Chapter Text
Kaminari had left the house early while the others were still asleep. As much as he loved them, sometimes the solitude of swimming through the ocean alone was a welcome respite to the chaos that seemed to bloom around his pod. The sun had yet to rise above, leaving the water dark and full of shadows.
This close to shore there weren’t many fish around, but then he wasn’t hunting at the moment anyway. He paused, sighing, he felt restless, energy sparking just under his skin filling him with the need to do something. Not like Katuski ever trusted him with any tasks anyways.
He could picture the angry blonde’s face now, brows knit together, mouth contorted in a scowl. Kaminari just figured he liked to be angry, it was definitely a motivator for him. What if he did ask? Truly? Showed that he wanted to be a helpful and useful member of their pod? Sometimes it felt like he wasn’t a part of it at all and was left wondering why they even chose him to begin with.
He shook his head, leaving the troubled thoughts behind as he darted forward. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the cold water rushing past his face and through his hair as he pushed himself to swim as quickly as possible.
Suddenly he was crashing into the rough twine of a net, tangling around him as he thrashed in the water. He panicked, struggling to think straight as the constricting feeling grew tighter around him. Adrenaline rushed through his system as he pulled frantically at the tangled net.
After a moment of struggling he finally calmed down enough to stop moving, gaining the clarity to realize it would only make things worse. He took a deep breath, moving his tail slowly to push himself through the water. There was no way he was going to let the others see him like this, the very thought made his skin feel warmer.
He was already close to shore, but being on the beach when he was this vulnerable was not an option. He groaned, trying to think, the spark of an idea made his eyes flash open and he started moving more quickly. There was a place near where Kirishima liked to soak up the sun, a small cave with an underwater entrance that would be perfect.
Swimming with his tail alone was definitely more uncomfortable than he would have imagined. His arms were pretty firmly tangled to his sides and he had to be careful to keep the trailing netting from catching on his tail.
This was so humiliating, how had he managed to actually get himself caught in a net?! Just like a dumb fish being hunted, no wonder the others didn’t trust him to do anything. He pushed himself into the surface, the feeling of air always so strange.
He breathed slowly, trying to get used to the feeling before he made any attempts to move. His tail was still lashing back and forth, a clear indication of how agitated he was. Now came the more difficult part, how did you remove yourself from a net if your arms were restrained?
The cave was dark but his eyes adjusted quickly as he pushed himself further onto the land. He could only use his tail for the effort, splashing around and making the loud noise echo in the small space. He froze as the sounds of movement came from above. Were there humans here? The very idea filled him with panic. Oh god, he was going to be dragged ashore and dumped into a tank never to see the others again, he was so stupid.
The panic made him struggle more, creating even more noise to echo around the cave.
“Don’t worry little guy I’m coming,” a soft voice called. Something in the tone made him pause, it was caring. He had never heard a human speak before, their voices were so strange yet he found himself straining to try and hear more.
He could hear them move from the area above him and pick their way across the rocks. He smiled a little when it sounded like they almost fell in, twice. There must be an entrance behind him, he stayed frozen still not sure what to do. Should he try to escape? Maybe scare them off?
He was startled by a circle of light suddenly illuminating the area around him, he blinked rapidly trying to get his eyes to adjust. Humans clearly didn’t like the dark, he noted with interest. He was terrified but this was also something he’d never done before, so he was curious too. He found himself wanting to turn and inspect the human himself, to see what they really looked like up close.
They were silent, the only sound in the cave the two of them breathing and the faint pounding of their heartbeat. They broke the silence as they walked closer to him.
“Alright, I’m going to need you to try and stay still ok? I don’t want you getting tangled up even worse than you are right now. I’m not a nurse or anything but I’m assuming you’ll probably have a concussion or something. Sorry, I babble when I’m nervous, and uh something like this hasn’t exactly happened to me before,” they laughed, and Kaminari perked up at the sound. They were...cute. He frowned a little at the realization, humans weren’t supposed to be cute.
He hadn’t heard much about humans, hadn’t given them too much thought either. That seemed rather stupid now, but how was he supposed to know he’d be faced with one? The light shifted, and he heard the human gasp in surprise. He shifted to see the light now glinting off of his partially submerged scales. Well, now they knew.
He turned, not entirely sure what to expect. They were looking at him with wonder and a hint of fear. They were afraid of him? He kept his face carefully neutral, examining their face as their eyes swept over his body intently. He almost blushed at the attention, at being examined so closely.
Their face had turned pink, he didn’t think humans came in pink but this one definitely was. They were bundled in heavy clothing so it must have been cold for them, humans were so sensitive. He found himself looking over their face, they were definitely an open book, all their emotions written plainly across their face. Funny, he had heard that humans were violent and dangerous but they just seemed intrigued.
They must have made some decision as resolve settled on their features. They moved toward Kaminari and while he was still wary, now he was more curious than afraid they would actually harm him.
“Ok, I should be able to get you out of this soon, ok? So hopefully you aren’t going to eat me or something,” the sound of their voice made him want to close his eyes and listen. Were all humans this soothing to listen to? They offered him a small smile before turning to the net that was still tangled around his body.
They worked silently, the soft brush of their fingers on his skin sending shivers down his spine. Their skin was very soft, only very lightly grazing him as they pulled on the strings of the net. He watched them work, their eyebrows furrowing in concentration creating a small crease on their forehead. Occasionally their eyes would light up and the net would loosen around him slightly. They looked like they were solving some intricate puzzle, he watched as they deftly undid knots and in only moments the net was freed from around him.
They tossed it aside but didn’t move away from where they sat next to him. What were they thinking? What did they think about him? They had been surprised, but certainly not as awed as someone who had never seen a mermaid before would be. Who else had they seen?
They were studying him intently now, carefully tracing his features one by one. He found himself doing the same, they really were cute. Certainly, all humans weren’t this nice, this pretty? He thought of their light touch on his skin again and his heart fluttered. He was nervous, but not because they were human. They were kind and pretty and had saved his life. They had saved his life, he realized with a start.
He looked at them more intensely now, this was clearly a human who knew about mermaids, and they had saved his life. What item of value could he possibly offer in exchange? What did humans even like? The longer he thought about it, the more he realized he had nothing to give.
Then he had an idea. It was a terrible idea really, but he did like them and he had nothing else to offer that could at all be of equal value to what they had done for him. He ignored the thrill of excitement and nerves that rushed through him merely at the thought. He hadn’t offered a shell to anyone yet, hadn’t had to deal with proposing to anyone let alone a human. He gave them one last glance before gathering his courage and diving into the water below.
Luckily the house wasn’t far from here, but it would still be a risk if the others were awake and still there. The house glittered in the sun, a shimmering jewel at the bottom of the sea that seemed to beckon him toward it. He darted into the main room and began closely examining the walls. It couldn’t be noticed too easily, but it also had to be properly beautiful. He was a gentleman, after all, he wasn’t going to offer them just any shell from his home, it had to be perfect.
Certainly, many of them were very pretty, but what would the human like? He found himself fretting as he carefully examined the walls. A ray of light reflected in the room, catching his eye. Yes, that was it, the perfect one. It was set into the ceiling, part of a mosaic Hanta had designed himself. Kaminari carefully set his fingers into the stone and pried the shell until it released with a pop.
He scrubbed the remaining stone bits from the surface, making sure it would shine properly when he presented it. If he followed custom he should technically wait for tomorrow, but the giddy energy that filled his body wouldn’t let him wait. Besides, he was already breaking convention so what was one more broken rule?
He launched through the water, moving as fast as he could. However, when he surfaced in the cave it was entirely empty. Where had his human gone? He pouted, clutching the shell in his hands as he surveyed the cave once more. Had they assumed he had nothing to give and so returned to their own home? He mentally berated himself for not trying to communicate with them.
He could understand them fine, but humans didn’t know the mermaid language. He huffed, pouting. The sound of movement from above made him perk up again. Above, that’s right! They had been up there before and had returned after, that made sense.
He dived out of the cave, surfacing at the bottom of a large rock. So they were perched up there? He didn’t want to startle them by appearing out of nowhere...He smiled at the idea, he would just get their attention first, of course. He pushed himself out of the water, holding onto the rock before lifting his tail and having it hit the water with a loud splash. He heard them shift and in a moment they were face to face with him again.
They looked different in the sunlight, and they were definitely less pink than before. Did they change color? They seemed very surprised to see him, but still made room for him to join them where they had settled. He pulled himself up, stretching out comfortably and leaving his tail partially in the water.
“Well hello again,” they said softly, clearly pleased. He restrained a smile, ducking his head so they couldn’t see his face. Slowly, he placed the shell in front of him. They took it, looking at him cautiously the entire time. He sighed, frustrated, looking between them and the shell. They seemed to get the hint and the moment they looked down their face lit up with wonder. If he had thought they were beautiful before this was something entirely new.
“Oh,” they whispered, almost lovingly. “This is beautiful, thank you.” So are you, he thought but couldn’t say. They held it tightly bringing it close to their chest. His heart felt like it had both frozen and exploded, they had accepted it, they had actually accepted it! The adrenaline that rushed through his body was almost euphoric.
He realized with a curl of fear how late in the day it had gotten, the others would certainly be expecting him back soon. He looked sadly from the water to his new mate and back, he didn’t want to leave yet but…
“Wait!” they shouted suddenly, and he jumped, alarmed at their sudden exclamation. “Please, don’t leave yet. I know that this is a thank you, but I can’t just let you leave empty-handed.”
He cocked his head to the side, curious. He almost smacked himself after a moment, human customs! Surely they had their own rituals to complete and here he was, already being so inconsiderate and not even thinking. Still, whatever it was he hoped it was quick. He was a horrible liar and the longer he was gone the more questions the others would have.
They grabbed a large bag he hadn’t even noticed and began digging through it. Was his human a collector? Surely all of them didn’t carry so much on them at all times, or did they truly not have homes? His human seemed to find something they liked, lighting up as they pulled something glimmering out of the bag.
They demonstrated using the tool, it was some kind of knife though he had never seen that shape before. He noted with a pleased smile they had chosen it to match his tail.
“Oh, you probably don’t know what these are right? Of course, well this is a necklace, we wear them around our necks for decoration. But those are scissors, you open them and close them around something you want to cut, like string and stuff.” He almost pouted at that, did they really think he got stuck in nets so often?
They handed it to him, and he examined it carefully. There was some kind of mechanism that should open and close, at least he thought so. He frowned, puzzled on how exactly he was supposed to do this.
“Here, would you like me to…?” He hesitated on returning the object, the others would normally tease him for not understanding something made to be so simple. But they just smiled, their offer kind and without judgment. He returned it cautiously.
They opened it with ease and he found himself gazing at them in wonder. He had definitely picked the right human, his was clearly both smart and kind. They smiled at him, the look so fond it almost made him melt. The warmth of affection already stirring in his chest wasn’t unfamiliar, but it was still surprising just how quickly his feelings had arrived.
“Right,” they started, looking somewhat embarrassed. So you can try and clasp this yourself around your neck, or you could let me do it. But uh, I’d have to get closer, ok?” His eyes widened, the thought of their hands on him again made his whole body heat up. He was surely going to do something embarrassing.
He moved closer, trying to appear stoic and cool like Katsuki. Their arms reached around him, the hot puff of their breath sending shivers down his spine. He swallowed, hoping he didn’t look as nervous as he felt. All too soon they were pulling away.
He examined the golden blade now hanging from his chest, a public claim from his human! He puffed up with pride. He couldn’t restrain his smile now and beamed at them before launching gracefully into the water with a loud splash. His human.