Yamcha's life was boring.
Sure, the aquarium always had an issue to be fixed or some unexpected event happening but after his trip to Japan...
Yamcha sighed and went back to cleaning one of the research tanks. He figured anything would seem dull after the discovery of Merpeople and being surrounded by water wasn't helping. He kept expecting to see Tien swim past him, with a sassy remark to spare. Even after months of being back at work the feeling hadn't gone away. He'd thought the routine of being home again would make him forget about Tien. He was having no such luck. He hadn't even tried to go on any dates since his return. Like it or not he'd left his heart in Japan with a scaled man of the sea. Of course. He could never catch a break with romance.
"Think that's clean yet?"
Yamcha stood and stretched before replying to his co worker.
"I'd hope so. I didn't have anything else to do before the meeting." he said. Krillin nodded and leaned against the tank.
"I hear ya. Whenever we actually have time to spare this place works perfectly but as soon as we get busy..."
"Something goes wrong. Every time." Yamcha finished. Krillin laughed and Yamcha joined in. At least he had his friends to keep things somewhat interesting.
"Exactly. Speaking of things going wrong, did you hear about what happened at the water park today?" Krillin said.
"Didn't one of the slides break?" Yamcha said. He vaguely recalled hearing something about the topic over his walkie talkie earlier that day.
"Snapped right in the middle. Piccolo had to catch the last kid going down it." Krillin said. "I don't even wanna know what the press is gonna say about this."
"Can't be worse than that spill last month." Yamcha said.
"You have a point. One of the reporters claims she still smells like shrimp." Krillin grumbled.
"We probably smell more than her." Yamcha said. "On that note we should get cleaned up before that meeting starts."
"Another good point. Especially with Lazuli there." Krillin said.
"Your wife works here. She already smells like fish." Yamcha said.
"She smells like a very nice fish." Krillin countered as he walked off.
The meeting itself was about as lifeless as the day preceding it. Talk of finances and exhibits droned on for an hour or so. The only thing that vaugley caught Yamcha's attention was the announcment of the staff party. It had been in planning for a few months and was the most exciting thing to happen since his return.
"Will there be food?" asked one worker eagerly. Lazuli sighed and set down her papers.
"Yes, Goku, there will be food." she said. "Just remember you're on dish washing duty."
"Yes ma'am!" Goku said happily. Lazuli rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Everyone else knows their assignments. I'll see you all tomorrow." she said. The rest of the staff said their goodbyes and began to head out.
"See you later Yamcha!" Krillin said with a wave. Yamcha returned the gesture. Goku walked up to him and gave him a quick hug.
"Have a good night!" he said with a grin as he left.
"You too, Goku." Yamcha said.
"He's acting friendly."
Yamcha jumped slightly as he noticed Lapis standing beside him.
"Goku's usually like that." he said. Lapis shrugged. He was Lazuli's brother and one of the vets on call for the aquarium. The family resemblance was uncanny.
"I'm not usually here enough to notice." Lapis said. "By the way, Azure asked me to let you know that he's got the rest of Puar's meds ready for you to pickup on the weekend."
"Oh, okay. Tell him I'll see him then." Yamcha said. Lapis acknowledged him with a nod and left. Yamcha relaxed a bit and started to head out. Lapis always had an odd edge to him, just like his sister, and he didn't work at the aquarium enough for Yamcha to get used to it. He put his bag over his shoulder and left the building.
Another day come and gone. As he made his way to the parking lot Yamcha looked out over the nearby beach with a tired expression. He had a little extra time in his schedule but he really didn't have the energy to go for a swim. As his eyes scanned the horizon he noticed something in the water. A quick flash of color, nearly too fast to see, that felt oddly familiar... Yamcha blinked a few times and stepped closer to the beach walkway. The flash came again and this time he caught the sight of red, black, and yellow shining under the sunset. He started walking towards the water and quickly broke into a run. The next time the flash came he could make out the fins on the end of it. He landed on the sand in a sprint and haphazardly tossed off his bag. His shoes and socks went next and he let his jacket fall next to them. The ocean slowed him down a bit but he pressed forwards, hardly daring to believe what he'd seen. Once the water reached his chest the tail surfaced again. There was no mistaking it now and right after it entered the waves once more a familiar smile emerged in its place.
"Miss me, land mutt?"
Yamcha laughed and nearly fell into the ocean as he embraced the merman in front of him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he gasped as he tried to stand up without letting go.
"Aren't you happy to see me?" Tien asked. Yamcha pulled back from the hug and laughed again.
"Of course I am, you bastard." he said. "But... how? Why?"
"It's a long story." Tien said. "But to make it short I got my hands on a map and swam one hell of a trip to get over here."
"How long have you been here?" Yamcha asked.
"Only a day or so. I'm glad you noticed me when you did." Tien said.
"How could I not notice you?" Yamcha said. He smiled and gave Tien a quick kiss. "You're pretty hard to forget."
"I could say the same for you." Tien said. "Who else smells like wet dog?"
"Come on! You said that wasn't true." Yamcha said.
"I did. Now that I've been around you longer though..." Tien said, pretending to look thoughtful. Yamcha released him from the hug and tried to give him a punch on the shoulder. Tien swam away before he could make contact and laughed. Yamcha clumsily started wading his way back to shore.
"Well, it was nice seeing you. Bye, koi boy." he said dramatically. Tien swam ahead of him with ease and surfaced with a smirk.
"I didn't travel for months just for you to leave. Get down here." he said. Yamcha continued walking into the shallower water.
"Nope. You had your chance." Yamcha said. "Now I'll never swim again."
He would have continued if Tien hadn't grabbed him by the leg and yanked him underwater. After a few seconds Yamcha came up sputtering and scowled at the grinning merman. He dropped his angry facade as soon as Tien leaned in for a proper kiss. It had been way too long. Thankfully it felt like Tien had remembered his lessons. Even months out of practice his kissing was leagues better then when they had first met. Once they parted Tien gently moved some of Yamcha's hair out of his face.
"Even if you never swim I'll still pull you in with me." he said. Yamcha smiled and tried to stand up.
"Great, I can't wait to drown." he said.
"I'll be sure to save you." Tien said. He swam as far up as he could into the shallow water. "Wouldn't want your corpse ruining this nice beach."
"So now my dead body is unwelcome at both your cave and this beach? Geez, a man can't die anywhere nowadays." Yamcha said.
"Exactly. You'll just have to keep living." Tien said. Yamcha crouched down and planted a soft kiss just above Tien's third eye.
"I guess so." he mumbled. "Look, I need to get home. Puar gets cranky when I don't feed her on time."
"I'll wait for you here." Tien said as he took Yamcha's hand and kissed it.
"Of course you will, you sap. I though Mer weren't supposed to be soft." Yamcha said with a light blush rising to his cheeks.
"We can be soft when we want to." Tien said. He pushed himself off the sand and into deeper water.
"I'll come early tomorrow. Then you're explaining everything properly." Yamcha called out to him.
"Can't wait." Tien said as he disappeared beneath the waves.
Yamcha picked up his things and started to head towards the aquarium. He sure as hell wasn't about to go home soaking wet. Maybe he could borrow a uniform. It'd be hard to explain his wet clothes if anyone saw him but it was better than the alternative. Luckily none of his co workers saw him slip back in and change. As he stepped out of the building again he pulled out his phone. He dialed and while he was waiting for it to ring he stared at the ocean and smiled.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Bulma? You won't believe who just showed up at the aquarium."