Needless to say, Berwald was more than a little concerned when I stumbled into the house, red-faced and panting, unable to get anything coherent out. He didn't notice the egg until after he'd sat me down and gotten me a glass of water. I was downing it when he finally caught sight of what I had cradled to my chest.
"Tino?" He said softly, getting my attention. I looked up, setting the glass down. "What's tha'?" He wondered, nodding towards my hand. I frowned, drawing it closer and curling my hand more, as if to protect it. Such a silly gesture; I knew better than to think that Berwald would have any part in harming this creature, yet I still found myself protective of it.
I wasn't sure how to word my response. This was more than he'd bargained for when he took me into his home. What if he didn't want a child yet? And what if he didn't want a Mer child at all? What could I do? I loved him, with all of my heart. Yet, I loved this egg as well, enough that, if I had to, I'd leave to keep it. That realization startled and hurt me, my heart throbbing at the thought. I didn't want to have to make that choice. But I couldn't just ignore the question. I decided to be straightforward.
"It's an egg." I offered, at last. It had taken me quite a while to answer. Berwald quirked a brow, eyes dropping to the egg in question.
"Okej, Ah can see tha'." He said, voice already cautious, clearly having sensed my tenseness. "Why do ya have an egg?" He prompted carefully. I bit my lip, looking anywhere but at him.
"I... I have to take care of it." I explained. He paused, sitting down on the coffee table in front of the couch so he could be on eye level with me, much to my dismay.
"Why do ya have to take care of it?" He inquired, a hand coming to rest on my knee. "Is it fer work?" He suggested, but I shook my head. I wasn't going to lie to him. He thought for a moment, then tried again. "Did ya buy a new pet?" Was his next attempt. Still, I shook my head. He fell silent, obviously at a loss. I remained stiff, unable to decide on how I should tell him. But it had to be done, and the sooner, the better.
"Tino, please, talk to me." He plead, his thumbs rubbing gently at my legs where his hands rested. I frowned, my posture relaxing as I was filled with shame. Berwald loved me, and I owed him the benefit of the doubt. I was scared, sure, but he deserved to know, and deserved to be trusted.
"I... I got off early, because we weren't very busy. I know that you always take a nap on your days off, and so I decided to take a walk in a park on the way home. I went to that one that has a view of the ocean, because I like to see it sometimes, and... Well, I saw someone down on the beach, but they weren't moving, so I thought they might need help, and I went down to see. But she was... She was a Mer. I was going to run, but she was hurt, really bad. She was dying. And she told me about how she and the prince had been mating, even though they weren't mates, and how they got caught. They sent hunters after her, and she just barely managed to beach herself. But she... She had an egg, this egg, and she asked me to take care of it Berwald, and I... I couldn't say no, and... And I love it, I love it so much."
I didn't realise, but I'd begun crying, and Berwald shifted from the coffee table over to the couch, wrapping his arms around me. He shushed me for a while, just holding me like that and stroking my hair till I calmed down, occasionally brushing the pearls gathering in my lap onto the floor. They clattered and rolled around as they hit the floor, all but forgotten in that moment. Even after I'd managed to get my breathing back to normal, we just sat like that for several minutes. Then he finally pulled back a little, wanting to look at me.
"So," he began. "There's a... A baby in there?" He guessed, looking at it doubtfully. I nodded, bringing the egg out a bit so he could see. He was quiet for a moment. "A... A Mer baby." He added, for clarification. I nodded again, my expression worried. This was it; He was either going to accept it, or I was going to leave.
He sighed, running his fingers through his hair and thinking for a moment. He took a deep breath before speaking again.
"Well... What're we goin' to need to raise it?" He asked, finally. My whole body went limp with relief, and I snuggled into his side. He wasn't going to make me choose, thank the stars. I was too relieved to actually answer him, more tears coming to my eyes and finding their way onto our laps and the couch. Once again, he waited, holding me and rubbing my back this time, not demanding a response.
I quieted much quicker this time, taking a few shaky breaths before speaking.
"It needs to be kept warm." I started, bringing it forth from where I'd been cradling it against my chest so he could see better. "And preferably in water. I've never heard of one raised on land, and I don't want to risk trying it. It needs to be kept at about body temperature, especially right now, since it's still premature to be apart from its mother, as far as I can tell. I haven't seen many eggs in my life, but they're usually not as small as this when they're laid." I pointed out. He nodded, getting up and heading to the kitchen. I heard him shuffling around in the cabinets, and the clang of metal, then the tap running. I got up and entered as well, watching him turn the stove on and put the large pot of water on the burner. He then pulled out his light-up brick, and was going through things for a while before he turned it off and put it back in his pocket.
"Ah'm goin' to guess that yer body temperature is about the same as a human's, even if ya are ectothermic." He explained. I didn't know what he was talking about, but nodded. I'd trust him. "Anythin' else?"
I thought about it, thought about all the things I remembered seeing the few mother's I'd met do. But I couldn't think of much else, so I shook my head. Then I recalled that Mer were ocean creatures, so we'd need some salt in the water, probably.
"We should make the water salty." I announced. He nodded, and began to reach for the salt shaker, but stopped.
"Hmm... Maybe we shoul' go get some of the sal' they sell at the shop." He suggested. "It's made to imitate the ocean." He pointed out.
"Oh, okei! Um..." I looked down at the egg in my hands, then up at him, and finally at the pot of water. I was facing another dilemma; I wanted to keep the egg with me, but it needed to go into the water as soon as possible. But I couldn't put it in till we were sure it wouldn't be too hot, so I'd have to wait a few minutes for it to reach its maximum temperature, and even longer if we had to turn it down. Yet, we needed the salt almost as much as the water. I could have sent Berwald for the salt, but I wasn't sure what temperature the water should be at, or how to even check that. It would be impractical. So I was stuck. I needed to leave, but needed to stay.
I looked back to the egg again, frowning as a wave of adoration came over me. I didn't want to leave it, but I couldn't afford not to, I decided. I looked up at Berwald, meeting his eyes. They should have been hurt, should look betrayed; Here I was, not able to put my faith in him, putting a life in danger because I wasn't trusting him. But he didn't. He was just waiting, patiently, for me to make my decision.
I decided it was time to start trusting him. He loved me, and I loved him, and I loved the egg, so he'd learn to love it too. He'd never let harm come to it, and I knew that. My hands shook, but I held it out to him, placing it gently in the palm he held out to me, not letting go until I was entirely certain he wouldn't drop it. He drew it close to his own chest, like I'd done, and looked down at it.
I didn't know if the spell worked on humans, but I think it worked on Berwald, because he looked at the blueish egg with a new-found sense of adoration, one that I could see on his face. It helped, let me breath a sigh of relief to know that he was just as spellbound by this unborn creature as I was. I got up on my tiptoes to kiss him shortly, pressing my face into his shoulder for a moment as I embraced him, then I pulled away, quickly going to the door.
"I'll be back soon!" I called, taking my leave and breaking into a jog as I headed for the shop. It wasn't very far, but I was still trying to hurry. And I could think of nothing but the egg waiting for me at home, and the look on Berwald's face when he fell in love with it too. I should have been jealous, for that emotion was supposed to be mine alone. But I loved the egg too, it was something we shared, so it didn't bother me. In fact, it filled me with warmth.
I stumbled into the shop just as Eduard was getting up to lock the doors. He seemed more than a little shocked to see me, and concern laced his features as he let me in and watched me pant, doubled over.
"Tino, are you alright?" He asked, patting my back gently. I waved him off, gasping a bit before trying to speak.
"I-I need salt." I explained, still out of breath. His brows furrowed, my words obviously not registering with him.
"Um... I think you might want to go to the grocery store, then..." He suggested, his tone shifting. He thought I was crazy. I guess I was.
"No, no, I mean the kind for the fish!" I explained quickly, walking towards the back, where I knew we kept it. He followed me, watching as I looked through a few of the varieties we had. It was fruitless, since I couldn't read well enough to know much difference. Which should I take? Was one better than the others? I looked to Eduard, hoping for help. He looked at me a long time, but eventually pulled one of the bags off the shelf, handing it to me.
"That's the best kind, if it's for saltwater fish. It's got a lot of nutrients and stuff in it that the others don't, so it's the best for imitating the ocean. I didn't know you had saltwater fish though... I thought you got a guppy." He pointed out. I bit my lip, thinking of ways to talk my way out of this.
"Um, joo, Berwald's coworker didn't want them anymore, and we offered to take care of them. But, uh, we needed salt. Thanks." I offered. Then I groaned, making Eduard jump. "I forgot to bring money!" I exclaimed, my throat tightening. Without money, I couldn't buy the salt, and I'd have to go back to the house and get it, and by the time I'd done that, the shop would be closed. I didn't know if the egg would make it through the night. It might, but there was no guarantee. I could already feel frustrated tears welling up in my eyes, and I had to fight desperately to keep them down, lest Eduard see me crying pearls. That'd probably raise a few questions.
He rolled his eyes, waving me off, much to my surprise.
"Just take it, you obviously need it. I'll pay for it for now, just pay me back when you can, okay?" He said, and I could have kissed him. I almost did. But I settled for a hug instead, crushing him to me for a moment before bolting out of the shop towards home, calling a 'thank you' over my shoulder as I left, Eduard's face bewildered as it disappeared from my view.
I was home before I even had time to think of anything, and I burst through the door loudly, heading for the kitchen where I found Berwald, just standing by the pot. I looked inside to see the egg, settled against the bottom. There was also a thermometer, clipped to the side so he could make sure the temperature didn't rise or fall too drastically. I handed him the bag of salt, and he began reading the instructions as I looked down at the blue shell, unable to tear my eyes away. It looked fine, and I somehow knew that the life inside was still there, so all was well.
Eventually, Berwald got through the instructions, and got out the measuring cups, dumping some of the salt into the water. It dissolved quickly, and I dipped my fingers in, then brought them to my lips. Eduard had been right; it was very close to real seawater, though I could still taste the difference. It'd have to do. Berwald's hand came to rest on the small of my back, and I turned to look at him, smiling softly.
"We'll ge' an aquarium heater tomorrow." He decided. I nodded, because that was a good idea. It'd keep the water at a steady temperature, without the hazard of leaving the burner on for a long time. But, for now, this would do. "How long before it hatches?" He asked, kissing my forehead. I closed my eyes, half to enjoy the affection, and half to think.
"Um... A few weeks, maybe two months, at the longest." I replied, my arms coming to settle on his shoulders.
"Hmm... How big will it be?" Was his next question. I thought about it, then held my hands up, leaving space just barely bigger than the egg itself between them. "Tha's really small..." He pointed out. I smiled, chuckling.
"Yes, we start out tiny, but we grow fast. We're about the size of a human baby within a month." I promised. That seemed to make him feel better, and he drew me in for a tighter embrace. We just stood there for a while, then he pulled away, taking my hand and leading me into the living room.
"We'll check in on it." He explained. That was a good idea; standing in the kitchen for the rest of the night sounded pretty terrible, even if it was to be with the egg.
We sat on the couch together, and I thought about reaching for the remote, but decided against it, opting instead to devote my attention to Berwald. Once he'd gotten settled, I crawled in between his legs, laying flush against him and resting my head on his shoulder. His arms came up to encircle me softly, hands on my lower back. We just stayed together like that for a while, our breathing matching up eventually.
"I'm sorry." I finally said. He took a breath, a bit sharper than the others, then one hand came up to thread in my hair.
"Fer wha'?" He wondered. I sighed.
"For this." I replied simply. "I didn't ask you about it, and I know you weren't exactly ready for it. I didn't know what else to do though." I gushed, melting into his hands as he began tracing patterns against my back.
"There's no nee' to apologize. Ya did wha' anyone woul' do. An' Ah wanted kids anyway. Just a bi' sooner than planned." He offered, shrugging. "An'... Well, differen' species than planned, bu' Ah don' mind." He added. I smiled, nuzzling into the side of his neck, pressing small kisses there. "There's a lo' for us to figure ou' though. Gonna have to figure ou' schooling. Nee' a birth certificate and stuff. I's gonna be hard." He admitted. "Someone's probably gonna have to know about ya, and the baby. Ah'll have to talk to some people. Ah have a friend who runs a private school, maybe he can help us out" He mused, mostly to himself now.
I frowned, not really knowing what he was talking about. But I trusted Berwald to be able to figure it out. And that was something we wouldn't have to deal with till the egg hatched, so I put it from my mind for the time being. I huffed, snuggling closer, letting my eyes fall closed. I'd done a lot that day, and exhaustion was finally setting in.
"I'm going to take a nap." I informed him, receiving a noise of confirmation in return. Permission granted, I cleared my mind, getting comfortable and letting myself drift off.
-.-.-+-.-.-
I woke up to a gentle patting at my back, soft, but insistent. It got my eyes opened, and I yawned, stretching before I fell back against his chest with a happy sigh, fully intent on going back to sleep. Why he'd woken me in the first place, I didn't know. He tapped me again though, and I cracked my eyes open again, looking at him with affection and the mildest of annoyance.
"Nee' to star' dinner." He explained. "An' check on the egg." He added. That got me up, very quickly actually. He waited till I was alert, then helped me off of the couch, leading me into the kitchen. I went directly to the pot, looking in to find the egg exactly as we'd left it, though it was looking a little bigger already. Maybe that was just my mind showing me what I wanted to see. Regardless, I smiled, scooting over so Berwald could check the temperature. It was apparently fine, for he didn't change anything, and instead started pulling ingredients from the cabinets and refrigerator. I stood by the counter, staying out of the way, but not leaving the room.
He got to work, making a pizza. I loved pizza, but knew that it wasn't exactly Berwald's favorite. That's not to say he didn't like it, he just didn't like how bad it was for you. (Or so he claimed. I didn't see what could be so bad about something so delicious.) I brought it up, wondering what the occasion was.
"Ah jus' don't wan' to use the stove." He explained, opening the door to the oven and putting the pizza on the rack. "It migh' raise the temperature."
"Oh." Was all I could manage. Berwald was so smart.
We waited as the pizza baked, both of us glancing at the egg rather frequently, cuddling against the counter pretty much the whole time. Eventually the timer went off, and Berwald took the food out of the oven, putting it on the counter and getting the pizza cutter. Four pieces on each plate, we headed over to the island, taking seats and getting started on our dinner.
"Yer off tomorrow, righ'?" He inquired after swallowing his bite. I nodded.
"Yes, since I traded Elise." I elaborated.
"Then Ah'll pick up the heater on the way home." He decided. I returned my attention to the pot on the stove, smiling fondly.
"Alright. I'll watch the egg. You'll have to show me how to use the thermo-meter." I said, and he chuckled.
"Thermometer." He corrected. I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever." I huffed. He laughed, pressing a kiss to my cheek for my troubles.
"Sorry. Love ya." He murmured. I groaned, already getting a feeling that I knew exactly where this was going.
"Berwald, no, your breath is all pizza-y, and-" I was cut off as he pressed his lips to mine. Tomato sauce wasn't the most romantic flavor, but I just sighed, letting him do as he pleased. He could be so silly sometimes. He pulled away with a soft smile, the tip of his nose brushing against mine before we parted. "Honestly." I breathed, trying to sound like I was put off. He knew better though. We both knew better.
After finishing dinner, he checked on the temperature one more time, then we brushed our teeth and got into bed. He kissed me again as I cuddled against him, and didn't seem to have any plans of stopping until I, with a groan, pushed his face away and turned to face the other way, scooting my butt back till I was flush against his chest. That didn't deter him though, and he focused his kisses on the back of my neck and the crown of my head instead. I giggled, swatting at him as best I could, my actions less than half-hearted.
"Berwald!" I screeched as he reached his hands under my shirt, his fingers cold against my flushing skin. He traveled up till he found my nipples, rolling the pads of his fingers along them until I was gasping. "O-Oh..." I moaned, rolling my hips back into his, feeling that strange hardness pressed against me.
Not much else was spoken between us besides a few broken utterances of each others' names. It was the same as last time, but I had more confidence, more comfort in my actions. I wasn't scared and unsure this time, which let me enjoy it much more, the pearls falling from my eyes purely from pleasure this time, not uncertainty and fear. I wondered vaguely where the pearls from the night before had gone, for I hadn't been the one to clean them up. But I put it from my mind, enjoying the sensations instead, reciprocating them until both of us were whimpering and coming down from an orgasm. It had been even better this time, because I knew that he was officially my mate. We even had an egg.
I smiled, scooting back into my previous position, this time naked and even more exhausted. I sang briefly to put Berwald to sleep, then quickly followed. Or maybe I fell asleep first. I couldn't quite tell. But I stirred sometime in the night when he got up, and listened to him shuffling into the kitchen. I smiled, knowing he was checking the temperature again, and welcomed him back into bed with open arms and a kiss. He fell asleep with his head against my shoulder, arms draped over my middle. And it couldn't have been a better night.
A/N: Hello patient and lovely readers~! Like I said last time, I ran out of prewritten chapters, so you were actually waiting for me to write this one. I've started going to school since the last chapter, and, believe it or not, that's helping with my writing. How can I say that? Well... I have another prewritten chapter! Aren't you proud of me? I'm kind of proud... So, anyway, that means that the next one should be relatively quick in coming. The writing has gotten a bit easier, since we're now heading towards the climax. But, as I'm sure you know, that means that this story is coming to a close. I'd guess that, in it's entirety, it'll be about fourteen or fifteen chapters long, give or take. We'll see what'll happen, I suppose.
It's really hard, when you guys are reviewing about things, to not totally spill the beans. Because, you know, I already know what's going to happen. Your speculation is fun for me though, and it's great to know that people are interested enough in my story to bother speculating at all. You guys are fantastic readers, and I adore you all. I know I've been slacking off on keeping up with everyone, especially those of you that PM me regularly. I promise that I haven't forgotten you, I've just been busy getting enrolled and getting the college thing started. Not to mention I just went to a convention. (Totes fun! It was a yaoi convention! I met a Sve there, but I hadn't brought my Tino cosplay D:) If you want to hear about the convention or see photos, you can check out my deviantart journal.
So, eggs. So much bullshit science, I can't even tell you. I actually know a bit about biology, and trust me, Tino could not exist. Like, the biology of Mer is ridiculous. I've put a lot of thought into them though. Tino is more Fish than he is human, explaining why he's ectothermic, and why Mer lay eggs instead of giving live birth. So, despite his upper half, I don't think Tino can be considered a mammal. So, that switch between Mer and human would be quite a change, actually. But hei, magic, you know?
Alright, alright, off I go. I think I'll actually write another chapter tonight, since it's pretty exciting for me, drawing near that climax! Much planned! Bye bye for now, lovelies. Please review, if you have the time~!
KuroRiya
δΉε
γγ