Aquata Cove

Aquata Cove Chapter 93: Fleeting Distance

Donna takes a deep breath as the pause between her and Adam linger for about a minute after Jessica and the pastor and his priests have left. Adam stares at her while she avoids eye contact from him.

What she just did... What she just said... What?

"So... I think it is a safe assumption that... This Jessica woman was the one sneaking you out after dark?" Donna asked. Adam doesn't answer as he continues to give her a stunned gaze.

"I um... I suppose I should ask the others about... You know, her, and see if they know anything..." She takes another breath, and takes a few steps around her chair, "You'd like to sit back down, we can contin..."

Adam takes a step or two back after she moved. Donna's chest feels a strange pang of guilt as she looks at her son. He looks so shocked, intimidated. Like just before an outcry comes after telling a child there is no such thing as the Tooth Fairy.

"... Adam, please don't look at me like that..." Donna finally said, "Please... You can be mad, y-you can yell at me if you need to, I just... Oh gosh, I don't even know what advice to give now..." She says as she feels her forehead.

"... Is it true?" Adam finally asked, his own chest pounding solidly, "Are you my m... My Mom?" Donna wipes her eyes from this awkward discovery, "This whole time?"

"Hhh... Yes, it's true, Adam, I am your mother."

"All this time?" Adam paraphrased, "After all these days, you asking me all those questions? I told you all my thoughts, what I dreamed about, what." Adam shook his head as he took a couple of steps back, "I... I honestly don't know what to feel right now..." He says, his breathing becoming quicker.

"Adam... I need you to keep calm..."

"Just!" Adam raises his arms, his hands clawing a bit on either side of his head. "Just, tell me why." He said, almost pleadingly, "And can I get a straight answer this time??"

"... The day you were released from the hospital, you were supposed to come home." She starts. "That was also supposed to be the day you were to meet me... Then, before you can even get to the front door, you have this... Severe migraine that practically blinded you with for the better half of an hour. Now as someone who works with the human mind and emotions thereof, tell me that shouldn't show a few red flags to anyone."

"I felt alone, Doctor..." Adam huffed as he shakes his head, "I don't even know what to call you now."

"Well... I could tell you what to call me, but... I think you want to hear more, don't you?"

"Yes. Yes, just, please, just tell me." Adam nods.

"As you can imagine, that's exactly why I've had you put on such a short leash." Donna says as she paces. "Limiting your trips, arranging your class and rehab schedule for you, overseeing all of your sessions."

"So that's why I can't even know about my own life?" Adam says as he glares at her with sad eyes, "Doctor, I felt alone, isolated, even when I have visitors, I feel like... It's like everyday, I'd have a few minutes of company, and then when they had to leave, I felt trapped." His chest feels a little tighter, "And I keep asking everyone these questions, but for the most part, they just give me a few answers, before just telling me that YOU won't let them. Doctor, if I don't get the answers I need, I don't know who to trust!"

"That's, that's a very good point, I will admit that..." Donna nods, "I see just how that can affect you..." She sniffs as she keeps avoiding to looking at him, "I just... After you collapsed at the house, I panicked... Ideally, I wanted you to stay in the hospital a little longer, but you were too healthy to have it, and another patient needed it... So I thought about having you stay here, but the rooms here are a bit pricy if the insurance doesn't match the criteria."

"I don't -- What do you mean?" Adam says. His emotions are easing down, seeing this woman get slightly emotional, trying to keep herself together.

"I... After what happened, I needed you to stay here... And as it is, your father and me can barely afford to live in the apartment we're living in now, let alone have you stay here. So while your Luther is able to keep up with the rent in our apartment, my salary here was just enough to pay for your stay in the ward and as well as the bills."

Adam silently gasped, as a tinge of guilt and affection both ripples in his stomach.

"It's been tough, but..." Donna nods as her eyes rims with moisture, "But at the very least, I could keep a close watch on you, and oversee your emotional progress... And Adam, I know it was hard on you. It's barely excusable to turn you into a stranger to your own livelihood. And I can't tell you how heart-wrenching it's been to sit here, day after day, pretending that you're not my son." She huffs a small whimper as she dabs her eyes again.

"And I know, just from talking to you, how alone and deprived you must feel... But honestly, I hardly know just what's safe for you to know anymore. I don't know just what might make your head explode all over again."

"You're really her. You're really my Mom...?" Adam asks her.

"Just one step... Just one wrong move... Anything Jamal, your Dad, Yuri... Any of your close friends might say that would make your head hurt to a blinding degree... I felt like I had to hide you from the rest of the world... After your incident..."

"What happened to me?" Adam asked her, "How and why did I get into the hospital in the first place?"

Donna sniffs and holds back a sob as she looks at him, "You were bashed, Adam. You had experienced blood poisoning, massive head trauma, so many broken bones..." She says, shaking and bowing her head, "And the reason is so heartbreakingly simple, it just drives me mad with sorrow..."

"A-And then, you couldn't remember me." She goes on, "You couldn't remember anyone... Not me, not your father, not Yuri, Jamal, Merrick, any of your coworkers or friends..." Donna huffs and sniffs a little.

"But you need to know that you are never alone." She shook her head, "You have so many people waiting for you to get better. All of them are waiting for you to come back. People you love, people who love you."

"And also, I need you to understand, Adam." Donna finally glances at his face with wet eyes, "For a parent to almost lose their child, and then having no grasp of what stability they can handle... It's hard... Especially when they look you in the eyes, and asks you, `Who are you?'. As a parent, I can't begin to describe how much it destroyed me and your father when you woke up, and didn't have a clue of who we are..."

Adam is overwhelmed as he looks at her, feeling himself a little restless and emotional himself. She wipes her eyes with a small cloth as she glances at him once or twice. Now she seems almost too afraid to look at him now... He doesn't like this.

"... Adam, please say something..." She tells him, "I can't take it, please... Just, if you feel angry at me, or anything, just go ahead and... Just say something, please..."

Adam holds his arms in an angle as his hands twitch at little, hesitantly gesturing, "... I-I wanna hug you... Mo-Mom."

Donna scoffs in emotion as he really does seem like a sad, lost little boy. "I-I-Is that ok?" His voice shakes a little, "I-I don't know to do, and... A-Am I allowed?"

"Yes, yes, you can Adam, come here. It's ok." She walks around the end of his bed, and comes to him. Adam steps up, and puts his arms around her. He sniffles as he squeezes her tight, as well as hearing her sob quietly.

"I wanted to meet you for so long..." Adam muttered quietly, "I had no idea who anyone is, Mom..." He whined quietly.

"I know. I'm sorry, Adam..."

They hold each other for about a minute, rocking back forth while keeping their emotions on the level.

"... Does this mean I can know more about my life now?" Adam asked, "Can I... Can I at least go home?"

"Ghhh... I suppose..." Donna parts and smiles with tears still in her eyes, "Within reason..." Adam smiles as he hugs her again.

"Hello? Adam?" Comes a knock at the door as Luther came in through the threshold. "Everything alright? I heard a few people came in here and caused an argument."

"Dad." Adam turns to Luther, huffing and sniffing as he leaves Donna and goes to him, "Dad..." He comes over to him and hugs him.

"Hey, hey, are you ok, Adam?" Luther hugs back, and then looks to see Donna approaching them, also looking like she's been crying, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Luther, we're fine." Donna wipes her eyes as she comes to them to hug them too.

"Oh..." Luther holds Adam close as he processes his emotion, his other arm going to hug his wife in too.

The next day, Adam walks down the hall, just finished another job training class. Today is his last day here... Dr Donna... Or rather, his Mom has decided Adam is mentally fit to attempt to return to his house. He doesn't feel so trapped anymore, even though he still has no clue about his past life... And now that he's no longer a captive in the ward, he doesn't feel so determined to milk information from anyone, like the answers are right there for him to discover on his own.

He stops, and sees someone walk out of the art room, a dab of grey and yellow paint on his cheek. Adam freezes as he sees Merrick stroll out, talking to someone else as they go, walking...

Absent-mindedly following him, Adam walks forward, but took a chance to glance into the art room, where he stops again, and looks at one of the paintings.

A painting shows a dark-grey void, with an upside down humanoid figure in the upper middle of the portrait. On the lower side of the canvas, there is a figure on either side -- the one on the left is a lighter dark grey color, and the other one on the right is a much lighter color. And originating from the middle, is a neat array of white rectangles, laid out before the grey-scale surrounding.

"That... That looks a lot like one of my dreams..."

"Aight, we good to go?" Jamal says as he puts the last box into his car.

"There wasn't that much stuff to get in, actually." Adam says as he goes to the passenger's seat.

"Cool. Lets get goin." Jamal then swings his rump behind the wheel, and drove out of the ward. Adam looks at the building as he moves around it, seeing from the outside as he bids it a silent goodbye, probably like how a bird would feel if it were set free from its cage.

"Hey, Jamal... Thanks for being there for me." Adam says "And thanks for finding me the other night."

"No problem, man." Jamal said with a smile, "I'm always there for you, bud."

"... You're just... Amazing, you know that?" Adam said with a smile, "You've practically been to see me everyday, you take me out to all kinds of places, and when I really needed you, there you were..." Adam tells him, "Why are you so good to me?"

"Long story." Jamal smirked.

"... Are we married or something?" Adam asked, "Seriously, I'm getting SOME kind of vibe there."

"Hahaha, naw man. You ain't my type." He says as he rushes his hand on Adam's clothed chest, "Too hairy, man."

"Ahaha, hey."

"Naw, but... I lived wit you for a long time too." Jamal said, "Not just Yuri."

"What... Oh, you're a roommate too? You live with me?"

"Yep. Me'n Yuri. Well, she lived with you 10 years, I got 8."

"Oh ok." Adam smiled, "That's kind of reassuring, actually."

"Yeah, we been tight for ages. And I owe that much for taking me in."

"Taking you in?"

"Yeah... See, I kinda had a... Weird life, and I got into a lotta trouble before I moved here." Jamal tells him, "Eventually, I got to pick who I wanted to try and live wit, and you and Yuri had a spare room and needed more money."

"Sooo... That's why you go out of your way for me?"

"Gheh, kinda. In a nutshell." Jamal answered, "I was a real asshole back then though. I was pissed off outta my mind for weeks even after I moved in. Yuri kinda thrashed me once or twice if I got pissy with her, but you were a lot more level-headed and nice to me."

"Heh..." Adam looks out at the sunny day outside the car window, "I really wish I can remember what you're telling me..."

"Yeah, you was a freakin goodie-boy. For a while, I thought you were trying to suck my dick or something, and I wadn't havin none of that shit at the time."

"Ach -- What??"

"Ahahahaha, yeah, or somethin like that, I thought you were comin on to me. And this was before I started trying fucking wit guys. But eventually, I stopped being an asshole, and let you help me out wit finding a job at the Dream Waltz -- it's a nightclub now, but back then, it was a magic show place."

"Wow, sounds awesome."

"Even before then, you had to talk you grandparents into letting me move in. They was both bitchin about be. I actually called them racist; not that I actually thought that, yo mom said I was sayin shit like that to git attention.

"I still feel a little confused... Aggghh, I just wish there was some video or movie you can show me that had what happened."

"It's cool, man. Least now, you can start over." Jamal says as they pull into a beachfront house. Adam looked, and saw the barrier of driftwood logs stacked in a fence around the house. This looks only slightly familiar -- Adam remembers it when he had that horrible migraine after the first time he was here.

"You feeling ok?" Jamal asked after he turns off the car.

"Hhh... Yeah... My head is a little heavy right now... But I think I'm good."

"Aight... Just let us know if it starts hurtin like hell, ok?"

"Ok... I'm ready." Adam nods. Jamal gets out, and then Adam. He walks around the car, looking at the extent of the log fence, and over to the front door. Adam takes a deep breath, before opening the door, and walking over the threshold.

His eyes look at the immediate living room, with a couch on his left that is put against the wall, with a glass coffee table in front of it, with a sofa chair on either side. In front is a large, flat-screen TV, with the same PS4 plugged into it, placed onto a low-level table-shelf, next to a shelf that occupies DVDs on the upper side, and video games on the lower side.

To the immediate right, there is a large, round table with four chairs, next to a tiled floor that leads to a medium-sized kitchen, where Jamal walks over and pets a leaping and energetic golden dog. Adam chuckles with a quirked smile as he walks onto the carpet.

He enters the opening of the hallway, to see the door open to a spacious bathroom, with a closed door next to it, and with a closed door at the end of the left side of the hall. Just as Adam turned to look at an ajar door at the end of the right side of the hall way, Jamal comes up behind him.

"That there's your room." He tells him. Adam looks at him, and then back to the room, before walking over to it. He enters it, and beams around in the neatly kept room with shelves of random trinkets and collectables and large, decorative books, as well as a few key-shaped swords made of plywood pinned to the wall above a computer desk, with a bed in the middle.

"Wow..." Adam says as he walks in. But still... "I... I still don't remember anything..." Adam said sadly. He turns to look at the drawers right next to the doors, and sees a large object above it, hanging from the ceiling. His eyes widen as he looks at a blue and silver and gold sea dragon kite.

"Hhh..." Adam looks at it for a solid few seconds, while distant carnival music lingers in the back of his head, as well as a few glimpses of lights, playful colors, and some excited people in some strange apparition, before he blinked and shook his head, and the kite just remained as it is.

"It's aight, man." Jamal says, "You git used to it." Jamal glances around, noting that there are a few things missing. Merrick's sea armor is gone, for one, as is his harpoon, and a lot of the unique seashells as well as a few aquatic artifacts are not to be seen. "Huh..."

"Huh?"

"Ah, nuthin..." Jamal says, `I just saw Merrick a half hour ago. Did he go to the ocean? Where he put his stuff at?'

"Do you... Mind if I be alone in here for a minute?" Adam asked, "I kinda want a moment to be take it in..."

"Sure, man." Jamal backed up, and took the door knob, "Lemme know if ya need anything."

"Ok." Adam nodded before Jamal closed the door. He takes a deep breath, before slowing sitting down. "So... This is where I live...?"

Adam sighs as he wonders around his own room, picking up random objects and fiddling with them or playing with them, otherwise inspecting. It's like he's trying to remember what these items might have represented in his past, but nothing's coming... It's almost depressing.

He walks over to the computer desk, and opens his familiar laptop. Groaning with a bit of cluelessness, he started to type.

--- Dear Diary, ---

Just before he started, he sniffs the air as he starts to pick up an appetizing smell. He gets up again, and exits his door. He walks in to see Luther blowing his nose while he sits on the chair in the living room, "Oh hi, Dad."

"Hey Adam..." Luther groans, looking exhausted.

"What's wrong, are you ok?"

"He's just getting a little sick, honey." Donna says from the kitchen. Adam smiles as he walks further in.

"Oh hi Dr- Uh, Mom." Adam grins, before his chest feels a complex pulse as he sees Merrick next to her.

"Hi Adam." He smiles.

"O-Oh, Merrick, I- Whoa!" Adam stumbles as he walks into the coffee table, hissing as his shin pangs with pain from the edge, "Ssshit! Dammit!"

"Are you ok??"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just, I walked into the damn, ttthhing." Adam he said as he rubs his leg, "Where's Jamal?"

"He and Nick had a date." Merrick answers, "So is Yuri, so it's just us." Merrick says as Adam walks into the kitchen, smelling the savory aroma. A very familiar smell...

And then, he blinks as he feels slightly light-headed. As he watches the kitchen, all he can see is Merrick wearing that apron... And nothing else. He blushes as he looks over Merrick's bare backside, the curve of his round bottom, before he sees a shifting image of himself... Adam, watching himself walk in close behind Merrick... Adam is in some lazy apparel, only wearing a worn T-shirt and some boxershorts, coming up behind Merrick, hugging him and laughing as he nuzzles his lips onto his neck, while Merrick giggles back from the tickling.

"Adam? Adam, are you ok??" Donna says as he shakes his shoulder.

"Ah, wait, what?" Adam shakes his head and blinked a few times, looking to see Merrick chopping a roasted chicken breast in the kitchen, fully dressed and focused on the food preparation.

"You were sort of in a daze. Is everything alright?"

"Y-Yeah, everything's fine." Adam nods, the short vision fleeting from his immediate memory before he's seated, before his flu-ridden father comes to the table. "So uh, wha-what are we having right now... For lunch?"

"Chicken noodle soup, homemade." Donna smiles as she puts a small dish of chicken slices onto the table, "Your father is sick, and Merrick makes a very good broth."

"Soup...?" Adam wonders as Merrick brings in a white dish with a fancy ladle inside it. He stares as the aroma plays a weird melody of sensations that rifles through his brain. As he sits there, he sees something black and tribal peering from under Merrick's shirt when he turned around to get the bread rolls... Is it a tattoo? He remembers something like that when Merrick stripped at the psychiatric ward, but he didn't get a good look.

"It's nothing much, just picked up a few recipes on the Food Channel, and I add my own tweaks here and there. Cooking's kinda easy, if a little complex." Merrick says as he pours the soup into the crystalline bowl, as well as putting three slices of chicken into the golden basin of liquid.

"Oh please, you even make your own noodles." Donna says with a smile as she places a sweet roll for each table.

Adam just looks at the steaming bowl of broth and meat, with the white lines of noodles within, while Merrick and Donna sit down. Taking a spoon, Adam takes a small sample of soup into it, and bring it to his lips.

He sips the hot fluid, the delicious taste immediately filling in some sort of empty node inside his mind, remembering having this exact soup at some point in time. Something about this soup is making him think of sunlight, he almost wants to squint his eyes even though it's not bright in here. For some reason, he thinks of himself crying, while lying in a bed. Of course, this brings up what he might've been saying on that day, why was he upset? Who was with him, and what were THEY saying?

"This is really good." Adam remarks after a few more tastes of soup.

"Thanks." Merrick smiles at him. Adam stirs his spoon in the soup. This is extremely nostalgic, but he can't place just where he's remembering this from... Maybe something to do when he was blinded by sunlight at the hospital?

"Errgh, this stuff can grow back a limb." Luther says as he eats.

`The family's back together.' Donna thinks to herself as she glances around. Herself included, there's her husband, her son, and her future son-in-law.

A secret family reunion.

"So, Adam, I'm afraid I have some bad news..." Donna says, after a while of the four of them slurping and eating.

"Hm? What is it?" Adam asked.

"I'm afraid me and your father can't stay here anymore." Donna tells him.

"What??" Adam gaps as he looks at her, "But -- Wait, no, I just met you, Mom. I-I mean, I just found out you're my Mom, but, I-I, why are you leaving??"

"Keeping up with the expenses is getting difficult. And also we've been away from our own jobs in Washington for too long. Not to mention the sublets who have been living in our apartment can't stay there any longer. We only have just enough money for our plane tickets home."

"Wait, where do you live?"

"Washington. It's... Very far, Adam."

"B-But, why, no..." Adam says sadly, "I-I-I I still need you guys!"

"I'm sorry, Adam..." Luther says, "If we could stay, we would. Believe me, I'm scared you might get injured again if we leave. We don't have a choice." He sighs, shaking his head.

"But... What am I gonna do without my parents?? Mom, aren't you supposed to be my psychologist?? I don't know if I can get another one!"

"We can talk to each other on Skype anytime you need to, honey." Donna reaches her hand, and holds Adam's, "I don't care what time of day it is or what I might be doing, I'll talk to you whenever you need me."

"But... I don't want you to go..." Adam says as he looks at both of his parents, "I still hardly know anyone, what if my brain gets another migraine??"

"Yuri lives with you, and she is a doctor, mind you. She can take care of you, and Merrick can be your therapist."

"Wait, Merrick?" Adam looks to him.

"Donna, what are you talking about? I'm not a psychologist." Merrick said, confused.

"From what you've told me about YOUR father, he knows his way around people's way of thinking. I'm sure you're rather intuitive yourself if you talk it though enough."

"That's... different..." Merrick says. Now that he thinks about it, Kaiken did know what to say to get answers out of Merrick, and he's been able to talk through several situations in the past. But does Merrick have that kind capability? "Are you sure you guys have to go? Adam still needs you."

"Merrick... You too, Adam. I've been evaluating your progress since you were transferred to the ward. In a non-biased opinion, Adam..." Donna takes a deep breath, and sighs, "On technical terms, you were mentally sound and able to come back home a while ago. At least a week after you were transferred."

"What?"

"Your headaches have been coming less and less, your nightmares are getting less frequent and impactful... I just was afraid of letting you go again..."

"Are you sure there's no other way?" Adam asked, "I feel like I just met you guys, and now you have to leave?"

"Our time's up, son." Luther says with a heavy huff, "We have to go... But you can call us if you ever need anything, if you need to talk, or anything..." Luther can barely think straight, the pills and the flu making him very dizzy, "It's going to be alright." He says as he pats Adam's shoulder."

"Ok..." Adam looks down, before he sees Merrick beside him, against the sunlight from the afternoon sunset.

"It's ok, Adam... I'll be here for you, any way that I can." He said with a soft smile, holding his shoulders. Adam feels a light brush inside his forehead as he looks up to him, his mind swimming with vague images again... Seeing glimpses that are so familiar but so foreign at the same time.

"O-Ok..." Adam nodded, almost hypnotically. As he looks at Merrick, he imagines his shirt vanishing... Taken off...

"We have tomorrow to pack and spend some last-minute time with you," Donna says, "But after tomorrow, we have to go back home."

"Ok..." Adam holds both of their hands, "I'm gonna miss you guys..."

"We miss you everyday, honey." Donna says with a sad smile. Adam looks at her with estranged and wistful eyes... Why does he feel a little guilty now?

Merrick lies on his back on the shore, his body against the wet sand, and his tail undulating casual in the water. A wash of seawater rushes up onto him, as it does every minute or so, leaving his skin shiny and blue, while his chest and head remain humanoid.

With his clothing folded neatly onto a nearby high rock, he looks at the crescent moon above. Part of him feels lonely that he still can't completely tell Adam just who they are to each other. Donna has loosened the leash by a lot, but right now... Merrick's just afraid if he tells Adam too much, it will just scare him like when he tried that `Sexual Healing' nonsense on him. He can't put him through that again, no.

It felt a little hurtful, when Merrick packed up his things out of Adam's room -- his sea equipment, his ocalen, the very unique seashells, his collection of exotic lingerie, his own clothing taken out of the drawers. All of it boxed away in the garage. This is all for Adam, he guesses... It'll be ok...

Merrick grunts as he curls around, and pulls himself along the sand, and crawls into the water, his beautiful tail flourishing and disappearing under the surface. He glides down upon the reef, and swims for a good 5 or 10 minutes. The only form of gear he has is his harpoon and a pouch that holds his cellphone in an air-tight plastic bag to keep track of the time.

He swims down into a small cavernous area he constructed right next to Savarna's Sea Spot -- she has conjured an array of elaborate crystalline ice towers around the area to keep larger predators at bay. Merrick curls his flexible fish-like body into a small area, planting his harpoon into the sand, and curls around himself. He closes his eyes and allowed slumber to slowly come to him, wishing he was instead under the warm covers next to Adam, rather than the pleasantly cold waters around his sister's mystic fort.

()()()

Merrick sighs as he looks over the morning sun on the horizon. It's going to be another sweltering day. The Sun God must either be very angry or very happy. Either way, it's another day, another long, long session of resisting constant temptation... Almost very member of the crew is a man, and that doesn't help. There are a few ladies on board, but Kai has to keep a very harsh whip on the men who try to dally with the females. Besides, it's not like they can help Merrick at all...

"Hey, Merrick." Brien says as he walks up next to him, and sits on a barrel. He's already not wearing a shirt, drawing Merrick's attention to an ornate tattoo of a green dragon on his left chest, around his back, and the feathery tail ending on his naval.

"What in the world is this?" Merrick says as he points at the inkjob.

"Oh this?" Brien smirks as he flexes his torso, "I got this before we set sail. Maybe I'll attract the attention of the mystic queen when we reach Fairy Circle Island. Bedding with a mermaid was... Interesting." He chuckles sheepishly, "Makes me wonder if pixies and nymphs would fair differently."

"You might want to be careful with that." Merrick tells him, "Fairies are known for abducting people who trespass into their hollow, unannounced."

"I know how to protect myself against magic warnings as that. Besides, they only take children away, and even then, it's only for one night to teach them a lesson."

"Hm."

"... Are you ok, Merrick? You've been quiet since we left. Does this have something to do with your upcoming marriage?"

"..."

"Merrick is something wrong? You can tell me. I won't tell the Captain, I promise."

"... I uh... I don't like my bride to be..."

"You don't? But Lady Fenrica is a gem. She's beautiful and graceful, not to mention she will inherit the Isle of Atlanton when she comes of age after her mother passes. You're practically becoming a Lord within a month!"

"But we don't approve of one another. Both of us feel trapped in this... Sham of a marriage. Neither of us are happy with what we have to do, but both of us are legally obligated to go through with this..."

"I understand... Still, at least you're marrying a desirable maiden, right?" Brien says with an encouraging smile, "That mermaid I bedded with was so beautiful, I tried to find her again after two days, but I couldn't find her. Not everyone can be that lucky."

"Heh... Can I tell you something else?"

"Sure, Merrick."

"But... You have to keep this a secret, don't tell anyone, please. Not even my Father."

"O-Ok..." Brien gives him a strange look, "You are scaring me a little now. What do you want to say?"

"I uh... I prefer the company of... Well, I... I prefer men, really..." Merrick says as he grows heavy with nervousness.

"What do you mean? A lot of men prefer to mingle with each other. It's nothing new, it gives them a chance to be without a nagging wife or his wild children. Heck, you're always surrounded by the crew, right?"

"No, Brien, that's not what I mean..." Merrick shakes a little, "I... I think of men, the same way you think about women..."

"Huh?"

"... I... I want to bed with men rather than women, Brien..."

"Wha... Ohhhhh." Brien says as he finally understand, "So, when you say you do not approve of Lady Fenrica..."

"She understands my... Wants. She is even willing to allow me privileges to accommodate what I want... But it's just... Why should I have to keep it a secret? Other men get to have sex with men freely anywhere. Why do I have to give my life to a woman, when everyone else can give their lives to whomever they want?"

"I see your point... That does sound daunting... And Captain Kai, well... If you weren't his son, he probably couldn't care less."

"But I AM his son. I have to be the one who brings our family and our business to nobility. Yet no one has even asked me what is it what I really want."

"I understand completely... Most of the men on board can barely contain themselves if they even smell a brothel nearby. First chance I get, I glue my lips to a woman who would have me... But you..." Brien looks at his long-time best friend, "Xerxes's fist, Merrick, you're surrounded by men every single day! You must driven insane every time you go to rest!"

"Yet another benefit for being my Father's son. Discipline is everything..."

"Damn... I had no idea... How do you do it, Merrick? I know I couldn't hide myself as much as you do."

"Brien... I don't want this... I'm sick of hiding that I want any man that passes me on deck..." Merrick tucks his arms around his stomach as he leans down, "I know what I'm going to do, but... Dammit..."

"I'm sorry..." Brien puts his hand on Merrick's shoulder as the ship continues to traverse while the sun rises.

Having reached Jatofaris Island, where the crew harvests the fruit and vegetation to restock the ship's food supply, as well as gather more fresh water, Merrick goes to his own private spot... While everyone thinks he goes to scout and meditate, he goes to bathe.

Setting his neatly folded clothing aside, he looks to the calm grotto, with a singular quiet waterfall of a thin veil of water. He looks to the water... And looks behind him, and straining his ears... He hears no one.

Merrick's heart gives a strange wave as he unwraps his loincloth, in the private view of the pool, and ravels it around his hand, and places it on his clothing. Blushing as he steps naked into the cool water, Merrick huffs as he climbs into the rock, until it reaches to his waist.

"H-Hah... Oh..." Walking through the water, it reaches halfway to his navel. The pool used to meet his chin, but he has grown a lot over the years...

Merrick dips his head into the running wall of water, feeling the strangely smooth run over his neck and shoulders. It feels so different, doing this completely exposed... He's always just bathed here in his loincloth... Something about being open and naked, exposed to nature makes him feel... Wrong and right at the same time, so untamed...

Merrick rubs his hair and neck... While his other hand travels down. "Mnnh..." Merrick's chest pounds as his hand fondles onto his genitals. His fingers run along his penis as his back faces the open area behind him. His rod stiffens as he starts to stroke himself.

Adam smiles as he stands on the rock, his hands on his thick hips, also completely void of any article of clothing around his very muscular, hairy body. "I finally found you." The God of Manhood mutters before he steps into water.

He wades through the grotto, and comes right up to the young man, before he turns on his own.

"HHH!" Merrick gasps as he sees this man here! Out of nowhere! His hand covers himself as he backs into the cavernous area behind him, just as the man follows, "I-I- I am bathing here." He exclaims. This man... He is handsome, and very built... The fuzz on his chest and abs gives off masculinity as that burly man gives an amused smirk.

"So am I." Adam says.

"I uh... I'm not alone here..." Merrick says, trying to find a means of protest... But also wanting... Some sort of event to happen in this... What, an opportunity? He glances down, and sees this man is wearing no cloth around his waist... He can even make out the slight sight of his... "I... I shouldn't have come here, because... My crew is here, and..."

Adam is so close now, his hand strokes along Merrick's cheek. Merrick moans tenderly with desire, "Yes, I know exactly why you come here." He says as his hand glides down to Merrick's hip. Merrick breathes deeply as this man advances on him. Every thought and fantasy that ran through Merrick's head ever since he hit puberty is racing through reality as this stranger gets close.

Right here, right now... No one is watching, no one can yell at him for doing this... And this man wants him...

Merrick moans as Adam's bristly mouth brushed against his face, before his teeth starts to graze and gnaw on Merrick's ear.

"A-Ahh..." Merrick's hands hold onto the rock behind him as the man also places his hands onto the cold stone as he kisses and laps on his cheek. Merrick's cock throbs as everything he's ever wanted is actually happening, standing here right in front of him. A man, a handsome man, such an attractive specimen, is actually allured and sensually touching and holding him. "Allhhh..." Merrick whines, gasping silently as his own hard dick pokes softly at this man's pelvis. His cock is really going solid, curving as his erection has reached beyond the limit he has been accustomed.

Adam gently laps from Merrick's ear, along his soft cheek, before his face moves backward, and his hands have eventually arrived hold Merrick's head. Merrick gulps before his lips part ajar, submitting completely to this very erotic stranger, knowing just what this man is about to do.

Adam huffs hotly before he puts his face forward, and his lips take Merrick's mouth. "MLLMH!" Merrick's legs nearly give out on him as his hands leave the rock behind him, his arms twitching as one of them clings to Adam's side. He grunts and moans as Adam's tongue pushes along his teeth and curves under Merrick's tongue. "Mmnnhh! Mnnn! Mnnnhhh~!" Merrick clutches onto Adam's sides, before he breaks the kiss, softly rubbing along Merrick's sides.

"Hahh... Hhh... Hhh..." Merrick pants a few times before looking into Adam's eyes, and then moving up, kissed Adam back. Adam closes his eyes as he holds Merrick closely as the blonde young man puts a hand on his shoulder, and the other in Adam's patchy underarm. Adam grins in between lapping his lips as Merrick's hand eventually ventures onto one of Adam's round, fuzzy buttcheeks. Adam giggles as he lets Merrick explore his body as the sailor easily gives in to years of lust.

Both of Merrick's hands fold into Adam's manly crevice, feeling into his thick, round buttcheeks, cupping under them, and feeling them up firmly like a baker would massage his batch of bread dough. Merrick blushes as his fingertips rub into a slick spot hidden in between his mounds.

"Ooh~" Adam grins as he flexes his ass, "You're a very curious boy, aren't you?"

"I-I... I'm no boy..." Merrick whines defensively.

"Otherwise I wouldn't be wasting my time~" Adam said with a playful smirk. He kisses Merrick's lips again, before he knelt down to his knees. Merrick looks curiously into the water, wondering what this man could be doing as he dunks his head below the water.

"...HHHoohhhh!" Merrick gasps and jumbles as he feels a very, very warm sensation on his dick! "Ahhh! Oh Gaahh! FFfff!" He squirms as Adam pushes his mouth around Merrick's solid penis, his lips sealed around the shaft, and moving up and down.

"By the Gods, A-Aaaahhh!" Merrick moaned out as this completely new action envelops his manhood. "Hahh, ahhh, ohhh!" He moans as Adam bobs his head back and forth at a climbing pace, before twirling his head down in a deep-throat.

"Oh my Gooosshh!" Merrick groans, inching into that familiar climax, feeling it approach faster than usual when he masturbated.

Just when he was about to cascade into Adam's mouth, the chill of the water once again overtakes his member, before Adam rises from the surface again. Merrick pants harshly as he tries retain himself from the short but wild experience.

"Whuh... Wh, Wheh... Why did you stop?" He panted out.

"Because you want more..." Adam says with a smile, "More than what this little relic of yours can do." Adam says as he holds up the polished crystal rod to show Merrick. Merrick blushes brightly as he sees his secret toy, which SHOULD be in the hidden compartment of his cabin on board!

"Wh-Where, how did you find that??!" Merrick asks in panic.

"Not important. I'm here to do more than a healing chakra crystal can do for you." Adam says as he turned his hand an angle, and made the 8-inch gem rod disappear. Merrick stares at his hand. Is this man some sort of magician?? A man faerie?? What IS he??

Adam comes in close abruptly, his large cock rubbing into below Merrick's balls. A-Ahhoohhh," Merrick moans as he feels that large, hard cock tucked under his goods. He blushes and moans as he can feel his legs elevating up, seeing his knees bob on the surface, and then looking at the bristly man.

"W-W-Wait, are you going to..." Merrick pants, feeling his pucker being pressed by this man's mushroom head. He's tried things that are larger in girth than that amethyst rod, but without a lot of oil, it's mostly painful.

"I'm a bit bigger than that crystal of yours." Adam grins as his hands hold onto Merrick's back.

"A-Ahh, wait!" Merrick clenches his eyes shut, having no oil or means of lubricating this stranger's fat cock. Merrick braces himself as he started to feel himself slip down onto that dick. "Aaaaahhhh -- Ohhh~!" He gasps as he feels the man slide into his anus, down until Merrick's silken butt meets Adam's hairy patch.

"Fffuahh... Nnnhh," Merrick huffs and moans. That penis is huge, and it's filling him so much, but there is no pain... His sphincter feels a ton of pressure, but none of it is hurting.

"Mnnhh... So tight." Adam grunts, grabbing onto Merrick's hips, and angled his dick into Merrick's ass.

"A-Aaahh~!" Merrick's body arches as he feels that massive member push on a deep, hidden spot. Adam slides his rod out, and hilts into Merrick again, pushing into that secret zone, "OOoohh~!"

"Fffff." Adam holds onto Merrick's leg and onto the rock behind Merrick as he starts to stir his enlarged member inside of the virgin's anus, "You feel good... Very good." Adam says, more as an observation rather than sweet talk. Adam has mounted hundreds of men through his time. None of them are making his balls tingle like this one here.

"Ohhh! By the Gods, HHHoohh~!" Merrick gasps as he jumbles again, Adam sliding in and out of him over and over. This is so much easier than his private time in his cabin -- this time someone is driving the rod FOR him.

The water dances around Merrick's smooth crotch, his own dick curved up as his arousal reaches to unfamiliar heights.

"Don't stop, please don't stop." Merrick says as he tries to hold onto something. He likes this feeling of penetration.

"Hhhh...Hooohhh yes..." Adam moans as his cock pushes back into Merrick's tight hole, spreading him out from the inside as he humps him, over and over.

"Hooohhh my word, a-aahh" Merrick strokes himself as Adam fucks him in a rising pace.

"Damn..." Adam grips Merrick again, his mounts getting faster, "I'm not lasting long at all."

"W-What? Please, I need more of you, it's so -- Ahhhoohh~!" Merrick moans out as his body starts to jerk back and forth from the raw momentum.

"Ghhhhhh!" Adam ducks his head down, gritting his teeth as his manhood races back and forth inside of Merrick's tunnel. He's NEVER feel this quick to climax before.

"Ohh~ Ohhh~ Ohh~!" Merrick moans as he jacks himself off with the rough pounding he's taking into his anus, looking at Adam as that very sexy and hairy man fucks him wildly, faster and faster.

Adam cranks his head back, biting his lip as he clenches his eyes, "FFFFFFFFFFfffffFFFkkkkkk." His brown bush sinks into Merrick's anus as his divine seed channels from his heavy nuts.

"O-Ohh~!" Merrick looks with bewilderment as he feels something new in his sphincter -- it's suddenly got a lot hotter around Adam's cock, more slippery.

"Hah... Wow..." Adam says with a grin, panting, "You really awakened something, boy." Adam says, before he pulls out his semi-hard dick, letting the glowing semen to flow from Merrick's pucker.

Merrick pants as his feet meet the rock under the water away, his legs quivering while holding onto Adam to keep standing. His ass is very sore, but it's a good sort of pain. He likes this hurt inside his backside, like he can barely walk.

"Hah heh heh," Adam chuckles as he reaches down, and fondles Merrick's solid meat, "We have yet to let YOU release yet."

"Mnnhh, I..." Merrick groans, "I really should get back to my crew... They might be-"

"MERRICK!" Calls a loud voice. Merrick gasped as he looks through the blurry image of Kai, "Where are you, BOY?!"

"My Father..." Merrick whispered fearfully, "H-He can't see me like this! M-My clothes-"

"Are in your ship, young man." Adam smiles, "I put them there before this."

"MERRICK! Answer me!!" Kai yells out from outside of the waterfall.

"I-I-I, I have to go, my Father will have my head if I don't-"

"Shhhhh." Adam hushed, "Why don't we go somewhere more... Accommodating?" He takes Merrick's hand and walked towards the waterfall.

"W-Wait! No! Please!" Merrick yanks and begs, but Adam has a firm grip on his wrist as they pass through the wall of water.

()()()

"Mnnn..." Adam slowly blinks awake, his insides churning with... Deep excitement? That dream just now... He can remember a LOT about it. He was naked, kissing another guy in a rocky pool, and... Doing things to him... And there was a wall of water behind them.

He looks at his hand on the pillow, turning his palm... He can still feel him... That person in the dream... That man... He was young, like a frat boy.

"Whoa..." Adam mutters as he rolls onto his back, looking up at the dark ceiling. The time is about 6AM, the room is still relatively dark. "That was... Intense..." He mumbles, feeling his own dick still hard as a rock.