spaces_between | This isn't the Little Mermaid

[He was lounging in the bathtub again. He had been doing so more and more lately, content with the current small confines even if there was the pressing need to go back to his home. Steve could not follow him permanently, so he was resisting the urge to head back to the waters that he had once been so used to in case there was no want or will to leave them again. For now, he was satisfied crammed into the small confines of the bathtub, water dangerously close to overflowing.

His tail flicked gently in the water, arms folded on the edge of the tub as he rested his cheek on his bare stacked arms. This was as close to resting when Steve wasn't around, his ears perked to any sound and his body ready and willing to haul itself out and crawl dangerously at anything that might be a threat to him or this place that Steve called him.

Possessiveness of space was not something that he generally found himself being; he coveted objects, people and food sources (the fridge was the rare item he might guard). Lately, he was territorial of the apartment, which made SHIELD's job of keeping an eye on him and Steve far more difficult. It also made his secret more tedious when he was ready and willing to fling himself, scales still formed and all out a window at an agent perceived too close.

He sighed and shifted in the tub, fins flickering with a now constant healthy shimmer. He was putting on weight. He was remembering more slowly, helped along by Steve talking him through things. The only problems in his current world was a lack of the ocean, the continued presence of HYDRA around, and the slow swell of his belly. His hips were aching almost constantly as well.

It wasn't until he became aware of a distinct flutter as he lounged in the tub that, at first, confused him. He took the time to study this oddity, like the flutter of thin seaweed in the current or more like the caress of butterfly wings. He rumbled a sound and the fluttering stopped again, and he passed it off as indigestion; he had eaten very well the day before. Then it returned again. And again.

And he was up and out of the tub, setting his hands down on the tiles so as not to drop on his belly. It was the natural order of things, he supposed, not that upset to realize the true meaning of everything. He slid like a snake along the bathroom floor to the edge, peering at the hardwood and remembering the house rule not to get it too wet.

Instead, he pushed himself up on his arms and craned his head out of the doorway. Then he worked his throat and issued a soft inquisitive trill in the hallways. It was his 'come and pick me up so I don't mess the floor' trill. It was followed with a general human inquiry.]

Steve? Steve, we have a pressing matter to discuss.

[ Things had settled down relatively well, of a sort -- they were still tricky, but Steve had been accustomed to what to expect when it came to Bucky and his instincts, and keeping his secret had been more crucial than ever, especially when SHIELD agents were still keeping an eye on them both.

With Bucky's recovery came a fiercer, more pointed protectiveness, both from himself and Steve; his mate was territorial, instinctively aggression when intruded upon, and Steve had taken every precaution not to have Bucky exposed, including setting some ground rules that required some getting used to. He'd noticed Bucky protecting their fridge even more, and it had been amusing, endearing; and he'd always noted how particularly protective he was when the fridge was stocked especially full.

But things were better between them -- things were good. Steve could never forget or forgive the way Bucky was treated, but Bucky's returning health had made him more relaxed, happier. He had found his meaning in life again, and he wasn't about to give it up.

He was reading in the living room tonight, enjoying the quiet evening when his ears pricked at the sweetly soft trilling Bucky issued from the doorway of the bathroom. By now, he knew all of those trills intimately enough to differentiate them. Some signified idle pleasure, others were a happy contentedness -- there was even a couple of indignant and confused ones; but no. This was fuller, and he was already halfway down the hallway before the words were even issued.

He tutted softly when he saw his lover in the doorway, and simply leaned down to pick him up bridal style in his arms, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead before he took the man down the corridor. He was getting heavier, bigger, but he wisely made no comment. ]

What is it?

[His eyes found his mate as soon as Steve entered his field of vision, though he had been aware of Steve's movements before then. His expression brightened and he obediently rolled over to accommodate being picked up, smoothing his fins so that there was how hazard from them as Steve's strong arm slid under his tail and picked him up.

He curled an arm around his mate's neck, both possessive and helpful, as he hummed at the kiss. He nestled his face into Steve's neck and playfully bit there. That was another problem (a good one) was that with health, happiness, and apparently pregnancy, his libido was high. Now he was all teasing, unwilling to get distracted now that he knew what the apparent problem was.]

I remembered something, and it's important. [He peered up at Steve, tilting his head.] First, why didn't you mate that woman when I was gone? Is it because you had no want to procreate?

[ Steve was definitely noticing the changes in his mood, the way Bucky seemed so agreeable now, spoiling for affection and love, protective of babies, of all things, when he usually wouldn't have bothered about them. But it mattered little when Bucky became happier, healthier, recovering more and more of himself and taking himself back after what had been done to him before.

He cuddled Bucky close, even if the wetness was soaking through his shirt and sweatpants. It didn't matter, especially when Bucky was humming, the bite gentle and affectionate. He kissed him again, found his mouth to give him a proper one, but Bucky's sudden question threw him for a loop. ]

I wasn't interested in anyone when you were gone. [ He admitted quietly. ] It just -- didn't matter to me. Why?

[After so long in the cold brutal environment of HYDRA, all of this could be overwhelming but wonderful. There were things that he remembered liking because Steve had re-introduced him to it, and it was easier to accept that he had once had a life with his mate before he had lost an arm, went to war, and became nothing more than a killer for political reasons rather than his usual natural ones. It was different, but now life with Steve was good. Now if only HYDRA and SHIELD would leave them alone permanently.

He was drying rapidly, the water absorbing into his scales as they began to soften with the water and be retracted into his skin. He leaned up and nuzzled Steve's face with his nose, nipping at the side of his friend's jaw before their lips met, and his arms tightened in response, protective.]

There is something... maybe someone... inside of me that isn't me. [He peered at Steve to judge his mate's reaction.] There were... experiments at HYDRA. There was a 'she' once, but she... died.

[ Steve is silent for a moment, trying to parse the information and break it down into something more sensible. It doesn't help that Bucky is distracting in the sweetest of ways, when he's turning back into human shape again, and seems to be happy to cuddle up.

He squeezes him in return, setting him down onto their bed and drawing him into his arms, hands roaming over his body, fond and affectionate. Life is relatively good for them now, stable, and Steve is happier for it. But it always leaves a bitter taste in his mouth when he hears about HYDRA and what it did to his mate. ]

...She died, but she's still inside you? A mermaid?

[It was always a bit more complicated, and he struggled to remember enough of her to be able to explain that the usual rules between merpeople varied in this case. He was deep in thought as they lay on the bed, trying to puzzle what he knew and what he remembered, which often didn't add up at this point.

His legs had reformed by then, cuddled into the bed and nestling against Steve, his arms smoothing up his mate's back. He even forced a leg between Steve's and kissed his mate with a single chaste peck.]

It did... eventually eat her, but it took a lot of time, I think. I don't remember how long. [He frowned, growling a frustrated noise.] After she died, HYDRA injected some of their experimental cells in me, and activated... well, I think I have a baby inside of me.

[ Steve kissed his forehead to soothe him, stirring at the frustrated growl -- but it didn't last long, because Steve was blinking at that statement, trying to thread the truths together. As far as he knows, there was a mermaid who died, whose cells were injected into Bucky.

And then -- then? ]

It activated a baby inside you? How can that be possible? Unless it's -- [ Steve paused, wide-eyed. ] How far along are you?

[He was soothed, but he gave Steve a patient look for the continued misunderstanding. It had been a long time since he had had to refer back to anything about his own kind, given how well and long he had integrated into the human top-side world. Of course, not being able to remember himself helped as well, but it was coming back to him all thanks to Steve.

He considered the question, though he couldn't entirely for certain. He was good, but this was not something that he remembered happening before. Of course, no one previous to Steve had dared come so close to him let alone had the idea of copulating with him.]

Perhaps three or four months? It's hard to tell, given that we have been having a lot of sex. [He gave Steve a pleased grin, showing all teeth as he snuggled in against his big blond mate.] Do you... have you ever wanted a baby?

It's mine?

[ Steve's suspected, of course -- who else can it be? Who else would he allow it to be? Bucky is ferocious and vicious when crossed, and fiercely loyal to his mate. He tries to untangle the explanations, decides that it's best to take it at face value for now as his eyes trail downwards to his stomach.

It's true, he decides, Bucky's been growing a little belly, swelling so gently that he'd wondered, and he rubs his hand gently over it, nuzzling his cheek. He snuggles right back, happy to keep Bucky locked in his arms as he murmurs. ]

Not with anyone else. With you... I've never thought it could be possible.

[He gave Steve a filthy and unimpressed look at the automatic question about the paternity of the little butterfly fluttering inside of him. There was no question that he had mated only with Steve, and it had been often enough lately that there could be no other choice in his mind. Nothing in his memory indicated that HYDRA agents dared to come that close to him, and if they did, they ended up with their throats ripped out.

He wasn't showing too much, but he was still putting on weight for density. He softened at the large warm hand that passed over his belly, humming a soft sound and subsiding from the urge to bite his mate.]

I doubt it would be possible without previous intervention. I know there was a time when males of my species were entirely wiped out from disease. Females bred females in those bad times at sea.

[ It was, very evidently, the wrong question to ask. Steve leaned in to kiss him in order to soothe the raised hackles -- so to speak, as he let the truth of it sink in. He'd thought about Bucky's kind, too, when females mated with females to produce young. ]

I never knew that. [ He marveled, and he let his hand rest on his stomach with a soft sigh, reaching down to stroke Bucky's length thoughtfully, thumbing over the underside of his cock. ] Does this mean that males could breed males, too?

[ He'd heard of clownfish who could do that, and he thought of Bucky carrying his child, filled with a possessive sort of pleasure that made him draw even closer. ] Having a baby with you would be incredible.

[He tipped his head back slightly to make it hard for Steve to kiss him, a punishment all his own for that comment, as if his loyalty could ever be questioned. He did however relent and allow himself to be soothed, nibbling on Steve's lips carefully in his show of forgiveness.]

No, I don't think so. Males are the weaker and more expendable side of our kind. They are not required for the continuation of our species. It's why we are a matriarchal society. I think... her cells being in me allowed this to happen. [He didn't want to, but he would have to look into HYDRA files to know what had happened to him back then. Of course HYDRA had never bred him, probably had no idea what had developed inside of him to allow this entire process to occur.

He shifted with a soft sigh at the stroking, pressing his hips towards Steve's hand. He butted his nose against his mate's chin.] We are having a baby. I can feel it inside of me. [He stilled.] Do humans birth in water?

I don't think so, no.

[ Steve was very positive that humans didn't birth in water. He hummed softly when he felt his lover's forgiveness, smoothing over the bristling at the earlier insinuation. He could never doubt Bucky's loyalty, and he kissed him back sweetly, lips trailing to his shoulder as Bucky spoke and Steve considered it.

So Bucky had additional... faculties for child-bearing; and this changed everything. Soon they would need to figure out a way to deal with the pregnancy, and with whatever moodswings that came, and Steve only hoped that he was up to the task, that the baby inside him would be safe.

There were so many considerations to make, and Steve's hand rested over his stomach, as if he could somehow rouse the little one inside Bucky to his presence. He gently nuzzled against nosebutting, affectionate and sweet ] You're having my baby, and you have a piece of me inside you.

[ And he couldn't help the surge of masculine possessiveness, the pride every father felt when their mates were -- well, knocked up. ] Do you think it would take on both our traits?

Then how do they do it?

[He suspected that with the resources of today that it would be easy to find out, what with those websites where anyone could post anything. He had seen a few of them, and he imagined that humans just couldn't resist putting up birthing videos to show their excitement for the event. He decided that he would have to look into the matter himself, since he uniquely was human as much as he was of the merfolk. He functioned just as well in both worlds for the most part.

It was going to be very difficult to keep his secret safe with this added addition to their lives, not that he regretted it at all. It was part of him and Steve, and that was something that he would treasure regardless of the danger that it put them both in. He pressed the small swell of his belly into Steve's hand, aware that it was as safe there as when he was guarding it himself.

He shifted closer, wrapping a leg around Steve's hips and slipping a hand between them to cup and grope his mate's balls.] It's ours, something we made together as mates should. I will protect this part of you that you've given me to the death.

[He shrugged and bit down on Steve's earlobe carefully.] With your serum and my changes, it's hard to say. It will be strong and healthy, that's all that matters.

Well -- [ Steve started, then paused. ] It might be different for you.

[ And he didn't doubt that; not because Bucky was a mermaid, but because he was biologically and mentally male, and he couldn't imagine that anything about this would be normal. Still, it didn't matter; they could google it later and see how it worked -- Steve was relatively proficient with the internet now, and they could look through it together.

It would be difficult to keep his secret safe, but Steve would much rather be an enemy of the world than to see his mate and their baby at risk. No, he would lay down his life for them, and none of the others would dream of coming close.

When Bucky drew closer and grasped his balls, he gasped in pleasure, rubbing against him -- he was already hard, owing, perhaps, to the fact that there was something erotic about knowing how your mate was arrying your child.

He shook his head. ] I don't want you to die for anything, Bucky. Promise me you won't. [ Because he knew how Bucky could get, powerful and terrifying and beautiful all at once. He made a soft noise, feeling his teeth on his earlobe as he ground against him, pushing down his own pants to kick it off, his cock thick and heavy with need. ] And even if it isn't, it would still be ours, and that's important, too.

I should... probably accomplish the task in the sea.

[He was certain that when he was small and still with his family, he would have seen how birth worked, but those memories were not readily accessible. It would be too much sign of weakness to move off to find out, and he wasn't willing to leave Steve to do so. He was certain that seeing human birth would be enough to prepare him for what was to come.

He huffed a noise at the sound that emerged from his mate, rolling Steve's balls in his hand, and he was keenly aware of the hardness that his mate was sporting. It was so easy to respond in kind, to lose himself in want now that they were together and sharing something only the two of them could know about.]

I have proven myself resilient beyond measure. [Which was his version of a promise not to do anything too protective. He lifted his leg until Steve's pants were removed and then set it back and inched closer, sliding their chests together and purposefully pressing his belly to Steve's.] It will be healthy and strong. I would carry nothing less.

[ Steve frowned at that, not entirely sure that it would be safe for their baby -- after all, their baby wouldn't be entirely mermaid. This was the first time he'd ever faced something like this, and Steve wasn't too sure how to proceed; he knew that he was going to have to read up on it, and possibly watch a few videos together with Bucky but it would be worth it.

Now, however, he was distracted from nearly everything else when Bucky started playing with his balls, and he groaned, rocking into it, grasping Bucky's to draw him closer, grinding up against him with a desire that he felt only for his mate. But he was worried, too. ]

Bucky. I meant -- I wasn't born healthy. [ What if their baby took after him? What if it was his fault? ]

[He considered it safest in the water, especially since he wasn't currently knowledgeable on how woman gave birth on land. Humans always seemed to complicate things though, and everything just seemed safer in the water where he was the top predator and was unlikely to be harassed during the process if it came to that. He suddenly was curious what a child between them would look like.

He growled softly in response to the motions and the sheer notion that anything that they produced might be unhealthy. It was absurd; he had little time for such things, especially now.]

But you are healthy now. And you will pass that health on.

[ Steve recognized that low, quiet growl and simply reached for Bucky's cock, rubbing both their cocks together, letting the friction distract him from it -- he was sure that he was going to witness his fair share of moodswings as the pregnancy progressed. Steve braced himself for it, but felt proud and happy, too, possessive as he kissed him to quiet him.

He would quietly brood on that later, where Bucky wouldn't know; it wouldn't do to provoke his mate unnecessarily. ] Mmm. Have you thought of a name?

[He was momentarily placated by the sudden touch, pressing his erection into Steve's hand and relenting at the pleasurable glide of their flesh against each other. He nestled in close, drawing his nails carefully up Steve's back to leave only vivid welts but not breaking skin. This was their moment, their celebration, and he didn't want anything to ruin it, not even sour moods (especially those).

He nipped at Steve's earlobe.] Why would I do that when I haven't even seen it yet? Do... humans have naming traditions?

[ Steve wasn't in much of a hurry to penetrate him, not when he could enjoy the pleasures of his mate's body. He loved the way Bucky reacted, always, and he hissed softly at the way those nails felt against his back. It felt good, and he mused. ]

I guess you can name them whatever you want. We do have girl and boy names for each, though. What about you? Do merfolk have naming traditions?

[His nails traced around Steve's shoulders as he continued to thrust their erections together, his eyes half-closed in pleasure. It felt good being with Steve like this, even if he knew nothing on the surface could be truly safe. This was good enough; this was just theirs.

He sighed softly, tilting his head.] If we do, I don't remember them. I suspect naming isn't done until the child is born. It... I seem to think it's a big deal to welcome a new addition to a family; fertility rates no doubt aren't that good.

I wouldn't know.

[ Steve and Bucky never spoke about fertility rates or anything like that -- before this, they both knew that they were never going to be able to procreate, and it had never been at the top of their list with each other.

He rubs Bucky's stomach again with his free hand, before he leaned close to kiss his mouth sweetly, time and again, fond and loving. ] Are you looking forward to this?

I never told you about that before?

[He supposed that it wouldn't have been something that they would have discussed at all in the past, given how they had committed to each other and thus eliminated any chance of considering children back then. He wondered if they had been young and foolish. It didn't feel like it right now, and the opinions of others didn't matter. They had each other.

He pressed his stomach towards Steve's hand, studying his mate's expression intently. His eyes fluttered at the kiss and he purposefully nipped at Steve's lips before his mate could withdraw completely.] I don't know. Are you?

Four months later

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