Work Text:
Sharing All His Stories
[NagiReo Week 2026]
Day One: Royalty AU | Fairytale AU | Didn't Know They Were Dating
Nagi had been told from the time that he was a pup to be wary of humans. Human men used to take selkies as brides and hide their pelts, keeping them away from their home. Others hunted selkies in their seal forms, using their bodies for resources. Now, in this modern age, humans were constantly polluting the ocean and causing endless harm. They were just bad news. Still, he sometimes liked to get a look at them. Nagi got bored of just wandering the ocean. As vast and beautiful as it was, it just all felt the same after a while.
"Are you going to go look at that human again tomorrow?" Nagi's friend Chigiri asked.
Chigiri was a mermaid that Nagi had met back when he was still a pup. Nagi hadn't really bonded with any of the other selkie pups, but Chigiri had been interesting. He was confident and adventurous, and he made Nagi's dull life just slightly less boring.
"Yes," Nagi said, seeing no reason to lie.
"I don't know why you're so fascinated," Chigiri said, his long red hair flowing behind him in the water. "Is it just the pretty face?"
"Mm. I dunno. He's just nice to be near," Nagi said.
They were talking about a human boy that had been coming to the beach recently. Nagi was pretty sure he was around the same age as Nagi and Chigiri - seventeen or eighteen. The boy liked to walk along the shore, and when he had seen Nagi poke his head out of the water one morning, he had started talking to him. So Nagi just kept coming back. There was something soothing about listening to this human chatter about whatever came to his mind.
"Just be careful, alright?" Chigiri warned. "He's still a human."
"I know," Nagi said. "It'll be fine."
Maybe Chigiri was right to be worried, because it so wasn't like Nagi to wake up early. But he kept doing it to go see the human— Reo, he had said his name was. Reo liked to be up early, so that meant Nagi had to be as well. He made his way to the private beach that Reo was always at as dawn started to break across the sky. Nagi poked his head out of the water, breathing in the crisp morning air, and saw that Reo was already waiting.
"Hi, Treasure!" the human called out.
Chigiri hadn't been wrong when he said that Reo had a pretty face. It was stunning, actually, and even more so when Reo smiled. Nagi kept coming closer every day to better see him, since from far away he was just more like a purple blob. The closer he got, the more he could see the way that his unevenly cut purple hair framed a lovely face, and he had the cutest little eyebrows. His eyes were just as purple as his hair. He looked pretty enough to be a mermaid like Chigiri.
Nagi barked at him, and Reo beamed. The human had started calling him Treasure, since he obviously didn't know Nagi's name. It was nice. It made Nagi feel special.
"I brought you some breakfast!" Reo held up a bucket of fish. Yay. Hunting for fish was always such a pain, so Nagi was always glad to have Reo feed him.
Nagi showed off by catching each fish that Reo tossed into his mouth. Reo praised him every time, and that made Nagi feel warm, even in the cold of the ocean. Reo started talking to Nagi as he always did. He complained about his parents and their expectations. He talked about interesting things he had learned. He dismissively spoke of people from school who kept wanting to spend time with him during this break.
"Why would I want to see any of them?" Reo asked. "They're all so fake and boring."
Nagi felt bad that Reo was surrounded by people who didn't understand him. He wished Reo had been born into the ocean instead. Then the two of them could have been friends. Nagi thinks he would have really liked that.
"I guess I'm pretty weird for talking to a seal," Reo commented. "But you're so smart, Treasure. It's like you understand what I'm saying."
Nagi barked at him and came into the shallows of the water. Reo was just a few feet away. He seemed surprised but excited. "Whoa, you've never come this close before!"
It was probably a bad idea, but he wanted to comfort Reo. It definitely seemed to be working, since Reo was grinning brightly. Reo took a couple steps forward, not even seeming to notice the water pushing and pulling around his feet. "I really wanna pet you, but you're a wild animal. That would be super dangerous."
Did Reo think that Nagi would bite him or something? He would never hurt Reo. He barked out Reo's name in complaint, although Reo wouldn't know what he was saying.
"Did I hurt your feelings?" Reo chuckled. "Okay, you win, Treasure. If you do end up biting me, I won't give you any more fish, so behave."
Ah, Reo was so mean. He didn't need to threaten Nagi to make him behave. Nagi huffed, which brought another smile to Reo's lips as the human hesitantly reached out. Nagi was careful not to move an inch, and was rewarded by the lightest touch on his head.
"I did it," Reo said. "Whoa, you feel so smooth."
Reo pet him again, this time with more pressure, and Nagi instinctively leaned into the touch. Reo's hand was so warm. It felt really nice.
"You are such a good boy, aren't you?" Reo praised. Nagi liked the sound of that. He wanted to be Reo's good boy. Then Reo stepped away. "I guess I shouldn't push my luck. Thanks for letting me pet you, Treasure. I'll bring even more fish tomorrow!"
No, was Reo leaving? Nagi barked out "Reo," but it did nothing to stop the human from turning away. "See you later, Treasure!"
If he'd had more time to think about it, maybe he wouldn't have done it. But Nagi never was much of a thinker, anyway. He just acted on impulse and changed into the human form that he hadn't worn for so long. Nagi ended up on his knees in the water, the sand feeling so different against human skin, and the water feeling so much colder.
"Reo," he called out.
The human froze and slowly turned around. "What the—where did you come from? How do you know my name?"
"It's me, Reo," Nagi said, the words feeling strange as they left his mouth. "Your Treasure."
Reo frowned. "You must be some sort of crazy stalker, trying to pretend to be my seal."
Nagi couldn't help but feel pleased at being called Reo's seal. Oh, but he should focus on making Reo believe him. "I am your seal. Look."
He pulled his pelt back over his body and changed back to his seal form. Reo stared at him. "What the fuck."
Nagi switched into his human form again, his pelt draped over his shoulders. "Told you."
"You. You're. What are you?" Reo demanded.
"I'm a selkie," Nagi said. That should've been obvious.
He waited to see if Reo would freak out, but instead, his eyes lit up. "For real? I can't believe it! You're an actual magical creature! No wonder you seemed to understand me."
"Mm. I like listening to Reo," Nagi said.
Reo's face turned a little red. "Oh man, I really have just been dumping so much on you this whole time… But it's fine! Now you can tell me about yourself!"
He had come closer to Nagi as he spoke, and he held out a hand. Nagi grabbed it without hesitation. It was warm and soft. Reo pulled him up, and Nagi immediately stumbled, not being used to standing on legs. He grabbed onto Reo's shoulders, and Reo's hands were immediately around his waist. "Whoa, are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just not used to legs," Nagi said with a pout. Oh, but Reo's hands felt even better on his body. This was nice.
Reo, on the other hand, was turning bright red. "Y-you're naked!"
Nagi glanced down and then back up at Reo. "Mm."
Reo took a small step back, and Nagi took a step forward so he could stay balanced. "Hey, I'm trying to get a little space between us!"
Nagi frowned and tilted his head slightly to the side. "Why?"
"What do you mean why? You're naked!" Reo was more flustered than Nagi had ever seen him. It was cute. He decided he liked this side of Reo, too.
"Yeah. You said that already," Nagi reminded him helpfully.
Reo groaned. "Ugh, of course you don't get it… Look, humans generally don't get naked in front of each other except in certain contexts!"
"Oh. Sorry?" Nagi said. "I only have my pelt."
"No, no, it's not your fault… Can you turn back to a seal and wait here for a little? I can bring you some clothes," Reo offered. "Then I can show you around!"
Nagi thought about it. He couldn't say he had ever been particularly interested in exploring the human world, but he was interested in Reo. And he looked so hopeful, his purple eyes shining brighter than any of the colorful coral Nagi had seen in his life. "Okay. Don't take too long, though."
"I won't!" Reo promised, grinning at Nagi. Nagi just dropped down to the ground and changed back to his seal form. "Wow, that's still so cool. Okay, I'll be right back!"
Nagi barked at him and shuffled back into the water. He didn't like the thought of being too exposed while waiting for Reo. He ended up closing his eyes and just letting the water wash over him. The sun was slowly coming out more, and the warmth of it was nice. The sounds of the waves were peaceful and enough to lull him into a doze.
"Treasure! Are you asleep?" Reo's voice startled Nagi awake, and he looked up to see Reo standing with clothes in his arms. "Wait, do you have a name? Sorry, I should've asked that sooner."
Nagi shifted back into his human form and blinked up at Reo. "Nagi. Nagi Seishirō. But Reo can still call me Treasure if he wants."
That made Reo's face turn slightly red again. "Right, well, it's nice to meet you, Nagi! Come on out of the water. I have a towel for you to dry off, and some clothes. I think mine should fit you?"
"What about my pelt?" Nagi asked, clutching it a little tighter.
"Hmm…does it have to look like that?" Reo asked.
"Oh. I could maybe change it," Nagi said. His parents had never bothered teaching him about that, but he was sure it was a thing.
"How about you make it look like a blanket for now? Oh, wait, do you know what that is? Hold on," Reo said, and he pulled a small rectangular thing out of his clothes. It turned bright when he tapped on it, and Nagi peered curiously at it. "This is a smartphone! You can basically do everything on here. Man, you wouldn't even know what the internet is, would you? Well, you can search for information on it. Here, I'm going to use it to show you what blankets look like."
Nagi's eyes went wide as he watched Reo tap on the screen. A bunch of things came up, and Nagi had no idea how to read any of the little symbols that humans used to represent words, but he could at least understand the images of objects that were somehow stored on this little device.
"Something like this would work," Reo said, tapping on one of the little pictures and making it bigger.
"So that's what a blanket is," Nagi said, staring at the big piece of fabric.
Nagi stepped all the way out of the water, clutching onto Reo's outstretched arm. He concentrated, and changed his pelt to look something like that. It felt even cozier draped over his human form.
"Here, you can dry off before you get dressed," Reo said, holding out something that looked sort of like a blanket but not as big. "It's a towel. It'll soak up the water."
Nagi stared blankly at it, and Reo sighed. "Okay, let me show you."
Reo gently rubbed the towel along Nagi's arms, and sure enough, they were getting drier. "Wow."
"It's so weird seeing how normal things like this are so interesting for you," Reo laughed. "Okay, finish drying off."
Nagi pouted. He wanted Reo to do it. But he probably shouldn't push his luck, right? He didn't want Reo changing his mind about hanging out with him. He awkwardly dried himself off, and then Reo took the towel back and used it on Nagi's hair. It wasn't perfectly dry, but it wasn't dripping wet.
Reo laughed. "Your hair is such a mess!"
Nagi blinked. "Is it?"
He didn't actually know what he looked like, now that he thought about it. It wasn't like he'd ever needed to. He spent basically all his time in his seal form. But now Nagi found himself wondering if he looked weird and if that bothered Reo. Why was he thinking such odd things? Ah, what a pain.
"Don't worry, it's cute," Reo said. Oh. Well. That was fine, then. "Alright, I tried to find easy clothes to manage. You should, uh, put on the boxers first. Just, put your legs through these holes and pull them up."
Nagi very awkwardly did as Reo told. He almost fell over. This balancing thing was hard. Reo helped steady him, though, and his human looked a lot more at ease once Nagi's genitals were covered up. Reo talked him through pulling on what he called a shirt and shorts. Nagi hugged his blanket-pelt around himself once he had on all these clothes. It felt super weird. But human skin also seemed a lot more fragile than his seal skin. Nagi looked down at himself. He was in a white shirt that was a little snug against him. He wasn't sure if he liked that or not. The shorts were black and went to his knees. They were also a little tight, which was annoying, but he would just have to deal with it.
"Perfect! Sorry that they aren't an exact fit. All my clothes are tailored for me," Reo said. Nagi had no idea what that meant so he didn't say anything. Luckily, Reo kept talking. "Okay, let's go get our feet rinsed off so we can put on shoes and go exploring!"
Huh? Shoes? It had something to do with feet. Nagi looked skeptically down at his pale human feet, and imagined having some sort of fabric around them. Well, they did feel especially delicate, so maybe they needed protection from the terrain. Nagi grabbed Reo's arm and clung to him as Reo led them through the sand and away from the ocean. Nagi cast one last look at his home and wondered if this was a good idea. Ah well, he was in it now. They trudged through the sand, with Nagi consistently stumbling as his feet kept sinking into it. It felt warmer than he was used to.
"There's my summer home," Reo said, pointing at a (rather large) seaside building. They entered through a gate, and there was a station outside that started spraying out water when Reo hit a button. "Alright, let's get the sand off our feet!"
Nagi obediently stuck his feet under the water. "Cold."
"Haha, sorry! It's only for a minute," Reo said.
They rinsed all the sand off their feet, and then used the towel to dry them off. Reo had apparently already brought out socks and shoes, and Nagi watched him to see how to put them on. The shoes felt very tight on Nagi's feet. It felt even more uncomfortable than the clothes, making Nagi pout. But it was only for a little bit, right?
"Okay, let's go into town! There's so much I want to show you," Reo said, and his excitement didn't necessarily make Nagi feel excited, but it did make him feel content.
The town was so overwhelming. There were so many people, even though Reo claimed this was nothing compared to any of the cities. There were strange things that people rode in ("Those are cars, and over there's the train station!"). There were countless buildings of all sorts. His senses were assaulted by smells and sounds and just so much to see. Nagi found himself clinging to Reo as they walked along. Reo dragged him into something called a cafe, which seemed to have human food. Nagi peered curiously at glass protecting rows of foods in different shapes and sizes. Reo confidently ordered something called an iced coffee, and said he'd let Nagi try his. He also ordered one of every pastry, which was apparently what all those foods were called. The human taking Reo's order seemed surprised but didn't say anything.
"I'm assuming you've never had any of this before, right?" Reo asked after they migrated their haul over to a table.
"Nope," Nagi agreed.
"Well, let's just start with a butter croissant, since that's pretty plain," Reo decided.
Reo tore it in half and handed some of it to Nagi. It was flaky and warm. Nagi hesitantly bit into it and chewed it. Oh. This was so different from fish, but…it was good.
"You like it!" Reo looked pleased. Nagi wondered how he could tell. "Okay, let's have you try something fruity next."
Nagi ate so much food that he never wanted to eat anything again. He discovered that he enjoyed the fruit flavored pastries a lot too. The chocolate ones were also good. Reo's iced coffee was absolutely disgusting, though. Reo ordered him a milk tea, and that was a lot better. Humans sure had a way greater range of food than sea creatures. And Reo said this was only a tiny fraction. Wow. Reo also showed him more of how his phone worked. It was confusing but apparently humans could play games on it? Nagi wanted to know more about that, but Reo didn't have many downloaded.
"I do have some consoles at home, but I didn't bring them," Reo said apologetically. Nagi didn't know what a console was, but it was apparently something good.
They eventually left the bakery and continued exploring. Reo dragged him from store to store. In a clothing store, Nagi became fascinated by something Reo called a hoodie, and he changed his pelt into one and pulled it on. It was super comfy. Reo had Nagi try on some clothes, which was super annoying, but he found some that fit him better, and Reo immediately bought them.
"You need to have stuff to wear if we do this again," Reo explained. "Are you having fun?"
Nagi thought about it. All this walking was tiring, and Reo's energy was more than he was used to. But the ocean didn't have anything new for him anymore. The ocean also didn't have Reo. "Yeah. I'll come back."
Reo's smile really was growing on Nagi. He liked it a lot. He liked Reo a lot. Reo seemed to like him, too. "Good! You're way more fun than anyone I've ever met."
Nagi didn't think he was particularly fun, but if Reo thought so, that was good. "Reo's fun too."
"Well, of course! I'm a super elite, after all," Reo bragged, but he looked pleased by Nagi's words.
Nagi tired of walking around, since, well, he wasn't used to it. Reo gave him something he called a piggyback ride, which was very, very nice. Reo was so strong, and his body was so warm. Resting his head on Reo's shoulder was nice too. Reo's hair smelled really good. Kind of flowery? Reo asked questions about selkies and magic and the ocean, and Nagi mumbled answers into his ear as Reo carried him back to his summer house. There was a lot Nagi didn't really know, since he had never bothered to ask his parents and they had always been kind of flighty. But the stuff he did know seemed more than enough for Reo.
"I guess you need to be getting back now, huh?" Reo said, coming to a stop.
"Mm…yeah, probably should," Nagi agreed.
"Will you…do you want to do this again?" Reo asked. Nagi wanted to see his face, so he reluctantly slid off Reo's back.
Reo turned around, and Nagi was surprised at just how vulnerable he looked.
"Yeah, Reo," Nagi said. "I'll probably sleep all day tomorrow, 'cause today was a lot, but the day after?"
Reo looked so relieved. "It's a promise, then!"
"A promise," Nagi agreed.
Reo walked him to the shore, and Nagi was quick to pull off all the clothes. Reo looked embarrassed again. It was really cute. Nagi changed his pelt back to its normal form, and waved at Reo.
"See you later, Reo," Nagi said.
"Right! I'll see you in two days!" Reo agreed, smiling brightly.
Nagi pulled his pelt over himself and changed back into his seal form. He barked once at Reo before shuffling back into the water. He still couldn't believe he had not only shown himself to a human, but had traveled through the human world. Nagi had never thought he'd do anything like this. But Reo was truly special. Nagi didn't know what it was about him, but he made Nagi want to actually do things instead of just existing. He wasn't sure how long such an unlikely friendship could last, but Nagi was determined to enjoy every moment he had with Reo.