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The first time Hunk sees him it's a sunny morning, the dawn light shimmering down in trails through the water.
Hunk is hunting for conchs, one of the few reasons he comes this close to shore. He's learned over the years that if he happens to break the surface with his dorsal fin or striped tail, the humans nearby will panic, possibly even go hunting for him. He can easily out-swim them, head back to deeper waters and his home, but he doesn't really like to scare the humans, they're only trying to enjoy the waves, after all.
So he stays below the surface when he's hunting, stays close to the ocean floor. He occasionally gets distracted dancing with jellyfish, or by a finding a new piece of kelp that will make a better headband than the one he already has. Sometimes he plays with mussels and oysters, tickling them until they open and he can gently remove any pearls hiding within them.
Hunk isn't sure what makes him look up that first time, maybe a shadow passed over him, or he could hear the breaking in the water. He rarely even glances toward the surface, but for some reason, that day, he looks up.
At first he thinks it's a large seal above him, but as he continues to gaze he knows that's wrong, it's not moving quite right for a seal. The shape begins to swim away from him, and then, quite suddenly, its arm and legs disappear.
Hunk waits for it to move a little bit farther before he kicks with his tail, propelling himself up toward the open air and sunlight. He makes sure to break the surface with just his head, closing the gills behind his ears and letting his rarely used lungs take over his breathing. He bobs on the surf for a few moments, letting his eyes adjust to the open air, then looks around for the strange creature he spotted above him.
But it's not a strange creature at all. It's a human, standing on a long board that tapers smoothly to a point. He's riding it along with the crest of a crashing wave, his wet hair plastered in brown streaks across his forehead. He wears a cord around his neck with two clear, flat, bulb-shaped objects on it, similar to how Hunk wears a string of cowry shells around his neck, and Hunk wonders what mystical significance the human's necklace has for him. The strange decoration hangs on his defined collarbones, and Hunk follows the line of his breast bone downwards. His gaze roams over lean muscles and a smooth stomach, a dusting of wet hair trailing down from the curious dimple humans have in their center to disappear beneath a covering of bright blue cloth. Strong legs keep him balanced on the board, and the human whoops as he rides the wave.
Hunk thinks he's most beautiful creature he's ever laid eyes on.
He watches the human from a distance for a long time, keeping his nose close to the surface of the water, keeping the rest of his body beneath the waves. When the human finally paddles back to shore, Hunk dips back beneath the surf, returning to his hunt.
↭
The second time Hunk sees him it's the middle of the day, just a few weeks later.
Not that Hunk has been keeping track of the time that passed, has been pining for the beautiful human boy he saw riding the waves with arms spread wide like he was some sort of godlike blend of bird and fish. It's not like he's chanced coming closer to shore more often in the hopes that he might catch a glimpse of him again.
The sun is high in the sky when Hunk breaks the surface. He shakes his hair out, blinking, waiting for his little clear membranes to cover his eyes and protect his vision from the air. His vision clears and then he yelps loudly when he sees he surfaced just a tail's length away from the human he had most certainly not been searching for.
"Sorry!" Hunk speaks quickly, then panics even more, startled by how different his voice sounds outside of the water. He brings a hand to his throat, rubbing at it like he's got something stuck in it. "I didn't see you there."
The human blinks at him for a moment, then stares, and Hunk feels the skin of his face grow hot under the scrutiny. He's deeply glad the long tails of the kelp tied around his head are obscuring the gills that run from behind his ears and down the sides of his neck.
"Hey." The human's expression changes from one of startled confusion, to a warm lopsided smile, his eyelids drooping, head tilting, and he shifts his posture a bit, like a gull puffing up his chest. "The name's Lance."
"I'm Hunk." The sound of his own voice is still strange to Hunk's ears, and he's fairly certain that waver to it isn't actually a result of being above the water.
"I'll say." The human, Lance, his gaze drops down, like he's trying to see the rest of Hunk, the parts of him that are obscured by the water. "Come here often?"
"Sometimes." Hunk wonders if the sunlight is burning his skin, he's fairly certain he's never felt his face go this warm before. "I live about a mile or so from here."
"Oh yeah?" Lance shifts a bit on his board, paddling closer to Hunk as they bob around in the surf. "How come I've never seen you around before?"
"I, uh." Hunk swallows hard, glancing down. The last thing he wants is for Lance to see his lower half. He doesn't want his fins and tail to scare him. Humans are always scared of them. They scream and then panic and they try to hunt him down, and Hunk doesn't want Lance to do any of those things. Not at all. "I don't get out much."
"That's too bad." Lance leans forward on his board, lying on his stomach and crossing one arm beneath his chin, the other gliding idly through the water. "I'd like to see more of you."
Hunk isn't stupid enough to not pick up on the double meaning in that statement. He swallows hard, one hand toying nervously with his cowry necklace. Lance is very close to him now, so close Hunk could reach out and touch the edge of his board if he wanted to, but not quite close enough for Lance to reach out and touch him. Hunk's not sure if that's a relief or a disappointment.
Before Lance can get any closer though, before he can glance down into the water again and see that Hunk definitely doesn't have legs down there, before his headband shifts too much and reveals his gills, Hunk swallows hard, his words coming out in a breathless rush. "WellIgottago."
"Wait-"
But Hunk has already gone back beneath the surface, using his arms to swim down as low as he can, before kicking off with his tail and propelling himself further out into deeper waters. His heart doesn't settle down into a normal rhythm again until he's back in his cave, and it takes another hour or so for his face to finally cool down.
↭
The third time Hunk sees him it's close to sunset, and the sea has grown violent.
Even this far down amongst the mollusks Hunk can feel it, like the electric hum given off by jellyfish, only stronger, and much more aggressive. This near the surface Hunk can hear the staccato of rain hitting the water, and he can feel the distant vibrations of booming thunder.
He's just about to abandon his hunt, head back out into deeper waters for home, when he happens to glance up, catching the shape of what he now knows is a board, human arms and legs paddling it through the surf. The arms and legs disappear from the shadowy shape, and Hunk feels deep anxiety seize up in his chest.
This time when he breaks the surface there is no sunlight, the sunset obscured by angry dark clouds and heavy sheets of rain. Hunk almost doesn't have to close his second eyelids nor cover his gills the air is so thick with water. It takes him several moments to spot the human, and his fears are confirmed when he catches sight of bright blue cloth and hears the sound of his whoop. Hunk doesn't even feel safe out here, and he can breathe underwater, this human is in so much danger.
The waves become more and more violent, crashing around Hunk, making it harder and harder for him to keep an eye on his human. He keeps catching brief glimpses of him. A flash of blue, a wild mess of hair, the shiny surface of his board. One particularly huge wave crests right over his head, and it takes him an agonizingly long time before he can surface again.
Hunk scans the surf and the shoreline for any sign of Lance, panic gripping tight to his heart the more moments that pass by. What he finally sees makes him cry out in agony and anger.
Just Lance's board washing up onto the shore.
Hunk dives back into the water, not caring that his tail breaks the surface, he needs the momentum of the movement to propel him through the water as he searches for any sign of Lance beneath the waves. Seconds seem like hours while he frantically swims, his massive tail trashing as his strong arms guided him.
Lance is limp when Hunk finally spots him, lean arms and legs extended lazily from him. His bright eyes are open and unfocused, little bubbles floating upwards from his nose, and Hunk can't reach him fast enough.
He wraps his strong arms around Lances middle, and with the last violent kick of his tail he can muster, he breaks the surface again, dragging his human with him. Lance's head rolls limply against Hunk's shoulder, and Hunk feels something sick and painful twist in his stomach.
"I've got you." Hunk gasps and swims as quickly as he can manage. He doesn't bother trying to make it to the shoreline, instead heading for a little peninsula formation of rocks that are much closer. "Stay with me, please."
Hunk manages to swim and flop his way into a little pool between the larger rocks, just a few inches deep. Lying Lance down, his head propped up on a small smooth stone, Hunk frantically searches him for signs of life, but he's not sure what to look for, he doesn't understand drowning at all, doesn't understand how water alone could kill something so beautiful.
"No." Hunk rubs at his face, then snaps his cowry necklace away from his throat. Some of the shells go flying, but he keeps one tight in his hand. "I'm not going to lose you."
Hunk doesn't understand drowning, but he does understand water and the sacred power in it, he knows how to manipulate it, to shift currents, to change its flow. He gathers Lance's limp form against his chest, holding him close with one strong arm wrapped around his stomach. His other hand still holds the cowry shell, and he presses it hard against the center of Lance's chest. It begins to grow warm, feeding off Hunk's energy. Warmer and warmer. Hunk visualizes his own energy flowing into Lance, into his chest, into his lungs. He pictures a glowing gold light, warm like the sun on his skin, warm like the shape of Lance's smile. He envisions the water in Lance's lungs flowing back up and out of him, leaving him, giving him back his breath, giving him back his life.
"Please." Hunk keeps his eyes closed as he prays to every god of the sea he's ever made offerings to, and even those he hasn't. He doesn't know any human gods, or gods of the land, but he sends prayers to them too, wishing he knew their names.
The sound of Lance's wet choking cough is more beautiful than whale-song to Hunk's ears. He tilts him to one side so the water can leave his mouth more easily, and slowly rubs circles over his back. He wants to say soothing things to him, coax him gently, but he can't find his voice anymore.
When Lance has coughed up the last drops of water from his lungs, his breaths now coming ragged and hoarse, Hunk takes one of Lance's hands and carefully closes his palm around the cowry shell. He closes his own hand around Lance's, and presses a series of lingering kisses to his wet brow. "Get some rest, I've got you."
↭
The morning sun is warm against Hunk's back when he wakes, the sound of the waves against the rocks gentle. His tail still rests safe and wet in the shallow pool. Lance stirs softly beside him, beneath Hunk's protective arm and a blanket of kelp Hunk had draped over him to stop his mid-sleep shivers. Beach glass eyes slowly blink open, wincing as the light hits pupils not ready to accept it yet.
A soft groan escapes Lance, and he turns his head to press his face against Hunk's shoulder, prompting Hunk to tighten his arm around him.
"What the hell happened?" His voice sounds like a shipwreck, and Hunk's heart goes out to him in sympathy just as strongly as it fills with joy that he's alive.
"You drowned." Hunk murmurs softly. He knows he should probably leave now, makes a swift exit before Lance wakes up properly and is frightened by him. But Lance is so warm, and he's nuzzling into Hunk's shoulder, and Hunk can't seem to find the will to move. "I saved you."
"Yeah?" Lance pulls his head back, blinking as his eyes finally adjust to the dawn. Then a look of absolute confusion crosses his face, and he wiggles his arms beneath the seaweed. "Wait, what?"
Hunk just smiles sadly at him, until lance looks up at him, and then a small smile breaks out over Lance's face, putting the dawn to shame.
"Oh it's you." Lance squirms under the kelp, under Hunk's arm, and eventually wiggles his way up into a sitting position. His eyes roam down Hunk's body, over his back, to his hips, and down along his tail. "Oh."
Hunk's heart sinks, and he draws his arm away from Lance, half crawling half shimmying backwards in the pool, to where the rocks open back into the ocean. "I should go. I'm sorry."
"No wait." Lance reaches to grip Hunk's wrist, holding tight and preventing his progress. Hunk hadn't gotten very far to begin with, and when Lance leans forward their noses almost brush. Lance searches his face for a moment, then looks over the rest of him. When Hunk makes no move to keep leaving, he lets go of Hunk's wrist, reaching to glide a hand over his dorsal fin. "This is so cool."
Hunk shivers at the sensation of being touched there, his eyes closing for a brief moment as pleasure ripples through him like a warm eddy. He clears his throat, forcing his eyes open again and searching Lance's face. "You're not scared?"
"No way dude, you saved my life, and you're a fucking mermaid? Merman? Mer... person?" Lance gives a little shrug when Hunk snorts at that. "Well how am I supposed to know what the correct term is?"
"Mo'o." Hunk supplies with a small smile, feeling a little flustered from the way Lance's eyes keep roaming over his body. Not just his tail either, but his back too.
"I like these." Lance reaches to trail his fingers along the stripes that crisscross over the back of Hunk's tail. He follows them up, past Hunk's dorsal fin, and then further, where they continue up Hunk's human-like back, stopping just beneath his shoulder blades. "They look like tattoos."
"What's a tattoo?" Hunk tilts his head curiously, and Lance wiggles around, pushing the last of the seaweed off him and then reaching to tug the top edge of his cloth-covering down. Just over his hipbone is a blue paw print, like what some animals leave in the sand on the shore, about the size of a hermit crab.
"This is a tattoo." Lance runs his thumb fondly over the mark. "Wasn't born with it, like I imagine you were with your stripes? I had it put there when my cat died."
Hunk reaches out to follow the path of Lance's thumb along the mark, brushing a little circle around the print. He can feel Lance shiver from his touch, but when he glances up, he sees only pleasure on his face.
"Hey um," Lance begins after a moment, bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. "Thanks. For saving me, I mean."
"What were you even doing out here last night?" Hunk feels the lingering echo of the terror he'd felt last night make a lump inside his throat, and he shifts closer to Lance, propping himself up on one strong arm beside him.
"The waves were killer last night, I figured I'd catch a few of them before the storm rolled in proper." Lance sighs, draws his knees closer to his chest and resting his arms over them. "Guess I underestimated how fast it'd come in."
Hunk reaches up and smacks Lance on the back of the head, ignoring his shout of pain, and then grabs him with his free arm and yanks him in close. He loses his balance, falling backwards and dragging Lance down with him. His tail splashes angrily in the pool as both his arms wrap so tight around him he hears Lance's breaths wheeze slightly. "Don't do that. What if I hadn't been there? You would have died!"
Lance squirms only for a moment in Hunk's tight embrace, then he goes very still. He doesn't say anything, and Hunk dearly hopes his words are sinking in. He thinks they are, especially when Lance turns his head and presses his nose to Hunk's throat, giving a small nod.
"Good." Hunk lifts one hand up, tangling his fingers in his messy brown hair.
"Hey," Lance noses at Hunk's throat, prompting a violent shiver from him. "You have gills."
"Yes," Hunk gives him a much more gentle smack to the head this time. "And they're very sensitive, so don't do that. You wouldn't want me poking at your lungs, would you?"
"Sorry." Lance gives a soft little laugh.
They lie like that for a good hour, until the sun has come up completely from the horizon, warming their skin and finally drying Lance's hair. Lance dozes off again at one point, and Hunk doesn't try to move him, knowing he probably needs his rest. He also... well he's enjoying having Lance wrapped up in his arms, enjoying the feel of his heart beating against his chest, enjoying the soft feel of his breaths against his throat.
When Lance stirs again, it's with a heavy groan, and Hunk reluctantly lets him go so he can sit up again. "I should probably go, my mom's probably worried sick about me."
Hunk reaches out to rest a steadying palm against the center of Lance's back. "Can you make it to shore on your own?"
Lance stands, his legs wobbling for a moment before he manages to gain his footing. He looks out past the rocks, and smiles. "Yeah it's not too far, I should be okay. And I think I see the lifeguard, so if something does happen, I won't drown again."
↭
The tenth time Hunk sees him it's late afternoon. Lance is the main reason he comes this close to shore. Hunk is waiting in the water by the rocks, staying out of the line of sight in case other humans come wandering, so they won't see his dorsal fin protruding from the water behind him.
Lance paddles his board around the rocks, into the little alcove just outside the pool where Hunk had saved his life. He smiles bright as the sun when he sees Hunk, and guides his board right up next to him.
"Hey, handsome." Lance leans forward over the edge of his board, the cowry shell he attached to a cord dangling into the water as he grabs the tails of Hunk's kelp headband. Lance tugs him in closer and presses his warm lips to Hunk's cool ones. The kiss is slow and lingering, Lance licking the salt from Hunk's lips before they part, then licking at his own just after.
Lance offers Hunk a bright smile - warm skin glowing in the sunlight, eyes shining like abalone shells, fluffy hair dancing slightly in the breeze - and Hunk knows he is the most beautiful creature he's ever laid eyes on.