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scriveynerTitle: siren's song [5]
Fandom: Samurai Flamenco
AU: Mermaid
Characters/Pairing: Gotou/Masayoshi
Rating: M
Length: 1420
Summary: Masayoshi didn’t wake up.
Masayoshi didn’t wake up.
Gotou drained the bathwater twice over the course of the next day - drained and refilled it with fresh water, worrying that maybe because it wasn’t seawater it was hurting him, but wanting to make certain he didn’t dry out most of all. “Idiot,” he murmured to himself again, not even sure if he was addressing the still form in his bathroom, or himself.
What was he doing?
Gotou had two weeks left until he was supposed to report in for evaluations. There was so much to be done if he wanted to continue on this path he’d chosen for himself, and here he was lollygagging about with a mermaid. He sat cross-legged on his bed and stared at the dark television sitting on the desk at the end of the space, cramped and tiny, and the small jar of red scales that caught the light and glittered.
He’d left the window open, in hopes the sea breeze would help something, the sound of waves in the distance, sea gulls and ships - and Gotou leaned against the wall beside the window and listened to the sound of the sea.
It was distant but still clear, almost song-like, and Gotou closed his eyes, listened to the tune, captivated - thought of Masayoshi just a few days ago, eyes wide and happy, so happy to have Gotou beside him, hands holding Gotou’s tightly - in his memory though Masayoshi’s eyes were normal, large and blue, and he swam around Gotou quick as a flash, powerful muscles and tail coiling, glittering in the sunlight that pierced the waters. He wasn’t scared, this time, how could he be scared with Masayoshi there with him-? Gotou reached out his hand as Masayoshi darted by, quick as a flash - and the dream was gone, dissipated into darkness.
Gotou blinked, trying to catch the joy again, but it was gone just as quickly as it had come on - and when he looked down, he was knee-deep in surf.
That jolted him out of his daze more than anything. He stumbled backwards and fell, feel unsteady in the soft sand, soaked through as the waves pushed him. “What, what-” Gotou said as another wave crashed over him - he wasn’t deep enough to go under, in the shallows and he scrambled backwards, crab walking, unable to get to his feet but getting out of danger as quick as he could.
“Pity,” an unfamiliar voice said, a strange echo to it. “I was looking forward to seeing you drown yourself, land dweller.”
Gotou sat on the sand, panting hard - the waves licked at his feet, but he was mostly out of the water. “What the fuck.”
Laying sprawled on one of the larger rocks on the beach was … Masayoshi? It was too dark, but his hair was the same tawny shade, eyes the same blue - but there was no warmth there, and his tail wasn’t quite the same shade, there was patterns on his scales, darker than the rest. “Masayoshi?” he said, but it couldn’t be, the voice wasn’t right.
“Figures,” he said. “Brother picks the dunce, why am I not surprised?”
“Did you just try to kill me?” Gotou said, hands digging in the sand, scooting further away from the water. The breath was caught in his chest, he wasn’t certain if it was fear or anger that was causing him to shake like that.
“You’re actually fairly resilient, for a human.” Masayoshi’s - brother, then? said, tapping his fingers on the stone. “I didn’t think you would snap out of it at all.” He leaned forward and flashed a grin that was all too-sharp teeth and conveyed everything except humor. “The siren in our blood isn’t for show.”
“What do you want with me?”
“Think of it as a test,” he said. “First of many, little land-dweller.”
“I don’t-” Gotou swallowed hard, the sea air heavy in his lungs, coating his throat with salt. “I don't want to be tested, I don’t want this!”
“And the rocks don’t want to be dashed into pebbles by the sea,” the mermaid said, sitting upright. “You don’t have much of a say in what’s to come, if you want him to survive it.”
Gotou was tired of the doublespeak. He staggered to his feat, dripping wet, sand clinging to him, and said, “Fucking talk to me straight, or I’m going to come over there and make you-”
The mermaid slid off the rock and vanished into the choppy waters, and Gotou swore, scooped a rock and hurled it uselessly into the waves. “Why won’t he wake up,” he yelled ineffectively at the dark waters. “Tell me that much, at least!”
There was no response from the waves.
#
The apartment was quiet. Gotou stripped out of his soaked and ruined clothes, left them in a wet pile on the floor in the bathroom and slid down against the wall. Masayoshi’s form hadn’t moved, the bath water he’d drawn around him gone cool.
He looked angelic, face soft and cleaned of sand. Gotou had wiped his face clean much earlier, gently brushing the tangles out of his tawny hair before rinsing him down with water from the sprayer. He didn’t wake or stir through any of it, the only thing moving was his chest in slow, steady rhythm.
“Usually,” Gotou said, addressing the opposite wall, above the thick red tail. “When a mermaid is found on the beach, they’re naked and have legs for the first time, and they’re unsteady like a new foal.” He exhaled through his nose, felt tired in a strange way. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t juggle an infatuated sea creature and his poor, unaware girlfriend. “I have a girlfriend,” he said into the silence. “I don’t think I ever told you about her, why would I? But I can’t - I don’t know what you want from me, Masayoshi. I thought you wanted a friend.”
There was no response, not that he expected there to be one. He sighed, thought about how he was going to take another washcloth bath tonight since his bathtub was currently occupied - and as he looked at Masayoshi’s face, was struck by a thought.
“This isn’t a fairy tale,” he told himself firmly, as he got up on his knees. It wasn’t, but there also wasn’t any such thing as mermaids, either. True love’s kiss was supposed to solve any number of things, but Gotou was Not In Love with a mermaid. He Had A Girlfriend, number one, and number two, he wasn’t in love with a mermaid at all. But it couldn’t hurt to try, the sooner Masayoshi woke up, the sooner he could haul him back to the ocean and try to get on with the rest of his life.
Gotou sat on his knees for a moment. Masayoshi had kissed him, it wasn’t that difficult, it didn't mean anything. He kept telling himself that, reassuring - but if it didn’t mean anything, then why do it at all?
“To hell with it,” Gotou said, and leaned forward, capturing Masayoshi’s jaw gently so he could line their faces up properly.
It was brief, more like a brushing of lips - but almost instantly Masayoshi’s eyelids flickered. Gotou flung himself backward, almost hit his head off the toilet as the long red tail twitched every so slightly.
“Mmm,” Masayoshi’s voice was sleepy and strained, scratchy with disuse. “Gotou-san?”
Gotou took a deep breath, almost choked on it.
“Fuck.”
Fandom: Samurai Flamenco
AU: Mermaid
Characters/Pairing: Gotou/Masayoshi
Rating: M
Length: 1420
Summary: Masayoshi didn’t wake up.
Masayoshi didn’t wake up.
Gotou drained the bathwater twice over the course of the next day - drained and refilled it with fresh water, worrying that maybe because it wasn’t seawater it was hurting him, but wanting to make certain he didn’t dry out most of all. “Idiot,” he murmured to himself again, not even sure if he was addressing the still form in his bathroom, or himself.
What was he doing?
Gotou had two weeks left until he was supposed to report in for evaluations. There was so much to be done if he wanted to continue on this path he’d chosen for himself, and here he was lollygagging about with a mermaid. He sat cross-legged on his bed and stared at the dark television sitting on the desk at the end of the space, cramped and tiny, and the small jar of red scales that caught the light and glittered.
He’d left the window open, in hopes the sea breeze would help something, the sound of waves in the distance, sea gulls and ships - and Gotou leaned against the wall beside the window and listened to the sound of the sea.
It was distant but still clear, almost song-like, and Gotou closed his eyes, listened to the tune, captivated - thought of Masayoshi just a few days ago, eyes wide and happy, so happy to have Gotou beside him, hands holding Gotou’s tightly - in his memory though Masayoshi’s eyes were normal, large and blue, and he swam around Gotou quick as a flash, powerful muscles and tail coiling, glittering in the sunlight that pierced the waters. He wasn’t scared, this time, how could he be scared with Masayoshi there with him-? Gotou reached out his hand as Masayoshi darted by, quick as a flash - and the dream was gone, dissipated into darkness.
Gotou blinked, trying to catch the joy again, but it was gone just as quickly as it had come on - and when he looked down, he was knee-deep in surf.
That jolted him out of his daze more than anything. He stumbled backwards and fell, feel unsteady in the soft sand, soaked through as the waves pushed him. “What, what-” Gotou said as another wave crashed over him - he wasn’t deep enough to go under, in the shallows and he scrambled backwards, crab walking, unable to get to his feet but getting out of danger as quick as he could.
“Pity,” an unfamiliar voice said, a strange echo to it. “I was looking forward to seeing you drown yourself, land dweller.”
Gotou sat on the sand, panting hard - the waves licked at his feet, but he was mostly out of the water. “What the fuck.”
Laying sprawled on one of the larger rocks on the beach was … Masayoshi? It was too dark, but his hair was the same tawny shade, eyes the same blue - but there was no warmth there, and his tail wasn’t quite the same shade, there was patterns on his scales, darker than the rest. “Masayoshi?” he said, but it couldn’t be, the voice wasn’t right.
“Figures,” he said. “Brother picks the dunce, why am I not surprised?”
“Did you just try to kill me?” Gotou said, hands digging in the sand, scooting further away from the water. The breath was caught in his chest, he wasn’t certain if it was fear or anger that was causing him to shake like that.
“You’re actually fairly resilient, for a human.” Masayoshi’s - brother, then? said, tapping his fingers on the stone. “I didn’t think you would snap out of it at all.” He leaned forward and flashed a grin that was all too-sharp teeth and conveyed everything except humor. “The siren in our blood isn’t for show.”
“What do you want with me?”
“Think of it as a test,” he said. “First of many, little land-dweller.”
“I don’t-” Gotou swallowed hard, the sea air heavy in his lungs, coating his throat with salt. “I don't want to be tested, I don’t want this!”
“And the rocks don’t want to be dashed into pebbles by the sea,” the mermaid said, sitting upright. “You don’t have much of a say in what’s to come, if you want him to survive it.”
Gotou was tired of the doublespeak. He staggered to his feat, dripping wet, sand clinging to him, and said, “Fucking talk to me straight, or I’m going to come over there and make you-”
The mermaid slid off the rock and vanished into the choppy waters, and Gotou swore, scooped a rock and hurled it uselessly into the waves. “Why won’t he wake up,” he yelled ineffectively at the dark waters. “Tell me that much, at least!”
There was no response from the waves.
The apartment was quiet. Gotou stripped out of his soaked and ruined clothes, left them in a wet pile on the floor in the bathroom and slid down against the wall. Masayoshi’s form hadn’t moved, the bath water he’d drawn around him gone cool.
He looked angelic, face soft and cleaned of sand. Gotou had wiped his face clean much earlier, gently brushing the tangles out of his tawny hair before rinsing him down with water from the sprayer. He didn’t wake or stir through any of it, the only thing moving was his chest in slow, steady rhythm.
“Usually,” Gotou said, addressing the opposite wall, above the thick red tail. “When a mermaid is found on the beach, they’re naked and have legs for the first time, and they’re unsteady like a new foal.” He exhaled through his nose, felt tired in a strange way. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t juggle an infatuated sea creature and his poor, unaware girlfriend. “I have a girlfriend,” he said into the silence. “I don’t think I ever told you about her, why would I? But I can’t - I don’t know what you want from me, Masayoshi. I thought you wanted a friend.”
There was no response, not that he expected there to be one. He sighed, thought about how he was going to take another washcloth bath tonight since his bathtub was currently occupied - and as he looked at Masayoshi’s face, was struck by a thought.
“This isn’t a fairy tale,” he told himself firmly, as he got up on his knees. It wasn’t, but there also wasn’t any such thing as mermaids, either. True love’s kiss was supposed to solve any number of things, but Gotou was Not In Love with a mermaid. He Had A Girlfriend, number one, and number two, he wasn’t in love with a mermaid at all. But it couldn’t hurt to try, the sooner Masayoshi woke up, the sooner he could haul him back to the ocean and try to get on with the rest of his life.
Gotou sat on his knees for a moment. Masayoshi had kissed him, it wasn’t that difficult, it didn't mean anything. He kept telling himself that, reassuring - but if it didn’t mean anything, then why do it at all?
“To hell with it,” Gotou said, and leaned forward, capturing Masayoshi’s jaw gently so he could line their faces up properly.
It was brief, more like a brushing of lips - but almost instantly Masayoshi’s eyelids flickered. Gotou flung himself backward, almost hit his head off the toilet as the long red tail twitched every so slightly.
“Mmm,” Masayoshi’s voice was sleepy and strained, scratchy with disuse. “Gotou-san?”
Gotou took a deep breath, almost choked on it.
“Fuck.”
