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sapin7 · 2 months ago

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Merman x Siren au

(Hualian - part XVII)

First part: PART I

Previous part: PART XVI

(I will update the links later cuz I'm at a convention ☠️)

~ previously on the underwater telenovela~

Right then Xie Lian gets a terrifying idea. He looks up at San Lang again with big eyes, trying to think how to form the question he wanted to ask. The face the siren is making is more than enough of a reason to change the topic, but the merman doesn't want to give up.

So he spits a short question, hoping for a confirmation.

“San Lang. Do sirens… have the ability to shape-shift?”

***

San Lang sighs, gently stroking the merman's sides, where he's resting his hands. He looks displeased or rather upset with how the situation unfolded, but there's no spark of surprise in his eye. He probably expected that Xie Lian would reach the correct conclusion sooner or later, so that's why he was so avoidant.

No matter how much he probably doesn't want the merman to get involved, he doesn't deny him the truth.

“Some of us do,” he says simply, which doesn't satisfy Xie Lian's hunger for a more elaborate answer.

“Does that specific siren do?” Xie Lian asks after, unconsciously gipping San Lang's shoulders with all his strength.

The siren sighs again and, for the first time ever, breaks eye contact during their conversation.

“I have never seen him in the act, but I assumed the same thing as you, little merman. Out of those two on the boat, one sounded very similar to how I remember him,” the siren admits, leaving a little bit of a room for doubt.

Even if, to Xie Lian there's no doubt at all. The other siren has changed into a human and lured the other one into the island. The only thing that doesn't add up is how he crashed the boat - after all, the green-eyed human claimed he saw his friend during the crash, but he also saw an underwater creature in the ocean.

Maybe the sirens could shape-shift, but splitting into two beings was definitely impossible.

“I know what you're thinking about, little merman, and I would ask you to stop immediately. I don't want you to get more involved in this matter. It's his personal affair, but he's a creature of his word. He swore to not hurt the human and I believe him. There's no need for us to intervene.”

It's Xie Lian's turn to sigh now. San Lang has seen right through his will to investigate and make sure nothing bad is going to happen. He has to give up now that the siren assured him it's going to be alright.

But how can Xie Lian do so, if he promised the innocent human that he's going to help?

“Fine,” the merman says finally, to San Lang's relief. “But I want to check on the human from time to time. The island is small, what if he runs out of things to eat? And I left in a hurry, so I have to retrieve some of my tools anyway.”

The siren smiles, content with this turn of events.

“Then we shall retrieve your tools soon, no need to worry,” San Lang assures, but, to his surprise the merman shakes his head.

“I will do it myself, San Lang. I think I did pretty good at patrolling today. We can split from now on, so that it takes less time and we have more to practice or just… talk and all,” the merman offers, blushing.

“We can still patrol and talk—”

“No, really, I want to feel useful! You know that, right? So let's do it like this from now on. I will patrol one part tomorrow and you can patrol it the next day to make sure I haven't screwed up anything. How does that sound?” The merman insists, leaving San Lang no choice but to agree.

“If it makes you happy, little merman,” the siren breaks, earning an affectionate hug from Xie Lian, which certainly is more than enough to satisfy him.

“Thank you. I will do my best!”

The merman's smile is all that matters, after all.

***

Xie Lian isn't exactly slick with his obvious plan of going to check on the island without directly telling San Lang. The siren is well aware this is where he got the idea of solo patrols from and waited a whole day to split the areas to patrol in the way that the island would be where he's going. San Lang lets it slide without a word, doubting he would be able to stop the merman anyway.

When they depart, San Lang makes sure to be within hearing distance of the merman, in case he would have to intervene. He doesn't tell Xie Lian a thing - he just decided to keep an eye (ear) on him and provide support if needed. He doesn't want the merman to think San Lang is doubting him. The whole situation is an inconvenience to the siren, but right now he cannot do much.

He cannot break his deal with the siren - it would be a prick move. The other one gave up a huge part of his territory in exchange for access to an island. If San Lang was to call it all off now, they would probably have a fight and even if San Lang is pretty sure he would win, he cannot let Xie Lian witness it or, worse, get involved. What is more, he's also sure the other siren has no ill intentions towards that specific human - if it was the case, the human would long be dead or seriously injured, and for sure he wouldn't be walking freely around the island.

On the other hand, San Lang cannot tie the merman to himself and monitor his every move. He promised Xie Lian that he can do whatever he wants in his territory and there's no way it would change now. However, San Lang cannot reason with the worried merman.

Staying in the distance on high alert is the best he can do, as the merman swims away, almost perfectly in the direction of the island. With a small smile San Lang comforts himself that at least the vicious octopus refuses to leave the merman's side - it will attack at the slightest sign of danger, so at least the opponent is going to be already injured before San Lang gets there.

It's not like Xie Lian thinks he's fooled the siren either. He knows San Lang has already seen through him the second the merman mentioned the solo patrols. However, Xie Lian decides to push his luck until the siren protests directly. And for now San Lang hasn't even insisted on going to the island together, so Xie Lian reads it as a small trust loan. It's another opportunity to prove that he's capable of putting the things he learnt from the siren to good use.

It doesn't take the merman too long to get to the island. This time he's way more careful while approaching it though. He pulls himself up on the rocks only when he makes sure there's no one around and he doesn't feel any movement beside his own.

Xie Lian forgets that the sunlight can be so blinding, especially at this time of the day, so he blinks and furrows furiously for a while, trying to get used to being above the surface. However, he leaves his tail fin underwater, with Ruoye wrapped around it. This way he's going to be able to tell if someone approaches them.

When he finally gets used to the brightness above, he looks around. His backpack is in the exact same place he left it. His tools are organised though, so the green-eyed human probably looked through them.

What's worrying Xie Lian is that the said human is nowhere to be seen. The merman doesn't even know his name, so he cannot call him - not like he actually can shout above the surface, his voice cords would probably die on the spot.

So Xie Lian decides to wait a little bit. Maybe the human is going to come by the beach soon.

It doesn't take long for the human to appear between the bushes across from the rocks. It seems that he came especially to check if the tools Xie Lian left behind were still there, because the first thing he does when he struggles out of the plants that somehow he got tangled in is to look directly into the merman's eyes.

“You really came back!” The green-eyed human exclaims, almost falling to the ground when he trips over one of the branches that he himself broke from the bush.

Xie Lian smiles and puts his hand up to wave - in the way humans usually greet one another from a distance.

“Have you by any chance found out what happened to Ming-xiong?” The human asks right away when he's close enough to not shout anymore.

Xie Lian furrows, trying to understand the human who clearly forgot to speak slowly to the merman. However it's not hard to figure out when one of the expressions Xie Lian picks on is the “Ming-xiong” which is the way the human called his friend when Xie Lian and San Lang heard them talking on the boat.

He's about to answer, but he hesitates as soon as he opens his mouth.

Because, how exactly is he going to explain to the human that the one he calls a friend and is so worried about is actually the reason he's stuck here?

“What is it?” The human asks after, sitting in a very interesting way in front of Xie Lian - he folds his legs and forms a shape that reminds the merman of crabs. He almost forgets what he was thinking about, when the thought of how amazing human legs might be flood his mind. “You took off so fast the other day, was the dangerous creature you've mentioned nearby?”

Xie Lian looks up at the human and sighs, hoping the other one is going to get the hint that the merman hasn't understood a single word. Luckily, the green-eyed human corrects himself immediately and speaks a lot slower when repeating his question.

The merman smiles awkwardly, forming a few sentences in his head.

“Yes, danger. I am fine, but… no friend,” Xie Lian speaks with difficulty, deciding to not tell the human the truth about his ‘’friend’ yet. He needs clear evidence of the siren's maliciousness before he spills all of this to the poor human. “Sorry.”

“Oh…,” the human sighs, the sparks in his beautiful eyes disappearing. However, he composes himself right back and smiles at the merman. “Don't be sorry. You've tried to help me and I really appreciate it. Thank you. I hope you didn't get in trouble with the dangerous creature? I don't want you to get hurt too.”

This time the human speaks slow enough for Xie Lian to understand a few words. He nods, acknowledging the gratitude and then speaks up again.

“No worry. I hide… hidden? The danger creature not see,” he assured and then he tilts his head to the side, deciding to change the topic. “I am Xie Lian. You… name?”

“Ah, your name is Xie Lian? It's so cute! I'm Qingxuan. Shi Qingxuan. And I'm really grateful for your help. I was waiting for you to come back, because I feel like going nuts here, all alone.”

Xie Lian feels like he's getting used to only following the general idea of the human's words, because it's not the first time he gets excited and forgets about speaking slowly. However, now Xie Lian knows his name.

Shi Qingxuan.

It's odd, but at the same time quite similar to what the other creatures he knows are called. Who would have thought the names of humans and underwater creatures aren't really wary in the closest area. Even if the way they speak is completely different above and under the surface, Xie Lian doesn't feel much of a language barrier between them.

As the merman gets lost in his thoughts, the human's expression changes slowly from excited and relieved, to quite a miserable one. Xie Lian isn't sure what caused this, but before he can ask, the human tells him himself.

“I… I really want to find Ming-xiong and go back home. This whole situation is scaring me to the bone, you know? I'm in the middle of nowhere and the only companion I have is not even a human. I don't want to…,” the human halts when his voice cracks.

Xie Lian observes him with worry, especially when Qingxuan breaks eye contact and puts one hand over his mouth to muffle a sob that forced its way out of his body.

“I don't want to die here. I want to be with Ming-xiong and my brother,” the human spits out as tears start rolling down his cheeks.

Xie Lian's heart breaks when he sees it. Qingxuan seems like a genuinely good person, sensitive at that. Staying on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean must be way harder on him than the merman could imagine.

“I-I know I'm asking for a lot, but… if you, if you could find a way to help me get back home o-or contact my brother… he would definitely know what to do, he would pick a rescue team that would find Ming-xiong and… I, I miss them. So much. Please, Xie Lian, I—,”

Before the human is able to say anything more, Xie Lian simply slides over to him and closes him in a tight hug. His tail is completely out of the water now, but Xie Lian forgets about the safety measures when his heart aches too much for the merman to not intervene when Qingxuan breaks down completely. The human shudders, but quickly hugs back. He starts crying more openly, shaking in the merman's embrace.

Xie Lian can feel Qingxuan's tears falling on his shoulder and down his back. They're burning hot compared to any kind of water he's ever touched, but he doesn't move an inch. If this is the only way he can comfort the human a little bit, he can overcome the small inconvenience on his side.

Ruoye seems displeased with this turn of events too. The octopus tugs at Xie Lian's tail first, but when he doesn't react, the animal simply slides back into the water, not keen on staying in the sunlight.

It takes Qingxuan a while to calm down. When he stops crying, he still remains in the merman's embrace for a longer moment. Only after a few minutes he slowly leans away. Xie Lian catches eye contact with him again, observing the human's now puffy eyes and cheeks. He cannot help himself to not touch Qingxuan's face and pet it gently, getting rid of the last tears that still linger on the human's skin.

Qingxuan smiles, leaning into the touch. The merman's hand in pleasantly cool on his burning face. It feels better than any icepack for the fever.

“Thank you, Xie Lian. I needed to… let it all out,” the human admits, blushing slightly, though it's not much visible on his face - already red from crying.

“No thank. It's normal to… feel over… uh,” Xie Lian pouts. He wants to comfort the human further with his words, but he cannot remember much of the vocabulary he's learnt through the years.

“Overwhelmed?” Qingxuan guesses, earning a loud hum of approval from the merman.

“Yeah!” Xie Lian agrees with a wide smile.

They both start giggling at the same time, as the atmosphere slowly becomes way lighter than before.

They talk for a longer while before Xie Lian looks up at the sky and realizes he should have come back to the coral reef long ago. San Lang is probably waiting for him or even has already departed to look for him in his territory. The last thing Xie Lian wants to do is to make the siren worried, so he picks his tools and arranges the backpack telling Shi Qingxuan it's time for him to go.

“I have to go to… um, home? Someone waiting for me,” Xie Lian announces, not sure how he should address San Lang without scaring the human.

“Oh, you have a partner?” Qingxuan asks, but Xie Lian doesn't understand the word.

“Partner?” He repeats, trying to recall the meaning in his head.

“That someone that is waiting for you. Do you live together?” Qingxuan asks, tilting his head to the side.

“Yes,” the merman agrees, because, for the time being, it's the truth. He's been living with San Lang for a longer while now.

“So, are you in love with each other or something like this? Then it would mean you're partners,” the human explains, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

This is when the meaning of the word “partner” downs on Xie Lian immediately.

It must be the equivalent of a “mate” in human language, which makes the merman wave his hands in panic.

“No, no! We, no! We are… uh, we are friends! Nothing more!” Xie Lian exclaims, but the human smiles knowingly.

“Riiiiiight, just friends, I see~,” Qingxuan raises an eyebrow in a mocking manner. “And that's exactly why my question got you blushing like this?”

“I'm not blushing!” Xie Lian yells again, quickly hiding his face in his hands. His cheeks are burning hot.

The mere thought of having San Lang as his mate feels completely illicit. It's not like the problem lies in them both being males - it's common for mermen to mate for life, but a mating between a merman and a siren? Xie Lian doesn't even know if sirens mate!

Besides, having San Lang as his mate would be too good to be true. Xie Lian has never felt so in place by someone's side. So accepted, safe and taken care of. He feels unworthy of even thinking in those categories - San Lang deserves a lot better than a lowly merman like Xie Lian.

“Okay, okay, I won't dig in. But if that someone is important to you, you should hurry and go back to them now,” Shi Qingxuan says, before Xie Lian indulges in those thoughts born from his low self-esteem.

He looks back at the human and nods shyly, still feeling a slight bubbling of excitement in his stomach - the exact thing he always feels when he's about to reunite with San Lang.

“I come back soon. Do you… eat?” Xie Lian asks when he's about to dive into the ocean.

“Do I have anything to eat? Yes, I'm alright. There's plenty of fruit on the island and I find some fish on the rocks every morning. At first I thought the ocean just washed up the dead ones on the rocks, but they usually seem fresh and I haven't felt sick once after cooking and eating them, so…,” the human shrugs, earning a nod from the merman.

“Okay,” Xie Lian says. “I… bring some anyway. Crab?”

“I do like crab meat, but… don't overwork yourself, okay? You've spent so much time with me today, you will probably have to make it up to your friend, huh?”

“Mhm,” Xie Lian admits, not noticing the hint of mockery in Qingxuan's voice. “I… see you soon? I try find a way to help more, too.”

“Thank you, sweet merman. So, see you soon!”

They wave at each other and exchange the last smiles before the merman slides back into the water.

For a second he's blind again. He dives into the ocean facing the rocks, so the shadow is completely dark for a while before his eyes get used to the lack of bright lights underwater. He feels Ruoye wrapping around him again and is about to greet the animal, when he notices its movement is way too hectic to be just a “welcome back underwater, friend” type of hug.

Xie Lian focuses all his senses, but he cannot feel a thing, so he turns around. This also seems fruitless, because even though he slowly sees better and better, there's nothing to notice in the nearest open ocean. However, the octopus's tugging doesn't stop, so he turns around again, to maybe find the cave he's hidden in the last time.

In this very moment, the merman feels a horribly cold shiver run down his spine to the very end of his tail.

Because right in front of him, only a few inches away, in the shadow of the rocks, he sees a figure he couldn't tell apart from the darkness seconds ago.

It's the other siren, with the completely black scales.

And it seems it's been waiting especially for Xie Lian this time.

#he xuan cameo #not only the ocean is wet #tgcf #hualian #mermaid au

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