Tummi looked at the pocket watch with sparkling eyes.
A few weeks ago, Gruffi had met Tummi when he was out fishing. Tummi observed the hook, Gruffi pulled him up thinking he caught a fish, and the rest was history. Gruffi wasn't too sure about being friends with a mermaid at first, but they got closer. Tummi, being a curious mermaid, had asked about everything he saw. Buildings, vehicles, animals he didn't usually see, everything one could think of.
At first it annoyed Gruffi that he asked so many things, but it started to become endearing over time. He started bringing stuff with him to show Tummi and explain what they were to him. It all ended with him having childlike wonder about them and how they worked. It was no exception this time around.
Tummi picked the pocket watch up. He jumped back when it opened. He looked at it closer and watched the clock hands move. He vocalized his fascination with it. Gruffi chuckled as he rested his face on his hand. He watched as the curious mermaid looked at it at all angles. Tummi then looked at him.
"That's a pocket watch," Gruffi started. "You carry it with you so you can see what the time is. There's also different versions where you can have it on the wall or have a tall one on the floor that can be pressed against the wall. Those are called a wall clock and grandfather clock respectively."
Tummi's eyes widened. "There's bigger ones? I wanna see!"
"Whoa now hold on there," he held his hands up to calm his excitement, "I don't think I can bring over a grandfather clock. Those are pretty heavy."
Tummi's ears went down.
"As for wall clocks, I might be able to take it off my wall to show you sometime. Those are much lighter."
His ears shot back up and he had a huge smile on his face. He then ducked when he saw a couple of humans walking by. Gruffi looked behind him then back at Tummi.
"Ah, don't worry about them. People just pass by when they come around here." Gruffi said.
Tummi slowly moved back up. He stared at Gruffi's shirt. Gruffi looked down, wondering if there was something on him. There weren't any stains or holes. He raised his eyebrow when he looked back at Tummi.
"Is something wrong- Whoa! Slow down!"
Tummi tried to take Gruffi's shirt off. It took him a moment for it to get it off him completely. It left Gruffi speechless and without a shirt. He looked at Tummi's face and noticed he was merely curious about the shirt. He quietly groaned, he wished Tummi would at least say something if he was wondering about something. That was his only complaint with Tummi, but he couldn't be too harsh with him.
Tummi was trying his best in terms of communication.
He put his hand in one of the sleeves. His arms were way bigger than Gruffi's, so it couldn't go the whole way through. It made Tummi feel sad as he pulled his arm out of the shirt. He whimpered how it was too small for him. He handed Gruffi back his shirt. Gruffi took it back and put it on again.
"If you want a shirt, I can see if Grammi's willing to make something for you." He assured.
Tummi tilted his head.
"Oh, she's someone I know from my glen." Gruffi started explaining. "She's the only one who knows how to make clothes."
He smiled and nodded his head. The end of his tail splashed against the water behind him. It was adorable and Gruffi couldn't help but smile. After a moment, Tummi stopped splashing the water and he looked elsewhere. It only lasted a few seconds before he looked back at Gruffi. He was about to look behind him again to see what Tummi saw. Tummi grabbed his face before Gruffi could and pulled him in.
Right before he went into the water, their lips collided. There was a loud splash from Gruffi being dragged in. Gruffi came out of the water and gasped for air. He glared at Tummi, who had a sheepish look on his face.
"You know, if you wanted to know what a kiss was, you could've said something."
Tummi's expression changed to a surprised face.
Gruffi pulled him into another kiss.