Rowan wasn't sure how long he had slept for, but the sun was starting to set when he woke. He rolled over in bed, expecting to bump into another warm body. Kaerius wasn't in his bed or his room.

Rowan looked around, dazed and puzzled. His door was open, and muffled voices travelled up the stairs from the kitchen. He stumbled out of bed, pulled on some black pyjama bottoms and left his room.

He felt Kaerius's presence as soon as he was in the hallway. Kaerius's broken English seemed to be the only voice Rowan wanted to hear. He tumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Mandy, Michael, and Kaerius sat around the table, waiting for food.

"Rowan!" Kaerius said happily, smiling wide.

Rowan matched the size of his smile and bent down to kiss him. Kaerius pulled him into the chair next to him and curled an arm around his shoulders. "How long have you been awake?" Rowan asked.

"Hour. Maybe." Kaerius looked around Rowan's face, eyes glistening. "Hungry?"

Rowan nodded, and his gaze shifted to his mum. "Did you get back long after us?"

"Not too long after." Mandy glanced at Michael and pursed her lips.

"What happened?" Rowan asked.

"Well," Mandy whispered, leaning across the table when Michael pulled food from the oven, "the Thalassic Mortals weren't as kind as you were to the hunters."

Rowan looked at Kaerius who's hard stare revealed a lot. "Were dad's parents killed?"

Mandy nodded. "I think they deserved it, but your dad has barely spoken all day. I know a big part of him is relieved, but he's disappointed in himself for wanting to grieve them."

Michael returned to the table with cooked fish for Mandy and Kaerius, and stir-fry for himself and Rowan.

"Did you have a good sleep?" Michael asked, not daring to ask what they were talking about. He knew by their expressions. "Kaerius tells me that you talk a lot in your sleep."

Rowan's cheeks reddened. "I do?"

"Rowan talk to Kaerius. In sleep. Always," Kaerius chuckled.

"What do I say?"

"Nonsense."

"That sounds about right," Michael grinned. The smile felt foreign on his face.

"Hey!" Everyone laughed around the table and for the first time in a while, Rowan had nothing to worry about, until he remembered he had skipped a lot of university classes. Still, the pressure of studying was like a grain of sand and the hunters were the entire beach.

"So..." Rowan said after a while of watching everyone eat. "Is it all over, do you think?"

"With the hunters? For a while, at least. The werewolves have made peace with the ones who swam back to land. The hunters really thought they were going to die, and I guess that changes people," Mandy said, holding Michael's hand under the table.

"Yeah." Rowan wanted to rub the scar on his stomach, but he fiddled with the bracelet Kaerius gave him instead. "Have you heard from Braiken and Jack?"

"Yes. They found Wez's body."

Rowan's heart almost stopped. He forgot. "Did they take him to the sea?"

"Yes. Burial ground tomorrow," Kaerius said and encouraged Rowan to eat his food.

"And then back to normal life on Monday, right?"

Michael and Mandy stared. "You don't have to rush into things. Spend some time with Kaerius-"

"I only have two hours of lessons on Monday, and I think Jack would hunt me down if I don't go." Rowan would eventually start worrying about his studies if he didn't catch up when he had the chance. Easing back into his normal life seemed like the only thing he could do to feel normal again.

After dinner, the boys washed the dishes, then sat together on the dunes. The sky was clear, and the moon was very bright. Lots of stars were out to say hello, and Rowan felt very at peace with his feet buried in the sand, and Kaerius sitting right next to him.

A few people sat on the beach too, all minding their own business and looking at the beautiful sky and the quiet sea.

"We can finally think about our future together now," Rowan whispered.

"Now that we have our lives back," Kaerius thought, making patterns in the sand with his fingers. After a moment, he thought, "Something the hunters said has been bothering me all evening."

"About Thalassic Mortals not knowing anything about what humans do on land. I know, I've heard you thinking about it."

Kaerius turned to face him, not surprised by how beautiful Rowan looked in the moonlight. Rowan always looked breath-taking. "I want to learn a lot of English and learn to write it. I want to be able to read it and understand your... Televisions because I don't understand what is real and what's acting. I want to know about your phones. I want to know everything."

"And I want to learn everything I possibly can about your language and the ocean. We can help each other."

"Yes." Kaerius grinned, which was a rare sight. "I teach god of sea."

Rowan's smile melted away. "I really felt the power of it on the island. I think I kinda liked it."

"You suited it. You look and sound like a ruler." Kaerius heard footsteps approaching behind them. Mandy and Michael walked hand in hand along the top of the dunes. "We can talk about it later. I'm sure you won't have to decide for a while."

Rowan agreed.

"Nice night," Michael said, sitting on the sand next to Kaerius. "It feels good to sit out here and not worry about hunters creeping up on us."

Sitting peacefully on the beach was something Rowan did almost every night before he met Kaerius. Sitting under the stars was a step closer to his life before the chaos. Only now, Rowan's soul had Kaerius, and he wouldn't change that, not for anything.

"It's been a while since we've sat here as a family. We used to barely get through dinner without mum chucking you out."

Michael laughed. "Well, everything's as it should be now."

Silent agreements were shared when everyone's gaze settled on the water stretched out in front of them.

"Yeah, everything's as it should be." Rowan wrapped arms around Kaerius. They shuffled together and sat as close as they could get. Rowan kissed Kaerius's temple, wanting to be that close to him every second of every day.

That night, Kaerius and Rowan sat under the stars until they felt tired again. They decided to sleep in the house, and when Rowan climbed into bed, his mind wasn't so stuck on the hunters anymore. Eventually, he'd move on, and the hunters would only cross his mind occasionally. He couldn't wait until they were out of his head for good.

He sat for a while, waiting for Kaerius who had a quick salt bath. Rowan looked around his room and imagined that it was the beginning of September and he was about to start university. He would throw a bucket of water over his mother if she spent the night hunting. Rowan would avoid talking to his mum because all she wanted was for him to hunt with her. Rowan would always try to go to his dads whenever he could, and he would spend a lot of his time surfing, skating and just sitting on the beach. He had no friends because of his mother's lifestyle and his knowledge of the supernatural world.

Now, Rowan had Jack and Jenya and new family members and friends. But most importantly, Rowan had Kaerius.

Rowan would go to bed alone and wake up alone. He would do everything by himself if his parents were busy. His parents used to be occupied all the time.

Kaerius entered the bedroom, surfacing Rowan's thoughts. He jumped onto the bed, yanked the blanket from Rowan's lap, and rolled himself in it.

"You're so annoying when you do that," Rowan said with a daft smile.

"Cold," Kaerius mumbled. Being in his human form meant that his skin wasn't so resilient with temperatures.

"What if I was also cold?"

"Don't care."

Rowan scoffed and pulled the thick duvet out from underneath him. Rowan wrapped himself up with a satisfied smirk. Kaerius's purple eyes watched him with simmering jealousy.

"Share big warm... thing?" Kaerius asked.

"Nope."

Kaerius frowned. Black brows pushed into his eyes. "Yes."

"No. You chose the blanket, which you always steal by the way."

Kaerius stretched his legs and purposefully kicked Rowan off the bed. He landed on the wood with a muffled thud, and Kaerius was on Rowan in an instant, trying to unravel him from the duvet.

"Aright we can share!" Rowan said when he failed at stopping him.

"Too late. Rowan have small warm thing. Kaerius have big warm thing."

Rowan grinned at his ways of describing things. As soon as Rowan's arms were exposed, he grabbed Kaerius, pulling him down onto the floor. Rowan wrapped the duvet around him and held him tight. Kaerius, to no surprise, gave up the battle for the duvet when he was pressed so tightly against his soulmate.

Kaerius's head squished against Rowan's warm shoulder. He hummed contently and mumbled, "I tired."

Rowan's eyes were closing before he mustered the energy to stop himself and scramble back onto the bed. Kaerius wasn't budging, and he was too heavy to move. The floor wasn't so uncomfortable, though Rowan wasn't sure his back would say the same in the morning.