Hello

Chapter 2

Jason.

The name occupies most of Percy's thoughts for the next few days and while he's pretty sure Will has noticed by now how absent-minded Percy was acting, his trainer doesn't comment on it even once. In fact, he seems happy for Percy's excitement, something Percy isn't quite sure he understands, but seeing the bright smile on Will's face makes Percy happy too, so he doesn't bother dwelling on it.

These days, Percy finds himself thinking that he doesn't miss the sea as much anymore. He barely remembers how it was, leaving in freedom and with other merfolk, and he isn't sure he'd even understand his kin anymore. The words of their tongue seem just as alien in Percy's memories now as the language of his trainers used to be at the beginning of his captivity. He had been very young when they caught him, and Percy figures that's part of the reason why he could adapt to this life the way he did. The other, much bigger part is the companionship he found, however easy and small it is.
Some nights Percy floats through his tank still awake, watching the fish he kept alive, and wonders what his life could have been if he'd never been caught. It's the kind of thought one can never quite shake; it manifests itself all over again each time a family, a couple, or a group of friends stop at his tank to watch him. He had been too young to understand all that comes with a life in captivity when he stopped fighting it and started trying to adapt, but now more than ever, Percy begins to see all the things even the best aquarium can never give to him.

Percy hears the dull click of the door unlocking, it shakes him out of his gloomy thoughts and he frowns deeply. It's too early for Will, the sun had just come up and normally, Percy wouldn't be awake yet either, but the sound is unmistakable.

Cautiously, Percy rises to the surface, only peeking above when he hears the bright ring of Will's voice.

"Morning Percy." Will quips, strangely happy for this early in the day. There are bags under his eyes, like he hasn't slept very well, but the grin on his face definitely makes up for it. He waves Percy closer before he has even shut the door behind him, and only by the time Percy has reached the platform does Will sit down on it too. His feet dangle just above the surface, as usually, Percy has to push himself out of the water just a bit so Will can pet his hair in greeting.

"I'm meeting with a sponsor. They want to pay for putting you in a research program." Will tells him all this while scratching softly along Percy's scalp, unusually fond even for him, and before he pulls away, he brushes his fingertips over Percy's cheek just once, causing them to go pink. "They've been working with your kind for years, testing their intelligence and how they adapt to life in aquariums. It's not... they won't try to teach you tricks or something like that." Percy smiles softly as Will rambles on. Even though he isn't sure he understands every word Will is saying, he enjoys listening to the man talk.
"I'm trying to qualify for this program too, so we can stay together. They know it's easier to work with someone you know and... you like working with me right?" Percy nods enthusiastically, a small amused sound leaving his throat and earning another bright grin from Will. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you about it before I go. I'll come back after the meeting to tell you all about it, yes?" With another pet, Will gets to his feet again, waiting until Percy pushes himself off the platform and further into the tank before he steps away as well, waving before he turns around to go.

It's probably one of the things Percy shouldn't be doing, and wouldn't, if he thought things through beforehand, but the next time Percy hears Jason's soft greeting echoing through the tank, he really can't help himself. He approaches the glass barrier barely slow enough not to scare the children, unable to contain his excitement, rolling and turning for them a couple of times before he swims up to Jason.
The man is smiling at Percy, eyes crinkling a little under the glasses, and as always, one of his hands is pressed flat against the outside of the tank. Percy mirrors his posture, but instead of tapping Hello, he does something that he only later realises will probably get him in trouble: He taps out Jason's name.

The reaction is immediate. Jason's eyes widen in shock, not the good kind, and he takes a step back, his hand dropping from the glass. It's like Percy has crossed a line he didn't know about, turned their little game into something more by telling Jason he knew his name and frankly, the obvious rejection hurts Percy deeply. The children are all chattering excitedly, maybe worriedly, and that makes Percy only more uncomfortable.
He pushes away from the glass, ready to retreat into the darkness and preferably never come out again when Jason's expression changes. He says something to the kids, one hand stretched out in what looks like a calming gesture, before he turns back to the tank and back to Percy. After another moment's hesitation, Jason's hand is back on the glass again, tapping an entirely new rhythm and ending it by drawing a question mark with his finger.

Your name

Jason is watching Percy with a puzzled look on his face, and Percy is hesitant to come closer again and maybe make this worse than it is already. On the other hand, Percy feels like he can't leave Jason hanging, that it would be unfair to know Jason's name but not share his own.
Eventually, the second part wins over and Percy taps his fingers to the glass once more.
Perseus.

A small smile, almost not there at all, turns the corners of Jason's lips upward. Percy watches how he wets his lips with his tongue, like he's going to say something, but eventually he settles for just tapping a goodbye against the tank before he collects his children and leaves.

The thought that Will had bought an inflatable island to celebrate getting into the project seemed ridiculous to Percy at first, but now that the dome above his tank is opened and actual sun cascades down onto the water, he understands Will's idea. Percy can't remember the last time he could lay back and bask in the sun. Granted, it was a bit awkward to get onto the toy at first, but now that he is draped all across and feels the warmth on his skin and his scales, he really couldn't be better.
Percy remembers having been really tan when he was younger, and even after years without the sun's direct contact, his skin is darker than most of the visitor's. He doesn't know how long the weather will hold, and how long he'll be allowed to laze around like this, but Percy hopes that it's going to be enough time to catch a healthier skin tone.

It's a slow day, there aren't a lot of visitors today, and those who are here seem more than happy to watch Percy lying around in his island the last time he checked. He feels happy and light, and for the first time since the beginning of his captivity Percy feels the urge to sing. There is no reason why he shouldn't, it's not like anyone can hurt themselves trying to get closer and no one is here to mock him for being rusty either.
Nevertheless, all Percy does at first is hum, quietly and only to himself. He remembers the melodies of sailer's songs his father used to sing, and some lullabies his mother sometimes sang for him. His voice is unused, and when the first, tentative words mix into the melody, it shows. The human tongue is different from those Percy and his kin speak down at the ocean floor, the sounds too hard for Percy to imitate all on his own and the last time he tried, he'd been ridiculed and laughed at. It's the reason Percy always prefers listening, why he lets Will talk and only ever answers with gestures and smiles and it's the reason why his voice catches around the edges now, not quite as melodic as it used to be.

Once Percy gets into it though, not even his shaky voice can stop him from relearning the songs he thought he had forgotten. With every verse, it gets easier, the words coming back to Percy like they have never been gone, mixing into his song more and more until it's all there again. When he comes to the melody's end, Percy trails off into soft laughter, both surprised and gleeful at how easy it had been to find this little piece of himself again.

It's only then that he notices the heavy silence. Normally, Percy hears the muffled chatter of people passing his tank, sometimes the laughter or the crying of the children, but never before has it been this quiet. Confused, Percy raises his head, looking toward the glass at the far wall of his tank. A handful of people stand in front of it, frozen in their placed and stunned into silence. Percy realises, his cheeks heating up, that they all have heard him, that they listened.
Worst of all, right in the middle of it all, two blonde man are standing, from the looks of it caught mid-conversation. Will has a hand clasped around Jason's shoulder, and his body is still angled toward the taller man, but his eyes are trained on Percy. Both of them are staring, and from so far away, Percy can't tell if it's surprise or awe, or something much less positive. Embarrassment colours his face red, and Percy slips off his island into the dark below.