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There was a humming sound on the waves.
The moray mer grumbled and rolled over in the currents, not yet letting himself be woken up.
The hum changed into a loud purr sound, vibrations carrying easily and making it impossible for Jon to sleep. Finally giving up, Jon opened an eye to glare at the crack that was the entrance to his home. There was some light shining down through the water, but most was obscured by the shadow of the mer calling for him.
There was a loud grumble from Jon which he meant to sound like a reprimand, but it came out far too fond to seem like one. Pushing himself from the seagrass he liked to sleep in, he swam to the entrance, looking out at the grouper mer.
As soon as he spotted him, Martin’s face broke out into a grin and swam back to give Jon space to leave his cave. He also began dancing, an invitation for Jon to join him in hunting. That was how they had first gotten to know each other: Martin approaching and giving a friendly dance, asking if Jon wanted to hunt with him.
Jon had refused, but Martin had come back the next day and tried again, spinning on currents, his large speckled fins flicking with excitement. Jon had finally given in and really, he had been doomed as soon as he saw how Martin’s face lit up in delight. It was just unfair how handsome the grouper mer was, and though Jon had tried to deny it at first, claiming their time was just an efficient hunting strategy, he hadn’t lasted more than two months before he started seriously considering courting Martin. He had finally come to the decision to do so, only for the larger mer to beat him to it. Jon of course had been eager to reciprocate and they had become boyfriends, dancing together under moonlit waves. Now it was a rare day when they weren’t together for some period of time. More than once Jon had lamented the fact the opening to his cave was too narrow for Martin to squeeze through.
As usual Martin waited for Jon to take the lead, merrily swimming beside him once Jon decided on the hunting grounds for the day. Sometimes Jon wondered at what a ridiculous sight they must be swimming together. Martin, stocky with his shorter tail and Jon slender with a long tail that could wrap around Martin three times easily.
He knew, of course, because he had done so many times.
The reef they swam over was one of their preferred hunting grounds. Plenty of fish that made for delicious prey. Sometimes they even found something large and Martin would dart ahead to take it down with his strength. And if a target tried to hide in the crevices from them, well Jon could easily flush it out as soon as Martin spotted it. That was another benefit of this—Jon’s eyes had never been good, and his vision was even worse in the day. But it didn’t matter when he had his Martin to be his eyes. All Jon had to do was watch Martin, which was his favorite thing to watch anyways. Much more interesting than whatever lunch they’d be going after.
Suddenly Martin stopped and began bobbing up and down excitedly, pointing to a rather large crevice. Jon could feel his mouth water as he caught the scent of the prey Martin had noticed. A delightful smelling lionfish. It was one of Jon’s favorite foods, as not only were they particularly delicious (their toxin more of a spice than any sort of deterrent for Jon) their spines were incredibly helpful. Jon liked to use them to keep records, as they could easily score wood he had salvaged from wrecks.
And every time Martin had one, he would somehow always end up getting poked at least twice and Jon would have to kiss it better, like any proper boyfriend would. No he wasn’t just looking for an excuse.
Swimming forward he blocked off the crevice where the fish was hiding. It was so large it barely seemed to fit in there, and he wasted no time striking, the sharpened scales on his hand easily dispatching his meal. Pulling it out, he felt himself puff up a bit in pride as Martin twirled around him, letting out the humming purr that Jon recognized as love love love amaze!
Digging his fingers in, he ripped the lionfish in half, handing Martin the head. Martin enjoyed the eyeballs and there were less spines for him to worry about. Jon then let himself sink a little as he began skillfully slicing into the fish, removing the spines. He let them drift down, to be collected after he was done. He had almost finished when a sound of pain and the scent of Martin’s blood made him look up. Martin was currently sticking out his tongue, which was bleeding a little from where one of the spines had gotten him. Jon wasted no time, swimming up to him and kissing his boyfriend, trying not to let on how amused he was. How did Martin manage every time?
At least the venom was no threat to him just as it wasn’t for Jon. One of those pokes would have been a lot more deadly to another creature.
As soon as he got the kiss Martin seemed to be over the pain. Jon looked over his lionfish and saw Martin seemed to have gotten most of the spikes out, he had simply missed one. Jon reached out, pulling it out with a vengeance and tossing it aside. He didn’t want one that had hurt his boyfriend. Satisfied Martin would no longer be in danger from an errant spine Jon returned to his own lionfish.
When the meal was finished Jon had seventeen new spines (thanks to Martin’s contributions) and he was full. Jon circled Martin before starting to swim, secure in the knowledge that his boyfriend would follow him closely. It was such a warm thought, knowing that Martin trusted him enough to follow even when Jon led him away from their normal hunting ground.
Jon wasn’t going far, but there was something he had been wanting to show Martin. It was a work in progress, as most things in Jon’s life were, but he hoped Martin might appreciate it anyways.
On the edge of the reef there was a drop into the deep. Jon went right over the edge and down, and he heard a boom from Martin, a warning sound that he ignored. They weren’t going that deep. Just over the edge and past an outcropping of rocks and here! Jon looked back to make sure Martin was close and once he confirmed it, Jon swam into the cavern.
It wasn’t much yet. Jon had collected some bioluminescent plants from the deeper areas for decoration and even coaxed kelp to grow though some of the small openings at the top and bottom of the cavern. But what he was most proud of was the little archive he had made of his notes, wood stacked side by side in a shelf Martin had helped him salvage months back. An archive which also included Martin’s own writings—why he wanted to record poetry of all things Jon would never understand, but it made his boyfriend happy and it did look rather nice, stacked with his own research notes.
He just hoped Martin liked it too.
Shyly he tried to gauge Martin’s reaction from the corner of his eye. Martin was looking around the cavern which meant unfortunately he wasn’t looking at Jon, so it was hard to assess his mood. Jon flicked his tail, propelling himself closer to his boyfriend. He let out a urgent few clicks as he reached Martin, touching his arm. Martin turned and Jon saw his eyes were wide and wild. Before he could even try to guess what that meant Martin had pulled him into his arms and was swimming, spinning and dancing in the water, letting out the warm hum and purr of love love love amaze! Jon couldn’t help a burst of amused laughter that bubbled up, and wrapped his tail around Martin, holding onto him as he was danced around the cavern. It was clear Martin understood what Jon was offering—a new nest, a new home for the both of them. No longer would Jon be in a cave too narrow for Martin to get through, instead he would be able to properly cuddle up to his boyfriend and spend time with him while doing his work. Martin wouldn’t have to head off alone as night fell, instead he’d be able to curl up on sea grass and sleep while Jon watched over him and took notes.
It just sounded so nice he wanted to give it a test run right away in fact. He uses his arms to slowly swim towards the bed of sea grass, not willing to let go of Martin, and then let them sink into the gentle vegetation. Jon wiggled his shoulders as he snuggled up into Martin and was rewarded by his boyfriend’s arms wrapping more securely around him, one hand pressed on the small of his back, the other stroking through his hair. Nuzzling into the hand Jon tilted his head to kiss Martin’s palm before turning to Martin and leaning in. They shared a few lazy kisses until the lure of a nap, cuddled close to his boyfriend, grew too much and Jon let his eyes close, secure in the knowledge Martin would be right beside him when he woke up.