Treasure From the Sea Part 3
Heero turned in his sleep and frowned. Something was missing. It took five minutes for the facts to register. Then he realized... Duo wasn't beside him. He'd taken to sleeping with the merman since Duo had really upsetting nightmares that caused horrible relapses of his fever. Heero's presence calmed him. Heero sat up and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. **Duo? Where are you?**
Duo's mind voice came in clear. **I'm SWIMMING! I know you wanted me to wait for you, but... I simply couldn't stay out of the water for much longer. The lake was calling me!**
Heero chuckled at Duo's tone. **Just don't overdo it, Duo. I know Sally said you were to get some exercise in, but I don't want you getting sick again.** He liked how Duo's eyes had slowly lost that lost expression, and he knew genuine smiles were not long in coming. He stood up and headed for the main hall. He frowned when he heard loud voices.
"It is preposterous! Not only does the upstart refuse to pay me, he charges me with neglect and has my shop closed down! All of my stock has been taken from me, and I have no means of income!"
Heero sighed as he approached, knowing his father was not all that pleased with the man, either.
Lord Odin frowned at the former owner of the so-called pet shop. "I inspected all of those animals. Half of them were nearly dead with neglect and the other half... died before our vets could look at them. I know how men like you operate. You make people pay outlandish prices for an inferior product. That is bad enough, but you had a merman... a MERMAN... in captivity. It took a lot to get him back to some semblance of health. Be glad we just took your shop. For deceiving my son, you could very well have been executed."
The man huffed a little. "What deceit? I never deceived your son!"
Heero walked into the room. "You said you gave Duo a choice on whether he could stay in the shop or if he could go home. You said he CHOSE to stay in captivity. You should know, as well as anyone, that a merman's tail becomes a pair of legs when he dries. You could have fed him and pointed him in the direction of a healer who would have known how to take care of him. What you did was lock him in a filthy tank in a dark corner of your store. If he was there by choice, there was no need for bars." He shook his head. "And you broke a lot of hearts by selling people sick pets. I would not have done as I did had I not been given enough evidence to show you guilty of negligence." He bowed a little to show respect for his father. "If you will excuse me, I have someone to look after."
Odin grinned a little. "I know. I spotted Duo heading for the lake a short while ago. He should have contented himself with the pool we have for him inside the keep. Sally will be very upset if he falls ill again." He watched Heero leave.
*****
Heero walked to the lake and dipped his fingers in before shivering. **Duo... aren't you COLD?** He smiled as a head emerged, then frowned when he saw how pale the merman was. "Come on... let's get you inside so you can warm up."
Duo spat out the rest of the water and swam to the edge, shivering a little as the cool air hit his chilled skin. He gave Heero a sheepish smile. "Sorry."
Heero shook his head and reached down to pull Duo out of the water, wincing as Do started whimpering. "Shhhhh... you'll be warmed soon." With that, Heero ran to the estate. He avoided the room where his father was still arguing, and brought Duo straight to Sally.
Sally looked up and smiled ruefully. "I guess we should have told him about the warmer pool we've prepared for him. You should bring him to it. It'll thaw him out fairly quickly."
Heero nodded and walked into a room that used to be a very grand bathing room, but had been changed to a warmed swimming area just for Duo. He carefully sat Duo down and used his hand to pour the warm water on the merman.
Duo blinked his eyes open. "Wha? Ohhhhhh..." Duo closed his eyes as Heero eased him into the water. It was perfect. It was warm enough to swim in, but not too hot for his liking.
"Better? We had this room renovated for you while you stay here." Heero felt his breath catch as Duo smiled at him.
"Better be careful! You'll spoil me and I won't EVER want to go back." Duo happily dove into the water and then imitated a dolphin by swimming up and making a small jump. He laughed when he surfaced again and turned to Heero. "Swim with me, Heero!"
Heero smiled as he stripped down and jumped into the pool. He yelped in surprise as Duo grabbed him and pulled him under the water.
Duo had wanted to show Heero how he felt for him, so he did something he was told not to do. He placed his mouth over Heero's and blew little bubbles onto Heero's lips.
Heero's lungs were almost bursting and he wondered what Duo was doing. **Are you TRYING to drown me?**
**Open your mouth Heero. I'll do the breathing for both of us.**
Heero did as Duo told and closed his eyes as the first rush of air filled his oxygen-starved lungs. It took a few seconds to realize that Duo's breath tasted like air during a spring rain. He gathered it was due to Duo swimming in the fresh water.
Duo groaned and felt a little light headed, but he knew what he wanted. **I want to stay with you, Heero. I'm not wanted with my people. You have made me feel happy again. So where you go, I will go.**
Heero opened his eyes, but closed them again as he changed the air giving into a deep kiss. **I'm glad!** He wrapped his arms around Duo and held him tenderly.
Duo smiled at Heero as joy surged through him. Heero had accepted him. **Swim with me.** With that, Duo grabbed Heero's hand and started teaching Heero the types of games he played. **You would make a lousy merman!** Duo's mental voice was full of laughter as he pressed his mouth to Heero's again so his friend could breathe. He looked up in alarm as something broke the surface.
**Blast! Come on... let's see who's there.** Heero swam to the surface and looked around.
"Oh good! You HAVEN'T drowned!"
Heero grinned. "Wufei! Welcome back!" Heero turned and sighed when he didn't See Duo. **It's okay! Wufei's a friend!**
Wufei quirked an eyebrow as Duo surfaced. "This must be the merman Sally said you've taken in. I'm pleased to meet you, Duo."
Duo swam to the edge and smiled. "Likewise. Sally chatted a lot about you." He tilted his head. "You don't LOOK like a dragon, though! All the dragons I've read about are green and scaly!"
Wufei rolled his eyes. "Heero... I have the painting in your room."
Heero sighed. "Thanks. You wanna come look at a picture of a prospective bride?"
Duo frowned and dove underwater.
**I'll take that as a 'no'!** Heero felt uneasy when Duo didn't answer him. "I think I just hurt his feelings."
Wufei nodded. "I was here for half an hour before deciding to let you know I was here. He breathed for you, didn't he?"
Heero blinked at Wufei. "Yes... but what does that have to do with anything?"
Wufei sighed. "A mermaid... or merman... only breathes for someone else when she or he sees that other person as a potential mate. You accepted. Therefore... he sees your actions as a form of two-timing. Merfolk mate for life."
Heero gulped. He hadn't known that. "What should I do?"
Wufei smirked at him. "Stay here... I'll go burn the painting."
After Wufei had left, Heero tied a weight to his ankle and jumped into the pool.
TBC...
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