“Fuck you,” Morgan said through chattering teeth. The sea lion tilted its head, barked once, then dove and swam away.
Morgan closed his eyes as he gave himself a moment, just a moment, to cradle the octopus in his arms. Was this what Ty had been hiding? That he was a—what the fuck was this, even, shapeshifting? Magic? Was this even Ty? Or had he left his lover out in the water while he’d gotten distracted by some sort of panicked delusion that an octopus could possibly become a—
“Morgan?” His eyes snapped open as he heard Ty’s voice, rough and unsteady. The head of the octopus that had been resting against his chest had transformed into the familiarfeatures of Ty, only drawn and exhausted. His arms were human again, but the bottoms of his feet were still tentacles, and it wasn’t until Morgan shifted them back another foot that Ty’s legs became human again. Human and completely naked.
“Oh shit,” Morgan breathed. “Come on, let’s—” He coughed to clear his throat. “Let’s get you inside.”
Chapter nine
Dry clothes and a hot cup of tea could cure a lot of ills. A hot shower worked wonders as well, and Morgan wasn’t shy about running the generator when it came to getting both him and Ty comfortable after the boat wreck and subsequent—well,surprisewas maybe the kindest way he could put it right now.
Ty seemed alright; he’d already assured Morgan that he wasn’t badly injured. But once he emerged from the bathroom, his hair damp and a trickle of blood running down the cut on his forehead, Morgan took things into his own hands.
“Come here,” he said, pointing at the chair by the kitchen table. “Let me take care of that.”
“Take care of what?” Ty asked.
“Your head,” Morgan said through gritted teeth.
“No, it’s—” Ty reached up and felt his forehead, then frowned at the blood on his fingers. “Hmm. I’m sorry about that,” he said.
“You don’t have to be sorry,” Morgan said. “You just have to sit and let me take care of it.”
“I really don’t think—”
“Ty.” Morgan poured every ounce of desperation, hurt, and need into that one word, hoping it sent the message that he couldn’t quite bring himself to say out loud. It worked. Ty sat down without another word, and Morgan went to work cleaning and bandaging the cut on his forehead. “Where else?” he asked.
“Mmm?”
“Where else are you injured?” he clarified. “The way you were flinching, I know that sea lion must have gotten you a couple times.”
“Oh.” Ty bit his lower lip, and as Morgan watched, a bright, familiar red color flushed over his face and vanished just as quickly. It made so much sense now … if any of this made sense at all. “Ah, he did bite me a few times,” Ty allowed, “but it’s fine. I just removed one of my arms, and that distracted him long enough for us to get out of the water.”
Morgan stared at him. “You did what?”
“I took off one of my arms,” Ty said. “I can do that without hurting myself,” he added as Morgan’s jaw dropped even further. “Really, it’s all right. Look.” He lifted up the sweater and patted down low on his hip. He revealed a patch of slightly raw-looking skin but no blood and no hint that it was causing him pain. “I promise it’s all right,” Ty said with a little smile. “It will grow back soon; I regenerate quickly.”
“Do you?” Morgan asked faintly. “Really, huh. Your limbs regenerate quickly. That’s … that’s great.” He put his head in his hands and took a few deep breaths. Ty sat perfectly still, but when Morgan looked up again, there was something pleading in Ty’s expression, like he wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say.
“So.” Morgan folded his hands on the table. “You’re an octopus.” Part of him wanted to laugh at the absolute absurdity of that statement, and yet … “Or I guess maybe I’m crazy.”
Ty shook his head. “You’re not crazy. It’s true. I have two forms, this one and the one you saw in the water. I can exist between them for a time, and some traits carry over no matter which form I’m in.”
Morgan nodded gamely. “The color changing.”
“Mmm, and my desire to cling a bit to the people I’m close to when I’m in my other form.” His hands twitched, and Morgan got the impression that it was harder than he knew for Ty to hold himself back right now.
“Phil knew,” Ty added. “He didn’t interact much with my other form, but he was the first person I told after almost fifty years of secrecy.”
Almost fifty years …“How old are you?” Morgan asked.
Ty blinked slowly. “I don’t exactly know,” he said after a moment. “Old by any measure, it feels like. Many of your generations old, innumerable octopus generations old. For most of my life, time wasn’t something I had to concern myself with, not until I had to interact with people more regularly.
“I chose Parrish Island to live on,” he went on, “because it was hard to reach and a place that seemed like a refuge. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t glad to be with people when I was with them. I just …” He shrugged. “It’s usually been easier to be alone. Very few people have ever learned the truth about me, and even fewer have been, mmm,closeto me.”
Morgan could only imagine. It made him wonder: so why not stay alone? “You say you wanted Parrish Island to be a refuge, but it was less of a refuge for you with Phil here, and now with me …” He winced a little as he thought about what an incredible imposition he’d been on Ty over the past few weeks.
“No.” Ty reached out and took Morgan’s hand in both of his. Another ripple of red flared across his face. “I like your company,” he insisted. “It’s so much better than being alone. It was Phil who reminded me that it was nice to have a friend, butyou …” The red deepened for a moment, darkening his cheeks from the bridge of his nose and all down his neck until it vanished into the sweater Morgan had once accidentally stolen from him. “With you, it’s a different feeling,” Ty said. “One I haven’t had for a long time.”
