Chapter Text
The city wakes up with a content sigh, slowly taking in the light of a new day. It’s breathing, Namjoon thinks, its heart pumping with life in all of its stages. By the time he leaves for work, the earliest kids in the neighborhood are already rushing to the playground, cheerfully waving at him.
The bakery is already open, and Jimin greets him with a sleepy smile when he passes by. Jimin’s bakery is close to their home and right next to Namjoon’s bus station, which has naturally led to him becoming a regular customer. Like his husband says, their croissants are to die for.
Namjoon smiles remembering the half-asleep man back at home. He didn’t want to wake Jungkook up as the latter had one more day of vacation left, but Jungkook had insisted on getting his good morning kiss. Namjoon wasn’t allowed to leave for work before fulfilling this important husband duty.
The bus is on time today, so he arrives at work a bit early. A familiar voice calls out to him as soon as he gets in.
“Namjoon, you’re back!” Yoongi grins.
“Hyung! Good morning,” Namjoon greets, giving his friend a quick side hug. Just short enough not to make his hyung grumble in displeasure.
“How was the honeymoon? You went to Japan, right?”
“Magical. We just returned and Jungkook already talks about wanting to go back.”
“He was going on and on about the land of the rising sun and Mount Fuji in the wedding afterparty,” Yoongi laughs. “I’m glad it went well.”
“Yeah,” Namjoon agrees, smiling fondly as he thinks about the trip. They made a lot of beautiful memories. “How were things while I was gone? Any progress?”
“Actually, we did make one finding…”
Namjoon used to dream of being a poet. His biggest inspiration has always been the ocean with all of its wonderful creatures. He would write line after line on jellyfish and coral, verses and verses about crabs and octopi, poems upon poems of whales and fish. In the end he became a marine biologist specialising in crabs and seahorses.
Namjoon’s mother was also a researcher, although she worked in a different institute. Her team studied the effects of pollution and global warming on sea life. She had been beyond proud of her son when he announced he wanted to pursue a career as a marine biologist.
As much as he adores the ocean, the best thing this job has given Namjoon was his husband. Jungkook works as a submarine engineer, doing everything from designing and building to maintaining and fixing submarines. He is insanely gifted, and happened to design the submarine Namjoon’s team uses. Namjoon’s clumsiness had resulted in many things breaking, which led to various consultations with the pretty mechanic. By the time the submarine was fully Namjoon-proofed, the two had fallen head over heels for each other.
—
“Welcome home,” Jungkook smiles, wrapping his arms around Namjoon’s neck and stealing his second obligatory kiss of the day. It turns into two, then three kisses. “How was work?”
“Good. But I missed you,” Namjoon confesses. “How was your day?”
Jungkook holds his hand, leading him to the living room couch. The big skylight on the ceiling is both of their favourite thing about the house. Although the dome keeping the city dry and breathable was pretty high up, they could still see the fish and the sharks swimming above.
“It was great. I got inspired by a dream I had last night, and I really wanted to show you this sketch…”
Jungkook lets go of Namjoon’s hand to rummage through a pile of papers scattered on the coffee table. Namjoon puts an arm around him, amused and endeared by the passion the younger has for his work.
“What’s up with the work stuff? I thought you had the day off,” he teases.
“When inspiration knocks, you’ve gotta open the door!” Jungkook reasons, cheering when he finds the paper he was looking for.
“What do you think? It’s a remodelled version of Undertide 15. Isn’t this shape a lot prettier?”
“Looks great, honey. But is it as functional?”
Jungkook smirks, giving him another paper with some technical details scribbled around a cross section of the submarine.
“Of course it is. It even has space for one more person!”
“I don’t think we need… oh.”
Namjoon knows those puppy eyes.
“You want to join the crew?”
“Just once! I get to do test dives, but I never actually see you at your work,” Jungkook pouts.
“I’ll talk to them about it,” Namjoon assures. “Although there’s been no talk about getting a new submarine.”
Jungkook elbows his stomach and Namjoon winces. He can’t help but laugh at his sulking husband. He’s just way too cute.
“I have other work to finish first anyway. Don’t think you’re the only thing on my mind.”
“I’m aware. Just wanted to tease you.”
The small banter dies out quickly, giving way to a cuddle session in comfortable silence. Namjoon loves days like this. He can’t wait to wake up next to the love of his life again the following day. Maybe he’ll get them some freshly baked bread from Jimin’s bakery before heading for work.
—
Unfortunately, Namjoon does not wake up to his favourite sight in the world. For some strange reason, Jungkook is already up. It’s a rare occurrence as the latter loves to sleep in.
The giggles he hears from the living room answer his silent question. Trust Jungkook’s best friend to show up at the weirdest hours.
He follows the cheerful laughter and finds the two friends sitting on the floor before the couch. Jungkook notices him right away.
“Hubby, you're awake!” Jungkook smiles, closing his eyes expectantly. It’s a bit awkward with Taehyung being there, but Namjoon still grants him the morning kiss. He can’t say no to Jungkook.
“Good morning, angel. And good morning, Taehyung. You’re here early,” Namjoon says, covering his mouth as he yawns.
“Good morning! I had something I needed to tell Jungkook in person and just couldn’t wait,” Taehyung explains, excited.
Something good must have happened for him to be in such a bright mood. Namjoon won’t pry, he’ll probably hear the gist of it from Jungkook anyway.
“I’m going to the bakery. Want anything special?”
“Croissants!” Jungkook and Taehyung say, as if from one mouth.
“Croissants it is.”
It’s so early that it’s still a bit dim outside. The city may be underwater, but it’s close enough to the surface to still get sunlight. However, it was in no way comparable to the land; Namjoon is so used to the amount of light here that going to the surface hurt his eyes to the point he feared he’d go blind. Thank James Ayscough for modern sunglasses!
As for Namjoon’s husband, while he loved the city of Thalansos as much as the next person, he had also always been interested in the surface. That’s why he and Namjoon had decided on Japan as their honeymoon destination.
Part of the said country has already sunk due to the sea level gradually rising. It’s why underwater cities are becoming more and more common. Most of the submarines Jungkook designed were actually meant for transportation between these cities. They were a lot bigger than the one Namjoon’s team uses for work, although that beauty was also the size of a bus.
Namjoon buys the croissants from a sleepy Jimin—how a night owl like him became a baker was beyond Namjoon—and heads back home. Turns out that while he was gone, Taehyung and Jungkook had set up a karaoke. It was only half past seven but at this point nothing fazes him anymore.
He was going to go and get ready for work after getting his thank-you kiss from Jungkook, but the latter stopped him.
“Joonie, didn’t you know someone named Kim Seokjin?”
“Jungkook!” Taehyung gasps, a rather suspicious flush colouring his face.
“I do know a Kim Seokjin. We went to the same school. Why?”
“Nothing. Just that you might see him around more often,” Jungkook smiles, his nose scrunching in that cute way that makes Namjoon want to kiss it. He can’t wait for tonight.
—
Namjoon does wake up to his favourite sight this morning. His beloved is sleeping soundly in his arms, peaceful and pretty. Namjoon admires his wonderfully familiar features for a while before planting a soft kiss on his forehead. Although Jungkook doesn’t know it, Namjoon was the first to kiss good morning. Just like this, lips pressed against the other’s smooth skin. It’s been his tradition for a long time.
Jungkook moves a little, but doesn’t open his eyes. Namjoon kisses his nose and both cheeks before finding his way to the sweetest pair of lips. This one’s not a part of the tradition. No, this one’s a reward to Jungkook for doing a good job at pretending to be asleep. Jungkook giggles in his mouth, commenting on their morning breath when they finally pull apart. Namjoon thinks he’s falling in love all over again.
Today he feels like writing a poem.