Sunset

Chapter 2

"Come in, come in, come in! I wanna show you something!"

"I..." Kirishima had never met a more enthusiastic, loud, and persistent person in his life; and honestly, he didn't know how to handle it. It was almost as if the boy had never had another friend, "I don't swim. I told you that already..."

"You don't have to swim."

A sigh of relief, "okay."

"Yes!"

"What?"

"Okay come in, I'll swim, you hold on!"

"No!"

"But you just said-"

"No, I meant," yes, he was nice... but exhausting, "I don't like going IN the water. Natural water. Like, this. I just like pools."

And yet he couldn't stop the blush from simmering itself through his cheeks whenever that blonde would sink himself down, and give him that barely visible, pissy glare, "I'm offended."

"I mean, how do I know you're not a siren?"

"Siren?"

"God," he let himself plop back onto the sand, where he had moved to, as his hands covered his head, and ran themselves through that red hair of his, "how do you not know what a siren is? You are literally a mermaid!"

"I'm a fish."

"No! You're half fish, half human," how was he so hard to reason with, "therefor. Mermaid."

"I'm not a human."

"Your top half looks exactly like a humans! You're half human!"

Not a response, no. He just sunk below the surface, and swam off. Wonderful, "how'd I get into this mess? You had to like the shell, didn't you? Mermaid? Mermaid. You had to get tangled to a mermaid," he let his head fall, as his gaze followed an unbothered beetle that crossed paths in front of him. That is, until he heard the rustling sound of the boy resurfacing.

"This is a clam," no shit, "and this is a snail."

"Really? I had no idea," the sarcasm was laid on thick, and only grew more so as he continued, "where are you going with this?"

"They're very similar, yes," Bakugo swam closer towards Kirishima, until he was as close as he could get, without the water getting too shallow. The new spot the redhead had chosen was much more beach-like than the rock, "they both have pretty shells that they use as their home. They both live in the sand. But that doesn't make them the same. They're still two completely separate species. And no matter how similar they seem, they're still very different."

Silence took over the annoyance that had been growing, "I guess..."

"We're not the same," the two shellfish were gently set down beneath the surface, where the water was clear enough to see the bottom; all prior to Bakugo sinking his head into his newly folded arms in a manner that planted a painfully, guilt filled seed in the pit of Kirishima's gut, "so stop expecting me to act like we are."

And shit, that was the icing that topped the cake, "I'm sorry," stop being a whiny bitch. A little water isn't gonna kill you. He stood to wade in closer, and slowly sat next to him, "I didn't mean to make you feel like that, I just..." he let another sigh escape his lungs, "it's just a lot. I didn't really know I was getting into this. I mean, I didn't even think people like you existed. We've always thought mer... fish... people, were just a myth. And now I'm mated with one. It's just not how I thought my day would go, ya know?"

Again, silence; silence, and the feel of tiny waves caused by the boy turning away from him, and lying on his left side, "you can go if you want..." god, he sounded heartbroken, "I'm not gonna make you stay."

What a fuck up you are, Kiri... way to hurt his feelings, you dick, "I don't wanna leave. I said it was unexpected... not bad. You're nice," he tried to scoot closer, just enough to comfort him without seeming awkward, "it's just gonna take some time to figure each other out."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry..."

Kirishima set a hesitant hand on the boy's shoulder, and felt his steady breathing deepen, "truth is, I don't even know what I'm doing," a pause, "I've never met another one of my kind. What I know is from an octopus that took me in. So don't be sorry."

The redhead's face filled with sympathy, and curiosity, as he carefully picked out his words for a response, "so, are you guys like sea turtles, and just. Lay the eggs, or something, and leave? Or no?"

"No," another set of waves as he rolled onto his back, and stared up at the passing clouds, "they're supposed to take care of their young until they know enough to be on their own," a glance towards the other, and brief eye contact, before he turned his head away once more in, what seemed like, embarrassment, "she said that they probably abandoned me because I was born albino. A lot of animals do that, apparently. It's too risky for the other young if they stay, cuz they draw too much attention."

"That's really shitty of them."

Bakugo simply nodded, and flipped onto his stomach once more in order to push himself back into deeper water.

The other didn't know how to respond, let alone how to continue. So he did the only thing he could think of, "you promise you won't let go if I come in?"

That certainly put a smile on that pretty face of his, and got the boy darting back towards his newly found, anxiety ridden mate, "yeah. I won't let go."

That webbed hand was offered, and slowly taken.

Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought... maybe differences make for a closer bond.

Maybe?

Yeah.

Before he knew it, he was out there with a pair of arms wrapped around his chest, as the soothing feel of chilled water melted the worries of life away.

Yeah... Yeah, this was exactly what he needed. An escape. Something good.

Warmth.

***