INSTANT CRUSH: AOT One-shots

Mike » Underwater

Convinced that he'd scared you to the bone when he had caught you prying into his habitat the day before, he was astounded to see you back so soon. Dominated by anger and panic, he had instantly blasted you away, fearing that any delay on his part would lead to his demise, for he had been taught that humans were the enemy. Generations upon generations of his species were hounded and slaughtered by your kind; you were the reason only a few numbers of them remained, scattered around the world's oceans as they lived on in perpetual fright and apprehension that humans would come to their hunt. But he had made the mistake—or not—of lingering a moment longer, watching your body lifelessly sink deeper, and had found himsef dashing back to your rescue. Pure survival instinct had spurred him to attack in the heat of the moment, but in reality, it had never been in his blood to kill.

Flapping your arms and legs, your silhouette had him utterly engrossed, and he was completely caught off guard when you'd unexpectedly rolled around and dipped below the surface, his watchful gaze the first thing you spotted underneath the clear waters.

Petrified, you unconsciously screamed, an array of bubbles erupting from your wide-open mouth as streams gushed down your throat. Hurtling to the surface, your arms hysterically flittered around as you strove to breathe through your painful spluttering.

It was a mere instant later that you sensed a pair of calloused hands firmly holding your waist to still your agitated body. Impulsively, your palms slammed to rest on his broad shoulders as you worked on steadying your respiration while your eyes remained tightly shut.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of your savior's lips as he watched your disheveled form. Bringing one hand to sweep the clammy hairs away from your face, your eyelids slowly peeled open at the touch, your chest heaving up and down violently at the sight of the man holding you. With how loud your heart was beating, you had no doubt that he'd heard it too. Your bottom lip quivered, your arms trembled, and your feet went numb. Fire emitted from where his hands grasped you, defying the water around to course throughout the entirety of your flesh, and a chill ran down your spine when he clenched his fists ever so slightly.

Terror plowed your insides as you endeavored to make sense of this, but you still couldn't tear your eyes away from his captivating ones. He seemed relaxed this time around, no tinges of animosity or rancor visible in his countenance. You couldn't exactly tell why, perhaps the explanation was mystical and beyond the realm of reason just like the very creature keeping you afloat, and despite your unpleasant encounter merely a day before, but you felt surprisingly safe in his arms.

"What's your name?"

Your lips parted to speak, but language escaped you as the heftiness of the situation finally dawned on you. This can't be real.

He discerned the mixture of panic, stun, and bewilderment creeping into your features and couldn't help but feel an invisible draw towards you. Despite the ingrained belief about your kind in his world, countless times he'd heard stories of mermen who had hopelessly fallen for humans, but he could never fathom how it was possible to love such hateful and merciless creatures. Now that he'd come face to face with one, however, he could see that you were truly something to behold, spiking his curiosity in every way possible.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," he spoke huskily, his voice wrapping every single thread of sensibleness you owned with a veil of marvel and pulling you into a state of oblivion. "Do you not speak the same language?"

"I—"

The loud calls of one of your colleagues echoed from the beach, and an emptiness instantly swathed you as the mysterious merman vanished into thin air, stripping your body of the soporific warmth his enormous hands had whetted and hauling you back to reality.