#004
baekhyun + chen, chanyeol + d.o.   /   pg   /   1500 words
mermaid!au: chanyeol has been sulking about nobody believing his prowess in the water, so baekhyun decides it’s time for a road trip

Chanyeol has been sulking about nobody believing his prowess in the water, so Baekhyun decides it’s time for a road trip. This means kidnapping Junmyeon for the weekend, because having a road trip requires someone who can actually drive.

“But...but what about the stack of homework on my desk that I’m too stressed to really do…” the older boy whimpers, pulling away from his dormmate.

“Shhhh, Myeonnie, I’m sure the fresh air will be good for you,” Baekhyun soothes, placing his hand on Junmyeon’s tightly clasped ones. “You need a break.”

Junmyeon looks unsure, but he nods anyway. “If you say so…”

And so the unsanctified hours of Saturday morning see five boys packing themselves into a car which probably doesn’t deserve the playlist of trashy pop that Chanyeol has brought on an unmarked white disk.

“I don’t want the handwriting traced back to me,” he explains from the middle back seat. “What happens on the trip stays on the trip.”

“If you wake me up before we get there, you’ll have injuries that won’t just stay on the trip, Chanyeol.” Kyungsoo mashes his face into the other’s shoulder. Honestly, Chanyeol hadn’t heard more than ‘wake me up’.

On the other side, Jongdae pouts at them. “At least you get to sit next to your man. Baek and I are split by the great chasm of the front and back.”

“No offence, Jongdae,” Junmyeon cuts in, voice slightly higher than usual, “but you two are a little bit much to handle. I don’t think I’d survive the next three hours in a confined space with you two sitting together.”

Jongdae opens his mouth to argue, then snaps it shut as the car swerves. An anxious laugh from the front seat follows. “Sorry, I thought I saw my ex.”

☆     ☆     ☆

Despite the many threats and insults thrown, they make it to the beach mostly unscathed. It’s somewhat cloudy when they arrive, but that doesn’t stop Chanyeol from racing out to the water, shedding clothes on the sand as he goes. Jongdae’s about to scream something about public indecency when POP - Chanyeol’s very side and whatever was dangling on the other side of it are replaced by a long rust-coloured tail.

“What the , Park? A pop? Really? Is this a cartoon?”

Sitting on the edge of the water, Chanyeol swishes around a bit experimentally. The waves crash around him and he squeals a little at the sudden cold. “I can’t help what my tail forming looks like! Don’t insult my biology!”

“Your biology is insulting YOU!”

☆     ☆     ☆

Baekhyun’s tail formation isn’t quite as abrupt, but he’s also more careful about approaching the waterline. Unlike Chanyeol, Baekhyun is a freshwater mermaid - hailing from a huge lake further inland, rather than the open sea. (Chanyeol always insists that he comes from close to the coast, but nobody believes that for a second.)

A pair of hands smooth down his shoulders from behind. Featherlight touches trail along the area where his scales blend into his skin, now paler and firmer than it is when he walks around on land. He takes the hand, lacing his webbed fingers with it from the back, and gently places it on the grey-blue of his fins. Beside his ear, Jongdae inhales sharply.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathes, moving his hand along with reverence. He gazes at Baekhyun’s face with an express