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Chapter Text

Grian layed down on the rocks, the bottom third of his tail dipped in the water. His left forearm was covering his eyes from the vicious sun, even if it was beginning to turn to dusk, as his left hand was lazily hanging of the rocks, dipped into the water slightly. His long, pointed ears covered in scales subconsciously moved at every noise. Though, he barely paid attention to it, feeling safe and calm when he was so close to his habitat.

His rainbow scales covering patches of his arms, chest, and face, along with the ones on his ears and long tail, reflected the sunlight beautifully, and he knew it too. So why hadn't he found a partner yet? Why had he been the one subjected to being a hopeless romantic while his siblings, Lizzie and Jimmy, both found loving partners? Maybe its because he scared them away, if by them it meant humans.

Humans were dangerous, though. They hunted any creature that wasn't like them, especially sirens. They'd hunted down his species so much, to the point that they had nearly gone instinct, having to rely on merfolk to help them repopulate. Still, the hybrids of merfolk and sirens, merrens, were often much more similar to their merfolk parent than their siren parent.

No humanoid creature could truly be like a siren, their intense nature and true lack of empathy towards anything other than their partner. So no, Grian would not call them victims, he'd call them annoyances. Bonus points was that they tasted good.

They were the ones that decided to come to his home and try to kill himself and his family. Although, he did wear that mirror around his neck, like the lockets he'd found on so many human bodies on the seafloor, that should be filled with a photo of a partner. But he didn't have that. So he allowed himself the delusion of seeing the humans's faces in his locket before killing them.

He turned over on the rocks, barely feeling the ache in his shoulder as he was so used to it. He flipped his tail around as well, hearing the splash in the water. The silver jewelry that he'd taken from a royal's body, most likely a prince, from a shipwreck cling together as he moved, creating a sort of music. The sun was definitely setting by now, he should go back before Lizzie makes Joel come above the surface to find him, but his body felt so heavy. He wanted to nap.

But he was hungry, as he heard from his stomach. He had gone hunting after waking up on the seafloor, that morning. He didn't understand the humans's weird desire to have three meals a day. His morning hunt was small, though, only a dozen or so minnows. And Scott said he'd help with dinner, and that mer had had some secret stash of herbs that he hid from them that he'd use when cooking.

With a heavy sigh, Grian rolled off of his napping spot to land in the water with a heavy splash. He turned his body around that a human could only ever dream of doing before swimming down to the floor. It always did feel relieving, breathing trhough his gills and not his throat. Breathing to much surface air without changing into his more humanoid form damaged his voice. And sirens were known for their voices.

His wasn't as loud as Jimmy's or as beautiful as Lizzie's, but it was powerful, and very easy to manipulate humans his meals with. Speaking of his voice, he opened his mouth and let out a high-pitched screech, rippling through the water. His ears twitched as he heard another screech come from his left hand side. Lizzie, he recognized almost immediately. Flipping his body around, he used his tail to perpel him towards the noise.

As he saw specks of green, cyan, pink, and yellow in the distance, he began to slow down, not wanting to crash into anyone. Finally reaching his destination, he felt Joel grab him into a side hug. He never liked Joel or Scott, he never liked anyone, but he tolerated them more than people that weren't his siblings. There were a few notable differences between sirens, himself, Jimmy, and Lizzie, and merfolk, Joel and Scott.

Sirens were regarded as monsters by most species, even some that were more monster like than them, while merfolk were regarded as kind, angelic even. Sirens had their voices, merfolk had their semi-stable relationship with the humans. Merfolk liked most people, sirens didn't. It wasn't uncommon for sirens to betray other sirens, even if they were family, to get themselves out of a mess. Sirens tolerated at best and despised at worst anyone who is not they're life partner, even Grian wouldn't say he loved his siblings.

He liked them, sure, maybe, but he'd drop them in a second if it meant that he could stay alive and evade capture. They'd stick together, and trust each other, but if they were ever in real danger of being killed, in danger of being captured, none of them would see it as cruel to give up the others for their own safety. It was natural. But Jimmy would now give up his life for Scott, and Lizzie would do the same for Joel, yet Grian still had no one that he'd die for.

They had their life partners and Grian just didn't. Most merfolk were nice, but he didn't want nice. He couldn't handle nice. Being cared for would only lead to betrayal, to hurt. He wanted someone that would hurt him, so he wouldn't be disappointed when they did. Maybe that's why he loved envisioning himself with the hunters that tried to kill him, right before he killed them himself.

Lizzie made a series of clicks and snarls, holding out half a fish. She was cold towards him, like every siren, but her gaze softened as she made eye contact with Joel. That love in her eyes, that care for someone…Grian felt so envious that she got to experience the feeling of caring for someone. That she could experience love. Grian felt the want to kill her and take it from her dead body, like he'd usually when he saw a ship with things he wanted. But Grian couldn't do that, not with something like emotions.

He took the food silently, seeing Jimmy curl up next to Scott as they shared a fish and Lizzie have Joel lean against her while she cut up some more fish. He sighed internally, laying his back on the seafloor as his tail drifted upwards. Both his siblings showed one hundred times the amount of care towards their partners than they ever had towards him. It's not like Grian really cared, he had never showed that kind of care either, but he still wanted to feel that emotion of truly caring for someone.

Grian simply huddled into a ball, his tail curling under and wrapping over his own body as he ripped into the meal with his sharp teeth. His claws dug into the fish, ripping out all the bones and popping the eyeballs out. He didn't like those, they tasted glossy, if that was even possible. Chewing through the fish was easy, a mix of his claws and teeth made the thing have the same density as pudding. Inhaling all his food, he looked around at the others.

They were all taking their time, talking and being all loving with each other. Lizzie and Joel had begun to eat their shared fish, talking as they took their time. Everyone was just talking, was just being loving, things that he couldn't just do. He couldn't take it anymore. He quickly grabbed the last half of a fish, scarfing it down.

Once he was done his meal, he clicked a goodbye to the others before going back to his rock. He couldn't take another second watching those couples being loving and having emotions for each other. He didn't typically spend the nights sleeping on his rocks, but he couldn't deal with his family today. He just about reached the bottom of the rocks when he saw a light shining through the water.

That…shouldn't be happening.

The sun shouldn't be up this soon. It was too dark other than the strange light. He knew exactly what it was when he felt the shift in the water.

A ship.

Hiding behind his rocks, he poked his head above the water to see how big the ship truly was. It was massive. Many people on board who were holding lights near the water. Their flags had a skull and crossbones. Pirates.

Grian could make out the sight of a large man wearing what he could only assume was a captain's hat. He murmured orders to the crew in the dead of night, his muscled up chest clear as day with his half-opened button-down shirt. God, he was hot. Oh, Grian was in trouble with this one.

Then he saw the light shine on him as he hissed in pain from the lights reflecting onto his eyes. He saw the captain look at him, and for a moment, he let himself be delusional for one second, thinking that the captain was looking at him. But then he heard the shouting.

Grian ducked his head underwater as his ears ached from the loud yelling of the captain and crew. He heard "harpoons," "nets," and "hunting." Those three words sent him swimming. But before he could even reach lower than the boat, he felt the sharp, agonizing pain in his tail.

Right through the mid-section of his tail, a harpoon was lodged. He didn't have enough time to try and use his voice to manipulate them before he screeched in pain when another harpoon stabbed through his fins. He felt his consciousness leave him as every movement cause him pain. And then the harpoons started dragging him upwards.

It hurt so much that he could hear his pathetic whimpers of pain as he floated limply in the water. He let it drag him upwards, having lost his fight. He opened his eyes to see Jimmy at the seafloor, looking up at him with wide eyes but doing nothing to stop it. He couldn't blame his little brother. He would've done the same.

Grian felt himself breach the surface of the water, the cold air stingy his wounds. With the way he was being pulled up, blood dripped from his tails down to his face. He felt it drip into his hanging mouth. He didn't like the taste of his own blood.

He let out a whine as the harpoon on his fin started to pull hard, until it eventually ripped his fin in two, and he screeched in pain. He heard the pirates curse and panic as they pulled up an empty harpoon until he eventually was pulled over the rim of the boat and flopped onto the floor of the ship. It was hard and cold. He heard the crew begin to scurry around, their footsteps too loud.

Grian felt two pairs of hands grab his tail, making him flinch away. "Stupid fucking fish, let us get the harpoon out!" One of them yelled at him, the two working together to pull out the harpoon. Someone else began to clean his fin.

He felt someone roughly grab his hair, pulling it up as consciousness slowly left him. It was the captain, with his cruel but beautiful grin. Grian could now see the scars that covered the man's body. He had brown tousled hair and stricking green eyes. "My, my, what a pretty little prize caught here."

Grian felt warm, strangely. Sirens were often called terrifying or ugly, so being called pretty was…weird. And then Grian felt it. What Jimmy and Lizzie kept saying they felt when they met they're partners. Emotions. Oh. Oh shit. Oh, Grian was so beyond fucked.

Chapter Text

Scar and his crew had been driving through the Dead bay. It had been said that the nearly extinct monsters, sirens, typically lived in these bays. They'd been searching all day and most of the night, coming up empty-handed before Scar heard a splash in the water. At first, Scar saw nothing. The water was as clear as…well, water, the only thing visible were some rocks, and the reflection of their lanterns and light ruins against the sea.

Then he saw it.

The glimpse of rainbow scales, the silkyness of wet, dirty blonde hair, and eyes as dark black as the deepest depths of the sea watching him, all attached to the barely visible top half of a head hiding behind a clump of rocks in the water. Its eyes widened as it realized Scar had seen it, approaching slightly. Scar turned back to his crew, who were quietly shifting around the ship deck quietly, searching the waters.

"Sirens!" He cried out, securing his captain's hat in place, "Get the harpoons and nets! We're going hunting for some tails." Scar felt himself grin viciously. Sirens were rare, almost extinct, due to their valuable voices and scales.

What they once went for could now go for fifteen times as much, enough to get them out of debt and treated like royalty. There was no way he would be giving this one up. But just as he turned back around, the siren had already ducked its head back under water, trying to swim away. Scar would not let the happen.

He grabbed a harpoon, throwing it with precise aim, stabbing the siren right through its tail. He could see the figure go limp underneath the surface of the water, but it was still struggling. Etho quickly joined Scar, throwing a harpoon so they could get a better grip on the monster. It hit right in the tail fin of the siren, making the monster screech loudly. It most likely was trying to hurt the pirates with its voice, but lucky for them, they'd gone and stuffed their ears with bee's wax.

Scar felt the tug of gravity on the harpoon as he and Etho pulled the monster above water. He saw that Etho was having a much easier time pulling up the creature than himself. His eyes widened as he realized why, but before he could say anything, Etho had already fallen back onto the deck, the harpoon being launched up. Scar looked down in shock, seeing the siren's fin was torn in 2 from the harpoon.

"Damn it!" Precious merchandise, torn up just like that. He slammed his foot on the ground in frustration as he continued to pull up the monster. Once it was finally flipped onto the deck, Cleo and Tango were already working to help get the harpoon out. The monster thrashed and whined as the crew members touched its wound.

"Stupid fucking fish, let us take the harpoon," Cleo snarled at the creature, stilling it as they worked with Tango to carefully slide the harpoon out of its tail. Bdubs came up behind them all, carefully cleaning the sirens wounds and binding its fin back together. After all, if the merchandise was damaged, no one would buy it.

Scar looked into those deep, solid black eyes, noticing how magnificent they were. The siren's scales were truly beautiful, their rainbow color and shine unmatched to any others. Truly, a beautiful creature. So sad they had to give it away.

Scar couldn't help but grab the siren's long, majestic, flowing hair, pulling its head back to make it look into his eyes. Those black, terrified eyes, filled with an exhaustion one could only get from blood loss, were beautiful. Scar felt himself smirk. "My, my, what a pretty little prize caught here."

Scar was shocked at his own words, the crew staring at him in confusing, but the siren's eyes sparkled. Those black eyes widened with a certain amount of astonishment before closing as the poor creature passed out. Clearing his throat, Scar stood, beginning to walk back to his room before Tango interrupted. "Captain, what should we do with it?"

Scar cleared his throat, not turning to face the man as he stared off into the endless sea. "Finish patching it up, we don't want to deal with keeping dead fish fresh for so long. Then, tie it to the mast when you're done. You can all head to bed after that." Scar walked into his room, locking the door behind him.

Grian woke with a pounding headache, the setting sun shining in his sensitive eyes. Ugh, that's wasn't normal, usually Grian was either at the bottom of the bay or covering his eyes. Speaking of, Grian moved his arm to cover his head, as he did while on his rocks. Except, his arm didn't move. Looking down, he saw himself tied to a wood pillar of sorts.

Memories of what had happened flashed through his mind, making him thrash around the ties. He cried out in pain as his tail screamed at him, aching heavily. Looking down, the bleeding had stopped, covered with a cloth of sorts? Wait, his head started to feel oddly light, was it…no, please, Gods, no.

He whipped his head around, ignoring the pounding ache it brought as he tried to look for his hair. If it was gone…he couldn't handle that. To sirens, the longer their hair was with age, the more it meant. It was one if the only things truly apart of a culture that all sirens shared. Having hair that had never been taken meant that they had stayed safe and hidden, and was so important to Grian.

No…he couldn't find it, despite how long his hair was. He then heard the snickers and laughter of people around him before his head was tugged up by his hair- His hair! It wasn't gone! Looking up, he saw a young looking human (ugh, gross) staring down at him with a bright grin.

The man was holding up the midsection of his hair, hanging his legs off of one of the ladder-like ropes attached to the mast. He also had a strange mix of white and brown hair, moss hanging off of his clothes as if they had naturally grown. "Hey, there, fishy," the man said, tugging Grian's hair tighter, "I'm Bdubs, and you're gonna stay with us for a few days."

Grian opened his mouth, but was only able to let out a click and snarl. His vocal cords were much different than humans's. Although he could understand humans, it was very difficult and hurt whenever he tried to speak it. As much as he couldn't be degraded to a monster an animal, he wouldn't hurt himself for their sick entertainment.

He glared with all his might at Bdubs hanging above him. Concentrating he slowly shifted into his more humanoid form, switch his tail for legs as his eyes and ears changed slightly. He definitely didn't look human, but atleast it was easier to breath this way. He'd only changed a few times in his life, not really finding reasons to do so, but he did know what he looked like.

His eyes would go from pure black, to having whites, but the rest of his eyes would stay black. His ears would change from their even three spikes to a color similar to skin and would have two of the spikes be on the top and one on the bottom of his ears. The scale patches across his body would lessen and seem more like freckles, while his feet had small fins in between his toes. It helped him survive on land better. Bonus points were that it seemed to freak humans out more than his actual form.

"What the fuck?!" Bdubs yelled, falling off of where he was balanced in the ropes dropping Grian's hair the process. He scrambled back, staring at Grian's legs, his face, his arms before freezing in confusion. "Why do you have tits?!"

Grian looked down at his chest before back at Bdubs, who looked terrified. Grian had always known his body was female, even though his gender was male. Anyone who knew anything about fish could tell, because the fish part of his body was connected to angler fish, and female angler fish were the bigger ones that so many humans knew. He and his siblings had all been born female, he and Jimmy just never bothered to identify with it.

"Why don't you have nipples?!" Bdubs yelled at him, backing away further in fear. His eyes continued to rack up and down Grian's body in fear. Grian had nevr cared for the humans's clothes. Their jewlery was immaculate, but the clothes were weird and useless and very uncomfortable and so so very itchy. "How…why…what is going on?"

"Give the fish a break, Bdubs," a man walked up behind Bdubs, who was still staring in horror. It was one of the humans who had helped get the harpoon out of his tail. He walked over with a medical kit and a large piece of cloth. "Atleast help it get clothes and fix up its legs."

Oh, no. Oh, not again. How unlucky did Grian have to be to end up falling for two of his captors. He felt the same feeling in his chest that he felt when he first saw the captain.

Looking down, Grian saw that his legs both had bloody holes in his thighs while both his webbed feet were torn halfway in two, down the middle. The pain had lessened to a dull ache, it looked worse than it was. But he could bet walking would hurt a whole lot more. The man walked forward to wrap Grian's naked, humanoid body in a towel of sorts. Grian snarled slightly, expecting the towel to be itchy and uncomfortable like most human clothes, but it was actually quite comfortable. In little time, he found himself purring in the man's hold.

"There you go," The man murmured, gently stitching up Grian's legs as the siren purred and closed his eyes. Whenever Grian winced, the man would gently sooth him as he continued to patch him up. "Hello there, I'm Tango, I'm one of the crew memebers, the captain's right hand man. What's your name?"

Grian nodded mindlessly, trying to say his name in their language, but ultimately failing. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to communicate that he couldn't say it. Tango's gaze softened as he brought out a small journal and freed one of Grian's hands so he could write. Bdubs looked appalled at Tango's actions, but Grian didn't try to escape, simply taking the quil from Tango's hand and writing down his name along with the pronunciation and pronouns.

"Grian," Tango said slowly, looking at Grian to see if he pronounced it right. Grian nodded, making Tango smile softer as he stood back up. Making sure that he had stitched Grian up well enough before packing up his things. "It's almost night. Bdubs, Skizz will come out to switch of shifts in a little bit."

"Okay," Bdubs responded, waving towards Tango's retreating form, "Thanks, Tek." Bdubs turned back to Grian with a suspicious gaze. "Hmm, thats weird, I've never seen Tango that caring towards strangers, much less merchandise."

Huh, that was weird, but Grian couldn't help also feeling warm and giddy that Tango was strangely kind and caring, when he was normally not so much. Tango treated him specially, and Grian felt so happy at that information. Not long after Bdubs told him that, the man switched off with another man, presumably Skizz, stayed to watch.

"Are you…not going to sleep or anything?" Skizz asked from where he sat across from Grian. He shook his head, curling into the warm, fluffy towel that Tango had given to him as the night grew colder. His siren form kept him much warmer than his humanoid form. And sirens were nocturnal creatures, staying awake at night and sleeping throughout the day. "Well, guess it'll be a long night for the both of us."

Scar watched as Tango interacted with the siren from his quarters. He felt his chest tighten with an ugly emotion as he glared down at them. He saw Tango wrap the creature in a towel and talk to it. He couldn't figure out why he felt this way, but he didn't like it.

He needed to figure out how to get to the main lands faster so he could get rid of this weakness and get them some money.

Chapter Text

Grian stared at Skizz silently, his eyes intense as the human seemed to shift uncomfortably. Apparently, the 'night was cold', and Skizz kept shivering and whining about the cold, while the man had clothes on. Warm ones, at that. It might have been also because Grian had been staring at him, unblinking for who knows how many hours now.

Humans were annoying. Grian was naked, in the chill, and Skizz was the one complaining. Sure, Grian couldn't complain beyond clicking, hissing, and making the occasional wail. And sure, he wasn't that cold anyways, since he was wrapped in a warm, fluffy towel given to him by a…warm, strong, nice, handsome, amazing-

No! Bad Grian! Don't think about hot men when they're not even here! You delusional simp!

Grian layed his head back against as he sighed. Tango was just so nice, and the warm feeling in his chest spread just thinking about the man. He was so beautiful and had a look in his eyes that showed years of intelligence. Grian couldn't get him out of his brain if he used all of his strength. But then there were also his thoughts of the captain.

The captain, who was just as beautiful, with so much confidence, bravery, and mischief built up in those eyes. The captain, who had stabbed Grian through his most vital limb and who Grian had still fallen for after. He was so strong, carried Grian up the boat, and his muscles were very visible through his clothing. Despite being the reason Grian was separated from his home, he couldn't help but find the man charming, despite having not met him all too much. When his fingers wrapped in Grian's hair, he felt as if he'd be okay.

He curled into the towel that Tango had given him, smelling the man's lingering scent on it. Skizz gave him a weird look as he sniffed the towel, so Grian turned and snarled at him, making the human jump back in fear. "Stupid animals," Skizz mumbled, looking out towards the horizon. He had been calling Grian an animal a lot, and while he wasn't wrong, it felt like he wasn't being seen beyond his tail and non-human traits.

Grian closed his eyes, letting his body slump against his restraints. He probably wouldn't sleep. His sleep schedule wasn't used to sleeping during the night, but he could at least rest and let his body heal. He heard footsteps but chose to ignore them. As much as he should be on high alert, he knew he was going to die either way, why waste energy on preventing it. On top of that, he'd heard the pirates talk of Grian being "special merchandise" and that they "needed to keep it fresh," he wasn't worried about dying for a bit, atleast.

He heard someone, presumably Skizz, shift before standing up. Grian could smell cats and ink as someone approached him, crouching down to his level. "I've heard you go by Grian," the captain said, making Grian open his eyes to see that beautiful face in front of his. The captain smirked, standing and turning back to Skizz. "Go to bed, Skizz. I'll handle this shift."

Skizz wasted no time going below deck, seeming eager to get some rest. The captain turned back to Grian, sitting down in front of the siren. Grian awkwardly clicked, knowing that if any sea creatures were around, they'd know exactly what it meant. If someone who could understand him were to hear him, they'd know he sounded like the most pathetic, desperate, simp ever in existence over the captain.

"Hello, Grian. I'm Scar," the captain said, looking Grian up and down, making the siren subconsciously try to cover himself with the towel, "Oh, I'm not trying to look at…your naked body I apologize, I'm simply noticing that your form has changed. I wasn't aware you were shifters. Here, take this."

Scar took off his captain's jacket, wrapping it around Grian' shoulders. Grian settled into the extra warmth, purring slightly as he closed his eyes once more. He flipped his feet up before placing them back down gently. It was how he'd learned to communicate appreciation and excitement.

"Does that mean you're thanking me?" Scar asked, making Grian turn his head towards the man. This human was…trying to learn his communication style? Grian had never experienced that with someone. His gaze instinctively looked down at his mirror, seeing Scar's reflection made his heart flutter.

Grian, finally remembering that he was asked a question, nodded at Scar. The captain hummed, the moonlight reflected against his hair and eyes so beautifully. He shifted slightly so that he was leaning against the mast beside Grian. His eyes were still trailing over the siren, but this time at his wounds.

"Does it hurt too much?" Grian turned his head back towards the human once more. He swung his head from shoulder to shoulder, trying to communicate that it did, but not too much. Scar grimaced, grabbing some bandages and taking off the old ones.

They sat in silence as Scar worked, Grian staring at his focused face. The man was so very beautiful. His body lived up to his namesake. From what Grian could see, the captain was absolutely covered in various scars. His face had an 'X' shaped scar, his body more covered than when they first met with a long sleeve night gown, so Grian couldn't see as much of him as before.

"You're pretty scales…they're gone…" Scar mumbled, tracing Grian's leg, avoiding his injuries, "I wanted to see how they reflected the sunlight." The captain seemed genuinely upset at the lack of scales. "At least these freckles are quite cute."

At the mention of 'pretty scales' and 'cute freckles,' Grian felt himself blush. He couldn't believe Scar's words were true, not really. The captain had captured him, had hurt him, and had barely regarded him as a living being. The man hadn't even bothered knowing him as a person.

"So…" Scar started awkwardly, seemingly not knowing what to do, "Sirens eat fishes, right?" Grian felt surprised as he nodded. This human was actually trying to…get to know him. Scar seemed to light up at the nod. "Really? What's your favorite type," he exclaimed with excitement.

Grian stared at Scar with a deadpan look. Was this human for serious? Scar seemed to realize that Grian couldn't talk, and he started to sputter as his face grew red in embarrassment. Grian couldn't help but grin at the captain's antics, finding them endearing.

They stayed like that until early hours of the morning, Scar asking Grian yes or no questions, and Grian trying his best to answer through body language. At some point, Scar had brought down a journal with a quil and a small bottle of ink. It allowed Grian to communicate on a more in-depth level. And even then, Scar started to learn what his different clicks and shimmies meant. It was quite endearing, really.

Scar eventually gave up trying to be the big, bad pirate captain, going in and end out of the cabin to bring Grian different things. He took away the towel Tango gave him, Grian was already missing the smell and softness but replaced it with a big, fluffy robe that smelt like Scar and was so very warm. The captain brought him some books and even a bit of fish from their dinner. Grian had to keep it at the front of his mind that they were going to take him inland and kill him, but he'd enjoy what he had now.

When the sun began to rise, Scar went bellow deck to have "breakfast." Humans and their weird eating habits, sirens just ate when they were hungry, not reserving it for times of day. The captain had taken back the things he'd brought for Grian, leaving the journal, ink, and quil for communicating. It didn't matter, Grian was getting quite tired as his normal time to sleep approached.

He heard footsteps approaching, looking up, expecting to find the captain. Instead, Tango stood there, looking around Grian. "Hey, G," Tango murmured, his voice roughed from sleep, making the siren's head go dizzy.

That voice, that nickname. Grian had never been given a nickname. It made sense, given his strained relationship with anyone he met, but it still felt oddly nice. Grian might actually start to enjoy his time on this death ship. That…was not going to end well.

Chapter Text

Tango was in love.

He knew this, of course. The way his heart fluttered, the way he was softening up, it all pointed to one answer. And that answer was about to be sold away to someone that would degrade him. Tango knew who Scar was planning on selling Grian to, he knew how humans acted when faced with a rare creature. Humans were one of the most dangerous and vile creatures, not because they're inherently extremly strong, but because they will attack for fun, not even simply because of hunger.

Tango was a distant hybrid, but it barely showed on him. He had pointed ears, sharper canines, and his hair was an unnatural shade of yellow. Yet, he could blend in to the point where he wasn't hunted. That didn't mean living was easy for him, as his records saying distant hybrid didn't fair him well in getting anything. It's why he joined the crew. If you weren't able to be immediately spotted as a hybrid, and you were looking for a job, going for pirate was the best option.

He hasn't known that they'd be hunting sirens, though. He should've guessed, as the captain was very open about his debt and how selling a siren would be able to pay it off. Scar had gotten a bit too set on finding a siren at some point. At the point where it felt more like an obsession than a treasure to pay off debt. He wanted a siren, and Tango didn't understand until he met one.

Grian was beautiful, one of the most beautiful creatures he's ever met, and Tango has worked with Scar for years now, so that was saying something. The siren was feisty, but also was clearly hurt and scared to an amount. He looked so confused as Tango watched Bdubs's terrified reaction to the creature's humanoid form. It was actually somewhat funny.

He also seemed to genuinely like Tango's company, lighting up whenever he came around. It was quite sweet, as much as the captain seemed to dislike him much more the more he hung out with Grian. For someone who had been so eager to sell the siren, Scar seemed to be spending a lot of alone time with Grian. Whenever Tango visited Grian, one of the things he'd given the creature had been replaced by Scar's.

It was frustrating, but with how long he knew Scar, it was expected. The captain would always get possessive over his crew, or merchandise. But still, it was never quite like this. Tango could see his own emotions and feelings for the siren reflected in Scar's eyes, no matter how he denied it. They had both falling for the creature, and both wouldn't be getting up any time soon.

The siren was also clearly more at ease around the two. The poor thing had talked about dying so much, Tango started to worry. What if the buyer was going to kill him? Tear him up into pieces to sell? It wasn't like Tango could do much himself, but he'd try to comfort Grian before he was sold off.

Currently, Tango was in the crow's nest on look out for other ships. He wasn't really looking for other ships, though. Instead, he was looking down dreamily at the beautiful siren sleeping, slumped against the mast. He had been able to talk to Grian for a bit in the morning, before he had to get to work and Grian was heading to sleep.

Tango was weirdly glad that Grian slept through the day, as it meant that Scar had company while he was unable to sleep. The captain had often gone to his right hand man when unable to sleep, which Tango was over-all fine with, but the lack of sleep was catching up to him, with how often Scar couldn't sleep. So he was happy Scar now had someone to talk to at night, for atleast a bit. Because, even if the captain was annoying and possessive and jealous, he still cared for him and his well-being.

They were approaching mid-day, and had just under a day left until they would sell Grian off to a noble in the kingdom of Hermitopia, and had Grian on the ship for just under a week now. The crew had been there before, as pirates, they'd been many places, but this would be their first time talking to nobles without running away. Tango still didn't know who the buyer was, and Scar had already said none of the crew needed to, as he'd be handling the exchange himself. Sure, he was sure it was to protect them, but he was supposed to protect the captain, so not being brought along hurt.

Sure, the captain was strong, but so was he! He wanted to be there to make sure Scar didn't get hurt or anything worse. He wanted to be there for Scar. He wanted to be there for his part-…friend. He wanted to be there for his friend.

Looking up from Grian's peaceful sleeping face, he saw nothing in the horizon. He hated mast duty. He liked doing things, moving around and using his hands to create. Sitting still while watching for something that there wasn't even a large chance of being there was so boring. He wanted a real job, and if it wasn't for Bdubs wanting to spend time with Etho in the kitchen, he'd be up here, not Tango!

He slumped against the railing, feeling so very bored. He was off shift in about an hour probably, so he'd be able to see Grian closer. Soon, he wouldn't be able to see Grian anymore, and he would get over it. He was preparing himself for the heartbreak, so he didn't know why he kept letting the siren close. Over the past few days, he grew to truly love Grian's company and the personality with it.

Tango knew they were approaching the kingdom quickly, being able to see the forest on the land near the bay they were approaching slightly the same biome as the kingdom. They would probably arrive at the kingdom in a few hours, but unloading and meeting with the noble would take another several hours. But Gods, Tango really didn't want to never see Grian.