Holland was pushed behind Matthew before he realized what was going on. Matthew's fins puffed of in a beautiful display of red and white that had Holland in awe. A shriek from the oncoming group was his response as the three stopped a little bit away.

"Matthew! Mon cher, where have you been?" A lithe long haired blond asked looking startling like Matthew though his tail was a striped pattern of deep blue, white and red. "We were worried."

"Forget worried!" A smaller man snarled flicking his own tail in annoyance The appendage was also mostly blue but had crisscross strips of white in something like the shape of X's. "I could just kill you child we have been looking everywhere for you!"

"What is that thing you've got there Mattie!" A younger looking male asked tilting his head and looking behind the still aggressive looking mer. The young ones tail spread out a little in response to his brothers showing off his red and white thin strips with small speckles of blue dotting up and down the whole length. "Holy Triton! That's a human! Dad, Mattie's got a human!"

"What in the bloody hell have you been doing?" The small man yelled coming close and Matthew screeched again which only caused the other group to puff up displaying their own spikes and sharp teeth as they swarmed Matthew. The one who looked like Matthew took the other mers hands in his own flattening his fins and kissing both the boys cheeks. "We were worried Matthew. Don't let Arthur say otherwise."

Arthur got extremely close to Holland making the human kick his legs a little to back up before the muscled younger one grabbed onto his foot pulling it up so he could get a better look. "TOES! Matthew have you seen these!"

"Yes Alfred! Put him down!" Matthew snapped and the man holding his hands chuckled smoothing down Matthews fins like a human parent would a child's rumpled hair to sooth them.

"Now, now, no need to fuss."

" But Papa! He's just learning to swim." Matthew whined going over to Holland and pulling him right side up making him feel a little disoriented. Was he really right side up or was he sideways? Everything was so confusing in the deep ocean.

Alfred was swimming circles around the human looking him over excitedly as the one they called Arthur glared death at him with his arms crossed. "Why is he wearing the cloth?" Alfred asked stopping in his too fast movements to try and pull at the elastic before Matthew swatted his hand away.

"Humans are private about their sex organs!" He said making Holland heat up despite the cold water around him.

"Is that were they keep it! Between those…what are they called again Dad?"

"Legs." Arthur replied sounding annoyed. "Matthew honestly what were you thinking! You could have killed the poor land walker!"

"I was trying to save him! You see well…I was…I mean"

"You were up at the surface again weren't you?" Arthur puffed up and Matthew ducked his head. "Honestly Matthew you're worse than Alfred sometimes! What would you have done if someone saw you?"

"No one saw me! No one comes to that part of the beach but Holland!" Matthew insisted trying to wiggle his way out of impending trouble.

"Holland! Oh we're naming the land walkers now are we?"

"No that's his name! He told me, when we were looking each other over!"

"Matthew Williams!" The small mer burst out blushing slightly. "You touched that…that human!"

"His toes and his legs! I felt his knee and how it moves and the little part that connects the leg and the foot it wiggles! And I saw a penis and you know what I liked it and I let him touch me too! And I kissed him! I kissed him and I changed him and you wanna know what else? I kissed him again for no other reason but because I wanted to!"

By the time Matthew was done ranting Holland was ten shades of red and Arthur looked like he was going to explode before the one Matthew called Papa started to laugh. "Francis! You can't really find this funny!" Arthur snapped as Alfred looked at his brother with a secret kind of respect for having done all those things.

"Oh Arthur they boy is growing up! You didn't think he would stay young forever did you?"

"Listen here frog-"

"Frog?" Holland mimicked softly and Matthew looked at him sheepishly. "Frogs swim in water but live on land. It's an insult Dad uses but Papa finds it endearing.

"I knew the boys would grow up but this is just ridiculous swimming around kissing-"

"If I remember right we were two years younger than the boys when we started kissing under the coral sneaking away from the rest of the school just so we could be alone." The man said pressing closer to the sputtering messy haired blond intertwining their fingers.

"You kissed me you over imposing bastard!" Arthur snapped blushing furiously red trying to get away from the hands-y man. "And this is different! That thing is a human Francis!"

"I remember a time mon coeur," The longer haired man purred "when you wanted to see the humans too. You would go on and on about them. How you wanted to feel their dry hair and count their toes. I was very jealous."

"What is your point?" Arthur snapped.

"Let our boy learn on his own Arthur! We can only show them so much. And what harm can one little human do? He can hardly swim in a straight line for tritons sake. He wouldn't get very far if he tried to flee and who will believe him when he returns to the world above?"

Arthur huffed and Holland suddenly felt very trapped by the water all around him. He was too far away to find his way back to shore alone and even if he did what would he tell people about the gills in his neck?

Francis released Arthur with a smile and turned to face Matthew and Holland while Alfred swam back to his father's side. "Mon cher you need to return the human back to the surface."

"But papa-" Matthew rushed before the man placed a finger on the younger's lips to silence him.

"The ocean is no place for a human. He can't live down here like us. You need to take him back to where you found him." Francis pushed some of his hair back over his shoulder and then clasped Matthew's hands in his. The mer opened his mouth to protest before he looked into his father's eyes and his mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he just nodded quickly.

"I will. It will take a few days for me to swim him there and then come all the way back home. The trip is long." Matthew finally managed to say, backing up a little to be closer to Holland with his hands locked behind his back. Francis smiled at him and Arthur frowned while Alfred tried to get one last look at Holland's scissoring legs..

"Be safe please." Francis said gently before looking Holland in the eye. "Take care of my boy."

"Thank you papa. I will be home in under a week!" Matthew cut in before turning to face Holland grabbing him by the arm and swimming off as fast as he could dragging the flailing human behind him.

"Matthew slow down!" Holland begged before the Mer actually let him go and did a looped in a tight spin of excitement up above him.

"Oh Holland! I can't believe it!" Matthew laughed opening his hand to look at the little bottle in his hand. "He gave it to me! He gave it tom ME!"

"He gave you what?" Holland asked following after the ecstatic fish.

"Look!" Matthew swam up to Holland opening his clenched fist again to show him a small vial with a rose pink mixture inside and a dead seahorse tied to the outside by a lock of blond hair that looked like it was pulled out. "Papa had it made for Dad when they were young but Dad would never take it! He didn't want to leave the sea."

"Leave?" Holland echoed as Matthew made a happy high pitched chirping sound closing his fist again so he wouldn't lose it.

"It will make me be able to be human!"

"H-human!" Holland stuttered paddling after the hyper mer. "As in with legs and breath air and no gills!"

"YES!" Matthew replied laughing and holding the vial to his heart. "Oh I have dreamed of this my whole life! Say you will take me on land Holland! Oh please promise me you will!"

"I-I um. Yeah I-I guess I could show you around but um…Are you gonna be stuck that way?" He asked nervously.

"Oh no no. I will be like you. I can go back and forth." The blond replied with wave of his hand.

"Woah woah! What?"

"You can go back and forth between breathing water and air. It's a gift! Oh I'm so excited!"

Holland sighed watching the mer do flips and spins and laugh as he lead the way back to shore and the human couldn't help but wonder what Matthew would look like with legs . He blushed a little at the thought but Matthew didn't notice to busy blabbering about everything he wanted to do.

"I want to climb a tree Holland! Oh could you imagine it! Being that high up above the ground like that! Have you ever climbed a tree?"

"Not since I was a kid."

"What about running? And dancing! I heard humans do this thing called dancing where they move together to music. Do you dance?"

"I haven't in a very long time."

"Oh Holland I'm so excited! Where do you sleep?"

"A bed."

"A bed?" Matthew repeated making a face. "I don't know what that means. Will you show me? Can I sleep there with you? I have never slept alone before."

"Uh y-yeah I guess that's alright."

"Will anyone else be sleeping with us?" Matthew asked swimming backwards at a quick pace watching as Holland's whole face heated up.

"N-no!"

"You don't share your sleep with anyone? Humans are social creatures correct? You pick a mate or two or something like that…You don't share this bed with them?"

"I'm not dating anyone." Holland forced the words out swimming faster just so he could focus on the burning in his muscles.

"Dating? Is that a human ritual?"

"It's where you take someone out and show them a good time and try to get to know each other." Holland explained.

"Oh so like today I took you dating? And when we reach shore you will take me dating?" Matthew asked tilting his head a little as fish swam by hiding Holland's initial embarrassment.

"No! No the term is used for taking out someone out you like."

"Well I like you and you kissed me so I think you like me so wouldn't it be dating?"

"It would be called a date and um…it's more like for finding a potential ah… mate."

Matthew frowned at that. "My people aren't like your people as we aren't limited to so few partners as you are, so I don't really understand but are you saying you don't find me to be a potential mate?"

"No! No I'm- its just-I…don't have any idea what I'm trying to say." Holland finished lamely and Matthew chuckled swimming forward placing a light kiss on his lips. "If you want to I would like to try being mates with you."

Holland opened and closed his mouth a few times shocked making Matthew chuckled and take off again not waiting for an answer.

The rest of the trip was made in almost silence with the occasional happy noise from Matthew and the 'oh wow' from Holland when something swam by.

When they reached the rock's where Holland normally sat Matthew took a deep breath shooting the human a nervous and excited look. "Are you ready?" He asked and Holland nodded.

"Let me climb up first and then I can pull you with me." Holland said and Matthew nodded.

Holland took one last breath under water before he pushed himself to the side of the rocks and started to pull himself up. The climb was harder than Holland had thought it would be with the water smacking against his back trying to suck him back in with every wave and the water having gone down with low tide making him have to climb higher to make it to the safety of the flat surface. Turning around he reached a hand down to Matthew who was watching him looking more nervous than excited now that they were actually getting out of the water under the light of the moon.

"Come on!" Holland urged, his limbs starting to feel like jelly from swimming for so long. Matthew reached up and the human jerked him up out of the water onto his rock.

They sat there a minute panting a little before Matthew licked his lips and looked at the vial in his free hand. "I hope this works." The mer pulled the top off and shot the liquid back swallowing it down before he could chicken out.

"Your gills are gone." Matthew said lightly reaching a hand out to touch the now smooth skin startling Holland. He hadn't even felt the change. Matthew smiled weakly clenching his hands and leaning forward a little. "Oh…Oh Triton it hurts." He panted as Holland grabbed his shoulders to keep him upright.

"Matthew?"

"Oh make it stop! Holland make it stop!" A disturbing wet sound cut through the breaking of waves against rock and Holland watched in horror as blood coated the ground around them and Matthew's tail split in half.

"Oh God." Holland whispered hearing the crack of bone and Matthew fell back against the ground and screamed the evening gulls not even able to drown out his cry.

Review?