((This is pretty much where the story starts to actually sink into a plot))

It was warm when Lance finally gained consciousness again. He didn’t open his eyes yet, but just stirred on the softness beneath him. His body felt restrained with something wrapped around it and all he managed to do was roll over. He felt himself tipping over, and opened his eyes just in time to fall off whatever surface he was on and to the ground. His tail slapped harshly onto the floor and Lance felt instant pain on a specific area.

His eyes snapped open once more and he sat up. He frantically looked around at his surroundings, wondering where he was and how he got here. He wasn’t in the ocean anymore, no, gravity wouldn’t have pulled him down so harshly if he was. The space in which he was in were surrounded by brown walls, the floor having the same color and unique texture. The place he fell off was elevated above the ground with four small pillars, leaving a space under it.

Lance’s body was loosely wrapped with some kind of big fabric, which had been the reason for his previous warmth. It was cold now, seeing as the fabric was already sliding off his body. He tried to remember what happened as he pulled the fabric closer to his chest to preserve the little heat he had now. The only aspect of memory that was left with his conscious mind was a soft voice speaking to him, putting him to supposed sleep. He could vaguely remember the feeling of the cold wet ground under him, but not what he had been laying on.

He felt overwhelmed in such an unrecognizable space and curled himself closer to his chest to try and make more warmth for his body. His tail was freezing though, and it only felt like he was trying to get heat from an abnormally big ice cube. Sometimes Lance wondered why only half of his body was coldblooded but not the other half.

He moved his tail away from him and didn’t bother covering it with the fabric, letting more heat go to part of his body that actually needed it. When he wrapped the material tighter around him he noticed something white. Right in the area of his tail hurting most was a cloth tied around him. Red stained part of it, and Lance could only think of it to be his own blood. Examining his injury, he thought of all the possible ways of how he could have gotten it.

When he reached to touch the cloth an abrupt knock made him retreat his hand admittedly. He glanced over at the door, fearing of what could be behind it, he tried to look for a place to hide. The door opened before he could even think of an option, so he closed his eyes shut, pulled the fabric closer, and hoped for the best.

Nothing happened though, the room was silent and his body was still. A few moments passed, and Lance wondered if the being had left him alone. He peeked through one eye to make sure and the doorway was empty, the door still wide open. Lance relaxed, but only tensed back up when he thought of what opened the door flashed through his mind. The door could’ve opened by itself for all he knew, or the human who opened it just left to get torture devices. You couldn’t blame Lance for being paranoid, his only knowledge of humans were from the stories his twin sister would tell him, in which somehow all of them ended with the human killing the mermaid.

Lance glanced around the room, looking for a place to hide again just in case the person came back. The empty space under the elevated surface seemed like the only option, all he needed to do was roll over to get there, seemed easy enough.

“Are you okay?” the voice took him by surprise and his eyes snapped back to the doorway. All the fear that had built up simmered away when he saw who stood there. The avian was holding more of the white cloth that was on Lance’s tail while walking towards him. He kneeled before him and the memory of what happened flooded Lance’s mind instantly. He relaxed knowing he was in good hands and watched as the guy before him hesitantly set down the cloth and reached for his tail.

He looked over at Lance and gestured at the stained cloth, “May I?” Lance had no idea what he was asking, but he nodded anyways. The guy before him grabbed onto the knot that held the cloth tight around Lance’s tail and undid it slowly. Lance watched him unwrap it, revealing the open wound underneath. The avian then placed the cloth to his side, grabbing the other one in the process.

When wrapping the clean one around Lance’s tail, the mermaid’s attention moved over to the guy’s face, his features painted with heavy concentration. Lance couldn’t help but smile knowing the avian was trying his best not to hurt him. He was glad he ended up bumping into him earlier, it just proved they were meant to be together. The act of one lover saving another, something Lance thought he would never experience.

This really was a dream come true.

————————————

The mermaid before him sighed, and Keith could see he had visibly relaxed. He looked so panicked earlier, it was nice to see him smiling again. It honestly scared Keith when he heard the sound that came from the guest room, only to find the mermaid helplessly sitting on the ground. It was nice to see him smiling again, cause god forbid if he was scared, Keith would’ve had no way of dealing with him.

Once he was done tying the new knot he glanced back at the other male, only to see him staring back at him. The smile he wore only got bigger, and the way he was looking at Keith was making him uneasy. There was something about the look in his eyes that was really throwing him off. Or maybe it wasn’t the look, but just the eyes themselves. They looked like they were glowing, but Keith couldn’t tell if he was seeing things, or if this was a mermaid thing he didn’t know about.

He didn’t have time to decide when a thought shoved its way into his mind. “Are you hungry?” He asked, breaking eye contact and hoisting himself back up. The mermaid hadn’t spoken or responded in any way, so Keith just left to get him a snack just in case. There wasn’t much in his kitchen, with all his cabinets open from when he was searching for his medical supplies not too long ago. Keith didn’t really know anything about a mermaid’s diet, so he grabbed an apple to be safe.

He heads back down the hallway to his room, and finds the mermaid half out the door, seeming to have dragged himself there. When blue eyes notice him a smile is once again spread onto the half-fish’s face. Keith wonders how in the hell is he going to take care of this being.