Kiwi pondered it for a moment.

After a minute or so, he sighed and turned to the side slightly--facing her would be a bit too embarrassing for him. Nonetheless, despite his concerns, he started unbuttoning his work shirt.

Deckle happily engaged him in the tongue war, delighted to do so. She was no pushover in this department, so, naturally, she was determined to win this.

Sensing his discomfort, Meriel sat on the bed, giving him some room as she tried not to stare too much. She tried to only watch what was necessary to curb her curiousity and facination.

Gavin growled softly, playfully. He was a competitive spirit in games, and he wanted to win just as badly as Deckle. Tongues fighting for dominance, he didn't break until they both needed breath, only to kiss her again.

Kiwi seemed to relax as time went on, idly sliding his shirt down off his shoulders. Not looking her directly in the eyes seemed to help, and he realized he didn't mind the staring as much as he thought he would.

He seemed to feel relieved after getting out of that wet shirt--he had always hated wet clothing--and he sighed a bit before tugging his belt free and working on getting his pants undone.

Deckle made sure her ferocity matched but never surpassed his, wanting the workload for this little war to be equally balanced. She seemed to be enjoying herself, and she didn't protest when he immediately kissed her again after pausing for air.

Gavin was thuroughly enjoying the heated kisses as the two tried to defeat the other. Raising one hand, Gavin ran his fingers through Deckle's ebony hair, other hand wrapping around her back as he stroked her tongue with his own.

Meriel smiled as she watched, making sure to not stare too much. As Kiwi worked on undoing his belt, the redhead wondered if it meant something that he was showing himself to her. She was tempted to ask.

Deckle's competitive side was feeding off her headstrong nature, and she wasn't prepared to give in just yet. Once again, she reciprocated his actions, running her hands through his hair.

Kiwi dropped his belt to the floor and paused, glancing at her. "Is there something on your mind?" he asked, calmly.

At Deckle's determination and mimicry of his actions, Gavin smiled against her lips. However he never broke the kiss, save for maybe a second if he felt they both needed air.

Meriel blinked, not realizing she had been thinking so hard. Shaking her head, the girl smiled. "No, I'm ok.."

Deckle grinned a bit under the kiss, opening her eyes to stare at him playfully. She also had no intention of stopping at the moment.

Kiwi remained paused, studying her expression. Finally, a possibility came to him.

"Oh...are you wondering if, uh...this--" he motioned to his half-naked self, "--means anything? As I said before...we don't usually show nakedness to others. When we do, it's only if we're very comfortable around that person, or...er..."

He stumbled a bit on his words. "We're...uh, interested in them. As a possible lover."

Gavin smiled, eyes opening to look at Deckle with an expression of excitement and playfulness. Moving from her lips, the brown haired male began to kiss her cheeks, neck, ears, and lips. He wanted to keep Deckle guessing.

Meriel nodded, eyes somewhat wide. He had known what she was thinking. Smiling softly, the mermaiden opened her mouth to speak. "So.....comfortable or lover?" she asked, simply curious and intrigued.

Deckle seemed to enjoy the attention, fiddling with his hair and watching him with pure interest.

Kiwi coughed, face once again tinting a bit red.

"Well, uh...I...I'm not sure...that decision is up to you. How do you feel?" he asked, somewhat awkwardly.

Once more, Gavin proceeded to kiss her neck before returning to Deckle's lips, nipping her bottom lip lightly.

Meriel felt his head as he flushed. "Is Kiwi ok?" she questioned, hugging him once more. "Meriel doesn't know what it means to be a lover..not really."

Deckle poked at his bottom lip in response. "You seem quite feisty..."

Kiwi chewed his lip and hesitantly returned the hug.

"A lover...a lover is...uh...a mate," he muttered finally, not sure of what her reaction would be.

Gavin grinned at Deckle, stroking her cheek. "Is that bad?"

After a second, realization hit her. Meriel's eyes widened and her face heated up, a bright blush on her face. "Oh, ok......OH!"

Deckle chuckled, grin widening to match his as she leaned in a bit. "Did I say it was...?"

Kiwi kept chewing his lip, somewhat nervously. He waited for her to gather her thoughts and share her feelings.

Gavin smiled, chuckling. "No you didn't. I'm quite glad." Leaning in, he captured Deckle's lips in a heated kiss once more.

Meriel's blush died down a bit before she spoke. "Does Kiwi want Meriel as a mate? Meriel doesn't know what love or mate feeling feels like, but Meriel is always happy around Kiwi." Noticing his nervous expression, she stepped back from hugging him. "Is Meriel making you unhappy or scared Kiwi? Meriel is sorry, Meriel wants Kiwi to be happy and will do what it takes to make you happy."

Deckle happily returned the kiss, just as heatedly as well. She was also glad...

Kiwi chewed his lip. "No, no, it's not you...I, uh...well, I'm not quite sure what to do, now. I'm only willing to try being your mate if you are, honestly. It's up to you. I'm willing, but...are you willing?"

Meriel smiled gently, taking Kiwi's hand gently in her own two hands, patting it gently. "Meriel would like being Kiwi's mate if he wanted to be mates..erm...lovers." she tried using the human word.

Kiwi let out a big sigh of relief, finally relaxing.

"Oh...that's good...if you don't mind, I would like to try..." he admitted, reaching up to pet her hair in a gentle manner.

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((BRB, I gotta eat.))

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((Back.))

((welcome back))

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Sitting on Deckle's bed, Gavin decided to take a risk and sit cross legged and attempt to pull the dark haired beauty into his lap. Gently of course, not forcing her.

Blushing once more, Meriel smiled at the touch and the once more peaceful and relaxed look on Kiwi's face. Reaching up, she gently stroked the blonde hair in front of her, marveling at how soft it felt under her fingers.

Deckle shifted without a fuss, settling herself onto his lap with a grin on her face.

Kiwi returned the hair-petting, still relaxed. After a moment, he remembered he still had to change. Those wet pants were really not comfortable.

"Uh...I still have to finish changing...do you still not mind me changing out here?" he asked, slightly timid about it now.

Gavin held her carefully in his lap, grinning as he planted a kiss on Deckl'es nose before returning to her sweet lips.

Meriel smiled, shaking her head. "Meriel doesn't mind, but Meriel will look away so Kiwi isn't nervous."

Deckle responded willingly, settling herself so she was comfy in his lap. She could get used to this.

Kiwi scratched his head. "You don't have to look away if you don't want to...as long as I'm looking off to the side, for the most part, I feel okay about it, so it's all right."

With that, he put a few steps' distance between them and turned slightly to the side, so he didn't get nervous. He then worked at the zipper of his pants, fumbling with it a bit.

Gavin wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing and licking Deckle's neck lightly as he nuzzled the woman.

Despite his assurances, Meriel looked away this time, not wanting him to seem so shy.

Deckle seemed flattered by the attention, and she tilted her head to the side, amused.

Kiwi risked a glance out of the corner of his eye and saw that she wasn't looking. That seemed to make him even more nervous, for some reason, and when he glanced away, he stood there for a moment, getting lost in his thoughts.

Gavin smiled against her neck, kissing her some more before simply holding Deckle in his arms, grinning like an idiot.

Meriel turned to see how he was. ?Noticing he still looked nervous, Meriel began to look concerned. "Kiwi? Are you ok? Meriel will go away if Kiwi would feel better?" she asked, misinterpreting his actions.

Deckle contently rested in his arms, also grinning. This was turning out to be a very interesting journey. She almost hadn't opted to work on this boat...

"No, no--that's not it at all," Kiwi assured her, scratching his head. "I, uh..."

He didn't want to admit that he really wouldn't mind her watching, thinking that the sudden forward nature of that statement would scare her off. He hoped she would sort of get that from the way he was acting.