Stranded: A Lovestruck Merman's Tale (BL)

Marnthe told Geale to try on an assortment of footwear which would protect his bare feet while walking on land.

Geale sighed as he watched Marnthe gather the slippers and sneakers he previously tried on. He still didn't understand why armor for feet had to be in different styles and colors.

"Are you sure you're comfortable wearing these?" Marnthe asked.

"Yes, but does it matter?"

"Of course. You'll be wearing them most of the day while you move around here. Think of it as a pair of replaceable tail fins. It needs to be comfortable enough for you to swim with for a long time."

"I guess that makes sense."

Marnthe placed the pairs of footwear in a shopping basket. He then knelt down to help Geale take the pair of sandals off . "You like these too?" he said, his long fingers expertly loosening the straps.

Geale nodded. He suddenly heard a gasp from somewhere in the store. Geale looked around and found a group of women in a corner blushing and casting curious glances at the two of them.

He frowned, recognizing their expressions: a mixture of awe, curiosity, and embarrassment.

Geale looked around and noticed other people in the store casting odd glances their way. They smiled when they caught Geale's narrowed eyes.

"Alright, let's pay for these," Marnthe announced, dropping the sandals into the shopping basket. He offered his hand to Geale so he could help the younger man stand up from his seat.

Geale took it and stood up, earning a choked squeal from a group of girls in a corner. He huffed. It didn't seem like they were just curious.

Was Marnthe hiding something from him?

Come to think of it, Marnthe hadn't held Geale's hand again. People seemed less keen on staring at them since then, even with Geale's arm loosely around Marnthe's.

Was it because they stopped holding each other's hands? Did Marnthe realize it?

Why did he hide it from Geale?

Marnthe led him to a counter. He was handing the female cashier a few bills when a low growl echoed from behind him; right where Geale stood clutching a part of the older man's shirt.

The cashier stared at Geale before snorting a chuckle.

Geale glowered at her. He had enough of the attention! And what was so funny about a normal physical response to hunger?!

Marnthe caught his expression from the corner of his eye. "Let's grab something to eat next. I have a place I usually go to for a good meal."

"Okay," Geale muttered, quickly looping his free arm around Marnthe's.

"Thank you," Marnthe told the cashier. "Sorry, he's grumpy when he's hungry."

The cashier smiled. "It's okay. Enjoy your lunch!"

"Do you know her?!" Geale hissed as they walked out the door of the shop.

"No, I don't."

"Then why did you talk to her?"

"Because it's polite to have small talk now and then; and you were scaring her. Don't glower at people like that," Marnthe reprimanded as he guided Geale down the sidewalk.

"She was rude! And she and her co-workers had been staring at us ever since we walked into the shop as if we were up to no good!"

"I told you, people stare at things they're not used to. So she found your growling tummy amusing - it's still not worth starting a fight over. I should have paid more attention to you and fed you earlier to begin with. I'm sorry."

"Why are you taking the blame for this? I agreed to buy footwear first. And there's nothing wrong or amusing about my stomach growling. It just means I'm ready to hunt for food!

What's wrong is staring and gossiping about people when the target of their attention is clearly showing signs of discomfort. I stared back at them multiple times but they didn't stop.

They smiled at me instead as if I should be grateful for the unwanted attention! Then they laugh at me for feeling perfectly normal hunger pangs?"

"It's not something they often hear in public, especially when food is supposed to be easily accessible here. You already know we stand out because of our physical features.

I understand that it's uncomfortable, but making a mountain over a molehill isn't going to do us any good. They will get used to us sooner or later.

And if we don't cause them any trouble, they will pay less attention to us. We need to respect their norms if we want to peacefully coexist with them."

"Are you sure our looks were the only things they were staring at?"

"What exactly do you mean?" Marnthe asked, pausing in his tracks.

Geale unwound his arm from Marnthe's and offered his hand to him instead. "Hold my hand."

"What?!"

"Hold my hand!" Geale snapped loud enough to earn the stares of the crowd around them.

Marnthe quickly grabbed Geale's wrist and pulled him to a secluded corner. "What in the goddess' name are you doing?!"

"That's it, isn't it? That's what they were really staring at! They're not used to seeing two tall people with curly hair holding hands while walking!"

Marnthe stared wide-eyed at him.

Merfolk were infamously portrayed as innocent, naïve, oblivious and gullible. That was only because they lived in a world with norms that were different from most humans.

Marnthe realized how he might have been like Geale the first time he started living on the island. Years of living alongside humans had taken away his rose-colored glasses, replacing it with a more restrictive and paranoid one.

"If I told you you're right, will you take your hand back?"

"No! You said it yourself: humans stare at things they're not used to. If they see us holding hands while walking long enough, they'll eventually get used to it and leave us alone. Besides, we're not hurting anyone here with that gesture…or are we?"

"No, we're not hurting anyone. I guess it won't hurt to start your lesson about the human world here."

"Lesson?"

"For many here, two men holding hands while walking is odd. Expressing emotions and intimacy between men is often seen as a weakness, and romantic relationships between the same sex isn't...common.

Some strictly condemn it, but we're thankfully in a time where more humans are learning to be more open to it. The island has seen its fair-share of tourists demonstrating them, but it's still not a norm.

While folks here don't persecute it like people in other places do, they still stare."

"And they stared at our hands."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to think too much about it."

"It must have stressed you out. You were acting like everything was okay when it wasn't. I understand that you want to protect me, but you're making things hard for you.

I'm here! Share the burden with me. You're not alone anymore."

Marnthe stepped back, his heart skipping a beat at what Geale said. He wasn't alone anymore? NO. Geale would eventually leave his side. "Sure. Thank you."

Geale grabbed Marnthe's hand, twining their fingers together. "Let's grab some food. Which way is the hunting grounds?"

"Hunting grounds?"

Like humans, merfolk were omnivores. They survived on fish, crustaceans and aquatic vegetation.

While developments to their civilization introduced refined ways of dining, most of them still hunted for food. It was even considered a romantic date activity.

Marnthe freed his hand from Geale's grasp at the thought of their lunch as a date. Wait, wasn't buying clothes also considered an activity that couples engaged in during dates?!

"It's a small restaurant. This way," he said, walking in front of Geale to lead him down the road.

"You're doing it again! And right after we talked about it too."

"What do you mean?"

"Keeping me at bay."

Marnthe winced.

"You don't want me to get too close to you. You're putting up walls to keep me from having an intimate relationship with you. You're scared that I'll hurt you."

"That's not-" Geale cut him off with a simple gesture: lacing their fingers together and giving Marnthe's hand an affectionate squeeze.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay here with you, and I'm going to prove to you that it's okay for you to like me back."

Marnthe could only stare at him.

Geale smirked, catching the scarlet hue on Marnthe's surprised expression. "You like me."

"No, I don't! I mean...I don't hate you, but I don't like you in a romantic way!"

"I didn't say you liked me in a romantic way."

"You were implying it!"

"I was..?"

Marnthe opened his mouth to defend himself but turned away instead. He wasn't going to win the argument. "Let's just eat something."

"You're really cute when you blush."

"Sashimi. We're having sashimi."

"Your neck turns red too."

"Seaweed salad too."

"I like this side of you."

"Oysters. Hopefully they have oysters."