Tan glanced at Cole over the table for the tenth time during their dinner.
"What?"
Tan shrugged.
"Nothing. I was just wondering if you finished that poem."
"Of course I did. I was going to wait until we finished dinner."
Tan nodded.
Cole gave him a teasing smile. He put his fork down and got the piece of paper from under the map on the desk. They had just about finished the dinner by then any way.
He handed the folded paper to Tan.
"Read it when you want to."
Tan took it and eyed Cole for a moment before he opened the paper to take a look.
After just a second, he closed the paper again.
The gesture surprised Cole.
"That bad?"
Tan met his gaze. After shaking his head he got up from his seat and walked over to Cole.
"Can you read it to me?"
"You want me to read it?"
"Yeah. I want to hear it from you."
Cole took the paper and got up. It suddenly felt very personal and a bit embarrassing. Tan's intense look at his face didn't make it easier.
He cleared his throat and unfolded the paper.

"To look in to your eyes is to dive in to the depths of time, where waves of the universe make the world dance.
To love you is to dance through the sky, feeling perfectly safe, knowing your hands hold my heart.
To hold you is to hold the entire world in my arms, feeling your very soul embrace mine.
With you, I am safe, I am free, I am home."

Cole met Tan's gaze for a second before he got pulled in to a passionate kiss. He barely got the chance to put the note on the desk. The moment later, he was embraced.

"Will you write poems like that to me often?"
Cole smiled.
"Probably not. Quality and quantity doesn't really get along in that category. But I could make a habit of writing something now and then."
Tan leaned his chin against Cole's chest and looked up at him.
Cole enjoyed stretching his legs as much as he could before he was the one lying further down in bed.
"Maybe we should build a bigger bed?" he asked and met Tan's gaze again.
Tan smiled.
"Sure. Sounds like something we could let a carpenter do while we're in Dalrin."
"Do we need to turn my old cabin in to a nursery soon too, or...?"
Tan gave him a teasing smile.
"Not unless you want to."
"You can decide that?"
"Pretty much."
"How?"
Tan dragged his answer with another teasing smile.
"Mermaids don't have cycles or get in heat. They eat a particular seaweed to boost their hormones if they want a child. I think that's how my mom ended up with me. She wanted a child and ate that seaweed. Later, she got trapped in that puddle and was found by my dad. High on hormones, saved by a handsome man... I guess the fact that he was a Taur didn't seem that important. I've never asked about it, but when she explained the effect and use of the silkweed I pieced it together myself."
"Sounds convenient. Most people can't decide like that."
"Yeah... But back to your poem... I think that poem would be great as wedding vows."
"Sure. I don't mind reading it at the ceremony."
Tan smiled.
"I can make promises to not put bars on your window, but never let you go or something like that."
Cole chuckled.
"I think it would sound a bit weird, but I can help you write something similar to mine."
Tan's smile got wider.
"I'd like that."

Cole gazed at the moonlight shining in through the porthole for a while. When he looked at Tan, again he was met with his warm gaze. The light of the candle on the nightstand reflected in his eyes.
"What?" Tan asked softly.
Cole returned the smile and swept a few strands of hair from Tan's forehead.
"Would you like to know something?"
"Sure."
Cole sighed.
"Since I was about twelve, I started to make a wish whenever I could. The same wish, over and over. Sometimes I wished so hard it felt like my heart would crack and make a dark hole in my chest. Every falling star, every coin I dropped in a well, every time I blew the candles out, and I mean every candle, not just the once on my birthday cake... I wished over and over that I would find someone or some place that would make me feel at home. Someone who would take me away from my prison and let me see the world with them... I was a bit over twenty when I started to give up. It was still a habit to make that wish, but I had started to lose hope that the wish would ever come true... That is, until I met you."

Tan's eyes had a bit of a glossy shine to them, but his smile was still warm.
"Would you like to know something?" he asked.
"Sure."
"I did the same thing. Not so much about the prison-part, but I wished to find someone that would like me for who I am, and not see me as a weird half-breed... When I met Jock I thought he could be the answer to that wish... Let's say the disappointment was enough to make me stop wishing. But then I found you in the harbor of Lendro... It wasn't easy to look calm and collected when my heart felt electric, like the buildup to a thunderstorm. You were so darn gorgeous I felt weak in the knees."
"Really?"
"Definitely."
"I didn't even notice. You seemed perfectly calm."
Tan gave him a wide smile.
"Good to hear, but I insure you I was a total mess under the surface. I wrestled with my hopes daily, jumping between belief that you were the person I hoped for and fear of the same disappointment I got with Jock... And when I told you about him and my mother, you didn't even flinch. I couldn't believe my luck. That moment I knew, even if insecurity held me back a bit, but it couldn't be a coincidence that you were so perfectly fine with everything."
"I really don't see the issue."
"Exactly."
They chaired a smile again.

"By the way... If I'm, you know, in the mood in the morning... Do I need to wake you up, or do I simply surprise you with it?"
The question made Cole laugh.
"I was just thinking that it started to get a bit sickly sweet, but that took care of it."
He chuckled shortly until he collected himself again.
"If you want to surprise me, go ahead. I'll let you know if I'd prefer it differently. I can't have an opinion without experience."
"Great. You can count on waking up with me on top of you tomorrow then."
"Sure. Sounds good."
Tan smiled and crawled higher in bed to kiss him.

"How many kids do you want, by the way? I think that might be something we need to agree on", Tan said.
"I don't know... Between two and four I guess, but I'm fine with at least one and less than five. I think that's something to decide after we had our first and know what it's like."
Tan nodded.
"Sounds like a plan... And if we decide to stop sailing for a while, how do you feel about living in a castle?"
"Depends on what castle we're talking about."
"My castle. It's not that big, but it is a castle. It has a harbor, but it is not marked on any map. The harbor is big enough for the Valkyrie, but that will be the only ship coming and going in that cove. The cove is known for mermaid sightings."
"Really? Does it so happen that the mermaids are there when you are, or do we have neighbors who live there permanently?"
Tan smiled.
"The coven that lives there mostly stays in Middvatter, but they residence there during the stormy winter months when the Valkyrie is docked."
"Sounds convenient. We don't need to worry about the kids drowning if grandmother and a whole army of aunts and cousins are there to catch them if they fall in to the water."
"The kids might be able to swim before they can walk if grandma gets to decide, but it's a benefit either way."
"That reminds me of something... Would it be possible to just sail through mermaid-waters the same way we sail through any other sea? If your mom is okay with it, I mean..."
Tan shook his head.
"I trust my mom and her coven, but any other mermaid would only leave me alone do to my relations with my mom. The rest of you would end up on the menu. I can't take that risk."
"Right... I was just wondering."
"Yeah. I get it. If it was just my mom and her coven, we could sail through any mermaid waters at any time, but mermaids eat people you know. They won't hesitate to ambush the ship if it wasn't for my mother and I can't ask her to be our lifeguard all the time. It stays the way it is, but we can still sail through mermaid-waters if I'm the one at the wheel at night."
Cole nodded.
"Okay. I was just curious."
Tan smiled and kissed him again.
"It's fine to be curious. I like that you ask and doesn't stick to conclusions."

"Do you want to know something else?"
Tan raised his eyebrows.
"What?"
"I haven't told you that I love you yet... That's a bit embarrassing."
Tan's face softened with a smile.
"Well, you know what they say; actions speak louder than words. Anyone can say three little words. It takes real commitment to show it. You showed it when you were fine with me being a half-mermaid, and you showed it when you walked up to my mom because you wanted to respect my family, you showed it when you asked me to let Jock take you so no one on my ship would get hurt, and you show it every time you're attentive, and you definitely showed it in that poem you wrote. I heard you, loud and clear. But for the record; I love you too."
They shared a smile again.
"I guess we're back to the sappy and sweet again", Cole chuckled.
"Well, we just got betrothed and are sailing off to plan our wedding. I think we have the right to be sweet."
"Yeah. I guess we do."
"But if you want to get a bit spicy before we sleep, I might have a suggestion."
Tan lifted his head to blow out the candle.
Cole smiled wide until Tan pressed a kiss to his lips.