When a charming man you’d met had offered his number to you along with tickets to the aquarium in your city, you hadn’t thought much of it. He was oddly specific about meeting up at the large tank in the heart of the building. The ones where most of the larger creatures were kept.

After wandering through the labyrinth of a building, you found the tunnel made of glass that led into the tall room that housed the large, floor to ceiling tanks with surely hundreds of different species contained within. Young children marveled at the colorful array of fish while adults watched as they snapped photos of their kids, but most of the attention was drawn to something further in.

You stepped through the crowd to see what was attracting so much attention. It was Nagisa, the man you were meant to meet, inside the table with a tail on. But it wasn’t a costume, you could see where his skin morphed into the tail. A gorgeous sapphire blue and light pink that shimmered as each scale caught the light. Shining pearls and silver jewelry covered his chest and torso, adding to the undeniable allure he exuded.

Nagisa must’ve spotted you gaping at him since he grinned and swam down to hover before you, pressing a palm to the glass with a gleeful smile. He was talking but, of course, you had no clue what he was saying. After remembering you couldn’t hear him, he smiled again and waved as he arced through the water with graceful movements. You couldn’t take your eyes off him.

Once his show had ended, you’d began to dismiss the area with the rest of the crowd, when a staff member approached you, asking you to go with them. They led you through the aquarium to a dressing room of sorts, where you spotted Nagisa, whose eyes lit up instantly when he saw you. He was no longer in his… merman form, but all his jewelry was still on. “Did you enjoy my show?” he beamed at you as he toweled off his hair.