17. worshipping kiss ( oh boy here we go )
She had spent a much longer time with the pirate today than on any other — surely by now her father must’ve been worried for her safety and was searching for her, but quite frankly there was nowhere else that she would rather be. They had been sitting in comfortable silence for the past half hour or so, watching the facets of the ocean glitter with the late sun’s dying rays of light. It was for this reason, followed by her resting her head casually against his lap, that she felt so reluctant to leave. Though sunset was beautiful underneath the waves, it was far more beautiful when you watched it from above. Her jealousy towards humans grew deeper each day.
A sigh departs lips from the man above, locks of silver shifting from her face as she turns to glance upward at him. It was then that she not so secretly admired how the dying light seemed to contour his masculine features, lifting her head from his lap to rest next to him on the shore in an upright position. Noticing her shift in movement, Jin had turned to face her with a confused look on his face. The stare she gave him was more than obvious now, though it was far from simple wonder. She was marveling at him, as though every detail on his form were now exposed to the naked eye thanks to a bit of sunlight.
Lithe hand extends to brush tenderly along his square jawline, reluctance dissipating upon noticing that the touch was welcomed, though under constant scrutiny. The confusion on his face was evident, though it mattered not to the mermaid, whose gaze was more concerned with memorizing the details etched into sun-kissed skin. A thumb, smooth from years spent under the sea, glosses over the expanse of his chapped lower lip — still no movement from the other besides the steady blink of bewildered eyes.
In a merpeople’s perception of beauty he would have been regarded as average, though hers had been warped by days spent at his side, attempting conversation with what little of his language that she knew. He had shown her patience and kindness, just as she returned the favor in his case. There was a conspicuous platonic connection between the two when it was left to debate, though now that began to waver. Had he always been this beautiful? Were she asked the same question upon their first meeting, she would have said that he was like any other human man she had seen from afar. Something had changed inside her, something she had yet to identify.
What she was aware of, was that she couldn’t let something like this just pass her by when she had such an opportunity. With resolution in her head but confusion in her heart, she draws the man into her arms and does what no one needs lessons in doing: she presses her supple lips against his in a tender kiss. For mere moments, although the man is frozen solid in her embrace, she is mystified by the sudden rush of blood through her veins. Even if it was for just a few seconds, Yonah felt as though she finally had known the meaning of love.
But then she realizes what she had done. Gasping in fright, she draws herself away from the man and dives into the water, not even glancing behind her to see if he was still there, waiting for her. It was time to go home.
