fic for indian_monsoon
Gift fic for: indian_monsoon
From: miss_jelly
Title: Just Keep Swimming
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Shige/Massu, Ryo
Warnings: mermaids?
Summary: It reminded him of the movie Free Willy, but he couldn't very well tell Ryo that he sometimes compared him to an orca.
Notes: I don't even know, I have a thing for changing my mind at the last second. Sorry to my beta for this, but thanks for sticking with me XD For indian_monsoon, I really hope you like this :D AU and fairly pointless. Also, sorry for the fail summary.
Fishing was calming, relaxing, gave him time to himself that he couldn't enjoy anywhere else- is what he told his mother when he'd taken to going out to the lake nearly three times a week. The lake was far out from their home and hidden in the midst of sky-high pines and birches, out of sight and earshot and that was more than enough to worry his mother, but her resolve washed away with one look from his pleading eyes. She would smile and make him stay long enough to pack a small lunch for him before watching her son disappear into the brush.
He couldn't tell his mother the real reason he would spend so much time at the lake, fishing but never bringing home a single catch, mostly because he'd only ever caught one thing and he was quite sure his mother wouldn't appreciate him ever bringing something with such horrible manners home with him.
He was already anticipating the deadly glare and sharp tongue of said catch as the lake came into view, though as he came closer, two voices rang through the air, only one familiarly steeped in an Osakan accent. The other voice turned out to belong to what he could only assume to be another of his type, floating in the waters of the lake.
“I told you he's always late, there's no point of coming early,” Ryo, the mermaid- “Merman, do you see any clam shells on my perfectly flat chest?”- grumbled rather loudly to his friend, obviously not trying to be subtle.
“Then why do you keep coming early, Nishikido-kun?” The other replied, looking confused, but even Shige could see the amusement in his eyes from where he stood. He decided then that he liked this one, better.
They met at the dock, Shige hanging his legs over the side and Ryo swimming up to him with a light scowl- which faded instantly when Shige held out his lunch for him to root through. “I'm Masuda Takahisa, Nishikido-kun brought me, I hope that's alright,” the other one swam up to him, holding out hand in lieu of a bow, which Shige took.
“Kato Shigeaki,” he answered, only noticing once he was close enough that Masuda was just as horribly good-looking as Ryo, he wondered if all of their kind were able to cause normal humans to suffer from sudden loss of self-esteem. “So, have you been stuck here, too?”
He remembered the day he'd caught Ryo, his hook tangling into his hair, the struggle and then his boat tipping into the water. None of it was very pleasant, but he'd ended up with a friend- or something like it, since Ryo was less of the joyful flounder he remembered from a child's cartoon and more like those blow fish from the Discovery channel: sharp and possibly poisonous. He'd been wary, why would a mythical creature pop up in a fresh water lake of all places, and why him? Ryo had huffed and told him to shut up- “Obviously I'm not a myth, genius, so you can drop that”- and went on to explain something about an underwater tunnel that had collapsed behind him, Shige hadn't been listening very carefully, as he'd been distracted by Ryo's tail swishing back and forth and nearly touching his leg each time- he still wasn't completely used to it, though he'd managed to adapt to Ryo's harsher version of small-talk and overall friendliness rather quickly. Ryo at least seemed to be amused by that fact. Ryo's predicament reminded him of the old movie, Free Willy, but he couldn't very well tell Ryo that he sometimes compared him to an orca. Ryo didn't seem to mind, anyway, as long as Shige would come out regularly to feed him his mother's cooking- and to keep him company, but Ryo would never admit that out loud.
Useless facts aside, he could only assume that Masuda had been somehow trapped in the lake, as well, and had probably just avoided talking to him until then. He was a little put-off by the thought, but then maybe mermen were a busy people and he just hadn't had the time. Or maybe Shige was just thinking about it overly much.
Masuda looked confused for a moment before shooting Ryo a questioning glance. “He lives across the lake, you don't even know your neighbors?” Shige couldn't quite tell who Ryo was aiming to insult, but made a face, anyway, if only to cover his embarrassment. There went his theory about beautiful fish-people living hidden in the sea.
“I see,” he murmured and leaned back onto the dock, “Then why don't you come out of the water?” He'd meant it as an offer for Masuda to join him, maybe get to know his neighbor before Ryo finished scarfing his lunch and started splashing him or something else that he knew would be just as annoying.
“I like to swim,” Masuda answered simply, obviously not catching the hint and Shige figured he'd need to try harder with this one. He suddenly envied Ryo's ability to be blunt.
The next few days passed in much the same way, Masuda never liked to come out of the water for very long, though Shige had nearly had a heart attack the first time he'd decided to trot up the dock in his birthday suit- “Nishikido-kun's naked all the time, it feels weird to swim in clothes, doesn't it?” “You're not swimming now, are you? Ah, don't face this way!”- and so it wasn't much of a surprise that he didn't venture out of the water too often.
Shige had brought a pair of swimming trunks with him, blue with yellow swirls- that he certainly had not picked out because he thought it suited Masuda's coloring- and held them out as soon as he took his regular seat on the dock. “Wear these and eat up here,” he could see Ryo's smirk from the corner of his eye, the merman had clued into Shige's little crush and attempts to get his attention not too long ago. It hadn't been too hard to notice, he thought, and wasn't sure whether he should be surprised or annoyed that Masuda hadn't noticed, himself. He'd settled for a happy medium where there was still a chance that he wasn't entirely hopeless.
He tossed Ryo his lunch and tried not to look at Masuda as he slipped on the trunks and pulled himself up onto the dock. He'd made two extra boxes for lunch, which he was almost certain his mother had noticed, even if she hadn't mentioned it, he was already thinking of excuses to tell her when he would come home, that evening. Masuda was already digging into his, both he and Ryo eating in total silence that he took as a good sign, since he wasn't very confident in his cooking skills in the first place. He started on his own lunch, his mother's cooking, and attempted to relax while watching Masuda from the corner of his eye.
Ryo interrupted his none-to-subtle spying, making him jump a little as he remembered that Ryo existed. “Kato, this was hard to stomach, today, I had to eat it as fast as I could so that I couldn't taste it. Tell your mother to read the recipe, next time,” Ryo smirked again and tossed the box onto the platform, swimming away before Shige could attempt to burn him with his glare.
“I thought it was good, Kato-kun, thank you for the lunch,” Masuda's dish was already empty and a wide smiling was gracing his face, Shige reminded himself how to breath.
Shige came back to the lake every day, that week, bringing with him extra lunch boxes and started to experiment with different side dishes- almost putting prawns and tuna in Ryo's lunch by mistake, a few times. Masuda always repaid him with a smile and before long Ryo was spending more time giving Shige kissy faces from behind Masuda and mouthing lewd comments when he wasn't looking. He almost preferred it when Ryo would just insult his cooking and throw sea weed at the back of his head.
Shige had begun to wonder just how much more obvious he would need to be in order for Massu- as he'd started to call him in his head- to catch on. He'd even contemplated asking for Ryo's help, but had decided to leave that as a last resort. He'd bought Massu swimming trunks, had been cooking for him for the past week or so and had even gone so far as to clean a speck of rice from his face- dangerous territory, he thought, but then he was always a little too cautious. He was on the verge of giving up, since doing something as silly as confessing was just out of the question- since he couldn't see him gathering the nerve to do so.
Massu was waiting on the deck, the next time Shige came out, carting the usual three lunch boxes under his arm, wearing the trunks Shige had given him and he could see Ryo splashing around doing exercises in the lake. “Ah, Shige,” Shige still perked up when Massu used his first name, “I have to go, but I wanted to pay you back for all the lunches,” he reached into his pocket and handed Shige a neatly folded slip of paper. “That's my address and the time you should come for dinner,” Shige nodded dumbly and Massu smiled, leaning in to peck Shige on the cheek and pulling back looking both a little embarrassed and happy with himself at once. “See you,” and he was off, swimming across the lake and passing Ryo as he swished his way to the dock.
Ryo grinned and let him gape for a few seconds before clearing his throat. “He's thought that you two have been dating for a week, you know, ever since you made him that crappy lunch” he supplied, looking all too smug. They both knew that Shige wouldn't be correcting him anytime soon. He'd probably need to inform his mother that he wasn't actually packing extra lunches to feed the fish with, though
From: miss_jelly
Title: Just Keep Swimming
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Shige/Massu, Ryo
Warnings: mermaids?
Summary: It reminded him of the movie Free Willy, but he couldn't very well tell Ryo that he sometimes compared him to an orca.
Notes: I don't even know, I have a thing for changing my mind at the last second. Sorry to my beta for this, but thanks for sticking with me XD For indian_monsoon, I really hope you like this :D AU and fairly pointless. Also, sorry for the fail summary.
Fishing was calming, relaxing, gave him time to himself that he couldn't enjoy anywhere else- is what he told his mother when he'd taken to going out to the lake nearly three times a week. The lake was far out from their home and hidden in the midst of sky-high pines and birches, out of sight and earshot and that was more than enough to worry his mother, but her resolve washed away with one look from his pleading eyes. She would smile and make him stay long enough to pack a small lunch for him before watching her son disappear into the brush.
He couldn't tell his mother the real reason he would spend so much time at the lake, fishing but never bringing home a single catch, mostly because he'd only ever caught one thing and he was quite sure his mother wouldn't appreciate him ever bringing something with such horrible manners home with him.
He was already anticipating the deadly glare and sharp tongue of said catch as the lake came into view, though as he came closer, two voices rang through the air, only one familiarly steeped in an Osakan accent. The other voice turned out to belong to what he could only assume to be another of his type, floating in the waters of the lake.
“I told you he's always late, there's no point of coming early,” Ryo, the mermaid- “Merman, do you see any clam shells on my perfectly flat chest?”- grumbled rather loudly to his friend, obviously not trying to be subtle.
“Then why do you keep coming early, Nishikido-kun?” The other replied, looking confused, but even Shige could see the amusement in his eyes from where he stood. He decided then that he liked this one, better.
They met at the dock, Shige hanging his legs over the side and Ryo swimming up to him with a light scowl- which faded instantly when Shige held out his lunch for him to root through. “I'm Masuda Takahisa, Nishikido-kun brought me, I hope that's alright,” the other one swam up to him, holding out hand in lieu of a bow, which Shige took.
“Kato Shigeaki,” he answered, only noticing once he was close enough that Masuda was just as horribly good-looking as Ryo, he wondered if all of their kind were able to cause normal humans to suffer from sudden loss of self-esteem. “So, have you been stuck here, too?”
He remembered the day he'd caught Ryo, his hook tangling into his hair, the struggle and then his boat tipping into the water. None of it was very pleasant, but he'd ended up with a friend- or something like it, since Ryo was less of the joyful flounder he remembered from a child's cartoon and more like those blow fish from the Discovery channel: sharp and possibly poisonous. He'd been wary, why would a mythical creature pop up in a fresh water lake of all places, and why him? Ryo had huffed and told him to shut up- “Obviously I'm not a myth, genius, so you can drop that”- and went on to explain something about an underwater tunnel that had collapsed behind him, Shige hadn't been listening very carefully, as he'd been distracted by Ryo's tail swishing back and forth and nearly touching his leg each time- he still wasn't completely used to it, though he'd managed to adapt to Ryo's harsher version of small-talk and overall friendliness rather quickly. Ryo at least seemed to be amused by that fact. Ryo's predicament reminded him of the old movie, Free Willy, but he couldn't very well tell Ryo that he sometimes compared him to an orca. Ryo didn't seem to mind, anyway, as long as Shige would come out regularly to feed him his mother's cooking- and to keep him company, but Ryo would never admit that out loud.
Useless facts aside, he could only assume that Masuda had been somehow trapped in the lake, as well, and had probably just avoided talking to him until then. He was a little put-off by the thought, but then maybe mermen were a busy people and he just hadn't had the time. Or maybe Shige was just thinking about it overly much.
Masuda looked confused for a moment before shooting Ryo a questioning glance. “He lives across the lake, you don't even know your neighbors?” Shige couldn't quite tell who Ryo was aiming to insult, but made a face, anyway, if only to cover his embarrassment. There went his theory about beautiful fish-people living hidden in the sea.
“I see,” he murmured and leaned back onto the dock, “Then why don't you come out of the water?” He'd meant it as an offer for Masuda to join him, maybe get to know his neighbor before Ryo finished scarfing his lunch and started splashing him or something else that he knew would be just as annoying.
“I like to swim,” Masuda answered simply, obviously not catching the hint and Shige figured he'd need to try harder with this one. He suddenly envied Ryo's ability to be blunt.
The next few days passed in much the same way, Masuda never liked to come out of the water for very long, though Shige had nearly had a heart attack the first time he'd decided to trot up the dock in his birthday suit- “Nishikido-kun's naked all the time, it feels weird to swim in clothes, doesn't it?” “You're not swimming now, are you? Ah, don't face this way!”- and so it wasn't much of a surprise that he didn't venture out of the water too often.
Shige had brought a pair of swimming trunks with him, blue with yellow swirls- that he certainly had not picked out because he thought it suited Masuda's coloring- and held them out as soon as he took his regular seat on the dock. “Wear these and eat up here,” he could see Ryo's smirk from the corner of his eye, the merman had clued into Shige's little crush and attempts to get his attention not too long ago. It hadn't been too hard to notice, he thought, and wasn't sure whether he should be surprised or annoyed that Masuda hadn't noticed, himself. He'd settled for a happy medium where there was still a chance that he wasn't entirely hopeless.
He tossed Ryo his lunch and tried not to look at Masuda as he slipped on the trunks and pulled himself up onto the dock. He'd made two extra boxes for lunch, which he was almost certain his mother had noticed, even if she hadn't mentioned it, he was already thinking of excuses to tell her when he would come home, that evening. Masuda was already digging into his, both he and Ryo eating in total silence that he took as a good sign, since he wasn't very confident in his cooking skills in the first place. He started on his own lunch, his mother's cooking, and attempted to relax while watching Masuda from the corner of his eye.
Ryo interrupted his none-to-subtle spying, making him jump a little as he remembered that Ryo existed. “Kato, this was hard to stomach, today, I had to eat it as fast as I could so that I couldn't taste it. Tell your mother to read the recipe, next time,” Ryo smirked again and tossed the box onto the platform, swimming away before Shige could attempt to burn him with his glare.
“I thought it was good, Kato-kun, thank you for the lunch,” Masuda's dish was already empty and a wide smiling was gracing his face, Shige reminded himself how to breath.
Shige came back to the lake every day, that week, bringing with him extra lunch boxes and started to experiment with different side dishes- almost putting prawns and tuna in Ryo's lunch by mistake, a few times. Masuda always repaid him with a smile and before long Ryo was spending more time giving Shige kissy faces from behind Masuda and mouthing lewd comments when he wasn't looking. He almost preferred it when Ryo would just insult his cooking and throw sea weed at the back of his head.
Shige had begun to wonder just how much more obvious he would need to be in order for Massu- as he'd started to call him in his head- to catch on. He'd even contemplated asking for Ryo's help, but had decided to leave that as a last resort. He'd bought Massu swimming trunks, had been cooking for him for the past week or so and had even gone so far as to clean a speck of rice from his face- dangerous territory, he thought, but then he was always a little too cautious. He was on the verge of giving up, since doing something as silly as confessing was just out of the question- since he couldn't see him gathering the nerve to do so.
Massu was waiting on the deck, the next time Shige came out, carting the usual three lunch boxes under his arm, wearing the trunks Shige had given him and he could see Ryo splashing around doing exercises in the lake. “Ah, Shige,” Shige still perked up when Massu used his first name, “I have to go, but I wanted to pay you back for all the lunches,” he reached into his pocket and handed Shige a neatly folded slip of paper. “That's my address and the time you should come for dinner,” Shige nodded dumbly and Massu smiled, leaning in to peck Shige on the cheek and pulling back looking both a little embarrassed and happy with himself at once. “See you,” and he was off, swimming across the lake and passing Ryo as he swished his way to the dock.
Ryo grinned and let him gape for a few seconds before clearing his throat. “He's thought that you two have been dating for a week, you know, ever since you made him that crappy lunch” he supplied, looking all too smug. They both knew that Shige wouldn't be correcting him anytime soon. He'd probably need to inform his mother that he wasn't actually packing extra lunches to feed the fish with, though