Siren Song - 2

hizashi/els AU
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He was very pleased with himself. She couldn't believe her eyes and in the end had asked if he wanted to spend the night. Hizashi enthusiastically accepted, so they trudged up the beach to the back of the house.

"This is so great," he chirped happily. He took a moment to wipe his sandy feet off before coming inside to the almost all hardwood floor interior. She smiled, noticing this.

"I have a spare room. You can sleep in there," Elly offered, trying not to stare at the incredibly sexy man walking closely behind her wearing only a towel draped around his hips. "Oh! It has a bathroom ...here, if you want to shower or anything." She pointed.

"Wooow." Hizashi's eyes grew wider as he saw more of the place. "Your house is great!" He peeked into the bathroom, then scratched his head. "Uhh. You usually wear clothes when you're on land, right? I don't have any on me right now."

"That's okay! There's some in this dresser here. They might not fit really well but we can get you better things tomorrow."

"Do you already have a mate?" His face immediately fell as he saw men's clothing packed neatly in the drawers.

"No! Uh, I mean, we don't call it that. But, no. Those were for my ex boyfriend. I bought them and he never... well, he didn't use them. That's all. We're not together anymore, thank god."

"Boyfriend and girlfriend, not mates." He blushed. "I know that, it just means so much more in my culture to say it the other way."

She sighed. "Your culture. Damn. Every time I think this isn't happening, you say something that brings me back to the fact that you had a tail half an hour ago."

"I assume you showing me this room means you don't want me with you tonight?"

She choked and had to place a flailing hand on the wall to steady herself. "We just met!"

"So? I know you're my soulmate." He lightly touched her hair, dyed purple and cut short for ease of swimming. "I know you feel it, too. I won't force anything, but I'm curious as to why we should wait." He smelled good, not as she might have expected but with just a hint of tang of salt that reminded her of the sea. There was also a faint scent of musk about him, like the Old Spice her grandfather used to wear.

"I thought I had found true love before," she said quietly. "You know, the ex. And a few others. It always ends badly. I - I just want a little time to adjust. If I wake up in the morning and you've been a dream, then..."

"I think you would be upset, " he said. His fingers gently stroked through her hair to caress the back of her head. "Would you cry if I wasn't there when you woke?"

She swallowed back tears. "Hizashi."

"I've made you sad." He withdrew immediately, holding his hand in front of his lips. "I didn't mean to. I'm very thankful for your hospitality and I should have been more thoughtful. I'll sleep in this room, and will be waiting for you here in the morning."

"Good night." She smiled at him before fading back into the dark hallway.

"Sleep well."

He wished it for her, but didn't get a good sleep himself since he wasn't used to the softness of the bed. He was also far too excited!

This meant he was awake long before his hostess, so he used the time to shower, shave and dress himself as befit a human being. When he was all done he pulled open the closet door to find a full length mirror and examined himself carefully.

His long, blong hair had been folded into a more intricate bun instead of the ponytail. He had chosen the lightest color t-shirt out of the drawer, powder blue, and a pair of ill-fitting khaki slacks that were a good couple of inches too short for him. His ankles stuck out, but he had decided that it was the most comfortable for now. He wouldn't have bothered with shoes but had spotted a pair of woven hemp sandals with sea shells, and those were perfect. As he was marveling over the footwear he heard the sound of knocking coming from the front of the house. He winced; she was still asleep! In order to stop the thudding, impatient noise he answered the door. It swung wide to reveal a bewildered golden brown human with dark hair.

"Good morning," Hizashi said pleasantly. "Did you want something?"

"Where's Elly?"

Hizashi frowned at the angry, direct tone. "She's asleep," he answered, putting a finger to his lips. "You want to leave a message?"

"This is ridiculous! Who is this guy?! Why's he in your house, huh?" The man went from disturbed to shouting in a heartbeat, as if he could somehow scream her awake.

Which, Hizashi thought painfully, was probably true if he kept it up. "You're her ex, aren't you?"

"I'm her boyfriend," the man insisted, puffing his chest up and standing on his toes to poke the six foot, ten inch merman in the chest.

"You're leaving."

The man took one look at the resolute glare in those green eyes and backed away. "I - if you think she's yours 'cause you slept with her, she cheated on me. So, she'll cheat on you. Better just leave, I can deal with her."

That was it. His jaw clenched and he knew if the sniveling little bastard tried more lies he would punch him in the face. Some of that thought must have shown through, because the other scrambled even further up the gravel driveway, his eyes huge in fright.

"If she wanted you, you would be here," he said in a deadly quiet voice. "You are not. I am here now. Go away." He resisted an urge to slam the door and carefully locked it instead.

"Hizashi!"

"Erk!" He jumped guiltily.

Elly was standing behind him in her nightgown, shaking. "Did he leave? Is he gone? You're still here!" She couldn't resist hugging him tightly.

He felt her heart beating wildly against him. "Does he come here to threaten you?"

She cringed the tiniest bit. "Well... he won't take no for an answer. My parents also kind of encourage him, so there's that."

"You've told him to go away and he keeps coming back?"

"Yeah. I hate to bother the police, but I was starting to think I might need a restraining order. He gets that bad."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," he grumbled.

"Thanks. I'd better go shower."

"Yeah. The sooner you're ready, the sooner we can get me clothes that weren't intended for that ratbag." He plucked at the front of his shirt with some distaste.

She burst into laughter.

"Oh! I didn't mean, uh, thank you! I just..."

"I know. It's okay."

"I can sort of pay my way, too. I'll get food for later. I'm told humans - ah, people -- pay high prices for seafood, even around the shore. That's easy for me."

"Sounds great! I won't be long."