"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." -Ryunosuke Satoro

~#~#~#~

Allura wandered along the beach. The sand squished delightfully between her toes, eliciting a soft sigh from her lips. She cast her gaze to the horizon, admiring the ruby sky as the sun melted into the waves. Sunsets at the beach where her favorite thing; she loved watching the sun's brilliant glow pool on the water's surface, broken up by the rippling waves.

Water splashed at her ankles as the waves lapped at the shore. Allura wrinkled her nose, a smile breaking onto her lips.

Today had been quite a warm day, and the coolness of the ocean water was a welcome change. It felt lovely on her sore feet, and Allura splashed about as she wandered.

If only everyday could be spent like this. Allura sighed. Working two jobs to pay rent was stressful as it was, but the busy season made her feel dead inside. Tourists came pouring through the doors of her little restaurant, looking for that 'local' cuisine with a view by the sea. Not that Allura minded; the tips were great. But she felt like she ran a marathon, and wanted nothing more than to lie down on the sand and let the surf wash over her aching body.

Something along the surf caught Allura's gaze, and she paused to squint. Driftwood? Probably. That, or garbage. Things were always washing ashore, and Allura had spent countless hours cleaning up the beaches in her little ocean town. With a shrug and a sigh, Allura wandered closer. At the very least, she could drag it farther up the beach so the tide wouldn't drag it back into the ocean.

As she approached, it became very clear to Allura that this wasn't a pile of driftwood. She stumbled to a halt, her heart in her throat.

Was that...an animal?

The dusk light reflected off of what appeared to be scales. Allura's gaze traced the length of the object, widening as she recognized a tail. A rather large tail, too. It was slender, with a massive, ornate looking caudal fin. Torn up netting obscured her view of the rest of the creature, and a swell of anger reared in her chest.

"Those damned fishermen," she muttered. She chucked her shoes further up the beach and marched over to the fish, praying to the heavens above that the poor beast was still alive. As she got closer, a discrepancy became alarmingly apparent.

There was a tail, full of scales and fins, but Allura could also see a brown-skinned arm peeking out from beneath the netting. Her brows furrowed, confusion swathing her mind. What the…

Hesitantly, Allura snagged a corner of the netting, lifting it up.

And then she screamed.

Allura dropped the net as if it scorched her and stumbled back, falling onto the wet sand. She did not just see that. Nope, not possible. Not in the slightest.

And yet, the netted creature was still there, still in the surf.

A mermaid A fucking mermaid. Allura thought she must be going mad. That was the only explanation for why she was staring at a boy with a tail, wound up in a net.

Hesitantly, Allura crawled towards the mermaid-man-boy-thing, shuddering as the waves splashed against her wrists and knees. She lifted the net again, staring down at her discovery.

The mer-creature appeared to be unconscious. Netting was tangled around its body, cutting it in spots. Sympathy welled up in Allura's chest. Perhaps she was hallucinating, but even then she knew she'd feel horrible if she left the creature like this. Allura reached into her pocket, pulling out a worn pocket knife.

Allura always had a soft spot for ocean life. She never could bear seeing nature's creatures suffer by man's hand, so Allura had long ago started carrying a knife with her to cut critters free of garbage and netting whenever she found them washed ashore, trapped and in pain.

With a practiced gentleness, Allura located the points where the net had ensnared the mer-creature, cutting it loose. She carefully tugged the netting away, revealing the mer-creature to her in its entirety.

Allura stared.

The mer-creature, or boy, as it appeared to be, was beautiful. Bright blue scales glittered almost purplish in the evening light, ending around his bellybutton. A few scales scattered up and down his arms and back, surrounding his dorsal fin. There were even a few scales dotting his face, making him glitter. Allura could see gill slits along his neck, and she worried faintly if he could breathe. Did he utilize ram ventilation, like sharks? The thought was worrying.

Then again, the fact that he wasn't moving was worrying enough as it was. Mermaids were supposed to not exist, so Allura didn't have the faintest idea how to help him. Should she just let him be? The thought made her grimace. What if he couldn't breathe, and died?

She supposed that wouldn't be the worst thing, if that meant someone else could find him and document the mer-creature's existence. At least then, Allura would know she wasn't crazy. But the thought of just...leaving him here made her feel awful.

Maybe she could drag him further into the water? That usually worked with fish…

Allura sighed. Well, she had no better ideas. Allura rose to her feet and carefully hooked her arms around the mer-creature's middle, dragging him as gently as she could further out into the surf. The cool waves lapped at her clothes, soaking them and chilling her skin. Allura grit her teeth, spitting out a few curses. The boy's head lolled to the side, making Allura's heart leap into her throat. She waded out until the water was about to her chest. Deciding she was far enough, Allura let the mer-creature dip until his neck-gills were submerged beneath the water. She rocked him back and forth, hoping the movement would stimulate his gills and get the boy moving.

A few minutes passed with her doing this, only for nothing to happen. She was about to give up, when the boy's gills flared and his eyes fluttered open.

"Hnng…"

Allura gasped, nearly dropping him. The boy flailed, his tail and arms splashing ocean water up into her face.

"Stop moving!" she cried. "Please, you're getting me wet!"

The boy stopped, and Allura steadied them as she tried to blink the seawater out of her eyes. She peered down at the mer-creature, her breath catching in her throat. Two, piercing blue eyes stared back at her, watching her inquisitively. Allura gulped, heat rising to her face. "T-thank you," she stammered.

"You're pretty."

Allura blinked. His voice was rich and melodic, and she found herself wishing to hear more of it. "Um, thank you," she said, her own voice wavering. "How do you feel?"

The boy grinned. "Like I died and woke up in heaven. Why else would I be in the arms of an angel?"

Allura's flush deepened, and she had half a mind to just drop him into the water. "Can you swim?" she asked, ignoring his question. The boy flicked his tail out of the water.

"Yeah, I think so."

She took that as an invitation to release him, suppressing a giggle as the mer-creature-boy flailed and splashed beneath the waves. He resurfaced, shooting her a glare. "Gee, thanks," he said.

Allura raised a brow. "What, you're not going to swim away? Or drag me down under the water and drown me?"

"Why would I do that?" he asked. Allura shrugged.

"What, is there not some sort of rule that I shouldn't know you exist or something?" she said. Of course, the thought was worrying. Allura still wasn't certain if she was hallucinating this whole experience to begin with, but if it was real, she found herself to be baffled by how...nonchalant the mer-boy was being.

"Nah," he said. He tilted his head, his brown hair flopping into his eyes. "Well, I mean, I guess so? But you sort of saved my life, so I'd rather not deal with all of that." He waved his hand, the scales on his arms glittering in the low light. "Besides, you're pretty." He winked, and Allura scoffed.

"Okay, well now that you're alive, I'm leaving." She began to wade towards the beach, suppressing a shiver. There was a splash, and the mer-boy appeared beside her.

"Wait! Tell me your name!"

Allura raised a brow. "Why on earth would I do that?"

"I'll tell you mine."

"You have a name?"

This earned her another glare, to which Allura snickered. "Fine, I suppose it makes sense. Still, I don't know what good it'll do you."

"Please," the mer-boy said, his crystalline eyes shimmering. Allura sighed.

"It's Allura."

The mer-boy grinned, a sight so dazzling that Allura forgot what it meant to breathe. He bowed his head, his gills flaring. "Allura, quite the pleasure to meet you. I'm Lance." And before ALlura could react, Lance reached his hand out of the water and snatched hers. He tugged her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on her knuckles, before releasing his hold of her and disappearing beneath the water's surface. Allura stood, frozen in place. Her fingers tingled where he'd kissed them, and her face and neck felt hot.

Had... had that really happened?

There was a splash behind her, and Allura whirled around. Lance's tail waved in the air, and he resurfaced a moment later. "I'll seeya around, Allura!" he sang, before dipping below the waves again. Allura's heart hammered in her chest, and she stared out at sea.

"See you," she murmured, breathless.

Okay, hear me out; I effing love this ship. Shipper hell has found me whoops.

-vixensheart