He knew the rules. Every seafolk and seakin did. The three rules that they all lived by; that they all followed.
…Except Antonio.
But Antonio had always been special.
Antonio was born on February twelfth. He was never really sure what year. He wasn't really sure about a lot of things, actually. Like his age, or what day of the week it was. (Because it's actually quite hard to tell how much time passes when you're underwater.)
Antonio had crisp, brown locks and emerald green eyes. His tail, however, was a sort of orange color; that Antonio was quite proud of.
He didn't know much about the world.
He only knew that he was male. And males are supposed to love females.
But Antonio didn't.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Everyday, Antonio would swim up to the surface and watch the humans. And everyday, two kept returning. Even when the snow had come, and the beach was closed, those two humans kept visiting.
The one with white hair. Gilbert, the blonde had called him. Gilbert. The name made Antonio feel warm. It was like a new, shiny toy that he was keeping from the others. And the blonde. His name was even better.
Francis.
Gilbert had shouted that name over and over. Antonio could feel them growing closer every time he heard the albino say it.
Such beautiful names for such beautiful people, Antonio thought.
One day, Francis spotted him.
"Oh~ Bonjour." He shouted, waving at Antonio, smiling. Hair shining, eyes gleaming. . .
The tongue he spoke. It was…different. Antonio liked it.
Gilbert snorted, rolling his eyes at Francis. "Hey kid, water you doing? GET IT? WATER?"
The two friends laughed quietly, before sighing. Antonio didn't get it.
Of course, Antonio couldn't speak to the two young men. He longed to. He longed to run to them, hug them, kiss them, touch them…but he couldn't. They were normal. He wasn't.
"H—i," Antonio croaked. Voice dry, cracky from being unused.
And the smile that Francis gave him, he would never forget.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Antonio had broken the first rule. Never talk to humans, it warned.
The other two, Antonio was very careful not to break.
Never fall in love with a human, and Never kiss one.
Falling in love with mortals, only caused pain. And kissing one would either turn him into a merman, or give him the ability to breathe underwater.
But Antonio wasn't careful enough.
He loved a mortal. He loved Gilbert. And Gilbert was a boy.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"So you're a swimmer?" Gilbert asked. Antonio nodded, smiling. He never knew he could smile. It felt nice. "Where are you from, Mon ami?" Francis giggled, pulling a strand of hair from between his lips. It was his own hair, which he soon tossed into the water. Gross, Antonio thought.
"Somewhere…exotic." Antonio replied. "Exotic? Cool." Gilbert made a small gesture of approval. Francis nodded, going on and on about how fabulous France was, now that his father bought a new summer home in Paris…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
They became best friends quickly; Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis. Francis spent most of his time explaining sex to Antonio, (Who wasn't quite sure if mermen had penises ;) and Gilbert spent his time telling cheap jokes about birds, water, fishes, and boobs. Once a week they would come and swim together, Antonio making sure his tail stayed away from the others. A few months ago, Gilbert caught a glimpse of it, but Antonio managed to throw him off track by shouting "WOAH! D-DID YOU JUST SEE THAT BIG ORANGE FISH?"
All in all, Antonio was happy. He had friends. Wonderful friends, who brought him human food from France and Germany.
But then the accident happened.