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Click.
The salty breeze blew through Yuu's hair as they snapped photos from the pier. Ultramarine Town was bustling in the distance, tourists come from near and far to visit the seaside town.
Sky blue waves lapped at the pier, just out of reach, sparkling on the horizon where the sun reflected the water. Click.
Yuu admired the deep ocean atop the stone pier, smiling to themself as they watched Riddle, Rook, and Malleus practice their rowing as Jade swam in merform alongside them. Click.
Grim had wandered off to hunt for crabs again, and Yuu could hear him toward the shore, grunting and cursing the little crustaceans. Click.
They'd accumulated a number of souvenir photos, and were eager to capture every moment of joy their friends had: Riddle paddling the boat with valiant fervor, Rook at the helm of his little sailboat, Malleus splashing everyone else with his powerful rowing, Grim with his water gun aimed right at the camera (seconds before he'd doused Yuu with water). Jade, poking his head out of the water and directing their friends with a smile.
Yuu liked that last one especially, but they wouldn't say it aloud.
They quietly placed the new snapshot in a pile of their other photos under a souvenir paperweight conch shell so the ocean wind didn't sweep them away. Yuu had accumulated a neat collection of the trip through ghost camera photos, and they felt excited to take more, maybe put them in an album when they got back to the dorm.
Drawing their attention away from their poor friends getting teased by Jade, Yuu glanced along the pier. The spot from the end of the pier had a good view of some of the streets at the heart of the town: vendors eagerly calling to customers for souvenirs, doors to shops wide open to let the warm sun and cool breeze in, tourists and residents alike busying the streets.
In their world, Yuu was a bit of a homebody, so they'd never visited any kind of cape towns or seaside villages or sparkling beaches—although they'd secretly always wanted to.
Yuu, especially in the last few years they'd been at NRC, found that they quite enjoyed the bustling, cheerful events and vacations they'd been lucky enough to attend with their classmates and friends. The liveliness of tourist stops like Ultramarine Town were infectious, and the bright sunshine and the rolling of the ocean waves accentuated that feeling. The ocean was something Yuu had never been able to visit in their own world, but Coral Sea was beautiful. Yuu felt drawn to the waves, even though the deep water scared them, doubly so with their inability to swim.
They'd been lenient with purchasing souvenirs: a ship in a bottle, the water gun, the paperweight shell, a glass of sand and seashells, a decorative piece of coral, a few nautical-themed books. They were eager to do even more shopping, the natural collector in them rearing with excitement.
Pointing the lens at the ocean waves below the pier, Yuu watched the glittering blue push against the stone, sending small little droplets splashing onto Yuu's legs. They closed their eye and breathed in briefly, a smile finding its way onto their face. The town of Ultramarine was easily one of their favorite places they'd visited thus far.
A shape formed in the water below, and for a moment, Yuu thought with excitement that they'd glimpse a native Coral Sea fish. Instead (however not to the impairment of their excitement) yellow peered out of the aquamarine depths. Ever the steady hand, Yuu's finger still found the capture button as Jade's head rose up and smiled at them. Click.
"I do hope you're still finding entertainment, land-bound as you are, Yuu." Jade gave a regretful smile, but offered a webbed hand as if a prince escorting a princess.
Yuu had a sneaking suspicion that Jade was plotting something, but still slipped their hand into his, sleek wet scales brushing their wrist. "Oh, I'm fine, Jade. It's very lovely out here, and it's fun to watch you guys."
Yuu glanced up to check on the Housewardens (plus one Vice Housewarden) and watched as Malleus protested that he was being as gentle as he could, while Riddle complained that it was still not gentle at all, and Rook offered tips to the both of them in Jade's place.
Jade's claws tenderly rubbing a circle on the back of Yuu's hand brought their attention back to the eel underneath them. "As much as I am grateful to bring you along for this event, I am also quite regretful that the ocean holds fears for you. I'm happy that you're enjoying yourself, but I do wish you could enjoy yourself to the fullest."
Yuu watched Jade's hand quietly for a moment, a warm feeling rippling in their chest. They assured with a smile, "There's nothing to fret about, Jade. Ultramarine is beautiful. I've always wanted to visit a place like this, so it's really an honor and a joy to experience it now—swimming or no swimming—with you." Then, quickly, "With everyone."
Jade seemed to ponder this, tilting his head a bit as he looked up at Yuu with mismatched eyes and an almost pensive set to his lips. Yuu knew Jade probably wouldn't find the sentiment complimentary, but he looked almost akin to a puppy, his thoughtful expression coming off as pouty at the right angle.
"Forgive my insistence and clear bias, but I believe Ultramarine Town's highlight is the Coral Sea. Experiencing the festivities of the town but not experiencing swimming in the cool ocean is like only ordering a drink from a restaurant. You will not leave full, and I've always made it my goal to make sure every customer leaves with a smile on their face and complete satisfaction." He said it with a teasing lilt, but Yuu could see the lines of disappoint crease his smile.
Not disappoint in Yuu necessarily, but a neutral kind of dissatisfaction that Jade expressed in such a Jade way; were Floyd here, Yuu was positive he would have voiced how lame it was that Yuu couldn't swim right to their face, likely even goading Yuu on how much they were missing out until dragging Yuu to the water himself. Jade's words, at their core, had the same messaging just with a more gentlemanly coating to them. So, Yuu kind of got the idea.
They let a small smirk crest their face. "Jade Leech, I do believe you are trying to lure me into the sea," they chided playfully.
Jade's sharp teeth glinted off the sun as he pulled Yuu's hand closer to him. "Whatever could you mean, dear Prefect? You and I know full well that if I wanted you in the sea, I could easily drag you down into the depths of my own volition, no luring necessary."
That much was true; Yuu felt a shiver up their spine at the imagery of being on Jade's bad side and getting dragged down into the endless void of ocean.
"Gee, you're really selling it to me. Azul puts you in charge of advertising?" Yuu said flatly, sarcasm dripping from their words as their eye squinted past Jade and into the deep.
"You'd be surprised by how well my marketing works," he replied with his showman smile.
He chuckled to himself before his tone softened, traces of their banter melting away as he asked with sincerity in his voice, "Won't you join me, Yuu? I won't let you go, you have my word." To punctuate his promise, he brought the back of Yuu's hand to his lips, brushing by it ever so gingerly and lingering as his warm breath spread over Yuu's skin.
The Sunshine Land's titular sunshine suddenly felt summer-hot on Yuu's neck, and they were positive their blush was selling them out. And although their stomach did anxious whirlpools as they carefully set their camera on the pier and let their legs dangle into the cool water, they trusted that even if he joked and had his fun with their friends, Jade wouldn't truly cause Yuu any real fear or pain.
With Jade paddling his tail in anticipation, Yuu looked down into the water one last time. The drop from the edge of the pier into the water below could only be a couple feet; with their legs hanging off the ledge, the waves lapped at Yuu's ankles. Yuu took a deep breath, screwed their eye shut, and let their body slip off the stone pier and take the terrifying plunge into the cobalt blue.
For a single moment, they were sinking. And in that moment, all flashes of fear struck them: sinking into the depths, the bottom of the lightless sea, water replacing all the air in their lungs and turning their skin blues and purples, helpless and falling in the pitch black emptiness; Maybe they'd just sink forever, stuck in perpetual nothingness and cold.
Just as the darkness of their closed eye and the openness of the water around them began to claw at Yuu's heart, they felt careful hands around their waist pulling them up.
When they breached the surface and wiped water out of their eye to take in their surroundings, Yuu sucked in a gasp as Jade's face scanned Yuu's from close up. In his merform, Jade's olive eye seemed to glow just as brightly as his yellow, his eyes no longer mismatched.
"Excuse me," Jade said apologetically despite the eager look in his eyes, his hands around Yuu's waist felt intimate, especially with how close he was holding them.
The water was cold at the initial dive, but felt much warmer as Yuu's body began to acclimate to the temperature difference. Jade's strong mer-arms were surely accounting for something there as well, but Yuu instead focused on his fins, beautiful aqua sails lifting out of the water. They'd seen the Leech twins' merforms multiple times before, but never this close up. Absently, Yuu's finger trailed the scales of Jade's shoulder, watching the way they seemed to sparkle even under the waves, like shining sand in the shallows. His skin was smooth and slightly slippery, and for a moment, Yuu was mesmerized.
"I thought you were catching me," Yuu complained lightly, without any bite to their words. They'd expected such a trick from Jade, and equally, expected Jade to keep the jest from causing any real trouble.
Jade gave his trademark innocent look that hid his mischief just under the surface. His hands shifted subtly, finding a firmer grasp on Yuu's waist.
"You were just so fast, you slipped right by. You certainly didn't give me any warning of when you would dive in," but Yuu already knew that look in Jade's eyes that said he was having fun.
Still, Yuu didn't feel particularly wronged or offended at his small prank. He'd been fast to pull Yuu up, and his grip was safe.
Yuu pulled their eye from Jade to look out across the shimmering waves and felt their own eyes sparkle at the view. Somehow, the scenery of their friends from the pier compared to the water was different; just as the view from a crowded street is different when you're in the midst of that very street as opposed to looking out your window.
It felt lively as Jade held Yuu above the rolling waves, and Yuu could hear more clearly Riddle's complaints to Malleus and Rook's dramatic praises of Malleus' power. They could even see a different angle of Grim eating a mouthful of sand as he dove after a crab, snickering to themself as he spat. Even the town's busy streets looked like a mirage from the water, tourists melting into each other and banners wavering above the cozy little town.
Jade's hold was so stable, it felt like Yuu was floating, and Yuu thought that this was even better than being in a rowboat.
"It's so beautiful," Yuu murmured, squinting their eye over the sun reflected on the ocean. They could have sworn they'd seen the dorsal fin of a dolphin in the far distance.
"Yes," Jade grinned, and when Yuu glanced at him, his eyes were gentle, staring right at them, "It is, isn't it?"
Yuu opened their mouth, perhaps to sputter some excuse or embarrassing nonsense, but whatever they were about to say was swallowed up as a few rougher currents splashed into them, saltwater stinging their eye and cold in their throat. They coughed, but only twice, the seawater going down surprisingly easy. Although Jade's hands were strong on their waist, the churning waves sent them wobbling topside, hands finding safety around Jade's neck, but too shy and conscious to fully commit, instead resting awkwardly at his shoulders. In turn, Jade pulled Yuu closer, a hand placed delicately on their back to compensate for the waves.
Somewhere in the distance, Riddle was shouting at Malleus to row gently, "This is not gently!"
"Yuu," Jade began, a polite gentlemanly tone, "please do hold onto me if it makes you feel safer, no need to be shy."
On second thought, maybe Yuu wanted the waves to swallow them up after all.
Ashamed and flustered, Yuu slid their hands back around Jade's neck.
"Of course, if you find yourself seasick, I implore you to let me know as soon as possible so that I may turn you elsewhere."
Jade laughed when Yuu rolled their eye.
In a brief silence, Yuu listened to the waves and commotion of their friends, and peered up to watch a seagull fly overhead.
"I think… I'd like to learn to swim," Yuu finally said, exhaling when the waves calmed.
"Oh?" Jade's earfin seemed to flick in interest.
Yuu's eye darted from Jade's shoulder to Rook, having mastered the art of rowing and dutifully advising Malleus and Riddle, to Grim, given up on his crab hunt and wading into the shallows of the water to splash around and fill his water gun.
Yuu explained, "The view from the waves is completely different from the shore. I want to be able to share this with all of you. I don't mind watching, it always makes me happy to see everyone else happy… but I think I prefer to be part of your world."
Jade was uncharacteristically quiet, so Yuu's eye flitted back to him, only to find an expression they'd never seen on his face. Something between surprise and… maybe a bit of tenseness? A soft peach color tinged Jade's aqua scales.
Yuu added, barely above a whisper, the crashing of waves almost enough to wash out their words, "I'm scared of the ocean and swimming, but right now, I… feel very safe."
They hoped their intent carried through the currents to Jade.
Whatever tension was floating through Jade evaporated, and Yuu could sense his the satisfaction that settled on his scales.
Mischief and eagerness spread across Jade's face. "Yuu, I do believe you are luring me to be your swim teacher."
Yuu cracked a grin and let an airy laugh escape their lips, "Why, is it working?"
"About as well as my luring you into the sea has." Jade leaned closer, his voice lowering in secret between only the two.
"It would be my greatest pleasure to teach you."
Yuu's heart was in their ears, they were sure of it. "And the catch?" they asked, attempting to lighten the intimate air, expecting some kind of compensation tribute like Azul always sought. They were joking, but they weren't actually certain they'd be able to come up with some kind of exchange payment for Jade.
"The catch?" Jade chuckled, sharp teeth accentuating his amusement. "Why, me of course. Hook and all." He seemed proud of that one, which endeared Yuu terribly.
Yuu snorted, inexplicably brushing a wet strand of hair from Jade's face despite the reddening of their cheeks. "Quite the catch," they mused. "A charming aquaterrium should suit him well."
(Again, a teasing jest, but Jade's eyes lit up so eagerly that Yuu's heart squeezed with Floyd-like strength.)
"Jade!" called an accented voice, frustration tinging the name. "I've had enough! Bring us to shore!"
Riddle waved from a distance, although his hand seemed to falter only slightly for a moment of squinting his eyes in Yuu and Jade's direction.
"Oh, s'il vous plaît, faites silence, Roi de Roses," Rook anguished over the waves, "Can't you see they are having a moment? Let them finish."
"They are?" Malleus sounded surprised, and Yuu cleared their throat when Malleus shielded his eyes from the sun and curiously stared in their direction. "Wait, is Yuu swimming…?"
Rook chuckled proudly. "Oui, you can't tell from here? Perhaps the ocean breeze has carried with it air d'amour for the Eternity Float ceremony."
Yuu sank down into the water a bit, suddenly far too conscious of Jade's strong arms and his glistening scales and his sharp eyes and his clawed hands at their waist and the very little space between them.
Jade heaved a sigh, faux annoyance playing in his eyes. "Perhaps I should leave them stranded for a bit longer…"
Maybe it wasn't faux after all.
"Or… perhaps, I can play with them a bit. Yuu, I'll lift you back to land. Wait for me."
Yuu was quite familiar with Floyd and Jade's physical strength in their merforms by now, and yet it still shocked them when Jade easily lifted them back up to the stone pier by the waist.
After making sure they were safely on the pier, Jade sunk beneath the waves ominously, and Yuu watched his rippling form torpedo toward the stray rowboats. He tore waves even greater than Malleus' in his wake, successfully tipping Riddle's boat with one swift slap of his tail, and sending huge swathes of waves splashing into Rook's. Malleus was widely unaffected, abandoning his capsized boat and floating gracefully into the air.
Riddle sputtered irritation and Rook commended Jade's elegance while Malleus seemed contemplative of Jade's strength. All the while, Jade threw a sly smirk over his shoulder at Yuu, who couldn't help but let the laughter spill out of them.
As Jade helped Riddle back into his boat with no doubt words of placation, Yuu remembered the photo they'd taken of Jade earlier. Picking up their camera and the polaroid the was still hanging out of it, Yuu peered at the snapshot.
Jade was center frame, miraculously in focus, and an ocean of blue surrounded him. Natural-born photographer, Rook had once praised them.
It was a strikingly handsome photo of Jade, water falling off his fins and hair as he emerged out of the water, offset by surprisingly gentle eyes and a soft smile, one that felt more genuine than Yuu had seen in photos they'd taken of Jade prior. His yellow eyes… oh?
Yuu squinted closer to the photo, discovering that rather than looking at the camera lens, Jade's shockingly soft expression was pointed above the lens, presumably in Yuu's direction.
"My precious little eel is infatuated, how adorable."
Yuu swiveled, quickly placing the photo face down on the pier under the paperweight with the other photos.
Georgina Leech towered over where Yuu sat, giggling to herself.
Yuu began to stand at attention, but Georgina made a flippant motion. "No need to be so formal, Yuu. I'm just checking in on everyone. It makes me so happy to see Jade have so much fun with his friends."
As Yuu struggled for words, she added, "And more."
Now Yuu really was at a loss for words.
"Oh, don't look so stunned, dear!" Georgina laughed, her sharp teeth flashing, matching her son's. "I don't need a photo to see how he looks at you."
Yuu felt heat gathering on their neck again. "I… uh, well, thank you, Miss," Yuu floundered. "I, um. I like him. A lot."
Georgina all but chortled.
"You're as cute as a little pearl! I know my Jade can be a hard clam to break through at first—harder than Floyd is—since he keeps a lot of walls up behind that devious smile and polite speak, but it warms my heart to know he has someone like you in his life, someone he can let his guard down around. And I know he feels the same, perhaps even more so." Georgina's gentle eyes were easily the origin of Jade's.
"Oh dear, it looks like Grimmy has passed out asleep on the sand. I'll go retrieve him," Georgina offered, giving Yuu a proud, motherly grin before she set off for the beach.
After she had gone, Yuu quietly pulled the photo back out, staring at it. Something warm and light fluttering in their chest. A candid photo of Jade looking right at them, no pretense or mask of politeness. Had he known they were taking a photo and deliberately chose to look at them instead?
Yuu decided to keep this one for themself, their most precious and favorite souvenir from the Sunshine Lands of all.