This is an AU short written a while ago to go with the picture above, done by a member of my Discord, Manx. In this AU, Katie didn't get sick, Lemuria didn't find them, and Luna returned to her pod as originally planned. Enjoy.

Katie lay sprawled out over the reef. She kept her tail pressed flat to the sand beneath her despite how the prickly coral she was draped over dug into her skin and scales. She had seen a moray eel dart down a crevice in the coral branches and she hoped that if she remained motionless, it would poke back out. She had spooked it before she realized it was there – and was a little relieved she had not gotten bitten for her efforts – but she hoped to get a picture of it.

She fingered her dive camera silently as she waited. Small bubbles filtered from her gills and she watched the underwater world with a newfound sense of peace. It was amazing how much easier it was to get close to wildlife without a noisy, bulky tank strapped to her back. She had done freediving before, but she had never been able to hold her breath long enough to wait out the truly exceptional pictures.

Finally – after what felt like forever – the moray finally peeked back out from its hidey hole. The green-yellow head, followed by part of the waving, speckled neck began drifting in the water. She stared at it and it seemed to stare back with one rounded, sapphire eye. Its jaws were parted, revealing the small, needle-like teeth lining its maw. It was incredibly close. An outstretched hand and a flick of her fin, and she would have been able to grab it if she wanted. She never got this close.

Keeping her movements slow so that she wouldn’t disturb the water, Katie raised her camera and adjusted the angle and focus for the shot she wanted. A flash was necessary underwater for good shots, so the eel disappeared again as soon as she took the picture. Katie pulled back and studied the photo that she’d managed to get, and grinned. It wasn’t her best, but it had been a while and she was still easing back into her photography habits. Regardless, she was happy with the quality of the photo. Now that she had it, she pushed off the sand and drifted away. No point continuing to harass the poor creature. As she swam away, Katie instinctively reached for a gauge to check her air.

She laughed and shook her head as she fumbled with empty water for a moment. Old habits did die hard, she supposed. She never thought about dive protocol when she was usually in the water with Luna and Riley, but now that she was slipping back into former human habits and routines, she found herself making those sorts of mistakes. She chuckled again. It was really nice not having to worry about how much oxygen she had left in a tank. She could stay down beneath the waves from dawn until dusk if she desired and never feel short of breath.

A wry smile pulled across her lips as she settled down on a rock to peer at some orange pigmy seahorses woven around the slender branches of a coral crop. She raised her camera and took a picture of them. She supposed it was one of the few decent things Lemuria did for her. The wry grin turned soft. It had been over a year since she and Luna had been broken out of Lemuria. They hadn’t heard a peep from the institution despite regular monitoring. Luna was with her family now, and though Katie missed her dearly, it would only be a month or so before she made the trip out to visit Luna’s pod. She missed her little sister and Luna had not be thrilled to leave her behind initially after Riley had brought her parents back, Rebecca and Ixion – as accepting of her as they had been – had wanted the chance to show Luna a proper lifestyle and reintegrate her with their pod, and after a long discussion, they’d all agreed that she and Luna were too closely bonded for either of them to sort out their own identities, and it would be better to allow Luna the chance to flourish on her own.

Katie missed her, but she and Riley would be going soon. Riley wasn’t thrilled about another potential run in with her mother, but she did seem eager for a chance to visit her aunt, uncle, and cousins again. Katie could hardly wait to go, though her mother was still trying to convince her and Riley to go out on the boat with her. Sophie still worried too much, but Katie wasn’t opposed. She knew her mom was probably also hoping to see Luna again and know how she was doing. It was strange not having her around the past few months. They all missed her.

Katie shook herself of the dreary thoughts. She’d get to see Luna soon and for now, she wanted to just enjoy the warm waters.

She drifted out past the reef into more open waters, hoping to perhaps find a pod of dolphins or perhaps some pilot whales. She opened her mouth and released a series of short, sharp clicks before pausing to listen. There was no response, and disappointment fluttered in her gut. Dolphins tended to be very playful and would sometimes let her join right in their fray so long as they weren’t hunting. It would have been a highlight to the afternoon.

The open ocean was beautiful and alluring, and while it was sometimes silly to take a picture of essentially nothing, she found the dancing beams of light beautiful and wondered if she could capture it properly. She might not have the right filter for it. Still, she raised her camera to try, and immediately had a weight crash down on her back.

Katie squeaked in surprise and twisted with her heart pounding. She hoped she wasn’t about to be involved in a fight or mistaken for prey. Instead, she found Riley grinning at her with her tongue poking out between her teeth. “You scared me!” Katie protested.

Riley’s grin widened and she winked before snatching the camera from Katie’s hand and darting away. For a second, Katie could only hover in stunned silence as Riley swam off. Giving her head a shake, Katie flipped over and chased after her. “Riley!” she called. “Riley, get back here!”

Riley’s laughter echoed through the waters. She rolled over onto her back and waggled the camera towards Katie. “Come catch me,” she taunted.

Katie rolled her eyes and sped up. Riley was staying just out of reach, and Katie scowled. She’d gotten faster, but she was still never going to beat Riley in a race, and the other Mer was purposefully teasing her. “Riley!” she called again. Growling under her breath, Katie lashed her tail and crashed into Riley, who cackled manically and rolled onto her back.

Katie huffed. “Okay, I caught you, now give me my camera,” she demanded.

Riley stuck her tongue out and flicked her fins, but Katie grabbed her other arm and kept up. “Riley, you’re going to break it, come on!” She couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she attempted to scowl at Riley.

The blonde Mer’s grin widened and she stuck her tongue out again, but stretched her arm further back behind her to keep it out of Katie’s reach.

“You’re acting like a child,” Katie scolded. “Riley, come on; you’ve had your fun, now give it back.”

Riley shook her head. “No. Hugs first,” Riley refused. Katie quirked an eyebrow as Riley’s gliders folded up over her tail. Her free hand cupped Katie’s back and Katie huffed for breath as Riley pulled her closer against her torso and hummed happily.

Katie sighed and rolled her eyes, but she hummed back and relaxed. “You’re terrible,” she murmured.

“For wanting a hug?” Riley replied. Her grip was firm, but warm and Katie wrapped her arms around Riley’s waist.

“You could have just asked.”

“This was more fun.”

Katie twisted her head to look up at Riley and her mild annoyance melted away as she met Riley’s sparkling, pale gaze. Her freckle-framed face was practically glowing with mischievous delight, and her lips were pulled into a wide smile. Katie stretched up and pressed their lips together.

Riley made a soft noise of surprise, and glee spun through Katie at finally catching the other girl off-guard. She rarely ever could. Riley’s hum returned and grew to a deep purr while her grip on Katie tightened. Katie wrapped her tail around Riley’s and broke the kiss to smile at her. “Well now I feel spoiled,” Riley teased.

Katie cupped Riley’s cheek and smiled. “Are you complaining?” she inquired.

Riley pulled Katie closer and reinitiated the kiss. “No,” she murmured. “Never.”

Katie rested her head on Riley’s collarbone and closed her eyes. For a moment, she just listened to Riley’s heartbeat and sighed happily. Riley’s gliders, despite being sail of fin, made for an incredibly warm blanket and she loved when the other girl hugged her like this.

She had never intended or anticipated falling in love, especially not to the high energy, trouble-making Mer who could not keep herself out of a scrap to save her life, but it had happened. Riley was warm and kind and more than a little silly, but Katie felt safe around her. She finally felt like she had someone she could let her walls down around and just be weak. As much as she loved them and would never trade them for the world, Luna needed someone to hold her up and Sophie worried far too much that Katie always felt she could never burden them when she wasn’t okay. Riley always seemed to know ahead of time if Katie wasn’t alright, and needed no prompting to support her and listen. It had made the months of healing and overcoming trauma so much easier, especially now that Luna was gone and Katie had felt crushed by a void of loneliness.

It didn’t matter if she needed to cry or fret, or just not be alone; Riley always listened and consoled her – albeit a little awkwardly; she wasn’t always great with emotions – and would usually follow up with a joke and bit of playful banter to help break the somber mood. Katie appreciated Riley immensely, and the girl craved affection far more than she tended to admit. It was like having a scaly, bratty puppy when the two of them were alone.

Katie squirmed in Riley’s grasp and flicked her fin to drift closer so she could rest her head on Riley’s shoulder. She hadn’t forgotten about the theft of her camera, but she was content to enjoy the tender moment. Riley tangled the fingers of her free hand in Katie’s hair and Katie hummed as her nails scratched gently over her scalp.

“What are you doing out here?” Riley inquired.

“I was just taking some pictures,” Katie replied. “Until someone I know disrupted that.” She stuck her tongue out.

Riley hummed instead of rising to the bait. “You promised you would stay on the reef when you are out alone,” she murmured.

Katie lifted her nose to press against Riley’s chin. “I’m still in sight of it,” she protested lightly. It warmed her heart that Riley cared, but she hadn’t actually expected the mischievous adventurer to be quite so protective either. Not that she minded, for the most part.

Riley scoffed. “Not the same thing,” she retorted.

Katie could not help rolling her eyes. Riley constantly pushed boundaries. Though she knew the other girl was only lightly concerned for her and not being hypocritical or demanding, it was still an amusing side to see. “I am sorry,” Katie murmured. She lifted her head and pressed her lips to Riley’s chin, and then hovered so that their noses were touching. “Forgive me?” she inquired as she kissed Riley again.

Riley hummed and her body relaxed as she nodded and deepened their kiss. Katie enjoyed the affection for a moment, before reaching up and snatching her camera back. Enough time had passed that Riley had either forgotten about it or intended to relent on the game, but the moment Katie had it in her hands, she shoved away and stuck her tongue out at Riley.

Then she winked before darting off with Riley calling out playfully after her. Katie worked her tail hard – though she knew Riley would catch her – to stay ahead as long as she could. She kept her camera clutched to her chest, but her hysterical laughter echoed around her. Riley was laughing too, and Katie’s heart swelled. She didn’t know what all the future was going to hold, but she did know that she was happily in love, and for the moment, that was all that mattered. That and keeping her breakable camera away from her mischievous Mer girlfriend.