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“Oh dang, it broke again…” Jisung sighs dramatically, almost unable to hold back his laughter as he drops his self-made hammer on their broken raft. Minho snickers at Jisung’s dramatics but schools his expression when Chan comes swimming over.
“It still isn’t working? What is this, attempt five or six?” he asks with a worried look, and Jisung almost feels a little bad for lying to him. “I wish I knew anything about boats or rafts, but yeah… I only know the things you’ve taught me.”
“That’s okay, Channie,” Jisung says as he plops down on the sand and Minho does the same. “I like staying here with you. The other guys on the ship didn’t let us be ourselves, and you do, so I maybe like it even better here than on the ship.”
“I agree. It was tough at first, but I’m glad that storm hit us and we ended up stranded here,” Minho agrees, and Chan’s pretty sea-blue eyes sparkle in wonder. Does he really still not realize how much we like him?
“I’m glad I met you guys, too,” Chan says with a stunning dimpled smile, his tail splashing in the shallow water. “Humans are really intriguing, but from the brief encounters I’ve had with others and from the months I’ve spent with you two, I definitely know that you two are special.”
Jisung blushes, his heart making a fuzz in his chest, and it reminds him so much of how Minho makes him feel. It’s different because Chan is different — he’s a mermaid for goodness sake! — but it’s just as nice and warm as the way Minho makes him feel, and it makes Jisung long for more.
Minho and he were both poor and given an opportunity to survive amongst pirates, but those pirates were harsh on them, making them clean the ship and work long days for food. Because the two of them were the new kids on the ship, they found refuge with each other, spending late nights eating together and early mornings cleaning, getting to know each other, and bonding over their mutual weirdness and the hardships they faced on the ship.
It was almost natural for them to get together, become lovers, as they were slowly becoming closer and closer. Jisung still cherishes the memory of Minho kissing him that day when Minho accidentally messed up tying one of the sails and Jisung took the fall for him. Jisung vividly remembers Minho scolding him for taking the blame for something he didn't do, but Jisung knew Minho did it out of care for him. And when Jisung told him he did it because he knew Minho always tried to stay strong and hide how hurt he was and found it hard to accept help and consolation while that was a bit easier for Jisung, Minho promptly kissed him, and after getting over the shock, Jisung kissed back with just as much passion.
They ended up talking and kissing through the night, letting all of their feelings out and giving them to the other, and they didn't care when they were reprimanded for not being focused the next morning because they were sleep-deprived. The other pirates definitely judged them for being together and tried to separate them with different chores, but Minho and Jisung always stubbornly ended up finding each other whenever they could.
Fast forward about a year, to a few months ago, they were hit by a big storm because the head pirate was too greedy and wanted to chase a big ship to steal from it. Jisung knew when the wind was ripping floorboards out of the ship, that it was an escape-or-die kind of situation, and Minho thought the same, because he pulled Jisung towards the nearest escape boat and protectively held him as they fruitlessly tried to row away from the wild sea.
It didn't take long for their small boat to flip, and they both couldn't swim, so Jisung was sure that would have been their end no matter how much he and Minho tried to survive together. But he woke up, coughing his lungs out on the beach of a small island, being helped by a mermaid. Chan saved them, using the little knowledge he had of humans to bring them to that island and make sure that they could breathe again. Not only that, he stayed with them, helped them get food and drinkable water, and tried to help come up with a way for them to get off the island again.
They slowly got to know Chan during that time (and still now), too, because they sure were curious about and grateful for the mermaid, and Chan found stories of their human lives enough repayment for helping them. Chan taught Jisung a little how to swim, taught Minho how to fish, and they taught Chan how to tie knots, how you can tell which way you're going with help of the sun or the stars, and they told each other about themselves.
Just like it was natural for Minho and Jisung to get together, it was almost natural for them to start liking Chan and develop an infatuation for him, too, and not just because he's a mermaid. Jisung genuinely thinks Chan is one of the most selfless and kind creatures out there, and he knows that Minho admires Chan in the same way.
That’s why when they were finally getting somewhere with building a raft that would be sturdy enough to use on the open sea, Minho and Jisung agreed to sabotage their own raft and rather use the parts to keep building a home on the island so that they can settle here, hopefully together with Chan. It’s not like they have much of a life on the mainland anyway, the pirates were their only home and they might have not survived the storm, though Jisung would rather say that Minho is his home instead of them. And maybe soon, Chan will become part of their home, too.
It’s still a thing they need to discuss with Chan, and they both have been postponing it, hoping that Chan would somehow suggest that they can stay here with him if building a raft doesn’t work, but sweet Chan keeps insisting that he’ll help them get back to civilization. Now, though, they’ve said they like it here with Chan, so maybe he will get the message?
“So… do you have any other ideas? Something other than a raft?” Chan asks, his tail swaying nervously in the water. He looks at Minho and Jisung with a certain sparkle in his eyes, and Jisung hopes it means that he doesn’t want them to leave. “Because… well, you two are so wonderful, and you said you loved seeing different places when you were sailing around with the pirates, right? So I imagine you’d want to travel around, get off this island—”
“What if we don’t want to leave?” Minho blurts out, and Chan and Jisung’s eyes widen simultaneously. “What if we’re fine staying here?”
“What?— But… Really?” Chan stammers, seemingly taken by surprise, and he pushes himself up so that he's sitting in the shallow water.
“Yeah, I mean, we haven’t explored the whole island yet, and you said there are more small islands nearby, right? There’s enough to do here, and I’m happy here, with Jisung and you,” Minho explains, his ears coloring a fiery red, and Jisung proudly grabs his lover’s hand. “I want to stay here.”
“Me too,” Jisung backs Minho up, and Chan frowns in disbelief. “I want to stay here. Minho and you are all I need.”
“Me too..?” Chan breathes, and Minho and Jisung both huff, unable to believe that Chan is surprised by it, even after months of being together and Minho and Jisung trying to convey their gratitude and fondness towards him. “I mean— you shouldn’t stay for me, I– I’ll miss you guys a lot, of course, but—”
“But you don’t need to worry because we’re staying. For you, but not in the way you think, because it’s also for us. Because we like you,” Jisung cuts in, his heart hammering against his chest as he throws the words out, and he feels Minho squeeze his hand, a silent gesture of thanks and support.
“Am I really enough to stay for?” Chan asks with a tremble in his voice.
“Yes! We like you, Channie!” Minho exclaims with a shaky voice, and Chan flushes. “I– I know things aren’t really the same with humans as with mermaids, but we like you, as in… the same way we like each other.”
Chan's breath hitches and he flinches when Jisung reaches over to hold his hand and agree, but Chan pulls away and looks almost scared.
"Channie?—"
"I— I need some time to think— Sorry." Chan runs a hand through his half-dried curls before he turns himself and dives into the sea and swims away.
Jisung has the urge to dive in and swim after Chan, but he's not that good at swimming and definitely not as fast as Chan is. That, and judging from Minho's dreadful expression, he needs to be there for his love and talk about what just happened.
"Was… was that a rejection?" Minho wonders with a grimace and Jisung scowls as well, his stomach feeling heavy in worry.
“I— I hope it isn’t, but… I don’t know,” Jisung mutters, nervously playing with Minho’s fingers as he scoots closer on the sand and leans his head on Minho’s shoulder.
“What will we do if it is?” Minho asks softly, swinging his free arm around Jisung’s waist and caressing it. “Do you want to try to get off this island after all?”
Jisung sighs and shakes his head on Minho’s shoulder. “No… I– Maybe only to explore other nearby islands, but you still can’t swim and I am not the best at it, so I’d rather be safe. I really meant it when I said you are all I need.”
Minho exhales shakily and kisses the top of Jisung’s hair before he nudges Jisung’s cheek and Jisung lifts his head so Minho can kiss the side of it, too. His breath fans over Jisung’s skin as he says, “I’m glad you feel the same, Jisungie. We’ll get through it together, as always.”
Jisung’s cheeks feel warm under Minho’s lips, and he nuzzles into the touch, enjoying the feeling before he returns the gesture and kisses Minho’s cheek, trailing kisses down until he reaches Minho’s soft lips. The kiss calms Jisung down a bit, and he feels that Minho relaxes a little as well, but they’re both still a bit jittery and worried about Chan swimming away on them, so it’s difficult to get fully immersed in the kiss.
They distract themselves by scouring for some food and reinforcing the little hut they’re building together. They both look out to the sea every other minute to see if Chan will return, and on one hand, Jisung believes that Chan wouldn’t just leave them like that and never come back even if he doesn’t return their feelings, but on the other hand, Jisung is afraid that they went too far and Chan hates the idea of being in a relationship with them.
After eating and working on their home, they take a walk along the beach, hand in hand, wading their bare feet through the waves on the shore. Jisung is glad they somehow washed up on the shore of an island where it doesn’t get too cold, because gosh he hated the cold nights on the ship, but fortunately he always had Minho to share some warmth with.
Splash.
Jisung whips himself around at the sound of water splashing, and there he is— Chan emerges from the sea, swimming up to them with an apologetic look. Jisung immediately falls down on his knees and hugs Chan, not caring about his clothes getting wet. Chan tenses and Minho grabs Jisung’s shoulder, gently urging him to give Chan some space.
“Right— Sorry, I– I was just so worried.” Jisung pulls back with burning cheeks, and Chan sighs, rubbing his neck sheepishly, looking a little apologetic.
“No– I get it. I… I’m sorry for swimming off like that,” Chan whispers, chewing on his lower lip in guilt. “I– I just didn’t expect that confession and… yeah, I needed a bit of time to think.”
Minho crouches in the water next to Jisung, holding him as they look at Chan. “We’re sorry if we made you uncomfortable, Channie—”
“No, you didn’t,” Chan quickly assures them, ever so kind and considerate. “I’m flattered and happy with what you told me, just… I wasn’t ready to hear it yet– nor was I ready to talk about it.”
“And what about now?” Jisung asks hopefully, and Chan chuckles softly, his cheeks matching Jisung’s ones and Minho’s ears in color. “Are… Did you have time to think about it?”
“I did… uhm, that’s why I took so long,” Chan answers before he takes a deep breath. “I… I’m really touched that I’m partially a reason to stay here, that you think it’s fine to stay here because I’m here too. I almost couldn’t believe it at first, but I felt that you were sincere.”
Jisung nods, unconsciously holding his breath and squeezing Minho’s hand as he listens to Chan and waits in anticipation whenever he pauses for a bit.
“I– I really like you two as well, like, a lot, but… yeah I didn’t know if or how it would work with me being a mermaid, because while I can turn human, our cultures and all are still different, so it’s all new to me,” Chan continues, looking down at the wet sand as he draws shapes that get washed away by the waves. “I… is it okay if we take things slow? I don't have much relationship experience, especially not in the human way, but if you guys are okay with that… I'd like to learn.”
"Of course!" Jisung exclaims and falls forward to hug Chan again and bury his face into the damp crook of Chan's neck, and basking in the warmth. "I never expected this to be easy and I don’t expect any of us to be perfect, but we'll figure it out with the three of us."
"Exactly. Our only experience is with each other, so we know what it's like to figure things out," Minho agrees, crawling over to them and holding Jisung and Chan's hand when Jisung pulls back. "We'll gladly take things slowly."
Chan looks positively touched, his eyes damp and glimmering with emotion, and he looks stunning in the orange light of the setting sun. Jisung takes a moment to admire him as his mind settles on the fact that Chan feels the same, but it doesn’t ease the overwhelming love he feels for both Minho and Chan, especially when Chan is staring at them so lovingly, brushing his thumb over the back of their hands.
“Channie?” His name slips from Jisung’s lips before he can stop himself, and he guesses he can’t go back when Chan hums and tilts his head curiously. “Can… Can I kiss you?”
Chan takes in a breath and he blushes. “I– yes, but… I’ve never kissed anyone before.”
“That’s okay, I don’t mind it if you don’t mind having your first kiss with me— or, Minho?” Jisung turns to Minho, who huffs and tells Jisung he can have it because he asked first and that he doesn’t mind being the second kiss. Jisung can’t help but steal a brief peck from his lover in gratitude before he pulls himself closer to Chan and slowly leans in closer.
Chan’s scrunched up eyes from his fond smile trail down and land on Jisung’s lips, after which Chan’s lips part slightly. Jisung gulps in want before he raises his wet hand to cup Chan’s jaw and coax him to tilt his head like Jisung does. Chan complies, leaning into Jisung’s touch, and his eyes flutter shut as Jisung slowly closes the gap between them.
Chan’s lips are soft on Jisung’s in their chaste kiss, but Jisung doesn’t mind it being brief and innocent, their lips only moving over each other slightly, because it still gives him a warm feeling. Chan’s ability to hold his breath is somehow amazing even above water, because however Jisung wants to keep their soft kiss going, he has to pull back to breathe. He really wants to kiss Chan again, already addicted to it even if Chan was still getting used to it, but he should give Minho the opportunity to get a taste of Chan’s lovely lips as well.
He turns towards Minho, who is looking at them with so much fondness in his eyes that it makes Jisung choke up a little. He motions for Minho to take his place in front of Chan, and Minho doesn’t waste any time before capturing Chan’s lips with his own. Jisung chuckles at how their noses bump, but Minho soon corrects their positions, places his hands on Chan’s cheeks, and tries again.
Chan already seems more comfortable with kissing now, and Jisung is glad that Minho gets the second, slightly more experienced kiss. Jisung is more of a sap anyway, so he’s happy that he got the ‘special’ first kiss and show Chan what it’s like. He’s sure Minho would be really gentle with that, too — he was so gentle with Jisung after all, even though it was both of their first kiss and Minho kissed him in the heat of the moment — but Minho seems to like the way things went if the way he’s smiling so brightly after parting is anything to go by.
Jisung’s heart positively bursts with love at the sight and he hugs his two loves closely, planting two big smooches on their cheeks, making them both laugh and return the gesture. They stay like that, cuddled up in the water, exchanging kisses and touches until Jisung shivers and says that he’s getting a little cold.
“Oh! Channie, we upgraded our bed yesterday, and you have that thingy, uh… that shell that gives you legs, right?” Minho says with a grin. “Do you want to stay with us tonight? Or is that too much for today?”
Chan smiles brightly, his dimples making an appearance, and Jisung pokes them, making Chan chuckle. “Yeah, sure, I’d like that. I’ll get the shell and tell my friends I’ll be staying with you two.”
Chan swims off, and Minho and Jisung giddily return to their humble home to get something Chan can dry himself off with and prepare the bed to host three people. Jisung finds it funny to think about how he already not really felt any urge to leave the island — he didn’t have anything to go back to anyway, he only had Minho — but now, with Chan by their side, too, Jisung really knows that he has all he needs here.
They meet Chan on the beach again and watch him put on the shell pendant, making his legs slowly appear. They help him up as Chan is always a bit shaky and has to get used to having legs, but Jisung doesn’t mind keeping Chan close to his side at all. They give Chan some clothes and eat the last few pieces of fruit before they become too ripe.
After that, they settle into their bed — it’s more of a bunch of gathered leaves, feathers, and woven sheets — and Chan comments on how it’s comfortable. It definitely is comfortable compared to how they had to sleep when they first got on the island (and especially for Minho, who insisted that Jisung could use him as a pillow, though luckily Jisung managed to convince Minho to switch around every night, even if he doesn’t have too much fat on his body to serve as a pillow).
They joke around and show Chan a bunch of stuff they can do with their legs before they settle down and tangle their legs. Chan lies in between them despite his initial protests, but Minho and Jisung have slept together every night even before they got on this island, so Chan soon relented and lets himself be cuddled.
Jisung is giddy to see what this new development will bring them, but he’s sure that it will make the days on this island even better than they already were. Chan tells them about mermaid sleeping habits as they wind down, and he even sings them a sleeping song mermaids sing, and the beautiful sound of Chan’s soothing voice slowly lulls Jisung into a deep, warm sleep, dreaming about his two lovers.
—
Minho holds onto Jisung and the basket full of their findings tightly as the latter rows their raft back to their home island. Chan is swimming next to them, carrying some of their findings like plants and fruits as well. They finally finished up the raft a while ago (and told Chan why it kept breaking, and Chan spent a good ten minutes laughing at it, but Jisung could tell he was flattered, too), so they’re exploring other nearby islands now, but only together with Chan because they still aren’t too confident in their swimming and rowing skills.
Chan gladly accompanies them, and they’ve expanded their home (also to accommodate Chan whenever he wants to stay or roam the home island on his legs) and they’ve also expanded their food and material supply by a lot now that they can go out to other islands.
Other than that, they’ve also come far with developing their relationship. They’ve settled into somewhat of a routine of when Chan will stay with them and when he’ll be underwater with his friends, Chan is more used to turning into a human and having legs once in a while, and they’ve explored and settled on boundaries together. They’ve met some of Chan’s mermaid friends, they’ve built furniture together, told more stories of things they’ve experienced before they met each other, and so on.
They’ve even gone as far as exploring sex with the three of them (Minho and Jisung had already done some things together before, but not too much) and Chan found it weird at first because with legs came private parts which he doesn’t have as a mermaid, but he was open to slowly finding out how arousal and orgasms felt in his human form together with Jisung and Minho. He turned out to love it, so they could share that part that Minho and Jisung already had with the three of them as well. It would have been fine if they couldn’t because they still are all different and have different dynamics with each one of their lovers, but Jisung also likes it this way.
Once they’re safely back home without anyone falling off the raft, they store and put away their stuff and have a meal together. Today is a day when Chan stays with them for the night, so he is already wearing the shell pendant and sitting with his legs crisscrossed in the sand as they eat. Minho and Jisung are both sitting on a log, but Chan likes sitting in the sand even when it might get between his clothes or his toes or his buttcrack. Jisung finds it endearing, and Minho loves patting Chan all over (especially on his butt) to get all the sand off and out.
And today again, when they’re done eating, Minho wears the cutest grin, and Chan’s ears color red as the former happily runs his hand all over Chan’s body to get the sand off and out of all the crevices. Jisung is just fondly looking at them, but then Minho turns to him and says he has to check Jisung for sand too.
“Ack! It tickles!” Jisung squeaks and looks at Chan in a silent plea for help between his laughs, but Chan is too busy laughing himself to save Jisung from Minho’s touchy hands. He squirms in Minho’s arms as he giggles and tries to escape, but when he does and collides with Chan’s chest, Chan’s long arms wrap around his waist and he starts tickling him as well.
“AH! Have– mercy please!” Jisung pleads between wheezing. “Less– tickling, more kissing!”
Chan laughs and relents, so Jisung immediately takes the opportunity to kiss him, and Chan melts into it. Jisung wants to wrap his arms around Chan like Chan’s are around him, but he’d rather be squished between his lovers, so, while not breaking the kiss, he waves around with one arm to encourage Minho to join in.
He’s happy when he feels Minho press against his back and kiss along his shoulder. Jisung gasps softly and shivers, but he soon dives in to kiss Chan again, chasing that nice warmth that spreads through his whole body. Chan pulls them flush together by wrapping his arms around Minho, too, and gosh Jisung loves the feeling of being pressed between his lovers. He feels safe, there, and loved, and he finds himself craving more. He wants to feel all of Minho and Chan, so he tries to pull them impossibly close, grinding their bodies together as he sighs in pleasure. Chan licks into his mouth and Minho sucks on his neck, making heat pool into Jisung’s stomach, his mind becoming clouded with arousal.
“Channie– Min…” he breathes in want as he feels his lovers’ hardening lengths press against him. “I– ah—”
“What do you want, Sungie?” Minho’s hot breath hits his ear, sending shivers down Jisung’s spine.
“I– I want you both— at the same time,” Jisung pleads softly, his cheeks burning at his own request even though they’ve talked about the option before and they all said they would be willing to try it out. “Please.”
Minho moans against Jisung’s skin and Chan’s breath hitches as well, but he’s still ever so caring. “Are you sure?”
“Yes– I can take it,” Jisung replies before he pulls them towards their bed. He pushes his lovers onto it before he strips and climbs on Chan and Minho’s laps to kiss them deeply again, chasing that delicious friction and heat.
They take their time building up the heat, Jisung slowly undressing his lovers, kissing, biting, sucking, and touching all over their bodies as they do the same with him and each other, and it gets Jisung all hot and worked up. Between airy breaths he asks for them to prep him with that special goo Chan brings from the sea, and Chan laughs delightedly, but Jisung only hears him, too immersed in Minho sucking on his tongue to notice anything else until he feels Chan's fingers prod between his ass cheeks.
Jisung throws his head back with a moan and gets lost in the feeling, mindlessly caressing his loves. By now, Jisung knows what Minho and Chan like, so he's happy he doesn't have to think about it too much anymore and he can just fully enjoy the experience, trusting his loves to communicate with him just like he'll do with them.
Minho’s fingers soon join Chan’s in opening Jisung up, and Jisung groans at the stretch, making his lovers check on him, but Jisung waves them off.
“I— ah— It’s a good feeling, don’t worry,” he assures them breathlessly. “I can handle it– I want it.”
Minho chuckles and kisses Jisung sweetly, grazing his sweet spot and making Jisung grab onto whoever is closest for support as he keens. He barely processes who does what anymore, completely lost in pleasure and surrounded by his lovers' moans, until he finally manages to plead for his loves to continue and enter him already.
Jisung's mind clears a little bit as they get ready, so he makes sure to appreciate Minho and Chan with lots of kisses, touches, and stimulation, relishing in their pleasured sounds and pleasured expressions. That is, until they position themselves and help Jisung onto their lengths. Jisung hisses softly, but Minho and Chan make sure to go slowly and they obviously seem to be holding back their own desires for Jisung's comfort.
It makes Jisung a little emotional and he quickly assures them he isn't in pain when they notice his teary eyes. It's typical that they all fondly laugh at Jisung's emotional mood even in the middle of what they're doing right now, but it makes Jisung relax more, so it's only good.
They laugh again when Chan comments on how he's never seen something like this and how he is amazed by the capabilities of the human body, and Jisung doesn't only literally feel full, but he also feels full of love. Minho and Chan praise him when they start moving and Jisung tries to let the love he feels for them out as well.
The two of them are really all Jisung needs, and he knows Minho and Chan feel the same, because they don’t only tell him so, but Jisung can feel it in their actions and touches too. Surrounded by heat and warmth, engulfed by his lovers’ bodies and praises, Jisung reaches his high, and Minho and Chan soon follow.
They stay in each other’s arms, caressing, kissing, and praising each other as Jisung loves while they wind down from the sex. Jisung is a little sore, so without even having to bring out his pout, Chan carries him toward the lake near their little house with his mermaid strength so they can wash themselves. Chan temporarily takes off the shell pendant so he can swim around better and Minho and Jisung can touch his tail because they love that so much.
Jisung smiles fondly as he watch Minho sit on (or rather, cling for dear life to) Chan’s back as Chan swims through the lake, both of them shrieking and laughing, and Jisung thinks he definitely wouldn’t mind if every day would be like this. No judgment, no people to tell them who they have to be or what they have to do, just him, his two loves, and occasionally one of Chan’s friends.
Jisung is happy, and looking at his two lovers, he knows they are too. And that’s all that matters.
The end.