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“Are you almost done?”
“Almost darling! Everything has to be perfect!”
“Alright, alright.” You conceded with a lighthearted chuckle.
You shook your head with a hopeless smile and decided to focus back on the sight of the vast seagrass meadows in front of you. The water was calm, the temperature pleasant, and the environment was peaceful as only a few fish swam nearby every now and then; you and Karamatsu couldn’t have picked a better day to lay your eggs.
Subconsciously your hand wandered to your lower stomach, gently pressing down on your skin to get a better feel of the hardened orbs inside you. They were definitely ready, but of course Karamatsu wanted to be incredibly meticulous in preparing an appropriate and safe nest.
After scouting the area you and Karamatsu managed to find the opening to a small cavern with low-leveled seabed, and not only was it unoccupied, but it was also well hidden from passersby thanks to the thick seagrass.
Everything was going swimmingly.
“It’s done!” Karamatsu poked out with a wide smile before reaching for your hand. “Come in my love~!”
You let him drag you in and swam along. Although a little dark, you could make out in front of you the complex patterns on the sand, decorated symmetrically with rocks and shells that made the nest look pretty and welcoming. Curious, you grazed the surface with your fingertips. It felt much softer than the sand outside; Karamatsu must have dug at it vigorously.
“What do you think? Do you like it?” Karamatsu asked eagerly, obviously wanting to get praise and compliments for his arduous efforts.
“It’s perfect.” You kissed his cheek affectionately and Karamatsu beamed with pride. “Thank you.”
“Just what my precious angelfish deserves.” Karamatsu winked.
You stifled a giggle, eyeing the intricacy of the nest once more while Karamatsu quickly swam back to the cavern’s entrance to ensure there was no danger nearby. A bit hesitant you sat down atop of it, feeling guilty of messing with Karamatsu’s hard work, but reminded yourself that this had been its intended purpose from the beginning. You had to give it to Karamatsu though, it did feel comfortable.
“Coast is clear.” Karamatsu said as he returned to your side, his tone of voice no longer extravagant but now tender and serious. Seeing you laying down on your side Karamatsu spooned you and let one of his hands wander to the front of your tail. “Are you ready?”
His fingers traced your stomach right to where your scales started, kneading softly at the spot where your already fertilized eggs resided. The gesture made you sigh, and you let yourself relax further against Karamatsu’s chest.
“Ready.”
From where they were located Karamatsu carefully but firmly dragged his fingers across your abdomen, trying to guide the eggs further down to your opening. It wasn’t painful in the slightest, but the motion did dislodge the eggs from their original position and it felt a little strange.
Karamatsu seemed to notice your discomfort and kissed your neck and shoulder reassuringly, reminding you that he was there to take care of you and he’d ensure everything went fine.
His presence was calming, and whatever nerves were starting to rise within you vanished as you focused on breathing.
Karamatsu continued stroking downwards, and little by little you could both feel the eggs slowly but surely approach your entrance. The more they did the more did you become aware of a tight feeling inside you, but you were certain that was a good sign.
“Almost there.” Karamatsu murmured to your ear and you nodded in acknowledgement.
You knew there was the option of letting your eggs come out by themselves the moment they hatched instead of having to coax them out, but most mermaids -including yourself- preferred the latter since they could have more control of the circumstances. The last thing anyone wanted was to have their children be born in the wrong place at the wrong time.
You jolted surprised as you felt something hard suddenly prod your entrance open. Looking down you widened your eyes upon spotting something round peeking out from you.
Karamatsu shushed you comfortingly, encouraging you to relax your body once more. His fingers never stopped moving, now pressing a little harder, and you decided it probably was better to look away so you could remain calm.
Sure enough with a few more strokes the pressure inside you burst, and you grimaced as the first egg exited your body.
“One...” Karamatsu counted, not stopping the movement of his fingers and watching the egg land safely on the sand. From the very beginning neither of you were certain how many eggs there’d be, but Karamatsu was confident he’d know when all of them were out.
“Two.”
Karamatsu still wasn’t stopping. So more than two huh? You honestly hadn’t thought of how many children you wanted to have, but as long as they were all healthy you didn’t care for much else.
“Three.”
The pressure in your abdomen disappeared completely and Karamatsu finally stopped. You sighed relieved, feeling how Karamatsu poked around your belly to make sure that had been all of the eggs.
“Three.” Karamatsu repeated with a joyous smile, now as confirmation that it really was all of them. His hands suddenly grabbed your cheeks and you squeaked taken aback by the fierce kiss he planted on your lips, but it didn’t take you long to give in and reciprocate, moaning happily against him.
He pulled away and you met those glistening eyes brimming with devotion. They spoke a thousand words, and you affectionately placed your forehead against his in response.
“You did wonderfully.” Karamatsu murmured. “Thank you.”
“This was a team effort.” You reminded him sweetly. It really didn’t feel right to take all of the credit.
Karamatsu chuckled, as if agreeing, and moved away so you could have enough space to look at the eggs already settled on the sand.
“They’re perfect.” Karamatsu commented, looking at them with a proud smile.
Sure enough, they seemed to be perfectly fine. All three of them intact, about the size of the palm of your hand, with a milky transparent layer that revealed the blurry image of the embryos curled inside. They were probably only a few days away from hatching.
“Thank goodness.” You sighed at ease, turning over to lie completely flat on the sand.
“Ah darling you must be so tired.” Karamatsu frowned in realization. “Let me get you something to eat.”
“That’s alright Karamatsu, I think I’d just rather go to sleep. It’ll start getting dark soon anyway.” You tried to reassure him.
“Just a small bite! I’d rather you don’t go to sleep on an empty stomach.” Karamatsu insisted, already making his way to leave the cavern. “It won’t take me long I promise.”
You felt your stomach rumble, but luckily for you it wasn’t audible enough for Karamatsu to listen.
Guess a snack wouldn’t hurt.
“Okay, but be careful please...”
Karamatsu gave you a thumbs up and made his way out.
It had been a while since you and Karamatsu decided to finally have kids, and yet, despite seeing the eggs with his own eyes only a few moments ago, it still didn’t feel real. Maybe when they hatched it’d all sink in for Karamatsu, but until then the one thing he was certain of was that he would keep his family safe.
His children had yet to be born and already Karamatsu felt his protective instincts keener than ever; not just for his children, but for you too. Was it because the effects of paternity were already making themselves known? Perhaps, but it’s not like he disliked it. Somehow it made him feel strong.
Not wanting to go so far away Karamatsu approached the first body of rocks he found at the border of the seagrass meadows and grabbed whatever oysters he saw attached to it. Already the sunlight shining down from the surface diminished and the water around him steadily grew darker, so Karamatsu didn’t stay there for long.
Carrying five oysters in his hands Karamatsu began swimming back, still able to see his way but remaining hidden among the seagrass in case there were predators nearby. Not that there were predators big enough in that area to be of great danger, but he’d rather play it safe.
He continued swimming closely to the seabed, the seagrass tickling his tail and stomach as he moved, until something slimy suddenly wrapped itself around his fin.
“What the-?” Karamatsu exclaimed confused, dropping the oysters in the process, and tried to pull at whatever was hiding in the seagrass and keeping him in place. It had a strong grip on him, and just as he started to try and fight it off did he recognize it was a tentacle.
Another tentacle came out from the seagrass and latched onto his tail, this time in an effort to bring him down.
Mustering all of his energy Karamatsu pulled again and forced the creature out of its hiding place. More tentacles wrapped around him, and Karamatsu bared his fangs angrily at the squid that was attempting to hold him hostage.
Squids didn’t prey on mermaids, especially adult mermaids, and Karamatsu knew that. What they did prey on however was mermaid eggs, and they were known for not only stealing from nests but squeezing them out of mermaids by force too. This squid in particular must have detected the fresh smell of fertilized eggs on Karamatsu, and attacked him carelessly thinking it could get itself a snack.
The tentacles started groping around Karamatsu’s tail, probably searching for that hard texture, and the thought of a squid trying to do this to you made Karamatsu see red.
Even with it’s slippery skin Karamatsu managed to take hold of the squid and pried it off him with a ruthless shove. It spun in the water disoriented, but when it recovered its balance snapped its beak menacingly in Karamatsu’s direction before lunging at him.
Karamatsu was barely able to avoid the attack, its beak gracing on his scales, but he was quick to retaliate and bit down hard on the squid’s exposed mantle. Tentacles flailed in agony around him, and Karamatsu let go and distanced himself just in time before the squid released a cloud of ink and made its escape.
Karamatsu scoffed arrogantly, satisfied to see the creature retreat so quickly.
Serves it right.
Still panting, and in the middle of coming down from his fight or flight response, Karamatsu looked down at his tail to assess the damage. There was no blood, and he seemed to only have lost two scales. No big deal, they’d grow back in no time.
Karamatsu noticed just then that it had gotten much darker, and he snapped himself back from his rage. If he didn’t hurry he’d risk getting himself lost.
Hastily he searched between the seagrass to pick up the oysters he had dropped and raced back the rest of the way to where you were waiting for him. Thankfully it didn’t take him long to return to the cavern, and whatever anger remained in him instantly vanished as he saw you curled up around your eggs with a wide lazy smile on your features.
“Here you go my pearl.” Karamatsu said as he placed the oysters down for you to reach.
“Oh thank you.” You perked up and eagerly grabbed the first oyster, but stopped right before you opened it to look at Karamatsu with a confused frown. “Everything okay? You took a little longer than I thought you would.”
“More than okay.” Karamatsu assured you with a kiss to your forehead, distracting you from whatever scenario you were thinking of. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life.”
There was no point in telling you what happened. It wouldn’t do any good to make you worry about such trivial things, especially now that you were both so close to meeting your children.
That’s what mattered the most.
“...Me neither.” You admitted with a timid smile, finally opening the oyster in your hands and taking the first bite.
Karamatsu sat back and watched pleased as you continued eating, his thoughts taken over by all the happy moments he’d hopefully get to experience with his family.
He’d protect that happiness with his life.