Bummie had thought everything was going perfect, but in the back of his mind, he always knew.
The two decided to go swimming again. Jae wanted to feel his tail and Bummie wasn't going to deny him that. Bummie couldn't deny Jae anything. The lifeguard loved swimming with the mermaid too, so it was fine.
The duo conversed as Bummie prepped the boat.
"We can go to the same place or go further out in the ocean." Bummie didn't want to keep Jae confined to one place.
Especially since Jae would only swim in the ocean during these day trips.
"Hm, further out!" Jae wanted to show Bummie a place he used to go to a lot.
Bummie nodded, toiling with the rope attached to the dock.
"We'll go a few miles out," Bummie wanted to be far from anyone's view.
He figured it would be fine. Bummie carried a GPS whenever he went out swimming. He had Jae as well. Surprisingly, Jae had a wonderful sense of direction. Bummie thought of how everything in the ocean pretty much looked the same. A good sense of direction was needed to maneuver the deep.
The boat sped off and their swimming trip officially started.
Bummie's boat wasn't very fast. So it took some time to get to their desired spot. Bummie was going to go an even greater distance, but Jae had interrupted him.
"Stop here?" Bummie asked after turning off the engine.
"Yes!" Jae verified.
Bummie nodded.
"Here!" Jae pushed his diving gear to him in a hurry.
The lifeguard chuckled, "Ok, ok!".
Bummie shrugged on his gear quickly. He figured Jae must be excited. The mermaid was sitting there, tapping his foot eagerly.
Bummie held a thumbs up once he was done. Jae shot up and grabbed Bummie. The mermaid dove off the boat, pulling the lifeguard with him. Bummie dragged along with Jae as they entered the water. The older was thrilled too.
Blue invaded Bummie's vision. He let himself sink as he took it all in. It was pretty, but that was expected. Bummie turned to look at Jae. He let himself be overwhelmed again as he saw the beautiful red.
It was bad, Bummie loved every part of Jae. He loved every single thing about him. The lifeguard was more than infatuated at this point, more like obsessed. He liked everything about him so much. Bummie couldn't even choose what part he liked most if he wanted to. He loved Jae's original form because that was the real him, but with legs, Jae could be with Bummie.
Both sights never fail to affect Bummie's heart rate.
Jae sat Bummie down and held up a finger. The two had made sure to go over gestures to use underwater. This gesture meant one moment, I'm going to bring or show you something. Just like Bummie showed Jae everything on land, the mermaid made sure to repay the favor. Jae was always gifting Bummie with interesting interactions.
Jae liked to retrieve things and hide them behind his back before showcasing them. Jae's way to say tada, just underwater. Bummie had found these habits adorable.
Jae was really sweet.
Bummie's stare followed Jae as he swam away. When Jae was out of Bummie's sight, the lifeguard brought his attention to the surrounding area. There were fishes, rocks, and some sea plants that Bummie didn't recognize.
A glint of red brought the lifeguard back to the direction Jae went. Jae was speeding towards him. That was quick, Bummie lifted his body slightly.
What was that next to him? It wasn't singular, three figures is what Bummie counted. Shortly, they appeared in front of him. Their torsos all related greatly to a human's, but there were major differences.
One figure was small and translucent. Another was long and skinny with a thin black tail. The last one had multiple tentacles that spiraled downwards.
Their appearance seemed familiar, Bummie could guess who they were.
The four communicated with each other. Bummie had no idea what they were saying and that was understandable. The only reason Bummie could tell they were talking was through their movements. The four moved their hands around while looking at each other. Their expressions changed accordingly.
All movement stopped. Jae looked to Bummie and smiled. The mermaid grabbed the human and began to swim upwards. The others followed behind. Bummie was beyond confused, but he knew Jae would explain.
Once to the surface, Bummie climbed into the boat. The lifeguard removed his headgear in a rush. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the four sea creatures.
"Who are they, Jae?" The question came out instantly.
"They're my friends! The ones I told you about!" Jae seemed happy.
That made sense, Jae's descriptions fit the three.
Jae looked towards the others expectantly. The others jump in realization.
They didn't do introductions often.
"I'm Bammie!" The one with a skinny tail spoke up first.
"I'm Jack!" The one with the tentacles went second.
"I'm Mark." The translucent one finished quietly.
Bummie nodded, "I'm Bummie. Nice to meet you."
He gave an awkward smile. It was still quite unusual, talking to sea creatures. Creatures that looked like you but didn't really look like you. Seem to act like you, but behave the opposite in reality.
Jae went off onto a rant explaining that he ran into them while getting some pretty crystals for Bummie. Jae then takes a few minutes introducing Bummie as his 'super important human partner' which made Bummie happy and embarrassed. The mermaid carries on to brag about his life on land and all the things he did.
Jae's stories sound so strange and far from their reality. The three let out gasps every second. These things just couldn't be real. In the moment's silence, the three all look at each other.
Bammie speaks for all of them, "That's cool, but when are you coming back?"
These words sent Bummie into shock. Though he didn't let it show on his face. Oh yeah, the land wasn't Jae's home, Jae's home was the sea. The lifeguard taunted himself in his head. How could he have forgotten? Thinking that they would stay like this forever.
Bummie had in broad terms, stolen Jae from his home to satisfy his selfish desires.
"Oh yeah, soon!"
The response crushed Bummie's heart completely. Why did Bummie expect Jae to say never? Jae was only there for so long because he was busy learning new things. They both had gotten caught up in this new world they gave one another. A world full of their fun and created by them.
Like a fantasy that came true, but only for a while.
Bummie felt as if he was being overdramatic. Jae was just going home. In the back of his head, Bummie knew this was going to happen. He knew Jae didn't belong to or with him. Jae wasn't a pet fish that he could train to be human.
Jae was his own person and the ocean was his home. He had friends and a home to return to. Bummie kept these thoughts in his head as a reminder.
The friends had stopped talking and agreed to meet again later in a few days. Bummie was quiet and simply watched the friends talked. He told himself that he was letting the friends have their moment, but he was processing the fact that Jae would leave him soon.
Bummie stayed quiet as they drove off, Jae helped him out by ranting the whole way home. Bummie gave smiles and chuckles at Jae's paragraphs of rant. The lifeguard would miss this. Instead of thinking of all the times, they had together, he thought of how little time he had left with Jae.
Bummie would make these few days count, for sure.