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The only good thing, Champagne concluded, about this stupid fucking island, was the beach.
Everything else he would be more than happy to leave behind, but this beach was the one thing that he’d maybe miss. The white sand stretched around the wide bay hidden behind the main complex, quiet and out of the way. It was the only place he’d found where no one would disturb him.
He was sitting on the flat rock that rested at the intersection of the beach and dirt path, a book spread on his lap and sunglasses atop his head for once. The calm slosh of waves against sand filled the salt-filled air, a calm atmosphere falling over the alcove. Had the waves been any rougher, Champagne probably wouldn’t have heard the dull, frantic splashing coming from his left.
His eyes snapped up, his first thought being another employee had found him and was going to start harassing him. Nobody was running up the beach though, instead a frothing disturbance a few hundred metres away drew his gaze. With a furrowed brow, he fixed his bookmark before leaving his book on the rock, standing to approach the racket.
An angry snarl threatened to escape as his closer inspection revealed something trapped in a discarded fishing net. It was large, and shimmering bluish scales shone as a thick tail smacked against the bank, distressed trills filling the air above the splashing. Champagne sighed quietly, approaching slowly as he called out.
“Easy there, buddy, you’re gonna get hurt if you keep thrashing like that.”
To his disappointment, that only seemed to make the creature more distressed, the trills cutting off as the tail slammed painfully against the sand and rope. Champagne winced as he noted a small trickle of red spilling between iridescent scales. If they kept this up, they could get seriously hurt- a severed fin or worse.
“Easy there, easy, let’s get that off you, ey?”
He reached forward, grabbing the net and pulling slightly to get the creature fully onto the wet sand dividing the beach and ocean. He tugged a tattered cover off the old net with a wrinkled nose, turning back to continue freeing the creature before freezing.
Blue-green eyes that matched the shimmering tail stared back at him.
Champagne swallowed thickly. A mer. He was freeing a- a mer. Okay. Wow.
“Hi there.” He said softly, reaching to slowly start untangling the rope from around the large blue-green tail. The mer didn’t respond, watching him intently with wide, wide eyes, hands curling into sand, body tense. Champagne offered a small smile, before looking back to his task. The rope was hopelessly tangled between the mer’s primary and secondary fins, and with a huff, he grabbed his pocket knife.
That was, objectively, a stupid decision. The blade had barely clicked out before Champagne was flung back onto his arse, the wind knocked from his lungs as the mer lashed out, cries echoing around them as he flailed.
“Ey, ey, I’m not going to hurt you…” It was pointless, he knew, given the mer clearly didn’t understand english, but he wanted to offer whatever comfort he could. Slowly, he approached from the side and began sawing through the thick fibres that made up the net. The mer was frozen, half collapsed and looking moments from fleeing back to the ocean. Champagne wouldn’t blame them in the slightest, even if he selfishly wanted a little longer with the creature of legend.
Surprisingly, once his tail was free, the mer didn’t immediately dive for the waters. Instead, he blinked up at Champagne, confused clicks and trills spilling from him. Champagne swallowed thickly as he met iridescent teal eyes.
“He-hello.” The mer trilled back, before slowly pulling himself closer to Champagne. Champagne stayed low, shifting from his crouch to sitting a metre or so from the other, watching as the mer cautiously approached, inch by inch, until his fingers brushed against the cuff of Champagne’s pants. He froze there, glancing up at Champagne before chirping softly.
“Uh, those are my pants. They’re clothes, they cover my legs.” Champagne carefully reached his hand down to pull his pant leg up. The mer watched curiously, webbed fingers tracing lightly over his leg, humming as sharp claws brush a hair's breadth from exposed skin. The mer’s hand moves from Champagne’s leg to his hand, eyes flicking up to meet his eyes, still cautious, but apparently more curious than concerned as whatever he saw allowed his gaze to fall back to their meeting hands. Champagne huffed out a laugh at the child-like exploration.
“A curious one, aren’t you?” The sound of his voice caused the mer to flinch back, sharp teeth bared. Champagne blinked at the sudden aggression, raising his hands in a sign of peace.
“Sorry.” He muttered, watching as the mer’s fins flattened back against his head, dark hair-like fuzz falling from its raised position. He chirped, a soft trill calling across the beach as the mer went back to studying Champagne’s hand. Despite the previous aggression, he was handled with the utmost care, claws never catching. The sound of the mer’s voice was soothing as Champagne watched his observer, finding himself inspecting the other as much as he was inspected.
Nearly an hour passed with the two of them sitting there, the mer curiously dancing around him, inspecting each part of him like it was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen. A sharp buzz interrupted the moment, causing the mer to flinch back, hissing, and CHampagne to huff and pull his phone from his pocket.
“Sorry, that’s my alarm.” He pulled a face as he looked at the time. “I have to go now.”
He stood slowly, the mer shifting back to let him stand, trilling and catching his ankle before he could walk away. Champagne sighed, leaning down and untangling the mer’s fingers.
“I have to go.” He stepped back and the mer huffed, reaching out to grab him again. Champagne moved out of the way, frowning. The mer mimicked his expression as he tried to reach for him again.
“I have to go.” He held up his phone, pointed to the setting sun, then himself, then toward the compound. The mer huffed again, wide eyes staring up at him, gesturing to Champagne, then himself, then the ground. Champagne shook his head.
“I’m sorry.” He mumbled, frowning down at the mer’s tail. “Wait…”
He stepped closer, leaning down to see the dry scales encasing the mer’s upper tail. He frowned down at them, catching the mer’s gaze before gesturing down to the scales, then pointing to the ocean.
“You need to go too.” The mer glared at his tail before looking back at Champagne. He half-heartedly reached for Champagne again, trilling, but Champagne shook his head.
“I’ll come back.” He promised, even though the mer couldn’t understand him. Unless… Champagne pointed to the sun again, then to where it had been when he first saw the mer, then to the beach.
“I’ll come back.” The mer stared at him for a long moment, before repeating his motions. Champagne nodded, hoping they were on the same page. The mer chuffed, looked down at his tail, then spun and pulled himself back into the water. Champagne blinked and the being was a dozen metres away, resurfaced and watching him. Champagne raised his hand, before turning and walking back to his book. When he looked back at the start of the path back, the only sign on the mer was a flash of green in the distance.
- - - - - - - - -
The mer was there when Champagne returned the next afternoon.
Champagne smiled at the sight of the being twisting in the water, constantly scanning the beach. He saw the moment the other saw him as the mer ducked beneath the waves and reappeared much closer to the beach in an instant, trilling over the sounds of the waves. Champagne waved, walking over to the rocks where the mer had gotten stuck. The mer followed in the water, calling over to him as he continued his walk.
He’d worn shorts today, and while it was cool, the early spring air wasn’t cold enough to make pants a necessity. He hummed to himself as he kicked his shoes and socks off, climbing onto the rock closest to the water. The mer circled below him, wide eyes watching him as he settled his sunglasses over his eyes and opened his book. Water lapped at his knees, and the soft sounds of waves rolling against sand and stone was calming.
He sat there reading for a few minutes before a gentle tap drew his attention. He looked down to the mer below him, who was looking curiously at the book. The mer reached out to touch it, but Champagne pulled it out of his reach before he could get it wet. The mer retracted his hand quickly, looking scolded. He slipped lower in the water and Champagne didn’t even think as he reached out to catch the mer’s arm.
It was more muscular than Champagne had expected from the lithe frame, but regardless he held on, gently pulling the mer closer to the surface again. Trilling and clicking, the mer followed his movement, resurfacing again. Champagne dried his hand on his pants before showing the cover, the pages and the back of the book. The mer hummed, reaching for the book before pausing. He withdrew his hand, before carefully wiping it on the side of Champagne’s shorts. Champagne jumped at the contact, but allowed the now dry hands to touch the text.
Happy chirps filled the air as the mer held the book, gently flicking the pages, curious eyes staring at the words. Champagne had to pull it from the mer’s hands as water fell from his hair onto the pages. The mer trilled sadly at the loss, but stayed risen, watching as Champagne tried to dry the wet spots from the page. He swam round to Champagne’s side, pulling himself up to look over the human’s shoulder, curiosity apparent. Champagne huffed, before an idea came to him. He placed his forefinger beneath the first word of the new chapter, and, tracing each phrase, began to read.
“We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the windshield…”
He read for an hour, until his phone buzzed and he had to put his bookmark back in to go back. The mer (he really needed to find a name for him…) watched him pack up from near the rocks, frowning with teeth bared.
“Sorry, I have to go again.” The mer looked toward the sun, then to Champagne, before repeating the motions they’d made the day before. Champagne nodded and pointed to the sun, himself, and the beach, smiling slightly at the happy chirp the mer let out, even as he shadowed Champagne as far as he could. A soft trilling followed Champagne as he returned to the compound.
- - - - - - - - -
Champagne arrived at their spot earlier than the previous days, and was marginally surprised to see a tooth-bared grin greeting him upon settling on the rocks again. Over the last week, he’d been arriving at a consistent time, and the mer had always been waiting further out. It was strange, but Champagne hoped it meant that some level of trust was beginning to be built.
The mer lifted himself smoothly out of the water, hand reaching to a small woven pouch and pulling out a cord with a red shell thread to the centre. Champagne blinked in surprise as the mer showed it to him, tail flicking lazily through the water. He reached out to touch it but the mer trilled in warning, guiding his hand away but moving the jewellery closer to Champagne’s face.
The mer chirped as Champagne observed the item, bringing it back to himself before tying the cord around his wrist, the shell floating weightlessly in the water. He then pulled a second bracelet from the pouch, this one with an iridescent blue shell strung between two green knots. The mer presented it to Champagne, this time letting him hold it. His tail flicked more urgently through the water, causing him to bob where he rested. The mer fiddled with his fingers as he watched Champagne put the bracelet on, claws tracing the webbing between his fingers.
Champagne smiled at the mer, hoping to offer some comfort despite the barriers. The bracelet was beautiful, though not something Champagne would often choose to wear himself. He wore it for the whole hour they sat together, Champagne reading and the mer listening, but, when the time came for him to go, he untied the knot and tried to give the bracelet back. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it, but instead that he knew if anyone from the compound saw it… they’d ask questions. Questions Champagne would rather die than answer, because he wasn’t stupid and knew exactly what the higher ups would want to do with the creature he’d met.
The mer chittered at him, gently pushing his hands closed around the bracelet and pushing it back towards him, but he couldn’t- wouldn’t- put him in harm's way.
“I’m sorry but I can’t take it.” He felt like shit, especially because he didn’t doubt the mer had crafted the gift himself. He pushed the bracelet back toward the other more incessantly, and finally it seemed the mer understood and was taking it back… only for him to place it in the pouch and hand the whole bag to Champagne, with accompanying clicks that gave Champagne the strongest sense of exasperation.
Still, he clutched the bag closer and, careful as to not damage it or what was inside, he placed the damp bag in his jacket pocket. He could clean it once he’d hidden the gift. He looked down at the mer who chirped proudly, hair fluttering and ear fins dancing. Champagne really hoped that meant the other was happy.
“Thanks.” He said, another smile tugging at his lips. He wondered, as he turned his back to the ocean once more after signing his promise to return, when the last time was that he smiled this much.
- - - - - - - - -
Champagne brought a gift of his own the next day. It wasn’t much, a friendship bracelet woven from wool that he really, really hoped wouldn’t be ruined in the salty ocean. It was thick and soft, with reds and blues and purples mixed together in a hopefully pleasing way. There was even a strand of lime green twisting through the braids.
He’d found a less seaweed-y bag to carry his stuff to the beach in, and at the bottom of the tote bag was a small pocket where he’d placed the two bracelets. The mer was near the rocks when he approached again, waving back as Champagne greeted him, light trills contrasting his deeper voice.
Once he was settled, Champagne pulled the two bracelets from his bag, pulling on his own before offering the second to his fishy companion. He found himself grinning at the happy chirps the mer made upon seeing his gift in use, before his smile softened upon the complete care and gentleness the mer held his gift with. The being’s eyes widened, staring up at Champagne as he slowly put the bracelet on, head tilting in curiosity.
“It’s for you. A gift.” Champagne told him, huffing out a laugh as the mer’s gaze flicked from his face to his wrist back to his face, still cradling the wool bracelet to his chest, fingers brushing the fibres covering part of his wrist.
“Oh and… god I don’t even know if this will work…” he muttered, taking a deep breathe before continuing, “I don’t know if you can understand any of this, but I wanted to introduce myself to you properly. Y’know, since you made me this bracelet and all…”
He trailed off as the mer stared at him, head cocked and eyes following the movement of his arms. Champagne swallowed, then held his hand over his chest.
“My name’s Champagne Mcgreggor.” The mer continued to watch him. Champagne very suddenly felt like a fool, trying to speak to a creature that couldn’t even-
“Mei ruh-me Tampan Mic- ungrh.” The mer hesitantly spoke, mimicking the sounds Champagne had made, frowning as the final syllables came out as a growl. He carefully looked up at Champagne before pressing a hand to his own chest. The mer’s voice first came out in song, before he carefully sounded out each sound to Champagne.
“Peh-nnn-ie S-t-aah-rep.” Several of the sounds Champagne had no hope of repeating, but he tried anyway.
“Benny Sharp?” He tried, blushing as the mer chirped, repeating the sounds and gesturing for Champagne to try again. And wow, he hadn’t been expecting this, but even his next attempt was far too deep to match the bell-like voice of the mer. He shook his head after the third attempt, pressing his hand to his chest again.
“Champagne.” The mer frowned at him.
“Taah-mm-pan.”
“McGreggor.”
“Mmeic- re- rer.” The mer- Benny?- huffed, sinking below the water so only his eyes were above. Bubbles floated around his face as his gills fluttered under the waves. Champagne smiled and laughed quietly.
“It’s fine. I’m pretty sure I completely butchered your name too.” He reached down to place his hand on Benny’s head.
“Champagne.”
“Taam-pan.” Champagne smirked.
“Good enough.” Benny chirped again, before pulling himself up onto his spot, looking over Champagne’s shoulder as the man began to read. This time, though, Champagne could hear soft muttering coming from behind him, and didn’t even try to stop the grin from spreading across his face.