Work Text:
Years ago in Chicago it was something they’d do
Ray and Stella would stroll the lakeshore when their love was new
And wonder what the future of their shared life would be
But that was before Stella wanted to be free
Ray was cautious near the water – he didn’t know how to swim
But Stella loved the lakeshore and Ray wouldn’t deny her whims
And so that was how their marriage did go
With Ray eager to please while Stella dragged him in tow
Years later, divorced, Ray walked along that shore
Too burdened by his sadness to be cautious like before
Caught up in sadness, he did not heed the rising tide
Nor note a merman’s approach in a swift glide
The merman named Benton had been swimming close to shore
The landman’s odd behavior had made him want to see more
And wonder why the man took no heed of the tide’s rise
But slouched along unheeding ‘til it caught him by surprise
Benton to the rescue, he embraced the drowning Ray
And mouth-to-mouth gave him merbreath in a buddy-breathing way
That breath which makes a landman able to breath in water
That breath which makes a landman able to swim without falter
And when they broke the surface, drifting with the current due south
A questioning Ray managed to say “What was that thing you were doing with your mouth?”
Benton smiled a dazzling smile for their contact had charmed him so
He had never felt such an attraction to any who dwelt below
Ray too felt the connection, having been saved in this wildly bizarre way
And could take magic in stride because his mum’s Irish side had taught him of the fae
So the merman and the landman would become a bonded pair
Sharing their lives under the water and above in the air