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Lambert had always liked the ocean. There was something exciting about it, the endless expanse of blue waves and the smell of salt. Never silent, constantly moving. He figured Geralt would like the ocean too, but he was off somewhere in the middle of the country, driving that stupid truck of his. Occasionally he imagined sending Geralt a postcard that just said ‘maybe you should go look at some waves and calm down bitch’, but he didn’t underestimate the man’s ability to hunt him down and beat him about the head for that. Lambert, unlike Geralt, didn’t like sleeping in a truck, he liked to have at least a shitty bed when he laid down for the night. Instead of drifting along the roads, he drifted from town to town.
This town was nice in that it was quiet and it took about five minutes to get to the ocean from his job. Which was really all Lambert needed. He wouldn’t be here for too long, so he was going to enjoy the coast while he could. No matter how nice a place was, he couldn’t stay put for too long. That just wasn’t his lot in life, to settle down and carve out a home for himself. Nah, guys like him and Geralt, they didn’t do that. Instead, Lambert rented a little apartment close to the docks and enjoyed his days out in the sun and the wind, breathing in the smell of the ocean.
Sometimes, Lambert got a day off and could actually afford to take it. They were rare, but he always treasured them when he had the chance. He always spent them on the beach, but not the shitty touristy parts. No, he’d trek out from the docks and down to the secluded parts that were still close enough that you could hear the sound of metal clanging and people yelling. Tourists didn’t like these parts of the beach, but Lambert didn’t give a shit. The sand was still sand, the water just as wet. And there was the added benefit of not having to listen to screaming kids and yelling parents.
Lambert would lay on the beach and nap, or just stare up at the sky, or he’d swim out and paddle around in the shallows. He wasn’t stupid enough to swim out too far when he was alone like this - he was a good swimmer but he knew the ocean was treacherous. He stayed just close enough to the shore that the currents couldn’t pull him out and under, but far enough that he could float comfortably and not just end up back on the beach.
When it came to floating, sometimes Lambert liked to switch things up and do a dead man’s float. It was dumb, sure, but when he was face down in the water and holding his breath against the cold chill he felt more alive than ever. Rolling over to face the sky, coming up gasping for air, it reminded him that he was winning. A little stupid, sure, but there was no one here to tell him that. No hands coming out of nowhere to cuff him on the back of the neck or flick at his ears, no over-exaggerated sighs at his ‘antics’.
At least, that’s what he thought. Lambert was minding his own business, floating face down, when out of nowhere there were strong arms wrapping around his waist and pulling him in what appeared to be a random direction. Naturally, Lambert took umbrage with this, flailing and instinctively yelling out in anger, which only filled his mouth with seawater. Faster than should have been possible he found himself flung onto the sand, landing with a wet thud. He was cursing up a storm in between coughing up water, frantically wiping at his eyes so he could get them open to see who had attacked him. If this was Geralt’s way of surprising him he was going to kick his ass --
“Oh fuck. You’re beautiful.” were the first words out of Lambert’s mouth as he looked up at the man above him. Brilliant amber eyes set deep beneath brows that were creased with worry, old scars stretching across the whole right side of his face, loose strands of wet black hair hanging down across his forehead, chapped lips that looked nonetheless extremely inviting...for Lambert, it was love at first sight. Maybe he was a little waterlogged, but he was sticking to his guns on this one. This was no hallucination brought on by lack of oxygen, no way.
The compliment seemed to have a negative effect on the man, as his frown deepened and he leaned in closer, one calloused hand patting at Lambert’s check and settling on his throat to check his pulse. He still hadn’t spoken, so Lambert decided he needed to try again.
“Why’d you grab me? I mean, not that I don’t appreciate the interest, but that scared the shit out of me.” He said, trying a half smile that quirked his mouth up just on one side, “I’m not mad, promise.” Maybe that was why tall, dark, and handsome hadn’t spoken yet, he was worried about Lambert yelling at him or something. He had been doing a lot of cursing on the way over to the beach, but now he wasn’t sure he could physically be mad at someone who was so pretty and so clearly worried about him for some reason.
“Thought you were drowning.” The man finally said, clearing his throat and speaking in a voice that was all rough grumble with no venom behind it. “Sorry, shouldn’t have gotten involved.” He added, already pulling away and making as if to turn back into the ocean. Lambert sat up as quickly as he could, grabbing at the man’s shoulder to hold him back, and suddenly saw the rest of him. The angle of their first meeting meant Lambert had gotten a great view of his face and muscular chest, but had somehow missed the bottom half. And the bottom half was, well, it was a treat on the eyes.
No, it wasn’t that he was naked (wait, was he?) or wearing a particularly hot set of swim trunks. From the hips down, this man had a fish tail instead of legs. And not just any fish tail, but a tail covered in gorgeous silver scales, strong and sleek and dotted with scars just like his face. Also incredibly gorgeous, in Lambert’s humble opinion.
“Oh shit, you’re a, uh, mermaid. Merman. Mer...person?” Lambert tried a few different words in an attempt to not immediately offend, his brain not exactly firing on all cylinders right now thanks to how busy it was being enamored. “Merman.” The man corrected with a sigh that sounded very long suffering, “And please don’t freak out. I’m leaving now, you can just pretend this never happened, or you got sunstroke and imagined it.”
Lambert tightened his grip, shaking his head firmly. “No fucking way am I forgetting this. And I definitely want to see you again. You can’t just save me and then swim away like nothing happened.” Ignoring the fact that he hadn’t been drowning, because he was just going to thank whatever lucky stars had led them to meeting.
“What?” The merman asked, sounding like now he thought Lambert had sunstroke.
“I want to see you again. Or talk now. Or both, really.” Lambert insisted again, holding out his free hand, “I’m Lambert, by the way. So we can be properly introduced.”
Hesitantly, the merman took Lambert’s hand in his own, the grip firm but brief before he pulled away again. “Eskel.” He said with a little nod.
“Great! Eskel, it’s fantastic to meet you” Lambert said with a smile, squeezing his shoulder, “So what do you say? Is it a date?”
The shocked expression on Eskel’s face made him look even more cute, in Lambert’s opinion. “A what ?! You want to go on a date with a mythical creature you just met? Are you mad ?” He spluttered, gesturing at himself as if Lambert couldn’t see just what he was getting into. Like Lambert wasn’t going to be interested in the obviously kind-hearted gorgeous man sitting in front of him, tail or no tail.
Laughing, Lambert retorted “No, I want to go on a date with Eskel. The person who tried to save a random stranger when he thought I was drowning. Who’s also very attractive, which is a big big bonus.” Eskel’s mouth closed with a snap and...was that a tiny hint of a flush across his cheeks? Hard to tell, because he turned his head away so that Lambert couldn’t investigate further.
“Sure. I guess.” Eskel mumbled, and Lambert let out a triumphant whoop, raising both hands in the air in victory. This, of course, freed Eskel to retreat into the ocean, a blur of silver and black and a flurry of saltwater splashing back onto Lambert.
“This beach, tomorrow! Noon for lunch!” Lambert called after him with a grin, absolutely sure he had been heard. Why else would Eskel have flashed his tail up over the waves one last time before disappearing?
It was a date.