Feliciano had always been an open merman (more like merboy, with the way he acted). Almost everyone knew his favorite colors, what he liked to eat, so on. But, to the curiosity of everyone, he never told anyone why he always wore a large trinket, covering the tattoo that everyone had.

Little did they know that was the reason he wore it.

Another thing that people knew about him was the fact that Feli always had trouble remembering things, especially the rules that the merpeople had. You'd think, that as a member of the royal family, he would make an effort to remember them. Although, there was one rule that everyone (including Feliciano) kept in mind: always stay away from humans.

Unfortunately, this was the one rule that he wanted so badly to break, probably due to the fact that his tattoo was in one of their languages. He didn't want to disappoint his grandfather (the king of their people) and he certainly didn't want to leave his brother (who was first in line for the throne and had already met his soul mate). Talking to a human was treason of the highest order, much less being soul mates with one of them.

But, as he swam up to the surface where a boat was currently residing, Feli decided that he didn't really care about what his people would think of him.

.o0o0o0o.

Ludwig had ambitions. He wanted to travel the world, or at least do something important. But, unfortunately, the current state of his grandfather's health wouldn't allow him to go anywhere, and of course, his father decided to pass on the family business.

Which happened to be fishing.

So here he was, by himself on the Atlantic. He wasn't really sure why, but something felt off about that day, like his life was on the brink of becoming something that he wanted. He shrugged it off, blaming it on the terrible breakfast his brother had made that morning. Ludwig drew the net back in, frowning at the lack of fish. He sighed, knowing that his father would probably scold him while his older brother laughed. God, Ludwig didn't understand why his father didn't make Gilbert do it-scratch that, he knew exactly why (and it happened to involve a fish hook, a lamp post, a cousin with a frying pan and several angry policemen).

In the process of gathering the net up, the words on his wrist caught his attention. Ludwig wasn't sure what he thought about the whole soul mate thing; they really didn't teach about it enough in while he was in school, and they certainly didn't tell him how to actually deal with finding your soul mate. Thankfully, his tattoo was in a language he understood. 'Hello! Are you my soul mate, by chance?' He didn't really understand what kind of person would actually say that, but he supposed some people just didn't know how conversations worked.

All of the sudden, the boat jerked a bit, startling him out of his thoughts. Ludwig turned around and his breathe hitched in his throat.

There, hanging on the side of the boat, was probably the most beautiful person he had ever seen. His mind backtracked for a second, probably trying to think of why he thought a man was beautiful, but he shook it off. The man (or so he thought) looked straight into his blue eyes with the same expression that Ludwig held; and in that moment he knew that by Gott, he would never see something as wonderful as the look this man was giving him. His mind sputtered, trying to get itself to work, but Ludwig couldn't help being entranced by the amber eyes and olive skin before him. He made a sound in his throat (which his mind didn't really compute at the time), which seemed to shake the stranger out of his trance.

"Hello! Are you my soul mate, by chance?" Whatever breathe he held in his lungs left him as his eyes widened. After a couple of moments, the man's expression turned a little troubled as he spoke again. "Oh, I hope I used the right dialect."

After another couple of moments in which Ludwig was trying to understand what exactly was happening, he managed to say, "Yes, that's probably me." In afterthought, he realized that what he said didn't make much sense, but he supposed it was, indefinitely, the right thing to say.

"Yay! I found you! I was so worried that I wouldn't, but then again I guess that wouldn't make any sense because I do have the mark. Oh, my name's Feliciano! What's yours?" Ludwig blinked for a couple moments (he was still kind of taking in how beautiful his soul mate was).

"My name is Ludwig," he murmured. "Wait, are you okay? All of the sudden you popped out of the ocean. Aren't you cold?" Feliciano's smile faltered.

"Ah, well, you see, I'm not exactly like you. I kind of...live in the ocean. All the time. Like a fish. Except...my bottom half's the only fish part."

"You're a mermaid?"

"Merman, actually, but yeah! Huh, I thought you would've been really weirded out but I guess not." They paused for a moment, taking each other in.

"Do you-well, that's to say-okay, how is this going to exactly work out?" Ludwig asked.

"You're going to have to trust me, Ludwig."

.o0o0o0o.

Feliciano looked around for a moment before slowly entering the palace's library. He stared in awe at the amount of books (well, they were sort of like books-the paper didn't get wet and the ink never faded) before swimming forward. All the other times he had been in this room of the palace, Feli and his brother Lovino always stayed toward the front, but this time, he went all the way to the back, where the books that had been outlawed from the general public lay. His grandfather told him never to go back here, but if what Antonio (Lovino's soul mate) had said was right, Feliciano would desperately need the information encased in these books. His eyes searched through the titles before he picked one out.

After flipping through several chapters, Feli found exactly what he was looking for-the way to turn a human into a merperson. He read and reread the section, making sure to commit it to his memory. He quickly shut the book and left, relieved that there was a way.

.o0o0o0o.

"I'd trust you with my life, Feliciano." He shuddered at the deepness of Ludwig's voice, and at the sheer amounts of emotion conveyed in that single sentence.

"Close your eyes," he whispered softly. As blue irises disappeared, he spoke again. "Come closer." Ludwig slowly shifted forward and Feliciano stretched up towards him. "Trust me," he murmured, before closing his own eyes an pressing his lips against Ludwig's. He felt him immediately reciprocate the kiss, and after a few moments, Feli felt hands on his face. He returned the gesture, and slowly slid him into the ocean. He felt Ludwig struggle for a moment. "Ludwig! Please, trust me!" Feliciano met him in another kiss, and began to work at the buttons of his shirt. Finally, he stopped thrashing. They broke apart, and Feliciano looked in joy upon the tail that his soul mate now had.

"What did you-what did you do?!"

"This was the only way we could be together," Feliciano said. "I couldn't have gone on land." He looked down sadly into the depths of the sea. "I can change you back, though, if you really don't want to be with me. I'll...I'll understand." He turned away for a moment to hide his tears, but felt a hand on his shoulder.

"No, Feliciano. That's not what I-look, I couldn't leave you if I tried," he said quietly. "I just-I have family."

"Oh that's okay! I can send them a message. Come on, let's go." He grabbed Ludwig's hand and swam downwards. "Um, before we get there, you should probably know some stuff. My grandfather's kind of the king. I have an older brother that's probably going to hate you, and our relationship is kind of considered treason." Feli felt Ludwig stop beside him.

"What do you mean, 'treason?'" He tugged on his hand to get him moving again before answering.

"Well, we have a lot of laws. I sort of forget a lot of them, but that's okay because most of them are stupid anyways. But the one that's really important is to stay away from humans, because they're not very nice, no offense. And if we start talking to them...it's probably punishable by death."

"And you...you risked all of this for me?"

"Of course! I love you, Ludwig." They both paused for a moment when the palace came in sight. "I'll always love you, no matter how many laws I have to break. I don't think I'd ever be able to leave your side, not for a moment. And if this doesn't work out," he motioned towards the kingdom, "then I'd be willing to do anything if that meant I'd get to stay with you for the rest of my life." Feliciano looked back to Ludwig, only to find those bright blue orbs that entranced him every second he looked locked onto his.

"I love you too," he whispered. "I don't have as much to risk as you do, but I'd love you to the moon down to the depths of the ocean. I'd let it all burn, too, if that meant I'd be with you for every second."

They met in a chaste kiss before continuing on towards the castle of the sea.

.o0o0o0o.

"Feli! Where have you been? I was so-who is that?" When Feliciano refused to speak, the man took on a stern tone. "Feliciano, who is that?"

"Ludwig, meet my grandfather, King Remus, Conqueror of Seas." Ludwig looked at this man for a moment before Feliciano subtly nudged him. He dipped his head low before coming back up and inspecting the man. "Grandfather, this is Ludwig. He's-he's my soul mate." They continued to talk, and Ludwig realized that he couldn't understand a word of what they were saying. This must be their language, he silently realized. Remus's tone grew angrier and angrier, and soon their argument turned into a screaming match. Finally, Feliciano spoke in English.

"Fine, King Remus," he spat. Ludwig was surprised at the level of venom Feli's voice. "Then I will leave with him and you will never see me again. I hope you're happy." He grabbed Ludwig's hand and began to swimming before pausing and turning around again. "I am ashamed to be your grandson."

"Feliciano! W-Wait! Please! You'd leave your grandfather behind for a human?"

"I'd let the palace crumble to nothing but ash. I'd let the stars fall out of the sky and I'd let the sun die, because I love him. I love him with every fiber of my being, something you don't understand because you rejected your soul mate in fear that you would be shunned. I'm not like you, Remus. I have the courage to do what my heart feels is right because I'm not afraid of laws or the rejection of others. I may be weak, and I may get scared of a lot of things, but at least I'm not afraid of love." And with that, they exited the palace, leaving behind the Kingdom of Mer forever.

And they loved each other. In the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, and to the moon and beyond. Ludwig got his chance to travel the world, and Feliciano finally understood what it meant to love without boundaries, without rules. They let the world rot away around them, and lived with each other knowing that they'd never have to leave. Because they loved each other, and love is truly the most powerful force in the world. Not the ocean, not the work of human hands, but the feeling and the pure knowledge that someone would give everything up for you.