Triton's Destiny

Part Fourteen

No! Maki swam as fast as his tail would take him, rounding the point of the sea cliffs and following the coastline back to the lighthouse. No, no, no... He wasn't supposed to see me! He wasn't supposed to know! Oh gods... What if he never wants to see me again? Damn it, Maki! How could you fuck this up? He dove out of the water to look to shore, searching for any sign of Tristan. If he didn't emerge from the cliffs in the next few minutes, then Maki was going in after him. He didn't care if he had to drag his tail behind him. He wasn't leaving Tristan behind to get lost.

The next time he surfaced, though, he finally saw Tristan stumbling through the sand, running for the lighthouse. Maki didn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief. He arced back into the water, flicking his tail quickly, cutting through the current in a direct line to the lighthouse's stone patio.

Tristan beat him to the lighthouse, though, tripping up the steps and slamming the door before Maki could lift himself on the edge of the patio. Heaving for breath, he cast his gaze to the windows, hoping with everything he had that Tristan would listen to him. All of the windows were shut except one–the one on the third floor which looked out to sea. The one Maki had seen Tristan occupy before. He braced his elbows on the patio ledge and hoisted his upper half out of the water.

"Tristan!"

A shadow passed behind that open window.

The movement made Maki's heart pound and he raised his voice. "Tristan, please! Please let me explain!" His hopes withered as the minutes ticked by and there was no more movement inside and no indication that Tristan was willing to hear him out. All Maki could hear was the soft roar of the ocean and the rush of the breeze past the pointed tips of his ears. He finally slumped against the patio ledge, dropping his face onto his arms, disappointed in himself. He hated that Tristan wouldn't hear it, but he felt the need to apologize anyway. "Tristan... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Or scare you or disappoint you or... whatever you are you right now. I'm sorry."

"Why?" The question came from above him.

Maki's head whipped up as he gasped. "Tristan..."

"Why are you sorry?"

"B-because I... I didn't tell you."

"Why didn't you?"

"I-I thought... I didn't want... I... I couldn't."

Tristan sank down to sit on the patio, tucking his legs beneath him. "You're the one, aren't you? The one who saved me from drowning in the storm."

Maki opened his mouth to defend himself, then closed it again and nodded. "Yes." He hung his head, unsure if he should apologize for that too.

Tristan's hand on his arm drew his attention back up, where he saw a small smile lifting the corners of Tristan's lips. "Thank you."

"There was no way I was letting you die," Maki said softly.

Swallowing hard, Tristan looked over Maki's form. "You're a triton."

"You know about tritons?"

Tristan shook his head. "You told me you were."

"Oh. Right." Maki pressed his lips together, desperately wishing he knew how Tristan was feeling about this.

Expression gentling, Tristan moved closer, his smile widening as he squeezed Maki's arm. "You're just as beautiful as when I first saw you."

Maki blinked, surprised. "You... You remembered."

"I thought it was a dream," Tristan said with a small shake of his head. "I was dying and I thought you were a messenger from the gods to take me back to my parents. When I woke up on the beach, I convinced myself it was a delusion, that you were. But you're not."