#two things I can’t get over- xB the fish and beefs skin from s8

[dmwrites]

“You know what I’ve always found super duper interesting?”

“Holy cheese and crackers!” Beef jumped so badly he fell directly into the ocean. He swam back up to air and choked out, “xB?”

xB was laughing, not in malice, one arm resting on the stone above the water to keep himself afloat. “Oh my- I’m so sorry Beef, I really am! I didn’t expect you to react like that!”

Beef took a few gulps of air and laughed too. “No dude, it’s chill. Lost in my own little world out here, only thinking about cards and maps- sometimes a dip in the sea is what a guy needs. Nice tail, by the way.” xB smiled shyly and ducked his head, swirling his huge fish tail in the water. “So, okay, what were you saying before? I can’t even remember a lick of it.”

xB chuckled. “Let’s go for a swim, Beef!” He grabbed Beef’s hand and tried to drag him underwater.

“Hey, hey, siren from mythology! Hold your horses, well, sea horses really, see what I did there? Eh? Eh? Anyway xB, I can’t breathe underwater, you know.”

“Potion of water breathing.” xB tossed him a bottle. Beef raised an eyebrow at him. xB sighed. “No nefarious intentions, I just haven’t talked to you that much, and I don’t get much water time in my caves. Please?”

“Alright, but just because you’re such a good guy like fifty percent of the time.” Beef replied, and downed the potion. xB grinned happily, grabbed Beef’s arm again, and pulled him under the waves. The two men swam, Beef doing a powerful breaststroke, and xB doing spirals around him. It was a simple joy, really, to be able to just exist in this silent blue world.

After a while, a small coral reef came into sight, and xB curled himself around some pink coral, and patted a spot next to him for Beef. Beef swam over and settled himself. xB looked off into the distance for a moment, which gave Beef time to take a real look at xB’s tail and scales. xB was such a quiet and solitary person most of the time, even more so with his underwater form, that this was a very rare sighting. xB’s tail was a beautiful blue-green color, like kelp deep under the water, inlaid with gold and muted rainbow veins throughout. It looked powerful- well, it had to be, Beef considered, considering xB had literally been swimming circles around him before.

“Hey now, you checkin’ me out, Beefers?” xB giggled, and Beef realized xB was watching him look at his tail.

“Oh, sorry man, I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just that your tail is super cool, dude! Like the scale colors are, just, wow!” Beef smiled at xB.

“You know, that’s kinda what i wanted to talk about with you.” xB swished his tail through the water, making the coral fans around him shimmy. “Scales.”

Beef cocked his head slightly in what he hoped was confusion. “Scales?” Something heavy settled into his stomach.

“Yeah man. I know last season was kinda odd, but i saw you once or twice, and I know you know exactly what I’m talking about.” xB’s tail was swishing even faster, like a small storm to the things living in the reef. “I don’t- I’m not trying to attack you, Beef, I just want to know what happened. I’ve never met someone who had something… similar, I guess.”

Beef put a hand to his face unconsciously, feeling the smoothness of his skin and for the beard that floated all around him. “xB, man, I- yeah, weird is an understatement.” He couldn’t stop feeling his face, tracing his eyes, nose, and mouth with shaking fingers.

“I’m sorry.” xB looked extremely guilty. “I’m upsetting you.”

“No, no, man, I’m sorry I’m like this.” Beef gave xB a small smile.

“Please don’t apologize for the things that have happened to you.” xB smiled back at him. “I didn’t realize. We don’t have to talk about it, Beefers. We can always just sit here and watch the fish traffic go by.”

“No, I want-” Beef sighed, even though he didn’t have to breathe air. xB passed him another water breathing potion regardless. “Being alone so much, making my maps and cards, it really forces you to think. There’s a lot of cool stuff that’s happened to me in my life, but also that whole thing was so… scary, honestly. Waking up every day to see more of my face becoming scales. Watching my own eyes become foreign to me. And then it was gone, just like that, all of a sudden. And it was so… it was like I woke up one morning and someone had shouted in my ear to go, and I went knowing only blurry bits and pieces of what happened.”

xB’s tail had slowed and was now curling and uncurling around the coral in a peaceful way. He was looking at Beef, deep in thought.

“So that’s why you up and left all of a sudden.” xB finally said, a hand tracing his own face, which was sprinkled with sparking scales. “Beef, I’m so sorry.”

Beef shook his head. “It’s gone, for now. Easy not forget when it’s not happening. But I don’t want to forget, but I don’t want to think about it right now, you know?”

xB nodded. “Well man, if or when you want to talk about it, I’ll be here, but until then, there will always be the fish to watch.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true. Thanks xB.” Beef replied quietly, and the two watched the fish swim by in calm, swirling patterns that almost seemed too beautiful for Beef to comprehend.