When I woke, Berwald was still asleep, breathing heavily enough that I could almost call it snoring. I couldn't stifle the little giggle that rose up in my chest, doing all I could not to shake with it, and failing. Berwald stirred, mumbling incoherently, pulling me closer before he returned to sleep. I laughed openly then, getting cozy again. Berwald seemed to like early morning cuddling more than anything else, so I tried to indulge him when I had the time. I knew I didn't have work until after noon, so he could snuggle until the urge to use the bathroom became too much.
That proved to not be very long at all, and my bathroom fidgeting eventually brought him to full consciousness. He shoved me to the edge of the bed, letting me get my footing so I wouldn't fall to the floor. This earned him another chuckle from me, and then I was off, starting my day as I usually did. But when he finally stumbled out of bed and found me naked in the kitchen, he quickly reminded me that clothes were not an optional part of the day. I stuck my tongue out like a child, but did as I was told, slipping into the shower and then getting dressed.
When I came back, he had breakfast prepared, and was sucking down some of the bitter drink of energy. How he could stomach the stuff, I had no idea. My plate was already ready, and I sat down at the island next to him, devouring the eggs as if I hadn't eaten in ages. He quirked a brow, and I recalled the many times I'd been scolded for my eating habits. With a sigh, I slowed down. Still, breakfast was a short affair, leaving me with plenty of time before I'd have to go and get ready for work. So, after feeding Hanatamago and having a short conversation with her, I went out to check on my garden. A couple of weeds later, and I was ready to go back in. But Berwald surprised me, joining me outside instead.
"Yer garden looks goo'." He commented, wrapping an arm around my waist. I leaned into his side, smiling fondly.
"Thank you. You'll have to tell me what your favorite flower is, and I'll grow it next year." I decided. His lips twitched in a small smile, nodding.
"Ah'll have to figure out wha' my favorite flower is." He said, and I laughed, letting him pull the gloves from my fingers and put them away. He reached for my hand, pulling me along until we reached the back yard. He had a small bench there, which he led me to, sitting down next to me. His house was built very near a forest, and the bench faced the trees. It was nice to sit and watch, especially when the occasional deer would run by. I had a strange fascination with the pretty creatures. I thought them very beautiful, both the males and the females. And fawns were absolutely adorable.
There wasn't much activity though, mostly just birds flying between branches. That was alright, Berwald was entertainment enough. He leaned over every couple minutes, kissing my cheek or my temple, making me giggle and turn my face for a proper kiss.
"I love ya." He murmured, pushing some of my hair aside, letting it slip through his fingers and back into place. I sighed happily, loving the feeling.
"Hmm, I love you too." I replied, scooting to be closer to him. I had been a little wary of how the actions of the night before would change our relationship, but Berwald seemed just as sweet as ever. After we'd been outside for about half an hour, we went back in, and Berwald started making something for my lunch. He was off of work that day, so it was supposed to be something of a treat. I, however, had to fill in for a coworker who had something come up last minute. So, though I usually shared Berwald's days off, I couldn't this time.
I watched a few episodes of the Moomins before I shuffled back into our room, deciding to get ready early, for lack of anything else to do. When I returned to the living room, Berwald was there, and he watched an episode with me. When it was over, he went and fetched my lunch, already packed up, and sent me off with a kiss. I promised to hurry, then began the walk to the pet store.
Eduard greeted me, and we talked for a few minutes before I got to work, starting with my ritualistic petting of the bunnies. One of the floppy-eared rabbits, who'd been with us a bit longer than the others, came up to my hand immediately, and I chuckled. He was my favorite. A few of the others trailed behind him, getting in line for their affection of the day. With only two hands between about five rabbits, I was kept busy for a good ten minutes. My favorite floppy came back for a second round, which I couldn't help but oblige. Once they'd all been properly affectionated, I began the process of cleaning out their enclosure, scooping out the old bedding and dumping in the new. Floppy made sure to claim his patch of the new shavings, chasing off a few that dared enter his territory. I chuckled, knowing he'd break his own rules later for some cuddling. All of the bunnies gathered for a cuddle puddle around five.
After the rabbits came the small rodents. I did those in shifts, a couple every day. Today was the mice. I had learned at some point that the mice, for the most part, were sold as food for snakes. I felt bad, but I understood. Everything had to eat. Still, I tried to make their lives as comfortable as possible, sneaking them a few treats here and there. As it would turn out, I wasn't the only one. I got nibbled on occasion when cleaning the mice aquariums, but it wasn't anything too bad. They really weren't unfriendly, just curious.
When I finished the day's cleaning work, I joined Eduard behind the counter. There were only ever two people working at a time, for there wasn't a lot to do, in all honesty. That was fine though, because I liked the chance to talk to my coworkers, especially when they were Eduard. (And that turned out to be more often than not.) I sat down on one of the stools, my shoulder against his, shoving gently to get his attention. He paused whatever game he'd been playing on his big light-up brick, quirking a brow at me.
"You act more like the rabbits every day." He pointed out, and I laughed.
"I do like them. You think the boss would be mad if I took Floppy out for a bit? I think I'd like to play with him." I admitted. He shrugged, shooing me off in that direction. I grinned, returning to the bunnies and picking the little white one up, carrying him behind the counter, then setting him down. He hesitated for a second, then started hopping around. I followed behind for a while, just making sure he wouldn't get into anything. Then, to my surprise, he began chasing me. He was much better at chase than Berwald, and I squealed with delight as he tailed me, walking around the store with him hot on my heels. I could hear Eduard chuckling from behind the counter. Maybe I was a little childish, but Mer love to play, no matter how old they are. Like I've mentioned, we are very social creatures, so we love any form of socializing, be it speaking, grooming, or playing.
Floppy seemed to get bored of chasing me though, as he turned away, clambering onto one of the low shelves and getting into the toys. I was about to scoop him up and give him a scolding, but he hopped back down, pushing a little cat ball with his noise, the bell inside jingling. It was plastic, so he'd have a hard time chewing through it without me noticing, so I decided to let him play with it. He shoved it in my direction until the ball rolled into my feet, and I stooped down to pick it up, rolling it across the floor.
Much like a dog, Floppy took off after it, returning a few seconds later, nosing the ball back towards me. Eduard got a laugh out of it as well, and I eventually convinced him to join us in the game of fetch, which was quickly converted into 'keep the ball away from Eduard.' By the time a customer came in, Floppy was passed out in my lap, the cat ball lost somewhere in the store, and Eduard very flushed in the face as he returned to the register.
I returned Floppy to the enclosure, his foot batting my hand in annoyance when I moved him. The customer was in need of a new aquarium, which Eduard helped her pick out. I was sent to retrieve it from the back, and I helped load it into the car, then I returned to sitting behind the counter with Eduard. Glancing at the time, I decided it would be a decent time for lunch, and I pulled it out. Eduard seemed to think it was a good idea too, fetching his own and joining me.
"So, how goes the boyfriend?" He asked, his mouth full of pasta. I smiled as I thought about Berwald, swallowing my bite before replying.
"He goes well." I said simply, my smile not falling.
"Oh yeah? That grin on your face tells me something happened." He grinned, and I blushed.
"I suppose so. We mated last night." I replied. He dropped his fork, a few noodles meeting the floor. My eyes widened, and I was concerned for a moment that he'd injured himself, but no, he was just surprised. Had I said something odd?
"U-Uh, what?" He questioned. I blinked owlishly, handing him a napkin.
"I said we mated last night." I repeated, earning a red flush from my coworker.
"Yeah, that's what I thought you said. TMI, Tino!" He yelped, leaning over to clean up the mess he'd made.
"T-M-I?" I prompted, guessing this was one of those weird words that actually meant several words at once. He had a lot of those, like 'laugh-out-loud' and 'jesus-fucking-christ.' It was a strange way of speaking, but I didn't mind; It was a part of Eduard.
"Too much information." He supplied, and I thought about that, frowning.
"What is?" I wondered.
"I so don't need to hear about your sex life. God, he comes in here, you know? Now every time I see him, I'm going to picture him naked, and that is not something I need to be picturing. Oh god, I'm picturing it now!" He gushed, scrubbing his hands against his eyes, as if to rid them of the image.
"Berwald is very nice to look at." I sniffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Especially naked." I added. He made an X with his index fingers in front of his face.
"Maybe for you. I, on the other hand, would now like to give my brain a thorough scrubbing with bleach." He said, and my eyes widened.
"You can scrub your brain? How? Does it hurt?" I demanded, and he looked at me like I was stupid.
"Uh, no Tino, you can't scrub your brain. But it wouldn't hurt, your brain doesn't have pain receptors. Do you live under a rock?" He wondered, and I thought on it.
"Not currently, but I used to, kind of." I replied, thinking of the cave. That was like living under a rock, right? The idea was the same anyway. Eduard just shook his head, a small smile on his lips.
"Okay Tino, whatever you say." He mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Anyway, I'd never mated before, so it was kind of strange. Berwald says that it's normal to do it a lot, but I'd never..." I began, Eduard going several shades of red before shoving a hand over my mouth.
"Tino! Seriously, TMI!" He groaned. I licked his hand, laughing as he withdrew. "Yuck, Tino, that's disgusting!" He whined, getting up to wash his hand in the sink. I only snickered, taking a drink to wash out the taste of Eduard's hand.
"As I was saying..."
"Not another word!" He snapped, sitting back down, glaring at me. I grinned, but did as he said, keeping the details of my experience to myself.
"Matthew would want to know." I quipped, sticking my tongue out.
"Well, good for Matthew. I'd like to stay innocent, thank you." He snarked, finishing up his lunch.
"If you say so. What about you?" I asked. He froze, his plastic food container only halfway in the bag.
"W-What about me?" He stammered. I giggled, tapping his nose.
"Do you have a mate? I've never seen you with anyone, but that doesn't mean you don't have one." I mused. He froze again, and stuttered for about ten minutes straight, so I let it go, assuring him he didn't have to tell me. He returned to his game after that, and I went around and checked on the animals again. Floppy demanded some more attention, so I spent another ten minutes petting all of the rabbits before I began the janitorial work. That involved cleaning the bathroom, sinks, taking out the trash, things of that nature. I was good at it, seeing as I had taken to cleaning Berwald's house. Most of the other employees griped about it, but I didn't mind. It had to be done.
When I finished with that, Eduard gave me the okay to go home.
"Are you sure? I can stay until closing time." I offered, but he shook his head.
"Nah, it's fine. All I have to do is the deposit, and then I can leave. Won't take me more than ten minutes. There's no point in keeping us both here if it's going to be dead anyway. Go home, give your 'mate' a kiss for me." He said, shooing me. I made a funny face.
"Just earlier you were saying you did not want to think of Berwald naked, yet now you want to kiss him?" I inquired. He sighed, physically getting up and pushing me out of the door.
"It's a figure of speech Tino. Please don't go home and tell your boyfriend that I want to kiss him. Goodbye." He shut the door, shooing me again from behind the glass. I stuck my tongue out, then turned away, beginning the walk home. Eduard was such a funny human. Maybe it was because I was used to Berwald that he seemed odd to me, but I found I rather liked his personality. He was strange, but so was I, so we went together well.
I was early, for sure. Eduard had let me go nearly an hour and a half earlier than I was scheduled to be off. That in mind, I decided to take a detour, heading for a park to take a small walk before I went home. If I was right, Berwald was probably taking a nap at the moment anyway. He always napped on his days off. It wasn't my favorite park, but it had a nice path, one that gave me a distant view of the ocean. It still worried me, but it was nice to at least see it on occasion. It was pretty painful though, passing by, knowing I could never return. It had always been my home, and having to walk right past without so much as dipping my feet into the water filled me with melancholy.
But I had a new home now, one with Berwald, and I loved him very much. What he lacked in salt and water, he made up for with love and affection I'd never had under the water. Still, I couldn't help but stare longingly as I passed, my body almost able to feel the lapping of the waves. I could taste the salt on the air, and I filled my lungs with it, sighing with longing. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was walking anymore, simply staring at the shoreline, my eyes tracing the lines the waves made on the sand.
I got a start when my eyes fell on something I hadn't been expecting to see. The beach didn't allow swimmers, and it was pretty hard to get down there, as there were cliffs on either side. The only way down was to do some rock climbing. A few people made the trip, but not very often. So it was odd to see a figure half submerged in water. I squinted, wondering if the person was okei. They weren't moving from the spot, which worried me. But there was no one around to ask for help. I bit my lip, then made the decision to go and check it out.
So began the difficult trek down the rocky side of the cliff. It angled at a slant, so it wasn't very dangerous, just a hassle. When I did finally plant my feet in sand, I turned to make sure the person was still there. Thankfully, they were, and I tried to hurry. Running in sand is actually pretty hard, especially for someone who'd never done it. I realised, somewhere in the back of my mind, that this was the closest I'd been to the ocean since Berwald had rescued me. It was a terrifying thought, but I couldn't leave the person there, especially now that it was apparent that something was wrong.
As I neared, I could guess that they were female. It was rare for a male to grow their hair out that long, not that it was impossible. But the closer I drew, the more her femininity stood out. I was about to call out to her, but I froze, about ten feet away. She looked normal enough, but I could smell her. She was a Mer. I tried to back off, quickly, not wanting to be seen. But when she lifted her head, obviously having heard my approach, I couldn't continue my retreat. She looked at me with such misery, such desperation, I couldn't help but draw near.
When I was near enough that I could reach out and touch her, I noticed the smell of blood as well, and finally paid attention to her body, which was heavily wounded. I winced, wondering how she'd come to be in this state, but I was too scared to talk to her. I was a Violet Eyes, I was considered less than Mer. To her, I was nothing, I was disgusting. But her eyes showed no hatred for me. She opened her mouth, having to clear her throat a few times before being able to speak.
"You... Are Mer." She said. I nodded quickly. She could probably smell me just as I could her. She reached a hand up, and I took it, ignoring the lurch in my stomach when I felt the broken bones. "You live... On land. As a human?" She asked.
"Yes." I confirmed. She took a shuddering breath.
"You are safe... Even with the cursed eyes?" She inquired.
"I'm very safe. I have a mate that protects me." I explained. She looked away, resting her neck. She didn't speak again, so I prompted her. "What happened to you?" I wondered. She took a deep breath, then began her tale.
"You likely know little of royal matters, considering the color of your eyes. I do not know how you survived this long, but it is obvious you were in hiding. Currently, the crown prince is in need of an heir. He's to have his coronation ceremony soon, and it is a requirement that he had an heir lined up before hand. But it seems his mate is infertile. That is frustrating to him, so he's been turning to other mates." She paused here, taking another shaky breath. "I'm sure you think me a whore. Mer mate for life, after all, and it's forbidden to come between that bond. But I love him, boy, truly I do. And the plan was for him to make it look like the egg was his mate's. However, we were caught before that could happen. I'm sure you can put the rest together yourself. I was chased by the palace guards. They even had hunters after me! What a terrifying life you live, boy." She spat, chuckling darkly. I frowned. I'd had the misfortune of being pursued by hunters twice in my life, and it was not something I would wish on anyone. They were persistent and cruel. I'd nearly lost a fin in my first encounter. If I'd not been so young, it probably wouldn't have healed at all.
"As you can see, they got me a few times. I'd likely be dead if I hadn't beached myself. They won't come this close to humans, calm yourself." She said when I tensed, suddenly scanning the water fearfully. "They've left anyway. I'm dying, boy. I've very little time left. I'm very fortunate that you came to me, even if you are a despicable cursed one. Better you than a human, or no one at all." She sighed, shuffling. I couldn't tell what she was doing but when she brought her hands forward, she held an egg.
"Listen to me, and listen well. I'm entrusting this life, more precious than mine, the prince's... Even yours. I'm entrusting it to you. Promise me, boy. Promise me you'll care for my child as your own. I'm lost to this world, and this is my last wish. Grant it?" She plead. I looked at the egg, reaching out a hand hesitantly. I wasn't prepared for a child, and I knew it. I had just told Berwald that I wasn't ready for it. I was too young, and I had never really spent much time around baby Mer. I didn't know how to care for them. I hadn't consulted with Berwald, hadn't asked him what he wanted to do. And yet, how could I refuse her? This was all she had left in the world, and I was her only chance. Without me, the life inside the egg would die away before it even had a chance at living. Sighing, I took it from her, holding it gently as I drew it closer to my frame. It was warm, heavy, and I knew, as soon as I touched it, that I adored the creature inside.
I suppose that would be the spell I mentioned.
I turned back to the mother, but yelped when I realised she was gone, her body already naught but foam and a few pearls, held gently by the sand. I swallowed thickly. I couldn't remorse for her, for I'd not known her. All I could do was uphold the promise I'd silently agreed to, and care for her child. I looked back to the egg, running my fingers over the smooth surface. But I remembered, with a start, that Mer eggs needed to be kept relatively warm, and I quickly brought it to my chest, holding it there while I climbed back up one-handed. It was difficult, but I couldn't risk putting it in my pocket.
I practically ran home when I managed to get over the rocks. I realised, as I ran, that I had a lot of explaining to do. I was going to be a parent, and Berwald had been dragged into it. Well, on the bright side, he'd mentioned wanting children. It was just, maybe, a little sooner than he'd intended.
A/N: Sorry for the wait. I've had a hard time writing lately, so this is my last prewritten chapter. That means that the next one won't come out till I write it, which could take quite a while. We'll see how it goes. But I have to finish working on some cosplays for next weekend! This convention snuck up on me! It's my first time hand making a costume, so I didn't manage my time very well. But I refuse to rush, because I don't want it to be sloppy. Well, wish me luck.
I haven't much else to say... I hope you all had lovely Christmases and Hanukkahs and Kwanzas and New Years, and all of those other holidays! I hope this year is as fantastic as last! Feedback is always appreciated, and see you guys next time!
KuroRiya
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