Chapter Text
The gentle light of dawn cast a soft glow on Lake Biwa as Mari thundered down the path by the water, the muffled sounds of a city slowly waking up drifted through the breeze as she spotted the familiar bridge ahead of her. The young boxer slowed to a stop, swiping a light sweat from her forehead and letting her puffs of breaths release into the cool, morning air.
“Slightly better,” She muttered to herself, mentally tracking the time it took her to reach this point as she rolled on her feet, gazing at the sunrise. Time truly didn’t matter to her routine, but that was easier to focus on than a certain someone. Her true thoughts were on a particular mermaid, one who was too lazy to wake up on time today due to stuffing herself full of cakes during a midnight excursion to the corner of the room. Yet, Lara still somehow managed to infiltrate every part of her life.
“And she’ll whine since she missed this,” Mari sighed to herself, pulling out her phone and steadying the camera towards the water.
It was a habit Mari noticed, that once Lara started to tag along on her runs, she would often stop here and gaze at the horizon with such a forlorn smile, seemingly ignoring everything around her besides the gentle laps of waves. Despite having two legs, it was apparent that she still carried the weight of the ocean behind those crystalline blue eyes. But there was that beautiful red, silky hair, the annoying yet endearing way she would trail Mari everywhere, those gentle hands, and the way her lips would—
The soft shutter of the phone camera briefly disrupted the serene silence. Mari gazed down at the captured soft hues of pink and blue, and internally reminded herself to show Lara once she returned, or woke up, whichever was faster. Or, she could hold a can of hot chocolate under her nose. That might display faster results she mused.
Mari sighed softly, smiling despite herself. Maybe getting a hot chocolate for Lara wouldn’t be so bad, and at least she wouldn’t be as disappointed about sleeping in. With a newfound goal in mind she quickly turned on her heels when something flashed out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and peered towards the beach.
Must’ve imagined it, Mari thought, about to turn away again when she saw it.
A large spiral shaped shell that still seemed to be in good condition was lying just on the edge of the water. A relatively decent size too, Mari thought, definitely bigger than her hand. Perhaps the size of her head. She hopped the fence and slowly walked down the gentle slope, the sand slightly shifting under her feet.
“What the…” She muttered, using both of her hands to pick up the object. It was large and was definitely not supposed to be here, whatever it was. The larger, spiraled shell, almost similar to a gigantic snail had dark brown stripes down the side of it, and, most importantly, had the unmistakable scent of salt water. Salt water. Which was about 50 kilometers from Lake Biwa.
Mari hummed, contemplating what to do and observing the shell when a buzz sounded from her short pocket. She settled the object on the ground and groaned when she opened her messages.
“Lara, what did you do now.”
_____________
“I was trying to cook you some fish,” Lara immediately blurted out when Mari opened the door. “The one last night was so delicious and well…”
Lara sheepishly stepped back to let the other enter, the one who was noticeably ignoring the scent of burnt food and spices wafting through the house.
“I’ll show you later,” Mari promised. Her lips slightly quirked up as she reached to take off her shoes, already knowing how Lara’s eyes lit up. “And here.”
Mari handed the hot chocolate to the mermaid, watching as she managed to open the can with only her fingers slipping twice this time. She looked beautiful, with the sunlight shining on her, she really did look like a princess.
“Oh, I have something else for you too, something I found earlier,” Mari stated. She quickly slipped her shoes back on and bent down to grab the shell she placed on the steps before opening the door.
“Is it another cake or drink?” Lara mused, waiting patiently. “I didn’t remember asking…”
Lara trailed off and the half-empty can she was hanging on to fell to the floor, causing a brown splatter against the wood. Her eyes widened, similar to the day they first confronted at the church, but this time her gaze was firmly locked on the empty shell lying in Mari’s hand.
“You… it’s for me?” Lara hurriedly asked, a blush fiercely clawing its way up her neck and onto her cheeks. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I found it out on my run today,” Mari responded, glancing curiously at the red head who kept reaching her hands out, as if to grab it, and then pulling them away. “I’m not sure what it’s doing here, but anyways, it’s for you. It might not be your ring but I hope you might enjoy it.”
She slowly placed the shell in Lara’s outstretched hands which were slightly trembling. Ensuring that it wouldn’t be dropped, she pulled away and blinked at Lara. The same Lara who looked like she was about to cry despite her face being so similar to the color of her hair, and the fact that those eyes kept switching between her and Mari.
“I-I-…” Lara whispered, taking in a deep breath to ground herself. “I accept Mari, thank you…”
Mari just stared at her questionably. Perhaps this reminded her of her old life? She hoped it wasn’t a bad idea to bring it home. “It’s no big deal I just-“
She was interrupted when Lara squeaked, coming out of her shock and rushed forward to take Mari’s hand under the shell.
“Just you wait,” She rambled, “I didn’t think it would be this early but I just need some time to gather things and please-“
She turned and started to rush- as fast yet carefully as she could- up the stairs.
“Teach me how to cook later,” she yelled down before assumingly disappearing into Mari’s room.
“…okay,” Mari said, looking at the dripping can on the floor in front of her.
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“Do you have any idea what’s you did?” Gon sarcastically greeted as Mari stepped into her room. She swam up to the side of the tank, attempting to make eye contact with the girl who was focused on the brake boxes by the beds.
“I gave Lara a drink and a shell,” Mari quipped back, moving the empty cake boxes towards the trash. There were still so many boxes to eat, especially before the expiration date, but it made Lara happy.
“Not just any shell,” Gon drawled, stretching her fins. “A chambered nautilus shell. Mari blinked at her before continuing to move the remaining boxes and crumbs away from the beds. “I swear- it’s the most important courting gift you could ever give another mermaid.”
“A… courting gift,” Mari responded, wracking her brain to see what meaning that had. Suddenly, a furious blush appeared on her cheeks as she whipped around to face the unsurprised fish. “What?!”
“Yes yes yes, a nautilus shell is the most important object in our culture, and so few mermaids ever receive them that it’s almost like a myth,” Gon dismisses, as if she were speaking to a young child. “You know I thought I told you about their culture. They live at depths unimaginable and far away from any activity, and it is near impossible to find one in that condition, let alone in a lake.”
“You didn’t tell me about this. But what do you mean by courting,” Mari furiously whispered, trying to remain calm despite the blush burning her cheeks and ears.
“Well, I suppose it would be similar to… a wedding ring I believe,” Gon muttered as she smugly swam in a circle, ignoring the plight of her owner that had refused to fulfill her cravings. Her own little petty revenge. “The spirals are meant to represent the ocean, and you choosing that says that you promise to navigate the gentle tides all the way to the open sea, as you move from the inner part of the circle to the outer sections. A shell that is perfectly intact, of that size, and the fact that it is a nautilus has seemed your fate. You practically declared to Lara that you are the best suitor and said ‘pick me’ in bright red letters.”
Mari gazed off into the distance, and then turned towards her desk, which did indeed have the nautilus shell placed on top of it like a trophy. Well, shit. It wasn’t that she did not like Lara, in fact she was rather fond of her. She had her quirks, but the gentle way she would laugh and overcome them was adorable, and her obsession with those trashy movies about princes and princesses. Those beautiful eyes and soft smile whenever Mari would talk, and how her fingers would brush hers when giving her something, and how she wasn’t exactly fond of boxing but would still show up to support her with a wholehearted smile… yet would not shut up about princes. Looking for princes. Absolutely everything was about princes and true love. Something that annoyed and embarrassed Mari to no end, and also something that made that ugly, sour feeling in her chest twist.
“You will help me explain to Lara that was not my intention,” Mari hissed, sending a nasty glare.
“No.”
Mari immediately shut her mouth when said mermaid burst into her room with one hand tucked to her chest. Huffing, she made eye contact with her and offered a smile worth a hundred sunrises.
“Mari! Here. I didn’t think it would take so long,” Lara admitted. She took the hand away from her chest and offered it palm up. Inside was three gorgeous pieces of sea glass (that was immediately recognized as coming from the jar belonging to her brother in the bathroom) and an intricately woven kelp bracelet. The design seemed almost rudimentary, it was a basic braid that would just fit her wrist, but there were interesting knots that had symbols carved into them. From small starfish to coral, the holes were all connected with a thin strand of yellow seaweed through the middle. Seaweed they planned to use for the hijiki no nimono tonight.
Mari gently took the bracelet, glancing up at Lara who was watching expectantly and fidgeting with the tips of her fingers. She also pointedly ignored Gon who was making no point to hide her obvious staring.
“I-,” am not going to wear this, Mari bit her tongue before speaking. It was a piece of art, sure, but said piece of art would smell, well, fishy, and she would have to drag it everywhere. She already got enough stares with Lara trailing her to school, she’s not sure if she could handle more due to the dried kelp hanging off of her wrist.
“Thank you, it’s beautiful,” She finished awkwardly. It truly was a beautiful piece, but it was apparent this had some deeper meaning she was not privy to since Lara continued to look at her with those bright puppy-dog eyes full of optimism. She stole a glance at Gon, who tilted her body slightly downwards, towards her wrist. Great. Mari already dealt with Lara’s constant bawling for any media containing the word ‘prince’ in it, and those tears she could tell were about to form wouldn’t be any better.
With an internal sigh, she held out her wrist, and ignoring the faint blush under her eyes, gestured for Lara to put it on her. She tried to not make eye contact, choosing to look towards the broken window as Lara let out a noise of content and took Mari’s palms within her own. She felt the gentle tug over her hand and the slightly coarse texture as it was adjusted around her wrist as Lara hummed some distant tune, seemingly happy at least.
When Mari had enough courage to face forward, and to make sure her blush died down somewhat, she was met with Lara, who was kneeling on the floor and beaming up at her as if she had somehow done something impossible. She almost looked away again or would have said something stupid but Lara let go of her hand and stood up with that cute smile still plastered on her face. The mermaid shuffled over to put the sea glass on the desk.
Mari jumped out of her daze when her grandmother’s booming voice sounded downstairs.
“Mari! Yoshihiro! Why are my seaweed packs open and these crumbs are everywhere?! I cleaned up last night!”
Mari looked up towards the ceiling and prayed that whatever was up there would help her survive this mess.