Work Text:
It was no secret that William loved to give Damien gifts. Everything from little shells the merman found on the bottom of the sea, to various trinkets from his home and even a few human objects that some mermaids liked to collect. The human cherished every single one, always taking the gifts with him whenever they had to part once again, and unknow to William, he kept them all in a drawer near his bed so that he could easily open it and see them.
It all would have been rather romantic if Damien knew that it was supposed to be in the first place. The human had no idea that mermaids did this to court each other, much liked he didn't know about everything else William has done. For now, the merman wanted it to stay that way, seeing that he didn't know if Damien actually liked him or not, even if William did. The look of surprise everytime he brought a gift never ceased to make the merman's heart soar, loving how the human would then light up as he took the gift. From what William could tell, Damien didn't get a lot of gifts, and that thought just made him want to shower the human with everything he could find, give him anything he wanted to make him happy.
"You know you don't have to get me these things," Damien had told him one time, holding a gold lined brush that had a pattern of roses along the handle. It was one of the human items that had no use to mermaids, and William figured the human would like it.
The merman tilted his head in slight confusion. "But I want to give you gifts. Do you not like them?"
That caused the telltale flush to cover Damien's face, making William's fin flutter with joy. He loved how pink the human would get whenever he got embarrassed or flustered, the desire to touch it and see what it felt like very strong, but he didn't. He didn't want to freak out and confuse Damien even more.
"No, I uh, like the gifts, I'm just saying you don't have to feel like you must get me one," the human said quickly.
"I don't feel like I have to give you one. I like giving you gifts, I makes me happy when I see your reaction." This made Damien go red, and William just laughed. That was the end of that conversation it seemed, but it was one the merman thought about often. It made him wonder what gifts meant to human's exactly, do they show friendship, love, did they not really mean anything? He didn't know or ask.
But for all the gifts and things that William has given Damien, there's always been one thing he's tried to find. He didn't know what it was called, but he knew what it was and what it generally looked like (some research at the mermaids version of a 'library' helped with that). It reminded the merman of a stick, but fancier and much stronger, meant to help humans that could not walk very well. Everyday he watches Damien limp down the beach, struggling to stay upright in the uneven sand. There have been a few times where the human has even fallen, too far away for William to help, only able to feel helpless as the human slowly pushed himself upright and shakily stood up.
If he could find this object and give it to him... it would be the perfect gift. So day and night he searched for it it abandoned shipwrecks that younger mermaids who feel adventurous explore. So far he's found nothing resembling this object, but instead of growing discouraged, it made the merman more determined to find it. Imagining Damine's reaction fueled him even more, the idea of helping the one he had fallen for so hard making his heart sing.
Finally, after dozens and dozens of shipwrecks, he found one. It was rather close to the shore where Damien lived, only about three miles out, and it was one of the biggest and fanciest ones he's ever seen. Crystals from dangling things shined in the reflective water, gold and other valuables everywhere he looked. It was almost a shame that the ocean decided she wanted this one, but like all things, mermaids could not control what their home desired.
William swam through the ship, seeing many fish and plants among the treasures. It was surprising that no one had come here and looted the ship, but it was so close to shore that it probably put off most mermaids, not wanting to be seen by the human's that lived there.
The merman pushed open a swinging thing called a door going into the room. It had to be the most extravagant and beautiful room in the entire ship, everything lined in gold and silver, jewels glimmering and objects that William didn't know the purpose of in covering every inch, including something in the middle that was large, rectangular in shape with smaller, poofy rectangles on top of it.
William observed everything in the room, a small ball thing, objects he recognized as books that were long faded, and in the corner, covered by seaweed, was the thing the merman had been looking for for so long. At first he wasn't sure if it really was, but on closer inspection he found it was. He tore off the seaweed and held it in his hands, feeling solid and strong. The majority of the object was a black color that still remained shiny even exposed to the salty water, the top rounded and marble, the creamy white reflecting all sorts of colors into the water.
It was beautiful. It was perfect.
Body tingling with excitement, William quickly swam out of the shipwreck and towards the shore, even if he knew it would be a little while until the human would arrive. He swam in circles, trilling underwater to himself and thinking about how happy Damien would be, how his mate would finally be able to walk comfortably-
The merman froze, every muscle going still. Did he just call Damien... his mate? Why on Earth had he done that? Even if he had fantasized becoming the human's mate, even courted him like it, he still wasn't, and he never would without his permission.
William shook himself from his thoughts, seeing Damien walking down the path and onto the beach, limping becoming worse in the sand. But it wouldn't be like that for long if the merman had anything to say about it. He kept the thing under the water so the human wouldn't be able to see it as well, swimming up to the shore and by the rock they always meet at. Damien barely got his greeting out before William was thrusting the cane out of the water to show him, the human blinking in surprise.
"What's this?" he asked, hesitantly grabbing the object.
"I don't know, but it's supposed to help humans that can't walk very well. I found it in a shipwreck!" the merman told him joyously. Damien gently rubbed the marble part of the thing, admiring the light it gave off and smiling softly.
"This is a cane," Damien said, voice far off. "I haven't seen one like this in ages, let alone it being in such good shape.." he trailed off, warm brown eyes meeting William's. "i didn't realized you cared so much about me being able to walk... words can't describe how much this means to me." There seemed to be little droplets forming at the corners of the humans eyes, but Damien quickly wiped them away. William's heart exploded with joy, smiling so wide that it hurt. Somehow, he managed not to jump on the human and kiss him senseless, as much as he wanted to.
Instead, he replied with, "no problem, my Kaiá. If it makes you happy, I'll do anything."
The merman had no idea how Damien took that, his expression becoming unreadable for a few moments, but it quickly went away. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and enjoying each others company, and when the finally had to part ways, Damien hardly limped, using his new cane to help support him. It made William long to give the human everything in the whole wide world, because that's what his love truly deserved.