Shuriki x Esteban Requests

Heart Song

Not all sirenas sang. Most were born with beautiful voices, while others....not so much. Shuriki was one of the latter. She sat on a boulder near the water's edge watching the other sirenas sing and dance to the rhythmic rise and fall of the tide.

It was the same every year. Sirenas from all over the ocean swam south to the bonding grounds in the hopes they'd find a mate. It hadn't happened for Shuriki yet and she'd attended the binding ceremony every year ever since she'd been deemed an adult four decades earlier. She'd given up on finding a mate. No one wanted her. The males never showed an interest in Shuriki and the other females had basically ostracized her due to sensing that she was mentally ill.

Finding a mate would've helped curb some of her darker impulses, but no sirena in his right mind would bind himself to a defective female like her.

Shuriki told herself over and over she didn't want or need anyone to fill the overwhelming emptiness she felt, but in her heart, she still ached for a mate who'd love her in spite of her instabilities. Perhaps she just needed to accept the fact she'd never have a family of her own. She was getting old. In a few more years, she wouldn't even be fertile anymore.

Shuriki sighed. Watching the other sirenas dancing and singing and courting wasn't helping her mood. She decided to leave the ceremony, but whenever Shuriki slid down off the boulder, she landed on a male who was swimming by instead of in the water like she'd intended.

Shuriki came down hard on his back startling him as they both disappeared under the water's surface just to pop back up a few moments later.

"Madre de dios!" the male exclaimed.

Once the initial shock of the collision wore off he whirled around to glare at Shuriki. "Idiota! Why don't you watch where you're go-" He fell silent the moment he saw her, the remaining words of his reprimand dying as soon he noticed she was not just female but also somebody he'd known for years. "Shuriki?"

Shuriki stared at him for a moment before he saw the flicker of recognition in her eyes.

"Esteban? Is...is it really you? What're you doing here?"

"Mi familia has been on my case about finding a mate. They keep saying I should've chosen one by now since I've attended the ceremony each year for almost a decade. Are you here for the binding ceremony as well?"

"I think all the sirenas here came looking for mates," she replied. "I was just leaving."

His smile faded. "Really? Why? Don't you want to find a mate?"

"I don't see any point in trying," Shuriki admitted. "I've been traveling here for most of my adult life and no one's asked me to be their mate. I doubt it's ever going to happen, so there's no reason for me to stay."

"That's...muy sad."

"Yes, well...it was nice to see you again, Esteban. If you'll excuse me..."

Shuriki tried to swim off but Esteban wasn't ready for them to part ways. "If I asked you to bond with me, would you stay?"

Shuriki turned back to him. "You shouldn't say such things. It's cruel of you to give others false hope. Even if you were serious, we both know your family detests me. They'd never approve."

"I am serious," Esteban persisted, "and I do not care what mi familia or anyone else thinks. Who I mate with is my choice. No one else gets to make the decision." He moved closer to her. "I know it won't be easy, but I also know having you as my mate would be worth it. I'm already aware of the three incurable illnesses you suffer from. Human healers call them autism, narcissistic personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder."