Love Deep Like The Sea (English)

SOUTHERN

Showering had taken some getting used to, especially since Roka completely failed to understand the concept of nudity. He had explained to Roka that humans had to wash regularly because of the dirt in the air and on their own bodies; and before he had explained it, he had thought it might not be so bad, after all, Roka was also kind of male, even though he couldn't be quite so sure about gender, of course, and he was just going by the flat chest. But once he explained, and Roka understood, it felt even more intimate than before to shower in front of the sea creature.

Especially since Roka seemed to have an inexplicably insistent interest in his body - in everything down of his chest, especially his legs. Zhenhai couldn't always ask Roka to get out of the tub, so he had to shower with his back turned to him for those few uncomfortable minutes until he could reasonably breathe a sigh of relief when the steam fogged the glass. For Zhenhai, it was as if he had to swallow his own bitter medicine; that was just the price of meeting someone driven by a similar curiosity when it came to other life forms. But something about Roka's interest felt more enduring.

Namely, once he touched Zhenhai's legs, he continued to touch them - tugging and wondering about the leg hair, and at one point stroking his leg, which certainly had nothing to do with exploratory observation, but was a clear display of affection.

One morning Zhenhai woke up with Roka in his bed again, on the opposite side, and still all the bedding had gotten wet.

"You can't get into bed with strangers!" scolded Zhenhai again, cursing, because last time it had taken a full two days for the mattress to dry. And Roka, lolling on the damp mattress, had simply retorted, "You're not a stranger anymore."

The fact that the French doors to the small balcony were open was no longer a problem, because Roka was in the apartment, chasing away the seagulls. He ate the fish that Zhenhai provided, discovered the television to stop being bored, and waited for Zhenhai to finish his work so he could talk or play with him.

One evening, Zhenhai tried to teach him to eat with chopsticks, only to admit defeatedly after a few minutes and helpless attempts that it didn't make much sense with a fish. Instead, Roka showed him how to reliably remove the fine bones from the fillet without spending hours on it, and even then chewing nervously so as not to run the risk of an overlooked bone getting stuck in the esophagus after all. And he could even persuade his human friend to try a piece of fish. Squid, however, was Roka's favorite food, and he wasn't about to share it if Zhenhai bought it. Disturbingly, he often played with the food before eating it, sticking the suckers to his tongue or decorating the plate with empty clam shells. After a few cans of tuna and Roka's obtuseness about licking them clean, Zhenhai was also pretty sure that this was not something cultural but individual, and that Roka took immense pleasure in teasing Zhenhai a little.

After the sixth day, Roka wanted to see something different so Zhenhai got a wheelchair - it was a bit awkward to hide the fluke, but they managed, with the help of some acrobatics from Roka's side and a blanket. What Roka liked far less was putting on a shirt.

"It's itchy, it's itchy!"

"It's not itchy at all, it's not a sweater. Don't be like that."

"No, it rubs my skin off. Take it off. Why does a person have to wear that! Get it off, get it off!" Never before had Roka hissed and struggled like this.

As much as Zhenhai had thought he might just be faking it a little; the shirt, fine as the fabric was, left sores on his skin that Zhenhai didn't notice until evening. Sea people's skin had to be a little more sensitive. And only in rainy weather was it possible to go out with Roka at all; the critical looks Zhenhai risked for not holding an umbrella over the head of the man in the wheelchair he accepted. Roka, on the other hand, always welcomed the rain with a blissful smile on his face and sighed contentedly.