A/N: Thanks to FanofBellaandEdward for being my beta!
XI
Haru was a hugger; that was the first thought that punched through Rin's sleepy brain the following morning.
He was dimly away of drifting awake, his mind still content to remain oblivious to the world. His body was warm and curled up into a tight ball despite the heat outside. The cool sheets were soft again his skin where he'd tugged his shirt off during the night. Although they weren't as soft or as cool as the body lying half on top of him. Cracking open a bleary eye, he peered over the edge of the bed. There was another arm draped lazily over his own; the skin was pearly white against the soft tan of his own. The silky touch of hair tickled against his shoulder blades making him flex automatically.
Haru was not only cuddling him in his sleep, but also being so intimately close with him that there were next to no barriers between them. He shifted, initiating a soft sigh from the creature on top of him. He was dimly aware of a narrow, hard pressure against his hip.
He didn't want to make a big deal about any of it. It was Sunday morning and Sousuke wanted them all to meet at the local swimming baths for some private swimming time. They wanted to see how strong Iwatobi's team were now that Haru had joined them, and to see, not only what competition they now had, but also if Makoto's training regime even had what it'd take to get them through into Nationals.
With a grunt, he pried himself out from under Haru's limp form and started to dress for the dark. He was downstairs and making some omelettes for breakfast before Haru had even traipsed downstairs to stand in the shower for ten minutes. It was becoming a daily routine, now, to take at least a ten minute shower before and after sleeping. Perhaps he was just always used to being hydrated? Either way, Rin sometimes worried about walking down the high street with the merman in case he dove into a puddle or stripped off in front of someone watering their garden.
It wouldn't do to get fined for public nudity among other things.
"Breakfast's ready!" he called out as he plated the omelettes, dropping the pan into the kitchen sink already filled with soapy water. It was another moment or two before the shower shut off. There was the low thump of a wet towel being dropped to the floor, and then the sound of the door unlocking. Haru emerged into the open-plan room a minute later, his damp hair glistening in the morning sunlight, and his skin looking as glossy as an eels. It was almost eerie how serpentine Haru managed to look just by getting wet.
They ate in silence, Rin's eyes constantly going to the scabbed over gills at Haru's neck, a defect gone unnoticed so far by the members of Iwatobi. Thanks to Haru's hair being longer at the back, the scars remained hidden for the time being.
Once they'd eaten, they dumped their stuff in the trunk and drove to the swimming baths; Rin was anxious to get into the cool water and stretch his muscles out. Swimming for leisure was something he had missed. He's almost forgotten how to do it, but those rare moments he could -he enjoyed them immensely. "Do you remember what I told you about the relay?" Rin asked as they entered the air-conditioned bath house.
Haru nodded his head as he clutched the strap of his bag tighter. Rin paid the admin fee and then the two of them went to the locker room, keys in hand. "I remember ... all that you tell me ..."
Rin tried to fight the flush on his cheeks. He prayed he could blame it on the heat as they entered the locker room. The steam from the showers hung low and damp in the air. "Well make sure you remember it when you're out there swimming. Sousuke and I will be there to help coach you and the others, but Makoto gets final say on the strategy okay?"
"Will it be weird ... for you?" Haru asked as he effortlessly changed into his trunks; simply pulling the thin shirt off over his head and folding it neatly onto the shelf of his lower.
"What do you mean?" Rin frowned, his sharp teeth catching on his cheek. A nervous habit he couldn't quite shake.
"Us swimming ... against each other," Haru said not looking up from stretching his legs. "What if I beat you?"
"Then it's up to the judges and the final scores to decide." He noticed the worried frown on Haru's face and felt a tug on his heart. He touched a hand to the creature's shoulder, squeezing him reassuringly, "Don't worry about us, okay? We'll be fine. As long as you give it your all and don't worry about it."
Haru didn't look overly convinced but he didn't say any more on the matter as they walked out towards the main pool.
Two hours later and Rin had exhausted himself.
The practice had been more than successful with Haru doing his utmost to beat Rin's improved times and had even remembered to kick as hard as he could when he did the return lane for the relay. Being the last in the group meant that it was down to Haru to make up for any and all short-comings the other team had made. It wasn't an easy task and many people faltered under the sheer weight of the pressure.
Haru hadn't, though.
It was almost hypnotic watching the way he swam; it was almost as though he didn't care about the actual race. All he cared about was swimming, and clearly this was the perfect excuse for him to show just how effortlessly fast and powerful he could be in the water. Rin couldn't help but wonder what he would be like in sea water instead of a pool soaked in chlorine.
He needed to get a grip on himself. He'd almost lost control and drooled in front of Sousuke as they'd watched Haru's elegant, stream-lined form shoot past them, the spray hitting their legs and faces as they sat at the pools edge.
Overall, a highly successful practice. Especially if Makoto's beaming smile was anything to go by as he walked alongside Sousuke, lacing their fingers together and excitedly gushing about Nationals.
Two weeks. That was all it was. Two weeks until the end of summer, Nationals being the pivotal climax of the entire season.
Rin tried his best not to think about it as he tossed his and Haru's bags into the trunk of his car and wiped the moisture from his brow. He'd been so pleasantly cool not too long ago, and now the sun was going to render his shower pointless. Great.
"Who wants to go and meet Nagisa and Rei for some lunch?" Makoto asked after checking a message on his phone. "They said they're at the high street near the aquarium and do we want to meet up?"
"Sounds good to me," Sousuke said, nonplussed.
"Great. Rin, Haru?"
"Er ..." Rin glanced down at Haru, trying to gauge his reaction. "Er ... do you want to go, Haru?" he finally asked, not knowing of a better way to be discreet in front of his friends.
Haru looked at him with the usual blank expression before shrugging. "Hm," was his only reply.
"Okay, let's drive up there then. We still have until 6PM before everything closes up." Makoto slipped the car keys out from Sousuke's back pocket. At the black-haired man's protests, he shook his head, "You're not driving. You need to rest your shoulder if I'm going to beat you at Nationals."
Rin had to bite back a smirk as the two headed across the parking lot towards Sousuke's car. Turning to Haru, he tried to put on a brave face. "You see? Those two are dating and they're still competing."
"Dating? Like us?" Haru asked, sliding into the passenger seat.
Rin suddenly got hot and speechless all at once. He fiddled to wind down the windows and tried to find his voice. "What do you mean 'like us'? No, those two are in a relationship; they kiss, and hug and sleep together."
"We do all ... those things ..." Haru pointed out.
This time, Rin's face definitely did go red. "What?" he spluttered, "No we most certainly do not do all those things!"
Haru heaved a sigh, a sound so heavy for someone so delicate, before he dove across the gear-stick and pressed his cool lips to Rin's. The redhead was so shocked that he just sat there, stunned, as he watched Haru's black lashes flutter against his cheeks, and felt the soft pressure on his mouth before it slowly pulled away an inch, just enough for Haru to draw a soft breath.
"Now ... we do," he murmured against Rin's lips before he settled back down into his own seat, looking calm and stoic as he eased his belt into the buckle and waited for Rin to move.
"THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Rin exclaimed, the only sensible thing springing to mind. Why was it so easy for Haru to do such a thing? Had he been giving the merman confusing signals by holding him up when he staggered on weak legs or letting him share his bed? Refocusing his attention on the creature, he shoved his shoulder. "Oi, I don't know where the fuck you think you are, but here, men do not just kiss other men!"
"Makoto kisses Sousuke," Haru observed, his blank eyes staring straight ahead.
"That's different!"
"Why?"
"Because they are in LOVE that's why!"
"Hm," Haru hummed to himself, the sound somehow so heart-wrenching it forced Rin to look away. He gripped his steering wheel and tried his best to compose himself. Glancing back up, he saw that Haru's eyes, while still blank, had a shine to them that wasn't there before. That hadn't been there since he'd talked about the failed attempts at mating ... and about how old he was ... and how he'd looked longingly out at the pool back at the house.
That's when a vague picture started to take shape in Rin's mind. "Oh ..." he breathed. The tension in his body faded into a discomfort. Not at Haru himself, but at the knowledge slowly being dredged to the surface. "Haru ... do you ...?"
"Drive," the creature said, almost coldly.
"I'm ... what?"
"Drive. Nagisa and Rei ... waiting for us."
Rin blinked. There was a hollow feeling growing inside of him and he couldn't place his finger on what it was. Something had shifted between the two of them and, even as he focused most of his brain on driving into the city, there was still a large part of him that was longing to say something, anything, that would coax Haru into conversation. The creature had kissed him, seemingly out of nowhere, or to prove a point, he wasn't sure. All he did know was that whatever they had between them ... it wasn't platonic after all.
He'd had weird stirrings, almost feelings, for the creature. His elegant beauty and simplistic needs coupled with his surprisingly speed and admiral strength made it all too easy. However, all of that as well as getting to know more about him, being with him all day and all night ... it had made them into something new, something different. He wasn't sure what it was but he was positive that it wasn't like Makoto and Sousuke.
Hell, half the time he was lucky if he got a full sentence out of the merman!
The rest of the drive into the city was done in silence. A silence only broken up by Rin softly cursing other drivers under his breath as well as his sidelong glances at Haru. The creature hadn't moved since their ... was it an argument? He couldn't tell. Whatever it had been, he had barely moved a muscle, choosing to stare straight ahead with a tight jaw and cold, unseeing eyes.
If Rin didn't know any better, he'd wager a guess that he'd hurt the merman deeply.
~0~
Lunch went by in a flash with mostly Nagisa chattering away like he was hooked up on adrenaline. There was never a polite way to tell the blonde boy to shut the hell up. Although, Rin had to admit, for once he was grateful that Rei and Nagisa seemed to navigate the conversation in whatever direction they saw fit. Things had been tense with Haru ever since they'd left the parking lot. The creature couldn't even look across the table at him. It left Rin with next to no appetite, but he forced himself to eat just to have something to do.
"AH, so are we all ready to go to the aquarium?" Nagisa chimed once they had all left their table and threw their rubbish in the bins.
"I'd say so," Makoto grinned, "Rin, Haru, are you guys ready?"
"Sure," Rin tossed his napkin onto his pile of plastic containers before carrying it over to the bin and dumping it in. "Haru, come on, we're leaving."
The blue-haired man made no comment as he slid out from his bench and followed the rest of the gang. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and bowed his head to the pavement. Rin kept looking over his shoulder at him, but Haru's eyes remained downcast. There was a heavy weight inside his chest that felt like he was suffocating. Fifty-two years he had swam through the oceans, exploring deeper than any humans had dared to venture, and yet despite all of his wanderings and his arriving early and leaving last of all mating seasons ... he hadn't found anyone who wanted to spend any time with him.
Until he'd become human.
Until he'd found Rin -or rather, Rin had found him.
It had been a fast summer, but he was certain that his feelings were strong for the red-haired man walking up ahead of him. He'd felt similar things, sure, for other mermen and mermaids alike, yet nothing had ever gotten past the acknowledgement stage.
Rin, however, Rin was different.
He took the time to tend to Haru's wounds, to encourage him to speak and to make small strides in getting Haru's confidence back up. Every time he reached out and touched Haru's skin to help him towards the bathroom, onto the sofa or even out of the pool, it set fire to every molecule of Haru's body. It was like an underwater volcano came alive inside him, flushing his skin pink so much that Rin would fret that he'd gotten sunburned and insist on putting sun cream on him.
He'd wanted to tell Rin that his skin would peel off ten times faster than regular humans, but the pressure of Rin's hands running over him made his stomach flip.
Not that any of it mattered anymore. Rin didn't want to kiss him. Rin didn't want him in any way, shape or form. He would just do the competition for Makoto and then when the summer was over ... he would simply leave. That was what they'd had planned for the entire summer anyway, so why did the prospect leave a bitter taste in his mouth? Why wouldn't he want to go back to the ocean where he could live out the rest of the next century talking to no one ... and having no one to swim and explore alongside him ... no one to slide and writhe with in the damp sands of far off islands ... No, why would they cripple his soul?
A grunt came from his throat as he collided with Sousuke's back.
Glaring up through his fringe he noticed that everyone had stopped outside a large building with silly images of fish and whales on the sides. They looked so silly. Haru frowned up at them as they made their way in through the entrance before making their way up to the counter and asking for tickets to get inside. Haru hovered at the back, inhaling the sickly scents of fake sea-water, wet sank and scale rot. He could smell it all but he doubted anyone else could with the way they smiled and chattered away like nothing was weird and hanging in the air like a musk.
"Haru-chan, we're going inside now!" Nagisa beamed, tugging at his sleeve. "Come on, let's go and see the coral life!"
Haru let himself be dragged along behind the rest of the group as they went into the fake cave-like structures that housed lots of tanks with foul smelling water and housed different types of starfish. Looking at the spongy arms, Haru felt his gut growl. It had been ages since he'd treated himself to starfish. He stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets, not trusting himself to just lunge for the starfish and devour it.
Stepping through an archway he heard Nagisa sigh in wonderment as the bright blue lights highlighted the tanks filled with clown fish, angel fish and other varieties of small, brightly coloured fish swimming about from side-to-side. Haru wrinkled his nose a little, remembering the constant chase of trying to get one of the flighty buggers into his mouth. Eventually, he and a swarm of other merfolk had had to leave the reef completely. Shaking his head, he moved on into the darkening halls illuminated only by the windows that housed tanks of fish.
He didn't pay attention to the way the fish all seemed to glide in his direction as he walked past their tanks.
Rin, however, did.
The fish tanks themselves weren't anything spectacular; for the most part they all just went to the plaques up beside each tank describing each species of fish along with a photo. Haru didn't like to brag, but he already knew more about the fish than anything that the humans would ever care to learn. Not to mention he wanted to get as far away from the tiny gits as possible. They were like a school of Nagisa's; loud, hyper with high voices that practically whistled in his ear.
The glass did nothing to mute them.
Stepping through a blackened archway, they entered a large room with benches arced around the room, facing toward the inside of a ginormous tank. Haru felt his stomach drop into his shoes; it was all so beautiful. He hadn't seen such a large body of clear, blue water since he'd beached himself. His skin tingled with the ache to strip of his clothes and dive into the depths with the other mammals. He wanted to swim as gaily and freely as they were, frolicking lazily in the water that was, no doubt, the perfect temperature and with the perfect chemical balance so as to not irritate his scales. His gills throbbed under the scarred tissue.
He let out a wet gasp as he let his legs guide him closer to the thick glass wall between him and his dream. The others ooh-ed and aah-ed behind him, but he quickly tuned them out. Groups of teenagers and parents with young children drifted in and out with their loud voices that Haru almost missed what the turtle and sharks were saying. In hindsight, he wished he'd eavesdropped on what the children were saying instead.
'Look at that silly merman! Look how he still has his cycloid scales! When are you gonna mate and get your adult Ctenoid's, Guppy!" jeered one of the sharks, barring its large teeth in a mocking grin.
'You're right. Even I've mated at least twice and I'm only seventy-nine,' rumbled the turtle as its head lulled from side-to-side in the forged currents. 'It's always the small ones you know. They are the runts. No one can love them.'
Haru felt a lump rise in his throat. It wasn't his fault. Some merfolk mated later in life, that didn't mean it would never happen for him. It would just take time for him to find the right person to mate with. Tears stung at the back of his eyes and he clenched his fists in his pockets, trying desperately not to let the tears fall. Least of all in front of the other guys. It was all too much; the jeers, the taunting, the mixing smells cloying at his senses ...
"S-Sorry," he choked out before dashing off through a long maze of illuminated tunnels.
"Haru, don't! You'll get lost!" Makoto called out after him.
"Should we go after him?" Rei asked with a frown marring his features.
Rin shook his head, "No it's okay. You guys go on ahead. I'll wait for him here and see if he comes back."
Sousuke frowned even deeper. "Are you sure that's wise? We can help you look for him?"
With a sigh, Rin relented. "Okay fine, let's split up and text each other if you find him."
"Right. Let's meet up outside in an hour if we don't find him. We'll have to call security otherwise," Makoto stated. Rin pulled a face but didn't object to the plan as they divided up into three groups and went their separate ways. Rin was left to his own devices as he took one of the other underwater tunnels.
Aquariums were different when you weren't surrounded by a large gaggle of people yelling and chirruping away about how pretty the fish were. Left to his own thoughts, Rin could see how entrancing such a place was when it had quietened down. Clearly the day outside was wearing on and people were eager to end the day and get back home for dinner. He wouldn't go home without Haru. There was no question about it, it just wasn't going to happen. He needed to apologise for being so insensitive to Haru. The kiss had just caught him off-guard that was all.
From one darkened room to the next, Rin drifted with his hands in his pockets and his head permanently tilted upwards to gaze up at the lazily swimming creatures around him. No wonder he was so enraptured with watching Haru swim. Maybe he just really, really liked fish.
He smiled despite himself as he came to a stop at an almost blacked out alcove at the base of a footbridge over a pair of sting-ray pools. A skinny, pale figure was hunched over, sobbing into his knees. Rin hurried down the stairs, his heart in his throat, as he stopped a few meters away from the creature. It was definitely Haru. Relief washed through him as he edged a little nearer, the open window looking into the sting-ray tank bathing the alcove in a soft blue light.
"Hey," he kept his voice low as he crouched down by Haru. "I got really worried there for a minute," he said. "Why did you run away?"
Haru sniffed loudly before rubbing at his red-rimmed eyes. "Th-the sharks ... making fun o-o-of me!" His voice cracked and he sobbed into his knees again.
The sound was so high and shrill it made Rin wince and inch away. "What do you mean the sharks are making fun of you?" Gosh, that was a weird sentence. Rin never thought he'd say something like that in his life. Not even as a joke.
"They -Say -I'm -Unlovable," Haru choked out through broken sobs that made his voice crack even more. "That I-I'll never ... find my m-m-mate!"
"Oh Haru." Rin tugged his jeans up and sat down on the raised edge next to the merman, placing a firm, warm hand on the thin creature's shoulder. "Listen to me; you are not unlovable. You're a little distant sometimes and hard work to talk to but you are far from ever being unlovable."
Haru scoffed, a horrible, wet, snivelling sound that sounded like he was about the phlegm down his shirt. "Merfolk d-don't love me ... humans don't love me ..." he paused for a breath before more hot, silent tears rushed down his cheeks. "R-Rin doesn't ... even love me ..."
Oh! Suddenly it all made sense. That was why Haru was suddenly more receptive; it wasn't because he was becoming more human and could properly understand the things around him, it was because he was growing more and more feelings for Rin. A weird fuzzy feeling started up in his stomach and Rin had to chastise himself for force-feeding so soon after swimming.
"Haru, I didn't mean -"
Haru shook his head as he roughly dried his face with the hem of his shirt, the blue light catching on his back and ribs. Sniffing loudly, the merman said in a thick voice, "I'll find my own way home."
Rin blinked. "What? You can't! It'll take you too long to walk and you don't have money for a taxi. No." Rin sat up straighter. "I'll wait with you. I want to, Haru. I want you to come home with me. I want to know you're safe. Please, believe me?"
"No. Go home. I'll ... find my way."
Watching Haru's profile for a little while; he looked so beautiful and ethereal in the soft blue lights from the tank behind him. The rippling effect of light against his hair and skin made Rin tingle all over. He tried to reach out and take hold of Haru's hand with his own, but the creature was having none of it, choosing instead to curl up on the ledge, his knees pressed his chest and propping his chin on top.
In that moment, he looked more like a lost boy than ever before.
The sight was enough to make Rin hesitate a moment longer. He really didn't want to leave but Haru clearly didn't want his company. He wanted to be left alone, to mourn whatever he felt like he'd lost. There was nothing else to do but do as Haru had demanded; standing up, Rin brushed down the seat of his jeans before raking a hand through his hair and heaving a soft sigh. "I guess I'll see you later then ... Haru."
Without a backwards glance, Rin was gone leaving Haru alone in the blue-lit alcove to let the tears roll hot and free down his cheeks, soaking into his borrowed shirt and irritating his skin to no end. It did nothing to quell the pain in his heart or the ache over-taking his soul. He just wanted to be loved, but apparently there were some things that even praying didn't get you in this lifetime. At least when he had his parent's he'd felt somewhat loved, but had secretly always envied them for their love of one another. He had simply wanted what they'd had.
He didn't know how long he stayed, sitting on that ledge leaning against the tank's glass. The sting-rays were sweet enough, the babies all wanting to say 'hi' and wondering why he was so sad. Eventually though lights started to get turned off to initiate 'night-time' for the aquatic life. Haru almost fell for it himself. Standing up on sore legs he joined the last few people who were still eager to take selfie's with the sting-rays before heading home. He hung at the very back, the urge to climb into the tank with the fish growing more and more the further away he walked.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he focused on putting one foot in front of the other until he drew nearer the large 'EXIT' sign overhead. He could feel the weight of eyes on the back of his neck and tried not to think of what evil little flounder was sneering at him now. He ignored the heat of the eyes, not even bothering to turn at the soft whispering he heard as he passed the last few tanks, before stepping out into the gift shop.
Haru let his large eyes wonder over the stuffed critters and couldn't help but twist his mouth into a grimace. He should've stayed with the group. At least then he might have gotten a little stuffed octopus or a dolphin.
"Pick one," a voice in his ear made him jump.
Looking up through his fringe he was stunned to see Rin's soft features smiling tenderly down at him. His little, forlorn heart skipped a beat. "You ... you came back?" he asked, his hands shaking that Rin cared enough about him to bother coming all the way back just to find him.
Rin smiled a little wider, showing the point of his teeth. "No, Haru. I never left."
That was all it took for Haru to crumble up inside. Rin was quick to wrap him in his arms and hug him to his chest. "Hey, hey, hey, now, it's okay I've got you," he crooned into Haru's dark blue hair. Pushing himself up onto his feet and stepping just out of reach of Rin's arms, Haru wiped at his eyes and shuddered. Rin unzipped his hoodie and draped it around Haru's shoulders before nudging him towards the shelves. "Go on, pick whichever one you want."
Screwing his face up in concentration, Haru scanned the shelf of stuffed animals, trying hard to keep his hammering heart contained in his chest. Finally, his hand clasped around a palm-sized dolphin with small black eyes and, what could only be described as, a resting bitch-face.
Rin snickered a little as they went up to pay. "That dolphin is 'you' to perfection."
Haru didn't know what he meant by that and he didn't really care. All he cared about was that they were walking through the almost empty car park to Rin's car, bundled in a jumper that smelled of everything he loved, and being hugged close to the man that made everything inside him quiver. Not to mention, he now had a little dolphin tucked away in his pocket that had a small ink-stain on the tail.
Haru didn't mind though; the ink stain was in the shape of a very, very small heart.
It made him smile all the way home.
Cycloid and Ctenoid scales are one of four scale-groups for fish. Sometimes these two variants of the same scale-type can interchange between male and female "bony fishes" however I decided to make it part of the maturity level instead. This was based on a very brief google search so ... it may not be all correct but I needed a more technical term than 'virgin-scales'.
A/N: Hope the quick updates please everybody! Reviews are welcome! x
