"Hyung please..."

"Drop it Yixing. I'm not helping you."

"Just this once. I will never ask for anything anymore."

Kris rolled his eyes. "No. And that's final."

"What's final?" Suho asked when he swam into the library where Yixing was so obviously begging Kris who was starting to look annoyed at the incessant and totally ridiculous request.

"Nothing." Yixing squeaked upon the arrival of the eldest. Suho laughed and Yixing took that as a good sign that his older brother was in a good mood, but he wasn't about to risk his life for that. Not when he clearly went against his words.

"Our little brother here, wants legs." Kris said,spitting out the last word in a hiss. Yixing looked at him, a horrified expression on his face, feeling betrayed at the sudden exposure. He was so dead now, he was sure of it. If there was one thing Suho really hated, it was when one of them went against him.

"What?!" Suho sharply said, swimming directly towards Yixing. "You went again even when I told you not to?!"

Yixing winced, not making eye contact with him. "Sorry hyung." He mumbled.

"Sorry doesn't really cut it Yixing! This is the exact reason why I don't want you to go! Now you have this crazy and stupid idea of not wanting to be a merman anymore!"

"It's not that hyung, it's just..."

"And you!" Suho cut in, turning this time to look at Kris. "How'd you know about all this?"

Kris shrugged. "I overheard you two talking. And I went with him today."

"You went with him?!" Suho was practically yelling now, not bothering to keep his voice down anymore. It wasn't as if their father was around to hear anything. "Why did you go with him?! You should've stopped him from going!"

"Suho, he obviously didn't listen to you. Do you honestly think he'll listen to me?" Kris reasoned. "I went with him just to make sure he won't do anything stupid. Not that I want to go again. We nearly died!"

"What?!" Suho yelled again, his voice an octave higher this time. He was tired of shouting 'what' all the time but his brother never ceased to shock him, and not in a good way either.

"We did not almost die!" Yixing exclaimed, feeling the need to suddenly defend his current predicament. "We just had slight difficulty in breathing that's all. And besides, I don't want those stick looking things permanently like Aunt Ariel, I just want them for a few days, if possible. I'm not giving up my... identity as a merman. I was born a merman, and I would die as one too. I just... I want to be with her for a bit."

Suho shook his head, not bothering to even ask how he knew about their Aunt Ariel. This boy was ridiculous, and slightly crazy. How could he wish for such a thing? Do love really make people go blind? Suho was positive that Yixing was enamored by the female human, why would he ask such a thing if he wasn't?

Yixing watched as Suho swam around, seemingly deep in thought. Would his brother grant his request? He didn't put up such a good fight did he? The silence that engulfed them stretched far longer than he would've liked, and Yixing sighed. Maybe his wish of becoming a human for a while would not be fulfilled after all.

"Fine." Suho said at last, jolting Kris wide awake. "Fine what?" Kris sputtered, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Suho took a deep breath, struggling to get the words out. He was going to regret saying it, he knew he would. And once it was out there, he will never be able to take it back. But it seemed really really important to Yixing, so he would bend the rule just this once. Only for him. Yixing didn't have to know that Suho favored him. He was always so obedient, so considerate of others. Of course, Suho found his wandering habit quite a bit of a nuisance but it couldn't be helped. He was born with a curious gene, just as how Baekhyun was born with a loud gene. So he would grant his little brother his wish, but just this once.

"My friend Mark, is a direct descendent of The Sorceress-"

"Mark?? But Mark is nice and not evil like The Sorceress!" Kris exclaimed.

"Exactly. Which is why his charm is not permanent. He told me he made a ring that'll turn the wearer into human form from sunrise to sunset and that it only lasts for three days. I'll try and get that ring from him."

Yixing smile stretched from ear to ear, and his tail quievered in excitement. It seemed to sparkle in the dull library and Yixing flapped them, doing summersaults in front of his brothers. "Hyung! Can I kiss you?!"

"No." Suho said disapprovingly. "Look Yixing, I'm not doing this because I agree with your decision. I just want to put your curiosity at rest. You are never to speak of wanting to become something else once you come back from your adventure do you hear me? And when you come back, find yourself a nice mermaid and get married. And then train your vocal with Triton the Turtle. He's been asking you to join him for a while now."

"Yes hyung. I promise this will be a one off thing. I'll never speak of it ever again."

"Good." Suho nodded his head. "Meet me here tonight and I'll give you that ring. Kris, please go with him."

"What?" Kris protested. "Weren't you listening Suho? We almost died just now and I don't want to go. And it's bad enough that both Tao and Chanyeol are clinging onto me, now I have to babysit this one too?"

"Go with him Kris. Or I won't give him that ring." Suho said, finality in his tone before he swam out.

Yixing looked pleadingly at Kris, silent begging him to come along. He wasn't like Tao. Tao could make anyone fall for his stupid antics if he so much as gave them that 'Tao' look that was supposed to be cute and adorable. Though personally to Yixing, Tao looked like a retarded octopus every time he did that. But maybe this time, he should take a page out of Tao's book. So Yixing tried. He made his eyes look droopy like Tao's, jutting out his lower lip in a cute manner. He hoped he only had to go this far before Kris cave in. Yixing wasn't willing to try anymore than that.

Kris groaned. "Yixing staaaahp! You look like Tao." Which meant it was working. Kris had a soft spot for Tao and if Yixing already looked like Tao, than Kris was close to giving in.

"Ugh fine!" Kris finally exclaimed. "We'll set off tomorrow before sunrise."

Yixing grinned into the empty library once Kris exited. He was beside himself with happiness. Tomorrow, he was going to have the thing he wished for the most. Tomorrow his dream of becoming human would come true. How should he act? What should he say? What should he do? His hair, how would it look like completely dry? Speaking of, wasn't it too long? Should he cut it? He was excited and nervous at the same time, but all he could wish for now was that everything would go smoothly for him tomorrow.

***

Tasha's gaze landed on the water, and she was immediately hit with the scenes from earlier event. She remembered jumping into the water, but she couldn't for the life of her recall how and when she got to the shore. And that kiss. Someone kissed her. She could still feel the softness of those lips on her cheek, but who was it? Oh and that golden tail. She saw it. She was positively sure that it wasn't just a figment of her imagination. It was massive, sparkly, and extremely beautiful. Could it be a fish?

Her eyes scanned the water again. She was looking for something, though she wasn't sure what, but still searched for it nonetheless. Maybe in the absence of the full moon, she hoped to see who that tail belonged to.

She was looking, but she wasn't really seeing. Because if she had seen properly, she would have noticed a pair of green eyes watching her.

***

"Yixing, you only have until sunset." Kris reminded him for the umpteenth time.

"Yes hyung. I'll be in the water five minutes before that." Yixing replied impatiently. It was almost sunrise, and they were behind the big pillar once again. Yixing twirled the ring between his fingers, waiting for the first ray of sunlight to hit the water. He was so jittery his tail kept flapping on the surface of the water, splashing his sleepy older brother.

"Yixing stop it." Kris growled as he wiped his face again. "You shouldn't have agreed to this if you were going to be so nervous."

Yixing didn't even get to reply, not that he wanted to, when the sun began to rise in the horizon. Gripping the ring tightly in his grasp, he turned to look at Kris, a wide grin on his face. "I'll see you later hyung! Keep yourself busy ok? I'll see you here at sundown!"

He swam away then, not bothering to wait for Kris's reply. He swam directly beneath the structure that she always stood on and slipped the ring onto his middle finger. He stayed afloat, wanting to witness the process of his tail transforming into a pair of legs. Not a minute later, his tail began splitting into two, and his scales disappeared into skin as smooth as his upper body. He watched in fascination, touching the finger-like things at the end of his legs after completion. He found that if he moved them one after the other swiftly, he could stay afloat. But that wasn't his intention. He wanted to be above water, the exact reason why he asked for them in the first place. He eyed the place she so often stood on, and began climbing up, landing on the wooden surface with a thud.

***

Tasha jolted awake, before she succumbed to sleep once again. Whatever that sound was, it could wait another 2 hours. It was way too early to be up. She was about to drift off once again into dreamland, when another sound reached her ears.

Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap.

Like someone knocking on something, continuously. She sat up in her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She cursed the person inwardly for disturbing her sleep. Swinging her legs down onto the floor, she stood up to her full height and made her way to the main door. Throwing the door open, she was annoyed to find that there was no one there, she even peeked around the corner. Grumbling under her breath she returned to her bed, only to hear the incessant tapping once again. She turned to the sliding door leading towards the balcony, and frowned. It seemed to be coming from there. It couldn't be coming there could it?

So she stood up once more, and slid the door open. She was about to curse again when her eyes finally caught sight of the cause of the tapping.

There was a full grown man standing on her balcony. And he was beautiful against the soft glow of the sun. So beautiful, so manly, and so stark . Her eyes widened as big as saucers and her jaw dropped in shock. And when her brain finally grasped the situation, let rip a scream.

Not only was this beautiful man stark , he was going to her too.

Chapter Posted on: Aug 28 2015