MayBlade 2022 #2 “Bubbles”
Title: Bubble Ship: Sergei x Mathilda Rating: Mild Nudity AN: Small writing practice with the help of Mayblade 2022!
The sun was setting over the horizon. The earlier blue sky almost looked as if it was burning with its new shades of red, pink and purple. The busy sound of people slowly died out leaving the beach calm and quiet.
In the distance someone was watching expectantly. Waiting.
It was around this time Sergei often arrived, silent. and all by himself. A dark colored wetsuit shielded his pale skin from the remaining warmth of the sun, just as it shielded the few people who were still at the beach from the sight of his scarred body. With an ease few would expect from a man of his size, the Russian moved through the water in a beautiful form. Legs kicked in unison, arms pulled him forward in a butterfly stroke.
That presence followed the man´s movement with an equal ease.
Ever since Sergei met his partner Seaborg, the sound of water has been a source of comfort to him. Even when abroad with his swimming team, all qualified for the swimming championships in Greece, and he had to swim in warmer unknown waters. Seaborg kept him grounded and focused as he cut the waves and trained his body.
One of those late evening practices he found himself no longer alone. After a successful 1km swim between buoys in the open waters he had relaxed, removed his goggles, and spotted her. About 5-7meters In front of him was a girl enjoying a swim even though he had been certain he had all of the beach to himself.
The young pink haired woman greeted him with a pair of big curious eyes, and a hesitant yet sweet smile that seemed to be only for him. It took him off guard, if only for a moment, and Sergei wasn´t the kind of man who was knocked off balance easily. His first thought was that she must be a fan yet unlike his teammates, Sergei has few of them. The crowd always went wild when he competed with his brothers in the team events however, so he could be wrong. The fans he knows of often keep their distance, not rarely driven by jealousy and motivation over his skills rather than with awe over his good looks or charming people skills. This girl was not afraid to meet his gaze. Yet, she did not attempt to speak with him.
When Sergei realized he should say something she moved, slipped into the waves, and created a bigger distance between them. Seemingly content to rest just above water, stealing glances at him. Yet, it was only when he was done drying himself off at the beach that she too left without being noticed.
It was only after days of sharing the late hours in the waters Sergei came to understand that the woman was no ordinary fan. She was always there before him, or appeared out of nowhere, all smiles. She too didn't seem to be a competitive swimmer as she spent her time resting, and diving.
He started to look forward to seeing her.
Sergei was always observant, it was what had kept him alive in his younger years. On their second week of knowing each other he saw what was hiding beneath the surface as she absent-mindedly came closer to him than she usually would. The first observation made a slight flush cover his pale cheeks. She was nude, her small shoulders showed no straps of a bathing suit, and her chest was exposed. His embarrassment lasted just for a few moments as what was lower down took his breath away.
Instead of a pair of smooth legs there was a longer, scaly peach colored tail together with long elegant fins. Sergei´s silent fangirl was a mermaid: half human half fish. Still in awe, he had made an attempt to touch her arm to make sure he was not seeing things only for her to wake up from her daydream with a strong flinch. As she realized what had happened she shied away. Sergei got the impression that she was afraid of his touch, in a way he didn't understand. Not yet.
Since that time Sergei never reached for her again. He let the mermaid decide the distance between them. He allowed her to close the distance if she wanted yet never took the first step himself. As he remembered her bare bosom, Sergei also concluded that it might be for the best to not get too close.
"You can't speak?" Sergei asked one of the days spent together in the waters.
The woman had always been attentive to Sergei. He could feel her eyes follow him as he worked out, and when he met her gaze she'd smile at him in a way no woman ever has before. However, she never seemed to understand him when he tried to speak with her. Tilting her head to the side, she´d look hesitant for a moment before she tried to speak. But even if her lips moved, no words left her mouth. Instead it seemed as if she was trying to mimic him. Sergei smiled back as she laughed, clearly she too had understood that they couldn't communicate.
The sound of her laughter became something Sergei craved.
He had a hard time being a gentleman when she at last dared to swim closer to him. Often splashed him with water, or stole the goggles he had put away while floating in the water. She was full of life, of curiosity and above all of that she was brave.
The happy and calm times were not to last. One evening when Sergei was practicing, his mermaid hadn't arrived at the time she used to. That is when the reason why everyone living near water has learned to never swim alone becomes crystal clear.
The weather is unpredictable to those not native to the land and even if the sky had been clear when Sergei set out to practice the situation changed for the worse quite suddenly. The wind picked up, dark clouds gathered and heavy warm rain started to fall. Sergei slowed his pace as he noticed thunder and lightning in the distance. Turning towards the beach he realizes that the current must have grown stronger as well as he was now on deeper and more unreliable waters.
Before he had the time to react the current pulled at his legs, and waves rolled over him. The strength of it made a silent panic grow within his chest as he was swept under the surface. His strong butterfly kicks did nothing to bring him closer to a fresh breath of air. Every second spent below felt like an eternity. Chest aching for air. Sergei´s vision was starting to blur.
Then he saw her.
The mermaid swam against the current towards him, like a dream. Her arm was outstretched towards him, but just when their fingers were about to touch she withdrew it in momentary hesitation.
The look in her eyes changed from fear, to sorrow and finally to determination.
The mermaid reached out once more and her small hand grabbed Sergei´s. Her fingertips instantly started to change into small bubbles, her hand gradually dissolving into the water. She bit her lip hard, wrapped her other arm around the human man and started to swim. Pulled him out of the deathtrap all while she was slowly fading.
Her skin felt cold against Sergei´s, yet the softness of their closeness and her chest warmed him in ways he hadn't experienced before. The lack of oxygen enhanced the feeling. The scales of her tail brushed against his legs, scratching him just ever so slightly once in calmer waters.
Her face came closer and closer and their lips touched at last, and Sergei got fresh air into his lungs. His brain started to slowly work once more. Eyes closed as he pressed his lips to hers, accepting her gift. Sergei felt how they resurfaced, yet she didn't break the liplock, and forced Sergei to inhale through his nose. The mermaid was keeping her lips to his as if it was a life line. Arms embraced him, body to body.
Legs to tail and fins.
Just like if they crossed a line that they never should have been crossed, the almost magical creature Sergei met weeks ago sealed her fate to save his. The woman in his arms turned less and less solid, the outlines of her body grew blurry, and the embrace that had been so comforting and warm ended up crushing the what remained of her.
The only proof of her existence was bubbles.
See-through, white and pink bubbles rested on the surface of the water around Sergei´s chest. Bubbles that lingered on his lips, fingers and wetsuit.
Soon swept away by the waves.
