Jonghyun hated thunderstorms.

They kept him awake at night, scared his dogs, and wrecked the beach over which their house overlooked. This meant that on summer days after a storm blew through, Jonghyun would be spending the day picking up debris around the beach and cleaning their pool since, regardless of how tightly they covered it, leaves and small branches always managed to get in the water.

That's why, one morning after a storm that had lasted the entire night, Jonghyun knew as soon as he woke up that he would be spending his day cleaning. He glanced at his clock and saw that it was almost 6am. He groaned and buried his head back into his pillows. His body was still conditioned to waking up early for school, despite being on summer vacation.

Knowing that he wouldn't be getting any more sleep since his father would be awake soon to put him to work, he slowly dragged himself out of bed and stumbled into the living room. The house was quiet, no one else awake yet, as Jonghyun stopped and looked out the French doors, looking out at the clear morning light. The beach sprawled out in front of him and the beyond it the ocean glittered brightly against the rising sun.

Jonghyun was about to turn away to look for some breakfast and enjoy his last moments of freedom before he was put to work, when something in the sand caught his eyes. Whatever it was looked like it was half buried under some netting, although part of what was still visible was shimmering bright purple against the dry sand.

Frowning, Jonghyun unlocked the door and stepped outside, waking toward the purple object. He knew couldn't be a fish, there was no way it could have gotten washed up so far on shore and as he neared, he realized that whatever it was bigger than he had first thought. But it wasn't until he was standing directly over it that he realized what he was looking at- a shirtless, purple haired boy, half covered with netting and debris. He was laying on his stomach, and Jonghyun could barely see the shallow rise and fall of his breathing.

"Oh my god," he gasped, kneeling beside the boy. He felt at the side of his neck, relieved when a slow, uneven pulse beat against his fingers.

"Okay, please don't be dying, kid," he whispered.

He gently turned the boy over and pushed damp hair out of his face. The boy was young, probably several years younger than Jonghyun, with gentle features and plump lips that were parted as he gasped tiny breaths. His chest and arms with defined with sinewy muscles, although he was still looked thin and delicate.

He was beautiful.

His eyes fluttered and Jonghyun leaned forward.

"Can you hear me?" he asked. "I need to get you to a hospital; do you think you can stay conscious until we get you there?"

His only response was the boy taking another shallow gasp of air.

Jonghyun reached for the netting that covered the boy's legs and threw it off, only to leap back with a yelp. The boy didn't have legs at all.

He had a long, sleek tail.

It was covered in shimmering purple and silver scales, starting in a v-line at his waist and going down to the very end where it tapered off into two delicate fins.

"Air. . . ." Jonghyun stopped gawking at the tail, his head jerking up when he head the boy gasp. "Too much. . . . air. . . ."

The boy- merman- was suffocating.

Jonghyun was moving before his mind even registered the action. He scooped the merman up in his arm, the thin body curling into Jonghyun’s chest as the tail hung heavily off his arm, and began running toward the nearest water.

"I really hope you don't mind chlorine," he panted as he skidded to a halt in front of the pool. He set the merman gently at the edge and ripped the tarp off, ignoring the debris floating in the water, before picking the merman back up and lower of him into the pool.

He hit the water harder than Jonghyun intended, slipping out of Jonghyun's fingers and into the pool with a splash that sent a tiny wave of water cascading over Jonghyun bare feet and ankles. He ignored it as he knelt by the pool edge, watching the glistening body sink lower into the murky depths.

"Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die," he muttered, his fingers curling around the cement edge.

He in a breath as the body turned and a pair of dark, glittering eyes stared up at him. The merman rose slowly, his head and chest breaking the surface of the water, stopping only when his face was inches away from Jonghyun's, who was still crouched over the edge of the pool.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. Then the boy's hand shot out of the water so fast that Jonghyun barely saw the motion, and gripped Jonghyun's ankle.

Jonghyun scrambled back, landing on his rear with a sharp yelp, but the boy's grip help him in place. They stared at each other for another moment before the merman opened his mouth.

"Weird."

Jonghyun blinked. "I can understand you," he said blankly.

The merman raised an eyebrow, and tiny smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Congratulations," he said in amusement.

Jonghyun's swallowed. "Um, you're a merman."

This time the merman didn't both hiding his amusement. He laughed, his entire face lighting up as he flipped his tail up behind him, letting a spray of cool water fall down on Jonghyun.

"And you're human," he replied, still smiling. "Which brings me back to my first point- feet are weird." He poked at Jonghyun's foot for emphasis.

Jonghyun drew it back self-consciously and this time the merman let him. He tucked his feet under him as the merman folded his arms on the pool edge and rested his chin on them as studied Jonghyun with a small smile, his tail swishing gently in the water behind him.

"Are there others like you?" Jonghyun finally asked when the merman didn't speak.

The merman smiled again. "Sure, lots! What about you? Do you have a family?"

Jonghyun nodded. "Yeah, that's my house," he said, gesturing behind him.

The merman's eyes widened. "I always wondered what a house looks like," he muttered. "What's your name?" he asked suddenly, turning his attention back to Jonghyun.

"Jonghyun. What's yours?"

"Taemin," the merman replied, pushing himself away from edge of the pool and flipping over to float on his back. "Thanks for saving me, by the way," he called as he propelled himself to the other end of the pool.

"What happened to you?” Jonghyung asked. “How did you end up there?" He tried to focus on what he was saying, but found it difficult because of Taemin's hypnotizing movements in the water. He flipped back onto his stomach and pushed himself gracefully back to where Jonghyun was waiting for him.

"I was too close to the surface when the storm hit last night. I was watching a party that a bunch of humans were having on the breach and didn't have time to make it back down before the waves started. I think I must have hit my head or something because I remember waking up on the beach and I thought I was crawling back toward the water, but I must have crawled further inland before I passed out again."

"How long were you laying there?"

Taemin shrugged. "Most of the night, probably. I can survive out of water for several hours before I suffocate, even though it's really uncomfortable." The smile slipped from his face and he was suddenly serious. "I meant what I said, thank you for saving me. I was suffocating."

Jonghyun felt a blush heat up his face, but he smiled down at the Taemin. "My pleasure."

Taemin's smile returned briefly before it morphed into a grimace. "My dad is going to kill me," he muttered. "He's always telling me to stay away from the surface because if I'm found by a human they'll capture me and experiment on me or something. He hates humans," Taemin added, shaking his head.

"I won't do that," Jonghyun said, surprised by the slight sting of hurt he felt at the idea of Taemin not trusting him.

Taemin grinned. "I know you won't," he said, surprising Jonghyun again. "You're my friend. Right?" he added uncertainly.

"Right," Jonghyun agreed, not bothering to stop the wide smile that was spreading across his face.

Taemin grinned up at him in response. "So," he said. "Are you jumping in on your own or am I going to have to pull you in?"

"What?" Jonghyun blinked.

Taemin's smile turned slightly wicked. "Pulling you in it is, then."

His hands shot out of the water again, gripping Jonghyun's ankles and tugging him forward. Jonghyun let out a tiny shriek as he toppled forward, straight into the pool.

He surfaced, sputtering water out of his mouth and shaking wet strands of blonde hair out of his eyes, to find Taemin floating a few feet away, laughing.

"The look on your face is priceless!" Taemin laughed. Jonghyun couldn't tell if the droplets on his face were from the pool or tears of laughter, but Taemin's giggles were cut short when Jonghyun surged forward, placing his hands on the younger boy's head and dunking him under.

He looked down and saw Taemin grin up at him and Jonghyun began to laugh. They were both giggling by the time Taemin resurfaced seconds later, but the smile slid off Jonghyun's face when the sound of someone calling his name floated to them from the house.

"What’s it?" Taemin asked, confused.

"My dad," Jonghyun said and he began to slosh is way toward the side of the pool. "He's going to want to clean up around here today, so you're going to have to stay quiet until I can come back for you."

"But I want to play with you," Taemin whined, floating lazily after Jonghyun.

"I don't think you want it bad enough for someone else to find you," Jonghyun said, heaving himself out of the pool. "Most people wouldn't take finding a merman in their pool very well."

Taemin sniffed, pouting his plump lips out.

"Quit moping, I'll be back," Jonghyun said, reaching down to flick some water at Taemin as he tried to squeeze some of the water out of his clothes. "But you have to promise to stay quiet, okay?"

Taemin was silent and Jonghyun could have sworn he saw him cross his arm stubbornly under the surface of the water.

"Promise?" Jonghyun pressed.

Taemin sighed heavily. "Fine, I promise," he relented. "But you'll come back, right?" he added hurriedly as Jonghyun turned toward the house.

"As soon as I can," Jonghyun promised. He started to turn away again, but his eyes widened and he hurried back toward the pool.

"What is it?" Taemin asked, perking up slightly, clearly hoping that Jonghyun had changed his mind.

Jonghyun didn't reply, simply gripped the tarp tightly and covered it over the pool, ignoring the indignant protests from the merman underneath.

--

The rest of the day dragged by painfully slowly.

Jonghyun hadn’t been able to think of a satisfactory excuse as to why he was soaking wet, settling for lamely saying he had fallen in the pool. His father had looked at him dubiously for a moment before pointing out that the tarp was still covering the pool. When Jonghyun couldn't think of anything to say his father shook his head with an amused smile before sending him to start cleaning up the yard.

Jonghyun kept a close eye on the pool the rest of the day, but his father never went near it. Several times throughout the day Jonghyun managed to sneak over to it and slip things under the tarp. Once he slipped some strawberries under, hoping that mermen ate fruit, and another time he managed to sneak out a rubber ducky from the bathroom. It was the only thing Jonghyun could think of that he could give Taemin to keep him amused that his father wouldn’t miss. The only reply Jonghyun received for his little offerings were tiny splashes, so soft that they were barely audible.

By the time the sun was setting, Jonghyun was almost frantic with the need to check on his merman. Dinner seemed to last forever as Jonghyun fidgeted in his chair, poking at his foot while he half-listened to whatever it was his father was talking about.

When the table had finally been cleared and the dishes washed, Jonghyun bolted for his room, closing the door softly behind him before sitting down on the floor beside it to wait. He could hear his father moving around the house, turning on the living room TV. Jonghyun mentally groaned as the noise from the TV filtered into his room.

It wasn't until an hour later that his father finally switched off the TV and when to his room, shutting the door after him. Jonghyun waited another twenty minutes, just to be safe, before he stood up, rubbing at his stuff muscles, and slid out of his room. The house was dark and quiet as Jonghyun crept to the French doors and opened them as quietly as he could, slipping out into the warm, summer night.

The pool lights filtered through the tarp as Jonghyun approached and, through the material, he could see the sleek outline of a long, tailed body sliding beneath it, swimming from one end of the pool before flipping around seamlessly, and gliding back to the other end.

Jonghyun reached out and pulled the tarp back. Taemin turned over onto his back, grinning as he saw Jonghyun start to seat himself at the pool's edge. As Jonghyun dangled his feet into the water, Taemin swam over and, to Jonghyun's surprise, the merman didn't stop until his arms were resting on Jonghyun's knees, blinking up at Jonghyun with a content smile on his face.

"That took forever," Taemin said, his tail flicking agitatedly behind him.

Jonghyun sighed, placing his hands behind him on the concrete ground and he leaned back on them. "I know," he agreed. "I would've much rather been here with you, but my dad had a lot of work for me."

Taemin hummed sympathetically, the swipes of his tail slowing down until they were almost lazy. His eyes were drooping and he rested his head on his arms where they rested on Jonghyun's legs. "I've never stayed up all day before," he said with a yawn.

Jonghyun raised an eyebrow. "Are you nocturnal?"

Taemin nodded. The water from his arms and hair were soaking through Jonghyun's clothes, but neither of them minded. "We prefer to be out at night since there's less chance of us being spotted, but I was too worked up today to get any sleep."

He reached out and snagged the rubber ducky Jonghyun had brought him earlier from where it floated nearby, squeezing it slightly so it made a wheezing squeak. Taemin giggled. "Thank you for this. He kept me company today, so I named him Jonghyun Jr."

Jonghyun snorted and, before he could stop himself, one of his hands moved to Taemin's damp hair, carding through the purple strands and brushing them back. Taemin leaned into the touch with a content sigh.

"I like it here," he said. "I like having someone my age to talk to. Everyone in my village is either way older than me or way younger than me. Although your pool is really small," he added, tipping his head back to grin cheekily up at Jonghyung.

Jonghyun tugged a strand of Taemin's hair gently. "I know what you mean," he said. "I don't have many friends either, even at school. It gets pretty lonely. I liked you being here."

They feel into a content silence, the only sounds were the distant rushing noise from the ocean and the gentle swish of the water from Taemin's tail.

"Taemin," Jonghyun finally began hesitantly. "Don't you think your family is worried about you?"

He felt Taemin's sigh ghost across his leg. "Probably," the merman replied, his voice heavy with sleep.

Jonghyun waited a moment before trying again. "Don't you think we should get you home soon?"

At this, Taemin drew back, looking up at Jonghyun in confusion. "You want me to leave?" There was a note of hurt in his voice.

"Of course not!" Jonghyun assured him, happy to see the tension leave Taemin's shoulders and his ever present smile return. "It's just dangerous for you here and I'm sure your family is really worried."

"That's true." Jonghyun found Taemin's frown to be distracting as he pouted his lips out.

Taemin moved over, taking his arms off Jonghyun's legs before hoisting himself out of the pool and sitting close beside Jonghyung. Water was pouring off of him in rivulets as his tail continued to swish in the pool.

"Will you come visit me?" Taemin asked, looking at Jonghyun shyly.

Jonghyun laughed. "I can't exactly swim underwater."

Taemin flushed. "I know that," he replied indignantly. "But there's a cove a couple miles down the beach from here where  humans hardly ever go. You could come see me there."

Jonghyun knew the place. He used to play there when he was a child, but after one too many accidents with people falling and injuring themselves on the sharp rocks, people stopped going there.

But seeing Taemin again would definitely be worth the risk.

"Of course I'll meet you there," Jonghyun said.

Taemin beamed at him. "Do you promise? You'll come tomorrow night?"

"Of course," Jonghyun laughed. "I'll come whenever you want me."

Taemin seemed content with the answer because he turned back to the water and scooped up Jonghyun Jr., cradling the ducky to his chest. "I should probably go back then. Um, how exactly do you think I should do this?" he asked uncertainly, looking from the pool to the ocean, much too far away to crawl.

Jonghyun drew his feet out of the water and stood up. "You're just now thinking of that?" he teased.

Taemin opened his mouth to reply, but whatever he was going to say was cut off in a yelp as Jonghyun scooped the merman up into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Taemin squawked, squirming in Jonghyun's arms.

"Shh," Jonghyun hushed him, trying to keep his grip on the slippery body. "Or you'll wake up my dad. And stop squirming before I drop you!" Taemin fell silent immediately, his face flushing red as he held Jonghyun Jr. to his bare chest, even as he shyly rested against Jonghyun's chest.

The walk to the beach didn't take as long as Jonghyun thought it would, even though he was walking slower than he normally would have. There were so many things about the merman that Jonghyun still wanted to know, so many things they hadn't talked about.

His arms were burning by the time they reached the water's edge since Taemin was much heavier than he looked, but Jonghyun didn't mind. He wished he could stay there with the merman, talking and watching the sunshine smile stretch over Taemin's face whenever he laughed.

Jonghyun waded into the water, still keeping his arms around Taemin. The water took someone the merman's weight, easing the pressure on Jonghyun's arms. By the time he was chest deep in the water Jonghyun stopped. The moon shown down, reflecting off the water onto Taemin's shimmering hair and tail.

Neither of them moved until Taemin shifted slightly and wrapped one of his arms around Jonghyun's neck.

"How do humans say thank you?" Taemin whispered.

Jonghyun frowned in confusion. "Just like that- you say ‘thanks’."

Taemin shook his head. "No, there's something I've seen people do on the beach before when they're happy. Oh, I remember!"

He leaned forward and before he could move he felt Taemin's soft lips pressing against his cheek. The merman pulled back with a grin.

"Thank you, Jonghyun," said softly, before twisting and flipping out of Jonghyun's arms, landing in the water with a soft plop. He bobbed there for a moment, seemingly unaware that Jonghyun was in shock before he turned and ducked under the water. He resurfaced several yards away, waving the hand that was still holding the rubber ducky.

"I'll wait for you tomorrow!" he called before disappearing under the water without waiting for a response.

Jonghyun stood in the ocean until he began to shiver against a slight breeze. He turned and waded back to shore, his head buzzing with thoughts of the beautiful merman. Taemin had said he would wait for Jonghyun, but Jonghyun knew that even if he had to pitch a tent and live on the rocks in the cove he would do it if it meant a chance to see Taemin tomorrow.

He walked back to his house in a slow daze, the breeze mostly drying him off by the time he walked inside, closing the French doors softly behind him. When he reached his room he flopped onto his bed, not caring that his clothes were still damp, a soft smile tugged at his lips as he raised his hand and pressed his fingers to his cheek. It still felt burning hot, the press of Taemin's lips branded into his skin.

Yes, he would wait forever if he needed to, just to see his merman one more time.