Colors

Colors

A Mermay Prompt

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“Y/n?”

You tensed at Dream’s voice. You didn’t want to see him. You didn’t want to talk to him.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.” You felt him shift closer to your hideout. “I can tell you’re in there. I won’t force you to come out, but I’d like to talk.”

“…”

“…You said you work for Nightmare?”

“I never said that.”

“…No. I guess you didn’t. But you live with him willingly?”

“……Yes. What’s it to you? Are you gonna attack me like Ink did?” You growled, bristling in your little cave. You glared at the entrance but, due to the bit of twisting the opening did, you couldn’t see out of the cave.

“Oh my stars- No. I will not attack you. No one should be attacking you this early into your new life. And I will have a discussion with Ink when I see him.” Dream sounded disappointed and angry. “He may be naive, but that is no excuse for his continued behavior. He will not go unreprimanded. I will make sure of it.”

Yep. They were brothers.

“You sound like Nightmare.”

Dream didn’t immediately respond. “…I’m not certain if that is a good thing or not.”

“Do you hate him?”

“My brother? No. No, I don’t. Our relationship is… complicated.”

“Complicated like attacking him after your mom died?” You accused, immediately regretting your choice of words. You could have been nicer about that. He had been very nice to you so far.

“……He… He told you about mom?” Dream sounded sad and surprised. When you didn’t immediately respond, he sighed. “I did not mean to attack him. He was scared. I was scared. There was blood and dust on mom’s stump. I just wanted answers. I hindsight, I should not have approached him in his violent state. Frenzies are easier to wait out than to calm. But I was not calm either. I got myself sucked into a fight with him and I haven’t been able to talk to him since. I promise you, I mean my brother no harm. I only wish to talk.”

That… sounded legit. “And Ink? What does Ink want?”

“Ink wants to feel.” Dream replied without hesitation. “He has no soul and believes saving people might help him develop feelings like most beings have. However, he follows me without question. If I tell him not to attack Nightmare, he will immediately stop. I’m sure of it.”

“You’re talking about me~!” Ink’s voice startled you and you backed further away from the opening of the cave. “Who you talkin’ to, Dream?”

“Ink.” Dream’s voice was threatening. “Do you remember that human siren I had you take to safety?”

“Oh! The pretty dolphin one?” The squid sang.

“…Yes. Did you attack them?”

There was a pause.

“Maybe? I don’t remember. I do remember them running though. Oh! They said that Nightmare was their Boss so I did attack them, yeah.”

Dream sighed. “Ink, you can’t just attack someone that works for or with Nightmare. Y/n wasn’t going to attack you.”

“Tell that to my arm.”

“What?”

There was a pause in sound as the water shifted slightly, most likely Ink showing Dream the multiple bite marks.

“…Y/n, why did you bite him?” He said seriously.

You growled. “He wasn’t letting me go! I don’t appreciate being kidnapped!”

“Woah! They’re here?” Ink wondered. Undoubtedly looking around trying to find you.

Dream groaned. “Ink, leave y/n alone. Don’t attack them. Don’t touch them. Y/n, would you please come out. We can take you back to Nightmare if you really want to go back.”

Oh, you really wanted to go back. The boys were probably worried sick. But it could be a trap for all you knew. Dream had immediately attacked Killer on sight. Speaking of which.

“What happened to Killer? Is he okay?” Your glare made it into your voice.

“Ah. Killer is… hurt. He is very difficult to dissuade from violence. He has attacked me before in my leviathan state which most would consider that equal to pleading for death. He was very lucky that Nightmare retreated that day. I almost killed him. On accident! I do not wish death upon anyone!” Dream quickly corrected himself. “If… If I could get close to Killer, I could heal his wounds. But I doubt he would let me close of his own accord.”

“I wouldn’t either if you shot me with a harpoon.” You growled.

Dream sighed again. “It was in self defense. I do wish he would not attack me on sight every time he saw me.”

“So are we going back to see the bad sirens?” Ink interrupted.

“Excuse me?!” You roared. Bad sirens?? What were they to Ink??? Dogs???

“I told you to stop calling them that.” Dream sighed a third time. His words calmed the water and you felt your anger leave you.

You inched forward. “I… I do want to go back. You won’t hurt me or my pod? Again?”

A gentle smile was in Dream’s voice. “We will not hurt anyone for as long as the water is calm.”

That was probably the best you would get.

It wasn’t a trick.

They really took you back to where you last saw Killer. There were a few stray sharks in the area, munching away at the fish you’d caught earlier but they didn’t give you any trouble as you swam past.

There were particles of dust and magic in the water that set you on your toes. Or fins, or whatever.

“Where’s Killer?” You asked.

Dream shook his head. “I don’t know. I had to break away and retreat when Horror, Cross, and Dust all pounced at me. Killer should be fine, I only shot him twice, but he was losing consciousness when I last saw him.”

“And you’re only telling me this now??” You snapped.

Ink’s eyes shot to you at your outburst, a target in one eye. You shivered and backed up.

“Y/N!”

A blur of black and white shoved its way between you and the other two sirens. The rush of water shoved you apart.

Arms wrapped around you from behind and pulled you away from Dream and Ink. A voice spoke above you.

“Y/n, are you okay?” Cross practically growled as he glared across the water at Ink.

“I’m okay.” You responded, hugging his arms to your chest when a flash of color caught your eye. You looked back at Ink to see him flared up, tentacles spread in intimidation.

His stripes were rippling, one moment grey and the next a vibrant rainbow. The colors were mesmerizing. Like staring at oil. Reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, indigos, and violets. Every color shifted and twisted, getting bigger and brighter with every passing second. It was absolutely beautiful.

You couldn’t see.

The water moved, someone was calling your name, and someone else was yelling. You turned your head to realize that someone’s hand was over your eyes.

“Y/n? Y/n, can you hear me?” Came Cross’s terrified voice.

“I… I can hear you.” You mumbled, clearing your head.

“Oh, thank the stars!” Cross sighed with relief, hugging you close.

The hand left your eyes but you were facing Cross now. You could hear Dream chewing out Ink behind you. Something about testing boundaries and power happy sirens.

“What happened?” You asked.

Cross frowned. “Ink doesn’t always use his voice to catch food. His body can change color quickly and it hypnotizes everything that looks. Even sirens. We’re lucky Dream stopped him before he could get caught in it too.”

“…He’s not a squid, is he?”

Cross scoffed. “No. He’s a cuttlefish.”

“Oh…” That was concerning. You curled into Cross’s chest.

Cross looked down at you. “You want to go home while they’re busy?”

You nodded.

He switched from hugging you to holding your hand, giving you the freedom of movement, before heading home.

One last thing occurred to you and you chuckled.

Cross raised a brow at you. “What are you laughing about?”

“I always knew cuttlefish were soulless.”

Cross burst into laughter.

Market

A Mermay Prompt

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Orcas liked toys right?

Would it be offensive to get a siren a toy?

You walked through the marketplace. It sat right by the docks but high enough above sea level to keep away from the tide. There was a reason for that, as half of the town had been swept away by a violent storm decades ago. That’s what you could piece together at least. Everyone told you a different story. The prince of the sea was angry at a sailor for doing him wrong. Two giant leviathans had gotten into a fight and caused the storm. Someone was selling the wrong fish on the wrong day. A few poachers had come through and “caused the storm??”

It was all nonsense to you.

You learned quickly just how fast gossip spread in the little town. With all the superstitious sailors and fishermen, something casual like seeing a crow eat a berry could turn into a blown out of proportion omen of death, plague, or murder. Anything and everything had to have a reason. You stubbed your toe on the way to work? Bad omen. Two fish swam around your feet when you went swimming? You’ll find your soulmate soon. Waves crashed against the rocks twice in a row? Big storm coming.

Absolutely ridiculous.

You entered the shop you were looking for, the bell announcing your arrival.

“Oh! Hey, y/n! Long time no see!” Greeted the clerk with a wave.

“Hello, Mister Ron.” You answered and turned to look at the displays.

There were a lot of toys to choose from. The beach balls, volleyballs, footballs, and frisbees were built to float on the water. Then there were the things that didn’t float. Buckets and shovels for sand castles, custom shoes with fun patterns on the soles to leave in the sand, and those fun torpedos and rings that sank to the sea floor for you to find again. Last but not least, there was a rack of plushies, all different sea creatures. Absently, you grabbed an orca plush and, after a moment’s hesitation, grabbed a shark plush as well.

“Anything I can help you with?” Ron asked from the counter.

You gave him a smile. “No, thanks.”

“You got family coming over?” Ugh. He was looking for gossip. Just like everyone else.

“No.”

“Friends?”

“No one is coming over.”

“C’mon, y/n! Don’t leave me hanging!” He teased.

Flashes of Killer saying something very similar made you pause. The teasing voice. The way he grinned at you as if nothing was wrong. Begging for information… and willing to kill you over it.

C’mon! Don’t leave me driftin’!

Do you know how easy it would be to sing those last notes?

You grabbed the closest thing and went to checkout. You had to get out of here. Ron gave you an odd look but didn’t pry as you bolted out of the shop. Your car was cranked and you sped home.

On second thought…

You turned to head to the beach instead.

Waves greeted you as you entered your alcove. Cross was nowhere to be seen. You groaned and sat on the rocky beach, the bag from the store still in your hand. Thankfully, you’d left the plushies in the car, but somehow still grabbed the bag. You reached in and pulled out a red ringed frisbee. Like the glowing thing Killer had on his chest.

You sighed and flopped onto your back. You really didn’t want to think about the shark siren but everything was reminding you of those encounters. The clerk, the shark plushie, the frisbee, even staring up at the sky reminded you of how he’d stargazed with you, his eyelights twinkling at the sight. He’d looked so harmless for a moment. Just a boy that got to see the stars for the first time.

“Ugh!” You stood up grabbed the frisbee and launched it at the horizon. The wind carried it further than you expected before in finally landed in the water.

Dang it, you could still see it!

You snatched up the plastic bag and stuffed it in your pocket. You weren’t going to litter, even if you were upset. Casting one last look, you hoped Cross was okay, you turned you back on the water to head home.

With a scratching sound, the frisbee landed next to you.

“That was fun! Do it again!” Came the familiar voice you didn’t want to hear.

Speak of the devil and he shall come.

You turned around slowly to see Killer propped up on a rock, his tail wagging behind him. The red thing you’d noticed before was floating boldly in front of his rib cage in the shape of a target. Wasn’t it a heart before?

His brow rose as you continued to stare. “Like what you see, y/n?” He grinned.

You looked at your feet where the frisbee still sat. “You want me to throw the frisbee again?”

“Frisbee.” He tested the word. “Can you throw it farther?”

“I didn’t even think it would go as far as it did.” You admitted.

The red rings above his chest twisted. That looked painful. “Then I’ll be able to catch it before it hits the water.” He challenged.

Something in you clicked at the challenge and you looked back up at him with a grin on your face. “Bet. You’ll never get there in time.” You picked up the frisbee.

His face lit up. “Oh! It’s on! Throw it, frisbee master! And watch me teach you a lesson!”

You threw it and a giant splash announced Killer’s scramble to catch it first. He got under it in record time and shot you a smug grin across the water. You smiled back and crossed your arms as the frisbee glided closer and closer to the siren until…

It arched sideways and hit the water several meters away from him.

You laughed at his look of confusion. After a few seconds of flabbergasted staring, Killer angrily snatched the frisbee out of the water and swam back to where you were laughing on the beach.

“What was that!? What did you do?!” He demanded, tossing the frisbee at you.

“I didn’t do anything!” You giggled. “The frisbee does that by itself!”

His grin widened. “Again.” He growled.

You nodded and sent the frisbee flying again.

And again, it arched to the side out of his reach.

“Why does it keep doing that?!?!”

“Because-.”

“Again!”

Several failed attempts later and you had to dodge the frisbee he launched at you.

“This is stupid!!” Killer snapped, his tail thrashing in the water. “Why does it do that?!”

“Will you let me explain?”

He glared at you. “…Fine. Explain.”

You held up the frisbee. “This bottom side is made to hold air under it while it flies. As long as it’s spinning, it won’t have a problem holding itself up. But,” You tipped the frisbee. “If it stops spinning, it becomes unbalanced and the frisbee will fall off the pocket of air it made and swing to the side. That’s why it keeps doing that.”

“Why does it stop spinning?”

“Because it was thrown too far with nothing to make it spin. When I throw it, I try my hardest to make it spin for as long as possible but over the water it has nothing to do but glide until it can’t spin anymore.”

“Well, how do I catch it?”

You smiled. “You have to over prepare for it to change course. Watch the way it wobbles before it falls.” You threw it without warning and he was gone.

His dorsal fin sped out to where the frisbee hovered and his head poked out of the water. He watched as it wobbled, arched, and hit the water without making an effort to catch it. He brought it back and repeated the process three more times.

On the fourth try he brought it back with a grin on his face.

“This time.” Was all he said.

The frisbee went flying.

His fin circled the area below it when it started wobbling. He shot to one side and came out of the water as it arched towards him. He stretched for it, it went over his head and…

He caught it.

“WOOOOOOOO!!!” He screamed in triumph, holding the frisbee above his head.

You watched him pump his fists into the air as you laughed and realized;

You’d just spent the entire day with Killer.

He hadn’t even threatened you.

And you’d laughed.

Huh.

Maybe you’d just gotten off on the wrong foot.

Or fin.

Semi Aquatic

A Mermay Prompt

(Note: …Horror)

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“Hello? Cross? Killer?” You called across the water.

No answer.

You could have sworn you heard something. You shrugged it off and set your bag down. The bag had more people food in it. You figured that whichever siren you saw first could have it so you sat down with a sigh and waited.

The wind wasn’t blowing very fast today, which was nice. It made things easier to hear. You sat back on your hands and closed your eyes, just listening.

There was sound everywhere.

The waves crashing on the rocks, the birds and seagulls singing, and the low, steady whistle of wind blasting through your alcove. The whistle called your attention, low and deep, it sounded like when the sailors would blow across those beer bottles.

Wait.

But the wind wasn’t blowing that fast.

You opened your eyes and searched for the sound. It was kind of echoing around everywhere but you finally managed to pinpoint a direction. Looking into the water, a broken skull stared back at you. He only had one eyelight under the fissure in his skull as he rose out of the water revealing his lower half.

He was a siren.

His bottom half was clearly octopus and his tentacles heaved him onto the beach and towards you. He kept that deep whistle going as he got closer. The tune was nothing special, just a deep note that would change pitch every now and then, but it still sounded pretty. You smiled at him but he didn’t smile back. He just crept closer and reached for you.

Oh! Was he hungry?

You turned away from him to rummage in your bag and pulled out the sandwiches you made. Turning back to him, wow he was close, you offered the food to his extended arm.

The whistle abruptly stopped.

And your fear came back full force.

You froze, hand still extended but noticeably more tense. Your eyes locked with his and he suddenly looked uneasy, staring at you as if he expected you to slap him. After a few moments of prolonged eye contact, his gaze shot down to the food in your hands.

Maybe he really was just hungry.

Ignoring the fact that he just crawled across the beach to get to you, probably to eat you, you offered the sandwiches again, pushing them into his hand.

He didn’t hesitate.

The food was snatched from your grasp and consumed before you could even flinch. He licked his fingers and looked at you hopefully. His whistle started up again.

“No, no. It’s okay.” You interrupted his whistle and pulled your bag around. “I’ve got more. You don’t have to convince me.” You pulled out a few more sandwiches and offered them to him. With how much pizza Cross ate the other day, you brought enough food to feed a party of twenty people.

The siren eagerly took your offering and ate silently as you slowly fed him more when he finished his.

You talked to pass the time. “I brought these for a friend. He’s a bit bigger than you, you might know him. Cross?” The siren glanced at you and made grabby hands for more food. You snickered. “Though, I don’t think there will be any left for him, huh?” He didn’t answer.

You rambled on about this and that, the weather, the superstitious townsfolk, the coral you’ve seen, the birds in your area. Everything and anything that crossed your mind. You had nothing else to do.

You ran out of sandwiches.

That made you pause. You looked down in the bag to see that it was, in fact, empty, and the octopus still wanted more. You showed him the empty bag. “Sorry, sir. I don’t have any left. You ate them all.” You explained, desperately trying not to lose yourself to your fear.

He looked at you, then the bag, then back at you. His expression was unreadable and you were slowly shrinking as he continued to stare.

A clawed hand reached for you, just as slowly as before, but this time without the whistle. Your eyes darted between his hand and his eye, trying to discern his intentions. Was he not whistling because he wasn’t going to hurt you or because he knew you wouldn’t run?

His hand landed on your head, lifted up, and patted you a few times. You blinked.

Was…

Was he petting you??

“Mmh.” He hummed. “Thanks.”

With that, he pulled away and sank back into the water without another word.

You stared after him.

You…

You hadn’t even got his name.

Sharp Teeth

A Mermay Prompt

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“Uh, Dust? You awake?”

No answer.

Cross shot you a concerned look from the opening of the dark cave. “I brought a new friend. If… you wanted to meet them.”

“…”

“…Okay. We’ll leave you alone.” Cross swam back to you. “I guess Dust isn’t up yet and neither is boss so you can’t meet them just yet. For right now you can stay in my cave until we find you a better one.”

You nodded. It was really cool down here. Last time you were here you just saw Cross’s cave, your human eyes unable to see much farther than what was in front of you. Now, you could see that his cave was settled next to several others with a small crevasse in between that got deeper in one direction. You couldn’t see the bottom of the crevasse in that direction, it just turned black at a certain distance.

Cross had sent Killer and Horror out hunting, prompting them to share, before showing you around. He didn’t enter anyone else’s cave and encouraged you to do the same. Not that you wanted to. Especially with two unknown sirens in the mix. That didn’t mean you weren’t curious.

After following Cross back to his cave, he laid down to rest and encouraged you to as well wherever because you needed rest after all that. His cave was plenty big enough and gave you a lot of space to choose from as he settled down.

You awkwardly settled yourself next to him. Not close enough to touch but not too far away. Cross smiled at you before closing his sockets to sleep.

You closed your eyes too.

…

Several hours later, you realized that you couldn’t sleep. You had too much energy. Killer’s magic was still stirring in your system, and there was so much you hadn’t seen yet. You could breathe underwater! A gift like that was not to be wasted.

Careful not to wake Cross with your movement, you slipped out of his cave to explore a little.

The crevasse wasn’t quite as pretty as Cross’s den, but that didn’t matter all that much. Little fish darted around the caves in schools and, when you looked close enough, you could see crabs and shrimp picking food particles out of the water. They all shied away from you when you got close but the curious shrimp came back. When offered, they inspected your hand and started cleaning it. You let them for a minute before moving on. You had energy. You needed to move.

Inspecting the terrain, you swam up and down the crevasse a few times until something shiny caught your eye. You looked over to see something in the darkness of Dust’s cave glittering at you. You slowly approached to get a better look but made sure not to enter the cave.

The little shiny thing shimmered and moved. Maybe it was a small fish? That would make sense with it being such a bright blue color. A red one joined it a little to the left. You smiled. It was cute. They almost looked like eyes staring back at you.

They blinked.

Wait…

You reeled back as the eyes shot at you a hooded skeleton launched into view. He grabbed your tail when you tried to get away and opened his mouth to bite.

His teeth looked sharp as needles as you noticed something strange in his mouth.

A second jaw.

In a whirlwind, something tackled Dust and sent you both in different directions.

“Hey, Dusty~! How’s it going?” Killer sang as Dust shoved him away.

“You can’t keep every kill to yourself, Killer.” Dust snapped.

When you finally got a good look at your attacker you realized you still couldn’t see all of him. His eel half was stretched out to reach where he was but he still sat comfortably in his den.

Killer gave him a cheeky grin. “I’m not~.”

A hand gently grabbed your elbow and you turned to see Horror next to you. He nodded at you and Dust noticed.

“Horror. What is going on? Who is that?” Dust questioned.

Horror tipped his head at you. “Friend… We helped her… convert.”

Dust sighed. “Well, keep a leash on your pet. I thought they were an intruder.”

You squeaked in indignation. A pet!?

“Heheh.” Killer chuckled. “Maybe we should get a leash.”

You screamed at him as Horror held you back. You were gonna kill him. Oh my stars.

“Not pet… Y/n is a friend. Helped… me.” Horror defended. He seemed surprisingly comfortable talking to Dust.

The eel raised a brow at you, still addressing Horror. “Well then, let me know if you need any help with them.” With that he retreated back into his den. He didn’t turn around though. He just backed up, his long coiled end pulling him in.

It was creepy.

He flashed a toothy grin when he caught your eye before vanishing in the darkness.

You shivered.

“Wow.” Killer commented. “That was fast.” Horror nodded.

Confused, you trilled in question, hoping they’d understand you.

Killer turned towards Cross’s den. “Dust likes you already. He offered to help. Dust never offers to help.”

“You.” Horror butted in with a smirk. “You make helping… hard.”

Killer shrugged. “Skill issue.”

You laughed.

Killer and Horror led you back to where Cross was still sleeping. Killer pounced on him.

A flurry of bubbles and a roar was all you could make out of the chaos that happened before Killer hurried back to you.

“KILLER!!!!!” Cross roared.

“Crossy~!” Killer sang. “Dust almost killed y/n and you were too asleep to do anything about it!”

You blushed at Killer’s bluntness. It was your own fault. You shouldn’t have left.

Cross’s eyes found you next to Horror. “Are you okay, y/n?”

You nodded but Horror pushed your face to the side. You squeaked as he unceremoniously flipped you over by the tail and showed Cross the small scratches you got from Dust grabbing you.

Horror’s voice came out in a slight growl. “Someone wasn’t… watching them.”

“They were supposed to be asleep.” Cross deflected.

You chittered in annoyance and gestured aggressively at Killer, indicating that his magic made it hard to sleep.

Killer gave an innocent grin. “I’m sorry, y/n. What did you say?” He teased.

You screeched and thrashed in Horror’s hold, trying to get at Killer for the second time today.

“Would you look at that. It hasn’t even been a full day and you already can’t stand Killer.” Cross pointed out. “Welcome to the pod.”

“Hey!” Killer glared playfully. “I’m the life of the party and you know it!” Horror shoved him.

“You yourself are a party, Killer.”

You froze as the new voice boomed around you and the currents of the crevasse grew quick and violent. What was that?

“Boss!” Killer cheered. “You’re up!”

Still upside down, you stared with wide eyes down at a singular cyan eye in the darkness of the trench, the eye itself was huge. It narrowed when it saw you.

“What is this, Horror? Why is there a stranger in our home?” Came the voice of the darkness. You shivered and curled towards Horror.

Horror let you go and you hid behind him. “This is…y/n. We met them… on the shore. Befriended… Killer and Cross… Fed me. They asked to… be siren.” He said slowly yet proud.

The narrowed eye softened and blinked at you. “Ah. Welcome, y/n. Let me introduce myself.”

The currents violently shifted again as the darkness rose from the trench, becoming solid in the form of giant black tentacles that reached out and pulled a giant skeleton siren out of the trench, which you could see the bottom of now that he wasn’t there. As he came into the light you noticed that one eye was covered in a thick substance that looked like it was dripping.

“I am Nightmare, guardian of negativity and the darkness. I am proud to be the first leviathan to welcome you to the oceans.” He tipped his head politely.

You chirped back as politely as you could.

Seeing a kraken on a regular basis was going to take some getting used to.

Begrudging

A Mermay Prompt

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“Please!”

“No.”

“Pleeeeaase!!”

“Y/n, I said no.”

“Pretty please!”

“…”

“…Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“What is a cherry?”

“It’s a candy that grows on trees.”

“Oh.”

“……pleeaaaas-!”

“Fine!” Cross snapped, throwing his arms over his head. “But you have to do anything and everything I tell you without question or hesitation or I will haul you back here myself and you’ll never leave again! Are we clear?”

You nodded furiously. “Yes! We’re clear! I will do whatever you say for as long as we’re out there!” You spun around him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Don’t thank me.” Cross grumbled. “I don’t want to. You’re just difficult.”

You gave him an innocent smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about~.”

“Ugh. Let’s just go. Stay close to me.”

Cross led you out of the trench slowly. Like, really slowly. He went half his normal speed, obviously upset that you’d talked him into it. Instead of pushing him to go faster, which would most likely end in him moving slower, you just swam dizzying circles around him.

It was exciting! And you were sure Cross was excited too. He just had a thing about security and paranoia.

But it would be fine.

You’d met the townsfolk before. Surely they’d recognize you.

You had a plan. You’d just wait by the docks where no one could see your tails through the rippling water, ask if anyone could share their food, and get out of there before anyone questioned why two young adults were in the water for so long.

It was flawless.

You think.

“You’re sure about this?” Cross asked.

“Yep!” You whistled. “They should recognize me enough for us to grab something. It’ll be fine!”

“Don’t jinx it.” He grumbled.

“Well, I can’t jinx it if we don’t ever get there, slow poke!” You teased. “Are we close?”

He sighed. “Yeah. Just a little further.”

You trilled happily. “Can we go a little faster? I wanna see if anyone has some leftover pizza!”

Despite his grumbling, Cross moved faster after that, motivated by his favorite food.

You arrived at the dock in… not record time, but something. It took some convincing, but you finally got Cross to follow you under the docks to surface. Local chatter and footsteps filled the air as people hurried about their day. You could smell the bakery from here.

“I told you nothing bad would happen.” You splashed him.

He didn’t flinch, just glanced around suspiciously. “You say that now. Just don’t get too comfortable.”

“Relax!” You waved his suspicion away. “You just gotta be calm! Watch!”

“Wait! Y/n-!” Cross reached to stop you.

You drifted out into the open and spun a few times in the water. A few people glanced at you, smiled, and went back to their own business. You smiled back before turning to Cross who was barely glaring out of the water. “See? No one cares. Now come out here!” You shot water at him again.

He moved further under the docks, practically seething with caution.

You shrugged. “Suit yourself.” You spun a few more times, giggling and splashing in the water.

“Y/n? Is that you?”

You looked up at the man on the docks. He held a bag in one hand. “Oh! Hi, Ron! Water you doing?”

“Oh my stars.” Cross groaned at the pun, a smirk tugging at his face.

Ron looked worried and glanced down at the dock. “Are you okay? I haven’t seen you in town for weeks! Where did you go?? Is everything okay??”

Cross glared up at the wood that separated him from this new person.

“I’m fine, Ron. Better than ever actually. I’ve just been… taking a break from everything. Some things came up at home.” You paused.

Cross came closer to you. When you looked at him, he offered you a smile. You smiled back.

“Is someone down there?” Ron asked, kneeling on the dock. Cross growled and backed up again.

“Yeah. He’s a friend of mine. He’s just shy without his shirt.” You winked.

“I’m not shy!”

Ron chuckled. “I can tell.” He sat and kicked his legs off the dock, inches from the water. “So how long have you known y/n, pal?”

Cross grumbled. “I’m not your pal.”

You winced. Maybe bringing the least social siren to see people wasn’t a good idea.

Ron didn’t seem bothered. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know your name.” He set his bag next to where he sat.

“You don’t need to.”

Ron’s face twitched. “I’m not going to hurt you, buddy.”

Cross growled again. “I doubt you could.”

“Cross.” You sighed.

He looked at you sheepishly and stopped growling. “Cross. I’m Cross.” He crossed his arms under the water.

Ron nodded. “And how long have you known y/n?”

“A couple months I guess? How long have you known her?”

“Since we were little. Her and her Pops would come down to the shop every now and then. Speaking of the ol’ cow, how is your Pops?” Cross flinched at Ron’s choice of words.

Oh… right.

“I… Dad is gone, Ron. About a month ago…” You sank a little in the water.

Ron’s eyes widened. “Oh! I’m so sorry, y/n! If I had known, I never would have brought it up!”

“It’s fine. You didn’t know.”

“Dang… I didn’t think he’d go so soon. That man was a fighter. What happened?”

“…I don’t know. I was disowned and mom won’t tell me anything. Wouldn’t even let me go to the funeral…”

Silence.

“Woah. I always knew your mom was a bitch, but like, disowning? Damn. What did you do?”

You scowled at how he’d phrased that. Like it was your fault. “I don’t know. She never said. Why don’t you go ask her if you’re so curious.”

Cross’s low growl accented your glare perfectly and made Ron scoot back onto the docks.

“…I’ll keep that in mind.” Ron said somewhat awkwardly. “When’d you and your friend decide to go swimming?” He changed the subject.

“Just like, an hour or two ago.” You lied easily as Cross stared at you, concerned and nervous.

Ron chuckled. “You always did love the water. I wouldn’t by surprised if you grew fins and swam away one day,” Cross’s eyes went wide and you hoped neither of them could see you sweating. “Have you had lunch yet?”

Bingo.

“No, I don’t think so.” You answered innocently enough. “I guess I got distracted.”

Ron sighed, a fond smile on his face. “You’re gonna starve yourself one of these days, you know that? Someone needs to keep an eye on you. You hear that, Cross?” Cross startled when Ron leaned forward to peek under the dock and locked eyes with the terrified skeleton. “If I can’t, I need you to make sure they’re eating. They get their head stuck in the clouds sometimes and need someone to reel them back into reality.”

“…What?” Cross looked dumbfounded.

Ron smirked and explained his analogy. “They get so busy they forget to eat. But! Lucky you! I just happen to have some tacos on hand. The taco guy managed to hustle me into buying more than I could logically eat. Here!” He pulled a taco out of his bag and offered it to you.

You happily accepted the food. “Thank you! Cross?” You offered him the taco.

Cross stretched himself as far as he could to take it and you pulled back.

His eyes locked with yours in cautious confusion. “Y/n?”

You smiled. “Come out here first. No one’s gonna hurt you.” Ron chuckled at your mischief.

Cross grumbled and slowly drifted over to you, keeping an eye on Ron the entire time. When he wasn’t under the dock anymore, you handed him his taco and took the offered second for yourself.

Oh my stars! Normal food was so good! You hummed happily at a smiling Ron.

Crunch!

Both you and Ron looked over in time to see Cross’s taco crumble and fall into the water. He stared at it, his hands still near his mouth where the taco had been seconds ago. You couldn’t help but laugh at his lost look of confusion.

“Yeah, tacos do that, Cross. Here, watch me.” You showed him how to bite the taco without it shattering in your hands. It was a delicate art but you did your best to teach him.

Ron offered Cross another taco which he took, too focused on you to be suspicious of Ron at the moment. He carefully copied your movements and took a large bite out of his taco.

His eyelights twinkled into stars and spun. The rest of the taco disappeared in his maw and Cross licked his fingers as you laughed at him.

Ron looked stunned for a second. “Woah. I mean, I knew monsters ate food differently but damn. You inhaled that sucker. Want more, big guy?” He offered another.

It was snatched and consumed as well. Over and over, as Ron would offer more, Cross would devour each taco without mercy or shame.

“You like it, Cross?” You giggled, careful to keep your taco out of his reach.

He spared you a glance and grinned between bites. “Better than your sandwiches.”

“Hey!” You splashed water on his skull. “I don’t see you making actual food!”

“Actual food? Is that what you call that stuff you fed me?” He teased back.

“Excuse me!! I’m sorry for feeding you!! Next time I won’t show you the wonders of fast food! See how much your uneducated tastebuds cry over something you can never reach!”

A small wave had you sputtering.

“Why, you-!”

“While I hate to interrupt…” Ron glanced between the two of you. “..whatever this is. I actually have to be somewhere. It was nice checking up on you, y/n. Keep them safe, Cross. Bye, you two!” He waved and yanked his bag away from Cross, whose hands were sneaking into the bag, before leaving the docks.

“Bye, Ron!” You called after him and sighed. That was really nice of him to share so much of his food with Cross. And nothing bad had happened, just like you’d predicted.

“…Your food’s still not as good.”

“CROSS!!!”

Let’s try this again!

Omg…