Selkie Cove, Friday afternoon

[demonbelthazor]

Okay, so his girlfriend was a mermaid. And it was all his fault because he was keeping things from her.

He'd done some research and found a demon who could transform Phoebe back. But the price she wanted was his soul, and after the "useless" human Lana freed Piper from the Sea Hag's trap, Piper blew up the demon.

He'd talked to Blair in Sex Ed the previous day. Blair had suggested talking to Phoebe and "opening his mind" to her, fulfilling the spell she intended to cast. Maybe that would fix the backfire. Seemed like now that was his only choice. But would she hate him for it? He'd gone to see her the previous night and couldn't bring himself to do it. Now he was running out of time. She'd already swum out to sea to escape him once. She might not come back next time.

He shimmered to Selkie Cove, closed his eyes, and used their soulbond to summon Phoebe to him.

[Locked to future_visions. Specific details of the conversation are NFB. That Phoebe and Bel were at Selkie Cove and something may or may not have happened is fine.]

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[demonbelthazor]

He blinked. "I thought you knew that?"

[sensethevisions]

"That you had feelings for someone other than me? No. I thought I did something to make you not trust me and you shut me out." She looked at him. "I thought you were already seeing someone else."

[demonbelthazor]

"I thought you meant how I feel about you," Cole said. He reached out and took her hands in his. "I didn't mean to shut you out. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you."

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe didn't resist, in fact, her hands relaxed in his.

"Who will I be competing with to keep you?"

[demonbelthazor]

Cole swallowed. "Umm...do you really want to know that?"

[sensethevisions]

"I think I need to know and I deserve to know." She looked down at the water.

[demonbelthazor]

"Angel," Cole admitted quietly.

[sensethevisions]

"Oh." She looked down. "You have good taste."

[demonbelthazor]

Blink.

"I do?"

[sensethevisions]

"He's not as beautiful as you are, but I can see why the two of you would love each other."

Her voice had sadness in it, but she didn't sound angry or hurt.

[demonbelthazor]

"No, he doesn't," Cole said. "Feel the same about me, I mean. It's totally one-sided and I'm a fool because I have the most wonderful woman in the world right here with me."

[sensethevisions]

"Then he's a stupid idiot. How can he not want you..." She blinked, registering the rest of what he was saying. "You do?"

[demonbelthazor]

"I do," he said. "Right here."

[sensethevisions]

"Cole?" Her voice sounded different than it had earlier.

[demonbelthazor]

He leaned forward and gently kissed her. "Come back to me, love."

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe kissed him tentatively at first, and then she deepened the kiss. After a moment, she pulled back and looked at him.

"Cole... the rock's hurting my legs."

[demonbelthazor]

"Legs?" he repeated, looking down. He grinned. "You're not a mermaid anymore! And, umm, you're naked, love." He helped her to her feet, then offered her his coat to cover herself.

[sensethevisions]

It was a good thing he was so much taller than she was as when she got finished buttoning his coat over her, it conevered everything to her knees.

She felt a bit disoriented and maybe a new kind of confused as she tried to piece together things from the last few days.

Biting her lip, she looked up at him. "Where does this leave us, love? Where do we go from here?"

[demonbelthazor]

"I love you, Phoebe, and nothing's ever gonna change that," Cole said. "I'm not going to leave you as long as you'll still have me."

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe leaned up and pulled his face down to hers. Then, she kissed him deeply. When she pulled back, she kept ahold of him.

"I love you... I need you... and I just cannot imagine not having you in my life, Cole."

[demonbelthazor]

"Me neither," he said. "And even if you swam into the deepest parts of the ocean, I would find you and bring you home."

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe nodded. "I know you would." She thought of something that she thought Lana had said. "Lana said you guys tried something the other night, but it didn't work out. What happened?"

[demonbelthazor]

"We went to see the Sea Hag," Cole confessed. "She has the power to turn mermaids into humans, but Piper vanquished her."

[sensethevisions]

"Cole... what was she wanting to do it?"

[demonbelthazor]

Cole hesitated. "My soul?"