#it's? gonna be fluffy and whimsical and eventually smut once i figure out... mermaid biology?? sksk

[sunlightbabe]

out to sea - a preview

Juice dribbles down the corner of your mouth as you take a bite of the strawberry, ripe and slightly warm from where it’s been sitting in the sun. It’s sweet, picked from the bush and brought to the market at just the right time. The juice- red, vibrant- drips from the half eaten fruit onto the gray rock you’re sitting on.

“... it doesn’t look like straw to me.”

You don’t bother to hide your amused smile as you turn to look at where Victoria floats beside you. Her arms are crossed on top of the rocky outcropping and you can just see the fin of her tail flick out and above the water every now and again.

“It’s called a strawberry,” Ethan says from where he’s sunbathing on the rocks. Victoria rolls her eyes and focuses on the fruit in your hand once more.

“But it’s red. Straw is yellow and itchy, isn't’ it?” she asks you. “So why did they name it incorrectly?”

“Sometimes,” Ethan chimes in before you can say anything, “things are named incorrectly. Starfish aren’t fish, you know.”

“No, but they are star shaped. That one makes sense.”

“I don’t know why they’re called strawberries,” you say, looking at the basket beside you. There’s plenty of strawberries left, as well as raspberries, blueberries, some wrapped cheese, and a load of bread that was baked earlier that morning. “But I can look into it and let you know next time?”

Victoria huffs, an impatient little noise, and you can just barely hear Ethan audibly snicker over the gentle lapping of the waves against the rocks.

It’s a perfect day to be out here, just the three of you, hidden away from the world. The sun is out, warming you down to your bones, it feels like, but the occasional ocean breeze keeps you from feeling like you’re roasting out here. The ocean is peaceful- not calm, because the ocean is many things, but calm is never truly one of them- and the waves glitter in the late afternoon light. It’s quiet this far from the shoreline. All you can hear is the water. No seagulls, no hustle and bustle of the city, no other people. Just you three.

“... does it at least taste like straw?”

“Oh my goodness Victoria,” Ethan says under his breath.

You shake your head. “No, not at all.” A moment passes. “Do you want to try?”

You know she does. Victoria hasn’t been able to look away from the fruit since the moment you pulled it from the basket, but you know that from previous experiences, fruit doesn’t like Victoria. It’s something with their biology- there’s no fruit in the ocean, after all. They can’t process dairy or bread products either. Vegetables had been a hit or a miss- you’ll never forget the delighted look on Ethan’s face when he bit into a tomato for the first time, or the pure look of disgust when he tried a carrot.

Victoria eyes the strawberry and hauls herself up onto the rocks. You catch a flash of the scales around her waist, deep orange and red that shimmer in the golden afternoon light.

“This isn’t a trick?” she asks with an arched eyebrow. “Like the lemon?”

“No,” you say with a laugh. “Not a trick. I promise.”

Victoria looks a little skeptical, but she makes her way a little closer to you, eyes flickering between your face and the basket. You look inside and push some of the berries around, trying to find what looks like the ripest once, the perfect first strawberry for a merfolk to try. Behind you, you can hear Ethan move closer, the rasp of his scales against the rocks. He’s been out in the sun for awhile now. Soon, you think, he’ll need to dip back into the water.

You’re about to reach for a strawberry when Victoria grabs your wrist. It’s gentle- she’s careful and makes sure that her sharpened nails don’t scratch you. She’s focused on the strawberry held between her fingers, eyebrow furrowed like she’s focusing on a problem. It’s adorable. You kind of hate how adorable it is.

“We eat just the red part,” you explain as she gently lifts your hand so she can sniff at the strawberry. “It’s sweet- sometimes people dip them in sugar or cover them in chocolate-”

“Chocolate?” Ethan asks. He’s much closer now, his shoulder brushing yours as he settles beside you. He tilts his head to the side as he watches Victoria observe the strawberry. “You’ve brought that to us before, yes?”

“Oh I like chocolate,” Victoria says excitedly. “You should bring it to us again. Next time you visit, I think.”