What the Water Gave Me

by skimmonsfiction

Skye wouldn't be put off to living on an island if her only friend wasn't constantly hot and cold between 'friendly' and abusive. She wouldn't be so put off to living on an island if it just wasn't so boring. Well, as Skye is about to find out, life is not so boring. All it needed was a pair of fins. Mermaid AU.

15. All This and Heaven Too

It had been far too long now since Jemma had seen Skye. They'd been apart now for longer than they'd been together, but Jemma still thought that short time had been the most important in her life.

Jemma's new life was a busy one, and for that she was grateful. The less free time she had, the less her mind would inevitably fall back to Skye. She cried a lot more often now that she spent most of her time on land. It was almost normal for her, Jemma could hardly remember a time when her eyes didn't leak and her heart wasn't empty.

It felt like she was missing a piece, an entire half, and there was just blank space where Skye had once been. Sometimes it was a dull buzzing, like the sounds made up by the imagination to fill silence, but sometimes she was there, and Jemma felt it. Skye's emotions often rolled over her like waves, and she found herself feeling angry, destructive, sad, depressed, and inspired, though often it was hard to tell whether it was her own emotions or Skye's.

There were a few days that stood out more than the grayness of others. Once, she felt a pounding in her chest and sweat on her brow, and her hand stung intensely for a brief moment before it died down. She could feel it, just barely, for the next few weeks, and she'd known Skye had hurt herself somehow. If Jemma didn't know any better, she would have guessed she'd fallen into the water again.

There was another day that was the best since Jemma had left. She'd gone out bright and early to scale one of the large mountains, just for fun. Jemma found that exercising was soothing, it took her mind off things and gave her a sense of accomplishment. She had just made her way back down to the shade of the trees, panting and gasping from her hike, when something like happiness fell over her. Jemma had already been feeling well enough that day, but she could feel that Skye was having a good one too, and that made her happy. It was the first time she'd felt a moderately positive emotion from her, even though their emotional linkage had grown stronger with time, like all partner pairs.

It felt like fondness. It was sad and heartbreaking but it also made Jemma stare at her picture of Skye with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes at the same time. It was like for once she could remember how great her time with Skye had been instead of how much she missed it. She still did, but it started to get easier once she accepted that Skye had done what was right. They both could have gotten hurt if Jemma stayed, she knew this now.

The days were shorter and a little less miserable after that. Jemma scaled mountains and explored barren islands with little more than rocks. There were all kinds of habitats, and Jemma wandered through all of them on foot.

If Skye could see her now, boy, would she be impressed. Jemma spent a lot more time in the sun now and all of her time hiking or working her muscles, so she'd traded her pale, wobbly legs for strong, darker ones. She wouldn't have had to stumble down the sidewalk or up steps, she would have been able to keep up with Skye, maybe even get ahead of her.

Several more full moons passed, and Jemma was grateful for her new job to keep her busy. She even took up an apprentice. It had been quite a hard decision, actually. All of the children thought Jemma had the best job out of everyone and fought like sharks to be the one Jemma picked to bring on land.

There had been one little girl, in the back, and that was who Jemma chose. She had the spark of curiosity and the observing eye that Jemma recognized to be like her own. It had been funny to bring her onto land at first, and hard to keep everyone else away to have their first session in private. The little girl had just as much trouble as Jemma walking at first, but soon she was following Jemma around like a dog, which she explained to Elizabeth.

The little mermaid was almost like an outlet for Jemma. Sometimes they went on hikes, but others they just sat in Jemma's favorite spot by a fire, and Jemma showed her the picture of Skye and talked all about her, their adventures, and everything Skye had taught her. It made Jemma feel nice to talk about her instead of bottle it up, and Elizabeth always listened with interest and amazement.

There was one day that Jemma would never forget, though. There was a pod meeting when the moon was full, and they had decided to migrate now that the waters were getting too warm and the animals were dying. Apparently this happened periodically here, as recorded by previous pods on the rocks underneath the surface of the water.

They were going to move again. Although Jemma liked her new home, she had a suggestion for their migration. The situations for the caves near Skye's island had been perfect, minus Ward, but that problem may have been resolved. Jemma could tell because Ward no longer bothered Skye.

They sent her ahead. Jemma was to go ahead of the pod, and as a land expert trained to walk and blend in, she could go onto the island and determine its safety. Jemma took this to mean make sure Ward is gone and find Skye. Would Skye still be there? Jemma didn't know, but she had to find out.

For the full week and a half it took Jemma to swim there, her longing was even stronger. She would be so close to Skye, she might be able to see her again. Feel her warm skin, hear her enchanting voice, and have the smell of her flood her nose. She wanted it all again. Like a drug user, after being deprived for so long, Jemma wouldn't be able to resist temptation when she was so close. It was necessary for her.

The minute everything started to seem familiar, Jemma sped up, passing the wrecked ship she'd once taken a picture of for Skye so long ago. Everything was the same, and Jemma wondered if everything out of the water would be the same too.

When Jemma reached the beach, their first beach, the one where she and Skye had first met, Jemma's heart thudded in her chest, incredibly happy for the first time in so many full moons. Her first task was to create a rock tower, and she completed it in a matter of minutes, using even larger rocks than usual, so Skye was sure to see it. Would she still come here after so long, though? Jemma wasn't sure.

After an entire day of waiting, Jemma decided it was enough. She still had to assess the safety of the island, she couldn't just sit here and wait for someone that wasn't going to come.

Taking one of her new potions, Jemma developed familiar legs and slipped on her shorts underwater, venturing onto shore and remembering the way the sand felt. Many would argue that sand was sand, and that it all felt the same, but Jemma could tell the difference. This was the sand of her home, of days and nights spent with her partner.

The best way to find out if the island was safe was to talk to Skye, so Jemma wasn't technically neglecting her duty, but the first thing she asked Skye wasn't going to be for the pod.

---

For three months Skye had thrown herself into making the copper sculpture and Skye found, that once it was finished, she felt very satisfied with her work. Except now her distraction was gone and the month after she felt empty again. Her hand had healed as well as the doctor said was expected so she was able to take back her extra shifts at the diner now that it was summer time. She was there so much they had to make her go home since she was pulling over forty hours.

She had a good amount of savings saved up for school by the end of summer and the scholarship she had won certainly helped. She made herself focus more, and between keeping her grades up and working at the diner she was kept pretty busy. Skye hardly had time to go to the beach anymore, but every free second she had she still went. She wasn't sure why she made herself go. It just felt like habit now, muscle memory. She never lingered long. Just long enough for her to see if there was a rock tower and to sit and miss Jemma when there wasn't.

Her first week of her senior year was the worst. It felt all wrong. Ward should have been throwing a party with his friends and making her come. She shouldn't dread it this much. She shouldn't be this tired. She shouldn't be working herself half to death. Everything was different…and it didn't take her long after realizing Ward should be throwing a party, that it was practically the anniversary of the day she and Jemma had met. It made her happy and sad all at once and she let herself sit at the beach longer that night staring at her phone and the picture of Jemma. She held her necklace and wondered what her partner was doing. She wondered if the mermaid would know the significance of this day and feel happy and sad too. Skye wished Jemma was there with her, and she knew that it was her own fault that she wasn't, which made her all the more sad. She missed her more that night than Skye thought she ever had in the entire time they had been apart.

The next two months passed and Skye had found a steady rhythm between going to class, stopping by the beach, going to work, and doing her homework when she got home. She was kept busy and it kept her mind occupied except for those few minutes before she drifted off to sleep.

Skye wasn't sure what she was going to do today. She had more free time than she ever had in the past few months. Her mother had given her diner shifts to someone else since she had already accumulated too many hours this week. She had told her daughter to get some rest after class, to go out and do something fun, since she never saw her do anything but work and go to school anymore. Her evening had suddenly freed up and Skye decided that she would go to the beach, like she always did. Maybe she could make herself take a nap or maybe something else had washed up that she could use in a new sculpture that could take over all her time.

It was getting late. The sky would be darkening in an hour or so, so Skye figured she could stay on the beach till then. She took her time walking to the large rock wall that she had once enjoyed climbing over every day, but now she knew what was on the other side, and it wasn't Jemma. She was used to seeing the flat sand now instead of used to seeing a tower, so imagine her surprise when she finally hauled herself over and turned around.

Rocks, large rocks, stacked up almost as high as Skye's knee rested at the shoreline just out of reach of the tide. Skye wasn't sure what to do. It had been so long that she just stared at it at first, heart pounding in her chest. She didn't let herself dare think it though. It couldn't be real…the tower meant Jemma was here…or had been here, and as she listened to the blood rush through her ears she suddenly shot forward to the water.

"Jemma?!"

She waited. Heart pounding so hard she thought she might faint.

"Jemma?!"

She waited again. Both times she received no answer. She continued shouting for a good quarter of an hour before she sat down in the sand, quiet, throat sore, listening to the waves hit the rocks that surrounded the little grotto. She could be patient. Maybe she was here and something had scared her away. Jemma would come back. She had so much hope…after all, Jemma had said she would come back when Skye had made her leave. The echoed desperate words were almost as sharp in her mind as they had been when she first heard them.

Thirty minutes went by and still nothing. Skye had decided to shout again but it was weaker and less hopeful than before. An hour went by and the sky was getting dark and still Jemma hadn't shown up. The rock tower remained regardless and Skye found herself staring at it bitterly…like it was a lie, a trick. It felt like a terrible prank, but she wasn't sure who could have done it. It didn't matter. The tower was here and Jemma wasn't. She didn't know what she had expected. Jemma wasn't coming back.

Suddenly angry, she jerked herself up off the sand suddenly and kicked the rocks down, scattering them out into the water and on the sand. If she didn't know any better she would have thought Ward was out of prison and trying to mess with her, but she knew he wasn't. She stared bitterly at the scattered rocks a while, trying to keep herself from crying before she made herself leave.

She was still upset, mind brooding as she pedaled up the road. It had been a year since Jemma had left. More than a year now and Skye had to resign herself to the fact that if she was going to come back, she would have by now. It was probably safer for the pod anyway to have found a new home somewhere else. Hopefully it had less people, if any at all so that they could just live in peace. She only hoped that Jemma knew and could feel that she still wore her necklace every day. Skye didn't want to stop being partners just because they were apart. She still loved Jemma very deeply, if not more so in her absence, even though sometimes she was angry. Jemma couldn't have anyone else now that she was bound to Skye, and she thought that was unfair. She wouldn't be with anyone else either, not that she wanted to be. Jemma was the only one for her just like Skye was the only one for Jemma, and she knew that. She was almost to her house, and she was glad. She wanted to lay in bed and stare at the picture of them and hope she actually got some sleep tonight.

"Hello, Starfish." A coy, yet shy voice called from the porch. It was difficult for Jemma to keep the desperation out of her voice and body, but miraculously she managed. It had been so long, Jemma had gotten lost while trying to find her way back to Skye's house, her one memory of it had grown hazy. She hadn't even been positive it was actually Skye's house until she saw the girl down the road, head down and not paying attention to anything. The temptation to surprise her had been all too real.

Jemma was right. She hadn't been paying attention and when Skye heard the voice and her nickname paired together she nearly stumbled and fell over her bicycle that she was trying to dismount and get in through the front gate. For a second, her body wouldn't function, all tangled up in the bicycle and eyes staring wide at the porch in disbelief. Jemma was there. Jemma was standing right there. Jemma was on her porch, right there, on land, not fifteen feet from her.

Suddenly her neurons started firing again when her brain picked up the slack and she didn't even bother with the bike. Skye slung it to the side and shaky hands fumbled with the gate for a moment before it swung open and Skye found herself at the beginning of the porch steps, staring up at the mermaid. She was afraid if she spoke she might ruin it. She wanted to hold her, wrap Jemma up in her arms and kiss her and never let her go. But she didn't do any of that. She was too afraid. Instead, she stood there staring at her like a ghost, full of want. Why was Jemma here? Had they all come back? Was Jemma angry at her? Would she even want Skye to touch her? She didn't understand...and she wasn't sure she wanted to. If this was a hallucination it was a damn good one and Skye hoped it continued, whatever it was.

"H-hey, Jemma..." There was so much more she wanted to say other than just hello, but it was all stuck in her suddenly dry throat.

Seeing Skye in the flesh was like magic. It made the weight that had settled in Jemma's chest over time dissipate rapidly. She wanted to spring off the porch and tackle Skye into a hug, but the last time she'd seen her kept playing in her head. Skye had turned her back on her, literally. It took a long time for Jemma to figure out, but it had only been literally. Skye hadn't abandoned her. The proof was right there, hanging around Skye's neck.

Jemma had had 13 full moons to think it over, analyze every word and action. It had been necessary, Skye was trying to protect her and she did the only thing she could. Skye had thought it through, she knew Jemma well enough to know that Jemma wouldn't have left if she'd had a choice.

"I told you I would come back." Jemma sighed, finally settling on words.

It took maybe half a second for the words to sink in, if that, before Skye was up the next four steps in such a rush she was surprised she hadn't tripped and fallen. Skye's arms wrapped around Jemma and held her tightly and as close to her as she could manage. Her head was down in the crook of her neck, taking in the mermaid's scent so quickly she had to sigh and do it again because it was so overwhelming.

Her grip didn't loosen, and instead got tighter as the feeling of Jemma's skin, her body in her arms, finally sank in. She was actually here. Skye was actually holding her. She could feel her and smell her and...hands on Jemma's cheeks gave her the warning first, but it wasn't much of one because the next instant, Skye's lips were on hers with such force they both almost fell back onto the porch swing.

Skye thought she was going to die. She kissed the mermaid as needily and desperately as she ever had and all of her senses were going haywire. Her heart was pounding and Skye couldn't get enough of her. She was so happy. She had to make herself pull away before she accidentally suffocated Jemma but she had the biggest smile on her face the mermaid had ever seen.

"Thank god...I was...I was beginning to worry, you know?" It was a joke, but it also wasn't a lie. She felt guilty now for thinking that Jemma wouldn't come back to her, when, in fact, here she was, still in her arms after little more than a year.

Although their fiery kiss had been intense, it still wasn't enough when Skye pulled away. Jemma slung her arms over Skye's shoulders and held them together tightly, with Jemma standing on her toes to be at equal height with Skye.

"Do you want me to stay?" Jemma's voice was quiet, uncertain. Even though she'd thought about it for months on end, she had to be sure that Skye truly did want her here. She had to hear it.

Skye was floored. She was taken aback that Jemma even thought she had to ask. She had to ask because Skye was the one who sent her away in the first place. Skye knew she had done that to keep her safe. She never could have known Ward and Garrett would have been taken away so quickly, if at all. There was no other place to hide her. Her pod wouldn't have been safe and Skye couldn't have lived with herself if she had gotten taken like that twice.

"I sure as hell don't want you to leave," Skye was scared and she felt incredibly guilty that Jemma would even question if Skye wanted her here. She absolutely wanted her here.

"I can't handle..." She had to stop and suck in a breath, holding Jemma close, but gently now, not wanting to squish her in case she was uncomfortable, "I can't handle you leaving again..."

Jemma breathed a sigh of relief, even though she got the answer she was expecting. She didn't think Skye had sent her away for any reason other than protecting her, she'd just had to confirm it.

"Good, because I can't handle leaving." Jemma leaned in once more, capturing Skye's lips with her own. She'd been longing to do this for a long time, and now that she was truly back, she wouldn't be shying away. They had so much lost time to make up for.

"I love you." Jemma told her, happy tears gathering in her eyes for the first time.

"I love you too," Skye mumbled between kisses. She wasn't about to stop anytime soon either. Her grip on Jemma was tight again and she was trying to pull their bodies as close together as physically possible. She didn't want to let her go, not now, not ever.

She was kissing her lips, her cheeks, her forehead, the tip of her nose, any skin she could immediately get to. Skye didn't know how long Jemma had been here waiting for her though, and suddenly she was sad again. Yes, Jemma was back now and that made her so happy, happier than she had been in a very long time, but she was still a mermaid. She needed to be in the ocean and Skye knew she couldn't be out for very long before she changed back.

"How long have you been waiting here for me?" Skye asked, having to pull herself away again. She almost couldn't focus. She wanted to drown in Jemma and not come back up for a long time. "Do we need to go to the beach soon? To take you back? Our spots will be safe...Ward and Garrett aren't around anymore. They're gone for good..."

Jemma couldn't stop grinning. For one, the island and the caves were safe for their pod again. Ward and Garrett were gone, Jemma had guessed as much when she didn't feel Skye in any danger other than the one time. There was also the good news. Skye still thought she only had limited time here, and she couldn't wait to update her.

"I was on land a lot while I was away, so our shaman modified the potion. I'll have legs until I come into contact with saltwater. I can stay as long as I want." Jemma said, grasping the material of Skye's shirt. She had missed her so much, it was like love was pouring out of her like a waterfall now that they were together again. "And since it's so safe, the pod is moving back, and we'll be here for a long time." Jemma told her, adding the icing to the cake.

"I hope a long time means more than a year...to have you again and then leave would be an awful tease," Skye commented and her hands moved to Jemma's hips, holding her tight and grinning just as big as she was. The news about her legs was great, and Skye really wanted to hear all about where she had been and what she had done while she was away.

"There's so many more things I can show you now. Since you have as long as you want on land...would you like to come inside? Have you eaten today? Are you hungry? What do you want to do? We can do anything..." Skye's breathing was a little heavier and she was still holding her very close. This certainly hadn't been the evening she had been expecting. It was exponentially better. She loved Jemma so much she could hardly contain how happy she was. She just wanted to keep holding her and kissing her and now that Jemma could stay as long as she wanted...Skye realized she might not have to sleep alone either.

"If we do anything I should probably blend in a little more first. Even if it's just your mother that will see me." Jemma giggled, motioning down to her handmade clothes from the ocean. A burlap bra and shorts weren't exactly the most human things to wear.

"I got a lot of strange looks on the way here." She laughed and rested her hands on Skye's waist. It was so good to feel her under her fingertips again, to know that she really was here and it wasn't just an image of her.

Skye laughed and nodded when she finally looked down and noticed what Jemma was wearing. She had seen her like this so many times (well, minus the shorts) that it was perfectly normal to her. "Right, right, that's probably a good idea. Mom is at the diner tonight so she won't be home till late but it will still be good to fit in. C'mon," Skye leaned down and gave her forehead a quick kiss before taking her hand and leading her inside.

The main part of the house hadn't really changed at all. It was the same as when Jemma had been there before, just plus a new dishwasher over in the kitchen. Skye led the mermaid back up the stairs and to her room, and this is where the change was. She didn't have any of her pictures from before up, since they had all been destroyed. Her walls were plain now all but the one picture of Jemma on the left as they entered. Skye was quiet, but moved aside so Jemma could step inside. She wondered if Jemma would ask where all the art had gone and Skye wasn't sure how to explain it.

"I'm sure I have some other things that will fit you. You want to shower first? That...might be best. Not good to smell like the ocean if we go anywhere?" Skye suggested. She liked Jemma's smell. She had missed it, but for someone who wasn't used to it...it could be a little accosting.

Jemma quietly observed Skye's room for a few moments before answering. It looked bare and empty without the art hanging everywhere and it made Jemma a little bit sad, but she supposed a lot had changed in the past year. Jemma had changed too, so she couldn't hold it against Skye if she wasn't exactly the same anymore either. It was probably best not to say anything about it. If Skye wanted to open up or talk about it she would.

"A shower would be nice. You can pick something out for me to wear, I won't be long." Jemma squeezed Skye's hand once before she slipped into the bathroom, knowing the routine even though she'd only done it once.

It felt nice to wash away all the salt, sand, and dirt that had accumulated on her body, but what was even nicer was the familiar feeling of being in Skye's house. She still couldn't get over how happy she was to be back. When she was finished, Jemma found a towel and wandered back into Skye's room after wrapping it around herself.

Skye had gone through her entire closet and managed to pick out something that would be both comfortable and small enough for Jemma to fit in and laid them out at the foot of the bed. She was sitting at her desk, trying to organize her mess. She certainly hadn't been expecting company and when she heard Jemma come out, she turned around.
It had been a very long time indeed, and although Jemma had shown up in less clothing, something about Skye seeing Jemma in her towel made her blush.

"F-feel any better?" Skye stumbled through the short sentence, not able to take her eyes off of her. She supposed that wasn't so bad. She hadn't seen Jemma in a whole year so she had every right to look. They were partners after all right?

"The clothes are...th-there," Skye nodded to the foot of her bed, "I wasn't sure what you wanted to do so I just...just uhm, picked some relaxing clothes..."

"That sounds good." Jemma said, shuffling to the foot of the bed while combing her fingers through her hair to get the knots out. It was often quite a mess and wasn't easy to tame.

There was no point in going back to the bathroom to change, Jemma didn't think it would really matter to Skye. Skye had changed in front of her on more than one occasion, what was the difference? Jemma let the towel drop and reached for the clothes, only slightly rushing to rid herself of the chill that had passed over her body when her skin was exposed.

The t-shirt smelled like Skye and it was comforting, but what she really wanted was Skye herself. Jemma walked over to the desk and leaned over, kissing Skye gently with a hand on the back of her neck.

"It's good to be back." She whispered across her lips.

It all happened before Skye could turn her head...not that she really wanted to, but it just seemed polite. It was too late though because by the time Jemma's lips were on hers, she was a deep shade of beet red. She had gotten a look like that before, but it had been a very long time, and before they were actually together.

"I-I'm glad you're back too..." She was getting that drowning feeling again...but the good kind. Skye leaned in again and kissed Jemma, soft at first, just happy to have her here to do this again, until it turned into the kiss from the porch. The artist had risen from her seat, never letting her mouth leave Jemma's and she had the girl back in her arms in a matter of seconds.

"You're not allowed to leave again. You're going to have to teach me how to breathe underwater or figure out how to give me a tail because," she kissed her again, and this time with more pressure like she had the one night at the beach, "I don't want you out of my sight, ever." Her hands on Jemma's hips were firm. They wanted to roam. Jemma was here and she wanted every part of her before anything could happen. She had a lot of time to make up for and Skye would be alright with getting it all at once.

"You, in the water?" Jemma grinned into their kiss. She didn't even realize they'd been moving backwards until they hit the edge of Skye's bed and practically fell onto it.

"I'm sure I can think of something." Jemma joked, though her mind also seriously considered the possibility. It was strange to try and imagine Skye with a tail and swimming with her underwater, but it was also a nice thought. Like a fantasy.

"How about I stay here tonight then." Jemma suggested, pressing yet another kiss to Skye's eager lips. She never wanted to leave, never again. She wouldn't even leave to tell the pod it was safe here, she could call them. They were already on their way, they'd be able to hear her. She could have this one night to not be a mermaid.

"I don't think you realize how much I would really love that..." Skye breathed. Her breath had apparently sped up a bit and all if Jemma's kisses were making her head hazy and the rest of her even more needy. Humans were complicated, as Skye had explained before when she didn't really want to explain, but the idea of actually explaining was getting more and more tempting.

"Only tonight? Can't you stay more nights too?" Skye was kissing down the mermaid's jawline before she even realized she was doing it. It led her to Jemma's neck and she inhaled the clean scent of her and it made her want to die she was so happy.

"You can have legs as long as you want now...and we are partners. We're supposed to be together...". Skye knew she was probably asking a lot, for Jemma to be away from her family even longer than she had kept her away before, but she and Skye had been apart an entire year...she thought she deserved some much allotted time too.

Skye's hands on Jemma's hips were starting to move. With the mermaid under her and on the bed, it was hard for them not to. One was rubbing Jemma's thigh, almost wishing it were her tail. Almost. The other hand managed its way underneath her borrowed shirt and was lightly touching the skin at her waist. She wanted to touch and feel every part of her, because now Jemma was here and she could.

"Yes, we are supposed to be together." Jemma agreed, sighing in contentment. That part of her that had been feeling empty while she was away was finally full again, and it was because of Skye. They were supposed to be together forever, and now they could.

"I can stay whenever I want." Jemma kissed the side of Skye's head and held her close. "It's a bit of a long story, but that's actually my job now. To be on land." Jemma told her. It was really quite convenient, especially now that she had an even better reason to be out of the ocean.

Jemma practically hummed happily under Skye's touch. It was so real and it was finally happening after so much waiting and imagining. Skye's feelings were reciprocated and Jemma showed it by letting her own hands wander. They slid under Skye's shirt slightly and Jemma traced patterns into the soft skin of her stomach.

"Mmm, is it now? They're finally letting miss curious walk out and about, huh?" Skye smiled and hoisted herself up and kissed the tip of Jemma's nose again. "You'll have to tell me all about it. Where you've been, what you did. I want to know everything," she whispered when her lips found their way by Jemma's ear. She kissed it the next moment before her mouth was back on her neck.

She was trying, unsuccessfully, to keep her hands from wandering any more but the one under Jemma's shirt continued to creep up, feeling Jemma's sides and her stomach, impressed with the amount of muscle there that hadn't been before...or maybe she just didn't remember. Her hand on her thigh was finding the same scenario. Jemma had certainly been using her legs a lot. She was probably in better shape than Skye.

Skye had still run and did her regular morning workout routine just because she was in the habit, so her and and muscles were as taut as always, but to feel them on Jemma just made it different. A good different.

Tired of holding herself up too much, Skye straddled one of Jemma's legs and gently lowered herself down till their bodies were mostly pressed together. She still kept the top half of her up by her arms now and the one on her thighs had to move by Jemma's head to hold Skye up. "My scar is smooth now. You almost can't see it anymore..."

"I can tell." Jemma mumbled, letting her palm press over the place that had once been pink and raised. She could hardly tell it was there anymore, she wouldn't have even noticed there was a scar if she hadn't known in the first place.

"Mine are gone." Jemma informed her, removing one of her hands from Skye's stomach and guiding Skye's hand to slip through the neck of her shirt and rest over her shoulder.
Skye felt the skin on Jemma's shoulder gently, nodding when she couldn't feel any bumps like she had that first time they spent the night together on the beach. Her skin was just as smooth as it had been before. Skye would never have known she had gotten bitten by a shark, just like probably no one would ever know she had almost died. It had ruined her bikini wearing for a long time, that was for sure.

"You know…while you were gone," Skye started, only to pause and connect her and Jemma's lips again, unable to resist biting her bottom one just a little before letting go, "I finally got them right." She was talking about Jemma's tail and the pattern of her scales of course. Jemma would know that and recognized her triumphant tone easily, especially after they had caused her so much frustration.

Jemma stared up into Skye's eyes with a little bit of shock and quite a bit of pride. She knew Skye would get them right eventually, she just hadn't expected it to be while she was gone.

"You'll definitely have to show me." Jemma grinned and moved both of her hands to rest at Skye's waist, squeezing lightly. She was so glad Skye had finally accomplished the goal she'd sworn to complete and she was excited to see it, but she didn't want to stop what they were doing right now. She wanted to enjoy this.

"But maybe not right this second..." Jemma grinned mischievously and gently bit Skye's bottom lip as she kissed her again.

There was a strange feeling starting to bubble up in Jemma's abdomen that she'd never felt before. She passed it off as just happiness and joy until her legs started tingling slightly.

Jemma would have guessed it was because her tail was about to come back if it hadn't been for the less temporary version of the potion and the fact that the feeling settled into one place in particular. It wasn't bad, but it made Jemma curious and she wanted to explore it.

It definitely felt good. The longer she kissed Skye the better it felt, and swiping her tongue over Skye's lip made it even more intense. Maybe it was the way Skye's leg was in between hers, pressed up against her. Jemma couldn't help but shift against her and the contact caused her to let out a soft moan before she knew what was happening.

Skye had mentioned something that night on the beach about humans being complicated... Did this have anything to do with that? It felt intimate, that was for sure. It could be like tail touching, but Jemma already knew about kissing and this felt a little more urgent than that. There was really only one way to find out, so she kept kissing Skye and would keep kissing her until she got an explanation or until she figured it out herself.

Skye was very surprised to have Jemma move against her that way, not to mention her moaning. It made her hot suddenly and her body reacted with a gasp and shifting her leg up a little more, pressing her knee further against her. The grip on Jemma's side grew tighter, and the hand that had been on her shoulder had slid down to her arm, holding it in the same fashion.

Yes, she was very surprised, but not unpleasantly. Jemma's kissing proved a good distraction until her lips escaped hers and Skye was kissing down her neck again, quickly pulling the neckline of the shirt to the side so she could kiss at her shoulder. Trying to get to it put her body a little further down against Jemma's and caused her leg to rub a little more.

Her breath hit Jemma's neck and it was hot, like her lips were just millimeters off of her skin, but not touching. She was pausing, trying to control herself. "Jemma…" Skye could feel a familiar feeling creep up on her. Jemma's moan and sudden fervor in kissing her and moving like that had started a fire. She was too nervous to explain. She didn't know if she could. She was trying to stop, even though she really didn't want too.

"Humans are complicated…"

"I know." Jemma breathed. Truthfully, she was a little confused. It was obvious that Skye enjoyed whatever was going on as much as she did, if not more so, but she seemed so hesitant. By the way Skye was talking she assumed it was some human custom she wasn't aware of that made Skye so reluctant. She knew humans were complicated, but usually Skye tried to explain even the most difficult of concepts to her. What made this one so hard?

"You know you can tell me anything." Jemma's tone grew a little more serious. One hand moved to the back of Skye's head and fingers curled into her hair, holding her comfortably where they could make eye contact. "I'm sure you can explain. You did a wonderful job with everything else." Jemma pointed out.

"This is..." Skye wasn't sure how to start and she could feel her face getting red. She knew Jemma was confused with her and she didn't want that to turn into frustration.

"This is a-a little harder to explain...humans..." She had to look away. Eye contact was too hard, too embarrassing right now, although Jemma's fingers in her hair felt nice. "Humans have...h-humans have some uhm...some other customs that are...". They were like tail touching in that it was intimate. Very intimate, at least for Skye. She knew some people didn't give a flying fuck about sex or who they had it with, like some people didn't care about who they kissed, but she did, and it needed to be with someone very special. But it also wasn't quite like tail touching. Skye didn't know what tail touching felt like, she only knew it made Jemma happy. It didn't seem to be sexual at all, just special.

"When a person...uhm..." She was a mumbling and stuttering mess and she was making a fool of herself. Skye sucked in a quick breath and shut her eyes tightly, her grip on the girl tightening, "When people like each other...n-no, when human partners love each other they...there is this other human thing...it's not really like tail touching-we'll I mean it's intimate...like super intimate...and it's really special to some people, I mean it is to me...and I r-really w-want...to show you...if you would be uhm...if you would be alright with it?". Skye finally opened her eyes and sighed heavily, taking in air after that she hadn't been able to have while trying to get the sentence out. She still hadn't explained very well and she wondered if she had made Jemma even more confused.

"See...I love you and this thing I want to do with you is...like tail touching but times like...a hundred. And it makes you feel...wonderful and h-hot and s-some other things too. It's like...it's like a mating ritual..." This time her face got even redder, but she was keeping eye contact with Jemma now because this was serious and she wanted to make sure that Jemma understood, at least mostly, if they were going to keep going. She wasn't sure how mermaids did this but she knew how humans did and now that Jemma had legs...she very much wanted this with her. She wanted the whole package, everything that came with being linked together as partners.

"I want you to show me, Skye." Jemma nodded. If whatever this was was part of being partners for humans, Jemma wanted it. She wanted to give Skye everything just like Skye had done for her.

Jemma still had no idea what it actually was based on Skye's explanation, but she knew it was important and that it probably had something to do with that tingling between her legs. She still couldn't help but shift slightly against Skye's leg, and the hand that was on her waist rounded to her back so Jemma could pull her down against her a little more.

"I love you too, show me everything." Jemma whispered as she lifted her head to give Skye a long, convincing kiss.

Skye nodded into the kiss and per Jemma's pulling, she lowered herself down more, letting their bodies press together. Once the kiss broke, Skye's mouth was on her neck, kissing rougher and occasionally sucking on the skin. Hands were wandering now, both under Jemma's shirt and feeling the skin of her sides, gathering the material up slowly as they went.
Skye's leg between Jemma's was starting to move. She was bringing it up, pressing it harder. Her hands left Jemma's shirt, having raised it almost all the way up, to grab her hips, which she urged to move against her. Jemma would get the hang of it, especially if it felt as good as Skye wanted it to. She was still nervous, not sure where or how to begin, but this was probably a good start.

Jemma felt Skye guiding her and did what she was being told, especially when it started to feel so good. The tingling between her legs grew from a little urge to more of a need and Jemma began moving against Skye's leg. Small tremors shook through Jemma's body slightly as her breathing grew quicker. She wanted Skye to keep going, so she let her know it by continuing to grind against Skye's leg without her encouragement and letting the hand still in her hair grip a little tighter. She was already impressed by the feeling, but somehow she could tell they hadn't really started yet.

Once she felt Jemma start to move on her own it made Skye smile and she brought her face back up to Jemma's and kissed her hard, swiping her tongue over her mouth and her tongue darted inside and started moving against Jemma's. Her hands on her hips finally moved again, gliding up Jemma's skin back to the shirt. She broke their kiss and sat up, straddling one of Jemma's legs. She couldn't help but to move against it like Jemma was doing to her and it made a moan escape.

She lost her focus for a second, just moving against the mermaid until she managed to get some clarity. She reached up over her head and back behind her, grabbing her shirt and pulling it up over her head. It was like she was wearing a bikini top so she didn't expect Jemma to react too much. She had seen her with less on and Skye had seen Jemma with less on, but she still asked, hands at the edge of the shirt and ready to pull it over Jemma's head.
"C-can I?"

"Yes." Jemma said simply, nodding quickly. She was starting to get an idea, starting to understand a little more. This must be why humans were so weird about being naked, it was something reserved for partners. Just like Jemma had reacted badly to Skye trying to touch her tail for the first time, Skye had reacted to seeing Jemma naked for the the first time she'd used legs. It made sense.

Jemma let both her hands and eyes wander over Skye's torso. It wasn't anything new, but that didn't mean Jemma didn't still enjoy staring at her or trailing her hands up and down her sides. It only made her slightly nervous to realize they might both end up completely naked if she was right. The rest of her was excited, she was not opposed to being able to see and feel all of Skye.

Skye bit her lip as she gently removed Jemma's shirt and tossed it onto the floor. Jemma's hands on her felt good and she wanted more. Her breathing was starting to quicken too and she lowered herself back down onto Jemma, feeling her skin under her own and she moved, rubbing herself against her. It made the feeling in her own abdomen stronger and her hands flew to Jemma's stomach and rubbed over her skin until they reached her burlap bra. One hand was over it, on top of Jemma's chest and squeezed.

Skye kissed her neck, before moving more sloppy kisses to her shoulder and down to her collar bone. Her leg between Jemma's was moving faster, and the hand that wasn't on Jemma's chest was wrapped back around and grabbing her thigh, making both of them move harder together. Skye was letting out pleased noises and breathless "I love yous", and she would have asked, but she was quickly getting worked up and it was hard to go slow. Her hand had slipped under the strange fabric and was now massaging, skin on skin and the feel of it made goosebumps pop up over Skye's arms.

Jemma gasped and arched into Skye's touch. It was all new, and Skye had most definitely been right. It did make her feel wonderful...and lots of other things. Small, pleased whimpers escaped her lips as she enjoyed all the new feelings Skye was giving her. She wanted to return those things, but she was a little more shy about it.

Her nails scratched lightly at Skye's skin just under her bra, trying to gauge Skye's reaction and figure out if this was right. It certainly felt so. Her fingers copied Skye's movement, slipping under the different material.

Skye's mouth fell open, releasing a hot moan onto Jemma's collar bone before she kept kissing it, working her way all the way back up to her face. She kissed her cheeks and her forehead and finally planted a heated kiss on her lips. The hand on the mermaid's thigh moved and Skye reached back behind herself and her fingers fumbled a moment, nervous, before it faded and she unclasped her bra. She rose up a little off of Jemma, looking off to the side of her, a faint pink on her cheeks before she rolled her shoulders, the muscles there flexing some and the shoulder straps of the bra falling down her arms, taking the rest of it with it.

Skye was biting her lip and trying not to look at Jemma, her movements a little less urgent than before in her embarrassment. Her breaths came shallow, chest rising and falling just so. By some miracle, her eyes drifted back up to Jemma's and she was fairly certain her blush suddenly spread to everywhere. Jemma had seen her naked before, but it had been brief and it had been an accident, but Skye was giving her all the permission in the world now.

Jemma may not have known everything about humans and the way they act, but she knew Skye well enough to know exactly what she was feeling when her skin turned red like that. The feeling wasn't unknown to her either.

"Don't be embarrassed." Jemma whispered softly. "You're beautiful." As if to emphasize this point, Jemma sat up as much as she needed to to be able to reach Skye's face, and she kissed her assuringly. The hand that had previously been on Skye's side rose upward until both of her hands were on Skye's chest, massaging and enjoying how warm and soft Skye felt.

Jemma pulled away for just a moment, only long enough to pull her own bra over her head and toss it aside. Nudity wasn't as big of a deal for her, and she thought it would make Skye more comfortable if they were both bare chested.

As soon as Jemma's bra was off, Skye grabbed the mermaid's hands and brought them back to her chest, leaning far over her partner and moaning. Her eyes were shut, enjoying the experience and feel of Jemma's hands on her and the fire it sent shooting down her nerves to between her legs. She stammered a thank you and tried to tell Jemma she was amazing too but her vocal cords couldn't get past the thanks.

She decided to show her instead, and Skye's hand was back on Jemma's thigh, pulling it up and rubbing her leg faster between Jemma's legs. She lowered herself back down and when she did she kissed the mermaid fervently, winding her spare hand into her hair, nails digging slightly into her scalp before she gave a sharp tug, which was to pull her head back so she could kiss her throat.

The sloppy, needy kisses traveled down and kissed along Jemma's collar bone again before traveling lower. Skye kissed between her breasts, trying to hold off some, waiting for a reaction before she couldn't wait anymore. She planted more kisses around Jemma's chest before taking a nipple into her mouth and sucking. She moaned again when she did it and the hand in the mermaid's hair loosened and lightly raked down her stomach towards the shorts she had let her borrow.

Jemma's hands flew to Skye's head and tangled themselves in Skye's hair, and she found that she yet again she was gasping in surprise. Amazed, that's what Jemma was. Merpeople didn't have anything like this, so she considered it an extreme perk to having a human partner and the ability to have legs instead of a tail when she wanted.

Her back arched even further and Jemma moaned, rocking into Skye and only spending half a second wondering what was so slick between her legs. She had a feeling she was about to find out, if the movement of Skye's hand had anything to do with it. Just this would have been enough to satisfy her, but seemed as if there was still more Skye wanted to show her, and Jemma was going to let her.

When the mermaid moaned and arched, Skye sucked harder, taking the hands now tangled in her hair as a good sign as they held her head in place. She had to fight against them to lift her head back, giving her breast one final kiss before trailing her tongue across Jemma's chest to the other, which she gave the same treatment. From Jemma's noises, Skye knew the mermaid was enjoying herself. She let her tongue dance around her other hardening mound before taking it into her mouth and rolled it gently between her teeth.

Once Skye's hand had reached the hem of her shorts, her body shifted some, laying more on top of her and to one side. She only hesitated a moment, rolling her hips forward with a satisfied hiss against Jemma's leg before slowly, gently, looping two fingers around the fabric and pulling both the shorts and the borrowed underwear down with it. They didn't go far, only midway down her thighs before Skye's hand was tracing lightly just above where the shorts had been. Her other hand was still in Jemma's hair and she broke away from her chest and brought her kisses back to Jemma's mouth.

Her own body was worked up, and so she rolled into Jemma again, trying to relieve some of the tension that had built up between her own legs but there wasn't enough friction. She wanted more of Jemma, but she could wait. Skye kissed Jemma roughly before softening it some just long enough to mumble another "I love you" before the hand below traced around the inside of her thighs, enjoying just a little more build up, before her fingers slipped into soft wet folds, running up the length of her core a few times to get her used to the feeling before Skye's hand started in slow wide circles. Skye was making very please noises into her kisses with the mermaid and was slowly starting to burn up, but she could wait.

Without ever consciously choosing to, Jemma let small, pleased whines slip out of her mouth and into Skye's as they continued to kiss. Some muttered sound resembling "I love you too" made it out before Jemma fell back into moaning. She tried to shift down into Skye's fingers to increase the pressure there, since it never seemed like enough. Both to pull Skye closer and return something she wanted, Jemma shifted her leg up in between Skye's, giving her the friction she desired.

Skye bit Jemma's lip before gasping, breaking their kiss at the new pressure Jemma's leg provided. Her eyes shut briefly, brow furrowing as she steadily rolled her hips back and forth, riding her thigh to please herself. Her hand kept time with her hips though, and for every roll, her fingers did double time between the mermaid's legs.

Her fingers eventually came up, circling around a little bud of nerves, which, by the sound of it, her partner was enjoying even more than before. Skye continued to do this, finally putting her lips back on Jemma's because she hated to be separated from them. After a few more thrusts down on Jemma's leg, Skye groaned. A thin layer of sweat had appeared over her skin and Jemma's thigh was no longer enough.

She leaned into her more, kissing her fiercely before taking both of her hands away and putting them on Jemma's, guiding her partners hands down to her own shorts that were still on.
"T-take them off...p-please."

Jemma didn't need to be asked twice. She'd been wondering why Skye hadn't taken them off already, but she's been respecting that Skye was possibly a little more embarrassed than her. It took no further convincing for Jemma to hook her thumbs around the waistband of Skye's shorts and guide them down over her hips.

She was cautious at first, shy and hesitant with her touches. If this was one of the ways humans said they loved each other, Jemma was determined to give back to Skye, especially since now she knew how good it felt. Her hand was soon between Skye and her own thigh, and her fingers tentatively touched hot skin before slipping through wet folds and rubbing generously. Jemma was a quick learner and her fingers soon found the same spot Skye had used. She targeted the small bundle of nerves, and although she didn't move quite as fluidly as Skye did, she was getting the hang of it.

Whatever Jemma was doing, it was working, because the moment she made contact, Skye's face was in Jemma's neck, breath hot and moaning. She was rolling her hips down, trying to get more. One of her hands had even tangled itself back in Jemma's hair, tugging lightly while her other arm was wrapped around her neck and shoulders trying to being the mermaid closer if possible. Jemma's name came out several times before Skye had to bite her lip and silence herself so she could try and focus.

Once again she replaced her hand back between her partner's legs and started rubbing again, faster than before, concentrating on her clit, getting Jemma excited again. She lingered there for another minute or so before her fingers slid down just a little, now wet enough, and slid a single digit into Jemma's core. Skye kissed her neck and her jaw between pants of herself still moving herself against Jemma's hand, careful to let the mermaid adjust before she slipped another finger in and slowly began moving them back and forth. Nails lightly scraped at Jemma's scalp as the hand in her hair kept a tighter hold, pulling just a little whenever Jemma's hand went over that particularly sensitive spot between her legs.

Even louder, deeper moans vibrated up Jemma's throat and into the room. The newest sensation proved to be too much, small tremors shook her body as she thrust her hips into Skye's hand, trying to get more. Hot, breathless gasps fell over Skye's ear and she stopped trying to control them, as that seemed to be the point.

Jemma's hand moved faster between Skye's legs, trying to work her partner up just as quickly. Whatever Skye was doing to her was making her legs start to go numb, but not before they were tingling and trembling all over. It felt like a pressure was building up in her lower abdomen and Jemma whimpered as it grew more intense.

Finally, when it sprung loose, Jemma gasped once more, repeating Skye's name a few times as she enjoyed what was undoubtedly the most physically pleasurable thing she'd ever felt. Jemma guessed that that was the end of it by the way she felt a little worn out for some reason, but she could tell she hadn't done quite the same thing for Skye yet, and she was determined to.

It took a moment for Jemma to figure out exactly what Skye had done, but when she did, she copied it almost exactly, wanting to make Skye feel the same thing she'd made her feel. Once Jemma slipped her fingers inside Skye, she found that it felt a little strange, yet it was insanely satisfying for her to see how pleased Skye was.

It didn't take Skye's body long to catch up once Jemma figured out what to do, and before long her hips were bucking and muscles taut as the spasms hit. Her face was still buried into Jemma's neck and she writhed and moaned on top of her for a few more seconds before the feeling faded, leaving her tired but undeniably happy.

Skye shifted her weight some, moving to lay more next to Jemma than on top of her so that she could breathe. Skye knew she wasn't the lightest thing in the world. The hand in her hair stayed there, content to be tangled while the other wrapped around the mermaid's waist and held her close. She kissed her neck, and then her cheek, and lifted herself up a little to kiss her lips again, though now it was much softer and Skye's face was a little red. Her embarrassment had returned.

"So...th-that was...that was Uhm...d-did you like it...?"

"That was..." Jemma paused, still trying to catch her breath and come up with a word to describe what had just happened. It was all kinds of amazing and fantastic and Jemma had trouble finding just one word for it.

"Terrific, that was terrific." Jemma laughed, wiggling slightly so she was lying on her side and facing Skye. Her fingers automatically reached for Skye's necklace, and she messed with it for a few seconds before moving her hand to the side of Skye's face and kissing her softly.

"Thank you for showing me...whatever that's called." She mumbled across her lips before finally parting. Jemma sighed happily and let her legs tangle with Skye's as she snuggled closer.

Skye smiled, nuzzling into Jemma and pulling her closer, further tangling her legs in hers. "It's uhm...well there are lots of words for it...uh...there's uhmm...sex. That's the m-most common. Then there's uhm...m-making love...a-and f-fucking. They sort of uhm...all have different meanings," Skye's face was still a shade of pink. Her breathing had returned to normal and she was very content now to just lay there with Jemma. She was tired and it was late after all.

"I'm so glad you're back, Jemma..." She held her just a little tighter and suddenly she felt how tired she was. Like she hadn't slept all year and her body was finally home to relax. It made her shoulders shake and soon Skye was crying, face tucked under Jemma's chin, clutching her harder. She wasn't sad, she was just so happy now that Jemma was here. She couldn't stand it. "I m-missed you so much...p-please don't ever leave again, e-even if I tell you too. I-I can't..."

"Shhh, Skye." Jemma whispered soothingly. She slipped one arm underneath her partner and wrapped it around her tightly. The other wound up on Skye's head, stroking her hair and trying to comfort her.

"I'm never leaving again." Jemma promised, clutching Skye like a lifeline. She was promising herself as well. She was assuring herself that nothing would get between them again, because Jemma knew she wouldn't be able to stand it either.

"You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried." Jemma's voice cracked, and she found that she was crying as well. Neither of them dared move, Jemma just laid there and held Skye, running her fingers through her hair and kissing the top of her head repeatedly.

It took some time for Skye to stop crying, but even when she did, she didn't move. She stayed there, clinging to Jemma for what seemed like a long time, comforted by her promises and her presence, before her eyelids started to get heavy. She was too tired to dress and so when she did shift, it was only to move the both of them under her blankets.

Once they were comfortably situated and Skye made sure Jemma had enough pillow for her head, she spoke up again. Quietly, she explained beds and pillows and blankets to Jemma since she couldn't remember if she had before the only other time Jemma had been in her room. She still clung to her tightly, but her eyes were dry now and she lifted her head to kiss Jemma softly.

"I love you so much..." She kissed her one more time before snuggling her head back under her chin, breathing in the scent of her. Her breathing evened out and eventually slowed, signalling Skye had fallen asleep.

---

Jemma didn't think she'd ever slept so long in her life. When her eyes finally did flutter open, warm rays of sunshine were heating up her skin and she had to close them again before her eyes burned. She shifted on the bed, which Jemma thought was amazingly soft and comfortable. It may have been less because of the bed and more because of Skye, though.

As her vision came into focus, Jemma's eyes caught the chocolate brown of the top of Skye's head, and Jemma smiled, kissing it lightly. Her partner was still held tightly in her arms, and Jemma eased the tension, murmuring a soft good morning to help bring Skye back into consciousness.

It was almost hard to believe, really, that Jemma had dreamed of coming back to Skye for so long. Now she had just woken up with her, after a deep sleep with no restlessness at all. She was a t peace, and it was wonderful.

Skye stirred slightly, but only to bury her face more into Jemma and under the blankets. A soft yawn escaped her mouth and the hot breath of it would have hit Jemma's neck.

"Five more minutes..." It was a light grumbled, followed by a groan when Jemma did not stop her kisses.

Skye finally opened her eyes, face to face in the semi dark with Jemma's neck and shoulders. She yawned again, grinning, and shifted so her head was back above the blankets, wincing as the light hit her eyes. "Mmm, I'm up I'm up," clearly she wasn't though because her eyes were still half lidded, even as she leaned over and gave Jemma a very thorough good morning kiss.

Skye didn't think she had slept so well in ages and she was glad for it. The rest had obviously done her good, and now Jemma was here and she wasn't going to leave again. Her fairytale had fallen back into place, and she couldn't be happier.
"Good morning..."

"Good morning, Starfish." Jemma grinned. Skye was almost being a starfish again right now, using all of her limbs to cling to her. Jemma was just fine with that. One of her arms was still around Skye's shoulders, but the other was over Skye's waist. She drew a few patterns over Skye's skin with her fingers before resting her hand flat on Skye's waist.
"How long did we sleep?" Jemma asked, craning her neck to try and get a good look at the sun out of the single window. She wasn't in a rush to get back to the ocean, but she should probably at least let out a call to her pod to let them know it was safe so they could approach.

"Hmm, I don't know. Lemme see," Skye released her hold on Jemma, rolling over to face away from her and sitting up a little so she could reach over her bed and get to her phone. Moving like this made the blankets slide down, exposing most of her upper back to Jemma.

"It says 9:37...so I'm not sure when we went to bed, but I'm going to assume at least nine hours because I know we came home before midnight." Skye set her phone back down and went to roll back over to face Jemma when she blushed and noted her state of dress...or lack there of. She had forgotten.

The blankets were back over her in a second before she faced the mermaid again, face still pink after her discovery.
"S-so uhm...wh-what do you want to do today?"

None of the numbers really meant anything to Jemma since she didn't use Skye's way of telling time, but she could just tell that the sun was steadily rising higher in the sky. Slowly, not really wanting to, Jemma slipped out from underneath the warm sheets. She shuffled about, picking up all of her- or Skye's, rather- clothes from the floor and putting them on.

"I have to call the pod before the sun is high so they know it's safe and that we can stay." Jemma said in a little bit of a rush. "But after that I'm free to wander about on land as much as I please." Jemma smiled. There were so many things she couldn't wait to tell Skye about. There was also Elizabeth, Jemma needed to show her the new land and begin to teach her about it. She'd love to introduce Skye to Elizabeth. The young mermaid was like her child, after all.
"I have so many things to tell you while we walk." She grinned, gathering up Skye's clothes and bringing them to her as well. Packing up her things into her waist pouch didn't take too long, and Jemma was ready to go in no time, impatiently waiting for Skye.

"You are way too happy for how early it is," Skye chuckled when Jemma brought over her clothes. She couldn't deny though, that she was happy as well. Jemma was here and she was going to stay.

She moved to sit up, still holding the sheets around her chest. She knew it probably didn't do much good. Jemma had just gotten up and walked around no problem, and Skye had to admit, she didn't mind the view, but she wasn't quite so...used to it as Jemma was. She quickly dressed though and pulled her shoes on. It took her even less time to pull some of her hair back before she was over next to Jemma, "I'm ready now. Let's go. I can't wait to hear everything," she smiled and pulled the mermaid into a quick kiss before she opened her bedroom door so they could leave.

"I saw lots of animals, like you said. Never any lions, but there were lots of others." Jemma practically skipped down the steps. They had once been a great obstacle for her, but now they were just as easy as the water. It was nothing compared to the large structures she's climbed on the islands.

"There were lots of big animals..." Jemma held her arms out in a wide circle to show how big around the creatures had been. "They had skin, but also a big rock on their backs. I think it was meant to protect them." Jemma was already beginning to babble before they even left the house.

"There were also lots of birds, and big creatures with horns." Jemma told her.

"So...turtles?" Skye asked and chuckled at the way Jemma was describing everything. She pulled out her phone and types in turtles and held the pictures up to Jemma as they walked out the door.

"Like these, Jems? I really wonder where you were. What did it look like? You have to tell me everything!" Skye was very excited and she honestly couldn't wait to hear all about Jemma's adventures. The only thing Skye had to show for her entire year was the sculpture, which reminded her, "When you've called your pod we have to go to the pier! Remember how I said I finally got your scales right? Well, that's where they are. I want to show you! I think you'll really love it!" Skye interrupted, suddenly just as excited as Jemma was to get out and about. Her sleepiness was gone and now she felt very well rested and ready to go.

"I would love to see." Jemma beamed. The thought that Skye had finally managed to finish her goal and that it was seemingly on display made Jemma very proud. "I can't wait." Jemma didn't even realize she was constantly a few steps ahead of Skye until she had to stop on the sidewalk and wait a moment for her to catch up. She never thought she would have been this good at walking.

"Skye, can you tell me the name of something? It was like a pile of sand, but much bigger and on land and made of rock." Jemma made a triangle shape as she talked, animatedly using her hands to help explain. "It was very hard to climb, and when I got to the top there was liquid fire inside. It was very hot." Jemma said. She hadn't gone inside the steaming middle, her instincts were at least good enough to tell her not to do that.

"A big triangle of dirt...full of fire?" Skye had to stop for a second, eyebrow raised both in confusion and worry.

"A volcano?! You're telling me you climbed to the top of a volcano?! Jemma that's dangerous!" Skye grabbed her hand and held it tightly. She was both very impressed and now very anxious, even though she knew it was over and done with now.

"I mean...that's also incredibly impressive...that's pretty much like scaling a mountain without climbing gear..." Skye realized Jemma wouldn't know what she meant so she backtracked again for her as they walked hand in hand, "That's really cool that you learned to do all those things Jemma, but maybe next time you see a volcano, don't climb it. They are dangerous. You could die. We can go climb the little mountain here if you want?"

Jemma held Skye's hand just as tightly and walked along with her. She liked that Skye was still being cute and protective even though these were things that had happened months ago. She just nodded happily at Skye's idea to go hiking and thought about bringing Elizabeth along if she didn't want mind giving up some alone time with Skye.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Skye! I have an apprentice now." She grinned, pressing into Skye's side. "Her name is Elizabeth, and she's just dying to meet you. I could hardly convince her to stay behind when I came. I told her all about you and I've been teaching her everything I know about land." Jemma explained, proud of her new job and her little one. There was definitely a connection there. Now that she was an adult, she could feel that parental pull towards all the children that everyone had felt towards her before.

Skye smiled at the mention of the other mermaid and nodded, "An apprentice? That's great Jemma, I would love to meet her. Though...maybe not today? I kind of want you all to myself, if that's OK with you. Tomorrow is good though, I don't have class and I can probably skip out on the diner. I know mom will get someone to cover my shift if I tell her I'm going out. She'll probably be so excited I'm doing something g else she'll cover it herself," She chuckled and walked happily along down the road till they reached the beach access. It was only a short walk from there to where they first met. Skye knew the walk well.

"You know...I still came here every day...even though I knew you weren't coming. I don't know why, I just...I couldn't bring myself to not go."

"Skye..." Jemma began getting a little choked up again. She didn't want to, she wanted to be happy that she was here, but the thought of Skye sitting here alone on the beach every day made her heart break.

"I still built a few rock towers... You know, here and there." Jemma sighed and shared her own little sad tidbit. Even though she had known Skye would never be able to show up, she still made them occasionally when she spent time on shore.

She sighed, but she smiled too, and when Skye saw the wall of rocks, her smile grew even wider. "Well now I can sit at the beach and you can build all the rock towers you want and we can spend every day together." Skye leaned over and kissed her cheek and stood back.

"Alright miss "I've climbed volcanoes", get your butt up over those rocks," Skye tickled the mermaids sides to burry her towards the wall and then quickly climbed up and over herself, landing on the other side and waiting for Jemma.

It felt good to be in this place again, and with the mermaid. It felt right. It felt like home. Skye was going to cherish every moment of it.

Jemma giggled and ran for the rocks. It was strange entering the grotto Skye's way, she'd done it very few times before. She naturally found a few footholds and hoisted herself up over the rocks with no trouble, landing solidly on the ground behind her partner.

"Give me just a moment." Jemma told Skye, wandering close to the waves. She was careful not to touch them, as she didn't want her tail back quite yet. She imagined she looked like Skye running away from the waves, and the thought made her smile.

It would be a little harder to project sound from above the surface of the ocean, so Jemma cupped her hands and put them near her face as she called, clicking and alerting her entire pod that they should move back into the caves and that Jemma would join them sometime soon. When she was finished, Jemma backed away from the waves, but not before collecting several large, flat stones and stacking them out of the water's reach.

"I feel like everything has just fallen back into place." Jemma admitted.

"We're back together now. Everything is in place," Skye grinned and walked up behind her and wrapped her arms around Jemma's waist, holding her close and looking over her shoulder out at the water and then down to the tower.
"I missed those sounds you make…" Skye turned her head to kiss Jemma on the cheek before she let her go, reluctantly, and grabbed her hand with her own, "Well, now we can do whatever you want. Are you hungry? Would you like breakfast? We can go eat at the diner, since it's near the pier, then I can show you what I made? Then after...I dunno. We could do anything. What do you want to see?"

"Well I definitely want to see your artwork, and breakfast sounds good." Jemma followed after Skye back towards the rocks. She gave a glance over her shoulder at the small rock tower and smiled. Everything really was going back to normal, better than normal actually.

Jemma needed no help at all getting over the rocks, in fact, she almost made it over faster than Skye. Still holding onto Skye's hand, Jemma let her partner lead her back to the diner. She'd only been there once and there was no way she could have remembered the way after a whole year.

The walk to the diner didn't take long and the breakfast crowd had already left, now the only customers who remained were those who were more of a brunch crowd. Skye held the door open for Jemma and grinned.

"Hey there dear, you got a friend?" A woman who looked similar to Skye came around the counter, two trays on her arm as she headed to a table.

"Yeah mom. This is Jemma," Skye smiled, a little blush on her face.

"I'll be over to meet you in just a minute," the woman smiled to Jemma and moved on through the diner to another table.

"So...that's my mom," Skye grinned and lead Jemma over to an empty booth. She let go of her hand then so they could sit on opposite sides and face each other. She realized she had still been holding her hand when they walked in. Her mother had probably seen. No doubt she would get the full twenty question drill.

Skye's mother walked back over to the table, setting two menus down and smiling to the two girls, looking lastly to Jemma and held her hand out.

"Hello dear. I'm Jiaying, Skye's mother. It's so nice to see she's making new friends," she winked to her daughter then, who blushed a deeper shade of red.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Jemma. You better keep this girl in line and make her have some fun. All she does is work work work."

"Uhm...about that mom. Can you get my shift today covered?!"

"Absolutely, babe. It's taken care of. You two have fun. Now, what do you want to drink?"

Jemma stared at Jiaying's hand for a moment, nervous about meeting Skye's family and not really sure what Jiaying was doing. Several guesses flashed through her mind before she finally realized it was a human way of greeting. Skye never did this, but their meeting had been a little out of the ordinary. Jemma reached out and shook her hand, smiling with relief when it seemed like she was right.

"It's lovely to meet you." Jemma replied, pulling her hand back to her side when Jiaying's grip loosened. She couldn't help but think back to when she and Skye had first become partners. It didn't seem as though she'd ever get to meet her, but here she was. She exchanged a small smile with Skye, who she knew was probably thrilled about this whole situation too.

"Just a water for me, thank you." Jemma finally ordered, looking to Skye and smiling again afterwards.

"Excellent. Cream soda for you, babe?" Jiaying asked, turning to her daughter who nodded. The woman left then and Skye released the breath she had been holding.

"She likes you, I think," she chuckled and reached across the table with one of her hands so she could continue to hold Jemma's. Having been away from her for so long, Skye felt she needed constant contact to catch up.

"She can...tell about people. It's kinda weird. She only met Ward a handful of times and she never knew what he did, but she sure didn't like him. So I'm pretty sure she likes you. Let's not tell her about the whole...practically married part yet though. Although she will probably ask me a whole lot of questions tonight."

Skye noticed her mom coming back and she let go of Jemma's hand, putting it back in her lap as her mother set the drinks down.

"You two know what you want?"

"No mom, I think we need a few more minutes, thanks." Skye smiled and her mother nodded and wandered off again.

"Anyway, I don't even remember what you had last time. So, tell me what you think sounds alright and I can explain it...or better yet, tell me what you like and I'll try and find something like that. Or you can just choose at random and see how it goes!"

"I'll try whatever you have." Jemma decided. She was elated and still focussed on the fact that Skye's mother liked her. She was so happy, and she was pretty sure she liked Skye's mother as well, if first impressions said anything. Their meeting was exponentially better than Skye and Bobbi's, that was for sure.

"Well lets see...since its breakfast...lets have some ham and toast and some eggs?" Skye smiled and proceeded to explain that each tasted good. She decided to get a side of fruit too, in case Jemma didn't like any of the other food. Fruit was always a good go-to. She remembered Jemma had liked all the fruit she had brought her before.

When her mother came back, Skye ordered for them and her mother continued to smile as she went back into the kitchen. Skye now, was leaning on one of her elbows on the table, hand holding her face up as she just stared at Jemma.

"So...miss explorer that climbs dangerous rocks, tell me what else you've done. Tell me about Elizabeth. Tell me everything."

"Oh, Skye, it was incredible. I was on land much more than I was in water, and there were so many things I wanted to show you or ask you about." Jemma sighed, remembering her conflicting feelings towards the island. She'd been so immensely amazed, but at first she'd had no one to show, and no one to ask when she wanted to know more.

"I took up an apprentice after a few months, once I knew my way around the islands. She was just as eager as I was, I could see it in her eyes." Jemma grinned just thinking about it. When the younger girl learned that they were coming back here, she practically begged Jemma to let her meet her partner. "She's absolutely fascinated by you, by the way." She laughed and imagined how Elizabeth would react to finally meeting the strange member of her pod she'd only seen a picture of.

"Oh, and there were these great big lizards, they basked out on the black rocks with us. They were strange, like they were always sick. They kept sneezing, especially after they swam with us." Jemma explained. They really had been quite odd creatures.

Skye felt flattered that the young mermaid wanted to meet her so badly. She only hoped she lived up to whatever hype Jemma had let build up in the child's head. Skye didn't think she was that interesting, but then again, to a mermaid who had never seen a human before, it might be like a human who had never seen a mermaid before.

"Well, you can let her meet me soon. Just not today. I'm selfish and want you all to myself. We could do the weekend though? You remember me telling you about weekends? Saturday and Sunday? I won't have class and I wasn't scheduled for the diner so on Saturday we can take her hiking if you want. Get her a good view of the island." Skye offered while she pulled her phone out. "It's only three days away. Plenty of time to prepare and all that..."

She was looking at the screen rather intently, having typed something in about sneezing water lizards.

"Marine Iguanas...live only on the Galapagos Islands?! Oh my god, that's so cool! " coupled with giant turtles and volcanoes, that had to have been where Jemma was for the past year. She handed her phone to Jemma so that she could see the picture of the lizard to confirm. "I can't believe that's where you were...it's so far away, but that's so awesome. I'd kill to go there and sketch some stuff!"

"I wish you could have been there." Jemma said, sliding the phone back to Skye after confirming that it was in fact the correct lizard. It didn't sound sad, though, which was an improvement. It was more of her longing to share things with her than her depression about their separation now that they were back together. Who knew, maybe one day Skye could travel. Anything was possible, Jemma did know that.

"And Elizabeth will be thrilled to go hiking this weekend. I will be as well." Jemma smiled and reached across the table for Skye's hand, holding it gently between her fingers. She still couldn't get over how special Skye's hands made her feel. They were different from anyone in the pod's. They were gentle and precise, yet slightly calloused and rough from her artwork.

There was a new look to one of her hands, a long, messed up looking scar, now faded back to normal color from pink, where she had accidentally burnt the shit out of her hand with the torch. Skye smiled though and nodded, "I really am excited to meet her. Sounds like you have a great job, walking around on land. Exploring everything. I think I can find a lot of things for you guys to explore. This isn't the Galapagos, but there's probably a lot more humans here for you to learn from too," She winked and gave Jemma's hands a squeeze. A couple more minutes passed and the food was brought to the table. Skye's mother sat next to her and had a slice of ham before kissing her daughter's cheek and excusing herself to take other orders.

"Well, ham and eggs is one of my many weaknesses, including you. What do you think?"

"This is terrific." Jemma told Skye, shoving another bite of eggs into her mouth. Last time Jemma had been here Skye had taught her how to use a fork, and she used it to the best of her ability, but she was still very awkward with it. Instead she switched to the toast, taking a few bites as she tried everything.

"I don't know how you humans do it." Jemma laughed. So far she'd liked pretty much everything Skye had given her, and it was ridiculous how many options they had for food. Jemma wasn't complaining, though, she was quite hungry after her finally finishing her long swim the day before.

Skye laughed and ate some of her own, opting to put her ham and eggs on her own slice of toast like an open faced sandwich instead. She was glad Jemma liked the food and was enjoying herself. Skye wanted her to love everything about being on land with her, and once Skye finally got to tell Jemma her little secret, maybe she could learn some more things about the ocean where Jemma lived too.

"How we do what? Eat? We love to eat," She winked and took a long gulp of her drink before she finished her toast sandwich and went for the last piece of ham.

"Maybe we can bring Elizabeth? If she feels up to being surrounded by so many people. You know, once she's used to things. Trying human foods is a good learning experience. Don't you think, Jems?" Skye winked.

"Of course." Jemma nodded enthusiastically. Her grin probably wouldn't be going away for a very long time. She had a feeling she was getting everything she'd ever wanted, probably even more. Her old self, the mermaid that swam dangerously close to boats, would never believe how far she'd come.

"She'll probably be terrified, but she'll get used to it." Jemma snickered, just imagining the younger girl, who always wanted to meet a human, come face to face with Skye and the rest of her world. When they both finished eating, Jemma grabbed for Skye's hands again.

"You said you finally got my scales right." Jemma said it quietly, so no one around them could hear, just in case. She wouldn't risk outing herself again. "Can I see now?"

"Absolutely," Skye nodded with a smile and pulled one of her hands back so she could pick up her cream soda bottle and finish the liquid off. She eventually had to take her other hand away to pull up her shirt and reach into her pockets to get out some money, which she placed on top of the check that Jiaying had brought while they had been eating.

"You girls leaving?" Jiaying asked as she came over after serving another table and scooped up the change and ticket.

"Yeah, Jemma and I are going to talk a walk to the pier while we are here," Skye nodded outside, since the pier was only a couple blocks away.

"Sounds lovely. You two have fun. Jemma, it was lovely to meet you. I hope I will be seeing more of you in the Johnson household," The woman winked, which Skye didn't noticed because she was too busy still blushing. The redness on her cheeks only faded when her mother walked away into the back of the restaurant.

"You know, I think she definitely likes you," the brunette chuckled and stood up from the booth and waited for Jemma before she grabbed up her hand again and walked the two of them out of the diner and turned down the sidewalk to head for the pier.

"Well I would hope so." Jemma chuckled, letting their linked hands swing between them slightly as they walked down the sidewalk. From what she knew already, Jemma liked Skye's mom too, which was great if she and Skye were going to spend forever with each other, and they were.

"I like her too. She seems nice." Jemma nodded affirmatively. Maybe someday she and Skye could tell her mother about her other life in the ocean, but that was a conversation for another day. She was sure neither of them wanted to risk revealing her identity to anyone, even Jiaying, after what had happened. It was too soon to consider.

They fell into comfortable silence after that, just enjoying each other's company. They didn't need to say anything to understand how much they were both appreciating the moment. Jemma swore right then she would never take being with Skye for granted ever again, because as she'd found out, it could be taken away at any moment.

Jemma was excited to see Skye's masterpiece. She'd seen a lot of Skye's art before, but it had been a very long time, and she had a feeling this was going to be even better than anything she'd ever made before if Skye said she finally achieved her long time goal.

"Alright, you're going to have to close your eyes for this next bit, but I will lead you. Don't worry," Skye said before they could turn to go down the pier past all the shops and the arcade and fair rides that she had taken her to so long ago.

"It's just at the end of the pier. I won't let you bump into anyone," Skye assured Jemma one more time before she smiled when she watched the mermaid close her eyes. She took an extra firm grip on her hand and led her slowly through the sparse crown, checking every so often to make sure that her eyes were still shut.

It took a few minutes, but soon the artist had Jemma positioned just so in front of her sculpture. Skye released her hand and slowly moved behind her and placed both hands on Jemma's shoulders and inhaled deeply, "Alright, you can open them."

The mermaid sculpture had only been outside, exposed to the salty sea air and elements, but it was already beginning to get splotches of green here and there and Skye thought it was more beautiful than when it had been all shiny copper. It was bolted into the pier floor and was taller than the two of them put together but the morning sun shone on what was left of the untarnished copper and the sea glass, causing colored lights to appear on the wood beneath their feet. The one aspect of the statue Skye had protected was still as shiny as ever. The starfish in the mermaids hand remained as bright as when she had first finished polishing it and it pleased her even more. She was the most proud of this work than of any other she had ever done and she couldn't wait to hear what Jemma thought of the tail she had so painstakingly created with the shaved glass.

When Jemma opened her eyes, for the first few moments, she just stared in shock. She had been expecting a sketch, or a painting, but what she saw was at least a thousand times better. The statue was so lifelike, and her eyes almost couldn't take it all in at once. She looked it over bit by bit, from the copper mermaid itself to the starfish, and finally down to the tail. It looked so much like her own, and it amazed her beyond belief. She couldn't imagine how long it had taken to carve each scale and assemble them in such an intricate way, just like her tail.

Jemma was proud. She was so, so proud of Skye for creating something so unbelievably wonderful and meaningful and beautiful all at once. Her heart soared at the gesture Skye made with the piece, it was like an actual, physical expression of how much Skye loved her, and it made happy tears well up in her eyes.

"Skye, I..." Jemma couldn't even come up with words, she just put one of her own hands over Skye's on her shoulder. "I love it, it's absolutely amazing." She finished, still staring in awe. It was unbelievable, but it was there, and Skye had made it. She wandered closer to it and let her fingers run over the sea glass, feeling the pattern. She ran across the spot with the missing stone, and she knew exactly what it meant.

When she finally got over her complete and utter amazement, Jemma came to a realization. Her brows furrowed slightly and Skye would be able to tell she knew something didn't quite add up.

"I didn't bring you this much sea glass..." Jemma shook her head, still resting her hand on the statue. She knew what that meant, but somehow she still couldn't comprehend it.

"No, you didn't," Skye was grinning, although sheepishly, and moved over in front of Jemma to stand next to her creation.

"I had to go and get some myself. I got an acquaintance from my art class to go scuba diving with me and help me get some sea glass since I gave him some extra scrap metal I found along the beach," She confessed, her cheeks turning ever pinker.

"It was terrifying without you and I'm sad that my first time actually looking under the surface of the ocean was with someone I hardly know, but I needed to do it…to finish. To make it perfect," Skye turned around and laid a hand on her statue as well and smiled faintly, like she was remembering something fondly.

"That's not an invitation to drag me into the water, just so you know," She chuckled.

Skye was acting like it wasn't a huge deal, but Jemma was swelling with pride. She wished she'd been there for Skye's first swim, yes, but she was still immensely happy to hear that she had gotten over her fear at least somewhat, enough to actually get in the water on her own accord.

"You know enough about mermaids to know that sirens don't actually exist, right?" Jemma joked. While she was laughing and teasing, she did want Skye to know just how much that meant to her. For Skye to get in the water to finish this project, for them, meant a lot to her.

"I'm really glad you got in the water. I love you so much, you know that?" Jemma's cheeks were tinted pink when she said the last part, but it was one hundred percent true, no doubt about it. She moved closer to Skye until they were pressed against each other, and she lightly grabbed onto Skye's necklace, also holding onto her own with her other hand. She could almost feel the actual connection there, but she also knew she didn't need any kind of mermaid magic to know she was completely and utterly in love with Skye.

"I do…" Skye said quietly, her gaze lost in the expanse of Jemma's eyes as she intently to her words, "I can feel it," She finished, when Jemma grabbed their necklaces. She had been able to even when Jemma had been gone for so long. Under all the other emotions, the sadness, the anger, the curiosity, the joy, the satisfaction…she'd felt the love. She had felt all of it the entire time and she felt it now.

"I love you too, Jemma. I'm not ever letting you out of my sight again," She breathed lightly before leaning down and kissing her. Skye's hands held Jemma's head gently, but their grip there was enough for the mermaid to know the human wasn't going to let her go anywhere, at least not anytime soon.

Jemma grinned into the kiss and let her hands move down and settle at Skye's waist, comfortably holding her close. She didn't want to ever leave Skye's sight again either. They were going to be together for the rest of her lives if she had anything to say about it.

"Wait-" Jemma suddenly stopped them and pulled away, a surprised kind of concern on her face. She looked up at Skye, her expression completely serious. "How long do humans live?" She questioned, worry all over her face.

"What?" Skye's brows furrowed in confusion as she looked at the concern on Jemma's face but when she asked the question Skye just didn't seem to get it.

"I mean like…eighty years maybe? Some people live to ninety or a hundred but they're pretty few and far between. Why?" She was quiet for a moment then fear crossed her own face, "Oh god, no, you're like a mythical creature and shit! Please tell me you're not actually like a thousand years old right now?! Are you?"

Jemma's worry gave way to laughter when Skye's concern came up to the surface. It was a valid question, and Jemma found it a little odd that neither of them had asked the age or lifespan of the other during all of their Q&A sessions with each other about humans and mermaids.

"I've lived for twenty three cycles, twelve moons each. I don't know your time for it." Jemma frowned, remembering their different ways of telling time. Skye seemed to think mermaids lived a lot longer than humans, and the thought that Skye would pass on much earlier than her was scary, especially after everything they'd been through. "We live for about one hundred cycles." She told Skye, anxiously waiting for a comparison.

"So you're twenty-three years old then," Skye's sigh of relief was probably a little heavier than she had intended it to be, but she still had a smile on her face, "That's good to know. You're actually older than I am. I'll be twenty-two in July, in the summer." She leaned over and kissed Jemma's cheek.

"Some people live to be a hundred but I don't think it's a whole lot. I guess humans live about eighty to ninety cycles…but that's alright. Maybe I'll live to be a hundred with you!"

"I'll make sure you live to be a hundred." Jemma smiled softly, grabbing for Skye's hands again. She couldn't seem to get enough of her, but she could tell Skye didn't mind one bit. She was more at ease now that she knew mermaids and humans lived at least close to the same amount of time. The worry that one of them would live for much longer was depressing, so she was glad they truly would be together to rest of their lives. "We do have magic on our side, after all." Jemma grinned and stood on her toes some, pressing her lips against Skye's and practically melting into the kiss. There was nothing in the world that could make her happier.