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His eyes were like the skies that met the sea, gently touching in greeting across the horizon. If he closed his eyes and reached out far enough, he would be able to caress his cheek.
But it felt like a dream and soon, he was waking up.
Yuuri blinked a few times as he stared up at the bright, cloudless sky. He raised his hand, vision blurring into focus as he turned his gaze to it. His head throbbed painfully. His mind was blank, as though it struggled to awaken. Was he dead?
It wasn’t until he moved that he realised the lower half of his body was submerged in shallow waters. Waves crashed, pushing and pulling away in a silent rhythm only Mother Nature knew. He could feel his chest rise and fall. Each breath he took only made his throat itch. He moved his arm to prop his weight onto his elbow, but it was as though it failed in following his command. With a groan, he laid back with a grumble.
If this was how he was going to die…
No, he couldn’t think that. He had to get up, lest he wanted the seas to swallow him whole again.
Yuuri closed his eyes. He imagined mustering all of his remaining strength. Focusing onto his arms. Pushing himself upright.
With a soft huff of determination, he got up, each second more agonizing as it passed.
Finally.
He opened his eyes, only to met right smack with a pair of the most beautiful crystal blue eyes in the world.
A second of stunned silence passed. He barely registered the sight of iridescent scales that only darkened in a gradient of greens and blues, past his face and over his skin. He had hair like moonlight tucked behind his ear, trailing past his shoulders and pooling onto Yuuri’s lap. The cogs of his mind slowly turned.
And the strange creature leaned in until their noses touched, a cooling sensation bursting in contrast to his warmth. He shivered lightly.
“U-uh,” Yuuri stammered. He chose at that moment to turn his gaze down this naked… person. The scales shifted along with his idle movement, the colours glistening under the sunlight.
Whoa.
The creature… the mermaid..? had a curious glint to his eyes, with underlying mischief.
Oh boy.
“Um! Please, if you know English, get off of me!” Yuuri squeaked, hating that he sounded much more panicked than he could admit. The mermaid, whose gaze felt more penetrative than any knife that was stuck in him, leaned forward and shifted his heavy… tail..? over his body. He laid his head on his chest, where panic rose quickly.
“Ah, don’t sunbathe while you’re on me!”
A soft hum of content was his response. Arms crossed over his chest. He could feel the same cooling sensation through his wet clothing, spreading over him like cool menthol.
Oh god. He was going to die. He was going to get consumed and eaten by this beautiful mermaid whose hair sparkled like moonlight and eyes like the skies that met the sea and –
Wait.
“Hold up! Are– are you the one w-who drowns sailors?”
A soft hum. It was neither confirmation nor denial.
“The one whose gaze is alluring and– and– mesmerizing–,” his tone grew higher with each word he spoke.
Another soft hum. He nestled his head into the crook of his neck. Yuuri squeaked.
“Am I gonna die? I’m going to die. I haven’t told my mom how much I loved her for the last time. Oh. Oh no…”
A soft grunt of annoyance was his response. Yuuri looked down at the mermaid. He looked… sleepy? He tipped his head up to look at him, piercing gaze half-lidded. Lower lip jutted out into a small pout.
“W-what?”
“I’m not going to kill you.”
Yuuri paused. It… he… knew English.
“Oh. Okay.”
“Besides, you’re sooooo comfy,” he sang, tail swishing as it buried into the sand beside him. Yuuri stared. What. What was happening?
“I’m gonna nap.”
“W-wait–”
“Napping noooow,” he sang.
“Get off of me first– come on!” Yuuri groaned.
“Snoring now…”
“That… that doesn’t count–”
And he was snoring, out like a light. He blinked once, twice, a few more times.
Whaaaaatttttt?????!!??!?!?