Chapter Text
The waning light of the full moon shone on the smooth surface of the Pacific. The briny water had shimmered a deep turquoise under the blinding rays of the sun, but in the pale moonlight, the endless depths were colored nearly black.
In the cabin of a moderate fishing boat on the smooth sea, men were clinking their imported beer, laughing, hardly a care in the world. Disregarding the acts they had been committing only hours earlier. Outlawed acts. As if nothing would come back to haunt them.
Wrong. Eight somethings had come back to haunt them.
“Hey, kid, make yourself useful and get us some more beer.”
“Y-yessir, Captain,” the young man called back, internally cursing his stutter.
He abandoned his half-empty beer at the edge of the table and made his way up the stairs and towards the stern of the boat. Upon sliding open the smooth glass doors, he was immediately chilled by the cool ocean air whipping against his bare face. He felt a shiver run up his spine, his blonde hair tousled back and forth by particularly strong gusts of wind.
Sighing, he closed the door behind him and made his way to the large cooler that they kept out on deck. The bright lights of the boat illuminated the deck, but almost all other light was swallowed in the seemingly endless abyss of the Pacific water. He allowed himself a moment to just appreciate the gentle waves, watching the water ripple and crash against the threshold of the boat. It was almost soothing, in a way.
Almost.
Exhaling deeply, the young man tried to dispel the irrational paranoia; but, no matter how hard he tried, the feeling of another pair of eyes on him wouldn’t leave. The man had turned around on multiple occasions, only to be met with nothing but the dark colored ocean. Annoyed at what he thought to be his overactive imagination, the young man slapped himself on the forehead to clear his head, before returning to the more important task at hand. Almost as if it were instinct, the young man began singing a soft tune to himself.
“My heart is pierced by cupid…”
The man recalled overhearing one of his crewmates singing the tune a few days prior. Intrigued by the melody, he asked his crewmate to teach him the words.
“I disdain all glittering gold…”
Begrudgingly, the men had agreed to teach him. It took him all of three minutes to completely memorize. Since that day, he’d often find himself humming it to himself while on the job (to the chagrin of many of his crewmates).
The young man stood up, a six-pack in each hand, and ready to head back inside.
“There is nothing can console me...” he looked at the moon, half hidden behind the clouds.
“But my jolly sailor bold.”
The crack of the beer bottles hitting the floor was deafening. The young man felt a cool liquid pool at his exposed feet, the deck reeking of spilled alcohol. Rather than pay that any mind, he stood frozen in shock. A wave of something washed over him, making his mind go fuzzy. Despite that, there was one clear thought that rang through his mind; that voice was deep, angelic, and most definitely not his.
Slowly, as if being observed closely by a predator, the young man turned around towards the open sea. He was met with deep and intense brown eyes and mousy brown hair peeking over the edge of the boat. He lightly ducked down at being discovered and began to swim back and away from the boat.
“Wait!” The young man pleaded. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was thinking, only that this man was beautiful and angelic and perfect and he absolutely didn’t want him to leave. It may have been the alcohol talking, but it was clearly clouding his judgment because he couldn’t have cared less. When the mystery man stopped backing away, he released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and creeped hesitantly towards the brown-haired beauty.
The young man stopped a foot from the edge of the boat and crouched down. Offering his best smile, he said, “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”
He meant every word of it.
Sensing the young man meant no harm, the gorgeous creature amongst the pitch black waves slowly edged closer to the rail of the boat, eventually coming to rest his elbows on the skirting of the deck. The young man may have been tipsy, but he swears on his life he saw a faint shimmer of pale blue in the otherwise colorless water.
As the mysterious beauty rested against the side of the boat, the young man took the opportunity to admire the rest of his profile. His face was soft yet defined, with the occasional water drop cascading down his face. His long brown lashes framed his deep brown eyes and lightly tanned skin perfectly. His plump lips rested in a neutral expression, but his eyes shone with curiosity.
Deciding to take the leap of faith, the young man inquired, “What’s your name?”
The mysterious beauty didn’t say anything, but the young man watched in awe as his lips curved upwards into a closed smile. It made the young man’s heart race. In the haziness of mind, the young man imagined what it would be like to kiss them.
“My name’s Takashi,” the young man said, trying to coax the gorgeous man into revealing his own name.
The man in the water licked his lips, gazing intently into Takashi’s eyes with something that looked a hell of a lot like lust.
“Tooru.”
His voice sent another wave of pleasant haziness through Takashi’s mind, and he found himself slowly leaning forward. Closer to the angel in the water. Closer to Tooru. All his thoughts were Tooru, Tooru, Tooru. Before he knew it, he was merely inches from Tooru’s lips. He could feel the hotness of Tooru’s breath, the dampness of his hair, the softness of his skin. It was euphoric, and he wasn’t even kissing him.
“Tooru,” Takashi said, testing the name on his lips, loving the way it felt.
Tooru giggled at Takashi’s eagerness. Slowly, he brought one hand up to caress his face, and Takashi leaned into the touch, chasing it as the brown-haired beauty withdrew his hand. It was then that Takashi decided that he’d do anything for the man in front of him. All he need do is ask.
Tooru gently took Takashi’s face in both hands, his thumbs delicately caressing the rosy, wind bitten cheeks. His hands were surprisingly warm for someone who’d emerged from the unforgivingly icy waters of the Pacific. Takashi let out a pitiful whine as Tooru began backing away. Almost involuntarily, he followed after the touch. Takashi knew he would follow Tooru anywhere for that touch. All the way to heaven. All the way to hell.
All the way to the edge of the boat.
He was leaning precariously over the edge, Tooru’s hands still softly encasing his head in a gentle embrace. Tooru was almost fully submerged, with only his head remaining above water. His velvety eyes were gorgeous up close. The dilated pupil in his eyes was encircled by a shining ring of simmering gold.
“Takashi?”
Hearing his name on Tooru’s lips felt other-worldly. Takashi almost blacked out from the rush of haziness that clouded his mind. Still, he responded, “Yes, Tooru?”
The man in the water smirked, almost like he knew exactly what his voice was doing to him. He continued to pull him towards the water as his lidded eyes drifted from his face to his lips with a predatory gaze. “What would you do for me?”
The answer was immediate. “Anything.”
Tooru smiled and Takashi smiled back, completely unaware of the seven other pairs of eyes observing them silently from the murky depths of the water. Suddenly, the gentle embrace of Tooru’s hands turned harsh, nails digging into his scalp with a vice-like grip. But that didn’t matter. Nothing would ever matter to him ever again, because Tooru’s lips were ghosting over his own and Tooru was smiling and Tooru was beautiful and Tooru, Tooru, Tooru.
“I know.”
Splash.
* * *
“Where the hell are the damn beers?”
“How am I supposed to know?”
“Idiots,” the Captain muttered under his breath. He yanked the cigarette from his mouth and snuffed it out against the make-shift ashtray beside him at the table. He raised a pointed hand at two men that were sitting at the bar, watching the affair with mild annoyance. “You two, go make sure that idiot didn’t fall overboard.”
“Yessir!” The men replied studiously. The Captain, merciful as ever, decided to pretend he didn’t hear the annoyed mumbling underneath their breath afterwards.
The party continued as if nothing had happened. The seven crewmates left were all laughing boisterously, and everyone (minus the Captain) was drinking like it was the end of the world. The Captain winced as he heard another loud smash of a beer bottle against the wooden surface of the bar. He made a mental note to take it out of the culprit’s paycheck if his precious boat was stained.
The Captain grew antsy when the two men he had sent away hadn’t returned even after a good twenty minutes had passed. One by one, the rest of the men below deck began to notice the prolonged absence as well. The volume had significantly decreased, being replaced instead by the men murmuring to and fro on what the possible reasoning the others had for taking so long. The theories ranged from falling overboard to pirates having taken over the boat.
Exasperated, the Captain looked at the bumbling men, annoyance etched into every crease of his face.
“Since all you pussies are so paranoid, go fuckin’ see for yourself.” He waved a hand towards the small set of stairs that the two men had ascended twenty minutes earlier. He almost snickered at the power struggle between fear and curiosity wreaking havoc on his employees’ mind.
Slowly but surely, curiosity won, and the men took turns ascending the cramped staircase.