Kuon

Angela practically carried Kuon to the bench overlooking the cove. The girl could barely support herself, constantly drifting in and out of sleep as she was, and when Angela gently set her down she almost immediately slumped over.

"Kuon, are you sure you're alright?" Angela asked, worry clear in her voice as she sat Kuon back up and wrapped her in a warm blanket.

"I am... fine..." Kuon murmured, her voice inconsistent and faint. "I... told you... already... It's just... hard... to think... in two places... at once..."

"I know, but..." Angela worried. She had watched Kuon slowly deteriorate over the course of the month, spending more and more time asleep and having a harder and harder time waking up. Despite Kuon's frequent assurances, she couldn't help but be afraid for her.

"I am... Here..." Kuon whispered, almost imperceptibly, as the sound of waves from the cove below them increased in volume.

"Alright... I'll... go and see you now, okay?" Angela asked, knowing that Kuon probably couldn't hear her anymore. "I'll be just over here, okay? So if you need me, just say something."

Angela tightened Kuon's blanket one last time and looked at her, sleeping soundly on the bench, her snugly wrapped blanket keeping out the cool night air. Angela took a deep breath before walking over to the railing overlooking the cove and looked down into the waves, trying to see anything that might be hidden beneath the jet black waters.

Suddenly, the waters swelled before Angela's eyes, waves breaking against the walls of the cover as _something_ rose out of the sea. A pair of massive, webbed hands came down on either side of her, crushing the railing and sending faint tremors through the ground as a similarly proportioned body heaved itself out of the ocean. Water cascaded off jet back hair as a pair of yellow eyes larger than Angela's own head opened and peered down at her. The great thing, a singularly massive mermaid, smiled, revealing far too many horrendously sharp teeth.

"What do you think?"

Angela stared. The dark-skinned mermaid, so large its tail extended out of the cove into the sea beyond, was so much more than she could have possibly imagined. And yet...

"You're beautiful... Kuon! You're so beautiful!" Angela shouted as she ran up to and embraced one of the mermaid's fingers, pressing her wonder-filled face into the digit. "Amazing! You're too amazing!"

The mermaid giggled and smiled slyly. "If you say it like that, I will get jealous, you know?"

"Ah, you know I didn't mean it like that! Your human body is beautiful to, but this is just something else!" Angela said, looking up at the mermaid's face above her and pouting.

The mermaid, Kuon, laughed and carefully patted the smaller girl's head with her other hand. "I know. I am... glad you are not afraid of me." Her laughter faded as a more somber expression crossed her face. "Thank you, Angela."

Angela smiled and hugged Kuon's finger tighter. "Obviously. How could I be afraid of my own girlfriend? Particularly when _I'm_ the one who asked _you_ to show yourself to me like this."

Kuon smiled again. "Even so, thank you." She placed the hand Angela wasn't clinging to flat on the ground, palm up. "Do you... want to go for a ride? It is a bit cramped here for me."

"Sure! Ah, but..." Angela looked back at Kuon's human body, still sleeping on the bench. "Will you be okay? I don't want to just leave you here while you're asleep like this..."

Kuon nodded. "I will be fine. I have put up a barrier, no one will approach this place."

"A... barrier?" Angela raised an eyebrow. "You're a shrine maiden now?"

Kuon shrugged. "I do not know how they function, nor how I create them. But I can assure you of their effect."

Angela looked back at Kuon's human body, before releasing her hug and stepping into Kuon's outstretched hand. "Any other supernatural abilities you haven't told me about?"

"I can also control ocean currents to some extent." Kuon replied as she carefully cupped her hands, one on top of the other, holding Angela safely between the two.

"Of course you ca- Ah!" Angela shouted, her response cut short by Kuon falling backwards into the water, bringing Angela down towards the sea far too quickly.

"Angela! Angela, are you okay!" Kuon panicked as she uncupped her hands and looked down at Angela from her new reclining position.

"Oof, yeah, I'm fine." Angela breathed out and checked herself over. "Just move me a bit slower next time, okay?"

"I am sorry! I am really sorry!" Kuon stammered as she brought Angela closer to her face. "Are you sure you are okay? I was not thinking..."

"I'm fine. Really." Angela smiled. "I wasn't as careful as I should have been the first time I picked you up either."

Kuon laughed softly. "That is true. Though I do not believe the two situations are _entirely_ comparable."

Angela chuckled and lay back on Kuon's hand. "Maybe. But man, you're seriously huge, you know? I'm not used to being the smaller of us."

"Indeed." Kuon giggled. "For once, I am the larger one."

Angela looked down over the edge of Kuon's hand and smiled smugly. "I still win proportionally, though."

Kuon laughed, shaking Angela slightly on her perch. "Indeed, I cannot win there. I am a creature of the sea, after all. I cannot help but be streamlined."

"Mmmm." Angela muttered as she snuggled into Kuon's hand. "You really are so beautiful. You're so much more than I thought possible."

Kuon smiled as Angela continued. "I really am the luckiest girl in the world..."

Kuon brought Angela closer and planted a kiss on her face. "I cannot agree, as I believe that title belongs to me."



As the two drifted further out to sea, a significantly less-clothed Angela relaxed on Kuon's chest.

"Will I... be able to see you like this again?" She asked.

"Of course." Kuon replied. "Why would you not?"

Angela sighed. "This just... feels like a fantasy. Like a dream that will fade as soon as I wake up..."

Kuon smiled. "Fantastic as I may be, I am very much real. You yourself has experienced that. I will always be here to meet you, here where land and sea meet."

"I see... That... Thank you." Angela murmured, resting her head against Kuon's warmth.

"I will even find a closer place to sleep, so I may meet you more quickly." Kuon added, pulling one of her hands out of the water and covering Angela with it.

"Maybe I should get a boat... Then you wouldn't have to come all the way to shore for me." Angela pondered.

"Oh, a boat!" Kuon exclaimed. "I had not even thought of that! It is for this reason you are a genius, Angela."

Angela chuckled and stuck out her tongue. "I think I'm a genius for a few more reasons than that. But a boat does sound like fun. All alone on the open sea, just me, Kuon, and Kuon."

Kuon laughed. "Yes, away from the shore, we could stay together as long as we wished. Though my mother would worry terribly..."

"Ahh..." Angela frowned. "Because of her nightmares..."

"Yes..." Kuon said sadly.

Angela took a deep breath and sat up. "Kuon... The thing your mother sees in her nightmares, rising out of the ocean... is that you?"

Kuon nodded. "Yes... I do not believe I ever showed myself to her, but... I have no doubt I am what stalks her slumber."

"I have... an idea." Angela took another deep breath and closed her eyes. "To your mother, the thing in the sea is a monster, right? But what if it wasn't?"

Kuon tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Angela replied. "What if she saw you? What if, instead of a monster, her dreams were filled with her daughter that she loves?"

"That..." Kuon mumbled. "Do you truly believe that could occur? She has seen so many therapists..."

"Mmmm... I'm not sure." Angela answered. "It's hard to disbelieve your own eyes. That's why... we should show her. Show her the monster she dreams of. Show her you."

She quickly continued. "I'm not saying that we should just spring you on her or anything! I'd definitely want to talk to your father first. He'd know best how your mother would react."

"Yes..." Kuon whispered. "But it's... a bit... frightening. Telling my parents that their daughter is... not human..."

Angela hugged as much of Kuon as she could reach. "I know. I know it must be terrifying. But I truly believe your parents will accept you. After all, they accepted a freak like me."

Kuon laughed softly and drew Angela into a hug of her own. "That is true. They did accept you..."

"And we don't have to tell them everything." Angela added. "Just showing your mom that you're a mermaid might help her. Show her that there are good things in the ocean, not just scary ones."

"Mmmm..." Kuon mumbled into her hug.

"But we don't have to think about this yet." Angela said, patting Kuon comfortingly. "We've still got so much of the night left."

Kuon smiled. "Yes... This night that belongs to use has not ended yet... It would be a shame if we were to waste it."

Kuon drew Angela close and kissed her once more.