Inspired by this tweet

Yes, I'm talking about lobster and shrimp as in crustaceans  xD

PS. I post two fics today -->

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I'm going to die young!

Jongwoon, a little shrimp, thought to himself as he looked up nervously at a giant lobster looming over him. Its two pincher claws were clicking menacingly as he rubbed his tiny feets together in anxiety. He should have believed in his Heechul hyung and not stray too far away from their usual eating spot. He got distracted by a colorful jellyfish swimming past him and followed it. Before long, he found himself in an unknown area of the vast ocean and had no idea how to go back to his family. Just as he looked around frantically, trying to remember which way he came from, a large shadow cast over him. Turning around, Jongwoon shrieked as he came to face a large lobster, one of his species' predators.

"P-Please don't eat me! I'm smaller than normal shrimp so I can't make you full!"

"..."

Jongwoon tried his best at baby shrimp eyes, begging the apex predator to let him go. However, the lobster said nothing. It raised its claw up and lunged at him. No! I won't be able to see my family ever again!

Snap!

…Jongwoon carefully opened his eyes when nothing happened. He shrieked again after finding out that the lobster's scary claw was currently holding him, not too tight that it harmed him but also not loose enough for him to escape. He accepted his fate and let the predator carry him into its lair, a small cave under a group of blue coral reefs. The lobster let him down on the sand floor and watched him quietly. Jongwoon considered his situation calmly (as calm as he could be). Why did it not eat him right away? Did it… want to keep him here for another meal…? Wouldn't he die anyway if that was the case!!? Out of his habit whenever he felt nervous, he rubbed his antenna and jumped when the lobster suddenly made a strange noise.

"H-Hello?"

"... Kyuhyun."

"Huh?"

"That's my name, Kyuhyun."

"Oh! Um, hi, Kyuhyun, I'm Jongwoon!"

He waved his walking legs to greet the surprisingly calm predator then swam backward a few inches, startled by the lobster who suddenly banged the sand floor with its claw. Though Kyuhyun quickly stopped after noticing his distress.

"Sorry, sometimes I get too… excited…"

"It's okay! Everyone gets worked up from time to time, as long as you're not excited to eat me!"

There was a short period of nerve-wracking silence.

"... You're not going to eat me, are you?"

"No, I mean, I do think of eating you but eating eating, um, I mean, yes, Jongwoon, I won't eat you."

"Oh, phew! Then, can you let me go? Hyung is probably super worried about me now…"

"No!"

Kyuhyun suddenly shouted and startled him, but he quickly apologized after that.

"I mean, I, can you stay here with me? It's really lonely living at the bottom of the ocean alone…"

"Kyuhyun…"

Jongwoon pondered his choices. Obviously, he couldn't escape unless he somehow miraculously swam faster than the lobster. Staying here? True, Kyuhyun did say that he wouldn't eat him but could he take the word of a predator? What if Kyuhyun got hungry at night and ate him in his sleep? But the lobster looked like he didn't lie… Plus, he also understood the loneliness of living alone. While he had a family, Heechul hyung was already seeing a fellow shrimp Leeteuk hyung so sometimes he was left alone. Maybe a lobster and a shrimp can be friends…? In the end, he decided to take the risk.

"Alright, I'll stay here with you from now on. Please take care of me well, Kyuhyun!"

"Yes!! I promise I'll take care of you and protect you with my life!!"

That was the beginning of how a lobster and a shrimp started living together.

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Several weeks later…

It had been a while since he started living with Kyuhyun the lobster. At first, he was worried that he might get eaten by the lobster but that never happened. In fact, Kyuhyun took care of him really well that he actually got a bit chubbier living here. Every day, the lobster went to hunt and came back with so much food that he couldn't eat it all. When they were free, the lobster took him to see colorful coral reefs and sponges. At night, he would snuggle close and fall asleep under the lobster's big and strong arm. Sometimes when they went out together, other predators tried to catch him but Kyuhyun chased them all off and protected him. Kyuhyun even took him back to where his brother lived and properly asked for permission to live together.

"Isn't that lobster thinking of you as his mate?"

His hyung asked him but he laughed it off. However, when they went home and had a meal, when Kyuhyun fed him tasty algae, he recalled what his hyung told him and got flustered. Did Kyuhyun really think of him like that? Shrimp like him mated for life but what about lobsters? Did they mate for life too? Would Kyuhyun get bored of him one day and kick him out? He had gotten so used to living with the lobster that he would no doubt feel lonely if he had to live alone again…

"Jongwoon? What's wrong? Is the meal not to your liking tonight?"

"O-Oh, nope! I was just thinking…"

After debating for a while, he decided to be frank about it.

"Kyuhyun?"

"Hmm?"

"Am I living here as your mate?"

Kyuhyun dropped the fish he was eating and scooted away from him, before swimming back to him nervously.

"... What do you think, Jongwoon? Do you want to…? Just so you know! I don't mind if you want to live here as my friend."

"I don't mind it too…"

"?"

Jongwoon rubbed his antenna shyly.

"Living here as your mate… I-I don't mind it."

"What…? Really? Jongwoon!! I'm so happy!!"

The lobster suddenly grabbed him with his claw and spun around in joy. He was laughing along at first but soon whimpered when he felt dizzy. Kyuhyun quickly apologized and let him go, and they went back to the meal.

"Kyuhyun, do lobsters mate for life like us?"

"Normally, no, but I'm an exception."

"How?"

"Because I found you, Jongwoon."

Now, it was his turn to drop the food. His whole body somehow felt hot and he couldn't look the lobster in the eyes. What is this feeling? Why did he feel both happy and scared at the same time? Why did he want to stick close to Kyuhyun but also wanted to stay away at the same time? Most importantly, he wanted to be held by those strong arms… Blushing madly, Jongwoon threw himself under the lobster's arms and hid there. He didn't want Kyuhyun to see his face now!

"Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes! Just let me stay like this for a while…"

"Okay, you can stay like this as long as you want, Jongwoon. I won't leave you."

"Oh, thank you, and, um, Kyuhyun…?"

"Yes?"

"I'm happy that you found me too…"

Jongwoon murmured shyly and bowed his head lower in embarrassment. He got even more flustered hearing the lobster chuckle but he didn't resist when that secure claw hugged him closer. He leaned on the hard shell and closed his eyes, indulging in the happiness of living together with his mate whom he wanted to be with for life.

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More weeks later…

"Jongwoon, I'm home!"

"Welcome back, Kyuhyun!"

Jongwoon happily swam out of the cave to greet his partner who came back from hunting. He nuzzled against the lobster's claw and beamed when Kyuhyun gently patted his head. Then, he helped his mate carry the algae and small dead fish inside their home to keep as a ration. That was when he noticed that the amount of food seemed to decrease a bit from what his mate usually hunted. Kyuhyun was a prime predator, that he had no doubt about, so the issue lay with the quantity of available food rather than the lobster.

"Did something happen to the ocean? The amount of food seemed to decrease."

"Sigh, I was hoping that you wouldn't find out… The truth is, humans have expanded their hunting areas to our neighborhood. Many sea creatures got captured by their nets and never came back, and their boats destroy the coral reefs, so the amount of available food decreases too."

"That's scary… Kyuhyun, should we move to another area? Or at least please hunt less for the time being. I'm worried about you…"

"But I want you to eat. I still can't believe that you often skip a meal before living with me!"

In the end, Jongwoon couldn't convince his mate and could only pray that his lobster partner would be safe from the hands of humans…

******************************

One day, he was decorating their home with tiny colored rocks when he received bad news from his brother and brother-in-law that Kyuhyun, along with many other sea creatures, got caught by the human net. He dropped everything and swam as fast as he could until his whole body screamed in pain, but he never stopped. He kept pushing his little body and swam up to the surface. The sunlight shining into the ocean blinded his eyes but he ignored it, swimming forward relentlessly until he saw a large net slowly getting pulled up. He quickly circled around it and finally found his mate.

"Kyuhyun!"

"Jongwoon? No! Don't come near me and get away as far as you can!"

"I'm not going anywhere!! Kyuhyun, didn't we promise to mate for life? I can't leave you. I won't leave you! Never!"

Jongwoon hopelessly tried to tug the net but his tiny legs couldn't even make it budge. He should have known it. If even Kyuhyun's claws couldn't cut the net then what's more of these powerless legs? He knew it but he still kept trying, because he would never give up on his one and only mate.

"You're going to hurt yourself… Please, Jongwoon, it's too late for me now. Run away and forget about me. You still have beautiful days ahead of you."

"No! I'm not leaving you! Did you hear me!!?"

He shouted and Kyuhyun went quiet. He tried to tug the net again but to no avail. In a few minutes, the net would be fully out of the water and he would never see his mate again…

But he won't let it happen.

"Jongwoon!!? What are you doing!!? I told you to run away!!"

"Kyuhyun, you underestimate us shrimp. We mate for life and if our mate is going down… then I'll gladly go down with you!"

Jongwoon said after he pushed himself into the net and clung to his mate. The lobster tried to shove him out of the net but he always swam back. Eventually, just as the upper half of the net was out of the water, Kyuhyun gave up and held him gently in his claw instead.

"Jongwoon… thank you, for coming here and staying with me… I promise I'll protect you."

"And I promise to never leave your side."

He nuzzled the strong claw that always made him feel safe and brushed his antenna with Kyuhyun's, a gesture that represented their sealed promises. After that, they closed their eyes and accepted their fate as the net finally pulled them out of the water and suffocated them.

But at least they still had each other.

*********************************

Jongwoon wasn't sure what happened after that. The pain of suffocation impaired his senses. He only knew that they were transported from one water to another, before being crushed by something hard and cold that froze their blood. During all of the scary experiences, Kyuhyun's claw never let him go. His lobster mate kept whispering and comforting him until both of them were knocked out by the cold. Then, their consciousness returned when they were dumped into another water but less cold. Kyuhyun was really tired from holding and keeping him safe so he let his mate rest while he looked around their new surroundings. They were trapped by an unseen transparent barrier that allowed him to see humans bustling about. Where are they now?

"Oh, a lobster and a shrimp? What a peculiar pair you two make."

Jongwoon turned around and saw a lobster sitting lifelessly at the other end of the barrier. Despite his exhaustion, Kyuhyun immediately came to his side and held him protectively in his claw. However, the other lobster didn't even move his antenna and just stared at them with hollow eyes.

"My advice as your senior, kids, hurry up and say whatever you want to say to each other before your time comes."

"What time? What do you—"

Kyuhyun didn't get to finish his question because a smaller net with a handle suddenly broke the water and caught the other lobster who made no attempt to escape. They watched in horror as a human carried that lobster away and never came back. Jongwoon couldn't stop shaking after realizing what cruel fate awaited them. Are they going to…?

"I'm here with you, Jongwoon."

"Kyuhyun…."

He calmed down when that reliable claw held him a bit tighter. Right, he already knew what would happen when he chose to be with his mate instead of running away. Yet he still made this choice and he wouldn't regret it. Jongwoon smiled for the first time after they got caught and brushed his antenna with Kyuhyun's.

"I'm happy to be your mate, Kyuhyun."

"Me too, Jongwoon."

They brushed their antenna one last time as another human came to stand in front of the barrier and look at them. It seemed like their time had come. They closed their eyes and let themselves be caught by the human tool without resisting…

"I want to meet you again in the next life…"

"I promise I'll find you, Jongwoon."

Then, the darkness greeted them…

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"Yah!!! Lee-ing-Donghae!! I told you to buy ramyeon but why are you coming back with lobster and shrimp!!? And what do you mean by keeping them as pets!!?"

"Aww, c'mon, Hyukkie! Don't you see how cute they are together? They look just like us!"

A loud shouting woke him up. Jongwoon opened his eyes and found out that he was still in Kyuhyun's claw, safe and sound. His mate was watching the two humans arguing so he looked around instead. They were still trapped by an unseen transparent barrier but this one was a lot nicer— a perfectly-right-temperature water, a large cave situated on numerous beautiful and sparkling colored rocks, colorful coral reefs and a group of seaweeds, and a statue of an anchovy fish and a clown fish. The place was a lot larger too. He bet that his lobster mate could easily swim around without hitting the barrier like their last place.

"Jongwoon, did you wake up? How are you feeling now? Any injury?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine because my super cool mate protects me from all danger~"

Jongwoon giggled after seeing the lobster staggering from getting flustered. Kyuhyun faked a cough and smiled warmly at him.

"I told you that I'll protect you, right?"

"Of course~ Where are we?"

"I don't know either but I think we're safe here."

"Really? I can't believe it. I thought we were…"

Shaking his head, he chased off the negative thoughts and swam out of his mate's claw to face the lobster. He rubbed his feet shyly before speaking up.

"I'm really happy that I got to live with you again, Kyuhyun."

"Me too! Although I'm sad that I wouldn't be able to show off my hunting skill to you again, judging from this place…"

"It's fine~ I know that my mate is really cool! That should be enough, right?"

"Of course~"

They laughed in genuine happiness and snuggled up together. Then, they jumped slightly after getting startled by a shouting.

"Look! Hyukkie, they're cuddling! Aren't they the cutest?"

"But they're freaking lobster and shrimp…"

"Who cares? They're still very adorable and they remind me of us! I bet they're a cute couple just like us!"

"Lobster and shrimp? Are you crazy…?"

"Jongwoon, let's ignore them."

Kyuhyun smiled and offered his claw.

"Shall we check out our new home?"

"I'd love to!"

Jongwoon grinned and swam into the claw, letting his lobster mate carry him into the cave— their new home where they are going to live together until death do them part.

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God said everything can be kyusung if you squint hard enough 😎

Fun fact 1: Donghae sometimes forgot to feed them so Hyukjae did it

Fun fact 2: Hyukjae like to tease 🦐 by tapping the glass so when he tried to pet them, he got pinched by 🦞

Fun fact 3: Donghae held wedding for 🦞🦐