thank you all for the birthday wishes!! i had a pretty good day. i was supposed to be in the bahamas on vacation but that was cancelled so my mom threw me a "beach party" where we had dollar tree backdrops and ate smores

here are some pics taken of me today too. i got a barley shirt from Melonhead15 and a guinevere hat and barley plush from BarleyLightfoot :-)))

so naturally i have decided to do another mermaid!reader x barley that i may actually develop into a series idk. if y'all are interested i will

/ / /

You loved the rain. It was peaceful to watch it fall against the surface of the water as you stayed in the safety of the depths, watching the waves grow wild as the wind whipped them around, creating swirling storms far above. Often times, if you were feeling brave enough, you would journey to the surface of the water and crash through, gulping in the strange cool air and even wait for the moment that a droplet of freshwater would fall on your tongue. 

You loved the rain, but you think you might love sunny days even more. Sunny days were the best, especially when they followed a harsh morning storm. And it was days like this that you loved, sitting on a rock in the middle of your blue ocean home with Barley, your best friend, right by your side.

You tipped your head back, feeling your hair dry in the warm sun. Your scales, while they were a dark green, shimmered a strange purple and blue in the rays of light. It was so incredibly nice today. No loud noise of the merfolk preparing for your coronation, no push of your overbearing father or stressed out mother or your pesky court of seahorses that follow you around everywhere. No weight of the crown on your head... 

"So how's the underwater kingdom? Still super cool I bet," he said, laying back on the rock. You sighed, the relaxation slipping off of your shoulders as quickly as a drop of seawater. Not even Barley could keep the stress away from your mind. He was too curious of your underwater world, too concerned about your well-being at home. He crossed his arms behind his head and shut his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the sun hot against his skin and the warm saltwater crashing gently against his legs. "But is your dad laying off ya or what?"

"It's okay," you said with a slight frown. "I wouldn't say it's cool or anything like that." You didn't really want to discuss home --- it was so boring to talk about it and you were worried about how much freedom left in your life. Your father definitely wasn't laying off, and he wouldn't be anytime soon. Your eyes lit up suddenly and you used your hands to shift yourself. "Ooh, but you have to tell me how that concert you went to was!" 

"Oh yeah, you wanted to know about the concert?" he asked. You nodded eagerly. Human music sounded so different from mermaid music. You always wanted to hear it in person. "Uh, it was pretty great. It's one of my favorite bands, you know. I've heard them in person once or twice, but uh... yeah."

"Wow." You looked away, picking up a lock of your hair and running your fingers through it. The water always left it so tangled. 

"Wow what?" he asked, sitting up a little more.

You shrugged. "I just thought you'd have a lot more exciting things to say about it," you said. "It's kind of disappointing. Isn't the band called Cry Blood?"

"Yes," he said. 

"And yet you haven't told me a single thing involving blood." You shook your head. "Disappointed."

Barley laughed and sat up all the way. His palms slapped against his kneecaps. "There isn't blood at the concert, you weirdo! And I don't know why you're so interested in it anyway. It totally wouldn't be your type of music." 

"You don't know that," you said. "You've never taken me to a concert to know that."

He sighed. "You know I would if I could."

Suddenly, you frowned. "Yeah." If there was one thing you hated, it was being reminded of how separated you and Barley really were. Sure, he could swim out to the deep part of the ocean to hang out with you, and you could swim up to the shallow waters to get a little closer to him, but there would always be an entire world separating you from your best friend. You swallowed hard as you stared at the sea-colored fin that gently flipped in the water.

"Hey, is everything okay at home? I feel like you were definitely not talking to me about it on purpose." 

"No, nothing is okay, and at this rate, I don't think anything will be again. I'm not ready to take the crown," you said, "but I feel like I don't really have a choice. Everyone has a lot of faith in me and I don't have that same kind of faith."

"Well, I do," he said. "I have all kinds of faith in you."

Your eyes found his again and they softened. You appreciated Barley. He did so much for you, and even though you didn't feel at all more confident in yourself, you were grateful that he did at least. You knew he meant it, too. Your placed your hand on top of his. "Thank you." 

"You're welcome, princess," he said. 

Princess. A title you hated horribly, but it didn't seem too bad when Barley said it. It was more like a nickname than an expectation.

You kicked your fin gently out, wanting to stretch out in the sun --- but as you kicked, you felt a tiny small bubbles surround you. "Oh!" Gazing down below, you saw a dozen seahorses, grumpily bubbling up at you. "Aw, okay. I gotta go, Bar."

"Oh okay! Well, I'll see you soon. Right?" When you didn't answer right away, he got nervous. Lately things had been strange. After two years of friendship, of meeting on this rock or on the shore just over there, you had been seeing less and less of him. He didn't want this to end.

"You'll see me soon," you said, and you turned your torso to face him. "Just come back for me after it rains next. Okay?"

He smiled and relaxed a little. "Okay."

You slipped off of the rock and into the water. You bobbed above the surface, kicking your fin out slowly. "Do you need help swimming back?" 

"No," he said, "I think I'll just chill out here for a bit." 

"Okay," you said, giving him a look. "You weirdo." 

"Hey. Maybe I go to the ocean for more than just you," he said. 

You smiled. "Ouch. That hurts." You splashed him and he laughed, swiping his arm down to try to grab you. You giggled and plunged under the surface, kicking back and hiding underneath the stone. Through the water, you could see his blurry figure throw his arms up in surrender. You felt the annoying touches of your seahorse court against your skin. "Oh alright, alright. I'm coming. Just..." A shell lodged in between a crevice of the stone caught your eye. "Hang on." 

You swam on over to it and pulled on the clam shell. It opened up slightly, revealing a perfectly rose colored pearl on the inside. You smiled and took it quickly. After years of collecting pearls as kids with your siblings, you'd gotten pretty good at doing it before your fingers got snapped in the mouth of the clam. 

You rolled the pearl between your fingers and kicked back up over the water. Your hand smacked against the rock and Barley was there, leaning over to look at you as you wiped the droplets of salt from your eyes. 

"You know, it's really unfair to hide underwater," he said. 

"I know," you said, grinning. "But look!" You held up the pearl, pinched between your pointer finger and thumb. It shined in the sunlight. "It's for you." 

He held out his hand. You dropped it in his palm and he inspected it. "Thank you. That's awesome."

"Now you get me something cool too, okay? Something that'll remind me of you even if we're apart for a while." You folded your arms together on the rock. 

Barley couldn't help but look sad. "We're going to be apart for a while, aren't we?" 

"I don't know that, Bar. I'm just worried about it. Things are... things are weird at home. I feel like something is going on that I'm not completely aware of. So just promise me you'll find something. Please?" 

"I promise," he said. 

"Thank you." You reached over and grabbed his hand for a quick moment. You felt the pearl in between your palm and his. "I'll see you soon."

"Soon," he agreed. "As soon as it rains."

"That's how you know I'm around," you said, nodding. You smiled. "Bye, Bar." 

"Bye, princess," he said, and he leaned over to watch you slip underneath the water. He saw your shape as you and your court of seahorses swam out quickly and effortlessly to the deepest part of the sea. Soon, it was too dark to see you anymore, but he oddly still felt like you were near him, just by sitting in the middle of the sea. 

And that's what made it so hard to leave sometimes.

/ / /

okay, what do y'all think? should i do a series on this? i'm obsessed with mermaids and write about them all of the time so i really want to haha