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Ah, July. The sun was blazing hot in the sky, a humid 85 that felt more like 92 in direct sunlight, even with the ocean breeze coming off of Puget Sound. John found himself aimlessly wandering the waterfront, a frozen lemonade in one hand and his phone in the other, gripped tightly as he waited for one of the many places he'd applied to work at to respond.
At twenty, he would have figured that finding a minimum wage job would be less of a struggle, but it seemed he was wrong about that one. He was struggling a lot, admittedly- ever since his Dad had passed away a year ago, leaving John to struggle to pick up the pieces of his shattered future. After all, owning a house and life insurance and savings only did so much to pay bills, and John quickly found the struggle to make ends meet looming. He'd dropped out of college because of it, unable to manage to scrape up the funds necessary to continue, and unable to access financial aid when he'd been so financially stable relatively recently.
He was still managing though, if only because he had no other choice. It was either manage, or lose the house and try to find somewhere to rent in expensive Seattle. Moving away from the city wasn't an option either, there were less jobs there and his chances were already looking pretty grim. But still, he pushed on, walking along the rocky beach. There was almost nobody out in this deserted area, much preferring to head up to the sandier and more popular beaches, but that was fine. He needed somewhere to brood.
Then a flash of something gold in the water had startled him, and John squinted, trying to make out what it was. For a brief moment, it'd looked like... A goldfish? But what would a goldfish be doing in the chilly waters of the northern Pacific?
Curious, he bent down by the shores to investigate, squinting into the water. Another flash of gold streaked by in the depths, and he frowned, dipping his fingers in. “You've gotta be a fish, no garbage moves that fast. But who would dump their goldfish in the ocean?”
The response he got to his question was a torso breaching the water, and a spit of briny liquid hitting him square in the face, making him sputter helplessly as he flailed in the direction of his attacker. “What the fuck!?”
“What the fuck is right, asshole! I'm a koi, thanks. An ogon koi, specifically. Straight outta Japan.”
Once John wiped his glasses clean, his eyes went wide as he stared, taking in the sight of this koi mermaid floating in front of him. He understood why he'd gotten confused then, the tail was completely gold, and whenever it flapped against the surface it shimmered. “So, you expect me to believe you swam here all the way from Japan? But koi are domestic fish, and I'm pretty sure they're freshwater...”
“You sure are getting awfully specific,” he got gold speckled red eyes rolling at him for that one, and then this mermaid was swimming around, a smug look on his face, “technically, I'm cursed. Ain't never remembered that human bullshit though, and you couldn't pay me to go onto land. Ariel had shit all backwards, thinking humans were all cool and shit, but it ain't like Disney knew shit- y'all thought we had royalty down here. We vote. Our mayor's pretty sweet.”
That's- that's a lot of info at once, honestly, and John rubbed his eyes once, just to make sure he was still there. When he was, he checked his feet for any needles that might have somehow lodged into him and made him hallucinate. Nothing. “You're really real, aren't you? Mermaids are real! And how did you even see a Disney movie in the ocean?”
“Good fucking luck getting anybody to believe you if you say that one too loud,” the mermaid flicked his tail, a hint of a twinkle in those pretty eyes. “Name's Dave, by the way- good luck with that one too. Just go ahead and tell the news van there's a koi mermaid in the ocean named Dave, they'll run with that shit for sure. And they were playing it on the beach on some projector. Guess they thought they were being funny.”
“Okay, okay, jeez Dave! I get it! I'm not telling anybody anyway, shut up. My name's John, by the way. Thanks for asking. Anyway, if you wanted it to be a secret, why did you come up dumbass? Were you really that offended I called you a goldfish?”
“Yes,” John scoffed, rolling his eyes, “alright, fine, fuck you you prying asswipe, you looked sad and shit. Thought something magical might cheer you up.”
Oh. John couldn't help wondering if it was really that obvious he was moping around the ocean. He frowned, more to himself than to Dave, and rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. “Well fuck, uh... Thanks? I mean, I've been having trouble getting a job and paying bills lately. But you are pretty shiny, maybe my luck will get better!”
He does a flip, like he can't manage staying still for long, and then lets the tide carry him in, concern etched on his face. “Look,” he starts, and John sits himself on the rocks and the shells, ignoring the sand fleas that hop onto his shorts, “I ain't really invested in that whole human bullshit 'bout finding a place in society if they ain't just gonna fucking give you one, but I hope you can get your job and pay your bills and whatever other stuff you do. And hell, since I went ahead and popped my sorry ass outta the ocean and revealed and shit, come back if you ever, y'know. Wanna talk. Maybe I'll be here?”
It was a nice gesture, but when John left he told himself he'd avoid that location from then on. Getting all muddled up in magical bullshit just seemed like a bad idea, even if Dave seemed like a normal guy in terms of personality.
Then he found himself scrambling down the rocks three days later when no jobs had bothered calling back, and the power in his home was shut off. With no way to pay, he found himself helplessly going for comfort. It was a Sunday anyway, the employment agencies were all closed.
Honestly, he wasn't sure if Dave would show up, but some part of him said that these meetings always managed to occur. He'd been thrust headfirst into some sort of fantasy story without his permission, but the only difference was his life was living shit and he didn't see any way for it to look up. At this point, even if he did get employed the debt was going to choke him slowly.
He let out a long winded, tired sigh, and a head of white hair poked out from under the water, eyes blinking to adjust to the light. Torn out of his thoughts, John scrambled closer, his frustration and panic overwhelming him. “Dave, being a human fucking sucks! I get why you don't want to be uncursed now, this is bullshit and I hate it and why did my Dad have to die? And why won't they just give me the money? It's like they want to drag it out, and they want me to feel bad for wanting his money, as if keeping it from me will bring him back? Because he's never coming back, I scattered his ashes, he's gone and I'm probably going to end up homeless on the street eating dead rats and getting run over by a rabid dog and dying too or something, since apparently even fucking Taco Bell doesn't want to hire me!”
He put his head into his hand and let out a sound he'd adamantly deny was a sob, and a cool hand touched his knee, before an entire face was nuzzling into his leg in a comforting gesture. “That's fucked up. Wish I could like, pick off a scale and give it to you for infinite money or some shit. Is that how it works?”
“Yeah, sure Dave. You've got a thousand Pacific Ocean Express mastercards on your tail just waiting to be handed out,” John let out a weak laugh from between his arms, reaching out to touch Dave's damp hair. “M'sorry, it's not like you can fix it anyway, telling you won't magically make it not matter anymore.”
John expected a shrug from Dave, or perhaps a lengthy spiel about how he was supporting John emotionally, or even just a leg hug. Instead, he was oddly quiet, and when John looked down his expression was one of someone deep in thought.
“...There's one thing I can do. If you want.” He licked his lips- a weird gesture considering he was hovering in water at the moment- and glanced up at John. “You, uh.. You attached to anything on land?”
He had a feeling he knew where this was going, but John shook his head anyway. “No, I mean I have friends, but they've been distant lately 'cause of everything, and it's not like we're best friends or anything.”
“No family heirlooms?”
“Nope, I scattered Nanna's ashes with Dad's, and everything else is bakeware and harlequins,” he shuddered. Never managed to get Dad away from those.
Dave let out a long sigh, turning to look down into the depths. His voice sounded surprisingly soft compared to his normal confidence. “I could, you know. Curse you. Make you one of the merfolk, once in a lifetime chance, no going back. No promises on what you'd get anyway, like some sorta shitty capsule game, you could be a fucking seahorse. But we need more people, y'know? Low population. And Jade and Rose, they'd love the hell outta you, we'd get you some food and a place to sleep and give you work, you'd be one of the pod.”
He was rambling, words trailing frantically out of his mouth the longer John didn't respond, and eventually John felt bad enough about it that he put a finger out over his mouth, shushing him. “I'll think about it, alright? Giving up my legs for the ocean is sort of a big choice, but if things keep going downhill I'll probably take you up on your offer, alright?”
“Yeah. Yeah, alright, cool. Whatever you want.” He pulled away, and before John knew it he was diving back under the water, tail flicking. For a moment, John thought he looked almost disappointed.
When he went home, John spent a long time thinking. There really wasn't much he was attached to in this house, when he really really thought on it. It was just a home he'd grown up in, with a shitty pogo toy and a kitchen full of expensive gadgets. Without his Dad, it just felt lifeless.
He waited hours, and there were no calls from any of the places he'd applied to. Nobody seemed to give him the time of day, no matter what. Except for Dave, who seemed to care more than John deserved.
For a moment, John toyed with the possibility of Dave trying to trick him. Maybe if he turned John into a mermaid, he'd get his legs back. Maybe there was nothing else beneath the ocean but darkness and seaweed and creepy bottom dwelling fish. But he seemed so trustworthy, and John had nothing to lose at this point.
He went back to the ocean shore at five am that morning, a night spent deliberating peaking with him putting on his swim trunks and grabbing a towel, using the last of the gas in his Dad's car to get to the ocean, abandoning it in the parking lot as he walked his way down to the shore.
John waded into the water, shivering at the temperature but pushing forwards all the same. It'd look bad, he supposed, if he were to disappear, but at the same time he felt no urge to stay. “Dave?”
Did mermaids sleep? John's brows furrowed, and he cupped his hands around his mouth, “Dave!?” This was going to get embarrassing fast if somebody caught him calling out to the ocean, and John let out a groan, crossing his arms as he began to shiver. He was being stupid! What if somebody came out and heard-
“You called?”
Ah. Dave looked like he'd swum right out of bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Despite himself, John smiled, more relieved than anything. “Yeah, I did. I was thinking, like I said I would, and I decided I want you to do it!”
“Do.. It?” Dave rubbed his eyes again, yawning, “alright, cool. What's it?”
He sighed, flopping down into the water. Didn't matter if he was cold, he'd get used to it soon, Dave seemed fine. “Turn me, you stupid shitface.”
“Oh. Oh fuck! But what's with the towel bro?”
“I brought myself a blanket!”
“Holy fuck. Yeah, okay. Alright.” John watched as he took a deep breath, swimming a circle around him. “You know how it works? 'Cause it might freak you out a bit.”
“What, do you bite me? Eat my toes off? I can take it Dave, I once got a whole cavity filled with no freezing!”
“What the fuck's a cavity?” He snorted, and John gasped.
“Wow! You lucky asshole.”
“Yeah, shut up. Tell me all your weird human shit later. I ain't eating your toes, simmer down bucko. It's just. I've gotta kiss you.”
John had to process it for a moment, lips pursed. That... That couldn't be it. Was it really that easy? Could he have accidentally turned into a mermaid if he fell lip first onto Dave? That'd be pretty funny, and also really fucked up. “That's it, just a kiss?” Dave nodded solemnly, tail flicking. “That's all?”
“You're acting like it ain't a goddamn miracle you get to kiss me at all, dickbag.”
“Well sorry! I'm just surprised! I thought there would be more magic involved. And if you say kissing you is magic, I'm leaving, so shut up.” His mouth had been opening, and then it snapped shut, and John gave him a look. “Kiss me, alright?”
He heard something mumbled, vaguely along the lines of, 'way to be a romantic, douchebag,' and then he was pulled down by a hand in his hair, and lips were on his, and John let out a full body shudder at the tingling induced by it. Was this what those fireworks he always heard about were? Oh, fuck, wait. That was his legs literally melding together. It was relatively painless, which he liked, but Dave was still kissing him, and he had no idea what to think of the fact that he liked that as well. Rather than think on it, he kissed back, holding Dave's face as he changed irreversibly.
Eventually, they parted, and John looked down in wonder at himself, gills along his neck and his swim trunks hanging off of one smooth grey tail. He frowned at it, trying to decipher what he'd become, but Dave wrapped his arms around him and beamed with pride, “fuckin' dolphin, that's sick dude!”
“Shit, does that mean I have to come up for air?”
Dave deliberated for only a moment, and then swooped down into the water, his hand wrapped around John's wrist. “Nah. C'mon.”
As he followed Dave into the depths of the ocean, his towel fluttering behind him, John thought about all the things he'd left behind. Someone would eventually realise he wasn't coming home, and everything in his home would be repossessed, but that was alright. He was starting a new chapter in his life, as strange as that chapter was, and he had a feeling that it was going to be eventful if he was doing it with Dave.