It was too silent. It was just like after that storm. Barely any words were let out. There were only thoughtful and sad glances, as if wanting to say something, only to look down and swallow it.

Ethan sat calmly in front of his only relative. But he was anything but calm inside. He eyed again Matthew’s plate, seeing him once again stir the food, a once warm stew. He was not eating at all, his hazel eyes were just staring at it. He had barely touched his dinner, while he had finished long ago. So it was not surprising that a question echoed, tired but caring.

“Do you want me to reheat it?” Matthew blinked, jolting slightly as Ethan pointed at his plate. “It is ice cold already.”

Matthew looked at it for a minute. Ethan frowned more, seeing him shake his head and push away the meat stew. He apologized sadly.

“I think I’m not hungry… Sorry.”

Another tense minute passed, just sitting awkwardly in the small living room. The sun was barely visible through the curtains. The morning had been too silent; Ethan did not say a word as he helped him down the stairs, hating to have him locked in his room. He was not allowed to leave the house, however.

Matthew did not want Ethan to question why he was not eating, even if Jason had advised substantial meals, lost at sea for days. And so, he flinched a little when his uncle stood. Oddly enough, when he spoke, he did slowly and without reproach.

“I have seen you sneak to the fridge lately.” Matthew shied, hearing him state facts while heading for the kitchen. “I’ve noticed a lack of seafood. All we had of it is gone. I doubt Shamira has eaten it. You are not showing much interest in what there is, yet you are hungry.”

“I-“

“We are out of ingredients for fish stew.” Matthew was taken aback again, because Ethan suddenly offered. “I may have to order something from town, maybe fried shrimp. But it may take a while.”

Matthew just stared while his uncle walked back to him into the living room. Ethan was smiling sadly, looking at him tiredly. He had not managed to retrieve his phone yet. Somewhere, a chirp echoed, which did not reveal where it was hidden.

“I’ll call if you lend me your phone. I know you won’t say no to that, even if you are acting all weird. It is shrimp after all.”

“S-shrimp sounds good. But I’m n-not acting-“

Ethan let out a silent snort as he snatched the phone Matthew surrendered. Those hazel eyes looked away anxiously while he began to press numbers, scolding slightly.

“I have known you all your life, Matthew. I know when you are acting weird or you lie. And believe me, things have been bloody weird around you lately, don’t you try to deny that fact. I already have enough with your silence, you know?”

Matthew held himself with his arm, keeping his gaze down. He would have retorted something, as soon as he was able to think of what, but Ethan had moved away. He was now rambling on the phone, asking for two meals to be delivered, from a local near the northern beach.

In two minutes, he hung up. He dropped the phone on the table, his chair creaking as he sat again. And once again, they both kept an awkward silence between them. Matthew fidgeted, shifting his right foot under his chair, recalling the past night and his conflicted thoughts. Jason knew. Ethan did too. There was no way he could hide the truth.

And so, he looked away from his own hand, daring to glance at his uncle. Ethan was holding his hands together on the table, his eyes narrowed at him. Yet the worry and care were evident in his expression, it was clear that he was keeping inside many questions. Both were holding back, neither wanting to make the first move. One was too scared to let out the truth, even if he was dying to do so, hating to lie to him. The other was too wary of mishandling the situation, many things possibly misunderstood, possibly hurting instead of mending.

Matthew couldn’t stand the silence anymore. There was a different look to Ethan, which hinted that he truly wished to listen this time. The words escaped him slowly, in a cautious whisper.

“Ethan, can I… Could I go to the beach?”

Matthew gulped, seeing him glare at his bandaged ankle. Ethan seemed to consider saying something, only to change his mind at the last moment, frowning.

“You can’t go like this.” There was a small fearful glint in Ethan’s eyes, his voice growing more serious. “And I surely won’t take you near the water, not without knowing how dangerous-“

“It’s n-not dangerous!” Ethan was taken aback by how Matthew leaned strongly onto the table, his hazel eyes showing slight panic. It was an outburst he soon became aware of, growing nervous. “I swear they- It is not dangerous. I only want to see the waves, I need to. Please, it wouldn’t hurt to take the Vespa or your car and-“

Ethan interrupted him, his tone one that Matthew only had heard once, sorrowful and quiet.

“How can I know it is not dangerous? How can I know they won’t harm you?” Matthew frowned, seeing Ethan do so. Their eyes met, both judging the situation firmly, no way to keep on avoiding it. “We both know there was no accident, now I know your wonder was rational. There was something there that night. And that something came back for you. You vanished, and then emerged injured from the waters. For fucks sake, I saw you changing back from something similar to… those things. I don’t know what has happened, I am afraid of what they have done to you, and why. I can’t just let you go, not without knowing why you must near the waves. Why do you want to find them?”

Matthew took a deep raspy breath, because Ethan was begging him to answer his question with a look. He was not demanding, because he wanted him to do so willingly. The former merman’s heart broke a little, as he broke a promise in favour of his only family. His eyes closed, holding back tears as he slumped, surrendering.

“The reason is simple…” Matthew laughed sadly, shaking his head. “They saved my life.”

Ethan gave him a puzzled look, leaning closer, daring to ask.

“You lost a limb, you were taken away, and then-“

“Ethan, they did not have anything to do with my loss. They were… They are nothing like the beast I saw in that stormy night. Sure, I was scared at first when I saw them on the shore one day, not that long ago.” He decided to ignore Ethan’s wary glance, affirming with all his heart. “But they are nothing like that monster, nothing like it. I felt… They made me feel safe, sane. I began to feel alive again. All was alright.”

Ethan still had many doubts, no matter how much trust he could hear in Matthew’s words, how much care he could see in his eyes. It was too strange to be real, even if it was.

“Then, why did things end up like this?”

There came the demand. There was faint frustration in Ethan’s voice, his hands were clenching in impotence. Matthew just smiled a little, shrugging. He could not understand either why he had to feel pain under a bloody moon or between derelict pillars, why she had to feel that horrible grasp on her neck and mind, or why another had to feel powerless upon their anguish.

Why have we been torn apart?

Matthew sighed, his words slow and tired.

“Things just went wrong, Ethan, as always. I’m not the luckiest guy in the world; you can give word on it. I will just say that nothing went as expected when we tried to breach what kept us apart. I changed to be with them, did not go as planned.”

“So you really-“ Matthew did not know if to laugh or feel bad, because Ethan had the most perplexed expression ever. “You really were a mermaid.”

“Merman.“

Ethan ignored his correction.

“You were a damn fish. All that time I was looking for you, you were underwater. You really wanted to leave. Just like that, go into the sea like if nothing else mattered. You wished to vanish from everyone’s lives.”

Matthew huffed and fidgeted again, looking at his feet, angry with everything.

“I was scared, alright? I really care for them, I thought- She told me I could change that night. I dreaded that could be my only chance, so I just acted. That was selfish, I was a jerk, I know. I’m sorry about it. But I just couldn’t give it up; I was finally healing at their side. I felt trapped inland.”

“Trapped?” Matthew groaned and covered tiredly his eyes, because Ethan lost a little of his patience. “You have lost a lot in the sea, not just your arm. It is not the land what keeps hurting you. You were a mess when those things dragged you out of water. You had cuts, for crying out loud, your skin was right out of a freak show. Your ankle will take some time to heal as well. Considering all that, you really want me to trust those things? Two things that may-”

Matthew lashed out, lowering his hand.

“Fuck, stop calling them things!”

“I will call them what I want. I don’t know anything about those two. What I know, is that they let you get hurt, somehow.”

“Well, I know them! I know for a fact that without them, I would be dead! And that I was hurt due to my own actions! Things I did to help them too! There was something out of our control in the depths, fucking shit up for everyone! Not everything revolves around me, not everything revolves around humans!”

The argument worsened, which made a dog whine on a nearby couch.

“You are human, Matthew. If not for those creatures, you would still have an arm. You would be fine. Nothing would have happened.”

“I am not so sure of what I am anymore. B-but it does not matter what one is. There are rotten apples everywhere, you know that. They have nothing to do with that attack, I told you. I don’t regret meeting them; they are the best thing that has happened to me ever since-”

“They are still merfolk… Those creatures roam the depths, which I fear now. And you want to know why? Because danger lurks in them, they can be treacherous. These beings have wounded you before. If those two are so nice and caring, why did you come back injured again? They could be manipulating you; they could be outright toying with you. They are sirens, beasts that lure-”

“You don’t know shit, you can’t understand, again! So don’t you dare judge them! It was only a-!”

There was a loud bark. Both looked sideways and saw Shamira growling silently at them both, her eyes scolding. The humans realized how heated the argument had gotten. Ethan sat down again, having stood irately. Matthew opened his clenched fist, softening his glare.

As they leaned back on their seats, Shamira relaxed, a parrot finally stopping fidgeting on her fur. Both animals had tried to ignore their ramblings, but they eventually grew as anxious as them. Matthew bit his lip, because Ethan was clearly hurt, even if his tone was plain once more.

“Fine, I don’t get it.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Help me understand, Matthew. Explain everything to me, in detail. Then maybe, and only maybe, I will consider trusting those two enough to let you near the beach.”

A small glint of sad hope glinted in Matthew’s eyes.

“It’s… a long story.”

Ethan crossed his arms, rolling his eyes.

“Then get on with it. I have all the time in the world, you can’t run off. So, you choose how much time you want to waste doubting to let it out.” Matthew frowned, because Ethan muttered the next words in slight shame. “I know I’ve told you to not worry about your problems before, but I’m listening now. Take it or leave it.”

Matthew’s doubt faded slightly, seeing Ethan show worry again. His uncle really cared, as much as it did not seem so sometimes; he was just not good with emotions. He opened his mouth, ready to begin telling him, trusting.

“It all started when I-“

He was about to begin, but he jolted instead, a loud ring echoing from the door. Ethan sighed, standing while he sat poker-faced.

“You can explain it all while we eat, if you want.” He headed for the entrance, tiredly. “Maybe it will light up the mood. Maybe…”

Perhaps it would make him worry less about what he would say. Both knew things were not always pretty in the waters.

Soon, two plates were laid on the table. Ethan was relieved to find that Matthew indeed could not say no to that. And certainly, it helped them both calm down. The first event explained was his sudden encounter with a dolphin and killer whale. What came next was almost pleasant to listen to, those two perhaps a blessing.

That did not last. He began to speak about what came after the eclipse, and it almost made Ethan choke with his food. Matthew had to sugarcoat or outright avoid some facts.

Ethan was having a hard time focusing on the meal. He could not avoid scowling while he described the change, his struggles as a merman, the parasite, and their venture to free her. All the while, he kept assuring that they were what helped him stay alive.

In time, he surely would understand. He kept asking questions, and he was answering them. Though, Ethan did choke on his food when he got to the part of how he got out of those ruins. Maybe it would take him a while to agree about going to that beach. But he knew he would eventually.

Ethan trusted him. So he did too.