✔️Scales (Hankcon Mermaid AU)

2^ I Like Learning About Hank!

I shiver apprehensively as I watch Conan carry his clone to the CyberLife swimmers. Two people, completely covered in black diving suits, take the Mermandroid from Conan.
I've seen them before. They're technically the first people I've ever seen, but I can't see what they look like. They're completely covered up.
Something falls into the water, and I look up fearfully. Another human dives down towards me, but he's not looking at me. I can see this human's face. He looks nothing like Hank.
"Hey!" Conan darts over to me, floating in front of me protectively. "Don't think you can get past me."
The human raises an eyebrow. "Relax, Android. I didn't even see him. I'm not trying to get anywhere."
The CyberLife swimmers climb back onto their boat. They zoom away, disturbing the water's surface. Why are they leaving him behind...?
I swim up to Conan and grab his arm, squeezing it as I peek out from behind him. "Wh-Why are you here? Are you going to hurt us...?"
"Of course, not." He crosses his arms over his chest. "I'm here to provide... 'therapeutic services' to you." He looks disgusted. "They sent me down here to keep you guys from getting depressed. And, they told me to teach you stuff."
"We're perfectly happy down here. We don't need a human to keep us happy," Conan snarls. "And, I know everything we need to know."
"Look, I'm as unhappy about this as you, so why don't we try to make this work? I'm stuck down here with you two. None of us has a choice," Gavin persists, raising his voice.
"S-Stop arguing!" I cry out, swimming forward so I'm in between the two. "Please..."
     "I'm sorry," Conan immediately apologizes.
     "I'm Gavin," he introduces himself. "We got off on the wrong foot... or... fin. You don't have feet. Fuck."
     "I'm Connor," I say, smiling. "We did get off on the wrong foot." I wink.
     Conan sighs softly. "I'm Conan." He swims forward, holding his hand out to Gavin.
     Gavin takes it, smirking. "Nice grip, Android."
     "That's Mermandroid to you, human," Conan fires back at him. "And, thank you."
     "At least, you're humble." Gavin smirks. He looks down and realizes that they're still holding hands. He blushes and snatches his hand away. "Uh... s-sorry."
     Conan looks down at his hand, then back up at Gavin. "It's... alright." Something flashes across his face, but I don't have time to read him. "Umm... You should come inside. You'll be living here, right?"
     "I guess, so."
     Conan leads him inside. I watch as Gavin glances at Conan at the same time that Conan glances at Gavin. When their gazes meet, they freeze. Light blushes spread across their faces. Gavin looks away first, walking around the house. "L-Let me show you around!" Conan offers eagerly. Conan's acting weird. I can only wonder if he's trying to impress this human, and I smile when I realize that he is.

It's almost sunset. I swirl my tail around anxiously as I sit on the edge of my clamshell bed. My Thirium pump beats quickly, complimenting my frazzled nerves. What if he doesn't show up?
     I can't stay here. I can't sit here and let my worry gnaw away at my heart. I need to do something. I should go there early.
     I open my door and peek out. No one's there. I swim out cautiously, nervous of someone seeing me. Carefully, I swim towards the door, mindful of how much water I'm disturbing. I hope Conan and Gavin are busy enough to not notice me.
     Once I'm outside, I dart away, making my way to the shore as fast as I can. I'm so excited to see Hank again. I want him to take me out of the water. I want to go home with him. I want to see what his life is like.
I reach the shore and gather myself before peeking up above the surface. And, I see him. Hank sits on the shore, far enough that the lapping waves won't touch him. Excitedly, I swim up shore, effectively beaching myself. "Hi, Hank!"
He startles, staring at me with bewildered eyes. "Connor! I was beginning to think you wouldn't show..."
I pull myself up the beach, struggling. "I would... never... leave you here... by yourself...!" I huff.
Hank stands and approaches me. "What are you doing?"
"I-I want to sit next to you..." I whine, looking up at him.
Hank reaches down and picks me up, cradling me in his arms. Instantly, I cling to him. "Don't worry. I won't drop you," he assures me. I relax a bit, but I keep my arms wrapped around Hank's shoulders. He sits down closer to the waves, and they wash over his feet. It's now that I realize he's shirtless, wearing nothing but some shorts. I sit in his lap and smile at him.
"You're not wearing clothes, this time?"
He shakes his head and blushes lightly. "Well... last time, I got soaked, and it was miserable. I figured I'd come prepared this time."
"Prepared?" I look down. "But, you're still wearing clothes. Shouldn't you have no clothes on? These will be miserable, too." I reach my hand down and grab at the bottom of his shorts, pulling at it.
"Hey, hey!" Hank pushes my arm away. "Don't do that. They're swim trunks. They're special shorts designed to get wet. And, it's kind of illegal to be naked, Connor. For me, at least. And, it's embarrassing. I'd rather wear clothes," he explains, looking down.
"Oh! So, that's why humans wear clothes! Are your parts in there?" I ask eagerly scooting off of his lap so I can take a look.
"I- Yes! Yes, my 'parts' are in there. Do you not know anything?" he asks disdainfully.
I look up at him, feeling dejected. His tone reminds me of Conan. You're not fast enough. You're too short. You're not strong enough. You can't. You can't. You can't. I squeeze my eyes shut as his words bombard me, making me feel horrible. I look away.
"Connor? I'm sorry," he apologizes. "I-I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just curious..."
"No, Hank!" I snap. "I don't know anything! No one tells me anything, and I have no way to access or gain knowledge, because CyberLife and Conan like keeping me stupid! So, I don't know a thing about humans! I don't know anything!" I cry, growing emotional. I shouldn't cry. Not in front of Hank.
"I'm so sorry, Connor. I'll tell you everything you need to know. If I know it, that is.." He pulls me towards him, hugging me. The gentle waves lap over my tail.
"I'm so curious and naïve about everything." I look up at him. "I'm so fascinated by you, Hank. I want to know everything about you."
     "I've been thinking about you, a lot, Connor. How about you tell me about you? You know a lot about yourself, right?" he asks, smiling down at me.
"I-I don't know what I can- Oh!" I lean forward. "CyberLife gave us another Mermandroid! I mean, it was Conan's model. And... it tried to rape me, last night. Conan was doing something near the shore..? I don't know, but he saved me."
     "Goddamn," Hank grumbles. "That sounds horrible. Don't let anyone touch you if you don't want them to." He fixes a soft gaze on me. "I don't condone rape, at all. What happened to him?"
     "Well, Conan deactivated him, which means he basically killed him. CyberLife swimmers came to pick him up and work on him. And, they left a human behind!" I say excitedly.
     "A human?" Hank looks at me in confusion.
"Yeah! His name is Gavin."
"Gavin?! So, that's where they took him." Hank looks down. "Gavin is - was - my coworker. But, he didn't show up for work, one day. Everyone was really worried until the Captain told us that he was on a business trip. I just never imagined he'd be here..." Hank trails away.
"Oh... Well, Conan likes him, I think. I mean, I don't really know. They seemed really sexually charged. I'm not sure what they were doing when I left, but, I think, they might be having sex. It makes sense. Conan's dick has been hard, all day," I laugh, looking up at Hank.
He looks flustered. "Sex? You guys can do that?"
"Of course, we can. I can show you-"
"W-Wait! Wait," Hank panics, throwing his hands out. "Wait. What are you doing?"
"I was going to show you my parts," I reply.
"Connor," he sighs. "You seem nice, but this is too much. It's too fast for me. Look," he gets on his knees. "You can't just spread your legs- er..." he trails away. "I mean, you can't.. spread... uhh..." he struggles.
     "What are you trying to say?" I ask in amusement.
     "I'm trying to say that, just because I'm a person, and I'm new, and you've never seen me before, it doesn't mean that I want you to expose yourself to me. Humans, we- we're very picky when it comes to this stuff..." he explains. "So, I want to try something with you."
     "Try what?" I cock my head to the side, curious. I'm learning so much! This is so exciting.
     "I'm gonna do stuff, and I want you to tell me no," he says before lunging forward and wrapping his hand around my throat. He squeezes, but I can still breathe. Instinctively, I bring my hand up and tear at his arm, not wanting to be choked.
     Hank lets go. His hand goes to my tail, and he rubs it. After him choking me, I feel scared of him. "N-No! Stop!" I beg, rolling away from him.
     "There you go!" he cheers, smiling.
     "Wh-What? Is this some sick joke?!" I snap, lightly caressing my throat.
     "No! Connor, I'm sorry for hurting you, but I wanted to show you something," he apologizes, looking genuine.
     I cross my arms over my chest. "Show me what? That you're insane?" I stare at him, feeling hurt.
     "No, Connor, of course, not." He scoots closer to me. "I was trying to show you what happens when you trust people you shouldn't trust. People you don't know." His eyes narrow, but he's not angry. He's determined. "There are people out there that won't hesitate to do whatever they want to you. You needed to learn to tell people no. You needed to learn to be wary."
     I scoot closer to him. "Ok..." I mutter. "I understand. I should be wary of people. I should be careful, right? I should get to know them before I do anything with them." I look up to him for confirmation.
     "That's right, Connor! See, you're becoming smarter, already," he praises me with a grin. "So, don't start whipping your dick out for people you don't know."
     I smile happily. "Teach me more, Hank!"
     "Hmm..." he hums thoughtfully. "How about you tell me something about your life, and I'll tell you something about human life," he suggests. "We can go back and forth."
     I position myself next to him and lay down. "Alright, Hank. That sounds good to me."
     "I'll go first," he grumbles as he lays down next to me. "So, people," he begins. "I want you to know that you'll never find anyone else like me. Everyone you meet will be different in almost every way. So, don't use me as an example."
     I nod. "Ok, Hank. I understand. Gavin doesn't look like you, so I assumed that people must look different." I glance over at him. "Being a Mermandroid is boring. I spend my days swimming around and staring at things."
     "I spend my days working on cases. Then, I go home to get drunk."
     "Drunk?" I roll over so I'm on my side.
     Hank rolls over, too. "Yeah, getting drunk. Basically, it's when you drink a shit ton of alcohol, and it makes you..." he trails away, thinking. "You know, you stumble around, you might get really mad and do stupid shit, you might hurt people you don't wanna hurt..." he shrugs. "It sounds bad, I know, but it makes you forget. It makes you feel free, if only for one night."
     "Oh... Are you trying to.. forget your son..?" I ask in a quiet voice.
     Hank's gaze grows sad. "Y-Yes..." he admits.
     I pull myself closer to Hank, wrapping an arm around him. "It's ok, Hank! I'll make you forget!" I say cheerily.
     "It... doesn't work like that, but I get what you're trying to say." He wraps his arm around me, and we embrace on the sand. "I appreciate you, Connor. I wanna know more about you."
     "You, too, Hank!" I grin happily.
     So, we lay there, hugging each other in the sand while the water laps at our lower halves, smiling, laughing, and telling each other about ourselves.