As Deep As The Ocean || •Mermaid AU• || KiriBaku

22

“Oh my god I forgot how good water is.” He sighed once he pulled the clay edge from his lips, refilling it with water and repeating the boiling process again and again, until he was satiated several bowls later. Kirishima just stared, in awe every time he pulled the orange cloth off the bowls and a little puddle lay inside. He definitely did not understand the ‘science’, as Bakugou called it in a passing conversation, behind it, but he didn’t really care. 

“Tell me more about your science!” Kirishima had asked after both Denki and Mina had to leave, deciding they had enough adventure for the day and now they needed to go to bed. Now, the shark and Bakugou sat on the grotto rocks, watching the shadows stretch as the sun continued to set, reaching them through scattered breaks in the cave. The blonde scoffed at the red head, shaking his head as he continued to boil water for the next time he needed it, looking back at the half-shark and shrugging. 

“I mean, if you want. I don’t know what to tell you, though.”

“Well, what is it? Like, does it have a purpose?” he leaned back on his arms, flicking his tail fins in and out of the water gently, and watching as the water gently splashed, sending tiny droplets scattering across the water's surface. The blonde shrugged, eventually deciding he was finished boiling the water, and moving to go sit next to the redhead, planting his feet in the water beneath them and kicking gently back and forth, not enough to cause an aggressive splash, but just enough for the water to move around his legs. 

“Uh, well, it definitely has a purpose. Humans use it to explain why things happen the way they do. Like, why we have day and night cycles, or seasons, or how certain things work.” The redhead’s face contorted as he absorbed the information Bakugou had told him, and he turned to look at the blonde, red eyes meeting a different shade of red as he cocked his head slightly to the side. 

“I’ve never thought about things that much before. I think we always just attributed it to magic? Or something similar. It’s just what happens, and none of us have ever bothered to question it, I suppose.” He whispered, a slight blush dusting his cheeks as he admitted his obliviousness. The ash blonde snorted, looking up at the stalactites dripping from the ceiling, before growing bored of the sight and looking back at his companion, red eyes drawing over the strong facial structure he had grown familiar with over the past few days. 

“That’s because you’re an idiot.” He said, though the undertone of humour within his voice was apparent, even to the ever elusive redhead. He went to oppose, yell something about not being an idiot and a bunch of other words that all jumbled together in his head, but Bakugou’s soft chuckle interrupted him, and caused a soft feeling to arise in the shark’s chest, his smile softening at the melodic sound. 

“I’m kidding, mostly. I think humans are just… stupidly nosy creatures. We need an explanation for everything, and if we don’t have one, we will do everything in our power to find one, you know?” His red eyes searched Kirishima’s own, flicking between them multiple times before being pulled away and landing on where his feet lay submerged in the crystalline waters of the grotto, his eyes dragging across the abundance of corals lining the sea floor. 

“Yeah, I guess so. Denki gets like that sometimes. Like, he thinks about something and it's all he can think about. One time, our friend Sero told him that there was a species of kelp that was naturally pink, and he was out for ages trying to find it. I’m pretty sure Hanta was just messing with him, because to this day, Denki still hasn’t found it.” Katsuki laughed at that, shaking his head gently and leaning back against his arms the slightest bit. 

“He seems the type.” The pair sat in silence for a while, before Eijirou broke it, flicking his fin again in the water and causing a small ripple to occur outwards from the movement. 

“You know, I still don’t know what that word means. The one you always call us; Denki and I.” It wasn’t phrased like a question, but Bakugou understood it as one. 

“Idiot? Oh… Well, it’s used to describe someone who’s really stupid, like, someone who isn’t going anywhere in life.” Eijirou’s face fell, his arms tensing as he contemplated leaving, but the blonde kept talking, cutting off the shark’s thoughts. “I… Don’t actually believe that, though. I did at first, but… I don't anymore. At least, not about you.” 

“What made you change your mind?” He didn’t know why he asked. Honestly, he doesn't even think he wants to know the answer, but still the words left his mouth, barely a whisper against the sound of gentle waves permeating the air. Bakugou hummed, before sighing, and lifting his eyes to meet Eijirou’s again. 

“I don’t actually know why or when I stopped thinking of you as an idiot. After I met Denki, my opinion of you grew exponentially, actually. He is a type of idiocy on a whole new level, after all. But even then, I don't think I ever truly thought of you as an idiot. I don't really know.” The blonde sighed again, before averting his gaze and adjusting himself into a more comfortable position, laying fully on his back with his arms cushioning the back of his head against the dense and hard rock beneath them. 

“So you admit that we are friends?” The merman asked after a couple beats of silence, and undertone of humour echoing through his voice as he smirked down at the blonde, the latter only scoffing at him, before gently closing his eyes and pulling his soaked feet out of the water. 

“Never.” He playfully responded to the question, his voice playful and melodic, causing Eijirou to giggle softly and follow Bakugou into a lying position against the rock, leaving the tip of his tail resting in the water, however. Silence passed over them for a while, comfortable and welcome, and after several silent moments, Kirishima thought Bakugou had fallen asleep and contemplated leaving quietly before it grew to be too late, but Katsuki’s deep voice echoed across the grotto. 

“I never thanked you, by the way.”

“What for?” The statement caught the shark off guard, causing a pregnant lag in his brain for several seconds. The blonde grumbled something under his breath, something about making him repeat this shit. The redhead turned his head to look Bakugou in the face, seeing the blonde boy had done the same, and they were now eye to eye, faces much closer than the two of them had been before. They must’ve unintentionally sat very close together, or subtly moved over slightly and closing the distance between them. 

“Thanks, for saving me. When I nearly drowned. I don't know if I ever thanked you, so there.” He grumbled, before averting his gaze and shifting so he laid on his side, arm tucked underneath his head in a makeshift pillow. “Now, piss off. I'm going to sleep.” The redhead couldn’t help the splitting smile that overtook his face, sharp teeth on full display, and if the sun had been out, they would’ve glinted against the soft light.

“Hey man, it’s no problem.” Bakugou grumbled another utterance of ‘fuck off, i’m sleeping’, eliciting soft chuckles from the merman. “Goodnight, Bakugou.” A few more minutes passed in peaceful silence, when the blonde’s deep voice once again permeated the air. 

“Call me Katsuki.” The redhead was shocked at the request, the simple sentence catching the shark entirely off guard, but when the words finally seemed to sink in, finally penetrating the mental wall he had up, a dopey smile erupted on his face, and he wanted to reply to the blonde, only to find the latter’s breathing having evened out. He sat in silence, watching Bakugou’s slow breathing in a way that was, probably, incredibly creepy, but he didn’t care. When his breath grew soft enough that the redhead was convinced the boy was definitely asleep, he gently slipped into the water, careful to make as little splash as possible so as not to wake the blonde, and he gently slipped out through the underwater entrance.
 

***

Bakugou is like my grandpa, fr...

Anyway, apologies for the month-long wait, school picked up again, i got kicked out of my wattpad again, and then I got lazy lol. I'm hoping for more consistent uploads again, but I don't know how well that will work, but I will try my absolute best!!

Anway, I have a question; What would we think of some romance? The main pairing is obvs Kiribaku, and they will get their romance at some point, but would you guys be happy with it to start now? or give it a bit more time? Also, are there any other side/background couples you want to see? The only person i want to keep single is Mina, and that is because i hc her as aroace, and i wanna keep that in here. aside from that, i'm open to suggestions!!