Gray's Cozy Nook

Challenge: May come to no surprise to you, since I write in this genre myself. Can you give me a dark romantic version of a mermaid one shot with any guy of your choice, tease my fangirl heart, please! No Disney stuff, you already know that ended in tragedy. 

“I’m all for the darker tales of the mermaids, but I’m wondering if I can do it justice…? Let’s find out.”

“Psyren,” he whispered, “we’re almost there!” Eiki heard his footfalls against the age-old planks as he saw the end of the port and inhaled a breath and jumped. The feel of water enclosing around them both as he sank deep into the holds of the icy depths, as he slowly sank until his feet touched the ground. The pressure compressed against his abdomen as he struggled to keep himself grounded, it wouldn’t do any of them good to float back up and be found. 

Eiki…

Her voice echoed in his head as he turned to see her ruby irises looking up to him, she must have sensed his struggle to keep them beneath the waves as she studied him silently before raising her webbed fingers to his face and kissing his lips. Her tongue parting his lips as she deepened their kiss, Eiki froze momentarily at the sudden embrace as he tried to hold his breath.

“Accept me,” he heard her voice echo in his mind as he opened his mouth more to feel something slip down his throat and felt his lungs burn from whatever she had just done. Eiki grimaced as he watched her pull away slightly to look at his face as he contracted inwards as he coughed and water infiltrated his lungs. Panic took over as he felt the weight of the ocean inside him as he reached out towards Psyren, her eyes on him as she reached her own hands towards him, “breathe.”

He inhaled. Heart slamming against his ribcage as he realized he was gulping water like a fish, his panic slowly dimming as he realized that he was breathing underwater. 

“a gift from my heart to yours Eiki, for saving my life…”

Psyren rounded him as she looked up at the searchlights above, “I will come for you again Eiki, but now is not the place…” she drew him in for another kiss that felt different from the one she gave earlier for him to breath, her tongue curling around his as he tasted copper sliding down his throat, “my blood into thy veins, may this keep you from harm’s way, in the depths of the ocean, if you shall fall, your blood will be our call… By order of the ocean’s queen, I, Psyrenne, bless thee.”

Two Years Later, Gray Mists, California

“We’ll be coming in around the afternoon,” Hanai spoke through the facetime interface as Eiki closed the door officially to the office, “we would have been there today had it not been for Tennoji wanting to see Hollywood.”

“Shut it, you were just as excited as me to see the Chinese Theater and Universal Walk,” a brash voice cut through the speaker, “we got you something too Eiki!”

Eiki chuckled at his friends, “please let it not be Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans again, last time I only kept getting the vomit flavor.”

All he heard was snickering from the other side which confirmed his fears that they must have gotten him those types of beans again. “Alright, I’m heading out, I’ll see you guys tomorrow; be safe!”

Waving to his friends for a final time he ended the call and went towards the cove, the sun was barely setting which turned the usually blue waters into amber waves.

Hurriedly he went towards the dock and stripped off his work attire and dove right into the cooling waters, diving deep and doing a somersault in the water he chuckled. His eyes looking up towards the dimming skyline as he allowed himself to close his eyes and feel the placid energy of the sea stroke his body.

Even after two years, the magic of the sirens still kept him able to breathe underwater without much problem; although he had to keep that secret between 2ND Unit and himself. It wouldn’t bode well for others to find out he had some supernatural ability to stay beneath the rough waters of California. Kicking his feet off the sandy ground he swam upwards and broke the surface and allowed the water to trail down his face and body as he inhaled the fresh air surrounding him.

“Ah…” he let out a chuckle as he waded a little and looked up at the sky from his place in the water, the velvety threads of black weaving its way into the blue and shushing the loud colors for the evening. It was definitely a new world to him as he watched the stars awaken under the call of the night, filled with content and good vibes he began to hum Psyrenne’s song as he floated on his back.

Eiki stayed floating for awhile as night finally consumed the last of the day, with a sigh, he righted himself up and let out a whistle again. “Time to get home and eat,” turning towards the dock he began to swim when something beneath him tugged his foot, it was a subtle pull and he was willing to brush it off as a piece of seaweed floating beneath him. Yet… as he bobbed up and down in the still water,  silent alarm bells went off in his head that he needed to be alert.

Another gentle stroke against his thigh caused him to whip around in the water reflexively as he tried to see what was touching him. Was it a seal? He was certain that sharks rarely came to this area, and he more than likely should have felt pain from a bite by now. Even so, the predator wouldn’t even be able to squeeze through the passage area of water that the ocean water flowed through to get to this town.

A silent scream to swim kicked his ass into gear as he dove beneath the waves and swam quickly towards the shoreline, his arms taking long strokes against the current as he saw the line of the shallow water. Faster. He commanded himself as he kept going until something practically cut in front of him at such a speed that caused him to falter backward in the murky darkness.

Blood roared in his ears as he began again to swim towards the shore his heart slamming wildly against his chest as he felt his feet touch the sandy shore and he broke the surface, forcing his body to run against the waves trying to pull him back. The water being only waist deep, he continued to run up the bank only to feel something grab hold of his ankle and forcefully pull him back into the water.

The taste of water filling his mouth as he felt his body rush back into the waves and darkness encompassing his vision. Struggling to regain control, he twisted around and frantically went back towards the direction of the floating dock that was only a few meters away. As if hell were on his heels he kicked hard and swam towards the wooden structure and broke the surface, his hands digging into the planks as he quickly pulled himself up and onto the old buoy.

Breathing hard, he looked around the floating deck as he scanned the surface of the still water, his eyes looking for any movement. Dammit. Why did he think that swimming at night was a good idea?

Suddenly bubbles started to break the surface of the water in front of him, fizzing and pulsing as if something big was about to emerge. Eiki went wide-eyed at the spectacle happening before him as his imagination ran wild, was there a lake monster here? While that thought may have seen dumb to think before, after confirming mermaids were real. He wouldn’t put it past that Nessie may have a cousin lurking at the depths of Gray Mists Alcove, he braced himself as something shot up from the darkness and floated towards him.

An empty white barrel innocently bumped the dock, loosely tangled ropes spread about the item like a spider’s legs as Eiki realized, “geeze…” he rubbed his temples as he examined his ankles and saw the rope burn. Shaking his head he pulled the empty plastic canister and pulled it onto the floating dock with a sigh, “can’t believe this scared the living daylights out of me.”

Chuckling softly to himself, he surveyed his surroundings and realized the floating dock had made its way somehow to the middle of the cove, hovering over the deep end once again. Shaking his head, he looked at the damn that kept predators out but allowed fish and fresh seawater into the cove he realized how stupid his imagination had just got at that moment.

It was late. He chided himself as he shook off his anxiety and jumped back into the dark waters and swam for the shore without a second glance. He had work to do early in the morning, and he had fooled around long enough in the alcove. Swimming silently through the depths he saw the shallow end come into his vision and quickened his strokes. Almost there.

As he felt his feet touch the shore, he proceeded to look up and break the surface when he heard something… It was a silently whisper in the water at first, as he thought that maybe it could be other people walking along the beach. Yet, as he turned his attention to go towards the shore, the sound came again but clearer like the song of an angel in the night.

His heart clenched as he heard the familiar melody that still haunted him even in his dreams at night, turning slowly to face the deep end of the alcove, he felt his heart stop.

In the faint light of the moon that seemed to thread its way into the stillness of the deep end, a woman floated elegantly in the dark blue. Her hair freely dancing around her as her long fish-like tail waved back and forth to keep her in place. Her eyes looking at him with a predator gaze, red reflecting in those irises as he matched her gaze. Eiki opened his mouth to speak but felt something slam into him with brute force knocking him further back against the tides as hands gripped his arms and pulled him down into darkness.

Gray’s Corner

Mermaids have a special place in my heart, or should, to be more honest, sirens and their stories are something I cherish. While this story is just a beginning phase of something I’m personally working on, I’m glad to post a third draft of it somewhere, even though it is not the final one. I started this blog as a place for fanfiction and gaming notes, but it has become something more now that I’ve implemented certain lore and fiction into some of my blogs. Thank you guys for reading, have a great day and stay safe.