CONTENT WARNING: Sexual content, merfolk sex
"Is this really necessary?" came the terse harumph from the clamshell bed.
Egon smiled indulgently and paused in his preparations to glance over his shoulder. Lounging on his bed, not caring who might see, the brilliant violets and neon blues stood out on his nearly midnight black scales and long, graceful fins. To those who had the misfortune of getting close enough, the black scales transformed into dark blues and purples. Ione ran a hand through his violet hair, flipping the locks over the shaved side. His back fin practically vibrated in annoyance as he twisted on the bed.
"Ione," Egon began, smiling to his finicky violet, "we've been over this a few hundred times now...."
"Doesn't make me happy about it," Ione snipped with a flip of his hair. The dark-colored mer narrowed his gold eyes before sitting up. The pastel purple scales of his chest and stomach flashed with the movement, catching the light-
And making Egon salivate.
Clearing his throat, the shark squared his shoulders and tried again. "My brother is just worried that if you end up pregnant, your delightful uncle will use it as an excuse to start a war. As it is, we risk your uncle declaring we've kidnapped you, with how often you come here...."
Ione snorted. "I'll just ask Tomomi to turn him into seaweed for a week. He'll be fine."
"That... that is not helpful," Egon chastised, stifling a laugh. "You will have to just accept this princess into our relationship."
"Do you even know anything about whoever they're sending?"
Egon shrugged and turned back to his current chore: setting up his quarters to accept a co-occupant. As the brother of the King and the general of the Atlantic, he was entitled to larger quarters now that he had an intended, but he liked his quarters and didn't want to change.
"I know they're the sixth in line for the throne," the shark mer said as he shuffled items from one shelf to another to clear space. "I know they have a habit of getting into trouble, so they'll fit right in with you." Ione snorted again, though Egon heard the laugh hidden by the sound. "And I know they have exceptionally vibrant colors. I was told Sifiye is a vision to look upon."
The room fell silent as Egon swam over the partition to the receiving area. He picked up clutter and knickknacks, putting them away on various shelves and surfaces. Ione peaked over the divider, watching the shark move through the space.
"Are they a ginger?"
Egon smiled, glancing over his shoulder. "I've heard they do have red in their hair...."
Ione laughed then, shaking his head. "So that's why you agreed. They're playing to your ginger fetish, you realize?"
The shark chuckled, then held out a hand for Ione. The merman gracefully swam over the partition and took Egon's hand, allowing the shark to pull him close and spin for a moment in each other's arms.
"Just give Sifiye a chance," Egon murmured into Ione's fin-like ear, smiling when he saw the twitch and flick that meant he was at least listening.
The violet of the sea sighed and relaxed into Egon's arms, pressing into the shark's clavicle. "Fine. For you. I'll give this... Sifiye... a chance... when are they arriving?"
"Today or tomorrow - the retinue sent to escort them from the border sent a message not too long ago saying they were past the Trench," Egon replied, his fingers running along Ione's back, where the fin merged with his dark, scaled flesh. The mer shivered and shifted against him, pressing closer, rubbing against Egon.
