Chapter Text
Adam’s heart cracked as despair pummeled it into the ocean floor.
Lucifer had given Eve a pearl, and she had accepted it.
Adam bobbed like a seahorse tethered to seaweed as he watched the pair touch and kiss each other while they lounged on a boulder overlooking the underwater city of Eden below. They were too engrossed with each other to notice him gawking at them as he held a silver pearl with gold flakes. He’d spent days searching for the perfect pearl to give to Eve. The waters were changing, animals were migrating, and mating season was upon the merfolk. It was tradition among merfolk to give a pearl to the person you wished to spend mating season with.
Last year, Adam had asked Lilith, a beautiful mermaid with gold hair and purple fins, to be his mate. But just like in the present, Lucifer had offered a pearl to Lilith before Adam could. Since their mating, Lucifer and Lilith had been inseparable. They doted on each other constantly, so when Adam had noticed Lucifer showing interest in Eve, Adam had dismissed his fears of Lucifer’s interest as paranoia.
He should have known. Adam didn’t know what he had done to piss off Lucifer, but since they were teenagers, Lucifer always had to one-up Adam. Whether it was in art, music, sports, or romance, Lucifer had to be the best.
Adam hated it, but no one believed him when he told them that Lucifer was targeting him. Lucifer was just a silly guy, according to them. Besides, Adam was twice his size, so what harm could Lucifer do to him?
Adam’s stomach churned with disgust and self-pity. He felt so powerless and stupid. He wanted to take his pearl and chuck it at Lucifer.
Except when he looked at the pearl and thought about chucking it, his heart ached. He hadn’t polished it yet, so the surface was rough with cracks and divots, but it was still beautiful. It would be such a waste to throw it away.
Adam clenched the pearl in his palm. With a flap of his tail, he swam off in the opposite direction from Eve and Lucifer. He refused to let anyone see him in pain. He was stronger and better than that, even if he felt as powerful as a guppy at the moment.
He swam past the vibrant and colorful coral garden that ringed Eden. A few fish chased after him and circled him in a playful dance. Fish had always gravitated toward Adam. He wasn’t sure what about him attracted them to him, but they had the habit of following him wherever he went. He zigzagged through the coral, letting the fish chase him for a bit before veering upwards and swimming away.
A large streak of red shot out of the coral and launched itself at Adam.
Panic speared Adam in the heart as he twisted away from the threat.
Fingers gripped Adam by his biceps. Suddenly, Adam was spinning around as bubbles and high pitch laughter swirled around him. He felt a tail wrap around his before he realized that the red streak he’d seen was Alastor.
“That’s not funny!” Adam snapped. “I thought you were a shark or something.”
Alastor stopped spinning them through the water. His hands released Adam’s arms, but his tail remained affectionately twined around Adam’s. “A shark this deep in the ocean? Come now, Adam, you know better.”
“I said ‘or something.’” Adam crossed his arms over his chest. He never knew what to expect from Alastor. Alastor was a little more than a head shorter than Adam, and his build was lithe and packed with subtle muscles that were stronger than they appeared. However, his greatest threat was his wit and his magic. He came from a long line of sea witches, and while he wasn’t as powerful as the witches of legends, Alastor used his magic to pull off his fair share of pranks over the years.
Alastor had never targeted Adam specifically over the years, but they’d had more than a few spats, usually over unimportant things like music. When they were younger and in school together, their fights had been a bit more intense. Even as a child, Alastor had been exceptional at throwing barbs, and Adam had always been sensitive. As they got older, Adam developed a thicker skin, and Alastor learned to play nicer with those he considered his friends.
Somehow, Adam had ended up as one of those people. Just like how he had no clue why fish liked him, he couldn’t fathom what Alastor liked about him. The guy was an enigma, always changing with the tides.
Also, Alastor was the only one who knew Lucifer was a prick. They’d never talked about it, but Alastor had made a few flippant comments about Lucifer’s obsession with Adam in passing.
So yeah, maybe Adam liked Alastor a little. Alastor was weird, but he was the only person who acknowledged Lucifer was a prick, and Adam valued that deeply.
“Forgive me. You were so deep in thought, I couldn’t resist pouncing. You have the most adorable expression when you are pondering.” Alastor smiled, showing off his shark-like teeth. “Almost as adorable when you are frightened.”
Adam scoffed. “Freak.”
“Yes, you have called me that several times, yet here we are.” Alastor swept his tail fins over Adam’s in a soothing gesture.
“Shouldn’t you be with Vox? Or has he not given you a pearl yet?” Adam asked. Vox was obsessed with Alastor. For years, Vox had given Alastor pearls, and until last year, Alastor had rejected all of them.
Alastor hummed contentedly, the sound generating tiny bubbles around his head. “I believe he will mate with Valentino this year.”
Shock and disbelief slapped Adam across the face. “For real? After he’s been chasing you for how many years? What an asshole.”
Alastor’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. After a beat, he tapped a finger to his lips as he mulled over Adam’s words. “Frankly,” Alastor responded, his voice carrying a mixture of curiosity and confusion, “I don’t see how he is an asshole.”
“Dude, he was obsessed with you! Then, after you finally agreed to mate with him, he dumped you for someone else. That’s an asshole.” Adam was pissed on Alastor’s behalf. As someone who had been rejected twice, Adam could imagine how hurt and degrading it must be for Alastor to be cast aside by someone he had hoped to spend mating season with.
“Oh, that?” Alastor waved off Adam’s concern. “He learned last year that we are not compatible.”
“He did?” Adam floundered. It was as if his anger had slammed into a boulder and bounced off it. His rage was reeling with no sense of direction. He wanted to be mad—it felt like he should be furious—but Alastor was so indifferent, Adam was incapable of holding onto his anger.
Alastor nodded, lacing his fingers together behind his back. “Yes. He’s very sex driven. Someone like Valentino is a much better partner for him. I, however, appreciate companionship.”
Adam frowned. “So what? You just like hanging out with someone for a couple of months?”
“And cuddling!” Alastor dramatically held up a finger as he exclaimed. “Usually I could take it or leave it, but during mating season, I love to curl around my partner and hold them or be held. There’s something so gratifying about coiling around one another and nesting. Vox didn’t mind. However, he always wanted to progress further. It probably didn’t help that I liked to nibble on him.”
Adam snorted. He shook his head in amusement. “Nibble?”
“Yes, just a few gentle bites, nothing painful. He would scatter kisses on me, so it only seemed fair that I should nibble.”
Adam couldn’t follow Alastor’s logic with that one, but whatever. “So no mate this year for you?”
Alastor’s tail unraveled from Adam’s. Alastor bobbed a few feet upwards then flipped himself upside down, so he and Adam were face to face with his tail hovering over Adam’s head. His red hair billowed around him like a cloud of blood in the water. “It would seem so.”
The bumps and grooves of the pearl in Adam’s hand became prominent to Adam as he rolled it around in his palm. Before now, he’d only ever been attracted to mermaids—not mermen. He’d thought about having sex with a merman a few times in his life, but never seriously. Alastor wasn’t interested in sex, though, and the thought of having someone to cuddle with in the upcoming months was appealing. Adam didn’t even mind the thought of Alastor nibbling on him.
Adam opened his palm and offered the pearl to Alastor.
Alastor’s eyes flickered to the pearl, then to Adam’s face. Curiosity gleamed in his red gaze. “What’s this?”
“A pearl. I didn’t get it for you. It was supposed to be for Eve, but Lucifer-” Adam stopped himself, then restarted. “Eve chose Lucifer.” The truth stung. It sucked that Lucifer was still trying to make his life miserable, but Eve had made a choice. Adam had been flirting with her for months now and she had reciprocated. He’d truly believed that she was interested in him. In the end, Lucifer was who she wanted, though.
He hated her.
He hated romance.
He hated mates.
He just wanted someone he could be with.
“I didn’t get it for you, but it’s yours,” Adam said. “Whether or not you wanna spend mating season with me, if you like it, take it. Not like I need the reminder of Eve’s rejection.”
Alastor delicately plucked the lustrous pearl out of Adam’s palm. He rolled the silvery pearl between his fingers as he examined it. “It’s pretty.” Alastor’s eyes swept over Adam’s figure, taking in the sight of him from head to fin. Anticipation flowed in the water’s currents. Alastor’s gaze locked on Adam’s. “And you won’t pester me for sex?”
“Buddy, I just don’t want to be alone.” A weight dropped off of Adam’s shoulders as he laid the truth out for Alastor. He didn’t need someone to love him or be attracted to him; he just needed a friend. “I don’t even know if I could get it up for you if you asked me to. So I’ll take the cuddles and the companionship.”
“And the biting?” Excitement wove into Alastor’s voice. Anticipation danced in his eyes. Alastor leaned in closer, their noses almost touching.
The tip of Adam’s nose tingled from the teasing almost-touch. “Just don’t break the skin.”
Alastor chortled. He flipped himself right-side up. His arms coiled around Adam’s shoulders as his tail twined itself around Adam’s again. “Then I shall be your mate this season.”