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Below are definitions for some of the words I used.
Rating: NC-17
For other info, see part one.
guarico--come!
jan jan--yes
tekina--teacher
ua--no
ja--like this
Arijuna awoke with a smile on his lips. He had had good dreams and their presence lingered about him still. He had a good feeling about this coming day, and his hunches usually proved correct. He swam to shore and looked over at Pintel, who was lying in the shade of the palm trees that lined the coastline. He considered going up to him to watch him sleep, but his tail felt too restless from days mainly spent on the shore. Today he wanted to swim.
He smiled happily as he swam away from the shore. It had been to long since the last time he’d had a nice, long swim. He still swam in the mornings to get fish for them to eat, but most of the rest of the day was spent on land. He wouldn’t mind as much if he could move about a little more easily. He sometimes envied Pintel for his long legs. The best Arijuna could do was drag himself with his arms and try to push himself forward with his tail, which was slow and hard. He depended on Pintel to carry him nearly everywhere. Not that he complained to much about it. He rather enjoyed being cradled in Pintel’s arms, pressed tightly against his body, close enough to dip his face in the crook of his throat and lick his skin. Not that he’d dared to do so, but it was very tempting. As tempting as touching his feet. He hadn’t thought of asking for permission, for he did not think Pintel would consent. He had been delighted when Pintel offered. He had looked his legs and feet over from every angle, fascinated. In his scrutiny, he hadn’t realized how close he’d come to touching his groin. He didn’t know how Pintel would have taken that. Although he had not seemed too upset about it, nor had he stopped him. And the look in Pintel’s eyes when he’d said goodnight had not been an upset one. Rather the gesture seemed to have been made to ensure Arijuna that he was not upset. Perhaps Pintel shared his feelings. Maybe it wasn’t too much to hope for.
He smiled hopefully as he swam past a school of small fish; they skittered in all different directions to let him pass. He’d missed this. As intriguing as the land was-- and, of course, Pintel-- he was still a sea creature and he needed the ocean. He didn’t want to leave it today, but neither did he want to leave Pintel alone on the shore. Perhaps he could persuade Pintel to join him.
After he’d had a long, refreshing swim, Arijuna returned to shore. Pintel was already awake. He had his eyes shielded from the sun with one hand as he looked across the water. Arijuna didn’t go up to the sand like he did every morning. Instead, he stayed out not to far away and shouted, ‘Guarico!’ as he motioned for Pintel to come.
Pintel stood still for a moment, before shouting back, ‘What?’
Arijuna simply repeated the gesture, an inviting smile on his lips. When Pintel still didn’t move, he lied back on the water and floated past him. He shut his eyes against the sharp brightness of the sun and relaxed on the water, steering with his tail. When he opened them again, he saw that Pintel had removed his shirt and was working at his breeches. Arijuna stilled. He stared in growing appreciation at the tanned skin, burnished by the sun, the wide chest and back, with their light patterning of scars from past battles, and at what he’d nearly touched the night before. Arijuna sank into the water. He hurriedly resurfaced and resumed his staring. Pintel was very nicely built.
A chuckle drew his attention. He saw Pintel looking at him and he dove back into the water, but not before he’d seen Pintel’s amused smile. From beneath the surface, he saw Pintel slowly enter the water. When it reached up to his chest, he stopped. Arijuna approached him, but he didn’t resurface. He swam in circles around him, gazing at his nude skin. After the third pass, he felt a hand on his tail, stroking along it down to his fins as he swam past. On the next pass, the touch began at his shoulder. Pintel didn’t move his hand much, he simply let it hang in the water, waiting for Arijuna to pass by. On the third pass, his hand briefly caught Arijuna’s hair. Arijuna circled him five more times, delighting in the warm pressure of Pintel’s hands. Finally, he broke the cycle. Through the water, he smiled teasingly at Pintel and swam away. He didn’t go far, only a few feet. Pintel advanced a couple of steps, but he didn’t dare go any deeper.
‘Arijuna,’ he called.
When nothing happened, he motioned underneath the water for Arijuna to come up. Arijuna did so about a yard in front of Pintel.
‘Jan jan?’ he asked.
‘I can’t swim.’
‘You can’t swim?’ Arijuna repeated, frowning. Soon he brightened, and said, ‘I teach you.’
‘You’ll teach me to swim.’
‘Jan jan, yes. I good tekina.’
‘But you don’t know the human way.’
‘I seen humans swim. I show you.’
‘You’ve seen humans swim? Very few of us know how.’
‘Some swim.’
‘Aye. But you’ve got to watch for a long time to see one of us at it.’
‘I have been watching long time. I like watching you.’
Pintel caught the slight emphasis that Arijuna placed on the you.
‘Well, you’ve done enough watching. It’s time for teaching, tekina.’
Arijuna smiled, glad that Pintel had accepted his proposal, although he wasn’t sure how he would teach him or if he even could. He had seen humans swim for brief periods of time and he thought that he’d gotten the basics of it. Still, it would be difficult. He had been gliding through the ocean since birth. Pintel, on the other hand, well, he had legs. Arijuna didn’t know how he’d teach him how to move those. Even so, he was eager to give it a try.
Pintel was looking at him expectantly. Arijuna went with the first thing that he thought of. He rested on his back on the water like before and asked, ‘You can do this?’ He didn’t know what to call it. His kind had no name for it, since most didn’t wander to the surface and had no use for it.
‘Float?’ Pintel supplied.
‘Float.’ Arijuna repeated the new word. ‘Jan jan, you can float?’
‘No, don’t reckon I can.’
Arijuna slipped into the water.
‘It’s easy.’ He rose to the surface again and rested there. ‘You lift your body ja.’
Pintel remained unconvinced. Certainly it was easy for Arijuna to do, but for him it would not be. He hesitantly laid his arms on the water. They bobbed gently with the water’s movement. That was one part. Now his feet needed to leave the floor.
‘It won’t work. I’ll sink.’
‘Sink?’
Pintel lowered one of his arms into the water, saying, ‘Sink.’
‘Ua, you not sink. I lift you.’
Before Pintel could respond, Arijuna submerged and slipped behind him. He placed his hands on his lower back and his tail on his legs and pushed forward and upwards. He caught Pintel’s shoulders with his own as the startled man began to sink.
Raising his head out of the water, he said into Pintel’s ear, ‘Your feet on mine.’
Pintel did as he was instructed and Arijuna lifted him to the surface. Arijuna held on for a little longer than necessary, enjoying the feel of Pintel’s bare skin pressed against his own. When he did release him, an amazed Pintel floated freely.
Arijuna popped his head out of the water in front of Pintel and said, ‘See, easy.’
Pintel was quiet for a few moments. It was an odd sensation, lying on the water like that, just like a vessel. He wasn’t sure if he should move; doing so might cause him to slide through the water.
‘Easy for you,’ he said. ‘You lifted me up.’
Although Arijuna had told him he would do so, he had still been surprised by the feel of Arijuna’s skin. It had been a bold move on his part. That and the way he had explored his feet the night before made him suspect that it had to do with more than just floating.
‘Only now,’ Arijuna said. ‘So you learn. Later you do it without me.’
Pintel carefully dipped his feet into the water, hoping he didn’t fall in too quickly. He failed. He barely had time to close his eyes before his head went underwater. He felt Arijuna grab his arms and pull him to the surface.
‘Careful,’ Arijuna said, his voice sharp with concern.
Pintel opened his eyes.
‘Probably shouldn’t have done that,’ Pintel said, planting his feet firmly on the ground. ‘Don’t worry, the water here ain’t deep enough for anything to happen to me.’
Arijuna lowered his eyes.
‘I know,’ he said.
But he still didn’t let go of Pintel. Instead, he placed one of his hands on Pintel’s left shoulder blade. Pintel’s skin tingled at the warm contact. He recognized the desirous look in Arijuna’s eyes. He liked it.
‘You can let go, you know,’ he said.
A slight frown creased Arijuna’s brow.
‘Let go?’ he asked in the tone he always used for when he did not understand.
‘You can stop touching me.’ He said it mildly to counter the bluntness of the phrase.
Arijuna’s expression grew troubled nonetheless and he appeared uncertain as to whether he should release Pintel or not. Pintel relieved his doubts by brushing his leg against Arijuna’s tail. Arijuna’s eyelids fluttered. A grin broke across his lips.
‘I don’t want to let go.’
His hand slip down Pintel’s back.
‘I like this.’
This was the opening Pintel had been waiting for. Placing his hand on Arijuna’s nape, he pulled him forward and kissed him. He didn’t bother to start it out slow, but moved into it with the desire that had been building for some time now. Arijuna responded just as eagerly, wrapping his arms tighter around Pintel’s torso. Pintel released Arijuna’s mouth to work his way over his jaw, down his throat and over onto his shoulder. He lapped at the soft skin, relishing the salty-sweet taste the sea water lent to it. He would have continued on downwards, but the water impeded it. They needed to get back to land. Arijuna must have been thinking the same thing, for he started pushing Pintel toward the shore. It was slow going, for neither wanted to let go of the other, but they finally landed on the wet sand, far enough away so that the water didn’t wash over their heads, yet a few waves still splashed over their lower bodies. Pintel lied atop Arijuna, straddling him. It was then that he felt a hardness on his hip that answered his own. Disentangling himself from Arijuna’s embrace, Pintel looked between their bodies and saw Arijuna’s cock, fully erect, next to his own. He noticed a large fold of skin behind it, half shrouding his testicles.
‘There it is,’ Pintel said. ‘I was wondering.’
‘What?’
Pintel looked up to see Arijuna shoot him an indignant look.
‘You think I not have one?’
‘Course not. Just hadn’t seen it, is all.’
He grasped the long shaft in one hand, enjoying Arijuna’s surprised jump and cry. He stroked it leisurely, rubbing his thumb across the head with every downward stroke. Arijuna’s chest rose and fell quickly, drawing in short, shuddering breaths. His hands grabbed ineffectually at the sand. His hair, lustrous in the bright sunlight, stuck onto his sweaty skin.
Pintel relished each of Arijuna’s reactions to his ministrations: the dilated eyes, the parted lips, the desperate writhing under his hand. Beautiful, Pintel thought. Absolutely beautiful. But as much as he wanted to continue watching Arijuna until he spilled his seed over Pintel’s hand, his own body demanded release as well. He lied back atop him, aligning their bodies so that their erections brushed each other, and let go of Arijuna’s.
As soon as he had done so, Arijuna pushed at Pintel’s shoulders and rolled them over. Giving Pintel no time to recover, Arijuna thrusted against him. Not that Pintel really minded. Their erections brushed deliciously against each other, setting Pintel’s nerve endings afire. Pintel spread his legs further to better accommodate Arijuna’s body. He cast one leg over Arijuna’s tail, bringing them closer. His hips moved upwards, meeting Arijuna’s thrusts halfway. Arijuna’s moans were loud in his ear, his quick breath hot on his skin. His own moans joined them. He grasped at Arijuna’s back and sucked at his shoulder, his teeth skimming the skin’s surface. Arijuna tensed as he came; Pintel followed him soon after.
Arijuna sank atop him; Pintel welcomed the warm weight. His eyes closed, he enjoyed the feel of Arijuna’s face nestled in the crook of his throat, his warm breath on his skin, their chests rising and falling together, the waves that he’d forgotten lapping at his legs. From the dreamy haze that had settled over his senses, he felt soft lips kiss his throat.
‘I liked that.’ Arijuna’s voice was muffled by his skin.
Pintel smiled.
‘Better than swimming,’ he said.
He opened his eyes. Arijuna’s shoulder was inches from his face. Teeth marks were imprinted on the skin from when Pintel bit the tender flesh as he came. He gently licked the small injury.
‘Much better.’
‘Aye,’ Arijuna breathed in his ear.
He lifted his head and looked at Pintel with a smile so bright with happiness that it gave Pintel pause. He remembered that night when he’d first seen Arijuna. There had been such curiosity in his eyes and a longing that had been visible even with only the tenuous light of the lamps.
‘You’ve wanted this for a long time, haven’t you?’ he said.
‘Want?’ Arijuna asked.
‘Would like to do something, or have it.’
‘Oh. I have liked to have done this for a long time, aye.’
‘Since when?’
‘First time I seen you. On the ship.’
His suspicions confirmed, Pintel wondered how he had not noticed Arijuna’s interest before. He’d taken Arijuna’s enthusiasm and curiosity as that which accompanied the discovery of something new. And he himself had been caught up in his amazement at finding himself with a merman.
‘That long, eh? So all this time you’ve been keeping me company you were hungry for me? And I didn’t even notice.’
‘I didn’t know you wanted me. I thought if I tell you maybe you want me to go. I didn’t want you to do that.’
‘I wouldn’t have.’
Arijuna smiled.
‘I know now.’
‘And when did you learn that? You seemed pretty sure before this whole thing started.’
Arijuna placed his hand on Pintel’s inner thigh and stroked upwards. Pintel recognized the gesture. He started growing hard again.
‘You didn’t stop me,’ Arijuna said, grinning.
‘But you stopped anyway,’ a frustrated edge entered his voice.
Arijuna’s hand settled on Pintel’s hip.
‘I didn’t know know, not then.’
‘Took you a while to figure out, eh?’
Arijuna nodded, then stopped as his eyes narrowed in realization.
‘You didn’t see my wanting you either.’
‘True.’
Arijuna’s hand had strayed to Pintel’s abdomen; ever in motion, his fingers idly stroked his skin. Despite its proximity to Pintel’s erection, it never touched it, though it wandered close by at times. Pintel could not tell if this was deliberate or not. It did not seem possible that Arijuna had not felt his hardness, lying atop him as he was. Either way, direct measures needed to be taken. Taking hold of Arijuna’s hips, Pintel braced his left foot on the ground and flipped them over. Arijuna landed with a surprised gasp. His eyes widened as Pintel rubber his erection on the base of his tail.
‘Let’s stop talking.’
Arijuna quickly nodded.
Pintel leaned down and kissed him; he parted those sweet lips with his tongue and sucked its counterpart into his mouth. Arijuna passionately returned the kiss, tasting and savoring in turn. He wrapped his arms around Pintel and raised his hips, grazing Pintel’s erection with his own. Pintel growled into his mouth. He released Arijuna’s mouth and moved to suckle his throat. He felt Arijuna’s pulse thrum excitedly though the thin veil of skin under his mouth. He reached between their bodies, originally intending to take Arijuna’s member in his hand; instead, he placed it on Arijuna’s hip, stilling his movement. He had a better idea. Ignoring Arijuna’s protests, he moved down his body until his head was just above his erection. As soon as he grasped it in his hand Arijuna’s protests stopped. A flick of his tongue across the head had Arijuna bucking under him, a gasped cry flying from his lips. He took the tip into his mouth, wrapping his lips around it tightly. Keeping his hand firmly on the base, Pintel slowly lowered his mouth, taking in as much of Arijuna as his body allowed. Arijuna’s breath was very quick and shallow. His nails dug into Pintel’s back. Pintel moved back up, beginning an unhurried up and down motion. The flat of his tongue licked Arijuna’s underside with every upward stroke. His own cock rubbed against Arijuna’s tail, demanding attention. Bracing himself on the ground with one arm, he reached down with the other and grabbed himself. His hands pace was quicker than his mouth’s, yet Arijuna came first, shooting his hot seed down Pintel’s throat. Pintel held him in his mouth until Arijuna was spent. Pintel came soon after, his cry of completion muffled by Arijuna’s stomach.
Sated, Pintel relaxed atop Arijuna. He considered moving up and lying down next to him face to face, but he was comfortable enough where he was. Despite his thinness, Arijuna’s stomach made for a nice pillow. He watched as the strange fold of skin that had concealed Arijuna’s genitals shrouded them once more. Once closed, it blended in with the rest of the skin almost seamlessly. It was easy to see how he had missed it. He laid his hand flat on the grey tail and stroked it leisurely as far as he could reach. Above him, he heard Arijuna sigh contentedly.
‘I could get used to this,’ he murmured. ‘Me very own merman.’
‘Your merman?’ Arijuna responded, happiness evident in his voice. ‘Then you are my human.’
‘I suppose that’d be right.’
A part of Pintel thought about the compromise implied in his words. He’d never had a firm attachment to anyone before, not of this kind. Companions changed from port to port. Words were just that, words. Yet he did mean them this time. He’d grown fond of Arijuna. He didn’t know if it went any deeper than that yet, but the words felt true somehow.
He looked up at him. Arijuna had that bright smile on his face again. Pintel’s hand stilled on his tail. Maybe there was something.
His stomach gave an uncomfortable twinge. He had been hungry for some time, but had been ignoring it in favor of more pleasing activities. By now it was too pronounced.
‘I’m hungry.’
Arijuna’s eyes widened in dismay.
‘You have not eaten anything. All this time.’
Before Pintel could respond, his head fell to the ground. Arijuna had flipped onto his stomach and was dragging himself to the water. Quickly, Pintel grabbed him by the waist.
‘Where are you going?’
‘You’re hungry. I will go get fish.’
‘There are two left from yesterday. And there’s fruit.’
‘They are old.’ Arijuna’s expression and the tone of his voice made it clear that he wouldn’t entertain the thought of eating fish that weren’t fresh. ‘And fruit is too little. You need more.’
Pintel sighed. ‘Fine.’
The corners of Arijuna’s lips lifted in amusement.
‘I come back.’
‘I know that. Just hurry, will you?’
He released Arijuna, who swiftly slipped into the water.
Arijuna returned as quickly as he could, his arms brimming with as many fish as he could carry. Pintel already had a fire going, ready to cook the fish Arijuna brought. He only cooked half of them for himself; Arijuna ate his raw. This had surprised Pintel at first, until he considered that there was no way to cook anything underwater. He was now accustomed to seeing Arijuna eat the slippery slivers of flesh. Arijuna had been as intrigued about the cooked meat. His eyes alight with curiosity, he watched the rosy flesh turn a flaky white, burned brown in spots. He had even ventured to taste it when Pintel had offered him a piece. He had not disliked it exactly, but neither had he liked it. It tasted and felt rather odd. He stuck to eating his fish raw.
After eating, Pintel sat in the shade of a palm tree, his back against its trunk, waiting for the food to settle in his stomach. He watched Arijuna, who lay at his feet, his hands leisurely stroking one of Pintel’s legs. One hand moved smoothly down his calf, down his ankle, around his heel, and up his instep. Pintel’s foot twitched.
‘That tickles,’ he said.
Arijuna glanced up at him, but there was no apology in his eyes, only a mischievous gleam.
‘Tickles,’ he murmured.
He passed his fingertips lightly over Pintel’s sensitive skin. Despite his best efforts, Pintel couldn’t keep himself from laughing. He’d always been terribly ticklish in his feet, and Arijuna was taking full advantage of it.
‘Stop! Stop that!’ Pintel cried.
Arijuna did not relent.
Finally, Pintel wrested his foot from his grasp and jumped on him. His hands roamed over Arijuna’s body, searching for ticklish spots. He cried out in triumph when Arijuna squirmed and giggled as Pintel touched a spot at the back of his tail and another on his stomach.
‘Let’s see how you like it,’ Pintel growled, smiling at Arijuna’s protests.
Failing to dislodge Pintel’s hands, Arijuna attacked Pintel anew and discovered that his throat was also ticklish. They kept at their amusing task until they were both breathless from laughter. Slowly, tickling became caresses, laughs became moans, and hands and mouths conducted far more pleasurable explorations.
They eventually made it back to the water to continue Pintel’s swimming lessons. It was slow going, for the frequent contact between their bodies proved far too tempting too resist. At the end of the day, after several trips back to land, Pintel finally managed to float by himself. He had not exactly mastered it, but it would do.
They finished off the last of the fish just as the sun was dipping below the horizon. Soon after, Pintel settled down to sleep under the palm trees and Arijuna slipped back into the water.
Rating: NC-17
For other info, see part one.
guarico--come!
jan jan--yes
tekina--teacher
ua--no
ja--like this
Arijuna awoke with a smile on his lips. He had had good dreams and their presence lingered about him still. He had a good feeling about this coming day, and his hunches usually proved correct. He swam to shore and looked over at Pintel, who was lying in the shade of the palm trees that lined the coastline. He considered going up to him to watch him sleep, but his tail felt too restless from days mainly spent on the shore. Today he wanted to swim.
He smiled happily as he swam away from the shore. It had been to long since the last time he’d had a nice, long swim. He still swam in the mornings to get fish for them to eat, but most of the rest of the day was spent on land. He wouldn’t mind as much if he could move about a little more easily. He sometimes envied Pintel for his long legs. The best Arijuna could do was drag himself with his arms and try to push himself forward with his tail, which was slow and hard. He depended on Pintel to carry him nearly everywhere. Not that he complained to much about it. He rather enjoyed being cradled in Pintel’s arms, pressed tightly against his body, close enough to dip his face in the crook of his throat and lick his skin. Not that he’d dared to do so, but it was very tempting. As tempting as touching his feet. He hadn’t thought of asking for permission, for he did not think Pintel would consent. He had been delighted when Pintel offered. He had looked his legs and feet over from every angle, fascinated. In his scrutiny, he hadn’t realized how close he’d come to touching his groin. He didn’t know how Pintel would have taken that. Although he had not seemed too upset about it, nor had he stopped him. And the look in Pintel’s eyes when he’d said goodnight had not been an upset one. Rather the gesture seemed to have been made to ensure Arijuna that he was not upset. Perhaps Pintel shared his feelings. Maybe it wasn’t too much to hope for.
He smiled hopefully as he swam past a school of small fish; they skittered in all different directions to let him pass. He’d missed this. As intriguing as the land was-- and, of course, Pintel-- he was still a sea creature and he needed the ocean. He didn’t want to leave it today, but neither did he want to leave Pintel alone on the shore. Perhaps he could persuade Pintel to join him.
After he’d had a long, refreshing swim, Arijuna returned to shore. Pintel was already awake. He had his eyes shielded from the sun with one hand as he looked across the water. Arijuna didn’t go up to the sand like he did every morning. Instead, he stayed out not to far away and shouted, ‘Guarico!’ as he motioned for Pintel to come.
Pintel stood still for a moment, before shouting back, ‘What?’
Arijuna simply repeated the gesture, an inviting smile on his lips. When Pintel still didn’t move, he lied back on the water and floated past him. He shut his eyes against the sharp brightness of the sun and relaxed on the water, steering with his tail. When he opened them again, he saw that Pintel had removed his shirt and was working at his breeches. Arijuna stilled. He stared in growing appreciation at the tanned skin, burnished by the sun, the wide chest and back, with their light patterning of scars from past battles, and at what he’d nearly touched the night before. Arijuna sank into the water. He hurriedly resurfaced and resumed his staring. Pintel was very nicely built.
A chuckle drew his attention. He saw Pintel looking at him and he dove back into the water, but not before he’d seen Pintel’s amused smile. From beneath the surface, he saw Pintel slowly enter the water. When it reached up to his chest, he stopped. Arijuna approached him, but he didn’t resurface. He swam in circles around him, gazing at his nude skin. After the third pass, he felt a hand on his tail, stroking along it down to his fins as he swam past. On the next pass, the touch began at his shoulder. Pintel didn’t move his hand much, he simply let it hang in the water, waiting for Arijuna to pass by. On the third pass, his hand briefly caught Arijuna’s hair. Arijuna circled him five more times, delighting in the warm pressure of Pintel’s hands. Finally, he broke the cycle. Through the water, he smiled teasingly at Pintel and swam away. He didn’t go far, only a few feet. Pintel advanced a couple of steps, but he didn’t dare go any deeper.
‘Arijuna,’ he called.
When nothing happened, he motioned underneath the water for Arijuna to come up. Arijuna did so about a yard in front of Pintel.
‘Jan jan?’ he asked.
‘I can’t swim.’
‘You can’t swim?’ Arijuna repeated, frowning. Soon he brightened, and said, ‘I teach you.’
‘You’ll teach me to swim.’
‘Jan jan, yes. I good tekina.’
‘But you don’t know the human way.’
‘I seen humans swim. I show you.’
‘You’ve seen humans swim? Very few of us know how.’
‘Some swim.’
‘Aye. But you’ve got to watch for a long time to see one of us at it.’
‘I have been watching long time. I like watching you.’
Pintel caught the slight emphasis that Arijuna placed on the you.
‘Well, you’ve done enough watching. It’s time for teaching, tekina.’
Arijuna smiled, glad that Pintel had accepted his proposal, although he wasn’t sure how he would teach him or if he even could. He had seen humans swim for brief periods of time and he thought that he’d gotten the basics of it. Still, it would be difficult. He had been gliding through the ocean since birth. Pintel, on the other hand, well, he had legs. Arijuna didn’t know how he’d teach him how to move those. Even so, he was eager to give it a try.
Pintel was looking at him expectantly. Arijuna went with the first thing that he thought of. He rested on his back on the water like before and asked, ‘You can do this?’ He didn’t know what to call it. His kind had no name for it, since most didn’t wander to the surface and had no use for it.
‘Float?’ Pintel supplied.
‘Float.’ Arijuna repeated the new word. ‘Jan jan, you can float?’
‘No, don’t reckon I can.’
Arijuna slipped into the water.
‘It’s easy.’ He rose to the surface again and rested there. ‘You lift your body ja.’
Pintel remained unconvinced. Certainly it was easy for Arijuna to do, but for him it would not be. He hesitantly laid his arms on the water. They bobbed gently with the water’s movement. That was one part. Now his feet needed to leave the floor.
‘It won’t work. I’ll sink.’
‘Sink?’
Pintel lowered one of his arms into the water, saying, ‘Sink.’
‘Ua, you not sink. I lift you.’
Before Pintel could respond, Arijuna submerged and slipped behind him. He placed his hands on his lower back and his tail on his legs and pushed forward and upwards. He caught Pintel’s shoulders with his own as the startled man began to sink.
Raising his head out of the water, he said into Pintel’s ear, ‘Your feet on mine.’
Pintel did as he was instructed and Arijuna lifted him to the surface. Arijuna held on for a little longer than necessary, enjoying the feel of Pintel’s bare skin pressed against his own. When he did release him, an amazed Pintel floated freely.
Arijuna popped his head out of the water in front of Pintel and said, ‘See, easy.’
Pintel was quiet for a few moments. It was an odd sensation, lying on the water like that, just like a vessel. He wasn’t sure if he should move; doing so might cause him to slide through the water.
‘Easy for you,’ he said. ‘You lifted me up.’
Although Arijuna had told him he would do so, he had still been surprised by the feel of Arijuna’s skin. It had been a bold move on his part. That and the way he had explored his feet the night before made him suspect that it had to do with more than just floating.
‘Only now,’ Arijuna said. ‘So you learn. Later you do it without me.’
Pintel carefully dipped his feet into the water, hoping he didn’t fall in too quickly. He failed. He barely had time to close his eyes before his head went underwater. He felt Arijuna grab his arms and pull him to the surface.
‘Careful,’ Arijuna said, his voice sharp with concern.
Pintel opened his eyes.
‘Probably shouldn’t have done that,’ Pintel said, planting his feet firmly on the ground. ‘Don’t worry, the water here ain’t deep enough for anything to happen to me.’
Arijuna lowered his eyes.
‘I know,’ he said.
But he still didn’t let go of Pintel. Instead, he placed one of his hands on Pintel’s left shoulder blade. Pintel’s skin tingled at the warm contact. He recognized the desirous look in Arijuna’s eyes. He liked it.
‘You can let go, you know,’ he said.
A slight frown creased Arijuna’s brow.
‘Let go?’ he asked in the tone he always used for when he did not understand.
‘You can stop touching me.’ He said it mildly to counter the bluntness of the phrase.
Arijuna’s expression grew troubled nonetheless and he appeared uncertain as to whether he should release Pintel or not. Pintel relieved his doubts by brushing his leg against Arijuna’s tail. Arijuna’s eyelids fluttered. A grin broke across his lips.
‘I don’t want to let go.’
His hand slip down Pintel’s back.
‘I like this.’
This was the opening Pintel had been waiting for. Placing his hand on Arijuna’s nape, he pulled him forward and kissed him. He didn’t bother to start it out slow, but moved into it with the desire that had been building for some time now. Arijuna responded just as eagerly, wrapping his arms tighter around Pintel’s torso. Pintel released Arijuna’s mouth to work his way over his jaw, down his throat and over onto his shoulder. He lapped at the soft skin, relishing the salty-sweet taste the sea water lent to it. He would have continued on downwards, but the water impeded it. They needed to get back to land. Arijuna must have been thinking the same thing, for he started pushing Pintel toward the shore. It was slow going, for neither wanted to let go of the other, but they finally landed on the wet sand, far enough away so that the water didn’t wash over their heads, yet a few waves still splashed over their lower bodies. Pintel lied atop Arijuna, straddling him. It was then that he felt a hardness on his hip that answered his own. Disentangling himself from Arijuna’s embrace, Pintel looked between their bodies and saw Arijuna’s cock, fully erect, next to his own. He noticed a large fold of skin behind it, half shrouding his testicles.
‘There it is,’ Pintel said. ‘I was wondering.’
‘What?’
Pintel looked up to see Arijuna shoot him an indignant look.
‘You think I not have one?’
‘Course not. Just hadn’t seen it, is all.’
He grasped the long shaft in one hand, enjoying Arijuna’s surprised jump and cry. He stroked it leisurely, rubbing his thumb across the head with every downward stroke. Arijuna’s chest rose and fell quickly, drawing in short, shuddering breaths. His hands grabbed ineffectually at the sand. His hair, lustrous in the bright sunlight, stuck onto his sweaty skin.
Pintel relished each of Arijuna’s reactions to his ministrations: the dilated eyes, the parted lips, the desperate writhing under his hand. Beautiful, Pintel thought. Absolutely beautiful. But as much as he wanted to continue watching Arijuna until he spilled his seed over Pintel’s hand, his own body demanded release as well. He lied back atop him, aligning their bodies so that their erections brushed each other, and let go of Arijuna’s.
As soon as he had done so, Arijuna pushed at Pintel’s shoulders and rolled them over. Giving Pintel no time to recover, Arijuna thrusted against him. Not that Pintel really minded. Their erections brushed deliciously against each other, setting Pintel’s nerve endings afire. Pintel spread his legs further to better accommodate Arijuna’s body. He cast one leg over Arijuna’s tail, bringing them closer. His hips moved upwards, meeting Arijuna’s thrusts halfway. Arijuna’s moans were loud in his ear, his quick breath hot on his skin. His own moans joined them. He grasped at Arijuna’s back and sucked at his shoulder, his teeth skimming the skin’s surface. Arijuna tensed as he came; Pintel followed him soon after.
Arijuna sank atop him; Pintel welcomed the warm weight. His eyes closed, he enjoyed the feel of Arijuna’s face nestled in the crook of his throat, his warm breath on his skin, their chests rising and falling together, the waves that he’d forgotten lapping at his legs. From the dreamy haze that had settled over his senses, he felt soft lips kiss his throat.
‘I liked that.’ Arijuna’s voice was muffled by his skin.
Pintel smiled.
‘Better than swimming,’ he said.
He opened his eyes. Arijuna’s shoulder was inches from his face. Teeth marks were imprinted on the skin from when Pintel bit the tender flesh as he came. He gently licked the small injury.
‘Much better.’
‘Aye,’ Arijuna breathed in his ear.
He lifted his head and looked at Pintel with a smile so bright with happiness that it gave Pintel pause. He remembered that night when he’d first seen Arijuna. There had been such curiosity in his eyes and a longing that had been visible even with only the tenuous light of the lamps.
‘You’ve wanted this for a long time, haven’t you?’ he said.
‘Want?’ Arijuna asked.
‘Would like to do something, or have it.’
‘Oh. I have liked to have done this for a long time, aye.’
‘Since when?’
‘First time I seen you. On the ship.’
His suspicions confirmed, Pintel wondered how he had not noticed Arijuna’s interest before. He’d taken Arijuna’s enthusiasm and curiosity as that which accompanied the discovery of something new. And he himself had been caught up in his amazement at finding himself with a merman.
‘That long, eh? So all this time you’ve been keeping me company you were hungry for me? And I didn’t even notice.’
‘I didn’t know you wanted me. I thought if I tell you maybe you want me to go. I didn’t want you to do that.’
‘I wouldn’t have.’
Arijuna smiled.
‘I know now.’
‘And when did you learn that? You seemed pretty sure before this whole thing started.’
Arijuna placed his hand on Pintel’s inner thigh and stroked upwards. Pintel recognized the gesture. He started growing hard again.
‘You didn’t stop me,’ Arijuna said, grinning.
‘But you stopped anyway,’ a frustrated edge entered his voice.
Arijuna’s hand settled on Pintel’s hip.
‘I didn’t know know, not then.’
‘Took you a while to figure out, eh?’
Arijuna nodded, then stopped as his eyes narrowed in realization.
‘You didn’t see my wanting you either.’
‘True.’
Arijuna’s hand had strayed to Pintel’s abdomen; ever in motion, his fingers idly stroked his skin. Despite its proximity to Pintel’s erection, it never touched it, though it wandered close by at times. Pintel could not tell if this was deliberate or not. It did not seem possible that Arijuna had not felt his hardness, lying atop him as he was. Either way, direct measures needed to be taken. Taking hold of Arijuna’s hips, Pintel braced his left foot on the ground and flipped them over. Arijuna landed with a surprised gasp. His eyes widened as Pintel rubber his erection on the base of his tail.
‘Let’s stop talking.’
Arijuna quickly nodded.
Pintel leaned down and kissed him; he parted those sweet lips with his tongue and sucked its counterpart into his mouth. Arijuna passionately returned the kiss, tasting and savoring in turn. He wrapped his arms around Pintel and raised his hips, grazing Pintel’s erection with his own. Pintel growled into his mouth. He released Arijuna’s mouth and moved to suckle his throat. He felt Arijuna’s pulse thrum excitedly though the thin veil of skin under his mouth. He reached between their bodies, originally intending to take Arijuna’s member in his hand; instead, he placed it on Arijuna’s hip, stilling his movement. He had a better idea. Ignoring Arijuna’s protests, he moved down his body until his head was just above his erection. As soon as he grasped it in his hand Arijuna’s protests stopped. A flick of his tongue across the head had Arijuna bucking under him, a gasped cry flying from his lips. He took the tip into his mouth, wrapping his lips around it tightly. Keeping his hand firmly on the base, Pintel slowly lowered his mouth, taking in as much of Arijuna as his body allowed. Arijuna’s breath was very quick and shallow. His nails dug into Pintel’s back. Pintel moved back up, beginning an unhurried up and down motion. The flat of his tongue licked Arijuna’s underside with every upward stroke. His own cock rubbed against Arijuna’s tail, demanding attention. Bracing himself on the ground with one arm, he reached down with the other and grabbed himself. His hands pace was quicker than his mouth’s, yet Arijuna came first, shooting his hot seed down Pintel’s throat. Pintel held him in his mouth until Arijuna was spent. Pintel came soon after, his cry of completion muffled by Arijuna’s stomach.
Sated, Pintel relaxed atop Arijuna. He considered moving up and lying down next to him face to face, but he was comfortable enough where he was. Despite his thinness, Arijuna’s stomach made for a nice pillow. He watched as the strange fold of skin that had concealed Arijuna’s genitals shrouded them once more. Once closed, it blended in with the rest of the skin almost seamlessly. It was easy to see how he had missed it. He laid his hand flat on the grey tail and stroked it leisurely as far as he could reach. Above him, he heard Arijuna sigh contentedly.
‘I could get used to this,’ he murmured. ‘Me very own merman.’
‘Your merman?’ Arijuna responded, happiness evident in his voice. ‘Then you are my human.’
‘I suppose that’d be right.’
A part of Pintel thought about the compromise implied in his words. He’d never had a firm attachment to anyone before, not of this kind. Companions changed from port to port. Words were just that, words. Yet he did mean them this time. He’d grown fond of Arijuna. He didn’t know if it went any deeper than that yet, but the words felt true somehow.
He looked up at him. Arijuna had that bright smile on his face again. Pintel’s hand stilled on his tail. Maybe there was something.
His stomach gave an uncomfortable twinge. He had been hungry for some time, but had been ignoring it in favor of more pleasing activities. By now it was too pronounced.
‘I’m hungry.’
Arijuna’s eyes widened in dismay.
‘You have not eaten anything. All this time.’
Before Pintel could respond, his head fell to the ground. Arijuna had flipped onto his stomach and was dragging himself to the water. Quickly, Pintel grabbed him by the waist.
‘Where are you going?’
‘You’re hungry. I will go get fish.’
‘There are two left from yesterday. And there’s fruit.’
‘They are old.’ Arijuna’s expression and the tone of his voice made it clear that he wouldn’t entertain the thought of eating fish that weren’t fresh. ‘And fruit is too little. You need more.’
Pintel sighed. ‘Fine.’
The corners of Arijuna’s lips lifted in amusement.
‘I come back.’
‘I know that. Just hurry, will you?’
He released Arijuna, who swiftly slipped into the water.
Arijuna returned as quickly as he could, his arms brimming with as many fish as he could carry. Pintel already had a fire going, ready to cook the fish Arijuna brought. He only cooked half of them for himself; Arijuna ate his raw. This had surprised Pintel at first, until he considered that there was no way to cook anything underwater. He was now accustomed to seeing Arijuna eat the slippery slivers of flesh. Arijuna had been as intrigued about the cooked meat. His eyes alight with curiosity, he watched the rosy flesh turn a flaky white, burned brown in spots. He had even ventured to taste it when Pintel had offered him a piece. He had not disliked it exactly, but neither had he liked it. It tasted and felt rather odd. He stuck to eating his fish raw.
After eating, Pintel sat in the shade of a palm tree, his back against its trunk, waiting for the food to settle in his stomach. He watched Arijuna, who lay at his feet, his hands leisurely stroking one of Pintel’s legs. One hand moved smoothly down his calf, down his ankle, around his heel, and up his instep. Pintel’s foot twitched.
‘That tickles,’ he said.
Arijuna glanced up at him, but there was no apology in his eyes, only a mischievous gleam.
‘Tickles,’ he murmured.
He passed his fingertips lightly over Pintel’s sensitive skin. Despite his best efforts, Pintel couldn’t keep himself from laughing. He’d always been terribly ticklish in his feet, and Arijuna was taking full advantage of it.
‘Stop! Stop that!’ Pintel cried.
Arijuna did not relent.
Finally, Pintel wrested his foot from his grasp and jumped on him. His hands roamed over Arijuna’s body, searching for ticklish spots. He cried out in triumph when Arijuna squirmed and giggled as Pintel touched a spot at the back of his tail and another on his stomach.
‘Let’s see how you like it,’ Pintel growled, smiling at Arijuna’s protests.
Failing to dislodge Pintel’s hands, Arijuna attacked Pintel anew and discovered that his throat was also ticklish. They kept at their amusing task until they were both breathless from laughter. Slowly, tickling became caresses, laughs became moans, and hands and mouths conducted far more pleasurable explorations.
They eventually made it back to the water to continue Pintel’s swimming lessons. It was slow going, for the frequent contact between their bodies proved far too tempting too resist. At the end of the day, after several trips back to land, Pintel finally managed to float by himself. He had not exactly mastered it, but it would do.
They finished off the last of the fish just as the sun was dipping below the horizon. Soon after, Pintel settled down to sleep under the palm trees and Arijuna slipped back into the water.
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