Work Text:
There was a huge variety of people in the world. Humans, felines, canines, equines - if you could think of it, people of that type were there. You? You were a human, but there was no shortage of other people around you. Moving to the city had introduced you to an even wider variety of folks, the country was limited in what it could cater to, but the city had no such concerns. Your workplace was comprised of people of all walks of life, including merfolk, who you’d never had a chance to meet before your move.
Merfolk were different in the sense that their forms actually changed, rather than having just both human and animal traits - merfolk had tails, but only in water. When submerged, merfolk could transform their human legs into their respective species tails. You thought it was truly nothing short of brilliant.
In particular, the merfolk that you interacted with on the most regular basis was your co-worker Nanami Kento. You saw him every day, and spent a lot of time together pouring over documents, editing spreadsheets and calling customers. It was monotonous, soul sucking really, but at least you had each other, so you could laugh on lunch breaks and slump out of the office together at the end of the day, heading towards the same train. It was an easy, comfortable working relationship. He was quieter than most, stoic even, but it was something you could almost appreciate. You were quiet at the best of times, until you were more settled into your relationship with someone anyway, and Nanami was a man who could appreciate and exist in silence, there was no pressure to be more than you were. He was steadfast, reliable - really, he was the ideal co-worker.
You’d never gotten around to asking what species of merfolk he was - you figured that honestly it might actually be a little rude, but you weren’t sure of the etiquette, and even then it probably varied between people so.. sort of hopeless. Not that you really needed to know. It wasn’t relevant to your work, the same as asking someone’s sexuality wasn’t necessary. So you never did, even if you were a little curious.
Politeness, however, couldn’t stop you from observing things, the same as you would with anyone else. Everyone had their little tells. Feline and canine people had ears, and often tails; reptilians had scales, sometimes webbed fingers or toes depending on their species; some folk had more habitual tells like being nocturnal. Nanami Kento changed colours. It wasn’t too uncommon, lots of people had that trait because of their more animal heritage, but you did think it was pretty. The way his skin would shimmer and shift, often cycling through several colours before it returned to the soft, peach-y, more human shade it typically was.
Curiosity, though, was often your downfall. After all, it didn’t seem like he was doing it intentionally. Instead, it seemed to be an instinctive reaction to.. something.
At first you thought maybe it was seasonal, or he had some sort of mild merfolk sickness, or.. you really had no idea. But then you noticed that it didn’t always happen. Just sometimes.
You noticed it on days when you’d leave the office late together, walking side by side the catch the train. As you sat side by side on the very same train, knees brushing from the way it slightly jolted, or when his arm would reach out to ensure you wouldn’t slam back into your seat when it came to a stop. Idle chatter sometimes exchanged, sometimes silence sitting comfortably between you, but never conversation about work. Fuck work.
You noticed it when you crowded in close to fit under the same umbrella when it began to rain out on lunch one day. It wasn’t infrequent that you took your lunch breaks together, walking down the street to the convenience store so you could pick up something to eat in the break room, because lunch was sacred and not to be taken at your desk unless strictly unavoidable (both of you struggled to actually adhere to that rule). The rain wasn’t a regular occurrence though, you’d not even brought your umbrella to work, but the two of you just about managed to squeeze in together, his longer arm holding the umbrella, looped around your shoulders so it would be tall enough to over you both.
You noticed it on late nights when you were the last two people in the office, determined to finish your workload, and not let the other suffer alone. Quietly pouring over sheets that should’ve been finished hours ago, if only their other co-workers paid just a little more attention to their surroundings, the lights turned mostly off, aside from one to make sure their area was lit just enough for them to be able to see their tasks, hands brushing as they reached for pens and staplers.
You noticed it when he brought your coffee order in the mornings, or you brought him lunch because he hadn’t had a chance to leave his desk. Making sure the both of you were prepared for the work ahead, never left wanting something you couldn’t find a chance to go get for yourself, looking after each other to fill in the gaps you couldn’t on your own. Fingers brushing, smiles warm, laughter soft.
Another coworker in the office that you got along with suggested that it only happened when you were there. You insisted she must be wrong because of course that wasn’t true, you’d seen him remain totally in control of his apparent colour changing ability - to which she pointed out, that was only when he didn’t know you were there.
So something about you made him change colour. If it was some sort of allergy or intolerance to the fabric of your uniform, or something you ate, he’d tell you, that much you were sure of. So.. what the hell was it?
You were in the break room one day when Kento walked in, talking to another one of your co-workers, another merfolk. You didn’t listen into their conversation intentionally, but you were in close proximity and they weren’t exactly whispering. At least what you were hearing probably wasn’t a secret. A lot of it you didn’t process, but your ears did perk up when you heard the word ‘seahorse’. You listened just a little while longer as you stirred your coffee for far longer than needed, until you came to a conclusion. Kento must be a seahorse merfolk.
You did your best to convince yourself that it didn’t matter, that you weren’t interested and weren’t going to do anything with the information. You could be normal about this. So incredibly normal.
With your drink in hand, you returned to your desk to sit down, and immediately googled seahorses. You were markedly not normal and far too curious for your own good. You skimmed through a few articles, wikipedia first then brancing out into conservation pages, then into personal blogs written by merfolk. If you were going to be nosy, you were going to do it properly.
It took a while, but eventually you came across a section about courtship practices. You wanted to brush it off at first, what a ridiculous idea, but it was the only mention you’d found of colour changing. At all. So you read it in more detail, and came to the decision that you’d just.. ignore it for now. After all, what were you supposed to do when a seahorse merfolk’s personal blog revealed to you that your co-worker likely has a crush on you?
Seahorses, and seahorse merfolk, often used the colour changing as a method to attract a mate, but a trait specific to merfolk was that it could happen involuntarily around someone they had unresolved feelings for. You decided you were going to sit on the information, mull over it privately, and decide what to do about it - if anything - later. You closed the tabs.
Later turned out to be about a week after your little google search. You sat side by side with Kento, two pairs of strained eyes scanning over an excel sheet for information long past the time you were supposed to clock out. You shifted slightly to get more comfortable, and your knee brushed against his. When his hand reached to press the down arrow, taking you down another few cells on the sheet, you noted that the colour of his skin had shifted. You were reminded of your research. He’d been fine until that moment - until your knee had brushed his.
“Is it like getting butterflies?” You blurted out, immediately horrified, because that was supposed to be an inside thought.
“Pardon?” Kento asked in return, looking at you with eyes slightly wide. For a moment, the two of you just looked at each other, and then you got to witness clear as day as the colour of his skin shifted again, far more obviously all across his face. The pale peach tone shifted to something deeper like a blush, then turned purple, and then blue, before it faded back out.
“It is, isn’t it?” You followed with, because fuck it, you were in too deep to go back now.
“I’m not sure what you mean.” He attempted poorly to deny, coughing to clear his throat as he looked away, but you watched as he subconsciously loosened his tie, as if it was suddenly too tight around his neck.
“The way your skin changes colour.” You clarified, just to make sure he couldn’t escape from admitting it.
“I- I.. suppose it is.” He mumbled, sucking at his teeth at his attention turned down to his hands in his lap, not willing to look at you even as he attempted to maintain his professional air.
“Can you do it on purpose?”
“Of course I can.” He confirmed.
“Show me? Please?”
His attention snapped back up to you at that request, taking a moment to process, as if you might change your mind or confess that it was all a big joke.
“I’m not sure you understand-”
“I read an article about it.” You cut him off, eyes soft, and smile tender, doing your best to reassure him.
Another beat. Another moment to process, which you freely gave to him, not wanting to rush him into something that clearly seemed to be a big deal to him. You didn’t quite understand yet, but you wanted to. Then, after watching his Adams apple bob hard, like he was struggling to swallow, you noted that his skin was shifting colour again.
It was slower when it was deliberate, a transformation that seemed to ebb and flow, shifting seamlessly between shades you couldn’t have named if you’d tried, all the while Kento was avoiding making eye contact with you.
“You’re beautiful.” It slipped from your lips without permission, but that didn’t make the words any less true. He truly was beautiful.
“I- well. I- uhm,” he cleared his throat, “thank you.” He finally managed to say, and you almost couldn’t resist the urge to coo at how much he was struggling. Kento was usually so composed, stoic even, but now he was stuttering and choking around his words, and it was all because of you.
Finally, his skin returned to the fair shade you were used to seeing on him, and in his lap his hands fidgeted, like he wasn’t sure what to do next. Albeit, neither were you.
“I’m not sure what someone would usually do in this position, if they knew more about.. your culture, but if I understand what you just did right.. then I’d love to go on a date with you.” You said after a moment, and now it was your turn to struggle to make eye contact, to shuffle awkwardly. Kento blinked once, then twice, licking his lips as he forced himself to find the words he needed.
“How about.. this weekend? Unless you have something else planned.”
“This weekend sounds great.”
“Saturday, then. 6pm. I will.. pick you up at your apartment.” He nodded, mostly to himself, then met your eyes with a smile that could only be described as bashful. You couldn’t help the way your own smile broadened with excitement.
“Let’s get this work done, then.” You suggested, and with that his attention was narrowed again, eager to clock out and go home.