Hey Everyone,

Here's the new part! Like always, I'll be updating again on Friday. ;-)

I hope you vote or comment!

Much love,

Robin

*

The Way Home

When I looked over my shoulder next I saw the shape was much closer and resolving itself into lines that indicated it was a mermen but who? If it was Gavin, was it better to let him catch me purely so he'd get me to the surface for air? Was that better than drowning down here?

Then I saw that it couldn't be Gavin, his hair had been so blonde that even in the dark trench it had glowed white. I halted and spun towards the shape, feeling how tired and sluggish I was as I fought to get towards him, Matt, instead of away. He caught me around the waist and started, without pausing, to haul me in another direction. I helped, fighting to get speed, fighting to hold onto my last bit of air.

We broke surface just in time, I was gasping for air, exhausted and could only manage to hold onto his wide shoulders and let him anchor me. "Shit Dani," he groaned, his arms now around my waist to support me. "Shit that was close." I couldn't talk back, could only hold onto him while I drew lungfuls of precious air into my body.

I think we floated like that for five minutes while I just held on and let him hold me, let him rub his face against my hair. I was crying but also feeling so out of it that I felt kind of numb, there were tears but I was just so overwhelmed with what had happened. With Gavin and with getting lost in the huge, upside down world deep underwater.

When I got myself together enough to focus on him I realized that he was bleeding, blood welling from a slash high across his chest. It crossed just below the tattoo of a compass that covered his right pectoral. "Matt..." I murmured, lifting a bloody hand higher so the moonlight caught on the red. "You're hurt."

"I'm fine..." he responded, "Are you? Are you hurt anywhere?" his dark eyes lingered over the bridge of my nose but he didn't comment on the older bruise there. Instead he was now pushing me away to hold me at arms length while he checked my arms and shoulders for injuries. I said it again, "Matt you're bleeding..."

"Fuck, you're right, sharks... You ready for a dive? Stay limp, I'll do the work darling." At my nod he gathered me close again and we sunk under the waves together. I did as he told me and held myself limp in his arms, too exhausted from the fight and the entire experience to make a fuss about equality or something like that.

I was quite certain Matt got us out of that trench and back to the reefed area I recognized near Sharkfell faster than we would have gotten there if I'd tried to swim. As we came up so I could breathe again he held me the same as before, supporting me with his arms around my middle. This time though he lifted one hand to cradle the back of my head and press me against his chest. "Gods I nearly lost you..." he said huskily, rubbing his head against mine in affection and then layering a row of kisses down my temple and over my cheek.

I let him, I was soaking up his warmth and affection, the security he offered and when we sunk back down below the waves I just held onto him. It was much less deep here and instead of swimming on, Matt let us drop to the bottom where he leaned against a rocky outcropping and just kept on hugging me.

It was kind of like I was sitting in his lap this way, our tails sort of tangled together. Cradled against him I just closed my eyes and relaxed, letting the water current stroke against me, his heat surround me. Gavin had attacked me, the entire Corenth family had worked hard to separate me from the rest. But Matt had gotten the best of them somehow and saved me. I was alive, I was safe and that was all that mattered.

We stayed down on the bottom of the sea, holding each other, for one entire lungful of air, more than fifteen minutes. Then Matt pushed us off and brought me to the surface again. He did the whole holding me and rubbing his head against my face thing again and I soaked up the affection eagerly, returning the favor by pressing my face into his neck and nuzzling. Breathing in his smell and the scent of the ocean.

"Dani darling," Matt muttered, "I've got to get you home. They might find us again... Or a shark might, I'm still bleeding." Yet though he was the one to tell me we had to move on he was also the one who kept on holding me to his body, like he didn't want to let go of me enough for us to swim on.

"I'm okay," I said, finding my voice. "I'm okay, you saved me Matt..." I pulled away enough to look him in the eye. "You'll hold my hand while we swim? Please?" I said that as much for him as for me because I knew he had a hard time letting go of me, because I had a hard time letting go of him. "Hold hands, of course, yeah anything you need baby," he responded but instead of letting go he nuzzled the side of my face again, pressing kisses against my skin.

Then at last he let go of me, sliding one hand down my arm to get a grip on my hand and we started swimming home together. I was tired and sluggish and I could tell that physical extortion had taken its toll on him too.

He was swimming with efficient moves, adjusting to my pace and movements to stay close to me and making sure he was slightly ahead of me so I could take advantage of his wake. But he wasn't going fast, wasn't helping me go faster by pulling or suggesting he'd do the swimming for us like earlier. Blood was leaving a little trail of red in his wake from the gash over his chest.

We surfaced four times instead of our usual three when we headed home from Sharkfell and each time we did Matt would cradle me to his body and rub his face against me, seeking and giving comfort. Each time he did that I felt a little calmer again inside, a little more safe, a little less scared. Each time I lost a little piece of my heart to him because it felt like he really cared, cared deeply.

*

Oh no, Matt's bleeding...