drabble - merjin
Fandom: KAT-TUN
Characters: Kame, Jin
Pairings: Akame
Genre: Humour
Rating: PG-13, yaoi, rps
Status: Complete
Dedication: spiritdream
When Kame is twelve, his burning desire is to join one of the many teams of travelling sportsmen. He's athletic, has loved sports almost before he could walk, and he thinks it is the perfect profession for him. Not to mention that being a sportsman means that he would never need to spend another hour with his ancient tutor again.
His parents laugh it off with all the amused condescension they show the grand dreams of children, and Kame sometimes feels like throwing a tantrum when he sees their indulgent smiles, catches the comments of 'what'll it be next, a bard?', reigns himself in with difficulty. He doesn't want to have his baseball lessons cancelled, after all, and discovers that he can put up with a lot for that.
He is fourteen when he sees a circus for the first time. His eyes become wider and wider when he sees the lions, the tigers, the clowns weaving among them with no regard to their lives. He loves it, the air of suppressed excitement, when the trapeze artists come out, dressed scantily in pink and silver and sparkling high over the ring, the gasps of the crowd at the knife throwers (although the son of his bodyguard, Ueda, could throw daggers almost as well as them, so he isn't as impressed), the gymnasts with their costumes that clearly showed their muscles rippling in strain as they performed, but most of all he loved the girl in the crystal. She was young, about his age, was dressed in silvery blue, seemingly content to sit inside what seemed to be a jagged, crystal cage, singing something melodious, soulful, without words. The lights would dim, and only when she got up to perform her acrobatic dance would you see the tiny silver bells hanging everythere on her costume, even on her bare feet.
There was always utter silence when she started moving, the only noises the lilting song and the chiming tinkle of the bells. Kame would go every day to the circus just to see her, and was depressed for weeks when the circus packed up and left. He wonders whether to tell his father about the old ringmaster who'd invited him to join them on the last day. He's stuttered a lot and backed away to quiet laughter, but he still wasn't sure whether Johnny-san was being serious or not... Probably not, he sighs. It's not like he had any sort of special skill - he couldn't even juggle properly. He tries to forget about idle daydreams of parading proudly on stage in glitter and sparkles and maybe have the girl in the blue dress look at him and smile and. He cannot stop himself from blushing, and resolves to stop that particular train of thought. He ducks his head at his tutor's enquiring look and determinedly starts memorizing the borders of the kingdom instead.
---
Kame hates sailing. The first time he was on a ship, he spent so much time throwing up that he couldn't learn anything; nor have a chance of 'applying his theoretical knowledge', as his father was so fond of proclaiming. Although Kame has since gotten over the sea sickness, the sway of the ship still makes his stomach flip over uncomfortably.
However, Kame does have to admit that watching the sunset at sea is probably one of the most striking images he has ever seen. It's not often that he can take the time to see it during his infrequent trips on the ship, but he tries to as often as possible. The vivid oranges and violets and reds and blues, swirling into the endless sky and contrasting sharply with the inky blue of the sea makes him feel the calmest he's ever been. It sometimes feels like if he stared hard enough, maybe he could fly away into those intense maelstrom and leave his dull, unexciting life behind.
It's on one of those nights when there isn't anyone around. Kame is slumped over the smooth wood of the helm and staring out at the water that he hears it. He doesn't think that it's anything out of the normal at first. He was on a ship, with other people, so hearing faint laughter shouldn't be too uncommon an occurence. It's when he hears it a second time that his eyebrows furrow in perplexity. There isn't anyone else on the ship, just the captain and a handful of his crew, and among them certainly no one who was capable of such carefree laughter as this. He sits up, frowns. When almost a whole minute has gone without a sound, he's ready to stand up and go down to the hold, but snaps his head up abruptly when he hears it again, and now, much closer. Even then, Kame doesn't understand what he's hearing. Because the laughter is coming to him from the ocean, not the hold, and he is positive that there isn't another ship or land anywhere near them, and how can that possibly be?
His heart inexplicably beats faster as he steps closer and to the edge, looks down. He sees nothing. He looks farther, towards the place where he thinks the sounds originated, and spends a whole minute staring, searching. Even though he has no idea what he expects to see. A long moment passes and he still cannot see anything other than deep blue, he sighs, feeling foolish. He glances at the steadily darkening sky and choppy waves - it looked like they were in for some heavy weather later on.
He should go back inside, really, the air was turning colder, with a hint of moisture in the air that signalled the approaching storm, and there was really no reason to loiter on the deck like he was doing. He glances at the sky - the moon is already out, and he can tell by the stars that it's almost time for the captain to come out and- his eyes widen when he hears the laughter - over there and he grips the wooden rail hard as he stares out, unblinking.
At first he sees nothing. His heart gives a jump of excitement when he sees a dark blob in the water, but his spirits sag when he identifies what it is - the old waterskin that the captain had tossed out earlier because of its broken cap, still bobbing on the water. He is about to shift his gaze when he sees movement from the corner of his eye. When he looks again, the waterskin is gone, and there is something in the water in its place. He almost stops breathing when he realizes what he is looking at.
Most definitely not a fish, Kame thinks dazedly; nor any other aquatic creature Kame has ever seen, unless they came with human faces and hands and fingers that were currently clasping the oilskin to itself, turning it back and forth, pouring out water and filling it back in again, seemingly oblivious to the cold. It's close enough that Kame can see the delighted grin on its face as it played with the old bag. Kame can also see the luminescent scales in its tail as it swam in circles around the oilskin. It doesn't seem like it's noticed Kame and he takes the opportunity to stare to his satisfaction even as the haze in his brain grew with every second.
Kame blinks as he realizes something. He stares intently, making sure of what he's seen before he slips down to the hold (who could be sure about the truth of the old sailor's stories, after all, and he was absolutely fine with not testing out their veracity). He really only wanted to make sure of his facts, so he is about as suprised as the other when he opens his mouth and calls out to it.
"I thought mermaids were supposed to be female," Kame blurts out, and stands stock still when the... the... mermaid? ...merboy? snaps his head up, noticing him for the first time. Time seems to stand still as they stare at each other for a long moment. Kame is mentally flinging curses at himself. What on earth had possessed him to do that, and even more, ask that, of all things, now what if.. what if... Kame has no idea what would happen now, if he has displeased it, and he desperately clutches at the railing with clammy, sweaty palms.
The creature had dropped the oilskin like it burned, and was already several feet away from where it had been a second ago. Kame ran his eyes over it- no, him, at his eyes, dark and liquid and ethereal and could not, for the life of him, stop staring.
Please don't leave, Kame prayed desperately, and hoped the other could not hear the thundering of his heartbeat. Kame couldn't tell for how long they stared into each other's eyes. The other's gaze felt like it was looking for something, searching for something unknown inside Kame, something Kame himself did not know of. After a timeless moment, the other seemed to make a decision.
Kame's fingers dug into the worn wood of the railings when the merman - because that is indeed, what he was looking at, his brain supplied frantically - swam warily closer and stopped, still staring at Kame. He blinked in surprise at the low, mischevious laughter that suddenly broke the tense silence.
"And I," the other spoke, in a musical, strangely-lilting tone; the wet lips turning into a smirk, "thought that humans actually had men."
He was gone with another laugh and a wave and a flurry of splashes before Kame could work out what the words meant. At least, Kame thought as he closed his eyes and sagged against the rails; he now knew that mermen, at least, had a sense of humour, albeit a somewhat pointed one. And had no homicidal tendencies. He had something else in his possession too, Kame remembered dazedly, trying not to stumble to the floor as he leaned back against the railings; the other had taken the waterskin with him.
---End. (could be continued later.)
Characters: Kame, Jin
Pairings: Akame
Genre: Humour
Rating: PG-13, yaoi, rps
Status: Complete
Dedication: spiritdream
When Kame is twelve, his burning desire is to join one of the many teams of travelling sportsmen. He's athletic, has loved sports almost before he could walk, and he thinks it is the perfect profession for him. Not to mention that being a sportsman means that he would never need to spend another hour with his ancient tutor again.
His parents laugh it off with all the amused condescension they show the grand dreams of children, and Kame sometimes feels like throwing a tantrum when he sees their indulgent smiles, catches the comments of 'what'll it be next, a bard?', reigns himself in with difficulty. He doesn't want to have his baseball lessons cancelled, after all, and discovers that he can put up with a lot for that.
He is fourteen when he sees a circus for the first time. His eyes become wider and wider when he sees the lions, the tigers, the clowns weaving among them with no regard to their lives. He loves it, the air of suppressed excitement, when the trapeze artists come out, dressed scantily in pink and silver and sparkling high over the ring, the gasps of the crowd at the knife throwers (although the son of his bodyguard, Ueda, could throw daggers almost as well as them, so he isn't as impressed), the gymnasts with their costumes that clearly showed their muscles rippling in strain as they performed, but most of all he loved the girl in the crystal. She was young, about his age, was dressed in silvery blue, seemingly content to sit inside what seemed to be a jagged, crystal cage, singing something melodious, soulful, without words. The lights would dim, and only when she got up to perform her acrobatic dance would you see the tiny silver bells hanging everythere on her costume, even on her bare feet.
There was always utter silence when she started moving, the only noises the lilting song and the chiming tinkle of the bells. Kame would go every day to the circus just to see her, and was depressed for weeks when the circus packed up and left. He wonders whether to tell his father about the old ringmaster who'd invited him to join them on the last day. He's stuttered a lot and backed away to quiet laughter, but he still wasn't sure whether Johnny-san was being serious or not... Probably not, he sighs. It's not like he had any sort of special skill - he couldn't even juggle properly. He tries to forget about idle daydreams of parading proudly on stage in glitter and sparkles and maybe have the girl in the blue dress look at him and smile and. He cannot stop himself from blushing, and resolves to stop that particular train of thought. He ducks his head at his tutor's enquiring look and determinedly starts memorizing the borders of the kingdom instead.
---
Kame hates sailing. The first time he was on a ship, he spent so much time throwing up that he couldn't learn anything; nor have a chance of 'applying his theoretical knowledge', as his father was so fond of proclaiming. Although Kame has since gotten over the sea sickness, the sway of the ship still makes his stomach flip over uncomfortably.
However, Kame does have to admit that watching the sunset at sea is probably one of the most striking images he has ever seen. It's not often that he can take the time to see it during his infrequent trips on the ship, but he tries to as often as possible. The vivid oranges and violets and reds and blues, swirling into the endless sky and contrasting sharply with the inky blue of the sea makes him feel the calmest he's ever been. It sometimes feels like if he stared hard enough, maybe he could fly away into those intense maelstrom and leave his dull, unexciting life behind.
It's on one of those nights when there isn't anyone around. Kame is slumped over the smooth wood of the helm and staring out at the water that he hears it. He doesn't think that it's anything out of the normal at first. He was on a ship, with other people, so hearing faint laughter shouldn't be too uncommon an occurence. It's when he hears it a second time that his eyebrows furrow in perplexity. There isn't anyone else on the ship, just the captain and a handful of his crew, and among them certainly no one who was capable of such carefree laughter as this. He sits up, frowns. When almost a whole minute has gone without a sound, he's ready to stand up and go down to the hold, but snaps his head up abruptly when he hears it again, and now, much closer. Even then, Kame doesn't understand what he's hearing. Because the laughter is coming to him from the ocean, not the hold, and he is positive that there isn't another ship or land anywhere near them, and how can that possibly be?
His heart inexplicably beats faster as he steps closer and to the edge, looks down. He sees nothing. He looks farther, towards the place where he thinks the sounds originated, and spends a whole minute staring, searching. Even though he has no idea what he expects to see. A long moment passes and he still cannot see anything other than deep blue, he sighs, feeling foolish. He glances at the steadily darkening sky and choppy waves - it looked like they were in for some heavy weather later on.
He should go back inside, really, the air was turning colder, with a hint of moisture in the air that signalled the approaching storm, and there was really no reason to loiter on the deck like he was doing. He glances at the sky - the moon is already out, and he can tell by the stars that it's almost time for the captain to come out and- his eyes widen when he hears the laughter - over there and he grips the wooden rail hard as he stares out, unblinking.
At first he sees nothing. His heart gives a jump of excitement when he sees a dark blob in the water, but his spirits sag when he identifies what it is - the old waterskin that the captain had tossed out earlier because of its broken cap, still bobbing on the water. He is about to shift his gaze when he sees movement from the corner of his eye. When he looks again, the waterskin is gone, and there is something in the water in its place. He almost stops breathing when he realizes what he is looking at.
Most definitely not a fish, Kame thinks dazedly; nor any other aquatic creature Kame has ever seen, unless they came with human faces and hands and fingers that were currently clasping the oilskin to itself, turning it back and forth, pouring out water and filling it back in again, seemingly oblivious to the cold. It's close enough that Kame can see the delighted grin on its face as it played with the old bag. Kame can also see the luminescent scales in its tail as it swam in circles around the oilskin. It doesn't seem like it's noticed Kame and he takes the opportunity to stare to his satisfaction even as the haze in his brain grew with every second.
Kame blinks as he realizes something. He stares intently, making sure of what he's seen before he slips down to the hold (who could be sure about the truth of the old sailor's stories, after all, and he was absolutely fine with not testing out their veracity). He really only wanted to make sure of his facts, so he is about as suprised as the other when he opens his mouth and calls out to it.
"I thought mermaids were supposed to be female," Kame blurts out, and stands stock still when the... the... mermaid? ...merboy? snaps his head up, noticing him for the first time. Time seems to stand still as they stare at each other for a long moment. Kame is mentally flinging curses at himself. What on earth had possessed him to do that, and even more, ask that, of all things, now what if.. what if... Kame has no idea what would happen now, if he has displeased it, and he desperately clutches at the railing with clammy, sweaty palms.
The creature had dropped the oilskin like it burned, and was already several feet away from where it had been a second ago. Kame ran his eyes over it- no, him, at his eyes, dark and liquid and ethereal and could not, for the life of him, stop staring.
Please don't leave, Kame prayed desperately, and hoped the other could not hear the thundering of his heartbeat. Kame couldn't tell for how long they stared into each other's eyes. The other's gaze felt like it was looking for something, searching for something unknown inside Kame, something Kame himself did not know of. After a timeless moment, the other seemed to make a decision.
Kame's fingers dug into the worn wood of the railings when the merman - because that is indeed, what he was looking at, his brain supplied frantically - swam warily closer and stopped, still staring at Kame. He blinked in surprise at the low, mischevious laughter that suddenly broke the tense silence.
"And I," the other spoke, in a musical, strangely-lilting tone; the wet lips turning into a smirk, "thought that humans actually had men."
He was gone with another laugh and a wave and a flurry of splashes before Kame could work out what the words meant. At least, Kame thought as he closed his eyes and sagged against the rails; he now knew that mermen, at least, had a sense of humour, albeit a somewhat pointed one. And had no homicidal tendencies. He had something else in his possession too, Kame remembered dazedly, trying not to stumble to the floor as he leaned back against the railings; the other had taken the waterskin with him.
---End. (could be continued later.)