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He usually didn’t hunt sea creatures, but he was hungry and sometimes the beaches were laden with easy prey. He was quick enough that he had snagged seals before, sinking his fangs into their yielding flesh and poisoning them before they could get away. The poison acted quickly, even if they did escape into the water again they’d never make it far enough that he couldn’t uncoil and swim his way out to get them.
At first he thought it was a human when he saw it, laying on a rock that half rested on shore and half remained in the water. He would eat humans on occasion, but usually avoided them unless he was really hungry. He wanted them to worship him and fear him and leave him offerings. If he ate them all who else would tend to the temple?
Even so this human was a different color than the others; he could see that as he slithered closer. It looked like his skin was light purple, with slightly darker freckling around his shoulders. Wavy dark purple hair cascaded over his forehead, but it looked like the rest of his hair was black, with two dark purple horns half nestled in the locks. His head rested in his arms and as Sollux watched a dolphin tail flipped up in the water behind him and slowly lowered again, reentering the water with a soft slap.
Sollux grinned slowly. Not a human then, a mertroll. Well, this certainly was going to be an exotic treat, he had never had one of those before.
He struck without biting him, instead grabbing the mertroll’s shoulders and pinning him to the rock as his long tail quickly whipped around his target’s torso. He instantly started fighting back with a gasped “W-what?!” and thrashed around. He was strong but Sollux was stronger, and his tail completed the loops quickly. The mertroll was his. He didn’t even stand a chance.
It didn’t stop him from trying. “What the hell?!” he roared with fury as he lashed against him. “Let go of me, who the hell do you think you are! Do you have any idea who I am?!” he looked up then, and saw Sollux’s grinning face, and his face drained of color. “You’re a naga,” he breathed.
“Very,” Sollux returned, moving in close. The mertroll flinched away, drawing back as far as he could with a coil crushing his torso. “And you’re my lunch.”
The mertroll went still and Sollux could study him closer now. He was young, just beginning to fill out into his adult body by the looks of it, with wide yellow eyes that stared up at him with anger and not a little fear. Full lips trembled and pointed fin-like ears twitched. He could see the webbing between his fingers, and the golden rings that pierced through that webbing. That caught his eye... He was a well-off mertroll then.
He was still lunch.
He began dragging the mertroll towards the forest, using his hands and back part of his tail to move so that he wouldn’t have to drop his food. Yet again the mertroll began to struggle. “No, stop! I demand you put me back! My name is Eridan Ampora, and I am a prince! I order you to cease this immediately!” he started to pound his fists against Sollux’s tail in earnest.
Sollux brought him around to face him with a twist of his tail. “And I order you to shut up and stop struggling or I’ll bite you right now,” he bore his teeth at the mertroll, flashing his fangs. The mertroll stared, swallowed, and obediently went limp.
Sollux continued on his way, making it to the tree line. He knew of a grassy clearing that was not too far away, which would be a perfect place to enjoy his meal.
The mertroll began to speak again, in a low voice, quick and desperate. “Please. I can give you anything, I can get you anything you want. All the riches of the sea could be yours if you’d just let me go.”
Sollux snorted and didn’t even bother to look at him. “Like I need that, the humans leave me enough tribute. If I put you back in the water, you’ll never come back. I’m not stupid.”
The mertroll fell silent.
Sollux reached his clearing. He dropped the seadweller into the grass, unwrapping his tail and coiling it in a lose ring around him. The mertroll pushed himself up on his hands as he stared up at the naga. Sollux could see he was trembling.
“Any last words Mr. Eridan Ampora, prince of the seas?” he mocked. “Any last tribute you’d like to pay to your god?” Yes, he was an asshole. He liked doing this, the few times a human had pissed him off enough to eat. They’d usually blubber at this point, begging him to spare them, or their families, or their lovers. He made a show of studying his claws, bored. The mertroll had only seconds left, and he expected the blubbering to start any moment.
Instead the mertroll surprised him. A hand fell on the top of Sollux’s scales, right near where they faded into his human torso. He looked down, an eyebrow raised and the mertroll pressed his hand against the barely visible slit that nestled between his scales. That hand was trembling but there was a determined look on his face as he looked up at Sollux from between his purple bangs. “I can prove I’m good for something more than just eatin’,” he said.
Sollux raised both eyebrows now. “Really?” he said, somewhat surprised. He be lying if he said his anatomy didn’t perk up in interest at that. The mertroll began to pet at his slit and the slight bulge that had begun to form there.
Hm. He considered it. “I’ll just eat you anyway once you’re done,” he said, amusement in his voice.
Eridan’s hand faltered, just a bit, then resumed and the determined look didn’t fade. Intriguing. Sollux cocked his head to the side as he watched the seadweller work, his one arm supporting himself as he touched him with the other, brows knit in concentration. His breathing was still fast, too fast. He was scared, but he didn’t give up.
Sollux let himself slide out, just a bit, his cock nudging past the slit, emerging into the webbed fingers. The naga stiffened. He did not want the mertroll’s claws anywhere near his delicate flesh. Not only that, he had seen that mouth full of sharp little teeth, which would be just as deadly.
He grabbed the mertroll and hoisted him up by his shoulders, throwing him bodily to the ground. Eridan gasped as he fell, trying to curl in on himself.
Sollux was on him in a second, grabbing him by the throat. “What are you playing at?” he hissed. He glanced down the length of the mertroll’s body. “You don’t even have a hole to fuck,” he added.
Large yellow eyes stared up at him for a moment, and then he blinked and blushed a darker purple. “I do,” he said. He swallowed, and one of those shaking hands descended to the area just after where his tail began. As Sollux watched he began to rub, and he could see now that he had a thin slit as well, only visible on close inspection. Slowly, the slit grew and then began to open. It was much the same as his own, he realized, especially as he watched the mertroll’s own dick start to slide free.
Sollux grinned. It looked like there was more than enough room down there for him to lodge his cock into him. He lashed out, grabbing the mertroll’s hand and pinned him again, this time by his wrists. He lowered himself, sliding against the mertroll’s dick briefly, before he was able to wedge himself inside just a bit.
The mertroll surged under him, his mouth open in a silent gasp. Sollux smirked and uncoiled his tail as he pushed deeper. He felt slick and cool inside, and almost unbearably tight.
He didn’t bother waiting very long before he began to move in and out. He could feel the mertroll twist in his grasp, an aborted move to get away, then go limp.
When the naga glanced at his face he could see Eridan had purple tinted tears rolling down his cheeks.
"You’re crying,” Sollux mused. “Is it because it hurts or because I intend to eat you once I'm done?"
The mertroll turned his head to the side. “It doesn’t hurt,” he said after a pause.
Sollux grinned, opening his mouth to bare his fangs again. “Are you sure?” he said, and leaned down so that his teeth pressed against the mertroll’s neck. The movements of his lower body made his teeth glide over the sensitive throat. “I can make it hurt.”
The mertroll let out an answering sob that came out as a half gasp. Sollux pulled away slightly to bring his hand up, stroking the mertroll’s cheek. “More tears,” he said, sounding pleased. His long black tongue slipped out, licking them off his other cheek. The tears didn’t stop. The mertroll’s eyes shut tightly, his breaths coming out in shallow gasps. The seadweller obviously knew he was doomed as soon as Sollux finished using his body for pleasure, and the naga was hit by a sudden urge to pet him, to reassure him and to sooth his tears away.
What a stupid thing to think about your food.
He hoisted himself up, bringing the other with him, repositioning them so that the mertroll lay against him, half on top of his tail. He brought clawed hands down, grasping Eridan by his upper arms, holding him steady as he began to slam up inside of him. The mertroll’s erection had begun to wane, but Sollux didn’t care. Right now all he cared about was getting off in something wriggling and alive. He was the only naga he knew, so he didn’t have much of a chance to ever do this. He grinned at his prey, only to find his eyes were still tightly shut and his teeth clenched. He brought his tongue out again, wrapping it around that delicate neck, feeling the gills flutter and his rapid pulse. He hissed and the mertroll shook, a full body shudder. He hissed again in pleasure. Another slam, and then another, and he was coming, filling the prince to the brim and more. He could feel it leaking out around his cock, the tight passage unable to accommodate all of him.
He let go of the mertroll slowly, allowing him to slump to the ground. The seadweller twitched, half curling into himself defensively, tail fin flopping weakly against the side of his coils. Yellow tinted cum leaked out of him, coating the front of his purple scales in a beautiful compliment.
Sollux studied Eridan for a long moment until he chose to do something that surprised even himself. He leaned down and gathered the mertroll up in his arms, holding him as he brought his face down. Slowly, he licked at the violet slit, running his long tongue along it. The seadweller gasped in his arms and he held him down as he continued to work, cleaning him out. Once that was done he returned his attention to the mertroll’s dick, which was back to standing at full attention. He licked at that too, tongue curling around its length. A small moan escaped Eridan’s lips and he covered his mouth quickly with his webbed hands. That just spurred Sollux on further. He sucked and licked, lavishing attention on the cool smooth organ until the mertroll began to tremble and heave. He managed a strangled protest and that was the only warning Sollux received before he was coming. The salty sweet taste of it reminded him of the sea.
He swallowed it all and licked him dry, then raised his head in order to grin at the mertroll, showing off his fangs. Eridan stared back at him as he tried to regain his breath. Sollux reached out, gathering the seadweller up in his arms. He shook as Sollux held him against his chest, the poor creature far less vibrant and defensive now. He tightened his grip and began to move, weaving his lazy way through the grass. The mertroll’s hand came up, grasping his shoulder as he curled closer, still shivering, small whimpers of fear he wasn’t quite able to keep to himself leaking from his mouth. His tail moved anxiously back and forth, fin hitting his scales.
.
He made it back to his temple and deposited the mertroll into the large freshwater fountain that sat at the front of the temple. The prince blinked at his now underwater state, then rose to the surface again with one quick sweep of his tail. “What are you doing?” he gasped. He wrapped his arms around himself defensively and Sollux could see he was trying very hard to look stubborn and not actually fearful.
Sollux shrugged. “Keeping you fresh for later,” he said. With that he slithered away, leaving the mertroll to stare after him in incredulous disbelief.
.
He went hunting closer to his temple, scoring himself a couple small kills, enough to sate his hunger for a short time. He thought nothing of leaving the mertroll alone in the temple fountain. He was far enough away from the sea that he’d never be able to make it back there at a crawl. Being unable to walk put him at a distinct disadvantage.
Sure enough, the mertroll was still in the fountain when he got back, curled up at the very bottom.
Sollux studied him for a long moment. A realization began to form in his mind.
He didn’t want to kill the mertroll. Eridan Ampora. He’d better start thinking of him by his name. He didn’t want to kill or eat him. He was exotic, he was a good lay, and he looked good against the gold plating of his fountain. If he could get Eridan to swim around a bit he’d make a great addition to his temple.
Sollux made a hand motion at him to rise to the surface. The mertroll just looked up at him and offered him his middle finger from the bottom of the pool.
The water wasn’t all that deep, a few feet at most, but it was enough that it’d be irritating to crawl in there and get him out. Sollux considered for a moment, then heaved a sigh and pushed himself over the side of the pool, slipping down into the water.
Eridan was instantly on alert. He uncurled and started swimming, darting to and fro in the water. He was fast. He was also stubbornly remaining at the bottom of the fountain. Sollux made a face and dove down towards him. He got a tail fin to the face for his efforts.
The chase lasted longer than Sollux expected. He was starting to need air. He let out a huff of bubbles and began to rise - only to be jerked back.
Eridan had an arm around his neck. Sollux cursed mentally at letting his guard down like that as he thrashed, hands rising to dig his nails into the mertroll’s flesh. Purple welled up from his arms, tinting the water, but Eridan didn’t budge. He was like a solid weight holding him down. Sollux faintly recognized the feeling of a tail beating the water to keep him under. He tried to wrap his own tail around the mertroll, but was quickly beaten away by a surprisingly strong strike. He felt himself slowing, limbs growing heavy, and he stared at the surface of the pool, only a couple feet above his head but so far away.
He did the only thing he could think of; he let himself go completely limp.
Eridan held on to him for a few more seconds, then slowly began to relax, loosening his grip. That was his mistake. Sollux struck.
He only saw the look of shocked horror on the mertroll’s face for a second before he embedded his teeth into his shoulder. A second later he had turned around and surfaced with a giant gasp of air. Eridan tried to grapple for him but Sollux sideswiped him with his tail and clawed his way out of the pool.
He sat on the edge, panting for breath. ‘Note to self,’ he thought, ‘Do not try to engage a sea creature in its natural habitat’.
He peered down into the pool. The mertroll stared back up at him, an expression of betrayal on his face and a hand to his injured shoulder. Sollux felt remorse, which was odd, seeing as Eridan had just tried to drown him.
He hadn’t wanted to poison him, however. He frowned and reconsidered. He hadn’t bitten him long. He had been much more concerned with breaking away and getting back to the surface. It may have not been enough to kill him.
Eridan let himself sink to the very bottom again and curled up in a tight ball. His tail jerked from time to time but otherwise he didn’t move, despite the pain Sollux knew he was currently feeling.
Sollux also knew how long it took for the poison to take effect. A few minutes later he grabbed a deep breath and slipped back into the water, knowing Eridan was no longer a threat to him.
Eridan still fought weakly, lashing out blindly as Sollux approached. Sollux wrapped his arms around him and propelled them to the surface. Seconds later he was dragging the mertroll out of the pool.
Eridan was half sobbing now as he fought. He was babbling and Sollux could only pick up on some of the words. They appeared to be just repetitions of “don’t eat me” over and over.
He had begun to slow down by the time Sollux had reached his nest. He slithered up among the lavish linens and cloths, placing the still wet mertroll in the center and coiling his tail around him. Eridan shook and rolled towards his tail, biting at it, but he was too weak to fight any longer.
It seemed to take forever for the mertroll to stop convulsing and slip into unconsciousness. Sollux felt along his neck for a pulse. It was still there, elevated and weak, but he was still alive. Sollux allowed himself to fall into an uneasy sleep, tail never leaving from where it curled about his captured prey.
He woke up with hands pressing into his throat.
The grip was weak and Eridan’s eyes were fever bright. Sollux merely leveled a glare at the mertroll. “Stop it already,” he hissed at him. He knocked Eridan down again with the end of his tail and the seadweller rolled onto his back. He let out a moan of pain, shivering so hard his teeth clacked. The flesh around his bite was raised and swollen an angry dark purple. Sollux reached down and plucked the mertroll up, holding him to his chest as he settled back again. “Don’t make me bite you again,” he said.
He knew that Eridan heard him from the way he stiffened and started to repeat “no, no, no,” under his breath. Sollux pressed his chin to the top of his hair.
“If you survive I won’t eat you,” he added, and he could tell the mertroll could understand him through his fever due to the way he seemed to give up and go limp.
.
It took two days for Eridan to recover enough to really move on his own. Sollux made a trip to town to get a net, something that the humans there were more than happy to hand over to a god in exchange for not being eaten. He then made his way to the river and fished. He caught more than a few on his first haul and was faintly impressed. He ate one, and decided it wasn’t so bad, before he turned and took the rest of his catch back to the temple.
He paused by the pool to gather up a jug of water before continuing back to his nest. Eridan was curled up again, but his color was better. Sollux carefully began to pour water over the seadweller’s skin.
Eridan made a faint noise of pleasure and Sollux flushed briefly before going back and grabbing a couple of the fish.
Eridan looked surprised as he dropped them beside him. For a moment the mertroll blinked at him, before picking one up in a slightly shaking hand and burying his teeth into it. The wary look that Eridan gave him while he ate convinced Sollux that he might have expected it to be taken away from him.
He was beautiful.
With a smirk Sollux slid forwards towards the mertroll. Eridan looked up at him, surprised as Sollux rolled him onto his back. The swelling in his shoulder was beginning to go down, and he looked good. His skin glistened with the water he had just doused him with. He traced a hand down the mertroll’s front, pausing just above where the scales met the skin.
Eridan huffed. “You’re bloody insatiable, aren’t you? I’m one step from death’s door and you wanna fuck me again.” There was the slightest tremor to the mertroll’s voice, but for his credit he managed to look mostly indignant.
Sollux smirked and didn’t reply. Instead, he lowered his head and licked at the mertroll’s scales. Eridan let out a little shout that turned into a small whine as Sollux’s tongue found his slit.
.
He took him slowly this time, almost carefully… The seadweller was still far too weak to try to move around much. He also didn’t protest, and after he was done he curled up against Sollux’s stomach, earfins twitching as he trembled and tried to catch his breath.
“You meant what you said,” Eridan said finally, gaze lowered. “That you won’t kill me?”
Sollux ran a hand down his side, settling it the small of his back. “Yes,” he replied simply. He paused. “If I put you back in the fountain, I want you to promise you’ll come out when I tell you to, or else I’ll drain it and give you a foot of water to swim in.”
He could feel Eridan stiffen against him as soon as he started to speak, but he soon let out in a defeated sigh. “Yeah. Sure,” he grumbled. “You could just put me back in the sea where I belong.”
Sollux reached up and causally put his hand on Eridan’s wounded shoulder, giving it a warning squeeze. The mertroll yelped and tried to jerk away, but Sollux eased off the pressure immediately. He didn’t want to hurt him, not really, but it would be good of him to remember that he also wasn’t going to put him back. “If I did that, you’d never come back,” he pointed out.
Eridan rubbed at his shoulder and kept his eyes downcast, which told Sollux all he needed to know. After a moment the mertroll shivered and reached up, wrapping his arms around the naga’s waist, cuddling in close. That was unexpected, as was the hug. Sollux carded his hands through the mertroll’s hair and quirked an eyebrow. “What are you doing?” he asked.
Eridan didn’t say anything for a moment, but didn’t let go of him either. “Making the most a it,” he muttered finally. “Since I’m gonna be your prisoner,” his grip tightened as if he expected Sollux to push him away.
He didn’t.
.
They got used to each other over the next couple weeks. Sollux put Eridan back in the fountain where he continued to recover from his bite. He looked better within minutes of being back in the water, swimming around in the water in lazy circles.
Sollux brought him freshwater fish, live ones, plopping them into the fountain. The waterfall in the center of the fountain kept oxygen in the water for the fish. He considered, then began to drag other things there as well. It was once a dead place, but with a mertroll to keep alive he needed more for it. In went a few bottom feeders to keep the water even cleaner. He also dropped a couple turtles onto the center island.
Eridan stared at him in incredulous disbelief the first few days, which faded to a kind of proud acceptance. The fish were eaten and the bones placed delicately outside the fountain. He found frogs, and those were consumed by the mertroll as well. He had a few humans to help drag a couple large multicolored rocks in so that the mertroll could have a change of scenery from his gold plated walls. The humans all stared at Eridan in disbelief and awe, having only heard of his kind through word of mouth from the few lucky humans in their villages who had been to the sea. Eridan hoisted himself up onto the edge of the fountain and preened in the attention.
The mertroll was mouthy, and had an attitude on him that fear only partly tempered. Sollux found it a relief almost, to be around someone who spoke back to him; even if he’d quickly duck his head and fidget afterwards like he knew he had done something wrong. Sollux supposed it made sense, seeing as Eridan had said he was a prince. He wondered if he had taken him away from his duties… if he had subjects that missed him. He asked the mertroll about that almost casually, which earned him a quick pained look.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said bitterly. “I’m not gonna go back, am I.”
Sollux reached out, running his hand along the side of Eridan’s face. The seadweller blinked at him, but didn’t move away when Sollux leaned forward and kissed the water from his lips. A couple gentle prods and the mertroll kissed him back.
.
At least he didn’t seem to protest sex. In fact, unlike the first time, the mertroll seemed to enjoy it, moving against him as much as he could, wrapping his arms around his neck and making sweet trilling noises as he slid inside of him. He supposed the offer Eridan made on the first day remained. He seemed willing and he certainly got off on it. Never once did his interest wane like it had the first time, when he had fucked him while he was terrified.
About two weeks in, Sollux made the mistake of taking the mertroll on the edge of the fountain. They tilted into the water and Sollux fought to resurface, afraid that Eridan would try to drown him again. Eridan surprised him by forcing him up against the side, head and shoulders above the water and riding him aggressively, his sharp little teeth showing as he grinned. He was just about there when Eridan came first and jerked, taking them both under again. He brought them back to the surface again quickly and continued to ride him, almost apologetically, even though Sollux was sure he was sensitive. Afterwards Eridan curled up against his chest, practically crooning, soft satisfied noises welling up from his chest as his tail moved lazily through the water. His rings glittered between the webbing on his fingers and Sollux stroked his wet hair. He tilted his head back against the side of the fountain and studied the sky.
He could definitely get used to this.
.
Sollux began to notice the change about three weeks after he had brought the mertroll to the temple.
Often at night, Eridan would sit up on the edge of the fountain and peer longingly in the direction of the sea. Sollux was used to that; of course he’d be home sick. He tried to distract him - the fountain didn’t even look like a fountain any longer for the amount of greenery that surrounded it. It was a home now. There was more than enough room for Eridan to swim in his long lazy circles, and plenty of fish, frogs, and turtles to keep him company.
He still looked miserable.
One night, a little over a month after he had dragged the mertroll home, Sollux watched from where he was hidden as Eridan did something he hadn’t done before. He slipped off the edge of the fountain, making for the forest. He actually disappeared into it for a short time and Sollux nearly went after him before he came crawling back.
He’d never have make it to the sea anyway, not without at least five different deadly things spotting him for dinner. Sollux supposed he could make for the river, as it was a bit closer, but even then he didn’t think his chances were very high. Eridan was unable to move quickly while on his hands and dragging a fish tail behind himself.
Eridan sat by his fountain for a short time afterwards, arms around his tail, curled into a ball. If Sollux listened hard enough he could hear the soft sounds of his sobs.
.
The mertroll was silent the next day as Sollux took him in his nest, his gaze focused off and away from him, again in the vague direction of the sea. Sollux hissed softly and was a little bit rougher than usual, but that drew barely a flinch from him.
When Eridan stopped swimming listlessly around and started to just lie at the bottom of his fountain without moving, Sollux realized he had to do it.
.
He didn’t want to. He bit back tears and wondered at when having a prisoner had become preferable to being alone. But it was so much better to have someone there with him, even if he was a captive. He was so lonely; the humans never spoke to him, they were scared of him, instead cleaning the temple with quick efficiency and offering their bows and worship before escaping again.
Even their petty little disagreements over the state of the fountain and the temple meant so much to Sollux. They meant so much that Sollux had begun to notice that Eridan didn’t disagree with him about anything any longer. He’d still peel himself off of the bottom of the fountain and swim to the surface when Sollux motioned him to, but that was the extent of his movement. He barely ate any longer, and the small pile of fish bones dwindled.
He was depressed. If Sollux didn’t want him to waste away, he had to let him go.
.
He’d never return once Sollux put him back there, the naga knew that.
He asked anyway. “If I let you go to see your family and friends again, would you return to me?” he asked that night while the still damp mertroll lay curled in his arms.
Eridan raised his head and gave him a surprised look. The hope in his eyes was almost painful to see. Eridan ducked his head after a moment and swallowed. “Yes,” he said.
The fact that he wouldn’t look at him to say so was telling. “How long until you return?” Sollux asked.
Eridan flinched. “I… give me a fortnight,” he cringed again, as if he expected to be berated for the amount of time he had asked.
Sollux nodded. “Okay,” he replied. Eridan raised his head again and gave him an incredulous look.
“You mean it?” he breathed. “You’ll let me go?”
Sollux reached up and took the mertroll’s head in his hands, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Yes,” he replied, and he ached for him already.
.
The trip back through the forest was subdued. Eridan laid his head on his shoulder and allowed himself to be carried. He was nervous, it came through in the brush of his tail against his scales, but he didn’t say a word until they got back to the beach and then the water’s edge. Sollux paused for a moment, then swam in a couple feet and lowered his precious cargo slowly.
Eridan didn’t let go for a moment, the look on his face beyond incredulous. After a moment he unwound his arms, sinking down into the water. Sollux watched, expecting him to be off like a shot. Instead he circled back around and raised himself out of the water again. A webbed hand grasped his arm and tugged until they were more at eyelevel. To Sollux’s surprise he pressed an enthusiastic kiss to his mouth. When he let go again his slit eyes appeared to be tearing, though it might have been the sea water.
“Thank you,” he whispered. With that and a flip of his tail he sank back into the waves and was gone.
.
For Sollux, everything faded to grey after that. He halfheartedly maintained the fountain. The frogs died. He yelled at the humans that came to clean the temple the next day and considered taking up the human habit of drinking.
.
He returned to the seaside the night Eridan said he would, though he didn’t expect to see anything but a vast empty sea. Sure enough nothing awaited him, long into the night. Sollux nearly gave up and turned back anyway, but forced himself to stay, waiting.
It was nearing dawn when he heard a splash behind him. Sollux turned, only to watch as a beautiful woman rose out of the water. As she came forward he could see she wasn’t human from the waist down and then, with a start, realized she had the legs of an octopus. She glided across the beach towards him, the smile on her face serene. Sollux was struck with the urge to bow, which was a foreign feeling for him. Whoever this girl was, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she was very important in the world she came from.
She stopped, and gave him a little bow herself. “Naga Sollux?” she asked, and her voice was lovely, melodious and kind.
“Yeah?” he replied and then cleared his throat.
She smiled at him warmly. “You’re waiting for him to return,” she said and there was something that seemed almost sympathetic on her face.
He shook his head once, a swift abortive gesture. “He’s not coming,” he said, and it was a statement of fact.
Her eyes widened and then she laughed, much to Sollux’s irritation. “I wouldn’t be so sure,” she said happily. “He likes you,” she added in a conspirer's tone. “But,” she leaned back again. “He needs to know he is safe.”
Sollux frowned. “I wouldn’t have returned him if I intended to hurt him,” he pointed out. “I haven’t intended to hurt him since the first day I caught him. I only bit him that once because he was trying to drown me.”
She looked like she hadn’t known that. “He… has to know you’ll bring him back when he needs to come back,” she said after a moment.
Sollux could feel his irritation rising. “Of course I’ll bring him back. I’ll bring him back as often as he likes,” as he said it he realized it was true. He swallowed and frowned and then shook his head. It was pointless, Eridan belonged to the sea and he belonged on land. He was alone, and he was going to remain alone. He shook his head again, angrily. “You know what? Never mind.” He turned away and started back towards the tree line.
Her voice followed him, calling out to him. He nearly didn’t turn, but did at the last moment, glaring with his fists clenched. “What?” he asked.
She cocked her head to the side and studied him. “Come back in a week,” she said finally.
Sollux shrugged. “Whatever,” he replied.
.
A week later he wasn’t feeling any happier, and he almost didn’t go back. It was a lost cause. Three weeks had passed. He wasn’t going to come back to him, he would be a fool to think that he would.
Sollux remained at his temple most of the night. The dawn was starting to show when he finally cursed and sped off through the trees.
He arrived at the beach and didn’t immediately see anything, like he thought. He swallowed a bitter taste in the back of his throat and forced himself onto the sand to take a closer look. Again he didn’t see anything right away, until he caught sight of a rock a little bit further down the beach from where he had first captured Eridan. The rock was shaped funny. On closer inspection he could see that someone was lying on it, head pillowed in their arms.
It was him. Sollux’s heart pounded and he swallowed. He approached slowly, cautiously, afraid of startling him.
Instead Eridan raised his head and blinked sleepily at him, which quickly turned to irritation. “What the hell took you so long?” he demanded to know, with much more vibrancy then almost anything he had ever said to Sollux while in the temple.
Sollux was taken aback. “What do you mean?” he snapped back defensively. “You weren’t even here last week!”
Eridan snorted. “Well Feferi explained why, didn’t she?”
Sollux glared. “You could have come yourself,” he retorted.
“And you coulda kidnapped me and kept me a prisoner again,” Eridan replied angrily. “No thanks. If you wanna have a relationship with me, there will be no more me bein’ your prisoner.”
Sollux let out a hiss and lashed out, grabbing the mertroll and coiling around him quicker than he could move. Eridan let out an alarmed sound and fought briefly before realizing Sollux was merely holding him against his chest. Tightly.
Slowly, Eridan wrapped his arms around him, holding him as well. “Okay,” he said. “I’m okay with this. But you haveta put me back.”
“In a bit,” Sollux grumbled. “I haven’t seen you in three weeks, remember? Let me hold you for a while,” he raised one hand and threaded it through his hair, petting him gently. Eridan relaxed by degrees and let himself be held as the sun rose.
.
True to his word he put him back. He put him back that day, and the day after and the day after that.
That didn’t mean he didn’t tease him, he abducted the mertroll and carted him up a tree more than once, but he would only do that for a short time before he’d take him back to the beach and set him in the water.
It took over a month before Eridan let him take him back to the temple. He clung to him with nervous anticipation the entire way, and shivered when he placed him in the fountain.
The mertroll was so on edge he had to join him in the water. He felt a tiny throb of anticipation, it was still hard to forget the first day when Eridan had tried to drown him, but the seadweller remained at the surface and melted into his embrace when he reached for him. Sollux ran long fingers over his back tirelessly before he began to relax even a little bit. He kissed him carefully under the center waterfall, crooned that he was lovely, and told him to stop freaking out.
The next day he held him in his arms took him back to the sea, while Eridan hung onto him and playfully nipped at his neck.
When he bent down to place the mertroll back into the water the seadweller held on, bringing him down with him. For a split second Sollux was worried – Eridan was stronger than him in the water – but instead the prince pushed him up on the sand so he was half out of the waves, and slid up on top of him. His eyes were dark and playful as he rubbed against the naga suggestively, his teeth bright and sharp. Sollux groaned as the seadweller lowered his head to kiss his neck where he knew he was sensitive, a hand trailing between them to toy with his slit. It took him little time at all to slide out. The naga let the mertroll ride him with enthusiastic abandon as the waves threatened to overwhelm them both. Afterwards the seadweller fought to catch his breath while curled up against his chest, which faded to a soft trill of contentment.
This time Sollux had to demand to be let go, which only led to them making it a little bit further up the shoreline as Eridan didn’t seem very intent on uncurling from around Sollux. They ended up cuddling on the sand, Eridan’s tail moving lazily against his own.
He’d made the right choice, Sollux thought, by deciding to let him go.
And he was really grateful he hadn’t eaten him for lunch that first day.
.