Chapter Text
There are tales of gods and mystical creatures having existed all over the world, but there is one such fable that has been told throughout time.
Humans were at the beginning created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces. Frightened at what these beings could be capable of, the Gods split them into two separate beings, condemning them to spend their lives in search of the lost piece of their soul.
The gods were cruel when they set forth to punish the human race, but the God of the Sea found humans fascinating. He wanted them for his realm, so he created a creature who would drag the humans to the bottom of the sea, forever keeping those whose souls were meant to be together apart, binding them to his realm.
Humanity bore the weight of God's curse, and while there were those who were born and died never finding the lost piece of their soul, there were the lucky few that found that lost piece of themselves, and then there were those forever lost within the sea.
There was nothing more perfect than the small child that slept peacefully within his embrace. Small hands resting over his heart as if the child needed said heartbeat to sleep, and if its father and brother are anything to go by, then she most likely did.
He didn’t know if this was a common thing among the clan or whether his children had just inherited the trait from their father, who currently was sleeping pressed up against Takemichi’s backside, arm curled possessively around Takemichi’s waist and hand resting on their eldest sons back.
This small child, his second child, would never understand how much love Takemichi’s felt that first moment holding her.
The first time he’d carried, he’d battled with the knowledge that he was carrying someone within him that he’s had no choice in making, and yet somehow, he’d been unable to not love Shinzo and again with Umiko.
“My two babies.” He whispered, planting a kiss into Umiko’s black hair, and allowing his hand to run through Shinzo’s own golden hair, his son pressed up against the back of his sister.
Already he could see that his eldest would be a fierce protector.
He has so many hopes for these children, so many wishes that he hopes will come true, but above all, he wishes them both happiness.
The clan once again shares in his and Mikey’s happiness. They have been overly eager to be near his daughter, even now, he can hear the splash of water as one of them pops up from within the pool to see that they are truly still here, nested in their den.
He actually believes that if not for Mikey being so possessive that the rest of the clan would try to fit into the den to sleep with them.
Emma, Mikey’s sister, who Takemichi had spent the most time with, outside of Mikey and Shinzo, had even joined them in their den the second night, pleading to be close to the new baby, wanting to be close to another mermaid, having not seen one herself.
Mikey is generous, for that single night, and then Emma was told that under no uncertain terms to return back to the clan.
It is nothing new, this side of Mikey.
Possessiveness is a staple part of Mikey’s physiology.
It is something Takemitchy has accepted and has stopped trying to fight.
That possessiveness is also the reason Takemichi is alive, safe with his children and his mate, besides it’s not like there’s anyone to go back to.
“Mikey, I will not under no circumstance allow either my child or the rest of the clan to see me naked, do you understand?”
Mikey does not see a problem with it at all. He is the culprit behind his shorts being thorn beyond repair, although Takemichi has forgiven him as he’d been in labour when Mikey had shredded the shorts on his body and pulled him into the cool water of the pool.
“Your naked right now while holding our child,” Mikey says, gesturing to where their child dozes in Takemichi’s folded legs. “What difference does it make?”
“Mikey, this isn’t up for discussion,” Takemitchy growls lowly, his hand resting on Shinzo’s back as the child’s tail does a small flapping motion. “You’ll take me back to the mainland to get whatever I need, I don’t care if we have to go under the cover of darkness, but I need more clothes and there’s something I want Shinzo to have, something I left behind in my Grandmother's cottage.”
Mikey, relaxing on the slope of the pool, rests his head on his crossed arms, his tail swishing back and forth behind him in a lazy manner.
“At night?”
Takemichi smiled, leaning forward slightly so that his hand could cup the merman’s face.
“If it will put you at ease, then we’ll go at night.”
“You won’t speak to anyone?” Dark eyes were intense, something foreboding in them that Takemichi couldn’t quite understand.
“I’ll go to the cottage and then back, no stops in between. I promise,” Takemichi said earnestly, allowing Mikey to catch his hand and plant a kiss on his palm.
“We go at night.”
True to his word Mikey handed off Shinzo to Emma that night, the child’s cries pushing Takemichi to regret his decision as Mikey ordered him to hold his breath. Still, Shinzo was someone born of both the land and sea, it felt only right to give his son something to connect him to the world above.
The swim to the surface, once filled with fear, had become an almost enjoyable experience. Tonight, Mikey doesn’t show off or try to show him something crazy.
Every so often Mikey allowed him to leave their den to explore the ocean, it was always during the day, when the sun was bright and the ocean alive with colour and creatures that Takemichi could never have imagined living just out of sight. It was always an experience that left him wide-eyed and filled with a wonder he knew he never could have felt without Mikey’s hand gripping his own.
The ocean at night was different. Calm in a way that Takemichi had never known it to be, the moon's rays casting silver beams of moonlight across the water’s surface and bathing both Mikey and him in its light.
“You’ll be quick?” There was fear in Mikey's voice as he held onto Takemichi’s hand.
“Mikey,” Takemichi said the other’s name as he dropped to his knees in the surf. “I’m currently butt naked,” he gave an embarrassed giggle when Mikey’s eyes roamed over him in approval. “The last thing I want is for someone to see me like this, okay?” Takemichi tried to reassure him. “I’m coming back to you and Shinzo, I promise.”
Mikey kissed him with such intensity that Takemichi felt breathless when they parted, and though part of him thought about simply fucking the merman on the sands of the beach, he knew that he needed to hurry and return without delay.
“Go,” Mikey whispered, and Takemichi took off in a run, knowing that no matter what his past that his future now lay with Mikey and their child.
Each step is another step towards freedom if he so chooses, he can leave it behind, all of it. Pretend it was nothing but a bad dream and continue on with the life he left behind, but with each step, he knows that he can’t stay, that this world, this place is no longer home.
The cottage thankfully laid on the hillside and meant that he didn’t need to worry about running into anyone, there was also the fact that it was off-limits to leave your home at night. He’d never given it much thought before, but it worked to his benefit now.
Upon entering the cottage, he found everything was as he left it except for the added layer of dust that coats everything, and after a quick look around, he threw whatever clothes that were gathered in the nearest basket into one of the many net bags used for food. He tied it to the loop of the shorts he now wore and then turned to grab his grandmother's necklace and place it around his own neck.
It was nothing special, a simple gold necklace that held a single blue pearl.
A token that held two worlds.
He slipped from the cottage under the gaze of the moon without a single worry, a smile gracing his lips as he picked up his pace to reach Mikey.
He would have made it too, if not for the hand suddenly striking him into the dirt.
“Takemichi? My God, it’s Takemichi.”
“It’s okay, you’re okay.” Voices from all over rushed about calling orders, hands were lifting him, while others reassured him that everything would be okay.
He was dizzy, so dazed that for a moment the women of his village appeared to be monsters, their forms covered in horrid scales and their eyes, hallow holes that bore down on Takemichi with something that made his stomach sink, but as the moonlight spilled over the village, he realised that it was not his mind creating things.
“You’ve returned.”
“Ms. Hana?” Takemichi asked, climbing shakily to his feet as the neighbor he’s known his entire life grins at him with teeth that resembled pointed daggers.
She’s covered head to toe in grey scales, and only half her face appeared to be free from the grotesque scales that wept puss and goo at an alarming rate.
The sickening sound as the puss hit the ground made Takemichi’s stomach churn.
“Takemichi, my boy, your alive.” Ms. Hana cooed, and Takemichi wonders if that is real joy within her voice.
“Ms. Hana, what happened?” He asked but was also afraid to receive an answer.
The gory smile slipped away to be replaced with a troubled frown, her hand itching at the scales on her neck that shed only to be replaced by another set beneath the first.
“It’s the curse of the sea, our kind isn’t meant to be born on land, otherwise this happens.” She told and Takemichi looked to his own skin, still scale-free, and wondered if this was to become his fate.
She laughed something high and eerie, her scaled hand reached out to brush against Takemichi’s smooth cheek in a moment of tenderness.
“I don’t know why, maybe because you’re a man? Perhaps your children will carry it?” Her words caused Takemichi to tremble in terror at the thought that Shinzo might go through something so awful. “Tell me Takemichi, where is it.”
Confused he answered her. “Where’s what?”
She is still as soothing as he remembers, but something feels wrong as the others growl from behind, their hallow glowing eyes all watching him.
“We know one of them took you, the same way they took your Grandmother, so if you’re here, it means you escaped and that it will have no choice but to follow.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about?” Takemichi said, trying not to allow his repulsion to show.
Ms. Hana cocked her head in a curious manner. “I don’t know why it took you, you’re of no use to them, but the last one stole your grandmother, impregnated her before she could escape.” Mikey’s brother, she could only be talking about him. “She did escape though, made it back here to the village, at which point we found that her curse was broken. We knew that it had something to do with those creatures, so when it came crawling into the village in search of her, we killed it.”
“You killed him,” Takemichi whispered, eyes wide as his breath caught at the declaration.
“We had no choice, they’re the cure you see.” She sounded insane.
“Cure?” Takemichi said, his barefoot sliding back.
“Oh, poor Takemichi,” She was pitying him, and for what he did not know. “Your blind, Takemichi, blind to a love that isn’t real.”
Hands fisting at his side he asked the question that would answer all. “You said they’re the cure, what did you do to the one you caught?”
“We killed it,” Ms. Hana smiled a crazed smile. “And we ate it.”
His stomach lurched and he vomited where he stood, the vile burning his throat and dripping from his mouth was barely a thought as he turned to run.
“Get him!”
The stampede of feet following him was the driving force that pushed him to be quicker, to return to the safety of the sea.
His mind was a maze of thoughts, of despair and terror that kept him going forward, knowing that if he were caught it would mean the end.
Mikey, to his terror, wasn’t where he left him, and while the thought sent panic through his entire being, he forced his way through the surf to swim to deeper waters, hoping that Mikey would come to him.
His heart sank as he heard the sound of them following him, their shouts ringing out louder than his heartbeat which was currently thumping within his ears.
“Please, please, I can’t die here.” He cried as he fought against the current.
“I’ve got you,” A clawed hand ripped down the skin of his exposed back before the feeling of something begin dragged beneath shifted the water behind him.
Screams and cries echoed behind him but not once did he turn, he couldn’t, he thought of the family that waited for him, of the dark eyes of Mikey as he watched over them with complete and utter love.
“I can’t die, I won’t!” He shouted, eyes focused on the small island where his home lay beneath, where his son slept curled amongst the clan, and where Mikey had likely returned to check on Shinzo.
“Takemitchy!”
“Mi…Mikey?” He noticed then that the screams and cries had vanished, leaving behind an unnerving silence.
“Don’t look.”
Hands rounded his hips and he was pulled flush against Mikey’s front, the merman pressing his face into the curve of Takemichi’s neck as he took in a deep breath, his lips brushing over the top of the claw marks that ran down his back.
“I killed them.” The sin was whispered against Takemichi’s wet skin, barely heard other the pairs laboured breathing.
Swallowing, Takemichi turned his tear-filled eyes to the moon, lifting a hand to press Mikey more firmly into his skin.
“You came back?”
“You ran the wrong way. I had to swim to the other side of the island,” Mikey huffed with some humour lacing his words, and Takemichi laughed, his hand tightening in Mikey’s hair. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“I thought’s you left me.” Takemichi cried, tears streaming down his face.
“I will always come for you,” Mikey said, his tail bumping more firmly against the back of Takemichi legs.
Notable silence washed over the two of them.
“Eh, Mikey?”
“Yes?”
“Are you seriously trying to have sex with me after you murdered my entire village?”
Mikey whined, teeth nipping at Takemichi's throat. “I can’t help it; I want to see you fat with my egg again.”
“Mikey!”
Sex is not uncommon between them, but since giving birth to Shinzo the pair have rarely had time alone, and when they are alone, the time is spent with Mikey rutting into Takemichi as quickly as possible to try to starve off the ache before their son takes precedence one more.
Mikey has had time to completely map out Takemichi’s body from top to bottom. He has lavished attention to every single sweet spot.
It is agonising on Takemichi’s part, his pleasure drawn out by Mikey’s will, and while currently draped upon the sand he finds that he is unable to hold back his moans of pleasure as he has done since his son’s birth.
“Yes, louder.” Mikey encourages him from below. “Let the world know how I make you feel, how good I make you feel.”
“Mikey!” He tries not to roll his hips as Mikey’s mouth, warm and welcoming, completely encases his cock. “Ah!”
It’s madness, utter madness how the vibrations of Mikey chuckling leave him breathless, his body trembling from the cold and from pleasure all at once. His knees sink into the sand of the beach where he kneels above Mikey, the waves washing over them are a refreshing sensation that only heightens Takemichi’s need for sex.
Lips part as a low whimper escapes him, the heat in his belly growing as Mikey’s fingers enter him with the rush of a wave, a hiss parting his lips as the tide recedes and with it, his cum floods Mikey’s mouth.
“Tasty,” Mikey says looking up with a blush coating his cheeks, and Takemichi sees the barest hit of white on Mikey’s tongues before it is swallowed entirely and he’s muscled back to sit along the line where skin and scale blend together. “I can’t wait for you to be full once more, imagine it, right now our souls are merging to make another, right here.”
Takemichi watches transfixed as Mikey’s fingers follow the line of his neck down past his belly, stopping right above where his cock has strung free from the slit.
“Another piece of you and me,” Takemichi says, eyes unable to look away from where Mikey keeps his hand pressed to himself.
“Remember, Takemitchy, we are bound forever.”
Something about the wording seems off to Takemichi, but his thoughts are soon replaced when Mikey, in a surprising display of sweetness, takes Takemichi’s hand to press it to where he said the egg is merging within him.
Mikey is hypnotic as he pulls Takemichi’s hand further south to wrap around the cock that juts from the spilt.
“This belongs to you. I will never know another as I do you, so promise me,” The hints of darkness in Mikey’s voice were lost to Takemichi, who thought the words romantic and a promise of everlasting love. “Promise that I will be enough, that I am all you need.”
“Mikey,” He caught the other around the neck and pulled him flush against his own body, legs widening to accommodate the long merman. “I can’t imagine there is anyone in this world made for me other than you.”
Barely prepped, Takemichi’s body still welcomes the addition of Mikey’s cock, and the moan of long-sought delight is magic to Mikey’s ears.
Takemichi, flushed and willing, is a sight never to be shared, a dark voice whispers to Mikey while in the throes of passion.
It is different from the cave. Mikey lacks control while on land, within their den the slope of the pool allows them to mate without issue, but the beach is new territory for both of them, and when Takemichi had shifted to saddle Mikey, the tables turn in an unexpected way.
Mikey marvels at his mate, his head thrown back as he rides Mikey’s cock, hands clawing at Mikey’s chest in a show of unrivaled passion.
“Mine!” Mikey hisses at the pulse from within, still beneath Takemichi as the merge finally completes.
Takemichi, as if sensing the inner working of Mikey’s body, slows, his hands reaching out to clasp with Mikey’s in a display of love that hadn’t been present the last time they did this.
He seeks to fully possess Takemichi, mind, body, and soul, but all humans have a soul mate, and Mikey is not Takemichi’s. Mikey will never be the perfect fit for Takemichi’s soul, he knows there is another out there somewhere who was made entirely for him
“Mikey.” The soft hiss of his name has him dragging his clawed hands down Takemichi’s flanks, marveling at the red marks they leave.
He thrusts uselessly from beneath Takemichi’s gyrating form, his mate’s mouth open and shameless moans filling the air as he takes his pleasure from Mikey.
The feel of the egg entering his shaft has Mikey clutching Takemichi to him, anchoring the man so that he can slowly allow the egg to fall into the safety of the pouch within Takemichi.
The process is a delicate operation that requires the softest of movements, and Mikey has to use strength to stop Takemichi from bouncing on his cock.
“Slow,” Mikey whispers against the other’s lips, trying to distract him for the minute or so he needs to safety deposit their child.
The smell of death still carries on the waves, the women he’d killed, his clan will feast upon them, are already feasting upon their decaying flesh. The sound of clicks from beneath the ocean will not reach Takemichi, but Mikey hears them clear over Takemichi’s wails as he’s finally allowed to move as he wishes.
There is no place he’d rather be than inside Takemichi’s warm and welcoming body, but a small piece of him wishes he could savour the flesh of those who killed his brother, but when he hears the small clicks that can only belong to his son joining the feast, he feels strangely peaceful.
“I love you. Mikey.” Takemichi whispers as he falls onto the merman's chest, exhausted and satisfied as they both come down from a high.
"I love you.”
They lay in silence for a long time, Takemichi rising and falling with Mikey’s every breath.
“I’m sorry about your brother.” He whispers the words against the pale skin of Mikey’s neck, wondering just what thoughts could have been running through the other’s mind.
“You would have liked him,” Mikey smiled, inhaling the smell of the sea in Takemichi's hair.
“What was he like?”
There was silence for a time, and it made him wonder if now was the right time to ask such a thing.
“He was stupid, he fell in love easily and couldn’t fight his way out of an air bubble.” Mikey huffed with amusement. “But he was my big brother, and I looked him to him like he was the sun hanging just within my reach.” It was clear to Takemichi that Mikey had truly loved his brother, and it made it all the more heartbreaking to know that the people he consider his family had done such evil to him. “We didn’t share a mother; he didn’t even have to take Emma or me in when it wasn’t his duty, he could have left us to fend for ourselves, most of the other clans would have done it”
“He didn’t though, your brother loved you,” Takemichi said when he felt Mikey begin to shake beneath him.
“I loved him too, and he’s gone.” Mikey suddenly cried out, and Takemichi shot up to see the tears pool from Mikey's dark gaze.
There is no way to erase the pain in Mikey’s heart, nothing Takemichi could offer to soothe it, instead, he could only offer himself in any way that Mikey needed him.
Merpeople in general are fearsome creatures. They are the apex predator of the sea. They hunt for both food and fun alike.
In a way, they are similar to humans.
Greed.
Desire.
Hate.
Love.
Each emotion, intensified, to the point that they blended together.
A human would be unlucky to fall in love with such a creature.
And should such a creature ever fall in love with a human, then, the human should beware just how heavy the claim of the sea can be engraved into their skin.
When Mikey and he first met, the merman had proclaimed that he would fill Takemichi with a child every year, never allow him to be empty, but Mikey had never had to raise children before, had never known the endless needs or wants a child required.
56 years since they’d met and without a single change to his appearance, Takemichi had given birth to 11 children, and currently had another on the way, although only recently had the egg been planted within him.
Mikey usually stayed by his side, but with so many extra mouths to fed, the clan had been forced to hunt in deeper water and that meant Mikey was needed to lead the hunt.
When Mikey had left with the clan to hunt, Takemichi had assured him that nothing would happen, that neither he nor the children were in any danger. It had taken years to get the merman to leave him alone above land on the smaller island where his den laid beneath. Only with the knowledge that Emma would stay did he agree to leave them behind.
So, it came to be that Emma and the children were playing in the reef. They were far enough away that Takemitchy would even lose sight of them, but he didn’t fear, Emma would not have been left behind if Mikey didn’t trust his sister to protect their children.
Usually, he’d be joining in with their play, but he’d come to his little inland camp to cook some of the fish his children had caught for him, still not able to stomach all the raw fish they usually dinned on.
“Hello.” The voice was unexcepted, the clan was all away, shouldn’t be back for hours.
Slowly, he looked over his shoulder to find the unwelcome guest, a woman, young and with short hair tinted a pink hue. She was watching him with interest, her eyes roaming over his figure in appraisal.
“You shouldn’t be here.” He said, shocked at the appearance of another human.
“You can speak Japanese?” She took a step forward, her eyes rounded with wonder. “These islands and the surrounding area are usually off-limits, but our research team got permission to study the aquatic creatures in the area. I didn’t expect to find anyone on this island though, we were told not to explore any of the islands, but how could I resist?”
“You can’t be here.” He said again, his eyes drifting out to sea, trying to find any hints of black flashing in and out of sight in the shallows.
His eldest two would be close by, Mikey had been nervous leaving Takemichi while he was carrying, and the oldest two had assured him they’d be watchful.
The girl rubbed at her neck shyly, her cheeks blooming a dusty pink at the fact she’d been caught trespassing. “Yes, I heard you the first time. I’m ... I’m Hina, by the way, just because it seems rude not to introduce myself. I’m sorry about trespassing on the island.” She said notably sullen.
This caught him off guard, and he blushed at how rude he’d been to this stranger who clearly didn’t know the ins and outs of life here.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I’ve been incredibly rude; I can’t believe I’ve spoken like this to you.” He felt his eyes fill with tears at how disrespectful he’s acted. “I’m so sorry for how I spoke to you, but you really can’t be here.”
“Of course, I understand.” Hina nodded in disappointment. “I suppose I better, well, you know, leave.” She said gesturing with a hand to further up the island.
“I’ll walk with you, make sure you get there safely.” Takemichi offered, doing so to make sure the woman left and that his children remained safe.
“Do you think I could ask you some questions?” Hina asked, blushing when her eyes drifted over Takemichi’s naked torso. “Only if you’re up for it. I’d not like to meddle any more than I already have,” She said turning her gaze ahead, unable to look at him again, much to Takemitchy amusement.
“Ask away, I’ll answer what I can,” He said knowing that he couldn’t give too much away for fear of his family.
The island was pretty small, and while long it was not wide, the few trees that spread across the island were clutched together with only feet apart from one another.
He answered what he could and listened with a smile as she rattled off some crazy explanation to certain questions. Somehow he felt comfortable talking with Hina, almost like they were old friends.
Takemichi suddenly frowned, his eyes casting out to sea. “I don’t see a ship, how exactly did you come on land.”
“Our ship is anchored on the other side of the big island. They guys are currently diving, I thought I’d explore for a bit without anyone’s notice, but I guess I’ll be in trouble when I have to report I spoke with one of the locals.” Hina tried to laugh it off, but Takemichi could tell she wasn’t happy about the scolding she’ll be given for breaking orders.
Takemichi tried not to panic, Mikey had gone out to deeper water to hunt, but if something happened, Takemichi would never recover should his children be at risk.
“I did come alone, so I suppose it’s my own fault.”
Takemichi nodded along to her word. “Are there many of you?”
“We’re a crew of 6, only women, unfortunately.” She says with an exaggerated sigh. “Still, they’re good guys. We don’t get a lot of fieldwork, but to think that our team would be called upon for such a big project.”
A swirl of yellow, Emma, his mind supplied, darted in and out of his vision for a spilt second, but another black flash was following him closely, drifting almost too close for his liking.
“So, tell me about yourself? You come from the big island, right? How’d you make it over here?”
“Ah?” He felt nervous, almost breathless as they walked, the questions catching him off guard. “I’m from the main island, that’s true. You see it's actually forbidden to speak to outsiders.”
“I figured as much.” Hina nodded along, her hands twisted behind her back as they walked. “Years ago, they said that the women would sometimes radio over for a small plane to take them to the mainland, but it’s been some 50 years since then, I suppose the rest of the world just assumed that they wanted to be left alone.” She smiled an almost shy smile at Takemichi. “You know, you're surprisingly easy to talk to.”
Takemichi smiled, feeling slightly bashful at the compliment.
“You can thank my grandmother.”
A genuine look of curiosity flashed across Hina’s face. “She raised you?”
“My mother passed away when I was still a newborn, so my grandmother took me in and raised me.”
“She must be a strong woman.”
Memories of the women who raised him flashed across his mind. A mixture of happiness and sadness mixed together as he thought about the fact that she wasn’t here to witness his family, and yet another part said she wouldn’t have approved.
"She was the only family I had for a long time.”
Hina’s smile, while still in place, seemed to wilt slightly.
“You have a family?”
Takemichi smiled, eyes drifting back to the black glimmer constantly flashing in his side version.
“I do.” He stated, and then fearing he might have given something away he added as an afternote. “I suppose you could call them my clan. They’re on the main island, I was going to collect some… coconuts.”
“Coconuts?” She laughed, light and airy, and for some unknown reason, Takemichi couldn’t help but laugh alongside her. “Well, I guess this is where we part, though, in the end, I didn’t ask anything for our research.” She said when they reached her dingy she’s pulled up on the sand.
“Nothing special around here I’m afraid, just pretty basic stuff that you’d find anywhere else.”
Hina didn’t look convinced but offered him a parting smile.
He watched closely as she waded out into the water with her small dingy. A bright smile aimed at him when she seated herself and started the small engine. “Hey, I never got your name?” She shouted back.
“It’s Takemichi.”
“Takemichi.” She tested the name. “It’s cute.”
He blushed at the words.
“Hey, Takemichi, maybe fate will bring us together again.”
Those parting words, so simple, would bring nothing but death.
It didn’t matter that there wasn’t to be a next time, Hina’s words had been heard, and for those that lurked beneath the water surface, that was enough.
A seed of doubt had been planted within the minds of his children. Children who loved him just as much as their father, who like their father, feared the day someone might try to take him away from them.
There are some emotions that Mikey is incapable of feeling. He is not human, he doesn’t understand the ways of Takemitchy’s human heart, and no matter how much he tries to force Takemitchy to see it from his view, Takemitchy is unable to do so.
Love.
Love is something they both share, but like a weighing-scales that keeps balance, Mikey’s love will forever outweigh Takemichi’s own.
Mikey’s love is possessive, dangerous, never-ending.
Mikey is blinded by love, unable to see the hurt he causes Takemitchy.
Love is watching your mate cry, as the screams echo in tune to the song of the sea.
“Not all humans are bad.”
“You can’t see it, the hurt they caused my people,” Mikey said dismissing him. “They started the war, they murdered my people, they are the reason we are so few.”
“And I am human, your children were born from a human,” Takemitchy begged as he looked out at the ship currently under siege. “Those people had no idea that this place was off bounds, no way of knowing you were here.”
Mikey's eyes, a black abyss looked at Takemitchy with pity, their children looking between them unsure until their eldest son moved to leave the beach.
“Shinzo?” Takemitchy pleaded, his eldest stopping at the sound of his voice. “You don’t have to do this; we can find another way.”
His eldest was supposed to be free of the horrors that plagued Mikey, was free of the hatred that still lingered within the minds of the clan. Shinzo was free of the shackles of the past. He had been free until Takemitchy had made the mistake of speaking to the human who had found their island.
“They might not have come here to hurt us, but the moment they tried to take you away from us, they decided their fate.”
Shinzo disappeared into the ocean without a single glance back, and Takemitchy could only watch as his siblings followed after him, even his youngest of nine doesn’t hesitate to follow his siblings into the sea.
Mikey, still beside him, took his hand in his own, his warm lips brushing over Takemitchy knuckles.
“I’m sorry for your pain, my love, but you cannot leave us.” His other hand reached out to rub his flat belly, his lips moving to nip at Takemichi’s covered cock in a gesture that he wished to mate.
Unable to tear his eyes from where the ship was pulled beneath the waves, the screams echoing back to the island, Takemitchy was forced onto his back as Mikey pushed him into the cool sand.
He thought for a moment that he felt a sudden ache within himself, a strange feeling of loss that he didn’t understand.
“They didn’t even offer to take me; she only spoke with me.” Mikey hummed, not in the least bit interested as he removed Takemitchy shorts. “You would have them die for a crime they did not commit?”
Black eyes, a reflection of the glimmering night sky above them caught Takemichi’s gaze, pulling him away from the horrors out in the sea.
“You once promised me that we would always be together, and I will not let you leave me.” Mikey's words left him cold.
Blue eyes, blue that reflected the beauty of the sea filled with tears as the emotions that lingered within his heart became visible within those beautiful eyes.
“You are not a God Mikey; it is not for you to decide the fate of others,” Takemichi said as he pressed his hand to the pale cheek of his lover.
“Do you think you can leave?” Mikey asked, darkness entering those eyes that Takemichi had grown to love.
“I am one person Mikey.” Takemichi could see the stars beyond the blonde strands of hair that fell to surround his vision. “How can I be so important?”
“Your mine, Takemitchy, I won’t let you leave me, ever.”
What could only be described as the sensation of a hand reaching in and taking hold of his heart left him feeling breathless as Mikey’s cold hand drifted over his face.
“I have already disposed of everything that could have bound you to the land, you can feel it, can’t you? That pain within your chest.” Mikey was panting, mouth at Takemichi’s neck as they both seemed to share in the pain. “It’s your soul ties breaking, what once would have bound you to another is binding you to me, our souls are truly becoming one.”
“Ahhh!” Takemichi found the screams were torn from his throat as he withered in pain, Mikey’s weight keeping him from lifting off the cool sand beneath his back. “It hurts. It hurts.”
“Forever.” Mikey's words were followed by darkness.
When awareness comes back to him it’s with the crushing weight of the ocean atop him, the water in his lungs drowning him over and over again as the air was pushed from his lungs. The bubbles that rise to the surface with each exhale seem peaceful.
Flashes of light come with spots of darkness remaining, but he knows that he is not alone. There is a constant weight at his side, the tender touch of fingers that ghost through his hair and the touch of lips against his own.
While in the darkness he hears voices, they call out to him from nowhere and yet everywhere.
“Come back to me.”
“Come with us.”
There is a struggle happening within him, his soul being torn in two and trying its hardest to piece itself back together again, but there are those who call to him in the darkness.
“My sweet child, stop your suffering, it’s ok to let go now.” His Grandmother says, her voice just as he remembered, although years have passed since she passed on, and it's then that he knows he has a choice to make.
“Come back to us, Takemitchy, please, don’t leave me.” Mikey’s voice is clear, and Takemichi knows that the other is waiting for him, that the family he made with him is waiting for him.
A life not his own was shown to him. His life alongside a girl, who becomes a woman, who gives him children the same way he gave them to Mikey. This life he sees is filled with happiness, with smiles and laughter, his Mother and Father are both beside him, as is his Grandmother, who beckons him to join them.
Behind him, Mikey and his family linger in the darkness, the screams from the people on the ship echo so loudly that he has to cover his ears lest his eardrums burst. They look like monsters, tearing apart the bodies of the people, innocent people who had done nothing to deserve such a faith.
He floats alone in the darkness for a time, no light, no sound, nothing but darkness accompanies him.
His soul wars while in the abyss, fighting to choose the right path.
No matter what path he chooses, he will be leaving behind someone who he loves, forever closing off the way for them to ever meet again. When at last he knows where it is he belongs, he finds that the choice wasn’t as hard as he’d thought it would be.
Mikey knew that humans and Mer’s were not meant to co-exist peacefully with one another. The tale of how humans were created was one spoken about in Mer history since they were created by the sea god, and over and over again was it said that no matter what, a human could never truly give their soul to a Mer, for their soul already belonged to another.
Takemitchy was supposed to be different. Mikey truly believed that after all those years of sharing his own soul with him, Takemitchy would come to love him the same way Mikey loved Takemitchy.
Beneath the light of the sun and moon, he watched as the body of his beloved changed before his eyes. The skin of his legs fusing together to create a single limb, the pale skin that he’d worshiped slowly became speckled with scales as blue as the eyes that Mikey would gaze into with love and adoration. Slowly, over the course of days, his beloved transformed his appearance to match those of their children and Mikey himself, and if he choose to wake, he would be one of them in truth.
Through it all Mikey remained by his mate's side, forgoing food, and sleep to keep him company as he transformed right before his eyes.
Takemichi’s chest no longer shook with the strain of forcing the air from his lungs in a last-ditch attempt at remaining human. His heart, once a loud thumping beat, had slowly begun to fade and the gentle skin tone Mikey admired shifted to a healthy glow as the salt from the sea was absorbed and nourished the skin.
But Takemichi was dying right in front of him.
Softly, almost afraid to touch him, Mikey ran his fingers across the gentle angles of Takemichi face.
“Come back to me,” his dark eyes closed as he pressed his face into the cress of Takemichi's neck. “Don’t leave me, please, choose me.”
That he wasn’t good enough lingered in his mind.
How could he compare to that girl, the one he’d ordered to be killed? He’d known instantly upon setting eyes on her that her soul was linked to Takemichi, both bright and warm, and yet while he’d loved Takemichi, he felt instant hatred for the girl.
“You promised me, you promised that we would alright, that we’d stay together.” Such whispers were for Takemichi alone. “I don’t think I can live if you leave me behind.”
His heart would not withstand the loss of Takemichi, and he would willingly go into death's embrace if it meant that the pain of his loss would vanish.
It didn’t matter that there were others who depended on him, that his clan and children would be lost without him, because he didn’t want to be here if Takemichi wasn’t by his side. At least in death, they could lay together forever, and as the heart below him gave a soft thump, he realized that maybe could be enough.
Love is similar to the stars in the sky, they are the flickering lights that burn bright and seem everlasting, for some love is just that, everlasting, and for others’ love is a moment that flickers in and out of existence.
Deep within the sea, where the Gods of the sky hold no power, a love that brunt the strings of fate spins a tale of its own, two souls taking hold of destiny to create a love that can transcend both land and sea.
Black and Blue mix together to create a world all their own.
Sometimes the love of your life isn't the one you're destined to find, but the love you choose to hold tight.
Under the light of the moon, blue eyes flicker open, with only a single name upon his lips.
"Mikey."