Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
T he sickness in Mo’s stomach faded as Allen brought him down the stairs, Kent walking ahead of them, leading them all toward his quarters. Reluctantly, Mo steadied himself holding onto Allen’s shoulders, still a bit dizzy in the head. He believed, at least now, that this dizziness was due to the rum he’d drunk and not the side effects of the Song. Well, at least he hoped. The whole situation shook him in a way he couldn’t quite describe. Thankfully, Allen stayed silent as they walked. He wouldn’t know what to say if Allen voiced any suspicions of what happened as anything magical. He’d simply have to lie some more.
But if Allen was going to keep quiet and brush it off as nothing, trusting him, then Mo would be fine. He sank into the human’s strong arms with relief, eternally grateful.
Once they made it to Kent’s quarters, Allen lowered Mo into the tub. As soon as the water hit the scales on his bottom, Mo vocalized a much needed sigh. He sank as far in as he could, resting his head back on the wooden wall behind him, ripples of water reaching as high as his navel.
Allen brushed off excess water from his hands onto his breeches. “Will you be all right by yourselves in here?”
“I believe so,” said Kent, lighting some sort of lamp on the dresser. The sun was nearly set, casting pinks and reds through the window. “If we need anything, I’ll call for you.”
“Aye.” Allen nodded. “You two take care,” he said, and he wandered out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Mo let out another exasperated sigh, basking in the shallow water. This was all he needed after such a scare—calm, stillness, and Kent’s comforting presence. Kent knelt next to the tub, putting a hand on the one of Mo’s resting against the edge.
“How are you feeling now?”
“Much, much better.” Mo smiled. “I’m still a bit dizzy, but nothing horrible.”
“That’s well good.” They linked their fingers together, sending a pleasant warmth through Mo’s chest. “I was worried, you know. I may be a surgeon and went to school for physicianship, but I’ve no clue what to give a merman for his ailments,” he chuckled.
“I’m fine, really, I’m fine!” He chuckled as well, lifting his head and sitting up straight. “Just a temporary thing, it was. Your company alone makes me feel better than anything else.”
Kent’s cheeks tinged adorably darker. “Thank you. Being with you always makes me feel better as well.”
“You’re not feeling ill yourself, are you?”
“No, I’m quite all right. How I stumbled earlier must’ve just been due to a wave hitting whilst I was in my cups, like Davies said. Sorry it interrupted your singing.”
“It wasn’t you, Kent, you are fine. I felt off for a moment. I’m glad you’re doing well.” He gave his hand a gentle squeeze, still incredibly thankful that Kent hadn’t made the connection to Mo’s singing and why he lost control. “Thank you, though. For everything.”
“You’re welcome.” Kent beamed. “I’ll be here for whatever you need.”
“The same sentiment goes to you, too.” He rubbed his thumb on the back of Kent’s hand. “But—you know what I do need right now?”
“What is it?”
“A kiss.”
Kent’s grin grew wider. “Of course. I’ll give you more than one, if you’d like.”
“I’ll require any and all that you give me. Come here.”
They leant into each other, their lips meeting in the middle. Mo was hungry for Kent’s touch, desperate to be connected. He raised his free hand to caress Kent’s cheek, curling a lock of hair behind his ear. His human’s skin was so soft, so precious, each brush of their mouths spun a whirlpool of comfort in his body. The fact Kent wanted to make this whole journey with him on The Sterling Mer in the first place never ceased to amaze him. To be here, together, unconditionally supporting one another, was the most wonderful feeling in the world.
He wanted to say it. Needed to say it. After all this time, thinking about it and wondering what to do—he couldn’t hold back any longer. He needed to know if Kent felt the same.
His heart rate quickened as their lips parted. He gazed into Kent’s visible brown left eye, shimmering, beautiful, looking at him so tenderly that it warmed Mo’s chest even more. If he didn’t say it now, when else would be a better time? He had to. His heart was telling him he had to.
“Kent…” He swallowed. “I love you.”
Kent’s brows shot up, and he looked at Mo in wonder. He stayed silent for a moment, never breaking eye contact, as Mo kept his hand resting on his human’s cheek. The stretching silence tugged tight at his heart, the anticipation creating uncomfortable flutters in his belly. What was Kent thinking? But he didn’t have to wait long for those beautiful lips to speak:
“You… what? Mo, do—do you really mean it?”
“Yes.” He nodded, quick to answer. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. Know that it is true—I love you.”
Kent licked his lips. He looked down to their entwined hands, gave Mo’s a gentle squeeze, and he made eye contact once again. He smiled. So sweet, so endearing, such a handsome smile.
“I love you too.”
Mo couldn’t help himself; he dove in for Kent’s lips once more. He even moaned as their mouths opened, tasting bitter rum on his tongue, holding him closer as he adjusted his hand to the back of Kent’s head. The excitement rushed through him and quelled every worry that had once entered his head— he loves me. He twisted toward him even more, forcing his tail to hang over the edge of the small tub. He wanted to be even closer. Holding him, pleasing him, loving him. He could tell Kent felt the same, as he raised himself on his knees, using his free arm to wrap around Mo’s wet waist.
They parted their lips once more, panting hot breaths onto each other’s faces. Kent said, “I love you so much. I’ve felt it, but just didn’t know when or how to say it…”
“It’s all right.” Mo grinned, running his fingers through Kent’s hair, pulling strands out of its queue. “What matters is that we know. I love you too, so much.”
Kent chuckled lightly. “I suppose this means that… saying ‘I love you’ to each other really doesn’t make you become human.”
“I suppose not, but I figured as much.” Mo chuckled back.
“I wonder really, what does it take, then? This mystery only gets more complicated…” Kent gulped.
“Would you still love me the same if I were a human? If I wasn’t magical anymore, and lost my exotic fins?”
Kent made no hesitation, “Yes, of course. Whether you’re a human or a merman, you’re still you. You’ll always be Mo, the one I fell in love with, no matter what your form.”
Such an affirmation stirred minnows in his chest again, swirling in pleasant formation. It was exactly the thing he needed to hear. He leant in and kissed him.
“I want to hold you,” said Mo against Kent’s lips. “Be even closer. Connected.” He tugged on Kent’s hair again. “But I can’t if I’m stuck in this tub,” he chuckled.
“Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to already be out of the water?”
“More than anything.” He pecked Kent’s lips. “Could you please help me?”
“You’ve barely been in there and you already want out.” Kent laughed and shook his head. “Fine, fine. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you out as well. Here, let me see…”
Mo (reluctantly) let go so Kent could stand, shrugging off his coat and letting it fall to the floor. He rolled up his shirtsleeves to his elbows and swung his arms in place, readying himself for the strength effort. And then—his delicate arms reached under Mo’s tail and behind his back, grunting, hauling Mo out of the tub and onto the floor. Kent heaved breath after breath as he dropped his arms, leaving Mo sitting upright against the outside tub wall and Kent collapsing, flopping his exhausted body on top of Mo’s chest.
“Every time,” said Kent between breaths, “I think I’m getting better at this, but then I realize I still have some work to do.”
Mo chuckled as he petted Kent’s back. “You still did it. I can tell you’re getting stronger.”
Kent lifted his head and sat up, straightening his back. “I believe so too, with how much I’ve carried you these past couple months.”
“I promise, when I gain legs of my own, I’ll carry you around as much as you’d like. You’ll never have to haul me around ever again.”
“I shall remember that.” Kent smiled.
Mo didn’t realize how he said it until after he already did—‘ when I gain legs’. Not an if or a perhaps , but when. He’d become so sure of it now, that he sensed it in his heart to be right. With how he felt his connection to Kent growing even stronger with their declarations of love, Mo knew it must be inevitable—he will become human.
He pulled Kent closer once more, crashing their lips together. Heat rose in his chest and down his lower abdomen, pooling in a pleasant flutter as his human leant against him. Finally, they were close again. But not close enough. He tugged on Kent’s clothing to give him a hint, and Kent smirked in understanding. Soon enough, he abandoned his eyepatch, his hair ribbon, and every cloth on his body and threw them in the pile with his coat, touching Mo now skin to skin.
Mo rested the back of his head against the edge of the tub behind him as Kent threw his legs over Mo’s pelvis, straddling him. Oh, the friction of Kent’s bare privates against his slit sent shivers up his spine. He could tell Kent was enjoying it immensely too, as he thrust his hips, grinding himself against the sensitive spot. It was mesmerizing, seeing Kent on top of him like this, naked and so incredibly beautiful. He couldn’t hold back a moan as his own cock started to emerge from his slit, making Kent scooch back as it slithered out into its full size.
Kent made himself comfortable, reaching down and cradling both his own and Mo’s cock in one hand. He stroked them slowly together at first, letting out a sensual moan as Mo grabbed Kent’s plush thighs, one in each hand. He rubbed them, squeezing them gently, feeling his human’s soft, alluring skin under his fingers.
“I love your legs, Kent.” He licked his lips. “They feel so nice under my hands.”
Kent kept moving his hips subtly, seductively, fucking into his grip alongside Mo’s cock. He reached his free hand down behind himself to touch Mo’s scales, grazing over the fins on his hips. “And I love your tail. A merman. With a tail. Sometimes when I think about it, it doesn’t seem real.”
“Well, it is.” Mo chuckled. “Are you sure you’d love me as a human? I wouldn’t have my glittery scales, and… well, how do I say this lightly? My cock wouldn’t be the same shape.” As embarrassing as it was to say out loud, it was something he thought about. Gaining legs would change everything about his lower half to be like a human’s.
Kent’s face flushed redder as he laughed. “Yes, I would love you just the same. Don’t doubt it for one moment.” He leant down to kiss him.
Heat continued to rise in Mo’s chest as Kent kept up the friction, pumping them both in his hand. But Mo wanted to be connected even further— inside him. He let Kent know and his human smiled so sweetly, kissing him even more as he gathered Mo’s oil on his fingers. Reaching behind his back, Kent prepared his hole as he ground further against Mo’s cock, causing them both to moan into each other’s mouths in unison. While the dizziness of the rum had practically disappeared at this point, Kent’s kisses alone made his head spin more pleasantly than any substance could ever achieve.
Once Kent affirmed that he believed he was stretched enough to accommodate, he raised himself on his knees. Mo clutched onto his human’s taut thighs tighter. He sucked in a breath, pleasure overwhelming him as Kent sank down, the tip of his mer-cock breaching that amazingly warm hole. Oh , each tiny movement stung him like an alluring jellyfish, curious for more of that hidden, tantalizing sensation.
“Fuck, Kent…” He rubbed Kent’s thighs again as he sat down further, flushed now all the way inside.
“Oh God, ah…” His face was so beautiful in the dim lamplight, warm tones highlighting his precious wanton expression. A face Kent made just for him , something only Mo had the pleasure of viewing. Kent loved him and he could see it in his shimmering, color-contrasted eyes how much he enjoyed every moment of this.
Kent put his own hands on Mo’s abdomen, pushing gently for leverage as he began to move. It was then that Mo realized—they’d never done it in this position before. But how they were, it worked so well with what they had, Kent using those magnificent legs to clutch around his tail, such pressure sending more amazing jolts through him. It felt like he was even deeper than before, filling Kent’s entire body, walls hugging tight around his cock. This was what he wanted. To be connected in the most intimate way, together as one.
As Kent continued to move his body up and down, he panted lascivious moans, slowly picking up the pace. Mo let out a moan of his own, reaching one hand up to Kent’s face. He couldn’t help himself. He needed to touch him all over. “You’re so beautiful like this. Taking me, letting me fill you.” He rubbed his cheek with his thumb. “My darling.” Feeling eager, Mo helped the sensation by thrusting his hips upward into Kent. Oh, did that get another wonderful sound from Kent’s mouth.
“Mo, ah, my love… It feels wonderful with you inside.” He leant down, but with such intense movement he could only kiss Mo’s nose. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said before thrusting up once more.
His whole heart felt warm and elated, basking in every pulse of affection. Kent kept up speed, up and down, up and down, moving his hands to Mo’s shoulders for added stability. Mo adjusted his own hands to clutch Kent’s plump rear, taking control and moving his lover in time with his own motions. The friction of Kent’s cock and bollocks rubbing along the hairs on Mo’s lower abdomen only added to the joyous, tingling feeling. The pressure was building. Intensity rising. More and more, Kent sank down, enveloping him with warmth— nothing could compare to this feeling. Together with his beloved, cherished, adored. Kent was his , and he was Kent’s. He finally knew now, without a doubt, they wholly belonged to each other. Kent loved him. Completely enthralled with pleasure, Mo bucked his hips up again, further and further, holding onto Kent so dearly, making him cry out?—
“Ah—Mo?—!”
That beautiful voice did Mo in. He clutched his hands tighter on Kent’s arse and howled as he spent, filling his lover, giving him everything and more. Crashing waves of pleasure flowed from head to tailfin, darkening his vision, blocking out all surroundings except for the gorgeous man on top of him. Yet Kent didn’t stop moving, elongating the incredible sensation even further. Mo moved one of his hands to in front of him and wrapped it around Kent’s rock-solid cock. The sturdiness of it was so captivating to Mo, how wonderful he felt in his hand as he pumped, faster and faster as his human writhed and moaned?—
Fingernails dug into Mo’s shoulders as Kent spilled out, soaking Mo’s belly and chest with spend. Not only that, Mo swore he felt some reach his chin as well. He grinned up at his partner’s delicious expression, another pleasant wave hitting him as Kent’s hole clenched once more with Mo still buried inside.
He lifted his hand, drenched in Kent’s spend, turning it over in front of his face. He couldn’t help himself—he licked it. He sucked on his own fingers as he licked whatever excess he could off, basking in the delectable flavor of the man he loved. And at that, Kent chuckled.
“You really like that, don’t you?”
Mo chuckled back. “I love everything about you. You made this just for me , so why can’t I help myself to it?”
“Oh God, Mo.” Kent smiled as he hid his face with one hand. “They way you say that…”
Mo finished licking everything he could until his hand was clean. But that didn’t help the remaining mess. Reluctantly, he could tell, Kent stood up and Mo slipped out of him— oh, that was no trick of the eye, he saw his own spend drip down Kent’s thighs. Fuck. Such a sight made his cock twitch even after all that, but he couldn’t deny the fact he was completely exhausted. Kent used a wet cloth to wipe and clean them both, dabbing it in the tub water and wringing it out.
“It’s getting late,” said Kent as he knelt on the floor, throwing the used cloth in a bucket on a low wooden shelf, what he learnt was a ‘wash basin’. His human was right; the sun had set during their merriment, with only starlight peeking through the window. “Should we be getting you back in the water?”
“I don’t want to leave yet,” Mo said too hastily. “Oh darling, I… I don’t wish to go after that. I feel so tired. I just…”
“If you’re tired, wouldn’t going back into the water help?”
Mo shook his head as he sat upright, straightening his back, his cock retreating slowly back inside his body. “What I mean is—I don’t want to leave you. Perhaps going back into the water would be good, but I…” He gulped. “If I may, I’d like to sleep next to you tonight.”
“Mo, are you certain?” He crawled over on his knees to be closer. “I thought you couldn’t because you need saltwater…”
“Perhaps I do. But if I really do start to feel ill, just throw me in the tub. I promise I’ll be fine.”
Kent bit his lip in thought, looking down. He sighed, then bare his gaze into Mo’s again. Those magnificent eyes smiled back at him, glistening with understanding. “All right. I have to admit, I want you next to me, too. I’ve wanted to sleep by your side for a very long time now.” He reached out, cupping Mo’s cheek. “I suppose I need to gather my strength again to fit you into the hammock, huh?”
“If you could, please. I’d rather not have you call on Allen.”
“Of course.”
And so, just like how Kent took him out of the tub, he rolled his shoulders and flexed his arms to prepare to lift his merman. With one grunt-filled swoop, he tucked his arms under Mo’s tail and back, lifting him high off the floor and dropping him into the hanging cloth bed. The hammock swished and swayed as Kent let go, his human collapsing to the floor on his knees with a thunk . Breath after breath he let out panting, keeping one hand on the hammock; Mo leant over and pressed his hand onto Kent’s.
“Are you all right? I’m so sorry if that?—”
“Yes, I’ll be fine!” Kent chuckled with heaving breaths, lifting his head. “I need to lie down too, now. Oh my God.”
Kent clutched onto the side of the hammock to raise himself onto his feet. He reached over to the dresser to snuff out the lamp, returning to the bed in near darkness, save for the glowing sea crystal still hanging from around Mo’s neck. “Well, now how do I do this? I’ve never been in a hammock with another person before…” Kent mused.
“Here.” Mo scooched as much as he could to one side, leaving a bit of spare cloth. “Can you fit?”
“I’m small enough; I think I’ll manage if we huddle close.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Mo smiled.
Then Kent walked around the hammock to the free spot on Mo’s left side, hopping in and swinging his beautiful legs into the bed. They swayed together to and fro like two fish trapped in a fishing net, giggling with laughter as Kent tried adjusting himself, still naked, clinging to Mo’s body. The warmth of his soft skin sent pleasant shivers down Mo’s spine, and he threw his arm behind Kent’s shoulders, holding him close.
Kent nuzzled his face into Mo’s chest. “Oh, this is lovely.” He yawned. “I could fall asleep just like this.”
“Same here.” The yawn was contagious—he had to as well. “Perhaps when I become human, every night can be like this.”
“I hope so. That would be…” he curled his fingers around one of Mo’s necklaces, “so nice…”
Mo nodded, brushing his cheek against the top of Kent’s head. Never before had he felt so comfortable, nestled up to another being. This was what love was supposed to feel like, wasn’t it? So tender, so sweet, warming up his cheeks, pleasant flutters in his belly. He almost didn’t want to fall asleep because then he wouldn’t be conscious to continue experiencing this amazing feeling. But he was exhausted after that physical exertion, after drinking the rum, after the scare with his Song. He caressed Kent’s shoulder as his mind drifted away, closing his eyes, falling into peaceful oblivion without a second thought.