{"sf1_id":891339,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aquata Cove - Chapter 53","author":"Mirron Tenshi","words":7093,"posted_at":"2015-07-27T07:45:00.000Z","tags":["Gay love","Human","Mermaid","Romance","anger","fight","hurt","merman"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/891339-aquata-cove-chapter-53","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/891339","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=891339\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nAquata Cove\nChapter 53: Diverging\n \n \n \nAdam pulls himself out of the pool, shaking his soaked hair,\nand grabbing for a towel, and roughly running it through his hair. It's going\non dusk now, but that doesn't seem to stop a lot of other people from\nsplashing, jumping, and sliding into the large pool.\n \nHe feels past most of the guilt about what happened between\nhe and Merrick. Now, he's frustrated because Merrick refuses to at least try\nand work things out - it's as if he WANTS to keep feeling angry. \n \nHe groans as he wraps the towel around his waist, and walked\naway from the pool party. Adam travels to a deserted spot of the deck, where he\nchooses a beach chair, and lays himself upon it.\n \n\"Oh yeah, girlfrriiieeennnd~!\" Cheered an effeminate male\nvoice. Queen Jizzelle waltzes along the deck, \"Don't miss out on the Shower\nLine tomorrow~!\" She said as she handed out a flyer to a random guest.\n\"Remember, you still have less than an hour to sign up~!\" She said with an\nupbeat tone.\n \nQueen Jizzelle is currently dressed in a very large regal\ngown - a wide frame to keep the gown round and large, while the outside of the\ndress is adorned with countless multicolored paper flowers - folded up flyers\nadorned on her outfit in a row of colors, as if her gown is designed to be a\npaper rainbow. She also wears long sleeves on her arms to hide any hint of\nmasculinity, along with a sizeable headdress decorated with beads she'd give to\nother guests. Not to mention the excessive make-up, making her look almost like\na royal harlequin. \n \nShe drew out a yellow paper, and held it for another guest,\n\"Happy Happy Hour in 5 minutes at the bar: Twice the Happy, Twice the Happy,\nhehehehehe!\" She laughed as she handed out another flyer.\n \nQueen Jizzelle walked along, until she spotted a half naked\nyoung man curled up on a beach chair on deck, \"Oh?\" She struts over to him,\n\"What's the matter, sweetie~?\" She asks, \"Someone steal your happy pass?\"\n \nAdam looks up, and held himself from scoffing at the drag\nqueen, \"No, it's just...\" He rolled over, \"Boy problems.\"\n \n\"Oh, honey, I can tell you ALL about boys and problems~\"\nQueen Jizzelle said, \"Need to talk about it, sugar hips?\"\n \n\"It's ok... You don't need to...\"\n \n\"Bitch, pleeeaase, I got lots of things to advertise, and\nthe dogs are killing me anyway~\" Queen Jizzelle adjusted her gown so she could\nsit down.\n \n\"Hhh...\" Adam sighed, \"Alright...\" He got up, and sat to face\nthe man/woman, \"Jizzelle, right?\"\n \n\"QUEEN Jizzelle, if you please, hun,\" She corrected, \"I\ndidn't spend all those years at Castle of White to lack the dub.\"\n \n\"Castle... White Cas- Pfff\" Adam scoffed, \"Ok ok, QUEEN\nJizzelle... My problem is my boyfriend.\"\n \n\"Oh, my, if I haven't heard one fight or another~\" She\nbrandished her hands, \"So, what did he do, sweetpea?\"\n \n\"It's not what he did, I'm the one who fucked up.\"\n \n\"Uh-ohhh. I sense a tragedy.\"\n \n\"A couple of nights ago - the last night we were on the\nisland - I... Got drunk, and I said some horrible things to him.\"\n \n\"Awwooo\" Queen Jizzelle pouted, \"Had one too many of the\nbottles, did we?\"\n \n\"It's been 3 days since then, and he won't talk to me.\"\n \n\"Well honey, did you try and patch things up?\" The queen\nasked, \"3 days is quite awhile to go without speaking.\"\n \n\"I did! I bought him flowers, I said I was sorry, but he\nwon't budge. I don't know what to do, he won't give me a chance.\"\n \n\"My God, Brownie Bear,\" Queen Jizzelle commented as she held\nher fingertips over her fake bust, \"What in the world did you say to make him\navoid you so?\"\n \n\"It's... Kinda complicated...\"\n \nQueen Jizzelle put a fist on her hip, and leaned over \"Try\nme.\" She said a little deeply. Adam huffed and ran his hand through his hair.\n \n\"I... Kinda said our relationship was too perfect...\"\n \n\"That's it?\" She said, \"That's what he so steamed about?\"\n \n\"There's more to it than that... I can barely remember it, I was\nREALLY drunk... I remember bits and pieces of other things I said... I remember\nsaying that I love AND hate that our relationship was so perfect...\"\n \n\"Well honey, I think he's being unreasonable for not giving\nyou at least a chance to explain yourself.\"\n \n\"Ahhh,\" Adam leaned over, and put his hands on his forehead,\n\"Why the fuck did I say anything at all?\"\n \n\"Why DID you?\" She asked, \"Fallin-over pissed or not, you\nshould've guessed it wasn't going to end well.\"\n \n\"Yeah, I got that.\" Adam looked back up to the sky,\n\"Question is, what am I going to do now?\" \n \n\"You know what would be REALLY romantic~?\" Queen Jizzelle\nheld her hands up to frame dramatically, \"If you made sure he was watching, and\nproclaim your love in front of EVERYONE else~!\"\n \n\"Yeah, not gonna happen.\" Adam said, \"He already tricked me\ninto performing once, and he knows full well I don't like it. And besides, you\ndon't know my boyfriend. He has a short but lingering temper - if he hasn't\nforgiven me by now, he's not going to forgive me anytime soon.\"\n \n\"Well, suit yourself, Fuzz Boy,\" Queen Jizzelle stood up, \"I\nmust get back to gracing my people~\" She turned and pulled out one of the\nbrightly colored flyers that decorates her gown, \"Here, we're having a Hot\nChocolate Fest tonight~\" She gave Adam a flyer that featured scantily dressed\nAfrican American people looking erotic, \"All you can eat Hersheeey~\"\n \n\"Yeah, that's all I need,\" Adam tucks the flyer into his\ntowel, \"Stuff myself with sweets while I'm upset about my boyfriend.\"\n \n\"Well, all I can say is this,\" She pats his shoulder, \"If he\nreally loves you, he'll come around in no time.\" With that, she drapes away to\nthe next couple of people, \"Sign-Up for Dyno-Dyke Camp! The girls will Blow\nYour Mind~!\"\n \nAdam lowers his head as he groaned, \"But he does love me...\nBut he won't stop hating me anyway...\" He slowly got up, and walked away from the\nspot to go back to his cabin.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nMerrick rests back as he gazes as the moon, his hands behind\nhis back as he feels the cold breezes flow through his clothing. He's gotten\nquite used to wearing underpants all the time instead of always being naked. \n \nOnly looking at the moon seems to give him peace of mind of\nlate. Dancing lets the music play his soul, drinking gives him a buzz for at\nleast a short time along with a sweet and bitter taste, hitting on guys for\ntips makes him feel sexy and wanted, but none of that lasts. He misses Yuri -\nif anyone would understand where he's coming from, she would.\n \n\"Tch.\" Merrick sat up, and slid down the roof, and landed on\ndeck as usual. He puts his hands in his jacket pockets as he walks along and\ndown the stairs, passing by the other guests. His eyes look up to see a random\ngay couple. They're holding hands, laughing; one of them kisses the other's\near. He frowns as he passes them by, and turns to the railing. His eyes follow\nthe wayward surface of the water as the ship moves constantly. The smell of the\nsea is almost too strong but to pull him into the deep blue, where he's\nsupposed to belong...\n \n\"My my, hello there, Moonlight~!\" Came a very weird man's\nvoice. \n \n\"Hello, wha-\" Merrick turns, and doubles back! There stands\na fairly tall... Woman? She wears a large white royal gown, of which has never\nseen before. The make-up on the face suggest feminine features, but they do\nlittle for Merrick's eyes to perceive other wise of the face's physical form,\nand with the ridiculously large grown on her head, he can't make heads or tails\nof this person at all!\n \n\"Hahaha, why the shocked expression, Golden Boy~?\"\n \n\"Who or What are you?\" Merrick asked brazenly.\n \n\"Ahahahahaha~!\" The man/woman laughed, \"Why, I am no other\nthan Her royal highness, Queen Jizzelle~!\" She brandished her hand to hold it\nup in a glorious salute to the sky.\n \n\"... I will NEVER understand you hu- people.\" Merrick said as\nhe shook his head and crossed his arms, \"Are you a man or a woman? I honestly\ncan't tell.\"\n \n\"Oh my honey child~\" She said, \"You have no doubt ever\nencountered a beautiful queen such as I, no?\"\n \n\"I barely know what a queen is, let alone what you're\nsupposed to be.\" Merrick commented. He turned back around to lean his arms on\nthe railing, \"Was there something you wanted from me?\" \n \n\"Queen Jizzelle NEVER ignores a soul in need~!\" She\nproclaimed, \"You look so sad in the moonlight, I couldn't help but see if there\nwas nothing I can do.\"\n \n\"No, there isn't.\" Merrick gloomily said, \"My heart is\nfractured... I don't expect anyone to understand why. It's no one's business but\nmy own anyway.\"\n \n\"Well honey, how do you know they would understand? Have you\ntried talking?\" Merrick stubbornly stayed silent, \"I happen to be a VERY good\nlistener, darling~\" The drag queen said. \n \n\"... It's my boyfriend...\" Merrick finally answered.\n \n\"Ah yes~...\" She leaned on the railing next to him, \"Let me\nguess... About 5 feet tall, hot fuzzy bod, short hot dark hair, puppy brown eyes,\nbrimming with loneliness and regret?\"\n \n\"Yes... That's him...\" Merrick glanced to the pseudo-woman\nbeside him, \"You've spoken to him.\"\n \n\"Ah yes,\" She clicked her tongue pitifully, \"Poor boy told\nme you won't tell him what's wrong.\"\n \n\"He and I have been together for 8 years.\" Merrick said, \"He\nsays he is sorry, but that's not enough. He doesn't see just how deep my anger\nis...\"\n \n\"Well honey, he isn't a mind-reader...\" She paused, \"... He\nisn't, is he~? I've only met the lad once.\"\n \n\"No, he isn't,\" Merrick rolled his eyes, \"The things that he\nsaid...\" He held onto a cluster of his jacket, \"They cut deep...\" His fingers\ntightened.\n \n\"Well, one thing that's always worked for me,\" Queen\nJizzelle said, \"There's a very simple question you should ask yourself: Do you\nlove him?\"\n \n\"Of course I do... I love him with all my heart... I love him so\nmuch that it hurts... So much...\"\n \n\"And there is absolutely no way you can forgive him? You're\nnot exactly playing a fair game here, sweetie.\" \n \n\"Tch, fair...\" Merrick felt a tinge of heat in his blood,\n\"What does anyone know about 'Fair'?\" He shook his head, \"... I WANT to forgive\nhim... I do... But every time I think about his face, I remember that night when he\ntold me those things.\"\n \n\"What DID he say, exactly, Moonlight~?\" Queen Jizzelle\nasked, \"What could he have said to make you so tittled up inside?\"\n \n\"... It's the way he said it...\" Merrick looked onward to the\nocean, \"The way he spoke... Thing is, me and my boyfriend have been through so\nmuch together... So much pain... Fear, uncertainty... And all of that isn't good\nenough because we're too perfect of a couple...\"\n \n\"Oh, honey,\" Queen Jizzelle rubbed his shoulder, \"I'm sure\nhe didn't mean it like that.\"\n \n\"Oh no?\" Merrick turned his head for a second, \"A friend of\nmine once told me, 'Drunken Words are Sober Thoughts'. I never understood that\nuntil now... Now I know that's how he really feels about our relationship. And\nwith everything else that's going on in my life, makes it hurt all the more...\"\n \n\"Mmm, when you say it like that, you may have a point.\"\nQueen Jizzelle nodded, \"But come on, sweetie, the man loves you, you can see it\nwritten all over his face.\"\n \n\"And not just him... People as a whole just seem to crave\ndrama... I see it all the time in TV shows, movies, even real life itself...\"\nMerrick looks up at the night sky, \"No matter how much pain and sorrow happens\nto them, everyone just desires more...\" Merrick catches site of a bright star,\n\"What is it about humans that makes them so dramatic as to continuously seek\ncalamity?\"\n \n\"Mm, I know, honey, I know. We can never be content with\nwhat we got, can we?\" She said, \"But you know, there is nothing wrong with\nwanting a little more when we need a change of pace, hm?\" \n \n\"It's not just that...\" Merrick curdled a little tighter to\nhimself, \"My hurt runs deep than that... There's a lot more than what I let on,\nbut I don't have the heart to tell him...\" His fingers tighten around his sleeve,\n\"No matter how mad I am... No matter how much it hurts just thinking about it...\"\n \n\"Oh?\" Queen Jizzelle rose a brow, \"Well then, why not tell\nme, moondrop? I promise I'll keep it a secret for you-\"\n \n\"No.\" Merrick immediately said, \"Just... No.\" The wind wavers\nthrough his bright hair, \"I can't tell anyone...\"\n \n\"Alright, sweetheart,\" She smiled and looked at the blonde\nmale, whose mood is no higher than it was, \"Well, as the old saying goes, Time\nHeals All, darling.\" \n \nQueen Jizzelle drew out one of her many flyers from her\ngown, \"Don't forget to vote for the Graceful Gogo Contest. Winners are\nannounced in a few days.\" Merrick looked, and took the paper, \"I've seen you up\non stage~\" She moved his chin up to look at her decorated face, \"Not too late\nto sign up.\"\n \n\"Hm.\" Merrick took the paper, and the drag queen went on her\nmerry way. \n \nHe squinted his eyes as he strained to recognize the lettering\non the flyer. He's beginning to read better these days. He practices now and\nthen, but he's no scholar. There's a man in a G-String on one side of the\nflyer, and a woman in a feathery bikini on the other.\n \n\"... Gr-Graccceeful... Uh... Gogo...\" He slowly read the flyer,\n\"C...Conteh... Contest...\" He strains to read the fine print on the paper, \"S... See\nthe... Bessst... Of... Agh, forget it.\" Merrick folds up the slip, and stashes it in\nhis pocket.\n \n \nThe next couple of hours just seem to roll by like they were\nmere minutes. Merrick spent all of that the time resting his head on his arms,\nlooking longingly into the ocean. The spray from the surface calls so severely\nto his soul, it's almost heartbreaking to have to resist the sea. \n \n\"Hnnnhhh...\" Merrick's fingers tighten around his sleeve as he\nbore his forehead down. He took a deep breath before looking back up, his heart\npounding with a sudden wave of anxiety. He feels a light dizzy spell before\nclasping his hand onto the rail. Merrick huffs deeply and pants as he realized his\nlips feel a little dry.\n \n\"Dammit...\" Merrick winced as he put his head down again,\n\"Dehydrating...\" He growled a little as he looked out to the sea. All this\ndesire, lingering dryness, this hurt and denial of his former home... \"If it\nwasn't for...\" He snarled as he pressed his eyes into his sleeve, \"No, no! Don't\nsay it... Don't...\"\n \n\"Hey.\" Came a voice. Merrick turned his head, and saw a\nhuman male. He's taller than most humans he sees. After a few seconds,\nMerrick's memory places him in the Shopping Center, when he attacked Daniel and\nJacob. Merrick's eyes narrowed as he can see the dumb hostility in this man's\nface.\n \n\"You and I need to have a little talk.\" Kevin said, \"I don't\nthink it was cool the way you-\" Merrick pulled his hood up over his blonde\nhair, put his hands into his jacket pockets, and began to walk away, \"Hey! Get\nback here!\"\n \n\"Go away...\" Merrick said without even turning around.\n \n\"HEY!\" Kevin strode for him, \"I'm talking to you!\"\n \n\"I don't care.\" Merrick responded, \"Leave me be.\"\n \n\"Hey!\" Kevin grabbed his shoulder, and Merrick stopped, \"I\ndon't like your attitude!\" There was a pause, so he continued, \"Alright, so-\"\nMerrick began to walk again, \"HEY man, what's your problem??\"\n \nMerrick scowled as he continued to walk away, before Kevin\nreached in, and yanked his arm back, \"Listen you little punk!\"\n \n\"Hhggh!\" Merrick's eyes widened as the grip on his arm\nturned his blood cold. His teeth gritted as he began to seethe - this grip, on\nhis arm, it's exactly how many of the guards of the Agency manhandled him, when\nthey were forcing him the heat cell, or the lab. Merrick's knuckles hardened as\nKevin's hand tightened on his arm.\n \n\"Now let me make it nice and-\" In a whip of a flash, Merrick\nripped his arm away from Kevin's grip, before Merrick turned halfway, and\nseized Kevin's wrist, \"AH!\" Kevin staggered as that hand felt more like a vice.\nHis eyes looked into the half-hooded one, and suddenly Kevin didn't feel so\ncocky anymore. \n \nThose eyes. Staring into those eyes is like looking at a\nrazor sharp soul. Kevin stood, frozen as if those eyes were turning his very\nbody into an ice statue. Forget about the tough-guy bravado he was about to\ndisplay, this blonde shorty looks like he's about to rip Kevin's arm off right\nfrom his shoulder!  \n \nMerrick glares lethally at the taller man; though his grip\nwas just like any guard that shoved and dragged him, he was never at the\nAgency. Merrick fights every urge not to flip this man over the deck, and\ndemolish him. He struggles in his mind to fend off these dark, malevolent urges.\n \nHe's not even breathing. The blonde is just piercing his\nsoul with those silent, deadly eyes. Kevin's afraid to breathe himself, let\nalone move or even talk - the freezing intensity even distracts from the pain\nof his wrist being gripped like a python's coil. One wrong move, one more word\nmight just collapse what shred of sanity this guy might have. If he lets him\nknow he knows he's a merman, this guy might just kill him right here!\n \n\"... What...\" \n \nKevin didn't answer. He didn't dare speak. Merrick's eyes\nquiver as he patches up an emotional dam over his violent impulses, \"What do\nyou want from me?\" His voice shook as he held the grip to the tall human,\nparalyzing him with fear.\n \n'Fuck... She was right...' Kevin thought, 'This kid's insane...'\nHe looked to Merrick's killing eyes, not even gaining the courage to blink.\n \nAfter what felt like an endless standoff between a hunter\nand his prey, Merrick threw Kevin's hand back, before turning around, and\nwalking away. Kevin simply stood there, watching as he moved further away from\nhim. It took Kevin almost 5 minutes to take a step back, and retreat from the\nspot.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nMerrick slid the cardkey to his and Adam's cabin, and\nsilently entered. His eyes can easily scan the darkness, and spotted Adam\ncurled up alone in the bed. \n \nA part of him wants to climb in, and spoon him from behind.\nAnd then, his residual anger flourished into his chest, walking away from the\nbed, and into the bathroom. He switched on the light, and took off his\nnecklace. He ran the water over his hands, immediately transforming him up to\nhis elbows. He looked drearily at his silver palms, spreading his fingers to\nsee the webbing between each digit.\n \nHe sighs as he cups the water, and splashes his face. He\nrubs the water into his cheeks, forehead, neck and chin. He rubs his forearm,\nbefore stopping. \n \n\"...Hhh!\" He gasps as he sees a few transparent circles on his\nfingers and palm. Moving his hand, he sees the same little discs sticking to\nthe basin of the sink, \"What??\" He rubs his hand against his forearm, and gasps\nas he sees a cluster of thin scales on his palm, \"No!\" He rubs his arms again,\nrinsing and wiping off more small scales, as if he was shedding them off! \n \n\"No, no, no! Please, no!\" He whimpers in panic as the scales\nkeep coming off. The tiny discs continue to pile up in the sink, before he\nslammed his back to the wall, away from the sink. He grabs a towel to dry\nhimself off, but cries in fear as the scales stick to the towel. He seizes the\nnecklace, and rushes to put it back on around his neck, if only to make the\nmolting stop. The merman feels his body reverting to his human form, with the\nsmall clear circles still scattered on the towel and sink. \n \nMerrick breathes deeply in shock, before slowing taking a\nlook at his hands and arms. His chest heaves as his hands and forearms glow a\nreddish pink, as if a few layers of skin was rubbed right off of him. They feel\ntender as the air touches them, but they don't hurt. His eyes looked down at\nthe many scales that has just been wiped off his body.\n \n\"I'm ...\" He gulps as he shakes from head to foot, \"I'm\nfalling apart...\" He moans.\n \n\"Merrick?\" He turns his head to see Adam sitting up,\n\"Merrick, sweetie?\" He gets up, wearing his boxers, \"Merrick, what's the\nmatter?\" The merman just stands there as his boyfriend approached him. The two\nhalves of his heart are once again torn, between loving and hating Adam.\n\"Merrick, baby-\"\n \n\"Nnh!\" Merrick pushes him aside, and strides towards the\ndoor. He threw it open, and power-walked his way down the hall.\n \n\"Merrick!\" Adam rushes to catch up with him, \"Merrick, wait!\nSTOP!\"  Merrick halted as Adam\ncalled for him, and turned around. \"Merrick,\" Adam he said, \"Baby... I'm sorry.\nI... I was a horrible jerk to you, I said those terrible things, and you have\nevery right to hate me.\" Merrick simply leers at him, \"I'm sorry for... Merrick\"\nAdam shook his head, \"I'm sorry...\"\n \n\"Yeah...\" Merrick said, his tone unfeeling and hostile, \"You\nknow what? So am I.\" He turns around, and starts to leave again.\n \n\"... Hey!\" Adam runs up to him, and shoves Merrick around,\n\"That's it?? You won't even talk things out with me?\"\n \n\"No, I won't.\" Merrick said, \"You hurt me Adam. More than\nanything I've ever felt. And you don't even know why.\"\n \n\"I would if you would just tell me!\"\n \n\"Forget it.\" Merrick said, his heart bleeding with\nreluctance, \"Figure it out on your own.\"\n \n\"MERRICK!\" Adam yelled, getting angry, \"Talk. To me.\"\nMerrick glared at him, his chest talking deep breaths, \"I'm sick of you acting\nlike a stuck-up priss! I don't know everything, and you're not being fair for\nexpecting me for it!\" Merrick's fist shook as his true thoughts spiraled in his\nhead, \"Now for the last time: Tell me why you're hating me so much!\"\n \nSeconds pass by, before Merrick finally spoke. \n \n\"You mocked me.\" He said, his eyes glistening, \"You mocked\nme. You mocked US, you mocked our love, you mocked my kind, you diminished\neverything I stand for, and you spat on our lives as if it was dirt.\"\n \n\"What?\" Adam said with partial disbelief.\n \n\"You stood there, and spoke of my former existence like it\nwas nothing!\" Merrick said, \"You slandered what used to be my way of life!\"\nMerrick huffed as he tried to contain his emotions, \"You trashed all that I\nheld dear-\"\n \n\"Oh, give me a break, Merrick!\" Adam retorts, \"You do the\nexact same damn thing everyday! Everyday! It's always, Humans This, Humans\nThat! You're always scoffing at human society, Merrick! And now you're telling\nme you're pissed off because of the one time I do it to you?!\"\n \n\"THAT'S DIFFERENT, Adam!\" Merrick shouted, his eyes dripping\nwith tears, \"It's not the same!!\" Merrick growled as his throat rattled, \"You\nhumans...\" Merrick shook his head, \"You humans have everything. You own the land,\nthe trees, the skies are at your disposal, and even the sea is in your reach.\nWhen you lose one thing, you can easily find another. You said it yourself,\nhumans can love and fuck over and over again!\"\n \nMerrick then put his hands to his chest, \"But us, merfolk?\nWe have very little compared to you. We cherish all that we can hold on to\nbecause it's all we ever have! When we lose what we have, Adam, we can't bring\nit back. And we can't just do it again!\" Merrick sniffled as he went on, \"You\nhumans, you can AFFORD to lose it all! You humans make such a little deal about\nchanging everything in sight, it's almost sickening to watch!\n \n\"We merfolk only have each other, and the Sea Mother! I once\nhad everything I could ever need and could ever want!\"\n \n\"Merrick...\" \n \n\"I once had a playful Sister who could barely be without me!\nI wanted to see her sing with the other mermaids under the full moon! And now I\nwill never see her again! My best friend was supposed to be the greatest hunter\nthe ocean has ever known, and now I can never see him surpass the Tritons!\" He\nraged, \"My Mother had the terrible burden of marking her own Son as a Coshiton!\nShe had to brand me, Adam! She had to burn her hand as well as my flesh!!\n \n\"I had a dream, Adam!\" Merrick shouted, \"My Father trained\nme, he guided me, he taught me to be a leader worthy of following and\nprotecting everyone!\" The merman seethed as he glared at his lover, \"I was\nsupposed to be the Triton of the Pod! My role, my place in this world was to\nfollow in my Father's stead, and take over the pod when my time had come! And\nnow look at me! LOOK AT ME! Suffocating on dry land, fainting every so often,\nand I can't even go back into the ocean, or else I face immediate oblivion!\"\n \n\"Oh my God...\" Adam muttered as his own eyes watered.\n \n\"And you,\" Merrick gritted his teeth, \"You humans can fall\nand break as many times as you want! And you can STILL have a new beginning!\nWhen a Coshiton happens, Adam, that's it! Everything, gone! Our existence is\nforfeit, and we are cast out! Either the Capricorns finds us, or else the sea\nwill punish us first! All from one fateful, incidental wave of happenstance!\nAll from one FUCKING red moon!\"\n \n\"Merrick, I ha-\"\n \n\"NO! You wouldn't! You would NEVER have any idea of how much\nyou scorned me on that damn night! You humans have EVERYTHING in the world! And\nyet you humans NEVER fail to take it for granted! While us merfolk teeter on\nthe balance of the sea! Clinging to everything we hold sacred!\"\n \n\"M-Merrick-\" Adam tried to hold Merrick, but Merrick pushed\nhim off.\n \n\"I LOST EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF YOU!!!\" Merrick shoved Adam\nback as he cried tears of anger.\n \n\"Merrick-\" Adam tried, but Merrick ran off again, \"Merrick!\nPlease, I'm sorry!! Give me a chance, Merrick!\" He called after him, but\nMerrick wouldn't even look back as he kept running.\n \n\"Dammit!\" Adam slammed his fist on the wall, \"DAMMIT!\" Angry\nat both himself, and Merrick. Himself, for having caused Merrick so much hurt,\nand Merrick, for just running away from him again. It's always rage and flee\nwith him, Merrick never wants to talk things out...\n \n\"Merrick...\" Adam slid down to his knees, slumping his side to\nthe wall, \"I'm sorry...\"\n \n \n---The Next Evening---\n \n \n\"Thank you, honeybuns, and happy stripping~?\" Queen Jizzelle\nsaid as a lady just got done signing her name. The flamboyant drag queen is now\nwearing an Egyptian royalty ensemble, with her face lined with gold and black.\nShe grins as her eyes look up to see the same forlorn blonde trick from the\ndeck, \"Well hello gain, Moondrop~\"\n \n\"Hey... Queen Jizzelle.\"\n \n\"Yes yes, how may I help you, sweetie~?\" \n \n\"I want to sign up for the Graceful Gogo.\"\n \n\"Marvelous, darling, marvelous!\" Queen Jizzelle said as she\ntook up the Graceful Gogo sign-up sheet, and set it down in front of him, and\nhanded him a rather lofty feather pen. He took a deep breath, and took the\nwavery feather.\n \n'Alright... You can do this...' Merrick said, 'It's just like\ndrawing... But finer and smaller...' He put the pen tip to one of the lines, 'I... I\nthink it's spelled...'\n \nM...e...r...r...\n \nMerrick tries to remember how his name is spelled, recalling\non what it says on his State I.D. he's at least has had to seen it enough times.\nHe trembles as he sees his hand actually writing for the first time.\n \ni...c...k...\n \nHe moved the pen a little space, \"Sorry I'm taking so long,\nI-\"\n \n\"Oh, that's alright, honey! You take as much time as you\nneed~!\" Queen Jizzelle said.\n \nP...i...s...c...i...e...n\n \n'I did it...' Merrick felt a small rush of pride and\naccomplishment; the first time he ever written letters and words on paper. And\nhis handwriting isn't sloppy either.\n \n\"Exquisite, sweetheart, simply delightful!\" Queen Jizzelle\nsaid as she took the clipboard and the feather pen, \"Now I suggest you get the\nbeautiful butt into that changing room, and onto the dance floor~!\"\n \n\"I will. Thank you.\" Merrick said before he went, and\ndisappeared into the crowd.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nThe gay and bi men hoot and holler as the Dance Lobby\nfeatures a watery, soap-bubble theme tonight. Most of the guests are wearing\ntheir swimwear, waving and flapping their towels around.\n \nThere are a total of 8 dancers for this bash - four of them\ngroove and gyrate in tight white speedos with white towels behind their necks.\nThe other four dance in glass boxes, trapped under a showerhead as they bathe\nand dance in a cascade of water, completely naked! They rock their manly, bare\nhips to shake their rounded, soaked butts as their respective members dangle between\ntheir legs.\n \nAdam glares at one of the glass cubicles, his heart pounding\nwith profound disbelief and anger as he watches the all-too familiar body of\nhis lover wiggle his toned, smooth torso under the rain of the shower-stages,\nseeing his own genitals flop from around his smooth thighs as he followed the\nbeat. Adam's face rakes with a strange heat of pseudo embarrassment as Merrick\nshows himself off in the shower.\n \nThat silky smooth young male is supposed to be Adam's, and\nAdam's alone, and yet there he is, flaunting his sexual energy in the form of\ngogo-dancing, going Commando in front of all of these men. It was bad enough\nwhen Merrick had Jamal sign himself up to strip for Merrick in one of these\nparties - at least then, it was all in good fun, but now it seems Merrick is\ndoing this to spite him.\n \n\"Hey, man,\" Jamal came up beside him, and then spotted\nMerrick, \"Aw shit.\"\n \n\"Yeah.\" Adam turned his back.\n \n \nMerrick looked at the bar, his eyes leering as he sees Adam\nthere, glaring at him. \"Hmph.\" Merrick turns around, running a hand through his\nmoistening hair. \n \n'What right does he have to be mad at me now?' Merrick\nthought, 'Humans... God I can't stand them, sometimes.' He angrily thought as he\ntwirled his hips. He doesn't feel hatred for all humans at this time - least of\nall the ones cheering for his erotic dancing. After all Adam has put him\nthough, and he's going to be angry, even after he had to TELL him what he did\nwrong? Unbelievable.\n \n\"So...\" Jamal doesn't know quite what to say.\n \n\"Merrick told my why he hates me now.\" Adam stated.\n \n\"Ah, really?\" Jamal asked.\n \n\"Yeah...\" Adam slumped down, \"It's like this...\"\n \n\n~~~\n \n \n\"YOU JACKASS!\" Syrinx yelled, \"I thought I told you to stay\naway from him!!\"\n \n\"I know, I know!\" Kevin said. The grip Merrick had on his\nwrist damn well nearly sprained it, and now he's wearing a spandex wrist-glove\nto keep pressure on it for it to recover faster. So naturally, he had to tell\nSyrinx as to why he's wearing such an accessory.\n \n\"Did you forget what he did to those two guys at the Shopping\nCenter?! He took a big guy down by knocking the wind out of him with just a\npunch!\"\n \n\"I thought he would've calm down! He was the one being a\npompous little brat who wouldn't hear me out!\"\n \n\"No, you weren't thinking at all!\" Syrinx said, \"You told me,\nyou TOLD me you weren't going to confront him! And then what happened?! You\nwent and did it anyway! The the hell is the matter with you?!\"\n \n\"I wanted to make sure you wouldn't get hurt, alright?!\"\nKevin retorted, \"You're so freakin afraid of him, you barely wanna go anywhere\non the ship anymore, so I wanted to tell him to back off!\"\n \n\"Kevin, just, please!\" Syrinx said, \"Just, LISTEN when I say\ndon't go near him!\"\n \n\"Ok, babe, alright.\" Kevin said, \"Now that I know first hand\nthat he's tweaking, I will.\"\n \n\"Alright then. Now,\" Syrinx dug into Kevin's suitcase, and\nfished out his white speedo with red hearts printed on it, \"Now put it on!\" She\nthrew it at his face.\n \n\"Wait, what??\"\n \n\"That's your punishment for not listening to me. Put it on,\nand we're going to do every activity at the Game Court.\" She added.\n \n\"You've got to be kidding me!\" Kevin said.\n \n\"Was I kidding when I told you to stay away from that\nmerman? No. Put it on, now.\"\n \nKevin scowled as he pulled down his pants with one arm.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"Shit, man.\" Jamal said with wide eyes.\n \n\"All this time,\" Adam groaned, his mind half dazed from half\na dozen Cosmos, \"I thought he was at least ok... I-I mean... I know he was banished\nfrom the ocean because he's with me... But merfolk have a different way of doing\nthings, apparently.\"\n \n\"It's been, what 2, 3 years since it happened?\" He asked,\n\"He still not made his piece or something?\"\n \n\"No. Evidently, this is probably going on in his head all\nthe time, and I just dropped the last straw that broke the camel's back.\" Adam\nsaid. He sighed as he rubbed his head, \"I still don't see why he can't talk to\nme about it.\"\n \n\"Adam, this ain't the kinda thing you wanna talk about.\"\nJamal replied, \"Think bout it - would you wanna talk about yo parents kickin\nyou out for bein gay?\"\n \n\"Actually, I would.\" Adam answered, \"Holding in all that\nstuff isn't healthy at all... Look what it's done to him.\n \n\"You're in a relationship, Jamal, but I don't think you\nunderstand what I'm coming from. You and Nick just let it happen, you don't\nreally have a firm-bound partnership like me or Yuri.\"\n \n\"Aight.\" Jamal crossed his arms, \"What don't I git?\"\n \n\"How long have we and Merrick been together? Almost 8 years\nnow. I'm always open with my feelings.\" Adam said, \"Sometimes, I need him to\nlisten to what I vent, what's hurting me, and then he goes to ease my feelings.\nBut him?\" Adam shook his head, \"He never wants to talk about his own anxiety. I\nunderstand that it's never easy to talk about things like that, but that's what\nromance is for...\"\n \n\"Well, I never have any problems like that with Nick.\" Jamal\nsays, \"Sometimes he talks too much.\"\n \n\"Exactly my point. Nick is always cheerful because he's\nalways lets people know what's ailing him. But Merrick doesn't even want to\ntalk to me - his own boyfriend - about things that's hurting him. And then he\ngets furious at me because I couldn't figure it out on my own.\"\n \n\"I still say he needs his space is all, man.\" Jamal sighed,\n\"I think you pushed him too far.\"\n \n\"No.\" Adam scowled, getting frustrated, \"You're not getting\nit, Jamal. Merrick believes that we all need to be strong enough to face our\nown problems, but doing that is driving him insane. If he'd talk to me about\nthese things more often, I never would've said all that shit and started this\nwhole fight.\"\n \nAdam turned to Jamal, \"You get it now? Jamal, we're\nsoulmates, he and I, and he can't even trust me to listen for him. And now he's\ntoo mad to even give me a shot to make it up to him.\" Adam said, \"It's like he\ndoesn't want me to be his boyfriend anymore, but is reluctantly going with it.\"\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nMerrick twirls and dances under the ever-raining shower. As\nit seems for the Graceful Gogo contest, all he has to do is strip or dance at\nevery chance he gets, at any party too. It's not how much dancing he does, it's\nhis performance itself that's in question. In the meantime, he's still getting\npaid for every show he does. Plus, the fact that Adam hates it when he dances\ngives him at least a glimmer of satisfaction, though he would prefer it if Adam\ndidn't know.\n \nSoon, the dance is over, and Merrick steps out of the glass\nbox with a little help from another dancer. He rushes a towel through his hair,\naround his face, and all along his body, before taking a rather skimpy speedo,\nand slipping it on himself. \n \nHe took a moment to look at the scale of his necklace. Half\nof it is still colored; it's still a good while until this one runs out.\n \n\"Heya!\" Merrick looked up to see it's the same guy from\nyesterday, the one who approached him after dancing in the lockerroom.\n\n\"Hello.\" He responded, \"What do you-\"\n \n\"Look, I just came to apologize,\" The guy said, \"I know I\nwas an idiot, you just seem like a really hot twink, and I just wanted to see\nif you wanted to do anything.\"\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nAdam sighs as he takes a drink. He told Jamal to go ahead\nand go dance with Nick, that he needs to be alone for a while. As guilty as he\nfeels about Merrick, he also can't help but feel like he's not being given a\nfair chance about patching things up. Merrick outright refuses to talk about\nanything. Now he sees why his mother, Donna, had such a problem with him.\n\n\"Hey, man!\" Comes a new voice. Adam turns, and sees it's the same chubby guy he\nvaguely remembers from the last night on the island.\n \n\"Oh hey.\"\n \n\"Remember me?\"\n \n\"Yeah, you're the cute dancer from a few nights ago.\" Adam\nsaid with a smile before rubbing his fingers at that guy's round belly.\n \n\"Heh, are you drunk right now?\" He said with a blush, noting\nthat Adam was drunk when he sucked him off.\n \n\"Naw, not really. Buzzed, maybe, but Cosmos don't really get\nme that hammered.\"\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"So, no hard feelings, I just wanted to see if you wanted\nto...\" The guy stopped, and see that Merrick is glancing somewhere else.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"A-Anyway, I was kinda hoping...\" The chubby guy squirmed a\nlittle, looking bashful, would you wanna do something again?\n \n \n~~~ \n \n\nJamal laughs as he grinds his lap against his Latino's exposed ass through his\njockstrap. Nick turned, and they kissed playfully. \n \nJamal danced more, until he turned his head. He sees Merrick\nplacing a hand onto a beefy man's hip.\n \n\"Aw shyit!\" He said.\n \n\"What?\" Nick turned around, looking for what Jamal was\neyeing about.\n \n\"Fuck, hang on, Nicky,\" Jamal said, \"I gotta go talk to\nAdam.\"\n \n\"Eh,\" Nick grabbed Jamal's arm, \"Ya might wanna rethink\nthat.\"\n \n\"Wut?\" Jamal turned, and spotted Adam patting some other\nman's shoulder and getting up.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nAdam looks across the lobby at Merrck, and Merrick looks\nback. Both men look at each other with disdain and challenge, as if daring one\nanother to just strip down and fuck these men right here. Would they really\nthink of just letting loose?\n \n\"Is something wrong?\" Greg said to Adam. \n \n\"No... Nothing.\" Adam answered.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nMerrick leers at his lover with the other man. It's not like\nfucking other men will taint their bond. Why should he care if Adam goes with\nsomeone else to pound in the other room? It's not like it'll matter, that's how\nhumans are, after all.\n \n\"You ok, man?\" Tom asked, \"You look like you're mad.\"\n \n\"... Lets get out of here.\" Merrick answered.\n \n \n~~~\n \n\nJamal and Nick watched both Adam and Merrick. Jamal looks as Merrick stood by\nthe taller man, while Nick kept his eyes on Adam putting his arm around the\nshoulders of a shorter, stout guy. \n \n\"You know what?\" Jamal said, shaking his head as he and Nick\nshifted from looking at each of them.\n \nAnd at the very same time, Adam and Merrick turn away,\nturning their backs on each other, and walked the opposite direction, both of\nthem escorting a perfect stranger out and off of the Dance Lobby. \n \nAdam to his cabin with Gregory, and Merrick on his way to\nanother cabin with Thomas.\n \n\"This isn't good.\" Nick finished Jamal's sentence.\n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/890128-aquata-cove-chapter-52.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/893287-aquata-cove-chapter-54.json"}