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The waves come in gentle crashes against the shore, tide low. Cacao watches them come and go, one leg bent up with the other crossed under it. It’s midday, so the sun is high in the sky and shining bright. Its rays are harsh, meeting Cacao’s skin and warming him to the core.
Beneath the rock he’s resting on lies the ocean, as far as the eye can see. Expansive and vast, so much bigger than what Cacao can only hope to explore. The water becomes disturbed as something swims up to the surface, breaking through the peaceful waves. Soft pink-peach hair emerges, followed by the being’s face—a pink and teal eye gazes up towards Cacao, and a smile slowly comes to the being’s face.
“You’re here,” Peach Blossoms murmurs, moving to the edge of the rock. The tip of his tail emerges from the water behind him, swaying gently.
Cacao meets his gaze, quiet for a moment, before he nods. Slowly, carefully, he reaches a hand out to Peach Blossom’s face, letting his palm meet the merman’s cheek. The contrast of their skin will never not be striking—pale against dark. It’s a contrast that sets Cacao’s heart ablaze every time.
“Yes,” Cacao mumbles back, attempting to tug Peach Blossom up closer. “I… felt the need to see you again.”
The smile on Peach Blossom’s face curls upwards a bit more, a tiny giggle escaping him. It takes only a few more seconds before the mermaid is pulling himself up onto the rock, settling down beside Cacao as the fins of his tail swirl along the water’s surface.
“I, too, wanted to see you again.” It’s a soft admission, something like a confession. Peach Blossom leans into him, the skin of their arms meeting, and Cacao has to breath in deeply to keep himself settled.
Time passes, slow and fast at once. They speak and are silent, comfortable in each other’s presence, but at the same time, Cacao’s heart will hardly settle. Out here, he is just a man—the pressure of his kingdom does not reach him here, leaving his shoulders lighter than they’ve been his entire life. Peach Blossom expects nothing from him.
The sun slowly sets in the sky above them, bright blue dulling into something darker. Peach Blossom’s scales are beautiful, a pink that Cacao often dreams up when he sleeps. The mermaid leans further into him, pressing up against Cacao’s side, until Cacao gives into his urges and carefully curls his arm around Peach Blossom’s torso.
A gentle hand is set upon Cacao’s chest, fingers gently splayed across where his heart would be. Their gazes meet as Cacao’s heart beats faster in his chest.
“I have dreamt of days like this,” Peach Blossom says, voice just above a whisper. “Ones where we can simply… be. Where you’re able to hold me, as such.”
Cacao has dreamt of the same, many nights in a row. He smooths a hand over Peach Blossom’s side, pulling the merman closer to him. His upper half is warm, but his scales are cool. Cacao’s skin is still heated from the day’s earlier sunshine.
Leaning down, Cacao presses his lips to Peach Blossom’s temple. “One day… it can be more than this.”
It’s a promise that neither of them can truly keep, not now. Maybe not ever.
The sun grows lower in the sky, the beautiful sunset turning into the colder beauty of nighttime. Peach Blossom’s hand stays on his chest, and Cacao’s hand stays on his hip. The words are uttered, soft and nearly silent.
I love you.