Ocean Blue Eyes//A Garmau AU

8

The next morning, Aphmau and Aaron were wrapping up the notes they gathered from talking with Garroth the day before. The lab was crazy busy, everyone was scrambling around and spitting out ideas. People came up to the two, asking them questions about the merman and what he was like but, unfortunately, they didn't have many answers. Garroth didn't give them any profound information besides what he ate and his name. Besides that, they were just as lost as everyone else.

"If you can, can you ask him some of my questions?", One person asked.

"Does he speak another language?"

"Does that mean that he's vegan?"

The two of them were starting to get overwhelmed by all the questions. It didn't calm down until the Doctor came in. He looked casual, level-headed. He came up to Aaron and Aphmau, gently pushing aside everyone else.

"Congradulations you two,", He smiled. "Because you took seem to have a breakthrough, you will continue your research with the subject. There are a few questions we need to ask him since you are the only ones he seems comfortable around. We'll take care of the rest."

Aphmau was confused what he meant by "the rest" but, she knew that this was all work. They would never hurt Garroth.

"Sounds good, sir. Thank you for this opportunity,", Aaron nodded, shaking his hand. "When do we start?"

"Same time as usual,", He explained. "Are you okay Ms. Shalashaska? Do you feel comfortable with this?"

"Y-Yes Dr. Smith,", She stuttered, standing up while grabbing her notebook. "Is there anything specific you're looking for?"

"Nothing really. We'll use today for everyone to come up with a few questions for you to ask tomorrow. For today though, you two should just focus on making him comfortable,", Dr. Smith answered.

The two nodded and started for the door. Dr. Smith called out though; "Don't give him too much information though about our world. I don't want him taking advantage of us in some way."

"Understood Doctor,", Aaron agreed, turning back to the door. "Ready Aph?"

"Y-Yeah!", She said cheerfully, now a little confused on what the goal was here.

The two of them made their way back to the tank, going up to the above platform from before. It wasn't long before Garroth swam to the surface, smiling brightly. Aphmau still couldn't get over how beautiful and surreal he looked. It made her more nervous when it came to talking to him when she was a usually outgoing girl.

"Hey Garroth!", Aaron said instead, waving at him. "How'd you sleep last night?"

"Good. And you guys?", Garroth asked politely.

"Pretty well, if I do say so myself. Aph?"

"Same. It's a little chaotic right now, so sleep is always nice,", Aphmau answered, hugging her notebook to her chest. The last thing she wanted was to make Garroth nervous off her energy so, she tried her best to cover it up.

"Huh...if you two don't mind me asking...how do you sleep, exactly?", Garroth asked, curiosity traced in his voice.

"Well, we have these things called beds,", Aphmau explained. "They are these soft surfaces with warm blankets on top. How about you? Do you just float?"

"Uh, well...no. We sleep on sleep on sea sponges, which is also called a bed where I'm from. We then use woven seaweed as covers."

Then, a twinge of guilt hit Aphmau. "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry that you've just been sleeping on the tank's floor! It must be so uncomfortable for you!"

"It's nothing really!", Garroth insisted. "I'm not picky!"

Aaron glanced at Aphmau as if to say "I'll take care of it", assuring her that it'd be solved in the upcoming days. Aphmau took off her shoes and rolled up her pants, sitting on the ledge of the pool. Dipping her feet in, she decided to change the subject and asked; "I actually wanted to ask you some more questions about what's it like at home for you."

"Getting personal already? We just met,", Garroth smirked, swimming up next to her.

"Well, you don't have to answer them if you don't want to. We just want to get to know more about you,", Aphmau sighed, opening her notebook. Aaron behind her, turned on the camera again and decided to let her do what she did best. Making people feel welcomed. "Do you have a family?"

"Yes! A father and a younger brother,", Garroth answered, truthfully. The blonde knew his boundaries but, figured that this was an okay question.

"Are all mer...people just men then?", Aphmau asked genuinely taking that as a option; "Or do you change gender like other fish?"

Garroth laughed, his freckles lighting up a bit in a faint blue glow. "No! Unless they want to, there are male and female merfolk."

"Gotcha,", Aphmau winked. "I was getting worried there that you didn't know what I was."

Garroth chuckled at the joke and asked her; "Do you have a family?"

Aphmau froze. What should she tell him? Does she say just a mom? Or mention her father, step-father, half-brother, step-sister, and many step-brothers? She bit her lip and Garroth noticed that maybe it was a touchy subject for her so, he asked something different. "What is it that you do? I've come to the understanding that this is your job, so to speak."

"Aaron and I are marine biologist. We study life in the ocean,", Her explanation was brief, not knowing if it was okay to go into detail about that. "Do you have a job at home?"

Now that's a question Garroth was hesitant to answer. "Um...I'm a guard,", He lied.

Aphmau's eyes lit up; "That would explain why you had a sword when those fishermen found you! Do you guard anyone special?"

"The Prince,", Garroth added onto the lie.

"So you have a monarchy system?", Aphmau asked.

"I guess you can say that,", The blonde shrugged.

"Cool! What's it like being the Prince's guard?"

Garroth took some time to think about that. He thought of Laurance and Blaze, how they probably perceived the job. He frowned, thinking about how he treated them and their directions. "It's difficult. He's really stubborn and doesn't listen sometimes. That's what got me into this mess to be honest..."

Aphmau gave him a look of sympathy, and when he looked up in her eyes, he felt his heart jump. Her amber eyes were beautiful and the water reflecting off her face was like a final signature on a piece of art. Garroth thought she was gorgeous in that moment but, tried to ignore it. He needed to get home and he couldn't have her as a distraction.

"How did you get here?", Aphmau asked, resting the notebook on her lap, leaning a bit forward.

"The Prince and I went exploring a underwater cavern. An octopus attacked us and we got separated, leaving me lost in the tunnels,", Garroth explained, thinking of his selfish actions that one night. "I was in there for a few days, eventually getting out but, far away from home. Then, there was a storm that washed me on shore. You can probably connect the dots from there."

"Oh Garroth...I'm so sorry,", Aphmau said, placing a hand on top of his shoulder. "Do you know where home is?"

"From here? No,", The merman sighed. "So maybe it's a good thing I ended up here. I probably would've gotten in even deeper trouble."

Aphmau and Aaron looked at each other, hoping that was a true statement. The two, admittedly, didn't know what the center wanted from Garroth. They wanted to assure him that he was right but, they couldn't lie to him.

"We're glad you're here as well Garroth,", Aphmau said. "And we promise you that you'll find your way home." 

The blonde smiled brightly, a sadness still lurking in his eyes. In the back of his head, he knew, that there was some cracks in that statement. Some of them the two couldn't control. But, he appreciated the effort. At the moment though, this was a one man effort and he needed to do this on his own. That's what scared him the most...

Word Count: 1361