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abyssalbest · 9 months

Text

Part of Your World (rewrite)

Word count: 2459

Pairings: Azul x childhood friends!Y/N

Warnings: None

Notes: This is a rewrite of my old fic by the same name on a defunct account, @/iloveilovedarkiplier. I intend to continue writing this fic on this new account. So, if you like the old one, you'll like this new one.

You were 9, and if there’s one thing you knew, it was that playing by yourself was boring.

You’d learned this the hard way, unfortunately, though through no fault of your own. You hadn’t wanted to move to this new town, leaving all your old friends behind in the process. But what choice did you have? You were a child. Your parents had made up their minds. There was nothing you could really do other than pack up your things and say goodbye to your friends, promising to visit one day.

Your new home was much different than your old one. You weren’t excited about leaving, but you had to admit that living near the beach was awesome. Your new house, much smaller than your last, hugged the edge of the nearby fishing town. It sat atop small cliff, closer to the docks than the other houses, overlooking the shimmering sea. Your parents surprised you with the room closest to it, giving you the best view of the crashing waves below.

You’d decided to skip out on the rest of your unpacking for that day to play in the sea. Your mother had protested, but your father, ever the sucker for your puppy dog eyes, had caved immediately and told you could go. As long as you came back before lunch when mother got home. So, off you’d skipped down the slope of the cliff. With a little red bucket, filled with toys, clutched in your hands and the salty breeze on your skin.

You were playing your favorite game now; Sea monsters! You’d push your little wooden boat across the water, pretending it was piloted by tiny little people, then duck under with your goggles and watch it carefully. Then, just as it was about to stop, you’d jump out and grab it! Like a kraken catching it’s prey, you would drag the little boat as far as you could dive beneath the waves before letting it go. Just to watch it bob back up to the surface again. To some, it could be repetitive, but to you it was fun to see how far you could dive!

You’d waded pretty far out, all things considered. Far enough that your feet couldn’t touch the ocean floor. You’d been trying to dive far enough to touch the sand as you played, and that’s when you’d heard it. Though, to be honest, you weren’t sure what exactly it was. The noise was muffled by the water, especially as you began to rise and the water rushed by your ears. You’d breached the water before you’d meant to, and were only left with the impression of the sound you’d heard. And yet, you were absolutely sure you’d heard something.

It caused you to pause. You strained to see if you could hear anything above the water, but all that was audible was the breeze. So, with a deep gulp of air, you decided to dive back under with your little boat in tow. Down here, you were sure you could hear something! It was muffled and quiet, extremely so, but it was there. You rose back to the surface more curious than when you went under.

A part of you wanted to follow the sound. From what you could hear, briefly, it sounded like it was coming from the cliff, beneath your house. So, with your mind made up, you dive back underwater and began to swim. It takes you a minute. You’re a strong swimmer, but the need for air slows you down. The closer you get, the clearer the sound became. You realized, once you’d nearly made your way over, that it sounded like crying.

The noise- the crying -was clear as day now. Soft but consistent sobbing, coming from inside the cliff! It only burned at your curiosity more as you pressed your ear to the thin sedimentary stone. You took another breath and dove under once more.It took you a bit of searching, but eventually you found a small, hidden lip that lead into a cave. Beneath the cliff, inside an almost claustrophobic grotto, it barely stood out against the dark. The sobbing was the loudest it had ever been here, and you couldn’t resist popping your head up to take a look.

What you were expecting you weren’t quite sure, but a boy definitely wasn’t it. He didn’t seem to notice you as you stared. He’d tucked himself into a corner of the cave with his hands over his face as he wept. The cavern was dim, but not dark, lit up by pretty little seashells that hung from the walls and glowed with a golden hue. It bounced off his silver hair beautifully, glittering across his midnight skin, and lended him a dreamlike aura. He was lovely and you couldn’t take your eyes off of him

You just had to let him know, and that’s when he looked up.

For a long moment, the two of you just stared at one another. You were immediately enraptured by his eyes, whose color was so soft and light that it practically bordered on silver. Like his hair, like the ashen skin on his face and chest and palms. It was unlike anything you’d see on anyone else before, gorgeously unique, and you couldn’t help but stare.

Then he shouted, and the moment was broken.

“WHO IN THE NAME OF THE SEA WITCH ARE YOU!?”

You yelped, loudly, and ducked back under the water to hide. You heard him call after you as you began to swim away. “No, no, no, no! I-I’m sorry, please, come back! I didn’t mean to scare you! P-Please!” His word made you halt just long enough for him to duck his head under the water. His eyes landed on you instantly and he blinks, then he smiles.

For some reason, he’s crystal clear even underwater. “Hello! Hi! I-I’m sorry- Please don’t leave. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just- I-I wasn’t expecting you? I’m sorry. Will you please come back?”

You blinked at him a moment, staring at his tentative smile as you mulled over his words. But then your lungs began to scream at you, crying out for air, and your decision was made for you. You surged forward towards him, causing him to yelp this time as he rushed to move out of your way. You take you next breath deeply as you surface, and he seems to awkwardly shuffle back with a strange.. wet noise? That’s when you glanced down and noticed his legs. Or rather, his lack thereof.

You hadn’t noticed it before, but where his legs should be where instead the eight arms of an octopus. You weren’t so much frightened by this as you were surprised. You’d heard tales of merfolk before, but had never seen any in real life! A mixture of curiosity and wonder filled your chest, putting a smile on your face. It seemed, however, like the boy didn’t much appreciate being gawked at.

“I-If I had known you were going to stare, I would’ve let you leave…” He huffed indignantly, and oh, even his blush was pretty. An adorable lilac color that dusted over his pale grey cheeks.

You’re quick to reassure him. You really hadn’t meant to be rude! You’ve just…never seen a merman in real life before. He glances back at you, searching for something in your eyes, but you’re not sure what. So you put a friendly smile on your face and hope that soothes him. It seems to because he smiles back. Albeit, cautiously .

“I’m Azul.” He says as he holds out a hand to you.

You reply with your name, and take it. But instead of a shake, he wraps his other hand around your wrist and heaves you out of the water effortlessly. You let out a startled laugh as you’re dragged to sit on the cavern’s edge, and Azul laughs too.

“You don’t have to sit in the water.” He says playfully. “I know it’s cold.”

You shrug. You hadn’t really noticed the cold.

“Really?”

You nod. He gives you a strange look. “That’s weird. I thought humans didn’t handle the cold well.”

You wonder what he knows about humans. Has he ever met a human before? You watch him blush again, and realize you said that out loud. “Wha- W-Well! No, I’ve never met a human before…but, I’ve heard stories…just like you.”

Your eyebrows shoot up to your hairline in surprise. You hadn’t expected for merfolk to talk of humans the way humans talked of them, but the more you thought about it the more sense it made. The surface must be just as different to him as the deep sea was to you. So you concede the point, and instead choose to ask why Azul was hiding here. His gentle smile drops.

“Why are you here?” He tries to deflect, arms crossed across his chest. You simply shrug and answer honestly; You heard him crying. For a third time, Azul blushes. “Y-You heard that??”

Azul groans dramatically, burying his face in his palms, and you barely suppress a giggle. Narrowed silver eyes glare up at you between his fingers. “Don’t laugh at me!” he snapped. You hold your hands up in surrender.

You tell Azul he doesn’t have to explain if he doesn’t want to. Instead, you inquire about his hideout.

“Hideout?” He asked.

You gesture to the cavern around you.

“Oh!” Azul shrugs. His hand comes up to twirl a stray silver curl. “Uh, well, what about it? It’s just an underwater cave I found. It’s a nice place to, uh, hide. When I want to be alone..”

You take another look around. It really is a beautiful place. A large, circular carven made of smooth, black obsidian with softly glittering crystals embedded in them. Books and notes were strewn about, which you assumed were Azul’s, a long with some pens and pencils. There were even some puzzles and toys lying about. Seems like he’s really set up shop here, you realize, and a part of you wonders what he’s hiding from.

You choose instead to ask him what he does here. “Magic.” He tells you in a whisper. A proud grin grows on his face when you look at him in surprise.

Azul, despite not being anywhere near human, doesn’t look much older than you. How can he already be practicing practical magic! You weren’t sure what school was like in the ocean, but you knew that on the surface 4th graders weren’t allow to cast spells yet! That was saved for the big kids- the 6th and 7th graders. You told Azul as much.

He laughed, and for a second he sounded like a supervillain from an action movie. It would’ve been creepy if he wasn’t so cute. “Really? You don’t start practicing magic on the surface until you’re 13? Wow, talk about late blooming.” He snickered.

You huff and give him a playful shove, causing him to squeal. “Ok, ok, I’m sorry!” He laughs. “But yeah! In my class, we’re already doing practical magic! But, uh, I like to come out here and practice on my own sometimes.” You gesture to the books scattered about and he nervously wrings his hands. “Yeah, that’s what all this mess is, heheh.”

You pick up a notebook off the ground and begin to thumb through it. You can’t help but be impressed, if you’re honest! Azul must be an honors student with all this work he’s been doing! You didn’t take much of an interest in magic lessons in school, and while you weren’t exactly terrible at it, you weren’t good at it either. You definitely wouldn’t be able to pull of half the spells in these notes! Azul seemed flustered by your admiration.

“Give me that!” He hisses and snatches the notebook from your hands. He let’s out an adorable huff. “You’ll get it wet!”

You shot him a confused look. His notebook is waterproof, isn’t it? It has to be, if it’s his, right? Azul coughed into his fist. “O-Oh, uh, right..”

You wanted to giggle, but bit your tongue. He was just too cute! You definitely didn’t expect to find an adorable little octopus magician when you went on this expedition, but you weren’t complaining. In fact, you weren’t sure you were ready to let him go yet. So you offered for him to come play with you!

Azul almost seemed surprised by that. “Y-You want me to play with you..?” It sounded less like a question and more like a prayer. A sanguine whisper while big, grey eyes stared up at you with hope.

You take his hand, pressing your little wooden boat into it with a smile, and nod. He smiled back.

“O-Ok! What do you want to do?”

You asked if Azul has ever played Sea Monsters before. He made a face. “No?”

Great! You were going to show him.

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In the end, you ended up staying out much later than your father had initially said you could.

You and Azul had played for hours and you lost track of time. He was the best sea monster you’d ever seen! He swam fast, faster than you could even dream of, and he’d chase you around trying to grab you and pull you under. You realized that this game was much more fun when you had two people.

Eventually your mother had come home, furious you had skipped out on unpacking. But when she’d met your new friend her anger seemed to subside. You’d have to spend all day inside tomorrow, but you were allowed to spend the rest of today at the beach. Azul had apologized for getting you in trouble, but you honestly didn’t mind.

When Azul had to leave, it was both disappointing and exciting. You’d told him how much fun you’d had, and he responded in kind.

“Can we play together again some time?” he’d surprised you by asking. “Tomorrow maybe?”

You had to unpack tomorrow, unfortunately. “Oh, yeah.” But, you wondered, maybe after that?

Azul’s face had lit up with a smile. He takes you hand excitedly and shakes it with vigor. “It’s a deal!” he exclaimed. “See you then!”

With that settled, Azul ducked beneath the water and swam away. You watched him go with a giddy feeling in your chest and a happy smile on your face. You only came back to shore when you heard your father call you in for dinner.

Little did you know, hidden behind a jutting stone, two pairs of mismatched eyes were watching you.

“Seems like tako-chan’s got a new friend, ey, Jade?”

“Indeed it does, Floyd, indeed it does…”