Miles Wheaton

It definitely had been a lifetime, or at least felt like one with all the craziness amped up in the town. “Everything’s…fine. I think.” He tried, still not sure what he and Cat were going to do about their whole situation. He already had one kid out of wedlock, a past time that he felt terrible for, but at the same time, he wondered if this was just what the new age of romance was. “Just…dealing with some things in my personal life. How about you?”

The answer sounded skeptical, far from the answer he would have liked to hear. “You think? That doesn’t sound exactly reassuring. What’s going on?” Miles might have been here to brag slightly about how perfect everything was going, but he wanted to know what might be bothering his brother too. “It’s amazing. Mariana and I are in a good spot, they’re both living with me now. I’ve been clean for a few months now. Everything is turning around for the better.”

“Boat dates usually end really good or really bad, so I take it, yours went off well.” Nick muttered against the counter he had been cleaning, the bait and tackle area he had taken a liking to making sure it was kept orderly, before he took the keys off of the man. “Maybe one day you’ll own a beauty like her.”

“If it went badly, I would have a much different attitude. Everything was perfect though, the boat, the day, the water.” He couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to spend with Mariana, which made giving the keys back that much harder. “That’s the plan. A little out of the budget currently, but when things get settled I’ll be by one day to purchase. For now, you’ll have to put up with me renting them every now and then.”

It didn’t take long for her to decided that they needed a boat one day, to make this dream more of a reality as she gave into the moment. The ambience, the mood, the way he held her from behind, she was enjoying it far more than she ever could have imagined. She turned to watch him start the boat and then crossed the small area to take her own seat behind him. “I don’t just like it Miles—I love it, a lot. You really know me so well.” She was happily insistent on that, and eager to see where he was taking them. “Are you saying we’ll have some fun in the water later?” 

The boat backed out slowly from the dock, trying not to distract himself with her sitting behind him. This would be one of the best days he’d had in awhile, just the two of them with no distractions. “Don’t sound so surprised,” he chuckled, steering the boat out of the marina and into open waters. “Oh, you bet we will. Just us out in the middle of the ocean, no one around. I can think of a few ways to have some fun.”

@emersonwheaton

@nicknxvak

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves—” She stated back rather quickly before adding a sharp chuckle. Buying a boat seemed like an investment that wasn’t something she was sure they could handle yet, not that the idea didn’t sound like a fun one. Grabbing his hand and pulling herself onto the boat left her in a bit of a short momentary panic before she stabilized herself and looked to him. “You aren’t wrong about it being freeing. It’s like…being able to be my most authentic self.” She let herself cross the deck to look out into the hazy ocean with her grin beaming. “You did good with this. Really good.” And Mariana approved.

He chuckled with a small snort, needing to take her advice and calming down with all the plans he wanted to make for them. Her saying I love you only confirmed the feelings he suspected she had, and now everything felt as if it were falling into place. Miles held onto her hand, staying still until she seemed stable, following her as she looked out at the water. “That’s all I ever want you to be,” he wrapped his arms around her waist, coming to stand behind her. “I’m glad you like it,” he kissed her cheek, letting go to head towards the steering wheels. “Now have a seat, no falling out no matter how good of a swimmer you are. There’s plenty of time for that later.”

The waves coming in were distracting her as he led her down the dock, unsure of exactly what he could be showing her, despite the obvious boatyard he had brought them to in the sea. It didn’t take long for her to lift her glance at his sudden surprise to spot his cute face. “Did you get a boat?” She asked, grin unable to be wiped off of her expression while glancing past him to get a view of the boat. “Where are we going? To the deep sea?”

The grin wouldn’t leave his face, nodding his head excitedly. “Rented it to be exact, but if this is something we enjoy I can consider getting something for us.” Probably a little smaller than this, but it would be a larger decision he couldn’t make on his own. Miles climbed onto the boat, steadying himself before holding his hand out to her. “Something like that. Being in wolf form can be freeing, so I thought you being in your mermaid form might be the same. And I think both of us could use a day of not worrying about anything but being together as ourselves.”

With her feelings all out on the line and the piece of wood taken out of his leg, Mariana found herself focusing all in on the actively bleeding wound, a new sort of motivation driving her behind laying it all out while a glance over to Miles only prompted her to be more direct in her approach. Without so much as a squirm or a worry about all the blood getting all over her, her hands covered and pressed over his large gash, as she willed every last amount of energy she could into the healing process. “Come on…come on.” She muttered, closing her own eyes as her hands worked the softly lit magic into helping the pain and the tissue reform.

His nails dug into his palms as his fist tightened. Miles could feel the wound healing faster with her magic, not without every bit of pain he’d have to feel if it healed on it’s own. He breathed through it, wishing for it to go faster until it finally started to close fully. The bleeding stopped, sitting up slightly to rest on his elbows. “Next time, remind me to never accept any kind of thanks from this fucking town.” Miles reached up, pulling her towards him as he sat up. “Thank you,” he kissed at her check. “And I love you too.”

@marianadxlacruz

The humor he was exhibiting left her wanting to smile back, feeling like at least he had the light vibe that helped her calm down herself. Even with his leg incapacitated, she wasn’t sure how this was going to go, but at least he could make jokes. “Not in any shape you’re in.” She muttered off. “I…I’ll do it—” It was a big decision, but the last thing she wanted was for his circulation to be cut off from the splintering wood, or worse, nerve damage that would wind up worse off than if she didn’t do something about it. Taking a deep breath, Mariana glanced back to Miles, a shaky feeling hovering through her before her hands gripped around the shred. “I love you too, you know?” And with a bit of reluctance, Mariana pulled with her full strength, unlodging the piece before tossing it to the side and placing her hands on both sides of wound.

The jokes were short lived, unable to distract himself from the pain that only seemed to be getting worse. His hands balled into fists, trying and failing to find something to grip onto. He looked down again, wanting nothing more than to rip it out but knowing the pain would worse, which meant thinking maybe he could live the rest of his life with it in. Miles took a few deep breaths, mentally preparing himself for the worst. Her words caught him off guard, head lifting up quickly to stare as she pulled the wood out. “Fuck!” He screamed, eyes closing as his hand hit the floor. Miles breathed through the pain, knowing his body wouldn’t heal itself fast enough to subside the pain like he wanted, hoping maybe whatever healing factor she had would help.

Even as she curled over him, light cuts already finding the speed at which to heal, she looked back at him, concern lacing her expression while she shook her head. “You’re the one with a piece of podium in your leg, and you’re asking if I’m alright!” This was hopeless, Mariana thought as she could feel a rather emotional lump in her throat. “I…I don’t know—If it hit an artery—I don’t care how fast you heal, you could have major blood loss.” She moved slowly to his leg, assessing it slightly before adding, “If I can get it out, I might be able to speed up the process, but…it’s been a while.” She wasn’t even sure she could trust her own ability.

He chuckled, regretting it instantly as his body shook from the expression. “Sass? Check. Must mean you’re alright.” His head lifted up slightly, looking down to assess the situation himself, the unclear view stopping him from getting a decent look. Miles had never injured himself beyond a few minor things here and there, a broken bone once or twice over the course of being a werewolf. He put his faith into her and his own body, willing to take the risk rather than wait to find out. “We can wait for someone to come, but seeing as most of the useful ones were here, that’s a chance I don’t want to take.” He’d nearly forgotten mermaids had healing abilities, hearing about it from a few people at work. Miles sat up on his elbows, wincing as he did to prepare for what might come next. “I trust you, and with both of our healing it shouldn’t be so bad. We aren’t going to figure that our though if we leave it in.”

“Front row? Sounds like the best spot to be.” Mariana happily agreed to seats, joining at his side in a comfortable position, her head leaning against his shoulder during the first part of the speech. She clapped at the honor, pecking a short kiss on Miles’ cheek to give him her ow personal thanks and was happy to be by his side again, something she was fully aware of again in how lucky she was. She loved him, and as she glanced over to him, soft smile pulling at her lips it became apparent the way that she looked over him. Because of the close proximity, the blast pulled Mariana in far off direction, leaving her flat on her back, pushed up against the table on it’s side, wood shards and cuts stung her skin, but upon realization, she opened her eyes feebly, looking through the wreckage and dust clouding around her as pain flooded her. “Miles!” She called out as she began to crawl forward to see him lying one the ground. “Miles! Oh my god!” Her hands were shaky as she glanced to his legs, debris covering them up as she shook her head. “No…I…You’ve got…a piece of wood stuck in your leg.” This was no vet emergency she was used to, and as she looked back to Miles, her own pained expression reflected back.

He wished he could go back to the loving moment they had before, not whatever was happening now as he could barely move. Her voice cut through the chaos, head turning towards the sound to see if she were alright. Nothing visibly stood out to him, though that didn’t mean something internally couldn’t be happening. “Mariana, are you hurt?” His own problems could be set to the side for a moment, her only confirming what he already assumed. The werewolf genes would help him heal, the wood posing a problem unless it was taken out. He reached down again, attempting to find and remove it himself, only to fail with more pain and a groan. “You’re going to have to pull it out,” he mumbled, starting to feel tired. 

“What, you don’t like Miles anymore? Personally, I was always a big fan of Milo. Maybe we can have it legally to changed to Mariana’s boyfriend.” She teased him back, letting her hands wrap around his neck for a brief moment to kiss him again, not wanting to let him go. “I can definitely think of a few more things I could have you do while you’re there.” She gave a suggestive look, before adding, “You could help me rearrange my furniture, maybe even tidy up a bit.”

“No, no. Not Mariana’s boyfriend, we have to do this right. It needs to be Marinara’s boyfriend.” The smile seemingly forever plastered on his face as he kissed her back. He could happily live in this moment if it meant getting to keep her forever. Miles gave a brief chuckle with the added statement, “Your wish is my command, my lady.” His hand took a hold of her’s, leading them away from the bar. “It’s almost time for this speech, and since the fire department is being honored, we need a front row view during it.” Miles didn’t much care whether or not he physically witnessed it, but since he still happened to be there he needed to make an effort. His arm stayed around her as it started, the part about thanking the fire department coming and going quickly. He had half a mind to sneak out while it continued, about to express his thoughts to the woman next to him before being knocked back by the blast. The impact knocked the wind out of him, struggling to regain his breathing as a ringing started in his ears. He wanted to move, a sharp pain running through his body as he tried to move his legs, hand slowly trying to feel for what might be there.

Dorian nodded and looked the male over. “You’re important Miles. Just my job is how i make money. And Alex fucks me so unless you are gunna fuck me then hes above you.’ He laughed and nodded. “Okay i guess should know how to handle her by now.”

“Well, that’s not a mental image I didn’t really need to have tonight. To answer that, no it’s definitely not going to happen.” His head shook wildly, mostly to get the image out of his head. “Thank you for the vote of confidence.”

“I’ll have to think about that one.” Mariana eased up, wondering if she was going to let that happen tonight. With the drinks and the dancing, she was easily swept up in the action, but outside of that, who was she going to let in? “I guess it would be silly to not let my boyfriend take me home, right?”

A grin pulled at his lips, “Can you forego my name for the rest of the night and only call me your boyfriend?” He teased mostly, relishing in how lucky he was to even be there with her. Letting the festivities be second to his whole purpose for even coming. “In it’s simplest form, I could just take you home to make sure you’re safe. Anything else is entirely up to you.”

“I missed you too.” She gave in just as easily, feeling as though perhaps it was time to come to terms with her true feelings. He had given her everything and then some, and she loved him more for it. Even as the party seemed to disappear —something that could have never happened before— Mariana stayed near him, finally opening her eyes after their kiss parted. “I’m not opposed to that. We have a lot to make up for.”

The dumb decisions he’d made were worthless if he’d lost her completely, at least now making up for it at this party. Although, he hoped they wouldn’t have to stay here all night. As much as the party slipped away as he looked down at her, Miles didn’t want to have to spend most of it in a crowd full of people. “There’s much more we need to catch up, and I’m only hoping later you might let me take you home.”