Plip.

Plip.

Plip plip.

Plip.

“Dude, cut it out!” Ash hissed, swatting at the next tiny piece of rolled up paper Colin tossed at him. 

“Ah, so you are in there,” Colin grinned, tossing the last of his tiny ammo, hitting Ash square in the middle of the forehead. He leaned back, one arm each on his desk and chair. “You were so zoned out, I was sure your brain actually stopped working for real this time.”

Ash shook his head, clicking his tongue with annoyance. “Fuck off,” he muttered. He turned his attention to his text book and the notes on the tablet he was supposed to be studying. A test was coming up in a few days and Ash had put forth little effort into preparing for it over the past week, much to his father’s displeasure. He had told Ash that if he didn’t shape up, he’d cut off his visits to Coby. Ash texted Colin a minute later to meet him at the college’s study hall.

“You know, if you weren’t spending so much time with your new boyfriend, you wouldn’t be in this predicament,” Colin teased. “You’d actually know what the hell we’re supposed to be going over!”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Ash said, the tips of his ears turning red. Not that I don’t want him to be…

“Uh huh. You didn’t come and see me this much when I was in the hospital.”

Ash glared at him. “You were there for two days with appendicitis.”

“Yes, and you only deigned to visit me once the entire time,” Colin replied melodramatically. “You’ve gone to see Coby every day over the past week, and for hours at a time. You’ve even missed classes for this guy!”

“He’s alone, Colin,” Ash said defensively. “No one from his tribe even knows he’s here, and he doesn’t know anyone from Marina Bay.”

“That, my dear friend, is a falsehood,” Colin said, waving a finger. “You took me to meet him just the other day, remember? He knows your dad, the medical staff, and of course, you and your ugly mug.”

Ash flipped him off.

Colin grinned. “Seriously, dude, I get it. He’s a cool guy, and, dare I say, drop dead gorgeous.”

Ash’s eyebrow ticked and his shoulders tensed. A wave of jealousy washed through him, even though he knew it was unwarranted. “You don’t even like guys.”

“I can still admire true beauty in all its forms, Ash Turner. I may be a straight black man with a hottie for a girlfriend, but I can still appreciate what’s out there.”

The wave passed, leaving a film over Ash’s body, one he shuddered involuntarily to shake off. “A girlfriend that is going to outlive you by centuries, by the way.”

Colin’s girlfriend was a light elf. He shrugged. “We age well, it’s fine.”

Ash grunted and turned back to his text, trying to focus on the material and failing miserably. Colin was right, Coby was incredibly gorgeous, and not just physically. He was funny, intelligent, wise, compassionate, eager to learn, and gentle in his admonitions of Ash’s recent drop in school attendance and studies.

“I’m grateful for every moment I get with you Ash,” he said a few days prior, “but your college is important. You can’t move forward with your future goals if you continue to push them aside for me.”

Ash had felt properly chastised. “But you’re important, too,” he’d said under his breath. He thought Coby hadn’t heard him. He knew he was wrong when he’d raised his gaze to the merman’s intense blue eyes and saw him staring back in astonishment, his lips parted. He thought to backtrack, to try and laugh it off, but he couldn’t. He’d made his first admission as to how he felt about Coby and he wasn’t about to take it back.

Then, when he had walked in two days ago, he nearly fell back against the door. Coby was out of bed…

And standing.

Kim and another nurse were supporting him, helping him move along the edge of the bed, but they stopped when Ash entered, the door closing slowly behind him as he stood there, completely dumbstruck. Not only was Coby standing, but he was wearing medical scrubs, the gown finally gone. Somehow, the way they were fitting him made him look so much bigger, no longer like the fragile boy he appeared lying helpless in the bed. He was more filled out, his lean torso fit, the pants riding right at his hips and curving around his ass like a glove, even giving a hint as to what he carried in the front.

Ash swallowed hard, praying his dick would obey him and stay down.

Coby smiled shyly, surprised to see him. “Hey,” he said softly. “I didn’t think you would be here until later.”

Ash nodded dumbly, unable to form anything remotely coherent in terms of words or sounds. 

“I, um…” Coby tucked some hair behind his ear. “They’re letting me take a shower finally, so, uh…” He shifted awkwardly, forcing Kim to hold onto him a little tighter. “Could you…come back in a little bit…maybe?” His voice trailed off, and he chewed on his bottom lip nervously.

Ash still didn’t respond. He was too captivated by this new view of Coby. The way his hair curled around the base of his neck, how his braids dangled more freely at the side of his face, the movement of the muscles in his arms, how one pec twitched as he leaned a little more heavily on his right leg, even the way the change in lighting seemed to bring out more of his soft features, including the curve of his mouth and shape of his nose.

Fuck, you’re beautiful…

“Ash?” Coby’s gentle voice pierced through the cloud that had enveloped him as he ogled the merman, noticing for the first time that Coby was only a few inches shorter than himself, no more than five-seven if he had to guess. Perfect for holding…

“Hm?” Ash finally managed, blinking away the fantasies that sprang up in his mind.

The nurses snickered softly, covering their mouths with their fingers, and Coby smiled warmly.

“Could you come back in a bit? Please?” Coby asked again, his blue eyes dancing with amusement.

“Y-yeah,” Ash stammered. “Sure, I’ll, uh…I’ll just…come back…um…” With one final glance, he gave an awkward smile and walked from the room, leaning against the door when it was firmly shut. He slid to the floor with a groan and folded his arms over his knees, ducking his head into the hollow they created. Why the hell did he get so flustered? It’s not like he hadn’t seen Coby without a shirt on, or even knew what his body felt like next to his own. But seeing him standing, wearing clothes, his small feet peeking out from the bottoms of the scrub trousers…how was that image the one that threw him off?

He sighed deeply, and got as comfortable as he could against the door.  He wasn’t going anywhere and Coby knew that. 

Around forty-five minutes or so, he stood up and knocked twice, waiting for Coby’s permission to enter. When he did, Coby was sitting on the edge of the bed in just his scrub bottoms, his arms slightly raised at his sides while the nurses wound fresh bandages around his middle. Coby smiled at him as Ash drew near, his hair combed back from his face, still wet from his first shower since his arrival almost a week ago.

“You’re walking,” Ash said with a bemused grin. 

“More like shuffling with help,” Coby laughed, glancing at his nurses. “My muscles are weak and my leg is still in a lot of pain, so is my side, but if I don’t move around, it won’t get any better. Doctor Yancy suggested I start walking around a little bit every day to help stimulate my natural healing.”

“Is it working?”

Coby shrugged, the motion making Kim frown at him.

“Coby, I told you to sit still,” she admonished gently.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said apologetically. He turned back to Ash. “I only started trying last night after you left.”

“Why not while I was still here?” Ash asked, feeling slightly hurt that he would have been left out of something so important.

“Well, um…” Coby averted his gaze and the second nurse chuckled, winking at Ash.

“He wanted to surprise you,” she said, squeezing his arm gently with one gloved hand.

Coby’s cheeks flushed and he bit his lower lip. “Surprise,” he said weakly.