rescue me away [bom/hayi; foamy]
title: rescue me away
rated: for all ages
fandom/pairing: kpop rpf (mermaid au); park bom/lee hayi + hints of park bom/park sandara
spoilers/warnings: uh no?
summary: bom meets a human who doesn't remind zhim of a siren zhe knew once.
words: 1917
disclaimer: this is a work of fiction i do not own rights to the characters; title comes from ravex's 1 more night feat. monkey majik
a/n: #64: foamy hi i wrote this ages ago when i was still writing things and now i want to write things again
bom washes up on a shore and knows zhe looks less than beautiful. zhe feels a little worse than that.
a small human with a round face and curious eyes is peering down at bom when bom's eyes first open. the human helps bom and doesn't say you're breathtaking because the hitch in zher breathing is a result of trying to hoist a fully grown mermaid to slightly higher ground. but zhe murmurs you'll be all right and bom doesn't understand the words but the tone feels comforting and zhe drifts into unconsciousness against the image of the human's prettiness.
bom wakes in the middle of the night and zhe's alone. zhe pretends zhe's not surprised, but zhe is. just a little bit. bom is an optimist and a romantic. it's a terrible combination when there are pretty creatures in the ocean and on land and bom is caught between both.
bom lies on the damp sand in the breeze of the night and it's comforting. zhe counts stars and finds shapes, making them up when zhe doesn't remember the ones dara taught zhim. it was a long time ago, that dara curled next to bom, their hair swirling together in the currents around them as dara patiently guided bom's hand, tracing invisible lines along faraway stars. bom doesn't think that it's been long but zhe knows zher memories are hazy and dara is gone by now. when bom falls asleep, the tide is lapping familiarly against zher waist.
...
bom wakes up and it's bright out. the stars are gone, for now, and zhe squints against bright blue unfiltered against zher gaze. zhe blinks twice, and then recognizes the feeling of hands against zher skin. zhe turns zher head just a little and recognizes the same face from before. this time, it looks concerned. zher brow is furrowed and bom worries about that.
bom reaches up a hand to touch the face, gently. it's half out of curiosity. bom's never touched a human before, and zhe wonders if it feels more like bom's and minji's skin, or dara's. dara's felt slicker, smoother. where bom's hands feel soft flesh on zher cheek, dara's was solid, and didn't give anything under the slight pressure. the human blinks quickly, and bom wonders if zhe's surprised. bom is surprised, too. the human's face feels definitively more like bom's than dara's.
"lovely," bom tries to say, but zher throat is sore. belatedly, zhe remembers that the human wouldn't understand zhim anyway. bom still wishes zhe could convey the sentiment somehow, and strokes a line along what might be the human's analogous cheek bone with zher long thumb nail. the human doesn't flinch but feels unnaturally stiff beneath bom's touch. bom stares up at zhim and still thinks zhe's very pretty. lovely.
"i want to," the human says, and bom doesn't understand but pulls zher hand away. the human looks sorry. bom wonders if feelings like that are the same in mermaids and humans both. "i want to help you," the human says, and bom thinks the human's voice is very sweet and trusts it. zhe remembers minji blowing annoyed bubbles at zhim for similar feelings towards other species, remembers minji warning pretty voices are going to kill you someday and minji hadn't been kidding but bom hadn't listened to zhim with dara and survived that, so zhe's content enough with zher luck to press it a little further.
for mermaids, humans are more dangerous than sirens. bom remembers being smaller, less certain in things, and listening to hyori telling zhim everything zhe thought bom would ever need to know. bom has never known hyori to be wrong, but zhe thinks the touch beneath zher fingertips means something.
bom tries to prop zhimself up in the sand, elbows slotting in, and winces when zher side is hard to lift, to shift. the human makes a soft noise and zher hands are small when they flutter out to graze over bom's abdomen.
"i don't know how to," the human says, chewing on zher lip, and bom thinks zhe shouldn't do that. bom watches the motion and stays still zhimself, because if zhe doesn't move it won't feel so unpleasantly. the human's hands ghost over zher waist and tingle in a way that bom isn't sure zhe dislikes. zhe knows zhe doesn't fear it.
bom curls zher lips into a smile and the human blinks again. bom wonders if zhe's trying to communicate, and then wonders if maybe it's not just nothing. the human's hands don't leave and bom decides zhe likes their place, fingertips plush as they graze over bom's side without pressure.
"you should look happier," bom suggests, throat dry and vocal chords chafing against one another under the hot midday sun. the human winces and bom feels embarrassed, vaguely hurt in a way that zhe doesn't know how to fix. bom doesn't say anything else, even though zhe thinks zhe wants to tell the human that bom wants to know what zhe looks like with a smile on zher face.
like zhe senses it, somehow, the human quirks half of a smile, before zher fingers are gripping bom's waist, pressing into the sensitive scales there. bom bites zher lip, this time, doesn't know how zhe should respond or how zhe wants to. zhe doesn't say anything, doesn't dare to do anything else, and then the human is pulling zhim again, movements jerky but not inconsiderate.
"sorry," the human murmurs, and bom's teeth break the flesh of zher lip in the same moment that the familiar comfort of water is flush around zhim, encasing zher stomach, zher breasts, zher neck. zhe feels zher hair floating light around zhim and slips lower into the water, bottom lip soothed by the saltiness and tongue grateful.
bom exhales a brief stream of half-hasty bubbles before zhe notices the human's hands still on zher waist. bom's side is still sore but feels better already, skin mending itself as best it knows how to. the shore is still beneath zhim, sand wafting and settling where bom's tail has upset it. but bom is in the water and swallows, inhales, relaxes before zhe smiles.
the human lets go like zhe'd rather not, and bom reaches for zher hands. "you're," zhe tries, in a language that dara taught zhim. "you're kind. thank you."
"sorry," the human says with a half-sheepish shrug of zher shoulders. bom doesn't understand but doesn't think it's an especially cheerful looking way to be. bom's brow furrows and zhe doesn't know how to say what zhe's thinking. zhe squeezes the human's hands and they don't feel nearly as small in bom's as bom thought they would.
bom tries again, licks zher lips and smiles bright and wide like that's all zhe was missing. "i want to know you," bom says slowly. the words feel wrong off zher tongue and bom remembers hearing them secondhand, repeated with a soft giggle of it's a sweet sentiment, isn't it?. bom remembers dara's smile and the pink flush on faint green cheeks.
the human starts slightly, and then smiles, bright and wide and it's a universal language. or maybe zhe just speaks chaerin's language. faintly, bom wants it to be the former. the human does have a pretty smile. "you want to know me?" zhe half-repeats, and bom half-understands.
bom points to zhimself with zher free hand. "bom," zhe says, and hopes the human follows.
the human nods and repeats, "bom," in an affectionate voice. zhe points to zhimself with zher free hand, too, and says, "hayi."
bom repeats, "hayi," and thinks the name is beautiful.
...
bom goes back to the surface. zhe tells minji and tells hyori and they both tell zhim not to. bom tells them zhe's sorry and they don't push the issue. zhe thinks hyori does it because zhe wants bom to make zher own mistakes, and learn from them - or something similarly meaningful and mature. zhe thinks minji does it just because zhe's always supported all of bom's bad ideas. maybe zhe's interested to see how this one plays out, too.
they don't go with zhim, even though bom extends the invitation. hyori raises an eyebrow and says no thank you. minji snorts and says i don't speak english, ask tablo. bom blushes because minji knows zhim too well.
"i do want you to see zhim sometime," zhe adds, like zhe has to justify it. minji kisses bom's forehead and says okay bommie.
bom does take tablo with zhim. it's not an especially long trip, but zhe tries to swim at a reasonable rate to learn as much as zhe can. tablo is patient, when zhe teaches bom; tablo is gentle, and smiles whether bom is right or wrong because tablo knows that bom's trying hard for someone else either way.
...
hayi's blinks are slow but when zhe smiles, it's instant. zher hair is pulled up, this time, in a low ponytail. bom thinks it's pretty, thinks it's nice to see hayi's face so clearly. bom wants to be the one that pulls hayi's hair back, sometime, but hides that thought away for another time. now, bom thinks zhe just wants to have some kind of a conversation with zhim.
"i thought i wouldn't see you again," hayi breathes, kneeling on a large rock half in the water. bom smiles, swims up to it and rests zher forearms against it. bom smiles up at hayi, smiles at the way the light frames zher face and smiles because hayi exists and bom didn't just imagine zhim.
tablo chuckles quietly and bom realizes zhe'd half-forgotten zhe was there. bom blushes and leans back, gesturing tablo forward and resting a hand on zher damp shoulder. "tablo," zhe says, and hayi smiles like zhe understands. hayi nods.
leaning forward, tablo murmurs a translation into bom's ear. bom's brow furrows. zhe's grateful for tablo, for this, but the words sound sorry in zher ear, like tablo would rather not relay something sad like that.
bom looks up at hayi and asks, "were you leaving?"
tablo meets hayi's eyes as zhe says the same in hayi's fluid language. hayi's eyes widen slightly in surprise, and then a wide smile breaks out over zher face. "tablo," zhe repeats, and the world is so quiet that bom thinks it wasn't meant for zhim, or for tablo - it was just meant for hayi.
"no," hayi says, shaking zher head, and tablo says it almost quietly enough that bom can register it without losing anything of hayi's pretty voice. "no, you just disappeared for a few days. i wasn't sure..."
tablo's translating falters, and when hayi peers at zhim and bom's brow furrows, zhe sighs a little and repeats hayi's word. days.
bom's expression is quizzical enough to convey the question, because tablo gives zher a defeated look, and gestures vaguely with zher hands in answer. "it's..." zhe says, tone uncertain. "days," zhe repeats, the word foreign on zher tongue.
"don't you --" hayi asks, words directed at tablo, even while zher eyes are trained on bom with a kind of startled curiosity that bom isn't sure zhe can place.
next to bom, tablo shakes zher head. hayi purses zher lips and takes a moment to think, before zhe speaks again, pulling zher legs out from under zhimself. "i'm glad you came back," zhe says, knees curving along the line of the boulder.
bom smiles. glad; bom feels it, too.
rated: for all ages
fandom/pairing: kpop rpf (mermaid au); park bom/lee hayi + hints of park bom/park sandara
spoilers/warnings: uh no?
summary: bom meets a human who doesn't remind zhim of a siren zhe knew once.
words: 1917
disclaimer: this is a work of fiction i do not own rights to the characters; title comes from ravex's 1 more night feat. monkey majik
a/n: #64: foamy hi i wrote this ages ago when i was still writing things and now i want to write things again
bom washes up on a shore and knows zhe looks less than beautiful. zhe feels a little worse than that.
a small human with a round face and curious eyes is peering down at bom when bom's eyes first open. the human helps bom and doesn't say you're breathtaking because the hitch in zher breathing is a result of trying to hoist a fully grown mermaid to slightly higher ground. but zhe murmurs you'll be all right and bom doesn't understand the words but the tone feels comforting and zhe drifts into unconsciousness against the image of the human's prettiness.
bom wakes in the middle of the night and zhe's alone. zhe pretends zhe's not surprised, but zhe is. just a little bit. bom is an optimist and a romantic. it's a terrible combination when there are pretty creatures in the ocean and on land and bom is caught between both.
bom lies on the damp sand in the breeze of the night and it's comforting. zhe counts stars and finds shapes, making them up when zhe doesn't remember the ones dara taught zhim. it was a long time ago, that dara curled next to bom, their hair swirling together in the currents around them as dara patiently guided bom's hand, tracing invisible lines along faraway stars. bom doesn't think that it's been long but zhe knows zher memories are hazy and dara is gone by now. when bom falls asleep, the tide is lapping familiarly against zher waist.
...
bom wakes up and it's bright out. the stars are gone, for now, and zhe squints against bright blue unfiltered against zher gaze. zhe blinks twice, and then recognizes the feeling of hands against zher skin. zhe turns zher head just a little and recognizes the same face from before. this time, it looks concerned. zher brow is furrowed and bom worries about that.
bom reaches up a hand to touch the face, gently. it's half out of curiosity. bom's never touched a human before, and zhe wonders if it feels more like bom's and minji's skin, or dara's. dara's felt slicker, smoother. where bom's hands feel soft flesh on zher cheek, dara's was solid, and didn't give anything under the slight pressure. the human blinks quickly, and bom wonders if zhe's surprised. bom is surprised, too. the human's face feels definitively more like bom's than dara's.
"lovely," bom tries to say, but zher throat is sore. belatedly, zhe remembers that the human wouldn't understand zhim anyway. bom still wishes zhe could convey the sentiment somehow, and strokes a line along what might be the human's analogous cheek bone with zher long thumb nail. the human doesn't flinch but feels unnaturally stiff beneath bom's touch. bom stares up at zhim and still thinks zhe's very pretty. lovely.
"i want to," the human says, and bom doesn't understand but pulls zher hand away. the human looks sorry. bom wonders if feelings like that are the same in mermaids and humans both. "i want to help you," the human says, and bom thinks the human's voice is very sweet and trusts it. zhe remembers minji blowing annoyed bubbles at zhim for similar feelings towards other species, remembers minji warning pretty voices are going to kill you someday and minji hadn't been kidding but bom hadn't listened to zhim with dara and survived that, so zhe's content enough with zher luck to press it a little further.
for mermaids, humans are more dangerous than sirens. bom remembers being smaller, less certain in things, and listening to hyori telling zhim everything zhe thought bom would ever need to know. bom has never known hyori to be wrong, but zhe thinks the touch beneath zher fingertips means something.
bom tries to prop zhimself up in the sand, elbows slotting in, and winces when zher side is hard to lift, to shift. the human makes a soft noise and zher hands are small when they flutter out to graze over bom's abdomen.
"i don't know how to," the human says, chewing on zher lip, and bom thinks zhe shouldn't do that. bom watches the motion and stays still zhimself, because if zhe doesn't move it won't feel so unpleasantly. the human's hands ghost over zher waist and tingle in a way that bom isn't sure zhe dislikes. zhe knows zhe doesn't fear it.
bom curls zher lips into a smile and the human blinks again. bom wonders if zhe's trying to communicate, and then wonders if maybe it's not just nothing. the human's hands don't leave and bom decides zhe likes their place, fingertips plush as they graze over bom's side without pressure.
"you should look happier," bom suggests, throat dry and vocal chords chafing against one another under the hot midday sun. the human winces and bom feels embarrassed, vaguely hurt in a way that zhe doesn't know how to fix. bom doesn't say anything else, even though zhe thinks zhe wants to tell the human that bom wants to know what zhe looks like with a smile on zher face.
like zhe senses it, somehow, the human quirks half of a smile, before zher fingers are gripping bom's waist, pressing into the sensitive scales there. bom bites zher lip, this time, doesn't know how zhe should respond or how zhe wants to. zhe doesn't say anything, doesn't dare to do anything else, and then the human is pulling zhim again, movements jerky but not inconsiderate.
"sorry," the human murmurs, and bom's teeth break the flesh of zher lip in the same moment that the familiar comfort of water is flush around zhim, encasing zher stomach, zher breasts, zher neck. zhe feels zher hair floating light around zhim and slips lower into the water, bottom lip soothed by the saltiness and tongue grateful.
bom exhales a brief stream of half-hasty bubbles before zhe notices the human's hands still on zher waist. bom's side is still sore but feels better already, skin mending itself as best it knows how to. the shore is still beneath zhim, sand wafting and settling where bom's tail has upset it. but bom is in the water and swallows, inhales, relaxes before zhe smiles.
the human lets go like zhe'd rather not, and bom reaches for zher hands. "you're," zhe tries, in a language that dara taught zhim. "you're kind. thank you."
"sorry," the human says with a half-sheepish shrug of zher shoulders. bom doesn't understand but doesn't think it's an especially cheerful looking way to be. bom's brow furrows and zhe doesn't know how to say what zhe's thinking. zhe squeezes the human's hands and they don't feel nearly as small in bom's as bom thought they would.
bom tries again, licks zher lips and smiles bright and wide like that's all zhe was missing. "i want to know you," bom says slowly. the words feel wrong off zher tongue and bom remembers hearing them secondhand, repeated with a soft giggle of it's a sweet sentiment, isn't it?. bom remembers dara's smile and the pink flush on faint green cheeks.
the human starts slightly, and then smiles, bright and wide and it's a universal language. or maybe zhe just speaks chaerin's language. faintly, bom wants it to be the former. the human does have a pretty smile. "you want to know me?" zhe half-repeats, and bom half-understands.
bom points to zhimself with zher free hand. "bom," zhe says, and hopes the human follows.
the human nods and repeats, "bom," in an affectionate voice. zhe points to zhimself with zher free hand, too, and says, "hayi."
bom repeats, "hayi," and thinks the name is beautiful.
...
bom goes back to the surface. zhe tells minji and tells hyori and they both tell zhim not to. bom tells them zhe's sorry and they don't push the issue. zhe thinks hyori does it because zhe wants bom to make zher own mistakes, and learn from them - or something similarly meaningful and mature. zhe thinks minji does it just because zhe's always supported all of bom's bad ideas. maybe zhe's interested to see how this one plays out, too.
they don't go with zhim, even though bom extends the invitation. hyori raises an eyebrow and says no thank you. minji snorts and says i don't speak english, ask tablo. bom blushes because minji knows zhim too well.
"i do want you to see zhim sometime," zhe adds, like zhe has to justify it. minji kisses bom's forehead and says okay bommie.
bom does take tablo with zhim. it's not an especially long trip, but zhe tries to swim at a reasonable rate to learn as much as zhe can. tablo is patient, when zhe teaches bom; tablo is gentle, and smiles whether bom is right or wrong because tablo knows that bom's trying hard for someone else either way.
...
hayi's blinks are slow but when zhe smiles, it's instant. zher hair is pulled up, this time, in a low ponytail. bom thinks it's pretty, thinks it's nice to see hayi's face so clearly. bom wants to be the one that pulls hayi's hair back, sometime, but hides that thought away for another time. now, bom thinks zhe just wants to have some kind of a conversation with zhim.
"i thought i wouldn't see you again," hayi breathes, kneeling on a large rock half in the water. bom smiles, swims up to it and rests zher forearms against it. bom smiles up at hayi, smiles at the way the light frames zher face and smiles because hayi exists and bom didn't just imagine zhim.
tablo chuckles quietly and bom realizes zhe'd half-forgotten zhe was there. bom blushes and leans back, gesturing tablo forward and resting a hand on zher damp shoulder. "tablo," zhe says, and hayi smiles like zhe understands. hayi nods.
leaning forward, tablo murmurs a translation into bom's ear. bom's brow furrows. zhe's grateful for tablo, for this, but the words sound sorry in zher ear, like tablo would rather not relay something sad like that.
bom looks up at hayi and asks, "were you leaving?"
tablo meets hayi's eyes as zhe says the same in hayi's fluid language. hayi's eyes widen slightly in surprise, and then a wide smile breaks out over zher face. "tablo," zhe repeats, and the world is so quiet that bom thinks it wasn't meant for zhim, or for tablo - it was just meant for hayi.
"no," hayi says, shaking zher head, and tablo says it almost quietly enough that bom can register it without losing anything of hayi's pretty voice. "no, you just disappeared for a few days. i wasn't sure..."
tablo's translating falters, and when hayi peers at zhim and bom's brow furrows, zhe sighs a little and repeats hayi's word. days.
bom's expression is quizzical enough to convey the question, because tablo gives zher a defeated look, and gestures vaguely with zher hands in answer. "it's..." zhe says, tone uncertain. "days," zhe repeats, the word foreign on zher tongue.
"don't you --" hayi asks, words directed at tablo, even while zher eyes are trained on bom with a kind of startled curiosity that bom isn't sure zhe can place.
next to bom, tablo shakes zher head. hayi purses zher lips and takes a moment to think, before zhe speaks again, pulling zher legs out from under zhimself. "i'm glad you came back," zhe says, knees curving along the line of the boulder.
bom smiles. glad; bom feels it, too.