•E/C: Eye Color
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Your POV:
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His question made me pause to gather my thoughts with scrunched features. Love is a complicated concept in itself, so how the heck am I supposed to explain it to Neil, who isn't even human? How did it even come to this?
"Well, I suppose the best place to start is with the basics. Humans go on things called dates."
"Day-ates?" He repeats with a curious voice and a sharply tilted head. I can't resist giggling at his pronunciation as I nod my head.
"That's right. A date is when you do something with another person. It can be anything, really. You do it to see how well the two work together and to help you gain feelings. If they don't end up liking each other, they find another person to go on dates with until they find the right... mate." I did my best to explain it in simple terms for him. I'm not quite sure of the extent of his vocabulary, but I think he understood for the most part, for he gave a nod. "Like I said, the pair can do anything during a date, and they can go anywhere." He gives a low purr, similar to a hum, before making a few clicking noises in thought before speaking up.
"Th... Thes... This day-ate?" he asks while tapping a sharp nail against the floor to refer to this very moment. Cracking a smile, I shake my head at the merman, filling him with confusion.
"No, this isn't a date. This is just one of my normal visits." He rolls his tongue then falls silent before looking up at me again.
"Wa we g-go day-ate?"
"You want to go on a date?" I arch a brow at the fish as he vigorously nods his head with a sharped-tooth grin before taking my hand to massage the back of it. He was so gentle doing it.
"Day-ate." The longing in his voice made my heart clench, and a sigh leaves my lips.
"I don't know..." I say quietly, trailing off at the end. What am I supposed to say? We can't actually be together. It isn't right. Still, staring into those large, onyx eyes of his made it so hard to refuse.
How am I supposed to say no to him? His whimper breaks me out of my thoughts as I glance away from the pleading gaze. "I suppose we can go out to the ocean tomorrow if you'd like, but I'm telling you, we cannot be mates, Neil." I had to add that last part in to avoid getting his hopes up. I don't want to hurt him in any way, but this is hard on the both of us.
He has to acknowledge my own feelings about this. He was happy for a moment before his lips pulled into a frown. Sad whimpers fled his throat as he lays his head on my lap. "Oh, Neil." Frowning as well, I pet his head, down his neck and his shoulders, earning a light coo from the creature, but there would be no cheering him up about this. "Sorry. You still want to try, huh?" He nods against me, making my heart melt.
'What a sweetheart.' A little bit, I caved.
"All right, then. If you can manage to change my mind, then... sure, I'll be your... your mate. It isn't going to be easy, though, so don't—" I squeal when a pair of lips meet mine to cute me off. Neil makes a bunch of happy chirps while smiling brightly and cuddling up to me. I was left speechless and could feel my cheeks burning red from the surprising interruption.
'This might be easier for him than I anticipated. Why did he have to be part fish? If he was human, things would be a hell of a lot easier.' I groan in frustration.
'Grow legs,' I plead while watching him rub his head against me while purring and cooing. It was such a cute sight. He looks so happy. I wish I could feel the same about this. I lean back on the palms of my hands and continue telling him about human concepts so that he can better understand what we do. "A- Anyways, once the pair is certain they like each other, they—"
"Mate?" He interrupts again, turning my face a deeper shade of red.
"Uh... Y- Yeah, sometimes. There's also this thing called marriage."
"Mare-age?" I nod.
"It's an event where the pair devote themselves to one another, declaring that they'll stay together always no matter what happens. Although, they don't always work out in the end." I rub the back of my neck as he gives me a look of intrigue. He takes my hand away from my neck before leaning his face close to mine. "Not everyone does it, so I suppose it's not too important."
Lightly, his nose brushes against the tip of mine before he tugs on my hand. He wants me to go into the water, so I nod. He lets go and dives in first before twisting his long body to float on his back. I follow after him only to slip on the ledge and scream as I fall into the water, but I'm quickly caught in his strong arms. I'm held tightly to his body, my head on his chest, which allowed me to hear his rapid heart.
'It's so fast.' I relax against him, knowing better than to struggle against his affections.
"Mate." He purrs with a roll of his tongue and gives a high pitched chirp to show he's happy, which made me chuckle softly against him. I lift my head a bit to show him a smile before reaching up to pat his head, and to my surprise, he pats mine in return. I certainly didn't expect that. I'm not used to being on the other end of that. I laugh at the action before resting against him again with my eyes shut as he floats around the pool.
'He's such a nice person. It really isn't fair. I wish he was human so that we could be together. I just can't imagine this working any other way.' We stay this way for a while, enough for me to nearly fall asleep. It was then that I realized it was time to head home, so I pat Neil's chest to get his attention and look up at him.
His eyelids part as he wakes from his light nap before he meets my E/C orbs. His sleeping habits are so strange. All he has to do is close his eyes for a minute or two to be fully rested, but his body would still move regardless of whether or not he was asleep. Maybe that's his version of sleepwalking... sleep swimming? "I gotta go home, bud." The merman whimpers, begging me not to leave. I give him a gentle smile while reaching up to cup his cheek, my fingers getting wrapped up in his wet strands. He purrs in a high-pitch tone and pushes against the hand.
"I'll be back tomorrow for our... date. I promise."
"Day-ate." He smiles and nods before swimming over to the steps. I slip off of him and am watched intently as I catch him a snack from the pool beside his. I toss in two decently-sized fish to keep him busy, and he excitedly chases after them while splashing his tail. I smile, glad that he was out of that depressed state now.
'I must've been the reason he was like that. Now I feel bad.' I turn away and exit the room with a small goodbye to the fish-man, but he was too invested in his hunt to notice. I'm sure to grab my clothes before going to the bathroom to dress. It's a small space with a standing shower, a sink with a square mirror above it and a toilet. I grab a towel after taking everything off and dry myself before putting on a striped t-shirt and peach pink shorts, then slip on my blue shoes.
I look at myself in the mirror and easily note the blush on my face as I bring a hand up to my cheek. As expected, it was warm.
'His mate.' I heave a depressed sigh and shake my head, cooling down swiftly before stepping out.
'Of all the things, he wants me to be that.'