Above High Waters [MXM]

Chapter Seven

Omi curled up a bit in the pool at the sound of things being pushed around. It took him some time to realize that he wasn't in the water, and a longer time to realize where on land he was. When he did remember however his eyes flew open and he sat up, pouring water everywhere. His eyes grew wide when he heard the human's voice stuttering some words under his breath. He couldn't make out what Ry was saying, but he could tell from his body language and tone that he was irritated.

"S-sorry," Omi got out of his lips, watching as Ryan moved about the living room. The human stopped in his tracks, sighing before he folded his hands over his chest.

"It's alright. I'll just mop it up," Ry said, giving Omi a small smile that called the merman down a bit. He still felt bad, so when he moved about the pool to get in a more comfortable position he did it with as much caution as possible. Ryan noticed and smiled at Omi before heading to get the mop. When he was done he helped Omi out of the pool and let him sit on a towel on one of the living room sofas.

"I have work today, do you want to go back to the water?" Ryan asked. He was warming up some fish for Omi and getting coffee for himself. He had work in a few minutes, and even though he wanted to miss it and stay around Omi for a few more hours he couldn't. Omi didn't really understand the first part of the sentence, but he didn't want to go back to his cove just yet, so he shook his head.

"Are you sure? You'll be here all day," Ryan said, and Omi nodded. Ryan sighed, sticking his coffee mug into the microwave after taking out Omi's plate of fish. Omi blinked when Ryan handed him a plate of warmed up fish. The merman smiled, doing a small clap before he started to dig in with his fingers.

"I'll be gone for..." Ryan trailed. Does he know what hours are? He wondered, biting his bottom lip. "For most of the day," Ryan said, completing his sentence.

Omi didn't look like he understood much, but Ryan felt he was happy since the merman was smiling at him and swinging his legs back and forth. It had been less than half a day since Ryan picked him up from the shore, but he had already gotten a hang of his legs.

"Fish!" Omi said when he realized he was almost done with the full salmon on his plate. "More fish!" he said, making Ryan laugh when he went to grab his mug from the microwave.

"Calm down, I'll get you more," Ryan said dropping his cup of coffee on the counter before going through the fridge. If he was going to keep Omi he had t restock on a lot of things. Salt, fish, clothes... "Hey, apart from fish what else do you like to eat?" Ryan asked, turning a bit so that he could look at Omi. Omi shuffled on the sofa, staring at Ryan with a blank look as he tried to process the question.

"Shell?" he muttered, unsure if that was the right word.

"Shellfish?" Ryan asked, and Omi frowned, shaking his head.

"No," he said firmly before putting his hands together to form a small cup. "Shell."

"Oh, oysters!" Ryan said, nodding in understanding before Omi looked away. The merman smiled, not sure if Ryan understood him but he hoped he did.