Context: While your home is the ocean, there's always been a strange human city in the distance. Each night, it lights up with such beautiful lights that all you want is to see it for yourself. There are those funny men in those funny little boats that take coin...perhaps you need to speak to one?

Setting: Venice

Tags: [M4A][Strangers to ?][Gondolier Speaker][Merfolk Listener][Meet-Cute?][Wholesome][Tour][Supernatural][Romantic?][Comfort][CW: Implied Danger]

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***

[Scene opens near a small port full of gondolas]

[SFX: Water gently lapping followed by a bigger splash]

[You swim cautiously toward the funny small ships toward the funny small man that’s reclining in his boat]

[Pause]

“Huh? Did someone just talk to me?”

[He glances about for a moment before stopping. The funny man jumps with a yelp as he sees you]

“Merfolk! Ahh, please don’t drown me! I’m just a humble gondolier!”

[Pause]

[SFX: The clinking of coins]

[He pauses as you shyly push the coin onto the boat before him]

“Coin…? Do you…? Do you want to ride in my gondola?”

[SFX: The Listener’s tail swishing happily]

[He looks at you in confusion for a moment before he offers his hand and helps you up]

[SFX: Displaced water]

“Up you go! Um… Please don’t make me regret this, Mer. Or at least don’t drown me. Make it quick, got it?”

[You laugh. What a funny man]

“Alright! Here we go. If anyone asks, it’s a costume.”

[At last, you are steered toward the city of lights as the man rows you forward]

“...It is beautiful, isn’t it? Italy always is, heh… I’m not even from here, and I doubt you are either. Come from the States. California, specifically. That’s a place where people ride on boards to surf the waves.”

[Pause!]

[He laughs]

“Yeah, I can do it. It’s pretty hard to do here, though, unless you’re in Sardinia. Maybe you can watch some surfers there?”

[Pause]

“Eheh… So, I have to ask… how did you make the coin? Got a job at the harbor or something?”

[Pause]

“You… did chores for a shark that didn’t want to dive down to a sunken ship, huh? Was the pay at least good?”

[Pause]

“Oh, he wasn’t paying you. Wait, does that mean you nicked this coin? From, what, his shark pockets?”

[Pause]

“Sunken treasure…? Wait, what the… These are gold! Real gold! H-Holy cow…Wait, and the shark wasn’t mad about it?”

[Pause]

[He looks nervously behind the boat]

“Oh, he’s REAL mad… Doesn’t that worry you?”

[Pause]

“...All you’ve wanted for years was to rent a gondola and see the city? You don’t care what happens after? Ah, geeze… Well, I guess I’d best give you the best-damned tour of the night, eh? Welcome to Venice, my dear! On the right, you’ll see Hotel Cavaletto. A local feature, a beautiful building, and usually good to see some wild, drunken trysts like right… there! Oops, that’s a whole group, a-ahem! Do you have any questions?”

[Pause]

“The boxes with the plants? Aha, yes. A pretty common sight here. Venice does love its plants, and they look so nice under the hanging lights, wouldn’t you agree? Here.”

[He leans over carefully and picks a flower, handing it to you]

“For my pretty Mer, hehe. Not the most glamorous of flowers but I think a nice souvenir might highlight the trip, eh? Here, can I tuck it behind your ear?”

[Pause]

[He tucks the flower in and laughs as your pointed ears wriggle]

“Ah! Haha, your ears are so wiggly!”

[Pause]

“I-I mean… some humans can wiggle their ears. I certainly can’t… buuuut I can do this!”

[You watch in astonishment as he manages to touch his tongue to his nose]

[Pause!!!]

“Hehe, behowld! Towngue to nose contawct!”

[SFX: The Listener excitedly clapping]

“Thank you, thank you, you’ve been a wonderful audience! Oh, and maybe if we’re lucky… Aha! Giuseppe comes through!”

[Pause?]

“Giuseppe owns a bakery along the stretch here and usually leaves out some fresh bread for me. Lemme just reach out and…whoa!”

[He loses his balance and you snag him in your tail, yanking him back into your lap. He stares up at you wide-eyed and coated in bread]

“I, um… OK, I’m in your lap now… buuuut bread?”

[You happily open your mouth and let him feed you]

“Eheh… aww. You know, aside from how your tail is squeezing me and those… incredibly sharp teeth, you’re a cute one. I don’t see a lot of people that are so enamored with Venice that they can hardly look away. That kind of tells you that anything that makes them look away has gotta be something special.”

[You smile down at him and he flushes]

“He says as the Mer looks at him, a-ahem…”

[He stands and gets back into position]

“Let’s, uh… Let’s go ahead and finish the tour, OK? Hey, tell me all the stuff you want to know and I’ll try and answer it, OK?”

[Pause!]

**[Time passes - a few hours]*\*

[SFX: The gondola coming to rest]

“Well, here we are. End of the tour.”

[SFX: Sad Merfolk noises]

“I know… I had a lot of fun, too. You learn pretty fast! You already had the route mostly memorized by the time we finished the tour. That’s impressive.”

[...]

“...That shark boss of yours is gonna be waiting, right?”

[...]

[The young man looks away, troubled]

“...Maybe there’s something we can do.”

[Pause?]

“Well, Italy has been trying to welcome supernatural folks into their midst. It’s been a real pain point for officials since most supernatural folks don’t want to deal with the, um… blatant disrespect… It wouldn’t be easy, it might make you miserable, but… if you’re willing to give it a try, it might just work out for us both. What do you say?”

[...]

**[Time passes by 6 months]*\*

[Scene opens at the gondola starting point]

“Welcome, welcome folks, to the one and only supernatural gondola tour in Italy! Please take your seats and allow me to introduce my partner on this magical voyage!”

[SFX: A splash and people cooing in delight and awe]

“Give a warm welcome to Meri, my delightful assistant, and number one Merfolk tour guide!”

[SFX: Applause]

[You happily blow a few bubbles at them and they laugh before you duck down into the water]

“Meri has worked very hard to give you all the most beautiful show. Darling, if you would go ahead and hit the switch?”

[You swim down and flip a hidden switch. The water itself lights up in brilliant patterns]

“Meri loves this city of lights more than anyone and set up lights down where they live to make it even better. Tonight, you’ll be shown Venice in all her beauty. Oh, the city is fine too, I guess.”

[The crowd laughs and you blow a few “stop” bubbles at your business partner as he laughs]

“I’m a gondolier, folks! Not Casanova! Haha, alright, let’s get heading off. Lead the way, Meri!”

[And you do, pleased as peaches to see the delight on their faces as you swim underneath and wave through the boat’s glass bottom]

[Pause]

[The stars are falling exactly as you dreamed. You’re here, in the light]

“Now, let me show you lovely folks the spot where we first fell in love!”

[You’re home]

[The End]