The Reef

7-Gaze

SHIT. I'm really late with updates, sorry. Had to do a shit ton of school shopping and a few doctors appointments for my knee. My high school has a second floor and I can't go up stairs because of my unstable kneecap so I had to get a note. Yay me, I get to ride the elevator!

Anyway I'm planning to update a few times a week now that I'm going back to hell.

Chapter start

When Error woke up- when did he even fall asleep? He couldn't remember. - everything seemed slightly heavier. It was like the air-no water, seemed thicker: more dense. Making it slightly harder to breath. He couldn't figure out why. Maybe some older pain was coming back or because he broke his new sleeping cycle. Either way he wasn't really bothered. He's had way worse; from his ribs collapsing to being drowned, he's felt similar yet stronger sensations than this.

He didn't need to bother with worry. He needed to get up. Make sure the boys and their guest were ok.

Cracking his eyes open he looked up to see Red looming over him with an arm outstretched.

Jolting up the destroyer growled. He knew it! He knew he couldn't have trusted him. How could he have let his guard down like that?Error expected an attack only to see the others shock and surprise.

"Oh! Geez sorry for startling you, I was just about to wake you up. I caught breakfast." Red said as he backed away slightly, giving Error room to breathe and calm down.

Error glanced behind the other to see the boys happily munching on a pile of small fist sized fish. Both pups perked up and cooed happily when they noticed their fathers gaze.

Error relaxed physical and mentally at the sight of them. Sighing, he slipped over and past Red to his sons.

Void razed a larger, more plump fish in Errors direction. "Daddy! I saved you the biggest one!"

Error smiled softly at his youngest. "Thank you Void, and thank you Red for catching all this." Gently he took the fish and glanced over at Red, who's cheeks began to flush a bright crimson as he picked the stitching in his shoulder. "You want to share this? I don't have much of an appetite."

Reds blushed deepened and nodded, slowly approaching the slightly larger mer. "Thanks. I was going to wait until these two had there fill before getting my own..."

Error, with a quick twist of the wrist, tore the large fish in half. Or more like tore off one third for himself and handed the rest to a surprised Red.

The vermilion scaled mer flicked his tail happily as he ate beside the other. Thanking the destroyer again for the noticeably larger portion. Error honestly couldn't understand why. Red had caught all these fish and was acting as if he wasn't aloud to his own kills.

Maybe it was just a mer thing Error had yet to learn about. Either way it seemed to rub him the wrong way.

Time skip

The rest of the day consisted of the boys playing along the coral around the cavern. Whether it was hid n' seek or just sitting around taking, which they had to do every so often do to Nulls neck injury bothering him or slowing him down, the boys were content with it.

Error laid against a coral plate watching the boys as his fingers skillfully wove a large(ish) handkerchief. Red was laying next to him. Eyes lazily following fish that swam through the area, swatting a the ones dared to swim near them.

It was starting to grow dark. By then Error had caught dinner for the boys and Red, saying he would eat the leftovers if there was any. It wasn't a very larger fish, and his three needed it more than him.

After dinner the boys had one last game before it was time to go inside.

Error had finished up the little project he was working on. Gently he took Reds arm, making him jump slightly. The destroyer began to wrap the handkerchief around the jagged wound an his arm. Stitching in bone was rather irritating, Error knows from experience, so could help the irritation.

Red looked at his now wrapped shoulder then back to Error. "T-thank you." Error hummed at the compliment.

Red looked over to the boys, then up, then to Error. "Hey Error? Can I show you and the boys something?"

Error stiffened slightly. He glanced to Null and Void, who had just finished their game and were swiping towards then, before nodding slowly.

Red smiled. "Follow me."

Error watched as the other swam straight up. He looked down at the boys confused expressions as the approached. "Hold onto me." He let the boys grab onto his hands as he slowly followed Red.

The slightly smaller mer hovered just below the surface waiting as Error caught up.

The destroyer was nervous. But he trusted Red to a good enough extent he'd give him the benefit of doubt.

"Only put you head above, nothing more. Full air contact to the soul can be damaging." Red explained before moving so his head was above the water.

Error, gazing down at the boys hesitantly followed.

It was a slight shock to the senses to be out of the water. He had been so use to the cool compact feeling around him, that simply feeling a breeze against his face again was almost to foreign. Breathe in the air was a experience to. It came in with a rush, almost chocking him. Breathing water had a drag to it. It was thicker than air, making it a workout to get it through your system.

The boys squeaking as they breached showed the same reaction. For a moment he was worried. Just for a moment.

He opened his eye and looked down at his sons to make sure they were ok. Expecting to see a pained reaction or fear but... they only look up in wonder. Void was in a rare silence as was Null. He was even more worried and confused until Null softly spoke.

"Daddy... are those stars?"

Slowly Error followed the boys gaze. Jaw almost dropping at the sight.

Millions of stars spread as far as the eye could see littered the sky. Error almost strained himself trying to take it all in.

Above them were three moons, two side by side nearly the same size laying near the center of the sky. The third was smaller, laying just above the horizon.

"Three moons? I... how?" Error forced himself not to choke on his words as he looked over to Red.

Red only laughed at this. "We actually have four. But they're rarely in the sky all together." Red lifted a hand and pointed to each. "We have The Twins, Dwarf, and Violet, who isn't out to night."

Red sighed slightly. A mix of emotions spreading across his face. "Not many mers know or care about this. My father did though. He'd bring me and... he'd bring me up almost every night to star gaze." Error wanted to speak. To ask what he was going to say before. But the raw emotion coming off the other told him to let it slide, just this once.

Slowly, he pulled his gaze back up to the sky.