⚠️ Warnings: execution attempt, drowning, kissing, flirting, & nudity
Also, the longest one
The shore had always been Cole's favorite place to walk.
Not because it was pretty.
Okay, maybe a little because it was pretty.
But mostly because nobody bothered him there.
The town got quieter near sunset. Fishermen packed up their nets, merchants dragged carts home, and the only sounds left were waves grinding against the rocks and gulls screaming overhead. It gave Cole room to think.
Or not think.
Usually the second one.
That evening, the sky was darkening faster than normal. Gray clouds rolled overhead in thick waves, distant thunder muttering over the sea.
Storm coming.
Cole shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and kept walking anyway.
Then he saw someone in the water.
At first, Cole thought the guy was drowning.
Half his body was submerged near the rocks, unmoving except for the tide pushing gently against him. Dark hair clung damply to his forehead while seawater rolled down bare shoulders.
“Hey!” Cole called immediately.
The guy looked over.
“Oh,” he said casually. “Hi.”
Cole blinked. “… You okay?”
“Yep.”
“There's a storm coming.”
“Also yep.”
Cole stared at him harder.
The guy just leaned back against the rocks like he didn't have a single survival instinct in his body.
“You should probably go home,” Cole said.
“I will eventually.”
“That storm's gonna hit soon.”
“I know.” Cole frowned.
The guy smiled lazily.
“Don't worry so much.”
That should have been the end of it.
Cole should have left.
Instead, he walked closer.
“You're weird.”
“You came over here to talk to the weird guy sitting in the ocean during a storm.”
“… Fair.”
The guy grinned.
Up close, Cole noticed two things immediately.
One, the stranger was unfairly attractive.
Two, Cole needed to stop looking at his torso before he embarrassed himself.
Because wow.
Not fully defined or anything, but enough that Cole could vaguely see the shape of abs under damp skin and honestly that felt targeted somehow.
Meanwhile, Cole himself was built broader and softer. Strong, sure. Years of hauling crates and working docks did that to a person. But standing next to this guy made him suddenly aware of every inch of himself.
The stranger tilted his head. “You'e staring.”
“I was not.”
“You absolutely were.”
“I was observing.”
“That sounds creepier.”
Cole groaned into his hands.
The guy laughed.
It was sharp and bright like lightning cracking across the sky.
“I'm Jay, by the way,” he said. “Short for Jaden.”
Cole snorted.
Jay narrowed his eyes immediately.
“What?”
“You don't look like a Jaden.”
Jay looked deeply offended.
“I don't know what that means.”
“It means your name should be like…” Cole waved vaguely. “Something else.”
“That is the weakest explanation I've ever heard.”
Cole shrugged. “Well, I'm Cole. Short for Nicolas.”
Jay stared. “… No, it's not.”
“It literally is.”
“You don't look like a Nicolas.”
Cole pointed at him triumphantly. “SEE? That's exactly what I meant!”
Jay crossed his arms. “That's rude.”
“You started it.”
“No, you insulted my name first.”
“You insulted mine second.”
“That means yours hurt me emotionally.”
Cole laughed.
Jay looked pleased about causing it.
Thunder cracked overhead.
Neither moved.
“So,” Jay said eventually, leaning back on his hands in the shallow water, “what does a guy like you do around here?”
“A guy like me?”
“Pretty guy. Walks dramatically by the shore during storms. Looks like he'd help old ladies carry groceries.”
Cole nearly choked. “Pretty?”
Jay blinked. “… Was that too much?”
“No,” Cole said immediately.
Then, after a pause: “I just didn't expect it.”
Jay hummed softly. “That's surprising.”
Cole stared at him. “How the heck are you good at flirting?”
Jay made a face. “I'm not.”
“You literally just called me pretty.”
“Because you are?”
“That's not helping!”
Jay laughed again. “Well, I've had practice.”
Cole squinted suspiciously. “How much practice?”
Jay counted on his fingers.
“Nya. Kai. Zane. Blake.”
Cole stared.
“That's FOUR people.”
“Well, technically Blake barely counts.”
“What does that mean?”
Jay grimaced. “Toxic situation. We don't talk anymore.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
Cole looked genuinely horrified. “You've had more romantic experience than I've had in the last ten years.”
Jay blinked slowly. “… How?”
“What do you mean how?”
“How has nobody dated you?”
Cole looked away immediately.
Jay leaned closer.
“No, seriously,” he said. “How can a pretty guy like you stay single that long?”
Cole's brain completely stopped functioning.
The storm rumbled closer overhead.
Somehow, the air still felt too warm.
“I think,” Cole said weakly, “you might just flirt with everybody.”
Jay gasped dramatically.
“I do not.”
“You literally met me ten minutes ago.”
“And?”
“That should answer your question!”
Jay laughed hard enough to nearly slip deeper into the water.
Cole instinctively grabbed his arm before he could.
For a second, both of them froze.
Jay looked down at Cole's hand around his wrist.
Then slowly back up at him.
“… Thanks,” Jay said quietly.
Cole immediately let go.
“Right. Yeah. Cool. Don't drown.”
“Aw,” Jay teased. “You care about me already.”
“You're sitting in the ocean during a storm. Somebody has to.”
The rain finally started.
Light at first.
Cold droplets splashing against the shoreline.
Cole sighed and stepped back. “I should go before somebody notices I'm gone.”
Jay nodded.
Then Cole pointed at him firmly. “And you better be home before the storm hits, Jay.”
“I will.” Jay smiled softly.
Cole came back the next evening.
Then, the next.
Then, the next.
Eventually, it became routine.
Cole would walk down the shore near sunset and find Jay half-submerged near the rocks waiting for him like he'd always been there.
Sometimes they talked for hours.
Sometimes Jay flirted until Cole turned red enough to threaten violence.
Sometimes Cole brought food.
Jay always complained dramatically before stealing half of it.
And every single time Cole asked why Jay never fully came out of the water.
Every single time, Jay dodged the question.
One evening, after weeks of this, Cole finally asked outright. “Are you hiding something?”
Jay went unusually quiet.
The tide rolled gently around him.
“… Maybe,” he admitted.
Cole waited.
Jay looked almost nervous for once. “… Does it bother you?”
Cole frowned immediately. “No?”
Jay studied him carefully like he was trying to decide something important.
Then he smiled again, softer this time.
“Okay.”
That night, they kissed for the first time.
Cole leaned down from the rocks while Jay stayed half-submerged beneath him, seawater dripping from his hair as he pulled Cole closer by the front of his jacket.
It was awkward.
A little messy.
Perfect.
Then someone screamed.
Both of them jerked apart.
A fisherman stood farther up the shore, pale with horror.
His eyes weren't on Cole.
They were locked below the waterline.
At Jay.
Jay disappeared underwater instantly.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
Cole whipped around.
“What the hell is your problem?!”
The fisherman pointed shakily toward the sea. “T-The monster—”
“There was no monster!”
But the man was already running.
Cole turned back toward the water desperately.
“Jay?”
Nothing answered.
Only dark waves.
The next morning, soldiers came for Cole.
He barely had time to react before they dragged him through town with his hands bound.
People watched from windows.
Some whispered prayers.
Others looked terrified.
“The witness saw him consorting with a sea demon,” one man announced loudly near the docks.
Cole struggled violently.
“He's not a demon!”
Nobody listened.
Heavy ropes wrapped around his chest and legs. A soaked gag was shoved into his mouth before they chained a massive stone beside him.
The ocean churned violently beneath the execution platform.
Rain poured from dark skies overhead.
One of the elders stepped forward grimly.
“Let this serve as warning,” he declared. “The creatures beneath the sea bring only ruin. Those who welcome them doom us all.”
Cole glared murderously at him.
Then they shoved him overboard.
The sea swallowed him instantly.
Cold.
Dark.
Heavy.
Cole squeezed his eyes shut and took one last breath before the water consumed him completely.
The weight dragged him downward fast.
Too fast.
Then suddenly—
He stopped falling.
Cole blinked.
Something slimy curled beneath him.
Then air hit his face.
What—
He coughed violently as ropes suddenly snapped apart around him.
Sharp claws sliced through the bindings like thread.
Cole wiped seawater from his eyes.
And froze.
A massive blue creature towered around him beneath the ocean depths.
Webbed hands.
Tentacle-like hair drifting through the water.
Ear fins.
Glowing yellow eyes against black sclera.
Rows of sharp teeth.
Cole sat frozen in the creature's huge palm while townspeople screamed faintly above the surface.
The creature bared its teeth at them threateningly.
Then, it dove.
Cole panicked instantly and squeezed his eyes shut again.
But halfway down—
He inhaled.
Air.
Cole's eyes snapped open.
A bubble surrounded his head, moving with the creature through the dark ocean without breaking.
His breath shook.
Around them, the water deepened into endless blue darkness.
The creature's skin darkened too, glowing lightning-like markings spreading across it.
Then, it spoke.
The voice came out distorted underwater.
Garbled.
But familiar.
“Surprise?”
Cole's jaw dropped. “… Jay?!”
The creature grinned, sharp teeth flashed. “Told you not to worry.”
Cole stared in absolute disbelief. “You're a SEA MONSTER?!”
Jay looked offended immediately. “Rude. I'm a cecaelia.”
“A WHAT?”
Jay ignored that completely. “Look ahead.”
Cole turned.
And forgot how to breathe.
Lights glowed beneath the ocean depths.
Massive towers rose from the seafloor surrounded by glowing plants and schools of strange fish.
An entire underwater kingdom stretched before them.
Jay sounded smug. “Welcome to Merlopia.”
Cole stared openly. “… First Master.”
“Also don't worry,” Jay added casually. “The palace is dry inside. Your human skin won't get weird.”
“You really waited THIS long to tell me?!”
“You took it surprisingly well considering the execution thing.”
“That's because my brain hasn't caught up yet!”
Jay laughed loudly enough to send bubbles through the water.
As they approached the palace gates, two figures blocked the entrance.
Both looked human from the waist up but had glowing angler fish features beneath the water.
One crossed his arms immediately.
“Jay.”
“What?”
“What did you bring.”
“A human.”
“That is EXACTLY the problem.”
Before the argument could continue, the other guard sighed.
“Just let them in.”
The first one groaned dramatically.
“Fine.”
Cole looked between them in confusion as Jay carried him through the gates.
The moment they entered the palace, the water vanished.
Cole stumbled forward onto polished flooring, coughing slightly.
Behind him, Jay stepped fully out of the water.
And instantly became human.
Cole froze again.
Because now Jay was just standing there completely naked like that was a normal thing to do.
Cole looked aggressively upward.
A tall pale man with white hair approached calmly carrying folded clothes.
“You forgot these again,” he said flatly.
“Thanks, Zane.”
Jay took the clothes without shame whatsoever.
Then immediately noticed Cole refusing to look below his shoulders.
A slow grin spread across his face.
“Oh, First Master,” Jay said delightedly. “You're trying so hard not to stare.”
“I am being respectful.”
“You're blushing.”
“I am under extreme stress right now.”
Jay laughed while pulling clothes on.
Only after getting dressed did he suddenly blink.
“Oh right. Introductions.”
He pointed toward the palace entrance.
“The grumpy one earlier was Kai. The nicer one was Nya. This is Zane.”
Zane nodded politely.
“And that's Pixal.” Jay vaguely points to a direction.
Cole blinked. He didn't even notice anyone?
Before Cole could question further, Jay grabbed his wrist excitedly.
“Come on. Mom wants to meet you.”
“WAIT WHAT?”
Too late.
Jay dragged him through enormous glowing halls until they reached a massive throne room.
A woman sat upon the throne surrounded by glowing blue banners.
The second she saw Cole, her eyes widened slightly.
Jay beamed proudly, “Mom, this is the human I was talking about.”
Cole stared. “You were talking about me?!”
“All the time,” Jay admitted.
Cole nearly tripped over himself.
The woman smiled warmly.
“You may call me Liberty,” she said. “Though most simply shorten it to Libber.”
Cole awkwardly bowed slightly.
“It's uh. Nice to meet you.”
Libber chuckled softly.
“I hope your stay in Merlopia will be pleasant.”
Jay immediately grabbed Cole's hand again.
“It will be. I'm stealing him now.”
“Jay,” Libber sighed.
But she sounded amused.
A few minutes later, Cole sat in Jay's room still trying to process everything.
Jay sprawled comfortably across a couch nearby.
“So,” Cole said slowly. “You're a cecaelia.”
“Mhm.”
“And you can turn human.”
“Mers can when we're fully out of water, yeah.”
“Mers?”
“Mermaids. Merfolk. Sea people. Whatever.”
Jay waved lazily.
“If we're half submerged, we look more like the cartoon versions of mermaids you know about. If we're fully underwater though…” He grinned toothily. “More monstrous.”
Cole immediately remembered giant terrifying ocean Jay.
“… Yeah. I noticed.”
“And deep sea changes us more too,” Jay continued. “That's why my skin darkened and the lightning markings showed up earlier.”
Cole blinked.
“So the giant form—”
“Oh, that's just magic.”
“That's insane.”
“Thank you.”
Cole rubbed his face.
“And the naked thing?”
Jay looked genuinely confused.
“What about it?”
“You all just—”
“We don't really care?” Jay shrugged. “You humans are the weird ones about it.”
Cole covered his face.
“This place is going to kill me.”
Jay leaned closer with a grin.
“Nah. They already tried that.”
Cole snorted despite himself.
Then Jay's expression softened slightly.
“You came back every night,” he said quietly.
Cole looked over.
“Well… yeah.”
“Even before you knew what I was.”
Cole shrugged awkwardly.
“I liked talking to you.”
Jay smiled at him gently.
Then music suddenly echoed through the palace halls.
Not alarms.
Music.
Loud music.
Jay blinked.
Cole blinked.
“… What?” Cole said.
Outside, people suddenly started cheering.
Jay frowned in confusion just as the door slammed open.
Kai stood there with the most exhausted expression Cole had ever seen.
“They started early,” Kai said flatly.
Jay stared. “Started what early?”
“The festival.”
A beat of silence.
Then Jay gasped dramatically. “THE STORM FESTIVAL!”
Kai pointed accusingly. “You forgot your own kingdom's holiday, because you were flirting with the human.”
“I DID NOT FORGET.”
“You absolutely forgot.”
Cole looked between them helplessly.
“There's a festival?”
Nya suddenly appeared behind Kai, already laughing.
“There's always a festival after major storms,” she explained. “Everyone's celebrating the reefs surviving.”
Jay immediately grabbed Cole's shoulders.
“Oh, this is PERFECT.”
Cole narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“That tone scares me.”
“You're staying.”
“That wasn't the scary part.”
Jay grinned brightly.
“You get to see glowing tide dancers, deep-sea markets, lightning racing, bioluminescent manta parades—”
“Jay,” Kai interrupted dryly, “you're vibrating.”
“I'm excited!”
“You're always excited.”
Jay ignored him completely and turned back toward Cole.
“Come on,” he said. “Please? You already got dragged into an underwater kingdom. You can survive one festival.”
Cole opened his mouth to protest.
Then paused.
Because Jay looked genuinely hopeful.
Again.
And apparently Cole was weak to that now.
“… Fine,” he sighed.
Jay lit up instantly.
“Oh, you are SO getting spoiled tonight.”
Kai gagged loudly.
Nya smacked his arm.
“What?” Kai complained. “That was gross.”
“It was cute,” Nya argued.
“Wrong.”
Cole laughed before he could stop himself.
The sound made Jay glance back at him immediately, smiling softer this time.
Not teasing.
Not flirting.
Just happy.
And somehow that hit harder than everything else.
Jay reached over without thinking and grabbed Cole's hand.
Warm fingers laced easily with his.
“C'mon,” Jay said. “I wanna show you Merlopia properly.”
Cole looked at their joined hands for a second before squeezing back gently.
“… You know,” he admitted, “this is not how I expected my week to go.”
Jay snorted. “Yeah? Mine neither.”
“You literally turned out to be an underwater prince.”
“Okay, fair.”
“And I got publicly executed.”
“Temporarily.”
“That is NOT how drowning works, Jay.”
Jay laughed loudly enough for nearby guards to look over.
Then he tugged Cole toward the hallway.
Outside the palace windows, the ocean glowed with thousands of moving lights.
Creatures swam through illuminated arches while music echoed through the water. Colorful banners drifted between towers. Somewhere in the distance, something massive moved beneath the deep sea currents, glowing blue beneath the dark.
Cole stared in awe.
Merlopia was alive.
And somehow, impossibly—
He was part of it now.
Jay leaned closer beside him.
“You thinking dramatically again?”
“Maybe.”
“You're gonna fit in great here.”
