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storypaint) wrote2011-07-03 01:53 am
storypaint) wrote2011-07-03 01:53 am
[Puella Magi Madoka Magica] off the hook (Kyouko/Sayaka)
Title: off the hook
Fandom: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Length: 1064 words
Prompt: fic_promptly: Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Kyouko/Sayaka, mermaid
Pairing: Kyouko/Sayaka
Other: PG-13 for creepiness. This is not a Disney mermaid story.
Excerpt: There's nothing special about the day that she finds the mermaid, except for the fact that there's, well, a mermaid. The driftwood is boring, the salt spray is cold, and suddenly, a weird rock formation catches her eye. But then it moves, and Kyouko sees the glittering tail, and her throat closes up a little.
Kyouko likes the ocean in winter. She doesn't wander too far from population centers, making sure that she can top up her soul gem, but some days she tells Kyuubey to go bother someone else, and she hitches a ride on a bus and makes her way down to the beach. No one else comes here at this time of year, and she's all alone. She kicks the driftwood that washes up on the sand, sticking her hands in her pockets and feeling the comfortable solidity of the snacks she's stashed away there.
There's nothing special about the day that she finds the mermaid, except for the fact that there's, well, a mermaid. The driftwood is boring, the salt spray is cold, and suddenly, a weird rock formation catches her eye. But then it moves, and Kyouko sees the glittering tail, and her throat closes up a little. She's running before she even starts thinking about it, because there is no way she'd miss the opportunity to see something this extraordinary, even if it means she'll have to find a way to dry her clothes and shoes later.
The mermaid has pale hair that matches her tail. She's visibly startled when Kyouko plunges into the shallows, bare-legged and stumbling for a moment with the shock of the cold water.
"Don't go!" Kyouko calls out, breathing hard, but the mermaid slips into the water, and she's gone with just a glimmering flick of fins.
Kyouko stops, waist-deep in water, and she waits, but the mermaid doesn't come back.
*
Kyouko does, though. She goes back to the city and fights witches and argues with Homura about the Walpurgisnacht. But not for long. A week later, she's back on that bus, this time in pants, as if it will make any difference in the cold water. Her heart is pounding when she steps onto the beach. This time she is a little more cautious. She crouches down behind a pile of driftwood and watches the ocean, as motionless as possible, eating a little to pass the time.
And the mermaid comes back. This time Kyouko gets a better look. The mermaid looks to be about her age, with small, bare breasts and blue eyes. Her skin glitters in the sunlight, as if it isn't quite like human skin. Scaled, perhaps. She's the most beautiful thing Kyouko has ever seen, and she finds herself clutching at her soul gem, holding her breath.
She stands up slowly, eyes on the mermaid. When the mermaid sees her, the mermaid freezes.
"Hello?" Kyouko says, trying to sound gentle. She isn't good at gentleness, but she'd try anything to meet a creature like this.
The mermaid makes a soft sound, like an inquiry. Kyouko smiles a little, but then the mermaid flees, again, into the sea, and Kyouko spends the next twenty minutes cursing, using every word her father taught her never to use.
*
They meet like this -- don't meet like this -- four more times. Homura scolds her about distraction and the state of her soul gem, which is more grubby than Kyouko usually keeps it. Kyuubey watches and says nothing. Kyouko thinks about wishes.
Next time, she walks into the water and keeps going, even when the mermaid splashes away. The water is so cold that it burns her skin, rescues the apples from her pocket, which float to the surface around her like she's playing some kind of strange game. All that Kyouko can think is that the mermaid looks lonely. She keeps walking, her shoes protecting her from the underwater debris she can't see.
The mermaid has never come here with any other members of its kind. No one else has reported seeing her. Kyouko has stolen newspapers from trash bins to make sure. And the mermaid knows that Kyouko keeps coming back -- and she comes back too. That's enough.
The water closes over Kyouko's head and she opens her eyes, seeing very little in the murky darkness. Something brushes her foot, and then the mermaid is there, curiously brushing Kyouko's cheek, and Kyouko almost opens her mouth and drowns right there, in her surprise, but she manages to remember, last minute, to keep it shut.
"Deep," the mermaid says, and Kyouko isn't sure how she can understand what she's saying, because sound doesn't travel like this underwater. She knows -- one time she stuck her head under and tried to shout at the retreating mermaid, only to get a nose full of saltwater for her troubles, and a headache. No one could have understood her shouting.
Kyouko nods, because she's not going to try talking again. Her lungs are starting to complain, starting to ask for oxygen, but she ignores them, fiercely staring at the mermaid. Her body has recovered from worse, after all.
"I live very far down," the mermaid says, uncertain.
The mermaid's fingers brush Kyouko's thigh, her gaze curious. Kyouko chokes on water and has to fight to surface, although the mermaid helps, taking her hand and pulling firmly. They bob there in the water, staring at each other. Kyouko can't feel her feet anymore, but she must be treading water. She coughs and sputters and wipes at her nose. The mermaid watches.
"No one wants to be alone," Kyouko says, finally, her voice harsh in the air.
The mermaid shakes her head. Kyouko is close enough to see the gills in the side of her neck, the way the water sloughs off her pale scales. The mermaid's fingers are rough, like a shark's skin. She brushes Kyouko's cheek again. Kyouko's teeth are chattering a little, and she clamps down her mouth in annoyance. The water has warmed up, she thinks, because it's almost comfortable now. There's no reason for her to shiver.
She ducks her head underwater and the mermaid follows the gesture.
"Not alone," the mermaid says, and this time she smiles back. Her teeth are pointed -- not just the incisors -- but Kyouko doesn't think she means harm. It is a genuine smile.
So she surfaces for one last gulp of air, and then she kicks off and starts down. The mermaid takes her arm to guide her, and then to pull her along, when she stops swimming.
It is really nice, the mermaid thinks, not to be alone. She'll definitely keep this one a little while. Weight her with something, so she doesn't float away.
After all, the human had offered so nicely.
Fandom: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Length: 1064 words
Prompt: fic_promptly: Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Kyouko/Sayaka, mermaid
Pairing: Kyouko/Sayaka
Other: PG-13 for creepiness. This is not a Disney mermaid story.
Excerpt: There's nothing special about the day that she finds the mermaid, except for the fact that there's, well, a mermaid. The driftwood is boring, the salt spray is cold, and suddenly, a weird rock formation catches her eye. But then it moves, and Kyouko sees the glittering tail, and her throat closes up a little.
Kyouko likes the ocean in winter. She doesn't wander too far from population centers, making sure that she can top up her soul gem, but some days she tells Kyuubey to go bother someone else, and she hitches a ride on a bus and makes her way down to the beach. No one else comes here at this time of year, and she's all alone. She kicks the driftwood that washes up on the sand, sticking her hands in her pockets and feeling the comfortable solidity of the snacks she's stashed away there.
There's nothing special about the day that she finds the mermaid, except for the fact that there's, well, a mermaid. The driftwood is boring, the salt spray is cold, and suddenly, a weird rock formation catches her eye. But then it moves, and Kyouko sees the glittering tail, and her throat closes up a little. She's running before she even starts thinking about it, because there is no way she'd miss the opportunity to see something this extraordinary, even if it means she'll have to find a way to dry her clothes and shoes later.
The mermaid has pale hair that matches her tail. She's visibly startled when Kyouko plunges into the shallows, bare-legged and stumbling for a moment with the shock of the cold water.
"Don't go!" Kyouko calls out, breathing hard, but the mermaid slips into the water, and she's gone with just a glimmering flick of fins.
Kyouko stops, waist-deep in water, and she waits, but the mermaid doesn't come back.
*
Kyouko does, though. She goes back to the city and fights witches and argues with Homura about the Walpurgisnacht. But not for long. A week later, she's back on that bus, this time in pants, as if it will make any difference in the cold water. Her heart is pounding when she steps onto the beach. This time she is a little more cautious. She crouches down behind a pile of driftwood and watches the ocean, as motionless as possible, eating a little to pass the time.
And the mermaid comes back. This time Kyouko gets a better look. The mermaid looks to be about her age, with small, bare breasts and blue eyes. Her skin glitters in the sunlight, as if it isn't quite like human skin. Scaled, perhaps. She's the most beautiful thing Kyouko has ever seen, and she finds herself clutching at her soul gem, holding her breath.
She stands up slowly, eyes on the mermaid. When the mermaid sees her, the mermaid freezes.
"Hello?" Kyouko says, trying to sound gentle. She isn't good at gentleness, but she'd try anything to meet a creature like this.
The mermaid makes a soft sound, like an inquiry. Kyouko smiles a little, but then the mermaid flees, again, into the sea, and Kyouko spends the next twenty minutes cursing, using every word her father taught her never to use.
*
They meet like this -- don't meet like this -- four more times. Homura scolds her about distraction and the state of her soul gem, which is more grubby than Kyouko usually keeps it. Kyuubey watches and says nothing. Kyouko thinks about wishes.
Next time, she walks into the water and keeps going, even when the mermaid splashes away. The water is so cold that it burns her skin, rescues the apples from her pocket, which float to the surface around her like she's playing some kind of strange game. All that Kyouko can think is that the mermaid looks lonely. She keeps walking, her shoes protecting her from the underwater debris she can't see.
The mermaid has never come here with any other members of its kind. No one else has reported seeing her. Kyouko has stolen newspapers from trash bins to make sure. And the mermaid knows that Kyouko keeps coming back -- and she comes back too. That's enough.
The water closes over Kyouko's head and she opens her eyes, seeing very little in the murky darkness. Something brushes her foot, and then the mermaid is there, curiously brushing Kyouko's cheek, and Kyouko almost opens her mouth and drowns right there, in her surprise, but she manages to remember, last minute, to keep it shut.
"Deep," the mermaid says, and Kyouko isn't sure how she can understand what she's saying, because sound doesn't travel like this underwater. She knows -- one time she stuck her head under and tried to shout at the retreating mermaid, only to get a nose full of saltwater for her troubles, and a headache. No one could have understood her shouting.
Kyouko nods, because she's not going to try talking again. Her lungs are starting to complain, starting to ask for oxygen, but she ignores them, fiercely staring at the mermaid. Her body has recovered from worse, after all.
"I live very far down," the mermaid says, uncertain.
The mermaid's fingers brush Kyouko's thigh, her gaze curious. Kyouko chokes on water and has to fight to surface, although the mermaid helps, taking her hand and pulling firmly. They bob there in the water, staring at each other. Kyouko can't feel her feet anymore, but she must be treading water. She coughs and sputters and wipes at her nose. The mermaid watches.
"No one wants to be alone," Kyouko says, finally, her voice harsh in the air.
The mermaid shakes her head. Kyouko is close enough to see the gills in the side of her neck, the way the water sloughs off her pale scales. The mermaid's fingers are rough, like a shark's skin. She brushes Kyouko's cheek again. Kyouko's teeth are chattering a little, and she clamps down her mouth in annoyance. The water has warmed up, she thinks, because it's almost comfortable now. There's no reason for her to shiver.
She ducks her head underwater and the mermaid follows the gesture.
"Not alone," the mermaid says, and this time she smiles back. Her teeth are pointed -- not just the incisors -- but Kyouko doesn't think she means harm. It is a genuine smile.
So she surfaces for one last gulp of air, and then she kicks off and starts down. The mermaid takes her arm to guide her, and then to pull her along, when she stops swimming.
It is really nice, the mermaid thinks, not to be alone. She'll definitely keep this one a little while. Weight her with something, so she doesn't float away.
After all, the human had offered so nicely.