Yuri is a natare. A mermaid. He knows how to follow the rules that keep his kind safe. So why does a human dancer named Victor makes him feel like breaking all of them?
Yuri stared at the pile of dozen dead fish he'd easily caught. They laid on top of a rock, drying, their lifeless eyes staring at Yuri accusingly. Why had he caught so many? It wasn't in his nature to kill for sport, every little life he ended was for his own survival.
"Stupid, Victor..." Yuri mumbled at the dead fish. "You don't deserve these fishes."
The fish didn't respond to his query. Yuri sighed, then made a face when he felt a sting on his fin. He swam to the bottom and grabbed a ball of sand with both hands, placing it next to the dead fish. He repeated the step three times until he had a decent amount, then finalized mixing it with some algae, reef, and his own saliva to create a salve.
The natare pushed himself out of the water and sat on the rock, stared silently at the little gashes on his fin as he gently rubbed the salve over them. They weren't particularly deep, but an open wound was an open wound nonetheless, and even if he was on top of the ocean food chain, there were things out there with sharp teeth that enjoyed blood.
Why had Victor pushed him away? He'd only wanted to kiss again like they were doing before. It'd been fun. It'd been exciting. He'd never experienced a warmth like the one he felt when the human touched him. Why would Victor not want to do more of that? Perhaps humans could only kiss a limited amount a day? But what was the point of limiting something that felt so good?
Only Victor could answer his questions.
One of the dead fish slipped from the pile and fell next to Yuri's hand. Its dead eyes catching the natare's attention. He might as well give them to the human to eat.
The cave was empty and dark when he returned. "Victor?" Yuri put the pile of fish atop the barrier. "Victor?" his voice echoed in the small space. He exited the cave and looked around for any sign of the human. The sun was almost gone, humans couldn't see in the dark right?
Something large suddenly crashed into the water next to Yuri. The natare's instincts kicked in. He was wounded, he would not be prey. Yuri put as much force as he could and swiped his fin towards — silver hair. Yuri redirected his fin just in time, flipping in the water, snatching the human by the waist and pushing them both towards the surface.
"Never do that again!" The natare's heart beat loudly, like he forgot how to breathe.
The human stared silently then his lips turned upwards into a nonchalant smile. "I didn't mean to scare you." he spoke calmly, like what had happened was amusing. It only angered Yuri more. "I was afraid I wouldn't see you when you came back so I climbed to the cliff above the cave to be on the lookout. Good thing you returned before it got dark otherwise—"
"I almost struck you with my tail!" Yuri yelled.
Victor tilted his head. "I pushed you so it would only be fair."
"What you did was nothing! When natare strike we don't mean to slow down a threat, we mean to stop it permanently." Yuri felt the sting of tears in his eyes. Why was he getting so upset? He hadn't hurt Victor. Victor was ok. Victor was...
"Oh..."
They both stayed quiet for a minute, Victor seemed to take his time absorbing what could have happened. Yuri resisted the urge to go under and disappear.
"I'm sorry," the human finally said. He moved closer, fingers reaching towards Yuri's face. The natare flinched once and they both took another second to take each other in. Slowly. Almost as if they were meeting for the first time. Victor eventually closed the gap, palm rubbing Yuri's cheek, fingers against the back of his neck, and pulling him close until their bodies touched.
The warmth was instant. Yuri bit his lip and resisted the urge to hide his face in the crook of Victor's neck.
"I'm sorry I pushed you," Victor's voice was barely a whisper and broke at the seams. "I have no reason for having pushed you away. No excuse." Yuri felt Victor's thumb rubbing his skin. "Yuri, when I see you it's like I can't think clearly. It's a little scary. I see you so close, and for a second I think you're just like me." The natare felt Victor's knees and feet rubbing against his fin. "Then I remember you're not and I can't help but feel this deep worry about what's going to happen."
Victor's hands moved until his thumb pressed against Yuri's bottom lip. "I already can't stop thinking about you, but I also can't stop thinking that I can't stay here forever and how is that going to work—"
Yuri whimpered and leaned into the touch. He knew Victor wouldn't be here forever. He didn't need to be told that. He just wanted... he just wanted... what did he want? To kiss Victor? Then what else?
The natare squirmed against Victor's body, the human's name escaping his lips. Once. Twice until warm lips brushed against his cold ones.
Victor's voice came firm this time. There was no doubt. "We only live once, Yuri, and I'm done thinking." Water splashed around them as Victor closed the gap for good. Lips brushing, rubbing, hungry, and hard. Yuri met the effort halfway rubbing his fin against Victor's legs, pulling the human close as they went under the surface. It didn't last very long, Victor needed air after all, but it was like Yuri couldn't control himself.
Closer closer... The natare thought. Victor still wants me. He wants me... He couldn't seem to gather his thoughts properly. He just wanted the human's touch and the increasing warmth between them. Touch me... Yuri felt Victor's grip on his hips — right between his skin and fin — grinding the natare's body against his. Yuri vocalized a muffled noise he didn't even know he could make and without thinking the natare guided one of Victor's hand towards the front of his fin.
Victor's toes suddenly pressed against one of Yuri's wounds and the natare pulled away without thinking, escaping the ache. They broke the surface together, and stared at each other for a minute, it was clear both inched to be close again, but the sky was almost at full dark and common sense finally kicked in.
"I brought you fish," the natare squeaked.
The human smiled. "Good, I'm starving." Yuri beamed proudly. No longer regretting he'd killed so many fish. They were for his human. To keep him strong and healthy. They both needed to be strong and healthy. He'd kill as many fish as Victor needed.
Victor took the natare's hand and started swimming slowly back towards the cave. Yuri could have swam faster, but instead let Victor lead him.
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