> Deeper than The Ocean
>  by AdmirerofHeartstrings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Deeper than The Ocean
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wounded human wearing rags looked upon the raging sea not much below where he stood on the ship, while an abyssian-cat was tying him up with the ropes which other end was tied with heavy weighing stone, as other members of his crew were standing over him just to make sure he won't do something suddenly. The crew members were mostly abyssian-cats along with a few other anthro-creatures. 
"Seaweed, I'll ask for one last time," the abyssian-cat said. "You can give up and join us again.." 
"Buck you all," the human apparently and oddly enough named Seaweed replied. "Kill me, I don't care! I'll die with honor rather than living like hogs such as you!" 
The abyssian-cat gave a chuckle before he got up and gestured the others with his sword. "He's all yours, boys!" 
The rest of the crew understood as they left the heavy weighing rock attached on the other end, and thew this in the sea which eventually pulled boy along who was giving them a rather proud and taunting look. Th abyssian-cat watched him go as he drowned in the sea with a wicked smile on his face before he got more serious. 
"Well boys, that was fun," he said sheathing his sword. "Now let's get back to the business."
Seaweed sank deeper and deeper into the sea, the weight of the ocean threatening to crush him just as much as his lack of oxygen threatened to suffocate him. The weight hit bottom at one point, but he was vaguely aware of this. It was pointless anyways; no one could save him now. There wasn't even a fish to be seen...
A sliver of movement in his peripherals caught his eye and then something swimming quickly came into view, soon appearing in front of him. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was a merpony! A real living merpony, and it seemed intent on saving him. What sunlight reached down to the bottom of the ocean revealed that she was a lovely pink color with sea-green eyes and a purple mane that seemed to flow like seaweed or kelp in the water. As he looked on, she desperately started tugging at the ropes that bound him, making it all the more clear she intended to save him.
Seaweed tried to say something to her, but instead he ended up inhaling more water in his lungs as his vision began to go dark and his eyes almost rolled over. The merpony gave a gasp in surprise, trying to think quickly. Then an idea seemed to come to her. To his surprise, she grabbed his face in her hooves... and then kissed him right on the lips. 
The human was overly surprised, not only at having his first kiss with none else than by one of most mythical beings of Equestria, but also at the sudden feeling of being touched by a female in such an affectionate way, as almost instantly he felt that he was no chocking on water and was able to breath now. 
Soon, he fear of being drowned had been replaced by the utter feeling of affection and somewhat embarrassment at how sudden that actually was. The merpony didn't let the kiss last long, however, and pulled back with an apologetic expression.
"Sorry," he suddenly heard her say, as clearly as if they weren't underwater. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't drown."
"I... I'm... I'm really grateful... to you for this..." Seaweed replied almost bewitched by her beauty. "Is that what you… kissed me for?
"Uh... yeah..." the merpony nodded. "You know that myth about kissing a merpony? Well... it's a not myth. The reason you even have it is because it's happened before."
She then went silent for a moment as she decided to use her teeth to pull the ropes off... or bite through them, whichever was convenient; either way, she was very gentle and never once bit him by accident. 
"Oh," Seaweed said as he blushed a little. "I... didn't know that merponies are real... I thought they're only in stories..."
"Mmph!" the merpony answered, her mouth full of rope coils as she finally got him free of his bindings, then spat out the ropes and responded properly. "There's a lot that most would take for myth that are quite real," she stated. "How do you think myths are made? Some of them are true, but were told from so long ago that the truth is no longer seen as truth."
"Oh..." Seaweed said with somewhat amazement. "Well, thanks again, for saving my life..."
"Of course. Now, I can't keep you here. Your wounds need to be looked after, and I don't want you to become a shark's next meal," she told him, then wrapped her front hooves around him with the intention of carrying him off. 
"Oh- alright..." even though a little embarrassed due to his situation, he nodded in understanding and let her do that, trying his best not to accidentally do something which she would pick as insult or violation of her boundaries. Making sure that both could travel comfortably first, the merpony shot off through the water at great speeds; not as fast as she had swam before, but still impressively quick.
"By the way, most here under the sea call me Coral," she spoke up as they swam along. "Do you have a name?"
"I guess," Seaweed replied. "I was called Seaweed by... my former boss," he almost spit in anger at the mention of him.
"Former...? Oh, is he the one that threw you overboard?" Coral asked him.
"Yes," he nodded. "I didn't wanna work for him anymore... and he just couldn't handle this fact..."
"So he threw you overboard. Typical," Coral remarked. "I've seen that happen before... I wasn't able to save all of them, but I managed with some. You're the only one I've had to kiss, though."
Seaweed blushed again, and couldn't help but smile sheepishly. She kissed only him, this almost made him feel like someone special, but he also kept himself collected enough to keep him respectful towards her, but couldn't stop himself from saying a small. "Oh..."
"Yeah... oh, we're here!" Coral announced, and then he found himself inside an underwater cave, which actually looked rather decorative with brightly colored walls and even some form of furniture cut into the rock. Not much of the later of course, since merponies didn't need to sit or lie down often.
"It's not much... but I hope it's comfortable enough," she said, setting him down on a rock that was either a bed or a table.
"Comfortable enough?" Seaweed said seemingly in disbelief as he looked around. "It's... what's the word... it's really amazing and elegant, I never saw such a beautiful place..."
"Oh? You mean you don't have as beautiful things up on the surface?" she asked him questioningly as she swam about and began searching for something to help with his wounds.
"Uh… never had the chance to see places on the land… I spend most of the time to work for my boss and his sidekicks," he told her with the hint of bitterness in his tone. "...he sure as Tartarus never cared about my comfort more than so just I stay alive to keep on being his servant..."
"Oh... that doesn't sound very nice," Coral noted, then brought a kind of underwater plant over to him that seemed to act like a bandage. "Can you do it yourself, or do you need help?" she asked.
"Oh... I'll do this myself, thanks. You already did more than enough for me..." Seaweed replied as he took the bandages from her to cover his wounds on his arms and legs. 
Coral nodded and respectively backed away to give him some space, though she still looked noticeably concerned for him. He winced a little as the bandages touched his exposed and rather sore wounds. 
But soon he realized that he might not be able to reach to some of the wounds on his body, especially his back. "Umm... Coral," he called her looking a little embarrassed.
"Hmm?" the merpony asked questioningly. "What do you need?"
"Hmm... I can't reach to the wounds on my back..." Seaweed told her.
"Oh... so you need help," Coral finished, then she swam over and took the bandages for his back and started to gently apply them where needed. He winced slightly when they touched his wounds, but mostly remained still during she did this. 
"Hmm... thanks," he said passing her a smile of gratitude.
"Of course," she replied, smiling back as she continued to work. She may not have had hands or even claws, but she definitely had a "healer's touch" and performed her task well. Soon, the pain of his wounds was subsided and replaced by a feeling of relief, and he let out a sigh of comfort at this. 
"It's much better now... thanks again," he said.
"You're welcome," Coral answered kindly. "The salt in the water will help along for a while, but it may sting a bit. That can't be helped, unfortunately."
"It's alright," Seaweed told her reassuringly. "It's... not that bad..."
"Okay..." Coral said, looking about the place. "Well... make yourself at home, I guess. The nearest inhabited island or mainland is quite far from here, so I don't know if I could get you there in your condition today. For now, we'll have to wait."
Seaweed was silent for a moment, then he shrugged and passed her a nod. "Okay," he said to her, as he sat right there looking around at the house seemingly marveling at beauty of this place. 
Coral couldn't help but give a small giggle at his expression, for it was an expected reaction to the interiors of her humble abode. It wasn't much in comparison to other merpony houses she had seen, but it was still marvelous to see. He, after some moments looked thoughtful as well as a little lost slightly smiling to himself.
"So... do you know where you'll go after you're healed up?" Coral asked him, breaking the silence.
"I have no idea," Seaweed replied straightforwardly. "I... don't know much about the people of the land or something..."
"Oh... you mean you don't have anypony to go back to?" she asked. "Nowhere to go?"
"Not really," Seaweed smiled as he looked towards the floor of the cave with slightly hopeless expression.
"You don't? That's so sad," Coral remarked with a sad expression. Then she seemed to perk right up and said, "You know, you're always welcome to stay with me if you have nowhere to go. My house is always open."
Seaweed looked at her before smiling with deep gratitude in his eyes. "It's really nice of you," he said but then looked a little embarrassed. "Thanks... I wish I'd be able to do something for you in return..."
"Oh, no need to trouble yourself," she assured him. "It isn't necessary..."
"Really?" Seaweed asked in slight disbelief. "I mean, it's really great of you... but it's just... I don't wanna be a burden to you..."
"You're not a burden at all. Rather, I'd enjoy your company," Coral told him. "I don't get very many visitors."
Seaweed looked at her for a few seconds before replying. "You mean, you live here alone..."
"Yeah... I do," Coral nodded.
Seaweed then asked again, this time looking a little sad. "...and don't you've any... friends here?"
Coral went silent, then hung her head. "No..."
Seaweed looked down for a moment feeling really sad for her as he did realized how that felt to have no friends at all, and then he walked towards her and softly told her."Coral, I never had any friends either..."
"What?" she looked at him in disbelief. "Not even one?"
"No," he told her with a little sad tone. "But... there was crew-member of my boss... though she wasn't the nicest person around, but I guess she somewhat cared about me... I mean usually she just yelled at me and was rude like everyone else around... but whenever I did hurt myself, she was the only one to look after me until I feel better... even though she never stopped telling me how stupid I am and what not but still... she was the closest to what I ever had as a friend..."
"Oh... so you're lonely too, huh?" she asked him, getting a sympathetic look.
"...yeah," Seaweed admitted with a hint of sadness in his tone, which was a little surprising to him, cause he never felt that bad for being lonely ever before. Coral looked sad, then she swam over to him and hugged him gently.
"Well... you don't have to be lonely anymore," she told him with a smile.
Seaweed stood still, and didn't move even to return the hug as he slowly felt his breaths getting slightly uncomfortable... as his eyes started to teared up, and he let out a few sobs. "I'm not... does this mean, we're... friends?"
"Of course," Coral agreed, then hugged him a bit tighter to comfort him.
Seaweed smiled and as he let his sobs out without holding back and returned the hug. "It feels... good to hear this..."
"Hmm..." Coral hummed and gave him a friendly nuzzle, sighing contently in the process to signal that she enjoyed it too. He returned the nuzzle to her as he ceased his sobs and sighed in content at this as well, before he blushed slightly and asked. 
"Hmm... what's this?"
"Oh... nuzzling? It's a friendly gesture used among close friends or couples. It generally let's somepony know how much the other cares for them," Coral explained. "I've also heard it's used as a comforting gesture."
"Oh... it really feels comforting," Seaweed said smiling sheepishly.
"I thought you'd like it," the merpony said, then nuzzled him again.
Seaweed nuzzled her back closing his contently, blushing slightly as a smile crossed his face. "It's... really amazing,"
"Glad you like it. It's been a while since anypony's shown me such a gesture," Coral said to him.
Seaweed giggled a little at this and told her. "I'm glad I could be helpful to you, in some way."
After a moment, Coral pulled away after realizing something.
"Oh! I never bothered to ask, but... are you hungry?" she asked him.
"I guess," Seaweed replied and as a reassurance his stomach gave grumble.
"Well... there's not much you can cook down here in the sea, obviously, but I do know a spot that I use to get up to the surface from time to time," Coral told him. "It's probably big enough to get a fire going to cook anything you can't eat raw. What would you like?"
"Well," Seaweed said thoughtfully. "I guess, I can go with some fish, or lobster can work too... whichever would be easily available right now, I'm not too picky..."
"Alright. I'll be back in a bit," she nodded, then she pointed with her hoof to a cave entrance nearby that seemed to lead somewhere else. "Just follow that tunnel and you'll find that spot I was talking about."
"Mhm," Seaweed nodded and went towards the tunnel, a little amazed that how light weight that felt to walk underneath the water than on the surface. The tunnel led out to an entrance full of sunshine and a kind of beach just visible from under the water's surface. He looked around and felt amazed at how such a place can even exist under the sea. But as he came on the land he soon felt that he was feeling oddly heavier than the last time he was on the surface. 
"It'll take some time to get used to," he said to himself.
Looking around, he noticed that the beach he was part of a small island; too small to have any real inhabitants, as he could see the end of it from where he was standing. It was more of a sandbar than an island, save for a single palm tree relatively near the center.
Seaweed smiled as he sat on the sand, feeling relaxed in the silent atmosphere of the island. The rays of sunshine felt rather comforting as well. 
In a few moments, something broke the surface of the water and landed on the sand some yards away from him, followed by the bobbing head of the merpony who had deposited it. The object in the sand was a fish of sorts and the merpony was looking at him as if to ask if it would suffice. 
He came close and grabbed the fish before looking towards her with a thankful expression. "I guess it'll do," he said to her. "Thanks."
"No problem. There should be some wood around the tree you can use," Coral suggested. 
Seaweed passed her a nod and went towards the tree and as she said, he found some dried up branches and leaves which could be definitely used to make fire. 
After a few attempts he was able to make fire with a kind of friction method, then he used a sharp edge stone to cut open and clean the fish before he could cook this on that fire. It was a little time consuming but almost after half an hour the fish was all good to eat. 
Coral gave a small cheer and then dove under the water for a moment before coming back up to smile at him.
"I can't stay above water for too long," she explained. "Otherwise I may dry out or something just as bad. You know, like a fish out of water."
"Oh, I see," he gave a nod at this before he looked towards the fish, which wasn't looking less than mouth watering to him. "So... do you like eating fish?"
"Sometimes, but it's not all I can eat," she stated. "Technically merponies are omnivores, but we lean more heavily to one or the other."
"Mhm," Seaweed replied as he was now munching on a chunk from the freshly cooked half of the fish, which he then swallowed before speaking again. "Interesting," he said before he offered her the other half which was also ready to eat now. "Would you like some?"
"Oh, no thanks. I've already eaten," Coral told him, then with a slight blush added  "I'm flattered you'd offer it willingly, though."
"Oh, alright," Seaweed smiled sheepishly at this as well as he carried on to relishing his meal. After satisfying his hunger he felt really relieved. 
Soon after, he extinguished the fire and went towards sea, ready to jump in again.
"Wait!" Coral abruptly shouted at him.
He had to stop suddenly, so he lost his balance and fell over his face in the shallow water near to the beach, before he lifted his face and looked at her with questioning expression.
"What happened?"
"I forgot to tell you... my protection that allows you to survive underwater wears off every time you get out of the water," Coral explained with a blush.
"Oh," he said thoughtfully and blushed as well "So, that means... for me to get in the water again you have to..."
"Mhm,"she nodded and gave him a smirk. "I hope you'll like round two.
"I guess," he said chuckling sheepishly at this.
The merpony gave a giggle, then she rose up just enough from the water to pull him in and gave him a kiss. This time, it was better than the first because it wasn't a life or death situation, and it was noticeably longer than the other. Coral clearly was in no rush. 
Seaweed closed his eyes and didn't do much in response to her action for the most part except than being as cooperative at his best. But for some reason he wasn't able to help himself but slightly leaning towards her motioning his lips slightly but clearly in somewhat affectionate way, though that was unclear whether it was intentional or otherwise.
Coral didn't object to this, and instead pulled him closer to her and then dove underwater while holding onto him, not once breaking the kiss the whole time. Seemingly, he took a little time to realize that they were already underwater but for the moment his mind was more focused on the affectionate moment they both were sharing. 
After a solid minute or two, Coral finally broke the kiss and gave him a somewhat flirty smile.
"Did you enjoy round two?" she asked him.
At this, he giggled slightly and blushed in a little embarrassment for obvious reason. "Umm... I guess," he told her. "But maybe... I got a little carried away..."
"That's alright... I don't mind," Coral assured him.
"Oh, okay.. if you say so," Seaweed replied feeling somewhat relieved.
"Hee hee! You know, it doesn't have to be just me doing the kissing," she teased. "I'd enjoy it more if you kissed back."
The human smiled. "I... I'll... keep that in mind, I guess..."
Coral giggled, then released him as she looked back to the tunnel. 
"We should head back..."
"Oh, right..." Seaweed gave a nod at this.
The merpony gave another nod, then she led the way back into her abode, with a slightly slower pace than before, to allow Seaweed to keep up. He walked after her at best pace he could move in the water without exhausting himself, as water might made him feel lighter but also offered much more drag than air to walk through. 
Coral was patient, however, and always made sure he could keep up so he wouldn't be left behind.
"I guess... I should try to swim," Seaweed mostly said to himself.
"Hmm?" Coral looked back at him with a questioning expression. "Have you ever swam before then?"
"I did," Seaweed told her before smiling sheepishly. "...but haven't tried this underwater yet..."
"Well, there's always a first time for everything," the merpony giggled. "I would teach you... but I'm not anatomically built to swim how you are."
"I see," Seaweed said understanding what was her meant, and passing her a nod. "I guess, I'll give this a try then," he prepared himself as he made a movement which almost resembled jumping before moving his hand in a way somewhat similar how a person would swim on the surface, to see whether that worked or not. 
It only seemed to make him go a bit higher, which was not the desired result.
"Hmm... Try this with your arms," Coral suggested, doing the motions one would use underwater. "I saw a young dragon do it like that before when he fell into the water. Maybe it'll work for you too?"
"Mhm," Seaweed gave a nod as he did what she had suggested him to do.
This time, he stayed at the same elevation unless he directed his body downwards or upwards, which was the desired effect. Coral clapped her hooves together in class congratulations at this and even gave a small cheer.
"I... did this," Seaweed said with an expression which seemed to be mix of the triumph as well as disbelief. "I actually did this... thank you so much, Coral!"
"Oh, it was nothing. All I did was give some advice," she said, blushing a little.
Seaweed looked at her before smiling in gratitude once again and passing her a nod. "Well, at least I won't slow you down now..."
"Mmm... I wouldn't mind so much even if you did," she assured him. "Sometimes, I like to take things slow."
"Oh," Seaweed looked at her for a moment before smiling and giving a nod to her. "I won't be able to swim faster than you anyways..."
Coral giggled. "Not unless I have you a fish tail, and even then you'd be quite clumsy at first.
"I see," Seaweed gave a nod and mused at this thought for a moment.
"Um... So, I just realized that you may have to go to the surface very often for your meals, huh?" She remarked with a small blush.I
"I guess," Seaweed smiled sheepishly. "Unless, I didn't have to cook my meal... I mean if we have seafruits or anything of the sort..."
"Oh... We've got some down here, but not much where we are now," Coral explained. "But if you'd like, I wouldn't mind searching for some every now and then."
"Well, I guess... I'm not getting hungry that soon," Seaweed told her. "If I got, I will gladly help you with searching..."
"You would?" Coral asked, then hugged him. "Oh, that would be perfect! Thank you..."
Seaweed returned the hug as he couldn't help but blush a little. "Your welcome..."
The merpony gave another giggle, then she thought of another problem.
"Hmm... obviously, you won't be able to out-swim any creatures under the water, so I think instead we should focus on finding a way to defend yourself if it ever comes to that."
"Mhm," Seaweed gave a small nod at this. "Sure."
"I'm thinking... a spear or harpoon will do," Coral thought to herself aloud.
Seaweed made a thoughtful expression at this. "I do have a little experience in using harpoon actually," then he added. "...but the harpoon I used is still on the ship and I doubt my blasted former boss would let me take that back... even if I ask nicely." Seaweed slightly chuckled to himself.
"Oh... well, I have one that I collected from a shipwreck before," Coral told him. "Maybe that will work?"
"Sure," Seaweed nodded as his expression turned to a more curious ones.
"Now the next big problem is going to be feeding you... unless you can eat raw fish?" the merpony asked him, even though she partially knew what that answer would be.
"Well... while mostly I do prefer to cook the fish before eating," he took a small pause before he admitted. "I have actually eaten raw fish at many occasions... and I at least don't care much about the taste... that was a part of what they call a sea survival training..."
Coral pondered this for a moment, then said, "Then I guess it won't be too bad. I'll try to find more wood you can use for later dates, but for now I guess it will have to do."
"It'll do nicely," Seaweed nodded at this and passed her a smile of gratitude. "Thanks again."
"You're welcome," Coral answered with a gentle smile.
Seaweed smiled slightly sheepishly at this and then made a thoughtful expression for the moment. "So... about that harpoon..."
"Oh! Right! I'll be right back!" Coral said quickly, and then darted out of the cave at a speed he could never hope to overtake.
Seaweed stayed there, watching her go to the cave as a small smile came upon his face. That was when he felt a newly and warm feeling in his heart as a strange sense of belonging he hadn't ever felt before came over him.
Sea might not be a place where he was born or even could live naturally, but maybe that was the place he wanted to be, a place he could roam freely (considering he could avoid large predators) and more importantly a place where he would be with the merpony he called his friend. But soon he came out of his thoughts as he felt that rags he was wearing to cover his bottom at the moment started to feel uncomfortable and a little tartared from some places around his knees.  
Seaweed frowned a little at this, clearly he wouldn’t be able to stay that way all the time. Though, there clothes had a little resistance against water damage but sooner or later he had to find something more suitable to cover his privates with.


A week and a few days passed. Seaweed's new life with Coral proved to be a very beautiful and peaceful one. Her cave was located in an area where predators seldom lurked about, and when they did meet a predator the harpoon Seaweed was provided with proved more than enough to deal with them (and, the human used one of shark’s hide to make a couple underwater shorts which were obviously more sustainable than his old one). 
However, something new seemed to be stirring within the two of them. Neither said it, but there were a few noticeable changes that Seaweed in particular was catching onto from Coral. She would seem flustered around him at times, blushed whenever she made contact with him outside of a hug, and whenever they kissed so he could survive the underwater world he now called home, her kisses seemed to linger a little bit longer each time... as if she didn't want to stop as abruptly as they did.
Seaweed although didn't realize about why her behavior was a little different than before, but even for him who actually never knew someone who'd care for him in such a way, it was clear to see that they both were getting close in some way. It was a rather comfortable and at the same time a rather nervous feeling for him and not only that but he was also seeing changes in his own behavior as well. 
The time he spent outside the water, on the ground seemed to made him slightly uncomfortable now as he didn't like to spend his time outside his new home and away from his friend, and whenever she was around he could never feel the same as he did before as unintendedly he found himself staring at her dreamily sometimes, as if admiring her without words. It made him feel a little embarrassed whenever that happened, though this was something he couldn't help himself. It also came into his notice that whenever they kiss, the time around them seemed to be a stop and unlike the kisses they did before... now they tried to prolong them as much as they could, even though it was out of necessity at the moment. 
Though, he wasn't sure what he was experiencing, but he did also realize that he might not be alone in his strong feelings towards her.



One day, Coral said that she was going out to pick some special kind of sea flower to decorate the cave with. She had told Seaweed that she would be back in less than half an hour. However, the half hour turned into a full hour, then another hour. Still, she did not return.
Seaweed was getting more and more worried for her as time passed, and waiting became too much uncomfortable for him. Surely, something wasn't alright here because she never took that long before. 
Deciding to go after her, he took his harpoon and went out of the cave and swam around to look for her, or someone or something that might help him to know where she could be at the moment. 
"Coral, please be alright..." Seaweed prayed as he looked through and fro, checking out as many spots as he knew about and some others he didn't knew much about.
Suddenly, the shadow of something large and above water came over him, blocking out the sunlight for a moment. Looking up, he saw the underside of a ship of sorts, probably a schooner. It was moving at a slow pace, as if in no hurry to go anywhere, and as it moved away from the sunlight he noticed a flag on the ship, which told him what kind of sailors it held even if the details on the flag weren't too clear underwater: pirates.
Seaweed had every possible reason to believe that looking them around could never be a good thing and that he should get away from them as soon as he could- but then suddenly, he realized something... 
"The pirates... could it be?" Seaweed thought to himself, a little concerned and honestly a little bit afraid as ship was floating. "Did they... captured her...?" 
There was none to confirm his doubt, but if she was on the ship then her life was surely in danger at the moment. She couldn't breath outside the water for much long... so if there was something needed to be done, that should be done quickly, so without taking anymore time he brace himself for the worst and swiftly swam towards the ship.
The ship had decided to drop anchor right about then, and he could soon see why; they had apparently been doing some kind of fishing, dragging a net of sorts through the water. And as he got close, he saw a collection of different fish inside... and among them was a struggling merpony friend of his.
"Coral..." Seaweed called to her as he came close. Looking at her in such a condition was truly horrifying for him as he looked around to see a way to free her i.e. to get to the ship and drop the net somehow.
Coral saw him just in the nick of time, and she shouted, "Seaweed, get away! They'll catch-"
But before she finished, the net was pulled out above water and onto the ship, and he could hear her no more.
"Coral!" Seaweed gave her another call, grunting in anger. It didn't matter to him, whether he could face them or not. If he didn't do anything to save her quickly,  then that would be too late and given the conditions, it was hard to say how long she could sustain herself outside the water. 
"I'm coming, Coral," he muttered to himself, and looked around, before he looked at the anchor and began to climb on the ship, a risky move on his part but life of his friend worth it.
The climb went without much of a hitch, but there was one concern that did come to mind; once Seaweed broke the surface of the water, he could feel the blessing of his friend's kiss leave him. If he fell back in at any time, he would not be able to survive under the waves.
So, there was no turning back now, and honestly he wasn't gonna back off whatever the case. It was either he'd save her and bring her back to sea where they both belong, or he'd die alongside her, and other than that there were no options at all.
As he neared the edge of the ship where he could climb up onto the deck, he could hear the nasty voices of the pirates onboard.
"...seems we've got ourselves a good catch here, Captain," one voice sneered. "Plenty of meat for our bellies, and a pretty creature of the sea!"
Seaweed heard a chorus of rough laughing and then a female's cries.
"Let me go!" Coral's voice rang out, only to make the pirates seem more amused.
"Oh ho! It can talk!" another voice mocked.
It was now the moment to make an important decision. It would be hard for him to take on so much of them at the same time, and he couldn't just let them have their way with the merpony either. It would be good, if he could sneak attack on them somehow. 
Giving a cautious peek over the side, he noticed that the pirate crew seemed to be a mixture of ponies and humans, the captain looking more nasty than the rest of them. An eye patch covered one eye, probably to mask whatever scars had been dealt to him in the past. Held up by a few of his crew mates was Coral, the merpony looking about with fear at the pirates.
"What are you going to do to me?" she demanded.
"Well, there's a lot a pretty creature like you could do for us," the captain answered with a smirk. "Your scales and hide are quite valuable to sell, your kiss would make us no longer fear falling overboard..." He then got uncomfortably close to her. "And to top it all, we've been at sea for a while without any females to comfort us. I'm sure you would help with that too."
Coral, understandably, spat in his face at this mention, but it also made her all the more fearful. The captain just wiped his face and ordered, "Take her down into the hull. She'll either learn respect or dry out without any moisture."
"This is enough!" Seaweed lost himself at the moment he listened to the filthy desires of the captain, and jumped in the scene, ready to fight as he held his harpoon in a threatening way. "Put her down! Put her down now, you filthy son of scum!"
The pirates looked at him with some surprise, then after a second laughed.
"Or what? Ya gonna kill us, fish boy?" the captain taunted.
"You bet, you dirty flankholes!" Seaweed replied angrily, not fazed by their insulting laugh. "I'll kill each and everyone of you if I had to! Now put her down! Or your death awaits!"
"Oh, but I think it's your death that awaits," the captain said. "You're all alone, and we're an army in comparison."
Seaweed looked around and there was truly an army, and that wouldn't be less than a miracle if he'd be able to defeat all of them, a miracle he truly wished to happen. But, as for now his real preference was to buy him sometime or distract them, so Coral could be freed from their grip, his best bet would be to approach an easy opening to where Coral was being held. 
"Truly shows how big a mother bucking coward you are!" Seaweed scoffed with a mocking chuckle, as he moved from his place holding the harpoon in his hand, ready to approach and pierce through that filthy human. 
"Coward?" the captain laughed, keeping his eye locked at him. "Lad, have you ever seen pirates before? We aren't cowards; we just don't play fair. Case in point..."
He pulled out a kind of small crossbow and held it up, pointed at Seaweed while Coral struggled all the more to free herself.
"You'll be surprised! I'm a pirate!" Seaweed replied with a small smile. "I just don't work with filthy scumbags like you anymore, and I know what it means to be a man, rather than being a little piggy like you!"
The captain's smile faded, and he scowled.
"You should not have said that," he warned, and then prepped the crossbow to fire, while Seaweed came into his defensive stance. Coral, seeing this, struggled all the more and right when the trigger was pulled screamed, "NOOOO!!"
Her scream suddenly seemed to be unreasonably loud, so loud that the pirates around her dropped her and held their ears, and the captain's shot went wide. Even Seaweed didn't go unaffected.
Seaweed, though a little surprised at this but taking the opportunity he ran in a murderous frenzy growling in anger, stabbing and slashing all of them who came in his way as he cleared his path to where Coral was lying. His bare skin and hands were covered in blood at the moment as he breathed heavily.
Coral looked at him with some horror, though she understood that it had been necessary; perhaps, she had hoped that he would not have to kill anyone, especially of his own kind.
"Let's go!" Seaweed didn't take much time and grabbing her in his arms he ran quickly and literally jumped the overboard, dropping both of them in the ocean beneath.
The water, naturally, felt cold to feel and for now Seaweed couldn't breathe underwater, so he had to hold his breath for the moment. Coral didn't kiss him right away, for obvious reasons, and instead swam off as fast as she could go with him in her hooves, until the ship was well out of sight. Only then did she pause to kiss him, and this time it was rather short given that she was still a little scared.
"Seaweed, you're crazy!" she scolded.
"What?" Seaweed asked her, a little worried or rather scared at her reaction. "But... why so?"
"You could've gotten yourself killed, that's why!" she continued. "And I'd never be able to forgive myself, knowing that you died because of me!"
"It'd worth it, if it was for you," Seaweed told her with a sheepish smile and sincere manner, and then chuckled slightly to lighten the mood. "...and come to think of that... honestly, I would have died either ways..."
"You would have?" Coral's expression suddenly turned to worry. "How?"
"If I'd go back to sea without your kiss, I'd have surely died..." Seaweed told her. "...on the other hand, trying to save you could cause me my life, but at least then I wouldn't have the guilt of being a coward and knowing that I was dying for you-"
"Don't say that!" Coral interrupted, and he could tell she was crying. "Don't ever say you're a coward, and don't tell me that you'd die for me! I've had too many others die for me; I don't want to add you to that list!"
Seaweed was silent for the moment, then with a worried and somewhat shocked expression, he asked her, as if to make sure, she had said that. "Coral... what did you say?" He asked softly. "There were others, who died for you...?"
The merpony nodded sadly. "My parents... and my sisters... They all died, trying to keep me safe from pirates when I was little... I vowed to never have anypony die for me again since that day... And I especially don't want you to be the next to follow..."
"I... I didn't know..." Seaweed looked a little ashamed now, surely by putting himself in danger he had made her feel guilty knowing that he'd die as well for saving her. 
Then as a caring expression, he took her in a hug. "I'm sorry... I didn't know that... I just wanted to protect you... I never wanna lose you, Coral... I promise I'll try my best to never put myself in danger..." 
To be honest, as much as he'd love to die for her, he actually always wanted to stay by her side, no matter how long he might live, he just wanna live alongside her.
Coral hugged him back tenderly, crying into his shoulder.
"I can't bear to lose you either," she told him. "You're the only human I've ever cared about, and the only one I've ever loved..."
"Loved?" Seaweed asked, as if a little surprised to hear this, seemingly clueless at what to say at this for the moment. But for some reason had an urge to hugged her even more closely, clenching her tenderly in his arms. 
"Seaweed..." Coral pulled away for a moment and looked at him with a questioning look. "Don't you know what love is?"
"I might have heard the word before... but other than that... I don't know..." Seaweed shook his naively. 
"Oh... well... love is something special that you feel for somepony," Coral said, trying to see if she could explain it to him. "It means sticking together through even the hardest of times... it means to have a deep emotional attachment to that person, and to do anything to make them safe and happy…”
Seaweed's expression were thoughtful at the moment, as his eyes began to shed tears but obviously they couldn't be seen beneath the ocean, but his tone with some broken cries made this clear for her. "...then I love you too, Coral... I love you so much... I love you more than anything else... I love you so much, Coral..."
The merpony's smile couldn't seem to get any bigger, and she hugged him tightly now, feeling as if her heart would burst with joy. Seaweed hugged her back, though he couldn't stop his broken cries. It had been a long time since he had cried like this- no he in fact had never cried like that all and wanted to do so for the moment, then he softly said.
"I don't wanna die for you... I just always wanna live by your side... and die with you, if it comes to that..."
"Shh... just hold me for a while," she whispered to him gently.
"Okay," Seaweed whispered to her in reply, and then without saying any word at all, he kept on holding her, as she told him.
For what seemed to be hours, they just held onto each other, washing away the horrors of the day and the worries they carried with them. All that mattered was this moment they shared with each other.
Seaweed was feeling utterly comfortable like this, and obviously he knew that she was feeling so much comfortable at this as well, so no matter how long they kept holding each other in that warm embrace, they still didn't wanna let go of each other.
However, after a moment, Coral spoke up again.
"We can't stay out here much longer," she said gently. "We should get back to the cave."
"Yeah, we should," Seaweed nodded in agreement to her, as he released her from the hug gently before they both swam in the direction of their cave.
They didn't take long to arrive, and once inside, Coral gave a sigh of relief. She may not have gotten the flower she wanted, but she had gotten something worth far more to her, knowing that her feelings were not one-sided.
As for her friend, Seaweed never had experienced such happiness and joy ever before. It was because, for the first time in his life, he ever had felt that belonged to someone, and he was happy to know that he wasn't alone in how he felt about her.
"Well, now that we're back," Coral started, turning towards him and beaming a smile. "I'd say we can now be uninterrupted."
Seaweed, also beamed her a smile as he understood what she was meant by that. 
"Yeah," he agreed to this, passing her another sheepish smile.
The merpony giggled, then pulled him back into a hug, and he noticed that she gave a happy sigh when she did so.
The human felt really comfortable at this, and returned the hug to her making his own sigh of comfort at this. The merpony felt his sigh and smiled, then she gently nuzzled the side of his face with her own as an affectionate gesture.
"Hmm," Seaweed leaned his face slightly towards her own at this, nuzzling this along with hers as a small blush crossed his face.
Coral noticed his blush and giggled.
"You've never done this before, have you?" she asked him.
"No..." Seaweed admitted, then asked her a little nervously. "...am I... am I doing it wrong?"
"No... not at all," Coral assured him. "Do whatever makes you feel good. And if I do something you don't like or that you're uncomfortable with, just tell me and we can stop."
"Oh, okay," he slowly nodded at this, reassuring as was clear by his tone.
Coral smiled again, and then nuzzled him once more, this time leaning her head on his chest when she did so. It was somewhat daring for her to do, given that it was against bare skin under the water, but she didn't care. The sensation of the soft skin of her face against his bare chest was something utterly new and that almost surprised him for the moment. 
Obviously, it was also the one of most pleasant sensation he ever felt, and at that he couldn't help but give out a pleasant hum. The merpony seemed to sense his pleasantness, and she softly began to run her hooves along his back, gently kneading it and rubbing it in a comforting manner.
Seaweed sighed pleasantly at this once again, smiling dreamily at this, but he also felt a little selfish for not doing anything to return the favor. So, gathering enough courage, he slowly began to caress his hands over her back in a similar manner, tenderly and softly as to made this as much comfortable for her as he could.
Coral sighed pleasantly at the feeling of his hands over her body, and he heard her make a soft moan as well. Seaweed's smile went a little more dreamy at this, as he made a small pleasant moan of his own, adoring the tenderness of her skin mentally as he ran his hand through her coat.
"Mmm... that feels really nice," Coral whispered to him. "Keep going, please..."
"Alright," Seaweed whispered back to her and kept going with a comforting manner, as he slowly brought one of his hand to her the back of her neck as he began to stroke her mane in a loving manner with one of his hands while also carrying on to caress her back with the other.
Coral made another soft moan, and he felt her lean into him fully, clearly wanting to be as close to him as possible. A peaceful smile was on her face, and he noticed her eyes close as well.
Soon, he closed his eyes fully as well, letting himself lost in the pleasant affections of her at the moment as he carried on with his own affections towards her as well.
After a moment, Coral looked into his eyes and spoke softly.
"Seaweed... remember how I usually have to kiss you so you won't drown?" she asked him.
"Mhm," Seaweed nodded at this.
"Well... this time... it's more for a pleasing thing..." the merpony said with a blush. "I mean, you don't have to do it if you don't want to... I was just asking..."
"Hmm... alright," Seaweed nodded at this, for a couple seconds giving this a little thought, then he passed her another nod. "I guess... I'm okay with this... if you want to..."
The merpony gave a slow nod, then she slowly brought her lips close to his own, brushing them lightly against each other before fully connecting into a kiss.
Seaweed returned the kiss to her, feeling her lips on his own once again, only this time there was more passion and affection behind the kiss knowing that this was for the sole purpose of pleasure unlike before when they only kissed when he needed to get back to the ocean again.
The merpony made a moan against his lips, running her hooves along his back and shoulders with passion now, a feeling of utter bliss overtaking her in the process.
Seaweed was now feeling like coming over by the bliss as well, as he felt himself getting more and more comfortable within her embrace as the time passed and his affections towards her became even more intense. The merpony moaned again, then one of her hooves came forward and rested on his chest, rubbing slow and small circles on it while she deepened their kiss simultaneously.
The human was a little surprised at first as she did so, but he didn't showed any hesitation at all, instead he welcomed her passion with almost equal eagerness, before he made a small moan of bliss against her.
Coral mentally made a smile. He was welcoming their passion as eagerly as she was, and so she decided to keep it going by making the little circles on his chest start becoming bigger and faster in the process.
Soon, a small shudder was made by him followed by another blissful moan against her as he gradually started to message his hands on both of her sides.
The merpony moaned aloud, feeling herself shiver with delight. She hadn't said anything to him before, but she always enjoyed the feeling of his hands more than anything else. They felt soothing and pleasing to her, and the fact that it was an alien experience to her made it all the more exciting.
Seaweed felt more encouraged by her moan and pulled her a little more close to himself, tenderly clenching her in his arms, feeling utterly safe and comfortable, and more pleasant than he had ever felt before. 
Then slowly, he brought one of his hands to her cheek and caressed this in a loving manner, before moving this to the baseline of her neck and then back to her side.
Coral shuddered in response, and would have wished for him to continue if not for the need to breathe. So after another moment she pulled out of the kiss to give them time to catch their breaths.
Seaweed's face was beaming with both a warm blush as well as a lovely smile as he opened his eyes and looked at her, still carrying on with his other affections but with a little less intensity.
"So... how do you feel...?" Coral asked him.
"I feel... so heavenly," Seaweed said, breathing a little heavily at the moment. "...like I can actually touch the sky..."
The merpony giggled. "It's a lovely feeling, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Seaweed nodded. "It's... really lovely..."
"Hmm..." the merpony hummed and leaned into his chest again.
Seaweed took a comfortable sigh as he tenderly pressed her in the embrace of his arms once again. After a moment, Coral decided to ask him another question.
"Is this your... first time with anypony?" she asked him. "I mean... have you ever been intimate with anypony before?"
"...uh... Yeah... it's my first time..." Seaweed replied her after a couple second, with a blush across his face. "Is... is it yours first time as well..."
"Mhm," Coral confirmed. "Most of this is just instinct for me..."
"Oh," he gave a small smile, then he realized something. "So... does this mean... you want us to..." 
The human's face began to glow with some embarrassment and he couldn't get himself to say that.
"If... if you want to..." Coral blushed deeply. "You... don't have to say yes..."
"Hmm... do you want to...?" Seaweed asked her, a little shyly.
"Well... um... yes..." Coral managed in a whispered tone, almost too low to hear at first, so she repeated it again while looking away slightly. "Yes..."
"Then... I guess, I'm... alright with this..." Seaweed nodded slowly, slightly looking away as well.
Coral may have felt shy on the matter herself, but she still managed to give him a smile; granted it looked nervous, but it was also reassuring.
"We can start off slow, and see where it goes from there," she suggested. "If we don't feel like going all the way, then... we don't have to."
"Okay," he nodded at this, his nervousness dying down a little.
Coral seemed a bit more relaxed herself, and then she did something that caught him a bit off guard; taking one of his hands in one of her hooves, she guided it to her pony half's underbelly. The contact made her gasp involuntarily at this, while for Seaweed he was surprised at how soft it actually felt in comparison to the rest of her.
"In pony relationships... usually, the female pony does not immediately allow her partner to touch her undersides, for it can allow for their partner to... take advantage of them," Coral explained, blushing again as she spoke. "So... by allowing such contact... a mare is showing that she fully trusts her companion... and that there is no longer any barrier or boundaries that he is not allowed to cross. And I would trust nopony else but you, Seaweed. I... you may... do whatever you'd like now..."
Seaweed looked at her nervously at this, and even though there was no end to his joy as he heard those words from and how much she trusted him, he couldn't help but feel slightly confused at this as well. 
But then he took a deep relaxing sigh, and went with his heart as he softly pressed his hand on her underbelly sensing how delicately soft that really was and then slowly motioned his hand over it, as he blushed slightly once again before he gave her a questioning expression along with a small smile.
The merpony's smile seemed to give her answer, but even so she still said it aloud.
"Go ahead... keep going... I trust you..."
"Okay..." 
The human passed her a nod, as he slowly began to caress his hand over her underbelly with some more affection, also applying gentle pressure and running his fingers in her coat to see whether it'd make this more pleasurable for her.
Coral gave some soft moans and pleasant sighs in response to his actions, and then he felt her long fish tail suddenly wrap around the lower half of his body as if to try and embrace him like she was doing with her hooves. He felt a little more encouraged at this and made his affectionate caresses on her softly underbelly even more intense, sighing comfortably at this, while he leaned towards her for an affectionate nuzzle.
The merpony followed his action and nuzzled him affectionately, though she felt herself start to shiver with pleasure at his affectionate actions at the same time, an action he no doubt felt himself.
"Hmm,"
Seaweed hummed dreamily at this, as he slowly closed his eyes to lost in the sensation even more. The comfort, the affection, and fiery passion of the moment started to came over him completely now, as he was almost exploring her underbelly with his caresses now. Then he softly said:
"I love you so much, Coral... Please never leave me..."
"I... ah! I love you too...Seaweed... And I promise... I'm not going anywhere," Coral promised, then she leaned in and gave him a small lick on the cheek.
"Mmm..." Seaweed shuddered lightly at this and moaned in pleasure, as alien as this sensation was, this was also one of the most pleasant sensation he ever felt.
Coral noticed this and gave a small giggle, then deciding to take it a step further she trailed her tongue up his neck and to his ear, then started to lick it entirely. 
He made another shudder at this, moaning blissfully at this as he slowly began to make his affections towards her even more affectionate: as he was using one hand to caress her underbelly he used other to messaged one of her side as before moving to the back of her neck before gradually repeating the action once again. Then he whispered softly. 
"It feels... so... so wonderful..."
"Mmm..." the merpony made a soft moan, and then she stopped licking his ear and started moving her head so she could get to the other ear. While doing so, she said, "I thought you would like it... I heard once from a docked ship that... this was something ponies liked to do with their human companions..."
She then started to lick the other ear, coating it entirely like the first one.
"Mmm... I... ah, I love this feeling..." 
Seaweed told her reassuringly as he shuddered with pleasure and made a blissful sigh. 
Coral smiled a bit mentally (as well as physically) at this reply, and then after she was done there, she started leaving little kisses and licks all along Seaweed's neck.
Seaweed sighed simultaneously to her actions at this, then she felt his hand as it gradually moved a little lower on her side, until this was being placed on the base of her fish-like tail, seeming that was accidental and he was a little too lost in the blissful moment to realize this.
Coral made a small "Eep!" at this action, for her tail was the more sensitive part of her body. While the action was surprising to say the least, she was not at all offended by the action nor did she care at this point.
Seaweed was surprised at her squeal, as he opened his and looked at her to see whether he had accidentally did something uncomfortable. It was soon clear to him that what caused her to make that lovely squeal but her expression let him know that she wasn't mad at him. Still, he didn't hesitate to slightly show his embarrassment at this.
"It's fine..." Coral assured him with a soft tone. "If you'd like... you may keep going if you want."
"Oh... okay," his smile returned at the moment as he carried on with his affections, with even more passion than before, as well as being slightly bold this time, he slowly caressed his fingers on her tail, and looked at her with a questioning expression to see whether she'd like this or not.
Coral made another small "Eep!" followed by a shudder of pleasure to show that she enjoyed it. To further emphasize, she gave the end of his nose an encouraging, yet playful lick.
Feeling encouraged by her reassurance he carried on to please her in this way, as well as made the bellyrubs even more intense at this, closing his eyes dreamily once again. 
The each passing second he became more and more passionate in his action as he made a few more gasps and moan of bliss in response to her affections towards him.
Coral was now moaning with ecstasy at his passionate actions, just about reaching her limit with him now. It was then that she decided to take the plunge and make her move. Gently, she half pushed, half swam the two of them down onto a soft bed of kelp she had brought into her cave once as a form of a soft bed or rug, now lying so she was on top of him with Seaweed's back on the soft kelp. She then took her tail and guided it towards his nether regions for the next part of her plan of action.
Seaweed kept looking at her with a sense of surprised and bliss in his expressions at this, before he felt his heart skipping a beat as she made her move, and he looked at her with a little more surprised yet at the same time a slightly shy smile on his face.
Coral also gave a shy smile, showing that she was just about as nervous as he was, but was nonetheless willing to go through with it.
"I can't hold back any longer," she whispered. "Please... now..."
"I... ah, alright, Coral," he whispered back to her, his breaths a little fasten due to the utter ecstatic feelings. "I... I don't think I can... hold on either... I'm... I'm all yours..."
The merpony gave him another smile, then she crashed her lips against his own as she pulled herself on top of him, beginning a special night for both of them under the waves of the ocean.