#i can't stay mad at azuzu <3

[merakiui]

intermission yandere!azul thought: azul thought he lost you when his parents divorced, but a chance reunion during breeding season convinces him of fate. a long-buried love resurfaces and with it the mounting greed and desire.

(cw: yandere, unhealthy behaviors/relationship, stepcest, nsfw, female reader, breeding/oviposition, gentle dub-con/coercion, obsession, one-sided attraction in which azul loves you, but you only see him as family, characters written as 18+)

When his birth parents first married, Azul's father had been caring for you, a daughter who had come from another set of parents, found drifting on a lone current. Aged two, you were the sweetest fry his mother had ever seen and she gladly welcomed you into her family. A year later, Azul had been born and you were introduced to him, the both of you coddled and adored by his grandmother and other relatives alike. Your eyes glittered with awe when you peered down at baby Azul, so fragile and small in his mother's arms. A tentacle gently curled around your finger, and he stared up at you, equally amazed, his blue eyes wide with wonder.

Technically, you were his step-sister and he was your step-brother. But at such a young age, you could only comprehend simple family dynamics—the ones in which siblings came from the same mother and were thus related by blood. So, even though you weren't truly related in that way, that's what you were to Azul. He was your little brother and you were his big sister. The distinction in what you were never mattered to Azul. You were his family, and that was more than enough.

Growing up, he clung to you like a barnacle, never wanting to leave your side for more than a minute, a tentacle forever wrapped around your wrist or tail fin. You were inseparable, choosing to rest in the same sleeping nook, bathe together, eat meals together, explore shipwrecks and collect treasure together, and play together. He adored you, looked up to you like you were a miracle incarnate. And in that same loving manner you looked out for Azul, protected him from mean mers, assured him that you'd never leave him when he got sad, and patched him up when his clumsiness earned him all sorts of boo-boos.

Azul thought you were an angel—or something constructed from perfection, anyway. You were brilliant and wonderful, the best big sister he could have ever wished for. Every day felt like the best day of his life when he was with you. Waking up beside you and challenging each other to a race to the kitchen (even though he knew fully well that he'd lose every time). Offering you the spoils from your shipwreck adventures, where he'd drape strands of pearls around your neck and you'd do the same, always one to share. Lounging sleepily at his grandmother's tentacles and listening to her regale the both of you with stories from when she was young. She told tales of her first love, and Azul had boldly pointed at you and declared he'd marry his first love. You. His sister. It was passable then because he was little and couldn't fully understand the meaning of marriage and what it meant to settle down with someone you loved.

Love comes in many forms, and Azul couldn't grasp the differences between platonic and romantic. But back then it didn't matter because to him love was love, and you promised you'd stay with him forever. That was good enough.

But then, years later, his parents got divorced. His father took you with him, and during the process his mother fell in love with her divorce attorney. Azul never saw you again. You moved away, or so he assumed when he'd search the neighborhood for you, deceiving himself that you were still here. You wouldn't leave him. You promised.

He searched all of the places the two of you used to frequent, gradually losing hope with each day. Eventually, when the acceptance letter had come and it became apparent that he had more pressing matters to focus on, he stopped searching altogether.

Azul's older now, freshly graduated and ready to take on the world, but before that he returns to the sea. There are celebrations he must attend; he's expressed his thanks to countless congratulations already, but he doesn't mind the excess. It feeds his ego. His family is so proud, but none can be prouder than his mother, who shackles him in a loving embrace, cooing about how she remembers when he was just a little fry. Though you haven't occupied his mind in years, at the mention of childhood, he instinctively looks for you amidst the many people crowding the restaurant. You're not there. He wishes you were.

There's a lot he has to do as he works to expand the Mostro Lounge. He's purchased a property on the surface. The building is old and dilapidated, but he has a promising vision and lots of time on his hands. He'll make it work. Summer break be damned; Azul's too busy for that. But he can't leave the ocean just yet. He'd put it off with potions for as long as he could, but nature prevails in the end.

Mating season, in Azul's hateful opinion, is a scam. Merfolk exhaust all of their efforts carrying clutches, nursing them for months, before relinquishing them to fate, where it's not guaranteed that any of their fry will survive the harshness of the sea. All of that hard work and for what? The slim chance that one or two will return. Azul knows there are ways to avoid tragedy. Like laying the eggs amidst sea anemones to ward off predators who may not be immune to the sting. Even so, he doesn't understand the appeal of this gamble. Most of all, he despises it because this very gamble is the reason why, without fail, he's forced to suffer through this miserable period of biological imperative.

He gets moody, viciously so, cherishing the shadowed, tranquil loneliness inside an octopus pot. Azul greatly dislikes mating seasons because it's uncomfortable to hold in a clutch for too long, and when he's cursed with one he has no other option but to spend hours curled in solitude, hot and flushed all over, while he squirms through the all-encompassing heat. It passes after he's released every egg, and he tries not to think of what could be if he had someone to take his clutch and care for them. Sometimes he destroys the eggs, crushes them so that, at the very least, they won't become a predator's dinner. It's mostly anger and selfishness that fuel the destruction. He'd never hurt his young, but they won't survive much longer, fated to die within the next few hours. There needs to be someone else. Pairs and whatnot. Mating and bonding and all of that nonsense he scowls at. He doesn't have anyone to complete his pair.

He surmises it will be the same next season. It always is.

Azul is always so sad in the aftermath, coming down from the high to meet encroaching depression. He's a businessman; he won't have time for a family. It's impossible to settle down at this stage in his life. It's too early. Things are just getting off the ground. He tells himself these things so he can focus, but it's so difficult. He wants a family of his own. He wants to know what it's like to be loved and mated. It's not fair that others around him, mers he went to middle school with, are starting families and finding their special someone. He deserves that happiness more than anyone.

Azul is selfish and greedy to a fault, but he's romantic at heart.

Like clockwork, he slinks off to rid himself of this annual burden. On the way to his usual spot, a scent hits him. It's faint at first, but the further he swims the thicker it gets, until it nearly leaves him disoriented with dizziness. He's too dazed with instinct to think about turning the other way, pulled towards the enticing pheromones like it's flashy bait on a fishing hook. It leads him to a deep crack set into the sea floor, too slim for a human to squeeze into. But he's an octopus and it's easy to contort his limbs to fit through. It opens up to a wider space, enclosed and dark, but he can sense another mer in here.

How can he not when your smell is so strong it practically sticks to the walls?

He lights the space with magic, a soft, yellowed glow that kisses your skin like a sweet sunrise. You're curled in on yourself, gripping your abdomen and whining in discomfort. He understands the cue immediately. Your body's ready to receive a clutch, and the emptiness pains you.

Azul has tact, or so he likes to think, and he keeps himself plastered to the far end of the little cave. You sense him then, smelling his own arousal and readiness. Weakly, you lift your head, peering at him through foggy, teary eyes. It's quiet; both of you stare at one another. Azul wonders if you'll reject him, fight him, bite a chunk out of him.

Instead, you force yourself up onto your arms and mutter, "'m sorry... I'll go somewhere else..."

"Ah, w-wait!" Clumsily, his tentacle flashes out, wraps around your tail fin, and holds tight.

You look at him, the haze in your eyes clearing, and you sniff the scent on the water, your brows furrowing. Your eyes slide to the tentacle, and suddenly recognition sparks in your gaze.

"Azul?"

He blinks, his own haze clearing. "Do I know..." He gasps, flinches away from you as if slapped. "(Name)? Is... Is it really you?" His mouth is agape, eyes blown wide. Before you can answer, he hastily adds, "W-Where have you been?! I thought you'd left! Is everything okay? What have you been doing all these years?"

You nod, but he's not sure which question that nod is meant to answer. "I..." You brace yourself against the wall and shudder. "We can catch up later. Right now really isn't..." His eyes trace down your body, stopping right at your slit, which is puffy and slick and not yet claimed. You also don't have a mate. Sensing his intentions, you turn away, shielding yourself. "Now's not a good time...for either of us."

Azul reclaims your tail fin, his grip gentle, coaxing. "It's fine. Please don't leave again... You're in no condition to swim elsewhere. Some brute might take advantage of you."

"But you...have to get rid of your clutch, don't you?"

Quiet descends upon the space. Azul doesn't speak; his scent says enough.

Your eyes widen with horror. "We can't, Azul."

"(Name)—"

"We're family," you whisper, shaking your head at him. "There's no way we can do something like that!"

"But we're not! Not anymore. Mom and Dad aren't together and we've never had a blood relation, so we can—"

You push his reaching tentacle away and grit your teeth. His scent is cloying, muddling the thoughts in your brain. "Still... We grew up together. You've always been my brother, so I can't go home with your clutch." You gasp when another appendage twines around your waist, drawing you closer to the floor. You glare weakly at him. "You're doing that on purpose, dummy..."

Azul flashes his teeth at you, smug. "I don't know what you're talking about, sister dearest."

"Stop. S'not funny..." He squeezes your hips, annoyingly playful, and your body arches itself into his touch. "Azul, please."

Azul creeps closer, his voice a tantalizing murmur. "I missed you so much. Do you know how lonely it was without you? You never visited or wrote. I sat alone at the head of the table every birthday and wished you were there by my side. You promised you'd never leave me and yet... And yet you broke it! You left and I never saw you again! I thought I'd lost you forever."

"You know that's not what happened. I couldn't stay because Dad wanted me to come with him."

"But I needed you more than Dad did!" he exclaims, features twisted with grief. Azul notices your subtle flinch and he swallows thickly, softens his intonation. "I... I needed you the most."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Your hands tremble against your nose, but it's futile. His scent surrounds you.

"Sorry isn't enough. You have to make it up to me. For every missed birthday. For every missed holiday. For every second I spent mourning you." Azul pins his body to yours, his tentacles wrapping around your arms to pull them down. He smiles lopsidedly, breathing you in like you're his lifeline. He reaches between you to press his fingers against your slit, and you mewl, squirming beneath him. He marvels at your mouth as it opens and closes, stuffed full with contradiction. "I know it's unbearable. It's unbearable for me, too, but I can help make it feel better for both of us."

"But—haa—your clutch... If you do it inside, I'll..."

His thumbs rub soothing circles into your hips, right at the borderline between scales and flesh. "You'll do fine," he promises. "Remember when you'd reassure me whenever I was scared? Now it's my turn to do that for you. So let me help you. You'll feel good soon."

"We shouldn't. What will..." You gasp and reach for his shoulders by pure impulse, overcome with a searing want now that he's so close. "What will Mom say? Won't she be upset?"

Azul hums his contemplation. Three fingers curl inside your slit, spreading it with ease. You cry out and sink your teeth into his shoulder, restlessly, painfully horny. He suspects you'd have more fight if you weren't already so deep into your heat. Maybe then your bite would have been far more agonizing.

"Then she'd better not find out." One tentacle pats your head. It's meant to be consoling. "For the record, I never saw you as my sister. I meant it when I said I'd marry you. You know that, right?"

You pull away, maw speckled with blue blood and eyes twinkling. He smiles again; you're cute when stained with his color. "Please, Zul..." You hold his face between your hands, yanking him down to your lips. His gills flutter with excitement. "Fingers aren't enough..."

"I know, love. I know."

So he kisses you.

It's heady and sloppy, more dizzying than a tempting bout of pheromones and the slick squelch of his fingers fucking you open. Azul loses himself in the sensations, massaging every inch of you with his tentacles while you throw your arms around him in return. You're coerced into acceptance in a way that's spellbinding, unable to slake the desire that burns within you. He's filled to the brim with euphoria. It's been so many years apart and now you're here with him, stuck in this cramped cave, the both of you ignorant to the hours passing above.

Azul pulls away first. Not for oxygen because neither of you need that, but rather so he can speak instead.

"Promise you won't leave me."

"I won't. I'm here to stay, so please, Azul. Please..." You dig your nails into his back, impatient. "I need you."

He flushes blue up to his ears. "A-And say you love me. More than a brother, okay?"

The tapered tip of a thicker, much larger tentacle presses shallowly into your slit. You moan your relief, rocking your hips in hopes of taking him deeper. Tears line your lashes.

"I love—mmh—love you more than—oh, please—than a brother! Zul, please, I can't take it anymore. Put it in. Please give it to me!"

Azul presses kisses all over your face, unable to stop his growing smile. "I will, angelfish. I won't keep you waiting any longer."

He pushes inside and your tight warmth swallows every inch. He drags you down onto the floor, endeavoring to fit himself to you in the closest way. You fuck like animals, noisy and wet and filthy, curled around one another like a perfect tangle of erotica. In the dimming glow of a fading spell, you capture one other's mouths at every interval, determined to savor every salacious sound. The knots in your stomach tighten and unfurl each time orgasm washes over you, and it's so blissfully mind-numbing that you forget why you were ever opposed to it in the first place.

When the first egg breaches your womb, you thrash and bite, tetchy and unsatisfied. He shushes you, cooing affectionately, petting your tummy and promising to fill it in due time. You try to snarl around another moan, but it comes out choked. He laughs, but it isn't meant to ridicule. And as promised, more eggs follow. Small, round, gelatinous things that they are, Azul knows they'll grow larger and you'll be a full house for the next few months until it comes time to lay.

He can't wait.

You ride out the rest of the eggs in pure ecstasy, so much so that it's a blur, harboring each in the crammed confines of your womb. By the time the final one has found its home inside, you and Azul are thoroughly exhausted and starved. He slips out slowly, draping a tentacle over your extended middle. They're glowing faintly, not nearly as bright to draw predators in, but once you're further into gestation you'll resemble the prettiest star.

"I'll get you something to eat," he says after a minute of untangling himself from you.

Your hand shoots out to seize the tentacle retreating from your rounded belly. "No, stay here."

"You should eat. It's been a while."

"'m not hungry..." As if to mock you, your stomach growls. You plead with your eyes, desperate. "I'll eat later. Please stay here with me. Please?"

Azul considers it, and ultimately he opts to stay. It's safer this way. He'll keep watch, and eventually the two of you will depart for home. Satisfied, you pull him back into the recesses of the little cave to cuddle up to him, your eyelids fluttering.

"Do you think any of them will survive?"

Azul turns to look at you. He remembers the way you used to snuggle with him when you were but little mers, giggling and gossiping over the silliest of things. He smiles fondly at the memory and the sight of you now, soft and gravid and glowing. And all his. Forever his.

"Of course they will."

It's an uncertainty, but he lives to beat the odds. It's in his nature to chase after and achieve the things he covets most. A family is no exception.

"Mm, I hope so," you mutter, trailing off into slumber.

"I'll make sure of it, my love."

In this dimly lit haven, it's just you and him, together as nature intended. He couldn't be more elated.

#meraki mumbles #yandere twst #tw: dubcon #tw: oviposition #tw: stepcest #n/sfw #me: how dare azul ruin my chances at getting basketball floyd!! >:( #also me: *writes smut for him* #i can't stay mad at azuzu <3