Perhaps, it was time to stop hogging Jae.
It was to the point that both of his friends had been complaining. Claiming that they had seen Jae once and never again. That he was introduced then gone in a flash. They went on and on about how Bummie was this best keeping poor little Jae in his cave. Such dramatic statements.
At least Bummie now knew that they liked Jae quite a bit.
Although his friends were dramatic, Bummie wouldn't continue to play stupid. He knew that he and Jae were constantly attached. Bummie had ignored everyone else in the world when he was with Jae.
Along with that, the duo had gotten close, to say the least.
Bummie was an idiot for just realizing it. How could he think waking up with Jae in his arms was normal? How could a kissing battle, seeing who could get the other's cheek dirtier, be normal? Obviously, this was not normal. It wasn't, but it had become their normal.
Bummie's mind was in a race with his heart. A competition to see which part received his panic the fastest. He got caught up in these butterflies and shivers of excitement.
He was going insane.
Why was this so crazy? He thought love was something simple and good. It did feel good though, really fricken good. Bummie was extremely happy almost every moment but conflicted. He didn't know how to deal with this.
Blocking these thoughts, Bummie slipped on his shirt.
He and Jae were getting ready to hang out with his friends. Bummie couldn't just lock Jae up. Besides, their complaints were getting annoying.
Bummie looked to Jae who just finished putting on his clothes.
"Is something wrong? You were staring hard." Jae leaned over as he asked this question.
"Yeah, just thinking about how much I love having you here." Bummie flirted lightly.
Jae walked over to him, giving Bummie a peck on the cheek.
"I feel the same!" Jae grinned.
Bummie chuckled.
Aww, this is just what he was talking to himself about. Jae took every opportunity to kiss Bummie. Which was most definitely his fault-
"Let's go!" Jae dragged Bummie downstairs as he finished.
Bummie let himself be pulled along with Jae. He was glad the mermaid was excited. The relationship between Jae and his friends was going very well. Jae was already part of the crew. Bummie's friends had recognized Jae as Bummie's boyfriend.
It was that simple.
Bummie and Jae entered the car and buckled their seatbelts. Bummie looked to Jae one more time before pulling out of his driveway. The two were off to see their friends.
The group of five had chosen to go to a simple burger place for lunch. The plan was to meet up at 1. It was about 12:30 when the duo had parked in front of the restaurant.
Bummie could already see Yugy's car. Taking a better look, he spotted Jin's car as well. They were both here.
Bummie got out of the car and walked around to Jae's side. Bummie opened Jae's door while looking at the burger restaurant. Jae got out of the car looking in the same direction as Bummie. They turned their gaze to each other and smiled in sync. Bummie had learned that they moved well together.
They had started functioning as a team. Embarrassingly, they were just like those corny couples kissing in public. The difference was that they didn't do it in public.
The duo walked up to the restaurant. Bummie opened the door, allowing Jae to go in. The two were greeted by their friends.
Yugy, San, and jin all sat at a table close to the entrance. They all motioned for the two to come over. Bummie rolled his eyes as he and Jae sat at the table.
"So what's up? You been doing anything else besides hogging Jae?" Yugy instantly called Bummie out.
"How's it been hanging out with Jae these past weeks? Did you take him to our favorite cafe?" Jin added.
San sat there with a smile.
"Oh shut up, you two didn't even know of Jae's existence before a month ago." bummie had barely met him sooner, but he still had the advantage that they thought Jae was a friend from overseas.
"Yeah ok, make excuses." Yugy smiled as he sipped on his milkshake.
"We already ordered for you and milkshakes will come out with your meal," Jin informed.
"Jeez, weren't you guys a little too excited?" Bummie chuckled.
"Well, it is only our third time meeting Jae. We can't waste the time we have before you hide him again." Jin stated, it was obvious.
Bummie rolled his eyes, they were going overboard with the teasing.
The five continued to chat as they waited for food. Jae happened to be the center of attention due to him being new. They asked him a ton of questions that Jae now had no trouble covering up. Bummie sat back and listened. He was proud of Jae, the sea creature was adjusting so nicely.
Bummie felt a tug at his sleeve.
He quickly turned to Jae. Jae sat there with teary eyes. Bummie nodded and stood up with Jae's hand in his own.
"Give us one second." Bummie hurried to the bathroom before the three even got a chance to speak.
The bathroom was singular, thank god. Bummie reached for the waist of Jae's jeans and yanked them down. Jae hissed, his legs burned. Bummie tried to get the pants off as fast as possible. Jae tried to help, but couldn't do much.
Bummie yanked the pant leg off of Jae's right foot. He then went to yank the other pant leg off of Jae's left foot. Wasting no time, Bummie filled his palms with water and poured it all over Jae's legs.
A sigh of relief came from both of them.
Jae began to massage his legs as he fell to the ground. Bummie got on his knees and did the same. They needed to be careful, this was the second time-
Jae gasped and Bummie could have sworn his heart stopped.
Water had poured all over Jae's head. Jae's legs turned red as scales grew. The scales wrapped around his legs until they weren't visible anymore.
What the hell just happened?
Bummie looked to the source of the pouring water. The sink was overflowing, damnit. He was just telling himself to be more careful and this happened!
Bummie stood up and turned the sink off. He grabbed some paper towels and returned to the floor with Jae. Bummie started patting Jae's hair vigorously. Jae grabbed some paper towel and did the same. Damn, they were taking too long.
"Hey, is everything ok in there?" Yugy's muffled voice reached the duo's ears.
"We're fine! Don't come in!" Bummie grabbed more paper towels.
The door creaked open.
"Don't tell me you guys are making out-" Yugy was cut off by the site in front of him.
Bummie pulled him inside and slammed the door behind him.
"What the fu-"
"Shut up and dry the floor." Bummie handed his paper towels.
Yugy did what he was told, he didn't know what else to do.
The red scales disappeared from Jae's tail as he legs reappeared again. Bummie halted his movements and breathed a sigh of relief. Yugy stared with wide eyes.
"What the fuck was that?" He blurted out.
"Language and it's your fault. I told you not to come in." Bummie glared at the younger male.
"I thought I would catch you two kissing, not Jae with a damn tail!" Yugy delivered slightly softer words.
"You shouldn't have been nosey, but I'll explain after lunch. We have to get back." Bummie dressed Jae in his jeans.
Yugy rolled his eyes and rose from the floor.
The three left the bathroom and headed back to the table.
"What took all three of you so long? I would expect the newly-weds, but you too yugy?" Jin questioned and handed them their food.
"Jae had an allergic reaction, it took a while to get the swelling down." Bummie covered quickly.
"Aww, are you ok Jae?" Jin looked towards the mermaid.
"Much better now!" Jae smiled.
Yugy just ate his food in silence.
This had become hectic. Bummie had never planned to tell his friends. He had thought of doing it in the future, but after he had everything sorted out.
Looks like the truth was coming out, sooner rather than later.
-
After lunch, Bummie had invited his friends to hang out at the beach.
He figured it would be better to tell all of them at once. He trusted his friends and there was no reason to hide it anymore. The little incident at the burger place was a perfect excuse to tell them.
Bummie parked his and watched as his friends did the same. The friends left the car and went on the boardwalk. Bummie sighed as he looked at his three friends.
"I have something to show you guys quickly." Bummie motioned them to follow him as he walked to the water.
They followed hesitantly.
"Jae and I have avoided this topic of conversation, but we both decided it would be easier to just tell you." Bummie had made sure to ask Jae's permission on the way there.
It wasn't his secret to tell in the first place.
Bummie and Jae approached the water. The two sat down in the wet sand. Bummie leaned forward to fill his palms with water. Jae stretched out his legs and prepared. Bummie lifted his hands over Jae's head and let the water leak onto his hair.
Red scales arose from the skin of Jae's legs. The three watched in both awe and shock. Yugy still couldn't grasp the context.
"Shit, I knew something was up!" Jin exclaimed.
"A tail? Is this for real?" San's eyes sparkled, this was kinda cool.
"Yes, Jae stumbled into my backyard one night. He lived in the sea, but we agreed that he would stay with me." Bummie explained.
"I knew something was up, but I never imagined this." Jin shook his head.
"Right, I caught Jae in the bathroom with a fucking tail," Yugy added.
"That's what took so long?" Jin laughed.
"Oh my god, it's so pretty!" San had sat in the sand next to Jae and was now observing his tail.
"Thank you!" Jae smiled and moved over so he could touch it.
San reached out to stroke the red tail. Jae giggled. San looked up with an amazed look.
"This is fucking crazy."
Bummie's friends freaked out for over thirty minutes. Bummie tried his best to answer all of their questions. The three had not digested the information, but they would get it. The five stayed there for the rest of the day talking about their newfound information. Luckily, things had gone well.
Now, Bummie could rest easy.