There is nothing better than sweeping your tail along the surface of the water on a beautiful sunny day. The water glistens as the sunbeams reflect down into the very depths, touching the bottom of the ocean floor as if it were a welcoming kiss. The tide ebbs and flows as you float underneath the separation between air and water, watching the distorted image of clouds move along in the sky. The sea animals are quiet today but still present, skating around carrying on their business as usual. They have a simple existence that you sometimes envy, but then again, you strive for more than just the limits of the ocean. Maybe someday you will go past those limits, but today, you will just float.
Until you notice something flailing in the distance. It's about three hundred yard away and it's thrashing all over the place, disturbing the peace of your perfect day. You hesitate about whether to look any closer, but you just can't resist your curiosity, you must seek out the interruption.
Niall swam toward the thing, using his tail to propel him forward with effortless motion. The water was his not only his domain but it was also his home. He knew every inch of it like the back of his hand and he could tell when there was something wrong. Whatever the creature was that was struggling, it clearly didn't belong here, not at all.
As he neared it, Niall noticed that it was a human. The blond watched in awe for a moment before realizing that the bloke was clearly drowning. He sped through the water, collecting the person up in his arms.
The bloke finally stopped sputtering about and looked at Niall with a pair of the most gorgeous brown eyes he had ever seen. They looked utterly appreciative but confused at the same time. Niall knew there wasn't any land around for at least two miles but for the land dwelling human to survive, Niall was going to have to make the journey.
"Are you a… a….." The bloke stammered, his eyes widening with realization.
"Merman. Yes, I am. But before you ask any more questions, we need to get you to shore." Niall stated, needing it to be all business between the two of them, at least until the stranger made it to dry land. "I need you to completely relax because it will just make it harder to get you back there if you're squirming all over the place. I know we just met and your mind is probably finding it hard to believe that I actually exist, but I need you to trust me, okay? Do you understand me?"
"Just first… tell me your name? So I know who to thank when this is all over?" The human asked which made Niall roll his eyes with impatience.
They bobbed along the surface of the water as the blond responded, "My name is Niall."
"That's a rad name. I'm Liam." Liam introduced himself, clearly becoming delirious from the shock that he was in.
"Okay, now, quiet." Niall ordered and Liam gestured zipping his lips as they set off.
Niall pulled Liam through the water, cutting along the surface as if it were nothing. Liam felt as if he was being pulled along by some sort of boat or… Michael Phelps on steroids. He watched Niall's tail glisten in the sunlight and he even reached out to touch it for a moment before Niall gave him a look of disdain. He quickly retracted his hand as they continued on their journey.
After about ten minutes, Liam was relieved to see the safety of the shoreline coming into appearance. He felt safe in Niall's grasp but he knew as soon as he stepped foot on land again, he'd be back in his element instead of being lost as he was in Niall's.
Niall paused for a moment, looking for a secluded area to let Liam go in because he didn't want to be spotted by the general public. Sure, a couple people knowing of their existence was all right because then their story would continue on, but if everyone knew, their kind would be locked up in research facilities and put on display in shows.
The merman spotted a remote looking dock and swam toward it, letting Liam go when they were close enough. Liam climbed up on the wooden dock and grinned at Niall as if it were his birthday.
"Thank you." Liam said in a comforted voice, his eyes shining with appreciation at Niall's heroic gesture. He could feel the ground beneath his feet again.
"So, what the hell were you doing out there anyway?" Niall inquired, folding his arms and resting them up on the dock.
"Believe it or not, I was just out for a swim." Liam shrugged, looking down at his toes that were tracing circles in the water.
"Out that deep? In your clothes?" Niall asked incredulously.
It had been a long swim and even Niall had been exhausted by it, he couldn't imagine how Liam had been able to make it out that far on his own.
"I'm a competitive swimmer and I just needed to get away…. Far away." Liam explained, gazing at Niall.
Liam couldn't believe he was actually talking to a merman. He remembered a time where he had told people that that's what he wanted to be when he grew up. The idea of being able to simply escape reality by diving under the waves was always an intoxicating possibility to Liam. He suddenly felt very envious of Niall and his tail.
Niall saw something in Liam that intrigued him; he saw the longing for freedom solely provided by the ocean. It made Niall wonder what Liam was trying so desperately to get away from.
"I know you barely know me, but… I get it. The feeling of wanting to be anywhere but where you are, to being anyone else and have somebody else's thoughts. The idea of that is very appealing to me sometimes, but unfortunately, what it comes down to is that we're all we have at the end of the day. We'll still be the same person when we wake up the next morning, as hard as that is to face, it's the truth." Niall shared.
Liam laughed at the reality of Niall's words. Life really could be a bitch sometimes.
"You're pretty pessimistic for a mythical creature!" Liam teased and Niall just rolled his eyes.
"Honestly, I'm just a normal teenager… save the tail and breathing underwater factors." Niall stated and it just set Liam off even more.
The entire situation was just so ridiculous. Liam had basically decided to swim until he disappeared but a merman had saved him, it was all a bit much for his sanity to be able to handle at the moment.
The laughter helped him mask the terrifying feeling that was creeping into his stomach. Was he having a normal conversation with a bloke who had a tail or was he simply going crazy from swallowing too much salty water?
"I'm real, Liam, if you have your doubts." Niall said, arching an eyebrow in amusement.
Liam was startled by Niall's perceptive statement. "Are you telepathic too?"
Now it was Niall's turn to laugh his ass off. Humans could be so bloody gullible sometimes. "No, Liam! You're just pretty easy to read."
"Oh." Liam murmured, blushing slightly.
Niall smirked at Liam, loving the scarlet color that his cheeks had changed to. It reminded Niall of the beautiful coral that littered the ocean floor. He had to shake himself back into concentration after being so distracted by Liam's appearance.
"Right. We were talking about wanting to get away." Niall reminded both he and Liam.
"You pretty much said everything I had been thinking. I'm just so tired of… being me… if that makes any sense." Liam explained. "I mean, I hate to complain, because honestly, I have a pretty great life. I'm a successful athlete, I do well in school, and my family and friends are great… I just feel like something's…"
"Missing?" Niall interjected, finishing Liam's thought perfectly.
Liam's breath hitched as the merman completed his sentence. He had been looking around for so long for someone to be able to understand what he was feeling and here he had found one, in the ocean, of all places.
Liam so desperately wanted to savor this moment; he wanted to remember it so in the future if he was ever feeling down, he could simply access it. He was going to have to do something potent to be able to remember it viscerally.
He noticed the dried salt on Niall's lips and knew what he had to do. He slowly maneuvered himself so that he was on his stomach and at the level of Niall's face on the edge of the dock.
Something in Niall's stomach fluttered at Liam's proximity, wondering what the hell the quirky human was going to do next. It was thrilling how unpredictable Liam was.
Liam swallowed slowly, building his confidence before he leaned in and captured Niall's lips in his own.
At first, Niall was stiff with shock but quickly relaxed into the connection. Liam's kiss sent a way of comfort straight through Niall, down to the very tip of his tail. His scales shivered with the pleasure that it brought. It just felt ridiculously… right.
Liam smiled into the kiss before deepening it. The bitter salt of Niall's lips felt deliciously like home, even though they had just met. It took him a moment to realize he was actually kissing a merman.
He could check that one of his bucket list…
When Liam pulled away, Niall let a bubbly giggle escape from his mouth.
"What was that for?" The blond wondered, beaming at Liam.
"For saving my life and for reminding me that I'm not alone in the way that I feel about the world." Liam answered, smiling fondly at the merman.
"Anytime." Niall teased, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Cheeky." Liam declared before adding more onto his response, "And so that I can remember this vividly. I'd hate to look back on this day and forget what it was like to meet you."
This thought made Niall's heart ache a bit. "You're making it sound like we won't ever see each other again."
"We will. This can't be the last time I see you because I'll be thinking of you every time I hit the water at practice and anytime I feel like swimming out into the middle of the ocean and never coming back. You'll be there in my mind and then I won't be able to stop thinking about it until I can see you again." Liam protested, moving a bit of Niall's damp hair away from his face.
"I'll keep you to that." Niall challenged playfully, his heart dancing with anticipation of their next meeting.
"Isn't it crazy how one moment can change the way you look at the entire world?" Liam asked of the merman in a rhetorical tone.
Niall nodded before Liam pecked him on the lips once again. The human jumped to his feet, water dripping from his jeans as he did so. The dock wavered a bit as he moved but Liam was able to keep his balance.
Niall grinned fondly up at the bloke. "When you want to see me again, just wait here, I'll have the guards watch for you and alert me."
"Guards…? Niall, are you a prince?" Liam asked, taken aback.
Niall just winked before disappearing back under the water. Liam watched in awe as Niall swam through the water. The last thing he saw was Niall's fin slap the water as he dove into the depths of the water.
Bubbles escape from your mouth as you tumble and turn in gleeful excitement. The water wraps you up like a comforting blanket as you skim through its depths. No matter how far you go, it will always be there, enveloping you completely.
It flows and pulls you along. All that's left to do is to go with the tide.