Warnings: Mild slash (Dean Ambrose/Finn Bálor), AU, Fluff.

Long ago, in a time long gone, there was a young man named Finn. Finn, like many young men in his village, dreamed of leaving. He dreamed of the open Seas, of the wind in his hair, and the salt in his face. He longed to be free. For all he loved his home, and the people there, he knew that there was something else for him. He knew that his sleepy village, and its quaint folk weren't all there was for him to see.

So as soon as he was able, Finn joined the crew of a ship, and set sail. His first voyage an odd thing happened to him. He was alone in the crows-nest, keeping watching, his glass turned to the waves when he saw a strange fire on the tops of the masts. Young, and inexperienced Finn had never seen such a thing before, so he climbed down in fear. This act proved to be lucky for him, mere moments later a bolt of lightening struck the very mast Finn had been in, bringing it down. The ship was crippled, and the Captain elected to hold their position, and fetch lumber from a nearby port. Finn was one of the few left on the ship, a mere skeleton crew to keep watch over her. Finn didn't mind being left behind, instead he revelled in it. He loved the wind, the sun, the salt. He loved all that being out to Sea meant. Most of all he loved to fish. He loved sitting at the stern, his line in the water, hoping for a bite.

One day, whilst the Captain was still on shore, Finn was fishing. He'd caught very little, and the old cook, who'd been left behind with him, was complaining that there'd soon be no meat left on board. He'd landed some small fry, and decided to bait his hook with them in the hopes of getting something more impressive landed, when he felt an almighty tug on his line. He planted his feet, and pulled with all his might. He yanked, and strained, trying to land whatever was on the end of his hook when it suddenly went slack. He supposed the line had snapped, and dejectedly he reeled it back in. His hook was there, the small fry was gone, but in it's place was a round stone on a cord. Puzzled, Finn untangled the odd trinket, and feeling charmed by it, he placed it around his neck.

From that day on, Finn had fine luck at Sea. When he fished, he caught the best specimens. When he sailed, the winds were favourable, and the waves friendly. When he dove, the bounties he found were the richest. He continued with the charmed existence, the Sea being his greatest ally until one day it all changed.

Finn had agreed to take a voyage on the other side of the World. He had always sailed between his homeland, and the Americas, but this time he was sailing to the Orient. He had never sailed this Sea before, and Finn was excited to, but that excitement soon faded. The Seas of the East were not as friendly as those of the West. It seemed as though the Eastern Seas wanted Finn gone. His ship struggled on past India, onwards still passing China, until she was wrecked. The last thought Finn had as he sank beneath the waves was for the friendly Seas of the West, and the stone around his neck.

"Hold still." Finn had been sure he'd died, but the words that came to his ears did not sound to be of the sort used at the Pearly Gates. He decided it best to obey, and lay as still as he could. He opened his eye, and saw a cave, dark and dank. In the distance he could hear dripping, the drops of water echoing around the cave walls.

"Why does he wear your charm? He sails on my Seas, yet he bears your mark!" A different voice, sharp and angered echoes through the cave, and Finn casts his eyes about frantically. He can see strange fire, strange little green flames that he had once seen on top of a mast, only this time they're collected in a goblet. He squints through the dim light, and sees a man with his back turned to him. The man has a mess of blondish, reddish, brownish hair, and broad shoulders that flow into a narrow waist, his legs swallowed up by darkness. Opposite him, there is another man, this one with dark hair, and eyes, his skin a rich gold, his face handsome, but twisted in anger.

"So he sailed into your Sea... No need to smash his ship up." The man with his back to Finn laughs, which seems to anger the other man even more. He snarls wordlessly, and seems to vanish with a splash. Finn closes his eyes, rubbing them. "Sorry... I didn't think you'd sail this way." The man turns to face Finn, and smiles. Finn is caught by his smile, by the deep dimples, and brilliant white teeth, but mostly by the man's eyes. He has the most blue eyes Finn has ever seen. "I'm Dean... I..." He smiles, and taps the stone circle around Finn's neck. "D A... That's me." He smiles, and Finn nods blankly at him. He doesn't quite believe this Dean, but the stone circle does have the letters D and A etched into it, and there's no real way he could know that, unless he looked whilst Finn was unconscious.

"Where am I?" Finn tries to sit up, but Dean rests his hand on Finn's chest, keeping him in place with surprising strength.

"Stay there. You're hurt, and if you're not careful you'll fall into the water." Dean laughs. Finn turns his head, and stares at what he'd thought was simply darkness. On closer examination it's water, deep, dark water.

"Where am I?" He repeats, and once more Dean laughs, one hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck.

"You're in a dining room." A new voice comes, and Finn turns to look at the new arrival. A woman this time, her breasts bare, her hair wet and slicked to her head, water running in rivulets down her body. She moves closer to Finn, and rests her hand on his forehead. "He doesn't feel sick." She mutters, ignoring Finn, and he's grateful for that. Her nakedness had been distracting. Women might not be his preferred bed partner, but seeing one half dressed, and being so casual about it, is disconcerting.

"They're different to us." Dean hisses, and the woman snorts disdainfully. "He might be sick... We should get him one of their healers."

"You should get him out of our Seas, Ambrose." The woman laughs, and starts patting down Finn's body. "Its leg is broken... This bone will need to be reset." Finn sucks air in through his teeth as she resets his leg, and vanishes into the water once more. She reappears and starts wrapping strong smelling seaweed around Finn's leg. "You need to take it back to your Seas quickly." She spares Finn a single glance, her smile broad and shark-like. "You're a long way from home... You shouldn't stray from the currents that provide for you." She vanishes once more, and Finn stares blankly at the space she'd been in. He'd watched her slip under the water, he'd seen her leave, he'd seen in place of legs, a bright, colourful tail.

"She was a mermaid..." Finn mutters, and from beside him, Dean laughs. Then tells Finn to get some sleep. Over the next few days, Dean, who Finn has realised is a merman, calling him a maid seemed unfair, brought Finn food, and warmth in the form of blankets. How he transported them to Finn's cave, he never asked, and the merman never offered an explanation. The mermaid returns once a day to change the seaweed on Finn's leg, and to mildly terrify him. Her shark-like grin, and the crazy look in her eyes unnerves him. Dean almost always there, asking questions about what it's like to live on the land, asking why Finn spends so much time at Sea when he has all of the land to walk on. Finn answers as honestly as he can. He tells Dean that he has always felt more at home on the Sea, and Dean nods absently, then asks more questions. Once, and only once the other merman was there when Finn woke up, he'd said nothing, merely stared at Finn, his eyes narrowed. Finn had lain staring back, and the merman left when Dean had returned.

"I think you're ready to head back to land." Dean says one day. Finn's leg doesn't feel too much different, but he does feel a little stronger, though he has no idea how he's supposed to get to the surface. From what Dean has told him of his situation, he's very far under water, in the home of the other merman. Finn had been surprised to learn that like humans, merpeople breathe air, but unlike humans they can't exist on dry land. Their bodies are adapted to for living in water, the same way human bodies are adapted for living on the land.

"How am I going to get there?" Finn asks, sitting up, and eyeing the water with trepidation. He doesn't think he'll be able to hold his breath as long as Dean. There's a strong possibility that he'll drown rather than make it to shore. Dean laughs nervously, and pats him on the back.

"It'll be fine." He grins, and tells Finn to take a deep breath, then he drags them under the water. Finn's first instinct is to panic, but Dean's hand is clamped firmly over Finn's face, keeping his nose, and mouth covered stopping him from trying to breath water. It feels like Dean presses a soft kiss to the side of Finn's head, but Finn thinks that was probably his imagination. Whilst Finn's not a bad swimmer, compared to Dean he's terrible. The merman moves quickly, Finn can feel the water rushing over his skin, he'd like to see the view, but his eyes are clamped shut to keep the salty water out. His gulp of air has run out, and Finn's fingers start scrabbling over the back of Dean's hand, feeling the odd texture of his skin, slick and smooth, almost like that of an eel. Dean stops swimming, and suddenly, his lips are pressed against Finn's forcing air into him. Without thought Finn's eyes fly open, an action he regrets, the salt stings, but he managed a quick glimpse of the merman, at the odd reddening of his cheeks. The moment is quickly over, and once more they're on their way again. This happens once more before they break the surface, and the second time Dean's lips pressed against to Finn's, he was no more prepared for it. He'd damn near taken a mouthful of water rather than air in his surprise, which had caused Dean to swim even faster for the surface.

"Where?" Finn croaks when they break the surface of the water. He's gulping down air, his one good leg trying desperately to keep his head above water, but it's mostly useless compared to Dean, who's holding him up effortlessly.

"Not too far now." Dean smiles brilliantly, and starts swimming for shore. "When you get to land travel home, okay?" Finn manages to make an agreeing noise. "The Sea between your home, and the land to the West is mine... You..." Dean sighs, and speeds up. He swims as close to the shore as he can. Finn sits in the shallows, letting the water support his leg.

"What do you mean that the Sea between my home and the Americas is yours?" Finn asks, carefully not looking at Dean, carefully not thinking about the feeling of Dean's lips against his.

"I'm from that Sea... It's my home." Dean shifts restlessly, and smiles awkwardly. "Long ago I stole your fish, and gave you a charm." He gestures to the stone around Finn's neck.

"Why?" Finn's hand flies up to the charm, clutching it tightly. Dean laughs nervously, and glances away, towards the shore.

"Because... Well... Because I felt like it." He offers, a slight blush on his cheeks. "It only seemed fair to give you something for the fish." He smiles brightly, and reaches out to Finn, his hand catching Finn's. "I've been keeping an eye on you... The charm lets me know where you are." Finn stares down at the back of Dean's hand.

"I... Thank you." He smiles, and turns his hand, taking a hold of Dean's. "I'd like it if you'd speak to me... If you're going to keep an eye on me, it'd be nice to talk to you. I can tell you more about life on the land."

"You're going to keep sailing?" Dean sounds surprised, and Finn nods enthusiastically.

"Of course! I've a guardian angel." He grins at Dean. "I'll catch you the best fish, and tell you all the stories I can think of... We can be friends."

"Hmm... Yeah, friends." Dean smiles softly, and leans forward. He presses his lips to Finn's once more. "I like the sound of being friends."

So, Finn returned to his homeland, and then he once more returned to the sea. Over the years, he and Dean became more than friends. They became as close as two men of two different species could. They shared conversation, companionship, and fish, many fish. Every time Finn fished from the stern, he made sure to save the largest for his friend, tossing it into the Sea to the confusion of his crew-mates.

After many more years of sailing the Seas, Finn finally returned home, as an old man, with grey hair, and a weathered face. He spent his days down by the Sea with a fishing rod in his hands, and his nights in the local pub with a pint in place of the rod. He told tales of his travels, he told tales of the many things he'd seen and done, but there was one tale he'd never tell, the tale of how he came to hold a strange little stone circle with the letters D and A etched into it. When asked about it all Finn would do is smile, and ask if you believed in mermaids.

A little fairytale as prompted by Moiself on the Tumblrs.

If you read, please review, it'd be nice.