Torn between wanting to watch these two and trying to find his boat, Mulder decided he was less than wholly welcome and pointed towards the direction from where they had come.
Krycek stared longingly after the slowly departing couple, and Mulder guiltily realised he was still trying to keep the merman for himself. Away from humans, away from other mer-folk. But his merman returned to him, holding out gentle hands, and turned to power them back towards the boat.
It didn’t take long, and Mulder’s first job was to call in the net. He didn’t give his real ID, leaving a false name with the guard. He wanted no one to connect him with this place. He didn’t even want the guard out here, but that net could not be left in place. Krycek was leaning over the back of the boat, quiet and pouting slightly. Mulder couldn’t stand the look any longer and tacked the boat back towards the shallows where they’d found the net. The boat took three times as long to get to the net as they had earlier, and it was dark by the time they were beyond it. Mulder dropped the anchor only a short swim from the beach. He could see everything glowing, almost as if the pure white sand was bathed in ultra violet light. Sea lions were playing on the shoreline, but Mulder didn’t pay them much attention.
His merman turned, looking at him sadly, then slid down into the water. Mulder couldn’t stand to watch him go, and went into the cabin. He sat and made meticulous notes, long into the night, definitely not wondering if he’d see Krycek again.
-oo0oo-
Alone still the next morning, Mulder made himself a breakfast from the last of the fresh fruit. He considered fishing, but didn’t dare put a hook into the sea. Just staring at the perfectly blue water depressed him, and he considered going back to bed for the day, but that would solve nothing and he needed a bath. He fixed his re-breather and dove in, the water a little cooler today, refreshing him, almost cheering him somewhat.
He struck out towards the shore, alternately floating on his back, then diving down into the shallow water. A few scattered rock formations yielded some interesting lifeforms, and he used the small camera he’d picked up that morning to catalogue the intriguing things he found. He hoped to find an example of Homunculus Pisciculous, but the water was obviously too calm and de-oxygenated for the Sea Squitling, although he found spore traces of the common pseudo-fish in many places.
A solid whoosh of water that sent him tumbling heralded the return of his friend, and he laughed, holding his arms out to receive a load of playful merman.
"Hello, my friend. I missed you," he whispered, and laughed again as he was pushed backwards through the sand as Krycek eagerly rubbed himself all over his pet human.
He felt his mood improve dramatically, and made a great show of thanks as he was offered bits of kelp berries, whelks, barnacles, and other little presents.
Krycek stopped his play and started making those odd upwards nods again, but this time not at Mulder. Turning, Mulder was surprised to see the small brown merman he’d rescued the day before. It regarded him through brilliant blue eyes, backed up by the wall-of-fish that was its mate. Apparently coming to a decision, it started to swim towards Mulder, brought up sharply by the large hand that grabbed a fistful of the speckled brown ‘hair’.
And very slowly, as if circling prey, other mer-folk started to gather around him. Krycek stayed by his side, twitching nervously, as they found themselves at the centre of a slow moving ring. Mulder was both terrified and elated. Females: some with young, one heavily pregnant; old, young, pairs and apparent singles all moved around him. He counted at least thirty in the pod. They were all exquisite, a rainbow of colours, a myriad of gorgeous faces. Anyone of them could have gutted him like a guppy. Even the youngest, who appeared the equivalent of a human two year old, was armed and dangerous, all of them with spines erect – the threat very obvious.
Krycek continued his odd little movements, and these were echoed occasionally by one or other of his fellows. Mulder was fairly certain that there was some kind of sonar communication going on, although he couldn’t feel anything. Right now, surviving this little meet was slightly higher on the agenda anyway.
Am I being tested? Is there something I should do right about now? Is Krycek standing up for me? After what’s been done to them by humans, I honestly wouldn’t blame them if they tried to kill me. Not that I’d like the idea…
The small brown fellow made another move towards Mulder and again was held back. This time he twitched free with obvious irritation. He swam up to them cautiously, and paused in silent communication with Krycek. Mulder had to guess the big guy, who swam very close now, not letting his little mate out of easy reach, had to be nearly two foot longer again than Krycek.
How did he get so muscular? Do mermen work out? It was a ridiculous thought, but he couldn’t help it as his legs were delicately touched by the inquisitive fish he’d rescued the day before. I guess I look kind of deformed to you… Mulder thought, slowly starting to relax.
The pod were still circling, but some had broken off, going about their business amongst the shallows. But even those who didn’t look directly at him were having a hard time hiding their curiosity. They pretended to be cool and indifferent, but they’d keep looking back. He waited for the other shoe to drop, certain acceptance couldn’t be this easy.
One of the females cruised gracefully in front of him, pausing for a moment, her face caught in a rictus of a smile. It struck Mulder as odd, as he’d never seen Krycek, nor any of the others, truly smile before. It was also obviously fake, more of a grimace. She was petite, no more than six foot long, her fins gingery, her skin fine and pale; and even though there was no real comparison he couldn’t help but mentally dub her ‘Dana’. Before him she started to dance. Twisting, displaying pretty fins, her movements so like Krycek’s.
Mulder looked quickly over at Krycek to gauge his reaction to this, but the merman was looking down and away, not offering any clues.
Mulder looked back at her. She was beautiful, no doubt. Her breasts, full and round, never having experienced gravity, her figure strong and fine, never having experienced couch-potato-ism. And he could see the odd scars on her abdomen and chest. Fine lines, some very slightly celoid, none of them detracting from her beauty, although a missing finger marred her fine hands. They looked like… knife wounds…
Mulder’s stomach rebelled, and he swallowed frantically to stop from losing it altogether as he realised how and why she had been scarred. She had been caught: fishermen, military vessels, could be anyone. And apparently she’d been tortured until she gave her captors what they wanted. And Mulder realised why she had been sent – why this damaged temptress was enticing him, trying to get him to show his true colours as what these animals would only perceive as truly evil.
He dropped his eyes, backed a few feet away. He could only guess what she had been through before she escaped. He hoped she had killed a few of them before finding her ocean home again.
At his retreat she stopped her movements, her face falling again into passive purity. Another female moved towards them, and Mulder wondered if he was to be tested again. This one, deep navy and dark chocolate brown, would have been over 40, her ‘hair’ long, her movements regal and flawless. She looked on the human from complete superiority. Her eyes, wide spaced, huge, reminded him of Krycek and he wondered if they were related in some way. She regarded him for a few long moments, assessing him. She passed whatever judgement she had to make, then moved on, gracefully leading most of the other females and young away from the area. Mulder realised she was probably the pod matriarch, and, if he hadn’t been accepted, they had at least decided not to eat him.
"Wow," he said, quietly to himself, clasping the cool fingers that interlaced with his own. "So, you brought me home to meet the family then? Did I pass master?" Mulder’s heart was beating a violent rhythm and he wondered if he was the first human to witness such a meeting, almost certainly he was the first to survive one!
Right then he realised he would not be the first to talk about it. These animals were protected here, by an island uninhabitable due to volcanic activity, and a sea unfishable due to kracken and dolphin breeding grounds. There was no way he’d reveal this location to anyone.
The other merpeople were fading away, not quite game enough to come up and explore – more cautious than dolphins who would have been all over him by now, begging to have their stomachs and tongues rubbed.
That massive grey wasn’t leaving though. He continued to keep a watchful eye on everything in the area. I guess you’re alpha male here, Mulder thought. First choice for making babies, and keeping everyone else in line. Mentally Mulder dubbed him Big Jim, it suited him well, and his little friend… Blair. It had to be a fluffy name for someone that perky. As Jim glided level with Krycek, Mulder’s friend turned on his side slightly, showing his belly, an obvious gesture of submissiveness to the larger animal. Instead of reacting with another show of dominance, Jim put one arm around Krycek’s middle, giving him a quick hug, never taking his eyes off Mulder, before continuing to move around them.
"It looks like your friends must have missed you – I guess you had some homecoming last night."
His voice puzzled the other two, and Blair swam fearlessly right up into his face. Mulder reached out to push all the trailing fins and hair-membrane out of the creature’s face. It wasn’t really a beautiful face, not like his own Krycek, but the features were full and generous, with obvious shining curiosity. A large hand pulled his away before letting him go, and Jim gave him a grim look.
"It’s okay," Mulder kept his voice soothing, "I’m not trying to hurt him, I just wanted to look at him." Blair obviously wasn’t bothered by the touch, so Mulder started again, he couldn’t resist tracing his hand over the face pressed up so close to his own.
He realised his mistake when the large blue tail thumped into his side, sending him tumbling into the sea bottom, knocking the breath from his lungs and almost dislodging his re-breather. He gasped to fill his lungs with air, as Krycek bore down on him, his hands on Mulder’s chest, pushing him into the sand. Mulder made an attempt to get up, and was pushed back down again. He wasn’t being hurt, but Krycek’s jealous displeasure was very obvious.
First Mulder held his hands out and open to show his acceptance of Krycek’s anger, then started to rub the merman’s tail. He kept himself lower than Krycek in the water, ducking his head, "Oh, you big butch thing, you," he teased a little, "There there, let me rub it better." As startled as he had been just for a moment, he couldn’t help but be pleased by the show of possession. Mulder travelled his hands over the merman’s hips, across the genital slit, over his belly, rubbed his chest briskly, and even traced down his arms, linking their fingers.
"I wasn’t flirting with your friend, I just wanted to look at him. I guess this isn’t so amazing to you, but it is to me."
Krycek just floated there, holding his hands contentedly and swaying slightly, as if dancing to unknown music. Whatever temper had been displayed had been forgotten in seconds and now the song of the sea was taking the merman’s attention away.
"Hey, hey, pay attention to me," Mulder jabbed him in the belly, "If you won’t let me talk to your friends, then you have to keep me company, or keep me out of trouble."
The jab, if nothing else, caught Krycek’s attention, and he slid down the water, rubbing his body against Mulder’s. Once again the focus of fishy attention, Mulder wrapped his arms around his lover, rubbing his back and carding his fingers through the fins.
As their hips pressed together, "Will you make it with me in front of the clan?" Mulder asked, chills of illicit excitement spinning down his spine at the idea of claiming his mate, or perhaps being claimed, in front of all the other merpeople. Of course, without the same cultural mores as humans, the other merpeople wouldn’t even think twice about playing with each other ‘in public’, but Mulder found the idea arousing in the extreme.
The small speckled Blair was still darting around their immediate area, absolutely open with his curiosity about the human. Apparently staring wasn’t considered rude as with other primate cultures. Mulder didn’t mind at all as Blair shot past them again, although he kept an eye on Jim – as the huge grey kept an eye on Mulder. Saving Blair’s life might entitle Mulder to live a little longer, but obviously it didn’t entitle the human to trust. And everywhere that Blair darted, Jim would cruise along behind him. As Krycek hugged Mulder harder, gyrating their bodies against each other, Mulder was almost as turned on by the inherent threat of the audience as by his lover’s interest.
Mulder let his mate set the pace, humming contentedly under his breath as his erection was teased by gentle fingers. The merman was learning new techniques all the time, and he knew how to give a decent hand-job without using his claws now. Blowjobs were still a no-no. Although the merman was good with his winkle-picking tongue, those teeth still irked Mulder. Blair was swimming so close, Mulder couldn’t help thinking the merman was taking notes. I’m corrupting the culture of these people, after thoroughly corrupting one individual… Mulder worried momentarily. Krycek was learning from him, emulating human behaviour occasionally. But what harm can new sexual techniques cause?
Krycek was slowly drawing them through the water closer to the beach. Shifting sands under his feet let Mulder know they were close. He popped his head up above the water, and saw that what he had dismissed as sea lions the night before were actually even more of the merpeople. His heart soared; he could feel it thumping against his ribs. In all of his life, and all of his hunting, he had thought he’d die happy if he ever saw even just one of these creatures alive. Now he held one in his arms and was surrounded by others. Further up the beach, there were even more of them, fins up, drying in the balmy sun like displaying peacocks. Or half in, half out of the water, chewing on kelp. Young ones played with each other in the shallows, twisting and turning around their bodies like brightly coloured otters. One extremely old gentleman, grizzled and gnarled, yet still gorgeous in his decaying dignity, was snoring loudly in the shade of a cyclone-twisted palm tree.
Mulder laughed out loud with joy. The sound startled him – being so rare. And it certainly startled the merpeople. Some eased away, others cocked their heads and leaned forward. He suddenly decided to sweep Krycek up into his arms. He was heavier than a human male, so Mulder was hard pressed not to topple over in the water, but he swung him up, and stared down into slightly startled, but obviously amused ocean-deep eyes.
