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“I really missed you, dumbass.” Fwhip grumbled, trying to uphold their grudge despite their words. It had proven difficult simply with Jimmy being there. His blonde hair looked as fluffy as ever, even when soaked from the seawater. His facial scales reflected the sun in a way that made them shimmer. A simple glimpse of his boyfriend was enough to bring him some peace, especially after going without. A mental image of him was nothing compared to the real thing.
The cod hybrid didn’t have to do anything at all to make his forced cold exterior crack a smile. Jimmy just looked up at Fwhip, arms resting on the dock as his tail swished in the water. Fwhip wasn’t sure how long it took him to speak but they were certain Jimmy had drawn out the wait time on purpose. “What was that? I don’t think I heard you right.”
“Jimmy.” Fwhip glared at him, crossing his arms. They wanted to be annoyed but they couldn’t be. He was clay in Jimmy’s hands. Jimmy could do whatever he wanted and Fwhip would praise the ground he walked on.
“Fwhip.” He emphasized the ‘p’ with a pop, a laugh tickling the back of his throat. Fwhip could hear it in his tone.
They clenched their fists and scrunched their face but they otherwise stayed still. Fwhip released the tension in his body with enough force that he almost lost his ability to stand. “I missed you, okay! Is that what you wanted?”
Jimmy grinned widely as he pushed off of the dock and let himself fall under the mellow waves once again. Some confused, non-intelligent noises escaped Fwhip’s throat as he did so. Jimmy didn’t let him stay like that long before he leaped out of the water, landing gracefully right in front of them. Jimmy tapped a finger against Fwhip’s nose. “Yes, powder. I missed you too.”
“I still think that’s a silly pet name.” The ends of their lips twitched up, his cheeks blushing a light pink as he rubbed where Jimmy touched his nose. Jimmy had started calling him “powder” because he often ended up with various dusts, powders, and other grimy materials on his person (quite literally on his person seeing how hard it was to wash the grim off of his skin every single time) while working away in the forge. Even though they claimed “powder” to be “silly”, Fwhip greatly enjoyed the pet name.
“You call me ‘fins’.” Jimmy rolled his eyes, greatly amused. “I don’t think that’s much better.”
“Hey, I was drunk!” Fwhip defended himself and gestured vaguely to the sides of his own head as if he had fins too. “Your fins were very clear in the moonlight. I thought they were pretty and you were moving them a lot. It drew drunk me’s attention. Honestly, you were asking for it.”
“Was I?” Jimmy raised an eyebrow, ear fins flicking as he spoke. He knew full well what he was doing. “You have called me ‘fins’ before that and you were perfectly sober then. I think you are-”
“I have also called you ‘dumbass’, dumbass.” Fwhip inputted, cutting their boyfriend off. “Besides, it’s accurate and you’re stuck with it as long as we’re together.”
“So a week? Two weeks?” Jimmy tapped a finger to his chin as he pretended to think. “Hmmm…”
“No way, you’re not getting out of this relationship that easily, fins.” Fwhip scoffed, placing their hands comfortably on Jimmy’s hips to pull him close. “You’re stuck with me! And the pet name but mostly me because I am great.”
Jimmy seemingly melted at Fwhip’s touch, the cool facade quickly deteriorating. His face flushed a prominent red as he laid his arms on top of Fwhip’s shoulders. “I hope so.”
“Honestly, it would be your loss because I am that fantastic.” Fwhip continued even after Jimmy was already swayed to his point. “I don’t know how you managed to pull me.”
“Uh, huh, actually,” he corrected, “I remember it being the other way around. You asked me out and it was the most nervous I had ever seen you before. I really made you shake at the knees.”
“I think I have made your knees jelly more than enough to make up for it.” Fwhip crept his hand partway under Jimmy’s shirt so he could run a thumb against the smooth scales on Jimmy’s side. Jimmy’s torso had always been particularly sensitive, especially on and around the scales that resided there.
“Fwhip.” Jimmy breathed out, voice wobbling at the pleasant sensation. “I- It’s- augh-”
“This is what you miss out on when you leave the surface for too long.” Fwhip smirked, only leaving soft hints of their wandering fingers on Jimmy’s lower torso. Jimmy didn’t respond with words but he was plenty verbal.
Fwhip decided to take the teasing touches a bit further as he moved to brush his lips against Jimmy’s. Jimmy’s lips parted to greet them but Fwhip didn’t stay there long enough for a true kiss. He directed the action towards Jimmy’s cheek, leaving a short but sweet kiss there. Fwhip then moved to leave one on his jawbone, then on his neck, then on his shoulder, then on his collarbone…
The trail of kisses and the gentle touches on his torso had Jimmy weak at the knees, just as Fwhip claimed he would do. Jimmy whimpered with his head tilted back. “Powder, why do you bother teasing me?”
“Why wouldn’t I when you respond like this, fins?” Fwhip smiled against the bare skin of Jimmy’s upper chest. “You enjoy it.”
“I do, I do, ah!” Jimmy did his best to hold back an unexpected yelp as Fwhip nipped him but he failed that mission. He bit his lip before going to complain. It was clear he was not upset and just impatient by the airy tone and his body’s eager reactions to what Fwhip was doing. “You’re just mad I went away for a bit.”
“A bit, my ass.” Fwhip stopped the peppered kisses, in which Jimmy muttered nonwords in protest. “You were gone for over a month doing who knows what underwater. I couldn’t even show up as a surprise because I don’t have gills.”
“Lizzie was stressed and I had to help her.” The weak excuse was given but neither of them commented anything more on it. They both knew most of the details beforehand and Lizzie needing help didn’t bother him. It was just too long apart with little communication. Jimmy pulled out of Fwhip’s grasp (though Fwhip’s hands had managed to plant themselves back on Jimmy’s hips) enough to be able to look Fwhip up and down without straining his neck. “Is that my shirt? And are those my pants- are you only wearing my clothes? Have you just been wearing my whole wardrobe?”
“You left them in my room so they are mine now.” Fwhip declared, not a drop of regret or embarrassment within him. “You will have to take them from my cold, dead body if you want them back.”
“Good thing I have been reading murder mystery novels.” Jimmy huffed in a low pitch, the sea salt smell on his breath being picked up by Fwhip’s senses. “I have a chance to test out the skills I have learned when reading.”
“Fins, you and I- no.” Fwhip stopped to correct himself. They had leaned into the use of the pet name when Jimmy called attention to it but an affectionate insult felt more appropriate for the topic at hand. “Dumbass, you and I both know that books don’t last very long underwater. You had not read recently enough to get any possibly useful ‘instructions’ correct enough to get away with my murder. If you had read, you were above water. If you were above water, you could have visited me. If you had the chance to see me and didn’t, there would not be a mystery behind your murder.”
Jimmy gasped at that, mock bewildered. “No! Powder, you wouldn’t do that to me! I have done nothing wrong in my whole life.”
“If telling yourself that helps you sleep at night.” Fwhip didn’t say any more on that, opting to tease Jimmy some more with little kisses and faint whispers of his lips against Jimmy’s skin. They would have continued that but Jimmy refused to let Fwhip have their way again.
Jimmy gripped the fabric of Fwhip’s collar to help keep him in place as he initiated a kiss. Fwhip easily reciprocated, falling into the rhythm they had grown comfortable with many times before. Fwhip slid their hands up from Jimmy’s hips to slip under Jimmy’s shirt again, not bothering with the half-touches this time. They could feel a shiver go up Jimmy’s spine as he moaned against Fwhip’s lips. It had been too long since they were able to talk, let alone be intimate.
They had forgotten how close to the edge of the dock they were until it was too late. Fwhip had added some more force and Jimmy had kept his grip strong on Fwhip. This combination accidentally resulted in them helping the other to fall off the dock and into the water’s depths. It was not a long fall but their bodies splashed a sizable amount of water into the air.
Fwhip hated to admit that he was a weak swimmer but it was true. He was well aware of how silly that was, considering he was dating someone born to swim, but there wasn’t much he could do about that at the moment. He did try to swim but his flailing limbs didn’t do much to propel him through the current.
The water by the docks was deeper than they expected, seeing how close it was to land. It must be made this way (it was obviously dug out to be this way when observing the unnatural carvings) to support all the ships that would come dock here for trade or fishing or whatever else. Fwhip’s vision had already started to blur when they saw a figure swim in front of them.
The figure was getting closer and they moved quickly. Fwhip didn’t make the connection of who it was until their lips were on his. It was Jimmy! The kiss was nice but not as nice as the earlier ones were. That was to be expected considering the circumstances. This was especially true when he realized that the kisses were giving him the air his lungs were screaming for. Dating someone who has gills has its perks, they supposed. Jimmy was also a good kisser, which wasn’t as important in their current scenario but still a perk.
When Jimmy had decided Fwhip had enough air to not lose consciousness, he swam them back to the surface within seconds. Fwhip gasped for the fresh air the moment the cool winds hit their face.
“We need to practice your swimming skills more.” Jimmy took Fwhip away from the docks and to a spot where they could rest near the water without having to scale the wooden structures. “Preferably when you’re not binding so you are not restricting your breathing as much.”
“Why would I need to breathe when you are there to kiss it better?” Fwhip gave him a lazy smile, extending his arm to get the hair out of Jimmy’s face. He let that motion divert into cupping Jimmy’s face with one hand. “Besides, you’re swimming and binding, too.”
“That is different and you know it.” Jimmy rolled his eyes at that but smiled nonetheless. He used his hand to keep Fwhip’s hand in place, leaning his cheek into it. “If I can kiss it better, I will, but my kisses will not help if I am not there. You can’t just wait around for me all the time.”
Fwhip pretended to think for a few moments, mirroring what Jimmy did earlier with his free hand. “Hm, I don’t know, fins. I am willing to risk it.”
“You act like this but then call me a dumbass.” He sucked in his lips, holding back a multitude of giggles. “Maybe we need to update our terminology.”
“You’re only a dumbass because you’re my dumbass.” Fwhip yawned much louder than they would have liked. They were trying to hide their sleepiness but being so close to Jimmy like this made them feel safe.
“When was the last time you slept?” Jimmy inquired, partly scolding but mostly concerned.
Fwhip did his best to muffle the yawn but it didn’t cooperate. There had been way too many sleepless nights and it was catching up to him. Insomnia had always been an issue for them and Jimmy hadn’t been there to help them get to sleep when it got bad. Gem had lectured him on his poor sleeping habits many times but her words had fallen on deaf ears. “I don’t have to answer that.”
Jimmy didn’t verbally respond but, instead of that, he removed himself from Fwhip’s grasp. Fwhip protested as Jimmy stood but their protests turned into a sharp yelp of surprise when Jimmy picked them up. “Hey! Put me down.”
“You, my love, are going to bed.” Jimmy adjusted his grip on Fwhip until he was comfortably carried close to him. “That is an order.”
Mm… it was nice to be this close to Jimmy. Fwhip could hear Jimmy’s heartbeat and mentally confirmed he was comfortable to lay on. That conclusion may or may not be using data from the long list of biased reports from his memory but he wasn’t going to go out of his way to get a non-biased report. They were content in Jimmy’s arms. They couldn’t even complain that Jimmy was soaking wet because they were soaked as well. Besides, that had never stopped him before. “Will you stay with me?”
“Only if you agree to eat once we wake.” Jimmy had started to walk and Fwhip wasn't sure where they were heading exactly. Fwhip didn’t linger on that line of thinking long for he found that he didn’t care. Anywhere with Jimmy would be good for him. “I am sure you have failed to take care of yourself in that department too.”
“Fine.” Fwhip easily gave into Jimmy’s demands, eyes fluttering close. They were quickly fading to sleep despite actively trying not to. Jimmy had the power to put them at ease and that was currently working against them. Fwhip fought himself, wanting to be there to ensure he got those cuddles with his boyfriend. If he was going to fail his mission, he wanted to make sure he said, “I love you, fins.”
Jimmy pressed a soft kiss against their forehead though Fwhip could feel they didn’t stop moving. “I love you too, powder.”