For Jess:) 4k words

Sparkly, bright eyes appeared over the surface of the water, following the form walking along the lonely shore. The water creature bit his lip in deep thought. What I wouldn’t do to that piece of as-

            Said thought was quickly lost when a harsh poke to his side startled him out of it.

            “Aaargh! What the hell was that for?” The irritated merman shot at a very entertained Baekhyun.

            “What? You just looked so concentrated and secretive, what was I to do? Not bother you? Sorry Lu, not an option,” he scoffed and looked at his nails.

            “Please explain to me how someone so small can be so annoying.”

            “Don’t hate Lu, it makes you seem really bitter. Plus we’re the same size.” He grabbed Luhan's arm and dragged him a couple of feet underwater, giving him a strict stare. “And stop trying to distract me! Tell me what you were doing up on the surface.” He crossed his arms in pompous expectation, waiting for the elder's response.

            “I just saw someone I recognized from around town so I was curious, nothing more.”

            Baekhyun swam in a circle around Luhan, sizing him up suspiciously. “Is that so…?” he mused quietly. Luhan nodded innocently.

            “Shouldn’t you be off studying or something?” Luhan offhandedly asked. He knew how stressed the other always was because of school, so it was the perfect way to get rid of him for the moment. Or so Luhan thought.

            Baekhyun suddenly shot up towards the surface, ignoring the question and leaving a stunned Luhan in the dust bubbles.

            “Baek, no, wait!”

            “Ooooh, so that’s what you were looking at,” Luhan heard Baekhyun suggestively say once he caught up to him on the surface.

            Luhan sighed, defeated.

            “Fine! He’s this new guy that I’ve seen around town recently. Isn’t he gorgeous?” Luhan let out a smitten exhale and saw Baekhyun nod in agreement from the corner of his eye as they both stared at the figure that appeared to be heavily concentrated in whatever he was reading.

            A flimsy black particle floated in Luhan's line of sight at that moment, and he gathered it between his thumb and index finger. It had the same texture as his own fins. He shrugged lightly and let it go back into the water, coming to the conclusion it most likely came from a decomposing fish.

            “Are you gonna go for it?” Baekhyun wagged his eyebrows, bringing Luhan's attention back to their current activity.

            “Well, I'm not going to just watch from afar, that's for damn sure. that gay .”

            Baekhyun giggled. "Says the one watching from afar. But Lulu, what if he happens to not be as gay as you’d like, hmm?” Baekhyun challenged. “Are you gonna woo him with your human legs and man-gina up on land or what?”

            “I’ll take care of it.” Luhan said darkly. “Besides, based on human standards, my legs are the embodiment of perfection,” he winked playfully at his friend. “Don’t worry, I’ve never been rejected before and I certainly won’t be starting now.”

            Baekhyun snorted. “You’re pretty terrifying, you know that?”

            “You could’ve just stopped at ‘You’re pretty.’”

            Meanwhile on the other side of that exchange, Oh Sehun looked up from his book and stared at a distant spot in the ocean where he thought he saw a large ripple, like something had just dove into the depths. Probably just fish.

“Um… what are you doing?”

            The two sea creatures were back on land in their human forms and home, which was located right at the edge of the ocean, and Baekhyun had just walked into a very determined Luhan getting ready in front of the mirror.

            “Imma get that good good.” Luhan replied in song.

            Baekhyun crinkled his nose in distaste. “Have you been listening to that ty radio music again? Lulu, what did we talk about the other day?” He held the older’s hands dramatically. “You can’t pull off swag, k?”

            Luhan just rolled his eyes and flipped the younger off.

           As the fair-skinned creature made his way through town, he was forming up a near-faultless plan.

            He had first spotted the beautiful man weeks ago in the town’s library, quietly looking through the marine section. Back then, the lovely merman had been looking for a book about fin care, since his own fins had been irritating him when he changed to his marine form. Needless to say, his search had been most welcomely interrupted once his eyes caught sight of the dreamy specimen, who was apparently - and ironically - interested in sea life. Since then, Luhan had occasionally snuck away to attempt to get a glimpse of him, sometimes getting lucky and other times not so much. He wasn't the type to let things slip from his fingers, but he hadn't had a plan of attack at the time.

            Today, Luhan was determined to initiate a conversation, knowing it was unlikely that the serious and mysterious man would go up to him first.

            He walked into the library with his glittering eyes wide open, consciously using his innocent and angelic looks to his full advantage. He just hoped the man was actually there or else all the time and effort for his outfit preparation would have gone to waste. Luhan chose to wear a sky blue shirt with a v-neck that showed off his collarbones, an off-white cardigan to top it, and skin-tight jeans. He had styled his hair so that his bangs fell on his forehead, letting his eyes peek out from underneath. He was going for innocence, rather than a bold look, which would have better suited his personality, so that upon first glance he would look harmless. Mission accomplished.

            Luhan wandered over to the marine section, where he often saw the guy frequent, and tried to be discreet in his search, looking as if he were actually looking for a book. Although, now that he thought about it, he had never found the book he was searching for the day he had first seen him, and his fins were still slightly irritating him when he was out for a swim, some areas of his fins even turning red. After several more minutes of not spotting his target, with great disappointment, he started his search on books about fins. Might as well, he thought.

            Hmm… Fin classification, no, fin facts, maybe. More fin classification, no no and no.

            He started to reach for a book that looked promising, when a veiny and strong-looking hand reached out and grabbed a book on the same shelf, just a couple books down from the one the pretty merman was going to grab. Luhan hesitated in surprise, not having sensed someone next to him, but then continued to reach out for his own book quickly, and instinctively turned to look at the person next to him after securing the book to his chest.

            His eyes opened wide and heart kicked his chest upon seeing the flawless profile of the one he sought after. Said man was reading the back cover of the book he had chosen, eyebrows seemingly permanently furrowed. Luhan found that he liked them like that.

            This is your chance, you idiot! He internally yelled at himself.

            “Erm… do you enjoy marine biology?” Luhan started, then grimaced at his brainless question. What do you think he’s always here for, dumdum? he scolded himself in thought. No no, he counter-defended. This is supposed to be the first time I’ve ever seen him, so I should inquire about his interests. Besides, it’s a good conversation opener.

            The man looked up from his reading when he realized he was being directed a question. He briefly eyed the book in Luhan’s arms, then his eyes flashed up to make eye contact with the smaller. Luhan looked down, then to the left and right, suddenly shy, which confused him. He could act shy, pretend to be a timid little thing, but he was genuinely shy right then, and all he could think was 'What the hell, Luhan?'

            “Yes.” The man simply responded, and when Luhan looked up, he received a polite smile. “You?” He asked in return, glancing once again to the book that Luhan was clutching onto.

            Luhan’s eyes also quickly went to the book he held and back to the taller’s. “Very much.” He smiled sweetly, trying to smooth out the tension he felt. “It’s as if I were a fish myself,” he giggled. Smooth.

            The other actually cracked a real smile at that, his eyes forming crescents and some of his teeth pleasantly pointy. Whether he was entertained by what Luhan had said or if he was laughing at Luhan himself, the shorter didn’t know, but nevertheless he was happy to have provoked such a reaction from this Adonis.

            “Likewise. The sea is my life. I’m actually a marine biologist," he shared with a friendly tone.

            Luhan's eyes widened at that. "Really? But you look so young! How?..." He let out an amazed laugh.

             The other laughed at Luhan's expression. "I suppose I am young. It's because I went through all my schooling rather quickly in my country and graduated a couple months back. I was recently offered a job nearby, but I don't officially start for a couple of days. The company wanted me to get settled in this town before throwing me into the job. You know, get to know people, wander around, know key locations, etcetera,” he finished with a polite smile like earlier.

            “Wow, that’s really great! Everything revolves around water here, so you’ve come to the right place. After all, we’re a town known for our fishing. If you want, I can help you anytime you have questions about anything. I’ve lived here my entire life and we don’t get as many newcomers as we’d like,” Luhan attempted to flirt as he pouted adorably.

            “Yeah, I’ve gotten a lot of attention because of that,” the guy chuckled. “And thanks, I'll definitely come to you if there's anything I need to know," he grinned. The man then caught sight of the book Luhan had in his arms again and he seemed to realize something. "Oh, I don’t want to impose on your reading time any further, since you seemed very engaged earlier, so I’ll just go read. It was nice to meet you,” he said with finality and started to walk backwards.

            No! Luhan internally shrieked with panic. He remembered his other reason for being here apart from stalking the man, so he blurted out, “Wait! Do you know anything about fish care?” That caused the marine biologist to halt his retreat in surprise and Luhan cringed when he heard his outburst come out a little too loud for a library.

            “Fish… care? Uh, yeah I suppose I do. Why do you ask?”

            “Um… I was…” Luhan racked hi