•F/N: Father's Name
•E/C: Eye Color
•Y/N: Your Name

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Your POV:
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"Neil, I'm back," I announce while entering the room. I expected to see his head pop up by the edge of the pool, like he usually does, but, surprisingly, he doesn't. I hum softly, wondering what's up as I step closer to the water.

'Maybe he didn't hear? He could be in the deepest part of the water or something.' Figuring I'll wait, I kick off my sandals before having a seat on the ledge of the pool to dip my feet into the salty liquid. I frown as I sit there, moving my feet to gain the merman's attention, but he doesn't surface. I start to worry a little.

"Neil?" I call out again. Relief washes over me when I see his raven locks rise to the top of the water followed by his eyes, and I give a small smile. He was near the deep end, like I had expected, but I'm sure he saw me with his incredible eyesight. I pat my lap to motion him over, and he complies, but at an oddly slow pace. Usually, he loves to dive in and out of the water excitedly to reach me. My lips form a straight line as he comes closer, and I instantly notice the large patches of missing scales on his tail, leaving the bare spots a dull grey color. I frantically get into the cold water to check on him, not knowing what had happened to my aquatic friend.

"Oh my gosh! Neil, are you okay? Your scales!" He whimpers in response while grasping my shoulders to nuzzle his face against the crook of my neck. I gently take his face in my hands and pull us apart enough to get a look at his features. His dark eyes are glazed over, and the vibrant blue scales on his body have dulled greatly. I sigh as he nudges against my hand for comfort. "I hope you aren't sick." My heart clenches painfully at the thought.

'What if this is a sign that he's dying? I don't want to lose him too. There must be something I can do to help.' Neil coos softly with a tilted head at my sad expression and brings his webbed claw up to touch my face, but I grab it delicately before he could. "Wait here for me, okay?" He whimpers again but nods before pressing his lips against my forehead for a few moments and sinking back into the water. His hands were reluctant to release me, so I ruffle his hair to assure him I'll come back. I exit he pool and find a towel to wrap myself in before heading upstairs.

'I think I know something that can shed some light on the problem.'

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Neil's POV:
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I don't understand. Something's very wrong with me, but I don't know why. My body feels so heavy and sore, I can hardly swim. My mind is weak, and I feel tired. I had to spend the whole night lying in the sand while waiting for Y/N's return.

I figured it would all go away after she came to see me, but I only feel guilty after seeing that look of worry on her pretty face. I must be sick, but what from? At first, I questioned if it was the fish, but that cannot be. Y/N always gives me fresh ones, and from what I could tell, they were not sickly. This all started when I tried asking the human to stay with me— When the stupid words would not come out my mouth.

I practice whenever I'm alone, but it seems impossible. It's too foreign on my tongue, and everything just sounds awful in comparison to Y/N's fluent speech. It must be that I'm not built for speaking like a human. There's no way she's going to be able to understand me, but I want to communicate with her so badly. There's so much I want to say.

I want to tell her how happy she makes me, how grateful I am to have her to take care of me, how much I love her, and most of all, I want to ask her to be my mate. I've tried my best to tell her without speaking, and for a moment, I thought she understood when she kissed me, but she seemed so unsure of herself then, like she didn't understand what was happening. I have to let her know somehow, but what can I possibly do if I can't speak like she can? I release a low growl full of sorrow while waiting for Y/N's return in the shallow end of my territory.

Sometimes, I miss the big waters, though there is plenty of space for me in this nest, but if I lived out there, then I wouldn't have my lovely human to keep me company. Things would go back to the way they once were before I met F/N and her. It was lonely then, though, I didn't realize that until I came to this place. It isn't like I'm that last of my kind or anything like that. There are plenty of mermen living in the depths of the sea and lots of mermaids I can mate with, however, none would ever compare to Y/N. Her way of life is different to my own kind, and her views aren't the same either.

All merfolk desire is a mate, which is no different to my own wants, then they birth children and fight for dominance before the survivor lives out the rest of their days raising the offspring and repeating the process. Then, there's Y/N, who calls me a friend. Merpeople don't have friends. F/N once explained them to me, saying they're people who are close to you, enough to consider them family, but not quite. It's an odd thing that I never properly understood, but I like it, nonetheless. When Y/N walks in through the door, I perk up my head, my spirits lifting slightly. In her hands is a book that F/N would often look at during his early years of looking after me. I believe he said it has information on fish in it.

"Well, the good news is that the scales should grow back," she mentions while meeting my dark eyes before flipping the pages. "Are you stressed out about something, bud?" She asks while shutting the big book and setting it someplace dry before she enters the water to come to me. I move towards her, eager to be held in her arms, yet my body didn't move as fast as I'd like it to. My arms feel too heavy to make so much movement, but I fight through the uncomfortable ache.

I lightly shove at the female's stomach, urging her to move back towards the steps so that she can sit, and she complies. After she's seated, I wrap my arms loosely around the back of her neck while positioning my tail to lie across her lap before nuzzling my face against her own affectionately. The woman smiles and releases a small laugh as my black hair tickles her cheek. I love that sound. It means she's happy, and that makes me happy too.

I know she likes it when I get close to her and hold her like this, so I made sure to do it as often as I could, even before the realization of wanting her as my mate. Admittedly, I enjoy it too. It makes my chest feel fluttery, and by a bit, my heavy heart heals having her so close. I let out a deep purr by rolling my tongue as her fingers entangle into my wet hair, and she directs my chin to her shoulder to rest. I melt into her hold, loving it whenever she touches my head. It always sends pleasant shivers through my body and makes me crave more. The feeling only strengthens out of water.

"Neil, I don't want to see you stressed out, okay? Whatever's going on, I want to help." I chirp in agreement, not liking how I'm feeling right now. My eyes shut for a moment as I savor the softness of her bare shoulder while gently skimming my fingertips over the flesh. I really like how her skin feels against my rough scales. It always makes me wonder if she's chewy, but I wouldn't dare bite her until the time is right. I need to know if she even wants to be mine in the first place. My arms lower as I look down, leaving my forehead to press against her neck as my fingernails lightly touch Y/N's belly, causing her to laugh once more.

"Neil, s-stop! That tickles!" She laughs louder, barely able to form a proper sentence as her body squirms under my claws, which brings a smile to my emotionless face. I don't tear my loving gaze away from my hand as my webbed fingers spread to press my palm against her stomach.

'One day, she's going to have my child, and I'll be so happy. I wonder what it would be. A male? A female? Doesn't matter. I'm sure they'd look beautiful either way.' I felt my chest swell before the happy thought fled, and a frown paints my lips.

'But, what if she doesn't want my child? What if she doesn't want to be my mate? What will I do if she says no?' Sad whimpers escape my lips, which I imagine would be the equivalent of what humans call sobs, causing Y/N to lean her head back some before grabbing my face in her hands. I look into those gorgeous, E/C eyes of hers and continue to whimper.

'You love me, don't you, Y/N?'
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Your POV:
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The merman's whimpers alarm me, so I take his face in my hands to find a pained look on his face that made my heart hurt. I've never seen him like this before. What could upset him so much? I, then, think up something that might cheer him up, which makes me smile some.

"How about a nice, juicy fish?"

'There's no way he would refuse that.' To my surprise, the fish-man shakes his head and throws his arms around me again to hold me tight, his cries getting louder and more heart-wrenching. I bite my bottom lip, not knowing how to handle his distress. "No? Okay, then... H- How about I spend the night again, huh? You like that, don't you?"

He peers at me with those big eyes of his as his whimpers gradually silence before lightly nodding his head and pressing his forehead against my own. Knowing what he wants, I kiss his lips. I don't know what this action means to him, but right now, I'm willing to do anything to make him feel happy. His tense shoulders relax instantly as he melts into the kiss, pressing harder against my lips to achieve dominance, but I can't find it in me to continue any longer. This isn't right.

I split us apart, much to his dismay and, admittedly, mine too. I love Neil, I really do, but this isn't okay. Though parts of him look similar to a human, we aren't the same species. I live on land and he lives in water. Don't even get me started on how we don't even understand what we're saying to each other half the time.

We're just too different. Surely, he realizes that too, but does he care? No, it doesn't seem that way. Neil purrs in content as he nuzzles against my neck again, while my arms wrap around his larger form securely. I do the same as him, resting my head on his shoulder and inhaling his fishy, saltwater scent.

It was a smell I had gotten used to over the years and, eventually, became comforted by it whenever I got near him. I close my eyes, simply enjoying the moment, and breathe out a soft sigh. I care for him so much. I hate to see him so sad. I can feel his chest vibrating against my own as he makes an odd sound near my ear.

"M- M- M..."

'Again? Is he trying to say something?'

"M- Ma- Ma- Mat..."

'Mat?' I try to lean back some to look at him, only for his hand to push my head back down against his neck as he coos. The world seemed to stop when I heard what then fell from his lips.

"M- Ma- Mate."