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calligraphist-artemisia · 4 years

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Glittering Green

Written for the 2020 Kidgezine: Kaleidoscope!

Thanks to coronavirus, this year’s zine is a free-to-read PDF. You can find the link to it here: https://kidgezine.tumblr.com/post/628198963429998592/after-a-rough-year-it-is-complete-thank-you-to

(Due to tumblr hiding posts with hyperlinks in the original post, I’ll be reblogging this post and putting the hyperlinks to the kidgezine and to AO3 there. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

Summary: Keith had felt drawn to the ocean since he was a child. He grew up on the shore. It was where he made his first friend. And years later, it would be where he found freedom.

Also posted to AO3 under the username Kishirokitsune.

- - - - -

Glittering Green

Keith didn’t get along with many people. He was too quiet, too shy, too odd. He lived on the beach with his single father, who worked for the coast guard. It was just the two of them in their massive family home, and they never had any company over, which made them look strange in the eyes of the townsfolk.

Neither of them let that get to them.

Keith loved that it was just the two of them. His dad never called his interests weird and never pressed when he was in one of his quiet moods, except to check in and see if he wanted anything. Some days the only thing he wanted was to sit down on the beach and look out over the ocean, and his dad rarely said no to that.

He was drawn to the ocean in a way he couldn’t explain. He always had been.

That was where he met her.

She was hidden from view behind the boulder, mostly submerged in the water as she relaxed and picked through a handful of shells. Chestnut hair tumbled over her shoulders, covering part of her bare chest, and parts of it were braided and decorated with what looked like colorful beads.

Keith nearly fell off of the rock in surprise but righted himself in time. “Wh-who are you?”

She twisted around to peer up at him with wide, light brown eyes, her mouth parting soundlessly, and then she slid beneath the surface of the water and vanished from view.

Panic laced through Keith’s veins and he fought between the urge to jump in to help her or staying put where it was safe. The undertow was dangerous there - the push and pull of the waves as the current broke against the rough ocean floor was deadly to even experienced divers. He couldn’t go in.

He peered into the water, searching for any sign of movement. If she resurfaced, he may be able to reach down and pull her up.

“Please be okay,” he whispered. “Where are you?”

He decided to wait another minute and then he would go get help. His dad would know what to do.

Time ticked away and still he saw nothing.

With a heavy heart, Keith moved back into a sitting position and prepared to go back to the house, and that was when he saw a flicker of green breach the surface, followed by her face, peering back at him from a distance away.

Keith laid flat on the rock and stretched out his hand. “Can you swim this way? I’ll pull you out!”

She stared back, unmoving except to bob in the waves.

Why wasn’t she moving? Didn’t she want to get out? Why was she even out there by herself?

The girl tilted her head and then began to swim closer, reaching out to touch his hand once she was close enough. She didn’t grab on so he could pull her in. Instead, she pressed her hand to his so they were resting palm-to-palm, finger-to-finger.

“Who are you?” Keith blurted out, the question overpowering all of the others he had. He blanched at his rudeness and hurried to correct himself. “My name’s Keith. What’s yours?”

Still, she said nothing, and Keith began to wonder if she could talk at all. Her hands were gentle against his, and if he looked closely, it almost appeared as though her skin was covered in glitter, the way it sparkled under the sunlight.

“You are… human?”

Her voice was soft and confused as she rose a little more out of the water. She continued to press her hand to his, though her focus was on his face.

Keith didn’t know how to respond. What was he supposed to say to that? Obviously he was human! There was nothing else he could be.

But why would she ask something like that?

“I thought you’d look different,” remarked the girl. She continued to study him as though he was something fascinating. “You look just like I do, except with... Um, what are those called again? Foots?”

“Feet,” Keith corrected without thinking about it. “Hang on, what are you talking about? You’re just as human as I am!”

She shook her head, releasing his hand at long last as she moved further away once again. “Excuse me, but I am fully mer.”

The ability to speak left Keith as he witnessed her roll over and dive into the water. Where it should have been legs rising out of the water, he instead saw a dark green tail, not unlike that of a fish. He gaped at her as she resurfaced.

Mermaids were real and one was right in front of him.

- - - - -

For the first time in ten years, Keith would get to see the ocean again.

He didn’t know how to feel, except grateful to Shiro and Curtis. Originally, it was only meant to be the two of them, but after Keith found himself once again jobless, the pair took pity on him and asked him along on their vacation.

“Are you sure you don’t mind me tagging along?” Keith asked in an undertone as he helped Curtis load up the trunk.

Curtis slid his suitcase in place and then looked over at the younger man. “You know we love having you along, and I think it makes our parents worry less too. We have to be the mature, responsible ones and set a good example, after all,” he joked with a wink.

As intended, his words got an amused chuckle from Keith.

“Seriously, though, we’ve both been looking forward to you coming with us this year. You’re not intruding on our time or whatever else it is you’re worried about. Though it is a shame I can’t carry on my tradition of making out with Shiro in every room of the house, but that’s one sacrifice I’m willing to make for you.” Curtis laughed as he caught the next bag thrown his way. “Kidding! Kidding!”

“Is it too late to change my mind?” Keith asked as Shiro came around to join them.

“Definitely,” Shiro said, stepping in to press a quick kiss to Curtis’s cheek. “All ready to go?”

Keith shoved one final bag into the trunk and then moved back. “Now we are.”

Curtis stole the keys from Shiro, skipping away with a laugh as he tried to retrieve them. Keith rolled his eyes, but there was a fond smile on his face as he shut the trunk door and made sure it was properly locked.

Soon enough, the three of them were all in the car, with Curtis driving and Shiro serving as the navigator in the passenger seat, while Keith got the backseat all to himself. He had a few activities to stay busy during their five-hour drive but planned on sleeping through most of it.

“Who’s up for road trip games?” Shiro asked, too cheerful.

Keith groaned and leaned against the car door, staring out of the window and resolutely ignoring his brother. Maybe he’d just sleep the entire time to avoid whatever games Shiro had in mind.

He closed his eyes and didn’t respond when Shiro repeated his question.

“Keith, I know you’re not really asleep,” he said.

Curtis reached over and patted Shiro’s leg. “Leave him be, Takashi. Want to pick our music instead?”

There was a sigh, followed by Shiro’s subdued agreement. It took a few minutes and then classic rock began to play from the speakers, aiding Keith in his quest for a nap.

When he woke, his neck and shoulders felt stiff from the awkward position he was resting in. He groaned softly and stretched out the best he could in the cramped space, which caught Shiro’s attention.

“Welcome back, sleeping beauty. We’re about twenty minutes out,” Shiro said.

“I slept for that long?” Keith asked, leaning forward for a better look at the time. “Did you guys stop at all?”

“We made a pit stop for gas and food an hour ago, but we didn’t want to wake you. I think Shiro saved you some fries if you’re hungry,” Curtis said.

“Yay, cold fries,” Keith muttered sarcastically. He yelped as Shiro tossed a bag of fast food at his face, raising his hand just in time to block the assault. Along with the mentioned cold fries were a few leftover chicken nuggets, which he picked out first and began to eat.

He leaned back in his seat and looked out the window to get a better look at their surroundings. The land had flattened out enough that, when the trees and buildings weren’t blocking his view, he could spot the ocean, glimmering under the sun in the distance. Keith took a moment to admire it, drinking it all in. He could imagine the sea breeze blowing through his hair again, the scent of the ocean heavy in the air.

It felt like coming home.

Keith swallowed around the lump in his throat, stuffing a few fries into his mouth as a distraction.

“So, Keith, has Shiro told you much about the house?” Curtis asked.

He tore his gaze away from the window before answering. “Just that it’s on the beach and, uh, there are cliffs nearby?”

“Right next to the house, actually. We have stairs leading down to the beach because it’s too steep to get down there otherwise. And it’s a rocky beach with tide pools, so if you want to do any wading, you’ll have to walk about ten minutes along the shore to a safer place,” Curtis explained. “Or you can just use the indoor pool for swimming. My parents use it for marine studies when they’re here, so it’s full of saltwater, but as long as we’re careful about maintaining it, they don’t mind us using it.”

Keith frowned, not at the pool, but at the way Curtis described the house. He could almost picture it; a faded, once-blue house at the top of a steep hill, protected by sheer cliffs on one side and trees on the other. Well-worn wooden stairs led down to the pebble beach, which became solid, smooth rock at the water with perfect little pools where seawater accumulated. Jutting out of the water was a massive, boulder-like protrusion, perfect for basking in the sun.

He shook his head. It couldn’t be. Really, what were the odds that he already knew the place they would be staying? It was likely that Shiro had described it better than he remembered, and that was why it sounded so familiar.

Except…

Except the description wasn’t the only thing familiar.

As Keith watched the passing scenery, he began to recognize more and more. The old general store on the corner. The elementary school with the massive oak tree planted out front. Up ahead, there was a road on the left that would incline up to a residential area. There were only a few houses along the road, and at the very end would be a two-story beach house and garage, both faded blue.

They took a left.

Keith had a hard time breathing as they drove down to the end of the road. Curtis barely had time to pull into the driveway and park before Keith unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door to jump out, stumbling slightly after sitting for so long. He stopped and stared up at the house, unresponsive until a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Keith, what’s going on?” Shiro asked, sounding concerned. “Is something wrong?”

Keith shook his head, struggling to find his voice. “I… I’m home, Shiro. This is where I grew up.”

- - - - -

Keith slowly walked through the halls, taking everything in, while Curtis and Shiro began to unpack in the kitchen and gave him time to get acquainted with his childhood home.

So much was the same. The color of the walls. The dent in the wooden floor where he once dropped his dad’s bowling ball. The one post on the staircase to the second floor that was slightly off-color from the rest.

Keith ran his hand over the banister as he walked upstairs, taking his time to take in all of the memories that were seeped into every part of the house. At the top, if he went right he would see the master bedroom where his dad once slept. To the left were a spare room, a bathroom, and the door up to the attic, which was a converted bedroom.

He turned to the left, not ready to face the memories on the right. He would, in time, but for the moment the longing to see his old room was stronger. Keith reached out and placed his hand on the doorknob, pausing for a moment to close his eyes and steady his breathing.

It twisted easily beneath his hand and he pushed open the door and was greeted by a rush of warm air. The stairs creaked under his feet and it wasn’t long before he was in the small, single-window room at the top. There was still a twin bed tucked away in the corner and a dresser along the wall across from it, eerily similar to his own set-up.

Keith crossed the room to the window, which gave him a perfect view of the ocean and the cliffside to the left of the house. He stood there for a moment, taking it all in.

How many times had he stood there and watched the waves lapping against the shore or crashing into the cliffs? His eyes were drawn to the tide pools, where the large rock still jutted up from the ocean. It had once been his favorite place, where he could go and relax away from the rest of the world. And it was there that he saw a flicker of bright green against gray.

Keith leaned forward, as though it would help him see more clearly, but no matter how hard he looked, nothing changed. He dismissed the change in color as a trick of the light and turned away from the window to walk around the room, lost in thought.

He couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that there was something he’d forgotten.

Something important.

A board shifted under his feet. Keith stopped and stooped down, moving his foot away so he could freely examine the floor. He felt around until his fingertips brushed against a raised edge and he was able to pry it free and see what was hidden beneath. A faded red journal was there, covered by a fine layer of dust, and Keith gently lifted it and brushed it off.

More pieces of memory slotted themselves into place in his mind.

His old journal, hidden away to keep something safe. He couldn’t remember why, but he knew he had a good reason for leaving it behind. Like that important thing, tickling the back of his mind.

No, not a thing. A person.

The journal opened easily, with only a few pages crinkling and sticking together, and from between two of them, a thin object slid out. Keith caught it reflexively.

Sitting in the palm of his hand was a scale, slightly smaller than the nail on his thumb and dark green. It was warm to the touch, despite being left there for so long.

All at once, Keith remembered.

There was a girl - his first friend - who he spent so many hours talking to and playing games with, but he had such a hard time recalling details about her the older he got. There was a reason for that too.

“Pidge,” he murmured, testing the name.

Keith moved back to the window, lost in thought as he stared at the scale. He set the journal down on the accent table next to the bed and then lifted his eyes to look at the shore. He stood there for a few long minutes.

And then he swore and bolted for the stairs, clutching the scale tightly as he raced down through the house and blew past Shiro and Curtis. He could hear them calling after him, but didn’t slow down. He turned a corner and took the final set of stairs in the house, which led down to the basement level where there was a large, indoor pool. From there it was out onto the deck and down even more steps until he was on the beach.

He ran until he reached the water-soaked rock, where he slowed down so he wouldn’t slip and fall. His dad’s words of caution rang in his ears, even after so long.

Keith climbed the rock and settled on top, where he sat and waited.

His mind drifted to the memory of their first meeting. He’d been so clueless. So completely unprepared for the truth. But Pidge didn’t care and stuck around to give him a chance. He suspected she was driven by her curiosity and that was why she stayed, at least at first.

He held up the scale, marveling over the way sunlight brought out faint ribbons of brighter green. Her final gift to him was all the proof he needed to know she counted him as a friend and someone she trusted. It was one of her own scales, chosen specifically for him and given with the promise that they would see each other again one day, even if it meant she had to swim out to wait for him every day.

“Keith?”

Keith hid the scale away and twisted around to face Shiro. “Hey.”

“Is everything alright? You ran out of there in a hurry,” Shiro said. “Keith, if this is too much, we can stay somewhere else for the night.”

Keith shook his head. “No, I’ll be okay. I just remembered something and wanted to see if I could find it, that’s all.”

Shiro visibly relaxed. “Did you have any luck finding it?”

“None today,” Keith said, casting one last long look over the water. It was likely that Pidge was already gone for the day if she’d been by at all. He’d have to be sure to get out there bright and early to look for her again.

He climbed down from the rock and made his way to Shiro’s side. “Sorry about making you guys worry.”

Shiro’s gaze softened and he reached out to wrap an arm around Keith’s shoulders. “As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters. This is your vacation too and we just want you to have a good time.”

“Yeah, I know.” Keith let his brother lead him back to the house and told himself that he’d find a way to make it up to both of them. He hadn’t meant to make them worry.

Keith spent the rest of the evening with Shiro and Curtis, first helping them finish unloading the car, and then with dinner preparations. He even agreed to play a board game of Shiro’s choice, which brought a big smile to his brother’s face.

When the sun rose the next morning, Keith was already awake. He quickly dressed and went downstairs to grab a snack, bidding Curtis good morning when he found the man standing blearily over the coffee pot.

“Tell Shiro I’m going down to the beach?” Keith requested as he unwrapped a breakfast bar and tossed the plastic into the trash.

“So early?” Curtis asked, sounding confused.

“It’s the best time to look for shells,” Keith said.

While it wasn’t the reason he was going down to the shore so early, it wasn’t a lie. The morning was one of the best times to search for shells, as high tide was receding and leaving all kinds of treasures to find.

Keith stuffed his breakfast bar into his mouth and left Curtis to wait for the coffee to finish brewing on his own as he headed out onto the deck and began the slow walk down all of the stairs. He took his time so he wouldn’t choke on his food.

It wasn’t long before he was sitting back on his rock in the most comfortable position he could manage.

And there he waited.

The sun crept higher and higher in the sky, but Keith remained where he was. Around noon, Shiro came down with a plate of sandwiches and wordlessly climbed up to sit next to him. They ate lunch together, just the two of them and the sound of waves rushed against the shore.

“Curtis and I are going to make a run into town for more food. If there’s anything specific you want, I’ll pick it up for you. Unless you’d like to go with us?” Shiro asked.

Keith shook his head. “You know what I like.”

“Alright, I’m sure I can find something,” Shiro said. He hesitated for a moment, looking out at the horizon. “I can see why you like it here so much. It’s beautiful.”

“I used to come here every day. There’s something about it that’s calming,” Keith explained.

Shiro smiled and patted Keith on the shoulder before climbing down, taking the plate with him. “Text me if you need anything. We shouldn’t be gone longer than an hour.”

Keith watched his brother walk back up to the house and go inside before turning his attention to the water once more, sure that he would see her soon.

Time ticked away.

Doubt crept into Keith’s mind and he began to wonder if he’d dreamed the whole thing up. He was so sure Pidge was real, but maybe she was just a normal human girl who loved mermaids so much that he automatically associated her with them.

He sighed as he pulled his legs up against his chest. He could stay for a while longer, at least until Shiro or Curtis made another venture to check on him. After that…

Well, it wouldn’t really hurt to keep an eye out, would it? He didn’t have to sit out under the hot sun his whole vacation, but now and then would be okay. He hadn’t been lying when he told Shiro he found it calming.

“I wish you were here, Pidge. Or that I had some clue that you’re still around. That I didn’t imagine everything,” he said to himself. He fought the urge to take the scale out of his pocket and lost, rolling it around in his palm as he continued talking to himself, his voice largely drowned out by the waves. “All I have is this. This and my memory. But what if I’m wrong about everything?”

The ocean didn’t respond.

But there was another voice that did.

“You’re not wrong, Keith. I’m here.”

He gasped, rapidly scanning the water until he found her, shyly peering up at him from around a much smaller rock a few feet away. “Pidge!”

“It’s really you! You came back!” she exclaimed, beaming at him in joy as she swam closer. She held out her hand once she reached where he was sitting and he met her halfway, pressing his palm to hers.

“I’m sorry it took me so long,” Keith apologized.

He took a moment to get a good look at her and see the differences ten years brought, knowing she was doing the same to him.

Parts of her hair were woven into more intricate braids than before. A few tiny shells joined the colorful beads, dyed a vibrant blue-violet that stood out against her brown hair. Keith had to quickly avert his gaze and focus on her face when he remembered that mermaids didn’t wear any kind of clothing or even decorations to cover themselves. Her hair was long enough to hide most of her chest when it was pulled forward, but he wasn’t about to make her uncomfortable by staring.

“You’re bigger than I remember,” Pidge remarked, seemingly mesmerized by how much larger his hand was from her own.

“So are you,” he responded, though he understood what she meant. They’d been relatively close in size when they were young if he didn’t count her extra length thanks to her tail.

Pidge hummed and lowered her hand before swimming in even closer to settle at the base of the rock in a way that prevented anyone at the house from seeing her. Keith remained where he was, in plain sight but facing the ocean so no one could see him talking. It was how their friendship went undiscovered for so long.

“There’s so much to tell you, that I don’t know where to start!” Pidge said excitedly. “Do you want to hear about my training? Oh! Or should I tell you how Matt got in trouble two movements ago? No, no, I have it! Two decaphoebs ago, Lance and Hunk found the cutest octopus for me. I named him Rover.”

Keith grinned at her enthusiasm. “Why don’t we pick one thing at a time and take turns? Like, you can tell me if you ever managed to beat your brother in a race and I’ll tell you about how I met Shiro for the first time.”

“Shiro? Who’s that?” Pidge asked, her curiosity overwhelming her desire to babble.

Keith took his turn first, glossing over his time in the orphanage and the way other kids treated him at school, moving on as quickly as he could to the kindness of the Shirogane family, in particular their eighteen-year-old son who took one look at him and pronounced him brother.

In return, Pidge spoke of the day she discovered her Inheritance, and how she struggled to keep her newfound electrical abilities in check and use them to her advantage without injuring anyone. She had to pause briefly to explain mer Inheritance to him.

“All mer have magic,” she reminded him. “But we don’t all have the same magic. I can generate electricity, just like my dad and brother, but mom’s gift is the ability to manipulate plant life. My friend Hunk can mold earth into whatever shape he wants, including solid rock. It’s incredible to watch.”

They talked for hours, going back and forth to catch each other up, but they barely made a dent in it by the time Shiro called Keith up for dinner.

“I should go,” Keith said reluctantly.

Pidge looked disappointed but nodded in acceptance. “Will you be back tomorrow? I have a few things I have to do before midsun, but I can come back.”

“I’ll be here,” Keith promised. He held out his hand so they could press them together in their personal version of a hug goodbye, and then he watched Pidge disappear beneath the waves before he climbed down from the rock and made his way to the house.

- - - - -

Keith felt like the luckiest person in the world.

Not only was he back in his childhood home, but he also had the opportunity to reunite with his best friend. It was tricky to keep her hidden from other “surface dwellers”, as Pidge liked to say, but getting to sit and talk with her was well worth it.

Naturally, Keith made it his goal to spend every possible moment with Pidge over the next few days, sometimes ignoring the growl of his stomach out of excitement. Once it’d been so loud that Pidge sent him up to retrieve food for both of them. She said it was so he wouldn’t starve, but her clear fascination over the food he returned with told him otherwise.

He knew he needed to be more careful.

He wasn’t blind to the looks he received from Shiro and Curtis whenever he made an appearance and he knew he needed to come up with a better explanation than simply: “I find the water calming.”

He trusted his brother but keeping the existence of merpeople a secret was too important to risk it.

Even if that meant lying to Shiro.

Keith tried to slow down in the mornings and spend extra time with them. It took all of his willpower to focus on what they were saying instead of daydreaming about what he and Pidge would talk about next, and he thought he was doing pretty well.

“Keith? Museum?” Curtis asked, waving his hand in front of his face. “Do you want to go with us? It’s only a thirty-minute drive.”

“No thanks. I’m just going to stay here today,” Keith said.

Curtis looked like he wanted to say something, but Shiro spoke up before he could.

“If that’s what you want to do, then we won’t stop you,” he said. “The whole point of a vacation is to relax and have fun and everyone has a different way of doing that.”

Keith smiled at his brother. “Thanks. I’m just not up for going out anywhere right now.” He hoped that would be it, but as he helped clean up after breakfast, Shiro approached him and silently began drying dishes as Keith washed them.

“You’re worried,” Keith stated after a moment.

Shiro hummed. “I will admit, I was worried when we first arrived and you told us this was the house you grew up in, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look this happy.”

“The strange thing is, being here doesn’t make me sad. Remembering my dad doesn’t make me sad,” Keith said. “There’s only good memories here. If anything, I feel closer to him than I did before.”

“I’m glad,” Shiro said sincerely.

There was nothing more that needed to be said as they finished cleaning up. Keith stuck around to see off Shiro and Curtis, once again turning down their offer to tag along, and the moment they were through the front door, he made a beeline for the shore, rushing more than he needed to.

He beat Pidge there, as he did every day, but he wasn’t waiting for long before she arrived and settled at the base of the rock he sat on. As always, they pressed their palms together in greeting.

“You look happy,” she remarked.

“Shiro and Curtis went to a museum for the day, so we should have the whole day to ourselves. Shiro loves museums,” Keith said.

Pidge tilted her head to one side, causing the beads in her long hair to shift. “Why didn’t you go with them? You could’ve left a message. I wouldn’t mind.”

“It’s not really for me,” Keith said with a shrug. “Shiro will literally spend hours in one area if you let him, and it gets frustrating after a while. Curtis has the patience for it, but I don’t.”

Pidge let the subject drop and instead worked on heaving herself out of the water and higher onto the rock. Keith helped her out, figuring there was no reason to worry about being spotted.

Out of the water, her scales glittered green under the sunlight, refracting green light across the rock and his dark pants. Keith found himself captivated by the color for a moment before redirecting his gaze to her face. Pidge promptly ducked her head and twisted a lock of hair around her finger as though she was embarrassed by something.

Keith cleared his throat. “Today’s our question day, right? Do you have anything you want to ask first?”

Pidge let go of her hair and nodded eagerly. “What’s a museum?”

Keith did his best to explain the function of museums, aided by a few more questions from Pidge that helped him clarify a few details that he forgot. He could tell she had more things she wanted to ask once he was done, but it was his turn.

“You said the other day that Arus is a long way from here, so how do you get here so quickly every day? Do mer swim that fast? Or do you get a ride from a whale or something?” he asked.

“That’s an easy one!” Pidge said. “I just use the teludav. The Alteans set up easy access points all over the world to make travel safer, and one of those points is nearby.”

“What’s a teludav?”

Pidge’s eyes lit up. “It’s this incredible piece of tech the Alteans invented ages ago. Okay, so there’s this terrifying creature called a Weblum that lives in the deep, deep oceans. It’s not aggressive or anything like that, and not really dangerous unless you get in its way because there’s no way of stopping it or making it change its path. Sorry, I’m getting carried away again. Anyway, the primary component that makes the teludav work is a mineral called scaultrite, which is only produced in the Weblum’s stomach. Pretty gross, right?” (Keith didn’t have a chance to agree.) “We use the scaultrite to create special lenses for amplifying and directing Altean magic, and when you put that with the other correct parts, you get a teludav!”

None of that fully answered Keith’s question, so he rephrased it to make it clear what he was really asking. Pidge laughed and told him it was a transportation portal. All she had to do was enter the one in Arus and she would exit in a nearby underwater cave, strategically chosen for the lack of divers in the area.

Pidge happily switched topics so she could take her turn.

They passed the day like that, bouncing questions off of each other and getting answers to things they were curious about. Every now and then, Keith would catch Pidge staring at him, though she was always quick to look away once she saw him looking.

He brushed it off, figuring there was something she wanted to ask and was puzzling out the best way to phrase it.

“Do mer have pets?” Keith asked curiously. He recalled that she briefly mentioned an octopus named Rover sometime before, but she never went into detail about it. “Or any kind of creature that you take care of just because you think they’re cute?”

“Actually, yeah. Loads of mer have giant seahorses or some kind of ray as a pet. My parents have a ray named Bae Bae and I’ve got Rover, but there are also these super cute nudibranchs that I found when I was exploring a shipwreck and I may have taken a few of them home with me,” Pidge said, sounding pleased with herself.

Keith wasn’t sure which part he was more curious about: Pidge’s apparent love for colorful sea slugs or the fact that there were giant seahorses. It didn’t take him too long to decide. “Exactly how big are these seahorses?”

“Kind of like this?” Pidge held out her arms to indicate a size around three feet tall. “The Nalquodians have been breeding them for ages to get them to that size. They’re pretty cool, but you have to keep a close eye on them because they like to flutter around and steal food the moment you stop looking. And I can see the look on your face. It’s my turn for a question and then I’ll tell you about Nalquod.”

“That’s fair,” Keith agreed.

“What kind of pets do surface dwellers own? And can you describe them?” Pidge asked.

“Well, there are birds, which you already know about. They come in a lot of different colors and sizes, and some people like to keep them as pets. The big two are dogs and cats.”

Trying to describe land-based creatures was harder than expected, and Keith was pretty sure he was doing an awful job. If he’d remembered to bring his phone down with him, he could’ve shown her pictures, but naturally he left it up at the house where it was safe from water damage.

Pidge took pity on him when he awkwardly tried to explain the sounds they each make, briefly pressing her finger to his lips to get him to stop talking.

“Nalquod is one of the five major mer cities. You already know about Altea and Daibazaal,” she said. “The others are Rygnirath and the Dalterion Belt. There are so many different kinds of mer all around the world, but they are the oldest of us, and have the most influence.”

“And their tails are different from yours,” Keith said, remembering something she mentioned the day before.

Pidge beamed. “That’s right! That’s one of the biggest differences between the five clans, aside from the places where each one lives. Alteans have scales just like I do, but the Galra have a thick, rough skin that covers their tails, sort of like sharks.”

The more he learned about her world, the more he wished he could see it for himself.

Keith couldn’t think like that. It would only leave him feeling disappointed. “I know it’s your turn to ask a question, but do you want me to tell you the story about the first time I met Curtis?”

“That’s the name of your brother’s boyfriend, right? I’d love to hear more about him,” Pidge said, leaning in close.

Keith shifted a little to get more comfortable and then told her all about his first meeting with Curtis, and how, in a fit of purely accidental clumsiness, he dropped an entire plate of spaghetti on his lap. He thought Shiro would never forgive him.

His story spawned a new line of questions into one another’s lives.

Pidge shared a delightful story about Matt introducing his girlfriend to their family for the first time, and how Rover spent the entire time camouflaging himself in different spots to try and scare her. (Luckily, she thought he was hilarious.)

Keith struggled to figure out a way to explain driving a car to her so that he could tell her the tale of Shiro’s driving lessons, and the time he was so sure they were about to get arrested for driving around in circles in a parking lot.

After a few hours, Pidge called it an early day and then took another fifteen minutes to explain her newest project before actually leaving. Keith watched her disappear with a fond smile on his face and then headed up to the house.

With his newfound free time, he began dinner preparations as a surprise for Shiro and Curtis. Keith hummed a wordless tune as he worked, setting out everything he needed for the main dish. None of the sides would take long and could go in once the others returned, and Keith knew from experience that it was best if he focused on one thing at a time.

Shiro and Curtis were delighted to return to the scent of food. They told him all about their trip to the museum as they ate, and Keith found himself wondering if any of it was something Pidge would be interested in. From there, his mind wandered to what they could do the next day.

Maybe he could take some paper down and they could try and draw things for one another? She was likely to make fun of his stick figure drawings, but it would be worth it to see her excitement over new surface items.

Keith spent most of his evening lost in thoughts, completely oblivious to the concerned looks he got from Shiro and Curtis.

He slept well that night, and after breakfast the next morning, he took his time gathering up a few sheets of paper and a handful of crayons he found stashed away in the floorboards of his old room. He took them all down to the beach and passed time by doing some practice drawings and trying to make improvements.

The morning stretched on and transitioned into noon, which was when Keith started to worry. He set aside his art supplies to keep a careful eye on the water around him. He mentally reviewed their last conversation, trying to remember if she said anything about needing to postpone their meet-up, but she agreed to the same time as always.

He was sure she was fine.

Pidge was just running a little late. Soon, she would show up with some wild story to tell him and they’d spend another day laughing and hanging out. He was sure of it.

She never arrived.

Keith spent the entire day waiting for her, only giving up once heavy clouds rolled in and covered the sun. He was extra cautious as he made his way across the slick rocks, but he still slipped once when the wind knocked him off balance. He recovered before he could fall and was soon safe inside the house.

“There’s a storm coming in,” Shiro said as Keith reached the top of the basement stairs. “Curtis is checking to see how bad it is. We may need to… Are you alright?”

Keith didn’t trust himself to speak and nodded instead. He hoped it was just a passing storm rather than anything big, though either way he was wasn’t going to sleep well.

Curtis returned with news that they didn’t have to worry, but he set them to find flashlights and candles just in case the power went out.

Once the emergency supplies were collected, the three of them gathered in the living room to eat their dinner of leftovers and listen to the local weather report. Shiro tried to lighten the atmosphere when they learned they were in for a windy night and wouldn’t have to worry about rain until some time the next day, but stopped when it became clear that nothing could lift Keith’s mood.

Keith couldn’t even find the energy to feel guilty about worrying Shiro. He was too busy wondering what happened to Pidge. Had she gotten wrapped up in a project and lost track of time? Did her family make her stay home to keep her safe from the storm? Or was it something worse?

He dismissed himself for an early bedtime, hoping he could manage a few hours of sleep, but between the howling wind and his overactive imagination, he spent most of the night tossing and turning. Keith got a few solid hours in the early hours of the morning and counted that as a win, even though it wasn’t nearly enough rest.

The news station gave a similar storm report as the night before; the wind was still blowing and the heavy rain would begin sometime around midmorning. Keith decided it was the most opportune moment he had to sneak down to the shore and check for Pidge one last time.

Keith dragged himself downstairs to wait for sunrise, and the moment there was enough light to properly see, he went outside. From the upper balcony, he could see a splash of bright green against the gray rock.

He was sure he made a sound, but it was drowned out by the pounding of his heart as it lodged itself in his throat. He flew down the stairs and raced across the beach to where she lay.

“Pidge!” Keith gasped as he rushed to her side. He carefully turned her over, searching for any obvious injuries, but didn’t find anything.

She groaned as she began to stir. “Keith?”

“I’m here, Pidge,” he quickly reassured her. His worry intensified as she mumbled sleepily and passed out again.

Keith took a moment to weigh his options, though really it wasn’t a hard choice to make. He couldn’t leave her there with the weather turning so rough, especially when it looked like she’d already hurt herself trying to swim through it. He’d have to take her to the house. Once she woke up and the storm passed, he’d be able to talk to her and figure out what they were going to do next, but for the time being he had to decide on his own.

“Okay, I can do this,” he said to himself, stooping down so he could get a good grip on her. He slid one arm around her back and the other under her tale, pausing to take a deep breath and brace himself for her weight, and then he lifted her up as he stood, grunting from the effort.

Pidge whined softly and Keith quickly soothed her.

“It’s alright. I’ve got you, Pidge. I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He kept talking to her as he carried her across the beach and then slowly started up the stairs. The wind buffeted against him, whipping his hair into his eyes, and rapidly drying Pidge’s shorn locks.

He needed to hurry before her tail dried out too much. He wasn’t sure what would happen if it did, but he was willing to bet it wouldn’t be comfortable for Pidge. The sooner he could get her into the pool, the better.

“Almost there,” he said as he reached the bottom deck.

There was only one more obstacle he had to face, and that was getting the door open. Which was not going to be an easy task with an armful of an unconscious mermaid.

To make matters worse, he heard the door on the upper deck fly open and footsteps rapidly making their way across the floor.

“Keith!” Shiro shouted, sounding panicked.

Keith groaned softly and rolled his eyes. Did Shiro really think he was so irresponsible that he would go down there when there was a storm blowing in? (He resolutely ignored the tiny voice reminding him that was exactly what he did - it was an emergency situation! He had to go down there!)

It was far from an ideal situation all around, but Keith was adaptable. First he’d reassure Shiro so he wouldn’t go into full-blown panic, and then he’d get the door open. Easy.

Praying that Pidge would forgive him for what he was about to do, Keith cleared his throat and said: “I’m down here, Shiro!”

Keith braced himself for the round of questions that were sure to be heading his way, but when Shiro reached the lower deck, the surprised Keith with only one: “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know,” Keith responded. “I found her like this and I couldn’t leave her down there. Not with the storm coming in. Could you open the door?”

Shiro nodded, striding quickly to the door and opening it to allow Keith through. He said nothing else and stood back as Keith walked down into the pool, not caring at all that his clothes were getting even more soaked. He gently eased Pidge into the water until she rested on the bottom and then backed away, keeping his eyes on her to make sure she was still okay, and then sat down on the top step.

Part of him wasn’t the least bit surprised when Shiro rolled up his pants leg and joined him at the poolside, struggling to compose himself as he took in everything he was seeing.

“So, uh, surprise, I guess,” Keith muttered, breaking the silence and startling a laugh from Shiro.

“I can’t believe this is what you’ve been hiding from us. Not that I blame you for keeping it a secret; I’m not sure I would have believed you if you had told us. It just seems so surreal…” Shiro said, keeping his voice down. “Does she have a name?”

Keith nodded. “It’s Pidge. Well, that’s what I’ve always called her. She didn’t want to give me her real name when we first met, so I had to come up with a nickname. There was this pigeon nearby that she was really interested in, so I sort of named her after it. Don’t laugh! I was eight!”

Shiro covered his mouth with his hand, gray eyes glittering with amusement. “You named her after a bird?”

“Shut up,” Keith said with very little bite to his voice. “You’re being really cool about this. I was expecting more questions. More… I don’t know.”

“Honestly? I think I’m still trying to process it all. Mermaids - merpeople?” He glanced at Keith for confirmation. “Merpeople are real. They’re not just a myth or a story, they actually exist. There’s so much I want to ask, but all I can think about is what else is real that most people think is fake?”

“I know magic is real too,” Keith said with a shrug. “Pidge told me that all mer have some form of magic and it sounds like it’s usually elemental. So I guess it’s not magic spells like most humans would think. And… and there whole underwater cities where mer live that are protected by magic and their own form of technology. She says that’s why we’ve never found them. And all of their cities are connected by something called the teludav? Which I think is some kind of portal they use to teleport.” He stopped for a moment, hoping he was relaying things correctly.

It felt so good to share it all with Shiro. He hated keeping secrets from his brother, but there was no longer a need to do so.

He glanced at Pidge and hoped he wasn’t breaking an important rule by being the one to tell Shiro about the mer. There had to be rules against it, right? To prevent everyone from finding out about them? But they could trust Shiro, and Curtis as well.

“Whole cities,” Shiro breathed in amazement. “Like Atlantis?”

Keith remembered asking that very same question as a child, just as he recalled the way Pidge crinkled up her nose as she corrected him. “Actually, that’s just a mistranslation. It’s called Altea, not Atlantis, and I wouldn’t say it around Pidge. I did that recently, more to tease her than anything, and she went on this whole long rant about the history of humans mistranslating various mer-languages and it’s not as interesting as you might think.”

“I’m guessing that’s where she’s from?”

Keith shook his head. “She’s from a small city called Arus. It’s on the border of Altea and Daibazaal - those are kingdoms, not cities - and she said something about it being divided between the two of them? I don’t really know how to explain it, except it belongs to both kingdoms. Pidge would explain it better.”

Shiro asked a few more general questions after that. How did they meet? How did she stay hidden for so long? Why didn’t Keith try to come back sooner?

“I… don’t know.” Keith furrowed his brow in thought. “It was like something was blocking my memory, right up until I found my old journal and the scale… Her scale. There must have been some kind of magic to it that was meant to help me remember, but I was afraid someone else would find it and take it from me, so I hid it in the safest place I knew. I never thought… Shiro, if you and Curtis hadn’t invited me this year… If Curtis’s parents never bought this house…”

He never would have been able to keep his promise.

“Maybe Fate wanted the two of you to meet again,” Shiro suggested. “Speaking of Curtis, I should get upstairs before he comes looking. It might be best if I tell him what’s going on instead of letting him find out on his own. If that’s alright.”

“Yeah,” Keith agreed, not hesitating for a second.

Shiro stood up and began to head for the stairs. “I’ll bring you down a change of clothes. You can’t be comfortable like that.”

Keith plucked at his sleeve. “It’s not so bad.”

“Uh-huh,” Shiro said in a tone that conveyed his disbelief. He didn’t say another word, leaving Keith alone with his unconscious friend.

Keith sat and waited, listening to the sound of the wind howling outside and the thunder booming in the distance. He hoped it wouldn’t be a bad one. They had a backup generator if they lost power, but he wasn’t sure if the pool was a high-priority in terms of things that needed to stay running.

He could hear Shiro and Curtis talking upstairs, a moment of silence, and then the sound of Curtis undeniably freaking out over there being a real-life mer in the basement pool.

Keith tuned them out. Shiro could handle that on his own and he was much more interesting watching Pidge as she began to come to. Her tail swayed, slowly at first, and then with one powerful flick, she rocketed to the surface to look around wildly, settling once she saw him sitting nearby.

“There’s a storm, so I brought you inside,” Keith quickly told her. “I can take you back once it passes, but it’s too dangerous right now.”

Pidge nodded and then began to look around, taking a moment to examine her new surroundings with a puzzled expression on her face. “What is this?”

“It’s a pool. We use them for swimming, or most people do. Curtis and his family turned it into a tank so they can look after fish,” Keith said, going with the simplest answer he could. “How do you feel?”

Pidge lifted her hand up and watched as the water trickled down her arm. “It’s very strange.”

“I guess it is different than seawater, but that’s not… Pidge, what happened to you?” Keith asked.

She lowered her hand and dove deeper into the pool, making a few laps before popping up next to Keith. She carefully draped her tail over the steps, using them as a bench as she settled with her back against the edge. She reached up, touching the ends of her hair with a frown. “It’s complicated and I don’t want to talk about it right now. I’m okay. I promise.”

Keith wanted so badly to press and hear what happened. She obviously wasn’t okay. How could she be after literally passing out in his arms? People who were okay didn’t do that!

“I know you have questions, but I can’t talk about it right now. I will later, but not now.” Pidge’s words turned pleading as she finally looked up at him.

Keith breathed out to release the tension he felt. “Fine.”

“Thank you, Keith,” Pidge said, and the relief in her voice made his heart ache. “How did you get me up here? It always looked so far away.”

He explained how he carried her away from the shore and up the stairs, where he had to get Shiro’s help to get inside. When she didn’t react poorly to knowing Shiro knew about her, he filled her in on the conversation they had.

“Ugh, Altantis,” Pidge grumbled, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t worry, I told him not to mention it around you. Hopefully, he’ll pass the warning along to Curtis,” Keith said.

Pidge tilted her head to the side. “Do I get to meet them? There’s no harm in it now since they both know.”

“Only if you’re up for it,” Keith told her. “They’ll have a lot of questions. I don’t think I did a good job explaining Arus to Shiro.”

“You did fine, but I’ll be happy to answer whatever questions they have, as long as I get to ask them stuff too. I want at least three embarrassing stories about you in exchange,” Pidge said teasingly.

“What? No way!”

Pidge laughed merrily and Keith couldn’t help but crack a grin as he tried to talk her down to one story, and only if she shared one of her own.

She pretended to think about it and then shook her head. “No deal. I will, however, give you one about Matt.”

“How is that fair?” Keith asked.

Pidge shrugged. “That’s my offer.”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think I want to introduce you anymore.”

“Too late!” Shiro called down the stairs.

Keith groaned good-naturedly and prepared for a day of stories that he’d rather not re-live. He’d have to work in some of his own about Shiro, as few as they were, and hopefully, Curtis would take pity on him and keep Shiro from telling too many.

- - - - -

The storm passed without causing any trouble for them, and by the next morning, the waves were calm enough that Keith felt comfortable carrying Pidge back down. There was only one roadblock with that, and it was Pidge herself.

“You don’t want to go back?” Keith asked with a frown.

“I like it here.”

Keith opened his mouth to ask why she didn’t want to go back, but Shiro cut in before he could get out more than a syllable.

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like. We enjoy having you here,” he said sincerely.

Pidge beamed, and that was the end of that conversation.

Keith did his best to shrug off his unease. He knew he needed to wait until Pidge was ready to talk, and every time he thought his patience was beginning to wane, he remembered the relief in her voice when he gave that promise, but it wasn’t easy. The more time that went by without her bringing it up on her own, the more he worried.

What happened to make her so disinterested in going home? She always spoke so fondly of her friends and family, of the work she was doing, how could she be okay with sitting in a pool all day with only a few humans for company? He was hesitant to call it fear that was holding her back, but what if that was exactly what it was? But what did Pidge have to be afraid of? Was it because of him? Because of their friendship? Was she breaking a law by meeting up with him again?

He wouldn’t get any answers so long as she refused to talk about it.

After two days of stressing over it, Keith left her to her conversation with Curtis about the varieties of sea slug and made the trek down to his favorite spot to relax on the beach.

Keith closed his eyes and let the sound and feel of the ocean surround him, casting away everything else. He steadied his breathing and relaxed.

He loved having Pidge around. Loved getting to talk to her whenever he wanted, sometimes late into the night. They were able to swap so many stories or just sit in comfortable silence together. And the smile on her face when he would bring her a piece of human technology to examine left him feeling warm for hours afterward.

He just wished it was happening under better circumstances.

Keith sighed and opened his eyes, only to scream and flail backward at the sight of a freckled face directly in front of his own. The other person grabbed onto his shirt to prevent him from pitching back into the water and hauled him back upright.

“Who are you?” Keith asked, swatting the hand away once he regained his balance.

“Where’s Katie?”

Keith stared blankly at the other man. “What?”

What was happening? Who was the crazy person intruding in his space?

“Okay, I know firsthand that humans are not this dumb. Did you hit your head or something?” asked the man. “Oh no, wait, she did say something about a nickname. What was it again? Something like pigeon?”

“Pidge?” Keith asked, bewildered.

“That’s the one! You are Keith, right? She should have mentioned the mullet. Looks ridiculous, by the way.”

“No one asked you!” Keith snapped, already fed up. “Who the hell are you anyway?”

“The name’s Lance! And since we’ve established that you’re Keith, you are going to take me to Katie now. You’ve gotta know where she is. There’s no other place she would’ve gone,” he said.

Lance.

Keith knew that name from Pidge’s stories. He was one of her friends - the loudmouth one with a blue tail. Except Keith didn’t see a single scale or a tail. There was nothing about him to indicate that he was a mer and he definitely remembered Pidge saying that he was. But there he was with two human legs.

He was also very, very naked.

“I’m not taking you to anyone until you put on pants,” Keith told him, already feeling a headache coming on.

“Right, let me pull out a pair from thin air,” Lance said sarcastically. “Obviously I don’t have any. I was in a rush. Just give me your shirt or something and I’ll figure it out.”

Keith was not going to do that. How would that help anything?! If anything, it would make the situation worse.

He stripped out of his pants instead and thrust them in Lance’s direction. He could go around in boxers for a while, but he wasn’t letting Pidge’s crazy friend go without wearing something. “Here, just put these on and I’ll take you to see her. I’m warning you, if you’re lying about knowing her, you will regret it.”

“Fair enough,” Lance said with a shrug. He took the pants and put them on, making a face at how short the legs were on him. He didn’t comment on it, which was lucky for him because Keith was prepared to shove him off of the rock if he did, screw the consequences.

Keith very reluctantly took Lance up to the basement, planning out what he’d do if he was lying or, even worse, that he was the reason Pidge didn’t want to go home.

When he opened the door, he found Pidge and Curtis right where he left them, though Shiro had also joined the conversation. They all looked up and Shiro raised an eyebrow when he saw that Keith had stripped down to his boxers, but all of Pidge’s attention was on Lance.

And she was smiling.

Lance tripped over his own feet as he hurried forward, his hands working to unbutton the pants and shove them down his skinny legs. He kicked them off before diving headfirst into the pool.

Bubbles covered his body as he swam to meet Pidge halfway, and when it cleared away, his legs had been replaced by a magnificent blue tail. It was scaled like hers was, but his fins were shaped more like a fan, and he had a few more than she did, positioned closer to his hips on either side. His freckles turned blue and lit up faintly across his skin. They were mimicked in his tail as well, with swirls of spots glowing a shade brighter than his scales.

He and Pidge met in a hug, catching each other in a way that made them spin together. A tightness built up in Keith’s chest at the sight of their closeness, dissipating only once the two separated. They spent a minute talking underwater before Pidge gestured to the surface.

“Is anyone going to explain what’s going on?” Keith asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “How did you do that? You had legs two minutes ago.”

“I did. Thanks for lending me your pants, by the way,” Lance said blithely.

“Lance is half mer.” Pidge took it upon herself to explain what was happening. “Because he’s half-human, he has the ability to shift forms whenever he wants, kind of like Alteans.”

“Altean? Is that like Atlantian?” Curtis asked.

Keith snorted as both Pidge and Lance answered with the most deadpan “no” he’d heard yet.

“I’m sure Katie would love to explain everything that’s wrong with that mistranslation, but she can do it later. Basically, Alteans are one of five major mer clans and are regarded as one of the oldest. They have the unique ability to shapeshift, and not just between mer and human, but to blend in with the locals, wherever they travel. See they used to-”

“Lance, we don’t have time for a full history lesson,” Pidge interrupted. “Nice to know you’re taking your training as a future adviser seriously. Coran would be proud.”

Lance looked delighted by the praise. “Think you can tell that to him? He’s convinced that I’m too distracted by, uh, other things.”

“Not a chance.”

“Rude.”

Pidge stuck out her tongue and blew, making a face when it didn’t generate the same effect as it would underwater.

“So you can shapeshift, Lance?” Shiro asked, trying to get them back on topic.

“Just between mer and human,” Lance said. “It’s not nearly as cool as what Alteans can do and is leagues lamer than what Royal Alteans are capable of. They have magic that lets a human turn mer or a mer turn human, but the effects are permanent. That’s how my mom went to live on the surface with my dad.” He paused as he took a good long look at Pidge. “But Katie’s right when she says we don’t have time for this. I’m not here for a social visit, I’m here to bring her home.”

Pidge turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

Lance swam around her and grasped her shoulders, preventing her from moving again. “If I let you, you’ll never talk about this. Listen, you went missing for two days and your family is worried sick! If Lotor hadn’t gone to your house to look for you and apologize, we never would have known what happened!”

An emotion Keith couldn’t read flickered over Pidge’s face.

“Katie, what those guards did, it wasn’t right. Lotor was mad about-” (Lance cut himself off and his gaze briefly landed on Keith before he refocused on Pidge.) “- stuff, but he wasn’t going to banish you for it. He wants you to know that they’ve been punished and will be sent back to Daibazaal for final judgment from his father. He says he’s sorry for the way he overreacted.”

“He really said that?” Pidge asked, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, once your mom was done yelling at him for it. I am so glad I was there to witness that,” Lance said. “So what do you say? Ready to come home?”

Pidge hesitated, drawing back into herself as she considered her options. Then she shook her head. “Not yet.”

A spike of relief flooded Keith’s body, followed by guilt for feeling that way. He didn’t have to say goodbye yet, but it was because Pidge still didn’t feel comfortable going home.

Lance’s shoulders dropped at her response. “Alright, if you’re sure. I can take messages back to everyone for now.”

Shiro caught Keith’s eyes and gestured towards the stairs. Keith stared at him for a moment, unsure of what he wanted, until it suddenly clicked in his mind that he was suggesting they give them some space. He nodded and slowly moved away, walking upstairs with him and Curtis and settling in the kitchen, where they began to quietly talk.

Or Shiro and Curtis did.

Keith was too busy trying to piece together what happened to Pidge from the limited details Lance gave them, but all he really had was even more questions.

Who was Lotor? The name was unfamiliar to him, but clearly, he meant something to Pidge. Why had she never mentioned him? All of the other names were familiar to him. Coran was an adviser to Altean royalty - an eccentric source of knowledge and always ready with some kind of story or odd phrase. Lance, of course, was one of her best friends, and probably why she knew more about humans than he expected. Her family, of course, was her mom, dad, and her older brother, Matt.

He’d never heard of Lotor before.

Keith scowled.

“Alright, Keith?” Shiro asked as he changed seats to sit next to him.

He wanted to say that he was fine and not talk about it, but stopped and thought about it before the words slipped out. If he did that, then he’d be doing to Shiro the same thing Pidge was doing to him.

Keith folded his arms over the table and laid his head down. “I just wish she’d talk to me, you know? There’s so much she’s keeping bottled up and hidden from everyone, even Lance. I want to help her, but I don’t know how.”

He looked helplessly at Shiro, hoping his brother had a good piece of advice to give him. He usually did.

“I think the best thing you can do is be there for her. Let her come to you in her own time, just like you’ve been doing,” Shiro said. “You can’t force this.”

Keith should have known that’s what he’d say. Normally, it wouldn’t be so bad, but he didn’t have time to wait patiently. They were already halfway through their vacation and it wouldn’t be long before people started to wonder when they’d return.

He turned his head so he was staring straight down at the table. “Patience yields focus, right?”

Shiro chuckled.

Someone knocked on the wall near the stairs and then Lance stuck his head around the corner. “Hey, just wanted to say I’m headed out. I’ll be back tomorrow if I can get away. If not, then as soon as I can. Oh yeah, and I’m going to keep your pants down on the beach if you don’t mind. I figure that will be less traumatizing to you.”

That was fine.

Shiro raised an eyebrow as Lance left without another word. “He’s… interesting. You’re really okay with giving him your pants?”

“Would you rather he walked around naked?” Keith asked.

Shiro swiftly replied with a negative.

Keith continued to sit with his head and arms on the table, mulling things over as Curtis came down after his phone call with his parents and got started on lunch for all of them. Soon, the smell of baking fish filled the air and his stomach began to rumble in response, distracting him from working out a plan. He turned his head to watch his brother quietly flirt with Curtis.

Before long, the food was finished and Keith was being handed two plates, one of which was unseasoned for Pidge. Keith thanked him and then made the trip downstairs, where he found Pidge making quick laps around the pool, her tail rippling in color from dark emerald to luminous yellow-green.

Keith took up his usual place on the pool steps, letting his feet rest in the water. He set Pidge’s plate off to one side for her to eat once she was ready and then dug into his own, using his fork to cut off individual bites.

Pidge quietly surfaced near him, carefully lifting the plate so she could examine the fish prepared for her, checking it over for any spices or unusual coloring. They’d quickly learned after the first time that while mer did have ways of cooking their food with heat vents, their methods of flavoring food was vastly different if they were able to add any at all. The herbs and spices they used on the surface were too much for her to handle, and from that point on they made a point to cook hers without.

She picked up her fork and speared a small piece, nibbling on it to check the taste. When she found it was cooked to her satisfaction, she began cutting off larger pieces.

“So Lance is interesting,” Keith unintentionally echoed Shiro’s earlier words. “You never mentioned he was half-human.”

“It never came up,” Pidge responded with a short shrug. She scraped her fork along her plate, trying to pick up every last little piece. “Lance has lived in Arus for so long, I don’t really think about it anymore.”

“Do you want more food?” Keith asked.

Pidge shook her head and set her plate and fork down. “I’m full.”

Silence once again fell over them as Keith finished eating. He was sure at any moment she’d choose to go back underwater, but to his surprise, she stayed right where she was.

Keith sat on the edge with his plate resting in his lap, trying to decide the best way to begin. He had to get something off of his chest before more time passed.

“Pidge, I know I said before that I would wait until you’re ready to talk, and I meant it. I’m not going to pressure you into it. And I know that me saying this makes it sound insincere and I probably should have phrased it better, but I’m here for you whenever you’re ready to talk. It doesn’t have to be all at once. You can do it in pieces if that makes it easier, but it’s all up to you.”

“Keith…”

He looked over at her. “All I want is to help you, in whatever way I can.”

Pidge reached out and took his plate away, putting it on top of her own before taking his hands in her own. “You deserve to know, and I want to tell you, but…”

“You’re not ready.”

Pidge looked at their hands and was silent for a long moment. “Lotor is the prince of Daibazaal. He came to Arus five years ago as part of his training, and we sort of… hit it off, I guess.” She crinkled her nose in thought. “He recognized my skill in mer-tech and gave me resources and a place in Sincline Castle to continue my work. In repayment, he gets the first look at my projects and a safe haven from his more persistent suitors. I know you probably think the worst of him after what Lance said, but he’s not like that. It’s complicated, I guess.”

“He lost his temper with you, Pidge, and it was bad enough that someone thought he was ordering your banishment. It’s not that complicated,” Keith said, a little more waspishly than he intended.

Pidge didn’t flinch away or scowl or otherwise indicate that she was bothered by Keith’s words. Instead, she stroked her thumb over the back of his hand. “Lotor has every reason to be upset with me. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him where I was going, because I know how he feels about humans. I should have told him. He should have heard it from me and not someone else.”

“That’s no excuse.”

“I know,” Pidge said, smiling sadly as she finally looked up at him. “Lotor lost his temper, and for that, I expect an apology, but I owe him one for not being truthful. He’s my friend and I lied to him. It put him in a difficult position, especially considering the way many mer view our relationship.”

Something ice-cold dropped into Keith’s chest at the implication that anything was going on between Pidge and some tantrum-throwing prince. He quickly reminded himself that she said they were only friends, but the feeling lingered uncomfortably for the rest of the night, intruding on his sleep and making him wake in a cold sweat. The image of Pidge being held by a faceless mer haunted him every time he closed his eyes.

When morning came, he was right there with Curtis, waiting for the coffee pot to complete its brewing cycle.

Curtis raised an eyebrow. “Rough night?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Keith muttered as he dumped large spoonfuls of sugar into his cup to try and cover up the bitterness of the coffee. He took a sip, made a face, and added another spoonful before fetching the milk from the fridge and adding that as well.

“Want to talk about it?” Curtis asked curiously.

Keith shrugged, setting his cup down on the table before dropping into an empty chair. “Dunno.”

He honestly wasn’t sure that there was any point in talking about it. He couldn’t say anything without betraying Pidge’s trust and while he liked Curtis, it wasn’t the same as talking to Shiro. Unfortunately, Shiro was using their vacation as an excuse to stay in bed for as long as possible every day and Keith wasn’t going to intrude on that.

Maybe he could phrase things in a way that wouldn’t betray Pidge’s confidence.

“Pidge was telling me more about her home and said something about everyone else thinking she and another mer are in a relationship, and it bothers me, I guess. It has to suck, being friends with someone and facing the expectation of there being more between you when there isn’t,” Keith said.

Curtis was silent for a moment as he sipped his black coffee. “Which part bothers you? The thought of Pidge being with this person? Or is it sympathy toward Pidge for being put into that situation?”

The image of Pidge and the faceless mer flashed through his mind.

Keith swallowed. “The first one. Though, I mean, the second part too. I don’t know, Curtis. The whole thing sucks.”

Curtis smiled at him. “You must really like her. Shiro and I had our suspicions, but we didn’t want to say anything. And we still won’t, because this is your journey, Keith. This is something you have to figure out on your own.”

He liked Pidge.

Well, obviously he liked Pidge! She was his friend and always had been, even if he’d forgotten for a while.

But that wasn’t what Curtis was saying, and Keith wasn’t sure he was comfortable with the direction his mind was taking him. To think of Pidge in a way that went beyond friendship…

Heat rushed to his cheeks as his mind played out a scene replacing him with the faceless mer, holding Pidge lovingly in his arms. It was ridiculous and he felt guilty thinking of her that way, but he couldn’t help himself. Once the thought was there, it only blossomed and grew stronger, and all at once, Keith fully understood why the thought of Pidge being with Lotor bothered him so much.

“I like Pidge,” Keith said softly.

Shiro was never going to let him live it down. Not after the way Keith teased him about his crushes in the past.

“If you want a little extra advice: take your time with this. You don’t need to go rushing in,” Curtis said.

Keith nodded, though he wasn’t really listening anymore. He thanked Curtis for his help and continued to sit at the table and drink his coffee, finishing up just as Shiro shuffled into the kitchen in his pajamas.

Shiro looked pointedly at Keith’s cup. “Rough night?”

“Curtis will tell you about it,” Keith said, standing up to put his cup in the dishwasher. He ignored the overly dramatic way Curtis swooned as he declared “Keith’s in love”, and instead walked right by him without a word.

The last thing Keith heard as he started down the stairs was Shiro asking: “What’s really going on?”

He took his time, still trying to decide the best way to talk to Pidge.

It was no secret that he wasn’t the best at vocalizing his feelings, and that was especially true when he was still trying to figure them out for himself. He knew that there were some jealousy issues to work out and Shiro always said that the best way to counter potential misunderstandings was by talking it out, so that was what he was going to do.

Even if he had no idea how to do that.

Maybe he should wait until he had proper time to digest, but it was a little late for that, as he reached the bottom of the stairs and automatically gravitated toward the pool. He smiled at Pidge as she popped her head out of the water, waiting patiently for him to sit down before she swam forward and held out her hand. He reached out to meet her halfway, letting their fingertips touch first before pressing their palms together.

‘I really like her.’

Pidge looked up at him curiously. “Are you alright?”

His eyes flickered to her face. “I, uh… I was thinking…”

Thinking what? He wasn’t sure that there was a single solid thought running through his head between the cacophony of sirens ringing in his ears. His mind was a mess. He was overthinking everything. Underthinking everything. Staying upstairs to face Shiro’s teasing would be far better than the meltdown he was currently experiencing.

“We’ve never hugged,” he blurted out.

“Well, no, but that’s because you always said it was too dangerous for you to go into the water. That’s why we do our own thing, remember?” Pidge sounded confused.

He was already screwing things up. His cheeks burned as she looked away from her and he knew he needed to stop talking, but more words spilled out anyway. “Sorry, I’m being stupid. You’re right. We have our own thing.”

Pidge responded by threading her fingers through his own. “It should be safe enough for you in here, so why don’t we try?” She tugged gently, enticing him to follow her deeper into the pool, and smiled softly when he went along with her without complaint. She stopped once they reached the deep end, where she let go of her hand and turned around to face him. “Hold your breath.”

Keith followed her directions just in time, as she looped her arms around his neck and her tail around his legs at the same time. He instinctively placed his hands where her skin blended into scales, his mind barely having time to process how closely she was pressed against him before they sank underwater.

He didn’t panic, even as his heart began to race. Part of his mind noted that the way she hugged him was entirely different from the way she hugged Lance the day before, but that information wouldn’t hit him until later, once he had time to revisit the new memory. He could feel her sigh against him as she tucked her head into the crook of his neck.

Disappointment washed over him when she moved a few seconds later, lifting herself up so they were face-to-face, but that feeling didn’t last for long.

Pidge lightly brushed her lips against his and his brain short-circuited.

Keith exhaled in shock, blowing bubbles directly into Pidge’s face. She began laughing and unwound her tail, helping him back to the surface so he could catch his breath. He was sure his face was bright red as he voiced his apologies.

“It’s really not a big deal,” Pidge said, unable to keep herself from grinning. There was a pink hue spreading across her face - a blush, perhaps? (Did mer blush like humans?) “I, uh, I’m sorry too. I should have warned you or asked permission or something. It seemed like the perfect moment, but all I’ve done is made a mess instead.”

“You haven’t,” Keith was quick to reassure her. “I was surprised that time, but we can try again.”

They should probably talk about what was happening. Keith knew that. Pidge likely knew that as well, but both of them were too elated by what was happening, the thrill of their friendship possibly shifting into something more overriding any logical thought.

Keith held his breath again as Pidge pulled him back underwater.

- - - - -

Later, once Keith’s head began to swim from repeated lack of oxygen, the two finally settled down to talk. They retreated to the steps, where Keith remained submerged in the water so Pidge could recline against him.

“I really like you,” he told her.

“That’s good,” Pidge said. “Because I like you too. A lot.”

After that, it was as though a wall toppled down between them. Pidge took the lead at first, delving into the joy she felt at seeing him again, the way she nearly spilled everything to him the day she caught herself admiring the way the sunlight brought out a shade of violet in his hair, and her fear as she began to wonder if her feelings were born of a ten-year wait to see him again.

“Do you still think that?” Keith asked.

“Not anymore. Actually, Matt caught me moping about it and we talked, so that helped me a bit. It was right before Lotor…” Pidge trailed off and shook her head. “It was the night before Lotor found out that I was seeing you, which made everything worse, I think. Here I was, worrying about my feelings for you, and suddenly I have an even bigger mess to figure out, but before I have a chance to do anything, those guards get it in their heads that I deserve banishment or whatever!” She stopped to breathe, electricity crackling harmlessly over her scales. It tingled against Keith’s skin where they touched.

“Is that what happened to your hair?” he asked.

Pidge lifted her hand to touch the ends of it. “Yeah, that’s a typical method of punishment for the Galra. The loss of braids, and especially adornments, is a big deal to them. It was upsetting at first, but I can grow it back. Mostly, I was just afraid. Coming to you was the only thing that made sense.”

Her show of trust made his head swell, just as much as the sadness in her eyes made it clench in pain. He wanted to say something comforting, but everything he could think of sounded so hollow.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that,” he said.

Pidge gave him a soft smile. “I do wish it all went differently, but it gave us all of this extra time to spend together, so I feel oddly… thankful?”

Ten years ago, he would have argued with her on that point. Five years ago, he would have started a fight about it, not intentionally, but out of misplaced anger. Luckily, living with Shiro as his brother for eight years had helped quell that fire that raged inside of him at all of the injustices of the world.

Patience yields focus.

Keith breathed out. “You might have a good point. It would have taken me longer to figure out my feelings for you. Probably not until I got home…” His throat tightened.

He would’ve gotten home and been so listless, so lost, and not known why. How long would it have taken him to figure it out? Shiro would have to step in, he knew that much. But would it have been too late by then?

“That doesn’t make what happened to you a good thing,” Keith said fiercely, kicking himself for thinking that way. He blinked in surprise when he felt Pidge tug him down by the sleeve of his soaked shirt so she could stretch herself up and kiss his cheek.

“Thank you, Keith. Now, enough about this. It’s your turn for an emotional confession about all of the things you like about me,” Pidge said, her eyes glittering playfully.

Where could he start?

He loved listening to her ramble on or get caught up in long-winded tangents, before abruptly leaping back to her original topic, even if it meant he struggled to follow her stories. He loves the passion she held for her work. Her mischievous grin when she was about to make a pun. The cute way she tilted her head when she was puzzled by something.

Most of all, he loved how comfortable he felt with her.

The two of them talked for some time, lost in their own private world, right up until a knock at the door jolted them back to reality. They both looked to the glass door, where Lance stood in his borrowed jeans.

Keith lifted his hand in greeting, giving Lance silent permission to come inside.

“Hunk sent me with some food,” he said as he walked over to the side of the pool. He raised an eyebrow at their closeness but didn’t comment on it. “He also says that he’s jealous that you get to try surface cuisine and he wants to hear all about it once you get back, nevermind the number of times I’ve offered to bring food from mom.” Lance rolled his eyes.

Pidge laughed as she moved away to accept the bundle of food. “Sounds like Hunk’s doing just fine. How are Matt and my parents?”

“Still upset that you left without saying anything, but glad that you’re safe. Matt says if you don’t come home soon, he’s going to go through your stuff and color code it to his own specifications,” Lance said.

Pidge gasped in mock outrage. “He wouldn’t!”

“He might,” Lance said with a shrug. He glanced over at Keith, who wondered if it was a good time to make an excuse to go upstairs and leave them to talk. “Speaking of you going home, any idea when you’re going to?”

“Not yet.”

“Pidge-”

“I’m not ready yet,” she said stubbornly.

And yeah, that was Keith’s cue to go. He murmured an excuse to go check on Shiro and Curtis before getting out of the pool. He toweled off to the best of his ability on his way upstairs, where he found Curtis talking on the phone. He took one look at the expression on Keith’s face and pointed to the door leading out to the upper deck, where Shiro was leaning against the rail and enjoying the hot summer sun.

He turned to look at Keith when he heard the door slide open.

“Did Lance chase you off already?” Shiro asked.

Keith shrugged as he joined his brother. “It seemed like they have some things to talk about without me around. Mer stuff or whatever.” He vaguely waved his hand and then fell still, staring out over the ocean.

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke.

“I’ve been thinking about what Lance said, about the Royal Alteans and their magic.”

That wasn’t at all what Keith expected to hear. He looked up at Shiro with a frown. “What’s this about?”

“You’re happy here. Happier than I’ve ever seen you, and I can’t help but think that it’s more than just Pidge influencing that. This house, the ocean… this is where you belong.”

It didn’t take Keith long to figure out what Shiro was saying.

“I’m not leaving you,” Keith said, panic seeping into his voice. “Shiro, I can’t!”

“You could,” Shiro gently disagreed. “Keith, look at me. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, you will always be my brother. No matter what choice you make, I will be there to support you. And this is your choice to make. I’m just pointing out one of the possibilities to you.” He held his arms open and let Keith hide his tears in the fabric of his t-shirt.

“Why do you always have to be like this? You’re the older one. Shouldn’t you be telling me not to go running off to live in the ocean with the girl I like?” Keith grumbled.

“Probably,” Shiro acknowledged.

Keith pulled back and wiped his eyes. “It’s ridiculous. I don’t… I couldn’t. What about your - our parents? What will you tell everyone?”

“We’d figure it out somehow. Lance should have a good idea of how this sort of thing works. You should ask him about it, if it’s something you’re genuinely considering,” Shiro said.

There was something about asking Lance for help that grated on his nerves, but that would be his best option. Far better than getting Pidge’s hopes up.

Though that raised another question: Did Pidge want him to go with her? What if their relationship wasn’t meant to last? The transformation was permanent, according to Lance, so would he be okay living in the ocean if he and Pidge had a fight and ended their relationship?

Keith had a lot to think about. A lot of pros and cons to weight before he came close to deciding. And somewhere in there, a talk with Lance to figure out how any of it would work.

“How many days do we have left?” Keith asked.

“Maybe a week more?” Shiro responded though he didn’t sound sure. “You don’t have to decide by then, but I’d talk to Lance for sure. This is a life-changing choice and I don’t want you to think of it as now or never just because we leave soon. We can always come back. The house isn’t going anywhere.”

“Yeah,” Keith murmured, his eyes drawn back to the ocean as he pondered the possibilities laid before him.

- - - - -

Talking to Lance sucked.

They needled each other in all the wrong ways, which led to more bickering than coherent discussion, but eventually, they managed to (mostly) set aside their differences to have a civil conversation.

Keith had to admit, Lance had a wealth of information about the process, thanks to his half-mer lineage. Apparently, he and his older sister were the only two who chose to live in Arus, while the rest of his family lived on the surface and helped serve as liaisons between the two worlds. Anything Lance didn’t know, one of them could help with.

“You’d be surprised by how many people around here know the truth about mer. Loads of people around here are descendants, whether they know it or not, and it’s become a tradition to embrace stories about mer as part of the town tourism. It helps throw off people who really want to do us harm, I guess. Anyway, my family helps out a lot with any issues that crop up and my brother has a boat, which will be useful if you decide to go through with this.”

Keith looked at him in confusion. “Why would that be useful?”

“It’ll get us away from prying eyes, for one. And the spellwork will be easier away from the shore, especially the one here. Unless you want to get cut up by rocks?”

He had a good point, so Keith let it drop and agreed that a boat would be useful. Lance had a few more things to tell him before he left for the day, including a word of warning.

If Keith chose to live the rest of his life in the ocean, it couldn’t be solely because of Pidge. He had to be sure it was what he wanted for himself because once he chose, there would be no going back.

Keith knew that, but hearing it from someone else put it into sharper perspective.

Any time he didn’t spend agonizing over what he would do, he spent with Pidge. Not much had changed between them since their make-out session, aside from a newfound closeness and Pidge’s habit of finding ways to drape herself over him. They still sat around and talked. One day Keith brought a tv downstairs and watched a few movies with her, doing his best to explain “movie magic” to her until Shiro or Curtis took pity on him and lent a hand.

The days flew by, every second ticking away at an alarming rate. Keith knew their time was coming to an end when he saw Pidge gazing at the door with more and more frequency.

“I should go back tomorrow,” she said quietly.

“Already?” The word slipped out without Keith meaning for it to happen and he grimaced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. You’ve been away from your home for a while now and I know you miss it.”

“I do miss it. I’ve been trying to convince myself that I haven’t, but I really do. I miss my family, my work, everything about Arus,” Pidge said. “It’s time I stopped hiding. And anyway, you have to leave soon too, don’t you? I heard Curtis say something about packing.”

Keith swallowed. “About that… I don’t think I’m going with them.”

Pidge tilted her head to the side. “Why not?”

“I’ve been talking to Lance about something and figuring out a few things, and now I’ve decided.” Keith paused to steady his breathing. “I’ve decided that I’m going back with you. To Arus.”

For a brief moment, Keith thought she might tell him no, but then a delighted trill filled the air. That was his only warning before she hauled him down by his shirt and kissed him fully on the mouth. It was only a quick kiss, but it conveyed her happiness perfectly well.

“You’re going to love Arus!” she said as they separated. “I can’t wait to show you everything! Oh, I wonder what your coloring will be? That’s always the interesting part about this. The way Altean magic works, it should look similar to mine, just a different color.” Pidge stopped and took a hard look at Keith. “You’re sure about this, right? Lance told you that it’s a one-way transformation?”

“I know, and this is what I want,” Keith said.

Her pensive expression was swept away by a bright smile as she again began to talk about all of the things she could show him. He could only grin at her enthusiasm, though he was still slightly confused about what a klanmuirl was and how it was relevant to what she was talking about.

The more they talked, the more certain Keith was of his choice, and with Shiro’s unwavering support, he found that he was only slightly nervous when the day arrived.

Lance took care of everything. He roped his human family into helping them get to the right place, on top of convincing someone named Allura to meet them near the surface so she could perform the necessary spell. All Keith had to do was follow his instructions and everything would work out the way it was meant to.

Pidge threw a wrench in their planning when she decided at the last minute that she didn’t want to swim out to meet them, but travel by boat along with Keith. Once again, Lance and his family came to the rescue with a specially designed wheelchair that was equipped with a water tank and a blanket to hide her tail from view.

Keith stayed by her side the whole time, easing his nerves by quietly answering her questions as he pushed her through town. It worked until they reached the boat owned by Lance’s oldest brother, Luis, and were introduced to him and his mom, who insisted on being called Alita rather than Ms. McClain.

“Thanks for doing this for us,” Shiro said as he helped move a plank into place. Making a bridge was the only way they would be able to get Pidge onto the boat without taking her out of the wheelchair.

“It’s no problem. We love helping out where we can, and Pidge is a family friend,” Luis said. He bent down to make sure the board was stable and then gestured for Keith to push her across. Once they were safely on the boat, he and Shiro moved the plank back onto the dock for anyone else to use.

“Let’s get this party started!” Lance enthusiastically said as he jogged up behind them.

Keith jumped in surprise at the mer’s unexpected arrival. “I thought you were meeting us out there.”

“Huh? Nah, I’m the only one able to signal Allura once it’s safe for her to find us, and that’ll be way easier if I’m with you guys,” Lance said. He hopped the gap onto the boat, beating his brother and Shiro. “Alright there, Katie?”

Pidge nodded. “This is so cool! I never thought I’d actually be able to ride in one of these!”

Lance shrugged, apparently not seeing what the big deal was, and stepped out of the way to greet his mom, who opened her arms wide and hugged him tightly, as though it had been years since she last saw him rather than a few hours.

As everyone else got settled on the boat, Luis worked on untying them from the dock. It wasn’t long before they were ready to set sail for a point on the ocean that only the McClain family knew about.

While Shiro and Curtis made small talk and Pidge stared in awe at the rapidly shrinking shoreline, Keith closed his eyes and tipped back his head, lost in thought.

What would his dad say, if he were still around? Would he try and talk Keith out of it? Would he be supportive?

He thought about him a lot throughout his vacation. How could he not when he was home after so long? His dad loved that house and living so close to the ocean. Maybe he wasn’t drawn to it in the same way that Keith was, but he loved it all the same.

Keith had the fleeting thought of his dad insisting on joining him undersea and tried not to grin. That was absolutely something he would do, if he was still around.

A hand on Keith’s shoulder brought him out of his thoughts, and as he opened his eyes he realized they had stopped. The boat was unnaturally still on the water, not even rocking as the motor cut off.

“It’s time,” Pidge said, smiling at him. She took her hand away as Keith stood and walked in front of her, bending down so she could wrap her arms around his neck. He lifted her with ease and completely missed the looks of surprise from Luis and Alita, and carried her to the back of the boat, where Lance stood with his arms out.

Keith sucked in a breath as he took in the reason the boat wasn’t shifting in the waves. There were none. The water was flattened around them in a perfect sphere, held back by some sort of magic.

“Pretty awesome, right? I can do way better in my other form, but this is good enough for now,” Lance bragged.

“Show off,” Pidge teased, wriggling in anticipation. She took a moment to compose herself and then asked Keith to turn around so she could properly say goodbye to Shiro and Curtis.

Once she was done, Keith let her slide from his arms and watched as she splashed into the water below, disappearing from view. The ripples evened out before she breached the surface and waved up at him. “Allura and Hunk are here, so I’m going to go say hi! Come on in once you’re ready.”

“I guess this is it,” Keith said. He looked at Shiro, thankful that no more words needed to be spoken as they embraced, holding on tightly for as long as they could. When they separated, it wasn’t with dry eyes.

Curtis opened his arms and pulled Keith in for a brief hug. “We’ll see you next summer. Earlier, if we can manage it.”

Keith nodded and then stepped back up to the edge, preparing to jump in. He saw that two other mer had joined Pidge on the surface; one had dark hair and what looked like a yellow-orange cloth wrapped across his forehead, and the other mer had white hair and bright pink marks on each cheek.

“You might want to strip out of your clothes before you jump in,” Lance warned him. “Transforming is uncomfortable enough without those getting in the way.”

Before Keith could start to look around for a solution to preserve his modesty, Shiro tossed him a towel patterned with crabs for him to wrap around his waist. He shot Lance an irritated look before he began to strip, neatly folding his clothes and setting them aside, piece by piece.

Lance rolled his eyes.

Keith made sure he had a good grip on the towel, held his breath, and then jumped, plunging feet-first into the water. He resurfaced quickly, aided by Pidge to stay afloat, though it wasn’t too difficult to do on his own thanks to Lance’s iron control over the surface of the water.

“Keith, I’d like to meet Hunk and Allura,” Pidge said, gesturing first to the dark-haired mer and then to the one with pink markings.

Hunk surprised him by swimming in for a hug. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

“Uh yeah. You too?” Keith said, taken aback by the friendliness Hunk immediately showed him. He looked at Allura, wondering if she was about to do the same, but she simply smiled warmly and then got straight to business.

“Lance has already informed you of how this process goes, but I’d like to go over it one last time,” she said.

Keith was momentarily surprised by her accent, but brushed it aside and nodded, willing to do whatever he needed to.

“It’s very important that I complete the spell uninterrupted. If not, you will revert to purely human and we will not be able to try again. You must remain calm and that will not be an easy task.” Allura’s gaze softened, though her voice remained firm. “You will feel discomfort as your body changes, but it should not escalate to terrible pain. For some, that discomfort is too much and they lose sight of what is happening. Should you forget to hold your breath and start to drown, I will stop.”

Keith nodded. Lance had gone through everything with him a number of times, in greater detail. “I’m ready.”

Pidge kissed his cheek and then swam over to Hunk, remaining a safe distance away.

Allura glanced up at Lance. “How are you holding up?”

“I could do this all day, beautiful,” he responded with a wink.

Allura rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. She lifted her hands out of the water and held them out towards Keith. “Take my hands and hold your breath so we may begin.”

Keith did so, closing his eyes as well as Allura pulled him under the water. He expected a feeling of panic or alarm to set in as all sound became muffled and he sank deeper, but he felt perfectly at ease.

If he were to open his eyes, he would see the crescent marks on Allura’s cheeks begin to glow, and soon after the matching patterns on her upper arms and sides. Her magic went to work, slowly transferring into him, seeking out what needed to be changed, and then it picked up speed.

Keith felt the warmth first, settling in his chest and legs. And then came the prickling feeling, like he sat the wrong way for too long and his legs were going numb. It intensified and Keith wondered if he’d been lied to about the pain, but it eased up after a few seconds.

Allura let go of his hands, and soon after his ears popped and he could hear clearly. He opened his eyes in shock, fearing for a moment that he’d floated back up to the surface, ruining the whole spell and his chance at being with Pidge.

He found himself staring at Allura, who looked back at him with a shocked expression. Hunk and Pidge were a respectful distance away, but he found that he could see them clearly through the water.

Hunk and Allura were as different from one another as they were from Pidge and Lance. He remembered Pidge saying something about different types of tails, but it was only by seeing it for himself that he understood what she meant.

Hunk had a magnificent tail, banded with stripes of golden-yellow and brown. His fins fanned around him in great spikes, making him appear even larger than he was.

Allura was his opposite. She was slender and fluid, with fins that danced like sheer curtains caught in a breeze. Her scales were dazzling in color and were primarily white, with splotches of pinks and a hint of blue.

“You should be able to breathe now,” Allura said.

He released the air he’d been holding in the form of a few tiny bubbles, and then, going against his innate instinct to rush to the surface, he breathed in.

“It worked,” he said in wonder, raising his hands to see if there was anything different. There was slightly more webbing between his fingers to aid in swimming, but no other visual difference. As he looked down his body, however, he started to see the reason for the shock on Allura’s face.

At his waist, his skin faded smoothly into a purple color, which remained light across what was once the tops of his legs, while at his sides it began transitioning to a darker shade. Dots of red splashed through that transitional area, spaced so closely together that it looked like a splotchy ribbon winding down each side of his tail.

His tail which was not scaled, but instead resembled shark skin. Keith reached down to check and found that it was rough to the touch.

Keith looked back at Pidge, who swam in closer with an expression of awe on her face. She reached out, touching his lower jaw and tracing something up onto his cheek. “It worked,” he giddily repeated to her and then turned his attention back to Allura. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Keith, but all you needed was a bit of a nudge in the right direction. Your own magic handled the rest on its own,” Allura said.

“My… my own magic?” Keith asked with a frown.

Allura nodded. “Perhaps we should take this above water. I’m sure everyone would like to hear this.”

Pidge helped Keith rise gently back up to the surface, whispering to him how to move in a way that wouldn’t have him spinning in circles or moving too fast.

“That was fast,” Lance remarked as they all popped their heads up. He continued to keep the water still. “There wasn’t a complication, was there?”

“No, it worked flawlessly. Even better than I expected, to be honest, but that is all thanks to Keith’s lineage,” Allura said.

His lineage. Keith was still trying to work his brain around his own magic working to help Allura’s, and she had to throw that into the mix? There was something about his bloodline that helped him become a mer?

Alita stepped forward, her expression kind as she addressed Keith. “You’re Travis Hawkins’ boy, aren’t you? I always suspected he had knowledge of mer-folk, but I never knew how. Now I suppose we finally know, it was thanks to your mother.”

“My mother?”

All Keith felt was confusion. What did his mom have to do with anything? He never had the chance to meet her, and his dad never talked about her.

“Keith, you have Galra markings,” Pidge said. “That sort of thing is only passed down from parent to child. If both of your parents were born human, even if one of your grandparents was mer, then you wouldn’t inherit that magic. This means your mom was Galra.”

He was half-mer.

Shock settled over him.

Shiro seemed to realize the same thing, but his surprise quickly gave way to joy. “Keith, do you know what this means? You’re half-mer, like Lance! You can come back and visit whenever you’d like! That is what that means, right?” He looked to Lance for confirmation.

“It’ll take some practice to shift correctly, but yeah. Pretty much,” Lance said.

He could come back.

He wouldn’t spend the rest of his life separated from his brother.

Keith still wanted to go live with Pidge, but the relief he felt at having the option to return soothed him in a way he hadn’t expected. Slowly, his shock began to wear off. He could see Shiro again. Could go for walks along the shore. And at the end of the day, he could go home to Pidge.

“I could come back to see you off,” he said, ignoring Lance’s quiet admonishment that he needed practice first and it wasn’t easy. He’d master it in hours just to spite the blue-tailed mer.

“Then we’ll see you in two days and you can tell us all about your new home before we leave,” Shiro said.

Hunk swam up next to them. “Speaking of home, we should get back before everyone starts to wonder where you’ve gone, princess.”

Allura nodded. “Yes, of course. Lance, are you ready?”

Lance looked relieved by the news but continued to work his magic over the area despite the slight tremor in his arms. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Goodbyes were exchanged and Keith smiled at his brother one more time before inexpertly diving underwater to follow Pidge and the others to the teludav that would take him to his new home.

#voltron #kidge #kidgemas #kidgezine #mermaid au #kidgezine: kaleidoscope #fantasy au #minor shiro/curtis #lance has zero shame #merpeople have magic

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love-and-anarchy-au · 3 years

Text

Love & Anarchy: Chapter 24

helloooooo, i know its monday xd but i decided to post three chapters this week, so i finish L&A’s second season part xd (besides, the first two weeks of january i’ll just post one chapter per week so). this chapter is KEY to everything that will happen later; is kinda short though xd. im not terrible at writing action scenes, neither awesome, but well, i did what i could xd. hope ya enjoy this chapter and see ya on wednesday! <3

ps: i did a pinterest moodboard for the au, so if you want to check it out, here it is <3

REMEMBER THIS AU HAPPENS IN THE SAME UNIVERSE THAT THIS ONE

Find out what this AU is about here

Masterlist

Tag list: @healing-winston-pratt @honey-hippie-harper @obsidianfr3sk @nodrianbcyes @everyone-has-a-nightmare @magykaldealings @nobellrenaissance @cerenoya @cassin-the-assasin @cindersnightmare @its-liiinh-cinder-official

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Words:

11,827

Part 2: A teen named Ace Artino

17 years old Alec

Don’t mess this up.

I won’t.

It was 7:30 A.M. on a Monday, which was also the first day of school of the semester. Gatlon’s Bridge, in addition to being covered with a thick fog, was overflowing with cars stuck in traffic, cars with diverse people, cars with children ecstatic with anxiety. The environment was populated by speakers, crying children, and occasional songs played at a volume not recommended if you intended to preserve your hearing, but beyond that, everything was calmly normal (if you could call that daily routine of Gatlon City).

For the moment.

It was no accident that traffic was jammed, not at all; it was an act completely planned and carried out by his Anarchist brothers, Leroy Flinn and Henry Bleach, or as they would be called from that moment on, Cyanide and Magma. Both were preventing the vehicles from moving forward with acids and spikes that punctured the wheels of the cars in a discreet way to postpone the onset of generalized panic, preventing them from getting to their destinations.

Forever.

It was no accident that the bridge was covered in a mist so thick it seemed tropical, not at all; it was a thoughtful and planned act, one Alec had asked from his Anarchist sister, Margot Climat, alias Tempest. Her powers seemed limitless, for the moment, and that's how Ace liked it. It was strange to see how her eyes changed color constantly, and how her eyes dipped when it rained, as if her irises were rainclouds as well. She hated that, so she covered her eyes with sunglasses; it didn't stop her cheeks from getting wet.

Alec was standing behind a tree on the coast of Gatlon’s River, hugging his helmet against his ribs. He was wearing a black and gold uniform, with the coat that James had given him and leather shoes, the kind he would only wear to go to mass (although he had stopped going a long time ago for different reasons). His hair was stuck to his skull, although it was useless since, with the helmet on, it would ruffle itself. He was rummaging for sugar (sour gummies helped him calm down a little bit) in his pocket when the walkie-talkie beeped.

“Ace? Ace? Do you copy?” Henry called through his own walkie-talkie.

Alec was regretting agreeing to use that as a mean of communication during the meeting.

He sighed.

“I am here, Magma. What do you need?”

Henry laughed, and his laughter sounded like metal needles colliding against a clock.

“Nothing, just wanted to check on you and ask you when we’ll be starting.”

Alec felt an almost irresistible urge to destroy that damn walkie-talkie and send everything to hell itself. Anxiety was almost as contagious as panic, and, when it came to Alec, it was fair to say it had a far worse effect. If the others were anxious, so was he, and that made him very irritable.

An irritated telekinetic could only lead to chaos.

The opposite of what he was looking for in that moment.

Breathe in and out, Ace. You’re no longer a nobody, you’re the voice of the voiceless. Use it wisely, James commanded in Alec’s mind.

He nodded. The walkie-talkie rang again.

“Anarchy, I'm ready; why don’t we just begin? I'm boreeeed,” Margot complained. Alec tightened his hold on his helmet.

“It isn't I who has to give the signal,” he replied, and switched channels until he was on Honey's. “Queen Bee, are you ready? Magma and Tempest are eager.”

The walkie-talkie made the same radio sounds, and it took two minutes for Honey to respond.

“Not yet,” she said; then, she corrected. “Now I am.”

Alec smiled and turned on all the channels simultaneously.

“Phase One begins now!” he announced, and that was when the orchestra of everyday urban sounds was interrupted by a deafening buzz.

Many, rather.

Hundreds, thousands, millions of bees, bumblebees and wasps, completely invaded the bridge and changed the course of the daily orchestra, to one of terror. The horns became screams, the cries intensified as more people joined the symphony, the cars accelerated and collided with others in what was the impulse to press the accelerator to escape that nightmare.

That was just the beginning.

The bees were denser than the fog itself; Gatlon’s Bridge seemed engulfed in a buzzing cloud, with stingers, stripes, stings, and small wings. Honey must be on the pedestrian side of the bridge, controlling her bumblebees and showing herself to the world as the Queen Bee, in her yellow and black sequined dress, her towering heels, and her makeup dripping like melted wax.

Alec felt like time was led in his veins; it seemed not to move at all.

He wanted, needed, to come in and help Honey prolong the chaos, the anarchy.

Patience, Julieta and James whispered.

After two minutes passed, and the bees dispersed, it was time to move on to the next phase.

“Phase Two, Tempest, go!”

“Finally,” she grumbled breathlessly.

A wild and uncontrollable wind hit the bridge, forming a tornado, strong enough to engulf the cars but not to destroy the bridge.

It was their turn.

The tornado spun around and around until it became a thread of fury and madness, filled with desperate cars and people. Like when an elastic band couldn’t be twisted anymore, the tornado freed all its prisoners and threw them into the river, where they were drowned in seconds, practically. The volume of the symphony of screams and cries increased, and that was the signal Alec was waiting for.

“Atomic Brain, Flower Power, ready to proceed?”

“More than ever!” yelled Bruce, stunning Alec.

“Let's do this,” he announced and took a deep breath.

The first time Alec flew, it was by mere accident.

They were on the river coast, as always, eating fries, as always, but this time, there was something… different. Alexandra was wearing a dress tighter to the body, James’ shirt had three loose buttons and he… felt free. He felt as if the wind could carry him anywhere, and he would not care, because he was made of atoms that were as free as his soul, and those atoms made him a free, free, free being.

Just like that, out of nowhere, his feet rose from the ground and his hands approached the sky, and he was so close to touching the stars, until ...

“ACE!”

Alexandra gave a hysterical squeak, while James tensed like a wire.

Alec landed gracefully, only for his friends to pounce on him and start killing him with questions. Alec could not answer any, nor could he at that moment, when he was about to jump into the river with the hope he would fly again, not to touch the sky, but to break the ground instead.

He could only wish the practice days with Alexandra and James would work out.

So he jumped, feeling his bones, his muscles, his clothes, feeling.

And he did not fall.

He rose and rose, meters above the river and the bridge, and stood there, breathing in and out, floating for a few moments, suspended by an invisible but tangible thread, staring at the tragic Gatlon’s Bridge, which seemed as if it were underwater, as its choir of agony became isolated, and the bees and acids and winds were a gray and black and yellow blur. It was a hideous, hideous, despicable bridge...

Destroy it.

Alec closed his eyes and, still feeling himself, spread his hands as if he could touch the bridge, and he imagined it. Beams, cement, glass, plastic, garbage, meat, bone, blood, exoskeletons, poison. Everything on that bridge throbbed, full of life, and felt so… manipulable.

Suddenly, he sensed vines wrapping around the main girders of the bridge. The vines were thick, and they put considerable pressure on the rafters. Alec felt the cement crack and the metal twist, little by little. In the girders by the opposite side of the bridge, atoms were beginning to disappear and reappear in amorphous and useless objects. The metal within the concrete pillars, present in one blink and absent the other. The bridge wobbled and looked at Alec, expectantly.

He was begging for him to destroy it.

Focus.

He collected each of his moments of contained rage throughout the years, piece by piece. When they murdered Julieta, an innocent girl, without any mercy. When they burned Alexandra, one more teenager. When James, a visionary anarchist, was poisoned. When they stoned every prodigy that ever walked the streets, doing nothing but existing.

When no one, not even God himself, did anything.

Alec's teeth gnashed. His brow furrowed.

All that fury, that helplessness, those screams stuck in his throat, were redirected to the bridge.

Gatlon’s Bridge shook, once, twice, five times. Cracks spread across the deck, thick cracks like the destroyed girders of the bridge, horizontal and vertical cracks. Cars and people fell into the cracks and tried to hold on to something but fell anyway. It was almost as if he had taken the screaming volume switch and turned it all the way up, to the point of stunning him, who was fifty meters away. He let the cracks spread like a virus, and suspended the bridge under his power for a few seconds. His hand was open and extended.

Do it.

He clenched his fist.

Alec released the bridge and gravity exerted its force. Cement, metal, sheet metal, steel, plastic, flesh, bone, blood and screams rushed into the water, pleasantly slow. The chorus of screaming rose a notch louder and pleased Alec's ears, like James’ piano melodies. Screams caressed his eardrums and he felt as if the ghosts of all the prodigies killed in the streets were cheering on him , and thanking him for avenging them. He never had been freer, happier, prouder of himself.

A proud laugh that could have easily been maniacal bubbled from his throat. Until that moment, he had not been aware of what he was capable of, of his full potential or all his… power. He felt more alive than ever, feeling the destruction and chaos around him; that chaos and destruction he longed for, like someone who wanted to buy something but didn’t not have enough money and must save and wait and persevere until they got it.

Revenge was exactly the same. Planning, patience and perseverance.

That was why there was nothing more delicious than a well-deserved revenge.

James had known that.

How lucky he was that he had passed on some of his wisdom!

Knowing everything he knew, he allowed himself to re-experiment with his powers. He used his mental hands to knock down a pillar. Another. Part of the board. It was like playing with wooden cubes, exactly that, only on a large scale.

He felt like a god.

How had he survived so long without that feeling? That of having all eyes on him, although he was only a point in the sky, that of being able to manipulate the world at will, that of being responsible for those who committed gruesome crimes received what they deserved, that of power. To be able to be, to be able to do, to be able to destroy, to be able to create. To be able to do everything.

He could do everything. Because he was a goddamn prodigy.

He laughed again, happier than ever.

Well done, Artino, congratulationed James.

His walkie-talkie beeped.

He took it with his left hand, and announced, empowered:

“Well done, Anarchists. Phase One of The Plan has been completed.”

The walkie-talkie hummed and Margot replied:

“Now it's time to kill those suckers.”

Alec smirked.

“Wait for it, Tempest. We may leave to get ready for Phase Two.”

Margot huffed.

“As you please, Anarchy.”

Alec put the walkie-talkie in his pocket.

And he went flying in the direction of the coast.

The other Anarchists did the same.

Leaving only chaos and destruction behind.

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 4 years

Text

Loving the sailors while hating the beach (White Demon’s Love Song, Part 3.)

Series description: A new job was what the reason you found yourself on a lonely roadtrip on the western coast, ending up in the woods of Olympian Peninsula. Yet a sudden car malfuction was what cause your unplanned stay in Forks. To your surprise, there was a lot of sinister things going on under the veil of fog.

Part summary: As you spent another day with the mysterious man who invited you to stay at his place as a sign of his selflessness, you started to notice that Forks really is a strange town. And on top of that, that Jacob might be hiding something.

A/N: NCIS Forks be strong in this chaper, oh boy.

Tagging: @missdictatorme

Word count: 4.2 K

Twilight playlist: ✨ Twilight Crackheads ✨

Series masterlist: H E R E

The night fell on Forks slowly, almost as if it was lurking around for some time before covering the streets. For some time, you've been sitting in a super-small cubbyhole named the 'Administrative office'. Administrative up your ass, you barely didn't knock off the brooms you've been sharing the room with. It shouldn't surprise you that you were falling asleep while writing small numbers into the boxes. You've also picked up a few phones - for such a small town, there was a lot of cars just suddenly breaking down. But Jacob sometimes even took small jobs around in the smaller towns around forks - like La Push, Beaver, and Sappho.

It wasn't even nine hours when you were snoozing with your head in your palm because you've simply fallen asleep. Also, it was weird to see Jacob walking around the whole building, checking on the heating - as if he wasn't turning the heating on in such cold. It was summer and the city was still cold as hell. And this mechanic wasn't turning on his heating system? What kind of crazy he was? The man has woken you up after ten minutes, sending you to bed - yet you didn't know that he didn't walk to bed that night. As soon as he heard snoring coming out of the visitor's bedroom, Jacob made sure the door to the small flat were locked before he ran into the woods. It was time to check with the other guys - Jared and Paul, two of his friends from Sam Uley's spent their whole day on the northern route, trying to find out something more about the unwanted visitors of Forks.

At first, the werewolves weren't entirely sure if there was any vampires close at the moment. If it wasn't just some... Re-awakening of the spirit animals. That was until two days ago - now, the whole packs have transformed once again. Every night Jacob had turned into a wolf, he growled sadly when he realized there was someone he hadn't heard before - first, it was Quil alone. The man was confused, as most of them. Both of them were praying for Quil to be the last. But he wasn't - Embry and Seth coming right the night after Quil's turning. Leah was the last to join. In the meantime, Sam's pack turned at once as well. It was just like five years ago.

'Welcome back to the game, chief.' - Seth's happy and joyful voice started to talk inside Jacob's head. As he was getting closer to the manger of the Calawah river, he could hear two other wolves joining him. It was Embry and Seth - rest of the pack got their tasks the last night and went on a watch and tracking the vampire pack. Jake could hear most of the things Quil and Leah told them. - 'We know they are here. We captured the smell...' - The leader mumbled to Seth, running along the river. They weren't sprinting because there wasn't a reason to do so. Quil nor Leah hadn't smelled the rotten tomato stench the whole day, as if the vampires had suddenly disappeared into the thin air.

'Don’t worry, Jake. We'll take all of them down.' - Embry answered from the other side. Dear Lord, Jacob almost didn't notice that Embry is there, even if he knew that he's coming. He could be so quiet at times. - 'I'm silent like death, yeah, suit yourself.' - Embry answered Jake's flow of thoughts, making a few pampering sounds. This was how the wolves were laughing. To some, it could sound almost horrifying, but it made Jacob giggle as well. Giggling, when the boys were in their animal forms was a wild combination of growling and strange throat sounds. - 'Yeah, but admit, it's strange. No stench, no track, we can't find them. It's like playing blind man's buff.'

The vampires seemed to be poking around in the woods as if they were trying to find a blind spot. Maybe they already did find some. But Charlie, when Jacob was calling him earlier, didn't report any missing person. Yet all of them were sure that as soon as the vampires find the smallest cranny in the defense, it will go down. As soon as they smell a chance, it will go down. At last, this half of the pack was on the meeting point. Sam was already sitting there, watching Jacob approaching the estuary of the Bogachiel and Quillayute rivers. - 'Keep it down for a moment, alright, boys?' - Jacob asked Embry and Seth, who were waiting in a respectful distance. Embry was almost always quiet and Seth, even though there was a huge grin on his face, knew better than talking to alphas communicating. - 'I have news from Quil and Leah. They were walking the trail up at Calawah. What about your people?' - There was no greeting needed - the russet wolf simply shook his head at the bigger, black one. - 'Nothing. It's like searching for a ghost.'

Jacob had to say, that even if he wasn't in Sam's pack anymore, he liked that Sam kept it simple - no matter what happened, Sam never gave anyone too complex orders. - 'Nothing on our part of the territory as well. We will be trying to search through the North, there's lesser of us. Would your pack take the South?' - Jacob planned on trying to search through the whole Northern region, up to the Ozette Lake. There was a lot of tricky canyons smaller rivers, pounds and the vegetation was thick there as well. There was a suspicion that maybe, this time, this group of vampires was hiding next to a water source. He already had experience with the leeches hiding in the sea, why wouldn't they bivouac in a lake? - 'Sure. I'll send Jared and Brady to Hoh Ox, Lucas, and I will go a bit western closer to Oil city. We'll gather here in the morning and give all the information to Seth so he can tell everything to the morning patrol, okay?' - Without answering the question, Jacob and the rest of his small pack got up, running through the ice-cold waters of the river.

Most of the night, it was quiet and calm - sometimes, when the silence was too long, Seth started to throw in some jokes. Most of them were pretty cringe, but some made Jacob snicker under his breath. It was almost time to regroup and set to the meeting point when the whole pack felt it through Embry's eyes. The fur on the back of his neck stood up, his whole body tensed, and growls unintentionally escaped through his tests. Just as he saw a woman standing on top of one huge cliff, looking down on him, the pack tried to get to Embry's position as soon as possible.

The animal wasn't holding anything back - as soon as it saw the woman, it sprang forward to kill her. But she just leaned her head to her shoulder, furrowing at the sight. It appeared as if she wasn't even taken away by seeing such a huge wolf. Based on the stench, she realized this wasn't just some wolf, but she hadn't even flinched. - 'Embry, don't!' - Jacob cried out just when Embry made his way onto the cliff, trying to take the cold woman down. Yet just when the wolf almost caught her ankle in his mouth, she jumped down while still studying every move the animal made.

She wasn't supposed to attack, no. Her posture was strictly curious, careful - the woman might tease them a bit, see how they react, but she surely wasn't about to strike back. She was a scout, sent there by her pack to study the animals. Sam's pack might've encountered another one. - 'Back off, Embry. She's just playing with you!' - Seth, who realized it as well, called out. - 'He's right. wait for us and then we'll try to chase her down!' - Jacob yelled at his friend and jumped onto the lake's beach, circling at the woman's back. It didn't take too long until Seth slowly walked out of the woods on the other side. The woman was quietly scanning all of them and Jacob's size certainly did surprise her. Embry was huge - but Jacob was even bigger.

'We won't catch her, no matter what we do. She isn't going to attack.' - Seth realized and started analyzing her back. At this, the woman smiled and started to lean her head just like Seth was. The pack was still closing on her, but as soon as she would feel threatened she'll simply run away. - "Interesting." - She mumbled and closed her eyelids a bit. - "We don't wanna hurt you. We won't be attacking you or your packs - we just want free access to the city, that's it." - The woman cried out. A terrifying grin appeared on her face for a second as the thought she might succeed. The deep growling came from everyone's mouth at the same time, giving her exactly the answer she needed. - "So you have chosen death. I'll tell it to the others." - And with that, she disappeared. As if she wasn't there, as if she just disappeared into the thin air. The wolves watched each other. The scent didn't lead them too far into the woods, it was as if the woman was just a dream.

Forks, 9:00 a.m.:

You were sleeping in the bed, safe and sound. Your mouth tasted disgusting, and you had a slight headache - you didn't even want to see your damn hair. Even if you knew it was just a lie, the room felt too warm for a moment. For the first time during your road trip, you weren't feeling cold. Lazily, you searched for your phone and read through the news and such. Then your eyes flought to the clock - oh Lord, Jacob had to open the workshop already, hadn't he? And there you were, laying in the bed, covered in a thick blanket.

Never in your life before, you had dressed as quick as you did that morning. Just when you wanted to run into the bathroom, as you opened door to your room, you heard snoring shaking every piece of pottery. With a straight face, you looked at its source - it was the man himself, somehow puzzled on his small sofa - his hands and one of his leg were laying on the ground, his hair was way messier than yours and also, the blanket was too small for someone like him. Jesus, he must've come back so late, you didn't even want to stop yourself.

As you were tiptoeing around the sofa, you noticed something - his feet. They were covered in soil and needles as if he was walking around in the woods barefooted. What was he doing late, in the woods, and barefooted? Was he searching the best location for a grave? Was he checking out his secret killer case hidden in the woods? With risen eyebrows, you locked yourself in the bathroom. At first, you thought he was just working late. That was it. But the soil on his feet made you insecure. Quickly, you brushed your teeth, combed your hair, and sneaked out of the flat. For a moment, you were thinking about walking to talk to Charlie.

While standing in front of the back door, you were biting on your lower lip and tried to figure out what to do. But in the end, you closed the door again and walked to the 'Administration office' to work on another part of the messy paperwork. Dear Lord, Jacob was bad with bureaucracy. In this, he was honest with you. Sometimes, you couldn't even read what was written down on the paper - so you were re-writing the text and sums on a fresh document while lamenting about his messy handwriting. Jacob came in barely half an hour after you. Yet the man was so quiet he almost gave you a heart attack as he stood in the cubbyhole's doorframe. - "Morning to you too." - The man grinned at you when you finally realized he's standing there and yelled out loud for the God's sake. - "Am I looking that bad?" - The man looked all over his body to see if there was something wrong. He was now looking way better than when you saw him laying on the sofa.

His hair was put into a man bun once more, he changed his clothes and presumably took a quick shower. You didnt know what was hiding under these socks. - "I just... Didn't hear you coming. I was really into reading your 'Volkswagen repair... Re-hair..'. Fuck, I can't read it." - With that, you sighed and tried to figure out the hieroglyphs once again. Jacob grinned at your attempts and drank a sip out of his mug of coffee. Silently, you looked him in the eyes - there were deep, black circles. Well, you weren't surprised. Sleeping on that sofa must've messed with him. Yet even the color in his face seemed to be fading away. - "Man, you have coffee?" - You cried out instead of asking him weird, personal questions. - "Uh, I don't wanna break it down to you... But most people have coffee at home or at work. You want some?"

And he brought you the promised cup - along with a slice of apple pie from Mrs. Peterson. Nothing seemed to be wrong. Jacob was working on his cars, humming most of the songs playing on the radio, while you finished the first few months of that year's paperwork. With an overly concentrated face, you categorized the papers into files, thoroughly writing the months they've containing. That was it for the most part.

Sometimes, when your ass started to hurt, you walked around the workshop, and once, you were so courageous that you took your jacket and walked into the freezing Forks. You never walked too far - but dear Lord, wasn't it cold? The mist wasn't supposed to come out of your mouth in August. It couldn't be more than 46 degrees outside, Jesus Christ. And Tacoma was even more on the North.

You've discovered a few peculiarities on your way. There was a real good looking steak restaurant, a library, and a local high school... Which didn't look like high school at all, in your opinion. For the locals, it was clear as a day you weren't from Forks - mainly because anyone who was from the North wouldn't be shaking because they felt cold. The more courageous ones even stopped you, mostly the older women living in the town just so they could brag about talking to the new girl in town. However, they were respectful and nice, always laughing at your attempts to joke.

"Huh. I was thinking about searching for you. I thought you might've frozen somewhere." - Jacob hummed from under the car he was working on at the moment. It looked like an old minivan. Oh, you'd like seeing me freezing somewhere, might as well get your goal easier, huh? You thought to yourself. You also noticed that the radio was playing the Sea Wolf song (which you've heard at least ten times since you arrived at Forks) and that Jacob knew every word of the song. Well, he couldn't be considered a singer, yet this was slightly against your care of this huge man being a killer. What killer would be singing a love song so blatantly? - "I just met some lady named Karen Newton? She was nice, but I couldn't get out of the conversation, dear Lord." - "Oh, old Mrs. Newton? She's super nosy. What was she asking you about?" - Suddenly, his face appeared from under the car as he was searching for his rug. - "The basics, I guess. Why I'm here, what's my name, how old I am... She seemed very happy when I told her how old I am." - Throughout the small talk, you've taken off your jacket and sat on the 'Administration office's' chair while looking at Jacob drinking a whole cup of super hot coffee. His eating and drinking habits were making you a bit uneasy, but whatever.

"Dear Lord. I'll tell you why is that." - The man sat on his small chair as well, looking back at you. - "She has a son named Mike. And she's trying to find him a girlfriend... Again. Do expect the boy suddenly appearing here soon." - Oh. Okay. So she wasn't just nice... She was trying to figure out if you're good enough for her son. Mrs. Newton didn't seem to be thrilled by your career choice, but her eyes started to shine when you answered her question about having a partner. - 'No, I'm single.' - You told her. That was a misstep. - "But, worry not, even though he's not on my list of favorite people, most people say he's a nice guy." - "Unbelievable!" - A squeal came out of you as you started to laugh from the bottom of your belly. - "I'm here one day and you already think about who I should date. Oh God, that's why I don't like small towns!"

Jacob smiled into his mug. He hadn't seen someone laugh so hard for a long time - and honestly, it was nice to take some time off the vampire-hunting thing to think about stupidities like dating and such. - "I just think that two weeks is a lot of time. This seems like fun." - The man mumbled and climbed back on his small assembly bed. You couldn't understand how the thing could be still standing on its small wheels under his weight, but you weren't wrapping your brain around it too much. - "I also saw a pretty dope steak house like... Five minutes from here." - Okay, this was interesting. His head appeared from below the car once again. - "Do I look like I'm looking for someone to date? No, thank you." - With that, he disappeared again, leaving you to sit there with a subdued expression.

This was straightaway rude. There was the cold, annoyed man once more. And yes, it almost ruined your day. Jacob just flipped at least by 180° in front of you, showing you the fed up man once again. It was the mysterious Bella, wasn't it? Also, who was asking him out on a date? There was a cool-looking restaurant near the workshop and you didn't want to cook all the damn time. Dear Lord, you were in the temptation to spit something about split personality disorder, but you just sipped your coffee to keep your mouth shut. - "All I'm saying is that instead of sitting there the whole time and cooking all the time, we might at least consider take out." - Well, you were firing in the same tone as he was. Under the car, he muttered out a few curse words. The man realized he might go too harsh after you.

It was just... It sounded like a date proposition, to be honest. And there was a lot of going on for Jacob at the moment - the stress of shifting again, a vampire hunt... And to be honest, he still didn't get over what happened with Bella - so even though you didn't have any idea about who the hell she was, you were right in this. - "Sure. Take out sounds good." - Jacob told you when you were sitting in your cubbyhole once again, continuing to do your job.

The rest of the day was more or less quiet and calm - Jacob finished the minivan and started to poke around with your Beetle, at least until an old man came for the car. As you got to know when he introduced himself, this was Mr. Newton and Karen's husband. When he realized who you were, he started to apologize for his wife and the bunch of super-weird and awkward questions. He promised you that in any case, his son won't be asking you out just because Karen liked you. No way in hell.

It was that evening when Jacob finished half of the first step with your car - he cleaned most of the inside, mainly around the engine, and started to make a specific list. Said list was meaningless to you since you didn't know jack shit about cars. But Jacob seemed to know what he was doing, so you just continued with doing what you were doing. When the Sea Wolf were playing for the seventh time, that day alone, you were already sure about every word in the chorus. You were singing it along with Jacob.

When it got late, it was time for you to perform a subtle observation of Jacob's behavior. Around the same time as the previous evening, you pretended that you're sleepy as hell - and told him you're going to bed. And since you got to the bed, after a proper hot shower, it was the waiting game from that point on. You've been pretending that you're sleeping and you did so for such a long time that you almost fell asleep for real. But creaking of the floor made you aware that he ended his work in the shop. For a moment, it seemed that he's listening if you're sleeping. After a few pretty convincing snores, you've heard the door creaking again and the door to the small flat locking. With your breath hitched, you tiptoed to the window, leaned your thighs into the warm hearing, and looked from the window - you've heard him locking the garage, so the only possible exit was right under your window.

And he soon came out - he was half-naked, dressed in some torn pants, barefoot again, looking around as if he was making sure that there's no-one who would be watching him. There was a small moment where your breath hitched completely. What in the world was Jacob doing there, without a t-shirt when it was still just 46 degrees there? Quickly, he ran to the woods - and he didn't come out for the whole half an hour you've been looking at the exact spot where he disappeared.

Your throat got swollen as you climbed under the blanket again. Sure, you had the suspicion he might hurt you at some point, but you knew that the fear is irrational for the most part. You've been just freaked out by large dudes since... That happened. This was making you feel very uneasy and unsafe. Who would disappear in the woods dressed like that when it was so damn cold? How long was he just walking around? Or what was he doing in there?

Could he be a killer of sorts? Was this man dangerous? Did he hurt someone before? Bullocks, you stopped yourself. Charlie seemed to be fond of the man. And he was the crown cop of Forks. No way in hell police chief would be in on this as well... Or would he? The terror was making your sleep very bad. You were waking up every half an hour because you had pretty vivid, intense nightmares.

It was at around three in the morning, you've been up for some time, when you heard Jacob walking into the flat, locking the door behind him. He was... Limbing? It sounded as if he had trouble walking straight - he knocked something over on his way to the sofa. When he crashed there, a loud sound made you aware he did so, you heard him whine for a while before he got up again - presumably to put some clothes on. Then, after some time, you heard his body falling onto the small sofa once more. With closed eyes, you've been listening to the whole process and the silence after. After another hour of laying in the bed, not letting out a single sound, you carefully got up. Deep snoring was residing through the few rooms Jacob had in his flat. You've opened up the door carefully, making sure it won't creak and stuck your head out. With a furrow, your gaze scanned the sleeping man.

Again, his hair was let down, the blanket was too small for him and his whole feet were covered in the soil. Did he think you won't notice? As you closed the door, you sighed against your will. There has been something going on in Forks - and Jacob was heavily involved in this. You decided to observe him for at least two days, to make sure he does this regularly and then... What will you do then? As you laid under the blanket again, your legs got cold and you finally realized what you had to do.

You had to follow him and see what was going on.

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esabri · 4 years

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drrameyfanpage · 5 years

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101 Degrees

Author’s Note: This idea came to me before we found out MC and Ethan are going to Miami. I just kind of went with this idea. I’m also writing a part 2 that I might post depending on how this one does. This also the first time I’ve written and posted something M rated.

Rating: M (Mature)

Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x MC (Dr. Alexandra Flynn)

Word Count: 8,125

Tag List:

@fangirlingmum @radlovedreamer

101 degrees. That’s what the digital temperature read on the car’s dashboard. Ethan glared at it as he gripped the steering wheel and maneuvered around another sharp turn. The turn curved more than he anticipated and he tapped the breaks. The car slid slightly in the heavy rain but he kept it on the road.

He glanced at Alexandra who gripped the edge of her seat. He knew she was trying not to let on how upset she was with the situation. He cursed internally at the whole bloody nightmare this had all become.

It had been two months since they had done it. They had saved Naveen. Together they had worked long hours and many sleepless nights in Ethan’s office trying to diagnose the older doctor.

It had taken several months but one day bouncing ideas off each other as they drank their sixth cup of coffee for the day, Alexandra said one thing, Ethan played off it, and soon they had cause of illness.

The next morning, they had come clean to Harper about the secret. After the lecture she gave them, she had praised them. She had even seemed to be impressed with Alexandra. When it came time for Naveen to have surgery, Harper had let them both in the OR.

What Ethan remembered most about that day wasn’t the surgery it was the moment afterwards in his office. Alexandra all but danced around his office. He just stood there watching her. He wanted to tell her how proud he was of her, of how much she had grown as a doctor. Of how much he…

She had stopped in front of him and grinned up at him. “We should go to dinner and celebrate!”

He wanted to. God, he wanted to. “I can’t Harper and some board members are having dinner tonight and I’m expected to attend.”

Her face fell, “Oh, of course.” She stepped quickly around him.

“Maybe another night?” He asked against his better judgement.

“Yeah, maybe.” She and slipped out the door.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. For now he tried to put everything out his head and focus on a few patients before he could leave for the day.

For the next few days Alexandra had tried to stay far away from him. He finally had a free moment and followed after her down the hall, Harper passed her before making her way towards Ethan. He tried to keep walking but she reached out for him.

“Ethan, do you have a moment?”

He glanced after Alexandra but she had disappeared, so he nodded. She talked about how impress the board was with him and how he really did well at dinner. So good that between him talking Alexandra up and the diagnoses, it had sent Alexandra from seventh place to second place in the competition. He realized that he would play Harper’s game, only he would play his own. He would make sure the board saw that Alexandra was the most qualified person.

“I was thinking,” Harper said dragging his attention back. He had been so lost in his thoughts that missed her hand traveling up his arm or Alexandra standing at the end of the hall staring at them. “We could go to dinner just the two of us.” Harper smiled up at him.

“Sure.” He said trying to sound interested. He looked up making eye contact with Alexandra and froze. She looked at him hurt and disgusted before shaking her head and walking away. He longed to run after her, to tell her this was all for her. He didn’t and wouldn’t in the two months that would pass since that day.

“This rain is a nightmare.” Alexandra mumbled.

It was raining harder now. Neither of them could see more than a few feet in front of the hood of the car. Which on the side of a mountain with no cell service was terrifying.

“Hopefully it will end soon.” Ethan tried.

Alexandra whipped her head to look at him. “End soon? We’re in the beginning bands of a hurricane!”

“Look the GPS before it went out said there was town coming up, well stop there and see what we should do next.”

“Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest turned away from him.

At this moment he hated Harper more than he hated anyone. He thought back on the conversation in her office only a few days ago.

“Thank you both taking time to come see me.” Harper gestured to the two chairs in front of her desk.

“With the competition coming to end soon and the board feeling like we need some sort of outreach program, they’ve decided to send you both on a training exercise.”

“Outreach program?” Ethan questioned.

“Yes, the board wants to send in some of our specialty teams to teach and work with smaller rural hospitals. They thought this was a good chance to see how one of the candidates does outside of the hospital.” Harper looked annoyed.

Ethan knew it was because the board had chosen Alexandra over Aurora. That meant his plan was working. “Okay so where in Massachusetts are we going?”

Harper gave a humorless laugh. “You mean West Virginia.”

“What?” Ethan demanded. He couldn’t go off somewhere like that with Alexandra. They weren’t even speaking to each other at the moment.

“It’s about a week.”

“A week!”

“Yes, Ethan.” Harper was pleased to see him upset. “Now let me explain. There’s a hospital hoping to train its employees and bring in more jobs to the county. While you’re there you’ll train them on our producers and help figure out what we might be able to do to help. You’ll fly into a larger city and drive about four hours south to the town. Of course the hospital is covering all expenses.”

“Should we be worried about the hurricane coming up the coast?” Alexandra asked finally saying something.

“I asked about that. West Virginia never gets hit hard, so no need to worry.” She followed up with more instructions before dismissing them from her office.

“Alexandra.” Ethan called after her as she all but ran away from him. “We need to talk.”

She turned looking at him expressionless. “No, we don’t.”

He sighed. “I’ll pick you up for the airport at six.”

“No, I’ll meet you there.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I can pick you up.”

Anger flashed across her face. “I don’t need you.” She said firmly.

He felt like he had been punched in the gut as he watched her walk away.

The car tires slipped again and his knuckles hurt from the grip on the steering wheel. They both jumped as their phones went off with the emergency alert sound. Alexandra reached for both of them, silencing them.

“The county is under a severe thunder watch and a tornado warning.”

“That’s just what we need.” Ethan shook his head not taking his eyes off the road. There was at least an inch or more of water on the road and though it was only afternoon, it was dark from the storm.

“We must be almost there.” Alexandra said trying to sound hopeful.

Almost there, but almost there to what? They were only half way to their destination. The town that had shown up on the GPS had looked small and what if it was actually nothing. Ethan wasn’t sure if he could make another two hour drive on mountain roads in the worsening conditions. Besides it was driving him crazy being in the car with Alexandra and her not even looking at him.

They drove for another fifteen minutes before it seemed they were in between mountains. They came to a small bridge that had water flowing over it. They hadn’t seen any other roads in an hour, so it was drive over it or turn around.

He looked over at Alexandra as he inched closer the bridge. “Don’t look at me! This your decision.”

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel before deciding to go for it. He kept the car at a steady speed and managed to make it over. Eventually small cabins started appearing on the side of the road. Ethan was sure the main use was probably for hunting but it was a sign none the less.

The trees finally opened up and a small town, the smallest Ethan was sure he had even seen, appeared in their sights.

“Thank God.” Alexandra mumbled.

“How about we grab something to eat?” He pointed towards a diner and what looked like the only place to eat in town.

“Fine with me.”

Neither of them had rain jackets as they ran from the car to the door. They got soaked as it poured and thundered. Ethan pulled the door open for her and the smell of grease hit them both.

“Well you don’t look like you belong around here.” The older waitress behind the counter said.

Ethan wanted to ask her what gave it away but bit his tongue.

“Take a seat anywhere.” She pointed around the almost empty diner.

Alexandra took the lead and led them to a corner with a booth. She pulled a menu free behind the ketchup and flipped through the worn out paper. Ethan sat across from her doing the same. Nothing looked appealing to him.

“Hi!” Both doctors looked up their menus at the cheerful voice. “Welcome to town.” She smiled at Ethan.

Alexandra rolled her eyes.

“Thanks.” Ethan shifted under the attention.

“I’m Taylor, your waitress. Can I start you off with something to drink?”

“Pepsi.” Alexandra said as the waitress wrote it down but didn’t take her eyes of Ethan.

“Same.” He tried to stay away from soda, but he doubted the water wasn’t from the tap.

“Sure. I’ll give you a minute to look over the menu and if you have any questions, please let me know.” She quickly put her hand on Ethan’s arm before hurrying off towards the kitchen.

He looked up at Alexandra but she stared down at her menu. He wanted to tell her he wasn’t back with Harper. He wanted to tell her that he hadn’t stopped thinking about her. He wanted to tell her that he missed spending time with her and their inside jokes.

Their drinks were set in front of them and Taylor turned her attention back to Ethan. “Are you ready to order?”

“If she’s ready you can take her order first.” He was starving and yet nothing looked appealing.

“Chicken tenders and fries, please.” Alexandra ordered.

“You know,” Ethan closed the menu. “I’ll have the same.”

“I’ll put that order right in for you. Is there anything else you need? If you have any questions about town, I can answer those too.” She smiled down at him.

“Just the food for now.” He politely smiled back. He looked over to Alexandra, whose attention was on a small TV. The local news was on and weather alert warnings flashed across the bottom of the screen.

“It looks like the whole county is under a flash flood warning.” She said sighing.

“Which way did ya come in?” The older woman asked from behind the counter. Alexandra pointed north. “Surprised you made it here.”

“Why is that?”

“There’s a bridge that washes out constantly when it rains. Surprised it wasn’t gone by the time you came through.”

Alexandra glared at Ethan and he held his hands up. “Hey you said it was up to me.”

“God was on your side.” The woman said. “But I wouldn’t tempt fate and try to drive back over it.”

“We’re actually hoping to continue south.” Alexandra said.

“Where ya’ll headed too?”

“Parsonsville.”

“Ah, no good.”

“No good?” Ethan questioned.

“I wouldn’t drive over the next mountain range in this weather and I’ve been driving these roads some odd forty-five years.”

“That’s great.” Alexandra muttered.

“They call the mountains dead man’s road. Every year several people wreck off the side in good weather. Also you have the General Todd’s River to go over. That’s got to be flood now.” She shook her head continuing to wipe down the counters.

“Is it a large river?” Ethan asked not wanting to be stuck in this hell hole.

“Well considering the bridge that runs over it is about thirty feet high and usually with rain like this you can’t even tell there’s a bridge there.”

“That settles that.” Alexandra tapped the table. Taylor set their food in front of them. “Where’s the nearest hotel?”

“That would be old man Williams’ place. He owns the only motel between here and Parsonsville.” Taylor answered taking a seat on the counter.

“Our GSP and phones aren’t working. How do we get there?” Alexandra dunked her chicken tender in to ketchup. Glanced at Ethan who watched her trying to hide his distaste.

“Down Main Street.” The older woman pointed to where their car was parked. “When it looked like you’re about to head out of town take the left and it’s only a little ways down that street.”

The conversation faded off as Alexandra ate her food and Ethan picked at his. Taylor soon bought their check over. Ethan handed over his card before Alexandra could ask to slit it. Taylor returned with receipt for Ethan to sign. She dropped her voice and looked at Alexandra “Watch out for old man Williams he’s known to be… hands on.”

They both stared at her for a moment. “Thanks for the heads up.” Alexandra said slipping out of the booth.

Taylor stared after Ethan as he and Alexandra ran through the rain again to the car. “He’s taken.” The older woman said from behind her.

“Whatever does that mean?” They definitely didn’t come off as couple and besides they’ll be gone soon enough.

“It means don’t wonder by Williams hoping to run into Mr. City Boy. Besides the blonde might not realize it but he’s definitely interested.”

Taylor rolled her eyes and stomped off back to the kitchen.

“So,” Ethan said turning the car on. The rain did nothing to cool the 101 temperature out. Though they were both soaking wet, the car air conditioning did little cool them down. “I guess you want to stay here.”

Alexandra looked at him like he was crazy. “You want to risk driving? I don’t know about you but driving over more flooded bridges doesn’t sound like a good time. One night in a motel isn’t going to kill you Dr. Ramsey.”

He sighed. They were back to that. For a while she gotten use to calling him Ethan and now that was gone. “Fine, we’ll find this place.” He pulled out of the parking space, the car creating spray from how cover the roads were now.

“Can we stop there?” Alexandra asked as they made their way down the street. She pointed to a Dollar General.

“Why?” He asked annoyed.

“Because I don’t know about you but I’m not drinking tap water and doubt old man William’s gives out bottle water to its guests.”

She had a good point. He pulled into the parking lot next to a lifted old truck. She grabbed a basket as they entered. The store was muggy and all Ethan wanted was a cool shower.

He followed her as she filled the basket with random stuff. A box of Little Debbie brownies, a flashlight, a lighter, candles, and two plastic rain ponchos.

“Candles?” He questioned as she dumped at least six in the basket.

“Have you ever been through a hurricane?”

“Sure.” He shrugged.

She thought about the building he lived in and how it probably had a generator. She wanted to roll her eyes as it his perfect life. It made sense that he would go back to Harper. She was perfect too. Why would he be interest in someone younger, someone who definitely didn’t fit the perfect bill? “The power could possibly go out.”

“How romantic. No power and a motel. I wonder when Freddy and Jason are going to get here.”

She turned around and glared at him. “Grab that case of water.” She pointed to a lower shelf.

He did as she said and bent down and grabbed the 24 case of water. She watch as the light blue dress shirt stretched and clung to his arms. She needed to put her feelings for Ethan in the past. Every time she was around him, she found herself longing for him.

“Are you alright?” He asked concerned as she seemed to stare passed him and thought.

“Uh, yeah.” She turned away from him leading him towards the front of the store to check out.

She didn’t even trying to fight him as he paid for the items. He glanced over at her noticing her still lost in thought. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail but strains of it stuck to her face. Her shirt clung to her body and he couldn’t help but to wish it was white instead of black as glanced down at her chest.

“Sir, you can remove your card now.” The boy behind the register smirked at him.

He pulled the card out with force before ushering Alexandra out the door. The rain was starting to sting as it came down.

“I wonder if it’s going to hail.” Alexandra looked up at the dark clouds as Ethan drove the car in the direction he hoped the motel was.

It was hard not to miss old man Williams’ Budget Inn. The whole place looked like it was in need of a rehab. It made Ethan’s skin crawl as thought about stepping foot in the place.

“Charming.” Alexandra said reaching for the door handle as Ethan stopped the small SUV next to the front door.

A man who looked to be about her age sat out front in a lawn chair. He grinned at her as she made her way around the vehicle to Ethan’s side. Ethan stepped closer to her than he had been in the last two months feeling the need to protect her and opened the door.

The smell of tobacco and sweat assaulted them. The office was hot and he prayed that the rooms were cooler.

“Hi there.” A man closer to fifty stepped out from a back office staring at Alexandra.

Ethan didn’t like this at all. Part of him thought maybe they should stay in the car and just park back at the Dollar General.

“What can I do for you folks?” His eyes never straying from her body.

“We need rooms.” She said trying to come off as if his staring didn’t bother her.

“Two rooms then?” He grinned.

“One.” Ethan said firmly. “Preferably one with two beds.”

Alexandra wanted to protest. To tell Ethan he could shove it and she could take care of herself, but the man in front of her was really making her uncomfortable. They could share a room for one night. She would just lay down and go to sleep.

“Alrighty, let’s see what’s available.” The man tapped away on the older computer. “I’ve got you all setup. One room and one night?”

“Yes just one night.” Ethan said getting irritated.

The man did some more typing before grinning a little bit. “That will be ninety dollars.”

Ethan wanted to laugh. Ninety dollars for this shit hole! The grin on the man’s face told Ethan that wasn’t the normal rate. He held his tongue and handed his card over. A moment later he hand Ethan his card and a paper to sign.

“Sign here.” He pointed to the first line. “You’re agreeing to pay any damages you make to the room.” He points to the second line. “Sign here that you two are the only two going to be in the room.” He points the third line. “Sign here general hotel policy.”

“General policy?” Ethan questioned the pen in his hand hovering over the line.

“It’s the same policies you would find at any hotel.”

At this point Ethan could care less. He signed the last line and man hand two actual keys to Alexandra. “Checkout is at nine. The office isn’t open until ten, so just put the keys through the slot in the door.” The man looked Alexandra over one last time. “You’re room as at the end. Number eleven.”

Ethan guided Alexandra out the door, purposely walking behind her. He walked her to her door this time only going to his own side when she was safely in the car. He pulled the car down towards the end of the motel. They were two rooms from the end and that suited Ethan just find.

They quickly grabbed their bags before making it under the safety of the overhang. Alexandra fought for a second to get the key turned before finally pushing the peeling blue door open. She stopped just inside the door leaving Ethan stuck in the doorway.

“What’s the matter?” He asked looking over her. One bed. One not even a queen size bed. Ethan cursed under his breath before stomping back out to the car. He tossed his bag back in the trunk and she followed. He stormed back to the office.

“Problem with the room?” The man sitting outside questioned. Ethan ignored him and held the door open for Alexandra as they stepped back into the office.

“Back so soon?” The man grinned.

“I asked for a room with two beds.” Ethan asked anger lacing his voice.

“We’re all booked with those.”

“Booked? There’s no other cars here!” Ethan said raising his voice.

“If the room is a problem and I can put one of you in another room.”

“I didn’t need two rooms I need a room with another bed.”

“Is there a problem?” The man from outside had come in. “They bothering you Williams?”

Alexandra could see Ethan about to lose his cool. She reached out and gently grabbed his hand. “No.” She said softly trying to defuse the situation. “The one we’re in is fine.” She gently tugged Ethan after her who looked pissed as hell.

“This is absolutely ridiculous!” He said angrily as they walked back towards the room. The rain and wind was so loud he didn’t worry about his voice carrying.

“It’s one night. We’ll be fine.” She said trying to pretend that this whole trip wasn’t a total nightmare.

They carried their bags into the musty room. The bed was covered in a hideous worn flower quilt and the walls were an equally hideous orange color.

“I’ve always wondered what it was like inside of an orange.” Ethan dropped his Louis Vuitton duffle bag on the wobbly table in the corner.

She set her bag next his and the shopping bag on top. She went back to the door pulling it open and locking the rental car before locking the room door.

Ethan was crouched next to the air conditioning unit. His shirt clung to his sweaty back and she couldn’t help but to admire his ass. He turned the knob a few times and nothing clicked on. He looked over the unit hoping he was missing an on button. Being already angry, he hit the side of it causing Alexandra to jump but the unit came to life. It sounded on its last leg but if it at least got them through the night, Ethan would be thankful.

“My hero.” She joked as he stood back up.

“It’s the only thing I seem to be able to right.” He mumbled as he pulled a chair out from the table. She didn’t know how to respond, so she found the remote to the old TV. “You know remotes are the dirtiest item in a hotel.” He said watching her.

She ignored him and flipped to the weather channel. Jim Cantore was in Ocean City, Maryland. The ocean behind him wild but not what you would expect during a hurricane. “We got this one wrong.” The meteorologist said.

“You think.” Ethan said.

“If you’re west of the Shenandoah Valley, you’re getting pounded right and it’s only going to get worse as the evening goes on. Now is the time to start seeking shelter. We’ve already seen tornados with this storm as it moved across North Carolina. The good news is Hurricane James is moving fast and should be a category 1 by morning as it moves into Pennsylvania.”

Ethan listened to the wind outside, it had picked up considerably since they made into town. The rain still pounded away. As much as stopping was proving to be a hassle, he was glad to be here than on a two lane road on the side a mountain.

Alexandra handed him the remote and he took it with two fingers. He set it down on the little space left on the table. He watched as she made her way to the bathroom and wondered if she wanted a shower as much as he did right now.

She returned only seconds later. “Whatever our sleeping arrangements are, you might not want to be close to me because there’s no way I’m taking a shower in there.”

He looked at her horrified and pushed himself from the chair. She had left the glaring bathroom light on and he could see from the doorway that the pink tub was more mold and grim than pink.

For a moment he considered taking a shower with his shoes on. They were already soaking for the rain. He sighed and turned from the bathroom. Alexandra was laying on her stomach on the edge on the bed her shoes and socks discarded on the floor at the end of it.

He sat back down in the chair and kicked his own socks and shoes off. He left the Weather channel on but paid no attention to it. He looked at Alexandra, his mind racing with questions he so longed to ask. He didn’t though, he couldn’t risk her not understanding or worse denying him.

She got up eventually catching him staring at her. She glared at him as she rummaged through her purse. Her glared didn’t stop him from following her every movement. Soon she had her phone plugged in and was back to laying on her stomach not looking at him.

Alexandra gave up after a while of trying to get any app to work. There was no service. “Do you think Dr. Emery has been trying to get in touch with you?” She asked rolling on to her back causing her shirt to rid up and expose her midriff.

The question was innocent enough, but Ethan could hear the accusing tone. “Probably.” He shrugged.

“That doesn’t bother you that you can’t get in touch with her?”

“No, why would it?”

She didn’t respond and turned her attention to the TV. So, Ethan sat there staring at the wall bouncing his leg. They needed to talk. This was all such a mess.

After a while he pulled his phone out. It was going on eight and the storm only sounded worse. Part of him wanted to laugh about the situation. Here he was stuck in a crappy motel room in a hurricane in the middle of nowhere with the woman he had strong feelings for.

A text from Harper had come in sometime in the last hour but he ignored it and tossed his phone on to the dresser where the TV was.

“Everything okay?” Alexandra asked eyeing where the phone lay.

Ethan sat there for a moment staring at her. Maybe he was having a heat stroke as really the only thing the air conditioner did was blow around hot air. He stood up abruptly and went to the window. He felt around for a latch before focusing it open slightly. The sound of pounding rain was louder now and the curtain blew from the wind. It was still hot out and Ethan bet is was still almost a 101. He found a Bible and phone book in the bedside table and set it on the bottom of the curtain to hold it in place.

Then he turned and made eye contact with Alexandra as she watched him. “You know I’m not okay.” He said.

“Uh. Oh okay.” Alexandra hadn’t been expecting this reaction from her normally calm collected boss.

“Do you want to know why or are you going to make more assumption?” He demanded.

“Excuse me?” She asked sitting up on the bed.

“Isn’t that why you’ve been avoiding me for the last two months because you went ahead and made assumptions.”

“I made assumption?” She questioned standing up.

“Yes.”

“And what did I make assumption about Dr. Ramsey?”

“Don’t play stupid it’s not becoming.”

“Becoming!” She humorless laugh. “Wow, you are really something.”

“I’m something? You won’t even look at me, let alone be within five feet of me!” He said angrily.

“You say that like you’ve really gone out of your way to talk to me.” She started for the bathroom but there was a loud crash of thunder and then no lights.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Ethan said. He felt Alexandra push past him. Her phone lit up as she rummaged through the bag from earlier. She started passing Ethan candles. “What happens if the power comes back on and these set the smoke detector off?”

She flashed her phone light around the room showing that there was no smoke detector. She set two candles on the dresser and one on each bedside table. Before lighting the last one in her hand and going into the bathroom and shutting the door firmly.

Well that hadn’t gone like he hoped. He wanted to punch the wall at how all this had gone wrong. He sat back down in the chair. Without the unit to circulate the air, the room was heating up fast. His shirt and pants stuck to him. He started to worry about Alexandra in bathroom. It had to be hotter.

He stood taking a few steps towards the door. His anger hadn’t completely gone away from earlier but concern for her safety over road the anger. “Alexandra.” He knocked softly. “You can’t stay in there. It’s got to be hot. Look you can have the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.” It was the last place he wanted to sleep but he would do it if it meant making things better.

She yanked the door open the lit candle on the counter behind her causing her blonde hair to shine. “You’re something.” She said again pushing past him into the room.

“So you’ve said.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” She looked back at him.

Even in the poor lighting he could see the disappointment in her eyes. He knew she was talking about Harper. “There is nothing to tell.”

“You tell me not to play stupid, but I really feel stupid right now. For months we worked together. I thought we had formed a friendship, I even thought you might be-“ She stopped talking shaking her head.

“I might be what?” He asked taking a step in her direction. She had walked over to the window. The wind outside tried to blow the curtains around.

“I thought you might be interested in me.” She said sounding defeated.

He felt his heartbreak at her tone. Had he been a fool? He chased her away thinking it was for her own good and now he had hurt her. If he was honest with himself he chased her away because what if she lost interest. What if he lost another person in his life? Did it matter now? It sounded like he had already lost her.

“I am interested in you.” He said finally saying the words out loud.

She laughed. “So what you’re just stringing Harper along?”

“I would have to be dating her to be stringing her along.” He said his voice raising.

“Well it sure looks like you are from where I’m standing.”

“Maybe everything isn’t always as it seems.” He stepped closer.

She didn’t seem to notice. “So what is it that you’re doing with Harper? Are you just sleeping with her?”

“No! I am not just sleeping with her. I’m not sleeping with her at all. I told you months ago that was all in the past.”

“Fine let’s say you’re not doing anything with her then why push me away if you’re interested?”

“Push you away? You’re the one that runs in the other direction when you see me.”

“You don’t exactly coming running after me.”

“Is that what you want? You want me to chase you down and create a scene in the middle of the hospital? You don’t give me the chance to pull you aside.”

“That’s a sorry excuse.” She pushed her hair off her face. “You could have texted me, if you really have wanted to make an effort.”

“You don’t get it!” He shouted. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done it for you and your future.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” She raised her voice back.

He threw his hands up. “I wanted you at that dinner with the board. It was to celebrate Naveen but because you were an intern Harper didn’t want to bring you. Trust me when I say I much rather have been at dinner with you celebrating.” In weeks leading up to that moment in his office, he imagined many different ways they could have celebrated. Granted most involved them naked and her under him.

“I spent that evening making sure the board knew the roll you played in diagnosing him. When Harper gave her recommendation to move you two second place, I knew that came from the board.”

“I appreciate your help but I think I can handle it.” She said still angrily.

“You don’t get it! You can’t handle it. The whole competition is rigged. Harper up until that evening with the board had a huge say in who ranked where on the list. She’s always viewed you as a threat to Aurora.” He was shouting again. “Getting the board to take an interest in you gives you the opportunity to prove yourself.”

He ran a hand through his sweaty hair. “One dinner wasn’t enough. Sure it got you bumped up to where you belong but they had to keep hearing about you. If I didn’t fake some interest in Harper, she would have never kept inviting me to dinner with board members. Do you know how many boring dinners I sat through so I get the chance to talk you up? I even had to go to dinner with just Harper, so she didn’t become suspicious.”

Alexandra stood staring at him motionless. He didn’t seem to notice. Now that he started talking, he seemed to be on a roll.

“I wanted to reach out to you. I desperately wanted to explain everything to you. I knew I was hurting you and it killed me. We’re in the end though. We’re so close to this competition being over. I couldn’t risk starting something with you, only for it be used against you or for us not to work out. Your focus should be on winning the spot you so rightfully deserve.” He was breathing heavy now.

“So you’re not with Harper?” She had to be really sure.

He sighed loudly and turned around frustrated. “No. I want you to win but not that much.”

“And you like me?”

He turned back around to face her only to come face to face with her. She stared up at him, vulnerability written all over her face. The light from candles danced across the walls as thunder now continually rolled outside.

Ethan closed the gap between. His hands coming up to cup her face before he lowered his mouth to hers. She returned the kiss and he bit her lip drawing it between his lips. The kiss was possessive causing desire to pool within her. He pulled away just enough to talk. “I like you.” He whispered his breath hot on her face as his hands still cupped it. “I really like you.” Their eyes met in the awful lighting. “I want you.” He growled pulling her lips back to his.

He desperately wanted to touch her. Where to start he couldn’t decide. Dropping his hands from her face they found her hips before sliding up under her shirt. Her skin was warm and damp from sweating. He kissed his way down her neck stopping every few kisses to bite her gently. She tipped her head back exposing more of her neck to him.

“You have me.” She moaned and pressed herself against him.

Ethan tugged forcefully at her shirt before tossing it on the floor behind her. She held on to his shoulders to steady herself. He stepped back his hands not letting go of her. “Do you want this?” He needed her to say the words.

“I want this.” She rubbed a thumb over his lips. “I want you, Ethan”

He growled picking her up and tossing her on to the bed. She landed on the hard mattress with a soft thud but neither noticed. He stood at the end of the bed looking at her for a moment. He had imagined this moment many times in the last year, never did he think it would be in a crappy motel in the middle of hurricane while 101 degrees out with no power while sweating. The candles flickered, and the light danced across her exposed skin. If he was honest this was the hardest he had ever been and he found it all incredibly erotic.

“Ethan.” She whispered her voice laced with arousal.

He kneeled on the end of the bed and crawl up and over her. He grabbed her hands and held them over her head and hovered over her making eye contact. “Keep them there.”

She bent her hands and placed her palms against the headboard. Satisfied she wasn’t going to moved them he sat back. He dragged a finger down between her breasts and down her stomach to her jeans button before dragging both hands back up her sides. He moved one hand under her and managed to unclasp her bra. He pulled it free and tossed it somewhere. Her nipples were already hard, and he could feel his cock throbbing at the sight. He massaged her breasts but didn’t touch the hard peaks.

She shifted under him trying to create friction between her legs. She wasn’t able to move her legs much since they were trapped under him between his legs.

“Tell me Alexandra.” He rolled the r in his husky voice making her desperate for him. “Where do you want me to touch you?”

She closed her eyes in embarrassment to her feelings. “You know where I want you to touch me Ethan.”

He took his hands off her and placed them on the bed. She opened her eyes at the loss. Ethan leaned back over her. “That doesn’t tell me where.” He whispered as he bent down to kiss her.

She pushed her chest against his. Rubbing her painfully hard nipples against his dress shirt. She gave a little moan at the sensation. He let her find some relief as he kissed her. He plunged his tongue into her mouth and she sucked on it.

“Jesus.” He swore pulling away and she whimpered at the loss. Her eyes were closed again. “Look at me and tell me what you want.”

Her eyelids fluttered open. She opened her mouth a few times before the words finally slipped out. “Touch my… my nipples.”

Watching her being so shy was turning him on unbelievably so but her stuttering trying to tell him her wants, he lost it. He dropped his head to her chest and bit down hard on one nipple.

“Ethan!” She screamed in pleasure and pushed her chest to his face.

His hand not holding him up found her other nipple, twisting it and pulling it. Her hands left the headboard, one finding the back of his hair and the other bunching his sweaty shirt in her hand. He bit and pulled before smoothing it with his tongue. He moved his month to other nipple giving it the same attention all while she moaned under him.

He pulled back enough to look at her. “Do you like that?” For a moment he wondered what had overtaken him. He had never talked like this during sex before.

“Yes.” She hissed her hands coming around to start buttoning his shirt. Her hands shook, and she couldn’t get the buttons undone. “Fuck it.” She whispered more to herself than him. She pulled at his shirt buttons flying. Once his chest was exposed to her, she scratched her nails down him.

He sat back and pulled at his sleeve to get his shirt completely off. She used his hands being occupied to run her nails over the large bulge in his pants. He hissed, and she worked on his belt. He finally freed his arms and grabbed her hands.

“I’m in charge. Back above your head.” He commanded, and she did as he said. “If you were this submissive at work, you wouldn’t be such a pain in my ass.”

She grinned. “You like my rebelliousness.”

He raised an eyebrow and instead of answering her ran a finger over the crotch of her pants. He could feel her dampness through the jeans. It took all his self-control not rip the remaining clothes off her and fuck her. No, he was going to take them both to brink and back. Make them lose it together.

His popped open the button on her pants before dragging the zipper down, she wiggled under him and dragged it back up. His hands went back to her nipples pulling on both at the same time.

“You don’t play fair.” She mumbled.

He grinned before his lips found her ear. “Would you want me too?”

She turned her head to kiss him. “No.” She said pulling away.

He sat back up. His hands went back to the zipper pulling it down for good this time. He moved so he was no longer kneeling over her legs but beside them. He pulled the fabric down. It stuck to her legs in the heat. Once they were off he tossed them, and they hit a wall.

His eyes traced over her. She was so gorgeous, and she was his even if it ended up being only for tonight. He pushed her legs apart and settled between them. He dragged his teeth over her thigh before kissing the inside of both. He kissed her lower stomach before his teeth caught the top of her black panties.

She pushed off the bed thinking he was going to remove them with his teeth, but he let them go and ghost his lips of the soaking fabric covering her. He pressed closed mouth kisses there. She shifted trying to push closer to his face. His hands gripped her hips and pushed them into the bed.

His fingers slipped around the thin band on her sides, he twisted the fabric and pulled. It gave away easily, and she looked down at him in surprise. He pulled the ruined panties from her and tossed them on the floor. He ran a finger through her folds and her surprise faded into whimpers.

“Alexandra, you’re so wet.”

“It’s your fault.” She grinned at him. His mouth that had been kissing her thigh was suddenly on her clit. “Ethan!” She cried out.

His member was so painfully hard now that he worried he would lose it completely the moment her entered her. He pushed the thought from his head shift against the mattress to create some friction against himself.

Alexandra caught on and raised her leg, slipping her foot under him and moving it against him. He moaned into her and pushed herself more towards his face. His stubble pricked her sensitive skin, yet it turned her on even more.

Ethan’s tongue lapped at her while two fingers slid up and down. She was panting and moving against his face. His fingers found her entrance and gently slipped in. She was tight around his fingers and he worried he might her hurt with his size. His fingers pumped in and out and her hand grabbed at his hair pushing his mouth more against her.

“Touch your nipple.” He commanded between licks.

She hesitated before bringing her other hand to her own chest. He watched for a moment as she rolled it between two fingers. Her breathing thinned, and he knew she was close.

“Ethan.” She whimpered when he pulled his fingers out and pushed away from her.

He sat back and looked at her naked body. She reached out for him and he went willingly. In that moment she could have gotten up and gone outside into the storm and he would have followed.

Ethan crawled up her again this time though with the intent to be buried inside of her. Her hand found his face pulling him in for a deep kiss. She wasn’t sure about kissing him after where his mouth had just been but there was something that just drew her in and she sucked his tongue again tasting herself.

“Damn.” He mumbled when she released his tongue.

Her hands made their way done to his partially underdone belt. Rubbing him through his pants. His breathing picked up and he shuttered when her hand slipped inside and wrapped around his hard length.

“Alexandra.” Her name came out in strangled cry.

“Take you pants off.” She whispered into his ear.

“I thought I was in charge?” He grinned.

“Then you better show me.”

Ethan was out of his pants and boxers and kneeling again between her legs. His length was long and thick, and she reached out shyly now that he was naked. He looked like some artist chiseled out his physique.

Alexandra’s hand wrapped around him and he groaned. She pumped him and ran a finger over the tip wiping at his precum. She brought her finger to her mouth and sucked on it. The act alone ready to make him cum right there on her stomach. He laid over her kissing her a few times.

“I’ve wanted you for so long.” He admitted.

She cupped his face. “I’m glad I’m not alone in my feelings.”

Ethan reach down between them, taking his cock in his hand. He rubbed it up and down her folds causing her to throw her head back. “Ethan you’re teasing me.”

“Am I?” He asked coating himself in her wetness.

“Yes.”

“I told you earlier tell me what you want.”

She growled in frustration. “Fuck me.”

He plunged into her with no warning and was met with resistance. She screamed and sank her nails into his back. He stilled stunned that he was sure he just took her virginity. Alexandra didn’t seem to notice and wrapped her legs around his back. “Ethan, move!”

Following her command, he pulled back in and plunged into her again, this time not as hard. After a few pumps he picked up speed. He wasn’t going to last long. She was tight around him and there was something that about knowing he was her first that turned him on more than he would have ever thought.

She moaned and whispered his name like a chant as he moved. He was close but was determined not to cum until she had. He reached a hand between them and found her clit. His thumb rubbed her hard.

They were both close. “Look at me Alexandra.” He wanted to look into her eyes as she came around him.

She opened her eyes and they made eye contact. Her nails were still biting into his back. “Do you feel what you do to me?” He asked his voice was commanding and she shivered.

“Yes!” She shouted as her walls clamped around him coming. “Ethan!”

He rocked into her hard before burring his face in her neck. He whispered her name as he spilled into her. Ethan struggled to hold himself up and rolled off her. He laid there on his back breathing heavy for a moment. His whole body was slick with sweat but that didn’t stop him from reaching over and pulling Alexandra to him. She went willingly and cuddled into his side.

She mumbled something into his chest as she drifted to sleep. He tightened his hold on her despite the heat and buried his nose her damp hair. His mind already racing of why this couldn’t happen again.

#choices open heart #choices open heart fanfic #dr ethan ramsey #dr. ethan ramsey x mc

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