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#he was swimming around the boat between dives and saw me and my sibling watching him and beckoned for us to jump in (:

aokoaoi · 1 year

Note

Hey, I know you're writing more stories but if you have time could you write a oneshot? Y/n is mate of Ao'ung and eldest daughter of Jake and Neytiri and in the battle she dies instead of Neteyam taking the bullet instead of him, I know it is a bit angst but for me it's a good idea🥺

Thank you❤️

— pairings : ao'nung x fem!reader.

— warnings : avatar the way of water spoilers. angst. character death. mama neytiri suffers again<\3.

— author's note : this feels just like my first neteyam post all over again but different characters😭.. anyways this was so fun to write imao, i hope you like it<3

It was clear Ao'nung was your favorite amongst the Sully siblings. It wasn't said that he never picked on you, but he rarely did it. After all, you're the eldest siblings of the family, which meant your also older than him.

He respects you of course, more than he respects your younger brother, Neteyam.

It was then he grew some sort of admiration towards you, and the situation turned into a blossoming romance between you two. He has seen the way you act differently towards him as well, you were more soft spoken and casual, rather than stoic and fierce.

It was as if he met another version of you when he managed to befriend you. Since you were just a year older, you treat him as if he was some disobedient child when you get the chance. Whenever he's messing around, you'd be the one scolding him and such.

He'd never go against your words though. It would be like playing with fire.

The boy noticed how you acted more like your mother, you were fierce and responsible on the outside, but in the inside you were actually shy and a softie. Imagine his reaction when he saw you get flustered over his words for the first time.

He was in awe, I tell you.

Greatmother, he was so smitten for you. Absolutely head over heels It drove him insane. He even went to his sister once to help him with his feelings, and Tsireya was just as surprised as he was.

He was planning on telling you his feelings soon, but he felt that it wasn't the right time yet. But as he lost his chance, time had gone thin.

"Where are you going?!" Ao'nung harshly grabs your hand as you tried swimming away with your Ilu. Kiri had justed used some weird reef telekinesis earlier to save all your lives, but your mind was on the battlefield.

"To fight!"

Ao'nung sneered at you words, shaking his head. "You can't go out there! Didn't you see what they had as weapons!? You'll be killed!" He hisses, his grip on your forearm tightening.

"I'm fighting for my brothers and sisters, Ao'nung. I was born to fight! This isn't my first battle." You tell him, trying to jerk off his hold on your hand. He let's out a frustrated breath, brows furrowing.

He hesitantly soften his hold on your arm, and you neared him as he did so. Your hand comes up to his cheek, forcing him to look at you. "I'll be back, okay? I promise." You softly spoke.

He watched as you dived down into the water with your Ilu, eyes brimming with irritated tears. Rotxo comes from behind him, grasping his shoulders. "She'll be alright, mate. (name) is a strong girl."

You emerged from the water with a quick breath, ordering your Ilu to swim faster ad you neared the attack scene. There was so much going on, not to mention Lo'ak's tulkun literally slaughtering the people inside the small boats.

Your breath hitched as an Ikran drops from a rock beside you, aiming a spear at the animal until you saw the familiar patterns and colors of the creature. "Mother." You sighed. The woman shouts your name, hastily yelling at you to come on.

You did as you were told, biting your lip as your feet scrapped on the sharp edges of the rocks. Your mother immediately gets back to flight, barely missing the boat that was being thrown onto the rock.

Your fist tightly held your bow has you aimed on the unprotected sky-people, shooting your arrow at one. You grunted as you hear bullets being shot at your direction, and you turned to see the same Avatar from back home.

Neytiri recklessly dodged the shots, and you aimed a spear from the Metkayina clan at him. Your father then emerged from the water, shooting at the Avatar as your spear was sharply thrown at the demon-blooded's Ikran.

The Ikran falls down into the water with a pained hiss, along with the demon-blooded who bonded with it. You let out a yell at your actions, grinning from ear to ear as your mother does the same.

"Mother, fly by that boat!" You instructed your mother, pointing at the said transportation. She immediately does a sharp turn, hastily flying to the boat.

You dropped down at the thick metal right after your mother hands you your bow, surprising the three as you saw your brother already helping them. "Big sister!" Tuktirey let's out a cry, you simply smiled at her as you brought out the sharp knife from your waist-trainer.

"You okay there, bro?" You asked Lo'ak, watching as he rolls his eyes. "Who is the mighty warrior?" You hear Neteyam tease the boy, Lo'ak scoffs, but doesn't hide his obvious smile.

"Come on! Let's not waste time." You scolded the two as they laughed together, hitting the back of their heads as they let out a yelp. Neteyam grabs your hand as you two tried to jump from the boat, but you see Lo'ak at the corner of your eyes go the opposite way.

"Lo'ak!" You hiss. You ran towards him, tugging on Neteyam's hands as he looked at you, confused.

"They have spider, we have to get him." He tells you. You furrowed your brows together, unsure of what to do. He slowly stands back up, obviously serious of what he's saying. "Come on you two, we can't just leave him!" He complains.

Neteyam looks at you, and you groaned in annoyance. "Fine! Skxawng." You sneered, grabbing your bow harshly that it could practically break. Lo'ak grins at your agreement, and you you followed after him into the boat.

You carefully leaded the way as you now had an eye on where spider was. You aimed your bow at a man, shooting immediately when you had a clear path on his head. The sky-people watching spider let's out a yell, and immediately your brothers dropped down, attacking them.

You hung your bow on your back, grabbing the arrow your used to shoot the man in the head as you sharply drew in through the nearest sky people beside you before they could shoot at your brothers.

You grabbed another one by the neck, standing up straight and pulling him up with all your strength, basing his head onto the metal railings on top of you as you head the breaking of glass from his mask.

Grabbing your knife from your waist-trainer, you spot another human struggling to reach his gun. You pushed Lo'ak away as you used your strength and threw the knife at him, watching as the blade jabbed his chest. Lo'ak looks at you, surprised.

You breathed heavily, scowling as you watched a grin form on his face. "You should teach me that move sometime."

"First, we got out of here. M'kay?" You sneered passively. You grabbed his forearm as you dragged him with you, following Neteyam as he heads the way.

You hopped down from the short staircase, watching as Spider does the same. "Thanks guys." The human says. You waved your hand at him dismissively, your eyes scanning the area. Lo'ak spots another demon blood, and raises his gun.

"No!" You yelled. You let out a hiss as you feel a bullet shoot through your hand, making you instantly grab Lo'ak and drag him to the nearest corner to take cover. Neteyam followed right after, watching the bullets hit the metal railings.

"Give me that!" Neteyam grabs the gun from Lo'ak, reloading it as he pulls the trigger, carelessly shooting everywhere. "Go jump in the water!" You told the two boys. They looked at you hesitantly, and you sneered. "Goddamn it, hurry!" You growled.

They instantly jumped down, and your hastily grabbed the gun from Neteyam. "Let's go!" You yelled. He goes after Lo'ak, jumping in. You let out nervous breaths, your ear twitching as you hear the footsteps nearing your direction.

You took big steps forward, running towards the water and diving in. A stinging pain swelled up in your chest, but before you could let out a pained yell, you dropped into the water.

Hurriedly swimming back into the surface, you watched as your brothers celebrate their escape. Tsireya arrives with her Ilu, instructing you four to get on. Neteyam glanced at you as he notices you struggling to swim, his smile dropping.

"(name)—?"

His eyes then lingered at the blood seeping the water near you, and his heart dropped at the sight. "Shit!, (name)–" He jumped from the Ilu, swimming towards you as you struggled to keep your head above water.

"Oh no." Tsireya gasps, gaze on the bloodied water.

"Hold her up!" Neteyam hisses at spider as he placed your body on top of the girls ilu. You growled and slapped Spider's hand away, but then choked when your hand pressed against your chest.

"It's okay, sister. I've got you, okay? D-dont close your eyes." Lo'ak says, stuttering over his words. "S—skxawng. Why would I do that." You hissed harshly, your voice wavering as you struggled to breathe for air.

"Let's go!"

"But— they have Kiri and Tuk." Tsireya speaks up. Your ear twitched at her sentence, you kept a hand on your chest as Neteyam does the same, his hand over yours while he applied pressure.

"Just breathe, sister." Neteyam softly said, his voice wobbling.

Your brother leads the Ilu towards a rock, spotting your father. "Dad! Dad, help!" Lo'ak shouts. They carefully carried your body as they placed you on the rock, careful not to hit your head. Tsireya sobbed at the sight of your bloodied torso, shutting her eyes.

"Father—" You spoke up, your blurring eyes seeing the figure of your father next to you.

"Shhh," he turns your body over, seeing that the bullet had completely went though your chest. He mutters a cuss as you wheezed for air, coughing and choking as your lungs tightened up from the struggling.

He gestured over Neteyam, grabbing his hands as he instructed the boy to put pressure on your chest. Your brother does as he was told, and you yelled at the feeling of the pressure.

You sobbed at the aching sensations swirling through your chest, eyes blinking the tears collecting in your eyes as it refused to fall from your cheeks. Your mother the arrives after hearing your yell from a small distance, eyes widening at the sight of your blood on your brothers hands.

"No! No, no, (name), don't do this." She let's out a cry, kneeling down beside you. "My sweet girl.." neytiri sobs at your cries, your chest heaving as the pressure Neteyam was putting on your chest only made the feeling worst.

"Ma—"

Neytiri sharply inhales at your call, her big hands grasping your own as she let's the sensation of your hands caress her cheek, "Yes, ma child? Speak to me."

"I'm sorry." She shakes her head at your words, breaking down. "I'm so sorry, mother— I let you down." You heaved for air desperately, watching as your mother sobs harshly.

"No, child. It's gonna be okay, I'm here for you. We're all here—"

"(name)?" Tsireya turned at the sound of her brother's voice. She let's out a tight exhale as she stood up, walking towards her brother as she immediately engulfed him into an embrace.

Ao'nung walks away from his sisters embrace, walking towards you. He kneels beside you, eyes scanning your face as he watches the trails of previous tears make wet patterns on your face. "Ao'nung." You coughed up.

"Shit, just breathe, okay? You're gonna be fine— you're fine," Ao'nung continued to convince himself that as he placed a hand on top of Neteyams hand when he saw the bloodied wound. You shake your head with a tired sigh, blinking repeatedly as it was already hard to keep your eyes open.

You smiled at him before your last breath slipped from your mouth, your struggled breathing halting as your choking seized. Neteyam snapped his attention to your face, seeing how you've completely gone cold. Ao'nungs hand twitched as he feels your chest stop beating, blinking repeatedly.

Neytiri cries out in anguish, the palm of her hand touching your face as she cradled your head. "My child!" She exclaims, bringing your head up to her chest as you didn't move a muscle.

Ao'nung's breath trembled as his hand slipped from your skin, looking at the light from your eyes disappear, and it was replaced with a blank, empty gaze. "No."

Tsireya sobbed at his words, watching as he shakes his head repeatedly. "No, (name), you can't do this to me." His voice trembled as he hicced, sniffing harshly. "You promised!" He yells, his voice loud and clear despite your mother's cries.

Tsireye looks down as her brother leaned against her, his head on her shoulder as he sobbed on her shoulder. "She lied."

"Im sorry, brother." Tsireya sympathetically spoke up, wiping her tears as she wrapped her arms around her sobbing brother, feeling his shoulders shake from his trembling cries. "She promised me, Tsireya. She promised to come back." Ao'nung harshly breaths.

Your father looks at the two upon hearing Ao'nung's words, sighing as he embraced his wife was she continued to cry out for you, begging for Eywa to bring you back.

"I didn't get to tell her." Tsireya hushed her brother, cradling him against her as she took in his sobs.

2K notes · View notes

jasons-exposedspine · 3 years

Text

Prompt list

hey guys so my best friend and i made a long ass prompt list. the rules are that you can only pick a limit of five prompts and send them to me with a ship and OC of mine. like for example Reagan and Negan or Clem and Cas or Destiel or Willow and sam or Laylahni and Dean. i only write for supernatural and the walking dead. so get as creative as you want but i know no one will read this post so if you are reading this please send in a request i am really fucking desperate.

1: Hand holding

2: Hair playing

3: Lap sitting

4: “Friends”

5: Tickling

6: Dancing

7: Cuddling

8: Hugging

9: Character death

10: Resurrection

11: Date

12: Valentines Day

13: Admitting their feelings

14: Piggy back ride

15: Swimming

16: Teleporting to a different place

17: Carrying the other

18: Sad

19: Comforting them

20: Making out

21: Pulling down by tie, bandana, etc and kissing them

22: Being protective

23: Dying for the other; sacrifice

24: Getting drunk

25: Snuggling

26: Wrapping their arms around the other from behind

27: Cheek kissing

28: Forehead kissing

29: First experience in the love department

30: Yelling at them for not being more careful

31: Showering/bathing together

32: Picnic

33: Cooking

34: Licking food off the other

35: Going on a hunt/run together.

36: Tracing their face

37: Wearing the other’s clothes

38: Braiding their hair

39: Teaching them about feelings

40: Teaching them other things (wink wink)

41: Argument

42: Comforting them after an anxiety/panic attack

43: making them happy when they are down

44: Calming them/sleeping with them after a nightmare

45: Putting their head on the other’s shoulder

46: Treating an injury/kissing their boo boos better

47: Food fight

48: Forehead touching

49: Nose touching

50: Guess who

51: Chin resting on top of head

52: Sleeping on the others’ chest

53: Intense eye contact

54: Being caught staring

55: Playing with their hands

56: Telling them what’s wrong

57: They have to leave to keep them safe

58: Break up

59: Getting back together

60: Pregnancy

61: Miscarriage

62: Normal Birth

63: Marriage

64: Fixing their clothes/hair

65: Driving together in a car

66: In the backseat (wink wink)

67: Snuggling In the backseat

68: Resting their hand on the other’s thigh

69: Sex

70: Watching movies together

71: Cinema

72: Height Difference

73: Annoying each other

74: Stargazing

75. Waking up to them

76. Shelter from the rain

77: ice cream

78: being rescued/saved

79: listening to music together

80: texting

81: falling asleep on the other

82: accidentally kiss

83: being badass together

84: lOsT iN tHe wOoDs!!

85: camping

86: spooning

87: huddling for warmth

88: first kiss

89: first meet

90: one looking schmexy and the other being attracted

91: lip biting

92: wearing the other’s accessories; glasses, jacket, tie, hat, etc.

93: annoying them at work/while they are trying to work

94: making stupid videos together

95: keeping their relationship a secret from other people

96: nearly revealing their relationship in front of other people

97: coming out (if it’s gay)

98: playing with a pet (if they have one). (if they don’t, some other animal)

99: They are forced to be enemies even though they love each other. This could be in a war or sided scenario. Usually a forbidden love. They could also be together in secret. Take Romeo and Juliet for example.

100: corona edition - quarantining together

101: luxurious holiday

102: stuck somewhere together, whether that be locked in a room or lost somewhere, etc.

103: beach

104: watching the other sleep/sneak up on them sleeping

105: backstory

106: childhood friends

107: au

108: crossover

109: SIMPing over them

110: love triangle

111: third wheel

112: having a dream about the other person

113: unbuttoning the other person’s shirt/taking the other person’s clothes off

114: hotel

115: board games/video games

116: chucking paint at each other

117: cheating

118: being annoying and stopping the other person from walking by sitting on their feet and holding onto their legs

119: secret admirer/love letters

120: making hearts with their hands

121: taking selfies

122: singing/playing a song for them

123: Falling asleep on them on a bus, train, plane, etc.

124: Growing old together

125: Widowed

126: Arranged marriage

127: Forbidden love

128: Sitting over the other’s dead body

129: being walked in on doing you know what

130: family’s reaction to the relationship

131: Living together

132: Having a family

133: Senpai/notice me senpai!

134: crush

135: showing off for their crush

136: rejection

137: first date (awkward)

138: first date (normal)

139: painting on each other (for a date night)

140: flirting

141: cringey pickup line

142: Pinning them against a wall

143: sneaking in bed with them when they’re asleep

144: laughing really hard together

145: Under the other’s wings

146: underwater kissing

147: accidentally fall on each other

148: only one bed

149: kissing their neck

150: being awkward around their crush

151: Rich couple

152: Playing in the rain

153: Summer

154: Autumn

155: Winter

156: Spring

157: Walk in the park

158: walking them home

159: Other people/characters also shipping them

160: The cute neighbour

161: putting their hand under the other person’s shirt

162: telling them a story/bedtime story. (If they have a child, that makes it even better!)

163: needy

164: clingy

165: intimate

166: touchy/fondling

167: putting their leg on the other person’s leg when sleeping

168: accidentally falling off the edge of the bed/accidentally pushing the other person off the edge of the bed

167: blanket hogging

168: freezing when they see their crush

169: running away/fleeing when they see their crush

170: surprising/scaring them

171: snow

172: watching fireworks

173: comforting them during a storm

174: divorce

175: homosexual (gay, lesbian, etc.)

176: heterosexual (straight)

177: poly (3+ people)

178: one of them getting an award or something and the other cheering them on and embarrassing them

179: somehow ending up with someone who is way out of their league

180: travelling together

181: weekend of romance

182: act like they hate them but they actually like them, switch between emotions frequently (tsundere)

183: will kill or harm others for their senpai (yandere)

184: ignoring the other person

185: one not messaging the other back

186: pash

187: enemies to lovers

188: friends to lovers

189: watching the other undress

190: soulmates

191: phone call

192: prom/dance

193: highschool

194: riding on bikes (usually as kids)

195: proposal

196: teasing the other

197: watching the sunset/sunrise

198: morning jog/walk

199: waking up but they’re not there

200: waking up to the other one making breakfast

201: sneaking into their house in the middle of the night

202: partners in crime

203: ex lovers

204: crushing on friend’s sibling

205: letting them stay the night

206: accidentally in love

207: coffee shop au

208: when their parents aren’t home...

209: sitting next to them with their arm around the their waist

210: telling secrets

211: fireplace

212: sitting on the floor

213: study buddies

214: flying

215: sitting on the porch

216: see the other naked for the first time

217: double date

218: their crush is upper class but they are lower class or vice versa. eg. rich vs poor, popular vs unpopular, higher social status vs lower social status.

219: One is mature and the other is childish

220: 2 brain cells/both idiots

221: lipstick stains

222: helping the other up

223: Deep conversation

224: meet at a bar/club/pub

225: asking them out

226: being teased by their friend(s) about their crush

227: telling their friend(s) about their crush

228: mistletoe

229: virgin/losing virginity

230: screaming into their chest

231: hand brushing against the other’s

232: soulmates walking past each other in public not yet knowing the other person but still getting some sort of gut feeling.

233: asking if they’re ok

234: handsome stranger

235: a description of the character’s features

236: their scent lingering

237: arriving at their doorstep

238: sleeping on the couch

239: hot night

240: cold night

241: sweaty

242: missing the other person

243: seeing them depart/saying their goodbyes (usually if they’re leaving for a trip for a while)

244: seeing them again for the first time (usually after they arrive back after a trip after not seeing them for a while)

245: looking back after departing

246: not even knowing their name/don’t remember them properly (usually falling in love with a stranger)

247: I kissed a girl (gay)

248: I kissed a boy (gay)

249: the person they like isn’t gay

250: husband energy

251: mum and dad energy

252: wife energy

253: liking a bad boy

254: liking a more mature boy

255: diving off cliffs/waterfalls

256: Comforting the other one when they’re scared

257: hushing them to sleep

258: singing them a lullaby

259: adopting

260: surrogate

261: painting their nails, pamper treatment, etc.

262: posing for photos

263: eating spaghetti together (Lady and the Tramp style)

264: being protective when someone starts SIMPing over their lover

265: holding them tight

266: swears they saw their ex in public but it wasn’t them...

267: sleepover

268: flirtatious bartender

269: helping them

270: stumbling over their words

271: walking in on them showering

272: looking them up and down/checking them out

273: being competitive/friendly rivals dynamic

274: meeting them through social media first

275: tinder/online dating

276: daydreaming about the other person

277: one of them is sick/in hospital

278: doing something embarrassing in front of their crush

279: horseback riding

280: hammock

281: boat

282: taking them to and showing them a place that is special to them

283: dirty jokes

284: making them laugh

285: getting into a fight with each other

286: protecting the other in a fight/from getting into a fight

287: masquerade ball

288: love spell/something or someone casting love spells on people aka Cupid

289: he/she loves me, he/she loves me not...

290: whispering in their ear

291: sitting on top of the car in a field

292: if a character wears some sort of mask/something that covers their mouth/face make the other character pull down/lift it up to kiss them

293: give each other pet names (baby, babe, honey, etc) (be as creative as you want)

294: biting the other’s lip when kissing

295: buying the other flowers/a gift

296: road trip

297: friendzoning

298: Gender Bend

299: saying “I love you” for the first time

300: toxic relationship (physical abuse, mental abuse, cheating constantly, don't love them anymore) be as creative as you want.

@negan-morningstar @savedpeople @you-a-southpaw-doll @smcc212 @gabrielislovegabrielislife @galaxycastiel @winchester-reload @impala-dreamer

#prompt list #supernatural #twd

15 notes · View notes

doing-all-write · 4 years

Text

star light, star bright

Joe and Ben take a trip on a boat for a ice relaxing Guys Weekend. What Ben doesn’t expect is to fall in love with the owner of the boat. Or to drunkenly sing karaoke with her.

Pairings: Ben x O.C.

Rating: E (18+, PLEASE do not interact if younger than 18)

Warnings: S M U T. Dom!Ben, but mainly Soft!Ben, bad karaoke and lots of boat and ocean puns (I’m a monster)

Word Count: 14K

Inspired by this iconic photo:

A/N: HELLO. IT’S ME. BACK FROM THE DEAD (Or I had three events in a row at work and wanted to D I E) but to make up for it, have a nice thiccc 14K, smutty fic!! This is my first time writing smut so PLEASE don’t judge me too harshly on it!

But as always, feedback, reblogs and comments are always appreciated! I hope you love it!

ALSO!!! In my most favorite turn of events EVER, I have someone who wants me to tag them! So: @itsabenthing, you’re a real one. (If anyone wants to be tagged in future fics let me know!!)

The sun beat down, scattering nets of diamonds across the water. The slow roll of Jimmy Buffet's guitar mingled with the waves slapping against the hull of the boat. The gulls screeching as they whirled through the air, diving down when they spotted dinner swimming underneath the surface. The wind fluttered the pages of the book held in her hand as she adjusted the sunglasses on her face.

The pole she was leaning against warmed her back. She laid the book down and turned her face toward the sun. It warmed her bones and she took a deep breath in, letting the sea, salt and wind fill her lungs.

She checked her phone, made note of the time and stretched her legs and arms out, almost purring as she uncurled from her reading position. She tipped her head back, closing her eyes to soak up this moment as she patted the deck of her boat.

She had grown up around boats. Her parents owned the Nereid marina and her earliest memories were of sitting on her mom's lap putting her small hands on top of her moms soft ones, feeling the wheel turn smoothly as she memorized the movements. Pretty soon, she had been the one steering the boat and "learning the ropes" as she loved to tell people and thrived off of their pained groans.

She worked at the Nereid every day, learning from the people who came into the port. Incessantly asking questions. Asking about their boats, their lives, where they had come from, where they were going. Her parents had teased her for being so inquisitive but she was in awe of the people who came to the Nereid.

In her mind, they were great adventurers, living a free wheeling life on the sea that she wanted for herself. She would watch people leave and the pull in her stomach to follow them was so strong she could feel her legs tensing, as if getting ready to jump into the ocean to swim to their boat, desperate to join them in whatever adventure they had planned next.

Her parents had expanded the Nereid so several of them littered the coast of California but the original one had passed into her care after she had graduated college. Her parents still helped out and offered guidance when she asked but overall, the original marina was hers to make the calls. It had a charming appeal to it, and between word of mouth and the incredibly Instagrammable mural she had added to one wall, people flocked to it.

As she sat there, soaking up the warmth, she was grateful she had gotten out of bed before the sun had risen. She had woken up early, the last of the stars in the sky fading as the horizon turned from inky black to lilac as the sun began its ascent from the horizon.

Her dad had always told her that each sunrise was different. And that each one had details that would tell her how her day would go. It wasn't until she was much older and in the habit of waking up early that her father would confess he had made it up to coax her out of bed that early.

Some people had their horoscopes, she had sunrises. Whenever she could, she would haul herself out of bed, and clutching a thermos of coffee, watch the sun rise and predict how her day would go. This morning she had a feeling in her gut that today, the sun rise would be incredible. So she slipped out of her apartment above the marina, jammed her feet into flip-flops, crammed a hat on her head and set out.

The sun rise this particular morning had been various shades of pink. The colors closest to the sun a deep red. She had thought to herself that those colors must be what it's like to be in love. She felt a tug in her heart as she contemplated how long it had been since she had been with, well, anyone since she had broken up with her last boyfriend. She quickly shook herself from her melancholy thought and cracked open her book as the sun's rays grew stronger.

Now, the sun was beating down, making sure to fry away every last bit of the chill there had been that morning. She decided she should head back to the Nereid and check in, see how things were going and if she needed to put out any fires. She chuckled as she murmured to herself and one gull that had landed next to her boat, bobbing with the waves, "Well if there WERE any fires to put out, thank god we're by a ocean."

The gull squaked and flew away.

She shook her head ruefully as she stood up and raised her arms above her head, the crochet tank top she had put on over her bikini rising up above her denim shorts.

The sea unfolded before her, reminding her constantly how wide the world was. How many people there were to meet, so many stories to hear and places to see. Her body shivered involuntarily as she contemplated the vastness of it all.

~~~

Somewhere close by to where her boat had just been anchored, another boat was getting ready to pull into the Nereid marina.

"BEN! HOIST THE BOOM AND GET 'ER READY TO COME STARBOARD."

"Do you know anything about boats, mate?" Ben scratched his head as he contemplated Joe's Captain Morgan pose.

"No, not a damn thing. But it sounded convincing right?"

"Yeah, it's the confidence, ya know?"

"It's all about confidence Benny boy." Joe said, slapping Ben's shoulder as he joined Ben at the rail.

Ben offered him a beer which Joe accepted with a quick thanks, the sharp crack of the tab opening piercing though the air.

Ben held his can aloft in a silent cheers and Joe brought his over to gently tap the rim of Ben's. They nodded to each other and raised the drink to their lips as they took a sip.

The sun beat down on them, warming the tops of their heads as the ocean stretched out in front of them.

Joe took another sip as Ben asked, "So, are we getting to port soon? What's the plan?"

Joe considered it, "Well, we plunder first,"

"Obviously."

"Then we do some light pillaging,"

"Of course,"

"Then have a nice meal together because you're my friend"

"That's lovely buddy thank you." Ben leaned into Joe as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder, giving him an awkward side hug.

"Anything for you, Ben."

"Hate to interrupt this touching display of male friendship but we're almost to port" Rich, the actual captain, called down to them as he deftly steered the craft towards land.

Joe peered up at Rich from under the brim of his baseball cap, "Shouldn't I be the one making those announcements? I am the captain after all."

Ben snorted, "Correctly identifying the starboard and port side does not a captain make."

"You're just jealous my nautical knowledge is so much better than yours."

Rich barked out a laugh as he shook his head, "The amount of nautical knowledge you have wouldn't even fill a Post-It note."

Joe pointed a thumb back at Rich, "I'm not sure we should trust this guy with our safety out in the open sea."

"I feel much safer in his hands than yours." Ben chuckled.

Joe gasped and brought a hand up to his chest, "I'm being attacked! My character is being demolished by my best friend and Rich!"

"What? We aren't best friends?" Rich deadpanned.

"Not with those insults you keep hurling my way, buddy." Joe wheeled around and pointed an accusing finger at Rich.

Ben laughed and stared back out at the horizon. He obviously knew the world was round but he could almost understand why people thought the world was flat for so long. He felt like if he stared at the horizon long enough, he could fall right over the edge and into the swirls of a galaxy.

Joe sidled up to his friend, eyeing him as he watched Ben's shoulders loosen up.

"You enjoying being in the cold grasp of that fickle mistress, the ocean, Benny?" Joe broke the silence as he clapped a hand down onto Ben's shoulder.

Ben snorted, "Absolutely. A pirate's life is a wonderful live and all that."

"It sure is." There was a. pause as Joe contemplated how he wanted to best introduce the next topic.

Finally settling on, "Speaking of she's and fickle mistresses and all that, how have you been doing since the breakup?"

Ben shrugged his shoulders, "It comes and goes in waves, ha." Joe let out a snort at his friends unintentional ocean pun.

"No, but, some days I think I'm okay and then something happens to remind me of her or our time together and I feel a twinge but," here Ben paused and cocked his head to the side, "I think that's just normal."

Joe nodded sagely, "Yeah. give yourself time, man. That was a long relationship. You're not going to get over it right away."

Ben nodded as he brought the beer can back up to his mouth to take a sip and surveyed the horizon. He could see the brightly painted mural getting larger by the second.

Rich sighed as he deftly steered the boat toward the Nereid. He had worked with Az and her family since he was young. He and Az were basically siblings, which is why, when he saw her standing on the deck of her boat tying it up, he laid on the horn.

Az jumped a foot in the air, dropping the rope she had been holding and managing to hit her head on the boom all at once.

"Fucking hell..." her voice drifted off as she turned around to see what asshole was responsible for taking ten years off of her life.

When she saw Rich pulling into the port with their most expensive boat she extended both middle fingers in a salute, complete with huge grin.

Rich laughed as he saw Az's two-fingered salute but the horn blaring had caused both Ben and Joe to jump and spill some of their beer.

"What the hell, man?" Ben shouted as he stared up at Rich.

"Yo, Rich, what was that about? Did someone cut us off?" Joe asked

Rich shook his head, "Sorry guys, I saw Az and wanted to fuck with her."

Ben and Joe looked at each. Joe cocked an eyebrow and Ben shrugged. They wandered over to the front of the boat to see what was going on.

Ben's first glimpse was of the sun reflecting off of her hair, causing it to look like gold. Then the two middle fingers raised high.

Joe noticed the shit-eating grin before he realized that she was directing her two prominent fingers at the man standing near the top of their boat.

Az noticed the other two figures on the boat about a second too late and lowered her hands, feeling bad that they may have thought she was flipping them off. She raised one hand in a sheepish wave as they pulled closer.

She laughed ruefully to herself as she turned back to securing her boat, Figures, she thought, the one time Rich actually has two cute guys in the boat I'm flipping them off. She took one final sweep of the deck as she shoved her book into her backpack and swung it over her shoulder.

She leapt from the deck of her boat onto the dock, landing with her arms raised triumphantly, waiting for Rich to cast judgement on her landing.

"And Az sticks the landing! The crowd goes wild! The judges give her all 10's!!" Rich imitated the screams of an energetic crowd as she waved and gave an exaggerated bow to her audience of...three now.

She came out of her bow and saw the two guys she had accidentally flipped off standing behind Rich, clapping along with him.

"Thank you, thank you. Please, no, c'mon, it was nothing." She said with mock modesty as she laid a hand across her heart and pretended to wipe a tear from her eye.

"How's your head doing?" Rich asked as he engulfed her in a hug.

"Well, I DID hit it on a large piece of wood so...not great."

"Ahh, c'mon. We were just having a good time."

"Were we?" She shot back as she stepped back and looked over his shoulder, "Hi, I'm Az, I definitely wasn't flipping you two off. I felt bad when I realized he had you guys on board."

"Oh no, I'm used to pretty girls flipping me off, it's fine." Joe said as he stepped forward with a hand extended.

Az let out a bark of laughter as she slipped her hand into his as they exchanged pleasantries.

Az turned to the blonde standing next to Joe and was barely able to keep the "Jesus FUCK you're gorgeous" from falling out of her mouth.

But he WAS. From a distance she could tell he was going to be cute but up close? Az was eternally grateful that someone as beautiful as this man could exist and be right in front of her.

He was checking all her boxes too; blond hair, dazzling smile, beautiful body (God she should ask who his trainer was and send them a fruit basket and a thank you note) the only thing that would really make him perfect was-

"You alrigh'?"

A fucking British accent.

Her eyes widened and Rich smirked. They both knew that she was well and truly fucked.

~~~

"Hey, Sal, how's it going?"

"Great, Az, the fish are biting and the sun is shining. Can't ask for more, eh?"

"Got that right. You stay out of trouble, alright?"

"Back at ya, sweetheart."

She waved at him as she continued down the marina. The sound of her flip-flops thwacking against the wood alerting her arrival to both regulars and newcomers at the Nereid alike.

Joe, Ben and Rich were sitting on the edge of the dock, feet dangling over the clear blue, watching her make her way down the boardwalk. After introductions had been made, Az had parted apologetically, saying she needed to do a lap but she would love to properly show them around once she came back.

"Does she talk to everyone?" Joe asked as he saw her stop at the dock next to Sal's and start talking animatedly to the woman there.

"Pretty much. I mean, she does own this marina so it would be kind of shitty if she didn't." Rich shrugged and readjusted his sunglasses.

Ben shoved his hands into the pocket of his jacket, "She OWNS this marina?"

"Yeah, her parents opened it and she took it over when they started branching out to other locations. This one's the most popular though, mainly because of her," Rich inclined his head to her retreating back. "And it's because she talks to everyone. Everyone loves Az."

"I've been meaning to ask, is her real name Az? Like, A Z?" Joe asked.

Rich snorted, "No, her real name is Azure which is a sick name but she thinks it's pretentious so she shortened it."

Joe nodded while Ben kept his gaze glued on Az as a little boy ran up and tugged on her shorts. She laid a hand over her heart as the child handed her a seashell with a huge grin on his face. Ben felt a smile growing on his face as she bent down to accept the gift, handling the shell with extreme delicacy, listening to the little boy as he told her everything he went through to get it.

Ben was entranced by her. When they had pulled into the Nereid he could tell she was cute. But when he had seen her up close, felt the full effect of her smile, how her eyes sparkled in the sun, the freckles dusted across her cheeks, he felt his breath hitch.

He could vaguely tell that Joe and Rich were talking about other things but he kept his eyes trained on Az. On her hair falling down her back, the way her hips swayed as she walked, the way it caused her ass to move-

"BEN. Come back to us buddy."

Ben jolted as he almost lost his grip on the edge of the dock, catching himself before he landed in the water, "What?"

"Rich said Az knows some good places for us to grab dinner and they'd love to take us out, does that sound good to you?" Joe asked as he furrowed his brow, reaching a hand out to steady Ben.

Ben cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah, that sounds great, thanks man." He inclined his head at Rich who just stared back at him, eyes inscrutable behind black Ray-Bans. Ben's gut suddenly dropped to the bottom of the ocean as he had the horrifying thought that maybe Rich and Az were dating.

Ben quickly dropped his gaze to the blue depths underneath his feet, wondering if it would be worth it to just jump in, start swimming and never look back.

Suddenly, Rich sprang up from the dock, "I'm gonna go check on Az, see what her ETA is to be done. I'll be right back." And with that announcement, strode off.

Joe's brow furrowed as he stared at Rich's back. "I don't know what just happened but I would say that we pissed off our captain."

Ben grunted as he kept his gaze laser focused on the fish cutting swiftly through the waves.

Joe tapped his foot against Ben's, "Hey, man, you know, you can communicate with me through more than monosyllabic sounds."

Ben huffed as he ran a hand through his hair, "I know. Sorry. I got myself all turned 'round but I'm okay now."

Joe's eyes cut over to Ben and as casually as he could, asked, "Was it about Az?"

"Uh-I mean-Not, like, explicitly but-"

"Well the way you were checking out her ass was pretty explicit I gotta say, Benny boy."

Ben's cheeks immediately turned red as he raked his brain for something witty to say. He finally sighed and dropped his head into his hands, "It was pretty obvious wasn't it?"

"You looked like one of those cartoon characters when they see a pretty lady and their eyes bug out of their head."

Ben groaned into his hands, "Dammit! She's just so hot and I don't know, maybe it's the ocean air doing something to me but I couldn't stop staring at her and then I saw Rich staring at me staring at her and now I'm worried that she and Rich are dating and I fucked up."

Joe slowly nodded his head as he contemplated Ben's predicament, "Well, it's good that we're by the ocean. If that's true you can always just drown yourself."

~~~

"He was drooling over you."

Az made an indelicate "OOF" noise as Rich grabbed her arm, doing a do-si-do move so she was facing him.

"Who? The Springer's dog? Because they just told me they tried some new medication to help with that-"

"No. What?" Rich furrowed his brow, "Is that really a thing you can do for dogs?"

Az shrugged, "I guess so. I'm not a vet, nor do I own a dog so my knowledge of cutting edge veterinary practices is sketchy to say the least."

Rich glanced over his shoulder to stare at the basset hound that was, indeed, sporting no less than three uninterrupted strands of drool which was three less than what he normally had.

He shook his head as he turned back to Az, "Okay, that's BESIDES the point. Though I do want to talk to them about that, I'm intrigued...ANYWAY. No. BEN was."

Az stared at Rich for three full seconds before bursting out laughing. Rich sighed and crossed his arms, waiting for the hysterics to die down.

Az dabbed her finger under her eye, "God Rich, that's hysterical. But seriously, why did you come over here."

"His eyes were so laser focused on your ass that I'm surprised there's not a hole in the back of your shorts."

Az's hands instinctively went to the back of her shorts, "Thank god I wore my cute bikini bottoms then."

"You fool. You absolute buffoon. One of the most attractive men I've ever seen in my LIFE was so absorbed by your ass that he almost fell off the dock when Joe yelled at him. I may be ace but that doesn't mean that I can't tell when someone is so thirsty for you that he would willingly drown for it."

Az stood there, staring over Rich's shoulder taking all this information in. The horizon spread out before her, various shades of blue.

"The title of my memoir should be called '50 Shades of Blue'" She finally muttered under her breath.

"AZ."

"Sorry, sorry! I heard you. I just-"

"It's always 'just' with you. You just can't because of the marina. You just can't because you're focusing on yourself. You just can't because of a million other reasons. You know what it JUST is with you?"

Az winced with each accusation hurled at her, "Jesus, just tell me so this can be done."

Rich took a deep breath and gripped her shoulders as he leveled his gaze at her, "You just don't believe you deserve this. You just are scared that someone will leave and you'll be left hurting like you were when your ex left you. But you know something? Even if this perfect replica of Michelangelo's David doesn't work out, you'll a) have a great story and TWO-"

Az's lips quirked into a half smile at Rich's lame attempt at humor.

"Is that you'll at least have given it a try. And I'll always be here for you to sing-scream 'thank u, next' with if he turns out to be a dick."

A laugh bubbled its way out of Az's throat, "Okay but like, we've already done that so often they threatened to call the Coast Guard on us."

A steely look settled over Rich's face, "And Barb from port five can still eat my entire ass. MY POINT though," at this, Rich ducked his head down to look right into Az's eyes, "just go for it, Az. Please."

Az's eyes flickered down at the water lapping underneath the boardwalk. The sun filtered through the cracks of the woodwork causing small sparks to light up as it hit the water flowing underneath.

She heaved a sigh, "Alright, FINE. Besides, if he's truly as into me as you say he is, this should be easy."

Rich clapped his hands, "Oh sweetheart, it's going to be easier than getting the Springer's dog to stop drooling."

~~~

To lighten the mood, Joe had started throwing rocks and bits of wood into the water yelling, "she loves Ben, she loves him not" with each plop while Ben kept threatening to push Joe into the water.

"You almost hit a fish with that one." Ben said, in a desperate attempt to distract Joe.

"He looked at me funny."

"They're fish. They look at everything funny."

"Fair point."

"Oh fuck, there's one swimming right at me."

"GET HIM, BEN. SHOW HIM WHO'S BOSS." Joe yelled.

Ben squinted one eye and gently tossed the piece of wood into the water near the fish.

"I'm going to call the cops." Came Az's voice in a sing song from behind them.

Ben turned around to find Rich and Az strolling back towards them. Az's arm hooked through Rich's which caused Ben's stomach to plummet.

She slipped her arm out from Rich's and dug her phone out of her pocket, "Hello? 9-1-1? Yes, this man here is abusing fish."

"Fuck, dude, we gotta get out of here. I can't go back to the slammer again." Joe laughed as he hauled himself up.

Ben smiled as he swung his legs up onto the dock. His feet fell next to Az's, encased in flip-flops, toenails painted bright pink as he traced the line of her legs up to meet her eyes.

Az's hand trembled a little as she offered it to Ben, "Need a hand?" A soft smile grew across her face as his blue eyes met her own.

The blue of the ocean was nothing compared to how blue Ben's eyes were, Az decided.

The green of Az's eyes were the most beautiful color he had ever seen, Ben decided.

The silence stretching between Ben and Az had gone on long enough, Joe decided.

"SO. Rich. What restaurant are we going to?" Joe loudly asked as he clapped his hands together, breaking the spell.

Az blinked and giggled nervously as she helped haul Ben to his feet. He smiled down at her and thanked her.

"No worries, you're lighter than expected."

"These are fake muscles. A pain in the ass to inflate every morning but so worth it."

The burst of laughter that erupted from Az made Ben smile wider.

She reached a hand out and wrapped it around his bicep, "So, if I squeeze too hard it'll pop?"

"Like a balloon."

She kept her eyes trained on Ben's face as she squeezed his arm and holy god she was not prepared for how solid it would feel. It took all of her will power not to get on her knees and beg him to choke her right there in front of God and everyone.

She cleared her throat, "Haven't heard anything pop yet."

"Well, clearly, your hand strength needs to be built up."

"I think there are some guys who would argue my hand strength is just fine." Az said without thinking. Her eyes widened as she realized the words that had fallen out of her mouth. Ben's breath caught in his throat as the image of Az's hand wrapped around his cock infiltrated his senses.

Rich's mouth dropped open as Joe made a noise that sounded vaguely like a hamster getting strangled.

Az ripped her hand from Ben's bicep "Well, I don't know what we're doing standing around here for, I promised you guys a tour so let's get started." She sped away down the pier, mentally chastising herself for coming on way too strong.

Rich stared at Ben, standing stock still, then at Joe who looked like he'd been hit on the back of the head with a two by four, and muttered, "Well, this is going to be easier than I thought."

~~~

"And this is the mural I commissioned from a local street artist. I actually caught her tagging a wall and I loved her work so much I hired her on the spot."

Ben and Joe stepped closer to take a closer look at the mural that depicted the ocean in a psychedelic fashion. Brightly colored fish, seaweed, shells, sea nymphs ("mermaids are overrated, it's all about sea nymphs now." Az had declared when Joe made a Little Mermaid joke) dolphins, sharks, even an octopus, in neon colors adorned the side of the building.

"It's really popular with Influencers and such. Tourists come to take pictures of it, it's been nothing but an incredible draw." Az said as she trailed her fingers over it as she walked down the wall. Her finger tips landed on the shark and she turned to look over her shoulder, "This guy is my favorite."

Ben meandered closer to get a better look at it, "Why is that?"

Az shrugged as she moved to stand beside Ben, "I've always liked sharks. I think they're fascinating and get a bad rep. We're the ones infiltrating their home. If someone tried to come into my home and polluted it at the same time, I'd probably consider eating them too."

Ben nodded slowly as his gaze drifted over the mural. "I like the octopus."

"Yeah? Why's that."

"He has a chill vibe about him."

"I can respect that."

Watching Ben and Az joke about the killer weed the octopus had, Joe hesitantly asked the million dollar question,"So, Rich, how long have you and Az been together?"

Rich snorted, "Too long." Hearing the squeak that came from Joe, hastily realized what he meant, "Oh, like, romantically? You think Az and I are, like, together together?"

"Um, yeah dude. You seem pretty comfortable around each other and I just assumed..." Joe's voice trailed off as a bemused grin melted over Rich's face.

"Are Az and I close? Yes. Do I love her? Absolutely. Is she a giant pain in my ass? Since day one when she told me I give off too much of a 'Jimmy Buffet' vibe. Am I also ace so therefore have no desire to date her or anyone? Oh you bet your sweet ass."

"So...Ben's clear to shoot his shot?"

"Ben's so clear to shoot his shot the whole fucking playing field is barren."

"You don't know the first thing about sports do you?"

"Not a thing my man." Rich confirmed cheerfully.

~~~

The sun had begun to make it's descent and the first whispers of orange and pink began to crawl their way up into the sky.

Seeing how small the gap between the sun and the horizon had gotten, Az clapped her hands together as she turned to the group, "So, if you guys are interested, there's a great bar nearby that I can get us either free or deeply discounted drinks. You in?"

Joe stared at Az for a beat then threw an arm around her shoulder, "I've never loved anyone more."

Az laughed as she rested her head onto Joe's shoulder, "And I'm sure it was me flipping you off that won you over and not the promise of free drinks."

"I've never been so into anything in my life." Ben muttered as he stared at Az. The words came out more intense than he intended. Az felt a warmth spreading through her stomach as she lifted her head from Joe's shoulder.

Ben blinked at his own intensity but didn't break his gaze from Az's as he stepped closer to her. The movement of her throat as she swallowed was the only thing that broke his gaze.

Rich's eyes were ping-ponging back and forth, relishing in the sexual tension.

Joe slowly slid his arm off of Az's shoulders and hesitantly stepped back.

Az could feel the heat building in her belly, a flush spread across her cheeks as she blinked up at Ben. The voice in her head finally snapped to attention and reminded her to say something, anything.

Her tongue poked out to swipe across her bottom lip. Ben shifted as his eyes darted down to track its journey, using his willpower not to capture her lips with his.

"Good, because the night's just getting started." Az said thickly as she slide her hands into the pockets of her shorts.

Only Rich caught her trying to wipe off her palms in her shorts and rolled his eyes.

He knew from personal experience that Az's palms always got extra sweaty whenever she flirted, clearly even a target as easy as Ben couldn't escape her clammy palms.

He just prayed that he wouldn't try to hold her hand in the next 20 minutes.

~~~

Az jiggled the worn handle on the innocuous wood door. She turned her head to glance back at Ben, "Don't worry, this is usually what happens."

"Good, because sketchy unmarked door? In an alleyway? I figured you had just lured us back here to murder us and wear our skins."

"Fucked up that you thought that. I would never wear your skins. I'd preserve them, stuff them and then use them as tasteful decor."

"JESUS Az." Rich declared as he stared at her, slack-jawed. Joe's face was caught in between amusement and horror.

Az winced as she finally got the doorknob to turn, "Too much?"

Ben waltzed through the open door, "Don't think there's ever 'too much' of you, love."

Az's cheeks flushed and she squirmed as he aimed a wink in her direction before stopping in the doorway to let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting.

There were Christmas lights strung all around the perimeter of the bar. Tables haphazardly littered the floor with chairs floating in between tables like so much debris. The back of the room was taken up by the actual bar. To the right, a small, hastily constructed stage with a karaoke machine looked to be the only thing that hadn't been there since the 70's.

Vintage concert posters promoting The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Carol King, Fleetwood Mac, Queen and more were wallpapered in a collage. The jukebox standing guard to the side of the front door was playing Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. There was a low rumble as patrons and bartenders talked to each other.

When the door opened and Ben stepped in, most of them turned to peer curiously at who had just entered but didn't paid him, or Joe, any mind. A few hands went up and some greetings were called out in response to Rich's greeting as he waltzed into the establishment.

Then Az walked in.

"AZ!"

The bar exploded in a flurry of sound and movement as chairs were abandoned and tables shoved as a crowd foamed up around Az. Ben, Joe and Rich were forced to shuffle to the side as hands and bodies crowded around her. Most of them offering to buy her a drink or updating her on events that had transcribed since they had last seen her. Az took it all in stride. She smiled and laughed and nodded and let herself be carried by the crowd to the bar.

When she reached the bar she turned her head and Ben saw her eyes flitting from corner to corner, trying to locate them after the crowd had bum rushed her.

Ben raised a hand and her eyes locked onto the gesture at once. She smiled and he saw her shoulders relax. She turned back to the grizzled fisherman that was either greatly exaggerating the size of a personal body part or talking about a fish he had caught earlier in the day.

He desperately hoped it was the latter.

A sharp jab to his kidney brought him back to the present, "What are the odds she's getting drinks for all of us?" Joe asked as he surveyed the crowd that was three deep by the bar. Ben shrugged as Rich weaved his way to a table that was right in front of the karaoke stage.

Ben and Joe followed Rich and sat down as if this was another normal Saturday night for him. Joe kept staring at the bar when he finally broke, "So, is that a normal occurrence? Or did you tell everyone to pull that stunt so we'd think she's cool?"

Rich snorted, "God, I wish we were that coordinated. No. This is Az's favorite bar. And again, she grew up here so a lot of those people have known Az since she was just a wee tot."

He shrugged, "Everyone loves Az, I don't know what to tell you."

Ben felt his head nodding in agreement, then without thinking, asked, "Do you love Az?"

Rich's head snapped up so quickly he felt something pop in his neck and Joe's eyes widened a comical amount at Ben's boldness.

Rich coughed as he tried to find the right words, "Yeah, but like a sister. I'm ace, so, romantic feelings? Not my thing."

Ben felt like he was going to pass out. Joe could see the gears turning in his friends head and decided to help drive the point home and asked Rich point blank, "So, you and Az are not dating?"

"Nope." Rich popped the 'p' with extra verve, keeping his eyes trained on Ben.

Ben coughed into his hand, "So, uh, is she-uh-dating anyone, then?" He slouched down in his chair, hoping to offset how nervous he sounded with some laid back posturing.

Rich watched the full grown man in front of him sink so low into his chair he almost fell off of it and thought, Jesus, they're both such idiots. I hope they bone all night.

"No. And there hasn't been anyone in a while." Then realizing how that sounded tried to make it better, "Not that there's anything wrong with her! She's amazing, she just puts all of her energy and focus into the marina. Not saying that she wouldn't do the same in a relationship, it's just-AZ! Thank GOD you're back!" Rich flung his arms into the air as Az approached their table with a tray full of drinks.

Did you say something that didn't sound great then to make up for it you talked more which made it sound worse?"

"We've known each other too long haven't we?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll be right back." She turned and went back to the bar to return the tray Penelope had given her to transport the drinks.

Penelope managed the bar and was always willing to let Az pick up some shifts bartending when she needed some extra cash. When summer time got to be particularly heady, Penelope would entice Az to work with promises of free shots and unlimited baskets of deep-fried mac and cheese.

"So, Az. Your new friends are, how do I want to say this? Absolutely stunning."

Az kept her eyes down as she slipped the tray on top of the stack behind the bar, "Yeah, I guess. I don't know if I would describe Rich as stunning but-"

A sharp sting landed on her hip causing her to yelp, "What was that for?"

Penelope stood with the towel already rewound and ready to strike again, "You know damn well I'm not talking about Rich and if you don't tell me why blondie can't keep his eyes off your ass I'm gonna smack you again."

She pulled her arm back to show she was serious and Az scampered to the other side of the bar with hands held up, "OKAY! Okay! I'll tell you, just-be cool man. Put the towel down."

Penelope stared at her.

Az rolled her eyes, "If I sleep with 'blondie' tonight do you really want me to be covered with tiny red marks and he's so disgusted by my disfigurement he jumps into the ocean to get away from me?"

Penelope's eyes narrowed as she considered, "Alright, fine." The towel lowered as she tucked it into her back pocket, "But I still want answers. No one that beautiful has come into this bar since last time you came in."

"Lop, you flatter me."

"I know. It's a tactic to get more information from you."

"I should be mad but I'm just so honored you think I'm beautiful I'll tell you anything."

"Alright, what's your social security number?"

"Not that flattered."

"SPILL. NOW." Penelope ordered, slamming her hands on the bar.

Az rolled her eyes, "ALRIGHT, GOD. I went out on my boat this morning and as I pulled back in so was Rich with-"

"I so wish you had said pulling out."

"Will you let me FINISH?"

"Bet you won't be saying that later tonight. Blondie looks like he knows how to eat pussy."

Az threw up her hands, "You know what? No. You don't get to know ANYTHING now because you can't behave yourself. Are you HAPPY?"

Penelope shrugged, "Not as happy as I would have been if you'd said you'd pulled out."

"You're impossible."

"So I'll see you in the morning for coffee and a recap of your sexual escapades?"

"Of course. Love you."

"Love you too," Penelope said to Az's retreating back.

~~~

As she slid into her chair, Az lifted her glass in a toast, "Cheers, I'm glad Rich picked your guys' sorry asses up."

Her eyes met Ben's in the gloom and he saw the Christmas lights reflected in her eyes like so many stars.

"I'm glad that he picked us up too." Ben smiled at Az and let his gaze linger with hers as he took a long pull from the glass.

Az couldn't stop herself from staring at his lips. How full they were. How good they looked wrapped around that glass. How good they would look wrapped around certain parts of her anatomy.

Rich and Joe exchanged glances as Ben and Az fell into a loaded silence. Rich took a gulp from his glass and slammed it onto the table, "WELL. I, for one, am not going to let this night go to waste. It's karaoke time."

Az's eyes lit up as she whipped her head, "You're so right. It absolutely is."

Joe was bouncing up and down in his seat, "Thank GOD someone else brought it up because I was about to ask if I could get dibs on first round."

Ben groaned, "Do we really have to do this? I'm not much of a karaoke guy."

Az turned to him, "You will be after you have about five more of those," indicating the half finished beer in front of him, "so drink up. Because I have a feeling Turn Around Bright Eyes is going to be our big duet."

Ben's mouth fell open in shock as Joe cheered and Rich rolled his eyes, "God, Az. I fucking hate that song. Even when they covered it on Glee it was still a trash heap."

"Everyone hates that song but by god is it the perfect karaoke number."

Rich opened his mouth to argue, mulled over Az's statement and shrugged his shoulders in defeat, "I can't argue with that logic."

"Oh real help you are." Ben shot to Rich.

"Sorry Benny Boy. We all gotta pay the piper for free drinks somehow. In this case, it's total humiliation in front of an audience." .

Ben rolled his eyes and downed the rest of his drink as Az, Joe and Rich cheered. "Let's get this fucking over with."

~~~

"CAUSE I'M MISTER BRIGHTSIIIIIDEEEEE! GUITAR SOLO!" Ben launched into an epic air guitar solo, complete with white man overbite, as Rich gawked.

"Holy shit, he's such a dork, I can't believe you want to sleep with him, Az. Az?" Rich looked over to see Az flailing as she air drummed along, threatening to hit anyone within a five foot radius.

Joe was blissfully jamming to the air bass guitar, eyes closed, not a care in the world.

Rich shook his head in amazement as he finished the last of his drink.

The table was littered with pint glasses, most empty, a couple filled with a sliver of amber liquid. They had worked their way through most of the karaoke classics. Joe's rendition of Livin' On a Prayer brought the bar down and Az's version of I Wanna Dance With Somebody definitely had Ben feeling some type of way.

They were well into hour three of karaoke, with most of the patrons clearing out after hour one. Penelope had gotten several incriminating videos of Az that she could barely wait to show her in the morning.

Lop was currently wiping down the counter, eyeing the plug of the karaoke machine as the final notes of Mr. Brightside died out as Ben looked up, surprised to find himself on his knees after his impassioned performance.

Az, Rich and Joe were on their feet, whopping and clapping wildly as Penelope gave Ben a nod, the most encouragement she had given him all night.

Ben stood up and gave a bow then stumbled as a whirlwind of laughter and cheering enveloped him in her arms, carrying the scent of coconut and salt with it. Az was laughing in his ear as she hugged him and pulled back to reveal her smile, making the whole room seem to glow. He stared at it, committing it to memory.

"C'mon Benny boy, it's last call." Az was saying as she wrapped an arm around his waist, "and Lop does not like it when we push our welcome."

"Some of us have things to do Az!" Lop called from the bar where she was stacking glasses.

Az rolled her eyes as Ben slung a heavy arm around her shoulders. Joe and Rich were by the door holding it open for the two of them as they sauntered through, the alcohol leaving them warm and loose but coherent.

"So, have you seen the boat we arrived on?"

Az snorted, "You mean the one that belongs to my marina? Yeah, I may have seen it once or twice." She pinched his waist as he protested, "Alrigh'! It was a conversation starter. You know? One of those things were I say something, then you say something else?"

"I know how conversation works, Ben."

"Are ya sure? Because you've been pretty quite."

Az's mouth dropped open in shock as she stuttered a response and Ben chuckled warmly as he pulled her in closer to his side, "'M jokin' love. Don't worry."

Az's head lolled into his chest, trying to hide her grin at being called love, as she groaned, "Have I told you you're a giant pain in my ass, Hardy?"

"A few times, maybe." Ben smirked as his hand slid down her back to rest on the curve of her back that sloped down to her ass.

Az inhaled sharply as she felt his hand move lower. Ben tried to act like he hadn't heard her but his widening smirk gave him away.

They rounded the corner and saw the marina rise up before them. The sound of the ocean softly lapping against the hull of the boats bobbing up and down momentarily bringing a sense of serenity to Az.

Ben was transfixed by the change that came over her when she stared out at the ocean. The wind picked up her hair, like the wind was trying to pick her up and take her where she needed to go. Her eyes were fixed on a spot out on the horizon and Ben wanted to follow those eyes wherever they went. He inhaled the scent of the sea and knew that he would always think of Az whenever he smelled the ocean from now on.

"Sing us a SONG on the PIANO man! Sing us a SONG TONIGHT!" Ben turned to see Rich and Joe stumbling up the dock, arms wrapped around each other and he couldn't figure out who was helping who continue to be upright more.

"Are they both managing to hold themselves upright? On each other?" Az had turned in Ben's arms when she heard the singing. She had drapped her arms around his neck, peering over his shoulder and could feel his chest vibrate as he laughed.

"We shouldn't judge too much, we're kind of doing the same thing." He murmured into her ear.

"Yeah but, we're not THAT intoxicated. I can stand up perfectly fine on my own, see?" Az extricated herself from Ben's hold and he immediately shivered at the loss of contact. Az stood before him and over-exaggeratedly stamped her feet into the ground and put her fists on her hips as she beamed at Ben.

Ben couldn't help the smile that broke over his face and Az's own smile grew wider as she contemplated the beautiful boy before her. His eyes reminded her so strongly of the ocean, always changing color but still feeling like home. He was charming, kind and funny. She was smitten. And she was fairly sure he was as well.

But she didn't want to assume. It would rip her from the inside out if she made a move and he gently let her down with that accent and those eyes looking at her with pity. She couldn't handle that.

Ben watched as a conflict raged behind Az's eyes, causing her posture to deflate. He tilted his head, trying to decipher what had happened but was jolted forward as Joe rammed the full force of his body mass into Ben's back.

Ben had a height and muscle advantage on Joe but when Joe had alcohol and the love he had for his friends coursing through his veins, no one stood a chance.

"BENNY BOOOY THE PIPES THE PIPES" Joe belted into Ben's ear, causing him to flinch,

"Hey buddy, you doing okay?"

"Ben, I am better than you have ever been or ever will be." Joe's eyes were going in two different directions as he tried to rest a hand on Ben's shoulder but missed by a mile.

Az laughed at Joe as Rich tucked his head into the crook of her neck and started whining about how he just wanted some french fries.

"I uh, seem to have done more damage than I anticipated doing." She sheepishly.

Ben shook his head, "Nah, karaoke brings out the worst in others. It was inevitable."

"Or the best." She said softly and looked at Ben with wide eyes and bit her lip. Ben shifted as he tried to come up with a response but it was challenging with Az staring at him like that and Joe trying to climb Ben's body so he could get a piggy back ride back to their boat.

"AAAAAZZZZZ. Please, I just want some fries!"

Az rolled her eyes and the moment ended as she turned to face Rich and grabbed the sides of his face, "Then by GOD man we are going to get you some fries."

Joe's face lit up, "FRIES? I also want those!"

Az giggled as Rich planted a sloppy kiss to the side of her face, "You're worse than the Springer's dog but c'mon gang let's get some starch."

Joe and Rich cheered as they stumbled down the pier towards fries and Az tried to herd them away from the sides so they wouldn't fall into the water. Ben watched them leave and shoved his hands into his pockets. He needed time to think. To be alone. So he made his way on board the boat they had come in on.

He climbed the ladder all the way to the top deck and laid out on his back. His arms crossed behind his head to offer some cushion as he gazed up at the stars.

He wondered what had made Az lose confidence in herself. He assumed he had made it clear he wanted her. Maybe she didn't want him? Maybe that glimmer in her eye was her way of realizing that she just wasn't as into him as he was into her?

He didn't think he could stand watching those eyes fill with pity as they tried to let him down gently.

He sighed, picked out the brightest star and sent up a desperate wish.

star light, star bright, first star I see tonight...

~~~

"I love fries. Almost as much as I love you Az."

"Thanks Richy that's very sweet. And after watching you eat a whole basket of cheese fries in under two minutes that really means something."

Rich mumbled something about how potatoes were his one true love as he drifted off to sleep, curled up on the recliner in Az's living room while Joe had taken up more space on the couch than a man that size should have. Checking to make sure both were asleep and not in danger of choking on their own vomit, she exhaled and scanned her apartment for her phone. The soft glow of it alerted her to its presence on her kitchen counter.

She crept over to pick it up only to be greeted by a text from Lop,

Can't wait to see all the hickies you have tomorrow at breakfast.

She rolled her eyes and wiggled her thumbs over the keyboard as she tried to formulate a proper response. Should she tell Lop the truth? That she was so terrified of being rejected by Ben that she wouldn't even take a chance? Or should she just ignore her text and go to bed?

She groaned, letting the weight of her head fall forward until it. thunked against her phone as she contemplated what to do.

She lifted her head, locked her phone and slide open the balcony door. The ocean air filled her with calm as she surveyed the boats bobbing in the waves.

She looked up and found the brightest star she could. She closed her eyes and with her whole heart started to wish.

star light, star bright, first star I see tonight...

~~~

30 minutes had crept by and her eyes refused to close. She did everything she could think of to relax and fall asleep. She had counted sheep. She had focused on her breathing. She had pulled up an ASMR YouTube channel.

(She quickly exited out once she realized she was only clicking on videos that had ocean sounds in them and realized how idiotic that was.)

In a moment of pure frustration she threw a temper tantrum, flinging her limbs, beating the mattress with her fists. She cursed her body and brain for failing her when she needed peace the most.

She took three deep breaths and wondered where Ben was for the 500th time that night. After leading the Drunk Brigade to get cheesy fries and when she asked him if he wanted anything and didn't receive a response, that's when she realized he wasn't with them.

When she tried to get Joe to give her Ben's number so she could check on him, he had pulled up Spotify and started blaring "Boss Ass Bitch" which meant Az had to wrestle it from him and put a stop to it before the other drunk individuals standing in line started a mosh pit.

After making peace with the fact that she definitely wasn't going to sleep any time soon, or even at all, she got up and hoped a walk would clear her head. Walking along the dock always put her at ease.

As the wind whipped around her, she pulled the sweatshirt she had thrown on over her shorts closer to her to combat the chill. She had planned to walk to her boat but something pulled her towards the boat that Rich, Ben and Joe had sailed in on. She liked going to the very top of it, it gave her the best view of the stars. When she was younger she liked to spend nights up there, reaching her hand up and pretending she could pluck the stars out of the sky.

She got to the top and froze as she saw a figure laying on the ground. Immediately her heart sped up and she thought through all the possibilities.

It could be some homeless person. They wandered the boardwalk sometimes. Maybe I could just leave and deal with it in the morning?

Oh god, what if it's a dead body? Was her next immediate thought, Then I'll somehow be blamed for the murder and go to jail and my whole life will be ruined.

When the body stirred, the relief she felt was short lived as she realized she would have to deal with a very LIVE body.

Direct action is the best action. Catch them off guard, knock them out, then call the cops. She slowly slid her phone out of her pocket and dialed 9 1. She nodded to herself, took a deep breath in and raced onto the deck waving her phone over her head,

"YOU BETTER TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE DOING HERE RIGHT NOW BEFORE THE COPS GET HERE ASSHOLE"

Ben jolted awake, not even realizing he had fallen asleep, and tried to sit up only for his head to collide with something solid, causing him to fall down on his back groaning.

Az rubbed the spot where her head had made contact with the mystery perp and wondered briefly if she was out of her depth if this person was willing to stoop so low as to headbutt her.

Ben carefully opened his eyes as the voice said, "Okay, headbutting someone is low ESPECIALLY when you're the one who broke onto MY boat and besides, NO ONE wins in a headbutt."

He recognized that voice.

He knew that voice.

"Az! Az. Az, look at me. Look! It's me! It's Ben! And I didn't mean to headbutt you, but, christ, you have a dense skull."

Ben? Az lowered her arm as the words cut through her adrenaline fueled rampage. She looked down at the figure below her and fully understood what had happened when her eyes met the blue ones staring up at her.

"Jesus, woman. You know how to give a wake up call."

Az breathed a sigh of relief, "Well you know how to scare someone! Why didn't you tell me you were up here?"

Ben looked down as he shuffled his feet and muttered, "Needed some time by myself." Az cocked an eyebrow in disbelief as she chewed over what he had just admitted to her.

Why did he need time to think? Was he worrying about her? That unspoken moment on the pier that was ruined by Az's overthinking and Rich's need for potato products after a night of drinking?

"Wait, why are you up here? Shouldn't you be holding Rich's hair back as he vomits into a toilet or something?" Ben shot back at her accusingly.

It was Az's turn to become sheepish and she rubbed the back of her neck, "I, um, I couldn't sleep."

Ben looked at her for a loaded moment before scooting over and patting the spot next to him, "Well, you're welcome to join me. I don't think I'll be going back to sleep anytime soon. Too much adrenaline coursing through my body."

Az whacked him on the shoulder as she settled next to him and the smirk on Ben's face grew as he turned his face up to the night sky.

"You come out here a lot when you can't sleep?"

Az hummed, "It's peaceful. Helps me put things into perspective."

Ben nodded, "Wish I lived near water. But I've forests near me which helps. Something calming abou' trees ya know?

"Yeah. Forests. Oceans. Mountains. Anything in nature that's bigger than you that reminds you of how small you are and how big the universe is. And how lucky we are to even be here at all."

"Oh, we're jumping right into the Deep Thoughts, huh?"

Az smirked, "I'm quite quick Hardy, ya gotta keep up."

Ben knocked his elbow against hers, "Well if we're jumping into deep thought territory, every time I look at the night sky I find the brightest star and wish on it. Helps me realize what I want to focus on in my life."

Az's eyes grew wide, "Wait, for real?"

"Yeah. Been doin' it since I was a kid. Why?"

"I do the same thing."

"You're joking."

"I swear on my LIFE."

Ben chuckled, "Well, I don't think we have to go that extreme, I believe you but, wow. Huh. Guess the universe is trying to tell us something."

"Guess so." Az smiled back at Ben and when he didn't drop his gaze, dropped hers first.

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she drew her knees into her chest, still feeling the intensity of Ben's gaze on her.

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'? Not allowed to look at you?"

"You are but it just, I don't know, makes me nervous?" She flinched at the uptick that ended her remark and mentally chided herself for not sounding more confident.

"I make you nervous?" Ben could hear the smugness in his voice and knew he should tone it down but couldn't find it in himself to do so.

"Oh my god, I'm going to regret telling you this, but, yeah. I mean, obviously."

Ben leaned back on his hands as he studied Az's profile, "Why do I make you nervous? Not like I'm intimidating."

"You kind of are though?" When Ben made a shocked noise Az straightened up to face him, "No! No, no. Not in like, a bad way? Just in like, a, ah, you're very attractive?" She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and pulled her hands into the sleeves of her sweatshirt and balled them up, "And, uh, for someone like me, that's very intimidating."

"You're intimidated by me because I'm...attractive?"

"Yes, Ben! I think you're hot! Smoking! A total smoke show! You happy? And I know that you think I'm just some dorky girl who likes cheesy 80's ballads but," she flung her hands towards the heavens as if to illustrate how fruitless it would be for him to like her, "here we are."

Ben could barely contain the smile that threatened to break his face in two. "Alrigh' well, first of all, thank you for sharing your real feelings." Az clambered up, muttering about how she had embarrassed herself enough when Ben hoisted himself up and grabbed her wrist, "but don't assume you know what I'm thinking."

Az's body stilled and Ben knew she was listening despite her not meeting his gaze, "You just thought I felt one way abou' you? That's a little short sighted. You ever assume you know everything about the universe? I've got whole universes inside me too!"

Az peeked at Ben through her eyelashes, "You get that line from the last John Green novel you read?"

Ben gently grasped her chin with his thumb, angling her head up so she would fully look at him, "Maybe I did. There's a reason he's so popular. But don't interrupt me." Az pouted and Ben traced the outline of her lip with his thumb.

She shuddered at the contact and Ben stared into her eyes, "I've wanted to kiss you since the moment I saw your hair shining in the sun and your two middle fingers greeting us as we pulled into port. I couldn't believe someone as beautiful as you wanted to hang out with someone like me. I mean, fuck, Az," he wheezed out a laugh, "I've been losing my mind trying to find ways to be closer to you. Make you laugh. Make you smile. I sang fuckin' Turn Around Bright Eyes just because you asked."

"And you were the best duet partner I've ever had for that song."

"While I take great pride in that, I'm on a role here."

"Sorry. Please continue."

Ben took a deep breath in, "Az, I've wanted you ever since I saw you. But then I got to know you and, fuck, that feeling has just increased. So please," his voice dropped to a whisper as he ducked his head and his lips brushed over Az's as he asked, "Can I kiss you?"

Az's breath came out in shaky bursts and she didn't trust herself to move. She nodded and Ben's lips melted against hers as he cradled the back of her head and wrapped an arm around her waist.

It felt like everything in Az was aflame. The fire that had been building in her ever since she laid eyes on Ben had reached a fever pitch.

His lips moved against hers and he groaned. Her lips were just as soft as he expected them to be.

She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. He grasped her waist with both of his hands, fingers digging into her sides to ground her to him. As if he needed to make sure that she was real and she wasn't going anywhere.

Az had no plans of leaving anytime soon. She stroked the short hairs that grew at the nape of his neck, causing Ben to grip her waist tighter and she let out a moan.

Ben almost came as she moaned into his mouth. He could feel his cock growing harder and when Az pressed herself closer to him she could feel it as well.

She pulled back from his mouth with reluctance and let out a shaky breath, "Someone's excited." Ben threw all delicacies to the wind, "My cock has been hard since we started hanging out." Az's eyes grew wide and Ben could clearly see how blown out her pupils were.

The wind blew a few strands of hair across her flushed cheeks and with a glance down, Ben could see her chest rising and falling rapidly. With that thought, he traced his hands slowly up her sides as Az's breath hitched in her throat.

"Is this okay?" Ben whispered as his hands crept up her sides, agonizingly slow, leaving a trail of fire in their wake as Az nodded. She could barely keep herself upright, there was no way she could form words.

Ben smirked down at her as his thumbs grazed the sides of her breasts and Az jumped. "Easy, it's okay" he whispered as he leaned down to capture her lips with his once again.

"I know but, fuck, Ben. I've wanted you all day." Az whined and Ben was certain in that moment there was nothing more attractive than the sound Az breathlessly telling him how badly she wanted him.

"Well, you don't have to wait anymore." He whispered against her lips and Az pressed her lips to his as she gripped his shoulders.

Ben's hands continued their agonizingly slow pace to the front of Az's chest where he realized she wasn't wearing a bra and he let out a groan, "Fuck, Az, I need you."

"Who's the impatient one now?" Az smirked as she nipped at his bottom lip and Ben whined.

"Is there anywhere we can go? Preferably with a bed?"

"Inside, there's a room at the end of the hall."

Ben planted a deep kiss on Az and pulled her down the hall. Az's head was still reeling with how he had just kissed her and was only slightly aware of Ben leading her through the door and down the hall of the boat to one of the bedroom's that was located on board.

Ben turned the knob and let the door swing open as he pressed another kiss to Az's lips. Her hands were clawing at his back and he registered distantly that he might have scratches on there that he would have to explain to Joe.

Not that he cared.

Az fumbled behind her as she kicked the door, briefly hoping it was closed enough. Ben had moved down to kissing her neck and she couldn't think about anything else.

She bent her head back to allow him more access as he nipped at the column of her throat, causing her to release little moans every time that were sending Ben's head spinning.

Az yelped as Ben picked her up, causing her to wrap her legs around his waist instinctively, and he deposited her on the bed where he stared down at her as she pushed herself up to her elbows and stared back. She cocked an eyebrow at him, "What?"

"Nothing, you're just...fuck. You're beautiful."

Az's smile was bashful and she suddenly found it extremely hard to look Ben right in the eye at that moment.

Ben, sensing her shyness leaned down so he was hovering over her body and whispered, "Now's the time when you tell me I'm beautiful."

Az laughed, and remembered this was Ben. Sweet, caring Ben who she had spent all day pining over. She wasn't going to waste another moment getting caught up in her own head.

Ben went back to sucking and licking at Az's neck as one hand reached up underneath her sweatshirt and traced the outline of her breast, causing Az to arch her back.

She whined, "Ben...please."

Ben smirked against her neck, "Please, what?"

"Touch me. Please. I've wanted this all day."

"Hmm, I don't know..."

"Please, sir. I'll do anything." Az breathed out before she could stop herself.

Ben pulled back and stared with wide eyes. Her own eyes were half-lidded as she stared up at him, pupils blown out, cheeks flushed, chest heaving, hips bucking.

Ben cleared his throat, "What-uh-what did you just say?"

A look of worry washed over Az, "Uhm, sir?"

"That's what I thought." he growled.

He leaned down so his lips were right against her ear, "And since my good girl asked so nicely...I guess I'll give her what she wants."

He traced a circle that got smaller and smaller until he was tracing around her nipple as he swung his other leg around so he was straddling her and started to grind his clothed cock into her cunt. Az was only briefly embarrassed thinking about how she could cum from grinding against Ben fully clothed like some pre-pubescent 13-year old.

She babbled. "Please, sir. Yes. Oh my god. Fuck. Ben. Please, I need more."

Ben chuckled, "I've barely touched you. If this is how you're reacting now I can't wait till I tease your little cunt with my fingers, tongue and cock."

"Oh my GOD Ben, please. I need more. Please, I'm begging you."

Ben smirked as he started tweaking her nipple with deft fingers. He brought his other hand up to stroke her throat, testing the waters, "How do you feel about me touching your throat? Do you like that baby girl?"

Az whimpered and nodded as she desperately tried to grind her pussy against Ben's aching cock even more. He hadn't even registered how hard he was. He was so focused on Az and how needy she was, his own needs almost escaped him.

He gently laid a hand over her throat and squeezed the smallest amount which caused Az to throw her head back and let out a moan so loud that Ben was sure every boat in the marina would hear it.

It made his cock twitch.

"That's my good girl." he cooed as he continued to tease her nipple. Az whimpered and reached her hands up in a grabbing motion,

"What is it sweetheart? Use your words."

"Kiss me. Please."

Ben smiled and moved his hand from around her throat to cradle her cheek, "Of course sweetheart." The kiss he gave her was sweet, gentle and deep which caused Az's head to spin even more at the difference between this kiss and his filthy actions. Az wrapped her legs around his waist to bring him as close to her as possible.

Ben chuckled, "You're already so needy."

Az rolled her eyes, "Shut up." and went back in for another kiss.

Their lips moved together as Ben reached his hands down to the edge of Az's sweatshirt and gave it a little tug.

Az pulled away and ripped the sweatshirt off in record time. Ben sat up and stared down at Az's body, finally exposed to him.

"Holy shit."

Az fidgeted under his gaze, "What? Not what you thought?" bracing herself for him to tell her he had changed his mind.

"Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined you having a body as amazing as the one you have."

He leaned down to wrap his lips around her nipple as his other hand came to play with the one his mouth wasn't currently occupying. Az groaned but couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she reached a hand up to tug at his hair.

Ben switched from one nipple to the other as he glanced up at Az, "Couldn't let the other one feel left out."

"God forbid" Az breathed out as she arched her back after he gave a particularly hard nip.

He chuckled as he came up to plant another kiss on her lips, "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

Her eyes snapped open as she felt his hands travel down her body, past her breast, where he gave her nipple one more tweak, down her waist, down to the top of her thigh as he danced his fingers up her inner thigh. Teasing her as he brought his fingers close to where she most wanted him.

"Ben..."

His fingers stilled, "What did you call me?"

She whimpered, "Sir..."

"Better." His fingers danced closer to her cunt.

"Sir...please. I need you." Her hips were bucking desperately and Ben looked down at the beautiful woman underneath him and couldn't believe he had gotten so lucky.

He fiddled with the edge of her shorts, as she whined. He smirked and moved to trace the outline of her pussy through her underwear, he took in a sharp intake of air, "Fuck, baby girl. You're soaking wet for me."

Az whined, "That's what you do to me. That's all for you, sir. Please."

Ben groaned as he bent his head down to capture her lips with his as he dipped a finger into her panties and teased the lips of her pussy open.

Her thighs fell open easily as she bucked her hips to get more of his finger inside her. Ben slowly dipped one finger inside of her, when he felt how wet she was, he added a second, and then a third.

Then removed them entirely.

"Baby girl, flip over onto your stomach for me."

Az looked at him curiously but did as she was told, "Like this?" she asked as she looked back at him and bit her lip. Ben groaned and palmed himself through his pants as she looked up at him with her big eyes.

She glanced down at his bulge, "Can I suck your cock?"

Ben almost choked. "Holy fuck sweetheart. You're gonna make me cum if you keep talking like that."

Az giggled and then moaned as Ben thrust his fingers back into her, "I would love for you to suck my cock but first, I really want you to cum for me." He said as he kept thrusting his fingers in and out of her dripping core.

The angle had his fingers hitting her sweet spot right away. He kept palming himself through his jeans. He pumped his fingers slowly into Az's cunt, feeling her walls clench around his fingers, her ass moving up and down as she fucked his fingers, trying to fill herself up more. She whined when Ben ripped his fingers out of her.

"Ben..." She looked behind her and saw that his shirt was off and was making equally quick work of his jeans and boxer briefs. "Take off your pants. Now." he growled as he stepped out of his own, letting his cock spring free. Az was transfixed by it. It was huge. She licked her lips as she saw the pink tip, leaking pre-cum. She groaned as she imagined wrapping her lips around it, making Ben cum down her throat. Swallowing every single drop of his cum as he moaned.

"Baby girl?" Ben's voice broke Az out of her reprieve and she quickly reached her hands down and shimmied out of her panties and shorts and threw them into the room.

She pushed herself up to her hands and knees and stared at Ben over her shoulder, "Well?"

Ben licked his palm and stroked his cock a few times as he admired the view of Az's ass in front of him, her pussy glistening with her wetness.

He licked the fingers that had been in Az's cunt and tasted how sweet she was as he walked forward. He inserted his fingers back into her cunt making her hang her head and groan.

He pumped them in and out a few times and smacked Az's ass, "Lie down on your back."

She yelped but did as she was told. Ben looked into her eyes as she laid down, "I'm so sorry, I should have asked before I spanked you, I'm so sorry-"

Az cut him off with a kiss, "No! No. It was so hot. Sir." She added as she smirked up at him. Ben chuckled as he kissed her lips and moved to kiss down her body.

Az's breath got shallower the closer he got to her pussy. He nipped at the inside of her thighs as he just barely brushed her clit with the tip of his tongue.

Az almost levitated off the bed, "FUCK. BEN. Please!"

Ben chuckled and inserted two fingers into her cunt and started making obscene sucking noises as he sucked on her clit. Az always used to say she didn't understand why people made so much noise during sex but now? With Ben working his magic on her with his fingers and tongue? She didn't know how she could be quiet.

All too soon, she felt the familiar burning sensation in her stomach as she reached her edge, "Ben..Sir.."

He hummed against her clit which made her throw her head back and let loose a new wave of moans, "FUCK. If you do that again, I'm going to cum."

"Cum on my face then. Please." Ben said as he hummed against her clit and made a come hither motion with his fingers causing Az to completely unravel. The heat that had been building inside of her all day consumed her body as her vision went white.

Ben kept lapping until she whimpered and tried to move away, even then he kept slowly pumping his fingers in and out of her.

"Ben, please..." her voice came out as a whisper as she tugged on his hair to indict she wanted him to move up. Ben placed a final sweet kiss on her clit before slowly kissing his way back up her body.

Az let out a deep sigh as she closed her eyes and let the few remaining pulses of pleasure wash over her, relishing in the attention he was bestowing upon her.

Ben paused as he took in Az's body, stretched out below him and whined in the back of his throat.

The green of Az's eyes were revealed as she smirked at the needy sounds that escaped Ben.

She quickly pushed Ben off of her and before he could protest too much she straddled him and bent her head down to nip at the line of his throat which caused him to cry out.

Az giggled, "Does that feel good sir?"

Ben's eyes were rolling into the back of his head as Az's core ground against his exposed cock, he could feel the wetness as he bucked his hips up into her, "God, yes, sweetheart, please that feels amazing, don't stop..."

Ben's voice trailed off as Az started kissing his collarbone, then his chest, then his stomach, when he finally registered what her intentions were, he moaned as his eyes fluttered closed.

Az peered up at him through her lashes and couldn't stop herself from admiring how beautiful he looked. Eyelashes resting on his cheeks, chest heaving, cheeks the color of an English rose and his eyes...were staring right at her as she placed a soft kiss onto his cock.

He whined and Az's hips bucked involuntarily at the noise. She smiled up at him and he reached a hand down to caress her cheek.

She hummed and pressed a kiss into his palm. She turned her head back to the more important, and pressing, task at hand.

She kissed Ben's thighs as he threw his head back and sighed in ecstasy.

In between kisses, Az teased "I've barely touched you and you're already this needy."

Only a sliver of blue could be seen as she looked up at Ben, "If I wasn't so desperate for you to suck my cock, I would have a much better comeback" he breathed out in between moans.

Az smirked and curled her fingers around his cock as she licked her lips in anticipation.

Ben was huge. She shouldn't have been surprised, Lop had even said he carried himself with an energy that seemed to imply he was hung, but god.

She wrapped one hand loosely around his cock and licked a wide stripe from his balls to the tip where she placed a gentle kiss on it.

The groan Ben let out had her swinging a leg around so she could grind her core into Ben's thigh as she continued licking his cock.

She finally, agonizingly slowly, wrapped her lips around the head of Ben's cock and started to bob her head up and down.

Ben reached his hands down to grasp her hair and move it out of her face.

Az spit on his cock and started working her hands up and down as she peered up at Ben, "Thanks for the hair tie."

Ben bucked his hips up into her hands as he gasped, "Not so much for you, mainly wanted to see your lips wrapped around my cock. Been thinking about that all day."

Az laughed and kept one hand pumping the length that she couldn't fit into her mouth. She looked up at Ben through her eyelashes and heard him mutter, "Fuck. Having your lips around me is even hotter than I imagined."

Az hummed and Ben screamed, "FUCK" and pulled her off of his cock, mashing his lips against hers in a frenzy, "If I don't fuck you now I'm going to hate myself forever."

Az laughed gently against his lips, "Well, we can't have that now, can we?"

Ben nipped at her bottom lip as he brought a hand up to lightly smack her ass, "Someone seems to have forgotten their place, baby girl."

Az whimpered as she felt the sting, "I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again."

"Damn right," Ben said and stilled as his eyes met Az's with concern, "I don't have any condoms on me. Are there any on this boat?"

Az pressed a kiss to his cheek, "I have an IUD. It's fine. Just, please fuck me right now. Please? I'm begging you."

Ben exhaled and grabbed Az's hips with such strength that Az knew for certain there'd be bruises the next day.

Az clambered on top of him and lined up her entrance to the tip of Ben's cock, she slowly lowered down and the feel of her walls being stretched by his girth had her letting loose a string of curses that were almost drowned out by Ben's.

"Fuck, Ben, you're so big, god." Az squeezed her eyes shut as she bottomed out.

Ben squeezed her hips as he took every ounce of willpower not to buck up into her and fuck her until all she could say was his name, "Jesus, sweetheart, you feel incredible. This is so much more amazing than I ever could have imagined."

Az let out a shaky laugh as she started to roll her hips forward and back. Getting used to Ben's length, working it over. Ben couldn't take his eyes off her as Az's hips started rocking harder and harder against his cock.

He reached his hands up and grasped her breasts, rolling her nipples in between his fingers as Az threw her head back and let out a moan. Ben didn't think there was a better view in the entire world than this one.

Az reached a hand down to rub her clit as she rocked her hips back and forth and Ben's hips snapped up into her as his hands worked on her nipples. She felt her core tightening and that familiar warmth start building inside her for the second time.

She gasped, "Ben...sir...Ben..I'm so close, fuck, please don't stop, please"

Ben growled, "I don't plan on stopping any time soon, sweetheart."

Az moaned as she rubbed her clit harder and finally with a tweak of her nipples, Az felt herself coming undone around Ben's cock.

As she came out of her haze she could hear Ben babbling about how good she was, how tight she was, how he wanted to cum so badly. Az slowly leaned down and pressed a kiss to Ben's lips, causing him to pause in his actions.

She pulled back and smiled at him and he smiled at her. He gently stroked her sides, then grabbed on to her waist and flipped them over so Az's back hit the bed with a "OOF" and Ben ended up on top, hands on either side of her head.

He grinned down at her as she rubbed her hands up and down his arms, "Think you're so special huh?"

Ben's grin grew wider as he snapped his hips into her and Az broke down into moans and strained to get more of his cock inside of her. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Yeah, I like to think so."

"Please. Just fuck me."

Ben breathed out a laugh, "You don't have to ask twice." And started thrusting into Az as she grasped onto his shoulders, arching her back.

Ben could feel his thrusts getting sloppy and knew he was close. He reached a hand down and rubbed Az's clit, "Baby girl, think you got one more in you? I want you to cum with me."

Az nodded as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, "Uh-huh, yes sir, please, I want to cum again so badly, please please please please..." the last please fell on deaf ears as Az reached her climax for the third time. Her walls clenched around Ben's cock, pulling the best orgasm he'd ever had in his life out of him shooting thick, hot ropes of cum into her pussy as they both moaned and held onto each other as if they were life rafts keeping each other afloat.

Ben opened his eyes as he and Az caught their breath. They looked at each other and burst into laughter as they came down from their highs.

"Wow, uh, that was-"

"Amazing?" Ben asked, shyly.

Az's eyes grew warm as she brought a hand up to caress his cheek, "Yeah. Definitely worth the wait."

"Well, sorry. I didn't want to assume you wanted this as badly as I did." Ben whispered as he gazed down at Az with a soft look in his eyes

"Hmm, yes. Because a man who looks like a Greek god and can also make me cum THREE TIMES is clearly someone I don't want anything to do with." Az joked as she pulled Ben's face down to give him a gentle kiss.

Ben rolled his eyes as Az giggled. Which turned into a whimper as he pulled his cock out of her and he chuckled when he saw her pout, "Alright love. None of that. I'll be right back."

Az sighed and stretched out on the bed. She heard water running in the bathroom and Ben emerged with a warm washcloth.

He sat on the bed next to her and gently pulled her knees apart as he cleaned her up. Az smiled her thanks as Ben returned to the bathroom to clean himself up.

He walked out and saw Az had gotten underneath the covers, as he pulled back the covers he smiled, "Is this spot taken?"

A slow grin split her her face as she shook her head and patted the spot next to her.

Ben clambered into bed beside her and when he opened his arms wide, Az snuggled right into them. She sighed contentedly as Ben placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

As they both drifted off to sleep, they both thanked the star they had wished on for making their dream come true.

High above, the star they had both wished on, seemed to shine a little brighter as it hung right above the sleeping couple.

~~~

Rich woke up the next morning with a headache, the feeling that he had fuzz all over his tongue and the need to never consumer alcohol ever again. He groaned as he sat up and saw Joe, who was snoring louder than a man that size should, was still sleeping.

Rich stretched and slowly made his way to the bathroom. As he finished up and walked back out to the living room, he peered into Az's bedroom and saw her bed was empty. He shrugged, Az usually got up early so he figured she was already out on her boat.

After making coffee and taking it out onto Az's porch, he saw her boat still in the port with no sign of activity. He cocked his head, mentally going through a list of places she could be at.

His feet were heavy as he meandered down he dock. When he got closer to the large boat, he had arrived on the other day, he saw that the door on the uppermost floor wasn't closed all the way. Grumbling about how Joe would make a terrible captain, he lumbered aboard to take care of it.

After closing the first door, Rich did a quick sweep of the other areas to make sure everything was good to go to take Joe and Ben back out on the boat today. If Joe could stomach being on a boat after drinking so much. As he reached the floor by the uppermost deck he saw the bedroom door open at the end of the floor with light coming through it.

He crept closer and peered through the crack. He saw Az and Ben, both sound asleep, Az curled up into Ben's chest, Ben's arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

Rich slapped a hand over his mouth and sprinted back to Az's apartment, pumping his fist the whole way.

He quickly dug his phone out of the recliner cushions and texted Lop a million exclamation points, peach emojis and eggplant emojis.

Almost immediately Lop texted back, "I fucking knew it."

Rich laughed as he crept back downstairs, leaving the lovers to wake up in each others arms and to thank their lucky star.

#ben hardy fanfic #ben hardy one shot #ben hardy smut #joe mazzello #original character #OC #original female character #original male character #ben jones fic #ben hardy fic #ben jones smut #ben jones oneshot #boats #i want a BF who sails so badly fuck #ben hardy x reader #ben jones x reader #joe mazzello fic

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opheliathedreamer-blog · 5 years

Text

OKCryptid // Pt. 4 { Merrow }

You scrolled through her profile for what seemed like the twentieth time that afternoon. Her name was Mara. She loved the ocean (of course) and lived with her brother, Murtagh, on the bay. She loved to sing and watch sunsets and kiss in the rain. Her profile also stated that she was extroverted and preferred a significant other “with which to share life’s excitement.” You were rather shy by nature; you preferred to listen rather than rant, and it was a bit hard for you to initiate relationships, romantic or otherwise. That was why you worked at an assistant living facility. Most of the elderly were eager to share their stories and, when they weren’t, they appreciated your companionable silence.

You were, however, so taken with Mara that you wanted to initiate a conversation. But how?

After a few moments of worrying your bottom lip, you typed a message and nervously tapped send.

You: Hello! I saw that I matched with you

You: Mara is a beautiful name

A minute or two passed before you received a reply.

Mara: Thank you

Mara: so is Y/N

You: Thank you

You: I saw that you like to sing

You: What songs?

Mara: Songs in Gaeilge mostly

Mara: It reminds me and my brother of home

You weren’t exactly an expert on Merrows. You just knew that they were a bit different than the average mermaid and that they originated from the shores of Ireland. Living so far from home must have been difficult for them, you thought.

You: I would love to hear you sing sometime

You: Do you miss home?

Mara: We miss it sorely, but we visit as often as we can

Mara: And business is better out here

Mara: We get more money for pearls and don’t have to compete with other Merrows

You: There’s also a small community of mer-people here

You: I hope they’ve been kind to you

Mara: That they have ^^

Mara: We’re mighty fond of our selkie cousins too

Despite your trepidations regarding your reserved nature, you two had quite a bit to talk about. You discussed your music preferences and shared with her links to songs from your own culture, which she seemed to thoroughly enjoy. You also revealed that you loved staring at the ocean but were always too fearful of swimming too far past the shallows. You hated not knowing what was beneath you— sharks, giant squid, less benevolent species of mer-people. You had read reports of factions that still ate humans.

Mara: Lol small blame for that

Mara: You were born and reared on land

Mara: But the ocean is a right beautiful place

Mara: No more dangerous than your forests or caves with the proper guide

You: Perhaps you could show me

Mara: Perhaps I could

Before you knew it, you had scheduled a meeting with her for the end of the week. And, although she seemed fairly easy-going and kind, you couldn’t help but run through scenarios in your head of possible things that could go wrong, especially since she’d invited you to join her in the water. You knew for an aquatic creature that was no small thing. It meant that they wanted to share their world with you. Not only did the show of trust humble you, but your childhood fears also reared their tentacled heads.

Finally, after days of mental gymnastics, and hours of pondering what swimsuit to wear, you finally left and made the drive to the docks. It took you a while to find the siblings’s store, Sea Gem Exchange. When you did, a selkie named Mackenzie pointed you to the footpath that led to the boat.

It was painted a striking emerald green. On board, nestled in between what you assumed were crab cages and fishing lines were buckets filled with oysters. You searched the languidly swaying waves for Mara.

“Ey, what’re ye doin’ here?”

The barked inquiry caused you to jump. A male Merrow stood glaring at you from the boat’s prow. His wild green hair, half-buried under a feathered red cap, ruffled in the light breeze, and you could see that his crooked nose was flushed in stark contrast to his scaled body. His eyes were large and dark, almost black in color, and when he spoke again you saw that his serrated teeth were long and a lighter shade of green than his scales.

“Ye gonna gawk all day, bodach? What are ye doin’ here?”

You swallowed thickly and adjusted the bag slung from your shoulder. “I, uh, wanted to see Mara. Are you Murtagh?”

He crossed his finned arms over his chest. “Oo wants t’know?”

You hesitantly padded closer to the docked vessel. “My name’s Y/N. I met Mara online. She invited me out to the bay today, said she wanted to show me something. I’m sorry if I’ve come at a bad time. If you want, I can—”

With a growl, he stalked towards the boat’s starboard side. “Mara! Cad faoi sa diabhal a bhfuil sé ag caint? Gabh anseo!” When he didn’t receive an immediate answer, he swung his legs over the railing and dived in.

You fidgeted in place for several moments. You didn’t want to cause a fuss, especially with her brother, but you had been looking forward to meeting her in person. Maybe she had forgotten today was the day? Or maybe you had gotten it wrong? You pulled out your phone, and you were about to check your calendar notifications before a series of splashes stole your attention.

Murtagh, still sputtering in his native tongue, had emerged along with a more delicate, yet just as stalwart, figure. The female Merrow’s face was heart-shaped and covered with delicate scales of light chartreuse, which glistened along with the water droplets that decorated her like jewels. Her hair, in contrast to her brother’s, was in an elaborate braid laced with bits of seashells, but her eyes were just as dark and her teeth just as sharp.

“Feck off wid ye!” she said. “Ye told me I could do what I pleased an’ ye wouldn’t bother me none.”

“Twas afore ye brought them.” He gestured to you, and you couldn’t help but wince. “Yer right thick in the head not ta have learned yer lesson. What’ll ye do? Wait till they have ye trapped, forced ta care fer hearth ‘n home widout a glimpse o’ the sea? The surface hasn’t nearly changed so much as ye think.”

“Deartháir, yer makin’ a holy show o’ yerself.”

“Obv’ously not enough.” He roughly exhaled. “We’ve been through this afore. I jus’ don’t want—”

Mara’s eyes narrowed. When she spoke, her dulcet tones, although cool, lashed with all the force of waves upon rock. “Not another word. Now, go ‘way from around us. We’ll talk later. I’ll not be havin’ ye scare ‘em off.”

Murtagh glanced at his sister, then at you, then his sister again. Finally, he waved his hands up in the air with a hiss. “If I be right, don’t come cryin’ ta me.”

You watched as he climbed back onto the boat, first by using his muscular arms and then his legs once they separated from a tail back into two limbs. Mara glared after him before glancing at you with a furrowed brow. You readjusted your bag’s strap as a means of distraction. You felt awful that you were the cause of so much trouble.

“I’m mortified that ye had ta see tha’.”

You forced a smile in order to reassure her. “It’s all right. He just sounded concerned, and I know a lot of individuals like you are still trying to adjust to being out in the open like this.” You sheepishly rubbed the back of your neck. “I’ve also heard that humans and mer-creatures don’t exactly have the best history.”

“Yer right, but that doesn’t mean that both sides can’t work ta fix things.” She offered you a hesitant half-smile. “I understand if ye want ta leave. Murtagh can be a real arse… an’ I know how ye feel about the water.”

Your expression softened into one that was a bit more genuine. The hope in her eyes told you that she wanted this to work just as much as you did. “You said the ocean could be beautiful with the proper guide. I’d still love to have you show me, if you’re still offering.”

Her smile widened as she nodded. “That I am.”

You left your bag on the docks and gingerly slipped into the water. The briny waves were cold but, after the initial shock wore off, you found them to be a bit more comfortable than you expected. Mara beamed at you and offered her hand. Small claws decorated each lithe fingertip and between each finger was a thin, cream-colored webbing. You placed your hand within her own, noting how slick it was.

“Ye ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

You slid your diving mask into place. Giggling, Mara pulled you underneath the waves. The water enveloped both of your bodies like a silk cocoon, and what sunlight pierced through made her emerald tail and finned back shimmer.

She showed you forests of golden brown and sea green kelp, where fish of myriad sizes and shapes darted to and fro. She demonstrated where her favorite animals, red starfish, dwelled on barnacle-covered rocks and where the stingrays loved to burrow themselves in the silt. She showed you where she had grabbed that day’s catch of oysters and, after she warned you to take in a large breath of air, she wrapped an arm around your waist and led you through a hollowed rock, in which anemones waved as you both passed by.

You emerged for air, Mara by your side, and laughed lightly to yourself as you raked your hair out of your eyes. She had definitely won that bet. The ocean was beautiful with the proper guide, and you hadn’t thought about something charging from the depths and biting you the entire time she was with you.

“Savage, isn’t it?”

“It’s stunning. You see all of that every day?”

“I do.” She grinned, glancing downward. “But it’s better ta have someone ta share it with. Thanks a million fer stickin’ ‘round.”

“A sea tour with a beautiful woman. I can’t think of anything better.” You mustered up the courage to wrap your arms around her neck. “Thank you, Mara. I had a lot of fun today.”

You were relieved when you heard her tinkling laughter and felt her arms return the embrace. Her head nestled into the crook of your neck. “Maybe we can do this again?”

“I think that sounds wonderful.”

As you swam back towards the docked vessel, you asked Mara the question that had been on your mind ever since her altercation with her brother: Why had he seemed so upset upon seeing you? In response, Mara sighed. Her eyelids drooped, and her bottom lip quivered. You feared she was going to cry but, when she spoke, her voice was painfully level.

“I made a mistake a while ago, dated a man who wasn’t the full shilling.” Her fingertips toyed with strands of her hair. “He’d throw shapes if things weren’t jus’ right, if I didn’t act a certain way. An’ if bed was work, he’d sleep on the floor.” She chuckled bitterly. “He wanted me ta be his perfect little wife an’ wait on ‘im hand ’n foot. When I finally got wise wid me brother’s help, I told ‘im I was leavin’. He…” She trailed off, and her eyes clenched shut. Her fingertips trailed upward to rest against the brim of her red cap.

You frowned. “Mara, you don’t have to tell me. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that that happened to you.” If your sister had been in a relationship like that, you’d be a smidgen over-protective, too.

She was silent for several moments before continuing, “Do ye know how significant this hat is ta us?”

“I don’t know much about Merrows, but I can hazard a guess. Red signifies magic in many cultures. Does it have something to do with your shape-shifting?”

Mara nodded. “It’s a cohuleen druith. We’re like our cousins the selkies that way. If one were ta steal it from us, we could never return ta the sea. We’d be helpless.” Her lips pursed. “The man I was wid tried ta steal it from me. That’s why me brother’s so hostile. He’s scared… An’ small blame to ‘im. Here I am wid another human.”

“Mara,” you began quietly. You waited until she looked you in the eye before continuing, “What happened to you was terrible. You and your brother have every right to be angry, but why would I want to take you away from your home, especially after you’ve shown me how beautiful it is?” Her eyes welled with unshed tears when you placed a hand on her shoulder. “Real relationships are always based on equality. I want to be a part of your world, and I would never take you away from it. And if you’d like, I’d be happy to show you mine, but only on your terms. I want you to be happy, Mara.”

Sniffing, she released a shaky chuckle. “You’re so true blue it hurts me.”

“I meant every word,” you reassured. You briefly hesitated before adding, “And I just wanted to say, if you were ever interested in starting a relationship with me, we’ll go as slow as you’d like. I’m in no rush, and I certainly don’t expect you to meet any pre-determined standard. I just want to spend time with you.”

A smile bloomed on her features, hopeful and hesitant. “Ye promise?”

“Promise.”

When you returned to the boat, Murtagh was observing the two of you with a suspicious eye. You climbed back onto the dock, and Mara followed after grabbing a spare towel to cover herself.

You turned to face her brother. “Murtagh?”

“What?” He scowled.

“I think Mara’s very lucky to have a brother that cares as much as you do.” His glower fizzled out of existence, and he blinked, suspicious and confused. “When I come back, maybe we could all have dinner together? Mara told me you like crab, and I still have my mother’s recipe for crab cakes. I’d love for you to try some.”

He shared a brief glance with his sister before turning back to you with a curt nod. “So long as ye don’t burn ‘em. Ye have yerself a deal.” It was a start.

Before you walked back to your car, Mara granted you one last hug. “Ye’d better come back soon.”

“Hey, I made a promise, didn’t I?” You each parted with more than a little hesitation. “Until next time.”

“Until next time, a mhuirnín.”

Notes on Gaeilge Translations:

bodach: clown

Cad faoi sa diabhal a bhfuil sé ag caint? Gabh anseo: What the hell are they saying? Come here!

deartháir: brother

cohuleen druith: enchanted cap

a mhuirnín: my darling

@thetravelerwrites

#OKCryptid #OKCryptid collab #exophilia #female monster x gender neutral reader #merrow x reader #I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!#I'm always down for a chance to explore my native culture #also would anyone be willing to see Murtagh have his own story?#I'm growing a bit attached to him already

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worseandworser · 6 years

Text

Your protector (Mermaid AU)

Ship: Keith/Lance (Voltron)

Summary: When Lance told dad about the fish-boy, he was grounded and left without dinner that night.

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: ambiguous ending

Words: 2,314

A/N: My first Klance and why not mermaid!Keith? This is a gift to captainfettuccine, my beta and future wife <3 Partially based on Your Protector by Fleet Foxes.

read on ao3

Lance would much rather be sailing at the moment. His father told him to stay on the shore today and help his sisters with the week’s laundry, but he ran away as soon as he woke up. It would probably get him grounded but anything was better than sitting on the lake listening to girly gossip.

He liked to walk on the small beach on the southwest of the island. Mostly because it was empty – except for the occasional crab fishers – and also because it had a lot of rocks, allowing small creatures swim between the underwater holes. The waves made swish-swish and during the summer the cicadas made chirp-chirp; Lance liked to imitate both of the sounds when he needed to calm down. It also seemed as if the sand there was softer and colder, so he liked to wriggle his feet and let the feel sooth him from the heat.

They said it had cursed waters, that fish were not the only beings inhabiting the area. The folk people liked to tell stories about the monsters that eat human flesh, but Lance did not believe them. He was not a kid anymore, he was eleven years old! He was old enough to go inside the boat, so he knew nothing of that was real.

Therefore, it felt like a dream when Lance saw him.

He was a boy, like Lance. He looked eleven too, maybe twelve, with wavy black hair going a little bit down his shoulders. He was fair skinned just like the people that gave money to dad to take them to the beaches on the nearby islands, but he had funny pointy eyes that Lance had not seen in anyone before. There were a few scars on his back and even fresh, bleeding marks.

What truly startled Lance though was that he had no legs. Or maybe he had and was hiding them underneath the redfish scales that formed his… tail? Lance was not sure anymore. He was going to ask, about the legs and the scales and why he’d let his hair grow like a girl’s, but the fish-boy dived into the water before he’d had the chance.

When Lance told dad about the fish-boy, he was grounded and left without dinner that night.

Lance was hiding. He did not want to be around when mom was crying, because mom had never cried before and Lance did not know what to do. Usually, when he cried, she would kiss his cheeks and whisper swish swish until he calmed down enough to tell her what had happened. But no one was whispering to her or kissing her cheeks today. They were all just looking at her somberly and saying I’m sorry as if it was their fault or something. Lance did not understand adults at all.

So he went to the beach. He'd found out the name of it – because of course, it had a name, people always liked to name things even that were not theirs, like a beach. It was called The Green Shore beach and it was another adult-thing that Lance did not understand: the shore was not made of greens but of yellowish-white sand. Maybe calling it The Yellowish-White Sand Shore was too big of a name, so they settled for green instead.

It was summer and the air was warm, but the water was cold, cold, cold. The lower temperature was good news, said the older fishermen, since it brings more fish to the fishing nets. Lance wasn’t there to fish though, so he took his clothes off and went for a swim. Or better yet, he just went far enough into the sea for the water to hit just right above his lips.

He stood there, letting his toes and fingers lose sensibility and watching the creatures swim around him as if he was part of the scenario. He came here so many times that he felt part of the scenario.

Lance recognized the boy-fish lurking from the rocks a few meters away. He was hiding too, the water up to his nose and his eyes staring at the human. They’ve been doing this for a whole year now which meant they were friends now, weren’t they? Lance liked to think so since he had never had a friend for such a long time.

They still haven't talked. Boy-fish was shy and he always kept a big distance between them. Lance tried to approach him before, even tried to play splashing water with him, but boy-fish just stared at him.

Today he was being very brave though. He kept swimming closer and closer, his head poking from underwater all the time. Closer and closer and closer…

“You’re crying.”

It wasn’t a question. Lance wanted him to go away.

“My dad is gone.”

Boy-fish stood (that is if one could stand with a tail) the same height as Lance, brows furrowed and wet black hair sticking to his forehead.

“Gone how…?”

Lance gulped.

“He died yesterday on a shipwreck.”

The creature gave an understanding hum and nodded. He didn’t say I’m sorry and Lance would be eternally grateful for that.

“My dad died too, but it was years ago.”

They stared at each other, purple into blue into hearts. When his cheeks begun to heat Lance looked down, but boy-fish lowered himself to keep eye contact.

“What’s your name?”

“Lance.”

“Nice, I’m Keith.” The smile was sweet and warm and inviting. “Wanna play splash?”

Lance smiled back and wiped his cheeks.

Keith was supposed to be on the rocks already. Summer had begun and with it came the best season for fishing, and Keith had promised him they would cross the Blue Bay together. Lance had been sitting on the sand since 6 a.m. and it was 9 now and he wanted to swim. And tell Keith land things, and hear Keith telling about sea things.

It wasn't like Lance missed him, but definitely he missed him. They'd been friends for years now and Keith knew so much about him, even if the mermen spent nine months away traveling with his pack. The summer was theirs and it had begun two days ago and if Keith did not show up today Lance was going to kick him. He had no idea if Keith had balls, so he would have to settle for a solid foot to the guts.

Lance had been trying to get a job. His family was big: mother, who was in no health to work, the sisters and his older bro. Usually, the girls would run around the village offering housework and Lance would go to the docks to carry the boats’ cargo. Although they got a bit of money, Miguel was the house’s main source of income; he sailed with the tourists and gained a lot. But Miguel was currently engaged to the neighbor's daughter, he would soon start providing for her and their future kids and no longer for his siblings. Lance was 15 now; he had to find stable work with a sailor or a fisherman to put food on their table.

He wished he could be like Keith, swimming all over the vast blue ocean, swishing a shining tail and discovering treasures. His friend had told him many stories about sunken ships and dangerous creatures that lurked in the waters, leaving him both scared and longing. Lance wished he could go, submerge into the depths of the world and live fantastic adventures with him.

Lance was aware that he couldn’t, though. He couldn’t tell anyone about Keith, never mind telling his mom that he was going to travel with him. Keith was a being that scared fishermen, sailors, and housewives waiting for their husbands to come back from the sea. People thought he was a monster. Lance, on the other hand, thought he was just an idiot with a mullet.

In a split of second, Lance was wet. All over. And it startled him so much because this was no beach for waves. He had started scrambling to get on his feet and go back to land when a laugh pierced through his ears.

In the end, Keith is just an idiot with a mullet.

“Yeah, yeah, you got me, Fish-Boy.” More splash and laughter. “Seriously, Keith, this ain’t as funny as it used to be.”

The mermen smirked.

“That’s ‘cause you didn’t see your face!”

Lance kicked water in Keith’s direction and the creature just avoided it.

“We going, then?”

Lance grinned. “Damn straight.”

The boy jumped into the sea, and the other swam cheerfully around him. Lance circled Keith shoulders with his arms and then his waist with his legs, pressing himself against the creature’s back. The wet black hair stuck to Lance’s cheek, but he couldn’t care less. He took a deep breath – Keith smelled like salt and sun and freedom, and Lance knew this day would be perfect – and the other dived in headed for their island.

Keith had found their island three years ago and had taken Lance there to show his discovery. It had more rocks than sand, small and ugly, so there were no stupid tourists and no one would ever see them there. It wasn't their island since it was Nature’s and they vowed never to name it, but they called it theirs because they wanted it – and isn’t want the best way to have?

Whenever Lance opened his eyes underwater, all he could see was turquoise. He could feel Keith's muscles moving while he swam, he could feel the water in an almost painful way due to their speed. It was the most natural thing by now, holding onto his friend while crossing the Blue Bay. Each minute, Keith would emerge so that Lance could take another breath, and then dive again. The rhythm was already within them as if they were just one being.

They were good together, and that’s exactly how it was meant to be.

Lance would much rather be on the shores at the moment. When he was a kid, he dreamt of being a fisherman. He wanted to sail the open sea, to unravel a new world that for a boy who had never left the Island sounded like a free pass to paradise. Lance wanted to be an adventurer and to come back home bringing treasures and food for the month. That was years ago though. Nowadays, his mother was ill and Veronica was crying every night before she went to work – and these were the only things he could think about as the ship sunk.

There was water everywhere and no land in sight. Lance knew that home was south since they had been sailing north since yesterday's morning, but with skies turned dark and seas turned evil the fact was pretty much useless. Many men had abandoned ship when it started to crumble, and the captain had screamed for him to leave, to try and save himself. Lance knew it wouldn’t have made a difference in the end because by now all of them were dead.

Ha had heard the stories. His father had told him some even, of feral tempests and overpowering winds. He had told him about the five stages of grief and how they went so fast through your heart when you were the one dying. The captain sinks with his ship, he had said, Just as lioness dies for her cub.

And Lance believed his father died holding Mother Maria’s mast.

The waves made crash crash and the boat made creak creak and Lance punched the wooden floor. He remembered Keith whispering about storms, how much they scared him and the words the mermaids sung to make the fear go away. Mermaids couldn’t drown though and Lance could, so he couldn’t sing. And besides, he wasn’t scared at all.

He screamed instead. Fell to his knees, threw his arms to the sky and screamed the names of all the ones he loved – mom, and sisters and Miguel and Keith. His hair was sticking to his face and the water came up to his hips and at that moment Lance was ready for whatever destiny guarded him. There he stood, before Nature and Ocean and God if there is one, and this is it, this is it.

A wave towered over him and what was left of the boat. It was tall, so tall that Lance was sure if he climbed he would reach the clouds. The captain shrieked and then it was all black.

He was floating or flying, he couldn’t know for sure. He couldn't hear or see anything, but he was cold, cold, cold like the summer currents or the sand after rain. Lance moved his arms around, and he couldn't reach the boat, or the shores, or his dad, even though he was sure everything surrounded him.

Fingers were curling around his ankles, just like seaweeds curled around the docks. They pulled him down, or maybe it was up, but who could care. Then the hands released him and came to rest around his neck, a soft and lulling caress. Lips caught his and Lance was falling. He'd wanted this, longed for this since he'd learned that mouths have other purposes besides eating.

Lance opened his eyes to amethyst ones. He could see the nuances of the color: it turned darker around the edges and the pupil, almost black, but its main tone was still a strong greyish-lilac. He had freckles; only a few but he had and at this distance the fisherman could count them as they spilled over high cheekbones, forming skin constellations. Lance had always wanted to touch those lips, so he did; first with his fingers and then once again with his own.

Lance took a deep breath and Keith smelled like salt and sun and freedom.

#klance #keith x lance #vld #lance #keith #mermaid au #fanfic #lance mcclain #keith kogane #vld lance #vld keith

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lovelikeelena · 6 years

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Song of the Sirenas Review- Part 1/4

Firstly, I wanna say muchas gracias to my best friend, Becca, along with DisneyNerd, DisPrincess3 and others for helping me with some of the visual aspects of this awesome, incredible and amazing movie!

As many of you know who read my tumblr, I’m almost blind. That means this review will be unique. While I’ll be touching on some important visual aspects, I’ll mostly be focusing on storyline and the friendships formed and established bonds between our favorite characters throughout the movie. There will also be some shipping as well, just so you guys who aren’t Elenaomi shippers know ahead of time. One more thing before we officially get started: How cool was it that this movie premiered on international peace day? This makes it even more timely and relevant than ever! Okay, let’s dive in! Pun intended wholeheartedly.

We open with a spectacular view of the Turner’s boat skimming through the water. The royal familia, royal guard Gabe and Naomi , along with her parents Captains Scarlet and Daniel Turner, are heading somewhere. Hmmm? Where could they be going? Maybe they’re dropping the douche of Avalor, Esteban off on a deserted island and continuing without him. Only one can hope. (I DID NOT come up with that nickname for the chancellor.) Oh yeah, Mateo’s there too. Well, Esteban isn’t being dropped off anywhere. No such fortune is shining upon us. Instead, Elena is stuck with her cousin for the entire journey. It’s not long into her magical bow and arrow practice that Naomi gets Esteban right in the butt! Elena giggles, even though she tries to remain stern. Oops, Sorry! never mind. That’s my fanfic version of events. Back to the actual movie.

As I was saying, it’s not long before we find out Scarlet doesn’t take any crap from anyone-including her husband! She finds Daniel standing, using a barrel as a table. Poor Daniel just wants to eat a sandwich, but instead he’s told to trim the sail. He tries to get out of it by assuming bc his wife is captaining the voyage that he would get a well-deserved brake. No such luck buddy. Say adios to that break you were hoping for. Turning, Daniel goes to complete the task. Before leaving his post, he snatches up his sandwich, knowing his daughter too well, not to mention the fact that there are two hungry teen boys on the ship. It’s then that Isa answers the question that’s been on our minds since the movie started-especially if you haven’t read the book companion that was released in June or kept up with spoilers before the movie premiered. The royal familia is on their way to Nueva Vista on the west coast of Avalor. Isa is excited to get there and her abuela feels the same way. Louisa mentions sitting on the terrace of the summer palace and napping in the sun. Esteban puts his two cents in, commenting that Francisco has gotten a head start, indicating him sleeping on a chair. On another part of the ship, Elena is hanging out with Naomi and Gabe, practicing with her scepter. Elena demonstrates a few powers we’ve seen in the past-including envision and glow. Then she shows off a newly acquired power, which is making objects invisible by saying the word vanish. She uses Naomi’s lasso for this test. It works and Elena beams. Gabe asks how many powers the scepter has. Naomi chimes in by requesting teasingly if her girlfriend can test them on something else bc she wants her lasso back. Unfortunately, this is the last time in the movie that we see Elena and Naomi treating each other with the love and respect we’ve come to know they possess. Just knowing this makes me sad. Hopefully, they’ll resolve things fully in Snow Place Like Home. I love how Isa comes up to them and is fully welcome by Elena and not told to go away like most older siblings say to the younger ones when with their friends and significant others. Isa tells them that Scarlet said they’re almost there. Elena starts to reminisce about her and Isa’s first paternal cousin, Christobal, telling everyone how she remembers going fishing with him every summer. Gabe is puzzled and says he thought Esteban was the girls’ only cousin. Naomi throws her usual jab at the Chancellor by stating “Leave it to Esteban to exaggerate.” She lays a hand on Elena’s shoulder, initiating the only loving contact they have for the rest of the movie. In making that jab at the douche, she exemplifies why I love her so much! Mateo, yup, he’s there, tells Elena she’ll have plenty of time to reminisce when they arrive and it’s time to get back to practicing. Come on, dude, give Elena a break! Mateo encourages her to try to make herself vanish. Elena protests that she only knows how to make objects vanish. Mateo is insistent, so our favorite future Avaloran ruler obeys. Elena, there’s no law that says you must listen to him! You make the laws or will be doing so in three years! After trying the power, Elena mildly succeeds. Her body disappears, but her head is still visible. Mateo makes a lame joke that doesn’t even make any sense by saying “You’re headed in the right direction.” Leave the quips to Naomi, por favor. Elena reforms just as all five of them hear a bell ring, followed by Scarlet yelling about approaching sirenas. All four young adults have different reactions to Scarlet’s announcement. Elena is confused, while Mateo is all excited and looking every which way like a puppy who is trying to find his new bone. Apparently, he’s never seen a sirena before. Gabe is also curious. Naomi is ready to obey her parents’ instructions at a second’s notice. Scarlet commands her to take the wheel, calling Naomi Nomes, which I despise! Naomi does so while her parents ready the crossbows. Elena shakes her head upon hearing this and asks why they need the weapons? And this is where I get a little irritated with Naomi. I know she’s panicking, but still. She whirls around and snaps at her girlfriend for no reason. “Sirenas are dangerous! Everyone knows that!” Excuse me, Naomi, everyone knows that? Not everyone has traveled as extensively or has the knowledge you do. Especially your girlfriend who was trapped in an amulet for 41 years! Daniel explains to Elena that sirenas sing a song that put sailors into a trance, crashing their ships. Even though he too is panicking, he doesn’t snap at her. Take a lesson from your Dad, Naomi. Elena points out the sirenas aren’t even singing and Mateo chimes in that he can’t remember the last time sirenas caused a ship wreck. Still, the Turners go through with their defense plan. Glancing down into the water, Elena locks eyes with a female sirena. We later learn her name is Marisa. In the moment their eyes meet, Elena is captivated in wonderment-never having seen a sirena before this. I’d like to think she’s also silently assuring Marisa that she knows Marisa isn’t doing anything wrong and that she, Elena, won’t let any harm come to her. Meanwhile, Scarlet commands Gabe to get everyone below deck, which he does immediately. Elena commands Scarlet to stop firing. Instead of listening, Scarlet fires anyway. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s grounds for treason. Scarlet defied Elena’s direct command. Eighteen or not, Elena is in charge. If she says stop firing, you stop firing-no questions asked. Scarlet, you just keep slipping further and further down my like meter. It looks like there’s one more in Esteban’s party on that deserted island if they find one. Elena keeps her silent promise to Marisa and fires her scepter, knocking Scarlet’s crossbow out of her hands. This affectively saves Marisa and her male companion from injury. We switch points of view and see Marisa, her friend and seahorse dude in the water. We discover that the male friend is actually Marisa’s twin brother. Marisa is just as amazed by Elena. She asked if her brother saw what Elena did, then must keep him from retaliating. She calls him Marzel and tells him to stop! Marzel argues that the people on the ship tried to fillet them to which Marisa points out, “But the princesa stopped them with that magic thingy.” Marzel advises they better leave before she decides to use it on them. Their seahorse friend agrees, and they dive beneath the waves. Meanwhile, back on the Turners boat, Naomi again turns on her girlfriend, demanding, “Why did you do that!” Elena doesn’t take her crap and shoots back with, “I’m not going to attack someone who hasn’t attacked me first!” As much as I love watching Elena stand up for herself, my heart breaks a little more. I don’t like it when Elena and her future wife fight. I know it happens in every friendship-whether it’s destined for romance or not. Even so, it’s still hard for me to watch when it's Elena and Naomi. Meanwhile, under the sea, Marisa and Marzel are swimming towards the palace they share with their parents. Marzel points out that “Sirenas haven’t sunken a ship since before we were born. And still Humans come after us.” Marisa counters with, “That’s because no one has told them we’ve changed.” Marzel doubts they would listen. “Maybe the princess would. You saw what she did.” Marzel disagrees. He shakes his head when he sees an all too familiar look in his Hermana’s eyes. “I hate that look!” Marisa ignores him. “We can tell her, then she can spread the word to the rest of the Humans.” Their friend tells her to keep dreaming. Marzel reminds him that’s what Marisa does best. Marisa declares she’s going to talk to their father. Marzel tells her she’s wasting her time while watching her swim off.

And that’s where I leave everyone off for now! Part 2 is coming in a few days! Feel free to leave comments or send me asks!

#Elena of Avalor #Song of the Sirenas

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coldflashwave-baby · 7 years

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@disney-dctv-week

Mysterious Fathoms Below

It was all a mess.

If someone were to ask Iris, she’d say it happened because no one listened to her. If they were to ask Barry, he’d say it was meant to happen because ‘true love’.

Wally, however, would always stand by that it happened because of Captain Leonard Snart.

He hadn’t meant to climb up on the side of the pirate ship and watch the crew dance and celebrate…whatever it was they were celebrating. He’d gotten curious, and his foster brother, Barry, had been right beside him the entire time. Iris had hung back in the water. As adventurous as she was, she never condoned Wally breaking the rules he wanted to break. Of course, he always wanted to break the biggest one—going to the world above to watch the humans.

Something about humans entranced him. He dreamed of having two legs, of standing and walking around. His siblings were the only ones who knew about Wally’s obsession. If their father knew…Wally didn’t even want to consider the consequences.

But there the two of them sat, peeking through at the humans dancing and skipping to the music. Barry, though he didn’t share Wally’s fascination, still enjoyed watching with him, staring in wonder at the pirates. Then, Wally saw him.

He could tell immediately that the man was someone important—the crew all looked at him the same way the merpeople looked at his father, with respect for their leader. The man wasn’t dressed overtly grand, however, instead wearing some black, floppy top on his torso and tight, black ‘pants’, as he’d heard them called, over his legs. He wasn’t dancing with the others, but he nodded along with the music and grinned at his crew joyfully.

His grin…something told Wally it was a rare treasure in itself. He felt something flip in his stomach. His heart picked up. The conflicting urges to dive back in the water and crawl onto the deck until he was face-to-face with the man warred inside of him.

One of the crewmen, a burly, scarred man who seemed almost as important as the first man, pulled out a poster of the man.

WANTED FOR PIRATING-CAPTAIN LEONARD SNART

Leonard Snart…Len, his mind supplied. He smiled. It suited him.

They all laughed as the other man struck a small piece of wood and a flame—an actual flame—appeared on the end, ready to burn the paper.

Then, there was a crash of thunder, and the ship shook. A hurricane had overcome the boat.

“Joe must have figured out we snuck out!” Barry joked, his mirth disappearing when the ship lurched, nearly throwing them off.

“Wally! Barry!” He heard Iris shouting, but the waves had already carried her too far away for him to hear anything else. Lightning hit the mast, and Wally cursed when the entire top of ship burst into flames.

Thinking quicker than him, Barry grabbed Wally’s arm and dove into the water with him. From there, the two watched the destruction of the ship.

A rowboat lowered, filled with men, but Wally couldn’t see Len or the man with the poster on it. The flames spread, and, after a moment, he saw a figure appear, carrying another figure on his back.

Len carrying the other man, his mind supplied. Without much of an option, Len threw the unconscious man into the water, diving in after him almost immediately.

Wally couldn’t sit by anymore. He swam for the two men. There was an echoing splash behind him, and he knew Barry coming, too. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the two men. Len was now unconscious, too, piece of wreckage from his ship floating near a bloody mark on his forehead.

The other man was sinking fast, and Barry sped over to pull him up. “I’ll get him to the others, you get the captain!” He called behind him. Wally hadn’t even waited to hear the words—he was already heading for Len. The second his arms wrapped around him, though, something terrifying happened.

The ship exploded.

Wally and Len were thrown backwards, far from Barry and the lifeboat. So, Wally did the only thing he could do—he swam to the surface, brought Len up for air, and searched for land.

0000000

Dawn was coming when he finally pulled Len onto the beach. He thought, for a moment, that maybe he’d been too late. Maybe Len had died from his injury, or drowned before he’d made it to the surface.

But then, the pirate captain’s chest started moving, and he blew out a breath. He’d made it. Len was alive. At that moment, he knew he needed to leave. Len would be waking up, and he couldn’t know a merman saved him. But, when he was asleep, Len’s face was so relaxed and delicate, like one of the dolls he’d added to his collection. Fragile, but beautiful.

Before he could stop himself, he ran a hand down Len’s cheek, wondering how different things would’ve been if he’d been born human instead.

“Wally!”

He glanced over his shoulder to see both Barry and Iris waiting in the surf for him, Barry with a dazed, dumb-struck smile on his face and Iris with a worried, scolding purse on hers. He heard a groan, and he quickly turned back to Len, who brought his hand up slowly to rest on the one Wally still had on his cheek. When the pirate captain’s eyes started to flicker open, Wally considered, for a second, sticking around. But a whistle from Iris threw his resolve, and he reluctantly tore himself away and dove back in the water to join his siblings.

Len stayed with him, though. In the following days, all Wally could think about was his grin, his stormy-blue eyes, the softness of his face as he relaxed. It didn’t help when Barry brought him a present he found in the wreckage—the remains of the poster of Len. It was burned around the edges, and the ink was smudged, but Len’s face was still clear on it. It was the best present Barry ever got him.

Captain Leonard Snart…

He swam gleefully around his grotto picturing life with a pirate captain. Having adventures, collecting treasures, breaking rules.

He imagined having legs. Meeting Len again, only this time, standing in front of him, being able to introduce himself instead of swimming away. Len offering to take him away on his pirate ship, still close to the sea and his loved ones, but free to be who he was.

He didn’t even hear his father come in until it was too late—he’d seen the paper and put two-and-two together.

Barry and Iris lingered in the doorway of the grotto. They watched as the king destroyed Wally’s collection—Barry fearfully, Iris guiltily.

When the poster in his hands burned, Wally shattered. “I hate you.” He growled at his father, who flinched, but still swam proudly away. Iris and Barry came in to comfort him, but Wally didn’t want to see them. He knew it was probably an accident, telling their father, but what was taken couldn’t be replaced. He couldn’t even look at them.

Maybe, if he hadn’t pushed them away, he would’ve known better than to follow the eels to Valentina, the Sea Witch. Maybe if, when Iris and Barry saw them and decided to follow, he hadn’t snapped at Iris, telling her to ‘tattle, it’s what you’re good at’, one of them would’ve went to Joe, and he could’ve stopped Wally.

But, he did.

And, they didn’t.

And, finally, Wally had everything he’d ever wanted—legs, and a chance to find love. All he needed to do was find Leonard Snart, get him to fall in love with him, and kiss him in three days.

Oh, and he’d given up his voice for the chance, but what’s reward without some risk?

0000000

Iris and Barry pulled him towards the docks of Central, a pirate kingdom where they were sure Len must have gone after his ship sunk. Barry had been able to steal some clothes—well, an old sail—off the deck of a fishing boat and, with Iris help, they tied it around Wally, covering his new parts.

“Hey!”

Iris and Barry dove into the water at the shout, and Wally was amazed when he saw Len running up, looking between Wally and the fishing boat.

“That’s my sai—” But when Len’s eyes fell on Wally’s face, he froze, a grin growing on his lips. “It’s you. You’re the one who saved me.”

Wally nodded eagerly.

“What’s your name?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but then remembered—sea witch. Voice gone until kiss. Right. He motioned to his throat, and an understanding passed over Len’s face. “You’re mute.”

Wally deflated and gave a small nod, but Len quickly shook his head. “No, no, there’s nothing wrong with that, sweetheart. There’s nothing wrong with being blind, deaf, mute, whatever. It’s something special about you.”

His cheeks warmed. If only he knew… He tried to step towards Len, but he still wasn’t used to his legs. He nearly fell right off the dock, but an arm around his waist stopped him.

“Whoa, there.” He helped Wally steady himself. “You must have gone through some shit, kid. Why don’t I take you back to my place, give you some food and clothes, and you can mime me all about it?”

That treasured grin pulled at Len’s mouth, and Wally’s stomach did a flip. He let Len lead him away from the docks and towards the city, awestruck and amazed by everything he passed.

0000000

So, Len was actually the pirate king, not just some random pirate captain. He lived in a fortress on the sea with his sister, Lisa, and his crew, all of whom watched Wally conspiratorially as Len asked Lisa to take him to one of the empty rooms and find him some clothes.

The fortress was huge—bigger than his father’s palace! Lisa took him into a lavish room, where Wally immediately ran and jumped on the soft, silky bed.

She gave a laugh. “I can see why my brother likes you so much. You’re adorable.” She walked over to the closet and pulled out a ‘pants’ and tunic and threw them on the bed beside him. She turned her back as he pulled off the sail and struggled with the pants, trying to figure out how they went on his new legs. Lisa eventually showed him mercy and helped him into them.

Luckily, he knew about shirts. “So, you’re mute?” Lisa asked, smoothing out the fabric of his shirt.

Wally nodded.

“Do you have any family?”

He nodded again.

“And where are they?”

He pointed out the window towards the ocean. Lisa frowned. “They’re across the ocean?”

Not knowing how else to explain, Wally nodded.

“Why did you leave them? Were they horrible to you?”

Wally shook his head, trying to figure out a way to mime to her. He pointed back to the ocean. They. Shook his head. Didn’t. Pointed to his head. Understand. Then, finally, he touched his chest. Me.

He hoped Lisa understood. After a second or two, she nodded. “You’re an outcast, like the rest of us. A rebel. A rogue.”

He smiled. He liked the sound of that.

“Well, darling, I think you’ll fit right in here.” She held out her hand for him to take. “Now, let’s get you down to dinner, where you can knock the socks off my darling brother. Lord knows he can use some excitement in his life that doesn’t involve dying.”

If he’d known how, Wally would’ve skipped all the way to dinner.

0000000

The first day passed, and the second came with Len offering to show Wally around the town. Iris and Barry kept up with them as best they could, swimming alongside the roads when they were near water and even swimming close by when Len decided to take him out on one of his boats, just the two of them.

With some subtle coaxing from a hidden Barry and some whispers from Iris, a romantic atmosphere fell over them. Wally knew all it was going to take was one kiss—just one to break the spell. He could see that Len wanted it, too. All he had to do was…

He leaned forward slowly. Len followed.

But, before their lips could meet, the boat tilted sharply, throwing them both in the water. He could’ve kissed him then, but the moment had been ruined, and all Len was focused on was getting himself and Wally back to the castle.

So ended the second day.

0000000

He was woken up on the third day by the sound of a seashell hitting the window. When he pulled himself out of bed and practically crawled over, Barry was in the water underneath the window, a huge grin on his face.

“Wally, you did it!” he exclaimed. “I overheard Mick—that’s Len’s second, the larger, nice looking one—talking to one of the deckhands about Len getting married at sea today!”

Wally lit up with joy. Married? He and Len getting married? Sure, he’d never considered that serious of a commitment, but, now that he knew what was happening, he was so happy, his stomach was doing backflips.

He didn’t even bother dressing out of his nightclothes. He ran out of his room and down the stairs, only to freeze when he saw Len standing with a beautiful woman. Lisa was in front of them, looking her over with distaste.

“Lenny, are you sure about this?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “This seems really…sudden…and I thought that our guest…”

“I’m marrying Vanessa,” Len said sternly, his face blank of any emotion. “The ceremony will be on my ship at sundown.”

Just as suddenly as his heart had leapt with joy, it shattered at Len’s words. He’d thought…

But, no. Wally was just a stupid kid who believed a human could love a merperson. Nothing more.

Once dusk came, he watched the ship cast off with tears in his eyes. He was going to lose his love and his freedom on the same day. Iris floated in the water beside the dock, sadness in her eyes. He knew she’d wanted him to succeed.

He reached down to his sister, who took his hand.

The sun began to set.

“Wait, Wally!” He and Iris jumped when Barry came swimming as fast as he could up to the dock. “Len…he’s under a spell! Vanessa is actually Valentina disguised as a human! She’s trying to sabotage your chance!”

Wally looked out at the water. The ship was too far for him to swim out to in time without a tail, but maybe…maybe with the help of his siblings, he could get there in time.

0000000

Wally sat on quietly on a rock near the shore, watching Len on the beach, still unconscious from their fight with Valentina.

He loved him, and Len loved him back. But it was too late—his legs were gone, replaced by the tail that he’d been happily rid of. He sighed.

And, oh, I love you so. If only you could know…

A light glowed behind him. His tail started to itch. When he glanced behind him, his father, Iris, and Barry were all smiling back at him, the king’s trident in the water.

He stared down at his tail, eyes wide and excited, as it split back into his legs.

When Len woke up, his jaw dropped. Wally came out of the water, dressed in a silver tunic and black pants, and practically ran right to him.

Len jumped to his feet and, once Wally was in reaching distance, wrapped his arms around his waist to pull him into a kiss.

(They were married the next day and lived happily ever after-- though Joe had to pull Barry away from the ship’s first mate, who sent him a wink from the side of the ship. One kid being married to a human was enough, thank you.)

#kidcold #dctv disney week #the little mermaid au #the flash #wally west #leonard snart

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