The ocean is full of mysterious creatures and things. Mermaids and mermen are among these wonders, but they are nothing but myths, or so one would think. The world is certainly full of wonderful surprises. One fateful day, Y/N's father finds himself...
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His question made me pause to gather my thoughts with scrunched features. Love is a complicated concept in itself, so how the heck am I supposed to explain it to Neil, who isn't even human? How did it even come to this?
"Well, I suppose the best place to start is with the basics. Humans go on things called dates."
"Day-ates?" He repeats with a curious voice and a sharply tilted head. I can't resist giggling at his pronunciation as I nod my head.
"That's right. A date is when you do something with another person. It can be anything, really. You do it to see how well the two work together and to help you gain feelings. If they don't end up liking each other, they find another person to go on dates with until they find the right... mate." I did my best to explain it in simple terms for him. I'm not quite sure of the extent of his vocabulary, but I think he understood for the most part, for he gave a nod. "Like I said, the pair can do anything during a date, and they can go anywhere." He gives a low purr, similar to a hum, before making a few clicking noises in thought before speaking up.
"Th... Thes... This day-ate?" he asks while tapping a sharp nail against the floor to refer to this very moment. Cracking a smile, I shake my head at the merman, filling him with confusion.
"No, this isn't a date. This is just one of my normal visits." He rolls his tongue then falls silent before looking up at me again.
"Wa we g-go day-ate?"
"You want to go on a date?" I arch a brow at the fish as he vigorously nods his head with a sharped-tooth grin before taking my hand to massage the back of it. He was so gentle doing it.
"Day-ate." The longing in his voice made my heart clench, and a sigh leaves my lips.
"I don't know..." I say quietly, trailing off at the end. What am I supposed to say? We can't actually be together. It isn't right. Still, staring into those large, onyx eyes of his made it so hard to refuse.
How am I supposed to say no to him? His whimper breaks me out of my thoughts as I glance away from the pleading gaze. "I suppose we can go out to the ocean tomorrow if you'd like, but I'm telling you, we cannot be mates, Neil." I had to add that last part in to avoid getting his hopes up. I don't want to hurt him in any way, but this is hard on the both of us.
He has to acknowledge my own feelings about this. He was happy for a moment before his lips pulled into a frown. Sad whimpers fled his throat as he lays his head on my lap. "Oh, Neil." Frowning as well, I pet his head, down his neck and his shoulders, earning a light coo from the creature, but there would be no cheering him up about this. "Sorry. You still want to try, huh?" He nods against me, making my heart melt.
