Sorry for the lack of updates! Yah boi's sick, in her senior year, and suffering overall. I'll try to keep things updated!

This is short and like not edited but yah girl wanna move this story FORWARD can I get an amen

Third person pov

Aizawa was absolutely enthralled. This was what his interests had always been centered around almost all his life, after all. Merfolk were never made up. Sure, they were quite clearly very rare and it was apparently a part of their culture to stray from humans indefinitely and to, overall, avoid modern civilization at all costs, but none of that mattered! Merfolk were real. There was a real merman, with his elbows propped up on the deck, listening to him ramble on and on about the society he'd felt was so drab just moments before. Now, he was pulling out every beautiful factoid he could. Any positive thing he could say about humans, he'd say.

"Heroes... they sound amazing." Atlantis said in a wistful tone. The beach was now dark, moonlight shimmering off the water and creating silver ripples that seemed to glow ethereally. The waves almost appeared to reflect Atlantis' awe over this whole situation. The merman had had expressive  eyes. Aizawa was sure his own darker ones didn't convey how utterly floored and enthralled he was with this all. He was talking to a merman. A merman! He felt giddy with wonder. He was already entirely wrapped up in Atlantis and everything he was. His personality, his face, his tail, his life. It was all amazingly interesting to him. Atlantis's voice and curious gaze drew him out of his daze. "You said you're a hero too, right?"

Atlantis couldn't really believe what was happening. He was talking to a human! A part of him wasn't sure he'd fully processed what was happening yet. He'd been talking to this human for several hours, and they were laughing, smiling, conversing as though this was all completely normal. The human, Shota, was just as awed with Atlantis as Atlantis was with him! It was a dream come true. He felt overjoyed to realize that maybe, he might have just made a friend, and maybe, he didn't have to be alone anymore. The idea that he could finally have someone else to talk to made his heart thunder in his chest with anticipation.

"An underground one, yes." Aizawa admitted, almost bashfully. He wasn't a fan of the media, nor would he ever be. But now, he was almost a little sad he couldn't say he had a shining, popular rank to present forth. Climbing up to the top ten wasn't something that was, or ever would be, possible for someone like him. But the top thirty was still quite good, and even saying he was up there would be nice. But instead he didn't hold a ranking at all, working behind the scenes and alongside the police. To many, it might seem noble. But Atlantis didn't know the ways of the human world as well as Aizawa did.

He was afraid of Atlantis not liking him. Of deciding he was boring, and going off and being friends with some other human somewhere else. He knew it was dumb of him. Jealousy wasn't a pretty thing, and he had no right to have it after just meeting Atlantis. But merfolk were everything to him. He came to the ocean constantly, and thought about them nearly everyday. This was just... amazing. He adored merfolk, and he adored Atlantis! Already! God, he was so fucked. Atlantis would swim off, and Aizawa would quit his job as a hero to become a sailor in order to search for him. 

"What's that mean?" Atlantis' tail swished in the cool water, his sea-green eyes shining. Swipes of blue swirled around the pupil, creating an oceanic effect that made Aizawa want to stare. This was just so surreal. He'd already subtly pinched himself several times to check whether or not he was dreaming, but he was sure he wasn't. This was real. There was a merman, here in the water before him, and he was real. It was mind-blowing! Completely insane! No one would ever believe him were he to try and tell them. So he wouldn't. The thought of sharing Atlantis' existence seemed almost wrong.

"Nobody really knows what I am." Aizawa admitted, glancing away. "I'm... a secret hero, sort of. I work at night when its dark, and work to apprehend villains alongside the police-- the police are our law enforcement." 

Atlantis lit up like a lighthouse, startling Aizawa slightly. "That sounds amazing! Your world is so interesting. I can't believe how much we've been missing... and to think, I thought all humans were bad, before." Atlantis said, almost distantly. Aizawa felt himself smile a little. "I'm glad I was wrong. Now I have a friend!"

Aizawa's heart almost stopped, shooting up towards the heavens as his entire being ascended. Two words, right here: Holy. Fuck. Were they friends? Atlantis looked so eager, watching him intently. And he could only stare. Hizashi and Nemuri were... well, essentially his only friends. He had coworkers, but he didn't really hang out with them. Maybe Vlad King on occasion if Aizawa were forced into some work get-together. Otherwise, he couldn't say he knew much about what a friend was, or even how to be a good one. Half the time, Mic and Nemuri were breaking into his apartment to make sure he hadn't died because he never responded to their texts or answered the phone. What if he fucked it up?

"Are we? Friends, I mean." Aizawa cleared his throat gruffly, attempting to compose himself. Stay chill. He needed to keep his cool. It was fine. They were friends. Don't panic, right? Just... he was friend with a merman! It was a dream come true! He'd daydreamed about this exact moment for years upon years, coming up with scenarios about what they'd do, what they'd talk about... he was a nerd. He was a merfolk enthusiast, and a nerd, and he was fine with it. He was totally 'geeking out' as Mic would say, and he was fine with it.

Atlantis was a bit startled. Were they not friends? Had he assumed too much? He knew it, he was moving too fast. He didn't want to panic. But he was sort of panicking now. He was afraid this human would leave and never come back. It's not like Atlantis could follow him. He was such a nice man; Atlantis didn't want him to go. He receded just slightly back into the water. "I-I was hoping so. It's okay if you don't-"

"Oh, no, no, no!" Aizawa immediately panicked, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He cursed mentally at himself. He probably looked like an idiot right now. "Sorry- I just... ah, wanted to make sure, I suppose. I'm not a very good friend."

"Why not? You seem nice." Atlantis said meekly, glancing up at him in a bashful manner. So embarrassing! Why was he like this? He'd forgotten how to talk to other... well, he'd never talked to a human before, but merfolk were a lot like them. Just... aquatic, he supposed. He didn't know! Dolphins, salmon, sharks, whales, turtles, shrimp-- they were all so different. They weren't quite as intelligent, and had such different ways of speaking and communicating. Shota seemed so smart and amazing. A hero! With a quirk that could cancel other people's! It was so cool. 

"There are a lot of people a lot nicer than I am." Aizawa cleared his throat a bit, once again trying to regain himself. He took a deep breath in through his nose, and released it slow through his mouth. Atlantis tilted his head a bit, and smiled. Aizawa felt a fresh wave of giddiness rush through him again. This was too much. He never wanted to leave, but knew he had to at some point. Unless...

"I don't think so. I like you." Atlantis said simply. He hesitated. "I know you can't stay here. You must have to sleep, and I'm sure humans don't do it on... docks? Will you come back?" 

"Yeah, dock." Aizawa said, almost absentmindedly. He was more focused on the second question. "Did... you want me to come back? Will you be here?"

Atlantis looked at him like he'd asked a weird question.

"Of course I will!" Atlantis exclaimed, hopeful Aizawa would be willing to come back. "You said so yourself! We're friends!"

Aizawa felt himself smile.

"Yeah, I guess we are."