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Maria stretched as she lay on the beach, letting the sunwarmed water of the Azure Sea wash over her feet. She wriggled her toes and got comfortable, dozing on the sand.
Nearby, several of her friends splashed around in the surf, enjoying their return to the water after their foraging trip in the forest. Only a few members of the merfolk clan were able to move freely on land — those with tentacled lower halves resembling squid or octopi — and they'd welcomed Maria's help with this chore ever since she'd started living among them, almost a year ago now. She couldn't swim well enough to keep up with the rest of the clan when they went hunting, so she was glad to have another way of making herself useful.
A chorus of whistling and clicking alerted her to the hunting party's return. She sat up to see her friends waving at the distant figures cutting through the waves. By now, she could get the gist of the merfolk language in certain contexts, such as greetings or warnings, but the details still went over her head. Fortunately, the clan had picked up several human languages in their dealings with human traders up and down the coast, so she'd never had trouble making herself understood.
She rose to her feet and waded out into deeper water, joining in with the splashing and waving. The swimming figures drew closer with inhuman speed, a sight that never failed to make her heart beat faster.
The sun glinted off the approaching merfolk's iridescent scales. Silver and bronze hues dominated the view, with flashes of electric blue and gleaming gold visible here and there. Occasional glimpses of deep red and matt black were visible as the swimmers surfaced from one wave only to dive into another.
In a blink of an eye, the two groups were upon each other, and Maria found herself lifted and swung through the air by her sweetheart. She giggled, relaxing as she was whirled around and then pulled close.
"I missed you, Peachy," Maria mumbled into her partner's neck.
"How sweet."
A tentacle snuck up behind Maria and started tickling her back. She laughed and retaliated in kind until Peachy relented and held her at arm's length, gazing into her eyes.
When Maria had first met the merfolk, hoping to sate her curiosity about the magical creatures from all her favourite childhood stories, she'd expected to be tolerated as a guest, at best. They were known to drive off anyone who tried to fish in their territory without permission, and the traders who resorted to dealing with them to salvage otherwise-unreachable shipwrecks always returned with complaints about their 'greedy' fees. She'd made sure to bring gifts of wine and fruit from the city, and the merfolk had welcomed her with flawless hospitality. Once she'd started chipping in with the chores and making friends, she'd seen no reason to leave in any great hurry. Weeks had turned into months, until she was effectively a part of the clan.
A mermaid with bronze hair and skin, golden eyes, and pale pink tentacles had been the first to befriend her. When Maria had asked for her name, she'd warned her that she wouldn't be able to pronounce it. After several attempts to imitate her warbling whistle, she'd had to admit that she was right. Her new friend had asked her to come up with a nickname instead, so she'd suggested Peachy, hesitantly stroking her fingers over a silky smooth tentacle. They'd been practically inseparable ever since.
Once Maria had confirmed that she was here to stay, their closeness had escalated into months of courtship. Every day felt sweeter than the one before.
"Did you get a good haul?" Maria asked, glancing at the nets full of gathered seaweed held in the mermaid's various limbs. She wasn't a great judge of what the others considered a satisfying or disappointing result.
"Good enough." Peachy smiled as if she was keeping a secret. The belt at her waist held several small pouches that hadn't been there before. Maria considered asking about them, but she figured her questions could wait until later.
Instead, she leaned in for a quick kiss.
"Will you come with me tomorrow?" Maria asked afterwards. "The wild strawberries are blooming, and they're attracting all kinds of butterflies..."
They usually went foraging together, but Peachy occasionally went out to sea instead.
"Yes, of course. I had something to do today, and now it's done."
"You're being mysterious."
Peachy lifted a clawed hand to bop her on the nose. "You're being impatient."
Maria pouted, but couldn't keep it up for long before grinning again.
After handing over the nets to one of the others, Peachy rejoined Maria, and they made their way up the beach to the cooking fire set up near the cliffs. Maria had already helped to put away most of the foraged food in the caves that they used for storage and sleeping quarters. (She had a hammock set up in one of the relatively dry areas, while the mermaids slept in the more watery sections.)
An appetising selection of herbs and root vegetables were simmering in tonight's stew. Merfolk mostly ate raw food, but they fed cooked food to the sick and elderly, and they understood Maria's need to eat hot meals as an everyday requirement. Humans were relatively fragile. Besides, they'd tried out a lot of recipes together, and many members of the clan had acquired a few new favourite foods, even if they considered them more of a luxury than a necessity.
Maria served herself a bowl of stew, then sat down on the sand to eat. Peachy sat opposite her, and picked out a piece of yam for herself.
"Have you already eaten?" Maria asked.
Peachy nodded, finishing off her snack.
While Maria ate, her partner's tentacles slid around to rub at her back. She sighed and leaned into the contact.
As soon as Maria set her bowl aside, Peachy drew her in for a kiss. They lingered for a few heartbeats, savouring the moment.
"Do you have something to tell me?" Maria asked, resting her hands on her partner's waist.
"Yes, and something to give you." Peachy reached into one of the pouches at her waist, then held up a crystal pendant on a gold chain. A faint white light shone from the center of the gem. "Will you be mine, now and forevermore?"
Maria gazed at the pendant, her breath caught in her chest as her nerves fizzed with excitement. She couldn't find the words to respond when she opened her mouth, so she nodded, and dove into a hug.
She could hear the others whooping and cheering nearby, but they somehow felt a world away, outside of the bubble of warmth created by her beloved's embrace.
"Is that a yes?" Peachy asked, gently teasing her.
"Yes, yes..." Maria whispered into her neck, finally finding her voice.
Peachy nudged her into sitting up, then draped the pendant around her neck. Maria rested her palm over the gem, trying to memorise this moment.
"Come on. I have something else to show you," Peachy told her, lifting her in a bridal hold.
Maria found herself giggling, twisting her new pendant between her fingers as she was carried along the beach.
When they reached the caves, they continued on through several twists and turns until they reached a cozy space with a subterranean river flowing through the center. This close to the sea, it still smelled like saltwater. Along one wall, a cluster of rockpools glittered in the lanternlight. Several books and tools were stored in a set of shelves carved out of the rock.
In the driest part of the cave, a four poster bed stood by itself. Green blankets and pillows were heaped on top of the mattress.
"Do you like it?" Peachy asked, sounding oddly unsure.
"Absolutely, I love it!" Maria kissed her on the cheek. "Even back in the city, I never had anything like this."
"Good." Peachy set her down on the bed. "If it succumbs to the damp, I'll buy you another."
Maria laughed and pulled her into lying next to her. "We can replace it with a hammock, when the time comes. But I'd like to get plenty of use out of it first."
Peachy stroked her face, gazing at her as if trying to take in every detail.
"Before I met you, I never imagined I could be this happy," Maria added. "When I was a child, listening to folk tales about merpeople, I used to imagine that I was one too, diving for treasure in seas that were warm and welcoming. Up north, it's so much colder... Everything that I heard sounded so romantic. Proposing with magic jewels, mating for life, singing at twilight, swimming beneath the stars... I didn't quite believe that I'd ever have that kind of a life until I decided to travel, and everything fell into place. Reality isn't always as melodramatic as some of those old stories, but it's infinitely better, because it's real. You're really here with me."
She found herself blinking away happy tears.
Peachy kissed her damp skin, then found her way back to her lips. Her tentacles curled around her, holding her close as the kiss deepened.
When they parted for air, Peachy slid down to kiss along her neck. Her limbs massaged her through her dress.
"Ah..." Maria felt herself heating up. They'd gone this far before, but it was already different, knowing they were going to go further.
"Ready to take this off?" Peachy asked her, toying with the hem of her dress.
"Yes. Please."
Peachy laughed and peeled off the damp fabric, stroking her skin as it was unveiled. "My Maria..."
"Ye-ess." She heard her own voice stutter as her partner pressed a tentacle between her legs. "Mm, more."
"Of course."
Firm limbs wrapped around her hips and thighs, holding her open. Warm skin rubbed against her and pressed inside her, making her gasp. She'd never before felt so full, or so overwhelmed with affection.
Her lover slid deeper, sparking pleasure that had her trying to rock closer even while she was held in place. The tentacle inside thickened until it was almost too much, starting at the base, and then somehow the thickest point seemed to travel, until something round and solid settled inside her.
"What...?" Maria wasn't even sure what to ask.
"Does it feel strange?" Peachy asked, sounding breathless. "Don't worry, you're doing well."
"Ah..." The pressure grew again, sliding through her, and she wanted to enjoy it, but... "A-at what?"
"Mating," Peachy gasped out, just as another round shape nestled against the first. She caught her breath, and paused her movements. "Do you not know how it works?"
"I...?" Maria blinked. "A-are those eggs?"
"Yes? What did you expect?" Peachy checked, sounding rather worried all of a sudden.
"I - I don't know, just sex? For now?" Maria replied, finding it hard to gather her thoughts while she was still spread open and craving more. This was unexpected, to say the least, but her lover wouldn't do anything that'd end up hurting her, right?
Peachy pressed a claw to the pendant. "You said you'd heard stories, you knew I was asking to mate with you..."
"Oh, I, I knew about mating for life, but I didn't think we'd start, uh, mating right away." Maria squirmed, wondering how this topic could be so embarrassing and so hot at the same time. "I mean, in terms of starting a family. I hadn't really thought about that yet, but I - I can be ready."
"Are you sure?"
"I think so, I just... what happens next?"
Peachy drew a deep breath, then gave her an answer. "The eggs will incubate for about a month. You'll birth them when they're ready to hatch."
"Oh, yes, okay, I'm sure." Maria offered her a wobbly smile. "Keep going."
Peachy leaned down to kiss her thoroughly, desperation evident in her movements as she started rocking into her again.
Another egg started pushing past her walls, making her moan. She was going to keep her wife's offspring warm and safe, and start a family, and spend the rest of her life loved and treasured...
The fourth egg entered her while the third was still settling into place, and the friction tipped her over the edge. Pleasure rippled though her, and she drifted in its wake, feeling herself filled even further.
Eventually, her wife pulled out, and lay down beside her again. They rested quietly for a while, listening to the distant sound of waves.
"So..." Maria broke the silence. "What happens after they hatch?"
Peachy nuzzled closer. "They'll live in the rock pools for the first few months of their lives, until they're big enough to swim in the sea. We'll take turns watching them whenever we need to fetch food, and stock up ready for winter. By next year, they'll be talking and playing with the other children."
"Oh, that's fast." Maria brushed her fingers against her taut skin.
"By human standards, perhaps."
"I think I prefer it this way. Our children..." The words felt strange, in a wondrous way. "I can't wait to meet them."