Wicked Witch of the West Side Cliffs

- F I V E -

Denki gasped when he felt the tentacle rub up against him. The slimy sensation encompassed the entirety of his body. Each of the arms grabbing him somewhere. "S-Shinso?" Denki gasped again. "W-What are you doing?"  Another tentacle clutching his leg and sliding up, grazing what was in-between. 

"I'm a witch," Shinso grinned, moving his hand down Denki's chest. "I need you for a witch's brew." 

"S-Shinso?" Denki moaned. "Why do you need to touch me t-there?" 

"You wouldn't understand even if I explained." 

Denki's mouth opened to moan again and Shinso leaned forward to kiss him. "Shwinsoah?" 

"Stop talking," Shinso placed his fingers into Denki's mouth. He grabbed his tongue. "Or I'll have to steal your voice." 

Denki opened his eyes and sat up. He rubbed his face and hoped that his eye didn't look too terrible. He was definitely going to see Shinso today. He had to. He couldn't keep having those dreams. 

In order to avoid Eijirou and Prince Bakugo at all costs, Denki escaped through his window. He ran all the way to the cliffs. Well, not the cliffs, he went to through the hidden cave. "Shinso?" he called, following the blue stripe. 

I'm here. Where else would I be?

Denki breathed a sigh of relief. He turned the final corner and saw Shinso there. His dream came flooding back to him. As did the memories of the day before. And the day before that. 

"Denki..." Shinso came rushing toward him. "What happened to your face?" He gently pressed his fingers on Denki's cheek, moving it slightly around his eye. "Were you punched? Is this marrital abuse?" 

"My husband," Denki's heart throbbed, feeling Shinso's fingers on him. "Has found a concubine in the only person I've been able to talk to at the palace. I'm not sure why he punched me when I found out about it but he did." 

"He shouldn't have punched you. He was the one who did that, not you." 

Denki lifted his hand to place it over Shinso's. "Thank you," he smiled. 

Shinso leaned forward and kissed Denki's cheek. He felt pain for a moment and then instant relief. Denki touched his cheek when Shinso turned and sunk back into the water. Denki looked at his reflection. His eye was completely healed. 

"I didn't know merfolk could heal people with a kiss..." 

"I'm a witch," Shinso laughed. "Not just any merfolk. Oh, should I not have? I could've given you a potion instead." 

"I don't mind," Denki waved his arms around. "I-" he blushed. 

"Are you okay? With Katsuki and Eijirou?" 

"I haven't felt anything for my husband in a long time. I'm from a kingdom he hates so I knew that he wouldn't- I mean, it's not something we did for love but-" Denki started crying. "I just thought my husband would be someone I would love..." 

"Oh..." Shinso sunk further into the water. 

"But, now I can't," Denki forced a laugh. 

"That doesn't mean you won't find love." 

"Where am I going to find love in a palace full of people that walk past me? Hate me? Punch me?" he gestured to his face. 

"That depends on you." 

"What am I going to do?" Denki sighed. He sat down on the ground and took off his shoes to soak his feet in the water. 

"I can massage your feet, if you would like," Shinso offered. 

"Are you good at that?" Denki chuckled. 

"I'm not sure. I've never actually had feet to massage," Shinso pointed to his lower half. "Would you like me to try?" 

"Oh, sure, yeah," Denki held out his feet and Shinso moved toward him. He sunk further into the water and grabbed a foot with his hands. 

"Human feet have always interested me," Shinso admitted. "I haven't seen very many so the potions I've tried to make have always failed." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Potions, to turn human," Shinso explained. "Can I look at your legs?" 

"You're starting to sound as if you have a foot fetish." 

"Oh I have fetishes but not exactly for feet," Shinso snickered. 

"You can look at my legs," Denki blurted out. His pants were rather loose so he just rolled them up all the way up his thighs. "Are you going to use your..." 

"I can if you want," he waved one of his octopus arms. "Other humans have always been put off by them so I was just going to use my hands." 

Denki reached out and grabbed the tentacle. He held it in his hands and placed it up against his face. "I kind of like them," he admitted. 

"I've certainly never been told that before." Shinso slid his hand up Denki's leg. Both massaging and simply feeling it for muscle strength. He didn't have legs of his own so he had to observe everything he could about these ones. Denki stared closely at his face, but he noticed a bit of sadness lurking there. Did his legs make him sad? Why?

"Do you know human anatomy?" 

"Yes, I know about it and of it and I've seen photos, diagrams, and things but I've never actually been able to properly look at anything since no one really visits me." Shinso continued to move his hands up Denki's leg. He flinched. "Sorry," Shinso apologized, thinking he'd grabbed too hard or something. 

"You didn't hurt me," Denki assured. "It's just...uhm..." 

"Hm?" 

"It's nothing."

"Alright." 

"Okay, I lied," Denki blurted out. "It's not nothing. Human, uh, male legs get very sensitive the higher you go especially if-" Denki didn't know what else to say. 

"You're attracted to me...?" Shinso stared, tilting his head slightly. "I'm sorry..." He pulled his hands away. "I got a bit absorbed." 

Denki grabbed his hands and put them back. "It's okay. Really. It's fine. I'll be fine. This is for your research right?" 

"I'm sorry...you probably feel really strange about this now that I think about it. You just found out your husband is cheating on you an-" 

Denki leaned forward and his lips nearly grazed Shinso's but he didn't kiss him. He kissed his cheek instead. "It's okay." He rested his forehead against Shinso's. "You can use me as your test subject or human research model." 

"Thank you," Shinso placed his hand on the back of Denki's neck. His breath hitched but he didn't kiss him. He just froze in place. "Thanks..." he repeated. Shinso hadn't felt like this since...well, he didn't want to think about it.