Ways around tragedy
Pairing: Akame
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: It's been awhile, but still not mine. :/
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a pirate and a merman.
Author's Notes: A semi-sequel to takethatsuckah's awesome Keiko/Yamapi fic, wherein Keiko is a mermaid and Pi is a fisherman. This will make a lot more sense once you read that first. XD Let's just say that I elaborated on a sub-sub-sub-plot...
It's late into the night-possibly a little into the morning-when Koki hears it. A low whistling sound echoing across the still waters of the dock, so light it could be wind... but it's not. He hears the song in it, the melody, and it sends shivers down his spine, because it can only mean one thing: mermaid.
It's good, he thinks, because most of the crew are on shore right now, taking a long awaited break from the ship and each other's company. Tonight, they're all getting drunk on cheap ale and being had by cheaper whores, but maybe that means the mermaid will go on her way, if she thinks there's no one to drown.
He jumps when a hand settles on his shoulder.
"Cap'n," Koki hisses half-reproachfully. Generally, it's a bad idea to scare the dickens out of your own look outs. Especially when they have swords. Big swords.
But Captain Akanishi isn't paying attention to him at all.
"Did you hear that?" he murmurs quietly, eyes darting through the darkness.
"Sure did." Koki shudders again. "Mermaids, cap'n... Best be wearing some wax in y' ears tonight..."
Akanishi stays silent for a moment, and then the whistling comes again, a little bit louder, the tune sad and kind of mournful but inviting: a dangerous combination.
The hand on Koki's shoulder tightens before the captain lets go. "You're off duty," he tells Koki abruptly.
"…Cap'n?"
"Get some rest, bosun. We've got a long day tomorrow."
And then the captain is gone, and Koki's left blinking at the sea.
-
"Arigatou, my special word for… you~~" The voice is so soft and thin that it almost sounds like it might be a ghost or a dream, but Jin would know it anywhere.
"Do you ever sing anything else?"
Kame smiles up from where he's waiting under the dock, scales gleaming in the shadows. "Why, do you want me to?"
"If you don't, people might start suspecting." Kame laughs as Jin lowers the lifeboat, swimming laps around the ripples in the water.
It's probably kind of irresponsible for him to leave his ship unguarded, but Jin's not too worried. Kame's hearing is a dozen times better than his own, and even though everyone in town's a suspicious character, they're also all drunk.
"You know," he says conversationally when he's finally comfortably seated in the little boat, rowing slowly out into the bay away from the dock, "this wasn't exactly what I meant when I said we should run away to the West together."
Kame props his elbows on the prow, ceremonial bracelets and necklaces dark against his pale skin, shimmering green even under moonlight. "I've told you. As long as Johnny doesn't find out, he won't send anyone after us. But if we run out right, it'd be too dangerous."
"And this isn't?" Jin counters.
"It's less dangerous," Kame points out, then leans forward. "Come on, Akanishi, I didn't swim 500 miles just to argue with you."
Jin sighs, smiles. It's an old conversation. He reaches out to touch Kame's cheek, soft and slippery under his fingertips. "Sorry," he says. "Won't happen again."
"Yes, it will. I'll just yell at you next time, too." Kame grins and dives back into the water. When he surfaces again, he leaps all the way into Jin's boat, and it rocks dangerously with the sudden weight, water sluicing off of Kame's fins to splosh against the sides, drenching everything.
"That was my best hat!" Jin protests, dismayed. He glares at Kame from underneath the dripping brim, but Kame just laughs again and plucks it off of his head.
"Ah, well… I like you better without it."
-
They lie back on Jin's jacket and stare at the stars for a couple of hours, until the edge of the horizon starts showing grey. Both of them need to go at dawn. Jin wishes it'd stay grey forever.
"Isn't there a witch or something who can give you legs?" he mumbles sleepily into Kame's neck. It's cold and clammy from an entire night in the open air, but Kame doesn't seem too uncomfortable.
"That's just a fairy tale," he replies, "but if there were one, I'd probably pay her."
Jin curls closer. "Just probably?"
"Most definitely," Kame amends. "For you, I would."
The conviction in his voice makes Jin sad for some reason, even though it's probably the most straightforward declaration of love he's ever going to get.
"Let's go away somewhere," he tries again for the billionth time, "just you and me."
Kame sighs. "We'd have to stay by the sea. And if we did, he'd find us. And he'd kill us both."
Jin grits his teeth. "Then we'll go some place he can't follow. Some place where they'd accept us for who we are."
"Human and merman?"
"Jin and Kame."
Kame gives him a sad, sad smile that breaks his heart a little bit. "I don't think that place exists."
"Well, then maybe we should make it exist," Jin says stubbornly.
There's a short silence after that, and just as Jin thinks that he's said something wrong, Kame twists his webbed fingers into Jin's shirt.
"I really like you," he whispers. "I really, really like you."
-
When Koki slouches up onto the deck at the crack of dawn-nature calls-the lifeboat's nowhere to be seen. He wakes immediately and runs to the ladder beneath the look out's nest to start climbing. Who the hell would climb on board just to steal the lifeboat?
Halfway up, he glances out and catches sight of the little wooden vessel nestled against the side of the ship, Captain Akanishi's coat bright red against the hushed colors of morning.
He's leaning over the water, arms wrapped awkwardly around- is that a flash of green scales…?- Mermaid, Koki realizes in horror, she's gotten to the captain, what's he going to do- their faces are really close together, it almost looks like-
The captain is doomed.
But then, a miracle happens, because the mermaid lets go, and- Oh, Koki thinks dimly, merman.
The creature has a sharply attractive face, beautiful in an otherworldly kind of way-Are mermaids dangerous to look at?!-and it smiles at the captain, expression almost fond… or maybe deadly, like he might drag the captain down and dump his body in an ocean ravine. Or maybe it's just tender, because they, they're kissing again, and then the mermai-merman flips his fins and. Well. He leaves.
All in all, it is the strangest thing Koki has ever seen, and part of him wonders if he's dreaming. The other part fervently hopes that he is.
But it's too late, the captain's climbing back onboard again, and Koki suddenly finds himself staring dumbly down at the captain, still dangling from the look out ladder.
"Um," he says coherently.
Captain Akanishi stares back at him. "…You saw?"
"I. Er."
They stare at each other a little more, and Koki starts wondering if maybe the captain's going to call his merman friend back to drag Koki into a deep ravine somewhere.
"He's. He's a merman assassin," the captain suddenly explains hoarsely. "Kind of. We met years ago, and he's forbidden to see me, so we sneak around every once in awhile. He wouldn't hurt us. Or me. Or anyone, really."
Koki nods numbly. "He's a pretty bad assassin, eh?"
The captain blinks. "Yeah. He kind of is."
"Ah."
Koki doesn't really know what else to say. It's hard to come up with something when you suddenly discover that your boss is in love with a merman at seven in the morning.
"He must like you a lot," he blurts out finally, when the silence is getting too oppressive.
The captain turns to look back across the sea, face shuttered but kind of lost and lonely the way it is when he thinks no one can see him, and Koki suddenly understands why.
"Yeah," Jin says, "he does."
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: It's been awhile, but still not mine. :/
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a pirate and a merman.
Author's Notes: A semi-sequel to takethatsuckah's awesome Keiko/Yamapi fic, wherein Keiko is a mermaid and Pi is a fisherman. This will make a lot more sense once you read that first. XD Let's just say that I elaborated on a sub-sub-sub-plot...
It's late into the night-possibly a little into the morning-when Koki hears it. A low whistling sound echoing across the still waters of the dock, so light it could be wind... but it's not. He hears the song in it, the melody, and it sends shivers down his spine, because it can only mean one thing: mermaid.
It's good, he thinks, because most of the crew are on shore right now, taking a long awaited break from the ship and each other's company. Tonight, they're all getting drunk on cheap ale and being had by cheaper whores, but maybe that means the mermaid will go on her way, if she thinks there's no one to drown.
He jumps when a hand settles on his shoulder.
"Cap'n," Koki hisses half-reproachfully. Generally, it's a bad idea to scare the dickens out of your own look outs. Especially when they have swords. Big swords.
But Captain Akanishi isn't paying attention to him at all.
"Did you hear that?" he murmurs quietly, eyes darting through the darkness.
"Sure did." Koki shudders again. "Mermaids, cap'n... Best be wearing some wax in y' ears tonight..."
Akanishi stays silent for a moment, and then the whistling comes again, a little bit louder, the tune sad and kind of mournful but inviting: a dangerous combination.
The hand on Koki's shoulder tightens before the captain lets go. "You're off duty," he tells Koki abruptly.
"…Cap'n?"
"Get some rest, bosun. We've got a long day tomorrow."
And then the captain is gone, and Koki's left blinking at the sea.
-
"Arigatou, my special word for… you~~" The voice is so soft and thin that it almost sounds like it might be a ghost or a dream, but Jin would know it anywhere.
"Do you ever sing anything else?"
Kame smiles up from where he's waiting under the dock, scales gleaming in the shadows. "Why, do you want me to?"
"If you don't, people might start suspecting." Kame laughs as Jin lowers the lifeboat, swimming laps around the ripples in the water.
It's probably kind of irresponsible for him to leave his ship unguarded, but Jin's not too worried. Kame's hearing is a dozen times better than his own, and even though everyone in town's a suspicious character, they're also all drunk.
"You know," he says conversationally when he's finally comfortably seated in the little boat, rowing slowly out into the bay away from the dock, "this wasn't exactly what I meant when I said we should run away to the West together."
Kame props his elbows on the prow, ceremonial bracelets and necklaces dark against his pale skin, shimmering green even under moonlight. "I've told you. As long as Johnny doesn't find out, he won't send anyone after us. But if we run out right, it'd be too dangerous."
"And this isn't?" Jin counters.
"It's less dangerous," Kame points out, then leans forward. "Come on, Akanishi, I didn't swim 500 miles just to argue with you."
Jin sighs, smiles. It's an old conversation. He reaches out to touch Kame's cheek, soft and slippery under his fingertips. "Sorry," he says. "Won't happen again."
"Yes, it will. I'll just yell at you next time, too." Kame grins and dives back into the water. When he surfaces again, he leaps all the way into Jin's boat, and it rocks dangerously with the sudden weight, water sluicing off of Kame's fins to splosh against the sides, drenching everything.
"That was my best hat!" Jin protests, dismayed. He glares at Kame from underneath the dripping brim, but Kame just laughs again and plucks it off of his head.
"Ah, well… I like you better without it."
-
They lie back on Jin's jacket and stare at the stars for a couple of hours, until the edge of the horizon starts showing grey. Both of them need to go at dawn. Jin wishes it'd stay grey forever.
"Isn't there a witch or something who can give you legs?" he mumbles sleepily into Kame's neck. It's cold and clammy from an entire night in the open air, but Kame doesn't seem too uncomfortable.
"That's just a fairy tale," he replies, "but if there were one, I'd probably pay her."
Jin curls closer. "Just probably?"
"Most definitely," Kame amends. "For you, I would."
The conviction in his voice makes Jin sad for some reason, even though it's probably the most straightforward declaration of love he's ever going to get.
"Let's go away somewhere," he tries again for the billionth time, "just you and me."
Kame sighs. "We'd have to stay by the sea. And if we did, he'd find us. And he'd kill us both."
Jin grits his teeth. "Then we'll go some place he can't follow. Some place where they'd accept us for who we are."
"Human and merman?"
"Jin and Kame."
Kame gives him a sad, sad smile that breaks his heart a little bit. "I don't think that place exists."
"Well, then maybe we should make it exist," Jin says stubbornly.
There's a short silence after that, and just as Jin thinks that he's said something wrong, Kame twists his webbed fingers into Jin's shirt.
"I really like you," he whispers. "I really, really like you."
-
When Koki slouches up onto the deck at the crack of dawn-nature calls-the lifeboat's nowhere to be seen. He wakes immediately and runs to the ladder beneath the look out's nest to start climbing. Who the hell would climb on board just to steal the lifeboat?
Halfway up, he glances out and catches sight of the little wooden vessel nestled against the side of the ship, Captain Akanishi's coat bright red against the hushed colors of morning.
He's leaning over the water, arms wrapped awkwardly around- is that a flash of green scales…?- Mermaid, Koki realizes in horror, she's gotten to the captain, what's he going to do- their faces are really close together, it almost looks like-
The captain is doomed.
But then, a miracle happens, because the mermaid lets go, and- Oh, Koki thinks dimly, merman.
The creature has a sharply attractive face, beautiful in an otherworldly kind of way-Are mermaids dangerous to look at?!-and it smiles at the captain, expression almost fond… or maybe deadly, like he might drag the captain down and dump his body in an ocean ravine. Or maybe it's just tender, because they, they're kissing again, and then the mermai-merman flips his fins and. Well. He leaves.
All in all, it is the strangest thing Koki has ever seen, and part of him wonders if he's dreaming. The other part fervently hopes that he is.
But it's too late, the captain's climbing back onboard again, and Koki suddenly finds himself staring dumbly down at the captain, still dangling from the look out ladder.
"Um," he says coherently.
Captain Akanishi stares back at him. "…You saw?"
"I. Er."
They stare at each other a little more, and Koki starts wondering if maybe the captain's going to call his merman friend back to drag Koki into a deep ravine somewhere.
"He's. He's a merman assassin," the captain suddenly explains hoarsely. "Kind of. We met years ago, and he's forbidden to see me, so we sneak around every once in awhile. He wouldn't hurt us. Or me. Or anyone, really."
Koki nods numbly. "He's a pretty bad assassin, eh?"
The captain blinks. "Yeah. He kind of is."
"Ah."
Koki doesn't really know what else to say. It's hard to come up with something when you suddenly discover that your boss is in love with a merman at seven in the morning.
"He must like you a lot," he blurts out finally, when the silence is getting too oppressive.
The captain turns to look back across the sea, face shuttered but kind of lost and lonely the way it is when he thinks no one can see him, and Koki suddenly understands why.
"Yeah," Jin says, "he does."