LMUTS ch 1-3

[kannachan27]

A'ight. Now, can somebody tell me how: I spent like 45 minutes uploading new icons, thinking to get a larger range of emotions and series (previously everything was SMILES *shudder*) and I somehow forget to add in a Kingdom Hearts icon while I manage to add 2 Hikaru no Go icons?!

Honestly, I don't make sense to myself.

Anyway, I've promised this a million times: fanfiction updates. And, well, I've been writing a certain Kingdom Hearts fic since late July 2008 for my BFF Gwen's birthday. Yet I've only shared maybe 2 chapters? And this was right after I wrote them. Well........I revised them. I've written up to chapter 9 (which is half done). I've refound my love of this story.

Oh, and I've decided that I don't feel like doing work right now. And that I want to upload them. Regardless of Gwen's opinion on that fact. Sooo... I decided that I was going to put them up on LJ.

Title: Love Me Under the Sea [chapter 1]
Author: kannachan27
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Character/Pairing: eventual Riku/Sora, Axel/Roxas
Warnings: AU, mermen, etc etc
Summary: Sora's a merman who can't seem to grow up. Riku's a human who can't seem to move from the sea. Roxas doesn't want Sora to be hurt. And Demyx? Demyx just wants to stop worrying.
Dedication:
mikazuki_yumefor her birthday present, and listening to my begging for ideas. Really, I'm hopeless without her. Hope you like it!

Chapter One:

"Roxas, Roxas!" The merboy swam out of the way just in time to avoid Sora, his best friend, from nearly tackling him. Instead, the other boy stuck his hands out and grabbed onto Roxas' shoulders as he retreated. "Roxas, guess what, guess what?!"

Of course, with Sora, there was no escaping. Not when you're the boy's best friend, anyway. There was no way that Roxas could get away from Sora, who was practically his twin, even though there was no family relation. Both boys had unruly hair, Roxas' hair a dirty blonde and Sora's hair brown. About the same size, Roxas was slightly less muscled than Sora. Sora's eyes were almost the same blue as Roxas', just a slight difference in the shade, but the color wasn’t what drew people to Roxas; it was the depth and the expression of his eyes. Although everyone in the small underwater village knew they were not, Sora and Roxas were referred to as the twins. It wasn't as if either of them minded all that much, but...

Sora's oldest brother, Demyx, didn't like to think he was related to Roxas even more than he already was. Not that he minded the kid, but... They were already practically brothers. Demyx didn't want to have another one to take care of when they got in trouble. And of course, they would get in trouble, with Sora remaining the way he is. Sora always went adventuring without thinking about the consequences. Most of the time, it involved the humans (that's what the land-walkers are called, right? Demyx was never the most studious of all the mermen he's met) and there were times when they had been seen and almost captured. Luckily, Roxas was more careful than Sora, so Demyx could count on him.

...But Roxas still gave Sora ideas for new adventures. So, even though Demyx didn't think badly of Roxas (not at all! He really liked him, actually, as scary as the kid could be), he still didn't really like him being called Sora’s twin. One of him was quite enough.

That's enough about Demyx. Let's get back to the faux-twins, shall we?

Roxas inwardly groaned. He'd known that Sora would have come up with something. But it was still early today, not even midmorning, judging by the sun's reflection. Couldn't he have waited until Roxas was fully awake? Of course not. Nonetheless, Roxas answered, "What happened, Sora?"

Sora stopped flicking his fins and his eyes were wide as he let go of Roxas to do a little flip in the water before answering, "I went up to the surface, near the shore," in a hushed tone.

If he thought that would have stopped Roxas from his sharp exclamation of, "What?!" then Sora was wrong. He was wrong on so many levels that, if he had bet Luxord, the drunken fisherman that they'd met and lost one of their most precious shells to when out exploring, that Roxas would have been A-OK with Sora's adventure near the shore, he would have lost more than just a precious shell.

Roxas took a deep, supposed-to-be-calming-but-apparently-not breath and tried not to shout at his best-friend-under-the-sea. "You did what, Sora? I hope I heard you wrong."

Laughing slightly, Sora ran a hand through his hair. "Nope. You heard me right. I went to the surface, near the shore. But," Sora added quickly, just as it looked like Roxas was going to interrupt again, "I only went close enough that I could see the shore from just above the water. I was still deep in the water, so I wasn't going to be like one of those poor whales that you told me about! But that's not the important part!"

"And what," Roxas asked tightly, "is the important part?" He just barely kept himself from adding that you didn't almost get killed?!

Sora smiled widely and did a little swish with his tail, obviously happy. "I saw someone. He didn't see me, I swear!" he added quickly before hurrying on, "But I saw him. He was looking out at the sea, like he wanted to see something." Sora shook his head quickly, "No, that's not it. It was like he was... looking for something."

Roxas was quiet for a moment, his anger simmering down from the boil it was moments before, but not quite dissipating. Then, a slight smile started turning his lips upward. "Congratulations, Sora," he said, slightly sarcastic before laughing, "You've sighted your first whale-and-or-mermaid watcher."

Sora pouted, "I don't think he was..." He let himself be carried closer to Roxas before flicking his tail slightly. "He seemed… lonelier than the rest. Like… Like maybe he was… looking for someone." Sora knew that maybe it was foolish hoping, but… that was the feeling he had gotten from looking at the boy.

"Sora," Roxas started, almost as if he was going to say something, before stopping mid-thought. He shook his head slightly before starting again. "You're a mermaid, Sora, not a human. Even if you wanted to…” his voice went soft here, before he finished his thought. "Even if you wanted to, you couldn't be together."

Sora looked up at Roxas, shocked that he would say something like that, and started to say something. His voice died in his throat when he saw the raw emotion in Roxas' eyes. He decided not to mention it and said instead, "Who says? Who says that I can't be with somebody who loves me?"

Shocked, Roxas shot a glare at Sora, "Sora! Did you meet with him--?"

Sora laughed, "Relax, Rox. I'm just saying. If I meet somebody who loves me, even if they're human, why can't we be together?" Sighing, he turned his gaze upward, watching schools of fish swim above them. "Is it really so wrong?"

Roxas said nothing.

For a while, the two boys floated there, simply enjoying the presence of the other and the calm of the sea that morning. Then Sora, the ever-energetic of the two boys, grasped Roxas by the wrist and said, "Come on!" before pulling him off, away from their current location and into deeper parts of the sea. Places that they hadn't explored yet were waiting.

[End Chapter 1]

Chapter Two:

Demyx was happily racing one of the dolphins he'd met while swimming when someone called his name. He ignored it the first time, but the second time he couldn't ignore it. He slowed so he could turn to whoever it was calling his name and groaned. It was, of course, Sora. Roxas wasn't too far away, but it had been his beloved little brother who he directed his attention on. "You made me lose my race!" He accused Sora.

Of course, it was true and Sora knew it, but he grinned anyway. "Yeah, well you wouldn't have won anyway." Ignoring the "Who says?!" from Demyx, Sora continued. "That's not important. What is important, Demyx, is what me and Roxas've found! Come see, come see!" Sora shot forward and pulled Demyx to where Roxas was waiting, hiding his hands behind his back.

"I swear to the Goddess Yume that if you've done anything stupid, again…”

"Relax, Dem. It's not bad, I promise!"

Roxas laughed, "You know, Sora, coming from you, that doesn't mean a lot."

Blushing, Sora muttered, "Shut up," and made to grab the item from behind Roxas' back. Roxas let him have it and he quickly cupped his hands around it and pushed them towards Demyx's face.

Demyx pulled his face away from Sora's cupped hands and blinked, refocusing his vision, before peering into the dark confines of his hands. There was something there, like... a pearl, or something, only not. It was… glowing? "Sora; Roxas," Demyx said, not taking his eyes off the glowing object as he spoke to the younger boys, "Just what is this thing?"

"Umm! Well, y'see..."

"It's a, uhh..."

Demyx looked up at the boys, "So neither of you know what it is?"

Sora smiled awkwardly, "Uhh… nope! Not really."

"But it glows," Roxas pointed out, "And we didn't go too far to find it, either! In a little grotto somewhere in, uhh..." Roxas looked around and pointed, "That direction."

Both Sora and Demyx stared after his finger. Demyx gaped, "R-Roxas… are you sure that's where you got that?"

"Yeah, ‘cuz... I could've swore that we got it from--"

"Uhh, I think that's where we got it. I remember coming from that direction at, uhh... one point?" Roxas scratched his head, and then sighed. "Ah, well."

"Wait, Rox, I think you're right. Didn't we go there first, then get chased out by a bunch of--" Sora was cut off when Roxas slammed his hands over Sora's mouth, hissing, "Shut up, idiot!" in his ear.

Apparently, Roxas had interfered too late, because Demyx was glaring at them. "Chased out?!" he yelled. "You were chased out of the Sea King's palace? What were you doing there, in the first place?!" Demyx groaned and the younger boys looked slightly ashamed. "Oh, merciful Moon Goddess... What am I going to do with these two?"

Sora couldn't resist laughing, "Uhh, Dem? Which Moon Goddess are you praying to? 'Cuz I thought all the legends said that the Goddess herself wasn't the merciful--"

"Sora, shut up!"

Demyx glared at both boys. "It doesn't matter which one receives it, it's still to the Moon Goddess, and it still gets delivered. And if the Goddess Herself doesn't do anything, consider yourselves lucky."

"But Dem--!" Sora started.

"Nope, nuh uh. I've gotta be the responsible one when you guys go and do something stupid like this, so don't give me your, 'But it's Shiny, Dem!' and think you're going to get off the hook."

Silence fell between the three of them before Sora broke it with his stifled laughter. Roxas, too, joined in when Sora wasn't able to contain his laughs. Demyx, however, didn't know why they were laughing and he said so.

"S-sorry, but Dem... I wasn't going to say that."

"--and neither was I!" Roxas interjected.

"What I was going to say was that we don't remember where we found it because it was a while ago when we found it. We just got it out of hiding today cuz we wanted to give it to you." Sora smiled and floated backwards a bit, teasing, "But if you don't want it..."

Demyx's eyes widened, "I do, I do!"

Sora smiled, "Okay then. Catch!"

He lightly tossed the small stone towards Demyx, who lunged for it and barely clasped it in his hands before holding it up to his face, entranced by the slight glow it gave off when in the dark confines of his hands. "Can I… really have this?" He asked softly, glancing up to see Roxas and Sora nod. "Thanks, guys!" He said, smiling.

"Hehe, no problem Dem!"

"Yeah, after all the trouble this guy puts you through, it's nothing." Roxas grinned.

"H-hey, what's that supposed to mean? Roxas, you jerk, you put him through almost as much as I do!" Sora accused.

Roxas laughed, "That may be, but I still don't put him through as much as you do. And the stuff you do is worse!"

"No it isn't!"

The two of them continued their childish argument while Demyx tossed the small "stone" from hand to hand, seeing what he could do with it. He found out that, though it was small and looked like a stone, it was actually rather light and wasn't hard enough to crack like a stone. Also, the only way that it would glow was in the darkness, and even then, it was just barely noticeable.

"Hey, guys--" He turned to Roxas and Sora and his words died on his lips.

Roxas was struggling against Sora, who was attempting to put him in a headlock while yelling, "Take that back!" He was just barely escaping Sora, though, and teasing back, trying to be more mature. Sora's flushed angry face was making him laugh, though, so it wasn't easy to keep a straight face.

Demyx watched, half in amusement, half in horror, as his little brother and his little brother's best friend chased each other around and yelled at each other. "What… are they fighting about?" He wondered aloud, holding onto his newest object for his affections in one hand. He sighed and a smile easily fit onto his face, "Don't hurt him, Roxas."

And just like that, the two boys stopped their bickering, the tables having turned during the last few minutes with Roxas holding Sora in a tight headlock, rubbing his head--what was it the human's called it? A "noogie"? Yeah, Demyx supposes that's what it was called--and taunting the younger. They both looked up at Demyx, seeing him smile at them.

"What?!" Sora shrieked, half-horrified and half-amazed that Demyx would allow this (senseless?) violence to continue.

"You're not gonna stop us?"

Demyx let out a short laugh, "Yeah, like that's ever stopped you before." He paused and scratched his head before asking, "Uhh...what were you two fighting about, anyway?"

Oops. That just made them start yelling again. In tandem: "HE'S THE ONE WHO TROUBLES YOU MORE! NO, I'M NOT. YES YOU ARE!"

Demyx laughed, "I couldn't pick between the two of you even if I tried. Now stop your arguing and go...get something to eat or something."

Just like that, it seemed, the two stopped fighting and sped off in another direction. Demyx could easily pick out Sora's cries for "Food! Fooood!" and Roxas' open laughter as they raced each other and played while heading to their favorite food-bearing area.

He stared after the two until they were out of sight before turning and looking at his present. "I wonder what it is," he mused, turning it over in his hands before swimming off to place it in his own hiding hole with his other treasures.

[End chapter 2]

Chapter 3:

It was mid morning when Riku opened his eyes, the pale light shining through the window near his couch and into his eyes, making him squint them shut once he opened them. "Too early," he murmured sleepily as he put his arm over his eyes and attempted to shift away from the sunlight. There wasn't enough room for him to move very far on his couch, however, so after about five minutes of trying to get back to sleep, he sat up. Blinking down at the table, seeing half-finished sketches from the night before, he wondered what time it was.

"Fuck it," he said to himself, "The professor doesn't give a damn if I'm late to her class or not. All she cares about is me handing in my project on time… and her paycheck." He stood then, and heard paper crinkle under his feet. Looking down, he saw that it was one of his unfinished watercolors from the night before. Though unfinished, most people would say that it was already quite beautiful. Done mostly in blues and grays, you could tell that it was set either in or very close by the ocean. The waves were calm and there was what looked to be a fish or a dolphin's tail starting before suddenly turning white. Unfinished it may be, but what was done was enough to show that whoever had began the painting had talent.

Riku scowled down at the paper before stepping past it. He'd been having trouble lately, drawing, painting, or even sketching out something that he wanted. The lines came out wrong, the color wasn't right, or he just didn't like the way it was being shown on paper. Either way, he was having an artist's block.

Not many people would believe it, but it was true. Riku--silver haired, tall, muscular Riku--was none other than an artist wannabe. Though, maybe it was better that way. His other classmates had problems with their families and friends and such because they were artists; Riku didn’t want to have that, though he didn't have many real friends to be counted, and his family just didn't care what he did anymore. Riku knew this and he was both disappointed and relieved.

He ran his hand through his hair and groaned when his fingers caught in knots. Wiggling his fingers and raking them through his hair again until the knots were gone, he decided that he should actually comb his hair, at the least, and headed to the bathroom. He glanced in the mirror and decided that he should wash his hair, too, but it was too early for a shower. Never mind that it would wake him up better than toothpaste and an apple (Really, why did he always end up eating something after he brushed his teeth?), he didn't think that it was necessary this early in the morning.

Or rather, he didn't really have a reason to take a shower. Not yet, anyway. If he decided to go to his classes today--painting and sketching in the morning and later, some music class or another--then he'd have to make himself somewhat presentable. But even if he went this morning, he knew that he wouldn't be able to concentrate or even manage to produce a decent-looking painting without the proper will to work. Which, if anything could say it more than his inability to paint the easiest, most relaxed seascape that he could see properly, he dearly lacked the inspiration that led to the will.

Needless to say, instead of taking a shower, he simply brushed his teeth and finger-combed his hair before walking into the small kitchen and grabbing an apple out of the near-empty refrigerator. Biting into it while eyeing his supply bag on the table in front of him, he scrunched up his face at the sour taste and then threw the mostly uneaten apple in the garbage can. He easily walked over to the table and picked up his bag before turning and heading towards the door, stopping for a moment, as if he'd forgotten something, and turned back and went into the living room, where he picked up a small case that could hold glasses before successfully leaving the small house.

He would sit at the ledge again today, with his easel out, waiting for something to show. He'd wait and wait for the moment where his muse would show itself to him, there, on the ledge that overlooked the ocean.

***

Sora was alone this time when he swam near the surface of the water. It wasn't that unusual; he often found himself alone at nighttime, Roxas gone from their shared room and obviously nowhere nearby. Sometimes Roxas would never meet him during the day, or he'd go missing for more than three at a time before suddenly showing up with some excuse or another.

But today, Sora had left Roxas alone. He'd expected an argument, at the least, when he said that he wanted to go explore on his own, but unlike Sora, Roxas was far quicker to agree and only requested for Sora to be careful and not to get into much trouble since he wasn't there to protect him. Sora had laughed and agreed, hugging the other boy around the shoulders before quickly darting away.

He hadn't really planned to go exploring. He'd decided the night before that, once he woke up, he would go to see that boy again. The boy who he'd seen at the beach one morning a few days ago, who had somehow managed to entrance him. But, he told Roxas that he was going exploring instead because, though it made him feel bad for pretty much lying to his best friend of his entire 19 years, he knew Roxas well enough to know that, if he told, he would have been followed. Not that he would put it past Roxas to follow him now, but he'd rather believe that Roxas would leave him be to go exploring when he'd promised to be careful.

Sora could see the light filtering through the water and becoming brighter as he neared the surface and prepared to break out of the water. The surface broke and he gasped when he hit air, the water cooling quickly once exposed. He brushed his hair out of his face, pushing his lower lip out in annoyance. "I hate it when it does that," he said softly, in case someone were to hear. With a quick glance around, however, he was sure there was nobody near enough to see, let alone hear, him. The only person he could see was the boy from before, sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.

Sora blinked and water dripped into his eyes. He didn't mind, though, he was used to it. He quickly ducked beneath the water and swam closer, popping up again when he was within range to see him clearly. The other boy didn’t seem to notice him, as he was searching the skies instead of the sea, as if looking for something. Sora's eyes followed the other's upward, trying to see the same view that the other boy was entranced with, but he was unable to grasp it. As the other's eyes started to drift downwards towards the sea, Sora's eyes widened and he ducked behind a nearby rock, shyly glancing out from behind it in order to watch the boy.

Though he was still far off, Sora could make out his appearance in the morning light. Regardless of what others may have thought, Sora found the boy… beautiful. His hair shone in the light and, though he couldn't see his eyes, the dark yet light color he saw was enough to draw his attention and make him gasp. Though appearing untidy--Sora had seen humans before, obviously, and none had looked as disheveled as this one did--Sora thought that it merely added to his natural beauty, not unlike the beautiful pearl found inside the ugly clam's shell. The contrast of his self and the messiness of his dress merely made the beauty stand out more. Or so Sora believed.

He did not recognize the objects around the boy, but did not expect to. Though, with the intense stare he had fixed on the object before him, Sora wished to know. When he reached up towards his eyes, he pushed against something there, bringing it closer to his face before leaning back into what he had previously been doing.

As the other boy's attentions were fixed on his work, Sora silently swam closer, hoping to see more. He felt something scrape against his tail and he twisted sideways, causing a splash as he tried to get away from whatever he had brushed. Looking down, he was surprised he hadn't noticed the large outcropping of rocks that he had swam into. They were everywhere under the water, he could now see. If Roxas had been here, he would have scolded Sora for being so careless, and again for being so close to the shore.

Curiosity, however, was something that Sora could never fight against, so he continued forward, darting behind the rocks or under the water when it was apparent that he would be seen. As he shot back upward, however, he made a particularly loud splash with his tail, and the boy's voice called out to him.

"Who's there?!"

Sora gulped, blushing. He hadn't expected to be spotted or heard, and he certainly hadn't expected to be spoken to. He peered from behind another rock to see the boy standing, now, and staring in his direction. "U-Um…” he said softly, not knowing whether to speak to the boy or not. Though he was afraid, he decided to play it off for now. He dove underwater and brought himself farther away from the rocks, staring up at the boy the moment he broke the surface. "H-Hello!" he called, waving a hand. He hoped that his tail wasn't seen.

When they were younger, Demyx had told Roxas and him of a time he had almost been caught by the humans. He had been a touch careless, swimming too close to the surface, and he had been spotted. Though clumsy, Demyx had talked and laughed with the sailors and had kept his tail hidden, making them believe that he was merely off for a swim and that his boat was not far off. Demyx had spoken of how easily he had been able to trick the humans, and advised that, should they ever happen upon a situation such as his, they should be as sneaky as they could to get out of there, and to, by all means, keep their tails hidden underwater.

The boy was looking in his direction at last, shading his eyes against the sun. "Who are you? What are you doing out there?"

Sora smiled and called back, "I'm just swimming!"

"Out there?"

Sora nodded and remembered that the boy couldn't see him as well as he could see him. He called back an affirmative and waited. The boy looked like he was going to say something, but Sora saw somebody approaching him from behind and quickly called a, "Goodbye!" before diving underwater and re-emerging feet later in a jump, flicking his tail before once again becoming completely submerged and racing home. It was already mid-afternoon.

***

Riku stared after the boy in awe. Tail? There had been a tail on him. Blue and shining, like a dolphin's almost, but not. A human torso; he'd been fooled when he hadn't seen anything else. The scales shone in the sun's light and Riku hardly noticed that his hand was dancing across the easel before him, his eyes glued on the spot where he'd disappeared in wonder.

He didn't hear the footsteps behind him, nor did he feel the slight weight on his shoulder or against his back. But he heard the whispered words in his ear, as if they, too, were in awe.

"Y'know, Riku, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that was one hell of a mermaid you've got there." And at the word "mermaid," Axel's hand tightened on Riku's shoulder and his voice got slightly colder.

"Yeah," Riku whispered, his eyes shifting for the first time to the sketch on the paper. "Yeah, he is."

[End Chapter 3]