✔️Scales (Hankcon Mermaid AU)

Epilogue^

I rest in Hank's lap on the beach.
Corvin is closer to the waves, playing in the sand. He's currently constructing a rather large sandcastle. It's fairly impressive. He's been working on it for a little more than an hour, now.
Hank stirs, and I fall out of his lap. I look up at him, a question in my eyes. "That's an impressive sandcastle," he murmurs.
"It is," I agree.
Corvin runs around one side of the castle and falls to his knees. He reaches his hand inside and scoops out some sand. I've never seen anyone more determined to build a sandcastle than Corvin. He stands and admires his work for a second before staring out to sea. I wonder what he's thinking about.
     It's been a month since the colony was formed. Conan asked me to visit him, so here I am.
     In that month, Hank and I have grown closer to Corvin. He's decided to stay with us. I've really grown to enjoy his company.
     He walks up to us, wiping his forehead with his sandy hands. "How's it look?"
     "Very impressive, Corvin," Hank praises him.
     He grins. "Thanks, Hank!"
     I smile affectionately. Corvin's kind of like a child. "I agree. It looks good."
     "Yeah... I'm not sure if I'll keep working on it. I think, it's pretty much done." He sits down in the sand. "Hey, Hank? Connor?"
     "Hmm?" Hank hums.
     I tilt my head curiously.
     A grin spreads across Corvin's face. "I love you guys."
     "Aww..." I slouch a little in Hank's lap. "We love you, too, Corvin."
     He rolls over on his stomach and rests his chin in his hands. "Can you guys adopt me?"
     My eyes widen. I open my mouth, then close it.
     "What?"
     "Can you guys adopt me? I mean... I see you as a dad, Hank. And, I'm a good boy. Right? I'm son material." He stares up at Hank with hope-filled eyes. "Please?"
     Hank softens, and a smile spreads across his face. "You know what? Sure. We'll adopt you."
     "Yes! I love you, Dad!" Corvin lunges forward and hugs us.
     Hank groans softly. "Yup. Love you, too."
     Corvin pulls away and runs off without a word. He falls to his knees and continues to work on his sandcastle.
     I look up at Hank. "I wonder how he'll react when a wave comes and knocks that castle down?"
     "I don't know. Look at those trenches he's digging. Those are pretty deep."
     I smirk up at Hank.
Conan rises from out of the water. With the help of Elijah, he's learned to use his legs. He walks out of the water, completely naked. Gavin follows him. He's wearing a pair of shorts.
"Ugh," Hank groans. "I will never understand why your kind don't like wearing pants."
I chuckle lightly. "Pants are a real burden."
Conan eyes Corvin, who is still blissfully working on his sandcastle. When he reaches us, he jabs his thumb back at the happy Android. "Did he do all that himself?"
I nod. "Yep."
"Wow. Impressive."
"I know."
Conan sits down in the sand. "Being a leader is hard."
"I bet."
He gently punches my shoulder. "Hush, you. You don't have to deal with a bunch of Mermandroids that have no idea what they're doing. Like, seriously, these guys are incredibly dense. Gavin and I have been teaching them everything, cause they know nothing."
     "Yeah? Well, you're not the dad to the biggest kid in the world."
     Conan tilts his head to the side before looking back at Corvin.
     Corvin is wedged halfway inside his castle. How the structure is managing to hold itself in place is beyond me, but it is.
     "Oh. I see." He looks back to us. "You adopted him?"
     "Will adopt him," I correct him. "Corvin's actually grown on me. He's a little scatterbrained, and kind of spontaneous, but he's good. He has good intentions." I look up at Hank. "Remember when he tried to bake you a cake for your birthday last week, and he almost burnt the house down?"
     Hank bursts into laughter. "Yeah! I remember that! But, why did the cake actually taste good?"
     It's my turn to laugh. "Your guess is as good as mine."
     Behind them, I recognize Caz and Conrad as they, too, surface. I haven't seen much of them. I heard that they were alright, but I haven't seen them.
     Corvin takes notice of them and stands up. He runs at them and hugs them both. "Hey, guys!"
     Caz looks surprised, but immediately turns and hugs him back.
     Conrad awkwardly shuffles himself out of the hug.
     "Come look at my sandcastle!" Corvin excitedly leads Caz away by the hand.
     Conrad stands there, staring at them. I feel bad for him. He still can't speak. He hugs himself and swallows sorrowfully.
     Corvin takes notice of him and grins. "Hey, Conrad! Come and play with us!"
     He hesitates before a small smile plays across his lips. He runs over to the other two and joins them.
     I cuddle into Hank. It's so peaceful.
     Conan and Gavin sit down next to us. It's been a long day. Gavin rests his head on Conan's shoulder.
     After a little while, the three man-children get tired and join us. They all bunch up together next to Hank and I, and it's good.
     As I stare out at the sunset, all I can think of is how good my life is, and how whole I feel. I rest my head on Hank's shoulder and close my eyes. As sleep comes to claim me, all I'm aware of are the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore, Corvin and Caz murmuring to each other, and Hank's steady heartbeat soothing me to sleep.