Arthur had stepped so that he was shielding Francis who couldn't move and whose blue eyes were transfixed on the group in front of them. What were they even doing here? This was a middle of nowhere island that was likely not even bothered to be placed on most maps. Arthur's mind was racing as he considered all available options. There were too many of them to fight, and running could buy them some time, but the island was not that large. Perhaps if they managed to separate them they could be taken down that way, but this plan had too many things that could go wrong and the problem remained of what to do with the men after, or the ship that was waiting for them somewhere. Things were looking grim, and Arthur gritted his teeth as the men began to pull cutlasses, axes, and pistols from their belts.

"Woah, Artie? Is that you?" Arthur straightened at the familiar voice, and the sailors looked back in confusion as a tall blonde stepped out from behind them. The blonde's eyes dazzled, matching his enormous smile in radiance. "Stand down, everyone. Artie here's a friend."

"Alfred?" Arthur stared in disbelief and Francis glanced between the two in confusion.

"In the flesh." Alfred placed his hands on hips, straightening his chest. "Though, last I'd heard, you were dead."

"About that…" Arthur rubbed the back of his head, wondering how much the other man had heard. "I've been living here since then."

"For over a year?" A mirror image blonde stepped out from behind Alfred, his violet eyes narrowed. "And who is your friend?"

"Him?" Arthur jerked his thumb behind him towards Francis. "Just a friend. He was shipwrecked and living on this island when I arrived." Francis couldn't help but stare at the back of the captain's head. Why would he lie, unless the pair in front of him didn't believe in fairy tales, but that could be easily cleared up with a trip to the water's edge? And, oh, how he did love to show off his beautiful form.

"Weren't you always the one teaching us manners?" The blonde asked, a small, innocent looking smile gracing his child-like face. "Shouldn't you introduce us?"

"This is Francis." Arthur turned around to meet the merman, and for a moment Francis was sure he caught a hint of an apologetic look. "Francis, I would like you to meet Alfred and Matthew." Both blondes nodded as his name was called and Arthur turned back to them, his face returned to a look of brazenness. "Brothers and Co-Captains of the Deliverance."

"Pleased to meet you." Matthew inclined his head slightly with a polite and sweet smile.

"Yeah, same." Alfred added quickly. "Artie was our mentor back in the day. Practically raised the two of us and taught us everything he knows."

Francis coughed slightly in attempt to recover his voice. "It seems you are all very close, then?" he managed to ask weakly.

"These two brats tried to pick pocket me while I was in port." Arthur spat out, casting a glare at the cheerful brothers. "As punishment I decided to have them work for me."

"We were supposed to work for you?" Alfred asked, looking confused. "I thought you were trying to be our mother."

After a brief moment where Arthur seemed stunned, he began to scream every available curse that came to mind while Alfred simply laughed loudly at each one. Gathered around them, the crew watched the entire scene in relative silence upon realizing that there wasn't any real danger, opting to stow away their weapons and studying the new comers with interest. A small smile graced Matthew's lips as he watched the familiar antics of his brother and mentor and even Francis managed to chuckle at Arthur's actions. Eventually the British captain ran out of names to call the younger man after repeating several of them and settled for quietly scowling with his face flushed to a bright red.

"Why is he wearing your coat?" Alfred suddenly asked boldly and his brother beside him began to blush.

"He's French and been living here devoid of proper society." Arthur crossed his arms, "I have to stuff him inside of that thing every day so that I don't have to see him prance about in the nude." Francis kept quiet, but it didn't stop the confusion or feelings of hurt. Was this really how Arthur felt? Had everything in the past year been a lie? His chest began to ache, but he kept his composure, pretending to be unaffected by the Brit's harsh words.

Alfred nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense… Mattie, you know the French better than I do. Is that really how they act?" Matthew gave a small shrug but otherwise refused to answer or look at the pair, keeping his eyes diverted to the side for the time being. When he realized he wasn't going to anything more, Alfred's quickly shifting mind focused on something else. "Well, I guess that we would be able to give the two of you a lift to civilization. Where you go from there is your concern."

"Yes, that would be agreeable." Arthur answered smoothly, a hint of smile gracing his face. He made to take a step forward but paused as though he had reconsidered something. "Actually, there are few things we'd like to collect first, if it isn't too much bother. It would only take a moment for us to go and fetch them."

"Like what?" Alfred asked, his eyes roaming the pair searching for anything missing.

"Just a few things we've gathered during our stay." Arthur replied quickly, trying to step away. "It won't take long."

"If it's not too important just leave it behind." Matthew advised, looking at them once again. "You will want to replace everything as it is and you don't need the extra luggage." He watched Arthur pause and consider what he said and smiled warmly in response. "Besides, I bet the two of you haven't had a proper meal in long time. You could come aboard and eat your fill. We recently acquired more supplies."

"Ah… Yes…" Arthur slowly replied, turning back. "That would be kind."

Alfred's face lit up as his enormous grin spread. "Great! We'll take you back to the ship and get you settled in. Maybe catch up?" he chatted happily, bounding forward in excitement and grabbing Arthur's arm. Matthew turned to address several of the crew quietly and they each nodded at the orders and became busy. "We've done a lot of stuff since you last saw us, Artie!" Alfred continued, half dragging the man forward towards one of the long boats. "I think it's better than anything you've ever done."

"I doubt it." Arthur sneered, managing to free himself from the younger captain's clutches and glaring harshly at the large smile.

"Are you joining us?" Matthew asked, drifting alongside his brother and staring at Francis with curiosity as he had still yet to move from his place. The others looked back, Alfred tilting his head to one side and Arthur trying to hold a commanding look but it softened slightly when his bright green eyes met Francis's blue ones. Francis looked away and suddenly felt his stomach knot when he realized what was happening. Following Arthur would mean boarding a ship, something he had not done since he cast off the last one. His stomach seemed to clench tighter at that and he met Arthur's gaze once again.

"Come on!" Alfred yelled, waving his arms in Francis's direction. "You don't really want to stay here do you?"

Francis stared a moment more at Arthur before looking down. He did want to stay here, where it was only him and Arthur and the rest of the world was forgotten. But the longer he stood there, the stranger it seemed and so he took a hesitant step forward towards them. He did his best to smile at the brothers and avoid Arthur as he joined them besides one of the two boats. Two more of the crew stepped forward and together with Alfred and Matthew began to push the boat back off the beach towards the water.

"Wait!" Everyone froze and stared at Arthur who strode forward. "Francis is afraid of the water. Let him get in first before you push it out."

Francis couldn't help but gape and Alfred frowned. "Afraid of the…? What?"

Arthur shrugged easily. "Personally, I think it has something to do with how he was ship wrecked, but he would never talk about it."

Alfred blinked several times and turned to look at Francis. "Is this true?" Francis was at a complete loss for words, starting a few times and unable to come up with anything and frustrated that he was unable to do so.

Matthew sighed. "Just let him get on. There are enough of us to still push the boat out."

After a moment Alfred nodded in agreement and stood back to wait, raising an eyebrow at the Frenchman. Francis stepped forward, though he was sure his legs were betraying him in doing so, and tried to clamber into the small craft though his movements seemed stiff and awkward. If it wasn't for Arthur appearing beside him and helping he would have more than likely ended up upside down in the most undignified position imaginable and was distinctly aware of the number of eyes that watched as he tried to settle himself calmly on one of the wooden benches. The surfaces were a bit weather worn and rough beneath his exposed skin as he his fingers clenched the seat beneath him when the boat lurched forward back into the sea. The bobbing it began among the small waves was foreign and he stiffened when the group managed to push the boat out far enough that the bottom no longer brushed the sandy surface beneath them. The others easily jumped in, Arthur positioning himself beside Francis, Matthew and Alfred on the other side, and the two additional crew in between who immediately took hold of the oars and began rowing.

Francis caught Arthur inspecting him out of the corner of his eye but ignored it in favor of taking a final look at the small island they were leaving. Memories of fights and long talks, of shared meals and lessons, and the familiar rituals of greetings and departures all flooded his mind simultaneously, ending with the blissful evening the night before where he thought that perhaps there had been something more. It left a bitter pain in his chest to recall the event that seemed so long ago had only ended a few hours earlier.

He could hear Arthur beside him chatting with Alfred, the occasional swear and insult mixed in, and he managed to tear his eyes away from the island to the occupiers of the long boat. Alfred and Arthur were two engrossed in their conversation to pay him any attention and the two crew members were busy with their task leaving him to converse with Matthew. With a smile, Matthew began to politely ask about his origins and the time he spent sharing an island with Arthur. Francis tried to return the smile as he answered every question, but it was difficult now that he could clearly see the large ship they heading towards.

The Deliverance was a large and very majestic vesselnand it was easy to see that it followed the contemporary British style. Large masts stood along the deck that supported multiple ivory sails, the canvas rolled to keep the ship from drifting. Hatches dotted the length of the sides, behind each one Francis knew would be a large cannon and there was an impressive number if the external evidence was anything to go by. It was also strange to see that the ship's figurehead was of a bear, certainly very unusual of any of the ships he had seen.

The sight of the ship caused dread to pool in his stomach and he clenched the wooden bench harder trying to offer Matthew another smile. He was sure the others were chalking up his actions to be a fear of the water or something of the like, and it frustrated him to be under such a pretense. It was only Arthur and his need to speak with him once they found a moment alone that was keeping Francis from diving over the side of craft and back into the safety of the water. Instead, he could feel cold sweat begin to form beneath the coat he still wore and the sick feeling that came from his gut as they drew nearer.

All too soon the boat was against the large ship and Alfred and Matthew quickly climbed the ladder built into the side. Arthur was next to move towards the ladder but waited for Francis to move from his place. Francis tried to cross closer to the ladder, but swayed dangerously in doing so despite the crew holding the boat still against the hull. They both snickered at the sight, to which Arthur ignored, looking at the merman with concern. "Are you going to be able to climb up?"

Francis paused and tried to gauge the length he would have to climb. It normally would be an easy feat for even an average sailor, but for him it seemed near impossible. Still, he nodded dumbly and waited as Arthur ascended high enough for him to begin.

It was difficult to climb as it was but it was made even harder now that his palms were wet and his legs shaky. It seemed some miracle that he managed most of the way up on his own even if the progress was slow, and reached for Arthur's offered hand to help pull him over the railing. He offered a smile of thanks and earning a nod in return from Arthur.

"Great, now that you've managed to get on board," Alfred interrupted them, and they turned to meet two identical twisted grins behind pistols pointed their direction, "but the only available room we have for you is the holding cell below deck."

"What…? What is the meaning of this?!" Arthur screeched, eyes flickering back and forth between the brothers. "Explain yourselves!"

"You've been out of the game too long, Arthur." Matthew smoothly replied, "We officially work for the queen, and it pleases her Majesty when we bring the scourge of the seas to justice."

"And," Alfred added, laughing lightly to himself, "she pardons any other… activities… we may find ourselves in."

"Actually, it was an incredible stroke of luck that we found you so soon after sinking one of her vessels." Matthew mused, violet eyes drifting a bit in thought, "We had been discussing ways to get back in her good graces once she found out one of her flag ships had gone missing."

"You…" Arthur started, anger seeping into every word, "work for the queen and still attack her ships? So those supplies you spoke of? They came from one of her ships! And I bet you are hiding spoils on that island."

"Two for two, Arthur." Matthew smiled pleasantly, though it seemed much more sickening than sweet. "I'm impressed. You are still as sharp as ever."

"Don't you patronize me, you prat!" Arthur spat out, glaring daggers.

"Take it easy, Artie." Alfred frowned disapprovingly. "And you are one to speak as though anything you did was honorable. After all, you were the one to teach us about seizing every available opportunity. It was how you rose to be such a ruthless captain and a feared pirate. You should know the Unicorn didn't fare too well with your absence." There was a bit of a dark twinge to Alfred's expression that Francis couldn't help but find incredibly disturbing.

"The Unicorn? What happened to my ship?" Arthur growled, his fists clenching tightly at his sides.

"She didn't put up much of fight. It was actually a bit pathetic." Alfred whined, recalling the battle in his mind.

"Actually, it was how we knew you were no longer on board." Matthew supplied from where his brother left off, "and your former first mate told us how you had been set adrift months earlier. Well, there had been rumors, of course, but nothing proven. Your name still holds fear in plenty of men's hearts."

"I was really hoping for more of a challenge." Alfred continued to whine. "It kinda felt like we were putting an old dog out of its misery…"

Arthur's eyes widened a fraction as realization dawned on him. "You… you gits sunk by bloody ship!" He screamed, shaking with uncontrollable rage.

"Relax Artie, we did you a favor." Alfred grinned proudly, "The crew mutinied against you and we took care of them all. Most of them are resting comfortably with the Unicorn at the bottom of the ocean."

"And the rest we handed over to the authorities in London." Matthew added. "They faced the same fate you will soon enough."

"You're just going to turn me over to face my death?!" Arthur cried in outrage, "We're practically family!"

"And it was you who taught us to always look out for ourselves first." Arthur stared in absolute disbelief at Matthew while he continued. "Bringing you in will really raise our standings in Britain. The infamous son of Admiral Kirkland; The black mark on an otherwise perfect family." Arthur managed a snarl in response. "We'll finish our business here and once the tide comes in again we will sail for the heart of the British Empire. It's been a long time since you set foot on her soil, hasn't it?" Matthew added.

"And what of Francis?" Said man, jumped slightly at suddenly being included in the conversation and stared at the back of Arthur's head. "He's not a pirate, turning him in would get you nothing! Leave him on that island if you wish! He's nothing to you!"

Alfred tilted his head. "Why? Is he something to you?"

Arthur opened and shut his mouth several times, unable to come up with a descent retort. Matthew's eyes ventured from Arthur to Francis and lingered there. "No, I think it would be better if he came along. He looks like he could be entertaining."

All of the dread that had gathered within Francis from the entire morning turned to pure fear at those words and his mind froze from the terror of the implications. It was while he was focused what had been said that the missed what Arthur was doing. The captain had hunched his shoulders and began to growl lowly, "You… stupid… bastard!" Before he knew what was happening, Arthur had turned and leapt on Francis, grabbing him by the coat and pushing him back against the railing. But it didn't stop there, Arthur kept pushing, and Francis had been too shocked to offer any real resistance and soon he was over the side and plummeting towards the salt water.

His tail reformed beneath the coat as soon as he was submerged, and the waterlogged fabric pulled further beneath the surface so that he missed the two blonde faces that appeared where he been moments before. They both frowned when the realized that the Francis would not be resurfacing and Alfred turned back to glare at a smug looking Arthur. "So by afraid of the water, you meant he couldn't swim?"

Arthur couldn't help but smirk at that. "Still remarkably slow as ever, Alfred."

Alfred growled at that, while beside him Matthew sighed and rested his chin on his hand while he continued to watch the water below. "I'm a bit disappointed actually. He seemed really interesting."

"Hey Mattie." Matthew lifted his head to look at his brother. "Are we allowed to punish prisoners we capture?"

Matthew blinked slowly then turned further to look at Arthur, his face calm and a stark contrast to Alfred's angry expression. "It would probably seem that we had gone soft on our old mentor if we didn't." Arthur narrowed his eyes while Alfred seemed to grin a bit further. "But I'll leave that to you." Matthew stood and stepped past them towards the stern and their quarters. "Try not to kill him, Al."

Beneath the ship, Francis was swimming in frantic circles as he tried to piece together everything that had happened. Arthur was going to be taken back to London where he was going to be executed and it was only thanks to him that Francis would not share a similar fate. The merman continued to circle as he recalled the last thing that Arthur had spoken to him in a near inaudible whisper before he was released over the side of the ship:

"We're even."

Francis wanted to scream and tear the planks from the underside of the hull in frustration. What he needed was a plan and he had nothing so he continued to swim, unsure what to do or how to rescue Arthur. Because he knew there was no way he could leave that man behind.

It seemed impossible though, and that frustrated him even more. Maybe if he had help…

He spun and quickly swam towards home, the entire way praying that Gilbert and Antonio were there and not out on various pursuits. His mind was so focused on his destination, that he forgot he was still wearing the heavy coat and that it was hindering some of his progress. Still Francis swam, pushing himself to go as fast as he could through the water and ignoring the protests of his muscles against the strain.

Two sets of eyes looked up at him as Francis burst in and collapsed before his two friends. Gilbert raised a concerned eyebrow at his friend while Antonio chuckled and swam forward to prod his head with a finger. "Amigo! What a surprise! We hadn't expected to see you! And why are you wearing this coat?" Antonio laughed and threw him a wink. "Is it a gift from your pirate friend?"

Francis ignored all that and looked pleadingly towards Gilbert instead. "Please, you have to help me! They have him. They have Arthur!"

"Who, Francis?" Gilbert said, dropping what he had and dashing forward to grab Francis by the shoulders. "Who has Arthur? What happened?"

Francis tried to recount everything that had happened as quickly as possible watching as his friends' faces grew grave with the tale and they glanced at each other as he finished and tried once again to beg for their help. Gilbert grimaced as he relented, "When do they leave?'

"When the tide returns." Francis repeated what he had heard.

"Then we don't have much time. I'll go ahead." Gilbert shot past them, as he was the fastest swimmer of the trio and was soon out of sight.

Antonio grabbed Francis by his arm and started to pull the tired blonde back the way he had come. It was a struggle, and Francis had even more difficulty in attempting to keep pace with Antonio and ended up being dragged along. It took much longer for them to arrive and by the time they had, the tide had already risen once again and night was falling as the large ship was leaving the little island in its wake.

Gilbert met them as they approached and Francis didn't like the look in his eye. "Francis…" he started, his face serious, "I don't see how we can get him back…"

"No!" Francis cried, freeing himself from Antonio and latching onto Gilbert. "Please! There has to be a way!"

"Maybe there is…" Antonio muttered from behind them and both whipped their head towards the brunette who was looking thoughtfully into the distance.

They waited a minute for Antonio to continue but when he didn't Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Well? Out with it Toni!"

"Hmm? Oh, right." Antonio looked surprised before recalling what he had thought of. "Whenever I watch the Italian ships, they always seem to be afraid of something."

"What are they afraid of?" Francis asked, a glint of hope returning.

"Well, most everything." Antonio answered and Gilbert gave him an incredulous look.

"That's not very helpful Toni…"

"Well, what if we scared the sailors on that ship?" Antonio suggested and Gilbert continued to stare at him.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Gilbert asked.

"Do they think you are dead?" Antonio looked at Francis expectantly and Francis thought about it for a moment.

"I… suppose so… since they don't know what I am…"

"Then you just have to act like a vengeful spirit and ask for your dear little Arthur to be returned to you!" Antonio smiled broadly while Gilbert shook his head.

"Are you listening to yourself? That plan has way too many things that could go wrong! What if they don't fall for it and they capture Francis as well?" Antonio continued to smile while Gilbert argued with him.

"I'll do it." Francis said quietly and both his friends looked up at him.

"There's no guarantee that it'll work…" Gilbert said slowly and Francis shook his head.

"I have to try." Francis pleaded and Gilbert gave up with a sigh.

"Fine, but we won't be able to help you. You'll be on your own for that part." Francis nodded and the trio swam quickly back towards the departing ship and surfaced beside ladder that Francis had used earlier that day. Gilbert looked at him again with concern. "You don't have to do this."

Francis turned, a look of determination set on his face. "I am going."

"Then good luck." Francis nodded, quickly diving below the surface and turning once he deemed himself deep enough he swam quickly upwards, propelling himself towards the ladder and managing to grip it with his fingers on the first try. From there he clung against it while he waited for his feet to form and began to slowly push his way upwards again. It was just as difficult as it had been before, especially now that he was weighed down by the water logged coat he had refused to remove, still he was focused and soon found himself looking at the deck of the Deliverance.

It was fairly quiet, as Francis cautiously peered over the edge, gauging where most of the sailors were. No one seemed to be paying too much attention to where he was so he quietly pulled himself to stand on the railing and had to grasp some nearby rigging in order to steady himself. At least from here if something were to go wrong he could easily escape. The last of the sunlight was disappearing on the horizon a cool night breeze blew across his skin causing him to shiver slightly. Francis wasn't sure what he should do, but it didn't take long for someone to notice him. Cries went out among the crew and soon the noise had earned the attention of the captains.

"What's going on?" Alfred called as he stormed onto the deck, hastily pulling his jacket on as he looked around the crew silently demanding an explanation. A few of them men raised shaky arms to point in Francis's direction, and Alfred stumbled a little when he saw the soaked blonde directing the most hateful of glares in his direction. His eyes widened and he began to shake at the sight.

He was not there for long before he was joined by Matthew who looked around at everyone with confusion. "What's happen-"

Matthew was unable to finish the sentence when his brother launched himself at him and began to squeeze the life out of him. "Mattie! It's Francis! He's back from the dead!"

Matthew gasped for air while trying to force his brother off of him, his eyes darting around until they spotted Francis standing on the railing. "What…?"

"Please don't kill us!" Alfred yelped in terror. "What do you want?"

"Arthur." Francis growled, doing his best to look more angry than worried. "He killed me."

"Yes, it was all him!" Alfred hurriedly agreed while Matthew coughed from between his arms. "We had nothing to do with it! Spare us!"

"Give him to me." Francis commanded, narrowing his eyes at Alfred who quickly nodded his head and ordered someone to go and fetch Arthur from below.

"Al…" Matthew choked out, "Wait…"

"Shhh, Mattie. Don't anger him more." Alfred tried to hush him, stroking his hair softly while Matthew tried to pry himself free. It didn't take long before two of the crew returned dragging a limp Arthur between them. They pushed him forward not wanting to get too close to the 'spirit' and Arthur stumbled forward, landing face first on the deck and Francis noticed with dismay that the back of his shirt was stained a dark red.

Arthur lifted his head, his bleary eyes looking around before finding Francis standing before him and the merman suddenly found it difficult to hold his angry glare. His large eyebrows came together in confusion as he looked up. "You killed me." Francis said slowly, hoping Arthur caught on quickly.

Arthur blinked twice before recognition formed in his eyes and he turned back towards where Alfred was cowering on the deck with a half-strangled Matthew. "Wait! I'd rather go to London!"

"N-no way!" Alfred cried, pulling Matthew tighter against him. "We're not risking being cursed by some ghost!"

"Al…" Matthew tried again, "what if… 's trick…"

"You will pay for killing me." Francis snarled, doing his best to sound terrifying, and if the way Alfred flinched when he spoke was any indicator, then he was doing a pretty good job of it.

Wincing slightly, Arthur managed to rise to his feet and Francis held out his free hand to him. Once Arthur took it, he was jerked forward, and once Francis was able to gain a better hold of him, they both fell over the side. The sting of their sudden collision with the water made Francis lose hold of Arthur momentarily, but once he was returned to his true form, he was quick to right himself and grab hold of the wildly struggling man. Arthur fought against him in a blind attempt to save himself, his eyes closed tightly against the salt water, and Francis had difficulties not losing him a second time.

He managed to get a firm hold of the hair on the back of Arthur's head and used it to pull his face closer and crash their lips together. Arthur tried to pull back in surprise, but Francis wouldn't let him, instead forcing his mouth open and pushing the left over air from his lungs into the man.

Arthur stilled for a moment, until Francis tugged his chin up and switched to using his gills. With him gone Arthur began to struggle once again, though it wasn't as desperate. When Arthur began to release bubbles, Francis tugged him close again and repeated the same movements, breathing the supply that had been replaced through the use of his gills. After that, Arthur calmed enough to stop struggling and settled for clinging to Francis and trembling slightly against his chest.

Satisfied that Arthur was no longer in danger, Francis wrapped his arms around him and looked up to see his friends staring in disbelief. Gilbert's mouth hung open as he looked on and he shook his head slowly. "That actually worked? I can't believe I am actually going to say this, "he turned his head to look at Antonio, "Toni, you're a genius."

Antonio grinned and laughed. "Who would have known?"

Gilbert shook his head again and turned his attention back to Francis. "But, really Francis? You still haven't turned him yet?"

Francis frowned and offered another breath to Arthur. "It never came up."

"What have you two been doing on that island?" Gilbert asked.

"Talking mostly…"

"And you couldn't spare a few minutes to tell him he can join our awesome group?" Gilbert pressed, "Or even better, you could have waited for him to fall asleep, then pounced on him, seized his-"

"Elizaveta really let you talk like that Gilbert?" Francis chided and Gilbert paled.

"Don't you tell her anything."

"Help me get back to shore and I won't say a word." Francis instructed, knowing he wouldn't be saying anything as it was. After all, he didn't have a death wish.

With their added help, it didn't take long for the strange group to reach the shore line and Francis waved them off, bringing Arthur to the surface alone and leading him to where his feet could touch. They didn't say a word as they pulled themselves onto the beach fell over into the sand, not caring that it stuck to their wet skin. The waves continued to crash on top of them, but exhaustion prevented them from attempting to pull themselves further onto the beach, and Francis's tail remained, the early evening moonlight giving the scales a light glow.

Francis rested his cheek on the sand and closed his eyes as he listened to Arthur panting and his lips twitched upwards into half smile that quickly disappeared when he received a face full of sand.

"Quit smiling you idiot. That was a stupid thing to do." Arthur growled, and Francis opened his eyes while he tried to spit out the grains that found their way into his mouth.

"You are so cruel!" Francis whined, "Why would you say that?"

"Because you were already safe!" Arthur chucked another handful of sand at him. "I made sure they didn't know what you were and you should have gone back to the ocean where you belonged."

Francis dragged his arm across his mouth, but it didn't completely rid it of the gritty feeling. "I couldn't leave you behind. They were going to kill you."

Arthur quieted for a moment as he thought about it. "It was still stupid." He concluded, preparing to through more sand.

Francis latched his fingers around his wrist and rolled so that he ended up on top of the captain, pinning him down. Arthur groaned, the added weight pressing his injured back into the sand, and Francis readjusted to accommodate him with a light apology. Once Francis was settled, and the threat of thrown sand was gone, Arthur sighed and looked away. "I suppose this means I owe you again, doesn't it?"

Francis put his thumb and forefinger on the man's chin and tugged so that he could look into the other's face. "You don't have to. I can make it so we're even."

"How?" Arthur looked up, trying piece together what Francis meant.

"Join me." He said simply watching as the green eyes searched him. "Become like me and come live with me."

Arthur stared up at him and Francis silently wished for him to say yes. "Does that mean I will grow a tail and scales?" Francis nodded his head. "And will I be able to walk on land still?" Francis nodded again. Arthur quieted and seemed to think a bit further. "Do you promise not to be so French and annoying?"

"I'm annoying?" Francis gave him a shocked look. "You are terribly rude, you barbaric-"

"Who were the others?" Arthur cut him off, gazing up at him expectantly.

"What?" Francis gaped, not following where the conversation had taken a sudden turn to.

"I heard voices after we got off the ship." Arthur gave him a flat look. "In the water. Everything was garbled, so I couldn't tell what was being said, but I know there were others there. Who were they? Other merfolk?"

"Yes…" Francis said slowly. "What are your feelings towards the Spanish and Prussians?"

Arthur frowned. "About the same as the French. Why?"

"No reason!" Francis laughed quickly though it only made Arthur scowl further.

"Don't you know any British merpeople?"

"No." Francis responded after some quick thought. "You'll be the first I've met." Arthur huffed at that and it made Francis chuckle. "Do I take that as a yes?"

With a glare, Arthur tilted his head to look fully into the Francis's face. "It's not a no."

"I'm glad." Francis informed him, leaning closer to capture his lips in a soft kiss.

He kept it short, and when he pulled away Arthur stuck his tongue out at him. "Your mouth tastes like sand."

Francis rolled his eyes as he bent closer for a second. "Whose fault is that?"


AN: The end?

I'd ask for reviews, but I'm sure they will all be people yelling at me for making Alfred and Matthew evil. So maybe I'll just explain why to save everyone the trouble:

I do love and adore the N. American brothers. I think they're adorable, but I always find it incredibly easy to make any of the characters evil. So I felt it was their turn. Plus, their combination of brains and brawn? Be fearful. And of course, I thought it worked better for my lame ending.

Especially since you know after Arthur and Francis disappeared over the side, Alfred released his death grip on Matthew, sat back and said, "Phew. Good thing we didn't panic!" Most likely with the biggest grin possible. And Matthew managed to pause through the midst of his coughing and gasping for breath to glare at him.