Hello everyone! This story is mainly USUK, although it does also contain some Dennor and a tiny bit of Spamano!

For those of you wondering why I chose Mathias...honestly. A story with merpeople, without Mathias? xD

Reviews are appreciated, as well as any suggestions/criticism you may have!


"You didn't tell me this was going to be a road trip."

Arthur turned to his closest friend, Lukas, as his violet eyes regarded the large van with disdain. Arthur's three brothers were piling their luggage into the trunk with enthusiasm, laughing as they reminisced about their last trip to the beach.

Specifically, about how they had tortured and taunted Arthur because of his fear of the ocean. The same fear that they had created and fueled in the first place.

"Well...yes. And I'm afraid we don't have the best of company," Arthur admitted, glaring at his brothers.

Lukas let out an inaudible sigh. In general, Lukas barely complained about anything, save for his veiled sarcasm and pointed remarks, and Arthur was grateful that he decided not to press the matter further. He wasn't surprised that Lukas had complained, though - after a plane ride, another couple of hours by car was tiring.

But it all was made infinitely worse by having to deal with Arthur's three brothers.

He turned to Lukas gratefully, and Lukas met his gaze, his usual expressionless, calm face unperturbed. Lukas shared most of his classes in college, and when he had first broached the subject of Lukas joining him for a family vacation and for one of his brother's pre-wedding celebration, he half expected Lukas to deny him outright. But, as always, Lukas surprised him by agreeing, not bothering to ask the details.

"...Thank you for doing this, Lukas."

Lukas nodded slightly, and Arthur could see his eyes soften a bit.

And that was enough for him.

It was amazing, really, how Arthur could barely communicate his feelings to his own family - but with Lukas, they seemed to understand each other without needing words.

He suddenly felt an arm loop around his shoulder harshly, jolting him out of his thoughts.

"Aww, so glad ye brought yer pal, ol' Art?"

Ugh. Scott.

"Very much so," Arthur responded, sighing. "Although I do regret having to put him through three hours of you."

"He'll learn ta love me," Scott responded smugly, grinning at Lukas. "More than he ever would you."

"I sincerely doubt it," Lukas muttered, but Scott pretended not to hear him.

"Ready for the ol' beach, Artie?"

Arthur shuddered. He hated that nickname. "More than ever," he lied.

Because honestly, he wasn't. Despite all of the therapy he went to, that his brothers convinced their father to send Arthur to, his fear was as deep and vast as the ocean itself. While his fear did inconvenience Arthur, it honestly didn't seem like a big deal to him - after all, they didn't live by the sea, and it was rare that they ever visited the beach for family vacations.

Perhaps it was the guilt he associated with the sea that was debilitating, then - the same guilt that had destroyed him and locked up his memories of that day all those years ago. He couldn't remember what had happened that day even if he tried. Nor did he want to. It wasn't important, life moved on, and he would just have to deal with it.

But it could also be that he couldn't swim.

Of course, it could just be that the vast nature of the ocean itself that terrified him- it seemed endless, and that disconcerted Arthur to a certain extent. Either way, it was only times like these when his fear actually affected his daily life.

Then again, he did have nightmares occasionally. He'd wake up in drenched in sweat, he'd hallucinate that he was drowning even as he emerged from the dream...

He shook his head quickly. He couldn't afford to reminisce. He couldn't afford to feel sorry for himself, not after what he had done all those years ago.

Lukas was standing next to him silently, and Arthur could sense that his stance was some form of moral support or solidarity. He chuckled to himself.

"How about we go swimming then, hmm?"

Arthur was used to his brother's teasing. "Sounds good," he sighed, pretending he was bored. Of course, his brothers knew he couldn't swim. He had injured his teacher when he was ten because he threw a fear tantrum in the pool, refusing to move past the first step in.

"Or surfing? Might get yer leg bitten off by a shark!"

Truth be told, Arthur preferred sharks much more than the ocean itself. Perhaps, if he did wind up lost in the sea, the sharks could do him the favor of eating him before the ocean terrified him to death. But Arthur wasn't so immature as to think sharks' sole motive in their lives was to eat or kill humans. Animals had better things to do. And it was probably better for the sharks to stay away from people anyway, because one bad shark attack slandered the entire species in the eyes of the public.

Just like one small incident threw Arthur off forever.

Arthur took a deep breath before quickly shoving Scott's arm off of him. "Enough," he hissed, irritated. "Just get in the bloody car."

"Ooooh, just get in the bloody car!" Scott mimicked mockingly, shrugging as he got into the driver's seat. "You sit in the back with your little friend there. Wyn sits in front because he gets carsick. Ian gets to share your company. Pleasure's all yours."

He felt Lukas move beside him, and he followed him to the van.

It was going to be a long ride.


"So, ya got a girl, or something?"

Lukas raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm talkin' to you...uh...what was his name? Luke?"

"Lukas," Arthur cut in, crossing his arms over his chest. He hated that he was powerless to stop his friend from being interrogated. He had tried to change the subject several times, but it always ended up back at Lukas.

Lukas didn't respond. He looked at the window, his gaze unwavering.

"Hey, he's kinda rude."

"Yeah." A laugh. "Like Artie!"

"No wonder they get along so well!"

More laughing.

Arthur and Lukas exchanged glances, and Arthur gave him an apologetic smile.

Lukas slightly shook his head, as if to say it's okay.

"Three more hours," Arthur sighed, tapping the windowsill.

"So you didn't respond," Ian pressed, elbowing Lukas. "You got a girl, or what?"

"I don't have anyone," Lukas finally said, his voice even. Arthur's lips quirked upwards in a smile. This would be good.

"I don't own anyone, nor do I have possession of anyone. That's ridiculous."

"Hey, I didn't-"

"I don't think that's possible, unless we somehow were warped back in time to when slavery still existed. Even then, the concept of owning another human is weird and definitely wrong. Oh. Were you referring to dating someone - a girlfriend or significant other?" His words were icy, laced with sarcasm as he turned his head to look at Ian. "No. The answer is no."

Wyn whistled from the front seat.

"Damn, that guy just never stops talking, does he?"

Arthur grinned. "Lukas has a point. Perhaps you three should brush up on your English."

"Yeah, yeah, the proper son," sneered Scott, veering the car steeply to make a last-minute right. The car lurched and the four fell silent after a collective gasp.

Scott grinned. "Shut 'em up good."

Arthur and Lukas resumed their gazing out the window.

Two hours and fifty-nine minutes to go.

He was grateful for one thing, though. And slightly surprised.

His brothers hadn't brought up his history. How he had never shown interest in any girls, and how he'd only dated one girl out of guilt in high school and had gently broken up with her a week later by explaining that he never liked her.

One of the most hateful and embarrassing moments of his rather monotonous life.

"Fifty eight minutes..." he sighed to himself as he stared out the window, his eyes dim.


"Damn," Ian whistled as they exited the car. "That is a nice hotel!"

Arthur had to admit, the location and architecture of the hotel was stunning. It was a beachside resort, perfectly nestled against the rocks with an impeccable ocean view. It was a small, homely kind of place, and Arthur could count the number of balconies facing the water. The hotel's grainy tan color mimicked the sand, and all in all Arthur was impressed.

Of course, the sound of waves instantly made Arthur slightly nauseous, and he hunched over a bit, praying that his stomach would stop hurting.

Not now. Not in front of his brothers. And Lukas.

Lukas looked at him but said nothing, his gaze moving to the ocean.

Lukas seemed to like it well enough, and Arthur didn't want to hold him back, especially since Arthur had wanted him to come on the trip in the first place.

"It looks cold," Lukas commented disdainfully.

Arthur smiled. How did Lukas always know what he was thinking? And now he was trying to pretend that he was not interested.

"Test the waters for me," Arthur responded with a smile, and Lukas' eyes softened.

"Alright, time to go check in. Dad should be here soon anyway," Wyn announced, taking out his luggage from the trunk. "Artie, I trust you can handle the rest?"

His three useless brothers skipped through the glass doors to the lobby, leaving Arthur and Lukas to take five pieces of luggage.

They exchanged glances, and Lukas reached out for the first bag.

"I'm..." Arthur began, his tone wavering.

Sorry? Sorry for putting Lukas through this? How could he even begin to apologize...

Lukas shook his head, cutting him off, as he took two of the bags. But Arthur knew Lukas wasn't very strong, so he tried to carry three of them but ended up falling forward from the weight.

He heard his brothers' laughter as Wyn stuck his head out of the door.

"What's wrong, Artie? Bit off more than you can chew?"

"Perhaps I wouldn't be in this position if you three arseholes hadn't loaded them with rocks!"

"I keep tellin' you to go to the gym!"

Arthur clamped his mouth shut, gritting his teeth as he heaved the three bags up, one weighing down his shoulder while he carried the other two in each hand.

"Atta boy, Artie!"

His brothers' obnoxious laughter faded as they went back to the lobby again. Lukas stared at Arthur before he began to walk towards the hotel.

Arthur sighed as he made to follow him, but with no distractions, the sea was suddenly terrifyingly real.

It was then that the smell of the sea hit him, salt and all, and he almost heaved right then and there. He bent over, trying to collect himself, and Lukas stood by his side, a hand on his shoulder.

"T-Thank you, Lukas, but really, I'll be all right soon..."

They managed to make their way to the hotel eventually, and they each checked into their rooms after more teasing from Arthur's brothers. Arthur and Lukas were sharing a room, while Arthur's father shared a room with Scott. Ian and Wyn roomed together.

When Arthur's father finally arrived, he eyed Arthur with a cold look before ignoring him and greeting his other sons.

Arthur understood all too well the implications of his father's treatment. He was warning Arthur not to screw up. Not to trouble them with his fear, his sickness. His anxiety.

Not to cause any more grief in the family, especially when Wyn was getting married.

Arthur looked at the floor in silence, swallowing his pride.

He'd do just that.


But of course, Arthur's brothers wouldn't leave him alone, and the three of them had teamed up on him once he had settled in and dragged him out of his room, two of them grabbing his legs while the other had his torso. It was demeaning, humiliating, and worst of all, Lukas was not there to stop them, because he had already headed out to the beach.

"Let me down, you insensitive -"

"Aww, it's just a dip in the nice, cool ocean water, Artie! No big deal!"

"You three know perfectly well how I feel about the ocean, so why don't you bugger off and find yourself a new toy to amuse yourself with? Considering your collective ages add up to about nine, I'm sure you'll find something to -"

Arthur felt his ankle being twisted and grimaced, falling silent as Wyn laughed at him.

"The guests are arriving in three days, Artie. Three days of pure family fun."

"Perfect. Three days until I can expose you for who you really are. Maybe then the wedding will be cancelled."

Another twist, and Arthur let out a groan.

He wondered if he'd be able to walk tomorrow.

And soon they were out of the lobby, Arthur burning red from the looks of curiosity and confusion, and all of a sudden there was sand and waves and wind and oh no how was he going to do this...

They dropped him immediately, and Arthur coughed as a bit of sand went into his mouth.

"So, why don't we play sand burial first?" Scott suggested.

"Why don't you three start acting your age for once in your life?"

"Says you!" Wyn guffawed. "You're the one who's afraid of the bleedin' sea!"

"It's a fair fear to have!" Arthur responded defensively.

"Yeah? And I suppose if Mum had your fear, she wouldn't have died?"

The four fell silent suddenly, and Scott's eyes darkened.

"Wyn."

They heard the reprimand in Scott's voice, and Wyn shrunk back a bit.

"Went too far," he admitted, and Arthur stood up, dusting himself off.

"Go enjoy the beach," Ian said suddenly, a small grin on his face. "Alone. We'll be waiting in the lobby, and if you come back before midnight..."

The other two began to laugh.

"You are definitely getting buried. Right next to the ocean."


Arthur watched them go back to the hotel, and waited for his heart to calm down. He faced away from the ocean.

The sun was just about getting ready to set, the orange and red hues dancing across the sky, slightly tinted purple clouds encroaching in from the top of Arthur's vision. He prayed for rain.

But the sound of the waves jarred him, and in an attempt to cope he tried to breathe in sync with the waves. Perhaps he could convince himself that it was the sound of his heart.

It wasn't likely, but it was worth a try.

Slowly breathing in an out, he tried to match the recede and crash of the waves. He slowly turned around.

He was twenty one years old, and it was absolutely ridiculous for him to still have a debilitating fear of the ocean. It couldn't hurt him. He was safe, here, on the sand...

He sunk his toes in, feeling the fine sand give way underneath his feet, crawl between his toes, focusing on his breathing, his eyes still closed.

Yes, if he went in to the ocean it was a different story. But here, on land, he was safe. Nothing would change that.

But what if there was a big wave or a tsunami -

Calm. Breathe in, breathe out.

He was fine. He was a gentleman. He was sane.

"Arthur."

Arthur immediately opened his eyes, seeing Lukas approach him. Even with his calm expression, Arthur could tell Lukas was worried. His eyes seemed to be questioning why Arthur was on the beach.

"Brothers," Arthur sighed, shrugging. "It'll be all right. I'll live."

Lukas snorted, looking at the waves.

"We're the same," he said after a while, pointing to the ocean. Arthur frowned slightly, turning to him questioningly.

Lukas pursed his lips, falling silent, before he walked away to sit on the sand.

Arthur followed him, sitting next to him.

His heart seemed calmer than he expected, although each time a wave rose he felt his heart flutter. It was terrifying, but strangely relieving, facing his worst fear like this.

How many times had he told himself he hated the ocean?

How many times had it been ingrained in his mind - to hate the ocean, to fear it...

For what?

You'll die. It will kill you. You don't belong.

We're the same.

Arthur shut his eyes, taking deep breaths. He felt Lukas shift so that they were closer to each other, and he nodded gratefully.

"I-If you want you can go back to the hotel. Grab something to eat. I can manage out here. If I can't now, I won't be able to in front of all my relatives, right?"

Lukas blinked, and nodded slightly before standing up. He walked back to the hotel without questioning further.

Arthur let a breath out.

Alone.

In front of the ocean.

Weak.

No, he was not weak. He was strong, he was Arthur Kirkland, and it was about time he got over this. The beach was empty anyway, so he had nothing to lose.

Powered by the annoyance and anger that came with years and years of fearing the sea, he stood up quickly, making his way over to the water.

But his body stopped him after a couple of strides.

I'll die. I'll drown. And nobody is there, nobody will notice and I'll be gone for good, and maybe that's for the best...

Another step.

Just like Mum...

Another step.

It will eat me alive.

He suddenly crouched down, holding his knees to his chest as he shook violently. No. He couldn't do it.

Blast it all, he was afraid, and he felt foolish for thinking he could simply power through it just because he was annoyed with himself.

Perhaps it would be best to suffer the torment his brothers would prepare for him after all. It was better than this.

Anything was better than this.

But he stood up again, he dusted himself off, and he took another step. The breeze felt stronger, the waves were louder, and salt filled all of his senses.

Until he noticed something dark by the pier.

And it was moving.

He jumped, startled, as he stared, blocking out the sound of the waves as he peered at the figure, squinting.

No, it wasn't a fin. It wasn't a shark, or a dolphin...

It looked like a head.

It was bobbing up and down, and Arthur assumed the man or woman was trying to get up onto the dock but was failing.

He forced himself forward, at first cautiously walking across the sand but quickly breaking into a run as he dashed towards the small pier, unconsciously moving himself closer and closer to the water. He ran across the wooden dock towards the figure, and found that the head suddenly receded away from him.

"Pardon me, are you - here, give me your hand," Arthur said gently, dropping down and kneeling as he reached towards the person.

The man, more specifically. He had golden hair that the last of the sun's rays illuminated so perfectly it was almost as if it was glowing. He couldn't see the rest of the man's body that well, but he could see his face clearly.

His eyes were blue, so similar to the sea yet so much more bright and vibrant, and he was frowning, his eyes filled with something Arthur didn't understand. Fear? Disgust? Confusion?

"Come on," Arthur repeated firmly, stretching his hand further. But it seemed that the more Arthur reached out, the more the man went away.

Was the current carrying him, or was he staying away on purpose?

"Are you troubled?" Arthur inquired finally, slowly leaning back as he rested on his knees and the balls of his feet. "What are you doing there?"

No response. The man shifted suddenly, his mouth turning down into a frown before he slowly moved towards Arthur.

"Can you swim?"

The man was silent.

"..."

Well, he didn't seem to be drowning. Perhaps Arthur had been wrong, just arrogantly assumed that the man needed help when he seemed perfectly fine on his own.

It was humiliating. Embarrassing. Arthur hated himself for taking action, for being a part of something that didn't need him or want him.

Like always.

He decided it was best to just walk back and pretend nothing happened. Maybe he could salvage the last of his pride.

But suddenly the ocean was there again, big and real and surrounding him on all sides, with salt and sound and everything and it was too much...

Arthur shrank back, groaning as he clutched his head. He bit his lip, refusing to let fear take over even as it poisoned him from the inside, refusing to let tears fall...

The waves were loud, unbelievably loud, but he forced open his eyes, only to see that the man was gone.

"Er..." Arthur was at a loss for words. He spun around, wildly searching, and he found that the man was on the other side of the skinny pier, his head barely above the water as he studied Arthur with what seemed to be a somewhat confused, somewhat hostile expression.

Arthur didn't fail to notice that the man was unnaturally handsome, with a firm jaw and nice cheekbones, and those eyes...

He forced himself to look away. He didn't have time for this. And he shouldn't be having those thoughts anyway.

"M-May I help you?"

The man moved closer, and Arthur found himself backing up so that he was sitting on the opposite end. The dock was narrow, with only a couple of feet separating him and the man.

But he felt drawn to him, and before he knew it Arthur was moving closer to him, crawling hesitantly on his hands and knees as he gazed at the man in return silently.

And then he felt strong hands grip his forearms, giving them a swift tug before he was dragged into the water.