How long had they been walking? Days? Weeks? Hours? No man, Ten included, was able to say. The only thing he knew was that the sky had been permanently covered by the thick foliage of the  jungle, and that even at their most tired state, none of them was able had been able to have their eyes closed while traveling through it.

It had been... a long time since they arrived on the land. The water still looked like the purest, and the sand had this butter tone to it that made you feel like you could just lay on it and rest forever. He wouldn’t be lying if he said he had wished to take off his shoes and just watch his feet and toes shine under the low tide waves that kissed the inhabited coast instead of going back to the ugly jungle to explore.

Luckily, Taeyong was a man of focus, so he had gotten them all to work as soon as his freshly polished boots touched sand.

The captain had been very insistent on not eating anything that came from the island. No fruits, no animals, nothing. He had the men carry bags with  different supplies, that nobody was supposed to be able to touch until he decided they should eat... Which happened every few hours or so, anyway.

But Ten didn’t know if it was because of his anxiety or what, that he wouldn’t find himself not even the slightest hungry or tired until they reached back to the beach (another of Taeyong’s rules, to comeback to the coast to catch fresh fish and be able to tell the time). It was almost automatic, as soon as yellow overcame his vision, his stomach would rumble, and his legs threatened to give in.

The crew’s excitement had begun to fall again. He had heard them mumble between teeth at each other words of anger and walking in circles and wasting time. They had begun to question Taeyong’s decisions and ways for what seemed to be the millionth time under his command. For them, his blood didn’t matter at all; his age and morals were enough proof of him being unfit to be a pirate, let alone a captain. And these stunts he kept pulling, non violent, non confrontational, weren’t helping them change their mind at all.

He had been quick to shush them however, reminding them who was in charge by making them carry the youngest’s bags.

Although, in all honesty, he couldn’t help to worry about those very same points.

He was supposed to be making a map and marking the routes they had tried, but...

Nothing made sense. They could take the same route twice, yet things would change places or disappear. Even the marks they left on their own, on trees or rocks, would vanish as  if they’ve never been there. So far, the papers where he was sketching were nothing but a confusing mess of lines and crosses.

He sighed into nothingness, as he leaned back against the rock where he had been resting. It was very well past midnight, probably closer to sunrise than anything else, but he had stayed up. He was decided to resolve this mess for once and all.

The moon was full and bright, so much it seemed as if the dark nightly ocean was being illuminated by thousands of chandeliers. Except for the waves that crashed gently against each other and onto his rock, the world was silent, but even though he thought that this quiet would help him figure out the maps, he was still biting the end of his quill, confused.

Taeyong had long sent him to sleep, but he just couldn’t. He needed to know, he needed to understand this. He was even starting to doubt himself and his abilities. Why did every path seemed to cross each other? Why did every mark seem to appear twice every time? Why...?

Why did it look like they were walking in circles...?

But no. It couldn’t be, right?

Right?

They weren’t new to this. It wasn’t the first time they were exploring an island. They all knew how to read a compass, they knew all the tricks and knacks to be used to not get lost. They’ve used ropes, marks, knives, reference points. Taeyong even had had one of the pirates walk his side at all times just holding his father’s compass to his face at all times!

It was unexplainable.

Unless...

Ten fell on his back, letting his bones and muscles stretch on the stone surface, as he ruffled his dark strands. It was too complicated. If there was something... else, something unexplainable involved in this whole mess, then it was too much for him.

It was just that he had learnt well from the previous captain, a man who didn’t believe in anything that he couldn’t see, a man of actions and fights. The only thing he was taught to rely on was reality, and logic, and instinct over all.

And if this... was all cause of something like a... curse...

Lord, he felt like any other stupid shark bait that was the crew just thinking about it.

‘No’, he sat up, he had to focus again, he had to-

His thoughts were interrupted by some loud splashing noises that came from around him. His eyes opened big, alerted, and he was quick to look around, trying to find the source. His sight was only met with the rest of the stone lumps that conformed the formation. He began eyeing cautiously every single one,  his eyes following the crescent moon shape they created, until he heard more noises (that he now was sure, were flapping noises too loud to be from normal fish) coming from behind of one of the bigger ones.

Without losing a second, he stood up, his feet splashing as they entered the water that reached up to his calves, and fought against it as he tried to run towards the noise. But he reached it, and he heard more splashing a few rocks away so he drifted, chasing at it.

And it moved again. Was it playing with him? He was getting pissed!

His legs were starting to feel tired, but he felt so, so close to catching whatever it was every time that he wasn’t about to stop now.

Suddenly, the sound came from behind the biggest rock, the one that was in the lowest water.

‘I got you,’ he thought.

He hurried towards it, with all of the strength he had left, and without a doubt his hand reached out as far as he could, and...!

He felt something on his hand, a wet something. It began struggling, but his fingers closed like a trap around it, as he panted, and he felt it soon relax in defeat. His own legs gave in, making his rolled up pants get mercilessly wet

For a few seconds there was silence, and his fingers were able to recognize what they were holding. Skin- a wrist?

As he stood up, a pair of cautious yet curious eyes started to uncover from behind the rock. Along with a shade of wet hair that yet, in the faint light, he recognized.

The shade of the rising sun. The shade of flames and fire. The shade that had invaded his dreams for so long.

“Ah, it is you!”, the boy he had freed all those years ago said, as he broke in a huge smile, “It really is you!”

Ten blinked, dumbstruck, trying to take in what was in front of his eyes. Drops of salty water ran down the male, drafting his high cheekbones and his cute, small nose. His lips were red, still slightly opened in awe, contrasting greatly against his skin, that was pale as the moon that lightened them up. And those eyes, those adorably sweet round eyes that imitated the starry sky, pitch black yet so bright, that kept staring at him, drawing him in.  

Yes, that face, his face was still the same of his dreams.

Yet, as his sight followed the traces of the water on his body, he found something completely different from what he remembered. He saw the sea drops run down his neck, over his Adam’s apple, reaching his prominent collarbone, lazily sitting there.  He saw them fall from his square shoulders and circle his muscly arms, like thousand of bracelets.

He was supernaturally beautiful under that moonlight. Inhuman.

“You can understand me now, can’t you?”, his voice, deeper now, interrupted his appreciation, “I saw you talking to the other man before!”

“Y-yes, yes!” Ten nodded enthusiastically.

“So, I take it you’re here to take what’s yours, right?”, Ten just stared at him confused, “Your favour!”

The pirate had no idea of what he was talking about, but the other just went on.

“I promised to pay back for what you did, and I’m going to keep my promise. Mermaids always keep their promises, you know.”

For some reason, it wasn’t until then that Ten remembered that key part of the whole ordeal.

This guy, this guy was a mermaid!

He acted on impulse, and stood up, gripping his wrist again so he couldn’t escape. Frantically his eyes looked over the rock and...

Yes, there it was. A big, long, shining fishtail, with a fin so big he could probably put it over his shoulders as a cape. The scales on it varied in shades of turquoise and green, and towards his waist disappeared gradually.

“I can’t believe it...”, Ten sighed to himself, “You really... You are a mermaid!”

“Merman,”, the other corrected him, with a smile, “My name is Doyoung.”

“I’m Ten...”, he replied, without thinking, and his legs gave in again, this time making him fall on his on the water. The other- Doyoung, surrounded the rock, helping himself with his arms, until he sat next to him.

“I’ve never forgotten about what you did for me that day, Ten. I’m still very grateful.”, he did  small pause, as if waiting for him to process his words, “So, that’s why I’m going to gift you something very special.”

“This is considered the biggest honour a human can get from a mermaid.”

Ten’s eyebrows rose up, but before he could even say anything, he felt a pair of long, wet hands encircling his jaw, long fingers softly sprawling on the back of his neck and his ears. But his eyes were locked with the merman’s, who was staring at him with hooded dream ones, intensely.

“So you too, be grateful, alright?”

And the next thing he felt, were wet lips pressing all over his.

hello!!! sorry for the delay, haha!! hope you enjoy, please keep supporting doten and this fic, thank youuu! and thanks for all the nice commemts, too!! they totally help my motivatiom hehe x))