In the dead of night, at the bottom of the ocean floor, Christian roamed freely amongst the graveyard of sunken ships alone. Every night he returns here, looking for lost treasures and jewels to return to his partner. It was dangerous to come here alone, no matter what time of the day it was. This spot was a popular spot for criminals to raid and sharks were known to swim about looking for food. But the danger didn’t frighten him in the slightest. He had a goal that he was determined to complete—one of which was dear to his heart.

He had found the greatest gift of all, a sapphire ring, lost to the sea aboard one of the many ships. But in a quick escape that could have cost them their lives, that ring disappeared for good when Eduard had dropped the box somewhere along their route. Ever since then, Christian had been dead-set on finding something that could match the gift of Eduard’s eyes glowing amorously as they did that day.

But every night he returns to their home empty-handed. Christian felt defeated each time but he did his best to never let it get him down. “The best always comes when you least expect it,” were words he lived by. It was after all how he met Eduard on that day when Christian found the man resting in his favourite spot up near the shore. He had to keep going, even if there were days he felt as if he was wasting his time searching the same spots repeatedly.

In the early morning hours, rumours circulated that a new ship had arrived to the famous graveyard and Christian wasted no time checking out the spot. He wasn’t alone in these waters—others had heard the rumours as well and were all looking to discover treasures and goods from the forbidden world above. He was careful to avoid being seen; he often turned corners rather cautiously and was highly attentive to his surroundings. Mingling with the wrong crowds could get him in a lot of trouble or worse—death.

Christian mostly stayed within the areas where light could easily flow in. Going further into the decks below alone was too dangerous. He had heard many stories of merfolk getting lost and becoming trapped or killed by either their own kind or by prey. It was safer to stay closer to the top of the ship and they provided many good fortunes to him and Eduard and their ever-growing collections.

In a decaying room, several bodies floated about in an open room—one of a man and two young children. The spot looked already raided as there was not much left of the room. Most of the furniture had disappeared and the large cabinet doors were wide open with nothing inside. Christian didn’t stay for long, not because of the possibility that nothing would be left, but because the sight of deceased children always made him uncomfortable and misty-eyed.

He continued on to the next room. He had gotten lucky as it had not been touched yet and there were no bodies (or other merfolk) to be seen. Much of the furniture in the room had slid down to the corner of the room on the angle of of which the ship had sunken. A large painting of a young woman dressed in elegant wear was still securely on the wall. Christian had found the woman to be fairly attractive and wondered if they happened to live on the ship and that this was her personal space. Grabbing the painting was extremely tempting but it’d be next to impossible to avoid being seen with it. Instead he kept his focus towards the furniture. Amongst the mess, a small wooden dresser caught his attention. In the past he had gotten lucky and found some beautiful and unique treasures inside.

His intuition didn’t fail him when his eyes lit up at the sight of several boxes in the top drawer.

The first box didn’t give him much to look at. It was mostly filled with pearl necklaces and rings with similar cuts of gems that he already had in his possession. Pearls were not worth much in their world. They were the ‘commoner’s gem’ as they were so easily accessible to the public. Some pearls were more elusive than others but these ones in particular were nothing special in their worth. Eduard only received the best from him and these just wouldn’t do.

But the second box proved to be much more valuable.

Christian couldn’t contain his excitement. Inside were many colourful gemstones: all bright, beautiful, and cut to precision. They came in all shapes and sizes, ranging from circular, rectangular, square, and even tear-shaped. They were just like the ones he had found months before in the other ship. It was exactly what Christian had been waiting to find. He knew Eduard would fall in love all over again with the sight of these alluring gems.

The third box did not contain any jewellery but rather letters of importance to whoever was living within these walls. He was curious to know what the contents contained but Eduard was more knowledgeable of the languages spoken on the surface and much of the paper was already falling apart with the ink smudged and faded. He didn’t bother with the other drawers, this one box of gemstones was all that he wanted and needed and wasted no time leaving the ship, swimming away as fast and far away as he could. He frequently checked behind him to make sure he wasn’t being followed. The further away he got, the less he checked his surroundings and his pace had slowed considerably. It wouldn’t be long until he was back home and in the arms of his partner. The butterflies in Christian’s stomach were almost too much for him. He really hoped Eduard would love the gift he spent so long and hard to find for him.

Inside the home Christian and Eduard shared, there was a special room just for Eduard. The walls were decorated with shelves and shelves of stone tablets, many of them full of merfolk history, culture, and folklore. Eduard enjoyed the peace and quiet on his favourite rock with one of these tablets. Many treasures decorate the room; a golden bust of a captain’s head standing proudly on a stone pillar was the most noticeable and made a strong impression sitting in the middle of the room. Eduard was in a pleasant mood and found himself singing a tune, a classic folk song sung amongst his kind. Whenever he sang, he could never sit still. The music took him along a journey and in the midst of his reading, he found himself swimming around rather casually. Unbeknownst to Eduard, Christian was watching from the corner of the entrance. He was mesmerized by Eduard’s movements as he felt his heart soar. There weren’t enough words to express how much he loved Eduard. He was so intelligent and charming, he could do anything he could put his mind to. Everyday he wished he could give Eduard the world.

But while he couldn’t do that, Christian could at least start with the box of treasures he uncovered. He was quick to swim over and surprise him, cutting him off in his song as he lovingly tackled him into a tight hug and a loud “Oomph!” was heard. Christian always underestimated just how strong he truly was and the force was enough for them to fly backwards and nearly knock over the golden statue. When Eduard came to his senses, all he could see was Christian’s hair in his face while his partner nuzzled into his chest.

“Christian,” Eduard whined, “You almost made me knock over Villem!”

Christian snickered, “I still think it’s cute you gave that statue a name.”

“Hey, you’re the one who picked it! I’m just using the variant that’s most commonly used back home.”

It was true, while Eduard had thought it would be fun to give the statue a name, Christian was ultimately the decider for it. They had stumbled upon it on a large ship that had sunk far away in the middle of nowhere. On the side of the boat, “Vilhelm” was written on the side in large letters. Even though Eduard wanted something that was more common where he was from, they both agreed that it was a nice fit. Still, Eduard never seemed to call it that. He always used “Villem” in its place.

Christian was naturally affectionate but the way he left his kisses on Eduard’s upper body and face were sultry at best and tender.

“Hey, what’s gotten into you?” Eduard asked curiously. There was some playfulness in his tone as he didn’t mind being spoiled by all the attention.

“I’ve got something special for you.”

Christian broke their loving embrace and his hand, he shows off the beautifully crafted box. He flicked the metal clip open and lifted the lid to expose the collection of gems.

Eduard was left breathless as his eyes lit up with life. It was the same look as he gave just like before when Christian showed him the large chest of treasures. It was exactly what he had hoped to see again.

“These are all...” Eduard paused, “for me?”

“Every single one.”

“Can I touch them?”

“Of course. They belong to ya!”

The collection featured an assortment of colours but Eduard was fixated on the greens, blues, and purples—some of his personal favourites. He loved the feel of them in his hands. They felt so smooth and even with the lack of light in the room, they carried a shine like he hadn’t seen before. He was sure he could stare at them for days at a time and never be tired of them.

“They’re beautiful Christian, thank you. Did you find this at the graveyard?”

Christian nodded, “Yep! A new ship showed up there. Ever since we lost that ring, I’ve been determined to give ya the best treasures around.”

“I hope you didn’t go alone.”

“I’ve been going alone to these places alone fer a long time, you know that.”

Eduard looked up at Christian with a worrisome expression, “And you know how dangerous it is to go alone. You got lucky back there. If someone had saw you swim away with this box, there’s no telling what they would have done to you.”

He sighed as he looked away, “I know, I know, but I was willing to that chance fer ya. Losing that ring really brought ya down for a while now so I wanted to find something that would maker yer eyes light up again. I’m glad it did the trick!”

Christian let out a jolly laugh. His partner’s joy was highly contagious as Eduard got caught with a silly grin and a chuckle. “Yes it did, thank you. But don’t forget, items can be replaced but I can’t replace you. You said that yourself when I lost that ring.”

To Christian’s surprise, Eduard leaned in a quick sweet kiss to his cheek before sneaking away as he held the box close to his chest.

“Where you going with that?”

“To put this in a safe place!”

For the whole day, Christian inquired where the gemstones were being kept but Eduard refused to give up that information. “You’ll see!” he repeated multiple times in a calm and friendly tone. Other times, he’d simply change the topic to throw Christian off. When it was time for bed, they retreated to their room. Their bed was one they shared and on a bed of sea flowers. It didn’t appear to be comfortable on the surface but it was one of the most relaxing spots he had ever slept on. It was there, nuzzled in between some flowers, that the box was visible and Eduard curled up next to it with his hand resting on the lid. Christian stared at him lovingly before laying next him and brushed his fingers against Eduard’s hand. He loved Eduard more than anything in this world could offer him. He was grateful that his patience was rewarded with his dream outcome.