Kid leaned back against the rim of the small boat, trying to relax as his crew lowered it down. Without the rush of adrenaline when he'd faced the sea earlier, the sight of water left him with a vague sense of nausea. He was painfully aware of his weakness to seawater, and even with the boat rigged with weapons and Killer by his side, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was doing something stupid.

Killer seemed to agree; Kid could feel his disapproving glare even through the man's mask. He hadn't spoken since Kid made the decision to meet the fish, projecting the image of the loyal first mate, but Kid knew he'd hear it when they got back on the ship.

Whatever. He did stupid things all the time and came out fine; he'd deal with it.

The dinghy landed in the water with a gentle splash, and Kid sat up. If the fish was planning on trying anything, it'd do it now.

The surface just beside the boat rippled, and the creature appeared. As it had before, it only allowed its torso to show. It stretched, arms braced on the boat and head tilted back, letting the water droplets roll off it and into the sea. From this close, Kid could make out little details he'd missed from on the ship; double-pierced ears with gleaming rings, the folds in its fins, the oddly heart-shaped design on its chest.

It shifted closer and Killer stiffened, but the creature seemed completely at ease, moving to sprawl lazily over the side of the boat and gaze at Kid with half-lidded eyes. Its hand dipped below the surface and came back up with a dripping wad of seaweed, similar to the one Kid wore tied around his arm.

Kid eyed it. "I'm not touching that till it's dry."

The creature tilted its head, giving him a curious look. "A fruit user, then? Explains why you couldn't swim."

"Yeah."

The wad was wrung out, and the fish's deft fingers felt cool against Kid's skin as it replaced the bandage. The change was immediate, a numbing wave washing over him from where the seaweed lay against his skin. Kid thunked his head back and gritted his teeth, fighting the feeling. He disliked any form of pain relief, medical treatment in general really. If he didn't understand it, he didn't want it near him.

Kid didn't voice his complaint, though. A deal was a deal, and besides, he was really fucking curious. "Okay, I kept my part. Now get up here and keep yours."

The atmosphere in the little boat turned frosty, the creature's demeanor shifting from laid-back to on-edge in an instant. Kid tensed, ready to grab it if it tried to swim away.

It didn't run, but it didn't move to get on either. It just sat there, half on the boat, expression caught somewhere between suspicion and uncertainty.

Killer spoke up for the first time. "You made us a deal. We've done our half. If you're planning to cop out on yours, you should know this; Kid here," he nodded at his captain, "can control metal, and those pretty little earrings look metal to me."

The creature's hand went involuntarily to the earrings in question. It caught itself, scowling, hand lowering to its side. "That's good to know, but I don't plan on cheating you."

"That so." Killer's tone was flat, but his implication was obvious; get yourself on the boat, or else.

"I'll have you know that the reactions I've had to showing myself have been...varied," it hinted, as if in a last-ditch attempt to convince them to give up. Kid merely grunted.

"Very well. I warned you."

Still it seemed to hesitate, gaze flicking back and forth between Kid and the water. Finally it seemed to reach a decision, mouth set in a grim line and face hardened in determination. One arm reached across the boat, taking hold of the other side, and with a harsh grunt of effort the creature began to pull itself up.

Muscles strained, bunching under the tawny skin. Its progress was torturously slow, and the dinghy creaked in protest, one side rising as the creature's weight fell on the other. At this rate, it was more likely to flip them all into the sea than get itself on the boat.

Kid's patience, already sorely tested, snapped. He leaned forward to grip the fish under its arms and lifted slowly. Startled, it let out an indignant squawk.

He found himself having to pull much harder than he expected, bracing the creature against his chest for leverage. Whatever it was hiding below the waist, there was a lot of it, and it was heavy.

Killer's short intake of breath, his first mate seeing what the angle blocked him from, spurred Kid to throw his whole body into one final tug that rocked the boat and drew something like a whimper from the thing's throat.

Kid ended up halfway off the boat himself, leaned far back with the fish's weight spread over him. Its skin was warm against his bare chest, oddly comforting, but Kid thought of its fins touching him and shuddered.

With the boat sitting far lower in the water, he had to be careful as he shifted the creature to his lap to get a good look at it.

He blinked. Rubbed his eyes with the back of one hand, and blinked again.

Sprawled across the whole of the boat, one long sinuous line coiled haphazardly around itself, was a tail. Scales along the length of it shimmered in blue and black, growing gradually smaller as they led down to where the end tapered off in a twin-tipped fin.

Killer had his hands on it, gauntlets pulled back to reveal long white fingers that stroked at the thin webbing that spanned the fin. It twitched, a shudder running through the whole tail as the creature tightened its grip around Kid. His gaze drifted to where the tail joined the torso, colored plates blending almost seamlessly into human skin.

...Mermaid?

Kid looked down at the fish, its head turned to one side and cheek pressed to his chest. It was obviously male, without breasts or curves, but something about the way its waist tapered off into its hips reminded him of a woman.

Would it feel like one? He couldn't see its expression, but it seemed content enough to sit there with Killer's hands all over it; another pair couldn't hurt.

He moved forward, resting his palms on a coil where the hips would be on a normal human. The scales were surprisingly soft, holding firm when he pressed his thumb into them but yielding to gentle pressure. The feel of tiny muscles convulsing beneath his hands, smooth swell rising to fill his grip, the tiny breaths of air against his abdomen whenever he dug his fingers into a spot under the curve...

Ah, shit. Kid's dick started to perk up, taking an interest. He couldn't deny that the fish looked good with all its lean muscle out in the open, and the warm flesh under his palms made him want to grope and grind.

With the creature holding him tight, Kid mapping out sweet spots, and Killer practically fondling the thing, he had to wonder how this was gonna go down. Usually, if he'd had his hands on someone for this long, it meant they were spending the night on his ship...in his bed.

That thought raised a whole lot of questions. Can we get it on the ship? Can we do it here, on the boat? Can the crew see us?

And the kicker, hitting him like a punch to the gut: Can this thing even be fucked?

That one pulled him up short real quick, shattering the dreamy haze he hadn't noticed slipping over him. "Hey," he said, gritting his teeth when neither seemed to notice him. "Hey!"

That broke the spell. Killer dropped the tail, fin flopping to the deck with a wet smack. The creature peered up at him with watery gold eyes, and he could've sworn the look in them was almost grateful.

Kid wanted to move, the tightness in his pants getting more uncomfortable by the second, but there was nowhere for him to go in the cramped boat. He settled for raising his knees, propping the fish up enough that it didn't rest right against his crotch. He flashed Killer a look, and though the mask hid his expression, he could tell by the tightening of fists and gauntlets sliding back into place that the man was regaining his composure.

Kid wasn't known for his subtlety. "Okay, what the fuck was that?"