Chapter Text
“Put this on, hyung,” Hyukjae says, handing Heechul the piece of equipment Leeteuk gave them.
“What is this?,”
“A harness. To keep you from floating away,” responds Hyukjae. Heechul takes the harness, dipping a bit at its unexpected weight.
“Jesus fuck what? You sure it’s necessary?,” he says, incredulous at the bulkiness.
“Well, not for me because I can just hang on tightly toHae, but since he’s taking two passengers this time…,” says Hyukjae. Donghae smiles.
“Hyung, not to brag but I’m faster than you think. If you’re not held on tight, we’re gonna lose you within less than five minutes,” he says, taking his end of the harness. Heechul is reminded of the fact that he has never actually seen Donghae’s tail. Assuming they can get to where Donghae and Leeteuk live within an hour or two or even less, it would make sense that the speed is much more than Heechul imagined. Defeated, he sighs and clumsily attaches the clunky equipment to himself.
“Alright, you ready?,” asks Hyukjae, and Heechul nods, waddling to the edge of the water. “Oh, there’s a bit to attach your charm to the harness so it doesn’t fall off. Very important,” Hyukjae says, grinning and clutching his own charm while he holds onto Donghae with the other hand.
Finally, once everyone, especially Heechul, is ready for the journey, they walk out into the water where Donghae’s tail quickly returns. Once they’re far out enough, he dives down in one graceful movement, Hyukjae clinging tightly to him with arms secured around his waist and Heechul pulled along behind. Out of instinct, Heechul takes a deep breath and expects the normal feeling of water pressing in all around and suffocating him, but suddenly finds himself surrounded only by comfortable coolness, all usual negative underwater sensations gone. When he opens his eyes, they don’t sting like he expects them to, and when he tentatively tries to take a breath, he’s surprised to find that he can, despite already knowing he would be able to.
“Shit,” he lets slip, and hears Donghae and Hyukjae laugh.
“Cool, isn’t it, hyung?,” comes Hyukjae’s voice, and Heechul sees his smiling face looking back at him as Donghae continues swimming.
“Holy shit, we can talk?,” Heechul asks, reeling from the multiple surprises.
“Yeah! Teukie-hyung’s the best!,” says Donghae, and Heechul finally smiles, enjoying the journey as they go deeper and deeper under the vast ocean.
Before long, all sorts of vibrant sea life start to appear all around them. Schools of fish part like the Red Sea to make way for the merman and his companions, while larger creatures uncaringly swim by as they pass. Soon, they can see the sea floor and Heechul spots an octopus burying itself in the sand to wait for prey. He tries not to show his awe too obviously, but still has to take a deep breath and smile a bit at the strange and wonderful sites.
“Wait, wait, Hae,” Hyukjae suddenly pipes up. Donghae hums.
“Can we take a small detour? We should show Heechul the corals!,” Hyukjae says excitedly. Donghae slows down a bit, turns to look at Heechul, and beams.
“Oh yeah! You’ll love it, hyung!,” he says, and quickly changes direction towards the reef. In a matter of minutes, they arrive and Heechul finds himself no longer able to hold his amazement.
“That’s the reef, hyung,” Donghae says proudly, as if it wasn’t obvious. “The ocean’s pretty nice too, yeah?”
“Holy shit…,” is all Heechul can say, making the lovebirds laugh once again. Before him was a site he’s only ever seen in pictures and through screens, which do not do its beauty justice at all. Myriads of coral and fish in all different colours, shapes, and sizes stretch out as far as the eye can see, looking like a vibrant and lively jungle straight out of some fairytale. They sometimes tell you about how great the ocean is with its endless sights, but never can they express just how incredible these natural monuments can get, Heechul thinks. The underwater jungle hosts more creatures than Heechul can imagine, but he can get a small taste of it all as he fascinatedly watches fish, crabs, and who-knows-what dart about in their own worlds. Smiling, Donghae slowly swims closer, bringing the other two with him.
“You can’t touch, but look all you want, hyung,” Donghae says softly, as he himself is also lost in awe despite the many, many times he’s seen coral reefs. Hyukjae is silent, finding words both inaccessible and unnecessary.
They spend at least half an hour on their little sightseeing tour, during which Donghae occasionally drops facts and small stories about something they would come across. Heechul listens to every word with great interest and curiosity, but his eyes never leave the view in front of him. All too soon, they turn around and begin to swim away from the reef, en route to their initial destination.
“You’d wanna tell Teuk-hyung about this later, Heechul-hyung,” Hyukjae says, and Heechul is brought back to Earth.
“Shut up,” he says and rolls his eyes.
One silent period later in which Heechul let his mind wander wherever it pleased, Heechul, suddenly, with great concern, asks Donghae,
“Umm, Hae. There’s also danger down here, right? Like...creatures that hate us?,” he asks tentatively. Hyukjae freezes and tightens his grip on Donghae as the thought also hits him. Putting on hand over Hyukjae’s to comfort him, Donghae says,
“Don’t worry about it. They’re only down deeper. As long as you can still see light, you’re safe,” he explains. Heechul and Hyukjae let out a collective sigh of relief.
Just then, as if on cue, everything around them darkens and in only an instant, Heechul and Hyukjae can see nothing but black in front of their eyes.
For the sake of image-preservation, the sounds which the dragon duo made in that moment will not be described in detail.
Eventually, Donghae’s voice manages to cut through the screams and litany of curses.
“NONONO Don’t worry!,” he says. “It’s just a whale overhead,” he continues. Suddenly, everything brightens again and Heechul watches as the most massive tail he has ever seen calmly passes above them.
“Let’s go say hi!,” Donghae says, and swims towards the whale’s head. When they reach its eye-level, it seems to briefly acknowledge their presence before continuing on its merry way.
“Amazing creatures,” Donghae says, smiling widely. Thankfully, Heechul and Hyukjae’s hearts have calmed back down to their normal rates, and they mentally thank everything that the water perhaps hid the fact that they may have cried a bit.
Parting from the whale, they continue for no longer than fifteen minutes before they begin to see non-natural structures, indicating their arrival at the destination.
“We’re almost there, hyung. Let’s head to my place first because it’s closer. Then I’ll take you to Teuk-hyung’s,” Donghae says nonchalantly. Heechul does not recall telling Donghae of his intended destination.
They begin to weave through the buildings, passing the occasional distant merfolk who don’t seem to pay them any mind. Either that or Donghae is deliberately avoiding as many people as possible. The community is quite aesthetically pleasing, Heechul thinks. The buildings compliment the surroundings in pleasing shapes, with nothing sticking out in an overly artificial and sore way. Heechul would have quite liked the place if not for the cold and unwelcoming vibe it constantly gives off.
Donghae’s house is situated in a nice suburb-equivalent area, among other spacious homes and various commodities. They approach one house in particular, and Donghae goes to unlock the simple, undecorated door. He barely finishes when they hear someone clear their throat behind them, at which point Donghae freezes.
“You brought another one?!,” comes a displeased, stern voice.