The door clicking shut behind Parker felt like my funeral bells ringing. Immediately Mellac pressed me against him and began licking my cheek. And don't think I didn't notice something poking me after only a few seconds.

No way, man.

I jerked out of his arms and rushed into the bedroom area, jumping onto the bed closest to the door. When he didn't come after me, my brows knit together.

"Come here, human. You belong to me and should mate me as such," Mellac said nonchalantly from where he still stood in the bathroom.

Yeah? He can drown himself in a... oh, right, fish guy.

"Uh, sorry, man, not interested."

Mellac growled and started toward me after stepping out of the bathroom, but I kept backing up, trying to stay just out of reach.

"You do not get a choice. I claimed you as my mate, and you shall do as I say."

He lunged at me, but I jumped just in time, landing on the other bed while he pushed himself off the first and snarled.

"Dude, I may be able to deal with the whole sexing up a mermaid—uh, merman thing eventually, but that doesn't mean I'm going to just roll over and spread my legs."

His face skewed in annoyance, obviously unhappy that I wasn't some dog willing to bend over for him whenever he wanted to do it.

"We don't just bow down to our 'mates' in the human version of this..." I gestured between us, then shut up and waited for him to get pissed again. I figured he would try to attack a second time, but when he took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders a slight amount, I did the same, letting a quiet sigh slip from my parted lips.

"Well then, human. What is it that your species does?"

Oh. Uh. I never thought I'd have to explain this to another guy.

"Um... we, uh. Date, and kiss and stuff."

His gills flared slightly, silently warning me to elaborate.

"I-I mean, if you want me to mate with you, you're supposed to take me out to get food, have fun, kiss... that kind of thing."

He tilted his head slowly, tongue darting out to lick at his dry lips.

"I... take you outside? That is ridiculous. What is a kiss?"

I hesitated to move closer, knowing that he was still much more interested in getting to my behind than learning what that word was.

"I-It's pressing your lips against someone else's."

Okay, every expression on Mellac's face now looked like he wanted to puke from annoyance and aggravation.

"What are you humans? Mating is mating. Male mers breed, then usually leave. There is no going outside or lip touching, that is strange."

He reached out again, catching me by surprised with a clawed hand around my ankle. I was suddenly yanked off my feet and straight toward him as my back slid against the bed sheets.

"Mellac."

His body loomed over me as he climbed onto the bed, hands trying to pin mine above my head.

"You will be silent and obey me." He hissed, but I was too afraid of other things to really heed the warning. Instead, I actually hissed back, then let a deep growl escape my throat. Immediately he leaned back, eyes wide and extremely confused as he stared down at me. He remained that way for a long moment before leaning back down, hands on either side of my head, teeth bared. I mirrored the action identically, baring my own teeth.

"You dare challenge me, human?"

"You can't just mate with me without doing what my species is used to."

"Yes, I can. You are weak, you cannot stop me."

He began reaching for the hem of my shirt, and I flinched, grabbing for his arm though I knew I couldn't match his strength.

"Stop. Please, Mellac."

His gaze met mine once more but seemed to linger there longer than before, then he leaned down, immediately making me squeeze my eyes shut in fear of being bitten. But when I felt a gentle but rough tongue run just beneath my left eye, then trail over the bridge of my nose and end at my right eye, I hesitantly opened them to see Mellac's tongue retreat back into his mouth.

"Why are you leaking saltwater, human? You cannot survive in the ocean, so how do you have it?"

I couldn't help but sniffle a chuckle at that.

"It is called tears, Mellac. Humans cry when they are stressed or afraid."

"Tears?"

I nodded, blinking as several more ran down my cheeks to disappear into my hair.

"D-Do not do that. You will lose too much water."

Oh, he cares about me dying, but not having his way with my butt? Of course.

"I will not die from it, Mellac." I said with a quiet sarcastic chuckle. His eyes narrowed, and he seemed to be about to continue where he had left off, but then he paused a few inches from my face. When he didn't move, I hesitantly met his gaze but didn't dare question him about his intentions. Well, I found out what they were moments later when his surprisingly soft but dry lips pressed against my own. I'd never thought I'd ever kiss another man besides Parker, but Mellac was going straight to town on my poor mouth. When he finally leaned back to take a breath, I gasped for air and spoke quickly.

"Y-You can kiss some other places, t-too... u-usually above someone's waist."

It isn't that I want his mouth all over me, 'cause I don't! But I need to breathe and not have my mouth all bloody from his teeth.

Thankfully he seemed to understand and began 'kissing' my neck, shoulders, and arms... but it was definitely more like biting.

"Softer... h-hurts, Mellac."

He growled and gave me a few stronger bites, but when he looked up and I was crying again, he quickly toned it down, just nipping here and there with a few licks spaced randomly between them. When he finally returned back to my mouth, I could feel multiple bruises forming all over my upper body, but his lips were placed against mine with a gentleness I didn't think the aggressive mer was capable of. We tasted each other's mouths for a good while, or more importantly, until I heard Parker's confused voice in the room.

~Parker

Okay, that took a lot longer than I had planned. Two hours after I had left, I managed to get back to the hotel room. It didn't take so long because the stores were too far away or anything of that sort, but every time I saw a police car I had to take a sudden detour or U-turn. It wasn't fun, especially in a big truck. Thankfully, though, I'm pretty sure none of them followed me back.

Now then... time to see the carnage I come back to.

Grabbing the key-card I had dangling between my teeth, I quickly unlocked the door while juggling the bags in my arms, then kicked it shut with a relieved sigh. The sigh wasn't from what was or wasn't going on in the room but because I had finally made it back and was not in handcuffs, being questioned about two missing mermen. Pushing those thoughts aside now, I looked up and, uh...

"Mellac?"

His glazed eyes looked over at me lazily from where he lay atop Jayson, thankfully fully clothed, on the second bed.

Uhm... nothing like walking in on my best friend and his new 'mer'derous boyfriend making out.

"Uhm... I'm just... gonna go this way."

I tried to sidestep around them as I got closer to the bathroom and the second bed. However, as soon as I got within a few feet, Mellac snarled and flared his gills, forcing me to jump back.

"M-Mellac, I need to go help your brother."

I lifted the bags grasped in my hands slightly and gave a hesitant smile.

"I got him some fish and medicine, to help him feel better."

The mer was quiet for a long moment before sighing and looking down at Jayson. His gills relaxed and the growling stopped, allowing me to relax at the same time. Jayson, on the other hand, was actually hiding a little beneath Mellac.

Is he embarrassed? Cute, haha!

"You okay, Jay?"

"He is fine. I am doing as he said in order to gain my right to mate with him. I did kiss, and I will take him outside soon, then we will mate."

Not really sure what that is about, but I'll just let Jay take care of it.

I carefully took that opportunity to skirt past the two so I could get into the bathroom. The second I stepped through the open door, I saw a very excited Callem.

"Parker! Arf! Arf!"

Err.

Hurrying over, I knelt besides the tub and set my stuff down, then lifted a finger to my lips.

"Shhhh, Callem."

This place doesn't allow dogs. So I'm pretty sure it doesn't allow mers, either.

He quieted after a moment, but then his butt was wiggling in the water while he tried to lean over the edge of the tub and lick my face.

"You are the biggest puppy in the world, you know that?"

His head tilted for a moment, just like his brother's often did.

"Puppy?"

Okay, the innocent look on his face definitely screamed 'puppy', but I knew better. He'd probably eat a puppy if he ever got his hands on one. Anyways, I leaned forward and let him give me a few licks before sitting back on my heels and digging through one of the bags. Pulling out a bottle of organic medicine, I glanced up at him and grinned.

"Can you take those clothes off for me, Callem?"

He blinked and licked his lips. It wasn't necessary for the medicine, but it would probably help his damaged skin to not have fabric so close.

"Parker puppy," he chimed, making me grin.

"Uh... not quite. Here, let me help."

Setting the bottle down on the cold tile floor, I leaned forward and tugged his shirt over his head. It took a few tries since he didn't understand his arms had to be up for it to work... mainly because I was a good bit smaller than him in size. I even ended up lifting my own arms up, then saying "Stay," so he'd hold the position when he mirrored the action. It worked after the fourth try, but then he kept his arms up.

"Callem, look. Do as I do, okay?"

I raised my arms, then lowered them. No response. Okay...

"Callem? Do to Parker, okay?"

He finally dropped his arms but then grabbed me and yanked my whole body into the tub with him. I wasn't sure what he was going to do afterward because we both jerked our attention toward the door when Jayson came stomping in with a very pissed-off expression on his face.

"Dammit. Why did you leave me with him when you went shopping?"

He shoved his arm across his mouth, wiping away some blood, then proceeded to wash his face in the sink. I think he even scrubbed his mouth out with soap.

"Uh, there wasn't much I could really do about it. He can easily kill me, Jay."

I knew he was aware that, but he still had the right to be mad.

"Why don't you try to talk with him about it?"

Okay, that earned me a pretty nasty glare. Callem must have felt me sink against him a bit because he bared his teeth and hissed at Jay. I quickly straightened a little and patted his strong chest reassuringly.

"It's okay, Callem. No hurt, please?"

He relaxed almost immediately, but I could tell he was watching Jayson carefully.

"I'm serious. He knows most of our language, or at least enough to communicate decently well. Talk to him. He claimed you as his mate. That must mean something to him."

Jay seemed to want to argue further but deflated after a moment with a tired shrug.

"I guess I'll go try..."

I smiled and reached into one of the bags I had set on the floor, offering him a wrapped package of fish.

"Give this to him? Maybe he'll be easier to talk to if he isn't hungry?"

Jayson gave me a faint smile and took the fish, then sauntered out of the room quietly. He shut the door, giving us privacy as well as himself and Mellac.

"Okay, let's see what we can do for your stomach first, hm?"

Callem grinned and scooted back a bit, giving me some much-needed space to work. First things first, I grabbed the bottle I had left sitting on the tile and took out a small pill. It was basically just condensed herbs, but it had great reviews on the bottle and shouldn't hurt him like modern medicine probably would.

"Here, Callem. Uh, medicine to Callem?"

He reached out, taking the small green pill but didn't seem quite sure if he wanted to eat it. I gestured with my hand to put it in his mouth, but again, nothing.

Okay, time to try a dog trick... hide it in his food.

I grabbed a bundle of fish and unwrapped it carefully. It had cost me an arm and a leg, but I knew farmed fish would probably do him worse rather than better so I had bought wild caught. Farmed was likely what they had been feeding him back at the park, making him unwilling to eat. After getting the first fillet free of its wrapping, I grabbed the pill back and turned slightly, shoving it as best I could beneath a piece of the meat. Callem's full attention was on the fish when I turned back around and offered it to him with a big grin.

"Parker fish to Callem."

He took it without an ounce of hesitation and began inhaling bite after bite. My inner self was cheering loudly, praying that he got the pill, but our dreams were soon crushed when Callem made a funny face, then coughed a few times, the last one making the pill fly down into the water.

"Aw, man."

Grabbing the pill, I tossed it over the edge of the tub, then got out a new one.

"Callem, you need to take the medicine."

He glanced up from the fish he was gnawing on but didn't seem interested.

Bah. Why can't he be like a dog and eat the pill hidden in his food?

Rolling my eyes, I shoved the pill into my mouth and leaned forward right as Callem was about to take another big bite of fish. Our lips crashed together, and before he had a chance to even think about what I was doing, I shoved my tongue, and the pill, halfway down his darn throat. Callem shook his head, confused and quite surprised when I backed off and licked my lips. He mirrored my action, licking his own, but he didn't seem satisfied and did it again, and again. Then when he realized something, his gaze rose to meet mine and he licked his lips a fourth time.

"Callem to Parker."

He traced his tongue slowly along his lower lip, making my heart stumble around in my chest.

"Yes?"

Suddenly I was shoved up against the tile wall near the spigot with Callem's teeth harshly biting at my lips. I squeaked from pain when he caught my lower one a bit too hard. Immediately, he barked and jumped back in response, splashing a little wave of water over the edge of the tub. I lifted my right hand to press a few fingers to my now-bleeding lip as I watched his expression.

"Callem hurt Parker."

His face fell the second I finished speaking.

"It's okay, you didn't mean it. Come here, Callem."

He scooted a little closer, and I carefully leaned up, pressing my lips to his gently. For a few seconds, we were doing okay with soft kisses, but then he became aggressive again and bit me. I squeaked, and he jumped back. This time, however, he leaned back in on his own accord and was gentler. It was a minute later when I gasped as he caught my tongue with a particularly sharp bite. He backed off but returned a moment later. Sometime around the twelfth try, he finally managed to get it down fairly well. He was a serious addict to French kissing, and I had to push him away more than a few times so I could catch my breath. When he finally relented to catch his own, he was all smiles and giddy.

"Heh, Callem likes to kiss Parker?"

His grin grew a bit as he questioned me.

"Like to kiss Parker?"

I chuckled and leaned forward, pressing my lips against his for a second before leaning back.

"Kiss."

His brows rose as he licked his lips, then leaned forward and kissed me for a moment.

"Kiss Parker?"

"Yes. Kiss."

I pressed my mouth against his one more time and laughed lightly when he spoke.

"Callem likes to kiss Parker."

"I like kissing you, too, but unfortunately we have more important things to do right now."

Says who?

Slapping my thoughts, I got myself out of the tub and watched as Callem quickly followed. He already looked like he felt a bit better after soaking in the water for a while and eating. I doubted that pill took effect yet, but it was there too and should be working soon.

"I got something for you, but first you need to get out of those clothes or you're fever is going to get bad."

Of course he had no idea what I was saying so I just grabbed the hem of his shorts and yanked them down. He stepped out of the fabric without much care about being naked.

Hah, not like he has anything to be ashamed about.

"Come on, let me show you. I think you'll like it."

I grabbed the other bag and was now tugging Callem into the main room. When we got in front of the first bed, the one not currently occupied by Mellac... snuggling a passed-out Jay? I gently nudged Callem onto it.

"Wait here."

Setting the bag down, I knelt and got busy pulling out the thing and setting it up. Once it was ready, I hopped up and sat on the bed next to Callem, setting the item in his naked lap.

"It can help you learn how to talk to me better."

It was already on and ready so I swiped my finger along the screen, flipping the page to begin the book.

"See, you tap the screen like this..."

I touched the picture of the cow, and a female computer voice began to talk through the device.

"Cow. Cows go 'moooo'."

Callem smiled and tried to make the sound, but god did it just sound like he was jerking himself off. Pushing that thought to the very back of my mind, I quickly tapped another picture, this time of a chicken.

"Chicken. Chickens go cluck cluck."

Jay had snored a tiny bit when the device spoke so the fact that Callem repeated the words as "Uck fuck." didn't surprise me in the least, but I did smack my forehead with my palm pretty hard.

"Okay, let's try something a little different."

I switched the book to one a bit simpler, then grabbed his hand and carefully made him tap a picture with his pointer finger.

"Girl."

"...girl?"

He looked at me, and I nodded. Immediately, he smiled and pressed another picture.

"Boy."

"Boy."

I nodded enthusiastically. He moved his finger like I had to turn the page and smiled when it worked and more pictures popped up.

"Eat. Girl eats."

He tapped several more pictures on the page, all of them dealing with food before looking back at me.

"Callem eat Parker?"

I choked on air, beating my chest for a second before getting myself under control, but of course Mellac was snickering from where he lay on the other bed.

Hmph!

"You know what Callem? Cows eat a lot of food."

He glanced back at his brother, then turned to me excitedly.

"Mellac cow? Mellac eats lot."

There was a deep growl from his brother, but I couldn't let the chance to laugh at the bastard slip by.

"Hah! Yes. Exactly."

Callem bounced up and down where he sat quietly for a second before getting more comfortable with the gadget on the blanket, turning to lie on his belly. All joking aside, I helped him get through three full books before he finally began to yawn.

"Ready for sleep?"

He sat up, licking my cheek softly.

"Sleep... sound... good?"

I couldn't help myself, I had to hug him.

"Yes. You are so smart, Callem."

He hugged me back tightly until I wound up in his lap, the Leapfrog machine and its game cartridges nudged aside for the moment.

"Can... Callem kiss Parker?"

"Yes."

He gave an excited yip and quickly pressed his lips against mine. We fell onto the blankets a few minutes later, but I didn't mind at all. His arms stayed around me, and I tugged part of the blanket over us, just enough to keep us both warm but not mess with Callem's skin as much as possible.

"Parker Callem's..."

My eyes were already closing as I nuzzled against his warm body and nodded.

"Yes. Parker Callem's... and Callem Parker's."

I felt him nuzzle my hair softly and give a quiet whine, but soon I was completely lost to sleep, feeling surprisingly safe in my amazing merman's arms.