Arthur was starting to get worried when he didn't see any sign of Kiku after he called him. He continued to wade around then swim when it got deeper, still looking for Kiku until he was pushed underwater by a large wave. Gasping for air Arthur clawed to get to the surface and saw Kiku giggling over his little trick on one of the many above water rocks.
"That wasn't funny Kiku! I could have drowned!" Kiku frowned and shook his head,
"No, I would have saved you before that happened. I was watching, I only laugh now because the look on your face!" Arthur still wasn't amused, but almost forgot to keep swimming when he saw the picture in Kiku's hand.
"Where did you get that?" Arthur asked as he swam a little closer, grabbing onto the rock so he could clamber on it to join Kiku.
"At the bottom of the lake. Is this your family? And is this you?" Kiku asked, pointing to the picture and then the blonde haired boy in the picture.
"Yes and yes, but that picture was there for a reason." he growled, trying to get it back. Kiku held tight to the picture and kept it out of Arthur's reach.
"Why Arthur?" he asked, slipping off the rock to protect the picture, "Why was it in the lake at all?" he pestered, Arthur's reaction making him all the more curious, he knew human photos where never supposed to get wet like this.
"Because I threw it in the lake! It's nothing but bad memories for me! My father was an arse and my mother never cared, and my brothers all hated my guts!" Kiku was shocked at this, almost losing the picture when he forgot to move it away from Arthur.
"What?" Arthur sighed, sitting fully on the rock again, hugging his knees to his chest.
"I never fit in with my family. I wasn't strong like my brothers and looked weak like my mother so my father hated me and my brothers were all taught to hate me." Kiku blinked, hardly believing what he was hearing(AN:/ I know if you have read my other stories I always seem to be giving Arthur a dark past but it just makes it easier to explain why he is the way he is and to be frank I'm good at writing sad things).
"Arthur... I lost my parents when I was very young so my brother raised me and our younger siblings himself but... eventually I rebeled so he would think of me as an adult and no longer a child and now... now he hates me. So I know how it feels to have a family member hate you..." Arthur looked at Kiku shocked. He wasn't surprised someone else knew the feel but for it to be Kiku who was so nice. It hardly made sense for him to have had a bad past too.
"Kiku... I'm so sorry..." Kiku shook his head.
"Don't be. Things happen." Arthur nodded sadly as he looked at the old picture again, then at Kiku.
"I... I suppose if... if you really want this old thing..." Kiku looked at Arthur who was skittishly handing over the picture.
"Arigato Arthur-san!" he beamed, Arthur blushing as he tried not to seem mushy about it. Kiku held the photo close to him, diving down to put it in a cave he knew of that had a small air pocket for the picture to stay safe. When he returned from the depths of the lake he saw Arthur laying on his stomach on the rocks. Smirking Kiku started to sneak up on the unsuspecting Brit, reaching the rocks before Arthur spoke;
"Kiku? Do you ever think... do you think I could become like you?" he asked, not looking at him. Kiku was shocked to say the least at the question but also how Arthur knew he was there without even looking up. Sitting on the rocks beside the Brit Kiku chose his words carefully.
"I suppose, but there really isn't too much to brag about." Arthur turned to look at the merman then
"How could you think that? Your world is far more interesting than mine! And much bigger, I mean, over seventy-five percent of the whole bloody Earth is made up of water!" Kiku sighed, he had known Arthur wouldn't really understand.
"But most of it looks the same, same coral, same seaweed, different fish and merfolk but other than that... only caves and shipwreaks are really interesting beyond that. Your world from what I have seen of it varies so much, it seems much more interesting." Arthur scoffed.
"Most things up here get boring really fast and almost no one is nice." Arthur sighed, leaning back a little to look at the sky. Kiku sighed
"Not many are nice in my world either..." Arthur shook his head.
"You would think there could be some more nice people somewhere... I still sort of wish there was a way for us to experience the other's world..." Kiku nodded, he knew a sea witch could help but it was never easy to bargain with them or pay them back so he stayed quiet. "Maybe I can find something in one of my spell books..."
short as frigg I know and I am so sorry I am just under stress and posting chapters and a new story and now I have senior stuff to do I'm sorry I'm trying guys I really am!