The Surfer and the Merman CH 23

"Cyan, look at the horizon."

Cyan's head rose from the surface of the water. He brushed back his wet black hair with his fingers so that he could see clearly. At first, he stared at his companion who was resting on a large rock, just barely above the water. Despite the longer hair, the other merman looked almost like a mirror image of Cyan. However, their expressions were not the same. Cyan looked concerned, for there was a large ship approaching in the distance, while the other boy had a defiant smirk across his face as he stared at the threatening ship.

"It's still after us..." Cyan said as he eventually spotted the black sails in the distance.

"Yeah, I know. Annoying, isn't it?" The other merman responded.

"We should hurry," Cyan suggested, and waited for his companion to respond.

The merman on the rock turned to face Cyan with his mischievous grin still on his face.

"Naaaah," the merman disagreed.

"What?" Cyan questioned in disbelief as he watched the other boy dive into the water.

"I'm tired of this," the merman said as he rose from the water, "they must think that we're one of  the mermen who stole their treasure. We should correct them."

Cyan hesitated to follow his friend. He treaded water as he watched the merman swim farther away.

"I don't think that's those pirates. That's another ship entirely!" Cyan argued.

Cyan remembered how they had issues with pirates in the past. A pirate ship had been following them for multiple weeks, and their reason had been that they had treasure stolen from them, supposedly by a young, beautiful merman. Unfortunately for them, they both fit the description pretty well. However, the pirate ship in the distance was one Cyan did not recognize. The whole ship had an aura around it, one that Cyan just couldn't trust.

"Please," Cyan begged, "Let's just keep swimming away. They'll loose our trail eventually!"

The other merman did not hear Cyan.

"Wait!" Cyan yelled. "I don't like this... this doesn't feel right!"

"Wait! Ince!!"



Cyan jolted awake, his teal eyes wide in terror. He soon realized that he was not in the ocean, but laying in a bed. Directly in front of him was Skye's chest, who he assumed was still asleep.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Skye asked, and caused Cyan to flinch. He looked up at his lover beside him with his eyes still wide.

"Wow, was it that bad?" Skye grew worried and gently stroked the side of Cyan's face. The black-haired boy didn't answer and just continued to breathe heavily.

"Sorry... I should have woken you up," Skye said as he continued to caress the younger boy.

Cyan eventually spoke.

"Did I wake you?" Cyan asked. His breathing began to slow down.

"Yeah. You were talking in your sleep. I couldn't understand any of it, though," Skye answered.

"I'm sorry..."

"No need to apologize," Skye laughed a bit and ruffled Cyan's hair.

The two boys lay in their bed in silence for a moment.

"...Was it about what you were talking about earlier? About your friend?" Skye asked softly.

Cyan sat up and rested his arms on his knees. Skye stared at him, waiting for him to start crying or to start ranting about his dream. But Cyan just sat there in silence. The blonde eventually sat up with his companion and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine," Cyan reassured him.

He then turned to face Skye.

"I'm scared," he admitted, "but I know I shouldn't be. As long as I'm here with you, I'm safe."

"T-That's right!" Skye answered quickly for he realized he should have said that to him earlier.

"I.. I just want to go back to sleep," Cyan said and gently smiled at the boy across from him.

"Alright," Skye leaned forward and kissed Cyan on the forehead. He then wrapped a blanket around Cyan and they both laid back down on the bed.

The night continued but Skye couldn't fall back asleep. He stared up at the ceiling and hoped Cyan was able to fall back asleep and have pleasant dreams. However, he felt Cyan scoot closer to him and snuggle up to his chest, revealing that he wasn't asleep after all. Skye could sense Cyan quietly sobbing against his chest. Without saying a word, Skye used his arms to pull Cyan closer into a tight embrace. They both gradually fell asleep in each others' arms.