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The human’s fumbling footsteps ricocheted loudly in the cave system, the sound bouncing off the wall and jumping around restlessly. Even underwater, the noisiness of his little prey made its way to Minho, the echoes of his mate getting closer was much like a siren song of its own. He stayed under the surface, icy water running through his gill with every mouthful of water. Minho was confident enough in the human’s skillset that he didn’t worry about him getting lost on his way to where Minho was waiting for him.
To where he had promised to always stay waiting for him.
For Chan, Minho didn’t mind indulging a bit in his mortal wants and desires. He didn’t mind swimming into the deep underwater cave to wait, didn’t mind the boring restlessness that followed with the narrow space, because it was all worth it for a short time spent with his human. If Minho was lucky, it wouldn’t be long now before he could convince Chan to shed his humanity and come under the surface with him and live amongst the sharks and ruthless currents.
Down to the deep where Minho and his kind ruled and where Minho never had to surfer in the absence of his mate.
Minho smiled to himself, his sharp fangs digging into the plush flesh of his lips. There was no denying how much he was anticipating Chan’s visit; it had been weeks since Chan had had an opportunity to sneak away from his human life, weeks of Minho longing for his mate. It was perhaps a bit too pathetic for a creature such as Minho to be this excited for a mere human, but the moment Minho had laid eyes on him for the first time, hidden from sight behind the rocks near the shore, he had recognized his mate immediately in the black-haired human.
He had been magnificent, dressed oddly and with legs instead of what would have been a perfect tail, but Minho had loved him all the same, his heart knowing the human was his and his alone. His home was the ocean, Minho could see that on his strong arms, broad shoulders, the pale skin that belonged down in the deep at Minho’s side.
All it had taken was a short song and Chan had been caught in Minho’s trap.
“Minho?” Chan called out, getting closer and closer to the pool Minho had decided to hide in for the time being, his silly prey letting every single creature in the caves know his position. He was lucky that out of all the predators hidden in the dark waters, Minho was by far the worst. “Minho, where are you?”
Minho let him suffer a bit more in the uncomfortable ignorance of where the siren was hidden, before he pushed off from the rock he had been holding onto while resting in the waters, the cave too cramped for Minho and his long tail to swim comfortably. He didn’t bother using his tail to reach the surface quicker, but just allowed himself to drift slowly through the water, the current caressing him as it guided him to his lover, until his head broke through the surface, his hair sticking to his face.
His eyes didn’t need time to readjust to the light of the flashlight Chan was using to light up the save. While he preferred the darkness of the deep blue, he had also spent enough time among humans to be used to their severe need for light. Even as a creature of the deep, Minho enjoyed feeling the sun on his skin. Every day, he thanked his need to soak in the sun for having brought him the gift of his mate.
“Minho,” Chan called again, carefully walking along the edge of the pool, his back turned to where Minho was watching him with hungry eyes, completely unaware like the perfect prey he was. Once Minho took him under the surface he would need to protect and care for him lest someone else decide to sink their dirty teeth into him. Chan was Minho’s prey, his mate, his plaything.
Chan took a step backwards, the flashlight flickering momentarily and Minho heard how his heart sped up, skipping a beat before it raced on, fear settling into him when it went out for a moment too long before it turned on again. Soon the dark would no longer be dangerous to Chan, soon he would be the danger in the darkness of the ocean. Once again, the flashlight lit up the cave and Minho took the moment of inattentiveness, his tail fins breaking through the surface, the weight of the water working to keep him under, until it too had to give under to Minho’s might as he pulled his tail out of the water begun him.
The sound of water splashing everywhere was loud, echoing around the underground cave, but it was not as loud as Chan’s fearful yell. The human spun around, the hand holding the flashlight trembling as he stared wide-eyed at Minho who raised a hand and waved much like he had seen human greets each other on the ground, his tail falling back in the water with another great splash that sent water flying everywhere.
“Hello,” Minho said with a smile as he pulled further out of the water, his fangs once again making themselves known as they poked into his lip. “You are late,” he added, dragging out the words a little, sounding almost like he was singing them, but he wouldn’t let Chan get a taste of what he desperately yearned for just yet. “I do not like waiting.”
“I-I’m sorry,” Chan said, something dazed settling in his eyes when they locked with Minho’s. The fright immediately dropped out of him and got carried away. Minho knew his song was dangerous for humans. It would have driven everyone else mad, but as Minhos mate it just made Chan addicted, brought him closer and closer to Minho until he could drag Chan down and make him shed his human skin. “I got a bit lost,” he added, ignorant of Minho’s desires as he rubbed his neck awkwardly, walking closer.
“You should not get lost,” Minho said, placing both hands on the rocky ground, his skin glistening wet just like the clams and teeth bound around his wrists with the fishnets he had torn apart when his brother had been caught in it. He got to keep it as a trophy, much like he still visited the wreck of the boat that had almost cost him his kin’s life. “You are not stupid, Chan,” he added, eyes on the matching bracelet on his mate’s wrist.
It was a sign that he had accepted Minho’s proposal, a sign that he belonged to Minho.
“No, I’m not,” Chan said, stumbling over to him just as Minho pulled himself out of the water, the ground immediately getting soaked under him and he sat down.
His long turquoise tail shimmered in the light from Chan’s flashlight as the wide and flowy tail fins drifted on the surface. In the light of the moon, it sometimes looked like Minho’s tail was decorated by the finest gemstones. Chan’s hand twitched at his side when brushed his wet hair out of his face and looked up at him, blinking languidly at him.
“Can I… Can I touch?”
Always so polite.
“Do you deserve it?” Minho asked, digging his fingers into the sandy ground under him, feeling the solid rock hidden under the thin layer against his claws. Having Chan this close, begging for Minho’s attention was a heady feeling, enough to light a hunger deep in Minho's stomach that couldn’t be satisfied before his mate joined him in the deep. “You are late, you are noisy, you are human. Do you deserve to touch?”
Chan swallowed thickly, slowly getting onto his knees in front of Minho, his bare knees pressed against the ground.
“I… Yes, I deserve it,” Chan said, only faltering a little bit in his resolution. Good. It was progress. Minho couldn’t have a mate who didn’t think he deserved to own him and much as Minho would own Chan when he drowned him and the ocean stole his legs away.
“Then touch me,” Minho said, keeping Chan’s brown eyes locked with his violet ones. He couldn’t wait for the day where Chan’s eyes would match his and when his tail would resemble Minho’s.
Chan didn’t hesitate for a moment longer than he needed to. His palm was hot when he pressed it against the side of Minho’s tail, the iridescent scales hidden under him as he started caressing him, uncaring of anything but the sensation of being close to Minho.
It didn’t take long before Chan’s hand traveled upwards and towards Minho’s waist, his thumb brushing just underneath his gills. The sense of vulnerability that traveled through Minho would have been shameful if it wasn’t his mate that was touching him so carefully and enthralled, his eyes glazed over with the sweet addiction he had for everything that made up Minho.
It wouldn’t be long before both of them would belong fully to the sea.
“Good boy,” Minho said, unable to stop himself from caressing his side of Chan’s face. Chan immediately leaned into the touch, his eyes falling shut and his lips parting as he exhaled.
In the dim light, his pupils were blown wide, swallowing up the brown of his eyes. His skin was dry and warm, so, so tempting to bite into and ruin, and Minho loved it.
“Channie, you are perfect,” Minho praised just as Chan bit his bottom lip, no doubt hoping to fight the words that were about to leave him, but he was as weak as ever when faced with Minho’s allure.
“Will you sing for me?” He asked, his voice raspy from need. He trembled slightly, either from his desire for Minho’s voice or from the cold. “Please, Minho, I need to hear you sing,” he sighed, leaning into Minho’s touch, eyes closing as his head tilted to the side, exposing his beautiful neck.
Minho hummed, pretending to mull over the words, just to drag out Chan’s torture for a moment too long. If Chan wasn’t a silly human, he would already understand the implications of Minho’s permitting him to touch and feel him, that Minho was already his and that everything, even Minho’s voice, belonged to Chan, his pretty little prey.
“If I sing for you, do you promise to give me a kiss first?” Minho asked, taking pride in how Chan’s eyes opened, saturated with desire.
He nodded and Minho smiled. Chan deserved to get hunted and pulled into the ocean and drowned.
“What are you waiting for?” Minho asked, tilting his head slightly to the side, the wet strands of hair falling in over his eyes. “Kiss me,” he ordered, eyes on his mate’s plush lips.
Chan surged forward and captured Minho’s lips, his hands cradling Minho’s face as he kissed him like a starving man, the taste of salt on Minho’s tongue shared between them when he deepened the kiss. He moaned and Minho permitted him to take control and take everything he desired, his hands everywhere on Minho, touching and worshiping his skin like it was the finest artwork known to mankind.
Maybe he was. Minho didn’t know nor did he care.
Minho’s hand found the back of Chan’s head, curling into the soft strands so he could keep him close and get the fill of the human like he had been waiting for since the last time they parted. Chan was less gentle this time, but Minho loved it.
It just proved that he was getting closer and closer to where Minho needed him for him to finally become his mate.
Chan’s bottom lip got caught on Minho’s fang and cut into the fragile skin and they both moaned as Minho’s mouth filled with the sweet taste of Chan’s blood, sinking into him and branding his very soul as Chan’s.
“Mine,” Minho growled, soothing the cut on Chan’s lips with his tongue, swallowing every drop of Chan’s blood like the gift it was. “Only mine,” he asserted with a sharp exhale as Chan’s warm and mortal hands once again drifted over his sensitive gills.
“Minho,” Chan whispered, scattering his face with small kisses, sounding so devoted that all Minho could do was close his eyes and revel in it, the sweet taste on his tongue making him euphoric. “I love you, I love you, I love you,” he chanted, sounding like a drunken sailor as the words were lost in Minho’s mouth when Chan returned to kissing him senseless.
“I love you, too, silly human,” Minho said when Chan finally pulled away to look at him, his breathing labored, his lips wet and puffy and his eyes wild. He already looked like a siren, so full of passion, he was ready to join Minho, finally ready to become what he had been destined to be from the moment he was born. “Such a pretty little prey, all for me to hunt and devour,” he purred, tugging at Chan’s curl and making his mate whimper helplessly.
“Yours, always yours,” Chan said, his hands caressing Minho’s sides again, making him shiver as he once again touched just under his gills. “Always,” he emphasized and Minho smiled. He had such a good mate, pliant and willing, strong and protective.
His flock would no doubt be envious of Chan, would be envious that Minho’s mate was so indescribably perfect.
“I promised you a song, did I not?” Minho said and pulled away, easing his body back into the water, proud of himself when Chan followed after him. Eventually, he needed to plant his hands on the ground when he almost lost his balance, hovering over the surface ready to follow Minho into the darkness below.
“You did,” Chan affirmed, nodding frantically like he was afraid Minho was leaving him. In a way he was, Minho agreed silently, sinking deeper down until only his face was above the surface, the cold salt water wrapping around him and welcoming him back home. He swallowed down a mouthful of water, feeling it wash over his gills as he made himself ready.
Minho stared up at his mate, Chan leaning further out over the water, arms shaking with the strain as he followed Minho, his eyes carrying a purple tint.
Minho smiled and reached up to bless Chan with the touch of the ocean on his cheek.
“I will sing for you, my love,” Minho said, pressing his palm against Chan’s face, admiring his mortal features one last time, memorizing the heat of his mate’s skin, the deep brown that was waning into purple before he opened his mouth and inhaled.
It was finally time.
Minho started singing, the words sweet and soft, a song no mortal would ever hear, a song only for the people of the ocean. He pushed away from the edge, allowing the current to pull him home as the cave filled with the lure of the siren’s call. The song intoxicated Chan further, drawing him closer and closer to the edge of the pool as he strived to be close to Minho… until he tumbled over and fell into the deep blue.
He would look stunning as a creature of the ocean, Minho was certain of that as he caught his mate and pulled him into the deep ocean. With a hard flick of his tail, he dragged Chan down to where he belonged.