MatchaBlossom Head Canons

Mermaid AU

It was about that time. The time that a certain pink haired merman waited all week for.
Grabbing his small satchel that he picked up on the shore, he quickly dove out from his cavern, sea shells and a starfish tucked safely away in his bag as he swam off, up towards the shore. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest, his breathing jagged and uneven despite his gills working perfectly under the sea as he swam. Kaoru dashed left, then right, then back behind a rather large rock, finally peeking his head out above the surface. His porcelain toned skin all but glimmered against the sea, sparkling his reflection. His long pink scaled tail swishing behind him, finally resting almost as a seat underneath him when he stopped. Kaoru peered out to the shore from behind his safety rock, bright golden eyes scanning for that familiar face. That face he was forbidden to see. The face he longed for every moment he was away. The face he waited rather impatiently for every week.
His arms started scaling, something that often happened when he was exposed to the air for too long, quickly dipping his body back in the ocean before popping back up. The dark pink scales suddenly vanishing once more. Kaoru kept his body low from behind the larger rock, waves gently crashing against him, helping hide his scales as they appeared.

Finally after what felt like hours, Kaoru saw a familiar green tuft of hair peeking out from under a dark brown hood, haphazardly tied off at the neck, the boy couldn't have been more than 12years old, wearing a rather dirty looking white blouse, ragged blue pants and no shoes. His skin was darker than Kaoru's, perfectly sun kissed despite being so covered up, his toes crunching in the sand as he sprinted towards Kaoru's rock.
"Had to sneak out, sorry." The green haired boy almost whispered when they had made eye contact. He knew Kaoru could hear him, excited eyes watching as his friend swam up closer.
"Do you remember my name?" He asked the merman, who nodded once, a small smile playing his lips as he pulled the hood from his head.
"Koji." Kaoru said softly, reaching in his satchel. He held out his prized sea shell, the shine on the top making a perfect holographic rainbow reflection on the ocean.
"For you." His words were short but full of genuine happiness, hoping Kojiro knew what he meant. Talking, speaking, was still foreign to him, Merfolk using telepathy as their source of communication. But Kaoru had been learning from Kojiro when he would sneak off to the shore for about half a year now, and Kaoru quickly claimed Kojiro as his best friend.
"Oh wow, it's beautiful. Thanks Ru!" Kojiro beamed, holding it up to the sun, smiling a wide goofy grin at the shell before putting it gently in his pocket.
"I love it!" Kaoru felt his cheeks burn, suddenly interested in his tail beneath him to avert his gaze from the overwhelmingly warm smile from Kojiro. He heard Kojiro shuffling in his pockets, pulling out two small items.
"I thought of you when I saw this, it can help hold your hair back." Kojiro said softly, holding out a thin golden ropey hair tie.
"May I show you?"
Kaoru blinked twice, not fully understanding. He watched Kojiro carefully as the green haired boy took a couple steps closer, one arm extended towards him. Kaoru's gold eyes narrowed, shifting back slowly, the tips of his tail exposed for just a millisecond above the surface. Kojiro's eyes widened slightly, but he smiled back at Kaoru.
"Please?"
Kaoru still didn't fully understand what Kojiro was saying, but his tone was soft and matched his bright eyes, causing Kaoru to gulp before holding still, allowing Kojiro to approach him.
Kojiro slowly moved towards his friend once more, both hands up by his chest, letting Kaoru know he wasn't playing around. He finally made his way to Kaoru's side, Kojiro's legs now knee deep in the water, Kaoru's tail swishing softly beneath them.
Kojiro reached up, his fingers barely brushing against Kaoru's soft pink hair before Kaoru flinched back, wide eyes watching him intently.
"Hey, hey! No it's ok! I promise, I won't hurt you. Do you trust me?"
Kaoru bit the inside of his cheek, still unsure of what exactly Kojiro was telling him. But the emotions stirring in his heart, having this beautiful human so close to him, closer than he ever had been in the six months they'd known each other, he sensed absolutely zero danger.
Kaoru gulped, before bowing his head slightly, leaning into Kojiro's touch.
Kojiro felt his face blush, the heat prickling his ears, but he carefully ran his fingers through one side of Kaoru's hair, then the other, pulling the merman's long pink hair up into a ponytail and securing it with the thin golden rope.
Kaoru didn't know what to expect, but Kojiro's touch was incredibly warm, sending shivers down his spine. He couldn't hold back the low almost purring growl from his throat as Kojiro gently scratched his scalp.
"Mom calls it a hair tie. She uses these on my sister all the time. Your hair is a little shorter than hers, but I figured it would work still."
Kojiro took a step to admire his handy work.
"Wow. You look amazing." The blush was back in his cheeks full force, causing Kaoru to blush as well. Kaoru glanced up, unable to see it, but smiled at his reflection.
"Amazing." Kaoru repeatedly quietly, admiring his hair in his reflection.
"Pretty." Kojiro muttered, watching Kaoru's reflection.
"Pretty?" Kaoru repeated, curiously.
Kojiro nodded, taking another step further from Kaoru to sit himself on the sand. Kaoru flicked his tail in one Swift motion, arriving at Kojiro's side almost instantly. Propping himself on his elbows, Kaoru laid down in his belly, inching himself closer to Kojiro but still allowing his waist and tail to be hidden in the water.
"Yeah, pretty. You know, like it looks really nice." Kojiro flexed his feet in the sand, allowing his toes to bunch up the sand between them. Kaoru just watched him, then his feet, beyond curios as to how he could do what he was doing. What they were called, how he could even ask.
They stayed in silence for a few minutes, Kaoru's shoulders and forearms now collecting small dark pink scales on them from the over exposure. Kojiro's eyes widened, reaching out to touch them without thinking. Kaoru flinched only for a moment, before the warmth of Kojiro's fingers once again greeted his skin and eased his anxiety.
"So cool." Kojiro muttered as he ran his fingers gingerly over the scales. They felt dry and rugged, but yet looked so beautiful and slick, it amazed Kojiro. Kaoru let his eyes close, enjoying the touch of his friend as he continued to run his fingers up and down Kaoru's arm. His hair still perfectly in place from Kojiro's attempt at a ponytail, Kaoru surprised even himself as he leaned closer into Kojiro's touch, allowing his forehead to press against Kojiro's shoulder.
Kojiro inhaled sharply, watching as Kaoru's tail became further exposed, admiring the same pink hued scales that ran down all the way to his tip of his tail, where it fanned out in almost a see through pink pearly hue.
He was absolutely beautiful. Not just in a mythical creature sort of way, but even just admiring him from the chest up, where you almost wouldn't know any different, Kaoru was beautiful. Soft pink hair that fell just past his shoulders. Bright large golden eyes, porcelain skin, so fair and supple, yet a very attractive and strong jawline and sharp teeth. Yet Kojiro was never afraid of him, never. Not once. On the opposite, he was so intrigued, so attracted to his new found friend, that he willingly snuck out every week to meet up with him, despite his mother's wishes for him to stay away from the sea.
He wanted to stay like this forever, just the two of them, not a care in the world. Kojiro watched as more scales formed up Kaoru's arms, now larger scales forming in a deeper pink shade on his shoulders. Kaoru flicked his tail, hoping enough of the fin was still in the water to splash water on himself without having to actually move, splashing Kojiro a bit in the process.
"Hey!" Kojiro laughed, but understood the point of it. He watched as some of the scales retracted back, then he remembered his other gift.
"Oh! Ru, I have this for you, too. I hope it fits. I made it smaller then my own. I figured your wrist was narrower than mine." He dug around in his pocket once more before revealing a thin silver band. Kaoru's golden eyes watched it glisten in the sun, suddenly all but entranced with the beautiful object before him.
Kojiro gently reached for Kaoru's wrist, a slight pout on his lips when he realized it was still a bit too wide for him slender friend. He thought for a moment, carefully sliding it up Kaoru's arm until it felt snug, wrapping around his bicep.
"I guess that'll work." Kojiro mumbled, admiring his friend once more.
Kaoru's eyes were still wide, he too admiring the beautiful band on his arm in his reflection in the ocean. Kaoru's finger ran over the band, he smiled.
"Pretty." He repeated, giving Kojiro a wide toothy grin.

Notes:
This is a pretty short one shot basically, but I have other ideas, pre and post this meeting. Should I just make it a series?
Comment and let me know!

Art is by Skyrawathi on DeviantArt
It's not exactly how I pictured Kaoru but it's gorgeous and pretty close