Jongdae's eyes felt crusty and he tasted something gritty and earthy in his mouth. Vaguely, he heard an exquisite voice singing softly to him.

When the wind I was riding descends upon your world,
The white wind swirls around you.
When you ask me where I came from,
I smile and reply: “It's a secret.”
As long as it's just me and you,
Heaven is wherever you are. 

“Are you stupid? Heaven is in the skies, it can't be on earth.” The prince called out at the singer. The melodious voice stopped and Jongdae almost, just almost regretted what he said. No one in this world should have a better voice than me. So serves him right. He thought grumpily. “You're awake.” The singer’s voice still sounded amazing which he thought was unfair. Someone with such an amazing voice should totally look ugly just to be fair. “OI! Xing, let's go!” Another voice shattered Jongdae's thoughts and he forced open his eyes to see who was talking. All he saw against the glare of bright white light was the slim silhouette of a young man who looked too beautiful to be true. That's unfair. He thought even as shouts of relief echoed over the sand and his guards were rushing to his side, dusting him down and repeatedly asking if he was alright.

Fast forward a week later and the young prince had seen no sign of the young man who had evidently rescued him and his family was already contemplating hiring a counselor for him; they thought that the event had traumatized him so bad that he hallucinated both the face and voice of the young man. Disheartened by his failure to find the man, Jongdae tried to console himself by thinking that the man was too perfect to be real anyway. Just as he had finally managed to convince himself of that, his St Bernard, Jongin, started barking. The barks were so loud that even the palace guards came running to see what was happening. Jongdae's jaw hit the ground when he saw what Jongin was barking at.

“You!” He cried out in shock and relief. So I'm not crazy. Phew. He thought to himself. A young man was standing just outside the palace gates that faced the beach. His skin was so fair that the white sand dusted on his knees and feet showed up as gold. He had beautiful dark eyes and soft looking hazel hair that curled slightly in the wind. Jongdae tried to avoid looking down there but he was pretty sure he caught sight of a nice size package. The young man smiled at him, revealing a dimple that nearly made the prince do a double take. He's so cute! Jongdae thought. The yelling of the guards snapped him out of his daze and two hands covered his eyes. The prince twisted out of the guard’s grip indignantly and cried out when the young man’s expression contorted into one of pain when a guard twisted his arms behind his back tightly.

“What the is that! That thing bit me!” The guard holding the young man jerked away, yelling in shock. To Jongdae’s amazement, a very disgruntled looking crab scuttled out of the guard’s sleeve and climbed into the young man’s hand. The young man dodged away when the guard lunged at him and ducked behind the prince who instinctively stretched his arms out to shield him. The guards stifled smiles because it looked so comical, with the young man taller than the prince. “Do you know this man, Your Highness?” One of the guards asked because after all, they had to do their job. “Yes.” Jongdae answered very seriously and the guards looked at each other before shrugging and going on their own business.

“What the is the crab about anyway?” Jongdae turned to the man behind him and asked incredulously. The crab glared at him with beady eyes before rising onto its tiny legs and snapping its pincers threateningly. “O…Kay. I think you better come in and get something to wear.” The prince slowly backed away and the stranger smiled sweetly at him.

“Can you not speak?” A flash of disappointment streaked through him when the man shook his head, making little gestures with his pretty hands. The stranger poked the little red crab that had fallen asleep on his arm and it jolted awake. The little crustacean glared at the man as the man pointed in Jongdae's direction. Much to the prince’s shock, the crab heaved a very human like sigh and spoke. “I'm Yixing and he… Wait no! Why am I talking in your perspective? He’s Yixing and I'm Yifan.” Satisfied, the crab folded its pincers together and settled down, beady black eyes surveying Jongdae. The man now with a name, gave the prince another devastating smile that made him weak in the knees. “Yixing.” Jongdae allowed a small smile to crawl across his face. “I guess you could stay.”

Yixing had been staying in the palace with him for nearly a week when Jongdae finally, finally found the man who had rescued him. A young man named Luhan had slammed into him by accident while he had been out walking Jongin and to Yixing’s consternation, the prince had recognized the voice and brought him home to the palace, declaring that he would marry him. Jongdae’s brother, Joonmyun, however, was skeptical about his brother’s decision.

“You know, a few days ago, you were just talking about marrying Yixing.” He said as Jongdae made himself comfortable on his bed. “I know but Luhan is the one. He has the most beautiful voice in the world… After me of course. He saved my life! I would choose him over Yixing just for that fact.” Jongdae slurred, stretching out on the bed. “Jongdae, you were surfing with an ankle strap. And you were in the shallow end of the sea. I don't think even you could have drowned.” Joonmyun deadpanned, rolling his eyes at his brother’s theatrics. “Whatever, he still saved my life.”

Yixing was sitting quietly in his room with Yifan cradled in his hands when Jongdae found him. The young man looked up at him sadly, having already heard the news that was being broadcasted throughout the palace. The prince’s happiness deflated a little after seeing Yixing’s defeated face. It was no secret to him that Yixing was in love with him. “I'm sorry, Xing.” He sighed, sitting on the bed with him. Yifan only glared and scuttled away to sit in Yixing’s hair. “He's my true love. He's the one who rescued me that day.” At this, Yixing’s eyes widened and he shook his head, snatching up Jongdae's hands pleadingly. Yifan bit his lip. The sea wizard who had granted Yixing legs had modified the spell so that he could not speak of the incident. Now they both knew that they had been played.

“What? What are you shaking your head for? Do you think I'm nuts too, for marrying someone whom I barely know?” Jongdae’s eyes narrowed but Yixing shook his head desperately. He could not tell him. For the first time since he had legs, he cursed them for taking away his precious voice. Confused and slightly irritated, Jongdae rose from the bed, ready to leave. “We'll be getting married on a ship, at sunset tomorrow. You're invited but please don't cause a scene.” He said condescendingly. Yixing let him go, a tear trickling down his face at the thought of what would happen by the end of the week. “Are you giving up so soon?” Yifan asked quietly, picking at his friend’s hair with a red pincer. Yixing picked him off his head and looked at him sadly. He did not have a choice.

Jongdae had to admit, Yixing looked beautiful in that white suit. He was standing at the altar that had been carefully constructed onto the ship and waiting for Luhan to appear. Yixing was standing at the side of the ship, staring out at the horizon. Guilt nagged slight at the back of the prince’s mind but that disappeared when he saw the man of his dreams appear at the other end of the aisle. Luhan looked absolutely radiant, a nebula shell that hung from his neck the centerpiece of his entire ensemble. Yixing turned around just in time for the shell pendant to catch his eye. He gasped, the sound echoing throughout the ship, causing everyone to turn towards him, including Luhan himself. The man smirked, eyes glinting cruelly and Yixing felt his world spin. Luhan was the sea wizard! He had been played. Luhan made a small gesture that was invisible to anyone but Yixing. The sunset! Yixing whirled around to see the sun setting the ocean on fire as it sank below the horizon.

"Oh my god!!” Luhan screamed when a tiny red pincer came within sight. The string around his neck snapped as he flung Yifan off of him. The shell flew across the ship and hit the wooden deck hard. Yixing cried out in surprise when his legs buckled and seemed to turn into jelly. Jongdae watched in surprise and disgust as Yixing’s legs melted away into a scaly blue tail. “Yixing?” The merman looked up at him with stunned eyes. “Dae. I'm…” He did not get to finish because the prince was at his side and kissing the living daylights out of him. “Your voice!” He gasped as they pulled away. Luhan laughed as he scooped up a limp Yifan. “You are too late! The sun has already set. You are mine!” He cackled and before the horrified eyes of the minister and Jongdae's family, his bottom half swelled and burst apart into eight long tentacles. Jongdae screamed in protest when a tentacle coiled around Yixing’s waist and yanked him out of his embrace. Yixing squirmed and fought but the tentacle only tightened. Luhan laughed manically as he climbed over the side of the ship and splashed into the sea, Yixing in his grasp. “So long princey!” He yelled and dove deeply, heading straight for his man cave deep beneath the sea’s surface.

Yixing yelled and thrashed furiously as he was dragged below the water against his will. Another tentacle twined around his arms, holding him still. “Stop struggling. You're mine now. We had a deal.” Luhan smirked as he swam into his cave, setting the still dozy Yifan down on a rocky alcove. “Mmph.” The merman glared as a tentacle wrapped itself around his mouth, silencing his protests. “You're a fine piece of I must say.” Luhan chuckled at Yixing’s expression when he let a tentacle slide suggestively along his . The merman squirmed in discomfort but with his arms pinioned to his sides, he could do nothing to stop the wizard.

Luhan sidled behind the helpless merman, trailing his hands along his milky shoulders and touching the pale column of his throat. Yixing shuddered when he felt the wizard’s hand trail down his back, white suit jacket having been torn off in his haste. “So pretty.” Luhan whispered in his ear, smirking when the merman jerked away in disgust. Dozy Yifan stirred awake, blinking surprise when he found himself underwater. He got to his feet and watched in horror at the way the sea wizard touched his best friend. “Oi, get your filthy hands off the goods!” He yelled, swimming dizzily towards the duo. Yixing started to squirm again when he felt rough hands squeezing at his . His tail flicked in indignation and he twitched, trying to free his arms. “Oh look, grumpy Fan is up.” Luhan laughed giddily, reaching over to at Yixing’s crotch. The gesture was met with a loud muffled protest and the merman struggled to get away.

"Get off my love!” There was a furious yell and Luhan let out a girly scream, tentacles retracting immediately. Jongdae swam into view, wearing a scuba suit and holding an underwater microphone. He had stabbed Luhan in the with a pointy little object that Yixing could not identify. The merman watched in surprise when the sea wizard slumped onto the sea floor, unmoving, soft snores coming from his mouth. “It's a tranquilizer dart.” The prince explained, looking at Yixing’s stunned expression. “Puts him to sleep. Are you okay?” He asked, moving closer to rest a gloved hand on the merman’s shoulder. Yifan settled into Yixing's hair and glared again. Jongdae slowly retracted his hand. “Is he always that grumpy?” He asked when Yixing smiled at his reaction. “Yifan? No, that's just his default expression.” The merman wrapped his arms around the prince and kissed his nose. “Thank you for coming after me.” He murmured, hugging him close. “So are you ready for our happily ever after?” Jongdae asked, winking. In Yixing's hair, Yifan slapped a pincer of his eyes and groaned. That was the worst line ever. He thought as merman and human swam towards the surface, hand in hand, ready for a new beginning.