Thomas smiled as he breathed in the salty air that always calmed him. He stood on his favorite section of bluff, staring off into the sunset like some cheesy Lifetime movie. But he loved how he felt surrounded by rock and ocean, like he was meant to be there. His mother insisted he was supposed to be a fish with all the time he spent surfing and other water related activities. That or she had watched The Little Mermaid one too many times with his sister that she had grown stranger for all the music.

Minho had ditched him yet again for Alby, though Thomas couldn't really fault him for it. They were getting to know each other (again- their souls were already well acquainted) and Thomas was happy for them despite the hint of bitterness that still lay just underneath. The bastard was always lucky in life so love would come just as easily, of course. Thomas leaned against an upturned rock as he slid down into a sitting position. He promised to meet his mom for dinner but he wasn't really all that hungry and something deep in his chest almost compelled him to stay where he was just for a little while longer. A sudden shifting movement and a muffled hiss of pain drew Thomas attention away from the waves to the other side of the rock he was resting on.

"Whose there?" Thomas called out warily.

"Go away," a gruff voice called back. Thomas flinched slightly at the harshness of the words but he still maneuvered himself around the slick rocks. "I'm fine really. I got some salt water in a cut and it stung is all." The voice was calmer but Thomas remained unconvinced.

"That sounded worse than just a simple hurt cut. Do you need a hospital? Whoa!" Thomas hauled himself around the corner and was met with a rather startling and unusual sight. "I think I just lost my mind." The person (half-person?) laughed dryly as he collapsed heavily against the stone.

"I'm stuck it seems. Think you can help me out now that you're here?" he asked Thomas. He nodded mutely as he approached slowly and cautiously. "Mind the scales please, they break easy when dried out." Newt held out his arms and looked up expectantly at Thomas.

"You want me to carry you?" Thomas asked stupidly. His question was met with breathy laugh that made Thomas frown.

"I can't really get up and walk off this rock now can I? If I could, I wouldn't me asking for you to pick me up now would I?" he snapped. Thomas jumped back at the harshness and began to move away. "I'm sorry. I'm tired and in pain. I've been stuck here for almost two full days now on this bloody rock and I won't make it until morning if I can't get back into the water. Now, will you help me or not, Tommy?"

"How do you know my name?" Thomas asked, approaching once more.

"You come here just about as much as I do. I see you all the time with your friends. My name is Newt," Newt replied with a knowing smirk. Thomas finally obliged Newt's request and looped his arm around his waist and shoulders while moving slowly down the slippery rocks. "And to answer your next question, yes, the tail is very real and very much attached." He flipped the appendage for emphases but groaned in pain for his efforts. Newt sighed as water splashed around him once more.

"How did you manage to get up there?" Thomas asked as he looked back at the area they just left.

"There was a rather large wave during high tide. Got thrown for a loop and ended up there while I was trying to see if you were around," Newt revealed, his eyes lighting up at the admission. "I like watching you."

"Why?" Thomas inquired. Newt eased himself into deeper waters once everything began to move like it was supposed to. "Why me out of everyone who comes out to this stretch of beach every day?"

"Do you know the legend of Zeus and his fear of the original humans?" Newt inquired, his eyebrows raised in question.

"Soulmates, yeah. Pretty much everyone I know has met theirs with the exception of me." Newt felt his chest constrict again as he heard the same phrase again.

"I'll tell you a little secret. Zeus was really jealous of some over others. Those he split up in some lives so they may never be together. It seems you and I he didn't particularly like when it came to this life," Newt eluded.

"You don't know your soulmate ether?" Thomas quizzed, his eyebrows pulling together.

"Give me your hand, Tommy." Thomas complied and Newt moved closer again so they could clasp their fingers together. Thomas sucked in his breath suddenly when he felt his skin buzz with electricity. "Some are torn apart by distance or language barriers while it seems that we have been pulled apart by a pair of legs and the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. I need to get back because my family will be furious that I've been gone for this long. I promise that I will come back, just keep an eye out for me, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll wait for you," Thomas breathed out happily. Newt kissed Thomas' knuckles quickly before he dipped below the surface and splashed away with a flash of blue and green scales. Thomas watched him fade off into the depths before pulling out his cell phone from his pocket. He dialed the familiar number and didn't even give Minho a chance to really answer.

"You'll never believe what just happened to me. Have you eaten dinner yet? This is something I really want to tell you face-to-face."

O.o.O.o.O.o

"How is meeting your soulmate 'complicated'? It's like the single best thing next to sex, or so I've heard," Minho asked between mouthfuls of his cheeseburger. "Unless, is she a foreigner? She's here on vacation and leaving tomorrow, isn't she?"

"No, he's not a foreigner. He lives here in Hatteras, kind of," Thomas waved his hands about in his vague explanation. Minho stopped mid bite and raised his eyebrows at the stupidity of Thomas sentence. "Okay, you have to promise that you won't laugh at me when I tell you this."

"Can't do anything until you spill, dude," Minho remarked as he swallowed the food. "Continue!"

"He's not exactly human," Thomas drew it out that made it sound more like a question rather than any sort of revelation.

"Not exactly human? He thinks his mother was abducted by aliens and she was artificially inseminated with their DNA to create him?" Minho offered. Thomas glared at his friend but struggled with the way he wanted to describe his predicament.

"He looks like he's an extra in a live action film of The Little Mermaid," Thomas finally spat out. Minho stared at his friend, a void expression on his face for a few long seconds, before he doubled over laughing. "How'd I know you'd react like this?"

"Okay, you have found a strange one, Thomas. Is he into LARP-ing or is he just so off his rocker that he puts on a tail suit and swims around the ocean for the hell of it?" Minho spat out between gasps for air. Thomas waited patiently for Minho to calm down who sobered quickly at his serious expression. "You really believe this guy is a legit merman? Maybe it's you who needs to get his head shrunk. Fine, I'll bite. What's your merman's name?"

"Newt. I'm going back in a couple days to meet him again. Come with me and meet him for yourself," Thomas responded. Minho shook his head in disbelief but conceded regardless.

"Fine. But when I prove to you he's a fraud, you owe me the fanciest steak dinner money can buy," Minho stated.

"Deal."