Hws Rarepair Week 2022: Day 5
Author’s Note: Back again with my Vampire, Werewolf, Merman AU. Basic run down if you haven’t seen my other fics for this au Francis is a vampire who fell in love with a werewolf Arthur. After those two get together, they meet a merman named Ludwig and after befriending him, fall for him as as well. In the end, all three get together. Now for some acknowledgements:
First off I would love to thank @lycuriz for giving me the idea of Francis and Arthur getting Ludwig a tank so he can stay on land for longer. You are so wonderful to talk to, especially about this au, so thank you again.
Also, the first half focuses on Fruk though I felt it was important to include for the set up for the conflict and also Ludwig is brought up a lot in their conversation so he is there in spirit. I decided to warn about this since it is a rarepair event and the beginning of the fic looks like it may be only fruk (a popular ship) on screen, but I promise, they do all get reunited and have their cute moments.
A Vampire, A Werewolf and a Merman Buy a Tank
It was a dreary day, perfectly fitting of the mood that had set over both Francis, Arthur, and their mansion as a whole. “Do you think he’s alright?” Francis asked as he stared out at the ocean. His forehead was wrinkled in worry, even his hair had become messy from lack of care; he was too distracted fretting over his lover who had retreated to the sea just days before.
Arthur put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “He’s fine. As long as he’s in the ocean.”
“This is all of our faults,” the vampire cried. “I-If it wasn’t for us…H-He wouldn’t be coming onto land so often, and he wouldn’t have almost dried up like that.”
Arthur wrapped his arms around his panicked lover. “I know. I’m pretty shaken too. But there is not much we can do about it now.”
Francis's frown deepened, his eyes never breaking from the waves ahead of them. Ludwig shouldn’t have had to risk his life like that just to come and see them. There had to be something they could do so Ludwig could stay with them safely and without cramping him into their bath.
The next day, Arthur awoke to the smell of eggs and bacon. He trudged down to the kitchen, still half asleep.
“Morning amour,” Francis greeted, in a much better mood than he had been these past few days.
Arthur plopped down on one of the bar stools. “Morning.”
Francis placed a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of Arthur along with a steaming mug of tea. “So…” the Frenchman began, “I’ve been thinking.”
Arthur groaned, biting back a snide comment, not wanting to get into an even playful argument (he was still down about the whole Ludwig thing). “What?”
“Maybe we could get Ludwig like…A large tank.”
“Drop it right now Francis.” Something burned in Arthur’s chest at the idea of Ludwig being kept in a tank as if he was no more than a…pet. No, Arthur would not let his lover be subjected to that. Monday was just a fluke. “We have done perfectly fine until now. We just have to watch the time more. We got the tub, and the ocean is right there. He’ll be fine if we’re careful.”
“We may not be human, but we still make mistakes and lose track of time. I know we’re close to the sea, but Ludwig isn’t always going to have the time to get there, and even the larger bath is still quite small and he can't stretch out properly with his tail.” Francis must have been desperate given his pleading eyes. He never begged like this with Arthur (at least not outside the bedroom). “Please…We should at least propose the idea to Ludwig.”
“I will not subjugate him to the life of a pet goldfish.”
“That is not your decision to make,” Francis growled, his patience lost, “I will bring it up to Ludwig with or without you and follow through as he sees fit.”
Arthur wanted to argue more, but he was tired, and not just because it was morning. He was still drained from Monday, and he missed Ludwig. And he knew Francis was feeling the same. An argument would only make things worse. Wolfing down his breakfast, he took off to the library to cool down.
Two nights later, Francis awoke to the sound of his door creaking open and someone sniffling. He sat up and found Arthur standing in the doorway, shaking.
“What’s wrong mon lapin?” Francis asked softly. For now, he would forget their little argument from a few days ago.
“You’re right,” Arthur said, shuffling over to the bed, “We should at least ask Ludwig’s opinion.”
“Where is all this coming from?”
Francis opened the blanket to let Arthur in. the British werewolf crawled under wordlessly. He buried his nose into the pillow.
“I-It doesn’t matter,” Arthur mumbled, “I-I’m fine.”
“It’s…silly…I just…It was just a nightmare. I guess the whole incident shook me more than I thought.” Arthur wiped his eyes.
“Oh Arthur,” Francis cooed, pulling the Englishman into his arms. “We’ll go down tomorrow. Okay? And whatever Ludwig says, we’ll do.”
Arthur nodded, cuddling closer to his lover. They’d figure this all out, together.
They headed down to the beach right after breakfast. Arthur hadn’t eaten much, feeling nauseous with worry. Francis had drunk so many cups of coffee, and his hand would occasionally twitch from the additional caffeine.
Ludwig immediately knew that something was up when he emerged from the water. Maybe a week away from his lovers was not the best course of action. They seemed just as scared by it as he was.
Francis was the first to pull him into a loving kiss. It was desperate, the Frenchman gripping tightly at Ludwig’s shirt. “I missed you,” Francis murmured when he pulled away for air. Though he didn’t go far, keeping his arms wrapped around the merman’s waist.
Ludwig pushed his forehead against Francis, not realizing how much he missed being held like this. “I missed you too.” He looked over to Arthur, who was standing a little farther back awkwardly. Ludwig chuckled slightly, the image feeling not much different than the night he was first properly introduced to Arthur. With a quick kiss on Francis’s brow, Ludwig made his way over to Arthur.
“Hey,” Ludwig said softly.
Ludwig pulled Arthur in by the arms and gave him a tight hug. “I missed you too,” he whispered.
“Same,” Arthur replied tightly, returning Ludwig’s hug, perhaps a little too strongly.
Francis sighed dreamily, before wrapping his arms around both his lovers and inserting himself into the hug. “Let’s never go this long without seeing each other again,” Francis cried dramatically.
After a few more kisses and hugs, Arthur finally got to the real reason they came down. “So…” he began, “Francis and I were talking, and we feel that–after everything that happened–we may need to put some more…precautions in place. With your consent, of course.”
Ludwig quirked a brow. He didn’t like the sound of that tone.
“It’s okay mon loulou,” Francis assured him, “Don’t look so nervous.”
“Okay…” Ludwig said hesitantly.
Arthur and Francis looked at each other before breaking out into a whisper bickering. Eventually, they turned back to Ludwig, and Francis took a deep breath. “We were thinking that maybe giving you a large tank in the mansion will make it easier for you to stay on land for longer,” he explained.
A tank? He had heard about those from his brothers. Humans trapped all kinds of sea life in little tiny glass boxes and put them on display. They sounded terrible, how could Arthur and Francis do such a thing?
Then again…This was Arthur and Francis. They loved him, and Ludwig had no reason to doubt that they only wanted the best for him. Plus, his brother had a bias towards humans and the land in general, so it would be logical to question how much of Gilbert’s story was possibly overblown.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Arthur added, “We just figured that it would be more spacious than the tub, and you could stay overnight and stay hydrated comfortably.”
Ludwig bit his lip slightly. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t scared about staying overnight again. Hot summer days and him didn’t mix, leaving him having to soak in water a lot more often. And the mansion had become his home over this past year and being away from it as long as he had been made his chest ache.
“If it makes you feel better,” Francis said, “We could install it, see how you like it, and if it doesn’t work out I can have it removed or put fish in it. You can even help design it how you would like.”
Ludwig still wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to scare his lovers again, and he didn’t want to be apart from them. “Okay,” Ludwig agreed. They could at least try.
A few weeks later, the tank was installed, and Ludwig moved in. It was…strange to say the least. It wasn’t small by any means, giving Ludwig plenty of room to swim around, and the plants that were growing made a comfortable bed. But being out in the open, seeing the glass and his lovers staring at him with concerned looks was far from comfortable. He was trying to get used to it, he really was, but it was new, and all he wanted to do was hide and wait for all the uneasiness to pass.
For about a week Ludwig only stayed in the tank periodically. He came out to eat, to spend time with his lovers, basically taking any activity and using it as an excuse to get out. Eventually, Francis asked Ludwig to stay over. Just this once, and then they could discuss how Ludwig was feeling about this whole tank thing.
So, that night, Ludwig laid wide awake in his bed of seaweed and other salt-water plants. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable but to no avail. It wasn’t until he heard the trotting of their puppy Monika coming to make sure her mermaid dad was okay that Ludwig was finally able to relax and catch at least a few hours of sleep.
The next morning Ludwig awoke at the break of dawn. With a big stretch, he swam out of his nest of plants and out of the castle decoration he had set his bed in. He swam to the edge of the tank where he could see out into the main entrance. He was surprised to find not just Monkia laying there, but Francis and Arthur. Arthur was propped up against the glass while Francis was cuddled into his side, both fast asleep.
Ludwig’s heart swelled at the sight, and he couldn’t stop himself from breaking out into a wide smile. He sat himself on the sand, leaning against the glass. He reached his hand out as if to run it through Francis’s hair. It was nice. He didn’t have to rush into the bathroom and to the tub, and he could just admire his lovers at rest. Arthur looked so much younger when he wasn’t frowning, and Francis’s hair was, for once, in disarray (though adorable).
Arthur awoke a few minutes later, blinking slowly, getting used to the light. “Morning,” he murmured, leaning his head against the glass as if leaning against Ludwig.
“Good morning.” Ludwig gave him a small smile. “You two didn’t have to sleep down here.”
“We did. You don’t seem…happy…”
“And we wanted to make sure you knew we were here and that you can talk to us,” Francis cut in, though slightly groggy, having just woken up. He lifted his hand to the glass to which Ludwig met him with his own.
Ludwig felt his face heat up, touched by how much his lovers cared. They all remained silent for a moment, still, just happy to be at rest with each other without worry. However, Ludwig eventually wanted to hold or be held by the two, so he decided to climb out and join them and Monika on the floor. He squeezed in between Arthur and Francis, the two coming to rest their heads on Ludwig’s shoulders.
Arthur began to nod off again, leaving only Francis and Ludwig awake. “If you don’t like the tank, that’s okay,” Francis said softly, “We can just go back to normal. We'll just use the ocean and bath more often.”
“It’s fine Francis. Actually…It’s kind of nice considering I was actually able to stay with you without rushing to get water.”
“I’m not saying this just for you. It’s weird, sure, but I think this will be worth it.”
“We could always decorate it a little more. Get some more plants. Oooh, maybe you can start your own garden. After all, you seem to enjoy all that gardening with Arthur.”
“That sounds…really nice.”
Francis smiled, relieved it all worked out. “I better get started on breakfast.” He booped Arthur’s nose, causing the werewolf to scrunch it up in his sleep. “Before this one gets cranky and hungry. Stay with him for me?”
Francis headed off to the kitchen while Arthur snuggled closer to Ludwig. The tank was still strange and would take some getting used to, but if Ludwig could wake up like this every morning, he’d happily spend time in that tank.
