Work Text:
It was sunset when Ruskin first saw the prince, in the beams of the setting sun. He was walking on the shore with leisure steps and Ruskin suspected that there was something in his mind because there was a smile at the corner of his mouth. It looked malicious, like he was laughing at someone's bad luck. But it didn't bother Ruskin. He thought that beautiful people like him were allowed to be evil.
And he was the most beautiful person he ever laid his eyes on with his curly, silver hair sparkling in the last light of the day and his golden eyes glowed like those coins Ruskin occasionally found at the bottom of the sea. Ruskin fell in love at the first sight. Coming near to the shore and watching the prince became the meaning of his life. Only seeing him made his heart beat faster and filled him with an enormous happiness even if he knew that his dream can never come true. They will never walk hand in hand on the shore, plotting the prince's evil plans together. Their nature made it impossible.
As Ruskin was one of the merfolk who could never set foot on the land - and the prince was a human who would have drowned if he was dragged away to the sea.
But this didn't completely take away Ruskin's joy. Even if he knew that he could never let the prince know of his existence, he could always swim there and watch him, bathing in the prince's ethereal beauty. It was the reason why Ruskin woke up every morning and changed the location of his living space to live closer to the shore. He left his tribe behind just to see the prince every day. And one sunset, he thought that he wanted to give some beauty back to him - for what he gave Ruskin until then.
The most beautiful things Ruskin knew aside from the prince. The miracle of the sea.
Pearls.
So Ruskin started to gather the most perfect pearls he could find in the shells - the one with a mistake couldn't fit to the purpose of a gift. He collected them for long, long weeks, determined to find more and with careful work, he made a necklace out of it - something he saw that the prince liked to wear. He viewed the necklace as the symbol of his love - that even if they were two worlds that couldn't collide, they were meant for each other even if the prince didn't know about his existence. One evening, before the prince arrived at the shore for his usual walk, he left the necklace there in a little box and hid close to the surface to see, if only in a reflection, whether the prince liked his present or not.
He wanted to see the happiness on the man's face if he found the pearls as something worthy to have. Ruskin could only hope for it.
He was waiting in his hide-out, his heart beating fast from the excitement. The sun started to set on the horizon. Ruskin knew that it would be minutes and the prince would be here.
Then he finally saw him.
He was walking leisurely like he used to, but there was no smile on his face. He had a serious look like he was hesitant about something. Ruskin was aware that he cannot hear or see him, but he still held his breath back when the prince reached his line. He stopped where the box was placed and he bowed down to look at it from closer.
Ruskin watched with his eyes wide open. He didn't want to miss anything about the scene.
The prince cautiously opened the box and Ruskin saw his surprised expression when he spotted the pearl necklace. The pearls were sparkling in a milky light. They were similar to the pale skin of the prince who put the necklace up and while a pink blush appeared on his cheek.
It was the shade of a rosy pearl.
Then he stood up and walked away, wearing the necklace. Unlike how he came, there was a smile at the corner of his mouth. Ruskin found it beautiful, even more beautiful than his pearls.
And the thought that the prince liked his gift was a burning joy in his heart.