I can’t wait to see that part two of merman Valerius like yassssssss gimme some ‘guppy’ Valerius plzzzzz 😍
most of the time I try to mix it up with characters at least a little and keep my valerius fucker self on the dl, but yall keep requesting val so lmao here we are
part 1 (is this becoming a full on fic, which I deny by using bullets to make myself feel like it’s low pressure?? who could say for sure)
you eventually find your way back home, and even though months pass without seeing the mysterious merman again, you never doubt that it was real
then one day you’re walking along the beach at night and you see something moving just along the surf in the distance
you pick up a piece of driftwood and approach cautiously, ready to defend yourself. it’s too dark to see but it looks like some kind of….human? creature? squirming on the ground
you poke it once with the wood and he turns toward you immediately, yelping and startling you, though you recognize him instantly
before you can say anything, he leans up towards you and scowls “is that you, human?”
you cross your arms and raise an eyebrow, about to correct him with your name, but he gestures to his tail and gives a frustrated wriggle
he’s caught up in a fishing net, tangled from the bottom of his tail up to his chest, though his arms are thankfully free
“I don’t suppose you could be of some use and help me out of this”
you scoff “if you asked nicely, maybe”
he rolls his eyes (ever-dramatic), but when he moves to start pulling the net off himself, the rope catches and he collapses back to the ground. with a huff he mumbles, “please”
while you work to untangle the knots you notice how his gaze keeps falling to your feet. “why do you wear those covers?” he asks suddenly
“cov– oh, you mean my shoes?” his eyes are narrowed, but you’re close enough to see there’s no malice behind it. if anything, he seems curious
“I guess…our feet are too delicate, so we wear shoes to protect them”
he nods, apparently satisfied, but when you reach in to un-loop a rope from around his back you hear him whisper “sh-hoo-z” to himself
without thinking, you trail your fingers over the iridescent scales on his sides and he gasps “what are you doing?”
your hands fly off him “I’m sorry, I just, they’re so beautiful, and– I’m sorry” you stammer
“well be careful. they’re….sensitive” he won’t look at you as you finish pulling the last of the ropes away, settling for glaring somewhere past your shoulder
when you’re done he dusts himself off and stretches his tail, and he looks almost surprised that you’re still there when you say “I guess we’re even now”
he seems confused, so you add “you saved my life, I freed you, we’re even. it’d be nice to meet without one of us dying or in crisis”
the merman chuckles, and after a pause, puts a hesitant hand on yours, still clutching the rope
“don’t fret, human. I have a feeling our paths will cross again”
he reaches down and plucks a loose scale from his tail, pushing it into your palm
“you can, uh, call me valerius. when we…that is– when we meet again.”
you look down, transfixed by the shimmering scale “okay, valerius, I’m–”
when you glance up again, he’s gone, though you could swear you see a tail plunge into the water in the distance
as you walk home, you can’t help but wonder if all mermen are so dramatic
BONUS:
when he reaches his rooms, valerius lays himself along the ocean floor and buries his face in his hands
“when we….that is– when we”? what a bumbling idiot! he thinks
it’s definitely that lowly human’s fault. so ineloquent, absolutely no manners whatsoever. what a horrid influence they’ve been…with their starry eyes, and those soft hands…unforgivable