Word Count: 8,118
Additional Character: Amber
Prompt: Drown

 

She can still remember when it happened. There were a lot of things the sea took away and destroyed, but one thing that remained was her memory. Her need for oxygen, for legs, for the sight of land was gone, she didn’t have a longing for it either, but she could remember everything about those things and more.

The sea was home to several women, no men to speak of. At least, underwater, no men survived to speak of. All of them had drown, lured under by waves, by foolish thoughts, and beautiful creatures that could not be caught.

She could remember the way the wind felt when she’d first stepped onto the ship. Not many of the crew thought anything of her at first; she looked like the rest of them. Like a boy. Like a young lad. The sea air filled her lungs and she felt a yearning deep inside. This was what she’d wanted for the longest time, to sail the ocean ever since her father told her all about his adventures on the great open sea.

But what she didn’t know was the roles that men created to prevent females like herself from exploring. In that day and time, she was still viewed as property, as something dangerous if she stepped out of line, and on a ship, sailors viewed her kind as something unlucky. Unwanted.

She lasted all of two days after they set out, before she was discovered as a female. And just like every other female that was caught onboard a ship, she was thrown off. Left to drown in the wide open sea due to superstitious men.

She can remember struggling against her binds, the will to live was strong as water flooded her lungs. She can remember feeling dizzy, feeling heavy, she can remember blacking out, thinking that death was just right around the corner. Then she can remember a pair of soft lips pressed to hers, prying open to blow a gulp of air into her water-filled lungs.

She can remember opening her eyes and seeing everything differently. In a new light. She can remember the sight of a beautiful woman pulling her through the water, guiding her deeper into the dark sea. Something brushed against her as the woman moved, almost like a fish, and then she caught the sight of the scaly tail coming from the woman’s hips. No legs, just a tail. A fish tail, green and blue and sparkling.

She can remember becoming one of those creatures she’d heard tales of. She can remember the stories from the other mermaids, of how they were created.

The ocean was mighty, mightier than the men that sailed it, and merciless. It had given the women a chance at another life. Claimed the women as its own and allowed them to seek out, to lure the men of such cruelty to their death. And for some women, a chance at revenge.

Amber never did get the chance for revenge, never coming across the men that killed her to do so. But she did come across one man, and with her decision, it changed her entire world.

 

He was barely out of his teens when the pirates raided his village, he could remember, he wasn’t strong enough to defend himself, being just a boy, and when the captain laid eyes on him, he was ripped away from the land he called home.

The captain had told his crew that he wanted the lad to help out with the cleaning of his ship, but once they boarded with him, he entered the captain’s chambers and was never seen of again.

He could remember before he fell to his death in icy water, the cold hands that ran over his body for nights on end. He could remember the disgusting breath of the captain that had too rum to drink as he placed his lips upon the boy’s. He could remember the touches; he could remember feeling sick to his stomach as he lied on that dirty old mattress with only the sounds of that captain’s grunt in his ears.

He could remember wishing for someone to save him and he could remember wishing for death. One of those had to come. And when he finally thought he couldn’t take it anymore, death waited for him.

It was cold that night, they had just left the harbors of a nearby village a day ago and were far enough out in the sea that land was no longer seen around them. The captain had returned to the room, finding the lad in the same place where he’d left him, but in his hands were two things that made the boy’s eyes widen.

A wig, black as coal, and a pink dress. One of the most beautiful dressed the boy had ever seen and he knew that the captain had to have stolen it, for something that fine, with its pink and white frills and lace, would cost almost a whole life’s savings.

“I finally found the perfect attire for you, boy,” the captain grinned his crook grin that was missing quite a few teeth, “The main reason you were captured was because you looked too beautiful to be a boy, so tonight, you’re going to be my lady.”

He could remember his skin crawling as the captain watched him slip on that dress; each part of his filthy skin was slowly being covered up by pink and white. Then his hair, it had grown past his shoulders from being locked up with no access to scissors or a knife, he placed the wig onto his head, the black curls falling into his view.

He could still see that grin of the captain’s that gave him the creeps through those curls though. When he finished fixing the wig, the captain grabbed him by the waist and brought him over to a mirror, full length, and mostly covered in dirt, but the boy could see everything that he’d put on.

The sight of himself almost made him want to cry. Despite the brightest shade of pink and white covering his body, he could still see his dirty hands, the dirt and grim that covered his neck, leading up to his face. Dirt caked his chin, his cheeks, all leading up to the dead look in his eyes, all was framed by black curls.

“Such a beautiful doll you make,” the captain chuckled, forcing back over the bed.

The captain made him sit down on the edge of the bed before he walked back over to a chest. He fumbled around in his pants and coat pockets for the key to the chest’s lock. While he was looking for it, the boy glanced over at the doors of the captain’s chambers, his eyes widening when he saw the key still in the lock of the door.

“Damn it, I had that key somewhere,” the captain grumbled, then started looking around on some of the tables and his desk. He turned to the boy, “Help me look for it.”

Surprised by the command, the boy stood up on wobbly legs and started looking for the key as well. The captain’s back was turned towards him and despite the creaking boards under his feet as he stepped, the captain was too consumed with finding the key to notice the boy edging closer and closer to the doors.

The next thing he could remember was the thrill of freedom in his chest when he bolted for the doors, turning the key, and throwing them open. But that thrill quickly died down when he realized that he was in the heart of the ship, but that didn’t stop him from running up the stairs, the captain hot on his tracks along with other pirates.

Catching the sight of a woman on board, the crew quickly had to resolve this problem. None of the crew wanted bad luck to be on their side.

Finally one of the pirates threw a net over the boy, capturing him. The captain cursed when he realized what his crew wanted. They had to throw the boy off the ship, he was dressed like a woman, he looked like a woman, and no doubt, his crew believed that the boy was a woman.

Despite the boy screaming for them to stop as they bound his hands, and tied his feet to a small anchor, they wouldn’t stop. The captain couldn’t stop them either, he didn’t say anything at all, what could he say to his crew? He’d be thrown over as well if they knew the truth about why the boy had been onboard.

One of the strong pirates picked up the boy and another picked up the anchor, together they moved to the side of the ship. The boy screamed and begged for them to put him down, but it fell on deaf ears.

He could remember his breathing stopping when they let go of him, the anchor tied to his feet made his fall faster and his body couldn’t register everything, except for the cold. He met the icy waters and no matter how much he wanted to struggle against the weight pulling him down, his body couldn’t move. Every nerve in him tingled, he felt so cold. Inside and out.

His eyes barely opened as he felt his mind slipping into darkness, but he saw something in the water coming towards him. It swam like a fish but he could barely make out a bare chest, one that resembled a woman’s, and as the thing got closer, the last thing he saw before passing out was two beautiful brown eyes staring at him.

He could remember blacking out and the next thing he could remember was seeing those beautiful brown eyes staring at him again.

He was still underwater, but he could breathe, and the water wasn’t stinging his lungs. He couldn’t register that the water was freezing cold until he saw ice upon the surface the next day, but it didn’t bother him. He could remember a soft voice in his head, the owner of the beautiful brown eyes was talking to him, asking if he were okay.

And he was. When he looked down at himself, he saw that the pink and white dress had been discarded, his waist down was no a human’s waist, he didn’t have legs anymore, he had scales, fins, and they were the brightest shade of green and blue that he’d ever seen. His chest was bare, much like the woman’s, but all dirt and crude that had caked onto skin from being in the captain’s chamber was no longer there. He was clean. Completely clean.

“This has never happened before, Amber, there has never been a male welcomed by the sea,” another voice filled his head, and he turned to see a black haired woman, same body like his and the other girl’s, but her scales were a dark purple and aqua.

“I thought he was a woman. He was in a dress and a wig. They had tied him up and thrown him over with the intent to kill him,” the soft voice replied, all the voices were still in his head, neither women’s mouths were moving.

The black haired woman glanced back to him then back to the other girl that he believed was Amber, “Well since the sea has welcomed him, and those men meant to drown him, we are his family now. Let us teach him our creator’s ways.”

He can remember his struggle with talking at first, when Amber showed him how they communicated; he kept forgetting to transfer his word through thoughts. Underwater, noises like voices can’t be heard. He learned how to swim naturally, and he learned how to translate with other sea creatures. And he came to realized just how big of a family he had with the mermaids, but he was still the only male amongst the whole sea of women.

 

And then he can remember meeting someone that changed his whole newfound world.

He was just swimming along with the other fish one day when a shadow slowly started overcastting on him. A large shadow, long and wide. He looked up to see the bottom of a ship. One thing Amber always told him was to stay out of sight of ships. If anything, follow along to make sure if any women were thrown overboard that he should save them.

So keeping deep in the water, he swam on, following the ship. He’d felt nothing hit the water yet, but right as he glanced up, something big and heavy broke through the surface of the water. His eyes widened when he saw that it was a person.

Their hands were tied behind their back, they were struggling to get free, to try and swim back to the surface. He swam closer to the person and realized that it was a man. In that situation, he wasn’t sure what to do, this man was drowning, the only people he could save were women. Or in his case, with it being a mistake that he was in women’s clothing.

When he saw the man’s struggles becoming sluggish, his mind was made up.

Swimming over to the man, he quickly placed his lips on the man’s, to transfer air into his lungs so the man would survive for a little longer as he started untying his hands. Once the man was free, he was still too weak to swim back to the surface so the sea creature, merman, grabbed him and started towards the surface of the water.

He glanced in the direction the ship was in and was thankful that it was now a great distance from them. Swimming to the very tip of the water, he pushed the man’s head up, back into the ocean air so he could breathe. Only the man had gone limp in his grasp.

He rose up above the surface too, to find that the man’s eyes were shut. But what made him freeze up was the man’s face. As pale as it was, as scarred up as it was from, perhaps, battle, it was beautiful The most beautiful face he’d ever seen, and that was saying quite a lot with every single mermaid he’d come across being too beautiful to be real. But this man, he wished he could’ve seen his eyes, they were probably as beautiful as his face.

When the man started sinking back under, it snapped him from his admiring. He quickly regained hold on the man and pressed their lips back together to breathe more air into the man’s lungs. He knew that he wouldn’t get too far in awakening the man because they needed a flat surface for the merman to try and get the water out of the man’s lungs.

So he looked around for any nearest stretch of land or perhaps even a small island. Dragging him through the water, stopping every so often to breathe air into the man’s lungs, he finally spotted a small island.

It couldn’t have been more than a mile long, it was vacant and perfect for him to push the man up on the shore.

“Jongwoon! What the hell are you doing?!” A soft but stern voice filled his head just as he had come up to the sandbar of the island.

He glanced back to find Amber swimming towards him, she was cautious though, glancing back and forth between him and the man.

“He was drowning. They threw him off the ship, I had to save him,” he sent back.

She swam up to the edge of the water, beside Jongwoon and looked over the man. She could tell that Jongwoon had tried breathing air back into his lungs but it wasn’t taking full effect. Then she looked over his wrists where a rope had dug into his skin. Leaving behind angry red marks.

“Was he tied to an anchor or heavy rock?” She asked.

Jongwoon shook his head, “No, just his hands were bound.”

She sighed, “He was probably being executed, Jongwoon.”

His eyes widened, “B-But we can still save him, right? Everyone deserves a second chance.”

She shrugged, understanding where the merman was coming from, then sighed again, “I’ll save him, Jongwoon, but you can’t interfere with him. He’s on this vacant island now, and it’s just a matter of time before he starves, but I will help him, to give him time to repent for whatever crimes he did.”

Reaching down to place her hand on his chest, she pressed down hard once then placed her lips upon the man’s and blew. She sent a command to the man’s mind. Breathe!

Quickly pulling back, the man started coughing, struggling to breathe and get up. When his eyes opened, Amber dove back into the water. Although Jongwoon was frozen in his tracks. He thought the man was beautiful before but with those eyes open, Jongwoon wished he could’ve swam in those dark, almost black, pools of brown.

“Jongwoon! Get away from him, don’t let him see you!” Amber’s voice was urgent, scared for her partner, and it made Jongwoon quickly follow her commands, leaving the man there on the shore to wonder what could’ve saved him from his death.

 

Although Amber had told Jongwoon to not interact with the man, he couldn’t stop himself from watching him from afar. The man was so beautiful, his pale skin that was slightly darkening from the sun over the past two days, his dark brown hair that blew in the wind, and he wished he could’ve seen the man’s eyes again.

It was the third day when the man started to stagger, causing Jongwoon to become concerned. He hadn’t seen the man eat anything in the last three day, there was no vegetation on the island that he could probably consume safely, and the man had no luck at all in catching any fish. It didn’t take a genius to know that the man was starving.

Glancing at the tiny fish swimming about him in the deep, Jongwoon hesitated at the idea he just had, but one glance back at the poor man had him making his mind up. Amber was right that the man would possibly starve to death, but Jongwoon couldn’t let that happen. Picking up one of the fish around him, he swam closer and closer to the shoreline. He edged closer to the side of a bank where he could stay concealed in the water.

Just as he reached the bank, he rarely raised his head out of the water, thankful that the man’s back was turned towards him. Taking one fish in his hand, he kissed its head, sent an apology to it, then threw the fish up onto the bank. Jongwoon quickly ducked back under the water when the man turned due to the noise.

Peeking back out of the water, Jongwoon saw the man had grabbed the fish and was busy gathering sticks for a fire, the biggest smile that Jongwoon had ever seen on his face, and Jongwoon wanted nothing more than for that grin to stay on the man’s face.

After that day on, Jongwoon would toss fish upon the shore for the man to eat. He always made sure that the man’s head was turned so he would not be seen, and he made sure that Amber didn’t know about his doings. He knew that she would scold him, and try everything she could to prevent him from seeing and helping the man.

Then one day shortly after the sun had began to rise, he was continuing his task of helping the man fill his stomach, he was caught.

“So this is what you’ve been doing,” Amber’s voice startled him, “Jongwoon, I told you to leave that man be.”

He had just thrown the fish on shore and swam back a few yards when she caught him. And while his head was bowed, like a child being scolded by their parents, when he looked up, he didn’t see anger on Amber’s face. Instead, he saw sympathy, sadness.

“Do you miss it?” She asked quietly.

He tilted his head in confusion, but then it turned into curiosity when she swam up, surfacing. He followed after her and noticed she was watching the man cook the breakfast that Jongwoon had given him.

“Being human. Living in the fresh air, walking, talking. Do you miss it?” She asked again, when he didn’t answer, she gave him a small smile of assurance, “You’re not the only one. I miss it too.”

He shrugged, he was grateful for what happened to him. Unlike Amber, he did not have a real reason to live. Before the pirates invaded his village when he was thirteen, and he had been tortured by the captain after that until he was thrown to his death, he was already struggling with life as an orphan.

He didn’t want to think of life before now. He didn’t have family and he was struggling to survive as it was. The sea welcoming him was a blessing he believed.

“Is that why you’re helping him?” Amber’s voice broke him from his thoughts.

He shook his head, “No, I’m grateful for the sea welcoming me, and I don’t miss being human.”

She looked confused by that response, “Then why…?”

“I like looking at him. I like seeing his smile and he thanks me every time I throw a fish for him to consume, despite not seeing me or even knowing that its me. I just like helping him.”

Amber’s eyes widened at the response then she smiled and shook her head, “It sounds like you like him.”

Jongwoon shrugged, “I do like his smile, his face, and his eyes.”

“No, you dummy, sounds like you’d like to get to know him. Maybe even love him.”

“Love?” He was confused by that word.

“Yes, love. Like the love I have for you as my partner, as my child that I saved and the sea welcomed. But maybe more than that, maybe you love him in ways of wanting to hold him close or have him hold you close. Protection, happiness, gentleness, all those things. Love!” Amber was grinning by then, “If I had known about this, Jongwoon, I would’ve let you turn him, ask the sea to welcome him, or I could’ve done it for you.”

Jongwoon almost wished that she had turned the man into one of them, but he was man, and not a man in a dress or wig that could’ve been mistaken as a woman either.

“I’ll allow you to keep helping him and seeing him, Jongwoon, and I’ll ask Victoria or Krystal about the situation. Just be cautious, he still doesn’t know such beings exists.”

And so over the next few days, Jongwoon’s routine still kept going, but he noticed that the man was still growing weary. He wondered if it was due to the loneliness. A human could only survive so long being with just themselves before they went crazy.

“Who keeps giving me these fish?” The man asked once Jongwoon surfaced with a fish in his hand. It was around the time that he usually threw a fish onto the bank. And the question scared him, but it didn’t scare him nearly as much as when he looked up, he saw the man’s wide eyes staring right at him.

Fearing the worst, Jongwoon dove back down under the water, releasing the fish and sinking as far down in the water as he could. He wasn’t supposed to get caught! The man wasn’t supposed to see him… yet. Amber had yet to respond to him about what Victoria and Krystal said.

When he looked back up through the water, he saw the man still looking down at the water. He wondered if it would so bad to let the man see him. After all, who would the man tell or get to harm them? He was isolated on the island.

Jongwoon decided to take a step of bravery and hesitantly swam back to the surface. He saw the man’s eyes widening and knew that he was watching him in the water. Reaching the surface, he took a deep breath before breaking through, ready to flee back into the great blue if the man tired to harm him.

“Hey there. So you’re the one that’s been giving me the fish,” the man’s voice was so soft and smooth, Jongwoon himself enjoying the sound of it touching his ears. It’d been so long since he’d heard a sound that wasn’t being translated through his mind.

“Y-Yes…” Jongwoon sent mentally, eyes still wide and cautious about the man’s reaction.

The man looked like he was still waiting for a response from him, and it occurred to Jongwoon that he sent the thought mentally, he didn’t verbally answer him. He opened his mouth and tried to reply but nothing came out. After not using his voice for so long, it hurt his throat to even try to talk. Instead, he just nodded his head.

“I thought so… thank you for the food. I would’ve starved to death if you hadn’t given me anything to eat,” the man smiled again and Jongwoon couldn’t stop himself from staring at those lips that were curled upwards. “I’m Kyuhyun, what’s your name?”

Jongwoon opened his mouth again but couldn’t get anything to come out, his mind was replying over and over with, “My name’s Jongwoon. I’m Jongwoon.”

The man, Kyuhyun, slightly frowned, he saw the other man’s efforts to speak, only nothing was coming out, “You can’t talk, can you?”

Jongwoon shook his head, lowering it in shame because he really wanted to speak to this man; he’d wanted to speak to this man for awhile now.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s not like I’m not used to the silence around me except for the waves so far. Are you the one that saved me from drowning too?” Kyuhyun asked, because he’d been wondering how exactly he’d gotten free, and how he’d woken up on the beach of this island in the middle of nowhere.

Nodding, Jongwoon lifted his head again, smiling softly when Kyuhyun smiled at the response, thanking him again. “I owe you my life from all that you’ve done for me. Have you been hiding on this island this whole time? I wouldn’t have harmed you; you could’ve shown yourself to me sooner.”

Jongwoon hesitated at that question, well, he had been hiding from the man, just not on this island, just in the water surrounding the island. He glanced down at his tail that was still hidden in the water then up at the man. He debated on showing him the reason why he had been hiding or why he hadn’t been hiding on the island, but when he glanced over to the side of the island where the water met the sand, he figured if anything, he could try to write his responses in the sand.

He glanced back and forth between the man and the sand before diving back into the water and swimming over to it. When he reached it, surfacing, most of his body was exposed, when he looked back at the man, he saw the shock on the man’s face as he stared at Jongwoon’s body from his waist down.

When it was obvious that the merman was getting scared under Kyuhyun’s shocked gaze and looked like he was about to flee, the man quickly started shaking his head.

“Oh! Sorry, I just… don’t leave. I’ve just never seen a man with that kind of body. I’ve heard tales of half fish and half human creatures, but they were only tales. Plus they always said they were beautiful women,” Kyuhyun stated, then his eyes widened at what he said, “N-Not that you’re not beautiful too! I mean, uh…”

Jongwoon was laughing at the man’s words, no sound left his lips but his head was filled with laughter as his face scrunched up in amusement at what the man said. He motioned for the man to come over to where he was as he began to write in the sand.

‘It’s okay. I’m the only merman that’s in the sea. I’m Jongwoon.’

The writing was a bit sloppy, even for it being written in the sand, but Kyuhyun could read most of it.

“So your name is Jongwoon, huh, and you’re the only merman? Wow, well thank you for saving me, Jongwoon, the only merman in the sea,” Kyuhyun grinned, sticking out his hand for Jongwoon to shake.

Jongwoon stared at the hand for a moment, then put his in the man’s. He gasped at the warmth radiating from Kyuhyun’s flesh touching his. While Kyuhyun was surprised by how cold Jongwoon’s hand was. He assumed it must’ve been from the creature living in the deep blue.

“So how’d you become a merman? Were you born like this?” Kyuhyun asked, motioning towards Jongwoon’s waist and down.

Jongwoon turned back to the sand and began writing out his response. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was telling Kyuhyun his whole life’s story about being an orphan, getting kidnapped, being by the captain of pirates, thrown over board dressed as a woman. He even told Kyuhyun about how, because he was mistaken as a woman, he was turned into a merman.

“Sounds like you’ve had quite an adventure and you ended up in a pretty good place, it seems,” Kyuhyun replied, turning over in the sand to lay down, he stared up at the sky.

Jongwoon shrugged, he was happy with how he’d ended up. The sea was his home and he had family that cared for him.

“I wish my story turned out like that. I’m a pirate,” Kyuhyun stated, glancing over to see Jongwoon’s eyes widened, and he knew the merman was now scared that he would attack him too, “Don’t worry; I’m not going to harm you. I was only branded as a pirate due to me trying to save as many captives as I could. You see, officials over the land I’m from decided to buy slaves and force them to do all the labor of our land. My first trip out on the sea was to help them, gather goods from a foreign land, that’s what they told me. I didn’t know that they meant people.

“After they had rounded up a good many that the officials of those foreign lands had captured and sold to us, I saved as many as I could in the safety boats, setting them free. When I was arrested, they branded me a pirate for stealing and destroying their ‘cargo.’ I had escaped and been on the run ever since they tried to hang me.

“That ship that threw me overhead a few days ago was another ‘cargo’ ship. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to save those people.”

Jongwoon stayed on the shore, his tail in the water while his lied on the sand and listened to the man’s tales right up until the sun had started setting.

‘Jongwoon?’ Amber’s voice filled the merman’s head.

He shot up from lying down, looking at the sea, only finding it empty. Amber wasn’t staring at him from the surface. Maybe she hadn’t seen him.

He glanced over at Kyuhyun only to find the man had fallen off to sleep. He wondered when the man had gone quiet; he missed hearing the man’s voice now.

‘Jongwoon, I have news about that man. Come back to me.’

Jongwoon shook Kyuhyun awake so he would move further up on the shore to sleep. He feared the man would drown if he’d stayed where he was. Once Kyuhyun was further up on the shore and seemed to be drifting off to sleep again, Jongwoon fled back into the sea, seeking out Amber.

When he found her, he was met with a sad face, ‘I asked Victoria about the man. I told her how you saved him, and how fond you were of him, she said you shouldn’t interfere with him anymore. That if it’s his fate to die on that island then so be it.’

Jongwoon’s heart and shoulders sunk at those words, ‘But… but can’t I just—’

Amber shook her head, ‘I’m sorry, Jongwoon. If he had been disguised as a woman like you were, I could’ve saved him and made him into one of us that day, but I’m afraid it has to play out like this.’

‘But… but can’t I still feed him?’ Jongwoon asked, he didn’t want Kyuhyun to die.

‘She said not to interfere with him, Jongwoon,’ then Amber glanced around them, seeing that the waters were vacant. She grabbed his hand and swam back towards the island. ‘She said that, Jongwoon. You’re still my partner, my child, if you tell no one of this and keep it a secret that you’re feeding him then I don’t mind you doing so.’

Jongwoon’s eyes widened, ‘Amber… you mean that?’

‘He brings you happiness, Jongwoon. I don’t want to keep you from that.’

He smiled and pulled the woman to him in a hug, ‘Thank you!’

 

So things continued the next few days, Kyuhyun looked forward to Jongwoon’s visits, and the fish that the merman brought him. And Jongwoon was always eager to hear the man’s voice while they lied on the shore, sharing stories. Jongwoon realized just how much he’d wanted some kind of companionship such as this. But it also scared him that urges of wanting to press his lips to Kyuhyun’s was rising up in him.

The only person he’d ever kissed, willingly, was Amber and that was before they settled down to sleep. The captain was the only human he was forced to kiss. But with Kyuhyun, despite loving to hear the man’s voice, wanted nothing more than to seal his lips to the man’s.

“Do you suppose I’ll ever get off this island?” Kyuhyun asked out of the blue.

Jongwoon shrugged and wrote in the sand, ‘Are you tired of me?’

Kyuhyun quickly shook his head, “No! I just… I miss home… well, what was left of my home. I miss my bed, and being able to sleep comfortably. The rocks I’ve been sleeping on aren’t the best thing ever, nor the crabs that wake me with their pinching.”

Jongwoon shrugged again, he could understand that. Crabs weren’t the friendliest of creatures, especially when something is in their way.

“Where do you sleep?”

‘The bottom of the ocean. I sleep with my partner along the coral.’

“Oh… you have a partner?”

Jongwoon nodded with a small smile. ‘Her name is Amber.’

“So… judging from the looks of your tail… how exactly do you reproduce?”

Jongwoon shook his head, and wrote down, ‘We can’t. There’s no way for mermaids to reproduce. Even with a merman.’

“Then how are there so many of you?”

‘Women on board ships that were thrown over have been welcomed by the sea. We are all given second life by the sea.’

“Wow…” Kyuhyun stared at Jongwoon then turned to the sea, “Do you suppose I would be welcomed by the sea?”

Jongwoon hesitated in answering, ‘Amber told me that only women were welcomed.’

“But you’re not a woman,” Kyuhyun stated.

‘I was dressed as a woman. Amber had mistaken me as a woman and saved me from drowning.’

“Huh,” Kyuhyun paused, thinking over what Jongwoon wrote, “What if I dressed up as a woman and you believed that I was one?”

Jongwoon shrugged, he did still have that dress and the wig. Amber said it was pretty and every once in a while, she’d wear it around and mess with a few passing ships. It was amusing to see the sailors’ reactions to her when she was in the dress.

‘Why do you want to become like me?’

That question made Kyuhyun’s cheeks turn faintly pink. He looked away from Jongwoon, “I’d like companionship. I’m lonely when you leave or can’t come around as often. I’d like to be with you, exploring the great blue sea.”

Jongwoon didn’t know what to say. He felt the same way when he left Kyuhyun. He missed the man when he wasn’t able to see him, and he really missed hearing that voice. He still replayed Kyuhyun’s voice in his head but it wasn’t the same.

“Also, this Amber mermaid, is she like your lover?” Kyuhyun felt shy asking it, but he was curious, ever since Jongwoon said she was his partner.

Jongwoon shook his head, writing out in the sand, ‘She’s part of my creator. She’s like my mother. I listen to her and what she says for my wellbeing. Amber and I do not love as love as lovers.’

Kyuhyun exhaled a held breath, “So I wouldn’t be intruding if I did something like this?” Hesitating, He reached over and cupped Jongwoon’s cheek, causing the merman to gasp at the warmth.

Jongwoon’s eyes widened when he realized what Kyuhyun was about to do. Inside he cheered to himself in excitement. Leaning forward, their lips connected in a spark of both hot and cold. The different contrasts did not keep either apart, Kyuhyun smiled into the kiss while Jongwoon reached up to cradle the man’s face.

‘I love you.’

Kyuhyun pulled away quickly when he ‘heard’ those words. Only when he looked around, no one was else was there. It was still just him and a confused Jongwoon. But he’d heard a deep, husky sounding voice… unless he was just imagining things. Then he turned back to Jongwoon, a thought filled his head and he wondered about the answer.

“Did… did you just… tell me you love me?” Kyuhyun asked, and he’d gotten his answer as soon as Jongwoon’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed dark red.

When Jongwoon started to lower his head, Kyuhyun stopped him, “So that was your voice I heard?”

Jongwoon shook his head, motioning towards his throat and mouth, as if he were telling the man that he didn’t say anything. He thought it, yes, but how could he say those words when Kyuhyun’s lips were pressed to his?

Unless…

Jongwoon brought their lips back together, ‘Like this?’

Kyuhyun pulled away again, “That’s it! That’s the voice I heard. It’s in my head?”

Jongwoon nodded with a small smile then brought their lips back together, fairly enjoying this, ‘This is how mermaids talk. Transferring thoughts to one another. I’m not sure why this is happening with us just by kissing.’

Kyuhyun, as much as he liked Jongwoon’s lips pressed to his, was about to pull away before he thought about seeing if Jongwoon could hear his thoughts.

‘Can… can you hear me, Jongwoon?’

Jongwoon’s lips curled up in a small against Kyuhyun’s, ‘I can.’

‘Wow… this is amazing. I’ve wanted to hear your voice for so long, Jongwoon.’

‘Do you like what you’re hearing then?’

‘Well, your voice is deeper than I imagined. But still, it’s amazing.’

The two lied back on the shore, wrapped in the other’s arms as they continued transferring thoughts back and forth. Jongwoon was simply enjoying the light and fluttering feeling in his chest at Kyuhyun’s lips being pressed to his, while Kyuhyun was loving every moment of talking and kissing Jongwoon.

 

‘Amber, is there some way that I can be with Kyuhyun completely?’ Jongwoon asked as they swam about the fish eggs, checking to see if the baby fish were growing.

She looked up at him, ‘What do you mean? We don’t have any way to reproduce like humans, Jongwoon.’

His eyes widened, he quickly shook his head, ‘N-No! Not like that, I know we can’t reproduce, but I mean… like…’ he was lost for words, other than simply saying either he wanted to be human again or he wanted Kyuhyun to be welcomed by the sea.

‘Just say it, Jongwoon, its plain as day on your face,’ Amber replied with a roll of her eyes and a grin, ‘You love him.’

Jongwoon’s eyes widened even more, ‘I… I-I…’

‘It’s obvious, Jongwoon.’

‘But… s-so… how can I be with him? Completely?’

‘Well you know that you can’t turn back into a human,’ Jongwoon nodded, and even though he wouldn’t mind becoming a human again for Kyuhyun, he didn’t want that life. ‘I can tell you have no desire for that, okay, well, if anything, you can see if the sea would accept him.’

Jongwoon’s eyes widened, ‘But he would have to drown.’

‘Yes.’

‘What if the sea doesn’t accept him? I don’t want him to die.’ The thought made Jongwoon hurt. He’d be lost without Kyuhyun now.

Amber threw him a sympathetic glance, ‘I’ll be right there beside you in a heartbeat if the sea doesn’t accept him, Jongwoon. If I can help it, I won’t let him die.’

Jongwoon smiled softly at her words. He had the best mother in all the sea. As he glanced down at a group of pinkish eggs, an idea struck him. He still had his dress and wig, he just wondered if the size would be right. He thought about telling Amber about the idea, but then another thought hit him and he quickly decided against telling her. At least for now.

 

“You want me to what?” Kyuhyun questioned, confused as he stared down at the wet pink and white dress and the wig in his hands.

Jongwoon chuckled to himself, then leaned forward to press his lips to Kyuhyun’s again, explaining further. ‘You wanted to be like me, right?’

‘Yes?’

‘In order to be like me, you have to look like a woman. You’ll have to drown before I can save you, and I’ll have to mistaken you as a woman so that maybe the sea will welcome you. I assure you that I won’t let you die.’

Kyuhyun pulled from Jongwoon’s lips, his eyes uncertain, he trusted Jongwoon, he did, but he’d encountered almost drowning quite a few times. He was not fond of the idea.

He looked down at the dress and wig, then back up at Jongwoon. It was obvious that being mistaken as a woman had worked before. There was proof right there in front of him.

 

“Well, it’s worth a shot,” he started shedding off his clothes to change into the dress, “This dress is going to be a tight fit though. I’m not as small as you are… or as you were,” he noted, glancing over the gown then scanning over Jongwoon’s body.

Jongwoon shrugged, he was barely into his teens when he was forced to wear it. And he’d grown over the years.

 

The dress was a tight fit and Jongwoon thought the man looked a bit odd in pink and white lace, especially since he had a bit unshaven. But when Kyuhyun slipped the wig of, fixing it on his head, Jongwoon had to admit if he didn’t have stubble covering his face that Kyuhyun would’ve made a beautiful lady.

He prayed to the sea that it would accept the man. He wanted Kyuhyun as a companion and he didn’t want the man to die by some mishap or from old age from residing on the island for the rest of his life.

Jongwoon motioned to some vines that were growing on one of the trees. Kyuhyun’s hands would have to be bound. He would have to be drowning in order for Jongwoon to save him.

Kyuhyun hesitated but retrieved a few of the vines, and he gulped hard when Jongwoon motioned towards his wrists.

“You… you are sure about this, right?”

The merman nodded, he pulled Kyuhyun to him to press his lips to the man’s. At first, he didn’t transfer any thoughts to the man, just deepening the kiss to help Kyuhyun relax.

‘If anything goes wrong, anything at all, I’ll be right there beside you.’

Kyuhyun exhaled deeply in the kiss, breaking it, “Okay.”

After everything was ready, the bright and sunny day around them had disappeared, due to the dark clouds filling up the sky. The waves were growing a bit wilder, crashing onto the shore of the beach. Jongwoon was being tossed about as well as he and Kyuhyun at the highest peak of the island. Kyuhyun was standing on the edge, his hands bound, courtesy of Jongwoon, while the merman was in the waters below, almost as if he were waiting to catch the man.

“H-Hey, Jongwoon?” Kyuhyun shouted over the waves and the distant thunder, “I… uh… I never told you before, but if something happens to where I do die, I want you to know that… I love you!”

Jongwoon’s heart soar in his chest at those words and it also sunk because he couldn’t imagine being without Kyuhyun.

“Here… here goes nothing,” Kyuhyun still hesitated, but with the loud crackling of lightning that seemed like it struck just behind him, his footing slipped and sent him down into the water.

It took everything Jongwoon had in him to hold himself back from grabbing onto Kyuhyun and dragging him back to the surface. Especially when the man was struggling against his bound hands and trying to kick his legs to get back to the surface, only to sink further to the bottom of the ocean.

All Jongwoon could think about was the first time he’d encountered the man after he was forced off that ship. Kyuhyun had almost drown then, if it wasn’t for Jongwoon calling Amber.

The merman’s eyes widened when she crossed his mind. Kyuhyun’s movements were growing sluggish, his lungs filling with water after he gave up trying to hold his breath.

‘Amber! Come quickly! I need you!’ Jongwoon sent out, quickly swimming towards Kyuhyun.

It only took a matter of seconds before Amber was already seen swimming towards Jongwoon as he was pressing his lips to Kyuhyun’s, blowing their air into his lungs.

‘Jongwoon? What happened? Is she—’

‘She was drowning, please help me save her!’ Jongwoon pulled back and threw a pleading glanced at the mermaid.

Amber pulled Kyuhyun into her arms, not realizing it was the man. Jongwoon didn’t say anything either as Amber’s lips pressed to Kyuhyun’s, he was hoping that maybe if the girl didn’t know that the person she was carrying was a man then she could turn him just like she had done so with him.

After breathing all her breath into Kyuhyun’s unconscious body, Amber held him close. ‘The sea welcomes you.’

Amber threw a glance at Jongwoon, ‘Come along, we have to prepare for her.’

But as soon as Amber started to drag Kyuhyun back towards their home, his wig fell off. Jongwoon’s eyes widened and he froze where he was, especially when Amber glanced over her shoulder, saw the wig drifting to the bottom of the sea, and kept going.

‘Come along, Jongwoon, we can’t waste time.’

Jongwoon followed along unsure, he knew that Amber had seen the wig. He knew that she must’ve known who she was carrying. But she wasn’t stopping, she wasn’t refusing to help Kyuhyun. Instead, she kept going.

‘Amber… do you…’

‘Quiet, Jongwoon, I know.’

And just like that, Jongwoon knew he had the best mother in all the sea. The best partner for all his needs. Amber was the best, he concluded.

 

‘So that’s how I was made?’ the brown haired male asked as he sat about the coral. He and Jongwoon were just enjoying the day under the sea.

‘Yep. I’m not sure why you lost your memory though.’

The brown haired male shrugged, ‘Maybe I hit my head on the way down when my foot slipped?’

‘Maybe,’ Jongwoon pulled the other merman to him, ‘but despite that, I am glad that the sea accepted you, Kyuhyun.’

Kyuhyun laughed, ‘Yeah, it only took me drowning in order to be with you forever.’

‘It did.’ Jongwoon placed a kiss to the other’s lips, ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too,’ Kyuhyun replied, deepening the kiss.

‘And I love you both, but we need to head south now. New jellyfishes are being born. We have to help them, and see through to a safe birth for them,’ Amber said from behind them, starting to pull both of the mermen after her.

Jongwoon wrapped his hand around Kyuhyun’s as they followed after the mermaid. From a life of hardship on land for both of the two, it proved that the sea loved them more than land ever could. They were together, happy, and would live forever.

 

A/N: I had came across this idea of mermaids from someone on tumblr, credits to whomever came up with it. :D