Chapter Text
Finding a mermaid was definitely not what Roy was expecting as he made his way across the beach near his house on his usual early evening stroll. He squinted and noticed a massive pool of dark red surrounding the creature—staining the sand beneath at an alarming rate—and quickened his pace. There was a startlingly large stab wound on the merman's torso, looking to consist of a line of three holes; from a trident, perhaps? Didn't the children's books say something about mermaids and tridents being used in that mythical place... Xerxes?
Roy shook his head. Now was not the time to be trying to remember everything he'd ever heard about mermaids. Which apparently really did exist. Huh. No matter. He had to help somehow; had to get the merman to his house so he could treat that wound and search for any others. He briefly considered if helping the creature back into the sea would be better, but no. No way could he do that and risk making matters worse. Roy couldn't live with himself if he just left him to suffer and die.
So he bent at the knees and as carefully as he could manage, got an arm under the tail and the other around shoulders that were barely rising and falling with breaths and hoisted the merman up against his chest. He was rather heavy with the large tail, but Roy could thankfully manage the weight with only a few protests from his back. He noticed a somewhat deep cut on the merman's forehead as well as a few scratches and cuts littered along the right shoulder and forearm. None of them as immediate a concern as the nasty wound that went all the way through from stomach to back, soaking Roy's shirt in blood.
The tail seemed to be unharmed, luckily. Roy wasn't sure how to care for a mermaid's tail and he would hate to damage it in the process. It was stunning, black at the base with scales in varying shades of red lining the edges. The soft looking pectoral, pelvic, and caudal fins were the most vibrant shade of red. It reminded Roy of an arapaima. All of the scales seemed to glitter and shimmer when the light hit them just right. Roy couldn't help but notice that all of this creature was gorgeous, actually, as he made the way up to his isolated little seaside shack.
Roy panicked a little thinking of what to do now as he entered his living room. The bathtub wouldn't allow him proper access to the torso wound and Roy feared that it would be too cramped. He knew he had a plastic kiddie pool out in his storage shed that Maes had forced him to purchase one summer when Elicia was younger and he didn't want to risk her getting swept out to sea. Muttering a curse to himself, Roy quickly placed the merman down onto the hardwood floor and rushed around to push his coffee table and a few other things out of the way to make enough room in the center of the living room for the pool. He ran back outside, down the steps, out to the storage shed, ripped the pool out somehow without taking down the rest of the contents of the shed, ran back inside, and threw the pool down. Roy then jogged to his kitchen and grabbed the hose he kept under his sink, attaching it to the faucet and untangling it on his way back to the children's pool before returning to start the water flow.
Once the pool was filled enough, Roy turned off the water and quickly moved to lift the merman into his arms once more and gently place him in the water as best as he could manage. The caudal fin was hanging over the edge and Roy had to pull a cushioned chair over to get the merman's upper half to rest against it and stay upright. He was still not waking and Roy was beginning to panic a bit.
Medical supplies. Bathroom. He couldn't let any emotions get the best of him; couldn't let the sight and smell of blood make him freeze. Roy bolted into the bathroom, tearing open his cabinets and grabbing every towel and all of the supplies he could wrap his arms around and dumping them all onto the floor next to the pool. Okay. He could do this. Deep breaths and one step at a time.
Roy had no idea how long he spent cleaning up and dressing each of the wounds. He'd had to drain the water from the pool three times throughout the process to clear it of all of the blood that had seeped in. He wiped his hands on his ruined pants, finally letting himself sit back on his haunches and do a thorough once over of the merman to ensure that he'd gotten everything taken care of for now.
Satisfied with his first aid work, Roy nodded to himself and set about cleaning up as best he could, including getting into a change of clothes that didn't reek of mer-blood, and throwing everything into the wash. Once that was going, he ventured into the kitchen to chug an entire glass of water while holding onto the counter in a death grip. What was he meant to do now? What if the being didn't make it? What if he'd taken too long to clean and bandage everything up? What if there was something he'd missed?
Roy hadn't even realized he'd started hyperventilating until he heard a groan from the living room. Forcing himself to push his own needs back down, he grabbed another glass to fill with water and some pain medication. He had no idea what merfolk did for pain and injuries, so he just had to hope for the best here.
As he stepped through the doorway into the living room, striking golden eyes met his, widened in fear. Pain was written in every strained crease of that face. Roy did his best to appear as nonthreatening as possible, both hands raised up carefully to show what was in them.
"Hello, my name is Roy. I'm relieved to see you awake. I found you down on the beach, very badly wounded and bleeding out. I carried you up here to my home and tended to your wounds as best I could." Roy took slow steps forward, noting that the hands that clung to the lip of the pool were shaking. "I'm sorry to have frightened you. I mean you no harm. I know you don't know me so I hope you'll be able to take me at my word for now. I have here some water and pain medication. If you are able to take them it might help to ease the more immediate discomfort."
Gold eyes looked from Roy's eyes to his hands and then around the room in quick succession before looking down at himself. One hand moved to press to the bandage covering his torso, hissing in pain. When he looked back up, his eyes glistened and he nodded in understanding. Thank everything because Roy had just realized that he had no way of knowing if this merman understood Amestrian or not.
Roy slowly kneeled beside the edge of the pool, not too close but enough to where he could extend his arms and offer up the water and pills. "If you're able to speak and let me know if there is anything else that I can do for you or anything specifically that you require to assist in your recovery, I will do my best to get it for you."
The merman took hold of the cup and Roy let the medicine drop into the other hand, being careful not to touch and make him uncomfortable any more than he already must be. He watched as honeyed eyes narrowed and inspected the little capsules and Roy couldn't help but smile a little at the curiosity. "It's called acetaminophen. It's something we use to treat pains, aches, fevers, and other such things. The water will help them go down. I'm not sure how much it will help in your case, but I thought it would be worth a try. I can make a trip into town to see about finding something stronger if needed."
With another slow nod, the merman dropped the pills on his tongue and took a sip of water before swallowing them down. He downed half of the glass before holding it back out so that Roy could take hold of it and set it off to the side.
"Are the bandages alright?" A glance down and a nod.
"Does anything else need tending to at the moment?" A shake of the head.
A loud rumbling sound startled them both and the merman looked down at his own stomach as if it had personally offended him, a scowl overtaking the painful expression that had been there a moment ago. Roy chuckled quietly and stood once more with a crack of his knees. "I'll get dinner started. I don't suppose you've ever had chicken or potatoes down in the sea?"
Golden eyes looked up, head tilted adorably in thought before shaking his head. Roy nodded. "I didn't think so. I hope you'll like it. I'll just be through that doorway there. If you need anything, just make some noise. Otherwise, please rest as best as you're able to."
━━━━━ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ━━━━━
Dinner was turning out to be an interesting affair, to say the least. Roy watched with a smile as the merman took in the plate of food with curious eyes; turning it this way and that, bringing it close to his face to get a whiff of the contents. It was rather adorable, to say the least. Roy wondered what it was like under the sea—how they ate, what they ate, how different these simple things must be between the two worlds. He was glad he'd made the executive decision to cut everything into bite sized pieces for his guest, figuring that even if the merman knew how to work a fork and knife, he might be in too much pain. He was also glad that he owned a lap tray for the merman to utilize. It had to be difficult being stuck in a shallow pool, injured and in unfamiliar territory. Roy longed to do anything he could to make the creature's time here as pleasant as possible.
Roy began cutting up his share of chicken and popped a piece into his mouth, watching from the corner of his eye as the merman studied his every move before picking up his own fork to stab experimentally at a chunk of potato. As soon as he closed his mouth and began to chew, those golden eyes widened and Roy heard him let out a pleased sound. Relieved, he tucked into his food properly, enjoying the mostly quiet companionship.
After they'd finished and Roy had returned to the living room after washing the dishes and switching the towels over to be dried, the clearing of a throat had Roy stopping in his tracks to meet gold eyes that were looking brighter than they had before. He crossed the room quickly. "Are you alright? Is there something you need?"
"No, um. I just wanted to thank you." The merman's voice was soft and rough as he tucked some stray strands of golden hair behind his ears.
Roy moved to sit on the chair he'd pulled up beside the pool, a smile pulling at his lips. "There's no need. Might I ask your name?"
"Oh. Edward." He looked sheepish, nervous fingers fiddling with each other.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Edward. Though I wish it were under better circumstances." Roy looked the merman—Edward—over, checking the bandages were holding up alright. "I'm sorry I don't have better accommodations for you. This children's pool was the only thing I had available."
Edward glanced down at the brightly colored pool, shrugging with a lopsided smile. "S'okay. S'pretty cool, actually. Human children use this to swim in?"
Roy nodded, leaning back more comfortably in his seat. "Yes, usually before they're big enough to be able to swim in the sea safely without so much supervision."
"I see. It's smart to be wary of letting little ones into the sea. She is beautiful, but she can be very unforgiving and dangerous at a moment's notice."
"She certainly can. As soon as you're well enough, I promise to get you back home to her." Roy smiled, hoping his words could at least offer reassurance that he really only wished to help and that it was safe here. He couldn't fathom how terrifying it must be to find yourself stranded on land with a strange human like this—stuck in something that was probably like a puddle to the merman. It must have felt like being stripped of all freedom.
Edward stared into Roy's eyes for a long while before nodding. "You're different."
Roy blinked, eyebrows lifting in surprise. "Good different or bad different?"
Edward looked Roy up and down as though he were a puzzle to solve. "I think... Good."
━━━━━ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ━━━━━
Edward was quiet for a long while as Roy cleaned and redressed his wounds with gentle care the next morning. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts until he finally voiced a soft question. "What made you decide to help me?"
Looking up from where his hands were carefully applying fresh bandages to the large stab wound on Edward's stomach, he met those suddenly vulnerable eyes and offered a small smile. "You were badly injured and stranded. I could never have left you there. Nor did I think it was right to drop you back into the sea in your condition."
"It doesn't frighten you? What I am?" Edward's voice was full of apprehension and insecurity.
Roy shook his head immediately. "No, it doesn't. Sure, I'd thought your existence only mythical, but there will always be some truth to myths in this world and I'm not so much a fool to believe that I know all that lies in the water's depths. I also don't fear the unknown, which I know is not true of everyone."
"Many humans fear us. Or worse, are fascinated by us and wish to use us for their personal gain. Sell us to buy their way into prosperity or worse. I've never met a human that was... kind. 'Til you. My brother would call me foolish, but I feel... safe here with you. You're so different from anyone I've ever met. At sea or on land. You don't seem to want to hurt or sell me. You take care of me without complaint. You don't even seem to want anything from me. Everyone has always wanted something from me." His voice tapered off to barely a whisper, the hurt clear in that melodic voice. Roy's heart ached for this beautiful being.
"I know how cruel humanity can be, especially when something is different and they don't understand. The only thing I want is for you to heal fully and then to help you get back to where you belong, Edward. I would never wish to cause you harm or expect anything in return for helping you recover. This is the least I can do." Roy ran his thumb lightly over the bandage he'd just placed on Edward's forehead, willing himself to not get too lost in those captivating eyes.
"Thank you, Roy." Edward smiled and his cheeks tinted a beautiful pink as he averted his gaze after a lingering moment. Roy felt his heart stutter in his chest.
━━━━━ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ━━━━━
That evening after dinner, Roy sat nearby and read, keeping an eye on Edward who was currently rubbing some seaweed with practiced ease along his tail. It had taken some prodding and reassurances that he wasn't being a bother, but Edward had eventually asked Roy if he could bring back some kelp or seaweed since Roy had mentioned he needed to head into town to stock up on supplies now that there were two of them in the house. Roy was more than happy that Edward had asked for something for himself. He worried that the merman would not voice his wants or needs and Roy couldn't stand the thought of not being able to offer everything he could.
When he'd returned home with his bags full of food, medical products, and other odds and ends, Roy had handed over the bag he'd stuffed full of fresh seaweed. Edward had then explained that it helped keep his tail clean, shiny, and healthy if he treated it with seaweed or kelp a few times a week. Roy had smiled and asked a few questions about his tail, which seemed to please Edward. Roy was happy to learn more about mermaids in general, but he was especially happy to learn about Edward and to see him feel more comfortable talking with him.
They'd been mostly quiet for the better part of an hour as Edward tended to his tail and Roy started a new book he'd purchased. After he'd finished the first chapter, Roy peered up to check on his guest only to find those striking eyes already watching him. A dusting of red bloomed on tanned cheeks, a shy smile pulling at Edward's lips.
"Sorry. Um. I wanted to ask... Well, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, would you mind reading aloud?" As he stared at Roy's surprised face, Edward's flush deepened and he looked back down at the seaweed in his hand, shaking his head to himself. "N-Nevermind. Sorry."
"I wouldn't mind at all. So long as you don't mind what is sure to be an incredibly cheesy and unrealistic romance between a man and a woman out at sea." Roy quickly flipped back to the first page and took a sip of water to wet his throat.
Edward looked up again—a grin on his face—shaking his head enthusiastically. He crossed his arms on the edge of the pool and rested his head upon them, looking expectantly at Roy to begin reading. Roy smiled and chuckled at the cute display, clearing his throat overdramatically as he began reading from the beginning.
He took great pleasure in the laughter he pulled from Edward every time he pitched his voice depending on which character spoke or when he paused for dramatic effect—usually for no reason at all other than to relish in the eyeroll and exasperated sigh he would get from Edward in return. It was more fun than Roy'd had in a long, long while—reading aloud for the merman. He felt happy like this. He'd been alone for so long out here by the seaside, Roy had forgotten how gratifying it could be to simply co-exist with another being.
Edward's eyes began to droop after a few chapters, muffled yawns escaping him as he tried to fight it. Roy marked his place, closing the book with a pleased smile. "Perhaps tomorrow evening, we can do this again."
"I'd like that." Golden eyes sparkled—even edged with tiredness—and Roy had to shake himself out of his blatant staring.
"Do you need anything before I turn in?"
Edward shook his head, laying himself back as another yawn stretched his sun-kissed face, his voice coming out a little slurred. "See y'in the mornin'. Sleep well, Roy."
Roy made his way toward his bedroom, turning off the light with one last glance behind his shoulder. "Goodnight, Edward."