Elliott x reader/Gender neutral farmer plot

Summary:

The Farmer checks their crab pots only to see an disturbed Elliott saving crabs from their prisons. Farmer get surprised and asks what the male is doing, Elliott runs away. Elliott continues to free the animals, but then the farmer just stops putting out the crab pots - satisfying Elliott. When the farmer goes to the beach one day and notices the male again they tried to ask for an explanation, only to realize that Elliott is in fact not capable of speaking and seems to be far from human.

The young farmer sighed, making their way over to the beach. They'd set up some crab pots the day before, hoping to catch some creatures for their recipes. The sound of water and the seagulls was rather calming to the farmer, it was a nice way to start the day. The farmer kept walking towards their location when they saw a figure in the distance. The figure seemed to be around the area where the farmer had previously set their pots. The farmer got agitated, was someone really trying to steal their catch? They started to quicken their pace, trying to stop the thief before they could get all their loot. To their surprise, the one taking out the loot didn't seem to be stealing; but to be releasing the creatures. The farmer ran, yelling at the male.

"Hey! Those are mine, stop it!" they yelled, scaring the figure. Who was now desperately trying to get out of the shallow water.

Before they could stop the culprit of – their now lost - catch, he was already gone. The last thing they saw was his long flowy hair, before he'd completely submerged himself back into the water. The farmer walked over to their pots, sad to see they were empty. They cursed under their breath as they refilled every pot with a piece of bait, hoping that the male from earlier wasn't going to show up again.

Sadly, that was not the case. The weeks that followed the past event were incredibly irritating. Every day the farmer would fill their pots with bait only to see them being completely empty the following day. They'd thought of giving up multiple times, but their stubbornness made them keep repeating the routine. The farmer would not give the male the satisfaction of them giving up, but after all the times they tried and all the money they had wasted on bait. They gave up.

Elliott made his way over to the crab pots, just like every day. He'd swim over to area where the pots were located, save the creatures that were captured and left. But this time it was different. Elliott swam over to the same area he'd always swim to, but he could not sense any fear nearby. Which the crabs usually gave off. He lifted the top of one of the pots and to his surprise, it was empty. Elliott gave a satisfied smile, knowing that he had won the battle. He was just about to leave when he heard the farmer getting closer, not wanting the farmer to see his well.. Non-human parts. He quickly started to write in the sand, wanting to leave a message for the farmer. His fingers softly graced the sand underneath, he made sure the message was easily readable.

The farmer moved towards the location of their pots, seeing that in fact the male wasn't there. As they approached the pots however, they noticed something written in the sand. The message was short, but was clearly written with thought.

"Thank you." It read, this made the farmer smile. They looked around hoping to spot the male that left them this message. Thankfully they spotted him, noticing how a head was sticking out of the water. Not completely though, but a pair of eyes and long locks of auburn hair were clearly visible. The farmer approached the male, seeing that he was not moving away. They crouched down and waved at the other.

"Hi.. Sorry for capturing the crabs, you must be very passionate about them if you feel obliged to release them every day."

No response, the farmer stared blankly at the male. He didn't seem as if he was planning to speak back. He simply just nodded.

"So do you live around here? You seem to swim a lot, you must enjoy it right?" The farmer continued, dismissing the awkwardness of the situation. Once again, he just simply nodded. "Not really a talker huh? Can't blame you, I am a stranger after all."

This made the male frown, he shook his head. He rose a bit from the water to lean on the dock the farmer was standing on. He bit his lip, as if contemplating to reveal that he in fact wasn't human. The farmer tilted their head in confusion. Elliott sighed and rose even further from the water, at the same time pointing towards the water. Making the farmer look what he was trying to tell them.

The farmer gasped in awe as Elliott revealed his scales, the scales were scarlet and started at his midsection. He smiled as he let himself sink back into the water again, hoping they'd understood what he was trying to say.

"Woah.. You're a merman? So that's why you were so hurt about me trying to capture the crabs. I'm so sorry!" The famer spewed, becoming bright red as they has realized what they had done. Elliott shook his head and gave them a bright smile. Telling them that it was OK, as long as they wouldn't try it again.

"So merman what's your name?" The farmer asked, forgetting for a moment that Elliott was incapable of answering back. Elliott pouted, not knowing how to get his message across. "Oh I forgot, I'm so sorry!"

Once again Eliot shook his head, he placed his hand on his chin. Thinking about how to tell the farmer what his name was. He clapped his hands together, getting an idea. He gestured the farmer to follow him, and so they did. Elliott went over to the shallow water once again and laid himself on the sand. He pointed to the sand as if to tell the farmer that they should pay attention to the sand. He started writing down his name, the farmer sitting next to him; patiently waiting. Now that Elliott was out of the water he was able to get a closer look at the tail, seeing how bright the color was when the sun was reflecting of it. Elliott tapped the farmer's shoulder, as the farmer turned around they read the name of the male.

"Elliott? Your name is Elliott?" The farmer smiled brightly, feeling like the name really did fit the merman. Elliott nodded enthusiastically, trying to hold his laughter as the farmer was getting really happy about knowing his name. They held out their hand, waiting for Elliott to shake it. Sadly, Elliott did not quite understand the gesture. So the farmer grabbed the other's hand and began shaking it. "Well it's great to meet you Elliott!"

Elliott nodded, looking at the both of their hands in confusion. The farmer decided to stop trying to properly introduce themselves because Elliott was not quite catching on. "Look at the time!" the farmer said looking at their watch, "Sorry I have to water my crops!"

The farmer stood up slowly, "Same time here tomorrow? I'll bring a pen and paper so that we can talk properly!" Elliott agreed and moved back into the water. The farmer walked away as they waved to Elliott, who was happily waving back.

"This is going to be interesting." The farmer thought, leaving the beach and returning to their farm.

To be continued? Idk man, let me know