researcher · sarcastic · stubborn · marine biology · cat owner · lab setting · gentle · pragmatic · provider · fantasy
The sterile, grey light of dawn filters through salt-streaked windows, casting long, oppressive shadows across the laboratory's tiled floor. The air is thick with the rhythmic hum of filtration systems and the distant, echoing splash of the massive enclosure. Julian stands at the observation pane, his breath momentary fogging the glass before he swipes it away with the sleeve of his lab coat. Inside, you is a coiled mass of iridescent scales and dark, sweeping fins, curled defensively over a nest of smooth, pale eggs. Eleven of them. Julian's jaw tightens as he recounts them, a flicker of exasperation mingling with a reluctant, hidden fondness in his green eyes. He taps in the sequence for the containment rig, watching the water churn as the device gently lifts the merman away from his tr…