"Girl, you cray." Cisco stared down into the tank below him, eyes wide. 740,000 gallons of water, and sharks.
Lots of sharks.
So this was what you had wanted him to come to the aquarium after close for.
"Babe, just trust me, okay? They're friendly. I've been in this tank plenty of times."
You took off your shirt, having already put on an acceptable swimsuit top before.
"The difference here is that you can talk to the sharks. I can't." Cisco made as if to unzip the wetsuit you had helped him get into. You placed a hand on his chest.
"Cisco. I have brought you here to test a hypothesis." You sternly told him. Leaning in closer, you whispered your next phrase.
"We gon do some science."
Both of you burst out laughing, and Cisco looked more relaxed.
"Okay. Fine. I'll get in the big tub full of sharks with you to do some science." He leaned into kiss you, but you stopped him.
"That's exactly what we're sciencing about. You're not allowed to kiss me yet." That brought a disbelieving whine.
"I want to test what kissing a mermaid underwater does." You wiggled your eyebrows for emphasis. Cisco seemed pleased, but the expression quickly fell when you sat down and slipped into the water yourself.
"Are you sure this is safe?" He sat down and dipped his feet in. You surfaced, your tail having formed within seconds. That was an advantage of swimming so often; it solidified your bond with the power you had been given. You swam up to Cisco, resting your chin on his knee and your hands on his calves.
"If I wasn't sure, why would I take my favorite and only boyfriend into the tank?" You looked up at him, and he melted a little as he stared down at your gorgeous face.
Cisco let out a heavy sigh. He tied his hair back so it wouldn't be an awful mess when he got out, and slid in once you let go of his legs. He eyed one of the sharks warily.
You gave out a giggle.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. They're nurse sharks. They would have to go through a whole lot of trouble to even try to eat you." You kissed Cisco on the cheek before taking a deep breath and plunging underwater.
See, you couldn't exactly 'breathe' underwater. The function was a bit more like the lungs of a dolphin; extra-elastic lung tissue and more crevices in the lung helped you utilize the oxygen you took in far more easily. A special oxygen-bonding protein had also been found in your muscle tissues, which helped the oxygen stay in your system for longer. Then, you had rudimentary gills on the sides of your ribs and neck, which provided supplementary oxygen flow. They also looked really cool.
You had the time between having to go up for air up to almost 20 minutes now, compared to the usual human 2 minutes.
Another swim-friendly feature was a membrane that functioned like an extra eyelid. It kept your eyes from burning in salt or chlorine, and helped you see more clearly.
Your theory was that, if all the bigwigs in Hollywood were right, kissing a mermaid could transfer some of these properties.
At least temporarily.
Cisco followed you underwater, peering around in the tank in awe. Nurse sharks, of course, but also turtles and schools of beautiful fish inhabited the tank, making the whole thing feel like a marine paradise.
You guided Cisco back up to the surface when he looked like he was starting to struggle a little bit.
"Okay. I have to admit. It's pretty cool." He pressed his forehead to yours, and you giggled a little bit.
"Ready to test my hypothesis?" Your hands came to rest on Cisco's chest as he wrapped his arms around you.
"If it involves getting to kiss you, then yes." His eyes were glittering in the light coming up from the water. It reflected onto both of your faces creating beautiful patterns on your skin. You rubbed a thumb over his cheek as Cisco pulled you closer.
"You are the most beautiful human being I have ever seen in my life." He murmured.
"So are you." You leaned in, your lips making contact with his. A warm, melty feeling spread through your body as you kissed him. It made both of you feel a little loopy, and Cisco pulled back in surprise.
"Woah. That definitely was something. What was that? That feels super weird."
"I am not... entirely sure." You dove down and swam around him in a circle, looking for any changes. When you found none, you came back up.
"What feels different?" You peered at him through narrowed eyes, checking to see if you saw any difference in his face.
"Just a little lightheaded, I guess."
"I guess it doesn't really do much, then." You sighed in disappointment.
Cisco frowned.
"No no, honey, there is no disappointment here. You just kissed your hot boyfriend in a tank full of carnivores. That's pretty badass."
That elicited a smile, one you didn't really want to have right now since you were still disappointed, but a smile it was nonetheless.
Suddenly, the smile dropped off your face, and you plunged underwater.
"What, am I not hot?" Cisco was confused for a second before he pieced together what was happening.
He had been the first to figure out how you could talk to the fish.
See, your ability was a lot less about them taking back but more about you understanding their methods of communication.
Sharks and fish use electric signals to communicate and scope out their surroundings. You simply could feel and understand these signals, and send out ones of your own.
Talking to them verbally was just a lot more fun, and it made for a good show.
So when Cisco figured out that you were swimming after one of those electric signals. He dipped under the water to get a better look, following the glitter of your scales through the water.
A piece of the faux coral had come loose, pinning the fin of one of the nurse sharks to the sandy aquarium floor.
You were struggling to lift the chunk of rock, the shark struggling to escape. Cisco immediately came to help, planting his feet on the floor and rolling the fake coral off of the fin. Once the shark was free, it darted away, and you flopped onto the sandy floor. Cisco made his way over to you and did the same, staring up to the crystal surface of the water. You laid like that on the sand for a few minutes before you jerked upwards in realization. You twirled to look at Cisco, grinning. He looked super confused, and you dragged him to the surface.
"You can breathe!" You made a weird, almost dolphin-ish noise, and Cisco just looked at you funny.
"We have been under for nearly five minutes, and you were still underwater with me!" Cisco's mouth fell open in understanding.
"That, that oxygenating protein Cait was talking about must transfer through contact like kissing!" You enveloped Cisco in a nearly crushing hug, and let out a girly giggle.
"Well look at that. Your hypothesis was correct." You nodded gleefully, letting Cisco hold you as you both floated in the water.
"Wanna test it again?" You murmured, brushing your nose against his.
Cisco didn't have to answer. Instead, he took a deep breath and pressed his lips to yours again. You smiled into the kiss and dragged him down under with you, the bioelectricity attracting some curious fishes.
You stayed there, under the water, for a long time, and for a second time you realized just how much you were in love with Cisco Ramon.