Aquata Cove

Aquata Cove Chapter 13: Trapped

"Uuuuggghhhh..." Adam groaned as he stirred. His throat feels so scratched up, and he has a horrible salty taste in his mouth. His head is spinning like he just woke up from a horrible hangover. He coughed as he tried spitting out the salty taste; it's like the whole inside of his mouth is caked in with salt!

He can hear... Water... Water drops, and running water. He opened his eyes, glimpsing the orange and pink glow all around him, and saw a whole basin of rippling water. Adam grunted as he dragged himself to the edge, and dipped his hand into the water.

"... A hot spring?" He asked, before coughing, cringing at the unpleasant scathing in his mouth and throat, "Oh God, please let it be fresh..." He groaned as he scooped up some of the water, and slurped it. It's very warm, but fresh.

Adam scooted, and slurped up some more water, swishing it around in his mouth, and spat it aside. He scooped up more water, gurgling, washing the salt from his mouth, and spitting it out. He can really use some ice cubes, but hot water is better than no water.

"Ahhh... Ahem ahem! Much better..." He sighed before taking a drink of the warm water. He then splashed the water on his face, washing himself, and shaking his head quickly. Adam looked around, his eyes still dreary, but seeing he's in some kind of cave, with some amazing glowing crystals growing in the rock. "Uunnnhhhh... Where am I... ?" He put his hands on the back of his neck, then noticed his bandage is very moist, "Dammit, Gramma's gonna kill me... What time is it?" He dug in his wet pocket, and took out his phone, "Great. Phone's dead." He said as his phone failed to turn on, "Now she's REALLY gonna kill me," He groaned.

"Wh-Who is?" Adam turned his head, and saw someone sitting at the far wall. A blonde, teenage male, maybe about 14, 15-years-old, give or take. He is wearing only a tattered stalk of kelp across his chest, with a few chipped and broken scallop shells on his shoulders.

"Ah! He-Hey... Um..." He blinked as he felt his head, "Uhh... Who are you? How long have you been there and... Why are you naked?"

"My name is Merrick," The teen said, rather hesitantly, "We've been here for a long time now, and... What do you mean, `naked'?" He asked, with a look of confusion on his face.

"Well, you don't have any clothes on. What're you like, a nudist or something?"

"A nude... Ist?" The boy asked, tilting his head, "I don't understand, what are clothes?"

"Well, here, lemme at least give you my shirt, you can tie it around your-" Adam felt at his left hip, but discovered that the shirt he tucked there earlier has gone! "What the? Where's my shirt??" Adam grunted as he stood up, and looked over the water, looking over, but not seeing his garment, "Where is it? Dammit, I liked that shirt!"

"I... I don't know what this shirt is, but I think it might've gotten lost when you fell into the water... You... You said someone is going to kill you?" The teen asked fearfully.

"Oh, yeah, just my Gramma. I wasn't supposed to go swimming, she's gonna get mad at me, she'll get over it."

"But... She's going to kill you!" Merrick exclaimed. Adam looked and chuckled; this kid seems earnest, if not adorably naïve.

"No, she's not REALLY going to kill me," He said, "It's just an expression, she's going to get mad at me, that's all... Wait..." Adam looked at the naked teen, "... You said I FELL into the water, right?" Merrick nodded.

"Yes, you did. When the Siren was singing to you."

"The... I'm sorry, lemme..." Adam clenched his eyes shut and thought for a moment, wondering how he got here, "Ok... I think... Yeah, I was taking pictures, and I got out to the ocean to take a few snapshots of it, and..." He paused, and nodded, "Oh yeah, and someone WAS singing..."

"Yes, the Siren..." Merrick said. Adam turned to him again.

"Siren... I heard that word before, what's a Siren?"

"Sirens are vicious, ravenous merfolk;" He said, "They are very rare, but extremely deadly. Unlike any other merperson, they have two tails instead of one. They prey on any living creature. They're both maneaters AND cannibals. They lure humans with their singing; their songs are irresistible."

"But... Wait, c'mon," Adam said, chuckling, "I'm gay, how can a mermaid get to me?"

"Their songs work on anyone..." Merrick said, not exactly understanding what the human said, "Males, females, it doesn't make a difference. Their songs make humans sleep and dream... They dream of magnificent, fantastic things, wonders that humans would never think of on their own."

"Huuuh..." Adam sat himself down, and dug his fingers through his hair, "Now that I think of it... I do have a few images in my head... Gah, it's so blurry... Was a dream after all..."

"What... What was the dream?" He asked, a little curious about what humans dream about.

"Ahhhh..." Adam thought hard, "It's so foggy... I think I was in an orgy with a bunch of guys... Oh yeah, and my two exboyfriends were there."

"Ex... Boyfriends?" Merrick asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah. I was with two other guys before I moved."

"You..." Merrick looked a little saddened by this, "You... Mated with someone else before?" Adam chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.

"Haha, nah, nothing like that. We didn't have sex, they were just two guys I went out with, nothing serious." Adam said.

"... Tell me about them?" He asked. Adam shrugged and continued.

"Sure, uh... Lets see..." He put his hands together, "My FIRST boyfriend was this big, buff black guy. Now that I think about it, he was a bit old for me; like, 6 years older than me. He was really sexy, but he was also a bit too... Well, he just seemed a little domineering for me. Anyway, it didn't last long; he joined the military, and we broke up.

"My SECOND boyfriend was this really sweet guy I met at school. He had a bit of a belly on him, but he was sooo cuddly," Adam said with a smile, "He always had his orange hair in a buzz-cut with a light layer on his face. He was really cute, but we were too different, and we ended up splitting up when I told him I was moving to Hawaii.

"So yeah, I had two boyfriends, and I'm currently single right now," He nodded to the teen, "What about you? You look kinda young. Have you started dating yet?" Merrick blinked again.

"Dating? What does that mean? I don't... I don't have any mates, of that's what you mean..."

"Oh, ok." Adam said.

"What else did you dream about?" Merrick asked.

"Ummm... Gah, hang on..." Adam said as he thought hard, "Uhhhh..." He then looked at the blonde teen. "Wait... I think... I think you were in it." Merrick blinked and raised his eyebrows.

"I-I was?" He asked.

"Yeah I think..." Adam blushed as a clear image came into his head, "We were, uh-um... Kissing, I think..." He said, feeling his own member stirring as he remembered the one image.

"We were..." A pink tint played across Merrick's face, "We kissed?"

"Y-Yeah so um..." Adam said, feeling very awkward, "Wh-Where ARE we? How did we get here exactly?"

"I don't know, it's a cave I found... I brought you here when the sirens attacked..." Merrick said, feeling a bit bewildered.

"Wait, waitwaitwait, SirENS? I thought there was just the one?"

"No... A pod of them was nearby. When that siren sung to you I..." Merrick looked up into the human's eyes, "I killed it, before it could eat you. But when you fell into the ocean, they came. I was able to take you, and get us away from them before they could devour us..."

Adam blinked as he took a few steps to the teen. He crouched down, and looked at him, "You... You saved me?" He smiled as he sat down, "Wow, I... I don't know what to say... Thank you..." Merrick smiled back at him "You risked your life for me but... We've never even met. Why would you put yourself in danger for the sake of random stranger?"

"But..." Merrick said, "We HAVE met!"

"What, my dream? That's just dejah vu, that's all-"

"No, it's not... Don't you remember me?" Merrick said, shifting in his spot, "A few suns ago, on the night of the red moon."

"Huh? What do you..."

"We saw each other for the first time." Adam's mind flashed back to that dizzy spell when he was listening to his iPod that night. He remembered seeing someone hiding behind a rock.

"The next sun, you were swimming in the water... I think you were looking for me, until that eel bit you..." Adam looked wide-eyed as he flashed back to when that sudden attack on the reef, when that eel sunk its sharp fangs into his flesh, "I killed it before it could do you anymore harm, and then... You came back down, even though you were bleeding, and you came to look at me..." Adam flashed to when he saw that blue, fish-like creature, looking up at him from the sandy bottom.

"On the next sun, you came back again, with that crab... You tried to give it to me, and then we touched... For the first time, we touched..." Merrick said, "How can you not recognize me???" Adam looked, feeling on the edge of himself as the teen spoke, "After we touched, I stayed away from that reef because I thought we shouldn't meet again, but then you found me... You called out to me on the cliff..." Adam remembers waving at a far-away nude guy on a rock in the ocean, wearing a cross-belt and a black headband through his grandpa's camera.

"No..." Adam said, his eyes going wide as he backed up, "No, no no no no, that-that CAN'T be..." He pointed a shaky finger at him, "That CAN'T be right, you-you're just a teenager, a regular person, just like me!" Merrick looked down, and at his own hands, "I met a merman on the beach, I-I-I remember FEEDING a fish-man thing, I never seen you before in my life!" He stammered. 
"Uh... No, I can prove it!" Merrick said as he then moved, and reached to the water. He dipped his hand into the water, and stirred it about. The teen then pulled back, and held up his hand. Adam gasped as he saw the teen's hand, which has turned blue and silver, with a wide webbing between his fingers, "... See? ...It's me..." Adam got on his hands and knees, and crawled to him. Adam came up to the male, and slowly raised his shaky hand up, and touched the young male's dripping, estranged hand. He felt his thumbs and fingers on that hand.

"Hoooww... How is this even possible??" Adam said, his heart pounding as he examined it.

"We merpeople... We change when the water leaves our body... When we come onto dry land, we look like humans..." Adam noticed a few strands of beads of water along his arm, showing a few, scaly lines on his arm. Adam then put his hand onto the teen's belly, feeling the incredibly smooth skin. He blushed when he saw his genitals, he brushed his hand along Merrick's side and stomach, before he flinched and giggled, "Hehehe!" Adam couldn't help but smile, "That's... I never felt that before..." Merrick said.

"Huh..." Adam said as he looked closely, noticing that there isn't even one bit of fuzz or hair on his legs, or his arms, and none on his torso, "How many times have you... You know, got like this?"

"This would be my fourth time I've dried like this..." Merrick said. Adam felt along his hips, and put his hands onto the blonde's knees.

"You ever walked before?" Merrick chuckled and shook his head.

"Don't know how." Adam chuckled as Merrick let him touch and feel him, spreading his legs and exposing his genitals, "How is this even possible?" He asked.

"Your... Your name is Adam, right?" Merrick asked. Adam looked up, and smiled.

"Yeah... And, Merrick right?"

"Mhm... Adam... How did you find me?" Adam looked up curious.

"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked.

"When we last met... I stayed away from that reef because I was afraid... And then you found me on the cliff..." Adam chuckled as he sat back.

"I wasn't looking for you actually. Well, I WAS. Past few days, I kept looking around the reef, trying to find you, but you didn't turn up. My Gramma didn't want me to go swimming today though, so she sent me to go take pictures around the woods. I just saw you, and I thought you were just some random naked guy taking a dip. And that's where the Siren got me, I guess... Hey, wait a minute, you said the Siren's song is irresistible. Why didn't it get to you like me?"

"Humans are just easier to lure... It affects their minds quicker than it does for merfolk."

After a pause, Adam, blushed, and stood up, having keep looking all over the blonde's naked body. "Right, so... We need to get out of here..."

"We can't!" Merrick said, "The Sirens might still be there!" He said.

"Oh... Well... Can't we check? We can't stay in this cave forever."

"I... I guess I can..." Merrick said, hesitantly.

"Hey," Adam said reassuringly, "Do you want me to come with you? I can go if you're scared..." Merrick shook his head.

"No... It's better if I go alone to check... Just... Put me in the water..." He said, blushing.

"Ok," Adam said as he then stood himself up and bent over to pick up the blonde. He wrapped his arms around him, and picked him up. Merrick blushed as he put his head against Adam's chest, taking a moment to enjoy the closeness, if only for this one moment.

Adam then came near the edge of the basin, and gently lowered the naked teen down into the warm water. Adam watched in wonder as Merrick's flesh turned from light peach to a gleaming blue, with a twinge of silver. His feet flattened and widened into a large tailfin, his legs melded together into one, lone appendage, and a frilly veil-like membrane on either side of his tail, with his junk blending into the array of blue and silver scales, smoothing out into a flat area.

Adam huffed and sat back, and looked as Merrick's body drifted down, most of his body submerging until it's up to his shoulders. Inch by inch, as Merrick went into the water, his body converted its blue/silver/white color scheme, his flesh riddled with a coat of scales as he looked up at Adam with those stunning blue eyes.

"I'll be back..." He said, before submerging himself completely. Adam watched as the blonde hair spiked into an array of fins on his head. The blue mass would move under the water, and to the left of the cave.

Merrick swam to the entrance, and towards the concave darkness. Once there, he called out a signal, sending a wave of sonar forward, hearing his voice bounce off the rocky tunnel... A lot sooner than it should. He entered into the entrance, and reached out to feel a rock wall! He gasped as he felt at the solid, collapsed wall! What happened?! This wasn't here before! There wasn't an earthquake either! How did this wall get here?!

The merman turned around, and moved to the right, swimming to another section of the basin. He looked, checking for any other way out! He darted from large crystal to crystal, checking at all spots on the wall for another hole, but nothing! Merrick turned around, and swam up back to the human on surface.

Adam looked as the merman came back up to him -- that same aquatic creature, the blue humanoid with those dark and sapphire blue eyes, "The tunnel collapsed! A section of rocks is blocking our path!" Adam blinked, and felt a tinge of fear.

"Oh no..." Adam said.

"I think we can move the rocks! Come on!" He then flipped into the water, his tail riding one the surface, before flopping the white fin onto the surface. Adam then climbed into the hot water, and took a deep breath before dipping his head in and peering in as he swam. Adam can make out a blue blur among the orange brightness, which he followed into a dark mass.

He came up beside Merrick, and blindly felt for the rocky wall. He then pushed at it, exerting his strength into one bulky rock. Adam can feel Merrick wave his tail up and down as he too pushed at the wall.

The wall wouldn't budge an inch. Adam held his breath for as long as he could -- which was only about a minute and a half, before coughing a cloud of bubbles, and retreating. Merrick looked with sudden repulsion. He quickly followed up to the surface and met the human there.

"What are you doing?! We can't give up now!" He asked. Adam shook as he panted.

"I'm not!... Just, gimme a sec..." He said. After collecting a short breath he ducked back into the water, and swam back to the tunnel, and made for the wall. He pushed as hard as he could onto the upper left of the wall, while Merrick pushed at the lower right. Both males grunted at the wall, trying with all their might to shift any of the rocks. Alas, none of them would move.

Adam huffed again as he quickly backed off, and went off back the surface. Merrick looked, and growled angrily as the human went away again! He followed him once more, and came to him.

"Stop playing around! We need to get out of here, Human!" Merrick exclaimed. Adam huffed and breathed deeply.

"I'm trying! That wall won't budge!" He panted.

"We have to keep trying! Please don't go back up again!" Without waiting for an answer, Merrick dove back in, with Adam following after him.

More and more they tried to sift the rocks, but none of them would even turn, as if they were welded on the spot. Adam kept going back to the surface, earning a scolding from the merman before going back to the wall to try again.

For the seventh time, Adam couldn't hold out any longer, but still, he tried to stay. He grunted and gritted his teeth as he pushed as hard as his arms would push. His lungs were starting to burn from all of effort, swimming, and from holding his breath for too long. He moaned, and huffed as he let go of a mass of bubbles from his mouth, turning to retreat once more. As Adam grabbed onto the entrance, he felt a webbed hand grab his ankle! He can hear a weird, echoic sound screeching out to him as Merrick tried to pull him back into the tunnel! With a huge amount of effort, Adam yanked himself out of the tunnel and out of the merman's grip. He quickly swam to one of the shallow formations of the basin to get out of the water.

Merrick swam angrily out of the tunnel, and came up, "Stop DOING that, Human!!" He yelled out, "Do you want to get out of here or not?!" He demanded. Adam was too busy coughing and wheezing. "Get back into the water and help me with the wall!"

"I... Cough cough I can't..."

"If you would stop quitting every few moments, we could push down that wall!"

"It... It won't..." Adam shook his head.

"Stop this! We need to keep pushing the rocks, or we'll never-"

"I SAID I CAN'T, ALRIGHT?!" Adam roared as he faced the merman, coughing for a moment, "I'M TRYING, MERRICK!! But I can't last long!!" Merrick gasped as the human yelled at him, "In case you haven't noticed, humans can't breath underwater! We can't hold our breath longer than a couple of minutes!!" He exclaimed. The bewildered merman quivered, looking up at him.

"They... They can't?" He asked, his voice now meek and scared.

"No, we can't Merrick! I can't hold my breath any longer than I already have! I'm trying Merrick! I REALLY am trying, but if I hold my breath for too long, I'll black out!" He huffed and panted as he sat onto the stone, "... If I keep going like this, I won't last long at all..." He shook his head, and said in a raspy tone, "I'm sorry, Merrick... But we're trapped in here..."

Merrick slowly made his way to the edge of the stone, and pulled himself up. He curled up at the wall, whimpering as he laid down. He had no idea Adam was struggling... He was trying his hardest there, and he kept trying anyway, even with him nagging him to stop playing around. And then he just yelled at him... The man he fell for... And now he hates him...

Adam turned, hearing the whimpering and sniffling. He got up, and approached him, "Merrick... Are you crying?" The merman sniffled and shook his head, "Awww, no..." Adam said softly, "Oh no, I'm sorry," He said as he knelt down, "I'm sorry, it's gonna be ok..." He sat down next the aquatic male and pulled him in for a hug, "I'm sorry, Merrick, I didn't mean to yell..."

"I'm sorry... Adam..." Merrick sobbed as sparkling tears dropped from his eyes, "We're trapped in here... We're going to perish in here... And it's all my fault..."

"What? No, Merrick, it's not your fault... YOU saved ME, remember? If anything, it's my fault for letting that siren get to me..." He chuckled, "A mermaid hooking a gay human, there's something new..." He then scooted to the wall, and held onto the merman, "C'mere..." He said as he had Merrick snuggle up next to him, hugging him and rubbing his arm up and down the wet, scaly arm.

"... I had heard humans will die if they stay underwater for too long... I... I didn't know just how long..." Adam smiled as he hugged him.

"It's ok, Merrick, it's ok... And, you're right about that, humans can't live underwater," He sighed as he sat back, holding the pseudo fish close, "You didn't know..."

A long silence passed as the two males huddled up with each other. Merrick gradually dried off, and turned into his human form, and this time, Adam was awake to see him slowly transform.

"... Adam... I have a question..." Merrick said, now at least enjoying that fact that his face is resting onto the human's chest, "A while ago... You described yourself as a... Gay human... What does `gay' mean?"

"Ah, it's just another expression. It's a word used to describe a homosexual person; a person who is sexually attracted to the same gender as they are. Namely, like, I'm a male, and I am attracted to other males, instead of females like a normal person."

Merrick felt himself blush, and also a twinge of delight... So he wasn't a freak... There are other beings who are more allured to that of the same gender... This human, right here... Knows just how Merrick might feel.

"Mind if I ask YOU a question?" Adam said. Merrick simply nodded, rubbing his cheek against his fuzzy chest, "I saw you with a spear... And the first time I saw you, were wearing some kelp around you. What happened to your spear, and where did all that kelp go?"

"... My trident was destroyed when I killed that Siren... and I think the kelp was torn off when we swam in that tunnel..."

"Oh..." Adam looked down at him, "I'm sorry..."

"It's alright... It's gone now... There's nothing that can be done now..." Merrick mumbled.

"Ok... So... Are there other types of merfolk? Besides just fish-like ones?"

"Wait... How about... I ask you a question, and you ask me a question in turn?" He proposed. Adam thought for a moment, and nodded.

"Sure. Sounds fair."

"Alright..." Merrick continued, "So um... Is it true that humans can manipulate colossal rocks? I think... I think they're called `Mountains'... Can humans move and create them at will?" Adam chuckled at that.

"Whaaat? Where'd you hear that?"

"We merfolk... We hear a lot of atrocities and calamities that humans can do... But... I'm not so sure anymore..." Adam smiled as he shook his head.

"Well, to answer THAT question, no, we can't to that kind of stuff. Mountains are HUGE, and we can't move them around, or create new mountains. Even if we could, not on our own, we'd need some pretty heavy and large machinery to cut it all down, and no one is willing to do that."

"Ooook?" Merrick said, not understanding the word `machinery'.

"Ok, my turn... Are there other types of merfolk out there? Besides ones that look like fish?"

"Yes, there are... There are as many merfolk as there is species of the sea," Merrick said, "Namely, there are three different types of merpeople: Pisciens, Amniens, and Holsiens." He explained, "I am a Piscien merman, as Pisciens embody fish species."

"What about Amn... Amny... What about the other two?" Adam asked.

"Amnien merfolk are pledged to the sea mammals, and Holsien merfolk are pledged to the reptiles and cephalopods."

"Oh ok... That's kinda cool... Ok, you go."

"Ok, um... Can humans transform plants into any solid object?"

"Errr... In a SENSE, yes. But it's not like we can magically do it by touching them. Specialized humans harvest trees and such from various locations, and take them to specific places where they go through complex processes to make them into objects like that."

"Oh ok... Your turn, Adam..."

Another hour passes by the two males, both of them exchanging questions about the two species of humans and merpeople. Adam's questions seem a little mundane, while Merrick's questions are on an exasperated scale, asking about how merpeople defend themselves, to whether or not humans are able tame giant flying animals and ride them into war.

After a while, Adam is laying on his back, staring at the ceiling of the cavern, looking at the twinkling orange crystals up above. He sighed as he rolled onto his stomach, and looked at the water, "I'm sorry, Merrick..."

"For... For what, Adam?" Merrick asked, sitting right next to a crystal.

"I can't help but feel like I didn't try hard enough in getting us out... If I could breathe underwater like you can, or hold my breath longer than 2 minutes, we could've busted out of here a long time ago." He chuckled as he put his head on his arms, "Some way to die, huh?"

"... Well..." Merrick said, "There is... ONE thing that we can try..." Adam opened his eyes, and turned about, "But... I'm not certain if it's true..." Adam sat up, and faced the blonde teen.

"Well, I'm open to ideas. What's on your mind?"

"..." Merrick hesitated, gulping and looking up, "There are... Rumors that... A few times in the past, a merperson was able to give a human the ability to survive underwater. They are never able to drown and die in the water.

"You said that humans can't breathe underwater, nor can they stay under for more than a few moments... But there' one thing that they say can allow a human stay underwater for as long as they need..." Adam raised his brows as he came closer.

"Really?"

"I'm... I'm not sure, actually... As I said... It's only a rumor... A minor myth..."

"Well, it's not like we have any other options here," Adam's heart is pounding with new hope; if merpeople are real, then just about anything can happen at this point, "Lets hear it." Merrick then looked Adam right in the eyes, feeling a pink tingle on his tender face.

"A kiss..."

Adam blinked as he stared at the blonde. "A kiss? Like... Mouth to mouth?" Merrick blushed more, and nodded.

"It's just a rumor... But... It might be possible... The idea is that if we kiss, then you will never die in the water... The myth originated when a mermaid fell in love with a human sailor, and kissed him when he was about to die at sea. When she did, he woke up, and swam back to land..."

Adam could feel himself... Extremely tempted by this. "So... If we kiss, then I can breathe underwater?"

"No. You... You just won't drown..." Merrick said.

Adam looked at Merrick up and down. He seems a little young for him, but... "Say Merrick... How old are you anyway?"

"I don't understand." 
"Like, how many years has gone by since you were born?"

"I... I don't know..." Merrick said blinking, "Why? Does it matter?"

"Sort of... Humans put a lot of weight on age difference..." Adam's good with math and estimation. Merrick doesn't look TOO young; about as young as he was when he first went on a date. Adam's 17 right now, and if he were to venture a guess, he'd say Merrick would about a couple of years younger than him. If that's the case, then the age difference is only 2-3 years.

"Alright." He said. Merrick looked up, his face going hot, "Lets do it."

"R-Really?"

Adam smiled as he got up, walked over to Merrick, and sat down next to him, "Yeah..." Merrick moved around so that he's facing the human, "And even if it doesn't work..." He said with a charming smile, "At least I'll be in good company with you..." Merrick smiled cutely at that, "C'mere..." He whispered softly as his face moved forward. Merrick moved his own face towards Adam's. Their eyes closed as they approached each other.

Then, their lips touched. Merrick breathed deeply, his insides feeling tight and quivering. Adam gently kissed those very soft lips, pressing his lips around the lower part of Merrick's mouth. He somehow was able to move his legs so that he crawled himself onto Adam. The human broke off for a moment to help Merrick sit on his lap. What he was doing just occurred to Adam, and the thought of it -- placing a naked guy he's just met onto his lap -- it made him blush. His brown eyes stared into those vivid, blue eyes.

There was a pause as they looked at each other. Merrick made the next move; he moved himself forward, and pushed his lips against Adam's. The human closed his eyes as their lips lapped and meshed against each other. Merrick put his hands onto Adam's bare, tan shoulders as he took in Adam's upper lip, and joined in at his middle. Adam moaned a little as put his hands along Merrick's sides, feeling the merman's perfect flesh under his palms.

The human glided his hand to behind Merrick's short blonde hair, and pushed his head in. Adam opened his mouth, and forced his tongue into the other. The merman moaned pleasantly as he felt the human kiss him oh so passionately. Merrick rubbed his own tongue against the other, blushing madly as he felt the other push into against his.

Merrick broke the kiss and looked down, "Whaaa?" The blonde's penis is standing up, fully erect right now. "Wha... I don't understand... It's never done THIS before..." He looked up at Adam, "... Can you... Um... Explain it to me? I've... I've only been like this three other times, and it's always just... Been there, and..."

Adam blushed harshly, "Uh... Yeah... See... This, err... These." Adam said as he put his hand on the hard organ. "This is called um... A penis, and these..." He cupped Merrick's soft balls, "Are called the testis."

"And... What are they for?" Merrick asked innocently.

"Ahhh..." Adam's face felt like it was dancing with fire, "It's um... It's how humans er... Reproduce..."

"Ok, but... Why is it standing like that? It's bigger than it usually is and... It feels weird..."

"Well... When men get excited... Their penises grow and become stiff... It's... Kind of embarrassing to talk about..." He said.

"But... I don't understand..."

"I know..." Adam said with a smile. He then playfully put Merrick on his back, with his dick flopping onto his stomach, and Adam got on top of him, on his hands and knees. Merrick giggled as Adam pressed his lips against Merrick's neck, and slowly kissed against him.

"Ahhhhhhhh~~" Merrick sighed with delight, loving the way Adam is kissing him.

The kiss is driving Adam's manhood against his pants pushing at the damp fabric... His member is so stiff right now. There are so many things he wants to do with Merrick right now. Oh, he's feeling so much passion inside him right now, but the every idea of it... It just seems too much, especially when they just met, and considering how young Merrick probably is, it's just not proper right now.

He rose up, and affectionately kissed Merrick's lips, "Alright..." He got off of him, "Lets get out of here."

"Wait, what?" Merrick sat up, and looked at Adam, "But... I still don't understand why my... Penis is hard."

"I know, Merrick, but the explanation is... It's too soon, Merrick, trust me on this."

"But... What if it never goes down? What if it stays like this forever? I just don't get it." Adam chuckled as he put his hand on that soft, light cheek.

"I know, Merrick. You're full of questions right now, but they'll have to wait until you're a little older before I feel comfortable telling you," He then kissed Merrick again, and nuzzled him affectionately, "I promise, give me about... Maybe 2 years... Then I'll tell you..." Merrick smiled and giggled as his human nuzzled him.

"Alright, Adam~" He answered.

"Ok..." Adam stood up, and bent over to pick Merrick up. The merman put his own arms around the human as he was held up, and carried to the edge of the water. He then stepped into the water, and took a deep breath as he dipped in, holding Merrick in as they submerged together.

Adam can feel Merrick's body change almost instantly, feeling the smooth skin firm into scales. Merrick swam off of him, and Adam moved next to him. He doesn't feel any changes yet, but he'll see if what Merrick said about the kiss is true.

They came to the collapsed tunnel once more, squeezed in together, and pushed at the rocks, just like before. Adam grunted as he pushed as hard as he could, with Merrick pushing his tail up and down, kicking hard as he and the human tried to push.

5 minutes pass by, and the rocks refused to move! Adam noticed that his lungs don't feel sore at all. He's holding his breath, but the pressure isn't building inside of him like it used to; he's not breathing, but it's like his last breath is frozen on the spot, and unable notify his lungs and brain of how long he's been underwater.

Another 5 minutes passed, and they got nowhere. Adam felt along the wall of stone. He soon realized that it wasn't bulky anymore! The rocks seemed to have smoothed down into a flat surface.

He felt a webbed hand pull at his shoulder, and he and Merrick had to back up, and leave the tunnel. They both broke the surface, and Merrick looked at Adam.

"Adam, are you ok?"

"Huh... Yeah..." He chuckled and grinned widely, "It worked! Hahaha! The kiss worked!" He said excitedly, "B-But the wall-"

"I know, it's... It's reformed! It closed us off!"

"Ok, um... Lets look around for another way out."

"There IS no other way out! I checked, Adam!" Merrick said.

"Well, think about it, that wall was a bunch of rocks a couple of hours ago, wasn't it? What if the cave made another entrance?" Merrick thought for a moment.

"I... Maybe... C'mon..." Merrick and Adam submerged again, and sank down. They turned about and floated a little, looking around.

Adam felt his wrist tucked, and a weird, alien murmur. He looked to see Merrick's blurry image pointing at another dark spot. Merrick swam forth over to the opening. Adam heard a strange, crackling noise, like a cross between a dolphin's click and a cracking knuckle. `I guess merpeople talk differently underwater...' He thought to himself. Merrick's blue form turned around, and ascended to the surface. Adam rose up as well, and moved over to Merrick.

"I think it's another tunnel, but it's so dark and so narrow," Merrick told him, "There isn't any animals nearby, so lets try it. I'll go first."

"Alright," Adam said, "Lead the way."

They both sank down again, and headed to the darkness. Adam waited for the white tailfin to fold into the blackness before following in after him. He squinted his eyes, as all he can see is almost pitch black, if not for the faint gleam from the cavern filtering and reflecting off of Merrick's tail and scales.

As he went, Adam just took a moment to admire the fact that he never has to worry about drowning again. Whatever scientific anomaly is going on from just a simple, passionate kiss, it's saving his life... Just like that fishy creature did earlier today.

After a while of swimming, still seeing a lot of darkness, Adam felt the temperature of the water drop, from hot, to warm, and now entering cool. He also notices the tunnel widening around him as he went. He continued to drift through the water, and saw a slight light ahead, along with the sound of thundering surging. Merrick turned, and waited for him to catch up, next to a large, light-blue mass. He swam a little more, and felt his hand into the perpetual fizz. He smiled as he felt the bubbles tickle and nip at his hand, before stroking in through the cloud bubbles. He giggled as he felt the surging suds tickle his whole body.

He swam though the loud mass of white, and looking onto a familiar-looking grotto. He looked around, and then ascended up, looking up at the dusk-lit sky. Merrick rose up next to him while Adam looked around, chuckling as he floated back.

"Heh heh... I know this place. It's Aquata Cove!" Adam said.

Minutes later, Adam and Merrick are sitting on a rock, with the merman still wet and looking blue and silver. He had found another tunnel on the rocks that might lead to the ocean. Adam held Merrick's webbed hands as they spent their last few moments together.

"Let's meet up tomorrow! I can bring some more tuna, and-"

"Adam..." Merrick said, "We can't... My pod... We're supposed to be leaving tomorrow..."

"Your pod? Is that your family?"

"You could say that..." Merrick replied sadly, "And... We're not coming back for a very long time..." He said, a small part of himself hoping to deter the human away from him.

"Oh..." Adam looked up, put his hand onto Merrick's cold cheek, and pushing it to face him "... Will I ever see you again?" Adam asked, "I... I really want to see you again..."

-No, we cannot meet again. We will never meet again. You must find another man to mate with, while I find a mermaid to be my mate. I hope you live a long, favorable life.-

That's what Merrick's reasoning told him he should say. However, he's abandoning his reasoning for this one moment, and spoke from his heart, "I will be gone for six white moons. My pod will return on the seventh moon, and I'll be waiting for you, here, in this grotto."

Adam smiled happily as he brought him in to hug the merman, "Thanks, Merrick..." He muttered. Merrick's smiled in turn, feeling his eyes tear up with happiness. He can't explain why, but every ounce of affection this human gives just feels so overwhelming. Is this what love is? Is this what mated mermen and mermaids feel all the time?

Six moons. Adam assumed that meant six months. That's half a year. Can't say he's going to like the wait, but how many times do you get to kiss a merman? And he's so cute when he's dried up and in human form. He wants to see more of him.

They parted the hug, and kissed softly one last time -- it feels weirder for Adam, as Merrick's lips are still slick and fish-like. They looked into each other's eyes for a minute, stalling for as long as both as they could.

"Until next time, Adam..." Merrick said. He then moved to the side, and dove into the water. He swam into the grotto, and went into the dark tunnel that he and Adam found when they got out of the cove. He moved through the tight space, slowly tasting the water's purity changing into the familiar sea flavor.

He already half knew the kiss was going to work... Sort of. When he kissed Adam's cheek, he woke up, and expelled the water inside of him, but at the same time, he couldn't hold his breath the first few times before they kissed for real.

The merman giggled as he thought of that moment in the cove when they made out. It felt so good and so right, kissing that human. He wants to do that again, he wants to do it a lot more.

Regardless on how great it felt to be with that human, he doesn't know what he's going to tell his pod... He has no idea how he was going to explain his extended absence...

Soon, Merrick emerged from an entrance of the reef. He sent out a signal to make sure there isn't anything dangerous nearby, and then swam out.

Merrick sent several calls out, signaling his position as he moved, wanting to find his pod as soon as possible. It's dangerous to be out in the middle of the ocean alone.

The Adra Triton sent out multiple signals, before hearing a deep, dark call. He looked, and spotted in the distance a large merman, holding a long, three-pronged spear. Merrick kicked his tail hard as he rushed over to the merman. He huffed and moaned as he swam as fast as he could to his father.

"Father!!" He called shimming until he caught up to him throwing his arms around him, "I'm sorry, Father, I'm sorry!" Merrick said, meaning about the human, ready to confess.

"It's alright Son, it's alright."

"I could not help it, I'm sorry! It just happened so fast!"

"I know, my Son, I know." Merrick looked up at his father, surprised.

"You... You knew?"

"Yes, my Son..." Kaiken said, "I sensed those sirens when we arrived here, and I thought we would be safe from them if we kept our distance. The fault is mine to bear, Son." Kaiken said as he looked at his offspring, "I should have warned the pod of the sirens -- I should have warned you, in particular. And my arrogance nearly cost me my own Son..." Said the mighty merman, "We heard your call when they attacked, and we managed to kill off the whole pod before any of us were harmed."

"F-Father... My trident... When I killed that Siren..."

"Yes, I know. Your Mother has been trying to trace your resonance through it, but it seems you were cut off when you disappeared," Kaiken said, "Fret not a lost weapon, my son. We will fashion you a new trident. Now come," He said as he waved his large tail, and swam to the opposite direction, with his son following him, "Your young Sister has been weeping for your safety."

Merrick swallowed, his gut feeling so heavy and deep with anxiety, "Father... About my 3rd red moon..."

"You are yet young, my Son," Kaiken said, "I am confident you will find a mermaid to mate with in time. There is no shame in missing the grace of a red moon," Kaiken stated as he looked to his offspring, "Remember that, and do not blame yourself so harshly."

... He hasn't a clue. His Triton has no idea that Merrick touched a human. He thought it would be obvious! If... If he can just not talk about it... He IS old enough to wander on his own -- as an Adra, he has certain freedoms that other merpeople do not possess.

He will definitely see that human again!