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“Alright. How do you like your new home?” He asked, because it felt strange not to talk to Fish-Eye even still. He couldn’t help but think of him as a person, even seeing the fish swimming in his fish tank. Fish-Eye didn’t respond of course, just swam around, exploring the new space. Mamoru wasn’t sure how he’d interact with other fish so he got Fish-Eye his own separate tank just to be safe.
The decision to have Fish-Eye stay with him had happened fast. He’d suggested it in part because he felt bad about how things had ended between them, and he’d selfishly hoped for a chance to make it up to him. But also, he already owned fish and knew how to care for them.
Usako had been worried about splitting up the trio. She thought they wouldn’t want to be apart. But it couldn’t be helped. Fish-Eye needed water, and Hawk-Eye and Tiger-Eye needed air.
Hawk-Eye and Tiger-Eye couldn’t stay with any of them. They obviously didn’t know how to keep tigers or hawks as pets, and certainly couldn’t explain it to their families. They’d brought the two of them to a zoo, Usako using her disguise pen to turn herself into a zookeeper and smooth things over.
They could’ve brought Fish-Eye to an aquarium or something. No one even seemed to consider it, though. Him staying with Mamoru was a foregone conclusion, apparently.
He didn’t know what kind of fish Fish-Eye even was. This was a disaster in the making, probably.
His chest felt tight. He opened and closed his hands. He shifted in place. “I’m sorry.” He finally said, to no response. He chewed his lip.
No one fully understood what had happened. Things had seemed to escalate very fast. As far as they knew, the trio had been fighting some kind of weird clown and then they just stopped being human. They didn’t know if there was a way to fix it, or how to go about it.
Mamoru grabbed a chair and sat down in front of the tank. Fish-Eye looked at him from within the glass. He cleared his throat and tapped his foot. “You mentioned… sorry, it’s a bit of a blur to me right now. You mentioned something about protecting me, before things went down?” At the time, not knowing the context, he hadn’t thought into it too much. Worst case scenario, he was Tuxedo Mask, he could take care of himself.
Fish-Eye bobbed in the water a little. Mamoru continued. “I get the sense you weren’t really looking for Pegasus anymore, at that point. And… you knew you might not survive? Or knew you wouldn’t.” He’d wanted to stay with Mamoru, until his end. Mamoru had said it was sad, and dismissed him. It was sad, but he wished he could take the words back, even so.
He wasn’t very good at this. Whatever this was.
“You… I appreciate you looking out for me.” He said, voice choked. He didn’t know what else to say. If he opened his mouth again, he’d probably just devolve into saying “I’m sorry” over and over in a meaningless spiral. His hands were shaking. He’d turned down Fish-Eye’s attempt at support at one of his lowest moments. Maybe he’d have lived, if he hadn’t.
Usako would’ve handled things better, more sensitively. She would’ve recognized the call for help as what it was. She was always a better person than Mamoru could ever hope to be. But Fish-Eye loved him, not her.
Mamoru, in a bit of a daze, stood up from his chair. He took the lid off the fish tank, feeling a bit hysterical, and reached his hand into the water. Fish-Eye did not shy away as Mamoru cupped him into a palm.
He pulled Fish-Eye out, a shallow pool of water dripping from his hand. He held him close, and pressed his lips to his face.
He’d hoped, stupidly, that it would be like a fairy tale. True love’s kiss turns the fish back into a human, saving him from the curse.
Nothing happened. He put Fish-Eye back in the tank so he could breathe.
Fish-Eye wasn’t his “true love”. It never had a chance of working.
He was so stupid. “I’m sorry.” He said, tears welling up in his eyes. Fish-Eye blankly looked back at him from the tank.