He Came from the Ocean (Coffee-Tastic and Yukio Takamiya)

[Coffee-Tastic]

Coming in and seeing Mar there with his drawing, he took off the napkin from his head, which stopped bleeding, and came towards him, "Wonderful. You weren't alone for too long," there was some excitement in his eyes, but it was the emotional kind of excitement and not the primal version of it like it was this morning, "I met another merman today. He was very nice. He invited us to his home." Being of the same species, Nett felt like he could really trust him... However, it was him and his initial loneliness that desired having another friend. Grey would never be as dear to him as Mar, but he still felt like he could look up to the blond merman. He must have been a lot more experienced to be able to own and drive a car.

 

"He said he'd make dinner for us. That he would be here by 7... No. 8." He sat down at the table and folded his arms down, putting his head on them, "8 is when he'd come in his car. Can we go? I'd like to go." He looked up at Mar to see how he'd react to hearing about this. Mar didn't trust the man who was going to give him a job. Would he trust Grey? He could come with him, so it wouldn't be bad, won't it?

[Yukio Takamiya]

"What happened to your head?" Mar immediately got up when he saw the bloodied napkin. He walked towards Nett and grabbed his head, tilting it so that the wound was facing him. "How did you get this? Did someone hurt you? The city is dangerous especially when its dark."

 

"What was he doing out so early in the morning?" Mar asked suspiciously while pulling Nett to the table to sit down. He went to the closet in the room to grab the first aid kit and came back. Swiping the wound with alcohol wipes, he covered it with a larger plaster. Now they both had wounds, how matching. "I guess we better prepare to welcome him then," Mar said while smiling and returned the kit to the closet.

[Coffee-Tastic]

He never thought about what Greyson was doing outside this early... There wasn't many people out there at all, yet he was. Nett wasn't thinking that much after he fell and hit his head. "Yes, indeed," he touched his head, "I tripped and fell on the ground again, but my head hit the ground too. He noticed me and he gave me the napkin. Nobody hurt me besides myself... He was nice. Greyson is his name." Greyson was way more of a formal and strong name. Nett was only called Nett because it was a word he learned. The thought of that made him further look at the blond as a mature guy. He could only wonder how old he was. Eighty? He had a smooth face, but his eyes gave off the feeling of living experience.

 

"I want to ask him how he was able be successful living with humans. So I can learn how to do that... It can help me get a job and earn money like Mar." Nett got up from his seat, remembering what he was going to do for Mar. The human was awake, but that didn't mean he couldn't still try to make him breakfast, right? He took fish out of the fridge and stared at it. All those times I watched Mar in the kitchen, I've never actually learned on how to do this. "... How long does fish go in the 'micron-wave' again?"

[Yukio Takamiya]

"He seems like a nice guy," Mar mused. Another merman...could it be the multi-eye coloured guy? Most probably, the guy had a pleasant smile which would most probably make Nett feel at ease since they were of the same species. But all the same, Mar didn't wish for Nett to get to close to the latter and drift away from him.

 

"You're going to cook?" Mar asked with a smile, guess was really trying to adapt. But he'd rather Nett didn't know anything so that he could take care of him. But a Nett who doesn't know anything would also call for unnecessary dangers. "Set it to five minutes for defrosting," he said and walked to the pantry. "After that, let me do the frying. You'll get hurt if you do something wrong. Just watch what I do this time."

[Coffee-Tastic]

Putting the fish onto a ceramic plate, Nett put them in the microwave and stared at the buttons. I can't read them... Nett looked back at Mar with big eyes and turned to the device again, closing the door or it and hitting a random button that hopefully meant five minutes. He pressed the auto 30 second timer though. There was a lot more that went into cooking than he originally thought. He'd have to learn how to use a microwave and how to fry fish. He watched the glowing numbers change as the time ran down for a second before turning around and putting his back on the counter, speaking honestly and mindlessly again, "I watch you a lot. You're pleasing to watch, you know."

 

He liked watching Mar do all kinds of things. It was comforting to know that his human guardian knew how to do a lot of things and could help him in any way... But it was disappointing to not be allowed to watch him shower. He didn't know why he was so embarrassed still... "But yes, I'll try to focus on your frying this time. Promise." If he was going to be able to make fish for him, he'd have to pay attention. It still might prove to be difficult if he was going to be in the kitchen with him this time. Nett always saw him back when he cooked, so he'd want to see his face as well.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar blinked when Nett pressed the wrong button, he forgot that the merman couldn't read. Stifling his laughter, he listened to Nett speak while waiting for the 30 seconds to be up. "I know. I am aware that you have always watched me," he replied. The 30 seconds ended and Mar went ahead to press the correct button. "Learn well, I'd be very happy if Nett could cook for me in future." He bent down to watch the fish.

 

Five minutes later, Mar removed the fish from the microwave and set it aside. Pouring a cap full of oil into the frying pan, he lit the stove and let the pan heat up moving it a little so that the oil spread out. When the oil started sizzling, he took a pair of chopsticks and picked the fish up by its tail, swinging it a little so that most of the melted ice (water) shook off. It would be disastrous if water entered the pan. As he did this, Mar explained the different actions and dangers to take note of to Nett. Placing the fish into the pan, Mar waited for 30 seconds before flipping it. He did this to the other side and flipped the fish continuously lessening the time each time.

 

"Your fish is ready once it turns a nice brown and gets crispy," Mar explained and took in a deep breath. "Doesn't it smell nice?"

[Coffee-Tastic]

The once savory and mouthwatering smell the fish gave off no longer satisfied his senses anymore, but Nett didn't want to be rube, so he nodded, "Yes. It smells like cooked fish. Which it most definitely should smell like." He wouldn't be making any fish for himself, it would all be for Mar. It felt empowering almost to be able to learn this. It was a step in becoming more useful around the house and not being a lazy potato merman on the bed or laying his head down on the table. He couldn't expect himself only to be making fish for the rest of his life, Nett wanted to expand his skills. It started with at least being able to read numbers, but he wanted to end with knowing how to make food on his own. Like... a crepe!

 

"Mar. When will you be able to teach me how to read your language?" Even putting food to the side, it'd be important. What if he wanted to use the internet? Nett couldn't even read the signs of the girl's and the boy's bathrooms in public places without Mar's help. And people laughed at him when he tried to get a job too. He told them he couldn't read their language because he hasn't adapted to this lifestyle yet. That was true. Those people who laughed thought he was joking, because who says something like that? Nobody did.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar smiled when Nett agreed that the fish smelled nice. But something about the way he spoke told Mar that Nett didn't really agree with his own words. The way he spoke about fish was different from the past, like as if fish didn't satisfy him anymore. But it was probably just himself getting overly paranoid because Nett didn't seem himself lately. Mar shrugged of the unnecessary concerns and brought his attention back to Nett.

 

"When do you want to start learning? I don't mind teaching you," he said while placing the fish on a plate. He placed the fish on the table and went to the fridge,"do you want hotdogs? We still have plenty." If Nett had gotten bored of fish, hotdogs should still satisfy him. After all Nett hadn't eaten it his whole life. But this uneasiness, Mar didn't understand. Something about Nett was making him feel really uneasy and he didn't like it.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Nett claimed the seat he was in previously, putting his arms out with his head down again. The smell of hotdogs weren't too bad compared to the fish, however, the smell went in his nose and he could swear it smelled a more sour as opposed to not being sour at all. For that reason, he shook his head with a self-activated yawn to make it seem like he wasn't too interested in eating at all, "No Mar, I'm fine. I think that I'll wait until its dinner time to eat. I want to keep space inside of me. Grey said it would taste very, very good." He then stretched his arms out over the table and put his chin down, "Just sit with me."

 

This made it the next meal he had skipped. Yesterday morning, the pork that didnt count as being eaten since it came back up, and now this. It also was unsettling to him how no smells of food seemed delicious and Mar's smell was starting to be less calming emotionally and more delectable. He never found humans to look tasty and he wasn't thinking that now either. Its just that the blood that he tasted reminded him of the warm blood that filled his mouth when eating a nice, fat fish.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar frowned,"you should eat Nett, especially since you puked everything up yesterday." It was still morning and Nett wanted to wait till dinner to eat, that wasn't acceptable. "If there's anything wrong with your diet, tell me." At this point, Mar actually wanted this Greyson person to come earlier. If thay man was a merman, he should surely know what was wrong with Nett. If he had something that would taste delicious to Nett and make him eat, he'd better come fast.

 

Mar just hoped that it was all a part of adapting to land, but what was this uneasiness. Something bad was going to happen, he could feel it in his belly. No this was different from finding his family, it had something to do with Nett. Mar cast another worried glance at Nett and began to slowly eat his fish. Whatever was going to happen, he hoped it ended soon because he knew it was going to be something very bad and it was coming soon.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"I'll make sure to eat a lot at dinner. If he's like me, he'll have something tasty... if not, then I must actually be sick... But I only get sick if I'm wet and cold. And I'm not wet and cold so..." Nett trailed off afer getting another worried look from Mar. He loved how much he cared about him, but for once, he hoped he'd stop because he didn't know how to fix himself either, "I'll be fine, Mar." He managed a very small smile before his arms came back and covered the bottom half of his face. Only his eyes gave Mar attention now, not blinking and not looking away either.

 

Watching Mar was legitimately something that he could do all day. The boy was so lively and capable, it was like watching a boring, yet satisfying movie that only a dull merman would be able to watch nonstop. His snowy blue eyes only had the black pupil get slightly bigger only because he was quickly focusing hard on watching his caretaker eat. He had work today right? So maybe he will actually be allowed to watch him do something new for once. He'd love to see how a computer worked. He wanted to be extra close to Mar to see and to be able to smell his-

 

Nett closed his eyes, yawning to have an excuse to close his eyes and keep them shut, "I might sleep more. My head still hurts a little from nearly cracking open my head on the concrete."

[Yukio Takamiya]

Nett said that he was fine but Mar knew that he wasn't, he didn't push it anyway not wanting Nett to feel uncomfortable. "You didn't crack open your head Nett. Don't say such disturbing stuff." He finished the fisb,"yes, perhaps you should rest. Tell me if you feel dizzy or unwell anywhere alright?" He said and placed the plate in the sink.

 

Mar pulled out his laptop and set about figuring out how to create an online shopping website. It took him a while but he managed eventually. He worked all afternoon stopping only to take a drink, going to the toilet and making sure that Nett did nothing weird in his sleep.

 

It was around half past seven when the doorbell rang. Mar hurried into the room to wake Nett up. "Nett, it seems like your friend is here." After that, he opened the door and gave Greyson a warm smile. "Thank you for coming here tonight, Nett told me that you helped him earlier."

[Coffee-Tastic]

Nett didn't sit by Mar like he wanted to at all. In bed, he did sleep a lot, but only because every time he woke up, his stomach stabbed him, furious that it hadn't gotten anything it wanted. He didn't want to act weird or do anything to make the boy uncomfortable, so he just laid there... It wasn't a good feeling. He couldn't get a job and he wasn't well. How much more useless could he get? His only hope of any kind of progress was from Greyson.

 

When the blond came, Nett's eyes opened up fast with a fresh case of bed head and he got out of bed to follow Mar to the door.

 

"Yes, that's right!" Greyson smiled and looked at Nett, "You feeling better, there? Rest okay?" Nett's expression didn't change, but he lifted up two thumbs up. "That's good, that's good... I'm surprised that you're this young, Mar. The way he talked about you, it made you seem a lot older. It's a pleasure to let you relax and have a nice meal. You both are ready?"

 

Nett kept his hands up, "Yes, Grey." He was quite eager on the inside. He was so curious to know what Greyson had made for them exactly... His stomach was really angry with him. Anything might keep it from hurting more in fact, even if it was fish or hot dogs. He was really glad that it wasn't probably going to be hot dogs or fish though. He was so hungry. Starving... He wanted to eat now~

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar watched as Greyson took out boxes of food and placed them on the table. He opened one and thought that they looked pretty normal but Nett seemed to be excited at the prospect of eating delicious food. He went to the pantry to get some utensils and returned to the table.

 

"This one is yours Mar," Greyson said and handed him a box. They all looked the same, Mar didn't understand why he had one designated to him. Or was this Greyson person particular about hygiene? However, Mar couldn"t understand the pounding of his heart. This was just a meal with Nett's friend, why was he so afraid? He picked up one of the meat and placed it in his mouth. Mar frowned, it didn't taste as spectacular as Greyson said it would be.

 

"What meat is this?"he asked.

 

"Boar meat," Greyson replied smilingly. Boar? Wasn't that just tougher pork? Mar wasn't sure if Nett would get sick again. But if mermans could eat boar, he guess that there was a difference after all. Mar pushed the uneasiness to the back of his mind and tried to focus on the meal.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"What's a boar?" Nett asked, picking up his fork, staring at the food on his plate, "Is it an animal you get from the store?" The smell wasn't like anything he recognized so far, so it must have been special? He wasn't sure, but it smelled delicious. The excitement was starting to come back when the hunger pains started hurting him again, urging him to take his own utensil and eat.

 

Grey shook his head, "Its a kind of wild pig. Like pork but different. Tougher because boars hve more muscle. You'll like it, go ahead and enjoy it, my new friend." He was quite excited himself to watch another merman eat what they were designed to for the first time. Nett said he always ate fish, but was he really going to try eating fish all of his life? It didn't give the body as much strength and nutrition as it should. It was no wonder why Nett kept losing balance and falling down all the time. Greyson kept his eyes on the younger merman, his eyes on him while taking a seat at the table.

 

Nett's heart was pounding as well, his eyes getting dolly again while he chewed, looking like he was holding back from scarfing as much as he could rudely. Because he was. With a guest, he had to keep his manners... "Mnngh..." He grunted my accident, the flavor making him shake.

 

"I knew he'd enjoy it," Greyson chuckled, "Mar do you like yours? I sort of made yours differently. There are some certain spices and things I added to Nett's, me being like him. I know what tastes really good, haha!"

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar let out a hesitant smile and glanced at Nett. Did it really taste that good? Mar knew what spices could do but they wouldn't be enough to trigger such a reaction from Nett. Nett who hadn't really gotten used to eating human food like crepe. Nett who said that fish beat anything had gotten tired of fish and was enjoying boar so much? The uneasiness that he spent so much effort to push back came back twofold. Mar was afraid he realised. There was definitely something wrong, his intuition had never failed him before.

 

Mar gulped and looked back at a smiling Greyson whose smile seemed creepy all of a sudden. They were both excited, Mar could see their eyes changing. What was it about this meat? Or was it more different than how Greyson described? He knew that the tastebuds of mermans and humans were different but he didn't expect them to get excited over boar. Mar had lost his appetite, he placed down his utensils and looked at Nett who was completely absorbed his meal.

 

Finally Mar couldn't take it. He had to know what was different about his boar and the merman's. Mar picked up his utensils again and took one from Nett.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Nett was too focused on what he currently had, only glancing at Mar taking a cut of his boar, then going back to finally eating. Having not had anything for such a long time made it so good to finally ingest something that made his stomach stop hurting him. The mouth watering craving he had for the longest time was getting exactly what it wanted.

 

"Hm." Greyson purred and shifted his gaze to Mar, "A bit too curious aren't you? Well, Mar. Let me suggest something you might thank me for. Don't eat that." Smiling, he put a piece of his meal in his mouth with some smugness. He didn't think that feeding Nett what his body needed was a bad thing. Yet Mar looked so suspicious and paranoid. It was cute. "I made your dish for yourself. Nett's is for Nett."

 

No words that Greyson said connected in the younger merman's head, completely hypnotized. He kept using his manners, but he was getting a bit sloppy, especially when pulling his food away from Mar so he wouldn't try stealing his food again. Boar was the best thing in the whole world, easily topping his relation with fish previously, even when he liked it.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar glared at Greyson. He took his advise and slammed the fork with the meat on the table. Being so clueless made him angry. Nett didn't kniw a thing but Greyson definitely did. "Then you better hurry up and tell me what this is!" He snapped. "And don't go telling me its boar I know it isn't! I understand that whatever you're feeding Nett is necessary for his diet but I don't like not knowing what it is." Mar was breathing heavily by now. He had lost his cool for the first time nevermind what Nett thought about him.

 

He glared at the food, scrutinizing it and trying to find the difference between Nett's and his. Could whatever Nett was eating be poisonous to humans? But Nett and himself had always been eating the same things. Greyson advised him not to eat it for his own good, what could it be. For some reason at this moment, a story that the old man once told him came back to him. It was about a man who cooked a plate of chicken rice and gave some to his cat who shared it with her snake friend. The snake then shared it with her friend the monkey who then gave it to a chicken. But the chicken looked at it suspiciously and asked what it was. When told, she squawked loudly and fled.

 

"It can't be human flesh could it?" Mar asked suspiciously hoping so hard that it wasn't. Yet it was the only possible reason he could think of if he couldn't eat it.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"I wouldn't say human flesh because it's more meat than the actual skin," he said perfectly honest. He was only trying to make it less disturbing to Mar by calling it boar, but he persisted too much and now he got what he wanted. Curiosity killed the cat... Greyson wasn't going to kill the 'cat' in this instance, but it would have been a great pun to use if he was. "But it is. You're right... If he's going to be on land, he'll need it every so often. You think that a merman can live on land just like that? He got those two legs because he spent too long on land, isn't that right..." He spoke down on Mar, only doing so because he wanted to see how he'd react, "You don't know much about us and apparently neither does Nett, the poor thing. He told me how he never was around his kind, only around himself and the fish most his life. Sad."

 

He looked at Nett, who was quickly finishing up what was on his plate. Greyson didn't think that what he had would be enough, so he shrugged and passed his plate towards him. Nett looked at the blond, pausing and taking the plate before going to finish his first one.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Now he knew why his intuition screamed the word bad at him. Mar ran a hand through his hair and let out a small laugh. How did he not expect it at first? Nett had legs because he came to land. He ate fish, the main creature in the ocean. Why wouldn't he eat humans, the main leading species on land? He turned to look at Nett who had accepted the second portion of meat, did none of this matter to him? Did all Nett want to do was eat?

 

"Excuse me for a while. I forgot to get something, the store might close soon,"he got up shakily and headed towards the door. "Nett, tend to the guest for me alright?" He exited the apartment and ran off. Mar needed time to clear his thoughts and think properly. Who had gotten killed to feed the mermans? How many mermans were there on land? Mar just kept running without rest. He didn't know where he was going, he only thought of Nett. Before he knew it, the tears came, it was the first time he cried. It was so so disturbing to know that Nett had to eat humans. If he had known better, Mar would never have brought Nett to the city because it absolutely hurt to know that he couldn't look at Nett the same way anymore.

 

'Bang!' He bumped into someone. "What the hell? What's with bumping into people these few days?" The man cursed and looked at Mat before his eyes widened. He grabbed Mar by the arms,"Leo! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Mar didn't look at the crimson eyed man, his tears were blocking his vision. "Leo, what happened? Did someone hurt you?" Mar heard no more, worries of the past few days finally took its toll and he blacked out.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Nett still hadn't been paying attention, his hunger feeding into his new instinct for this new food. When he finished his first plate and went onto the second, Mar got up and he left, the sound of the door closing making him blink out of it, chewing the boar and looking at Greyson, "..." He looked at the door and then again at the older male, "I'm sorry, what happened? Where did Mar go?" He asked, the image of the boys distressed face in his mind. Maybe he was too engrossed in food. He just hasn't eaten anything in such a long time and the way he craved food was worse than when it was in the ocean.

 

"He just said he was going to the store before it closed. He'll be back soon." Even he knew that Mar wasn't going to come back for some time, "You weren't listen to anything we were saying huh?" Net licked his lips and shook his head, his eyes going back to normal with his stomach quieting. Grey chuckled and leaned to his, putting his hand on his head and ruffling his black hair, "You're so cute, Nett. Usually were so hungry, you weren't even listening! Mar wanted to know what you were eating, that's all."

 

"But you already told us what you gave us. A wild pig. 'Bear' right?" He closed one of his eyes with his head being rubbed.

 

Greyson nodded, "Its not a bear, it's called a boar... But Yes, I did tell you that."

 

Nett stared at him, not understanding what he was supposed to be getting.

 

"I told you that so you'd eat it. It's human meat, Nett. You're eating a human." He said, taking his hand back and folding them on the table in front of him.

 

Nett kept staring at him and there was a very long period of silence of mutual eye contact. A human? It was so strange to think that he was served a person. Nett never thought he'd eat a person. There never was a reason, nor a desire to do so... Until coming on land though... So that was why the fish weren't as tasty to him anymore. That's why he bit Mar when he wasn't aware of himself... Ok. So what does that mean? Having to eat humans wasn't just something he can blink on and then neglect. Nett looked down and actually gulped. Did it mean he couldn't be with Mar anymore? "Um..." He was really speechless now and even his 'um' was said in a shaky voice, not monotonous.

 

Greyson cleared his throat and started to speak to Nett in their non-human language, "You can't live on land unless you eat at least this amount every few weeks. You know what happened when you didn't. I saw the bandage on Mars shoulder. You bit him didn't you? What if you just happened to wait longer? I don't think you'd like to wake up in his blood."

 

"N-No." He responded back in their language too, "But It'll be okay because if you give me some before I start wanting it, I won't hurt Mar... Just like this. You said this was enough. It'll be fine."

 

No wonder Mar left. He was scared of him and scared of how much he loved eating it. He couldn't imagine how that was like at all. Your inhuman friend getting familiar with the taste of blood and human flesh, and liking it? If Nett was in that situation, he wouldn't feel very comfortable sleeping next to him... Could they not sleep together anymore? Nett was barely ashamed in comparison to how scared he was of the thought of not having he same relationship with Mar as before. Nett lowered his head, closing his eyes to hold back any tears.

 

"It will be. As long as I feel like giving you what you need," Grey grinned, "I don't have to give it to you if I don't feel like it." Nett's eyes opened up wide and he looked at Grey again. "Unless you feel like getting your hands dirty yourself. Do you think you'd be able to kill someone after becoming so attached?"

 

Nett shook his head and got up, "G-Greyson. I need it. I can't do that." Greyson was so nice and kind, but what was he doing?! "Please."

 

"Of course I'd give it to you, I have no problems getting the material... But will you do anything I tell you to in order to reassure you get what your body needs?"

 

"... Yes." He frowned, feeling his heart squeeze inside of his chest, "What do you want, Greyson?"

 

The man smiled wider and sighed peacefully, glad to have made this gone very well. "It's more of what my friend wants, not me. You met him already actually... Don't worry, I'll introduce you on better terms another time. You should finish that," he pointed at the rest of the boar that wasn't actually boar, "It'll save you more time... I'll be back, little minnow." Getting up too, Greyson came closer to Nett and left a kiss on his cheek, making the dark haired merman flinch and feel colder instantly. He didn't watch him, but he heard his footsteps go to the door and then leave,

 

Leaving Nett there to wipe his face and wait for Mar to come back.

[Yukio Takamiya]

It was midnight when Mar finally regained consciousness. He opened his eyes to find a familiar pair of crimson orbs staring worriedly at him. He blinked a few times to register who this person was. Ah...yes, the grumpy highschooler that he bump into. Mar sat up quickly, didn't this person want to sue him no matter what?

"Easy Leo, the doctor said that you were tired," the man spoke. Leo? Who is Leo? Mar couldn't get himself to speak. He glanced at the clock on the wall. One in the morning. Nett would probably be wondering where he was by now.

 

"Where is this?" He asked noticing the room for the first time now. It was richly decorated and practically screamed high class. An older man with the same crimson eyes as the guy came forward. His eyes held pain and the same emotion he saw in Nett's whenever he looked at Mar.

 

He took Mar's hands and sat on the bed,"after so long Leo, we've finally found you." Then he turned to the other man,"I'm sorry for doubting you Liam, it really is him, I could never be mistaken." Mar was confused, why were these people calling him Leo? And he really needed to get back to Nett. A woman with mauve coloured eyes ran forward forward with twars in her eyes and pulled him into an embrace. Finally Mar had enough of the confusion, he pushed her away.

 

"Who are you people?" He exclaimed. "Calling me Leo. I think you've gotten the wrong person."

 

"No, we are not wrong. Eight years ago, we lost you at sea. Don't you remember? We were having a vacation and there was a storm. We definitely recognise you Leo." The woman was the one who spoke. Something flashed in Mar's mind. A memory of him playing with a younger version of her. Then another of him running with a younger version of the highschooler and one of him sitting in the older man's lap. His head hurt.

 

"I don't remember anything. Nett is waiting for me, I should go. Thank you for taking care of me." He left the bed and bowed before leaving.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Within the first hour, Nett did what was suggested of him, finishing the food that he was offered as a second round. He wasn't hungry though, the pit of his stomach sinking from stress and not hunger for once. When it was all done, he looked around the table and looked at Mars seat. Nett wasn't sure of what he'd do about what he and Greyson talked about. If he'd tell Mar, he'd be more stressed over him and that's not what he wanted at all. He already found out that he needed to consume human beings in order to survive and function properly on land, he wouldn't like to also hear that Nett had to give up himself to Grey and a man he didn't know in order to get the food he needed to stay with him.

 

One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to let anyone kiss him again. That was his promise. If he was going to do anything, it would be that for Mar's sake... Nett didn't want to be apart of this at all. What was so wrong with wanting to be happy with Mar? He wronged nobody in order to have things happen this way. His simple conclusion was that Mar was right, not everybody is as nice as him, not even a fellow merman could help using something helpless and unaware. It made him very, very angry, taking all of the boxes of food and pushing them out of the open window just so he didn't have to smell food or Greyson anymore. He wanted Mar now. But with more time passing, it soon seemed like that wasn't going to be the case.

 

The store is where Grey said Mar went to, and spending so much time by himself, he did in fact remember Mar saying that, but he was nowhere. Nett had no idea what time it was, only being able to watch the wall clock's arms slow at a snails pace. He understood that he must be afraid, or upset even, but did he have to be away for this long? Mar didn't go to the store, that was obvious, but he didn't care where he was as long as he came back.

 

His eyes were getting tired and he was starting to dose off sitting in the same chair he was at before. With his head lowered down, his eyes were closing and his head fell even lower to the point of his forehead touching the table... In the uncomfortable position, he must have only slept about ten minutes before his head lifted back up and Nett's on self picked him up, going to the bed he and Mar shared together. The merman slipped under the blankets and put his face on the pillow, wanting the comfort of his smell, this time, smelling the boys pureness and comfort instead of blood and food. He had horrible news, but after a long time without his true smell, Nett felt better, hugging the pillow in his arms and going to sleep again with his eyes wetting the pillowcase. Here, he went into deep, deep sleep.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar ran as fast as he could back to the apartment, without any change on him, he couldn't hail a cab. How long had Nett been waiting? Mar reached the block and ran past the clutter of boxes and human meat. He clambered up the stairs of the block and fumbled with his keys before unlocking the door. The lights were on but Mar couldn't see Nett. He entered the room to find Nett lying face down on the mattress.

 

Mar's heart clenched at the sight. He was hesitant to take another step forward but moved anyway. Kneeling beside Nett, he placed a palm on his head. "Nett, I'm back. Sorry for leaving like that."

[Coffee-Tastic]

Heavy realizations, scary questions and bad thoughts, Nett's sleep wasn't peaceful at all. He dreamed that when Mar came back, he dragged him to the window and kept shoving him, wanting him to leave his house. He begged Mar to keep him, not just because if he fell, he'd die, but because he didn't want to leave his side. His friend, growled and him with one last shove and pushed Nett out, falling down to his dea- water...? Nett fell into the ocean and came back up, the streets and city completely gone. He resurfaced at the island, seeing Mar at the shore of where he was allowed to leave from. The red eyes of the boy looked at him as if he betrayed him some how. He got too difficult to care for.

 

Nett tried to stand up, but his legs turned into a tail in the blink of an eyes. The merman called out to him and tried to make his way to him with just his arms, but by the time he managed to get half of his body out of the water, Mar turned and left. He couldn't make money for his island again with such a burden on him, the fear of possibly ending up as prey or having to deal with Nett being useless, doing nothing but lay around and eat human meat.

 

He kept begging for him to come back, to come back, to please come back, which was when he felt a hand on his head. Nett awoke quickly and lifted his head even faster, "M..." He looked up at Mar beside him and closed his eyes, "Mar..." He muttered and took his hand, pulling him into bed with him. Nett kept the boy on top of him, hugging him extremely tight, "You finally came back... Don't do that again. Please... " he begged just as pitifully as he had in the nightmare, his monotone, emotional voice now riddled with his worries, "Don't go away. No matter what. We'll be okay together. I don't want to live without you, Mar."