Chapter 11 – Trouble in Paradise
Carver was pacing the cave restlessly, over and over, kicking up sand with his bare feet and muttering under his breath. There was a scowl on his face, and the line of his shoulders was tense.
Nethanel sighed. He had looked forward to a long, peaceful winter, but their new mate had turned out to be less than enthusiastic about the close intimacy in the cave. He kept complaining about the cold, but that wasn't all. For weeks now, he'd been irritable, snapping at both of them, the tiniest inconvenience enough to set him off.
Finally, Maeghan had had enough and motioned for him to sit down next to her.
"What is it, Carver? What is making you so unhappy?"
He dropped to the ground, a dark frown on his face. "Nothing."
She shook her head. "It's not nothing. Tell me. Maybe we can help you."
"No. No, you can't." Carver's jaws were clenched so hard it looked painful. "I just… I sort of miss the dogs barking, I guess."
Nethanel had never seen or heard a dog in his life, but it was easy enough to understand what Carver was really saying. He's homesick. He misses life on land.
Maeghan's face was full of sympathy as she tried to embrace him, but Carver shook her off with an exasperated sigh. "Stop petting me. I'm not a puppy. I'm a person."
She didn't reply, but she withdrew her hand, the expression on her face clearly betraying how hurt she was by his reaction.
Her sad eyes only served to make Carver angrier. "Blight it, Maeghan, don't look at me like that. I'm just… tired of it all, I guess."
Nethanel flinched, and Maeghan's face grew hard. "Have you grown tired of us, then, too? Tired of being with us, taking care of us?"
"No, I-" Carver got to his feet and walked a few steps away, hitting the cave wall with his fist and flinching in pain when he scraped his knuckles. "I'm just tired of others making my choices for me. I'm tired of being locked up in this cold, damp cave. I… No one ever asks me what I want."
"You were asked, and you swore an oath!" Nethanel could no longer remain quiet. He wouldn't stand by while Carver was drowning in self-pity. "You agreed to this life freely, and you were fine with it, as long as it was all fun and games. Now you're complaining, because things got a little tougher. But this is nothing, you hear me? It's just winter. It's not famine, or war, or death." Stepping closer, he grabbed Carver's arm hard. "Stop whining, Carver. It isn't that bad, and it isn't all about you. Not anymore."
Carver went pale, then shook off his grasp with a snarl. "Leave me alone."
He turned without looking at them, heading to the back of the cave. Maeghan rose to follow him, wincing as she supported her aching back with both hands, but Nethanel stopped her with a firm hand on her arm.
"Let him go. He needs to work this out by himself."
Maeghan had almost fallen asleep by the time Carver returned. Night had fallen, and the cave was almost dark. Neth's strong body was warm and reassuring against her back, his hand heavy on her stomach. She loved it when he held her like this, spooned around her as if he wanted to envelop her in his love and protect her from the whole world. But, she missed Carver. She had grown so used to having him there as well, another warm body, a second pair of strong arms to embrace her.
Carver shimmied out of his pants, careful not to make too much noise, and crawled under his own blanket. It pained Maeghan how he kept his distance, an arm's length away from her, as if he wanted to avoid her touch. She bit her lip, feeling her chest tighten, but just then, he sighed deeply, and there was so much pain and distress in that one small noise that it tore at her heart. He is just as unhappy about this quarrel as I am. Maybe more. After all, if he was at odds with the two of them, what else did he have?
"Carver." She whispered his name, placing a hesitant hand on his shoulder.
He tensed under her touch but, when he answered, he sounded vaguely hopeful. "Maeghan? I thought you were asleep."
Maeghan shook her head, then realized he couldn't see her in the near darkness. "No," she said softly. "Couldn't sleep without you."
He inhaled tremulously, then turned to face her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-"
"Shhh." Tracing his trembling lip with her finger, she smiled, almost overcome by a sudden surge of tenderness. "You were unhappy and you said something stupid. It happens. You don't need to apologize."
Behind her, Nethanel snorted, and she realized with a start he wasn't asleep either. "Yes, he should. He acted like a jerk."
"Neth!" Part of Maeghan was touched that he felt the need to defend her, but at the same time she was angry at him for attacking Carver, and worried that he would drive him off again.
To her surprise, Carver just chuckled softly. "He's right, Maeghan. I did, and I'm sorry." Tentatively, he reached out to touch Nethanel's arm. "I'm really sorry, Neth."
"Mmmph." Neth did his best to sound grumpy, but Maeghan heard the hint of a smile in his voice. "And how do you propose to make it up to us?"
"How do I-" Carver was blushing, she knew it without needing to see him. "You mean…"
She heard him swallow, felt him shift, and then his hand was on her belly, stroking her shyly. Such a light touch, and yet it was enough to make her shudder all over, enough to evoke all the other times he'd touched her, caressed her, made love to her. Her nipples went hard as pebbles, even though neither of them had touched them yet. Nethanel immediately picked up on her reaction, of course, and responded by pulling her closer. He was half hard against her back, and feeling him made her dizzy with want.
"Carver. Please." She hardly recognized her own voice, hoarse and strangled, as she pulled his head down to her breasts, practically begging for his mouth on her.
He moaned once, a small broken sound that went straight to her core, and then he was licking and sucking as if his life depended on it. Neth's hands were roaming all over her body, following the curve of her belly downward, parting her legs with a sure touch. Maeghan welcomed his touch with every fibre of her being. She was more than ready for them already, tingling with want all over, and she impatiently pushed back into him.
Nethanel laughed softly at her eagerness, lifting her upper leg a little for better access. She half expected him to turn her on her back, but instead, he aligned himself carefully, then slid home in one single stroke. Maeghan gasped hard, and Carver made a small, questioning noise. Taking his hand, she guided it down to where their bodies were joined, letting him feel what he couldn't see. He went completely still for a heartbeat, but then his fingers started to explore, and Maeghan whimpered with pleasure.
It was so amazing, all of it: Neth moving in and out of her, with careful, shallow thrusts; Carver's hardness pressed against her thigh; the sound of their ragged breathing as they nuzzled her neck, her breasts, her shoulders; both of them so close and so warm, their lips and hands almost indistinguishable in the darkness. They made her forget how large and graceless she had felt lately, made her feel cherished, wanted, loved.
Neth wasn't going to last much longer, his rhythm faltering, and she was getting close, too, under the onslaught of their combined caresses. Carver's tongue flicked once more against her nipple, the heel of his hand pressed hard against her core, and her body went taut all over. A high-pitched whine escaped her lips, but Carver was there to swallow it in a long, deep kiss.
Nethanel jerked hard against her, his fingers digging into her hips, and then he was sliding out of her, pushing her toward Carver, who didn't waste any time. Spreading her legs wide, he sank into her with a long blissful sigh, careful to keep his weight off her stomach, effortlessly propping himself up on his muscular arms. It took him only a few hard, eager thrusts to finish inside her, but she was still buzzing all over with the force of her climax, and she felt each and every one of them all the way through her body.
Carver buried his face between her breasts afterwards. "I love you."
"And I love you. And you," she added, settling into Neth's embrace again.
He muttered a reply, his face hidden in her hair. They didn't bother disentangling or cleaning up, just pulled the blankets up to cover their bare bodies. Within moments, all three of them were fast asleep.
Carver woke early in the morning, flinching when he pulled his arm out from under Maeghan's head. She grumbled in her sleep and pouted adorably, then rolled over to her side. He smiled. So cute. So lovely. He was so utterly relieved that things were right between them again.
He had spent several hours in one of the storage caves, huddled up against the wall and staring at the containers of food. Food he had helped Neth gather and preserve, food that would see them through the winter. Carver wasn't stupid. He knew that out there, in the villages of Ferelden, ravaged by the Blight, people were starving right at this very moment. Farmers who had watched their harvest go up into flames or trampled by the King's armies were watching their children grow paler and thinner with each passing day as their provisions dwindled. He was lucky to be here with the merfolk, warm and safe and well-fed.
If only there was a way to get out of the cave now and then. If only he could meet other people, talk with them, laugh with them. He understood the merfolk's reasons for keeping things as they were but, at the same time, it seemed an unnecessary hardship to be tied so closely to one place. Not that Neth seemed to mind, most of the time. But then, he didn't know any different.
Carver sighed. Neth's earlier words still rang in his ears. It isn't all about you, not anymore. They had hit home, painfully so, and even now his cheeks burned with shame. Maeghan was with child, and there was a fair chance it was his son or daughter she was carrying. No matter how hard things got, there was no way he would run away from this responsibility. His mother had brought him up better than that.
On impulse, he put a careful hand on Maeghan's belly, just to touch her, to reassure himself she was there. But then he suddenly froze in place, unsure of whether or not he was imagining things.
No, there it was again: a movement under the skin, a flutter that turned into a nudge. Carver swallowed, feeling tears come to his eyes. It was then that he noticed that Nethanel was stirring, too, blinking his eyes, his mouth opening in a silent yawn. Without hesitation, he grabbed the other man's wrist, raising a finger to his lips to keep him silent. Neth raised a surprised eyebrow, but when Carver placed his hand where his own had been, he went completely still.
"Is that-" Carver mouthed at him.
Neth met his gaze and a sudden, bright smile lit up his face as he nodded slowly. Carver smiled back, his throat too tight to speak. They remained like this for a long while, their gazes locked, their entwined hands resting on Maeghan's stomach. Carver had never felt so close to anyone in his whole life as he did now, to the two of them.
When Maeghan woke, yawning and stretching, they both pulled their hands back, as if by some unspoken accord. But the closeness remained with them, all through the days and nights of that long winter, all through the inevitable quarrels and disagreements. The bond between them was stronger than all that. They belonged together.
Huge hugs and thanks to suilven who always manages to make time for my story in her busy schedule. You are such a darling!