Chapter Text
Merfolk are believed to be things of legends. Creatures of the sea that roamed the deep waters and swam up to the surface to spy on humans. It's been said that these merfolk possessed beauty like any other, their voices akin to the angels, and their ability to charm those with a single look. They were believed to have hypnotic voices to lure victims into the ocean, the water pooling around their ankles and nudging them to get closer. Even if you didn't know how to swim, the voice was too ethereal to ignore. Once you got close enough, enough to realize the fangs behind their perfect smiles, they'd strike. They'd lead you to your watery death where the last thing you'd see is their breath taking face. Of course, these are all stories-usually man made-and no one but children believed in them anyway.
In this small coastal town, merfolk were simply a fun story to pass around with one another. They were tall tales to caution the children not to wander far from the shore, less a mermaid decides they're feeling hungry. Sometimes, they'd get the occasional tourist who claims they saw someone in the water, someone who was too far away from shore and seemed to duck below the water when they were noticed. The local residents choose not to believe them, dismissing their claims to be a seal or that they were simply drunk. In short, no one believed that merfolk existed. It made Feliciano laugh.
Feliciano swam through the coral reefs, the kelp gardens, and through the school of fish that didn't seem to care about his presence. His shimmering green tail flickered behind him mischievously. Lovino, cheeks puffed out in anger, followed closely behind his younger brother, his own emerald tail swishing behind him. Feliciano should not be out this far, not too close to the shoreline where someone could see him. He might've made it far if Lovino didn't catch him sneaking out of Antonio's lesson. Of course, Lovino snuck away too, but it wasn't like that bastard was saying anything important.
"Feli!" Lovino shouted from behind, trying to grab a hold of Feliciano's tail. Why was his brother impressively fast at swimming? Why was he, the older brother, having such trouble catching up to him? Lovino grits his teeth and keeps swimming, the lingering thought of his grandfather catching them making him go faster. Grandfather Romulus was a kind hearted man who loved his dear grandsons to bits. Still, going up to the surface was forbidden and their grandfather wouldn't be so happy to find out that his precious grandsons were up on the surface. "Feliciano you come back right now!"
Feliciano looks behind him and flashes a bright smile at Lovino. Then suddenly, he swims upwards, the sudden change of direction causing Lovino to stop in his tracks.
Feliciano bursts from the water, a joyful laughter rising out of him. He looks around wildly, his eyes taking in as much as he can. This was the closest he'd ever gotten before, usually one of Grandpa's guards would be close behind to make sure the little fish didn't swim too far. When Feliciano looks up, he sees that he's made it to a docks of sorts. He's noticed humans hanging around here before, usually early in the morning to do some fishing. Now that the sun was high in the sky, maybe the humans wouldn't want to fish. A perfect chance for Feliciano to look around without being spotted. Feliciano looks up and he stops dead in his tracks. A human--a young child--was looking down at him, just as surprised. The boy's blue eyes widen, startled to suddenly see a head bob out of the water like that. At his surprised gasp, another human boy runs over, looking a little bit older than the blond one. This one is unusually pale with sliver hair and red eyes.
"What is it? A dolphin?" The older boy asks, just in time for Lovino to emerge sharply from the water as well.
"Feliciano you idiot-" Lovino stops short when he notices the humans staring down at him. Those crimson eyes of the older looking boy catch Lovino's gaze. They both stare at each other, bewildered and shocked. Do humans have that shade of color for their eyes? The human's eyes were a red that he'd only seen in rubies and coral reefs. It takes Lovino moments before his brain works again.
With a frustrated noise, Lovino pushes Feliciano down in the water once again, grabbing a tight hold of his hand and swimming away. Feliciano never tore his eyes away from the peer. Lovino turns his head over to shoot a murderous glare at his younger brother.
"Are you stupid?" Lovino snaps. "Actually, don't answer that, I know you are! Grandpa told us not to go the surface, the humans might see us. We're so lucky it was just their children! Imagine if the adults saw us instead-are you even listening to me?!"
Feliciano finally tears his eyes away from the direction of the docks and smiles brightly. "Did you see them Lovino? Humans! That was so cool! I never seen humans so close before! They looked nice, and our age too. Hey, hey, do you think if we swam back, they'd want to play with us?"
"You're not listening!"
Before Lovino could continue scolding Feliciano, Antonio swims up to them, clearly breathless.
"OH, there you two are!" Antonio pants, his face a mixture of relief and annoyance. "You guys scared me! Why are you heading this way? You know we aren't allowed up on the surface."
"It's not my fault, Feliciano swam off alone!" Lovino pouts.
"Well Lovino followed me- ow!" Feliciano rubs his arm where he was pinched by Lovino.
Antonio puts his head in his hands, sighing deeply and wondering if there was another kingdom he could work as a tutor for. When his hands drop, a brillant smile is on his face again. He takes both boys by the hand, a little tight, and leads them away. "Okay, let's just get back to the castle. Let's keep this a secret from your grandfather, or else he might fire me."
Lovino shoots Feliciano a glare as they're dragged away. It's no use however. Feliciano is still staring at the direction of the docks where he saw those humans. He thinks of the first one, the one with blue eyes that reminded him of his beloved sea. Lovino, seemingly reading his mind just gets angrier. Then the thought of the other human flashes in his mind, the one with the sliver hair and red eyes. He's never seen a human before, but surely that color of hair and eyes was uncommon. Yet, the color still lingers in his mind. He'd never seen a red so beautiful before. Annoyed that Feliciano got him thinking of humans, Lovino turns his head away with an annoyed tsk. No use of thinking of that. It wasn't like they'd see those humans again.
✿✿✿
This day might be the worst of Gilbert's life. He knew he was a trouble maker, always getting into fights and getting caught by the police for being out way past curfew. Still, boarding school? Gilbert thought it was an overreaction on Grandfather Burkhard's end. The teenager tried to pretend he didn't care. He just snorted and rolled his eyes when his grandfather sat him down for the news. Gilbert did feel bad when he saw just how it pains his grandfather to say those words. It was a kick to his gut. What hurt worse was to see Ludwig's face, trying so hard to be strong.
Despite being younger, Ludwig was already more mature than Gilbert was. Ludwig certainly took after Grandfather Burkhard more than Gilbert did. Still, Gilbert could see it in Ludwig's face, that for the first time since the death of their parents, Ludwig was cracking. So for their final day together, Gilbert took Ludwig out on the beach. They arrived at the docks with fishing rods in hands. The sun was overhead and blazing down at them, but Gilbert could withstand the harsh rays if it meant spending the day with his younger brother. Ludwig went up ahead to the docks as Gilbert stayed by their bikes, gathering some sunscreen to lather on himself. The sun was much tougher on him, so sunscreen and hats were necessary. After adjusting his hat, he heard Ludwig gasp loudly. Gilbert walks over, a little excited.
"What is it? A dolphin?" Gilbert asks as he reaches the end of the docks, skidding to a stop. No dolphins, just two guys in the water. One of them looks Ludwig's age, and the other appears his age. Gilbert locks eyes with the older looking one, finding his breath catching in his throat. What was this guy's problem? Why was he staring at him? It ticked Gilbert off a little. He knew his hair and eye color were unusual, but people didn't need to stare. Before Gilbert could tell this guy to fuck off, they disappear back into the water. Gilbert is taken aback by this, watching and waiting for them to remerge somewhere else. They never did.
"Who were they?" Ludwig asks.
"Probably just some tourists having a swim. I don't see where they went." Gilbert looks around again. It was as if the two just disappeared. Gilbert shook his head. No use in worrying about them. Gilbert held up the fishing rods and offers one to Ludwig. "Let's see who can fish the biggest one."
The afternoon is spent with the boys fishing and laughing. To Gilbert's dismay, Ludwig was wrangling big fish while all Gilbert got was a discarded boot. Still, the two spent the day together. They stayed that way until the sun was ready to set, slowly falling into the ocean beyond the horizon, casting a beautiful pink and purple sky. Truly, a perfect way to end the day. Even though, the brothers didn't want the day to end. If it did, it meant Gilbert was leaving. They wouldn't see each other regularly. Gilbert would be home for holidays, but then he'd be gone again. How were they supposed to live like this? Gilbert would be attending this school until he turned 18. The boys walked away from the pier as slowly as they could. They lead their bikes out of the sand and up the hill. As they boarded their bikes, Ludwig's voice was small and quiet.
"I don't want you to go."
Gilbert was quiet for a long time. How selfish was he? Stirring up enough problems to be sent away, away from his friends, his grandfather and his brother? The thought of begging Grandfather Burkhard crossed his mind, but everything was already arranged. "I don't want to go either. But I'll come back, I promise."
It was Ludwig's turn to be quiet. The rest of the way home was done in this suffocating silence. Even dinner was tense, no one said much of anything, just a reminder for Gilbert to go to bed on time. They would have to wake up early in the morning. After Gilbert was ready for bed, he laid in bed, twisting and turning. Gilbert tries to think about this wonderful, last day. To capture these happy moments with his loved ones. To his surprise, the imagine of that guy staring at him flashes in his mind. Those eyes gazed back at him in surprise. Gilbert only saw the guy for a moment, but still the view of his tan face and amber eyes still resonate clearly as the day. Gilbert turns on his side with a huff and sighs. No use of thinking about it. They were just weird tourists who probably had a problem with Gilbert's unusual colors.
It wasn't like they'd see each other again.