Seabound-SKZ

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Giggling, Jeongin swam closer to the shore as the Mers watched their prince drift off to sleep, he looked so small and innocent, dwarfed by both his horse that stood nearby, as well as the trees that towered above him, he urged the rest of his companions forth, racing against Hyunjin, although he knew he had no chance against the older boy. 

Chan's steady breathing was apparent, even from the water, as the Mers attempted to pull themselves up the beach, rather ungracefully, like baby seals. Felix complained quietly the full trip, he had opted out of wearing a shirt that day, and sorely regretted it as the rough sand scraped along his stomach. 

The Mers groaned in complete unison as tiny sprinkles of rain began falling from the sky, waking up the sleeping prince slowly, who let out a tiny gasp as he opened his eyes to see his boyfriends in front of him, eyes beginning to well up with tears, both of happiness of seeing them, as well as the multitude of emotions that had run through him the past few days. 

Jisung was the first to roll into Chan's chest, giggling happily as the ex-prince hugged him tightly, the rest of the Mers uttering complaints at being excluded, which was soon fixed as Jisung and Chan pulled them in close, and the rain continued to worsen above them, however, the eight men on the beach couldn't care less, happily talking never letting go of one another. 

It was still early afternoon, as Chan had drifted off while the sun had begun to reach the middle of the sky, and the Mers were terribly excited to spend their time with Chris, although concerns were high, "What is your plan?" Minho asked, causing Chan to bite at his lip, frowning slightly. 

"To get on a boat, probably," Chan paused, considering, "My father used to take me boating, perhaps I can join a crew of sorts," he glanced around, "That way I could be closer to you all as well, you wouldn't have to constantly pull yourselves over land," he gave a pointed look to Felix, who flushed red in embarrassment and ducked his head behind Changbins shoulder. 

Minho frowned at his response, "That's all? a maybe? Chan, what if you get hurt, or can't get on a boat, or your Mother tracks you down? or-" Seungmin clamped a hand over the eldest Mers mouth quickly, not allowing him to continue stressing. 

"Sounds great, Chris." Seungmin flashed a smile, removing his hand from Minho's mouth, shrugging sheepishly under the glare he received, "Had to stop you somehow, Min." 

'I could've thought of another way,' Felix transmitted across to Jisung, perks of being a Mer, and Jisung stifled a laugh quickly, nodding his head to his almost-twin. 

Chan furrowed his brow, "I may not have a solid plan yet, but I know I can't stay moving on land forever. I'm exhausted, I need to hold out hope that someone-anyone, will let me on their crew," the tears from earlier returned, this time actually spilling out over his cheeks. 

Changbin reached over Felix's head quickly to wipe them, the Mers cooing softly at the human as he slumped forward slightly, as much as he could, with Jisung still mostly in his lap, who shifted to allow Chan his arms back, the human quickly moving to hide his face from the other boys. 

Rain still hit the sand softly, the Mers mostly unaffected as they attempted to comfort the crying man, however, Chan did not possess their ability to withstand the cold, and this became apparent quickly as he shivered, Jeongin taking action quickly and motioning for the rest of his partners to huddle closer.