Kibum laid on the bed, his body covered in sweat and utterly exhausted. He had been in labor for nearly 14 hours but in the end, every ounce of pain, every minute of every hour was worth getting to hold his baby boy. The newborn baby was sleeping peacefully in Kibum’s arms and Kibum knew he should probably sleep as well but he couldn’t take his eyes off of the beautiful baby. The baby was so tiny, with little tufts of brown hair and big blue eyes. The baby yawned and opened his eyes. After a few moments of confusion the baby let out a small whimper.

“Aigoo, looks like someone’s hungry.” Kibum laughed and immediately brought the baby up to nurse. The baby happily received the milk he was being offered. A few minutes after the baby had begun to nurse the door to the bedroom opened and revealed a very disheveled Jonghyun. The moments he laid eyes on his mate, he rushed to his side and took his hand.

“Oh my God, Kibum!” Jonghyun cried. “Are you okay?! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

“Calm down, Jonghyun.” Kibum laughed. “I’m fine, I already had the baby.”

“What?! I missed my son’s birth?!” Jonghyun was obviously upset by this.

“It’s okay Jjong. It’s not like the doctor would’ve allowed you to be there anyway.” Kibum was right, the fathers were never allowed in during a traditional mermaid birth.

“Still.” Jonghyun frowned. “Where is he? I want to see him.”

“Right here.” Kibum smiled and gestured towards the baby who was still happily ling.

“Oh my God, he’s beautiful.” Jonghyun whispered, settling next to his mate and taking him into his arms. “Look at that tail! It’s gorgeous!”

“I know.” Kibum smiled lovingly at the baby who was almost done nursing. “He’s really something isn’t he?”

“Can I hold him?” Jonghyun asked as the baby finally finished nursing.
“Of course.” Kibum smiled as he handed Jonghyun his son. Jonghyun’s eyes began to turn red and his tail indicated his pride.

“He’s absolutely perfect, Kibum.” Jonghyun’s voice was thick as he the baby’s cheek to which the baby responded by grasping his index finger with his entire hand. “So, so perfect.”

“I agree.” Kibum smiled at the interaction between his son and mate.

“Taemin,” Jonghyun breathed. “I promise to be the best Appa in all of history. You will never go without the things you need and I will do my best to provide the things you want. I promise to spoil you like no one has ever been spoiled before and to love until your heart feels like it’s going to explode. I will love you every second of every day.”

All Kibum could do was smile at the two most important people in his life.

*******************************************************

“Taemin…” Minho sobbed as he collapsed to the ground. “Taemin!”

Minho continued to sob for what felt like hours. Taemin had left him, he had really, truly left. Minho had actually driven him away. He had missed his chance to tell Taemin how he truly felt about him.

“Minho?” A voice called behind him. “What are you doing on the ground?”

“Jinki!” Minho shot off the ground and rushed to his friend’s side. “Taemin! He’s gone!”

“I know.” Onew said with sad eyes.

“What do you mean, you know?!”

“He asked me to help him.” Onew looked down.

“And you did?!” Minho shouted, stunned. “You knew that I was going to confess and you still helped him?!”

“He asked me before you told me, Minho. I couldn’t go back on my word.”

“The hell you couldn’t!” Minho shouted at his friend.

“I tried to get him to stay, I really did! He just refused to.” Onew tried to defend himself.
“You didn’t have to take him back to the ocean.”

“Minho, it’s where he belongs. You know that.” Onew sighed.

“NO!”

“He wasn’t happy here, Minho! He needed to go home where he belongs! He isn’t a human, Minho!”

“Still! He could’ve waited until I talked to him.”

“He didn’t know, Minho. He thought you hated him so he left when he thought you no longer cared.” Onew said.

“I never got to say goodbye.” Minho let his tears fall down his face.

“I know.”

“I miss him already.”

“I know.”

“I need to find him.” Minho said with a great deal of resolve.

“I kn-WHAT?!” Onew stared at his friend as if he grew a third eye.

“I need to go to him.” Minho said.
“But, he’s in the ocean!” Onew gaped.

“I know where he is. But I need to see him. I need to at least apologize.” Minho cried.

“Are you sure?” Onew asked.

“Positive.”

**************************************

“Tae-baby?” Kibum called into his son’s room. He, his mate, and his son had all left with Onew’s help the day before and the boy was exhausted. It was almost afternoon before he decided to go and check on the boy.

“Daddy?” The boy peeped, groggy. The king made his way to his son’s side, sitting lightly on the edge of the bed.

“Hey, baby.” Kibum smiled and his son’s hair, earning a pleased purr out of the boy.

“What time is it?” The boy asked.

“It’s afternoon, honey. It’s time to get up. We made your favorite; squid stew.” Taemin’s interest immediately perked. He had always loved it when his Daddy made squid stew. It was, in his opinion, the best food ever to grace the open seas.

“Really?”

“Of course, baby. Think of it as a celebration meal of your return.” Kibum kissed his son’s cheek. “Now, get up.” The boy slowly rose from the bed and made his way to the vanity. His father picked up the brush made of whale baleen, pulling it through his son’s hair.

“It’s been a long time since I brushed my hair.” The boy giggled.

“I know, look at these tangles!” His father smiled. Once he had managed to get all the tangles out of Taemin’s hair, he placed a small gold crown with two pearls placed in the center, on the boy’s head where it rested perfectly.

“Now,” Kibum smiled at his son in the mirror. “Let’s eat!”

“Yay!” Taemin squealed, taking his father’s hand.

“Taemin?” Kibum asked as he swam with his son down the hall.

“Yes, Daddy?”

“Do you miss Minho?” Kibum had noticed that his son’s demeanor had remained upbeat and happy, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“A little.” Taemin admitted, knowing it was pointless to lie. “But, I’m happy to be home. I missed home a lot.”

“I see,” Kibum nodded. “I was just wondering. You seemed to like him a lot.” Taemin immediately blushed at his father’s words.

“I did, but I’m sure I’ll find someone else. Minho belongs on land and I belong down here with you.” Taemin reasoned.

“That’s my boy.” Kibum smiled and kissed his son’s head.

*************************************************

“Earth to Minho!” Onew waved his hands in front of Minho’s face, trying to get his attention. From the moment they arrived at the ocean, Minho had begun spacing out.

“Oh, sorry, hyung. I guess I spaced out.” Minho apologized after coming back to reality.

“No .” Onew laughed. “What are you thinking about?”

“I was just thinking about how big the ocean is.” Minho sighed.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Do you think I’ll be able to find him?” Minho asked, his eyes not leaving the vast body of water in front of him.

“I don’t know. I guess you could stop and ask for directions.” Onew suggested.

“Ask for directions? Seriously.” Minho gave Onew a look as if he had grown a third eye.

“What?! I’m sure mermaids do it all the time!”

“Whatever, Jinki.”

“So, you actually gonna do this?” Onew asked as they stood at the edge of a small cliff that overlooked the ocean.

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” Minho said, his voice shaking.

“Sure you do,” Onew shrugged. “You could just go home.”

“But, I have to tell Taemin how I feel.” Minho said, this time his voice was more determined.

“If you say so.” Onew said. “Look, whatever you do, I’ll be here for you.”

“Thanks.” Minho took a deep breath before inching closer to the edge of the cliff. “Here I go.”

“Good luck man.” Onew patted his shoulder. “God knows you’re going to need it.” He added under his breath.

**********************************************************************************************

A/N:
Looky! An update (E/N: Are you gonna say that everytime?). Looks like Minho is facing his fears, eh?! Maybe that's a good thing, maybe it's  a bad thing? We shall see....Will he be able to find Taemin though?!

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has added us on Facebook, it's fun to get to see what you guys have to say :) If you haven't added us yet then click here and we will add you asap (Incentive: A video of me dancing HORRIBLY. And you get to see us argue on our own status. It's great; we sound like we're talking to ourselves).

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