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Learn to Breathe
Chapter 2
Todoroki found himself holding onto the mysterious Mer's shoulders as he swam them towards the shoreline. He was anxious and frustrated, but it had been a few minutes and the creature hadn't tried to kill him yet. The morning's rays floated a little higher, causing some of the stray scales on his back to glimmer beautifully.
Even Shoto couldn't deny that it was tempting to touch one or trace the freckles that formed constellations on his skin. This fish person seemed to have more of them than most humans and he was supposed to live deep under the water away from the light that caused them.
His eyes then traveled to the boy's neck, examining the gills whenever his blackish-green hair moved enough for them to become visible. The odd-looking flaps would flutter sometimes if water got near them, supplying extra air to his lungs he supposed. Shoto idly wondered how the seashell necklace the teen was wearing didn't irritate them.
Todoroki was so caught up in examining the creature that he didn't realize how close they'd gotten to shore until a rock passed by them. Another pit of dread filled his stomach as he realized where he'd been taken. This place was supposed to be his sanctuary from Endeavor and it might be where he'd be murdered.
But his savior just slipped through the rocks, gliding in a delicate pattern until they were near the ledge he often came and sat on. The water lapped just over the top of it with high tide, making it easy for the deceptively strong creature to haul him up onto it.
Shoto curled up on his side, breathing slightly easier knowing that he wasn't still in an element where he didn't have the advantage. He blinked a few times when the boy didn't leave though, unsure of whether he'd spontaneously be dragged back in.
Midoriya had his arms crossed on the rocks, his chin resting on them lazily as he examined the still exhausted human. He tilted his head and blinked back, equally as unsure of what to do, but infinitely more excited to be in the other's presence.
They stayed that way, staring at each other for some time. But eventually, Midoriya couldn't stand it any longer, and gave in to his curiosity, shifting his hand to touch Todoroki gently.
Shoto flinched back, immediately regretting it when more pain wracked his body, making him hiss and close his eyes. When they reopened, the first thing he saw was concern in Midoriya's forest green orbs, a sight he wasn't used to seeing from anyone, much less something that he'd always thought was a bloodthirsty animal.
"Can you walk?" Izuku asked, starting to worry about what would happen if he left him there alone. The boy didn't answer, of course, unable to understand the intricate language of Merfolk. But he really didn't need to, Midoriya knew what bruised and broken bones looked like.
He bit his bottom lip nervously, averting his eyes while he thought. It was summer so it would soon be scalding hot outside, and as far as he knew, humans, like every other creature, needed water, food, and their wounds to be set.
Izuku huffed to himself before heaving himself up as well, settling on his back with just the end of his tail resting in the ocean.
"I can't really do much else to help you, but I'll stay to make sure nothing else happens until I hear someone coming this way. Wouldn't want to get caught here, you know? You humans apparently hate my kind, but I don't really understand why… My name's Izuku by the way, Izuku Midoriya… Everyone calls me Deku though, so you can too if you want! What's your name? Oh right… you can't understand me… Sorry…"
Todoroki watched wordlessly as his companion kept blabbing in an odd language he couldn't even begin to fathom. This thing was not like the books had said it would be… it wasn't even acting like an 'it' but more like a 'he' and was being far more kind than most of the humans he'd come to know.
He was too tired and hurt to do much else than just lay there though, so he didn't think about it too hard. Shoto just hoped the creature wouldn't spontaneously go feral in the meantime.
Shoto had stayed curled up on his side for nearly an hour, listening to the loudmouthed Mer whistle about one thing or another. He told himself he should be annoyed, or at the very least suspicious, but found that the near-constant sound became oddly comforting.
His eyes flickered between the shoreline and the teen, examining him as much as possible without being obvious. He had so many questions, the most prominent being 'why did you save me?' quickly followed by 'why are you still here?'.
He glanced back over when the steady stream of word vomit stopped, slightly disappointed that it was no longer distracting him from the growing pain in his fractured left leg or completely broken right arm. To his surprise, Midoriya had sat up and was looking right at him almost shyly, gesturing to his face.
He didn't understand at first but soon realized that his slightly webbed hand was heading straight for the scar over his eye and jerked away, forcing himself into a seated position. He grit back the ache in his bones with a deep scowl. "Don't touch me, stupid animal!" he shouted.
Izuku gave a guilty, yet still sheepish smile and waved his arms in apology. But then gestured to himself, pointing at the scars that lined his entire arm and hand. "It's okay… I have them too! But mine aren't red like yours is… I asked to touch first but you weren't responding… probably because you don't understand, sorry... Here, you can touch mine if you want!"
Midoriya held his arm out for Shoto so that he could trace the scars if he wanted to. He pointed again, nodding his head as confirmation that it was okay. He watched the suspicion in Todoroki's eyes shift to confusion, and finally to a suppressed curiosity, keeping still so he wouldn't scare him off.
Shoto found himself grasping the limb despite how his mind told him not to, tracing the smooth, raised lines that crossed over equally soft skin. He'd imagined that Merfolk would feel slimy like fish once they got out of the water and was pleased to find that they weren't. Eventually, he realized that he'd been indulging himself far too long and retracted his fingers, waiting for Midoriya to reach out and try for his face again.
But the boy just grinned happily and went back to chatting in his native tongue, laying back on the warm rocks so that he could watch the clouds. He'd look over at Shoto every once in a while as if waiting for a reply before flushing in embarrassment and continuing on.
"Do you ever stop talking?" Todoroki asked, interrupting a particularly long-winded explanation of something. As cold as it came out, he didn't actually mean it in a bad way. The stream of babbled whistles and clicks was soothing, especially since no one had ever been comfortable enough around him to stay this long.
Midoriya turned his head so he could see the other boy, another dopy grin on his face like he'd accomplished something spectacular. "You talked! Good… I was starting to think you were in too much pain or something. Gah! Speaking of pain… You're probably still in a lot, aren't you? We've been sitting here for over an hour now and I haven't heard anyone come near. Actually, I should probably take you somewhere else, right? If no one comes this way you could die of whatever humans die from and I'd have to leave you here… Come on! Let's do this!"
Todoroki blinked in confusion at the sudden determination on his companion's face, tensing heavily when those muscled arms wrapped around him again. He immediately began fighting when Midoriya edged closer to the water, believing that what he'd said had probably been the tipping point for getting him killed.
"Hey! Calm down! I'm just taking you a little closer to your own kind… That's all I swear! You're really strong you know that? Jeez… Okay, hold your breath!"
Todoroki let out another panicked yelp as he finally lost the battle and fell into the water, sputtering when he was hauled back to the surface with an irritating amount of ease.
Izuku waited patiently for him to calm down, accepting the scowl he received with grace and understanding. He pointed in either direction, hoping that the injured human would eventually understand what he was getting at.
When he didn't get any indication that Todoroki understood, he decided himself, dragging the resigned yet still stiff form alongside him to where the louder port sounds were coming from. It wasn't until they were starting to come into sight that he felt him begin to relax in his grip.
Izuku stopped a ways away and held them both vertical in the water, making sure to get Todoroki's eye contact. "I need you to hold your breath for real this time so I can get us in close without being seen. Okay? "He opened his mouth wide and sucked in air, letting his slightly baby fat covered cheeks swell.
Shoto seemed to get the idea and with a suspicious glare, he filled his lungs as much as possible, closing his eyes as he was pulled under the surface. He could feel the water rushing past them, too fast for him to open his lids without hurting his eyes, unlike Merfolk.
His chest ached for oxygen by the time his savior breached, realizing they were below one of the large wooden dock areas. He searched those green orbs for some reason or explanation for how he'd been treated, but there were only longing and kindness as answers.
Izuku helped him grab on to one of the great support beams, biting his lower lip for a moment. He hesitantly leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Todoroki's, "It was nice meeting you for real this time… even if I still don't know your name and we can't actually talk… I… I should probably go before I get caught… Bye…"
And with that, he dipped back down below the surface, a rush of water knocking into Shoto to let him know that he'd swam away with great haste. Todoroki stayed still for several minutes, unconsciously touching where the odd Mer's head had been against his. The voices of dock workers were clear above him, so all he had to do was call out for help at this point.
"What the fuck happened today?" he whispered to himself.
~Time-Skip: 2 Months~
Shoto had spent the better part of his recovery period studying up on Merfolk, being sure to hide it from anyone that could report the sudden interest to his father. The people around him said it was a miracle he survived the attack and swam all the way back to shore with his injuries.
In a way, he had to agree. That strange creature had been a miracle all right; he would have surely died without his unwarranted intervention. But Todoroki knew better than to tell anyone about what had really happened.
His thoughts were plagued by the almost ethereal face and shimmering green scales of his savior, his usually focused demeanor shifting in favor of daydreaming about the strange creature. It seemed surreal to him, that such a dangerous beast— according to the historical texts— had been capable of such selflessness.
The boy had even realized that no one bothered to come to that secluded cove and risked being caught to get him closer to human civilization. He'd never had anyone take that great of an interest in his wellbeing unless they were heavily paid for it by his father's blood money.
Todoroki had gone back to his special area a few times since that fateful day, taking his study books with him so that he could attempt to learn the complex language through sheer willpower and fumbling attempts at making the foreign sounds without being overheard.
Today was one of those times. It was much cooler now even though their island was tropical, and he rested comfortably on the sandy beach under the overcast sky. He tried to force a specific whistle across his uncooperative tongue, grumbling to himself when it didn't come out correctly… again.
Just as he was about to slam the book shut and stretch, something small and solid knocked into his head. He glanced around, ready to imprison whoever had been stupid enough to throw something at him when his eyes caught sight of glistening green and freckles.
Todoroki scrambled to his feet, his heart thumping in his chest when the figure waved to him shyly. Forgetting all prior warnings to stay out of the water around Merfolk, he found himself wading into the shallows until the waves reached his mid-chest.
"You came back?" he asked, his voice unsure and quiet.
The Mer tilted his head and got near him, his eyes just barely out of the water. He hesitantly braced himself using Todoroki's shoulders and pulled himself up, pressing their foreheads together as he had before leaving the last time.
"I… name… a… uh… I-Izuku?" the Mer tried as he backed away, his native language replaced by extremely broken human tongue. He pointed to himself and repeated 'Izuku' again. "You is…?" he then gestured to Shoto, a hopeful look in his eyes.
Todoroki was shocked, to say the least. It looked like they'd both had the same idea of attempting to learn each other's language, though the Mer seemed to be a bit better at it. He nodded, pointing to himself "Shoto", and then at Midoriya "Izuku".
Izuku practically squealed in excitement and swam around, his tale shimmering in the clear water. "Sh… Shoto" he chirped, giggling even more when the teen nodded a yes. "This is so cool! I can't believe we're actually talking to each other! Can we be friends? I really want to be friends! Oh! Right… I need to slow down… Breathe, Izuku, breathe… haaa… okay!"
Todoroki was mildly overwhelmed by the sudden outburst and happiness of the Mer, watching with hidden amusement as he did little rolls in the water around him. He'd never met anyone quite so carefree before, especially when they hadn't gotten off to the best start.
But they'd made progress by learning what to call each other, and even though he knew it was a terrible idea in the back of his mind, he longed for someone he could just be Shoto with. Izuku didn't know about his status and made him feel normal for once.
Deciding that he didn't want to leave them meeting up to chance, he started heading back to the shore, only giving what he hoped was an appeasing motion with his hands when Deku started whining behind him. He needed his book so he could try to set another time for them to meet.
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Thanks for reading another update! :) Let me know what you thought!