May 9th, 2018

The salty sea breeze tugged at Logan's hair as he walked along the beach. He didn't normally visit the beach, as the sand and sunburns often irritated him more than the joys of swimming or relaxing brought him pleasure. However, when vacationing in Hawaii and staying at a beach-side hotel meant he could literally walk for two minutes and be within stepping distance of the ocean.

It seemed that no one wanted to go to the beach that day, as it was almost deserted. Logan didn't mind the solitude, the typical crowds and screaming providing another reason he disliked visiting the beach. He found himself walking along the rising cliff side, wondering if there was a cavern or out clove that was hidden when the tide rolled in. Fortunately, the tide was out, so his wondering was answered when he saw the opening.

Deciding to explore a little, he carefully made his way inside. He found pools of seawater inside as well as flat stone to walk on. Logan sat down, leaning against the cave wall and letting out a relaxed sigh as he took in his surroundings. He made the mistake of falling asleep.

After dozing off, he was awakened to the water rising to the point of needing to swim to move effectively. He coughed as he accidentally inhaled some of the burning saltwater. The water was pushing him against the roof of the cavern at this point, and Logan was certain he was going to drown. He took a deep breath and dove underwater in a desperate last attempt to find the way out. He eventually ran out of breath, vision fading to black as he passed out.

Logan did not drown; in fact, he woke up, coughing up water as he rolled onto his side. He blinked his stinging eyes open as he sputtered and gasped for breath, realizing he was still alive when he'd thought for sure he was going to drown.

"Are you alright?"

He jumped, looking toward the voice. He was laying on the beach, and next to him there was seemingly a man propping himself up on his hands. He had wide eyes, bright blue and breathtaking. It wasn't until Logan looked past just his torso that he saw the shimmering blue fish tail in place of where the young man's legs should've been. He was a merman.

"Y-Yes, uh- what exactly happened? Did I hit my head?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head as he stared at the glistening scales. He figured he was hallucinating or dreaming.

The merman shook his head. "No, you fell asleep in the cavern in the side of the cliff," he explained as he sat up. "You almost drowned, but I happened to be swimming by and pulled you to shore."

"Thank you then..." Logan managed, meeting his bright blue eyes. He smiled, making his heart lurch in his chest because of how cute he was. "So... you're a merman?"

"Yeah, we're real," he said with a tiny laugh as he looked down shyly. "I'm not actually supposed to be talking to you, but... I don't know, you seem really nice and- well- my name's Patton."

He extended his hand to him, making Logan look at it in surprise before shaking it. "Logan," he replied softly, looking back up at his face. "Thank you for rescuing me, it was quite careless of me to allow myself to doze off like that. I'd be dead if you hadn't come along."

"My pleasure, but I- um... I should actually- probably- go," Patton said shyly as he looked toward the ocean. "I don't want the other merfolk to get suspicious, but... would you like to meet me near the cavern tomorrow?"

He nodded, offering a small smile. The merman returned it joyfully before leaning forward and kissing him quickly on the cheek. "See you tomorrow then," he said quickly with a small giggle as he flipped back into the ocean.

The last thing Logan saw was his bright blue tail disappearing into the ocean. "See you tomorrow, Patton," he murmured, brushing the spot he'd kissed with a breathless smile on his lips.