A/N: This is your chapter trigger warning. Topics: homouality and homophobia

Joonmyeon bowed his head and covered his chest with his arms, his back flush against the door. His hands were shaking and he was sniffling. “H-hyung, what happened?!”

“It was Jongdae. He snuck into my room and waited until I was done eating then took my cloaks. All of them!” Sehun’s heart dropped. So that’s why he wasn’t at dinner tonight. He bit his lip, if Joonmyeon was seen without his cloak, he would be punished. “Wait here, I’ll go find him…or check his room and-”

Sehun didn’t get to finish that statement because the door burst open, knocking into Joonmyeon’s back and sending him careening onto the floor. Sehun was fully prepared to hurt the person who burst through his door (unannounced too) when he paused and his heart stopped for a second.

It was his father. And a half-dozen guards.

There was a second when Joonmyeon turned to look at the door and then lowered his gaze before the king began yelling. “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!” Joonmyeon hastily arranged his body flat on the ground (since his spine and tail prevented a proper bow). “WHAT ARE YOU DOING UNCOVERED IN THE PRINCE’S CHAMBERS?!”

“Sire, I’m sure it’s not his fault. Perhaps he was trying to bathe but got lost-?” From behind the king Sehun could see the black spikey hair and hear the arrogant voice that was his cousin, Jongdae. “As for him being in the Prince’s chambers…I’m sure-”

“ENOUGH!” Sehun saw Jongdae flinch and he smirked in satisfaction. His cockiness was short-lived however when his father motion at a guard who handed him his royal trident.  The same trident which built sculptures to the gods and executed criminals. The king swam forward and the guards unsheathed their swords and filed in behind him. Jongdae smirked from the doorway. “YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR DISOBEDIENCE!”

“NO!” Sehun had swum in front of Joonmyeon. “It wasn’t his fault!”

“How DARE YOU-!”

“His cloaks were stolen from him, father!” The king stopped, surprised. The look of shock passed quickly and was replaced with a questioning look. “And do you know who stole them?”

“I do father.” He saw Jongdae’s jaw drop, but he didn’t even feel guilty. Joonmyeon could have been killed. “Crown Prince, please!” Joonmyeon was looking up at Sehun, desperately shaking his head. His eyes clearly said don’t tell him!

Sehun ignored him. “My own cousin, Jongdae is responsible for this!”

“THAT’S NOT TRUE,” Jongdae retorted, pushing past the guards to the front. “This. Arrogant. Evil. Deformed. Worm. Is. Lying!” He punctuated each word with a slap to Joonmyeon’s back with his tail. Sehun rushed forward, briefly grappling his cousin. He managed to push him off and he pulled Joonmyeon behind him. Joonmyeon was crying, but still made an attempt to hide his body.

The king put a hand on Jongdae’s shoulder, trying to calm him down. “Easy Jongdae, we will get to the bottom of this lying-”

“But that’s just it, father. Joonmyeon hasn’t said a word this whole time in his defense! How could he be lying unless he spoke?” Both Jongdae and the king froze, both out of shock. Sehun didn’t waste this opportunity. “You there, go to Jongdae’s chambers and search them. Check in the back of the wardrobe and beneath the bed, there will be loose tiles.” One guard bowed and swam away quickly. Jongdae was furious and no doubt confused at how his cousin knew his secret hiding spots. “While we are waiting, shall we hear the accused side?” He made no attempt to usher the aid forward, knowing uncovering the other would only intensify his father’s anger.

“Um…I returned to my chambers for dinner…and just when I was finishing, I felt a tug from behind and my cloak came off. I-I turned to look and it was…Master Jongdae…” The king’s eyes widened. “I asked him to give it back, but he swam out of my room with it. I decided to come to the Crown Prince because I thought he could persuade Master Jongdae to return it to me. I came here as quick as I could! No one saw me, I promise.” Sehun felt a lump in his throat. Even in front of a man who’s done terrible things to him, he’s still considerate. “You found me just as I was explaining the matter to the Crown Prince.”

The king opened his mouth and shut it once. He opened it again but was cut off with a shout of “Sire!” The guard had returned, carrying a black bundle. “I found this under the bed, just like the Crown Prince said! The guard at the door was knocked out.” The king looked at the object with distrust and stabbed at it with his triton. He held it up and the object unraveled. Without a doubt, it was Joonmyeon’s cloak. “I found two more in the wardrobe.”

The king’s jaw clenched. He flung the cloak to the floor and glared at Joonmyeon who immediately rushed forward to put on the cloak which now sported three large holes. “Guards.” They all snapped to attention. “ Master Jongdae to his chambers. He will be confined there for two weeks.” Then the king left with neither a good-bye nor an apology.

Two guards led Jongdae out of the Prince’s chamber. Jongdae glared at Sehun over his shoulder (to which he glared back) but he felt uneasy knowing that Jongdae didn’t like it when his pranks went awry.

*          *          *

“He didn’t even say ‘I’m sorry’. He’s always getting on me about how a king should be merciful and kind and he can’t even show a little kindness to his own aid!” Sehun was ranting as he slathered Joonmyeon’s back in ointment. Jongdae’s tail left behind some scratches that were not deep, but had drawn small amounts of blood. Sehun was the only person Joonmyeon trusted to touch his back so he was treating his back while Joonmyeon sewed up the holes. He hadn’t removed his cloak, but wore it backwards so he would be covered and Sehun would have easy access. “-and you’d think he would offer you another cloak after practically shredding this one. You’re done.”

“The king knows I have two more, what’s the point in getting me another?”

“It’s the gesture that counts! And I swear, if Jongdae tries this again, I’m going to-”

“Sehun-ah.” Joonmyeon only called him like that when they were alone. “It’s alright. There’s no harm done-”

“But Hyung, I’m worried! The king even pointed his trident at you!”

“Yes, but now that Master Jongdae has been caught his words have been discredited. The king will trust us both more next time, if there is one.” He finished the final knot and re-arranged his cloak. “Promise me when he’s allowed out again you won’t hold this against him.”

“But-”

“I know it sounds ridiculous but Master Jongdae is your family. You may need his backing at some point, so holding a grudge won’t solve anything, understand?” Sehun nodded. Joonmyeon was right, as always. I still wish he’d let me punch him, though. Joonmyeon swam toward the door. “I’ll retire for the evening, shall I dim the lamps?” The moon on the water allowed for lots of light, but they still used lamps filled with bioluminescent fluid aid them at night.

Sehun shook his head. “No, I need to look something up. I’ll go to bed in a little while.” Joonmyeon nodded and left. Sehun sat at his bench in front of his desk, pulled out a sheet of seaweed paper, and began to write.

*          *          *

It was about 9:30 when the meeting was let out and Sehun immediately swam towards the shore to see Luhan. His heart was beating fast from both adrenaline and something else Sehun recently put a name to.

He had felt this feeling in his chest for years and had spoken (more like vaguely alluded) this feeling to Joonmyeon once or twice. He had searched books, spoken (alluded) to doctors, and even talked about it with one of his professors. About two years after meeting Luhan, he realized he was in love with him. Sehun had been shocked at first to realize this, seeing as being homoual was severely taboo in mermaid society. He had panicked at first, but then upon realizing he only loved Luhan (as opposed to men in general) he had calmed down. Knowing that he loved Luhan was calming in a way, since he already hid Luhan, hiding his love for him couldn’t be any more difficult. The only thing that potentially worried him was if Luhan would accept his feelings for him or if he was into guys (or Sehun) at all. Strangely enough, after four years of knowing him, human’s opinion on uality had never come up and he didn’t know how to broach the subject. But then again, he knew that there was no way for them to date even if he did like him, so he tried not to let these thoughts consume him as he reached his destination.

He breached the surface close to the rock outcropping where he and Luhan met. Mermaids could breathe oxygen from the air or water (“We have complex lungs and nasal cavities, Luhan.” “Cool!”) so it only took a moment for him to get his bearings. He only let his eyes and the top of his head out of the water as he swam to the group of rocks that hid them from curious eyes. The area was just off a pier and close to a beach, and Sehun could even see the top of Luhan’s mother’s hostel. The area wasn’t particularly busy, but Sehun could see the road where Luhan and cars would come (that concept was tough for Luhan to explain).

“Sehun-ah!” Sehun turned his head to see his friend. He was dressed in jeans, a short-sleeved shirt (it was late April after all), and old sneakers which he had waterproofed. His pink hair (he lost a bet against a doctor last week and had to dye it) gleamed in the sun and he carried a backpack.

Sehun smiled. “Ge!” Luhan smiled back at his greeting. Sehun was secretly (from his father)  teaching himself Mandarin, so he liked to practice with Luhan who was more than eager to help him. “Did you finish your paper last night,” he asked as Luhan sat down on their favorite flat rock and put his bag down.

“Almost. I just have to write the conclusion and then I’ll be all set,” he said as Sehun hauled himself onto the rocks. Sehun’s tail never failed to impress Luhan, but he stopped staring as he handed Sehun a towel. Sehun began drying his torso. “This’ll be my last paper and then I have my practical next Friday-here-” he handed Sehun a tank top to cover himself. “-and then I can finally sleep.”

“That’ll be nice,” Sehun said as he put on the shirt. They learned over time that Sehun was fine to be dry and out of water and that he would only get itchy if there was a lot of wind. Luhan took to bringing him shirts in case another human saw him and a towel which Sehun would wet down and place over his tail to keep it moist and comfortable (and again to prevent humans from seeing). Luhan handed him a black snapback and now Sehun looked like a typical human teenager. “There, now you look like a normal bratty teenager.” Sehun stuck his tongue out at him and Luhan laughed.

“Actually, can I rant at you like a normal bratty teenager for a bit?”

“Yeah, why? What happened?”

“It was my dad.”

“Oh .”

“Yeah…” Sehun proceeded to tell him about everything that happened yesterday. Unlike with Joonmyeon though, he was much more open, spirited, and he used lots more curse words. Luhan didn’t care about him ‘maintaining his royal image’ so he felt more liberated on the surface than below. “-and so my dad ing points the trident at him-you remember the trident, right?”

“Isn’t that the thing your dad used to create some sculpture last year?”

“Yeah, but he also uses it to execute convicted criminals.” Luhan’s jaw dropped. One of the many reasons I love him, he listens to everything. Luhan’s jaw remained dropped until he finished the story, when he finally closed it for a second. “-and so yeah, that’s why I’m mad at my dad.”

“…No offence, but your dad’s a .”

Sehun laughed. “If only there was a merpeople equivalent of that! Speaking of which,” he handed Luhan the notes he wrote last night after Joonmyeon left. “Here are the answers you wanted.”

“Oh, right!” Luhan rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a ziploc baggie full of water and two books from the Royal Mermaid Library. “Thanks for letting me borrow these, but my mom nearly flipped when she saw them in the fish tank. I had to tell her they were new fish tank props.” Sehun laughed. Another reason why I love him. Damnit brain get your together, this is not a soap series…show? Can’t remem-opera! Soap opera! “By the way, I beat your high score on Flappy Bird.”

“You did not!” Luhan smirked as he handed him his phone. Sehun opened the app and checked for himself. Luhan smiled at how well he could operate his phone. Sehun growled. “Hyung, I hate you. Hold on, I’ll beat you in a bit. Go ahead and read the answers out loud, some I need to explain.”

“Okay.” Luhan squinted at the writing. “‘Mermaids don’t differentiate between North Korean and South Korean waters, it is all ruled by the ‘Supreme Jackass’-that’s not very nice.”

“You were the one that called him a earlier, which I agree with.” Sehun didn’t look up from the game.

Luhan shrugged and read on. “‘The order of royalty is the King, me, the Crown Prince as of age 16, and then Jongdae since my uncle has forfeited the crown to pursue his career as the Head Astronomer to the Royal Family.’ Wow, that’s cool. ‘The crown is passed oldest to youngest, regardless of gender, think British Royal Family’. What’s that part mean?”

“It means that if we have a Queen, she gets a King Consort and a King gets a Queen Consort, that kind of thing. Not quite the same but close enough.”

“Oh, okay. ‘Our tails resemble those of fishes and have scales but propel us like dolphins’ I knew that part. ‘But since we have hair and feed young, I would consider us mammals’ that makes sense. ‘There is no record of a whale eating a mermaid. Our circulatory system is similar to that of humans so we probably have blood types but we have no way of knowing. The Royal Health Research Department has no records of any mermaid with allergies. I couldn’t find out why we have belly buttons when we give birth like sharks.’ Yeah, that’s weird. ‘You’ve seen me get hiccups but there is no mermaid equivalent of that word.’ Your turn for questions that don’t require the internet.”

“How deep have you explored the ocean?”

“Uh…they’ve explored the Mariana’s Trench before…so pretty deep I guess.”

“Damn. Why do you guys have glass on your windows? Why not just curtains?”

“It keeps out the wind and rain. And bugs. And it keeps the house warmer in the winter.”

“Can you eat land meat raw?”

“Some people do in other countries, but it’s discouraged since we can get diseases from them.”

“Why can’t your phone work underwater?”

“Because all of the stuff inside it is sensitive to water. If I put it in a watertight case it would work.”

“Sweet. And what about laptops?”

“Not yet. Plus tablets are more popular now so people spend their money there.”

“Damnit! ing crappy bird.” Luhan smirked as he saw Sehun scowl.

“It’s called ‘Flappy Bird’.”

“I said what I meant, Hyung.”

Luhan laughed. “So I take it you didn’t beat my high score?”

Sehun grinned deviously and handed back the elder’s phone. “Beat it by ten.”

“WHAT?!”

*          *          *

Mealtimes were one of Sehun’s favorite parts of visiting Luhan. He always packed enough for the both of them and it was always delicious. Luhan had taught him how to use chopsticks (merpeople apparently used utensils similar to what Luhan called a ‘knife’ and ‘fork’) and Sehun could easily maneuver around most Korean and Chinese dishes. He even enjoyed bubble tea which was Luhan’s absolute favorite drink. Today he had brought some samgyapsal and other banchan to eat cold as well as kimchi and rice. Luhan always teased that he knew Sehun was Korean because of how much he enjoyed kimchi and rice.

“I think I ate too much,” Sehun groaned as Luhan finished putting away the Tupperware.

“Do you want to lie down? I can do something that my mom always did when I had a stomachache.” Sehun nodded and moved to lie down on the rocks, but Luhan stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He shook his head and slowly guided Sehun’s head onto his lap. Sehun;s heartbeat sped up as Luhan slowly began carding his fingers through his hair. It felt great, but he couldn’t relax because he was worried. And also because Luhan would occasionally brush his fingers against his ear which was making him all tingly.

“Ge?”

“Mm?”

“Um…this feels nice and all-” Seriously, don’t ever stop. “But what if someone sees us?”

“Your tail is covered and your fins are in the water…from far away it looks like we’re both dangling our legs over the edge of a rock.”

“Not that…I meant…won’t someone see this,” he indicated the hair combing, “as odd?”

“Not particularly, I’ve taught you about skinship. This level of touching is fine in public.”

“Yes…but won’t people think that it’s…” he mumbled out the last word, “…gay?”

“So what if it is, it’s not like it’s a big deal here. Why? Is it strange down there?”

Sehun could hear his heart drumming against his ribcage. “Down there…it’s taboo.”

“Really?” The head petting stopped.

“Yeah…”

“How taboo are we talking?” The continued, much to his relief.

“…Being in a homoual relationship is punishable by banishment or death, depending on the severity.”

“WHAT?!” Sehun shot up in surprise. Luhan looked angry, which was actually very rare for him. “That’s just…why?”

Sehun shrugged. “Royal Scientists say it’s against the natural order and that a male is meant to be with a female to continue our race.”

“Isn’t death a little harsh though?”

Sehun shrugged. “It’s one of our ancient laws…by now it’s so ingrained into mermaids that most wouldn’t dare go against it.”

“And what do you think, Sehun-ah?”

If Sehun thought his heart was beating fast earlier, now it was running a marathon. His back felt uncomfortably prickly and his palms were clammy. “W-well what do humans think about it?”

“Most of the developed first world is okay with it. You can find gay couples holding hands in the street or living together and it’s perfectly normal. In fact, a few years ago Korea actually legalized same- marriage.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah! Anyone can love anyone! So now back to my earlier question,” , he noticed! “What do you think about same- couples. Not mermaids opinion in general, but yours. I promise I won’t judge you. Pinky swear.” Luhan immediately looped his pinky and Sehun’s together, but he could only limply return it. He was almost trembling with nerves. This was his biggest secret. Will Luhan really not judge me? He said most of the world is okay with it, but what about him? What if he hates me? What if he never wants to see me again?!

“Sehun-ah, what’s wrong?!” Sehun didn’t realize it, but tears were streaming down his cheeks. “Baobei, don’t cry!” He immediately cupped Sehun’s cheeks with his hands and used his thumbs to wipe the tears away. Sehun only cried harder because of what Luhan said. Treasure. He called me a treasure. “Xiao Hun I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset! Shh-it’s okay, you don’t have to answer.”

Sehun shook his head. Now that he was so close he almost felt desperate to answer. He felt the overwhelming urge to just tell him everything. He took a deep, shaky breath to calm himself. “It’s just…” He took another deep breath and bowed his head. He couldn’t bear to see Luhan’s face for this. “I…I’m…in love with another man.” He clenched his eyes tightly, waiting for what was coming.

He felt the hands leave his cheeks and his heart sank, only for him to be pulled into a hug. Sehun was surprised, even more so when he heard a sniffle. “H-hyung?”

“You did good Sehun-ah, it’s okay.” Sehun exhaled deeply and returned the hug, curling his fists into the back of Luhan’s shirt. Luhan brought one of his hands up to the back of Sehun’s head. “You were really scared right?” Sehun nodded. “I’m proud of you. You’re still my friend and I love you just like this. Just as you are.” Sehun burst into tears again, alternating between crying and mumbling out ‘thank yous’.

Once Sehun calmed down, Luhan returned Sehun’s head to his lap and began his head again. “Well, now that you’ve told me I guess it’s only fair I tell you. I’m gay too.”

Sehun’s eyes widened and he bit his lip to prevent a smile. “Really?” I have a chance?

“Yeah. I found out myself when I was about 15. I told my mom and Yixing right away and they were fine with it. When did you find out?”

“Two years ago.”

“And you didn’t tell me?!”

“I was scared less! Homouality is a crime where I’m from, I didn’t know what it was like up here and I sure as hell didn’t want to bring it up.”

“That’s true. Well now you know. There are still some people that are close-minded but for the most part, no one cares now.”

“That’s nice.”

There was a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, then, “Sehun-ah?”

“Yeah?”

“You know I’m going to be graduating soon right?”

“Yeah.”

“I might have to work weekends.” Sehun’s heart sank again. “We can still meet up, just on a different day.” Sehun immediately felt better.

“Okay.”

“You won’t miss me?”

“Hell no.”

“You punk!”

They both laughed and continued to talk and ask questions. Just before sunset, the both of them got their journals from Luhan’s bag and took down their notes. Sehun handed back the towel and the clothes and slipped into the water. “I’ll see you next week,” Luhan said, patting his head.

Sehun nodded. Just before Luhan left, he shouted out to him. “Hyung!”

“What?”

“…Thanks!”

Luhan smiled and waved. Sehun slowly swam back to the palace, feeling lighter than he had for a very long time.

A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter was hard for some people.