Chapter Text
This is so freaking awkward.
Why is Tommy even here? Hen and Karen with Denny and Mara, Eddie with Christopher, Athena and Bobby with May. A proper family excursion. He should at least have Chimney, but Chimney is practically part of the Wilson household.
And all of them are just. Dragging the gay bachelor along with them.
He doesn’t even know how he got roped into it, but that’s the story of Tommy’s life post-Bobby in the 118.
Sure, Tommy participates in the dinners and birthdays and parties that the team arranges and mostly enjoys his time, but he’s the kind that is invited to things, but doesn’t really arrange something for himself. He prefers being alone and likes his own space. The closest person he has on the team is Eddie, the two of them sharing a beer after work sometimes and he has watched over Christopher a handful of times, though Eddie only asks him as a last resort.
They probably pity-invited him, feeling bad about leaving him out, though Tommy isn’t really sure how he wound up being a part of the group anyways.
He has never attempted to become a part of that little family of the 118, had kept his private life and work separate and mostly surrounded himself with other people from the 118. But Chimney, Eddie, Bobby and Hen had continuously pulled him into their group, adopted him really, until everyone viewed him as part of it. When Tommy came out a few years ago, they had turned even fiercer in taking him and since then things seem to have been carved in stone. And it was nice until now, where he felt a little bit like an outsider.
Whatever. He’s mostly here for Christopher. He had been talking about the aquarium for weeks since the place had extended with some freshwater tanks, introducing small river sharks and the full view of underwater trees and massive water lilies. He had shown Tommy so many pamphlets that when Eddie had invited Tommy, Tommy felt too bad not to go. Sometimes Tommy thinks Christopher just needs someone to geek out with him and though Tommy is not very interested in marine fauna and flora and doesn’t have that much to contribute, he can hear Christopher out and learn something new in the process.
The water lilies are pretty and the sharks neat. Watching the seals being fed is a treat and the coffee ain't too bad. There’s also the mer-exhibit they had booked, which opened three years ago. Tommy has never really been that interested in going, though it was all the rage when it first opened. Something about the mer’s eerie similarity with a human and unpredictability of the mers didn’t sit right with him. Despite researchers claiming that mers are only as smart as dolphins albeit with a more reclusive nature, the uncanny valley of the being still doesn’t sit right with him.
So he trails after Christopher and listens to his various rambles about what makes each sea- or river creature unique and how the flora is compatible with the water oxygen level and the animals living inside the tanks of course.
Then they get to the mer-exhibit. There are only around nine mer-displays in the world, mers hard to keep alive in containment. Tommy has seen some pictures here and there of other mer-exhibits and been a little intrigued, especially with how the ethnicities of the mers almost always matched the local ethnicity except for the one in China that was imported.
The room of the huge mer-exhibit illuminated from the cube-shaped tank itself, the tank being at least nine feet tall and twelve feet in width. Only groups that had booked a slot were allowed in at a time so there are no other guests in the room besides them.
And there he is.
His tail, long and shimmery white-silver, is curled around his body and he is crouched in the far corner of the tank. Tommy expected something mammal-like for some reason, a tail as thick and dense as a dolphin’s or shark’s. But he has a fanned tail, much like a fish, his fins white and glittery as they fade seamlessly into the blue lights of water. His face is hidden underneath his crossed arms, short dirty blond hair undulating around his head. If Tommy were to interpret his body language like a human’s, he would say that the mer looks unwell.
“W-What’s wrong with him?” Christopher asks, pausing with wide eyes. “Is he sick?”
Eddie puts his arm around Christopher’s shoulder and the pleasant mood of the day quickly shifts into something tense and strained. Tommy is filled with a feeling of dread. No one likes to see an animal so obviously in pain.
Tommy knows that the mer doesn’t only live in that white cube of emptiness all the time, that he allegedly has a resting aquarium that he goes to when the aquarium closes. This is just the aquarium he’s showcased in, but it’s devoid of any objects, just a white plastic floor, a glass wall and tons of bright lights.
The aquarium is open for eight hours a day.
Are they keeping him in there for that entire time? When Tommy sights the sign in front of the tank, he checks and the display is closed for one and half hours a day, two 45 minutes breaks, presumably to feed. The mer’s name is Spot.
Mara starts to cry and the sound seems to jolt the merman.
Drowsily he seems to come to, slowly removing his arms from his face and squinting through the blunt glare of the lights.
“Can’t they dim the lights? This is cruel,” Karen says, sounding stricken as she tries to usher Mara out, who won’t move and can’t stop staring at the mer.
The mer slowly turns his head towards the sound of her cries and seems to notice his audience. He blinks harshly in Mara’s direction and then swims forwards, the movements of his tail soft and natural as he makes way to the glass.
She stops crying as she sees him coming nearer.
He stops at the glass and she blinks up at him.
Then he taps the glass with fanned fingers, before using his finger to do a circle on the glass.
Maria sniffles, looking confused.
He taps the glass again and does another circle with his finger, this time faster and more intently.
Spot’s eyes are a piercing blue-grey color and this close Tommy sees that the mer’s eyes are bigger than what is natural, his face slim, nose flat and chin pointy, yet he still has ears and an Adam’s apple. The mer has a red patch of scales on his eyelid and above his brow and a few silver patches on his arms and torso. Oddly enough the uncanny valley doesn’t bother Tommy as much as he thought.
Hesitantly Mara reaches out her hand and presses it along his on the glass.
“Did someone hit his eye?” Mara asks as she curiously inspects the mer’s fanned fingers. The fans are white and seamlessly fade into his clawed fingers.
“It’s natural,” Karen says, wary again. “They call him Spot.”
“Spot,” she whispers with fascinated reverence.
Spot lets go of the glass and when she pauses, he does the circle with his finger again, this time without touching the glass.
Following what almost seems like instructions, Mara does a circle with her finger and then looks astonished as he swirls his long body in a perfect circle.
Her mouth falls open, before she eagerly does another circle and he does another swirl. Then she giggles and strokes her finger up and down in a line.
Spot smiles with closed lips and then swims up the top of the glass and down again, stilling as he waits for more instructions.
“That’s…” Hen says. “I didn’t know they could smile. It makes him look really human.”
Mara laughs and then does a spiral with her fingers.
Spot swims to the top of the glass and then smoothly swims in a spiral shape until he gets back to her, doing a small wave and smiling again.
Then he seems to sight Christopher and he swims towards him. Christopher’s mouth opens in awe as Spot’s eyes curiously inspect him.
Then Spot mimics Christopher and he opens his mouth in a o and positions his arms like he’s holding invisible crutches.
Christopher laughs in surprise, leaning over as he adjusts his crutches.
Spot mimics a laugh and leans over too.
“I didn’t know he could do tricks,” Christopher says in excitement. He looks back at Spot and does a thumbs up.
Spot squints and then does the same, his movement more strained because of the fanned fingers.
Christopher flips him the bird.
“Hey!” Eddie says. “Don’t do that!”
But instead of mirroring Christopher, Spot raises a finger and does a reprimanding gesture at him, exaggerating with a frown.
Christopher starts to laugh and Spot smiles again. He turns his head back towards Mara and very strongly flinches as it makes him look directly into the light. He presses the palms of his hands into eyes, momentarily out of it.
“It’s okay,” Mara hurries to assure him as if he would be able to understand or hear her and waves him away, though he doesn’t see it. “Go rest in the corner! Mama, let’s go tell the aquarists to turn down the lights.”
“Yeah, I’m going to go look for some staff,” Chimney says, clenching his jaw.
“Yeah, me too,” Karen says, still looking as upset as before. Spot shakes his head again, seeming to get more agitated as he tries to uncover his face again after having swam a little to the side to no avail. “Hen, take Denny and Mara to the souvenir shop to wait. Athena, you should come with me.”
“Say no more,” Athena drawls.
“I’m coming too,” May hurries to say. “Perhaps law school will come in handy.”
Bobby checks his watch. “Good, because I think our parking slot is running out,” he says with a grimace.
Eddie checks his own watch as well. “Shit, our reservation of the accessible parking spot will be running out in five minutes too. Let’s go Christopher.”
“But dad - “ Christopher starts to protest.
“No buts,” Eddie interrupts. “Karen and Chimney will take care of this, okay?”
“Told you you should have gotten double reservations,” Hen tells Eddie as she leads the children away.
“Tommy, stay here and watch Spot,” Bobby orders as he leaves before Tommy makes to follow him.
… what? He’s not a paramedic, what is he supposed to do? Their booking lasts for ten more minutes (which makes it even dumber that Eddie and Bobby hadn’t extended their parking slot), so it’s not like he has to ask the other visitors to wait for the staff to arrive.
Yet suddenly Tommy finds himself alone with the creature, who’s growing more frantic, tail whipping as if he’s trying to crawl out of his own skin.
“Hey,” Tommy says, not sure what to do. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
He moves to the side of the glass where the light shouldn’t be too bright. He doesn’t want to outright knock, but he is interested in leading Spot out of the spot, since he looks so disoriented. He ends up doing a soft tap against the glass. Spot twitches at that, his long body twisting towards the noise.
Making a face, Tommy taps again and Spot removes his fingers and swims towards him, his face clearing as the glare of the light disappears.
Slowly, he makes his way over to Tommy, his entire body coming close to the glass and Tommy feels out of depth whether he should step back now that he has Spot relocated.
Spot seems surprised when he sees Tommy clearly, his eyes astounded and wide as he takes Tommy in, as if he’s just seen something unexpected and incredible. And Tommy can’t seem to look away either.
Then Spot smiles, the smile so wide that it makes his eyes crinkle. He strokes the glass with the tips of his fingers, before he twists in a slow circle, his eyes following every one of Tommy’s movements like Tommy is a piece of art. This close, Tommy estimates that he’s at least 7”2 feet long, maybe even eight. It’s eerie. It’s unnerving. It’s. It feels.
Right.
Then the lights abruptly dim and Spot seems to go completely slack. He blinks drowsily at Tommy for seconds, exhaustion visibly rolling in on him. Slowly he rolls onto his stomach, stretches out his tail and spreads out his arms. His eyes keep looking at Tommy, fighting to stay awake. But eventually they close and he goes still.
That’s when everything suddenly turns scary. Looking at Spot so still, so motionless - he looks like a dead body sinking in the water and Tommy’s heart beats unevenly as he stumbles back. What if Spot just died in front of him? An unusually all-consuming dread dread rolls his stomach and he starts tapping the glass to wake Spot up to no use.
Then he hears loud voices coming nearer and he snaps away from the tank, unable to bear the sight for a second longer and happy to have his attention diverted.
“Okay, we’re checking now,” a nervous-sounding young woman says just as she quickly enters the display room, Athena and Karen hot on her heels.
They all pause as they look into the dimmed tank, Karen and Athena freezing at the sight.
“Is he okay?” Tommy asks hoarsely, not daring to look behind him again. “He just suddenly…”
The aquarist sends him a small, comforting smile, relaxing as she looks Spot over. “He’s okay,” she reassures. “The lights really tire him out. He always falls asleep as soon as they’re turned down.”
“It’s inhumane,” Athena says. “You could tell he was in pain and there was nowhere for him to seek shelter.”
“Ma’am, I know,” the aquarist says, turning dejected. She has long, brown, wavy hair and square glasses, her thin lips pale and chubby cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “We’re doing the best we can to keep Spot comfortable in the exhibit tank, but our leash is tight and he’s the one getting us all the tickets. We tried arguing for giving him some shelter at least, but the director didn’t want him to hide from our guests, so…”
Karen’s eyes soften. “Of course. Corporate,” she sighs. “I’m sorry we came at you like that. It was just hard to watch.”
The aquarist smiles weakly. “I know,” she says. “But thank you, Sergeant, for talking to the director. Spot really needs the rest of the day off.”
“And what, tomorrow it will just start all over?” Athena asks.
They’ve already talked with the director and aquarist? How has time passed so fast?
The girl’s face turns grim. “As long as he’s healthy we’re not doing anything illegal,” she informs. “Which we can’t even know for sure because our lift is broken and I think they’re postponing getting a new one on purpose and our only vet is in Japan.”
Her voice cracks at the end of the sentence, a little hopeless shrug lifting her shoulders. She’s clearly a lot more emotionally invested than Tommy had first thought. He read somewhere that veterinary care is one of the most empathetic fields. It wouldn’t surprise him if aquarists belonged to that category too.
There’s a tap on the glass, making Tommy jump and turn around. Spot is awake again, his eyes a little scared as they search the aquarist. She starts to smile, even as her eyes get wet. Spot taps the glass again and does a circle with his fingers. The aquarist utters a shaky laugh and makes a circle with her hand and Spot smiles and swims an eager circle for her.
It’s clear as day. He’s comforting her like he comforted Mara.
She walks over to the glass and taps the glass thrice. With exaggerated mouth movements, she says: “Thank you, Spot.”
Athena looks back at Spot with fondness. “Those are very fancy tricks that you taught him,” she says thoughtfully. “Does he use the signals diligently?”
The aquarist snorts and sends Spot a humored look. “We didn’t teach him anything. If anything, he’s the one trying to teach us. This one…“ She zig-zags her fingers against the glass and he rolls around this time, straightening up and looking at her with a smile that seems soft.
“That’s so human-like,” Karen says. “Especially when he smiles.”
“Yeah,” the aquarist says, her smile turning sad. “He really does.”
She taps the glass twice and he smiles again with a nod, before he swims to the corner of the tank and repositions himself with his body straight and his arms spreading out. Once again his eyes land on Tommy’s eyes, before they drift shut.
“He loves children and hates it when they’re upset,” she explains. “In the beginning he was very withdrawn, but he couldn’t bear it when children started to cry, so he taught them how to play with him.”
“How do we know he’s not smarter than a dolphin?” Tommy asks and she almost startles. You have that effect on people, when you’re a quiet guy who has practiced melting into the wall which is impressive with his height.
The aquarist snorts. “Honestly? He’s teaching us to communicate with him. He knows how to use tools and figure out complex assignments. The Navy is just making the IMO lie to the public so people feel better about putting him in a cage.”
Shit. That felt like a slap to Tommy’s face and he doesn’t know if it’s because of the deep hatred in her voice or because he feels pretty fucking naive now.
“Well, if you need anything, here’s Bobby’s card,” Karen says and opens her purse. She slides out Bobby’s contact card from her wallet, the one they usually give hospitals when they’re transferring patients and the hospital needs to confer with Bobby for a second time. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to help if you need it. Isn’t that right, Tommy?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tommy says, something sparking in his chest at the thought of seeing Spot again.
The aquarist studies the card and then huffs a laugh. “Should have figured. Paramedics and firefighters?”
“And if you have further problems with your director for dimming the lights, you can tell him to talk with me about it,” Athena says and hands over her card as well.