NCTsmtown: (Chn) We are on our way to Thailand, we’ll enjoy this trip and the MAYA MUSIC FESTIVAL!!! See you in a while ^u^ (Eng) getting ready to fly to Thailand for MAYA MUSIC FESTIVAL can’t wait to spend our time together ^^ (1,2)
Translation:Seol @ FY! NCT (NCTINFO) | Source:NCT Official Twitter — Please take out with full credits
summary:if injuring yourself and nearly drowning in the sea meant that a very cute (and shirtless) mermaid boy had to take care of you, so be it.
pairing:winwin x reader
genre:mermaid! au, fluff
Your summer had been boring so far, to say the least. You huffed, the wind ruffling your hair as you walked through the docks of your uncle’s vacation home while swinging your water bottle. There were summer houses all lined up within the beach, but only your uncle ever stayed here. Even then, he was spending the next week in the neighboring town to visit his old friend, so it was only you in the summer house. It gave the illusion that you had the beach all to yourself. To be honest, however, you couldn’t blame them. There was nothing here.
You set down your water bottle beside you and squatted along the edge of the dock, peering in to get a view of the sea. You couldn’t see much, given that it was nearing sunset, but the dark orange hue of the sun gave a pretty sight to the waters. One of the most pleasing things about being here was for the aesthetics. Water and the sea had always been calming to you, a refresher to the day’s stress. You could really stare at it for the whole day.
That was, until you saw a flash of something glimmering. You jumped up, startled before leaning closer to the edge of the dock. Why wasn’t this fish in the deeper parts of the water at this hour like every other fish? What kind of fish shone and shimmered? You sharpened your eyes, about to lean closer when you spotted it again. There, a little farther from the dock. It had teal scales, which glittered at the bounce of sunlight and two large fins as the end. The farther from the fin, the scales became less and less until they connected to a human torso.
Startled, you jumped a little away from the water. However, given how close you were to the edge of the dock, your balance went askew and you lost your footing. You let out a little cry as you splashed into the cold water, desperately trying to grab onto the edge of the dock. However, a sharp piece of the wood ran a long gash through the side of your arm, and you hissed in pain as it made contact with the salty water.
You tried your best to swim your way to shore, but it was just too far away. You kicked and kicked to keep your head afloat and above the water, but it was proving hard to you seeing as you could only use one arm. You didn’t even have the time to breathe in before water filled your mouth. You choked at the overly salty taste, panic already overtaking every corner of your mind.
It wasn’t long before you felt the edges of your vision darken and your limbs weaken, falling limp as you sunk deeper into the sea. You felt your eyelids flutter closed unconsciously. The last thing you felt before blacking out was the current’s whooshof something big making way toward you and two strong hands grabbing your hips, propelling you toward the shore before you blacked out.
“Chenle, you idiot, she saw you!” Someone hissed quietly, “I told you to be more careful! Who knew what would happen if gege wasn’t there to help us-“
“I know, I know,” a higher pitched voice whined, “I’ll be more careful next time.”
Your eyes fluttered open to see an cove of some sorts. There was water in the middle, but you were lying on the edge of the cold stone floor. Two teens were poking out from the water, arguing in hushed voices. One had the brightest red hair you’d ever laid your eyes on while the other had curly, blond hair. From the clear water you could see the outline of a tail. You blinked, making sure you weren’t hallucinating, but the tails remained. The redhead had a matching red tail of while his younger-looking companion had the blue-scaled tail you had seen earlier.
You went on a coughing fit, spitting out water. You tried to get the taste of salt out of your throat, but to no avail.
“I think she’s awake, Renjun-ah, Chenle-ah,” a softer, more mature voice called out. They instantly ceased their chatter and turned to you, swimming closer with their faces full of curiosity and concern.
Once you regained your breathing, you turned to the new voice. What you saw almost took your breath away again. In front of you was a man around your age, with light blond hair swept off his face and pink strands toward the back of his head. His tail was a light gray color, complimenting his puppy-like eyes, long nose and lips so beautiful it wasn’t human. To top it all off, he, like the other two, was very much shirtless.
You tried to sit yourself up, letting out a small cry as pain shot up your arm. In an instant he was by your side, an arm against your back to support you as he helped you into a sitting position. He turned to the redhead, cocking his head in signal. He nodded and swam off somewhere, returning with your water bottle in hand.
The man grabbed it, popping the cap open and tipping the contents into your mouth gently, “You should drink up to replenish your health.”
He pulled the water bottle away after a moment, and you hurriedly gulped down the contents, the water soothing your dry throat and washing the taste of salt away. You wiped your mouth with your good hand, suddenly embarrassed.
“Thank you, er…?”
“Sicheng. These are my brothers, Renjun and Chenle,” he indicated to the redhead and the blond. Chenle sent you a tentative wave while Renjun inspected you, as if observing you.
It was Chenle who swam forward first, a little hesitant, “Listen, uh, I’m really sorry that you fell into the water and that wound on your arm! I was only playing near the surface with Renjun gege which I know I shouldn’t be doing but did anyway and we saw you and I was so intrigued because we rarely ever see humans around here and I wanted a closer view on you and you accidentally saw me and-“
“I think that’s enough, Chenle,” Renjun cut in, sending a sorry smile to you. You nodded, still too dazed to really process anything, “We saw you drown and Chenle called for gege to help you. Thank god he came in time.”
“So you’re, uh,” you cleared your throat, wincing at how awful you sounded, “Mermaids?”
“Mermen,” Sicheng corrected you with a shrug, and once again you were captivated by how beautiful he could make a simple gesture to be, “But more or less.”
You were suddenly aware of how messy you looked. You ran a hand through your salt-streaked, dry hair, cringing at how rough and poofy it was, “I didn’t expect mermen to be real. I thought you were just stuff made out from fairytales and folklore, like The Little Mermaid.”
Chenle perked up, “I love that story! Except we don’t have a blue king that carries around a trident all the time or underground cities or whatever. It’s just us.”
“So do you have a name, or are we just supposed to call you Human?” Sicheng questioned quietly, not unkindly. A blush crept up your cheeks, a little embarrassed.
“I’m (Y/N),” you muttered. Sicheng moved closer to you, pulling out a few seaweeds and an unfamiliar paste. You looked at it warily, wondering what he was going to do with it.
“Relax, it’s going to help your wound heal. Can you give me your arm?” He held out a hand, and you reluctantly put your hand in his, “This is going to a hurt a bit.”
He scooped some of the paste with his fingers and rubbed it over your gash as gently as he could. You hissed through your teeth at the pain, distracting yourself with studying the features of Sicheng’s face. He was leaning so close you could see each individual lash of his. You thanked Chenle for breaking the pregnant silence, as he moved to the edge of the water and rested his head atop his crossed arms.
“Say, (Y/N)-noona, can I touch your legs?” You looked down on them, a little flustered that somebody would be asking you this odd question. However, his face was so expectant you found it hard to say no. You unfurled them from their criss-cross position and patted them.
“I don’t see any reason why not,” With that, his hand reluctantly left the water and traced a line on your leg. He poked and prodded them, and you giggled a little when he touched your feet, “That tickles, Chenle.”
Renjun joined in, sending a questioning look at you. You nodded, wiggling your toes at him. They asked you what a calf was, how many toes you had and how it felt to walk on two feet all the while Sicheng was wrapping the seaweed around your arm as a kind of bandage.
“What is it like up there in the human world?” Renjun asked, a glimmer to his eye.
“Well, for starters, we have four seasons-“
“What are seasons?”
“Be quiet and let her finish, Chenle-ah,” Sicheng nodded at you. You found yourself blushing, but you tried to shake it away.
“It’s when the climate changes. There’s autumn, winter, spring and summer, which is happening right now. School goes off during this time.”
“School? Isn’t that a group of fish?”
“It’s where a bunch of people go to learn,” you answered, “Don’t you have those in the sea?”
Renjun shrugged, “We mostly learn how to keep the corals safe and how to avoid getting netted from our brothers.”
“Finished,” Sicheng breathed out, pulling away to admire his handiwork. You had to admit, you were impressed. The seaweed wrappings were neat. Satisfied, he let go of your hand. You tried not to be disappointed at the loss of contact with him, “You probably need to get back, don’t you? It’s already dark outside.”
Chenle whined, while the redhead’s lips turned to a frown. You could tell they wanted to hear more about the human world. Truth be told, you felt like this whole encounter would shimmer away to your imagination once you left the place. You bit your lip worriedly, “Will I see you guys again?”
“Of course,” Sicheng answered. The younger boys whipped their heads toward him, confused, but he continued, “We’ll alternate shifts. Besides, these boys need to take care of your wound as a punishment for being too careless around the surface.”
“Can you tell us more about your world tomorrow, noona?” Renjun questioned, and you nodded eagerly.
“I don’t see why not.”
Each day after that for the next few months, you visited the cove. At first you were skeptical it had been a delirious dream, but the seaweed on your arm proved otherwise. Some days, it would be Renjun and Chenle, and on the others it would be Sicheng. You found out that Chenle seemed to never run out of topics to talk about and that Renjun had an unquenched curiosity for the human world.
For Sicheng, you found out that he was attractive in whatever he did and was a total sweetheart.
“Earth to (Y/N)-noona? Hello?” Renjun waved a hand in front of your face, trying to snap you out from your thoughts. Chenle snorted from eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwich (which you had brought a few weeks ago for them to see what human food was like. Chenle had gotten addicted to it and begged for you to make one every time you came).
“Noona’s too busy thinking about gege,” he quipped. You blushed scarlet, stuttering protests. He only smiled devilishly, knowing he hit jackpot. Your crush on him wasn’t a secret, and the two teens liked to tease you mercilessly over it. However, you were a little skeptical; you were absolutely positive Sicheng had no feelings for you, and even then, you weren’t even sure if human and mermen relationships even worked.
You sat at the edge of the stone, your feet dipping in the water. Renjun pulled himself up beside you, unknotting the seaweed wrap around your arm and washing the paste from yesterday off gently. It had to be removed and replaced each day, you learnt.
The three of you fell into a comfortable silence, Chenle munching on his sandwich happily, Renjun replacing your wrap and you watching the whole process happen. You had gotten attached to the two, thinking of them like little brothers you never had.
“Hey, (Y/N)-noona,” Renjun started out softly, his tone different from his usually playful one, “You really like gege, don’t you?”
“W-What brought this on?” You questioned, but Renjun just hummed. Sighing, you knew there would be no escape from this situation, “But yeah. I really like Sicheng.”
“I don’t get it,” Chenle finished his sandwich and flipped across the water, sending water splashing everywhere. Renjun let out a cry of distaste as the blond emerged, “Why don’t you just confess, noona?”
“It’s not that simple, you know,” you sighed, “He probably doesn’t even like me back.”
“You never know, noona,” Renjun tutted, finishing up with the seaweed wrap before looking up to you with a crooked grin, “Now tell us more about hospitals, please.”
“You took long,” Sicheng looked up at you from his sitting position on the edge of the stone as you entered, his tail slapping lightly against the surface of the water.
“I almost forgot Chenle’s sandwich,” you held up a Ziploc bag, smiling sheepishly. Sicheng patted the space beside him, and you sat down where he indicated.
Immediately, he took your arm and placed it on the lap of his tail, pulling off the seaweed wrap Renjun did yesterday and washing away the paste. The wound was almost healed, with it now being a pink outline. You had to admit, the paste and wrap was doing a good job. You looked up to study Sicheng’s face, with him being taller than you. He was focused on your arm, a furrow to his brow and an intense look in his puppy-like eyes.
“Do you – are your ears pointed, Sicheng?” You questioned, only realizing the detail now. He looked at your confused face for a moment before continuing to rub the paste in your arm, a small, embarrassed smile on his lips.
“One of them. It’s not a mermaid thing, if you’re wondering. It’s just a me thing.”
“Can I… touch it?” He nodded, and you reluctantly brought one of your hands up to trace the outline of it, eliciting a shiver.
“Careful,” he tilted his head up to look at you straight in the eye, his voice suddenly huskier. He worded each sentence of it carefully, talking in a slow tone, “It’s a little sensitive.”
You bit your lip, nodding at the close proximity between you two. He looked back down to focus on wrapping the seaweed. One of your nails dragged a line in where the point was, and to your surprise, Sicheng let out a throaty groan.
He looked up at you for a second time, this time tying something on your wrist. There was something almost dark in his eyes, and you found yourself entranced in them once more. His hands found your hips and squeezed them gently as you worried your bottom lip.
“Do you know,” he breathed, eyes darting to your lips, “How much you drive me crazy, (Y/N)?”
“H-Huh?”
“Do you know how difficult it is to control myself in front of you? How hard it is to refrain from kissing you right then and there when your eyes light up at the mention of your hobby or when you’re telling the boys about your world?”
“Sicheng,” you brought both hands up and entwined them behind his neck.
“Do you know how worried I am that one day you won’t pass through that entrance in this cove?”
“Dong Sicheng,” you tilted your head up, both of your foreheads and noses already touching, “I’ll always come back to you.”
With that, you brought your lips up to his, sealing the promise.
“Say, noona, is that an anemone bracelet on your wrist?” Renjun asked. Chenle choked on his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You nodded, holding it up for him to see.
“Yeah, Sicheng gave it to me yesterday. Isn’t it pretty?”
“N-Noona,” Chenle coughed a few more times before calming himself down, clearing his throat, “You do know what an anemone bracelet means, right?”
“They have meanings?”
“Of course,” Renjun quipped, “Don’t flowers have meanings in the human world too, noona?”
“Well, yeah, they do, but I didn’t think you paid attention to those kind of things,” you shrugged, “What does an anemone bracelet mean, then? Enlighten me.”
“It’s a declaration of love,” a new voice said, and you whipped your head around to see Sicheng emerging from the surface of the water, “It means I devote myself to you and only you.”
“O-Oh,” you gulped as he swam closer to you. Renjun had moved away from you, splashing back into the water and trying to steal a few bites from Chenle’s sandwich, “I thought it was Renjun and Chenle’s shift today.”
He wrapped an arm around your waist and buried his face in the crook of your shoulder, his voice a little muffled, “What, am I not allowed to see my girlfriend? That’s the term you use in your world, right?”
“Yeah,” you smiled, running your hand through his hair, “And for the record, Dong Sicheng, I’m in love with you too.”
I probably won’t be writing anything for Jeno, Chenle, and Jisung, since CH & JS are still very young and Jeno said before that he doesn’t want to be sexualized (there are some people that claim it’s not true but I just wouldn’t feel right if I wrote fanfics for him knowing it might be true)
