This story is dedicated to an old friend who was feeling down and requested a TI story to cheer her up. Hope this works, Ranger. Feel better soon.
By AJ & Nelson
Mike dropped a pile of books into a carton on the table and stretched, lacing his fingers over his head and arching his back. God, he hated packing. Another 15 minutes and he'd take a break.
As if drawn by telepathy, Rob appeared in the doorway of his sitting room, carrying a tray. "I thought you could use some lunch," he said.
"Thanks, Rob. I was just thinking about lunch. Where are the guys?"
"They're eating at the dining hall today. How's the packing going?" He set the tray on the desktop and peered into the box Mike was filling.
"Not bad. Just a couple more boxes and I'll have this room finished," Mike said, half-draining his glass of iced tea. "And none too soon. I had no idea I had accumulated so much stuff."
"It piles up quickly," Rob agreed. "Why don't we go ahead and eat? You can finish packing afterwards"
"I'll eat in a bit, after I finish this box."
"You need a break," Rob told him firmly. "You've been working on this all morning. Eat."
With a deep sigh, Mike responded to the command, shoving the box out of the way so Rob could put the tray on the table. He picked up a sandwich, savoring the
first bite of roast beef as he sat down on the couch. "This is good, Rob. Thanks."
"No problem." Rob sat down, picked up his own sandwich and took a bite.
"Gabe was a little quiet this morning," Mike said between bites. "You guys be sure to set the alarm tonight."
"We will."
"And don't forget the nightlight in the hall, just in case."
"Will do."
"And you need to make sure he isn't working too long. He'll go on until--
"Michael, we know how to handle it. Really."
Mike grimaced. "I'm a worrywart, I know." A wave of melancholy washed over him and he shook it off with an effort. Everything was going to be fine. Rob and Connor knew what they were doing. He needed to concentrate on his new job and let them concentrate on theirs.
"It's going to be fine, Mike," Rob continued his reassurance. "He'll miss you, hell, we'll all miss you; but he'll be ok. We all know that the first 't' in TA stands for 'temporary'. I think we just forget it sometimes."
Mike finished his sandwich, brushed the crumbs from his hands and returned to his packing. "I know. It'll be an adjustment for all of us." He set the notebook full of jottings about Gabe and his punishments to one side. "I guess this needs to stay. He's not my Cen anymore."
"I'll take good care of him, Michael. I promise. And you can come back and check up on me if you want, too," he teased.
"I know." Mike saw the air of confidence surrounding Rob like an aura and let himself relax, secure in the knowledge that his temporary Cen would be well-looked after. "But I'm going to miss having a Cen to look after."
Rob finished the last bite of his sandwich and rose to pat Mike on the back consolingly. "Look at the bright side. Now, you'll have time to start looking for a Cen of your own."
"I don't know," Mike said slowly. "I'm not exactly in a rush or anything. I think that when it's right, it will happen without any prompting from me."
"Oh, I don't know. I think you need to expend a little effort, don't you?"
Mike shrugged. "I'm happy, and anyway, it's not like the right guy has come along."
"In all your time on TI, you haven't seen anyone who struck your fancy?" Rob asked with an inquisitive lift of his brow.
"Plenty have struck my fancy, just not hard enough for me to be interested long-term. It's not like I could have done anything about it, anyway."
"My point exactly. Now you can start looking to buy, not just test-drive," Rob said, his lip curving in a half-grin.
"How crude," Mike said, his own smile belying his words. He sipped his iced tea, trying to cover the grin.
"You know what I mean. You don't want to be alone, do you?"
"No, no. Not at all," Mike said empathically. "But he has to be the right one before I'll even consider a long-term commitment."
"Well, sure," Rob said. "That's what we're here for: to find the right matches for men."
"Anyway," Mike said offhandedly, "it might be tough to find the right Cen. I have my Dream Cen already in my head and I've got to tell you, he'll be difficult to top."
"He's higher than a B8?" Rob teased. He moved the tray to one side, placing it out of the way.
"Alpha with a little 't'. You know what I meant." Mike paused in his packing and wondered aloud, "My dream Cen. I don't know that he'll ever venture outside of my dreams."
"We all have our dream Cens," Rob said. He got a
stack of books from the shelves along the wall as Mike set an empty carton
where the tray had been.
"I haven't seen anyone on The Island who comes close, though. No one can—never mind," Mike cut himself off.
"What? Or should I say 'who'?" Rob asked intuitively.
Mike shook his head and shrugged. "He's not real. He just seems real."
"What do you mean? A fantasy?"
"I don't know," Mike said, his brow wrinkling in a frown. "It's crazy, really."
"Come on, Mike. We've been TAs together, how long? Three years? Four?"
"Almost four," Mike reflected.
"Then you know me well enough to know you can tell me anything, and even if I think you're crazy, I'll still like you."
Mike laughed, grateful for the minor distraction, but as the laughter died away Rob was still looking at him expectantly.
Mike took a deep breath. "I dream about a guy."
"Nothing crazy about that," Rob offered. "Fantasies are perfectly normal."
"No, you don't understand. Not a fantasy and not just one dream. I've had several with the same… guy. It isn't someone I know but I feel like I know him."
"How often do you have these dreams?" Rob asked, his forehead furrowing at the worry he saw on Mike's face.
"Not often, but enough."
"Sit down and tell me," Rob urged and Mike saw an expression he recognized in his cottage-mate, one that he had seen time and again when Rob was concerned
about one of their Cens. Only this time it was directed at Mike.
"When did they start?" Rob probed.
The simple question plummeted Mike back six months, to the day when the first dream took place. His thoughts drifted back in time.
The day was sweltering, the heat barely subdued by the steady breeze coming off the water and Mike sat on the starboard side of the tiny sailboat, breathing in the salt air, enjoying the invisible fingers of moist air that tousled his honey-brown hair. It had been a long and taxing week and Mike was grateful for the rare opportunity for some time alone. He sailed around the island, far enough from the bustle of the weekend activities to feel isolated but close enough to see land. After anchoring the boat, he stretched out in the sun and tried to relax. It had been a tough week, starting with saying goodbye to Sam. He knew that Sam had happily committed to his new partner but it was never easy to let go. He had spent months being responsible for Sam, and to hand him over was just as difficult as it had been with every preceding Cen.
He smiled to himself as he remembered several of the pranks Sam had masterminded. He wasn't sure who Jackson would pair up with now that Sam was gone. Combining Jackson's daring with Sam's intellect had made them almost dangerous together, as they had proven more than once.
The change in cottage dynamics was affecting the remaining two Cens already. It seemed like Zach and Gabe had been looking for trouble all week, to the point that he and Rob checked for a full moon.
Mike chuckled, recalling their tired conversation on the front porch as they scanned the night sky for the large illuminated orb. Some of his fellow TAs were convinced that Cens were affected by changes in the moon, but Mike suspected it was more a case of them feeding off each other than any astronomical occurrence. Whatever it was, the two remaining Cens had kept him and Rob on their toes all week, even with the narrower boundaries they had instituted. The spike was expected, though, and Mike was confident that the tighter limits would do their job, but meanwhile it was a little rough.
Then there was his computer. On top of everything else, the hard drive had decided to be difficult and take a dive, crashing beyond repair. For about the hundredth time, he thanked his lucky stars that he was anal about backing up his work. If he had lost all his data, it would have made things even worse.
In the back of his mind, his pending shift from TA to Admin was looming. Not that he wasn't excited about the change, just preoccupied with all that he had to do before he left. Most of the minutia was going to take place later: packing, wrapping up final notes for Gabe, getting acclimated to his new role.
His replacement had already been selected and would start coming by every day, getting to know the Cens and their cottage environment. He hoped the family setup of their cottage would help the Cens feel more anchored during the transition but he worried that the loss of another "family member" would make them feel even more unsettled. But then Connor would be such a regular fixture by the time Mike actually left that he should be like one of the family.
He sighed. He worried about Gabe. The Cen was seeing a Visiting Alpha fairly regularly and it looked like a good match. If that worked out, he would be on his way out or close to it by the time Mike left. So many changes at one time were bound to stir up his sleepwalking tendencies again. Mike only hoped that things worked out for him with this new Alpha and that he would be too excited to worry about Mike leaving. That meant another big change for Zach, though.
Mike shook his head and sighed heavily. He shouldn't let himself worry so much about it. These changes were routine on The Island and just because the upcoming ones involved him, that didn't mean it couldn't be done and done smoothly. He smiled to himself. His inner voice sounded an awful lot like Emerson's. The experienced Director of Alphas had reminded Mike more than once that these changes were not ones that couldn't be handled.
"Focus on what needs to be done daily, Mike, and the rest will work itself out," he kept saying.
Mike contemplated the statement while he lay in the sun, and decided it was sage advice. "Yes, sir," Mike muttered to himself, saluting the clear blue sky overhead.
Pushing the multitude of worries aside, he let the tension from the week melt away under the tropical sun. Soon, his eyes closed and he fell asleep to the steady rocking of the small boat, savoring a stress-free afternoon as he willfully shut out the events of the hectic week.
Sometime later, he awoke in a panic. The wind whipped around him and the deep blue sky had been replaced by thick dark clouds. Large raindrops pelted his skin, quickly saturating his t-shirt, plastering it to his chest. Thunder rumbled angrily and lightning streaked out from inky black clouds. Mike's heart thudded anxiously against his chest as the island, which had seemed so close earlier, now seemed a million difficult miles away.
Water washed over the sides of the boat and lapped around his deck shoes with the violent movement of the boat. He scrambled to raise the anchor but saw a huge wall of water rushing to meet him as a massive wave caught the boat and tossed it hard enough to plunge him over the side. His last thought as water invaded his nostrils was of Gabe and Zach and how they would handle his death. Then the water closed over him, plunging him into darkness.
He coughed his way back to consciousness, choking lungfuls of ocean water and gulping in air, surprised to find himself lying on the rocks above an Island tide pool and not standing in front of the pearly gates. A wet hand touched his shoulder lightly and he turned to see a stranger treading water and watching him expectantly.
The troubled face was framed by delicate tendrils of ebony hair. Creamy skin surrounded eyes as green as the ocean around them and a tightly-woven ebony braid cascaded over his right shoulder. The man said nothing with his lips but his expression was filled with concern. Mike studied the young man, taking in the strong shoulders and lean muscular chest. The gold amulet and single gold earring he wore glowed brilliantly in the sun, now as bright as if the recent squall had never happened.
Mike sat up, dangling his legs over the edge of the rough barnacle-covered rock as he studied the man in the water below him.
"You saved my life," he gasped between bouts of coughing.
The young man shrugged modestly, as though the feat had been nothing out of the ordinary. "Are you okay?"
Mike thought about it and realized, surprisingly, that he very likely was okay. "I think so."
"Good."
Mike stared unabashedly at the handsome features of his savior. "I don't know you."
The young man shook his head. "Um, no."
"Are you new to The Island? Here visiting?"
The man hesitated, looked across the sea and then shrugged.
"Yes? No?" The young stranger blushed from his cheeks to the tips of his ears, but still didn't answer. "Which one?" Mike pressed.
The blush tingeing his cheeks went darker, and his face glowed hotly, contrasting starkly with his fair complexion. "No?" Mike pressed, and got another quick head shake in response.
"I live near here. Close," he finally acknowledged, "but not on your island. I live... on a different one."
"I didn't think I had seen you before." Mike's voice was raspy, his throat raw from the seawater and coughing. "I'm Mike."
"I'm Arien."
Mike could hardly take his eyes off the young man as he seductively tucked a loose strand of hair behind one ear. He ducked his head and gazed at Mike through his lashes, his tongue flicking softly over slightly pouting lips.
Mike cleared his throat and dragged his gaze away, looking out over the water instead. He was surprised to see his boat still anchored where it had been when the squall came up. "It's hard to tell that storm actually happened."
"I know," Arien replied. "They're really fast sometimes."
"What were you doing out here alone?" Mike asked, turning his attention back to the attractive young man.
"I always swim alone. I can take care of myself." He paused to look Mike over stubbornly. "I took care of you, didn't I?"
Mike's tough expression melted away and he had to laugh at the familiar tilt to his chin. The flash in Arien's green eyes settled down to a warm simmer as Mike admitted, "Ok, so you took care of me. I'll give you that one. But that doesn't mean you have any business out here alone."
"Are you always so pushy?" Arien asked irritably.
"Some would say I am," Mike replied calmly. "So, what are you doing out here?"
The young man folded his arms against the rocks and propped his chin on them, gazing up at Mike. "Swimming."
Mike's lids narrowed to half-mast at the tone and the fire returned to the other man's eyes under the scrutiny. He raised his head from his arms and exclaimed, "I'm
an excellent swimmer!" A pout settled over the handsome features at Mike's steady stare and he added defiantly, "I can take care of myself."
Mike contemplated arguing the point further and decided against it. "I never said you weren't. If you weren't a good swimmer, I doubt you could have helped me.
Thank you for what you did."
The young man's chin settled back against his forearms with the turn in the conversation, his countenance once again tranquil. "You're welcome."
"I see my boat is still intact."
"Yes, it is. You just got knocked into the water. Are you sure you're all right?" He stretched a hand toward Mike, his fingers hovering just a breath away from Mike's temple.
Mike frowned as he felt an ache he hadn't noticed before. He reached up, gently touched the goose egg on his forehead and grimaced. "Ow. I guess I hit my head somehow."
"Yes," Arien said. "You did. Right before you hit the water."
"Funny, it didn't hurt until I realized that knot was there," Mike said, troubled. He looked at his fingertips as he pulled them away from the area. "But no blood.
Apparently, I have a hard head."
Green eyes sparkled. "I've been accused of that on occasion. It's not true, though."
"I'm sure it isn't," Mike replied wryly, considering the burst of temper he had seen. "I guess I'll have to swim back to the boat."
"Can you? Are you able?"
"I think I can make it if I take my time. It's not that far."
"I can swim with you and make sure you get there all right."
"I'll be fine," Mike said. "Can I give you a ride somewhere? Back to your boat, maybe?" he probed delicately.
"I'd love--" A flash of hope crossed the young man's features, then his face fell. "But I can't. I'm, uh, I'm not finished with my swim." He grinned mischievously at
Mike.
Mike shook his head at the willful young man. "You should be finished. It can be dangerous to swim alone."
The man shrugged and held his out hand to help Mike into the water. A short while later, Mike held onto the side of the small boat as a now familiar dark head burst through the water's surface just behind him.
Arien flashed Mike a glistening white smile, pulled himself up alongside the boat and suddenly, eagerly, locked his lips against Mike's. Startled at the sudden wanton behavior, Mike pulled away, not sure what to say or to make of the man. He stared into the young man's eyes, more gray than green now, the bright gleam vanquished.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, ducking his head unhappily. "Was that wrong? I thought-- I've seen--"
"Hey," Mike tucked a finger under his chin and lifted it to see his face again. "It's ok. It just surprised me, that's all."
The troubled expression relaxed into a hesitant smile. The young man slowly licked his lips and his eyebrows lifted in hesitant invitation, a visage of innocent desire.
Mike leaned down and kissed him again, savoring the soft sweet mouth and the taste of salt.
"Thank you doesn't seem like enough, but thank you. For everything."
A nod of gracious acceptance was the only response as the young man tread water so gracefully that Mike could have sworn he was standing on a sandbar.
Instinctively, Mike reached out and smoothed a long wet strand that had escaped the tight confines of the braid.
"Are you sure I can't give you a lift?"
"Positive."
Light glinted off Arien's gold earring, causing Mike to squint as he looked at the young man and he suddenly noticed the sun dancing on the horizon, setting into the depths of the sea. "It's late. I need to get back."
The young man glanced across the ocean as well, his own expression one of alarm. "I need to go, too," he said nervously. "I'm late."
"Get in the boat," Mike said, climbing aboard. "It'll be faster."
"No, I can swim faster than you can sail," the young man said. He turned away, then looked back over his shoulder. "I hope to see you again."
"Same here," Mike began but the young man sank beneath the water's surface before he could finish his sentence. "Wait! Come back!" Mike yelled after him but his request fell on deaf ears.
He was leaning over the side of the boat, trying to catch a glimpse of him when he heard a shout and saw that Arien had reappeared, some distance away. He waved good-bye at Mike, then immediately dived again. Cursing quietly to himself, Mike stopped short as a broad, teal-colored fin flipped up out of the depths where the man had been. It slapped once, launching water spray high in the air, then disappeared, as had the young man.
Mike blinked at what he had seen, stunned into immobility. The water was still as glass, leaving no evidence that anyone had been there, much less what Mike thought he had seen. He sat down in the boat, gazing out at the ocean for a sign of the life he had just been in contact with. He scanned the horizon but saw nothing.
He touched the lump on his head and frowned, wondering what, if anything, he had just seen. The water around the boat was strangely quiet, barely rocking the vessel. Mike touched his head again and grimaced. Had the storm happened at all, he wondered? Or had he just gotten a nasty bump on the head and hallucinated the whole thing?
"Had to be a dream," Mike told himself, carefully reeling in the anchor and heading to shore.
"And I think that's when I woke up for real. I'm not sure I ever left the boat." He frowned trying to piece together the fragile parts of the afternoon. "Or maybe I did. I just don't know."
"You don't really think you saw a merman?" Rob asked, his lips turning up at the corners as he fought a smile.
"No, I think it was a dream, a hallucination. I told you that," Mike said, somewhat gruffly, embarrassed by the confession.
"You didn't mention that part when you came home that night. You just said you hit your head."
"Just because we sleep together on occasion doesn't mean I tell you everything," Mike replied irritably. He shook his head clear of the images conjured up by the conversation. "Anyway, I had been through hell, and hallucinations aren't uncommon at times like that."
"No, they aren't. Especially when you have a bump on the head on top of everything else."
"That's what I thought." Mike smiled, remembering the details of the dream. "It was so vivid. Like it was real. I mean I could taste the salt on my lips. Anyway, it made an unfortunate incident somehow bearable."
"A scary incident," Rob injected. He pointed a reproving finger in Mike's direction. "You know, if one of our Cens had been on a boat without his life vest, he wouldn't have sat comfortably for a week."
Mike sighed at the admonishment. "I know. I only took it off when I stretched out, but you're right. But it was such a clear day."
"Those squalls come up so unexpectedly. You're lucky the tide was with you and washed you into the tide pools." Rob picked up a paperweight with a long-dead butterfly encased inside and he turned it over in his palm, inspecting the brilliant yellow insect.
"I know. And that the boat wasn't knocked into them and damaged."
Rob passed the paperweight to him. "I don't care about the boat. We could get another one of those. There's only one of you."
"Thanks, Rob, but I don't even want to think of the paperwork required to replace a boat."
Rob laughed, then added, "You said you've dreamed about him since?"
"Several times. The second time it happened I was on the beach again." He rubbed a hand across a furrowed brow. "In fact, I'm always around the beach when I dream about him."
"Have you talked to Hobbes about this? It could be some sort of post-traumatic stress thing going on," Rob offered. Mike gave him a stubborn look and Rob said,
"I'm serious, here, Mike. It wouldn't hurt."
"It's nothing," Mike said. "Dreams. Stress."
"I think you should think about it, Professor. Here. You'll need these since you'll be teaching now," Rob said, handing Mike a stack of Island textbooks.
Mike took the books and taped the flaps on another box. "I don't need therapy. I need to stay away from the beach."
Rob laughed. "A little difficult when you live on an island, Mike."
"Point," Mike conceded.
"Are all the dreams as vivid as the first?"
"Yes, very." Mike dropped a stack of papers into a new box as he recalled the next meeting. "Vivid and clear as crystal."
It was the third time he had sailed back to the area where he had been rescued, hoping to see the mysterious young man who had saved him that day, but he had yet to see him again. There's a good reason for that, he told himself; mermen didn't exist outside of myth and legend. Or dreams.
It had been a traumatic day; that was all. His mind had been playing tricks on him. Or he hit his head harder than he thought. As he drew closer to the tidepools, he anchored the boat and slipped off his t-shirt, then lowered himself into the water and swam to the nearby rocks. He pulled himself out of the water and stretched out on his back in the sun, reflecting on the day he had fallen overboard and ended up on these very rocks. In his dreams, at least.
He was distracted by the rippling sound of water parting and he shielded his eyes from the sun as he sat up and scanned the water's surface. An ebony-haired man floated some distance away. He didn't make a move or a sound, simply kept his distance while he watched Mike.
Mike's breath caught in his throat as he recognized Arien. He waved and waited, frozen in anticipation, to see what the man would do or if he would disappear.
After a long pause, a pale hand waved back.
Mike cupped his hands around his mouth and raised his voice. "Hello!" He waved again, more eagerly, hoping to entice the man into coming closer.
His hopes sank like a rock to the ocean floor when the young man disappeared beneath the tide, a large fin looming out of the water slapping once at the water before following the man under the surf. Mike felt his body deflate in accord with his lungs as he exhaled heavily, plopping back down on the rocks. He looked out over the calm sea, no man – or merman – in sight. He crossed his arms over his bent knees, resting his forehead against his arms as he tried to clear his head.
"I'm hallucinating again. I need to see Herm. Definitely," he muttered to himself.
He heard as well as felt water splash over the rocks, heavy droplets landing on the crown of his head and spattering his legs. He lifted his head to see an emerging face, a face he had thought he would never see again.
"Hi," Arien said with a broad grin.
"Hi. I was afraid you wouldn't come back," Mike said. "That I would never see you again."
The young man frowned and looked down, his hand brushing through the water, snaking a trail with his fingertip, parting the water in a rippling triangle. He said quietly, "I wasn't sure-- I didn't know what you would think of me."
Could it be? Mike thought. "Why… is that?"
The finger trailing the water stopped suddenly as the man looked up and locked eyes with Mike. "You know why. I let you see me."
Mike stuttered. "I-I wasn't sure I saw-- I mean, I hit my head and--" Feeling disjointed, lost in a surreal aquatic fantasy, Mike asked, "Can you come out of the water?"
"Do you want me to?"
Mike nodded slowly. "Yes. I want you to."
The young merman paused, then poised his hands against the rocks for leverage. Strong biceps flexed as he lifted himself from the water. Mike watched as he rose from the water. His chest and abdomen were smooth and muscular, ending inches below the navel. There, his pale skin was replaced by a shimmering teal-green tail, glistening in the sunlight. Mike stared as the merman settled himself on the rocks, uncurling his tail and letting it drape gracefully into the water.
Mike reached out to touch him and the merman recoiled. "I'm sorry," Mike said, jerking his hand back immediately. "I just can't believe it. I--"
The young man seemed to relax a bit but turned wide eyes to Mike. "You-- you can touch me."
"You're sure?"
He paused before nodding. "Yes."
Mike tentatively reached out and gently grazed the iridescent shimmering tail, brushing his fingertips over the smooth, dolphin-like surface.
His fingers grazed an area near the merman's side sparking an unexpected burst of laughter that had him jerking his hand back away.
"Tickles," Arian said apologetically.
"Sorry." Mike stroked the tail again. "You're so smooth. I expected scales."
The merman rolled his eyes. "That's so typical of your kind," he sighed.
"Well, I assumed-- That's what the pictures show," Mike argued defensively.
"We aren't fish, you know. We're more like..." His eyes rolled again, but this time in search of the right word. "Dolphins."
"Dolphins?"
"Have you ever seen a dolphin with scales? Just because we swim and have a fin doesn't make us fish." The mirth in his voice took the edge out of his words, leaving Mike certain he hadn't offended him.
"Point taken," Mike said.
"May I?" the merman requested hesitantly, reaching toward Mike. Mike nodded agreement and the young man touched the slightly hairy leg extending beyond Mike's wet swim trunks. "Fur?"
"It's not fur, it's--" Mike's indignant response was lost in the merman's laugh. "You were teasing me."
"Yes. But it's close to fur," he said.
Mike laughed. "I'm not that hairy."
"No. You're mostly smooth. Brown."
His eyes traveled over Mike's body and Mike marveled at the contrast in their skin tone: one golden brown and the other like porcelain. They silently admired and touched each other, fascinated with the differences they found. The merman studied Mike's toes, admiring each digit, his fingers grazing over Mike's feet, exploring the length of Mike's legs with quiet attraction. Mike's stomach fluttered when the merman's hand slid to the inside of his thigh, sending an electric charge coursing through his body.
The merman smiled when Mike tensed and he stroked the area again, his fingers disappearing under the hem of Mike's trunks briefly before the touch was broken.
"Nice," the merman said.
Mike worked to ground himself, and to concentrate on the merman rather than the heat generated by his touch. Mike said, "I didn't think I would see you again.
That maybe I never saw you to begin with."
"I've seen you here when you came back. But I was afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"I don't know." The merman shrugged. "Just afraid."
"You didn't seem to be afraid of me before," Mike pointed out in confusion. "What changed?"
"You didn't know. Before." He ducked his head and Mike gently lifted his chin.
"It's okay." Mike felt an invisible wall loom almost tangibly between them despite their intimate moments before. "What's wrong?"
"I've been taught all my life that men are dangerous to us," he replied, pulling away slightly. "A threat."
"Do I look dangerous to you?" Mike spread his arms wide, looking as non-menacing as possible.
The young merman frowned in contemplation, then the lines in his brow softened. "No. You don't look dangerous. But my father says… he says men don't understand us."
Mike laughed. "I have to give him that. I have no clue about you or your kind."
"I know about yours," Arien replied, an impish smile on his lips. "I've watched men all my life. Well, at least since I was old enough to come to the surface alone. Despite what my father says or thinks, I like men."
"He doesn't approve?"
Arien frowned. "My father hates it. He says I shouldn't be so interested in men, that they're dangerous and I'm to stay away. But I can't help it. And my older brothers all take his side!"
"I can see how your father might worry about your safety. In the wrong hands, you could be hurt or held captive; all sorts of unpleasant things could happen to you.
He's probably right, in general."
The merman straightened up, his chest expanding with each breath as his eyes flashed in anger. "He doesn't know everything, although he acts like he does! I've withstood many beatings for being too 'captivated with the humans'. He's just old and cranky. He can't see beyond the sea!"
As though stirred by the young merman's ire, the water began to ripple and the winds picked up speed. Clouds thickened overhead and a rumble of thunder rolled through the distant sky.
Mike swallowed hard and said, "Maybe I'm the one who should be afraid."
Arien blinked, his mouth falling open in surprise. As his anger receded so did the impending storm. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I just get so angry at him. It isn't your fault and I'm not mad at you. I could never be mad at you."
Good thing, Mike thought. He gazed overhead at the sky, calm and blue as the black clouds rolled away. "Did you do that?"
Arien frowned in confusion. "Do what?"
Mike paused with another glance at the heavens then shook his head. "Nothing. So, you've argued with your father about this a lot?"
"Yeah, and with my brothers," he replied despondently. "They don't understand me or my interest in human men and I don't understand why they aren’t interested. They think I'm young and distracted. That I'll outgrow it. But I'm fully grown now, and I'm still interested." He shrugged, then idly picked up a small crab doing a sideways march across the rocks and popped it in his mouth. As Mike grimaced, he asked, "What?"
"You ate that crab. Alive." Mike fought to keep his lunch down.
"Oh." The merman flushed. "Sorry."
"It's all right. It just-- threw me, that's all," Mike replied, trying to make light of it. "I'm not used to moving sushi. Will you get spanked for being here today? If he finds out you've been talking to me…"
Arien's forehead creased. "Spanked?"
"Isn't that what you meant by beaten? He swats your…" Mike hesitated, looking the long tail over and wondering what exactly might get swatted. "Um…well…"
The merman smiled broadly at the man's uncomfortable search for the right word. He rolled to one side and patted an area just below his waist, at the beginning of the long tail.
It could pass for a bottom, Mike decided. "Yeah, spanks you there."
"He hasn't beat - spanked - me lately. Not since I was much younger," the merman said. Looking over his shoulder with a grin, he added, "Not that I ever deserved it, of course."
"Of course not." Mike agreed with a laugh, thinking of all the Cens who had said the same thing. "I've heard that argument before."
"From the young men who live by the sea with you? The Cens. Isn't that what you call them?"
Mike viewed the merman speculatively. "How did you know about the Cens?"
"I watch." He tipped his head shyly with the admission, looking up at Mike from under lowered lashes. He toyed with the end of his braid, twisting the ebony strands around his finger.
"But how can you see from--? Oh. When we come down to the beach."
The merman silently nodded his head.
"How long have you watched us?"
"A long time?" he answered uncertainly. Mike stared, stunned at the information and struggling to collect his thoughts as Arian rushed on. "I hide in the rocks, I hope you aren't mad, I didn't mean anything by it, I just like to see humans, and especially human men, my father gets so--"
"Hey, it's all right," Mike interrupted in an attempt to calm the merman. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind. Really."
"You don't?"
"No, I don't," Mike assured him, even as he wondered uneasily just who - or what - else was watching that they didn't know about.
"I tell my father that I'm swimming by the falls near the caves. He doesn’t know that it's a good place to hide and watch the beach," he explained mischievously.
"The currents are dangerous right there," Mike scolded automatically. "You need to find a safer place to hide."
"Grump," he muttered. "I know all about currents, Mike."
"I just don't want you to get hurt."
The glower softened as Arien gazed at him wistfully. "Yes," he said softly. "You care about me."
Mike reached out and stroked his fingers down the alabaster cheek, and was overwhelmed by the realization that the merman was right. "Yes. I do."
Arien suddenly clutched at Mike, kissing him hard, his tongue eagerly probing Mike's mouth. Mike closed his eyes, losing himself in the open display of affection. As quickly as it began, it ended, and the merman settled back against his elbows, turning his face to the sun. With a satisfied sigh, he cut a seductive glance toward Mike.
With a voice thickened by passion, Mike said, "I don't know about in your world, but here? You shouldn't start something you can't finish."
"Swim with me," Arien urged. He slipped his fingers into the waistband of Mike's swim trunks and used them to draw Mike into the water. Mike's feet found purchase on a rock under the tide and he stepped out of his trunks as the merman continued tugging on them. The merman re-emerged from the depths and raised the trunks out of the water like a prize, then flung them onto the rocks.
Mike swallowed hard and said, "Is this how you swim? If it is, I think-" The rest of the sentence was cut off as the merman covered Mike's lips with a single wet finger.
Mike held on to the rocks with one hand as the merman sank beneath the crystal waters, his braid floating on the surface, hovering a moment before disappearing with its owner below. Mike gasped and closed his eyes as he felt the merman's lips encircle his cock. His fingers dug into the unyielding rocks, turning his knuckles white, as Arien gripped his hips under the water, slowly moving up and down the length of his shaft. With a shuddering cry, he came and, as the last wave of sensation coursed through him, his hold on the rocks finally relaxed. He slowly opened his eyes in time to see an ebony head break the surface. Arien beamed at his success.
"Oh, my God," Mike whispered breathlessly.
"It was good for you," Arien said knowingly.
"It was," Mike agreed. He studied the merman and said, "What about you? Do you have--? How do you--?"
"It's inside. Unless I'm aroused," he offered with a tentative smile.
He took one of Mike's hands, guided it beneath the water and closed it over a phallic protrusion that felt to Mike every bit like a human penis. He fought the urge to duck beneath the water and look, choosing instead to go with instinct. He wrapped his hand around the organ and began a slow steady stroke. It seemed to affect the merman the same as it would any other man. Arien rested his hands on Mike's shoulders and rocked in time to his ministrations, eyes closed, emitting small moans of pleasure until his body tensed then relaxed as he climaxed.
The merman took a deep breath, then lunged at Mike, kissing him hard once again. "Thank you," he said. "I've wanted that and… and more… for so long."
Without answering, Mike kissed him again, then climbed back onto the rocks, urging the Arien to do the same.
Mike stretched out lazily on the rocks, Arien perched beside him, and reached for his swim trunks, twirling them on his fingertip.
"Don't cover it again," the merman requested.
Reluctant himself, Mike used the request as an excuse to toss the swim trunks aside. He took the long braid in his hand and toyed with it, tangling his fingers in the ebony mass and then gently pulling them free.
The large tail swayed dreamily in the water as Arien said quietly, "I wish I could live there. On the land." His gaze shifted from watching the motion of his tail in the water to locking with Mike's eyes. "With you."
Once again caught off-guard by the merman, Mike took a second to gather his thoughts. "On The Island? With me?"
"Yes," came the simple reply.
Mike looked down the length of the shimmering tail, knowing it could never be, but wishing that it could. "I would like for you to be with me there, as well."
"I think I would fit in. If I didn't have this," he said, raising the fin up out of the water. "Don't you?"
"I think," Mike said longingly, "you would make an excellent Cen."
The merman beamed, wide green eyes sparkling with hope and he sat up to face Mike. "Do you really think so?"
Taken by the handsome alabaster features, Mike said without hesitation, "Yes, I do."
Arien smiled with pride and flung his braid off his shoulder. "Thank you. I'd only go swimming by the falls a few times a week."
"And I'd have to spank you whenever you did," Mike said, trying to suppress his amusement.
"Hey!" the merman exclaimed playfully, and Mike caught a mouthful of salt water propelled in his direction by the fin.
"And once again, I woke up. On the rocks. Alone."
"And thus was born your Dream Cen. Or Mer Cen," Rob said. "Did you ever have sex with him? Penetration, I mean. In your dreams?"
Mike said, "Come on, Rob. The dreams are vivid, but not that vivid. I'm not even sure we could."
"Well, it's your dream..." Rob joked mildly. He closed the box they had filled and set it on the floor with the others. "That looks like everything in here," he said, his eyes playing over the empty shelves.
"Looks like it. Just a few things left in the bedroom" Mike dropped down into the desk chair he was taking and spun it side to side softly. "I haven't dreamed about him for a couple months."
"No? Maybe you won't anymore. Then you can focus on finding someone like him."
"Maybe. Or maybe he'll show up on The Island."
Rob laughed and leaned against the arm of the couch. "I don't think Roberts is recruiting mermen these days. Not that I've heard of anyway."
Mike leaned back in the leather chair, interlacing his fingers behind his head. "He should consider it."
"Consider what?" Zach asked as he and Gabe entered the room.
"Hi, guys," Rob said.
"How was lunch?" Mike asked straightening up in his chair. "You want to carry some more boxes over for me?"
"Sure, no problem," Zach replied.
Mike watched as Gabe quietly leafed through the new box on top of the desk and picked up a photo from its depths. Mike recognized the picture from the frame, and saw Gabe silently study the image of a group of Cens gone by, one raising his fingers in a "v" behind Mike's head. Gabe smiled, probably at the gesture, then gently laid the picture back in the box where Mike had put it. He looked up and caught Mike's eye and Mike opened his arms invitingly to the disconsolate Cen.
"I'm fine," Gabe answered the unspoken offer.
"I'm sure you are," Mike said disbelievingly with a wink. "Come here anyway."
Gabe let Mike envelop him in a hug and he closed his eyes in the welcoming embrace. Mike said, "I'm only going to Admin. We'll still see each other every day."
"But you won't be my TA anymore," Gabe replied, his lips near enough to Mike's ear for him to hear the quiet comment.
"No, but you'll be fine with Rob as your TA. And you like Connor. You've already gotten to know him over the last several weeks," Mike said encouragingly.
Gabe pulled back and gave Mike a half-grin after a quick swipe across his eyes. "But will he know to take my door off when I slam it?"
Mike smiled and turned Gabe with a gentle swat. "I'm sure Rob can handle it. Not that you'll slam it anymore, having learned your lesson and all."
"I'll handle you just fine," Rob said confidently. He kissed the side of Gabe's head and Gabe hugged him. "Even minus your door, if needed."
"Right," Gabe said, his eyes crinkling at the corners with a smile.
"What else do you need us to take over to your new place?" Zach asked as the mood lifted.
"Why don't you take a couple of those boxes?" Rob suggested, pointing toward the stack along the wall. "Then get some ice cream or something to cool you off. Quiet time in thirty minutes."
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Thanks, Rob," Mike said from the door to his new home as Rob left.
"Not a problem," Rob said. "Are you going to the dining hall for dinner?"
"I'm not sure. I'm going to lie down for a while. I think I could use some quiet time myself after all that packing and unpacking. I'll probably come down if I wake up in time."
"You do that," Rob said, giving Mike a final hug. "Good luck to you, buddy."
"Thanks. Hey," Mike said as Rob turned to go. "If you ever get lonely…"
Rob smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Until you find your Dream Cen, that is."
Mike pushed the door closed and looked around his new surroundings. The living room was painted a pale cream and had light hardwood floors. The large, many-
paned windows had the blinds closed at the moment, but would let in plenty of sunshine and light. To his right a low wall divided the living room from the kitchen and to the right was a wide doorway leading to the bedrooms. At the back of the room, French doors led to a covered porch. He had far more room than he had in his suite in 8B. Plenty of room for a partner, he thought.
He lay down on the cream-colored sofa and watched the ceiling fan spin overhead, then closed his eyes against the soft breeze it created and was lulled into semi-sleep by the steady thumping of its spin.
His mind drifted to the last encounter – the one he hadn't told Rob about. There was no way he could tell that one. Rob would surely insist he see Hobbes, and een if he didn't, Mike could just imagine the skeptical look on his face. No, he would have to keep this one to himself.
He remembered the last time he saw the merman and he smiled to himself. He watched as images flashed through his mind, reflecting every detail about Arien from his pale ivory skin to the mismatched jewelry he had scavenged from the ocean floor.
They lay together on the rocks, and Mike laced his fingers through the dark tendrils of hair. Arien hummed softly as his head lay comfortably in Mike's lap, his hair splayed out over the rocks, cascading over Mike's thighs.
"You have a beautiful voice," Mike commented.
Green eyes slipped open and looked longingly up at Mike. "Thank you. I like to sing," he said. "Do you sing?"
"Only in the shower," Mike said. "And the Cens complain about that if they happen to hear it."
The merman laughed. "I'll bet you can sing. They were teasing you."
"No," Mike said sadly. "They were dead on."
"Dead?" Arien asked uncertainly.
"Dead on. It means they were exactly right."
"Oh." He sat up and kissed Mike, then quickly rebraided his hair. "Swim with me? My tail is drying out."
Mike was surprised at the sudden disappointment he felt when he learned there was a reason other than "swimming" to go in the water. That was quickly replaced by concern. "Are you ok?"
"Yes, I'm fine, but it will start to flake if it dries out." He dived into the water with barely a splash then burst back up, holding out a hand to Mike.
Mike stood, unabashedly naked in front of the merman, then dove into the water. After swimming for a while, Arien slipped his arms around Mike's neck. "I have a secret."
"A secret, huh?" Mike asked, wrapping his own arms about the merman.
He nodded vigorously. "Want to see?"
"Sure," Mike agreed. "What is it?"
"*Where* is it," Arien stressed. "It's underwater. I'll help you so you can breathe."
Mike couldn't remember the details of how it worked, although he remembered the merman doing something that reminded him of mouth to mouth.
But he distinctly remembered the secret.
As they swam deeper, the waters became darker, and schools of fish and other oceanic life swam among them, completely disinterested in the intruder with the merman. It became harder to see as the watery blur distorted his vision and they swam deeper and farther from the light above. He began to panic as they swam away from the light, realizing with horror he was solely dependent on the merman for his life. Without the mouth to mouth - or whatever he had done - Mike would drown. Without a doubt. How long could he survive on the lungful of oxygen he had in his chest? Would he be able to make it to the surface? His hand was caught in Arien's clutch and Mike started to pull it away. Arien tightened his hold, almost sending Mike into underwater hysteria, but he pointed away from them with the other hand.
A brilliant glow loomed up from the depths and Mike completely forgot about whatever it was that had worried him moments before. The merman took him to a place that hid them and he silently pointed to various things. His braid waved softly through the water as the pale face smiled at Mike. Mike was amazed at the rock formations serving, he supposed, as homes for the merpeople, who swam throughout what appeared to be an undersea village. Smaller versions of the merpeople swam by in a group and Mike related it to a group crossing of school children, only this group had tails and fins.
Merchildren he told himself. Definitely a dream. There was no way he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. In the distance, a couple swam by. A het mercouple, he noted. He scanned the village for a male/male couple or even a female/female couple, but saw no same sex groupings.
Mike was suddenly aware of the need to breathe and he gripped at the merman, whose face was full of alarm at the strong tug to his arm. He immediately covered Mike's lips with his own, and Mike began to relax a bit, but he pointed above, needing the safety of oxygen after the more recent panic attack.
Lying on the sofa in his new quarters, Mike threw his arm over his eyes. "Rob's right. I need to talk to Hobbes," he reported to no one. "These dreams have to stop."
Or worse – hallucinations.
But he didn't want them to stop. He wanted them to be real. But no matter how badly he wanted that, his common sense told him to let it go. Rob was right about more than one thing. He not only needed to have a casual chat with Hobbes, "or more," he told himself, he also needed to get over these fantasies and focus on reality.
"Find my real Dream Cen. There are no such things as mermen, Michael. Find a real man and make the dreams go away. Voila!" he self-diagnosed. "But just in case…," he said curling up on his side, "I'll call Hobbes first thing tomorrow. Maybe he can give me something for the…"
His eyes closed and fell into a dreamless sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Rob, I know you have two Cens already, but given his special needs, we feel you would be the best match as a TA for him," Ryan said.
"What kind of special needs?" Rob asked as he flipped through the Cen's application. "He can't talk?" he asked, his finger following a particular line on the form.
"No, he can't. And you know sign language. You seem like the logical choice," Ryan explained.
"I agree," Hayes interjected. "I'm not looking to overburden you, Rob, but Gabe is matched. If you think it's too much…"
"I'm not saying that yet," Rob said, studying the form in his hand. "This Cen… Ari? His only special need is lack of speech?"
"That's it," Ryan said, "but that's enough to keep him off The Island if we can't find a way to communicate with him."
"Is he deaf as well?" Rob asked. "Most of the time, deafness comes with the package for a mute."
"No, not deaf, just mute." Ryan said. "And he knows sign language. Roberts said he managed the interviews by writing out his answers but that isn't going to work long-term."
"You don't have to tell us today," Hayes said. "Take his profile, study it, talk to Connor. Let us know in two days. Will that give you time to make a decision?"
"I think so," Rob said. "But I doubt my answer will be anything but yes. Having a deaf sibling makes this seem more normal than special to me. It was a fact of life in my home."
"That's what we were hoping for," Ryan said. "This Cen will need someone who treats him like everyone else, not like someone who will break if you look at him wrong. That won't help him."
"No, and that wouldn't happen with me, I can assure you. What's his rating? Just because he's a mute, doesn't mean he could deal with our tight boundaries," Rob said.
"Right," Connor agreed. "And we couldn't adjust the rules for him."
"Don't worry," Ben spoke up. "He'll fit right in."
"B8," Rob said, finding the answer in the documents he held. "When will he be arriving? It would help if I had time to teach Connor, Zach and Gabe some basics before he gets here."
"Any time we're ready for him and you'll need to do a lot of the Orientation with him, too," Hayes pointed out. "Unless one of the Orientation TA's knows sign language."
"Think about it. Let us know on Thursday," Ryan requested. "Next on the agenda…"
Rob sat at his desk, withdrew the manila folder from his briefcase and slid the forms out of it. Connor was amenable but leaving the decision up to him and he just wasn't sure about it. Was it really fair to Zach and Gabe to introduce a new Cen right now? Especially one that would take so much time and attention?
"Ari," he said, gazing down at the picture of the ebony-haired Cen. "Can I take care of you without neglecting them?"
Smiling green eyes gazed confidently at him from the photo. "You can handle it," they seemed to tell him.
"Ok, Ari," Rob decided. "Let's give it a shot."
~End~