Chapter Text
It had been a little over a month since Sun and Moon were brought to the safe house.
Both still showing signs of wariness, Sun would constantly jump at any unexpected noise or movement out of the corner of his eye. Moon’s frills were almost always flared out like he was prepared for an attack – only ever relaxing when he was asleep.
Today was a slow day, nothing of note to excite of scare you. However, you did notice Sun was following you whenever you walked past the tank, following you all around the house to the best of his ability.
After a few hours of him shadowing you, you walked up to the glass and smiled softly at him. “Hey Sun, is something wrong?”
He seemed to grow even more anxious but steeled his nerves and swam up to the tank opening. He carefully climbed out, drying himself with the towel once he was fully out of the water. He snuggled the towel to his chest as his frills drooped. “Is Eclipse okay? I know he got hurt trying to save me…”
Your stomach dropped and your heart clenched like it was just stabbed.
You knew this talk would have to happen eventually…
You sighed heavily and looked at him with hesitation. “Sun… Eclipse is-”
“Is that why I’m here? And not with him?”
Your eyes widened a little at his words, not expecting him to come to that realisation. Sun was certainly more observant that you gave him credit for.
He panicked a little, his face morphing into worry. “N-not that I don’t like being here! I’m happy with you and Moon, but…” His tension slowly released from his muscles and fins. “I miss him…”
You hung your head slightly, knowing the inevitable was breathing down your neck. “Sun. There’s something I need to tell you…” You lifted your gaze to meet his, vulnerability in your eyes and his. “Eclipse… didn’t make it.”
Sun shattered at the news. His eyes going wide as tears started to swell. “What?!”
You moved close to him, arms reaching out to hug him. “He would be here if he could. He loved you so much.” You wrapped your arms around him, and he curled up into you, he grasped at your shirt and buried his face into it.
You carried him over to the sofa and nestled down into it, rubbing his back. “I know, buddy. I know…” You knew he needed time to process it. You did too. It took you a while to accept the fact he was gone.
His tendrils wrapped around your arms, hugging you as he pulled your shirt into his face, trying to hide from the world.
You started to grow worried for Sun when he refused to leave your side for the rest of the day. Even when you were working on other things, like making the three of you dinner, Sun was constantly clinging to you. His arms wrapped around your neck and claws clenching your shirt as he held on like a baby koala.
He refused to get back into the tank when it was time to eat, which earned the two of you suspicious glares from Moon the entire time. Even after finishing his food, Moon kept his teeth slightly bared but didn’t growl in case it spooked Sun in anyway.
After dinner, you carried Sun into the cozy playroom, hoping to cheer him up with something. You gently placed him down on one of the bean bags before moving to the toy box. You pulled out a plushie when you felt a tug on your trouser leg, you looked down and saw Sun had crawled over to you and clung to your ankle.
The poor guy was still scared by the news.
And it seemed that he thought the moment you left him, you would disappear too…
The idea that Sun was anxious enough to not want to leave your side was heartbreaking.
You knelt down and handed him the plushie to hold onto instead, but he just wrapped one arm around it, keeping the other wrapped around your leg. “Sun?” You called softly. He just held onto you tighter in response.
You sighed and carefully scooped him up into your arms, he seemed to relax slightly and cuddle the plushie to his chest. You sat down on the bean bag and turned on the TV to provide him with some entertainment.
A small, sad chirp drew your attention back to him. His wide eyes looked up to meet yours as he pulled the plush closer. “You won’t leave me too, right?” Desperation flashed through his face for a moment, wanting reassurance.
You shook your head and hugged him closer. “No, I will never leave you.” You rubbed his frills and smiled softly. “Eclipse just wanted you to be safe and happy… he would do anything for you.”
Sun nodded. “I know…” He looked back down at the plushie before petting its head. “He would hold me like this every night when I went to sleep.” A small smile threatened to show on his face. “I wish he were here…”
You nodded in agreement. “I miss him too…”
Unknown to you and Sun, Moon was watching from inside the tank. He saw how upset Sun was. How he refused to come back to him and spent all day with you.
He couldn’t ignore the hurt in his chest.
It felt like Sun had forgotten about him.
You knew him since he was a guppy, of course he would pick you over him.
Moon felt jealous.
Neglected and ignored.
But he didn’t try and reach out to either of you.
Why should he?
Why should he put his emotions first when Sun was clearly upset about something?
He decided to wait. If he and Sun were friends. Brothers, like he thought. He would tell him…
Eventually…
It was dark and Sun was yawning, practically limp in your arms as he was ready to sleep. He dropped the plushie on the floor at some point as his body yearned for rest.
You stood up and turned to the tank. “Come on Sun. It’s time for bed.”
You were about to open the top when his head snapped up to you. “Wait!” His grasp on you tightened again, briefly waking up. “… Can I sleep with you tonight. Please?”
He gave you large puppy eyes. And damnit, you couldn’t say no to that face. “Okay… but what about Moon? He’s probably feeling a bit lonely…” You remembered how he stared at the two of you while Sun opted to eat with you instead of him like normal. He seemed almost offended that Sun would pick you over him after everything.
They stuck together like glue through the tough times, and it was clear that Moon wasn’t expecting it to ever end.
Sun seemed to realise that he had barely interacted with Moon today and gained a guilty expression. “Maybe… he could join us?”
You sighed, nodding at him. “Okay, let’s ask him.” You carried Sun around the house, trying to find Moon in the tank. But neither of you two could see him from any viewpoint.
Sun looked slightly nervous, holding the ends of his tendrils and fiddling with them. “Where is he?”
You adjusted your hold on him and rubbed his head. “He might be sleeping… could you go and check for me?”
Sun leaned into the touch, a small, satisfied chirp escaping his mouth. “Okay.”
You smiled and opened the tank and lifted Sun to the open hatch. “I’ll wait right here for you.”
Sun nodded before slipping back into the tank, his scales feeling refreshed from being out for so long. He swam through the tank, trying to find his brother. He went to the cave like area that they slept in, out of view from you so they could have privacy.
Moon was curled up in the corner, looking rather flat and upset.
“Moon?” Sun called softly, causing Moon to flinch. “Are you okay?”
Moon was silent and tense for a moment before letting out a sigh. “I’m fine…”
Sun frowned and swam closer, clearly seeing that he was anything but. “Moon. You’re not fine, please just talk to me-”
“Talk? You want me to talk?!” Moon suddenly snapped, sitting up and turning to face Sun, his red eyes filled with anger and hurt. “Fine! Why do you pick them over me? What are you so upset about that you can’t talk to me about it?!”
Sun didn’t miss how Moon’s voice cracked with the sadness that was taking over his face. He winced and felt his own emotions coming back. “Moon, I-…”
“What is it? Sun, please, tell me!” Desperation infected Moon’s voice, a pleading in his eyes shone through. A longing to understand what Sun was going through.
Sun sighed and grasped his hand together. “My brother, Eclipse, tried to save me when they took me…” He chocked on his words slightly; his hands started to shake. “They hurt him… and he… he…”
Moon’s eyes widened as he realised what was going on. He swam up to Sun and pulled him into his chest. Sun didn’t resist, wrapping his arms around Moon and nuzzling his face into him. “Sun… I’m sorry… I- I didn’t know…”
Sun let out a few silent sobs before shaking his head. “It’s okay…” He pulled his head back to look at his brother. “They also knew Eclipse… they were friends before I was born… So, they were also sad about him…”
Moon nodded and gently guided Sun back into the hug. Now it made sense why he was spending all day with you. The two of you were mourning, trying to find comfort in the fact that you still had each other.
Sun sniffled a bit before looking back up at Moon. “Hey, Moon…”
Moon looked down at him. “Yeah?”
“Would you like to… have a sleepover?” Sun asked slowly, slightly worried about Moon’s reaction.
Moon raised an eyebrow at Sun. “What? You mean sleep in the same room as your human friend?”
Sun bit his lip slightly. “Yes…?” His voice uncertain, not wanting to upset Moon.
Moon narrowed his eyes and huffed. “Fine, but only because you’re there…” He didn’t really want to as he was still struggling to trust you. But he didn’t want to be left alone.
He didn’t want to be left in silence and darkness, like how it was with those horrible poachers, when Sun was asleep or drugged into unconsciousness.
Moon was snapped out of the sudden memories when Sun perked up and wagged his tail slightly. He let out a small chuckle before the two swam back so they could join you.
The three of you were in your room. Sun and Moon making themselves comfy on your bed while you got changed in the bathroom. Once you were in your pyjamas, you carefully climbed into bed and got under the covers. Sun crawled to lay on top of you, snuggling into your chest. He curled up and gave you a small, grateful smile before closing his eyes and succumbing to slumber.
You smiled and ruffled his frills and little before feeling a poke on your cheek. You blinked in surprise and turned to look at Moon. He was frowning slightly at you, more displeased than annoyed. “Why did you tell him?” He whispered harshly.
“Tell him what?” You asked quietly, slightly confused by his question.
Moon’s eyes narrowed further at you. “About his brother being killed. Why would you tell him, knowing he would get upset?” He snapped.
You realised what he meant and softened your expression. “I get what you’re saying… but would you rather I say nothing? Have him think that Eclipse abandoned him?”
Moon’s eyes widened in surprise; he silently cursed himself for not thinking about that point. Sun would be back in the sea if Eclipse was alive, not in the safe house with him.
His family was out there somewhere, but could never be found, dwelling too deep for humans to find. “… Right… I guess that makes sense…” He led down, looking away from you, a slight twinge of regret shot though him.
He was jumping to conclusions. He needed to learn to trust you, but it was hard considering everything he’s been through. You were not like the poachers; you saved him and Sun from their terrible place. From pain and torture.
His instincts wanted to find something about you that could prove he was right to not trust you, but he failed to find any hint of deceit over and over again.
A touch to the top of his head caused him to flinch, he snapped his head up and stared at you with wide eyes.
You retreated your hand from his head with a surprised and worried look. “Sorry, I should’ve asked…” You gave him a slightly pitiful look. “I thought you could use the comfort…”
He relaxed and sighed, lowering his head back down to the bed. “Thanks… I would like that…” He lifted his gaze to look at your face, seeing your baffled, yet soft smile.
You moved your hand back slowly to his head, gently stroking his head fin. “Is this okay?”
Moon nodded slightly. “It’s fine.” He said rather bluntly but his movements said otherwise, leaning into the touch and melting at the affection. He made no noise, but you could feel a slight vibration from his chest through the bed sheets. Your smile grew a little wider when you realised that he was purring.
He soon joined Sun in sleeping and you continued to gently pet his head. You took in the sight of the two little mers snuggled into you, it felt nice knowing that both of them could find comfort with you. Even Moon, since you could tell that you and him still had a long way to go…
You chuckled quietly at the thought of your bedsheets smelling of fish in the morning, part of you joked that they would make a habit out of this.