#marc said they were 6am moves only

[kingofthering]

[ginnyweasleywannabe]

Treasure Hunt Chapter 3

Final Word count 5272

Find on AO3 at "Inthemiddle2"

Marlene wouldn’t normally consider herself a light sleeper but she was on edge. Which is why she was groggily looking at the clock on her night stand to see it read 6am. She was hoping to get a little more sleep before what was bound to be a long day. She had just closed her eyes when she heard a clang in the kitchen. She shot up remembering what had originally woken her up was the sound of the front door jingling and then opening. She looked to her phone seeing if she had received any new messages. Last night, after packing, she sent Marc a text asking him to text her when he knew he would be coming home, he hadn’t responded which meant the rudding in the kitchen wasn’t him. She looked around her room for anything that she could use, the best she could find was an old coffee mug.

Marlene quickly and quietly moved down the stairs, she made her was down the hall. The kitchen was open to the living room, she was at the corner. OK it was time to buck up Marlene, she turned the corner eyes closed and tossed the mug at the intruder. It wasn’t her best plan but the mug smashed into the cabinet as the man ducked. Marlene didn’t see anything as her eyes were closed but she could hear the mug shatter.

“What the fuck, McKinnon?” Sirius Black was just looking back and forth between the shattered mug on the floor and the girl standing, in a very small tank and shorts set he noted, with her eyes closed and arms to her chest.

“Oh thank Merlin, it’s just you” She released a breath and lunged wrapping her arms around him.

“’Doing alright by myself’ my ass” he rolled his eyes.

Marlene stepped away from him and glared. She instantly missed the heat he was providing.

“What are you even doing here? You’re early.”

The truth was Sirius had always had issues sleeping. Something Marlene was unaware of because he slept relatively peacefully with her. Anyway he had been up early and he knew she had been missing Marc. Also yesterday was a big day for her and he felt bad her day was ruined. His plan was to sneak in and make her blueberry pancakes. He wanted to start their little adventure on a good start.

“Couldn’t sleep so I figured I’d use the spare and get here early. Might as well make pancakes.” He just shrugged, he wasn’t in the mood to go into all the under feelings for their situation.

“Oh” She blushed at his admission. Marlene wasn’t sure what she expected but him coming over to cook her pancakes was not it. That was unexpectedly sweet of him. “Well you still could have sent me a text so I wouldn’t have been scared shitless.” Her words didn’t have much bite to them. He was just looking back at her, god why was she blushing so much. “Well I’ll go get changed and you can get cookin’ good lookin’”

Marlene froze with what she just said---and why had she used finger guns. She just turned on her heal. Once she was out of sight she mouthed ‘oh my god’, Why did she just have to blurt out everything she thought.

Sirius on the other hand was holding in a smile. He could tell she was embarrassed, she practically ran out of the room. He got to work making the pancakes

Marlene came back down dress in cut offs and an old t-shirt of Marc’s. Sirius passed her a plate.

“Thanks for this, I haven’t eaten a proper meal since Marc’s been gone.” Marlene was digging into her pancakes.

Sirius just laughed, the girl could eat, especially something sweet. “Yeah I saw all the left overs in the fridge. You got me hooked on Foo Lin’s orange chicken.” They ate in silence for a few minutes before Sirius felt like he needed to tell her, “Congratulations on yesterday by the way. I know how hard you worked for it.”

He was looking at her so sincerely she was sure he could the red in her face.

Marlene needed to snap out it, “So are you ready to go? I’ve just packed a small weekend duffle.”

Sirius nodded and picked up her plate to rinse.

After gathering up the last of her belongs, they made their way to the front door. Marlene stepped outside and looked around for Sirius’ car. He took pride in owning nice things which is why she was confused as to why she didn’t see the latest black Jaguar he usually drove.

“Um, Black? Where’s the car?”

Sirius just smirked at her, “Oh James didn’t tell you?” This was going to be fun he thought, “I sold it and bought that.” He was pointing to the black BMW motorcycle.

Marlene’s eyebrows shot to the top of her hairline, “A motorcycle? You want me to ride five hours on a motorcycle? Why didn’t you say something last night?” Her voice was rising in pitch.

“Come on, McKinnon, it’ll be fun!” He was loving every moment of this.

“Where do we even put our bags? It’s just not practical. No. I mean nope, not gonna happen” She couldn’t believe he thought that this would work. She couldn’t believe she thought this whole trip and plan between the two of them would work.

Sirius took her duffle from her shoulder and lifted up the seat to the bike. Marlene peered over his shoulder, hmm it was surprisingly spacious in there. Sirius gave her an I told you so face and the sat down. Putting on his helmet then turning to hand her the spare. Marlene was still standing. Unfortunately she didn’t have many other options…

She begrudgingly took the helmet, “You bought this when?”

“March” Right after they broke up.

“Merlin, what midlife crisis were you going through in March.” Marlene huffed and wrapped her arms around him.

Sirius knew she was also making a jab at their breakup but he was choosing to ignore the remark, “Hold on tight, McKitten.”

She dug her fingernails into him with the teasing nickname.

Five and a half hours later the bike rolled into a small diner off the main square of Godric’s Hollow. Marlene hopped of the bike and ran inside telling Sirius to order her a fizzy. She HAD to pee. Sirius rolled his eyes, the bike was practically still moving. This was also after they stopped twice on the ride up because she had to pee.

Marlene emerged from the bathroom. She glanced around the cozy pub to land on a young waitress laughing at something Sirius had said, her hand resting on his shoulder. Hmph. Marlene slid into the booth across Sirius. Plastering on her sweetest smile she said, “Sorry Lover, you know how the baby pushes on me.” Rubbing her stomach, she turned to give the waitress her an it is what it is face. The waitress just grimaced and went to get their drinks.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, “Jealous McKinnon?”

Marlene just smiled sweetly, “Not a bit Black but her face was so worth it and anything I can do to make your life harder.”

They had placed their orders. Sirius was watching Marlene, despite having already ordered her food she held the menu up to her face. Her eyes were glancing around the room never quite settling.

“Okay what are you doing?”

“Hmm?” She didn’t even fully look at him

“You are looking around the room like two big men in black trench coats are going to walk through the door with gun to Marcs head.”

Marlene let out a sigh and set the menu down, “Well I don’t know. I just thought maybe we’d see something that would give a us clue on where to start.”

“Alright, Well we know that this is where Godric Gryffindor is from so why don’t we check the library to see if there’s anything in the towns history.”

Oh that was a smart plan. Why hadn’t Marlene thought of that, “Well no, not all of us knew that. How did you know that?”

“My family, they were nutty about the history of Hogwarts.” He just gave a shrug, his family was always a sour subject.

“Hmm, why didn’t you say anything last night when I brought it up?”

“It just slipped my mine really until we were riding up here.” The truth was last night he kept getting lost in thought about Marlene rather than what was coming out of her mouth. It had only been one night but he was really enjoying spending time with her again. She always made him laugh and kept him in line. He wanted to use this trip to make things right between them.

When the waitress came back with the check Sirius paid, stating Marlene could get the next one. He gave the waitress his dazzling smile, “Could you tell us where the library is?”

She smiled back to him, “Sure love, its just around the block. Across from the old graveyard. You probably passed it on your way in.” She then turned to Marlene, “You’ll love it! It has a big selection of ‘How to be a better mother’ books.”

Sirius held in a laugh, “Well that sounds perfect doesn’t it, Lene-y Babies” He stood up, gave the waitress a nod and proceeded to walk out. Marlene just shuffled out of the booth behind him with a scowl.

The two made their way into the library. It was beautiful, Marlene couldn’t believe something like this existed in a small little town like Godric’s Hollow. She was taking in the big atrium that stood in the center with two story halls branching off in all directions. Sirius was watching her. She loved to read, they would often have nights where he would play games and she would read. They loved to just sit there and enjoy each other’s presence.

“C’mom nerd, we’ve got work to do.” He place his hand on the small of her back and ushered her towards the sign that read ‘Town History’.

The two of them pulled a few books about Godric Gryffindor. Marlene was reading one about the town history and Sirius reading about Hogwarts.

They had been there for a few hours and Sirius was really starting to get bored. Well actually he was bored of reading about an hour after they started but he knew she wouldn’t leave that soon. Now he was also hungry, it was almost 6. The library was about to close anyway.

“Marls”

“Mars”

“Mars Bars”

“Marlene!” Finally he gave her a poke in her side. She let out a yelp. The librarian gave them a glare. She looked to be a hundred years old and sharp glasses that rested on the bridge of her nose.

“Huh, sorry! Merlin look at the time.”

Sirius stood up to stretch, “Whatda say to ordering some takeout and finding a place to crash for the night. We can go over the notes at the hotel.”

Marlene looked conflicted, Sirius knew she would stay here all night if they would let her.

“They’re about to close this place anyway Mars.” He offered her a hand up.

She took it but with more force than she was expecting so she was pulled into his chest.

“Sorry” She stepped away from him sheepishly. The two walked to the front desk to check out.

The old librarian had a permanent scowl on her face. Her name tag read ‘Pince’

Sirius turned on his best charming smile, “Madam Pince, I hope you have a lovely night,”

She just let out a humph eyeing the books they were holding “The town seems to be very popular these past few weeks. First that handsome gentleman,” She said it a whispy voice, “And now you two.” That part coming out very unimpressed. Sirius smile fell. But Marlene seemed interested in the comment. She quickly pulled out her phone and pulled up a picture of her and Marc from this past hols. She practically threw it in the old women’s face, “This man??”

Pince stared at the photo lips pursed but eventually stated that yes that was the handsome man she had been talking about, he was so kind. He had been into the library a few days ago. Marlene to turned to Sirius with the biggest smile, “He was here! He was here, Sirius!!” She thanked the librarian like she had just told her she was cancer free.

The two walked to Sirius’ bike, Marlene smiling like she had just won the lottery.

“Alright, chill Cheshire cat, she just told us what we already suspected. Marc had come to Godric’s Hollow” He lovingly rolled his eyes at her antics

“Yes but she saw him a few days ago! We’re not far behind him, he could still be here!” And then in smaller voice, “and he’s ok. He’s alive.”

Sirius knew she was trying not to think about the other possibilities, “Of course he’s fine McKinnon. Didn’t you know that Marc walks on water! He soooo handsome and sooo kind, no one could harm him”

His teasing voice had worked, Marlene let out a giggle.

The bike roared into a small dingy parking lot. As Sirius switched off the engine he looked over his shoulder to Marlene, “You’re sure this is the only place in town?” It was an old one story ruddy motel.

Marlene grimaced, “Maybe its not that bad on the inside.”

They walked into a little 2 by 2 meter room. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in years. Marlene gave the little bell a ding. An old man hobbled out of a door in the back corner.

“Hiya, I’m Tom! What can I do for ya?”

Marlene smiled at the old man, “Hi Tom, we were hoping we could get a room?”

“Oh sure! You guys are lucky! We’re all booked up except for one room!” He leaned forward and gave a sly smile, “The honeymoon suite”

“Oh, Well actually-“ Marlene started but Sirius cut her off

“That sounds perfect!” He grabbed the keys with a little heart keychain and steered her out of the office. He was smiling wide while they walked to their room. Marlene was just scowling at him.

“Relax, McKinnon its nothing we haven’t done before. Besides he said it was all he had left, it’ll probably be the nicest room here.”

He swung the door open, boy was he wrong. Marlene concluded the only thing that made this a honeymoon sweet was the extra flowery patterns all around the room. The bed and the wallpaper matched. Also there was hot pink shag carpet.

Marlene let out a bark of a laughed, between breaths she said, “Oh my… Merlin…” She finally caught her breath. She had caught sight of the single bed, she knew it was going to be, obviously but seeing it sobered her up. “Well pal, you’re going to pick up the pizza. I need to shower and read over the notes.”

“Or we could deliver and I could join you” He wiggled his eyebrows

“Pfft, dreaming Black” She gave him a shove out the door.

Sirius walked to the office to ask Tom where the best place to get pizza was. He wandered into the small office to find it empty once again. Sirius gave the bell a little ding. Tom came hobbling out.

“Hiya, I’m Tom! What can I do for ya?”

“Hi Tom, I just checked into the honeymoon suite. I was hoping you could tell me where the best place to get pizza is from?”

“Oh yes, yes” Tom was a classic old man seeming to remember and forget every few minutes, “You and that pretty blonde” He kept giving Sirius this knowing smile and raising his eyebrows up and down.

“One and the same!”

Tom never seemed to stop smiling, “Well as for pizza the best place would be the leaky cauldron just off the square. The best restaurant in town!”

Sirius was pretty sure it was the only restaurant in town seeing as it was the same diner they had ate for lunch.

“Right, well I guess I’m off” Sirius made to leave but Tom stopped him.

“Wait! Why don’t we just order it here and I can call your room when its ready! You see not only do I own this fine establishment but I also own the cauldron!” Tom didn’t even really give Sirius a chance to answer. He was already on the phone ordering them a medium pepperoni.

“So what brought you and your bird to this little town?” Tom was definitely a chatter.

“She works for a university and his doing some research on the towns history.” Sirius figured this was close enough to the truth without giving too much away.

“Oh! Well if you’re doing town history you should talk to Bathlida Bagshot! She not only wrote all of the books,” Tom leaned in like he was about to share a secrete, “She’s as old as they come. Been around from most of the history that’s been written.”

Sirius thought this was an interesting secrete to be sharing seeing as how Tom also seemed old enough to be around when the towns history was happening.

“That’d be great! I’d love to get her information.”

Tom began digging around in different cabinets around the office, “So how long have you and your lady been together?”

Oh great now here come the personal questions. Sirius figured it was karma, he had been the one to imply that they were together.

“Since February” He was convincing himself that this was just the easiest answer. He figured it would be weird to say that they weren’t together after they had accepted the one bedded honeymoon suite. Also he wasn’t going to unload all of their relationship drama on an overly friendly man who asked a simple question. So yes, that’s why he said February. Not because that’s when they had officially started. Not because he hasn’t even truly given another girl the time of day since February.

“Oh well that’s sweet. I would’ve guess longer just by the looks of ya. You can see the love between you. I see the way you look at her, you’re in love.” Alright so Tom was officially a batty old man.

“Right.” Sirius wasn’t sure how to respond to the man. “So Bathilda?”

“Oh Right!” Tom snapped his fingers, and turned to the desk, suddenly finding the record book he had been looking for. Right by where he should have started Sirius noted.

“Well here you go, now you go back to your bird and I’ll give you a ring when the pizzas here”

Sirius took the little card Tom had scribbled the information on and made his way back to their room. He was NOT in love with Marlene. He liked her, yes. He may have even loved her at one point but in love? No definitely not. He would admit to himself (only himself) that yes he had loved her at one point. She was perfect, even in her flaws he saw her as perfect. Marlene was too good for him. We they were dating things were great. He was starting to get it when people said you person is just different. He felt that with her, she was so easy going. But Marlene had been abandoned once by her parents, Sirius felt this pressure that if they were together it meant they were going to stay together forever. He wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. He had also been burned by his parents. They destroyed everything they touched. He broke up with her for selfish reason but now he was choosing not to give into his want for her sake.

Sirius opened the door to their room to find Marlene in nothing but a towel wrapped around her.

Marlene let out a shriek “Black!!! Get Out!!” She pulled the towel tighter.

Sirius was just grinning at her. The bastard was actually grinning at her. Not moving!!

He let out whistle, “Well this is quite the welcome, McKinnon”

“Get out!!”

Sirius placed his hands on his hips, “Now McKinnon this is my room too you know.” Marlene rolled her eyes, “At least turn around, Perv!”

Sirius held his hands up in surrender and slowly spun around while she changed. “Its nothing I haven’t seen before.”

She huffed and told him he could turn around.

He was just smiling at her, not saying anything.

“What?” Marlene asked with an annoyed huff

“Nothing… you’re hot” Still just smirking, hands on hip

“I know that.” Marlene was scowling on the outside but flushing on the inside as she bit out.

“Okay.”

“I get told that a lot”

“Okay.”

“By lots of people, boys and girls”

“Okay.” Why did he keep drawing out his okay like he was teasing her.

“Not that I need validation from strangers or you!”

“Never said you did, McKinnon”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

The pair just stared at each other. Marlene was trying not act unaffected by his gaze, she felt like he was looking into her soul. Sirius was admittedly not looking into her soul but rather her wonderfully long legs in her short sweat shorts.

She couldn’t take it anymore and turned to get on the bed, “So what about the pizza you were gone for like 15 minutes?”

Sirius moved towards the bed where she was laying out papers and books, he let out a puff of air, “Yeah well apparently Tom owns this 5 star hotel and the 5 star diner we ate in earlier. Serving the best pizza in town. He was insistent that he would just have it delivered and call when it was here, so I could ‘get back to my super hot blonde bird’” The smile again.

Marlene shoved, “He did not”

Sirius shrugged, “Maybe not but that was the gist of it.” Wink. “Anyway he did give me the information of some old lady who he thinks we could talk to about town history.” He handed Marlene the card.

“Wait, I recognize this name! She wrote like five of these books!” Marlene stared digging around the bed.

Sirius reclined with his hands behind his head. He went to turn on the tv but Marlene snatched the remote from his hands,

“We have work to do.”

“Alright tell me what you got Sherlock”

Marlene turned to face him.

“Ok Well you were right this town is named after Godric Gryffindor, he was born like a million years ago. He and the other founders each gave some special item to be buried under the school. Almost like a time capsule, it was supposed to be opened this year.”

“Why this year?”

“Apparently this was the year was the 300 hundred year anniversary of the something called the Hallows, I’ll explain that in a minute. Anyway, this guy Dumbledore became head of the school but his assistance wanted to steal the items because of some old wives tail that they’re magical. So he hid them, BUT THEN one of the students named Tom Riddle stole it all which is why we’ve never heard anything about opening the capsule because it’s gone and since forgotten.”

“Okay yeah I read a little bit about the items in,” He rooted around and found the book he was looking for pulling it into his lap and opening it to the pages. “Here. See it says that that Godric Gryffindor gave a sword. The sword could supposedly slice through anything and it was unbreakable. It was supposed to have belonged to Lancelot. Rowena Ravenclaw gave a Diadem?” He quirked an eyebrow

“It’s like a crown”

Sirius looked up from the book and found that Marlene was closer than he had expected.

“Right. Um Well, the Diadem had once belonged to the Queen royals and apparently the queen who wore it could live and rule forever. The Helga Hufflepuff gave a golden chalice, yes that chalice, the Holy Grail. If you drank from the cup it would heal you of any wounds. And finally, Salazar Slytherin gave a locket. The locket gave you the power to hear the voices in others heads. The wearer could use it to exploit others darkest thoughts and fears.”

Marlene let out a whistle. “Do you think its real? The magic?” Sirius wanted to know.

Marlene turned her whole body towards him, “Yeah I think I do. I mean I feel like I have to otherwise what was all of this for? I know it sounds crazy but my mom told me a story once… before she left.”

“Marlene…” Sirius whispered and move to grab her hand but before he even got close she sat up straight.

“She told me that she was working in Peru one winter and studying these writings on a cave. They spoke of this great love, that the people bonded together under the stars and in the cave would be together forever, they wouldn’t have love for anyone else. Anyway that’s where she met my dad and they got married there. Sometimes I think it has to be true and that’s why they leave to go around the world with each other. There isn’t love for anyone else, just each other. Its dumb I know but it was the best excuse I could come up with as kid for why they didn’t stay. And its nice to think that they’ll always have that powerful love for each other.”

“So yeah it has to be real, otherwise Marc is missing for nothing and my whole career becomes really boring”

They both let out a small laugh at the end of that statement.

“I hate to tell you McKinnon but your career is boring and you’re still a major nerd no matter what”

Marlene shoved him down, “Anyway….Tom Riddle. He was this Nazi sympathizer during the war. He believed all their propaganda about the science branch. He thought if he could find the founders items then he could live forever and help Germany win.”

“Aka he was barmy”

“Exactly. But I guess he briefly got a job at the university to get access to ideas as to where it was. Dumbledor trusted him and Riddle stole it all and any gold he could find in the university. He disappeared, most guessed to Germany but it was never confirmed. So that’s really where the story ends but Marc found his diary and in it Riddle said he went to Germany but the fall of the axis powers happened almost as soon as he got there. He came back with Nazi treasure and the founders items. I don’t know much after that besides Godric’s Hollow. I’m not sure where to go from here but maybe Bagshot will have answers.

Marlene shrugged. She felt exhausted. Sirius could see it, she looked like she had just told someone their dog had died.

He moved his hand to her thigh, “We’ll figure it out Marlene. Marc with be okay.” He squeezed her thigh, “I promise.”

They had somehow moved close, their faces only inches apart. Marlene’s eyes flickered from his eyes down to his mouth then back up to those piercing gray eyes. Sirius was searching for something in her eyes, something telling him to stop but maybe it was just because he didn’t want to see something that screamed stopped so he started to lean in. Their eyes closed, his lips about to brush hers…when the phone rang.

Sirius let out a sigh.

“You should get that” Marlene’s voice came out small, she was worried if she spoke any louder he would hear the shake.

He rolled over and picked up the hot pink (roto dial? Where were they?) phone.

As he turned his back to her to talk, she released the breath she had been holding in. She could feel the red on her face. What was that?? God he says some sweet thing and she turns into this stupid melt at gray eyes girl. She would pull it together.

Sirius stood up and turned to her, “That was Tom. The pizza’s here.”

Silence

“Okay so I’ll go grab it.” He spun on his heal and was out the door.

Closing the door behind him, he leaned his head against the wall outside. What was that?? He wanted to kiss her so bad in that moment. He wanted to reassure her everything would work out. That he would make sure of it. He needed to pull it together. He was here to prove something to her. He didn’t want to throw it away on some silly kiss, first she needed to understand what he meant when he kissed her.

Sirius gave his head a shake and pushed off the wall. He opened the door to the office and once again found it empty. Where did this man go? He gave the bell a ring and out came Tom.

“Hiya, I’m Tom! What can I do for ya?” Yep. Batty old man.

“Hey Tom, uhh Sirius” He pointed to himself hoping to jog the old mans memory. He had just called him about the pizza.

“Oh yeah! I got your pizza right here!!” He pulled a box out from behind the counter and opened to show Sirius a heart shaped peperoni pizza. “For you and your lady’s special getaway, on me!”

Sirius thanked the man and took the pizza, he hoped Marlene would get a laugh out of it and not blame him.

He wouldn’t have to worry though because he opened the door to a sleeping Marlene. He just took in the sight. All of the lights were still on, papers and books spread out over the bed. She had one on her chest, clearly falling asleep while reading it. He could tell she wasn’t faking by the way her mouth hung open. Marlene was mortified that she was a mouth breather when she slept, she wouldn’t fake that. Also he could just tell, he knew her too well.

Sirius sighed and set the pizza down on the dresser, he took a slice for himself quickly eating it. He went over and gave her a small nudge. She didn’t even open her eyes.

“mHmm”

“I know you’re tired Love but you should eat” It was the softest whisper

Eyes still closed and more than half asleep, she just rolled away from him, “no too tired, come to bed baby.” Burying her head into the pillow. She was already snoring again by the time processed what she had said in her sleep state. He tried not to think too much on it. She was sleeping but still there was this warm feeling in his chest as he moved around the room picking book and papers off the bed.

Sirius stripped down to just his boxers flicked off the lights and climbed in the bed. As soon as he was settled in the darkness a sleeping Marlene rolled to him. Her head going to his chest and swinging a leg over his.

Sirius knew he should try to roll away but she just looked so peaceful snuggled up to him. He couldn’t turn away not when he knew she had been losing sleep the past couple weeks. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. Sirius pressed a kiss to the top of her head and closed his eyes. He would deal with the rest in the morning.

[sunshinetrappedinourhearts]

Nathmarc month day 21: Mermaid/Pirate AU

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16491026/chapters/39165160 Okay, help. I don’t know what happened but this got WAY TOO LONG WTH. Also I don’t know if I should’ve interpreted this AU as a mermaid OR pirate au (as in, I should’ve made a choice) but this one is both. xD And it’s... long... (I put a read more tag, but you can also read it on my AO3~)

@nathmarcnovember

The first time Marc saw him, he had thought he was dreaming. It was early in the morning, about 6AM, during that time he was the only one awake on the ship. Because it was the only moment he could let his guard down a little and just think, look at the horizon, for just a short while feeling the illusion of freedom. He was standing on deck, leaning against the railing of the ship, his eyelids partly closed as the sunrise was blinding him. It caused golden glitters, dancing on the waves of the ocean. It was enchanting, no matter how many times he watched it.

Then, something appeared in the water, and Marc blinked. A dolphin?

But it was gone again. He frowned, rubbed his eyes and looked again.

There it was again. A lot closer.

He saw a hint of red, and he blinked again. Dolphins weren’t red.

Closer again, and then Marc saw.

He saw those beautiful ocean eyes, with just a small hint of green making them stand out from the actual water.

He saw the silky, slightly wavy red hair, almost covering one of their eyes, falling around the face, reaching to the chin.

The features of the creature were beautiful, almost feminine, rounded and soft, but still with a sharp jawline, making their appearance very androgynous.

For a while, Marc stared into those deep, ocean eyes, and they stared back. Until after a while, they turned around and dove underwater. In the process, a large, turquoise colored tail reached the water’s surface, and disappeared behind them.

Marc’s eyes widened, and he didn’t realize he was clutching the railing so hard until he saw his knuckles turn white and he let go.

He-

He was dreaming, right?

***

The second time, he saw him, it was while he was cleaning the deck, during noon.

They had been harassing him about not doing his chores well enough, which was, of course, not true, but they just liked making his life even more miserable than it already was. On top of that, they also enjoyed belittling and mocking him, so they had ordered him to clean the ship with only a small towel, so he had to clean it thoroughly almost every five minutes, and the water he was using also turned dirty soon, so he was constantly refreshing it. It felt like the chore would never end.

Marc sighed.

Does it even matter what chore I’m doing, though?

I’ll be stuck here for the rest of my life.

Or for as long as they will decide not to feed me to the sharks.

So he cleaned, and cleaned some more.

Then, when he turned around, his face focused on the direction of the ocean, he saw a familiar hint of red, as their face was just above the surface.

They seemed to be floating there, watching him with ocean eyes.

Alarmed, Marc glanced around him, but luckily, they were not in sight.

Yet.

He dropped his towel and leaned as close to the edge of the ship as he could.

‘Go away! Quick! They can’t see you! They’ll catch you!’

The creature blinked, than swam closer.

‘N-no, please! I said turn around! You have no idea what they’d do to you!’

‘But you’re not doing anything, are you?’

Marc almost lost his balance and fell in the water when he – obviously he, now that he had heard his voice – replied to him.

He blinked a bit, staring, unsure if he had imagined the words or not. The creature seemed amused, his eyes lighting up a bit as a smile teased his lips.

‘Didn’t think I could speak?’

‘Uh…’

‘Got it right, huh?’ He smiled a bit wider.

Beautiful.

‘P-please,’ Marc then managed to say. ‘It’s because I’m just a normal person, but they… They’ll catch you and sell you on the black market. I beg of you, bring yourself to safety-’

He furrowed his eyebrows. ‘Then, what about you?’

‘I’m… stuck here…’ he scratched his head. ‘I can tell you the whole story but please, not while they’re awake. Come back here at 6 in the morning, by that time, they’re all asleep until noon or-so.’

He seemed to be thinking for a while, and then nodded. ‘Alright. But… may I have your name, at least?’

‘It’s Marc.’

He smiled. ‘Thanks.’ And gone he was, his tail trailing behind him.

Marc didn’t have time to ask for his name.

***

He had been haunting Marc’s thoughts for the rest of the day, and night. So as soon as dawn fell, and the sounds of laughter and drinking died out, he hurried to the deck, not even feeling a slight hint of the cool morning breeze, his mind elsewhere.

He didn’t even have to wait, because when he arrived outside, he could already see the familiar red hair and ocean blue eyes.

When their eyes met, he smiled at him, swimming a little closer. Marc’s heart jumped, and he pushed himself against the railing as far as he could.

‘You came.’

‘Of course. You asked me to.’

‘I-’

Still thought I’d been dreaming-

As if he could hear Marc’s thoughts, he let his tail go out of the water, slightly, moving it a little.

He chuckled a little then, and Marc blinked.

He had been staring, probably, definitely-

‘S-sorry.’

‘I figure you’ve never seen a merman before?’

He breathed.

Somewhere deep inside, he’d known, but-

Mermaids, mermen, they were legends, myths of the common people. They didn’t exist.

Sure, he wrote stories about them, he had done so for as long as he could remember, but-

He’d never, ever thought his fantasies would be true.

‘That’s okay, though. You’re the first human I’m seeing, too.’ The merman smiled, wiping some strands of hair out of his face.

‘What’s your name,’ Marc blurted out. It didn’t sound like a question, but as a thought, lingering in his mind but not yet voiced.

‘Nathaniel.’

‘That’s… beautiful…’

Nathaniel’s cheeks colored a little, and he sank a bit deeper in the ocean, so the water reached up until his nose. After a while, he pushed his body up a little higher again.

‘So… those… other humans you’re traveling with… they’re not so nice, huh?’

Marc sighed a bit. ‘You noticed?’

Nathaniel nodded. ‘I’ve been watching the ship, just to see what humans are like… I’m… curious about them… But I didn’t like them much. They are loud and drunk and… mean. Then, I noticed you cleaning the ship, but you were a little different. So I started observing you.’

Marc breathed-

The merman had been watching him-

As he felt his cheeks burn a bit, he quickly looked the other way.

The sound of soft laughter met his ears, and he decided to look again. Nathaniel seemed amused.

‘What are you doing here, Marc? When you’re so different from them…?’

Marc pushed his hands under his chin, leaning his elbows on the railing as he sighed. ‘I’m their prisoner…’

The merman raised an eyebrow. ‘Prisoner…? What bad things have you done…?’

‘Nothing. These men… they’re pirates… Do you know what that means?’

Nathaniel shook his head, sinking a bit deeper again, until he got up. Absently, Marc wondered if he needed the water to breathe.

‘It means… they’re bad people… they rob other ships, steal treasure, carry slaves, they kill…’

Nathaniel’s eyes widened. ‘So… my father’s stories are true, after all… Then…’ he blinked. ‘Then, you’re the only one who is different?’

‘Ah, n-no, it’s not like that. There are many good people in the world.’ He smiled. ‘I’m just unlucky to have ended up here…’

‘Can’t you just leave?’

For the short moment his optimism lasted, the despair rose to his chest again, making him feel nauseous.

‘…I can’t… they’ll catch me… and kill me… I’m… going to be here until I die, probably.’ He didn’t want to look the beautiful merman in the eye while saying such sad things, so he stared at the horizon instead. The sun was rising slowly. There was no land in sight, not yet. It would take about 2 more weeks to get to the next harbour.

‘…how did they catch you in the first place…?’

Memories from months ago came back to him, like they did every night, haunting him in his sleep. They were dark, sketchy flash backs, and Marc closed his eyes, letting them wash over him.

He had just turned 18 years old, the right age to lead his life, make his own choices. Marc had packed only a small bag full of notebooks and pens, enough to last him at least a year.

‘I’m going, mom, dad,’ he had announced, eyes shining with anticipation.

‘Please, sweetie, be very, very careful,’ his mom had looked so sad, so fragile, and Marc had kissed her forehead reassuringly. In the past two years, he had grown taller than her.

‘It’ll be alright, mom! I’ll make sure to write to you every week.’

And so they had seen him off, and he had gone to the harbour, where the small boat he had bought was waiting for him. And he boarded it, beginning his journey to sail around the world; his search for the mystic, and to find inspiration to finish his book.

Marc opened his eyes again, and saw Nathaniel looking at him carefully, waiting.

‘I… I am a writer… So I set off to sail around the world in order to find inspiration, and finish my book… But after only a month I ran into these pirates… They stole all my money, and made me their slave…’ He felt a sad smile twitching around the corners of his lips. ‘They… even stole most of my notebooks, and they sold them for money… My stories are elsewhere now, they’re not mine anymore… There’s nothing left for me to live for…’

‘What were they about?’

‘About the ocean, the wonders hidden within them,’ he met Nathaniel’s gaze. ‘I wrote about sea creatures, mythical ones, like you…’

A small grin played with the merman’s lips. ‘Yet I am the first merman you’ve ever met.’

‘Well, yes… I wanted to meet one, but… Couldn’t fully believe they existed… And now that my stories are stolen, I found you… Ironic, huh?’

‘Why are you giving up so easily?’

Marc blinked. ‘There is no hope for me. There’s no way for me to escape.’

‘Hm,’ Nathaniel answered, and Marc didn’t know what that meant, but he didn’t ask.

‘I should get going,’ the merman then said. ‘My father is waiting for me. I will be back tomorrow,’ he smiled. ‘Stay strong, Marc.’

He wanted to say something back, but Nathaniel had already vanished before he could.

***

‘I am a bit like you, actually,’ Nathaniel said the next time they met.

‘…what do you mean?’

‘I make stories, too. Only they’re about the surface. About the people living there,’ he smiled softly. ‘And I don’t write them, I draw pictures about the people, about the life I imagine.’

‘So, we both… dream about a world different than ours…’

‘That’s right. So since I’m from the world you are interested in, and you’re from the world I dream about, I think we should tell each other stories.’

Nathaniel’s eyes had seemed even brighter than usual as he had said those words, and small sparkles seemed to be shining within them. They were like the sunbeams falling down on the ocean through puffy clouds, making the waves appear golden. Marc wished he could look at them more closely, but that was nothing but a fantasy.

‘Let’s do that,’ he said instead, blushing slightly. ‘You start… okay?’

That was the start of the exchange of stories.

And that evening, Marc had grabbed his long-forgotten notebook from under the broken mattress of his tiny old bed. It was the only one he had left, and it was still empty of words. The only reason why they hadn’t taken it.

And he started writing.

The light in his heart was back.

***

A week passed.

It was an hour before dawn, usually they would already meet up by then, to watch the sunrise together. But today, Marc wasn’t sure if he should go out to see him. Because yesterday evening had been horrible. And it was visible.

His face was beaten up, swollen from the aggression he had received, bruised from the fists he had seen flying towards him. He looked awful.

Just in time, he had fled from the scene, where he had become a punching bag of frustration, since they had lost a fight against another pirate ship, and had been forced to give up the treasure they had battled for.

It had happened a few times before, so Marc almost couldn’t feel the pain anymore. But it had been worse than usual.

If he hadn’t escaped then-

And he wondered, a tiny voice in his head did-

That if he had never met Nathaniel-

Maybe-

Just maybe-

He wouldn’t have tried to get away-

Maybe, he would’ve just lain there, waiting until death would’ve arrived to pick him up-

But he had imagined his bright ocean eyes and-

He had wanted to live.

Marc sighed. The merman had saved his life.

But he-

He looked horrible.

He-

He couldn’t see him like this…

Still, his heart ached if he imagined him waiting outside forever, possibly too long, so long that the pirates would already show up, and they would capture him, torture him alive, sell him and exhibit him and-

No.

Marc pushed himself up, and went outside.

As he had imagined, Nathaniel was already there, and a smile brightened up his face as their eyes met, but immediately, his expression darkened. And he swam closer.

‘Marc-’

He lowered his eyes, leaned against the railing, his hands trembling slightly.

He wished he was stronger-

He wished he could fight back-

Run away from this prison-

‘What happened, Marc?’ his voice was soft. ‘What have they done to you?’

He looked up, and Nathaniel’s eyes looked so sad. It didn’t suit him.

‘I’m sorry… It… happens… They… like to take out their frustrations on me,’ he laughed a bit, but it wasn’t because something was funny. It was because he felt awkward, and weak, and stupid. And he didn’t know what else to do.

‘They’re monsters… Real monsters…’ Anger, fury, fire in his expression. ‘I… want you to get away from this ship, Marc…’

‘But how? There’s just no way…! I have already accepted my fate, Nathaniel, there’s nothing I can do…’

‘Have you really…? You want to live, right? You want to travel the world, isn’t it? You want to finish your book… Even if you have to start all over again. There’s nothing you can do by yourself, but maybe I can help you…’

No-

God, no-

It was too dangerous-

He couldn’t-

‘No! You shouldn’t even be here, it’s dangerous. Do you even know what will happen to you if they find you?’

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. ‘Yeah. They put me in a glass bowl full of nasty water and exhibit me to the world, and millions of humans will come to look and point at me. Like a prison, you know. Like, the way you are now, isn’t it?’

It took some time for Marc to process, and his mind was running in circles.

Because he was right, wasn’t he?

So if Nathaniel cared about him, just as he cared about Nathaniel, then…

Then it was only natural that he wanted to help him, right…?

He didn’t want Nathaniel to be caught and imprisoned.

So… it was normal that…

Nathaniel wanted to help him escape from hís prison… right…?

So he couldn’t answer.

Instead, he looked at him, and Nathaniel smiled softly.

‘Don’t worry, I won’t act recklessly. I’ll come up with a plan. Alright?’

Marc wasn’t sure.

He much rather wanted to stay imprisoned for the rest of his life than make Nathaniel risk his own, but…

He nodded anyway.

Because he wasn’t going to make the merman change his mind anytime soon.

Hopefully later.

***

‘After I help you escape, we should create a story together, don’t you think?’ Nathaniel said, half a week later, smiling brightly.

Marc’s wounds had almost healed, his bruises almost vanished. The anger of the pirates had slowly faded away. Since soon, they would reach land.

Which meant there was gold to be stolen, booze to be drunk, people to be robbed, ways to get rich again and forget all about the losses they had suffered earlier.

‘You want to make a story… with me?’

‘Of course! You can write, and I can draw, so we can combine our best skills to create an amazing story.’

Earlier, Nathaniel had brought his drawings to the surface. Most of them were carved into stone. When Marc had told him they used paper and pencils for drawing on the land, just like the way he wrote down his stories, Nathaniel’s eyes had brightened up again.

‘Then… we could only make that true when I actually.. you know… escape. And we have a secret place where we can meet…’

Nathaniel grinned. ‘I came up with a plan.’

Oh, no-

So soon?

He could just reject it, right?

Because he wasn’t ready-

He couldn’t sacrifice him.

Not even if there was a chance of success.

There was too much at stake.

‘You’re setting course for the land, right? And you’ll get there in about…?’

‘Three days, I think.’

‘Perfect. Then, in two days, when the beach is close enough, you’ll jump in the ocean and I’ll help you get to the land.’

Marc blinked.

That was way too reckless.

There was no way they would succeed.

He was good at swimming, but that far…?

Besides, that would mean Nathaniel would swim all the way to the beach and that-

That was more than a little dangerous.

‘You’re worried,’ Nathaniel observed.

‘Y-yes. I mean, there’s too much risk, there!’

‘Are you underestimating me?’ the merman frowned, and within his eyes, Marc could see that he was genuinely offended.

‘Well, you have no choice, if you don’t do it, I’m going to show myself to the pirates.’

‘W-what!’

‘It’s either both of us free, or both of us imprisoned. I’ll let you make the choice.’

And with that, Nathaniel left.

He didn’t show up the next day, nor the day after.

***

The pirates were having ‘dinner’ on the deck, which basically meant they were eating everywhere and nowhere, and mostly drinking booze to flush away the nasty food they cooked. Beside the fact that they hardly gave him any food, this was also the reason why Marc had lost a lot of weight in the months he had been enslaved by them.

He was cleaning the empty plates they threw on deck, running around to make sure he got to everyone just in time before they would get irritated and decided to hurt him.

Occasionally, Marc glanced at the horizon, where the land was already clearly visible.

He was feeling a bit nauseous, because he remembered Nathaniel’s words clearly, and he-

What if he-

Was going to be reckless-

He sighed, trying not to think about it, when suddenly, he saw silky red hair and ocean eyes reach the surface of the water, and he almost dropped his plate.

Nathaniel immediately spotted him and he nodded at him, then pointed at the land that was right there, too far for a human to swim, but no problem at all for a sea creature.

He reached out his hand. As if offering it to him.

But Marc took a step back.

Because-

Because no-

He couldn’t-

They’d notice-

For sure-

They’d go after them, use their small boats, drown and kill him, and then capture Nathaniel and sell him on the black market after harassing and humiliating him.

He couldn’t-

He couldn’t let that happen-

The risk was too high-

He glanced back at Nathaniel carefully, and the merman’s expression was far from pleased. He glared at him, and then, he was gone.

Marc’s heart stopped.

Maybe he gave up, maybe maybe maybe-

Please-

But he knew the merman wasn’t like that, he knew all too well.

And he was right.

Because not even a minute later, when he was back at the place where the pirates were gathered, Nathaniel reappeared in the water, sticking his tail out, swimming carefree.

God-

His heart pounded against his chest painfully and he had to do something-

Had to-

Too late-

‘Oi! Wuzzat? Mermaid?’

Some pirates laughed.

‘Yeah, right, you’re drunk as a skunk, man.’

‘No, look, I’m telling you!’ the first pirate stood up, stumbled on his feet and leaned against the railing. So far, that for a  moment, Marc was afraid he would fall in the water.

‘There she is!’

The other pirates looked, and so did Marc.

Nathaniel smiled sweetly, and waved.

Marc groaned. He was terrible.

‘Fuck! It is a mermaid! Go catch it! Jackpot, man!’

‘You catch it!’

‘Jump in!’

‘Pffffft, no way man, what if it’s a siren, it’ll drown and eat me.’

More laughter.

‘Okay, seriously though, catch it. It’s worth money.’

Marc breathed.

And took a step forward.

‘I’ll catch it.’

Silence. And about twenty pairs of eyes staring at him. They were burning holes in him. But they couldn’t hurt him. He was going to escape. He had to trust Nathaniel.

So he took some more steps forward, his head held high.

Then, laughter.

‘Whew, you finally ready to die, shrimp?’

‘Giving up your life?’

‘That’s a wise choice for once, mate.’

More laughter.

The captain came walking towards him, however, until he was only inches away from him.

Marc had to move his chin up to be able to look him in the eye.

‘You’re going to jump in there by yourself and catch it, and we’ll pull you up once you have it. If you fail, well,’ the captain smirked. ‘Then you’re for the sharks.’

Laughter.

Marc’s head was spinning.

Trust him.

‘Regretting your big mouth already? Too bad, you don’t have a choice anymore. Jump in there. Now.’

Marc breathed.

Around him, they began chanting.

‘Jump, jump, jump, jump.’

They were stamping their feet on the ground in time with their yelling, and anxiousness grabbed him by the throat, making it hard to breath. But he walked. One foot in front of the other, staring right in front of him instead of at the faces judging and watching him.

The ocean seemed so, so far away.

But at last-

He was there.

He tried not to look down as he climbed over the railing.

Tried not to listen to the yelling behind him.

The only thing he thought of were Nathaniel’s ocean blue eyes.

Trust him.

And he would.

He jumped.

The sensation was a strange one; it felt as if he was falling forever, but then suddenly, he reached the water, way too soon, and he quickly closed his eyes as the cold water embraced him.

And then, two soft arms.

He looked up, and stared right into those beautiful eyes.

Nathaniel smiled at him and Marc’s eyes widened.

He couldn’t stop staring.

He was right-

Right in front of him-

Only inches apart-

Up close, his eyes were even more enchanting-

Nathaniel leaned closer and whispered in his ear. ‘Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Trust me.’

Marc was unsure what he meant, but he trusted him. So he followed his instructions.

The arms wrapped around him tightened and before he could register what happened, they were underwater. Moving downwards at an inhuman speed.

What-

What was happening-

Was he-

Did he-

Betray… him?

Was he going to die?

Were sirens real after all?

Had he-

Fallen prey-

Ah-

Lightheaded-

Little stars on his vision-

No sound-

Just blue, ocean blue eyes-

The only thing that mattered-

And then-

Two hands on his cheeks-

Soft lips on his-

And the air was back.

The stars were gone.

He carefully opened his eyes.

And coughed.

Some water exited his mouth and he blinked, trying to make sense of his surroundings.

The surface under his hands was warm, and a little rough. He looked down, and he seemed to be lying on some rocks. In front of him, the sun was setting in the ocean. It was a beautiful red, and orange, yellow, and purple, some hints of blue.

Enchanting.

Wait-

Where-

He quickly searched, but the merman seemed to be nowhere.

What… happened…?

Flashes came back to him, Nathaniel showing himself to the pirates, him offering to catch him, walking to the edge of the ship, and then- then-

He’d jumped down and-

Nathaniel had pushed him underwater.

But now…

He was on the surface.

When he turned around, he could see a village in the distance, belonging to the land that they were setting course to earlier.

The merman had brought him here.

He had saved him after all.

He…

He was free…

‘Looking for me?’

Marc almost lost his balance, and quickly turned his head in the direction of the voice.

There he was.

Looking at him, a small smile around his lips, as he was leaning with his arms on some lower rocks, letting his tail move in and out of the water.

‘N-Nathaniel…’

‘Marc.’

His eyes sparkled, and Marc-

He needed to get closer.

Now that he finally, finally could.

He wanted to take a closer look at him.

So he moved down a little, until he was kneeled down on the rock the merman was leaning on.

‘You… you saved me…’

‘I told you to trust me, and you did.’

‘T-thank you…’

Nathaniel shook his head. ‘You needed to be free. Besides, I want to create a story with you. You can’t do that when your imprisoned on that terrible ship.’

‘Did you… try to make it look like you killed me…?’

He nodded. ‘It was the easiest way to get rid of them immediately. It only means you need to lay low for a few days, until they have set sail again. So they don’t spot you.’

‘I… don’t know how to thank you…’

His smile widened. ‘Like I said, create a story with me. Although…’

‘Although?’

There was a slight hint of a blush on his cheeks, and Marc was mesmerized. ‘Although a kiss would be nice, too, I guess…’

‘A k-kiss?’

His mind was spinning.

How could-

Someone as beautiful-

Enchanting-

As him-

Want to-

‘Unless you don’t want to, of course.’

For the first time ever, Marc stopped thinking, and just acted.

He leaned in, cupping Nathaniel’s cheek with his hand, caressing softly.

And kissed him.

***

Months passed, during which Marc saw his merman almost every day. He had almost finished his story, and Nathaniel had been drawing many scenes to accompany them.

But Marc-

He wanted to go home.

He had written his parents immediately, and they had been delighted to finally hear from him. But after these adventures, he needed to see them. Take a break. Rest.

Only he didn’t want to leave Nathaniel. His heart ached just thinking about it.

He was sitting on the beach, thinking about his choices, watching the sunset with a sigh.

Then, in the distance, he saw a figure slowly walking up to him.

He frowned, squinting his eyes until he saw the person almost trip.

Immediately, he jumped up and ran to support them.

On the way, his heart skipped several beats, but only when he was by his side, preventing him from falling by putting his arms around him, he fully noticed.

‘N-Nathaniel…’ he breathed. ‘What-’

Nathaniel looked up at him, his legs trembling slightly, and he grinned.

‘Hey there, Marc.’

‘What did you do-’

‘I abandoned my tail.’

‘I can see that, but-’

‘I know you want to go home. And like that, with that… tail… I can’t go with you. Like this, I can… And besides…’ He scratched his head a bit. ‘I’ve… always wanted to live on the surface, anyways… And now I can become a proper illustrator, too… I couldn’t see any bad consequences, Marc.’ He smiled softly. ‘So I’m coming with you. On the condition that you properly introduce me to your parents as your boyfriend. And take me to see the world, after you’ve rested. Oh, and teach me walking, please, this is kind of hard…’

Marc just hugged him tightly, and some tears fell down.

But it didn’t matter, since they were tears of happiness.