They sail into the purple waters and the ocean starts to dip looking as if its about to split in two. Suddenly Baekhyun see's more of the merpeople clearly start to rise from the ocean depths, fog consumes the ship and he holds on to Chanyeol's arm, completely blinded by the white thickness infront of him.

"Brace yourself" there's a tug on his shoulder and then a large hand is placed around his waist keeping him in place, the voice was undeniably his Captain.

A sudden jerk and swish and Baekhyun almost felt his feet leaving the ground like the gravity on the ship suddenly disappeared, he shut his eyes preparing for a crash landing but nothing happened, when he opened his eyes his feet were planted firmly on the wooden ship and Chanyeol's hand was leaving his side.

He rushes down the stairs following Chanyeol and see's the crew all gathered at the side of the ship, looking down into the purple waters. "What happened" he looks at Jongdae in complete disbelief "We made it" he says bluntly and goes over to the men bringing in equipment from below deck, scuba gear? Baekhyun gives Jongdae a confused stare "Well you didnt expect them to live on the surface did you" He laughs and puts on the little oxygen mask. Baekhyun follows what the others are doing, peering over to catch a glimpse of Chanyeol doing the same.

1...2...3... They all jump over board and descent to the depths of the sea, it was barely a 1 minute swim but Baekhyun felt like it was an hour yet all the men seemed relaxed like they did it before, except for him and Sehun who was now holding on tightly to his sleeve. They swam into a plain silver and glass chamber, nothing in it besides water, no doors or any escape, was this a trap he wondered but decided to follow his crew into it anyway.

In an instant the wall behind him started closing in and they were completely shut, closed off from the free ocean, but no one seemed to panic, in another instance the water level was starting to decrease, silver holes in the floors had opened up and soon all the water had vanished and there was air filling the room, fresh and crisp, they were breathing underwater.

The wall had lifted up on the opposite end and there was land, dry land and what looked like an island which housed a small city barely able to hold 100 people. "Are mermaids going extinct" he asked Kai as he made his way to the front of the crew.

"Mermaids dont live on land Baekhyun, this place is just for visitors, there's an underwater city not far from here" Baekhyun couldnt help but believe every word, why shouldnt he, a few days ago he didnt believe mermaids actually existed but now here he was in Atlantis, if thats what this place is, his knowledge was purely based on stories and myths.

He couldnt help but smile, the biggest he had been able to muster since he had been taken onto the ship, the adventure he never thought he would be a part of and here he is, in the land of merpeople, thanks to no other but pirates, his crew and Chanyeol. Sehun had kept rubbing his eyes until they went red, he still couldnt believe it, he thought he was dreaming. The crew waited for atleast 10 minutes before three figures in light blue hoods started walking towards them.

As the figures reached them they took out their hoods and 2 men and a female were there, Baekhyun could tell that much, although all their hair was long and silver, so much silver. He would have thought they were regular people if it hadnt been for the foreign clothes, arm braclets and the purple glow in their eyes. They werent humans, yet their beauty was nothing Baekhyun had ever seen before.

"Chanyeol!" the voice of the female called, it was bubbly and strange almost as if she spoke with water in , but her words escaped as if she had sang his name. Next came a hug, her hands had wrapped around his neck as she ran towards him like she only started walking yesterday, so unsteady.

She then latched onto his lips with her own, kissing deeply as she pressed her body into his. Baekhyun knew there was air around him, the water was all gone, yet he felt like he couldnt breathe. His stomach dropped as he saw the display of affection, Chanyeol holding her waist and kissing back. He was kissing her as if she was a long lost lover. Why was he kissing her back when he rarely even touched Baekhyuns lips. Jealousy had morphed into a bitter venom in Baekhyuns mouth and he had to look away.

After a few seconds the voice spoke again, no longer sweet and soft to Baekhyuns ears but rather vile and vicious.

"It's been so long Chan! Come on, we have food prepared and accommodation! We havent had any land guests for months" She points to three  large buildings, it looks almost like dorms and Chanyeol smiles and walks behind her following her like some sick puppy Baekhyun exaggerates. It must be his ex dumb mermaid girlfriend, even if he told Baekhyun she wasnt a girlfriend, the way he kissed her back definitely didnt mean they were just friends.

Baekhyun has even touched him BUT has never gotten a kiss, or any type of affection. Something about the whole situation annoyed him to the point of him huffing out an audible puff of air, catching the attention of both Sehun and Jongdae.

They all followed the girl and two men, who were walking rather slowly, they were probably not used to using their legs Baekhyun gathered, then there it was, the pretty pale princess had hooked her hand around Chanyeols arm, guiding him and laughing in his ear. Baekhyun scoffed once more as they made it to one of the larger buildings. As he got in, the smell of food had overwhelmed his senses, and the feast that laid on a giant table infront of them made his mouth water.

Crabs, eels, lobsters and assorted fish were all displayed with an array of side dishes which seemed to be vegetables he had never seen before. "Please eat everyone" the mermaid finally spoke and took her claws off Chanyeol. In no time all of them had been seated and dug into the the mountains of food in front of them, it was one of the best meals Baekhyun had ever had,  he swore he could see Sehun shedding tears each time he took a bite.

They were joined by a few more merpeople, waiters it seemed like, they all spoke and laughed throughout the night, the merpeople were friendly, many of which kept poking Baekhyuns legs and ruffling his hair, they were facinated with him as much as he was with them.

The night was starting to settle in, and even though the sky or rather dome capsule they were in had shades of purple hue, Baekhyun could tell it was probably 11pm, the numbers had dwindled and most of the men had retired to their rooms, Kai was next to Chanyeol and the mermaid was still there, whispering things in his ear. Baekhyun was in trouble, he didnt know how much longer he could take it, so he decided to ignore it instead and make his way to his allocated room.

He was bunking with one of the crew mates Taemin,  he wasnt really close to the man but he couldnt say he was uncomfortable around him. Taemin usually reminded him of Kai most of the time. Baekhyun had a shower, brushed his teeth and went to bed, nothing else to do but sleep and get what he was feeling out of his system.

It's only a few hours until Baekhyun wakes again, tossing and turning with a pang in his chest and purple lights keeping him up isnt helping. He needs air and he needs to walk around and get that image of that sloppy kiss out of his head, he might as well explore seeing that he is there.

He puts a robe on ontop of his sweatpants and loose shirt, its ugly to him but he hasnt been let off the ship enough times for him to get proper sleeping attire, he is comfy in it though. He makes his way down the stairs and outside onto a slightly red tinged path, this place didnt seem real even though many aspects tried to mimic the human world, like a park or shops scattered around, mostly empty and just for show.

He hears a slight russle and see's a dim light in the distance, its not part of the dorm so who could be up this late. He walks close as the light gets brighter and he can make out its being emitted from a large balcony window, he scrutinizes the building once more, its definitely bigger and better than their accomodation. He wonders if this is where Chanyeol is staying and like fate he widens his eyes and gasps as the large shadow appearing from the window was 100% the Captains, his hair and tall figure gave it away instantly.

Baekhyun now has a better view and the man walks onto the balcony, he is shirtless with nothing but sweatpants on and messy hair, Baekhyun inhaled sharply, he looked so sleepy and so cute and Baekhyuns heart started thumping for no reason. Suddenly that thumbing sensation dropped and rose, his throat was now tight and his stomach was churning, there was the mermaid joining him in the purple moonlight. She had some thin shorts and a vest on, her hair equally as messy as Chanyeols and Baekhyun took a step back.

He knows what just happened, why Chanyeol was there and his heart began to ache, why was he feeling this way. Why was he watching them when he should have ran away long ago. He was waiting, waiting for nothing to happen and if it did that was it, he would push his feelings for Chanyeol away, he would never look at that Captain again.

He was hurt and angry and he didn't even know why. Chanyeol had stolen him from his crew, he acted like he wanted him, why was he patient, why did they have conversations, why did he enjoy his time with the Captain, why did he agree to that dumb deal to get close to Chanyeol but it never happened.

Baekhyun was angry and hurt and he hated it. Why did Chanyeol not care but still acted like he did, why did he never show Baekhyun the affection he wanted but would be so ing loving to whoever that Kyungsoo was, to this mermaid, to his crew, the way he jokes with even Kai or asks him to take care of him when he's sick, why does Baekhyun feel like an outsider all the time not getting into Chanyeols view.

He hated himself, he used to hate Chanyeol but now its different, he cares, for his Captain, for his crew. He likes Chanyeol and maybe its more than like or maybe its less, he didnt know but no longer wanted to understand. He just wanted to wait and see what happened next as he already knew what happened prior and his stomach dropped again at someone as beautiful and rare as a mermaid being with him, how was Baekhyun going to compete, he couldnt. Why couldnt he be a cold hearted pirate.

Baekhyun tried to blink away the tears that started to form in his eyes, he paused to compose himself and then looks again, Chanyeol and the mermaid are gone, back inside. That was it, he couldnt do anything, it was already over he already told himself that if Chanyeol was with her he would give up, this charade of fake feelings he had conjured up, because it couldnt be real and he couldnt be feeling this.

Baekhyun turns around, and stares lowly at his feet, he begins to steady his breathing, taking deep breaths to distract himself, he was finally getting tired, exhausted infact.

"Baekhyun?" the deep voice called out to him and it sent a shiver down his spine, his finger tips tingled as he recognized the voice. He turns around to see Chanyeol, starting at him, his eyes asking a hundred questions. He was relieved, he was happy, he was happy that the man he began to like and maybe love was standing infront of him.

"I wasnt tired so decided to take a walk" Baekhyun whispered, there was no one there but he felt he needed to with Chanyeol approaching him. "Ah yeah, I guess the lights here can be abit much, goodnight" Chanyeol replies, suddenly following Baekhyuns whisper. He started to walk away, back to a smaller building, away from the dorm yet bigger than it, it must have been a priviledge for only the Captain. Baekhyun was happy that Chanyeol left the mermaids place and didnt go back in with her, but he wasnt satisfied, there was still something eating at him.

"How about you? Its pretty late for you to be up" Baekhyun speaks a little louder and slowly closes the distance between them. He doesnt know what he wants or maybe he does. He wants Chanyeol to not tell him, to brush it off as nothing, he didnt want him to hang importance to it, to this girl and the night he spent with her.

"Was with Creeal" is all he said as he stares at Baekhyun blankly. Baekhyun already knows who he is speaking about, he had seen them already, but he didnt want Chanyeol to know, he couldnt let him know how much this affected him. "Who's that, one of your mermaid flings" he tried to force a laugh out, keeping a joking tone but the silence of the night made it seem misplaced and awkward.

"Yeah, she is" Chanyeol rubs his eyes, he looks tired and almost bored of the conversation already. Baekhyun should just let him go but the answer he gave was unsettling. "So you had with a fish again" his tone slightly sharper than before, his anger bubbling once again. "haha she isnt a fish when we, ah I'm tired Baek, I already explained it to you, you should sleep we have alot of things to do tomorrow, this adventure has just begun" he sounds proud, and it just rubs Baekhyun the wrong way, he didnt want Chanyeol to know how he felt but also was Chanyeol that dense that he couldnt tell, did he just assume Baekhyun was heartless like he was and it wouldnt affect him.

"You are unbelievable, Chanyeol" Baekhyuns tone even more sour than before "What did I do now" Chanyeol begins to laugh once more, Baekhyun knows how Chanyeol doesnt stand for disrespect so he is a little thankful when Chanyeols face doesnt sour as well. "Forget it" Baekhyun doesnt want to upset Chanyeol, he knows if he speaks his mind it could end badly, he got his answer already Chanyeol doesnt care so he shouldnt either, he turns around to walk away but is suddenly dragged back towards his Captain by his arm. "Don't walk away from me, I asked you a question and I expect it to be answered" and there it was, Baekhyun shudders just a little as he sees Chanyeols burning gaze, he could be in trouble.

Baekhyun gulps, but his throat goes impossibly dry, he doesnt know whether he should speak the truth or not. "How was it?" He tries to use the 'bro'   move, distraction is his best bet "Average, like I said before, why? do you want to give it a go" Chanyeol now mocks, but Baekhyun can play at this game too "Yeah, seeing that I'm here I might as well, I mean those guards your princess has look hot" Baekhyun rolls his eyes, he itches for a reaction but he knows he probably wouldnt get one.

The air started to feel colder, or maybe it was just him as goosebumps started to spread throughout his body, If Chanyeols gaze could kill, Baekhyun would be long dead. Chanyeol's eyes hooded only slightly as he stared down at Baekhyun, his lips in a straight tight line. Baekhyun was afraid, he never saw Chanyeol this way before, he felt he was being stabbed and the intensity was otherworldly, but he just stayed quiet, for fear of being slapped right there.

"It looks like you have forgotten who you belong to" his words are short and soft and Baekhyun shivers a little more, Chanyeol looks angry but also frustrated and Baekhyun curses himself for wanting a reaction out of the taller. Chanyeol places his both hands on Baekhyuns hips and holds him impossibly tight. Baekhyun feels like his hips are going to be crushed, he is getting bruises by tomorrow he knows for sure, his reflex places his hands on top of Chanyeols much larger ones trying to pry them away but he cant, how is he so strong.

Chanyeol pulls Baekhyun towards him with such force that Baekhyun almost has a coughing fit once his chest hits against Chanyeols, fear mixed with arousal starting to trigger memories of the first day they met, the first time they fought. He was completely over powered.

"Looks like you have forgotten that no one touches you but me, there are no exceptions"  Chanyeols stare never loses its intensity, and Baekhyun doesnt know what to do, he starts to feel warm, Chanyeol claiming him as his, even though superficially still blocks out the pain he is feeling on his hips, the reaction he looked for, however painful, he got it. 

Words that Chanyeol used before which left him with disgust now held a new meaning to him.

Baekhyun had to take the leap, whether he would regret it or not. He leaned forward and crashed his lips onto his Captains, he had made the first move, whether out of fear or love he didnt know yet.