Thread by @cerbykerby

today's short thought is: merman wwx is being held in a lab for study and rehabilitation (he was injured by an illegal fishing net). he's a wild animal, yet still very intelligent, and the moment he lays eyes on marine biologist lwj, he decides that lwj is his favorite.

it is very easy to mistake wwx for human. he is incredibly intelligent and picks up quickly on patterns and words. then he does something like nearly bite off the hand of a careless employee (su she) and everyone is quickly reminded that he is still very much wild.

nonetheless, he is a good boy. trainable, but still dangerous. the biologists and rehabilitators enjoy working with him because he's so smart and cooperative (most of the time).

then lwj shows up one day and suddenly wwx is the least cooperative merman on the planet.

he's suddenly difficult to manage. he refuses to exit his tank for his weighing and physical exams, and he tosses his food back when it's feeding time.

the biologists are at a loss. they have no idea what can be happening.

then one day, wwx's feeding time falls on lwj's shift.

unlike the other times, wwx is already floating near the surface of his pool, waiting, when lwj hauls the bucket of fish over. he happily accepts each fish and horks them down gracefully.

when he's done, he nibbles on lwj's fingers. but when lwj tries to pull away, he bites.

lwj, texting: xiongzhang, could you please come to the lab

lxc: is everything alright?? has there been an accident??

lwj: everything is fine. wei ying has eaten, but i am stuck

lxc: how are you stuck

lwj: he's nibbling on my arm

lxc:

lxc: what

the team quickly catches on that wwx will only eat if it's lwj feeding him. some of the biologists whom wwx previously took food from are a little salty about it, but hey, at least wwx is eating.

lxc teases that wwx must like lwj very much to show such preferential treatment.

lwj does end up taking a short break from the lab because wwx started flaring his fins whenever lwj approached the tank and the team was worried that it was a territorial display.

wwx, who was doing a courtship display, finds this VERY frustrating.

when lwj returns to the lab, wwx no longer flares his fins at him. instead, wwx watches him very intently, as if expecting something.

(wwx has concluded that if lwj doesn't want to see a courtship display, then lwj should do the courtship display. it is only fair!)

unfortunately, lab protocols insist on a standard uniform for all employees when on shift. lwj wears his usual all-white labcoat.

it is very boring.

wwx huffs and retreats to the back of his tank, unamused and unimpressed.

he sulks until lwj comes over with his food.

as he swims close, he spots a flash of color; the fabric that lwj wears on his forehead has a bit of blue on it.

it's not much, but it is still pretty. wwx accepts the display.

reaching out, he snatches the fabric off of lwj's head.

lwj gasps and reaches for it, but wwx is very quick and he swims away with his forehead ribbon.

"Wangji!" lxc runs over. "Oh, no, Wangji—your forehead ribbon—"

"It is fine," lwj says hoarsely. "It is fine. He does not understand. I'll—I'll get it back during tank cleaning."

lwj: i can get my forehead ribbon back during tank cleaning. it is not an emergency

wwx: *inspects forehead ribbon*

wwx:

lwj:

wwx: *starts eating the forehead ribbon like a long noodle*

lwj doesn't think; he dives into the tank.

the water is both cold and salty, meant to mimic seawater as closely as possible. lwj splashes about at the surface, gasping, trying to regain his breath.

wwx, on the other hand, darts to hide among the coral.

wwx is spooked. courtship is always carefully held in neutral waters or at the borders of territories. merfolk would cross into another's territory only to fight for said territory or to commence mating.

and, well, wwx is not ready! this is VERY forward of lwj!

wwx swims out of reach, making nervous clicks and whistles. lwj may have been dense at first, but this is a bit much! wwx hasn't swam with him yet, nor have they preened each other or exchanged gifts. while wwx appreciates the sudden interest, he's simply not ready for babies!!

lwj does have to stop to take breaths, which is an advantage, but the tank is an enclosed space. no matter where wwx swims, lwj follows him, and whatever space wwx can fit through, so too can lwj.

wwx's nervousness grows into agitation. why is lwj still pursuing him? wwx has already made it explicitly clear that he does! not! want! babies! yet! will lwj only be satiated when he has forced his children on wwx?

or—or perhaps he wishes to fight wwx for territory?

finally, wwx has had enough. lwj has ignored every sign wwx gave him. wwx is nerve-wracked, stressed, and no longer pleased to have lwj so close.

turning around to directly face lwj, wwx bares his fangs and hisses, his fins and frills expanding, in a full-on territorial display.

the biologists outside of the tank go from nervous to all-out panicked. some of them rush up the stairs to the top of the tank to yell at lwj to leave the water immediately. another person grabs a shepherd's crook to pull lwj up.

lxc runs over with a long taser pole in hand.

lwj is not dumb, and territorial displays are very distinct; he immediately stops trying to catch wwx.

he can hear his coworkers yelling for him. he's about to swim back when he sees that his forehead ribbon is lying on the bottom of the tank, unattended.

he hesitates.

it's a mistake.

wwx slams his tail into lwj hard enough to send him crashing against the side of the tank. the sharp spines on his tail cut through lwj's coat.

the water surface sloshes, spilling over the tank's sides and onto the unfortunate biologists standing nearby.

// blood

for a moment, lwj doesn't move—stunned into stillness.

when he finally starts swimming to the tank's edge again, he leaves behind a watery trail of red that quickly disperses in the water.

at the scent of blood in the water, wwx's eyes widen, his pupils dilating.

as much as wwx enjoys being handfed and lounging about in his nice tank, he is still very much a predator—and the intruder in his territory is showing signs of injury.

without warning, wwx charges again.

one biologist screams in terror. another grabs onto lwj and pulls him up.

wwx does reach lwj before he can be fully pulled out of the water, but since wwx's intent is to drive the intruder off of his territory—not kill and eat him—he does nothing more than hiss as lwj scrambles out of the tank.

an ambulance arrives shortly after the incident.

at the hospital, lxc struggles to tell the nurses how lwj was injured; the world is not yet aware of the existence of merpeople, so lxc just says that lwj got hit by a car.

lwj's injuries are not serious. he has a few broken ribs and massive bruises, but he will be alright.

it takes a while, but lwj eventually recovers and is tentatively let back into the lab.

what is much slower to recover is wwx's opinion of lwj. not only did he completely lose interest in lwj's forehead ribbon, he now hisses whenever lwj goes close to him.

to avoid agitating wwx further, lwj is put on mostly lab work. the only times he is allowed near the tank is if wwx isn't in it or if wwx is asleep.

wwx is a crepuscular creature, but his strict feeding regime means he has learned to snooze at night.

or, so they thought.

lwj enters the specimen room late at night to retrieve a notebook on his desk, when he hears a low, warning hiss from the dark, unlit tank.

while the tank has lights along its floor, they are meant to be used only in cases of emergency. as such, the aquarium remains ominously dark, with the occasional flash of scales and skin whenever wwx moves close enough to the glass.

lwj swallows carefully and doesn't move.

eventually, the hisses stop.

water sloshes at the top of the tank, followed by the sputtering sound of wwx clearing his gills like he always does whenever his head goes above the surface.

lwj can see a bit of wwx's head on top of the tank.

lwj should leave. he has his notebook, and it is clear that wwx still harbors negative feelings about him. whatever thoughts of reconciliation lwj has may be purely one-sided.

lwj doesn't leave. instead, he slowly goes up the stairs leading to the top of the tank.

wwx hisses again as lwj gets closer, but it is short—nothing like the terrifying, extended hiss he makes when he's feeling threatened. lwj freezes and doesn't move until wwx quiets.

this happens three times, then lwj is seated at the platform at the edge of the tank.

"Hello," lwj says. it's standard procedure in the lab. wwx has learned enough about human mannerism and language that he gets mad if the human interacting with him doesn't greet him.

wwx gives a series of reluctant clicks in reply.

"I heard you were moody again today," lwj says, which is quite rude of him, but he doesn't know what else to say. nobody is quite sure how much wwx understands of their language, but it is well-documented that wwx likes to be talked to.

wwx stares at him.

"I am sorry," lwj says. "I shouldn't have jumped into your tank and scared you. I was so focused on getting my ribbon back that I neglected your comfort." he holds his hand out, palm-up, but not over wwx's head. "I hope you may one day forgive me."

wwx blinks and looks at lwj's hand. he moves closer and presses his face into it. his gills sputter again as he exhales water.

lwj doesn't dare move, not even when wwx begins nibbling on his wrist. wwx's teeth are quite sharp.

he does take the opportunity to slowly thumb the skin under wwx's chin. while wwx's scales are touch and smooth, his skin is surprisingly soft.

wwx makes a small noise and continues with his nibbling.

it's kind of cute, if a bit painful.

the mermaids of legend are said to be entrancing creatures, capable of luring men to watery deaths with their beauty and songs.

while wwx is unearthly beautiful, he certainly wasn't luring lwj in any manner. he was simply nibbling.

it's lwj's fault for losing his balance.

the water in the pool is even colder than lwj remembers. the shock of it steal's lwj's breath, making him panickily swim for the surface.

he quickly finds the ladder leading out of the pool, but his limbs won't cooperate. all he can do is hang onto the rungs, gasping.

he hurriedly wipes the saltwater out of his eyes and looks around for wwx. the last time he was in this pool, it ended with him in the hospital.

the water is dark. very dark. and the surface is still turbulent from lwj's splashing. lwj can't see anything.

meanwhile, wwx is below the surface, circling around the perimeter of the pool, his eyes never leaving lwj.

he's not quite sure what to make of this. he was fully prepared to chase lwj away again, until lwj returned to… make amends? wwx isn't sure. there was no gift involved.

but lack of gift aside, it would seem that lwj knows what he has done wrong. he did not try to invade wwx's space again.

well, up until he went into the water again, but this time, he's staying at the edge of it.

wwx weighs his options. he could drive lwj away again to make sure lwj understands the rules of territory, but lwj is not advancing any further into wwx's territory, and he has his back facing wwx—leaving himself vulnerable and open to attack.

yet if wwx doesn't drive lwj away, then lwj may get it in his head that wwx's territory is something he can intrude on as he pleases. that simply won't do.

then again, lwj did accept wwx's preening. perhaps he's still amenable to the possibility of being mates.

just when lwj recovers and is about to pull himself out of the pool, wwx's head pokes out from beneath the surface directly in front of him.

lwj swallows the urge to panic and instead goes very still, avoiding wwx's gaze. the last thing he wants is for wwx to attack again.

wwx doesn't hiss. instead, he just moves closer.

lwj doesn't know what to make of it. on one hand, no hissing is always a good thing. on the other hand, wwx may not feel the need to give warnings to a repeat intruder. he may attack again.

when wwx leans forward, lwj can't help but flinch, already anticipating the snapping of teeth around his ear.

he does feel teeth, but it is much lighter than he expected. he also feels lips, oddly soft and warm.

wwx is nibbling on his neck.

lwj does not know what to make of this. is wwx… tasting him? to see if he would be good to eat? but wwx has nibbled on him before. surely wwx would have established by now if lwj was worth eating or not.

unsure what to do, lwj just. stays there. and endures the nibbles.

perhaps 'endures' is not the right word.

'suffers' may be more adequate.

lwj was not aware that his neck is so sensitive. he squirms a little, head tilted away, his breaths deepening.

meanwhile, wwx has discovered that human skin is, hm, quite thin compared to mer skin. if he's not careful with his preening, he may hurt his potential mate.

he lessens his nibbling intensity and uses his lips to soften the contact.

lwj makes a sound that wwx decides he likes.

ideally, lwj would also be preening wwx, but for now, this is good. perhaps lwj has learned from his transgression and wants to go slow—which is fine. wwx likes the noises he makes.

once he's finished with lwj's neck, wwx pulls the collar of lwj's shirt to expose his shoulder.

the skin on lwj's shoulder is, sadly, also quite thin—but wwx can feel how much strength lies in the muscles beneath. he makes a pleased, rattling noise in his throat.

experimentally, wwx opens his mouth fully and gently bites down onto the meatiest part of lwj's shoulder.

the bite on lwj's shoulder doesn't hurt, but it is enough to jolt lwj back to reality. he immediately pulls away and grabs onto the ladder, climbing out of the pool as quickly as he can manage with soaked clothes.

wwx makes a high, distressed call. his tail smacks the water.

lwj has never heard wwx make that sound before. he hesitates.

nonetheless, he makes himself leave the pool. he grabs a towel and dries himself off. he can still hear wwx making that same distressed sound, presumably trying to call him back.

the moment alone gives lwj some much-needed clarity.

was he just about to—what was he *thinking*? wwx wasn't kissing him. he was—well, lwj isn't sure what he was doing, but it would be a grave mistake to assume human characteristics in wild creatures.

and for lwj to gain some pleasure from it—god, he'd confused wwx for a lover—was wrong and cruel of him. he'd taken advantage of wwx.

when he finally emerges with dry clothes, he finds wwx waiting at the pool surface, staring at him in silence.

lwj wants to ignore him and go home, but just as hello's are standard procedure when dealing with wwx, so are goodbye's. wwx can get stressed if he is not notified of someone's departure.

"Goodbye, Wei Ying," lwj says.

wwx makes a low sound similar to a groan.

despite his gut feeling, lwj makes himself go over to the tank. he reaches up towards wwx.

wwx smooshes his face against lwj's hand, nuzzling and making soft, rapid clicks in his throat.

"I'm sorry," lwj says. "It won't happen again, I promise."

wwx goes still.

then, without warning, wwx opens his mouth and latches onto lwj's fingers.

lwj can't help letting out a yell, but it quickly dies off when he realizes that wwx is not biting his fingers off. yes, there's teeth there, but wwx is primarily holding him in place with suction.

"Wei Ying," lwj scolds. "Bad. No. Stop. Let go."

he uses words that wwx should understand, yet wwx's hold on him doesn't let up. either lwj's coworkers were mistaken, or wwx is deliberately disobeying.

lwj is at a loss. he fears that if he tries to free his hand, wwx may bite.

wwx, on the other hand, seems perfectly content to just stay there with lwj trapped against his tank. he doesn't bite, but lwj is definitely going to find teeth imprints on his hand once he frees it—hopefully, that's the worst lwj will see on his hand.

lwj takes a moment to think. "Are you keeping me trapped here as punishment, or is it for another reason?"

wwx suckles contently on lwj's fingers to keep the suction strong. he blinks at lwj.

"Another reason," lwj concludes. "Are you… hungry? But you've already been fed."

wwx's behavior doesn't change.

"In pain?" lwj guesses. "No, if you were in pain, you wouldn't act like this. Are you bored?"

wwx blinks again. he is notorious for being easily bored, so his days are filled with a frankly ridiculous amount of enrichment activities.

"Maybe you're lonely," lwj says. "I would be lonely too, if I were surrounded by strangers who couldn't understand me."

the suckling stops. then, wwx releases lwj's fingers with a wet 'pop' sound.

"You are lonely," lwj concludes, rubbing away the teeth marks on his hand.

wwx makes a small grunting sound.

"What would help?" lwj asks. "A companion? Or do you want to go back to the ocean?"

wwx eyes him warily from the top of the tank. he makes a series of clicks.

"I can't understand that," lwj apologizes.

wwx scoots over to the tank's edge. then, slowly, he reaches a hand over the top of the tank and down towards lwj.

lwj takes his hand. wwx's hand is webbed between the fingers, but his hand is very much like a human's.

wwx holds onto lwj's hand gently. he repeats the clicks.

lwj nods, although he does not entirely understand. "Alright. I'll see about getting you a companion for your tank," he says.

wwx pauses, then his gills sputter louder than usual. he releases lwj's hand and dives back into his tank, making sure to splash lwj in the process.

soaked once more—yet relieved that wwx is merely annoyed and no longer angry at him—lwj bids wwx goodnight, dries himself off as well as he can once more, and drives home slightly damp.

lxc is in his bathrobes when lwj enters the room. "Wangji! Your dinner is in the fridge—oh."

lwj looks at his brother.

lxc stands there, his gaze darting all over lwj's body. "What… happened?" he asks weakly. "Why are you all wet? Did you not have a change of clothes on hand? And *what in the world* happened to your neck?!"

lwj covers his neck with his hand. "This is my change of clothes," he says. "Wei Ying got me twice."

"Twice!" lxc gasps. "Heavens, Wei Ying has it out for you. I need to see about getting you work in another lab."

"No!" lwj shakes his head. "The matter has—been resolved."

lxc looks unconvinced. "Wangji," he says gently. "It looks like you got attacked again. If you did, then you must file a report. It would protect both you and Wei Ying."

lwj shakes his head again. "Wei Ying did not attack me," he says. "I—fell into the pool. He didn't bite."

slowly, lxc pulls lwj's hand away from his neck. he's quiet as he examines lwj's neck.

"No broken skin, at least," lxc sighs. "Still, I would notify the lab and let them know to offer Wei Ying more teething toys."

wwx has plenty of teething toys, but lwj says nothing.

the next morning, when they go to the lab, they find the team crowded around the tank.

lwj and lxc rush over. "What's going on?" lxc asks. "Is Wei Ying alright?"

"He's alright, we think," one of the researchers answers. "He's just, um…"

lxc and lwj peek over everyone's heads.

wwx is lying at the bottom of his tank, which is a big deviation from his usual routine. he's… it's difficult to tell. he's squirming? writhing? but he doesn't seem to be in pain. rather, he seems very focused on the sand beneath him.

"What in the…" a researcher next to lwj mutters.

lwj also stares in confusion. what in the world would wwx be doing that is so important that he would ignore his handlers? perhaps something was wrong with the sand?

"He's building a nest," nhs says.

a quiet, thoughtful, collective 'ohhh' spreads through the lab employees—followed quickly by questions and speculations. why would wwx be building a nest, and why now? his latest physical exam showed nothing out of the ordinary.

the team decides to go over their observations since wwx's last exam to see if they can narrow down a reason. so far, nothing. wwx has acted his usual cheeky self.

"We could check the cameras," a lab assistant suggests. "Maybe something happened last night."

lwj's first thought is: 'oh, right, we have cameras.'

lwj's second thought is: 'oh. right. we have cameras.'

his blood drains from his face so quickly that his vision blurs for a moment. he stumbles a little.

lxc quickly catches him by the arm. "Wangji? Are you alright?"

"There's a camera," lwj manages to say.

"Yes." lxc nods. "For security and observation."

"There's a camera," lwj repeats. "What does it capture?"

"What?" lxc blinks a few times. "Uh, it would capture video, I presume. Maybe audio as well?"

"Audio," lwj repeats faintly.

he has no idea how sensitive the mics are, but—oh, heavens, he was not quiet last night. he was certainly not quiet.

he could perhaps explain why he was in the pool and how wwx landed so many nibbles on his neck, but he can't explain the audio.

"I need to sit down," lwj says.

"Of course, of course." lxc helps guide him to his desk. "I'll let you know what the cameras show."

"Don't." lwj cradles his forehead in his hands. "I can ask later if necessary."

"O-okay." lxc steps back. "Do you need anything? Water, perhaps?"

"I'll be fine," lwj answers weakly, then reconsiders. "No, on second thought, I would like some tea."

lxc nods. "Of course. Stay right here. Lay your head down."

lwj watches as lxc hurries to the break room. at least this way lxc is spared the initial viewing of the tapes.

because lwj is cursed—absolutely cursed—the team decides to review last night's tapes on one of the researcher's desk, just a little ways away from lwj.

the team crowds around, exchanging observations and jotting down notes. there's much chatter.

then the chatter fades.

lwj has his head down on his desk, but it is quiet enough that he can tell that the recordings, mercifully, do not contain audio.

but it is not enough to hide the truth. even facing away, lwj can feel heads turning to look at him.

he starts mentally writing his resignation.

the silence is broken by nhs.

"Wangji-xiong?" nhs whispers; the room is so quiet that his voice is deafening. "Did you fuck the fish?"

before lwj can begin to answer, there's a loud gasp behind him. he turns just in time to see lxc drop a cup of hot tea on the ground, pieces of ceramic shattering everywhere.

"What!" lxc doesn't seem to care that there's scalding tea all over his shoes and pants. "Wangji!"

"Sorry, Xichen-xiong, but it *is* kinda what it looks like." nhs spins the laptop around. "Here, look at—"

"Don't!" lwj orders.

lxc stops in the middle of walking over to nhs. he looks back and forth between nhs and lwj. "Could one of you tell me what's going on?" he demands.

nhs squirms a little and takes a step back. everyone turns to look at lwj.

there are so many eyes on him. lwj does his best to not look away.

"I wished to amend matters between Wei Ying and me," he says, "so I went to his tank last night to apologize and speak with him."

there's a scoff and an eyeroll from su she. "Oh, please, as if the specimen would understand—"

"Shh," one of his colleagues shushes him.

"He seemed comfortable, so I stayed," lwj continues. he tries his best not to fidget. "Then I fell into the pool."

"And?" lxc prompts.

lwj is certain his ears are burning. "Then—I suppose Wei Ying got curious. I didn't want him to have another unpleasant experience with a human in his tank, so… I stayed still."

"'Curious' is one way to put it," nhs chuckles as he looks at the laptop.

"And that is it," lwj says. "That is all that happened. I did not…" he lets himself uncharacteristically trail off. he can't bring himself to repeat nhs's words.

nobody in the room speaks as lxc goes over to the laptop and hits the replay button. there is a very long silence.

after an absolute eternity, lxc slowly closes the lid of the laptop.

"I believe Wangji did not intend to alter Wei Ying's behavior so much," lxc says, "but the truth of the matter is that Wei Ying likely interpreted the interaction differently."

"It's just a hypothesis," lxc continues wearily, "but I believe Wei Ying may have taken an interest in Wangji, hence why he is… nesting."

"Um," nhs whispers, "Xichen-xiong—"

"I don't know what to do about this," lxc sighs. "I should notify the higher-ups of this incident."

"Xichen-xiong," nhs whispers, a little louder.

"Wangji, it is likely that you may be removed from this project altogether." lxc rubs tiredly at his temples. "I will try not to let that happen, but—"

"Excuse me," nhs says, louder than usual, "but Wei Ying isn't nesting anymore."

a tense silence descends. then, slowly, everyone turns to look at the tank.

wwx is right by the glass, his body coiled like a waiting predator's, motionless. he stares directly at everyone, his eyes wide and unblinking.

there is no telling how long he has been watching.

"Wangji-xiong," nhs whispers, "Wangji-xiong, do something."

lwj isn't sure what he can do, especially when wwx looks so human that it's inhuman.

for all this time, they'd assumed that they were studying wwx. they'd failed to consider the possibility of wwx studying them, too.

and what a wealth of knowledge wwx must have: how they move, how they speak, what sort of habits they have, what pushes them to the limit, how easily their bodies bruise and break, how helpless they can be underwater.

without thinking, lwj walks over to the tank.

"Wei Ying," lwj says as he places a hand on the glass.

despite not being able to hear him through the glass, wwx's gaze snaps to lwj.

"It's alright," lwj says slowly. he doesn't know why he thinks wwx can read lips; it's just a hunch. "I'm alright."

wwx stares at him unblinkingly, before turning around and swimming back to his half-finished nest. he resumes digging into the sand.

lwj exhales slowly as conversation returns to the lab team. many are discussing wwx's unsettling behavior. others are talking about lwj.

"I don't think Lan Wangji should be allowed to stay with the project anymore," su she says loud enough for everyone to hear. "It is unnatural for him to be *that* close with the specimen. I don't want us getting in trouble just because he violated animal cruelty laws."

"Come on, Su She," one of the researchers whispers, "Lan Wangji didn't—"

"You saw it, I saw it, everyone saw it!" su she hisses. "That sick bastard *enjoyed* the specimen's attention! Who knows? Maybe next time he'll purposely damage the cameras to have his way with the fish."

"Now, now, Su She," nhs pats him on the shoulder, "there is no need for you to get jealous just because Wei Ying didn't choose you."

there are a few snickers at that. su she turns red in the face, "You should watch your mouth—"

"No, I think you should." nhs nods towards the tank. "You never know who might be listening."

su she glances at the tank. wwx had gone to the water surface to accept some extra seashells from a lab assistant and is watching su she, his eyes beady.

su she scoffs. "Don't tell me you're treating the specimen as if it's human. It's not, and it doesn't understand us. You're just finding an excuse for Lan Wangji."

nhs shrugs. "Suit yourself. I, for one, don't think an opportunity to study mer mating habits will come again."

"I won't do it," lwj insists. "I refuse to play with Wei Ying's feelings for the sake of research."

su she shoots him a disgusted look. nhs, on the other hand, merely hums.

"It is your choice, of course," he says. "But just having you around may help Wei Ying cooperate."

lwj considers protesting. he does not like the thought of using wwx's affection for him as a tool for his cooperation during tests and exams.

"I understand if you say no." nhs shrugs. "But agreeing would ensure you don't get kicked off the project as an anomalous influence."

lwj hesitates.

from the tank area, he can hear wq trying to coax wwx onto the tarp hammock they use to take his weight. usually, wwx is cooperative with enough promises of food and new toys.

today, he hisses lightly at wq. he has never hissed at wq before.

"I will speak with my brother on this," is all lwj can promise at the moment. then, without another look at nhs or su she, he goes up the metal stairs to the top of the tank.

wwx stops hissing the moment he sees lwj and swims closer, clicking and whistling in greeting.

lwj kneels down and offers his hand. "Hello, Wei Ying. We need to take your weight now. Could you hold still for a moment?"

wwx doesn't seem to be listening. he's too busy nuzzling and nibbling on lwj's hand.

"Wei Ying," lwj repeats. "Listen, please."

wwx stops in his nuzzling. his gills sputter in a way that is very much like a human's resigned sigh, then he shimmies over to the hammock.

wq throws lwj a knowing look as she helps pull wwx onto the hammock and lift him out of the water.

being wwx's pretend mate turns out to be difficult, actually.

lwj quickly learns that wwx expects a gift every single day, without exception. soft and squishy things suitable for the nest are the best. shiny pretty things are good. food is high risk, high reward.

wwx's appetite is a mess. he now refuses his usual fare, insisting on fattier, more expensive fish. since their budget doesn't account for such drastic changes in wwx's diet, lwj takes it upon himself to buy him the quality of fish he desires.

it all went well until, one day, nhs decided to feed wwx a takis chip as a joke.

then wwx demanded nothing but takis chips for an entire week straight.

a platform is built at the edge of the tank, about two feet deep into the water, to allow for easier access to wwx without intruding in his territory.

wwx hated it with every fiber of his being until he learned that he could interact with lwj more easily on it.

there are a few awful days where wwx picks up the bad habit of swimming onto the platform and yelling at the top of his gills until someone fetches lwj for him.

"I know you want my attention," lwj tells him, "but you can't do that. People are working."

wwx spits water at him.

lwj very rarely wears his lab coat anymore; he's usually in a wetsuit and on the tank's platform—often with a happy wwx draped across his legs.

wwx has been having trouble sleeping the past few days, but he dozes off easily in lwj's lap.

he can't sleep with his head above water for some reason; he keeps snorting himself awake.

the first time it happens, lwj can't help chuckling. it earns him an extra-hard nibble on the jaw.

from then on, wwx sleeps with his face in the water. it's a little unsettling.

the days go by, and lwj learns more and more about wwx. he knows what wwx likes, what he doesn't, and how to read wwx's body language.

in turn, wwx learns more and more about humans in a way that both fascinates and frightens lwj.

it is far too easy to attribute human characteristics and intelligence to an animal—yet, sometimes, wwx does something that catches lwj off-guard.

such as one day, when su she is being his usual obnoxious self, wwx turns to look at lwj and deliberately rolls his eyes.

lwj has no idea where wwx learned that, but it could be proof that wwx 1.) understands them, and 2.) knows enough about human expressions and interactions to accurately emote disdain and annoyance at su she.

or wwx could simply be mimicking them. nothing more.

((should probably mention from this point onwards that there are talks of wwx being eggnant and giving birth soooo here's your warning))

wwx's medical exams come up clean. ultrasound scans reveal that he is indeed developing a clutch of eggs within him.

as lwj endures yet another round of nhs's teasing that he must have slept with wwx at some point or other, wwx quietly watches the ultrasound image on wq's screen.

"Well, would you look at that," wq says, "it's your babies."

wwx makes a soft, soft crooning sound.

"Not quite babies yet. Almost-babies," wq corrects herself as she moves the ultrasound wand. "I don't think they're fertilized."

right on cue, wwx turns to look at lwj. he clicks and whistles at him.

nhs snickers.

lwj wills his ears not to turn red. he fails.

still, wwx shows no indication of wanting lwj in his territory yet—which is for the best, because lwj is still torn on what to do.

many of his coworkers are curious about what would happen if the two of them were to try and have children, but it is purely scientific curiosity.

none of them seem the least bit concerned about what would happen if the process fails—and it is very likely to fail.

wwx would be devastated. it may even harm his body. he put a lot of effort into his nest and diet, all for the chance of having offspring.

and if they do, somehow, create children together? there's no guarantee they would even survive for more than a few hours, a few days. they may even be in great pain.

and—if they survive, if they thrive, then what would they be? who would they be?

lwj is not blind. he knows that many of his colleagues' curiosity about a possible interspecies hybrid stems from their belief that wwx is not human—that he does not possess the ability to reason and empathize. they believe any offspring of theirs would be equally nonhuman.

should they succeed, lwj's colleagues would deem it the scientific success of the century. they would call the little ones wwx's offspring. spawn. brood. they would forget that they are lwj's children, too.

and, selfishly, lwj doesn't want this. he wants children of his own. a family. a home. a spouse to stay by his side and help raise their children.

he doesn't know what instincts would drive wwx should they succeed in reproducing. would wwx keep him away from their children?

would wwx turn into a stranger before his eyes, done and satisfied with the offspring lwj gave him and no longer having any use for him? it's not unusual for animal fathers to not be involved. it's not even a guarantee among humans themselves.

lwj knows that personally.

it is late. everyone else has gone home from the lab, but lwj is still sitting on the platform, wearing his wetsuit.

wwx is on his lap, dozing peacefully. his shoulder and part of his cheek is above water. nhs likes to call it wwx's 'corpse time'. lwj disapproves of the name.

the platform is a little hard to see on the camera, and lwj has angled their bodies so that his back is to it. nothing will be seen.

he strokes wwx's cheek. "Wei Ying," he whispers.

wwx exhales through his gills, too slow for a sputter. it emerges as a buzz instead.

"Wei Ying," lwj tilts wwx's chin up gently with his hand. "It is late. I must leave soon."

this time, wwx does manage a gill-sputter. he blinks sleepily up at lwj, then makes a low, whining noise.

lwj's chest squeezes around his heart. "I'll be back tomorrow, you know that."

wwx shuffles until he's almost sitting upright, his head resting heavily against lwj's chest.

he likes to do that often. lwj hypothesizes that it's because wwx enjoys listening to his heartbeat.

lwj strokes his fingers slowly through wwx's hair.

lwj doesn't know what compels him to speak; guilt, perhaps. maybe even grief.

"We can't do this," he whispers. "You know we can't."

wwx doesn't move. he doesn't act like he heard, but lwj knows he did.

"This can't be what you imagined." lwj holds wwx's hand in his own. "Concrete walls, fluorescent lights, the constant gazes—none of those are good for children. None of those are good for you."

finally, wwx lifts his head. he turns to face lwj and places a hand on his chest.

lwj squeezes wwx's hand. "I cannot follow you into the sea any more than you can follow me onto land. Even if our children somehow survive, where would they go? Which of us would they follow?"

wwx blinks, but he doesn't break eye contact. he has never been so silent before.

"I'll speak with my brother about starting your release process soon." lwj looks away and shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore. I want to, more than anything—but I cannot. Not to you. Not to our children."

wwx doesn't move or make a sound for a very long time—long enough that lwj wishes he never would, so that they could both stay here, suspended in eternity.

then wwx tilts his head, his gaze steady, but soft. it's a very human-like movement.

lwj waits for him to attack, or claw, or bite—the way wwx always does to show that he's upset.

wwx leans forward, pressing their torsos together, his arms wrapping around lwj's waist. he kisses lwj, very gently, on the lips.

then, without a sound, he slips back into the tank.

lwj waits, but wwx doesn't come back up.

when lwj changes into his clothes and gets ready to go home, the tank is dark, without a hint of wwx's grey eyes or red and black scales near the glass, where he usually would be.

lwj drives home in a daze.

the next day, when lwj arrives at work, people are gathered around wwx's tank again.

"What happened?" he asks a nearby researcher.

the researcher opens their mouth to answer, but nhs beats them to it.

"Wei Ying's nest is gone," nhs says. "He must have destroyed it overnight."

lwj elbows his way through the crowd to the tank. sure enough, the nest wwx has so carefully tended to for the past few weeks has been destroyed, bits and pieces of it scattered around the tank.

wwx himself is tucked away among the coral, unmoving.

above the tank, wq hurriedly slips into chest waders and climbs into the platform, smacking the top of the water to call wwx to the surface.

"He may be sick," she says as she puts on a facemask and gloves. "I'm going to check on him."

to everyone's shock, wwx complies and swims over to her without resistance. he stays patiently still and quiet on the platform as she weighs him, takes his temperature, and feels around his body.

"He seems fine," she says, her brows furrowed.

it's only when she conducts an ultrasound scan does her expression change. "His eggs are gone."

"What?" nhs's voice is unusually high. "Gone? What do you mean 'gone'??"

"I don't know." wq continues scanning. "Maybe he reabsorbed them, or maybe he laid them and then ate them."

"But why?" nhs wails. "He was looking forward to them! He clearly wanted them!"

"I don't know," wq repeats. she sets the ultrasound wand aside. "Lan Wangji, could you come here? I think maybe Wei Ying could benefit from your company."

there are few things lwj would like to do more. still, he doesn't move.

he swallows once. twice. inhales. "I think," he says, "it is about time that we release Wei Ying back to the ocean."

there's a beat of silence. then the room erupts into a jumble of protests.

"But we don't know enough about his species yet!" one researcher yells.

"This is my job! I can't lose my job!" another protests.

"I wanted to see what the babies would look like," nhs pouts.

lwj hardly pays them any mind. he just looks at wwx.

wwx pulls away from wq and slips back into the tank. the conversation in the room dies off as he swims over to the glass edge and peers over it, looming over the lab team members.

his mouth opens. his throat moves. at first, nothing happens.

then, very faintly, "I…"

it is obvious that wwx is not used to speaking. he sounds too slow, too breathy, too reedy, as if speaking requires all of his concentration. nonetheless, his words are clear.

"I… want…" wwx says, "to go… home."

to say the team lose their minds may be an understatement.

nhs shrieks so loudly that wwx startles and dives down into the water. a few others join him. one researcher has to sit down, her face pale. another flat-out faints, saved from a concussion by a quick-thinking coworker.

"I *knew* it!" nhs hollers, then points at one of his coworkers. "Pay up, dumbass! I was right!"

"You are all overreacting," su she argues. "He's just repeating what he hears—"

"Well. Shit," wq mutters to herself, sitting on the edge of the platform.

the rest of the day passes in an odd mix of anxiety and excitement. wwx spends most of the time hiding among the coral, since researchers keep approaching the tank to try and coax him to speak more.

many of lwj's teammates go through their own ways of processing: excitement at wwx's speech capability, worry over their own careers, guilt at holding an intelligent species captive, denial of events, doubt over wwx's sentience, and anxiety over what the future holds.

for lwj, the relief is bittersweet. finally, wwx will get to go home to the ocean, where he will be free, never again to be bound by concrete walls and glass.

it is unlikely lwj will ever see him again.

the subject of releasing wwx drags on for weeks, then months. not everyone is convinced of wwx's level of intelligence, and there is no telling how long it may be before another of wwx's species comes into contact with humans. many insist that letting wwx go would be a waste.

during that time, wwx picks up a healthy collection of words.

he still doesn't speak much—maybe only a word or two every week or so—and it's impossible to tell when he feels like talking.

a subgroup of researchers attempted to make him talk in an effort to prove that he has intelligence and sentience on-par with humans, but wwx proved nothing beyond what they already knew: that he was a difficult creature to work with. he stayed stubbornly silent.

that's not to say wwx is not without surprises.

one day, one of the researchers—an immigrant from italy—accidentally spills his coffee on his desk. "Ah!" he gasps.

"Cazzo!" wwx chirps from all the way across the room, in his tank.

the researcher's eyes briefly light up with awe—only to be replaced with horror as he slowly turns to look at a staring lwj.

"I wasn't—I didn't teach him that," he sputters.

"He listens to every word spoken in this room," lwj says. "You did teach him."

it becomes a rule to watch one's words when in the specimen room. whispering becomes a norm.

nevertheless, wwx picks up more and more words. somehow, lwj's birth name is among them.

"Lan Zhan!" wwx squeals one morning when lwj arrives at the lab.

lwj nearly trips over himself.

nobody calls him 'lan zhan'. his brother calls him 'wangji' and his coworkers address him by title. there is no way wwx would know his birth name, unless…

upon noticing lwj looking at him, nhs makes a very unsubtle getaway from the specimen room.

wwx struggles at times to properly pronounce words. more often than not, his words dissolve into frustrated clicks and whines before he resorts to his usual methods of communicating what he wants—by yelling or splashing.

he never struggles to pronounce lwj's name, though.

it is bittersweet. wwx calls lwj often. sometimes it feels like wwx just likes saying lwj's name, repeating it until it sounds like noise.

despite the repetitiveness, lwj listens every time wwx says his name—because one day will be the last day he hears it form wwx.

resistance to wwx's release grows as time passes. lxc tries his best to convince the higher-ups that wwx needs his freedom, but it is of little use. he returns to lwj with his shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry, Wangji," lxc shakes his head. "They said no."

lwj hates that a part of him is relieved, hates that he has the perfect excuse to keep wwx a little longer, to deny him the ability to leave lwj's side.

"I see," he says. "Thank you for your efforts."

there's a very long pause.

"You know," lxc whispers, "I could—put in a request for wwx to be moved to a larger facility, for his comfort."

lwj shakes his head. "He deserves to return home."

"I know," lxc hums. "Accidents during transportations are rare, but not impossible."

lxc is as much of a rule-follower as lwj is, so it takes lwj an embarrassing long time to realize the weight behind his brother's words.

"It won't be easy," lxc admits, "and—it is very likely you will lose your job. And that is if you don't get caught. If you are caught…"

if lwj is caught, then his career would be over. he would never be trusted with studying rare specimens again. more than a decade of studying would go down the drain.

"Thank you, xiongzhang," lwj bows his head. "I am forever grateful."

lxc merely smiles and pats his shoulder.

that night, lwj stays late to tell wwx the good news.

"Brother will try to grant us an opportunity to set you free," he whispers. "It's risky, but it will get you home."

wwx, who has been enjoying the feeling of lwj massaging his scalp, says, "Home?"

lwj nods. "Yes, home."

joy lights up wwx's eyes. he shuffles closer to lwj. "Home." he presses himself against lwj's chest and nuzzles his neck. "Home."

"Yes, the ocean," lwj doesn't know why he feels the need to clarify. "We'll get you home, to the ocean."

the fins on wwx's tail quiver in a way that means he is getting stressed. "I want to go home," he insists.

"I know," lwj says. "And I will get you home, I promise."

"Ocean?" wwx demands.

"Yes," lwj nods.

wwx smacks the water surface with his tail.

lwj is at a bit of a loss. "Don't you want to be free again?"

the frills at the sides of wwx's head flutter, but he answers, "Yes."

"Then you will be free," lwj promises. "No more walls."

"No more walls," wwx echoes reluctantly. "No more, no more."

to lwj's great relief—and dread—the day comes when lxc excitedly lets him know that they've gotten approval to transfer wwx to a larger facility.

there is much to prepare. the research team will also be moving, so days at the lab are very busy with securing files and data.

lwj helps wq get wwx accustomed to being in a wet sling. it is important that wwx remain calm, still, and comfortable for the length of the purported journey to the new facility. while wwx can breathe air, he still needs to be kept damp to be comfortable, so there are sprinklers.

at first, wwx fusses. he doesn't like being constrained, and he doesn't like being out of water against his will. it takes many treats and soothing talks to get him to calm down and behave.

much too soon, the day of the transport arrives.

wq, wn, and nhs are tasked with helping lwj with the transportation. wn is set to drive with nhs sitting shotgun, while wq and lwj accompany wwx in the trailer.

safe in his sling with wet towels draped over him, wwx calls out softly to lwj. he's a little jittery about the truck.

lwj doesn't leave his side for a second. his hands remain cupping wwx's face for the entire ride. at this point, he hardly notices wq; there could be 20 people in the trailer, and he wouldn't care.

"Soon, Wei Ying," he tells wwx, forcing his voice past the lump in his throat.

wwx turns his face to nuzzle against lwj's palm. his warm lips plant a dozen little kisses against lwj's hand.

it takes every effort for lwj to not sob. instead, he leans down and presses their foreheads together.

"Be good, be safe, and live well," he says. begs. prays.

"Be… good, be safe… and… live well," wwx repeats slowly. he doesn't quite get all the words, but lwj understands him all the same.

"I will if you will," lwj replies. "Promise me."

there is no telling if their definitions of promises match. nonetheless, wwx says, "Promise."

too soon, wn pulls the truck into a viewpoint off of the coastline highway. he opens the trailer door with a sad, apologetic smile.

"Here we are, Dr. Lan," he says. "There's a trail here leading down to the beach, but it's a bit steep. Jiejie and I can help you carry him down."

and so it is decided. as they remove wwx's sling from the tank, nhs joins them in the trailer to say his goodbyes.

"I'm going to miss you, you big, dumb, fish," nhs wails. he plants a rather loud kiss on wwx's hair and is rewarded with a face full of water.

"Thank you for your help," lwj says to nhs. "This means a lot to me."

"Ah, I didn't really do anything." nhs wipes his face off with the edge of his shirt. "Wen Ning did all the driving. He's a bit of a slow and paranoid driver, but he got us here safely."

"He is a decent driver," lwj agrees. wwx had been very comfortable in the trailer.

"Yeah." nhs yawns; it is the middle of the night. "Really needs to take a chill pill, though. He kept seeing pedestrians, cats crossing the road, and cars following us, yadda yadda."

lwj's eyebrows reach for his forehead ribbon. "Cars following us?"

"Yeah, Wen Ning said he saw them." nhs wraps his wool scarf around his shoulders like a blanket. "But we took a few right turns and they were gone, so it's fine. It's past his bedtime, so he's probably tired."

lwj peers down the road they came from. it's completely silent. they are the only ones there. the entire reason for a nighttime transport was to avoid traffic and other cars.

"I can drive on our way back," lwj says, "so Wen Ning can take a break."

"You're the best, Wangji-xiong," nhs sighs. "I'll stay with the truck and keep a lookout. I'll radio you guys if anything happens."

lwj nods. "Very well."

the gravel under his shoes crunch as he walks to the back of the trailer. "Alright, let's go," he says to wq and wn.

the trail down to the beach is narrow, steep, and completely unsuited for carrying a large marine creature down on. lwj has to carry his flashlight in his mouth to illuminate his path as he steps carefully, desperate not to accidentally drop wwx.

wq and wn follow behind him, supporting wwx's tail. wn keeps nervously saying, "That's it, you're doing great. Good boy," to wwx.

wwx, thankfully, stays obediently still. he does give a small squeal every now and then when lwj's footing slips, but he doesn't squirm.

finally, they're at the beach.

they set wwx down near the waves. wq groans and cracks her back as wn kneels down in front of wwx.

"Goodbye, Wei Ying," he says, daring a quick hug around wwx's shoulders. "Be safe out there, alright?"

wwx chirps at him.

then it's wq's turn. "Goodbye, and good luck," she grumbles, patting wwx on the shoulder. "I'll be monitoring this beach for the next few months, so, if you need anything, just come back."

wwx manages to land a play-bite on her arm before she pulls it back and scolds him for it.

finally, it's lwj's turn.

lwj doesn't so much kneel as collapse on the sand in front of wwx. "Here we are, Wei Ying," he says. "You're home, now."

"Home?" wwx asks hopefully.

behind them, wn and wq quietly retreat to grant them some much-appreciated privacy.

"Yes," lwj lifts a hand to point at the dark waves lapping at the sand. "Home."

wwx's gaze follows his finger. he looks back at lwj and shuffles closer. he places a hand on lwj's chest. "Home."

"No." lwj can already feel his throat tightening. "I'm sorry. I can't be your home."

wwx's tail starts to twitch. "Home," he repeats. "Lan Zhan."

"I cannot let you," lwj insists. "Wei Ying, you won't be happy on land. On land, there are—walls, with very little water. You wouldn't be able to truly swim. It would be a cage."

"No," wwx wails, fins flaring.

it hurts lwj to see wwx upset.

"I cannot trap you," he argues. "I can't. You may want that now, but you will grow to hate it. This will—" he has to stop to clear his throat of tears, "—this will hurt, I know. But you will be free. And this will all just be a bad memory for you."

"No," wwx says louder, his tail swishing in the sand as his hands grip tightly onto lwj's arms. "No! No, no, no! I not nat—" he hisses with frustration and tries again, "—do not—want it! Home, please! Lan Zhan!"

"I'm sorry," lwj chokes. "I'm sorry, Wei Ying. I'm sorry."

wwx is holding onto his arms tight enough to hurt, but it somehow hurts lwj more to pry his fingers off.

wwx wants to hang on, but he also doesn't want to hurt lwj. he sobs loudly as he repeatedly grabs onto lwj every time his hands are pried off.

"I'm sorry," lwj whispers, his face wet. he feels jumbled, scattered all over the place. his hands are simultaneously pulling wwx off of him and reaching to caress his face. "I'm sorry. We never should have kept you from the ocean for so long. I'm sorry. I love you. Forgive me."

wwx begins shrieking. "Lan Zhan!" his nails drag down lwj's arm, painful and sharp. "Lan Zhan! Get lost!"

the words fall like a punch to lwj's gut, knocking his breath out. he falls silent, stunned, shocked.

but wwx isn't looking at him. he's looking up, and behind lwj.

too late, lwj notices the extra shadow on the ground.

too late, he turns around.

he barely recognizes someone's outline before something strikes him across the head. hard.

the world spins. his body fails, and he collapses to the ground. the last thing he hears is wwx wailing.

((content warning: this next part of the threadfic makes mentions of trafficking and the black market. none of it actually ends up happening, but it is talked about and the characters perceive it as a real threat. pls proceed with caution))

a heavy splash of ice-cold water jerks lwj out of unconsciousness so quickly that he nearly falls back into it.

"Look at that, he's still alive. Are you happy now?" a voice he does not recognize says.

lwj tries—and fails—to move. his wrists and ankles are bound.

it takes him a while to realize that the swaying isn't just from his headache; he's on a boat—a fishing boat, if the smell is anything to go by.

"I won't be happy until we get paid," a voice that lwj does recognize answers, "and that won't happen if the specimen is damaged."

lwj forces his eyes open. it takes a while to blink the water out of his eyes, but his vision clears.

he's on the floor of the interior of a boat. standing over him is a strange man missing a finger, and su she.

of course, lwj thinks dizzily. the cars that were following them.

"And—what—having this man nearby will keep the 'specimen' calm?" the strange man scoffs. "We should've just grabbed the beast. No one would know."

"There is evidence that the specimen considers this man to be its," su she makes a face, "'mate'. They'll keep each other calm."

the strange man rolls his eyes. "And what do you expect to do when the others notice that this one—" he nudges lwj with his foot hard enough to be a kick, "—is missing."

"They'll just assume the beast dragged him to his death," su she says dismissively.

the stranger chuckles in a way that makes the hairs on the back of lwj's neck stand up. "Hey, do you think he really fucked that beast?"

su she makes a vague half-shrug movement.

the stranger seems to take it as confirmation. he cackles with shock and glee.

cw// mention of necrophilia

"Man, that's fucked up," the stranger laughs, then nudges lwj with his foot again. "You're fucked up, you know that? If you wanted to fuck something that cold, you could've gone with a corpse. Much easier to acquire."

lwj refuses to react.

at his lack of response, the stranger's grin morphs into a scowl. "How boring. I hate stoic types."

without warning, the stranger stomps down on lwj's stomach. lwj can't help an involuntary gasp as pain temporarily blinds his vision.

"Xue Yang!" su she snaps. "Don't do that!"

"Or what?" xy taunts as he stomps on lwj again. "You gonna report me to his big brother?"

su she doesn't get the chance to answer; a terrifying high-pitched shriek pierces the air, making su she cover his ears and xy make a face.

a heavy net thrown over what lwj had assumed was a large crate shakes. bits of water spill over the sides as something within hisses and snarls.

"Ooh, would you look at that!" xy chuckles. "It didn't like that one bit. Guess you weren't kidding about this whole 'mate' thing."

"Cut it out, Xue Yang," su she snaps. "Stop antagonizing the specimen. It will absolutely be your fault if it ends up hurting itself."

"Relax, relax." xy grabs lwj and hoists him onto a chair. "See? Now he's in full view of the beast. That should keep it calm, right?"

su she scowls as he tightens down the net over the metal tank. "I hate working with you."

"The feeling's mutual, sweetheart," xy sneers as he ties lwj to the chair. "I'm going to head up. Are you coming along, or are you going to…" he looks pointedly towards the tank.

su she's face darkens. "Why would I do that? That thing's feral."

"Come on, I know all about your dumb inferiority complex," xy cackles. "Since the second son of the Lan family fucked the beast, I thought perhaps you would also like to."

"You're disgusting," su she snaps.

xy's laugh as he leaves the room is loud and unpleasant.

su she checks all of lwj's restraints and tightens a few. "Bet you regret caring so much about the giant fish, don't you, Lan Wangji?" he sneers. "Although your misled affection made things easy for me, so, thank you."

lwj says nothing. while he is disappointed to find that su she is working with traffickers, he's not surprised. in hindsight, he regrets not keeping an eye on su she.

when lwj doesn't react, su she grabs him by the face. "You think you're so much better than me, don't you?"

"You, with your fancy degree and connections and appearance—you can't even stand to look at me, can you?" su she's grip tightens. "Perhaps with your death, your brother will learn to stop flaunting your family name everywhere."

a low, rumbling growl emerges from the tank.

that makes su she back off. he glances at that tank before scoffing. "Once Wei Ying is sold to the highest bidder and the discovery of his subspecies is revealed to the world, I'll ensure everyone knows that you couldn't resist having inappropriate intimate relations with him."

and with that, su she storms out of the room and slams the door on his way out.

with him gone, lwj finally lets out a sigh. "Wei Ying?" he calls, a little hoarsely.

there's movement in the tank, then the net tents where wwx pokes his head up. "Lan Zhan," he replies.

the relief lwj feels at seeing those familiar grey eyes peering through the net is immense. "Are you hurt?"

"No," wwx replies, then pauses. "Lan Zhan is har—hurt?"

lwj shakes his head, then remembers that there's dried blood on his face. "Only a little," he answers.

maybe it was a mistake to tell him. wwx makes a low, trembling sound of grief. "Lan Zhan," he moaned. "Hurt."

"It's alright, it's alright," lwj hurries to reassure him. the chair scrapes along the floor as lwj fights to drag it closer to the tank. "I'm not bleeding anymore."

lwj decides to change the subject. "How are you?" he asks. "I can't see you."

wwx's head momentarily disappears back into the tank. there's the sound of sloshing water, then wwx's head reappears. "Small water," he answers. "Spicy."

lwj isn't sure what 'spicy' means.

"Are you in pain?" he asks.

wwx shakes his head. "Hungry," he answers.

hungry? that's not right. wwx shouldn't be hungry; lwj had personally ensured that wwx was fed over twice his usual amount of food in case he struggles to adjust back to hunting his own food in the sea.

"I'm sorry, Wei Ying, I don't have food for you," lwj says, looking around. "I think this is a fishing boat, and you're in a live well. There may be another one on the other side of the room. Perhaps it contains fish."

"Don't want fish," wwx mutters. "Want human flesh."

lwj doesn't speak for longer than he would've liked. the truth is he doesn't know what to say. wwx has never shown a penchant for anything other than seafood and takis. never once had lwj considered him to be a possible man-eater.

and the only human in the room is lwj himself.

"Wei Ying," lwj finally brings himself to say, "you cannot eat humans."

wwx, concerningly, does not respond. he goes back down into the tank. there's the sound of more water sloshing, then the tubes leading into the tank start moving erratically.

there were a few (fine, more than a few) incidents where wwx accidentally (or not-accidentally; it's difficult to tell) flooded the lab simply by playing with the tubes leading into his tank.

wwx's special talent for causing trouble is the reason the lab tank's filtration system is kept out of his reach, away from possible tampering.

the fishing boat they're in has no such safeguards, and wwx is no longer just curious; he's actively seeking to sabotage.

there's not much room in the cramped, small tank he was shoved in, but he can still move his tail. he slams it against the side of the tank as hard as he can.

the tank shudders. water sloshes over the top and onto the floor.

how promising.

wwx slams his tail against the side of the tank again, and again. he takes hold of the tubes inside the tank and yanks hard. more water spills over the edge.

the tubes break. the tank side shudders and folds in one place. water begins pouring out of the tank.

as wwx hits away at the side of the tank, he tastes something new in the water.

it tastes horrible, foul and dark. wwx pops his head out of water to breathe air instead and notices that the room is tilting. the water he'd spilled is gathering on the other side of the room.

lwj had managed to free just his hands using a sharp bit of metal wwx had knocked free from his tank, but he was unable to stop himself from sliding towards the water on the other side of the room. it's not deep enough to drown him, but he is struggling to free his legs.

wwx hesitates, unsure what to do next. the ship is tilting—which is good—but lwj is on the side towards the ocean—which is not good.

just when he decides to wait for lwj to free himself, there's a shout nearby.

"What the hell's going on down there?"

the door swings open.

in walks xy, who makes a face when he sees the room filled with water. "Fuck. I knew it was a bad idea for Su She to insist that we bring you. 'Mate', my ass. 'Keep the specimen calm', my ass."

he draws a gun from a holster on his hip and aims it at lwj.

wwx shrieks and begins thrashing about, but the net over the tank doesn't budge, and the metal side is moving too little with each blow of wwx's tail.

"You're a lot of trouble, you know that?" xy wades through the water towards lwj, the muzzle of his gun pointed at lwj's head.

"Move," xy orders, jerking his head towards the door. "Get your ass out or someone will get it for you."

with his hands above his head, lwj slowly wades his way towards the door.

from within the tank, wwx cries out in distress.

lwj can't help it. "Wei Ying, it will be alright."

xy makes an incredulous sound. "Ah, the stoic one finally speaks. And it's to comfort his little fish wife. How touching." he jabs the muzzle of the gun in between lwj's shoulder blades. "Walk."

wwx stops struggling. he watches through the gaps in the net, helpless, as lwj and xy walk out of the hold. there's a long, uneasy silence.

the walls of the ship are thick—but not so thick that wwx misses the sound of a gunshot, followed after by something hitting the water.

the scream wwx let out would have shattered the eardrums of anyone unfortunate enough to have been standing close by.

he starts thrashing about, his tail hitting everything and anything. more water leaks out from his tank and the broken tubes.

one final strike of his tail against the tank's side and the wall crumples; water pours out onto the floor bringing wwx with it. the net nearly goes along with it.

the water tastes bad, and is too hot for wwx's skin. still, he claws his way up the stairs and opens the door.

the interior of the ship is a maze and difficult to traverse—especially since wwx is lost and no longer has water to support him. still, he fights his way down the corridors, searching and opening the doors that smell the strongest of the ocean's salt.

a human spots him. "What in the—oh my god! Hey!" they draw a gun from their holster. "You shouldn't be—"

wwx whips his tail out, knocking them off their feet. the gun clatters uselessly on the floor.

humans, wwx remembers, have many vulnerable points on their bodies.

// death, slight gore

the neck, in particular, wwx remembers as being delicate.

under wwx's strong hands, the human doesn't last long. wwx leaves them motionless on the floor, with their head twisted sideways and all the way to the back.

wwx manages to crawl through the corridors and kill off two more humans before there's a loud sound near the back of the ship. the ship jolts forward, hard enough that wwx nearly goes airborne, before shuddering and slamming heavier down against the ocean than it had before.

a ship-wide alarm goes off. it is too high and too loud for wwx's ears. he clamps down his hands over the sides of his head and shrieks in protest.

he needs to get away. this is too loud. he needs to find lwj. humans, wwx knows, cannot survive in water for long.

he can feel the vibrations of human feet running, getting closer. by now, someone likely has noticed that wwx is gone. the humans will be armed.

wwx struggles to reach the next hatch. the ship is tilting the wrong way, and he is too slippery to crawl towards it.

a piercing scream cuts through the alarm's blare. wwx winces, then looks.

it's su she. he'd just opened one of the doors and is staring at wwx with open alarm. he's wearing a life vest and there's a pistol in his hand.

wwx doesn't waste time on a threat display; he lunges.

he does not get as far as he would like to; the ship is tilting, and su she is standing at a higher elevation than wwx is. all wwx manages to do is claw down su she's leg, ripping through fabric and drawing blood.

yet su she screams like he got an arm ripped off.

in his panic to go back the way he came from, he drops his gun. it slides out of reach and into the growing pool of water on one side of the room.

the ship is tilting so far that su she struggles to gain a foothold in the door. he looks around wildly, then sees the other hatch.

"Oh please," he whimpers as he slowly makes his way to the other hatch. "Oh please, oh please, oh please, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me."

he's within easy range of another lunge, yet wwx keeps his distance. he needs that hatch open. he can smell the ocean behind it.

su she wrenches the hatch open with a crazed half-relieved, half-terrified laugh and steps out of it.

but before he can turn around and slam the hatch shut again, wwx leaps out of the water and manages to wedge his body in between the door and the frame.

su she begins screaming as he tries again and again to slam the door into wwx.

"Please die," su she begs. "Oh please, oh please just die. Just die! Go away!"

wwx is not as fragile as a human, and su she does not have solid footing. he grabs onto su she's arm.

su she's scream turns into panicked hyperventilation as his focus shifts from trying to close the hatch door on wwx to trying to get wwx off of his arm.

amidst his struggles, wwx pulls his whole body through the hatchway. they're out on the deck. wwx can see the ocean.

the ship is tilting too much; neither wwx nor su she can do anything as they start sliding down the deck, towards the aft of the ship. the closer they get, the more wwx can smell smoke and hear the crackling of flames.

they both fall into the water at the end of the deck.

the ship is taking on water, and wwx has no issue slipping over the sinking railing and into the wide open ocean.

freedom, at last. and home—somewhere among the waves, along the ship's path.

without another look at su she, wwx begins swimming back the way the ship came from.

the tank wwx had spent the past year in was big, but nowhere as big as the ocean.

it feels good to be able to swim, unrestrained, through the water. the muscles in wwx's tail ache in the best way as he picks up speed, sending out clicks to try and locate lwj.

----

lwj is certain that he is going to die, but that isn't his biggest concern at the moment.

xy had ordered him to jump in the water. "So that the autopsy report can say that you drowned, if you're ever found," he'd said with a small grin. "And that's a big 'if'."

when lwj hesitated, xy had fired a warning shot that was so close to lwj that he felt it pass by. with no other choice, lwj had jumped.

now he's wondering if he should've risked it all and tried to wrestle the gun away from xy.

the ship is still continuing on its way, too fast for lwj to ever dream of catching up to, and wwx is still onboard—most likely freaking out at the gunshot sound.

it's nighttime. the sky is cloudy. lwj can't tell how far he is from shore, and he has no flotation device.

still, he sees no choice but to swim after the ship, to follow its lights for as long as he can. wwx is still on the ship. if they reach land—or another ship—then wwx may be transferred off, and he would be lost forever, taken underground and sold to the highest bidder.

lwj can't let that happen. he can't. so he swims after the ship, through cold, cold night waters, and surely to his own death.

he thinks nothing of his own doomed attempt. he can only think of wwx, trapped on the ship, so close yet so far from the freedom of the ocean.

the ship slowly shrinks in the distance. as lwj's strength starts to leave him, the ship shrinks faster away into the dark horizon.

the waves are big and cold. lwj is already losing sensation in his fingers. yet he doesn't dare take his eyes off of the ship.

then, he hears it.

an explosion rips through the rear of the ship, sending out bellows of smoke into the air. the ship, which was already tilting a fair bit, jolts in the water, then begins leaning more on its weakened side.

lwj lets out a sob. wwx was in the rear of the ship.

lwj's lungs burn and his body aches, but he forces himself to keep swimming. there's no way anyone—not even someone of wwx's physical resilience—could have survived that blast.

lwj doesn't cry. he just swims. and swims. and swims.

he doesn't know if merfolk's bodies float, sink, or turn into seafoam the way they do in myths. whatever happens, lwj intends to find wwx, no matter what state he is in, and hold him. with luck, lwj may even be able to temporarily fend off the sharks that will inevitably arrive.

his mind is already on sharks, so when he feels something big bump into him beneath the water, lwj can't help letting out a cry. immediately, he kicks it off with as much strength as he can muster in the moment. he can't have sharks circling him.

something dark rises from the water, right in front of him. lwj nearly punches it, just in case that shark decided to come back for a second bite, when he hears a whine, "That hurt, Lan Zhan."

it's dark, and the fire from the ship is still far away. lwj squints.

"Wei Ying," lwj breathes, then, louder. "Wei Ying! It's you!"

wwx rubs his sore cheek one final time before closing the distance between them. "Lan Zhan. It's you."

before lwj can say another word, wwx is pressing warm, slightly wet lips against his.

the kiss is quick, but firm—which is a relief to lwj, since he is still out of breath and would not have been able to maintain the kiss, no matter how much he wants to.

wwx kisses lwj's face, then forehead, then nose. a smattering of tiny kisses. "Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan. You hurt?"

"N—" lwj gets cut off when wwx kisses him on the mouth again. "No, I'm fine. Are you hurt?"

"No," wwx answers, just a fraction of a second to late to be natural. he's still kissing all over lwj's face.

lwj runs his hands over as much of wwx's body as he can reach.

he can't quite reach wwx's tail with wwx holding and hugging onto him as if he were a ragdoll, but there is no mistaking the smell or feel of the thin, oily layer that sticks to wwx's skin.

"Wei Ying," lwj struggles to say over the incessant kisses. "You're covered in diesel."

lwj has worked with rescued marine wildlife before. diesel is a killer—especially for fish. it coats the gills and chokes off oxygen.

"Wei Ying, how are your gills?" lwj asks. "Can you breathe?"

wwx pauses in his kisses just long enough to say, "I have lungs too."

that is not a good answer. lwj carefully feels around wwx's gills and finds, to his horror, that there's diesel there too. wwx won't be able to breathe underwater—at least for the time being. he will be forced to remain near the surface.

wwx pulls back. "Cold," he says as he takes lwj's hand and squeezes it. "Lan Zhan is too cold."

lwj won't deny that. whatever little heat his body generated by swimming was quickly sapped out by the surrounding water. he will get hypothermia if he can't get dry soon.

"Wei Ying," lwj says, "we must get you out of here."

wwx looks behind them at the burning ship. the fire has spread too much, and life rafts are being deployed by the crew.

"They are armed," lwj says, more insistently, "and you can't stay underwater for long. You must leave."

wwx looks at him, then—again—looks to the burning ship and the life rafts.

"Wei Ying." lwj shakes him by the arms. "Listen to me, please."

"No."

lwj's mouth parts in surprise. "Why?"

wwx looks at him again. "We are in ocean, not land," he says. "You listen to me."

lwj is so shocked that he goes speechless for a moment. that moment is just long enough for wwx to grip his hands and spin around before dragging lwj's arms to his front, over his shoulders, so that lwj is draped over his back.

"Don't breathe," wwx says, before diving.

the water is cold, but lwj somehow manages to forget about it long enough to marvel at how quickly they're swimming. the speed is likely not even wwx's equivalent of a jog, but it's fast enough that lwj struggles to keep his eyes open underwater.

the ocean is pitch black, and lwj can see nothing—yet the slight warmth of wwx's skin and the steady strength in the way he moves is more than enough to ground lwj. wwx wouldn't let the ocean swallow him whole.

when they surface, they're near the burning ship.

then, to lwj's shock, wwx peels him off of his back and shoves a life-ring at him.

"Warm," wwx says, gesturing at the ship, then he bops lwj on the nose with a finger. "Stay."

before lwj can utter a word of protest, wwx dives down and disappears out of sight.

lwj is not about to stay so close to a diesel fire, so he swims a little ways away to avoid inhaling the fumes. his life-ring is bright orange and, despite the darkness of the night, he could be spotted if anyone happens to look his direction, so he stays still.

a shot rings out in the night, startling lwj. someone screams in the distance. more shots ring out.

lwj swims as quickly as he can—which isn't very quick, now that he has a life-ring—to see what is happening.

there's one life raft that is floating a ways away from the rest. at first, lwj doesn't see anything special about it—then he sees the gunman standing up in it, pistol in hand and aimed at the water.

a tail flicks up from the ocean. the gunman fires at it.

the life raft's occupants scream and shout after each shot. it is impossible for lwj to hear what they're saying, but they sound like pleas to stop.

the life raft then jolts unnaturally. the gunman—xy, most likely—nearly falls back into the raft before steadying himself.

lwj watches with his heart beating so quickly in his throat that he thinks he may pass out. wwx dares to raise his head only when he's behind the raft, but every moment that wwx is restricted to having to surface to breathe, the more vulnerable he is.

the raft keeps jolting, and jolting. xy lets out a colorful litany of swear words.

it takes a while for lwj to notice, but when he realizes that the life raft is losing air, the screams from those still onboard sound far more frantic and shrill.

one passenger caves and leaps into the water, swimming frantically for another life raft.

when they get more than halfway there, the other passengers begin following, each one jumping into the water to get away from the sinking life raft.

wwx pays no attention to any of them.

when the water reaches xy's knee, xy swears and holsters his pistol. he manages to pull on a diving headlight before drawing two knives out and jumping into the water.

then, silence. lwj can't tell what's happening. he can only see a faint glow from beneath the water surface.

when xy emerges to take a breath, it's cut short as something drags him back under the surface. lwj watches with a mixture of horror and vindication as wwx repeatedly, again, again, and once again, drags xy down just enough to keep his head underwater.

there's no fight, as far as lwj can tell. wwx isn't giving xy the confrontation he so clearly seeks. instead, he is simply dragging xy down into the water, then swimming out of reach to let xy resurface.

it's a terrible way to die: drowning, without the vindication of a fight.

there is no way to stop it. even if lwj goes over and asks wwx to stop, wwx won't. xy's life is forfeit.

the sound of nearby splashing catches lwj's attention. there's a life raft floating nearby—away from the others, as if trying to make a discreet getaway.

from lwj's viewpoint, he can see a paddle sticking out of the raft as its holder frantically tries to get as far away from the ship as quickly as possible.

lwj has a feeling he knows who it is.

at least the sound of the ship burning covers up lwj's approach.

lwj has a disadvantage in that he is already tired and will have to haul himself into the raft to have any chance of subduing the current occupant.

the only advantage is that the occupant is completely distracted with getting away and doesn't notice him until it's too late.

the life raft has a rope boarding ladder, to help survivors climb into the raft. lwj grabs onto it and pulls himself up as quickly as he can.

it's not very quick. his arms hurt, and his body feels ten times heavier than its usual weight. he nearly falls back in the water.

su she—the raft's sole occupant is su she, of course—lets out a scream when he sees him and instinctively hits him with the paddle.

it hurts, but it doesn't do much in pushing lwj back in the water. by the time most of lwj's body is in the raft, su she switches over to kicking.

"Go away!" su she screams as he stomps on lwj's shoulders and back. "Go away! Why aren't you dead? Go die! Leave me alone!"

lwj grabs onto one of su she's ankles to stop the attack. su she shrieks; belatedly, lwj notices the fresh bandages around his leg.

su she doesn't last long standing up on the raft with one foot immobilized; he falls to the floor, kicking and flailing. lwj seizes the opportunity to drag the rest of himself into the raft.

su she tries to draw a knife, but lwj grabs his wrist and gets to it first.

lwj has no experience threatening anyone. he does not hold the knife against su she's throat, but instead holds it out of reach.

su she laughs maniacally. "What—are you going to stab me with that? You? The noble Lan Wangji?"

now that su she is no longer fighting, lwj takes a moment to catch his breath. "No." he turns the knife around so that it is in a reverse grip, blade pointed downward. "One wrong move, and I stab this life raft."

"Then we both drown," su she snaps. "How stupid can you be?"

"No," lwj says. "You alone would drown."

su she stares at him in silent fury for a moment before it clicks for him. then his expression morphs to fear as he looks out to the water.

"Wei Ying doesn't like you," lwj says, "so I suggest you cooperate."

"You're a sick fuck, Lan Wangji," su she snaps, although he does nothing but back himself into a corner. "What do you want?"

"Xue Yang is dead," lwj says. "If you remain tolerable, then I am willing to share the life raft with you until we get back to shore."

su she looks up. his glare is sharp and full of disdain. "And what happens when we get back to shore?"

"Then I'll hand you over to the authorities," lwj answers. "Trafficking and black market dealings are illegal. You must pay for it. But I am giving you a chance to live."

su she laughs darkly. "So that's the option you're giving me? Let you turn me in or you'll toss me to your fish fuck-toy?"

lwj's hand twitches around the knife. "Choose."

su she's face twists unpleasantly. he looks at the sea, then at lwj. "I'll cooperate," he mutters.

"Wise choice," lwj says. "Where's the emergency kit? Is there a thermal blanket?"

"There is," su she sulks. "It's behind you."

lwj knows better than to turn his back on su she, so instead, he drags the emergency kit in front of him before opening it.

there is indeed a thermal blanket inside, which is a godsend. lwj begins opening it, using his knife to cut open the bag so that he doesn't have to let go of it.

his mistake is shaking out the blanket. the unfolding sheet blocks his view of su she for just a moment.

su she kicks the hand with the knife, sending it flying out of the open entrance flap of the life raft. his hands reach around, seeking for lwj's neck.

it is difficult for lwj to fight back with the thermal blanket impeding movement, but he grabs onto su she's arm and twists.

su she's screech of pain is cut short only by lwj pulling him downward and managing to land a kick squarely on his jaw. he stumbles and falls to the floor, jostling the raft.

lwj wastes no time. he grabs onto su she's life vest and begins dragging him towards the water.

su she regains consciousness just as lwj has his upper torso out of the raft.

the most horrible noises leave him as he begins fighting back, grabbing onto lwj's hands and arms, clawing and drawing blood.

lwj is out of energy. the cold and his exhaustion has caught up with him.

he'd been swimming for well over half an hour in water that should've left him hypothermic in less that time. he is so cold that he doesn't even feel the fresh wounds on his arms and hands.

slowly, su she begins pulling himself back into the raft, inch by inch.

lwj is so exhausted that when he sees a rapidly-approaching, distinctive 'v' forming among the waves, he doesn't react.

wwx emerges from the water with frills fully extended, hissing so shrilly that it sends a jolt of ice-cold fear down lwj's spine.

'a full-on territorial display,' the scientific, delirious part of lwj's drained mind observed. and he had a pretty idea what—or, rather, who—the territory was.

su she doesn't even have time to scream; wwx grabs him and plunges him deep into the water.

lwj collapses to the floor of the life raft, hardly caring that the inside is covered in cold water. his throat is raw from diesel fumes, salt, and trying to catch his breath. his head hurts. he can't feel his limbs.

all he can do is lie there, and listen to su she's screams.

he may have passed out; he must have passed out, because the next thing he's aware of, it's all quiet.

the thermal blanket is haphazardly tossed over him, and wwx is hurriedly trying to scoop out the water from inside of the raft with one of the buckets from the emergency kit.

as soon as wwx notices that he's awake, he tosses the bucket aside and shuffles closer.

"Lan Zhan?" he reaches into the raft to touch his arm.

"Mn," is all lwj can manage at the moment.

wwx makes a gill-sputtering sound that is similar to a relieved sigh. "Lan Zhan, drink."

wwx pushes a pouch of water towards him. lwj takes it with trembling hands. he isn't sure if he even has the strength to open it.

after a moment of watching him not make a move to open the pouch, wwx makes a distressed noise, takes the pouch, and tears it open with his teeth.

"Lan Zhan," wwx repeats, begs, as he holds out the water pouch, careful not to spill a single drop of precious fresh water. "Drink."

despite wwx's efforts, lwj spills a little of the water as he takes the pouch, holds it to his mouth, and begins drinking.

lwj likely passes out again sometime after that, because the next time he wakes up, it's daytime, and he feels a little more alive than he was before.

wwx was dozing with his head on the edge of the life raft, but when lwj moves, he wakes up. "Lan Zhan?"

"Mn," lwj replies, clearer than before.

wwx hears it too. he makes a series of high-pitched squeals and clicks before reaching into the raft and nudging the emergency supplies towards him. "Eat," he demands. "Now."

how very pushy of him. still, lwj complies.

the emergency rations are packed biscuit-like pieces of food that taste almost like nothing. still, lwj makes sure to eat every last crumb of it. he needs the energy to recover.

the floor of the life raft is still wet. there is only so much that wwx can do with a bucket.

once lwj feels some of his strength returning, he starts prioritizing tasks in his head. first, he will need to get out of his damp clothes. even with a thermal blanket, he won't warm up with wet clothes on. it's already a miracle he survived the night in them.

he uses the thermal blanket to give himself some privacy as he undresses down to his boxers. he wrings out his clothes the best that he can and sets them aside. he will lay them out on the floor to dry once he wipes the water on the floor up.

"Lan Zhan!" wwx gasps. "No!"

lwj freezes. "No? What is wrong?"

"No! Do not—" wwx waves his hand at lwj, which does not clarify things. "Rest! Do not move!"

lwj blinks. "Wei Ying, I can't wear these clothes right now."

wwx makes an interesting stressed sound.

"Rest," wwx orders. "We're in ocean. You listen to me. I say rest. No—" he gestures at lwj again.

"Don't… stand up?" lwj guesses.

wwx shakes his head. "The—" he gestures again, clearly getting frustrated.

lwj has absolutely no idea what he's talking about.

"Am I in danger?" lwj asks slowly.

wwx pauses, then mulls over the question. "Maybe," he mutters. "Soon."

"Is the danger within the raft?" lwj asks.

wwx thinks. "No," he answers.

"So if I don't leave the raft, I should be fine?" lwj clarifies.

wwx nods.

"Ah," lwj nods. "Alright. Then I will stay put."

wwx's tail is swishing in the water. "Rest." he fixes a stern glare at lwj. "No babies."

lwj pauses in the middle of wringing his pants out. "I… didn't say anything about babies."

wwx's eyes are wide—very wide. "You are—" he waves at lwj again, "—taking away clothes."

"Undressing," lwj corrects weakly.

"Undressing," wwx corrects himself. "You cannot. You must rest. No mating. No babies. Rest."

it is impolite to stare, but lwj can't help it.

it takes a long time for lwj to finally find his voice.

"Wei Ying," he says slowly, painfully, "I am undressing because my clothes are wet. Wet clothes take heat away from my body. If I keep the wet clothes on, I cannot be warm. If I want to be warm, I must undress."

if lwj thought it took a long time to form his words, it takes an even longer time for wwx to respond.

wwx blinks, his eyes large and owlish. "Clothes are wet, so you are undress."

"Yes," lwj nods.

"Not for mating."

"Not for—" lwj nearly chokes on the word. "That. Yes."

wwx doesn't say anything for such a long time that lwj manages to find a sponge and start wiping the floor of the raft dry.

"Lan Zhan do not want babies?" wwx asks so suddenly that lwj almost flinches.

lwj sighs. "Wei Ying—"

"Lan Zhan is mate of Wei Ying," wwx protests.

lwj's mind is currently on survival and how to contact his brother. he does not have the headspace to argue with wwx. "Wei Ying, we already went over the reasons. You were caged. Our children could suffer deformities."

"Not caged, now," wwx says stubbornly.

"Not caged," lwj agrees, "but we have no way of knowing if our potential children would have happy, healthy lives."

"Wei Ying is strong," wwx mutters. "Lan Zhan is strong."

"That doesn't guarantee healthy offspring," lwj points out, "especially between species."

wwx thinks over this for a long time. "Between species," he repeats. "Wei Ying—I—am not human."

lwj can already tell where this is going, "Wei Ying."

"Lan Zhan is not—" wwx makes a series of clicks in his own language, "—but I do not care. But Lan Zhan cares."

lwj sets his sponge aside. there goes his plan to dry the floor of the raft as soon as possible.

with care, he shifts himself to the edge of the raft and reaches out to wwx. wwx eyes his hand for only a second before closing his eyes and pressing his face against lwj's palm.

"You should care," lwj says. "Do you know the full consequences of being a human's mate?"

wwx considers this. "Consequences."

"Yes. Consequences," lwj adds gently, "such as… mating for life, sharing parenthood, and never leaving each other for long."

wwx makes a soft gill flutter that tickles lwj's hand. "Good. It is good."

as wonderful as that is to hear, lwj must make sure he understands.

"Wei Ying," he says softly, "being a human's mate would also mean you will never be able to fully return to the ocean."

wwx visibly hesitates. he looks out across the vast water. from lwj's position, it's impossible to guess what he may be thinking.

after a while, wwx turns back around and presses his face back against lwj's hand. "Home is with Lan Zhan," he says. "I want to go home."

"Even if choosing me as your home means that there's a chance you may never have biological children of your own?" lwj asks gently.

wwx goes quiet again, but it's a shorter pause this time. "Lan Zhan's children is Wei Ying's children," he answers. "Even no egg."

"Even if they do not swim?" lwj asks.

that brings an indignant gill-sputter from wwx. "They must swim!" he insists. "I will teach."

"You will teach," lwj agrees, unsure when his knees started feeling so weak. he hopes it's not a side-effect of exhaustion.

wwx's gill-sputter dies off. "Lan Zhan agree." he swims a little closer, hands gripping around lwj's wrist, carefully keeping his claws out of the way. "Lan Zhan promise?"

lwj looks at him, at this beautiful creature he is both scared and honored to be cherished by.

it is difficult to believe that, less than twenty-four hours ago, they were both on a beach—wwx begging lwj not to make him leave, and lwj whispering apologies and regrets against his hair.

yet here they both are, alive, and together.

lwj reaches up and undoes his forehead ribbon.

wwx watches with open amazement and curiosity as lwj ties it around his wrist. "Food?"

"It's not food," lwj says, tying a double knot to ensure it stays. "It's a promise, to choose you as my home."

wwx's eyes light up. "Your home? Me?" he looks back and forth between lwj and the ribbon. "Lan Zhan promise?"

"I promise," lwj says, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "We still need to get to safety and let the others know what happened, but I promise—"

wwx cuts him off with a too-loud, happy cry and dives down. seconds later, he's leaping out of the water, twirling and spinning at heights that make lwj dizzy just by looking at him.

"Wei Ying," lwj calls. he wants to tell wwx to settle down; his gills are not yet recovered.

wwx is both too happy and too far away to hear. he leaps and leaps out of the water, scales glistening in the sunlight. at one point, he even jumps over lwj's life raft.

lwj sighs, but it's a half-hearted sigh. wwx can enjoy himself for a bit.

it's when wwx pauses his jumping to cough that lwj calls him back to the raft and asks him to rest.

"I would like Wen Qing and the others to take a look at you when we get back, if you're alright with that," lwj says. "We don't know what the diesel did to you."

wwx visibly perks up at wq's name, but his joy is short-lasting. "Wen Qing scared of you."

"Of me? No. But for me, perhaps." lwj had been trying not to think about how panicked his family and coworkers must be.

"For you," wwx corrects himself. "Scared for you."

if lxc is searching for him—and lxc will certainly be searching for him—then the waters just off the shore will be teeming with as many search and rescue personnel as lxc can muster.

"We may have to separate for a while once we get near land," lwj says.

wwx opens his mouth to protest, but lwj cuts it short with a quick, chaste kiss on his lips.

"I made a promise." he runs his fingers over the ribbon around wwx's wrist. "I intend to honor that promise. Go to the beach where we tried to release you, and wait for me there."

wwx nods slowly, then with more conviction. "I trust Lan Zhan," he says, returning the kiss. "I will wait."

it takes two more days to finally reach land. the emergency rations lasted comfortably for that length of time, but the events of their harrowing night has caught up to both of them; lwj's body is sore with injuries he doesn't know the extent of, and wwx keeps coughing.

as expected, search and rescue spots lwj's life raft. wwx has to swim away to avoid detection as lwj is helped onto a boat and sped towards shore.

lwj gets taken to a hospital to check on the state of his health. lxc and lqr show up soon after to see him.

lxc doesn't burst into tears when he sees lwj; he just stares at lwj with a blank face, frozen in place, with tears streaming down his face—which is somehow much worse.

"Xiong-zhang," lwj greets carefully. "It's alright. Wangji is alive and well."

lqr has to take lxc's elbow and tug him to lwj's bedside. "Wangji, how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," lwj replies honestly. "Wei Ying took care of me."

at the mention of wwx, a strangled sob escapes from lxc. "God, Wangji, I-I didn't—it's my fault. I didn't know Su She was—"

"You didn't know," lwj says gently, "because he hid it from you."

"I should have paid more attention." lxc's hands curl into fists. "And then he—and you—oh my god, and with Wei Ying! For trafficking! God, I—" he buries his face in his hands and begins crying.

lwj wonders if it was wise to tell the search and rescue team the truth of how he ended up so far out in the ocean. hearing the news second-hand, without lwj there to mitigate it, had hit lxc hard.

"Su She is dead, xiong-zhang," lwj whispers quietly enough for the three of them.

lxc takes a deep, shuddering breath and forces his shoulders back, standing straight. "Wei Ying's doing, I assume?"

lwj nods.

"Good." lxc nods. he sounds distant. "Good. An end worthy of him."

lqr, a stickler for the law and rules, says nothing.

lwj reaches forward and takes hold of the edge of lxc's sleeve, much like he had when he was very young.

"Xiong-zhang," he says. "Wei Ying is waiting for me. He's at the beach where we tried to release him. He needs Wen Qing to look at him."

"He got covered in diesel when we escaped," lwj continues. "He doesn't act like he's sick, but he is sick. His gills are covered, and he has been relying solely on his lungs this whole time. I need to—"

"You are not leaving this hospital without a doctor's approval," lxc says.

lwj starts to sit up in the bed. "Xiong-zhang, I cannot," he insists. "I must—"

"You will stay in this bed until you are recovered." lxc puts a hand on lwj's shoulder and gently, but firmly, pushes him back down. "I will go with Wen Qing and the others to retrieve Wei Ying."

"Retrieve?" lwj asks. "Xiong-zhang, you don't mean…"

lxc's phone buzzes in his pocket. he takes it out to look at its screen before sighing and putting it away. "It's best if he stays in the lab tank for the time being, Wangji. Wen Qing can monitor him better there."

lwj starts sitting up again. "Wei Ying doesn't know he is going back into the tank."

"He doesn't have to. We will make it clear that he can choose between being treated on the beach or in the lab tank." lxc runs a tired hand through his hair. "I can have you on video call."

lwj's phone has been long dead from seawater. he would have to video call with his uncle's cell phone. he looks at lxc.

lxc meets his gaze. "Wangji," he sounds resigned, "he saved your life, and… you no longer have your forehead ribbon. I know you have chosen each other."

lqr, who has been quiet, somehow sits up straighter in his chair. "What?" he demands.

"I will not deny the two of you each other," lxc says. "Especially not after…" his shoulders slump. "I will make sure he is safe and well. I promise." he turns to lqr. "Forgive me, shufu."

"What?" lqr repeats, rising out of his seat. "Xichen! What do you mean by—" he turns to lwj, "—Wangji! Where is your ribbon?! I was under the impression you lost it in your struggle to escape!"

lxc gives lwj a tired smile. "Shall I take my leave, or would you like assistance?"

lwj leans his head back on the hospital bed pillows. "Wei Ying shouldn't wait any longer than necessary."

"Very well." lxc bows to lqr. "I will be back soon, shufu. Please excuse me."

lqr sputters as he watches lxc walk out the door. then he turns to lwj, his face red.

being hospitalized does not save lwj from being scolded by his uncle.

lqr had heard reports of wwx treating lwj like a mate, but he'd dismissed them as the behavior of a wild animal that didn't know better.

to hear lwj claim mutual feelings almost sends him to an early grave.

"You're delirious," lqr declares. "Too much seawater in your body."

"The raft had adequate emergency water supplies," lwj says, "and the doctor already checked my vitals. I am not dehydrated."

it takes lxc a worrying long time to video call—almost an entire hour. when lwj answers, lxc apologizes for the delay.

"Wei Ying is… a little upset," lxc says. in the background, lwj can hear wwx yelling indignantly. "It took a while to lure him to shore."

"I go hospital!" wwx yells from off-screen.

"You can't go to the hospital, you dumb fish!" wq snaps, also off-screen. "Lan Wangji's recovery will be delayed if his doctor passes out from seeing you in his waiting room!"

at that, wwx quiets. "I want Lan Zhan," he whines.

"I know." lwj recognizes the softer voice as wn's. "I know you want to see him. We all do. But he will recover faster if he knows that you're also being cared for, so please cooperate for him, okay? Be good, please."

there's a silent pause, then wwx says, "Wei Ying good boy."

"The best boy," wn agrees. "Alright, now hold still for me…"

"Xiong-zhang," lwj says. "How is he?"

lxc glances over his shoulder. the phone shakes a little as he walks—presumably away from the group. "It—could have been worse," he answers in a low voice.

lwj can feel his heartrate rising. "What is it?"

"He still has some diesel on him," lxc says, "which is already a cause for concern, especially for his gills, but… there's various shrapnel embedded in his tail, and some open wounds. I worry that he's sicker than he acts."

that is what lwj expected, and feared. "Has he consented to going back to the lab tank for treatment?"

"He has," lxc says. "But it took the promise of you and a lot of takis to get him to agree."

lwj exhales. "Is he giving you much trouble?"

"Not as much as I'd expected," lxc admits.

in the background, wwx yells, "Give takis!"

"No!" wq yells back. "Your gills are already damaged; do you want to make them worse?!"

a beat. "Give Lan Zhan," wwx insists.

"Don't pretend you're in a position to negotiate," wq hisses.

"Give Lan Zhan," wwx repeats, sadder. "I want Lan Zhan."

wq sighs, following by a silence during which she is surely rubbing her temples. "Alright, how about this: if you truthfully tell me where you're hurt, I'll call the hospital to make them let Lan Wangji out earlier. Deal?"

wq does not have the authority to do as she claims, and lwj is bound to be released within a day anyhow, but her words make wwx fall into contemplative silence.

"Hurt here," lwj hears wwx finally say. "Here. Here."

on the phone screen, lxc's face relaxes.

if lwj were standing, he might feel weak in the knees. he doesn't know whether to feel guilty over the injuries wwx had hid from him, or relieved that wwx is cooperating with treatment.

he decides on the latter. "May I speak with him?" he asks his brother.

lxc hesitates. "It's not that I don't want to, Wangji," he says. "But we're not sure if Wei Ying understands the concept of video calls. What if it distresses him more?"

lwj is reluctant, but he has to agree. it may stress wwx out to hear him, but not be able to touch him.

the video call lasts until they get wwx loaded onto the back of a small truck and covered with wet towels. there wasn't enough time to prepare the usual truck for marine animal transportation for him.

"Safe and secure," lxc says. "I'll call you when we arrive at the lab."

it takes several hours for the truck to drive back to the lab. lwj somehow manages to doze during that time as lqr retrieves food for both of them.

when lxc calls again, lwj answers on the first ring. "How is he?"

"He seems well," lxc says, switching to the front camera.

wwx is back in his old tank. the coral and rocks are gone, having been removed to better clean the tank after wwx's supposed release, but there's a hefty layer of clean sand at the bottom.

wwx seems to like the sand. he's rolling in it, kicking up a mini-storm.

lwj can hear wq yelling in the background about how the sand is irritating wwx's diesel-damaged skin and to get him to stop. "Xiong-zhang…"

"It is alright, Wangji," lxc says. "Focus on resting. I'll help you look after Wei Ying."

"Thank you," lwj says.

as expected, lwj doesn't stay in the hospital for long. the next morning, the doctor looks over him and declares him fit to leave. lwj is given orders to take it easy for a week until he feels completely back to normal.

lqr is silent on the drive to the lab.

lwj forces himself to wait for his uncle so that they can walk to the lab together. he won't be doing himself or wwx any favors by acting too clingy.

as soon as wn sees them, he puts a finger to his lips in a 'shush' gesture and nods towards the tank.

it is good that wn gave them a warning—because without it, lwj's first thought upon seeing a motionless wwx lying on the platform at the edge of his tank would've been that he was dead.

lwj hurries over as quietly as he can and climbs the steps leading up to the platform.

the platform itself is shallow; wwx typically didn't sleep on it, preferring the privacy provided by the rocks and corals. once lwj is on the platform's level, he sees why wwx has to sleep there: there's an oxygen mask over his face, which is attached to a tank.

there's some sort of wrap around wwx's gills—presumably to protect them and prevent him from using them. his head is propped up out of the water by a small stool with a small pillow tied around it. he doesn't respond to lwj's presence.

wq is already waiting at the bottom of the stairs when lwj comes down. she pulls him aside.

"Well, it was a bit of a pain to get him cleaned up, I'll tell you that," she whispers. "It took a lot of scrubbing with oil-based cleansers to get the diesel off of his skin."

"What I'm most worried about are his gills and lungs." wq frowns. "Fish typically die when exposed to diesel, so we don't know a way of cleaning his. I had to sedate him so that we could wipe his gills from the inside to get most of the diesel off."

lwj glances over at the tank. so that's why wwx wasn't responding; he was sedated.

"You mentioned lungs," he whispers back to wq.

she nods, her lips pressed together. "His throat is irritated and he's showing signs of pneumonia. I've put him on some antibiotics for now."

pneumonia. lwj exhales slowly. wwx has never been sick before in their care. if he can't use his gills, and his lungs have pneumonia, then breathing is going to be a struggle for him.

"Will he recover?" lwj asks.

"Most likely." wq shrugs. "He's pretty tough."

lwj forces himself to relax a little. wq is not the kind to give false hope.

"I will say that he should refrain from physically-taxing activity until he recovers." she raises her eyebrows at him. "*Any* physically-taxing activity, Lan Wangji."

lwj very much does not turn around to see if his uncle overheard; the sound of one of the lab's standard styrofoam cups crumbling in his hand is enough proof.

"I will keep him calm as he recovers," lwj says to wq with what he hopes is a pointed glare.

"Wei Ying's health is of the utmost importance." wq looks entirely unrepentant. "I won't have you or him jeopardizing that simply because the two of you can't keep your hands and fins to yourself."

"Have a good day, Doctor Wen," lwj says as he walks back towards the tank.

it takes a while for wwx's sedation to wear off, but when he wakes, he wakes to lwj next to him, sitting on the platform, and gently stroking his head.

wwx blinks groggily and says something in his clicking, whistling language.

"You're awake," lwj says. "How do you feel?"

"Ti—" wwx reels back with a surprised sound and begins clawing at the oxygen mask.

"Wei Ying, no!" lwj grabs his wrists. "That's oxygen. It's to help you breathe."

wwx could easily break out of lwj's hold, but he doesn't. instead, he tries shaking his head as hard as he can.

"Wei Ying, please." lwj tries to get him to hold still. "Wei Ying, it's so you can breathe."

wwx doesn't seem to be listening. he thrashes about harder, trying to dislodge the mask.

"I thought you said you would keep him calm!" wq yells from the other side of the room.

lwj acts quickly; he takes the mask off of wwx and presses a firm kiss on wwx's lips.

wwx immediately freezes, blinking up at lwj in surprise. he's too stunned to even make a sound.

"Good boy," lwj says, slowly easing the mask back on him. "Be still. I know it's uncomfortable."

wwx makes a small, discontent noise, but he doesn't try to take the mask off. instead, he settles his head against the crook of lwj's arm and shuffles closer.

"Tired," he says. his voice is muffled by the mask.

"I know." lwj strokes his hair. "You need to rest and recover."

wwx blinks blearily up at him. "Nest?"

"No, no, rest," lwj says to him. "Rest. Sleep. Don't move."

wwx's eyes focus, then un-focus, then refocus. the anesthesia had done a number on him.

"Nest," he mumbles, then he tries to sit up. "Make now."

"No, Wei Ying." lwj pulls him back into a reclining position. "You need to *sleep*. Sleep right now is most important. There will be no nest-making until you recover."

wwx grumbles and tries to sit up again. "Almost time," he mumbles. "Need to make nest now."

"Wei Ying." lwj pulls him back once more. he can feel wq's judgmental glare on the back of his head. "If you rest, then I can—I can get nesting material for you."

wwx relaxes into lwj's arms at that. "Must be soft," he says.

"Yes."

"And strong."

"Yes."

"And safe." wwx's words are starting to slur and blend together with whistles and clicks. "Must be safe, or else…"

lwj watches as wwx dozes off again, his eyes closing and his tail going still. looks like the sedation still hasn't worn off entirely.

lwj carefully sets wwx back down with his head propped up on his makeshift pillow. he steps out of the platform and accepts a towel from his brother.

one he has dried off, he steps back out into the main lab area to see nhs waiting for him.

"Ah, Wangji-xiong!" nhs hurries over.

lwj very pointedly looks at nhs, then at the tank where wwx is still asleep, then back to nhs.

nhs silently mouths, "Sorry!" before covering his mouth with his hands.

with lwj close behind, nhs tip-toes over to the tank and peeks over the edge to look at wwx on the platform.

nhs tuts quietly. "Poor dear," he whispers to lwj. "He looks exhausted. And you must be, too. Xichen-xiong told me what happened. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

lwj would rather not think about what he and wwx had to endure together. "We are here now."

"Indeed," nhs hums. "Although—and if I'm wrong, please do correct me—it looks like Wei Ying has something tied around his wrist, and, Wangji-xiong, you coincidentally are missing your usual forehead ribbon."

lwj can already tell where this is going. "You are not wrong."

"Oh?" nhs leans the edge of his clipboard thoughtfully against his chin; it's always either a clipboard or a fan with nhs, for some reason. "How interesting. I'm not surprised; high stakes situations do get the heart pumping and the blood flowing and the adrenaline rushing—"

"Huaisang," lwj warns.

"—so, frankly, nobody can really blame you and Wei Ying for helping each other with excess energy and emotions," nhs continues. "And you being you, it's obvious that you would take responsibility—even though Wei Ying is, technically, not human."

"Huaisang," lwj says flatly, "Wei Ying and I have not been intimate."

nhs giggles with a light-hearted, "Oh, Wangji-xiong."

lwj's expression doesn't change.

nhs's pleasant smile starts to drop. "No."

lwj blinks once.

"No." nhs shakes his head. "No, that's impossible."

"I think," lwj's tone is dry, "I would be the first to know if I have been intimate with anyone."

"But—but—" nhs stammers, waving his clipboard at the tank. "Wei Ying built a nest for you! And—and—we saw the security footage of you in his tank! You had so many opportunities!"

"Quiet, Huaisang," lwj chides. "Wei Ying is asleep."

"I even did research!" nhs whisper-shouts. "I looked through Doctor Wen's files on Wei Ying and saw her notes on possible hybridization with humans and now you're telling me that you've not even *tried* to fuck the fish??"

lwj's mind goes several places at once. part of it is grateful that his uncle is discussing wwx's current condition with wq in the analysis room, while another is firmly stuck on the words 'possible hybridization with humans'.

nhs is still talking. "Do you know how many of us assumed that the two of you did the deed?" he groaned. "If Wei Ying hadn't chosen you, I'd bet we would already have little hybrids swimming around."

the look lwj sends his way should, rightfully, reduce him to ashes.

nhs, disappointingly, does not explode into cinders. "Oh, come on, Wangji-xiong. You can't blame scientists for being curious."

lwj decides that he can. "Wei Ying is his own person. He is not a baby incubator. You will not treat him as if he is."

nhs hums thoughtfully as he looks lwj up and down. "Very well, Wangji-xiong," he says, the corner of his clipboard pressed to his mouth. "As you say."

the analysis room door opens, and lqr and wq step out.

nhs's eyes light up. "Ah! Professor Lan! How good it is to see you!"

as nhs leads lqr away, chattering all the while, lwj walks alongside wq. "Doctor Wen, do you have a moment?"

"Only if you feel like accompanying me to get coffee," she replies. she sounds tired.

"Huaisang mentioned seeing 'possible hybridization' in your notes," lwj starts.

wq scowls. "That little shit. How often and I going to have to change my laptop password?"

"Is it truly possible?" lwj turns a corner with her on their way to the break room. "Could Wei Ying and I truly…?"

"First, coffee," wq declares. "Then, answers."

there's an expensive espresso machine in the break room, the result of overwhelming demand from the team for quality caffeine. lwj watches wq prepare herself some coffee and tries not to let his impatience get to him.

wq sits down on one of the couches and takes a long sip from her steaming mug. she sighs in relief and leans her head back on the backrest.

"Alright," she says, still staring up at the ceiling. "The answer is 'yes'. It is possible."

lwj can hear his heartbeat in his ears. the words echo in his mind. yes, it is possible. yes, it is possible.

"But," wq points at lwj with the index finger of the hand holding her mug, "the details still need to be sorted out. Many factors are still unclear."

"First of all," she takes another sip from her mug, "we're not sure if fertilization is internal or external. Second, we're also not sure if Wei Ying's kind bears their young live or through eggs. The gestation period of hybrid young can be finicky, too. There are many unknowns."

"However, all that aside," wq holds her mug with both hands as she looks at lwj, "it is my suggestion that if the two of you make the decision, that you make it while you're both here, in the lab, where I can monitor Wei Ying throughout the process."

that snaps lwj out of his reverie. "Wei Ying and I do not wish for our children to be born in captivity."

wq looks like she's considering pouring coffee over his head. "Wei Ying's not a captive. Hell, outside of us, the rest of the old team think he has escaped."

"If you and Wei Ying decide to have children, it's best if they are here, in a controlled environment where I can monitor everyone's health," wq argues. "Or would you rather have questions while you and Wei Ying are in the ocean, miles away from medical help and knowledge?"

lwj has to admit that he would prefer the former—although he would hate to take the choice away from wwx. this will have to be a discussion between the two of them.

"Wei Ying and I will think about it," lwj says with a small nod. "Thank you, Doctor Wen."

after wq dismisses him from the break room with a wave of her hand, lwj returns to the specimen room to find wwx already awake and peeking over the platform edge, looking at nhs and lqr.

"This is Professor Lan," nhs tells wwx. "He is Lan Wangji's and Lan Xichen's uncle."

wwx's oxygen mask is gone; nearby, wn is busy cleaning it and prepping for another oxygen tank. so when wwx speaks, his voice is unmuffled.

"Professor?" wwx asks.

"A teacher," nhs clarifies. "A very knowledgeable teacher."

lqr mutters something under his breath.

wwx cocks his head. "Uncle?"

"The brother of a parent," nhs defines for him, looking around. "Like if, uh… ah! Like if you and Wangji-xiong have children, then Xichen-xiong would be their uncle!"

lwj watches passively as lqr threatens to beat nhs with his own clipboard.

"Uncle," wwx repeats thoughtfully. "Hello, uncle."

lqr looks at him, then clears his throat. "You may address me as Professor Lan—or Mr. Lan, if you have difficulty pronouncing 'professor'."

"Pro-fish-sure," wwx says.

"Mr. Lan it is," lqr says dryly.

"Miss Lan," wwx says.

"No," lqr's gaze hardens. "Mister. Miss-ter Lan."

wwx blinks. "Miss Terlan," he says. "Uncle."

lqr gives lwj a critical look. "Wangji, are you certain he has human-like intelligence and awareness? He sounds like he's just repeating words."

"He's still learning, shufu," lwj says. "It is natural for him to repeat words."

lqr strokes his beard. "Perhaps that is all he will be capable of. Wangji, I do not think Wei Ying will be a suitable partner for you."

above them, at the tank's edge, wwx makes an alarmed sound.

the tank is tall, but not so tall that lwj misses the way wwx's pupils constrict and the fins on the sides of his head start to flare in a territorial display.

"Wei Ying, no," lwj says firmly. "Shufu doesn't mean it."

"He mean it," wwx hisses.

"He does not," lwj insists. "Wei Ying, he merely wants to get to know you."

wwx's hisses simmer down, but only just so.

"You have my ribbon. I am not leaving you," lwj says. "But shufu has taken care of me since I was little. He is also home."

"Also home," wwx repeats as he eyes lqr warily. "Father?"

"Not father," lwj corrects. "Uncle. Shufu means uncle."

"Shufu. Uncle." wwx tries both words out in his mouth. his fins slowly relax as he looks at lqr. he nods decisively. "Shufu better than father."

at that moment, wn calls for wwx so that he can slip the oxygen mask back on him. wwx doesn't give lwj or lqr a second look before shuffling across the platform over to wn.

lwj looks over at his uncle and is a little surprised to see lqr not making eye contact. "Shufu?"

lqr clears his throat. "I am going to check on Xichen." he adjusts the ends of his sleeves before walking towards the break room. "Call me if you need anything."

lwj watches him go in silence. he is certain he didn't imagine the slight tightness in his uncle's voice.

lwj climbs up to the platform. wn is already there, coaxing wwx to take sips of oxygen from the mask.

"One more breath!" wn says, then cheers when wwx sticks his face into the mask and breathes deeply. "Good job!"

wwx's tail swishes lightly back and forth, pleased.

wn nods in greeting at lwj. "Make sure Wei Ying breathes from the oxygen mask for ten minutes every hour. Jiejie's orders," he says.

"Mn." lwj nods. "I will."

wn pats wwx adoringly on the head before climbing down the ladder and disappearing out of sight.

wwx wastes no time melting happily into lwj's arms. "Where shufu?"

"In the break room," lwj answers.

wwx sighs; his wrapped gills flutter a little against their bandages. "He is teacher?"

"Mn. At a university."

"University," wwx repeats. "Yoo-nee-verr-sea-tee."

"Big word," lwj says.

"Big word," wwx repeats. "Like professor. Pro-fish-sure."

"Practice makes perfect." lwj massages wwx's scalp with his fingertips. "You're doing well."

wwx makes a content, low, trilling noise.

they sit in comfortable silence as lwj massages wwx's head, taking care to untangle his hair so that lwj's fingers don't snag on the strands.

"I spoke to Wen Qing," lwj finally says. "She says hybridization is possible."

wwx hums sleepily.

"Wei Ying. Hybridization. That's another new word for you." lwj tucks hair out of wwx's face. "It means cross-breeding. Creating offspring from two different species."

wwx lifts his head, notably less sleepy. "Wen Qing say is true?" he asks. "Possible?"

"Possible." lwj's heart is racing. "Yes."

joy flashes through wwx's eyes, but he looks at the tank with clear apprehension. "In cage?"

it hurts to hear wwx regard the tank as such. "Only xiong-zhang, the Wen siblings, Nie Huaisang, and shufu know we're here," lwj says.

"If you want to go back to the ocean, we can get you on a truck within half an hour at any moment," lwj promises. "No more red tape."

wwx looks around, confused. "No… red tape," he agrees hesitantly. "Anywhere."

lwj can't help it; he chuckles.

"'Red tape' means excessive and complicated procedures in adherence to hierarchy and rules," lwj says in between kisses to wwx's forehead. "It slowed your release last time."

wwx holds onto him. "Not again release," he states firmly. "I will not leave."

"No more releasing you," lwj concedes. he kisses wwx on the cheek and drops his voice to a whisper. "Wen Qing has suggested that we have our young here, where she can monitor you and the children. But if you'd prefer having them in the ocean, please say so."

wwx hesitates again. he looks once more at the tank.

"Ocean is… dangerous," he says. "Predators. Waves. Storms. Fishing nets. Here, there is none. Here is food. Wen Qing. Lan Zhan."

lwj has been around wwx long enough that he can understand him with little difficulty.

if lwj were also a mer, then perhaps he and wwx could take turns watching over their nest while the other hunted. but lwj is a human. if there are any dangers to the eggs, wwx would have to face them alone in the ocean.

in the lab, at least lwj and wq would be near to help.

"I can add coral and rocks for comfort," lwj says. "And put up screens around the tank for privacy."

wwx nods. "Yes. I want that."

"Mn. Consider it done." lwj rests a hand on wwx's cheek. "Anything else?"

wwx thinks. "Warmer water."

"Is the water too cold for you?" lwj immediately looks at the thermometer that is always on the edge of the tank.

"For me, no." wwx shifts almost bashfully in lwj's arms. "Babies are born in—in warm water."

"Ah." lwj feels his ears warming up. "I see."

because he's a fool, because the mood between them suddenly feels heavier than usual, lwj asks, "Wei Ying, how does your kind reproduce?"

wwx squirms at the question, adorably avoiding eye contact. "Um." his voice is small. "We—have gifts. Dance. Groom together. Courtship."

lwj lets his fingernails slowly, deliberately, drag over wwx's scalp. wwx's entire body shivers.

"That doesn't answer my question, Wei Ying," lwj murmurs as he continues combing—grooming—wwx's hair with his fingers. "I asked about reproduction, not courtship."

wwx makes a helpless, weak sound in his throat. the fins on the sides of his head have brightened in color from increased blood flow, much like a blush.

"Lan Zhan," he protests.

"I know you carry eggs." lwj presses a hand to wwx's lower belly. "When do you lay them?"

wwx flinches—no, he jolts a little at lwj's touch. "No eggs now," he argues weakly.

"That is not what I asked, Wei Ying," lwj kisses his cheek and lets his lips linger against wwx's skin.

wwx shivers again, the fins on the sides of his head quivering.

"I—" wwx's voice is quiet and shaky. "I lay the eggs a-after…" he swallows.

"After?" lwj's thumb caresses the area where the skin of wwx's torso gives way to scales on his tail.

wwx releases a small, high whimper. "After they are—complete. Alive."

so after internal fertilization, and possibly a short gestation period within the bearing parent to keep them safe.

"And where do the eggs emerge from?" lwj reaches further down on wwx's tail.

lwj touches—something—before wwx gives a small shriek and arches his tail away.

// (wangxian flavor of con noncon)

"No!" wwx gasps. "No touch!"

normally, lwj would listen. wwx's comfort is of the highest priority for him. he doesn't know why he would disobey.

he disobeys, once again feeling down wwx's tail, this time paying attention to the texture.

// (cnc, nonhuman genitalia)

wwx tries to arch his tail away again, but this time, lwj's hand follows.

this time, he feels it: a warm, slightly-swollen slit, nestled among softer, smaller, smoother scales.

wwx makes a broken, needy noise and tries again to move his tail away.

// (cnc, nonhuman genitalia)

"Oh?" lwj's voice sits low in his chest. "What's this?"

"No touch," wwx repeats, weaker. "Is—" the most beautiful sound escapes his throat when lwj drags his thumb slowly down the slit. "No! Is for b-babies! Only!"

// (cnc, nonhuman genitalia)

"How pretty," lwj observes as he presses his fingers against the slit, feeling the way the folds part under his touch.

wwx sobs and grabs onto lwj's wrist, but makes no attempt to pull his hand away.

"Very pretty," lwj breathes as wwx's hips make small, jerky movements against his hand.

he doesn't know if wwx's kind has sex outside of reproductive purposes, but the fact that wwx is responding so strongly is intriguing. perhaps they don't—or perhaps wwx is a virgin.

the thought of it makes the strain in lwj's pants almost unbearable. he sinks a finger deeper into wwx and is rewarded with tight resistance and a little squeal from wwx.

a virgin, indeed. lwj feels his control wane.

wwx's protests have faded to nothing more than shallow pants and half-vocalized moans. his face is buried against lwj's chest, shy, but his hips still eagerly cant towards lwj's fingers.

wwx is already tight, but when he comes, he somehow gets tighter.

lwj marvels at the way wwx's insides ripple—as if trying to keep his finger in. wwx cries out, lwj's name mixed in between gasps and moans as his tail thrashes about.

"That had better not be any physical activity I hear," wq's warning cut like sharp ice from down the hallway.

lwj flinches at her voice. wwx makes a little 'eee!' noise at the sudden movement of lwj's fingers within him.

"Sorry," lwj nuzzles him. "Sensitive?"

wwx nods timidly against lwj's neck.

carefully, lwj pulls his fingers out of wwx; a translucent, shiny film clings to them.

he rubs the substance in between his fingers. it's slippery to the touch, and while lwj hasn't seen it before, he's certain he knows what it is.

wwx eyes lwj's hand warily. "Me?"

"From you, yes," lwj confirms. "You've never had this before?"

wwx shakes his head.

lwj looks at his fingers. then, without warning, he puts them in his mouth, tasting the evidence of wwx's pleasure.

he barely registers the mildly salty flavor before wwx shrieks loudly and shoves at lwj, pushing himself off and away before fleeing to the other side of the tank.

"Alright you two, what did I say about physical activity?" wq's footsteps echo down the hallway. "Lan Wangji, I *specifically* remember telling you—"

she stops upon entering the room. lwj looks passively down at her from the platform. all the way across the tank, wwx chirps.

she raises an eyebrow as she looks between the two of them, gauging the distance in between.

"You," she points to wwx, "stop moving around so much and sleep more. And you," she points to lwj, "keep an eye on him."

wwx makes a weak protesting noise from his side of the tank.

"What—you *don't* want your mate to keep an eye on you?" wq gives wwx a strange look. "I thought you would be falling over yourself at the chance to be coddled."

wwx sinks lower and lower into the water, deliberately avoiding eye contact with wq. his ear fins are bright red.

wq sighs. "Whatever. You two figure out whatever is going on between the two of you—so long as Wei Ying gets his oxygen every hour and doesn't strain himself." the last part is said with a pointed stare in lwj's direction.

"Understood, Doctor Wen," lwj says.

once wq is out of sight and earshot, lwj calls, "Wei Ying?"

wwx emerges until the water level is just under his nose. he peeks out at lwj cautiously.

"Are you alright?" lwj asks. "Did I hurt you or make you uncomfortable in any way?"

wwx hesitates, then shakes his head.

"Is that a 'no, I'm not alright' or a 'no, I'm not hurt or uncomfortable'?" lwj asks.

wwx hesitates again, then tilts his head back to expose his mouth and speak. "I'm not hurt," he says, "or uncomfortable."

lwj feels tension unravel in his stomach.

"Come here," lwj coaxes.

wwx shakes his head. "No."

"Why?"

wwx fidgets, looks away, looks at the water, then peeks in lwj's direction. "I'm not ready!" he wails in protest. "Nest not done, eggs not here! Not ready for babies!!"

"We don't have to have babies if you don't want to," lwj says.

"But—" wwx's speech dissolves into many sputtering clicks and whistles. "You—touch—me! For babies!"

"I didn't do it because I want babies right now," lwj says. "I did it to see what makes you feel good."

wwx makes a sound like a beached whale. "But that—it not—I don't understand."

affection fills lwj's chest, warm and soothing. "Come here," he coaxes again.

wwx approaches cautiously, as if he expects lwj to suddenly grab him. he stops just out of arm's reach.

"Are members of your kind intimate outside of reproductive purposes?" lwj asks.

it takes wwx a moment to parse through the question. he shakes his head furiously, but then he hesitates. "I… do not know," he confesses. "I leave family a long time ago."

that raises a few alarms for lwj. typically, animals of high intelligence are social and require much care in their early lives. he'd expected wwx's kind to exhibit behaviors similar to humans or perhaps orcas—living in tight-knit social groups where they learn from their elders.

how long has wwx been gone from his social group, to the point that he is missing key knowledge about his own species?

"Wei Ying," he asks gently, "did you leave—or were you kicked out?"

wwx snorts. "Nobody kick Wei Ying."

that was, yet again, not what lwj asked. wwx is being elusive on purpose.

lwj thinks about wwx's answer. perhaps wwx may be more open to discussing it at another time, when he's not still processing his very first orgasm.

"Come closer," lwj says. "You're still too far."

wwx swims over and, a little awkwardly, climbs up onto the platform. lwj notices that he is deliberately choosing to lie belly-down, so that lwj can't see or touch his slit.

lwj is certain he could roll wwx over with little to no difficulty. he's also certain wwx would let him.

"For humans, it's natural to be intimate outside of reproductive purposes," lwj plays with a lock of wwx's hair, "especially if they are married."

wwx eyes lwj's hand. "Married?"

"Mated," lwj clarifies.

"Oh." wwx's ear fins deepen in color. "I like that. I like married."

lwj can't help taking one of wwx's fins in his hand to admire it, feeling how strong—yet delicate—it is.

"How many?"

"Hm?" lwj looks up.

wwx looks like he's trying to melt into the platform. "How many, um," he visibly swallows, "how many… mating?"

"Humans are continuous breeders," lwj explains. "We can mate at any time."

wwx freezes in his attempt to become part of the platform. "Any time?" he demands.

"With slight variations in fertility, yes."

the color in wwx's face drains away. "Everyday?"

lwj considers it. "I can do everyday, if you'd like," he says.

wwx stares at him in terrified silence. then—slowly, comically—he shuffles himself to the edge of the platform and lets gravity pull him down into the water, headfirst.

lwj cannot help an amused huff.

lwj: hmm 🤔🤔 I can do everyday

wwx, internally: i don't even have the next batch of eggs ready yet 😭😭 and my beautiful sex fiend of a mate wants to ✨ravish✨ me everyday 🥹🥹 i haven't even built a proper nest 😩😩 i'm so stressed 🥲🥲

eventually, wwx does have to return to the platform once the clock strikes the hour for his prescribed session with the oxygen mask.

he's shy about going near lwj, but he easily melts against lwj's hands once lwj starts combing his fingers through wwx's hair.

over the next few days, aside from the oxygen mask sessions, wwx tends to scurry away whenever lwj approaches, babbling about something being 'not ready'.

lwj doesn't mind. wwx's gills are showing signs of healing, and the wounds on his tail are fading. all is going well.

adding rocks, coral, and kelp to wwx's tank requires a crane, so wwx is temporarily put in a bathtub for his own safety as lwj, lxc, and wn arrange everything into the tank.

wwx is then released back into the tank to rearrange everything to his liking.

as wwx's mate, lwj enters the tank to help wwx move rocks and coral around. wwx is nervous about letting lwj into his territory without a courtship dance or gifts, but he puts his anxieties aside to focus on decorating.

he does chase lwj out of the tank afterwards, though.

finding good nesting material for wwx is a little tricky. wwx's tank is already filled with high-quality, soft sand, but wwx requires supporting structures.

in the end, lwj gets him foliage, driftwood, and plenty of seaweed to help cradle and cushion their eggs.

as wwx's gills heal and wq gives her permission for him to stay underwater for extended periods of time, wwx begins building his nest with gusto.

it's tricky business. while the tank itself is safe, wwx's instincts fret about ocean currents and predators and oxygen levels.

while wwx is occupied building and rebuilding his nest, lwj covers half of the tank's sides with blackout screens. that way, they still can see and monitor wwx as needed—albeit not as easily as before—and wwx can get some much-needed privacy as he rests.

wwx likes the additional privacy very much. there's a big empty turtle shell replica in his tank that serves as his quiet space if he wants to squeeze into a comfy place like a moray eel, and he pushes it directly into the darkest, most hidden part of his tank.

the fake turtle shell is just big enough that wwx could squeeze all of himself into it if he wants to, but then it would be a little too tight for his liking. as such, he usually leaves his tail fins out whenever he's napping inside.

lwj thinks it's very cute.

it is nice for wwx to have a place to himself, away from human eyes and cameras. it gives him the opportunity to be alone with his thoughts and work through whatever is on his mind.

like, for example, the recent revelation that humans are continuous breeders.

wwx feels at a complete loss. his instincts tell him that the best time to mate is when the waters start to warm and the days start to stretch longer, so that his young will hatch when food is most abundant and the ocean is at its most comfortable.

yet humans—for some reason wwx can't fathom—are able to have young whenever and wherever, with no influence from living conditions.

and not only that, but apparently they can just—mate for fun! without the intention of creating young! for no reason other than it feels good!

wwx can scarcely believe how his own lwj—his sweet, calm, polite lwj—turned into some ravenous, mean bully just because he discovered where eggs leave wwx's body. and then he was so merciless—insistently touching wwx even when wwx told him not to!

wwx recalls meeting another lone mer a few dozen moons back who thought that, since they were both rogue and without their family pods, they should mate and create their own pod.

when the mer hadn't accepted 'no' for an answer, wwx had torn one of their tail fins off.

wwx is a top predator; he is no easy prize! and while lwj may be a strong and capable human, the truth is that he's quite helpless in water.

and yet—and yet!

wwx had melted under his attention like that weird fluffy-sugary-thing nhs snuck him once!

and the *sounds* wwx had made—it is too mortifying to think about them now! and the way lwj had looked at him, like wwx was all that he desired, like he wanted nothing more than to coax more pleasure out of wwx's body, despite wwx's protests.

it takes wwx a minute to realize that he's unconsciously moving his hips, rubbing himself against one of the weighted cushions he'd brought into the turtle shell to make it more comfortable.

he pulls himself away immediately, but it's of little use; his slit is already swollen.

wwx curses; this was never this much of a problem before. he doesn't like how it's becoming an issue.

he wants to pretend it doesn't exist, but then he'll have to be careful about his body placement for the next ten minutes so that it doesn't accidentally brush against anything.

he considers calling for lwj—then decides against it. lwj does not need to know that wwx's body reacts to the mere thought of lwj bullying him for pleasure. it feels like knowledge that lwj might exploit.

no. it is best to deal with this on his own.

wwx doesn't consider himself shy, but he definitely feels that way when he looks at himself.

there isn't much to see; the outer lips of his slit are swollen and slightly parted, but otherwise there's nothing interesting. he doesn't understand why lwj was so fixated on it.

slowly, minding his claws, wwx gently presses his fingers against the slit.

that, hm. that admittedly doesn't feel as good as when lwj touched him, but it's nice—and a little slippery.

the memory of lwj licking his fingers flashes through wwx's mind. he squirms.

wwx increases the speed and pressure of his fingers. he whines softly as he feels his pleasure building up the same way it had at lwj's hands.

distantly, he thinks he hears someone splashing the water surface for his attention. he ignores it; he can pretend he's napping.

this feel very different from his time with lwj; it's more of a sweet torture. his experience with lwj was overwhelming, while this is more of a slow tease.

wwx wishes he could try easing a finger in. it had felt so—so filling when lwj did it, but wwx unfortunately has claws.

instead, the best wwx can do is shallowly press his fingers against his slit, feeling the way it parts under his hand. he gives a low moan. it feels good.

he wonder if, when they mate, lwj will be as gentle as wwx is to himself—or as unforgiving as he'd shown himself to be.

wwx is a little surprised to discover that he isn't sure which he'd prefer. when taking a mate and having children had been nothing more than daydreams, wwx had hoped for a gentle, loving mate who would be kind and careful with him.

lwj could be kind and careful—lwj IS kind and careful—but he could also be overbearing in the best way possible. he could dote on wwx and ensure a comfortable mating—or he could turn wwx's body against him and take him apart, making him receive lwj's seed and making him like it.

wwx squirms under his own hand, breathing hard and whining lwj's name. the pleasure is both frustrating and intoxicating—not enough to bring him over the edge, yet too good to stop.

he wishes lwj were here to replace wwx's fingers with his own—to finally give wwx relief.

there's more splashing at the surface, all the way across the tank at the platform.

wwx is so close to the edge—and yet nowhere close enough—that the sound of the splashing grates on his nerves. despite nobody else being in the water, he hisses loudly in warning.

the splashing stops, and wwx tries to regain his focus, but it is lost. his body is alight with pleasure that has nowhere to go and no way of being relieved.

wwx makes a frustrated sob-cry. he was so close. lwj had so easily brought him to a climax. why is this so difficult?

when wwx hears the telltale splashes of someone entering his tank, the last of his patience evaporates. he swims out of his turtle shell cranny and heads directly for the source of the disturbance. he won't kill, but he will make whoever disrupted his peace sorely regret it.

he spots the human immediately; they're wearing a wetsuit and full snorkel gear—the same kind he sees wn wear during tank cleanings.

but wn would not be stupid enough to enter wwx's tank while he's still there—which means this human is an intruder.

wwx's gills are still not fully healed; memories of xy and su she and the smuggling boat are still fresh in his mind. there will be no warning display this time.

he charges, fully intent on breaking bone upon impact. he won't be taken away again, not when he finally has a home.

wwx's tank is large, and has many potential hiding spots after the recent additions of rocks and coral. the human doesn't see wwx approach; they're focused on looking elsewhere for him.

when the human turns around, wwx is close enough to see golden eyes behind the snorkel mask.

it is far too late to stop; wwx is going too fast, and the distance between them is not enough.

wwx veers off to the side, just barely avoiding a head-on collision with lwj. the sheer force of him swimming by sends lwj into a spin. wwx almost crashes into the tank's glass.

wwx does not give himself time to recover. he immediately swims for lwj, lifting him up to the water's surface to breathe.

"I'm sorry, Lan Zhan," he blabbers, checking him over for wounds. if he hurt lwj, he would never forgive himself. "Lan Zhan is hurt? I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

to his immense relief, lwj is still very much conscious and awake. he pulls his snorkel mask off.

"Wei Ying, I'm alright." his hand grasps wwx by the arm and squeezes gently. "Are you alright?"

wwx doesn't reply; he's too busy scanning lwj for wounds.

"Wei Ying." lwj squeezes wwx's arm again. "Look at me. Are you alright? It's past your dinner time, and you were unresponsive."

wwx finally looks up at him. it takes a moment for the words to register. "Dinner? Food?"

lwj nods, his brows pinched. "Are you not feeling well?"

wwx blinks. he'd been so, ah, preoccupied that it completely slipped his mind that it was dinner time.

"When is dinner?" he asks.

lwj gives him a long look. "Half an hour ago, Wei Ying. I called for you three times and there was no answer, so I came to find you."

"Ah," wwx says. "Half an hour ago."

"Mn." lwj's gaze traces over wwx's face. "You didn't hear me?"

"Ah," wwx says again. he lowers himself in the water in a weak attempt to hide his ear fins. "Wei Ying is… cleaning nest. Very busy. Did not hear Lan Zhan calling."

"Hm." lwj eyes him in a way that makes him want to dive back down and hide back in his turtle shell mini-cave. "Wei Ying should remember to eat. I brought you your dinner in case you were feeling unwell, but…" he looks down into the tank.

wwx peeks underwater. there's a plastic bag filled with… something, sinking slowly to the bottom of the tank. wwx must have accidentally knocked it out of lwj's hands.

wwx dives after it. before he even reaches it, he can smell the fish wrapped within: mackerel and salmon.

wwx's heart does something funny in his chest. mackerel and salmon are fatty, nutritious fish, and both are high on wwx's list of favorite foods.

what a good mate lwj is, bringing him food that will nourish him and the eggs growing within him. wwx loves him so much.

clutching the precious fish close to his chest, wwx swims back up to the surface. lwj has entered his territory bearing gifts. he'd gone into the water despite knowing how wwx reacts to intruders—all because he was worried for wwx.

wwx is tempted to mate with him right now.

he's aware the urge doesn't make any sense. the eggs within him are nowhere near ready for fertilization, and wq has refused to raise the temperature of his tank until he is fully healed, but wwx wants very much to be one with lwj.

he peeks out from the water at lwj.

lwj's gaze softens—oh, that looks so nice; wwx could stare at him forever—and asks, "Is the fish alright? Do you want anything else?"

'you,' wwx wants to say, yet he can't find the courage to say it.

instead, he swims closer and starts grooming lwj, nibbling on his neck.

lwj's breath hitches. it's a lovely sound, and wwx makes a happy trilling noise in response. lwj's skin is so nice and smooth; wwx plants tiny kisses along it, all the way up to his ear.

wwx adores lwj's human ears. they are small and soft, so wwx nibbles carefully.

lwj's exhale is shaky. "Wei Ying."

wwx hums in response and carefully bites down on lwj's earlobe.

this time, lwj shivers a little. "Wei Ying." he gently pulls back. "Not right now, Wei Ying."

wwx freezes, unsure what to do now. is this a rejection? does lwj not want this?

before wwx can think of what to say, lwj presses a soft kiss on his lips.

"Not right now, Wei Ying," he says again, moving to kiss wwx on the forehead. "It's dinner time for you. You need to eat."

dinner? eat? *now*?

wwx considers chucking the fish out of his tank in protest.

he doesn't, because his mate brought him the fish and wwx would never toss anything lwj gives him out of love.

but he strongly considers it.

instead, he makes an upset gill-sputter sound—just to ensure lwj knows how displeased he is.

that earns him another kiss from lwj—which temporarily makes him forget why he's upset.

"You have another check-up with Doctor Wen tomorrow," lwj reminds him. "If it goes well, she'll give permission to have the temperature of your tank water raised."

the last of wwx's moodiness evaporates. he'd forgotten that he has a check-up with wq tomorrow and what the results of that check-up could mean. warmer water. scheduled simulated daylight. richer foods. eggs.

with a jolt, wwx remembers that his nest is not complete yet.

he's halfway down to his nest when he suddenly realizes that he'd left lwj without explanation. he hurriedly surfaces again.

"Nest," he says, and kisses lwj so quickly that he nearly headbutts him. then he dives back down to fuss over his nest.

he spends the rest of the day down by his nest, munching on his dinner as he arranges and rearranges and yet again rearranges his nest.

he does not know what his and lwj's children will look like, or whether they would even be mer like him, or human like their sire.

wwx doesn't know which he would prefer; he would love them either way, of course. but a part of him hopes that at least one would have lwj's beautiful golden eyes.

his fussing over the nest intensifies. everything must be perfect. he has waited so long to have his own family.

he is so focused on perfecting his nest that he startles awake the next day, shocked to discover that he'd fallen asleep directly on the soft sand by his nest.

usually mer find shelter before resting. wwx must have been more tired than he'd expected.

wq knocks politely on the glass. wwx shakes the sand off of himself before swimming over and surfacing.

"Good morning, Wei Ying," she says. "How are you feeling? You ready for your check-up?"

"Good morning," wwx replies. "Where is Lan Zhan?"

wq sighs, but it sounds almost fond. "Your Lan Zhan is currently changing into his wetsuit, and will be with us shortly. Could you swim up to the platform for me?"

wwx obeys, swimming up and onto the shallow platform. he watches patiently as wq climbs up.

wq is already in her wetsuit. she shucks off her shoes and winces as she steps down onto the platform, the water coming up to her knees.

"Ugh, it's freezing in here," she mutters. "I don't know how Lan Wangji could even get a…" she glances at wwx.

wwx tilts his head curiously.

wq also looks at him curiously—although her curiosity is more mixed with wariness. "Have you and Lan Wangji been intimate before?"

immediately, wwx can feel his ear fins starting to heat up. he tries to pin them back against his ears as much as he can to hide them.

"Sorry, maybe I was vague; have you and Lan Wangji mated before?" wq asks.

wwx blinks up at her in bewilderment. he isn't sure he understands the question. 'mated' implies the development of young afterwards—but wwx's eggs are not ready, and lwj has only touched him so far.

somehow, wq reads into his non-answer.

she groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Do you not know how sex works? Did you never—ugh, alright. I'll remind Lan Wangji. He'll be enthusiastic to teach you, I'm sure—actually, he may be too enthusiastic. Scratch that plan."

wwx is not quite sure what is happening. he just stares at wq, trying to process all the words coming out of her mouth.

"Well, you need to learn somehow," wq sighs again. "I can teach you, if you'd like. However, you may be more comfortable with your mate."

wwx perks up a little and opens his mouth to answer with lwj's name, but wq stops him with a raised hand.

"I must warn you," she says, "that asking your mate to teach you about sex is almost certain to end in a practical demonstration that you may or may not be ready for yet."

wwx closes his mouth. a dilemma indeed. he trusts wq, but her way of teaching will be cold and clinical—meanwhile, lwj has already demonstrated how terribly eager he can be, especially when it comes to desiring wwx.

nhs peeks up onto the platform. "I could teach him!" he offers.

in an impressive feat of perception and precision, wq reaches down to grab one of her slippers and, without looking at nhs, hurls it in his direction.

nhs screeches as the shoe hits him squarely on his chest.

"No," wq says bluntly. "You're not teaching him anything."

nhs rubs his chest and makes a sound like a petulant dolphin. "What are you going to do—show him diagrams from textbooks? He doesn't even know the difference between a video and a video call!"

wq presses her lips together in a way that wwx recognizes as reluctant agreement.

in his own defense, wwx would argue that it is difficult to tell if someone on a screen is being shown in real time or not. he'd once straight-up ignored lwj for half an hour on a video call because he was too busy admiring what he thought was a video of his mate saying his name.

"Wei Ying learns quickly," wq says. "And who knows what inappropriate content you might show him."

"Ina—I beg your pardon, Doctor Wen!" nhs lays an offended hand over his heart. "Wei Ying is a grown merman! It's perfectly fine to show him depictions of lovemaking!"

((it's probably too late for a content warning but here it is:

there be bad sex-ed and fish fucking and eggs ahead. proceed at your own risk))

"Leave!" wq orders. "We don't even know if Wei Ying is ready for children, and you're not helping matters by being here!"

nhs laughs, high and nervous. "Doctor Wen, you know as well as I do that procreation is not always the goal of se—"

wq reaches for her other shoe.

nhs screeches and dances out of reach. "This is censorship!" he yells. "Qing-jie is suppressing my right to speech!"

wq makes a 'tsk' sound and tosses the shoe anyways.

lwj exits the locker room just in time to see wq's shoe catch nhs across the head.

lwj doesn't even blink. "Huaisang," he greets.

"Wangji-xiong," nhs replies, a little sheepishly, as he rubs his head. "Exciting day, huh?"

lwj ignores him and climbs up the steps to the platform.

as soon as he steps into the water, wwx shuffles excitedly towards him.

lwj's expression softens. "Wei Ying." he kneels down in the water.

wwx happily flings himself into lwj's arms, nuzzling and kissing every bit of exposed skin he can find.

"Alright, alright, time to settle," wq says, although there's no real exasperation in her voice.

examinations with wq are always easier when wwx has lwj nearby. wq listens to his heart and lungs, checks his temperature with a stick that he is not allowed to bite down on, and carefully inspects his gills with gloved hands.

"So far, so good," she says.

he's weighed in the same hammock used for transporting him out of the tank during cleanings.

"You've gained a little weight," wq says, writing down her notes.

well, yeah. he's in a tank as opposed to the ocean, and he's being fed three times a day.

after a skin and scales inspection, wq jots down her final notes. "Alright. Well, good news: we can start increasing the temperature for the tank whenever the two of you feel ready."

lwj squeezes wwx's hand in his. wwx leans his head against lwj's thigh.

"I'll be monitoring Wei Ying weekly," wq says. "During this time, I highly suggest that neither of you do anything that could interfere with the eggs' development."

wwx squirms, gazing up at lwj, who rests a reassuring hand on his cheek.

it doesn't take long for wwx to feel the change in his tank temperature. wq plans on increasing the temperature incrementally day by day to simulate warming seas—and the lab is on a strict light schedule to mimic longer days.

wwx's daily food rations are also increased.

// sex-ed stuff

wq does try to teach him about human anatomy. she shows him diagrams with confusing colors and drawings and tries to tell him about 'urethra' and 'testes' and many other words that wwx forgets the instant he hears them.

she also pulls up a 3D model on her tablet as an example, which helps a little on the visualization part, but wwx can't stop being amused at how small the organs looks in the models.

at some point, wq just groans and says, "You know what? I'll just let Lan Wangji teach you."

and that was that. wq's focus went back to monitoring wwx's health and environment.

hardly an hour later, in the middle of everyone's lunch break, nhs peeks over the edge of the tank. "Psst, Wei Ying."

wwx's fins flare possessively out of instinct. he's eating with his lunch propped up on the platform's dry edge; wq had complained about how often wn has to clean the tank because wwx keeps leaving food debris floating everywhere. let no one accuse wwx of not being considerate.

however, there's a reason wwx typically doesn't eat above water—he usually gets harassed by all manners of animals seeking to either steal his food or annoy him into leaving his catch. he suspects nhs to be the latter.

"Enjoying your food?" nhs asks.

holding his salmon lunch down, wwx tears a long strip of flesh off of the bones with his mouth. blood trickles down his chin as he chews noisily. he doesn't break eye contact.

nhs nods empathetically. "Good answer. Very sexy of you."

wwx says nothing. he just continues eating his lunch and hopes that nhs will go away.

"So, Wen Qing tried teaching you, huh?" nhs snickers. "Let me guess: it was very boring."

"Many pictures," wwx mumbles around a mouthful of fish. "Many words."

"I'd bet," nhs says sympathetically. "Did she give up?"

wwx tilts his head back to swallow. "Wen Qing say Lan Zhan will teach me."

"Lan Wangji? The ice prince?" nhs gives a snort. "Don't you know he has never had a partner before?"

wwx stops in the middle of another bite.

"It's true," nhs sighs. "Your beloved Lan Zhan is, unfortunately, also a virgin. I thought the two of you were involved since the beginning, but alas—I was wrong. It's because neither of you know what you're doing, huh?"

wwx slowly bites into his salmon.

"What is 'virgin'?" wwx asks after another mouthful of fish.

"Ooh, good question." nhs starts climbing up the ladder; wwx's fins flare a little. "The definition varies from person to person, but generally it's someone who hasn't, ah, 'mated' before."

wwx pushes his food away from nhs, leaving behind a trail of blood on the platform edge. "Why 'unfortunate' for Lan Zhan?" he demands. "Lan Zhan is my mate. Mine."

nhs raises his hands innocently. "All I'm saying is that neither of you have the experience of pleasuring another!"

wwx thinks back to when lwj touched him. surely that was pleasure; it had even been too much pleasure, since it left wwx a little dazed and flustered afterwards.

"Lan Zhan have the experience," wwx insists.

nhs's eyes light up. "He does? Ooh, Wangji-xiong, you naughty boy!"

wwx does not like nhs calling lwj naughty. the only times wwx was called naughty was when he did something he wasn't supposed to do—like play with his tank's filter. lwj has done nothing worth being called naughty over.

he hisses in warning, his spine frills fluttering.

nhs takes a step down the ladder. "Whoa, whoa, easy. I'm just trying to help! Don't you want to make him feel good, too?"

wwx's hisses die down. the thought had… crossed his mind before. lwj seemed to know where to touch him, while wwx was utterly clueless.

nhs grins when wwx doesn't respond. "That's what I thought. Did Wen Qing teach you about erogenous zones?"

that sounds familiar. wwx nods.

"Do you know what to do with them?" nhs asks.

wwx nods again. "Touch."

there's an expectant pause. "And?" nhs prompts.

"And?" wwx echoes, a little confused. "Touch." he baps the edge of his platform with his hand as a demonstration.

the laugh nhs lets out is a little mix of unhinged and amused. "Oh. Wow. Alright, we have a lot to cover." he inhales. "Have you considered—licking?"

licking? as if lwj were a piece of tasty fish?

wwx makes an uncertain noise. he is aware that lwj knows he's a top predator. he doesn't want lwj to think, even for a second, that wwx might want to eat him.

"Without teeth," nhs says. "Especially *your* teeth." he shudders. "Just lips and tongue. Like kissing—you know what kissing is, don't you?"

wwx nods. this, he knows for certain.

"It's like that," nhs says, "but around his body. It'll make him feel good."

wwx makes another uncertain noise. he would feel nervous if he were in lwj's place and a top oceanic hunter licked him. he doesn't see why lwj would feel differently.

nhs sighs. "Alright, just—here, look at this." he hoists his electronic tablet onto the platform edge.

it's a video of two humans hugging without clothing. they must be very overheated, because they keep panting and sounding like they can't catch their breaths.

wwx watches it for a few seconds before asking, "Is a video call?"

nhs snorts. "No—although that's a topic for later."

"Oh." wwx continues watching. he's not sure what's going on, exactly. the two humans are rubbing against each other an awful lot. maybe their skins feels nice. wwx knows lwj's skin feels nice.

after a while, nhs groans. "You're not getting it, are you."

"This is human mating?" wwx asks.

"Yes," nhs answers.

wwx looks back at the video. "Not difficult," he concludes. "Easy. It is many hugging."

nhs makes a weird snort-laugh sound. "Okay, maybe something a bit more explicit is needed." he takes his tablet back.

wwx waits until nhs turns the tablet back to him again. "Is a video call?" he asks again.

"No," nhs laughs. "Wei Ying, assume for now that I'm not showing you any video calls."

"Oh." wwx watches the video. it's similar to the first in that both humans are undressed.

however, this video is much more… detailed.

the appendage from one of the humans is larger—and stiffer—than in the diagrams wq showed. wwx cannot help a gill-sputter of alarm when it enters the other partner's body.

"Why?" he demands.

"That's human mating," nhs says.

wwx watches for a few more seconds. the penetrated partner is making sounds—sounds that wwx identifies as originating from pain.

"It is hurting!" wwx's tail swishes, agitated.

"It is not hurting, I promise!" nhs tells him quickly. "Trust me. The human is not in pain."

wwx watches with increasing alarm as the penetrating human grabs the legs of their partner. "Hurting!" he insists.

nhs closes his tablet. "Alright, Wei Ying, look—I promise that everything I'm showing you involves consenting humans. They *both* like the act."

wwx gives him a skeptical look.

"There *is* a type of human mating that involves rules around the kind of consent, but that's for another day," nhs explains. "Today, we're making sure you understand how humans mate."

he opens the tablet and starts the video again.

wwx watches through two more videos with simmering agitation. it looks so messy. he can't imagine the penetrated partner could be enjoying this—and when then the penetrating partner releases their seed, they always spill some. how wasteful.

wwx decides that he doesn't like watching humans mate. it is terribly inefficient, with all that moving and sweating and panting. that must be why they usually bear only one young at a time.

and… according to nhs, this is how lwj will expect to mate.

wwx thinks on it and decides that he doesn't like that. it makes him nervous. even in the videos where a partner has reproductive organs similar in appearance to his, the mating doesn't look comfortable.

he hopes lwj isn't that big.

after one final video, nhs closes his tablet. "What do you think?"

"I don't like it," wwx answers.

nhs's face falls. "But—why? Actually, back up a little: what parts don't you like?"

"Everything."

"Everything?" nhs repeats wheezily.

"Everything," wwx confirms. "Too stiff. It hurt the mate." he remembers lwj's curled fingers within him; all the videos he'd seen confirms that the human penetrating organ doesn't bend.

"The mate is not in pain," nhs groans. "If done correctly, it's not painful."

wwx fidgets. "I am not human," he points out. "I am… not same for mating. It will hurt."

nhs pauses in the middle of dragging his hands down his face. "Wei Ying, answer me truthfully: do you honestly think Wangji-xiong would hurt you?"

wwx considers the question carefully. lwj is his mate, and he is very aware of how deep lwj's affections for him are. but in nhs's videos, the humans look almost lost—blind, frantic—in their pleasure.

perhaps all humans are like that. perhaps his lwj is like that.

"He can," wwx answers.

"He could," nhs agrees. "But he won't."

"He can," wwx repeats. "If Lan Zhan want it, I will let him."

nhs groans again, louder. "Nooo that's not how this works! You're not supposed to 'endure' any pain unless you want to!"

"Lan Zhan want offspring." wwx nods decisively. "I will give him offspring."

"Nooo, no, no," nhs resumes dragging his hands down his face. "Ugh, you know what, nothing but softcore for you from now on. I could've sworn you would be kinky."

his tablet makes a 'ping' noise.

"Oh my god." nhs picks up his tablet. he presses something on it.

"Huaisang," lwj's voice says; wwx's ear fins perk up a little, "how is Wei Ying? Has he eaten?"

nhs sighs. "Not even a 'hello, how are you doing'?"

there's no more sound from the speakers. nhs stares at his screen for a moment longer before sighing and turning it to face wwx again.

wwx feels a happy trill rising in his throat upon seeing lwj. this is good. a video of his mate is always welcome. wwx is glad to see his face.

"Hello, Wei Ying," the video of lwj says.

the trilling in wwx's throat grows louder. he rests his chin on the edge of the platform so that he can gaze adoringly at the video. he can already feel himself relaxing.

"Wei Ying," the video of lwj calls again, amused.

wwx croons in response. he loves lwj's voice—he just wishes he was hearing it in-person rather than through nhs's tablet.

"Wei Ying," the lwj in the video says. "Have you eaten? Are you well?"

wwx likes this video very much. he will ask nhs to play it again later.

"Wei Ying," nhs interjects. he looks pained and weary. "This is a video call. Wangji-xiong can see and hear you right now, so please respond to him."

wwx's ear fins flare with surprise. this is a video call? lwj can see and hear him?

from within the screen, lwj huffs a laugh.

nhs peers at his screen in disbelief. "Was that a *laugh*, Wangji-xiong? You never laugh!"

wwx turns to nhs, a little embarrassed. "You say you show no video call for now," he accuses. "This is video call."

lwj's small smile fades. "What has Huaisang been showing you?"

"Video," wwx answers as nhs starts breathing funny. "Not video call. Huaisang say not video call."

"I see," lwj says patiently. "What were the videos about?"

nhs nearly drops his tablet in the water as he turns the screen to himself. "Nothing, Wangji-xiong! Just some memes!"

"I do not think Wei Ying understands memes yet," lwj says.

"Neither do you," nhs shoots back.

there's a brief pause. "Huaisang, turn the camera back to Wei Ying. I was speaking to him, not you."

nhs half-whimpers. "Alright." he starts to turn the tablet. "Here you—whoops!"

the tablet slips out of his hand and clatters to the ground.

"Whoops, sorry Wangji-xiong!" nhs bends down. "Let me—" he kicks the tablet, sending it sliding across the floor. "Ah! Sorry! Just hold on—"

wwx watches as nhs repeatedly tries, and fails, to pick up his tablet.

how hard can it be to pick up a tablet? wwx knows that they are oddly thin and flat, but he has never seen any other human struggle so much.

poor nhs. he would not survive in the ocean.

when nhs finally returns, he has his tablet with him. the screen is dark.

"Well!" nhs's voice cracks a little. "Good news: you're going to see your mate soon, because I'm certain he's currently rushing down the highway at the speed limit to get to you. We can stop here for today. Do you have any questions for me so far?"

for today? that means that there is even more to human mating that wwx has not yet seen.

the tip of wwx's tail flicks nervously. "How many times human mating for—offspring?"

nhs shrugs. "It varies based on fertility," he says. "Could be once. Could be fifty times."

wwx cannot hold back an alarmed cry. fifty! do some humans truly struggle so much to bring young into the world? wwx does not know how they can endure it. he needs to reevaluate his opinion of humans; they can suffer great hardships beyond wwx's comprehension.

nhs watches him with a funny look on his face. "Yeeaahh… I'm going to need to revise our curriculum. I feel like some things are getting lost in translation here. Mating is supposed to be fun!"

wwx does not know why nhs keeps telling him to ignore his own eyes and ears.

after a goodbye and a plea to keep their lessons a secret from lwj, nhs darts out of the lab, claiming a need for a drink from the buck of stars. wwx hopes he brings back a cup of the white fluffy sweet thing he once secretly fed to wwx.

not long after, lwj enters the lab.

wwx is happy to see lwj in-person and not behind a video-call-yet-not-a-video. he trills in greeting.

"Hello," lwj replies. he's in his usual civilian clothes. he sets down his briefcase at his desk before walking over to the tank. "How are you, Wei Ying?"

wwx's excitement gives way to nervousness as lwj climbs the ladder up to the platform. his mate is very beautiful; it is rare for wwx to see him in anything that isn't a lab coat or his usual wetsuit. but wwx can't get the videos he saw out of his head.

lwj sits on the curb of the platform. "Wei Ying?"

wwx does his best not to imagine lwj in the places of some of the humans in the videos. he fails.

he can't help it. he knows nhs asked him to keep their lessons a second, but he can't help it.

"Are you big?" he blurts out.

lwj's expression is the blankest wwx has ever seen it.

"I…" he looks down at himself, then pats his jacket. "Wei Ying, this is a puffer jacket. It keeps me warm. I'm not this big."

wwx shakes his head. "No, I know it—not you," he protests weakly. "I mean—are *you* big?"

"Am I big," lwj repeats slowly. "Do you mean to ask if I'm… tall? 'Tall' is a subjective adjective."

wwx remembers having a long, heated debate with one of the researchers about the differences between 'length' and 'height'. he fears getting into a similar debate with lwj.

poor lwj looks a little lost. usually they only have minor issues with communication. "Or—do you mean to ask 'fat'?"

wwx thinks. he supposes another descriptor that fits the penetrating organ in the videos is 'fat'.

he feels his lower lip quiver. "Are you fat?" he blubbers.

in the back, lxc removes his coat slowly, clearly paying more attention to what is going on at the tank than in getting back to work.

lwj's mouth opens. closes. opens. "I—" he stops to think. "I am—within a normal weight range for my age and physique. Don't worry, Wei Ying."

"Oh." wwx sinks down a little in the water.

well, that's that, then. a few of the humans in the videos nhs showed him are similar in physical build to lwj; they are the ones whose partners have the loudest cries of pain.

at least wwx knows now, and can mentally prepare himself.

"Wei Ying?" lwj's brows are furrowed. "Are you concerned about my weight? I assure you that I'm—"

"No! No, is okay." wwx reaches up and takes lwj's hand to press a kiss to the back of it. it's not his fault. lwj can't help being human any more than wwx can help being mer.

lwj responds by taking one of wwx's hands and kissing his palm. "If you have any doubts, please ask," he says. "And don't believe everything nhs says. He likes to dramatize."

that would be no problem. wwx already doesn't believe nhs's claim that mating is pain-free.

nhs doesn't return for the rest of the day—which is to be expected. he texts lxc some excuse about a bellyache, likely from his buck of stars drink. wwx is certain it's self-sabotage.

at around five in the evening, the lights in the lab shut off.

usually the lights in the lab are on until around eight, but as part of simulating the change of seasons, the lights must be shut off after a certain time.

that also means that, unfortunately lwj has to leave early.

wwx whines softly as he watches lwj pack his briefcase.

"I know," lwj says. "I don't like it either, but you also need to rest sooner. Your body will need the energy."

as if. wwx's body had made its first batch of eggs just a few months ago during summer without so much fussing. it's ridiculous.

once he's packed, lwj climbs up to the platform. "I can stay longer after the lab receives some red lights," he says, giving wwx a long, slow kiss. "Be good until then."

wwx pouts. "Don't want to."

"I'll bring you takis for every night you rest without complaint," lwj says.

wwx's ear fins perk up only a little. "I want Lan Zhan," he complains.

one of lwj's eyebrows twitch upwards. "As a reward for you sleeping well?"

it takes a moment for wwx to properly wrap his mind around lwj's words. "I—n-no, Lan Zhan is human. Lan Zhan cannot be reward."

lwj brushes his fingertips feather-light against the underside of wwx's chin. "Is Wei Ying certain?"

wwx blinks up at him with wide, confused eyes. to his knowledge, rewards are non-living. objects, like a pretty ribbon, or no longer alive, like fish.

"Yes?" he squeaks.

lwj exhales in a way that wwx recognizes as a laugh. "Would Wei Ying want me as a reward?"

wwx shakes his head. he does not want lwj to be anything remotely non-living. "I want Lan Zhan as Lan Zhan."

yet another huff of laughter. wwx does not understand what is so funny.

"How about an agreement?" lwj cradles wwx's cheek in his hand. "If you behave and rest when the lights are out, then when the red ones are installed, I'll spend the night with you."

this time, wwx perks up. "All night?"

"If you want." lwj traces wwx's lower lip with his thumb.

wwx's vision briefly unfocuses; the touch is distracting. lwj's hand is warm.

"I want," wwx confirms. "All night."

lwj leans forward until their foreheads touch. "Do you know what you're asking for?"

"Yes." wwx's tail swishes, pleased. "I ask Lan Zhan stay here at night."

"Mn." lwj presses a kiss to his forehead. "Mark your words, then."

wwx goes a little cross-eyed trying to watch him. "What that mean?"

"It means to remember what you said," lwj explains with a kiss to his cheek. "Rest well. I'll see you in the morning."

wwx does not sleep as well as he would have liked to that night. he cannot keep nhs's videos out of his head. there is much to prepare for in terms of creating and caring for offspring, and wwx feels ill-prepared for any of it.

the turtle shell he sleeps in is nice and dark. when the sound of splashing in his tank wakes wwx up, he realizes that he has overslept.

"Please, Wangji-xiong, I didn't do anything!" nhs wails when wwx surfaced. "Ask Wei Ying if you don't believe me!"

lwj is standing a ways back from the tank; he's holding a struggling nhs by the collar of his shirt. judging by the water dripping from nhs's hand, nhs was the one to call wwx.

lwj looks at wwx. "Wei Ying, what videos did Huaisang show you yesterday?"

wwx looks between nhs and lwj. he remembers nhs pleading with him the previous day to keep secrets from lwj, but wwx doesn't like to keep secrets—especially from his mate.

but, nhs did indicate that there was more wwx could learn—more that lwj himself may not know about.

"Cats," wwx answers.

"Cats," lwj repeats slowly.

"Memes!" nhs wails and sobs. oddly, there are no tears in his eyes. "I told you, Wangji-xiong! I only showed him memes!"

lwj releases nhs. "Wei Ying, if he shows you anything you're uncomfortable with, please let me know."

"Yes," wwx replies meekly. then, because he's uncomfortable, demands, "Breakfist."

"Breakfast," lwj corrects him gently. "Do you still want salmon and mackerel?"

"Yes," wwx confirms. fatty foods make for fat babies.

"Very well." lwj heads towards the cold storage room.

nhs gasps as if he had been swimming for miles—yet his skin is neither sweaty nor pink. "Thank you, Wei Ying."

wwx gives him a sour look. he doesn't like lying to lwj. "I want buck of stars," he says.

nhs stares at him. then his jaw drops. "Are you—blackmailing me?"

wwx doesn't know why the mail is black and he doesn't care. "Lan Zhan," he calls loudly in the direction lwj went.

nhs sputters loudly. "Nonono, no, please! He'll kill me!"

"Lan Zhaaan!" wwx calls louder.

"Fine! Fine, fine! I'll get you Starbucks!" nhs wails. "Just—be quiet!"

"White fluffy sweet," wwx orders.

nhs gives him a defeated look. "Oh, you want a gup cup?"

"Yes," wwx nods. "Gub gub."

"Heh." nhs's laugh is both tired and resigned. "Fiiine, fine, fine, I'll get you Starbucks, you cruel, cruel fish."

when lwj returns with the fish, wwx is in a much better mood.

"Did you sleep well?" lwj asks as wwx happily tears into the fish.

wwx did not, but he remembers lwj's offer of takis. "Yes," he answers, then looks hopefully at lwj. "Takis?"

"After your breakfast," lwj says.

wwx doesn't see why he can't have his takis. "Now?" he asks hopefully.

"After breakfast." lwj remains unmoving.

wwx pouts as well as he can with fish blood smeared all over his mouth and chin and hands. "I am carry your offspring," he whines in protests. "I want takis."

lwj's expression doesn't change one bit, yet somehow wwx can tell that his resolve has wavered. "Wei Ying, we have not mated. You are carrying eggs—not offspring."

"Yet," wwx throws back at him. "They are your offspring, soon. Offspring want takis now."

"Takis are snacks. They are not healthy," lwj says patiently. "You may have them as snacks, not as your main meal. Your eggs need proper nutrition."

wwx gill-sputters out of irritation, then pauses to think. "Give takis for kiss?" he offers.

lwj sighs. "Oh, Wei Ying."

"You're not kissing Lan Wangji with that mouth," wq says flatly as she walks into the lab with her briefcase in one hand and a tall coffee mug in the other. "At least not now. Humans can get sick from raw fish blood."

they can? wwx hurriedly licks his lips and hands.

"As for the takis," wq pauses to take a sip from her mug, "your mate is right. We need to be more vigilant about your diet. You can have snacks to satisfy cravings, and no more."

wwx blinks. in the ocean, he fought for food. to deny him a meal was asking to be attacked.

he can't attack wq, because she's overseeing the delivery of his future children. he can't attack lwj, because lwj is his mate, and wwx would rather rip off his own tail fins than attack him.

so he does the only thing that has gotten him what he wanted in the past: he screeches.

"Throwing a tantrum isn't going to work." wq can barely be heard over wwx's shrieks. "This is for your own good."

lwj turns to wq. "Doctor Wen, his cravings seem strong. Perhaps we should—"

"No," wq insists. "If you give in now, he'll be unbearable later."

wwx remembers how nhs had wailed and sobbed earlier that day, and how lwj seemed to go easier on him before of it. his screeches die down to whimpers.

"Lan Zhan," he sniffles. "Lan Zhan. Your hungry mate want takis."

lwj shifts his jaw, uncertain. wq rolls her eyes and groans.

"Perhaps," lwj says slowly, "I could feed them to you, so that you don't eat too quickly or—"

he doesn't need to say more. wwx squeals with delight and rests his head on the platform edge, mouth open expectantly.

wq shoots lwj a death glare. "He's your problem, not mine."

lwj retrieves what is, disappointingly, not a whole bag of takis, but a portion of it scooped out into a paper bowl.

nonetheless, wwx is pleased. he opens and closes his mouth repeatedly, demandingly.

"Patience," lwj gently chides him as he climbs up to the platform.

wwx isn't sure if he has patience, but he now has takis. he happily munches on one before taking another bite of fish. breakfast is now a little more interesting.

lwj is firm but fair with how often wwx gets a taki. admittedly, it is also easier for wwx to eat with lwj nearby.

wwx's breakfast is gone faster than he realizes. as soon as he rinses his face, mouth, and hands off, he sees lwj holding the paper bowl and the rest of the takis out for him.

wwx's hands are free now. he should take the bowl and feed himself.

instead, he opens his mouth again.

lwj exhales with amusement as he moves to sit down on the platform, in the water. wwx happily situates himself onto lwj's lap and waits to be handfed.

lwj mercifully says nothing; he just continues giving wwx taki after taki.

at one point, wwx tries to offer him a taki too, only to make the horrific discovery that lwj does not eat spicy foods.

"It does not sit well with my stomach," lwj says when wwx stares at him with pitying, disbelieving eyes. as a distraction, lwj holds out another taki chip.

wwx chews on the chip. then another chip. then another. until there are no more takis left in the paper bowl.

lwj sets the empty bowl aside. "That's all for now," he says.

wwx considers whining more, but decides against it. he's not hungry anymore, and he's in lwj's lap.

when wwx shows no sign of moving, lwj patiently sits there and starts massaging wwx's scalp.

wwx trills happily, softly. he likes being groomed. lwj has nice hands.

and yet… he is using only one hand to touch wwx, because the other is still covered in takis powder.

wwx stares at lwj's other hand. lwj is holding it above the water because he does not like to dirty it—despite wwx washing fish blood off in it moments prior. he doesn't like spicy, so he's not going to lick it off his fingers. he's likely waiting for wq to get him a paper towel.

surely… lwj wouldn't mind if wwx helped clean his hand. they are mates, after all. and licking takis powder is arguably as good as eating takis. it should be fine. it's mutually beneficial.

careful to be mindful of his teeth, wwx takes one of lwj's fingers into his mouth.

the only indication of lwj's surprise is the way his finger twitches in wwx's mouth. "Wei Ying?"

wwx drags his tongue along the pad of lwj's finger, tasting both his skin and the takis powder. lwj's skin is nice. always soft. wwx likes touching him.

lwj doesn't move; perhaps he fears wwx biting him? wwx kisses his knuckle reassuringly before moving onto the next finger.

despite wwx's reassurance, lwj's breath starts to stutter, as if he is anxious—but his gaze doesn't leave wwx's mouth.

lwj didn't feed wwx many takis, so his fingers aren't heavily coated in powder. there is no reason for wwx to spend so long licking each of lwj's fingers clean.

wwx does so anyways, gingerly exploring lwj's hand with his mouth and leaving kisses on each finger.

lwj doesn't say a word, but wwx can hear every little change in his breathing, every almost-audible gasp he makes when wwx welcomes more of lwj's fingers into his mouth. he seems almost entranced with wwx.

wwx likes that. he likes that very much.

when wwx pulls away, a thin string of saliva briefly connects his mouth with lwj's fingers. lwj actually groans.

"Wei Ying," he finally says, more breathless than wwx has ever heard him to be.

wwx kisses the palm of lwj's hand and presses his cheek against it, gazing up at lwj.

lwj's ears are delightfully red, and his eyes are hazily focused on wwx. slowly, he drags his thumb across wwx's lower lip.

he seems to like being in wwx's mouth. wwx obediently parts his lips and lets lwj press against his tongue.

lwj makes a small, almost-pained noise.

before wwx can react, lwj surges forward and kisses him.

it's nothing like the kisses they'd shared before. this kiss is hot, wet, and hungry. lwj kisses like he wants to devour wwx whole, like he desires wwx more than he desires breathing.

wwx whimpers into his mouth.

somehow, that makes lwj kiss harder, as if he wants to swallow the sounds wwx makes. his arms and hands hold onto wwx so tightly that wwx thinks his skin may bruise.

it should hurt. he should pull away and tell lwj to be gentle.

he does not. oddly, he hopes lwj leaves marks.

it is so good. lwj's mouth is intoxicating. wwx feels like he has played a little too long with a pufferfish, except he knows lwj is not poisonous.

lwj's breaths are labored and hot against wwx's mouth every time they part to breathe. wwx dizzily revels in it.

a part of wwx aches from deep within. he twists his body, simultaneously trying and refraining from rubbing his pulsing slit against lwj. he wants lwj's fingers again, wants lwj to fill him and coax pleasure out of him once more—yet a part of him is still too mortified to ask.

wwx nearly cries when he feels one of lwj's hands begin making its way down his body. he chokes against lwj's mouth when lwj drags light fingers across a nipple.

yes. wwx no longer knows if he's saying it or thinking it. yes. yes. touch me. mate with me.

lwj's fingers are so close. wwx cannot hold himself back from arching his tail pleadingly closer. please, touch me. fill me. need you inside. hurry, please—

a distant door opens. "Look what I got!" a faraway voice grows steadily closer. "An extra-large gup pup, just for you!"

the moment wwx recognizes nhs's voice, a frustrated anger unlike anything he'd ever felt before erupts in his chest. he claws at lwj possessively, holding onto him tightly, as he turns his body to face the lab entrance.

nhs stands there, wide-eyed, with two cups in his hands.

the hiss he lets out is jarring in the quiet room, along with the rattling shriek in his throat that accompanies it. his frills and fins extend in a full-on territorial display.

nhs's scream is almost as high-pitched as wwx's. he nearly trips as he scrambles into a side room.

lwj flinches; wwx's mouth is right next to his ear. "Wei Ying! It's Huaisang. It's just Huaisang."

wwx is very aware of that. it's nhs, who should know better, who should know that wwx hates intruders—in his waters, in his tank, in his time with lwj.

wwx had once escaped out of his tank. it felt awful to drag his heavy body weight around on land, but the lab researchers had scattered like a school of herrings upon seeing him. wwx is fully prepared to do so again if need be. dry land is not enough to protect nhs from him.

there's quick footsteps approaching from all over the lab. wq bursts out from the medical room as lxc hurries in from the break room. wn blearily shows up a moment later, the imprints of a keyboard still present on one cheek.

"What happened?" wq demands. "Is everything alright?"

wwx hears lwj reply, "We are alright," but he's not paying much attention. there are hands on his face and tail, gently smoothing down his fins and frills. wwx still glares at the door nhs disappeared through, but this is also good. lwj's hands are good.

slowly, wwx relaxes.

"What happened?" wq repeats, this time more irritated than concerned.

"Huaisang startled Wei Ying," lwj says, massaging wwx's scalp right behind his ear fins. "It's alright."

it's not alright, actually. but the way lwj's touching him is quite nice. wwx growls only a little.

"How was *I* supposed to know they were gonna do the hanky-panky while I was gone!" nhs wails from the other room. "Qing-jie took away my access to the cams!"

"For good reason!" wq snaps. "Why were you out anyways?"

a brief pause. "I wanted Starbucks," nhs confesses.

as wq launches into a mini-rant at nhs about spending money on drinks and whether or not she will need to contact nmj about his brother's behavior, lwj continues stroking wwx's hair.

"How are you feeling, Wei Ying?" he asks.

"Mad," wwx says, but it's half-hearted. lwj is warm.

"Mn." lwj presses a kiss against wwx's temple. "It's alright. You are safe. No one will take me from you."

those are all good, reassuring words, but wwx is distracted. somehow, during the threat display, wwx had moved from sitting in lwj's lap to lying between his legs.

lwj is in his usual wetsuit to help keep him warm in the water, but there's… a very prominent bulge in between his legs, right where wwx recently learned the human male reproductive organ is. it presses against wwx's tail.

curious and a little scared, wwx cups it in his hand.

lwj's body jolts as he inhales sharply. "Wei Ying!" he whisper-shouts, taking hold of wwx's wrist but not pulling his hand off. "Not now! Xiongzhang and Doctor Wen are—"

experimentally, wwx strokes along it, feeling the hardness under the wetsuit.

lwj's face and ears flush red.

"Wei Ying," lwj protests again, a little weaker. "Beloved, this isn't very—"

wwx looks up at him, unable to hide his disbelief. "You *are* fat," he says, awed and a little betrayed.

lwj blinks at him, silent and stunned. across the room, wq and lxc suddenly stop talking.

wwx doesn't notice the completely silent room. "You are too big," he complains. "Your cock will not fit when mating. It will—"

lwj hurriedly—belatedly—smacks a hand over wwx's mouth. "Wei Ying!" he hisses. "Not now!"

a little ways away, lxc sounds like he's choking.

"Um-mm," wn stammers, looking around. then, without warning, he kicks the nearest wall. "Ah! Ow! Ohh, I think I broke my foot." he bends forward, clutching his ankle. "Jiejie, Lan-gongzi, could you—"

"Of course. Allow me," lxc hurriedly replies, grabbing wn by the elbow.

wwx watches with narrowed eyes as wn hops on one foot towards the medical room. "Wen Ning foot is not hurt," he accuses. "Wen Ning lie, Lan Zhan lie, all humans lie."

"I did not lie to you intentionally, Wei Ying," lwj protests. "I didn't understand what you were asking."

"I ask if you are fat," wwx says. "You say no, but you are fat."

"You never specified where," lwj points out.

nearby, lxc pulls one of wn's arms across his shoulder and doubles the pace, mumbling apologies. he's tall enough that wn's feet nearly leave the floor.

they're going so fast that when they round the corner into the medical room, wn's foot ends up smacking into the doorframe. this time, his shriek of pain is much more genuine.

wwx snorts. "Now Wen Ning not lie."

"Wei Ying." lwj sounds like he thinks his own words might eat him. "Why—are you worried about my… size? Do you fear I might hurt you?"

wwx's indignation trickles away. perhaps lwj truly didn't mean to lie to him. perhaps it wasn't even a lie at all—just a misunderstanding.

"Yes," wwx admits, looking down curiously at that part of lwj again. it looks a little smaller now, but it's still prominent.

lwj draws one knee up to his chest, blocking wwx's line of sight. "Wei Ying, we don't have to do anything you don't want to. I wouldn't hurt you."

wwx looks back up at his face. "But—if no mating, then no offspring," he protests. "I want—I want family. Our family."

lwj's gaze softens. "Wei Ying, mating is not the only option for fertilization. If mating would be too painful for you, we may try another way."

that catches wwx off-guard. "Another way?" he asks, incredulous. he has no idea how children can be made without mating.

"Yes," lwj answers. "There's one way that uses a thin tube for fertilization. It shouldn't be painful at all."

a thin tube? it sounds very unnatural.

"If we do another way," wwx fidgets, "you—feel angry?"

lwj's face is anything but angry. he cups wwx's face gently in his hands. "No, never," he promises. "As long as you are not in pain."

wwx thinks about it. admittedly, he does feel better to hear the humans have options.

he's still not sure what those options are, but it is good to have lwj's reassurance when it comes to his comfort.

he leans forward and lies back down on lwj, snuggling against his chest. "Thank you, Lan Zhan."

lwj exhales and kisses his head. "There is no need for thank-yous."

"Thank you," wwx insists, content to bury his face against lwj's neck and maybe nibble a little on his skin.

lwj's next exhale is a little more tense. "Wei Ying," he warns.

wwx pulls his face back, blinking in surprise. he doesn't see why he can't groom his mate.

lwj's ears are pink again, and he isn't meeting wwx's gaze. wwx is confused. he doesn't know why lwj is suddenly like this. he thought they were cuddling. why is—

then wwx feels it. he looks down at their bodies, where a certain part of lwj is pressing against his tail.

"My apologies," lwj bites out. he sounds pained. "You are very beautiful."

beautiful? wwx likes to hear that lwj finds him beautiful.

when wwx twists to try and get a better look, lwj grabs his upper arms.

"Don't move," lwj orders—pleads.

"Why no?" wwx asks.

"Because," lwj's voice is strained, "it will make things worse."

a jolt of fear runs through wwx. "Lan Zhan in pain?" he hurriedly tries to move out from between lwj's legs.

"I am not in pain," lwj is quick to reassure him.

"You say it will 'make things worse'," wwx protests. "But you also say not in pain. Are you lying?"

lwj shakes his head immediately. "It's not pain, Wei Ying. It's—" he sighs, "—it's—arousal. Stimulation makes it worse, but it's not pain."

wwx thinks back to wq's lessons. he remembers the diagrams that show the visible signs of human male arousal.

"You prepare to mate with me," wwx concludes, a little breathlessly. "Right now."

the center of lwj's throat bobs as he swallows.

"Wei Ying," lwj's voice has been reduced to a rasp. "We are not alone. We cannot…"

wwx knows lxc and wn are in the medical room, and he saw wq storming into the side room with nhs and locking the door.

they are not alone in the building, but they are alone in the room.

lwj told him not to move, and usually wwx is keen to listen to his mate, since he would want lwj to listen to him. but the only reason lwj gave him was that moving would arouse him more.

so…

wwx snuggles more aggressively against lwj's chest.

lwj inhales sharply. "Wei Ying," he warns.

"Comfy," wwx explains innocently as he adjusts and readjusts his position along lwj's torso. his tail presses repeatedly against lwj's inner thighs.

lwj's breaths quicken. "You are doing this on purpose," he accuses.

caught. wwx nibbles along his jawline as an appeasement. can lwj blame him for being curious? he can't; especially not when, a few days ago, lwj pressed warm fingers against wwx's slit and drew pleasure from him.

not for the first time, wwx wishes lwj weren't wearing a wetsuit.

despite lwj's protests, he does nothing to stop wwx, not even when wwx stops the facade of trying to find a good cuddle position and starts rubbing his tail purposefully against lwj.

wwx watches lwj's face, enthralled. this is nothing like the videos. this is much better.

the humans in the videos were almost monstrous in their mating, all sweaty and panting and moaning like creatures that lavished in pain.

lwj, in contrast, is beautiful. his face glows with sweat, flushed with pleasure. each one of his labored breaths holds a hint of his voice.

wwx could easily watch him for hours. his lovely mate. his home. the future sire of their children.

he's so absorbed in giving lwj pleasure that he doesn't notice lwj's hands on his hips until it's too late. he whines in dismay as lwj lifts him up.

"Quiet," lwj says. it's almost mean-sounding, yet wwx oddly doesn't mind.

lwj is looking down in between their bodies as he adjusts wwx's hips. wwx is confused about what he's doing.

until he sets wwx down with his slit directly on the bulge in lwj's wetsuit.

wwx squeals.

lwj cuts him off with a kiss. "Don't make a sound," he says. "Or we stop."

wwx whimpers quietly against lwj's hair. it is so much. he can feel how big lwj is even through a wetsuit. just knowing that a layer of fabric is all that separates them makes him jittery and nervous.

gone is his urge to tease lwj. this feels far too close to actually mating, and wwx is at a loss on what to do.

lwj's wraps one arm around his waist and pulls them both closer to the platform wall with the other. "Do you want to stop?" he murmurs.

wwx shakes his head, but he still wonders if human male reproductive organs are strong enough to tear through wetsuit. he regrets not asking wq or nhs earlier.

lwj's kisses along his jaw help bring him back to the present. "If you wish to stop at any time, please say so."

wwx nods against lwj's neck. "Okay," he says. he takes a deep breath, and begins tentatively moving his tail again.

it's nowhere near as quickly or as forceful as before, but the combination of wwx's own pleasure and lwj's hot exhale against his skin sets his nerves ablaze.

lwj had already asked him to be quiet, so wwx tries his best to stay quiet. it is difficult. every thrust rubs his swollen slit against lwj, and wwx can't decide if he wants to sob or cry out.

he chokes back his sounds even as lwj also begins to move.

letting lwj take over the motions is both the best and worst idea.

with his back against the platform wall and a foot braced against the platform, lwj rolls a little to the side, keeping wwx in place with an arm.

lwj's hand slides down from wwx's back to his tail. wwx gasps when he feels lwj pressing him closer, pushing wwx's slit harder against him.

when lwj's hips starts moving again, it's faster and harder than the pace they'd set before. wwx loses the battle for silence.

wwx cries out lwj's name as lwj thrusts against him. lwj holds him tightly, keeping him in place. he's so rough in this mock-mating, yet wwx can already feel himself starting to peak.

he tries, in vain, to also move—to give lwj pleasure, too—but it's too much.

wwx bites down on lwj's wetsuit-covered shoulder as he climaxes, the fabric partially-muffling his squeal. he can feel his insides pulsing and clenching around nothing in a vain attempt to receive seed not given.

he humps desperately against lwj to try and extend the pleasure.

just when wwx feels the last vestiges of his climax fading away, lwj's hips stutter. lwj groans against wwx's neck in a way that almost sounds like pain as he presses closely, tightly—as if he could somehow will his release through the wetsuit and into wwx.

wwx trills soothingly to lwj as lwj's body finally relaxes, pleasure-spent. wwx feels the instinctive urge to swim around—so that any seed he may have received would mix well with the eggs within his body—but he is not bearing eggs yet, and there is no seed within him. he stays.

lwj draws him close and kisses his face. "Did I hurt you?" his voice is deliciously rough.

"No," wwx replies, happy to cuddle and nuzzle him. "Feels… good."

"Mn," lwj agrees. "Good."

wwx glances at lwj's shoulder; there are puncture tears in the wetsuit where wwx bit him.

fear temporarily dulls the pleasant afterglow fogging wwx's mind. he inspects the tears. did he hurt lwj? lwj's skin is red.

wwx licks the ripped parts of the wetsuit. to his relief, he doesn't taste blood. lwj didn't bleed. the wetsuit saved him from the worst of wwx's teeth.

lwj moves to sit up so that he can better pull wwx into his lap. it seems humans like to cuddle after mating—or even mock-mating. that's kind of cute.

wwx is happy to indulge. he nibbles contently on lwj's arm.

lwj briefly unwraps his arms to lean over the edge of the platform and retrieve the brushes and combs he keeps in a small container suction-cupped to the glass. wwx melts under his hands as he begins brushing wwx's hair.

wwx is half-asleep by the time lwj finishes untangling his hair.

"Wei Ying," lwj calls gently, nudging him. "Beloved, I apologize for disturbing you, but I need to go get changed."

changed? wwx blinks blearily at him in confusion. "Why?"

lwj hesitates for a beat. "The wetsuit," he says. "I would like to change out of it."

oh. wwx eyes the torn shoulder part of lwj's wetsuit a little regretfully. that is unfortunate. he will have to be more careful next time if he doesn't want lwj to leave so soon.

wwx obediently rolls himself off of lwj and watches mournfully as lwj stands up and steps out of the platform.

lwj always has a small towel nearby for when he interacts with wwx, but he doesn't usually get his entire body wet; as such, the towel gets soaked quickly.

as lwj wrings out the towel over a drain, loud knocks sound from the side room door.

"We're coming out," wq warns. "I'm giving you until the count of ten to make yourselves decent."

"There is no need to count," lwj replies.

a few seconds later, the side room door creaks open.

"I'm going to medical," wq announces. she doesn't run, but she moves quickly down the hallway, staring straight ahead of her and nowhere else.

nhs is slower, holding two paper coffee cups. he waves at wwx.

wwx, who is comfortably lounging on the platform, narrows his eyes.

"Sorry about that, big boy," nhs says, cautiously shuffling over to the tank. "I'll knock next time." he holds up one of the paper cups. "Peace offering?"

wwx immediately recognizes the smell of whipped cream. he swims over.

"Wei Ying—" lwj starts.

wwx ignores him. lwj is too far away to physically intervene, and nhs is too close to pull away within the next half-second.

quick as an eel, wwx snatches the gup cup with his mouth and gleefully swims all the way to the far edge of the tank with his new sweet treat.

lwj sighs.

floating on his back like an otter, wwx happily tears into the cup, ripping chunks of it off so that he has an easier time licking and slurping at the whipped cream within.

as he snarfs down his treat, he hears nhs say to lwj, "Good thing you have multiple wetsuits, amirite?"

lwj doesn't dignify nhs with a response; he simply turns on his heels and walks silently to the showers, leaving a trail of wet footprints and water droplets on the lab's concrete floor.

nhs goes back to the tank. "Good job," he praises. "See? It didn't hurt, did it?"

wwx ignores him. his gup cup ranks higher in his list of priorities.

"I should get you canned whipped cream," nhs muses out loud. "The kind with the nozzle. I bet Wangji-xiong would appreciate it."

wwx has no idea what he's talking about. he continues eating his treat.

"I don't think there's much that can be done about your teeth—because they're your teeth," nhs continues talking. "But maybe we should file down your nails. You might accidentally claw Wangji-xiong at some point."

wwx stops mid-lick. huh. he hadn't thought of that.

"How are the babies coming along, by the way?" nhs asks excitedly. "How can you tell when the eggs are ready?"

wwx… is not sure, actually. truth be told, he knows very little of mer mating. he knows that courtship is necessary, and that a nest is a must.

he knows that children emerge from their eggs at the height of the warm days, when food is most plentiful and they can quickly fatten up in time for the cold moons.

he also knows that mer mate for life. he does not remember much of his parents, but he knows they stayed together.

"Be patient," wwx says to nhs in the same tone that lwj often uses on him. "Eggs not ready. Come back later."

"You really don't know, huh," nhs sighs. "You know, I would have expected your pod, or whatever you call a group of your kind, to teach you this."

"No group." wwx's voice is a little muffled by the cup. he's trying to reach the last bit of whipped cream at the bottom. "No home except Lan Zhan."

he's so preoccupied with with his whipped cream that he doesn't notice that nhs hasn't said anything for the past few minutes.

he's going back and licking every last bit of cream off of the torn cup pieces when nhs asks, "Your kind… raise their children, don't they? Like how orcas raise their young until adulthood?"

wwx nods, chewing on one of the pieces.

"So, your parents…" nhs hesitates.

wwx isn't sure why he's hesitating. "Parents gone," he says.

nhs falls back to silence.

when the flavor of cream is gone from the tattered remains of the cup, nhs suddenly asks, "Would you like another gup cup? I feel like you need another."

wwx doesn't know why nhs even bothers to ask. he would never say no to a gup cup.

"Yes." he tosses the cup fragments aside and swims eagerly over to nhs.

nhs backs up. "Nuh uh. Clean your mess first, or I tell Wangji-xiong."

wwx's grin turns to a pout as he gathers the pieces.

by the end of the day, wwx finds out that his limit is three gup cups. he ends up with a stomach ache and consequently refuses to eat his dinner.

lwj has a minor meltdown because he thinks he may have hurt wwx at some point when they were intimate.

wwx refuses to say why his stomach hurts because, well, lwj may take away his gup cup privileges. he pretends not to understand when lwj tries asking him why his stomach hurts.

eventually, wq gets called. after an inspection, she scowls. "What have you been eating?"

wwx gazes soulfully and innocently up at her in hopes that she will drop the question. it doesn't work.

"Speak, or I'll start checking the camera feeds and collecting your stool samples," she threatens.

wwx whines. "Secret."

"No secrets," wq insists. "Especially when it comes to your health."

wwx leans miserably against the edge of the platform. "Secret with you?" he offers.

wq stares disbelieving at him for a moment before groaning. "Fine." she leans down. "Don't you dare splash me."

wwx swims until he's directly under wq's ear. "I ate three gub gub," he whispers.

wq pulls back, confusion written all over her face. "What's a 'gub gub'?"

"Cup." wwx outlines with his hands. "Sweet white fluff."

wq stares at him. her expression is completely blank.

then, her eyebrows shoot up. "It's whipped cream."

wwx nods eagerly. "Yummy."

"And you had three cups of it."

wwx nods again. "Very good."

"Do you feel very good now?" wq asks.

wwx's grin dims. "No."

"That's what I thought," wq sighs. "No more whipped cream for you."

nhs hurries over from where he was inspecting one of the shelves in the lab. "Qing-jie," he whispers. "Qing-jie, I beg of you to reconsider."

"It's you, isn't it," wq says flatly. "You've been giving him whipped cream. I should've known."

nhs shakes his head furiously. "No, Qing-jie, you don't get it. Wei Ying should have some whipped cream, because Wei Ying is—" he drops his voice lower, although wwx can still hear him, "—an orphan."

wq's expression doesn't change. "He's a fully-mature mer."

"Of course he is *now*," nhs hisses, "but he wasn't for a long time. That's why there are such huge gaps in his knowledge. Mer are social creatures, but he was alone for a while."

this time, wq visibly stops, and thinks. she glances at wwx.

"I want gub gub," wwx says.

wq's lower left eyelid twitches. "Fine." she throws her hands up. "One cup of whipped cream per day. *One*, and that's it. Don't you dare beg for more."

wwx perks up. "One now?"

"One tomorrow!" wq snaps. "Today, you're sticking to nothing but your usual diet."

wwx looks at her and considers throwing a fit. then he remembers how wq had to kick lwj out of the room because lwj was so concerned about wwx that he couldn't stop hovering over him.

"Tomorrow," he agrees reluctantly.

wq gives him a drink. it tastes terrible, but when wwx starts to spit it out, wq pins him in place with a glare so intense that wwx obediently swallows the medicine.

he's not allowed his dinner, but wq places a pile of dried seaweed by his tank in case he gets hungry overnight.

wwx is not hungry. he'd gone days in the past without food, especially when he was younger and it was during the cold moons. a few hours with a hearty breakfast at the end of it is nothing in comparison.

wq, true to her word, doesn't tell lwj why wwx's stomach was hurting.

she just shrugs, tells him to calm down, and suggests buying something called a 'yoh-gert' for any future incidents.

wwx hopes this 'yoh-gert' is a food. he asks lwj as such when lwj comes to say goodnight to him.

"Yogurt," lwj corrects for him. "It's a food, yes."

"Is good?" wwx asks hopefully.

"It is," lwj nods. "I also eat it."

wwx perks up. there isn't much overlap in their diets, with lwj preferring to stay away from meat and meat being wwx's main energy source. "Share?"

"We can share, if you'd like," lwj huffs with amusement.

wwx wiggles with excitement. a big part of courtship is hunting for and feeding one's partner. while wwx has accepted that he may never hunt for lwj, he's happy for the chance to feed his mate.

"Lan Zhan," he says. "What's 'orphan'?"

lwj's shadow of a smile disappears.

"Where did you hear that word?" lwj asks.

wwx tilts his head. usually lwj answers his questions immediately. "Huaisang say it."

lwj exhales and makes a noise that sounds suspiciously similar to nhs's name. "An orphan is someone whose parents are no longer here."

"Oh." wwx fiddles curiously with the waterproof watch lwj always wears. "I am orphan."

lwj goes quiet—why do the humans always go quiet about this word in particular?—and watches as wwx plays with the loose watch strap. human clothing is so strange.

right as wwx is trying to gnaw on the strap, lwj asks, "When did you lose your parents?"

wwx can't remember. it has been too many solar cycles. "Long time," is what he settles on before trying to bite lwj's watch strap again.

"Who took care of you?" lwj asks.

wwx thinks. there was one pod of purple-tailed mer who had been friends of his parents. wwx had followed them for a while, eating the remains of their kills and sleeping in nooks and crannies not too close to them.

they were kind, wwx knows. it must have been hard for them, tolerating an intruder in their waters for as long as they did.

but when the two young purple-tailed mer began deliberately refusing food in favor of leaving it for him to eat, the matriarch of the pod chased wwx away.

bachelor pods existed, but wwx had felt no urge to join them. groups were primarily for safety anyways, and he had managed just fine on his own. there was no need to intrude on others.

but sometimes he swam by families—loving couples with new young. and sometimes, he'd think.

he never thought for too long, of course. every day, there were waters to survey. food to be caught. a new place to sleep to be found. he would have gained nothing by watching those families.

after all, someday, he was sure he would have his own. then he would think about them.

then the net happened. it had caught him by surprise—literally—and he couldn't get away. he was hauled onto something hard, flat, and dry. there was a terrifying four-legged furry creature that screamed at him along with its humans. wwx had been so scared.

then more humans came, and wwx was bound and placed in a bag, then dumped into this very tank, in this lab—the lab where he soon met his mate.

honestly, not the way wwx would have liked for it to go, but he's very happy here. he has a mate. a home. they will have babies soon.

he does not know how to convey all that to lwj, so he just says, "Me. Sometime other mer help."

for some reason, lwj's eyes widen with alarm. wwx does not understand. this is in the past. he is now strong, healthy, and he has lwj.

"Oh, Wei Ying," lwj breathes. "I'm sorry."

sorry? why is he sorry? wwx quickly replays their conversation in his head.

"Orphan is… bad?" he asks hesitantly.

"No, no." lwj is quick to pull wwx close, kissing his forehead. "It's not. But you shouldn't have had to grow up alone."

as much as wwx enjoys lwj's embrace, he doesn't like seeing lwj distressed. he nibbles on lwj's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

"Wei Ying here," he says. "Not alone."

it works—he thinks. lwj slowly relaxes around him, although he's still holding wwx tightly.

wwx decides to press his luck. "Stay?" he asks.

"The red lights haven't been installed yet," lwj gently reminds him. "And the folding bed isn't going to arrive until tomorrow. The lab has nothing for me to sleep on."

wwx pouts. "Takis?" he asks instead.

the last of the tension in lwj's shoulders fades away. "No," lwj says with his usual huff-laughter. "But I will bring you yogurt tomorrow to try."

wwx still has no idea what yogurt is, but he's certain he would still prefer takis. did lwj not enjoy feeding them to him?

perhaps lwj needs a reminder.

"Want takis," wwx insists, nudging lwj's arm with his face until lwj lifts it. once lwj's hand is close enough, wwx leans towards it and nibbles innocently on his fingertips.

lwj's breath audibly hitches.

wwx's resolve wavers. he has heard this from lwj before. he knows what it means. meekly, he draws back from lwj's fingers.

"No mating," he declares as firmly as he can manage. "Only food."

"Of course," lwj agrees a little too quickly, his ears red.

wwx is certain his ear fins are also filling with color. he isn't sure what to make of this. yes, he now knows that humans can mate at any time, but this is intimidating. he hadn't even done anything—he just nibbled on lwj's fingers, and suddenly lwj wants to mate with him.

not that wwx is—completely against the idea. there are benefits to his mate desiring him so strongly. but what if wwx simply wants to be fed in the future? they are going to have endless children if just the act of feeding wwx makes lwj want to mate.

"Mating tomorrow?" wwx offers, so that lwj won't feel too disappointed.

the blush in lwj's ears spreads to his neck. "If you want to."

ah. lwj thinks wwx is offering to mate. that is—not exactly what wwx intended to do, but lwj looks quite endearing with his face so red.

it's nearing the time when the lights are shut off, so lwj hurries to change into his dry clothes and pack his things.

"Goodnight, Wei Ying," he says, cupping wwx's jawline as he presses a kiss to wwx's mouth. "I will see you tomorrow."

wwx hums happily into the kiss.

"Goodnight, Lan Zhan," wwx says, then—for reasons he can't put to words—he lightly licks and sucks on lwj's thumb.

lwj gasps and pulls back, his thumb leaving wwx's mouth with a small 'pop' sound. "Wei Ying!"

wwx gives lwj his best innocent look.