Aquata Cove Ch. 53

"Merrick!" Adam rushes to catch up with him, "Merrick, wait! STOP!" Merrick halted as Adam called for him, and turned around. "Merrick," Adam he said, "Baby... I'm sorry. I... I was a horrible jerk to you, I said those terrible things, and you have every right to hate me." Merrick simply leers at him, "I'm sorry for... Merrick" Adam shook his head, "I'm sorry..."

"Yeah..." Merrick said, his tone unfeeling and hostile, "You know what? So am I." He turns around, and starts to leave again.

"... Hey!" Adam runs up to him, and shoves Merrick around, "That's it?? You won't even talk things out with me?"

"No, I won't." Merrick said, "You hurt me Adam. More than anything I've ever felt. And you don't even know why."

"I would if you would just tell me!"

"Forget it." Merrick said, his heart bleeding with reluctance, "Figure it out on your own."

"MERRICK!" Adam yelled, getting angry, "Talk. To me." Merrick glared at him, his chest talking deep breaths, "I'm sick of you acting like a stuck-up priss! I don't know everything, and you're not being fair for expecting me for it!" Merrick's fist shook as his true thoughts spiraled in his head, "Now for the last time: Tell me why you're hating me so much!"

Seconds pass by, before Merrick finally spoke.

"You mocked me." He said, his eyes glistening, "You mocked me. You mocked US, you mocked our love, you mocked my kind, you diminished everything I stand for, and you spat on our lives as if it was dirt."

"What?" Adam said with partial disbelief.

"You stood there, and spoke of my former existence like it was nothing!" Merrick said, "You slandered what used to be my way of life!" Merrick huffed as he tried to contain his emotions, "You trashed all that I held dear-"

"Oh, give me a break, Merrick!" Adam retorts, "You do the exact same damn thing everyday! Everyday! It's always, Humans This, Humans That! You're always scoffing at human society, Merrick! And now you're telling me you're pissed off because of the one time I do it to you?!"

"THAT'S DIFFERENT, Adam!" Merrick shouted, his eyes dripping with tears, "It's not the same!!" Merrick growled as his throat rattled, "You humans..." Merrick shook his head, "You humans have everything. You own the land, the trees, the skies are at your disposal, and even the sea is in your reach. When you lose one thing, you can easily find another. You said it yourself, humans can love and fuck over and over again!"

Merrick then put his hands to his chest, "But us, merfolk? We have very little compared to you. We cherish all that we can hold on to because it's all we ever have! When we lose what we have, Adam, we can't bring it back. And we can't just do it again!" Merrick sniffled as he went on, "You humans, you can AFFORD to lose it all! You humans make such a little deal about changing everything in sight, it's almost sickening to watch!

"We merfolk only have each other, and the Sea Mother! I once had everything I could ever need and could ever want!"

"Merrick..."

"I once had a playful Sister who could barely be without me! I wanted to see her sing with the other mermaids under the full moon! And now I will never see her again! My best friend was supposed to be the greatest hunter the ocean has ever known, and now I can never see him surpass the Tritons!" He raged, "My Mother had the terrible burden of marking her own Son as a Coshiton! She had to brand me, Adam! She had to burn her hand as well as my flesh!!

"I had a dream, Adam!" Merrick shouted, "My Father trained me, he guided me, he taught me to be a leader worthy of following and protecting everyone!" The merman seethed as he glared at his lover, "I was supposed to be the Triton of the Pod! My role, my place in this world was to follow in my Father's stead, and take over the pod when my time had come! And now look at me! LOOK AT ME! Suffocating on dry land, fainting every so often, and I can't even go back into the ocean, or else I face immediate oblivion!"

"Oh my God..." Adam muttered as his own eyes watered.

"And you," Merrick gritted his teeth, "You humans can fall and break as many times as you want! And you can STILL have a new beginning! When a Coshiton happens, Adam, that's it! Everything, gone! Our existence is forfeit, and we are cast out! Either the Capricorns finds us, or else the sea will punish us first! All from one fateful, incidental wave of happenstance! All from one FUCKING red moon!"

"Merrick, I ha-"

"NO! You wouldn't! You would NEVER have any idea of how much you scorned me on that damn night! You humans have EVERYTHING in the world! And yet you humans NEVER fail to take it for granted! While us merfolk teeter on the balance of the sea! Clinging to everything we hold sacred!"

"M-Merrick-" Adam tried to hold Merrick, but Merrick pushed him off.

"I LOST EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF YOU!!" Merrick shoved Adam back as he cried tears of anger.

"Merrick-" Adam tried, but Merrick ran off again, "Merrick! Please, I'm sorry!! Give me a chance, Merrick!" He called after him, but Merrick wouldn't even look back as he kept running.

"Dammit!" Adam slammed his fist on the wall, "DAMMIT!" Angry at both himself, and Merrick. Himself, for having caused Merrick so much hurt, and Merrick, for just running away from him again. It's always rage and flee with him, Merrick never wants to talk things out...

"Merrick..." Adam slid down to his knees, slumping his side to the wall, "I'm sorry..."

--The Next Evening--

"Thank you, honeybuns, and happy stripping~?" Queen Jizzelle said as a lady just got done signing her name. The flamboyant drag queen is now wearing an Egyptian royalty ensemble, with her face lined with gold and black. She grins as her eyes look up to see the same forlorn blonde trick from the deck, "Well hello gain, Moondrop~"

"Hey... Queen Jizzelle."

"Yes yes, how may I help you, sweetie~?"

"I want to sign up for the Graceful Gogo."

"Marvelous, darling, marvelous!" Queen Jizzelle said as she took up the Graceful Gogo sign-up sheet, and set it down in front of him, and handed him a rather lofty feather pen. He took a deep breath, and took the wavery feather.

'Alright... You can do this...' Merrick said, 'It's just like drawing... But finer and smaller...' He put the pen tip to one of the lines, 'I... I think it's spelled...'

M...e...r...r...

Merrick tries to remember how his name is spelled, recalling on what it says on his State I.D. he's at least has had to seen it enough times. He trembles as he sees his hand actually writing for the first time.

i...c...k...

He moved the pen a little space, "Sorry I'm taking so long, I-"

"Oh, that's alright, honey! You take as much time as you need~!" Queen Jizzelle said.

P...i...s...c...i...e...n

'I did it...' Merrick felt a small rush of pride and accomplishment; the first time he ever written letters and words on paper. And his handwriting isn't sloppy either.

"Exquisite, sweetheart, simply delightful!" Queen Jizzelle said as she took the clipboard and the feather pen, "Now I suggest you get the beautiful butt into that changing room, and onto the dance floor~!"

"I will. Thank you." Merrick said before he went, and disappeared into the crowd.

~~~

The gay and bi men hoot and holler as the Dance Lobby features a watery, soap-bubble theme tonight. Most of the guests are wearing their swimwear, waving and flapping their towels around.

There are a total of 8 dancers for this bash - four of them groove and gyrate in tight white speedos with white towels behind their necks. The other four dance in glass boxes, trapped under a showerhead as they bathe and dance in a cascade of water, completely naked! They rock their manly, bare hips to shake their rounded, soaked butts as their respective members dangle between their legs.

Adam glares at one of the glass cubicles, his heart pounding with profound disbelief and anger as he watches the all-too familiar body of his lover wiggle his toned, smooth torso under the rain of the shower-stages, seeing his own genitals flop from around his smooth thighs as he followed the beat. Adam's face rakes with a strange heat of pseudo embarrassment as Merrick shows himself off in the shower.

That silky smooth young male is supposed to be Adam's, and Adam's alone, and yet there he is, flaunting his sexual energy in the form of gogo-dancing, going Commando in front of all of these men. It was bad enough when Merrick had Jamal sign himself up to strip for Merrick in one of these parties - at least then, it was all in good fun, but now it seems Merrick is doing this to spite him.

"Hey, man," Jamal came up beside him, and then spotted Merrick, "Aw shit."

"Yeah." Adam turned his back.

Merrick looked at the bar, his eyes leering as he sees Adam there, glaring at him. "Hmph." Merrick turns around, running a hand through his moistening hair.

'What right does he have to be mad at me now?' Merrick thought, 'Humans... God I can't stand them, sometimes.' He angrily thought as he twirled his hips. He doesn't feel hatred for all humans at this time - least of all the ones cheering for his erotic dancing. After all Adam has put him though, and he's going to be angry, even after he had to TELL him what he did wrong? Unbelievable.

"So..." Jamal doesn't know quite what to say.

"Merrick told my why he hates me now." Adam stated.

"Ah, really?" Jamal asked.

"Yeah..." Adam slumped down, "It's like this..."

~~~

"YOU JACKASS!" Syrinx yelled, "I thought I told you to stay away from him!!"

"I know, I know!" Kevin said. The grip Merrick had on his wrist damn well nearly sprained it, and now he's wearing a spandex wrist-glove to keep pressure on it for it to recover faster. So naturally, he had to tell Syrinx as to why he's wearing such an accessory.

"Did you forget what he did to those two guys at the Shopping Center?! He took a big guy down by knocking the wind out of him with just a punch!"

"I thought he would've calm down! He was the one being a pompous little brat who wouldn't hear me out!"

"No, you weren't thinking at all!" Syrinx said, "You told me, you TOLD me you weren't going to confront him! And then what happened?! You went and did it anyway! The the hell is the matter with you?!"

"I wanted to make sure you wouldn't get hurt, alright?!" Kevin retorted, "You're so freakin afraid of him, you barely wanna go anywhere on the ship anymore, so I wanted to tell him to back off!"

"Kevin, just, please!" Syrinx said, "Just, LISTEN when I say don't go near him!"

"Ok, babe, alright." Kevin said, "Now that I know first hand that he's tweaking, I will."

"Alright then. Now," Syrinx dug into Kevin's suitcase, and fished out his white speedo with red hearts printed on it, "Now put it on!" She threw it at his face.

"Wait, what??"

"That's your punishment for not listening to me. Put it on, and we're going to do every activity at the Game Court." She added.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kevin said.

"Was I kidding when I told you to stay away from that merman? No. Put it on, now."

Kevin scowled as he pulled down his pants with one arm.

~~~

"Shit, man." Jamal said with wide eyes.

"All this time," Adam groaned, his mind half dazed from half a dozen Cosmos, "I thought he was at least ok... I-I mean... I know he was banished from the ocean because he's with me... But merfolk have a different way of doing things, apparently."

"It's been, what 2, 3 years since it happened?" He asked, "He still not made his piece or something?"

"No. Evidently, this is probably going on in his head all the time, and I just dropped the last straw that broke the camel's back." Adam said. He sighed as he rubbed his head, "I still don't see why he can't talk to me about it."

"Adam, this ain't the kinda thing you wanna talk about." Jamal replied, "Think bout it - would you wanna talk about yo parents kickin you out for bein gay?"

"Actually, I would." Adam answered, "Holding in all that stuff isn't healthy at all... Look what it's done to him.

"You're in a relationship, Jamal, but I don't think you understand what I'm coming from. You and Nick just let it happen, you don't really have a firm-bound partnership like me or Yuri."

"Aight." Jamal crossed his arms, "What don't I git?"

"How long have we and Merrick been together? Almost 8 years now. I'm always open with my feelings." Adam said, "Sometimes, I need him to listen to what I vent, what's hurting me, and then he goes to ease my feelings. But him?" Adam shook his head, "He never wants to talk about his own anxiety. I understand that it's never easy to talk about things like that, but that's what romance is for..."

"Well, I never have any problems like that with Nick." Jamal says, "Sometimes he talks too much."

"Exactly my point. Nick is always cheerful because he's always lets people know what's ailing him. But Merrick doesn't even want to talk to me - his own boyfriend - about things that's hurting him. And then he gets furious at me because I couldn't figure it out on my own."

"I still say he needs his space is all, man." Jamal sighed, "I think you pushed him too far."

"No." Adam scowled, getting frustrated, "You're not getting it, Jamal. Merrick believes that we all need to be strong enough to face our own problems, but doing that is driving him insane. If he'd talk to me about these things more often, I never would've said all that shit and started this whole fight."

Adam turned to Jamal, "You get it now? Jamal, we're soulmates, he and I, and he can't even trust me to listen for him. And now he's too mad to even give me a shot to make it up to him." Adam said, "It's like he doesn't want me to be his boyfriend anymore, but is reluctantly going with it."

~~~

Merrick twirls and dances under the ever-raining shower. As it seems for the Graceful Gogo contest, all he has to do is strip or dance at every chance he gets, at any party too. It's not how much dancing he does, it's his performance itself that's in question. In the meantime, he's still getting paid for every show he does. Plus, the fact that Adam hates it when he dances gives him at least a glimmer of satisfaction, though he would prefer it if Adam didn't know.

Soon, the dance is over, and Merrick steps out of the glass box with a little help from another dancer. He rushes a towel through his hair, around his face, and all along his body, before taking a rather skimpy speedo, and slipping it on himself.

He took a moment to look at the scale of his necklace. Half of it is still colored; it's still a good while until this one runs out.

"Heya!" Merrick looked up to see it's the same guy from yesterday, the one who approached him after dancing in the lockerroom.

"Hello." He responded, "What do you-"

"Look, I just came to apologize," The guy said, "I know I was an idiot, you just seem like a really hot twink, and I just wanted to see if you wanted to do anything."

~~~

Adam sighs as he takes a drink. He told Jamal to go ahead and go dance with Nick, that he needs to be alone for a while. As guilty as he feels about Merrick, he also can't help but feel like he's not being given a fair chance about patching things up. Merrick outright refuses to talk about anything. Now he sees why his mother, Donna, had such a problem with him.

"Hey, man!" Comes a new voice. Adam turns, and sees it's the same chubby guy he vaguely remembers from the last night on the island.

"Oh hey."

"Remember me?"

"Yeah, you're the cute dancer from a few nights ago." Adam said with a smile before rubbing his fingers at that guy's round belly.

"Heh, are you drunk right now?" He said with a blush, noting that Adam was drunk when he sucked him off.

"Naw, not really. Buzzed, maybe, but Cosmos don't really get me that hammered."

~~~

"So, no hard feelings, I just wanted to see if you wanted to..." The guy stopped, and see that Merrick is glancing somewhere else.

~~~

"A-Anyway, I was kinda hoping..." The chubby guy squirmed a little, looking bashful, would you wanna do something again?

~~~

Jamal laughs as he grinds his lap against his Latino's exposed ass through his jockstrap. Nick turned, and they kissed playfully.

Jamal danced more, until he turned his head. He sees Merrick placing a hand onto a beefy man's hip.

"Aw shyit!" He said.

"What?" Nick turned around, looking for what Jamal was eyeing about.

"Fuck, hang on, Nicky," Jamal said, "I gotta go talk to Adam."

"Eh," Nick grabbed Jamal's arm, "Ya might wanna rethink that."

"Wut?" Jamal turned, and spotted Adam patting some other man's shoulder and getting up.

~~~

Adam looks across the lobby at Merrck, and Merrick looks back. Both men look at each other with disdain and challenge, as if daring one another to just strip down and fuck these men right here. Would they really think of just letting loose?

"Is something wrong?" Greg said to Adam.

"No... Nothing." Adam answered.

~~~

Merrick leers at his lover with the other man. It's not like fucking other men will taint their bond. Why should he care if Adam goes with someone else to pound in the other room? It's not like it'll matter, that's how humans are, after all.

"You ok, man?" Tom asked, "You look like you're mad."

"... Lets get out of here." Merrick answered.

~~~

Jamal and Nick watched both Adam and Merrick. Jamal looks as Merrick stood by the taller man, while Nick kept his eyes on Adam putting his arm around the shoulders of a shorter, stout guy.

"You know what?" Jamal said, shaking his head as he and Nick shifted from looking at each of them.

And at the very same time, Adam and Merrick turn away, turning their backs on each other, and walked the opposite direction, both of them escorting a perfect stranger out and off of the Dance Lobby.

Adam to his cabin with Gregory, and Merrick on his way to another cabin with Thomas.

"This isn't good." Nick finished Jamal's sentence.