so i came across a prompt on Tumblr (at the bottom for those interested) and wrote this at 4 am and because they loved it, i thought i'd post it here too. this is my first fairy tail fan fic, probably one-shot and its got mermaids/mermen so i hope people enjoy it.

(Edit: ive fixed tenses and other little errors)

… … … … …

Lucy groaned, her head was killing her and she couldn't remember where she took her heels off. Crap, and those were expensive too. She thought to herself, trying to shift a little on the slightly wet sand. The light rain had made her dress damp and it stuck to her skin uncomfortably, though the cold drops of water had felt nice on her throbbing head. After stumbling alone out of the bar she frequented with her friends, the blond had decided, in her drunk-as-a-skunk state of mind, that lying on the beach was a fantastic idea at this time of the morning.

Mumbling to herself again as she unsuccessfully tried kicking away a sharp shell by her foot, the sounds of frantic splashing caught her ears and causes Lucy to sit up, her natural curiosity unaffected by the alcohol in her system. Looking around, she noticed a small tide pool, where the splashing sounds and sight of flying water was coming from. Getting up on unsteady feet, she wobbled a little as she walked in a definitively wonky line to the tide pool. Poking her head around the last rock,

Lucy gasped, sure her drunk mind was making her see things. Because there, lying in a shallow rock pool, was a mermaid. When the creature turned her way she saw it's features in the street light's faint glow, catching it's piercing eyes and it gave a low hiss. Standing up straighter, Lucy held her hands up passively, showing and telling the strange sea-man that she had no weapons and wasn't there to hurt him.

"Yeah right. Like I'd believe what a human has to say." The pissed tone in his voice softened just the slightest. "But I might forgive you if you help me."

"What kind of help would you accept from a human like me?" Lucy bit back, feeling insulted by his words, ignoring the fact she was arguing with a myth. "Besides, you could easily just get in the sea yourself. It's not like your legs- er, tail, doesn't work." She tried pointing out, hands on her hips as she swayed where she stood.

The merman looked a little guilty but his expression quickly changed back to angry at the end of her reply, giving a harsh bark, "Yeah princess, I would love to. But if you haven't noticed, my tail actually isn't working right now." He attempted to move his tail, face tense in pained concentration, lifting the fluke a few feet off of the rocks before suddenly going white and dropping it, shaking violently and clutching his right side.

As the merman curled in on himself, Lucy made her way over to him as quick as her feet will allow, bumping into the tide pool's side and scraping her legs and the bottom of her dress, the latter of which she is more concerned about. Later, I can worry about my dress later. Lifting her head, Lucy reached out to the pale shaking form, who flinched at her touch but didn't move away.

"Hey, it's just me." Keeping her voice soft and calm, Lucy gently lifted one arm, vaguely noting the small translucent scales and fins that sprout from his wrist. Under the arm, Lucy could now see there on his side was a large gash, only just missing his gills. There was blood running down his side, bubbling where it passed over his gills, and red droplets were spreading like ink in the water. Gently lowering the arm again, trying not to freak out, Lucy hopped from one foot to the other. How to help, how to help... Ah! Still speaking softly, she asked the man "What is your name?"

"Natsu." He looked up at her, eyes pleading for the help he is too scared or prideful to ask for.

"I'm Lucy. I'm going to go-" her smile and kind words are cut off.

"No, don't leave me here alone. Please?" Lucy frowned, of course she was going to come back.

"I'm going to get a wheel-barrow. It's not like I can just carry you there." She huffed, "just- don't go anywhere. I'll be right back!" And she quickly turned and started running up the sand, ignoring Natsu's irked cry of 'it's not like I can!', instead focusing on going up and not sideways, feet shifting in the loose sands.

"Thank god Gajeel always leaves the back door unlocked when he works late" She commented, reaching the concrete path at the top and running full pelt for the hardware store, her bare feet slapping the footpath, mindful of any possible broken glass. Adrenaline now pumping, her head feels much clearer and she's able to run in a much straighter line.

... ... ...

Rounding the last corner, Lucy ran right into a tall dark figure. Letting out a small 'oof' she stumbled backwards to see-

"Gajeel! What- what are you doing here?" What kind of question is that? I know why he's here! She's so surprised, she stumbles on her words, teetering on her heels as she tries to think of a good reason to borrow from his shop. At least, one that doesn't make her sound crazy.

"Was workin' late. What are you doing out here so late? I thought you went out drinking with yer friends?" His pierced eyebrows are raised, noticing rips in her dress, the lack of footwear and probably the alcohol on her breath. "If yer in some kind of trouble..."

"No! Uh, no, nothing like that. I just fell on my way here. Yes! I uh- I needed to borrow a wheelbarrow?" Geez, for a writer, she was great at novels, shit at excuses. Hanging her head, Lucy stared at her feet, kicking the concrete lightly and wincing when she stubbed her toe on a hidden stone.

Shaking his head and wondering why everyone he knew was weird, Gajeel reached out and clamped a hand on the nervous girl's shoulder. "Blondie, it's fine. I haven't locked up yet, so go grab one from the back. Just make sure you bring it back." Tossing the keys up and down in his other hand, he guided her over to the door and opened it up, letting go and waiting while she ran over and hauled over the biggest barrow, pulling it out the door and wincing again at the rubbery squeak of the plastic as it barely fit though. Shaking his head once again, he shut the door and locked it. Turning, he looked Lucy in the eyes, and with a gruff reminder to get home safe, walked away without looking back.

"Okay. Now i just need to go get Natsu." Grinning, Lucy picked up the handles and pushed as fast as she can, trying not to get lost.

... ... ...

"Huff. I'm..huff..back." Lucy panted, finally able to put the handles down and rest. Looking up at the lack of response, she groaned. "Oh, wrong beach. Again." Putting her hands on her knees, she took a deep breath and stood up straight. Wow, I didn't realize running around in the cold night air like this would feel so good. I should do more night jogging-

"Oi. I'm waiting over here." A voice broke into her thoughts and Lucy spins quickly, almost regretting it as the scenery spins with her. Vision settling again she recognized the tide pool she left the bleeding merman in.

"Oops. Sorry. Here's your ride home!" She said, stepping to the side and gesturing to the barrow with outstretched hands. On seeing his disdainful look, Lucy giggled. "It's not perfect, but it's better than me dragging you for 2 and a half miles." Picking up the handles, she brought the wheelbarrow as close to the rocks as she could. "Now, think you can climb in from there?"

... ... ...

Grunting, Lucy pulled the wheelbarrow one last meter, before dropping the handles and flopping onto the ground. Tossing her head back to look at the lightening sky, she could see that the stars were beginning to disappear as a light blue sky covered them like a blanket. She sighed. "I really didn't think about how heavy a person with a full sized tail would be." Letting her head drop to the left, the young blond looked at the merman, who looked back and flicked some water at her. She didn't have the energy to cover her face, instead enjoying the cool feeling of the water as it splashed her, salt stinging her eyes a little. "Alright, I'm going, I'm going." She grunted, sitting up. "There's not much water left... how are you doing?" she asked, lips in a tight line as she looked at the level of the water.

"I'm fine." Natsu grinned, pointy canines flashing in the oncoming light of the morning. His tail wiggled, poking out of the wheelbarrow like an oversized pair of legs in a too-small bathtub.

Giggling at the situation, Lucy used the wheelbarrow to haul herself up and tried dragging it again, the thought I'm almost there, I'm almost there, running in a loop through her head, the sight of her apartment building lending her new energy.

Finally, she reached the doors, and turned back to her new companion. "You're going to have to get rid of the last of that water. I can't afford to spill any inside."

With a tight grin, Natsu began to scoop up the remaining water and toss it out, the sound of the water splashing sounding very loud in the quiet of the dawn. When he was done, he nodded and Lucy hurried to get him inside and into the elevator. It was a tight fit, and she had to hold his tail up so the doors could shut, but they made it onto the 3rd floor.

As soon as the doors opened, she rolled the barrow out and down the hall, time was now precious. Fumbling her keys, and dropping them more than once under the pressure, she at last got the right one and jammed it in the lock, twisting the handle and practically shoving the make-shift vehicle into the front room, slamming the front door with a kick as she passed through, rolling it to the bathroom and having to stop outside, because the barrow was too big. Running inside, she frantically twisted the taps on and, remembering the plug seconds later, dashed back out to drag Natsu in the last few steps.

Without waiting for the tub to fill, Lucy helped the now much paler Natsu into her bath, giving a sigh of relief as he gained some color back. Turning the taps off, in a much more calm motion, Lucy opened her drawer under the sink, pulling out her old first aid kit and some long bandages.

Sitting on the edge of the bath, she motioned for him to sit up and began cleaning the wound, wrapping the bandages around his waist and trying not to blush every time she came close to his chest.

"Done." The now yawning girl grabbed a couple of towels from the rail and threw them on the ground, almost collapsing in her haste to lie down. "Night. I'm going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

… … … … …

i have enough stories to write already but im really excited to write some more for this too

prompt on Tumblr by officialqueer:

Random story idea for the night: Gender reverse Little Mermaid where a hot dude mermaid washes up on the beach in like, New York or something and this chick is lying there b/c she was at a party last night, got hammered, and fell asleep here and now there's an injured mermaid dude and yeah she's hungover but not helping fish people is bad karma so she drags him back to her apartment and puts him in her tub, and they become friends or something.

dont forget to hit that 'review' button :)