Declan didn’t look cowed at all. “Well, I wasn’t trying to, but I came up over this little hill, and it was right there. And I wasn’t going to look, but you were diving in, and I might have looked a little, because let’s face it, anyone would,” he winked, “but I really wasn’t trying to. And then you didn’t come up for air.”
“Maybe you just didn’t see me.”
“Maybe you’re a giant squid and you should have just told me, so I didn’t freak out and jump into this freezing cold water to try and rescue you.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Um… no. You definitely turned into a giant cephalopod or had some sort of tentacle extensions or something and a way to breathe underwater. And I really did just jump in here and try to rescue you. Though, you’re right, the water’s not that cold. I was exaggerating.”
Geir wasn’t sure what to say. Where was the fear? Why wasn’t Declan running away?
Was he a Hunter? Or maybe parts of some new governmental program? There was always someone out there who wanted to kill, control, or harness the power of those that they didn’t understand, and Geir was so tired of running from them.
He didn’t want to believe that Declan had been planted here, like a trap. But he was struggling to come up with any other explanation. Declan was entirely too calm.
“So…” Declan started, looking impish, “magic or science?”
“I’m sorry, what?” His mind couldn’t keep up with all of the possibilities and Declan’s words.
“Magic or science? Or should that be nature or science? Ooohhhh… are you an alien? Where are you from? God, this is so much better than skinny dipping!” He giggled, the delighted sound ringing across the lake.
Geir swallowed and tried to start again. “I’m not sure what you saw, but…”
Declan rolled his eyes. “Don’t bullshit me. That was so cool. I always wanted an octopus for a pet, when I was a kid, but this is, like, a thousand times better. Can I see one of your tentacles? They are tentacles, right? How many of them do you have? Eight like an octopus or ten like a squid? But some of them are tentacles and some are arms, right? Like two important ones and the rest are just for movement and balance? And do you have three hearts? Like, one of each of your gills and then a body one?”
Geir kicked backward, trying to give himself space. Trying just to think. This wasn’t… this wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
Declan wasn’t supposed to stay there all adorable and excited and mostly naked while he asked questions about Geir’s tentacles. He hadn’t prepared for this at all.
He held still in a partially-shifted form, with his two tentacles extending from the base of his spine. Slow movements were the best defense mechanism that he had, his cephalopod body so close to the density of water that most other animals couldn’t detect it.
“Oh my God! I just saw one!” Declan darted forward.
Geir scrambled back in a churn of waves, dropping into his full squid form. He released another cloud of ink and instinctively turned a murky brown to match, diverting attention from his brain to propulsion as he tried to escape his fear.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t a fear he could run away from. He let himself sink down, then slowly rose, allowing his tentacles to sprout as he broke the surface.
Declan was farther away now, a distance that his squid half recognized as far enough away to be safe. But he looked sad and Geir’s human half hated that.
Was Declan the enemy? He was soft and sweet and probably half of Geir’s size. But it would only take a phone call to alert someone else. Maybe Declan was the bait.
He couldn’t figure out how anyone would have known how to get to him, though. Even he wasn’t sure what this was. He’d never felt this pull toward anyone else before. He wondered if his neighbors, who talked so often about their mates, might have some insights for him, too.
Declan called out across the surface of the water, his voice oddly amplified by the flat lake. “I’m so sorry, Geir. I shouldn’t have tried to touch you without your consent. And I shouldn’t have come down to the lake. You told me not to. I’ll just, um… I’ll just go back to the house. I mean, I can leave if you want me to. Like, I don’t know if there are Ubers out here or anything, but if you drive me to that B&B you were talking about I can stay there. I won’t tell anyone. I just… I’m really sorry.”
And then he started to swim back to shore in a lethargic breaststroke, like all of the energy had drained out of him.
He had almost reached the dock when Geir’s mind finally caught up to the situation.
Declan knew his secret. He’d accepted it without a second thought. He’d asked lots of questions, certainly, but all in eager curiosity. And then he’d apologized and said he wouldn’t tell anyone.
He could be going back to the house to call someone. He could have been lying about his phone being broken.
But Geir believed him.
Not just about keeping his secret, but about all of it. Declan wasn’t scared, but he didn’t seem to be angling at anything either. He was just excited. Like a kid who wanted an octopus for a pet.
“Declan!” he called out, hoping that he would turn.
Geir still wasn’t sure what he wanted. He had no sense of the future. No goals or plans. No hopes. But he didn’t want Declan to leave.
Declan kept swimming for the dock, his ears probably under the water.
Geir slipped below, transforming seamlessly into a thing of smooth motion and speed, all of his muscles working together to propel him forward without a thought. He swam unerringly toward Declan, his eyes familiar with the blurry vision that let him focus in on contrasts and colors, like pale, slender legs and tight black briefs.
When he broke the surface again, human down to the waist, barely two feet separated them.
Declan looked awed. “Wow,” he whispered. Like he was seeing something amazing and beautiful.
Slowly, Geir let one tentacle rise from the water. He didn’t know why he was doing it. Declan had already made him do so many things that he didn’t usually do. He hadn’t talked to anyone so much in decades. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever had another soul in his home, once it was constructed.
Now, he was sharing a secret that could mean his life or the lives of innocents nearby. But, perhaps naively, he trusted.
Declan would be his last indulgence, his last bright moment in the sun, for however long it lasted.
He had some nebulous idea that this was it. Without any concept of last, or what would happen after. Maybe simply the end. The end of endless time. But Declan would be there at the end, he thought. Whether it came by violence and betrayal or gently with soft limbs wrapped around him. They were both the same to him.
Declan reached out a slim, pale hand, meeting him halfway.
And the sensation when they touched… it was like the handshake before, but magnified. Even that delicate touch sent a ripple of warm awareness throughout his body.
Geir slipped the tentacle down his arm, waiting to be stopped, waiting for Declan to jerk away.
But Declan just trailed his fingers over Geir’s sensitive flesh, exploring with his slender fingers and eager eyes.
“Wow,” he said again, still awed. Geir hadn’t expected to see Declan at a loss for words, but his gentle caress spoke for him.