Kawaii-Cherri: The secret has been spilled! It was a little sad that Elsie lashed out but understandable. And it only took almost twenty chapters for it to happen and who knows, there may be… spice?

Chapter Nineteen: Some spice?

The moment was surreal and Sebastian could feel his eyes once more filling up with tears. He gave a small, half-hearted chuckle with a weak smile before he gently moved her away from him. 'Sorry,' he said, softly. 'I have spines in my fins and while you're apparently… immune, I don't want to impale you,' he explained as he carried her back to the ledge and placed her upon it.

Curiously, she couldn't help but look at his fins. 'I'm definitely going to have to have a run-down of everything,' she said as she attempted to memorise little details. Sebastian smiled weakly and she leaned forward and Elspeth rested her hand on his forearm, 'are you okay?' She asked.

He laughed and shook his head, 'not really, Elspeth. I've just had my entire worldview shifted and flipped, and I don't know whether to feel furious at my so called, step-father, or relived and excited that the next time I…' he paused, the reality seemed unreal.

Elspeth smiled softly as she looked at his outstretched fingers. 'I'm safe,' she whispered, trying to reassure him.

Sebastian exhaled heavily and reached up and cupped her face. 'The next time I want to touch you… it can be without fear.' His relief was clearly apparent and Elspeth could see tears rise in his eyes.

She leaned into his touch, noting that his skin felt incredibly different when covered in scales. 'Yup. You're just a normal, merman? Half human? Half fish… person,' she teased, making him roll his eyes at her. 'Seriously! You're just you and the only way you can hurt me is by being a dick!'

'Oh, so no pressure,' he said. Elspeth snorted with a laugh and playfully pushed his hand aside. 'Elsie, you're starting to drop in temperature,' he said in concern as he registered her body heat. Things needed to be discussed and processed but they didn't really have time for that right now. With a frown, he looked around, 'I need to check on the storm that's happening outside. If the sea has calmed and now that you're awake, and I literally can't kill you, we need to get you into warmth and dry clothing.'

It was true, she was losing feeling in her toes and fingers. Her aching body was becoming numb and tiredness was setting in. 'What does that mean? You've got to leave?'

Sebastian nodded and smiled at her weakly, 'only for a few minutes,' he assured as he took her hand gently. 'I promise, I'll be back in less than five minutes and there's enough air in here for at least twenty.'

'I don't get how there's still oxygen in here,' she admitted.

He made an embarrassed expression, 'that uh, that's on me,' he tried to explain. 'I can expel oxygen and cycle the air in here, it's a whole thing for another time,' Sebastian said trying to ignore the slightly impressed look on Elspeth's face. She traced the luminescence on his cheek and gently teased his lip ring, making him smile.

'I… don't like the dark, Bazz. Being alone in this tiny cave, in the dark, the cold… it's honestly my worst nightmare,' she admitted as her hand dropped from his skin. Reaching over she grabbed her phone but it had truly given in and died. No amount of clicking of the lock button would wake it. Once Sebastian's bioluminescence disappeared, she would be in complete darkness.

He squeezed her fingers, 'Elsie,' he said, his tone full of warmth and adoration. 'You have always conquered your fears,' he said with a smile. She looked at him with trust as she listened to every word. 'You ran through a forest of monsters, met a mermaid, now you've seen the real me and you even jumped off a cliff,' he said making her laugh lightly.

'Technically, I fell off the cliff,' she pointed out, making Sebastian roll his eyes.

With a surge of water, Sebastian moved closer to Elspeth. He wanted to kiss her and hold her tightly but this was neither the time nor place. Instead, he pressed his forehead against hers, trying to keep his damp body away. 'I will be only minutes, I promise,' he whispered.

'Aren't there monsters out there?' She replied, her grip on his arms tightening.

'Yes, there are,' he admitted. 'But I promise you. I'll be minutes,' he said. 'Sing for me,' he added as the thought hit him. Singing always made Elspeth feel better, this would hopefully alleviate the anxiety that she was feeling. 'Sing and lead me back.'

Elspeth smiled and nodded, biting her lip. 'Okay,' she whispered. 'I'll sing.' Sebastian smiled and began to move away but before he could slip under the water, Elspeth's grip on his arm almost became painful and he turned to face her again, confusion on his face.

'You can do this,' he assured her, reaching up to stroke her cheek.

She leaned into his touch and her eyes drifted down to his lips, the bottom one had been split when she kicked him in the face. 'I'm sorry, I hurt you,' she whispered.

Sebastian chuckled and smiled brightly, the gap in his sharp teeth clear. 'I deserved it,' he chuckled.

Elspeth gingerly brought her fingers to his mouth and he let her caress his lip and tentatively touch his teeth. 'They're really shark teeth, huh,' she murmured. 'Seems insane,' she added.

Playfully, he went to bite her fingertip, making her giggle and jump. His teeth clicked together and he rested his hands on the sides of her thighs. It alleviated the tense atmosphere for a moment; making Elspeth smile. Sebastian gently pressed his lips against her fingers, 'I'll be back soon,' he said as he went to move away from her.

She didn't give him a chance to leave as she leaned down; Elspeth grabbed him by the back of the head and caught his lips with hers. He jolted but she didn't let him go, her mouth warm against his. Tentatively, he relaxed and his hands moved, resting against her hips. Sebastian leaned into her embrace and he could taste the mix of saltwater and her lipstick, igniting an inner ember into a flame. The kiss lasted merely seconds and when she pulled away, they were both breathing heavily.

'You… kissed me,' he whispered. She kissed me. I can… taste her lipstick, he thought, feeling his heart race.

With a nod, she bit her lip. 'Come back to me, Bazzie,' Elspeth whispered, her arms loosening from around his neck. 'I… want to kiss you again.'

Sebastian's mind was reeling but he nodded. 'Yes… of course, I will,' he replied, squeezing her hips. She let him go completely and he moved back, 'I won't be long,' he said before he slipped under the water. It didn't take long for darkness to completely surround her once more.

Elspeth tried to take calm, regular breathes before she thought of a song to sing:

'I've heard there was a secret chord,
That David played and it pleased the Lord.
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth,
The minor fall, the major lift,
The baffled king composing Hallelujah…'

She sang it slowly and as loud as she dared, hearing it echo around the cave. Just stay calm, he'll come back to me. He promised, she thought to herself as she sang. I kissed him. I. Kissed. Him. Fuck! I can't believe I actually kissed him! Her mind screamed at her.

'Hallelujah…. Hallelujah…' she sang, her voice breaking as she tried not to cry, pulling her knees up to her chest. 'Hallelujah, Hallelujah….' She held the last note, before she faltered and a sob broke free and she covered her head with her arms.

Elspeth had no idea how much time passed but there was a touch on her arm which made her jump. She jolted, looking up and seeing Sebastian looking at her in concern. 'Elsie,' he said, softly.

'You came back!' She said though a sob and launched herself at him, throwing herself into the water.

He caught her easily and began to stoke her hair. 'Of course, I did,' he said, holding her tightly. 'I promised, didn't I?'

'Are you hurt anywhere? Can we leave?' She asked in quick succession, a habit of hers, she attempted to pat him down but he stopped her wandering hands in case she hurt herself on a one of his spines.

Sebastian nodded, 'yes, the waves have calmed although the weather is still looking dark. We're going to have to be really careful. Do you think you could swim if you need to? It's only about a mile till the shore,' he said brushing her hair from her face. Being able to touch her felt completely unnatural but at the same time, he couldn't refrain from doing so now that he knew he could.

'I could. I'm scared enough to pretty much swim to another country right now,' she said, honestly.

'Okay,' he said with a chuckle but feeling worried about her mental state, not to mention the fact that she was dangerously cold. 'On the count of three, we're going to dive. I need to hold your nose and the pressure will pop your ears as we go down. I'm going to hold you tight to my chest, cross your arms and keep your head down and eyes closed,' he instructed. 'We're going to be under the water for about thirty seconds until we're through the tunnel and reach the surface on the other side.'

'Thirty seconds, okay,' Elspeth said, her body shivering and feeling numb.

'Ready?' He asked. She crossed her arms and they got into position. 'At a last resort, I can give you oxygen but it'll be dangerous situation-'

'How?' Elspeth asked, curious.

A darkening of his cheeks showed that he was blushing, 'well, the way you would expect,' he said, feeling awkward. The impromptu kiss had taken him by surprise and they weren't exactly in a position to talk about it. 'It's just that it would mean that we'd have to be vulnerable in open water and risk being targets,' he said trying not to stutter.

Elspeth giggled and bit her lip. 'It's okay, Bazz. I'll hold my breath. Just make sure to surface regularly and I should be fine,' she assured. 'Are there monsters out there?' She asked.

'Yes, but I'll stay as close to the cliff as I can without risking the current sending us into the rocks,' he said, not wanting to lie to her. 'You trust me?' He added, in almost a tease.

'Unfortunately,' she teased back before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Sebastian took that as his cue and dove, he moved as quickly as he dared and it took a moment to adjust his buoyancy with her added weight but he managed to do so easily. The tunnel was large enough for them to pass through with ease and as soon as he could, he swam towards the surface. They broke the waves and Elspeth gasped. 'Fuuuuck!' She swore, her body violently shivering.

'Ready?' He asked. Swimming under the waves would be faster and easier, something that they both knew. Elspeth took another deep breath and he dove once more, following the coastline towards the shore. She pressed her ear against his chest and she could hear his heartbeat, it was fast and somehow… echoing?

Does he have two hearts? She thought, trying to distract herself. Her thought was short lived as she found herself feeling dizzy. Tapping Sebastian, he rose to the surface and she gasped for her air, swallowing huge belts, 'it's g-getting harder a-and harder,' she stuttered, 'to h-hold my, my b-breath.'

Sebastian looked at the shoreline, they were just over halfway. He could swim fast. Faster on his own of course. 'Not much further, Elsie,' he assured. The rain was heavy and the sky still dark and rumbling. He didn't know how long this break in the storm was going to last, they were lucky already. He paused as he felt an unfamiliar current wash over his tail. 'El-' he began as he looked down into the water. Panic hit him like a lightning bolt and he practically threw Elspeth away from him.

She screamed as she re-entered the water; bubbles surrounded her as she dipped under the waves. The saltwater burned her eyes but she caught sight of the prehistoric looking fish that had charged towards Sebastian. He had thrown her out the way and taking the brunt of the collision. 'Bazz!' She shouted, feeling her mouth fill with water. Adrenaline flooded her body and she kicked towards the surface, she broke the waves and looked around, searching for some sign of him. 'Bazz!' She screamed, spinning around. The weight of her clothing was making it hard to move but in her panic, she was ignoring it. Something grabbed her arm and she yelped, being dragged under the water.

Despite the almost complete inability to see, she twisted her head and began to pull at her arm before feeling the sensation of fingers tightening around her upper arm. Sebastian. His voice was clearer under the water than hers and when he spoke, she understood. 'Swim to the shore. Don't look back,' he commanded before he looked behind him and swore. The fish was right on his tail, it had sharp looking teeth and was almost twice the size of him. Sebastian knew that he had to make himself the target. His bioluminescence began to flash and with a heave, he pushed Elspeth towards the surface before turning back towards the fish, catching its attention.

He was faster and more agile but the blow he had sustained earlier had cracked a few ribs and was making it harder to both breathe and move. The fish was definitely more attracted to his light and movement than Elspeth and he used it to his advantage. He swam around it, getting uncomfortably close and feeling it snap at his fins. It didn't seem that his toxin bothered it at all and that was frustrating. Sebastian thought in desperation, he needed to keep it distracted long enough for Elspeth to get to shore as well as trying to stay alive and not get bitten in half. This was all his fault and he had no idea if his relationship with Elspeth was going to survive this, if he even did.

-x-

Meanwhile on the surface, Elspeth was swimming towards the shore as fast as she could. Her lungs and muscles were screaming at her and there were spots appearing in front of her eyes. By some miracle she found her feet hitting the sand underneath the waves as she got close enough to the beach. Weakly, panting like a dying dog, she crawled through the surf on all fours. Her arms were shaking and close to buckling, 'oh, Yoba,' she wept, staring at the water that lapped around her as she held herself up. 'Fuck,' she swore for what felt to be the hundredth time that day.

Breathing was hard and she felt that she had been encased in a freezer for hours on end. With a glance towards the ocean, Elspeth forced herself to her feet, with a whimper. She began to stumble up the beach, pulling her hoodie over her head and dropping it on the sand. Their tent wasn't too far away and she had dry clothing there. She had no idea what had happened to Sebastian, and at this moment in time, he wasn't on her mind. The only thing that was, was getting warm.

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Stay safe. Be well.