Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“We need the money,” Nathan Stern told himself as he woke up in the morning, looking ‘forward’ to another day at a job he hated: cleaning a rich asshole’s house so he could help his brothers pay their rent.

It seemed like a fun idea at the time, planned just before they finished college. The moving, not the job. And really, Connor and Nathan had graduated, not Cecil. Cecil was too bored by classes to bother. The road trip was Connor’s idea, to see where things took them. Connor took a coastal cop job he was given in the middle of nowhere – he’d always wanted to live by the coast. Cecil worked for pennies as a techie at a startup firm, on the recommendation of a high school teacher who’d noticed his talent. Nathan… got by.

It wasn’t that Nathan was an idiot – he’d done better at the same classes Connor had – but cop work disgusted him for some reason. He felt lost after college while Connor was at the academy and Cecil was probably sparring with government hackers or something. Nathan felt directionless. Without someone to tell him what to do, what did he do? Their mother wanted him to pick his own path; she was quite happy running her company, with a handpicked outsider-successor helping her, since none of her children were interested. Nathan knew that the easy solution would have been to join the police with Connor or go into the military if all he wanted was someone giving him orders.

But he didn’t want that. Not really. No more than he wanted to take up the admin job In the family business as a more permanent position, like their mother offered when he couldn’t seem to figure out what it was he wanted to do.

So he followed along with his brothers, like he always had. Cecil was excited to be in a new place, even if Connor and Nathan did have to frequently talk him down from hacking too many servers in his spare time for the fun of it. Connor was growing into his job, even if the pay and hours were terrible. Together, they got enough money for their okay apartment. Their mother hadn’t visited yet. All three of them – okay well not really Cecil – worried she would. They knew she wouldn’t approve. It wasn’t a slum. But it was close. She only gave her blessing to this hair-brained scheme on the condition that they stick together and watch out for one another. Confronting her with the reality of three 20-somethings with little to no job experience starting out in a crap economy in a new place was… stretching things.

And so Nathan found himself at this job, working at a mansion in the middle of nowhere for a Mr. Andronikov. A rich fuck who sneered or leered at Nathan whenever he saw him. For once, Nathan was grateful that his utilitarian work uniform wasn’t flattering.

But Andronikov hadn’t done anything to him. Yet. Likely because getting people to clean the stupid giant fish tank and be quiet about it wasn’t as easy as it might be.

That’s what Nathan’s primary job was. Keep the tank clean. It was drained once a week so Nathan could work on it. There was another worker – Luther, a tall, quiet guy – who helped, and between them they got the job done on a tank that was bigger than Nathan’s shared apartment. It had some large, people-sized rocks, some fake coral, colorful gravel that they had to change out. It stank, too.

While Nathan cleaned, the tank’s primary occupants were relocated to a large pool. Nathan saw them sometimes. The fish were pretty, he supposed. But it was the merfolk he found truly interesting.

There were three in total. Two women, one man. The mermaids – Becky, a blue-haired mermaid with dark brown skin and a pink tail, and Stacy, a brunette with pale skin and a dark red tail – were always together. According to one of the human maids, the mermaids were bought separately and bonded to each other, particularly after the last mermaid died (no one knew how that happened, although most of the employees thought Andronikov had poisoned her somehow). The merman – Gavin – was the original acquisition, bought a few weeks before the dead mermaid. He usually stayed apart, sitting alone on a rock or lying in the sand on the bottom of the tank, staring up or sleeping. Nathan noticed him whenever he was cleaning the carpet of the main viewing room while the tank was in use. Andronikov liked to hold parties in the room, showing off his 'pets', or he'd hold meetings or leer or whatever it was a rich asshole did. Becky and Stacy always swam away when someone entered the viewing room. Gavin noticed Nathan once, then stopped apparently giving a fuck and ignored him.

Gavin was… pretty, Nathan supposed. From his stomach up, he looked human, besides the odd blue scales around his ears. From his stomach down was a long blue tail with fins and spines. It was even spotted. Nathan knew some of it was poisonous. Even Gavin’s fingernails were sharpened to claws and poisonous. Andronikov’s current butler had replaced someone who’d accidentally gotten too close to the pool on cleaning day and Gavin had taken a swipe at him. The current butler had no idea what happened to his predecessor after he went to the hospital, but it hadn’t looked pretty when he was being loaded into the ambulance.

Gavin’s skin was a dark olive, and he had short brown hair. Shortly after seeing him for the first time, Nathan noticed a new addition: a badly healing cut on his nose that stretched over about half his face, all the way to his left ear. It hadn’t been there when Nathan had started cleaning the tank that morning. One of the cooks confided in him later that she’d been serving refreshments outside by the pool when she’d seen Andronikov trying to have his way with Gavin, and Gavin didn’t apparently agree with the idea. So of course Andronikov had his guards smack him around a bit.

The mermaids fussed over Gavin a bit for a few days after his injury, sitting near him and talking – or at least moving their mouths at each other in a way that seemed to mimic conversation, not that Nathan could hear them – and fussing with his tail a bit in a way that might have been some kind of grooming thing. But they shortly left him alone again. Nathan wondered if they didn’t get along much. There wasn’t much to do in the tank, big as it was. He imagined that he’d get sick of being stuck in a tiny room with the same two people every day, being stared at like a zoo animal, with little else to do. Gavin had apparently occupied the tank for three months, and Stacy and Becky had been there for a little over a month.

There were regular fish in the tank, mostly as food for the mers. One day, when Nathan had glanced up from his work, pausing the vacuum to take a quick breather, and noticed Gavin following a crab around, Gavin had glanced up and met his eyes. They stared at each other for a time, then Gavin swiped up the crab and started ripping it apart, his eyes locked on Nathan’s the whole while. Nathan found the sight grotesque, but was too surprised by the fact that the merman had finally… noticed him? Decided to interact with him on some level? So he watched, putting on his best ‘unimpressed’ expression, until the merman finished his snack. The mers had razor-sharp teeth, like sharks. When he was done eating, Gavin spit out some crab bits, glared at Nathan, then swam away, towards the center of the tank.

Nathan considered that, and went back to work.

The next day Nathan was wiping down the outside wall of the tank with a cleaning cloth and solution. The work was dull, but he could get through it.

What he didn’t expect was for Gavin to swim over and watch him. It was a bit disconcerting to have someone stare at him the whole while, but well… Nathan had to clean the tank glass, didn’t he?

Still, no one was around. He put a hand up and waved.

Gavin blinked at him.

Nathan snorted at himself. He was staring at a… a fish? Person? He didn’t even know if Gavin knew what a handwave was.

He considered writing something on paper or… maybe on his phone screen, but he didn’t even know if Gavin could read English. Maybe merfolk communicated like dolphins or whales or something? He had no idea. He didn’t even know the creatures existed until he’d walked in on his first day, signed the NDA, and seen the tank with his eyes. Plus… there was no guarantee that Luther or someone else wouldn’t walk in while he was doing whatever he was doing. He didn’t want to get fired for trying to talk the merman.

He changed his grip on his cloth, but didn’t take his eyes off of Gavin’s face. His eyes were gray. The injury was turning into an ugly scar, but still. Close up, Gavin was pretty good-looking. Nathan recalled seeing the man lie on his back, staring at the tank ceiling. It seemed… sad. Lonely. Nathan had no illusions about the situation. His boss was keeping people-shaped fish as pets. He was very likely staring at a human rights violation of some kind, even though the mers weren’t human, really. Connor had looked into it when Nathan had come home that first day and explained the situation, because NDAs be damned, he didn’t keep this kind of crap from his siblings. There was no law on the subject – merfolk were a rarity only found on black markets, assuming they were actually what their sellers said they were.

“They’d probably be sent to a lab or something,” Cecil had said. “To be experimented on, you know? A new humanoid species? Like an actual mermaid? The government would totally like… blackbag it and everything.” It was easy for Nathan and Connor to roll their eyes at Cecil sounding like a bad conspiracy theory, but unfortunately Cecil did have a tendency to poke into a few government things he probably shouldn’t have known about – the government paid its contractors worse than private firms, so they usually didn’t get as good security – and he really had no imagination because, as he said, ‘The truth is always stranger than fiction’, so they tended to believe him when he talked about some of the ridiculous stuff he told them he’d found in his wanderings. And he was right. It was definitely stranger.

So Nathan had tabled the idea of getting Connor to figure out how to arrest Andronikov for potential kidnapping for the time being. They’d have to find a better solution. One that kept Becky, Stacy, and Gavin safe. And maybe got them home, wherever that was. Assuming it wasn’t, as Cecil had suggested, some lab somewhere. At the moment, their lives in the tank were more dull than dangerous, and likely safer than being in a government bunker somewhere.

Except for Gavin’s injury. That… that had been an escalation.

Gavin looked down at the cloth in Nathan’s hand, frowning at it. He put a webbed hand out to where Nathan’s rested on the glass, then instantly took it back, his frown deepening. Nathan thought he seemed… angrier at himself, than Nathan. Nathan started scrubbing again, and noticed Gavin tracking his arm with his eyes. Gavin lunged forward and tapped the places where Nathan was rubbing, his brow furrowed in concentration.

Nathan was reminded of videos he’d seen of cats and window washers, and chuckled softly. He made his movements faster and broader, and Gavin moved around quickly to match it. Nathan had to pause as he nearly bashed his head on the glass, and looked up, smiling, to see Gavin frowning slightly. Gavin looked up at him and smiled for a moment. Then he blinked, frowned, and swam away.

Nathan felt… oddly dejected by that. He went back to cleaning.

Perhaps it was time to push forward on the ‘let’s get the fish people out of the tank’ planning session.

Another tank cleaning session had gone by when Nathan arrived to work early so he could stop by the ceiling of the tank, which was uncovered, and allowed fish to be dropped in as needed. There was a few feet of walkway around the rim. A ladder could be lowered for when Luther and Nathan had to clean. Nathan looked around and spotted Gavin, who was thankfully hanging out on his seemingly favorite rock near the wall of the tank, a ways off from the viewing window. Nathan pulled out the dive slate he’d purchased the day Gavin had come up to him while he was cleaning – there were some perks to living in a coastal area where vacationers liked to go diving – and dropped it into the water.

Some fish were startled and came over to look, drawing Gavin’s attention. Gavin swam over and took the tablet, which the fish were growing bored with anyway – it wasn’t food. Nathan left the area and went back to the viewing room, which was empty. Andronikov had gone of a business trip, and the house was down to a skeleton crew, so Nathan hoped he’d be alone. But he wasn’t planning to take his time, to be safe.

He pulled out a notepad and wrote on it, then walked up to the viewing window. He knocked on the glass. It was thick stuff, he knew, but he hoped maybe Gavin could hear something, or would notice something. The merman had swum over to him every day lately while Nathan was cleaning, watching him, sometimes eating. He’d always eventually scowl and swim away again, but he came back every day.

Today was no exception. Gavin swam over with the board, holding it by the attached pen.

Nathan smiled and raised his own pen, then pointed at the one in Gavin’s hand.

Gavin frowned, and lifted the pen up, then looked at Nathan.

Nathan wrote his name on his pad, then turned it so Gavin could read it. He pointed at himself.

Gavin tilted his head.

Nathan tapped the glass, pointing at the slate. Gavin looked down at it and pulled it up. He pulled the pen around and wrote on the slate, then raised his eyebrows when he saw that it worked. He looked up at Nathan, who was smiling encouragingly.

Gavin looked back at the slate, then wrote, slowly and carefully. He turned the slate around.

‘Gavin’ was written in shaky writing. He pointed to himself.

Nathan smiled, then wrote on a new piece of paper before turning it back to the merman.

“Hello Gavin.”

He had no idea if it would work. He had no idea of maybe Gavin thought ‘Nathan’ was a name or a state of being or just a word that Nathan liked.

Gavin looked at the slate, then wrote under his name, before turning it around again.

“Hello Nathan.”

Chapter Text

“Where did you learn to read and write?” Nathan wrote back, sitting on the floor, watching Gavin frown and then write quickly, or as quickly as you can underwater after you have to erase what was on the board beforehand.

“Previous owner was bored”

Nathan considered that, and the tightening of Gavin’s expression as he held the board up. Nathan wondered what else was to that story. “Well it’s nice to finally talk to you.”

Gavin grinned at him. Nathan grinned back. Then he wrote, “You have to hide the tablet when we’re done talking”

“Can you get us out of here?” Gavin wrote back. Stacy and Becky appeared from behind Gavin now, looking curiously at them.

Nathan swallowed and wrote back, “I’m going to try”

Nathan spent the rest of the day avoiding looking at Gavin too much, although it was hard. Gavin paid attention to Nathan when he was in the room, sometimes leaning against the glass, sometimes just lounging and watching. He wasn’t subtle and Nathan hoped Andronikov wouldn’t jump to conclusions if he noticed or someone reported it.

Nathan waved goodbye at the end of the day and Gavin waved back. The tablet was nowhere in sight, so Nathan hoped it was in a safe place. The tablet would be even more of a giveaway that something was going on, not that anything was even going on yet.

“So you’ll love me,” Cecil said as he walked into their kitchen and sat on the table edge. He wore a Cheshire Cat shirt, comfortable shorts, and no shoes. There were streaks of green in his hair from where he was trying a new ‘look’, as he said. The triplets were at their apartment. Nathan had been browsing online on his laptop at the kitchen table for what was going on related to mermaid issues, which really wasn’t much unless you wanted fiction selections or to visit increasingly creepy museums. Connor was cooking spaghetti on the stove with his back to them. He’d changed from his work uniform to a plain gray t-shirt and jeans.

“I already love you,” Nathan deadpanned.

Cecil dramatically put a hand to his heart and continued, “Okay, okay, so one of my friends from undergrad who like totally fucks with the FBI—”

“I can’t hear you,” Connor said loudly, glaring at his noodles. This was not aided by the spatula he was holding, which was painted like a dog. “Shut up about your criminal activities and co-conspirators, Cecil.”

“Okay, so my friend and her mom work for this activist group called Jericho and, get this, they rescue mermaids.”

Nathan stared at him.

“So you love me right? Also, they’re local right now.”

“Cecil, I would kiss you right now, but I’m very comfortable sitting here and I don’t want you crushing my laptop.”

“And I am saddened by that, bro, but, you want me to talk with them for you? I already looked them up, they’re legit. They do a lot of good stuff.”

“Yes, please.”

“Aight.”

“Be careful, Cecil, fuck…” Connor said. “I don’t want you to get tangled with something dangerous. And… and I’m coming with either of you if you meet them.”

“Won’t that put your job at risk?” Nathan asked.

“I want you both safe more than I care about my job.”

“Oh fine you can come I guess.” Cecil rolled his eyes. “Iiiif...”

“If what?” Connor asked, frowning.

“If you’re not upset that I totally got Jeffrey Fowler’s phone number at the bar today during lunch.”

“What the fuck Cecil!”

“I mean he started it. Well he didn’t but like I was chatting and you know how people see that as flirting and so he was responding and I was into it—"

“Oh my god,” Connor said, covering his face.

“And he was like “you look a lot like a guy who works for me” and I was like “what’s his name, I’m a triplet” and he’s like “Connor” and I’m like “yeah he’s my brother”. And he was like clearly nervous cause like we look the same but also I kept flirting and he totally gave me his number I’m just saying.”

“Oh my fucking god, Cecil,” Connor said.

“It’s not like I sought him out okay??? And what, it’s not like YOU’RE dating your boss. I don’t work for your department. I don’t even work for the government or contract for the police.”

Connor angrily stirred his noodles.

“Seriously bro?” Cecil asked.

“It’s fine Cecil. Just... whatever. It’s your dick.”

“Damn straight. You didn’t tell me your boss was hot though.”

“That’s because he’s my boss??? And also he’s not my type.”

“Well your type is weird then.”

Connor flipped him off.

“Do you have any family waiting for you?” Nathan wrote before showing Gavin. It was early again. He sat on the floor. Gavin leaned against the glass while he wrote.

“No. Just me.”

“Friends?”

“Not really.” Gavin's expression wasn't sad, exactly. Just... resigned. Which might have been more depressing than actual sadness.

Nathan wondered if Gavin was worried he was fishing, no pun intended, for more mers to sell. “I’m not planning to like... capture and sell them.” Not that Gavin had reason to believe him.

“Yeah. But I’m being honest. What about you?”

“Two brothers. My mom. That’s about it.”

Gavin hesitated before turning his tablet around. “Are they as pretty as you?”

Nathan laughed. “Why?”

“Don’t think I could take it.”

Nathan grinned at him. Gavin smiled nervously back.

“You think I’m pretty?” Nathan wrote.

Gavin glared.

Nathan grinned as he wrote, then flipped the tablet around. “I think you’re pretty, too.”

Gavin flushed at that and swam off.

“We are all getting murdered,” Connor said as they walked into the regular looking office building for their meeting with the activists. Cecil was rapidly typing on his phone and Nathan was stoically following along.

“We are NOT,” Cecil said. “They don’t murder people. They just talk at them a lot.”

“At least they’re civilized. I was worried they’d all be like you.”

“But you love me.”

“I do but if we weren’t related I’m pretty sure I’d think you were going to steal my identity and dump my car in a lake.”

“Which one of you is Cecil?” A glaring, suited, strawberry-blonde woman asked when they entered the office front door they’d been told to go to. She was shorter than the triplets, but made up for it with her no nonsense glare.

“Present,” Cecil replied, waving his hand in the air.

“Cecil!” A younger brunette ran out and hugged him. She wore glasses, jeans, and a t-shirt covered with the notes for “Song of Storms”.

“Hey Alice,” Cecil said with a grin. They walked off together while Connor and Nathan stared down Strawberry Blonde.

“All right then,” the first woman said. “I’m North.”

They went to a room down the hall and Nathan laid out the situation.

“I think it’s doable,” North said. The door opened and a silver-haired older man stepped in. He wore a truly hideous beach shirt of a kind they usually sold on boardwalks and some worn out beach shorts and sandals.

“Sorry North, that fucker on the phone—"

“It’s fine, Hank. These are the ones with the mers to rescue.”

Hank looked at them.

Nathan noticed Connor stiffen.

“Pleasure,” Hank said with a grin. “I’m Hank. How do we know your mers are real?”

Nathan passed over the electronic tablet he’d brought with him, so Hank and North could see the video he’d recorded from his phone of Gavin swimming and writing. Stacy and Becky swam up during. North and Hank considered the video and shared a look.

“Alice found some records already on them, so we think they’re genuine, and we have another source that verifies it. Mainly we wanted to make sure you were legit.” North said. Nathan frowned, but he was asking them to steal from a rich guy, so he figured the safety was a good idea. “Still. She’ll keep digging. In the meanwhile, we can start planning. This should be relatively simple. The biggest issue is what time to release them.”

“Wait, you can do it?” Nathan asked.

“Of course,” North said.

“I should probably go,” Connor said, standing up. “I’m a cop, I shouldn’t—"

“You’re a fucking—!” North said, standing with another glare.

“It’s all right,” Hank said, his expression a bit grim. “Come with me, Connor. Not gonna murder you or anything.” He clapped a hand on Connor’s shoulder and led him out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

North sighed, before detailing a bit of their plans as they stood. Apparently their source had already given them some good intel.

“Wait what do you mean I can’t be involved?” Nathan finally asked.

“Even a dumbass like Zlatko should be able to figure out that the likeliest culprits are staff. They have the most access. From there, he has your details. Even if he can’t track down the mers that way, he can still come after you. Maybe not through the law for the theft of the mers but well… rich guys. They have their ways. You give us information, maybe help with some misdirection the day of, but you don’t get involved beyond that. Our people are trained for this. Think of what’s best for your family. What’s best for the mers.”

Nathan was annoyed. But he knew she was right. He wasn’t the hero here. He could still help Gavin without doing everything.

“…All right.”

North led him out to introduce him to some other members of the operation. Markus – a tall man wearing a well-cut suit – was handling all their branches across state lines, mostly leading protests and lobbying for various issues. Even a few research groups. He wasn’t going to be directly involved in the operation beyond some background coordination.

Kara – Alice’s mom – was a petite short-haired brunette wearing a colorful blouse and pants. Furthermore, Nathan knew her. She smiled kindly at him from the couch she was sitting on when North brought him over.

“You started working there the other day!” Nathan said.

“Yeah,” North said. “It’s good to have more than one person on the inside, and she’s backed up your data. But you have more experience with them, so.” North shrugged.

Chloe – a blonde woman who smiled at Nathan before turning back to her clipboard as she surveyed a warehouse and people moving crates around – handled supplies. Hank was part of the operations team, mostly handling combat. He was a retired cop and knew the game. He’d had a decent career but didn’t like the tide of politics, so he left and started working with a lot of activist causes.

Simon – a blonde man wearing a suit – was Hank’s second in command, and sat near Markus playing sudoku on his phone. He waved when Nathan came by. There were a slew of others. Josh, the last of the group, wore a purple Gengar shirt and khakis, and sat together with Alice and Cecil, and helped handle the group’s online presence with Alice.

When they left, Nathan felt better. They could get the mers out. He believed that.

“I work with Hank’s son, Cole,” Connor said as Nathan drove them home. “Apparently he approves of his father’s work, but he can’t be directly involved either. I’ll... have to talk with him.”

“Oh my god you have a crush,” Cecil said from the backseat. “Tell me you got Hank’s number.”

“Fuck off Cecil.” Connor was bright red and not looking at either of them as Nathan drove them home.

“Oh my god you fucking did,” Cecil leaned forward and clapped a hand on Connor shoulder as he adopted a choked-up tone. “I’m so proud of you bro.”

Connor rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Nathan was careful with what he told Gavin, just saying “soon” and “be ready.” The other mers too. They still swam over to him expectantly at times. Gavin would say things to make them laugh when things got too tense – when they demanded to know when they’d be freed. He didn’t write all them down, but Nathan could see them laughing – eventually – when Gavin kept on. Still, he knew they were getting nervous. Knowing there was potentially a date for the breakout made them antsy. He could see them fighting sometimes - verbally, thankfully - through the tank wall, and they seemed a bit more vicious with their kills when they ate.

Nathan didn’t interact with Kara any more than he had before he knew she was on the team. He greeted her, and nodded to her in the break room. But she seemed more focused on Luther anyway the few times he saw her. Once they were cleaning out the tank and Luther was frozen on the spot, staring, and Nathan followed his gaze to see Kara emptying out the trash in the viewing room. She noticed them and smiled, waving. Luther flushed and went back to his sifting.

After Kara left, Nathan asked Luther, “You like her?”

Luther’s flush darkened. “I mean she’s nice and gorgeous and...”

Nathan smiled. “It’s all right. Yeah. Good luck.”

Nathan waited a little longer after the mers were returned and everyone had left. Gavin swam to the glass and grinned at him. Nathan asked, “How do you like it?” He was talking about the clean tank.

Gavin shrugged. Nathan figured it was still the same tank. Even clean, a prison was a prison.

Nathan put his hand up to the glass. Gavin followed suit shortly. His eyes had a kind of longing in them. Nathan eventually broke the contact and returned to cleaning.

The heist was going to take place during the tank cleaning during Zlatko’s next vacation. Nathan was amped up and hoped everything went all right. Apparently Kara had been talking over some more people at the manse. It was a decent paycheck but plenty of people hated Zlatko and yeah, looking askance while the mers went missing wouldn’t hurt. Jericho had supplies ready to go already, and Connor commented that Hank was ready for a fight if it came to it.

"Because they've been texting every day," Cecil coo'ed.

Connor threw a shoe at him. He was shoeless at the time, and went into his bedroom to find a shoe and throw it. Nathan noticed that Connor was blushing, though.

"You like this guy, then?" Nathan asked.

"We're... we're getting to know each other. He's seen a lot and he's nice and funny and... fun," Connor replied.

"I already told Mom that we should all have SOs the next time we visit home," Cecil said, grinning.

"Fuck's sake, Cecil, we're not getting married," Connor said with an eyeroll.

"I'm just saying."

"And I'm not dating anyone," Nathan said.

"Yeah but..." Cecil blinked. "I mean... this Gavin dude? You like him right?"

"Well... yes, but... he's going back to the ocean or wherever."

"Oh yeah..." Cecil swallowed. "Sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for." Nathan turned back to his job searching. For after he'd left Zlatko's employ, which was definitely in his plans at this point. He hadn't thought much about what would happen after everything was over. Gavin would leave. Most of the time, Nathan hadn't had an issue with that. He frowned. It wasn't like he'd keep Gavin as his... his what? His pet boyfriend? Another prison, another owner?

He sighed and remembered he was doing what was best for Gavin and the mers. Get them free. Get them home. The rest... the rest would happen.

The day of the heist, Nathan was flooded with nerves. Would Zlatko come back? Would a new guard show up and screw everything up? Would a storm hit? What if someone had talked to Zlatko?

But nothing, seemingly, went wrong. Of course Nathan was in the house all day, so it's not like he had the time or chance to catch sight of secret vans showing up or various other movie/TV-based scenarios that popped into his mind when he recalled what North had told him about the plan. Nathan watched the mers get carted off while the tank was emptied. Luther and Nathan worked on the emptied tank. When they went to their other duties and the tank was refilled, the mers didn’t return. There was some chatter on the walkies as security guards walked past, a bit too late. The building went into “lockdown”, such as a rich guy’s estate could. The staff were hauled in and an accounting demanded. Nathan itched to leave. Kara gave nothing away, so neither would he. She did smile at him once, so he hoped that meant success.

Zlatko came back the next morning, looking red as a tomato, and rounded up the staff again. Kara was gone. Zlatko was pissed off, saying he’d fire everyone and send them all to jail. “I own you fuckers!” He yelled.

For whatever reason, he decided to slap Nathan’s ass on his way around the room. Nathan slapped his face and said, “I quit.” Then he walked out, red-faced as well and desperately wanting a shower. Maybe it was a bad idea to walk out, but he had an excuse. And Zlatko’s threats of filing complaints were theft would likely be baseless. He could make something up, sure, but the mers weren’t exactly a kind of stolen property the courts would recognize or necessarily knew about. It would be more unwanted questions if Zlatko did that.

He didn’t realize he wasn’t alone until he noticed Luther and a couple of the other staff joining him in the rooms where they kept their personal items. 

“You okay?” Luther asked as he gathered his stuff.

“No, but I’ll be better once I’m out of this place.”

Luther smiled and replied, “Yeah.”

Chapter Text

Nathan returned home and called North, asking for an update. The next day he drove out with Connor and Cecil to meet Jericho at the warehouse where they kept the mers.

The brothers all took overnight bags and swimsuits, ready for whatever they needed. The location was a generic warehouse that was surrounded by other mostly empty warehouses, nondescript enough for hiding.

Kara let them in with a smile. Cecil separated from them to go find Alice. Connor smiled when he saw Hank – sporting another ugly tourist shirt - and walked over to him. Kara showed Nathan to the tank area. It was a small affair, about the size of a backyard trampoline. But it let the three mers at least sit in their own space.

Gavin perked up when Nathan appeared and swam to the edge nearest him. He was half out of the water, and Nathan realized this was the closest they’d ever been.

He’s going home and you’re not going to see him again, Nathan told his stupid heart as he put on a smile and walked forward. He reached out a hand and Gavin reached up his own for a moment, then ducked it back down, frowning.

“Claws,” he said in a slightly squeaky voice.

Nathan blinked and said, “You can really talk?”

Gavin shrugged.

“It’s limited,” Kara said. “They can’t do it for long above water.” As if to demonstrate, Gavin ducked back under the water for a moment, then came back up again, shaking his hair out a little. The water splashed a bit on Kara and Nathan.

“Hey!” Nathan said.

Gavin flashed his teeth and Nathan rolled his eyes. He reached out and lightly touched Gavin’s cheek. It was slimy and kind of gross, but the novelty of touching him made up for it.

Gavin flushed slightly and leaned into the touch.

“How are you doing?” Nathan asked.

“This tank fucking sucks.”

Nathan smiled. “They’re planning to release you tomorrow, so… just one more day.” Something tightened in his chest at that, but, well… Gavin needed an ocean to swim in, not a big bathtub. At least at Zlatko’s, he could move around a bit more.

Gavin’s expression brightened a bit, then darkened again and he leaned his forehead against Nathan’s hand.

“I could visit you…” Nathan offered, quietly. “But it probably wouldn’t be safe for you.”

Gavin’s expression was still sad, but he nodded. “I’d like that. The visiting.”

They talked for a bit, slowly, since Gavin had to duck under the water every now and then for a soak. Nathan told him about what he missed after the heist.

“It was terrifying,” Gavin said. “Becky and Stacy were more stoic. I… I wasn’t.” He swallowed. “I’ve been bought and sold again so many times, I thought it was happening again.” He looked away. “People get bored of me.”

“Well poo on them,” Nathan said, brushing his hand down Gavin’s cheek.

Gavin smiled.

The triplets went with Jericho to release the mers. They went at night, so the beach they picked was empty and quiet. They had to carry the mers rather than drive on the beach, and it was a grueling effort. They rigged up some stretchers and had to move quickly, before the mers dried out too much.

Stacy was first, followed by Becky. They were exciting once they were back in the water, but they waited in the surf for Gavin.

Nathan held the head end of Gavin’s stretcher. Gavin spent most of the bouncy ride looking up at him, but he was shaking, too, and holding tightly to the stretcher edge. When they got to the water, he pushed himself up to brush his lips against Nathan’s cheek, before falling into the water. He swam out to Becky and Stacy, dunking himself under the water for a bit to freshen up.

Nathan waded into the water after them, and Stacy nudged Gavin, pointing to Nathan. Gavin swam back over, settling around Nathan’s waist, looking up at him fondly. Nathan simply admired the sight. Gavin, where he belonged.

“Thank you,” Gavin said.

“Happy to help,” Nathan croaked. “Good luck.”

Gavin watched him, and Nathan leaned down and carefully kissed the mer’s cold lips before stepping back towards the shore.

Gavin rejoined Stacy and Becky and they ducked under the surf, disappearing.

Connor pulled Nathan back to the beach, drying him off a bit with a towel. “I’m gonna rent a hotel room.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because you’re not sleeping here and you’re doing that longing look on your face that tells me you’ll probably be here tomorrow.”

Nathan scoffed. “That’s not a thing.”

“I’m a cop. I can figure shit out. You telling me you don’t want to be here tomorrow?”

“What would be the point of coming back?”

“In case he comes back?”

“He won’t.”

“He might, though.”

“…I said I’d visit.”

“Yeah. So. Hotel it is.”

Jericho threw a celebratory bash at the warehouse for a successful mission. Apparently Alice and Cecil were running rampant with some of the tech Kara had placed in Zlatko’s place, making a mess of any records he might have. Connor and Hank were practically inseparable.

Luther even showed up at one point, with a rose for Kara. She kissed him on the cheek when he appeared, and they sat together in a quiet corner to chat.

North offered Nathan a job.

“I barely did anything.”

“You gathered intel, thought up the diving pads, saw the thing through, and you care. That’s more than most people could do. Activism isn’t easy, Nathan. It’s grueling. It’s frequently thankless. I don’t know if you can do it. But I think you’ve got the heart for it.”

That night Nathan stared at the ceiling of their hotel room, considering everything and nothing. Cecil had gone drinking with Alice, and Connor had stayed behind with Hank. So Nathan had the room to himself.

It was too much room to think.

Cecil returned late and collapsed on his bed, snoring loudly.

Connor returned in the morning, his clothes a bit of a mess, his expression sheepish as Nathan eyed him. Cecil was still completely conked out.

“He a keeper, then?” Nathan asked, smiling.

Connor swallowed. “Yeah I think so.”

Nathan returned, alone, to the beach. It was still pretty empty. Wrong time of year for much beachgoing. He set out a towel and lay down, reading a book. He had a sandwich for lunch, and some snacks, and there was plenty of signal for his phone. He’d brought a backup battery just in case. He may be on a fool’s errand, but he was ready for emergencies.

It was late afternoon and Nathan had dozed off when a yell woke him up. He sat up and looked around. He turned back to the water and spotted, a distance away, someone floundering in the surf. Nathan hopped up and ran, happy he’d already toed off his shoes before he sat down earlier.

Nathan waded out and grabbed… Gavin, who latched onto him. Gavin was struggling and shaking too much for Nathan to remember his claws, but that didn’t seem to be an issue for some reason. It was when he noticed very distinctly human feet flailing near his legs that he started dragging them both to shore.

When they were in shallower water, Nathan turned and Gavin sagged down next to and half on him.

“The fuck do you move with these things?” Gavin asked, glaring at his now very human legs, sometimes poking out of the surf. Gavin’s voice was louder now, rougher.

Nathan eyed the olive-skinned appendages and replied, “Practice.”

“Well it’s dumb.”

Nathan helped pull him out of the water entirely and over to Nathan’s forgotten towel. He was grateful for the spares – usually kept for sand removal – because Gavin was also completely nude. Nathan wrapped one of the towels around Gavin’s waist and tried not to stare. They sat down on the bigger towel, both of them staring intermittently at the water and Gavin’s feet.

Gavin fingered the soft cloth of the checkered towel, seemingly spellbound. He glanced back at his feet with a frown. “This is really not comfortable.”

“How do you…? How did…?” Nathan gestured at Gavin’s lower half.

Gavin swallowed and… blushed. “So like… Stacy’s sister is a sea witch and she was really happy we came back. And… Stacy and Becky and I were talking and I asked if I could… If I could be up here. With you.” Gavin swallowed and looked down at the towel. “I… like you,” he said. “So… I didn’t want to go. Stacy and Becky are nice, but… I don’t have anyone, really.”

“But you were stuck here for so long, and I know others tried to… to assault you.”

“Yeah, but you’re a friend. And Stacy said you had the hots for me.”

“What?!”

“I know right? But she said that.”

Nathan snorted.

Gavin kept playing with the towel.

Nathan realized that Gavin was uncomfortable. “She wasn’t wrong,” he added.

Gavin looked up with a nervous smile. “Guess it’s good I can be up here as long as I want, then.” He played with his hair a bit, trying to straighten it out. He frowned when he looked down at his hands. “I lost my claws, too? Shit.”

“What was it like? Changing?”

“Weird. Like… I was being squeezed.” He looked at his toes and sighed sadly.

Nathan reached out and brushed Gavin’s toes with his fingers.

“Ahh!” Gavin said.

Nathan pulled his hand away, startled. “Sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“No, uh… It’s just… weird. You can… do it again…” His blush darkened.

Nathan reached out and lazily brushed his fingers down the soles of Gavin’s feet.

Gavin giggled. “That’s so weird.”

Nathan smiled. “I think your feet are cute.”

“You… you do?”

Nathan dragged his hand up Gavin’s left leg. The skin was smooth and soft.

“Nnn…” Gavin murmured. He shivered.

Nathan smiled and lightly circled Gavin’s knee. “Feels normal,” Nathan commented.

Gavin sagged into Nathan. “Ah…” Gavin said. “Sorry!”

Nathan used his chin to pull Gavin’s head into the hollow of his throat, and rested his chin on Gavin’s head. He could feel Gavin’s shaking.

“You sure this is okay?” Nathan asked.

“Y-y-yeah…”

Nathan moved his free hand and Gavin grabbed it. He turned it over in his own hands, feeling the skin.

“If you had your claws, you couldn’t do that,” Nathan said.

“Mmm…”

Nathan moved his free hand up Gavin’s thigh, under the towel.

“Nnn…” Gavin said, tightening his grip on Nathan’s hand. “F-f-f-fuck-fuck…”

“You’ve got a mouth,” Nathan said, brushing the soft skin on Gavin’s inner thigh.

“Yeah, well, now my teeth are like your stubby ones, it’s warranted.”

“But you can see how much fun there is to having legs, huh?” Nathan commented with a grin.

“I’m becoming convinced,” Gavin replied.

Nathan pulled away.

“Wait, wait?” Gavin demanded, practically falling over before Nathan stopped him with a grin.

“I’m getting sand in my fingernails, and I’m not going to get sand in… delicate places.”

“Fuck,” Gavin murmured.

Nathan grinned as he helped Gavin stand. “Having some problems?”

“Fuck you.”

“Let’s table that and try a bath, hm?” He took all his stuff back to the car and ended up carrying Gavin up the beach. Between Gavin’s stumbling – given this was only technically his second time walking – and particularly the difficulty of his stiffy, it was just easier. Thankfully the lost tail meant Gavin was a lot lighter. Gavin yelped and clung to him.

Once Gavin was placed in the passenger side and buckled in, Nathan got in and started the car.

“What did you expect to happen?” Nathan asked as they drove. “Once you gave up your tail? I mean this… this is a big deal.”

“…Do you want me to go back?”

“You can do that?”

“Well yeah…”

“Don’t!” Nathan said, grabbing his arm. “Please…”

“I won’t,” Gavin said with a grin.

“I just… it’s a big deal to be a human. There’s… jobs and a place to live and food and clothes…”

“…Yeah… I kind of didn’t think beyond like… 'hey, I totally want to ride that guy'.”

Nathan laughed. “I mean it’s a good start.”

Connor was on the phone when they got back to the hotel room.  He took one look at them and said, “I’ll call you back, Hank. Love you.” He hung up and ignored the look Nathan gave him as he moved a chair so that Gavin could sit down.

Nathan went to the bathroom and started the bathtub.

Connor walked over and stood in the doorway. “So…” His phone went off. He looked at the caller ID. “Oh it’s Cecil.” He put it on speaker. “Hey Cecil, you’re on speaker. Nathan’s listening.”

“Okay so I totally just blew Jeffrey.”

“Oh my god,” Connor took the phone off speaker and hissed into it. “I don’t need to know you’re fucking my boss.” He headed out of the room and shut the door behind him. “So stop telling me!” they could hear him shout.

Nathan turned the water off and went out to help Gavin get into the tub. He looked away when Gavin dropped the towel, and only looked back when he could tell that Gavin was fully seated in the tub. Gavin scrunched down so he could soak his head, then shook his hair out, flicking some water at Nathan.

Nathan snorted. He poured some body wash onto a loofah and held the loofah out. “This is for your skin. Don’t eat it. Or put it in your eyes.”

Gavin eyed the loofah with a frown.

Nathan lightly scrubbed it over part of his arm. “Like this.” Then he handed it over. Gavin slowly started scrubbing, a bit confused.

Nathan pulled out the shampoo next and looked at it, then him. Gavin was focused on scrubbed his arms.

“Do you uh… want me to do your hair?”

“Huh?” Gavin paused and looked at him.

“Your hair. This is for your hair.” Nathan was a bit pink at this point, he knew it.

“Uhhh… sure?” Gavin lowered the loofah and Nathan poured some shampoo into his hands. He sudsed his palms up and reach out to lightly cup Gavin’s scalp. He slowly scrubbed through the strands, trying for gentle and thorough. Gavin shut his eyes as Nathan worked. He leaned into Nathan's touch.

When Nathan was done, he said, “Okay, now wash it out in the water. Make sure you don’t get any in your eyes, mouth, or ears.”

Gavin dunked his head and shook it out underwater. Nathan reached in to help scrub it out. When Gavin pulled his head up, he blinked and shook it out a bit. He and Nathan stared at each other for a moment until Nathan swallowed and stood up.

“I think you can finish doing the rest. When you’re done, just step out and use one of the big towels to dry off, then head back into the main room. Yell if you need anything.”

Gavin opened his mouth, then closed it and nodded.

Nathan shut the door behind him and sighed. Was it all too fast? He just… wanted to touch Gavin. He was worried the other man would disappear. And Gavin… the way he reacted whenever Nathan touched him…

Nathan smiled.

When Gavin eventually came out, wrapped in a towel, Nathan said, “All right, my turn. You can chill on the bed or the couch if you’d like.” Gavin sat on the couch thoughtfully, and Nathan went into the bathroom to shower.

When he came out after his quick shower, wringing out his hair, Gavin was lying spread-eagle on the bedsheets, the towel resting over his waist.

“This is so comfy,” Gavin said, snuggling into the hotel sheets.

“You don’t have bedsheets in Atlantis?” Nathan asked, drily.

“What’s Atlantis?”

“Wherever it is you’re from.”

“Oh. No. We kind of… sleep in clumps together.” Gavin shot him a shy smile, then looked away again, rubbing his cheek on the bedspread.

Nathan made up his mind and went to one of the drawers nearby and searched around for a bit, pulled out a small bottle and a tiny packet, then hopped up on the bed and snuggled up to the other man. “Like this?” He tugged Gavin’s head back under his chin and pulled Gavin against his chest.

“Kinda,” Gavin hedged.

Nathan pushed his left knee between Gavin’s legs, feeling his hard-on. “Bet they didn’t do this, huh?”

“Do what?” Gavin challenged.

Nathan grinned and dipped his hand down beneath Gavin’s towel to cup him, making him shut his eyes and moan. Nathan rubbed his fingers over Gavin’s shaft, slow and exaggerated.

Gavin’s legs tightened around Nathan’s knee as he sought friction.

“What are you comfortable with?” Nathan asked. “You can tell me when to stop or if you want me to do something, okay?”

“Okay. Whatever you want seems cool right now.”

Nathan leaned over and kissed Gavin’s collarbone, and slowly moved down his side, layering kisses all over his skin.

“Ha. That feels funny,” Gavin said.

Nathan layered a number around Gavin’s hipbone, then pushed the towel aside and moved to Gavin’s soft inner thigh. He was fascinated by how Gavin was almost completely hairless, save for his head. He knew some ocean animals had hair. And so much of him was just soft and ripe for nuzzling…

Gavin swallowed and squirmed slightly.

“Is that not good?” Nathan asked, looking up at him. What he saw was a dazed expression on Gavin’s face.

“Naw it… it’s good.”

Nathan lowered his head again and nosed the sides of Gavin’s half-hard cock, making the other man moan. Nathan licked the tip, already leaking pre-come, and said, “You taste good.”

“Fucking fuck…” Gavin murmured as he put a hand over his beet-red face.

Nathan grinned and nudged Gavin’s legs apart more and slowly swallowed him down, licking and sucking along the way. He could feel Gavin shaking, and reached out a hand to lightly scratch Gavin’s stomach.

Then he swallowed.

“Nngha—!!” Gavin cried out, bucking up slightly.

Nathan used the hand on Gavin’s stomach to keep him from getting too out of control, but continued moving down until his nose was pressed to Gavin’s skin. He hollowed his cheeks and Gavin shuddered. Then Nathan bobbed up and down, scratching more at Gavin’s stomach.

Gavin made an aborted half-thrust during Nathan’s next bob.

Nathan pulled up for a moment to say, “It’s okay.” He could see Gavin was struggling to control himself.

“D-don’t want to b-break your face.”

Nathan grinned. “Aww, you’re worried about me?”

“Well I mean… you can’t keep going with a broken face.” Gavin swallowed.

Nathan laughed, then went back down.

It wasn’t long before Gavin came. He cried out when he did and Nathan stayed down, swallowing. When Gavin was done, he sagged back and Nathan pushed himself up and off, coughing a bit and drooling. He scooted up to see Gavin’s dazed expression.

Gavin leaned up to grab Nathan’s head and pull him down to kiss him, hard. Nathan sagged forward onto Gavin’s chest afterward, breathing heavily into Gavin’s shoulder.

“That was amazing,” Gavin said.

“Never had that before?” Nathan asked.

“Well... not really.”

Nathan grinned.

“Is there... is there something you wanted to do?” Gavin asked, voice still a bit tight.

“Think I just did it,” Nathan replied, making Gavin’s blush deepen.

“Yeah but like, you know... you want me to return the favor? I’d be open to it.”

Nathan considered, then asked, “We could try that riding me idea you proposed earlier.”

Gavin’s flush darkened and he nodded.

Nathan grinned and pulled the lube over, wetting his fingers. When he was satisfied, he reached down and pulled Gavin’s cheeks apart, lightly circling his hole.

Gavin swallowed.

“You sure you want to do this?” Nathan asked.

“Fucking yes,” Gavin replied, his expression earnest. “All the times I saw you walking around in those... those pants. Yeah.”

“You ever done this before?”

“Yeah. Sort of. It’s a bit different underwater.”

“I imagine lubricant isn’t an issue.” Nathan raised the bottle to indicate what he was talking about.

“Not really, but we have these gels we use sometimes. Kind of... they’re a kind of drug I guess? Makes you really want to fuck.”

“Huh.” When Nathan breached Gavin, the other man moaned, turned his face towards the ceiling, and squeezed his legs around Nathan’s hips. Nathan was just as slow as he’d been while giving Gavin the blowjob. He was slightly worried that the experience could be more dangerous for Gavin, so he wanted to be extra cautious. Although it meant his own cock was painfully hard and weeping before long, he got to see Gavin writhe on the bed and call out his name repeatedly.

Nathan finally decided enough was enough, pulled his hand away and unwrapped the condom, putting it on quickly.

“The fuck is that?”

“It’s a kind of protection. Makes things a bit safer for both of us. Called a condom.”

“Oh. I mean we have like… magic stuff we use. But I didn’t get my hands on any before I left so…”

“I’m going to have to get used to this whole magic thing.”

“Heh. Yeah.”

“The condom won’t do anything weird to you. It’s just meant to help. If you don’t like it, we can see about getting you tested for... well, we can look into it. I’m clean, but still, better safe than sorry.” Nathan wondered if it was safe to send in a medical workup of Gavin to a lab. Would they see something? Be able to tell that Gavin wasn’t human?

But he wanted to be safe, and he wanted to make Gavin safe. They’d hit that when they got to it.

“Are you okay with me using it?”

“Yeah. It’s fine. Long as it means I get to ride you.”

Nathan laughed and pulled Gavin up, switching places with him. Gavin blinked at him in surprise as he settled by Nathan’s thighs.

“Well?” Nathan asked. “Your call.”

Gavin eyed Nathan’s dick suspiciously, but moved up and raised himself over Nathan, his arms on either side of Nathan’s stomach. Nathan lightly held his sides.

As Gavin sank down on Nathan’s dick, he groaned.

“Fucking fucking fuck—” he said.

“You okay?” Nathan said. “We can slow down if—”

“Don’t you fucking—” Gavin said, continuing until he was fully seated and nearly falling forward over Nathan. “Fucking shit. You… you feel so good.”

Nathan flushed and replied, with a wiggle that made Gavin moan. “I think that’s my line.”

Gavin slowly rocked up and down on Nathan’s cock, testing it out, figuring out the motion. He was sweating a lot, which didn’t bother Nathan, but it did worry him a bit.

“You all right up there?” Nathan asked, smiling encouragingly up at him, not quite teasing.

“Y-yeah. It’s… it’s a lot.” He kept at it for a bit, moaning at times, but he fell forward again, catching himself on his palms on the bed before he could hit his face against Nathan’s.

“Gavin?” Nathan asked, alarmed.

“I really want to keep going, but fuck this… the whole legs thing it’s just… hard.”

“Hold still for a sec.” Nathan leaned around Gavin slightly to take a look at Gavin’s legs, and sure enough, they were shaking pretty damn hard. Nathan frowned. Well it is his first day using them…

Nathan leaned back and cupped Gavin’s cheek. “So I have some options for us.”

“Sure.”

“We can stop—”

“No!”

Nathan laughed. “Yes, we know you want the sex. Just bear with me. So we can stop, or, we can change positions again. It won’t be the same, but it might be enough for now, okay? You want to try?”

Gavin swallowed. “Okay.”

Nathan helped coax Gavin off of him, then rolled him over onto his back. Then Nathan pulled Gavin’s legs up and dragged his dark-skinned ankles over Nathan’s freckled shoulders.

“That better?”

“A bit, yeah.”

“You can squeeze if you need to, okay? And let me know if it hurts too much.”

“Okay,” Gavin said.

Nathan parted Gavin’s cheeks, positioned himself, and slowly thrust back in.

Gavin tossed his head back as Nathan slowly worked up into a rhythm. “Fuck that’s so fucking good…”

“You can say that some more,” Nathan huffed.

Gavin laughed and Nathan picked up his pace, making Gavin bounce on the bed.

“Nathan!” Gavin yelled, clawing at the bedspread. He came a second time, coating both their stomachs.

When Nathan finally came he saw stars. He sagged onto Gavin, breathing hard.

Gavin was panting, too, and his legs slid a bit on Nathan’s shoulders.

“That good?” Nathan asked, grinning at him.

“Ask me when I’m back,” Gavin said. “Think I’m somewhere… else.” Nathan laughed and slowly pulled out. Gavin grunted. Nathan used the discarded towel to wipe Gavin’s stomach off, then wrapped the towel up and placed it aside. He tied the condom off and tossed it in the waste bin before crawling back and spooning up beside Gavin. He nuzzled Gavin’s forehead and said. “That was lovely. Thank you.”

Gavin laughed. “Any time.”

Nathan considered what that meant. But then… they’d just fucked and Gavin had legs and Connor had texted that he was leaving them the room for the night while Nathan took his shower.

Gavin leaned around and kissed him on the lips, then settled back down. Nathan lowered his head behind Gavin’s, lightly brushing his sweaty shoulders.

The rest could wait.