Prompt: Liam loves gazing up at the moonlights outside of his beach home, never expecting to see a beautiful tail glisten in the ocean until one fateful night.
~*~
Liam loved his life for the opportunities given to him since he was young. He grew up in a wealthy family, had kind sisters, and excelled at school. It was like the universe loved him, and couldn't feel more humble than anybody else.
This luck never left his side, especially when purchasing a beach house that sat alone near a gorgeous view of the night sky and ocean. He desired peace most nights, so this solitude brought him joy and he never took it for granted, even when he had many doubts.
“You sure you're going to be alright for the next few months? This whole pandemic will keep everyone apart for a while, maybe even longer than a few months, Liam.”
His friends had called on a Friday night when lockdown procedures came into effect. This was the first wave of bad luck for Liam in a while.
He knew he could last a long time without proper human interaction, since he became more introverted with passing time. The nearest home was three miles away, so he still had a gorgeous view that he could sink into daily.
“I'll be okay, I promise. Hell, maybe even a mermaid will sweep me off my feet if I take a dip into the ocean.”
“Don't even joke about that. Plus, mermaids aren't even real, get over yourself.”
Liam rolled his eyes over Louis's ignorance.
“Have you not seen all the evidence pointing towards mermaids being scientifically real? Since we're stuck inside, maybe you should do some research for once.”
Louis laughed. “Oh? But no pictures, right? Get over yourself, Payne. Talk to me when you see a mermaid tail flail out from the ocean. Goodnight.”
“If you insist! Goodnight, Tommo.”
Liam slipped his phone into his right pocket and decided to walk outside to take in some fresh air. It felt needed after a long, disappointing day.
The ocean hit his bare feet every so often as he gazed up towards the bright moon. This sight continued to amaze him ever since he found his home a few months ago.
“It's gonna be a long few months, but you'll pull through, like always.”
Liam always talked to himself when stressed out, and it usually helped focus on breathing and staying positive. Being alone was going to be tough for him, but he pulled through so much to not give up and stress out more than he should.
As he pondered through his many thoughts, Liam noticed a small splash in the distance.
“What was that...” He continued to sit down but grabbed his binoculars that he always took with him, in case he wanted to sightsee.
The splash happened again but closer, and Liam noticed the outline of a tail, a beautiful one. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
“This has to be a joke... right,” he muttered under his breath. The tail threw him off completely.
Each tail swipe grew closer and closer until Liam stood up, this was as soon as a full figure appeared from the water itself.
“You can't be real...”
A gorgeous brunette floated in the water, tail moving in the water behind him as if it were nonchalant and a daily occurrence.
“I am real, human. You seem a bit perplexed by my appearance, which doesn't surprise me, but it's intriguing. What's your name?”
Liam was puzzled, looking around at his surroundings to view nothing but barren space. He didn't know how to react, especially towards a mermaid who spoke so fluently and elegantly.
“I-I'm Liam. What's yours? Do you even have one?”
The mermaid chuckled, resting his arms along the sand, eyes peering up at Liam. “It's Niall. Am I supposed to be offended by how you're reacting to my presence? It's quite appalling, in my stance.”
Liam quickly shook his head. “No no no, I'm sorry. This is just so surreal and exciting for me, I never know what to say in situations like these.”
Niall chuckled, smiling brightly. “I can tell, it's adorable. Never thought I'd find a human with such a cute personality, it's enticing. Should I be feeling this way?”
Liam lost his way with words, his mind trying to comprehend the beautiful specimen before him.
“You don't seem to know either, hmm...”
Niall's blue and green tail flipped a few times in the water, fingers tapping at the sand beneath him while he examined Liam more.
“Humans and mermaids aren't meant to speak at all, but you were the only figure I saw tonight and have seen for the past few months during the evening. Do you live alone?”
Liam could only nod, finally admiring Niall's tail.
“You must like being alone as I do. I'm tired of hearing my family fight about the crown and kingdom while all I want to do is live far from them, where they can't reach me anymore.”
Liam frowned. “Why don't you want to be around them anymore? Are they pressuring you? I don't want to assume but-”
“Yes. They want me to rule the seas, but I want to relax and live my version of life down there. Watching you humans party and be carefree has been a huge dream for me, but my tail can't carry me far and it doesn't seem to fade away when I'm on land. It sucks.”
Liam hummed to himself and stood up. “How long did you try and stay out of the water for? Maybe it takes hours. Could you breathe?”
Niall shrugged, shivering a little from the cold air. “Haven't tried for hours... Do you think you can help me? I'd owe you my life.”
Liam nodded, smiling a little. “I'd love to help, and you wouldn't have to owe me anything. All I ask is that I show a little proof to my friend who doesn't believe in mermaids as I have for years.”
Niall smiled with him. “I can do that.”
Niall began pulling himself from the water and lied his back on the smooth sand. He let out a sigh of relief and gazed up at the moonlight.
“This is beautiful,” he spoke breathlessly.
“Your tail is beautiful,” Liam spoke with a spark of confidence. He finally had himself under control.
Niall looked over at him with a raised brow. “You think so? I think it looks pretty basic.” Niall moved his tail up and down a few times. “All of the other mermen drool over me, but they're being overdramatic, I swear it. Nothing about me is perfect like how they perceive me.”
Liam clenched his jaw a little, raising his brow in clear confusion. “Are you joking? I believe all mermaids are beautiful, but your tail is glowing in this moonlight. It's like fireworks but less violent.”
“Fireworks...” Niall mumbled with a furrowed brow. “Are those the loud lights that explode in the sky on certain nights? Those are pretty. Wait, you think my tail reminds you of those?”
Liam nodded, teeth showing in a new smile. “Of course. It's not just your tail either, your body is my definition of perfect, your hair looks soft, and you are attractive as a whole. Who wouldn't want to have you in their lives?”
Niall felt his face warm up a little. He never had this happen before, he never felt this genuine appreciation before. Was this meant to happen?
“Can you help me onto the surface? I want to see if the theories from below are true. That I'm able to have human legs when near a human being.”
Liam frowned. “That's a theory? It seems accurate to me. I'll gladly help you, come on.”
Liam lifted Niall out from the water by his armpits, dragging him carefully onto the silky smooth sand that felt nice on both of their forearms.
“Are you able to breathe?”
Niall nodded, clutching onto his left side as his exhales were there yet unsteady.
“Y-Yeah, just... feel an insane pain course through my lower body, fuck.” Hissing through his gritted teeth, the pain grew severe in seconds and he could feel his tail contort and shapeshift behind closed eyes.
Liam watched in awe as Niall's legs formed into human, tanned legs. The beautiful tail glittered in sparkles and the transformation was instant, shocking to Liam who never thought he'd witness such a distinct event.
“What the hell did I just see...”
Niall let out a long exhale before blinking his eyes open. Now able to gaze at the newly formed legs, Niall gasped and felt them with a growing smile spreading across his face.
“This is amazing!” He laughed and brought Liam into a hug, squeezing his eyes shut in pure glee.
Liam hugged him back, smiling.
“Glad I could help. Do you think you're going to like living as a human? I mean, I'm sure your family is going to miss you, even if they were a pain to deal with.”
Niall pulled back from the hug and looked down at the pendant around his neck, not noticing that he was naked from the waist down. He's never seen someone nude, so it didn't click to him.
“I will go back to them now and again, but I want to live up here most of the time. I know it isn't that simple with your human currency and day-to-day life, but I'll help you with gold.”
Liam's brow raised. “Gold? Do you have pure gold down there? You've gotta be joking.”
Niall shook his head, chuckling. “Nope, plenty of gold in our many chests. It's quite the amount, but we have no use for it. Only used for decoration, really. Would that be enough to assist you in your monthly wages?”
Liam nodded, flabbergasted by everything.
“Yes, of course. You are like a blessing that came out of nowhere.”
Niall felt his cheeks warm up, looking down to finally notice more than just legs.
“Hey, what is this?”
Liam noticed and bit his bottom lip briefly.
“Erm, well male humans have this thing called a-”
“I know what it's called, don't worry. Just never thought I'd have one myself. Shouldn't this be inappropriate since you have clothing on?”
Liam grabbed Niall's hands and put them over his private area while wearing a subtle blush.
“Yeah, let's get inside and put some clothes on you. It'll be more comfortable, I promise.”
Once Liam got Niall inside, he let him clean off the sand while finding some clothing that would decently fit him.
It took only a few minutes before Liam brought Niall enough pieces to wear, glancing at his body for a few moments and smiling a little when walking off to make dinner for them.
“You didn't have to do all of this for me.”
Liam had a full spread of dinner laid out on the dining table, a smile spread across his face as he gazed over at Niall who looked adorable in the clothing given to him.
“Nonsense. I want to show you that good humans are living around these parts, and I'm not just sweetening the deal of having you around to prove some people wrong.”
Niall chuckled and took the seat that Liam pulled out for him moments ago.
“You humans sure love proving each other wrong, even for the weirdest things. I don't blame you though, I am a magical creature after all, and anybody gets amazed at my existence.”
“It's more than just that.”
Liam took his seat across from Niall who began eating away at one of his many made plates.
“You are beautiful, outspoken, and I have to that I'm quite enthralled with your overall figure and personality. It's like you're a siren.”
Niall rolled his eyes. “Would never be such a thing, but I appreciate the compliments. Again, humans sure do enjoy falling in love after one night of speaking to the person.”
Liam smiled and bit his lip a little, averting his eyes to the plate of food in front of him.
“I can't help myself. It's not love though, it's infatuation. It's impossible to stop wanting to look at you, wanting to hold you and smother you with affection. It's something about you.”
“Well...” Niall took his free hand and placed it on top of Liam's before gently squeezing it. “Why don't I show you some more gratitude with my singing, later? I don't sing for just anybody, but I'm known for hypnotizing every soul that embraces my voice.”
Liam nodded slowly, a small smile still spread across his face, not noticing the yellow glint that pierced Niall's eyes in the candlelight.
“I would want nothing more than that.”