Chapter Text
It starts, surprisingly, not with a party.
Most of Kojiro’s stories start the same way— a party, too many drinks, music, a warm body.
Not tonight. Tonight he’s wrapped up a spectacular five course meal for the cruise ship he works at. Being the master chef for a cruise isn’t easy— oftentimes he believes he’d probably be scoffed at by other chefs for choosing to cater to people that are probably more invested in how many times they can refill their ice cream scoops than appreciate fine dining. But Kojiro is more interested in the perks of the job— working for a cruise means he basically travels the world for free. And whenever they dock at a new city…well, all good stories start with a party.
Except for tonight. Tonight Kojiro has told the kitchen staff to forget about doing the dishes, go enjoy themselves after a job well done, while his aching body prefers to sit by the deck, feet barely grazing the water, a bottle of expensive wine in his hand.
“Maybe I’m getting old” he sighs to the wind after carefully taking a swig straight from the bottle.
A snort comes from below. Kojro blinks, slowly looking down.
He unmistakably hears a gasp before there’s a loud splash, but it’s too dark to make anything out. Okay, perhaps he is more tired than what he is willing to accept, or perhaps he’s losing his tolerance.
Dark deck, tired man, dark night. Yeah. Kojiro has seen enough scary movies to know this is the part where he gets up, goes back to this cruise suite, and calls it a night.
He does not see the rope until it’s too late.
There’s a crash (“Not the wine!” his mind offers) and then there’s a splash.
He’s wet. Oh, Kojiro thinks.
I’m the splash.
Now, Kojiro knows how to swim. Of course he does. He works on a cruise, spends a significant amount of time on water and has received far too many safety training courses to know exactly how to react in the instance that he falls in the water.
Step one,he should not panic.
Kojiro panics, perhaps it’s the shock, perhaps it’s the wine, perhaps it’s the fact that it is stupidly dark and even darker below water. He opens his mouth— mistake number two— and immediately swallows a gulp of seawater.
Before he begins to fully process what is going on there’s a faint purple glow to his left, and something wraps itself around his waist.
Kojiro panics again. He flails, trying to dislodge whatever has attached itself to him, and swears he hears an annoyed “Trying to save you, you brute!” before he finds himself taking another big breath…of air.
Sea water stinging his vision he barely realizes he’s clinging onto the side of the deck, all slime and seaweed but a firm grasp nonetheless.
He faintly feels whatever was holding onto him trying to detach itself from him, but years of being far too curious for his own good make him quickly grasp something— something scaly yet soft, cold yet with a pulse…alive.
“Oh my God, am I that drunk?!” Kojiro manages to ask through chattering teeth. Though his vision is still slightly blurry due to the salt, he’s able to turn around and gaze at the…creature floating in front of him.
It’s…stunning.
Kojiro notices the hair first. Even in the dark the moonlight seems to play favourites with whatever this is. Long, cascading hair the colour of strawberry swirls, golden piercing eyes, a soft pink mouth, and a very bare chest covered in splashes of pink and pale green, almost like,
“Cherry Blossoms” Kojiro utters.
The…man? Illusion? Gorgeous sea creature? in front of him looks completely caught in the headlights of Kojiro’s curiosity. Its eyes are widened in shock and it’s no longer even attempting to release its hold from Kojiro’s grasp.
“Right. So much for secrecy.” The creature mutters, frowning at Kojiro, “You should probably get out of the water, it’s not a cold night but you humans are incredibly delicate.”
“Human.” Kojiro repeats.
The golden eyes narrow, “Yes. You, human. Are all of you this slow or are you just a unique specimen?”
Kojiro chooses to ignore the insult “But you’re talking! Like a human…but you don’t look…um…well you kinda do.”
This time he can’t pretend to very pointedly stare at the bare pale chest before him, all plains of smooth skin except for the occasional pattern of pink and green scales.
“I’m a Siren.” The creature—Siren— offers.
“Shut up, like the little mermaid?”
“The little— what the hell are you talking about?” The Siren looks offended which makes no sense because why would you be offended if you didn’t know what you were being compared to, but before Kojiro can say as much there’s once again a purple glow underwater, and he watches as the Siren turns and stares intently at the glowing patterns.
“I see. Some pop culture reference. Thank you, Carla.” There’s a softness to the Siren’s features as he speaks to—
“A jellyfish?!” Kojiro points at the floating orb, finally being able to make out the glowing purple tendrils.
The Siren’s gaze snaps back to him, and once again turns into a glare, “Her name is Carla, please treat her with respect.”
Kojiro slowly mouths the word Carla before bursting into laughter, “Oh my God! It’s just like the little mermaid!”
This time the Siren seems to bristle, its pink scales turning darker in anger.
“I’m starting to suspect I should’ve left you to drown. Now as I said before— get. out—” And before Kojiro can respond he finds himself brusquely tossed to the top of the deck in a surprising display of strength from the Siren’s part.
“Ow. We gotta work on your bedside manner—hey, hey, hey! Don’t leave!” He tries reaching out to the Siren who’s in the process of turning around, almost falling into the water again.
It manages to do the work though, as the Siren pauses, gazing back at him.
“Look, if it makes you feel any better you can tell yourself it was too much drinking and the shock of falling in the water; you’ll soon forget all about me—”
“But I don’t want to! You’re fascinating!” Is what Kojiro shouts back instead.
He’s not sure if it was the right or wrong thing to say because the Siren looks so taken aback by Kojiro’s words that he would not be surprised if it docks underwater and disappears from his life for good.
There’s silence. And then the jellyfish resumes its glowing. The Siren bites a plush lip as it stares intently.
“But…I don’t think…”
“She likes me, doesn’t she?” Kojiro chuckles, “I do happen to be very charming with the lad—” a whip of water hits his face, throwing him into a coughing fit.
“Please, as if a bull shark such as yourself could be.” The Siren scoffs.
But he’s no longer attempting to swim away. Kojiro takes a small breath.
“Can I…could I at least know your name? I’m Kojiro. And though I’ll have you know I am an excellent swimmer, I do appreciate your help.”
The Siren stares at him, guarded in a way that makes Kojiro feel bad for pushing this. He sighs, running a hand through his wet hair, “Hey, nevermind, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable—”
“Kaoru.” It’s a tentative whisper.
“What?”
The Siren rolls his eyes, “My name, you brute, is Kaoru.”
Kojiro snorts, “Well, can’t say it’s lovely to meet you with that prickly personality but— hey, hey, stop splashing me! What if I die from hypothermia?!”
It’s now Kaoru’s turn to snort. “Please, the water is not the right temperature and though the wind factor could work against you it clearly—”
“Ok, ok, big sea nerd, point taken.” He brings his legs to a crouching position, hearing his knees pop. “Hey, how does the siren thing work anyway?”
A thin pink eyebrow is arched at him.
“You said you were a Siren! And I mean, the little mermaid sings, so I wonder if you do too. Come on, hit me with a tune!” He even throws in a wink in Kaoru’s direction.
The last thing his brain registers is the faint blush adorning Kaoru’s cheeks.
Suddenly there are no thoughts, no worries, even the previous discomfort of being in soaked clothes seems to dissipate and is replaced by an indescribable warmth that seems to settle in the center of his chest.
There’s music, but it sounds almost mundane and crass to call this beautiful melody mere music— it is tangible, he can taste it, he can smell the sweet fragrance of a fresh spring day, a picnic under a blooming cherry tree, a warm hand taking his as all worries disappear. There is nothing, yet there is everything in this melodic tunnel luring him in. He does not care about anything else, not his job, not his family, all he knows is that he must get closer to the sound, he needs it to live, to exist, to—
He’s back in the water.
Unlike last time, though, he has not fallen underwater. He slowly blinks himself back to awareness, and realizes he’s being held above water by Kaoru, who is looking at him with a pointed smirk curving his lips.
“Hey! You did that on purpose!” Kojiro presses a finger against Kaoru’s chest.
Kaoru’s laugh is rumbling and rich, “So am I still just like the little mermaid? You did ask for a demonstration.”
“Yeah, yeah, that one’s on me. And, okay, fine, definitely no Ariel but…wow…that was…Kaoru I don’t know how it works exactly but it was wonderful. I’ve never experienced something like that before.”
“No.” Kaoru’s lighthearted tone has evaporated, replaced with a steeliness that makes Kojiro feel guilty without knowing why.
“No, Kojiro, it’s not…beautiful. It’s a horrible trick. I could bring you underwater if I wanted to, I could make you feel as if you’re achieving your most beautiful dream while in reality you’d be…dying.” Kojiro doesn’t think Kaoru’s aware of the fact that he’s shaking, his arms still holding Kojiro afloat.
“But you didn’t, Kaoru. You chose not to. It’s okay, you’re fine.”
Kaoru blinks at him as if slowly drinking in the magnitude of what Kojiro is saying. This close, Kojiro can make out the delicate transition from pink to green on Kaoru’s cheeks and forehead, resisting the urge to trace them with his fingers.
“You…you really should get out of the water now, I don’t wanna hear your whining tomorrow because you caught a cold.” Kaoru mumbles.
“Hah, takes more than this to knock me down—- wait, tomorrow, we’ll see each other again?” He doesn’t even pretend to mask how hopeful he sounds.
Kaoru unconsciously plays with a strand of pink hair, “If you want. I mean, now that you know what I am I better keep an eye on you. Just in case you try to tell the world of my existence.”
Kojiro smiles, “Aww, well now that you mention it you’d make some fine ass looking sashimi—I am KIDDING keep that mouth shut!” He scrambles to cover Kaoru’s mouth, who looks diabolically determined to send Kojiro to the ocean floor.
Kaoru is absolutely flushed now, but making no attempt to float apart from Kojiro. Kojiro swallows.
“Right. Tomorrow.” He finally removes his hands from Kaoru’s mouth, floating back to shore but his eyes locked on Kaoru.
There’s a faint smile on rosy lips, “Tomorrow. Goodnight, Kojiro.”
Kojiro thanks all the hours he spends working out as he uses his upper body strength to jump back on deck. He shakes off some of the water, purposely making sure some of it hits Kaoru (“Ugh, brute!”).
“Goodnight, Cherry.” He congratulates himself on making Kaoru blush once more before he watches his pink head go underwater, ripples the only evidence of their late night encounter.
Later, as Kojiro absentmindedly dries his hair with a towel while sitting in the comfort of his private room, he finds himself humming a melody he’s never heard before but makes his heart beat with the promise of pink hair and snarky mouth.
Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.