FicWad

The day began for Gerard with more news of missing sailors.

Frank was asleep, naked and tangled up in bed sheets still. Or he had been when Gerard had left him. Their morning had been just as enjoyable as the night before, and whilst Frank caught up on some extra sleep Gerard had got out of bed to shower and prepare breakfast to take to his lover.

Gerard had turned on the radio to dance along to whilst he made Frank’s ever favourite pancakes, but he had been distracted when the midday news had come on and more reports of missing sailors were read out. It was starting to sound like a bad joke, just the same old report where only the names of the missing changed. But that wasn’t the main thing that had caused Gerard to stand back with a dazed expression, forgetting about the batter starting to burn in the pan.

Like a brick to the face Gerard suddenly remembered the sleepy conversation he had had with Frank that morning before the merman had fallen back to sleep. Gerard himself had dozed for a little while, but no more than half an hour before he had woken up properly. He couldn’t believe that alone had caused the words to disappear from his mind until then.

The little Frank had told him about Siren’s created a perfect solution to the mystery of the men disappearing from their boats. Frank hadn’t seemed concerned as he had talked about the strange sea creatures, and Gerard couldn’t be sure whether Frank had suspicions that the Sirens were behind what was happening or whether he simply hadn’t clicked. Gerard himself though was already almost certain that Frank had unwittingly revealed the truth to him.

Sliding the frying pan off the stove Gerard hurried out to the living room to pick up his laptop from the floor. He rarely used the machine, it was getting old and a little slow but it was still reliable. He only ever used it to order new art supplies when he couldn’t find what he wanted in the nearby store, or to watch porn on those especially lonely nights.

For once though the heavy slab of a computer was being used for something actually important and Gerard’s heart was in his mouth as he opened up a search engine and typed in the word ‘Sirens’.

Gerard glanced up and listened intently, making sure that there was no sign of Frank waking up before he turned to the screen and began to scroll down the list of links that had been brought up. The first few were useless, links to a TV show, a movie and even a band. But then a website on Greek mythology appeared and Gerard clicked on it eagerly.

If the artist had been expecting to find some sort of useful information he was sorely disappointed. The Siren’s depicted in Greek mythology weren’t even aquatic creatures, let alone mermaids. They were half woman and half bird, nothing at all like he had been expecting. The only similarities to Frank’s story was that they lured sailors to their death. These bird Siren’s by their song, though Gerard had assumed the aquatic Sirens used simple seduction.

Gerard pressed the back button and moved on, but every page seemed to come up with the same thing. Strange, Grecian bird ladies who sat on islands and rocks in the sea but never in the water. Could Frank be wrong then? Had he simply been talking nonsense because he was so tired? Or could Gerard simply not trust these myths and tales; after all it was all believed to be nothing more than fairy tales now, yet he had a merman in his bed. And Frank wasn’t exactly like a merman stereotype as far as human tales went.

Gerard sighed and considered for a moment before refining his search to ‘siren mermaids’ and trying again. This time he found a few obscure texts about seductive mermaids who lured soldiers to their deaths, but only in comprehensive lists of ‘mermaid species’ which seemed to be written by crazy people rather than anyone who knew what they were talking about. Though Gerard supposed he was now one of those crazy people, now that he truly believed merpeople existed.

Gerard searched and read up on the strange aquatic beauties for an hour, but when he finally admitted defeat and closed the laptop down he didn’t feel any more informed. It was clear that the only thing he could do was speak to Frank about it again when he was properly awake.

Gerard wasn’t looking forward to trying to broach the subject with his lover, so he walked back into the kitchen to try and salvage the pancakes. At least giving Frank good food would make him happy, and hopefully more inclined to talk.

As the fresh pancake batter cooked in the pan Gerard sliced bananas and pulled a bottle of butterscotch sauce from the cupboard. He knew Frank preferred drinking tea to coffee so he boiled the kettle while placing a mug for himself beneath the drip on the coffee machine. He wasn’t sure why he was feeling nervous all of a sudden; Frank was too sweet, too kind hearted to get angry at him when he brought up the issue with the Sirens. Perhaps his nerves were simply brought on by the fact he so desperately wanted to impress the merman, and that he couldn’t bear to do anything that might jeopardise what was fast becoming a real relationship.

Gerard considered his feelings as he made the breakfast, building pancake stacks on the two plates he had laid out on the side. It was obvious that he liked Frank… Liked him a lot. There was certainly an element of lust involved that seemed to blend nicely with the softer feelings he had felt for Frank since the first day they met.

At first it had simply been the kindness of one stranger to another. That had become concern, and then care, and then gradually friendship. Now though Gerard could feel that it was becoming something else and fast. To say he was smitten was fine; safe even. He could admit to being smitten with Frank with no problem, but to consider that he might be in love was difficult. Being in love with a merman was just too complicated.

Thinking about the L word was making Gerard feel positively sick and so he quickly pushed it out of mind. With the breakfast completed he had other things to worry about and so he focused on carrying the plates and mugs back through to the bedroom where Frank was still fast asleep in the bed.

Frank awoke with a smile as Gerard gently coaxed him out of his dreams. He rubbed his eyes, yawned and stretched before blinking sleepily up at the artist, his lips curving immediately into a soft grin as he shuffled up into a sitting position.

“Gee… hey…” He purred, his voice husky from sleep. “I didn’t sleep too long did I?” He looked about with dopey eyes, trying to figure out what the time was and whether he had just wasted a whole day in bed or not. Gerard was fully dressed, so it was clear he had been awake for some time.

“It’s almost afternoon.” Gerard smirked, finding Frank utterly adorable in his naked, just woken up state. “I thought you could do with a lie in.” He passed Frank one of the plates of pancakes and put his tea down on the bedside table next to him. “I brought you breakfast…” He added, as if Frank couldn’t already tell.

“Gee…” Frank cooed, his grin widening as he looked at the plate that had been placed in his lap and his stomach growled its appreciation. “Thank you so much for this, it looks amazing.” He sighed, eagerly accepting the cutlery handed to him and he wasted no time in tucking straight in.

Gerard smiled and shrugged, insisting it was nothing as he sat cross legged in front of Frank. He ate a mouthful of his own pancakes and speared a slice of banana onto his fork, watching Frank eat with growing anxiety. He didn’t imagine Sirens made good breakfast talk, but he had to ask Frank soon or he would explode. His need to understand what was going on to the missing sailors was overshadowing everything else.

If Gerard was giving any signs that he wasn’t himself then Frank hadn’t noticed them. Despite having only just woken up Frank’s appetite was as healthy as ever and he was eagerly ploughing through his pancake stack feeling on top of the world. He hadn’t forgotten their activities that morning or the night before, though he had forgotten all his sleepy talk about Sirens. The thought that something could be wrong on such a perfect morning never passed his mind.

Gerard tried to eat more of his breakfast, but each mouthful just made him feel even sicker as he watched Frank and waited for a good moment to bring up his concerns. In the end though he simply lay down his knife and fork and looked at Frank with anxious eyes.

“Frankie I… Do you remember what we talked about earlier?”

“Hm?” Frank looked up at Gerard with a mouth full of pancake, his cheeks slightly swollen from the food he was chewing and his eyes alight with curiosity. There was no recognition on his features and Gerard sighed as he realised Frank had forgotten.

“About… The Sirens?”

Franks eyes widened slightly and he struggled to finish chewing and swallowing the wad of pancake in his mouth. Once he was able to speak he found that he didn’t even know what to say. He struggled to think back to when he had mentioned the Sirens to Gerard, but he could only remember vaguely mumbling something as he fell back to sleep after their fun that morning.

“I…” Frank hesitated, the look on Gerard’s face doing nothing to help calm the panic rising in his chest. “I don’t really remember it, no.” He admitted quietly, wondering how much he had said and why Gerard was bringing it up now. “What did I uh… What did I say?”

“Nothing much.” Gerard said softly, noticing that Frank was looking a little distressed and his suspicions rose. “Only what they look like, and that they kill sailors.”

Franks eyes widened even more, his heart starting to race. He suddenly didn’t feel hungry anymore and he put his plate down carefully on the bed beside him.

“Oh…” Frank didn’t really know what to say in response. He couldn’t figure out what Gerard was thinking or feeling, but he was filling up with dread himself. It was clear that Gerard was bringing this up for a reason, and Frank wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it was.

“I just… It got me thinking.” It was clear Frank wasn’t going to say anything else, so Gerard decided to cut to the chase. “Another sailor has gone missing this morning and I just thought… Well, maybe it’s crazy of me. But I wondered if it’s possible that Sirens could be behind all these disappearances…”

For a second Frank’s head span so violently he felt almost sure that he was going to faint. Hearing Gerard say those words made his stomach heave as if it was going to expel his half eaten breakfast, but after a few seconds for the shock to wear off Frank was able to come back to his senses and calm down enough to meet Gerard’s gaze. He tried to open his mouth to deny Gerard’s theory, but the look of guilt on his face gave him away before he could utter a single word.

“Oh no… Oh God… I’m right aren’t I?” Gerard’s eyes widened in horror as he looked at Frank’s expression. It was obvious that he had hit the nail on the head and he wasn’t sure how to react. All though he had been practically certain his suspicions were right it was another thing entirely to have them confirmed. “How long have you known?”

Frank stared at Gerard, his lips parted but he couldn’t speak. His mind had gone into turmoil. Not only had he revealed himself to Gerard, he had now caused him to realise that other mythical creatures existed and not only that, but that they were entwined with the human world more dangerously than anyone knew. Frank was breaking every rule he was supposed to live by, and now he had to choose between whether to be honest with this man he cared so much about, or to lie to him.

“Frank,” Gerard groaned, sensing Frank’s tension and reluctance to answer him. “How long have you known?”

“I… Just before the first disappearance I went into the sea.” Frank could feel a heavy lump aching in his throat, and to his surprise tears began to build in his eyes as he watched the many emotions passing over Gerard’s face. “My tail used to appear in the shower but it stopped… you’d gone to sell some of your art and I… I panicked.

“I went to the harbour without really thinking. I don’t know, maybe it was instinct, but I just had to know if I could never return to the sea again. So I went there, and I went swimming and my tail came back. But I knew then it would only appear in salt water until eventually I would be unable to return to the sea at all.” Frank sighed, bowing his head as he wrapped his arms around himself.

“I was frightened. I didn’t know what to do. I was trying to make my mind up whether I should come back to the surface or to just stay in the sea when a Siren appeared.” Frank looked up at Gerard then, his eyes pleading with him to understand. “Sirens live deep in the ocean, I had never seen one before then. I had no idea they were so close to the harbour until that moment. I was afraid at first, but she didn’t harm me. She told me they had come closer to land because they couldn’t get sailors off the huge ships that went further out to sea. They had to take from the smaller boats further in instead.

“I didn’t stick around to talk to her. Sirens are dangerous even for merpeople, so I swam away first chance I got. I came back here because I knew I couldn’t leave you without saying goodbye, and I still have just under two months before I won’t be able to return to the sea. I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about the Siren ever again, but as soon as the sailors started to disappear I knew it must be them.”

“Them? So there’s more than one?” Gerard asked quietly, barely able to take in all Frank had told him. His mind was conjuring up a million questions about Frank’s tail and what he meant by having only two months left. He guessed it meant Frank wouldn’t be staying around but such a concept was impossible for him to even consider right then.

“Of course,” Frank spoke gently, trying to soothe Gerard who was clearly starting to freak out. “They live in large groups like merpeople do. They’ll have set up a… A town I suppose. Only a few miles out to sea.”

“And they’re the ones taking the sailors from their boats?” Gerard already knew the answer, but it was the last question he had that wouldn’t hurt him to ask so he asked it.

“I think so.” Frank nodded quietly, his eyes glistening as he held back tears. “I have no proof but it would make sense.” It was obvious that Gerard was now avoiding the more important problem at hand and Frank felt incredibly nervous as he waited for him to ask the inevitable.

“And you… You need to leave in two months?” Gerard’s voice started strong, but half way through the question his voice broke and grew breathy as he stared at Frank with pained eyes.

Frank didn’t think he could cope seeing such a look of hurt on the artist’s face. He sighed and picked up the two plates of food still on the bed and put them on the bedside table so that he could crawl closer to Gerard and gently touch his hands.

“If I don’t go back in two months then I will be a human permanently. I’ll never be able to return to the sea.” He explained softly, trying to keep calm and strong but he had never felt so close to breaking down. “If I go back to the sea within the two months once I’ve been in the water for twelve hours I won’t be able to return to the land for another year when the mating season comes back round.”

Gerard nodded slowly, thinking over that and trying to keep rationale. But being rationale was difficult when he felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest and stamped on.

“So… Either you stay here with me forever or you… leave me for a year?” He asked quietly, knowing it would be ridiculous of him to think Frank would choose him. Why would he when after a year he could come back anyway? He wouldn’t give up all of the people he knew in the sea for Gerard.

“Basically…” Frank nodded, feeling awful. He hadn’t wanted to tell Gerard about the choice he had to make. He had wanted longer to make his mind up about what he was going to do and only tell Gerard if and when he decided to leave. Honesty seemed to be the best policy though, although it was making him cry as he crawled into Gerard’s lap and desperately clung to him.

“I don’t want to leave you Gerard… You’ve been so good to me, and I care for you more than anyone else in the world.” He insisted, hiding his face in Gerard’s neck as the older man numbly rubbed his back. “But I have so many people I care about in the sea too, people who don’t even know if I’m alive or dead. I can’t not go back to them and tell them I’m okay… but I can’t bear the thought of being away from you for a whole year.”

“I’d wait for you.” Gerard spoke up without any hesitation, not even having to think about it before the words were out of his mouth. As he thought about it he knew that he was being honest. He would wait for Frank. He would wait forever if he had to. No one could ever be as important to him as this fantastic, beautiful creature. And that’s when he realised that he really, truly did love Frank.

The realisation didn’t hit Gerard like a wrecking ball. It didn’t suddenly dawn on him. It was something he realised now he had known all along, but right in that moment it came from the back of his mind to the front and made his heart swell as he calmed down slowly.

“I would wait.” He repeated softly, feeling sure of himself as he tightened his hold on Frank. He still felt teary, but his emotions no longer felt all over the place. He loved Frank… He would do anything if it meant one day they could be together. “If you leave… A year isn’t that long. I’ve spent enough years without you, I’m sure I can handle one more, as long as you promised to come back.”

Frank looked slowly up at Gerard, his heart starting to race as his lips parted and his insides seemed to melt. He couldn’t believe that Gerard would say something like that to him, and yet he had. And more than that Frank could tell that he meant it too. He had never dreamt he would fall in love with a human and yet… here he was.

“You would do that for me?” He asked quietly, sighing as Gerard answered him by leaning down and gently capturing his lips in a soft kiss.

“I love you Frank.” He whispered against his lips.

“Oh…” Frank practically moaned, wrapping his arms gently around Gerard’s neck and pressing tight to him as he kissed him sweetly back. “I love you too…”

Gerard sighed and smiled, his heart fluttering. It felt incredible to finally admit it, and hearing Frank say it in return banished any doubts out of his mind. He had forgotten all about the Sirens, he no longer cared about anything but the man in his arms.

For a few minutes both men simply relaxed into each other’s arms and kissed until they felt calm again. Gerard had always thought telling someone you loved them would be more nerve wracking, but the words had come so naturally and Frank’s response so calmly that he had barely felt any more than a tiny nervous flutter in his stomach. Now he simply felt at ease and he relished in the moment.

Frank sighed as they slowly broke the kiss, sharing a soft smile before he lay his head down on Gerard’s shoulder. Admitting that he was in love was just the first step forward into a lot of problems, but he wasn’t going to think of those yet. They still had the Sirens to discuss which Gerard reluctantly brought up again.

“Frankie… We still need to figure out what we’re going to do about the Sirens.” He said gently, stroking Frank’s shoulder as he held him, not wanting to cause an argument or any tension. Part of him wanted to stop talking about the Sirens and just enjoy their day together. Perhaps now would be the perfect moment to have sex for the first time… They could just stay in bed and make love all day.

Gerard ached to do just that, but his conscience wouldn’t allow him to avoid the more important subject.

“We can’t keep letting them take sailors.” He sighed, looking anxiously at Frank who nodded sadly but refused to meet his gaze.

“I don’t like it Gee, but there isn’t anything we can do.” He mewled sadly, holding one of Gerard’s hands tightly for comfort.

“There must be something.”

“There isn’t.” Frank insisted, looking up at Gerard and meeting his gaze. “If there was I would have tried by now. Sirens are dangerous and I can’t back into the water in case I don’t get back on land in time.”

“Well what about me?” Gerard asked, shrugging when Frank looked at him in clear alarm.

“What about you?” He asked suspiciously.

“Well… I could hire a boat and go out there at night and see if one tries to take me.” He suggested, grinning sheepishly when Frank looked at him like he was mad. “I’m pretty sure no matter how seductive they are I wouldn’t be intoxicated by one.” He chuckled, surprised when Frank scowled.

“Then you don’t know anything about Sirens.” He said stiffly, turning to face Gerard properly. “They seduce humans. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight or somewhere in the middle. Even I was nearly seduced and I’m a merman.” He snapped, his heart racing and he felt sick at the thought of Gerard doing something as reckless as going out looking for a Siren.

“If they target you then they will kill you. I can’t let you go out there. And what would you even do if you found one? Kill it?” Frank gave a hollow laugh, shaking his head as Gerard blushed. “You can’t kill a hundred Sirens Gerard.”

“Well I can’t just sit and watch as all the men in the town get snatched away.” He snapped back, squeezing Frank’s hands in an almost apologetic way. “Frank, we know why all those men are disappearing. Hell, we know that they’re dead. Do you suggest we just do nothing?” He demanded.

“I…” Frank sighed, bowing his head and shaking it slowly. “I don’t know Gee. I don’t see any other option. One person can’t take on a whole group of Sirens. You need a group as big as theirs for any hope.” He sighed, thinking for a long moment before gasping.

“Oh… Oh no…”

“What?” Gerard asked, his eyes wide as he gripped Frank’s hands. “What is it?”

“It’s obvious…” Frank sighed, groaning as he squeezed his eyes shut. “You can’t tell any more humans about the Sirens. So to have a big enough group to take them on you need merpeople…” Frank opened his eyes slowly, feeling sick as he looked at Gerard. “My town… We could attack the Sirens.”

Gerard stared at Frank, not sure what to say. He didn’t even know how to feel. “I… You mean… When you go back to the sea?”

“Yes.” Frank nodded, thinking about it and knowing he was right. The only way to get the Sirens to leave the humans alone would be to return to the sea and get them to either move on, or kill them. Frank already knew they would be impossible to negotiate with so a fight would be more likely.

Frank couldn’t imagine anyone in his town agreeing to help him. But he would have a year before he could even return to the human world so he would have plenty of time to try and persuade them. Sirens would torment them too in no time and then something would have to be done. If Frank could get everyone to help him sooner rather than later then maybe they had a chance… but Frank wasn’t sure he would be able to live with himself if anyone got killed.

“But Frank…” Gerard’s soft voice forced Frank out of his thoughts with a snap. “You don’t leave for another two months. Who knows how many other men will be killed in that time.”

“I know.” Frank sighed, bowing his head as sorrow overwhelmed him. “I would have to leave early. Maybe in a day or two, and just get back to my people and try to persuade them to help me.”

Frank glanced up at Gerard again to judge his reaction and it was immediately clear he didn’t like what Frank was suggesting. He had gone pale and was shaking his head slowly, his hands gripping tighter to Franks.

“Frankie no… I can’t let you do this. If you go and get hurt I… What if you never came back?” Gerard could barely think it let alone say it. He would wait for Frank, but he couldn’t cope if Frank left and never returned because he had been hurt or worse, killed. “I can’t let you do this.”

“You said yourself we have to do something.” Frank reminded him but Gerard shook his head, pulling Frank into a tight hug and holding him hard to his chest.

“No.” He said firmly, fear crushing into him. “No I can’t let you. I’d rather have every man in this town get taken than lose you.”

“Gerard!” Frank gasped, pushing back to frown at the artist and slap his hands lightly. “Don’t say that! These men are part of your species, and they need our help. You know it and so do I. I will go. And I’ll do all I can to get the Sirens to leave the town alone and then after a year… if you still want me, I’ll come back.”

“No… No no no, Frank please.” Gerard whispered, tears starting to drip down his cheeks. “You can’t make decisions like this so suddenly.” He insisted, but Frank was stubborn and the more Gerard tried to convince him there had to be another way the more Frank dug his heels in.

“Gerard please.” He finally sighed, cupping Gerard’s face tenderly in his hands. “I love you. I need your support in this… I need you to promise you’ll still be here next year.” He whimpered, holding Gerard’s gaze as the older man searched his eyes.

“Of course I would be.” Gerard whispered, that hardly the worst part. “But if you get hurt –”

“I wouldn’t be.” Frank promised, laying a hand over Gerard’s lips for a second. “I’d make sure of it.”

Gerard sighed, not convinced. How could Frank promise such a thing? It all seemed so fast, their decisions rash and in need of thinking through but it was clear Frank was determined to leave and try and stop the Sirens himself. Gerard hated the idea still, but he hated the thought of arguing with Frank even more.

“I’ll let you go.” He finally whispered as Frank took his hand away from his mouth. “But promise me you’ll stay here for at least another week… Let me spend time getting to know you as my boyfriend and making love to you, and then when you go I’ll know you’re mine.” He whispered quietly, blushing slightly as he gazed at Frank with hopeful eyes.

Frank sighed, blushing himself. He could understand the weight of Gerard’s words and what becoming his boyfriend meant in a human world. He smiled warmly, his heart racing as he nodded and struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. “I’m already yours Gee.” He breathed quietly, touching his hands to Gerard’s chest. “But I’ll stay… For one more week.”



A/N: Just a quick note to you lovely people,
As some (many) of you may have noticed my chapters are usually full of typos and appear on here late. Basically I'm struggling for time at the minute, so whilst my updates are painfully slow I also get them up as soon as I finish writing them without proof reading (part laziness, part time) so my question is this -
Is anyone here lovely enough to become a beta for me?
I used to have one but sadly she too now has too many things on her plate to find the time. Ultimately I just need someone to check that there are no typos, and to be comfortable enough to tell me when something I've written sucks and needs a tweak here or there. And anyone willing to help with ideas from time to time when block strikes wouldn't hurt at all.
So yeah, if any of you would like to do that for me (I would love you forever) email me at dementedwolf@hotmail.co.uk and say 'I will do iitt for you Raaay'.
And thank you all as well for your kind reviews and rates so far!
Much love
xo

EDIT: BETAS HAVE NOW BEEN FOUND! YAY!