Kanaya's POV
You really like Rose. You know it isn't right, but there's something about her that you just can't not like. She is an octopus. Not even a mertroll. She has some human characteristics, is very smart, but can't even speak. She risks her life for you, sitting on your shoulder all the time. You can't believe it. Of course, you aren't the only one, but at least Tavros and John like humanoid creatures.
"Kanaya, what's wrong?"
Your phone notified you in the middle of the night. Instead of leaving Rose at the aquarium, you took her home with you. She loved spending time with you, and you liked it as well. Someone had given her a waterproof phone (it was probably Roxy) and she used a pesterchum account to talk to you all the time.
"Nothing, dear." You didn't bother getting on your account and instead spoke aloud. It must have looked odd to anyone watching, speaking to yourself. You looked over at Rose's tank, smiling softly. "Nothing at all."
Rose swam to the side and seemed to cock her head. You just laid back down with a fake smile on your face. There was a gentile unease in the room, but you could feel the tension fade as Rose made a note and went back to sleep.
What would happen if someone found out about this? Beastiality was frowned upon, no matter how intelligent those "beasts" were. It did no good to work with these creatures. That would be even worse. But the amount of care you showed for each other... It would do no good to dwell on this for very long. It would get nowhere.
Kanaya's POV
When you woke up the next morning, it was dark outside. The winter season struck hard when it struck. You got up in a fog, and went through your morning routines without a hitch. Rose was still asleep in her tank, on the side right next to your bed. You tried to forget what you had thought about last night, and succeeded. You put on your green dress-without a single "that's cruel" running through your head- and slowly woke Rose up.
"Hey, Rose, it's time to get into your travel tank."
Almost sleepily, Rose drifted up to the top and waited expectantly for you to pick her up. You grabbed the thermos Dirk had modified for this very purpose, and slipped her into it. Your morning coffee was almost enough to wake you up, and you drove your car in a bit of a fog. But, eventually, you got to work. You nearly ran into Terezi as she slipped out, grumbling for coffee.
"How was night guard? Anything interesting?"
"Coffee."
You rolled your eyes and walked to your office. You set Rose down in her larger tank where she was finally awake. She seemed to smile up at you, her tentacles floating in the water.
"What's on the schedule for today?" You asked yourself as you grabbed your laptop.
"Let's see... We've got a school group coming in from a Christian church, a visit from the care center down the road, and... Oh! The Amazon people found two trolls! They're bringing them back here today!"
You knew that would take a long time to deal with, and set about getting what supplies you would need for the new arrivals. They weren't ready for public viewing, of course, but that didn't mean that they shouldn't have a place to stay. You walked briskly through the halls, getting everything in order. As you did, Tavros walked out of the feeding chamber.
"Hey Kanaya!"
"Hello Tavros."
"Are you ready for the trolls today? I head that they are a Pixies and a Serket."
"Really?"
"Yeah! Rufioh is excited, he used to know the Pixies. Apparently she stole his helicopter a while back. She was the only thing not to hit on him, according to Latula."
You could always count on Latula to know the gossip in the place.
"Well, I'm sure they will be great new additions to our aquarium."
You kept walking, trying to find Sollux. He would have to look at both of them. Hopefully the Pixies wouldn't cause too much trouble, would she?
A mertroll of the genus Pixies is a very interesting mertroll. Only two have ever been documented by a human. One is the Pixies at the
"Sollux, there you are."
"Kanaya."
"Are you ready for the new arrivals?"
"Well, only one is new. The other... Well, do you remember when that really quiet guy came and hung out with Meulin all day?"
"Sort of."
"Well, that was Kurloz."
"What?" You had no idea! Meulin had said she really liked him, and it was too bad he was gone, but still...
"The Pixies, Meenah, her kisses turn trolls into humans."
"Oh. Well, what about the other one?"
"The two of them were found together. According to Psi, the other one is a Serket named Aranea. We don't know much past that."
"Well, good luck!"
He would need it. He had enough trouble with the Pixies he already dealt with, not to even mention Erifish. Erifish looked like some sort of personal hell to deal with.
"Here they come!" John ran into the room, shouting at the top of his lungs. Both you and Sollux ran out to the loading dock to meet the Ancestors. Summoner was flying a large helicopter with two boxes hanging down. He landed the copter perfectly, the boxes hitting the ground with small thumps. Psi slipped down and cut off the ropes before Summoner flew the helicopter to it's landing grounds. Everyone was there for the opening of the boxes, armed with sedating liquids and ready for the new arrivals. Porrim opened the boxes and everyone tensed.
The new arrivals fell face-first onto the grass. It turns out the sedative that the others had put on them worked well. Instead of attacking, the crowd rushed forward and grabbed the two of them. You ended up helping Karkat carry the Serket into the waiting room prepared for her. She had to have water on her, but also have a bunch of air nearby. The few people who could deal with her were the Pyropes, for some reason, but Sollux was in the other room directing them to what they needed to do. The vaccenese got in and everyone backed up. There was no motion from her. Sollux carefully went in and continued to treat her. In the other room, Meenah was being treated with more sedatives, allowing Sollux more time until Psi arrived. You ended up being carried away by the crowd and back to your office where you started to get backed in. You shut the door and sat down, with Rose giving you a questioning look.
"What happened? It's only been like a half an hour."
"The arrival of two new mertrolls, dear."
"Oh. Good luck!"
"Do you want to come with?"
Instead of replying, Rose put her tentacles up over the edge of her tank. You picked her up and put her on your shoulder.
"Ready?"
She nodded.
You ran back out and… there was no one. Everyone had moved on, you guess. Preparing the tanks, getting people out of the way of the stretchers. It was a lot quieter than it was. "We should probably go find someone and find out what is happening." you commented to Rose.
The two of you-well, really you- walked down the hall to Sollux's office where… only he was. You had thought everyone would be there, but it was only him and the trolls. They were laying next to each other, calm and serene. The spider's legs dripped off of the table, while the… She wasn't a mermaid, but she was close. The Pixies had braids dripping down off the edges, hitting the floor. Everything was done, except for getting them into cages. The old backroom where Feferi had been kept until she was old enough was crowded but clean. The two mertrolls were carried slowly through the empty halls until they hit the crowd of people.
A few hours later, you were back to mostly normal. Visitors were filtering in and out, but instead of having people everywhere working on everything, there was nearly no one. They were all in the back. You had just finished giving a tour of the place to some elderly couples when your radio went off.
"The sedative is wearing off. Come now."
It didn't matter who it was. You walked calmly to the door, watching Terezi as the guard outside. "It's time!" You told her.
"No one ever tells me anything."
"Ready?"
"I don't think so. Let's go."
The two of you walked into a crowd of people all gathered around the glass tank. There was a divider between them, but seeing as they were found together, it probably wouldn't hurt that they were next to each other. The first one to open their eyes was the Pixies. Her eyes were bright pink, the same color as Feferi's. She hissed sort of nonchalantly at the group, and swam up to the front of the tank. "I know her. Let me talk to her." Rufioh stepped up. "Hey, Meenah. How are you, doll?"
"Rufioh?" Her voice sounded like a girl from the hood.
"Yeah!"
"Where the glub am I?"
"You're back at the aquarium with your friend over there. Mind telling us about her?"
At this, Meenah swam back to the other end of her tank. "Let me see her."
"Sorry, but we can't. We need to make sure you guys don't have any diseases or some sh*t like that."
"Let me talk to her." She swam back up to the front.
"No need." The new spider got up slowly. "I can talk myself."
"Aranea!"
"Meenah!" The two of them tried to hug through the separation.
"I take it you two know each other."
"Rufioh, go away."
"Don't send him away. Rufioh, it's fine."
Many days later, the two of the mertrolls were happy and healthy. They were sharing a tank, still in the back room. You and Rose were watching them and talking to them.
"So, Aranea, you like books, right?" You had heard she had kept quite a library in the Amazon with her bubbles. You had brought some books for her to read and use. She seemed very curious about things.
"I do! Thank you, Kanaya. I have not read these books. I'm sure they will be quite the addition to my learning."
Meenah was simply leaning up against Aranea's legs. She leaned up and whispered something to Aranea. Aranea leaned down and giggled with her.
"So, I heard that some people here like someone named Rose."
"... Well, yeah. I mean, Rose is pretty nice!" You leaned down and snuggled against Rose sitting on your shoulder.
"Hmmmmm…" The two of them seemed like they were planning something. That was… interesting. Hopefully it wouldn't be a problem.
"Can she stay with us tonight?"
You were going to say no, but a strong sense of "must" came over you. There was nothing that stopped you from slipping Rose into their tank. Rose didn't seem too panicked, but did cling to you. You were about to question your actions when John came on over the radio. "Hey Kanaya, can you come lead this group of schoolkids around? They're from a middle school. They forgot to mention they were coming, but they do need a tour guide."
"I'm on my way."
You headed out, leaving Rose behind. It wouldn't be too bad. You could spend some time apart. You walked to the front of the building, meeting a group of 10 middle schoolers. "Why so small?"
One girl with a "Team Cap" sweatshirt on said: "Our teacher said the rest of the class couldn't go, but we'd already paid, so here we are."
"Hey!" Another girl, this one with blue hair, was off talking to… Karkat? "Karkat! How are you?"
"What? Why are you here?" Karkat was obviously panicked, or something.
"Who is this? Why do you know each other?" You were rather curious, so you asked away.
"Oh, I'm just a friend of his boyfriend's-"
"Dave is not my boyfriend."
"Shush. I'm not done. I'm a friend of his boyfriend's brother's-well, and his brother's boyfriend's- friend, Roxy. Do you know her? I think she works here too. We know each other through this one cooking class I took where Jane was the teacher and she was there and we were fast friends. She also likes my fanfics."
"Oh." This didn't really explain how she knew Karkat, but whatever.
"Ohhh! Are we going to see Vriska?"
Well, crap. You weren't planning to show these kids the mertrolls, but if it was requested you guess you could.
"Sure. But why are you actually here?"
Before either of the girls who had already spoken answered, a boy from the back popped up and said, " We're here for learning about bioluminescence."
"Oh. Then you will certainly want to see Vriska."
The kids followed you through the aquarium. You settled into your regular routine, not thinking about anything. It was pretty normal at this point. Although, for some reason, these kids didn't have a teacher and they were more like high schoolers with their knowledge of stuff. When they left, you had so much to do that you didn't bother going to pick up Rose. She could spend a night with some new friends.
Right as the aquarium was closing, a blonde girl with pink eyes showed up. "Hello."
Damn she was pretty. "Hello."
"I know it's close to time to close, but could you please show me around?"
You agreed. She walked behind you, listening to your every word. She was staring at you the whole time.
"And here is my favorite part. It's the tube of glass."
"Can we sit for a bit and look at it?"
"Sure, I guess."
She sat on the bench. You sat down next to her. The two of you looked at the fish swimming by. Jade swam over, blocking out the light for a few minutes. It was still nice. The glow of the water reflected everything. Your phone went off, letting you know it was 9:00. "It is time to close, sorry."
"Oh! That's fine. I should be heading out anyways. It was nice to meet you! See you around!"
"See you around!"
You walked out, locking up all the rooms. Your car was cold. You drove home anyways, slipping into bed.
The next day when you walked in, Meenah was up and about.
"You're out of your tank!"
"Yeah, I got bored." It wasn't a real problem, she was just in her room. Rose was sitting in their tank with Aranea, fast asleep. Aranea reached up and passed Rose to you. "She said you should let her sleep here tomorrow as well."
You were going to say no, I really doubt she said that, but you didn't. You nodded your head and started for everything else you had to do.
Around 9:30, a group of kids came in. It was the same group as yesterday!
"What are you doing back here?"
"Our teacher wants to get rid of us." The talkative blue-haired girl was talking, as seemed normal.
"Why?"
"Do you really want to know?"
" I suppose not."
You walked them through the same places you had the other day. "Hey, miss, why do you have an octopus on your shoulder?" The boy spoke up.
"Oh, she's Rose. She helps out."
"Is she a mertroll?" A new, short girl was speaking.
"... Sort of. We don't really know."
"Do you love her?"
"What?"
"Do you feel the same way Caleia and Billy do?"
"Ashley, one more word and I swear to god I will do a pirouette and kill something, and break your glasses." That was the blue-haired girl.
"I-"
"Hey, what's your name anyways? We never introduced ourselves." This time, the Cap-shirt was speaking.
"I am Kanaya. I am the acting CEO of the aquarium."
"I'm Amira."
"Billy." The one boy who spoke.
"Ashley, obviously."
"Caleia."
"Kyle."
"MJ."
"Jake."
"Jimmy."
"Satan."
"No, you're Emily. Caleia is Satan."
"Ashley, let's just move on."
"Fine. I'm Emily."
"Emma."
This would be… interesting. They were all pretty close friends, from the sounds of it. They were all very smart. And apparently, one of them knew Karkat. "It's nice to meet all of you."
There was a chorus of "thanks" and they kids took off again, talking at what must have been three times the speed of light.
"Hey, can we go back and see Sollux?" Emily asked.
"How do you know Sollux?"
"Through Caleia via Karkat, Dave, Dirk, Jake, Roxy, Jane, and a bakery meeting."
Okay then. We were going to go see Sollux!
You walked them back through the halls. "Yo, we can just stay with Sollux if you want. We won't annoy him too much."
""Amira you and I both know that's a goddamn lie."
"Ashley no swearing."
"Fuck you, Bill!"
"Ashley!"
"Oh wait, that's Caleia's job."
"Ashley!" You rolled your eyes and abandoned them with Sollux. They wouldn't hurt anyone. It would all be fine.
Surprisingly, it was. They talked to Feferi for awhile, pissed off Erifish, talked to Sollux. You did need to go home soon, so you put Rose back in the tank of Meenah and Aranea. You had to go shopping, as usual. Neither Porrim nor Dolorosa were ever in the mood to go shopping. None of you lived together, but they never, ever did anything for themselves, so you did it. You headed to the grocery store. You were browsing the pasta isle, looking for anything when the same girl from last night showed up. "Hey!"
"Hello. How are you?"
"Good, thanks." You tried not to sound too flustered. "And you?"
"I'm fine. Hey, if you don't mind, I kinda like you. Do you want to go out sometime?" You would have blushed on the spot. Oh wait, you did.
"Ummmm... Sure, I guess." She seemed really forward, especially since last night she sounded a lot different.
"Does Olive Garden sound good to you? Tomorrow?"
"Sure!" She walked away. That was odd. She seemed a lot more educated and subtle yesterday than today. It wasn't that bad in the scheme of things, but still. And, like a cliche, you didn't even know her name. But whatever. You kept shopping. You needed to pick up some stuff for Rose's home tank. It was too bad they didn't sell octopus food at most stores.
When you got home, you started to sort the things you had got into different piles. One for you, one for Porrim, one for Dolorosa. They'd stop by later and get it.
And by later, you apparently meant now. "Hey Kanaya.
"Hello Porrim"
"I heard you had a date."
How. "How?"
"Magic. "
" I wasn't even in the aquarium!"
"So, who's it with? When?"
" I don't actually know her name, but she's nice and pretty. And tomorrow night at Olive Garden."
"You don't know her name"
" I forgot to ask. "
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. "
"Whatever. I need to get you ready for it. You need to look pretty. "
"I can make my own fashion choices, you know that right?"
"Shush. "
Porrim grabbed you and pulled you into your closet. "Well, your normal clothes aren't going to work."
"I know that."
"Let's go shopping. "
"Porrim, it will be fine. There's nothing you need to worry about."
Porrim looked at you. There was clear "hah no" on her face. She pulled you into her car and started off. "Now, I know goodwill isn't a normal choice, but it's cheap and has easily modified clothes. You look good in green and black, so when we get to the dress rack, grab everything in green and black and go into the dressing room to try them on. We'll get two or three and mash them up."
"Porrim, it will be fine. I have plenty of pretty things, and I can do this myself. Don't worry about it."
She looked at you. "Kanaya, I rarely get a chance to dress anyone up. Let me do this."
You shook your head and let her do her thing. The worst that would happen is that you would look pretty.
The next day, work passed by in a blur. The kids came back, you talked to Meenah, and before you knew it it was time to go to Olive Garden. Porrim helped you do your makeup and hair.
"You ready? Call me if it goes wrong. I will pick you up if it doesn't work out. "
"Porrim, it will be fine."
You walked out the door and took the bus to Olive Garden. She was standing outside with a pretty yellow-and-orange dress on, shivering in the cold winter air. She saw you and waved. "Hey!"
"Hello."
"So, it occurred to me I never got your name. I'm Rose."
You were a little shocked, but Rose was a pretty common name. "I'm Kanaya."
The two of you sat down. "So, you work at the aquarium?"
"Yeah. I'm a stand in CEO and tour guide. What about you?"
"Oh, I'm a photographer."
"What do you take photos of?"
She seemed a little nervous, and changed the subject.
During the date, mostly the two of you discussed the aquarium. You didn't hear much about her life, which made you a little suspicious, but you were having too much fun. But, before long, you had finished your food.
"It's time for me to head home. It was nice talking to you, Kanaya."
"You too, Rose." You were walking her out to her stop. She took the bus here too. Sadly, it wasn't the same route. When her bus arrived, she got in. You leaned up to say bye and instead of saying the same, she leaned down and kissed you. "Goodnight!"
"Goodnight!" Her bus pulled away.
You waited in the cold, but it didn't really bother you. You were still warm from her kiss.
When you got home, Porrim was gone, and you slipped into bed. It didn't feel like any time at all before it was bright outside, light shining through your curtains. You glanced over at your phone. It was buzzing. You grabbed it and answered.
"Kanaya! We need you in now!"
"Terezi, what's going on?"
"Meenah and Aranea are gone! Rose is still in their tank, but they are gone!"
You didn't bother saying a goodbye before you changed into your work clothes and drove in.
They had escaped into the sea. There was no sign of them. "And the Amazon people aren't even here. Great!"
Oh well. They were nice while they lasted. The only message they left was a note addressed to you: "Sorry! Had to run. Oh w8, no we aren't. But don't bother looking for her. She came with us.( yeah we mean that girl you went on a date with)"
That was weird. This whole thing was weird. At least you had some data from them. You picked up Rose from in their tank.
"Hello. Did you have fun with them?" She nodded.
It was really too bad they had left. And what did they mean, the took Rose with them?
Looking back, a few months later, you realized the truth. Maybe loving Rose wasn't that bad.