Chapter Text
Six months.
That was already how much time had passed since everything went down and many things happened in the meantime. It had been six months since Akk turned down his dream job at the capital city and his friends were shocked when they learned about his decision. Wat and Khan both called him after he texted them about the decision that he was about to make, concerned that if it was really the right decision to do.
An opportunity like that wasn’t coming again so easily, if ever.
Akk’s friends were looking forward to him moving back to the capital city with them – they have all missed him and as much as Akk missed hanging out with his friends, he really didn’t miss the city all that much. So, making that decision was the most difficult decision that he had to make, but it felt right.
It wouldn’t mean that Akk and his friends wouldn’t be able to hang out anymore. It wasn’t like that at all. Akk was still talking with them in their group chat and they have come to visit more than once since Akk made that decision and honestly, Akk was happy because they were very understanding even if they didn’t really understand Akk’s decision right away.
What mattered was that Akk was happy, right?
And Akk was happy. When they visited Akk and saw him for the first time in months, they witnessed how much Akk had actually changed. There were subtle changes, but Khan and Wat both knew Akk knew enough to know that those were the big signs that Akk hadn’t been happy in the capital city for a long time. When he would live in the capital, his smile wouldn’t reach his eyes, but whenever they would visit him at his hometown, Akk was glowing.
Akk seemed truly happy there.
Changing the fast pace of life for a much slower one was good for Akk. It was something that Khan and Wat enjoyed when they were on vacation, but being in the capital was where they belonged and that was fine. But, it wasn’t the slower pace of life that was making Akk happy and it was very obvious.
Akk was in a relationship.
It was something that Akk didn’t tell them right away, but they told him that there was something more behind his happiness and when they visited, Akk introduced Ray to them – his boyfriend. Akk didn’t really go into too many details of how the two of them met – for now – but what truly mattered was that Akk was happily in love; something that he had been starved from for so many years. Akk was always talking about how he had given up on finding a boyfriend, but Wat and Khan were sure that he just needed to find the right person.
They always told Akk that, but he refused to listen. As it turned out, his friends were right and he was very wrong about it.
So, yes, life has been pretty good lately.
Turning down the job in the capital was the best decision that Akk had made in a very long time. For once he chose himself and what he truly wished. Life in his hometown was peaceful as was his new job. In the end, he ended up sending an application to the local marine education centre, but he didn’t really expect too much because he knew that he lacked the needed experience. As the listing for the job said.
However, Akk ended up being called in for an interview and he got the job right away. After the interview, just a few days later, he got a phone call from the education centre, offering him the job, telling him that he was the perfect candidate. At the time, Akk could hardly believe it.
It was different from the big city.
Even the job interview was different. Akk didn’t feel as nervous, he was completely himself without doubting himself and he landed himself a job that he really liked. It was something that he got used to pretty much right away, the people that he worked with were all very eager to accept him into the collective and he really enjoyed going to work.
Akk’s days started with him going to work. If Ray happened to be staying with him, then he would send him off every single morning. If not, then he would come by the docks and he would greet him from there, always smiling and wishing him a good day – it was something that Akk pictured before, a peaceful life like this with Ray by his side and his wish came true.
Akk’s new job was good, but the thing that mattered the most was Ray – Akk was glad that he stayed because of Ray as well because things were going amazing between the two of them. It’s been six months since they have made their relationship official and Akk was happy that his parents were so supportive about their relationship. There was just one little thing that they failed to mention – that Ray was a merman.
It was something that Akk chose to leave out because it was Ray’s personal wish and he wasn’t going to go against it. It didn’t really matter if Ray was a merman, a human or an alien to Akk – he loved him regardless and he made sure to tell Ray that every single day.
Life was fun and full of colours with Ray around.
Ray and Akk were slowly figuring out together – how to belong into each other’s world. Taking the sea away, which was Ray’s home, was something that Akk never wanted to do and Ray understood that. The two of them spent a lot of time outside, swimming together. Ray loved showing his world to Akk, who enjoyed every single bit of it.
There were times where the two of them were diving around for hours, it was truly a shame that Akk couldn't grow gills because he would love to live underwater as well. It was beautiful under the sea, but this was more than enough for Ray. Akk was already a part of his world and little by little, Ray also understood that it was okay if he was a part of Akk’s world as well.
The land.
Ray never thought that he would be able to see the true magic of staying on land, but with Akk, it felt pretty magical and Ray was spending a lot more time in his human form as well. Growing legs wasn’t as painful anymore, the discomfort was barely there, which he was happy about. He would stay up to a few days in that form without getting too uncomfortable and he loved it.
Loved going around Akk’s hometown with his boyfriend.
It was lovely.
Ray got used to the crowded spaces. With Akk around, he didn’t really hear the crowd, really. It was just the two of them, completely lost in their own world and Ray loved it. He didn’t really like it when Akk would have to leave for work, he made sure that he complained and whined a lot, about Akk leaving him, but when Akk would come home from work – that was his favourite time of the day.
Akk’s job fascinated him.
Marine education centre.
There were times where things were unknown to Akk and he needed to research things further, but Ray was happy to jump in and help Akk with his job. It was about the sea – of course Ray knew pretty much everything. It had been his life for the past twenty something years, so he was his fastest and more reliable source of information.
Akk joked about Ray joining him in the centre, but Ray declined it.
Apparently, someone like him wasn’t meant to be working, he was very dramatic about it – as always. Akk made sure to tease him about it, but it was all in good fun.
Falling in love with Akk was the best thing that had happened to Ray in so many years. Ray had opened up to Akk more , telling him more about Mew and he made sure to tell him that perhaps in the past… It wasn’t really love that he had felt for his human friend. Maybe it was indeed just friendship and deep admiration. Ray felt guilty for having romantic feelings for anyone before Akk, but the thing was – Akk told him it was completely normal, even if he had romantic feelings for his friend in the past.
It was okay.
What mattered wasn’t the past, but the present.
The present, with Akk.
Akk was truly nothing like the others that Ray had met so far.
Unlike everyone else before, Akk didn’t leave him and he wasn’t going to go anywhere – he made sure to tell him that almost on a daily basis. At the beginning, Ray had difficulties with believing that, but Akk didn’t mind telling him that every single day. Ray was afraid that AKk might get sick of it, but no – he was still smitten with him, no matter how much Ray would get insecure about random things.
Ray was just… trying to not get overwhelmed.
There were times that he would stress himself over the little things, but at the end of it all, Ray knew that he was the five star boyfriend. Akk was always happy with him, telling him how much he missed him and Ray loved it. He loved the affection, happily clinging onto him all the freaking time and Akk was a sucker for it.
Life really was… perfect.
Akk sighed and smiled a little bit when he finally saw his parent’s place in the distance, slowly coming closer to it, humming to himself, hands in his pockets as he was carrying his bag over his shoulder and he was in a very good mood because he finished work early, pressing his lips together. It was a shame that he didn’t see Ray on his way home by the docks – like he usually did – but then again, he did finish an hour early.
It was okay.
Akk was eager to return back home and go to the island, where Ray was probably waiting for him. No matter how much time had passed, their island was still a sacred place for both of them – it was a place where they met and it was a place that brought them together in the first place, chewing on his lower lip because Akk had plants that day.
If Ray felt up to it, he wanted to invite him out for a date again.
It’s been a couple of weeks since Akk took Ray out for a proper date and that needed to change. Akk felt like doing something romantic and he didn’t really care that the date was taking place. On land or underwater – whatever Ray chose to pick that day. The two of them usually picked the destination of their dates together, but since Akk was in such a good mood that day, he didn’t mind if Ray picked the spot.
Akk huffed under his breath and started walking faster.
Akk had a fun day at work. A group of kids came to the marine centre, full of wonder and questions for the staff working there. One of the girls, not older than eight years old, started asking about mermaids and if anyone had seen them so far – after all, they were supposed to be experts on marine life, so what was the more appropriate place to be asking these kinds of questions.
While most of the staff working there told the girl that they hadn’t seen a mermaid before, which left the girl disappointed beyond belief, Akk had a bit of a different question for her. With a mysteriou smile on his face and a wink, he told her that he believes that mermaids were real and when she asked him if he had ever seen one, he didn’t say yes or no. All he did was smile and the girl seemed excited.
Akk chuckled as he approached the front door, ready to unlock it. He knew that his parents weren’t home, they were at the market at this time of a day, so tried unlocking the door, but as he slipped the key inside, it wouldn’t really budge and he narrowed his eyes.
It seemed like the key was still stuck on the other side of the door.
Was someone home?
Akk took a deep breath in and he noticed that something was definitely different , but he couldn’t really put a finger on what it was. He could smell something and he rubbed the back of his neck as he tipped his head to the side.
Something sharp.
A mixture of something being burned and… fishy? Akk stuck his neck out and he could tell that the window of the kitchen was open, so he didn’t hesitate anymore – was his mom home and was trying one of her new recipes? His mom’s cooking didn’t really end up in burned things, but there could be a first for everything.
Akk narrowed his eyes and stepped inside, putting his bag down after he took off his shoes and he chewed on his lower lip, checking the time on his phone.
Yes, his parents shouldn’t technically be home.
It was when he opened the door when the scent hit him in full force. Akk could still smell something burning, which wasn’t really pleasant, but there was that fishy smell again. Seaweed something slightly fermented?
Oh.
Was this his dad giving cooking a try?
Akk had so many questions and he swallowed thickly because he could hear a crashing sound coming from the kitchen, so he gathered that his best bet was to go and see what was going on in there.
“Dad?” asked Akk. “What are you doing in there?”
Akk sounded concerned, but then he heard a little yelp, which definitely didn’t belong to his parents. But, it belonged to… Ray?!
“R-Ray?!” stammered Akk, his heartbeat picking up because he didn’t know what or why Ray was in the kitchen, but it really didn’t matter either. What mattered was that… Ray was already there?!
“Oh, no, no, no,” heard Akk and he narrowed his eyes, waiting for a little while because he could hear more rambling. Ray sounded in trouble. “Akk?! You’re already home?! ” whined Ray and quickly the door of the kitchen opened, but before Akk managed to take a look in there, Ray quickly slammed the door shut and he quickly positioned himself in front of the door.
Was Ray blocking the door?!
“Oh, uh, hi,” said Ray and causally leaned against the door, smiling up at Akk cutely, but he looked a mess. His hair was sticking in all kinds of directions and he was wearing his mom’s favourite apron, which looked like a mess now.
Akk blinked a few times.
Ray took a deep breath in and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Long day at work?”
Akk laughed because he knew what Ray was trying to do and he was failing miserably, shaking his head and he stepped closer to Ray. Akk leaned closer and Ray smelled like seaweed as well, but he leaned even closer and pressed his lips on top of Ray’s, who happily melted into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Akk’s neck, pulling him closer, happily sighing when Akk pressed him against the door.
Akk’s hand slowly wandered towards the doorknob, but Ray noticed that as he knew that Akk was trying to distract him and he grabbed his wrist.
“Akk, no, you will ruin the surprise,” said Ray cutely and pouted.
“ Surprise? ” asked Akk giddily, his heart fluttering happily and his cheeks reddened. “What are you-”
“You’ll see,” said Ray and huffed. “Why are you home already?”
“I ended work early,” said Akk and then he leaned back. “What? Not happy to see your boyfriend?!”
Akk feigned being offended and Ray quickly tugged on his hand.
“Akk, it’s not like that,” whined Ray back and pulled him closer. “I just… I will be soon done with my surprise, you will have to wait a bit, na? ” asked Ray and batted his eyelashes up at Akk innocently.
Akk placed his hands on top of his sides.
“Okay,” said Akk. “Just… Do you need any help there? It sounded like you were struggling.”
The look on Akk’s face was amused, while Ray’s face turned into a few deeper shades of red as he dragged his tongue over his lower lip and he quickly shook his head, leaning against the doorframe, still not letting Akk walk past him.
“Nope, I have it all under control!” chirped Ray.
“Really?” asked Akk and leaned closer, Ray pressing his lips together and he quickly nodded.
“Yes!” said Ray.
“But, I heard something breaking,” said Akk and narrowed his eyes and Ray flinched – Akk was able to hear that? Well. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise to Ray either, he knew that he wasn’t completely quiet in there, so he just clasped his hands together and shook his head again.
“I’m okay, no worries. It wasn’t like I broke your mom’s bowl, or anything like that. I didn’t chip it at all at the sides. No, that was definitely not me!” said Ray and then he realised how that sounded, so he quickly started back-paddling and Akk was really trying his best not to laugh, but Ray trying to find an excuse like this was just… adorable.
Oh, Akk was completely and utterly smitten with Ray, whose mouth kept opening and closing. He was trying to come up with something to say, but to Akk, he looked like a fish on land and he really tried to stifle that chuckle, but it was already too late and Ray narrowed his eyes.
“ What? ” deadpanned Ray.
Akk shook his head.
“Nothing?” asked Akk, but he remembered that Ray pretty much had the ability to read his mind, which was still scary. When it came to him, it was like Ray had mind-reading abilities, so Akk knew that he was in ‘’danger’’ if he told him what had just crossed his mind.
“No, no, you had that look on your face,” said Ray and stepped closer to Akk, testing him a little bit. “What was so funny, Akk?!”
Akk gulped and he politely smiled.
“Well,” said Akk. “You looked like an adorable fish- ”
“A fish?!” shrieked Ray and Akk had to admit that it was perhaps a bit of a guilty pleasure to be messing around with Ray like this. “I’m not a fish, Akk! I’m the most gorgeous thing that your eyes have ever seen. You’re lucky that you get to see this gorgeous and adorable face every single day!” stated Ray and pointed to himself.
Oh, that wasn’t even a lie.
“Mmm, all of that is true,” said Akk and literally melted against Ray, who couldn’t even be angry with Akk anymore when he felt Akk burying his face into the side of his neck and he took a deep breath. “ Fuck, I love you so much, Ray,” said Akk shyly as he slowly pulled away and decided to keep his mouth shut, but Ray kind of did smell like a fish.
Why was he terrorising his mom’s kitchen?
Since when did Ray cook? Akk was intrigued.
“I love you too,” said Ray as he was back to pouting. One glance at those big, doe-like eyes and Ray really was unable to stay annoyed for more than a second. Ray would pout some more, but then Akk tried walking past him again and he stopped him, this time… “Akk, it’s not ready yet,” whispered Ray, his voice smaller this time.
Akk smiled – he noticed that whenever he would tell Ray how much he loved him, he would get all shy. Not like he would ever admit it, his ego was too big for that, but Akk didn’t mind it. He loved every single thing about Ray, even his big ego.
“Were you cooking?” asked Akk, intrigued and Ray nodded, bowing his head down.
“Yeah, but it’s not done yet,” muttered Ray. “You got home too early, so you really can’t go in there or you will ruin the surprise,” said Ray and Akk gently ruffled his messy hair and slowly leaned back a little bit, finally understanding why Ray was guarding the kitchen door so much. “Is… is that okay?” asked Ray and Akk slowly nodded along.
“Of course,” said Akk. “I’ll go wash up in the meantime.”
“Good plan,” said Ray. “And, um, I will buy your mom a new bowl. I didn’t want to-”
“Ray, it’s fine,” said Akk and Ray fidgeted. Oh, he was nervous about it.
“You sure?” asked Ray. “I, uh, I really didn’t want to break anything in there. Your mom was so nice, too, she allowed me to use the kitchen. She even offered help, but I told her I had everything under control, but now I’m not so sure anymore,” he said and Akk gently cradled his face and pulled him a bit closer, shaking his head again.
“It’s okay, Ray, it’s just a bowl,” whispered Akk and Ray still looked troubled. “You didn’t cut yourself though, right?” asked Ray and quickly checked Ray’s hands, but the other one only shook his head and his heart warmed up.
As always, Akk was worrying about him. No matter what happened, Akk was putting him first – it was something that Ray was still getting used to, even after six months, he was still confused at times why Akk would go to such lengths to make him happy.
“I’m fine,” said Ray and Akk smiled and pressed his forehead against Ray’s. Akk slowly sighed out in relief and Ray leaned closer, grabbing Akk by his shirt, pulling him closer and he connected their lips in a long, but very sweet kiss, Akk feeling light-headed by the time that Ray pulled away and then he gently tapped his shoulders, Akk trying to snap himself out of it.
“How… Uh, how long will it take you to finish there?” asked Akk, Ray grinning like crazy when he heard the little stutter. The shy side of Akk never failed to impress him and he hummed along, tapping at his own lips with his fingers as he pouted a little bit and it was really unfair on Akk as all that did was make him want to kiss Ray over and over again.
That pout should be illegal. Ray really knew how to use it well! It was a very dangerous weapon and Ray was aware. Oh, he was proud of it.
“Maybe half an hour?” asked Ray and Akk perked up.
“Then just enough time for me to take that shower and change my clothes,” said Akk and Ray nodded, quickly pushing Akk back, trying to get him further away from the door because he still had quite a lot on his hands. Cooking was pretty much done, but the mess in the kitchen was another thing.
Ray never realised how messy cooking was.
“Great,” said Ray and Akk snickered happily, kissing Ray one final time before he decided to be good and listen.
Ray was standing in the middle of the room that still somewhat resembled a kitchen and he really knew that he needed to get to work. He knew if anyone happened to walk in on the kitchen in this state would probably ban him from ever stepping a foot in there, but Ray was very efficient when it came to cleaning.
But, first was the food.
Ray’s eyes wandered over to the food that he had prepared, making sure that it was nice and safe on the clean part of the counter. Ray got way too excited maybe, but he decided to prepare some food from his world for Akk. Ray was aware that his and Akk’s food were very different in taste.
There were a few things that Ray didn’t really understand, such as destroying a perfectly yummy fish while cooking it. Also, he didn’t understand why so many of the food that he had tried so far tried to burn his tongue. Akk explained to him that it was called spicy food for a reason, but Ray didn’t like it. He couldn’t really handle the ‘’spice’’, so he preferred the simpler food. But, he was still ready to try absolutely everything that Akk prepared for him.
After all, Ray didn’t take his job as a five star boyfriend lightly.
So, this was why he decided to prepare some of his food for Akk, presenting in a way that would be palatable to Akk as well. At least visually?
There were kelp wraps; very green with a surprise in the middle of it. As extra garnish, Ray added some of the seaweed – his personal favourite. There was also what humans would call a salad; a mix of various different sea plants, garnished with strips of jellyfish. He had also prepared kelp noodles, by cutting the kelp into thin little strips and he served it with some shrimp. Ray was very hopeful about it – Akk was going to like it, right? All of these were Ray’s favourite foods, so he was very optimistic about it!
Ray was aware that humans ate different food, so he made sure that all of it was safe for Akk to consume, especially the jellyfish. He followed the steps correctly, which he found in a book. These days, Ray visited the library on his own, he even had his own library card!
Now, Ray got some fish and he tried to make it more up to Akk’s tastes, but he ended up burning all of it and cleaning up after burnt food was no fun. He had been scraping the pan for the past hour and he was almost done.
Another fifteen minutes and Ray was all done. He managed to clean up and he served the food, using the pretty plates that he had found in one of the cupboards, nervously waiting for Akk to finally join him in the dining room and by then, Akk had gotten ready as well. Freshly out of the shower and in a new set of clothes – Akk felt pretty good.
Akk knocked onto the door and Ray quickly opened it, literally dragging him into the dining room. All that Akk could do was laugh and he shook his head. He was planning to ask Ray out on a date, but he didn’t have to as Ray had brought the date to him, which he loved and he was pretty much starving by the time that he was done in the shower, so he was curious to see what Ray had been doing in the kitchen.
“Finally,” whined Ray and Akk rolled his eyes.
“You were the one, who told me to wait,” said Akk and Ray huffed.
“I know, I know. I’m just excited,” said Ray and dragged Akk closer to the table in the middle of the room and Akk narrowed his eyes as he glanced towards the table because there was indeed food served on it and there was quite a lot of it, actually, pressing his lips together. “Surprise!” sighed Ray happily. “I know you always come hungry from work and this time I wanted to prepare you a proper dinner, something that will fill you up.”
Akk’s eyes were dancing around the table, going from one plate to the other one and he quickly realised that it was food unlike anything he had ever seen before, pressing his lips together.
Seafood.
So much of it.
Akk’s eyes travelled to Ray, who nervously flinched and he stepped closer to the table, glancing at all of his hard work, wondering why Akk wasn’t saying anything. He knew that Akk wasn’t used to this food, but he was sure that Akk was going to like it, right? It was all of Ray’s favourite food and he wanted to share it with Akk.
Akk, on the other hand, was trying to contain his excitement. How long had Ray been preparing all of this? Did he catch all of these things and… Oh. Akk’s heart warmed up because the more that he thought about it, the more he realised just how much hard work Ray put into it and he was sure that his heart was going to melt.
Oh, Ray.
Ray clasped his hands together and swallowed.
“I, um, I made sure that all of this is safe for you to eat, too!” said Ray. “I went to the library today and got a book on cooking,” he said and Akk’s heart just continued melting away because this was too much. He didn’t deserve all of it, truly. Ray was just… “It’s okay if you don’t like it,” said Ray and his heart continued sinking deeper. “I just thought that you might wanna try out my food… I prepared all of my favourites, but if you’re not up for it, we can-can order something-”
Ray’s excitement turned into doubt.
Ray tried to keep up the bright smile, but Akk could see it. Under that smile, there was hiding uncertainty. Ray was waiting for him to say something, but Akk was just standing there like a complete useless piece of wood and he quickly realised that he needed to say something. Seeing Ray going to such lengths to surprise him at home made him speechless, which wasn’t wrong, but he really needed to put what he was feeling into words for Ray.
Ray looked scared and nervous.
That was why Akk finally smiled and stepped closer to him.
“Wow, all of this is amazing, Ray,” said Akk and pressed a kiss against Ray’s cheek, feeling his own cheeks reddening because… Ray prepared all of this for him. Akk huffed under his breath and he tried to even out his breathing, but it was useless.
Ray bowed his head down.
“Why were you quiet for so long then?”
“Because I have the best boyfriend ever?” asked Akk and Ray perked up, listening carefully. “Sorry, I, uh, just seeing all of this made me a bit speechless?” asked Akk and Ray’s smile was back because he understood the silence now. “No one had ever prepared… a meal like this for me,” whispered Akk and Ray licked across his lower lip, feeling proud as hell. Even more now.
“Oh!”
“Mmm,” sighed Akk. “Ray, thank you for this. I am more than eager to try out your favourite foods.”
“You won’t regret it, Akk!” chirped Ray, excitedly throwing himself around Akk’s neck and Akk was laughing when his face was taken into a shower of kisses and Akk just… laughed.
Seeing Ray this happy made it all worth it.
Ray watched Akk like a hawk when he tried the food, still not sure if Akk would like it or not. The food was definitely an experience, but Akk enjoyed it, even if his stomach didn’t seem to agree with everything. He didn’t let that show on his face and he finished his plate, leaving Ray with a wonderful dream for the future – what if he became a master chef one day, huh?
“Time out, Ray,” panted Akk as he slowly swam towards the shore and Ray followed him, swimming around him playfully in circles and Akk sighed along, smiling as he watched Ray’s tail slowly gliding across the sea, pressing his lips together.
It was about two hours later and the sun was already setting. After dinner, the two of them decided to spend some time on their island. Ray had been on his legs for the whole day and Akk knew that he wasn’t comfortable, so he suggested going to the island and just spending some time there. It was the perfect way to end the day and Ray loved it as well.
Ray, who was in water much faster than Akk, was already waiting him by the shore, in shallow water, slowly turning to his back, sitting in an angle that was comfortable for his tail, leaning back against his hands and he started moving his tail around as Akk got closer, splashing the water around, which made Akk groan as he swam closer, teasingly reaching out and he placed a hand on top of Ray’s tail, slowing it down.
Ray took in a sharp breath.
It wasn’t like his tail was very sensitive to other things, but when it came to Akk’s touches, it was always almost overwhelming and he quickly stopped moving his tail, sinking his fingers deeper into the wet sand underneath him, glancing to the side and Akk smiled when he noticed the little flush growing upon his cheeks.
How cute.
It was Akk mostly, who was blushing, so this was why he loved little moments like this the most. Seeing Ray’s shy side was always such a treat, leaning closer to him and Ray was seen pouting when Akk was leaning closer to him, kissing the tip of his nose, smiling brightly at him.
“What’s wrong, Ray? Cat got your tongue?” asked Akk and Ray rolled his eyes.
“Not funny,” grumbled Ray. “You’re not playing fair!”
“I’ve learned from the best,” said Akk and grinned when he saw the look on Ray’s face, but it was true – Akk’s has gotten so much bolder later. Bolder and more mischievous, which was definitely Ray’s doing. Ray was into it, though, so he wasn’t going to complain. He really liked it when Akk took initiative, sighing happily and he closed his eyes when Akk placed a kiss on top of his lips, kissing him properly.
Ray swallowed thickly and reached up with his hand, gently cupping Akk’s face, his fingers sliding across Akk’s wet cheek, slowly sliding behind his neck and he brought Akk closed, his fingers playing wit the hair on the back of Akk’s head, the other one enjoying the way Ray deepened the kiss, tipping his head to the side, allowing Ray to take the lead of the kiss.
For it being Ray’s first kiss when the two of them kissed for the very first time, Ray sure learned fast because these days, he left Akk’s breathlessly only after a little bit of kissing and Akk shuddered in delight when he felt Ray’s tongue licking across his lower lip. Ray tasted like the ocean, tasting the salt between them, but he didn’t dislike it. In fact, it just made Akk more eager, parting his lips wider and he allowed Ray to do as he pleased.
Ray chuckled when he had Akk completely at his mercy, gently ruffling his hair as he pulled away and Akk frowned when Ray suddenly ended the kiss, frowning at him as he tipped his head to the side.
“Hey, what gives?” stammered Akk with the prettiest blush that he had ever seen and Ray grinned when he saw the clear disappointment written all over Akk’s face. Ray only shrugged and tapped at his own lips.
“Be patient,” said Ray. “I’ll make it up to you later in your room.”
Akk’s breath hitched, but he decided to quickly correct Ray.
“ Our room,” said Akk and his flush deepened.
“Mmm?”
“It’s ours. Our room, our island, our boat, our relationship, our-” started Akk, but it was all too much for Ray as well and he quickly quieted him down with a kiss and Akk hummed along, a sly smirk growing on his lips when he saw the look on Ray’s face.
“Okay, okay, I get it,” said Ray and Akk chuckled. “If all of it is ours, then this means that you-”
“I’m yours and you’re mine. Simple, no?” asked Akk eagerly and Ray swept across the sand with his tail and dragged teeth over his lips and he closed his eyes, but he slowly nodded along.
It was crazy how much his life has changed since he had met Akk. So many things changed and all it took was one person. A human, who changed everything for him. Ray didn’t remember when it was the last time that he didn’t feel happy, the loneliness was gone, erased from his vocabulary for good with Akk around. Now, it didn’t mean that Ray knew what was going to happen tomorrow, but he didn’t need to.
Akk was going to be there, and that's all that it mattered.
Ray and Akk.
Together.
Akk sighed as he muttered a little I love you against Ray’s lips before he laid back into the wet sand and he extended out his arms and legs, Ray following him as well as he curled up next to him, wrapping his tail over Akk’s legs protectively and Akk just sighed happily.
Choosing Ray meant choosing himself as well and it was the best thing that Akk had ever made. Finally, Akk didn’t have to be concerned with other people’s expectations. All that mattered was the ocean, him and Ray.
Everything else slowly fell into the right place.
For the first time in a very long time, Akk was enjoying every single day.
Every single day was perfect with Ray around and he wouldn’t want to have it any other way.
The end