Summer Skies and Sapphire Eyes

Rin pulls at his itchy collar, still uncomfortably tight despite his determined tugging. Unfortunately, one of the two perks involved in working night shift is not taking off the pompous security guard uniform. The job itself wasn’t his favorite, but the extra pocket money outside after paying rent in college sure was. Forgive him, but his pride burned a little too much to go home and ask his mother for help, not when he had a fully functional body and extra time in the day.

“No one will be there,” he mutters as he enters the employee backroom. “I’ll just unbutton it once the place is closed.” The sole two benefits- sleeping in late and coming in to work after all the noisy crowds have vacated into the no-longer scorching summer evening.  

“I know you don’t want me to take your sister on a date, but seducing me out of it is a little low.”

The deep, wry voice damn near scares Rin out of his own skin. He hadn’t even realized his thoughts were manifesting into him already removing the button up, and he’s not wearing an undershirt. Sousuke smirks at him, texting in the corner of the room, already changed into casualwear for his night out with Gou. Rin whips the closest thing he can find- a small magazine- at him, before tossing his bookbag in a locker with a growl. Normally both he and Sousuke are on the day shift, but the aquarium recently got in some ‘important, secret’ shipment and their supervisor Mikoshiba explained that one of them would have to work night shift for the foreseeable future.

“I don’t care how you figure it out,” he’d said in his conspicuously boisterous voice, “but you need to report the result to me by the end of this shift!”

Since they needed to answer by the end of the shift challenging Sousuke to a race in the pool was out, so they settled for pulling straws. Of course, he pulled the short straw, and now he had to walk dark halls at night while his asshole of a best friend put the moves on his sister. He can’t even give him a proper shovel talk, opting for short threats in between the daily shift changes and text messages demanding his sister be returned home nightly like the lady she is.

(Gou begs him to lay off in adorably furious messages that he pretends he doesn’t see.)

“You need anything before I head out?” asks Sousuke, standing and stretching. “The reservation is in an hour, and I planned on being early.” 

“Nah, I’ll be okay. Treat my sister well. If I get even one message of her being displeased, I’ll drown you in the big tank.”

With a small salute, a chuckling Sousuke heads out. Rin shoves a cold melon bun into his mouth, gathers his gear consisting of a flashlight, baton, walkie-talkie, and handcuffs, and start his rounds. During the beginning of his shift, tour guides, teachers, and other workers are still making their way out, cheerfully waving goodbye. He can hear Nagisa’s chirping tones as he exclaims about some new action movie to Rei, whom he knows will grumble and then still go see it. Makoto often stops him to talk about something or other, the only one with any sort of empathy for the fact that Rin no longer has a night life. With his jovial disposition, there’s a reason he’s their top tour guide with children’s groups, and Rin appreciates his attempts, but it’s clear that he’s trying to use the kid gloves with him. He manages to walk away from the interaction with some sort of face remaining.

The pathway through the Samezuka Aquarium is simple, so routine that it’s become muscle memory. Each section takes its own measurable amount of time, with the larger spaces obviously taking more time, but the routine doesn’t change. Enter room, walk a fourth of the way through, beam flashlight around corners, check that fish are still present and nothing’s broken, and repeat until the entire room has been analyzed. By the end of the rounds, he’s to check in in the security office where all the cameras are located. At first it had seemed kind of fun, like working in a bank at night or something exciting, but it quickly lost its luster when he realized no one wanted to rob this place that badly. A week in, Rin hardly knew what rooms he was in sometimes; it was so dull.

There was only one room he enjoyed walking into, devoting to it the most time each round. The largest presentation room, Fast Currents, Vast Oceans, with its gargantuan, 1.8-million-liter cylindrical tank demanded more than a cursory glance, both for work and just in sheer respect. During the day, hundreds of people made their way through the space, tour guides explaining the sea creatures in every space and allowing the guests to express their awe at the gorgeous display of coral and algae for the creatures to live in. The domed ceiling was made of glass, so the sun would make its way around the room like a natural clock throughout the day, spotlighting with its shine each space in the room. Still, isn’t until all the crowds are dispersed and the sun is far out of the sky that Rin truly falls in love with the space every night.

The large room has an eerie, bioluminescent beauty at night as the stars and moon sparkle down. The overhead display lights are off, only leaving the glowing lights in the tanks. Aquamarine, teal, amber, and violet glimmer from every case, like treasures in the deep, dark sand of the sea. Many of the fish are asleep, or at least minimally active, but some of the stragglers stare his way as he makes his way past the tanks. Quiet, western classical music plays overhead, a small mercy that makes Rin feel a little more romantic and less lonely as he performs his duty. Sometimes, he lets himself get carried away and pretends that he’s a part of the ecosystem, swimming in the deep.

Tic, tic, tic-

The clicking noise shivers up Rin’s spine, stiffening his shoulders. He swivels toward the central tank, scanning side to side over the gigantic tank. There’s nothing but a myriad of ocean fish, seemingly just as frazzled as he. Randomly, he remembers how all the mackerel species in the tank having to be painstakingly removed by patient scuba divers. He’s not sure why they had to do that, but they tried to make it a performance of sorts, sweeping the fish into the nets and waving at delighted children.

He also hasn’t seen whatever the ‘important, secret’ item was; perhaps it was hiding inside the rocks, or maybe still in the off-limits observation tanks. Either way, whatever it is was keeping him from working normal shifts, but he guesses he owes it for this private, ethereal view.

Tic, tic, tic-

Tic, tic, tic-

Tictictictictic-

All Rin can think is that there’s some super creepy crab that’s escaped from the tank- what else could possibly make such an unnerving sound? Still, he’s the first line of defense, and he turns his flashlight back toward the tank, ready to call for help, beat the shit out of an intruder, or scream-

And does neither as he falls onto his ass, jaw dropped. His flashlight clatters away, somewhere in the darkness.

What.

The.

Fuck?!

At first glance, Rin’s logical mind wants to pass this off as just a random scuba diver, maybe working in the tank after hours. Maybe there was some left-over mackerel somewhere. That has to be it. There’s no other way to make his brain conceptualize what he’s seeing.

This man- no, half man, half fish? Man-fish? Merman? Fish?

This being is in the tank, slipping seamlessly through the water as he… searches for…something? A strong, shining cerulean tail nearly blends with the water except for the sparkle of the scales, transitioning into firm, muscled, human skin. Bright sapphire eyes glow from under a fringe of slick black hair, and after a quick jolt, those eyes are now burning holes into Rin. It looks like he’s going to swim away- it would be great if he does, so Rin can blow this off as a lucid dream- but he tilts his head in curiosity and dashes forward.

Bonk!

The loud collision of the poor thing’s head into the glass shakes Rin from his existential horror, and he can’t help the snort that comes out at the creature’s impatient eye twitch. Excited, much? Finally, he stands, slowly making his way toward the tank.

“Hello?”

The merman- he’s going to call it a merman- mouths something intelligibly to him.

“What?”

The merman exhales, then tries again. Still, nothing.

“I can’t-” Rin tries shrugging to express lack of understanding. The merman presses his lips together in frustration, before opening his mouth and pointing to his (normal!) teeth. Rin pokes at his own, notoriously sharp teeth. Teeth? Why teeth? Does he want to eat me?! Whatever it is he’s missing, when it’s clear he still doesn’t get it, the merman rolls those wide eyes and swims away, dismissive. He slips away into some dark corner of the coral and rock display.

………………

Excuse me?

It shouldn’t annoy Rin. He’s just stepped into some other part of reality completely different from the one he woke up in. And yet, the brusque dismissal sparks heated offense in his chest. Who does this guy think he is? He can’t just ignore Rin like that, especially not with those (gorgeous) curt eyes! Why is he the only one suffering a crisis right now?!

Disregarding the rest of his round, he races to the workers-only back halls of the room, up two floors of the echoing metal staircase, and swipes his card into the room containing the opening of the particular tank. The hidden third floor is full of fish care and cleaning equipment, with the circle of the tank covered in a thick, mesh-like metal grate lining so that the fish- and now whoever this guy is- couldn’t jump out.

“Hey… you! Come up here and repeat yourself!” There’s a meter worth of air space in between the water and the grate, so assuming that disrespectful-fish man doesn’t suffocate on air, he should be able to hear him. He finds a solid area on the grate and begins to bang on it, only partially sorry for the disturbing the other fish.

After a couple moments, he sees a head peek out from the display, glaring up toward him. Rin only barely jumps back in time, all that nerve be damned, when the merman launches from the water and clings to the grate. His biceps flex with his body weight as he holds himself in place, his abs and tail flexing. It’s quite a sight, and Rin unintentionally licks his lips.

“You’re a shark, right? Get in here and help me find the mackerel.”

A what? “…a what?”

“Your teeth. Shark.” He speaks as though this is a normal interaction, and that Rin is the slow one. Maybe he is, because numerous irrelevant thoughts run through his mind.

Shark?! I’m no shark! Are you a fish? What in the hell have I signed up for?

All he can manage is a pathetic “They removed the mackerel the other day.”

It’s clearly not the answer the merman wants, as he tsks and releases the grate, slipping back into the water and out of sight.

“Shit! No, wait, that’s not- I mean- get back here!”

Now that his initial shock is wearing off, Rin needs to figure out what’s going on. Is this the shipment the bosses were discussing? How many people knew that there was a damn merman in the tank? Does the merman have any sort of explanation? He bangs at the grate some more, but it’s evident that the man is ignoring him since he doesn’t have any stupid mackerel. Undaunted, Rin speeds back down to the main floor and back to the glass.

The man is swimming aimlessly, bored expression completely at odds with how natural he moves his body in the water. Rin lightly taps the glass and waves his arms, trying to get his attention. When that doesn’t work, he starts flashing his flashlight in his face. He’s not sure how effective it will be through the refraction of the water, but it must be doing something because the man swims further away into the tank to avoid the glare. Rin follows, refusing to leave him be. It quickly becomes a game of keep away, because now the merman can’t ignore him, scowling as he swims away. Soon, Rin is racing him around the cylindrical tank- he might not have a tail, but he considers himself pretty fast.

As for the merman, Rin knows he’s starting to win him over when a small smile cracks the annoyed look on his face, as though he’s waiting for Rin to catch up, sand dusting around him as he speeds away. Around and around they go for about ten minutes, the merman testing Rin’s endurance until they’re running laps around the tank. Occasionally the merman flops on his back and swims facing Rin, surely flexing his skills as he allows the water to sieve between splayed hands, flying through the space. The other fish have long made space for whatever strange ritual is being performed in front of them, peeking from behind the coral.  

A lightbulb goes off in Rin’s mind, and as the merman swims past him, Rin comes to a sudden stop, falling to the ground and out of sight. There’s another, comparably miniscule tank across from where he hides, and soon he sees the merman’s reflection in its glass. His confusion is adorable, especially when he watches that pretty face morph into near disappointment. Triumphant, he pops up and fist bumps the glass, gleefully watching the merman jerk backward in surprise.

“Caught you!” he shouts, breathing with exertion. “I win!”

A quick flash of petulance flashes over the merman’s face, before he sidles back up to the glass. Slowly, he raises his own fist, gently laying it exactly where Rin’s hand lays, and Rin’s heart squeezes in his throat and at his ribcage. The merman’s cheeks flush a pretty pink, and he refuses to look Rin in the eyes before he swims toward the top of the tank.

As for himself, Rin can see how red his own cheeks and ears are. He’s just tired from all the running, he rationalizes. It was hard work catching a merman! Either way, he manages a little more energy to make it back up all those stairs and toward the gate. This time, he pulls a nearby chair to the grate where the man grips once more.

“Okay,” he breathes, leaning over the side and staring directly into the merman’s face. “This time, we’re going to start over. My name is Rin. Matsuoka Rin.”

“Haru.”  

“Just… Haru?”

“…Nanase Haruka… Call me Haru.”

Rin can’t even help the irony as his long-held, teasing retort raises in his chest. “Girly name.”

Haru scowls, cheeks back to the pink they were earlier, and Rin decides he quite likes flustering this man, Haru, ruining that ice cold expression.  

“So, there’s no mackerel, because you can’t eat the fish in the display. I get it now. Though, I’m curious- why haven’t you tried the other ones?”

It’s like Rin has asked the dumbest question ever, the way Haru sniffs. “I don’t want the other ones.”

“Can I get you anything else?”

“No.”

Snorting, Rin flicks at once of Haru’s fingers. “Why are you picky? What else are you going to eat?”

“Sometimes there’s a basket full of mackerel. I don’t know what I have to do to find the source of the baskets and I can’t remove this strange barrier. I thought you’d be a helpful shark and bring me the food.”

The barb within ‘helpful’ stings, and Rin’s eye twitches, but he takes a deep breath.

“First, I’m not a shark.”

“Your teeth-”

“They’re just naturally sharp! Anyway, next, I don’t know where the mackerel is. But, if you’re willing to wait until tomorrow, I can bring you some from home. I guess there’s no point in asking how you like it grilled and seasoned?”

Haru, who’s been at full attention ever since ‘bring you some’, cocks his head. “Grilled? Seasoned?”

“It’s when you put some extra flavor on it and cook it over a fire.”

“Fire?”

“Yeah, it’s-” Rin is about to reach for his phone to show an example when he bumps against his walkie-talkie, and pales.

“Shit!” he exclaims, launching up from the chair. “I have a job!” He’s been so distracted by getting Haru’s attention that he’s completely neglected to check in! He’s halfway out the room when he realizes Haru is still hanging on the grate, and he scrambles back.

“I’ll be back a little later to explain fire!”

“With the mackerel?”

“No, not with the mackerel!”

If Rin were paying any attention, he’d instantly find it suspicious that Sousuke took a day off from work this weekend and is currently in their shared apartment with his sister, who’s wearing one of Sousuke’s college t-shirts. Instead, he wakes up, goes on his three-mile run in baking temperatures, and then makes his way to the open-air marketplace for some groceries. Now he glares at the sizzling pan, muttering, the grease popping onto his skin as the warm smell of butter and seared mackerel overtakes the kitchen area. Sweat soaks his sleeveless workout shirt, but he persists through the heat.

As for Sousuke and Gou, this behavior is baffling. As long as they’ve known him, damn near his whole life, he has never shown this much affinity for fish, and suddenly he’s spent half an hour pan-grilling four of them. Gou sidles up to him, entirely too smug for the situation she herself is in.

“Nii-chan… you’ve got a girlfriend now!”

Rin jumps. “Gou? What the hell are you doing here? And no, I don’t!”

“A boyfriend then?” Gou persists. “Because you hate fish! It must be for someone else!”

Heat that’s not from the hot stove rises in Rin’s face at ‘boyfriend’, and he stutters flipping the fish onto the grease-dripping pan. “It’s just fish for a friend at work, is all.”

Sousuke, who’s been intently watching the entire time, finally speaks up from the couch.

“Which work friend?”

Nosy bast- “Don’t worry about it! They were hungry yesterday, so I offered to help!”

“This seems like a lot for a friend,” comments Gou, kindly moving the already-cooled fish into the large Tupperware bin. “You seasoned it, squeezed lemon over it, even butter-basted it while frying. Is being your friend always this exciting?”

“No,” Sousuke confirms, and smoke practically shoots from Rin’s ears. Perhaps… perhaps it was a lot for a guy who definitely ate fish raw, bones and all, and liked it. Still, he’d wanted to make the experience special for Haru, especially since he’d looked so excited as Rin tossed the words ‘grilled and seasoned’ as though they were something important.

“You know what,” he seethes, turning off the burner and snatching the bin from Gou. “I don’t need this! If anything, I should be asking you what you’re doing here! In fact, I did!”

Caught, Gou flushes to her roots. “I- I don’t need to answer that! We’re both in college, and I can do what I want with my time!”

“Keep that energy when it comes to my business, then! And put on your own clothes!”

Gou sticks out her tongue as Rin shoves the fish in the fridge, then dashes back into the bathroom. Frustration lingers under his skin, itchy as he scrubs the grease and sweat away. He was just doing something nice! That’s all it was! And Haru was going to be elated when he saw how much work Rin put in just to-

To-

Impress him.

“It’s just something nice!” he hisses to himself, pissed at how his heart thumped at the thought of that small smile, and how it knows Haru is eagerly awaiting him. By the time he’s cleaned and ready to go, Sousuke and Gou are no longer in the apartment, so it’s easy for Rin to shove the Tupperware full of cooked fish into his bookbag and head for the train station. To temper himself, he waits until the middle of his shift when darkness has fallen to make his way to the top of the tank where Haru twitches impatiently.

“Don’t worry, I brought you the fish,” he cajoles, laughing at Haru’s deep pout. He’s quick to shove down any further reaction to the plush lips. “Let go of the grate.” It’s difficult, but Rin manages to unlock the heavy grate, and move it over a hand’s width. “This is the bowl holding the fish. Please, please stay up here and keep the fish over the water. I can’t bring you anymore fish if you get me fired for littering in the tank.”

He pulls the lid off the container and holds it down to the water, until Haru takes it, sniffing inside the bowl.

“It has other smells than the sea,” he accuses, wrinkling his nose.

“Those are the seasonings I told you about, plus the butter I cooked it in.”

Seasonings, butter, cooked- it’s all too much for Haru; how hard was it to just go and hunt? Haru’s gaze flicks to the five large fish in the bowl, and back up to a nervously expectant Rin. He finally decides to trust him, and pinching one fish by the tail, he takes a tentative bite.

It’s spine-tinglingly superb. Amazing. Haru has never had anything like this, and it shows as he moans with pleasure, eyes shutting as he savors the flavor. As for Rin, his face is frozen in a grin, face almost redder than his hair. He hadn’t expected for Haru to react in a such a… suggestive manner.

It only takes Haru minutes to devour the fish in the bowl, unable to control his ravenous hunger. The regular mackerel is tried and true, and he’ll always love it, but this… he wants Rin’s mackerel now. The mackerel with the cooking and the butter, it had been worth waiting for, and he thinks he’s willing to do anything for it.

“Rin?”

“Yes?”

“Open the grate a little more, please.”

“Uh, okay.” Confused, Rin opens the grate a little bit more. Was something wrong? Did the fish disagree with him? Had something fallen into the tank, and he didn’t notice? Fuck, I can’t afford to get fired over some pretty eyes-

“Move.”

Rin can’t even bite out a response before Haru vanishes back into the water, and it all goes still. Suddenly, time slows when a wave of water containing a large body launches out of the tank, the grate moved to the side with inhuman strength, speed, and dexterity.

Time crashes into him just as quickly as Haru does.

A thunderous crash echoes across the room, the sea crashing into the poorly built pier that is Rin’s arms, and three things run through his dizzy mind.

First, Haru is heavy. The way he weaved through the water always seemed so weightless, so perfectly free, but it couldn’t be clearer now that the tail was substantial, solid muscle, and Rin is powerless in its wake. Second, his clothes are soaked, and thanks to the thick humidity of the room and both of their heavy breathing, he feels disgustingly like a wet sock. Nothing hurts, luckily, but that might be due to the warm arm braced firmly behind his head.

Finally, and to Rin’s chagrin, Haru is laid directly over top of him. He can feel his heartbeat, chest to chest; he can feel stressed pants tickling his ear. The worst part is when Haru stiffens with a grunt, just a little, and braces his free arm to push his face just over Rin. It would only take Rin a small lift of his head for their lips to press together. Instead, they’re just silent for a couple moments, staring into each other’s eyes long enough for Rin’s face to flush with mortification at a new revelation:

While he was trying to catch his bearings, Haru’s tail has dissolved into thin air, and all that’s left is a lithe human body. Haru is completely naked, and he’s straddling Rin just so. If Rin moves, even a little, he’ll feel- it will brush up against him, against his- he can’t move! Oblivious to Rin’s inner screaming, Haru doesn’t get off, just moves his arm, letting Rin’s head smack against the floor. He leans back, looking down at Rin’s legs with disappointment.

“Hm. No change. You’re really not a shark after all.”

The inner screaming scratches out of Rin’s throat as a pained whimper. Instinctively he goes to grab Haru’s waist- he only wants to move the other man off of him! But Haru’s hands are at his wrists like light-speed.

“What are you doing?”

“Get off of me!”

“Oh. Sorry.” With a strangely confident gait, Haru lifts himself onto his feet, taking a couple stumbling steps before standing still. As for Rin, he’s on his feet instantly, trying his best to divert his eyes from the unbothered, naked man in front of him. It doesn’t help that because his clothes are soaked, if he has any sort of…reaction, there’s nothing that can be done.

“Haru! Why would you do that?” he bemoans, scowling in the opposite direction. “I don’t have any extra clothes!”

“So just take them off.”

Rin chokes on his spit, thumping his chest to clear his throat. “I can’t ‘just take them off’! We don’t just walk around naked out here in the real- human- world!”

It’s oddly quiet, and when Rin hazards a peep in front of him, the spot is vacant. Panicked, he twists around the room, finding Haru headed to the door to the stairway.

“Hey!” He just barely makes it in time to slam into the door, cutting off Haru’s great escape. “Are you even listening to me?”

“You’re being dramatic. We’ll just go find you more ‘clothes’.”

“That’s not how- we’d both need- Haru-” Rin takes a deep breath. No emotions, just calm. Composure. “Just get back in the tank.” There’s a small yank at his shirt, and when he looks down, he damn near expires. Haru is unbuttoning his shirt, ignoring him. Squeaking, Rin smacks his hands away.

“Again, I can’t just change- what am I going to do with you?”

It’s a miracle how a tarp appears in Rin’s vision, and he snatches it off its hook and wraps it around Haru like an oversized, strange green cloak. He tugs Haru closer, making sure the other can see how serious he is.

“If you’re not going to get back in the tank, fine. Do not take this off until we both find clothes. I will tell you when. I mean it.”

Haru blinks a couple times, then averts his eyes from the intense gaze. Rin’s going to have to accept that as affirmation, and he pulls Haru toward the stairway. They make it all the way to the employee break room, where Rin pushes Haru into a chair and scrambles for his phone. Swallowing scalding hot pride, he calls Sousuke.

“Answer the phone, damnit,” he mutters, trying again when it goes to voicemail. “I’m desperate here.”

Sousuke can’t even get a ‘hello’ in before Rin is barking a command into the receiver.

“I need two changes of clothes and some shoes!”

“Why?” His voice is tired, as though interrupted from sleep.

“Don’t ask me why! Damnit, I let you date my sister, you owe me! And why do you sound tired, it’s not even midnight yet!”

“You’re the one that wants a favor, don’t question me. Did you pee your pants? Something scare you in the dark?”

“Sousuke!”

“Rin.”

Rin punches the neighboring locker, biting his tongue. Haru is twitching impatiently behind him, and he can’t afford to lose track of him before he runs off and does something else crazy.

“Fine, fine, I’ll explain it when you get here!”

He clicks off the call, folding his arms at the merman. For twenty minutes they remain in the same position, Rin intensely focused on Haru, Haru intensely focused on twitching in the tarp. Finally, the annoying flapping noise becomes too much, and Rin sighs.

“Stop doing that. Do you need to pee or something? Because you can’t just pee in the air randomly. We go to bathrooms.”

Haru only rolls his eyes.

“Why are you rolling your eyes now? What’s wrong?”

“This is uncomfortable.”

“You could always get back in the tank!”

Pursing his lips, Haru ignores him and slams a bare leg onto the table, stretching the toes. Just as Rin is about to berate or choke him, the door opens. Frozen in horror, Sousuke’s emerald eyes widen as he tries to take in the scene in front of him. There’s no denying it looks bad. Rin, soaked to the bone with a peeled open shirt, Haru, naked except for a tarp, firm skin visible all the way up to the thigh propped up (seductively?!) on a table. The door slams closed, and Rin races after him, dragging him back into the room and locking the door behind him.

“Why is there a naked man in here?” cries Sousuke, flushed to his roots. “At work, Rin? And you called me afterward?! Do you lack shame?”

Rin is equally flustered. “It’s not what- oh, shut up! He’s not just a random naked man! He came out of the fish tank!”

Sousuke’s eyes dart between Rin’s frantic ones and Haru’s clear ones. It’s not like Rin lies to him on the regular, and there’s nothing to indicate it now, but this explanation is a little too far.

“Your kink involved using the fish tank?”

Rin’s brow twitches at the joke, and he squeezes Sousuke’s shoulder painfully tight. “Don’t do this right now. He’s a merman- he was in the tank! This is what they put me on the shift for!”

Sousuke is still not inclined to believe him when a hand waves his direction.

“I want some water.”

“Who even are you? Get it yourself.”

“No! I told him not to move.” Restless, Rin gets some water from the water cooler and hands him the cup. Without missing a beat, Haru pours the water onto his legs, and Sousuke’s soul leaves his body when a sparkling tail unfurls and smashes into the table. Haru gives him an expectant look, then turns back to a distraught Rin.

“It’s only temporary,” he explains, drying the space off with the tarp. “That’s not enough water to keep me like this.”

“Why would you even leave the tank if you need water to survive?” Rin demands, trying to move the tarp drying along faster. Haru smacks away his hand, frowning.

“I don’t need it to survive; I can leave if I want. I just usually don’t. Human things didn’t interest me that much until now. Now I want to go with you and see fire, and how to make the mackerel taste that way.”

As Haru and Rin go back and forth, the pieces suddenly click in Sousuke’s head. The mackerel, ‘human things’, the tail, the bright pink blush on both of their faces. He gets it now.

“This is the guy, then. Okay.” Of course you couldn’t make a normal choice, Rin.  

His understanding is ignored by Rin, who has steam coming from his ears as he places the boxers, t-shirt, and gym shorts on the table.

“Put these on. Let me know if you need help.”

Haru remains silent, putting on the clothes himself, but suspiciously allowing Rin to slide the flip-flops onto his feet. When the shirt is fully on, Rin rests his arms on either side of Haru’s body, kneeling in front of him, oddly content.

“It fits well,” he whispers, voice soft. “You feel okay in it?”

His expression is unusually gentle, and the way Rin unintentionally looks at Haru from under his lashes makes Haru clutch nervously at his arm. He nods, and Rin moves towards his own clothes. Haru averts his eyes as Rin changes, trying his best to think calm, cool thoughts of the sea. He’s never felt ashamed of nakedness- it’s not really a concept, where he’s from- and yet, something strange and new burns in his chest, ever since this mercurial man with the loud voice and bubbly, warm energy entered his life.

Rin finishes dressing, and now that he’s dry and calm, he can strategize.

“I guess we have to take him back. I’ll call Mikoshiba, let him know that it’s an emergency and I need to go home.” 

Sousuke folds his arms, leaning against the wall. “And say what? ‘Hey boss, the merman this aquarium went to lengths to hide jumped out of the tank and I stole him off the property. Yes, are you going to fire me?’”

Cringing, Rin turns away to hide his embarrassment. He wasn’t going to ask to be fired, he was just going to hope they wouldn’t!

“What else am I supposed to do? He’s not going to get back in the tank, and if I leave him here who knows where he’ll go now that he can get away? It’s safer to bring him with us!”

Rin and Sousuke are so caught in their argument that they somehow manage to miss it as Haru slips away. The idea of being caught in that trap any further doesn’t appeal to him for numerous reasons, and Rin has proven himself incapable of directly communicating a point, so Haru isn’t going to chance it. Worst case scenario, he’ll find the mackerel himself. The darkness of the enclosure is strange from the outside, not nearly as enveloping as the deep, dark sea, and yet it feels lonelier. Perhaps it’s due to the missing pressure of the water around him, but he feels vulnerable, directionless. Nothing feels familiar, so he ends up wandering into another space, and his mouth falls open as he sees a familiar coral structure, as well as many other fish.

Admittedly, his prison is quite beautiful on its own, though it’s nothing compared to the wildness, the freedom, and the excitement of the real ocean. If this is all humans could conceive of his home, they were severely ignorant. Still, he can tell that whoever attempted to bring this vision to the humans had a love for what little they were trying to convey, so he can begrudgingly give them that. He’s so caught in his thoughts that he jumps when frantic hands grip his arms.

“What the fuck, Haru? See, Sousuke, I told you we couldn’t leave him alone!”

Rin flicks his eyes over Haru’s body, checking for potential harm. His hands curl around Haru’s shoulders, then freeze before slinking away. Pleased, he grasps his hand and pulls him back toward the exit.

“Listen. We’re going back to my place.”

Haru, more focused on the warmth of the hand holding his own, only blinks. “Okay.”

Rin, for his part, is still remembering the way his heart sank like a rock in his chest when he looked to the side and Haru was no longer there. Fear, cold and clammy, spread like sweat as he sprinted out of the employee breakroom, calling Haru’s name in each room. It was only luck that he managed to pop his head into Vast Oceans and find the slippery merman in open view staring at his own tank. While checking over Haru’s frame, he’d been tempted to draw him into a hug- he only barely stopped himself last moment, opting instead to drag Haru away.

They buckle Haru into the back of Sousuke’s rented car and head for home.

“Do not take this off, and do not open the door.”

“You don’t have to baby him, Rin,” comments Sousuke, smiling at a finicky Rin.

“I’m not babying him! He’s crazy; I might look away for one moment, and we end up with squished fish!”

Lights flicker by in the darkness, the world speeding by as Rin and Sousuke’s bickering fades into the background for Haru. His human legs, strong though they were, could never reach such speeds. Perhaps he needs to give humans more credit for creativity than he thought!

Amazing! It’s like being in the currents!

“It’s so fast,” he murmurs, enchanted.

“Never been in a car, then?” Sousuke teases, witnessing Haru’s astonishment in the rear-view mirror. Haru shakes his head, and a grinning Rin turns in his seat to see for himself.

“I bet there’s a whole lot of things you’ve never seen! Stick with me, I can show you so much more.”

Sousuke says something about Rin ‘flirting in front of his salad’, which grabs Rin’s attention once more, and Haru is left to dwell on his promise until the car slows to a stop. Rin is the first out, showing Haru how to unbuckle himself.

“Sousuke has to go find a place to park, so we’ll go up first.”

When they reach the door to the apartment Haru tugs on Rin’s shirt. “I want to use the car.”

“It’s not that easy. You have to learn how to drive to use the car.”

“Then teach me.”

“Um,” Rin hedges, key wavering in front of the door. “We’ll try some other things first.”

Haru scowls at the refusal, folding his arms. “You’re just nervous I’ll ‘drive’ better than you!”

“No, I’m not! And you wouldn’t, anyway!”

“I would!”

“You wouldn’t- and knock it off with the yelling, you’re going to annoy the neighbors!”

Annoyed, Rin swings open the door and yanks Haru into the home. He kicks off his shoes, directing Haru to kick off the flip flops he’d been wearing at the door. The two-bedroom apartment is small, the eastward facing balcony doors allowing the moonlight to shine on the mat on the floor. A small couch futon sits across from a small entertainment system, and Rin sits Haru on the couch.

“This is where you’re going to sleep; I’ll bring you some blankets and a pillow. The bathroom is the first door to the left, my room is in the middle, and Sousuke’s door is on the right. The kitchen is right over here; it’s small but it functions. I miss the one back at home.”

“Where do you make the mackerel?” Haru is 100% serious, and Rin can’t help his little chuckle.

“The kitchen.”

“Show me.”

Sighing outwardly, yet secretly delighted for another opportunity to show off, Rin swaggers over to the kitchen area and gestures grandly to the stovetop.

“Okay, so this is where the magic happens.” With that, he turns the knob, and after a couple clicks, blue flames lick out from the burner. Rin doesn’t care how proudly caveman it is, I made fire! is all he can think of as Haru’s gaze widens in wonderment at the flames. His ego-stroking shatters as Haru reaches a hand toward the beautiful flames, determined to hold it. Jolting, he snatches Haru’s fingers away at the last second.

“Ah! No! Fire is hot, right? Like, super fucking hot, so don’t touch it.” Before Haru can question why fire is hot, and why Rin’s fingers are now scalding, he snatches his hand away and moves to the fridge. “This is where we keep the food, and of course, nice and fresh- the fish!”

A ravenous look appears on Haru’s face, but he’s trying not to be greedy, especially since he’s eaten already tonight. He just starts planning for later. “You put that into the fire?”

“Well, if it were a bonfire I could, but here we need to put it onto a pan. If you put it directly onto the fire, it could be dangerous, burn down the apartment, and hurt a lot of people. I’ll show you how to do it tomorrow, okay? I have an apron over there to put on and everything. There’s a finesse required to make it the way I do.”

It’s not a lie- Haru doesn’t know how to use anything in a kitchen, but Rin can practically hear Gou scoffing at his need to flex. He scoots Haru toward the sterile-white, cramped bathroom. He and Sousuke are relatively clean housemates, and luckily, he’d cleaned it a day prior so that it was spotless.

“There’s a drain here, in case you, um… need to flop around. The shower faucet- where you get the water to come out- are here. After you use the bathroom, you’ll wash your hands here, with the water from these faucets.” A memory of Haru’s- body up against him makes Rin stare away, blindly pointing towards the toilet. “For peeing, you aim toward the bowl here and then when you’re done with your business, push this button here. Please tell me you know how to stand and pee?”

Please say yes, please say yes, I don’t think I’ll be able to-

The hollow sound of trickling liquid in response to his question leaves Rin hiding in the nearest corner, hands around his face.

“I won’t shift washing my hands,” Haru explains, ever unruffled. “But I will when I use this ‘shower’.”

A half-hearted whimper of “Great” is all Rin can manage before he scoots out of the bathroom. His bedroom marks the end of an admittedly short tour. The low-to-the-floor bed lays against the wall across from the door, underneath one of the two windows in the room. There’s a small nightstand stuffed with clothes next to the head of the bed, and a small chest at the foot. The closet, where Rin retrieves a blanket for Haru, is on the same wall as the door. A two-level bookshelf is covered in books, magazines, and knick-knacks, and the walls are covered with random posters and pictures of Rin holding trophies and medals.

“That’s from a swimming competition I won in high school,” explains Rin, when Haru stops at one of the pictures of him beaming with a gold medal.

“Swimming competition?” Haru asks, sitting on the small bed.

“Yeah! I swam butterfly and free, and I was kickass at both! No one could beat me, really. Sousuke tried to, often, but he couldn’t manage it.”

Haru tries to imagine what ‘butterfly’ swimming looks like and fails. He doesn’t even have to ask before Rin graciously pulls out his phone to pull up a video of one of his old competition reels.

“This is a phone, right? If I want to take a picture of something for later, or to look up mackerel recipes, I can use this.” He shows Haru the video where he qualified first for a national competition. To Haru’s credit, he seems more vividly focused on the video than he is at Rin’s offhanded fish comment.

“You swim good. For a human, I mean.” If Haru is being honest, Rin far surpasses the others around him in this ‘swimming competition’. His form is nice, propelling him through the water without over-exhausting himself. When he reaches the end of the race in this-

“Open air tank?”

“Pool.”

When he reaches the end of this ‘pool’, the Rin in the video rises a triumphant fist to the sky, vocalizing his glee. Rin snatches away the small screen, shrugging.

“I still practice on my own; I’m sure I could out-swim the college team at this point if I wanted to.”

“Why don’t you?” It comes out more emphatic than Haru meant for it to, especially since it’s none of his business. Still, witnessing the glowing joy on Rin’s face, both in the video and in real life, he knows that it must be for a reason. Haru can’t imagine someone taking his ability to swim away from him. It’s his entire life, and he adores it.

Unfortunately, a shadow crosses Rin’s expression at the question, and Haru immediately regrets asking.

“Life.” He shrugs, a dismissal. “I don’t really want to say anything else about it.”

It’s fair, and yet Haru really wants to push it. He doesn’t exactly have the right to ask for more; they’ve only two days ago. Still…that look on his face, he’d do anything to see it in action.  

“Do you have more?” he asks instead, trying to approach delicately in a way he’s never bothered to before. It works, because Rin smiles, reaching underneath the bed to pull out his laptop.

“I do! It’s easier to watch on my laptop. It essentially does all the same things my phone does, except it doesn’t fit in my pocket. Here, scoot over.”

Haru scoots over to make space, and Rin gets comfortable against the head of the bed. He pulls up his video folders, chock full of competitions from when he was little to when he graduated. Some of them are still in VCR format, having been converted for proper storage. A little heartbreak pounds in his chest as he goes to click the first one; his dad was still alive in those, cheering Rin on from the stands and from behind the camera.

“Rin?”

Rin inhales sharply in surprise; his fingers have been wavering over the mousepad without ever connecting, and what shook him was Haru’s nudge of concern. 

“Sorry. It’s the first time in a while that I’ve pulled these videos up. They remind me of when I was little, when my dad would come to my swimming stuff. He died, so after a while he stops showing up. It’s just me, my mom, and my sister Gou.” 

He’s about to apologize for how dismal he’s being; Haru didn’t ask for his sob story. Instead Haru only nods, wrapping his shoulders in Rin’s blanket.

“I haven’t seen my parents in a long time, either.”

Oh, damn. “Did they both…”

Haru shakes his head, and it’s his turn to shrug. “Didn’t want to be around. Wanted to be free. I guess I can understand that.”

Rin cannot understand that at all, actually, and it pisses him off. What kind of parents would just choose not to be around their kid? Rin’s dad made it a point to be there for him when he could! There’s nothing he can do about it now, so he just exhales his frustration through his nose and, renewed with purpose, clicks the first video.

“I was eight in this one, I think. First competition!”

His bright smile is back in full force, and Haru feels…safe. He feels secure, for the first time in a long time. When Haru gently smiles back, he has no way of knowing that Rin feels the same way. They watch the swimming videos, and then move on to videos of Olympic and professional swimmers, until their eyelids are so heavy that they can’t help it and they fall asleep, their legs curled around each other’s.

Dreams of light-speed currents, sparkling blue water, and a soft hand flash through Rin’s mind, shattered by the daylight piercing through his windows, along with a strange undercurrent of anxiety at this strange smell in his room.

Maybe I’m just overthinking things.

Remembering what had happened last night, he rolls over, hoping to see Haru still asleep by his side. The space is empty, not long cooled- perhaps he’d gone to the bathroom? Either way, memories still bring a dopey smile to his face, Rin’s cheeks tugging tight with his happiness. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep next to Haru, especially when he’d turned to see the merman asleep beside him, mouth adorably open as he breathed softly. His heart had filled with warmth, made him giggly, even, but he knew that the right thing to do was to get a blanket and go sleep on the couch.

“I’ll just watch one more video,” he’d told himself, while straightening the blanket around Haru. He couldn’t even remember what the videos were about, as he’d fallen asleep about three ‘one more video’s in. Perhaps it was the extra comfort, or just the past two days splashing him in the face, but his dreams had been unusually vivid that night, full of sunlight, oceans, fish, and an oddly gentle merman.

That cloying, thick smell again…

What the hell is that?

Is that… smoke?!

He reaches down to his phone on the floor by the bed, and damn near drops it in shock. His phone has been locked for an hour. Had Haru tried to break into his phone? This many times, too? What the hell for? Finally, a repetitive, blaring alarm goes off, and more pieces click into place. Alarmed, Rin sprints to the door, opening it to a wave of dark smoke. Heart racing, he sprints to the balcony doors, tossing them wide open and turning on the ceiling fan. The kitchen is where the smoke is centering from, and he can see Haru’s feet backed into the fridge in a panic.

Despite everything instinctually telling him to run, Rin dashes into the smoke and opens the kitchen window. He snatches an oven mitt from the wall and yanks the burning pan from the fire, slams it into the sink, and turns off the stove. Something on the floor is slippery, and he damn near trips as he grabs blindly for a coughing Haru, pulling him into the living room area and into his arms. Haru’s eyes and cheeks are a harried red, his arms burned in a couple spots from what was likely sizzling water and fat combining. He’s wearing nothing but his underwear and an apron, and his entire frame is shivering with fear as he tries to breathe.

Rin looks back at the kitchen area, the smoke clear enough to see the damage. There’s an empty package on the floor, with two fish full of bites. He’s sure that if he looks in the sink, he’ll see more fish burnt to a crisp on a charred pan. Rage erupts in his heart, and he turns back to Haru with a fury, pulling him out of the tight hold and grasping his shoulders.

“What the fuck were you doing?! Was that all of the fish in the fridge?”

Haru, to his credit, has the nerve to look to the side, full of shame.

“I was really hungry.”

Rin has to toss his hands in the air, then runs them through his hair so that he doesn’t do something stupid, like punch Haru straight in the face.

“All this for- for hunger?! Why didn’t you just fucking tell me to wake up?! I told you I was going to show you how to do it! You could have burned the place down, and you could have gotten yourself and many others hurt!”

Tears that he can’t help pool in Haru’s eyes. “Don’t yell at me!” he cries, defensive. “I was just trying to let you sleep, but your phone wouldn’t reveal the way to cook the fish, so I just did what you said yesterday! I didn’t know I’d need ‘finesse’ just to cook fish!”

If Rin weren’t so sick to his stomach at the thought of the worse-case scenario, it would almost be funny the way Haru thought he had to completely undress for an apron, how he’d misunderstood Rin’s explanation, and sweet with how he thought he’d consider Rin’s rest. Still, he doesn’t have any space in his heart yet for graciousness.

“Just wake me up from now on! I can take care of you, just let me do it!”

Whatever retort Haru has dies on his lips, his eyebrows rising. Despite standing his ground, Rin feels just as awkward, realizing that he’s just shoved his own foot in his mouth. Take care of you? What am I even saying? They just stare at each other intensely for a few moments, before Rin is the first to crack and scoffs, turning back toward the kitchen.

“I’ll clean up here. Just…go get cleaned up. There’s an extra toothbrush in the bathroom; Sousuke’s is green, mine is blue. You can pick whatever clothes you want.” He grabs the broom, sweeping up the half-eaten fish bits where he can. “We’ll have to go to the store today; luckily I’m off work today so that’s fine.”

Haru, still nervously grabbing at his own arm, silently leaves, and Rin hears the bathroom door close. Rin is only slightly grateful that Sousuke must be at work today and couldn’t witness that entire debacle.

I can take care of you.

Why would Rin say that? He’s never felt so… protective, before. Even with his sister, whom he loved to death and would happily fight over, he’d never had this sort of feeling before. Everything he’s been feeling lately is chaotic, so many ups and downs, and he can’t tell if he likes it or not. Shaking his head, he tries to scrub out his thoughts by scraping the blackened fish off his pan. It’s clear it’s a loss when five minutes of effort barely result in anything other than ruining the surface of his pan, so he just tosses the whole thing in the trash.

The same moment he turns the water on for a bucket of mop water, the water in the shower comes on, followed by a loud thud. Rin is at the door immediately, knocking.

“You okay?”

“Yes.”

That doesn’t sound overly confident, so Rin peeks an eye into the bathroom. Haru is oddly slumped against the bathtub wall, the shower spraying him in the face as his tail flops with irritation.

“I’m going to help you.”

“I don’t want your help!”

“What did I just-” Rin stops, breathes, and moves the shower nozzle off the wall and hands it to Haru. “This will help,” he explains, teeth grit as he tries to be patient. Haru, sniffling, takes the nozzle and sprays himself in the face, rubbing his eyes. “Are you-”

Before he can say ‘crying’, he’s hit in the face with a blast of water. Stunned, Rin can only gape as Haru’s mouth twitches, he tries biting his lip to stop it, but soon he’s-

He’s laughing.

“Hey!” Rin wants to be angry- he was only trying to help, once again! But the way Haru’s eyes crinkle, that soft laugh that seems long held in bubbling to the surface, he can’t help but smirk back. He sticks out a childish tongue at Haru instead.

“I’d threaten to drown you in your bathwater, but I feel like it wouldn’t work.”

Still laughing, Haru sticks a tongue back out, and it’s such a cute expression that Rin’s already forgiven him for the morning incident. He stands, and quickly pulls the shower curtain over, a first line of defense against anymore sudden rain.

“The soap’s to your left. Your towel is over here, this grey one.”

Just as he’s closing the door, he hears a quiet “Thank you.” Rin shrugs, grinning.

“No worries. I told you, I’d have your back. Just stick with me.”

The sun is high overhead as Rin pulls Haru out of the apartment building. Rin has opted for sunglasses, a green sleeveless shirt, and some khaki shorts. He’s got a bookbag with a change of clothes, a towel, and some sunscreen- if anyone knew, they’d think he was going to the beach. Instead, all of this is in case of a Haru emergency. Haru, for his part, is wearing a blue t-shirt and another pair of khaki shorts. He’s also wearing a bucket hat, helping him deal with the sudden, unfiltered brightness of the sun.

Rin explains to Haru that he’s taking him to both an open-air market and a regular grocery store, to give him the experience of both. The first on the last is the open-air market, and it’s coastal, so the air-conditioned bus ride allows Haru to view the beautiful blue ocean on the way in full comfort. While Haru stares longingly at the water, Rin stares at him, trying to filter through his complicated feelings. Right now, his foremost, winning thought is of how he wished Haru would look upon him that way.

When their stop is approaching, he taps Haru. “The string for the bell is right up there. If you pull it, the bus will slow down to our stop.”

Raising a tentative hand, Haru pulls the string, inhaling at the bell. The bus slows, and Rin waves Haru forward as they step down into the market. The sun bears down once more, but luckily most of the market is covered by the shading of the stands.

“I could get you fresh fish here,” Rin continues explaining, “but it won’t smell very good if I carry it around all day. It’s perfect if you’re going to have a day on the beach, and you can cook it there.”

He points Haru to the fish stand, where fisherman haul different types of fish onto the table, or string some along for selling. They make their way past fruit stands, where the kind peddlers allow them to try the wares. Haru opens his mouth as Rin pops in one of each fruit, including a blackberry, a blueberry, strawberry, an orange slice, and pineapple. A pleased smile at the pineapple convinces Rin to buy a jar of pineapple slices, allowing Haru to carry the reusable bag. (If he gets to see Haru’s muscles flex under the weight, that’s just an extra benefit!) He buys a couple more groceries, but mainly allows Haru to wander freely around the market and look at everything. They try a sample of fried octopus, which Haru can admit is better than the disgusting texture of raw octopus. A stall with candied fruits and pastries lures them in with its sweet, sugary smell, and they both walk away with a free sweet bun and a stick of rock-candy.

Finally, just before it’s time to go back to the bus stop, Haru’s eye is drawn to some shiny baubles at a jewelry stand. He lets Rin know where he’s going, then makes his way over. The stand is covered in gorgeous pieces, including mother of pearl shell earrings, tiny shell bracelets, sparkling sea stone pendants, and shark teeth trinkets. He lifts a sizeable conch shell to his ear, smiling when the shell echoes hollowly.

“Ah, yes, you know that trick too.” The old lady running the stand has made her way to him, smiling knowingly. “My mother always told me that when I missed the ocean, I simply needed to bring a nice-sized shell to my ear to hear the splashing waves of the sea.”

Something about the woman reminds him of his grandmother, from her moon-white hair to her dignified pose, to her sharp, sky-blue eyes. Perhaps she was also a-

“Haru? What have you got there?”

Rin’s head is cocked curiously, eyebrow raised at Haru holding a shell to his ear. The tag hanging off the shell is for 2400 yen, which isn’t too bad, but it’s enough to make Rin grimace. That’s the money he has left for further shopping, but Haru hasn’t asked him for much of anything this trip… Suddenly, he’s looking over at the lady, whose gaze is now boring into him. It’s odd, but the last time anyone’s gaze made him feel this way is when he saw Haru in the tank for the first time. She turns away, seemingly reaching for something, and Rin pats Haru’s hand.

“Are you ready to go?” It’s disappointing, but Rin can always go snorkeling and find Haru a shell. If he’s lucky, he might avoid an angry, territorial crab in the process. Nodding, Haru puts the shell down on the table, jumping when the lady gently raises the shell and places it into a bag. As Haru thanks her, then goes back to listening to the shell, she winks at a stupefied Rin.

“I’ve been in love before, too. He should always have a part of home to remember, yes?”

Rin’s heart freezes with her double understanding, his eyes darting back and forth between the two. Finally, he bows, eyes stinging with unshed, grateful tears. Shaking her head, she waves Rin away, already back to calling for more customers. Now, on the bus ride back into town, Haru happily holds on to the conch shell as though it were the greatest treasure. He doesn’t even notice that he’s leaning against Rin as he practically curls around it.

When they make it back into town, he takes Haru to the supermarket nearest their apartment. After pleading with him to put the conch shell in the bag, they finally walk into the blast of freezing-cold air. In comparison to the open-air market, it has a very sterile feel, but it makes up for it with the overwhelming array of selections in everything. There’s an entire aisle of bright, popping advertisements on top of snack containers. Rin interrupts his ogling, amused.

“I plan on making some katsu for dinner, and I’ll help you make the mackerel tonight. It’s pretty easy to make both. That just reminded me, I need to grab a new bag of rice… Stay here, I’ll go get everything else.”

Haru zones him out, still looking at all of the packages. He doesn’t know what any of this stuff is. He can read human writing, but it means nothing if he can’t even tell what it’s supposed to be. One package says ‘Pocky’, and there are about fifteen ‘Pocky’s on the shelf. One is ‘chocolate’, one is ‘green tea’, one is ‘strawberry’- how can he choose which one he wants? It’s clear that Rin cannot obtain all of this for him, after the explanation on ‘money’ that he received.

“My favorites are the chocolate and the green tea! Have you never had Pocky before?”

The chipper, feminine voice makes Haru turn, and his head jolts backward. Why had Rin turned into a girl? How’d he become this much shorter?

“Rin?” he asks, waiting for the punchline. The girl frowns in response, cocking her head. They even had the same look of confusion!

“No, my name is Matsuoka Gou. You’re thinking of my brother. Are you one of his friends?”

Brother. That made a substantial amount more sense. Haru’s glad no one can hear his thoughts. He nods, bowing.

“My name is Nanase Haruka. Call me Haru.”

Multiple flashes go through Gou’s eyes, her expression shifting from shocked, to pleased, to mischievous within instants.

“Haru?! You’re Haru?!”

“Yes?”

Gou slips her arm in between his, her empty shopping basket forgotten on the floor.

“Sousuke told me about you!”

Dread sinks in Haru’s stomach. “What did he say?”

“He said that you and Rin met at the aquarium? I was there when he made you the mackerel; he put in so much effort. Onii-chan hates fish, so I knew there was a special somebody in his life! Are you shopping with him today? Oh, your arm is so muscly, and so are your calves, I might add- I knew he was into muscles, just like me!”

Her constant babbling leaves no room for Haru to even try to process everything she’s said. Special somebody? Into muscles? Huh? It was already bad enough that he’d heard what the elder said to Rin as they were leaving the market. In love? Was Rin… in love with him? No, that couldn’t be. Just because he cared for Haru, didn’t mean that he was in love! Still, everything that continued to happen was starting to become more undeniable. Worst of all… he didn’t hate the idea.

“Okay! It’s settled! Onii-chan is going to treat us to lunch!”

Now this, this is something Haru can answer. “He doesn’t have the ‘budget’.”

Gou freezes in her tracks, giving him a strange look. “What did you say?”

“He told me today that we were going to the open-air market, and the grocery store. He only has enough money for those two things in his ‘budget’.”

Gou’s nodding sinisterly. “That’s what I thought.” She turns away from Haru and braces herself.

“Onii-chan!”

A couple seconds later, Rin is twisting around the corner, face red at his sister’s commotion.

“Gou! Why are you shouting in the grocery store? Stop it!”

“Says you!” Gou charges back, walking towards him. “Follow me! Haru, you stay right there!”

They go over to the next aisle, and all Haru can hear is what sounds like quiet bickering. Finally, Gou skips back over to Haru, followed by a chastised Rin. He inhales, chin high despite the look of defeat.

“I’ll take you both to lunch.”

Gou claps her hands together, immediately pleased. “Isn’t this great, Haru? We’re going to get to know each other so well!”

“Gou, I just told you-”

“I know, I know! But surely, I can get to know his favorite treats, and what not!” Gou is back plastered to Haru’s side, and she plucks out the chocolate and green tea Pocky and tosses them in Rin’s basket. “He wants to try these. It’s going to work great.” She winks at Rin, and Haru just wants to know what’s going on. Rin buys the groceries, and they stop by the apartment to drop everything off. It’s only when Gou heads to the bathroom that Rin pulls Haru to the side.

“Okay, listen. She doesn’t know about the merman thing, just that you’re a foreigner and you’re new to town, and that you don’t want to talk about your past.”

Haru frowns. “That makes me sound shady.”

“You already are shady, Haru!” bites Rin. It’s not Haru’s fault. Rin wasn’t prepared for Gou to catch him so off guard today. His sister is unfortunately astute, and very much a romantic at heart. After thoroughly chastising him for daring to say that he ‘needed to save money’ (how dare he) he’s now been drawn into taking her and Haru out on ‘a date’. How can it be a date if you’re there, he’d accused, to which Gou had snapped back that as your sister, I should have been the first to meet him! The next threat was to call their mother, and that’s when Rin had conceded defeat.

They go to a simple café for lunch, opting for sandwiches and small cakes for dessert. Gou is on her best behavior, her approach becoming gentler when as she slowly realizes that Haru is trying his best to keep up with both of them as he tries the food. Her chest swells with happiness as she watches how Haru defers to Rin when he’s unsure, and how tender Rin is with Haru as he answers his unspoken questions. They look as though no one else in the world is around them, her proud brother preening under Haru’s subtle adoration.

As they leave, Gou softly pulls on Haru’s shirt.

“I can tell that you like him. And I can tell that he really likes you, too. I hope you’re happy together!”

Haru flushes deeply at her words, but she’s already flitted away, ready to pick at her brother some more before they go their separate ways.

“I’m going to dinner and to see a movie with Sou-chan tonight, so make sure whatever you do, you do it before we get back,” she teases, before heading off into the late afternoon.

“What does she mean?” asks Haru, looking at Rin. Rin waves the question off, unwilling to answer. Instead, they head back to the apartment, and Rin sits Haru down in front of the TV.

“I’m going to go for my run. An hour at the longest. Do not touch anything in the kitchen. Promise me.”

Haru pouts, but Rin is immovable.

“Fine, I won’t touch anything in the kitchen. Bring me some pineapple.”

Assuaged, Rin pours Haru a bowl of pineapple slices, before changing into gym clothes and heading out. The TV is boring. Haru doesn’t know what’s happening- he thinks a romance? Either way, halfway into it, he’s all out of pineapples, and he’s ready to give up. He goes back to the bathroom, strips off his clothes, and turns on the water in the bath. This time, he remembers to put the plug in the drain, so the cool water fills up in the tub. Soon, he feels the tingly sensation of his tail reforming, and he sinks underneath. The bathroom is not a beautiful view, so he just closes his eyes and daydreams.

He must have fallen asleep, because when he next opens his eyes, Rin’s figure is above the water looking down at him. Exhaling, he lifts his head above the water, shaking the water out.

“If you were tired, you could have just fallen asleep on the couch, or got in the bed.”

“It’s fine. How long have I been in here?”

“You were here when I got back, and I just got back so…”

“Mm.” Haru stretches, cracking his neck. “I’m hungry.”

“You just ate!”

“It was only a tiny sandwich.”

Rin sighs. “I’m the one who just ran three miles. Fine. Let me shower, and then I’ll help you make your food.”

Haru pulls the plug out of the drain, waiting until the water is all gone to heave himself onto the side of the tub and dry off his tail. Surprisingly, Rin hasn’t left the room yet- in fact, he’s still watching him. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue- he’s just going to dry off and leave. It’s not like he hasn’t seen Haru transform. However, this time, Haru isn’t sure what it is he’s feeling. His body feels uncomfortably hot, as though just Rin’s strangely deep gaze is flickering over him like the dangerous flames. It’s not an undesirable feeling, in fact it’s incredibly titillating. He finds himself wanting to know just how far Rin dares to go. The towel lays over his legs, the transformation having finally taken place. After this, Haru can make two choices- he can wrap himself in the towel, or he can continue to dry himself.

Instead, he just stays still, waiting with bated breath. He blinks slowly, watching as the ravenous look in Rin’s eyes burns a little brighter, but then he shakes his head.

“Are you going to hurry up? I need to shower.”

The heat in Haru’s loins dissipates immediately. Had he been imagining the whole thing? Was all that energy- was all of that him?

Flustered, Haru rises, keeping the towel around himself as he escapes from the bathroom.

What the hell was that? Rin, what the hell were you thinking?

So stupid!

I can’t believe you just-

His curiosity had been genuinely harmless at first. He was cool enough about the merman thing by now, but it was so fascinating the way Haru’s body transitioned from scale to skin. Like the ripple from a dropped stone in water, it starts at the caudal fins, the blue scales dimmed by the yellow light collapsing and firming into his feet. The effect continues up well-toned calves, slipping toward his thighs and under the towel.  

He’d been so focused that he missed how carefully Haru was moving in front of him, how purposely he’d let the towel loosely hang over himself, how those eyes had burned with anticipation, the way his mouth dropped agape, his breathing slightly heavy.

And then Rin, fucking clever and observant as ever:

Are you going to hurry up? I need to shower.

The moment he steps into the hot water, he slams his head into the shower wall. He’d practically been gawking at Haru the entire time, eyes all over his body like he was a circus freak or… an aquarium exhibit. Gawking, when he should have just turned away like a decent fucking person.

Worst of all, his earlier curiosity was biting him in the ass, because all he can think about is how Haru looked once he’d been aware enough to lift his eyes. And when he thinks about how Haru looked, he thinks about how if he had known what was up, he would have knelt down, arms on either side of his legs, moved closer and closer until his lips were ever so near the heat of Haru’s neck. His thoughts wander, wondering if the tanned skin tasted of salt, like the sea that was once his home, or if it was something distinctly Haru-

Well, it’s too late now. He’s ruined the moment, being an idiot.

Rin takes a couple of meditative breaths, trying to bathe away the awkward moment. It was over, and the best he can do now is to just move on.

I’m going to go out there and show him how to make the best damn mackerel ever.

It’ll make Haru forget what just happened, it has to.

Once he’s clean, he jumps into some sweatpants and a muscle-tee and makes his way toward the living room. Reclining in his pajama wear, made up of a t-shirt and some gym shorts, Haru holds the conch shell to his ear. He must be missing home again. His eyes are closed, with that secretive smile on his face, and Rin can’t help it- he snaps a picture. The click of the camera snaps Haru’s eyes open, and his resulting confused pout is so cute that Rin snaps another picture. As the frames click, a scowling Haru moves closer and closer until his hand is over the phone.

“I know you’re taking- pictures,” he complains, trying to use the recently used word.

“You liked them when Gou was taking them earlier,” Rin whines, slipping the phone into his pocket.

“I didn’t like them, but she said she had to take them, and I didn’t want to upset her.” Haru looks genuinely ruffled, frustrated that Gou was not listening during her selfie spree. Rin can relate, and that’s why he takes his phone back out.  

“I’m just joking, Haru. If you want me to get rid of them, I will.” It will suck, as Rin doesn’t want to lose anything of Haru, especially if one day Haru decides to-

“Do you-” Haru hedges, biting his lip. “Do you like them?”

Huh? “Yes! I do!” To back it up, Rin gives him a toothy grin and a thumbs up, and Haru sniffs.

“You can keep them, then.”

Elated, Rin sidles up to Haru and elbows him. “Besides, it’s the beginning of a memory, right? First time making mackerel!”

Realization lights Haru’s eyes, as if he’s forgotten what they were there to do, and Rin takes advantage of his confusion by swerving him toward the kitchen. Luckily, he has an extra sandwich from lunch, knowing that he wasn’t going to feel like cooking two meals tonight, so this is going to be a breeze. He takes a couple bites out of the sandwich, then smacks his hands together.

“Okay! To start- put on the apron. You don’t have to get naked!” he screams when he sees Haru removing his t-shirt.

“But it’s clothes.”

“It’s- it’s like protective clothes on top of clothes, you don’t have to change, just believe me!”

“Lame,” Haru huffs, and Rin can’t help but blush. Did he… want to be naked in the apron? The imagery brings back all of his earlier heat, and Rin shakes his head. He’s not burning with desire to touch Haru, he’s not going to make this awkward with his unorganized feelings, he can keep it inside…

“Okay, first, I’m going to get you everything you need.” He pulls out a pan and a spatula, placing them on the counter next to Haru. Next, he grabs the seasoning, the butter, and the plate full of fish.

“We are going to make three fish, okay?” Rin clarifies, poking Haru in the nose when his eyes widen with greed. “Not the whole plate! I can’t afford to visit the market daily.”

Haru is brand new to this whole ‘money’ thing, but it’s a shame the way it seems to hold poor humans like Rin back from enjoying eating. “If I catch more fish, there’d be no need to ‘afford’ fish. I can bring us fish.”

If Rin notices the hitch in his breath by the end, he’s kind enough to say nothing, explaining what he’s doing as he seasons the fish on another plate. Where Haru is from, offering to bring home fish, particularly one’s favorite delicacies... it was a sign of courtship, something one did to signify that they were a capable partner. This entire day, Rin has been showing Haru that he’s capable- the fish, the meals, the conch, now even showing him how to take the delicacy that is mackerel to the next level.

Why do you do this? He laments in his head. You don’t know what you’re doing to me!

The burn of it all is building within Haru’s chest, begging to be let out, but he’s nervous. Rin has no idea what he’s doing, so it can’t be coming from a place of genuine love… and yet, again, the old lady’s words echo to him. It’s so confusing, he just doesn’t know how he’s supposed to-

“Haru? Are you okay?”

Haru blinks, Rin’s cool hand against his forehead. The lingering smell of the pepper tickles at his nose.

“You zoned out for a minute there. Am I boring you?” ‘Am I boring you’- he genuinely cares if Haru is not entertained, when he’s the one helping! Another wave of emotion sweeps over Haru’s heart, punctuated with a desire to whimper at how cute it is.

“I’m fine,” he replies, voice raspy. When he has the words, he’ll say them- he hopes. “Keep going.”

“Actually,” Rin suddenly suggests, slipping behind a stunned Haru, slipping the spatula into his hand. Their bodies are so flush that Haru can feel Rin’s heartbeat against his back, his chin only barely above Haru’s left shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

Rin’s hands are confident, right hand sharing the spatula with Haru, the left placed tantalizingly close on the apron.

“You are going to help me cook. Don’t worry, I won’t let you burn yourself.”

Flustered, Haru only nods, feeling Rin’s hair brush against his own.

“Okay! Next, we’re going to-” Rin delves back into his explanation, but all Haru can notice is how his warm, lightly callused fingers grasp his own, grabbing the pan and placing it onto the stove, then moving them to linger over the knob that turns on the fire. His voice is meltingly confident, the tickle against his ear making Haru shudder deliciously.

“Are you cold? And you wanted to only wear an apron,” Rin teases, and Haru scoffs. “Don’t worry, the flames will help. Last time, you had this at highest heat, and that’s not necessary. Just turn it, let it click, and leave it at the middle.”

He gently places Haru’s fingers at the knob and moves them away. Haru’s fingers unintentionally follow Rin’s, gripping them apprehensively. Rin’s gentle laugh makes Haru want to scream, but he’s unwilling to move away, biting his lip instead.  

“It’s okay, I promise.”

Well, the only thing between having Rin’s hand holding his right now is this stupid knob, so Haru pointedly follows the directions, fingers slipping a couple times before the eye blooms into flame. Pleased, Rin directs him toward the tub of butter and a spoon. They take a large scoop, plopping it onto the pan. The sizzle makes Haru flinch, memories of a blaring noise and overwhelming smoke haywire in his mind. Noticing his nerves, Rin squeezes his wrist.

“It’s going to be fine! Again, I’m here, so we shouldn’t burn the place down.”

That is precisely why Haru is going to ‘burn the place down’, but he allows Rin to lean away momentarily to grab the fish. He places it onto a section of the pan, then directs Haru to the same. For minutes they simply stand in silence, occasionally flipping the fish, Rin pouring the butter over the blackening skin. Finally, to great relief, he tells Haru to turn the flames off. They place the fish over the grease-tray, allowing them to cool before placing them back onto the plate. Rin brandishes a strange, pronged tool, replacing the spatula in his hand with it. Haru gives him a questioning look.

“It’s a fork. You use it to eat the fish with, instead of your bare hands. If I had some practice-chopsticks I’d give you those, but I don’t, and I don’t want to make this difficult for you with my regular ones.”

It feels like a jab, but Haru is entirely too distracted by the smell of the food.

“Try it!” Rin whispers, nudging him toward the plate. His hand loosens from the apron, and it feels so empty that Haru’s left hand flies back to catch it. Without letting him go, Haru uses the fork to poke at the fish until there’s enough flesh on it, and brings it back, not to his own lips, but to Rin’s.

“You try it first.”

For the first time tonight, Rin’s cheeks pink as his eyes flicker between Haru and the fork. The mackerel is still hot, so he blows on the food, and opens his mouth, allowing Haru to gently place the food inside.

Rin doesn't favor fish.

But the moment Haru raises that fork, gently challenging him to take a bite of the food that they made, for that moment that mackerel tasted like the most gourmet meal he’d ever consumed. He’d already been dancing with fire, the way he’d cozied into Haru’s personal space tonight. He steps away to let Haru eat and resumes his own sandwich, smiling slightly at Haru’s happy sway as he munches.

I’m just joking with him, he’d told himself. In the end, he’ll learn how to cook. It’s even easier this way. 

The only joke here is Rin. He’d thirsted after every single one of Haru’s nervous touches, pleasure curling within him as Haru flinches back into his arms for safety. He’s not sure why he thought he was slick, especially the way his heart damn near flew out of his mouth when Haru gripped his wrist so firmly.

I’m not the only one playing this game, he realizes, but… are we on the same page?

What if he’s only acting like this because I’ve made him dependent?

What if I’m only keeping him here because I want him to need me?

Haru is about through when Rin, still leaning against the kitchen wall, comes up with a solution.

“Haru, do you want to go to the beach?”

Cheeks still full of his last bite, Haru frowns. “It’s nighttime,” he replies, swallowing. Rin takes the plate and fork from him, placing it into the sink.

“I know. I just, I’m in the mood to see the ocean. Besides, don’t you… miss home?”

Deep blue eyes dart to the side, conceding the argument. “Okay.”

Rin changes into some swim shorts underneath his sweats, packs some towels, and then they’re on the bus.

Despite it being his idea, nausea sloshes in Rin’s stomach as they get nearer and nearer to their stop. But there’s something he needs to be able to do, and he can only do it once they’re at the ocean. There are a few issues with their situation right now. First, logistical- he hasn’t told his higher ups that he’s ‘lost’ the damn merman. He’d opted to not tell Mikoshiba about the tank incident, citing an emergency to leave work, but at some point, whoever brought Haru to the aquarium is bound to notice that they have been giving mackerel to an empty tank. Once they do, he’s potentially in big trouble. He’s thought somewhat through it- the cameras aren’t great, and the recordings aren’t kept permanently. However, it’s not like the area at the top of the tank was full of heavy traffic- if the tapes were pulled for review before the data sweep, they’re going to see Rin and Haru in… more than a couple compromising positions.

His worries about the aquarium lean into another, and what Rin considers the more pressing, concern. The idea of putting Haru back into that tank tortures him. It seems a little crazy, but in only two days, Haru has already become a part of his daily routine. Seeing him, talking to him, caring for him- all things that Rin has fallen into with ease. To take this freedom from him, to force him back into a cage after he’s already been taken from his home presumably by force, it’s cruel. No one would ever ask him what he liked to eat, what he liked to do, nothing- he would just be part of an exhibit. Worst of all, Rin will eventually quit this job, and their ability to see each other would decrease dramatically. A terrible, dark part of his heart whispers that at least you’ll know where he is, and he stomps it out.

What if he’s only with you because it’s not there?

Are you just as bad as they are?

In the end, Rin is afraid. He’s afraid because if he gives Haru the ocean, Haru might not come back.

But it’s a risk he has to take. He’s not willing to dive in otherwise.

Haru pulls the string for the bus stop, looking to Rin for approval. Rin smiles, and they make their way off to the sand. Because it’s night, there’s hardly anyone on the strip of beach. It’s technically illegal, really, but Rin has snuck out here enough times to know where to go to be unnoticed. It’s especially easy tonight, since there’s a bright full moon illuminating the white sand. He grabs Haru’s hand and leads him to his spot, trying to ignore the wailing in his soul that it will likely be the last time he gets to hold him.

Haru, for his part, is growing visibly excited as they get closer to the water. When they make it to Rin’s secret space, rocks curled around a small strip of sand, he manically starts to strip off his clothes.

“Rin, come on!” he cries, and Rin stops him before he can get completely naked.

“Haru, I need to ask you something.”

Unfortunately, Haru is shaking with energy, not listening. “Ask me in the water! Come on, it’s right there! I’ll be right there!”

He yanks away from Rin and jumps off the nearest rock. Rin almost cries, but then he sees Haru’s head pop over the surface. Quietly, he strips to his shorts and moves to the water. Contrary to Haru’s excitement, Rin is subdued as he steps in, shivering at the cool water. He sits near the edge of the water, deep enough to submerge him up to his chest, watching as Haru flips in and out of the wine-dark water. The tail seems to have a life of its own, flapping back and forth as Haru stretches out.

“Haru, are you happy?”

Rin’s sad voice slows Haru, who swims closer. “Yes? I love the water.”

It’s the exact sort of answer Rin would expect, but it doesn’t make swallowing his feelings any easier.

“Haru, if you want to stay here, you can.”

“…what?”

“I brought you here so that you could go home.” He stares down at his hands, wavy underneath the water. “I don’t want to keep you here if you don’t want to be here. I don’t want to risk you having to go back into that tank, not when you love the ocean so much.”

……

……………

………………………

When he lifts his eyes, Haru is right in his face, and Rin awkwardly splashes backward.

“Did I say I wanted that?”

It’s Rin’s turn to be confused. “What?”

“Did I say that I wanted to leave?”

“Uh… don’t you?”

Haru sighs angrily. “Do you not want to be with me that badly?”

“No! That’s not it at all! I just don’t want you to feel like you’re trapped here!”

“I’m not! If I want to come to the ocean, I’ll get on the bus with you and come here, and then we’ll go home!”

Home? He sees where I am as- “You mean that?”

“You’re such a dumb human! What did today even mean to you then? You promised you’d take care of me! Were you lying?”

Rin’s never been so happy to be yelled at. “No! I wasn’t!”

Pure happiness is spreading within him, a glowing warmth tickling from his roots to his toes. He shifts onto his knees, reaching for Haru.

“I just don’t get you, even with the fish-”

Haru’s rant is cut off when Rin brings their lips together, a triumphant smile wide on his face before he licks into Haru’s mouth. It’s salty, but then Haru relaxes into his arms with a light moan, and it’s wonderful. For a couple moments they’re lost in one another, pressed skin to skin so tightly that the light waves fight for space in between them. Haru’s hand grips in maroon locks, and Rin bites down a little too sharply on his lip in return.

“Ouch,” Haru murmurs, licking his swelling bottom lip.

“You wanted to see if I was a shark so badly,” Rin comments, shrugging. A light fist pops at his stomach, making him jolt backward in exaggerated pain, and Haru rolls his eyes.

“That’s for being a stupid human.”

Still, Haru is smiling, a purer, wider smile than normal that gleams in the moonlight.

“Your smile is just so beautiful,” he croons, rubbing a soft thumb against Haru’s lips. “I want to see it more often.”

Rin gets his wish when Haru’s smile deepens, his cheeks turning pink as his shoulders rise bashfully.

“It’s interesting,” Rin continues, babbling. “I was wondering earlier if your skin would taste salty like the sea. Maybe I shouldn’t count this time since we’re in the water.”

Confusion ripples through Haru’s expression, followed by quick understanding, and then his eyes narrow rakishly. Raising Rin’s hand, he brings it close to his face. He kisses the palm, making Rin smile, and then slowly, a long tongue slides out, running from the palm, to in between the fingers, and eventually curling around the fingertip. Rin’s smile falls, his breathing shaky as he watches.

His ears are flame hot as he tries to speak. “Your, um, tongue is a little longer when you’re in the water.”

“Helps to catch things.” By now, Haru is closer, eyes flickering down at the growing bulge in the water. Rin can feel his lips back against his own as he whispers.

“Oh? Show me.”

It’s all he has to say before Haru has seamlessly lifted his legs enough to pull down the trunks, slipping into the water without a problem. Rin leans back onto his elbows, bare skin against the soft sand beneath. For a moment nothing happens, and he’s ready to ask what’s going on, when a long tongue laves from underneath his balls, sliding all the way up his length to the tip. Rin’s head euphorically rolls back, eyes full of stars in the sky, his legs spasming at the persistent licking into his slit. It’s made even more powerful by the fact that he can’t move away, Haru’s strong forearms pinning his legs against the sand.

The warm, cavernous moisture inside Haru’s mouth poses a stark difference from the cool seawater splashing into Rin’s body, the undulating of the tide in tempo with the way Haru’s lips bob up and down. Need sears through Rin, the tugging sensation of the water like fire over the rest of his nerves combined with Haru’s inhuman focus on his pleasure.

“Shit, that feels- I can’t- ah-”

No matter how much he writhes, trying and failing to thrust, Haru’s lips keep a consistent speed. Using his core muscles to support himself, he wraps his hands in Haru’s hair, tugging at it. Haru only gives him a mischievous look before wrapping his hands around Rin’s wrists and pulling them away.

“Haru,” Rin pleads, breathy with pleasure. “Haru, fuck, please, I want more, faster.”

It’s becoming unbearable, the way heat lingers in his lower half, slowly building as Haru only moves lower onto him, sucking harder, but refusing to move any faster. Rin’s moans are harder to hold back, sighs echoing into the night getting louder and keening higher pitched. Haru makes his way to the head, focusing all of the suction on there, and Rin feels himself quickening, his arms splashing back into the water to keep some sort of balance. With one final suck, Rin’s hips jerk forward, and he comes into Haru’s mouth. It’s not until he’s completely spent that Haru’s head pops above the water, lasciviously licking his lips.

“Salty,” he comments, mimicking Rin, and Rin turns beet red. He’s going to kiss him, every intention of finding out what he tastes like in this mouth of this captivating man, when sounds carry over the sand. Humans.

“Shit,” he hisses, pulling his swim shorts back up. “Shit! Haru, we have to go!”

One very mortifying escape, tension-soaked bus ride, and locked bedroom door later, Haru has Rin pinned by his knees, legs toward the ceiling, sinful cries choked by the weight of his own body as the shorter but still slick tongue works inside him. Somewhere inside Rin’s brain, he’s concerned that his sister is on her way back to the apartment, that they might be busted mid-activity, that it’s late and if his sister isn’t on her way back where the hell is she, but it’s all been pushed to the side for pure ecstasy as he rocks himself into the touch of a third finger inside of him.

“Enough, enough,” he begs, reaching around blindly for the condom. He holds it out to Haru, who blinks at him, lustful expression turning genuinely bemused.

“I’m not hungry.”

“It’s not-” Rin pauses, smacking his head. “No, this is on me,” he mutters. “Just come here.”

Haru lays down Rin’s legs, allowing him the bliss of a full breath of air in what must have been ten minutes. Rin opens the foil, and hastily pulls down Haru’s shorts. He’s stopped in his tracks when Haru’s dick bounces in front of his eyes.

I’m going to have that inside of me?!

The idea that this monster had been hiding inside some flap somewhere while Haru was a merman- oh god, what if it’s longer when he’s a merman? …Why does that not bother me?!

His thoughts are interrupted by a frustrated “Rin.” Blinking, Rin glances up at a pouting Haru, whose eyebrows are pinched, chest rising as he waits for Rin to touch him. Spite rises in Rin, and he grins smugly. Without breaking eye contact, he places the condom in between his lips and rides it over Haru, slowly and methodically rolling it along his length.

When he’s finished, he hollows his lips, sucking a couple times for good measure. It’s all worth it to hear Haru’s desirous, cut off grunts, to see that face turn that pretty shade of pink in response to his ministrations. His petty fun ends when Haru finally pins him down onto the bed, kissing him silly before rolling him into his stomach. After a beat, a moment of warning, Haru is pushing inside of him. It’s as intimidating as it looked, Rin grasping at the sheets at the tightness.

“Do you want me to-”

“No, I got it,” he wheezes, forcing himself to take deep breaths as he adjusts.

Then Haru starts to thrust, and all of the strength in Rin’s arms fails him. He falls into the comforter, eyes boggling. A couple, lucky, well-placed thrusts later, and Rin isn’t sure how he’d ever dreamt of a life without Haru inside him. He didn’t know he was into things a little rougher, but with one hand firmly widening his hips and the other braced against the back of his neck as Haru ground against him, slowly, then more confidently, and he’s been converted.

“Tighter, right there, yes- yes, Haru, ah-”

Every slap of skin sounds sadistic, yet feels so full of passion, showed by each wanton sigh punched out their throats. Soon, Rin’s shoulders and back are covered in red marks, some large enough that he can even see as he turns around to try and watch the way Haru enters into him with ardor. Haru’s thrusts are becoming less rhythmic as he nears climax, and he pauses to lay down, wrapping his arms around Rin’s chest and squeezing at the pecs.

“Tired, Haru?” teases Rin, though he too is short of breath. The only response is a temporary tightening on the arms around him, and he kisses Haru’s sweat-soaked forehead.

“Millions of people in this country,” he muses, “and I fall in love with a merman. How crazy is that?”

He doesn’t miss how Haru twitches inside him at ‘love’, and a quivering sapphire eye peers at him in timid disbelief.

“You want me to say it again?” Rin laughs, wiggling a little. “Love. I love you, Haru.”

Rin can feel the resulting smile in his back, emphasized by the resumed thrusting inside of him. Haru reaches forward to grab one of his hands, gripping tight as Rin quickens around him, screaming of his name turning into unintelligible syllables when he comes. With a rapturous cry of Rin’s name, Haru orgasms, slumping heavily onto Rin’s back.

It’s an image that his friend Rei would decry as “not beautiful”, but Rin is wonderfully happy anyway as he squishes into the tub with Haru and his massive tail, soaking after bathing away evidence of what became multiple love-making sessions. He can only be lucky that his neighbors didn’t come banging on his door, but that might have been handled by him screaming loving expletives into his pillow. Haru hadn’t been so careful, but luckily his voice was lower.

“You’re so, so, so pretty.”

Rin turns to see Haru playing with a lock of his hair, smiling privately at the observation.

“Says the man with the tail.”

Haru shrugs, kissing his shoulder in lieu of an answer, and Rin only laughs. They’ll get cleaned up, get in bed and cuddle, maybe whisper over swimming videos until they fall asleep in each other’s arms, and face the messy day that will be tomorrow, and you know what… Rin’s not worried about it. So long as Haru is by his side, he’s sure he can face anything. Contented, he leans back in Haru’s embrace.