Chapter Text
William never liked to admit when he needed help. He was the Colonel of his kingdom, and that meant finding solutions to problems no one else could, or had the balls, to do. And for his job, he was perfect; always putting up new defenses for the kingdom, choosing all the new recruits for the military, and gaining the respect of everyone the second he came into a room. It was almost like he was born to do it.
But when it came to love? Well, he was clueless. Sure, you can read about it and imagine it, but until you really know what it feels like and experience it yourself, you have no idea what you're doing, and as it turns out, William is terrible at it. He has the whole giving gifts and compliments thing down, but actually telling the other that he liked them? It was near impossible.
So that's why now, after time and time again of failing to confess his feelings to Damien, he decided to take drastic measures.
Go to Mark.
That sounds a lot more dramatic than it should, but at this point, the merman saw the other as his only hope. Mark was an entertainer, and 'actor' as humans called them, and a rather famous and popular one at that. He's had many lovers and could charm a clam if he so pleased, but the weirdest part would have to be that the Colonel was friends with him in the first place. They were so drastically different in personality and morals, but they've known each other since they were children, and to this day it's stayed strong. Yes, it was hard to see each other very often since they both had high focus and public careers, but they still came together on occasion.
That's why William was here now, at Mark's coral home on the outskirts of the kingdom where most of the rich choose to live, away from the main part of the kingdom. He swam up to the two servants that guarded each side of the entrance, both who bowed respectfully at the sight of him, knowing he was a Colonel. William requested to see Mark, and one of the servants, the one with the dark blue tail and skin, darted away. Less than a minute later the merman himself was there, smiling widely, and the Colonel couldn't help but smile back.
Mark was a sight to behold by anyone, not just because of how handsome he was, but because of how much his entire form stood out against the rest of the water. While most mermaids had darker and more tame colors, Mark was bright gold, tail and fins sparking in the water like those fireflies on the shore. No one knew for sure whether or not it was 100 percent real, but at the same time no one cared. Mark demanded attention everywhere he went, and just like William, he got it everytime he walked into a room. It was truly incredible how different they were from each other.
"Well well well, look who it is!" Mark exclaimed, inviting him into his home with the wave of his hand. The Colonel swam past the servants and the gate, clasping hands with the other and squeezing, the bottom of Mark's tail brushing against William's. Mermaids aren't very affectionate creatures, but if Mark had his way he would wrap his tail around every living thing that moved, and thankfully, over the years William has grown used to it.
"It's nice to see you, old friend," William greeted as they both made their way into the the coral home, also saying a brief hello to Mark's butler, Benjamin. The two went to Mark's private quarters, and William barely managed to put the silencing cover around the room before his friend was spitting out words.
"So, what's their name?"
The Colonel choked on his own saliva, staring at the other in pure shock. Mark's amber eyes sparkled in amusement, a smirk appearing on his face as he observed William's reaction.
"What the Hell are you talking about?" William demanded, his tail fin opening and closing in irritation. He knew trying to deter from Mark's question would be in vain, seeing as the actor would never lead up until he got an answer, so his best bet would to be go head on. Yes, he came here for advice, but he thought he'd be the one bringing it up, not the other.
"Please, William, I haven't seen you in ages and you have the same look on your face as Benj did when he found his mate," Mark chuckled, swimming around the other with a teasing look on his face. "So do tell me friend, what's their name? What color is their tail, oh! When can I meet them? I can tell about all of the embarrassing stories from when we were kids-"
"We're not mates," came flying from the Colonel's mouth without his permission, breaking eye contact with the shocked expression on Mark's face. "Yet," he added quickly, shaking his head. How was he supposed to explain this at all without sounding crazy?
Mark came closer, looking much more serious than he had a moment ago. It made William feel surprisingly small, the sudden shift in tone from the other making him almost uncomfortable. At that moment he wanted Damien by his side to comfort him, to tell him everything was alright and would work themselves out. William he could see the human's gentle smile, shy look in his eyes and his graceful movements, even with his leg and cane slowing him down.
Why did it have to be so hard?
Mark was staring at him intently now, not saying a word as he let William gather himself to say something, for once not putting in his own two cents. He must have realized that this matter the Colonel came to see him about was truly serious to him, and he wanted to respect that. William finally took a deep breath, and told as much as he could think of.
"His name is Damien, and I know he's my mate. It hurts just to be away right now, but..." William shook his head as Mark placed a hand on his shoulder, encouraging him to go on. "He's human, Mark. He didn't even know mermaids existed until I saved him from drowning..." still, Mark didn't say anything, as if sensing that there was more to be said. The Colonel took another breath, and finally got to what he came here to ask. Before he wasn't even sure if he was going to tell Mark Damien was a human, but he guessed that was out of the question.
"I, uh- came here for advice," William admitted. "Advice about... how to confess your love to a human?" It was at that moment William realized just how insane and odd his question was. Most mermaids never had to confess anything of the sorts to their mates, but Damien was not a mermaid, meaning he didn't have the same instincts and feelings as William did.
And even just confessing that his mate was a human took a lot off of the Colonel's chest, not realizing just how much it had been weighting down on him before. He was actually surprised he hadn't told someone sooner, but who really would he tell? Sure, he had Mark, but even before now he didn't know how his friend would react to the information. Some mermaids romanticized the idea of having a human as a mate, while others downright hated it. William, for however much he trusted Mark, was taking a gamble of what his friend would say and do once he knew about Damien.
The other was silent for several moments, pressing his lips together in thought. "How long have you known Damien?" he questioned without tone in his voice, making William's gut squeeze.
"I'm not sure..." the Colonel blinked, trying to think back to how long ago that he saved Damien. It felt like a lifetime ago, but he knew it had been five months at most since he's known the human. "Perhaps five months? It's the best estimate I've got-"
"YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT YOU'VE KNOWN YOUR MATE FOR FIVE MONTHS AND YOU HAVEN'T TOLD ME UNTIL NOW?!" Mark demanded, shaking William's shoulder. "Do you realize how much sooner you two could have been mates if you would have just come to me for help? Geez, William, I've known you for a long time, and I've seen you do some rather stupid things, but this by far has be the stupidest."
The Colonel blinked again, trying to process what Mark was telling him. Immediately it was clear that A: Mark didn't care that his mate was a human, and B: his friend was mad that he never told him sooner. It warmed William's heart slightly, knowing that his friend approved meaning more than he would like to admit to.
"S-so you know how I can tell him?" William stuttered, rushing the words out as fast as possible. Mark merely laughed at the question, swimming around the Colonel, his tail sparking in the water, and at that moment it reminded William of the golden watch he had found at the bottom of the ocean and given to Damien. The human had loved the gift, and the next day it was in his pocket, showing the merman what it did and how to read it. It was a fond memory William cherished deeply, and thinking about it made him even more eager to tell the human how he felt. That is, if he could gather his courage to.
"That part is easy!" Mark chuckled, stopping right in front of the Colonel. "You just kiss the boy!"
Frustration immediately builded up in William at that. He wanted to kiss Damien, he had for a long while now, but he wasn't sure how humans took kissing and what it meant to them. It was one of the highest forms of affection for mermaid's, but for all he knew, for human's it was a giant insult, or maybe they didn't even know what it was.
"But what if humans don't know what kissing is? What of he doesn't like me like that at all? What if-"
"William. He likes you. And of course humans know what kissing is! Have you ever read any of their literature or researched them in any way?" Mark interrupted. It was no surprise to the other merman that Mark read all about humans. Mark has been fascinated with them for as long as William could remember, collecting their objects, reading any book that he could grab about them, everything. Still, there was still a sliver of doubt that Damien could ever love him.
"How do you know he'll love me?" the Colonel whispered, heart clenching. "How can you be so sure?"
Mark sighed, running his fingers through his gold threaded hair. He looked William right in the eye, no joking whatsoever, and told him, "I don't. You can't ever truly know until you ask and get a response. But something tells me that this boy? He loves you just as much as you love him. Maybe it's that whole mate instinct thing we have, but you two are meant to be. So," Mark smiled again, showing off his pearling white teeth. "Go kiss the boy."