Chapter three: After the Ocean
Mike pulled himself onto the ice and his tail transformed back into legs. He panted a little and ignored the awed expressions upon the other three guys' faces. Once he was relaxed, he looked up at them. His eyes fell upon Micky who still stared at him.
"What is it?" Mike asked, a bit irritated.
"Mike… you're… you're a merman?"
Looking at his legs, Mike rubbed them a little. For a moment, he sat in silent contemplation over the previous events. He then looked at the others again.
"That girl… mermaid… whatever she was… I think she changed me when she kissed me. All I remember is, she kissed me and pulled me under the water and I could breathe and move easily. Took me a while to realize I had changed." He looked toward the water with narrowed, serious eyes. "I have the feeling we've met her before."
"What do you mean? Met her before?" Davy asked.
"How?" Peter added. "Where?"
Mike looked directly at Micky. "I have the strange feeling that mermaid may have been that same thing, the dark cloud or whatever it was that possessed that Sammy chick."
Micky blinked in surprise. "What? Sammy? You mean that chick I dated while my memory was gone?"
Mike tapped his nose. "Sammy was possessed by a strange sort of smoke, demon thing. I remember seeing it hovering above the water once, shortly before the mermaid showed up."
"Oh Mike…" Micky scooped him up and wrapped his arms around him. He sat behind Mike, enclosing his legs around his waist "Oh Mike… Mike…" He gently kissed Mike's forehead. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." Micky snuggled close to him for a moment, nuzzling his hair. After a moment, he suddenly pulled back in a bit of a panic. "Do you think this mermaid spell on you will wear off?"
"Probably not." Mike mumbled. "That's not the worst of my troubles though. There will be more."
The other three looked at him confused and asked him to clarify what he meant.
"The mermaid… Aya, she said in a month there will be more." He swallowed and glanced at the water. "She told me I fertilized her eggs."
Loud gasps arose from the other three guys. For a moment neither of them knew what to say or do. Micky stood completely frozen as he stared at Mike. He began to tremble a little and tried to speak despite words failing him. When he was able to speak, rather than produce quiet squeaks, his voice was quiet and a little shaky.
"Wh-what the hell, Mike? What- why? How could you?"
"Micky relax. Do you think I would have done this if I hadn't been under a spell?"
Micky closed his mouth and gulped back forming tears. He closed his eyes and slowly shook his head.
Mike stood up and gently placed his hands on Micky's cheeks. "Babe, trust me. I wouldn't have done this to you. Even after everything that happened with Trixie. I would never do anything to hurt you. I assure you, I had absolutely no control over this situation."
Micky nodded and looked down sadly. "Okay." He whispered. He took in a breath and wrapped his arms around Mike. "It'll be okay." He nuzzled Mike's neck. "But what if they come onto land and find you and take you away?"
"Then we'll just fight them off."
This caused Micky to laugh a little before hugging him again. The four of them talked for a moment before heading back to shore. Nobody knew what would come from this once they were back home. All they knew was this was just the start of a much bigger adventure in store for them.
…
Nobody got any sleep the rest of the night. Too much was on everyone's mind and talk was very little because no one knew where to begin. They all shared one thing on their minds. In the few years they had their powers, they had never experienced anything quite this strange. Neither of them ever expected to see real mermaids, let alone have one of their own turn into one. It certainly was going to take some time to get used to all this.
Mike and Micky sat together on Mike's bed, unsure of a whole world of things. They didn't say much to each other and barely even looked at each other. Finally Micky broke the silence by asking Mike what was on his mind. Mike had trouble answering at first, feeling a little embarrassed by what he had to say.
"To be honest…" He sighed a little and then waved his hand in front of him while trying to get the words out. "I was thinking about taking a shower. But I am too nervous about it. I know the minute I get in the water I'm going to change."
Micky grinned slightly. "Is that all?" He chuckled. "Well Mike, how about instead of a shower, I draw you a nice bubble bath? That way when you change, you'll at least be sitting down and won't have to worry about falling or anything."
"That actually won't be so bad. It would be better if I didn't have to worry about changing whenever I got wet."
"Well maybe you'll learn how to control it or something." Micky rubbed Mike's leg. "Hmm? What do you say about that bath? I'll scrub your back for you."
Mike couldn't help but grin a little. "I think I'll take you up on hat offer."
Just downstairs, Davy and Peter sat in their bedroom. They shared Peter's bed with Davy stretched out across Peter's lap. Peter reached down to gently stroke Davy's hair, often brushing his bangs out of his face. When he would do this, he'd smile softly.
Davy glanced up to catch him smile. "What's that look for?"
"What look?" Peter asked innocently.
"That smile." He sat up some.
"Oh nothing. I just like seeing your eyes."
"Really." Davy snickered.
"They're just lovely." Peter smiled, blushing slightly.
Davy sat all the way up and placed a hand on Peter's cheek. He then gave him a smooth kiss full on the lips. The kiss broke and then Davy laid back down contently. After a few moments of silence, Davy glanced up at him.
"So um… when you kissed me out there on the ice, Micky saw."
Peter's eyes widened a little. "Oh man I forgot he was there! What did he do about it? Did he say anything?"
"Pretty much, he asked how long we've been together and he said he never pegged me as the type to go after guys."
Peter couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Oh man that's funny!"
Davy frowned, looking at him. "It's not that funny."
"Actually it is, because it's true. You know, because of all the girls you've been with!"
"Yeah yeah!" He rolled his eyes.
"Don't be grumpy about it." Peter chuckled. "It's okay anyway because I love you."
Davy blinked in surprise and then looked up at him. "What did you just say?"
"I um… nothing." Peter looked away and gulped.
Davy laughed and pointed at him. "You just said you love me!"
Peter blushed. "I-I did. I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Davy sat up and wrapped his arms around Peter's shoulders. "You looooove me!" He snickered and kissed him.
Peter grinned and returned the kiss. "Is that alright?"
"Yes of course it is." He gave another kiss. "You know, somewhere out there, a million girls are preparing to riot in the streets because I'm with you and not them."
"Yeah well they don't gotta know, do they?"
Davy shrugged his shoulders. He then smiled and laughed. "Let them riot."
Peter laughed. He sat quietly for a few seconds before sitting up straight, surprised. "You mean you want to come out with this?"
Davy looked up at him. He laughed and shook his head without saying another word. At first, Peter was confused but then he let out a small chuckle. He realized that there was no reason to discuss the matter any further.
…
Mike stared at the freshly drawn bubble bath. He stood there feeling uneasy about what was going to happen. He watched as Micky checked the temperature of the water. Micky looked at him with a grin and declared that it was perfect. When Mike didn't move, Micky realized something was wrong.
"Aren't you getting in?"
"I've never been this nervous about getting wet before. I know what's going to happen but I'm not ready for it."
Micky stood and walked over to Mike. He squeezed Mike's shoulder. "It'll be fine. Just get in."
Mike nodded and released a breath of air through his nose. He stepped into the tub and slowly sank in the water. As soon as he stretched his legs out in front of him, the inevitable happened. When this happened, it was as though the entire world around him came tumbling down. He rested his head against the back of the tub and turned his eyes to the ceiling. With everything going on inside him right then, there was no way he was going to relax in this bath.
Micky knelt beside the tub. He rested his arms over the rim and placed his head on them. His attention was on Mike and he soaked in everything that he saw. He wished he could get inside Mike's head right then so he could figure out exactly what brought on this mood. Seeing Mike this way was so strange. As much as he wanted to try to help Mike feel better, Micky was also so captivated by Mike's emotional state that he just wanted to observe it.
"Mike?" He paused as Mike looked at him. "What's it like?"
"What's what like?"
"You know…" He reached down and flicked some of the bubbles. "Becoming a mermaid."
"You mean this?" He made a small splash with his fins. "Bullshit is what it is." He sighed and pinched the corners of his eyes. "It's so frustrating to know that from now on, whenever I get in water, I'm going to turn into a fish."
"Well, I mean, you look more like part dolphin and they're not fish."
Mike splashed with is fin, getting Micky in the face with water. "I don't want to hear it!" He sighed and covered his face with both hands.
Micky looked down, sorrowfully. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Mick. You're not the one who made me this way."
"Well no. But I still feel bad for what you're going through."
"I'm not exactly… keen on the idea of changing every time I get in the water."
"Well then maybe you'll learn to control it. I mean Peter doesn't turn into a squirrel every time he's near bird feeders."
This caused Mike's mood to soften a bit. There wasn't much of a smile on his face but he did laugh a little. He shook his head and patted Micky's hand.
"The difference between me and Peter is that's his power to change into animals. Of course he can control it otherwise he'd be in a lot of trouble. But me… I wouldn't call this a power. It's more of a curse."
Micky looked into the water and flicked some bubbles as he listened to Mike. He looked up at Mike thoughtfully and grinned slightly.
"You're might call it a curse but… I think it's kinda neat."
Cocking his head, Mike looked at Micky as though he was crazy. "Neat? What part pf this is neat to you? I mean you never once said Peter changing into animals was neat."
"That's it though. I mean… Peter turns into animals. That's cool and all. But mermaids are supposed to be a mythical creature. Nobody thinks they actually exist. But now we know there's a whole city of them living in the ocean. Not only that but now you are one of them."
Sitting up, Mike was quiet as he let Micky's words sink in. "I never thought of that." He looked at Micky with a slight grin. "Sometimes, Mick, you come up with the most incredible things."
Micky blushed a little. "You think so?"
"Of course."
Mike leaned forward. He lifted Micky's chin to look him in the eyes. With a soft smile he then gave Micky a kiss.
"I think I'm ready to get out of this bath."
Micky nodded and drained the water. As soon as the water was gone, Mike transformed back into his human form. Slowly, he stood and stepped out of the tub. He grabbed a towel and dried off before wrapping it around his waist. Looking at Micky, he grinned a little. He took Micky by the hand and they walked back into the bedroom.
Once in the bedroom, Mike got dressed and stretched out on his bed. He glanced over at Micky as a signal to join him. It seemed as though an internal shout of glee propelled Micky as he hopped over to the bed. He lay down next to Mike and cuddled up close to him. Turning his eyes up, he looked at Mike and grinned contently.
"How are you feeling, Mike?"
Mike sighed a little and wrapped an arm around Micky's shoulder. "I'm not bad." He gave Micky a small squeeze, bringing him a little closer. "I think everything will be just fine."
