Work Text:
As the birds outside the water started singing, Nene slowly opened her eyes. Her bed was once again surrounded by small fishes, and a mermaid with big pink eyes smiled when her friend got up.
"Nene-chan, you're finally awake!"
"Ah, Emu…You're up early. Did something happen?"
Emu swam around her, energetically moving her tail, and scaring some fish in the process.
"Tsukasa-kun and I are going up today! You'll come, right?"
"Up… You mean swimming closer to the surface?"
"Hm!"
Nene tried to hide how her eyes lit up. Truly, she wanted to go there, and take some human gifts with her as well so that her collection could grow even more. Last time, she found that strange hair comb, so she really wanted to see if she could bring with her something even better.
Still, she was shy and stubborn, although she would never admit it. Casually swimming around and laughing like Emu as she frantically accepted her offer would be embarrassing.
"Well, I guess I could go" She smiled softly. "Someone needs to watch over you two".
"Wah! You're the best, Nene-chan! Let's go!"
The pink haired mermaid turned away from her friend. As she was about to swim off, she looked at her again, smiling as wide as ever.
"I'm sure you'll find something wonderhoy to add to your collection!"
And then, she ran off, leaving Nene blinking alone as her face turned red, pursuing her a few moments after.
"H-Hey, Emu! Wait!"
—
The two of them were as energetic as always. Swimming around, chasing fish friends, or even playing hide and seek when a human boat got closer. At least they weren't getting caught, which was something. It'd be troublesome if a sailor spotted them again; last time, they were able to run away, but it could be different now.
Nene spaced out— she couldn't help but worry about them. Although her eyes followed her friends, and her grip didn't soften on the human treasure —a broken music box, but she didn't know that—, she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. That was why she didn't notice a small boat approaching her, only lifting her eyes after Tsukasa and Emu disappeared under the water once more.
Shocked, she froze there. To make the situation worse, they had seen her. A tall boy looked at her from up there. He seemed to be drowned in a book before, but his attention must have drifted from there, since his golden eyes were now curiously looking at the mermaid.
"My, hello. To be here, you must've been swimming for a good while now".
"Th…" Without noticing, she had dropped the treasure. "T-The water feels nice today, so… I-I like to swim here".
"I see. Still, you will get cold if you swim in the sea for too long. Do think about that".
"I-I will. Thank you…"
Unfortunately, none of them moved away. Not like she could do so easily, not without accidentally showing her tail. And, as much as she would've liked to shoosh the boy away, that would be quite rude.
So she simply looked down, her shyness mixed with fear, waiting for him to get tired and move away.
"You'll definitely get cold if you just float there". He showed her a smile, a genuine expression of kindness. "Did you get lost, after all?"
"Th-That's…"
"If that's the case, there's no need to be embarrassed. Honestly, I got lost on my way to the boat. It's a big beach, it looks the same everywhere, so the sea must be even more confusing".
"Y-Yeah! I… I got lost, so… Please, leave me alone so I can find my way back".
"That really doesn't make sense". He chuckled. "What's your name? If you wait here, I'll ask Alexander to let you in".
"M-My name… I'm Nene. I-I'm fine down here, though!"
"Nice to meet you, Nene". The boy made a pause. "I'm Rui, and I'm starting to get really curious about the water.
“Huh?"
"Well, if it's so good, I wouldn't mind swimming for a while".
"Y-Yeah! You definitely should!"
Nene's eyes widened. Surely, that would be her chance to escape. Once he walked off to get his swimsuit —because humans needed one—, it would be her chance to escape. She felt guilty for lying to run away, especially when Rui had been actually kind to him, but humans like him were dangerous. If he discovered the truth and caught her… She didn't even want to think about what could happen to her.
But he didn't even bother to take his shirt off. Only leaving his book aside, the taller boy used his hands to lift himself and jump overboard, falling directly into the sea.
A worried man rushed to look over to them. Fortunately, this one seemed to be sane, and didn't try to jump after the tall boy.
"Prince Rui, you can't keep doing that! Your mother is always worried sick you keep jumping into the ocean! Get up here quickly!"
"If nothing happened the previous times, it's unlikely I'll have an accident now, right?"
"That's not—!"
"Don't worry, Alexander. I'll be fine. Besides, I'm not alone this time".
The man sighed. Looking at how Rui acted, Nene wasn't surprised Alexander's head was filled with white hair.
"Alright. At least, take your shirt off. And don't swim too far from here". Nene could feel his stress just by hearing him talk. "I'll get closer to the coast".
"Hm".
Taking what seemed to be an eternity, the boat slowly drifted away from them.
Nene tried to carefully sort her thoughts, calm down as she looked for an excuse to escape.
"W-wait. What did he mean by 'Prince Rui'?"
He shook his head, as if it was nothing important. Jumping to the sea and swimming with a stranger as a member of a royal family must be another human tradition. If not, the other explanation Nene could find was that the guy next to her was absolutely nuts.
"Don't worry about that. I'm more curious about something else now". She felt her heart stop for a moment, watching Rui swim closer. "What are you?"
She was a goner. He would take her with him, to his evil royal palace, and experiment with her, or whatever awful things humans could do to mermaids like her.
At the very least, she had some seconds to run away. The sea was her territory, she could easily leave him behind if she managed to get underwater.
However, he moved his hand fast enough to hold her wrist, and Nene felt fear fill her eyes with tears.
"H-Hey, it's okay". He tripped over his words, as if he was trying to choose between the million things he wanted to say. "Don't leave me behind, please. I'm simply curious".
"Liar. A-All of you are liars! Dad said so, I… I'd get killed if I came up here! A-And yet…!"
"What? No". Rui softened his grip, surprised. "That's dreadful".
"Then, what do you want?"
"It's a rare occasion to find a mermaid like this. I would never try to hurt you. Simply, I hoped I could learn about you".
Although she probably shouldn't trust him, he sounded sincere. Nene didn't run away when he let her wrist go. Still cautious, she looked at Rui.
"…Alright. What's your plan?"
"For now, may we get somewhere I can rest? Swimming here fully dressed is more troublesome than what I thought".
He smiled, and it felt like a real, kind expression. If he was trying to fool her, he could perfectly succeed. Nene gave in with a sigh.
"Fine. Just follow me".
—
Rui turned around. Until then, he had been looking at the sky, lying on the big rock Nene showed him. In that moment, he looked at Nene with the same inquisitive eyes he had before.
"Then, you don't have music boxes down there?"
"We do. They just look different". She pouted. "It's a shame. The one I found looked really pretty".
"If you found it here, I assume it was quite antique. Or maybe something a kid dropped by accident… Well, I could also attempt to get my hands on a nice music box".
"Really?! I-I mean… That would be nice".
"Of course. I wish I wasn't tied to my position as the prince, but I'll be glad if it can help you somehow".
"Right, you're actually a prince, then".
"Do you have a royal family to follow too?"
"Ah. Of course, it's mine".
"Eh?"
Rui's eyes widened, and he suddenly got up from the rock, surprised.
"H-Hey, why are you surprised…? Aren't you a prince too?"
"I am, but… it just feels different. Are you close to your people?"
"I guess. Well, Tsukasa and Emu aren't part of the family, but I wouldn't say they're not important. It's difficult".
"That must be nice". His smile changed. Before, it radiated kindness, but it suddenly got filled with a sad feeling. "I'm not close to anyone. Not even kids of noble families wanted to talk to me for too long, so…"
"Rui…"
"Ah, I said something depressing again, didn't I? My apologies. Spending time alone is nice too, there's no need to worry about me".
"…If they don't like to be with you, that's their fault. You're kind". Her face turned red, realizing what she was saying. "Y-You look kind. I mean… You haven't killed me, so…"
His previous expression came back. He sat down, leaving his feet underwater.
"Thank you. I'm also enjoying my time with you. Swimming, learning about you and such".
"Hm. Maybe humans aren't that bad, after all".
Nene extended her arm, open hand towards Rui, prompting him to grab it. Her smile was enough for him to bite, wrapping his warm fingers around hers. It was then when she pulled in, making him fall to the water as she laughed playfully.
He didn't let go of her hand even after he took his head out. After a moment of bewilderment, he too let out a laugh.
"What was that for?"
"I just felt it would be fun".
"Ah… And you think humans are the evil ones". He joked.
Silence came after their laughter. It lasted a few seconds, and it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, like those that make you want to leave the room as soon as possible and save you from embarrassment.
Instead, the sound and gentle flow of the waves made the scene a warm one. Even though they had met some hours earlier, they felt close. Close enough to feel each other's heartbeats, getting faster and faster.
Rui was the one to get closer. Holding both of her hands now, and carefully trying to stay afloat with the movement of his legs.
He closed his eyes, and so did Nene, holding her breath as he got closer to her face, to her lips.
"Nene".
"Rui…"
"Nene—"
"…Rui?"
"Nene, are you awake?"
She quickly sat up, headbutting Rui on her way there.
"I guess you are".
"A-Ah! Sorry!"
"It's okay. Since you were taking long to wake up, your mom let me came in".
That's right. She was no mermaid. Not like they existed, in the first place. And she was not swimming in the sea, but sleeping comfortably on her bed. And whatever she thought Rui was about to do was just him trying to get her up.
"What time is it?"
"Not too late yet. However… How long did you stay awake yesterday?"
Rui took a script from the floor, as well as the box of a movie. The previous night, she decided to watch «The little mermaid» again while rereading the script of one of their plays, where she took the role of a mermaid herself. That was probably the reason why she dreamed something like that.
Even after the realization, it took her a few seconds to remember the last moments of her dream. She looked at Rui, who was busy closing her laptop —probably out of battery due to her calling asleep midway on the movie—, and then touched her lips, holding back a scream that came out as a loud gasp.
"Nene? Is something the matter?"
"N-No, no. I… I'll get changed, so wait outside for a moment?"
"Of course. I'll be down, then".
Rui left the room, waving with a smile, and Nene covered her whole face as she let her back fall on the bed again.
"If he hadn't woken me up, would we… In the dream…" Her face burned. "Wh-What am I even thinking…?"
Embarrassment aside, she had to get ready for their morning practice. With a deep breath, Nene stood up, looking for her appropriate outfit to wear that day.
On the other side of the door, Rui stopped. He covered his face, surprisingly red to be him, with the side of a hand, looking to the side as he whispered with an awkward smile on his lips.
"If Nene hadn't woken up… I definitely would've kissed her right now, wouldn't I?"