SUMMERY:

Captain Levi and his crew were fishing in the ocean on his Carrack ship Maria. It was an average day none to exciting when something abnormal came up with the fishing net... A mermaid by the name of Eren. Levi decides to keep the mermaid but his crew have other thoughts on what to do with him than their captain.

Levi must protect Eren from his men, but can he protect himself from Eren?

A.N:

this is a story/rp that me and SassyPastelEren are putting together, hope you like it :)

ps. Levi is written by RainValentine and Eren is written by SassyPastelEren (these are AO3 account names)

The Maria was anchored down in the middle of the ocean, the crew had out their fishing nets and were bustling around the deck cleaning. Levi was inside of the captain's quarters sitting at his desk looking over the map and writing in his daily journal. They had been traveling to one of the Islands off of the coast of the Caribbean, they had stopped here for the day to replenish on their fish and to clean the deck. He hated it when his boat got messy.

Levi heard commotion coming from the deck and got up from his desk to walk out. It must be time for them to bring up the nets. Walking out onto the deck that was just what he saw. Most of his crew men were pulling up the net they had dropped hours before and pulling up their catch. He walked over to the edge to observe the catch. "Alright men, we got a good catch this time, pull her in."

Once the net hit the deck, fish spilled out… along with a boy who looked to be struggling with the net…

Eren had just seen something he'd never thought he'd see. His mother getting attacked by a shark. In his shock he swam away as his mother had screamed for him to. He had been swimming for what seemed like hours, eyes blurred from the the tears burning his eyes with the salt water. He hadn't realized he was swimming along with a school of fish until it had been too late, his fluke getting tangled in the net.

Before the brunet could untangle himself, Eren felt the net being pulled up. He was struggling with the net more as it broke the surface of the water, making him gasp harshly at the sudden loss of water. The brunet heard voices clamoring around him and the fish as he struggled to get free, but suddenly stilled when he saw the occupants and owners of the ship and net were humans. Something his kind feared.

The crew slowly all circled around the boy, gazing down at him in disbelief, before their eyes was something they thought was just in tales and songs they they sung. Levi pushed past the crowd to see the boy closer up, to confirm what he was seeing. "God damn you big brutes, move aside!" It was true, the boy in front of him was a mermaid.

After a few moments he shook of his surprise in time to see one of his crew members walk up to the boy. "Well lookie here. pretty little thing ye are." He reached over to touch the shells in the boys hair. Levi could see the fright in his eyes as he backed away from the intruding hand. "Oh all the things we could do with this one."

Levi had had enough, he didn't tolerate this behavior with his men. "That's enough, sailor. Back off." He walked over to the boy and knelt down in front of him, looking over the beautiful creature. "Can you speak?" He asked as he reached down to untangle the rope from him.

As the men talked, Eren's eyes frantically looked from each man to the next, trying to find a way out between each but found no way. It wasn't till one moved to him, his shock making it hard to understand the words he spoke, only flinching and backing away. The brunet was scared from all the stories he'd heard of humans.

His focus though was brought to the hands around his tail and fluke, looking up to see who owned them. It was a man with black hair, styled into an undercut with what seemed to be a funny shaped cloth on his head. When some of his shock wore off, Eren finally registered what he had been asked. His lips felt dry as he tried speaking, only to lick them once to wet them a bit. "Y-yes. I can." He said in a voice that sounded both harsh and scared.

"Ah, good. Now, what were you doing in my net?" He asked but then turned to one of his men and they spoke to him.

"Cap'n Levi, sir. We could take this mer-person with us, he'd be worth a pretty penny."

As they were pirates, the idea of getting quite a few gold coins out of the boy sounded very tempting. A few others suggested slimier things, a few even stooping so low as to suggest they all use him to their will while they had him adored just to say they wooed a mermaid.

Levi wouldn't entertain the last suggestion, but decided they might as well keep him while he thought about what to do with him. He wasn't going to just thrown him back in and let him swim away. it wasn't everyday you caught a mermaid in your fishing net. Looking back to a few of his men, "Ready a tub of water in the storage chamber for now, we will keep him there." He stood up staring down at the boy. "And none of you are to touch him, understood?" He gave the order and walked back to his chambers. "I will be checking in on him shortly, i better not see that any harm has come to him."

Eren understood every word spoken now, even their suggestions, making his face pale. Though at hearing the one called Levi say his men weren't to harm him, the mermaid gave a small sigh of relief, knowing it was best not to resist the men as they worked to pick him up from the netting while some of the men gathered the fish that had come in the net as well.

Trying to make picking him up easier, Eren tried relaxing himself as he was carried down to the chamber with a tub already filled with seawater. It was enough for him to stay hydrated, but not enough to make it easy for him to leave. Ignoring the whispering around him, once in the tub, the brunet crossed his arms over his chest, turning away from the men, until he heard the footsteps starting to lead away from him. "Great.. first my mom dies and then i get captured.. The Goddess hates me and I don't know why." Eren mumbled to himself.

A couple of hours later, Levi decided to check up on the mermaid they had captured. He swore, if he found a single scratch or bruise on him he would have a crew to strangle. He picked up his journal and quill and walked down below deck.

Walking up to the door that went to the storage room he found two of his men chatting by the door suspiciously. He snuck up to him and heard them talking about sneaking in later that night to play with the new pet. This angered Levi, he didn't like to be disrespected by his crew men, most wouldn't dare. He walked up to the two men. "Care to enlighten me of your discussion of our new 'pet'?"

The two men looked at him with startled expressions, one of them responding. "N-No sir, we were just about to head back to our cabin sir."

"Then get your asses to your cabins now before i decide to shoot you for disobeying me!" He hollered at them and they shoved each other past him in the way of the crews quarters. He made sure they had done as they had told before opening the door to the storage room and walked in, closing the door behind him.

Eren flinched a bit as he heard shouting from outside the door, but still kept his back to whoever had entered the room. He was now tired from the shock wearing off and just wanted to be left alone. The brunet bent his tail a little so he could slide a little deeper into the tub, now no longer facing away from the door, but still not looking at his "visitor". The brunet knew there was one thing he could do to escape, but had figured to save it for the opportune time.

"If you're here to use me, I will warn you my teeth are sharp." Eren said, in a huff, hoping to deter whatever this persons motives were. He may be tired, but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to put up one hell of a fight.

Levi walked in and sat on a chair under the lamp light across the room from the mermaid, he was looking down at his journal, opening it back up to the last page he was on. "I'm not going to touch you, for all I know you could have rabies or something." He looked up at the boy. "What is your name?"

Eren looked up at the familiar voice, the only one he could trust, at least on this ship. He gave a huff at the accusation of being diseased. "I do not have any illnesses.." The brunet felt the need to clarify, crossing his arms over his chest with another huff. The mermaid looked up again at the man, moving to lean against the edge of the tub. "Eren.. my name is Eren…but what are you doing with that?"

The boy knew he had a knack for curiosity and that it tended to lead to trouble but he figured asking a few questions of his own couldn't hurt.

Levi watched him and saw the curiosity cross the boys face. "Eren, such a normal name for a mermaid..Tch, your very inquisitive for a captive. " He looked down at his journal when asked what it was. "It's my ledger, i use it to keep track of the days and the happenings, as well as supplies and cargo." He looked back at Eren, he had a question of his own that he hadn't yet gotten the answer to. "What were you doing in my net?"

Eren nodded at the others answer, shrugging at his words. Though when he had asked about why the mermaid was caught in his net, the brunet froze, recalling of the memories that lead to him being caught.

"I-i wasn't trying to steal your fish.. I swear. I..i was swimming away from…something…" He trailed off, the images of his mother being attacked by a shark still fresh in his mind, eyes watering at the thought. "I didn't see the net until it was too late and was being pulled up." He answered, hoping the raven haired man believed him.

Levi looked at him with a confused look. "And what exactly would you have been running away from. Arnt mermaids suppose to be so fierce and dangerous?" He saw how distraught Eren was starting to look, "Oi, Eren." He didn't really know how to react to that kinda of emotion that showed on the boys face.

"N-no we aren't. You have us confused with Sirens. They just look like us…" The mermaid said with a sniffle before looking up at Levi with a sigh. "I mean we sing too, but more for enjoyment and to stun a fish for brief moments so we can get away, but it doesn't work on all fish. Sharks mainly, which is what I was swimming away from. I couldn't see where I was swimming because I was crying…" Eren said with a huff, looking down at the floor over the edge of the tub. He didn't expect a human to fully understand how he felt. Sure they experienced loss just like any other creature, but it seemed different, or so the brunet thought.

"So, You were running from-i mean swimming away from a shark and just happened to get caught in my net, in this giant sea." He wasn't to sure if he believed him but he didn't push the issue farther, he had his fish, and now he had a mermaid. "He set his book down and walked over to the tub and braced himself on the edge. "You know, you should watch where you're going, you could have ended up in a lot worse hands… Not saying that you're in safe hands now." He reached down and stroked it lightly over his tail. "I have yet to decide what to do with you yet."

Erens tail flinched away from him, a glare sent Levis way. "Well you would be blinded by tears if you just saw your mother killed in front of you." The brunet spat out. The mermaid tried curling his tail as far from his hand as possible. "Mind sharing some of your ideas.. since I know what your men want to do to me."

Levi splashed some water up at him at the first comment. Eren would be surprised how well he knew of that feeling. His mother died in front of him when he was very young. She died from an illness that had spread through the small fishing village. "Watch yourself boy!." He frowned down at him, it wasn't exactly something he liked being reminded of and tried to keep the hurt flashing over his eyes.

"I don't know, maybe i will sell you to the highest bidder. My men are right, you would earn us a very pretty penny, i might be able to get a new ship. I could only imagine the things those men would do to you, and i wouldn't be there to stop them." He looked over Eren's body. "I could keep you as my pet maybe." However, even if he were to keep him as a pet, he wouldn't lay a hand on him, this boy was to precious. He honestly didn't know what to do with him, but he didn't want to get rid of him. What he told him was pretty much just bluffs.

The splash of water surprised the boy, making him flinch. He knew he'd obviously struck a nerve with his first comment. Clearly Levi could relate to him on some level with that reaction, but figured since he was at the mercy of this man and his crew, it would be unwise to make Levi angry.

As Levi spoke, Eren felt his eyes roaming over his body, making him want to cringe. With a sigh, the mermaid figured he'd better get to bargaining with him so things would be made easier for the two of them. "How about this, since you seem to be in need of something of worth, I will stay, but only if you let me leave for a few hours a day? In those few hours, if you can supply me with a decent net, I can go through sunken ships and bring back things of worth for you." He suggested this as a way to hopefully either appease the other man, or at least help him get ideas on what to do with him. Eren then added another thought. "And if you agree to that, for me to stay here, at least use some of the money you get from what i find to buy or build me a tank or something. This tub is uncomfortable."

Narrowing his eyes at him, he responded. "And how do i know that once i let you into the water you're not just going to swim away to never been seen again. Did you forget that you would have that advantage. What would you gain in this bargain if i were to agree… Sounds to me that i would be the only one profiting." He looks down at him suspiciously.

Eren nodded. "I can see why you'd have that concern, but I basically just lost my last remaining family member.. Sure I have friends, but none of them have lost anyone. I want to get away from this part of the ocean. Plus I've always wanted to travel farther than where my pod of merfolk live. I've never seen the rest of the ocean." The mermaid said, being sure to not exactly say where his pod lived, trying to keep them safe.

The brunet met Levi's gaze. "I don't want to be here, in this part of the ocean, that is anymore, and swimming long distances can be tiring. So really, my getting treasure from sunken ships would be me earning my keep to stay aboard." He said, keeping his face calm so that the other might believe him as he tucked a lock of his brunet hair behind a seashell he had pinned into his hair.

Levi continued to gaze down at him, silent for a few moments. "I will think on this. I want to make sure you're not just fibbing to get out of my ship." He walked back over to his chair and picked up his quill and journal. "I'm going back to my quarters. I'll return to check on you in the morning. Goodnight Eren, don't let any of my crewmen sneak in on you." With that he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Eren nodded as the captain left. He could understand his concern for him Leaving. Though the mermaid knew of a way to make sure Levi knew he could be trusted, but would half to wait till after nightfall. So for now, he sat in his tub, watching the waves from the porthole, splashing his chest with water occasionally to keep his gills long his neck hydrated.