.
Sometimes, I could swear some of the men I worked with were actually babies.
For a group of well learned marine biologists, it often seemed like only Achilles and I were ever actually willing to hop in the ocean, which ended up in the two of us taking turns donning a wetsuit and rebreather to examine the effects of the pollution in the area on the underwater flora and fauna in the region.
That is what I happened to be doing, allowing myself to sink into the dark, inky blues far off shore. My fingers gingerly traced through the almost frilly seaweed that swished and flowed with the subtle current. The whole plant was an almost autumnal brown, pulling my brows into a furrow. We had been diving in secluded areas up until now, but this particular plant seemed the most unhealthy of all we’d made note of.
I focused my attentions nearly entirely on the plant, cutting off a thin, dying stem for further analysis. The only thing that snapped me from my thoughts was—
A pair of eyes.
I blinked a few times through my goggles, staring into the decidedly human looking brown eyes. It took half a second for me to register that we were far too deep to be swimming without proper gear, and I instinctively jerked back.
The sight I was met with shocked me.
Rather than being greeted by my fear of an unlucky drowned surfer, curiosity was all I could see on the brown eyed man’s face. He hovered above me, hanging upside down for a moment, before he swam in front of me, and…
And that was a fish tail.
Scales climbed up his body, shimmering between an almost ox blood red and a pure yellow gold. The very edges almost looked purple in the deepest shadows. He came to settle in front of me, almost studying my treading form, and I just couldn’t help myself.
This was a living, breathing merman.
My hands instinctively slid forward, gently running over his scales in genuine awe. I had a million questions - are they real? Are you real? Where did you come from? - but, of course, I was silenced by the rebreather. He chuckled, a small stream of bubbles filtering out from between his lips.
“Do you often feel up men before introducing yourself?” My eyes blew wide. He was speaking, clearly, without any of the equipment or ear pieces, or—
I shook my head quickly, feeling heat warming my cheeks as it registered that I had, indeed, been feeling up a complete stranger. He laughed at me again as I withdrew my hands.
There had been rumours amongst my coworkers. Someone had seen a weird fish, unfamiliar scale pattern, strange size…oh, gods.
“You’re a human. Yes?” He asked me, bringing me out of my realizations as he circled me. I could feel the faint rush of current produced by his powerful tail, which made my heart race. I nodded at him, watching with wide eyes while he studied my wetsuit. “What brings you so deep in the ocean, then?”
Again, I started to respond when the device in my mouth stopped me. Relenting, I finally tapped the device, and watched the realization dawn on his face. Regardless, though, I slid my hand back through the water to cup the dying plant I’d been studying again. He nodded, slowly, clearly absorbing the new information. There were clearly more questions on his tongue, I could see dozens, though not ones that could be worked into yes or no questions.
That was when I felt a tug on my line.
I glanced up towards the boat floating on the surface above us, the glanced back to gently squeeze his arm. A gentle explanation. He clicked his tongue, a sound I was amazed that I could hear below the water so clearly, before offering a shockingly charming smile. Good gods, I could see myself falling hard for this man. Based on how he chuckled at me, it must have been very clear on my face. “I suppose I’ll see you again, won’t I?”
I nodded a few quick times, gesturing vaguely towards the plants and a school of fish that passed nearby. My job. He gave another polite nod, swimming another brief circle about me, before making his way. I watched him go for what may have been a moment too long, before another tug.
I had to go.
