The Fine Thread

4

An hour later, the mermen have patched Hinata's tail, and he's swimming around the perimeter of the calm waters. The shadow of a boat finally drifts overhead, slowly but it's there. Hinata, Asahi and Suga swim up the boat, peeking their heads above the water. Hinata is first to poke his head up from the water, and what he's greeted with, is Tsukishima's face right in front of his, making Hinata blush at the closeness. Tsukishima pulls back up, covering his face with his hand.

"We brought the harp." Daichi says, approaching a red faced Hinata.

"J-jump into the water and I'll show you where to put it." Hinata stutters, flipping back into the water quickly.

"Hinata? What happened?" Suga asks, swimming up to Hinata.

"Close... Close pretty boy.. What?" Hinata says confused, a very noticeable blush across his face.

"Ooohhh... Wait what?" Suga says. Both mermen stare at each other confused until a splash is heard above, the 3 humans jumping into the water with the harp. Asahi swims over to the other 2 mermen, who are just staring at each other confused.

"What happened to you 2?" Asahi asks.

"Pretty boy... AGH!" Hinata exclaims, holding his blushing cheeks. Suga and Asahi burst out laughing, seeing their small friend freaking out. After a few seconds, Hinata has calmed down and is laying at the bottom of the sand, liking the comforting feeling of the soft sand on his scales.

"Where did you want us to put this?" Noya asks, calling over to Hinata. Hinata gets up from the sand, swimming over to a couch-like rock with a flat top. Hinata points right in front of the rock.

"There please. Then there will need to be a few adjustments, so just be patient." Hinata says. The boys nod, placing down the harp while Hinata sits down on the rock. After a few minutes, the harp is placed perfectly for Hinata, enough room between him and the harp so it's comfortable, and enough room on the side for his tail. Asahi and Suga swim over

"You done Hinata?" Suga asks. Hinata nods, smiling brightly.

"Yay! I have a harp again!" Hinata cheers, sitting behind the harp and strumming the strings lightly. The human boys sit at the bottom of the lagoon, mesmerized by the pretty melody the ginger was playing. Suga and Asahi also sit in the soft sand, listening to Hinata play the beautiful instrument. After a few minutes, Hinata takes his hands away from the harp, smiling widely.

"Woah.. That was beautiful.." Tsukishima says, staring at Hinata. The ginger giggles, swimming away from the rock pedestal and around Tsukishima, making his feathered strips float around the blond. Hinata laughs, seeing Tsukishima mesmerized by the red and white feathers attached to his tail.

"I didn't know you could play instruments down here.. I always thought water would make everything hard." Daichi says, going over to the harp to look at the strings.

"Well water doesn't make everything hard. Just different." Suga explains, swimming around Daichi.

"How many of you can play instruments?" Noya asks.

"Well we can all play music in one way or another." Asahi responds, swimming towards Suga.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tsukishima asks, Hinata finally stops swimming around him.

"Well, those 2 can play instruments that we found and I have a strange skill for spoons." Suga says, chuckling, scratching the back of his neck.

"Can we see?" Noya asks.

"Shouldn't you get back to your families? It's already dark." Asahi says, looking up at the dark sky through the water.

"You guys are a lot better than them.. I mean you literally were so kind to us even after we hurt you guys.." Daichi says, pangs of guilt in his voice.