Sorry that everything's going a little slow! I had a bit of a family related emergency at the beginning of the week! All sorted now.

I have 9000 notifications to get through... RIP :') I hope you enjoy the chapter ;)

- Sian

Rowan pulsed with envy as Kaerius laid across the bed. He had to limit himself to the uncomfortable chair if he was to keep himself awake all night.

"There's a shop across the road. I should get some food. You're probably hungry too?" Rowan asked. Kaerius lifted his head, almost forgetting that Rowan was sitting by the window. He had been quiet for a few hours.

"I hungry."

"What do you eat in the sea? Fish, I'm guessing. I could get you some salmon."

Kaerius perked up. He knew what salmon was. He jumped off the bed, getting used to his odd human legs.

Rowan grabbed the key and his wallet, and they set off down the corridor. This time, they took the stairs. There was a crowd of people around the lift. Rowan wanted to avoid embarrassment as much as possible.

"I meant to ask earlier, but why can humans see you now?"

Kaerius shrugged.

"It makes things much easier for me. I don't have to look like I'm talking to myself." Rowan then smiled. Kaerius barely talked back to him, so regardless of whether he was visible to the human eye or not, Rowan still spoke to himself.

The shop was directly opposite the hotel, and Rowan lead Kaerius to the Sandwich Isle. They scanned the sushi until Rowan thought that Kaerius might not like other stuff with his fish. "Don't you usually eat raw fish?" he asked quietly.

"Raw?"

"You know, not cooked."

Kaerius stared at Rowan like he was nothing more interesting than the sandy floor of the ocean.

Rowan dragged Kaerius to the cooled section, and they found the uncooked fish. "You eat this sorta stuff... I'm guessing," Rowan said when Kaerius grabbed five bags of cod fillets and shoved them in the basket.

"Hungry."

Rowan chuckled and wandered off to find his own food. Kaerius followed, and it took him almost a minute to realise that he was smiling. He forced his lips to flatten and clenched his jaw when he wanted to keep walking until his chest pressed into Rowan's back.

To Kaerius, everything about the situation was wrong. He was a Thalassic Mortal on land, he had legs. While everything felt wrong, everything felt right, too. Being with Rowan made Kaerius happy. It blocked a void inside of him. Kaerius had felt content for most of his life, but he didn't know what it felt like to wake up excited and to live with a purpose until he felt Rowan's soul buzzing close. Rowan had a thirst for life that Kaerius wished he had.

When they were out of the shop and returning to the hotel, Kaerius stared at the back of Rowan's head. He couldn't stop thinking about how Rowan made him feel. The human was so positive about the bond, and it was killing Kaerius on the inside.

"Are you okay?" Rowan asked when they reached the hotel room. He kept feeling waves of an emotion that made him breathless.

"I fine," Kaerius replied, holding his head high as he sat at the bottom of the bed.

"Are you missing the sea?"

Kaerius nodded, then frowned and said, "No."

Rowan hummed a response. Kaerius's efforts to pretend that he had a heart of steel reminded him of his mother. If Rowan couldn't feel how Kaerius felt, then he would believe that he was cold-hearted. Maybe that was the case with his mother. Maybe her toughness was all just an act.

Rowan sat next to Kaerius on the bed, holding the bag of food. "Are you missing your... uh, Thalassic Mortal family and friends?" Kaerius thought of the group who had abandoned him, and he lowered his head to stare at his hands. When he didn't reply, Rowan dared to rest a hand on his shoulder. The warmth was like drinking a hot drink after a day in the cold; satisfying and just what he craved. "It's okay not to be okay," Rowan said. "I'm missing my home and family a little bit too. This is tough for both of us, but we can be here for each other until we remove the bond. There's no shame in talking about how you're feeling, especially if you're not feeling good."

Kaerius watched Rowan's mouth. How did a human so pure end up among a family of hunters? "Miss tail. Miss swim with fish. Miss Jaiker and Laiken. Miss kelp beds."

"Kelp beds? Are those the long plant things that look like an underwater forest?"

Kaerius nodded with surprise. "Human know ocean?"

"A bit. I've always loved the ocean. Mum says I would prefer to swim rather than crawl when I was a baby."

Kaerius smiled. "Ocean fun. Rowan surf?"

"Yes! Though I haven't been for a while. The surf has been too flat."

"Yes. Current weak too. Boring."

"Do you like to surf under the waves like seals? Oh! Have you been to places with huge waves?"

Kaerius watched the excitement grow in Rowan's bright green eyes that reminded him of when the sun shone on green sea plants. "Yes, lots." He wanted to tell Rowan all about the time he crashed into a surfer in Miami, but his English wasn't good enough. "We surf together."

"Yes!" Rowan grinned. "I'd like that."

They were so lost in the conversation, they forgot that they shouldn't be so eager to know more about each other and make plans about the future.

Rowan had leaned closer, and so had Kaerius. Their arms and thighs touched. Kaerius still stared at Rowan's mouth because he couldn't help it. Such a beautiful voice came from such a cute face-

Kaerius held his breath when he realised how close their faces were. As soon as he stopped trying to hate Rowan, their souls grew closer without their bodies understanding why.

Kaerius shot to his feet when Rowan's eyes pointed to his mouth too. He snatched the fish from the bag and hurried to the bathroom.

Rowan watched him slam the door, His heart was pounding hard, and not because Kaerius had rustled his nerves. Rowan had wanted to kiss the sea creature. He covered his mouth and walked to the window to focus his eyes on something other than the bathroom door. The urge was sudden but very strong. The affection didn't just come from Rowan, Kaerius also felt affectionate. They were both falling victims to the bond. If they didn't end it soon, they might end up too weak to stop it.

Rowan felt himself thinking might a lot. He wanted to be certain. Connecting a bond with Kaerius had made Rowan realise that nothing was certain in life. He was a fool to live like he had the rest of his years to make something of himself, when in fact, it could be over at any moment.

Never, not even in his wildest dreams, did Rowan think this would happen to him. Life had never been simple, but it had never quite been so cruel. Though, what was cruel about finding someone who would love you for the rest of your life?

Rowan jumped when his phone rang. He picked up straight away and closed his eyes when his dad said hello. Rowan said hello back, and for a second, he pretended that he was in his bedroom, staring out at sea, and everything felt okay, until his father said, "Your mother visited me. She said you had made friends with Thalassic Mortals to annoy her."

Rowan opened his eyes. He could see the sea from the hotel window, but it was a few miles away. "I'm not doing it to annoy her."

"I know. I'm guessing you haven't told your mother about this bond stuff?"

"No, I haven't. She might have a heart attack if I did." Michael would usually chuckle, but he made no noise, and Rowan started to fidget. "I haven't told her about you either. If she asked, I don't know what I'd tell her."

"Are you at home?" Michael asked, and Rowan sat on the windowsill.

"No. I'm in a hotel with the Thalassic Mortal because we know how to get rid of the bond. We want to do it as soon as possible."

Michael hummed a surprised response. "I didn't know it was possible to remove a supernatural bond. How do you do it?"

"I thought you would know. You wrote that file on the Thalassic Mortals."

"I didn't write that. Your mother did."

"Oh," Rowan frowned. "Well-" he paused when it sounded like someone was being sick. Rowan pressed the phone to his chest. He heard coughing, and it was coming from the bathroom. He felt a wave of distress and knew it wasn't his own. "Dad, I'll call you back." Rowan hung up before his father could say anything and rushed to the bathroom.

Kaerius was sitting on the side of the bath, throwing the content of his stomach up onto the floor. Rowan grabbed him and hurried him to the toilet.

"What's wrong?" Rowan asked. "Are you too far away from the sea?" he looked around and saw the half-eaten raw fish. Rowan stopped panicking as much and left Kaerius to be sick in the toilet as he cleaned up the mess on the floor.

"Human," Kaerius breathed, gripping his stomach. "Belly hurt. Kaerius dying."

When Rowan was done with his grim job, he crouched next to Kaerius and gave him some water. "You're technically human right now. I shouldn't have let you eat raw fish while you're still in this form. I think you can eat it when you have your tail back."

Kaerius threw the water back up and slumped against the tiles. "But Kaerius love fish," he complained.

"We'll cook it next time." Rowan patted Kaerius's shoulder, feeling sorry for him. "I'll get us cushions to sit on. We might be here a while."

The boys were in the bathroom for almost four hours. After a quick salt bath for Kaerius, and a deep clean of his mouth, Rowan helped him to bed and pulled the duvet up to his chin.

"You'll feel better soon," Rowan said softly, knowing how horrible food poisoning could be. Without thinking about his actions, Rowan ran a hand through Kaerius's black hair.

Kaerius relaxed, too sick to pretend that he didn't enjoy Rowan's comforting touch.

Rowan slowly pulled his hand away. He swallowed thickly when his heart started to beat faster. Kaerius stared, and Rowan wanted to crawl into bed beside him and share his warmth. "Do you, uh, do you think if I'm closer, you'll heal better? You might feel more comfortable if the bond isn't hurting you."

Kaerius zoned in on the gurgling in his stomach and the ache in his chest. He could do without the bond making him feel much worse. Slowly, he lifted a hand from the duvet and held it up, so his palm faced the ceiling.

Rowan slid his hand on top, and as their palms connected, his skin tingled. Rowan curled his fingers around Kaerius's wrist and held tight. His heart was giddy, and his mind fuzzed. His attention would only focus on the physical touch.

Kaerius gripped Rowan too, careful not to scratch him. He sunk his head into the pillow and closed his eyes. He felt significantly better now that his soul was semi-satisfied. Kaerius wouldn't tell Rowan that. He was enjoying getting looked after and being the centre of Rowan's attention.