"I'm home."

Minho shut the front door behind him. He tossed his jacket off in the general direction of the coat rack and scrapped the shoes off of his feet, feeling too lazy to do anything other then those basic motions.

Seungmin and Hyunjin cuddled on the couch, legs intertwined and bodies pressed together as a cheesy romantic movie played on the large television. Their hands, tightly intertwined like they had never wanted to let go, laid on Hyunjin's chest while his free arm wrapped around the others waist encase the warmth radiating off of him. Both seemed too engrossed in the plot and each other to notice the third addition shuffling around in the back. Minho cleared his throat, trying to get the attention of the couple and succeeding when their stares left the TV. Seungmin waved before flopping back onto his boyfriend's chest. The two were back into their own world. It was cute, kind of.

Hyunjin watched the events of the romantic movie unfold carefully, gaze not leaving the screen as he stated, "You're back late."

"Like usual," His boyfriend mumbled. He cuddled in closer to the chest, hand tightening around the taller's own as he readjusted himself so his face was buried away.

"Had to finish some notes," The oldest stumbled for an answer, settling on, "I don't live here anyway, why does it matter?"

"Reasons. There's some dinner in the fridge if you want to reheat it."

"I'm not hungry,"

Seungmin removed his head from the crook of the other's neck to get a proper look, "Are you sure? I haven't seen you eat since yesterday."

Minho just pressed his lips into a thin line and continued on his merry way to the guest room at the back of the apartment. Seungmin and Hyunjin had cleared out the previous study for him and dubbed it the permanent guest room for when Minho needed to stay close to the aquarium. They had been nice enough to furnish it and leave a few books in it for him though he didn't use it often. Its main purpose being somewhere to keep his items and entering when he wanted solace from the over affectionate couple. In this case he needed it for the second purpose.

Once inside the room he began to quietly shut the door so it didn't disturb Seungmin and Hyunjin. In the living room he heard them muttering to each other. A heavy sigh left his lips as he slipped a finger between the door and the jamb. Upon double checking it wasn't fully closed, Minho turned around and threw his tired body on the bed, feeling his body melt and become one with the mattress. He didn't even consider changing out of his dirty clothes as his tired eyes refused to stay open. But he didn't drift off, instead boring himself with doing nothing while wishing to fall asleep.

After a while of laying motionless and getting nowhere with sleep, a tap came to his shoulder. He humed a response as he felt a weight sit at the end of the bed. A presence filled the doorway, blocking the light in the hallway from flooding in and creating strange red blotches on the back of his eyelids.

"I feel like his mom," Hyunjin whispered, presumably to Seungmin who was the presence in the door frame, "Aren't we younger then him?"

"At least we know you'd be a good parent, Jinnie. Please just wake him up."

With that came another tap. A hand was placed on his shoulder, it shaking him gently as it's owner spoke in a soothing way, "Minho, the movie ended a while ago. We're heading to our room if you needed to work on the couch."

∶∷∶

"I think my favorite animal would be the mighty wobbegong. They're really cute and awkward looking, and they have a strange way of doing things. A while ago they put one in my tank and it was really nice to me and fun to talk with but he would nibble on my fingers when I tried to sleep. It tickled quite a bit so I got annoyed and they had to remove it."

"A wobbegong?" He raised an eyebrow at the merman.

Minho sat on the metal grate of the cat walk, legs crossed comfortably with his hands balanced behind him. Jisung had lifted himself up on the walkway and was sitting next to Minho, relaxed as ever as he balanced back on his hands. His tail moved back and forth in the water like he was swimming, creating small splashes whenever it moved forward.

Jisung laughed into a nod. He used his hands to describe it as he exclaimed, "It's this spotty tan and gray thing with a pancake head and french fries from it's mouth."

"Can't picture it."

"That's okay, I can't describe it that well, but it's funky trust me on that. I'm also hungry right now so my description included food. I didn't eat the lunch today cause it looked like a wobbegong. You wouldn't happen to have any chips with you, would you?"

"No, not today."

"That's too bad. You smell like a vanilla milkshake and it made me want junk food. Maybe candy. Or anything unhealthy really, I'm tired of aquarium food it's too bland."

"I'll bring you something," Minho casted his eyes to the younger. Now that he thought about it, could Jisung eat food from outside the aquarium? Was there a diet mermen have to follow?

"Would you? I'd love that. I kind of want ice cream, or the milkshake you smell like but I don't know where you'd get that. But I can't be too picky I guess since you're the one getting it and," The merman stopped his tail movements and casted his gaze down to his lap. His hands halted their fun gestures, them being placed by his side on the walkway. He chuckled bitterly, "I'm stuck here."

Minho watched the sudden drop in mood. The merman pulled into his own conscious and fiddled with the lines on his palm, picking at the skin lightly as his eyebrows furrowed together. A small frown pulled down at his lips and all the glee that was in the younger earlier was hidden away. The thought didn't cross his mind till the shift in atmosphere, till Jisung was silenced of his usual banter that filled the air.

"How long have you been in the aquarium?"

"Well I'm nineteen now, so... two years, maybe? There aren't any windows, and I have no idea what time it is. It gets really quiet too and not many people come to visit me I'm sure I haven't been here for very long, and it gets really lonely around here sometimes." Jisung met the older's concerned eyes with a smile tugging at his lips. He grinned.

"But now you're here, and I don't feel so alone anymore!"

∴∷∵