"Let's go where I can see you better." Claude had said, the words almost muted through the ringing in his head. He'd only nodded dumbly. Had followed after him and ignored the concerned expressions worn by the other male. Another familiar body was waiting above for them, silver hair a halo all about Hannah's still pretty face, and she too seemed concerned for Sebastian. She said nothing though, only a murmured hello to which he returned just as sullenly. They continued in silence, until a colorful reef was reached.

Sunlight shone through the water here, rippling along the arms of Claude and Hannah. He wasn't surprised to see them still together, and though he couldn't see the triplets, the boys' scents lingered on the mated pair's scales. They wouldn't be far off. Sebastian wasn't sure how to react to seeing his two childhood friends. Should he be happy? He knew he should be ecstatic to see them; but instead he was weighed down by the dread and sadness of losing his boy. Perhaps it showed on his face, as Hannah cast a confused look at him before flipping around and swimming off, silver and dark grey scales flashing under the diluted light.

"Don't worry about that." Sebastian only glanced at Claude. He wanted to say he wasn't all too worried. He wanted to say it was good to see them. There were a million things he could say to the other male that would be all mostly lies.

Whatever reason Hannah had for leaving was her own.

He didn't know them anymore. It had been far too long since they had last spoken. They were adults now, Sebastian had seen so much more than he had when he'd stuck with his friend. Right then, he only wanted his boy. He wanted to find that ship all over again and continue to love him from afar. Ciel. Beautiful, delicate Ciel with his purple and blue eyes that reminded him of exotic colors deep within his beloved ocean. He gave a heavy sigh, turning to look into the distance, in the general direction of where Ciel's ship had fled to. He wondered what land the boy lived on. Or did he live on that ship all the time? How old was he? Was he old enough to hunt on his own, or did his kind still consider him a child?

Was there any chance at all for them to meet again?

"Sebastian?"

Right. He had another thing to pay attention to.

Turning, Sebastian found that Hannah had returned with the triplets in tow. They were even more grown up than before, considered adults themselves, or close enough for them to be left alone. He'd missed a lot. Despite the heaviness hanging in his stomach, he managed a large smile for them, to which the boys responded with excitement; they referred to him as "uncle" and chittered to him about the skills they had learned in the years he had been away. Claude and Hannah seemed much less concerned, smiling as well and relaxing.

"It's good to see you guys again. I...I'm sorry if I concerned you earlier, I uh...had a run in with a human ship."

"Are you ok? Did those monsters hurt you, uncle Sebastian?" One of the triplets - the one with the largest fins and a pearl necklace - stared at him with awe, clinging to his brothers like one of the "monsters" would come swooping in and steal them away. "Dad says the monsters have bad sulfur weapons that really hurt! Did they use them on you?"

How ignorant. How unsurprising. Of course Claude would tell his own offspring horror stories about a species they knew almost nothing about. Even Hannah seemed to agree with her child's words, nodding along with his fear.

"No. They didn't. I even talked to them. I met a human boy, no older than you three, and his name was Ciel. He...he was beautiful, really, he moved like everything was some sort of bizarre dance. Nothing like the monsters we were told stories about." The triplets looked even more at awe, seeming to miss the longing in his voice and the look he cast over his shoulder. "Another ship threatened him, though. I had to lead them away. I don't think I'll see the boy again."

"Would you want to?" Ah, the smallest boy, the one he remembered being the most naïve. Judging by the look on his face, he probably still was.

"...maybe. I mean...I'd like to see him, but our lives are terribly different, and even so, I can't live on land, nor can he live in the sea. Enough of that, how's the ocean been treating you five?"

With that, they moved on and were able to drop the topic of his boy; Sebastian was both relieved and full of dark, icky sorrow that came from the knowledge that the first time they'd spoken would also be the last.

He focused on listening to his old friends, on pushing slate colored hair and a soft voice from his head. He couldn't hang on to something he'd never have.

TEN YEARS LATER

"Sir, we're approaching the Earl Trench." A tall young man turned to look at a much older gentleman, a frown on his otherwise pretty face. One eye was the color of the currently calm sea all around them, the other the same shade of violet as the peeling paint on their ship.

"Keep going. Tell Bard to steer us East if he sees any activity."

"But sir, the men -"

"What about them, Tanaka?"

"The trench scares them. The only things that lives there are dangerous creatures that are known for capsizing boats and ships."

"I see." Ciel sighed and looked up towards the sky, then towards the ocean - the ocean he knew was home to a seductive serpentine creature; Sebastian. All those years ago and he could clearly see those flashing red eyes and dark, shimmering scales. He was one of those dangerous creatures.

Ciel would give his entire company to see that godly creature again.

"Continue our current route. Deviating will only waste more time. Do not bring it up again, Tanaka."

"...yes, sir. I'll tell Bard of your demands." Tanaka walked away, leaving the twenty-something year old to stew in his thoughts by himself. Dear God, let him see the telltale flash of black scales amid the gentle waves. Just one glimpse would suffice. Just one would let him rest his longing for Sebastian's murky mystery.

"Uncle Sebastian, you ok?" Thompson moved to float just above the older mermaid's head, who was busy staring off into the distance, an odd look on his usually handsome face.

"Oh, yes, just fine. Where are your brothers? Did Timber and Canterbury go to the cave again?" Sebastian was off in his own head, Thompson could tell, especially as he could hear his identical brothers playing catch with an empty clam shell nearby. He knew he should just go play with his brothers and leave his uncle to fester in whatever was plaguing him. His father and mother had always told him and his brothers to just leave him be; Sebastian wasn't very sociable.

"Um...no...oh well. I was going to skim over the Earl Trench. They didn't want to go with me, but mom doesn't like it when I go alone." It was the truth, even after all these years, he was still the smallest of his siblings. His mother always worried about him. "Can you go with me, uncle Sebastian?"

The dark scaled mermaid seemed to shake off whatever fog he had been under, turning to look at Thompson with glittering ruby eyes. There was a moment of silence, and then the older male nodded before smoothly slipping away, towards the trench.

"Why do you want to go anyway? All that's over there is the graveyard and sharks."

"My research is on the mating patterns of belly striped sharks. They should've just had their offspring. That, and there's been a human ship in the area..." He trailed off, glancing at his uncle with a curious glimmer. Ever since they'd all met again, he and his brothers had been looking for human ships to look at - in the hopes that Sebastian's boy would be on one of them.

"A human ship? How big? Has anyone seen the humans living on the ship?" Of course he'd ask questions.

"Uh, Timber said it wasn't that big. Won't have a big crew, but he mentioned that a younger human seemed to be the one making the orders. While I see to my sharks, you could look at the ship? I know dad would want to know anything you can glean..."

"Sure, sure..." With that, the conversation died down and they swam in silence.

Thompson couldn't be more relieved; he loved his uncle. He was just a very hostile mermaid. Very high strung. Like a female shark with no mate during mating season. Or a female anything, really.

Sebastian had really lost all hope of seeing Ciel again. He was sure the boy would never return to the sea, that he didn't feel this deep seated longing like Sebastian did. He knew Thompson meant well and that the younger male just wanted to help him in finding his heart's one desire, but the search had yet to give him anything.

Ciel was a lost cause. One that would break his heart, he was sure. Even as he followed after the other mermaid, he couldn't help but consider the whole thing redundant. A little like explaining his love for human-made trinkets; no one would ever get it, it was pointless, and would only end in him being disappointed and dismal for the rest of the day.

At least the Earl Trench wasn't something he could waste a visit on. Drawing near, there were already serpents longer than himself swimming right on by - not one was even wary of him and Thompson, a result of almost never encountering a predator quite like a mermaid before. Sebastian caught himself drifting off to follow on or two of the more unique specimens, fascinated with their colorful stripes and luminescent eyes. Sharks as small as his fingers darted around, playing hide-and-seek among the rock formations and coral reefs. They were amusing. Like tiny dancers, flashing their bright scales and then hiding from sight.

"See, uncle? There's the ship!" Thompson's shout drew Sebastian's attention to a violet painted pirate ship, still on the other side of the impressive crevice known as the Earl Trench, where he'd originally lost his Ciel so long ago. He could see that they aimed to cross the trench. It was too far away to really tell, but it wasn't a large ship. Nothing like the one his boy had been on. Not even close.

"I see it, Thompson. Go see to your sharks, I'm crossing the trench. Stay close to the edges, alright? Your mother will kill me if I tell her I let you wander over the open space on your own." He didn't wait for a reply. He swam quickly, long tail whipping up bubbles in his wake. Despite what went through his head, a part of him was still hoping, still longing to see his boy just one more time. Every ship and every boat brought pain and hope; none had yet to bring him his boy, the answer to the heaviness in his heart, and yet it left him looking for the next one.

The violet paint, though peeling, reminded him of Ciel's discolored eye. Already, he could hear Claude telling him off for going after humans once again. Hannah would tell him he was insane and keep the boys from talking to him, maybe. Soon, he popped his head out of the water, peering up at the colorful ship. It was nothing to stare at. Not compared to what he'd seen before. Still, it looked solid and sturdy, something that had survived a few beatings.

"Ahoy down there!" A voice from above snatched his attention from inspecting the ship, towards a human with surprisingly bright red hair. Sebastian blinked up at the human - which upon further scrutiny was a male - before lifting a hand and waving in greeting. He then motioned like he was climbing with a gesture towards the ropes hanging from the side of the ship. The human stared down at him, obviously taken aback by his bold request, then disappeared from view.

A few moment later, and the human and his bright hair were back, cheerfully waving for him to come aboard.

And so he started climbing, heaving his body up the vessel - seven years ago, this had been easy. He had climbed with little effort, always doing so as quickly as a shark could catch a sitting duck. Now, however, he found his chest heaving and his breathing was harsh, giving him cause to stop and catch himself before hauling his sinuous body over the wooden railing. Sebastian found the redhead beaming at him, teeth like a shark's and eyes gleaming.

"Oh good lord! Wow! Aren't you just gorgeous? I almost don't want to tell the captain about you!" Wary of the bright human, Sebastian shrank away, baring his teeth in a snarl. He'd much rather deal with the captain than...whatever this loud, bright thing was considered. Seeming to see this, the redhead pouted. "Okay okay, I'll go get the captain. Before I go, I'm Grell. Now you stay right there big boy, don't go anywhere!"

With that, Grell flounced off, giving him time to observe the others on the deck. There was an older man there who felt familiar, though he couldn't place it. A female human with hair just a tad darker than Grell's was talking with two males, a large white beast at her feet. From prior encounters, he knew it to be a dog.

He didn't much like dogs. They were like seals, only they didn't belong in the ocean and were stupid and smelly. No, he much preferred those other beasts humans were fond of; cats. They moved like graceful fish, as if they swam on land - and most of them didn't smell too bad either.

And then he saw him. A tall, thin blond, a blandly colored boy that was painfully familiar, coming up to speak with the older man. It was the boy who he had seen with his boy! It had to be. Did that mean Ciel would be here? Did that mean he was finally going to see his boy after all these years?

"Sebastian? I remember you! You saved my life when I was a little boy." That voice! It struck a lance right through him, just as it had done seven years ago. He turned his head to see a young man with slate-grey hair and mismatched eyes coming towards him, Grell right behind him.

"Ciel." The name was a prayer on his lips, a whisper of worship upon seeing his boy once again. He smiled, delighted to see the boy smile at him too. His heart hadn't been the only one to suffer through the long years.

Before more could be said, Sebastian felt claws dig into his tail, ripping him off the railing and away from his boy. He fell back into the waves, hitting the surface hard enough to drive the breath from his body. Flipping over, he saw the culprit had been Claude, the other male shaking himself off like he'd touched something especially nasty.

"They could have killed you! What were you thinking!?" Claude was screeching, loud enough to hurt, and Sebastian could only feel angered. How dare Claude attempt to control him!

"He's up there. Ciel. The boy. My boy. That is what I was thinking." Sebastian turned to look up at the ship, at the peeling violet paint and the burry shapes of people leaning over the sides of the vessel. Distantly, he could hear Thompson yelling for his mother and brothers to "come quick". He was more focused on the distance between him and Ciel. "And I must go back. You've got to let me go, Claude."

Seeing the distress on his face, Sebastian shook his head.

"This isn't goodbye. I'm coming back."

"You said that last time."

"And didn't we meet again? You know how important this is to me. How important he is to me. You've got to let go. I searched the whole ocean for him, and it finally gave him back."

"He's a human! He's only going to hurt you!" Oh, Claude was only trying to protect him. Sebastian knew that, and still he could only smile at his long time friend.

"Everyone will hurt me one day. I can only give him a chance. Claude..."

"Then go. I can't stop you, can I?"

He turned to go, then cast a glance back at Claude. He felt a sadness, a creeping dismay in his chest. They were parting ways yet again. Why was it always him doing the leaving?

"Don't wait for me. I refuse to live in fear." With that, he returned to climb the side of the ship again, towards the relieved face of his boy - his boy who reached to help him over the railing, who's touch both burned and soothed his inner turmoil.

He didn't look back.