Wrecked

Chapter 8: Epilogue

The sun slowly made its way from mid-sky to the horizon. The tide came in, bringing with it the sounds of laughter that tugged at the corners of Steve's mouth into a smile. Aria sighed and snuggled closer.
"They will be here any time, my minnow."
Steve kissed her temple and held her tighter. "I know."
"Papa! Mama! They're here! They're here!" Three children ran up; a blonde, a brunette and red-head, stair-stepped in height and age. "They're here!" They tackled their parents in cries of excitement and giggles.
Slashes of red and orange cut across the darkening blue of the sky, marring the deep blue and violet with its brightness. The shouts and splashes drew their attention as a group to the tide pools.
"They're here!" The children ran toward the water, stripping their clothes as they did so.
"Looks like we better hurry."
Steve grinned. "Race you?"
Aria returned his grin as they stripped out of their clothes then dashed across the green grass to the sandy beach. The children were already playing and splashing when four dark shapes sliced through the water and shot into the air, tackling their twins.
All six children surfaced, two blondes, two brunettes and two red-heads, with shades of blue eyes from the lightest blue like their father Bucky, darkening to the beautiful deep blue of their father Steve and shading into the green of their mother.
Bucky lounged in the sand next to his lovers. "James is the strongest of the three." The smallest merpup and the spitting image of his father darted around his siblings before his twin, the red-head with legs pounced on his back.
"Take me for a ride, James!" The pair were off like a shot, her screaming in delight.
"Stay in cove! James! Rebecca!"
"Yes, mama!"
This was their life now. Bucky in the ocean. Steve on land, and Aria and their children straddling both worlds. That was the sea witch's condition. Aria could have her legs and her revenge but the price to be paid would be she would return home to the sea every three months for three months at a time. This was the penance all three had to pay. Eventually, they found a balance. The first month would be spent together. Then the next two would be spent apart.
They had made it work until Aria became with child. There was no way to tell who the father was. Even to look at little James, the spitting imagine of Bucky but his attitude was a young Steve. Small and mighty, he was. When the first set of twins was born, one with legs and one with a tail, there was joy and heartache. Until Lord Stark bought them the island. The automatons dug out coves and channels for the little ones to come and go from the ocean and be protected from predators. The house they built had access to those channels and its own pool of ocean that the merpups slept in.
When the moon rose on the third month, Aria found if they didn't fight the change it did not hurt. It wasn't pleasant but it wasn't agonizing. Their surprise when Grant's legs became a tail and Maria's tail became legs was no small amount.
"Your father misses you, my mate." Bucky tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear.
"I will see him in due time."
"He mourns your loss."
"He mourns the loss of what he could have gotten for me." Bucky smirked. "Does he treat the children well?"
"Like pearls, princess. They are his greatest treasures. They are his first, you know."
"Had he allowed us to marry for love, he would have an army of grandchildren by now."
"Arabella is with pup."
"Fantastic, now they will not kill and eat her."
Steve looked at his lovers. He had grown accustomed to their discussing merfolk politics and ways that he as human might not understand.
Grant stood in the water. "Race to the house!" The twins with legs took over sand and grass and the twins with tails splashed their parents as they whipped around to head up the channel to the house.
Bucky took the opportunity to lean and kiss Aria. It started out tender and sweet but quickly grew as she responded. Steve waited patiently, his hands roaming her back and his tail. Bucky broke the kiss and pull Steve in to a hot and eager tangle of tongues, his hand fisted in the blonde's hair. Aria pressed her forehead to the side of Steve's head, licking her lips as she watched their tongues dance together.
Bucky rubbed his nose against Steve's then Aria's. "I have missed you, my mates."
Steve's fingers danced down Bucky's spine. "Aria and I have something we want to talk to you about."
"Oh?" He pulled back to be able to look at them both. "Tell me now."
Aria and Steve looked at each other. "We think we should adjust the time spent away from each other."
She nodded. "Instead of one month together and two months apart...perhaps only one month apart?"
Bucky smiled. "That's an excellent idea. The pups usually miss the two of you after a month." He leaned, capturing her lips then Steve's in passionate yet soft kisses. "And I miss you after a day."
"Then it's settled then. Let's go tell the children."