Mermaid romance (one-on-one//closed)

Arria sighed, "It was just… the potion I gave you to become a merman wore off and you were drowning. I-I didn't have time to save you since there was none left…" He whispered, taking a shaky breath, "It all felt so… real. I-I don't want that to happen, ever. I guess it's just playing into the fear of losing you a-and with what you said earlier, about staying with me under the sea… just gave it enough power to shine through."

“Oh Arria,” Carter pulled Arria into a tight hug, just holding him for a few heartbeats. “I’m not going to drown, I promise. If you rather stay on land together, we can do that instead. As long as we’re together.” He stroked a hand through Arria’s hair, “I’m always going to be safe.”

"I-I know… I just don't want to lose you." Arria said quietly, wrapping his arms around Carter at the same time. He sighed a little and closed his eyes until his breathing and heart rate returned to normal.

Carter held Arria tightly the entire time, “You aren’t going to lose me.” He brushed his thumb over Arria’s cheek and ran his other hand up and down Arria’s back comfortingly. “We can stay on land, that way you won’t have to worry.”

"B-But… are you sure? I don't want you to feel you have to change things over a stupid nightmare of mine…" Arria said quietly, letting out a deep breath.

“Hey,” Carter tilted Arria’s chin up gently, “I’m happy as long as you’re with me, Arria. That’s all that ever mattered to me.” He slowly kiss Arria lightly, trying to reassure him in every possible way.

Arria kissed him back before pulling away and nodded, "But are you sure you're sure?" He asked, again, biting his lip, "Because you can still live with me under the water i-if you really want too…"

“Whatever you want to do. I don’t want to unsurp you from your house, and your collection, but I also don’t want you to be stressing over me.” Carter told him with a reassuring smile, “I promise, I’m happy either way.”

Arria looked down and thought for a moment, "I-I mean… if I'm on land then I wouldn't need to have my collection because you have everything… but I don't mind what happens."

“I don’t mind what happens either,” Carter told Arria warmly, “And I want you to decide, it won’t matter either way to me.” He took Arria’s hand in his, doodling small circles with his thumbs. It would be easier to move into the water, I don’t have much to take with me and Arria could always have access to the ingredients for the potions… But I don’t want him to worry about me drowning…

Arria groaned and rolled away from Carter and into the water, face planting into it with a sigh and another groan. He rolled over and sighed, "Why do you put so much pressure on me to choose…"

Carter laughed a little, making a small pouting face, “I don’t want you to worry about me, nor do I want to unsurp you from your home. This decision will affect you the most, so you get to decide.” He planted a teasing kiss on Arria’s forehead, pulling away with a tiny smile.

Arria frowned up at Carter, "Whhhhhhhy?" He whined, "There's too many factors that come into play. I wanna live on land with you but then it might mean more trouble for you with money and whatever…."

Carter laughed, “You’re worried about money?” He rolled his eyes, “Come on, we’ll live on land if that’s what’s holding you back. I’ll just have to work a little more, but I can pay for both of us.” Hopefully… Carter put up a casual and confident front rather than showing his doubts. He didn’t want Arria to be worried about something like money that kept him from doing what he wanted to do.

Arria crossed his arms and frowned more at Carter, "You have other doubts, you can't lie to me Carter." He said firmly, "I don't want you to stress about anything or cause you anymore money stress or or whatever…"

Carter sighed at how Arria read him so easily. He had never really been a great liar. “I don’t want that to change your decision.” He brushed a hand through Arria’s hair gently, “It wouldn’t be much stress on me,” Another lie, “and I don’t want you worrying about me constantly.”

"I just said you can't lie to me and you did it again. It would be too much stress on you and even if I'm on land I'll still worry about you, Carter. I dunno anymore, I want to stay with you but maybe it just can't happen…" Arria's voice became quieter as he spoke and he had to look away.

“No. We’re staying together,” Carter said firmly, giving Arria’s hands a small squeeze, “Maybe… What about an underwater cave? With air inside?” Carter held his breath. He’d heard of underwater caves like that, and he knew they were somewhat rare, but it would solve most of their problems.

Arria looked back at Carter, "There's one on a few miles down the coast, why?" He asked, sitting up right. He didn't take his gaze off of Carter.

“I could sleep there. I wouldn’t drown in my sleep, you wouldn’t have to worry about that. You’d have access to all your potion ingredients, too.” He smiled happily at Arria. I could bring in plants and some land things too, it would be perfect…

Arria gave a small smile back, "That could work, yeah. That sounds like a good plan. There's a bunch of cool things in that cave too, crystals included." He said, shrugging

“Really?” Carter smiled a bit more, but stopped himself before he got ahead and asked, “But do you like it? We can live on land if you really want to.” He told his sea boy, looking deeply into his eyes. They both needed to be happy about this.

"Carter, it's half on land, half in the water. And it's not to far away from here and like you said earlier, we can also come a visit if we want. I'm sure about this if you are." He said, wrapping his arms around him.

Carter smiled, then swooped his sea boy into a snuggle and a kiss. He quietly murmured, “Then I’ll need to pack.” Carter ran a hand through Arria’s hair and his smiled into the kiss, adoring his merman.

"Probably a good idea." Arria muttered, tangling his hands in Carter's hair, twisting a piece around his finger as he kissed him back. He didn't ever want this moment to end.

Carter deepened the kiss, pulling Arria on top of his chest as he fell back into the sand. He murmured onto his lips, “Probably is a good idea… but…” Carter knew he needed to pack, and he needed to get that one thing, but gosh when he was kissing Arria like that… Carter tilted his head to get the best angle.

Arria let out a low moan and pushed himself closer to Carter, both hands now tangled in his hair. This was what he wanted everyday and it was going to come true. He smiled at the thought of it.

Carter kisses him passionately. I love it when he touches my hair like that… But Carter eventually forced himself to pull away and sit up, “Alright, I really do need to go. We will have much more time after I’ve moved in. Can I meet you here after I’ve packed?” He asked quietly, taking a deep breath. This was a huge change in his life… He was excited about it.

Arria pouted when Carter pulled away but nodded, "Yeah, or… there's an entrance up the top of the cliff that leads to the cave. It might be easier to get you stuff in from that way. But, it doesn't matter really."

“I won’t be bringing much, and I can take it in a waterproof case. I’ll just need one of your fancy potions.” Carter told him happily, stepping into the water. There was sand all over his back from sleeping there, but he didn’t care. He loved Arria.