Salty love

chapter 3

The last part was spoken more to himself then katsuki.

The blonde studied him for a minute, eying him up and down for any sign of alternative motives. He got the gist of what he was about to do, guessing that the gag was the name of the strange, nasty tasting cloth shoved into his mouth.

He softly grunted in acknowledgement. The omega took it as a sign that it was ok, so with shaky hands, he slowly undid the knot behind his head. Once it was untied, he took the waded part of the rag out of his mouth.

Katsuki stretched his jaw, it ached and hurt from that thing being in his mouth for God knows how long. He cracked it before licking his lips, trying to bring moister back to his dry mouth.

"T..... Th.. An.. K.. Sss.. "

Katsuki tried to speak in human language but having spoken in chirps and growls most of his life it came out raspy and raw. He wasnt even sure if he got it right, he just studied what humans said when the ships passed by their waters.

Even if it sounded like shit, the omegas eyes still lit up excitedly, his scent blooming into a happy, almost proud smell.

It made katsuki want to melt in a gentle croon.

"W-Wow! I was under the impression that you didn't know anything about human language, heck I didn't even know if you were going to understand me! Where did you learn it, do most mers or  is it just you, I've never met a mer before, you're the first one I've ever seen and youre so gorgeous! You're scales are so pret-"

Katsuki slapped his tail fin over the mouth of the now, very, very talkative human. He was talking so fast he could barely keep up. But he knew the words gorgeous and pretty were directed at him, as well as what they ment. His face was a bright beet red as be looked down, avoiding eye contact.

"Shut up, stupid human... "

Katsuki grumbled out in his own language, it sounded more like random sounds to izuku, mixed with almost an elvish like accent. But he knew he was flustered or embarrassed. Izuku just had no idea what he said.

The omega couldn't help it, he never got this close up and personal with any other captives. Ones that he tried to help, it went by so quick in a panic that he never got to study or observe them. Once that he knew he couldn't help he avoided getting to close, knowing he couldn't help and he didn't want to get attached. It filled him with guilt and haunted him every day, but he couldn't do anything. Not to mention they never put another captive in the same room as him. He's guessing the room that's normally used for others was occupied by cargo or supplies of sorts. And this one was the only available room with chains already set up.

He hasn't talked that fast or that much since his village was burned down. Doing it again made him feel..... Good, but also nostalgic. He missed being able to talk like that so freely, the words all just poured out without thinking. It was so small and so stupid but he couldn't help it, he hasn't felt a sense of joy in years.

Before Izuku knew it, he was crying again. But this time for a different reason. Izuku sniffleled, trying to wipe the ever flowing tears away but the more he tried to get rid of the the more came. He was hiccuping again at this point, trying to hug himself as he hunched down.

It was so stupid but it felt so good to just talk. He hated how something so small made him so emotional.

As Izuku cried, katsuki was at a complete loss.

What just happened???

Why was the human crying?
He still smelt happy, so why did he look so sad??

Was it something he said?

The blonde wasn't really sure what to do, his hand were still bound behind him so he awkwardly slid his tail around the small human in an attempt to comfort him. The large fins covered him like a scaly blanket, the spikes carefully tucked away as to not poke him.

Izuku stopped, looking up at him in shock. He had the face of a gaping fish and it almost made katsuki laugh.

Then the omega flung himself into katsukis chest, hugging him tight and sobbing into his shoulder. the blonde tensed, fighting away the instinct to attack at the sudden movement. But once he was settled, it just clicked into place.

Even if the human was sobbing and snotting all over him, he was so warm and soft. Having him leaning against him for comfort just felt right.
Before he could really process what he was doing, he began crooning softly. Izuku went limp in his arms, his cries wallowing down to short sniffles.

They stayed like that for awhile, just izuku laying against katsukis chest, the blondes tail wrapped protectively around the small man. It felt nice, as scary as the situation around them was, the small gesture of affection was something neither of them knew they needed.

Izuku shifted a bit, leaning completely into him as he turned his head to the side.

"My names Izuku......."

'Ku??? What? '

The human name was strange on his tongue.

"D... De... Ku... Dekku... Deku"

Izuku giggled softly, holding the mer close, his hands flat on the Mershon back, tracing over the red and orange scales.

"Sure, that's pretty close. What's your name? "

Katsuki had to stop and think for a minute, trying to think about how his name would sound in the human language.

"Kk.. A....att. K..kach... At... "

Yeah that wasn't it.

Katsuki grumbled, getting frustrated from the language barrier.

Izuku cocked his head sideways, the act looked cute to the alpha.

"Kach?? Kacchan? Is that it? "

Katsuki shook his head. He tried a couple more times to say it that way a human would, but it just wouldn't come out right.

He was starting to get a little mad at this point, his tail gripping izuku tighter as he huffed.

"It's ok, I'll just call you kacchan.... I can teach you some human language if you want..... And.... Maybe you can teach me some mer? "

It was wishful thinking, they might not even be around that long to do anything like that. But the thought brought him a happiness he couldn't explain.

Katsuki huffed, his chin resting on top of the green bed of curls. Izuku smiled to himself, his scent bleeding into a content omegan bliss.
He was trying not to cry again. It was all so much, after so many years of nothing, this merman, even with the smallest gestures reduced him to a pile of goo.

He could smell his alphan scent when he got close to untie the gag. Upon appearance, he could see that he was a merman and not a mermaid. He was sharp all around, jagged edges in both his human and fish half. But laying on him like this, wrapped in his tail, he felt more comfortable then any thing.

He made up his mind then, he didn't care if it cost him his life, his future freedom, or more years worth of suffering. He was going to get kacchan out of here. Even if it was the last thing he ever did. This time, he wouldn't cower in fear at what would happen if he got caught trying to free another captive.

He didn't know him well, but he had already made up his mind that kacchan was worth it.