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After the big reveal in Nico's backyard pool, Nico doesn't ask Javi what it's like transforming from a human into a merman or how often he returns to the ocean or anything merfolk related at all. When the ripples settle Nico just sits on the edge with his feet in the water, talking about his recent trip to South America like nothing remotely magical ever occurred.
It almost drives Javi to swim in irritated circles.
"Why aren't you asking?" The question is all bite and fangs, cutting the inside of his mouth. But he needs to know.
They always ask, not once had he heard of a human that didn't want to know about the mythical creature they had in front of them.
Nico just stares at him, unfazed about being interrupted.
"What do you want me to ask you, amigo?"
"Anything merfolk related."
"You're assuming you're the first merman I’ve met."
Javi hadn’t considered that. The back of his tongue tastes oddly bitter all of the sudden when he imagines another merman and his best friend together. "Aren't I?"
"Well yes,” Nico admits with a shrug. Like he’s not responsible for giving Javi an aneurysm and remedying it in under thirty seconds. “But we all have our secrets and I'm not too keen on sharing mine so I’m not going to force you to give up yours."
Nico’s voice is always softer in the evening time and he’s being sweet in his own way, not badgering Javi for information, but still. Javi kind of, sort of wanted him to ask. Dare he say it, he’d been looking forward to the Q&A.
Javi doesn’t tell his best friend any of that though, settling for sinking down low and blowing frustrated bubbles in the water instead.
"Calm down already, geez. Look, I don’t need to ask you anything just because you have a giant tail and scales suddenly. To me, you’re still the same Javi you've been these last six months." Nico's smiling at him, eyes crinkled at the corners, the one he often uses to convey 'stop overthinking things, you idiot' and Javi doesn't know whether to feel relieved or splash him.
Nico's eyes narrow, like he knows exactly what the merman is thinking. Javi offers a mischievous grin, but it falls flat a moment later, nervousness making his hands fidget.
"So, you…you really don't mind?" he asks, motioning to his blue-and-green tail for emphasis.
"Why would I? Unless you tell me this whole mythical creature thing is going to interrupt tonight's movie night, then that would become a problem indeed." The smile returns again, reassuring the last lingering worries, and he playfully kicks some water Javi’s way which the merman is quick to avoid by diving into the deep end. He swims two rounds around the pool in less than ten seconds before popping his head up.
Javi’s curls are a soaking mess, pressed flat against his head, a shade darker looking than usual. Nico’s eyes resemble golden fireflies in the fading sunlight, an emotion Javi can’t quite identify flickering in them. He then blinks, and the emotion is gone without a trace.
"Now, mi querido, if you’ll excuse me,” Nico stands up, water droplets sliding down his calves and over his ankles, before nodding towards the house. “I'll go inside to light up the fireplace so it’s nice and warm for when you decide to come in."
The merman’s gaze darts from the house, to Nico, to the pool and then once more back to Nico. His tail flicks, an anxious twist that sends another flurry of ripples across the water.
"I can't stay long."
"Stay as long as you can then."
The exchange is like an iceberg. The tip of it is a conversation about the length of time for this particular evening. But there’s hidden depths Javi wonders if Nico truly realizes.
Javi means he’ll have to return to the ocean eventually, that their time together has an expiration date. It sounds like Nico understands, that he’s saying any time spent together is worth it. But then again, Nico's probably just being nice. Probably doesn't have the same feelings Javi keeps closely guarded.
Regardless, movie nights are sacred. Nothing, not even the end of the world or his embarrassingly huge crush on his best friend, could convince Javi to skip out on them.
"O-Okay.” He bobs his head with a small grin, chin dipping briefly underwater. “I'll be inside in a bit."
With Nico having his back to him, Javi closes his eyes and feels the soft movements of the water, rocking him back and forth. Coming to the human world had been something he had wanted ever since he was a child. But he hadn't anticipated that he would want to stay, that life here would be so appealing to him, that one man would be so appealing to him.
Meanwhile, as Nico adjusts the fireplace settings, his thoughts keep returning to Javi. From the day they met, he’d known his best friend was special. It was impossible not to feel drawn in by his curls and the wide-eyed wonder he viewed the world with, like he was experiencing all the colors and spectacles and marvels for the very first time. The fact that he’s a merman only makes Nico love him more.
(When he’s alone later tonight he’ll probably freak out that, you know, merfolk are real. And if they’re real, what about other supposedly mythical creatures? All this time he’s thought Javi was joking when he called the postman a vampire, but what if he’d been telling the truth?)
But there’s no possibility Javi feels the same way about him. How could someone so special choose to be with him out of everyone else? Impossible. He knows it’s only a matter of time before Javi grows bored of him and leaves. After all, what can he offer him, a bigger pool? More stories about his travels?
Javi deserves more than Nico can ever give him. Asking him to stay with him...it'd be like locking the merman in a cage. It would be a cruelty.
He's shaken out of his dark thoughts by the arrival of Javi shuffling in through the back door, dressed in the dark blue t-shirt and shorts he arrived in that afternoon. He's on two legs again, his favorite pair of scuffed up checkered Keds on his feet, and there’s no trace of shiny scales along his arms anymore. Water drips from his hair onto the floor but Nico could care less, finding the sight of his curls slowly fluffing back up more endearing than anything.
"Just in time," Nico says, gesturing towards the orange flames in the fireplace. "Now we just have to pick a movie."
He says ‘we’ but actually it’s become routine for Javi to make the final choice from Nico’s collection. The merman’s obsession with films rivals Nico’s own love for movies, and he’s determined to watch every single one—old, new, black and white, animated—finding something in each of them to enjoy.
Nico sits on the couch, a bowl of popcorn on his lap, and pats the spot next to him for Javi to sit in. The merman plops down closer to the human than any of the other times. Nico wordlessly throws an arm over the back of the couch, along the back of Javi’s shoulders, getting comfortable.
The movie starts, revealing National Treasure’s opening sequence. It’s a favorite for them both, watched at least twice a month, and Javi leans his head against Nico's shoulder, grabbing a handful of popcorn when Nico leans the bowl towards him.
There aren’t any sparks between them, a love song doesn't start blaring and fireworks don’t abruptly explode in the night sky. The cuddle session just kind of, sort of happens as though it was always supposed to happen. A natural thing.
"You better not start quoting Nic Cage's lines again," Nico says, watching the actor on screen planning to steal the Declaration of Independence.
"The man is the greatest actor on earth. He’s absolutely incredible. Of course I'm going to quote him," Javi huffs, breath hot against Nico's collarbone.
"Then I might have to find a way to make you shut up."
“Impossible.”
“Not even if I kissed you?”
Javi's head snaps up and he scoots back across the couch, his heart beating faster than he thought was possible. Did he hear that right? And then he sees Nico's frightened expression. It must have been his imagination, he realizes, stomach sinking with dread. Oh no, he can't bear to lose him or have whatever they had going on become awkward.
"I'm sorry!" The words tumble out of both of their mouths at the same time.
They stare at each other.
"What?" The same thing happens again, but this time Nico takes his hand, squeezing his fingers, and starts talking before Javi can.
"I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry Javi, I—"
"So you didn't mean it?"
Silence fills the room once again.
Nico swallows. "I…I did mean it, mi querido. But it was stupid, we—" Javi's lips crash against his, silencing him. The first kiss is a quick one, just testing out the waters. But the second is passionate and heated and just as equally perfect as it is not enough. Nico reaches up and sinks his fingers into his curls, bringing Javi in for a third kiss, and a fourth, and a fifth…
They lose count after that.
By the end of the night, there are two men sleeping next to each other while a movie plays without an audience in the living room. Perhaps this would not last forever, but right here and now they had each other. Nothing else mattered beyond that.