A/N: Sorry about the wait. Holidays and all that
The merman woke up the next day to find the human was, once again, awake and in the living room. Just like the previous days, he was surrounded by papers and books. It seemed to be all the boy ever did. The scene from last night replayed in his mind. He brought his hand to his cheek where the boy kissed it. His heart thumped and the warm tingling feeling returned. He didn't understand anything he was feeling right now. He still hated the human but the kiss almost peeled away a layer of guard he kept up. His cheek was burning and he wanted nothing more than to feel those lips again but this time on his own. He didn't understand it; He didn't understand that boy. He had thanked him for making him smile, despite how mean the merman had been to him. This boy was strange and unlike any other human he'd encountered.
It could still be an act but if it was he wouldn't have performed while I was asleep. Maybe he knew? No, he wouldn't have kissed me if he'd known-stop! Stop trying to defend him! One way or another his charade will end like-
"Hey"
Dark Pit was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of the human's soft voice. He looked up and found the boy staring at him from the doorway. The merman stared at him. He could feel the human's lips on his face from last night. His cheeks flared up. Embarrassed by the cause of the affection, he crossed his arms and turned away to hide his face.
"What?" His tone was surprisingly gentle but still held the irritation.
"It's been almost a week since you've been in the tub and-"
"-It's not like I can go anywhere." Dark Pit snapped.
"I know. I'm just saying that the tub is probably dirty and needs to be cleaned."
"And?"
"I'm gonna have to move you for a couple of minutes while I clean it. Do you think you'll be okay without water or should I put you in the shower?"
Dark Pit glanced at the tub. He couldn't see the state of the tub with the water but it probably needed to be cleaned. He returned his gaze to the boy.
"Drain the water. That'll determine it."
Pit nodded. He approached the tub and knelt down. Dark Pit moved his tailfin out of the way for the human to access the plug. Pit gazed sideways at him, shocked he actually helped him out, then pulled the plug. They watched the water drain in silence but when it emptied, their faces were twisted in disgust. The tub was filthy. There was scum and grime along the slides with slime and scales painted all over the tub.
Pit reached for a scale and examined it. "Are you shedding?"
Dark Pit gasped at the sight of all his scales on the bottom of the tub. He hadn't seen this many scales the last time he'd drain the tub. He scooped up a few scales and looked at them in horror. His hand started trembling.
"No…I'm not shedding. I can't be." His voice was lost and his face reddened in embarrassment.
Scales were always something merfolk took great pride in, from the slime that coated them to the sparkle in the sunlight. If there were so much as a missing scale, you were ridiculed. You were rejected by society. That's why every merfolk took the time to make sure their scales were perfectly slimed and shined. You had to out due everyone or you'd be rejected.
"Pittoo? Are you okay?" questioned the boy, his voice full of concern.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You look a little pale."
"I'm not pale! Are you blind?" he snapped.
"No, I mean you look scared and also embarrassed."
"Well, I'm not!"
Pit bit his lip and frowned. Pittoo looked absolutely horrified with his scales. He leaned over and examined the merman's tail. There were a few scales missing around the large injury. However, when Pit squinted his eyes he saw new scales growing.
"Hey, don't be embarrassed." Pit smiled softly, "You have new scales growing. Your scales probably shed because of your injury." He reached over and placed his hand on top of the merman's trembling hand. His blue eyes met red. "Your scales will grow back within a few weeks."
"And you would know this how?" Dark Pit snapped. He tried to recall his hand but the boy held it firmly.
Pit tilted his head to the side and smiled. "I'm going to be a marine biologist. It's my job to know and help."
Dark Pit rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Yeah, okay."
Pit chuckled and squeezed his hand then pulled away. Instead, he slipped his arms underneath the sea creature's body and scooped him up in his arms. The merman's tail was slippery from the natural slime coated over the scales but he managed a firm hold. Pit bit his lip and glanced down at the merman.
Once again, those ocean eyes pulled Dark Pit in. He found he was losing himself in the swirl of the waves that sparkled against the light. It was like he was looking out into the waters of his home. They were so beautiful, so blue. Blue as the ocean should be without all the toxins and garbage that littered it.
Pit noticed the merman staring at him with an almost hypnotic trance. The boy felt his cheeks heat up at how intensely the stare was. He bit his lip again and his eyes flickered to the lips of the sea creature. He remembered how soft his cheek had been and wondered if his lips were as soft as his cheek. He wanted so badly to press their lips together but he knew he couldn't. He wouldn't ever know the taste of Dark Pit's lips. This creature hated him so much but then…why was he staring so intently?
His hold tightened around the merman. He walked towards the shower, his gaze never strayed from Dark Pit's. He opened the door with one hand then gently placed him on the shower floor. Only when he pulled away did Pittoo snap out of his trance. He crossed his arms and hid his face in embarrassment.
Pit turned on the water for the shower. The water came out cold which Dark Pit hissed at. He scurried away from the ice water falling on him and hid in the corner of the shower.
"Sorry!" Pit apologized and quickly adjusted the temperature. "Here, how's that?"
The merman glanced up at the showerhead. He extended his hand up and felt the ice water was gone and now warm water struck his hand. He slowly inched back into the water. Once he was under it, he closed his eyes and extended his neck up to let the water soak his face.
Pit couldn't look away from the creature. He was so stunning and with the way the water dripped onto him like rain, he could advertise in a shampoo commercial or something. The way the clear drops fell onto his sun kissed skin and dripped down each curve of his body. His black hair was soaked and covered his face. He slicked his hair back and exposed his beautiful face.
Dark Pit felt eyes on him. He opened them and found the human's face was red and he was biting his lip. He narrowed his eyes. "What're you looking at?"
Pit's cheeks flared anew and looked away.
"Sorry, I'll, uh, go clean the, erm, tub now." He replied, awkwardly.
He hesitated a moment before he shut the door and moved to the tub. He stopped when he thought of something then quickly returned to the shower and swung the door open.
"Hey Pittoo, do you wanna use something to clean yourself up?" He poked his head in. "I've got some stuff that you could use." He reached for the loofa and body wash in the shower caddy then handed them to the merman. "Here you go. Just squeeze the body wash on the loofa and scrub it on your body."
Dark Pit held the items in his hands. The "loofa" felt like a strange type of sea sponge. He opened the top of the bottle and squeezed. Tons of gel plopped out of the bottle from how tightly the merman squeezed. Pit snickered which Dark Pit scowled at. He glanced back at the loofa and started scrubbing the soap into it. It didn't take too long before the sponge got all sudsy. He brought it to his arm and started scrubbing his skin. It felt surprisingly nice. He scrubbed a little more, a little harder and it felt amazing. The soap smelled good too. It didn't exactly smell like the ocean but it was still nice.
He glanced up at the human and found him still staring at him. His cheeks were, once again, red. He narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Stop watching me!"
"Oh! Sorry." Pit shut the door and went to the sink. He bit his lip and glanced back at the shower and started giggling like a school girl.
He bent down and retrieved the cleaning stuff from underneath the sink. He moved to the tub and set down all the cleaners but one. He sighed and shook his head as he overlooked the filthy tub. He started spraying foam all over the sides of the tub and then the bottom. He waited for the foam to expand before he grabbed a sponge, turned on the water and began to scrub the tub.
It took about twenty-five minutes to clean the whole tub. The slime had been the most difficult to get but thankfully he got it off. Of course, most of the slime and some scales ended up on his shirt. All in all, he got it spotless.
While Pit was busy cleaning; Dark Pit scrubbed off all the scum that had gotten on him. He never would've used a human object but his merman pride for his tail took over. He scrubbed his skin until it was pink then moved to his tail. He hissed when the soap hit his injuries. They didn't hurt as badly as they had at first. His injuries were healing up nicely (he'd never admit the human's medicine actually helped). Most of his injuries were healed. His bruises were yellow and his scratches were nearly scabs. The only thing that was healing slowly was the injury on his tail. He wished it would hurry and heal. He could hardly move without it hurting. He couldn't wait until it healed. He missed swimming. He missed the open freedom it provided. He hated being stuck here but he had to admit that the shower felt really nice. A lot nicer than he thought it would.
After he cleaned himself, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He let the water hit his face and body. He felt completely relaxed and at peace. Something he only felt when he was alone in the deep mass of the ocean. He never thought he'd feel this way in a human's home, of all places. But if he was being truly honest with himself, he hadn't felt like this in so long. He felt almost...safe. He shouldn't be feeling this way but there was something about this shower. It was almost magical.
The shower door opened and Pit poked his head in with a bright smile on his face.
"It's all clean now." He announced, happily.
Dark Pit opened his eyes. He looked at Pit then up at the showerhead then at the drain.
"Oh…" Dark Pit sounded disappointed.
Pit giggled and raised a brow. "Someone loves showers~"
"I do not!" Pittoo denied.
"It's okay, Pittoo. Showers are magical. Everyone loves them." He glanced up at the showerhead. "They just do something that clears the mind and relaxes the body."
The merman stared at the human. He felt the same way too? Maybe he was right (he couldn't believe he was agreeing) and showers were magical. What other explanation was there that he felt relaxed in a human's home?
"If you want, I'll let you take another shower in a couple of days."
Dark Pit tried not to show any signs of excitement but he couldn't hide it from his eyes. Pit laughed and leaned down to pick up the merman but was stopped when Dark Pit held his hand out to prevent it.
"Your shirt is gross and slimy."
Pit looked down at his shirt and saw it was indeed, slimy. It even had a few of his scales on it. He glanced at the sea creature. "So?"
"I just cleaned myself. I don't want slime all over me." He crossed his arms.
"But it's your slime."
"It's old slime from my tail and you're wearing it. I won't let you touch me while you are wearing old slime."
Pit rolled his eyes. "You're a neat-freak, I see."
"What kind of human word is that?" he snapped.
"It just means you like to be clean all the time and refuse to be dirty."
"Well if you lived in the ocean you'd want to be clean too." He remarked. He glanced down at his clean skin. He was a shade lighter because of all the oil and garbage he managed to clean off. "This is the cleanest I've been since I migrated years ago."
Pit tilted his head. "Where'd you migrate from?"
"Ayia Napa, Cyprus"
"Where's that?"
"It's an island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey. The water was so clean and clear it didn't matter how deep in the water I was. It was crystal clear and tasted amazing."
"Why'd you leave it if you liked it so much?"
Dark Pit looked away. "I have my reasons and I don't need to tell you them."
Pit sighed. He took off his shirt and flung it to the laundry basket. "There. Happy?"
Dark Pit's eyes scaled over the exposed flesh. He felt a stir of arousal and tried to look away but his eyes got caught on the huge scar.
Pit felt self-conscious but ignored it to scoop up the merman. He brought Pittoo to the tub and carefully placed him in it. Dark Pit hissed at first when the water touched his injuries. Pit apologized but continued to gently place the rest of his body in the tub.
"Is the water okay?" Pit asked.
"Yeah"
Pit nodded. "Okay, let me just put the medicine on you."
He moved to the cabinet and retrieved the medicine. He sat on the edge of the tub and started coating the injuries. Dark Pit watched each muscle flex in his arms and chest. His eyes wandered down to the scar. The scar was a lot worse than he thought.
"That's a nasty one." He mumbled to himself
From the look of how the scar had been stitched together, the shark had tried to kill him which made him want to know the reasoning. Sharks don't usually attack humans to actually kill them. Out of curiosity, Dark Pit reached over to touch the scar. Pit flinched away from the hand. Dark Pit looked away and retrieved his hand.
"It's a great white."
Pit looked at the merman's tail and nodded.
"It looks like it was really hungry or it just didn't like you."
Pit chuckled, humorlessly. "Seems like most fish don't these days."
"I have reasons not to like humans but the shark tried to kill you."
"Thanks for reminding me." Pit got off the tub and put away the medicine.
Dark Pit knew the human was upset about the scar. It was clear on his face.
He didn't know why but he blurted, "Your human doctors did a good job. You would've bled to death if they hadn't stitched you up."
Pit looked back at the merman and smirked. "Pittoo! Did you just admit you're glad I'm alive?"
Dark Pit's eyes widened and his face flushed instantly. "What? No! I was just commenting on the stitching!"
Pit chuckled. He rolled his eyes and his cheeks flustered too. "Oooooooookay, Pittoo." He walked out the room then returned with a plate of fish and placed it on the edge of the tub. He went to the door then glanced back at the merman and said, "I'll be in the living room if you need me."
Dark Pit rolled his eyes and picked up a magazine and hid his face in it. Pit smiled and returned to the living room.
An hour passed and Pit's brain was fried. No matter how many times he tried to study, he couldn't. His eyes were strained. His brain refused to take in any more information after studying for weeks. He decided he needed a break. He hadn't taken one in weeks. It was always study, work, school, study and repeat. He was stressed beyond belief and decided maybe now was time to actually take one. He put his homework and books down on the coffee table then walked to his room. On top of his dresser was his art supplies: Sketchpad, water paints, brushes, inking pens, blue sketching pencils and erasers. He hadn't touched any of his art supplies in a year; Not since he lost his family. He didn't know why but suddenly he was in the mood to draw. He grabbed his sketchbook and some pencils and returned to the living room. He sat on the couch with his knees up and opened his sketchbook. He flipped through the pages of his sketchbook and found a blank page. He placed the sketchbook on his knees and started sketching random doodles.
Two hours slipped by and Pit hadn't noticed. He was so enthralled with his work he couldn't put it down. He had sketched Dark Pit so many times he filled three pages full of little scenes. After a few sketchs, he started on one he liked enough to actually paint. It was of Dark Pit in the ocean. He was swimming just below the surface of the water where a row boat was floating. A human hand dipped into the ocean and held Dark Pit's. The merman was looking up at the person in the boat with curiosity. When the sketch was finished, he put it down and went to his room to get his water paints. He returned to the living room and sat down on the couch. He brushed his books and papers aside and placed his paints on the table and let his mind begin to create.
The merman looked up from the magazine and looked at the boy. He was surprised to see that he wasn't reading his books or working on his papers. He had a pad on his knees. He had seen humans use the pads before on the beach but he didn't know what they did. All he knew were that their hands grazed all over the paper. The boy's eyes lifted and met his. His blue eyes widened when his gaze was caught and his cheeks flustered red. He bit his lip and looked back at the pad on his lap. He randomly giggled and collected his pad. He grabbed a plate with different colored water on it then walked into the bathroom. He smiled at Pittoo then sat down on the floor beside the sink against the wall. He flashed a grin at the merman then went back to the pad. The boy said nothing. He kept his eyes on the pad only occasionally glancing up at the merman.
Five minutes passed and the merman couldn't take the boy's silence anymore.
"What're you doing?" He snapped.
Pit giggled and said, "Nothing. I'm just taking a break from my homework to paint."
Dark Pit leaned against the tub and looked, surprisingly, interested. "Painting?"
Pit nodded. "Yeah, it's like colored liquid that you use on certain paper to make art. It's something I used to do a lot but I stopped."
"Why?" He didn't know why he blurted it out. He just felt some strange keen to know.
"I lost the inspiration."
"Okay, well, why are you in here looking at me as you 'paint'?"
Pit smiled. "I found my inspiration again."
