Chapter Text
You flexed your tail and moved swiftly through the water towards the small natural bay that was formed by the coral reef off the shore. Reaching out, you touched the rock outcropping wall that formed part of the bay wall where it reached out to the sea, and hovered there for a moment.
Glancing up at the sunlight filtering through the surface of the water, you scanned the crystal blue water of the bay as it was dappled with shifting shadows.
Turning, you swam into the bay itself, going a bit deeper and skimming over the tall arms of the hard coral that reached up from the ocean floor. Your fingers stroked through the gently waving blanket of seagrass as you passed by, and you paused at the edge of a cave whose sides curved off out of sight.
It couldn’t be deep, you reasoned, these were fairly shallow waters. You swam in, looking around with interest. The sunlight lit the tube well, and you swam deeper, excited to see what you could find. Frequently you found new little friends in the coral tubes and caves of the reefs - little clams, sea cucumbers, the occasional seastar or octopus. You were able to swim deeper for another few seconds as you scanned all along the cave floor, using the seagrass to help your momentum and pull yourself forward as you investigated it. The light began to dim here, and your anxiety began to rise.
It was time to turn back. This seemed to be a small network of caves framed by the coral reef, surely there was a branching tunnel that would have more light. Your tailfin stroked smoothly through the water as you turned around and headed back the way you had come.
Something large and colorful brushed past you with a rapid clicking noise, too quickly to see. You spun in the water, frantically scanning the tunnel, but it had many branching tunnels and the creature could have gone down any one of them. You considered for a split second if there was anything particularly dangerous in these waters, and decided it was better safe than sorry.
You flicked your tail and stroked powerfully for the entrance of the cave.
It only took you a few seconds to emerge from the mouth, and you had cautiously ventured out into the reef again when another whirl of color whisked by you. This time you saw the flare of an orange and blue tail, glowing faintly in the shade of the cave overhang despite the sunlight. You squickly stroked upwards, out into the sunlight, and then felt a sharp tug on your tail as your forward motion stopped.
You whipped around.
Large, glowing blue eyes stared up at you, out of a curious blue and yellow face. Frills that resembled soft spikes surrounded their face, and trailed down their back, ending in a flared, bioluminescent tail that was almost translucent otherwise.
The merfolk had their teeth dug in to the edge of your fin, the nip holding you in place. They clicked and chirped rapidly.
The other swirl of color emerged from the cave, and second merman circled you quickly, whistling and clicking loudly. These eyes were red, but the body was velvety black with neon blue spots and stripes. A blue appendage that resembled a crown or hat waved in the current as they circled you. The blue glowed and flared as you watched, very beautiful indeed. But precious seconds were slipping away.
You couldn't help it. You panicked, and yanked your tail away from the yellow one, a chunk of your fin coming off in its teeth. Heedless of the damage you swam for the surface as it reached up with two similarly bioluminescent hands and took the bit of fin out of its mouth to inspect it with a worried expression.
You made it a few more seconds towards the surface before the black and blue merfolk circled you aggressively, bumping into your body and shoving you as they whistled and chirped. On the next pass they grabbed a hold of your tail and dragged you back towards the coral reef. You reached behind you, desperately groping on your backside.
You found the clasp, tore the hook off, and snatched the zipper, yanking it down hard.
The tail filled with water, surrounding your legs. You kicked, hard, and the tail fell away, the dark merfolk stopping and staring in shock. You had already resumed kicking, your lungs beginning to burn with the ache of holding your breath. It had been nearly 12 minutes since you dove. You needed air...and to get out of the territory you had clearly trespassed in. You broke the surface a moment later with a hard gasp, and immediately swam for shore, hauling yourself up over the rocky outcropping and stumbling to your feet.
You breathed hard, gooseflesh erupting over your skin as the cool sea breeze brushed over it, and you shivered, hugging yourself as you stared back down into the lagoon. Flashes of color moved far below on the seabed, their motions seeming almost frantic as they zipped around.
That was the most unusual behavior you’d ever seen from merfolk. You had been swimming with some of them many times before. Typically they didn’t speak your language, but none had ever been aggressive toward you.
The loss of your tail was to be lamented. They weren’t cheap. But it was better than being drowned by...what had they been?
Beautiful. Your brain supplied. You frowned. Yes, they were quite beautiful. The colors, flexible protrusions, glowing bioluminescence...but they had been huge. Easily a foot or so longer than you.
You shook your head, turning to look at the bay you had emerged from as you stepped from the rock to the sandy beach. You had seen shark, tropical fish, and even octopus merfolk. But...
Nudibranches? That was new.
When you returned to the beach the next day, you hesitantly peered down into the little coral lagoon. It was beautifully clear, as usual, and the crystal water sparkled with the illusion of a shallow tide pool.
Your eyes searched the sea floor for the flashes of bioluminescence, or the bright colors. You hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the unusual merfolk you had encountered. The territorial display had been quite something, and they really were quite beautiful in general.
In any other circumstance you would have loved to learn about them. As it stood, you were unlikely to get any cooperation after your trespass the previous afternoon, and it would be risky to try.
You glanced to the side as a flash of color caught your eye. It wasn’t in the water, but rather on the shore.
Your tail lay carefully folded on the beach, set purposefully by the water where you would find it. You stopped and stared for a moment, then walked over and knelt by it, picking up the heavy silicon.
Why would...they return your tail?
In a flash, you realized your error. They two mermen hadn’t been giving you a territorial display...they had been trying to court you! The show of strength, nudging you where they wanted you to go, nipping at your fins...you blushed furious. That mating behavior. The merfolk’s method of courting a potential mate often appeared to any human bystanders as aggressive, as it involved much herding and nipping by the suitor, but that was just because human courting rituals had been removed for so long from having to provide a potential mate with proof of their competence, beauty, or strength.
You snorted softly, thinking about your past relationships. Clearly, you thought with an annoyed frown. Otherwise, it would be much easier to sort through them and find the good ones.
These mermen must have thought you were one of their kind, and not realized you were a human free diver. That explained why they stopped chasing you after you kicked your tail away. In their defense, you reflected, your tail -was- unusual for what it was. Purple base and fluke, with frilled fins along the sides and back. A custom piece, and one that you loved dearly. The damage to the thin, trailing tail didn’t seem to be too bad, and you turned it over in your hands.
No, not too bad at all. A small bite mark shape had clipped a tiny orange and red tendril and taken a bit of the fluke with it. This reinforced your mating display theory...this bite hadn’t been intended to hurt you. It had been to hold you in place so they could display for you.
You sat down heavily on the beach, plunking your chin into your hands with a sigh, suddenly embarrassed. You should have taken the time to think through their behavior rationally, instead of panicking. When had panicking ever worked well?
Was returning your tail an apology? It would certainly make sense with the behavior you had seen from other merfolk. You frowned down at the sand beneath you. You were the one who owed them an apology, really. Imagine smiling at someone on the street and them running away screaming from you as though you were a monster.
You grimaced.
The soft plp! of the water’s surface breaking made you look up. The bright blue eyes gazed at you out of a vibrant orange and blue face with a bright gold stripe down the middle that reminded you of the curve of a crescent moon. Two long, slender, bioluminescent rhinophores waved delicately around beneath it in the water, and two shorter ones weaved in the air over it gently.
You perked up, turning to face him.
“Hello.” you said, still slightly uncertain. You considered drawing back from the waters edge, but that seemed rude.
He trilled softly in a high, warbling tone. He swam forward, his soft spines wiggling gently, shorter tentacles tilting towards you. You realized he was clicking, at a level barely audible above the surface.
“I’m sorry, I don’t speak merfolk.” you apologized, spreading your hands helplessly. He paused, angling his head.
“H-um-an.” he said, and you smiled suddenly.
“Do you speak my language?” you asked excitedly, and his frills flared with delight at your tone.
“Sp-eak. Y-es.” he said with difficulty. “Yo-ur...to-ngue... is h-ard.” you nodded sympathetically. You would surely find the language of merfolk to be just as trying. He swam closer, until he was only a few feet from you, and stopped uncertainly,
“We a-re...” he struggled for a moment. “S-orry. F-or...h-urt y-ou?” he tried. You blinked.
“Oh! Oh, no, you didn’t hurt me! It’s okay, it was just a misunderstanding. I wasn’t hurt. No harm done!” you said quickly, and to show your confidence in his apology, scooted to the edge of the rock ledge right next to him and dipped your bare legs into the water.
“I actually think I owe you an apology.” you said with an embarrassed laugh. “I was awfully rude yesterday, I didn’t understand what you were...uh.” you stopped, realizing you would have to acknowledge that you had recognized their mating display for what it was. “Well anyway, I didn’t understand, but I shouldn’t have run away. I’m sorry.”
His orange face seemed to flush a brighter shade, and his frills quivered as they puffed up, shaking his head. He was hardly any distance from you now, you could have reached out and caressed the pretty orange fins that looked so much like sun rays. As it was, the softly glowing short rhinophores were gently brushing against your arm, investigating you curiously.
“No h-arm d-one.” he mirrored your phrase, shaking his head and you smiled warmly at him. “Y-our...t-ail.” he said after a moment, indicating your legs.
“My legs?” you asked with a smile, and swished them in the water. His eyes trained on them, moving from toes to thigh as you moved them, and sliding further up your body. You wore only your swim briefs, having been heading for another dive further down the beach. You blushed involuntarily as his gaze hungrily travelled your form until it reached your face again.
“H-urt?” he asked at last, indicating the silicon tail behind you. You shook your head.
“No, it didn’t hurt.” you assured him, leaning back and pulling it over to show him the small chunk had been removed from the edge of the fluke.
“ See? Hardly anything.” you smiled at him. He inched slightly closer, and reached out of the water to graze delicate, webbed fingers over the little bite mark and surrounding silicone, tentacles dipping down to press against it inquisitively as well. You set the tail aside as he pulled away, raising his eyes to yours as the rhinophores waved hesitantly in front of you.
“...h-urt?” he asked again, and the slender tentacles caressed your chest as they had the tail. You flushed from the sudden contact, then realized what he had said, and looked down in confusion.
He was touching the old scars just above your ribs, from your top surgery. You giggled, and he smiled up at you.
“No no, not hurt.” you shook your head again with a grin. “Not anymore.”
He angled his head, returning your smile as his tendrils retreated, only to be replaced with his soft hand, tracing curiously along the edges of a scar. You shivered slightly at the soft, ticklish feel of his fingers on your skin.
He glanced furtively at your tail again, and you took a wild stab at interpreting his unspoken question.
“I can still swim with it.” you assured him gently. He brightened.
“Swim.” he said, and the word seemed more familiar. “Swim w-ith...us?” he ventured, soft webbed fingers slipping from your body as he moved back a bit, twirling in a small circle where he floated, as though by demonstration. You smiled again, inordinately pleased by the attention the lovely creature was paying you.
“Yes, I can swim with you if you like.” you said. “But I don’t need a fake tail for that.” You held one leg up out of the water. “These work just fine.”
He reached out, then snatched his hands back guiltily. His eyes turned up to yours.
“T-ouch?” he asked.
“Sure, i-it’s okay if you touch.” you said, your heart speeding up. Were they still interesting in courting you? This behavior was more akin to a human interaction.
You hoped they were still interested.
Because you definitely were.
He hesitantly moved closer and ran a soft hand along one leg. Fascinated, he lifted it from the water with both hands, the soft sensation of his smooth, cool skin making you shiver as he caressed it curiously.
“L-egs.” he repeated carefully, and he wriggled in the water, bringing himself up against one of your knees, stroking, kneading, and investigating both appendages, paying rapt attention to your reactions as his rhinophores wiggled excitedly over his face. His hand slid higher, over one thigh, and you gasped softly. He froze, watching you carefully.
“Hurt?” he asked softly, the words coming with less difficulty the longer he spoke. You shook your head and took a breath.
“N-no. Just....sensitive.” you explained. His glowing blue eyes gleamed as his hand stroked to the outside of your leg, and sharp little teeth showed in his smile as his other hand rose to gently caress your other thigh with only two or three fingers and the gossamer-thin webbing between them.
“G-ood?” he cooed up at you. His tone was almost sultry, and you blushed as you realized his gentle curiosity and exploration wasn’t quite as innocent as it seemed. He knew exactly what he was doing to you when he caressed you so intimately.
“Yes...” you breathed at last, and let him press your legs gently apart. He made a soft clicking noise as his fingers grazed across your inner thighs, watching your face flush as you bit back a whimper.
Rising from the water a bit more, he reached up with one hand and touched your cheek gently.
“Ha-nds-ome.” he purred, and his frills fanned out around his face and down his body, glowing prettily with their blue bioluminescence. The slim tentacles slowly caressed your face and brushed along your neck. You flushed, reaching down and brushing his chin upward with your fingers in invitation.
“You’re very lovely yourself...” you murmured, leaning forward into his touch. Bracing one hand on the rock between your legs, he pushed himself higher and covered your mouth with his. The kiss was sweet and chaste, and to your delight the soft orange cerata around his face wiggled softly against your cheeks as he kissed you.
You brought your hands up and carefully cupped his face, giggling softly as his frills curled and wrapped about your fingers gently. When it broke, he smiled at you, his sharp teeth somehow adding to his appeal as he held himself up against you, nuzzling down your cheek to kiss your neck.
“S-oft...” he breathed against you, and his long, slick tongue slid along your skin with an electric effect. You arched into him suddenly and moaned loudly, skin instantly flushing, member stiffening in your trunks with a surge of wet heat from your cunt. You froze, and he pulled back, looking guilty.
“Sp-ec-ial.” he tried to explain, rhinophores retracting cautiously, and opened his mouth to stick out his long tongue, pointing to it. He seemed at a loss to explain more.
“Is...is your saliva...an aphrodesiac?” you asked, surprised and nearly panting from your body’s instant reaction. He angled his head at you, not understanding. “Um. Does it make...sexual feelings...pleasure...more?” you tried, flushing.
He brightened, rays spreading again and tendrils waving excitedly. “Y-es! Ma-kes pl-eas-ure...m-ore.” he smiled again, then blinked at you uncertainly. “I-s...g-ood?”
You shivered, the residual of the tiny dose of potent toxin absorbed by your skin making your sex throb madly. Well...you definitely were interested before he exposed you to it... what could it hurt?
“Yes.” you admitted with a blush. “It feels very good.”
His grin was both delighted and knowing as he leaned into you again, this time drawing his tongue slowly up the side of your neck before kissing you deeply. You felt the tingle of the toxin course through you, heat pooling deep in your core, and then the gentle push of his tongue against the seam of your lips. If this was what his saliva did when contacting your skin...what would it do if you consumed it?
You opened to him, a bit faster than you meant to, and his tongue plunged in, teasing over yours and eagerly exploring the warm honey of your mouth.
The effect was immediate. You gave a sharp moan as your hips bucked into him, skin flushing and prickling with sensitivity as it spread through your body. Every stroke of his tongue on yours was like white-hot fire, and you whimpered at the stimulation, cock hard and aching in your suit as you grew rapidly more slick.
He pulled back, and you leaned forward, lips chasing his with a soft whimper.
He chuckled, chirping softly as he sank back down towards the water, setting his hands on your thighs and pressing them further apart. You whined softly, pawing at your suit.
He reached up to carefully grasp the material of your trunks, and pulled. His claws ripped straight through the thin cloth, freeing your aching arousal as you let out a harsh breath. He gave a soft, quick whistle and clicked, one hand sliding over your sex, fingers gathering your slick and spreading it over your throbbing need. You shuddered, the toxin coursing rapidly through you, coating your thighs, his hand and the rock beneath you with your arousal.
You scooted further forward on the ledge, until your thighs were nearly completely in the water, his questing feelers caressing and stroking your chest and belly. He gave a chirp as he nuzzled against your cock, snaking his tongue out and curling it around it as he leaned in and kissed along your dripping heat.
With a shocked gasp, you bucked into him, achingly hard as he teased and sucked you, the vibrations from his purr making you whimper. He stopped a moment later, eyes watching you with playful mischief, his warm mouth still as it covered your trembling sex. You whined loudly as you forced yourself not to buck into his mouth, bracing your hands on the rock to keep from slipping into the water in your lust-drunk haze.
He smiled against you with a hum of approval, and dragged his long tongue slowly along your entire pussy, from your entrance to the tip of your cock as his rays wiggled against your inner thighs. Your legs shook as you threw your head back with a desperate cry, pressing hard into his mouth, and he rewarded you with a soft suckle on your painfully hard cock before he pulled away from your cunt with a coo of satisfaction, watching as lines of his saliva and your arousal stretched between your body and his dripping tongue.
He drew it back into his mouth, chirps and whistles of delight radiating from his throat as he savored your taste. A whine of need spilled from your lips, your hips twitching as they rocked against nothing, silently begging for the return of his mouth to your aching slit. But he shook his head with a pleased smile, reaching up to set his hands on your hips instead.
“Not t-oo m-uch.” he explained, and angled his head as you panted. “Water m-akes...b-ett-er.” he offered with a mischievous grin, claws scratching softly, eagerly at your skin. You were breathing hard, skin hot and prickling in the cool sea breeze, and you weren’t sure if he meant the water would soothe the growing, desperate need in your belly or give you further sweet torture. He licked his lips and chirped softly at you, pressing gentle kisses to your thighs, the glowing tips of his orange spines flickering in a beautiful pattern.
“C-ome swim w-ith me.” he invited in a soft coo.
You decided you didn’t even care, and slipped into the water with him.