Archive of Our Own

Cloud was aware of the fact that he got lost sometimes. He wasn’t sure why that thought was so firmly lodged in his mind. It was probably the fact that he was, in fact, lost at the moment. He didn’t panic though. This felt like a strange kind of normal so he decided to have a bit of a look around and see if anything jogged his memory.

There was a reef nearby, he could tell just by the abundance of fish and sea life. None of the rock formations meant anything to him though and he was usually good with landmarks. The water was also pleasantly warm. Not laid out in the sands above the surface warm but… a nice current warm.

Cloud glanced down at the inked markings around his wrist. It was the symbol used for the shoal he’d been born in. That was in the northern waters were things were a little colder. A few months were positively frigid, and they really only had a month or two of warm water. Altogether cold was the first impression he got of his home. The second was that he shouldn’t go back there though he couldn’t remember why at the moment.

The answer was on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn’t think of why returning would be…unsettling. Oh well, the warmer waters were nice. He reached out to catch a small fish, stuffing it into his mouth nearly whole. It was delicious, but he was pleasantly surprised to note the snack would more than sustain him for a while. He wasn’t starving then.

Cloud swam around in a lazy circle, feeling, probably not for the first time, that he was more noticeable than most. His scales were white. His fins too. His tail was decorated in splotches of black and orange and he likely stuck out. It didn’t really bother him though. He had an untested confidence that he would do just fine at defending himself in most situations.

He did have…funny looking scales though. Cloud twisted around to get a good look at himself. A few scales scattered down his tail had taken on a greenish hue. They were such a strange color, so strange that he had to wonder if he’d shine a bio-luminescent glow if he swam into deeper, darker waters.

That was troubling… he didn’t recall greenish scales. He definitely hadn’t been born with them. It was a concern for sure, but one for later. It wasn’t like he knew where to find a healer around these parts anyway.

The question now was… what was he doing out here? Where did he go? There should have been a reason he was swimming around these parts but it must have been a short swim about. He didn’t have any weapons on him, nor did he have one of his seaweed weaved bags to carry his few possessions from place to place.

Had he been sleeping or something? His mind just wasn’t cooperating. With a sigh, Cloud glanced up. The first thing he’d need to work out was his location. He could just swim over to the nearby reef and ask but that was too socially engaging for his liking. That meant his next option was swimming up to break the surface of the water and see…well he wasn’t sure what there was to see here. He didn’t think he was currently terribly close to land but double checking would be smart.

“Hii Cloud!”

He whirled around, immediately spying a pair or tritons swimming towards him. They were both likely younger than him by a couple years but they… knew his name. Had they met before?

The smaller of the two had the biggest smile Cloud had ever seen. His hair was a soft brown but his tail was many shades of red. It was dark and vibrant around his waist and slowly faded into lighter shades of red until the tips of his tail fin were nearly white.

His companion might have been the tiniest bit older. He was longer, his silver hair floating around his face. His tail was a dark blue, his fins were yellow. They made a striking pair side by side.

“What’cha doing? Getting lunch?” The boy with the red tail asked, swimming around him excitedly.

Cloud just watched him with open curiosity. Were they this friendly around here? “Do i…know you or something?”

The boy’s smile waned somewhat, his companion looking rather sad before he masked it.

“Well you do now!” the boy announced, his smile returning. ”My name is Sora! This is Riku!” He gestured to his companion. “We grew up together, you know? Kinda far away from here in super duper warm water.” He tapped the ink on his wrist. “The Destiny Islands.”

Cloud hummed in the back of his throat. “I’ve heard of it. You don’t live there any more?”

“We wanted to explore.” Sora said, swimming around him again. He was obviously happy to chatter while his friend seemed to be a little more on the quiet side. “We ended up here after a while and we just liked it so we stayed.” He turned his back to Cloud and pointed to a second set of ink on his shoulder. He swam closer to Riku and poked at the same mark on the others ribs. “This is our shoal. Radiant Reef. It’s right over there.” He gestured with his arm. “Want to take a look?”

“Sora.” Riku said softly. “Don’t push too hard.”

Sora wilted for only a beat, taking the words to heart but he just swam around Cloud again. “It’s a nice place to live. I think you’d like it.”

“Do you?” Cloud asked dryly, wondering what it was about him that would give the kid that impression.

“Uh huh.” Sora exchanged a look with Riku, but the older triton just shrugged in silent communication. One that Sora mimicked. “You want us to show you the way home, Cloud?”

He frowned. “What?”

Sora moved back some, giving Cloud space and bumping his back into Riku’s chest. “I thought you just…might feel better being home. Safer, or something.”

“I don’t live around here.” Cloud gave the pair a confused look.

“Cloud.” Riku pointed, and it took Cloud a second to realize Riku was pointing at him. To his arm more specifically. On his bicep was more ink, a symbol that perfectly matched the one on Sora’s back.

“What the…” Cloud muttered, looking at the ink he didn’t recall getting. It had him twisting around to look at himself again and get a look at more than just his tail. On his hip was more ink, an impressive array of spines that some fish wore to ward off others. “When….i don’t….”

“It’s okay.” Sora spoke softly, he came closer again, reaching out his hands to Cloud. “We know where you live, kay? Wanna see?”

Cloud was floundering, realizing that something was wrong and probably with him. He didn’t remember getting more ink. He didn’t remember meeting these younger tritons or settling down at some reef. “I…guess?”

Getting the lay of the land was important. Exploring, yeah, he needed to explore. If these two wanted to be his guide then good…

“Great!” Sora didn’t look offended that Cloud wouldn’t take his hand, but Riku took it instead and swam close enough that their tails constantly bumped. Cloud wasn’t sure if the boys were mates but they likely would be soon if their behavior was anything to go on.

“The reef here used to be smaller.” Sora said to fill the silence as they swam. “But we’ve been building it up! It’s already much bigger than when Riku and i first got here. It’s a restoring the reef project some of the older folks started.”

“Sounds smart.” Cloud offered. Why constantly search for a new home when you could just create a bigger ecosystem? Of course, those things didn’t happen overnight. It could take decades if not hundreds of years to grow on their own. Some merfolk had a way with making things grow though. It was a nurturing kind of nature that bled into the environment. They were a breed only slightly less rare than healers.

If what Sora said was true, then his reef likely had one or two beings with those kinds of talents living nearby.

“Sure does.” Sora agreed, waving to others as they swam past them. Some shouted greetings to the boys and Cloud alike. Cloud didn’t reciprocate. This was strange. This whole thing was strange.

“It’s not much further.” Riku said, glancing back at Cloud. The boy had a look about him. One that said he saw far more than he was given credit for.

Cloud grunted a response, but the boys were right, and soon they came up to a dwelling carved into the rocks.

“Knock, knock!” Sora yelled inside. “Squall! You here?”

Who was Squall? Wasn’t this supposed to be his home?

A second later, a large triton appeared. He was likely much closer to Cloud’s age if not a bit older. His tail was… was hypnotizing. His scales were colored with red, black, brown and white, the pattern not the least bit uniform as they twisted into shapes like spots, lines and swirls. The spines around his hips had the potential to be dangerous. Venomous..

Despite that, the triton had the nerve of being handsome, even the scar across his face took nothing away from it. On his bicep, mirroring Cloud’s was his shoal ink that matched Sora’s.

“He’s um…” Sora fidgeted. “He’s having one of those days.”

“Oh?” The triton, Squall, turned to look at Cloud immediately. “Are you alright?” He asked, swimming into Cloud’s personal space.

“I’m fine.” Cloud’s frown turned into a scowl. His heart was fluttery and he felt… he felt weird. He felt like he wanted to wrap himself around this triton, venomous spines be damned. Belatedly, Cloud noted the pearl he wore around his neck. A black pearl. “Who are you?”

Squall smiled, the curve of his lips subtle but there. “I’m your mate Cloud. You forgot me again?”

Cloud bristled. “I don’t have a mate.”

“You very much do.” Squall said, reaching out until the tips of his clawed fingers drifted across Cloud’s jaw. “Don’t worry though. I’ll remind you.”

Riku made a noise, unable to shake the last of his childhood disgust at an older pair's public displays. “Let’s go, Sora.”

“Okay.” Sora actually snickered, seemingly not the least bit bothered. “Feel better, Cloud! Squall will take care of you!”

“I don’t need to be taken care of.” Cloud said, belatedly shoving Squall’s hand away from his face.

Sora laughed again and let Riku pull him away, heading back the direction they’d come.

“Oh my pretty good luck fish. What am i gonna do with you?” Squall mused, locking his fingers with Clouds and preventing him from pulling away easily.

Cloud scowled, refusing to believe it was more like a pout. “Good luck fish?”

Squall chuckled. “Of course. My very own koi.”

“I’m not a koi.” Cloud growled, feeling like… he’d said this before. Been teased before.

“Then explain my good luck since meeting you.” Squall said, curling around Cloud. It made him uneasy, being around the spines but Squall seemed to almost dismiss them entirely. “We should have stayed in this morning after you woke up with a headache. I’m sorry, my Fortune.”

Cloud tried to scoff but felt heat travel up his neck and into his face. “Fortune? Really?”

Squall hummed his agreement. “My good luck, my good fortune.” He knocked his forehead against Clouds which had him scrambling back but Squall still had a hold of his hand. “Inside pretty mate, lets get you resting. Hopefully you’ll feel better after.”

“I feel fine,” Cloud grumbled but was so weak in the tail for some reason. Squall easily herded him into the den that was…rather cozy inside. The inside was lined with several different kinds of soft moss and it wasn’t as dark as he’d first suspected.

“Yes, but i worry when you have a memory lapse.” Squall said, flipping Cloud onto his back for the fun of it and covering Cloud’s body with his own as Cloud righted himself. “They’ve been happening more frequently, Fortune.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Cloud muttered, trying to figure out the weird moving glow of the cave before he realized… It was coming from him. His strange green scales and his eyes.

He flailed his tail, trying to get free but Squall just pressed him into the soft moss. It must have been where he slept.

“Get off!”

“Humor me.” Squall said, nipping at the membrane between his ear fins. It was such a little thing but Cloud felt it seep into his bones. “I know you’re confused and i’m sorry, but can you honestly tell me you aren’t feeling a little hazy?”

When Cloud didn’t answer, Squall nipped at his ear again. “Stop that.”

“And miss the opportunity to seduce you all over again? I’m not in the habit of wasting such a chance.” Squall muttered, fingers on Cloud’s ribs. “You need the rest, and our home is safe. I’ll protect you while you sleep.”

Cloud bit back a growl, but his gills were working double time, gasping to breathe. He could not be this easy to fluster! “I’m not sick!”

“But you are tired.” Squall said, curling his long tail around Cloud’s. “You always are on days like today.”

Cloud squirmed, hating to seem weak in front of this triton. He didn’t know why. He had no reasons why. The pull between them was dizzying, but mating was supposed to be that kind of bond. Being in tune with the other was how his ma had described it when he was a guppy.

“I’m not tired.” Cloud denied.

Squall hummed, arms fully folding around Cloud as he rested against him. “If you weren’t, you would have put up a hell of a fight instead of letting me push and pull you in all directions. I have you, koi.”

“You are so annoying.” Cloud muttered, refusing to hear the pout in his voice but Squall chuckled and kissed the back of his head.

“Sometimes.” Squall agreed, fingers drawing little patterns on Cloud’s skin.

Cloud had no fight in him, and he hated not knowing what was going on. Resting seemed counter-productive when he needed to figure things out, but Squall wasn’t letting go and Cloud didn’t feel like rising to the bait to fight him off.

He yawned, the moss comfortable, and the hold on him… nice maybe. Cloud couldn’t remember the last time someone promised to protect him.

~

Cloud woke, mind groggily turning back on alongside his consciousness. The first thing he registered was Squall’s grip being a little tighter than usual. His tail was nearly squeezing Cloud’s and even in his sleep, Cloud could tell he was too tense to be getting decent rest.

The previous day slammed into him like an excited dolphin and he winced. He’d spent the morning silently going over his apology. Again.

He knew Squall didn’t want to hear it, but he’d feel awful if he didn’t say something.

He’d been having these random bouts of amnesia for about a year now, and as far as symptoms went, many thought it was a fair trade. Cloud thought anyone who assumed as much was an idiot.

A storm a year prior had been the birth of a disaster. It had made the currents angry and the surface water dangerous. In the dead of night a ship overhead had gotten caught in the waves and sank into the water.

The rough currents had tossed the man made beast around, slamming it into a cluster of dens that had housed several families. That by itself had been scary and dangerous, but then something started leaking from the ship. It was bright green and glowed even without sunlight shining against the water.

Cloud had been a part of the rescue team that night. He’d barreled in with the others, saving who they could. At first it was looking for survivors around the damaged den’s, but it turned into evacuating everyone in the area to get away from the unknown substance that was polluting their waters.

Cloud had swum through it several times that night, his light coloring acting as a beacon so the disoriented could follow him to safer, cleaner waters. The rescue team had felt good about what they’d done that night, until they’d all fallen ill.

They all had coughs and their vision blurred. Headaches started too. Several of their scales started changing colors of the substance leaked from the ship. That bright green. They had outbursts of anger. Outbursts of tears. They fell into a coma, and one by one, they died.

Cloud had been the only one who survived. He’d woken up from his coma dazed and borderline shell shocked. Squall had looked awful. His mate had barely left his side. Cloud had made matters worse in his zonked out state and asked Squall to kill him with one of his spines if his mind shut off.

He didn’t remember saying the words, but he remembered Squall’s absolutely broken look at the suggestion.

Three days more and he’d begun to recover slowly. His eyes glowed and a few smatterings of glowing scales remained. He’d clung to Squall, happy to be alive. Squall himself had been so worried that he’d totally neglected himself.

Tifa had appeared to take charge of the recovery time for both of them. Rest for Squall. Rest and food for Cloud. Things had been looking up for a couple weeks until one day, Cloud was lost. He didn’t know where he was, didn’t know who all the sea dwellers around him were. He’d been confused by the mere ideal of a shoal, a community that was worried about him.

Squall had been devastated that his mate could look right at him and not know him, but the mate bond was still firmly in place and that had helped him from giving up all hope.

The previous day, Cloud had returned mentally, horrified by his own behavior. How could he have just forgotten? His panic had only been soothed by Squall refusing to let him go for the entire day. It was a symptom of the disease he’d contracted and that was all. That was how they treated it anyway.

Every so often, Cloud would get lost. It could last for hours or for days. The record had been eight days of having no idea where he was before just… waking up again as himself. It was rare it lasted so long, but it was starting to feel like the distance between his little episodes was getting shorter and shorter.

Maybe the symptom didn’t seem so bad to some, but it wasn’t just Cloud it affected so badly. It hurt Squall every time and Cloud hated it. He hated being a burden on his mate. He hated reminding Squall of Cloud’s coma, and twisting the knife in with those memories.

Cloud wiggled in Squall’s grip, needing to flex his tail to roll in his mate’s arms. He cupped Squall’s face, brushing a kiss against his mouth. He did it once, twice, three times before Squall shifted to wake. Cloud didn’t pull away, nipping at his bottom lip and gently sliding his clawed fingertips into his hair.

Squall made a sound, a cross between a purr and a growl. That grip of his tail returned around Clouds and he was pushed back into the soft moss.

“Morning.” Cloud muttered, voice rough. He reached out to fiddle with the black pearl around Squall’s neck. A silly little courting gift he’d once presented the triton with. “I’m…sorry about yesterday.”

Squall puffed out a shuddering sigh and pressed a kiss between Cloud’s eyes. “I’m just glad you woke up. As long as you come back to me, i never need an apology.”

Cloud made a face. “For as long as you have to put up with me, an apology is the least i can offer.”

“Hah…” Squall’s fingers trailed across Cloud’s ribs, touching the ink of spines there that boldly advertised his venomous mate. “As fun as seducing you is, i love the recognition in your eyes.”

Cloud just groaned, remembering the night before. The silly nicknames and the little touches. “You’re a fucking sap! You always are! The only thing worse is that i always fall for it!” Cloud knew his face was heating up. “Fuck, i caved so fast because a fucking stranger who felt like my mate had me by the tail.”

Squall laughed. “It’s a good tail, koi.”

“Oh, shut up.” Cloud pouted, dropping his charade when Squall tilted his head for another kiss. He was a pain in the ass when he didn’t have his memories, but there was no denying the attraction between Squall and himself even without them.

He loved his triton and wanted to be able to give Squall the world for all he’d put him through. The pollution sickness was no joke, and they’d had to make many adjustments because of it. Cloud’s days of amnesia notwithstanding, it sure hindered their ability to start a family. Cloud regretted not starting one sooner now, not knowing how their eggs would be affected by his illness.

Squall thought nothing of it and said they’d adopt if they wanted to. It was just one more example of him making a compromise so Cloud didn’t feel guilty.

“I do hope you realize, i’m keeping you to myself for a couple hours.” Squall muttered, hand sliding from skin to scales before gripping Cloud’s tail. Cloud already felt his gills starting to flutter, a telling smell of pheromones in the water around them.

“Oh no…” Cloud muttered, voice deadpan. “The scary lionfish wants to have his way with me.”

Squall barked out a laugh, fingers still trailing across Cloud’s scales until he found a small uneven slit that had him moaning instantly. “Guilty…”

~

Squall had two passions. The first, and most important was his mate. In the beginning he’d never have guessed that Cloud’s health would have been such a worry, but it was and they’d adapted. It was handled and Squall had never viewed it as a chore.

His mate was a hero who had saved so many folks that awful night. It was still whispered around the shoal and there was no telling how far out into the ocean the tale stretched. He didn’t really care. Cloud certainly didn’t care. He had never been looking for glory.

Squall’s second passion was the restoration of their reef. It had been growing, and at a startling rate under his and Ellone’s careful ministrations. It was something of a talent in their family and the pair had always wanted a great big home.

This had been a good place to start years prior. He’d barely been into his adulthood when they’d come across this reef by chance while traveling. They’d never expected to integrate so easily but it had become home before they knew it. Wanting to expand was natural. They couldn’t totally change topography but they had their tricks. There was also the fact that they didn’t have thousands of years to wait for things to grow, but they could give it a helping hand.

They’re little reef was growing, expanding. The drop off didn’t seem as scary to some as it once had and they were stretching their reach further and further. They were seeing more trade between other shoals and territories, more folks just swimming through. It was good, bringing them foreign objects and other materials they didn’t have in these parts. There were only a few who liked to travel along the currents of the ocean to bring things back themselves.

Cloud used to be one of them before the accident. They’d agreed for now that was unwise. Squall couldn’t bear the thought of Cloud losing his way while wandering and Cloud felt it was too much of a risk as well.

It wasn’t ideal, but it was for the best.

“Hey there, Squall.” Quistis greeted as he swam up to her. She’d been keeping track of a few hunting parties and was keeping herself busy while she waited for their return. “How’s everything?”

“Fine. Better.” She didn’t pry, and he didn’t elaborate, but they both knew she was asking after Cloud.

Her tail was yellow and white, that pattern so close that it was hard to tell which color were the actual stripes. A long thin seashell held her hair bunched up on top of her head to keep it from wafting around her freely. The ink of their shoal was between her shoulder blades.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Quistis said with a sigh. “And you’ll be glad to hear we’ve had a number of folks passing through. A couple were amazed at the growth around here.”

Squall just hummed, keeping his pride in his chest. “Good. Anyone looking to trade?”

“A couple. Cid went on ahead to poke around and see what we might be interested in.”

“Even better.” Squall said, trusting Cid to know what they’d need over most others.

Quistis fidgeted with her hair somewhat, the action unlike her. “There’s something else i wanted to mention.”

He cocked a brow and gestured for her to continue. Hesitation wasn’t usually something he’d equate with her.

“There’s a small group about. We directed them to one of the open dens to rest in. They’re waiting for the second half of their group before continuing on.”

“Okay?” Squall said, knowing he’d get the full story eventually.

“I thought…” She turned to give him her full attention. “I thought you might want to talk to them. All of them have eyes like Clouds. One of them has the same kind of scales too.”

Squall was immediately alert. “Did they seem ill?” Everyone across the reef could recall how the rescue party had first fallen ill after the exposure to the pollution.

She shook her head. “No. More like Cloud. They must have weathered the worst of it and recovered.”

“Recovered.” Squall wondered if that was true. They didn’t know everything about that illness, only what they’d observed for themselves. There was no telling what kind of symptoms hadn’t even surfaced yet. “Thanks Quis. I think i will go take a look. Maybe…” He trailed off. He didn’t know what he hoped to gain from that sort of investigating but doing nothing wasn’t an option when it was a matter of Cloud’s health.

“Good luck.” Quistis said as he swam away, and Squall hoped he wouldn’t need it but some days he worried their luck would run out. Cloud would forever be his good luck koi but he’d survived already. How much more luck could he have?

Squall swam, heading for the drop off where many dens had been carved into the bottom of the reef. It had been Ellone’s idea to always keep a few open and available for travelers and they’d come in handy on a number of occasions.

It also showcased a welcoming ambiance that kept folks coming back.

It didn’t take Squall long to swim to their guest dwellings and it took even less time to work out which one they were staying in since they seemed to be loitering in the water not very far away from it. They’d likely deep dived for a bigger selection of fish to eat and had only recently returned. It was still early and there was plenty of sunlight shining even that far down.

“Excuse me!” Squall greeted and found himself in a unique situation. Squall was not a small triton. Often he was on the bigger side of things among the locals. His tail had a good two or three feet on Cloud’s. These visiting tritons were far bigger than he was. Not just by the size of their tails but by the broadness of their shoulders. He couldn’t imagine where they were from originally and he couldn't make out their ink.

There was a redhead whose tail was also so red it was nearly black. A larger dark haired triton with a deeper green tail that contained swirls of blue. A second dark haired triton with a tail so blue he’d have nearly blended into the ocean if his fins hadn’t been orange.

The last was the biggest, hair and tail both silver. His tail had splotches of black scales but he could see the flicker of glowing green scales even at the distance he was. They looked exactly like Cloud’s. All four of them had eyes that glowed.

He’d gotten their attention, but continued to swim closer instead of yelling at them. All four were alert and held themselves far more carefully than Squall had ever seen. They were tense and likely readying themselves for a confrontation. If they spent much time in the open ocean, it was probably normal for them.

“What’s up?” The blue tailed triton asked with a friendly smile. The other three were not smiling. “We uh.. Were told we could stay here.”

“You can.” Squall agreed, hating that it took a little effort to tear his eyes off the glowing scales. “That’s not what i wanted. My name is Squall. I actually had a question for the four of you if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Sure. I’m Zack.” The blue tail beamed. “What can we do for you?”

He really did look healthy, but Cloud often did too and still suffered side effects. “I came as soon as i was told about your eyes.”

He barely got the words out and hadn’t even finished speaking before the redhead snarled. “And what!? You want to gawk!? Is that what you wanted?”

Squall remembered the bouts of anger the rescue team had. Cloud hadn’t been exempt from them either. The tone however had Squall’s spines standing on end. He might have been a touch smaller than the redhead but he wasn’t going to back down.

The silver triton grabbed the redhead by his arm, pulling him back and eyeing the spines that decorated Squall’s tail warily.

“Relax Genesis.” Zack sighed, looking back at Squall. “Sorry about him. It’s a touchy subject. Uh, no poking, okay?”

Squall hummed but his spines lowered a fraction. “I wouldn’t be so rude as to ask how you acquired such eyes.” He knew the pollution had something to do with it. “I only wanted to ask if you’ve suffered from temporary cases of amnesia.”

All four of them winced, but Zack was the worst at hiding it. They were silent, exchanging looks and Squall had no idea how they were communicating since their expressions hardly changed.

“I understand.” The green tailed triton finally said, drifting closer. “You know someone who has suffered mako poisoning?”

Squall nodded once. “If that’s what you call it. It began as a pollution sickness and…” Squall looked between the four of them, all of them listening. Even Genesis had calmed himself from his previous outburst. “Is there a way to ease it? My mate…”

“Awe, jeez.” Zack muttered. “No wonder you’re curious.”

“I’m Angeal.” The triton said, introducing the others. “Genesis. Sephiroth. You know Zack already.” He gestured to each of them. The silver triton, Sephiroth, seemed particularly interested. “Did this happen recently?”

“No, it’s been about a year now.” Squall said and he recounted the story for them. The storm, the human ship. The pollution. His mate being the sole survivor of the rescue team. All of them looked fairly surprised he was still alive.

“He has scales like yours as well.” Squall gestured to Sephiroth. “Not a huge amount but little patches turned green and glow.”

“Like mine?” Sephiroth did look shocked at that. “That’s quite the high level of exposure…”

“He seems…” Squall hesitated, sure Cloud didn’t want a group of strangers knowing his business but if they could help… “Perfectly fine most days. It’s the memory loss that i’m afraid is getting worse. Hours at a time. Sometimes days at a time.”

“The fates are cruel.” Genesis muttered, but he looked far more sympathetic than he had in the beginning.

Zack was the one to hum, his arms crossed as he thought the problem over. “Look, i don’t wanna get your hopes up and make promises i can’t keep, but my mate is a healer. She’ll be arriving here in a day or two with some others.”

Squall perked up, and his hopes were raised despite Zack’s words. Healers were rare to come by and most of them did all they could to get to as many of those in need as they could but the oceans were vast and they couldn’t be everywhere at once.

“A healer…”

“Mhmm.” Zack smiled. “I’m sure she’d be happy to take a look. It’s true she helped the four of us but she can only do so much. Having not seen your mate for myself, i don’t want to make any promises for her.”

Squall shook his head. “No, i understand. I’d appreciate her even just taking a look. We don’t really get healers out this way. It’s probably been closer to ten years since this reef saw one.”

Angeal made a sympathetic noise in the back of his throat. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Is memory loss his only symptom?” Sephiroth asked, trying to keep them on track.

Squall manually flattened one of his spines against his tail. “I would say it’s the biggest. There were other effects but i’m not an expert on what real symptoms are. It did change him in some ways.”

“Naturally.” Sephiroth agreed.

“Better vision?” Genesis suggested. “Better overall senses?”

“Yes, though it can trigger his headaches on occasion.” Squall said, quickly running down the list of the biggest changes they'd noticed. “He’s always been decisively strong for his size but that tripled at least. He swims faster than before too but when he crashes he could sleep for a full day’s cycle.”

“Sounds rather on point with the rest of us.” Angeal said. “All this just from a passing ship…”

Squall nodded. “We had to quarantine that section as best we could. It took around three months for the traces of it to fade but Cloud claims he can taste it in the water still.”

Genesis frowned. “And no one else has fallen ill since?”

“No.” Squall said but amended his answer. “At least i don’t think so. Certainly not like the rescue team did. I don’t know if it’s present in other ways.”

“I would like to see this area.” Sephiroth said. “Could you tell us how to get there?”

Squall nodded, pointing over Sephiroth’s shoulder. “Just over six klicks that way. You’ll pass some jellies that are double the size they should be. The wreckage of the ship is still there. We wanted to wait longer before sending in teams to dismantle it.”

“Smart.” Angeal approved. “No sense taking the risk if the water undisturbed hasn’t led to any more sickness.”

Sephiroth was already swimming in that direction. “Let’s go.”

Genesis was on his tail. “Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey in my own salvation.”

The others were obviously used to his riddles and didn’t even comment on them.

“Excuse us.” Angeal said, giving chase since Sephiroth’s pace was not a slow one.

“We’ll come find you after my mate arrives!” Zack yelled as he swam after them. “Promise! We’ll help if we can!”

“Thanks.” Squall muttered, not bothering to yell. If they were like Cloud, they’d heard him. A part of him wanted to follow, but Cloud had asked him not to go back to the shipwreck until they were sure the water was fully cleared.

When Cloud had been in a coma, Squall had promised him anything he wanted if he would just wake up. Staying in safe waters was hardly a chore.

Now that he’d been uplifted by their confidence in their healer… Cloud would notice his good mood. It was kind of Zack to not want to get his hopes up too prematurely, but it was far too late for that.

~

Squall nearly winced when he returned home for the night and Cloud was waiting at the mouth of their den, his arms crossed as he looked increasingly unimpressed. Given what he knew about their home reef, rumors were likely flying already.

“Evening, my Fortune.”

Cloud snorted. “What did you do?”

“I haven’t done anything yet.” Squall muttered, bumping up against Cloud and bending to press a kiss to his shoulder.

“Yet.” Cloud repeated with a scoff, but his clawed fingers had reached up to play with his hair. “So you didn’t send some random group of travelers to the accident site?”

“No.” Squall said honestly, palm resting against the tattoo on Cloud’s ribs. “They went on their own.”

Cloud sighed, the noise far from amused. “Those waters are dangerous.”

“And they know that.” Squall said, nodding with his head for them to enter their den. Cloud was annoyed for only a second more before heading inside. His scales threw pretty light around in the darker corners.

“Why would you even bring that up to them? What’s going on? Everyone seems to clam up when i’m swimming by and i don’t like it. Don’t make me go ask Sora.” The threat was a real one since Sora couldn’t lie to save his life and he didn’t even bother trying most of the time.

Squall tried to curl up around Cloud, but his silly tactics only worked so seamlessly when Cloud had forgotten about them. Now, Cloud smacked Squall with his tail to keep them both focused. “They have a healer in their group. One that’s seen a version of your pollution sickness before.” Squall said softly. “I went…”

Cloud’s expression closed off. “I’m not sick. I recovered. I’m here.”

“Koi.” Squall grabbed him by his shoulders. “You are, and i’m grateful for it daily, but we both know why i went. If they know something we don’t, even something miniscule, i want to find out. Anything that would give you an easier time of things.”

Cloud made a face, but he stayed quiet. It wasn’t unusual for the way they argued. Both were on the quiet side, and they were good at making their point and moving on.

“Lion.” Cloud finally wilted. “I don’t want you to get hurt when we’re told there’s nothing even a healer can do. I know my memory loss hurts you more than anything but-”

“It’s not about me.”

“It is.”

“It’s not!” Squall dragged him closer and squeezed him tight. Had Cloud wanted to break out of his grip, he could have, but instead he stayed, cheek resting against Squall’s shoulder. “It’s hard on you. I can’t imagine just…blinking and losing track of where i am. Forgetting faces. You handle yourself so well, but i hate that you have to. I hate that you apologize after finding your way home.”

Squall pressed a kiss to the juncture of his neck. “Yes, it’s hard for me too. Yes, it may be true that the healer can’t do anything, but i am going to try. I am going to keep trying. Anything that keeps you with me a moment longer.”

Cloud didn’t say anything for a while, but his arms wound around Squall’s waist. They were safe in their home away from prying eyes but Cloud almost seemed like he was hiding himself against Squall’s larger frame.

“Such a sap.” Cloud swallowed. “And i fall for it every time…”

Squall couldn’t help the trill that passed his lips. He let them both fall to the side and drift in the water in slow circles. “I’m gonna keep trying. Don’t give up on yourself. I’m not willing to.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Cloud muttered, nuzzling his nose against Squall’s throat. “I don’t know why you think a healer can help my memory but if you want to double check, that’s fine.”

“Thank you.” Squall said. “The healer will arrive in a day or two. They promised to come take a look at you. Just the fact that they’d seen this kind of sickness before was… It’s more than i thought we’d get.”

“That’s… Yeah, i guess so. I never really thought i’d come across a healer without seeking one out.” Cloud moved his tail lazily as they spun around aimlessly. They both knew he wasn’t well enough to travel and seek anyone out at the moment. Squall would have gone with him but he would have hated being away from the reef long term.

“It’s your luck.”

“I have no luck.”

“Face it, koi.” Squall purred, “Your good luck appears when we need it.”

“I’m not a koi.” Cloud grumbled, making his mate laugh. He shimmied his body against Squall’s but swam away from him just as quickly. So what if teasing his mate was something of a hobby? “Let’s go catch dinner. We can try for something a little bigger off the reef.”

“Are you asking me out on a swim?” Squall asked, chasing after Cloud regardless of how many times Cloud swatted at him with his tail.

“Maybe i am.” Cloud shrugged, leaving the den with Squall still right behind him. It had been a while since they’d gone on something resembling a date. They stayed in more often than not these days but Squall’s worries had hit Cloud a little harder than usual.

Cloud was more than aware of what he’d unintentionally put Squall through. Neither triton was flashy, but Cloud decided right then and there that he needed to show off his mate a little more again. He didn’t need to travel and find gifts to remind his mate he was loved. There were things closer to home they could share.

Maybe he’d find a new plant for the den. He could get Ellone to root it and see how long it took Squall to notice.

The idea had him smiling, which in turn put Squall in a good mood even if he didn’t know the reason. Squall bumped him as they swam and even if it was only for a little while, it was nice to pretend things were normal.

~

It took two days before Sora had sought out Squall and Cloud, informing them that the healer had arrived and the travelers were asking about them. It had pleased Squall to no end that Zack really had spoken to his mate on their behalf. Cloud had half expected them to bail without a word.

They didn’t speak much as they swam past the drop off to the visitors' dens. Cloud had been avoiding the area since he learned about these newcomers but the second he saw them, he knew he should have asked more questions.

No one had told him that they looked like him. Four tritons and a mermaid, but the tritons all had glowing eyes and the silver one even had scales like he did. He cast Squall a scathing look but his mate ignored it. No wonder they knew a thing or two about the pollution sickness but it didn’t explain why they’d swum towards it. What was there to investigate?

“Spike? Holy crap! Spike!” The blue tailed triton thrust towards them at a fast speed but Cloud just reared back and hissed.

Squall had an arm outstretched, keeping between them which… ugh, sometimes that kind of thing really pissed Cloud off and other days it made him weak in the fins.

“Zack…” One of the others sighed.

Zack pouted but didn’t shove his way closer. “But it’s Spike! I didn’t realize!”

“You know him?”

“Yeah!”

Squall cast Cloud a look but Cloud just shook his head. “Never seen you before.”

Zack deflated in an instant, lips flattening briefly. “We met a few years ago. In Wutain waters. You were making trips back and forth for a couple months.”

Cloud just tsked. “Never been to Wutain waters.” At a small noise Squall made, Cloud turned his attention onto his mate. He could see the tightness around his eyes. A faint twitch to his cheek that said Cloud had misspoken and Squall didn’t know if he should correct him or not.

“Have i?” Cloud asked in a quiet voice.

Squall nodded, “It was several years ago, but yes. You traveled with Yuffie and Cid.”

Squall didn’t tack on ‘don’t you remember?’ They both knew he didn’t and why.

Cloud made an unhappy sound, but it didn’t stop Zack.

“Yeah, we met there. You were looking for Wutain pearls.” He grinned and nodded his head to the black pearl Squall wore. “I’m sure it’s been a while and all but congrats.”

“Zack, you silly starfish. Why don’t you introduce everyone to him first?” The mermaid laughed. She must have been his mate, the healer. She was beautiful, brown hair pulled up and decorated with aquatic flowers. Her eyes were green but not pollution green. They didn’t glow.

Her tail was a stark white, with pink spots embellishing her scales down her hips that trailed down each side of her tail.

“Right, right!” Zack snickered. He introduced the other tritons. Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal, and ended with his mate, Aerith.

“Aerith, this is Cloud and Squall!” Zack said, spinning excitedly around Aerith.

She seemed so used to his energy that she didn’t even notice. Her grin held a similar kind of mischief to it so it was little wonder how well they got along.

“Nice to meet you!” She greeted, drifting closer. “These guys told me all about the accident. I’m really sorry you lost so many.”

Cloud nodded once, but Squall took over with a question he directed at Sephiroth. “You found the wreckage alright? Anything noteworthy.”

“Truthfully, not really. Only that Cloud’s assessment was correct. We can still taste the mako in that area. It will probably take another year or two before it’s gone completely.” Sephiroth said.

Angeal nodded. “It was good to keep away from there for now. It probably wouldn’t kill anyone but it would still make you sick.”

“Odds are good the ship was transporting the muck from one land to another. We’ll figure out what ships they are and start breaking them.” Genesis looked a little too pleased with the plans. “Humans really hate that kind of thing.”

“Is that a good idea?” Cloud asked slowly.

Genesis shrugged. “Whatever keeps their crap out of our waters.”

“Oh, enough about that for now.” Aerith said, she was right in front of Cloud now. “If it’s okay, i’d like to talk to you about your symptoms and what i can do to help.”

Cloud just grumbled, “Dunno if you can.”

“Dilly dally, shilly shally!” Aerith beamed. “We won’t know until we try.” She had her hands on her hips and she shooed the others away. Cloud didn’t realize until that moment that he hadn’t been looking forward to an audience to his healing session. He could practically taste his own relief as she sent them away.

The three larger tritons seemed to think nothing of the command and wandered off, Genesis complaining that they were going to need a second den since he didn’t want to share with those that had been guarding Aerith during her trip here.

The only one to linger had been Zack. He pecked a kiss against Aerith’s cheek and smiled at Cloud. “You’re in good hands, Spike. I know your memories are hazy but we gotta hang out again! It’ll be fun, promise.”

He didn’t give Cloud a chance to respond, just took off after the other three. Cloud didn’t think they’d go far, just far enough to give them some semblance of privacy.

Squall stayed, his fingers squeezing Cloud’s.

“What do you want to know?” Cloud asked quietly.

Aerith just smiled though. “I got a pretty good handle on it, i think. I just wanted to give you a second to relax. I’ve been doing this a while.”

“You travel?” Squall guessed. Healers often did. “And they protect you?”

She bobbed her head into a nod, her long hair flowing around her even though it was pulled back. “They do all kinds of things really. Making sure the oceans are safe from human hands. I go with them a lot of the time, but there’s a secondary group i fall back with when things get dicey. There were many shark sightings recently but they tend to run from Zack and the others so they went on ahead to clear the way.”

“Sounds tiresome.” Squall muttered but Cloud snorted.

“Says the triton who’s growing a reef.”

“Shut up.” Squall bumped him fondly.

Aerith trilled her excitement. “That’s you!? We’ve heard so many folks lately talking about this reef. You’re the architect?”

Squall nodded once. “My sister too.”

“That’s so exciting! I can’t wait to explore.” She spun around in a small circle and it was easy to see how she and Zack balanced each other. She turned back to Cloud, only a little sheepish. “You first though.”

“Yeah…”

“Now don’t be nervous, i have a lot of practice.” Aerith said. She reached out slowly, making sure Cloud was fully aware of her before she cupped his face. Her eyes drifted shut, and Cloud couldn’t do anything but watch. From the outside, he didn’t look like she was doing anything but he could feel the warmth of her magic from the top of his webbed ears to the tip of his tail.

The water… the water also tasted different while she worked. Cleaner? Cloud could tell by Squall’s slight shifting that he’d noticed the difference too. He had questions, but interrupting her now didn’t seem like the time to ask.

Cloud didn’t like to interrupt Squall while he was working on the reef either. Breaking someone’s concentration was rude and he avoided it unless there was some kind of emergency. This mermaid was doing him a favor. Depending on how things turned out, he was going to need to find a way to repay her.

“It’s amazing you healed on your own.” Aerith commented, sounding vaguely distracted. “You are fairly healthy. As well as Zack and the others.”

“And his memory?” Squall asked.

Aerith hummed slowly, like a half formed melody was already on her lips. “I don’t think i’ll be able to bring back what was lost, but i think we can taper your broken memory cycles.”

“Taper?” Cloud repeated, hardly believing this was starting to sound like good news.

Her gaze shot open, the pleasant green of her eyes so vibrant that he couldn’t be sure the color existed elsewhere under water. “Uh huh. Sephiroth and Genesis also have days where they are a little confused or forgetful, but it’s only a handful of days a year now instead of several times a week or month. They’re going longer and longer without trouble and i think we can get you there too.”

“What do we need to do?” Squall asked, when Cloud couldn’t seem to find his voice. His ‘we’ struck Cloud hard. Squall was already planning this metaphorical journey for the pair of them.

Cloud reached blindly with his tail to curl around his mates.

Aerith pulled her hands away from Cloud and she beamed at Squall. “That’s right! Ready to fight. I like that! The game plan is simple. I’m gonna hang around for a week or two and work with Cloud daily and monitor everything that’s in his system. We can help his mind heal before it gets worse.” She tapped Cloud’s nose. “And i have an idea for you.”

“For…me?”

“Uh huh.” She laughed. “I think you should head back out to the wreckage for a little bit at a time each day.”

Cloud frowned. “Back to the pollution?”

She nodded. “Yep. You see mako is a part of the planet. It’s totally natural and found all over the place. It’s the humans who keep taking it from it's source and messing with it. When that ship wrecked, there was too much mako in the water and it had poor effects. Too much of anything isn’t good, you know? The way it’s weakened now will probably be good for your recovery. Micro-doses of mako. It’s already in your system so you’ll adjust to it quickly.”

“It’ll help?” Squall’s frown mimicked Cloud’s own.

Aerith nodded again. “Uh huh. Right now, Cloud’s body is still recovering from the overdose, and he’s doing great! But it was still hard on his body. I understand Cloud went back many times, looking for other survivors? That might have made all the difference in his own survival. The in and out.” She tapped her chin as if she was puzzling it out herself. “Right now it’s kind of… clawing at your mind. Like withdrawal. If you feed it just a little bit of mako, while i’m also healing the remains of the pollution, your body will figure out your new normal.”

“Won’t that make me.. Dependent on it?” Cloud asked.

“Nah, you’re not going to be there long. Ten to twenty minutes around the wreckage is all you’ll need for a while and then you can start shortening your trips to wean yourself off of it again. You need just enough to help your memory and force the mako already inside you to think it has everything it needs.” Aerith said. “Zack can even go with you. Traces of mako in the water won’t bother him at all. You’ll get to that point too.”

“That’s…good.” Cloud mumbled. “Right?”

“Right!”

Squall tugged him closer, lips pressed to his shoulder. “It’ll be much better to just have the frequency of your memory loss lessening over time. It sounds great to me.”

“Yeah.” Cloud felt dazed, not used to good news. “And you’re just gonna stay a while?”

“Yup!” Aerith announced with a grin. “I do this kind of thing all the time. Can’t constantly be on the move. I need time to relax too and some patients need a little looking after. It’s completely normal.”

He was glad to hear that too. He didn’t want to feel like a special case that would take up a healer's valuable time.

“Thank you, Aerith.” Squall said, pressing his chest up against Cloud’s back. “We really don’t know how to thank you.”

“Show me your reef and we’ll call it even!” Aerith said, looking genuinely excited. Even. Cloud couldn’t even think about being even with her after this.

“Aerith!” Zack’s voice carried even before he appeared. “Are you done? Do you have a second? Look!” He held up a rather large looking king crab. “Look!”

Squall and Cloud both raised a brow, wondering where his excitement was coming from but Aerith practically squealed as she swam towards him. “I’m done! Where’d you get it! I love crab!”

“I know!” Zack beamed. “These lil baby tritons caught a bunch of them. Like a whole net’s worth of ‘em! They said it was a thank you for helping Cloud!”

“Excellent!” Aerith and Zack were both already pulling it’s legs off before cracking the shell open to eat it right there. “This place is awesome!”

Cloud just slid his attention to Squall, brow still quirked.

“Sora and Riku.” Squall muttered. “They wanted to do something to help. Food was the key to Sora’s heart so Riku thought they should collect something nice for the healer and her shoal.”

“Of course they did.” Cloud sighed, but draped himself against his mate’s chest. He felt exhausted and all he’d done was float there while Aerith took a little look at him with her magic, “She thinks i’m gonna be okay…”

“She thinks you’ll be okay.” Squall squeezed him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Your memory won’t get worse.”

“Hn..” Cloud grunted, surging up to catch his mouth. “As long as i don’t forget you, i’m good.”

“I’ll just court you again. There’s no getting rid of me, koi.” Squall promised, hand moving down to Cloud’s scales.

They were interrupted by a yell from Zack. “Spike! Squall! C’mon, let’s eat!”

“Let’s eat!” Aerith echoed.

Cloud looked up at Squall, amusement twitching at his lips. “C’mon, lion. I need to make more memories.”

“With me?”

“Always with you.”