YOUR STOMACH FLIPPED upon seeing your blond friend patiently waiting near the shore, hunched forward with his tail often twitching against the ground. you could feel the butterflies tickling your insides and your slow walking suddenly turned to a light jog, your eyes glinting with all positive emotions mixing together in a tornado.
armin was drawing figures on the sand and it looked like he hadn't seen you yet. you grinned and called out to the blond, waving your arm as a sign of greeting. the mermaid perked up and flashed a grin, waving with his fingers. his action was soft and small, unlike yours that was big and full of excitement.
you skidded to a stop once you were near and plopped down beside the mermaid who greeted you with a warm, welcoming smile. "hi y/n, how are you? any exciting events today?"
you pondered your answer for a moment, trying to remember if there was anything important that happened or worth the day to talk about hours ago.
"not really." you hummed out before gasping, clicking your finger, "oh! there was a big food fight in the cafeteria that ended with the dean stepping in. needless to say, he left the building mad and drenched in spaghetti."
armin looked perplexed for a second before slowly smiling, finally understanding some bits of humor in your story. "oh, that sounds fun!" he exclaimed, laughing a bit.
you shrugged, nodding, before shuffling through your bag, looking for the book you borrowed to show it to your friend and get another story going. "anyways, i have this book i wanted to--"
before you could take out the book, armin placed a gentle hand on your arm, prompting you to leave it inside your bag and look at him, speechless and somehow embarrassed. how could you not be? you finally realized your feelings for the mermaid, the simple skin-to-skin contact would obviously change for you. if he even initiated a hug, you're sure you would pass out soon to even nestle in his touch.
the warmth in his hand caused shivers to crawl up your spine, goosebumps suddenly decorating your skin. with pinched lips, you slowly retracted your hand from your bag. "w-what is it?" you asked quietly, your voice suddenly cracking at the end.
you had no idea why you were suddenly so shy over a simple touch. if this ever continued, he'd catch on about your feelings and would probably think you're weird. let's hope he's very oblivious...
armin flashed a soft smile, the kind of smile that sent your stomach to a frenzy, and shook his head. "we can talk about the story tomorrow. i just want to know how you are and stuff."
you couldn't help but reciprocate the smile, your heart suddenly warm at how kind the mermaid was. it was a simple gesture that you should've been used to as it was in his nature but shit, you feel yourself falling deeper for him. you're afraid that you wouldn't be getting out of the ditch so easily.
freaking feelings!
"o-oh? why?" you laughed softly, trying your hardest to smile normally, "nothing really happened interesting today except for the food fight."
"well, you looked worried yesterday so i thought something bad happened... and you left early too." he explained, concern laced in his tone.
you grinned, mentally squealing, and brought your hand up to ruffle his golden hair, admiring how silky and soft it was compared to your dry locks.
just what kind of shampoo do mermaids use? do they even take a shower? you asked yourself, almost zoning out.
"don't worry about me armin, i just forgot something, is all."
the mermaid nodded in understanding but his eyes were suddenly trained on your arm that blocked his view, his brows furrowed in interest. "what's this?" he questioned to himself, grabbing hold of your wrist that was currently playing with his hair before prying it away to look at your skin.
the same warmth of his hands was back again and the goosebumps on your skin reappeared once more as you tried to calm yourself down. he stared at something on your arm, obviously curious. you peered over and eyed what he was looking at, spotting the now fading saturn drawing you doodled on your skin hours ago.
"oh, it's just a drawing. i was bored earlier in my class so i just drew." you explained, finding no interest to it anymore considering that it was already fading.
armin gaped and tilted your arm, clearly amazed. "wow! you're very talented!" he complimented, pulling your arm closer to take a look. "can you write on my skin too?" armin pleaded, eyeing you with sparkling puppy eyes that you couldn't exactly decline to.
after moments of consideration, you laughed and nodded. you grabbed your pen from your bag and grabbed his arm, wiping the sand and dirt on his skin, "what do you want to write?"
"uhm, i don't know..." he mumbled, "i can't think of anything!"
"well, we can draw your favorite thing!" you suggested, opening the cap as you waited.
"how about a favorite word?" he questioned, tilting his head. you found it out of the ordinary but you nodded nonetheless. anything for armin.
"my favorite word is... epiphany."
with that, you got to work. your handwriting was neat but writing on the skin was kind of hard to do, with the ink breaking off or the limb moving too much. however, when you told armin to not move to an inch, he sat still like a statue which you were thankful for.
"what made you choose this word as your favorite?" you questioned out of curiosity, carefully writing each letter in pretty cursive writing.
armin hummed as he smiled, "well, i think the meaning is beautiful... you find the answer, but to what?" he replied while making sure not to move too much, "you find answers in many things. like 'what should i do today?' or 'what would happen if i do this?'. i'm sure mermaids and humans have this one big questions they still have to look for the answer for and once they do, that would mean that their goal in their life is done. they found their epiphany."
you already finished the word but you couldn't help but stare at it in wonder, surprised at how wise and open-minded the mermaid was. not only was he innocent and a gentleman, but he was also smart! "i have a question, too, and it still needs to be answered. i don't think it's my 'goal' in life, it's just a question that i think would change the way we mermaids live."
"well, what is your question?" you asked, pulling your eyes away from his arm to stare at the mermaid.
armin was suddenly quiet, his eyes downcast in what looked like to be an embarrassment. he was unresponsive at first but finally, he answered. he didn't look at your eyes, just stared at the ocean with a longing, calm look in his eyes.
"do... do you think it's possible for us to fall in love?"
totally not the question you were expecting.
you could feel your face heating up at his sudden question as if he was asking you, your mind muddled with hundreds of questions and answers to it. "u-us? like, we--"
"like humans and mermaids... do you think they can love one another?" armin explained, letting out a deep sigh before continuing, "humans can love humans and mermaids can love mermaids. if they knew about our existence and--" armin paused, his brows furrowed and eyes narrowed down that clearly showed signs of conflict.
armin suddenly let out a laugh, looking at the words written on his skin. "nevermind. i don't think it's possible but maybe someday..."
"you'll get your answer soon enough. you're already friends with a human, if the world treated your kind with kindness, who says we can't love one another?" you comforted quietly, patting his arm as you looked away, unable to meet his gaze. hopefully, your words of comfort didn't give your feelings away. armin smiled and placed his hand over yours, thanking you with his small action.
"if only you knew." armin mumbled sadly before shaking his head. you were about to question more on what he means but it was obvious he meant to say it to himself so you let him be.
you place your pen back in your bag and glanced at the mermaid beside you, "what made you think of that question?"
"i don't really know. out of curiosity, i guess?"
"maybe out of experience?" you arched an eyebrow, smirking as a sign of teasing.
"i don't know any mermaids who 'fell in love' with a human." armin replied innocently, stretching his arms out before laying on the sand with a soft thud.
"would you... fall in love with a human?" you asked quietly, pulling your knees to your chest as you waited for his response with a bated breath. your eyes didn't meet with his, keeping it on the rushing waves across the ocean. you could feel his gaze boring on the side of your head, probably judging you already or trying to read whatever was going in your mind.
armin closed his eyes, his lips pursed together as he thought of his answer. "maybe, it depends entirely. i don't think i'd meet with another human," he replied truthfully, "you're the only human i'm friends with. so if you're asking me if i'd fall in love with you--"
"t-that's not what i meant!" you butt in, the tip of your ears red in embarrassment at what he was implying so you tried to save yourself before he'd somewhat catch on. "i-i was just curious because you--"
the mermaid's laughter rang in your ears with his honey-like voice, your heart skipping a beat. "i was joking!" armin teased, flashing a bright smile on your way. you rolled your eyes and grabbed your bag, laying down beside armin (but made sure to give enough space as to not look desperate) with your bag as your make-shift pillow.
you stared up into the night sky, admiring the stars that twinkled every now and then. you traced the dots together, trying to look for any famous constellations that could be seen tonight.
"look, armin!" you grab armin's arm excitedly and shake him, pointing towards the sky. "the stars! there's cassiopeia!" you exclaimed with childish wonder, gaping and grinning at the constellation displayed on the sky. it was your first time actually stargazing and finding a constellation at the same time, you couldn't help but get too excited.
"cassio-what?" armin narrowed his eyes, lifting his body for a bit to stare at what you were talking about. considering that this was a mermaid who hasn't left their kingdom for a really long time and isn't updated with the human world, he was rather confused at what he was staring at. all he could see were the stars.
"the stars! a constellation!" you explained hurriedly, sitting up to point the pattern. "a constellation is a figure formed by connecting the stars together. one famous constellation is cassiopeia, named after a queen in greek mythology."
after showing him the picture with your phone and helping him look for it in the sky, the mermaid was already excited and buzzing more than you are due to his intense curiosity. he continued asking more about the constellations and if there were other ones in the night sky. currently, the cassiopeia was the only constellation you could see but you helped the mermaid make different patterns and figures with the stars while laying on your back.
you told random funny stories about the figures, spending your time together with warm laughter ringing in the air. the problems, feelings, questions dissipated into the atmosphere, long gone for other people to worry about. you cherish every single second you spent with the mermaid, as the person you like and someone you could call your friend.
silence followed soon after, giggles and chuckles dying out.
you closed your eyes and relaxed under the night sky, enjoying the cold gale that blew every now and then. armin was laying beside you, staring at the words written on his skin. you peaked your eye open, seeing his eyes so serious while looking at it.
"you know, it would fade as soon as you go underwater. it's not exactly permanent," you told him, closing your eyes back again.
armin nodded, glancing at his arm one last time before staring at your face with a soft smile. "that's fine, i don't need mermaids to ask what happened to my skin." he joked, chuckling afterward.
another round of comfortable silence came. armin didn't bother to look if you were doing something, he was busy relishing in the moment of serenity while he stargazed. the cassiopeia constellation was still there, bright as day and pretty as a diamond.
"your handwriting is really pretty." armin mumbled out, forgetting to compliment your handwriting a while ago. he turned to his side, about to strike up another conversation when he saw you sleeping peacefully.
he pressed his lips together, sitting up to see if you were alright with your position. he poked your side, unsure whether you really were sleeping or not. you didn't move. so he poked your side again, harder this time, only to see your face scrunch up before going back to the original calmness you had a while ago.
armin then concluded you were actually sleeping. on the beach. should armin wake you up? he wasn't sure if he should. his mind was in a conflict with himself; should he wake you up and send you home so you could sleep more comfortably in your bed? or should he let you be and allow you a few minutes of rest? he felt that you needed it, considering that you do look tired from time to time when meeting up with him. it could be a nice gesture.
with his mind made up, he decided to let you be for now. it wasn't like he'd leave you to sleep on the beach. your alarm hasn't rung yet, meaning that it wasn't time for you to leave like you usually did. you could spend the remaining minutes resting your pretty eyes and armin would keep watch.
armin was about to lie down when he glanced at your being once more. his eyes were burrowed in concern; is your neck going to okay from your kind-of hard pillow? surely it would cause some neck pain if it continued. and it was cold out! would you get sick? he knew humans sometimes have a pretty weak immune system. your jacket surely wouldn't compare to a thick blanket. the cold breeze continued to sweep by every now and then and he'd notice that you'd shiver and pull your jacket closer. your hair was sprawled out in the sand, the grain decorating your hair like a halo.
armin, being the gentleman he is, moved the sand away from your hair and gathered your locks in one piece, placing your hair beside you so it wouldn't look messy. he smiled triumphantly when you didn't move or wake up, giving himself a pat on the back. he then checked once more to see if you were okay before his ocean-colored eye landed on your sleeping face.
the blond tilted his head, staring at your parted lips with a look of confusion and curiosity. curious to what, he didn't know but he couldn't tear his eyes away.
if he was being honest, you were one beautiful human. your looks were almost like something out of a fairy tale. eyes, nose, lips... everything was almost perfect.
however, staring at you didn't fill his stomach with butterflies. it didn't make his heart leap. it didn't cause his breath to get stuck in his throat.
he knew those things you'd feel (which he read in novels) would indicate that you had fallen in love but carefully looking at your looks just didn't cut it.
now, it didn't mean that he didn't love you. he had suspicions before, he wasn't that oblivious with his feelings. he noticed the gradual change weeks ago.
his fear of humans changed when you first showed him kindness. when you showed him that you were trustworthy. when you were patient with him, kind with him, and more. it changed when you gave him the two books, your gifts.
that was when he realized how sweet and good-natured you were.
that was when he realized he was falling for you.
not by looks, but by your personality.