@cerbykerby: today's short thought is: merm...

today's short thought is: merman wwx is being held in a lab for study and rehabilitation (he was injured by an illegal fishing net). he's a wild animal, yet still very intelligent, and the moment he lays eyes on marine biologist lwj, he decides that lwj is his favorite.

it is very easy to mistake wwx for human. he is incredibly intelligent and picks up quickly on patterns and words. then he does something like nearly bite off the hand of a careless employee (su she) and everyone is quickly reminded that he is still very much wild.

nonetheless, he is a good boy. trainable, but still dangerous. the biologists and rehabilitators enjoy working with him because he's so smart and cooperative (most of the time).

then lwj shows up one day and suddenly wwx is the least cooperative merman on the planet.

he's suddenly difficult to manage. he refuses to exit his tank for his weighing and physical exams, and he tosses his food back when it's feeding time.

the biologists are at a loss. they have no idea what can be happening.

then one day, wwx's feeding time falls on lwj's shift.

unlike the other times, wwx is already floating near the surface of his pool, waiting, when lwj hauls the bucket of fish over. he happily accepts each fish and horks them down gracefully.

when he's done, he nibbles on lwj's fingers. but when lwj tries to pull away, he bites.

lwj, texting: xiongzhang, could you please come to the lab

lxc: is everything alright?? has there been an accident??

lwj: everything is fine. wei ying has eaten, but i am stuck

lxc: how are you stuck

lwj: he's nibbling on my arm

lxc:

lxc: what

the team quickly catches on that wwx will only eat if it's lwj feeding him. some of the biologists whom wwx previously took food from are a little salty about it, but hey, at least wwx is eating.

lxc teases that wwx must like lwj very much to show such preferential treatment.

lwj does end up taking a short break from the lab because wwx started flaring his fins whenever lwj approached the tank and the team was worried that it was a territorial display.

wwx, who was doing a courtship display, finds this VERY frustrating.

when lwj returns to the lab, wwx no longer flares his fins at him. instead, wwx watches him very intently, as if expecting something.

(wwx has concluded that if lwj doesn't want to see a courtship display, then lwj should do the courtship display. it is only fair!)

unfortunately, lab protocols insist on a standard uniform for all employees when on shift. lwj wears his usual all-white labcoat.

it is very boring.

wwx huffs and retreats to the back of his tank, unamused and unimpressed.

he sulks until lwj comes over with his food.

as he swims close, he spots a flash of color; the fabric that lwj wears on his forehead has a bit of blue on it.

it's not much, but it is still pretty. wwx accepts the display.

reaching out, he snatches the fabric off of lwj's head.

lwj gasps and reaches for it, but wwx is very quick and he swims away with his forehead ribbon.

"Wangji!" lxc runs over. "Oh, no, Wangji—your forehead ribbon—"

"It is fine," lwj says hoarsely. "It is fine. He does not understand. I'll—I'll get it back during tank cleaning."

lwj: i can get my forehead ribbon back during tank cleaning. it is not an emergency

wwx: *inspects forehead ribbon*

wwx:

lwj:

wwx: *starts eating the forehead ribbon like a long noodle*

lwj doesn't think; he dives into the tank.

the water is both cold and salty, meant to mimic seawater as closely as possible. lwj splashes about at the surface, gasping, trying to regain his breath.

wwx, on the other hand, darts to hide among the coral.

wwx is spooked. courtship is always carefully held in neutral waters or at the borders of territories. merfolk would cross into another's territory only to fight for said territory or to commence mating.

and, well, wwx is not ready! this is VERY forward of lwj!

wwx swims out of reach, making nervous clicks and whistles. lwj may have been dense at first, but this is a bit much! wwx hasn't swam with him yet, nor have they preened each other or exchanged gifts. while wwx appreciates the sudden interest, he's simply not ready for babies!!

lwj does have to stop to take breaths, which is an advantage, but the tank is an enclosed space. no matter where wwx swims, lwj follows him, and whatever space wwx can fit through, so too can lwj.

wwx's nervousness grows into agitation. why is lwj still pursuing him? wwx has already made it explicitly clear that he does! not! want! babies! yet! will lwj only be satiated when he has forced his children on wwx?

or—or perhaps he wishes to fight wwx for territory?

finally, wwx has had enough. lwj has ignored every sign wwx gave him. wwx is nerve-wracked, stressed, and no longer pleased to have lwj so close.

turning around to directly face lwj, wwx bares his fangs and hisses, his fins and frills expanding, in a full-on territorial display.

the biologists outside of the tank go from nervous to all-out panicked. some of them rush up the stairs to the top of the tank to yell at lwj to leave the water immediately. another person grabs a shepherd's crook to pull lwj up.

lxc runs over with a long taser pole in hand.

lwj is not dumb, and territorial displays are very distinct; he immediately stops trying to catch wwx.

he can hear his coworkers yelling for him. he's about to swim back when he sees that his forehead ribbon is lying on the bottom of the tank, unattended.

he hesitates.

it's a mistake.

wwx slams his tail into lwj hard enough to send him crashing against the side of the tank. the sharp spines on his tail cut through lwj's coat.

the water surface sloshes, spilling over the tank's sides and onto the unfortunate biologists standing nearby.

// blood

for a moment, lwj doesn't move—stunned into stillness.

when he finally starts swimming to the tank's edge again, he leaves behind a watery trail of red that quickly disperses in the water.

at the scent of blood in the water, wwx's eyes widen, his pupils dilating.

as much as wwx enjoys being handfed and lounging about in his nice tank, he is still very much a predator—and the intruder in his territory is showing signs of injury.

without warning, wwx charges again.

one biologist screams in terror. another grabs onto lwj and pulls him up.

wwx does reach lwj before he can be fully pulled out of the water, but since wwx's intent is to drive the intruder off of his territory—not kill and eat him—he does nothing more than hiss as lwj scrambles out of the tank.

an ambulance arrives shortly after the incident.

at the hospital, lxc struggles to tell the nurses how lwj was injured; the world is not yet aware of the existence of merpeople, so lxc just says that lwj got hit by a car.

lwj's injuries are not serious. he has a few broken ribs and massive bruises, but he will be alright.

it takes a while, but lwj eventually recovers and is tentatively let back into the lab.

what is much slower to recover is wwx's opinion of lwj. not only did he completely lose interest in lwj's forehead ribbon, he now hisses whenever lwj goes close to him.

to avoid agitating wwx further, lwj is put on mostly lab work. the only times he is allowed near the tank is if wwx isn't in it or if wwx is asleep.

wwx is a crepuscular creature, but his strict feeding regime means he has learned to snooze at night.

or, so they thought.

lwj enters the specimen room late at night to retrieve a notebook on his desk, when he hears a low, warning hiss from the dark, unlit tank.

while the tank has lights along its floor, they are meant to be used only in cases of emergency. as such, the aquarium remains ominously dark, with the occasional flash of scales and skin whenever wwx moves close enough to the glass.

lwj swallows carefully and doesn't move.

eventually, the hisses stop.

water sloshes at the top of the tank, followed by the sputtering sound of wwx clearing his gills like he always does whenever his head goes above the surface.

lwj can see a bit of wwx's head on top of the tank.

lwj should leave. he has his notebook, and it is clear that wwx still harbors negative feelings about him. whatever thoughts of reconciliation lwj has may be purely one-sided.

lwj doesn't leave. instead, he slowly goes up the stairs leading to the top of the tank.

wwx hisses again as lwj gets closer, but it is short—nothing like the terrifying, extended hiss he makes when he's feeling threatened. lwj freezes and doesn't move until wwx quiets.

this happens three times, then lwj is seated at the platform at the edge of the tank.

"Hello," lwj says. it's standard procedure in the lab. wwx has learned enough about human mannerism and language that he gets mad if the human interacting with him doesn't greet him.

wwx gives a series of reluctant clicks in reply.

"I heard you were moody again today," lwj says, which is quite rude of him, but he doesn't know what else to say. nobody is quite sure how much wwx understands of their language, but it is well-documented that wwx likes to be talked to.

wwx stares at him.

"I am sorry," lwj says. "I shouldn't have jumped into your tank and scared you. I was so focused on getting my ribbon back that I neglected your comfort." he holds his hand out, palm-up, but not over wwx's head. "I hope you may one day forgive me."

wwx blinks and looks at lwj's hand. he moves closer and presses his face into it. his gills sputter again as he exhales water.

lwj doesn't dare move, not even when wwx begins nibbling on his wrist. wwx's teeth are quite sharp.

he does take the opportunity to slowly thumb the skin under wwx's chin. while wwx's scales are touch and smooth, his skin is surprisingly soft.

wwx makes a small noise and continues with his nibbling.

it's kind of cute, if a bit painful.

the mermaids of legend are said to be entrancing creatures, capable of luring men to watery deaths with their beauty and songs.

while wwx is unearthly beautiful, he certainly wasn't luring lwj in any manner. he was simply nibbling.

it's lwj's fault for losing his balance.

the water in the pool is even colder than lwj remembers. the shock of it steal's lwj's breath, making him panickily swim for the surface.

he quickly finds the ladder leading out of the pool, but his limbs won't cooperate. all he can do is hang onto the rungs, gasping.

he hurriedly wipes the saltwater out of his eyes and looks around for wwx. the last time he was in this pool, it ended with him in the hospital.

the water is dark. very dark. and the surface is still turbulent from lwj's splashing. lwj can't see anything.

meanwhile, wwx is below the surface, circling around the perimeter of the pool, his eyes never leaving lwj.

he's not quite sure what to make of this. he was fully prepared to chase lwj away again, until lwj returned to… make amends? wwx isn't sure. there was no gift involved.

but lack of gift aside, it would seem that lwj knows what he has done wrong. he did not try to invade wwx's space again.

well, up until he went into the water again, but this time, he's staying at the edge of it.

wwx weighs his options. he could drive lwj away again to make sure lwj understands the rules of territory, but lwj is not advancing any further into wwx's territory, and he has his back facing wwx—leaving himself vulnerable and open to attack.

yet if wwx doesn't drive lwj away, then lwj may get it in his head that wwx's territory is something he can intrude on as he pleases. that simply won't do.

then again, lwj did accept wwx's preening. perhaps he's still amenable to the possibility of being mates.

just when lwj recovers and is about to pull himself out of the pool, wwx's head pokes out from beneath the surface directly in front of him.

lwj swallows the urge to panic and instead goes very still, avoiding wwx's gaze. the last thing he wants is for wwx to attack again.

wwx doesn't hiss. instead, he just moves closer.

lwj doesn't know what to make of it. on one hand, no hissing is always a good thing. on the other hand, wwx may not feel the need to give warnings to a repeat intruder. he may attack again.

when wwx leans forward, lwj can't help but flinch, already anticipating the snapping of teeth around his ear.

he does feel teeth, but it is much lighter than he expected. he also feels lips, oddly soft and warm.

wwx is nibbling on his neck.

lwj does not know what to make of this. is wwx… tasting him? to see if he would be good to eat? but wwx has nibbled on him before. surely wwx would have established by now if lwj was worth eating or not.

unsure what to do, lwj just. stays there. and endures the nibbles.

perhaps 'endures' is not the right word.

'suffers' may be more adequate.

lwj was not aware that his neck is so sensitive. he squirms a little, head tilted away, his breaths deepening.

meanwhile, wwx has discovered that human skin is, hm, quite thin compared to mer skin. if he's not careful with his preening, he may hurt his potential mate.

he lessens his nibbling intensity and uses his lips to soften the contact.

lwj makes a sound that wwx decides he likes.

ideally, lwj would also be preening wwx, but for now, this is good. perhaps lwj has learned from his transgression and wants to go slow—which is fine. wwx likes the noises he makes.

once he's finished with lwj's neck, wwx pulls the collar of lwj's shirt to expose his shoulder.

the skin on lwj's shoulder is, sadly, also quite thin—but wwx can feel how much strength lies in the muscles beneath. he makes a pleased, rattling noise in his throat.

experimentally, wwx opens his mouth fully and gently bites down onto the meatiest part of lwj's shoulder.

the bite on lwj's shoulder doesn't hurt, but it is enough to jolt lwj back to reality. he immediately pulls away and grabs onto the ladder, climbing out of the pool as quickly as he can manage with soaked clothes.

wwx makes a high, distressed call. his tail smacks the water.

lwj has never heard wwx make that sound before. he hesitates.

nonetheless, he makes himself leave the pool. he grabs a towel and dries himself off. he can still hear wwx making that same distressed sound, presumably trying to call him back.

the moment alone gives lwj some much-needed clarity.

was he just about to—what was he *thinking*? wwx wasn't kissing him. he was—well, lwj isn't sure what he was doing, but it would be a grave mistake to assume human characteristics in wild creatures.

and for lwj to gain some pleasure from it—god, he'd confused wwx for a lover—was wrong and cruel of him. he'd taken advantage of wwx.

when he finally emerges with dry clothes, he finds wwx waiting at the pool surface, staring at him in silence.

lwj wants to ignore him and go home, but just as hello's are standard procedure when dealing with wwx, so are goodbye's. wwx can get stressed if he is not notified of someone's departure.

"Goodbye, Wei Ying," lwj says.

wwx makes a low sound similar to a groan.

despite his gut feeling, lwj makes himself go over to the tank. he reaches up towards wwx.

wwx smooshes his face against lwj's hand, nuzzling and making soft, rapid clicks in his throat.

"I'm sorry," lwj says. "It won't happen again, I promise."

wwx goes still.

then, without warning, wwx opens his mouth and latches onto lwj's fingers.

lwj can't help letting out a yell, but it quickly dies off when he realizes that wwx is not biting his fingers off. yes, there's teeth there, but wwx is primarily holding him in place with suction.

"Wei Ying," lwj scolds. "Bad. No. Stop. Let go."

he uses words that wwx should understand, yet wwx's hold on him doesn't let up. either lwj's coworkers were mistaken, or wwx is deliberately disobeying.

lwj is at a loss. he fears that if he tries to free his hand, wwx may bite.

wwx, on the other hand, seems perfectly content to just stay there with lwj trapped against his tank. he doesn't bite, but lwj is definitely going to find teeth imprints on his hand once he frees it—hopefully, that's the worst lwj will see on his hand.

lwj takes a moment to think. "Are you keeping me trapped here as punishment, or is it for another reason?"

wwx suckles contently on lwj's fingers to keep the suction strong. he blinks at lwj.

"Another reason," lwj concludes. "Are you… hungry? But you've already been fed."

wwx's behavior doesn't change.

"In pain?" lwj guesses. "No, if you were in pain, you wouldn't act like this. Are you bored?"

wwx blinks again. he is notorious for being easily bored, so his days are filled with a frankly ridiculous amount of enrichment activities.

"Maybe you're lonely," lwj says. "I would be lonely too, if I were surrounded by strangers who couldn't understand me."

the suckling stops. then, wwx releases lwj's fingers with a wet 'pop' sound.

"You are lonely," lwj concludes, rubbing away the teeth marks on his hand.

wwx makes a small grunting sound.

"What would help?" lwj asks. "A companion? Or do you want to go back to the ocean?"

wwx eyes him warily from the top of the tank. he makes a series of clicks.

"I can't understand that," lwj apologizes.

wwx scoots over to the tank's edge. then, slowly, he reaches a hand over the top of the tank and down towards lwj.

lwj takes his hand. wwx's hand is webbed between the fingers, but his hand is very much like a human's.

wwx holds onto lwj's hand gently. he repeats the clicks.

lwj nods, although he does not entirely understand. "Alright. I'll see about getting you a companion for your tank," he says.

wwx pauses, then his gills sputter louder than usual. he releases lwj's hand and dives back into his tank, making sure to splash lwj in the process.

soaked once more—yet relieved that wwx is merely annoyed and no longer angry at him—lwj bids wwx goodnight, dries himself off as well as he can once more, and drives home slightly damp.

lxc is in his bathrobes when lwj enters the room. "Wangji! Your dinner is in the fridge—oh."

lwj looks at his brother.

lxc stands there, his gaze darting all over lwj's body. "What… happened?" he asks weakly. "Why are you all wet? Did you not have a change of clothes on hand? And *what in the world* happened to your neck?!"

lwj covers his neck with his hand. "This is my change of clothes," he says. "Wei Ying got me twice."

"Twice!" lxc gasps. "Heavens, Wei Ying has it out for you. I need to see about getting you work in another lab."

"No!" lwj shakes his head. "The matter has—been resolved."

lxc looks unconvinced. "Wangji," he says gently. "It looks like you got attacked again. If you did, then you must file a report. It would protect both you and Wei Ying."

lwj shakes his head again. "Wei Ying did not attack me," he says. "I—fell into the pool. He didn't bite."

slowly, lxc pulls lwj's hand away from his neck. he's quiet as he examines lwj's neck.

"No broken skin, at least," lxc sighs. "Still, I would notify the lab and let them know to offer Wei Ying more teething toys."

wwx has plenty of teething toys, but lwj says nothing.

the next morning, when they go to the lab, they find the team crowded around the tank.

lwj and lxc rush over. "What's going on?" lxc asks. "Is Wei Ying alright?"

"He's alright, we think," one of the researchers answers. "He's just, um…"

lxc and lwj peek over everyone's heads.

wwx is lying at the bottom of his tank, which is a big deviation from his usual routine. he's… it's difficult to tell. he's squirming? writhing? but he doesn't seem to be in pain. rather, he seems very focused on the sand beneath him.

"What in the…" a researcher next to lwj mutters.

lwj also stares in confusion. what in the world would wwx be doing that is so important that he would ignore his handlers? perhaps something was wrong with the sand?

"He's building a nest," nhs says.

a quiet, thoughtful, collective 'ohhh' spreads through the lab employees—followed quickly by questions and speculations. why would wwx be building a nest, and why now? his latest physical exam showed nothing out of the ordinary.

the team decides to go over their observations since wwx's last exam to see if they can narrow down a reason. so far, nothing. wwx has acted his usual cheeky self.

"We could check the cameras," a lab assistant suggests. "Maybe something happened last night."

lwj's first thought is: 'oh, right, we have cameras.'

lwj's second thought is: 'oh. right. we have cameras.'

his blood drains from his face so quickly that his vision blurs for a moment. he stumbles a little.

lxc quickly catches him by the arm. "Wangji? Are you alright?"

"There's a camera," lwj manages to say.

"Yes." lxc nods. "For security and observation."

"There's a camera," lwj repeats. "What does it capture?"

"What?" lxc blinks a few times. "Uh, it would capture video, I presume. Maybe audio as well?"

"Audio," lwj repeats faintly.

he has no idea how sensitive the mics are, but—oh, heavens, he was not quiet last night. he was certainly not quiet.

he could perhaps explain why he was in the pool and how wwx landed so many nibbles on his neck, but he can't explain the audio.

"I need to sit down," lwj says.

"Of course, of course." lxc helps guide him to his desk. "I'll let you know what the cameras show."

"Don't." lwj cradles his forehead in his hands. "I can ask later if necessary."

"O-okay." lxc steps back. "Do you need anything? Water, perhaps?"

"I'll be fine," lwj answers weakly, then reconsiders. "No, on second thought, I would like some tea."

lxc nods. "Of course. Stay right here. Lay your head down."

lwj watches as lxc hurries to the break room. at least this way lxc is spared the initial viewing of the tapes.

because lwj is cursed—absolutely cursed—the team decides to review last night's tapes on one of the researcher's desk, just a little ways away from lwj.

the team crowds around, exchanging observations and jotting down notes. there's much chatter.

then the chatter fades.

lwj has his head down on his desk, but it is quiet enough that he can tell that the recordings, mercifully, do not contain audio.

but it is not enough to hide the truth. even facing away, lwj can feel heads turning to look at him.

he starts mentally writing his resignation.

the silence is broken by nhs.

"Wangji-xiong?" nhs whispers; the room is so quiet that his voice is deafening. "Did you fuck the fish?"

before lwj can begin to answer, there's a loud gasp behind him. he turns just in time to see lxc drop a cup of hot tea on the ground, pieces of ceramic shattering everywhere.

"What!" lxc doesn't seem to care that there's scalding tea all over his shoes and pants. "Wangji!"

"Sorry, Xichen-xiong, but it *is* kinda what it looks like." nhs spins the laptop around. "Here, look at—"

"Don't!" lwj orders.

lxc stops in the middle of walking over to nhs. he looks back and forth between nhs and lwj. "Could one of you tell me what's going on?" he demands.

nhs squirms a little and takes a step back. everyone turns to look at lwj.

there are so many eyes on him. lwj does his best to not look away.

"I wished to amend matters between Wei Ying and me," he says, "so I went to his tank last night to apologize and speak with him."

there's a scoff and an eyeroll from su she. "Oh, please, as if the specimen would understand—"

"Shh," one of his colleagues shushes him.

"He seemed comfortable, so I stayed," lwj continues. he tries his best not to fidget. "Then I fell into the pool."

"And?" lxc prompts.

lwj is certain his ears are burning. "Then—I suppose Wei Ying got curious. I didn't want him to have another unpleasant experience with a human in his tank, so… I stayed still."

"'Curious' is one way to put it," nhs chuckles as he looks at the laptop.

"And that is it," lwj says. "That is all that happened. I did not…" he lets himself uncharacteristically trail off. he can't bring himself to repeat nhs's words.

nobody in the room speaks as lxc goes over to the laptop and hits the replay button. there is a very long silence.

after an absolute eternity, lxc slowly closes the lid of the laptop.

"I believe Wangji did not intend to alter Wei Ying's behavior so much," lxc says, "but the truth of the matter is that Wei Ying likely interpreted the interaction differently."

"It's just a hypothesis," lxc continues wearily, "but I believe Wei Ying may have taken an interest in Wangji, hence why he is… nesting."

"Um," nhs whispers, "Xichen-xiong—"

"I don't know what to do about this," lxc sighs. "I should notify the higher-ups of this incident."

"Xichen-xiong," nhs whispers, a little louder.

"Wangji, it is likely that you may be removed from this project altogether." lxc rubs tiredly at his temples. "I will try not to let that happen, but—"

"Excuse me," nhs says, louder than usual, "but Wei Ying isn't nesting anymore."

a tense silence descends. then, slowly, everyone turns to look at the tank.

wwx is right by the glass, his body coiled like a waiting predator's, motionless. he stares directly at everyone, his eyes wide and unblinking.

there is no telling how long he has been watching.

"Wangji-xiong," nhs whispers, "Wangji-xiong, do something."

lwj isn't sure what he can do, especially when wwx looks so human that it's inhuman.

for all this time, they'd assumed that they were studying wwx. they'd failed to consider the possibility of wwx studying them, too.

and what a wealth of knowledge wwx must have: how they move, how they speak, what sort of habits they have, what pushes them to the limit, how easily their bodies bruise and break, how helpless they can be underwater.

without thinking, lwj walks over to the tank.

"Wei Ying," lwj says as he places a hand on the glass.

despite not being able to hear him through the glass, wwx's gaze snaps to lwj.

"It's alright," lwj says slowly. he doesn't know why he thinks wwx can read lips; it's just a hunch. "I'm alright."

wwx stares at him unblinkingly, before turning around and swimming back to his half-finished nest. he resumes digging into the sand.

lwj exhales slowly as conversation returns to the lab team. many are discussing wwx's unsettling behavior. others are talking about lwj.

"I don't think Lan Wangji should be allowed to stay with the project anymore," su she says loud enough for everyone to hear. "It is unnatural for him to be *that* close with the specimen. I don't want us getting in trouble just because he violated animal cruelty laws."

"Come on, Su She," one of the researchers whispers, "Lan Wangji didn't—"

"You saw it, I saw it, everyone saw it!" su she hisses. "That sick bastard *enjoyed* the specimen's attention! Who knows? Maybe next time he'll purposely damage the cameras to have his way with the fish."

"Now, now, Su She," nhs pats him on the shoulder, "there is no need for you to get jealous just because Wei Ying didn't choose you."

there are a few snickers at that. su she turns red in the face, "You should watch your mouth—"

"No, I think you should." nhs nods towards the tank. "You never know who might be listening."

su she glances at the tank. wwx had gone to the water surface to accept some extra seashells from a lab assistant and is watching su she, his eyes beady.

su she scoffs. "Don't tell me you're treating the specimen as if it's human. It's not, and it doesn't understand us. You're just finding an excuse for Lan Wangji."

nhs shrugs. "Suit yourself. I, for one, don't think an opportunity to study mer mating habits will come again."

"I won't do it," lwj insists. "I refuse to play with Wei Ying's feelings for the sake of research."

su she shoots him a disgusted look. nhs, on the other hand, merely hums.

"It is your choice, of course," he says. "But just having you around may help Wei Ying cooperate."

lwj considers protesting. he does not like the thought of using wwx's affection for him as a tool for his cooperation during tests and exams.

"I understand if you say no." nhs shrugs. "But agreeing would ensure you don't get kicked off the project as an anomalous influence."

lwj hesitates.

from the tank area, he can hear wq trying to coax wwx onto the tarp hammock they use to take his weight. usually, wwx is cooperative with enough promises of food and new toys.

today, he hisses lightly at wq. he has never hissed at wq before.

"I will speak with my brother on this," is all lwj can promise at the moment. then, without another look at nhs or su she, he goes up the metal stairs to the top of the tank.

wwx stops hissing the moment he sees lwj and swims closer, clicking and whistling in greeting.

lwj kneels down and offers his hand. "Hello, Wei Ying. We need to take your weight now. Could you hold still for a moment?"

wwx doesn't seem to be listening. he's too busy nuzzling and nibbling on lwj's hand.

"Wei Ying," lwj repeats. "Listen, please."

wwx stops in his nuzzling. his gills sputter in a way that is very much like a human's resigned sigh, then he shimmies over to the hammock.

wq throws lwj a knowing look as she helps pull wwx onto the hammock and lift him out of the water.

being wwx's pretend mate turns out to be difficult, actually.

lwj quickly learns that wwx expects a gift every single day, without exception. soft and squishy things suitable for the nest are the best. shiny pretty things are good. food is high risk, high reward.

wwx's appetite is a mess. he now refuses his usual fare, insisting on fattier, more expensive fish. since their budget doesn't account for such drastic changes in wwx's diet, lwj takes it upon himself to buy him the quality of fish he desires.

it all went well until, one day, nhs decided to feed wwx a takis chip as a joke.

then wwx demanded nothing but takis chips for an entire week straight.

a platform is built at the edge of the tank, about two feet deep into the water, to allow for easier access to wwx without intruding in his territory.

wwx hated it with every fiber of his being until he learned that he could interact with lwj more easily on it.

there are a few awful days where wwx picks up the bad habit of swimming onto the platform and yelling at the top of his gills until someone fetches lwj for him.

"I know you want my attention," lwj tells him, "but you can't do that. People are working."

wwx spits water at him.

lwj very rarely wears his lab coat anymore; he's usually in a wetsuit and on the tank's platform—often with a happy wwx draped across his legs.

wwx has been having trouble sleeping the past few days, but he dozes off easily in lwj's lap.

he can't sleep with his head above water for some reason; he keeps snorting himself awake.

the first time it happens, lwj can't help chuckling. it earns him an extra-hard nibble on the jaw.

from then on, wwx sleeps with his face in the water. it's a little unsettling.

the days go by, and lwj learns more and more about wwx. he knows what wwx likes, what he doesn't, and how to read wwx's body language.

in turn, wwx learns more and more about humans in a way that both fascinates and frightens lwj.

it is far too easy to attribute human characteristics and intelligence to an animal—yet, sometimes, wwx does something that catches lwj off-guard.

such as one day, when su she is being his usual obnoxious self, wwx turns to look at lwj and deliberately rolls his eyes.

lwj has no idea where wwx learned that, but it could be proof that wwx 1.) understands them, and 2.) knows enough about human expressions and interactions to accurately emote disdain and annoyance at su she.

or wwx could simply be mimicking them. nothing more.

((should probably mention from this point onwards that there are talks of wwx being eggnant and giving birth soooo here's your warning))

wwx's medical exams come up clean. ultrasound scans reveal that he is indeed developing a clutch of eggs within him.

as lwj endures yet another round of nhs's teasing that he must have slept with wwx at some point or other, wwx quietly watches the ultrasound image on wq's screen.

"Well, would you look at that," wq says, "it's your babies."

wwx makes a soft, soft crooning sound.

"Not quite babies yet. Almost-babies," wq corrects herself as she moves the ultrasound wand. "I don't think they're fertilized."

right on cue, wwx turns to look at lwj. he clicks and whistles at him.

nhs snickers.

lwj wills his ears not to turn red. he fails.

still, wwx shows no indication of wanting lwj in his territory yet—which is for the best, because lwj is still torn on what to do.

many of his coworkers are curious about what would happen if the two of them were to try and have children, but it is purely scientific curiosity.

none of them seem the least bit concerned about what would happen if the process fails—and it is very likely to fail.

wwx would be devastated. it may even harm his body. he put a lot of effort into his nest and diet, all for the chance of having offspring.

and if they do, somehow, create children together? there's no guarantee they would even survive for more than a few hours, a few days. they may even be in great pain.

and—if they survive, if they thrive, then what would they be? who would they be?

lwj is not blind. he knows that many of his colleagues' curiosity about a possible interspecies hybrid stems from their belief that wwx is not human—that he does not possess the ability to reason and empathize. they believe any offspring of theirs would be equally nonhuman.

should they succeed, lwj's colleagues would deem it the scientific success of the century. they would call the little ones wwx's offspring. spawn. brood. they would forget that they are lwj's children, too.

and, selfishly, lwj doesn't want this. he wants children of his own. a family. a home. a spouse to stay by his side and help raise their children.

he doesn't know what instincts would drive wwx should they succeed in reproducing. would wwx keep him away from their children?

would wwx turn into a stranger before his eyes, done and satisfied with the offspring lwj gave him and no longer having any use for him? it's not unusual for animal fathers to not be involved. it's not even a guarantee among humans themselves.

lwj knows that personally.

it is late. everyone else has gone home from the lab, but lwj is still sitting on the platform, wearing his wetsuit.

wwx is on his lap, dozing peacefully. his shoulder and part of his cheek is above water. nhs likes to call it wwx's 'corpse time'. lwj disapproves of the name.

the platform is a little hard to see on the camera, and lwj has angled their bodies so that his back is to it. nothing will be seen.

he strokes wwx's cheek. "Wei Ying," he whispers.

wwx exhales through his gills, too slow for a sputter. it emerges as a buzz instead.

"Wei Ying," lwj tilts wwx's chin up gently with his hand. "It is late. I must leave soon."

this time, wwx does manage a gill-sputter. he blinks sleepily up at lwj, then makes a low, whining noise.

lwj's chest squeezes around his heart. "I'll be back tomorrow, you know that."

wwx shuffles until he's almost sitting upright, his head resting heavily against lwj's chest.

he likes to do that often. lwj hypothesizes that it's because wwx enjoys listening to his heartbeat.

lwj strokes his fingers slowly through wwx's hair.

lwj doesn't know what compels him to speak; guilt, perhaps. maybe even grief.

"We can't do this," he whispers. "You know we can't."

wwx doesn't move. he doesn't act like he heard, but lwj knows he did.

"This can't be what you imagined." lwj holds wwx's hand in his own. "Concrete walls, fluorescent lights, the constant gazes—none of those are good for children. None of those are good for you."

finally, wwx lifts his head. he turns to face lwj and places a hand on his chest.

lwj squeezes wwx's hand. "I cannot follow you into the sea any more than you can follow me onto land. Even if our children somehow survive, where would they go? Which of us would they follow?"

wwx blinks, but he doesn't break eye contact. he has never been so silent before.

"I'll speak with my brother about starting your release process soon." lwj looks away and shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore. I want to, more than anything—but I cannot. Not to you. Not to our children."

wwx doesn't move or make a sound for a very long time—long enough that lwj wishes he never would, so that they could both stay here, suspended in eternity.

then wwx tilts his head, his gaze steady, but soft. it's a very human-like movement.

lwj waits for him to attack, or claw, or bite—the way wwx always does to show that he's upset.

wwx leans forward, pressing their torsos together, his arms wrapping around lwj's waist. he kisses lwj, very gently, on the lips.

then, without a sound, he slips back into the tank.

lwj waits, but wwx doesn't come back up.

when lwj changes into his clothes and gets ready to go home, the tank is dark, without a hint of wwx's grey eyes or red and black scales near the glass, where he usually would be.

lwj drives home in a daze.

the next day, when lwj arrives at work, people are gathered around wwx's tank again.

"What happened?" he asks a nearby researcher.

the researcher opens their mouth to answer, but nhs beats them to it.

"Wei Ying's nest is gone," nhs says. "He must have destroyed it overnight."

lwj elbows his way through the crowd to the tank. sure enough, the nest wwx has so carefully tended to for the past few weeks has been destroyed, bits and pieces of it scattered around the tank.

wwx himself is tucked away among the coral, unmoving.

above the tank, wq hurriedly slips into chest waders and climbs into the platform, smacking the top of the water to call wwx to the surface.

"He may be sick," she says as she puts on a facemask and gloves. "I'm going to check on him."

to everyone's shock, wwx complies and swims over to her without resistance. he stays patiently still and quiet on the platform as she weighs him, takes his temperature, and feels around his body.

"He seems fine," she says, her brows furrowed.

it's only when she conducts an ultrasound scan does her expression change. "His eggs are gone."

"What?" nhs's voice is unusually high. "Gone? What do you mean 'gone'??"

"I don't know." wq continues scanning. "Maybe he reabsorbed them, or maybe he laid them and then ate them."

"But why?" nhs wails. "He was looking forward to them! He clearly wanted them!"

"I don't know," wq repeats. she sets the ultrasound wand aside. "Lan Wangji, could you come here? I think maybe Wei Ying could benefit from your company."

there are few things lwj would like to do more. still, he doesn't move.

he swallows once. twice. inhales. "I think," he says, "it is about time that we release Wei Ying back to the ocean."

there's a beat of silence. then the room erupts into a jumble of protests.

"But we don't know enough about his species yet!" one researcher yells.

"This is my job! I can't lose my job!" another protests.

"I wanted to see what the babies would look like," nhs pouts.

lwj hardly pays them any mind. he just looks at wwx.

wwx pulls away from wq and slips back into the tank. the conversation in the room dies off as he swims over to the glass edge and peers over it, looming over the lab team members.

his mouth opens. his throat moves. at first, nothing happens.

then, very faintly, "I…"

it is obvious that wwx is not used to speaking. he sounds too slow, too breathy, too reedy, as if speaking requires all of his concentration. nonetheless, his words are clear.

"I… want…" wwx says, "to go… home."

to say the team lose their minds may be an understatement.

nhs shrieks so loudly that wwx startles and dives down into the water. a few others join him. one researcher has to sit down, her face pale. another flat-out faints, saved from a concussion by a quick-thinking coworker.

"I *knew* it!" nhs hollers, then points at one of his coworkers. "Pay up, dumbass! I was right!"

"You are all overreacting," su she argues. "He's just repeating what he hears—"

"Well. Shit," wq mutters to herself, sitting on the edge of the platform.

the rest of the day passes in an odd mix of anxiety and excitement. wwx spends most of the time hiding among the coral, since researchers keep approaching the tank to try and coax him to speak more.

many of lwj's teammates go through their own ways of processing: excitement at wwx's speech capability, worry over their own careers, guilt at holding an intelligent species captive, denial of events, doubt over wwx's sentience, and anxiety over what the future holds.

for lwj, the relief is bittersweet. finally, wwx will get to go home to the ocean, where he will be free, never again to be bound by concrete walls and glass.

it is unlikely lwj will ever see him again.

the subject of releasing wwx drags on for weeks, then months. not everyone is convinced of wwx's level of intelligence, and there is no telling how long it may be before another of wwx's species comes into contact with humans. many insist that letting wwx go would be a waste.

during that time, wwx picks up a healthy collection of words.

he still doesn't speak much—maybe only a word or two every week or so—and it's impossible to tell when he feels like talking.

a subgroup of researchers attempted to make him talk in an effort to prove that he has intelligence and sentience on-par with humans, but wwx proved nothing beyond what they already knew: that he was a difficult creature to work with. he stayed stubbornly silent.

that's not to say wwx is not without surprises.

one day, one of the researchers—an immigrant from italy—accidentally spills his coffee on his desk. "Ah!" he gasps.

"Cazzo!" wwx chirps from all the way across the room, in his tank.

the researcher's eyes briefly light up with awe—only to be replaced with horror as he slowly turns to look at a staring lwj.

"I wasn't—I didn't teach him that," he sputters.

"He listens to every word spoken in this room," lwj says. "You did teach him."

it becomes a rule to watch one's words when in the specimen room. whispering becomes a norm.

nevertheless, wwx picks up more and more words. somehow, lwj's birth name is among them.

"Lan Zhan!" wwx squeals one morning when lwj arrives at the lab.

lwj nearly trips over himself.

nobody calls him 'lan zhan'. his brother calls him 'wangji' and his coworkers address him by title. there is no way wwx would know his birth name, unless…

upon noticing lwj looking at him, nhs makes a very unsubtle getaway from the specimen room.

wwx struggles at times to properly pronounce words. more often than not, his words dissolve into frustrated clicks and whines before he resorts to his usual methods of communicating what he wants—by yelling or splashing.

he never struggles to pronounce lwj's name, though.

it is bittersweet. wwx calls lwj often. sometimes it feels like wwx just likes saying lwj's name, repeating it until it sounds like noise.

despite the repetitiveness, lwj listens every time wwx says his name—because one day will be the last day he hears it form wwx.

resistance to wwx's release grows as time passes. lxc tries his best to convince the higher-ups that wwx needs his freedom, but it is of little use. he returns to lwj with his shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry, Wangji," lxc shakes his head. "They said no."

lwj hates that a part of him is relieved, hates that he has the perfect excuse to keep wwx a little longer, to deny him the ability to leave lwj's side.

"I see," he says. "Thank you for your efforts."

there's a very long pause.

"You know," lxc whispers, "I could—put in a request for wwx to be moved to a larger facility, for his comfort."

lwj shakes his head. "He deserves to return home."

"I know," lxc hums. "Accidents during transportations are rare, but not impossible."

lxc is as much of a rule-follower as lwj is, so it takes lwj an embarrassing long time to realize the weight behind his brother's words.

"It won't be easy," lxc admits, "and—it is very likely you will lose your job. And that is if you don't get caught. If you are caught…"

if lwj is caught, then his career would be over. he would never be trusted with studying rare specimens again. more than a decade of studying would go down the drain.

"Thank you, xiongzhang," lwj bows his head. "I am forever grateful."

lxc merely smiles and pats his shoulder.

that night, lwj stays late to tell wwx the good news.

"Brother will try to grant us an opportunity to set you free," he whispers. "It's risky, but it will get you home."

wwx, who has been enjoying the feeling of lwj massaging his scalp, says, "Home?"

lwj nods. "Yes, home."

joy lights up wwx's eyes. he shuffles closer to lwj. "Home." he presses himself against lwj's chest and nuzzles his neck. "Home."

"Yes, the ocean," lwj doesn't know why he feels the need to clarify. "We'll get you home, to the ocean."

the fins on wwx's tail quiver in a way that means he is getting stressed. "I want to go home," he insists.

"I know," lwj says. "And I will get you home, I promise."

"Ocean?" wwx demands.

"Yes," lwj nods.

wwx smacks the water surface with his tail.

lwj is at a bit of a loss. "Don't you want to be free again?"

the frills at the sides of wwx's head flutter, but he answers, "Yes."

"Then you will be free," lwj promises. "No more walls."

"No more walls," wwx echoes reluctantly. "No more, no more."

to lwj's great relief—and dread—the day comes when lxc excitedly lets him know that they've gotten approval to transfer wwx to a larger facility.

there is much to prepare. the research team will also be moving, so days at the lab are very busy with securing files and data.

lwj helps wq get wwx accustomed to being in a wet sling. it is important that wwx remain calm, still, and comfortable for the length of the purported journey to the new facility. while wwx can breathe air, he still needs to be kept damp to be comfortable, so there are sprinklers.

at first, wwx fusses. he doesn't like being constrained, and he doesn't like being out of water against his will. it takes many treats and soothing talks to get him to calm down and behave.

much too soon, the day of the transport arrives.

wq, wn, and nhs are tasked with helping lwj with the transportation. wn is set to drive with nhs sitting shotgun, while wq and lwj accompany wwx in the trailer.

safe in his sling with wet towels draped over him, wwx calls out softly to lwj. he's a little jittery about the truck.

lwj doesn't leave his side for a second. his hands remain cupping wwx's face for the entire ride. at this point, he hardly notices wq; there could be 20 people in the trailer, and he wouldn't care.

"Soon, Wei Ying," he tells wwx, forcing his voice past the lump in his throat.

wwx turns his face to nuzzle against lwj's palm. his warm lips plant a dozen little kisses against lwj's hand.

it takes every effort for lwj to not sob. instead, he leans down and presses their foreheads together.

"Be good, be safe, and live well," he says. begs. prays.

"Be… good, be safe… and… live well," wwx repeats slowly. he doesn't quite get all the words, but lwj understands him all the same.

"I will if you will," lwj replies. "Promise me."

there is no telling if their definitions of promises match. nonetheless, wwx says, "Promise."

too soon, wn pulls the truck into a viewpoint off of the coastline highway. he opens the trailer door with a sad, apologetic smile.

"Here we are, Dr. Lan," he says. "There's a trail here leading down to the beach, but it's a bit steep. Jiejie and I can help you carry him down."

and so it is decided. as they remove wwx's sling from the tank, nhs joins them in the trailer to say his goodbyes.

"I'm going to miss you, you big, dumb, fish," nhs wails. he plants a rather loud kiss on wwx's hair and is rewarded with a face full of water.

"Thank you for your help," lwj says to nhs. "This means a lot to me."

"Ah, I didn't really do anything." nhs wipes his face off with the edge of his shirt. "Wen Ning did all the driving. He's a bit of a slow and paranoid driver, but he got us here safely."

"He is a decent driver," lwj agrees. wwx had been very comfortable in the trailer.

"Yeah." nhs yawns; it is the middle of the night. "Really needs to take a chill pill, though. He kept seeing pedestrians, cats crossing the road, and cars following us, yadda yadda."

lwj's eyebrows reach for his forehead ribbon. "Cars following us?"

"Yeah, Wen Ning said he saw them." nhs wraps his wool scarf around his shoulders like a blanket. "But we took a few right turns and they were gone, so it's fine. It's past his bedtime, so he's probably tired."

lwj peers down the road they came from. it's completely silent. they are the only ones there. the entire reason for a nighttime transport was to avoid traffic and other cars.

"I can drive on our way back," lwj says, "so Wen Ning can take a break."

"You're the best, Wangji-xiong," nhs sighs. "I'll stay with the truck and keep a lookout. I'll radio you guys if anything happens."

lwj nods. "Very well."

the gravel under his shoes crunch as he walks to the back of the trailer. "Alright, let's go," he says to wq and wn.

the trail down to the beach is narrow, steep, and completely unsuited for carrying a large marine creature down on. lwj has to carry his flashlight in his mouth to illuminate his path as he steps carefully, desperate not to accidentally drop wwx.

wq and wn follow behind him, supporting wwx's tail. wn keeps nervously saying, "That's it, you're doing great. Good boy," to wwx.

wwx, thankfully, stays obediently still. he does give a small squeal every now and then when lwj's footing slips, but he doesn't squirm.

finally, they're at the beach.

they set wwx down near the waves. wq groans and cracks her back as wn kneels down in front of wwx.

"Goodbye, Wei Ying," he says, daring a quick hug around wwx's shoulders. "Be safe out there, alright?"

wwx chirps at him.

then it's wq's turn. "Goodbye, and good luck," she grumbles, patting wwx on the shoulder. "I'll be monitoring this beach for the next few months, so, if you need anything, just come back."

wwx manages to land a play-bite on her arm before she pulls it back and scolds him for it.

finally, it's lwj's turn.

lwj doesn't so much kneel as collapse on the sand in front of wwx. "Here we are, Wei Ying," he says. "You're home, now."

"Home?" wwx asks hopefully.

behind them, wn and wq quietly retreat to grant them some much-appreciated privacy.

"Yes," lwj lifts a hand to point at the dark waves lapping at the sand. "Home."

wwx's gaze follows his finger. he looks back at lwj and shuffles closer. he places a hand on lwj's chest. "Home."

"No." lwj can already feel his throat tightening. "I'm sorry. I can't be your home."

wwx's tail starts to twitch. "Home," he repeats. "Lan Zhan."

"I cannot let you," lwj insists. "Wei Ying, you won't be happy on land. On land, there are—walls, with very little water. You wouldn't be able to truly swim. It would be a cage."

"No," wwx wails, fins flaring.

it hurts lwj to see wwx upset.

"I cannot trap you," he argues. "I can't. You may want that now, but you will grow to hate it. This will—" he has to stop to clear his throat of tears, "—this will hurt, I know. But you will be free. And this will all just be a bad memory for you."

"No," wwx says louder, his tail swishing in the sand as his hands grip tightly onto lwj's arms. "No! No, no, no! I not nat—" he hisses with frustration and tries again, "—do not—want it! Home, please! Lan Zhan!"

"I'm sorry," lwj chokes. "I'm sorry, Wei Ying. I'm sorry."

wwx is holding onto his arms tight enough to hurt, but it somehow hurts lwj more to pry his fingers off.

wwx wants to hang on, but he also doesn't want to hurt lwj. he sobs loudly as he repeatedly grabs onto lwj every time his hands are pried off.

"I'm sorry," lwj whispers, his face wet. he feels jumbled, scattered all over the place. his hands are simultaneously pulling wwx off of him and reaching to caress his face. "I'm sorry. We never should have kept you from the ocean for so long. I'm sorry. I love you. Forgive me."

wwx begins shrieking. "Lan Zhan!" his nails drag down lwj's arm, painful and sharp. "Lan Zhan! Get lost!"

the words fall like a punch to lwj's gut, knocking his breath out. he falls silent, stunned, shocked.

but wwx isn't looking at him. he's looking up, and behind lwj.

too late, lwj notices the extra shadow on the ground.

too late, he turns around.

he barely recognizes someone's outline before something strikes him across the head. hard.

the world spins. his body fails, and he collapses to the ground. the last thing he hears is wwx wailing.

((content warning: this next part of the threadfic makes mentions of trafficking and the black market. none of it actually ends up happening, but it is talked about and the characters perceive it as a real threat. pls proceed with caution))

a heavy splash of ice-cold water jerks lwj out of unconsciousness so quickly that he nearly falls back into it.

"Look at that, he's still alive. Are you happy now?" a voice he does not recognize says.

lwj tries—and fails—to move. his wrists and ankles are bound.

it takes him a while to realize that the swaying isn't just from his headache; he's on a boat—a fishing boat, if the smell is anything to go by.

"I won't be happy until we get paid," a voice that lwj does recognize answers, "and that won't happen if the specimen is damaged."

lwj forces his eyes open. it takes a while to blink the water out of his eyes, but his vision clears.

he's on the floor of the interior of a boat. standing over him is a strange man missing a finger, and su she.

of course, lwj thinks dizzily. the cars that were following them.

"And—what—having this man nearby will keep the 'specimen' calm?" the strange man scoffs. "We should've just grabbed the beast. No one would know."

"There is evidence that the specimen considers this man to be its," su she makes a face, "'mate'. They'll keep each other calm."

the strange man rolls his eyes. "And what do you expect to do when the others notice that this one—" he nudges lwj with his foot hard enough to be a kick, "—is missing."

"They'll just assume the beast dragged him to his death," su she says dismissively.

the stranger chuckles in a way that makes the hairs on the back of lwj's neck stand up. "Hey, do you think he really fucked that beast?"

su she makes a vague half-shrug movement.

the stranger seems to take it as confirmation. he cackles with shock and glee.

cw// mention of necrophilia

"Man, that's fucked up," the stranger laughs, then nudges lwj with his foot again. "You're fucked up, you know that? If you wanted to fuck something that cold, you could've gone with a corpse. Much easier to acquire."

lwj refuses to react.

at his lack of response, the stranger's grin morphs into a scowl. "How boring. I hate stoic types."

without warning, the stranger stomps down on lwj's stomach. lwj can't help an involuntary gasp as pain temporarily blinds his vision.

"Xue Yang!" su she snaps. "Don't do that!"

"Or what?" xy taunts as he stomps on lwj again. "You gonna report me to his big brother?"

su she doesn't get the chance to answer; a terrifying high-pitched shriek pierces the air, making su she cover his ears and xy make a face.

a heavy net thrown over what lwj had assumed was a large crate shakes. bits of water spill over the sides as something within hisses and snarls.

"Ooh, would you look at that!" xy chuckles. "It didn't like that one bit. Guess you weren't kidding about this whole 'mate' thing."

"Cut it out, Xue Yang," su she snaps. "Stop antagonizing the specimen. It will absolutely be your fault if it ends up hurting itself."

"Relax, relax." xy grabs lwj and hoists him onto a chair. "See? Now he's in full view of the beast. That should keep it calm, right?"

su she scowls as he tightens down the net over the metal tank. "I hate working with you."

"The feeling's mutual, sweetheart," xy sneers as he ties lwj to the chair. "I'm going to head up. Are you coming along, or are you going to…" he looks pointedly towards the tank.

su she's face darkens. "Why would I do that? That thing's feral."

"Come on, I know all about your dumb inferiority complex," xy cackles. "Since the second son of the Lan family fucked the beast, I thought perhaps you would also like to."

"You're disgusting," su she snaps.

xy's laugh as he leaves the room is loud and unpleasant.

su she checks all of lwj's restraints and tightens a few. "Bet you regret caring so much about the giant fish, don't you, Lan Wangji?" he sneers. "Although your misled affection made things easy for me, so, thank you."

lwj says nothing. while he is disappointed to find that su she is working with traffickers, he's not surprised. in hindsight, he regrets not keeping an eye on su she.

when lwj doesn't react, su she grabs him by the face. "You think you're so much better than me, don't you?"

"You, with your fancy degree and connections and appearance—you can't even stand to look at me, can you?" su she's grip tightens. "Perhaps with your death, your brother will learn to stop flaunting your family name everywhere."

a low, rumbling growl emerges from the tank.

that makes su she back off. he glances at that tank before scoffing. "Once Wei Ying is sold to the highest bidder and the discovery of his subspecies is revealed to the world, I'll ensure everyone knows that you couldn't resist having inappropriate intimate relations with him."

and with that, su she storms out of the room and slams the door on his way out.

with him gone, lwj finally lets out a sigh. "Wei Ying?" he calls, a little hoarsely.

there's movement in the tank, then the net tents where wwx pokes his head up. "Lan Zhan," he replies.

the relief lwj feels at seeing those familiar grey eyes peering through the net is immense. "Are you hurt?"

"No," wwx replies, then pauses. "Lan Zhan is har—hurt?"

lwj shakes his head, then remembers that there's dried blood on his face. "Only a little," he answers.

maybe it was a mistake to tell him. wwx makes a low, trembling sound of grief. "Lan Zhan," he moaned. "Hurt."

"It's alright, it's alright," lwj hurries to reassure him. the chair scrapes along the floor as lwj fights to drag it closer to the tank. "I'm not bleeding anymore."

lwj decides to change the subject. "How are you?" he asks. "I can't see you."

wwx's head momentarily disappears back into the tank. there's the sound of sloshing water, then wwx's head reappears. "Small water," he answers. "Spicy."

lwj isn't sure what 'spicy' means.

"Are you in pain?" he asks.

wwx shakes his head. "Hungry," he answers.

hungry? that's not right. wwx shouldn't be hungry; lwj had personally ensured that wwx was fed over twice his usual amount of food in case he struggles to adjust back to hunting his own food in the sea.

"I'm sorry, Wei Ying, I don't have food for you," lwj says, looking around. "I think this is a fishing boat, and you're in a live well. There may be another one on the other side of the room. Perhaps it contains fish."

"Don't want fish," wwx mutters. "Want human flesh."

lwj doesn't speak for longer than he would've liked. the truth is he doesn't know what to say. wwx has never shown a penchant for anything other than seafood and takis. never once had lwj considered him to be a possible man-eater.

and the only human in the room is lwj himself.

"Wei Ying," lwj finally brings himself to say, "you cannot eat humans."

wwx, concerningly, does not respond. he goes back down into the tank. there's the sound of more water sloshing, then the tubes leading into the tank start moving erratically.

there were a few (fine, more than a few) incidents where wwx accidentally (or not-accidentally; it's difficult to tell) flooded the lab simply by playing with the tubes leading into his tank.

wwx's special talent for causing trouble is the reason the lab tank's filtration system is kept out of his reach, away from possible tampering.

the fishing boat they're in has no such safeguards, and wwx is no longer just curious; he's actively seeking to sabotage.

there's not much room in the cramped, small tank he was shoved in, but he can still move his tail. he slams it against the side of the tank as hard as he can.

the tank shudders. water sloshes over the top and onto the floor.

how promising.

wwx slams his tail against the side of the tank again, and again. he takes hold of the tubes inside the tank and yanks hard. more water spills over the edge.

the tubes break. the tank side shudders and folds in one place. water begins pouring out of the tank.

as wwx hits away at the side of the tank, he tastes something new in the water.

it tastes horrible, foul and dark. wwx pops his head out of water to breathe air instead and notices that the room is tilting. the water he'd spilled is gathering on the other side of the room.

lwj had managed to free just his hands using a sharp bit of metal wwx had knocked free from his tank, but he was unable to stop himself from sliding towards the water on the other side of the room. it's not deep enough to drown him, but he is struggling to free his legs.

wwx hesitates, unsure what to do next. the ship is tilting—which is good—but lwj is on the side towards the ocean—which is not good.

just when he decides to wait for lwj to free himself, there's a shout nearby.

"What the hell's going on down there?"

the door swings open.

in walks xy, who makes a face when he sees the room filled with water. "Fuck. I knew it was a bad idea for Su She to insist that we bring you. 'Mate', my ass. 'Keep the specimen calm', my ass."

he draws a gun from a holster on his hip and aims it at lwj.

wwx shrieks and begins thrashing about, but the net over the tank doesn't budge, and the metal side is moving too little with each blow of wwx's tail.

"You're a lot of trouble, you know that?" xy wades through the water towards lwj, the muzzle of his gun pointed at lwj's head.

"Move," xy orders, jerking his head towards the door. "Get your ass out or someone will get it for you."

with his hands above his head, lwj slowly wades his way towards the door.

from within the tank, wwx cries out in distress.

lwj can't help it. "Wei Ying, it will be alright."

xy makes an incredulous sound. "Ah, the stoic one finally speaks. And it's to comfort his little fish wife. How touching." he jabs the muzzle of the gun in between lwj's shoulder blades. "Walk."

wwx stops struggling. he watches through the gaps in the net, helpless, as lwj and xy walk out of the hold. there's a long, uneasy silence.

the walls of the ship are thick—but not so thick that wwx misses the sound of a gunshot, followed after by something hitting the water.