A Secret Language of Seashells and Glass

by lucidscreamer

Shipwrecked after his uncle tried to kill him, Yami finds himself alone on a deserted island. But he may not be as alone as he thinks, as mysterious messages appear on the beach along with gifts and food. Yami slowly falls in love with his secret admirer through the language they create together, a language of seashells and glass. Mermaid AU (Not a fusion or xover.)

8. Chapter 8

(8)

Yugi courts the man with gifts: food from the sea, music, pretty bits of shell and seaglass.

This human is beautiful - lean and golden and strong. Yugi watches him swim and fish (he is awkward at first, but learns quickly, so Yugi adds "smart" to his accounting of his human's charms). He wants to talk to this human, learn all his truths, receive the man's name and gift his own in return.

Hidden by shadows, he observes from the lagoon and chases away the hungry sharks that lurk while his human swims.

And every night, Yugi serenades him to sleep.

o0o

Yugi knows that those not of the sea deem Sirens hasty in love. They're not; Sirens simply know their hearts, and are decisive in recognizing their mates when Phyros Who Gives Joy shows them the way. Grandfather fell at first song for Grandmother, wooed by the fierce warrior-queen who courted him with shark's teeth and sharper smiles, and sang savage songs of love and conquest. His father won his mother's esteem with his prowess as a Dancer, strong and graceful as he leaped above the waves as if he would gather the stars as a courting gift. With their blood beating in his veins, it's no wonder Yugi knows his own heart's match so swiftly. He knows this human is his mate, chosen for him by the sea and Those Who Bless its inhabitants. He welcomes love with a smile and a joyous flick of fins blushed the deeper blue of the twilight ocean, and joins his cohort in the hunt with renewed vigor. Tonight, he will gratefully offer an entire shark to Phyros' altar.