Shouto had been informed multiple times by his ex that staring was generally considered rude by humans.
He used to watch the man in rapt attention as he worked until he was told that it was unsettling and instructed to go find something to entertain himself while the man finished his task. It didn't really bother Shouto, he knew that his boyfriend had a lot of important work to do and it gave him time to read some of the books left lying around and learn more English. The fact that most of those books had been about marine life probably should have been a red flag, but he thought nothing of it at the time, assuming that his boyfriend was just as curious about Shouto's world as Shouto was about his. At the time he had found it strange that there was no mention of merpeople in the extensive book collection, but he had since found out the hard way that his kind was yet to be discovered by humans.
Shouto had also found himself being chastised for watching other humans when he had first started leaving the sea to go on short excursions to cafes and other places of intrigue.
Before they were together and before he'd decided to extend his time on land indefinitely, he would leave the sea for short periods of time to explore at his ex's request, making sure to return after only a few hours just to be safe. He couldn't help but find it fascinating to see the beings in his mother's stories come to life. Every one of their little habits and idiosyncrasies were so unusual and captivating to Shouto, who had lived a very sheltered life even for a merman.
It was completely new to him to see such social beings, who were often so open and unguarded in each other's presence. He couldn't help being drawn into the pastime he now knew was referred to as 'people watching'. His ex didn't like it though and constantly scolded him for it in whispered tones so as not to draw the attention of people around them.
Therefore, in theory, Shouto had a good understanding of the fact that humans didn't like to be stared at and sometimes found it threatening in the same way that his kind recognised invasions of personal space from anyone other than close loved ones as an act of aggression. It was difficult to put that understanding into practice though when a stranger was standing directly in front of him, closer to him than most humans had been before. The man was trying to catch his breath after sprinting towards him. The rope that should be attached to the band around the golden creature's neck was clutched firmly in his hand and his face displayed a look of deep concern. Shouto was unable to look away.
The man looked to be around the same age as him. If Shouto remembered the diagram of a human life cycle he'd once seen in one of his ex-boyfriends books correctly, he'd say that the man looked to be in the young adult stage of his life. He was shorter than Shouto, but seemed to have more muscle. His skin was decorated with small, light brown dots that he'd only seen on a few humans. On rare occasions, he'd seen similar markings on the skin of merfolk who had traveled from warmer waters where they swam closer to the surface and their homes were more frequently illuminated by the sun.
However, the most striking aspects of the male's appearance, the ones that would have Shouto doing a double take if he had passed the man in the street, were his big, bright, expressive eyes and short, messy hair. Both of which were a pretty shade of forest green. Although it seemed to be rare, he knew that green was a natural eye colour for humans, but he'd never seen a human with green hair before. There had never been any mention of any humans with green hair in any of his mother's stories either. It was a shade that would seem more at home sitting atop the head of a merperson than that of a human being. So much so that it left Shouto wondering if this man was in fact a merman who had ran away from the sea just like him.
"Oh god! I'm so sorry sir!" the green haired man fretted, moving quickly to clip the end of the rope in his hand to the band around the creature's neck, "Mirio's usually such a well behaved dog. I don't know what got into him. I mean, he gets excited around new people, but I've never seen him jump on someone like that before. Usually he waits so patiently for me to get his lead out of the car, but this time I turned my back for one second and he was gone! I'm so sorry! I should have known it was a bad idea to take my eyes off him today! He's been acting so restless all morning scratching at the door and staring out the window. I should have known something was up because he usually hates going out in the rain, but today he couldn't wait."
Shouto was barely able to process the words the man was saying with the speed that syllables were escaping his mouth. He just continued to look on in bewilderment as his brain tried to pick out words he recognised and connect them in a way that made sense and provided a rough idea of the message in the distressed man's speech. His eyes followed the movement as the man pushed his free hand into his hair, his fingers winding tightly around the green strands and his shoulders tensing as the speed of his speech escalated and the pitch of his voice rose ever so slightly in panic.
The man's attention switched to Shouto so suddenly that he reeled back in surprise. "Are you ok? Is there anything I can do?" he asked, his eyes growing wide as he took in Shouto's appearance. "Oh shit you're soaking wet! You'll catch a cold like that! Do you have a change of clothes? Where do you live, is it far from here? Did you come here with anyone or are you alone? Did you drive here? I can give you a ride if you… need… one..." he trailed off, his face turning ever so slightly pink, "I've been rambling. Sorry. I do that sometimes," he admitted sheepishly.
Shouto just stared at him. He was having a hard time figuring out how he should respond to this new human who addressed him directly and looked like one of his kind. Never one for subtlety, Shouto blurted out the question that was weighing on his mind.
"Are you a merman?"
The man blinked at him, dumbfounded. "Am I a what now?"
Before Shouto could repeat his question, a small wave broke against his back, sending freezing water crashing up over his shoulders. He hadn't noticed the water rising or the biting cold earlier, but he definitely did now. His body trembled uncontrollably, causing his teeth to chatter loudly and he inwardly cursed his human body for not being able to handle the cold of the water the way his merman one could.
The human gasped. "You're shivering! Let me help you!"
A hand covered in scars was thrust towards Shouto, who immediately had to fight the instincts telling him to recoil and strike like a venomous snake that had been backed into a corner. In mer society, scars were a sign of strength, they told a tale of hardships, bravery and survival. All of the highest ranking merfolk had their own patterns etched into their skin, mementos from the countless battles they had fought and won to climb the ranks of the social hierarchy. Every single merperson knew that unless you were also high on the social ladder, you would have to be an absolute fool with one heck of a death wish to challenge a mermaid or merman whose skin carried multiple scars.
Shouto had his own scars and was considered a capable fighter among the merfolk that knew of him, but even he knew not to intentionally act in an aggressive manner towards other strong merfolk.
So when this man with rich, forest green hair, a strong looking physique and a myriad of scars climbing up from his fingers to his forearm - and most likely further - casually thrust his hand into Shouto's personal space, it was the equivalent of being directly challenged to a fight by a highly ranked member of merfolk royalty. It was more than just a little intimidating.
Shouto knew that the man probably didn't intend for his actions to be interpreted in that way. He also knew that he wouldn't be able to stand his ground in a fight for very long in his current emotional, distracted, messy state. So he fought to dismiss the voice in his head that told him this was a challenge he needed to rise to. Oddly enough that voice sounded vaguely reminiscent of his father, but he didn't want to think too deeply about that.
Shouto could probably scrap his theory about this man also being from the ocean now though. He was too tactless with his body language to be a merperson. If he was a merman, he definitely wasn't one with any sense of self preservation. Shouto decided to mentally put a pin in his theory and return to it at a later date.
"Take my hand," the man instructed, inching the offending limb closer to Shouto's face and leaning further towards him. Shouto didn't want to offend this person, and he really wanted to stop sitting in the ice cold water, but every inch of him was reluctant to go against his instincts. He inspected the jagged scars that wrapped around the man's hand and tried to remind himself that it was ok, that this was a human and humans were not as violent as merpeople. It was a difficult task when he had just recently been hurt by a human who hadn't even needed to resort to physical violence to do it.
Shouto took a deep, grounding breath and slowly, shakily, reached out with his own hand. "It's ok," the human assured him, sensing his reluctance. "I won't bite," he promised with a warm, reassuring smile.
Shouto paused. Did people usually bite? He had never seen a human bite another human before. Human teeth seemed too blunt to be able to inflict any serious damage. He couldn't imagine being able to hurt someone with the teeth he had now. At least, he couldn't see himself inflicting the same kind of devastating damage that merfolk could with their razor sharp ones if they needed to take down strong prey or protect their territory or loved ones against other merfolk. Still, he supposed it was a potential danger that he should be aware of and stay vigilant about.
He almost wanted to reject the human's offer to help after hearing that, but there was something about the soft tone of the man's voice that had him continuing to move forward. It was gentle, like the way his mother spoke to calm him when he had witnessed a particularly severe tirade from his father or when he had sought her out after a bad dream. A small part of him still remained hopeful that humans could be good and that small part of him wanted to trust the man. So he decided to listen to it for a brief moment.
The cold, wet skin of Shouto's fingers slid against the man's palm as he grasped his outstretched hand, but the human didn't let any discomfort show on his face. So, out of courtesy, Shouto tried to force his body not to tense when he felt the uneven scar tissue that threatened to trigger his fight or flight instincts. The stranger's smile grew and he firmly gripped Shouto's hand, quickly pulling him to his feet as if he weighed nothing. He barely even gave Shouto a chance to feel mildly terrified at how easily he could throw his weight around before he was letting go of his hand and turning away from him.
"Follow me!" he called over his shoulder, heading back up the beach toward the seaside town that Shouto had come to know pretty well over the years.
Shouto hesitated for a second before realising that he really was freezing at this point. If following this stranger meant that he would find warmth then it was better to take that risk than risk becoming unwell if he didn't follow. He quickly slipped his shoes back on, ignoring the way the sand stuck to his feet scraped at his skin as he did so. Then he staggered forwards to catch up with the man, walking behind him and the creature that now strolled alongside him obediently. The stranger looked back a couple of times to check if Shouto was still following and seemed satisfied each time he confirmed that he was still there.
Eventually, they came to a stop in front of what he assumed to be the man's car. Shouto didn't know a lot about cars and he certainly didn't like being in them, knowing that his life was in someone else's hands and that he couldn't control anything, not even when he would be able to exit the vehicle. He did know that they typically had heating systems and comfortable seats though, and that was good enough for him at that moment.
"Could you hold this a second?" the stranger requested, holding the end of his creature companion's rope out in front of him. Shouto took hold of the rope gingerly and regarded the beast wearily as the man walked around to the other side of the car to open it and then to the back of the car to do something else. The creature tilted it's head at Shouto expectantly and Shouto leaned down to smooth his fingers through its hair the same way he had earlier, feeling an odd sense of comfort from the soft texture of it.
"Thank you," the human said as he returned to Shouto, reaching for the rope in his hand, which he quickly surrendered to him. "Normally, he just sits there and waits. He really is usually very well behaved," the man reiterated as he turned to open the back door of the vehicle and the creature immediately jumped inside, "but after the stunt he just pulled, I didn't want to take any chances."
He removed the rope from the band around the creature's neck, placing it on the seat and taking the creature's face in both of his hands. "Are you happy now, mister?" he asked the creature. "Now we don't get to go on a walk because you decided to push this nice man into the water."
The creature stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly unbothered that he was being scolded. Then all of a sudden it shot up towards the man, it's mouth open and teeth on display. Shouto gasped, quickly reaching toward the man, only to halt and look on, perplexed when the creature licked a wet stripe up the side of the man's face before sitting back down.
"Ew gross, Mirio!" the man laughed, pulling the sleeve of his hoodie down over his hand to rub at the patch of skin that fell victim to the creature's surprise attack. He ruffled the hair on top of the creature's head. "Fine, you win. We can come back tomorrow," he conceded before stepping back and closing the door.
He moved on to the front door and pulled it open, turning to face Shouto with the same gentle, encouraging smile he'd directed towards him earlier. Shouto met his gaze head on, trying his best not to appear as tense as he felt.
"I promise I'm not going to drive anywhere without your permission," he stated, "but I would like it if you at least stayed here long enough to get warm. I wouldn't feel right letting you leave knowing that you could get sick because of my carelessness."
Shouto wasn't quite sure how to react to this stranger's kindness or even if he should really trust it, but his need for warmth still won out over his emotional turmoil at that moment in time. He responded with a nod, not trusting his words in his current state. That seemed to be enough for the man, as he stood aside to let Shouto climb into the car and shut the door behind him.
Shouto leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes for a few seconds to appreciate the comfort it offered, until he heard the door on the other side of the car close and looked over to see the man messing with the controls. Soon, heat started to seep into the vehicle and Shouto let out a quiet sigh of relief. His feet and hands ached, but in a good way that meant they were gradually warming up. He was still feeling uncomfortable in the wet clothes that stuck to his skin, but at least he was no longer shivering.
The man leaned over to reach into a bag on the back seat and pulled out a towel. "Here, you can use this," he said, offering it to Shouto.
"Thanks," Shouto responded, cautiously accepting it and slowly reaching up to dry his hair. He noted that the fabric was soft and had a pleasant floral smell to it. It reminded him of the time his ex explained how humans wash their clothes to him after Shouto had told him he favoured a particular shirt of his because it smelled nice. Ironically, that same shirt was now one of the only things Shouto owned. It was one of the items of clothing his ex had generously given him to wear before he was sent packing.
"You're welcome," the stranger replied.
With the exception of a few noises from the creature in the back seat and the constant tapping of rain on the metal roof, the car was silent as Shouto dried his hair. The human waited patiently for him to finish, tapping at the wheel in front of him absentmindedly. Once Shouto decided that his hair had been dried an adequate amount, he handed the towel back to the man, who moved to return it to his bag.
"Oh!" he exclaimed as he started to pull something else out, "I forgot that I brought this!"
He brandished some kind of metal container from the bag, briefly showing it to Shouto before taking off the lid and pouring some kind of liquid out into it. He held the lid, which seemed to double as a cup out towards Shouto carefully. "Drink this," he instructed, "it will help you warm up."
Shouto eyed the brown liquid within the cup dubiously. He had seen containers similar to the one the guy was holding sitting on his ex's desk before and was sure he'd seen his ex drink from them with no negative repercussions, but he knew better than to drink an unknown liquid offered to him by a complete stranger.
"It's ok, it's just some hot chocolate," the man explained as if Shouto knew what that was. "I swear I'm not trying to poison you or anything," he joked.
Shouto looked at him suspiciously. "Why should I trust you?"
The man seemed a little taken aback for a second before conceding. "That's fair enough I guess," he shrugged, lifting the metal container to his mouth and taking a sip from it. "See? It's perfectly safe," he pointed out.
Satisfied with the evidence that the drink would not cause him any harm, Shouto took the cup from the man's hand.
He lifted it towards his face slowly, the sweet aroma piquing his curiosity. Taking a small, cautious sip, Shouto's eyes lit up with surprise as the flavour hit his tongue and he discovered that the drink tasted way more appetising than the dark brown colour had suggested. He drank some more, enjoying the syrupy flavour and the way it warmed him from the inside like the drinks with complicated names used to when his ex took him to cafes on winter days, not wanting to stay by the shore in the cold weather. There was something soothing about the sensation and Shouto felt himself relax gradually as he continued to drink.
"I don't blame you for not trusting me, by the way," the man admitted. "I haven't even introduced myself to you yet and here I am dragging you to my car and offering you a random drink after I let my dog knock you into the ocean! I'm so sorry! My mum would have a field day if she knew how impolite I was being!"
Shouto would never accuse this man of being impolite, if anything he was almost too friendly.
"You didn't drag me, I followed you," he pointed out, handing his empty cup back to the man. "I followed a stranger to their car and accepted a drink from them without even knowing their name first. I'm a mother's worst nightmare."
The man let out a sharp laugh, catching Shouto by surprise. "I'm Izuku Midoriya and this is my dog, Mirio," he disclosed, gesturing towards the golden haired creature that had now curled up on the back seat.
"Your dog," Shouto mumbled, committing the word and its pronunciation to memory. So that's what the humans called the hairy land beasts that sometimes accompanied them. Good to know.
"Yep, he's a golden retriever. His owner wasn't taking very good care of him, so I rescued him."
"Do you have a habit of rescuing things?" Shouto inquired.
"You have no idea," Izuku grinned and Shouto had no idea why, but got the feeling he would find out what that meant soon enough. "Anyway, now you know my name. So what should I call you?"
"Shouto."
"Ok! Well, it's nice to meet you, Shouto!" Izuku beamed, holding his hand out towards Shouto expectantly.
A memory from 4 years ago flashed in Shouto's head, of a young adult man with a deceptively kind face sitting on a rock, reaching out over the water as he introduced himself. Eighteen year old Shouto, who had been a little too naive and optimistic about humans at the time, had stared at the appendage in awe. The man had laughed at him, amusement dancing in his eyes. "You're supposed to shake it, like this," he had explained, demonstrating with both of his hands before reaching out again expectantly. Excited to finally be interacting with one of the beings he had always heard wonderful stories about and encouraged by the fact that the man had not called out to alert anyone when he caught sight of Shouto, the merman had reached out awkwardly to shake his hand, laughing at the man's shock when he caught sight of his webbed fingers.
Shouto had been too quick to trust back then. He realised that now.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" he questioned, making no move to accept Izuku's friendly gesture. "You could have just left me there."
Izuku lowered his hand to his lap, his smile dropping into a concerned frown. "I could have," he acknowledged, "but you seemed so sad when I first saw you and I wanted to help. I actually noticed you standing out there in the rain by yourself before Mirio went running off and I was going to ask you if you were ok, but then everything happened at once and I didn't get a chance to." He hesitated, picking at the material of the wheel in front of him with his nails, looking like there was more that he wanted to say. "Are you ok?" he asked eventually.
Shouto sighed, turning his head to glance out of the window beside him at the water he'd been standing in not that long ago. "I don't know," he answered honestly.
A few beats of silence followed, before Izuku spoke up again. "Do you want to talk about it?" he inquired. Shouto remained silent, mulling the question over in his head, trying to figure out how much he would be willing to tell this stranger. Izuku had been nice enough so far, but Shouto knew now that kindness could just be an act.
"You don't have to tell me anything if you're not comfortable with it," Izuku pointed out when Shouto was reluctant to respond, "but I'm happy to listen if talking about it would make you feel better."
Shouto turned his attention back to the man sitting next to him, scrutinising him, analysing his expression for any signs of dishonesty. He knew that he shouldn't trust humans so easily again, but he still wanted his mother to be right about the good ones and something about this one made him feel like it would be ok to open up. So Shouto decided that he could tell him some of the truth. However, there were some things he resolved not to reveal to humans from now on. His previous form and his lineage would remain a closely guarded secret, he would not allow another person to weaponize them against him.
"My boyfriend broke up with me," he said, deciding that was the safest place to start, "I was living with him. So I don't have a home anymore."
"Oh Shouto, that's awful! I'm so sorry!" Izuku explained, his features soft with sympathy.
"I ran away from home to live with him because I loved him and I couldn't be what my father wanted me to be," Shouto continued, watching raindrops travel down the glass of the window in front of him, unable to continue looking directly at the other man. "I can't go back now."
"Do you have any money for a hotel?" Izuku asked.
"I only have these clothes," Shouto gestured to what he was wearing.
"So what were you planning to do?" Izuku asked, staring at the wheel in front of him, seeming more conflicted as the conversation went on.
Shouto shrugged. "Find somewhere dry to sleep," he replied, "think about it more tomorrow."
Izuku's head snapped up, his expression marred with worry. "Wait, you were gonna sleep outside?! In this weather?!" he yelled. Shouto tried not to pay attention to the way the sudden, loud voice made him flinch a little. "That's so dangerous, Shouto! You could get really sick! And it's not safe to be outside alone at night!"
"I have nowhere else to go," Shouto argued.
"You can stay at my place!" Izuku offered, his eyes pleading. "I know I'm just some stranger and you have no reason to trust me, but please consider it. You won't have to be on your own with me because I live with two other people and they're really nice I swear! Also one of them works as a security guard so you'll definitely be in safe hands! We have an extra room because someone just moved out so they won't mind you being there at all!"
His words were blurring together the same way they had earlier as his speech picked up speed and Shouto struggled to make sense of what he was hearing. "Izuku," he said, quickly gaining the other man's attention, "you're speaking too fast."
"Sorry, I tend to do that a lot," Izuku apologised sheepishly.
"It's ok," Shouto reassured him.
"I just really hate the thought of you sleeping on the streets," he spoke slower this time. "Could you at least come with me to my house and see how you feel about staying the night? If you don't want to stay then I won't make you, but you can at least borrow some dry clothes and some things to keep you warm."
Shouto really wasn't sure about this, but he supposed it was his only option at this point if he wanted the best chances of survival.
"Ok," he accepted, "I'll go with you."
"Good," Izuku said with a smile. He reached into his pocket to pull out a small, rectangular black device that Shouto remembered being referred to as a 'mobile phone' by his ex. Shouto had no idea what their exact purpose was, but they seemed to be useful as he had observed humans using them in a number of different ways. Izuku looked down at the device, tapping the screen in a rhythmic pattern that had Shouto wondering if it was some kind of non-verbal code humans communicated with.
"Here," he said, handing the phone to Shouto. He accepted it awkwardly, not quite knowing what Izuku expected him to do with it. "You can hold on to my phone for now and if you feel unsafe at any point then you can call somebody to come and get you," Izuku explained. "Ok?"
Shouto nodded, holding the phone carefully in his lap. He didn't know how exactly he was supposed to call someone for help using a small, thin box made out of various types of metal and plastic, but he knew that they were important devices to humans so he appreciated the gesture.
"Alright then," Izuku said, pulling his seat belt across his body to click into place, prompting Shouto to do the same. "let's go!"
Shouto watched the scenery pass by outside as the car began to move and hoped he'd made the correct decision. It felt surreal to Shouto, who had been in this position countless times throughout the past few years of his life, following a human away from the water to some unknown location. This time was vastly different from all the others though. This time it wasn't his human, the one who knew all his secrets, the one he'd built a relationship with and thought he'd known better than anyone. This time he didn't trust that things would work out well. All he could do this time was hope.