A sequel to “Not Your Typical Wet Kiss”, because @flurryofwritingflames asked me for one.
In the months between your discovery of the merman of Nocturne’s
Water (whoever had named this pond had certainly… made it interesting) and now,
you’d started bringing two notebooks with you— one for the frogs, which you
were supposed to be researching, and
the other for Demyx.
It was filled with sketches of him, pressed plants, one of his
scales (he’d just handed it to you one day, and you’d been very scared they
were all falling out, but he laughed a little and said, “Well, yeah, eventually.
They get replaced, though.”), and all manner of other things related to your
secret research project.
He was the only one you ever saw, but it sounded like there
were others, if not in that pond, then nearby.
But the research always came second. The first thing you did every time you
arrived at the water’s edge? Tapped the surface in three sets of three impacts
(so he knew it was you, and on purpose), and then he leapt from the water and
into your arms. It was much easier to catch him when you were expecting him,
but all the muscle in his tail did make him pretty heavy.
Still, you didn’t mind having him in your lap.
He was generally very affectionate, having his arms around
you as soon as he could, and often kissing your forehead or cheek. Again, you
had no complaints (though you did write it down… for the sake of the science,
of course).
But this time, though he sprang from the water with his
general gusto, and kissed you with the same, something seemed a little… off. He
was quiet, almost avoiding your eyes.
He nibbled on the root of a water lily and looked over at
you.
“So.” He finally said, after keeping eye contact with you
for a long time. “I, uh. I’m wondering. Why do you still come here?”
“I need to collect data on frogs,” you told him.
“Then why do you keep calling me out of the water?” He
smacked the end of his tail against the dirt, almost like twiddling his thumbs,
and you moved your arms to let his whole tail move.
“Well, I like hanging out with you. I like you in general.”
“Yeah?”
“Of course I do. I wouldn’t let you sit on my lap like this
if I didn’t.”
This made him giggle, a watery sound accompanied by an
expression that lit up his whole face.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” He wiggled off your lap and dove
back into the water. You waited for him, trying to get some of the water out of
your clothes, even though you knew he was just going to get you all wet again.
He came back with his hands full of a lotus and something
else that you couldn’t tell from your cursory glance. You patted your legs, and
helped him get back into your lap.
“What have you got there?” You asked him, reaching for his
hands.
“Well, I—” he paused, looking into the distance as a croak resounded
nearby.
He rolled his eyes and croaked back, then turned to you. “Well,
the first thing is this.” He lifted the lotus up and tucked it behind your ear,
smiling when it was placed. “It looks good. The other thing…” He opened his
other hand and revealed a pale white shell on a string.
It was pretty, in a very simple way.
“Oh. It’s nice.”
“You like it?”
“Yeah. What’s it for?”
“Well… merfolk make jewelry for those they love. Earrings
for children, bracelets for friends… necklaces for intended lovers.”
“Oh. Oh, wow.”
“What does that mean?”
“Would you put it on me?” You asked him. He untied the
string to tie it around your neck, letting the shell settle just above the dip
in your collarbone.
“Ooh,” he mused, “it looks good, too.”
When he was finished tying the knots into the necklace’s
string, you lifted up your notebook.
“Earrings… children…” you whispered as you wrote, “necklaces…
lovers.” And then, you closed the notebook and put your pencil down. You
prepared yourself for the taste of algae and guided him to you for a kiss.
“That’s all I can give you for now,” you told him, “I didn’t
come prepared.”
“That’s okay.”
“Next time, though, I’ll have, like, puka shells for you or
something.”
“No, you don’t have to make me anything,” he told you, flicking
the end of his tail happily. “You can just kiss me again.”
Tumblr Backup 