He was almost there, the sky looked so clear, closer more than ever he reached his hand up and a smile crossed his lips- just a little more and he was there.

"Where are you going?" Minho asked with his deep voice while his hand caught his tail and prevented him from swiming any farther.

"NO!" Taemin called and tried to swim faster but Minho was stronger than him, he tightened his grip till it was hurts "let go!"

"Your father would kill me…"

Taemin stopped fighting him and crossed his arms on his chest angrily as the older pulled him closer to him "then don’t tell him!"

"It's my job to protect you…"

"Then quit!"

"Tae…"

"Come on Minho, just once, my father doesn't have to know everything"

"He'll find out"

"He won't, there's no one here besides us"

Minho shook his head "stop doing it, you know you're not allowed to swim up surface"

"Just because my father said so, there is nothing dangerous about it"

"If it wasn’t dangerous he wouldn’t hired me to protect you"

"He hired you because he doesn't trust me"

"Do you give him any reason to?"

Taemin looked offended, his face changed in anger as he swam by him.

"Tae, wait!" Minho called and followed him "I'm sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound like that…Taemin!"

"Go tell my father I was trying to swim up surface again and you managed to stop me, he'll be proud that my babysitter succeed"

Minho rolled his eyes, it wasn’t the first time the younger called him babysitter, he swam faster and stopped him "don’t call me that, I told you I hate it when you call me like that, I'm your bodyguard and I'm sorry but this is my obligation, I've been hired to protect the king's son!"

Taemin just sighed and swam away from him, he knew that Minho followed him but ignored his presence.

At the palace he swam straight into his reef, while Minho swam to his father's probably to tell him about his little son's behavior.

Taemin sank on his clamshell bed frustrated, he was a big boy, next month he'll turn 16, when his brother was 16 his father already thought him how to be the next king but when it came to him he hired a bodyguard and not just a bodyguard- Minho.

He had a crush for Minho since the moment his father introduced between them, broad shoulders, fine abs, narrow waist and a deep shade of blue tail, his smile made his heart fluttered and his stomach squeeze, Minho was the most beautiful merman he ever saw.

When Taemin saw something he liked he done everything he could to get it and he got Minho, at least that what he thought, after only one week he already kissed him and not just a tap on the lips but the whole thing with tongue and everything. However this is where it all ended, with a kiss, he wanted a little more with the 22 years old bodyguard but he apologized and said it won't happen ever again, after all his job was to protect him, not to kiss him. Feeling rejected Taemin made Minho's life really hard since that moment, childish as it might be. The older who realized what he was doing haven't let it affect him, instead he even offered him a compromise, they'll be friends and won't use honorifics when there're alone, if the younger would respect their friendship he would go easy on him and won't tell his father everything he does, except swimming up surface- that was his limit.

Taemin agreed just because he thought that if he will then Minho would go softer and he could seduce him and kiss him again, he might even get more. It didn’t work so far.

"Tae…"

So deep in his thought he haven’t noticed Minho swam into his reef, he turned to look at him with a disappointed look "have you told my father? Are you happy now?"

Minho looked guilty as he sat by his side on the shell "don’t get mad at me… we had a deal, you broke the rule"

"He'll punish me now thanks to you"

"He won't" Minho said surprising him "I asked him not to, took the blame on me"

"Why?" Taemin softened, the older just shrugged and was about to swim but Taemin caught his wrist before he could "thank you" he mumbled sheepishly.

Minho nodded "I know you think that the world up there is something special, believe me- it's not, fishermen are looking for creatures like us and you'll be an easy prey for them, you're too young and too small, if you'll ever get caught you won't be able to defend yourself"

Taemin wanted to argue but his bodyguard was right, he wasn’t a masculine as he, he could barely defeat his brother when they played just for fun.  

"It's not just your father who's worried about you, Tae…" with those words Minho left his reef.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At dinner Taemin saw that his father tried not to scold him, his face though were red with anger, his mother kept his hand calmly like it would ease him.

Taemin ate with his head down, not wanting to make any eye contact with his father, he hadn’t talked to his brother as well, it was better to stay low than piss off his father, when his father burst it usually ended with really storming sea and few drowning ships.

When he finished he excused himself and swam back to his reef, on his way he saw Minho swimming away from the palace, frowning he followed him and watched him from afar, his bodyguard was swimming up surface.

He looked around, there were few mermaids and mermen swimming across, if one of them would tell the king that the young prince seen swimming too close to surface he'll be doomed, this time Minho won't be there to take the blame on him.

Sighing he turned back to the palace, he wondered why Minho swam there, what he had to look over there? And besides it felt unfair, he lectured him about how dangerous it was while he swam there without any problems.

"Taemin!" Onew, his brother, drew his attention as he got closer to his reef, Luna his girlfriend was hugged by his side "we're going to 'aqua club' wanna come with us?"

The younger shook his head "no thanks, have fun"

"You love 'aqua club', why don’t you want?" Luna asked as she left his brother's side and got closer to him. She was like his Noona, Taemin couldn’t remember a time when Luna wasn’t by Onew's side, they were together for so many years and everybody knew that he'll marry her when the time would be right, she always treated him like he was her own brother and was sympathetic ear when he was down.  

"I'm not in a mood for dancing"

"Is it because Appa?" Onew asked frowning.

Taemin shook his head but his brother knew he was lying.

"Don’t be upset, he just worried about you"

"He never had to worried about you, hyung"

They all knew why "we're different" Onew said quietly.

"Never mind" Taemin mumbled as he swam by them into his reef "have fun at the club"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For hours Taemin sat by his window and looked up, the moon reflected in the water and created beautiful shadows at the bottom of the ocean, only when he was ready to go to sleep he saw Minho swimming down back to the palace.

Taemin swam through the window toward the older and called "Minho!"

His bodyguard stopped swimming and turned to face him "why aren’t you asleep? It's late"

"Where have you been?" the younger asked like he haven't seen him going up surface, he circled him in a slow swimming.

"I took a swim" Minho wasn’t lying just not telling the whole truth.

"Up surface?" he asked sweetly but on his face a devilish smile.

Minho eyed him for a moment before he nodded and kept swimming away from him.

"What were you doing there?" Taemin called and followed him.

"Not of your business Tae, go back to your reef"

"How come you're allowed to swim there, does my father knows that my babysitter slacking off?" he teased.

Minho hadn’t answered, the younger called his name and swam faster "tell me…why did you went up there"

Minho stopped swimming and turned at him, his face changed and his eyes warned him from trying to ask any further questions, he was angry. Taemin gulped and froze, his bodyguard looked frightening, he watched him as he swam away to his own reef.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For few days Taemin stayed in his reef, he went out only for his meals and avoided any contact with Minho, the older noticed but hadn’t chased his attention, he kept his eyes on him from afar.

One night when the whole kingdom was already asleep Taemin saw Minho swimming up surface again and just like the last time he followed him, he looked around, nobody was there to see him.  

At the moment Minho reached the surface something amazing happened, something he never saw before, his tail sparkled and hypnotized him as the deep shade of blue became brighter and brighter before it split in two.

Taemin stopped swimming, he looked from afar at his bodyguard and saw something that humans had, a thing he heard only at his classmate's stories- legs.

Minho disappeared from his sight, hesitating he swam up feeling something tickling his whole body as his hands crossed the water, his own pearly aqua green tail sparkled and his heart pounded excitedly, he was going to do the thing he wasn’t allowed to do.

Taemin's head emerge out of the water, he in a deep breath and removed his hair from his eyes, it was all dark and he almost missed the amazing sight of… what was it!? Was it a reef? It looked bigger than any reef he had ever seen and the vegetation was so different and…Minho!

Minho was there on that reef and he was on those legs and he walked and suddenly fear sneaked into his heart, it was all so dark and bigger than him and Minho looked so different.

He watched his body, his legs looked as muscular as his arms, at the end there were two round…cheeks? It looked kind of funny but also beautiful, when he turned around and sat Taemin saw another thing and as curious as he was he had to dive back into the water so his bodyguard won't see him up surface. 

Never before he swam so fast, afraid that Minho would find out he was spying on him, he locked himself at his reef for the rest of the night thinking about what he saw.

When the sun penetrated the water and made everything brighter he saw Minho coming back, his tail was back in it place and it wasn’t glowing anymore, his bodyguard looked a little disturbed as he swam to his own reef at the other side of the palace.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After breakfast Taemin swam across the palace looking for his bodyguard, he found him swimming out from his father's reef "Minho…" he called making him turn, they haven't spoke for a while and he felt a little awkward.

"Yes young prince?" Minho's voice was a little cold as he used honorific but he knew it was because his father might hear.

"Can we swim together?"

Minho nodded and swam by his side, they were quiet till they were out on the ocean away from the kingdom.

"I saw you swimming up surface again last night" Taemin mumbled now as they were alone.

"Taemin!" Minho scolded angrily but the younger hurried to stop him.

"I wasn’t spying on you" when his bodyguard gave him unbelieving look he placed his palm on his heart "I swear. I saw you from my window yesterday, I wasn’t looking for you or anything…I know I shouldn’t have done it but I followed you"

Minho's eyes widened "you did what?!" his voice harsh as he stopped swimming and grabbed his wrist.

"I'm sorry, don’t get mad at me, I was just curious and when your tail glowed I was hypnotized…"

The older looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Does mermen have legs, like humans?!" Taemin asked and swam a little closer to him wanting to know the secrets, their bodies almost touched.

"How do you know about legs?"

"My classmates talks about it all the time. Do we have?"

Minho looked around before he nodded "if you'll ever try to get out of the water…"

The younger looked confused "my tail would split in two like yours?"

"Yes…"

His confusion turned into a small sheepish smile as he pointed at the back of his own tail "and I would have those…round cheeks, like you have?"

The bodyguard chuckled and nodded.

"And…you had that thing…" Taemin pointed at the front.

"How much have you seen?!" Minho asked before the younger could ask any further questions.

Taemin gulped "I dived back when you sat on that reef"

"Beach"

"What?"  

"Up there it's not a reef, it called 'beach' and there is sand just like at the bottom of the ocean but it's not wet, it's warm and soft"

Taemin looked at him with anticipation as he asked to hear more.

"It's a different world out there, beautiful but dangerous as well…promise me you won't follow me again"

"But-"

"No. Promise me!"

"Minho, please take me there…I'll be good, I won'ft make you any problems I promise that, please"

The older shook his head and it was the end of their discussion.