Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lance was an adventurous merman.

His sister, the beautiful leader of their shoal, would always say that it would get him hurt one day.

He would often exit the coral reef where the shoal lived and explored the surrounding ocean.

Hunk, Lance’s best friend however was the exact opposite. Hunk hated exploring and was scared of his own tail, which was one of the reasons he didn’t like exploring.
Hunk’s tail was a light yellow, and smattered with the occasional gold scale. The rather unnatural colour stood out no matter what part of the ocean they were swimming in but was still quite enchanting. His fins a purer version of the same shade were like that of the fish that frolicked among the anemones (clown fish). The large scales that covered the length of the tail and were smattered on his upper body shone In the sun and reflected dappled light onto his surroundings. Tails were very significant to the merfolk. Beauty was often judged by the shape and shade of the limb as well as was essential to the survival of a mer. Hunk was a stocky merman with darker skin like Lance and black hair tied up with a yellow piece of cloth. His features were round and kind and he sould frequently be found hounded by the younger mers as they begged for the treats Hunk often made.

Lance’s own tail was a beautiful cerulean blue hue. The scales shimmered and blended in perfectly with the sparkling water. Translucent turquoise fins flared out in a graceful manner and if he had known what a betta fish was he would have likened his fins to the ones that belonged to the species. More blue scales stretched up the sides of his abdomen and speckled his arms here and there, complimenting his skin tone. Lance was praised as one of the handsomest mermen in the shoal and unfortunately the praise had boosted his ego and turned him into a hopeless flirt. He had tan skin and a lean build, musclear but not overly so, with chocolate hair and piercing ocean blue eyes he did indeed look glorious.

Trouble seemed to follow Lance or more likely Lance often chased trouble. Accidents and mishaps were commonly caused by the mer and his friends were usually dragged into his schemes.

Other than Hunk Lance had another friend named Pidge. Pidge was an inquisitive mermaid, she was always interested in the human objects found in shipwrecks and littered across the ocean bed. Once she had found a human contraption worn to fix vision and she had never taken it off since. Lance would wholeheartedly follow her on her expeditions to the shipwrecks and together they would explore the vast wonders of human ingenuity. Pidge had a green tail and a petit build and short light brown hair which stuck out on the sides of her head seemingly disobeying the water. When Lance had first met her he had mistaken her for a boy due to her lack of curves even if the green and white tunic she wore should have been an indication of her gender. While mermen normally went bare chested it was customary for mermaids to wear coverings over their top halves. No one knew where the custom came from and on occasion mermen would wear tunics as well. Pidge didn’t mind being mistaken for a boy and she and the two mermen had quickly become friends even if Lance could be quite irritating. Later the boys had even learned that Pidge was not her real name and it was actually Katie but she liked the name Pidge and thus it stayed the same.

On a particularly nice day Pidge and Lance had once again dragged Hunk out of the safety of the reef and swam off to explore the rocks and cliffs. A few nights ago Lance had discovered some caves and that was where they were heading.

Diving off the precipice where the coral dropped off into deeper waters they swished their tails and picked up speed as they wove through the rocky obstacles in their way. Their whoops of joy echoed off the rocks and filled the oppressing silence with joy. Once they were skimming the bottom of the sea bed and the sunlight had dimmed making it seem later in the day than it was, Hunk had started whimpering.

“Guys, we’re not safe here this is possible shark territory.”

“ Stop being a baby we’ll be fine, anyways I’d be able to fight off any sharks that find us.” Lance boasted flexing his biceps.

Sharks were the natural enemy of the merpeople. They were larger but often hunted alone. Similar to the mer sharks had a human upper half but had sharp teeth and glowing eyes. Mer often had brightly coloured tails and their upper bodies sometimes had patches of scale and were rather human. Sharks had purple and black colour schemes and had the lithe muscular tails of… Well, sharks. The upper half of sharks would often be bioluminescent because of where they lived in the depths and had grey skin.

Silver fish darted through the water the light reflecting off their scales. “There” Lance exclaimed pointing in the direction of an incline of rock. Lance was looking around for a cave entrance when suddenly he saw movement in the corner of his eye. Whirling around Lance caught sight of a black fin.

Acting quickly Lance yanked Hunk and Pidge behind a rock. Hearing a swish of water just behind the boulder they were hiding against the three covered their mouths to keep from screaming.

“Huh I swear I heard something over here” came a silky semi-deep voice from just above them.

More swishing was heard and eventually got quieter as if the shark had swam further away. At this moment Hunk couldn’t stand it anymore and darted off swimming full speed towards the reef. Pidge followed him and started to overtake him. Lastly came Lance who had lingered because he had not expected his friends to dash. Shaking his head to break him out of his trance he darted after them.

“Hey wait” he heard the voice shouting after him. A bolt of fear shot through him, the shark had seen him. Quickly catching up to Hunk who was following Pidge he heard the shark call after them again. “Wait, I won’t hurt you”.

‘Yeah right’ Lance thought ‘a shark wouldn’t hurt them’.

“Hurry Lance” the frantic Hunk called to the merman behind him. Darting around the stone pillars that stood in their way Lance glanced behind him as the voice once again cried “Please, don’t go!” The next moment all Lance could feel was pain as the edged of his vision began to darken. “Hu-“ he tried to call before his consciousness completely faded.

Chapter Text

As long as Keith could remember he had always been lonely.

When he had first opened his eyes as a mere hatchling he had been alone.

The feeling was a depressing one which filled him and weighed him down like the small rock on the strings used by land-walkers to catch fish. Being lonely could consume oneself, stretching time to make it seem as if the desolation was infinite.

Keith had always yearned for a companion but the only creatures he had met as a child were the fish which could not speak and were not friends but food. To make it worse Keith hated killing the fish. They were all that had provided entertainment in his cruel world.

Then life had taken a turn for the worse.

One day Keith had seen another being, a person that looked just like him. Their tale was like his and he had an upper body with skin just like him. Joy had filled him that day as he swam up to the being hoping to introduce himself. “

Get out of here filthy half breed” was the only greeting he had gotten in return.

Keith had known language from the moment he came into the world he did not know how it worked but he had understood what the other being said.

He did not know what half-breed meant but the violent tone the being had used was enough to frighten him into swimming away.

Keith did not know what he was. The being had looked slightly like him but the upper body of the other creature was vastly different. It had had spiny fins over its arms and sharp ears with a mouth brimming with sharp teeth. Inspecting his body he noted the bioluminescent lines that framed his collarbone and his pale skin. That was another difference the other being had had grey skin with hues of purple. Strands of black hair floated in front of his eyes. The other being did not have hair it had also had gills on his neck like the fish he had to eat.

Now Keith was lonely again. Keith didn’t even know why he was called Keith he just knew that was his name.

The escape from his prison of isolation went by the name of Shiro.

Keith had been curled up as small as he could go at the time he was ten winters old and the sadness and pain of. His isolation had overwhelmed him. Huddled in a small space under a rock outcropping he was shaking with shuddering raspy sobs. He didn’t know what to do when he felt a weight on his shoulder. Instinctually his body wanted to lash out but Keith was simply too mentally tired and instead shrunk away, trying to become one with the stone.

“Are you okay” came a deep voice heavy with an emotion Keith had never encountered. Opening his eyes he saw a being much like him. Grey eyes met his own purple ones as he looked at the being that had placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Why are you crying” he asked. The being was more like him than that other one he had black hair with a contrasting white tuft that floated in front of his eyes. Surveying further he saw many scars littered the broad muscular upper body of the other creature and one such gash was right over his nose. A lithe tail larger than his extended behind the being but bother than the size it was like his own.

Realizing the being still wanted an answer Keith managed to choke out some words. “I’m lonely” is what he managed to say before his voice wavered.

The purple glowing lines on both of their collarbones managed to light up the darkness around them and reflected purple glints in the grey eyes of the being.

“I’m Shiro how long have you been alone out here.” Said the being now dubbed Shiro.

“Forever” he replied.

“What’s your name” Shiro asked in a gentle tone trying to coax the smaller boy out of his compacted position.

“K-Keith” he stuttered out slowly uncurling.

“Well Keith you don’t have to be lonely anymore” and pulled him into an embrace.

The ice cold lump in his heart slowly melted as he was cradled by the other boy and he was finally not alone.

Over the season cycles that passed Keith and Shiro grew closer and closer to the point where they called themselves brothers. It turned out Shiro was also a “half-breed” as the other being had called him and Shiro taught him that there were two races in the ocean the mers and the sharks.

Shiro had been raised among a group of sharks that respected the merfolk and did not want to eat them. Shiro was strong and in turn taught Keith. Keith learned to fight but he still yearned for more company. Shiro would sometimes leave for nights sometimes even seasons to go fight with the marmora which was the rebel group of sharks. In the months that Shiro was gone Keith would explore the ocean beds searching for interesting things and mers who he hoped he could one day meet and befriend. At night he would return to a system of caves that Shiro had made their home and waited for his brother to return.

Keith was now 18 winters old and Shiro had been gone for 17 nights. Keith had begged to come with on the mission but Shiro refused every time.

Keith was out swimming among the reefs surrounding the caves when he heard it. Hushed voices and the echoes of conversation were just a little bit away. A spark of desire lighted in Keith’s heart as he flicked his tail to head over to where the noises were coming from. As he drew nearer the voices halted abruptly and the silence they left only reminded him of the ages he spent alone.

“I swear I heard something over here” he said out loud as he leaned on one of the boulders to mull over where the owners of the voices could have gone. As he turned and swam away a golden flash darted away like a fleeting sunbeam.

Turning to the flash of colour the half shark saw another bolt of colour this time green. Finally he saw the outline of a merperson with a beautiful blue tail so much slimmer than his own. Calling out in hopes of having the merpeople come back his heart sunk as it seemed he had only scared them away. He knew he should leave them alone but this was his only opportunity to meet a mer.

With that thought in his mind Keith flew after them calling out in hopes they would stop. Just as they were about to disappear from his vision and vanish into the towering spires of rock the smell of blood assaulted his senses.

‘Why is there blood?’ He thought swimming on. Getting closer he saw a limp form sinking in the water, the smell seemingly emanating from it. Cautiously gliding nearer he slowly extended his hand to touch the form he thought was a mermen but it was hard to tell with the lack of light. Shifting the limp form the light from his collarbone markings shone on the dainty features of a tan skinned merman. A small trickle of blood was coming out of his nose and faintly clouding the water nearby.

‘Well he’s hurt and I can’t just leave him the blood could attract sharks’ reasoned Keith. Mind made up he gently slid his arms that were oh so pale compared to the tan of the merman gently around him and pulled him in the direction of his home.

Once in the familiar settings of the cave Keith inspected the boy. Shimmering scales in a variety of ocean hues bedecked the merman’s tail. His form was slim but still strong and the scales also dappled his arms and stretched up the sides of the boy's hips. With his blue colouring and tan skin the merman could very well have been the embodiment of the light parts of the ocean, and everything Keith was not. Everything about the merman contrasted all his features. The merman’s skin glowed a healthy brown while he was deathly pale, his tale was sparkling and dainty while his was sleek and powerful. In the glow from his bioluminescent markings the merman looked like a mysterious creature that was to be worshipped.

Ripped from his thoughts by stirring coming from the merman Keith’s mind turned into that of a jellyfish. What would he say, would he be afraid did mers even speak the same language?

While Keith was distracted by his thoughts the merman eyelids opened to reveal stunning blue eyes that had the depth of the sea itself. Keith had not realized he had been staring until the merman’s eyes looked directly into his.

In a panic Keith flailed for words. He had never been good at first impressions, meeting only two other people in your life did that to you. “Uh, hey” he said.

‘Great you botched the initial contact’ Keith thought to himself mentally face-palming.

An unearthly shriek erupted from the merman. “Shark” he yelled and whacked Keith in the face as the merman struggled to get away.

Keith barely even felt the pain of the slap as he registered what the merman had said.

“Shark where?” He cried clutching his cheek and frantically searching for the possible enemy.

His searching was interrupted however when the confused voice of the merman said “what do you mean where?”. And proceeded to jab a finger in his direction. “I was talking about you” he said convictively.

“Me” replied Keith confused and taken aback.

“Yeah who else would I be talking about, that kelp over there” stated the brunette.

Still surprised by the yelling match Keith came up with an answer that was probably not the best thing to say to a startled merman.

“The hell?” Keith said “I thought you meant something actually dangerous”.

Confusion dawned on the face of the merman and stared blankly for a second before speaking again.

“Your Teeth. Look. Like spear heads” He yelled getting louder with each sentence.

“W-What?” Keith stuttered trying to explain that he wasn’t a shark and wasn't going to hurt the first merman he had ever seen. “I’m no-“ Keith continued before being interrupted by the merman who had seemingly just realized he was in an unfamiliar cave.

“This is… this is your den isn’t it? Where you drag all your unsuspecting victims before-“ The merman said terror overtaking his features as he looked for an escape route gripping his tails fins and holding them in front of him like a shield. His fearful tangent however was cut off by Keith.

“What” he exclaimed. “I’m not going to eat you” he explained. “I brought you here because you knocked yourself unconscious.” While saying this Keith had slowly been inching backward in order to placate the merman.

“How do I know you aren’t tricking me” The mermaid reasoned.

“You can leave If you want the exit is just behind you” Keith answered sadly knowing that he would have to let his company leave. Seeing the slightly lighter shade of water through an opening behind Keith, the merman swiftly swam out leaving Keith to ponder what on earth had just happened.