AquaMelt Oneshots [Oshi No Ko]

Of penguins and sharks

Waking up was an odd feeling to Aqua.

Each time he opened his eyes, his mind was filled with revenge. Nothing but boiled up anger, hurt, and pain. He lived for revenge— that was his life for the past seventeen years.

It would hit him then.

His father was revealed to be Seijuurou Uehara. His father had died a long time ago. His father was gone, which meant Aqua didn't have to live for revenge anymore.

It still took him time to accept that reality.

Of course, Aqua was relieved. Relief was not a strong enough word to express how much of a weight left his chest when he learned the news from Taiki. However, the fact that he had spent most of his life seeking this revenge remained— Aqua had no clue where to go from there.

For the most part, Aqua tried to live his life normally. The way an average seventeen year old boy would; one that wasn't shackled by terrible thoughts of revenge and murder. He went to school, he took new acting jobs, he continued his relationship with Akane— even though the two of them were still unsure how serious and real the relationship would get.

For the most part, Aqua lived a peaceful life.

Revenge still clung to his ankles, guilt pulled him down whenever he had the chance, Aqua still could hardly visit Ai's grave without feeling horribly nauseous.

But, he lived. Which was much more than what he had done in his whole life.

Aqua supposed that was how he found himself responding to Melt's texts, deciding to entertain himself with the man. He and Melt weren't exactly close; or so, that was what Aqua told himself. Their relationship had never really passed the level of being merely castmates. Aqua had a feeling that Melt considered them to be close friends, though.

Even after Tokyo Blade's run came to an end, Melt followed the very few social media that Aqua had, interacting with every single post that Aqua put up. Which was hardly any; Aqua posted perhaps once a month. Still, each time he posted, Melt came with the speed of light, almost seeming to be desperate to talk to Aqua again.

Normal teenagers have friends, Aqua told himself.

So with that thought, Aqua began to speak to Melt, hoping to build some sort of relationship. He gained nothing from talking to Melt— yet, Melt quickly became one of Aqua's favorite people to talk to.

Melt was so...innocent when it came to the topic of Aqua's revenge and trauma. Melt knew next to nothing about Aqua's struggles, his panic attacks, about Ai. In fact, Melt didn't seem to know much about Ai very well at all— Aqua imagined he was not one for idols.

Perhaps that was the reason why each time he spoke to Melt, he felt as though he could leave that past of him behind. Melt was a fresh start to Aqua; one he would gladly take.

Aqua surprised himself when he decided to offer Melt to join him on a trip to the aquarium one day. It wasn't often that Aqua invited anyone out— however, he did have an urge to go to the aquarium. With Akane being busy from her work, and Aqua avoiding Kana for the sake of her safety, he found himself inviting Melt via text.

What surprised Aqua even more was how Melt agreed without any question, opening up his schedule just to meet up with Aqua. Melt was busy himself: still taking acting and modeling jobs. Yet whenever Aqua spoke to him, he always responded as quickly as he could. So, Aqua supposed it wasn't too unusual for Melt to jump at the opportunity to hang out together, leaving his busy schedule open just for Aqua.

He wondered if all friends did this; Aqua wasn't exactly used to hanging out with others without motives for his revenge.

Melt wore the brightest smile Aqua had ever seen him with that day, waiting right in front of the Tokyo Sea Life Park Aquarium.