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“Why do you keep pulling on my fishing line?” The young man, flushed with anger, hissed while holding up an empty fishing hook. He could only sigh, ignoring the way his human legs shook from crouching for so long as his vessel bobbed along the surface. All the while, the merman in the water beneath him tapped the base of his chin in thought.
“You won’t talk to me, and I was getting bored. There’s no fish on this side of the bay anyway, so I don’t understand why you bother casting your line.” The merman's white hair had fallen over his eyes, forcing him to sweep the wet mop back in what should have been an arousing display before he rested his elbows on the back deck of the young man’s private fishing boat.
Private, however, was the description that no longer held meaning. It had been lost the moment his boat had garnered the curious merman’s attention. Sure, he may have wandered far too close to Japan's northeastern coast, but for the sight of the human— his human —he found in his exploring, the risk had been worth every second.
“I wonder why that is, Satoru?”
“I don’t have the faintest clue.” Satoru hummed, lost in his own little world for a moment, only to jump at the realization that he had not been privy to the young man’s own musings. Was the young man subjecting him to the accusation that he was to blame for his fishing woes?
“Are you accusing me of… sabotage, Yuji?”
“You aren’t denying it.”
“I am a predator below these waters. If some fish happen to wrap their tiny heads around the concept and swim away, it is no fault of mine.” The merman huffed. “Besides, you don’t even keep the fish you catch! You throw them back and waste a perfectly good meal! What is the point of luring them in if not to eat them?”
Yuji shook his head in disbelief. His human came close to breaking his fishing pole with how far he bent it within his grasp. Luckily, he realized his mistake and stopped before irreversible damage was done, lest the merman be blamed for that too. “I’m fishing for sport, not for food. And even if I wanted to keep them, I brought nothing to store them in and if Sukuna finds me emptying his cooler of booze to store fish to bring home again, he’ll scalp me. His faith in random fish from the ocean to be free from disease is surprisingly low.”
Satoru did not care for the way Yuji looked at him during that last sentence.
“I’m not diseased!”
A flash of panic appeared across Yuji’s face from Satoru’s objection. His human raised a finger over his mouth to hush him, lowering his own voice to a whisper as he glanced back towards the door which led further inside their floating vessel. “That’s good to know. So when Sukuna wakes up and finds you out here, you'll be safe to eat after he flays you.”
“Oh, Yuji, there’s only one way I’m meant to be eaten.” Satoru cocked his head to the side with a smile, enjoying the shade of vermillion on his human’s face. Too bad Yuji then rose to his full height and turned away from him.
“You should go. For your own good.”
“But I don’t want to! I barely get to see you these days, and with that brother of yours attached at the hip… We never get to do anything fun anymore.” A large splash was all it took to soak the deck in water, causing Yuji to recoil his toes from the wave of cold that overtook them. Falling for the merman’s taunt, Yuji turned to face him once more, Satoru happy to present his tail on full display in preparation to create another wave if it meant he had the human’s undivided attention.
“You— Stop that!”
“Come on!” Satoru latched onto his human’s ankle, whining as a guppy would to keep him in place. Even this piece of him was warm, begging the merman to climb up and claim the rest of what Yuji’s body had to offer. “Let’s do something together while your big bad brother is out of sight.”
“Like what? We’re in the middle of the open water and turning on the engine will definitely get Sukuna’s attention—”
“Here, Dummy.” Satoru laughed, stifling his amusement just enough to make sure they weren’t caught just yet. “Although…”
The merman let go of Yuji’s ankles to hoist himself up on the deck, happily seating himself by his human’s side. Eyelashes fluttered as he put on his best pleading face. A true work of art.
“I don’t object to carrying you if you want to take a swim?”
“I… uh,” Yuji coughed into his fist. “I didn’t bring my swim trunks with me, sorry.”
“You humans and your silly need for clothes. All that modesty is such a waste.” With a wink, Satoru tugged on the edges of the cloth around Yuji’s legs, forcing his human to sink down with them or lest they come right off. A bit of a shame as the merman was hoping for the latter, but he could work with this.
“Hypothermia is a very real concern!” His human’s argument fell on deaf ears.
“You could go without… Like right now, you could take off those clothes keeping you from me.” Two hands were not enough to capture the warmth hidden underneath Yuji’s shirt. Eyes were unneeded to explore the familiar curvature of his human’s muscles, the sudden rise of fall of his chest and the two adorable pecks just waiting to be pinched. “I miss you so much. Yuji. I want you so bad. It takes everything in me not to drag you to the bottom of the ocean every time we’re together.”
“Satoru…”
No one else could say his name as beautifully as Yuji could. Be it a whisper meant for only his ears or a moan that carried along the ocean waves, Satoru would never get enough of hearing it said over and over again.
“Satoru, we can’t do this right now. If Sukuna finds us—”
“Let him find us!” Satoru flew forward, forcing Yuji onto his back so that he overtook the human’s form with his own. “His envy means nothing. I will not have your brother’s overbearing issues keep you from me indefinitely. You’re the only human—The only one made for me!”
“Quiet! Sukuna will hear you—!”
“Make me!”
Such bold words would not find regret within the one who spoke them, as Yuji’s nervous hands finally found their bearings and cupped the sides of Satoru’s face, coaxing him closer as gently as one could in desperation until their lips connected and that ever-present spark of energy between them burst to life. Salt and sweet, a beautiful blend that Satoru could only experience with his human weakened his ability to hold himself in place. He’d fallen for Yuji, both literally and figuratively, with his human more than willing to catch him.
In one swift motion, their positions were reversed, and it was now Yuji straddling him. Each took a moment to catch their breath, granting Satoru another gorgeous view of pink fluff and golden eyes he’d missed while apart.
“Maybe I should shed my scales and come to shore…” He mused, caressing his claw up Yuji’s neck until rested at the tip of his chin.“Follow you home. Keep a better eye on you... I don’t like that human who was talking to you by the docks.”
“The security guard? Todo? He’s just a friend—”
“Too close to you!” Satoru clenched his teeth, curbing his frustration as he yanked Yuji down onto him. His fangs wanted nothing more than to mark his skin, proof of their time together that could not be so easily washed away. But he could not bear harming his human. Instead, Satoru grabbed hold of Yuji’s shoulder, uncaring for how his tightened grip tore at the cloth, so long as it removed any memory of the touch he’d witnessed that morning. The thought of another with Yuji. Holding his human. It drove him feral. “No one else is allowed to touch you. You’re mine!”
“You’re so greedy.” Yuji muttered, throwing caution to the wind as he slid a hand down Satoru’s scales. Delicate fingers knew exactly where to dance, brushing alone the entrance to his slit, teasing the already needy mer with the prospect of diving further in spite of all the warnings he’d been so adamant to give.
“Aaaa— Yu—Only for you!”
And after all that, the cheeky bastard just had to still and enjoy his handiwork.
“You’re so cute like this.” Yuji nuzzled into Satoru’s neck with his nose, entwining his free hand with Satoru’s as a means to keep them together as current positioning didn’t allow his legs to interlock around his tail nor did Yuji possess a tail of his own to accomplish the same feat. This was their way of making such an important promise to stay together. “Am I the only one who gets to see you this way?”
“The only one! No one else. Yuji —"
“Good.”
Yuji shimmied down and planted another kiss onto Satoru’s slit, pressing his tongue just deep enough to send the merman squirming. It was embarrassing how easily he came undone once his human was willing to play with him. No longer in control of himself, Satoru’s tail continued to smack against the deck, begging for Yuji to move in deeper when his words were replaced by lustful high-pitched chirps.
It was just their luck that at this moment, the pair’s escapade would be interrupted by the sound of a door slamming open behind their heads.
“What the hell is going on—”
Merman and human alike froze in place at the very pissed-off intruder in their love affair. Where Yuji started to show mild signs of panic, leaving the merman to pout internally as he readjusted himself further up before they were caught by his brother’s eyes, Satoru was no stranger showcasing just how good he’d felt. His grin was sloppy, still panting from just how wound up the younger twin had made him, serving to anger the older one even more.
Sukuna was nothing like his precious Yuji. They may be twins, but the ink on the elder’s face made the visual distinction clear. And as for personality… Satoru had met sea urchins and lionfish more huggable than him.
“YOU!”
Oops. It looks like they got caught.
“Sukuna, wait! I can explain!” Yuji tried to get up, but his own shaking legs were failing him. The fact that Satoru was now holding him in a vice grip around his waist may have also been a factor, but who could say for sure?
“Oh, you’ll have plenty of time to explain after I’m through with him! I told that bastard to stay away from you— Fuck it! I’m getting the harpoon gun!”
“HARPOON GUN!?” Yuji squeaked, eyes darting around the boat in search of any indication of where it might be. It was when Sukuna dove back into the cabin without further comment, the younger twin shouted after him. “Since when did you own a harpoon gun!?”
That sounded dangerous and a little fun, if Satoru was being honest with himself. But the sensation of his human’s rising heartbeat had him concerned. Yuji wasn’t having any fun at all, which completely ruined the mood he’d worked so hard to create.
“We should really pick this up somewhere more private, yeah?” The pair jumped in their skin at the sound of something crashing below deck, only for a slew of curses to follow. “I promise I won’t keep you forever.”
“Sukuna’s pissed. If I leave now—”
“You can beg for his forgiveness later.” Satoru mustered all this strength to sit them both up, keeping his human’s shoulders steady as he gave him one more kiss before they made their grand escape. Yuji did not pull back, reciprocating everything Satoru had to give in return and more.
Words were unneeded to know the sheer amount of trust his human had in him.
“I TOLD YOU TO STOP SEDUCING MY BROTHER YOU OVERGROWN SARDINE!”
“Hold on tight.” Satoru whispered into Yuji’s ear as Sukuna barreled up the stairs with his shiny new toy in tow. Someday, Satoru was bound to witness it in action, but today was not that day.
One well-timed roll was all it took for the pair to fall into the ocean’s grasp. Interlocked hands kept them together, with Satoru’s gift in speed doing wonders to put as much distance between the boat they left behind and the small cave he’d made his home. Only half flooded, there was enough air tracing back to the surface for his human to survive, as drowning would not be an outcome Satoru would ever allow.
He’ll be sure to bring him back… Eventually. After they’ve had their fun and big brother calmed himself down to a point where he won’t shoot Satoru on sight when it came to guiding Yuji back to shore.
But who truly knows how long that will take?