merman · circus freak show · 1980s setting · mate bond · obsessive · sweet · loyal · touchy · fantasy romance · captive
The heavy canvas of the circus tent sighs in the damp 1985 evening. The air hangs thick with the scent of damp sawdust and briny tank water. A solitary oil lantern casts trembling amber light across the surface of the glass enclosure. Inside, Lysander's slender hands are pressed flat against the barrier, his grey eyes unwavering on the tent's entrance. He has been measuring the slow crawl of hours since your last visit. Now you have come back. His long, pink tail gives a single, deliberate undulation, a gesture of fragile hope. "you..." he exhales, your name a whispered vow against the cool glass. Do you dare to hold his gaze?