Hi guys, HetaWriter/HetaReader here, with the next chapter! :D

Anyway, a BIG thanks goes to xXBlueSariaXx, Madam Platypus and Lucy's Wonderland Madness for the reviews! 8D

xXBlueSariaXx: Well, here's the chapter! =^^= just read on to find out. ;)

Madam Platypus: Yes, so close indeed. XD well, here it is, at last! ;)

Lucy's Wonderland Madness: Glad to see you able to catch up! :D ah, thank you! I actually loved writing that particular scene; I love writing descriptions. :) that was the idea - they were both affected upon not meeting the other, so it gets them more nervous, building up until they finally do meet each other. I actually wrote 2 SpaViet pieces, but they both have normal Vietnam. "Chopsticks" and "Straw Hat" . ;)

Here it is, I hope you enjoy!


Currently at present, Antonio was becoming even more spacey; lacking attention and focus on everything and everyone around him. At the same time, he seemed rather…fidgety. He couldn't stop swimming and moving around; he also seemed rather nervous and conflicted with something.

His friends were very worried by now, but they knew that whenever Antonio had a problem, he would simply plaster that bright, sunny beam back onto his tanned face and insist in a cheery manner that he was fine. You would have to wait for Antonio to come to you and confess his problems to you before you can actually do anything about helping him.

Though Gilbert, Francis and Lovino were understandably concerned, Emma felt that they were at least trying to know what was wrong with the red-tailed merman.

Which, was probably why she swam around to look for Antonio, and make the first move.

Eventually, she found him near a bright coral reef where a lot of the more colourful and vibrant fish loved to frolic and play in their schools. The red-tailed merman was leaning on a large rock and he was humming himself that song.

That same, original song he first hummed after that incident with the sudden storm that took place at the surface.

Emma knew that Gilbert, Francis and Lovino were now annoyed with that song by now – Lovino had even threatened Antonio that he would rip his tail fins off if he ever heard him hum or sing that song again, Gilbert would tell Antonio that that tune was unawesome and to be quiet…even Francis would ask Antonio, in the politest voice that he could muster, if the red-tailed merman would kindly sing something else.

However, though Antonio loved that song it seemed, Emma couldn't bring herself to hate it, really. In fact, any song that he sang or hummed, she found herself loving. She remembered when she asked him before on whether that song was for somebody special.

She recalled the cherry tint dusting on Antonio's tanned face as he responded in a rather uncharacteristically shy manner.

A lot of merpeople from the kingdom were quite eager to see on whom Antonio was planning to use his proposal serenade on. Emma could see plenty of the single mermaids flutter and bat their eyelashes at him, and she even saw some of them try desperately to comb their hair out to make it appear longer and fuller. Possibly in hopes of attracting his attention.

Hell, some of the mermen even swam up to Antonio and question as to who the song was for, just outright. It was obvious from their expressions that they seemed to have that hope or confidence that the song was directed at them.

After all, a proposal song was a proposal song, and love is love, regardless.

Of course, he was highly unaware of their efforts, let alone why they did so in the first place. It was highly amusing to watch for Emma and the others when Antonio would respond in a rather clueless manner whenever they began flirting with him, brushing their tail fins close to his own.

He really didn't seem to know. Either that, or he didn't care, but that was highly unlikely since Lovino had to point it out every occasion that Antonio was being subjected to flirting.

As she approached him, she could only gaze at his whole visage; she always loved how warm and optimistic he was – it was a nice attitude to have. Also, despite being tactless at times due to lack of acknowledging the atmosphere, he always meant well and he was gentle and actually considerate if he paid attention.

Pretty soon, the more she came closer, the more her heartbeat grew faster and the more it fluttered. Whenever her green eyes fell on him, she found that her whole being seemed to get instantly brightened and refreshed. His voice was soothing and warm; melting in lovely drops of shimmering notes and chromatics.

And it was no surprise, that by the time she reached him, she could see him turn around to smile at her.

Not at anybody else; just her.

That warm, beautiful smile that always seemed to uplift anyone's spirits

And then he came closer, his hand extended towards her face to brush away some floating locks of her yellow gold hair away from her face. That smile still present on that handsome face. His voice singing that song, and it was directed right at her; reaching into and gripping the very core of her being.

She honestly didn't know when her feelings towards Antonio escalated from a simple friendship. She, Lovino and the red-tailed merman knew each other from a young age – Antonio was always the adventurous one who loved swimming around; exploring the sea and discovering new places and objects, which was probably what led to his fascination and interest with the humans and their world.

He was an adorable young merboy – vigorous with youth and brimming with excitement that clearly shown through big, emerald green eyes. Now, he was fully mature into a handsome merman that befit – growing much taller; his eyes still warm and filled with that same eagerness.

Of course, Emma hoped; hoped that one day he would someday just turn his head around, see her, and realize that she was just there the whole time. Just there.

"Oh, hola, Emma!" greeted Antonio, breaking her away from her thoughts and the little bout of fantasy. "Were you there all this time?"

Emma blinked in surprise and shook her head, collecting herself; rather embarrassed that she was caught in an odd state. She looked really odd whenever her head was stuck in the clouds. "No, not really," she replied as she gave a sheepish laugh. "Still singing that song now, I see?"

Antonio's face became slightly scarlet again, which Emma thought was quite adorable; he was usually so confident and upbeat – to see this side of him was a pleasant change. It showed that even the red-tailed merman had weaknesses.

"I always wondered who the song was for," Emma continued, trying to find a way to bait him to see who it really was for. "They're a lucky one."

Antonio gave a laugh that was lined with nervousness, "Hopefully they'll feel lucky."

"Why do you say that?" questioned Emma, arching an elegant eyebrow. "Anyone would be lucky to have you, Toni."

"Well…" Antonio licked his lips as he shook his head. "I don't think everyone would be, mi amiga…"

"And why do you think that, Toni?" inquired Emma, both annoyed and curious at the same time. Annoyed at the fact that he was degrading himself since it was obvious that he was a great merman, curious because she was wondering just who was Antonio referring to, and just who would reject him, anyway.

Antonio glanced at Emma up and down, seemingly contemplating. His usually happy face was now filled with worry, which caught onto the mermaid.

Why did he look so worried? What was wrong with him? What made him so worried? All sorts of these questions popped up right into her head as the silence continued to stretch on.

After a bit of a while, Antonio then swallowed a lump in his throat as he whispered, "Emma, mi amiga…we've known each other for years. You know I trust you a lot, right?"

Emma nodded, "Yes. I know."

"I can tell you anything and everything, right?"

The mermaid gave him an encouraging smile, "Of course you can! Now, what's wrong? You can tell me."

Antonio gave a deep breath as he ran a hand through his messy tresses. "I'll tell you, but please; promise me you won't tell anyone," he said; his voice was pleading. "Please, just promise me."

Emma nodded as she raised a hand, "You have my word, Toni. Now, what's up?"

"Well…" the red-tailed merman tried to find the right words to say, but it proved to be a difficult task. "To be honest, Emma…I think I may have…you know…" seeing her confused face, Antonio shook his head and sighed, "Fallen for someone…"

Emma blinked, her green eyes widening, "R-really? Who?"

"That's the thing," Antonio continued. "He-"

'Damn…' Emma thought to herself with a sigh. 'Well, that can't be helped…' she nodded and spoke, "So, it's a he…and…? What's the problem?"

"That's the thing," Antonio bit his bottom lip, not sure if he should really confess his problem. Sure, Emma was one of his closest and most trusted friends, however this was a big deal. "It's…he's…"

"It's okay, Toni," urged Emma. "Take your time, first. Take a deep breath."

"He's…" Antonio shook his head. "He's human."

Here, the red-tailed merman wished he hadn't said a thing, because now Emma's face was shifted quickly from confusion to great alarm. She squawked with her voice gone an octave higher due to that alarm, too, "What?!"

"I know, I know!" Antonio hurriedly shushed her as he blushed. "But…I can't help it…I honestly can't…"

"A-a human…?!" Emma was finally starting to calm down from that little spasm she almost went under. She was in disbelief; Antonio loved a male human? How did that even happen? Why did that even happen? The mermaid was at a loss for words, but seeing his hurt expression, she shook her head, quickly tried to regain her composure, and cleared her throat, "A-ah…sorry for acting like that…but yeah…continue?"

Antonio scratched his head; she was taking it far better than he thought – she was quite easily nervous when it came to the subject of humans and the surface, but really…the red-tailed merman needed to tell somebody now. Anybody. Otherwise he'd eventually get overwhelmed from the constant compression of hiding away what he truly felt and thought.

He knew that Francis, Gilbert and Lovino didn't want to hear the events of the storm, and they pretended not to notice. Emma was even asking him if there was something wrong, so it was a cue for him to spill himself to her.

And so, he continued talking.

He left out no detail; that he came to the surface frequently just to catch sight of the human and hear his voice as well as his instrument playing. That the song was actually a song that the male human would play at daily intervals. The red-tailed merman even told the blonde mermaid of that one incident where he almost got caught due to that noisy bird raising a racket.

Throughout all of this, Emma could only listen with a flabbergasted expression and a spinning head. Also, she felt really, inexplicably, down.

She had no change with Antonio it seemed; he seemed attracted to males for one thing, and another was that from the way he was talking about this human; the way his eyes sparkled excitedly, how he chattered on so many things about him, that expression on his face…so filled with admiration and placed with a rather dreaming quality to it, and how his voice had so much fondness and yearning as he continued to talk about him…

He finished with the question, "So…what should I do?"

Emma sighed as she shook her head. "I'm…really stunned, Toni…" she admitted. "I didn't expect you to fall in love with a human…"

"Honestly, I didn't expect that, either," agreed Antonio. "But…I just can't help it. And honestly, I don't know what to do. What should I do? What do you think?"

The red-tailed merman looked expectantly at her, hoping to hear some solace, but really, when she responded, he didn't find it.

"Toni, I'm sorry…" Emma shook her head. "But I think it'd be better if you forgot him."

Antonio shook his own head, "I can't. I've tried; he just keeps coming back into my head. He won't leave…"

"If King Romulus found out about this, you know the consequences," said Emma, now taking a stern, motherly tone to it. "We were warned when we were younger; it'll lead to exile. You know what happened to Kiku-"

"Si, si, I know," Antonio waved his hand dismissively. "But humans can't be that bad! The one that Kiku met was female, and from how he described her; she sounded so nice! I've come close to them without them knowing I was there, and they seem so much like us! Except…with no tails, and they can't breathe underwater."

"Toni, I know you love this human," Emma countered. "But please, think about it; what if that he doesn't like you? What if he's already taken? He could even be married and have children! Did that ever occur to you?"

"It has," Antonio cringed, the stabbing pain his heart coming back as he remembered the name 'Allie' on the sign of his boat. "I haven't seen a wife or a lover, but…as long as I haven't, there's still that little chance I have."

"Toni…"

"It's a tiny chance, but it's still there."

Emma sighed; she would need help to convince him not to go up. She knew that she promised Antonio not to tell anyone else about it, but Gilbert, Francis and Lovino should know about this.

Maybe they had a better solution on what to do before he did something rash and regretful.

So that was why, after leaving Antonio with his thoughts, she sought after her other mermen friends to discuss about Antonio's problem. Finding them near the regular meeting spot, which was the cove, they noticed her worried and saddened expression, and immediately asked her as to what was wrong. And that was when she told them of everything; of where Antonio disappeared off to, his feelings towards the human he rescued, and that he wasn't sure on what to do, but seemed highly determined.

After the silence stretched far too long for Emma's comfort, she spoke up, "Well? What should we do?"

"Ma chére…" Francis said softly. "We know that he has developed passionate feelings towards the human he rescued…we knew for quite a while actually," he added upon seeing Emma's dumbfounded face.

"W-what…?" Emma blinked. "And you're not going to do anything about it?"

"Frau, we know it's a big deal since it can be really dangerous," Gilbert spoke up, his face suddenly so serious, that it actually looked frightening. "But you, the awesome me and everyone else here know how stubborn he is when he's got his eyes set on something. Trust the awesomeness, talking him out of it won't work."

"B-but…! We have to at least try, right?"

"Ma chére," Francis spoke in a much gentler voice, his blue eyes brimmed with pity. He knew that Emma had feelings towards the brunette merman, but he never did show that same interest towards her. "Antoine has a very strong obstinacy when it comes to amour. He won't simply let go of the one that holds his heart, be they human or not. And if anything, trying to talk him out of it, will just make him all the more determine to gain that love."

"I guess…" Emma looked down, utterly defeated. "B-but…"

"Bella," here, Lovino spoke up; also sporting a serious expression. However, he was, surprisingly, calm. "We can't do anything about it. I'm sorry, but really, the bastard hasn't done anything else than just dream and wonder so far. And his feelings are intense. Only thing we can do it nothing. Nothing until something drastic happens."

"I…" Emma gave a frustrated sigh. "I can't believe this…" and with that, she swam away.

"Poor Emma," said Francis, looking genuinely concerned. "She only cares for Antoine's well-being…"

"And? We do, too," Gilbert responded. "But we all know how he is; he won't back down just from somebody telling him to stop. It'll just make him continue doing whatever the hell he was doing…"

Lovino didn't pay any attention to his older companions who were now in a hushed discussion about the red-tailed merman and his feelings. However, the prince's hazel eyes were kept in the direction that Emma had swum off to.

Honestly, he was upset upon the fact that she was distraught.


Antonio, on the other hand, began making his way to the surface. After contemplating only for a minute on what Emma told him, the red-tailed merman noticed a shadow was looming over him, and, upon looking up, he caught sight of the bottom of a boat.

Carefully poking his head out from underwater, his heart skipped a beat upon seeing that the boat was the sleek, polished one to which his human was looking at.

And speaking of which, his human was there, slightly picking at one string of that strange, yet elegant looking, instrument he played.

Quan was finely tuning his instrument, and upon completing the task, slid his bow over the strings, producing the haunting, echoing vibrato chord.

Antonio gave a sigh of pleasure as he softly shut his eyes and listened closely to it, swaying his head along slightly as his ears absorbed the notes, and they softly reverberated in his mind. He hummed to himself as the human continued playing, harmonising with the instrument. Honestly, whenever he heard that music, he always felt his heart leap for joy, and his admiration towards the musician just expanded upon catching sight of him and watching him create the beautiful music.

Quan didn't know how long he was playing for, but once he was satisfied with ending his song, the Vietnamese man felt something jab into his stomach, and a rumble emitted from within. Gazing down and arching one of his eyebrows, he walked into the boat's compartment to get some food and bring it outside; it was a lovely, sunny day, and he figured it would be nice to have lunch out in the open.

He came out with a whole bowl of fruit; a pineapple, a banana, several cherries, an orange and some strawberries. He also brought out some tinned tomatoes. He placed them all down on the small table, which was already set with a white tablecloth, and began preparing the food…

…only he realised that he forgot a plate.

Slapping his forehead, the Vietnamese man hurried back inside to get one or two.

Unfortunately, Antonio's curiosity overrode his rationality, and so, he found himself swimming closer to the boat; right at its edge. Because it was a rather small boat, it really wasn't that hard for Antonio to lean his arm over the edge and possibly grab something.

The red-tailed merman did just that.

He leaned over it slightly and stretched his arm out to grab hold of something. Feeling a rather rubbery surface, he saw that he was holding a strange yellow object that was curved. Antonio sniffed it, and even gave it a little lick.

It smelt nice, but it tasted a little odd.

Still, he placed it in his pouch. He remembered he had accidentally left it with Kiku before, and he almost panicked. The red-tailed merman couldn't wait to show his friend this strange object. And with that, hearing footsteps approaching, Antonio carefully dropped back into the ocean.

Quan came back outside with two plates in hand and his water flask. He came out and stared at his fruit bowl as he fixed the table. The Vietnamese man frowned as he stared at it in question.

He could've sworn that there was something missing.

Shrugging, Quan then realized that he forgot a tin opener for the tinned tomatoes. Heaving a sigh and wondering why he was becoming so forgetful, the Vietnamese man went back inside to retrieve it.

Which, naturally prompted Antonio to reach up again and grab more fruit. He was looking at the little red ones with the strange stalks. There was an orange ball with a rather smooth surface, and there were small red ones (though they were bigger than the ones with the stalks), and they had what appeared to be seeds on their surfaces. However, what intrigued the red-tailed merman even more was the big one with the strange green leaves growing off the top of it.

It was rather rough and quite spiky, scratching against Antonio's hands.

Quan came back outside and stared with widened eyes at the now empty white bowl. The Vietnamese man hurried over and peered inside of it, dumbfounded that all of his fruit were now gone. 'What the…?' he wondered to himself, honestly lost for words for once. He rubbed his chin as he gazed at the only morsel left; the tinned tomatoes.

Which was when he came up with a plan.

Using the tin opener, the tin's lid was taken off, and Quan poured the contents onto one of the plates.

Then he walked towards the inside of his boat, but instead, he removed his sandals, and crawled under the table. There, he waited patiently.

The Vietnamese man's golden eyes widened when he could hear something bump against the edge of his ship – some sort of weight. He carefully poked his head out to the side and was shocked at what he was seeing.

There was a tanned arm that was picking at his tinned tomatoes.

"Hey!"

Antonio himself believed that the human had returned back inside to possibly get more interesting things and wouldn't come out for a while. He was only trying to get some of these interesting red blobs on the white plate and see what they were like, and show them to Kiku, but he then heard that familiar deep and low voice call out in surprise.

Immediately, the red-tailed merman tried to quickly retreat back into the ocean…

…only for the human to grab his wrist in an iron hold.

Antonio gave a startled squeak as his tail submerged underwater while something was tightly squeezing at his wrist. He instantly clamped onto the thing that was holding him, when he was horrified yet amazed to feel slightly callous skin.

Looking up, his widened emerald orbs were met with cold, glassy golden ones.

Quan gazed down at the person he caught – to say he was surprised was an understatement. No, he was downright astonished to see a tanned young man leaning on the edge of his boat. The Vietnamese man was wondering how the young man was even able to come out here in the middle of the ocean – he was a fair amount of kilometres away from dry land.

However, he would ask those questions later. Instead, he asked, "Who are you, and why are you stealing food from me?"

Antonio's eyes were the size of the plates that Quan had brought out; his mouth was flapping up and down as he tried to string some words together. The red-tailed merman was trembling at having a serious and stern, icy glare directed down on him – the human looked far from impressed that he was being stolen from.

The Vietnamese man waited for an answer; his patience starting to wear thin. However, before he could say anything; threaten to report him to the police, the mystery man was babbling rapidly at him.

Except…he wasn't speaking English.

"L-lo siento!" he gibbered, face filled with absolute panic as he blubbered on. "Yo siento mucho! No fue mi intención! Me parece interesante! Lo siento, perdoname por favor!"

Quan's head was spinning at being thrown foreign words, which he had no clue what they meant. The Vietnamese man rubbed his temple with his free hand and shook his head, raising it as a signal for the strange, tanned man to stop jabbering for once and be quiet. "I don't speak…Spanish? Portuguese?" he remarked. "Whatever you're speaking…I can't understand you."

"I-I mean…" Antonio flushed as he wriggled a little, reasonably nervous. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to take your things…"

Seeing the sincerity glimmer in those emerald orbs as well as how anxious and (somewhat) frightened he looked, Quan's face slightly softened. The Vietnamese man spoke up, "Well…you could've just told me you were hungry; I'm perfectly fine with sharing."

"You're…not angry with me?" Antonio asked softly, eyes widening a bit more.

Quan shook his head, "No, I'm not. Just…rather weirded out. Now, why don't you come on board and we can discuss as to why you were taking food without my permission." He pulled only slightly on the man's wrist, when the man shook his head, looking more frantic.

"No! I mean; no, I don't think that's a good idea," Antonio said sheepishly, forcing a smile on his face.

The Vietnamese man arched an eyebrow, "And why not?"

"Um…." Antonio did not know what to say here; what could he say? He tried to think of an excuse to tell him, but it took him too long.

Quan sighed and shook his head, instead choosing to heave him onto his boat with all his might. Antonio gave a shocked, surprised squeal while the Vietnamese man himself gave a startled cry after he succeeded on pulling him onto his boat. Because Antonio didn't expect Quan to just pull him aboard straight away, he wasn't able to pull back in time, and so, was instead, pulled along.

They both landed on the boat with a heavy thump.

And Antonio realized that the human who held his heart was right below him.

Quan himself was deaf to the immediate apologies that were shot right at him as Antonio to rolled off of him. However, when he sat up to rub his head and soothe the throbbing pain in his temples, his eyes caught sight of something that made his jaw drop.

'A red tail with golden fins…!'

Antonio was honestly not sure of what was going to happen to him; Quan saw him, and the red-tailed merman was at his mercy on his boat. From observing him numerous times, Antonio saw that the Vietnamese man was rather quick on his own two legs, and on a flat surface with no water, he could easily catch him. There was a tiny ray of hope that the human he dreamed about wasn't going to be like the humans from all the stories he heard from; where they killed merpeople, strung their tails, kept them in cramped spaces called 'cages'

"You're…you're a merman…" Quan noted in a statement, rather than in a question.

Antonio stopped talking for a moment. He then backed up slightly until his back hit against the edge of the boat. The red-tailed merman gave a slow nod, "S-si…I mean, yes. Yes, I'm a merman."

"I…see…" Quan was still rather amazed at what he was seeing before him; a live, full-bodied merman with a shimmering red tail and glittering golden fins who was spouting some Latin language at him. The Vietnamese man was very much shocked that his built-up assumption was correct. From after reading those books of rare fish species and reaching that dead end upon seeing that nothing matched with the tail he had seen and carved, he was frustrated at first, but upon thinking more about it, Quan felt a thought strike him.

What if the creature was…supposedly not real in documents?

Which led him to look at books about mythological sea animals; he had better luck with those books. And, after checking out and inspecting numerous books about mythological and fantasy sea creatures, the Vietnamese man saw a picture that looked very similar to that of the tail he's seen before, and the one he carved.

It was a far-fetched guess, which was why Quan didn't tell anybody about it; they would call him crazy, certainly. He himself had his own doubts, however the more he read about it and looked at his little, miniature copy as well as recall his near-death experience, the more he believed that it truly was a mer-creature that rescued him.

And right now, with this red-tailed merman in front of him, his hunch was proven correct.

But he looked so scared and nervous right now.

'Is he…afraid of me?' wondered the Vietnamese man, his golden eyes widening slightly at the notion. 'I'm not going to hurt him.' He crouched on all fours and carefully crawled closer. Seeing the merman's figure tense, Quan shook his head as he spoke in a calm and soft voice, "Don't worry…I'm not going to hurt you…"

Antonio's heart fluttered again upon hearing that tone of voice again; the one he was accustomed to hearing. The red-tailed merman gazed at the human and saw that he no longer looked upset, but rather more calmed down again. That little, tiny ray of hope was starting to shine more brightly as Antonio gave a small smile, "Honestly, I know."

Quan was perplexed, "You…know?"

"You're a good person," explained Antonio. "I saw you during the storm; you insisted that everyone else was off before you. Even that big-nosed animal."

Quan narrowed his eyes slightly, but it wasn't out of annoyance; rather more out of pondering. Seeing the red-tailed merman look less frightened, he nodded, then murmured, upon remembering that he mentioned about seeing him during the storm, "You…were the one who saved me…"

Antonio didn't say anything, but seeing his face brighten considerably more upon being remembered, he instantly nodded, "Si! Yes, I did."

Quan's shoulders relaxed as he continued gazing at the merman before him. The Vietnamese man came that little bit closer, and though the red-tailed merman shifted a little, he didn't attempt to escape from him. Staring at him, he absorbed his features, and straight away, they were matching with the little fragmented pieces he remembered upon being semi-conscious.

The messy, tousled hair, the emerald eyes, the smile…

No doubt, this wasn't a joke.

But was it a dream?

Quan stretched his hand out to see if it really was or wasn't; he was exceedingly tired nowadays, after all. Maybe he nodded off and was in the middle of a whimsical, fantasy dream.

Antonio's breath hitched into his throat when his human's hand was brought out forward. Time seemed to slow down when his hand settled upon his head. The red-tailed merman's heart skipped a beat when he could feel his long, spindly fingers comb through his hair. Antonio softly shut his eyes and lowered his head, pleasant tingles running down his spine and down his tail upon the tender contact.

The Vietnamese man himself was pleasantly shocked to see that this truly wasn't a dream; it was reality. And this merman had soft hair; his fingers were combing easily through the locks of the dark, chocolate-coloured hair. When the information finally settled within his being, Quan swallowed a sudden lump that appeared in his throat, before he asked, "Would…would you still like to eat?"

Antonio's eyes slowly opened as he gazed at the human opposite him. The red-tailed merman then decided to take a chance to ask rather sheepishly, and with a scarlet face, "Can…we eat at the beach together? Over there?" Antonio pointed to the beach that was near the cluster of white rocks where he hid behind to watch his object of affection before.

Quan's face was blank as he considered the request. Upon glancing at an anticipative light in the bright green orbs, the Vietnamese man gave a snort, though the corners of his lips twitched upward. He replied, "You know what? That sounds quite nice, actually…"

To say that Antonio was happy was an understatement; he was completely ecstatic.

They met up at the beach – Antonio swam to the shore while Quan commandeered his boat to the docks nearby his home, which was reasonably close to the beach that he and the merman arranged to meet up at.

And there was where they conversed and spent time together.

Antonio was intrigued with all of the odd fruits that he had taken, which he discovered really were used for eating. When he took them from out of his now sagging pouch, Quan would tell him what they were, and show him how to eat them. The curved, yellow fruit for instance, the red-tailed merman discovered, had an outer skin that had to be peeled off before eating the soft inner core.

It was very sweet and soft.

Quan himself was quite enjoying this experience. It was rather amusing to see Antonio instantly light up and become eager at the simplest of things. It also intrigued him; to know that there really was such a thing as merpeople. Of course, the Vietnamese man knew that this definitely had to be kept a secret; there were a bunch of greedy people out there who would try anything for money and the name of science.

Why would people even do such a thing, Quan knew not. As he glanced at the merman's tail, which was shimmering beautifully with the sun's rays glittering down on it, the Vietnamese man couldn't help but admire the well-defined curve that connected Antonio's upper torso to his tail, and how rich the colour was. The merman happily let him touch his tail, though both of their faces were understandably flushing.

Quan ran his hand gently across Antonio's tail, admiring how smooth yet slightly bumpy it was. He frowned at the thought of someone trying to dissect it open or trap him in a cage.

'You're safe with me.'

The time between the pair became so short all of a sudden; before they knew it, the sun was already setting behind the horizon, painting the sky with tints and hues of orange, gold and pink, as well as some light blue.

Antonio sighed, "So this is what a sunset is like in the human world?"

Quan gave a snort, golden eyes with a little spark to them, "It would look more different if you came into the house." He then tilted his head, "Speaking of house; don't you have a home of your own to get to?"

Antonio frowned lightly, not wanting this moment to be over. He was finally able to spend time and contact with the one who held his heart, and the red-tailed merman was delighted upon discovering that Quan broke all those assumptions and stereotypes that everyone back home had placed upon humans. Instead of being cruel, merciless and manic, Quan was calm, considerate and seemed more relaxed.

"You have family and friends to get to, right?" Quan questioned, though he was admittedly disappointed at seeing his saviour and new friend go. "Night will come soon; I suspect they'll be missing you…"

Antonio nodded with a sigh, his heart clenching slightly at leaving his human, "Si…you're right on that one." He reluctantly began heaving his body to the water as he bit his bottom lip, gazing at Quan; really not wanting to leave him.

Quan however, assumed something else. "You don't have to worry," he reassured. "I won't tell anyone about you. You have my word."

Antonio blinked, "Qué? Oh! No, no…it's not that, it's just…I would like to meet up with you again."

The Vietnamese man blinked, a bit surprised to hear that come from someone who could breathe underwater and possibly travel the entire world without means of transport. Spend time with a simple human? Nevertheless, seeing the eager look on the merman's face, Quan shrugged and gave a nod, "I'd like that, too, honestly. How about we meet here again tomorrow? Close to sunset.

A grin instantly spread out on Antonio's face, "Oh, yes! Yes! I can't wait! I'd really love that!"

Quan couldn't help but feel the corners of his lips twitch upwards upon seeing the bright sight right before him. The Vietnamese man stood up from his place after giving another nod, "Very well, tomorrow it is, then. I'll be seeing you."

"Si! See you!"

Before taking a step, though, Quan stopped and realized something. He turned his head around and called after the already retreating merman, "Wait! Hold on." Seeing the red-tailed merman stop and turn to face him, the Vietnamese man asked, "I never caught your name."

"Oh…" Antonio beamed. "I'm Antonio!"

"Antonio…" Quan repeated, the name smoothly rolling on his tongue. The red-tailed merman liked how his name sounded on the human's mouth. The Vietnamese man nodded as he jerked a thumb at himself, "I am Quan. It's an honour to meet you."

"You, too!" called Antonio. "I'll see you tomorrow!" he waved vigorously at his direction and dived underwater, flashing his red tail before submerging it underneath.

Quan watched him leave before departing himself homeward bound, the events that happened just then replaying in his mind.

By the time he came into his house, he was surprised upon seeing in the hallway mirror that his lips were actually curved up slightly to form a smile.


And the chapter is concluded. I shall work on the next one, but I have to do some other things, first. TTnTT well, anyway, the guessing is still open just in case somebody else wants to put a guess, but I'll close it when the person is finally revealed, which is actually the next chapter or the one after that. :)

Anyway, thoughts and opinions? I hope you have a nice day. :DDD

Sincerely,
HetaWriter/HetaReader