Title: Seaweed is Always Greener [Sora/Riku]
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Summary: Sora sneaks Riku into his undersea palace and his nest. Mer Sora AU.
AN: Written for Shiritori. A follow-up to What a Catch, where Sora is courting human Riku unsuccessfully and ends up turning him into a mer with magic-drugged tuna.
Seaweed is Always Greener
“I don’t know what you want from me,” Roxas said, scowling. “I’m not a magician. As soon as you set fin inside the palace everybody is gonna notice…” Roxas eyed Riku, trying to hide behind Sora despite his larger size and flashy fins. “All of that thing.”
“Don’t call Riku a thing,” Sora protested. He squeezed Riku’s hand, clutched tight in his own. “You just have to be a distraction until i get him into my nest. It’s just for tonight! We’ll go see Namine first thing tomorrow, I promise. Father’ll never know!”
Roxas eyed Sora, expression flat.
“Pleeeeeease?” Sora wheedled, eyes going big and liquid. “You know you’re my favorite brother, right?”
Roxas gave in with an aggravated sigh. “I’m your only brother, coral brain. Fine, I can probably distract Lea but only for a couple minutes, so you better hurry it up.”
“Once we’re past the main gate, I can tell anyone who asks that he’s a new servant I’m showing around.” Sora waved off Roxas’s concerns.
“Yeah, that’s completely believable,” Roxas said, looking Riku over from silver hair down to his neon sidestreaks and trailing crimson fins. “He’s so common-looking.”
“Oh, go on, go,” Sora clicked in annoyance, pushing at Roxas’s shoulder.
They waited until Roxas had the gate sentries good and distracted with a winding story about a feisty octopus, and then Sora darted around the corner and through the entrance, Riku bobbing along behind him like a toy jellyfish.
Despite Roxas’s skepticism, there were enough people going about their business inside the palace, going this way and that, that Riku didn’t draw much attention despite his striking appearance. Sora slowed to a normal, if determined pace, and they swam through corridor after corridor until Riku was thoroughly lost.
“It’s like a huge maze,” Riku murmured, wide-eyed at the beautiful decorations. Bioluminescent lamps were strung all over, the walls were carved in fantastic patterns and set with pearls and shells, and urns were filled with vivid arrangements of anemones and sea grass.
At last Sora came to a circular door with the royal crest carved into the door, and pulled Riku through it with a trill of relief.
“Finally! Here we are,” Sora said, shutting the door and slumping against it with relief. “You should be safe in here, servants have to ask permission before they come in.”
“This is your room?” Riku asked, looking around in even more wonder. It was smaller than he’d expected for a prince’s room, but safe and cozy. Sora flitted between several bioluminescent lamps across the ceiling, turning them up until the room was lit warmly in their glow. The walls were carved with dozens of shelves, containing all sorts of items from shells to scrolls to rocks to Riku had no idea what.
“My nest, yeah,” Sora answered, settling on the edge of a bigger niche in the wall. This one was full of soft sea grass and brightly colored fabrics; Riku guessed Sora slept there. Sora watched as Riku examined the items on one shelf. “Do you like it?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Riku murmured, still looking this way and that. Eventually his gaze settled on Sora, noticing the restless flicking of his tail fins. “Is it ok that I’m here? You know, alone with you?”
Sora looked puzzled for a second, then grinned in understanding. “Oh! You aren’t damaging my honor or anything. That sort of stuff is casual here, unless it’s mating season.” Sora patted the spot next to him. “Come here?”
“That sort of stuff?” Riku prompted, swimming closer, hovering just within Sora’s reach. He knew what Sora was talking about, but liked the way Sora looked down shyly, fins fluttering coyly.
“You know the kind of stuff I mean,” Sora murmured. Then he paused, gaze coming back up to Riku’s. “Right? I mean, have you ever—”
Riku darted forward and interrupted by pressing his mouth to Sora’s. Like before, it was electric, heat spreading through Riku’s chest and making his fins flare. When Sora wrapped arms around Riku’s neck to cling closer, Riku shivered and clutched at his hips, tracing fingers along the line where skin met scales. Having gills meant Riku didn’t run out of air as Sora crushed their mouths together more insistently.
Eventually, Riku pulled back just far enough to say, “I haven’t, before, with anyone else. You?”
“I’ve never snuck anyone into my nest,” Sora answered. It wasn’t a no, but Riku could live with that given the amount of magic and effort it had taken Sora to get him back here.
A smirk curled the corner of Riku’s mouth. “Technically, I’m not in your nest yet either—”
With a surprising amount of strength, Sora yanked Riku up and over so that they rolled down into the cavity of his nest, sea grass puffing up in all directions. They landed nose to nose with Riku on the bottom, Sora grinning down at him.
“You were saying?” Sora challenged, looking way too delighted with himself. Riku laughed, or tried to, but startled himself by trilling loudly instead.
“Yes, yes, you’re very strong and clever, no wonder you’re the prince,” Riku said, the sarcasm blunted by how Sora squirming against him felt strange and amazing. “Now that you got me here, what will you do with me?”
