Klance
Merpeople AU
Was it cold..?
Keith couldn't tell as he sank deeper and deeper, then light of the moon and stars swallowed away by the water. His body ached, his lungs burned, yet he couldn't find it in himself to struggle; to force himself up to the surface.
Even at seven-years-old, the depths of the never-ending water didn't scare him in this moment. He couldn't hear his adoptive brother, nor his adoptive parents. Just the water and his own calm thoughts.
Keith's eyes stung, so he closed them, consciousness fading.
A hand wrapped gently around his wrist. Keith's eyes fluttered open. Bright, blue eyes glowed at him, short brown hair swishing in the flow of the water. Keith felt himself being tugged, and he was suddenly enveloped in warmth.
Water forced down on them and Keith gasped once his head broke the surface. His name was being called somewhere in the distance as he coughed up saltwater. The being that still held him stayed beneath the water.
Keith's legs brushed against a thick, scaly appendage as they moved through the water. They glowed, and Keith wanted to know what they were. They had hair, but they were a fish, and they glowed. Keith's arms stayed securely wrapped around their neck, gills tickling his cold skin. Keith's face kept dipping into the water, so the being holding him uprighted himself so both their heads were above water.
He looked about Keith's age, hair dripping with saltwater. His eyes dimmed to a dark blue now that he was above water. At the corners of his eyes, blue and silver scales spread out like a fan, then one corner dipped and swirled over his cheek bones. His blue ears fluttered and he smiled at Keith. He had what looked like miniature shark teeth. Keith wanted to touch one. So, he did. The boy holding him opened his mouth just a little more so Keith could poke and pet his teeth with the pad of his thumb.
A large, scaly tail wrapped around Keith's leg and Keith nestled closer.
The boy holding Keith stopped. "You have to go, now..." He whispered, voice smooth and quiet.
"Keith!?"
Keith shook his head, holding tighter. "You're warm... Water's cold..."
The boy squeezed him in return, then rotated to seat Keith on the sand. "Go home." He whimpered as the boy pulled away and slipped back under the water without a noise.
"Keith!? Keith, is that you!?"
The seven-year-old looked up as he heard several splashes. His older brother dropped beside him and wrapped him in his arms. "Keith, thank God you're okay!" Shiro gasped as their parents fell into the water with them. "Why would you go out so late? I thought you were scared of the water?" Shiro pulled back and cupped Keith's face. His dark eyes were wide with worry and relief.
Keith blinked, then peeked over the twelve-year-old's shoulder. "I... I heard pretty singing..." He whispered. It must have been the glowing boy that carried him back that was singing. "I wanted... To see who was singing so pretty..."
He heard his adopted mother gasp. Her husband whispered to her, but Keith wasn't paying attention as his brother pulled him back into his arms. "Please don't go wandering out by yourself..."
~
Keith waded through the water, wiggling his toes in the cool, squishy dirt. He wanted to find the boy from last summer. Eight-years-old now, and he didn't want to believe that it was fake. He wanted to see that boy with the scales and glowing eyes again.
It was Keith's first night back in Florida, visiting his real father and adopted grandparents with his adopted family. His real father was a cool guy, and Keith wanted to be like him someday, but his real hero was his new older brother.
