Author's notes:

This fic is for the 'Letswritesherlock' challenge on Tumblr.

If you want to see a super amazing (HA) graphic made by me, based on this fic, feel free to go to my tumblr and take a look: justonemoremiraclesherlock. tumblr tagged/my-fic

Atlantica. A stunning underwater city, overseen by the almighty King Mycroft; a place for all mermaids and mermen to converge in peace. Impressive. Reclusive.

And so incredibly dull.

Sherlock swam away from the palace, careful not to be spotted by the guards. He felt trapped, every day the same tedious routine, the same uninteresting faces. It was made worst by Mycroft, his older brother, who insisted he was to stay nearby the city at all times, determined on keeping him safe.

He didn't want safe. He wanted adventures, to explore unknown places, every corner on the vast sea, and beyond.

But most of all, he wanted to explore the surface, the human world.

He had heard stories about it; about people with legs instead of a tail, people who lived their lives so differently from his own kind. People who were free to do as they pleased, who most likely weren't being constantly watched.

He had found a wrecked ship once, in one of his midnight escapades. It had probably sunk because of the storm that had taken place a few days before. He had explored it and found a great amount of human artifacts. Even more, he had found books, so many kinds of books, and he had spent days reading them all, learning about their world; about science, and philosophy, and their customs. It had been fascinating.

Since then, he had been hoping to find another ship, eager to collect more human treasures. But of course, he hadn't taken them back to the city; he couldn't risk it. Mycroft would be furious if he found out. Instead, he had found a small cavern, far away from watchful eyes, where he had kept his small collection.

But he wanted more, oh, he wanted so much more. He wanted to be one of them, he wanted to be human.

He would give everything for merely a day in the human world. To walk nearby the shore, to feel the warm sand on his feet, to meet other people. To explore their world and find more books, and learn more about their culture.

He was already far enough from the palace, wondering about someplace nearby he had yet to explore, when he stopped on his tracks. He looked upwards and saw a shadow looming over him, and a strange, muffled noise reached his ears.

There was something about it, it was-

A ship.

And not a wrecked ship, like the one he had found all those months ago. This one was still sailing.

He felt his heart hammering loudly inside his chest. He could do it. He could go to the surface, careful not to be seen, and take a peek. No harm done and Mycroft would never find out.

There was a man.

There were a lot of men, in fact, but there was one in particular that caught his attention.

He was of an average height, with dirty blond hair and sharp blue eyes. Curious, he got a bit closer, always careful to stay out of sight. Objectively, there should be nothing interesting about the man; he seemed ordinary, just as the rest of them. But there was something about him; he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

It took him an embarrassing amount of time to realize he had been staring at his smile -and the way his eyes lit up when he did so- for almost a full minute.

That was not good.

He knew it was irrational, yet he couldn't stop staring at him. He looked so carefree, so happy. He felt a small ache on his chest, wanting nothing more than to be there, right next to him, and leave behind his current life.

A foolish notion.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar noise, and a shiver run down his spine.

A storm.

Rain started to pour down and he hurried to back away from the ship. He submerged again, but remained close enough to the surface to keep an eye on it. He didn't become aware of how strong the waves had got until he heard a scream, and saw a body hitting the water a few meters away from him, slowly sinking down.

It was him.

He stared at the man's figure in shock, slightly unsure. Should he help him? The thought of swimming away and letting him there to drown didn't sit well with him, but the risk of helping him out...

Was it worth it?

He laid the human on the sand and rolled him onto his back. There seemed to be no one nearby, but he knew the ship would probably be back soon.

He looked down at the man again and couldn't help but trace his thumb over his cheek, a small reassurance that he was truly safe.

"You will be fine. You need to be fine."

He saw the man's eyelids fluttering and he knew he was about to regain consciousness. He should get going, he couldn't risk being seen. He had been reckless enough already, and it had gotten quite late during his rescue mission.

"I'll come back. Soon," he whispered, and a second later, the man blinked himself into consciousness, his bright, blue eyes piercing right through his own.

Author's notes:

I know, The Little Mermaid, I'm so original. The fic mostly follows the movie version, though there are some differences, mostly beause of characterization.

I'll probably post the next chapter tomorrow or on friday, at the most.

Hope everyone likes this :) Please, let me know if you see any mistakes, and constructive criticism is more than welcomed, as always x