Fun fact No.1: 'Not Quite Nessie' was only supposed to be a temporary title while I thought of a better one, but I managed to work it into the fic twice so it ended up sticking!
Fun fact No.2: Before I posted this fic, my longest oneshot was 'Second Chance' at 4,859 words, but 'Not Quite Nessie' has blown that fic out of the water (no pun intended XD) and taken over with a whopping 10,451 words! I didn't know I was capable of even writing fics that long!
Anyway, moving on, my descriptions suck so I actually drew a picture of mer!Levi which you can find in my deviantART gallery, I have no idea have to post links here tho (I don't even think you can) so you'll just have to look for it yourself, it should be the first things you see when you go to my gallery though! My dA name is at bottom, along with my Tumblr and AO3 name OuO
I have mixed feelings about this, I kinda like it, but I kinda don't at the same time, hope you guys like it though! I know there aren't many Mereri fics out there!
~~~KMD~~~
Eren had always loved marine life, ever since he could remember. Most of his childhood was spent inside an aquarium or near some body of water, and not a day of his childhood passed where he didn't have some sort of pet fish. His bedroom walls were painted blue, various seashells were scattered around, his blankets and pillow cases would have pictures of fish or dolphins.
He really was completely captivated by marine animals, and now at the age of 23 he was proud to say he owned one of the largest aquariums in the world. There was also his private collection, which may or may not contain a few species that were actually illegal to own, as well as other rare species.
Sometimes he'd get calls from people offering to sell him some sort of marine species, usually he'd agree if the person calling seemed like the real deal, but recently he'd taken to ignoring most of these calls. More often than not when he actually met these people, they'd show him a piece of sushi or a plush toy, there was also the possibility of them turning out to be a cop, and he'd learned to distrust them.
Eren hated it when his time was wasted by people like these, he took his work seriously. The species in his aquarium and own collection were taken care of incredibly well, and had the best living conditions possible. The staff working at the aquarium were definitely the best too, and he wasn't just saying that because they happened to all be close friends of his.
This particular call intrigued him however, though he had no idea why, it sounded exactly like a prank.
~~~KMD~~~
"Is this Eren Jaeger?" A low, slightly raspy voice asked when Eren picked up the call.
"Depends... who's asking?" The young brunet drawled, already growing bored with the conversation.
"I have a fish."
Eren sighed, "How disappointing, call me back when you've caught the Loch Ness monster or something." He was about to hang up, but was stopped by the mysterious man.
"Wait! I can guarantee you don't have this one! It's quite a rare species, the rarest of all I'd say."
'That's what they all say', Eren thought as he turned in his swivel chair to glance around his study, his eyes focused on the tank of jellyfish in the corner and he watched them swim about slowly as he spoke up, "How much?"
"Free."
Eren snorted, "Free? You'd let me have the rarest species of fish for free? Now that doesn't exactly sound like-"
"Wait! Just listen! I need to get this fish off my hands, it's more trouble than it's worth, so just take it!"
"Why not just release it if it's so much trouble?"
"It took months to capture, releasing it would be a complete waste of time and effort. I lost three God damned men trying to capture this thing!"
Eren sighed again, "How big is this fish?"
"About seven or eight feet, I haven't been able to get close enough to properly measure it."
"Not sure I have a tank currently available for a fish that large."
"Well you don't want to miss out on owning this fish, meet me tomorrow and you can decide whether or not you have room for it then."
Despite the fact that this all seemed incredibly fake, Eren still found himself asking for a time and a place. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little bit curious to see if this man was telling the truth or not.
~~~KMD~~~
The agreed meeting place was a barely used stretch of road where it was unlikely anyone would see them. About halfway along the road, Eren spotted a large blue lorry parked underneath some trees.
Eren almost turned around and headed home, it didn't exactly look like the kind of vehicle used for transporting large fish, but he carried on anyway, pulling up right behind it. He waited a few moments before stepping out of the car and eyeing the lorry, it didn't seem suspicious, and there didn't seem to be anyone waiting and hiding nearby.
When you bought and sold illegal fish, Eren always had to be careful, for all he knew, this could just be an elaborate trap to arrest him.
Another few moments passed and someone climbed out of the lorry. A short, fat man with a bald head and scraggly looking goatee. No way he was a cop, but he could just be an ex-criminal who'd agreed to work with them, Eren wasn't one to underestimate another just because of appearances.
The man looked Eren up and down before approaching the doors to the lorry's trailer. "You're Eren right? Here for the fish?"
Eren nodded.
"Come on in then." The man used a key to unlock a padlock, then pulled the heavy doors wide open.
"After you." Eren said, gesturing towards the trailer as he took a quick glance inside.
"Suit yourself." The man climbed into the trailer and Eren followed after him slowly.
At the other end of the trailer there was a somewhat small looking tank, and inside was the fish Eren had come here for. Though he wasn't sure he'd even consider this thing a fish...
"A fucking mermaid." Eren growled, whipping his head around to face the other man, "Or merman I suppose, it looks male." He could've laughed at how ridiculous this whole situation was, "You brought me here for a man in a fucking costume."
The man's eyebrows furrowed in anger, "A costume? This right here is the real deal! This is a living, breathing merman! Just take a closer look!"
Eren glared at the man before cautiously stepping closer.
The merman was lying on the bottom of the tank, facing Eren, tracking his movements with silver eyes. Its skin was pale, almost white and its inky black hair was short and styled in an undercut. It was weird how human the haircut was, Eren's attention was quickly drawn to the creature's tail though. It was covered in sapphire blue scales that shimmered slightly in the dim light, and it looked quite powerful. No doubt this creature swam fast when it was in the ocean. All in all, it was quite a beautiful creature.
When Eren was only two feet away from the tank, the merman suddenly swam at the glass, an audible banging sound echoing through the trailer. It eyed the brunet for a second before opening its mouth in a hiss, revealing sharp canines. Its ears flickered along with the hissing and Eren wondered if it was some sort of threat display, like a rattle snake rattling its tail. The merman's hands were placed on the glass and Eren noticed sharp, claw like nails and thin webbing between it's fingers. This close he also noticed the gills on the side of the creature's neck and small patches of scales dotted around it's pale skin.
Eren studied it a little longer before turning back to the man. "You implied yesterday that this creature was dangerous, how did you manage to get it into this tank if it is?"
"It was a struggle getting him into the first one when we captured him, took hours, we tranquilized him when we moved him into this one."
"And when did you capture it?"
"About three days ago."
"You've only had this thing for three days? Have you fed him? He looks pretty thin."
"We've tried, but he tries to drown anyone that gets too close and he just ignores any fish we toss in." The man sighed, "I'm getting tired of these questions, are you going to take him or not?"
Eren glanced at the creature and it hissed again before turning quickly, thumping it's tail against the glass. The entire trailer shook at the impact.
"Well, he's not quite Nessie, but I guess I'll take him," Eren chuckled, "I'll give you ten thousand for him."
The man's eyes widened, but he quickly composed himself and smirked at the younger man, "Make it twenty and you have a deal."
"You were just about to give him to me for free, so either you take the ten or you get nothing."
"Fine." The man growled, "It looks as if you didn't bring anything to transport him so I'll just follow you if that's OK."
~~~KMD~~~
The actual journey took about an hour, but moving the merman from the tank in the lorry to the tank Eren had prepared in his house took at least three times that, due to the fact that the fat man hadn't brought any tranquilizers. Eren ended up with a few scratches, but nothing too serious. Now he was watching as the merman swam around the new tank, investigating the rocks and plants that Eren had placed in there.
Every time the merman caught sight of Eren, he'd hiss and slam his tail against the glass before continuing his exploration. At times he'd pick up a colourful rock or shell and place it somewhere else, and Eren watched in silence, amused at the redecoration.
It was probably about time to discover what this thing ate, so he got up from his chair and left the room. He headed towards the basement, which is where he kept several freezers full of frozen fish for the meat eaters in his collection. After several long moments he decided to start with a relatively small tuna and sword fish, full grown ones wouldn't fit in the freezer and he wouldn't be able to carry them himself. He grabbed them out of the freezer and carried them back to the room with the merman, thinking it would be best to give them to the merman whole instead of preparing them.
When he arrived back in the room, the merman was curled up inside the small rock cave, he quickly swam out when he noticed Eren carrying the fish.
Eren walked right up to the glass and and held up the two fish, "You're hungry right? Which one do you want?" He asked, hoping the merman would be able to understand.
The merman glared at Eren and hissed briefly, ears flicking, before focusing on the fish. It stared at them for a while before slowly pointing to the tuna.
Eren grinned and placed the swordfish down, then headed to the steps that led to a small platform overlooking the tank, despite what the fat man had said about not getting close to the creature. Sure, Eren was usually cautious when he felt as if he were in danger, but he had never really been one to heed the warnings of others.
~~~KMD~~~
Isabel should've listened when he'd told her not to go near the ship, but of course she didn't listen, her rebellious nature blocking out common sense.
'No, don't blame her for the mess you're in, it's your own fault you're in this tank,' He thought with a growl. Why did he have to be so damn stupid? He should've seen it coming.
At least Isabel and the rest of his friends were safe, that's all that mattered. He didn't know how long they'd be safe though, he had to get back to the ocean, he had to be with them.
But he was trapped in a tank.
Granted this one was better than the previous two, it was big, definitely bigger than both of his previous tanks combined, and, unlike the others, it wasn't just a plain tank. There were small, colourful rocks, shells, plants, a large rock arch and rock cave that looked just big enough for Levi to curl up in comfortably. That didn't mean he actually enjoyed it though.
He was probably going to be here a while though, might as well get used to it. He explored slowly, running his hands over the rocks and plants, surprisingly they were real, not fake. This brat did not know how to decorate though, and the merman slowly began rearranging certain things until he decided they were perfect, or at least as good as they could be. Occasionally, he'd spot the human watching him and he'd hiss at him and smack the glass with his tail, until the human eventually left the room.
Levi watched him go, then took a look around the room, there were other, smaller tanks in the room, all containing small groups of fish, some Levi recognised and some he didn't. At least he wasn't entirely alone in this place. He let out a sigh, a few air bubbles escaping from his mouth as he decided to try out the cave. He fit perfectly and it was more comfortable than he expected it to be.
Not long later, the human returned carrying two fish, a tuna and swordfish. Levi gulped at the sight, they looked pretty damn delicious and Levi remembered just how hungry he really was. He stepped right up to the tank and held up the fish, "You're hungry right? Which one do you want?"
The merman really wanted to mess with the human, and pretend he didn't understand, but he was so hungry he just wanted to eat something. He hesitated for a moment and let out a hiss at the human, before slowly pointing a clawed finger at the tuna.
The brunet grinned at him and dropped the other fish, then headed over to the steps that led to a small platform, overlooking the tank. How stupid, he'd been warned at how dangerous Levi was, yet he still decided to get this close. Levi watched as the man knelt down on the platform overlooking the tank and held the fish out over the tank.
"If you want it, you're going to have to come and get it." The man grinned.
Levi blinked up at him, then growled, maybe he could set aside his hunger for a few moments to teach this human a quick lesson. With a flick of his tail he propelled himself forward, his hands grabbed at the human on the platform and then he was dragging him into the tank. Levi swam to the bottom of the tank and pinned the human down, planning to keep him there as long as possible.
He expected to see a look of terror when he glanced at the man's face, but instead he was smirking as much as he could with cheeks full of air, amusement showing in his ocean coloured eyes. Levi leaned in, face inches away from the human's, and hissed, then let the human go, watching as he swam to the surface, still holding the fish. He allowed the human to climb onto the platform before following after him.
"You're a little unpredictable, aren't ya?" The human laughed, running a hand through his soaked hair. "You won't surprise me like that again, right?"
"No promises." Levi grunted, folding his arms on the platform, "Now if you don't mind, I'm quite hungry and would like to eat that fish."
The human's eyes widened and he almost dropped the fish, "You talk?"
"Um, yeah, I do. Surprised?"
"A little, that's so awesome," The brunette grinned, "So what's your name? Assuming that you have one of course."
"Fish first, then name."
"Oh, right! Sorry!" he said a little sheepishly, handing the tuna to Levi, "I'm Eren."
Levi inspected the fish after he took it, it looked pretty fresh and the organs had already been removed, all he had to do was tuck in. "Levi." He said simply, digging his nails into and removing any bones that he could, humming as he did so. Usually he'd remove the head too, but without the proper tools it'd be difficult, especially since it was a pretty big fish.
"Is that always how you prepare fish?" Eren asked, sitting down on the platform.
"Well, eating them whole would be disgusting." Levi grimaced, "And I can't exactly digest bone so that would hurt on the way out."
Eren laughed, "Yes, I suppose it would."
Levi grunted and took a bite of the fish, "This is the best fish I've had in quite a while." He hummed, taking another bite.
"Glad to hear it." The brunette smiled as he stood, "It's getting late so I better go, you want tuna for breakfast tomorrow or do you want something else?"
"Tuna's fine." Levi watched as the human left, leaving him alone in the tank. He let out a growl when the human was out of sight. He acted so innocent, as if he hadn't bought Levi from some disgusting man as if he were just some sort of animal, as if he wasn't currently keeping him contained in a tank, when he should be swimming free in the ocean. It disgusted him, he had a feeling this human wouldn't just release him if he asked, so getting close, befriending him and then convincing him to let him go was probably the best idea. Or at least the best idea he could come up with right now.
~~~KMD~~~
Eren had no idea what to do. He woke up that day not knowing that mermaids and mermen even existed, believing they only existed in the books he read as a child, and now he owned one. But it didn't feel right, when he first saw Levi he thought he'd be more like a fish than a human, that's what the fat man certainly made him sound like. Levi could talk though, he had a personality, a name even, which was more than any normal fish in the wild had or could do.
It was like owning another human being, it just wasn't right. Eren couldn't exactly release the merman right now though, for one it was late and the ocean was a few hours away. Then there was also the fact that he'd only just gotten Levi, it would probably seem suspicious if that man found out he no longer had Levi after only a day. Maybe he should wait a few weeks and then release him, that'd probably be a better idea.
He sighed, curling up in his bed, maybe he'd call his friend, Armin tomorrow. He was the smartest person Eren knew and he could be trusted to keep the merman a secret.
~~~KMD~~~
Eren awoke with a groan and lazily lifted his arm to switch of the alarm clock. Even after several years of waking up at 6:30 AM, he still wasn't used to it.
He dragged himself out of bed and headed straight for the kitchen, where he put the kettle on as he began filling a bucket with containers of various fish foods. By the time he'd finished filling the bucket, the kettle had finished boiling and he made himself a cup of coffee before starting the task of feeding his collection. The whole process took around an hour and a half from start to finish, and Eren usually had 2-3 cups of coffee to wake himself up properly.
He decided to leave Levi for last, he took a shower and got dressed before grabbing a tuna from the freezer and heading towards the merman's room.
"I'm back." He called upon entering.
"Took you long enough." Levi grunted, swimming up to the platform to wait for Eren.
"I have fish in almost every room of my house, Levi, it takes a while to feed them all!" Eren chuckled, climbing up to the platform and sitting down as he handed the fish to Levi.
"Couldn't you have given me something to eat when you fed those other fish?" Levi asked, pointing to the other tanks in the room.
"I'll feed you first tomorrow then."
"I can't survive off of one fish a day." Levi huffed, beginning to remove the bones from the fish.
"I kinda figured, I'll bring you more later." Eren said, leaning back against the wall behind him.
Levi hummed and took a bite out of the fish. "So human's need money to get stuff right? That's what I heard anyway... Where do you get all the money to take care of your fish and all that?"
"Well, I own an aquarium and I get a lot of money from all the people that visit there. Speaking of the aquarium, I have to go there soon." Eren explained.
"An aquarium? I think I've heard of those before..." Levi frowned, taking a bite of his fish, then nodded, "Yeah, aren't they places where you humans go to see fish?"
"Correct! Aquariums usually have other marine life as well though, not just fish."
"I don't understand why people can't just go swimming and see the fish themselves." Levi frowned, popping the last chunk of fish into his mouth and licking his fingers.
"Not everyone can swim, and the ocean's pretty dangerous, its a lot easier to see them in an aquarium." Eren said, getting to his feet.
"Land is a lot more dangerous than the ocean." Levi growled, watching Eren closely.
"Maybe to you." Eren began climbing down the steps, "I need to get going, they'll be wondering where I am."
"Who's they?"
"My friends, the people who work at my aquarium."
"Right." Levi said, "What am I supposed to do while your gone? As much as I love this tank, there isn't exactly anything to keep me occupied."
"I won't be long, only like an hour or so." Eren smiled, "I don't live too far from the aquarium, I just need to make sure it's clean and that everything is running smoothly, I also need to pick up some work."
"Fine, I suppose I can find something to amuse myself with." Levi grunted, diving back under the water.
~~~KMD~~~
The aquarium seemed to be up to Eren's standards, the floor was clean, the glass of the tanks were clean as well as everything inside, the fish and animals all seemed healthy, everything was perfect. He smiled to himself, that was to be expected, his friends loved this aquarium jut as much as Eren did, so they always did their best.
He entered the staff room and found Armin sitting at the small table, mug of coffee in one hand and a book in the other. "Morning!" Eren greeted.
"Morning!" Armin grinned, looking up at his friend. "Come, sit, sit!"
Eren laughed and pulled out the chair opposite his friend and sat down, "The aquarium's looking good! Where's everybody else? Dealing with the visitors out front?"
"Yep, just like always!" Armin said, "We open in about ten minutes though, so I should probably call everyone back in so we can do last minute preparations."
"Before that..." Eren started, trailing off, "Um... can I talk to you for a second?"
"What is it?" Armin asked with a slight frown, instantly becoming worried at Eren's tone.
"It's nothing bad, you don't need to worry! It's just... the day before yesterday someone called about a fish, and yesterday I actually went to go get and it, uh, well I wouldn't really call it a fish."
"Then what is it?" The blonde asked, frown deepening, "Did he try to sell you an otter or a dolphin or something? Or even the Lock Ness monster?"
"Not quite Nessie but another mythical creature... A mermaid, well merman." Eren said slowly, hoping Armin would believe him.
"A merman...?"
"Yeah."
"Right." Armin took a sip of his coffee and leaned back, "I don't quite believe you, is there a reason you made up a story about getting a merman?"
"Ugh, I knew you wouldn't believe me." Eren sighed, "Can you just listen for a second, please?"
Armin sighed as well, "We need to open real soon so make it quick."
"Right, so, I have a merman, and when I first saw him, he was acting really feral, hissing and attacking the glass. I thought he was just like a fish, you know? No feelings or anything like that, but when I got him into the tank at home, the really large one that used to have jellyfish in, he actually started talking and acting more human. The only thing fish-like about him is his appearance and the way he breathes underwater, everything else is completely human, he even has a name for crying out loud!"
Armin was watching and listening in silence, occasionally sipping at his coffee, when Eren finally finished he spoke up, "And what is his name?"
"Levi."
"So you own a merman named Levi, who's more human than fish and you're freaking out because?"
"It's just like owning a human, Armin, it's so weird! I would release him, but I don't want that guy finding out and coming after me or something. I know that sounds selfish, but you know I've been in trouble because of things like this before. The guy did offer him for free, but I paid him, so hopefully that deters him from any plans he might have had, but still..."
"Well, I'll help you if you need it, but I want proof that this 'Levi' is real, like a picture or video or something."
"I'll see what I can do, I don't know if he'll like having his picture taken." Eren said getting up, "Anyway, I need to get my paperwork before I go, I told Levi I wouldn't be long. I'll see you later and remember-"
"If anything bad happens call you immediately, we all know, Eren!" Armin smiled, waving at his best friend, "Now go, wouldn't want your little merman boyfriend to get worried!"
"What the hell?! He isn't my boyfriend!" Eren yelled, turning towards the door quickly and hoping Armin hadn't noticed his blush.
"OK, bye!" Armin laughed.
"Bye!"
~~~KMD~~~
Levi could've sworn it'd been more than hour. He busied himself with rearranging items in the tank at first and that had taken a while, but he'd finished ages ago and he was positive he'd die of boredom soon.
He heard the sound of the door opening and he rushed out of his cave and to the surface, "Finally, I almost died of boredom." Levi growled, "Next time you better leave me something to do."
"Of course." Eren muttered distractedly.
Levi watched as Eren held up a small black device in front of one of the other tanks, he stood still for a few moments before doing the same with the tank next to it.
"What the the hell are you doing?" Levi questioned, "What is that?"
"It's called a phone, and I'm taking pictures of my fish."
"Why?"
"'Cause I want to." Eren repeated the process with all the tanks, then climbed up to the platform and looked at Levi, "Can I get a picture of you too?"
Levi glared at the 'phone' in Eren's hand, he wasn't entirely sure he trusted the man with his picture. How did Levi know that he wouldn't show it to everyone and threaten the existance of all mercreatures?
"If I let you take my picture..." Levi started slowly, "You can't show anyone, I mean it, if my species dies out because of you..."
"I won't." Eren reassured with a smile, crouching down on the platform.
"I would tell you to swear on your tail but since you don't have one-"
"I swear on my life then." Eren said, "And I swear on the future of my aquarium, the only pairs of eyes that will ever see these pictures are yours and mine."
Levi still wasn't sure, Eren seemed like a nice guy so far, but he didn't want to trust him too much. In the end, he swam a little closer and said, "Show me how it works first."
"You mean explain how to take a picture?"
Levi nodded.
"Good, because I don't think I could explain how an actual phone works." Eren laughed, and held out the phone slightly.
The brunet showed the merman how to access the camera, then how to take a picture, and when Levi asked where the pictures went Eren showed him the pictures he'd just taken, along with various others from the past.
"Can I try taking a picture of you?" Levi asked, his curiosity evident in his voice.
He couldn't help it, human technology was so interesting, mercreatures had nothing like this. Eren even said that humans had so many other technological devices, not just phones, and Levi really wanted to find out about more of them.
"Sure, just don't get it too wet, it isn't waterproof."
"OK." Levi took the phone and tried to remember how to take pictures. After a couple seconds of fiddling around with it, his sharp claws making it hard to work the touchscreen, he eventually managed to take a few pictures. One was a blurry mass of grey and blue, the next a picture of Eren grinning, and the next was Eren sticking his tongue out with his eyes squeezed shut.
"Your turn to have your picture taken!" Eren announced, taking his phone back from Levi.
The first picture was just one of Levi's natural, bored expression, it took a little convincing to get him to actually pose. The next was Levi hissing, his ears blurry from where they were flickering. The third one was of Levi jumping out of the water, again slightly blurry from the motion. The fourth was of Levi floating on his back, sapphire blue tail raised slightly out of the water.
The pair continued on for hours, snapping pictures of each other, and even taking a few short videos. Eren was surprised he didn't use up all the storage, but he and Levi went through the pictures anyway, deleting any that hadn't entirely worked out, or were too similar to other pictures. He hadn't even noticed the time passing, and Eren almost dropped his phone into the tank when he noticed the time.
"Five in the afternoon already?! I haven't even started work yet! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Eren jumped up and flew down the steps and over to the door, almost tripping several times.
"Wait, Eren! Why are you leaving all of a sudden?" Levi asked with an eyebrow cocked in confusion.
"Sorry, I didn't realise how late it was getting! I have a ton of paperwork to do and neither of us have eaten since breakfast!" Eren said quickly, "I can bring my work here if you want? And I'll bring something to eat too."
"Don't be long then." Levi said, diving back into the water.
Eren nodded and hurried off.
~~~KMD~~~
When Eren returned, he was carrying a heavy looking black messenger bag, a plate of some odd food Levi didn't recognise and a white mug filled with a black liquid. Levi's tuna fish was being pressed tightly against Eren's side by his elbow.
"Take the tuna!" Eren called as he climbed the steps, trying not to drop anything.
Levi quickly reached up and grabbed the tuna before it fell.
Eren let out a long sigh and slowly lowered himself until he was kneeling on the platform. "Phew, didn't think I'd make it for a second there." He set the plate and mug down, before lifting the strap of his bag over his shoulder.
The man pulled out a small stack of papers and a pen and set them down, before lifting the mug and taking a sip, "That's some good shit." He hummed taking another sip.
"What the hell is it? And what's that?" Levi pointed at the mug and then to the unknown food.
"This-" Eren pointed to his mug, "-is black coffee and this-" he pointed to the food "-is pizza."
"Coffee and pizza?"
"Mmhm, wanna try some?"
The merman eyed the food and drink wearily, but he slowly nodded, it couldn't be that bad right?
"Alright, here, careful though it's hot." Eren held out his mug to Levi and put his fish down on the platform so he could take it.
Levi's hands wrapped tightly around the mug, ignoring the handle, he liked how the heat warmed his fingers and the webbing between them. He lifted the cup to his nose and took a sniff at it, it smelled bitter, but sweet as well, then he peered into the cup, upon closer inspection the 'coffee' was a dark brown, not black. He sniffed it again, before lowering it a little to his lips and taking a small sip.
Levi's eyes widened as he swallowed, then he scrunched his face up as if he'd just sucked a lemon, then his eyes widened again and he took another sip.
"Like it?" Eren asked with a laugh.
"It's interesting... you human's actually drink this?"
"Yep, happens to be my favourite drink too, can't go a day without it." Eren said as he took the mug back, taking a big gulp this time.
Levi grimaced at that, "I don't think I could drink that everyday."
Eren huffed out another laugh before holding up a slice of his pizza, "You wanna try this too right?"
Levi nodded and took the slice. He didn't particularly like the greasy feel of it, or the look of the stretchy yellow stuff on top, but he bit into it anyway, and surprisingly it tasted pretty good, "I like this." He said after he swallowed, "Can I finish this piece?"
"Of course." Eren smiled, grabbing his own slice and taking a bite, before he picked up his pen and began writing things on the paper. "It's good that you like human food, means I won't have to keep buying fish for you, I'm sure tuna would get boring after a while anyway.
Levi hummed, finishing off his slice of pizza before starting on his tuna.
After that they fell into a comfortable silence, Eren doing his work while Levi rested on the platform beside him. Occasionally he'd dive back into the water when he became too dry, but he'd return soon after.
~~~KMD~~~
"So did you get any pictures?" Armin asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"I did, but..." Eren trailed off, biting his lip and trying to avoid eye contact with Armin. The floor of the break room suddenly looked extremely interesting.
"But what?"
"I promised Levi that I wouldn't show anyone and it just doesn't feel right to betray his trust." Eren sighed, looking down at his phone that was in his hands. He flicked through the various pictures of him and Levi and the memories of yesterday made him smile faintly.
"If you can't show me a picture I want to see him in person."
"What?!" Eren's head shot up to stare at Armin, "If I can't show you a picture, I definitely can't show him in real life!"
"You can if you say that I'm going to help."
Eren frowned at the blonde sitting across from him, "That wouldn't be a lie would it?"
"Nope." Armin smiled, "I'll do what I can to help, make sure no one's actually stalking you or anything, and if they are I'll come up with a plan to stop them, and then we release your little merman friend and its a happy ending for everyone, maybe."
Eren snorted a that, "Right, I doubt I'll get him to agree to that though, I'm pretty sure he still doesn't trust me, not that much anyway." He sighed, "What am I even supposed to say? 'Hey, me and a friend of mine are gonna release you, but you need to wait for a few weeks while we sort some shit out'. That'll just make him suspicious or something."
"Nonsense." Armin laughed, "He'll believe you, I know it."
"Right, well, I'll talk to him then, but you better be able to help, I don't want to give him false hope."
~~~KMD~~~
"I'm back." Eren said as he entered the room.
"Finally, you always take so long!" Levi growled, as he swam over to the platform.
"You know I can't always be in this room with you right?"
"Obviously," Levi snorted, "But you could at least leave something for me to do, it gets boring just being in this tank."
"I know..." Eren said quietly, sitting down in front of the merman, "I-... Um, you... you want to leave don't you...?" He asked slowly, then growled at himself, "Of course, you don't, why am I even asking?"
Levi frowned at the man and backed away a little. Of course he wanted to leave this tank, he needed to make sure everyone was OK, he wanted to be able to swim straight for miles, instead of having to turn after only a few meters. He wanted to dive down into the places of the ocean sunlight couldn't quite reach, he wanted to actually see the sunlight, feel the wind on his face.
The merman felt himself becoming angry, and he didn't fight down the hiss building in his throat, "You just want to rub it in, huh? Build up mu hopes, then laugh in my face when you tell me I'm never getting out of here? That I'll spend the rest of my life in this damn tank?!" He rushed at the man, and Eren wisely backed up to the wall, just out of Levi's reach.
"No, it's not like that!" Eren cried, "I'll release you, but... you need to wait for a couple weeks at the very least, I'll let you go then. Just trust me, please? I promise that soon you'll be back in the ocean!" He crouched down again, shuffling a little closer to the merman, "My friend's going to help, he's going to make sure that guy who sold you to me isn't stalking me or anything like that, and then we'll let you go. I know how selfish that sounds, keeping you here to keep me out of trouble, but just... just trust me, Levi..."
Levi hissed again, pulling himself up onto the platform to lean closer to Eren, "If you're lying..." He started, "I swear you won't live to see another day. I shouldn't be trusting you with something like this, but I'm going to, so don't fuck it up, human brat."
The man let out a relieved laugh and grinned, "Good! But my friend wants to meet you, he won't help unless he's certain that you're real..."
"Your friend...? You told someone about me?" Levi asked with a growl, "Did you show him any pictures of me?" His voice was calm, and that made it even more terrifying.
"No! I swear! That's why he doesn't believe me!" Eren said quickly, "So, what do you say?"
Levi nodded slowly, "Can't promise I'll play nice though."
"OK, I'll ask him to come over now, if that's alright?"
"I'm not doing anything else," Levi grunted.
"Great!"
~~~KMD~~~
"Please don't get really close to him, and don't bombard him with questions, or piss him off-"
"Eren! I get it!" Armin laughed, "Can we just go in now?"
"OK, but if he tries to drown you because you didn't listen to me, don't expect me to try and stop him." Eren huffed, pushing the door open.
Armin immediately rushed inside and over to the tank, "Whoa, you weren't lying! He's actually real!"
Levi was near the bottom of the tank, directly in front of Armin. When the blonde stepped closer, the merman let out a hiss and thumped his tail against the glass.
Armin didn't even flinch, only grinning wider, "Wow, such power! You must be able to swim so fast, and ou must have awesome stamina!"
"Oh my God," Eren sighed, walking over, "Levi, I told you to behave and Armin, stop grinning like that, it's kinda freaky."
Levi swam to the surface and let out a hiss, "You humans are so damn weird, neither of you acted scared when I hissed, anyone else would've been long gone."
"This is fascinating! It's a shame I don't have time do any proper research,"Armin pouted, "Would you mind answering a few questions for me sometime?"
"Eren said you were going to help," Levi said quietly, "Is that true?"
"I'll do what I can." Armin offered.
"Then I might be willing to answer questions, depending on what they were. Humans believe that my species are mythical creatures, and most of what humans believe about us is wrong, I'd prefer it if it stayed that way."
"Of course, that's to be expected." Armin smiled, "Now I'm afraid I can't stay any longer, as I must be getting back to work." He made a show of bowing to the merman, "Eren and I will have you back in the ocean in under a month or so, guaranteed."
~~~KMD~~~
A couple of weeks passed, but Levi was still in the tank. Eren and Armin had been doing their best to get information on the man who had captured Levi though. From what Armin had managed to find out, the man couldn't care less about what Eren was doing. The man hadn't sent anyone to watch or capture Eren and/or Levi, and neither had he made any attempts to capture another mercreature.
All was looking good, and Levi would be back in the ocean within the next few days. He was looking forward to finally getting to see his friends again, he'd missed them so much, but a small part of him didn't want to leave Eren.
Eren was such a nice human, and had proved to the merman that not all human's were bad. He was also great company, though Levi didn't like to admit it, and when he wasn't around, he'd made sure to leave Levi tons of things to keep himself busy. Those things being a laptop, a TV and even a few books.
Levi found himself really liking the human, really, really liking the human. Eren was pretty damn attractive for a human, and his eyes reminded Levi so much of his home while his smile made Levi's heart skip a beat every time he saw it.
He could feel his cheeks turning red from the thoughts, and he quickly lifted a hand to scrub at them, thankful Eren wasn't actually there to see. In the process though, he accidentally dropped the TV remote. The loud clattering of the thing hitting the floor made him flinch, at least it wasn't in the water, there was still a possibility of it being broken though.
Levi hesitantly glanced down at the remote and saw that the back of it had come off, the batteries lying a few inches away.
Well, shit.
Levi could leave it, let Eren pick it up when he got back, but he wanted to make sure it wasn't broken. He'd feel bad if it was, even if it was kind of an accident. It was Eren's fault for invading Levi's thoughts and making him forget to hold onto he device in his hands.
Levi growled and looked around the room, hoping there'd be something to help him retrieve the remote and batteries, but of course there was nothing. He could climb out of the tank and get it himself, but there was the possibility of drying out before he could get back into the water, and he really didn't like the sound of that.
What if Eren got mad that he'd broken it though? It seemed highly unlikely, but it didn't stop Levi from worrying slightly. The man was trying to make Levi as comfortable as possible while he stayed there, and Levi repayed him by possibly breaking his things.
The merman clenched his jaw tightly, if he was quick he could complete the task before he dried out. All he had to do was climb out of the tank and fall to the floor, it wasn't far so hopefully he wouldn't break anything, then he just had grab the remote and batteries, pull himself over to the steps, climb up them and pull himself back into the tank. Job done.
There was only twelve steps, it couldn't be that hard to climb then. Eren could do it in only a few seconds, but Eren had legs and Levi had a slippery fish tail that would be useless for gripping anything, especially metal steps.
Levi ignored how scared he felt at the thought of drying out and never seeing his friends again, and gripped onto the edge of the tank. He pulled himself up and, with a little effort, managed to swing his tail over the edge. He almost fell, but he gripped the edge tightly and didn't fall. Slowly, Levi turned himself around, then let himself drop to the floor.
It actually didn't hurt that much, but he didn't spend much time being surprised and looked for the remote. He picked it up quickly, then found the batteries and popped them in before clicking the back into place.
Getting across the floor wasn't too hard, but trying to climb the steps was a lot more difficult than he'd anticipated. He'd tried to just pull himself up with his arms, but it was tricky with the remote in one hand, and he ended losing balance and slipping back down to the floor.
He cursed at himself and tried again, trying to use his tail to push himself forward. That didn't work either, his tail kept slipping around, and he couldn't keep it steady enough to actually push him up. The merman couldn't give up though, he had to keep trying, he could already feel his skin beginning to dry.
Again, he gripped the stairs with his hands and pulled himself up, but his body was a lot heavier out of water and he wasn't used to that kind of weight. He got halfway before slipping, though this time he managed to stop himself before he hit the floor, and he tried to pull himself up again.
He was beginning to pant from all the exertion, and the muscles in his arms were screaming at him to stop. This was such a stupid idea, he should've stayed in the tank and just apologised to Eren for breaking the remote, if it was even broken that is. His mouth felt dry and breathing was becoming a chore, licking his lips only seemed to make them feel drier.
Levi was almost there, just three more steps and he'd be able to dive right back into that cool, refreshing water. His arms were shaking violently with the effort to keep him up, and when he raised one to the next step, his other gave out and he collapsed. The merman didn't fall though, his dry skin and tail now providing enough grip to keep him place.
Eren might be home soon, he'd been gone a while, hopefully he'd be able to help.
Levi let his head rest on the cold, metal step, all energy to get up and try again gone. His hand still gripped the remote tightly, unwilling to let it go after going through all that to get it.
Breathing hurt. He held it as much as he could.
Blinking hurt. He kept his eyes closed.
Moving hurt. He remained as motionless as possible.
He could've sworn he heard the clicking noise of the door opening, footsteps getting closer, even someone talking, but perhaps it was just a hallucination caused by death closing in.
It felt as if someone was lifting him up now, was that what death felt like? Some one lifting you into their arms and carrying you away?
That would be nice, it was almost comforting in a way.
More words were being said that Levi couldn't entirely make out.
"Wake... You're... be alright...! Levi... wake up!"
It sounded faintly like Eren, maybe he'd come home and found Levi.
Levi flinched at the feeling of water suddenly surrounding him, then he sighed in relief. It was so nice to finally have the warm liquid surrounding him again, he was slowly being lowered and soon enough he was completely submerged.
He took a shallow breathe and the feeling of water passing through his gills was the best thing he'd experienced in quite while. The water soothed the ache in his arms, and already he was feeling a little stronger.
"Levi! Can you hear me? Please don't be dead, please..."
Levi sighed again, slowly blinking his eyes open. The first thing he saw was Eren's wide, tear-filled eyes peering down at him.
The merman shifted a little, trying to get out of the human's arms. After a moment or two, Eren hesitantly let him go.
"Levi?"
"'M fine..." Levi rasped, holding onto the platform for support. He stared into the water for a moment or two, before letting go and allowing his body to sink to the bottom of the tank. It was such a soothing sensation, to feel the water passing over him and encasing him like a cocoon.
He tried to swim to his cave, but his tail wouldn't cooperate properly. He hissed and managed to pull himself along a little, but his arms still hurt.
Levi flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he quickly turned his head to find Eren swimming beside him. The man smiled gently and tugged at Levi's arm, pulling him towards to the cave.
The merman curled up tightly in the cave, then glanced towards Eren. The brunet was watching Levi, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"I'm OK... I just want to rest..." Levi mumbled, hoping the human would be able to understand him.
Eren nodded and swam back up to the surface. Levi watched as he climbed back onto the platform, before closing his eyes to get some much needed rest.
When he awoke again, he was feeling a lot better. His muscles still ached and his throat was still a little sore, but he could handle. He was also feeling a lot stronger, and after a stretch and a yawn he swam up to the platform. He was a little scared of going up to the surface, but he refused to let it get to him.
Eren was leaning back against the wall, eyes closed, snoring softly. He must've fallen asleep waiting for Levi to finish resting. Levi was somewhat tempted to kiss him before he woke him up, but he wasn't sure if Eren would appreciate that...
Levi might never get another chance like this again though, and he wanted to do it at least once.
The thought of never seeing Eren again after returning home saddened him.
Despite his hatred of humans, Eren had somehow managed to wedge himself a place in Levi's heart, and Levi was really going to miss him when he left.
He pulled himself onto the platform so he could get a little closer to Eren, and leaned forward.
Just a little peck, a quick kiss on the lips, that's it, then he'd wake Eren up.
Levi leaned forward a little more and connected their lips. Eren's were warm and soft and he really didn't want to stop, but then he couldn't pull away even if he wanted to because fingers were tangling in hair and keeping him in place.
Eren shifted a little, trying to get closer to the merman, and Levi lifted his hand to cup the human's cheek.
When they pulled apart they were both panting slightly.
"I was so worried..." Eren said quietly, green eyes looking into Levi's silver ones, "When I saw you there... I thought... I thought-"
"Shhh." Levi murmured, briefly connecting there lips again, "How could you think something like that would finish me off? I'm hurt, Eren."
The brunet chuckled, wrapping his arms tightly around the other, "I'm glad you're OK, I wouldn't have been able to tell you that you can go home now otherwise."
Levi's eyes widened, "I can...?"
"Yeah, we just need to find a way to transport you to the beach, and you're home free." Eren smiled sadly.
"Eren?" Levi asked worriedly, brushing a strand of hair out of Eren's face.
"I get lonely in this house all by myself, sure I have all my fish and my friends do come over sometimes but... I'm gonna miss you, Levi, it'd be selfish of me to keep you here any longer though..." Eren said burying his face in Levi's shoulder.
Levi had no idea what to say to that, so he just wrapped his arms around Eren tightly. After a moment Levi leaned back and smiled softly, "Swim with me."
"What?" Eren frowned, "Why?"
"Just do it," Levi said, diving back into the water. He swam to the bottom, then turned and watched as Eren stripped down to his underwear before diving in after him.
Levi grinned at the human and swam in circles around him, laughing as Eren tried to reach out and grab him, but failing every time. They began an underwater game of tag, Eren chasing Levi around the tank and trying to capture him.
Levi was surprised by how long Eren could hold his breath, he went up for air every five minutes or so, sometimes waiting ten minutes. When Eren went to the surface for some fresh air, Levi sneaked up underneath him and grabbed a hold of his foot, tugging it slightly.
Eren yelped, then glared down at Levi. "Don't do that!"
Levi swam up to the surface and pinned Eren to the edge of the tank, "I will if you keep reacting like that." He grinned, before pulling Eren into another kiss.
~~~KMD~~~
"Everything, ready to go?" Armin asked.
"Almost, just need to finish filling this." Eren said, waiting for the bucket to finish filling with water. "Can you help with these?"
"Sure." Armin grabbed a couple of the buckets and followed Eren to the van, being careful not to spill any of the water.
Levi was already waiting in the back of the van, various buckets of water surrounding him. "Was this really the best you could come up with?"
"We've been over this Levi, transporting you in a tank would've been incredibly difficult, transporting you like a whale or dolphin was definitely out of the question, and transporting you in anything else would have either exposed you to the eyes of other humans or would've just been incredibly uncomfortable for you." Eren sighed, "Sorry, this was the best option." He finished explaining as he lifted the buckets he was carrying into the back of the van.
Armin copied him before getting into the driver's seat, "Alright, get in so we can go."
"Yeah, yeah." Eren mumbled, climbing into the back and closing the doors.
Armin started up the van and they started moving.
Levi could barely stay still, he was nervous and sad, but excited and happy all at the same time. He grabbed a cloth from one of the bucket's and squeezed some water onto his tail, "I can't believe this is finally happening."
"Neither can I..." Eren said quietly as he lifted a bucket, pouring some water over Levi's torso and tail.
The rest of the trip was relatively quiet, neither of the pair wanting to start a conversation and Armin making no effort to break the silence. It wasn't exactly awkward though and the time passed pretty quickly. Luckily they had more than enough water to keep Levi from drying out during the trip.
Eventually they arrived at the beach where they'd be releasing Levi.
"Coast's clear, I'd hurry up if I were you, just in case anyone shows up." Armin said, opening the van doors for Eren and Levi, before climbing back into the front to wait.
Eren looked to Levi, "Well this is it."
"Yeah."
Eren scooped Levi into his arms, and grunted at the weight, "You're heavy."
"I'm not heavy, you're just weak." Levi snorted.
"You wish." Eren laughed, but it quickly faded as he turned and their eyes settled on the ocean.
He silently walked closer, the merman held tightly in his arms, and he didn't stop until the waves were lapping at his shoulders, then he let Levi go.
"Guess this is goodbye..." Eren muttered through clenched.
"Not goodbye forever." Levi reassured, "We'll see each other again soon."
"When? You said yourself that you travel a lot, and I have my work so I can't come down to the beach and wait for you everyday!" Eren growled, tears forming in his eyes.
"Of course not, I don't expect you to." Levi said calmly, cupping Eren's cheeks and pressing their foreheads together, "But my species can do this thing, it's kinda like telepathy, we can send out signals to let others know where we are. We can't actually speak with it, and it only works if you are close physically, at least a few miles, and emotionally to the one you're trying to call."
"So? I'm not a merman, I can't do this." Eren growled, eyebrows furrowing angrily.
"No, but we can try, next time I'm at this beach, I'll try it. I'll call for you Eren, as loud as I can, for as long as I can. I won't give up, not until I'm 100% sure it won't work." Levi hissed back.
"How will I know you're calling me?" Eren asked in a murmur.
"You'll just know." Levi said pulling Eren into a kiss, ignoring the fact Armin was probably watching them.
~~~KMD~~~
Levi swam as fast as he could, calling out to his friends every so often. He kept swimming, even when his muscles began to ache, even when his stomach begged for food, even when some part of him screamed at him to return to that damn human.
He must have been swimming for at least a day when he finally got a reply.
It was Isabel. She was near, and she was safe.
Relief washed over Levi and he kept swimming until he saw the redheaded mermaid coming into view, along with others. Two blondes and another redhead.
The black haired merman wanted to cry from pure happiness.
When Isabel noticed him coming, she swam straight towards him and they crashed together in a suffocating hug.
"You're OK!" Isabel sobbed into his shoulder.
"I am." Levi said, "I'm so glad you're safe too, and everyone else."
"I'm sorry I-"
"Don't apologise, I was reckless too." Levi said.
"Levi!"
Levi turned, spotting Hanji now swimming towards them, closely followed by Farlan and Erwin.
"We thought you weren't coming back!" Hanji cried, "Don't you ever worry us like that again!" She joined in the hug, her arms wrapping tightly around both Levi and Isabel.
"Hey, don't leave me out!" Farlan, joined in, and then Erwin did too, just about managing to get his huge arms around all of them.
"What the hell happened to you, Levi? How'd you escape?" Erwin asked once they'd all separated.
"Well, it's a long story, and I'm not sure you'll believe me."
~~~KMD~~~
Eren waited for months, he was pretty sure Levi hadn't called him at all since he'd released him.
Was even trying? Maybe he was too busy with his friends or his family and had forgotten about Eren. The brunet wouldn't mind, Levi belonged in the ocean with his own species, he shouldn't be bothering with a human.
That didn't stop a small part of him from feeling like he was dying without the merman's company, even his friends had noticed how depressed he'd become recently, and nothing they did could help.
Then Eren felt it, well heard it really. It wasn't a voice, more like a buzzing inside his mind, but it sounded just like Levi somehow, and even though words weren't being said, Eren understood it clearly.
Get to the beach as soon as possible.
Eren grabbed his phone, told Armin he wouldn't be visiting the aquarium that day, then grabbed his car keys. He drove as quick as he could without breaking the law and got to the beach in under two hours.
He barely remembered to lock his car before he was pretty much flying across the beach and into the water, luckily no one was around to see his odd behaviour.
"Levi!" He shouted as loud as he could, "Levi, I'm here! Where are you? Levi!"
"Right here." Levi said, popping up in front of Eren.
Eren jumped and flailed in the water, "Christ, don't do that!"
"I will if you keep reacting like that." Levi laughed, pulling Eren into a hug.
"Bastard." Eren muttered before connecting their lips.
"Hey bro, is this the guy you kept talking about?" A girl popped up behind Levi. She had bright
red hair tied into pigtails, green eyes and she looked a lot younger than the merman.
Levi disconnected their lips with a sigh, "Izzy, I told you to give us a moment alone when he came."
"Yeah, but I've never been this close to a human before!" The mermaid grinned.
Levi sighed, "Hope you don't mind that I bought my friends along."
"I don't-" Eren started, but then something grabbed his leg and he lost his balance, falling onto Levi.
"Wow, legs are even weirder up close." A blonde with blue eyes said, "Feel weird too."
"I'm sorry my friends are all idiots." Levi said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, that's Isabel and Farlan." He introduced, pointing to the two mercreatures in turn. "Erwin and Hanji are around here somewhere, probably just watching us from a distance like the creepy stalkers they are. They weren't as excited at the idea of meeting a human as Isabel and Farlan were."
After being bombarded with questions from Isabel, and having his legs poked at until Eren was sure they were bruised, the pair finally left him and Levi alone.
"It's nice to see you again," Eren smiled from his place on the rocks at a more obscure corner of the beach.
"It's nice to see you too." Levi muttered from his place in the water beside Eren, "I missed you." He stole a quick glance at Eren and found the brunet looking down at him, "It's weird, I'm on land and I miss my friends, but when I'm back in the ocean I miss you, it's just a never ending cycle of missing somebody."
"This is your home though, where you belong, I can't keep you from that." Eren said, shifting to lie on the rock, so he could rest his head on his arms and watch the sun set.
"And I can't keep you at the beach because you belong on land, with your friends, where your home and your aquarium is." Levi said quietly, climbing onto the rock to lie beside Eren.
"So what are we going to do?" Eren asked.
"I don't know." Levi answered, turning to face the human as he took a hold of his hand, "We'll figure something out."
~~~KMD~~~
Hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you think!
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