Chapter 9: Breaking the Ice

Short and sweet. By the time I finished this chapter I realized that up until this point it's been one big prologue, lol. So the story pretty much kicks off after this chapter. :)

Beta'd by HeartSNS

Time flew by rather fast after the camera incident. Naruto gave him space afterwards and he quickly settled back into a productive pace, making sure to avoid firing up the feisty merman again. He lost track of time, realizing at some point Naruto had disappeared. It was a little disappointing not having his silent companion around but he couldn't blame the merman, it had to be boring watching him slowly swim around the reef photographing fish all day. Surely Naruto had better things to do. Approximately 20 minutes past since his last sighting of the blond.

Then his stomach started growling.

Sure enough it was already 2:30pm, according the glowing numbers on Sasuke's digital watch/depth reader. Passed his usual lunch time.

Heading back the surface, that's when he spotted the merman several meters away, waiting expectantly by a large boulder. So, Naruto hadn't grown bored with him after all. Naruto had been…waiting for him. As in, the blond knew when Sasuke's lunch break was. Had his schedule down to the wire.

Holy fuck

Goosebumps pricked up Sasuke's arms beneath the wet suit. It was both disturbing yet awe-inspiring that a merman knew his daily schedule. Was he really that predictable? Probably. Humans were a creature of habit, after all. But still…for a merman to learn his schedule was alarming. Also, truly amazing that Naruto had that kind of memory retention. Sasuke would have be more aware of his own actions when dealing with another species that rivaled human intelligence.

Naruto was still by the rock by the time Sasuke came back with a can of beans, fresh mango, and coconut he had found on the island earlier. Since Naruto was still there he figured he could use some company and brought his lunch to the blond, or at least as close as he could get without swimming. With no dive gear on he was able to move easier over the rocky terrain. Large boulders encompassed the bowl shaped cove, many of which were close together and above surface level, enabling him to jump across boulders to reach the patient blond.

Naruto didn't miss a beat and swam up to Sasuke the second he sat down. The human looked different, more natural out of his seal suit and that made Naruto happy. He was also carrying some items that peaked the blond's interest.

With the man's legs dangling in the water, Naruto hovered close to his knee. The human's anatomy still fascinated him but he was more intrigued by what that man held in his hand. A familiar sent of Naruto's favorite land fruit had his mouth salivating. Sure enough, his sniffer was spot on. Sasuke had two sunkisses with him! Naruto keened, his blue eyes locked on the precious treat and his hand reached out instinctively to grab it. Yeah he knew better than to steal food from other animals but it had been so long since he had one! He couldn't help himself!

A low rumbling sound reverberated from the man's chest. Naruto decided he like that sound, but it sounded awfully similar to the noise pattern the dolphins produced when making fun of him.

"You like mangos?" the human spoke, observing Naruto's extended arm and the desperate look on his face.

"Mango?" Naruto repeated weakly.

"Yes." Sasuke pointed to the fruit, then handed it over to the hungry blond. "Mango."

"Mango," he repeated with confidence before tearing into the sweet, fleshy goodness.

Sasuke laughed again as he watched the merman go nuts for an abundant island fruit. It was obvious by Naruto's reaction that he's had mangoes before, and apparently they were a favorite of his. He made a mental note to gather more mangoes for his friend as he pried open the can of beans.

Naruto didn't stop chowing down on the fruit until there was nothing left but a hard core. Then he looked up at Sasuke again. Expectantly. With those eyes. Fucking bright blue puppy dog eyes.

Goddammit.

So much for lunch. The little merman was starting to be quite the moocher. With a sigh, Sasuke took a spoonful of beans a brought it down to Naruto's level.

The blond wasted to time in taking a bite, confident with Sasuke's choice of pallet after just having the mango. He recoiled at the foreign taste and felt bad that Sasuke had been eating something so unpalatable all this time.

Sasuke laughed. Yes, laughed at his reaction. That bitch.

Naruto would be sure to be more cautious next time he tried human food. Until then, he needed something he knew to be good to cleanse the pallet. Naruto dove beneath the surface and with a flick of a tail he was out of Sasuke's sight in an instant.

Sasuke watched the merman leave without a word, not that he expected one. However, it was a bit disappointing when Naruto left him all alone. He had to admit the blond had a certain charm about him and Sasuke enjoyed his company, even if it could be a bit unpredictable.

Naruto was curious, energetic, and innocent by nature, and Sasuke found himself drawn in by his expressive features. He was pure in every way Sasuke was not, yet Naruto had to be a strong survivor if he lived out here all by himself. So they weren't complete opposites after all.

The Caribbean sun burned hot on Sasuke's exposed back as he finished off the canned beans without company. In all honesty he wasn't sure if Naruto was going to come back or if the merman was done for the day. He hoped not. It was far more entertaining and interesting with him around.

He was sipping on coconut water when the familiar blond head appeared near his toes. The merman really was getting rather comfortable with him if he didn't so much as hesitate to get this close. Sasuke found himself equally as calm. That was a new revelation. They had only just officially met for the first time today and already they were becoming chummy with each other. Sasuke laughed at the private joke in his head. Of course it would take a non-human boy to make friends with. He's spent more time in nature and around wild animals that his human social skills were a disgrace. Finding a fish-person (that shouldn't even exist in the first place) was probably the best match possible at this time in his life. What that said about him, Sasuke wasn't sure, but he mise well enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity while he still could.

Naruto frowned at Sasuke when he returned to the surface. The man was still laughing at him. He didn't know what was so damn funny and he hating not knowing. He sucked up his pride and offered the human a portion of his catch, feeling generous for the mango he had received earlier.

Sasuke looked down at Naruto's bounty and was surprised to see the blond had brought up an armful of scallops. An armful! The merman hadn't been away for more than ten minutes and this is when he gets. Holy shit. That merman really was an efficient hunter. Sasuke's stomach growled just looking at those fresh scallops. It had been awhile since he indulged in such a delicacy, and nothing could compare to the taste of fresh scallops.

The blond was pleased at the hungry look the human passed his way when he caught a hold of Naruto's catch. These shell fish were good but he wasn't sure if the human would like 'em too.

Sasuke patted the rock at his side. Naruto stared. He did it again. Naruto wasn't sure what the man was doing.

"Come up here, Naruto." His name called out peaked the blond's attention. Sasuke scooted over to make room for Naruto then patted the rock again. "Can you jump up here?"

Naruto placed the shells on the rock and the man nodded his head.

He continued staring, confusion clear in his eyes.

"Up?" Sasuke repeated.

"U-up?"

"Yes. Can you jump up?"

Naruto huffed out in exasperation until Sasuke gently grabbed his hands then placed them on the rock near his side. Sasuke pointed to Naruto's body then the rock.

"Up."

Oh. Sasuke wanted him up there with him. Makes sense now that he thought of it, Sasuke being a land mammal and all.

"Up!" Naruto ginned and propelled himself out of the water. He used too much force and found himself face planted on the hard, slick surface feet away from his intended spot. Naruto blushed bright red as he pried himself up off the rock and squirmed his way over to the laughing human.

Perching himself at Sasuke's side, Naruto sat awkwardly with his tail curled around the boulders smooth edge, teeth bared in warning.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Sasuke choked down a laugh, but quickly got a hold of himself. "It's just that you're so damn graceful underwater but move like a walrus on land."

For the first time Naruto was actually glad he couldn't understand the human. He had a feeling he wouldn't like what the man had to say. Instead of pouting any longer Naruto got to work of prying apart the shells and sucking down the contents. He watched Sasuke struggle to open even one.

This time it was his turn to laugh.

"How do you make it look so easy?" Sasuke grumbled.

Naruto watched the human struggle with the hard shell a little while longer before he offered Sasuke a hand. Literally.

"Thanks," the man nodded in appreciation. He did something else to the shellfish that Naruto wasn't accustomed to before dining; washing it off with sea water and cleaning out the gritting bits. "Damn, these are good," he moaned. "Nothing beats the taste of fresh scallop's strait from the sea."

Naruto continued splitting open the shells quicker than Sasuke could clean 'em out. He enjoyed listening to the man talk even though he had no idea what he was saying. It was soothing to hear complex speech that had a similarity to that of Merfolk, at least when his kind communicated above the surface.

His brain worked to try to find a familiar pattern whenever Sasuke spoke but he wasn't having any luck. Instead he sat back and listened to each new word with passion. At some point he had become so enthralled that he found himself leaning heavily on Sasuke side as they shared Naruto's catch.

Startled by this unusual complacency Naruto sat up straight, giving the man some space. He was embarrassed with his casual behavior and they both fell into an awkward silence. It wasn't until Sasuke started talking and pointing at certain objects, then repeated the word over again that Naruto found himself being drawn to the man again. There was a warmth and familiarity about him that tugged at the loneliness that Naruto had all but forgotten he carried around with him. Always.

Thankfully, Sasuke didn't seem bothered by the loss of personal space. In fact, Naruto could almost assume the man enjoyed the touch equally as much. The way his heartbeat slowed, and the way his muscles relaxed just a fraction told Naruto that Sasuke was comfortable with him. That made Naruto happy.

Sasuke had lost track of time as he talked to Naruto. The blond was more quiet and attentive than he initially gave him credit for. Sasuke had an odd feeling that he was a chatterbox when given the chance to shine. Although, to be fair, Naruto didn't know many words yet. But, he was a remarkably fast learner.

At first he'd been surprised when he felt the weight of Naruto's body on his side, but he quickly realized that it didn't bother him one bit. Which was unusual for him. He was a man of few words with personal boundaries of that of a felon. A typical day for Sasuke would be spent with minimal human contact, just the way he preferred.

But with Naruto it was different.

The blond getting that close to him meant he trusted Sasuke. At least to some degree. That was a victory in his book, a sign of trust that was not easy to develop with animals in the wild. Which was exactly what Naruto was.

Wild

The blond haired, blue-eyed, fish-boy was as wild as they come.

But apparently not as wild as Sasuke was led to believe. By the time he felt the telltale sting of sunburn on his back Naruto was practically lying in his lap, repeating each new word Sasuke taught him with excitement gleaming in his eyes. It was…adorable. Sasuke found himself enthralled by his childlike charm. And he didn't even like kids!

WTF. It had to be the island, the complete desolation doing this to Sasuke's mind, or Naruto's siren abilities. But he found the second explanation unlikely as Naruto hardly made a sound other than repeating a simple word back to him.

Sasuke patiently continued the free tutor session until the blond grew physically weak from being out of water so long. He ignored the hard rock digging irritably in his left asscheeks, ignored it when his legs fell asleep under Naruto's body weight, ignored the burn growing steadily worse on his back sitting exposed like this under the hot, Caribbean sun. He ignore all these discomforts for the chance to teach Naruto just one more word.

Truly he was growing soft in his old age.

Sasuke had planned to spend the remaining daylight working, but Naruto had other plans it seemed. The blond wouldn't assist him luring out fish unless Sasuke helped collect trash and debris floating near the surface or snagged on the reef.

That's how he ended up spending much of the afternoon. On clean up duty.

If someone told him he would be picking up garbage on a deserted island, with a merman, at any point in his life,he would tell them they were crazy. Yet, here he was…doing just that.

Now Sasuke was a believer that anything could happen.

In the end, all that time and energy wasted was worth it. Naruto was good on his promise of helping out after. It was more of an unspoken agreement rather a promise. Either way, once the merman was satisfied with Sasuke's contribution to the islands cleanliness he was quick to return the favor, leading Sasuke to remote locations that only an aquatic creature would know. The payoff was huge. Not only did Sasuke find a new species of fish to photograph, he found coral, octopus (a tiny one), and shrimp species that he hadn't seen before. With Naruto's assistance Sasuke knew he'd make bank when he returned home. The science community at large with be thrilled of this this news.

All this excitement made Sasuke eager to know what else he would discover with the merman by his side.

A/N: Don't let all the sweet, fluffiness of this chapter fool you. There will be many ups and downs in this fic. Also check out the link on my profile page if you're interested in seeing the artwork for this chapter. It's also posted on the A03 fic.