Archive of Our Own ^beta

Gyn shifts in his half-awake state, a low rumble sounding in the back of his throat. It's early- almost ridiculously so, and he can tell immediately, despite his eyes not even opening yet.

Once they do open he's greeted with the sun's earliest rays peeking through the window to his and Bite's room, casting colored light onto the wood floor through the stained glass windows.

He feels a hand in his hair, sharp nails and webbed fingers ever so gently carding through it and running along his scalp. 

Bite.

He lifts his head to look up at him, fighting the sleep that clings to his eyelids. The Exorian is watching him, the faintest trace of a smile lingering on his face.

"Good morning, your highness." His voice is soft, and he's using that gentle tone that makes Gyn weak in the knees, despite the nickname. 

"Mm.. Hi." Gyn mumbles, shifting again.

He untangles their legs, stretching his own out completely. Some of his joints pop- a sensation he's still not quite used to- as he does.

"I don't think I'll ever be used to that feeling," he mutters, dropping his head back onto Bite's bare shoulder. 

Since he gave up his immortality, he's felt the need to sleep quite a bit more than he had previously. His energy levels just aren't the same, without the steady flow of magic in his veins. 

He deeply enjoys waking up like this, though.

While it may be ridiculously early, and the sun might not even be up all the way, Gyn treasures these tender moments. It's his favorite way to start the day.

"You falling asleep again down there, King?"

A smile finds its way onto the mer's face, and he pushes his nose up into Bite's neck.

"No. Just enjoying being where I am."

Bite huffs out a breathy laugh, and Gyn finds himself acutely aware of the way his partner’s hand travels from his hair to his waist. Gently, lightly tracing down his form.

"Corny."

"You like it, though." 

Bite's other hand finds Gyn's where it rests on the Exorian's stomach, lacing their fingers together.

"I just like you, I think." 

Gyn's face is warm. His heart is full. 

"I love you," He mumbles, running his thumb over Bite's knuckles. They're rough and calloused, like the rest of him, but Gyn loves taking the time to commit them to memory. 

Bite doesn't say it back. He never does, and Gyn doesn't expect him to. 

Instead he shifts, pulling his hand away from Gyn's and using it to guide the mer's chin up. 

They look at each other like that for a moment, a silent understanding passing between them.

Then Bite leans down, pressing their lips together. 

Gyn melts. Every nerve in his body is alive, every sensation heightened to the max. His hand comes up to rest on the back of Bite's neck, gently coaxing him closer. 

It's not the first time they've kissed. Every once in a while Bite will grant him this small bit of affection- a gentle assurance that he's wanted, that Bite is happy here, with him.

He's grateful for it.

Then Bite’s pulling away- much too soon in Gyn’s opinion- and sitting up. 

“Any crazy plans for the day? I was gonna head back to Exoria and do some more work with the kids.”

Gyn shakes his head, reluctantly following Bite’s lead in sitting up.

“No, just checking on the barrier. Maybe hanging out with Faye, but there aren’t any solid plans for that. The Archive pretty much runs itself at this point- the bookkeepers have it covered.” 

Bite gives a nod, then shifts to the side of the bed and stands, stretching his arms up over his head. 

If he notices Gyn’s stare tracking his form, he doesn’t comment.

“C’mon, I’m hungry and you’re the one in this castle who enjoys cooking.” 

With a roll of Gyn’s eyes and a shared quirk of the lips, their slow morning ends. 

The next hour or so is comfortably familiar. The pair have their breakfast as usual, with their back and forth banter, then Gyn sees Bite off to the Nether before heading out to his usual starting spot when he does his barrier checks.

Sometimes he’ll have company- Faye joins him on occasion, so do Nalu and Cella. But most of the time he runs the length of the barrier alone, checking for any holes or people who might need help. 

It gives him a lot of time to think.

With the barrier- there’s very little that can actually hurt people in the reef. Usually accidents, sometimes new people that come and go that get into spats with each other, but for the most part everyone is safe.

It’s an odd concept, for the former leviathan.

Safety, for him, was always a concept that came and went as easily as the tide. Something that was only experienced fleetingly, in small bursts. Being held in his brother’s arms as a youngling after the attack that resulted in the scar on his tail, taking refuge in Bite’s cave after the near-miss with Jormun that gave him a gash to match the Exorian’s own, curling up in Theo’s castle after being brought home from the End with Bite in his arms and his friends surrounding him. Those moments were safe- the safest he’d ever felt.

Now that feeling surrounds him. In five years, there’s hardly been anything of note, aside from Nalu’s return. He’s safe. His friends, his family are safe.

It’s nice.

The sound of splashing draws his attention away from his thoughts and back to the sea that surrounds him. The water seems to surge and pulse around him, the barrier’s familiar electric glow guiding him to peer beyond it.

Outside, there’s a disturbance in the water. A violent crash of bubbles, the sound of a harpoon breaching the waves.

A subsequent shriek of terror and pain, too high to be anything other than a child.

The dark, looming hull of a ship.

Gyn’s body is moving. The barrier shifts and folds around him as he passes through, rocketing through the water with trident in hand. His heart is hammering a mile a minute, every nerve ending alive and tingling with instinct and power he’d almost forgotten how to use.

He can see them now. A young mer, shark-like in appearance, a plume of blood tracking through the water behind them as they frantically swim for shelter. 

Gyn’s eyes track back to the ship. The harpoon is being reeled back in for a second shot, and from the looks of it, there isn’t much time.

His body pushes harder, faster, tapping into his desperation to close the distance.

They lock eyes, and the pup pivots toward him. He’s close enough now that he can smell the blood, and his stomach curls in disgust.

This is a child. No matter what this child did, they don’t deserve to be hunted in this way.

Rage in the form of electricity surges through him, lighting up his markings. 

He’ll give them something to hunt.

As the child finally comes within arm’s reach, Gyn reaches out, firmly grasping their arm and redirecting them toward the reef.

“Keep swimming! Don’t stop until you’re past the wall- you’ll know it when you feel it!”

They don’t question him. As they shoot past him, Gyn pulls back his trident, allowing the current to gather behind him. When he throws it forward, he’s launched from the water- sailing through the air toward the deck of the ship. It’s raining now- and as he lands on the wooden floor lightning cracks across the sky, illuminating the humans on board.

There’s not many of them- only five, from what Gyn can see.

They don’t waste any time asking questions- they’re on him, flintlocks and swords glinting blue with the reflection of his glowing self.

Shots fire, deflecting off his armor, and Gyn is moving with ruthless efficiency, drawing his sword from its place on his belt. These are not people whose minds he can change. And if he’s going to choose between himself and these people- these monsters who would dare to harm a child, he’s choosing himself. He’s choosing the child.

His sword whistles and sparks as it cuts through the air, flames licking along the edge and igniting his targets on impact. The boldest two- the ones with swords- are dead within moments. The other three are smarter- taking cover among the various piles of boxes and barrels that litter the deck.

Another sharp crack of a gun, and pain blossoms in his left shoulder. He whirls around, pulling Cella’s old trident Fulminata from his inventory. It crackles with the power of the storm that surrounds them, pulling energy from the sky itself, and Gyn raises it over his head. 

There’s a moment where everything seems to move in slow motion. Gyn’s running again, releasing the trident from his grasp as he dives back over the edge of the ship. He doesn’t stick around to see the carnage, trusting the loud clap of thunder that tells him the strike did its job.

He hits the water swimming and a second later the trident returns to him. He doesn’t look back at the ship until he’s certain he’s far enough away, and when he finally does, it’s sinking.

Good.

The scent of blood in the water pulls his attention back to the task at hand. He turns back, swimming toward the barrier and ignoring the pain in his shoulder. There’s someone who needs him.

Once back behind the barrier wall, Gyn stops to look around. There are a few places that the kid could have gone- but a small cave sitting right along the edge of the barrier’s perimeter calls to him.

Carefully, he approaches, stowing his weapons away.

“Hello? Are you alright?” He calls, peering over the edge.

The child is indeed inside. The poor thing is a mess- all scuffed scales and knotted hair that reminds Gyn of a time when he himself was alone in this world. He’s shaking, but his hands work at holding pressure on a long gash in his side.

“St-stay there. Don’t com-me any closer. I-I’ll bite! I’ll do it-!”

Bless his heart, this child can’t be any older than five.

Gyn sits himself against the rocks at the cave’s opening, raising his empty hands.

“Okay. I won’t come any closer. What’s your name?” He puts on his most gentle of voices, determined to not frighten him any further.

There’s a long pause. Tense silence permeates the space between them, and for a moment Gyn thinks he won’t answer. But then, he speaks up.

“D-don’t… Don’t got one.” 

If it’s possible for Gyn’s heart to break any further, it shatters.

“That’s… That’s okay. We can find you one that fits, once we get you some help. My name’s Gyn, I live not too far from here,” he vaguely gestures toward the mer’s wound, and in response he curls tighter. “That looks like it hurts.”

“... It does. They… They were chasing me for a long time.” He meets Gyn’s eyes. “What did you do to them?”

Guilt gnaws at Gyn’s stomach. He’d been trying to ignore it, but now it rears its ugly head.

“I killed them. They were after you- and they would have killed me, too. One of them hit me.” He raises his right hand, sliding it up and over his left shoulder. “They won’t be coming back.”

The boy’s eyes seem to light up. 

“You killed all of them..?” Awe and disbelief seep into his voice. He moves as if to come closer, but winces in pain at the harsh reminder of his wound.

“Yeah-hey, stay there for a second. I might have something to help you, but you’ll have to drink it.” Gyn dips into his inventory again, rummaging around. He finds a glass bottle- the liquid inside a swirling, glittering purple.

He usually carries a potion or two when doing his rounds- this isn’t the first time he’s found someone wounded along the edge of the barrier.

He lifts the bottle, presenting it to the youngling.

“Here. It’s a potion of regeneration- it’ll help you heal faster.”

Another moment of hesitation- shorter this time. Then the boy slowly approaches, minding his wound, and takes the bottle from Gyn’s hand- pointedly avoiding touching him. He pops the cork off, ignoring the way the salty water around them mixes with the topmost layer of the drink, then brings it to his lips. It’s gone in moments, and Gyn watches as his wound practically stitches itself together. 

“There. Better, right? It’s not perfect, but it means you can move again.”

It’s quiet. Gyn and the shark pup stare at each other, taking in each others’ appearances. 

In a way, this child reminds Gyn a lot of Theo, when they first met. Feisty, untrusting, scared out of his mind and desperate to just be safe.

Suddenly, small arms throw themselves around Gyn’s neck and shoulders, the tiny body they belong to shaking and wracked with sobs. 

“Thank you… Mister Gyn.”

Fondness crawls its way into his chest and Gyn wraps his arms tight around the youngling, holding him tight and doing his best to shield him from the world around them as tears threaten to spill from his eyes.

“There’s no need for that… Look- this whole reef is a safe place,” he pulls back to look the child in the face. “My friends and I made sure of that. You’re safe here. And you can go anywhere you want. There’s an inn that my friend Nalu owns, I’m sure she’d be happy to have you. Or if you want, you could come stay with me? I have a castle not far from here- I live there with my husband. I don’t think he’d mind.”

The mer’s grip on him tightens.

“Can… Can I stay with you?”

Gyn gives him a gentle smile, reaching up and pulling a stray piece of kelp from the kid’s hair.

“Yeah, yeah you can. Come on, it’s not far.”

With that they’re moving, leaving the barrier- and the horrible memories on the other side- behind.

The text conversation between him and Bite went something like this;

You: Emergency.

ROBIN <3: ?? What happened? Are you okay?
You: I’m fine. There’s this kid- I found him being chased by pirates.

ROBIN <3: Shit. He okay?

You: Yeah, I think. I’m bringing him home with me, that cool w/ you?

ROBIN <3: Yeah, I’m finishing up here.

You: Cool, I was gonna bring him anyway.

ROBIN <3: I know. Your bleeding heart knows no bounds.

You: Robin he’s young. Really young.

ROBIN <3: How young?

You: Can’t be any older than 5.

ROBIN <3: Fuck. Yeah. Okay, I’ll be home soon.

You: See you there. <3

ROBIN <3: <3

True to his word, Bite arrives almost as soon as Gyn and his new friend do. 

It’s clear that this kid has spent most of his life in the sea- he’s a little shaky on legs, and when Bite crouches down to meet him face-to-face, he almost falls straight onto him.

Gyn might have smiled about it too, if not for the question the kid asks.

“Are you mister Gyn’s husband?”

Gyn’s face burns. It’s not a term they’ve really discussed- but it’s no secret they’re committed to each other. Their friends don’t even know all of the intricacies that lie within their relationship, but they address the pair of them as though they’re married anyway.

Bite turns to look up at him.

Something flashes in those yellow eyes, something that says “we’ll talk later”, before he turns them back to the child.

“Yeah, I’m his husband. My name is Bite, it’s nice to meet you.” He’s using a tone Gyn doesn’t hear from him often- aside from when he’s working with his “goblins” in the Nether. One that’s patient, and kind. 

“It’s nice to meet you too, mister Bite.” 

There’s silence again. Then Gyn realizes the problem.

“He doesn’t have a name yet. Something we’ll… Figure out together.” Gyn reaches out and places a gentle hand on the kid’s shoulder. He doesn’t flinch.

“Okay then. Kid, do you know what kind of mer you are?” Bite asks, tilting his head a bit.

“Um. A leopard shark.”

“Can we call you Leo, until we figure out something else that you like?”

The kid pauses, thinking. Then nods.

Gyn smiles and speaks up again.

“Okay. Leo, for now. I’ll show you to the guest rooms, you can pick one out. And I’ll make dinner in an hour, sound good?”

Leo nods, and Gyn offers an open hand for him to take before turning to look at Bite.

“I’ll be right back.”

Once Leo is settled, Gyn makes his way back to the throne room and up into the bedroom, where Bite is waiting for him. The Exorian folds his arms over his chest, dragging his eyes up and down Gyn’s form.

“You’re hurt, aren’t you.”

Gyn deflates, shifting and beginning to undo the straps on his chestplate.

“You know me too well.”

Bite is on his feet, padding over and taking the armor from him before dropping it noisily to the floor. Gyn resists the scowl threatening to overtake his face.

“Of course I do- you still have a hero complex,” Gyn rolls his eyes. “What happened?”

“One of them shot me in the shoulder. I think the bullet’s still in there.” Gyn mutters, unbuttoning the front of his shirt.

Bite shoos his hands away, taking over and pulling the fabric away from his body. It tugs slightly on his shoulder, where the wound has begun to get sticky with blood and plasma.

“Gross. You’re gonna need a new shirt.” Bite peels it away, dropping it to the floor with the rest of his armor, and turns Gyn so he can see.

“Yeah, it’s still there. Want me to get it?”

Gyn nods, pulling his hair to the opposite side so it stays clear.

Bite was even more prepared for this than Gyn thought. He’d gone and grabbed one of their first aid kits- a new addition to their home, what with all of the cuts and scrapes Gyn is now prone to getting. 

He pulls a pair of tongs out and wipes them down with alcohol before getting to work.

Thankfully, the bullet was in one piece. After Bite pulled it out Gyn simply took a regeneration pot, grabbed a new shirt and now he’s fine.

“Thank you, Robin.”

“Uh huh. What would you do without me?” He shoves the kit up into their closet before turning back around.

“Now what’s this about being your husband?”

Gyn balks.

“Well. Okay. I didn’t quite know how to explain what we have to him in a way he’d understand. He’s young and he’s been on the run- I kept it easy. Figured I’d explain properly once he wasn’t, y’know… Out in the middle of the reef, all on his own.” His eyes drift to the floor. “And it fits, considering… Well, I’m not going to be seeing anyone else.”

It’s a bit of an admission, a bit of a bid. Bite is quiet, and Gyn can’t quite tell if that’s a good or a bad thing.

“I like it.”

Gyn’s head snaps up, eyes meeting Bite’s.

“Don’t look so shocked,” Bite approaches, sliding his arms around Gyn’s waist and pressing close. “You’re right, it fits. I’m certainly not sharing a nest with anyone else, nor do I plan to.” 

A smile tugs at the corner of Gyn’s mouth, his heart thudding particularly hard in his chest.

“I’m glad.”

Bite leans up and presses a kiss to Gyn’s jaw, then pauses.

“... Does this mean I have a surname now?”

Gyn’s laughter is so loud it echoes off the walls.