warning for vaguely described character death and equally vaguely described past abuse

I... um... I don't know. But I like how it turned out anyway. Inspiration came directly from the songs— one of those "Whoa... Muse, what even? What the hell? I mean... Wait. I might like this..." moments. I hope any readers enjoy as well! ;^;

Fall Into the Sea (966 words)

The ocean would be the death of them both— they both knew it.

But perhaps that wasn't so terribly bad.

Undercurrent and scales glimmered in the light of the setting sun as the merman approached the shore, his blue eyes fixed on the figure seated at it's edge. The young man's toes just barely brushed the water, legs dangling from the rock he was sitting on. There was a strangely peaceful expression on his face, and the merman couldn't help but be drawn in by it.

The human looked down at the slight disturbance in the water, but seemed unbothered by the appearance of the creature just below him. Instead of questioning it, he smiled— a warm, kind smile.

"Hello there."

"Hello," the merman replied, pulling himself partially out of the water. The boy had soot smeared across his face, and there was dried blood caked around one of his brilliant green eyes.

"I'm Makoto," the human said, his eyes slanting in a friendly way. He offered his hand, and the merman accepted it. It was roughened far more than suited a boy of his age, and his nails were chewed down to their beds. The merman took it in both of his own, stroking it and memorizing each line.

"Haruka," he introduced himself in turn, tail tossing up shimmering droplets as it flicked back and forth. Makoto's smile grew warmer, if such a thing were possible.

"Haru. Nice to meet you."

The merman thought that perhaps they had met once or twice before, but he didn't say so. Instead he pulled himself the rest of the way out of the water, sitting beside the human; his tail hung down past the human's scrawny ankles and into the water, moving back and forth with a steady swish, swish.

"Are you alright?"

"Mm-hmm..." Makoto replied, closing his eyes briefly and then tilting his head up, gazing at the twilit sky. "I am, I am now."

Haruka nodded. "Good."

The human looked back down at the water, then away towards the horizon. "Were you lonely?"

"Yes," the merman answered, without hesitation.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

"I made you wait."

"It doesn't matter."

Makoto let himself fall, then, into the water with a soft splash. Haru, the ghost of a smile coming to his face, followed. The two of them reunited beneath the surface, and Haru reached out to rub gently at the soot being washed from the human's face.

"Our home should be under the sea this time," he said softly, and Makoto chuckled.

"Maybe."

The merman took both of his companion's hands, then, and swam strongly out toward the open ocean. Makoto let himself be pulled along, leaving behind a trail of coppery blood that only lingered for a heartbeat or two before dissipating in the water.

"Faster..." Haru breathed, then gave a sudden push with his powerful tail. Makoto laughed again at his urgency; pulled himself up to Haru's own level as they swam and wrapped his arms around the merman. Haru fell still for an instant and they stalled; drifted, progressively slower, further out to sea and down into the unyielding depths.

"Slower..." Makoto whispered, an honest smile on his face. "There's no rush."

Haru returned his embrace, then, and corrected their course; brought them up to the surface where they emerged, Makoto shaking his head to scatter water from his chestnut hair.

The shore was some distance away, and they both turned unconsciously toward it. Sitting at the top of a ridge— a spot blessed with a beautiful view of the sea —sat the smoldering remains of a house. Makoto was surprisingly unfazed, even as he gazed back at it.

"It's a pity I set fire to it sooner," he murmured, and Haru nuzzled the side of his head.

"You had to get your siblings to safety. I understand that."

"Thanks, Haru."

"I'm glad they burned with you, though," the merman continued, tracing the scars the pockmarked the human's beautiful back. "They deserved much worse. To call themselves parents..."

"It's okay," Makoto replied softly, smiling a strangely forgiving smile.

"It's not."

The human laughed slightly. "Maybe not. But it's okay now."

And the merman sighed. "Yeah, it is."

"How did you die this time?"

"Drowned." He didn't give details.

"Ah. Figures."

"It's a very pleasant way to go, really," Haru said conversationally, then pulled Makoto onto his stomach and began to float along on his back, forcibly breaking the other's gaze away from the remains of the house. "And now you're here."

"I've missed you, Haru."

"Yeah. I love you, Makoto."

"I love you too."

They kissed, then; a long, passionate kiss that tasted of salt and spoke of lonely lifetimes spent without the company of the other.

"We should build a home beneath the sea this time."

"Haru! If we do that, we won't be able to keep a nice garden."

"Seaweed."

"Haru..." Despite his reprimanding tone, the human leaned forward; nuzzled the merman affectionately. "You should take on a human form. Then we can find ourselves a nice island and build a beach house."

"You should take on a form like mine," Haru replied stubbornly, making a small splash with his tail. "Then we can live beneath the water. Just us."

Makoto smiled then, closing his eyes and beginning to laugh softly. There was something strangely freeing about it— the simple knowledge that they had the time to argue, and the time to be with each other after they reached the inevitable compromise.

"I love you, Haru."

"Mmm..." the merman murmured, then let them sink beneath the waves and pulled the human up for a lazy kiss. Makoto obliged him as they drifted deeper and deeper into the water, leaving the world of the living behind along with the world of air.