him elsewhere :( jk sadly pops his head above the water’s surface, slowly trails after sj’s little boat for as long as possible until they’ve gone too far for jk’s comfort :( sj gives him a sweet parting kiss on the forehead :(

jungkook has never breached the surface of the sea before and the first time he does it’s to purr sadly trying to stop seokjin from leaving

weeks go by, seokjin is halfway across the sea diving with dolphins, when a letter reaches him from the main facility: it seems that he’d left behind a creature that was now exhibiting signs of distress, disrupting the surrounding ecosystem, and could he please check it out?

seokjin /knows/, he knows in his heart that it’s the sweet little octopus with the big eyes and soft tentacles, and he doesn’t hesitate for a second to pack up his equipment and rush back.

when seokjin dives down again the environment is familiar but lifeless, the plants drifting listlessly in the lazy currents, and there's no sign of jungkook anywhere. sj worries that he'd left, but the report clearly detailed a sad octopus and how many of those could there be

he circles around the area a couple times, growing increasingly worried, and then he sees jungkook—hidden in between tall stalks of kelp, curled protectively in himself and gnawing sulkily on an empty clamshell

jungkook sees him, seokjin knows he does because they make direct eye contact. but instead of the excited welcome that seokjin had grown used to in their time together, jungkook curls up even tighter and averts his gaze, pouting

the science part of seokjin’s brain remains eternally intriguied with the human emotions that jk displays so plainly despite his anatomy being that of a sea creature

when he tries to come closer, koo moves faster than seokjin’s ever seen and disappears into the forest of kelp

ah. it hurts, seokjin can’t deny that, but he understands. instead of trying to continue pursuing jungkook, disrespecting his boundaries and potentially further upsetting him, seokjin unclasps his watch and tucks it firmly in the sand by jungkook’s main habitat—

—back during their meetings jk was always especially fasinated with it, a fancy, expensive diver’s watch with a silver wristband. sj suspects jk enjoyed it so greatly because it shined very prettily even underwater, so he has no qualms about leaving it behind as a peace offering

the next day seokjin goes back again, and jungkook speeds away again—but not before seokjin catches a sparkling glimpse of his watch snug around jungkook's wrist. it makes him smile, he knew jungkook would be smart enough to work out the clasp

this time he'd come more prepared, and he leaves behind a heavy, shiny metal thermos with a twist top. jungkook likes to puzzle out oddities from the human world that aren't present in the ocean, things like clasps and pumps and knobs

(once he'd nearly unknowingly shut off seokjin's oxygen supply, but even then seokjin had known that jungkook didn't need to do anything but exist in order to take his breath away)

seokjin comes back every afternoon to leave some new gift, ranging from simple objects like snappy barrettes to pouches with multiple zippers

it feels like forever before jungkook starts to warm up to him again, cautiously inching closer to sit by seokjin’s side

jungkook seems to think that the barrettes are entirely useless and very Not Fun, but then seokjin demonstrates pinning his own hair back and jk’s eyes light up with such interest and understanding and pure delight

he allows seokjin, with great excitement, to reach out with a matching barrette and clip his inky hair back, flinching the tiniest bit when the metal snaps gently against his scalp

things are pretty normal after that.

or, at least, as normal as things can be when seokjin is all but shirking his work while trying to grapple with the reality that he is more than likely developing some brand of feelings (the kind that make his tummy flip) for an octopus who can’t even speak to him

and—it’s weird, right? sj swears there was a movie like this once, some lady falling in love with a fish-man...but then there’s also the story of little mermaid & THAT’S pretty widely known for being romantic, right? right??

seokjin lies in bed, stares at the ceiling, & sighs

they’re sitting on a bed of rock, little fish swimming under + around jk’s tentacles. he giggles then purrs deep from his chest, content. it feels like a small vibration in the water and jk happily starts to scoop at the shiny minnows

sj decides he doesn’t care if it’s weird

[pause]

this is so embarrassing for me but, did you read this thread imagining jungkook as the little yellow octopus or as, like, an octopus hybrid type of creature

there comes a point, though, where communication through mime and gesture begins to lose usefulness, and not being able to speak becomes stifling

alone on his boat, seokjin has no one to talk to and he’s starting to feel deliriously restless

he tries not to let this fatigue show when he dives down to visit jungkook, but apparently jungkook’s got a good sense for when the mood is off

almost immediately he’s petting fretful hands around seokjin’s face, cupping his cheeks as seokjin has done to him before, frowning at him with big, sparkling eyes that convey so much without jungkook needing to say a word

seokjin envies how jungkook seems to thrive on nonverbal communication, even more so as he attempts to gesture in what he hopes means “i’m fine”, but ultimately giving up when jungkook just looks confused and even more distressed

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