The Pearled Seas - AU - Locked to seaweed_writes

[ihadabadday]

For years he had heard tales of the two fins who swan on the surface. They were... Odd. At least that was what he heard. But they still fascinated him. How did they swim? What did they eat? How did they live?

That was how he found himself on the surface, watching... He wasn't sure what it was. It was large and wooden? There were lights and white things. He curled up a bit further on the rock he had perched himself on. He was always worried the brilliant blue of his scales would make the two finners see him. But they only seemed to see what they wanted.

He gasped when the weather started to change, quickly, violently. The wooden... thing... was in shallow water, it wouldn't survive. Especially if it slammed against the rocks. He swallowed and then dove into the water, even as the waves started to grow violent, battering the wooden thing about.

He heard the wood breaking and two finners and things falling into the water.

That's when he saw him. He felt an odd pull towards the two finner. As if it was right.

There was an old tale at home, of soulmates. He had scoffed at it. Ridiculous. But, the pull he was feeling...

He swam towards the two finner, reaching out to grab the man as he was sinking deep into the water.

Comments

[seaweed_writes]

"Okay." He knew it would be rude not to take it, and while he wasn't sure if it would help him or kill him, right now he was going to die soon anyways.

He sniffed at it. It smelled like rotting seaweed, and kind of looked like it too. But he was starving, so he took a bite.

Sherlock almost threw it back up. It tasted about like it looked, like rotten seaweed. Still, it had to have some good properties if John's people ate it, he figured.

It took quite a while to get it past his gag reflex, and he choked some up a few times, but he managed to get it down. And surprisingly, it stayed down this time, which was a small miracle in itself.

[ihadabadday]

John beamed at him. He swam over, as close as he dared and kissed the two fin.

"Be safe." He said before diving back under the water.

When he returned early in the morning, he brought another bag, this one also waterproofed. Inside was a variety of gold coins and jewels. Enough for Sherlock to be comfortable for the rest of his life, as well as more of the food they cultivated.

[seaweed_writes]

"Oh..." Sherlock blushed a little bit. "Thank you.".

Sherlock watched him go. Every time John left, Sherlock felt a little worse. Even with the seaweed type snack in his belly, he still wasn't assured that he will be able to stay alive.

Still he was able to make it back to the beach and climbed under the makeshift leanto and immediately fell asleep.

Sherlock hadn't been up long when John came swimming back into the little lagoon that was his home. The seaweed had kept him alive through the night, and he was able to get another coconut in the morning.

He was just finishing it up when John came in. He walked up into the shallows and met him with a warm smile.

"My god, John.. I could almost buy an island with all of this." He looked up at John. "Please tell me where you are getting these. " He took the food as well. It was a little easier to eat this time, though it was still hard to swallow down.

[ihadabadday]

"Various wood things that are down." He said with a shy smile.

John shifted and curled up against Sherlock, draping his tail over the human's two fins. He was feeling more... He wasn't sure. Ever since the mating.

"I want you safe." He told Sherlock, "make a fire. Please?"

[seaweed_writes]

"Ah, shipwrecks." Sherlock nodded. There was part of him that wondered if he found the ship he was on, but in another way, he didn't want to know because he didn't really want to think about all the people he knew in Davy Jones' locker.

Sherlock was a bit surprised at the sudden clinginess of the fishman. He reached down and gently ran his hand through John's hair, marveling at how soft it was, despite it being constantly wet and salty.

"Alright." He said with a chuckle. "But you are going to have to let go of me." He very gently extricated himself from John and walked onto shore. It took him a while, and he had to waste a little of the precious gunpowder, but eventually he found enough fuel for the fire. It was tricky to get it started, but once it was going, it burnt hot.

"I'm going to have to constantly keep it fed." Sherlock told John when he walked back to the ocean. "So I'll have to sleep less, just nap, because if it goes out I don't have enough to start it again.

[ihadabadday]

He nodded. John smiled at him and then drove back under the water. He swam to find dry pieces of wood for Sherlock. He brought them back to the small island in another basket. The blonde pushed them onto the beach for Sherlock.

He was going to miss the two fin when he went home.

The blonde turned when he heard a loud boom. His eyes widened. A wood thing! He dove under the water and swam away. He didn't want to get caught.

[seaweed_writes]

Over the next few days, John brought him pieces of wood, which he used to lean up against the sides of his shelter. He also brought more of the seaweed, which while he was still losing weight, he was slightly less in danger of dying.

One morning, while John was giving him some wood, there was a gigantic boom. John freaked out and swam away. When Sherlock looked onto the horizon, he saw a ship.

A SHIP!

He was saved!

He...

Would never see John again.

But he couldn't refuse the help. He'd die here otherwise. Sherlock went to throw more leaves and such on the fire to make sure that they would see it.

He was going to be rescued.

He was going to go home.

[ihadabadday]

John surfaced and watched as his two fin was rescued by the wood thing. He smiled sadly. He might never see the two fin again.

He dove back under the water and swam back towards his small home.

Over the next two months, he went through the motions, often looking towards the surface. Was Sherlock missing him? He sunk down onto the area he slept on. He had been feeling ill the past few days. Perhaps he should see a shaman.

The blonde headed to see a shaman the next day.

He allowed himself to go through an examination, recounting the events of the past several months. He glossed over his time with the two fin. There was much stigma about interacting with them.

But, he was shocked when the shaman told him was with child.

The two finner's child.

How was this going to work?

He swallowed, his arms coming around to cradle his belly. Oh Poseidon.

The shaman informed him there was a way, but he would have to return to the water at least an hour once a day.

John nodded. Anything. He needed to find the two fin... His Sherlock.

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock didn't see John watching him. He was too busy getting assistance from the people on the boat. They were out of Barbados, which is the opposite way from Sherlock's home island of Trinidad, but he would be able to find a boat home from there.

He looked forlornly at the island. He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to John.

It took several weeks of sailing to get back to Trinidad. By the time he got back, he was much closer to his normal weight, though he was still thin, dark from the weeks he spent in the sun.

At first, Sherlock just took a couple of weeks to get back to living with other humans again.

Eventually, he found a bit of property on a less inhabited part of Trinidad. He bought it, because had a rundown house already on it. He used some of the coins that John had gotten him to hire men to fix the place up, including putting in a dock, even though for now he didn't have even a little dinghy.

Days turned into weeks, and soon enough it passed two months since he'd been rescued. He thought about John every day, and he would sit out on the deck around sunset every night, wondering what he was doing at that moment.

[ihadabadday]

Trinidad.

What an odd name.

But he knew he had been at the island before.

Before he left to find his mate, he gathered some jewels and gold, along with other things that he could fit in a bag.

He popped his head out of the water, looking around. There was a dock, and a little house. A good place to rest under the dock.

John put a hand on his three month belly and dove back down under the water to swim over to the dock.

[seaweed_writes]

One month turned into two, and then two turned into three.

Sherlock continued to sit on the deck every night. He knew that he would never see John again, but he liked to be close to the sea. He loved the ocean, and he hadn't been in ship since he'd been dropped off here.

He had enough coins to last him, even with the house and the repairs, that had just recently been totally finished.

But still, his life was lonely, empty. He only went into town once a week to get supplied, other than that he was a hermit.

One evening, 3 months and a week after he'd been rescued, he sat on the dock, not noticing the ripple in the water.

[ihadabadday]

John looked up at the dock, realizing that there was someone up there.

Oh no.

He swallowed and slipped further into the water. He wondered who it was.

Last time he had been this way, it had been empty. At least the house. He slipped the bag off and tucked it against the dry land and a post.

John swam to the end of the dock and carefully pulled himself up, just enough to see...

OH!

His two fin.

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock was off in his own world, staring out into the vastness of the ocean , not looking at anything in particular.

A small ripple and a light splash caught his attention. The light was low, so it was a bit hard to see, but there was something in the water. He leaned forward and strained his eyes to see...

"J-j-ohn?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper.

It... couldn't be.

But it was.

[ihadabadday]

His face lit up and he couldn't... He heaved himself out of the water and onto the dock.

He couldn't go far just yet, as his fin hadn't changed into two fins.

"Sherlock!" John said cheerfully.

[seaweed_writes]

"John!" He watched John haul himself up over the low dock. He looked... a little ... different, but he wasn't quite sure how. He walked over to John and sat beside him, giving him a firm hug.

"I.. I never thought I'd see you again." He said, his voice a little shaky. "I never got to say goodbye to you. I'm so very sorry."

[ihadabadday]

John held onto Sherlock, inhaling and then pulled back. He smiled at the human and reached out, touching his cheek.

"I missed you?" He wasn't sure if that was the right word. But it felt right.

"It was wrong not having you." He continued, "I saw Shaman to join you."

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock chuckled. He was still not really sure with his words, and Sherlock found it very adorable.

"I missed you as well, John." He hugged John softly. "
It felt wrong not seeing you, I missed seeing you swim up to me with.. well, whatever you found in the shipwrecks."

Sherlock looked a bit confused. "You.. saw a Shaman? what do you mean?"

[ihadabadday]

John smiled at him and then stretched as his fin changed into two fins. Or what did humans call them?

The blonde looked up, beaming. "See? Two fins."

He wanted to make sure the human wanted him here before he told the rest of his news.

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock stared... What had been a fishman was now..a human? Or at least human in looks. John was half laying on the dock, naked at the say he was.. (were fishmen born?). At least there was no on else here to see him.

"You... have.. legs?" Sherlock asked, touching them softly. They looked and felt like normal human leg. "I'm not sure if you will be able to stand on them. if you aren't used to it."

[ihadabadday]

He nodded. "Legs?" He asked touching the new appendage. So these were legs.

John shifted to nuzzle against Sherlock. He was feeling content now that he was here with him. His mate. The..

Their child.

He pulled back and looked at Sherlock.

"I... Remember when we...?"

[seaweed_writes]

"Yes, they are called legs." Sherlock kicked his legs in the water, off the side of the low dock. He snuggled up against John. He's had an empty spot in his heart, and now, it felt like it was filled again.

"When we...."' His voice trailed off. For a moment, he couldn't understand what John meant.

And then..

And then.

"OH."


"Umm.... yes." He turned a deep deep red

[ihadabadday]

John took Sherlock's hand and put it on his slightly swollen belly.

"Some males of my kind can carry young." He said.

Honestly, he had never expected to be able to breed with a human. But here they were. Having bred. A child growing in his belly.

The blonde looked at him. "Shaman said I am about three months?"

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock stared at him, his body stiff, his jaw hanging slightly down.

"You...." Sherlock looked down at John's belly, there was only the slightest bit of roundness to it, he had lost the six pack that he's had when they met 3 months ago.

"You... me..." he just couldn't rectify those words.. "How,,,?" He asked. What would it look like? Would it have fins? or legs? or some weird amalgam of both?

Would it even survive?

He had so many questions, and no answers.

"But... how?" He asked again, looking up at John, fear in his eyes.

[ihadabadday]

John looked just as frightened. "Lucky mating." He answered honestly.

"Shaman said it's rare, but it can happen."

He ran his hand over his belly, face flushed. He was worried Sherlock wouldn't want him now.

[seaweed_writes]

"Oh." It was all that Sherlock could say.

What in the world was he going to do? He was only 22, he had no job, though he had a house (albeit a small run down one) to live in. He was barely out of his own childhood, and how he had...

A fish...man... baby?

"I.... I.. don't know what to do." He said, honestly, in a defeated tone. "I dont know if this baby can even survive.. what it will look like.. if it will... kill you trying to birth it.. " He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Will it have fins? Or legs? Or both or neither? How would we even raise it? You have legs now.. but I get the feeling that you cant stay out here long. "


There were so many questions, so many worries.