((I forget how exactly I came up with this story idea a while ago. I was just cycling through random ideas in my head and thought I could do a mermaid story. My friend 'hinted' that I should do a GermanyxPrussia fanfic (her OTP), so I combined the ideas to think about. Then I remembered that Prussia's name is Gilbert. Gilbert. It has 'gill' in it. At that point, I decided that I absolutely needed to write this fic.

Which is funny, because I am allergic to puns.

By the way, did you know that Germans love/are obsessed with beaches? At least, that's what I read in a magazine where Germans declared that they finally found the perfect beach in Europe.

Anyways, I guess I'll start this fic. It's fluff (again), and is AU. I hope you enjoy it as much as my sense of humor does!

Awesome fanfic… commence!))

:::

The sky was particularly sunny today with a hot temperature to the air to be thankful for, especially by beach-goers. The atmosphere wasn't chokingly humid or nosebleed-inducing dry. It was only mid-morning, though, meaning that the day did still have a chance to get hotter. Actually, it was amazing how drastically the weather had changed overnight; from stay-in-the-house stormy to bright and sun-drenched.

Like every morning over the past few weeks, Ludwig began his walk on the small section of private beach that came with his rented beach house. His normal routine was to pick up any trash that may have made its way onto the shore and sand, go back inside to eat his breakfast, then plan the day from there. Most days only consisted of nothing but relaxing on that beach or going to town for lunch or groceries, which never really bothered him. This summer-long vacation was meant to be laid-back and uneventful.

To hopefully take his mind off this past year.

Although, this morning, he noticed something rather large to be trash lying on his beach, where the small waves washed up against the sand. Ludwig carefully approached, trying to figure out what it was. It looked like… a body? Lying facedown in the sand.

He rushed forward to see what the problem was, only to come to a halt about five feet away. True, it was some sort of person, but with one difference. One major difference.

Instead of legs, this 'person' had a big, fishy tail. If that wasn't strange enough, the thing had dull white hair, pale skin, and beautiful pearl-colored small scales on his fin.

Ludwig considered his options. The first decision to be made would be either to try to wake the creature up, or just shove it back into the ocean. Since he wasn't completely heartless, the second option was scrapped. So he should try to wake it up. If it woke up, then Ludwig would try to find out what it needed. If it didn't wake up… Well, he would figure out what choice to make when he got to that point.

Hesitantly, Ludwig went to kneel at the thing's side, then gingerly turned it onto its back. Well, to be quite honest, the flat chest made it likely that it was a boy. But with a grimace, he also noticed the extensive bruising, along with cuts and scrapes covering the body. It looked like some scales on the tail had been ripped up or off, too.

Was the creature dead?

Ludwig took hold of its shoulder, which was uncomfortably dry for something that supposedly came from the sea, and lightly shook it in a wake-up attempt. Nothing happened. Ludwig felt a bit bad, wondering if it had passed away while stuck on the beach.

Although, he realized that since it was a living thing (or once was, at least), it might have a pulse or a heartbeat. It was worth a shot.

Ludwig carefully lowered his head to the thing's chest, laying an ear over the general area that a heart should be. He used a finger to plug his open ear, blocking out the sound of the tide. He listened closely, hoping for the best.

Ludwig could hear it. It was faint and a bit shallow, but it was a heartbeat nonetheless.

Now what to do?

Again, if he pushed the creature back out, it might actually die. It was currently unconscious and non-responsive, so he couldn't ask what it needed. And judging by the fact that its skin was drying up, it probably needed to be put in water. Fast. And since the ocean wasn't the optimal choice at the moment, that only left one option.

Ludwig would have to shelter it in his house. Before anything bad could happen, he sat the thing up. He brought it close to himself, so that they were chest to chest, with the thing's head resting on Ludwig's shoulder. He hugged it close with one arm around its back, and looped the other arm under its butt (?). Since it didn't have knee crooks to put an arm under, he couldn't carry the thing bridal style. Fortunately, he was strong and bigger than the creature.

Careful not to jostle it around too much, Ludwig hurriedly walked back up to the beach house.

…

Ludwig had taken it to his downstairs bathroom and placed it in the tub, since the chlorine in the indoor pool might hurt the ocean animal. His new charge's tail was a little too long for the tub's length, so it sort of stuck up and out over the side of the edge. Ludwig turned the water on to a temperature slightly cooler than lukewarm, and used the removable showerhead to gently rinse the sand off the thing's body, especially away from the wounds. It would also moisturize the skin and scales again. He then turned it off then replaced it, then set everything up so that, this time, the tub would fill with water.

Leaving that to go, Ludwig turned around to get some first aid supplies from under the sink's cupboard. He pulled out some rubbing alcohol and anti-bacterial cream, along with bandages and gauze. It was always good to have these sort of things around, especially when close to a beach that had sharp rocks not too far off shore.

Having everything he needed, Ludwig went to stop the water. The tub was about halfway full. He could already see a few shedding damaged scales floating on top of the water.

Ludwig reassessed the injuries. There wasn't really anything he could do to relieve the bruises, except to just let them heal over time. The largest cuts would have to be taken care of first, then just some general cleaning around the scrapes. The scales should grow back eventually, if this thing was anything like other fish. He also noticed a large scuff starting up the thing's eyebrow, reaching down to its cheekbone. Almost as if the side of its face had been forcibly dragged across pavement. It looked pretty bad, and seemed to have bled into his charge's eye. If he cleaned it, it might start bleeding again. If that was so, he would have to use bandages to cover both that large injury and its eye.

Deciding not to waste time anymore, Ludwig dumped some alcohol onto a washcloth and lightly bathed the hurt parts on his patient's torso. On the larger wounds, he applied anti-bacterial ointment then bandaged them with bandages that wrapped around the torso. If he tried to tape down gauze, it might come off in the water anyways.

He then readied himself for the head injury. Ludwig washed away any sand or grit using the washcloth. Sure enough, it started to bleed. He covered it with gauze, taping it down, then used longer bandages to wrap a few times around its head in order to keep the gauze on. Well, the thing would have to survive with only being able to use one eye for now.

That pretty much took care of everything. Ludwig was surprised that his patient hadn't woken up during this procedure. He hoped that it didn't have internal bleeding. Even if it did, there was no way that it would be safe to bring the creature to a human doctor.

All he could do now was to wait. Though, he realized that all this excitement had worked up a bit of an appetite. Well… nothing should go wrong if he left the thing here by itself for a minute or two.

Ludwig left to make some toast and eggs for himself. It also gave him some time to think about this situation. Well, for starters, he now had some sort of fish creature in his bathtub. Could he call it a mermaid? It did seem to be a boy… So maybe 'merman' might be a better word.

Now he would be pretty occupied with taking care of this merman (if it didn't die on him), since it was too injured to go back home on its own. It's not that he really minded… Ludwig was just expecting to have a nice summer of solitude when he signed up for renting this place. It would be a good way to relax and temporarily forget about the past year.

He would have to figure out what the thing ate, and where to put it. The tub was definitely too small, which meant that he would have to drain the pool and refill it with non-chlorinated water. Hopefully it didn't need saltwater to survive…

As he was transferring the eggs to the plate, next to the toast, Ludwig heard the sound of water being moved around. That would probably be his new guest.

Bringing his breakfast with him, Ludwig returned to the bathroom.

It seemed that the merman had woken up. It was looking around groggily, trying to gain its bearings. As it turned its attention to him, Ludwig saw that the merman had lovely, red eyes (assuming the covered one was the same color). Like the color of rubies. Strangely, he couldn't help but blush a little as it stared at him.

"You're awake," Ludwig said, stating the obvious. He went to sit on the floor beside the tub, moving very slowly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm hungry," it bluntly answered with a huff. Ludwig was a little surprised that it spoke, talking in his own language.

He offered the plate of eggs and toast without saying anything. Like some sort of uncivilized being, the merman picked up the eggs with his hands, leaving the toast alone. It ate it all quickly, licking its fingers when the food was gone.

"Still hungry?" Ludwig asked.

"No…" it quietly said. "…I'm tired."

Well, it seemed to be a very simple-minded thing, but it was probably just shaken up from whatever put it into this shape. The head injury probably wasn't helping, either.

"Do you have a name?" Ludwig asked as it was starting to fall back asleep.

The merman stared at him, his eye only half-open now. "… Gilbert," he finally replied, then leaned his head back against the tub and fell asleep.

So, Ludwig knew a few things about his guest now. He was an albino mermaid, seemed to be the demanding type… and his name was Gilbert.