Chapter Text
Fingers drumming against the steering wheel as the truck rumbles down the highway, Dave spares a glance to his right. Feferi is in the passenger seat, window down and wind whipping at the strands of hair that have escaped her braid. She's bopping along to a Backstreet Boys song on the radio and watching the world outside pass them by. At least it's comforting to see that she's not too bothered.
But it hurts a little, too. Just a little.
He'd hoped to drive them through Houston proper, but at the last minute had decided on a more secluded beach that made downtown a little too far out of the way. Which was too bad. She would have loved the city. So many new people to meet, so many new trash cans to see.
Dave can't help but smile to himself, focusing back on the barren road ahead of them.
"What is it?" Feferi says over the sound of the wind rushing by and the general shudder of his Bro's forty-year-old truck.
"Huh? What? Nothing," Dave dismisses out of habit, then realizes he doesn't know what she even means. "What do you mean, what is it?"
"You were smiling! Do you like this song?"
Dave realizes that the Backstreet Boys have tapered out into Natasha Bedingfield, and he snorts. "Not really, but it's definitely your song."
He doesn't need to look over to see her staring at him quizzically, but he doesn't elaborate, because he's not sure if he can. He doesn't know how to explain that's she's the kind of girl who writes her own story one day at a time, and how much it hurts that he only gets to be part of that story for a week. He wishes it was longer; maybe he should be glad to be part of it at all. Feferi turns back to the window, and the quiet sits heavily between them, like an unwanted third passenger just taking up space on the bench seat.
Dave is just thinking that the silence has gone on long enough to become awkward when Feferi rolls up the window, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees her turn towards him bodily.
"There really is something I need to tell you, though," she says quietly.
Don't, is what he wants to say. If I have a heart attack right now, we're both gonna die in a head on collision. Even though we haven't seen another car for the past five minutes.
"Yeah, sup?" is what he actually says.
"Well," Feferi starts, drawing out the vowel and inhaling deeply. "My mom is probably going to be there, and she's probably going to hate you. She might even try to kill you? I'm not sure!"
Rather than slamming on the brakes, Dave flips the hazards on and slowly pulls over to the side of the road, puts it in park, and cuts the engine. Whew. Close one. He managed to keep his brain blank for that long, just to turn to Feferi with a frantic look.
"Your mom? Yeah, no shit she's gonna kill me! How does she even know?" Out of any imminent danger, Dave tries to stave off a panic attack, accented by the tick-tick-tick of the hazards. "Oh man. Oh fuck. Oh shit. –is she at least hot? If I die, tell Bro that my tombstone should read: Here Lies Dave. He died to the thing he loved most: hot fish MILFs."
Feferi busts up laughing; full-bellied laughter that has her clutching her sides and kicking her feet on the underside of the dashboard. Dave frowns.
"Oh yeah, real fucking funny," Dave huffs. "You're laughing. I'm going to die, and you're laughing. Abso-fucking-lutely hilarious!"
"Dave! Dave. Dave. I'm sorry," Feferi says, using his name a few times as purchase to calm herself down and catch her breath. She reaches out and sets a hand on his shoulder. "You won't die! I said she might try to kill you, I didn't say that I would let her! But also yes, she is hot."
"...right," Dave says with hesitation, looking at Feferi's hand, then back up to where her warm brown eyes are sparkling at him, like she's trying to beam reassurance directly into him. "Yeah, okay, so. Be prepared for fishmom to attack. Sure. Can't be weirder than the past week. But... how is she going to know we're at the beach? Or which part of the beach specifically?"
"That's the thing," Feferi says, worrying her lower lip. "I don't know. Maybe we'll be lucky and she won't be there, but she has an uncanny way of just knowing things. It's kind of like... well, you remember, we watched the mermaid movie with Jade? And her dad was the king of the ocean and kind of overbearing, but then there was the evil sea witch? My mom is like if you put both of them together."
There's a lengthy pause where Dave has to process all this new information, slotting it in with everything he already knows. He knows she swam upstream to get away from home for a while, and if she has an overbearing sea witch mom, it makes sense that she'd want to leave. It's probably a lot harder to do in the ocean. And if she's a sea witch, she (un)fortunately knows a little magic; at least, enough magic to magically-spy on them. So, she could theoretically know they're on their way. Wait, was she only spying on Feferi, or did she spy on him, too? She better not have been peeping at him in the shower, or—
"Wait," Dave says, interrupting his own train of thought. "Does that make her queen of the ocean?"
Feferi's brow furrows, and she nods, looking reserved for the first time ever.
"So that makes you..." Dave squints, as if looking at her closely is going to help him say the words. "Holy shit? You're a princess? A... a... a fincess?!"
The pun at least gets Feferi to crack, the contrite look washing away with another bout of laughter. "Pretty much! I didn't want to tell you because I thought it might be weird."
Weird is an understatement. So not only is Dave guilty of kidnapping a merfolk, but merfolk royalty. Looking back out onto the road, he lets his head fall against the steering wheel. A lot of things make sense now. Other things have stopped making any sense at all, at least as much as they ever did. He can feel Feferi's eyes boring down on him, but he doesn't know what to do or say. At least, not until she unbuckles and scoots over to put her arms around his shoulders. It's a little awkward, but he appreciates it nonetheless, and leans into her.
"You're a fucking princess," he mutters under his breath. "Man. I am in some deep shit."
"You and me both," she adds, sighing against his shoulder. "But Dave. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, whatsoever!"
"Anyfin, whatsoebber?" Dave parrots back, a ghost of a grin starting to come across his face. God, what an emotional fucking roller coaster this, but her touch seems to have worked some kind of magic of its own, and with her holding him tightly, he really does feel like nothing bad could happen to him.
"Anyfin, whatsoebber!" Feferi agrees, giggling as she gives him one more squeeze, then moves back to her seat and buckles back up. "Come on, let's go! If we get there and she's not around, I want to hang out on the beach for a little bit."
Dave's heart skips at the same cadence as the engine trying to turn over. It rumbles back to life, the deep thrum mimicking the fluttering in his stomach. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he's still terrified of facing down a sea witch. But the prospect of spending a little more time with Feferi—the fucking sea princess—is more than enough to motivate him.
"Alright," he says, trying to sound casual, even as his voice cracks for the first time since puberty. "Off we go, then."
The rest of the drive is still a bit tense, but not because of anything between them. The prospect of meeting with Feferi's sea witch queen mother is still terrifying, but Feferi dancing along to the radio while Dave makes up bad ocean-related lyrics for every single song helps distract him from his impending doom. There are so many songs he wishes he could have let her listen to. She would have loved Ocean Man.
They finally get off the highway and onto a backroad towards the shore. According to the GPS on Dave's phone, they're close; not long after they turn, the ocean comes into view. He wishes he could see Feferi's reaction, but doesn't dare take his eyes off the road, especially with his GPS trying to guide him to the state park he scoped out for them. There would be people there, but they could walk down the shore until there weren't any, and parking would be either free or cheap.
Pulling into the dirt lot, Dave finds a parking 'spot', inasmuch as there are any spots. There's mostly signs set into buckets of concrete with rope between them, to make something like rows, but other than that, it's a free-for-all. Just as he thought, there are several cars there already. It's still pretty early, but that doesn't mean the crowds won't start piling in soon. It's going to be a nice day. A perfect beach-going day.
They both leave their sneakers in the car, Feferi because she won't need them anymore anyway, and Dave because he hasn't felt sand between his toes in approximately forever. Dave grabs Feferi's satchel off the floorboard, before they make their way down the boardwalk, past the state park info sign listing all the rules that everyone ignores, over a sand dune, and onto the beach itself. Waves lap at the sand, some seagulls fight over a piece of discarded donut, and the horizon stretches out, wide and yawning before them. It's amazing. He understands why she wants to go back.
When Feferi grabs Dave's hand, he smiles; he doesn't say anything, and lets her lead the way down the beach.
Is this the long walks on the beach he's heard so much about? It's nice.
Apropos of nothing, Feferi starts steering them towards the water's edge. The waves are cool on Dave's toes at first, but once he gets used to it, it's not so bad, walking the edge of the tide. There's probably something poetic to be said about straddling land and sea, just like their friendship.
You should tell her.
Jade's voice echoes in his head. He really should say something, shouldn't he? It's not like she'll be trapped now if he says it and it pisses her off. She can just take her stuff back and swim out into the ocean. He couldn't have done it before. How much would it have sucked to get rejected then have to make that drive?
"So, uh, I was thinking," Dave says, rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand, and wondering if he should have brought sunscreen. They haven't been out there that long, but he's already anticipating a sun burn. "Since you're going back to the ocean and all... I mean, we're at the ocean, but I mean, you'll be in the ocean and I won't be able to reach you. Unless maybe I send a messenger seagull. You think I could train a seagull to do that?"
"I don't know," Feferi says, hiding a giggle behind her palm. "What were you thinking"
"See, it's like this," Dave levels. And he's about to say it! He really is!
But someone is heading towards them. And Feferi stops dead in her tracks.
As the woman approaches, Dave can already see the resemblance. Though the woman still has the ethereal sheen of a mermaid (merfolk, Dave reminds himself) she has the same face, the same nose, the same bounce in her step. She's taller than he expected though, with how short Feferi is. Maybe it's a sea witch thing? That has to be where she got the legs. Her hair reaches down to the bottom of her calves, wavy and dried and seemingly styled, because why the hell not. If she can magic herself some legs, she can magic herself a nice 'do. She looks like she's wearing a surfer's wetsuit that barely contains her bust, and Dave has to hope she didn't steal it from someone who was already wearing it, because he doesn't think she'd ask nicely. Maybe the wetsuit is magic, too?
The biggest difference, though, is the sneer she wears. And Dave is pretty sure that's all-natural.
"Hello, mother," Feferi says once they're in conversational distance, voice pinched, face set to stern. It's kind of a scary look; Dave would be intimidated if she wasn't gripping on to his hand for dear life.
"Oh my cod," the sea witch says, much like an exasperated parent would upon finding their runaway daughter. "Now I sea what you were doing, floundering around up here. A human buoy, Feferi? Reelly?"
"Yes, mother, a human boy, really!" Feferi says, without the fish puns. If she's eschewing the puns, it must be serious. "Dave has been very nice to me! We had fun! We got barbecue, went dancing, watched movies! I even got to wear human clothes."
"I can sea that," the witch sneers with disdain, looking Feferi over. To her credit, Feferi doesn't shy away. "Whatebber. It's over now and you're coming back with me."
"No," Feferi says defiantly, planting her feet.
Dave almost nods along, sad to see her go, but relieved that the witch isn't trying to kill him.
"Wait... no?" Dave asks, incredulous.
"The shell do you mean, no?" the sea witch retorts, face set into a grimace. She'd definitely be a fish MILF if she didn't look so sour. "You're coming home, end of story."
"No, I'm not," Feferi reiterates, then turns to Dave. "Unless you want me to go. I understand if you do. It's just..."
"Ohoho, I get it now," the sea witch says, turning sinister. "Little guppy is in glub with a human, huh? Whale. We've got ways of reelin' that in. Any last words, human? I'm feelin' nice today."
Dave watches as the sea witch stalks closer, holding out a hand just for a double-ended trident to materialize in it. Shit. He should have borrowed one of Jade's guns. Or brought Jade with them, she's a better shot, anyway. But fuck. This is it. This is how Dave dies, skewered by a big titty fish mommy. Now that's poetic for sure.
"Don't you dare," Feferi growls, pushing Dave behind her. "You won't touch him."
"Oh, but I will. Did you forget who you're talking to, little guppy?" The sea witch continues her advance. "You'll have to try harder than making a mean face. Or are we going to fight, finally?"
Feferi falters. She's unarmed, and unless she has some cool magic spells up her sleeves, Dave gets the feeling that they're now both screwed.
"I'm not going to fight you, either," Feferi says with a sense of finality. "If you hurt him, I will never, ever forgive you, and I will keep running away, until you don't even want to look for me anymore. I won't live the rest of my life under your fins, mother!"
From over Feferi's shoulder, Dave can see the sea witch step up. She would be chest to chest with Feferi, if not for the height difference. As it is, Feferi's face is hard with determination as she tilts her head up to make eye contact with her mother. Dave just wonders if he could outrun that trident.
"You're telling me," the sea witch says, low and dangerous, "That you'd rather be a finless, land-walking, dry-ass human for the rest of your pitiful human life?"
"Yes. That is exactly what I am telling you!" When Feferi glances over her shoulder, it's with soft affection. "If Dave's okay with it, at least."
There's a decision to be made here. Side with the sea witch, break Feferi's heart, and have a 50/50 chance to get away with his life. Or stand behind Feferi (figuratively—since he's still physically behind her) and definitely get murdered by an angry merqueen. The math doesn't really work out in his favor either way. He thinks. He's not sure; he barely passed math class. Still, it seems like death is imminent, might as well go out on a high note, instead of tucking his tail between his legs and rolling over to just accept it.
"Yeah... I'm okay with it," he says with a shallow nod. "Like. Really okay with it, actually."
Feferi turns back to her mother and there's a long standoff. It feels like it lasts for an hour, even though it's probably a minute or less. He can't really make heads or tails of what's going on in the sea witch's mind. Probably all the ways she could kill him and leave his bloody corpse rotting on the beach like a beached whale. Or maybe she'd drag him into the ocean, never to be seen or heard from again. Bro might be a little sad. Might.
"Fine," the sea witch spits. "Your sister will be a better queen than your sorry bass anemoneway."
Finally, blessedly, the sea witch backs off, and Dave didn't realize just how much tension he'd been holding in, until he lets it out and his knees nearly buckle underneath him. Feferi seems just as surprised, and she turns with a look that can only say what the actual fuck? Dave nods in agreement, and Feferi's face goes soft.
"So, does this mean..." Dave starts, unsure how to finish the sentence. "Wait. I'm really confused."
"It means I like you, silly!" Feferi curls her arms around Dave's shoulders and when she pushes up on her tippy-toes, she's almost nose to nose with him. "I don't want to go back to the ocean. I want to back to your home and I want to visit with Jade and Bec and I want to do all of the human things! All of them!"
"All of them..." There's a lot of human things he hasn't shown her, and forgive him for being a young adult man whose mind wanders a bit at the thought. He lets his arms circle her torso and pulls her in closer. "I mean you've pretty much experienced them all. Food, dancing, clothes, dogs, nearly getting killed a sea bitch—I mean, witch. Sorry. Human slip of the tongue."
Dave hears a groan from the direction he last saw aforementioned sea witch. "Come on, let's get this shoal on the road. I don't have all day to glub around up here, you know."
Once again, Dave is at a loss, and looks to Feferi for guidance. "Actually... yeah, now what? Do I just keep your stuff forever? Or how does this work?"
"There's another way for merfolk to stay human," Feferi says with a sly grin. "They have to fall in love."
"Uhuh. How can we do that?"
Feferi rolls her eyes in a whole-head movement, and gives no warning before trying to jump into Dave's arms. He's too slow at catching her, and falls on his ass into the surf, Feferi falling on top of him. She doesn't look too bothered, though. In fact, as soon as he pushes himself up on one elbow, she hooks a hand behind his neck and pulls him in for a kiss.
He'd have enjoyed it a whole hell of a lot more if he knew it was coming. As it is though, it's pretty damn good. Her lips press fiercely against his at first, then soften. She's soft and he can still taste the chocolatey coffee on her from this morning. Once he gets his wits about him, he reaches with one wet, sandy hand, to cradle the back of her head and kiss her back, slow and a little chaste, because her mom is still watching. But oh, how he's wanted to do this.
"Gross ay-eff," Dave hears, the sea witch scoffing at this egregious public display of affection. And he might be embarrassed but holy fuck, he does not care what the fuck she thinks, so long as it doesn't involve one of that pointy jam being embedded in his guts. "You done? Aight, I'm leaving. Don't call if you need anything. And don't go swimming for a while. I'm still pissed."
Dave barely has a chance to see a mass of dark hair sprint into the waves before there's a splash, a shimmer of green, and both he and Feferi are soaked with the froth kicked up by her mother's abrupt exit. It's probably what he needs, though, because his head is spinning, and it brings him back to reality, at least for the moment.
Feferi is still straddling his hips, now with droplets of water shining in her hair and on her cheeks. As if she could look any more radiant.
"So... that's it?" Dave asks warily. "You're human forever now? Because you kissed me?"
"Actually," Feferi says, lingering on the last syllable. "I was probably already human. It's not really a science. We would have known if you tried to give me back my stuff and I didn't change back. But now I'm definitely human for sure!"
"Wow." Dave is stunned. Too many thoughts rattling around in his brain, and no way to convey them all in one sentence. So, he picks the most salient one. "You gave up being merfolk for me?"
"For you," she agrees. "And Jade, and Bec, and Debra, and even your Bro, even if he's a dick! But also for me. I never wanted to be sea queen, but as long as I lived under the waves with her, I wouldn't have a choice, eventually."
"But this gave you a choice," Dave continues for her, finishing the thought process.
"Exactly! It helps that there is a very cute human that I will now get to spend way more time with!"
Dave lets his head fall back, the waves lapping at the side of his head. Feferi leans in with him, nuzzling their noses together. Wow. Wow. Wow. He wants to look at her, but all he can do is stare towards the sky, focusing on the middle distance.
"Are you okay?" Feferi asks with cautious concern, when he's silent for a little too long, and Dave brings his focus back to earth. Back down to her.
"Yeah, no, yeah. I'm... really okay." There's still too many thoughts in his head. This time, he goes with the dumbest one. "Does this mean I'm your buoyfrond now?"
Even as she dips in and kisses him again, Feferi is laughing. He can feel it reverberate in his chest, where hers presses into his, and he slides his hand down to grab at her waist.
They're going to talk about all of this a lot more, once the adrenaline wears off and Dave has a chance to collect himself. Is this what she hoped for when she agreed to come on land? When did she realize it? What did the sea witch mean about fighting? What about Feferi's sister, and why couldn't she just abdicate the throne?
For the moment, he's content with what he has, which is a girlfriend who chose to live on land with him, despite the fact that he can now taste saltwater between them, and his jeans and even underwear are completely soaked through. He'd do it all over again, a million times if he had to. For the girl with beautiful brown eyes and a laugh that could light up a room, the girl who's just getting used to legs and who didn't know how to play Mario, the girl who gave up the ocean for him.
He'd do anyfin for her.