I was too anxious to go to sleep, so instead I sprawled out on the couch, waiting for Cronus to return. It wasn't until the first break of dawn did the doorbell ring, making me jump and run to the door.

Nearly ripping it off the hinges, I opened it widly for Cronus. He stumbled into my arms, his legs giving way under his weight. I caught him, shocked into silence. Quickly, I shut the door and half dragged him to the couch where I had been.

I helped him lay down and touched his slightly pale face. His hands were clutching his side for dear life. I moved them and saw the purple blood dripping out of a long cut before he slapped them back into place, his legs twisting in pain.

"W-wait here!" I gasped and ran to the main bathroom. WIth shaking hands, I grabbed our first aid kit and moved as fast as I could back to his side. I sat the white box on the coffee table and opened it.

Taking a deep breath, I looked back at him. His breathing was shallow, his teeth clenched. This time when I moved his hands, he didn't move them back.

I got to work cleaning the odd colored blood away, not wanting to offend him by asking about it. He only flinched a couple times as I wiped the blood, his breath hitching in his throat as if he were holding off a scream.

Once it was clean enough, I put pads of gauze over the length of the cut and taped it along the sides with medical tape. He let out a quivering laugh as I kissed it softly. "What happened?" I asked as I cleaned up the blood soaked wipes.

"M-Meenah wasn't too keen on me leavin. She woulda ran her trident right through me if I hadn't been on my way out." He laughed and flinched as it jarred his side. He took a few deep breaths before he continued. "S-she really got pissed." He smirked. "I always knew she cared about me." He sighed and closed his eyes as I cleaned his hands.

"So she didn't want you to leave?" I asked, gathering everything up into the box. He shook his head.

"It's not that, exactly." He frowned. "She doesn't like the idea of me choosin you over her. She was the reason I stayed off land for so long. So she wouldn't be lonely." He grimaced. "But it's not like she doesn't have a human of her own to fawn over. I mean I guess I can understand her jealousy a little."

I gave him a questioning look before I went to get him some water. "Why would she be jealous? Isn't she some kind of princess?" I asked as I handed him the cup. He took a sip.

"Yeah. But cause I'm half human, I can come on land." He looked pointedly at me, as if he expected me to put it together. "She ain't half human. Or anything human. She can't leave the water. Or she'll die."

I nodded. "And her human can't stay in the water all the time." I said softly, understanding what he meant instantly. "So why...?" I started to ask 'So why love a human?' but it might be a little cotracdictory, seeing as I was a human and he was a merperson. Or, half at least.

"Why does she still love her?" He asked, making me blush and nod slightly. "Aranea's actually a really rad chick. I met her once, like Meenah met you." He smiled. "And all Meenah wants is to be happy, even if she don't know it." He grinned. "Cause she sure as hell ain't right now. Not with that crazy mom of her's pullin the strings."

"Did her mother say anything to you about your leaving?" I asked, wanting to change the subject. He shrugged and pulled himself so that he was sitting up a bit more.

"Not exactly. She was happy to get rid of me. Said I was a halfer and that I didn't deserve to breathe the same water as her court." He snorted. "And that if she was my mom, she woulda killed me when I was hatched." I flinched at that last part.

"W-wasn't she your mother's sister?" I asked, still not totally sure I understood merfamily roles.

"Kinda. Like Meenah and I are cousins up here and bro and sis in the court. My mom and Meenah's were like us." I nodded. "Only, Meenah's mom killed mine, not just knicked her side and let her go." He bit his lip. "Meenah's a lot nicer than her mom, I guess." He laughed, a pained sound.

I knew the pain wasn't from his wound, either. "What did your mother do?" I asked softly, taking his hand in mine.

"It's a long story." He sighed, looking down into my eyes. "But I guess I can tell you." He said softly, kissing my hand. "Well, it all started when she took me back to the ocean." He started.

He told me about how his and Meenah's mothers were constantly fighting over the court and what kind of decisions to make, his mother being the Queen's sister having a standing to go against her word. And about how she would always round up krill and shrimp for him to eat.

About how he and Meenah were raised as brother and sister. How his life was before he met me and after he met me. And, about how almost three years ago, Meenah's mother killed his for going against her. He either didn't notice the tears slipping over his cheeks or he refused to acknowledge them as he told me that part.

It had happened right in front of him, and he'd held his mother until she bled out. As per merperson usual -according to him- she was given to the sharks so her body wouldn't float the the surface and be discovered by humans.

He told me about how she'd protected him tooth and tail -a merperson joke, apparently- until that time, and I knew instantly that they were close. I held his hand as he recalled all of this, silent tears streaming over his cheeks. "I understand." I said softly.

And, I did. Aside from the whole anatomy jokes, I understood the coplexity of the world he lived in up until now.