Archive of Our Own

Living on land was proving to be far more complicated than Felix thought.

First was the matter of gravity. On more than one occasion, he'd fallen out of bed because he forgot he couldn't float here. Falling in general was exceedingly unpleasant, and he had experienced it often while trying to figure out how legs worked. Needless to say, he was not at all happy at this unforeseen complication.

Second, there was a lot more water up here than he realized. From sudden rainstorms to random puddles to the pools and fountains that humans were strangely obsessed with, he had to be very, very careful to not get splashed, or else his true form would be exposed to everyone. Worse, he couldn't recklessly use his control over water in front of humans, as that would give him away just as easily.

Lastly, humans were very numerous and very nosy. They always tried to butt into his business and asked him questions about where he was from and how he was doing. Luckily, his icy glares were usually enough to deter most of them, but it was tiring to have to deal with it every day.

All of this combined led to one miserable experience, and he would never have bothered with it if it weren't for one crucial fact.

He was hopelessly infatuated with a human girl.

He hadn't meant for it to happen, of course. As usual, he had Sylvain to blame for his predicament. Somehow, Sylvain had convinced him to join him on one of his "excursions" in the human world. Felix did not understand why Sylvain went through all the trouble of disguising himself as a human just to continue his insufferable flirting, but the human females ate his act up.

Felix had to step out after that, unable to watch the sickening display for a second longer. He'd had half a mind to head straight back to the ocean. The whole trip had been nothing but a waste of time.

He'd made it as far as the beach when he heard her sing.

While merfolk looked for many qualities in potential mates, chief among them was a powerful, beautiful voice. They used their voices for everything from tracking down prey to spellbinding any humans that stumbled across them. As such, the traditional way for merfolk to attract mates was to sing.

Though Felix was of mating age, no merfolk had managed to attract his attention. He'd seen many performances, but he remained thoroughly disinterested. He had always been odd by merfolk standards, being far more focused on honing his body than his voice. He saw no challenge or enjoyment in ensnaring fish with a song—instead, he craved the thrill of chasing and catching them with his bare hands. As such, his own singing voice was horrid. He never bothered to try singing for anyone because he knew no self-respecting merfolk would want to listen to his screeching.

He figured he would remain unmated for life. It wasn't unheard of in merfolk society, but because the vast majority of mature unmated merfolk were the least desirable ones, they were generally shunned and derided. It was a fate Felix was fully prepared to accept, and no amount of his old fish's scolding was going to change his mind.

That a human of all things would be the one to bring all his mating instincts to the forefront was both embarrassing and horrifying. The human's voice wasn't even that good by merfolk standards. It contained no magic and would be swallowed by the roar of the waves long before any fish heard it.

And yet… Something about her voice captivated him in a way that no merfolk's singing had. Perhaps it was because she sang purely for the enjoyment of it, not to show off for a potential mate. Perhaps it had to do with her strange choice of lyrics. Felix had never heard of "steaks" or "cakes" before, but he figured they were human food based on how she sang about filling her "tummy tummy tum". He was curious as to what stacks of them would look like, and like an idiot, he asked her directly about it.

She responded by getting angry and yelling at him for spying on her while she was singing. Felix pointed out that she had been singing on a very large and very public beach, and that he had just happened to be passing by. This only made her even angrier, and she demanded that he make his presence known ahead of time instead of sneaking around. He tried to explain that he hadn't been sneaking and hadn't even known she was there until he heard her voice, but she was having none of it. She called him a "villain" and stormed off, leaving him alone and very confused.

Her singing stuck with him long after she left; long after he returned to the ocean, even. Her voice haunted him when he slept, when he trained, and when he was bored. The longer this went on, the more he wanted to hear her sing again. It was ridiculous, since he was merfolk and she was human, and the likelihood of him ever seeing her again was slim to none.

Yet something itched in his head to seek her out. He wanted to find her, to hear her sing, to join his voice with hers, and—

Oh, fish eggs. He wanted to make her his mate.

Human and merfolk relations weren't unheard of, but they were extremely rare and frowned upon. Because of the sacrifices both sides had to make, the number of known human and merfolk pairs numbered to just a few dozen over thousands of years of history. Despite that, Felix was determined to at least try to court the human who'd captivated him. He was already an outcast among the merfolk, so he had nothing to lose and everything to gain. The only problem was blending into the human world so he could find the girl, so he reluctantly turned to Sylvain for help. Sylvain may have been an idiot, but he had far more experience in the human world than the majority of merfolk, and he was one of very few merfolk who would not resent Felix for his decision.

Sylvain reacted predictably to Felix finally finding someone who caught his eye. Only after a lot of teasing on his part and a lot of punches and tail slaps on Felix’s part did he offer his assistance. He informed Felix that he would need three things to survive in the human world: a place to stay, a way to make human money, and enough ingenuity to keep his true identity secret.

It was easier to get those things than he expected. Humans were so easily enchanted that even Felix with his weak voice could hypnotize and manipulate them with little trouble, as long as it was one at a time. Thus, he managed to get himself a dwelling that humans called an “apartment” and earned money at a “coffee shop”.

Sylvain had told him this “coffee shop” job would be his best bet for tracking down his human (Sylvain’s words, not Felix’s) because it was one of the places where humans liked to gather. However, the actual work was positively miserable. As it turned out, “coffee” was made with hot water, and serving it to the humans meant talking with them. Thus, he not only had to be careful to not spill any of the liquid on himself, he also had to not bite anyone’s head off when they annoyed him. And his human clientele was annoying in the extreme.

The one bright spot was that the “coffee” was actually quite good. It was easy to try a sample since he worked there, and he found it pleasantly bitter and aromatic. Why many humans requested all sorts of horrifically sweet things to be added to theirs boggled his mind. Clearly, humans had far less refined palettes than merfolk.

After only a few weeks of working at the shop, Felix was ready to call the whole thing off. The customers were annoying, his human coworkers were annoying, and he was going to lose it if he had to put together one more order that took up a list as long as his arm. Surely there had to be a better way of finding that human girl than this endless torture.

It was then that a miracle happened.

Felix was busy cleaning up for closing. It was one of the few times he didn’t mind tending the shop, since customers were few and typically less rowdy, and he was accompanied by his least annoying coworker. Ashe reminded him of a dolphin—earnest and inquisitive, but smart enough to know not to push too far. He had a habit of babbling about whatever story he was reading, but he was a lot more tolerable than the nosy layabout Hilda, the constantly scheming Claude, or the insufferably smug Yuri.

When the signature jingle of the door opening rang through the shop, Felix looked up from cleaning the countertop, expecting the eel-like man who he’d learned liked to drop in around closing to order a cup of the bitterest stuff they could offer, straight black. Felix had grown to respect the man for knowing exactly what he wanted, keeping everything simple, and going on his way without using any more words than he needed. Tonight, however, the figure entering the shop was not black, but orange. A split second later, Felix nearly choked when he realized he recognized the customer.

It was her.

“Hi, sorry to drop in so late! I—” The girl’s cheery greeting trailed off as her eyes landed on Felix. For several seconds, she stared open mouthed at him, and a million emotions raced across her face. Finally, her face set in a scowl and she stomped toward him.

“YOU?!” she screeched, pointing an accusing finger at him. “What are you doing here?!”

Despite his human guise, Felix felt very much like a fish at the moment with how much he was gaping. All his efforts thus far had gone into finding this girl. Now she was here in front of him, he was at a complete loss for words. He was only saved by the timely arrival of Ashe, who came scampering out of the backroom after hearing the commotion.

“What’s going on out— Oh, Annette! What brings you here so late?”

"Ashe! Don't tell me you've been working with this villain!"

Felix took a moment to absorb that information. Annette was her name? He was surprised at how much he liked the sound of it.

"Villain?" Ashe repeated. "Wait, are you talking about Felix? Have you two met before?"

"Unfortunately," Annette huffed.

"Why are you still mad?" Felix asked. "I didn't do anything."

"You know perfectly well what you did!" Annette snapped.

"Hey, now, why don't we all calm down?" Ashe cut in. "Annette, you came for your usual, right? Felix can take care of your order, no problem!"

Felix tried not to groan at Ashe's misguided attempt at peacekeeping. Still, he might have been onto something. If Felix wanted to court Annette, then he would have to start by making nice with her, and making a drink to her liking was a good first step in doing so.

"What's your 'usual'?" he asked.

Grudgingly, Annette began to name out such a long list of additives that Felix was sure that the resulting beverage consisted of more cream and syrup than coffee. Normally, he would be disgusted by such an order, but in this case, he found himself not minding it. It wasn't even that he couldn't afford to screw anything else up for Annette—he actually liked being able to do something for her, however trivial.

His mating instincts were obviously messing with his head.

When he finished the drink and gave it to Annette, she sniffed it suspiciously before giving it a tentative sip. Her eyes lit up in a way that made Felix's heart stutter, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"It's… not bad," she admitted. "Okay, so you know your way around a double cream cookie crumble mocha. But you're still a villain!"

"Villain again?" asked Ashe. "Sure, Felix is a little rough around the edges, but he's not that bad."

Annette merely uttered a “hmph” and turned away. Angry as she was, she was clearly reluctant to go into details about their encounter. It occurred to Felix that she didn’t want Ashe—or perhaps anyone—to know she had been singing. It explained her extreme reaction once she’d discovered Felix had been eavesdropping.

Ashe then tried to press Felix for answers, seeing that Annette wasn’t giving him any. The glare Annette gave Felix at that moment plainly stated, “Tell him and die.” It came off far less menacing than she likely intended, given that her face was so cute, but he got the message loud and clear.

Oh, great. Now he thought she was cute. He really had to get his infatuation under control.

“I just bumped into her,” he said at last, which wasn’t even a lie. Ashe didn’t look totally convinced, but Annette was quick to agree with Felix’s claim, and her relief was obvious from how much her shoulders relaxed.

“Well, if you both say so,” Ashe relented, although he didn’t look satisfied. “Now that that’s settled, what brings you to the shop so late, Annette?”

“I’ve got a nightmare of an exam tomorrow, and I’m gonna need to pull an all-nighter,” she replied, motioning to the bag on her back. “Mind if I study until closing time?”

“Go right ahead!” said Ashe. “Felix and I still have a lot of cleaning to do, so take your time!”

“Thanks!” Annette exclaimed before rushing over to one of the tables.

As he finished cleaning the shop and served the last few customers of the night, Felix occasionally glanced over at Annette. He didn't know what an "exam" was, but based on how intensely she was poring over her—what was the word again—"books", it must have been very important.

"Are you worried about her?"

Felix flinched at Ashe's sudden question. Obviously, he hadn't been as subtle as he thought.

“No,'' he denied automatically.

Ashe wasn’t buying it. “I worry about her too. She works so hard all the time, both in her studies and in her life. I know work is important, but I wish she would relax a little sometimes.”

Felix was still learning about human culture, but he had already seen that they were far busier than merfolk. All most merfolk had to worry about was finding food and protecting their young and occasionally their territory from rivals. Humans, on the other hand, seemed to have no shortage of problems plaguing them. From what Ashe was saying, it sounded like Annette was an anomaly even among her kind.

“Why don’t you walk her home?” Ashe suggested.

“What?!” Felix exclaimed.

“It’s late at night and she’s clearly exhausted,” said Ashe. “It wouldn’t be right to force a young lady to walk home alone in the dark.”

Felix saw the opportunity for what it was, and yet he couldn’t help but ask, “Why don’t you do it?”

“I could,” Ashe admitted. “But clearly the two of you had some kind of misunderstanding. I think it would be good for the both of you if you talked it out in private.”

“Are you sure about this?” Felix asked. “I don’t even know where she lives.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not that far. Annette will show you the way,” said Ashe. “Moreover, I know you haven’t been working here long, but I trust you, Felix. You remind me of a knight from one of my favorite stories.”

Felix didn’t know what a “knight” was, but the earnestness in Ashe’s tone made it clear that it was a compliment. He snorted before returning to cleaning. When closing time arrived, Ashe told Annette that Felix would walk her home, and she predictably reacted with shock and immediately refused. Ashe, clearly having anticipated this, mumbled something to her that Felix’s currently human ears had no chance of making out. It certainly didn’t help that the constant humming from all machines in the shop made eavesdropping exceptionally difficult. Why were so many human produced things so noisy?

Whatever Ashe said to Annette must have been very persuasive, because she grudgingly changed her mind. She sighed, glared at Felix, and barked at him to follow her. He shrugged and did as she asked, hoping that this wasn’t a huge mistake.

Once they were out of the shop and out of earshot, Annette grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him aside with surprising strength. “What are you up to?”

He looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"What are you doing working at the coffee shop?" she asked. "Scheming to humiliate me behind my back?"

"I'm not scheming anything," Felix answered.

"Don't lie! How many people have you snitched to?"

"Snitched?"

"You know! About before! At the beach!" she exclaimed. "Ugh, I can't believe this… I'm going to be known as the steaks and cakes girl for the rest of my life…"

Felix did not understand what was so terrible about that. Nonetheless, he figured his best option was to try to appease her. "I haven't told anyone," he said.

"I told you not to lie!" Annette snapped.

"I'm not lying."

"Then why— What— Ugh, you're impossible!"

Felix remained silent, having no clue how to respond to that. Luckily, Annette plowed on without him needing to say anything.

"Well, anyway, the important thing is you need to forget everything you saw and heard that day right this moment!" she exclaimed. "I'll do whatever you want! Cleaning, cooking, homework—you name it, I'll do it, as long as you agree to forget!"

Felix thought that was a very strange offer. Moreover, it was one he could not take, for one simple reason. "I can't forget," he replied.

"What do you mean, you can't forget?!"

"It's permanently etched in my memory."

Annette groaned and dragged a hand down her face. "I'm doomed."

"You need to stop overreacting," said Felix. "Look, I'm not going to tell anyone. I don't even like talking to most people."

"Then why are you working at a coffee shop?" asked Annette.

"It's a long story," Felix said evasively. "And I should probably get you home before it gets any later. Didn't you say you had an 'exam' to study for?"

"Ah! I almost forgot!" Annette exclaimed. "We'd better get moving! But this isn't over, you hear?"

"I hear you loud and clear."

As they went on their way, Annette turned to him again. "How will I know you won't go back on your word?"

"You can watch me," Felix replied. "Like I said, I don't like talking to most people."

"I can't watch you all the time, though," said Annette.

"I know," Felix admitted. "But it should be enough to give you an idea of how I work."

Annette huffed, but offered no further argument. They spent the rest of their walk in a surprisingly comfortable silence. The next thing Felix knew, Annette was pointing out her apartment building. She bid Felix good-bye, and just like that, she was gone.

Felix wondered if he should have tried harder to court her. On the other hand, he didn't know how courtship worked in the human world. He supposed the logical first step was to ensure she didn't think he would sabotage her anymore.

Luckily, he got plenty of chances to do so. Annette actually followed his suggestion and became a regular visitor during his shift. She always ordered the cookie crumble whatever it was and watched him out of the corner of her eye even when she was focused on whatever book she had brought with her.

Felix went about his days as usual, but it was impossible to ignore Annette's presence, especially with how his instincts kept screaming at him to impress her. Many times, he had to stop a hum from building in his throat. He somehow doubted Annette or of the other humans would respond well to a merfolk courtship song.

As days turned into weeks, Felix's coworkers noticed that he was visibly nicer to Annette than anyone else. Naturally, they began to pester him about it, especially Hilda. She accused him of having a "crush", whatever that was. He refused to respond no matter how much they goaded him, a task that quickly drained his patience. It made him wish he still had his fangs—no one would dare provoke him if it meant risking getting bitten in retaliation.

At least Annette was finally starting to understand that he was not out to get her. She gradually became more relaxed and less snappish around him. She even allowed him to walk her home after Felix's closing shifts. This was all well and good, but then he happened to have to close during a full moon.

The moon pulled on merfolk just like it pulled on the ocean itself, and the effect was most potent when it was full. It brought out their deepest strength and their basest of instincts. In Felix's case, it was harder than ever to swallow the song that kept building in his throat, and every inch of his body screamed to return to the ocean. It made it hard to focus, and even Ashe could tell that he was out of sorts.

On top of that, it was pouring rain. Thanks to Sylvain, Felix had an extremely large and extremely unsightly yellow raincoat for such an occasion. It was humiliating enough to have to wear that monstrosity in front of Annette for any period of time, but having to walk her home in it while desperately trying not to burst into song was a disaster in the making.

And a disaster it was.

All went well until one of those awful human contraptions called a "car" roared through a puddle and created a massive spray of water. While Felix’s raincoat would protect him from the spray, Annette was not so lucky, only sporting a tiny umbrella. Felix, frayed from a long day of having to suppress his true self, reacted without thinking. He raised his hands and stopped the water in its tracks. For a moment, it hung suspended in the air like the coverings humans used to block sunlight from coming in their homes. Then he dropped his arms, and all the water fell harmlessly back onto the street.

“F-Felix…? How did you…?”

He barely registered Annette gaping at him. The moon was calling him. The ocean was calling him. Home. His true home.

“Felix, what’s wrong with you?”

Oh, right. The human he wanted as his mate was still here. And he still had not courted her. He had to do that, at least, before he returned. The song he’d been holding back for so long emerged at last, echoing around the deserted street and accompanied by the steady sound of the rain.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

Something was wrong. Why wasn’t she joining in his song? Why was she looking at him in horror? Was his song not good enough? Had he not earned her respect? Or did she just not approve of him as a mate?

“Felix, you’re scaring me!”

He stopped singing immediately. Even under the moon's thrall, he recognized that he had made a terrible mistake.

"I'm sorry," he said. Then he turned and fled.

He heard the human call his name, but he did not stop. He had frightened her with his true self, and now she would never want him. Without her to keep him tied to the land, he could no longer resist the call of the sea. Within minutes, he reached the beach. He removed his raincoat and boots and tossed them aside, and immediately felt the prickling that accompanied his scales reforming as the rain dampened him.

Slowly, he stepped out into the driving surf, which rushed out as if to welcome him. He heard a voice call for him behind him, but it was drowned out by the rushing waves and the incessant pull of the sea. Now he was wet enough that his true form was drawn out. His clothes melted away and his tail reformed at last. Another wave washed over him and he welcomed it as it embraced him like an old friend and pulled him back where he belonged.

It wasn't until morning came that he became lucid enough to realize what happened. His stomach dropped with dread as he realized that not only had Annette seen his true form, he'd been so out of sorts that he'd returned to the ocean without forcing her to forget what she'd seen. At least most humans would probably not believe her if she spoke up, but he still had to take action. No human could have any knowledge of the existence of merfolk unless they agreed to become a merfolk's mate.

And after how much he'd frightened her, he doubted she would ever want to be his mate now.

As usual, he waited until nightfall before emerging from beneath the waves. Few humans roamed the beach at night, so it was easy to find a place where he could transform without being seen. Tonight, there was only one human here, but he was shocked to see that it wasn't just any human.

It was Annette.

He quickly dipped his head back under the waves. He doubted her weak human eyes could have spotted him from so far away, but he wasn't taking chances. What was Annette doing here? She couldn't be looking for him, could she? Then again, humans were naturally curious, always seeking out the unfamiliar and the unknown. The problem was their tendency to also destroy things they didn't know. That was why the merfolk had to ensure their society remained secret from humans, no matter the cost.

Annette showing up at the beach made things a lot more convenient. She'd already seen his true form, and this way he wouldn't have to hunt her down. She was also alone, so she'd be the only one he'd have to use the spell on. The thought of subjecting Annette to his magic against her will made his stomach turn, but he had no choice. It had to be done for both his sake and hers.

He swam closer to shore and lifted his head above the water. Annette noticed him quickly and yelled his name before sprinting towards him. He managed to drag himself onto the sand by the time she caught up to him.

"It is you! I knew I wasn't dreaming! You really are a merman!" she exclaimed, panting heavily. She scowled and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You have a lot of explaining to do, mister! What on earth were you thinking, running off and disappearing like that?! I— Everyone was worried sick!"

Felix blinked in surprise. He'd guessed his sudden disappearance would have caused a stir, but he'd underestimated just how much. "I didn't mean to. The moon… It overpowered me."

"The moon?" Annette repeated. "What does the moon have to do with anything? And it was pouring rain last night! There was no moon!"

"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there," said Felix. "The moon creates the tides whether it's visible or not. It’s the same for me. The thrall of the full moon can’t be stopped by clouds and rain."

"I guess that makes sense," said Annette. "But then what was with the water thing? And the singing? And why did you run away?"

"I…" He swallowed, knowing that he was going to have to tell her the truth. "I can control water. I didn't want you to get wet, so I acted without thinking. After that… I wasn't in my right mind. The full moon makes us act more… primal. Instinctive. "

"And the singing was part of that?" she asked.

He nodded before averting his eyes, trying to ignore how hot his cheeks felt. "I was… trying to court you."

"Wh… WHAT?!" Annette screeched.

"I understand your shock," Felix continued. "But it's the truth. Merfolk court by singing. The whole reason I left the ocean was to court you. I intended to do it the human way, but the moon got to me first."

"This is— I—" Annette looked like she would pass out any moment. "You… like me? Like, like like me?"

"If that's how humans describe attraction to potential mates, then yes," said Felix.

"D-don't say it like that!" Annette cried. "Oh, Seiros… This is too much…"

"I'm sorry," said Felix. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. But it's all right. You're going to forget about all this soon, anyway."

"F-forget? What do you mean, forget?!"

"You've seen my true form. In order to protect the merfolk, that knowledge must be purged."

"W-wait!" Annette exclaimed. "You're going to dump all this on me and then just erase my memory?! You really are a villain!"

"I don't want to do it, but I don't have a choice," said Felix. "If I don't do it, someone else will. They'll purge the entire city's memory of the last few days if it comes to that."

"No…" Annette whispered. "Do you really have the power to do that?"

"My voice isn't strong enough for that. It works on only one person at a time," said Felix. "But there are merfolk who can ensnare hundreds or even thousands of humans at once. It's how our society has remained secret from humans."

"And despite all that, you still tried to court me?"

Felix nodded slowly. "I knew it was a risk. But… I had to try. No merfolk's voice has affected me as much as yours has."

Annette turned a very appealing shade of pink. "H-how can you say things like that with a straight face?!”

"I'm… sorry?"

"Ugh, never mind," she grumbled. “So… Are you saying you like me because of my singing?”

"I haven't been able to get your voice out of my head since that day," Felix admitted.

"Now I really wish I picked a different song," Annette groaned.

"Why?" asked Felix.

"It's embarrassing! I can't believe it was the food song that you heard! I should have been singing about bears or swamp beasties or… something cooler!"

Felix tilted his head curiously. "I'd like to hear those songs too."

"Well, you can't!" Annette exclaimed. "Why should I sing for you when I'm not even going to remember it?!"

"Oh," Felix said softly. "Right."

"Yes, right," said Annette. "Well, go on! If you're going to erase my memory, do it already!"

Felix flinched. He hadn't expected her to be so upset about losing her memory. He now felt even worse about what he needed to tell her next.

"There is… one way for you to keep your memory."

"What?! Why didn't you say so sooner?!" Annette shrieked.

"It's not without cost," said Felix. "And I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you into it."

"Well, what is it? It can't be worse than losing my memory, can it?"

He took a deep breath and steeled himself for the inevitable. "You would have to agree to become my mate."

As expected, Annette recoiled in shock. "Excuse me?!"

"Several other merfolk have mated with humans in the past, and they did not wish to hide their true selves from their human mates," Felix explained. "So instead, they bound the humans to silence with a spell."

"Why can't you cast that spell anyways?" asked Annette. "I'm the only one who saw."

"It's a matter of principle," said Felix. "Just because you can't speak about merfolk doesn't mean you won't try to harm or capture us anyway. So, we can only share knowledge of our existence with humans we know we can trust with our lives—the ones we choose to spend our lives with."

"Oh," Annette said in a small voice.

"Like I said, I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you into it," said Felix. "This whole thing was my fault, after all. Your memories of my true form aren't worth your freedom."

Annette was quiet for a moment. She looked like she was deep in thought. "Is that really how you feel?" she asked at last.

"I had already decided to let you go after I regained my senses," said Felix. "I don't want you to become my mate just because stupid merfolk laws pushed you into it."

"That's really considerate of you," said Annette. "So… You're saying I'd forget about your true form, but that's it? I'd still remember your human self?"

"More or less," Felix replied. "I'd have to erase your memory of last night's incident as well, but that should be it."

"That's… not as bad as I thought it would be," said Annette. "All right. I'm fine with you erasing my memory."

Felix felt his heart sink a little. He'd expected this, but the rejection still stung. He reminded himself it was for the best. Merfolk mated for life, so if either party was unwilling, the resulting union would be disastrous.

"But!" Annette suddenly exclaimed. "I'm not opposed to you trying to court me again afterwards."

"Wh-what?!" Felix exclaimed.

"You're really sweet under that grumpy exterior," she continued. "I mean, you did save me from a drenching last night. And you keep walking me home and making my favorite drink, and you even kept my singing a secret like you said you would! I'm still embarrassed that you heard my song, but I'm starting to see that you aren't making fun of me. I'm not ready to become your mate yet, but I want to get to know you better. So, don't disappear without a word again, okay?"

"A-all right," Felix stammered, hardly believing his ears. This was a far better outcome than he could have imagined. He still had a chance. "I promise."

"Good," said Annette. "Well… I'm ready when you are."

"All right. You might want to sit down for this…"

Annette blinked, finding herself sitting on the beach and staring at the ocean. What in the world was she doing here so late at night? It wasn't unusual for her to get lost in her own head, but it wasn't like her to wander this far without realizing it. She closed her eyes and tried to recall how she ended up here. She had this strange feeling that it had been something really important, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pin down exactly what it was.

She was sure it had to do with Felix's strange absence from the coffee shop today. He'd never shown up for work, nor did he answer his phone. Ashe had been in a panic over it, and her own stomach had been twisted with worry. She had admittedly gotten rather attached to the grumpy barista, and for him to suddenly disappear without a word had deeply shaken her. Now, however, she found that her earlier worry was gone. For some strange reason, she was sure that, wherever Felix was, he was safe.

She sighed and shook her head. She was getting nowhere like this. She stood up and started making her way back home, hoping that she'd have an easier time thinking once she had some food and some sleep.

The next day when she went to the coffee shop for her usual drink, Felix was there as if nothing had happened. She immediately turned on him and demanded where he had been, and he calmly replied that he had been sick. The other baristas corroborated this, but the whole thing still felt strange. It certainly didn't help that she was getting a strong sense of déjà vu, and she couldn't figure out why.

As she sat down with her drink—once again, she was amazed at how someone who hated sweet things could make such a good double cream cookie crumble mocha—she looked at Felix out of the corner of her eye. There was a different air about him today, almost like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It could just be him springing back after his illness, but something told her that something else was going on. Something deeper, something important.

All of sudden, she had a vivid recollection of a strange song. It had no words; just a mysterious, haunting, strangely familiar vocalization. She chewed her lip, trying to recall where she had heard this song, but no matter how hard she scrounged her memories, she came up empty-handed. However, she was certain of one thing: the voice was Felix's.

Felix had sung to her? But when? And why? And why couldn't she remember anything but his voice?

She glanced over at him again, and this time, their eyes met. A tiny smile appeared on Felix's face, and Annette's heart skipped a beat. She immediately averted her eyes, but with that once glance, she became certain of two things.

First, Felix knew something she didn't.

And second, she definitely had a crush.

She took another sip of her drink, praying that her face wasn't as red as it felt. She decided to confront Felix about whatever secrets he was keeping later, when he wasn't working and she wasn't a blushing mess. In the meantime, well… There was no harm in admiring a view from afar, was there?

And later, when he walked her home as usual, if she slipped her hand into his, that was for only the two of them to know.