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All heads turned to see who had entered the tavern but, aside from a few friendly greetings, the crowd turned back to their drinks and dates just as quickly. These were law abiding citizens, the arrival of the field leader of Water-O’s only superhero team did not cause concern for anyone.
Mako returned the kind hales for politeness sake then busied himself looking for Lorca. He had been back at the S.A.R.K, helping Walro and the twins with routine maintenance, when Octavia came to tell him their team’s engineer had called, insisting Mako come to the Deep End Tavern.
He and Dolph had gone out to see what fun they could drum up, but inexplicably the normally jovial Irishman had become despondent after a few drinks and was now trying to drown whatever ailed him.
It wasn’t that Dolph had become rowdy or violent, quite the opposite in fact, he had become uncharacteristically quiet, and to those who knew him best this was more concerning.
The lack of his trademark smile and ramrod straight posture gave him the air of a kicked puppy.
“I haven’t the foggiest notion what’s wrong with em, but it’s scarin’ the bejeezus out of me.” Lorca had told Octavia. “I kept after em, but all I was able to get was something mumbled about Mako and something being hopeless. Get our lad down here. Maybe he can make sense of it.”
And so she had, Octavia dutifully informed their friend and teammate of the situation and took over Mako’s share of the chores to free him for this more urgent task.
“Mako, Ah ripper! C’mer mate and I’ll catch ya up on the situation.” Lorca’s Australian accent did nothing to soften the anxiety in his tone as he directed his fellow Tigershark to a corner of the room. He pointed towards the main bar, where a puckishly handsome fellow dressed simply in new blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt sat nursing a whisky on the rocks.
Lorca shook his head, white eyebrows knitted in a worried frown. The low-key lighting of the tavern made his lavender skin look more akin to a light shade of grey.
“He’s been there all night, that’s his fourth drink. Many a sheila and bloke have asked em to dance and he’s turned them all down. Now you know our Dolph as well as I do, he loves a good twirl. Normally he tells the ladies fair dinkum he prefers men, but he’d be happy to dance with em so long as they’re alright with it goin’ no further than that. He even puts in a good word for me with the ones looking for a bit of a different kind of fun if’n ya follow me.”
Mako nodded “You two always act as each other’s wingman on these outings of yours.” he stole a concerned glance at the auburn haired Irishman only to witness him shake his head no and try to wave off the advances of an attractive human male with blonde hair and a Marines tattoo on his bicep.
“Not tonight. He politely tells them all ‘no thanks’ and eventually resorts to Gaelic to curse em if’n they persist too long and test his patience.” Lorca grumbled.
“Our Dolph, swearing?” Mako’s blue eyes went wide in surprise. Dolph Cu’Chulainn Murray never swore a day in his life. He had been half serious when he told his friends that he feared his grandmother haunting him if he ever dared to.
Lorca laughed. “Nothin’ too serious. He called a few blokes gobshites and langers.” he smirked “But my favorite was the poor bugger he said ‘May the Devil break both ye legs!’ to. I translated it for em, but he was a tourist from Bedlama, that’s way out in the Limbo galaxy, so he didn’t know who the Devil is, and at that point I was laughing too had to be of any further help.”
During Lorca’s antidote, Mako’s gaze never left the situation playing out at the bar. The blonde human man was starting to get bolder, squeezing Dolph’s bicep and rubbing his back, despite their friend’s efforts to shrug him off. It was when the advantageous suitor reached out and traced a finger along Dolph’s tapered ear that all Hell broke loose.
Unlike Lorca and Octavia, Mako and Dolph were only partially Merian.
Merians almost always chose island or costal areas when immigrating to Earth, and the various races of the sea-oriented extraterrestrial tended to gravitate towards Terran cultures that resembled their own traditions the closest.
Lorca’s Pod was an Arctic sort, with lavender skin and white hair, with eyes so dark as to appear completely black. They had settled in southern Australia during his great-grandparents time, finding Victor Harbor very amenable for raising a Pod and near enough to the type of waters they were used to back on Meria that traveling to them for family outings wasn’t a problem.
Octavia’s Pod had settled on the coasts of Maine, fishermen by trade, Lubec had been ideal for their expertise in shellfishing and bottom hunting, away from the more tourist driven parts of the beautiful state. Her bloodline sported light green skin, blue eyes and hair of green with blue and white streaks. They were used to colder waters, like Dolph’s ancestors, but not nearly as fridge as Lorca’s could withstand.
Mako was half human, his mother a Native Hawaiian.
His father was a tropical Merian and had bright yellow skin and white hair with startling blue eyes, hence why Mako had a white forelock in his otherwise black hair, a slight yellow tinge to his complexion, and ice blue eyes instead of the usual brown of his mother’s heritage.
Meanwhile Dolph was only a fourth Merian and had less physical evidence to hint at his duel cultural legacy. His pointed ears and puckishly wide features were his maternal grandmother’s gift to her only grandchild, while his skin tone, warm brown eyes and auburn hair were that of the average Caucasian human hailing from Ireland. Many would say he resembled his grandfather quite a bit.
His beloved Nan, as he called his Grandmother, short for Nanny, had been from a Pod of temperate type of Merians, very well suited for the cold seas surrounding the Emerald Isle.
Even so, his pointed ears were every bit as sensitive as a full blooded Merian, and for someone to touch them without asking permission first, especially a total stranger, was the pinnacle of audacity.
Such an intimate act was reserved for lovers, not even lifelong friends or family members dared.
Dolph swiped away the man’s hand and leapt to his feet, going practically nose to nose with the rude fool and calling him everything but decent in his ancestral language.
Lorca and Mako rushed across the room and restrained their teammate before it could come to blows. Even though Dolph was perfectly in his right to knock the jerk flat on his back, the Tigersharks didn’t need the bad press ruining their pristine reputation.
“Ease off mate, the gronk probably doesn’t know not to touch our ears.” Lorca tried reason. “Yer more than likely the first bloke he’s met with Merian blood in em.”
Dolph scoffed while keeping his brown eyes trained on the shocked human “He shouldn’t be touchin’ anyone with nae permission first, never mind their heritage.”
“He has a point there.” Mako agreed and the sound of his voice drew Dolph’s attention to his presence.
“Mako…” he looked startled and stopped resisting as his two friends got him to retake his seat on the barstool.
The blonde man wisely decided to retreat from the situation altogether, not even bothering to apologize and getting several heated glares from the other patrons for it. How dare he disrespect one of Water-O’s local heroes?! He was going to be buying his own drinks for the rest of his vacation for certain.
Dolph’s rosy pallor could be blamed on the whiskey, but his fellow Tigersharks doubted it. The normally outgoing man seemed embarrassed at having been caught in such an emotionally compromised scenario.
“What are ye doin’ here Mako? Thought you were plannin’ on spendin’ the night in.” Dolph ran his fingers through his short hair and turned back to his half drank liquor.
Mako waved off the bartender’s offer to fetch him a beverage of his own with a polite shake of his head.
“I was,” the team leader answered his second in command as he took the stool to his left, Lorca taking the right, effectively boxing in their brother-in-arms. “but Doctor Walro is right, I need to get out more. Thought I’d join you guys for once. Is that ok?”
“Of course lad. Your company is always welcome, right Dolph?” Lorca slapped him on the back in an affable manner, knocking a grunt from his companion.
“Sure. More the merrier I s’pose.” Dolph was avoiding looking at his team leader, swirling his drink around, causing the ice cubes to clink musically against the glass.
“I can go if I’m intruding.” Mako offered, but failed to completely hide the hurt that kindled in his chest. “Have I done something to make you mad at me Dolph? Because if I have, I’m sorry.”
“Nae Mako. I’m nae mad at ye.” Dolph sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I should be the one to go. Ye don’t get to have fun often enough and I party all the time.”
“I’d rather you stay.” Mako caught him by the forearm to stop him from sliding off his barstool. “I’d have more fun with you than surrounded by strangers.”
“Lorca can keep ye company.” Dolph tried as an excuse.
“Lorca’s gone. I think he slipped off with a Wateraian lady.” Mako pointed to the now vacant spot to the Irishman’s right. This went along with the original plan of having Mako get Dolph to confess what was wrong, though it seemed that Mako might be apart of the problem somehow.
“Ah. So he has.” Dolph glared at Lorca, who was chatting with the aforementioned Watarian lady and her friends, gathered around the jukebox.
The Australian raised his drink, probably bought for him by one of his numerous admirers, winked at him and saluted his friend.
The Irishman stuck his tongue out at him before turning back to his whiskey. With only a moment’s hesitation, Dolph downed the last of the alcohol and raised his hand to signal for a refill.
Mako grabbed his wrist, pulling his companion’s arm down and shaking his head no to the bartender. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?”
“Not by half Dathúil. I can still feel my legs.” He smirked.
“What did you just call me?” Mako cocked an eyebrow and smiled in amusement.
“T’was Gaelic. Nothin’ bad Mo’ghřa, a compliment, I promise.” Dolph swayed and half slid off his stool.
Mako let out a small cry of surprise and caught his friend before he could hit the floor.
Brown eyes sparkling mischievously, Dolph laughed and slung his arms about his teammate’s neck. “Mo’laoch.”
“Ok, I think it’s time we get you home. Come on big guy.” Mako slipped an arm about his second in command’s waist and left one of Dolph’s arms right where it was about his shoulders to help hoist the intoxicated man to his feet.
“What about Lorca?” Dolph murmured into Mako’s ear, accidentally tickling it and sending pleasant sensations ringing through the taller man’s nervous system.
“Lorca appears to be in good hands.” Mako assured him as they shuffled through the crowd towards the door.
“Several pairs in fact.” Dolph snorted a laugh as he waved goodbye to their friend, who was holding court admits a small school of the exotic amphibious females, and almost overbalanced himself and his leader.
Mako felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He checked it one handed as they exited the tavern into the chilly night air.
((Heading home? Don’t forget to get it out of em what’s got em all bent out of shape, before ya put em to bed.))
((I’ll do my best but I can’t make any promises.)) He texted back.
((Fair dinkum. Good luck mate.)) Lorca answered.
((You too.)) Mako added the wink emoji.
((Don’t need it. The ladies are willing and I’m able.)) followed by a string of eggplants and a couple of certain hand gesture emojis.
((TMI!)) Mako flinched. He was no prude, but still.
((Lmao!)) and with that parting comment, the green light next to Lorca’s icon disappeared.
As the duo reached the two-man vehicle, Dolph reached for the pilot side latch. “I’ll drive.” He slurred.
“Like heck you will!” Mako blurted in alarm, until he noticed his fellow Tigershark’s shoulders shaking and his lips twitching in barely contained mirth.
“That’s not funny.” He scowled “You’re terrible.”
“Than why are ye grinning?” The Irishman giggled, shifting his weight to lean on his friend and nuzzled his shoulder.
“You had better not be whipping your nose on my vest.” Mako grumbled as he struggled to simultaneously open the pop-top of their vessel and not let his comrade knock them over and off the docks and into the cold ocean waters.
Was his friend gently nibbling his neck or was that the sea breeze tickling him? Before he could ask, Dolph suddenly went dead weight in his arms and hummed sleepily. “Ye smell good.”
“My aftershave.” Mako grunted as he helped his charge into the co-pilot’s seat remembering to disengage the functions of the console. No point in taking chances.
“Ugh…” Dolph cringed and clutched his abdomen.
“Don’t tell me your stomach waited until I got you all the way into the Sharkhammer to suddenly need to throw up.”
Damn his luck.
“M’fine. Just let me sit quietly for a moment or two before we go.” The pale man was looking decisively green around the gills as they say.
“I’ll run back in and borrow a bucket just to be safe.” Mako thought quickly. “In the meantime, think of something else, a song or a poem, anything to keep your mind off of it.”
“Tried that already with my other problem, dinnae work on that ether.” Dolph mumbled.
Mako reached out, gently scratching his best friend’s scalp with his long fingers. He was surprised when met with warm brown eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“Dolph,” a lump of emotion was making it hard to get the words past his throat. In all honesty, he wasn’t even sure what he wanted to say.
Voice his concern, reaffirm his fondness for his friend. Mako desperately wanted to find some way to fix whatever was bothering his teammate so badly. He hated feeling so useless.
“Don’t.” Dolph gave a quiet sob “Don’t look at me like that. It hurts my heart.”
Mako frowned in determination and slipped into the vehicle, embracing his fellow Tigershark. He rubbed the Irishman’s shoulders and murmured comforting nothings.
Dolph made a small moan of emotional pain and shoved his closest friend away. “Ye making it worse. Please, let’s just go home so I can make a fool of myself in privacy.”
Mako’s concern shifted to irritation. He crossed his arms and scowled. “Darn it Dolph, I’ve had enough of this! I’ve clearly done something that’s supposedly ruining your life, but I can’t even begin to salvage our friendship if you don’t give me a clue as to what I’ve done to upset you.”
Cheeks still damp but no longer crying, Dolph’s expression swiftly shifted from surprise to something bitter. “Friends, right. And that’s the problem, t’isn’t it.”
“You’re not making any sense!” Mako growled a sigh and fell back into his seat, running his hands over his face. “How is our being friends a problem?”
“Because I want…!” Dolph began to shout in frustration when a sudden look of alarm interrupted him. He slapped his big hands over his mouth and leapt over the other man in his rush to get out of the Sharkhammer.
Mako swiftly followed his companion but Dolph hadn’t gotten far. He found him roughly a dozen feet away from their submersible, throwing up off the dock into the bay.
The Tigershark leader sighed and went back into the tavern, returning a few moments later with a cloth and a bottle of water, graciously donated by the kind bartender. He knelt next to his teammate, offering the already opened bottle so Dolph could rinse the taste from his mouth.
“Thought for a moment that ye were fed up with me.” The impish man whispered after spitting the water into the ocean and used the towel to wipe his mouth.
“Never.” Mako smiled, then smirked mischievously “No matter how crazy you drive me, you’re stuck with me Dolph Cu’Chulainn Murray.”
“Luck of the Irish, that’s me.” The drunk hero chuckled softly and accepted his friend’s help in slowly getting back to his feet.
Mako silently pleaded with his eyes for answers, but all he received for his effort was a cast down gaze weighed with a heavy secret.
Mako let Dolph’s hands fall, much to the other man’s surprise. They stood like statues for several heartbeats, fidgeting awkwardly with only the gentle sloshing of the waves against the docks and vessels as ambiance.
“Ok.” The Hawaiian eventually murmured softly, so quietly that a pure blooded human wouldn’t have caught it, but to someone with even just a drop of Merian blood it rang out in the night air with a ring of defeat.
“I’ll stop pushing and I truly am sorry. Not only for not realizing whatever it is I did wrong, but also for having done it in the first place. I only hope I haven’t… I haven’t lost you, have I Dolph?”
“Nae Mo Chroí, I’m sorry too. I’ll say it again, I’ll say it a hundred times over if’n ye want. Ye have done nothing wrong. I just have to figure out the best way to tell ye, so’s that I dinnae make it worse.” Dolph sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Drive me home, eh? I’ll tell ye when we get there.”
Mako felt an odd mix of relief and dread swirling in his chest, but nodded his ascent and the duo got back into the Sharkhammer to start the brief trip back to the S.A.R.K.
At some point Dolph had fallen asleep, and Mako was content to let him doze.
He busied himself by keeping a lookout for trouble and radioing ahead to Octavia so that the S.A.R.K’s security system would be ready to let them in without the usual fanfare. He doubted Dolph’s head could take the blaring alert and loud demands for proof of identity. This way Octavia could also go to bed, no need for her to stay up and wait for them like a worried sister.
The twenty minute trip passed uneventful, no attacks by the Mantennas or Captain Bizzarley’s crew, no emergency calls from civilians in peril from the fickle whims of nature.
Mako parked the small submersible in its storage port inside the back of the mothership and turned to see Dolph, arms crossed loosely over his chest and head lulled to side, resting on the curved dome of their vessel, mouth slightly parted with a quiet snore.
Dolph was notoriously delighted that his aquatic form, when using The Tank to transform for superhero business, was ‘cute’.
But at that moment his natural state was looking pretty adorable too. Mako snapped a quick picture, purely for teasing purposes later, he assured himself. He put away his phone and gently nudged his friend’s shoulder. “Dolph, we’re home.”
With a yawn and a stretch, the second in command of the Tigersharks smiled up at his leader, the blissful fog of recent sleep temporarily making him forget his troubles.
The moment his mind cleared and his memory came crashing back with a vengeance was visible. His smile faded and his eyes lost their sparkle, “Ye want the truth now or in my quarters?”
“Your quarters.” The words were out of Mako’s mouth before he even had time to consider his options.
He rationalized to himself that it would be physically more comfortable and less likely that someone would interrupted them. It was less odd to have a conversation in the corridor than sitting in the submersible in the docking bay, no one was going to come check to see what they were doing this way.
If he was being honest with himself, he also wanted to put off the moment of truth for a little longer at least.
They walked side by side down the corridors; passing The Tank, the decompression chamber, various labs, the restoration room for recovered artifacts, Lorca’s workshop, and the storage room where the team’s younger members Bronk, Angel and Bowfin, kept their sailboards and other toys.
It was when they passed the galley, the dinning room and bridge, that Mako realized his friend was purposely taking the longest route possible to the crew’s quarters.
“Dolph.” Mako put his hand on his companion’s shoulder, halting them in place. They were in front of the crew lounge, the room that most resembled a living room for their little patchwork Pod of Humans, Merians, mix-breeds, a pet beagle and one adopted Waterian child.
“Fine. Here’s as good as any I suppose.” Dolph ducked into the room, trusting his leader to follow. The whoosh of the automatic door closing behind them seemed louder than normal in the tense silence.
Dolph stood with his back to Mako, he took a deep breath, letting his broad shoulders slowly lower as he exhaled.
With speed that most would not expect from such a muscular and compact man, the Irishman whirled around, grabbed his best friend by his biceps and yanked him forward, planting an insistent yet somehow still gentle kiss right on Mako’s mouth.
Just as suddenly he released the Hawaiian and took a step back, brown eyes burning a hole in the metal floor between them as a rosie tinge colored his face.
“I’m in love with ye Mako.” He managed to whisper through his embarrassment, then flinched as though he expected the world to end.
Mako blinked in surprise. His hand had flown up to cover his mouth where the ghost of the kiss still lingered.
The silence twisted Dolph’s nerves into a knot in his stomach. The alcohol was leaving him feeling tired and vulnerable.
Despite his rough start in life, he maintained a cheerful outlook. He loved exploring, learning, and sharing adventures with his found family the Tigersharks.
But in that moment, he hadn’t felt so miserable since his grandparents had died, leaving him fresh out of secondary school and alone in the world.
The beloved elders had always assured him that the greatest blessing in life was true friends, and now he may have lost himself his best one that he ever had.
“You total jerk!” Mako chided him, causing Dolph to look up in alarm. Was his worst fears coming true?!
“You steal our first kiss before you even ask me out? You owe me one doozie of a first date Dolph.”
“Wha… first date?” Dolph’s eyes went wide and his mind was going a mile a minute trying to process what had just happened.
“Uh, yeah!” Mako scoffed, he was such a good actor it was difficult to tell if he was really peeved or just teasing. “You know I’m bisexual, and you just confessed your feelings to me. So the next logical step would be to take me out, wouldn’t it?”
“I…” Dolph shook his head to clear it and then laughed in relief. “I hadn’t thought that far in advance to be perfectly honest.”
Meanwhile he was thinking ‘Jesus and all his carpenters, he likes me back! Holy Virgin, what do I do now? I never thought I’d stand a chance with him.’
Mako sighed and looked at his teammate like he was hopeless yet found it endearing. “You always did fly by the seat of your pants. This is why we make such a good pair, I’m a planer by nature.” He unfolded his arms and placed his hands on his hips. “How about we do this...”
“Dolph’s exhausted mind got distracted by the view. Mako looked great in his day-off clothes.
A pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt and a black vest. The only jewelry he wore was a waterproof wristwatch and a Mako-shark tooth pendant with a bright blue bead on ether side of the trophy.
It was a family heirloom passed on to him by his mother, Nā’ili, whose name means ‘victory’.
His parents had met when his father, a Merian diving instructor named Surge, was exploring off the coast on his day off, and was attacked by an abnormally large Mako shark. It was one of those random occurrences in nature that happened so rarely that most people didn’t bother to prepare for them.
Surge had cursed himself for not bringing a knife with him that day, he always told to tourists you could never be too careful and he nearly had lost his leg because he hadn’t taken his own advice.
Mako’s mother had been nearby, with her fellow students from a marine biology course, on a field expedition funded by their college. She saw what she described as the most beautiful man she had ever seen, in danger fighting for his life, and saved him from the shark with her quick thinking.
She had activated the anti-shark sonar of her research vessel driving the beast away and quickly organized her classmates in bringing Surge aboard and administering first aid while rushing him to the nearest hospital.
Surge had awoken a few hours later and a nurse gave him a note with the shark’s tooth taped to it. The short message simply said “Took this out of your leg. Here’s my number, in case you want to get to know me better. I may be a good luck charm for you. ~Nā’ili”
Years of courtship later they married and named their only child after the predator that had brought them together.
Mako was very proud of that story and loved telling it to any who would listen. It warmed Dolph’s heart just thinking about it.
“Dolph, are you even listening to me?”
The Irishman opens his mouth, to apologize for zoning out, but a yawn came out instead. The two young men laughed.
“Could I possibly make more of an arse of myself tonight?” Dolph rubbed at his eyes, trying to get them to focus through his exhaustion, both the physical and emotional.
“Come on you lapuwale, let’s get you to bed.” Mako slipped an arm about his potential new boyfriend’s shoulders and started guiding him towards the crew’s quarters.
“Trying to get me into bed already?” Dolph snorted a laugh and slipped his own arm about Mako’s trim waist, squeezing gently. “Didn’t ye just accuse me of taking things too fast with that kiss? Hypocrite.”
“Whoa there haole.” The Tigersharks leader raised an eyebrow at him and leaned back to dodge a playful nose nuzzle. “I’m not that fast out of the water. And besides, I think you’re still a little too drunk to properly consent to anything right now, least of all jumping into the sack together.”
“How about ye sleep over just for a barróg?” Dolph turned the lean into a hug, making walking difficult at best. “Ye are safe with me, mo chroí, I have the fear I’m going to be in a jocker come the morning, after such a night on the gargle. I’m going to need someone to bear witness and have me declared legally dead.”
“I didn’t understand hardly half of that.” Mako chuckled “I thought a barróg was a demon in the Lord of the Rings books.”
Dolph shot him an incredulous look. “It means… ack, I can nae think of the term ye Yanks use. It’s when people hold each other and just relax and enjoy it, with nae pressure for more.”
“You mean cuddling?” The American didn’t even try to hide his amusement.
“Whatever. Do ye want to or nae?” He smiled, hope written all over his boyish good looks.
“Hmmm,” Mako pretended to consider his options. “On one condition. You promise to tell me what mo chroi, dathúil, and mo’ ghra, mean. Oh, and mo laoch.”
“Gah, I called ye all that did I?” He blinked and blushed again “Truly I’ve been acting the maggot tonight.”
“I reserve judgment until you translate it all for me, including those colorful turns of phrases you’ve been spouting. And if those were complements, and you were sincere.” Mako smiled, affection and teasing in equal measure as he punched in the code to his quarters. It was two rooms closer than Dolph’s and he was also starting to feel exhaustion creeping up on him. A glance at his clock on the nightstand confirmed his fears, one thirty-two in the morning.
“Oh aye, that I assure ye.” His charge murmured, fighting off slumber valiantly yet steadily losing the battle as he stumbled towards the bed. “I meant every word mo lómhara.”
“I’ll just add that one to the list. I’ll trade you Hawaiian lessons for Gaelic ones, after we resurrect you from death-by dumbassery tomorrow.” Mako kissed his friend’s forehead as he sat him down on the bed and helped him get his shoes and belt off, before removing his own in addition to his vest, watch and necklace. They could sleep in their jeans and shirts, it would be less awkward in the morning that way.
As Mako slipped under the blankets, Dolph turned to run the back of his fingers lightly down his favorite person’s cheekbones and strong jawline. With a content sigh he gave in and surrendered to sleep, leaving Mako to turn off the desk lamp and snuggle close.
‘Here’s to whatever comes next.’ He thought to himself, hope and some anxiety waring in his chest as he carded his fingers through his companion’s auburn hair.
Hope was winning.