Prompt: Jr. as a Prince of Atlantis, and Mark's just a civilian. Once they meet near an ocean, where Jr saves Mark's life that almost drowned.

Mark’s eyes fluttered open, shaking off any leftover moisture that had stuck onto the fine black hairs. There was a pounding in his skull, as if someone was hammering away at the most sensitive parts of his brain and saltiness in his tongue. Suddenly he became aware of the thick pressure in his chest; something was blocking air from getting into his lungs. The redhead snapped forward and began heaving onto the wooden floor next to him, flushing out all the copious amounts of seawater that had flooded into his body.

Mark gasped for breath, a hand reaching up to clutch at the wet fabric sticking to his body near his heart. His vision was blurry, the blinding light of the sun disorienting him as he tried to piece together what was going on. He could feel the splinters of wood sticking into his backside which meant he wasn’t on the beach but the unmistakable sounds of waves crashing along the sand and seagulls flying overhead suggested he was by it.

“Are you ok?” A soft voice piqued up next to him and Mark almost snapped his neck with how hard he twisted his neck to match a face to the words. His vision was quickly clearing and Mark could make out the figure of a boy propped up onto his elbows, his lower half hidden from view as it was presumably still in the water. Mark was on a dock.

The boy looked around his age, well fed due to the excess fat on his cheeks and hair ebony and watered down, sticking to and around his face.  Despite his handsome features, what caught Mark’s eye was the gold plated jewelry he was wearing, a gold necklace and cuffs on his arms and wrists. Something was also splashing around behind him, with a frown Mark’s gaze adjusted and he noticed the slow swirling of a large fin peeking out from the water, a beautiful tail of blue and green scales that reflected off the summer sun.

Which was the last thing he registered before his head was knocking back into the wooden platform, eyes rolling backwards into his skull as he promptly fainted.

*

Jinyoung yelped and quickly reached out to try and soften the boys fall, but his upper half couldn’t reach that far and he only winced when he heard the loud thud of the other’s head hitting the ground. With a grimace he heaved himself further onto the wooden dock and reached out towards the stranger, letting out a sigh when he noticed the other was still alive. While his knowledge of humans was limited, he at least knew that as long as puffs of air left their body they were alive.

Jinyoung honestly hadn’t expected to interact with a human and certainly not save one’s life, the rules on his kind where strict. Even stricter for a son of Triton like himself, who were always under close watch, but Jinyoung was always the mischievous type even as a child. His favorite pastime was sneaking away from the guards and seeing how far he would dare to swim, back then the thought of the surface alone would shake him to the bones, but now at the tender age of 19, he dreamed of sandy beaches and the long limbs of humans which he admired and was bewitched by from afar.

He had a particularly tough day, while he was in no means to be king (having two older brothers who were long since shortlisted) they still forced his studies, wanting him to be a diplomat or something equally as boring but the merboy only had eyes for the sky and snuck off first chance he got when he managed to get his tutor (an old crawfish with a habit of repeating himself) to doze off after a few sweet melodies from the merboy’s enchanting voice. A gift many of the merfolk where gifted with, they had descended from sirens after all.

Only a peek he had convinced himself, just a bit of sunlight on his face and he would return but when he saw the struggling splashing shape of a human about to drown, he knew he had to act and quickly lifted the boy from the water, placing him on a nearby empty dock which belonged to an abandoned lighthouse, not daring to approach the beach in case he was spotted or worse pulled in to the shore.

The boy was lighter than he had previously imagined and Jinyoung wondered how in the world humans weren’t blown away by the heavy currents of the harsh seas. Once he had placed the male onto the dock the merboy wasn’t sure what to do next and simply exhaled a sigh of relief when the other had awoken himself. Even if it was only to pass out again at least the black haired boy knew he wouldn’t die this time.

Jinyoung twitched his tail curiously, finally getting a good look at the stranger. He had pretty features, a delicate nose, dusty pink lips, he could pass as a merman so easily except, Jinyoung’s eyes trailed down to the foreign cloth hanging off the other’s frame down onto the two protruding limbs he had instead of a tail. Legs, they were called as his tutor has taught him, terrible for swimming but handy for walking, especially on land. Jinyoung eyed the beach mournfully, he had always wondered what land was like, sure the lessons taught him about forests and creatures but he had always wanted to experience them first hand, dry things where so foreign to him.

The male shifted and released a groan, hand coming up to cradle his head as he groggily came to. Using a free hand to push himself into a sitting position. Jinyoung watched him with a tilted head, eyes wide and intrigued; everything about the human interested him.

“Hi again.” Jinyoung spoke, feeling a little shy after all his previous introduction had not gone so well. The male turned to look at him once more, eyes flashing and mouth opening and closing before he exclaimed in a sort of hushed wonder. “By the gods, you’re real. I thought I had dreamed you.”

He looked at Jinyoung with such amazement that the younger felt his scales heat up and he shyly retreaded more into the water until he was gripping the dock tightly, upper body submerged.

“No! Please don’t go.” The human said, one hand reaching out towards Jinyoung but the merboy flinched back, causing the other to quickly drop it. They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds Jinyoung ready to flee at a moment’s notice; after all he was not stupid. He knew what would happen to him if the rest of the humans discovered him; the lessons had gone over that very well.

“At least, don’t go until I’ve thanked you…for saving my life.” The human spoke again, the richness of his tone finally registering in Jinyoung’s brain, he had never heard a voice that deep before. It sent shivers down his spine. “It’s ok.” The merboy replied, tail swimming idly underneath him.

“Why…” He started but realized he wasn’t sure what to ask why where you drowning? Sounded ridiculous but then again the concept of drowning in itself was absurd to him.

The stranger understood anyway and his face fell into a sad defeated down turning of his lips, Jinyoung mirrored the expression unconsciously. “I dropped something of mine into the water. Something precious and was trying to get it back.” The human began, but he quickly grew sheepish. “However I- I actually can’t swim.”

Jinyoung felt his eyes budge out of his head, the human couldn’t swim? But how? It was the easiest thing in the world. He hadn’t even realized he had been giggling until he noticed the pout on the other’s face, feeling suddenly guilty a thought ran through Jinyoung’s head. Dipping himself under the water without even a warning, leaving a spluttering male behind.

The water was not deep here and with Jinyoung’s excellent vision he quickly spotted a shiny gem nestled into the sand. With a few stokes he had reached the bottom and scooped it up into his hand, quickly turning to go back onto the surface, holding the item safely into his palm. He resurfaced with a slash of water and reached out his hand with a grin etched onto his face.

The human broke out into a smile at seeing the necklace, eyes brightening as he reached out to gently take it from Jinyoung’s palm. “Thank you so much-” He paused, realized he had never gotten the merboys name. “Jinyoung.” The younger male filled in and the human sent him a breathtaking smile.

“Thank you Jinyoung.” He spoke, deep rumble to his voice making the black haired boy’s name sound foreign to his own ears.

“I’m Mark and actually, I’d like you to have this. As a token of my thanks.” Mark spoke, shyly offering the necklace to Jinyoung. The merboy felt something flutter in his chest and shyly let the human male slip the jewelry onto his head  sliding it down until it rested above the boy’s other jewelry. While the necklace wasn’t as grand as the gold ones he had on, a simple rope with a small green jewel on it, something about it was incredibly precious to the human and that alone made it one of Jinyoung’s most treasured gifts.

“Can I see you again?” Jinyoung asked, one hand cradling his new necklace gently, the other resting comfortably on the dock as he leaned into the wooden frame. “Well” Mark started tone light and teasing. “I am in need of someone to teach me how to swim.”

Jinyoung just laughed and used his tail to splash some water at the older male who squeaked and quickly shielded his face. The sun was beginning to set in the horizon, the orange hues illuminating the sky in such beauty Jinyoung would never see in the dark sea. But somehow, with Mark’s lean frame and open smile in the picture, it made the view so much better.

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