xx.
He was expecting the transformation. Even as he held his lips to Cleo's and tried to let everything be except their intimate moment, that rational, aggravating part of him could not ignore what was about to happen to his lower half as his legs bubbled away and their essence merged into a new form. He was anticipating the fin, and the scales, and the strangeness of it all. He anticipated the awkward staring once they parted and her eyes fluttered open; and then the inevitable freak out; the distressed interrogation of how's and why's and when-did-this-happen's.
What he was not expecting was for the spell to be shattered as Cleo broke their kiss with a forceful shove and made a run for it whilst sobbing. Less than ten seconds had passed between his attempted romantic gesture and her taking flight. There was no revelation or panic of the kind he imagined. She had been shocked, sure, but not into happy bliss like he would have hoped. Instead—if the sheer force of her shove was any indication—she was wildly upset.
Left alone in their picnicking spot, Lewis had plenty of time to analyse the minutes leading up to the kiss and try his best to pick up cues of what had gone wrong.
He couldn't do it. Their conversation was still a jumble of words in his head; not much different from how he'd felt when they spoke. Cleo seemed disappointed in him—hurt, even, that he hadn't gone through with the marriage to Rikki. Maybe she was afraid Lewis would stop helping Rikki through the pregnancy if he wasn't held permanently responsible. But that was crazy! Lewis was a scientist! A doctor, even in these messed up circumstances. He wasn't going to abandon a patient in need just because he wasn't forced to take care of her in other ways.
He'd honestly thought that by kissing Cleo, he could show her how terribly important she was to him. How he'd rather do anything than hurt her. How his strange transformation was just one of many secrets he couldn't speak aloud because words failed him so terribly. Instead it had backfired. His good intentions were always backfiring and he was getting sick of it.
Well, if he couldn't understand Cleo himself, he would find someone who could. It was through his insistence that Rikki and Cleo had befriended each other and now they were speaking for one another like they'd been best mates since primary school. He had been best mates with Cleo since primary! Apparently, Cleo was an expert on Rikki now, but not so understanding of Lewis.
Fine. If Cleo wouldn't give him a bloody clue, he would go to Rikki. She usually had a straightforward way of putting things, and their conversations often ended with the words, "you idiot," coming from her, but it was worth it if he could get Cleo to speak to him again. If the speaking didn't end with a break up like she'd suggested.
He cringed at the thought. Break up?! They'd hardly had the chance to be together, what with surprise powers, and a pregnancy to distract him. Tutoring her on the subjects needed for the big paper had been their greatest bonding time they'd had during their first weeks together. Suddenly, Lewis realised Cleo had a lot more reason to break up with him than his refusing to marry Rikki.
Well, at least he could start there. But if Rikki really wanted a marriage after all, his life was irrevocably ruined. Because he was absolutely certain that if Rikki wanted something, there was no way he could stop it from occurring. Some forces of nature were just too powerful for him to control.
-x-
Lewis was the worst! The worst of the worst!
How could anyone act so carefree about such a huge responsibility?! This was another life! Another two lives counting Rikki, which she certainly was! Cleo never would have thought Lewis the type to disregard his friends and... and lover that way!
As little sense as his careless attitude made, worst of all was the kiss he'd sprung on her right in the middle of their disagreement. Her first kiss! Everything about it was wrong, and horrible, and... bad. It should have taken place just at the golden hour of dusk, when the sky was a streak of reds and purples from the sun setting over the ocean. There should have been soft music playing in the background, something Lewis would have spent hours deciding on beforehand to make the moment just right. They would have talked about their future, not argued about his responsibility to Rikki and their baby, and at just the right time as a gentle, warm breeze picked up, Lewis would gently brush her cheek with his thumb, tilt their heads together and kiss her ever so lightly and slowly.
His surprise kiss under duress was the equivalent to a betrayal.
He had no business surprising her like that when she was angry. What was he thinking? Why would she accept a kiss from someone who had fathered a baby with someone else and then left them to fend for themselves!?
She was infuriated further at the fact that she still wanted Lewis to kiss her. She simply wanted it under different circumstances. If he had shown just a little bit of remorse; been able to reassure her that Rikki was determined to raise Guppy on her own and truly wanted nothing to do with Lewis as a parent, Cleo might have been more accepting of his kiss.
No, she admitted, she would have welcomed it.
Lewis wasn't the worst, Cleo decided. She was. Because as awful and confusing and terrible as Lewis was, Cleo was in love with him. That was why she sobbed so wretchedly, and was hurt so badly by his uncaring attitude towards the baby. His baby. She was in love with someone who couldn't love his baby!
And if she could love someone who couldn't love his baby, that made her the worst of the worst.
A/N: I said this story was all about making Cleo miserable, didn't I? Because if I didn't make it clear in one of my author's notes, I'm sure you've figured it out by now. No one may ever understand why I find Cleo's perpetual misunderstandings and intense sadness so enjoyable to write, but I dooo.