Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sea was peaceful. Like a cradle, shifting back and forth lulling you to sleep. Sun rays penetrated the surface layers, creating fluttering shadows onto the corals and seaweeds. Colorful chaos ruled the bottom. Rainbow of ocean flora and fauna living in symbiosis, taking care of each other. Fauna cleaning the coral off of dead tissue and pests, the flora providing food and places to live in and when the fishes or crustaceans died, they provided nourishment for the corals and plants. Truly the perfect circle of life.

But even the most advanced ecosystem needed some help.

You must have heard the stories? About the merfolk, humans with fishtails, or fish with the torso of humans, however you wanted to describe them, both were correct. They acted as the shepherds of the ocean, keeping the balance.

The merfolk were mysterious.

Most humans lived a long life without ever seeing one, only stories told by the most experienced fishermen and sailors kept the belief alive. It was more common to hear a wail or a shrill laugh travel on the surface of the water than seeing the mystical creatures. No one really knew what these noises meant, could the merfolk even talk human language? Did they communicate like the whales and dolphins, through underwater noises. If you stuck your ear into the water, would you be able to listen.

Some say the merfolk could speak, but they only used it to lure lone sailors to their doom.

“They eat humans” they’d say, “They sit on shoals, sing sweet songs and lure the ships to run into the lows, then rip you apart limb by limb to consume.”

Children were always thrilled to hear about them, almost off their seats when someone started the tales during evening meals. The stories never got old.

It was not uncommon to hear that someone had caught one, but nine out of ten times the creature was dead and a fake.

But one time a fishing vessel caught one, alive.

****

A powerful sharks tailfin cut through the water, metallic blue scales catching the sun rays through the water making them reflect the light in millions of colors. But where the scales ended, began a smooth pale skin, though not like any humans. Small blotches of scales littered the torso, glistening in the sun also. Large gills split each side of his stomach and bottom chest, moving with each of his breath. Webbed and delicate looking hands gripped an over shoulder bag made of kelp, full of clams.

Silco swam through the overgrown seaweed, parting the strong plant with his hand, stifling a sound when the slightly coarse surface tickled his skin. He arrived at a clearing full of coral and different sea flora floating in the currents.

A school of fish swam past him, making his short black and grey streaked hair swish. Silco continued his swimming, past a massive tridacna gigas its mouth open, letting the sun touch the mantle tissue where the dinoflagellate algae resided giving it nourishment through photosynthesis. Silco smoothed his webbed hand against the shells rough surface with a smile and made his way to an opening between two huge rocks. He placed the bag into a makeshift shelf just inside the hole and let himself to drop onto the smooth surface of the stone beneath him. His teal eye scanned the coral reef, the other eye, damaged, moved with the healthy one unblinking. Its sclera turned into a black abyss, a broken iris, bleeding sharp orange into the void. Deep scars ran on the left side of his face vertically from his lip to his hairline.

The reef breathed calmly, in and out. The currents moving through the kelp and grass. Fishes swam above the coral and rock, crustacean and octopuses crawled between them on the ocean floor. Silco loved this place. It was a great place to live. A bit lonely at times but Silco could live with it.

Sharkskins were normally loners, but occasional visitor wasn’t a bad thing. This one dolphinskin had taken a liking to visit his little paradise. Viktor, a youngling with a birth defect, making him a slow swimmer.

Just a few nights ago he had come and begged Silco to tell the story about that one time he had saved a human from drowning during a terrible storm about twenty years ago.

Silco closed his eye, the damaged one left permanently open, and thought back to their conversation.

“You have heard it like a thousand times now” Silco smiled and used his sharp teeth to pry open a clam.

Viktor sat beside him, a stack of empty shells in his lap. The dolphinskin loved to tinker with the shells, making tools out of them. If sharpened the right way you could make a good knife for example.

“I know, but I love that story” the young brunette said and blushed, his striking golden eyes pleading.

Silco sighed, his gills fluttering, “Fine, but go take a breath, it’s quite a long story.”

Viktor nodded and moved the shells out of his lap onto the rock he was sitting. Dolphinskins had to surface every once in a while to take a breath, like ordinary aquatic mammals. In Viktor’s case he had to surface to take a breather more often than other of his folks. His lungs too were malformed since birth, something to do with pollution.

Silco watched, munching on a clam's soft flesh as Viktor swam up, with a bit more difficulty with the crooked fluke. His dorsal fin also a bit deviated to the left. But Viktor was a strong pup, Silco admired his grit.

He had pried open another clam as Viktor swam back down, he placed himself back onto the rock and turned to the elder a waiting glee in his eyes. Silco rolled his own eyes and swallowed the mollusk.

“Ah, let’s see,” he smirked, showing off his sharp set of teeth. “When I was about your age, I was swimming close to the surface, watching as a vessel fought against a storm. Nothing too big, just some hard wind and rain. But the boat was quite small, so it tipped over.”

Silco leaned back onto his hands and kicked his fin out once and looked up at the surface. Viktor too rolled his head up and tried to imagine the scene, dark skies and water, foaming waves, rolling thunder.

“And then?” he urged the elder to go on, like he had no idea what was going to happen next.

Silco raised his dark brow, amused. “I was curious about the contents of the ship, crates and small barrels had slid off into the water. I wanted to know what they contained. So, I swam closer, and then I noticed him.”

“A figure in the water, struggling to stay afloat. I never had seen a human up so close, it was weird, they’re not such good swimmers” He snickered, but his smile dropped a bit. “Suddenly he was dragged under, a rope tangled onto his leg and pulled him down. I saw his face and oh...” he fell quiet, a dreamy look in his eyes.

Viktor had to poke his arm, “Silco, sir, you always pause on this spot, I get it, you fancied him” he said with a sly smirk. “Continue please.”

Silco clicked his tongue and blew bubbles at the dolphinskin who let out a giggle, swatting the bubbles out.

“Hush, this contributes to the story” Silco said and continued, “He was so handsome, for a human, his eyes blue as the sky. I knew I had to save him, anything so pretty shouldn’t become fish food, so I swam up to him, I don’t think he knew what he was witnessing. He had probably swallowed too much water, getting dizzy. I bit the rope off and dragged him up, but he had already lost consciousness when we surfaced.”

Viktor kicked his fin up and down, stirring the water. A crawfish swimming by got caught in the whirlpool, spinning fast before launching somewhere far, certainly not in the direction it had been going.

“And then?” Viktor asked again. ‘Gosh this child’ Silco thought to himself, and his eyes followed a school of fish swimming close by. “I dragged him to the nearby cliff, into a secret grotto. The water was calmer there so I could hoist him up to the side, thank the gods he was breathing, so I just had to wait for him to wake up, so I could make sure he was alive.”

“After a while, he woke up, confused, I obviously hid. Humans are dangerous in the end, remember that Viktor, don’t be stupid like I was.” Silco said sternly and Viktor nodded, “They’re scary, with their nets and spears, I know not to get too close” he said. Silco nodded approving, though he had a hunch Viktor would get too curious someday. The boy was too clever and someday the secrets of the land would get too tempting.

Silco took a breath, his gills fluttering, “That’s it, I saw he was alive and well enough to get back home, or back to his people, I left that grotto and never saw him again.”

Viktor made a face, as he always did when Silco finished with the story, “I’m sure you’re leaving a part off, Silco, that ending is just too sudden.”

Silco pursed his thin lips and swished his tail sideways, so the water bubbled at Viktor. “Nonsense, I just left when I saw he was fine, there’s nothing else to the story.”

Well...at least not for young ears to hear.

Back at the present, a large shadow migrated above the reef. Silco opened his eye and looked up, a large oval slid on the surface. He recognized the vessel and narrowed his eye. They were back again, the fishermen. The reef was home to a large school of fishes, it was a perfect spot to throw the net, but Silco didn’t really appreciate it. He had claimed the spot, it was his, and the fishes were his.

“They never learn”, he grumbled and kicked off the rock, he made a wide circle up, keeping an eye out on the vessel. He could see wobbly figures through the water running up and down on the deck. Something seemed off, Silco frowned, usually they threw the nets right away into the water, hoping to catch the school on the move, but now they just circled around. The sharkskin swam a little closer, curious to see what the humans were planning on.

His dorsal fin broke the surface and Silco poked his head just above the water, he was just behind the ship. The wind whipped around his wet hair, and the water dampened noises became clearer to his pointy ears. Shouting and stomping echoed against the waves, water splashing against the sides of the blue and white ship.

“Keep a look out! It’s gonna appear any second now!” “The net’s ready!” “Where the hell is it?!”

Silco swam a bit closer, mindful of keeping just under the surface, what they were looking for? He was now so close he could almost touch the vessel.

Suddenly a shout rang in the air, which made Silco’s blood run cold,

“There! On the starboard! I saw it!”

That’s when Silco knew he was in trouble, the ship made a sudden turn almost hitting him. He had gotten too close, even if he was one of the fastest sharkskins there were, there was no chance he could swim far enough fast enough. He had to make a swift dodge, the hull barely grazing his head but then he felt something tangling itself around his tail. A net had been thrown into the water. It had missed his upper body the fishermen had hoped to hit, but his dorsal fin had caught it while dodging the hull. ‘Shitshitshit!’ Silco cursed trying to swim away, but the net prevented his movements, now fully tangled around his caudal fin.

“It’s caught! Quick, crank it up!” someone shouted and Silco felt a sharp pull. His tail was first pressed against the hull, then lifted out of the water. Silco tried to claw against the waves, but if was futile, soon he felt his torso hit against the side of the ship. He dug his claws into the wood, but the pull was too strong, his claws just left deep carvings into the paint. Every breath hurt as his secondary lungs kicked into gear, his gills now useless above the water.

His heart pounded in panic against his ribcage, world upside down the blood pooled into his head making his vision spin. Water splashed onto the deck, men ran around him, shouting orders and hollering in glee.

Silco hissed and swung his claws at anyone who dared to come too close. A few of the men had harpoons pointed, ready to poke a new hole into him. Soon Silco grew tired, and his arms flopped down. Every inhale felt like a knife on his side. The secondary lungs were only used when prepared to hop on land for a short time, and before that you’d have to prepare for the change. His eyes darted around in panic, soon landing on a sailor who clapped his hands together, smiling widely.

“Well, well, well!” he declared loudly, “Finally we meet face to face, my pain in the ass”

Silco squinted and bared his teeth, hissing. He has never seen this man in his life, but if he had to guess, this was the vessel’s captain.

“For two whole months, you’re the one who has shredded our nets and lures, not polite at all if I say so” the captain tutted and circled Silco looking him up and down. “Such a big boy you are too! No wonder, plenty of fish in this area. Selfish to keep it all to yourself.”

The wood and steel groaned as Silco tried to struggle with the last of his strength, ropes creaking against the strain. If he was laying on the deck, he could kick his tail and maybe wiggle himself over the side. But the sailors had been smart and decided to keep him dangling, letting the gravity do its job.

The captain laughed at the futile struggle, “Don’t even try, this crane holds up a lot more weight than you have, and the ropes are ten times stronger than we normally use, just for you.”

The men around laughed, the captain laughing the loudest, “All right, all right, let’s get you wrapped up, time to bring the catch to the market!”

The men around started bustling around, and Silco knew that he was not going to see his home reef for a long time.

Chapter Text

The ropes dug into Silco’s wrists painfully. His arms were extended backwards, the rope connecting his hands to his tail. The rope had been tied just below his second dorsal fin. This made his pelvis arch upwards, his tail folding in towards his back. Silco could feel his dorsal fin brush against his fingers, when he extended them, wriggling like a worm on a hook. It wasn’t a comfortable position at all. Silco’s shoulders already felt the strain, threating to pop out of their sockets if he struggled any harder.

The captain hadn’t lied. The ropes were ten times stronger than normal. In the past he had broken the ropes of the nets just by sheer power, now the fibers didn’t even flinch.

The sailors had been clever, they tied him up while he was still dangling upside down, rendering Silco defenseless. The knots they had used tightened themselves more Silco pulled on them, so he had no choice but to stay still when two burly fishermen half carried, half dragged him under the deck into a some kind of storage room. Crates, wooden boxes and barrels lined the walls, stacked and secured with rope. He still had tried to bite any hands that came too close to his face, nearly taking a finger off of one of the men. His vision still swam, dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

Silco was dumped onto the floor uncourteously, his chest and face smushed into the wood. He threw an angry glare and growl after the men, who just laughed, patted each other in the back and talked about having a celebration drink later.

Soft panting and groaning filled the room. The cargo room had no source of lights, all the lanterns were snuffed, and the door was shut. Silco tried to find a position that was the least uncomfortable, not easy. His back and shoulders were in pain, and his tail was not supposed to be folded over like this. Water pooled under him, or most of it was water. His skin produced sweat like substance to keep him from drying out, but this was also just for short periods of time on land. Silco knew they were not anywhere near land, so the journey would take a better time of the day. The ship would not reach shore until nightfall, and he would have to spend the night tied up and gasping for breath.

Silco pressed his forehead against the wood and gritted his teeth. How could he have been so stupid, he had gotten too close. He should have waited for them to throw their nets like before and just shred them to pieces, like he always did. He had gone against his own rules.

“Fuck...” he cursed and turned his cheek against the floor. It smelled like fish guts, salt and blood. The boat rocked back and forth with the waves and wind, the motion making Silco sick. Shouts and faint conversation came through the door every time someone walked past it. The vibrations of footsteps echoed under his ear, he heard every creak and groan of the ship. Silco closed his eyes and tried to conserve his energy, the second he had the chance he would escape. Though the potentiality of this grew more and more distant he tried to plan different scenarios. The captain certainly had everything planned to the tee, leaving nothing to a chance.

Suddenly the door to the cargo slammed open, light pooling into the room and over Silco. He had to squint his eyes in the sudden brightness, teeth bared.

“Comfortable, little fishy?” The captain asked and walked the few steps down. Silco had to crane his neck to look over his lifted shoulder, the light coming behind the human showing only his silhouette.

The sharkskin didn’t answer, only glared and snarled through his tightly clenched teeth. The captain walked around Silco, admiring his catch. “Stop that, I’m not gonna hurt you, lowers the value of the flesh” he said and snickered.

“I wonder how much people are gonna bid on you, one hundred gold, three hundred? Probably more, you’re the first alive catch in a century” The captain was now standing right beside Silco’s head, the tips on his boots just an inch off his nose. Silco had to again crane his head so he could look the son of a bitch right into his face. The captain was in his fifties, dirty blond hair swept under his hat, salt and pepper beard past his chin, sharp blue eyes. He must’ve been handsome in his youth, a complete heartthrob.

“There’s also this story of your kind” The captain tilted his head and poked Silco’s cheek with the tip of his shoe. “They say your teeth grant the ability to breath underwater, is that true or just a myth?”

Silco kept quiet and just glared daggers at the human towering over him. He wasn’t wrong, a bite or a kiss granted the ability to breathe underwater to humans. But not permanently. The venom deliberately injected through the bite gave a few hours to breathe underwater, but the sharkskinned had to really mean it to happen. A normal bite would do nothing. Silco had used this ability with just one human during his life, twenty years ago with the boy he had fallen in love with.

But... a loose tooth containing the venom would do also. Sharkskins dropped their teeth quite often, but they were indistinguishable from normal shark’s teeth, so it would take too much effort to even find a sharkskins tooth. Also, they were just one time use.

“Not talking huh? Well, that’s fine,” the human chuckled and crouched down. He tapped Silco’s damp cheek with the back of his hand and smirked, “We have plenty time to experiment.”

Silco jerked his head back and hissed at the touch. He tried to wriggle his body to get away from the human, but when his tail pulled at the ropes around his wrists, the knots got tighter which made him moan in pain and stop moving. His breath came out in short gasps. He had been out of water now for a few hours, his scales felt dry, and the secondary lungs overworked to filter the air to keep him from suffocating.

The captain stood up and hummed, “Feeling dry? Poor thing.” He stepped near a barrel and turned the attached faucet. Drips of fresh water hit the floor, just out of Silco’s reach. His mismatched eyes fixated on the droplets, his tongue darting out to wet his dry lips without thinking. The captain wet his fingers and flicked them towards the sharkskin. Silco flinched, surprised at the motion, what was the captain planning?

“Let me pull a few of your teeth out, and you’ll get a drink, how’s that sound?”

The reaction was instant, Silco’s eyes widened, and he hissed a warning. There was no way he’d let anyone steal his teeth, not even under the promise of water and the comfort it’d bring. What if the human was lying? They would pull out his teeth and just leave him suffering even more. No, he was not going to submit that easily. Silco turned his head the other way, forcing himself to not look at the water pooling on the floor.

The captain tsk’d, “Fine, have it your way then” he shut off the tap and stepped around the sharkskin. “You’ll be begging for the water soon enough” and with that he left, leaving Silco in the dark again.

The time ticked away. A sway after a sway, the boat rocked. Wood groaned, seagulls shouted faintly outside. The sun must’ve been setting, the noises had calmed down. Silco didn’t know how long it had been since he was pulled out of the water. Taken away from his home, away from his little paradise, and Viktor... how he would react when he noticed Silco was gone? Silco imagined him frantically swimming around, searching the kelp and between stones, the large underwater cliff that dropped a few hundred yards straight down.

His consciousness slipped away a few times. The last time he had woken up, he didn’t know where he was and had struggled until his shoulder had twisted in such a painful way tears had spilled. He barely felt his fingers. The pain in his shoulders had turned into a deep ache. How long he had been out of water? The floor underneath him felt raw, every tiny sway created painful friction. He could have laid on his side, but then his shoulder would’ve been in more difficult position.

He could smell the fresh water just a foot away. His mind screamed for water, begged for it. He couldn’t go on any longer. He wanted to scream for the captain, as humiliating as it would be, but he felt like dying.

As if someone had heard his prayers, the door opened slowly and clicked shut. Quiet footsteps tapped down the steps and carefully shuffled around the sharkskin. Silco tried to see who it was, but his vision was blurred from exhaustion. His sharp ears twitched, trying to distinguish every noise.

Something clicked in the quiet and soon a pool of light lit a small portion of the floor. A figure stood in the light and peered down at the tied up, utterly exhausted creature.

Dark hair, strong chin and eyes, blue as the sky.

“Vander...?” Silco croaked, his throat dry and raw. No, it couldn’t be. Vander was somewhere far away. He couldn’t possibly be here.

“Shh” the figure shushed, “I’m not supposed to be here, quick, drink this”

‘Fuck he even sounds like him...’

Something solid was pressed against his lips and as soon as Silco felt moisture touch his lips, he drank greedily. He felt better immediately, and his vision became a bit clearer. Silco’s eyes roamed across the boy’s face, it had been his imagination after all, the boy looked nothing like Vander, just the eyes were the same blue. His hair wasn’t even brown, but dark blonde. Instead, he recognized the captain, just without the beard and much, much younger.

When the water had run out, Silco let his face fall onto the floor. Every cell in his body sighing in relief.

“You should go... or you’ll get in trouble” Silco murmured, his voice still hoarse.

“I know, but don’t worry, everyone’s asleep, or too drunk” the boy said and stood up.

Silence stretched for a second between them.

Silco closed his healthy eye and expected to hear the lad make his way out but felt a dribble of water across his back instead. He opened his eye and lifted his head as much as he could and saw the young lad wring a wet rag above him. Silco was speechless, why was the boy helping him?

“What are you doing?” he asked, utterly confused.

The lad hummed, “Helping, not all of us are monsters.”

He wet the rag again and this time wrung it above Silco’s tail. A small sigh of relief left the sharkskins lips, and he relaxed at the cool feeling.

“Thank you,” he breathed, the air traveling a bit easier.

The lad said nothing for a while. “I’m sorry I can’t free you, dad would kill me” his voice was filled with sadness, “You are basically human, I hate to see your kind treated like animals.”

Silco chuckled faintly, oh this brought back memories. “You remind me of a man I met a long time ago,” he said and sighed at the wet, cool sensation against the back of his neck.

But the moment was shattered when a loud booming voice echoed above on the deck.

“Varrel! Val! Where the fuck are you?!”

The boy, Varrel, cursed, “Shit, it’s my lookout shift, sorry, I have to go”

The dark blonde quickly discarded the moist rag and snuffed out the lantern. Darkness bloomed once again in the cargo hold and Silco’s eye followed as Varrel stumbled towards the steps and door. He silently watched the boy crack the door open, letting a thin sliver of moonlight in, making sure that he wasn’t spotted coming out of the hold. But before he slipped outside, Varrel took a last glance at the sea creature, blue eyes like the sky, and then they were gone. Silco hoped the boy wouldn’t get into too much trouble. The sharkskin made a mental note to thank the boy, if he got out of this predicament alive.

No less than two hours later, or that was what it felt like, the door was slammed open once again, startling Silco awake from his light slumber. Screams of seagulls and waves hitting something solid flooded the room, the cacophony a bit too overwhelming to his sharp ears after so long in almost silence. Silco lifted his head, neck stiff and arms now numb. The sun had barely risen, pink and blue hues against grey. The air smelled of salt and fish guts, they were certainly at a port.

“Rise and shine, little fishy” The captain said all too cheerily, mouth stretched into a stupid grin and stepped into the room, “A big and busy day ahead of us! Or, eh, for me at least, you can just ‘hang’ around” the man chuckled, clearly amused about his little joke.

Silco rolled his eyes and turned his head away. He wasn’t looking forward to being hung up like a common tuna fish. He had seen the markets as a youngling. Silco had snuck out with a couple of same age sharkskins and swam to the nearest town to witness this land dweller’s strange custom. The other pups had been utterly terrified when witnessing the hanging huge fish, some getting their bellies cut open, some without heads. Silco in other hand had just shrugged, they ate fish and seals, why should he be scared or grossed out? Now though... a small bead of fear made its way quickly into the pit of his empty stomach.

“All right! Enough with the jokes, gotta get you up there before people start gathering” The captain clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

Soon Silco felt two pairs of calloused hands again half carrying, half dragging him across the floor, up the few steps and onto the deck. There was basically no-one else at the small port, other fishing boats still yet to arrive with their nightly catch.

The market area was mostly empty, a couple of large cranes made out of wood and steel stood at the front of the wooden piers. Easy access for the fishermen to hoist their biggest catch into the air for show. The sun had climbed a little bit more over the horizon, and Silco would have enjoyed watching the big ball of light lift itself above them, if he wasn’t being hoisted upside down by his tail. He was still tied up as he had been the past twenty-four hours or so. The new rope tied around the base of his dorsal fin dug into his scales, ripping some off in the process. Silco hissed in pain when the rope was pulled taut, his body swayed back and forth in the slight wind. When the tip of his dorsal fin touched the crane’s mast the sailors untied the ropes that attached his hands to his tail. He groaned when his shoulders fell back more into their sockets and his spine straightened. The free dangling rope founds its way around his upper arms and chest, so even if he got his wrists free he could not move his arms. Silco tested the ropes with a few hearty wiggles which made the whole crane groan, but the ropes held.

The captain stood in front of him, hands on his hips and grinning down at him. “Comfortable?” he asked playfully to which Silco just rolled his eyes, fucking hilarious. The human squatted down so his face was at the same level as the sharkskin’s, his breath smelled making Silco’s nose wrinkle. “How about those teeth? I will douse in water if you give me few,” The captain said and stroked the scarred side of Silco’s face with his weather roughed knuckles. As quickly as he managed, Silco turned his head and snapped his jaws at the hand. His sharp teeth only grazed the calloused skin, but drew blood nonetheless. The human hissed in pain and drew his hand away.

“You little-!” he shouted and backhanded the sharkskin’s face. Silco grunted at the sting, tasting copper on his tongue, a mix of his own and the humans.

“You know what? Forget it, I’ll just harvest them when you’re dead and chopped up,” The captain spat and stepped down from the platform the crane stood on.

Silco’s eyes followed him for a while, but then he saw the boy from before. Val, he stood a bit to the side next to some wooden crates. Their eyes met and Silco could read his expression, sadness and worry. The older tried to give the boy a gentle smile, to say everything was going to be okay, he was okay, but it didn’t really reach up that high. To be frank, Silco was afraid. He hadn’t felt like this since the accident that split him from Vander. His skin crawled, mouth and throat dry, heart thumped against his ribs like a trapped animal.

The sharkskin closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath, or at least as deep and calming as he managed. The air wheezed in his secondary lungs, sounding like someone with a severe pneumonia. The small amount of water he had consumed couple hours prior had already lost it’s effect. His skin barely damp and as the sun rose higher, the warmth stole any remaining moisture.

Soon his head started to grow fuzzy, eyes not really seeing but hazy figures running around. A desperate sheen of sweat like substance pearled on his temples, cheeks blushed with the excess blood pooling into his head. Silco tried to keep his eye open, stay sharp, so if anyone got too close to his face he could snap his jaws at them. But it was like the time had skipped and the next moment he opened his good eye, there was a crowd around the crane and everyone’s gaze was upon him.

Chapter Text

The screech of a seagulls hit Vander in the face right away when he opened the windows to let in some fresh sea air. The sun had just barely risen above the horizon, painting the sky in pink and red hues. Summer was coming to an end, autumn creeping just behind the corner. It brought more cold winds from the north, telling people to prepare for the harsh winter. Vander’s mind drifted to the work that had to be done before the season change. The boiler needed fixing, the pump had to be changed and the bars icebox required a new fan. All these ate gold. Vander had worked his ass off the last six months to scrape together the funds for these really necessary amenities. The children needed warmth during the winter months and no one liked warm beer.

The breeze caressed Vander’s face gently, the scent of salt and freshly baked bread wafting into his nose. Barbara was already opening her shop a few houses away, Vander decided to pay her a visit. He had helped her to heave in the dozen or so bags of flour, sugar and other various ingredients she had ordered for her baking last night. Vander had refused any money, requesting for fresh bread in the morning for the next couple of days instead. “Vi and Powder love your sourdough, they will be thrilled” Vander had smiled and Barbara had just shaken her head a smile on her face.

He left the window a bit cracked, so the stale night air would change and made his way downstairs to the bar area. Everything looked to be in order. The floor free of spills, tables and chairs neat, the back of the bar so pristine you’d think they haven’t been even open last night. Jayce had closed last night, the lad so conscientious he’d sacrifice his precious lab time to scrub the floorboards with a toothbrush if it required. Sometimes Jayce sacrificed himself far too much, and Vander was afraid that he’d burn out far too soon. He had told him to slow down, that Vander wasn’t some overworked old man. He could keep the bar open very well on his own, he just needed some help from time to time. Mostly with maintenance.

Vander liked the lad. A young aspiring engineer with a dream helping people with his inventions. Jayce often fixed things around The Last Drop, he was really smart and found solutions to almost every problem just by looking. He lived with his mother a couple of blocks away and helped around the bar always on his free time. They had moved to the town almost five years ago, his late father had taught him forging and carpentry, which he had continued to practice on his own. Jayce had told Vander his father had gone overseas to search new materials for his projects. He had never returned and Jayce’s mother had decided to move.

Jayce had been just a young start of a man at the time and Vander had felt he needed a fatherly figure, so he stepped up to the plate. Ximena, Jayce’s mother, had been happy he had someone to learn from. Vander never had kids of his own, so Jayce filled that hole in his heart just right. The boy also became a sort of a big brother to a girl named Violet, who's mother Felicia, had been Vander's friend and a neighbor since childhood. Then five years later Felicia and Connol, her husband of three years, had another girl, Powder.

Now Jayce was twenty-one years old, Vi was sixteen and the youngest Powder eleven. Vander and Jayce had their hands full every time Felicia and Connol had to travel for work. They were currently on a journey back home, but they would arrive a week late because of a sudden storm. The girls currently lived at The Last Drops basement. Vander had furnished it nice and cozy for them, but they had the access to upstairs if they needed something in the middle of the night.

Vander stepped out into the crisp air, sun had climbed just a bit more up and the wind had picked up speed. He made his way down the road, following the mouth watering smell and soon arrived in front of the small bakery located on the first floor of a three story building. The large man pushed the door open and stepped into the shop. He was immediately hit with the delicious smell of fresh bread, cookies and sweet buns, Vander closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose.

The door had a bell attached, so when it rang a voice came from the kitchen, “I’ll be right with you!”

“Take your time Barb, it’s just me” Vander shouted and walked up to the counter.

It was nearly time to open so the display was in full glory; cakes, pastries and pies. Everything you’d ever want on a breakfast table, or just with a nice cup of tea. Or when you got especially lucky, coffee.

A woman with scarlet hair in a long braid curled in a bun, green eyes and face full of freckles stepped out of the kitchen. Her apron was full of flour, a little across her forehead too. Barbara was in her fifties, and held an iron fist on the youth of the streets, she rivaled Vander with his authority. If Barb didn’t give a permission to do something, that was final.

“Hey Van, here for your sourdough?” Barbara asked and wiped her just washed hands into the back of her apron.

“You know it, Powder practically screamed for it when she heard” Vander laughed and crossed his arms across his well build chest. “You make the best everything, Barb.”

The redhead scoffed and grinned, “Oh you, charmer.” She pulled out two brown pieces of paper and wrapped two fresh sourdough loaves. She then placed the wrapped loaves into a wicker basket and held I out for Vander to take, “Here, two loaves for a week for your trouble, bring the basket back”

Vander frowned, “a week? Couple of days is way more than enough!”

Barb waved her hand in the air, wafting the complaint out of the window. “Bah! the girls are growing, also I will ask you for help in the future, these old bones cannot carry the heavy bags anymore” she said with a toothy smile. “And if you’re not available, that Talis boy will certainly help, such a good lad you’ve grown him to be!”

Vander shook his head and took the basket, “Allright, allright” he laughed with a smile. “Come by sometime for a pint, I got that nice lager you like.”

With that they said their goodbyes, and Vander stepped out into the sun the basket hanging from the crook of his arm.

But he didn’t manage to take even two steps back to The Last Drop when a blur of red and blue whirled at him at top speed from the docks.

“Whoa whoa! Girls wha-?” he lifted the wicker basket higher so the two girls who practically jumped onto his middle section like little monkeys didn’t damage the goods.

“They caught one! they caught one!” the blue haired girl, Powder shouted.

Vander stared at her with a confused expression, “What? Caught what?” he ushered the girls to let go and they hopped onto the ground. Powder almost vibrated from probably excitement, but before she could open her mouth again the redheaded butted in, “They caught a mermaid!”

“Vi! I was going to tell him!” Powder cried out offended and smacked her big sister on the arm. Vi pushed powder and they started bickering.

Vander stared at the fighting girls , Vi’s voice echoing in his head “They caught a mermaid”

A horrifying thought bullied it’s way into Vander’s mind, what if…what if they had caught him? It wasn’t impossible. Vander didn’t know if he was alive, but there was no evidence he was dead either. No body was found after the accident, but he hadn’t shown up at the grotto either. Vander had to pull himself out of his thoughts, if there were a one percent chance it was him, he had to take it.

“Girls, Girls!” he shouted and the bickering stopped immediately, “What kind of mermaid? What kind of tail?”

“Actually it was more like a merman” Powder said with a matter of fact tone and crossed her hands across her chest.

“A shark one, or at least it didn’t look like a dolphin or something” Vi said and frowned at Vander who stared at her in shock, “What?”

The door to the bakery opened and Barbara poked her head out “What’s going on?” she asked and crossed her arms. She had watched the trio through the window, while putting up the display and she had gotten curious.

Before Vander could open his mouth Powder chimed “They caught a merman at the market!! with a sharktail!”

Barbara’s green eyes flicked into Vander’s own, her jaw tightened and she nodded, “Girls, would you like to eat a piece of cake while Vander takes care of a thing I asked of him? It won’t be long”

“Actually, I wanna take Vi with me, just in case” Vander said and pushed the breadbasket into Powders hands and then her towards Barb.

“No! that’s not fair, I wanna come too!” Powder protested and Barbara landed her heavy hand onto her shoulder, “We can go later together, I need more berries for tomorrows rye bread, how’s that sound hm?” This seemed to calm Powder down and she went inside the bakery without a grumble.

 

The market was already bustling, a huge crowd had gathered around the tallest crane and the people were pointing and talking to each other in hushed voices. All Vander could see from here was a long blueish fish tail, and a sliver of pale skin. His heartbeat quickened, he had to get closer. Vander shouldered his way into the crowd, Vi following after him. People took one disgruntled look at him and then let it be. They knew who he was, and if Vander had a reason to elbow someone it must’ve been a good reason.

Vander suddenly stopped, he was no more than ten feet away from the stage the crane stood on. It was like all his breath had been sucked away from his lungs, his heart clenched in his chest.

The creature that slowly swayed from the crane, tied head upside down from his tail, arms tied up against his torso, there was no mistaking it. It was Silco. Vander could never forget those features, his slim face, pale skin, his slightly crooked nose. He just got shorter hair and the left side of his face was scarred, Vander knew exactly what had happened. The memory made all this more unbearable, he felt tears rim his blue eyes.

“Silco” he breathed out and Vi climbed him like a tree to get a better view, Vander brought his arms under her and let her sit there. “It’s him right? the merman from your stories?” she said into his ear and he nodded, “We have to help him” she gritted her teeth.

Silco looked like he was in pain, how long he had been dangling there? Had anyone given him any water? His eyes were open but a bit glossy. He looked at the crowd, at him, but wasn’t really seeing anything. Vander’s hand curled up into a tight fist, he grit his teeth until his jaw ached, he had to get Silco out of here as soon as possible. Who was the bastard behind all this?

Suddenly a man stepped onto the stage and showed the crowd to quiet down with his hands, Vander recognized him as the captain of The Hecla, Maddox. A rude bastard who didn’t accept a no for an answer. Vander had almost banned him from The Last Drop for harassing his occasional barmaids, Jayce had once almost started a brawl when Maddox had slapped a young lassie on her backside. He had also talked about how he was the one to bring in merfolk alive to sell, so the barkeeper wasn’t too surprised to see him up there.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen! Today we have a rare treat on out hands” he extended his open palm towards Silco, “We finally managed to capture the creature what had bullied our ship for the past two months, ripping apart our nets and trashing our lures!” The crew behind him cheered and whistled. Only Val, the captain’s son, stayed quiet and eyed the merman with worry.

“I propose we start a bid! Who is ready to buy this magnificent beast?!” many raised their hands and shouted, “Let’s decide with a number! A hundred coins for starters, who will bid more?”

“One hundred and fifty!”

“Two hundred and ninety!”

Vander was furious, who could even think this was okay? Silco wasn’t a piece of meat, he was a breathing and thinking creature, like they were. He was a half human for Janna’s sake! You didn’t see Vastayas or Chireans being sold at markets, they were treated as equals, what made merfolk so different? Because they were rarer? Bullshit.

“Five hundred coins!” a sleazy voice shouted over the crowd and some murmured in excitement. Vander’s and Vi’s heads turned to their left and lo and behold who they saw, the towns wealthiest citizen, who also happened to be the enforcer chief, Gabriel Morrison.

Chief Morrison had an exotic and expensive taste. Vander had once seen the inside of his office when he had visited over some noise complaints, the walls were full of different animal heads, some extinct even. He enjoyed going on these luxurious trips to far off lands just to hunt animals for sport. Morrison was also rumored to keep a menagerie at his mansion on top the hill, but no one had exact knowledge about it. Normal people didn’t go here, only important personnel like the mayor and the members of the council.

Vander had to do something quickly, before that son of a bitch would kill and stuff his past lover and put him on display, or worse, keep him as a pet.

“Five hundred coins has been offered! Does anyone offer more? Going once….going twice-!”

“A thousand!” Vander shouted over the crowd and Maddox’s eyes nailed onto him, “Ah! Mister Vander! I didn’t think of you as a bidder type!” he laughed and the crew behind him followed suit.

“You even brought your adopted daughter to watch! What an example!” The captain stepped a bit closer to Silco and dragged his fingers across his skin, making him squirm weakly, clearly uncomfortable at the touch. This made Vander scowl and Vi glared at him.

“Shut up and finish the bid, you fish guts for brains!” Vi shouted and a couple of people agreed around her.

Maddox narrowed his eyes, but returned to the edge of the stage and extended his arm towards the Enforcer chief, “Officer Morrison! Will you top that offer?” he shouted and a grin stretched over his sea beaten face.

Morrison smirked and straightened the lapels of his uniform, “Two thousand” he said, not needing to shout over the crowd who had silenced to watch the battle happening before their eyes.

The extended arm moves across the heads to point at Vander, “Will I hear a bigger number? Or did the bottoms of your pockets hit already?”

The crew behind Captain snickered and Vander decided that they would not be welcome into his bar anymore. “Two thousand five hundred”, the barkeep said and gritted his teeth, he had to be careful or this could eat his whole savings. But for Silco, he’d pay his soul.

“Let’s get real here Vander! Five thousand!” Morrison laughed

“Six thousand!” Vander raised and whispered to Violet, “Quick, go figure out something, if he bids over ten grand, we’re screwed.”

Vi nodded and slid down onto the ground and zigzagged through the mass of people like a sleek ferret, right behind Morrison. The enforcer wasn’t as tall as Vander, so Vi reached quite well to poke him between the ribs if needed. She waited patiently, even though the urge to stab the bastard wherever was huge.

Vander and Morrison bid back and forth, until they were near Vander’s limit, “Nine thousand five hundred!” Morrison said and Maddox’s eyes went wild.

“Nine thousand and five hundred offered! Will our beloved barkeep top that or shall he return home empty handed?!” the captain berated loudly.

The atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife. This was it, Vander had no more than ten grand, all of his hard work from six months soon to be either spent saving Silco, or using it as he had intended. The latter option growing more and more sour the more he thought about the boiler, or the ice box. Fuck them, Silco was far more important, also, he could ask for a loan if that’s what would save the sharkskin.

“Ten grand” Vander said through gritted teeth, this was it.

“What a big number!” Maddox said and turned his eyes toward Morrison “Will our beloved sheriff top it?”

But Morrison was strangely quiet, after a couple of seconds Maddox shrugged “Ten grand offered! Going once!” his eyes stared at the Enforcer who kept his mouth shut, “…Goooing twice!” still nothing, “Aand SOLD! To our very own Barkeep of the Last Drop!” The captain boomed and hit the wooden post with his steel toed boot to mark the end of the bid making the whole structure shake.

“Thank you very much! You may come and collect your purchase!”

Vander almost ran up to the platform and his heart clenched at the sight before him, Silco looked even worse up close. His skin was parchment pale, covered in a thin sheen of sweat like substance. His breathing sounded awful and weak, a thin trail of blood ran from the wound ropes held his fin up.

“Get him the fuck down” Vander growled at the sailors who scrambled to the winch.

Vander helped Silco coming down, made sure he wasn’t dropped, and laid him as comfortable as he could onto the stage. He knew he didn’t have any time to waste, Silco had been out of water for far too long already.

Maddox stomped over, his hands deep into his coats pockets “What a show huh? I’ll be collecting the money this evening, along with my crew. We’ll be expecting a free round for this inconvenience, also” the captain licked his chapped lips, “A juicy piece of this.” He tapped Silco’s rump with his shoe and before he could do anything Vander had stood up to his full height and loomed over the shorter man, “Keep your fucking hands off of him, and don’t even think about coming over to the Last Drop.” He kept his voice low, his sky blue eyes piercing ocean ones. “We meet here, just the two of us, I give you the money and you get a lifetime ban from my bar, understood?” Maddox shrunk a little under Vander’s fury, nodded and then scrambled off of the stage.

“Violet!” Vander’s voice boomed over the commotion around them and a red blur ran up to the crane, her eyes flew across the sharkskins frame visibly distressed of his condition. “Van-!” she started but he cut her off.

“Run to the drop, braw a bath, a cold one in the master bathroom, wait for me there, I might need help” he instructed and Vi nodded and left without saying anything, pushing people out of the way.

Vander pulled out a knife and cut the ropes around Silco’s tail and torso. He had to use a bit more force to cut them than normally, which made his blood boil even more. They had really made ropes strong enough to hold a sharkskin, these bastards.

Silco groaned in pain, and Vander had to help to brings his arms to the front, his wrists were red and raw, fingers shaking from exhaustion. Teal eye opened weakly and with the damaged one they landed on Vander, not really knowing what he was seeing.

He opened his mouth and tried to talk, but nothing but slight wheezing came out.

“Shh, don’t speak, I got you, I got you” Vander soothed his scarred face with his large hand and Silco shut his eye, breathing shallowly, desperate to get oxygen into his system.

“Need help with it?” a burly sailor hovered over them with his hands on his hips. Vander shot a glare at him and he held his hands up “Just asking, it’s heavy as hell.”

“Fuck off” Vander spat at him and carefully hoisted Silco up in bridal style, his tail barely touching the ground. The sailor’s eyes widened comically as he watched Vander carry the probably closer three to four hundred pound creature across the market and back towards his bar. The crowd parted in their way, some trying to get their hands on Silco but stopped in their tracks witnessing Vander’s glare.

The walk was agony to Vander, he wanted to run but he was worried it might jostle Silco too much. He was already dangerously weak, it was currently crucial to get him into water.

“Don’t die on me” Vander whispered as they got closer to The Last Drop.

Chapter Text

This was it.
Silco took even shallower breaths than before, the air barely keeping his head functioning. His mind drifted back and forth, in and out. He saw vague figures in front of him, heard muffled voices, some more clear. They shouted, he didn’t know what, but he knew what for. He was in the same position as the fish he had seen years ago, ready to be sold and gutted. His whole body felt numb. He vaguely acknowledged the pain in his arms, head and tail. It drifted, in and out like his mind.

Silco thought about death. How it clenched at his heart, the anxiety tightly squeezing inside his chest. The day he got his face scarred floated into his mind. The harpoon slashing his face, the pain and the blood. That day he had feared he would die even after he had gotten away. Curled up in his hideout, agony piercing his skull. The flesh and sanity barely holding on, nothing had helped.

Vander.

Silco swallowed weakly. He had hoped to meet with him one last time before… his scales shivered from the thought. Oh Janna how he had been so foolish about fearing the end. It wasn’t like he had imagined, not at all. When his grandfather had passed when he was a young pup, he had thought death was beautiful. Grandfather looked so peaceful when he had taken his last breath, the funeral small and intimate. Silco had thought his end as the same, beautiful and peaceful.

This was nothing like it.

Even when he had been wailing in agony in the hole he had crawled to die. When his face had been slashed into shreds, he thought of it more dignified way to go than this. Hanging and gasping for his last breath in front of a mass of people, who thought of him as something to put on display and then consumed. Would they kill him mercifully before the knife hit his soft belly, slashing down to his sternum, his insides gushing out onto the pier. His whole body shuddered at the thought, nausea creeping at the back of his throat.

‘Oh please’, he prayed silently into the void of his mind, ‘Let it be quick.’

Silco’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted with a jolt, he felt how gravity shifted around him. Warm, big hands cradled his head and neck. Shoulders meeting the dry wood of the platform, followed by his torso and lastly tail. He laid there unmoving, healthy eye blinking, desperately trying to see something through the fog. Breathing still shallow and quick, his secondary lungs working overtime, desperate to deliver oxygen to his brain. Silco was sure if he didn’t get back into water in the next moments, his lungs would give out, his chest hurt so much.

Shadows moved above him, sounds muffled like everything was under water. He didn’t make out any words, just noises. Something poked his hip and Silco wanted to lash out, but his tail didn’t obey him. It laid there straight like some heavy bag of sand, a little of it hanging over the pier. He felt so helpless, hands still trapped under his back and his vision just swimming.

Something or someone big leaned over and cut the ropes around his shoulders and wrists with some difficulty. Pain shot up his spine making him hiss quietly, then groan as his numb arms were brought out from under him. Clumsy hands rubbed the raw skin around his wrists, Silco opened his teal eye, and along with the damaged one he looked at his new capturer.

At first he thought he just stared at the sky, all he saw was beautiful blue. The sky blinked, wait, what? Silco shut his eye and tried to will the blurriness away. He looked again and he made out a face above him. Soft, a bit angular features, a full beard and blue eyes. He must be dreaming, there was no way.

‘Vander?’

Was it really him? Or did the lack of oxygen in his brain trick him again? He looked so much older now. Well of course, it had been what, nearly two decades last they had seen each other. Or had it been longer? Silco didn’t know, at least not at the moment. Everything felt so hazy, like his brain didn’t function as it should be. No wonder thought, he had been out of the water for well over a day and night. This must be a some kind of record.

Silco swallowed with difficulty, his throat so dry it hurt. He opened his mouth and tried to say his name, but nothing but a small wheeze came out. Silco wanted to shout, cry out, anything so he could vocalize his thoughts. Was this a dream? Was he seeing right? Was it truly him? Was it truly his Vander? Tears of frustration welled into his eyes, the left eye leaking more than the other.
“Shh, don’t speak, I got you, I got you” Silco heard him say and felt a calloused hand cradle his scarred side, gently brushing the wet tears off. He closed his eye and just focused on the warmth. If this was a dream, if he had actually just died and hadn’t noticed, it didn’t matter. Vander was here, or that’s what he at least hoped and that’s all he cared right now. His heart fluttered in his chest, a small reminder that no, he was not dead.

Suddenly the hand pulled away, and Silco almost vocalized his discomfort but he didn’t have time to miss the touch too long. Strong arms circled around his shoulder and under his tail, his eye fluttered closed. Silco felt himself being lifted off the ground, a small sound of discomfort left his chapped, dry lips and his face crunched up in pain. Vander shushed him once again, muttering sweet nothings to his ear, barely above whisper. The tip of Silco’s tail barely brushed the ground when Vander stood into his full height, this was something of a miracle in two ways. One: Silco was not in fact lightweight at all, nearly four hundred pounds. The sailors had had to drag him to move him around. Two: his length from the top of his head to the tip of his tail was roughly eight to nine feet, so that fact Vander could even carry Silco was a miracle.

Silco let his eye remain closed. His cheek rested under Vander’s and his beard tickled his sensitive skin. The sensation was sort of new, and Silco found it quite enjoyable. This was his last thought before the exhaustion, lack of air and water caught up to him and his mind drifted off.

****

Vander hurried out of the market, breezed past Barbara’s bakery and almost kicked in the door to The Last Drop. He hurried upstairs and almost ran into Vi, who had just opened the door of the master bathroom.

“Whoa!” She yelped and had to slam herself flat against the cracked tile wall, so she wouldn’t become a pancake when Vander rushed in. The large bathtub was filled to the brim, so when Vander lowered Silco’s limp body into it, the tub overflowed, wetting the front of his shirt and trousers. Vander watched as the sharkskin’s upper body sunk onto the bottom, most of his tail hanging over the lip.

“Vander, is he-?” Vi tried to ask but Vander shushed her, eyes focused on Silco’s face and gills. After a moment or two, they fluttered and Silco took a deep breath through them. Color returned instantly onto his cheeks, and his muscles visibly relaxed.

Vander let out a breath of relief and hung his head down, forehead touching the tub’s lip.

“Fuckin’ hell…” he grumbled and his body slumped onto the wet floor. Vi stepped closer and put a hand onto his shoulder, “He’s going to be fine, Van” she said and peered down at Silco. The water made his face distorted, the tap still dripping, making the surface ripple.

Vander lifted his head and his blue eyes stared at Silco’s. How long has it had been? Fifteen years? Twenty? Closer to twenty if he had to guess, fucking hell. This wasn’t the reunion he had imagined for sure, he still visited the grotto from time to time after all. Sometimes spending hours just staring at the crystal clear water, waiting for a sign, anything.

Vi dipped her hand into the water and touched Silco’s cheek, “He feels warm, and he’s breathing so my guess is he’s just tired” she said and pulled her hand back. “We should let him rest, he’ll wake up soon.”

Sometimes it surprised him how mature Violet could be to her age. Just sixteen and there she was, talking sense to a grown ass man. Vander knew she was the leader type, if she kept her temper under control.

Vander nodded and slowly stood up, careful not to slip on the wet tile, “Yeah” he agreed and dragged his hand across his face. He felt extremely tired all of sudden, like something had sucked the energy out of him. Or it was just the adrenaline leaving his system, either way, he needed a drink.

“We need to get Pow from Barb’s” Vander said suddenly remembering, “Could you..?”

 

“I’m on it” Violet said already moving out of the bathroom, “You just focus opening the bar!” she shouted from the stairs and slammed the front door on her way out.

But Vander didn’t move. His eyes fell on Silco, submerged his short hair floated around his head. Last time he had seen him, his hair had been past his shoulders and pitch black. Black as the sky they used to stare at when Vander had snuck out to the shore, now it was short and streaked with silver like stars on that night sky. Blue eyes moved across Silco’s resting face, the scarring on his left side made his heart clench.

‘That’s your fault’ a small voice said in his head.

Vander sunk onto his knees once again and dunked his whole arm into the water, carefully cradling Silco’s face. His big fingers traced along the valleys on his lovers skin, like trying to smooth them down. The black sclera and burning iris stared forward, occasionally twitching, like sensing something was near but not seeing. Vander wondered what had caused this, maybe sepsis? His heart sunk at the memory, if he hadn’t been such a big mouth Silco wouldn’t gotten ambushed and hurt that day.

Vander stroked the slightly rough skin below the damaged eye, his jaw clenching.

“You’re as beautiful as I lost you” he mumbled, his deep voice echoing in the room.

The water’s surface rippled, distorting Silco’s face. Vander blinked, again, a small drop disturbed the peace and he realized he was crying. The brunette sniffled and brought his free hand to his eyes and rubbed at them, willing the tears away. He didn’t have any reason to cry, Silco was safe and alive, there were no reason to be sad. Vander took a deep, a bit shaky, calming breath and set his eyes again on the resting man’s face. His breathing was calm, not labored or difficult anymore. Gills fluttered with every inhale and exhale, steady.

But deep down brewed fear. Anxiety that wrapped it’s thorny tendrils around his heart, what if Silco hadn’t forgiven him? What if the reason he had stayed away was because he hated Vander for what he had done? Vander drew a shaky breath, more tears mixing into the water. Vander hadn’t forgiven himself for that day, how stupid he had been. Just because he had to boast while drunk, that he had met merfolk, and how beautiful they were. His so called ‘friends’ had followed him to the grotto that fateful night and tried capturing Silco. Vander had beaten the crap out of them of course, but he hadn’t stopped beating himself over it.

The front door creaked downstairs, signaling Vi had fetched Powder back from Barbs and tugging him out of the depths of his spiraling mind. Vander reluctantly drew his hand back from the water and slowly heaved himself up, knees protesting a bit. The bar opened in two hours and he had to prep everything for the coming night, it was the last Saturday of the month so many folk had a special day off on Sunday. Jayce would come in later this evening before the usual rush.

Vander stood in the middle of the bathroom, not really keen on leaving Silco alone. What if he woke up and hurt himself? He’d probably be extremely confused (and afraid) where he was, would it help if he shut off the lights? Things appeared more calm in the dark, it was mostly dark where Silco lived yes? Vander decided to shut the lights, leaving the room dark. With a last glance he left the door ajar, so if Silco made some noise he’d hear it down at the bar. But first, he glanced down at his drenched clothes, he needed to change.

Powder bounced around the bar floor, the breadbasket tightly clutched in her hands and it seemed a bit more fuller, suspiciously containing more than just sourdough. Vander sighed and shook his head, oh Barbara.

“Where is he?!” Powder looked around and Vi had to snatch the basket out of her hands before its contents flew around.

“Upstairs, resting” Vander said behind the bar, he pulled out fresh lemons and limes to be cut as garnish. His eyes glanced at the broken fan and a deep sigh left his lips. That and the boiler…and the pump. Well, they had to wait. The money went into something much more precious and Vander would not ever regret spending double or even triple the amount. Even debt wouldn’t have stopped him from saving Silco, he would have given his life even.

Blue pigtails skipped past the bar and towards the stairs, “Young lady, where do you think you’re going?” Vander asked, knife slicing a lemon first in half and then into quarters.

Powder stopped on her tracks, swaying on her heels. “I want to see the fishman” she said eyes pleading.

Vander scooped the lemon wedges into a container and slid it to it’s place behind the bar. “No, he’s resting”, he said and started cutting the limes next.

The blue haired girl whined and stomped her small foot, “But I wanna see him!” she said.

“I said no” Vander repeated and finished with the limes. He wiped the cutting board with a rag and cleaned the knife putting them away. “End of discussion” he said sternly when Powder opened her mouth to argue.

“Ugh! Fine!” she stomped down two steps at once and flopped herself onto a barstool. A mug of juice slid in front of her and she sipped through the bendy straw with a pout of her face.

Vander watched her scowl, his eyes softened, “You’ll get to meet him all right, he’s just…” he paused of for a second, “he’s just tired, been through a lot, you wouldn’t want people poking at you after a long day, eh?”

Powder bit the inside of her cheek, swirled the straw in her mug and shrugged, “I guess not” she muttered.

“See? Now, where’s that bread, I’m hungry”.

They ate the sourdough with butter and jam, Powder getting crumbs all over the table they were eating at. Barbara had also slipped a dozen of her meat pies into the basket to which Vander had shaken his head, “That woman…” Like the sourdough bread wasn’t enough to pay back the work. She was going to get a round on the house next time she visited.

A few hours later the bar was bustling, patrons chatting and laughing, beer flowed and the jukebox was playing soft rock in the background. Vander had just finished serving a group of factory workers when Jayce slipped inside from the backdoor. Vander checked the clock on the wall and lifted his eyebrows.

“You’re early, Jayce” he said while wiping down the bar top quickly before lifting a basket full of glasses from the small flash dishwasher behind the bar next to the icebox.

“Yeah, sorry, “ Jayce said rubbing the back of his head. “There’s something wrong with the pipes at home, so I thought I’d wash up here before the shift, if that’s fine.”

Vander started drying the glasses with a clean rag and nodded at the stairs up, “Nah, it’s fine, go ahead, I could use ya early anyway” he said with a smile.

The young brunette nodded and rounded the bar, “I’ll be quick then!” he said.

Vander placed the clean glass among the rest and suddenly remembered Silco, “Jayce! Wait-“ he started but the boy had already disappeared. “Ah…oh well” he sighed and hoped the lad wouldn’t get too shocked.

But after just a few minutes a choked out shout, some ruckus and a bang of a door signaled Vander Jayce had indeed gotten a bit surprised at their guest in the bathtub. The lad ran down to the bar, face blanched and breathing quick, “there’s- Vander there is-!” he tried to say but the words got stuck in his throat. Some of the patrons had turned their heads at the noise and watched with confused and curious faces.

The older brunette finished serving a customer and calmly punched the money into the till before turning towards Jayce. “Yes, I know, calm down” he said and poured an ale to the next in line, “I tried tellin’ you but-“

“It glared at me!” Jayce cried out.

To this Vander paused, whipped his head towards Jayce almost spilling the beer, “Glared? He’s awake?”

Jayce blinked at the sudden reaction, it wasn’t often Vander got this worked up. “Ye- yes? Vander who-?” he started but Vander quickly slammed the ale onto the bar spooking the confused customer, wiped his hands onto a cloth on his shoulder and rounded the bar.

“Cover me for a bit” he said hastily and before Jayce could even say anything he ran up the stairs, sped up the short corridor and entered the bathroom heart thumping in his ears. He was met with a sight that made his knees weak and breath catch his throat with relief, Silco’s head leaned against the lip of the tub and his mismatched eyes stared at Vander.

Chapter Text

“Hey...” Vander said a bit out of breath, his heart thumped in his chest against his ribcage. He made his way slowly towards the tub, the floor still wet from earlier. He slowly kneeled down onto the tile a few feet away, careful not to scare the sharkskin. Vander felt the moisture seeping into his pants, but he didn’t care, he felt so great relief Silco had woken up.

 

Silco looked tired, but much better than a few hours ago. His skin had gotten back its color, though he still looked a little pale. Mismatched eyes followed Vander’s every move, the rest of his body a bit twisted in the tub. His long tail, that didn’t fit in the tub, flicked anxiously and the scales looked a bit parched. Silco’s hair was dry, it looked incredibly soft, and the short cut suited him as well as the long one Vander had seen him with years ago. He wanted to run his hand through it, feel how it flowed between his fingers. He thought back when they had hung out at the grotto, how Silco’s long hair floated around his head, like someone had poured ink into the water.

 

The memory sparked long forgotten sensations in Vander’s chest, the surge almost taking his breath away.

 

They stayed silent for a couple of heartbeats, just looking at each other. Then Silco opened his mouth, Vander stared at his sharp teeth. Silco’s mismatched eyes glanced at the water in the tub, “The air ran out... in the water” he said softly, the sound echoing in the small room. His voice was a bit gravelly, like he hadn’t used it in a while. Which he hadn’t, the only time he had talked to someone after he had been basically kidnapped, was when the captain’s son had helped him.

 

The spark grew into a small flame, flickering. It was devastating to notice how Vander had missed Silco’s voice, smooth like the waves lapping up the shore, licking at the smooth round stones, grinding them until nothing was left but soft sand.

 

Vander frowned for a second, processing what Silco meant, air? Then his eyes widened and he cursed, “Shit, let me um..” he scooted the few feet forward and plunged his whole arm into the water. Silco watched calmly as the other male pulled the tubs rubber plug and let the water drain away, he watched the tiny whirlpool with curiosity.

 

“Sorry, I completely forgot, I should have come up earlier to change the water, but I didn’t think, I’m sorry” Vander said and let the water level drop to half before turning the cold water on and letting fresh water run. His eyes moved towards the overhanging tail before he turned his head to Silco. Sky blue met teal and ember, they looked at each other for a moment, many unspoked words spoken through them, many silent questions.

 

“Can I touch you?” Vander asked quietly, the words echoed in the small room. The sound of running water almost drowning them. Silco only nodded and leaned his cheek against the porcelain, his eyes never leaving the bearded man.

 

Vander nodded and moved back to the tail, he cupped his hands under the running water, not caring about the cold temperature, and started caressing the blueish scales his with wet hands, making sure he got every scale coated with water. He could’ve used the showerhead, or a cup to bring the water, but he wanted to touch, to feel the strong muscle underneath. It felt the same as those years ago, minus the couple odd scars, he wondered how Silco had gotten them. A fight? By accident? Oh, they had so much to talk about. His fingers grazed the wound around the base of Silco’s caudal fin, a hiss echoed in the room and the tail flinched in pain. Vander apologized softly, leaving the injury alone for now. He needed to tend to the wound the rope had caused, glad the fishermen hadn’t used a hook. The wound would leave a scar but shouldn’t restrict normal movement.

 

Silco gripped the tubs side with his webbed hands, letting out soft sighs, seemingly enjoying the little massage Vander gave him. When Vander was satisfied with his work, he plugged the drain and let the new water fill the tub once again. When the level reached Silco’s gills, he watched them flutter, taking a deep breath.

 

“Thank you” the raven haired male said and turned so his back was against the tubs farthest end, this way he could pull a bit more of his tail into the tub, so now only a third of it hung out. Vander moved so he was sitting closer to the side Silco was leaning against, he fished out one of his slender hands from the water and held it in his own larger paw. His thumb drew mindless patterns into the slightly pearlescent scales, his eyes never leaving Silco’s face.

 

“I’m glad you’re okay” he said voice low, but a moment later added, “are you okay?”

 

Silco thought for a moment. “Yes, I think so” he said and twisted his hand so he could squeeze back.

 

Vander smiled, clearly happy, “I’m glad, I already thought I’d lose you again,” he paused, his smile turning into a scowl. The anger he had felt during the bidding bled back into his mind,” If there hadn’t been a crowd, I would’ve killed that fucking-” he didn’t let himself finish that sentence, taking a deep breath and holding it. His blood boiled just at the thought of Maddox, Janna he had to meet with that son of a bitch still tonight. He should take someone with him, not confident he wouldn’t punch the asshole right in the mouth the second he saw them.

 

His thoughts were interrupted when small droplets of water hit his face, he opened his eyes he hadn’t even noticed closing, Silco held his other hand above the water and smiled with nostalgia, “You’re still bad with your temper, aren’t you” it wasn’t even a question, but a statement.

 

Vander blinked dumbfounded for a second, before dragging his hand from his brows to his beard, “Sorry, I just” he sighed, “when I saw you at the market, I...” he couldn’t finish his thought, it was too unbearable.

 

Vander took a deep breath in and exhaled it out, willing the overwhelming feelings down, he shouldn’t show such fury in front of his long-lost lover, not now when he was in need of care and support. Vander could vent out his emotions later, the punching bag in the basement hadn’t been hanging from the ceiling idle. Though what he really wanted was to use Maddox’s face instead, it was probably for the best if Benzo accompanied him to the payment, Jayce wouldn’t be able to stop Vander if he snapped, also someone needed to man the bar.

 

Vander felt a squeeze against his much bigger hand, he lifted his head up, again brought up from the pit of his thoughts. Silco’s teal eye blinked slowly, the amber gaze staring, he tilted his head a bit to the side, expression relaxed. The sharkskin leaned closer, until their foreheads touched, his unoccupied hand slid into the back of Vander’s neck, making the bigger man shiver. Sky blue and teal with amber staring into each other. The raven haired held him silently, staring into the pools of blue, like trying to read his mind. The bathroom fell silent, the only sound of their mixed breaths and the soft lapping of the water against porcelain and scales.

 

“Thank you”, Silco suddenly said, voice husky. He didn’t need to elaborate further, Vander already knew what he meant.

 

The bigger man took a shaky breath, his chest squeezing with emotion. “Always” he breathed.

 

They were so close Vander could taste Silco, sea salt and wind, his eyes flicked down to the thin lips and back up, a silent plea.

 

Silco blinked slowly once again, like a cat greeting a mate, Vander thought. The raven haired lifted his chin a bit, tilting his head to the side, a silent offer.

 

The brunette leaned in closer, already closing his eyes, anticipating the contact. The air crackled around them, like tiny fireflies exploding from the tension, just a little more.

 

“Vander!!” came a shout from the stairs, “It’s gettin’ really busy here!”

 

Everything stopped, breaths mingled together, lips just barely grazing. Vander’s brows furrowed out of frustration, he cursed under his breath, gritted his teeth and begrudgingly pulled away. Silco’s hand on the back of his neck slid off, sharps nails scraping against his skin, like he didn’t want to let go but the raven haired didn’t seem too disappointed. He stroked his slender fingers through Vander’s salt and pepper beard, soothing before letting the hand slide away. Vander sighed to the touch and opened his eyes, blue almost gone behind the black, they found Silco’s. His eyes shined with lust, pupil blown over also, almost concealing the teal.

 

“It seems like you’re needed” Silco said quietly and leaned his arms against the edge of the tub and rested his chin against them. His caudal fin flicked absentmindedly, tapping against the tile wall.

 

“I very much wouldn’t want to leave you” Vander protested, he rubbed his face from his brows to his beard. Silco took a note of this habit.

 

“I’m going to be fine, Van” Silco assured, “I’m as comfortable as I can be and I know how to change the water.”

 

Vander still didn’t look like he wanted to go, but when Jayce shouted again from downstairs, stress clear in his voice, he sighed and nodded.

 

“Allright, but let me know if you need anything, okay? Just shout, I’ll leave the door open.”

Silco watched Vander step out, but not without a last glance, this made the sharskin smile. He adjusted his position, so he was once again laying on his back under the water and closed his eye. Might aswell take a nap while waiting.

 

Vander descended the stairs to the bar and was met with a buzz he hadn’t anticipated. The room was packed, and Jayce gave him a look of ‘finally!’ when he rounded behind the bar.

 

“I’m gonna buzz some tables, these groups haven’t been served yet” the younger male shouted above the noise, pointed at two about seven to twelve people groups and left Vander to serve and pour drinks to the customers. Where all of these people came from? It was still too early for the workers to start coming in and they didn’t look like locals.

 

It appeared that a small cruise vessel had docked at their small village, just to explore and replenish their stocks. They ordered the top-shelf liquor and tipped very well. The ladies fawned all over Jayce who flashed them charming smiles and showed off his bottle tricks.

 

After half an hour of almost constant of taking orders, slinging drinks and counting money the bar counter quieted down, and Vander punched the last coins into the till. Jayce dried glasses fresh out of the dishwasher and stacked them to their designated places.

 

“So, want to tell me what on earth is going on? Who is he?” he asked as he slid the hurricane glass upside down into a brass railing under the bar shelf.

 

Vander pushed the money box closed and let out and exhale, smiling, “He’s uh... you remember when I used to tell you about how I met a merman when I was about your age?”

 

Jayce nodded, “Yeah, it was my favorite story, why?”

 

The older male leaned his lower back against the cooler and crossed his arms, eyes scanning the crowd sitting and enjoying themselves, the jukebox playing quietly in the background. “It’s him,” he chuckled at the face the younger made, between a shock and awe.

 

“What? No way, I thought it was just a story!” Jayce said with wide eyes, “It was true? All of it?”

 

Vander nodded, “I didn’t see him in roughly two decades, I honestly thought he was... gone” he didn’t want to use the word dead.

 

“I made a huge mistake, telling my... well, then supposed friends I had a secret, I honestly thought they didn’t believe me, but one day they followed me to the grotto and tried to capture him,” Vander’s voice was filled with mixed feeling of anger and sadness. “He got away, but not without damage.”

 

He hadn’t been sure what had happened after the attack, last thing he remembered of Silco was a trail of crimson blood in the crystal-clear water, a flash of blue scales and the hurt look in his eyes, “It had been my fault he got hurt.”

 

After a small pause he added, “I used to visit the place for god knows for how long until I accepted the fact he wasn’t coming back.”

 

Jayce stared at him with condolent eyes, “I’m sure you didn’t mean it to happen like that, it wasn’t your intention, those assholes hurt him, not you.”

 

A couple of patrons came up to the bar and ordered beer, Vander pushed himself off of the cooler and poured them perfect pints, all while thinking what Jayce had said. Maybe he hadn’t done anything wrong, he hadn’t asked them to come along and assault Silco. They had done it themselves and got beat up so bad afterwards they had decided to move away, but it was difficult to forgive himself after twenty years of quilt.

 

Jayce had gone around to collect empty glasses and just as he stacked them onto the counter a loud thump and scratching noises was heard from the ceiling followed by a muffled 'oww’. Vander stopped wiping the counter and lifted his ear, a series of sharp chirps and clicks, along a thumping noise rang down the corridor upstairs. Some of the noise in the room ceased and people stopped to listen, curious. Jayce also lifted his head up, the chirps rang out, louder, more demanding.

 

“I’m gonna be right back” Vander announced and rounded the bar towards the stairs, once again leaving his poor barback alone.

 

Jayce sighed, hands on his hips, “Yeah, sure, go check your boyfriend” he muttered to himself and picked up where the older male had left off.

 

Vander stepped into the bathroom only to find Silco out of the tub on his back on the tile, water splashed all over the room. The sharkskins tail, or most of it, laid in the tub that was only third way full. Mismatched eyes glared at the barkeep from the floor, like he had done something.

 

“Silco, what happened?” Vander asked as he stepped in and looked at his lover from above, Silco pouted and a slight blush colored his cheeks.

 

“Your stupid...whatever that is-” he gestured at the tap, “-Didn’t give me water.”

 

Vander blinked, “The tap? What, why are you on the floor? Did you fall? Okay, it doesn’t matter, are you hurt?” he asked when the raven haired gave him an ‘are you serious’ look and kneeled on the floor, getting his trousers wet again. He helped Silco up into sitting position causing the rest of his tail to slip out of the tub with a solid thump, splashing more water around.

 

“I’m okay” the sharkskin murmured and clung onto Vander’s shirt, he felt so sluggish out of water, also his breathing had started to wheeze again, the secondary lungs protesting.

 

Vander noticed this and leaned over Silco to turn on the cold water tap and let the water run again. He really needed to get Silco back into the ocean, this situation wasn’t the best for his health.

 

“Let’s get you back in” the barkeep said quietly, wrapped his arms around Silco’s body and lifted him back into the tub.

 

Silco’s breathing got easier the instant his gills were back underwater and he sank as low as he could go, not meeting Vander’s eyes. The barkeep laughed a little and dunked his hand into the water to pet at Silco’s hair, “Don’t pout, though it makes you look cute” he smirked.

 

He got hit on the head by a sharp smack of the caudal fin, which made him faceplant into the water and he pulled away coughing, “Fuck! Silco!” he sputtered and wiped water from his eyes. Now the front of his shirt was all wet, again.

 

The sharkskin showed no apology while he kept staring at the tub’s walls underneath the surface, a hint of a smirk ghosting on his lips. When the shadow over him moved away he shimmied a bit higher, so the half of his face peeked up from the water. Mismatched eyes watched as Vander pawed at a hand towel and dried his face and hair, the sound of running water echoing around them.

 

Vander turned the faucet off just as the water threatened to spill over the sides, blue eyes glaring at the sharkskin, but lacked any anger. “That...” he huffed out, “Was not nice.”

 

Silco lifted one webbed hand and flicked water at his direction, splatters landing on Vander’s face and hair. He closed his eyes with a flinch and furrowed his brows, “are you done playing?” he asked blinking the water out of his eyes.

 

Silco smirked, the scarring on his face stretching, “No.”

 

Vander sighed and ran his hand down his face the umpteenth time, he hadn’t remembered how mischievous the raven haired could be. “Allright, if you’re okay right now, I need to go back downstairs. I will come back in an hour to change the water, try to behave, okay?”

 

Silco leaned his arms on the tub’s sides and rested his chin on them, “I’m hungry though” he muttered drawing circles on his skin. His tail kept flicking, just like a cat’s.

 

Vander stopped for a moment and cursed behind his breath, fuck he was dumb, of course Silco would be hungry, why he hadn’t even thought about that. The poor thing had been snatched a while ago, and it was already well past noon.

 

“Okay, uh, what do you want?”

 

Silco thought for a moment, “Whatever is fine, I’m not picky.”

 

Vander thought for a moment, “I have flounder from yesterday”, he said and Silco’s ears perked up, “Okay, I take that as a yes, wait a moment, I will be back.”

 

He exited the bathroom and stomped down the stairs, still in his damp clothes, getting a few looks, especially from Jayce.

 

“Why are you wet?” he asked as Vander squeezed past him behind the bar and entered the stockroom. He opened the cooler they kept their food in, usually just his and Jayce’s packed lunches as the patrons seldom ate beside the easy snacks they sold.

 

“Uh...I had to help Silco back in the tub”, he answered and pulled out a wrapped packet of raw fish closing the coolers door.

 

“He fell out?” Jayce asked as he poured a deep radiant red cocktail into a glass over ice, topped it off with a fancy little umbrella and slid it to lady with a smile. The lady paid, tipped and Jayce took the next customer’s order.

 

“Yea, hey, I will be back quick” Vander exited the storeroom and disappeared into the upstairs again with the fish in his hold, leaving Jayce muttering ‘yeah, yeah go feed your pet shark’ while scooping ice into the shaker.

 

Silco snatched the packet out of Vander’s hands as soon as he was at his arm's length, tore the paper off onto the floor and dug into the flesh with gusto. Vander watched as the sharp teeth tore chunks out of the fish, it really never got boring watching animals eat, not that Silco was an animal, though some of his actions reminded Vander of the cats he gave food behind The Drop every night.

 

Soon the flounder was consumed, leaving Silco licking his fingers and teeth for any scraps. He looked content, at least for now.

 

Vander leaned down and picked up the wrappers, “I’ll bring you more from the docks, now I really have to get back to work, Jayce’s gonna have my head.”

 

Silco tilted his head against his arms and purred, he let out a yawn and looked ready for a nap. Vander stepped a bit closer and leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead, to which the sharkskin chirped and slid underwater to slumber.

 

Vander slipped out of the bathroom and switched the lights off, leaving the door open so he could hear if Silco called out to him again. He stopped to change his damp clothes once again for dry ones and made his way back to the bar, hopefully for a longer period of time than an hour.