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

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar couldn't contain his shock when Nett suddenly pulled him on top of himself. "Sorry, i got caught up with some things, that's why i couldn't come back earlier. He felt his tears threaten to come out again, he too didn't want to leave without Nett. But at the same time, he couldn't just watch Nett eat his kind and feel okay about it. Mar planted a kiss on Nett's cheek,"okay, but what about you having to eat humans? Will Greyson bring more for you?"

 

Mar rolled off Nett onto the mattress. "Did Greyson say anything else before he left?" He propped his head on his palm, elbow resting on the pillow awaiting Nett's reply.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Nett felt exhausted in a way, it felt like he had only slept for a minute, but it had been way longer than that. He didn't expect to get good sleep with Mar there, so it was no surprise. The merman put his hand on his heart as if trying to stop it from beating so quickly, "Yes... Um. The next time I need to have it, I'm going to go to his house. So it doesn't disturb you... I suggested that. He said it was okay." It wasn't okay to lie. He's never gave a lie like this, but what good would it do for him to know?

 

"It's my choice to do that." He gave more serious look, "Please... respect that. I'd rather do it at Greyson's than doing it where where it makes you afraid, because I don't want you running off for so long again... Mar. Where did you go for so long? I waiting for a long time. I couldn't stay awake."

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar could tell that Nett was hiding something but didn't push it. It was a subject that made him uncomfortable, he understood if Nett wanted to keep it to a minimum. "Alright," he agreed. "I don't really like Greyson but if you need to feed, you can go find him," this part he said hesitantly, after all, what kind of person encourages another to eat his own kind. "But you are to return immediately after that, no staying to chat or anything,"he said firmly.

 

He wondered if he should tell Nett that he met his family. Mar remembered them, but he didn't want to leave Nett, he had no choice but to pretend that he still didn't know them. This was what he dreaded the most, discovering who his family was would separate him from Nett. "I met some people. Apparently I fainted and they called a doctor for me," he replied, choosing not to let Nett know wjo they really were yet. Nett would probably freak out if he suspected that they would ever have to part. "I woke up, thanked them and left, that's all."

[Coffee-Tastic]

With whatever Greyson was planning on using him for, he didn't want to stay in his care for any more time than he needed to. When told to immediently, he nodded with confidence. He hated that man. Why did he have to be so cruel with his own species? They were both mermen, they should have stuck together. Nett wanted advice on how to live in this world, all he got was betrayal and a smile so innocent, it made him want to throw up.

 

"You fainted?" He frowned, feeling to blame for freaking him out... Mar had been very stressed out lately. They recently moved into the city, he was getting a job, Nett was having issues and then that issue just happened to be resolved by consuming human flesh. If Mar hadn't passed out, Nett would have seriously underestimated his strength. Mar was still just a boy, Nett had to remember. "That's nice of them. I'm sorry, Mar." Nett came closer and gave a kiss to his lips, "You won't do that again. I promise." He kissed him again and moved back to lay down, mumbling about the kisses, "And don't worry, I brushed my teeth good."

 

Nett was promising a lot of things to Mar. Him being fine, everything being okay, not making Mar leave the house for any bad reason... But he wasn't sure if he could keep all of them. Making promises was all he could do when he didn't know what the outcome would be.

[Yukio Takamiya]

"That's good,"Mar said with a soft sigh of relieve. When Nett had suddenky kissed his lips, his thoughts had immediately gone back to the image of Nett eating human meat. It was good that Nett was considerate enough to brush his teeth. He pulled Nett as close as possible towards himself and nuzzled his face into the merman's neck. "Hopefully nothing bad happens for a while,"he mumbled.

 

"Were you crying before I got home?" Mar suddenly remembered and asked. "I saw water marks on the pillow when you woke up," he placed a hand on Nett's face with his thumb and forefinger positioned above and below his eye. Mar opened Nett's eye bigger then let go before smiling. "I've never seen Nett cry before, I guess I really am that important huh?"

[Coffee-Tastic]

It was a shame that Mars wish of steady waters wouldn't actually come true. As long as he thought that it was okay, that was enough to keep him from showing too much of his discomfort. Nett smiled feeling Mars nose in his neck, giving his head a pat. His worries seemed to go away once his companion mentioned water marks on the pillowcase. He stayed silent with Mars fingers going to his eye, even when he opened it wider, he just kept looking at him, "Yes..." He closed his eyes, stretching his legs out with a slight pout, "Do you know how important you are?"

 

Nett held up his arms, extending them out as far as he could in his lazy state, "That much. That's a lot... I don't think I can live without Mar. Nothing matters to me besides you. I really do wish for us to be together for a long time." Nett wasn't one to think far ahead into the future, so he didn't even come across the fact that he'd probably outlive Mar by a long shot. And you'd be glad he didn't think about that, or he'd get depressed.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar smiled,"if I am that important to Nett, then Nett is," he paused. Opening both his arms and legs stretching them so wide that it went over Nett,"twice as important than I am to Nett." He retracted his limbs and went back to hugging Nett,"don't worry, we'll definitely be together for a looong time,"he reassured the merman. "We'd better sleep, I still have to work tomorrow."

 

Mar closed his eyes but his mind didn't shut down after having plenty of rest when he had fainted. His thoughts went back to his family and jow they had called him Leo. So that was his real name yet it felt so foreign since he wasn't used to it. Whatever happened, he hoped that they would leave him for a while and let him settle everything back to normal with Nett. He still had to think of a way for Nett to not eat humans in which Nett had to return to the sea. But Mar would go with him, getting the island back was definitely a must now, if not a house by the beach.

[Coffee-Tastic]

He felt lighter hearing what Mar had to say about their level of care, but even when Mar was just playing when he spoke about caring for Nett twice as much as he did to Mar, he did want to protest. The hug he felt next, however, made him ease down that childlike urge to be better, his chest once cold, becoming warmer again, "Yes. Goodnight..." Reassurance was one of his most favorite things Mar did for him. It was as if any words that came out of his mouth had the power to ease something inside of him. Nett was was so very blind to what the boy was going through with his family. What would the merman think of knowing that Mar always had a second option of things didn't go well for them?

 

Close to Mar, taking in his lovely scent on every breath, the merman closed his eyes and went to sleep. He fell under the spell of it far faster than the human, needing to make up for that bad dream and restless sleep. Nett was never afraid of saying how he liked Mar very much. Not once had he been. But Nett also had liked fish very much. He liked sleeping very much. It was starting to feel wrong to just say he liked Mar 'very much' now. Even an uneducated merman like himself knew the next level above that, and it was love, though he wasn't sure on how to say it exactly. Nett didn't know how to bring it up either... Was it appropriate of him to say it? He wished he had an older, more experienced merman to ask for advice from,mount he only other merman he knew turned out to be a total villain... He'd figure it out eventually.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar woke up that morning feeling refreshed. He and Nett were still hugging each other when he opened his eyes. Giving Nett's lips a small peck, he proceeded to wiggle his way out of Nett's hold. He took a shower, brushed his teeth and prepared breakfast before going to his laptop to start work. He decided that he should probably let Nett sleep a while more since he stayed up so late waiting. About half an hour into work, the phone rang and Mar picked it up.

 

"Hello, its Tisha here. Mar I just wanted to let you know that your account is up and you can start withdrawing money from your earnings starting tomorrow," the lady spoke.

 

"Thank you, Tisha," Mar responded.

 

"One more thing, this is important. The manager has requested to meet you seeing how you're new and all. He wants to see your attitude towards work and your work progress. Will you be available next week?" Tisha asked.

 

"I will," Mar replied. He started feeling nervous,"uhm, if I may ask, what kind of person is he?"

 

"The manager? Well, don't be surprised when you see him. The manager is actually the son of the president so he's pretty young. But he's got a bad temper, so be careful of the way you act around him alright?" Bad tempered? That was the worse news she could have brought him. It only made Mar more nervous to know that that person was the president's son, such an important figure. He shuddered and went back to the laptop, determined to progress faster than ever to impress the manager.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Sleep was so much better, as he anticipated. Smooth, relaxing darkness of his head, it was better than having a bad dream. It was preferred in fact. Having good dreams made it suck to wake up... Nett wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon, but the ringing of the phone made him stir in bed, squeezing the non-existing Mar in his arms. He opened his eyes to an empty bed and turned on his back, stretching his legs again covering his eyes with a yawn. He merman felt like brand new, he could only imagine it was because of yesterday, but the good thing was that he didn't have to be worrying Mar today.

 

Nett got out of bed a few lazy minutes later and the first thing he did was go to his dear human. He was quiet, but he let his footsteps be the only noise he made since he didn't want to surprise Mar unpleasantly. With a kiss to his cheek, Nett pressed his nose on his cheek as well before standing up, going to grab a chair and bring it to where Mar sat. He slept through him working yesterday and he wanted to see what he was doing... More than that, he kind of just wanted to be next to him.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar's typing ceased when Nett came to kiss him. He turned to Nett and returned the kiss with his own,"you're awake? I've prepared breakfast, you should eat. Its hotdogs." He turned back to the computer and frowned at the number of orders. It would take quite a bit of time to direct them all to the company. But still, it was a good thing. The more he sold, the more he earned and they would have more money to get a beach house. Mar was fortunate to have found this job, it was easy to make money. "We'll go for a walk after I finish with this alright?" He said and started typing again.

 

A few hours later, Mar closed his laptop and stretched his arms and back. It hurt to stay seated for such a long time, Mar couldn't even feel his butt at the moment. He stood up and went to the pantry to get a drink and washed up the dishes in the sink. After sweeping the floor, Mar grabbed his keys and called to Nett," ready to go?"

[Coffee-Tastic]

Nett was fortunate to be able to eat hot dogs with the same level as pleasure before, it didn't taste like sour meat at all anymore. Why was his body so cruel as to reject the taste of food when it was in need of something so gruesome? He ate all of the hotdogs, enjoying the taste that he missed from the beginning. The food kept him nice and quiet, watching and observing to himself... The screen Mar used was full of text he couldn't read bedsides recognizing that there were numbers in there too. It felt like he'd never be able to learn any of that, but he wouldn't stop from trying once Mar had the chance to teach him. Whenever that time was~

 

Nodding and getting up with a light feeling in his heart, he came straight to him. Nett could sympathize with Mar about his rump in soreness, rubbing his behind. "Can we go to the pet store? We haven't gone by recently. Unless we were going some place Pacific." He pat down some of his hair next to make sure it was all down, just in case, as he corrected himself, "I mean specific. Some place specific?"

[Yukio Takamiya]

"I was thinking of the beach. Don't you miss the smell of the ocean and the way the breeze blows at your hair?" Mar replied as he locked the door behind them. "I guess we don't really need swim wear since we're just taking a walk,"he mumbled. Besides, he wasn't sure if Nett's legs would turn back into a tail once it touched water and in front of so many people. "But we could stop by the pet shop if you want since its on the way," Mar added, they were actually running out of fish food for Cabin.

 

They walked into the shopping area and headed towards the pet shop. "Shouldn't we get a companion for Cabin?" Mar asked thoughtfully when the idea came to him all of a sudden. Cabin seemed lonely and always stared at them all day like as if he were envious that they weren't as bored as him.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Living with Mar was so great, he never even though back to the water at all. A walk on the beach really sounded good... Nett didn't want to go in the water though, maybe his feet if he got the chance, but swimming again wouldn't give him a lot of pleasure. He couldn't imagine swimming being easy with feet, and he might get tired too fast. Maybe he might miss the constant smell of the water, but he had Mar, who smelled good and nobody else would share it with him.

 

"Should we?" He glanced at Mar and looked ahead. The only thing Cabin did all day was suck the glass. Nothing got more dull than that, not even Nett's previous life in the water. "We should... You should pick this time though." He saw the familiar window with small dogs playing around in and completely didn't care about the puppies. They were cute, but he could never stop wondering what they tasted like. The small ones would be easier to chew because their bones were softer and less developed... "And you should name it as well," he said, avoiding eye contact with the pups and going in straight to the fish tanks.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar nodded when Nett said that he should choose the fish. he looked around the aquarium section at the various fishes who had once again started to stare at Nett. Was Nett truly that intimidating to them? He didn't really like fish that much anymore. "How about that one?" He asked pointing to a silver arrowana swimming about elegantly in his tank and changing directions ever so smoothly. Arrowanas are actually carnivorous but are unable to stop moving. Even if they were asleep, they're long bodies were constantly waving about. A stationary Cabin would be safe since the arrowana couldn't stop to eat him. "We could name him Boat then, since I miss sitting in one."

[Coffee-Tastic]

Nett looked at the fish, getting close to Mar, "We'll get a boat after we get the island back... Though. Boat is a funny name." Says the one who called an algae eating fish Cabin, "But it's a nice one. Let's get it. Cabin will be happy to get a new friend." Fish didn't communicate to each other. They didn't make friends either, but if Cabin feels better not being alone, it'll be fine. Cabin didn't seem to have the personality to care if there was a carnivorous fish in with him either. Nett looked at one of the tanks that had only goldfish in it, all their dumb eyes on him. "The attention is nice." He huffed quietly , which was actually a laugh, "... Do you think this place would let me work for them? Since I'm already taking good care of Cabin."

 

Taking care of the fish was just putting some food in the water though. He'd love to feed these tanks and watch all of them go up to the surface nibbling the thin line of water and air in order to eat... But he might try to eat one of them. He was pretty sure that wasn't okay.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar let out a short laugh,"be honoured Nett, you're so popular." He greeted the shop owner and pointed to the arrowana. "I'm not sure but you could ask. Though I won't be able to guarantee that you won't eat them when you get hungry,"he said meaning it to be a joke. Mar took the arrowana from the shop owner and left the shop with Nett.

 

"Now then, shall we head to the beach?" Mar asked walking in the direction of the bus station. The bus came and they boarded, paid the fee and sat down.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Passing by the puppies on their way out, he put the thought of working at a pet shop away. He wouldn't just try to get the fish, but he had his eye on one particular little dog that had a good fat-to-fluff ratio that would be perfect. Except he didn't want to be in the situation where he actually did it. Mar wouldnt be very proud and he'd probably be asked by the manager where the other puppy went. He still wasn't very good sigh people yet...

 

On the bus, Nett gently took Boat's baggy in his own hands to look at it, watching the fish swim around. Leaning back, he leaned on Mar mumbling to just them, "I don't ever want to go to the ocean..." He held up the fish and showed the human how the poor fish swam in a circle. "That was me, you know."

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar smiled sadly at Nett and pulled Nett's head to rest on his shoulder. "How about living by the sea then. Just like how it was back at the island,"he suggested. "We could get a beach house even if we can't afford the island." He took the bag from Nett and brought it close to his face staring at Boat. "There's actually no such thing as freedom you know, even as humans," Mar couldn't help but comment. "Even humans are stuck in an endless cycle everyday called life."

 

Mar placed the bag on his lap and looked out of the window to see where they were. "One more stop and we'll be there,"he announced. He pressed the bell for the next station and got down when they arrived. The breeze was stronger here and Mar took a deep breath and smiled. Its been so long since he felt the sea breeze, how refreshing.

[Coffee-Tastic]

A beach house? That wouldn't be that bad... Nett really liked the island though. There was no other people there and the water was warm around it. Nett wouldn't be going in the water in the hopes of getting a tail again though, he felt like dipping his feet in the water wouldn't cause any problems though since he wasn't going to be in there for hours. If he ever got his tail again, he might swim for a bit, but then he'd keep himself on land so he could get two bottom limbs again instead of one. Mar was wrong about humans being stuck. In the ocean,the only things creatures did were swim, survive, reproduce and stay away from people. Nett was supposed to be under that cycle too until he found Mar. His goal was happiness now. And he was positive that other humans had the same goal in mind.

 

Beside Mar, he watched him take a deep breath and then looked out at the sea. He hadn't been near the salt water in a while, but unlike Mar, he didn't miss it too much. On land, he could clearly see how dull the flat water looked. Empty and vast was exactly how to describe it. There were some sails on the water and people having fun in the sand or up to their knees in the water. If anything, he felt afraid of how tempting this would have been for him if he didn't eat the meat last night. A fear like this only made it harder to see himself being free from Greyson's hands. "..." Netts thoughts were interrupted by a couple passing by, holding hands and being lovey. No, he wouldn't start kissing Mar's face like they were, nor would he whisper thing in his ear that would make the boy giggle in a way that girl way, but he looked down at his friend's hand and took it into his own, "...Lets go, Mar."

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar looked out towards the sea. It didn't look very beautiful or anything but it still defeated the city in many ways. Nett said that he didn't want to go back to the ocean, he didn't miss it but Mar did. Mar wanted to catch fish on his own with a net again. He wanted to take walks on the shore at night which wasn't allowed on public beaches. The best thing was being able to walk barefooted whenever he wanted to on the island. It was a blessing to have been swept up on that island instead of somewhere else. The island held his dearest memories but living there with Nett was the best memory he had.

 

"Yeah," Mar replied and let Nett pull him along. He did notice Nett's eyes following the couple and an emotion he didn't recognise flashed in Nett's eyes. Taking it to be nothing serious, Mar let it be and followed Nett. When they reached the sand area, Mar kicked off his shoes and urged Nett to do the same, no one would take them anyways. He grabbed Nett's hand and dragged him towards the ocean.

[Coffee-Tastic]

Nett looked back at their shoes as if he was unsure if it was a good idea to just leave their shoes there, but observing around, nobody was actually paying attention to either of them. So... Okay? Nett turned to the ocean and also down to his feet, watching how his feet would sunk in the sand. He's always known what sand feels like, but it was a completely different thing to feel it between his toes, which weren't what he was born with.

 

"Only for a walk. Correct?" Getting by the darkened, wet sand the merman looked at the water coming up as if it was speaking a language he didn't know. There was just something so disconnecting coming back to the ocean as a human. All the time, Nett would be looking at this beach, at these people, and now he was the human on the beach who didn't want to go back. The ocean was his ex that he didn't want to spend time with as friends.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Mar enjoyed and reminisced the feeling of the wet sand and cold water carrying small twigs on his feet. It reminded him of the time he was taking a stroll by the sea when he found Nett. But Mar noticed that Nett didn't look quite as pleased as himself. "Nett, is everything alright? You don't look happy." Was it because the ocean reminded him of how he used to live restrictedly without knowledge of the world? Mar tightened his hold on Nett's hand somewhat to comfort his friend.

 

"Its not everyday that we get to be reminded how it was like on the island. At least try to be happy for me okay?" Mar didn't want to see Nett feeling so moody. "Or we could leave if you want," he added although he didn't really feel like leaving so soon. But if the ocean didn't hold happy memories for Nett, it was better if they left the beach.

[Coffee-Tastic]

"No," he gave a faint shake of his head, preferring to look at the sand half of the beach, "I believe the pleasure you gain from this is greater than my discomfort. And as long as I'm not going in, I think we can still enjoy the walk." Nett looked at Mar's hand that connected with his. For some reason, looking at them hold hands felt empowering after seeing close people do it all the time in his observations.

 

"Yeah..." Nett turned his face to the sand, watching the little kids play, seeing females basking in the sun on their backs and chests, and looking over everyone else. It was so lively and thin he didn't like walking in crowded sidewalks, having all these people here gave him a nice feeling. At least they enjoyed the ocean more than he did. He was perfectly fine having his feet in the sand and his skin dry. "Next time... I'd like to bring towels. So we can sit... And spend time together out here." He'd just turn his back on the ocean so he wouldn't see it. Problem solved. "Because you like it. And I like seeing Mar happy."

[Yukio Takamiya]

"Okay, I would like that too," Mar replied with a smile. If Nett didn't like the ocean, would they still be able to live by the sea? If Nett didn't like the ocean, how woulld they resolve his human eating problems? Mar couldn't help but think. Nett being required to eat humans still unnerved him and living by the ocean seemed like the only plausible solution. Mar couldn't think of anymore ideas to resolve that problem especially since it was a large one.

 

Mar sighed and quickened his pace slightly, pulling Nett along. He looked down at Boat in his other hand, the arowana was still swimming around in circles. Mar supposed he could understand how Nett felt. If they couldn't live by the ocean, he would have to think of something else then.