[ WP ] Write me a cute story about a guy that 's afraid of the ocean and his complicated relationship with a mermaid . ( Bonus points if he needs to protect her from poachers/pirates or whatever . )

As night crept slowly across the sleepy surburbia, Dan Porter wrapped a blanket over himself and made his way down the steep enbankment to the ocean shore. 
 
 `` You're early today.'' 
 
 He smiled at the sound of the familiar voice, letting the soft, cheerful femininity of it caress his ears and heart as he sat on the sand in a place not too far from the ocean. 
 
 `` And you're closer to the water today, too,'' said the voice. 
 
 `` I ca n't help it. You draw me in more and more each time,'' he replied, features solemn as he searched the surface of the rippling waters for a sign of his hidden beloved. 
 
 There was silence, except for the breaking waves. 
 
 `` Speak to me,'' he urged. `` Let me hear your voice.'' 
 
 `` I... this may be the last time you see me. There is too much evil among your kind.'' 
 
 His brow furrowed as he listened to her words. `` What do you mean?'' 
 
 `` You are a good man, Dan. I speak highly of you to my people. They come sometimes and watch you from afar. But, we had made the mistake of assuming that everyone amongst your species were possessing of the same kindness and gentles that we see in you.'' Her voice dropped. `` We were wrong.'' 
 
 `` Tell me,'' he encouraged. 
 
 `` The other night - after we had gone, another man came. And my sister had stayed behind. This man and her talked and he convinced her to come ashore with him. He did things to her - I heard her cries. I came, but not quick enough. She is no longer pure. She is defiled. Violated. Her blood attracts sharks, and our rate of death has risen. We must migrate or face extinction.'' 
 
 `` Tell me,'' he demanded. `` Tell me who did this and I swear it, I'll make them pay!'' 
 
 `` We know not his name. Only my sister knows his looks, but she is still too traumatized to speak.'' 
 
 `` Then take me with you.'' 
 
 `` I wish I...'' 
 
 He stood and walked towards the ocean, not stopping as the waters swallowed him up to the waist. And yet he continued to walk. 
 
 `` Dan! What are you doing?! Stop!'' 
 
 `` If I can not follow you, then I will wait for you in Heaven.'' 
 
 And he continued forward until the waters of the ocean swarmed in from all sides, washing over his head and plunged him into unfathomable depths. 
 
 He did n't even try to hold his breath. If one could cry underwater, he would be. All he did was await his death. 
 
 But as he felt the oxygen leave his body, a figure saw over him and placed its lips on his, filling his lungs with new air. 
 
 He opened his eyes and stared into hers. 
 
 `` You were willing to die for me...'' she said. 
 
 `` If you left me, I would have died anyway.'' 
 
 He smiled and kissed her again. 
 

