A DNF Merman AU

Ex. Chapter 3

A/N: This chapter is inspired by a petition started by @Betha81 on AO3 as well as some cute comments from y'all on Wattpad:)

Not sure if I need to label this as a warning, but there will be weed in this chapter.

How you decide to interpret this chapter is completely up to you:) Enjoy!

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Ex. Chapter 3

George sits next to Karl lazily on the couch in Dream's living room.

"I'm so boredddd," Karl whines, draping himself dramatically across the merman's lap. The two boys are alone since their boyfriends are out of town this afternoon for some event. Originally, hanging out with Karl to disguise Clay's absence had seemed like a good idea. However, only a couple of hours into their day together, they are already out of things to do, and George is tired of staring at the wall.

Having just one primary skill, George's only suggestion of a fun activity is swimming, which Karl politely declines. All four boys had already spent most of their morning in the water. The other boy is just as useless in his ideas. So far.

"Hey, Georgie? Wanna get high?" Karl says, his face lighting up excitedly at his own suggestion.

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If George had any restraint or nervous inhibitions before today, they have long since disappeared. Both boys are lying on the floor now, Karl resting his head on the merman's stomach comfortably. Scattered around them are a couple of half empty chip bags, a Kitkat wrapper, and a few cans of Monster. George has been patting the boy's head for the past few minutes, wondering how his hair could be so fluffy and soft. It should be illegal.

"Hey Gogy?" Karl shouts in a sad attempt at a whisper. "Do you ever wonder why we're here?"

George turns to look at the roof, pondering his answer while searching for patterns in the popcorn ceiling above him. "I.. don't know."

"Me either," Karl responds solemnly, reaching his hand into a bag of chips. "But I'm starting to think it might have something to do with eating Takis."

George looks back at the boy's face, and they manage to maintain serious eye contact for an impressive five seconds before erupting into laughter. Somehow, Karl is even more giggly than normal, body nearly convulsing with every wave of laughter. Every time George manages to calm down a bit, he turns to look at Karl, and he cannot help but die again when he sees just how stupid the boy looks rolling around on the floor. And soon the merman is crying because he's laughing so hard that it fucking hurts.

George is starting to think that maybe this is what it's all about.

Finally, finally, the boys can breathe again, and George smiles at the boy happily.

"Hey Karl? Tell me a story?"

"Of course, Sir Gogy," he says, imitating George's accent and folding his hands neatly over his lap. He clears his throat before beginning.

"Once upon a time there was a merman, and his name w–"

"Hey! I don't wanna hear a story about myself!"

"I didn't say it was about you! Now shut up and stop interrupting."

"Once upon a time there was a merman, and his name was Karl. He had a mer-mother and a mer-father and lots of mer-siblings. He had a dark purple tail and long brown hair, and he was very happy.

Sometimes, he and his siblings would race! Even though he was the youngest, he was the fastest of them all. He would always beat them to the finish line. In fact, he was so much faster than them that he almost never saw them finish the race at all! He was also the best hider. Whenever they played hide-and-seek, Karl was almost never found. Sometimes he would wait quietly for hours behind a rock, and they'd never come get him! He was the best.

Eventually, all his siblings grew up and moved with their mer-spouses to distant seas. At first, Karl was sad, but then he realized that it was not that different than before. The only change was that now, he could hide in the open. Completely bored, and fairly lonely, he began going on little adventures. He explored shipwrecks, chased after schools of fish, leapt with dolphins, and collected seashells to decorate his hair with.

The first time he got trapped in the wreckage of a sunken ship, he had raced home, both excited to tell his parents about his experience and afraid of how angry they might be at him for missing dinner. However, they had not even noticed that he had been gone. He thought it was a fluke. Maybe they had just gone to bed early! But the same thing occurred the next time he came home after sunset. And the next. And the next. And the next. He began pushing limits and breaking rules, hoping that they'd finally care. They never did.

The last straw occurred when he accidentally got himself caught in a fishing net, barely escaping the trap in time. He arrived home, bruised and cut up and shaking in fear, but even that wasn't enough. He had never been very close to his parents, but it still hurt to realize that they wouldn't miss him if he disappeared completely. So that's exactly what he did.

He packed up a bag of some of his things: the shells for his hair, his favorite snacks, and various other trinkets he had discovered in his earlier adventures. Karl set out on his own. He was used to being alone. He was used to having only himself for company. Now, he could go on as many expeditions as he wanted for as long as he wanted. Now, he'd never have to eat that one type of red kelp that he absolutely hated.

It should have been perfect. It almost was. Something was missing, though.

Sometimes, Karl would swim to the surface so that he could watch the humans interact. He loved seeing the ways they smiled at each other, the way they laughed and played. He loved hearing children shriek cheerfully when their parents tossed them into the rolling surf. He loved watching lovers cling to each other happily in the waves.

Maybe, if he was human like them, he'd be able to have that, too. Maybe, just maybe, he'd find himself a family that really cared about him."

"Karl...?" George asks, "that's not a true story, right?"

The boy just winks. "I don't know. Is it?"

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A/N: Again, how you interpret this chapter and Karl's story is up to you!

Also, thank you for being so patient with my updates! I've been really busy lately, and I don't see it getting much better anytime soon. Last night, I dreamt that someone reported the story and tried to get it taken down because I was taking too long to post. It doesn't really make sense, but apparently the dream-logic was scary enough to convince me that I needed to write another chapter today. yikes