Hello there, HetaWriter/HetaReader here with another chapter. :)

A BIG thanks goes to carlyleisback. cortes. 3 for the fave; StrawberryGlazed for the follow AND the fave; and to TearsMightDry, Madam Platypus and xXBlueSariaXx for the reviews! :D

TearsMightDry: Will she or won't she? Why don't we see? ;) please, don't cry if I do! D8

Madam Platypus: Yeah, it made sense to use a wheelchair. XD I would like to imagine that Kasem (Thailand), Mei (Taiwan) and Yong Soo (South Korea) are the Asians who accept others more easily than others. =^^= well, for the GerDen, you'll have to thank xXBlueSariaXx for introducing me to the pair. :) ah, fair enough - a Little Mermaid medley then? :D

xXBlueSariaXx: Well, considering how Quan's cousins don't seem to mind really, they should be fine; it's the obstacles outside that they have to watch out for. Unfortunately, for Mathias...:( thank you, though! :)

And we shall continue on our way.

Antonio was looking around in awe when Quan opened the door to his home and brought him inside.

The red-tailed merman was excited to come inside and see what it was like; human homes appeared far more differently to those that belonged to merpeople underwater. He was definitely not disappointed when he was gently wheeled inside.

There were all kinds of strange yet fascinating objects and sounds all around him. The smells were different, but naturally exotic and it uplifted him, making him relax and already feel at home.

He saw what appeared to be a large box with a dark shiny screen in one room with what appeared to be seats that were made of some strange looking substance – it looked scaly, but something about them told Antonio that they weren't made of scales. There were what appeared to be scrolls that hung down the walls and had odd, but beautifully drawn symbols on them. There was also a folded looking object with a wooden bottom that was also hung on one of the other walls with more pretty pictures on it.

Antonio could see that there was a room near the back of the house that had a white floor made of squares, but the walls appeared a warm peach. There was also something with a spout and a handle that made him wonder what it was.

"Quan, what's that?" the merman asked, pointing at the thing from where he was.

Quan peered at what his lover was pointing at, "That's a kettle."

"Kettle?"

The Vietnamese nodded, "Yeah, store water in it for heating. Let us come into the kitchen – that room with the kettle; it's where we eat."

Antonio nodded with a beam, "Si, I know what a kitchen is used for – we have some back home, but yours looks far more different to ours." When he was wheeled into the room, he looked around to see that it was smaller than the one in the palace, but it was cosy and emitted a homely feeling, making him feel safe and comfortable.

He could see that there was a table already prepared with a cloth, and there were plates and eating utensils out as well as glasses. A rich and delectable aroma had drifted around in the air and tickled Antonio's nose, causing him to drool slightly.

Quan was looking at him with an amused expression.

Antonio eventually caught himself, though, and, upon realizing that a little string of saliva was seeping out from his mouth, quickly wiped it away with his arm, his tanned cheeks flushed madly as he shook his head, "Lo siento! Sorry!"

The Vietnamese man simply gave a soft chuckle, "Don't worry; I tend to be like that, too, when it comes to Kasem's cooking. Yong Soo is far worse than you, as well."

Antonio's emerald orbs simply shone at his human in adoration as Quan's cousins entered the kitchen and took their spots at the table. Quan had wheeled Antonio in a position next to him; between himself and Mei. Mei sat at Antonio's left, while Quan took the merman's right. Yong Soo sat at Quan's other side; two seats remaining.

The red-tailed merman noticed this.

"Quan…" he gently pulled at the hem of his human's shirt and when the Vietnamese man nodded in his direction, full focus on him, the merman questioned. "Do you have another cousin?"

"Another…cousin?" Quan arched an eyebrow, perplexed at the question. "No. Not with me if that's what you mean."

Mei nodded, plastering a smile on her face to try and lighten the rather awkward atmosphere, "Yeah! Just me, Quan-kun, Kasem and this idiot…" she jerked her thumb at Yong Soo's direction.

The Korean boy wrinkled his nose, "I know what you are, Mei-Mei, but what am I?"

"A loser," Mei stuck her tongue out at him, giving a childish expression. Yong Soo returned it by sticking his own tongue out at her.

Antonio couldn't help but chuckle at the younger humans' conduct; it was quite cute. That little sound seemed to loosen the once awkward air that hung over everyone, though, and it seemed that after that, things were getting better from there.

"Why are you asking that question, Antonio?" inquired Quan, rather curious.

"Well, it's just that…" Antonio pointed at the chair. "There's a spare chair over there, and you only have three cousins."

"Oh…" Quan's face lit up in understanding as did Mei's and Yong Soo's. Mei then spoke up, "No, that chair belongs to Mathias."

"Mathias?" echoed Antonio.

"He works around our house," explained Quan. "The gardener and helper." He then made a gesture with his thumb, "He sleeps downstairs in the spare bedroom at the back."

"Oh…" the red-tailed merman nodded. "I see."

Dinner was a lovely ordeal that night; since Quan had showed Antonio eating utensils before, the merman was able to use them for the very first time, and Quan was pleased to see that his love was able to get the hang of eating pretty quickly. The Vietnamese man was very patient with him, too, and seemed eager in explaining and showing him how to eat. Antonio himself was eager to try human food since it looked and smelt much more differently to food underwater, and, needless to say, he loved it.

The tastes were so rich and full of flavour – spreading out across his tongue, dancing in brighter shades, and making him feel warm and tingly; completely satisfied inside. It lifted his very being, and the smile on his sunny face became even wider and happier if that was possible.

"Like it?" Quan asked, a small smile ghosting his features, promptly surprising Yong Soo and Kasem.

Mei simply gazed at the odd pair interestedly as Antonio nodded vigorously, "Si! It's very good! I like it! What is it?"

"Tom kha kai," responded Kasem, a pleased and satisfied smile spreading out on his gentle face. "Chicken galangal soup. You really mean that? You like it?"

"Of course," the red-tailed merman tilted his head, looking confused. "It's really nice; why? Did I…say something wrong?"

"No, no," Kasem shook his head and waved a dismissive hand. "It's just…the spices don't bother you?"

"Spices?" Antonio blinked as he ate more. "No…it tastes fine to me."

"I see," Kasem's light brown eyes were twinkling from behind his clear glasses. "I am very glad you enjoy it; not many people can handle the spices of my food that well."

"Quan told me you cook really well," Antonio added, still smiling brightly. "He's definitely right!"

"Quan…" the Thai man flushed slightly with pleasure. "How much have you told him about us, anyway?"

"Just the necessities…" the Vietnamese man responded with a slight smirk on his face.

Antonio also drank juice for the first, time, too. And when dessert came over, Quan discovered that his red-tailed lover was quite fond of sweets. It was an interesting discovery, but the Vietnamese man wasn't honestly that surprised – considering that Antonio was rather childish and naïve; him having a liking for sweets didn't sound so out of the ordinary.

As for Antonio, he really liked sweet things – the drink was golden in colour, and it tasted sweet, but at the same time, there was a strong pang to it; it reminded him of one of the fruits that Quan had showed him before on their first meeting.

The dessert being served, was, according to Kasem and Quan, called tako. Antonio breathed in the scent; taking in a lovely smell that melted pleasantly within his nostrils, making him feel pleasingly dazed. There was what appeared to be some white things that were set in cups of what appeared to be leaves, and there was also a creamy topping. The best part though was, that when Antonio ate it, he found that the texture was so smooth, that he didn't have to exercise his teeth much to chew it.

After dinner, Antonio could see that outside, the sky was darkening to a calm indigo as white diamonds embedded on its sheet. Since there was some time left over, the family had time to talk, and that was when the merman and his human decided to elaborate their story to the man's family so they could be more in depth with what was going on.

Mei, Yong Soo and Kasem allowed the pair to talk first before asking any questions so as the two lovers wouldn't get so bombarded first, and get what they wanted to say out of their system. However, needless to say, the three Asians were quite shocked to hear that there was whole kingdom of people like Antonio who lived and dwelled underwater.

Who would've thought?

"You must swear to never tell anyone about this," said Quan sternly, his once fond and love-filled expression then stretched down into a strict, stoic face. "Swear it to me."

"Hyeong," piped up Yong Soo. "This is big stuff you're trusting us with; do you seriously think we'll blow it off?"

The Vietnamese man narrowed his eyes, "I'm not saying that I don't trust you it's just that I really don't want you telling anyone; not even to Emil." Seeing the disappointed look on Mei's face, Quan sighed, "I know that that boy is your closest friend, but telling one person can quickly spread – think of it this way: you tell him, and he just tells one person, that one person will also just tell another, and it will eventually spread until the message falls onto the wrong ears."

"You have our word, Quan," Kasem nodded solemnly as he placed a hand over his heart and gave a small bow. "Yours and Antonio's secret are safe with us."

Antonio's eyes were shimmering gratefully as he exclaimed, "Muchas gracias! See?" he grinned at Quan. "I knew things would turn out okay!"

Quan simply sighed as he shook his head, "Well, now it's getting late; the sky's becoming darker than before. Time for sleep." Hearing Yong Soo and Mei groan in disappointment, the Vietnamese man said sternly, "You both have school tomorrow; I do not want to receive a complaint from any of your teachers about either of you sleeping in your class when you should be paying attention."

"Yes, mom," Yong Soo sighed as he went up the stairs. "Well…anyeonghi jumuseyo, hyeong. Anyeonghi jumuseyo, Antonio." Spotting the confused expression on his cousin's boyfriend's face, the Korean boy laughed, "Good night!"

"Oh!" Antonio's smile came back quickly on his face. "Buenos noches, Yong Soo!"

"Good night, Antonio," Mei waved as she flashed a beam and climbed up the stairs.

"Buenos noches, Mei!"

"Well, good night to the both of you," Kasem sighed. "It seems that Mathias hasn't returned yet; I wonder if he got caught up in traffic…"

Quan shrugged, "It's the city; I'd expect it to be just as busy at night. So, I'm assuming you're staying down here for a bit until he returns?"

The Thai man nodded, "Yes. I'll wash the dishes while I wait for him, too."

The Vietnamese man nodded; his cousin and the Dane always had a rather close bond between them both. So, he simply bid him good night (as well as Antonio), and wheeled the red-tailed merman to the stairs, but stopped and stared up at them.

'Crap…'

"Quan…?" Antonio was smiling nervously himself. "Well…how do we go up?"

The Vietnamese man had rubbed his chin, only pondering for a moment, when an idea just popped into his head. However, it caused a great scarlet hue to take siege on his cheekbones. However, looking down at Antonio, who was waiting for his response to a solution to this minor obstacle, Quan squashed down initial reluctance and reminded himself – there really was no shame in doing this right now; Antonio wouldn't mind, right?

"Quan…? W-whoa!" Antonio gave a sudden squeak of surprise when his human leaned down and, as tenderly as he could, placed his hands on him – one arm under his scarlet tail, and the other supporting his back as the Vietnamese man pulled him out of the wheelchair and closer to himself.

Quan was honestly surprised when he picked Antonio up with ease – he thought that the tail would weigh a great deal, but it turned out that that wasn't really the case. However, the merman was heavy to a degree – he weighed about the same weight as Yong Soo (the Vietnamese man would know, he and Kasem had their fair shares of carrying the Korean boy around due to sprained ankles). It just seemed…odd to Quan that Antonio didn't weigh as much as he appeared.

Not that he was calling him fat or anything of the sort; the merman was far from being fat…

Quan shook his head, feeling his face go on fire; he could practically hear his heart thumping away in a rapid pace against his ribcage. "Just…hold on…" he mumbled as he held Antonio close to him and began making his way up the stairs.

Antonio simply nodded and wrapped his arms around the Vietnamese man's neck, but was careful not to pull or squeeze him too much. During this time, the merman felt his heart flutter at the sudden close contact – what made him feel the more happier was that it was his human who initiated it.

Sure, Quan was only doing this as a way to get Antonio upstairs, but the merman couldn't help but feel that this was a nice, romantic moment to him.

And that was probably what led him to lay his head closer into his human's shoulder, and nestle against his figure.

Naturally, that prompted the Vietnamese man to flush even more.

Yong Soo had exited the bathroom when he caught sight of the couple making their way towards Quan's room; the Vietnamese man having the red-tailed merman in what appeared to be a bridal carry. The Korean boy's toothbrush was sticking out from his mouth as he stared at the rather bizarre sight before him.

However, upon letting that image settle within his being, Yong Soo scratched at his head, the face in his ahoge matching his pondering expression before he shrugged and walked towards his room, ignoring Mei's screaming at him for hogging the bathroom for too long.

'Antonio may be fishy, but…' he smiled to himself. 'They do look pretty cute together.'

"This is your room?" Antonio asked as he looked around.

Quan nodded as he gently placed the merman onto one side of his bed and seated himself on the other, "Yes…"

The red-tailed merman's emerald orbs were glowing in excitement as he looked around; it was actually a pretty large room – there were several shelves lining up next to the walls, and a desk nearby with more books on it as well as stacks of paper. A door leading to a room that was coloured beige and with what looked like a white bowl-like structure as well as a transparent glass box with no ceiling to it. There was a beautiful painting depicting a rather scary-looking creature, however it radiated a sort of majesty to its being, and there was what appeared to be a trident, however, unlike the one that King Romulus wielded, this one looked far simpler with a brown handle and much older. The bed that Antonio was on as well felt really nice – soft, but at the same time, there was a firmness that just felt right.

Looking at the side, Antonio also saw that there were also pictures that depicted Quan and his family. The merman remembered what they were called:

Photographs. Or photos for short.

They were intriguing little creations made from something that his human had called a camera – he showed him one before, and the merman was ecstatic and awed at seeing the natural scenery of the sea and the skies in the camera's little square at its back.

Those were used to treasure, Quan had told him; to keep memories alive so you wouldn't forget.

Looking at all of those photos, Antonio could see that his family were beaming widely - Yong Soo and Mei were doing various poses; Kasem was smiling, looking content; Quan himself however looked rather uncomfortable at the camera pointing at him, so as a result, his face was scrunched into several funny looking expressions.

He had a twisted smile in one, a horrified look in another, and he was hiding his face with his straw hat in another.

Quan saw what the merman was looking at and at once, he felt his face heat up in embarrassment again. "I'm…not so good with photos," the Vietnamese man said after clearing his throat and taking one of the framed photos from his beside table. "I'm not photogenic…"

"Oh, you told me what that word meant before," Antonio was snapping at his fingers with a little frown on his face as he tried to recall what that word meant. "Um…it means…oh, yes! It means that you look nice in photos!"

Quan nodded, "Basically. I'm not photogenic at all…"

Antonio shook his head, "What are you talking about? You look just fine to me!" he pointed at the picture, then at Quan's face, "You're very handsome."

The Vietnamese man wondered how he hadn't died from getting overheated yet – the temperature that his face was experiencing could have no way been normal. Quan shook his head though as he shrugged, "I won't be inclined to take that compliment…however, I still do not like getting my picture taken…"

Antonio pouted, "Really? I would like a picture with you one day…"

"A photo stores memories, yes," responded Quan. "But nothing can truly replace the memory itself that you hold in your heart

The merman gave a chuckle as he nodded, "Si, you are very right there, mi amor." And with that, he leaned closer to him, and lay his head on the human's shoulder again, "And I treasure all of my memories of you very much…"

Quan felt much better at hearing that; he felt something warm bloom from within his body as he gave a small chuckle, "Indeed…I hold the times we spent together close to myself as well." He then nodded and caressed at some loose strands of coffee-coloured locks that were getting in the way of Antonio's eye, "I'll have to go wash first, but don't worry – I'm just in there; that bathroom." He pointed at the beige room that Antonio was eying at before, "If something's wrong, just call me, okay?"

After Antonio gave the okay, the Vietnamese man slowly stood up from the bed, discarded his straw hat and placed it on the chair to the desk, and entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Antonio could hear some water running, and it made him wonder just what was his human doing inside?

He was very curious on that one.

It didn't take Quan that long to come out, though – only a several minutes. And the Vietnamese man came out wearing different clothes – much baggier and shorter-lengthened pants, and a simple shirt. He was also wiping at his face with what appeared to be a fluffy cloth.

He grabbed a clipboard from his desk, a pen, and came back to the bed where he placed the objects on the bedside table on his side, and looked down at Antonio. He made a gesture with his hand, "Move your tail up a bit…I need to get the blanket."

Antonio complied without hesitation, lifting his tail up so Quan could pull it carefully from underneath him.

The Vietnamese man then the same gesture, but in the opposite direction, the blanket was lifted high up in the air, "Just lie yourself down." Seeing the confused look etched onto the red-tailed merman's face, Quan gave an amused snort, his golden eyes gleaming, "You can put your tail down and lie your body flat with your head on that thing – it's called a pillow. It's okay – nothing's going to happen to you. Trust me." A small, yet gentle smile had formed from the thin line his lips used to make, which prompted Antonio to comply.

The merman gave a nod, "O-okay…" and he laid his whole figure down, his hands clasped to his front and his head lying on the fluffy thing that his human had pointed at, which, to his amazement, felt so soft and supported his head well. Thus with his body levelled, Quan was allowed to prudently place the blanket down over his figure.

"You know, you can take your hands out from underneath the blanket," Quan said, voice composed, but the slivers of amusement were unmistakeable.

"Oh…really?" Antonio's emerald orbs widened a bit when he brought his hands out from underneath the blanket. He stared at them, then at the blanket itself, touching it with his hands; it felt so soft and a lot like fur, but something about it made the merman think that it wasn't fur. "Oh…it's so soft!" he marvelled with a beam. "Muy bueno…"

Quan gave a small chuckle, "Blankets are meant to feel soft; no stress on your body." He then entered the bed himself, coming under the blanket, but sitting up with his back straightened as he took the clipboard and pen from his bedside table and began reading through the paper, "Hmm…"

"What are you looking at, mi tesero?" inquired Antonio in an inquisitive manner as he tried to gaze up.

"Just some business equations," replied Quan, sounding slightly exasperated. "Have to solve some debts and payments…"

"Oh," Antonio arched an eyebrow. "Sounds kind of boring if you ask me…"

"It somewhat is," answered back Quan. "But, it is necessary; I have to pay back my employees – they help me a lot, and I can't do things without them."

"That's very nice of you," beamed Antonio.

"It's just how the world works," said his human with a half-hearted shrug. "Now, get some sleep, Antonio."

The merman frowned a little, "What about you, Quan?"

The Vietnamese man waved a dismissive hand, "I'll sleep after I finish this, but you must be tired from all of the excitement today; just go to sleep, okay?" however, seeing that the merman wasn't closing his eyes after writing a few equations down, Quan sighed, "What? What is it?"

"I'm sleeping once you get to sleep," said Antonio, a stubborn little flame igniting in his grass green orbs.

Quan shook his head, "This can take me an hour to complete, Antonio. Please, just get some sleep."

"It's not fair that I get to sleep and you don't," said the merman.

The Vietnamese man sighed, "Work must be done; I have to maintain my business or else it will undergo problems like before. So, please, Antonio, just relax and get some sleep."

"Quan-"

"Sleep," the human said, his voice now stern, and his face stoic, serious and firm. "Now."

Antonio blinked and heaved a sigh himself, but not before he tugged on the hem of Quan's shirt again.

"What is it?" questioned the Vietnamese man, arching a pencil-thin eyebrow down at his lover. "What's wrong now?"

"Can you…lean down for a moment, please?" Antonio asked, a rather shy looking smile spread onto his face.

Surprised at seeing a smile like that, Quan complied, leaning down for a bit, when the merman suddenly came forward and planted a soft, sweet kiss to his cheek.

To say that the Vietnamese man was shocked was an understatement. No, he was astonished. His jaw had dropped a little bit open as he stared wordlessly at the red-tailed merman with widened honey-gold orbs.

However, Antonio kept true to Quan's words and laid himself back down on the bed and shifted a little, snuggling into the bed as he felt more comfortable. "Buenos noches, mi amor," he whispered, voice with a line of a purr in it.

Quan felt his face explode into a blush again, but he cleared his throat and nodded, "G-good night, Antonio…" it took a great amount of control and strength to prevent his voice from quivering like a leaf. The Vietnamese man saw the merman close his eyes, his chest heaving up and down; filled with strength and life.

And so, he worked as quickly as he could while at the same time, keep it accurate.

Just so he could get some sleep himself.

Especially with such a warm and beautiful companion by his side.

"No! What the hell do you think you're doing?! Don't!"

He was shivering terribly; like a leaf in the middle of a gale-ridden storm. The muscular chest was heaving up and down as haggard gasps for breath were ripping apart at his throat, shaking his very being.

"Don't! Don't do it!"

Sweat was riding down from the sides of his head as he thrashed around horribly, punching and making harsh gestures in the tense, heavy air.

"What're you doing?! Get away from there!"

He was screaming in a great panic – his voice raised higher in pitch due to the intense alarm that his body was partaking.

He could see it all right now again.

That slightly lithe and slightly smaller frame, the short, light blonde hair…

Leaning down and looking over the edge.

Slowly, the figure turned his head around, revealing dull, blue eyes that were glazed, seemingly in a sort of trance.

He knew that he was screaming by now – screaming desperately for that figure not to do what he knew he was going to do. Pleading and shouting at the top of his lungs.

However, he turned his head back around and stood up straight again, eyes never leaving the edge.

"No! Don't!"

The figure then bent his knees down as he went into a stance, ready to jump and dive down, not even looking back one last time at the one who called.

He tried to run to the figure, prevent him from doing what he was going to do.

However, the next thing he knew, great gusts of heavy northern winds and strong, fierce gales were forcefully knocking him back; away from the figure.

His screaming grew even more desperate when the figure finally sprung off from the balls of his feet; seemingly playing in slow motion.

The figure jumped over the edge.

"Norge!"

Mathias shot up, his baby blues were filled with panic and appeared to be teary as he glanced around frantically. Upon realizing where he was and what was happening, the Dane licked his lips and recalled what happened.

'Lort…' he thought to himself. 'Just a screwed up dream…Louise helped me to a cab…and I ended up home…Kasem got me inside, I ate some of his awesome stuff. Quan apparently has a boyfriend now…and I'm just tired…'

Looking down at his now trembling hands, the Dane heaved a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his spiky tresses of light blonde hair as he shook his head and lay back down.

'Way too tired…'

He shut his eyes after a blink or two; hoping that he wasn't going to be plagued by anymore of that damn ordeal that night.

And thus ends Chapter 11.

Well, the next one will come up sometime - maybe Sunday or something like that. But, anyway, yes, it looks like things are running more smoothly between Quan, Antonio and Quan's family as the merman settles in the Vietnamese man's home. However, that saying so, we also now enter a little arc that will involve Mathias - I'm actually interested to hear/see what you guys think is going on with him. ;) you'll all probably find out what happens in either the next chapter or chapter 13. :)

Anyway, thoughts and opinions? Have a nice day, guys. :DDD

Sincerely,
HetaWriter/HetaReader