Free! does not belong to me. Neither does High Speed!

This fic was written for the For the Future Festival.

So.

This is the mer!Haru/Future Fish AU I've been wanting to write for ages and nobody asked for. I don't use warnings because I strongly believe they spoil the story, but here's one spoiler-free enough: I'm cruel.

Ocean tides (a cursed child and a battle against fate)

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I

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Haruka knows he shouldn't be there.

It's not like it's forbidden. It's not the first time he goes to the surface more often than he strictly needs to. But his grandmother, Makoto– they don't like it when Haruka breaches alone. Even his best friend says it's dangerous, because more often than not Haruka gets so lost in his own little world that he forgets there are humans up there who can see him.

And that is bad. If a human sees a person with a tail instead of two legs, they'll probably try to catch him. They seem to have forgotten that stupid myth about mermaids' flesh and immortality, fortunately; but now there is a different risk: scientists, humans that cut living beings out of curiosity. Or that's what the ones who have been living on land say when they come back, according to Haruka's grandmother.

Despite all that, he doesn't feel in danger now. Even if the humans in the ship see him, they seem too busy with the water flooding in to pay attention to a kid's curiosity. The storm shakes the water's surface, making the ship sway dangerously. There is no way it won't end up at the bottom of the sea, where Haruka and other children his age will later explore it; and the humans probably know it, judging by their terrified cries.

So Haruka gets a bit closer, until he can make out their words. He's learnt a bit of their language, but it's not enough to understand what they're saying. They are running from one side of the deck to the other, desperately bailing out water and screaming what he thinks are orders and warnings. All of them, except one.

It catches Haruka's eye from the beginning, and it's not only because that figure is the smallest human there. A lightning flash lets him see a red, red hair that reminds him of blood and luminescent jellyfish and those seaweeds he's not supposed to eat until he wants to get a stomach ache. But Haruka doesn't stop looking at the human child, the first one he's ever seen, the only colour in that black storm.

It's after an especially loud thunder that the first man falls overboard.

Scared, Haruka quickly swims farther from the ship. He can't help the man, and he doesn't want to be seen. But then the human child moves, and even from the distance Haruka can hear cries. It's hard to tell, but Haruka thinks it's a boy, like him, if only because that voice is slightly deeper than his. He seems to be calling the other human, and trying to dive into the sea. A bigger human grabs him and pulls him far from the water, and the child's screams get almost louder than the roaring sky.

He shouldn't stay, Haruka thinks. He's been told that tale too many times –the ship that sinks in the middle of a big storm– and even if he doesn't trust humans he doesn't want to see them die either. It's late, and it'd be better if he came back home, where Makoto must be worried. The longer he stays on the surface, the more chances he has to be caught.

But he's waiting, and Haruka doesn't realize what for until the sea swallows the whole ship.

Heart beating faster than usually when he does something he shouldn't do, Haruka dives and swims towards the ship. He sees humans struggling to get to the surface, boxes and fishing nets, and other things the sea child doesn't know the name of. He doesn't pay attention to them; as soon as he spots the human boy, he forgets they are there.

It's not right, and Haruka can't explain, even to himself, why he is putting himself and his people in danger this way. But he doesn't like death, and that child with red hair is the only human he can carry, and he doesn't want him to die. So he hugs the boy's waist from behind, ignoring the weak kicks his tail gets. The stranger is quickly losing his strength, and probably his consciousness too, and Haruka swims with the limp body in his arms until the surface to give him the air he needs.

But the boy doesn't move, even if his mouth and nose are above the water. His bright, red hair covers his face now, but the child doesn't react even when Haruka tentatively brushes it away.

Haruka looks around. The shore isn't too far away –for someone like him, anyway–, but that is definitely forbidden. Nonetheless, he can't just leave the human child there; he knows the boy isn't dead because he can feel his heart beating against his ribs, but the kid isn't well and Haruka wants somebody to help him.

(He didn't risk to be caught for the human child to die in his arms.)

Haruka makes his mind when he shakes the boy once more and he doesn't react at all. He knows he'll be slower without using his arms, but his tail is still strong enough. He hugs the human tighter and swims towards the shore, the stubborn heart pounding beneath his hands helping him forget there are more people dying, drowning.

"Don't die," he whispers into the child's ear, trying not to think about how tired he's getting, or how he'll come back home after leaving the boy. He doesn't want his efforts to be for nothing.

Haruka rolls onto his belly when they finally get to the beach, pushing the child as far as he can from the water. He then crawls to his side and grabs his shoulders, and he doesn't even have to shake the boy for him to start coughing and throwing up water. His eyes –scared, lost– open as he sits up and looks around, apparently without noticing Haruka.

"Dad," he mumbles, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. His eyes fix on the sea as he lets out a terrified gasp. "Dad!"

And then, to Haruka's astonishment, he struggles to get up and runs towards the water.

He never gets there. Haruka stops him with a flick of his tail, throwing the child back to the sand. Stubbornly, the boy stands up again, his whole body trembling when Haruka thwarts his second suicide attempt.

Because it's either that, or that the boy has forgotten that he needs air to live.

"Dad!"

He doesn't try to get up a third time. He's shaking so violently now that Haruka gets afraid. It must be too cold for him, he thinks, but before he can do anything he notices the sounds the boy is making; his breathing isn't quiet, and judging by the expression on his face, whatever is happening to him must hurt.

"Dad." There is something wet, something that isn't rain, running down the boy's cheeks. It doesn't stop no matter how hard he presses his fists on his eyes. "Dad! Dad!"

With each sob comes the only word Haruka has heard him say, but the sea child doesn't understand the whole picture until he remembers his lessons and thinks about its meaning.

Dad. Father.

The man who fell from the ship.

He must be already dead.

Haruka tries to remember what he knows about the human's language.

"I am sorry," he says, but the boy doesn't seem to hear him.

So Haruka, hoping other humans help the child, hoping he doesn't get into the angry sea again, hoping he stops crying, dives back into the water.

The next day, Haruka makes a seaweed crown and leaves it in the sunken ship.

.

It's not like, you know, Rin has a death wish or something. He enjoys life a lot, even the days when he feels like the air itself is so heavy he can't get up, even when it gets so solid he can't breathe and he can feel the sea singing an apology.

It's not like he's a coward, either. He just hates storms and panics a little whenever he accidentally swallows water, and sometimes wakes up calling his father in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep no matter how important the next day is. He doesn't even fear the water like his sister does– he can swim perfectly fine, he just respects nature.

And it's not like being the only survivor of the wreck that took his father away scarred Rin for the rest of his life.

That's what he wants to prove, he thinks as he swims further away from Iwatobi. He's already tired and his muscles are starting to hurt, but he can see Sukishima; he'll get there, and then he'll get back, and Mikoshiba will have to swallow his stupid "It's okay if you are scared of the sea" and Rin will feel… better, he hopes.

Though right now, Rin can't help but feel a bit sorry for Sousuke. He hasn't said it –he'd never say it–, but he knows his best friend worries too much about him. He'll be fine, though.

Or that's what he thinks, until he breathes in water and starts to cough.

It's sunny, he thinks, feeling his heartbeat in his eardrums.

I can swim, he tells himself, arms and legs flailing around as the water darkens.

I'm fine. I'll be fine. It's just water.

But staying afloat gets more and more difficult as the heat leaves his body, his joints starting to hurt from the cold. Rin looks around frantically, looking for something to hold onto, but there is nothing and when more water gets into his nose he can't find anything to reassure himself.

He's at the sea.

He's alone.

He's going to die.

Even though he knows it, Rin never stops struggling, at least until his limbs stop obeying him. He doesn't want to drown, doesn't want to end up at the bottom of the sea like his father, like his grandfather and every man in his family. His tears freeze before they leave his eyes when he can't resurface again.

It's like that night all over again. Rin sees his father falling from the ship, feels strong arms stopping him from jumping. He sees everyone sinking with the ship, struggles to get away from the cold grip around his waist that can't be anything but Death. Rin wants to live, but sleep is too tempting and finally he gives in to his fate.

Until he sees a deep, clear blue, and somehow his brain is still working and Rin knows he has seen it before, through fear and tears and a paralysing panic that nothing but exhaustion could stop that time.

But then his head surfaces and Rin's instincts take over the situation. He can only grab the arms that keep him afloat while he coughs and spits and shudders, a sharp pain piercing through his temples as he empties his stomach and his lungs. His head lolls back until it's leaning on something cold but undeniably solid, and Rin can only look at the sky, barely aware that they are moving, and hear a laboured breathing next to his ear.

I should be dead, he reasons somewhere within his dazed mind. But he knows he is alive, if only because his stomach and his head hurt so badly. Death can't be this bothersome.

Besides, he can feel the surface his back is leaning on and he can tell it's skin. The skin of someone who isn't letting him face the consequences of his own stupidity.

Rin reacts only when he feels he's no longer in the water, when the cold arms stop hugging his waist and he's laying on a hard surface. His whole body hurts, from swimming and almost drowning, but he turns his head, hoping to see who just saved his life.

And the blue is back, looking at him from the most beautiful eyes Rin has ever seen. They are half hidden under a mop of thick black hair that makes his pale skin look so white it almost shines.

Rin wants to touch the stranger.

He faintly wonders how much time his brain has been oxygen-deprived, because that's not the first thing one should think about after almost drowning. He giggles and the boy frowns.

"What's your name?" Rin asks, his voice hoarse.

At the sound of his voice, the boy moves back, and Rin doesn't really understand why he's afraid of someone he could have easily let drown.

"You were there," Rin adds, and even if he doesn't dare stir up his worst memory he knows it's true. He sits up, hoping not to scare off his saviour, just to take a better look at him.

He can't help but think his brain must be seriously damaged.

Because what he sees makes no sense. The boy… isn't exactly a boy. His upper half looks definitely human –too pale to look healthy, but a rather attractive human nonetheless–, but then… where his hips should be there are two fins, one on each side of his body, and instead of legs, a grey tail spreads out on the rock where he's somehow sitting, in the way a seal would. The end of his tail hangs from the rock, calmly splashing the water.

"I know you," he says, his voice low and strangely calm –and definitely masculine–, as if Rin hadn't been about to drown minutes ago. "You are the child of the ship."

Rin bites his lower lip.

"You… you were there then." The merman nods. "Everyone else died." He nods again. "Why did you save me?"

The boy looks away.

"The others were too heavy for me then." Rin grits his teeth together, suddenly angry because he owes his life to that stranger, because nobody else does. Because what everyone called miracle when he was eight wasn't that, just that weird animal's pity. "Why were you swimming here?"

"Why do you care?"

The merman's look darkens, and a part of Rin fears he'll drown him.

"Humans are more stupid than I thought," he muses, as if he had just remembered and wasn't doing that just to annoy Rin. He jumps back into the water, and Rin can only see his head.

"It's the second time I save your life," the merman says. "There won't be a third."

.

That night, the sea is calm. There's not a cloud in the sky, and the full moon shines so bright the nearest stars look pale compared to it.

Meters above the surface, where the night is darker and only instinct and echolocation make it possible to know where to go, though, everything is very different. Lighted up only by luminescent jellyfish locked up inside glass bottles, blood flows from the sea people as they are bitten, beaten or sliced. It's almost impossible to see, but the smell is undeniable and makes Haruka feel sick.

Hugging his tail to stop it from waggling around, he tries not to move, willing his heart to stop beating this fast, knowing he'll only get himself caught and slaughtered. Or maybe they'll judge him first, only to execute him in front of his people. He closes his eyes, knowing sight is a useless sense right now.

He wishes he could stop listening, too. He can hear the cries, the screamed warnings and the sound dying people make. He can barely listen to the enemy's order –Find him, find him– and curls up tighter, feeling sea people swimming above him and knowing he won't be able to move until they're gone.

And then he feels it. Haruka is never sure if he listens or senses Makoto's voice, because for some reason they can produce ultrasounds higher than other sea people and nobody can hear them unless they get back to an understandable frequency. It used to be a game, when he and Makoto were children.

Now it's the safest way for Haruka to get out of there alive.

'Swim just over the bottom and go south,' Makoto orders. 'They're coming for you.'

Haruka doesn't need his best friend to remind him that people are dying because of him.

'You have to run away,' Makoto goes on, and Haruka would cover his ears if he didn't know it's useless. 'Haru? Haru, please, say something.'

He stays silent, cringing when he recognizes the next cry as one of a baby's.

'Haru!'

Haruka feels the ridiculous need of biting his tail. He used to do that when he was little, a childish nervous habit. He still wants to do that sometimes.

'Wait a bit,' he replies. He gets ready, sharpening up his ears and knowing he'll have to be fast at some point, that no matter how stealthily he swims, the others will listen, and when he listens to Makoto's relieved reply he pushes forward with his tail.

It's not long until he feels other people chasing after him. Haruka doesn't bother to look back, just grits his teeth as he swims south, praying they at least don't realize who they are pursuing, that he'll lose them and find Makoto soon, that–

A sharp pain stings his tail, and Haruka crashes into the rock he was planning to dodge. The ache in his shoulder mixes with the agony spreading from his lower half, and the sea man turns around to find a spear piercing his tail. He doesn't need light to know there are at least five people surrounding him– he can sense their heartbeats. As a pained gasp escapes from his mouth, Haruka removes the weapon from his flesh and tries to figure out if there's someone above him.

"Who is it?" asks a voice, coming from behind Haruka. It's a female one.

"It's too dark…"

'Haru?' Makoto's voice reaches him, frantic and worried, and only then Haruka realizes he instinctively called his friend. 'Haru, are you alright?'

"Bring the light."

There's no one between Haruka and the surface, and the sea man is confident he'll be able to breach before they catch him, even if he's wounded and the smell of his own blood, floating around him, is making him nauseous. When he gets there… Haruka shakes his head, trying to both stop that train of thought and clear his mind.

'Don't wait for me,' he tells Makoto as he starts swimming to the surface, trying his best to ignore the excruciating pain he feels with each movement of his tail. He hears startled cries, but he doesn't pay them any attention; for once he knows what to do, and he'd rather not get distracted.

'What?! Haru, you're wounded, aren't you? What are you doing? Haru!'

'I'll be fine,' Haruka replies. Just a few meters. There are less people following him now; most sea people fear the surface. 'Don't you dare come for me. Hide until they're gone.'

He never knows what Makoto replies, because in that moment Haruka's head surfaces to an unbelievably calm night, feeling, when he takes air, that he's never breathed properly before. He looks around until he finds the coastline and swims towards it, knowing he'll be safer on land.

As he approaches the shore, he tries to remember the theory for shifting. It isn't easy, because moving hurts and Haruka can barely keep his head above the surface and he still can smell the blood and he doesn't know if he'll be able to stay conscious, but it's better than thinking about what hides under the sea.

.

"Drugs again, huh?"

"It's always drugs."

Rin nods. It's the second time this month they have to deal with this kind of thing. At least, now they've found the dealers' hiding place, that tiny house on the cliff. Rin can't help but feel disgusted with those people.

"I'm going for a walk," he announces, and Sousuke raises an eyebrow. "What? Ai and Nakagawa are coming, aren't they?"

His friend snorts, but doesn't stop Rin.

It doesn't take long for the young policeman to find a way to get to the rocks below the cliff. One would think that, after nearly drowning twice –and being saved both times by a merman– Rin has learnt his lesson, but the sea has always fascinated him. It's deadly, yes, but it's also beautiful and mysterious and Rin both fears and loves it at the same time.

Besides, and that's not something Rin would admit out loud, he wants to see that boy again. Preferably when he's not having a panic attack or trying to regain his breath. It'd be nice, even though he knows people would call him crazy if he told them.

When he gets to the rocks, at first he thinks he's dreaming. That he just imagined it because he was thinking about him. But as Rin approaches –slowly, not wanting him to run away–, he finds out he's very real. And it's him, the boy he owes his life, the one who is curled up on a rather large rock, so still that Rin needs some seconds to realize that he is, in fact, breathing, and…

Something is off. Rin stops abruptly when he realizes that there's no tail, but starts running when he finds his pale legs painted red. He stops again, though, when the former merman's head snaps up and he bares his teeth, like a cornered animal. His blue eyes shine with something that Rin has seen several times due to his job– pain, desperation, and a glint of madness.

"Hey," he starts. "You… you're the one from those times, aren't you?"

"You're the stupid human," the other snarls, as if to himself. He leans his head on his arms.

Rin takes a step forward, and the merman growls.

"Oi, I'm not going to kill you." Blue eyes keep looking at him suspiciously. "What happened? You're wounded."

The merman mumbles something, then shudders violently, closing his hands into fists.

Rin takes a look at the blood puddling around him.

"You have to see a doctor. Or someone who can help you," he quickly adds when the merman shakes his head. "Would you let me do anything?" he offers.

"Why?"

Rin takes another step. This time, the stranger doesn't move.

"Because you need it. And because I owe you."

The merman tries to sit up, but his arms tremble too much. Something tells Rin not to interfere, though, so he watches as the man finds a more upright position after some unsuccessful attempts.

"No… hospital," he says, and he manages to make it sound like an order. As if he weren't the one bleeding out.

"Deal." Rin gets closer to him, finding the source of the bleeding in a wound on his thigh. It's not until he wraps his scarf around the stranger's leg that he realizes the merman is naked. And now he looks definitely like a male human. "Okay, we'll go to my house," he decides, taking off his jacket and putting it on the man's shoulders. Rin senses his muscles tensing through the fabric at the contact. "Do you have a name, by the way?" he asks, partly because he can see the stranger is struggling not to lose consciousness, partly because he's truly curious.

"Haruka."

Rin can't supress his laughter.

"Sorry," he apologizes without meaning it when he notices Haruka's glare. "It's just that… for humans it's considered a girly name. And I shouldn't laugh, because my name is girly, too." The glare dissolves into a curious gaze. "Oh, and Haruka, I'm afraid I'll have to carry you, since you can't walk."

Haruka nods, never looking away.

"What's your name?" he asks as Rin walks with him towards the police car.

"Rin." Haruka repeats his name several times, as if tasting the sound, until the letters mix and he's slurring. "Hey," Rin shakes him a little. "Don't sleep now."

"I've never walked," the merman mumbles out of the blue. Despite his attempts to make him stay awake, Rin knows he'll probably be unconscious soon.

"Oh, about that, what happened to your tail?" Rin opens the back door of the car, making sure not to drop Haruka.

"…shifted."

"Huh?" Rin looks at him when he lays him on the back seat, glad they always have a blanket there because Sousuke gets cold easily, but Haruka has lost the battle against sleep.

.

Rin tries his best not to look away under Sousuke's intense stare.

"Okay. Repeat that without laughing."

He rolls his eyes.

"You heard me the first time."

Rin turns around to make sure Haruka is still there, though he couldn't escape even if he wanted. Rin wasn't sure about how his body metabolizes medicines (and Haruka didn't trust those), so he's had to go through the pain of having his wound stitched up. Rin knows his job isn't perfect, but he's now glad he's grown up reading his mother's nursing books.

Haruka had fallen asleep five minutes before Sousuke got to the apartment he shares with Rin, after refusing to eat anything. He's running a fever, though it isn't too high and he'll probably feel better when he wakes up.

"So this guy," Sousuke points at the figure sleeping on Rin's bed, "was near the drug dealers' hideout. And you decided to take care of him, instead of taking him to a hospital."

"He didn't want to," Rin explains.

"Are you sure he isn't just high?"

"Sousuke."

"What if he's a criminal?"

"He isn't."

"How do you know it?"

Rin blushes.

"I… I just know it."

"How?"

"Stop acting like my mother," Rin huffs, walking towards the bed with the excuse of checking Haruka's temperature. Sousuke grabs his arm. "It's none of your–"

"Rin, you're a policeman," Sousuke states. "And you are helping an unidentified man. If he's someone dangerous…"

"He isn't." Well, to be honest Haruka does look somewhat dangerous, at least when he's not injured. "He's not a criminal."

Haruka's fever is lower now, and Rin sighs in relief. However, Sousuke is still waiting for an answer.

"Okay," he sits on the side of the bed. "I'll tell you if you don't look at me as if I had lost my mind."

Sousuke nods, folding his arms over his chest.

"Hmmm…" Rin looks at Haruka; at least he is sleeping and not judging him. "Do you remember when my father died?" Sousuke doesn't answer, and Rin doesn't expect him to. Of course he remembers the day Rin snuck into his father's ship because he was curious about his job, only to be found terrified and hypothermic the next day.

"So… I was the only one on that ship who didn't drown." Sousuke nods. "And… it was because of him. I don't know why he did it, but he took me to the beach. A-and that time I tried to swim to Sukishima, it was him who saved me, too. I thought I'd die the same way my father had, but–"

"Do you expect me to believe that?" Sousuke raises his eyebrow, eyeing the sleeping stranger. "I'm not calling you a liar," he clarifies. "But I saw that storm, Rin. No human could have swum there; people don't say it was a miracle for nothing."

Haruka frowns, without waking up.

"But he's not human. That's the point."

"What?"

Rin scratches the back of his head, makes up his mind and gets up.

"Ask him when he wakes up. I'm going to the grocery store."

"Now?"

Rin stops before closing his bedroom's door.

"Yeah. Better take care of him until I come back."

.

The first logic thought that crosses Haruka's mind as he drifts towards consciousness is that he needs to breach for air.

However, when he tries to flap his tail a strangled cry comes out of his mouth, and it's only then that he realizes that the sound is clearer than it would be in the water. He's warmer than usually, too. He's definitely somewhere completely new.

He doesn't open his eyes. First he listens, because he never knows when somebody could try to kill him, as memories flood back to him.

Ah. Yes. He remembers being on the verge of fainting when he got to the shore, shifting hoping legs would be more useful to climb up a rock and rest. And he now understands why his people don't recommend shifting when one is injured. Haruka is almost sure he passed out at some point due to the pain.

And then, him.

The stupid human.

Haruka remembers having wanted to bite his hands off at some point, but in his defence what he was doing to his leg was agonising. It still hurts, now that he thinks about it. Surprised at how easy is making his legs obey him, he curls up under the blankets the human –Rin– covered him with when he landed his hand on his forehead and said he had a fever, grateful for not feeling so cold now.

"You're awake, aren't you?"

Haruka opens his eyes as he sits up, so quickly he hurts his already sore shoulder. Frantically looking around, he finds the source of the words –a tall, dark-haired man with a guarded expression and the same clothes Rin had when he found Haruka–, and it takes him less than a second to decide he doesn't like that human in the very least.

"Who are you?"

"Official Sousuke Yamazaki." He must notice that doesn't mean much for Haruka, because he quickly clarifies: "I'm Rin's friend. And you are going to bring him trouble."

It's not like Haruka had much of an option when Rin found him, he thinks.

"Where is Rin?"

"I don't know. By the way, is what he says true?" Haruka tilts his head, without trusting that man in the slightest. "That you're not human."

Haruka curls his fingers into fists, and suddenly he wants to get out of there as soon as he can. What if… What if this man isn't human? What if he came to catch Haruka?

"It is not your business," he mumbles. "Where is Rin?"

It's not that Haruka trusts Rin, but at least he knows for sure the stupid human is exactly that, a human. He wouldn't have been about to drown twice if that hadn't been the case.

"I already answered that. What about you?"

Haruka wraps the blankets around himself, barely noticing the little scratches and wounds over his pale skin. He looks for a way to get out, but the only door is blocked by Sousuke, and it's not like he would get far with a pair of legs he doesn't know how to use anyway.

Sousuke gets a bit closer, and that's all Haruka needs to throw him the first thing he finds, which is something that looks like a little red box. Haruka jumps when the object crashes into the wall and start making high-pitched, repetitive noises, but he quickly looks around for something else to throw at Sousuke.

"What's wrong with you?" Sousuke doesn't raise his voice much, but it echoes within Haruka's skull. "I'm just trying to–"

"Don't get closer!" Haruka warns him, grabbing what looks like a smaller, plain box than the one he just threw.

"Okay," Sousuke holds his hands high. "I won't get closer, but behave like a normal person… or whatever."

They stay like that for a few seconds, until Haruka hears something move farther away and looks towards the sound.

That's all Sousuke needs to jump into action. One moment he's standing next to the door, and then he's over Haruka, grabbing his arms and trying to pry the improvised weapon from his hand. Haruka tries to kick him, to bite him, but he feels weak because of his wounds and Sousuke ends up immobilising him just when Rin's voice reaches them both:

"What are you doing?"

"Rin, help me take this–" Sousuke starts, but he lets out a startled cry when Haruka manages to bite the fingers that are grabbing his right arm. "You beast– Rin, he's going to break your phone!"

"Let go of me!"

"Sousuke, let go of Haru! You're scaring him!"

"I'm not scared," Haruka growls, trying to bite Sousuke again. But somehow he stands up, stops gripping his forearms and steps back until he's at the entrance again, next to a very surprised and a bit angry Rin. Haruka holds the thing Sousuke wanted to take away from him close to his chest as the man rubs his bitten hand.

"Okay, now we are going to behave like rational people," Rin says after a really long sigh, cautiously approaching the bed and stopping at a sensible distance. "Haru, give back my phone. What you have in your hands."

Haruka looks at the… phone, then at Rin, then at Sousuke.

"Sousuke won't do anything to you."

"Is Sousuke human?"

Sousuke snorts.

"I should be the one asking that to you."

"He is," Rin glares briefly at his friend. "I've known him since we were kids, and I've never seen him with a tail." Slowly, Haruka tears his gaze from Sousuke and hands Rin the phone.

"Now that we're friends, can you explain what–"

"We're not friends." Haruka tenses a bit when Rin sits down on the bed, but the conversation has reminded him something. "How long have I been sleeping for?"

"Hm, I found you this morning and you passed out after I stitched up your leg, so I guess… a few hours?"

Haruka tries to free his legs, tangled with the sheets.

"I have to go," he mumbles. "Makoto must be worried," he adds, because Rin helped him and he deserves at least a bit of the truth. Even though if he did it just because Haruka saved him years ago.

"You can't go anywhere like this." Rin puts his arms on Haruka's shoulders. "Anyway, can you please tell Sousuke you're a merman?"

"I'm not a merman."

Sousuke barks out a laughter.

Rin frowns. "Okay, then how would you call someone who is half-human, half-fish?"

"Half-fish, even though we're mammals," Haruka replies. "Or sea people."

"But now you have legs."

"Some of us can shift into this," Haruka explains, ignoring Rin's surprised gasp and Sousuke's sceptical snort. "But I have to go."

"I told you, you're injured." Rin lets go of Haruka's shoulders. "Would you be able to swim without your tail?"

"I'll just shift back–" but Haruka trails off, shuddering as he remembers the pain. He'll probably faint again, not to mention the damage to his wound. He can't go back, not yet. "Can I stay here until I heal?"

"Of course." Rin smiles, and somehow it doesn't bother Haruka. It's not because he stopped the bleeding from his wound– his bright expression doesn't have anything to do with that. He still frowns when Rin's hand lands on his forehead. "Your fever is going up again… I brought you fish. I figured out you'd like it, since you live in the sea. Do you want to eat a bit?"

Haruka nods. He lays down as Rin and Sousuke get out of the room, waiting for his food, but falls asleep before they come back.

.

Haruka has never eaten cooked food before, and Rin can't help but feel pleased when he finds out how much the merman –or sea man, as he prefers– likes it. Even through the daze of his fever, his eyes light up whenever he picks a bit of fish and gets it into his mouth– because he doesn't know how to use cutlery. He doesn't say it, but the way he hands Rin the plate makes it clear he wants to eat more.

He falls asleep before Rin gets out of the room, and this time the policeman doesn't have the heart to wake him up. It must be exhausting, he thinks, facing so much change in such a short time span. So he washes the dishes as he tries his best to answer Sousuke's questions.

"How long do you plan to have him living here?"

"Until he's fully healed, I guess," he answers, rinsing a plate.

"I live here too, you know. And he's already tried to harm me."

"He's the one wounded, and you scared him," Rin reasons. "Besides, he's in my bedroom."

"And he being quite handsome helps, doesn't it?"

Rin drops a fork into the sink with a loud gong.

"That's– You're stupid."

"You too." When Rin turns around, he's surprised to see how serious Sousuke looks. "Be careful."

When he gets to his bedroom, Rin lays out a futon next to the bed where Haruka sleeps, calmer now that he isn't heating up. As he rolls over, trying to sleep even though Haruka is using his pillow, Rin notices a pair of blue eyes staring at him.

"What?" he whispers.

"Why are you sleeping on the floor?"

"Because you've taken over my bed."

Haruka blinks, slowly, several times.

"I don't need all the bed. And I don't mind sleeping on the floor."

Rin raises his eyebrows.

"Do you usually sleep on a rock or something?"

"I have a bed made of seaweed," Haruka replies, as if offended by Rin's question. "I used to, anyway."

Rin frowns, feeling like he's stepping on a landmine.

"What happened?" As he feared, Haruka turns over until all Rin sees from him is his back. He tries one last time: "Does it have anything to do with how I found you this morning?"

Even in the dim room, Rin can see how Haruka's muscles tense.

"Yes."

Rin doesn't realize he's sat up until he sees his arm stretched out, as if to touch Haruka. He silently curses himself and lays back down.

"I'm sorry."

Haruka curls up, and doesn't speak for so long Rin starts to think he's asleep when he hears his voice.

"You didn't do anything."