The Talk

Summary: In which Zac introduces himself to Chris properly this time.

AN: This is just a small, self-indulgent ficlet that may be just a tad dramatic, but, well...I did say it was self-indulgent right?

Zac slides smoothly into a chair at the Café, across the table from where Chris is sitting perusing a juice menu as he waits for Mimmi. There's a moment's pause as the land boy registers the movement, before his head shoots up and his face relaxes into a smile.

"Hey Zac!" he greets enthusiastically, grin far wider than is warranted.

Zac smiles back, nearly laughing at the other boy's inability to hold his excitement in. Chris's eyes are sparkling with the secret Mimmi revealed the day before. It's obvious by the way he can't seem to sit still, and keeps glancing over his shoulder as he waits for Mimmi to appear.

"Hey," Zac replies, and takes a moment to consider how best to approach this conversation.

He likes Chris. Chris is a good guy—the best kind of guy, even, for having clearly accepted Mimmi, tail and all. Zac honestly likes him a lot, but…sometimes lines just have to be drawn. Today is that day.

"So," he begins, fingers tapping lightly against the table.

Chris looks up from his menu again, expression open, mouth still unable to completely contain his giddiness. He's really taking this whole 'mermaid' thing quite well. "What's up?"

"Mimmi told you." It's less of a confirmation and more of a segue into the topic he's really here to discuss.

Chris's expression closes off, entire demeanour drawing in. He peers at Zac suspiciously, eyes flickering up and to the side rapidly. The menu comes up between them, like a defensive wall. Zac nearly sighs in exasperation. Had Mimmi actually told Chris anything at all, or just shown him her tail and then spent the rest of the time kissing him senseless?

It looks like he might have to back-track a little.

"Uh, Mimmi's told me a lot of things, Zac, you'll, uh, have to be more specific…" Chris hedges with another lightning-fast peek at the doorway.

Zac leans across the table and pulls the menu down with the tips of his fingers so it can no longer act as a barrier between them. He shoots Chris his most knowing look. "Yesterday, at the beach, Mimmi showed you what she was hiding."

Chris's shoulders release their hunch, the menu drooping until it touches the table. "You know?" At Zac's quick nod, he darts a last look around before leaning in, expression opening up once more. "It's amazing, man! I can't believe I'm dating a real, live mermaid!"

Zac's fingers start up their gentle tap again. "Yeah, about that…"

Chris's eyes track up and down Zac and he wonders, "How long have you know? Wait, who else knows?" The menu, forgotten, get's shoved half-way off the table and Chris's chair finds its way an inch or two closer to Zac's.

There is a point to be made here, and Zac is going to get to it, eventually, but first he apparently needs to explain a few basics. He scrubs a hand through his hair. "Really, Mimmi?" he complains. As Chris's eyebrows start to draw together, Zac waves a hand and explains, "She was supposed to tell you, but I guess it never came up." Chris nods encouragingly. Zac has every last ounce of his attention, so he ploughs on, ticking names off on his fingers one by one, "The long and short of it is, you can talk about it with me, Weilan, Ondina, Cam, Carly, Evie, David, Principal—I mean, Miss Santos, and when Sirena comes back, well, her as well."

Chris's eyes go steadily wider and wider the more names Zac reveals. "Wow…that's…I wasn't expecting so many people to know. Mimmi sure is trusting…" he trails off, turning pensive. Zac thinks it's probably a good thing that Chris appears worried about Mimmi's overly trusting nature.

To be fair, Zac is guilty of revealing their secret to land people one too many times as well, so he can hardly judge. "Yeah," he agrees. "But, Mimmi's not the only one," he points out tentatively, watching Chris for his reaction.

Wait…and there it is. The boy's mouth drops open and Zac has to wonder just how much talking happened the day before—if any. "Oh," Chris breathes in clear surprise. "Wait…who else?" He scoots his chair over even further, mouth spreading in a delighted grin. "Seriously, how many are there? I can't believe no one's ever discovered this before now, it's crazy!"

Zac is about to point out that one, mermaids (and mermen) have magic and can turn invisible, and two, divers generally don't go looking for things they can't explain, and when they do find evidence of something magical, they tend to write it off…when he hears footsteps approach from behind and clamps his mouth shut. Twisting quickly in his chair, he peers over his shoulder, but it's only Carly, who saunters up and glances between the pair of them. She quirks an eyebrow at the way Chris has scooted his chair almost to the same side of the table as Zac's, but doesn't comment. She raises her order pad. "You guys want a juice?"

There's a few moments of fumbling for the menu, trying not to knock it right off the table. In a matter of moments, Chris reads off a snap-decision order and Zac plucks the menu out of his hands even though he knows it by heart. Sure enough, nothing has changed, and he ends up debating between the Mango or Tropical Fruit. Carly begins to tap her pen against the pad at a steady beat as he deliberates, before finally rolling her eyes. "If you don't decide soon, Zac, I'm going to make you my next test dummy for a real prawn and clam juice."

"Mango!" Zac blurts out quickly. He can't quite tell if she's serious or not, and while Carly tries, she really does, her ability to improvise juice flavours for merpeople is not one of her talents.

She quirks a smug eyebrow at him. "Okay. One Mango coming right up."

When Zac turns back to Chris, the other boy is staring in a bemused fashion. "Prawns and…clam?"

"Don't ask," Zac advises quickly.

If the face Chris makes in commiseration is any indication, it doesn't seem like he needs a first-hand account.

Chris isn't distracted by Carly's interruption for long. He quickly leans back in again, eyes bright. "So, you were saying?"

"Right. You want to know who's a part of the pod." Zac's mouth quirks. In a way, it's nice that Mimmi's boyfriend knows. They don't have to pretend around him, and now Chris can fully support Mimmi without her having to lie to him at every turn. He's happy for his sister, truly…which is why they're currently having this talk. Or they will, once he gets the niceties out of the way. "Well, there's Mimmi, Ondina, Weilan, Miss Santos, Sirena, and me."

Chris is nodding along as he ticks people off on his fingers. His hands freeze when Zac reaches the end of his list, and he slowly looks up at Zac, then down at his legs, before back up to his face. "Wait, what?" He shakes his head. "You?" He stares at Zac's legs again and Zac unconsciously draws his feet in a bit. Chris blinks and drops his hands, mouth opening and closing.

Zac leans back in his chair and shrugs. He's used to this by now—between mermaids and land-people, he can't quite catch a break. He gets it, merman are a rare commodity, especially awesome, powerful merman like himself. His lips quirk. "Is that so hard to believe?"

Chris licks his lips. "Well…I mean…you…" he gestures at Zac, eyes darting to his chest and staring, and though the question is incomplete, Zac suddenly has a pretty good idea what Chris's issue is.

He rolls his eyes, arms crossing defensively. "Merman." Emphasis on the man, thank you very much.

Chris is still processing this when Carly comes by with their drinks. She plops them down and Zac thanks her. Carly pauses at Chris's elbow expectantly, but he's too busy staring at the table, thinking very hard about Zac's latest revelation. Carly's eyebrows go up and she shoots Zac a questioning look, but Zac waves her off. "Thanks, Carly," he repeats.

Carly gives Chris one last look, before hurrying off. Zac waits until she's out of hearing range, before diving back into the conversation. "It goes without saying that no one can know about us." He doesn't mince words, tone flat and eyes wary.

Chris looks up from his silent contemplation of the table and nods slowly. "Uh. Yeah, of course." He seems to notice his juice and glances over to the counter as a flash of realisation crosses his face. Like barely-there sea foam, it's gone again and he shrugs, pulling the glass closer and taking a sip.

Zac takes the opportunity to try his Mango juice. He pulls back and stares at it suspiciously—it has a strange after-taste that reminds him a bit of seaweed. When he twists to stare at Carly behind the counter, she catches his eye with a smirk and wiggles her fingers at him. He narrows his eyes at her, but she just keeps grinning.

She definitely added something to his juice. He takes another sip, trying to dissect the flavours. Probably seaweed.

It's actually not that bad. Not that he's telling Carly that.

Chris is eying him now, the silence between them beginning to grow from comfortable to awkward. Zac realises it's now or never. His hand stretches out between them, palm out. "I wanted to introduce myself properly." Chris slowly takes his hand, clearly bewildered. Zac pumps it firmly, squeezing with a tad bit more pressure than necessary. "Hi, I'm Zac, Mimmi's brother."

Chris, who had been slowly shaking his hand in a bemused fashion, freezes mid-shake. Zac can't help but wonder how many bombs he can drop on the guy before he has a meltdown. Hopefully he can deal with just one more. He tightens his grip on Chris's hand for a long second and the other boy's gaze grows sharp. There's a new tension between them that's impossible to ignore.

"Mimmi's…brother," he repeats slowly, realisation dawning.

Zac keeps a strong grip. "Exactly, so it goes without saying I watch her back."

They finally release hands and Chris settles back into his chair slowly. Zac worries for just a moment that Chris will take all of this the wrong way, but then his mouth quirks up at the corners. He gets it, and he's taking it well.

To be fair, Zac never intended this conversation to be taken as a threat; really more of a warning that if Chris and Mimmi ever do break up…it will be clear who's side Zac will be on, because as her brother, Zac will always be behind Mimmi 100 percent. Mimmi is his sister, and it won't matter who breaks up with who, or who breaks whose heart, because Zac will take her side in every scenario.

Lines just have to be drawn, that's all.

"I get it. I break her heart and…" Chris trails off thoughtfully. "Uh…what's the merman equivalent of the shovel talk, exactly? You'll drown me? Feed me to the sharks?"

A laugh escapes him before he can help it, and then they're both laughing. Zac clears his throat after a few moments of catching his breath. "Yeah, something like that."

Chris shakes his head, grinning. "You know I'm totally gone on her."

"I know," Zac grins. "I like you, I do, but it has to be said, you know?"

Chris is nodding. "I get it, mate. She's your sister." He pauses, mouths the word 'sister' and grins again. "Wow, still can't wrap my head around that…so weird."

Zac shrugs.

"And you…you know…" Chris gestures at Zac's body, particularly his lower half. To anyone watching, it probably looked a tad strange, and Chris quickly drops his hand, grin turning sheepish.

"You mean, do I have a tail? Mermen have blue tails, not orange and gold, but the concept is the same."

Chris breaths out a long sigh. "That is just…it's so… I mean, wow."

Zac might have sat a little straighter and his smile might have grown a little wider. It's nice to be appreciated every once in a while.

There's a movement that catches his peripheral vision. His eyes catch on a familiar silhouette and his attention is drawn to the figure out his sister, standing in the doorway to the Café. She's wearing another one of her cute sundresses, her hair in long cascading curls and framing her face. Her smile is bright and she looks radiantly happy.

Zac can't help the grin that splits his face and he quickly waves. She waves back, but her eyes dart between her brother and her boyfriend with a questioning look and Zac decides it's time to go, before Mimmi finds out just why he's sitting with Chris.

"Mimmi doesn't need to—" he begins.

Chris chuckles, waving him off. "No worries, mate."

Zac tips his head. Chris is a real good, solid sort of guy. Mimmi made a good choice in telling him.

Mimmi bounds up to them, eyes darting between them curiously, but grin no less brighter than before. "Zac!"

He smiles, chair scraping back as he stands and collects his juice. "Hey, sis."

Mimmi's eyes widen for just a second, before she relaxes. "Hey." Her eyes dart to Chris, smile widening almost impossibly more. "Hi."

"See you later?"

Mimmi jerks her head back towards him, as if for a moment she'd forgotten he was there. Zac barely refrains from laughing. If Chris is completely gone on Mimmi, then she's even worse! "Oh, uh, yeah! Later!"

He brushes past her with an affectionate shoulder clasp. As he moves behind Mimmi, he catches Chris's eye again and they exchange a nod. Zac turns away, feeling satisfied—he'd done what he'd set out to do. Chris knows where the line is drawn, and he knows where Zac's loyalties lie.

And Zac was able to see that at the end of the day, he probably has absolutely nothing to worry about, because Mimmi and Chris are definitely made for each other.

Although it kind of does go without saying that if he breaks her heart, Zac really might just have to go feed him to the sharks.

Okay, maybe not. Probably.

End.

AN2: Tried a different writing style this time. Hope you all enjoyed!