Like uh, cleaner fish mermaids that remove parasites from larger mermaids, and sometimes get a litttllleee to close to the larger fish's mouth???
Alright barnacle-breath, open up!”
Marco rolled his eyes, sighing.
“Seriously? Barnacle breath? That’s the best you could come up with?”
Swimming at face-height was a petite, golden-haired mermaid no bigger than his nose.
“Whatever, just lemme get this over with!”
The bigger mer smiled to himself. No matter how snappy Sasha acted, Marco knew that she didn’t mind their cleaning sessions at all. You see, Sasha was a cleaner mermaid. She stuck by his side most of the time, making sure his scales, gills, and teeth were free of gunk and parasites. In exchange for her services, not only would she get free meals, but the added bonus of never having to worry about larger predators. For a tiny creature like her, the sea was especially dangerous. When almost everything is bigger than you, it’s hard to stay safe with so many hungry fish around. But nothing ever dared to come close to Marco and his impressive set of pearly whites. It had been like this for as long as he could remember, and the two were very good friends.
Sasha swam up to Marco’s mouth, prying it open with her dainty hands. But she immediately frowned once she got a glance inside.
“Wh- Marco, what in the world were you doing last night??”
Marco blushed. “I- uh. Ok, so a couple of friends and I might have gone hunting for lunar clams... and I might have gotten a little carried away... Don’t look at me like that! I had to do it before they were gone!”
Sasha groaned, putting her head in her webbed palms. What an idiot! Sure, lunar clams were the most delicious of all the shellfish, AND they only came out during the peak of the full moon. But that didn’t mean he had to open them with his TEETH!
“Marco, there’s pieces of shell stuck EVERYWHERE. Do you know how long it’s gonna take me to get them all out?”
Marco shrugged. “Sorry?”
Judging by the satisfied look on his face, he didn’t seem very sorry.
“Whatever,” Sasha huffed, swimming inside. Sure enough, jagged pieces of rainbow-tinted shell were wedged between his teeth. It hardly phased her anymore. Sure, it was a little weird being inside a mouth that devoured fish much bigger than you every day. But Sasha knew Marco would never hurt her. Besides, Mers didn’t prey on other Mers. Everyone knew that.
Carefully maneuvering past the bladed edges like a pro, she began to pry out the bits and pieces, throwing them out of his mouth as she went. She couldn’t help but cringe as some of the bigger pieces slid out from his gums. Some of them looked like they would hurt! But Marco was such a big lug, he probably didn’t even feel them anyway. Every once in a while, Sasha would find some leftover clam meat stuck between his teeth and pop it in her mouth. Mmm, delicious. Now she understood why he was so keen to go hunting last night before they disappeared again.
To be honest, Marco had never gotten over the fact that Sasha actually ate the stuff she found stuck to him. He found it... super gross to be honest. But it was basically second nature for her! And if she liked it, who was he to complain?
“R’joo good in dere shmall fry?” Marco mumbled, trying not to slap Sasha in the face with his tongue. And failing.
“Almost done! There’s just a few more pieces in the back. Can’t you open any wider for me?”
Sasha swam to the very back of his maw, facing his gullet. There were just a few more shards stuck between his back molars, and they seemed stuck in there pretty good. Gripping one of the massive teeth for support, Sasha began to tug. As she suspected, it didn’t budge. Maybe if she repositioned and got some leverage? Swimming even closer to his cavernous throat, the tiny mermaid tried to gain some stability by propping herself on the roof of his mouth. But as she hit the ceiling, Sasha realized that she hadn’t fully taken her surroundings into account.
Sasha’s back smushed against Marco’s slimy uvula, causing her to let out a yelp of surprise. Marco gagged. What the heck was she doing in there?? Without warning, a weight hit the back of Marco’s throat. In a burst of surprise and desperation to remove the blockage, his body forced him swallow whatever it was. Coughing, Marco regained his composure.
“Ugh, what did you throw down there? Sasha?”
Marco stopped. He felt around his mouth with his tongue. Nothing. Oh gods. He swallowed again, feeling the solid lump pass through his chest. Could he have- no way...
Marco touched his stomach tentatively. He could feel the fluttering of the tiny Mermaid under his fingertips, and she didn’t seem happy.
“Are... you alright?”
“MARCO!! THAT’S THE THIRD TIME THIS WEEK!!!”
The larger Mer felt his cheeks grow hot. I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It was an accident this time, I promise!”
Sasha huffed, burying her back into the plush stomach walls. Stupid Marco. This wasn’t the first time she’d been in this situation, by any means. She had learned fairly early on that her larger friend had developed a... taste for her. Sometimes during their cleanings, he just couldn’t help himself. He always let her out, of course, but it was still pretty annoying. It wasn’t all bad though. She’d gotten pretty used to hanging out in Marco’s stomach, seeing as he’d occasionally keep her in there for a while just to tease her.
“So... are you gonna spit me out or what?”
Marco put his webbed finger on his chin in mock thought. “Hmmm... Well I’d be lying if I said you didn’t feel nice in there.”
Sasha scowled. Great. It was gonna be one of those days.
“Aww, c’mon!” Marco prodded at his belly. “It wasn’t even my fault this time, so you can’t be angry at me!”
A small, but friendly punch from inside made Sasha’s view on the matter very clear.
“Alright FIIIIINE. I’ll let you out. But only after I get home,” Marco smiled deviously.
“And just so you know, I’m swimming the long way home~”
