Archive of Our Own

Bakugou Katsuki was not a stranger to the tides. He looked down at them, swirling beneath his feet, churning, crashing against the side of the boat. They looked angry that day. Angry and powerless to change the course of fate.

"Go on, then."

He felt the barrel of a shotgun prod between his shoulder blades and he turned around. There he saw the rest of the ship, and all of its inhabitants. His own crew, tied up and staring at him with fear and desperation in their eyes. And the enemy that had boarded silently during the storm, leering at him as he stood at the end of the plank. The man with the gun was tall and strong; he stood up straight, reminding Bakugou of a naval officer. Kirogiri, he’d heard them call him. The one with the voice was just off to the side, his blue hair loose and unkempt. It was nasty, like tentacles dangling from his head. Turning up his nose at it, Bakugou thought that this was why he kept his own hair short.

"This ship doesn't need you anymore, Captain," the man who’s crew of miscreants called him Shigaraki drawled, playing with his own knife as he let his henchman do the dirty work. He was wearing Bakugou’s hat – his hat! Bakugou sneered at him, at them all. At the slimy fuckers that had somehow knocked most of his men out and cornered him in his quarters. They were a conniving lot, a set of fuckers he knew were rotten when he saw them at the last port they'd docked at. Stupid bastards oogling them from the other side of the tavern. Bakugou should've done something about them right then and there, when he had the gut reaction.

"Go fuck yourself, Seaweed Head." The rest of the fucker's crew chuckled at his attitude, while the big guy with the gun prodded him with it; a reminder of which side of the weapon he was on.

He looked back at his own crew; Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, Ashido, Jirou. Yaomomo, Tokoyami, all of those fuckers. There was genuine fear in their eyes. It disgusted him. Did they even know their captain?

"Oi." He drew their attention, every single one’s, like he meant to make some sort of speech. And before anyone could react, he pushed the barrel of the gun. The shot was loud, his ears ringing, and the smell of smoke was strong and sharp. But it didn't matter; it fired into the sea. It's wielder handled the recoil well, but he still was unable to process Bakugou quickly tossing something into the air that soared up, over the ship, everyone's eyes following it, even the enemy crew's. And then he stepped forward, grabbed the strong man by the shirt, and dragged them both off into the churning waters.

...........................................................................

Bakugou's plan was a simple one. Throw a flare into the sky and stun the enemy so his crew could have a fighting chance. They could easily over power those fuckers; they were a bunch of wimps hiding behind guns they didn't know how to use, and there weren't that many of them. Their real strength came from this Kirogiri man who was silent but packed a mean punch. So Bakugou took him out of the picture. Now, all he had to do was...plummet to the bottom of the ocean floor.

He put up a fight, don't get him wrong. He fought against the waves, trying to reach his ship, the netting, before it sailed too far away. But the man he'd dragged down with him grabbed hold of him, and they struggled together.

The anger of the sea was both a blessing and a curse. It battered them, and cleaved them in two, dragging them away from each other. And then it dragged them down. Kurogiri struggling to stay above the waves was the last thing he saw before a giant wave took him under, and he didn't know up from down. Which way to the surface?

Beneath the sea, the water was in turmoil; it was anguished. He kicked and flailed, but he couldn't get his bearings. He held his breath for as long as he could, but he couldn't find relief.

When his vision started to grow dim, and his chest began to ache, that's when the true panic set in. He was going to die there, in his beloved sea. He'd always dedicated himself to it, lived his life by it. Perhaps this was right, then.

His head was growing fuzzy. His eyes began to close, and he let the waves do what they wanted with him. Then he saw a glint of light. The sun?

He opened his eyes wide, but he couldn't see. And then- there it was again. Like the glint of a gold coin, a flash, a reflection. He was twirling, trying to follow it. It was like the dapple of water in the sun. Suddenly he got the feeling like he wasn't alone.

Panic gripped him again, and he tensed himself, preparing to fight, dazed as he was. Then, he found himself, face to face with a man. And he gasped.

Water surged into his lungs, and he tried to cough, but he couldn't. The ache in his chest was tenfold, and he knew then that he was inches from death's door. He knew it, because before him, holding his face in it's hands, was an angel. The most beautiful being he'd seen in his life. He must be dying.

His last waking memory before everything went dark and numb was that cherubic face with the wide green eyes and flowing hair getting closer, and pressing its lips to his own.

...........................................................................

Bakugou woke up sprawled out on a beach. He rose slowly, his head feeling heavy and water-logged. For a moment, he wondered if he died, and this was heaven. Then he threw up a bunch of saltwater and it left a burn in his throat. Nope. Definitely not heaven. Not even purgatory. Just a beach.

He rose onto his knees and looked over himself. He'd lost his knee length jacket, and his hat was, last he’d seen, on some bastard’s head. At least he still had his belt with his knife. The fuckers had stolen his gun. All he had was his shirt and pants which were soaked, and his flooded boots. Looking around, he saw a decent strip of sandy beach on either side of him, and before him, the beach stretched up to a treeline. There were no signs of civilization, not even a plume of smoke.

Grumbling to himself, he turned around and took his boots off to pour the water out. When he looked back up, he screamed.

Before him, he saw that face again. Beautiful, cherubic, attached to a bare torso that gleamed, wet from the sea. And beneath that... A tail.

"Fuck!" Bakugou said, his eyes wide and his throat hoarse. Speaking hurt damn bad, but he couldn't help his surprise. His whole life he'd spent on the sea and he'd never once seen a mermaid before.

The damn thing smiled at him, which set off his alarm bells – particularly when he saw it’s sharp teeth. Yet even still, it looked so sweet and innocent, which he found very suspicious. His first instinct was to stagger to his feet and pull out his knife. But he recalled the sea, and it's gentle hands on his face, and he knew that if the thing had wanted him dead, then it would've just let him drown.

It was right before him again, and he let his eyes do a once over. It's skin was tan, like it spent much time in the sun, much like Bakugou. And it was mottled, like some kind of a seal, with flecks here and there about its body, speckled and shit. Its tail was green, sea green, and it sparkled in the sun, like each scale was a beautiful gem sewn onto its limb. Its hair matched, a strange, verdant hue that wasn't as flowy out of the water. In fact, it looked curly then, dripping and wet.

What Bakugou found most strange, however, were the scars. They were lined about the creature, about its arms, its body, even one slashed across its cheek. He wanted to believe they were obtained in accident, but they looked too straight, too clean, to not be intentional.

The creature didn't stop crawling until it was hovering over Bakugou, who held his breath. What did this thing want from him?

It stopped right between his legs and looked at him with that strangely sweet smile. It reached forward and rested a hand on his chest where his heart was pounding. Run? Fight? He remained still. It leaned forward, and it's hand fell down to his stomach. For a moment he was paralyzed, stunned. Why was it breathing over his neck? Why was it purring? Why was it's hand slipping lower-

"Fuck!" Bakugou scrambled away to his feet and instantly drew his knife, warding off the strange thing that had palmed his crotch. He knew he had a wild look in his eye, and he'd startled the creature, but fuck it. "Get the fuck away from me!"

He snarled and waved his knife in a threat. Those green eyes were wide, and they became frightened before the thing dragged itself back a few paces. The sudden fear surprised Bakugou, but he refused to back down until he knew he was safe.

He saw gills on the creature's neck. They fluttered nervously, and it's mouth opened and closed, like it wanted to say something. Could it even speak?

Then, in a weird, croaking voice, it said, slowly, "I'm sorry..." The sound trembled from it's lips, sounding strange enough coming from that throat. But it seemed unprepared for Bakugou's reaction. Too bad. Maybe keep your damn hands to yourself, fucker.

Bakugou didn't say anything else before the creature dragged itself back to the sea. It slipped into the waves, and was gone.

Bakugou stood there for another moment, completely shocked. He finally put his knife back in its sheath and relaxed, staring at the encroaching tide. It had been a strange, exhausting day. And he was certain that it wouldn’t get any better from there on out

...........................................................................

Bakugou wandered the beach, looking for any form of debris, or even some supplies that had been lost at sea and washed ashore. He found some driftwood that had dried in the sun, but that was it. He found a dry spot sheltered behind a clump of trees that was slightly elevated from the surrounding area. He stored his findings there beneath two giant palm leafs. Then he went in search for water and a source of food.

He didn't know how long he'd find himself on that island. Would a random ship find him? Would one even think to stop here? Would his ship come find him? Was his crew still alive?

He thought about them. He knew they would take advantage of his last ditch effort. He trusted them. He didn't let random nobodies sail with him. They were capable, even if they could be idiots at times. He believed that they would win, because he had no other choice. Yet would they think to stop here?

He walked until he found himself at the opposite end of the beach. He hadn't seen any form of life except for some birds and vermin. And many, many bugs. Sleeping in the open air was going to be a nightmare. Mentally, he put “making a net” onto his to do list.

Then he saw a cliff that rose high over the sea level. At its base, he saw a cluster of rocks that looked to him like a cove. Getting closer he realized that not only was he right, but there was an entrance there, into the cliff. There was a cave.

He skirted around the shallow pool, studying it to find - thank the fucking lord - fish swimming around. He could find a large stick to sharpen into a spear, and he might be set for a while. Next (and most important) step was to find fresh water.

He was ready to move on, feeling how empty his flask had become, when he heard something; it sounded like a...like a voice.

Straining to listen, he thought that it was coming from the cave. His hand immediately went to the knife at his hip, and he slowly made his way over the rocks to the entrance.

Sure enough, the sound got louder. It was a melodic, human voice, nothing like the voice of the creature that he’d met before. And it was singing. He was too far away to make out the words, but when he crept in further, he realized that they were unrecognizable. They were in no language that he knew of.

It was cooler inside, still wet and thick feeling, but a bit more bearable than the humid heat out there. In the darkness of the cavern, he tried to remain silent. He could hear water dripping somewhere, in multiple places. He followed the wall, and found himself approaching the source. It sounded, well, it sounded beautiful. He gripped his knife tighter.

He began to see, which meant that light was getting in somewhere. He saw it - a shaft of light beaming in and illuminating a craggy rock that stood in the middle of the end of the cavern. It stabbed up from the center of a pool of water that Bakugou couldn't figure out the depth to, not in that lighting. But what he was more focused on, was the man sitting atop the rock. He was perched there, his song echoing around them, the reverberation sounding heavenly.

Bakugou thought for a second, maybe he did die? Why else would there be a naked man on this deserted island with the voice of an angel sitting in this cave all by himself?

Then he got closer, and his foot slipped. The singing stopped, and the man turned to him immediately. He cursed beneath his breath. But then he saw that face, and recognized it. The merman.

His bare feet (feet?) slipped against the rock as he scrambled for purchase, looking ready to flee.

"Oi-" His knife glinted, and the being dove into the water. Bakugou rushed to the edge of the pool and was just barely able to see a glint of shimmering scales beneath the surface before it swam down and disappeared. Either the pool was far deeper than he realized, or there was an exit out into the sea. He figured that the latter was most likely.

He sighed, and turned back around. This shit was far too weird.

...........................................................................

There was a small stream inland that Bakugou could refill his flask at every morning. He spent the night carving a stick until it was sharp enough to spear. And the next morning, he went back to that cove, and he waded in, his toursers hitched up above his knees.

He'd shucked his shirt aside as the sun beat down on him. He'd splash himself with some water just to cool himself down before he waded in deeper and stood still, waiting for the fish to grow accustomed to his presence.

“Shit! Fucking bastards...”

He cursed as he struck and missed another. He’d never actually had to do this before, but he was certain it wasn’t that hard. He just had to figure out the damn angle in the water. Stupid things were always off a few centimeters than he expected them to be.

It wasn’t too long until he started to feel a weight on him, boring into his skin. He tried to ignore it, but it lingered. When he missed another fish, he cursed, and shouted out, “I know you’re fucking there!”

He didn’t even turn to look around, just listened to the sound of splashing, and something dripping onto the rocks. Nothing was said for a few moments, it was just them and the gentle lapping of the waves. And the fish that slithered past his ankles, teasing him.

Feeling his irritation rising, Bakugou looked over his shoulder to glare. There it was, the creature, the fins of its tail rolling gently in the water. He had thought they were green to match the sea, but really, the being put the water to shame, looking like an emerald when compared to it. The captain turned back to his task at hand and watched the fish carefully.

“So you got a fin right now, huh?” He asked, not caring about how crass his own voice was. The only response he got was a spalsh. He scowled. “I know you can fucking speak, you creep. So talk.”

It took a second, but then he heard that familiar, croaking voice.

“Yes. It’s wet right now.”

Bakugou frowned, only half paying attention to the shallows before him.

“The hell’s that supposed to mean? You only gotta fin when it’s wet?”

“It’s normally wet,” that voice came over to him. It sounded nothing like the sweet melody from the cave. Was the man and this thing really the same being?

“What’s wrong with your voice?” He asked bruskly, turning and spying a glimpse of the creature as it reached up and touched its throat.

“I’m not used to speaking above water while like this. Particularly not human speech.”

“While like this...” Bakugou murmured to himself. His eyes flicked up again to the- the merman. Because that’s what he was. Then he looked back down. “Meaning you’re a fish guy, but if you dry off, you got the body of a human.” The tail flicked again in confirmation.

So. Mermaids were real. Either that, or Bakugou really was dead and in some strange version of paradise where he still felt hunger, still felt thirst, still felt pain, and got felt up by some random asshole. He stabbed again and felt like he got closer. But still no dice.

“What the hell is your problem?” He looked up and saw the other watching him warily.

“What do you mean?”

“Following me around,” Bakugou grunted out. “Touching me and shit. Who does that?” He didn’t give a fuck if that was just some weird shit mermaids did. But when he saw the other flush at his words, he knew that that wasn’t the case.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I... Most humans want... that. After I save them.” Bakugou’s mouth screwed up to the side.

“Well I ain’t most humans.” The merman didn’t say anything in response to that. Bakugou looked back down at the couple of fish that dared get near him. They tempted him, but he was learning to be patient. “So what, you just some kind of guardian of the seas? Saving drowning idiots?”

“If I see someone dying, I want to save them,” the merman said, his voice soft. Genuine. Bakugou tried not to roll his eyes.

“Yeah, okay.”

Apparently the merman could hear the disbelief in his voice. “What would you do?” He asked it as if he was genuinely curious to hear the truth. Bakugou stabbed again. Nothing.

“I don’t know. I ain’t a fucking mermaid. I got better shit to do than sit around waiting for random fucks to fall into the water.”

“I saw you give yourself to save your crew.” Bakugou looked up at that. Those eyes were greener even than his tail, even shinier than a gem. And there was so much of them, they were so big and wide, with their own depths to them. “I know you’re a good man.”

Bakugou forced himself to scowl. “How long you been watching me, eh?” No matter how sweet and innocent this guy acted, it still gave Bakugou the creeps. The creature ducked his head down.

“It wasn’t just you... I watch all humans.” Bakugou studied him for a moment, unabashedly.

“Weirdo,” he finally said, decidedly. He looked down and stabbed, and his stick came up with a wriggling fish. He continued on as if he wasn’t screaming his pride on the inside. “You got some obsession with humans?”

The merman’s tail flicked the water anxiously. “I just like to watch them, that’s all.”

“Hm.” Bakugou waded through the water to take his kill to land. “We ain’t that great.” He studied his fish still feebly wriggling on the stick. Would it be best to just leave it on and stick it in the fire? “We got a lot of terrible ones on land. Off land, too. Everywhere.”

He looked back over to the merman who was simply watching him from his rock. Bakugou allowed himself to look him over again.

“How’d you get those scars, huh?”

Those eyes flared. They flashed, filling suddenly with stark pain, and for a second, Bakugou actually regretted his question. Then the merman’s gaze flicked to the knife at his waist, and he knew he’d been right in his assumption.

Without another word, the merman slipped from the rock and fell back into the sea, just outside of the cove. Whatever. Good riddance. Bakugou had to go cook this slippery bastard. He was starving.

...........................................................................

After exploring some more, Bakugou discovered there were fruit at the tops of the trees. After some less than successful attempts at climbing, he shook the damn thing out of frustration, and the fruit fell at his feet. Coconuts. He’d heard of them before. They were hard, and he had to break one open with a rock, his knife couldn’t pierce it. But when he got it open, its flesh was succulent, and its milk sweet and creamy. He probably wouldn’t have liked it if he wasn’t so damn hungry.

He rested by his fire that night, warming his feet and he studied the stars between the treetops. He was so used to them being different the next night. It was strange seeing the same sky from the day before.

When he woke the next day, he felt stiff and sore. He wasn’t used to sleeping on the ground. He got up to stretch, and then he saw a fish laying on a leaf at the edge of his clearing. He bristled when he saw it.

He went back to that cove and threw the damn thing into the entrance before resuming his spear fishing. And again he had a visitor.

“Don’t you got some damn place you gotta be?” Bakugou grumbled, searching the waters, waiting to strike.

“This is my home.” Bakugou looked up at him with a frown. There were a couple of questions he wanted to ask in response to that, but instead, he found himself asking:

“Why the hell did you take me to your home?”

“It was the closest land,” he answered with a light blush. “You wouldn’t be able to breathe for long, after...” When he trailed off, Bakugou quirked his brow.

“After you kissed me.” That face was still pink.

“It was to help you breathe under water. You call it the mermaid’s gift, I think.”

“Do we,” Bakugou muttered to himself. Then he looked to the water and he speared his fish. “Thanks for saving me and whatever. But I don’t need your shitty help.”

“I want to help,” the merman said.

“Then go find someone that needs it,” Bakugou told him before climbing out of the pool.

The next time he saw the merman, he was a human. And he was naked, again.

“Fuck, don’t you got any clothes?”

The man looked down at his bare body and blushed again.

“Sorry, I’ve never needed them before...”

His voice was strange now – normal. Not so croaky. It was soft even. Which only soured Bakugou’s mood further, for some damn reason.

“Well go find some!” He barked out. “You wanna be around humans so bad yourself, then act like it!” This seemed to make him blush more than actually being naked.

After that, Bakugou didn’t see him for a couple of days. He was starting to think that he’d scared the merman away from his own home. Didn’t matter, it was his own fault for bringing him there. Bakugou used that time to think of building something to grab a passing ship’s attention. As he carved a massive S-O-S into the beach, he considered storing up as much wood as he could get to create a large bonfire. That wood could prove useful for other things, but it would be best to pour his efforts into getting the fuck off that island. He was already feeling restless being stuck in the same damn place for more than two days.

Then the merman showed up again in human form. And this time he had trousers, and an oversized shirt on.

“The hell? Where’d you get those?” Bakugou asked him suspiciously.

“I found them,” he explained simply.

“You found them,” Bakugou repeated. “Just laying around then, huh?”

“No, out at sea.”

“So somebody just threw their clothes into the ocean, is that what you’re trynna tell me?”

“No, but sometimes people lose things, particularly near the shoreline.”

“So you traveled to another island that’s inhabited and came all the way back in four days? For a pair of clothing.”

“Ah, yes, I-I did.”

Bakugou didn’t know why he found it so unbelievable. He couldn’t imagine there was land like that anywhere nearby – he was sure he would know about this little island if that was the case. He knew these waters well.

He gave him a once over again, taking in his ill-fitting clothes. He didn’t even have any shoes on.

“You look like shit,” he said. “You’re such a deku.” Then he returned to his plans.

...........................................................................

One lonely night, after he’d been there for about a fortnight, Bakugou found himself walking along the beach. He looked up at the stars, and realized that they were different from his first night there, it just happened slowly. He didn’t know if that was worse than them not moving at all.

A night like that, he really could use some ale, and a hearty meal. Mostly the ale of course. But he was stuck there, wondering about the fate of his crew, and his own fate. How long would he be there? How rarely did a ship pass by this island?

Just as he was lost in his own thoughts, he heard something he hadn’t in a while. It was that song again, carrying gently on the ocean breeze. He knew who it belonged to this time, and when he couldn’t make out the words again, he figured they were in some kind of mermaid language. But still, the sweet tone had his legs walking in one specific direction – toward its source.

He found him there, sitting in the sand, a generous distance away from the lapping waves. He wore only his shirt, and his legs were spread out before him. His eyes were closed, and his face turned toward the moon as he sang that haunting melody.

When Bakugou stopped a short distance away, the man he’d started calling Deku quieted, and turned his head, opening his eyes to look at him.

“Sorry, I was letting them dry...” he murmured, nodding to his legs. In the starlight, Bakugou could see a hint of glinting scale on the sides of his calves.

“Why do you do that?” He asked bluntly. When Deku tilted his head, Bakugou added, “Ain’t it inconvenient to change all the time? Wouldn’t you rather stay one or the other for longer?”

“It’s not that bad,” Deku explained.

“Does it hurt?”

He looked down at his legs again, as if thinking about Bakugou’s question seriously.

“No, I don’t think so. It was scarier when I was younger. But now it’s just normal.”

“What are you doing out here, all by yourself? Don’t you have anyone else? Why do you live on an island?”

“I... I don’t. Have anyone. This island is, all I have. Mermaids are not as fond of humans. They tend to live further in the depths, or far away from human clusters.”

“But you want to be close.” Deku didn’t answer, but it was enough for Bakugou. “Right.”

“Do you have anyone you need to get home to?” Deku asked him suddenly.

“The sea is my home,” he told him. It made the merman look at him with something like wonder in his eyes.

“I see. And the crew is your family?”

“I don’t have a family,” Bakugou grumbled.

“Oh. Not even a mother and father?”

“They died.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.”

After a moment, the merman began his question hesitantly. “How... How did they-”

“Killed. By pillagers. Pirates.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.” He spoke and he looked at Bakugou so genuinely, with true sorrow in his eyes.

“S’okay. I found them.” And he didn’t explain further. Deku didn’t ask further. They both sat in silence, and looked at the stars.

...........................................................................

“Oi, Deku!”

Bakugou had been scrounging the beach for more driftwood and was holding a few pieces beneath his arms when he’d felt that gaze. Bakugou called out to the merman that still felt the need to watch him from behind the rocks. His voyeur stretched up into full view and slid his tail over to sit on them and waited for him to approach.

“The guy that fell with me,” Bakugou said as he got closer. He kept his eyes on the sand, as if he was more interested in looking. “What happened to him?”

Deku tilted his head, and his tail flicked nervously.

“Why do you want to know?” He asked in his gravelly voice. Bakugou quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Cause you said you can’t help but save someone you see dying. But he ain’t here with me, is he?” Again, that tail flicked. Bakugou stared at him until he answered.

“I tried to help him...” The merman started off, slowly. “He... He refused me.” Bakugou didn’t know what he meant by that – refused his help? Refused his kiss? But he didn’t explain further. What he said, though, was, “I couldn’t bring him and you, so I... I dragged him back to the... To the ship.”

Bakugou’s mouth screwed up, and he looked out to the horizon. He imagined the tall man clinging to the netting, soaking wet and battered through by the waves. But he was strong. He probably climbed up and found his way on deck again, though it probably took time and effort in the midst of that raging storm. Yet Bakugou figured this merman wouldn’t have let the man drown, even if he was a murderous bastard.

“I’m sorry,” Deku whispered roughly with that voice. “I didn’t know what else to do-”

“It’s fine,” Bakugou said dismissively. The merman blinked, and looked at him in surprise.

“It is?”

“Think my crew can’t handle that bastard?” Bakugou turned on him with a challenge in his question, and in his expression. Again with that tail flick.

“Well, he had gotten the best of you before-”

“Fuck that,” Bakugou growled out. “I’d been asleep. He snuck up on me,” Bakugou told him, getting the narrative straight. Then he smoothed out his ruffled feathers. “Besides. My crew probably had things under control before the bastard got on board. Then it’s eleven to one. And even if he still somehow kept his gun after all a that....” Bakugou trailed off, before grinning. “His gunpowder was wet. Yeah, he didn’t stand a chance.”

The merman looked at him with wonder then, his round, glossy eyes wide and looking him over.

“You trust in them,” he murmured, as if he was thinking aloud.

“Think anybody that serves under me’s gonna be a weakling?” Bakugou said, looking over at him with a scathing glare. But Deku held his look and studied him more.

“He fought me, even under the water, even without breath. It was difficult to bring him to the ship, even that short distance. He was very strong.” Yet Bakugou gave him one of his wicked grins, the one accompanied by a devilish glint in his eye. It’d been a while since his cheeks had stretched like that.

“Yeah? Well so is Shitty Hair. And he doesn’t let anyone get the best of him a second time.” Those eyes followed him, even as he walked away, and continued to search the beach.

...........................................................................

“Hey Kacchan, look what I found!”

Bakugou looked up from where he stood in the water past the beach, up to his knees in it with his spear. Deku had started calling him that. When Bakugou asked him where the hell he’d gotten it from, it was supposedly because he’d, “heard somebody on board calling you that.” Bakugou told him that that wasn’t his name, but he left it at that.

He’d started fishing in the sea, afraid that he would deplete the fish in the tide pool. So that was why it was easier for Deku to come up to him and show him his latest find. He had to drag himself close enough, but once he was beside Bakugou, he held out his hand and showed him a shiny, golden oval.

It was a locket. Deku beamed when Bakugou plucked it from his palm and studied it himself. It wasn’t half bad; if it was cleaned and polished, it could garner a bit of coin at a port. Dumbass merman should be more careful ‘stead of just handing shit like this to people like Bakugou.

“Open it!” Deku said eagerly.

He cracked it open and saw inside a photo that was damaged from the water, but still, there was a smiling woman that he could make out. She seemed young, and she had a subtle smile.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Bakugou looked from the smiling woman to the smiling merman, and felt like he went from looking at fool’s gold to a sparkling diamond.

“If that’s what you’re into,” he grumbled, before passing it back.

Deku didn’t seem too crestfallen at his lack of approval. Instead, he put the chain around his neck and looked at it happily on his chest. Bakugou eyed him rather than the fish he was supposed to be searching for.

“You know, that thing probably meant something to somebody,” he grumbled.

“I don’t know how to find them,” Deku said, holding the locket carefully in his hand.

“You wearing that thing makes it like that girl is special to you.”

“I don’t even know her.”

“Yeah. It’s weird.”

Finally getting his point, Deku slowly removed the necklace.

“Just take the picture out,” Bakugou said gruffly.

“That would be rude,” Deku told him.

“If you say so.” Bakugou started to trudge away from the disruptive merman. “Get out of the way. You’re scaring the fish.” So Deku slipped away, back to his cave where he probably stored all the little treasures that he collected. In the past month that he’d been there, Bakugou discovered that Deku would be gone for days at a time and return with things; silverware, jewelry, ornaments, frivalous little human things he’d supposedly found in the ocean, or by the shore. Bakugou still wasn’t fully convinced that he wasn’t stealing some of these things, but hey, what was he supposed do about it? Like he had any right to criticize.

...........................................................................

“If there was anything you could have right now, what would it be?”

They were beneath the stars again, laying back on the soft sand. Bakugou had already lit two bonfires after collecting a bunch of driftwood, and still there was no sign of anyone coming to get him.

“My ship,” he answered easily. Deku frowned beside him.

“Of course. But I meant... An object. Like, something you could hold.”

He looked over at the merman who had his legs just then and was wearing a better fitting tunic with a vest and belt. Bakugou wondered where he’d found those.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, he finally answered, “Ale. Something to drink.” Deku seemed surprised by his answer, and by his certainty.

“I see.” Bakugou returned to looking at the stars.

...........................................................................

Deku was gone for almost a week after that. And when he returned, he had a bottle in his hand.

“I-I don’t know if this is what you call ale, but...”

Bakugou took the bottle of wine from him and turned it around, studying it. It seemed to be half empty, and he couldn’t read the seal, it was all gunked up. But when he uncorked it, he smelled the strong scent of alcohol, and immediately his mood was lifted.

“Fuck-” And he immediately took a swig. Fuck that was good. He realized that he was smiling when he looked down and saw Deku’s shining eyes. Then he frowned. “I said I didn’t need any help-”

“It’s not help,” Deku said quickly. “It’s a gift.”

Bakugou’s eyes narrowed. “A gift.”

Deku nodded. Bakugou looked at it again. Well, there was no way in hell he was wasting this, gift or not.

By the time the sun was going down, the bottle was empty in Bakugou’s hand, and the man himself was stumbling across the beach, chuckling lightly to himself.

“Fuck... Probably shoulda saved sum ‘a that...” But his face was slightly flushed, and a wide grin stretched across his cheeks, so his regret couldn’t be too great.

He stopped before the shore, the waves lapping at his bare feet. He didn’t remember where he’d put his shoes, but he remember not wanting to get them wet, which seemed like a very smart idea to him. He looked out at the ocean, and the sun sinking beneath its waves. And he looked at the bottle in his hand, and he had a brilliant idea. He could write a note and throw this thing out to sea. When his ship would come across it, they would read his message and come find him. Brilliant as always, Captain Bakugou!

Imagining it in his head, he saw the image of his crew pulling the bottle from the water and their eyes widening as they read his note. He imagined them turning tail and hauling ass to come grab him, and he grinned even broader.

Reeling back, he threw the bottle out and watched it disappear into the waters. Now, all he had to do was wait.

After waiting for a couple of seconds, he cursed.

“Dammit!” And he started to head into the water. He forgot the damn note.

He tried to go to the spot he remember it disappearing, but it got more difficult the further he went. The waves resisted him, until he was waist deep. It had to be somewhere around here.

“Crap...”

He got onto his knees, took a breath, and bent down to feel the sandy floor. He felt seashells and kelp, but no bottle. He searched around, unable to see in the murky waters, not at that time of day. Then, he felt fingers gripping his hair, and suddenly he was breached, and he gasped. He coughed and sputtered a bit, trying to wipe the water from his eyes. That hand left his head and moved to his shoulder to hold him steady.

When he could see again, he saw the most dazzling green he’d ever known, round pools of jade and emerald, and riches untouched by human hand. They dripped with concern.

“Kacchan, you shouldn’t be in the water!”

Bakugou’s grin returned, sloppily curving up the side of his face and leaking with salt water, and he leaned into that grip.

“Yeah? Pretty angel comin’ ta rescue me again?” That dappled face flared red, which looked silly against the beautiful green of his eyes and hair.

“Wh-What’s an angel?” Bakugou felt his lids lower.

“Pretty little things that fly around and shit. Save people.” He saw the comparison register in Deku’s face. “Guess that ain’t you though,” Bakugou added, his eyes flicking up and down him. “You swim.”

“Kacchan, you need to go back to land.”

“Can’t. Need my bottle.” Deku’s head tilted.

“What bottle?”

“The bottle you gave me. I threw it out. Forgot to put my note in it.” Deku looked at him, confused.

“You’re drunk.” Bakugou frowned at him, and he tried to shove him off.

“I need that bottle.”

The merman was stronger than Bakugou took him to be. Either that, or he was drunker than he realized. Deku pushed him back, toward the shore.

“I’ll find it! But you have to go back.” Oh. Well, that made sense. So he stumbled back and sat on the beach to wait, the water gently washing over his calves, until Deku crawled up to him. It was dark by the time he’d found it.

“Thanks,” he muttered, looking at the thing in his hand. He turned it upside and watched the sea water pour out of it, then he looked with one eye through the opening, as if he would find more wine. He scowled when there was none. He set it beside himself and looked at the merman seated before him, watching him warily. He looked strange, not what Bakugou remembered, even with his drunken memories. “Why don’t you got legs?”

“I didn’t want to tonight.”

“Tonight?”

Deku looked down, his tail flicking behind himself. “I wanted to wait it out.” Bakugou’s brow arched.

“Wait out what?” Those eyes flicked over him, cautious, like a prey animal. He didn’t get it. “Shoulda dried off. Might’ve shared the drink.” He smirked as he showed off the empty bottle. He found himself leaning forward, tipping over a bit, but his hand was on the sand to hold himself up. “’s more fun with someone else.”

Bakugou knew he had his lopsided smirk on, knew he was hitting hard. And he knew he wouldn’t really remember much in the morning. But then, Deku instinctively backed away, his breath coming out faster, harder. And Bakugou frowned.

“Or not.” He brought the bottle back up to his lips and then stopped, looking at it to see that it was empty. “Fuck.”

Deku looked hesitant as he sat there, between the sand and water. Bakugou couldn’t tell if he would leave or not. He thought he wanted to.

“The hell’s with that face?” Bakugou asked.

“I... didn’t think you’d...” He didn’t finish his statement.

“Get drunk?” Whatever. Bakugou wasn’t in the business of caring whether people approved of his behavior or not. “You’re too trusting.” Then he leaned forward again, just a little, just enough to hold the other’s attention, and he said, “I ain’t a good man.”

Yet even though he was wary, Deku’s eyes flicked him over, like he was judging for himself. Bakugou stood, nearly falling over, but he steadied himself. It really hadn’t been that much wine. He’d been far drunker before.

“Why don’t you go ‘wait it out,” huh?” And he waved him away lazily and walked on off, back to his little camp. He didn’t look back at the merman, just hummed a drunken tune that brought him back to the last tavern he’d been to with his crew.

...........................................................................

“What the hell is it this time?”

“Paper, for your note.”

Bakugou looked down at the bottle the merman was holding out to him. There was a rolled up sheet inside, sticking out from the opening. There seemed to be a tiny amount of water inside.

Bakugou slid the paper out – it was wet, but it was salvageable. The material was coarse and thick. And he understood why when he unfurled it.

“Shit,” he said, in disbelief. “This ain’t just paper.” He spread it out on the ground for the other to see as well. “It’s a chart.”

He could see the ocean that he knew so well, outlined, and dotted with familiar islands. And there was the coast of the mainland... His finger trailed over it carefully, and his lips spread in a smile. This was fucking perfect. Or at least, it would be. If he had something to write with.

“What is it?”

He looked up into those wide, curious eyes. This guy always loved to bring the things he found to Bakugou and ask him about them.

“It’s a map. This is what the world looks like. Around there... There,” he said, stopping his finger in the middle of the sea. “That’s where I was fucking kicked off my damn ship.” Deku leaned over and studied where he was pointing.

“How can you tell?”

“This was where we set sail, and this was our destination.” He connected the two points and swooped over the line of their journey. “We’d been at sea for about a fortnight. This is where we should’ve been. Besides, based off the stars, that would’ve been our coordinates.”

“Wow...” Deku said. He was wet, dripping onto Bakugou, which was irritating, but he didn’t say anything. He smelled like the sea. “What’s this?”

“The mainland.”

“What’s the mainland?”

“The kingdom.”

Deku looked at him, as confused as ever. Bakugou rolled his eyes.

“It’s a big fucking piece of land. Way bigger than this island. There’s a bunch of people there.”

“Really?” Bakugou found himself explaining all the little details of the chart, from the lattitude and longitude, to the little islands and different ports and passageways, to even the peoples that lived there. Deku seemed to be in awe at each answer. Finally, looking down at the map like it was some magical object, he asked, “So then, where are we?”

“Thought that you’d be able to tell me that,” Bakugou grumbled, studying it. Deku frowned beside him. He let his own finger rest where Bakugou’s had at first.

“This is where I found you...” And his digit circled the area, wavering slightly. “This is north...” The finger moved up, and he looked in the direction that Bakugou had taught him only moments before. “And that’s where I was facing when I grabbed you...”

The merman concentrated, staring at the map and his finger. Bakugou could practically see all the information he’d just learned, swirling around in his mind. His finger started to travel across the paper, down, and to the right, until it stopped in an empty square.

“Here, I think.”

“There’s nothing there,” Bakugou explained. No island, no drawing, nothing to indicate this place, or anything at all.

“It should be around here...” Deku looked confused again, and a little bit frustrated. Bakugou brushed his hand aside gently and leaned down to study the coordinates. Perhaps the mapmaker didn’t know about this island. He shouldn’t be so surprised. It made sense. This island was uncharted, undiscovered. He wondered if he was the first to ever walk these beaches. The first human, at least.

“Damn,” Bakugou said, leaning back. Deku looked back up at him. There were patches of skin beginning to develop on his lower half. That was how long they’d been at it; Deku was beginning to dry off.

“What’s wrong?”

“Need a pen, and ink.” He scowled down at the chart. He was so damn close, so close! But even if Deku could find him some ink, how would he get it there safely? There was no way.

“Like, a squid?” Bakugou scoffed at the merman’s question.

“Maybe to eat,” he scoffed. “No. I’ll think of something.” And he rolled the chart up carefully, and tucked it into his belt.

...........................................................................

Bakugou sat before his campfire, and he stared at the map he had laying out. It was dry now, but he still didn’t have anything to write with. He was starting to think he’d take even squid ink, but he refused to ask Deku for help after turning him down.

He picked up the stick he’d been using to cook his fish with. He dragged it through the dirt and watched it steam. It was getting a bit nobbly and blackened from being in the fire so much. He’d have to carve it again soon.

Then he stopped. He studied his stick, studied the black residue that it left. Then he sat up straight, and he stuck it back in the fire. When it caught, he pulled it out and blew it off. He waited for it to cool, and then he knelt above the chart. Carefully, he held the paper still, and he pressed the ashy end of the stick to the paper. And he wrote with the charcoal.

An X, right where Deku had pointed. He’d done his own considering, and recalling his first night there, if he hadn’t been out for too long after nearly drowning, then this location made sense, based off the stars he’d seen. Just to be safe, he drew a dotted line to where he’d jumped from his ship. And then he flipped the sheet, and he wrote, “CAPTAIN HERE. SEND SHIP.”

He studied his writing. He didn’t dare put anymore information than that. What if this bottle got into the wrong hands? He’d considered that possibility, after sobering up. He decided that it didn’t matter. Any ship was better than no ship. He could handle whatever, or whoever, came for him.

The next day, he corked the bottle with the message inside, and he threw it out to ocean. This time, he let it float away.

...........................................................................

Deku kept bringing him things and calling them gifts. Plates, clothes, belts, shoes, boxes, candles, things he wondered if Bakugou might want (need.) Most of them ended up as fuel for his bonfires. The rest he tossed to the side of his camp and let sit there.

It had been several months, and he was trying not to lose track of time. He watched the stars, and watched the seasons. It was hard, living off of fish and fruit. Sometimes Deku brought him a soiled box of goods that must have been lost from a merchant ship. Bakugou also scrounged around in the cove and other rocky areas of the shore for shellfish, finding muscles and oysters. He’d found bananas, too, on the other end of the island (thank God.) And sometimes he was able to kill birds with stones, but it wasn’t too often that that opportunity presented itself to him. He even ate seaweed, after finding himself with a sudden craving for it, now and again. But it was hardly enough for a man over time.

After his first several bonfires didn’t call anyone’s attention, he started stashing away the wood he found for other projects. He spent his bountiful freetime making a lean-to for himself, and an elevated platform to sleep on, off the ground. And when he was really bored, he started picking grasses and teaching himself how to make rope. He remembered being young on a ship, watching a sailor making his own rope. It wasn’t that hard, just tedious.

He made differing sizes, thicker rope for tying, and thinner rope to turn into netting. Even with having all the time in the world, it still took him weeks to fashion something he could cover his little shelter with at night and stop waking up with hundreds of bug bites.

Doing what he could to keep himself busy, it didn’t stop him from thinking. He didn’t know if he’d have a place on his ship once he was back in the world. Surely his first mate, Kirishima, would have taken over in his stead. They may have looked for him, might still be looking for him. But they couldn’t search forever. And why would they? How would they know that he survived? They’d been nowhere near land when he’d jumped. They’d be idiots to keep searching at this point.

It was difficult to admit, but he didn’t know what he would be like if he’d been stranded here all alone. He liked his solitude, but being completely alone with no way off this damn island for months and months might have driven him crazy.

He’d fallen into a rhythm with the merman. Bakugou would hunt for his fish, and Deku would linger nearby, and chat. Late at night, they would rest on the beach, and study the stars together. Bakugou had begun to teach him about the constellations, and all the markers he used to navigate the seas. Deku was fascinated. There were periods of time were Deku would be gone, but Bakugou knew he’d be back in a few days with gifts and treasures.

So when he was gone for over a week, Bakugou felt a tightness in his chest that he tried to shove down. But when it stretched to a fortnight, he couldn’t ignore the frustration he was feeling. He was powerless. He had no way of knowing what had happened, if anything had happened. Where the damn bastard was.

Bakugou stomped about the beach, glaring out at the sea. That fucker better show up today.

His feet took him to that cove. He didn’t go there often anymore. The fish were plentiful, but he barely spared it a glance. For some reason, he made his way into the cave, and he led himself into the back.

He hadn’t expected to find anything. He just needed to do something, try something. But when he found the pool with the stone in the center, lit by the beam of light, he stopped. Deku was there, his torso resting on the rocky ledge, his tail still submerged in the water. He was face down, with his head buried in his arms.

Bakugou stepped forward, and his foot scuffed the ground. Deku twitched, and then slowly looked up at him.

“Ka-” A cough interrupted him. His voice was hoarse, even in that form. Bakugou suddenly found himself kneeling beside him, grabbing hold of his shoulders. He saw bruises mixing with his dappled skin, varying colors of blues and greens and purples. It was concerning, but other than that, he saw nothing wrong. Yet when he looked into those eyes, they were dark, and dull.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Bakugou didn’t mean for it to come out as a rasp. His anger was only slight, clearly outweighed by the tightness he felt inside. Deku looked up at him, and Bakugou thought him like the ocean at night, the light gone. Just lifeless, colorless waves. He didn’t speak.

Bakugou blinked, and then carefully, he touched Deku’s chin and lifted it up. Deku flinched, but Bakugou saw it – a fresh scar against his throat. Bakugou knew it well – a knife held in threat. Suddenly, he felt the frustration from the past two weeks slip away.

There were many things he wanted to ask. But he was looking at a fragile creature. What he asked first was, “How long have you been here?”

Deku took awhile to respond. When he did, he merely muttered quietly, “Yesterday.”

Bakugou found himself asking next, “Are you hungry?” Deku looked at him again, and he thought he saw a glimmer of light. Soon enough, he was sitting before his campfire, roasting a couple of fish. He looked over at the man that was bundled up tight in his clothing and the oversized cloak he’d gifted to Bakugou a little while back, shoulders curled in on himself. He leaned against a tree, and looked down at the ground between his feet.

In his mermaid form, Deku had sharp teeth, and he ate raw fish. But as a human, he had human teeth. So Bakugou was cooking for them both.

“You save another one?” He asked into the still air. Deku didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. “Hope it was worth it,” he muttered, turning the stick with the fish over.

“I can’t let them drown,” Deku said quietly. He hadn’t said more than two words since Bakugou had found him. Bakugou stared at him from across the fire.

“The sea takes people when you ain’t there. Whether they’re good or not. Don’t know what makes those assholes so special.” Deku was quiet. “You’re too damn trusting, ya know? Humans you find out at sea are gonna want you. They’ll try to sell you. You’re better off letting the sea take ‘em-”

“What about you?” Bakugou stilled. Those wide eyes were on him, brighter than before. Not what they should be, but better than in the cave.

“Hah?”

“I’m glad that I saved you.”

Bakugou wanted to glare back at him, to scowl. But the determination, the refusal to back down in his eyes, it was a relief just then. So he merely looked at the fire and stoked the wood. When the fish were ready, he handed one over to the other, and took his own, and bit in. Deku followed his lead.

“Humans are bastards,” he said decisively. “Hell I got thrown off my own ship by a bunch of thieves. Can’t say I didn’t have it coming.” And Bakugou stopped chewing, looking down at the half eaten fish he held thoughtfully. “I’m a pirate. Did you know that? Couldn’t you tell while you were listening in?” Deku blinked at him, but he chewed silently. “You can’t trust anyone. None of us deserve saving.”

And then, strangely, those sad lips turned up, in a small smile, and a subtle glow followed after in those eyes. Deku looked down at the fish in his hands, like he found something funny about it. Then he looked up at Bakugou.

“I know, many humans are unkind. But I don’t regret saving them.”

Bakugou scowled at that then. Deku merely gave him the sweetest smile in return.

“You trust your crew, don’t you?” Bakugou rolled his eyes and returned to his fish. Like hell he was answering that right then and there. Deku looked relaxed then, more at peace. When he spoke again, his voice was soft, and serious. “I would endure one hundred unkind men if it meant I got to meet you.”

Bakugou looked at him. Even in the resulting silence, Deku showed no regret. He seemed lighter then, less closed in on himself. He looked down and took another bite from his fish, and he hummed.

“This is wonderful.” Bakugou took another bite of his own.

“Thought you woulda never had it cooked before.”

“I haven’t,” Deku confirmed. “Thank you,” he said then, beaming his gratitude. And maybe, maybe the conversation frustrated Bakugou. But in the end, Deku was smiling again, and he was light, light in multiple ways. And that was... That was fine. He didn’t feel like arguing anymore.

“It’s better with spices.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

...........................................................................

The sky was clear, and solid blue. The sun beat down, warming his skin. He kept his shirt loose, allowing the light wind to cool him down.

He was darker than normal. He spent his life on the sea, but he at least got to escape to his quarters when it got to be too much. Living on this island for six months – was that how long? Had it been half a year? - had tanned him, and bleached his hair to flaxen blonde. It was practically white.

He looked down at the man by his feet. Deku was in his human form, and he was hitting rocks together, hoping for sparks, the way Bakugou did when lighting his campfire. They had a bonfire built, and Deku had wanted to try lighting it himself.

He seemed unchanged from when Bakugou first met him; green, and dappled, with some kind of light shining from him, like the way light shone through water. And yet, in a way, he seemed different. Brighter, and more real. He couldn’t explain it. Maybe it was all in his head.

“Oi, Deku.” The merman looked up at him, a light, comfortable smile on his face. “What’s your name?” Those eyes blinked at him, like he was surprised at his question.

“Oh... Well, it’s, it’s Izuku.”

It was Bakugou’s turn to blink. Strangely, he’d gotten pretty close with his nickname. Then the merman asked him his own question.

“And you... What’s yours? If it’s not really Kacchan.” He seemed a bit hesitant, almost embarrassed when he asked his question.

Bakugou looked down at him, the man still as he waited.

“Katsuki. Captain Bakugou Katsuki.”

Izuku tilted his head, and he smiled. “I like it.”

He continued to call him Kacchan after that.

...........................................................................

Bakugou was hiding away from the heat in Izuku’s cave. It was much cooler down there, underneath the rock. He had his legs in the water for good measure, the cool water refreshing against his calves. It should’ve gotten cold by now but this damn island didn’t seem to know the meaning of the word.

Izuku was floating on his back, going in circles around the protruding stone. He was humming something in his harsher tone. The gills on the side of his neck fluttered. He never really sang when he was a mermaid, which Bakugou found strange.

“You said your voice like that ain’t made to be above water, right?” Izuku stopped and looked over at him. “What’s it sound like underwater?”

Izuku drifted over to him and the ledge he sat on, a small sparkle in his eyes.

“Do you want to hear?”

Bakugou quirked a brow. He let Izuku carefully grab his hand and lead him into the water. He took a breath, and then they went under.

It was dark under there, but the water was clear. He could see the merman’s trinkets glittering in the dark. There were levels to the cliff that went down, like shelves where he stored his goods. Bakugou looked around, feeling weightless and slow. He hadn’t realized how much Izuku had, and how neatly he stored them all.

Then he heard something. He didn’t register it as a voice at first – it was more like a warm sound that seeped into every inch of him. It didn’t sound like singing – it was too beautiful, too all consuming. It wasn’t just a sound, it was a feeling. There was nothing more pure, more bright, more lovely, than the sound of a mermaid singing beneath the waves. And Bakugou realized that he had been wrong; angels do swim.

Izuku circled him, a look of peace on his face as his lips moved and the water filled with that resonance. Bakugou forgot that he was underwater, that he couldn’t breathe. He could just stay there forever. And that was when he understood just how dangerous mermaids were.

As Izuku swam about, Bakugou pushed through the water and peered around, looking at the shelves of treasures. They tended to be shiny, metal or gem, something that could survive the water. He felt Izuku’s presence, the source of the pleasing sound, moving about that deep pool. His song above water always sounded so sweet, but so sorrowful; it was haunting. Here, it sounded perfect, like coming home, even though Bakugou couldn’t even remember what home felt like.

He saw something that made him stop. A couple of bubbles streamed from his mouth. Bakugou grabbed it and swam up, gasping as he breached the surface. He clung to the ledge, shaking the water from his face and hearing Izuku break through behind him. He looked at the bottle in his hand, plugged up with a cork. And a note trapped inside.

“What the fuck...” Izuku came closer, and then stilled upon seeing over his shoulder.

“Kacchan-”

“You fucking had this? The fuck?”

“I didn’t-”

But Bakugou pulled himself up onto the rock, his clothes dripping wet and clinging to his body. He was pissed – he was livid.

“You stole this shit?”

Izuku blinked back at him, stunned at his words.

“No, I-”

Then Bakugou laughed, a cruel, humorless laugh. “I fucking get it. This whole fucking time... You just wanted a little fucking human to play with and keep to yourself. You stole me away. You sabotaged me!”

“No!” Izuku cried out, sounding shocked, panicked, tears springing to his eyes. “That’s not true! The currents kept bringing it back!”

“Yeah, right,” Bakugou snapped out bitterly.

“I swear,” Izuku said with a watery voice. “I kept trying to bring it out past the island, but it always came back.”

“Yeah? Then why’d you hide it from me?”

The merman’s eyes glimmered with thick tears and utter sorrow. “I didn’t want you to feel upset.”

Bakugou laughed again, once, sarcastic. “And how’d that work out for ya?”

Seeing the knife dig in, Bakugou turned around and stormed off with that “Kacchan!” echoing about the cavern. He knew the other couldn’t follow him.

On his way back to his camp, Bakugou stopped on the beach, walking right up to the water line, and he threw his bottle as far as he possibly could, right into the horizon. And two days later, he found it again, washed up on the shore.

...........................................................................

“Kacchan.”

“What do you want.”

“I’m sorry.”

“...”

“I... I could-”

“No. Just sit down.”

“...Okay.”

...........................................................................

“When was the last time you saw a ship passing by?”

Izuku looked over at him. Bakugou stood knee deep in the surf. He was supposed to be fishing, but he kept looking toward the horizon.

Izuku’s eyes were sad, but he answered honestly. “Never.”

Bakugou looked down again, and focused on his dinner. Yeah. He’d figured.

...........................................................................

“Kacchan, what made you become a pirate?”

Bakugou frowned at the merman. “What do you wanna know for?”

“I just...wanted to know.”

“Don’t care much for rules,” Bakugou grunted out as he continued to sharpen his stick with his knife. Soon enough, he’d need a whet to sharpen his blade. They were seated at his camp, staying as cool as they could within the shade of the trees. “Just kinda fell into it. Was only a kid when I first sailed on a ship. But I like the sea. No rules out there. Just survival.” He could feel those wide eyes on him, studying him, and he looked up. “You don’t like pirates, do ya?”

Izuku looked like he’d caught him redhanded.

“Ah- Well, I... I’ve never really...”

“Never met a good one, right?” Izuku didn’t answer. “S’okay. You can say it. We’re a bunch of bastards.”

“Not all of you,” Izuku argued. “And it’s not just pirates sometimes, either.” Bakugou scoffed and kept whittling.

“You got that right. Fucking naval officer pricks. All of ‘em, bastards.” He heard Izuku chuckle a little, and couldn’t help how his lips turned up. “They always act all high and mighty and shit. They’ll steal from you too, just like a god damn pirate. Just in the name of the kingdom.”

“Mm,” Izuku hummed in agreement. There was something somber about it that made Bakugou look back up at him. “Human’s always take what they want.”

Bakugou’s shaving slowed. Izuku’s eyes were on the ground at his feet, and Bakugou was thrown back to their first ever conversation together. He looked at his scars. Then he recalled the image of his body draped over the pool’s edge. He remembered the fresh red line. Most humans want... that. After I save them. And then everything clicked.

“That what they do to you?” The words pulled from his throat. Izuku looked up at him, as if surprised by the question. He blinked, his wide eyes owlish. They were so bright right then. Bakugou remembered how horrifyingly dark they had looked. Completely dull, without any light.

“I...” He looked shy all of a sudden, as if he was embarrassed. The knife fell to the ground with a soft thud. Bakugou had always found those kinds of humans – men, typically – pathetic. Where was the satisfaction in being unwanted in return? How was that a victory? But as he knelt before the stunned merman, the beautiful, loving, forgiving creature, the only pure soul to exist in the world, Bakugou was certain of it, he understood then. Those men were scum of the earth. They belonged at the bottom of the ocean.

“They ever try to stick their dick in you, you bite that shit clean off, with your teeth. You hear me?”

He held those astounded eyes. Fuck they were massive, easy to get lost in. But Bakugou didn’t want to find himself anywhere else.

“I, I can’t just... That’s...”

“Izuku,” he said, his palm finding its home against the curve of the other’s cheek. “They don’t deserve your light.”

Izuku’s gasp was silent. Bakugou only noticed it because he was right there, right in front of him. He didn’t care what this merman thought. Bakugou knew that he deserved more; he deserved the god damn world.

He felt the weight of Izuku’s cheek press against his hand. The other man seemed hesitant to do so, almost guilty. But it was a guilty pleasure.

This sweet, fucking angel. He looked like he wanted to burrow into Bakugou’s palm; like even after all those terrible hands that had grabbed him, held him, hurt him, he still longed desperately for a warm touch.

“Kacchan.” He breathed it out, and if Bakugou didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought it sounded like a prayer.

The world was cruel. Cruelty took advantage of the kind-hearted. Bakugou, he wasn’t either of those things. But he knew a miracle when he saw one.

A scarred hand crept up to cover his own. Izuku stared at him in disbelief, as if somehow he was the one that might be dreaming. Bakugou felt himself hold steady, determined. Sorry that it took so damn long, Izuku. But even if he was the only one to do it ever, Bakugou would hold him tenderly. He’d show him what he deserved.

...........................................................................

“Oi, Izuku.”

The merman looked up from his perch on the rocks just before the tide pool. Bakugou had walked down the beach in search of him and found him out there, bathing in his mermaid form. He didn’t appear to be drying off, not when half his tail was still submerged.

His face bloomed with warmth and happiness as he smiled at the approaching man. “Kacchan,” he said pleasantly. Bakugou stopped beside him and rested his foot up on the rock casually, leaning on his knee.

“Tell me what you want.” Izuku blinked at him, confused.

“What do you...mean?”

“I mean if you could have anything, what would it be?”

“Oh!” Izuku looked up at him, like he was trying to see if he was being serious or not. Bakugou could tell that he’d been thrown off by his question.

“You’re the one that saved me. You’re the one that deserves to be rewarded.”

“I... I see,” Izuku mumbled. Bakugou was pretty certain that he didn’t.

He leaned down lower, closer to him, seeing the happy pink of his cheeks deepen. “Think about what you want for once, ey, Izuku?”

He knew there was meaning in his words. He watched those wide eyes widen, and flicker over his face. He felt his soft breath as he let it out.

“How are you going to do that? Get me anything I want?” He asked. Which was a fair question, being that Bakugou was stranded on an island with very limited access to resources.

“Don’t worry about that,” Bakugou told him. “I’ll make it happen.”

Izuku looked like he might melt right there. His longing that he’d been so terrible at hiding for the past year was unabashed. His pure awe shown brilliantly in his eyes. Then he swallowed, and pulled back just a bit.

“Can I... Can I think about it?” Bakugou nodded and stood up. Then- “Tonight?”

Bakugou swayed when he stopped. Izuku shifted his weight on the rock and looked down at the crystalline water.

“I’ll have it figured out by tonight” Izuku said, timidly, but with certainty before looking up again. “Come... Come find me?”

His face was red. But he had a smile on his lips, something that seemed sweet, and young. When Bakugou nodded, he seemed relieved.

“Right,” Bakugou told him. “I’m gonna go fish now.”

“Okay.” That tail flicked the surface of the water. “I’ll be here.”

“Yeah.” But as Bakugou walked away, toward his fishing spot, he heard a splash of water, and he smirked. He’d see him again soon enough.

...........................................................................

That night, Bakugou’s path to the cove was lit by the stars. He carefully made his way over the rocks and into the cave, where he knew the merman was waiting.

He’d never been into the cave at night. He expected it to be pitch black. He held onto the wall as he walked in, and was surprised when he saw a warm, glowing light near the back. On the dry rocky floor, he saw a mat of moss gathered together, looking soft and cushiony. Surrounding the mat were the candles he’d shucked aside long ago and forgotten about. They burned at various heights, flickering lightly from the gentle draft the hole in the ceiling brought in. And in the center of it all was Izuku, standing on his legs, holding himself with his arms, perhaps anxiously. He wore nothing more than that oversized tunic which, without trousers to tuck into, hung at his knees, one arm slipping down his bare, freckled shoulder.

He looked up at Bakugou’s approach, and he smiled, warm, and nervous.

“Got plans for tonight?” Bakugou said when he stopped outside of the ring of moss and candles. It was hard to tell, but he thought the other blushed a little.

“You, you asked me what I wanted...” He murmured, looking down, like he found it difficult to hold Bakugou’s gaze. “I do know. I’ve known. And I never wanted to get my hopes up, but then, when you touched me-”

Bakugou carefully stepped over the candles onto the bed of moss until he was right before the blubbering merman. He tilted Izuku’s chin up, that gaze latching onto his as he leaned right before him.

“If you want something, just ask for it.”

Izuku didn’t move, or speak, or blink. So Bakugou pulled back, and the damn fool stumbled following after him. He blinked then, several times, dazed. Then his hands balled up in his tunic.

“I will. I think you want it too,” he said lightly, hopefully. Then he raised the tunic up, over his body, his shoulders, his head, and he held it in his hands before he let it fall to the side, completely bare before the other. He looked up at Bakugou, the rosy hue in his cheeks deep in the low lighting. He’d been naked before Bakugou in the past, but Bakugou hadn’t really taken him in then. His slight, lithe body, his skin, dappled everywhere. Scars and constellations, littering his form, like a map you could follow with your finger. He looked so real, so touchable. He looked like an offering.

His eyes sparkled as they looked into Bakugou’s, and he said, “I want to give myself to you.”

Bakugou wasn’t surprised. He was a damn, romantic fool. It was almost embarrassing, if it weren’t for the fact that it was him. Bakugou couldn’t find it in himself to think him stupid, or naive. Not when he wanted to give him everything that he desired.

“Only you would be told to ask for anything you want, and you’d ask to give,” Bakugou muttered with a scoff. Izuku didn’t stop smiling, with hope etched into the curve of his lips. Bakugou stepped forward again, looking him up and down quite obviously. He rested his knuckle right above his navel, and Izuku looked down to watch him. His breathing had stopped.

Bakugou dragged his knuckle up slowly, his touch light, running over his ribs, his chest, his collarbone, his neck, until it was lifting his chin up again and made that gaze meet his own once again.

“You’ve been fucked before like this, haven’t you?” He asked it quietly, and Izuku nodded. His thumb slid forward and he held his chin loosely. He could feel his own eyes glint in the dark. “Anybody ever make love to you?”

Those eyes widened, and his head tilted, a sudden confusion taking hold.

“What- What’s the difference?” Bakugou studied him silently for a second.

“Lay down and I’ll show you.”

Izuku practically fell onto his back, lying down on the moss at their feet, which Bakugou understood the purpose of, then. Bakugou sank to his knees, between Izuku’s spread out legs, feeling those eyes following him the entire way. He had this look on his face, like this could be the most important moment of his whole life. Bakugou thought he was so beautiful. He would make sure it was.

Those thighs were warm and supple beneath his fingers. He pressed his palm to the insides and saw the shiver of breath. His muscles twitched lightly beneath Bakugou’s gentle touch. He smoothed over him, comfortingly, watching his pecs rise and fall, and steady out.

He noticed, suddenly, that Izuku was starting to develop a tan line from wearing clothes. Just like a human. But Bakugou had never seen a human this beautiful before. Maybe, though, it was partially because he was spread out before him. For him.

He looked extravagant, how his body swelled and dipped, his curves and folds, his glittering green eyes peering down from beneath the swoops of his thick lashes. And he was flushed, pink in all of the right places. Bakugou’s hands traveled over those places, feeling too coarse for such a perfect body, like some damn god or goddess – a nereid. Maybe that’s what he was.

Izuku trembled beneath his touch. He was offering all of this up to Bakugou, just giving it to him. Bakugou gripped his thighs, wondering at how he was still so soft, after so many rough touches. It was undeniable that he would be a plush, tight heat, like damn velvet. Bakugou lowered down and placed a kiss on the protruding bone of Izuku’s hip.

He kissed gently, his hip, the junction between his hip and thigh, the inside of his thigh, his other hip. His lips were hardly louder than Izuku’s soft breaths; they traveled across his pelvis, just where the skin was still smooth. Bakugou looked up and saw him watching him with awe in his eyes and mouth slightly parted.

Bakugou liked a good fuck every once in a while. He normally didn't get to often, being that he was always at sea. He didn't need to often, though. Sometimes when they docked he felt the need, but it was always just that - a need. Something to take care of and get out of the way. But in that moment, as he laid between the merman's legs and looked up at him, at his chest rising and falling, at his bare skin, covered in scars and mottled patches and freckles, his heavy-lidded eyes peering down at him, greener than the sea, this was so much more than a need. Bakugou felt it in his bones. His head turned to the side and he pressed his lips to the inside of Izuku's thigh. The skin was soft, the flesh tender and ripe. He heard how Izuku's breath hitched at the light pressure. His own eyes dragged back up to that dreadfully beautiful face. He would make sure this creature knew the meaning of the word pleasure, so he would never confuse it for vicious, selfish greed, ever again.

He spread his lips and licked over the softest part of Izuku’s thigh. Then he sucked, and heard the other’s beautiful voice, pleasantly surprised. When he sank his teeth in, it turned into a gasp. So ripe and succulent; he could just bite down and suck until all the juices came out. But rather, Bakugou kissed down his thigh, lifting his leg up to kiss his calf. He kissed the ankle, the inside of his arch, blessing his legs with the gentle press of his lips. His eyes caught on Izuku’s, round, swollen, in disbelief. He saw his heart there, trapped in his gaze.

Bakugou kissed his stomach, his skin no longer twitching at his touch. Izuku was warm and receptive to him. His hand trailed over his thigh and smoothly pushed it down, onto the ground. Bakugou’s lips led him down the trail of hair to the cock that had been so eagerly awaiting him. He mouthed around it, up it, slowly, until he was running the width of his tongue against the head and tasting his eagerness. He wanted this, so badly.

Bakugou took his time, making sure not a single inch of him went unloved. And when he looked up again, with that cock laying its comfortable weight on his tongue, he saw Izuku panting, a slight sheen glistening over his body. His chest heaved lightly, swelling with his deeper breaths. Bakugou sank down, and the resulting moan was deep and luxurious.

He tasted like the sea. And when he groaned, it was breathless and light. There was a musical quality to his pleasure. Bakugou licked and sucked it out slowly, teasing his voice steadily higher and higher, to that beautiful pitch. Bakugou could tell that he couldn’t contain it; his body began to squirm, and roll. The head scratched the back of his mouth and he swallowed around it.

Izuku was crying out to him: “Kacchan...Kacchan-!” There was no breath to his voice, the sound of it silver, like a bell. “Oh, oh please, please-”

Bakugou worked him slowly, nice and easy, letting him feel it all, the entire journey, from start to finish. He could feel the heat around him rising, that bare body becoming slick and hot, those legs squirming, agitated and helpless against the rise in pleasure. Bakugou held his hips and took him all in, hearing him cry out.

“Kacchan! I... I-” Fingers curled into his hair and gripped him, perhaps tighter than they intended to. Izuku’s hips forced themselves still, his gasps rasping from his lungs, so Bakugou quickened his pace, giving him the friction he needed with his mouth and dragging him to his climax.

Izuku’s pleasure echoed in the cavern. It was so beautiful, Bakugou found himself lucky to hear it multiplied. He swallowed, and rose up, seeing the merman heaving. He looked at Bakugou, dazed, his body heavy and lethargic. Bakugou hovered over him, taking in the sight of him. He was even more beautiful with the bliss lingering in his limbs, his lips lightly parted, his eyes dark and glinting from beneath his lashes.

“Ka...Kacchan...” He breathed out as Bakugou settled between his legs and held his cheek. Izuku swallowed with effort, his gaze flicking over Bakugou’s face, and for some reason he looked up with concern. “I, I wanted... I wanted you to... take me.”

Bakugou’s hand slid down to cup his jaw, and he tilted his head as he smirked down at the still breathless merman.

“Impatient bastard,” he cooed. “We’ll get there.” Then he lowered down the rest of the way and kissed him on the mouth.

Izuku was startled, but eagerly received him. His lips were wonderfully soft, so soft against Bakugou’s own rough mouth. His tongue was sweet. And his fingers were too, as they threaded through his hair and held the back of his head, as if they were excited to touch him back. Bakugou pressed against his shivering body, feeling it through the fabric of his clothes. It fit into his arms perfectly, just slight enough, but not dainty. He was strong and lithe and perfect, perfection in a human form. Bakugou covered him with his warmth, protecting his perfectly bare flesh.

He led the merman in the movements – clearly he’d never kissed before, but he was a quick and dedicated learner. Bakugou actually smiled as he twisted and felt that soft tongue licking his own. Something about this damn merman...

He let the heat build back up naturally. Their bodies began to move, Izuku shifting beneath him with tiny whines of glee and want, and Bakugou’s hips pressing and rolling while he breathed in the other’s scent deeply.

When he finally broke away, it was hot in that cool cavern. Izuku was looking after him like he couldn’t believe Bakugou was real.

“You, you’re so, you’re- Kacchan...” Izuku’s eyes flickered over his face, searching for something desperately, a word, an answer, before he sighed out the nickname and gave up, finding nothing more than that.

Bakugou merely grinned down at him before sticking two fingers into his mouth and licking them. “Yeah, I know,” he said around them.

When he pulled his fingers free, they dripped with saliva. Izuku stared at them in wonder, like he had no clue what Bakugou had planned next, but he was ready and willing.

“Second one feels even better,” he said with a wink, before reaching down, between those luscious legs, and pet over his entrance. Those round eyes widened, and a pair of small white teeth dug into that plump, lower lip. Bakugou felt his own gaze soften, and he murmured, “You want it?”

Izuku didn’t hesitate. He nodded, the glow of lust and determination filling his eyes. Bakugou let one finger slip in, and he almost groaned himself.

He’d been right; Izuku was fucking heavenly. Tight and hot and plush, even after everything. Something he knew he could just sink into, with clenching, fluttering muscles that teased him, teased him so bad, this was just his finger. God damn, he felt his own dick twitch in jealousy.

He pressed further in, and Izuku’s eyes fluttered closed as he moaned that incredible sound. Such a warm tone, deep in pleasure, rich and vibrant. Bakugou dragged out another one, and another one, seeing which spots made him the most vocal. He mapped him out and memorized them all, and when he found the sweetest spot, he pressed. Izuku’s back arched, his arms stretching above his head, searching for something to grip and finding nothing but moss. Bakugou grinned, and then slid his second finger in.

Bakugou could watch Izuku’s head tilt back and listen to his voice fill the cavern all night. He clearly didn’t know what to do with the pleasure he was feeling; his body kept rising up and writhing, as if he wanted to rock on Bakugou’s knuckles. And Bakugou took it slow, leisurely, wishing in no way to rush through this. He liked watching Izuku growing flushed and sweaty again, watching him realize just how good he could feel from two fucking fingers. This time, Bakugou could see him, the beauty of his naked body, spread out and rolling with excess pleasure. He was just this side of real, and Bakugou fucking craved him. He took his fingers out, spat on them, and stuck them back in until he could see that hole oozing with saliva.

Hands snuck down and gripped his wrist, and those eyes caught on him like beams of light. They were strangely stern, and desperate. Izuku didn’t need to say anything – he couldn’t, when all he could do was heave.

Bakugou pulled from him, and then he went for his own trousers. He loosened them, just enough to reach in and take himself out.

He was already hard – how couldn’t he be? Groans had never sounded so lovely before, sweat had never tasted so good. And Izuku was stunning. Bakugou regretted ever telling him to start wearing clothes, all those months ago.

He could feel those eyes on him, on the cock he held in his hand. He slicked himself with his leaking seed, and spat onto his palm and rubbed it over himself for good measure, the sound lewd as it echoed in the cave. His own eyes snapped up, and he caught that gaze on him. Perfect, pink, swollen lips, lightly parted. He watched them widen as he breached the rim and slid himself in.

Oh, fuck. Bakugou had to halt, had to breathe. His hands found their places on Izuku’s hips, needing to hold something comfortable. He was tight, oh so wonderfully tight. He whimpered too, so soft and delicate as he stretched around it. His ass was fucking delectable, like silk, but the give was too good, Bakugou had to push through all the way until his hips were cushioned by his soft, plump cheeks. He looked down and saw Izuku, sweaty, panting, heaving, in awe as he gazed back.

Those heavy-lidded eyes tracked him as he lowered down to hover over the merman, and he pressed one, two, three reassuring kisses to his lips. He pulled back, just enough to hold his gaze, then he smirked. That thigh filled his hand, plush and slick and meaty. Bakugou rolled his hips, watching the wave continue to roll through Izuku. He gasped, his breath stuttering as it left his lungs. Bakugou did it again, and again, finding a smooth rhythm. The pelvis beneath him moved with him, accepting his rolling movements, his cock rocking into him, remembering the spots his fingers had mapped out.

Arms laced around his neck, eyes poured into him, a plump lower lip trembled. Bakugou himself had to grit his teeth, fuck it was divine. His cock felt like it belonged there, like it would be a sin to pull free. He looked down at Izuku, and saw him staring back, breathless, yet intent.

He gulped, gathering himself, and his voice was so light and stuttered just barely as he asked Bakugou, “D-Does it feel good?” Bakugou nodded, and those perfect lips turned up as if in relief. “Good.”

Bakugou’s brow twitched. He tried to smirk, but it probably looked a bit more like a snarl. “You damn angelic bastard,” he growled, before diving down to kiss him again.

The gyrations of his hips widened, and his cock started to plunge in; Izuku couldn’t kiss anymore, he was gasping, and crying out. Bakugou lowered down to drag his lips over his throat, his lovely throat, such a beautiful, slender shape, and he gently sucked. Izuku’s fingers snuck into his hair again, and his legs squeezed the man between them.

Fucking the merman was like a dream. He cried and he moaned breathlessly into Bakugou’s ears. He held him tight, kept him close, like maybe he couldn’t stand the idea of Bakugou pulling out either. Bakugou did his best; he ignored the instinct to pillage for his own pleasure. He rocked at a steady pace, gliding in, feeling the rim tugging after him, like every part of Izuku wanted to cling to him. Those legs clamped around him, holding so tight it was like the knees were trying to meet behind his back. But he kept it up, kept it smooth, his hips pulsing in, and his lovely little siren let out a beautiful cry with each thrust. Fuck, what was this man made of?

Bakugou lifted up to look down, and he almost stopped completely at what he saw. Crystalline tears trailed down Izuku’s cheeks, his eyes brimming with them, his mouth scrunched up, and he sniffled. Bakugou did stop then, staring down startled, and a little bit panicked.

“Oi,” he said, his hand coming up to cup one of those cheeks. “What’s wrong?”

Yet those lashes batted away the blurrying tears, and his eyes were wide and shiny as they gazed up at him with intensity, the tears amplifying their beauty. Izuku shook his head, his curls jostling with the movement. He pleaded with his eyes, and, almost desperately, he said, “I-I knew it would feel good, with you.”

Bakugou felt something in his chest crack. He reached down to hold Izuku’s hip again, warm, padded flesh that fit in his grip. He smoothed over it, feeling a scar. There was nothing to say; Bakugou simply lowered down and kissed him again, gentler, tasting the salt of his tears. Izuku was so sweet against him, his lips just so damn soft, while Bakugou knew his own were chapped from the air and the sun.

He held Izuku close, and he moved again, his cock sliding through him, in and out and in and out. He held that hip tight to keep it steady so he could fuck him, fuck his clenching heat, his hole slick with the saliva and dribbling seed. His cock found that sweet spot, and Izuku gasped on his tongue in confirmation. Bakugou rocked against it, rocked into it, feeling the body beneath him beginning to tense with pleasure. And he himself was feeling unbearably hot, his cock aching, wanting, craving, needing release. Izuku clenched on him to feel his prick rub him just right, and he pulled away to groan.

Bakugou knew he wouldn’t be able to last, not like this, not when it felt this good, even this slow. His skin was burning, sweating, his clothes damp and uncomfortable as they chafed against his movements. But this wasn’t about him.

He reached down, and his hand circled around the cock trapped between their bodies. A small whimper came from beneath him, and he smoothed around it. His grip dragged up it, slowly building up to match the steady pace of his hips. Those fingers tightened in his hair, and those legs squeezed him so tight they trembled. He could feel the ankles lock behind him, could hear the quiet muttering that came from Izuku’s lips.

“Please, please, please, please, please, please, so close, so close, so close, Kacchan, Kacchan, Kacchan, can’t hold on, so close, please, please, please Kacchan, please-”

Bakugou’s hand stopped beneath the head and his thumb teased over the slit, slicking over the leaking excess. Izuku let out a broken cry, and he bucked his hips into his orgasm.

Bakugou was the one who gasped. Fuck, he almost went blind with pleasure – feeling those walls trembling and convulsing around him, clenching on him spastically, it hugged him, so tight, he was dragged over himself. It took all of his strength, but he pulled himself free just in time to paint the merman’s thighs and ass, his vision blinded by stars. And when it returned, he almost couldn’t believe the sight beneath him.

Dark, dappled skin. Freckled everywhere, patterned like the sea. It heaved and ceded like the sea, too. Perky pecs with raised nipples that swelled with breath, and stomach that seemed carved by a master. Hips and thighs that a man would drown for. Plump, spit-slicked lips parted lightly, dark, thick eyelashes, and the most mesmerizing sea green eyes that put the stars to shame. Bakugou just stared, unabashed, unaware, simply taking his fill. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten to stick his cock inside of this ethereal being.

He was pulled from his revery by that body taking in a steady breath, and bracing itself to speak. He looked up, and found himself lost in the depths of Izuku’s gaze.

“Kacchan...”

His voice cracked with the weight of his emotion, his gratitude. With effort, Bakugou settled above him and bracketed his arms around the merman’s head. He lowered down and pressed his lips to Izuku’s, just a soft touch, something warm and comforting. Beneath him, Izuku melted and inhaled deeply into the kiss. And that night, the moss proved to be quite comfortable a bed. Bakugou hadn’t slept with another person in his arms in many, many, many months. Actually, he couldn’t remember the last time that he...

He buried his face in those damp curls, breathing him in as he held that warmth close to his chest. He would never take it for granted again.

...........................................................................

“What are you looking for?”

Bakugou looked up from rummaging around his shit to see Izuku stopping just inside of his little campsite, holding an armful of dried driftwood. Bakugou quirked a brow at him, and then returned to digging through the stuff the merman had brought him that he’d found useful.

“Need that cooking pan,” he said. Izuku had found him a half empty barrel of vegetables and he was dying to cook them and eat them.

Said merman came over and leaned to the side to study his stash of tools. “Maybe it’s under here?” He pointed with his foot toward the old crate he’d kept that he’d originally planned to break down once it dried for wood. But sometimes you needed something to carry shit in. Anyways, there was no way. Bakugou knew his shit, and he always left the pan by the fire-

He lifted it up, and there it was. Glaring down at it, Bakugou picked it up and set it atop the tall wooden spikes he’d created specifically to place his pan above the fire. As he threw in his food and poured in a dash of water from the bucket he refilled every morning, he looked over at the man who was waiting for him patiently.

“Those for me?” He asked, pointing with his eyes toward the wood in his arms.

“Yes!” He nodded, dropping them off by the log Bakugou had found to serve as a bench of sorts.

“Thanks,” he said, before picking some up and adding it to his cooking fire.

“Wait!” Izuku said, wide-eyed and holding his hands out to stop him.

“Hah?” Those big eyes blinked at him, looking startled.

“I got it for your bonfire,” he said, as if it should’ve been obvious. The fire crackled in the second that Bakugou simply stared at him. Then he looked back at his cooking fire and added more in.

“Gotta eat,” he merely said in response. He could feel the other watching him, but eventually that body relaxed, and sat before the log, resting against it. Bakugou finished up, organizing his shit once again. They were silent, but it felt peaceful. Comfortable.

Eventually, Bakugou sat down beside the merman in his human form with a huff. He leaned back, resting his elbows on the log behind him, glad to be off of his feet. Izuku had his legs stretched out, smiling quietly as he enjoyed the singular sensation of having his own feet warmed by a fire. And Bakugou simply studied him, his head turned to look.

Izuku smiled a lot, these days. Bakugou didn’t feel like looking away, so he didn’t. He was easy on the eyes – more than that, he was wonderful to look at, really. And he had this glow to him, more than ever. It was like looking up at the sun shining through the surface of the water from beneath it. It shone through him, from him. Bakugou just looked at him for a bit. Eh, maybe it was all in his own head. Whatever. It made him comfortable, having him there.

“Oi, Izuku.” That head of curls turned to look at him.

“Hm?” Those green eyes flicked him up and down before holding on his face.

“You ever bring anybody else here? To this island?” Bakugou saw him blink, perhaps not expecting that question. “Anybody else you saved?”

The fire crackled off to the side, and when he looked, he could see the glint of the flames reflected from the other’s eyes. He saw Izuku think it over, saw the answer laying there, with certainty. Then he saw Izuku take a breath before saying it out loud.

“No, no one else. Just you.”

Bakugou nodded, not saying anything in response, other than, “Right. Thought so.” Then, after another second of comfortable silence, he rose up to tend to the vegetables. “Better eat your fill, cause I’m finishing off everything you don’t.”

“Okay. Thank you, Kacchan.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t mention it.”

...........................................................................

Bakugou laid flat on his back on the beach, and he stared up at the stars. They were brilliant out there, not a cloud in sight. They glittered like gems in the night sky, winking occasionally down at them.

Beside him, Izuku was curled up into his side, the merman’s bare flesh smoothing against his own. His hand laid atop Bakugou’s chest, and he rested his head comfortably in the nook provided by Bakugou’s neck and shoulder. Their bodies were both lax in the aftermath of pleasure, and Izuku was content like a purring cat. The arm Bakugou had around his waist held him close. The sound of the waves crashing below their feet was the only sound for a while.

Then, Izuku shifted against him, and he turned his head to the sky for a second. Bakugou could feel how his chest rose and fell with his breaths.

“The lovers.”

Bakugou nodded.

“Must be the seventh day of the seventh month,” he muttered, as if to himself. It had been a year and a month since he’d come to this island. “Surprised you remember them,” Bakugou grunted out. That was one of the first constellations he’d taught him.

“They’ve waited this whole time to see each other again,” he mumbled softly. Bakugou looked down at him, but Izuku was looking at the stars.

“Better than never, I guess,” Bakugou said. Izuku didn’t respond to that. Instead he kept looking at the sky, before finally pointing up, to the north.

“What’s that one? You never told me about it.” Bakugou’s lips turned up in a smirk.

“You never asked.”

“What is it?”

“That’s nothing. Just some stars.”

“Oh.” Bakugou laughed and Izuku pouted at him, before he smiled too and laid back down on his chest. And instead, Bakugou found a couple of other constellations he hadn’t gotten to tell him about.

...........................................................................

It really was a beautiful island. Bakugou surveyed it with his hand over his gaze, shielding himself from the sun.

The beaches were white, and soft. There weren’t many rocks to bother the soles of his feet. And the water was so blue, such a rich jewel tone he felt wealthy just looking at it. The sky above was clear as crystal, and the occasional cloud white and puffy. It hadn’t rained much at all the entire time he’d been stranded there and yet it was so lush and green. He hadn’t run out of fish or fruit yet, either.

“Kacchan! Come out here!”

There was a spot bobbing in the ocean, not too far from the shore, but in deep enough that it could still swim. Speaking of green...

“What?” He grumbled loud enough for the merman to hear. He still climbed down the rocks he’d been standing on and walked toward the water anyway.

“I want to swim with you!” And then the head disappeared beneath the waves. With an exasperated sigh, Bakugou lifted up his shirt and took it off to leave it on the beach. It used to be white and crisp – he’d stolen it from a little nobleman sometime right before his ship was comandeered. Now it was beige and, well, ugly. He left his trousers with it on the sand, and he began to wade into the cool, crisp waters.

It was refreshing against his skin. His flesh was thoroughly baked through, his skin tanner than it’d ever been. And he was lean, now, too. Not as thick or strong or sturdy, but he was lithe. The sea seemed to welcome him in, enveloping him like a hug as he cleaved in deeper.

When he was up to his armpits in it, feeling the waves lap against his collarbone, the current strong around him, he braced himself. Looking around, he saw nothing but the expanse of the ocean before him.

Then something gripped his ankle and tugged him under. It was strong, enough to even overpower him, and he found himself beneath the waves. When he opened his eyes, a pair of dazzling green lights filled his vision. They were large, larger than normal as they only got closer, closing shut just as he felt the softest pair of lips against his own.

They opened gently; warm air entered in and bloomed in his chest, and he gasped. There was no water in his lungs. Izuku pulled away, shining gleefully after giving his mermaid’s gift. With a smirk, Bakugou swam past him, into the deeper waters. His merman joined him happily, swimming around him like an excitable dog. He grabbed Bakugou’s hands and led him carefully away, making sure to keep a firm grip on him.

This breath wouldn’t last forever – certainly not long enough to travel very far. But it was enough to endulge his merman. Izuku liked to play, and so they would swim over the coral reef and look at the different fish, so many shapes and colors. Bakugou had lived his life at sea but he’d never really been interested in what lay beneath it. There was a whole world down there.

They stayed where the sun’s beams still reached, never going too far. They couldn’t speak, not human speech, anyway. But he heard – felt – Izuku singing, even his speech as beautiful as a song. When he was extra eager, he would spin around Bakugou and do loops in the water, making the human man disoriented. But damn it felt good to get out of the heat. He didn’t mind staying under there, and swimming around, kicking at the merman playfully when he circled around him. He could see the laughter in the other’s eyes, felt his tail brushing his legs. It was almost like a dance.

Seeing the mischievous glint in the other’s gaze, Bakugou was ready to chase after him. Then Izuku was right before him, his hands on his arms, his lips curved up in a smile. He felt himself being pushed backwards, down, until the seafloor was against his back and he was looking up at the beautiful merman with his hair flowing about his head and the sun shining around him like a halo. Izuku held him down, and his eyes were as sharp as his teeth. He lowered down to kiss him, soft and gentle. His tongue slipped through, so teasing as his hands began to slide down his body. That heavy tail settled between his legs and suddenly Bakugou felt like he was on fire. Oh, that sneaky little-

Izuku moved down and mouthed over his neck. Bakugou tilted his chin up to grant him access, but he didn’t stay for long. Soon, he was kissing Bakugou’s collarbone, and he licked over his pec. Bakugou actually shivered to feel it lap over his nipple. Shit. He could feel Izuku’s hum in the water before he continued his way down, dragging his lips over Bakugou’s abdomen, his navel, hands wrapping around his cock. They slid up his length leisurely as the other tongued into his navel. Fuck. Izuku used to be an angel, until Bakugou had shown him these little tricks. Now he was a fiend, working his dick until there was strength in it.

A thumb swiped over his slit, and with a silent gasp, Bakugou looked down and saw those shocking green eyes peering up at him. There was a small twist to his lips – devilish. Then he lowered back down and kissed beneath his navel, down the trail that led to his cock.

He was hard in that hand, pulsing against that soft palm. Sweet lips kissed his tip, then down his underside, then his balls. Izuku’s tongue laid flat against them, licking up and dragging their weight as he pressed into his lick. That hand came down to cradle them as he returned to kissing, quick pecks up the side of his shaft. When he squeezed, Bakugou cursed out an air bubble that floated up to the surface. God he was too quick of a learner.

He kissed Bakugou’s cock so sweetly, so lovingly, until his tongue ran up the underside of his shaft and he squeezed again, and Bakugou could only feel his groan, he couldn’t hear it. He went to grip something, and his fingers dug into the hardpacked, sandy floor. He found some seaweed to weave his fingers through and grip tight before he could float away. He cracked his tightly shut eyes open to see Izuku looking up again as he sucked gently on the head of his dick. He looked so happy to see Bakugou like this. It reminded the pirate of a couple of nights ago, when he’d fucked the merman yet again, and afterwards he’d laid atop Bakugou’s chest with a light smile on his face, and he’d said, dreamily, “How can I make you feel this way?” Whelp, looks like he’d thought good and hard about the answer to his question.

With the most innocent look on his face, Izuku tilted down and spread his lips around Bakugou’s cock. Bakugou watched the top half of his dick disappear between those lips. Shit his mouth, his lips, his tongue, everything was so soft and warm. And Izuku sucked on him sweetly, his tongue providing a nice cushion for his cock. And fuck, even if he was a bit timid about it, it still felt so good. Bakugou looked up at the surface of the water high above them, at the sun filtering through, and he couldn’t believe that he was getting blown at the bottom of the sea. Then that mouth slid further down his cock, and he was lost to the wet, succulent heat.

It was probably the world’s most dangerous blowjob, he realized, thinking about those teeth. But Izuku was careful. And perhaps that was what made it last so long. Bakugou had had breathtaking blowjobs before, blowjobs that were sloppy and loud and filled him rapidly with pleasure until it blinded him. But Izuku was soft and almost dainty about it, still a little inexperienced, and mostly concerned with the little daggers in his mouth. Bakugou was used to danger, of course, threw himself into it on purpose, again and again. But he found that he didn’t mind laying back on that seafloor and groaning to himself as the pleasure pulsed through him steadily, like a gentle wave of warmth that gradually built inside of him, filling him slowly but steadily. He felt it in his limbs, in his fingers and his toes. He felt his tip scratching the back of the merman’s velvet throat. Fuck, his lips were so soft and plump, and they clung to him as they dragged along his cock. His hips begged him to buck forth, but he just soaked in the warmth of Izuku’s mouth instead.

When he came, he tried to scream out and watched the bubbles recede into the sun. He looked down and saw a pink tongue laving over delicate lips, that lovely throat bobbing as it swallowed, and brilliant eyes studying him and his reaction.

Bakugou ignored his body’s request to lavish in his recent pleasure and he picked himself up and pushed the merman down onto his back, settling himself atop his fishy pelvis. Izuku stared up at him in surprise. Dumbass. Like he could get away with that shit and not expect something in return.

Bakugou dove down and gave him a real kiss, mouth open, tongue eager, teeth nibbling plush lips. He thought in a daze he could still taste himself in there.

His lips carried down over his chin to his throat, and then carefully over his fluttering gills, so reactive to his touch. He was sensitive here, Bakugou had learned that early on. Izuku squirmed beneath him, and when Bakugou licked over his gills, his body rolled, his tail flicking up.

With a grin, Bakugou sucked just beneath his jaw, and then he reached down, feeling over his smooth stomach, to the tail that was normally flat over the front. But just then, he felt it rise over a bump. He could feel Izuku gasp, and it made him smirk. Like he wouldn’t be able to notice his arousal in this form.

He knew the merman still had a dick like this, it was just hidden away beneath his sleek scales. He’d taken it out for him, once before. And now, his finger found the slit over where it lay. He traced over it, seeing Izuku’s lip wobble, the sound of his whimper underwater purely divine. The flesh was slightly puffy and slick. He set two fingers down on top of it, and then they slipped inside.

They were only in halfway to the first knuckle, but Izuku’s head still tipped back and his hips rolled up. His fingers sunk in from the movement and he found the other’s cock, pulsing desperately. Bakugou cursed silently when it felt it, hot and sticky within. Shit, imagining sticking his own cock in there made him ache. It was way too soon for that. Next time then.

He stroked the tip of his finger down his shaft and saw Izuku’s fingers clenching in the kelp. Then he swiped across the inside of his pouch and heard him cry out, sharp and pure. Bakugou stopped and pulled free, seeing his gills fluttering frantically, haphazardly. The sound had startled him, and he went to go cup his cheek, until one of those quick hands reached up and gripped his wrist. Izuku’s eyes were heavy-lidded and glazed over, just barely able to focus on him, and his mouth was parted, with strings of saliva connecting his lips, thick even under the water. That look had Bakugou’s heart doing flips in his chest, particularly when both hands lowered him down, back to the mound beneath his scales, and Izuku so purposefully pushed his fingers inside again.

Izuku’s jaw dropped, the strings of saliva snapping, and he moaned like an angel, the sound richer than any gold or diamonds in the world. Bakugou was careful with his movements, the slit stretched around his four fingers now. He stroked slowly in, half holding the cock that bulged from its slit, as there wasn’t enough room in there for both of them like that. And he moved his hand up and down it, slow, easy, watching the other ease into it. He was incredibly sensitive here, even the slightest touch was enough to make him shiver.

Bakugou studied him, watching when his body twitched, or rolled, or his gills quivered. He pet him down there, finding the pace that he liked best, and he watched him in awe.

When Izuku was overwhelmed by his pleasure, he didn’t know what to do with his arms. They often stretched above his head and tried to grab and pull at something, anything. He held onto the sea grasses, winding his hands in them and pulling, his teeth gritting as Bakugou sank in deeper and found his sack. It felt so slimy and slick as he held it, and Izuku panted like he was a human that needed air. Bakugou was getting him used to pleasure, but it was then, as he moaned like heaven calling him home, Bakugou realized that he’d never taken anyone, or anything, down there; not like this. It made him want to be extra careful.

Izuku came apart on his fingers. He writhed, and his tail began to thrash as Bakugou picked up the pace, pressing a little harder, a little deeper. When he came, the sound was golden, and his seed bubbled up and spilled from the slit of his pouch. Bakugou pet him through his climax and then finally removed his fingers and shook the excess off in the water. He looked down at his exhausted merman, seeing him looking like he could fall asleep tangled up in that bed of kelp. And the pirate smirked. Guess Bakugou liked to play, too.

...........................................................................

Their nights were often filled with warmth and each other. Bakugou didn’t like sleeping in the cold, dank cavern, but he was lucky enough that Izuku would join him on land and share his campsite with him during the night.

That night, the campfire flickered, a steady flame over burned out logs that was beginning to settle. The fire crackled and the logs snapped, and beside it all rested a clay bowl, inside which sat a red, gooey paste that had once been seaweed before they’d boiled it down. It was cool then, cool enough to touch.

A hand dipped in, coating its fingers in the paste before leaving as it had come. Bakugou looked down at the man beneath him, his bare back covered in freckles and marks, and curving so wonderfully before rising up to the swell of his ass. He looked so unreal in the orange glow of the fire, like he might just flicker out of sight, and never appear again.

Bakugou’s clean hand smoothed over his skin and sat atop his plump cheek, squeezing it lightly before pulling him apart. His fingers painted over his hole, tracking the paste, so wet and slippery. A finger breached the hole and sunk in, and those hips squirmed. Bakugou coated his insides and stretched him while he groaned. Then he lathered his own dick with the paste, and he pushed in, his breath stuttering to feel how it hugged him, so tight, taking him in.

He didn’t stop until he was completely flush with the other’s back, feeling his heaving against his chest, his plush cheeks against his hipbones. It was hardly the first time he’d found himself seated in this body, but fuck, if it didn’t feel incredible everytime. He was just so hot, the squeeze so good, those muscles giving way before his cock as he sank in. And Izuku didn’t make it easy on him. His throat hummed something warm and eager as he entered, and he let out a soft sigh when Bakugou was in, resting his cock inside.

“Ya like that?” Bakugou murmured into his ear before tugging on his lobe with his teeth.

“Mhm,” Izuku hummed, his tone so sweet. He turned his head to the side to see Bakugou out of his peripheral. “Kacchan...” He grabbed the hand Bakugou had resting on his hip and led it to lay flat, low down on his abdomen. He covered Bakugou’s hand with his own, his fingers slipping between Bakugou’s, and he said, “Please-” before rocking his hips back against the other man.

Bakugou groaned, and he got the hint. He started to rock his own hips, and Izuku rolled back against him. Together, they moved, finding a rhythm where their bodies rolled together. Bakugou buried his nose into his neck and breathed him in as he felt his cock shifting within. Just small movements, their bodies like a wave, up and down, flowing and ebbing. Izuku groaned to feel it moving inside with the rhythm of their bodies. The pleasure was bright and warm, something that burned in their cores and settled there.

The nights together were blissful. Something Bakugou never really thought possible before in his life. It had always been a fuck. Stick his cock in someone, slam into them, hitting the right spot while they cried out, “More, more!” And he’d give ‘em more, because fuck, he didn’t mind more. Who didn’t like to come?

But with Izuku, he always took it slow. Most nights he didn’t even care about his own pleasure, just wanted the merman to feel good. He loved the look on his face, everytime, like he couldn’t believe how good he felt. He looked like he could just melt into the earth, or the sea, wherever it was they did it.

That wasn’t to say he didn’t like it. Fuck no. He didn’t know it could be like this, really. Didn’t know the pleasure could last, and that it could feel so satisfying, even well after it was over. He didn’t know that warmth could bloom in his chest to look down and see the face of his partner in the midst of his pleasure.

He didn’t feel the need to rush it that night. They rocked together until the pleasure filled their bodies nicely, their abdomens burning from the movement, and there was a hot sweat that dampened the roots of their hair. They panted lightly with the exertion, not chasing after the pleasure, but more so strolling for it, searching for it peacefully, with leisure.

Bakugou let his hips roll back and forth as they desired, eventually pulling back more and more to rock in and feel the drag. And Izuku let out sweet little sounds each time he drove home, like some kind of an unintentional reward for Bakugou’s ears. Soon enough, he was humping into his merman, who pushed back into his thrusts. They kept their pace, and Bakugou felt the muscles of Izuku’s stomach working beneath his palm. He slid through that ass smoothly, gliding with the paste. He could look down and see it oozing from where they were connected, and could hear it squealch each time he sank in and pulled flush.

Izuku gasped to feel his prick digging against his prostate. Bakugou slid into it, again and again and again, holding his body tight and pulling him up into the best position to fuck him slowly and surely. His little moans turned into little whines and Bakugou soothed him with a kiss to his neck.

This sweet little merman, he could come from this alone. Bakugou didn’t even need to touch him. He’d helped the gentle creature learn so much about his body, his pleasure, his desires. His confidence had grown so much, it was bewitching to see him in it now, to feel his hips shifting against him, back onto him. He liked that Izuku knew what he wanted; he liked to give it to him.

“Ka...Kacchan...” That lovely voice said breathlessly. “I... I’m so... Oh, oh, ohh...” His voice trailed off into a whimper, and then he clenched, and Bakugou felt the orgasm sweep through his whole body. Bakugou gritted his teeth to be squeezed like that, inside of him, before he slowed to a stop with him.

Izuku was breathing deep and steady, staring at the ground unseeing. And Bakugou was pulsing still, his cock unhappily happy in that succulent ass. He shifted just a bit and groaned, feeling the friction. He made to pull out, but that breathless voice stayed him.

“Kacchan,” Izuku said, looking over his shoulder with half-lidded eyes. “Don’t stop.”

His soft voice was somehow firm and certain. Still, Bakugou hesitated. “Oi-”

“Please,” Izuku begged, his voice almost a whine as he did. And it propelled Bakugou’s heart. Without another word, he pulled back to push in again. Izuku whimpered once more, but he pressed Bakugou’s hand against his stomach, as if to keep him there. Bakugou kissed his shoulder as he resumed his previous pace, and then he closed his eyes and hugged that warm, supple body that took him easily.

He thought about the seaweed lubricant oozing between Izuku’s legs. He thought about how those legs trembled when they tried to hold themselves up after taking Bakugou’s cock several times in a row. He thought about his feet – his human feet – curling up just as he reached his pleasure, the same time that his face would scrunch up. He thought about his tail thrashing and flicking desperately when pleasured in that form. He thought about his face, how cute it looked, how breath-takingly beautiful, and his body too. Dammit, the body in his arms, how perfect it was, so beautiful, so lush and plump in the right places and smooth and flat in others. It stretched for him, in many ways, and bent this way and that, so easy to maneuver, so willing, with a gentle touch. He thought about the happy smile on his face in the peace after pleasure, he thought about him sucking Bakugou’s dick dry. He thought about him. Izuku.

With a startled gasp, Bakugou yanked out and held himself as he came right between Izuku’s thighs. He jerked himself through it, until he was still, and the bliss settled over him, heavy in his limbs.

Beneath him, he saw Izuku squirm, saw his body rising with his breaths, still deep, still needy for air. Bakugou lowered himself back down to kiss the back of his neck. That voice came to him, softer even than usual.

“Did it feel good?”

Bakugou smirked, and kissed the crook of his neck, then his shoulder, then his cheek.

“Yeah.” Izuku turned his face to the side again to smile at him, before Bakugou kissed him. And then Bakugou covered his body with his own, keeping him warm and safe. Izuku clung to him that night, just like all other nights.

...........................................................................

Bakugou knelt beside his fire and prodded it with his stick to make sure the logs were in the right place. The flames flickered and grew, and he set the stick down. He turned around the fish he was roasting before sitting down beside his merman.

“What’s your favorite part of the human world?” Bakugou looked over to see those wide eyes looking at him curiously.

“The food,” he said immediately. That head tilted in reaction.

“Really?” And then he thought about it, tilting his own head.

“Sure. Might be saying that though cause I’ve been livin’ off of fish and fruit for the past year or whatever.”

Izuku just stared at him expectantly, without saying anything, and it convinced him to continue.

“I like my ship,” he grunted out simply, keeping his eyes on the fire. “And my crew. I like all the different ports we’d stop at, seeing different people. Not meeting them. Just seeing them, how different they all were. I liked going to a bar and being the loudest bastard there,” he added with a smirk. Yet when he looked back at Izuku, he didn’t see any humor reflected back at him. He just seemed to be rolling the information over in his mind. He was strangely serious.

“You miss it?”

Bakugou leaned back against their log, and he looked ahead, back at the fire. “... ‘s not worth thinking about.” Izuku was quiet for a moment, and Bakugou got the feeling that he was thinking about it. It made him get back up to poke the burning logs again. “Fuck. Damn smoke...”

...........................................................................

Bakugou rolled over and flung his arm out to feel nothing there. He opened his eyes to see that he was alone that morning. Again. His mood soured immediately, and he rubbed his eyes as he sat up.

Izuku had been gone for a little more than three weeks. Or at least, that’s how long he thought it’d been. Losing track of time was so easy out there. And he was bored as shit. He hadn’t realized how reliant he’d become on his companion to fill his days with something other than watching and waiting. Waiting for what? For the next day? Bakugou was grumpier when he was by himself.

He didn’t want to be concerned. Last time this had happened, Izuku had come back from... But no. Izuku had told him that he was going out, and it might take him a while before he returned. What he planned on doing that would take him weeks, he hadn’t said. But at that bright grin, and that sweet voice saying, “Don’t worry! I’ll be back, I promise.” Bakugou trusted him.

He strode about the beach in his bare feet, kicking sand up as he went. He looked down at his legs, seeing his trousers all bitten and eaten away at the bottom. His calves were mostly on display, tan and lean. Out over the horizon, the sun was sinking lower. Another empty day.

Then suddenly, he saw something dragging itself toward the shore.

“Oi-!” Bakugou started to jog, recognizing his merman, pulling himself through the shallow water with his arms. He splashed through the ankle deep water and stopped before him when he saw his head lift up. “Fuck, you look terrible.”

And he did. He looked exhausted. His eyes were heavy with bags, and his hair even drooped. He looked in desperate need of sleep, and food.

“I’m back,” he said, trying for a bright smile. He looked a little loopy. Bakugou frowned at him. He looked like shit, yeah, but he still glowed from the inside out.

Bakugou lowered down and braced himself. He stuck his arms beneath the merman and picked him up, bridal style.

“Fuck-” He quickly adjusted his grip before he could drop him, feeling those arms come up around his neck.

“Ah, Kacchan-!”

“Shit, why the hell are you so heavy?” Bakugou held him close to his chest and stumbled his way out of the water and up the beach.

“’s the tail,” Izuku murmured, setting his head down on Bakugou’s shoulder. ”You’re so handsome, Kacchan.”

“Yeah, I know,” Bakugou said, looking for a place to set him down. When he found the softest patch of sand, he lowered him to the ground, trying not to tip over himself in the process. Then he sat down heavily beside him. “What the hell were you doing out there?” He asked, looking him over. No new scars or bruises. Those eyes rolled over to him, a faint smile playing on his lips.

“I was searching...” Bakugou’s brow quirked up.

“For what?”

There was something strange in Izuku’s eyes. Bakugou couldn’t quite place it, but he thought it looked delicate, like glass.

He opened his mouth to respond, and out came a yawn instead. Bakugou rolled his eyes and stood up, brushing the sand off of his trousers.

“Dry off. I’ll start cooking.”

When he had the fish roasting over the fire, he went back to the beach to find Izuku still laying in that same spot, this time with legs. His bare skin was crusted with sand and salt, and his chest rose lightly, his breathing slow and steady. His eyes were closed, and his face relaxed. Bakugou covered him with his large tunic and picked him up carefully. The slumbering merman let out a small little mewl as he was craddled in Bakugou’s arms (much lighter and easier to carry in this form) and he instinctively settled in.

Bakugou let him sleep until supper was ready, but if he hadn’t gotten any sleep, then there was no way in hell he’d gotten himself enough food. Bakugou woke him up, patting his cheek and forcing a fish into his hands. He then let him eat before he started drilling him.

“You were gone for three weeks,” he told the other. “What were you doing?”

“I swam,” Izuku explained quite simply.

“That’s it? That’s all you did?”

“I told you, I was searching.”

“You gonna tell me what for?” Those eyes flashed onto him, and he knew the answer to that. “Why are you so tired?”

“I didn’t get much sleep...”

“When’s the last time you slept?”

“I, I think... When I left?”

Bakugou almost dropped his fish. “What the hell? What do you mean you haven’t slept in three god damn weeks?”

“Mermaids don’t need as much sleep as humans-”

“You just swam nonstop for three weeks? Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“It’s fine, Kacchan-”

“Like hell it’s fine! You bastard, what if you got eaten by a whale? Or captured? What the hell then?”

“I didn’t-”

“What the hell am I supposed to do?”

Bakugou didn’t mean for it to sound like that. What he really wanted to say was, “How am I supposed to protect you?” But that was somehow even worse. So he just let the implication sit there between them. And Izuku stared at him with his round, sea green eyes. And he smiled.

“I will always come back to you, Kacchan,” he said softly. There was something about it that sent a chill down Bakugou’s spine. He thought he saw in Izuku’s face- well. No. He played it off.

“Creep,” he said, before cleaning up. His merman was content now, and yawning again. And Bakugou may have many questions he knew he wouldn’t get answers to, but he was just happy to have something to wrap his arms around that night.

...........................................................................

The next morning, Bakugou woke up alone again. But something called him down to the beach. As he got closer, he realized it was that beautiful siren call, that voice, like an angel. He saw his merman curled up on the rock, still in just his long tunic, like a underdress on him. He sat on his hip with his legs tucked beneath him, the spray of the morning tide mere inches from transforming him, and he sang. Bakugou stopped and let the tone fill him with some sort of sweet sorrow. He thought he saw something glisten as it fell from Izuku’s face.

He listened in silence, until there was nothing but the crashing of the waves.

...........................................................................

The water was as blue as ever, surrounding Bakugou on all sides as he stood, knee deep in with his spear. It didn’t take him long to fish anymore; just a couple of stabs, and he was good for the night.

Beside him, he heard a splash, and he tried to ignore it. But then he heard it again.

“Oi,” he grumbled, refusing to look at the merman and his flicking tail. “Knock it off. You’re gonna scare the fish.”

When he heard another splash, he looked to glare at the other’s sneaky smile. He apparently found Bakugou’s reaction humorous, as he covered his mouth to hide his laughter.

“You wanna get accidentally stabbed?” Bakugou said, trying to sound stern. But out of the corner of his eye, he could see Izuku pouting at him.

“You wouldn’t stab me,” he said. Bakugou rolled his eyes. Then another splash, and an escaping giggle.

Without even looking, Bakugou stretched his leg over and shoved him, and with a sudden, “Wah-!” Izuku fell into the water. He came up flinging his sopping hair back, drenched like a wet dog. Bakugou didn’t even try to hide his chuckle.

He felt something big and wet and heavy and scaly hit him in the side and his eyes went wide as he lost his footing. “Oof-” He crashed into the shallow water, all sound disappearing for a moment before he sat back up, the crest of the waves coming up to his neck. Bakugou coughed and shook his head, feeling the weight of another body crawling up between his legs. Those familiar hands came up to his cheeks to wipe the water from his eyes, and he looked to see Izuku’s beaming face before his own.

Izuku could be obnoxiously playful sometimes. Bakugou had no choice but to indulge him, or he’d only get more energetic. But when it was out of his system, he would have a contented look on his face, something like what he wore just then. And though Bakugou started to chastise him for being a brat, there wasn’t enough heat in his voice to back it up.

“How the hell are we supposed to eat now, huh?”

“I can catch fish for us,” Izuku said simply, wiping away water that wasn’t there anymore. Bakugou frowned at him, though he didn’t move from that position.

“Yeah? Why haven’t you been pulling your weight this whole time then, huh?”

“You told me not to help.” Bakugou opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. Perhaps he had. That was so long ago, wasn’t it...

He was about to say something, when the words completely disappeared from his mind. Looking over Izuku’s shoulder, he saw something, a speck on the horizon. No, it wasn’t a speck. It was a ship. His ship. Damn him if he couldn’t recognize those sails anywhere.

Izuku looked at him curiously. “Kacchan?” Bakugou looked back at him, then back at the ship. Then he looked at the merman again, and he poked him, his face scrunching up beneath his finger. Yup, real. So that must mean that he wasn’t hallucinating... Right?

Bakugou carefully held the other man back and he stood up, taking a step around him, and he held a hand over his brow to look at the approaching ship. It was there, and it was heading this way.

“Oh.” Startled, Bakugou looked down, and saw that Izuku was turned around, following Bakugou’s gaze. “They’re here.”

“They?” Bakugou asked, feeling confused in a way he hadn’t before in his life. Those eyes looked up at him, seemingly endlessly deep.

“Your crew.”

Bakugou looked back at the ship. He already thought they looked a bit closer.

“Wha... How...”

“I...” Izuku’s voice drew his attention again. The merman was looking down, a little bashful. “I took the bottle you tried to throw out to sea. I kept it with my treasures. I searched for your ship. I didn’t stop until I found them. They were sailing along the same route as before. I followed them until they got to shore and I let the bottle float by one of their smaller boats. The one with the tall red hair picked it up out of the water. That’s when I came back.”

Those eyes looked up at him finally when the story was finished. Bakugou was speechless as he looked back up at his ship. He knew now where Izuku had gone during those three weeks. And more than that, he knew that his crew was alive. He felt like he was only half there.

“Why did you do that?” Bakugou asked, his mouth feeling dry. Beneath him, the waves rushed past his legs, and they lapped at the hesitant merman.

“I wanted you to be happy.” Bakugou felt his chest tighten.

“I was.”

He turned around, facing away from Izuku. His hand came up to press against his eyes. The sounds of the waves crashing around them, crashing on the shore, were so singular, so all encompassing, like that was the only thing that existed in the world. After a second, he felt arms wrapping around his knee, and a body pressing up against his leg.

“You wouldn’t be,” he heard spoken softly into his damp trouser. “Not forever.”

Bakugou felt something crack inside of him. Izuku was putting all of his energy into controlling his voice, but Bakugou could hear the sorrow there, like he believed it to be the pure and simple truth, a fact. How the fuck did he know that? Bakugou didn’t think so. Not at all. Stupid, selfless bastard. Never took himself into consideration, did he?

“At least you don’t have to eat fish again tonight.”

At Izuku’s watery voice, the damn burst inside of Bakugou. He whipped around and dropped to his knees, grabbing Izuku by the face and he pulled him close, their foreheads pressed together. Bakugou held him, breathing him in, memorizing how he felt, how those hands wrapped around his wrists, how he looked up close like this. He could see the desperation in his eyes, like he too wanted to commit this moment to memory.

Bakugou gripped him tight, strength returning to his gaze as he held it steady on Izuku.

“This ain’t it,” he told him, promised him. “You can’t get rid of me that fucking easy.”

The tears this creature had been holding in clearly since he’d come back from his long journey rolled down his cheeks, big and fat and heavy. They plopped into the ocean, sparkling little gems that were probably worth a fortune, Bakugou realized. And he wiped them away gently with his thumbs.

“Kacchan, I-” he said, his voice cracking.

“I know,” Bakugou told him. “Me too.” Then he gathered Izuku into his arms and let him release the heartbreak he’d been holding in that whole time. Knowing him, he had probably been waiting to let it out for after Bakugou had left. Dumbass.

Bakugou didn’t care if the ship was approaching, growing more and more real with each second. He didn’t care if the merman was getting snot all over his shoulder. He just held that trembling body until it calmed, and there was nothing more than the whistling wind, the gentle waves, and that heart beating against his chest.

...........................................................................

“Captain?”

“Captain!”

“Holy shit, I can’t believe it-”

“CAPTAIN!!”

“Kaminari, wait-!”

“Shit!”

“Oof!”

“Get off a me!”

“Captain you smell terrible.”

“Fuck off.”

“Captain! I can’t believe we found that bottle!”

“How did you even survive?”

“……”

“You okay, Cap’n?”

“….Yeah. Just glad you guys are alive.”

“…….”

“Right back at ya, Cap’n.”

...........................................................................

The sea breeze was refreshing against his face when he turned into it. The sun was bright, and the sky was clear. Captain Bakugou shaded his vision with his hand and looked to the south.

Beside him, his first mate sidled up next to him, whistling a jaunty tune. Kirishima had always been so carefree, much easier on the men than Bakugou. Back before he had taken over for a year, of course. Now, though he seemed to have relaxed back into his usual self the second they got their captain back. Though there was a bit of rigid authority to how he held himself now. Bakugou knew it wasn’t easy to lead a crew. He also knew it wasn’t easy to give up power. Kirishima, of course, was something special. He was his best friend.

“Right on schedule, Cap’n.” At his words, Bakugou looked at the sky, knowing he wouldn’t be able to see any stars just then. But he already knew; it was the sixth day of the seventh month. If all went well, they’d arrive at their destination by tomorrow morning.

Bakugou nodded in response, and he walked up to the side, right by the railing. His red tunic billowed in the salty wind. He wasn’t as tan as he had been about a year ago, but he wore his months on that island still. He looked around at his crew, swinging about the rigging, talking and laughing and singing.

Back then, after they watched their captain launch a flare into the sky and fall into the sea, apparently all hell had broken loose. Just as he’d expected them too, they rose up, using their hidden knives or even just their strength to break through their bonds. The rag tag miscreants didn’t know how to react with their muscle falling overboard. While Bakugou fought against him and against the sea, the pirates fought against each other on the ship.

Knowing what was at stake, his crew had gotten the best of their enemies and easily tied them up, taking them to the brig. Just as that was finishing up, that was when Kirogiri climbed onto the deck, dripping wet and exhausted. Yet he still put up a fight, even worse than the one they’d just exited. Kirishima distracted him before Kaminari could knock him from behind and Sero could wrap him up. With him joining his friends down in the lower levels, all that was left was to search for their dear captain.

They didn’t find him. They searched and searched desperately all night and then all day after the storm had ended, but there was nothing. They went to all of the islands nearby they knew of, but there was no trace. Kirishima took over, but there was a dark cloud that hung over them, like the storm had never left their ship. They dropped off the villains in their hold on some random island and left them there, grumbling and irritated. Yet the crew did not have it in their hearts to care. They had no hope, knowing their captain had willingly sacrificed himself for them. Yet still, there was something that had wedged itself into Kirishima’s chest, right beside his heart. It didn’t sit right, not until the very moment that he pulled that bottle from the water and read the paper sealed within.

They had told Bakugou the tale, but they’d been more interested in his story. Had he been living on that island the whole time? How had he survived? How did he even wind up there?

He told them little, in his own fashion. They still seemed curious, but after enough times of him biting out at them to leave it be, that it had been over a year of stinking fish and fruit and waiting waiting waiting, they dropped it. In the end, they just smiled to see him back at the helm.

Taking back over had been easy. The men acted like he’d never been gone. It would’ve been easy for him to feel that way, too. He ate heartily, drank heartily, and slept heartily, rocking with the sway of the boat each night in his hammock. He was right as rain, gaining back the body he’d lost while in survival mode – though he still couldn’t stand the idea of eating fish ever again. He even had his old hat back. But he felt the ache inside like a magnet, pulling him in a specific direction.

He scanned the waters, the horizon, the sound of his crew’s voices fading into the background. If they’d noticed how prone he’d become to sudden bouts of silent pondering, none of them mentioned it. The ship had returned to its rhythm. It was perfect. It should’ve been.

Something splashed below in the water. He saw something glimmer, a flash of brilliant green, like the sea was sparkling, but even more magnificent. A smirk slide up his cheek, and Bakugou quickly turned to Kirishima.

“Oi, help me lower this down!” He was already making his way to the ship’s boat, and Kirishima followed him immediately.

“Aye aye, Cap’n.” The first mate had a sly grin on his face that the captain ignored. They pushed the boat over the side and Bakugou stepped inside before they wheeled it down with the pulley until it was just above the crest of the waves.

“Hold it!” The captain shouted back up. Then he heard another splash behind him, and his heart flipped over itself. He turned, and saw the most beautiful smile in the world shining at him.

“Kacchan!”

“There’s my angel,” Bakugou cooed, before bending over the side of the boat to kiss him. Izuku gripped the edge to anchor himself in place and take Bakugou in. When the captain pulled away, god, he must have looked so stupid just then, smiling like an idiot. But his merman was there, looking up at him and giving the sun something to compete with.

He widened his stance and braced himself before reaching down and lifting Izuku out of the water. It wasn’t easy; the damn bastard was so god damn heavy like this. But he clung to Bakugou’s neck and smiled at him so happily, that Bakugou really didn’t have any other choice. Besides, he was strong enough. Damn right he was. He stood in the ship’s boat and held his merman close to his chest, ignoring his soaked shirt, and the water dripping off of Izuku’s tail. He felt strong.

“D’ja miss me?” The pirate captain asked warmly.

Izuku simply grabbed his face and kissed him again. When the little fucker finally gave him reprieve, his eyes were glowing, beautiful, dazzling, sea green gems, richer than all the jewels in the world combined.

“You couldn’t wait one more day?” Bakugou mused as he set his heavy load down into the boat, making sure his tail didn’t dip into the water.

“The dolphins were saying that a ship was headed this way.” God it’d been so long since he’d heard a sound that beautiful. It was like he could hear again after going deaf.

“Chatterboxes, the lot of them,” Bakugou grumbled. Or he tried to.

The sun was hitting them from that side, and Izuku dried quickly. He got to watch his scales fade away, and his gills shrink. He got to hear his voice become more and more singsong like. And when he was human and bare, Bakugou gave him his shirt, and he pulled them up. He picked up his lovely burden in his arms and swung the both of them over the side and back onto the deck.

“Oi, Shitty Hair! Put the boat away!”

“Yes sir!” His crew was all smirking as they continued about their duties, Kirishima and Kaminari rushing to pull the boat over the side. They all knew better than to say anything, lest they wanted their heads bitten off by their irritable captain. But there wasn’t much that needed to be said, not when Bakugou strode easily across the deck with a beautiful man in his arms that was wearing his shirt, lovely bare legs hanging over the side, and pure wonder in his eyes as he gazed up at Bakugou. This wasn’t the first time they’d made this journey since they’d rescued their captain.

Captain Bakugou kicked the door to the lower decks open, angled his beautiful load so he didn’t hit the sides, and he disappeared below, not to be seen until the next day when they arrived at the island.

...........................................................................

The captain’s quarters was dark, lit only by candlelight. Yet it was hot, filled with their panted breaths, and the sound of the soft, rhythmic slapping of their skin.

Bakugou had his beautiful merman seated in his lap, those luscious legs curled up on either side of him, the thighs filling his grip. He grinned up at Izuku’s breathless face as he rocked up and watched the man jostle and gasp from his humping, thrusting prick.

How genius it was to keep his desk nailed to the floor. The ship tilted with the waves, but it wasn’t the first time he’d fucked on a boat. There weren’t any beds to lay on, just hammocks, and a chair wouldn’t do. So the desk it was. His hands traveled back, over Izuku’s plump, heavenly muscles, and his palms slid over his slippery hips, slick with sweat. He himself was hot and damp, his bare chest shining in the dim lighting. He watched those green eyes flick down to stare at him every so often. He couldn’t blame him. It’d been awhile since either of them had gotten their fill of each other.

“This what you been waiting for, Izuku?” Bakugou cooed, pulling his lovely burden even closer, feeling his cock buried deep in that hot, luxurious body. The body that rolled on top of him in time with his rocking hips. Fuck, it was so thick and tight, so all around him, squeezing him just so damn right. He’d missed this ass, this body, this face. His fucking hand wasn’t good enough, not anymore. Nothing compared to this damn, velvety glove that practically sucked him in and clenched down on him, trapping him in utter bliss. Like a damn siren calling his dick into the deepest depths and making it never wanna leave, making it happy to drown itself and suffocate inside of this hot, tight grasp. God, they used to do this almost nightly, hadn’t they? “Couldn’t go another day without it?”

Izuku groaned, his arms shifting around Bakugou’s neck as he held on for dear life. Bakugou’s thighs had him bouncing on his dick, and it was clearly taking its toll on his ability to form sentences.

“M… Missed you.” Bakugou’s chest warmed at that.

“Yeah? How long’s it been?” He asked, a bit softer, easing up on the pace. Maybe this guy had him losing his captain’s hard edge, but he wanted to hear that voice, wanted to see the spark in those eyes, see them focus on him and only him.

“One hundred and twenty-seven sunsets,” Izuku said with sudden and certain clarity. Bakugou’s lips twitched up in a smirk.

“’bout four months.”

“Too many,” Izuku lamented. And Bakugou laughed.

“Didn’t plan to get you addicted to my cock,” Bakugou breathed out, soaking in the incredible warmth around his throbbing dick. His fingers made divots in the plump flesh that cushioned the weight in his lap, and Izuku winced, before shaking his head.

“I missed you, Kacchan,” he groaned with his tight little voice, his brow scrunched up and sweaty. Somehow Bakugou was soft and hard at the same time. Though he had to question the truth behind the merman’s words just a little to feel him grinding down on his dick like he planned to embed it inside of himself and live the rest of his life with Bakugou as his new tail.

He closed the small distance between them and spoke lightly with his lips against the other’s. “I’m here, Izuku.”

With a slight whimper, Izuku rocked back eagerly on Bakugou’s cock. His body trembled from the excess of pleasure, and the merman lifted one leg up to set his foot firmly down behind the seated captain. He sighed as if in relief to feel Bakugou’s cock sink further into him, making sure to hit all the right places on the way in. Bakugou gave it to him; he fucked him nice and good, deep like he liked and at a steady pace, grinding in and watching his eyes begin to roll up, it hit him right there, each and every time.

Those arms draped over his shoulders, and those lips parted slightly, just before his own. That breath warmed his mouth and he drank it in, soaking in everything Izuku. And fuck, it was the merman that was getting it good, but Bakugou felt his damn heart melting to hear his angelic moans and see him, wearing the captain’s shirt, looking so good with the crimson cloth draping from his perfect form, and his sweaty legs on either side of him. He tried to keep it together for him, to give him what he needed, but Bakugou had needed him, too.

All of this to say that even though Izuku was close, it was Bakugou that bent forward, into the other’s body, overcome by his spiking pleasure so suddenly and intensely he couldn’t even think about pulling out. And his lovely Izuku held him close in his arms and pet the back of his head comfortingly, and he rode him through his orgasm. Fuck, it’d been too long indeed.

Izuku slowed, for him, and looked down at him, his eyes still hazy with lust, but they brimmed with pride and- they glowed, glowed like the sunlit sea. Bakugou looked up at him from beneath his sweaty brow, furrowed still from his pleasure, and he heaved from the weight of it.

“Fuck.”

He picked Izuku up and set him back down on the desk where he himself had been sitting. He knelt between Izuku’s thighs, thighs dripping with his seed, and he pushed them apart before taking hold of his cock and, looking up into that dazed face, he took it into his mouth. He sucked it, licked it, licked the head, the tip, the slit. Then he sank down on it, and heard that wonderful moan, nice and deep and luscious. Izuku lost all restraint and leaned back on his hands, tipping his head back and lavishing Bakugou’s ears with his beautiful mermaid pleasure. Oh, one of his delectable thighs crossed over Bakugou’s shoulder and the bare calf laid against his own sticky back. He reached up and gripped the outside of the meat of the leg and he slobbered on him, not giving a fuck about how loud he may be or the sloppy sounds he was making. His merman was beautiful as he approached his sweetest bliss.

Those moans turned to pure cries of delight, the most serene sobs of pleasure, until Bakugou was tasting him, that salty tang hitting him in the back of his throat, but he didn’t even jolt, just swallowed easily, readily, and then he carried the other through it.

Finally, they could just breathe. Bakugou heard those deep, gasping breaths as Izuku recovered from his climax, heard them calming slowly, steadily. Bakugou rose up and held his face as he pressed their foreheads together, and he breathed him in. He felt over the curve of his cheek with his thumb, and he studied the emerald flecks in his eyes. Words weren’t necessary in that moment, just the careful peace that settled between them.

When he could tell his merman was calm enough, he scooped him up in his arms and carried him away again. Izuku weakly clung to his neck, tired now compared to how he’d first arrived. Bakugou had really sucked the energy right out of him.

He took him to the hammock and awkwardly settled down into it with the both of them together. It would be hellish trying to get out, but just being in there was perfectly fine. He let his own legs dangle on either side while Izuku’s curled up in the empty space of the netting. The rest of him nestled into Bakugou’s chest, and the sea captain held him close in his arms.

Four months. Four months since Bakugou had felt this familiar weight on top of him. Four months since that heart-aching scent had filled his lungs. Four fucking months since he got to hear that warm, contented humming from that throat, and that sweet, sing-songy voice blessing his ears. And every time before that since he’d rejoined his crew had been equally long. He’d teased his merman for it, but he felt it too, the terrible ache of separation.

“Kacchan,” Izuku murmured after he was done humming, his voice soft and sweet. “Tell me where you went this time.”

And Bakugou lightly toyed with his curls as he told him about the adventures he and his crew had had in the past couple of months. His merman was an insatiable one, always wanting, craving more stories. But as they laid there, and Bakugou told him about all the crazy explosions they’d caused and the gold they’d earned and the people they’d pissed off, in the back of his mind he thought more about the future. About the wood they’d brought to start building up shelters and creating their own pirate base on an island that no one knew about. Yeah, four months was definitely too long. Maybe it was better than nothing, but Bakugou would make sure it never lasted that long ever again.

With Izuku quietly snoring on top of his pec, Bakugou brushed his curls aside and closed his own eyes, and the candles burned out on their own.